Boundary Markers: Noble Truths That Set Us Apart
(I Peter 1:17-21)
1. Sometimes people who do not know the Lord appoint themselves as spokesman for us.
2. Have you ever heard a lost person accuse you of being unChristlike because you would not give them their way?
3. Or have you heard claims that we believe in the flat earth, that we discourage people from asking questions, or that our faith is based upon mere traditional superstitions?
This is called setting up a straw man.
A" straw man … is a rhetorical technique based on misrepresentation of an opponent’s position. To "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is to create a position that is easy to refute, then attribute that position to the opponent." (from Wikipedia)
4. It amazes me when people who do not know Christ appoint themselves as our spokespersons.
5. Wed Apr 26, 5:16 PM ET
PHILADELPHIA - A man hired a crane to uproot half a dozen newsstands that were not his and move them to street corners where he had sought, but had not received, permits to do business, officials said.
"I believe he knew exactly what he was doing," Robert D. Solvibile, commissioner of licenses and inspections, said Tuesday. He said there didn’t seem to be a rational basis for where the newsstands went, with one from Center City being transported to Northeast Philadelphia and another from the Northeast to Center City.
John Rocco, chairman of the Newsstand Association of Philadelphia, said he got phone calls from members who showed up for work to find their businesses gone, looked into it, and called police when he learned about the crane, calling the theft of the newsstands — candy, magazines and all — "outrageous."
6. Christians should know what they believe based upon the Bible, not what lost people claim they believe.
Main idea: True Christians do not always see everything the same way, but we stand up for certain non-negotiable truths.
I. We Believe in a God Who is BOTH Compassionate and Righteous (17)
A. God as FATHER: we call on him as children
B. God as JUDGE: we reverence Him with awe
--- the most important quality of a judge is that he be impartial –
--- because we are familiar with God as our Father, that does not mean that we play by a different set of rules from other believers; the church is an "us," not a "them" ---
1. True believers will be JUDGED
(Rom. 14:10-12, I Cor. 3:13-17, 2 Cor. 5:10)
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." 2 Cor. 5:10
2. True believers cannot be CONDEMNED
(Romans 8:1, 34)
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1
C. We live as strangers.
Some of the early American colonists were called, "Pilgrims."
Strangers are different
Strangers do not become settlers; we are on a temporary visa; we are not to become naturalized citizens of ungodly society (world)
Christians do not always see everything the same way, but we stand up for certain non-negotiable truths.
That first truth is: We Believe in a God Who is BOTH Compassionate and Righteous
But there is a second truth for which we stand:
II. We Believe that Redemption is Provided by ANOTHER (18-20)
A. The Word REDEMPTION
B. ILLUSIVE modes of redemption
1. Wealth (corruptible)—slaves were typically set free by redemption with gold or silver….not that way with us.
2. TRADITION (discussion w/former catholic who moved out here)
• True conviction vs. Hoosieranity
3. Inheritance
• At the time of Christ, many Jews believed they would be saved just because they were in the covenant nation of Israel; John the Baptist and Jesus refuted that view:
• "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ’We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Matthew 3:7-10
4. RELIGION
"Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness." Romans 10:1-3
C. The PRICE of redemption
1. Blood of a spotless Lamb
2. Exodus 12:46
3. Mark 10:45
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45
4.
D. God has ACQUIRED us (I Corinthians 6:20)
• delivered from an "empty way of life"
• purchased by Christ, now a servant for God
E. He was "foreknown" or "chosen" before the foundation of the world. What does this mean?
1. The humanity of Christ is preeminent
2. Revealed in these last times (we are in the Messianic Age)
Christians do not always see everything the same way, but we stand up for certain non-negotiable truths.
That first truth is: We Believe in a God Who is BOTH Compassionate and Righteous.
The second truth is: We Believe that Redemption is Provided by ANOTHER
But there is a third truth for which we stand:
III. We Believe the Only Way to Approach God is THROUGH Jesus (21)
A. Many lost people believe in GOD
James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."
B. But we believe in God VIA Jesus
I Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time."
C. Our faith is a RESURRECTION faith
D. What do we mean when we talk about a BELIEVER?
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
Christians do not always see everything the same way, but we stand up for certain non-negotiable truths.
That first truth is: We Believe in a God Who is BOTH Compassionate and Righteous.
The second truth is: We Believe that Redemption is Provided by ANOTHER
The third truth is: We Believe the Only Way to Approach God is THROUGH Jesus
These are not the only truths all true Christians stand for, but they are 3 important ones.
CONCLUSION
1. What do you stand for? If I gave you a blank sheet of paper and said, "what do you really believe?" could you fill it out?
Exercise to do at home….
Write down 10 doctrinal convictions you have and discuss them with a fellow believer (spouse, child, friend)
