General Session 1: The Triumph of Obedience - John MacArthur

well there are many wonderful things to come by way of the instruction of the Lord that's going to be given through those who will be ministering to you and I count it a joy to kind of uh lead off this morning in thinking about what I might talk about I I guess maybe just a bit of a preface I have felt for I think the entire duration of my Ministry that the church has suffered from an inadequate understanding of the doctrine that relates to sanctification and even in recent years when we are pretty astute on the doctrine of justification and we have that down pretty well as you heard in the beautiful hymn it was sung earlier his robes for mine we understand that and there is uniformity on that among the those who are faithful to the word of God we get that we we go back to the the reformers and we we hold their flag and and sustain their impact by holding the same convictions that many of them discovered in a time when it was obscured so I think in general we we do well with the doctrine of justification we even do pretty well with the doctrine of the sovereignty of God that's a that's a comfortable Doctrine for us we we want that to be [Music] true but where the church seems to lose its way is in the matter of sanctification and that is no small issue because the function of the church is to address in the lives of God's people the issue of sanctification ation I don't need to give you illustrations of the condition of quote unquote evangelicalism with regard to sanctification we have lots of unsanctified people and we have apparently lots of unsanctified leaders and lots of discussion about justification and the sovereignty of God but very little interest in at least in my mind in the very foundational reality of sanctification I want to see if I can reduce that to the the most simple approach and that is this I want to talk to you this morning on the Triumph of obedience now there's an odd word obedience is that oxymoron the Triumph of obedience can obedience be triumphant is submission some kind of Victory there is not only indifference toward the idea of obedience there is resistance to the reality of obedience a contemporary church leader who rejects outright the idea of obedience reduced the Christian Life to this absurd question quote what are you going to do now that you don't have to do anything what are you going to do now that you don't have to do anything that's the latest version of the let go and let God another author said we are not under law we are not under law repeating it you can't live under Duty you can't live under bondage of necessary obedience you are free in Christ free from necessary obedience I know there are people who think think they're protecting justification by faith with such an idea and I wish I could give them the benefit of the doubt and think that primarily they're motivated by the desire to protect justification but it seems to me a very convenient theology for those who are hiding a life of sin to calm their tortured conscience they come up with the notion that obedience is an offense to God if enacted under the sense of Duty antinomianism is an old heresy and it won't go away it just won't go away it survives in every generation of the church you can go back to the early years in our ministry here in writing a book called The Gospel According To Jesus which addressed a form of antinomianism where you could be saved and not be transformed and not even necessarily continue to believe there was no connection between repentance and salvation no connection between good works as a fruit of Salvation and salvation some of you remember those issues and the book The Gospel According To Jesus and the Gospel According to the apostles discussions about cheap Grace and easy believism there has been a a sort of comfort with isolating justification from sanctification and as long as you get justification right sanctification doesn't matter that much and again the motive is to protect at least externally the motive is to protect the gospel from legalism but again I I I question that Sinclair Ferguson has written a book called the whole Christ listen to this statement the wholesale removal of the law seems to provide a refuge for the antinomian but the problem is not the law but the Heart That Remains unchanged end quote this is the delusion the antinomian thinks he is free from the law but he is not he is still bound to the law he is still a legalist he seeks in going the opposite direction of rejecting the law to be free from the law law but this is his delusion the truth is the antinomian is still a legalist why because he is defining his relationship to God by the law the legalist must keep the law to please God and the antinomian must not keep the law to please God and so he relates to the law the antinomian is as much a legalist as the rigid lawkeeper he has not escaped he is not free from the law true salvation and this is the important thing is never defined by someone's relationship to the law it is defined by someone's relationship to Christ trusting honoring glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ and especially loving him and loving his word breaks the bondage of the law the antinomian who thinks he is free from the law free from the duty to obey the law usually reveals that he has no relationship to Christ at all if you're defining your your relationship to God by your relationship to the law you may well be outside the kingdom of [Music] God antinomianism perverts the gospel by making nothing of the Divine work of regeneration it doesn't acknowledge that trying to earn salvation by indifference to the law is no different than trying to earn salvation by adherence to the law the only way you can be certain of your salvation is to know that you have a relationship not to the law but to Christ antinomians make Duty and obedience a sin against Grace what a trap if you don't obey the commands you sin and then if you do obey the commands you sin a True Believer would have to deny the new birth to reject his duty to obey the law of God and what drives that why is it that a True Believer obeys the law of God well follow with some familiar portions of scripture turn to John 14 and this is by way of reminder this morning things with which you are familiar John 14 verse 15 if you love me you will keep my Commandments if you love me you will keep my Commandments in other words if you have a relationship with me you will be obedient down in verse 21 he who has my Commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me and he who loves me Will Be Loved by my father and I will love him and will disclose myself to him this is intense and this is saying obedience is directly related to love verse 23 Jesus said to one of his disciples Judas not a scariot if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our Abode with him he who does not love me does not not keep my word or to say it in reverse he who does not keep my word does not love me I mean this is foundational we we we can't avoid this over in the 15th chapter verse 10 in that Upper Room Jesus again repeated the same truth if you keep my Commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's Commandments and abide in his love or verse 14 you're my friends if you do what I command you I know you know these but I I want I want them fresh in your mind these wonderful statements listen to 1 John 3:24 the one who keeps his Commandments abides in him and he in him we know by this that he abides in Us by the spirit whom he has given us if you have no desire to obey his Commandments then you have no love for him you're not abiding in him you don't know him once again in chapter 5 verse 2 of 1 John by this we know that we love the children of God God when we love God and observe his Commandments for this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and his Commandments are not what [Music] burdensome because they're kept out of love that defines a True Believer his relation is to the Lord not the law but because he loves the Lord he loves the law of the Lord which Psalm 1382 says God has exalted his his word equal to his name he loves because the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit he has a love then defined by obedience by obedience that ought to be obvious from the Great Commission the Great Commission states that in Noah un certain terms go therefore and Make Disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I commanded you what is discipleship it's teaching people to be obedient I get that I understand that I'm not very mystical if you tell me here is what God requires and you are to obey then I understand that that's sanctification pathway So based on what we just saw and wrapped up in Matthew 28 what should be the goal of ministry to produce people people who are what obedient obedient not people who are chasing some sentimentalism or some esoteric experience but people who are obedient what is the goal of pastoral Ministry I I'll give you some more because I I just want you to hear these familiar texts to refresh your mind listen to what Paul said in Galatians 419 my children with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you the goal of ministry is to be like Christ right Ephesians says essentially the same thing in chapter 4 he gave some of his Apostles and Prophets evangelists some as Pastor teachers for the equipping of the Saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ again the the whole Ministry that you're engaged in is to take people on the pathway to christlikeness you are there to enrich their relationship to him in Colossians chapter 1 again same thing verse 27 talks about Christ in you the hope of glory and then Paul says in verse 28 we Proclaim him admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that we may present every man complete in Christ for this purpose also I labor striving according to his power which mightily Works Within Me Christ likeness is the goal again the whole pathway of sanctification is becoming more like Christ it's defined by one's relationship to Christ not his relationship to the law in 2 Corinthians chap 11 in verse three Paul basically said something very similar and then we'll look at chapter 10 which is kind of where I'm headed he says in chapter 11 I'm jealous for you verse two with a Godly jealousy for I betrothed you to one husband so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin but I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness your minds will be led away or astray from the Simplicity and purity of Devotion to Christ there is sanctification right there it's the Simplicity and Devotion to Christ it's loving Christ and to be like Christ is to be obedient he was obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Hebrews 5 he learned obedience by the things he suffered he only did what the father told him to do he only did what the father will for him to do he only did what pleased the Father the goal that we have as Shepherd and pastors is the sanctification of our people Conformity to Christ and the more they know Christ the more they love Christ the more eagerly they obey his commands now to focus a little more on one text turn to 2 Corinthians chapter [Music] 10 chapter 10 this uh passage has been on my mind and I I hope I can make this helpful to you um looking at it in a number of ways I'm going to read starting in verse one 2 Corinthians 10 now I Paul myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ again the standard for all that Paul requires is Christ I who am meek he's Meek so I'm Meek when face to face with you but bold toward you when absent I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I proposed to be courageous against some who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh for though we walk in the flesh we're human we do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our Warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and we are taking every thought captive to The Obedience of Christ and we are ready to punish all Disobedience whenever your obedience is complete do you see your pastoral Duty there your duty is to take every thought captive to The Obedience of Christ and to punish the disobedient I don't know if You' ever thought of ministry like that but that's what Paul says God requires let's look at verse Five For a Moment the last part of the verse we are taking every thought captive to The Obedience of Christ that's the goal it's about obedience it's about obedience to him personally and we know his will because as 1 Corinthians 2 says we have the mind of Christ that's not something personal like I think I know what Jesus feels we have the mind of Christ because we have the Bible we know what he Wills what pleases him what honors him and our calling is to bring our people to the place where every thought is captive to Christ now notice the beginning of the verse he says we are destroying speculations that's ideologies philosophies theories viewpoints opinions even Kai better translated even even every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God this this is Paul's direct Ministry we destroy anti-god ideologies he sees himself as a a soldier really the terminology is military smashing ungodly ideas smashing ungodly ideologies smashing lies and they're called fortresses say back in verse 4 that is a word that means Fortress it means prison and it means tomb and people are fortified in anti-god ideologies that become their prisons and end up as their tombs and the calling we have is to destroy those speculations d destroy those anti-god ideologies and the only way to do that is with the truth and then you take every thought captive to The Obedience of Christ graphic language the the Greek verb there means to take prisoners with a spear to take prisoners with a spear it's like he's leading these people out of their smashed Fortress to a new captivity and they're being led with a spear this is demanded of them and every NOA that means thought reasoning design purpose it's translated Minds in 2 Corinthians 4:4 so Paul's objective in Ministry is to destroy the anti-god lies and free the deceived Minds from the bondage of those lies and bring them captive to a new captor Christ he defines that state of conversion as being captive to the obedience of Christ just beautiful language in Romans 6 Paul said you were slaves of unrighteousness but when that form of Doctrine came that transformed you you became slaves of righteousness from unrighteousness to righteousness the Rebellion has ended and the Christian's life is a life of obedience to Christ whom the Christian loves not because he has the capacity in his Humanity to love like that but because he has been regenerated to love like that John 336 he who does not obey the son will not see life but the wrath of God abides on him whatever happened to obedience I mean you go back even to the gospel Romans 1: 15 speaks of The Obedience of Faith among the Gentiles The Obedience of faith is describing saving Faith it's an act of obedience in Romans 2 unbelievers are those who do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness and again at the end of Romans The Obedience of the Gentiles is Manifest in word and deed Paul even wraps up Romans if you look at the final sign off in verses 2 5- 27 of chapter 16 now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past but now is manifested and by the scriptures of the prophets according to the Commandment of the Eternal God has been made known to all the nations leading to Obedience of Faith saving faith is the the First Act of obedience a sinner makes and you can give God all the glory as verse 27 says Hebrews 5:9 puts it this way he became to all those who obey him the source of Eternal salvation Peter offers us a beautiful picture of this saving obedience in 1 Peter 1 the first two verses Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout pontis galatia capid dohia Asia and bethenia who are chosen according to the forn knowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood mean the whole of Salvation is an act of obedience and what is the sprinkle of blood referring to well that's taking you back to the Old Testament where the people of Israel thought more of themselves than they ought to have thought and when they made a covenant they would never violate the law of God then they sealed it with blood they were saying we will obey but they were not faithful it's The Obedience of Christ that defines everything that's how you define your Christian Life do I obey Christ it's not what would Jesus do it's what did he command me to do and it's Time Peter says in chapter 4 for judgment to begin with the household of God and if it begins with us what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God they're in a backhanded way he is saying if you're in the household of God you came because you committed yourself to obey God and you you did in a sense symbolically what the people of Israel did when they took the Blood Oath to always obey they failed saving faith is about obedience and I don't know why we have to run from that term so back to chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians this is how the relationship to the Lord begins you're taking a new allegience to obedience to a new captor and you don't have a choice you've been brought there by spear as it were and your life now is defined by obedience to Christ and to press that home Paul says to the Corinthians and those of you who are disobedient I will punish I don't know if you've ever thought about that in terms of your ministry punishing the disobedient now obviously initially this is salvation in verse 5 but by the time you get to verse 6 Paul is saying I'm going to come to that church and I'm going to identify those people who perhaps claim to be Christians but are disobedient and there will be punishment for them we talk about discipline in the church I don't know that I've ever heard anybody talk about punishment obedience prompted by love is the character of the Christian faith and is the reality of sanctification now why why am I emphasizing this today well because again I think this is this is the the world in which we all live the work of justification and glorification is all God's work we we have the responsibility in the middle for the perfecting of the Saints to Christ likeness and antinomianism comes in so many forms and it's left such confusion about sanctification all denying the believer's duty to obey the moral law of God let me suggest some that that I noted first there is a kind of a gnostic dualism approach to antinomianism and that says the salvation of the soul is all that matters bodily behavior is irrelevant because your body is not redeemed so don't worry about it that is played out in some gross transgressions advocated by pastors I I know one myself who suggested that couples who are preparing to get married have sex together because their bodies weren't redeemed anyway so there is that dualistic antinomianism and then there's I guess what you could call God focused although it's bad to say it that that way that's what they would say God focused anomis which says he just requires love he just requires love and so because he just really requires love you have to you have to do some you know you have to do some editing of the Bible because so much of it is not loving but since God is concerned only about love you have [Music] to hold back requirements in scriptures because that wouldn't be loving then there is Spirit prompted antinomianism trusting in the Holy Spirit to move inwardly so as to deny any need to be subject or obedient to the moral law of God you're free from the law just let the Holy Spirit do it and if it doesn't happen very well well it's probably his fault and then there's Christ centered antinomianism God sees no sin in you anyway because Christ paid for your sin and then he kept the law for you so since he kept the law for you you don't have to worry about keeping it for yourself which you can't do and then there is cross centered antinomianism no need to obey the law just flee to the cross and preach the cross to yourself and then there is Grace centered antinomianism all sin has been paid for you're free then there is something that I hadn't come across until recently lesser sins anome iism committing lesser sins keeps you from greater sins by granting your flesh some satisfaction Al those seek to eliminate obedience to the moral law of God and His holy will and all of it is an attack on God himself John Murray said quote in the denial of the permanent Authority and sanctity of the moral law there is a direct thrust at the very center of our Holy Faith for it is a Thrust at the veracity and authority of the Lord himself we all understand that the law has three uses use number one is to convict and condemn The Sinner use number two is to provide Law and Order as a common Grace in society and three to reveal the Commandments that all Christians are to to obey but people who are antinomian want to get rid of the second and third use of the law listen to this quote the law of God is Holy just and good but it becomes a very great evil when it is perverted and used for something other than its Divine Purpose One Singular purpose it expresses man's guilt before God shutting him up to faith in Christ alone for salvation to use God's law for any other purpose is to pervert and abuse the law when you think of the law of God and obedience to that law as an act of abuse you are have a twisted view you say well the law is old Covenant well the law is old Covenant maybe I ought to take a few minutes and show you something let's go back to Deuteronomy 6 I want you to see that the law is old Covenant because the law reflects God's will listen to Deuteronomy 6 lie down rise up find them uh as a sign on your hand and as frontals on your forehead symbolic of having to Think Through The Law of God when you work and when you think write them on the doorpost of your house you know that the command then is to obey the law of God over in excuse me Deuteronomy 30 um just very very similarly Deuteronomy 30 and we'll just look at verse 1 and following so it shall be when all the things have come upon you and after the pronouncing pronouncing of blessing and cursing um after this verse two you will return to the Lord your God and Obey him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today you and your sons this is again the same emphasis on obedience verse eight you shall again obey the Lord and observe all his Commandments which I command you today verse 10 if you obey the Lord your God to keep his Commandments and statutes written in the book of the law if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul God wants obedience from the heart obedience from the heart Psalm 37:31 of the righteous God said this the law of his God is in his heart that's a Divine work Psalm 40:8 David says I Delight to do your will oh my God your law is within my heart the law was not just external in the old Covenant it was in the heart turn to Psalm 119 I don't know if you ever thought about the psalm the way I'm going to address it but Psalm 119 just listen to a few of these wonderful verses verse 57 and you could pick any of them really 57 that Heth portion the Lord is my portion I have promised to keep your words I sought your favor with all my heart be gracious to me according to your word I considered my ways and turned my feet to your testimonies I hastened and did not delay to keep your Commandments the cords of the wicked have encircled me but I have not forgotten your law at midnight I shall rise to give thanks to you because of your righteous ordinances I am a companion of all those who fear you and of those who keep your precepts the Earth is full of your loving kindness oh Lord teach me your statutes go over to verse 97 oh how I love your law it is my meditation all the day your Commandments make me wiser than my enemies they are ever mine I have more insight than all my teachers for your testimonies are my meditation I understand more than the agent because I have observed your precept I have restrained my feet from every evil way that I may keep your word I love verse 103 how sweet are your words to my taste yes sweeter than honey to my mouth do you think that was written by a legalist that was not written by illegal I think go back to Psalm 51 any more than Psalm 19 or Psalm 1 Psalm 51 this is the confession of David and I think this is a Salvation prayer we've all probably preached on it this comes from David's heart I think this is a Salvation prayer it sounds like a Salvation prayer even if you put it in the New Testament be gracious to me oh God according to your loving kindness it asks for Grace according to the greatness of your compassion blot out my transgressions this is the true sinner's prayer Wash Me thoroughly from my iniquity cleanse me from my sin for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me against you you only I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you're Justified when you speak and blameless when you judge he understands the depths of his sin I was brought forth in iniquity and sin my mother conceived me from his very conception he bore the fallenness of Adam's race and I know what you want God you desire truth in the innermost being that is not the prayer of a legalist and in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom so Lord Purify Me with hup and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than snow make me to hear joy and gladness let the bones which you have broken Rejoice hide your face from my sins blot out all all my iniquities you want a sinner's prayer that's it that's a Salvation prayer and look at verse 10 created in me what C Clean Heart David knew he needed a new heart and he needed a new spirit and that's the language of Jeremiah 31 isn't it don't cast me away from your presence don't take your Holy Spirit from me restore to me the joy of your salvation sustain me with a willing spirit I need a new spirit I need a new heart and then I will be able to teach transgressors your ways and sinners will be converted to you I'll be useful to you that's the sinner's prayer in David's experience that led him to the reality of Psalm 1119 Isaiah 51:7 says that God desires his law in the heart in the heart and that's exactly what you have with David So as Abraham is a prototype of faith in the Old Testament because he was justified by faith he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness David is a prototype of a Sanctified believer who has given a new heart and a new spirit and what you have in for example Jeremiah 31 is the promise that that's going to happen to the whole nation of Israel but it wasn't as if it never happened you don't think for a moment do you that people in the old test were converted in some other way David knew what he needed a new heart a new spirit he needed the new creation and when that new creation took place in his life Psalm 119 became the testimony of his love for his God that showed up in his desire for obedience God wants the law in the heart he always has he always has and David kept that law because he would rather do that than anything else so if you are running from the law of God under some misconception of your spiritual condition if you're fleeing from that you need what David needed a new heart a new spirit a new creation so Paul's Ministry was to destroy fortresses and then to take prisoner those who had been liberated and make them obedient to Christ in fact it's so basic it's so clear the point that Jesus said why do you call me Lord not do what I say it's completely inconsistent so let's take a look just in wrapping up 2 Corinthians chapter 10 again how did Paul approach this ministry we'll just touch lightly on it first of all he was compassionate if you're going to be confronting people with their obedience or their Disobedience you you find here a model for for how to do this effectively number one he was compassionate he said I urge you sp speaking to the Corinthians with all their issues I who am meek when fa face to face with you but bold toward you when absent being sarcastic and saying that because that was the criticism of him but you start out if you're going to if you're going to call people to obedience and that's going to be the direction of your ministry there needs to be compassion meekness and gentleness the very meekness and gentleness of Christ some in Corinth saw Paul's meekness and gentleness as weakness he responded a little bit with sarcasm but he had to be compassionate because the Lord was compassionate but he was also courageous verse two I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh he is not weak he will be bold he will be courageous he will confront those who are undermining his authority and his ministry those who are accusing him of Walking In the Flesh so he kind of had it come in both ways if he did nothing they said he was weak if he did something they said said he was fleshly but the balance is there and sometimes hard to achieve on the one hand the Apostle said I can be courageous on the other hand I can be compassionate and finding the balance may be a challenge maybe more significantly he was competent competent in verse four the weapons of our Warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful if you got into a an argument with the Apostle Paul if you were confronted by the Apostle Paul to do battle with Paul was to do battle with a man who had a massive arsenal of divine Truth at his disposal you didn't want to engage with him without realizing that your human arguments couldn't withstand the the power of Paul's Divine weapons so he says in Ministry I have been compassionate I have been when I needed to be courageous I am competent in wielding the truth with such Effectiveness that it has destroyed the fortresses just two other thoughts here he was committed verse six we are ready to punish all Disobedience again this is such an interesting statement as if the pastor is to be the one inflicting punishment but for the sake of the purity of the church Paul would do that did do that so he was compassionate he was courageous he was competent he was committed he was ready to punish all Disobedience and one final note he was cautious he says in verse 6 at the end that punishment would occur whenever you're obedience is complete what are you waiting for I'm waiting for the obvious meaning all who are obedient are known so what he is saying is the people who are obedient don't need to be punished the people who are not obedient they're the ones that need to be dealt with he would put them to the test if we had time you can go through chapters 10 through 13 where he talks even more about that so his pastoral Ministry was about this issue I will be compassionate to you until I can't be and I have to be courageous and when the conflict comes you will have to face the weapons of divine Truth for your misdeeds your rebellion and I'm committed to do whatever I need to do for the purity of the church church but not until it's clear who are the obedient ones and who are the disobedient ones he would be cautious and careful so as we think about the Triumph of obedience I think we have to introduce that back into the vocabulary of the church it's been absent father we thank you for the time this morning to consider something so basic so foundational and Lord how can we possibly fulfill our calling how can we possibly conform a congregation to Christ how can we build them to the fullness of the stature of Christ unless like him they become obedient to you it's not complicated we don't need to find some mystical path some meditation or contemplation we need to do it Paul said I beat my body to bring it into submission Lord give us the strength in your spirit to subdue the Flesh and Obey out of a Heart of Love so full of love that obedience is our highest Joy that's our prayer in Christ's name amen

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Length: 57min 21sec (3441 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 29 2024