How To Empower Christians to do Good Works

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Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, this one's funny, and quarrels about the law, which is interesting to me.

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We do often quarrel about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Now let me stop there.

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Paul isn't saying the law is of no value and we shouldn't talk about the law, but there's a difference between quarreling about the law and understanding the use of the law.

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As for a person who stirs up divisions after warning him once, even then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self -condemned.

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Now I want you to understand the contrast that Justin and I just pointed out here. The difference between the person who is insisting on the gospel and versus fighting about what

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I would say self -righteousness. Dude, dude, the contrast is epic because insisting on the gospel leads people to devote themselves to good works.

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And Paul says these things are excellent and profitable for people. And he contrasts that with people who are all geeked up over controversy.

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It's like, well, just look at Christian social media. My goodness, people are fueled by controversy. Then, you know, genealogies, dissensions, quarrels about the law, these things on the flip side are unprofitable and worthless.

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It's like, so stop arguing about all of these things in terms of obscure things regarding your conduct or various controversies of any number of things about how you're to navigate this thing or that thing.

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Insist on the gospel. And what will that do? People who have been set free by Christ will devote themselves to good works.

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That's what will happen if we insist on the gospel. But that's only, that's only a supernatural, a natural gospel does the opposite,

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Justin. That's right. That's right. It's a supernatural work of God where we have been born again by his spirit.

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We've been united to the Lord Jesus Christ. The stream waters have begun to flow.

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The fountain is flowing and it's not going to dry up and we're going to be transformed. We're going to be sanctified and we're free.

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And so we can live in that freedom and in that joy and devote ourselves to good works. Man, it's remarkable.

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Going back to your point about the Koran and other religions that every other religion outside of of the

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Bible teaches a naturalistic view of salvation. And the

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Bible says it's a supernatural gospel. This is why you have to have all of the gospel, right?

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His forgiveness, his righteousness and his deliverance. It has to be done by the spirit.

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And if it's not done by the spirit, then you're without hope. And in our opinion, what

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Paul is teaching and insists on it is that for those, for those who truly believe this gospel, good works are the outwork, the outflow, the result of a supernatural gospel.

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And Justin, I'll just say this now. We're not going to do it. I know we got 30 seconds. So this is my last five second comment.

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We'll do a whole podcast on this. But I am exhausted by guys who insist on preaching a half gospel and then somehow believe that it's going to produce in some people this obedience.

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And what they do is they preach about the gospel. They'll talk about regeneration. They'll talk about what must be required in election and predestination.

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But they never offer them the actual hope of the gospel. And therefore, they just brow people.

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They beat people with the law, assuming the law will produce obedience. The law cannot. It cannot produce obedience.