Christmas ABF Fellowship

Knowing God Ch. 13 - The Grace of God

The Grace of God

“God’s riches at Christ’s Expense.”

No Grasp of Grace

1. The moral ill-desert of man.

-“For modern men and women are convinced that, despite all their little peccadilloes-drinking, gambling, reckless driving, sexual laxity, black and white lies, sharp practice in trading, dirty reading, and what have you-they are at heart good Christian folks.”

Young Life

-You can’t be a slave to two masters!

-Fail to realize that are image is tarnished in the fail.

-Doctrine of original sin…our hearts are evil from the beginning.

2. The retributive justice of God.

-God must punish sin (Gen 18:25).

-Many simply want to cast themselves on the character of God, thinking that God is a God of love, but he has to be a God of justice as well.

-Morality? Where does that come from? Have you ever had a discussion about ethics without Scripture?

3. The spiritual impotence of man.

-Rom 3:20 – “No one will be declared righteous in his sight observing the law.”

-We strive in this place where we think our actions will please our savior!

-You can’t please him by your actions.

-Isaiah 64:6 “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”

4. The sovereign freedom of God.

-We think we are the good guys. And God is obliged to love us and take care of us.

-God is perfectly free and is not served by human hands. He doesn’t need you on His time. But you should desire to be on His team.

Not Earned or Deserved

-Grace and salvation go together hand and hand (Eph 2:8-9).

-Rom. 5:8 – God paid the highest price for us.

-Lemon Lot – God buys you. But that’s not the incredible thing…he pays top price.

1. Grace is seen as the source of the pardon of sin.

-Change from a condemned criminal to a joint-heir.

-Free to us, but costly to God.

-Eph 1.7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will…”

2. Grace is the motive of the plan of salvation.

-God planned redemption before the earth was created. Because God gets glory when his grace is praised. (Eph 1)

3. Grace as the guarantee of the preservation of the saints.

-1 Peter 1:5 “who by god’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The Marks of a True Christian

This is GraceAnna :-)

For those interested, I posted a link to Grant's recent sermon from MY BLOG.

Grant started another training cycle on Parris Island, but hopefully he will be able to update his class notes soon.

Merry Christmas!

Knowing God Chapter 7

Read Hebrews 11

Abel – Genesis 4

Enoch – Genesis 5:18-24

Noah – Genesis 5:29-10:32

Abraham – Genesis 12-25

Sarah – Genesis 12-23

Isaac – Genesis 17-35

Jacob – Genesis 25-50

Joseph – Genesis 37-50

Moses - Pentateuch

Rahab - Josh 2:1, 3; 6:17-25

Gideon - Judges 6-8

Barak - Judges 4-5

Samson – Judges 13-16

Jephthah – Judges 11-12; 1 Samuel 12:11

David – Ruth 4, 1 & 2 Samuel

Samuel – 1 Samuel

How can we relate to these people? Many of us when we open up the Scriptures, it’s so hard to enter into this world! Why? When the pleasures of simple entertainment are so readily available? Why even open the Bible? Because our lives our in the balance! And life is so short. The God is the same that the Old Testament saints worshipped. God is directing our lives. Your destiny is in His hands. The Bible reveals God’s unchanging character.

God is immutable!

1.) God’s life does NOT change!

Psalm 93:2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.

1 Timothy 6:15-16 he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Psalm 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.

Our lives are so short. Story of my dad’s things…that have outlasted us. Trees outlast us. The Broad River will be here long after your gone…God the unchangeable one is here and wants to have a relationship with you.

We need God! Christianity is not a religion where we go to feel good about ourselves. We need God for our every breath.

2.) God’s character does NOT change!

Exodus 3:14-15 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, “The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Exodus 34:5-8 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.

We change. And you become what you worship. Are you the person you want to be? Are you being daily transformed even more into the image of Christ. Progressive Sanctification. The Holy Spirit brings it about in our lives, but we have to follow Christ! That’s our responsibility. Don’t be the same person you were two years ago or fiver years ago. If you are, you are wasting time.

3.) God’s truth does NOT change!

Our words are always changing and they’re not always true! Sometimes we think we’re right but we’re wrong!

Story about LIZ at school.

Seriously, how many things have we said that have been flat out wrong?

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

4.) God’s ways do NOT change!

God has not changed. God is not more advanced. God wasn’t primitive when he was destroying villages. The people were evil and had rebelled against God. God deals with us the same way we he did with OT saints. If you’re hear today, I think the LORD has a special hand on your life. God loves everyone, but there are some that the LORD loves more.

5.) God’s purposes do NOT change!

1 Samuel 15:29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.”

God doesn’t change his mind or his intentions!

We can believe God’s promises!

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Psalm 33:11 The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

6.) God’s Son does NOT change!

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Knowing God Week 7 Chapter 6

Knowing God Chapter 6

Trinitas: Latin for threefold. The English word “Trinity” is not found in Scripture.

Genesis 1:1-2 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

The Bible opens focusing on the Trinitarian nature of God!

But there is only 1 GOD!

Deut 6:4 – Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

God is Trinity, and He demands our worship.

The Biblical teaching on the Trinity embodies 4 essential affirmations (taken from ESV Bible Doctrine: An Overview):

1.) There is one and only one true living God.

2.) This one God eternally exists in three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

3.) These three persons are completely equal in attributes, each with the same divine nature.

4.) While each person is fully and completely God, the persons are not identical.

The Trinity may best be seen in the NT passage Matt 3:13-17 – Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

John also opens his Gospel in the same manner:

John 1:1-3 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Colossians 1:15 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

The classic Arian heresy: Christ is a created being – he’s not. Paul is talking about rights as the divine Son (Psalm 89:27)

When Christ left, he promised to be with us always! – He is in the form of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is our “comforter.” – John 14:16 – And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26 – But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Great way to introduce the forgotten member of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit!

The Father sends the Spirit in John 14 just like the Father sent Jesus (John 5:43)

Establishes Authority:

The Father has authority over the Son and Spirit. The Son has authority over the Spirit. But all three are equal and are God. (Matt 28:19-20)

Divine Attributes of the Spirit (from ESV Biblical Doctrine: An Overview):

The Holy Spirit is eternal	Heb. 9:14
The Holy Spirit is omnipresent	Ps. 139:7-10
The Holy Spirit is omniscient	1 Cor. 2:10-11
The Holy Spirit is omnipotent	Luke 1:35-37
The Holy Spirit is holy	Rom 1:4

There wouldn’t be any rebirth without the Spirit!

Salvation was designed by the Father, purchased by the Son, and given by the Spirit!

John 3

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “how can a man be born when he is old? Cane he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. D not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hears its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The Spirit causes rebirth! We can pray for a revival, but we can’t bring revival.

Ephesians 1:13 – In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”

It is also the Spirit that empowers us to live the Christian life. Prophesied in Joel 2:28 – And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see vision.”

Ezek. 39:29 – And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.

Galatians 5:22 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Believers can still be tempted by their flesh to follow the ways of the world: Eph. 4:1-3…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

His greatest goal is to glorify Christ!

John 16:13-14 – When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Spirit wants to lift up Christ at all costs. We know that the Spirit is in us by a sanctified life!

Rom 8:9 – You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Knowing God Week 6 Chapter 5

LESSON by Matt Wells

Definition of Incarnate: embodied in flesh; given a bodily, esp. a human, form.

People have a difficult time believing that JC walked on water, fed 5,000 ppl, etc.

However, if God truly made the worlds and is the author of life, it is not hard to

believe he performed these divine acts of creative and supernatural power.

The more amazing fact is that God was made man. Read [ Rev 1:13-19]

Movie: of how a man became an ant - - this gives only a slight taste of what it was

like for JC to become man. .

1. What affect does Jesus’ brutal entry into the world have on you?

[Phil 2:5-8]

2. Who is Jesus? Read [Colossians 1:15-20] 1- Image-bearer of God

the Father, 2- Creator of everything, 3-transcendent ,4- Sustainer

of all life and all creation. 5- Husband/head of the bride/church. 6-

Ultimate sacrifice/ reconciler What are some things this passage tells

us about Jesus? [Col 2:9] Christ is human.

[Jn 20:31] Son of God

LAMININ Story… Universe Story [X-factor]

Read John [1:1-18] Who else is Jesus? 1-eternal 2-fellowship w/God 3-Deity/

God 4-God directed him to make all things 5-He sustains all life 6-became

flesh=incarnate. MANY of these themes repeated.

Maker of universe: [Hebrews 1:2]

God being made fully man. He who created the angel who became Satan was now

tempted by Satan. Became God plus man.

3. WHY did Jesus become human, using Scripture? [Hebrews 2:17-18,

4:15-16] JC as a sympathizing high priest. & [Phil 2:5-8]

KENOSIS Theory: In order to be fully human, the Son had to renounce some of his

divine qualities. Based off of [Phil 2:7] ]emptied himself’, ‘made himself nothing’

Bishop Gore: Jesus gave up divine knowledge while maintaining moral infallibility

[page 59] Believed that Jesus had an incomplete view of the OT.

Jesus did not lay aside divine power, but divine dignity and glory. [page 60].

Yet how can Jesus lack divine powers and still have deity? How can he be the image

of God, and yet not have his power or attributes? Read [Matt 26:52-54]

[John 7:16 and 8:28, 12:49-50] JC spoke what God had ordered him to, so either

everything JC says is a lie, or everything he says is truly of God.

4. What were some instances in which Jesus Christ had divine knowledge or

asked a question? [Mk 13:32] unsure of his return date, Who touched his

clothes, how may loaves do you have? Lazarus is dead, fish that Peter will

catch has a coin in its mouth.

5. It’s not that Jesus lost his divine powers but restrained them- - how are we

to account for this restraint?[Jn 5:19,30] [Jn 6:38] Jesus dependent on God

and there to do His will. Read [I Cor 11:3] We are called to do the same

[15:5] JC as the vine

6. What does Packer refer to as the “real-kenosis” ? [II Cor 8:9 ~ JC became

poor] JC was born to die.

Story of the Good Samaritan [Luke 10:30-37] [Matt 9:13] I desire mercy…

He did not simply go halfway, he went all the way. Compassion/pity requires action.

Good Samaritan = Jesus

7. What are some specific actions you can perform to manifest the Christmas

spirit?

Knowing God Week 5 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Knowing God Week 5

Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the LORD our God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Q: What are some ways that you try to obey this command?

Q: What do you think you can do to avoid breaking this command?

At first glance, it seems that this is an example of idol worship. Packer mentions Romans 1:23…”they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

The best explanation of Romans 1:23 is Romans 3:23! Falling short of God’s glory is sin.

The second commandment has always been taken to mean that the worship of God by images is forbidden.

“…or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above.” This is clearly forbidding the use of images of God in our worship. That’s why we don’t have a picture of Christ or a depiction of the Father in our sanctuary.

Packer notes that Christians have historically debated the use of pictures of Jesus for teaching children. Personally, I am in favor of using pictures for teaching children. As long as there are not images during our times of worship, I think we are fine with allowing children to color/view pictures of Jesus.

1.) Making an image of God obscures His glory? Why? Because it hides His attributes! Our God is a living God. He is real. And He is Spirit. What is God’s glory again? The manifestation of God’s unique and unending attributes. His glory must be fought for and protected in our lives. We must not exchange it for a lie! And that’s what God is forbidding in the 2^nd Commandment. This is what God is jealous over…His own glory! God is motivated by His own glory. God doesn’t exist to serve us. By His nature He must praise His own glory the most. And He wired us so that we can only be satisfied when we our truly glorifying God (that’s what we talked about last week).

So let’s talk about some symbols and whether or not they are appropriate.

What about a crucifix? A crucifix is not appropriate because it does not reflect Christ as risen and glorified. It doesn’t properly express His deity!

What about a cross? A cross is appropriate because it doesn't represent a member of the Trinity. It points towards our salvation in Christ, but it is NOT a direct representation of Christ.

2.) Images mislead us, for they convey false ideas about God. Not only do images NOT contain the total truth of God, they contain errors as well.

Packer – “Psychologically, it is certain that if you habitually focus your thoughts on an image or picture of the One to whom you are going to pray, you will come to think of him, and pray to him, as the image represents him. Thus you will in this sense “bow down” and “worship” your own image; and to the extent to which the image fails to tell the truth about God, to that extent you will fail to worship God in truth. That is why God forbids you and me to make use of images and pictures in our worship.”

Which leads to the aspect of mental images. Does your mind contain an image of God when you worship?

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”

What does this 2^nd commandment tell us about God’s character?

Knowing God Week 4 (October 3) Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 “Knowing and Being Known” Part 1

Packer introduces the chapter with these two verses:

Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Most of the time, our knowledge of a subject is only hindered by how much effort we are willing to put into studying it. I think of studying Physics or Chemistry or Calculus. All three calculated sciences, but yet can be understood with study and application with a strong mind. People are different though! You can spend a lot of time studying a person, getting to know them, but you are only going to know as much about a person as that person chooses to reveal.

GOD is the same way!

What we know of God is what He has revealed to us. Remember back to week 1 where we talked about God’s General Revelation (Creation) and His Special Revelation (Christophanies, Messages from Angels, Holy Scripture). We interpret God’s General Revelation (all that we experience with our 5 senses) with what God has revealed about Himself through His very Special Revelation to us, Holy Scripture! All that we can know about God right now is in Holy Scripture. In your personal relationship with God, God will reveal Himself to you as the same person and character that you see in Scripture.

But God is not a normal person! We should feel privileged that He has chosen to reveal Himself to us at all! The President of the U.S. and the Queen of England are poor metaphors compared to the immeasurable greatness of our God. To just be in His present should leave us in awe. In that situation, whatever God chooses to reveal to us about Him, should leave us content.

Packer points to 4 aspects that Knowing God Involves:

1.) Listening to God’s Word and receiving it as the Spirit interprets it.

2.) Noting God’s character and nature as His Word reveals Him.

-We should always reflect and think about His greatness!

-Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork..”

-James 1:16-17 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

-God is good. Everything in Creation and everything good that we experience in our lives is from Him! Everything! But, if our joy is found in those goods things, our joy in them will diminish over time (as C.S. Lewis talks about in almost every book he wrote) because we’ll be searching for something as happy and good as we once experienced, but the newness and joy you felt at that moment won’t be matched. But if our joy in the sunset points to our joy in God, we will enjoy sunsets with increased intensity because our love and joy is ultimately in God the maker of the sunset. And our love for God should increase over time!

3.) Accepting His invitations and doing what He commands.

-Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.”

-Many in the “Modern” Christian generation before us seemed to emphasize rules over relationship. The old adage, “As long as you don’t drink, smoke, chew, or date girls that do” characterizes the thought processes of a lot of church-goers. In a negative reaction to that, the current generation has plunged into Post-modernism where as long as there are NO rules, everyone seems to be happy. But God did make rules! And Jesus reinforced them. But they are not supposed to be followed out of cold-heartedness towards God. They are supposed to be followed because we “seek Him with our whole Heart” and this is what He has told us to do. As soon as you divorce keeping God’s testimonies from a relationship with Him, you are bound for disaster in your Christian walk, because you will start to rely on your own works in a legalistic way instead of the righteousness of Christ. You will start spinning your wheels to measure up to God, and you will always be failing. The rules that God has given us as law should point us to knowing God.

4.) Recognizing and rejoicing in the love that he has shown us in approaching you and drawing you into divine fellowship.

-Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.”

-1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.

ABF Cookout

Knowing God Week 3 (Sept. 26)

PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

O My God,

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,

my heart admires, adores, loves thee,

for my little vessel is as full as it can be,

and I would pour out all that fullness before thee

in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee

Ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,

Crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created,

for adorning it, sanctifying it,

though it is fixed in barren soil;

for the body thou hast given me,

for preserving its strength and vigour,

for providing senses to enjoy delights,

for the ease and freedom of my limbs,

for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,

for a full table and overflowing cup,

for appetite, taste, sweetness,

for social joys of relatives and friends,

for ability to serve others,

for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

for a mind to care fo my fellow-men,

for opportunities of spreading happiness around,

for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

Read Mon Oct 25^th from Tabletalk magazine.

Definition of God from Westminster Larger Catechism: God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.

Packer talks about the attributes of God that can only involve God : These are referred to as God’s Incommunicable Attributes. These attributes highlight God’s transcendence.

Those attributes that are perfected in God, but yet we share are referred to as God’s Communicable Attributes. These attributes refer to God’s immanence.

Q: Infinite in being (Communicable or Incommunicable)?; Unchangeable? Eternal? Most wise? Most holy? Most just? Most merciful and gracious?

Packer here asserts humility as the key. I hope in seeing God, there would be great humility of heart:

1 Corinthians 8:1-2: “This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines hat he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.”

We should be moved when you see God for who He is in Scripture.

As you drink from the fountain: you will find your horizontal relationships blessed! You have more fuller Godlier relationships.

Packer asserts that the mark of a person that knows God is someone that obeys God!

Psalm 119 “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!”

That’s why those that know God, cherish His Word! You can’t claim to know God, and walk contrary to how God has commanded us to walk. You can’t.

Packer poses the question: “How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.

Q: What’s the difference between prayer and meditation?

Packer: “Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.”

Times spent in silence pouring over the Word is when God can speak to us!

Q: Has anyone had any life altering moments already in their pursuit of knowing God?

Chapter 2

Packer highlights this idea of “Knowing versus Knowing About.”

Can someone in the class explain the analogy. Sometimes we think knowing a lot about God means that we know God well. But it doesn’t.

1.) One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of him.

Contrast the Pharisees and the children during Jesus’ ministry.

2.) One can know a great deal about godliness without much knowledge of God.

Evidence of Knowing God

1. “Those who know God have great energy for God.”

Daniel 11:32 “…but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”

I think for us this means fulfilling the Creation Mandate through the Great Commission. They want to tell other people about how to know GOD!

Daniel – name means “God is my judge.”

Hananiah – “Yahweh is gracious”

Mishael – “Who is what God is?”

Azariah – “Yahweh is helper.”

Daniel and his friends seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery…(Dan 2:17)

Read Dan 2:24-45 – Daniel exclaims God’s excellencies to Nebuchadnezzar

Head of Gold – Babylonian Empire

Chest of Arms and Silver – Medo-Persian Empire

Middle and Thighs of Bronze – Greek Empire

Legs of Iron; feet of clay – Roman Empire

Stone – Messianic kingdom

2.) Those who know God have great thoughts of God.

Read Daniel 4

Dan 2:20

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Lesson Daniel 4:28-36

3.) Those who know God show great boldness for God.

I think of Chapter 3 when Nebuchadnezzar built the giant statue of himself and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to bow down before it.

Read Chapter 3

4.) Those who know God have great contentment in God

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

The fact that we are now at peace with God, implies that we were once great enemies of God. But now, we have a content relationship with Him, where we know Him as Perfect Father. Dr. Broggi’s evangelistic tract states the question: “Would you like to know God as your friend.” The Bible teaches that we go from enemy to friend. Please enjoy the benefits of that relationship!

2 Timothy 4:6-8 A Legacy of Endurance in the Faith (Sept 22 at Community Bible Church of Beaufort, SC)

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

After my father was killed in a USMC plane crash, this verse was found taped up in his locker. God had sovereignly been preparing him for death. Just two months before he had written my mom saying, “It is well with my soul.” My father is a giant in the faith to me. At my age he felt God calling him to seminary so that he could be an evangelist. He had a huge heart for the Gospel and the glory of God. On Sept 23, it will have been 24 years since the accident, but more importantly this year marks the year that I am the same age as my father (26). A moment that I have looked forward to since I was a boy. It’s hard to believe that I am now the same age as him, this spiritual giant... My father who was a legend and has been a legend in the faith to me, whom I have looked towards his example for guidance, did not live longer than I have lived now. This month has been a huge milestone in my life. I chose this passage of Scripture for this reason, and also because uniquely enough, the Apostle Paul, one of my other heroes of the faith was being prepared for death by God as well.

Just as God had sovereignly been preparing my father for his death, God was preparing the Apostle Paul for his. This letter was the last letter the Apostle wrote and these verses are some of the last words that the Apostle ever penned. These words were written from a Roman prison in 66 – 68 AD. In 64 AD Nero had blamed Christians for the burning of Rome and so Paul after he was arrested, knew that he faced certain death. It was now a crime to be a Christian (Christianity was seen by Rome now as different from Judaism). He also knew that the way he was to die was to be-headed because he was a Roman citizen. ⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

I think our passage of Scripture clarifies three huge points for living the Christian life. 1.) True believers should have assurance their salvation 2.) What type of faith should true believers have? 3.)We as believers MUST persevere in this faith.

1.) True believers should have assurance of their salvation.

Many so-called Christians today claim assurance, when they have no reason to do so, and those that have every right to live each day with an assurance of their eternal destiny are living in the fear of condemnation. Many think that because they have prayed a prayer, made a “decision,” or walked an isle that they are saved. Others claim salvation because they are church attendees. As my Uncle Keary says, “You know someone is NOT a Christian, when you ask them if they’re a Christian and they point to a church building. The Gospel is simply that we are sinners (something that American Evangelicalism has forgotten) in need of a Savior. And Christ who is the Son of God came, lived a perfect life, died for sinners, and rose for their ultimate glorification. A brief aside here, as Dr. Broggi says, “Not everyone is a Christian that knows the Gospel, but all Christians must know the Prepositional Gospel!” The Gospel is that and nothing else. It is not helping others. Or being God’s hand and feet…as Brian McClaren and Rob Bell and the Emergents would have you believe. You loving somebody in Africa never saved anybody!

If you have ever heard Dr. Broggi share the Gospel, one of the questions he asks is how sure are you on a scale of 1 to 100 that if you were to die that you would go to heaven. Listen carefully, if you truly are banking everything on Christ, you should say 100% because that means you have your complete faith in Christ! To not have 100% confidence is to not believe what Christ has promised and to not believe Christ’s promises is to not believe in Christ! As the writer of Hebrews says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If you don’t have 100% conviction and assurance in Christ, how can you claim to have true faith? But friends, if you are a born again believer, and you have believed the Gospel and placed your faith in Christ and are resting in Him solely for your salvation, than you have every right to an assurance of your salvation. And that’s what Paul is talking about in our passage of Scripture.

In the prison, he is alone except for the physician Luke (4:11), but he is seeking Timothy to come see him (v. 9). He has every right to be desperate. He’s been deserted because of the persecution and he felt that the state of the church was sliding into sin(chap 3). But Paul finds a deep and satisfying hope in his assurance. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Should the Lord tarry, we all face impending death. And I hope that each of you know that if you have faith in Christ, that you can stare death in the face and like Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 15 “O death where is your sting!” Don’t be like Ghandi who said, “My days are numbered. I am not likely to live very long – perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in 50 years. I find myself in a slough of despond. All about me is darkness. I am praying for light.” Listen friends, many of us can live 50 years and hope on something less than Christ, but anything less than Christ will leave us in darkness! Be like the Apostle, and stare death in the face because you have confidence in “THE LIGHT!” Jesus Christ in whom you have placed your faith. But what type of faith gives that type of assurance?

2.) What type of faith should true believers have?

a. When we talk about faith in Christ, we should talk about it the way Paul talks about it in 2 Timothy 3:15 a few verses earlier“…and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” You see friend, our faith is in Christ! We don’t simply believe in what he accomplished. I think that’s where many falter. They think simply because they believe the historic facts of the Gospel, about Jesus’ life, and they believe them to be historically true, that they have faith. I have met so many who believe the historic facts of the Gospel but have not placed their faith in Christ! Many are also relying on works or some simply do not want to submit to Christ’s Lordship. Like the Rich young ruler, the costs of faith are too high! He doesn’t have complete faith in Christ, he also has faith in money and possessions. Almost in a condemnation of our easy believism, Jesus said “Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” What Paul means is that we should bank everything and have complete trust in the person of Christ because of what he has accomplished for all those that believe!

b. Which leads me to this point about faith. True faith believes in Christ for all that he is and who he is revealed to be through Holy Scripture! That means Creator, Lord, Master, Savior, Friend, Pioneer, Provider, Teacher, Advocate, Perfect Priest, Judge, along with all of His other attributes. To believe in Christ, but to reject Him as Creator or your Lord is NOT saving faith! Don’t think that you can know about Christ and not submit to Him as your Teacher and your Mediator with the Father. That’s not how it works. True faith rests completely in Christ for all that He is.

c. In the text, Paul is looking back at his life in a sweeping reflection that gives him great confidence. Just as he has lived his life as a living sacrifice as an act of worship (Rom 12), he is now joyfully ready to give his life as a drink offering sacrifice to the Lord. But he has great confidence! Great confidence in Christ in whom his faith rests. Please draw your attention to verse 7. The “fight,” and the “race” are both incredible analogies for faith. We know this because in 1Timothy 6:12, Paul tells Timothy “Fight the good fight of the faith.” The Greek word for fight is best defined as a grapple or a match as in a grueling boxing match! So when Paul says he has fought the good fight, he means that he has fought the fight of faith! When he says that he has run the race, he means that he has run the race of faith! When he says that he has kept the faith, he means that he has not departed from believing totally on Christ! Paul taught that for you to be saved, you must continue in faith to the end. You might be thinking, wait a minute, I believe in eternal security from the moment I first believed and was justified! And so do I. But I believe something more, because the Bible says something more. The Bible says that we must continue in faith! Paul says earlier in 2 Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:11-13

The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

¹² if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

¹³ if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

Mark 13:13

¹³ And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Colossians 1:23

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

These verses are often quoted in support of the Arminian belief that you can lose your salvation. But what we have to understand is this: those that are JUSTIFIED, WILL PERSEVERE. PERIOD. That’s why Keith Green wrote that song about 2 Timothy 4, “The Battle is Already Won. The Race has already been run. We just have to claim the victory.” True believers know they will win the face of faith. They know they will win the fight of faith because we are kept by Christ.

Jude 24

²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

John 10

“I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. ²⁷My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

Romans 8:29-30

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The reason why you continue in faith is because you are kept by the Spirit of Christ! As John Piper says, The reason why you believe day in and day out is because Christ keeps you!

That’s the doctrine of perseverance of the saints. And Paul in our passage is rejoicing because he knows that he’s persevered and will inherit eternal life.

This leads me to the third point.

3.) Paul’s Assurance is his Perseverance

Paul is banking everything on Christ in whom he has put his faith. But here’s the incredible thing, in Paul’s assurance, he points towards the perseverance of his faith, not his Damascus Road experience. I know many of us, if we had personally been converted by seeing the Lord Jesus Christ, would base our assurance on that fact. But Paul doesn’t, he points to the perseverance of his faith over all the struggles that he encountered. I think many of us, when we look for assurance look towards our initial conversion, and then that’s when Satan comes and brings doubt about the conversion’s genuineness. But that is not where Paul looks in this passage. He looks to his persevering, fighting, running faith. He knows that he’s in the fight of faith because he’s been fighting! He’s been running, his whole life and it’s been hard! I think of 2 Cor. 6

³ We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴ butas servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions,hardships, calamities, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷ by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸ through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹ as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Later on in 2 Corinthians 11:23 Paul exclaims “with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. ²⁴ Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. ²⁸ And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

He knows he’s been in the race of faith because he’s been running! Paul said in Acts 20:24, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Have you ever been in a grueling wrestling match or fight. I think back to playing high school football, when every play is a sprint and also bone crushing hits. Agonizing…or a race. I love to run. Love to run. The Lord really speaks to me when I run. Many of you need to exercise more so you can understand these analogies that Paul is talking about…but sometimes, there are times when running that you don’t think you can take another step. 2 months ago, I went on a 10 miler that went up the mountain with other Marines. And every step seemed to be worse and worse. The other runners on the last couple miles were in noticeable pain, but I was disguising mine. So much so, that one of them said, “Look at Castleberry, he just keeps getting stronger the longer we run.” But really...I was in agony as well, which I conceeded to them when we finished.

To Paul it was finishing the race of faith that counted! Why, listen friends, the test of true Christianity is not how you start, but how you end the race. In Luke 8, in the Parable of the Sower, the seed that fell in the thorns and the rocky ground was not saved. And I think in modern evangelicalism, we rush to give assurance to these types of seeds even when they are not growing. Yes, there are times in Christian’s lives when they may not be growing. Like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, they’ve fallen in the Sloth of Despond. But the mark of every true believer is that they keep on fighting, running, and hoping in Christ. That’s how we know we are saved, when we are sustained daily in the fight, the race, the life of faith. Why? Because the Lord keeps true believers. Jude 1:1 says, “…to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.” In the parable of the soils, the seed that fell on the rocks and the thorns did not grow. It started to grow, but was not kept. What does that mean? It means that some people profess faith, but they are never justified, because they do not truly believe, and they are not kept in the faith and they are not really saved and they renounce their faith. But we know that all true believers are kept by the power of Christ to the end. That’s what Jesus was praying for before the Cross (John 17:11) “…And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”

Application:

1.) Assess whether or not your faith in Christ is genuine.

2.) Look forward in your fight of faith. Paul was looking forward to “finishing his course.” Set milestones for yourself in your fight of faith and know how to wage your fight against:

The schemes of the devil

Ephesians 6:12

² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Know Scripture. Satan will tempt you the same way he tempted Adam. “Hath God said.”

Our own flesh

Romans 7:15-20

¹⁵ For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. ¹⁷ So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

John Owen said “Either be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” You have to have a time of introspection so you can know your own weaknesses and put that sin in your flesh to death.

The World

1 John 5:4-5

⁴ For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Fill your mind with Scripture, not Television.

3.) Use your own fight of faith for your own assurance and rest knowing that Christ will keep you from falling. Let’s pray.