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2009-06-14 (pm) 1 Peter 2:11-12 Lord’s Day 32 Why Do Good?
This still remains one of the challenges of the church.
Where does doing good fit in? Luther was so concerned that the problem of works righteousness would creep up that he called the book of James the straw epistle, the letter of straw.
Others have gone to the other extreme, saying that all you have to have is faith, but you don’t need to worry about your actions.
You can do whatever you want, but as long as the object of your faith is true and pure, it doesn’t matter.
This is what some Christians believe.
People of other faiths hold the same sort of ideas.
It doesn’t really matter what I do during the week, as long as I pray during the day, as long as I go to the house of worship, as long as I do the minimum amount of obligations, then I’ll be accepted.
People without any religion, or any formalised idea of God, think that simply by being good enough, they’ll get into heaven.
Now, this question comes from it in a different way.
Since we’ve been declared good by God on account of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross, why does Christ require good from us?
I mean all our good deeds don’t mean squat, right?
All our striving is as filthy rags, so why bother?
What’s the point?
God’s not really going to be satisfied in them anyway.
And that is exactly what some people think.
They think, well Christ has done it all already, it doesn’t matter how I live, all I have to do is ask for forgiveness.
I’m still the ruler of my life.
I can make the decisions I want to make.
And I’ll figure it out on my own.
Now, as we heard in the formulary this morning, elders and deacons and pastors for that matter, are to live as though Christ is Lord of their lives.
Now, this is true for everyone, not just those in leadership, or service, depending on how you look at it.
Jesus Christ is Lord of lords and King of kings.
That’s what he is.
Whether I choose to acknowledge it or not, that is reality.
Now, it is far easier for me, life goes much better, if I acknowledge that Christ is Lord of my life.
He made me, and he knows what is best for me.
He desires to give me the very best.
And, he’s given me instructions for getting the best out of life.
All I have to do is follow his instructions.
Sounds easy right?
Look at the confession, it should be easy.
Christ by his Spirit is renewing us to be like himself.
So, at work in our lives, right now, five minutes from now, five hours from now, we’ll be like Christ in our sleep, I guess.
Five days from now, the Same Holy Spirit will be at work in all of us, renewing us to be like Christ.
But what’s your experience?
Is it easy to follow the Spirit?
Do you have those moments when you know that you’re about to make a decision that may or may not have negative consequences?
For me, one of my weaknesses is flyers.
Flyers tempt me.
I like looking at things and I like getting new things.
But once I have these new things, the happiness I thought I would get from them isn’t there.
It’s like what Paul says in Romans 7. If it wasn’t for the command, do not covet, I wouldn’t have known what coveting was.
So, one of the ways in which I find the Holy Spirit at work in me is by actively trying to avoid looking at flyers.
I don’t need to allow myself to go down that road.
I can choose to listen to the Holy Spirit right away, and turn aside from the thing that tempts me, or I can choose to ignore the Holy Spirit, and then face more difficult decisions later.
All in all, it is the process of sanctification.
The Holy Spirit works with our spirits.
Even our sins can be transformed into good.
Does that sound crazy to you?
It isn’t really.
While we were still sinners, while we were still enemies of God, Christ died for us.
Before we could know anything about Christ’s goodness, we had to have the Holy Spirit at work in us, transforming us, changing us from enemies to sons.
But there’s more than just being led by the Holy Spirit to avoid sin.
We’re led by the Holy Spirit so that like Christ, we may show, in all our living, in every facet of our lives, in all our daily duties, we may demonstrate thankfulness to God.
We demonstrate our thankfulness by obedience, Christ like obedience.
Consider the words of Philippians 2:5-11:
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Christ was completely obedient.
So, if the Spirit is leading us to be like Christ, then we’re going to be perfectly obedient like Christ was.
Parents, doesn’t that sound like music to your ears?
So let me address the children here.
Caleb, Hannah, Travis, Jennifer, how’s it going?
Are you guys perfectly obedient to your parents?
No?
Parents, what do you think?
Okay, kids, let’s go after the parents.
So, parents, are you perfectly obedient to your Heavenly Father?
No?
Why not?
Why, if the Holy Spirit is at work in us, do we fail to obey?
Why do we still struggle with Sin?
Especially when we know we’ve died to sin?
Why is it still a struggle?
Well, while it is true that we have died to sin, sin hasn’t died.
Satan still lives.
He still tempts, he still tries to lead us astray with false advertising.
And dummies that we are; we still listen.
This kind of thing has been going on ever since the Garden of Eden!
One of the things that Satan tries to convince us is stuff like: “You’re only human.
You’re just a man.
You’re just a woman.
You’re just a child.
You can’t do that.
You’re a sinner.
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