A Confession which Defines a Christian Life

Well, please turn with me now to Acts 24, and we'll read again from verse 14.

But this I confess to you, that according to the way which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the just and the just.

So I always take pains to have a clear conscience towards both God and man.

One of the wonderful things about the Bible is that because it is indeed reliable in all that it says, reliable in its account of events such as this, as you read a passage like this, you're really being transported effectively back to that occasion.

And today we're just standing, as it were, in this courtroom, listening to these proceedings.

Paul making his defense, Tertullus, this professional lawyer type of figure, laying out the charges against him.

The charges were threefold, that Paul was a troublemaker, that he was a ringleader of this sect, that he was a profaner of the temple.

Tertullus was hired particularly for this purpose.

This would be his occupation.

He was a kind of lawyer, a professional man, somebody who was skilled in presenting the likes of these charges against Paul in a courtroom setting.

And then Paul was given, as we've read, the opportunity of defending himself.

He had the charges that all laid out.

Tertullus has spoken.

And now the governor nods to Paul, gives him the signal.

Now it's up to you.

And so Paul makes his confession.

But he doesn't confess any guilt to the charges that are laid against him.

He makes a confession of his faith.

He makes a confession that really has four very important elements to it, and they're all joined together.

A confession in which he comes, not to express any guilt at all, but to just set out his way of life.

It's a very personal confession.

It's a very personal presentation of his case.

The word I appears in it four times, but not in any way that's presumptuous or proud of himself.

And the four things he confesses that form what you might call the basis of this definition of a Christian life,

are themselves today important for you and for me and for all of us together.

First of all, he's saying, I confess, I worship.

I worship this God.

I worship the God of our fathers according to the way which they call a sect.

That's the first confession.

First part of the confession, I worship.

The second one is, I believe.

In fact, we'll see that the two are connected significantly.

I worship believing.

He says, I believe everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets.

Thirdly, I have a hope in God.

I'm a hoper.

I hope in God.

And I hope in relation to the resurrection of the dead.

That's where my hope reaches forward to.

And fourthly, I take pains.

We'll see that that means I strive.

I take pains.

I strive always to have a clear conscience towards both God and man.

Four elements all closely tied together, all forming a definition of a Christian life or a Christian way of life.

I worship.

Now, he says, according to the way.

I confess to you that according to the way which they call a sect, I worship.

The way, as you find it here in the ESVs, is good because in this sense, at least, it gives you this word, the way, with a capital W.

Because that's what those who are observing the church of these early times, they called them the people of the way.

The way of following their leader.

The way of faith.

The way of faith in Christ.

The way of believing all of those things that Paul was going to mention that he believed in.

In other words, Paul is saying, I have a certain path to my life.

I have a certain way by which I follow my leader, my savior.

I worship according to the way.

I worship according to what's specified of that way of life, of that way of pleasing God, which he himself has specified in his word.

And that means that for Paul, life is not just about a loose collection of principles or things which you might regard as important points.

For Paul, the way means an affirmation of absolutes.

And for Paul, truth is not about something that's true today and then not tomorrow.

Truth is not something that may be suitable for today, but then you have to leave it and take up something else tomorrow.

No, as the world advances, as technology advances, as human thinking advances.

No, for Paul, the worship is a worship according to the way.

According to what God himself has specified and laid down and what his forefathers as Christians, as believers, have followed before him.

This, he says, is my confession to you.

This is what I'm happy to confess.

That I, according to the way which they call a sect, I worship God.

That's why we're here today.

Because we're following in the line of the apostle and those who are before him, all the way through the pages of history.

People who've worshipped the way, the way that God himself has specified.

People who have worshipped knowing that God is true to himself and what he says in the Bible regarding himself and his worthiness to be worshipped.

And the benefits we have of worshipping him.

Now, we're not going to go into any aspects of worship and what it entails as such.

But, just again to emphasize that our presence here is an important aspect of worship.

Because we worship physically as well as spiritually.

We come together physically.

We come together in such a way that really appreciates the gathering together that God enables us by his providence to engage in.

Yes, we have live stream.

We're very thankful to God for live stream.

It's a brilliant provision for those who simply cannot gather with others as we gather here today.

But remember, your physical presence is an aspect of your worship.

When you cannot be present physically, it doesn't mean you're not able to worship.

But when you are able to come physically together, you are expressing through your very body your appreciation of being together with other people as joined in worship of God.

This, he says, I confess to you that according to the way I worship.

And, of course, the worship is a fundamental mark of being a Christian, of being Christians, as we say, together.

A life of praise, of adoration, of prayer, of listening to God.

Of coming to appreciate the revelation that God has given us.

Of coming to know more of his will for us.

Of coming to actually appreciate the fact that God has remembered us, to give us the Bible.

We worship him according to the way.

I worship the God, he says, of our fathers.

And that worship dominates the whole of a Christian life.

There's a wonderful verse in Judges chapter 7, verse 15, which makes a very important emphasis for us.

Judges 7:15

Remember the story of Gideon.

And how Gideon had got down to the camp of the Midianites, their enemies at the time.

And he was listening to the interpretation of a dream that one of the Midianites had.

And as soon as the dream was about how the people of Israel under Gideon would actually prevail over the Midianites.

As soon as Gideon heard the interpretation, he worshipped.

He didn't just say, great, let's go to it.

He stopped, first of all, to worship.

As soon as he heard, he worshipped.

In other words, for us, that's a reminder that worship is appropriate at all times.

That worship is something that we engage in, even in the spur of a moment, when the situation calls for it.

As soon as he heard, he worshipped.

Is that my first thought?

When something clicks in my life, in the providence of God,

whether it's difficult or whether it's joyous,

is that my first reaction?

Is that my first thought?

I have to worship God.

I remember when some Koreans were visiting the island,

and were living with us,

partly living with us,

but especially came to visit us,

just as they arrived, having picked them up,

taking them back to the mansus was when we were in Garibust.

And there were four of them, I remember rightly.

And I took them into the sitting room.

I turned my back round,

and then I started saying how great it was to have them at last here.

And I turned round, and they weren't listening because they were worshipping.

They were giving thanks to God

that they had arrived there,

that they had come safely to their destination.

Is our first thought,

when we're going on holiday,

having asked for God's blessing to accompany us,

is our first thought when we get there

to worship God,

or do we just dive into the swimming pool or whatever?

As soon as Gideon heard,

he worshipped.

And here is Paul saying,

this is my confession to you,

that according to the way,

I worship the God of our fathers.

That's the other thing he mentions.

I worship the God of our fathers.

He's not worshipping a new God.

He's not worshipping in a new church.

God has only ever had the one church,

all the way through the history of the Old Testament

into the New Testament,

right up to the present day in Stornoway Free Church.

You belong to the church of the Apostle Paul.

The church that worships the God of our fathers.

What does he mean, the God of our fathers?

The God of promises.

The God of truth.

The God of revelation.

That's who we worship today.

And Paul would have recognized our worship

as a worship of the God he worshiped,

the same true and living God.

Now different, that is too,

to many of the ideas that you find currently

in people's minds,

in the church in the wider sense,

where you have to adjust the Bible

according to what you think is the needs of the age.

Whether it's to do with worship

or what you believe,

as we'll see in a minute.

He says,

I worship.

I worship according to the way,

according to God's revelation.

I worship the God of our fathers.

In other words, he's saying,

the God Abraham worshiped,

the God Noah worshiped,

the God Abel worshiped,

the God Noah worshiped.

That's the God I worship.

The God of covenant promises.

And they stretched down through the years

right to the present day.

And it will go on like that

till the end of the world.

The God of our fathers.

You today as a congregation

have a very rich heritage.

Not because you're a free church congregation

as such,

though that itself is precious.

But because you worship

the God of our fathers.

You have learned the importance

of covenant theology.

The importance of promises

given to God,

by God to his children

and their children after them.

I worship the God of our fathers.

So that's the first thing I worship.

But certainly, I believe.

I worship the God of our fathers,

believing everything laid down

by the law and written in the prophets.

In other words,

the Old Testament scriptures

as Paul had them,

that was the writings of the time.

Afterwards, through his own writings

and other apostles,

they came to be added to

so that you have a complete Bible

now in your possession

as the word of God written.

But he's saying,

I believe everything laid down

in the law and the prophets.

But you notice how it's believing

rather than just saying,

I believe.

I worship believing.

Now that's important, isn't it?

I worship believing.

My worship today

and you worship today

or worship together

is not just a man-made ritual.

That's not something

that's been invented by the church.

That's not something

that's come to us

without having

a proper foundation

in God himself.

I worship believing.

In other words,

your worship today

is a believing worship.

It's a worship

in which your mind is active.

In which your whole soul

is engaged.

A worship in which

your emotions should be stirred.

A worship in which

your conscience is engaged.

A worship in which

your will is engaged.

As to the serving of God.

As to what you should be

in this world

and I should be

as people in this life.

I worship believing.

Your love for God

is not a thoughtless love.

It's not a love

just based on something

you've read.

It's not a love

based on something

someone's told you.

It's not a love

just copying somebody else

who confesses to love the Lord.

It is a thinking love.

It's a love in which

your thoughts are engaged

when you're saying

I love the Lord.

Why?

Because

He has saved me.

Because He's worthy

of my worship.

Because He's God.

I worship

believing.

What did he say?

Believing

everything laid down

by the law

and written in the prophets.

See, Paul is not saying

I worship

believing the things

that seem appropriate

to me.

I worship

believing things

that I would have put

in my own terms

other than

what my fathers

in the Old Testament.

I worship,

He says,

believing everything

in the law

and written in the prophets.

Paul is not a cut

and paste Christian.

Paul doesn't come

to his Bible

as he had it

in those days

and say,

now which parts of that

are no longer relevant

for the age

that I'm living in?

Whether it's to do

with human relationships

or his relationship

to God

or the world

in which he lives

or the church

or what the church

is about,

none of that

as far as the apostle

is concerned

is of human invention

when he comes

to read the scriptures

and therefore I believe

he says,

everything.

You know,

the saddest thing

or one of the saddest thing

today is,

again speaking

of the widest church

in the wider sense,

and this is not

drawing any attention

to ourselves

as denomination

so that we can take pride

in what we are,

but looking at the church

in the wider sense,

when church leaders

deny fundamental truths

of the gospel,

it's one of the great

tragedies of our age.

When you find church leaders

saying,

actually,

Jesus didn't rise physically

from the dead,

that's just a way

in which the memory

of his teaching

was kept by the apostles

and handed on

to their successors.

Actually,

Paul wouldn't have written

about human relationships,

men and women's relationships,

if he was living today,

he wouldn't have put it

in the terms

in which he put it

in 1 Corinthians

or wherever.

Paul is not ultimately

the author

of his own letters,

not as Peter,

not as John,

not as Luke

can write in the book of Acts,

it's the Holy Spirit

who led these people,

as the Bible itself says,

who led these men

in order to bring to us

the message of the gospel

and God bringing it about

to be written

for our benefit.

And because it's God's word,

it doesn't lie.

And in the strictest sense,

the Bible doesn't need

to be made relevant.

Some people will tell you,

make the preaching

of the gospel relevant,

and yes,

I see the point in that.

But then say,

make the Bible relevant

to the age

in which you're preaching.

I don't need to make

the Bible relevant.

It's not my job.

The Bible is already relevant

because God has taken account

of every single generation

of human history

right down to the end

of the world,

and he said,

this word is relevant

to your needs.

That's what it means.

This word doesn't need

to be made relevant

by me or anybody else.

I seek to bring out

its relevance

to myself and to others.

The already existing

relevance of the Bible

to your circumstances today

and my circumstances,

to your needs as a congregation,

the relevance is there.

We need to seek

to bring it out

and understand it more fully.

Everything written,

everything laid down

by the law

and written in the prophets.

So the greatest temptation,

I think it's right to say,

of the church today

is a temptation

to see flaws in the Bible.

Flaws in what the Bible

tells you about

the history

of the Old Testament

or New Testament.

And the greatest temptation

to you as a Christian

and to me,

because of the importance

of the Word of God

and knowing

what this Bible

actually is.

And of course,

you always ask,

not what does the Bible say

as your first question,

but what is the Bible?

What is this book?

Before you ask,

what does it say to me?

You're saying,

who is its author?

Who's written it?

And because it's God's Word,

then you ask,

well, what is it saying to me?

What is God saying to me?

The greatest temptation

to you and to me

as Christians today

is the very temptation

with which the devil

came to Adam

and Eve

in the Garden of Eden.

What is it?

Has God really said?

Has God really said that?

Placing doubt in your mind

in regard to the reliability

or the veracity of God

and trying to deflect you

from the fact that

you are dealing with God's truth

when you're dealing

with the Scriptures.

I worship believingly.

I worship believing

all the things

that are written

in the prophets

and laid down by the law.

Thirdly,

I worship having a hope.

Having this hope in God

which these men themselves,

that's his opponents,

accept that there will be

a resurrection

of both the just

and the unjust,

that's what his hope

involves or entails.

It's a hope

connected to

the resurrection,

a resurrection

from the dead.

Now,

we haven't got time

to go into

that itself

as a topic,

but you remember

how he described

the Ephesians

in Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

when Paul wrote to them

and how he described

how they once were

before they came

to know Christ.

You where he says,

without God

and without hope

in the world.

Without God

and without hope.

You don't have God,

you don't have hope.

The world speaks about hope.

We might ourselves

speak about hope

and there is

a hope of a kind

that is really

no more than

wishful thinking.

You hope something

will work out,

but you can't guarantee

that it will work out

the way you hope

if you use hope

in that sense.

Those of you

at heart supporters

are hoping

they might win the league.

No guarantee of it.

Might yet be overtaken.

But that hope,

that kind of hope

exists

with that

and many other topics

as well

you can think of.

The Christian hope

is not

a hoping for the best,

wondering if it's

ever going to come about.

The Christian hope

is that positive hope,

that hope

that will never be put to shame,

that will never be denied.

The hope

that is connected

to the resurrection

of Christ

and therefore

to the resurrection

of his people

joined to him.

Having this hope

in God

that there will be

a resurrection

of both the just

and the unjust.

You see,

our hope

has to be based

on something

absolutely solid.

A foundation

that's not going

to change,

not going to move

as the events

of history

or the providence

of your life moves.

Your hope

has to be something

connected firmly

to an unchanging,

unchangeable foundation.

And the Christian hope

is that.

Because it's connected with,

it's based upon

the reality of Christ.

the reality of his death,

the reality of his resurrection

particularly.

And through faith in him,

you believe the Bible

when it tells you,

because of your connection

believingly to him,

everything

that God assures you

will take place yet

is in fact established already.

There will be a resurrection,

Paul says,

of the just

and the unjust.

And all the way

through Paul's writings

and did through

the whole New Testament,

you find that

as very central

to the preaching

of the apostles.

The doctrine

of the resurrection.

Now we make a lot

of the doctrine

of the death of Christ.

Of course we do.

Our salvation

is based upon that.

But not without

the resurrection

equally so.

if Jesus,

as Paul put it

in 1 Corinthians 15,

I remember going through

this with you

during the final part

of my time here

with you,

went through

1 Corinthians 15,

that wonderful

detailed

exposition

of the doctrine

of the resurrection.

Remember how Paul

put it there.

If

there is no

resurrection

of the dead,

then Christ

is not risen.

You discount

the whole idea

of resurrection,

therefore Christ

is still dead.

And if Christ

is not risen,

we have no hope.

If Christ

is not risen,

we are still,

he says,

in our sins.

Just awaiting

the judgment

of God.

But he says,

now that Christ

is risen

from the dead,

you have

a hope

of eternal life.

A positive

affirmation

and hope

that that will

be your portion

in eternity.

Is that your

hope today?

Don't tell me

you're here

just hoping

for the best

that somehow

things will

work out

all right.

That somehow

at the end

of your life

and as you

come from

this life

into eternity,

somehow,

maybe you don't

know how,

but somehow

things will

work out

positively for you.

that's not

hope.

That's not

hope.

That's just

wishing for

the best

and not

sure if it

will happen.

That's just

taking your

chances,

as the world

would put it.

That's not

the hope

of the gospel.

Your hope

is through

faith in

Christ,

based upon

him,

based on

his resurrection

and looking

forward to

being raised

with him

from the

dead.

Isn't that

your hope?

Isn't that

at the center

of your

Christian life

and thinking

today?

What Paul

is saying,

this is,

I worship

God,

I worship

believingly,

having this

hope in

God,

so I

always take

pains.

The fourth

thing,

I always

take pains

to have a

clear conscience

towards both

God and

man.

man.

In other

words,

in his

definition of

a Christian

life,

Paul doesn't

leave out

his conscience.

Paul doesn't

say,

well,

I just

go about

doing my

best,

but I'm

not too

concerned

about it.

I'm not

too concerned

about what

my conscience

is saying.

I'm not

too concerned

about distinguishing

right from

wrong or being

too strict

about those

things.

No,

the language

Paul is

using here

actually,

it's interesting,

I always

take pains.

It's a

word connected

with the

strivings of

an athlete,

either in

training or

in the actual

race or

activity that

the athlete

is involved

with.

And Paul

frequently

actually took

some illustrations

from the

world of

athletics.

And he's

using this

word of

athletes in

their training

or in

their exercise

or running

as an

athlete.

This he

says is,

what I'm

like spiritually,

as surely

as an

athlete takes

pains,

strenuously

strives on

day by day

to improve

on their

performance.

That's how I

am as a

Christian.

I take

pains with

what?

With my

conscience.

And it's

not enough

for Paul

to say,

I take

pains in

regard to

my conscience

between

myself and

God.

That is

ultimately

the case

for him.

But he's

saying I

take pains

to have

a clear

conscience

toward

both

God

and

man.

He's

not

leaving

out

his

relationships

with his

fellow

human

beings.

It's

not enough

for him

to say,

I'm

persuaded

my

conscience

is clean

between

myself

and

God

irrespective

of how

I live

in relation

to other

people.

He said

I need

a clear

conscience

in all

my

relationships

with my

fellow

human

beings.

I need

to make

sure that

my

conscience

is

clean.

I need

to attend

to the

things that

I know

are still

wrong in

my life.

I need

to attend

to how

I speak

to people.

I need

to attend

to how

I react

to people,

how I

respond

to people

because I

need to

keep a

clear

conscience

between

God,

between

myself and

God and

myself and

man.

And we

need to

keep both

of these

in place.

Clear

conscience.

I

worship.

I

worship

believingly.

I have

a hope

connected

to

resurrection.

I

take

pains.

I

strive.

I

strive to

have a

clear

conscience

towards

both

God

and

man.

Now

every one

of us,

myself

included,

comes

very far

short

in each

and all

of these

four

concepts.

Our

worship is

never what

it should

be.

It's

never as

pure as

it should

be,

personally,

individually,

even

collectively.

our

believing is

never

without

some

doubt

or other

creeping

in,

not into

the

believing

itself,

but to

accompany

my

believing.

And

sometimes

we have

to come

and ask

God's

forgiveness

for our

slowness to

believe what

he says

in his

word.

And I

have a

hope.

It's not

a hope

that's

undisturbed

some of

the time.

So I

have

questions

and doubts

creeping in.

And I

keep a

clear

conscience.

I

strive.

But every

day I

need to

come to

God and

say,

Lord,

forgive me.

I have

not striven

the way I

should to

keep my

conscience

clean today.

But you

know what?

Your

worship,

your

believing,

your

hope,

you're

taking

pains.

All the

things that

you confess

are still

wrong are

all to be

brought under

the provision

of Jesus

Christ.

Because God

will accept

you with

all your

faults and

mine when

Christ is

your covering,

when Christ

is your

Savior,

when God

sees you

through

Christ

himself,

related to

him,

him,

so you

stand

before

him,

judicially

as if

you've

never

sinned,

and

actually

in a

way that

still goes

on being

sanctified,

till you

come to

be glorified.

Worship,

believing,

having a

hope,

and taking

pains with

your conscience.

May God

bless these

thoughts on

his word

to us

today.

We're

going to

sing in

conclusion

now from

Psalm 62,

Psalm

number 62

in the

Scottish

Psalter,

to the

tune Amazing

Grace,

verses 5

to 8.

Psalm 62

Psalms 62:5–8

verses 5

to 8

of Psalm

62,

my soul

wait thou

with

patience.

my soul

wait thou

with

patience

upon

thy God

alone

On Him dependeth all my hope and expectation.

He only my salvation is, and my strong rock is He.

He only is my sure defense, I shall not live at He.

In God my glory place it is, and my salvation sure.

In God the rock is of my strength, my refuge most secure.

Ye people, place your confidence in Him continually.

Before Him pour, be out your heart.

God is our refuge high.

Please allow me to get to the main door after the benediction.

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.