Gospel Character: 1 John 3:1-10

Please take out your copy of God's Word and turn to 1 John chapter 3.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

1 John chapter 3.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

Before we settle into it, I want to share with you this morning an emotion that I'm feeling.

And I feel a mix of emotions on every Sunday morning.

There's always an excitement.

We've been preparing for six days and it's here and God's people are together and I'm

expecting that God will work.

I feel the emotion of just sheer exhaustion because of the six days leading up to and

it's here and suddenly the service is rushed along to this point.

I always feel a manner of timidity, a weightiness to coming and opening up God's Word and doing

by grace my very best to teach it to you with accuracy.

This morning, I'm also angry.

And I believe that my anger is a righteous anger, which is a rarity for me.

Very few times I could say that that would be the case, but I believe that it is a righteous

anger and it's not an anger aimed at you.

It is an anger aimed at a local prominent pastor that I often speak of in a great deal of ambiguity.

I speak in generalizations, hoping for your sake that you'll hear the truth and you'll be

discerning as you hear things coming from this particular pastor.

I believe that this pastor is a brother.

I think he's in the faith.

Therefore, I love him.

He's part of our family.

I am concerned for him.

I am praying for him.

I hope you'll do the same.

But this morning, I'm angry at him.

I think he's crossed a line.

And as such, I think it's appropriate to begin to call him by name.

You need to be aware of what's in our backyard.

Some of you may have come out of the ministry of this particular pastor.

And I don't mean any offense to you in the process of speaking about him.

Most of us, I would presume, know people who are currently part of the ministry of this pastor.

I know many people who are many phone calls I need to make in the coming weeks as a result of what's happening in the life of this ministry.

The pastor I'm speaking of is Andy Stanley.

And the ministry I'm speaking of is North Point Ministries.

Six churches, I think.

Massive mega church in our backyard.

The reason I think it's important to call it by name and to talk about it is because I love you.

And I love the people under his leadership.

And I think it would be irresponsible to not talk about it by name.

Now, most of you who have been around for a while know that I'm not a big fan of their ministry model.

The idea of attractional church and building the church for the lost.

I believe that the Bible teaches us that the church gathering is primarily for the believer.

Certainly, we want to minister to the lost as they come in amongst us.

But it's primarily for the believer to be equipped in order to go and to serve the lost.

We are gathered to go.

This is not the way they've arranged themselves.

Not a fan of the ministry model.

But I wouldn't want to harp on them by name for that reason.

In practice, they have functionally denied the sufficiency of Scripture.

But now, Andy Stanley is drawing into question the inerrancy and quite possibly the inspiration of Scripture.

In an interview with Russell Moore, who's the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention,

Russell asked him a very strange question, but asked him,

If he were the Pope of Evangelicalism, what would he do?

What would he change?

The first thing that crossed my mind was that first I'd do away with having a Pope of Evangelicalism.

Not what he said.

But he said instead,

I would ask that pastors get the spotlight off the Bible and back on the resurrection of Jesus.

A couple of weeks later, in a sermon entitled,

The Bible Told Me So,

he addresses what he calls deconversion.

And just the idea of deconversion,

that someone could have been converted at one point,

regenerated,

and then deregenerated,

is in and of itself a dangerous idea,

an entirely unbiblical idea.

But I think he's referring to those who grow up in the church and then leave the church.

There are dramatic statistics,

particularly about college students,

as high as 85% of college students who profess faith in Jesus Christ through high school,

when they leave and go in their freshman year,

85% no longer claim to follow Christ.

I think that's what he means by deconversion,

but it's certainly a scary way to talk about it.

He says that it's not ample to say,

Jesus loves me,

this I know,

for the Bible tells me so.

And he apologizes to people who were sent to college with a frail,

I quote,

frail version of our faith.

He says,

if the Bible is the foundation of our faith,

as the Bible goes,

so goes our faith.

And then he gives examples that he states as fact of scientific evidence that contradicts the Scripture.

Things like,

there is no scientific evidence for a worldwide flood.

Or,

what if the ruins of Jericho are excavated and we never see evidence that the walls fell down?

This is called evidential apologetics,

and I would suggest to you that it's not the way that we approach the Bible.

If the Bible is the foundation of our faith,

as the Bible goes,

so goes our faith.

He questions the infallibility,

and therefore,

the very inspiration of the Scriptures.

If God is true,

and if God wrote the Bible,

then the Bible is true.

And I would suggest to you that it is the foundation of our faith,

that faith comes from hearing,

and hearing from the Word of God.

He says that in the first century,

believers didn't copy down the Scripture because they believed that it was inspired,

but because they believed that it was true,

that they took it simply as historical record,

and they knew that the apostles penned it,

so they took it as simply a true historical account,

and it had not yet been canonized,

and so they didn't believe that it was a Word from God,

but just simply an account of Jesus and His resurrection.

He concludes to say,

we should rather think,

Jesus loves me,

this I know because Matthew,

Mark,

Luke,

and John

tells me so.

which seems like circular logic to me.

But I believe what he's saying is that

let's not be too concerned about whether or not the Bible is inspired.

Let's not be too concerned if it's actually the Word of God,

if it actually has authority,

but rather,

let's look at what men who knew Jesus had to say,

which is part of what we do

as we look at the Scripture.

But he neglects altogether

that one of the apostles saw

what we now see as our canon as Scripture.

2 Peter 3,

2 Peter 3:15

verses 15 and 16,

Peter writes,

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation,

just as our beloved brother Paul

also wrote to you

according to the wisdom given him,

as he does in all his letters

when he speaks in them of these matters.

So Paul,

in all of his letters,

speaks with wisdom

about the patience of God toward us

and the salvation that's found in Christ.

That's me reversing the logic of Peter's writing.

Then he says,

verse 16,

of all Paul's letters,

there are some things in them

that are hard to understand,

which the ignorant

and unstable

twist to their own destruction

as they do,

if you're looking at it,

the other Scriptures.

So apparently the early church,

at very least,

Peter was already viewing

the writing of Paul as Scripture,

understood it to be inspired,

as Paul says,

breathed out by God.

I apologize

if you were sent to college

without an unshakable confidence

in the inspiration

and therefore the infallibility

and authority of our Bible,

which is indeed the foundation

of our faith.

it's my hope,

if you're a college student here

and you have any misgiving

about the value of it,

I'm going to assume that

because you're here,

you probably don't,

but if you do,

that we so show you Christ

in the Scripture

that it becomes extremely

precious to you,

that you would be a person

of the Word,

that you would put theology

above all of your other studies

and would have a confidence

in who Christ is

because God has spoken to us

about Him

by His Word.

Romans 10, 17 again,

so faith comes from hearing

and hearing

through the Word of Christ.

Ephesians 2, verse 13,

Ephesians 2:13

Paul says,

but now in Christ Jesus,

you who were once far off

have been brought near

by the blood of Christ.

And then he goes down

into verse 19 and 20,

so then you were no longer

strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens

with the saints

and members of the household of God

built on the foundation,

hang on for it,

built on the foundation

of the apostles and prophets.

He is talking about

the revelation of God

through the apostles

and the prophets.

Christ Jesus Himself

being the cornerstone.

Many attractional churches

teach a neutered gospel.

Many preachers these days

teach a subversive prosperity gospel.

Jesus died on a cross

that you might glory in Him

and He in you forever.

Not so that you can pick up

weekly life lessons

to live a more fulfilled life now.

That is not what the Christian faith

is about.

Not about andeisms.

It's about God revealed

in the scripture.

There is no crown without the cross.

There is no glory without suffering.

You cannot follow Christ

without giving Him your all.

He expects nothing less.

He expects nothing less.

With all that in mind,

we ask that you pray for Andy Stanley.

Join me in that.

Pray for those under his leadership.

Pray for those across this nation

that look to Him for their cues

on how they ought to lead successful ministry.

I don't doubt his motivation

in what he's trying to do.

I believe he's a Christian.

I believe he desperately wants people

to come to faith in Christ,

but he's doing it wrongly.

Preach the truth

to your friends

and your family.

Pray that he would come

to an understanding of the truth,

what an influence he could have

if he would open the scripture

to his people.

And with all that,

I'll remind you that, beloved,

this is God's word to us.

It was written for His glory

and our good.

We would all do well

to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

1 John 3,

1 John 3:1–10

verses 1-10

is our text for today.

See what kind of love

the Father has given to us

that we should be called

children of God.

And so we are.

The reason why the world

does not know us

is that it did not know Him.

Beloved,

we are God's children now.

And what will be

has not yet appeared,

but we know

that when He appears,

we shall be like Him

because we shall see Him

as He is.

And everyone who thus hopes in Him

purifies himself

as He is pure.

Everyone who makes

a practice of sinning

also practices lawlessness.

Sin is lawlessness.

You know that He appeared

in order to take away sins,

and in Him

there is no sin.

No one who abides in Him

keeps on sinning.

No one who keeps on sinning

has either seen Him

or known Him.

Little children,

let no one deceive you.

Whoever practices righteousness

is righteous

as He is righteous.

Whoever makes a practice

of sinning

is of the devil,

for the devil has been sinning

from the beginning.

The reason the Son of God

appeared

was to destroy

the works of the devil.

No one born of God

makes a practice of sinning,

for God's seed

abides in Him,

and He cannot keep on sinning

because He has been born

of God.

By this it is evident,

who are the children of God

and who are the children

of the devil?

Whoever does not practice

righteousness

is not of God,

nor is the one

who does not love

his brother.

Now, over the past three weeks,

we've been considering

the Christian life,

and we've been framing it up

beginning with

our gospel identity,

and you're seeing that

as the new logo

for our church,

the single tree

in a circle.

And the summary statement

that we've been using

for gospel identity

is simply this,

by grace alone

through faith alone,

and the personal work

of Jesus Christ alone,

we are justified before God,

forgiven and adopted by Him.

So that's who we are

in Christ.

And then we said

this gospel identity

is our great motivation

for worship.

So we're accepted by God

in Christ,

so we live how He wants us to

in all things.

This is worship.

Have experienced the mercies

of God to us

in Christ.

We live for Him,

and we're using

the biblical metaphor.

Being good trees,

we bear good fruit.

And I've been suggesting

to you all along the way

that the bearing

of good fruit

requires activity

on our part.

It requires effort

on our part.

And so we're talking

about four areas

of Christian living,

and they are as follows.

First,

our gospel conviction.

Right?

Knowing God

through His word

and prayer.

Two weeks ago,

we talked about that.

Last week,

we talked about gospel community.

Loving the church

in varying means

of fellowship

and service.

This week,

we'll talk about

gospel character.

And then finally,

next week,

gospel commission.

And Lord willing,

we'll be back

in our verse-by-verse

exposition of Acts

following that.

The summary statement

for this morning is

being justified

before God,

forgiven and adopted

by Him.

We worship Him

through gospel character,

conforming to Christ

both in private

and in public.

Now,

John starts out

chapter 3

making the point

we've been making

all along

that who we are

is a work of God.

God has established it.

So being justified

before God,

we're forgiven

and adopted

by Him.

And you can see that

running through

the first three verses

of 1 John chapter 3.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

But draw your attention

specifically to

verse 3.

Everyone who thus

hopes in Him.

And he's referring back

to what he has said

that as God's children,

we do not yet look

like Christ

being perfect,

but we will one day

look like Christ

because we shall see Him

as He is.

When He returns,

we'll be glorified

and perfected

at that time.

But,

he says in verse 3,

and everyone

who thus hopes

in Him,

so in the future

perfection,

which we call

glorification,

purifies himself

as He,

Christ,

is pure.

So by faith

that we're justified

before God

and the debt

of our sin

is canceled

before Him.

And we are granted

the righteousness

of Christ.

We are both forgiven

and adopted.

Paul writes in Romans 8.1,

there is therefore

now no condemnation

for those

who are in

Christ

Jesus.

So,

because we're

beloved,

because we're

children of God,

we're going to live

a certain way.

So don't mistake me

saying that we live

a certain way

and therefore

we're children of God.

We're children of God,

therefore,

we live a certain way.

We give evidence

to who we are

by the way

we live.

And John goes on

to say this

in no uncertain terms.

I hope that it was

a little scathing

for you, right,

to read

from the authoritative

Word

of God.

How it is

that the person

who claims

to be a follower

of Christ

looks.

Verse 4

and down through

verse 10.

If we are

justified before God,

forgiven and adopted

by Him,

we worship Him

through our

character.

We are being

conformed

to Christ.

We have not

arrived there yet

perfectly,

which I will

show you in a moment,

but we are

pressing on

in holiness

toward

Christ's

likeness.

If you are

of God,

it's the point

that John is making,

you will

not

make a

practice

of sinning.

If you are

a child

of God,

you will

practice

righteousness.

You will be

on

God's

highway.

The Greek

word for

practice

simply means

to do

or make.

You hope

it would be

kind of complex

and we could

unravel it

and go,

oh,

now we

understand

what

practicing

means.

John's

not pulling

any punches

here.

He's simply

saying that

you will

not be

characterized

by sin.

You will

rather be

characterized

by

righteousness.

And beloved,

the beautiful

precious

doctrine

of regeneration

is so

being lost

in the life

of our

churches.

If you

are in

Christ,

you have

been

made

new.

You are

no longer

your old

self.

You carry

that baggage

of yourself

around,

but you

have been

made

new.

And so

many of

us act

as if

we've

not been

set free

from the

bondage

of sin.

We are

free from

it.

We've

been given

power to

live to

God.

And not

to

ourselves.

You can

think of

gospel

character

as

obedience

in all

things.

And we

talk about

these areas

of Christian

living.

I get

that this

one kind

of becomes

a catch

all.

We intend

for it to

be a catch

all,

but I

think so

often,

I'm seeing

particularly

with young

people who

have a

high view

of God

and of

God's

sovereignty.

Praise the

Lord for

that.

Recognizing

that God

works in

us to

accomplish

His

goodwill.

Also

being lazy.

Just

expecting that

at some

point that

there will

be enough

compulsion

in you

that you're

going to

begin to

do the

things that

God wants

you to

do.

And it's

so often

framed up

as feeling.

You don't

feel like

doing certain

things.

I teach

my kids

to be

obedient.

I train

them.

I show

them how

it is

they're

to be

obedient.

I discipline

them when

they're not

obedient.

If all

you caught

Judah down

here talking

about the

rod,

it's like

a spanking.

A lot

like a

spanking.

Showing

them the

way that

they should

go.

And it

is never

an excuse

for one

of my

sons to

say to

me,

I don't

really feel

like being

obedient.

There's not

a compulsion

in me

to be

obedient.

How do

I help

my children

to walk

in the

ways they

should go?

I tell

them what

they should

do or

shouldn't

do,

and I

bring

correction

when they

need it.

The Lord

deals with

us in

the exact

same

way.

You've

been given

command,

right and

good for

you,

command.

You have

a heavenly

Father that's

perfect in

all of His

command,

who loves

you immensely

and wants

the very

best

for you.

You should

listen,

and you

should do

the things

that He's

asked you

to do or

not asked

you to

do.

Many people

misunderstand

that sin

has two

sides to

it,

both sins

of omission

and sins

of commission.

Omission are

the things

that we're

not doing

what God

has commanded

us to do.

We're sinning

because we're

not doing

what God

has commanded

us to do,

and sins

of commission

are doing

what God

has commanded

us not

to do.

Many of

you probably

grew up

in churches

where the

pastor liked

to rattle

off the

top three

drinking,

smoking,

cursing,

which in

their proper

context may

or may not

be sinful.

All three

of those,

let's lift

off some of

the other

ones that

are almost

definitely

sinful in

every case.

We feel

like if we

just had the

list and

we're avoiding

certain activity,

then we're

living to God.

Not so,

beloved,

sins of

omission

and sins

of commission.

God's

children

recognize

we have

a loving

Father,

and we

obey

because

He loves

us.

Now,

is John

suggesting

that we

must be

perfectly

righteous?

No.

He is

not.

Back up

a couple

of chapters

to 1 John

1 John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Once again,

strong language,

verses 5

through 10.

Beginning

of verse 5,

this is the

message that

we have

heard from

Him and

proclaimed to

you that

God is

light and

in Him is

no darkness

at all.

God is

perfect,

God is

holy.

If we say

we have

fellowship

with Him

while we

walk in

darkness,

practice

sin,

we lie

and do

not

practice

the

truth.

But if

we walk

in the

light as

He is

in the

light,

we have

fellowship

with one

another,

and the

blood of

Jesus'

Son cleanses

us from

all sin.

Verse 8.

Here we go.

If we say

we have

no sin,

if we say

we're

perfect,

if we say

we've

arrived,

we deceive

ourselves,

and the

truth is

not in

us.

If we

confess

our sins,

He is

faithful and

just to

forgive us

our sins

and to

cleanse us

from all

unrighteousness.

If we

say we

have not

sinned,

we make

Him a

liar,

and His

word is

not in

us.

So very

clearly John

is saying

that there

should be

a practice,

there should

be a

trend,

a trajectory

of our

lives.

Not

perfect,

but pressing

toward

perfection.

Verse 3,

once again,

of chapter 3,

and everyone

who thus

hopes in

Him,

in the

future

glory,

in the

future

perfection,

purifies

Himself

as He

is pure.

John's not

saying we

must be

perfect,

he's saying

pay careful

attention to

the pattern

of your

life.

A biblical

view of

sanctification is

called progressive

sanctification.

It means that

as we're

working,

God is

working in

us and

He's

moving us

bit by

bit,

degree by

degree,

one degree

of glory

to another

degree of

glory,

further up.

And that

doesn't mean

that if you

zoom in on

any moment

of your

life that

you're moving

upward at

that moment.

You could

zoom in on

a single day

of my life

and it

would look

like my

heartbeat.

But as we

back away,

I can say to

you that I

sin.

I sin

grievously

still before

God.

But if I

step back

and I look

at the way

in which

God is

working in

me,

I can see

that I

hate sin

more than

I did

yesterday.

And I

love

righteousness

more than

I did

yesterday.

I desire

to please

my Father.

I am

moved by

His great

love for

me.

I recognize

who I am

in Him

and I

press on.

Grieved

by my sin,

I repent

and I turn

back to

the Lord.

I press

to know

Him in

obedience.

So our

sanctification

is

progressive.

I do

not expect

perfect

obedience

from my

sons.

I hope

for it.

I really

hope for

it.

But I

don't expect

it.

In fact,

I expect

the opposite

to be

true and

I bring

correction

when that

happens.

But never

is it

okay.

I say,

son,

why did

you not

do the

thing I

asked you

to do?

And they

go,

you're

going to

feel like

it.

The

retribution

is

swift.

So John

is saying

pay careful

attention

to the

pattern

of your

life.

Jesus

tells us

how to

recognize

the

regenerate

in Matthew

7,

17 and

18.

So every

healthy tree

bears good

fruit,

but the

diseased

tree bears

bad fruit.

Apples

don't grow

on pear

trees.

A healthy

tree cannot

bear bad

fruit,

nor can

a diseased

tree bear

good fruit.

He's talking

about pattern

of our

life.

Peter

exhorts us

to the

activity of

self-examination

in 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:10

chapter 1

verse 10.

He says,

therefore,

brothers,

be all the

more diligent

to confirm

your calling

and election.

For if you

practice these

qualities,

you will

never fail.

And these

qualities he's

referred to

previously in

chapter 1,

faith,

virtue,

knowledge,

self-control,

steadfastness,

godliness,

brotherly affection,

and love.

So he's

given us a

list of

qualities,

and he's

saying,

pick these

qualities up

and roll

them around,

meditate on

them.

Are these

characteristic

of your

life?

Faith,

virtue,

knowledge,

self-control,

steadfastness,

godliness,

brotherly affection,

love.

Peter says to

us,

don't flip to

the front of

your Bible and

write down the

date you

walked down

an aisle.

He says be

diligent to

confirm your

calling and

election by

these qualities.

Verse 10,

1 John 3,

by this it

is evident.

By what?

A date?

A particular

activity?

The characteristic

of your life?

By this it is

evident who

are the

children of

God and

who are

the children

of the

devil.

Whoever does

not practice

righteousness is

not from

God,

nor is the

one who

does not

love his

brother.

And I love

as John is

about to launch

into a

wonderful chapter

on love,

he mentions it,

Peter mentions it,

in chapter 1,

love is the

most defining

characteristic of

the Christian

person.

Jesus says in

John 13,

35,

by this all

people will

know that you

are my

disciples if

you have

love for

one another.

God,

I never want

to stand up

here and

cause you to

doubt your

salvation unless

that's the

very thing you

need.

I care about

your souls

deeply.

I know many

of you this

room very well,

some of you I

don't know at

all, I'm seeing

faces I've never

seen before,

but I see you

as eternal and I

care about you

immensely.

Be diligent to

examine yourself,

make sure that

you are in the

faith, and if

you will not

repent and

believe, place

your hope in the

righteousness of

Christ that he

would grant it

to you.

So we are to

measure out

our lives.

Jesus is our

great example.

We are to

conform to

him.

And certainly

as we see love

as the most

defining characteristic

of the Christian

persons, he is

the high example

of love.

As Jesus'

hands and his

feet were pounded

onto a cross,

and as he hung

for our sins,

experiencing so

much more than

we could possibly

imagine the

physical anguish

of hanging on

that cross, he

bore God's

wrath on our

behalf.

Wes and Liz

sang for us

this morning how

deep the

Father's love

for us.

And I love

that they

worked so

hard at

being so

precise, even

at the expense

of changing

lyrics.

There's a line,

I think it's in

the second

verse, it

says, it

was my

sin that

held him

there, Jesus

on the cross.

And I don't

think that's

entirely inaccurate

to say that,

but I like that

they changed the

lyric to it.

It was his

love that

held him

there.

Jesus

restrained

all the

power of

heaven to

come and

pluck him

off that

cross.

He set

them at

bay that

he might

die for

us.

Two quotes

from Charles

Spurgeon for

you, I

think they're

both on

your bulletin.

The Christian

should take

nothing short

of Christ

for his

model.

Beloved, do

not compare

yourself to

one of your

Christian friends

that you look

up to.

Do not

compare

yourself to

a Christian

celebrity.

Please don't

compare yourself

to me.

Hold up

Christ as

your example

and let's

press together

towards him.

Aim at the

highest conceivable

degree of

holiness.

And though you

will not be

perfect, never

excuse yourselves

because you

are not.

So as those

who have been

redeemed by

Christ, we

worship him

through gospel

character, conforming

to him, both

in private and

in public.

If you are in

Christ, you

will desire to

worship him in

all matters of

your life.

Your concern is

not the approval

of man, but the

approval of God.

God.

He wants all of

you because he

loves you and

because he knows

what is good for

you.

That includes the

thoughts in your

mind and the

feelings that you

feel and the

motivations behind

your activity.

Don't merely dress

yourself up and

look righteous on

the outside.

The Pharisees

were condemned

for that, for

being whitewashed

tombs, but

inside dead.

Be introspective.

Know yourself.

Know why you

do what you

do.

Why you think

what you think.

Why you feel

what you feel and

bring all of

that into

conformity with

Christ.

Matthew

Matthew 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22.

A lawyer, in

order to trick

Jesus, asks him

in verse 36,

Teacher, which

is the greatest

commandment in

the law?

And Jesus

replies, you

shall love the

Lord your God

with all your

heart and with

all your soul and

with all your

mind.

All of you.

Every bit of

you.

Verse 38, this

is the great and

first commandment

and a second is

like it.

You shall love

your neighbor as

yourself.

On these two

commandments

depend or

hang all the

law and the

prophets.

They're all

fulfilled in

these two

commandments.

Give all of

yourself to God

and give all of

yourself to your

neighbors.

Our identity

permeates all

that we are and

therefore all

that we do.

Beloved, I am

not Nathan who

is a husband

and a father.

I used to

use things like

rock climber and

whitewater paddler

but I don't do

those things anymore

because I'm

getting old.

A hunter.

I do some

hunting now.

Oh, and a

Christian.

Oh, and on

Sundays I like to

participate with

the church.

church.

I am a Christian

who is named

Nathan.

Who is a

husband and a

father and a

pastor.

The list goes

on.

And it

permeates every

bit of who I

am.

Includes all of

it.

Thoughts,

feelings,

desires,

motivations,

concerns,

as well as

our activity.

Paul writes a

very curious

thing in 1

1 Corinthians 10:31

Corinthians 10

verse 31.

So whether you

eat or drink

or whatever

you do,

do all to the

glory of God.

Paul here

suggests that we

can work and

recreate and

rest to the

glory of God.

That you can

drive your car,

mow your lawn,

do the dishes,

fold the laundry,

and change diapers

to the glory of

God.

I'm still working

on the last.

How?

How is all of

life aimed at

Him?

I think we

could talk at

length about

this, but in

brief this

morning,

Colossians 3.17,

Paul says,

and whatever

you do,

in word or

deed,

do everything

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus,

giving thanks

to God the

Father through

Him.

So I think in

the simplest

way, as we

consider how

is it that we

can bring all

of our life

into conformity

with Christ,

we can worship

God with all

that we do,

even in the

mundane things

of life,

that we have

the proper

attitude.

We have the

right motivation,

and that is

that we are

thankful for

the redemptive

work of

Christ.

We recognize

that we have

our very being

because of

Him,

and it is for

Him that we

exist,

even doing the

mundane things

of life.

When we're called

to follow Christ,

we are not called

to stop brushing

our teeth.

God's

God's

God's

God's

God's

God's

God's

glory.

We've talked

the last couple

of weeks about

the member

health survey

that we sent

out at the

end of the

summer.

I may have

been misreporting

how many

responses we

had of all

the members

of our

church.

We had 64

responses

total.

And there

were two

questions that I

want to share

the responses

to with you.

I keep calling

them questions,

their statements

with agreeance

or disagreeance

answers.

So the first

statement,

number 17,

I have grown

in holiness

over the past

year.

You get the

drive of that

question,

what we're

trying to get

at.

Do you

perceive that

you have

grown in

holiness over

the past

year?

Are you,

in fact,

being

sanctified?

And by

and large,

most people

in our

congregation

said they

agree or

strongly

agree.

Praise the

Lord.

I can

understand

being in

the agree

category.

Strongly

agree is

pretty strong,

right?

Some of you

would never

answer strongly

agree.

But a

good high

percentage

agree or

strongly

agree.

Four members

of our

church said

disagree.

They have

not grown in

holiness over

the past

year.

Fourteen

said,

I'm not

sure.

I don't

know if I

have or

haven't.

So 18

people of

these 64

members of

our church

see no

upper

trajectory.

Does that

mean they're

outside the

faith?

Not

necessarily.

They very

well could

be and

they're just

having a

bad year.

We've got to

zoom to the

right spot

in that

diagram of

their trajectory

toward

holiness.

But they

may also

need to

really

consider,

do they

practice

sin?

Are they

characterized

by

sinfulness?

Or are

they

characterized

by

righteousness?

Maybe a

bit more

telling.

Statement

18,

I do

not

commit

any

particular

sin

habitually.

Let's

cycle back

through the

same thing.

Which I

would suggest

to you is a

sign that

there's no

real repentance

for that

sin at

least.

A little

more

telling.

Five

people

strongly

disagreed

with that

statement.

18,

disagreed.

12,

weren't

sure.

35 total