Who You Are in the Light of the Scriptures
Chuck Sligh
May 19, 2013
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation of this sermon is available upon request by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.
NOTE: Although this sermon fit in my number of page limit for sermons, it lends itself to more extemporaneous additions. I skipped point IV. in this sermon when I saw I was running out of time because I have hit upon stewardship frequently lately, but you might wish to delete another point if necessary.
TEXT: Please turn to 1 John 3
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – Did you hear the one about the preacher who was not paid enough by his church, so he took a part-time job as a lifeguard? After a few weeks, the authorities were alerted to the fact that several people had drowned, so they sent observers to see what the problem was. Soon someone started to drown and waved his hands frantically trying to get help. Every time he came up for air and waved his hands, the preacher would say, “I see that hand; I’ll pray for you.”
This little joke illustrates a person who did not know who he was or what he was there for.
Illus – So does the following true story…but it’s not a joke: A number of years ago a soldier went AWOL, but it just didn’t make sense. He was known to be a model soldier who obeyed orders; was responsible, respectful and proficient; and had no bad habits that anyone knew anything about. A few weeks later, he was found on a pier in Myrtle Beach, SC because of complaints of a mentally unstable homeless man disturbing people.
Eventually, authorities were able to piece together that someone had hit him on the head, knocked him out and taken his wallet. When he came to, he had amnesia and no identification.
He had no idea who he was, where he came from, or where he belonged. By the time the police found him, he was wandering around talking to himself.
A lot of Christians are like that man: They don’t know who they are or what they’re here for.
Some Christians define themselves by their defeats and failures. They only see themselves as sinners saved by grace, and all to often prone to sin still. But if you’re saved, the Bible paints a far more comprehensive picture of you, and has some important responsibilities attached to our identity.
So this morning, let’s look at “Who You Are in the Light of Scripture.”
I. FIRST, YOU’RE A SON.
That’s what we read in our text: 1 John 3:1-2 – “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
The Bible calls those who are His “sons,” or “children of God”.
How does one become a child of God? Not by baptism, or confirmation, or joining a church or other religious things. Nor can you become a child of God by doing good deeds, or being a good person, obeying the Golden Rule or turning over a new leaf.
A very upright and religious man by the name of Nicodemus came to Jesus one night, and found to his surprise that his obedience to all the religious traditions of Judaism and being a good, righteous person were not enough to get him to heaven. Jesus looked this religious man in the eye and startled him by saying, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.” (John 3:3) Jesus repeated this statement in a slightly different manner a couple of verses later to make sure Nicodemus didn’t miss this important truth: To become a child of God, you must be born into God’s family just as a person becomes a child to any human on a physical level.
How then can a person be born again? Jesus went on to tell Nicodemus this in John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus said that whoever will BELIEVE in Jesus, the Son of God who died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead, will save you and forgive you of sins and give you eternal life, you will be born into God’s family.
You say, “Chuck, it can’t be that simple. Surely there’s more to it than that.” Yes, it’s just as simple as that.
Why don’t you stop trusting in your goodness and good works or religion, and trust in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins today?
But once you become a child of God, what KIND of child does God want you to be? God wants you to be an OBEDIENT child. Just as you want your children to obey you, so does your heavenly Father. What has He commanded you that you’re not obeying?
• He’s commanded you to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Is He your first love and first priority? Is loving and serving others your second goal in life?
• He’s certainly commanded you to be baptized.
Have you obeyed Him in that area? Do you realize that every day you live without following the Lord in believer’s baptism, you are living in disobedience to God? Confess your faith to Christ by obeying His command to be baptized.
• He’s commanded you not to forsake the assembling of yourself with God’s people.—Are you faithful to its church services and a homegroup?
• He’s commanded you to witness to those who need Christ.—Do you actively reach out to share Jesus with others?
II. SECOND, THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT IF YOU’RE SAVED, YOU’RE A SAINT.
A saint is not some special class of super Christians who lived hundreds of years ago. Nor is a saint someone who performed a miracle or been martyred and declared a saint hundreds of years later. Someone told me the other day that I had the face of a saint…BERNARD, that is!
Well, none of these modern usages of the term saint is what the Bible means by the word According to the Bible, EVERY born-again believer is a saint.
Look at what Paul called the members of the churches of Corinth and Ephseus:
• 2 Corinthians 1:1 – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto…all the saints which are in all Achaia.”
• Ephesians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.”
• Paul also calls believers saints in Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2 and Ephesians 1:15.
So all believers in Jesus Christ are saints; all those who are saved are saints. Someone said there are only two kinds of people in the world, the saints and the ain’ts.
The Greek word translated saint is hagios ἁgios, which means “set apart” or “one who is set apart.” The word holy also comes from the Greek word hagios. Therefore, as saints, we’re to be holy, or sanctified, or set apart believers. We should live lives marked by holiness and godliness.
Unholy Christians are doing more to lead people to hell than anything I know of. How many times have you talked to people who said they wouldn’t come to church because they thought that Christians are hypocrites?
God has set believers apart and we’re to live lives set apart from sin. Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” In 1 Thessalonians 4:7, he says “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”
If you’re a saint, may God help you to live like one! May you walk holy and without blame before God in love.
III. THIRD, IF YOU’RE A BELEIVER, THE BIBLE SAYS YOU’RE A SERVANT.
In John 13:13-16, Jesus said to his disciples, “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.”
In the scriptures we read where Jesus says we should be a servant like Him, and He goes on to say in John 13:17, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” – Being a servant produces joy and fulfillment.
As servants, what kind should we be? We ought to be HUMBLE servants, not too proud to do the menial, feet-washing kind of service. And we should be willing to do what needs to be done, not like the person who sang this song based on the old hymn, “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go”:
I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord—Real service is what I desire.
I’ll sing a solo anytime, dear Lord…but don’t ask me to sing in the choir.
I’ll do what you want me to do, dear Lord—I like to see things come to pass.
But don’t ask me to teach boys and girls, O Lord…I’d rather just stay in my class.
I’ll do what you want me to do, dear Lord; I yearn for thy kingdom to thrive.
I’ll give you my nickels and dimes, dear Lord…But please don’t ask me to tithe!
I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord; I’ll say what you want me to say.
I’m busy just now for myself, dear Lord…so I’ll help you some other day.
I hope that’s not what you’re telling the Lord. Be like…[MENTION SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO SERVE THE CHURCH AT GBC AS EXAMPLES OF HUMBLE SERVICE.]
IV. FOURTH, IF YOU’RE A BELIEVER, THE BIBLE SAYS YOU’RE A STEWARD
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:2 – “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
A steward is one placed in charge of someone else’s belongings or affairs. The teaching of the Bible is that everything we have belongs to God and we’re just stewards of it, and in this verse we’re told that we should be FAITHFUL stewards.
There are three areas the Bible talks about faithful Christian stewardship:
• First, we’re stewards of our TIME.
In Ephesians 5:16, Paul tells us to “redeem the time.” Are you a good steward of the time the Lord has given you? Do you use your time for things that will have ETERNAL value, or for things that are TRANSITORY and WILL PASS AWAY? Someone has said, “Only one life; ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”
• Second, we’re stewards of our BODIES.
1 Corinthians 6:19-29 says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
Christian, your body is the temple of Holy Spirit, and it doesn’t belong to you. Anything that weakens or harms the temple of the Holy Spirit is wrong. Your body is the vehicle through which God carries out His will in your life. If you damage or weaken it, you harm God’s instrument to carry out His will.
• Third, we’re stewards of our money and possessions.
I’ve never understood how a believer could not tithe to his local church. God says your money belongs to HIM, and the way we prove that we understand His ownership is by giving back to Him 10%. In Malachi 3 God says that those who do not tithe are robbers because the tithe belongs to God and to not tithe to the Lord is stealing what belongs to God, and that’s poor stewardship.
But God’s stewardship doesn’t stop at the ten percent. Someone once told me “I give God His ten percent, and the other 90% is mine.” Nope—that’s bad theology; that’s what I call “skinkin’ thinkin.” Biblically EVERYTHING you have belongs to God and we’re just as responsible to be good stewards of the 90% as we are to give to God the ten percent. May God help us to be good stewards of the Lord Jesus Christ.
V. FINALLY, IF YOU’RE A BELIEVER, THE BIBLE SAYS YOU’RE A SOLDIER. – Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1-4 – “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
What kind of soldiers should we be?—Paul tell us to be GOOD soldiers! Let’s look at four characteristics of a good soldier of Jesus Christ in this passage:
• First, a good soldier is STRONG – verse 1: “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
A good soldier has to be strong so he can carry a heavy rucksack and walk long distances and work or fight hours on end and overcome the enemy in battle through perseverance and strength.
It’s no less true in the Christian realm; we need STRONG Christians.
How does a believer become strong?:
> First through A GOOD DIET.
You know, junk food in moderation is okay, but if too much of your diet is junk food, you’ll be weak and anemic. Too many believers’ diet consists of spiritual junk food, like TV and movies and video games and materialistic pursuits. That’s the way to be an anemic, weak believer.
The food to make the Christian strong is God’s Word taken in daily. God help you to feed on God’s Word every single day!
> Second, a believer gets strong through EXERCISE.
We exercise spiritually when we SERVE the Lord; when we put feet to truth and serve God and others. May you get involved in service for the Lord; not sit around and get fat on the Word of God.
• The second trait of a good soldier is that he ENDURES HARDNESS – verse 3: “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
A good soldier of Jesus Christ doesn’t fall by the wayside when the winds of adversity blow. When a good soldier of Jesus Christ faces temptation, he keeps fighting, even if he loses some battles. In the end, it’s those who are strong in the Lord and can take adversity and trial who win battles for Jesus.
• Third, a good soldier IS UNENTANGLED – verse 4a: “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life…”
A soldier can go out into the civilian world, but he’s not of the civilian world. Even in your free time, you’re still a soldier and there are rules and regulations that guide your life. Jesus said we’re to be IN the world, but not OF the world. There are things civilians can do that soldiers can’t.
And that’s true of good soldiers of Jesus Christ too.
> The world can use profanity and tell dirty jokes—but your speech should please God because there are over a hundred regulations in the believer’s regulation book, the Bible, about how we should speak.
> The world can go out and carouse and get drunk and participate in the revelry of their drunken parties; but you’re in the LORD’S army and that’s a violation of the regulations laid down in God’s word.
> The world can be boastful, covetous, deceitful, gluttonous, jealous, lustful, unloving, worried, bitter, envious, hateful, intemperate, rebellious, self-centered, unforgiving and vain; but a good soldier can’t.
God’s people are to be different from the world; we’re to be like Christ.
• Lastly, a good soldier PLEASES HIS COMMANDER. – Paul ends verse 4 by saying, “that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
You soldiers have to make a decision at work: Are you going to try to please your co-soldiers and peers or your commander? Which one you choose will determine your failure or success as a solder.
In the Christian realm, you have to decide who you’re going to please—the world or Christ.—Always choose to please Christ. It might even be a choice between what your Christian friends want you to do and what GOD wants you to do.—Always choose to please God. I could even be a choice between what your spouse wants and what God wants.—Always choose to please God.
CONCLUSION
If you’re a believer the Bible says you are a son, a saint, a servant, a steward and a soldier. But what KIND of each of these are you.
• Are you an OBEDIENT child of God, or a disobedient child of God?
• Are you a HOLY saint, or a worldly saint?
• Are you a HUMBLE servant, or someone too proud to stoop or too lazy to serve?
• Are you a FAITHFUL steward or an unfaithful steward?
• Are you a GOOD solder of Jesus Christ, or a poor soldier?
The good news is we don’t have to stay the way we are. We can choose to change, but we’ll only be able to do it effectively if we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. If God has spoken to you about an area in your life today, let me exhort you to resolve in your heart to turn from sin and to the good things God wants you to be, and then ask God for the power and perseverance to follow through on your decision.
