Historical Posts
Hebrews 11:06 Can God Be Pleased?
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Text: Hebrews 11:6
Two Truths That Can Give You Hope
Introduction
A. Even more disturbing than the signs of unbelief around us are the signs of shallow faith in many of us who do believe.
1. Too many are Christians in name only.
2. Too many of us are too far behind in our spiritual growth and development.
B. It is urgent that we take God more seriously.
1. We need to seek God more diligently – Hebrews 11:6
2. During this series of studies, we’re going to take an in-depth look at every key word in this text.
C. In this lesson, we want to focus on the idea of PLEASING God.
1. Frankly, this is an issue that we struggle with.
2. Discouragement is all too prevalent, especialy among those who seem to take God the most seriously.
3. Genuine hope sometimes seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
D. Can God be pleased? I want to present two truths that can give you real hope based on Hebrews 11:6
Body
I. TRUTH ONE: YES, GOD CAN BE PLEASED
A. In regard to this truth, two dangerous extremes need to be avoided.
1. At one extreme is the self-righteous approach.
a. The “Pharisee” is out of touch with the reality of his own sinfulness.
b. Two texts which address the self-righteous attitude: Isaiah 64:6; Luke 17:10
2. But at the other extreme is the doubting approach.
a. This person is out of touch with the reality of God’s grace.
b. He may doubt that God can be pleased by anybody — or he may just doubt that he can do it.
3. When we fall into these errors, we swing back and forth between pride and discouragement.
B. But the Scriptures teach that God can be pleased.
1. The example of Enoch — Hebrews 11:5
2. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” – Numbers 6:24-26
3. “The Lord takes pleasure in His people; Hebrews will beautify the humble with salvation” – Psalm 149:4
4. “Well done, good and faithful servant” – Matthew 25:21
5. The possibility that we — yes, we! — can please God ought to warm our hearts with confidence.
II. TRUTH TWO: IT IS OUR FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD
A. What it means to please God by faith.
1. There are only two ways one can be “righteous” before God. In the Scriptures, these are called:
a. The righteousness of law.
b. The righteousness of faith.
2. Consider the contrast drawn in the Scriptures between these two ways of pleasing God.
a. The righteousness of law belongs to those who have never broken God’s law. To “live” by God’s law in this way, we would have to “keep” it completely – Leviticus 18:5; Galatians 3:10-12
1) But not having kept God’s law, this path is now closed to us.
2) If, as Christians, we try to use the law of God that we’re now under as a means of accomplishing our own salvation, we make the same mistake that Israel made long ago: we reject God’s way of making people righteous (the righteousness of faith) in order to pursue our own way of being righteous (the righteousness of law) – Romans 10:1-8 (especially vs. 3 and 5)
3) Even the sincerest effort to keep God’s law perfectly is a losing battle – Romans 7:19-24
4) There can be no hope for those who base their confidence on their keeping of God’s law!
b. The good news, however, is that God is willing to accept us on the basis of our faith rather than the perfection of our law-keeping – Romans 5:1-2; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 4:3-5
c. God could not do this, of course, if Christ had not died to atone for our sins – Romans 3:25-26
d. But Christ having died for the sins of mankind, a new kind of righteousness is made possible.
e. This righteousness of faith is the hope of the gospel of Christ – Philippians 3:8-11
3. Hebrews 11:5-6 is simply asking us to believe what the entire rest of the New Testament teaches: by faith we can please God!
B. Abraham is the great example of the righteousness of faith.
1. It was not the perfection of his obedience that God counted as Abraham’s righteousness.
2. Rather, Abraham “believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” – Genesis 15:6
3. This text is quoted no less than 4 times in the NT – Romans 4:3-5, Romans 4:20-22; Galatians 3:6-9; James 2:23
4. Abraham, then, stands as the spiritual forefather of all, from creation until now, who have sought to please God as he did: through faith – Galatians 3:6-9
C. The critical issue is trust — if we trust God as Abraham did, then we can please God – Hebrews 11:8-19
1. Trust is what was lost in the Garden of Eden, and trust is what we must return to!
2. Hence, obeying the gospel can be described as “trusting in Christ” – Ephesians 1:12-13
D. Thus, to our confidence is added the healthy balance of humility – Hebrews 4:16
Conclusion
A. It is extremely important to know that we can please God.
1. If not, we’re defeated before we start.
2. If not, we won’t seek God — we will run from Him.
B. Pleasing God ought to be our aim, our goal — our highest aspiration.
1. No higher goal. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him” – 2 Corinthians 5:9
2. No more powerful goal. “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
C. The most powerful reason to repent and obey God is eagerness to please a Father who can be pleased!
D. The gospel of Christ is a gospel of HOPE — it is the message that we can come home to a God who wants to receive us and be pleased with us!
E. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” – Matthew 11:28-30
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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1 Peter 03:15 Why Do You Believe in Jesus?
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Text: 1 Peter 3:15
Introduction
1. In 1 Peter 3:15, all Christians are commanded to be ready to make a”defense” for the reason of their hope in Christ
a. The word “defense” is from apologia, which means “a speech in defense of what one has done, or of truth which one believes”
b. The formal use of this word is used by Paul in Acts 22:1; 1 Corinthians 9:3
2. Peter, however, uses the word in the context of an informal inquiry by a friend or neighbor.
a. Someone asking “Why are you a Christian?”
b. To such Peter says that we should be ready to give reasons why we believe
3. In this series of lessons on “CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS”, we shall examine some of the evidence that exists for placing one’s faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God
4. In doing so, I hope to accomplish two objectives:
a. To STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH in Jesus Christ
b. To HELP PREPARE OURSELVES to be able to do the thing required by Peter in 1 Peter 3:15
Body
I. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS “AN INTELLIGENT, RATIONAL FAITH”
A. IT APPEALS TO THE “MIND” AS WELL AS TO THE “HEART”
1. God expects us to use our minds – Matthew 22:36-38; John 8:32
a. I.e., we do not have to commit “INTELLECTUAL SUICIDE” in order to have faith!
b. More than one person said, My heart cannot rejoice in what my mind rejects
1) A “WEAK FAITH” may be the result of the heart trying to believe in something the mind cannot accept
2) But the “STRONG FAITH” God requires involves both the mind and the heart
2. So it is important that we present reasons why we believe in an INTELLIGENT and RATIONAL manner
B. DOES THIS MEAN WE CAN OFFER 100% PROOF?
1. No, but there is virtually nothing of which we can be 100% sure, who our parents are
2. Yet, we often make 100% commitments with less than 100% proof; flying
a. We cannot be 100% certain that we will have a safe journey
b. But the statistical evidence is strong enough to convince us that we will
c. So though we may not have 100% certainty of arriving safely, when we step on the plane we make a 100% commitment!
3. So the question becomes: IS THERE ENOUGH EVIDENCE OR PROOF TO WARRANT MAKING A 100% COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?
a. There is certainly enough evidence to commit myself 100% FOR HIM, rather than be 100% AGAINST HIM!
b. There is no other alternative – Matthew 12:30
c. Jesus is like an airplane; either we get on board totally, or we get left behind!
C. So the Christian faith is to be an INTELLIGENT, RATIONAL FAITH.
II. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS “A HISTORICAL, FACTUAL FAITH”
A. CHRISTIANITY APPEALS TO HISTORY, AND THE FACTS OF HISTORY
1. The facts backing the Christian claim are not a special kind of ‘religious’ fact. They are the cognitive, informational facts upon which all historical, legal, and ordinary decisions are based.
2. It will be my purpose in future lessons:
a. To present these HISTORICAL FACTS
b. Then demonstrate that the Christian interpretation is more logical than any other
B. TO BRIEFLY ILLUSTRATE THAT CHRISTIANITY IS BASED UPON HISTORICAL FACTS
1. Consider Luke 2:1-5; Luke 3:1-2
2. Notice the appeal to time, places, people and events that actually existed in history
C. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, THEREFORE, IS A HISTORICAL FAITH THAT APPEALS TO CERTAIN FACTS OF HISTORICAL OCCURENCE
1. Not a PHILOSOPHICAL faith appealing to philosophies of men
2. Not a faith based upon MYTHS and LEGENDS
III. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS “AN OBJECTIVE FAITH”
A. IT IS A FAITH IN AN “OBJECT”: JESUS OF NAZARETH!
1. Faith in WHO He was: The Christ, the Son of God
2. Faith in WHAT He did: He rose from the dead on the third day
B. IT “DOES” MAKE A DIFFERENCE “WHAT” WE BELIEVE!
1. The old cliche “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe in something” is inconsistent with the Christian faith
2. Consider John 8:24; Romans 10:9
a. Note that it is not faith IN OF ITSELF that is important
b. But IN WHOM (the object) our faith is based!
IV. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS “BASED ON PRINCIPLES OF TRUTH”
A. SUCH AS “TRUTH IS ALWAYS OPEN TO EXAMINATION”
1. So is the Christian faith
a. Acts 2:22 – Peter appealed to the crowd to examine what they themselves knew
b. Acts 26:24-26 – Paul invited Agrippa to examine the evidence
2. Unlike some religions (esp. “Jehovah’s Witnesses” and the “Mormons”), the CHRISTIAN FAITH is open to honest examination
B. SUCH AS “TRUTH IS ALWAYS OPEN TO NON-TRUTH (FALSIFICATION)”
1. That is, it is open to be proven wrong
2. To illustrate, if you don’t believe Jesus was raised from the dead
a. Use the evidence that is available, and…
b. Attempt to prove by it that He wasn’t!
c. Do this and then we shall see which interpretation of the facts is more logical (intelligent and rational)
V. WHY PEOPLE REJECT CHRIST
A. AS IN THE DAYS OF CHRIST, IT IS USUALLY DUE TO ONE OF THREE REASONS:
1. IGNORANCE – John 7:40-43
a. Some rejected Jesus as the Christ because they were ignorant of the historical facts concerning His birth
b. So many do today for a similar reason: LACK OF ACCURATE INFORMATION!
2. PRIDE – John 12:42-43
a. Pride in wanting to be approved kept them from confessing Jesus as the Christ
b. Today, many do not want the RIDICULE or REJECTION one might face for following Christ
3. MORAL PROBLEM – John 3:19-20
a. Some people reject the evidence because it would mean having to change their LIFESTYLE
b. Today, many people in efforts to justify their immorality
1) Accept only that evidence which supports theories which allows them to continue their lifestyle
2) Reject any evidence which may support a doctrine which would condemn their behavior and require a change
B. WHAT IT OFTEN BOILS DOWN TO IS THIS
1. The rejection of Christ
a. Is not so much a problem of the “MIND” but of the “WILL”!
b. Is not so much “I CAN’T” but “I WON’T”!
2. There is enough evidence to convince the honest and sincere seeker
3. But there is not enough evidence to force a man against his will when he is determined to reject it!
Conclusion
1. It is with these “BASICS” in mind that I shall endeavor to give evidence that warrants faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the Son of God
2. I shall not attempt to prove anything “beyond a shadow of a doubt,” for that is not possible
3. But I shall try to show that it is more logical to believe in Jesus, than for one not to!
4. And we shall begin by examining the evidence that demonstrates Jesus to be a true, historical figure, a person who actually lived!
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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