Our Only Hope
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Welcome
Turn with me to: Romans 14:7-8
Starting a new series as we explore in greater depth our catechism of the week.
Let’s review:
Q. What is our only hope in life and death?
Long A. That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.
Memorizing A. - That we are not our own but belong to God.
A passage that highlights this reality is found in Romans 14.
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
Because of the reconciling work we talked about this morning in Colossians 1, we who have trusted Christ by faith, have been bought with a price. The price was Jesus and his vicarious death.
If we are not our own but the Lord’s, then it is clear that we should live differently.
Different
from our old ways before Christ
from the world
from the natural bent of our flesh
As John Calvin said, “Let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us.”
Don’t live for self-convenience.
Further, he said, “Let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.”
May our aim, our focus, our pursuit be Jesus.
As Timothy Keller outlines:
Basic Motive - God sent His Son to save us by grace and to adopt us into His family.
because of this grace, we want to
resemble the Father
have a family resemblance
look like our Savior
Please the Father.
Basic Principle- We are not to live to please ourselves.
We don’t belong to ourselves
We aren’t to determine for ourselves what is right or wrong
Truth is not defined by culture or by what is comfortable.
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
-Scripture alone is our guide
We stop putting ourselves first
-Put first what pleases God and what loves our neighbor
have no part of our lives that is immune from self-giving
-We are supposed to give ourselves wholly to Him.
No Secret Closets
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
-This means that we trust God through thick/thin, good/bad times, life/death.
How do the motive and principle relate?
Because we are saved by grace, we’re not our own.
Someone once said, “If I knew I was saved because of what I did, if I contributed to my salvation, then God couldn’t ask anything of me because I’d made a contribution. But if I’m saved by grace, sheer grace, then there’s nothing he cannot ask me.”
Do you belong to God tonight? Have you come to grips that there is someone who gave himself utterly for you? Have you responded to Him in faith?
For believer’s tonight, “How can we come to grips with someone who has given himself utterly for you without you giving yourself utterly for him in return?”
I have a question for you tonight. A question that I hope brings great comfort to your week.
Q. What is our only hope in life and death?
A. - That we are not our own but belong to God.