ACQUIRED Thru FAITH-IV—2Peter 1:1c(:1-4)
Attention:
33 miners were working underground at the San Jose Mine. The San Jose is a gold & copper mine owned by Codelco copper company in Copiapo, Chile.
On Aug. 5, 2010, an estimated 700,000 tons of rock collapsed around the miners, who were working some 2300 ft. below the surface of the spirally shaped mine.
The mine’s design included ‘emergency refuge’ areas, each stocked with a 2-3 day supply of food, water & other supplies.
For 17 days, no one knew whether the miners were even alive!
On Aug. 22, a narrow search bore hole broke through the ceiling of the ‘emergency refuge’ where the miners had retreated. The world was stunned when the drill returned to the surface with a note scrawled in red ink, disclosed that all 33 miners were alive!
A one-of-a-kind capsule, less than 28-inches in diameter, was constructed & lowered & raised for 22 hours, picking up one miner at a time, until all miners were safely rescued.
The combined expertise of local & international crews accomplished the task.
They had been trapped for 69 days & ~ 8 hours.
The miners trusted that the company, would do their utmost to rescue them. The vast resources of the company & their international contacts brought about their complete rescue.
*The FAITH of God’s people taps into the vast resources that are only available to them by God’s hand.
*Personal SAVING faith, that is centered in Jesus Christ as Savior & Lord, gains/acquires everything that is essential for living empowered as God has always intended!
Need:
We live in a world that surrounds itself with & seeks to indoctrinate everyone with priorities born of the flesh. Christianity is continually surrounded by & bombarded by those flesh-driven priorities.
Christianity supernaturally opposes the worldview of the world at large. And lets others know that there is a settled hope that is in Jesus Christ alone!
Only God’s people have everything of REAL importance at their disposal by faith! And thru what Christian faith acquires, the Christian’s work & influence presents to a world lost to sin, the ONLY EFFECTIVE opposition to local & global ungodliness!
The apostle Peter informs those who are faithful to Jesus Christ, that they are completely/amply/fully supplied for godly living.
God’s people are completely/amply/fully supplied for godly living thru their faith in Jesus Christ.
?What does saving faith in Christ attain/acquire for God’s people?
So far in this series, we have found that,
Some provisions acquired thru faith in Jesus Christ, are...
1. TRUSTWORTHY APOSTLES(:1a)[parts-1 & 2]
2. CHRISTIAN FAMILY(:1b)
Today we’ll find that...
3—A provision acquired thru faith is...
The SINGULAR, PERFECT SAVIOR(:1c)
Explanation:(:1c)
:1c—...“by the righteousness of our God & Savior Jesus Christ:”
Saving “faith” is “obtained” only by means of “the righteousness” of “Jesus Christ.”
?What is “Peter” telling us when he says that God’s people have “obtained” their Christian “faith” “by” “Jesus’ ” “righteousness”?
•FIRST of all, we must understand the meaning of *“Righteousness”—“Righteous” or “Just”, in Hebrew means, that which is ‘straight’ or ‘right.’
•The corresponding Greek word means in a secular sense, “that which is in accordance with law or social norm.”—D.W. Diehl in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology(1984).
•SO, in regard to Christian “righteousness”, it refers to what is ‘straight’ or ‘right’ in accordance with GOD’s desire....“Righteousness” is that which is lived out in accordance with what GOD says is correct, or pleasing, or right, or straight, by the perfections of HIS unchanging determination!
“Righteousness”—dikaiosunh—Noun Dative Sing. Fem.—1) in a broad sense:--State of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God—1a) The doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God, 1b) Integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, & acting; 2) in a narrower sense--Justice or the virtue which gives each his due. Strong—Equity(of character or act); specially(Christian)--Justification.?
•SECONDLY, we must understand that “our God & Savior Jesus Christ” lived perfectly in & perfectly modeled absolute “righteousness.”
?But what does that mean, that “Jesus” lived within the perfections of God’s desire or “righteousness” for Him?
•The “righteousness” that characterized “Jesus’ ” life entails much more than yours or mine would. God’s people, You & I, can live in “righteous-ly”, BUT only by God’s gracious declaration to forgive us our sins by Jesus’ shed blood!
Jesus willingly shed His blood on the Cross, so that God’s people CAN, & WILL desire to live, within the God-ordained capacity of humanity’s ability to live “righteously.”
•So the ‘declaration’ that God’s people are “righteous” only comes to them because of Christ’s “righteousness.”...Because no one but Jesus can fulfill God’s will perfectly.
Php. 2:5-11—“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, & coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself & became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him & given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, & of those on earth, & of those under the earth, & that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
“Jesus’ ” “righteousness” is directly related to His sinless perfection! So He is the perfect example of what you & I as God’s people thru Christ, are capable of, when we fully submit to God’s desire for us.
•It is God’s ‘IDEAL’ that God’s people strive for, yet can never fully achieve, particularly when we are apart from Him!
IF “Jesus” had NOT lived “righteously” before “God” the Father, & or before “God” the Holy Spirit, then it would have been obvious that He NEITHER was, NOR is now, either “God” or “Savior”!
HOWEVER, “Jesus” IS both the “God & Savior” of those with such “faith.” Additionally all people that are saved hold this particular “faith” in common with all who accept “Jesus” as “Christ”, “God”, & “Savior.”
Argumentation:
There is NO place in Scripture where we are informed that there is more than ONE Savior! God exists as Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, So there is NOT more than One God who saves!
2Sam. 22:1-4, 20-25, 47, 51[Ps. 18:2-4, 19-25, 46, 50]—“Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, & from the hand of Saul. And he said: “The LORD is my rock & my fortress & my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield & the horn of my salvation, My stronghold & my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.”.....“He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in His eyes.”.....““The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!”.....“He is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David & his descendants forevermore.””
King David was ‘a man after God’s own heart’(Acts 13:22; 1Kgs. 11:4; 1Kgs. 15:3). He so committed himself to God that he could be considered ‘blameless’ before God.
Isa. 43:11-13—“I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. I have declared & saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the LORD, “that I am God. Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, & who will reverse it?””
Isa. 45:15, 18-25—“Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!”..... “For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth & made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, & there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. Assemble yourselves & come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save. Tell & bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God & a Savior; There is none besides Me. Look to Me, & be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, & there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘Surely in the LORD I have righteousness & strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, & shall glory.’”
Hosea 13:4—“Yet I am the LORD your God Ever since the land of Egypt, And you shall know no God but Me; For there is no Savior besides Me.”
Lk. 19:10—“for the Son of Man has come to seek & to save that which was lost.”
Lk. 2:9-11—“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, & the glory of the Lord shone around them, & they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Jn. 4:42—“Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him & we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
*Php. 3:20-21—“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
1Tim. 1:1—“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior & the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,”
*2Tim. 1:8-11—“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose & grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death & brought life & immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, & a teacher of the Gentiles.”
Titus 1:4—“To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, & peace from God the Father & the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.”
Titus 2:11-14—“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness & worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, & godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope & glorious appearing of our great God & Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
*Titus 3:4-7—“But when the kindness & the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration & renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
*1Jn. 4:12-15—“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, & His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, & He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen & testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, & he in God.”
Illustration:
From—‘Let Me Illustrate’ by D.G. Barnhouse:
•Many European towns still retain the remnants of city walls built during the Middle Ages. Those walls originally enclosed the entire town. But since their being built, the town has grown beyond the walls. With the result that some streets built near the old walls are usually curved &/or many end up as dead end streets against the wall.
•One day, a visitor entered one of those European towns & asked a city native for directions to a specific address. Upon receiving the directions, the visitor was somewhat untrusting of the directions received because they seemed to him to be like ‘getting from your little finger to your thumb by way of your elbow’! So the visitor asks, “Is that really the best way?” The one giving directions answered, “Yes, It’s definitely the best way”... “In fact it’s the ONLY way!” The SINGULAR, PERFECT SAVIOR
Application:
?Has YOUR faith acquired for YOU, The SINGULAR, PERFECT SAVIOR sent by God?
?What provisions are acquired thru YOUR Faith in Jesus?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
All of God’s intentions for you, are available by means personal saving faith in Christ Jesus!
Action:
A provision acquired thru faith is...
3. The SINGULAR, PERFECT SAVIOR(:1c)
1. TRUSTWORTHY APOSTLES(:1a)[parts-1 & 2]
2. CHRISTIAN FAMILY(:1b)
Pt# 3 only! presented 02/25/2024am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Road
Bennettsville, SC 29512
