The Way You Learned Christ

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We have spent two weeks talking about aspects of unity. We talked about how we need to be unified in spite of our differences. We talked about how our differences can actually create unity when we each play our part, fulfill our role.

We talked about how we are all connected through Christ. I want us to begin to transition now to actually walking this out as a church.

First, I want us to be solid on two quick important things.

Doctrine Matters

Doctrine exists in lots of genres.

Political doctrine exists in the platforms of the parties.

Social doctrine exists in the society arounsd us.

That what it means to be blown around by every wind of doctrine.

Should we be aware and concerned about what happens in those areas? Of course we should. However, those cannot be our guide.

The guardrails on our road need to be firmly established by the Lord.

What does God have to say on the subject? That should be the first and most important question we can ask.

I do not want anyone to go to hell. I wantt o tell everyone they can go to heaven. But God has said that we are wicked sinful people who need to repent of our sins and trust in the finished work of Christ.

Therefore, it does not matter what I want Him to say, it matters what he did say.

That is the doctrine we need to agree to live out together.

How can we live out together the things we do not believe together?

We believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. That Jesus, along with the Father and Holy Spirit make up the triune God.

We believe Jesus took our sin on himself on the cross. This payment for our sins turned away the wrath of God and allows us to be adopted as sons and daughters of God.

Read Church Covenant

Members Covenant for First Baptist Church Princeton, WV

With the understanding that we are all sinners and by believing and accepting the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, then celebrating that occasion by being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we do now prayerfully enter into a covenant relationship with each other as the body of Christ named First Baptist Church of Princeton, WV.

We covenant to work and pray for unity and the Spirit of peace to flow through the body as we watch over one another in the love of God, forgiving as we have been forgiven, working to bring about reconciliation and to secure it without delay, as much as it depends on each of us.

We covenant to set aside a portion of our income to fund the ministries, missions and spreading of the Gospel since Scripture teaches that each of us should give in accordance with our income and as we have purposed in our heart because God loves a cheerful giver.

We covenant to grow in the knowledge of the Lord through corporate worship, personal devotions, and corporate and family Bible Study, living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives.

We covenant, by God’s guidance and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom, to live in the world but to not be of the world. We covenant to abstain from using, or influencing others to use, anything harmful to our bodies, the temples of God. We accept the Word of God to be our authority in faith and everyday living.

We covenant to discover our Spiritual gifts which have been given to us when we accepted God’s forgiveness and grace. And we covenant to find those places in the body to put them to use under the Spirit’s direction.

We covenant to pray for our church, its leaders, and the church family.

We covenant to watch over one another in brotherly love, to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, and to be slow to take offense.

Finally, we covenant that when we leave this location or this church, we will, as soon as possible, unite with another body of Believers where we can continue to carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

When we join together, we are saying we agree with the commonly held beliefs of this church. Therefore, the elmentary doctrines are what we affirm and move forward united.

Doctrine - a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of beliefs

If the Bible is not our basis of doctrine, concensus will be not be possible to build.

The bible must be our guide.

We need to tell others about Jesus and what Jesus has taught us.

Truth in Love

1 Timothy 1:5 ESV

5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

This means we tell the truth even when it hurts, but we do it with a heart for the person not a vendetta against them.

Walk without futility

Hard hearts and tough shells

It means that we have a heart for people not a heart against people

Philippians 1:9 ESV

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

Hard hearts and tough shells are not to be the defining characteristics of a believer.

Knowledge, discernment, love and humility

Philippians 2:3–4 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:14–15 ESV

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Philippians 2:5 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

We did not learn Christ as a self seeking, preference fulfilling culture of elitist.

I hear more about the preferences in music here than I do about our approach to the lostness of our city.

The primary concerns expressed on a regular basis have far more to do with our personal benefit than they do with the cause of Christ.

In the doctrine of personal preference we will see rough seas and terrible waves.

The world should see us as the most humble people not the most self righteous people.

Our doctrine must be that laid out by the word not the world.

The world seeks its own way. The world loves the sound of its own voice.

Let us be different than that!

This is not the way you learned Christ!

Ephesians 4:20–24 ESV

20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:20–24 The Message

20 But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! 21 My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. 22 Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, 23 a life renewed from the inside 24 and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

We seek the way of the Lord.

John 3:30 ESV

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

If your light shines int he face of men brighter than the Lord Jesus Christ, he is decreasing, not increasing in your life.

One major problem we have today in our walk with the Lord, is an over valued opinion of our own thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God must be the most authoritative voice in this room, in any room of this church.

For the Gospel, For the City

Not for ourselves. If too many of our conversations start with “we like”, “we want” “we need” we are too us focused.

Romans 12:2–3 ESV

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Let us be transformed by our encounter and engagement with Christ.

Let us begin to be a humble people, loving one another, unified in our doctrines of the Bible, committed to the furtherance of His Kingdom.

Let us collectively echo the words of John the Baptist

John 3:30 ESV

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Let us be a people

For the Gospel, For the City

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