Secret Church- April 2011

I’m going to attempt to summarize David Platt’s sermon from Secret Church last week on Good Friday. I can’t possibly recreate the awesome experience of being there, but I’d like to hit the highlights of his message on Christ’s crucifixion and the gift of salvation offered to us by God through Christ's sacrifice and resurrection (especially for those who haven’t heard the gospel or want to better understand the doctrines in the church).

How do I condense 6 hours of biblical study into a blog post? Hopefully the video, audio, and notes will be posted soon for people to use themselves. If you want to be on the look out for it and watch, listen to or read from previous Secret Church sermons you can go here.

We received a study guide/book that was produced by Disciple-Making International and LifeWay. It includes all of the sermon notes and scriptures for reference. David Platt is big about backing up everything he says with scripture from the Word and providing it so that we can read and research for ourselves after hearing a message on our own time. I recommend reading through all of the verses when you get a chance- maybe during your personal Bible study time. For it is God’s Word that speaks to our hearts and transforms the way that we think. He uses His Word and His Spirit to work in us and reveal his truth to us. The Word has the power to save (Romans 1:16). Merely reading what a human has written isn’t enough. Please read the referenced scriptures to understand each point entirely. Perhaps this study guide will be available for purchase or download soon if not already! I’ve mixed in some of my own thoughts and phrases, just so you know that this is a hodge-podge of David’s words and mine. I can’t even begin to cover it all! But here's the major points...

Crucifixion, Salvation and the Glory of God

The way of Christ is hard to follow (Luke 14:25-33, Matthew 5:10-12)

The way of Christ is hated by many (Matthew 10:16-23)

The way of Christ is always faithful and always fruitful (John 15:1-5, James 2:14-19, John 15:10-14, and Acts 26:19-20)

The way of Christ is dependent on His Word (Matthew 4:17 and Acts 2:36-38)

The way of Christ is obedient to His Word (1 John 2:3-6)

Our Purpose as His creation and His children:

We need to listen to our Savior (Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven among men by which we must be saved.)

We need to examine our souls (2 Corinthians 13:5)

We need to abandon ourselves (Matthew 10:37-39)

We need to be ready to go wherever He leads (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’ve received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.)

We need to be ready to give whatever He requires (Mark 10:29-30)

                        …So that the world might be saved (Revelation 7:9-10)

The Three Parts Broken Down

The Crucifixion: The Father is satisfied, the Son is sacrificed, and the Spirit is sent.

Our salvation: God reveals our need, God changes our heart, God enables our belief, God reverses our status, God transforms our lives, and God resurrects our bodies.

The glory of God: Crucifixion and salvation are all by God’s grace and all for His glory.

1) The Crucifixion

Consider God’s character: He is sovereign over all things (Psalm 24:1-2, Nehemiah 9:6), holy above all things (Isaiah 6:3, 1 Samuel 2:2), righteous in all His ways (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 145:17), just in all His wrath -intolerant of sin and indignant toward sinners (Romans 3:5-6, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Psalm 5:5-6), and yet loving toward all His creation (1 John 4:16, John 3:16).

Consider the sinfulness of man: We have denounced His sovereignty (Genesis 3:6-7), we have dishonored His holiness (Ezekiel 36:22-23), we have despised His righteousness (Romans 3:10-12), we have disregarded His wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3), and we have denied His love (Romans 2:4).

The divine dilemma: How can a just God save rebellious sinners who are deserving of His wrath? (Proverbs 17:15) How can he judge sin and justify the sinner at the same time? How does he satisfy himself and save sinners?

(Hosea 11:8-9, Romans 3:25-26)

By sacrificing His Son in the place of sinners. Jesus was fully man yet fully God. He came to live a sinless life that no one else can live. He came to die a substitutionary death (Hebrews 2:17, 2 Corinthians 5:21). He died in the place of the disobedient and unrighteous (Romans 5:6-8, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24). The glory of God drove him to the cross (John 12:27-28). For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, who is Christ Jesus- 1 Timothy 2:5.

Just as sin entered the world through one man, Adam, so sin and the power of death was overcome by one man, Jesus (see Romans 5:12-21).

In the crucifixion of Christ, God’s total character (hating sin but loving his creation) is expressed. Does God hate sinners? Yes, look at the cross. Does God love sinners? Yes…look at the cross!

The divine dilemma solved through divine sacrifice: The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God; asserting himself against God and putting himself where only God deserves to be. The essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. God sacrifices Himself for man and puts himself where man deserves to be (2 Corinthians 5:21). At the cross, God expresses His rightful judgment on sin. At the cross, He enables salvation for sinners.

2) Salvation

1. God reveals our need for a Savior to pay the costs of our punishment (Romans 1:21-23, Romans 1:28-32, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Peter 2:11, Romans 1:24-25, Romans 3:10-12, Romans 8:7, Genesis 3:8-10, James 4:4, Titus 3:3, 1 John 5:19, Ephesians 4:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, John 3:18, Luke 19:10, Romans 6:23)

2. God changes our heart through regeneration- An instantaneous, unrepeatable, mysterious act of God in which he changes a lost sinner’s heart (Titus 3:3-7, Colossians 2:13-14, John 3:8, 1 Peter 1:3, Jeremiah 31:34, Ezekiel 37:14, Ezekiel 11:19-20, Hebrews 10:15-22, John 3:5, Romans 8:9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16, Ephesians 2:19-22)

3. God enables our belief through conversion- the divinely enabled response of people to the gospel in which they turn from their sin and themselves (repentance) and trust in Jesus as their Savior and Lord (belief) (Mark 1:14-15, Acts 11:18, Romans 2:4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 1:29, Acts 2:38, Acts 16:31, 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, Job 42:6, 2 Chronicles 7:14-18, Joel 2:12-13, Romans 10:9, John 8:24, Romans 10:14-17, John 1:12, John 6:37, Matthew 11:28-30)

4. God reverses our status through justification- the gracious act of God by which He declares a sinner righteous only through faith in Jesus. And through adoption- the gracious act of God in which he confers upon sinners the position of sons and daughters with an inheritance. And through union with Christ- Christ is in us, we are now with him and he is with us (Galatians 2:20, Galatians 3:10-11, Isaiah 1:18, Psalm 103:8-12, Romans 3:21-26, Ephesians 2:8, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans 2:13, Romans 3:20, Colossians 2:13-14, 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1, Isaiah 61:10, Galatians 2:15-16, Galatians 4:4-5, Romans 8:14-17, 1 John 3:1, Romans 8:16, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Romans 6:11, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 3:28, Romans 6:4-6)

5. God sanctifies us- the process by which God transforms our lives into the image of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, Hebrews 10:14, Romans 6:19, Romans 6:11-14, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Romans 6:15-23, Philippians 2:12-13, Romans 7:18-19, 1 Peter 1:14-16, Ephesians 2:8-10)

6. God transforms our lives through preservation and perseverance- Everyone who has been born again (died to sin, made alive in Christ) will persevere to the end by the power of God’s preservation (2 Timothy 2:11-13, Psalm 37:28, Psalm 73:23-24, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Hosea 2:19, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Romans 8:38-39, John 5:24, 1 Peter 5:10, Ephesians 1:13-14, John 8:31-32, John 15:1-7, 1 John 3:4-10, Hebrews 6:11-12, John 10:28)

7. God resurrects our bodies through glorification- In the final stage of our salvation, Christ will return for His people (his heirs who believe in him) and resurrect their bodies to reign forever with him (2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 1 Corinthians 15:42-57, Romans 4:20-25, Romans 8:18, Romans 8:23-25, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 1 John 3:2, 2 Timothy 4:18, Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Revelation 22:5)

3) The Glory of God

Eternal election- the sovereign act of God before the foundation of the world in which he chose to save his people solely by his grace and solely for his glory (Ephesians 1:3-14, Romans 8:28-30, John 6:44, John 10:25-30, John 15:16, Acts 16:14, 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, 1 Corinthians 1:22-29, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 9:11-13, 1 Timothy 2:3-4, Psalm 139:16, 1 John 2:2, Romans 8:29-30, Exodus 33:18-19, Genesis 50:19-20, Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:3-4)

Global mission- God saves his people for the spread of his glory to all people. We have received salvation and now we share the good news so others may be saved from punishment and reconciled to God. Every believer is called to be a disciple-maker, telling people the good news and spurring one another to follow Christ (Psalm 67:1-2, 1 Timothy 1:15-17, Ephesians 2:8, John 3:3, Romans 10:9, Galatians 1:15-16, Matthew 24:14, Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 10:16-33, Acts 1:8, Matthew 25:32, Luke 24:47, Luke 4:43, Romans 1:14-17, Acts 2:38, Acts 14:15-22).

Go and make disciples of all nations! Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15

We wrapped up the night praying for the persecuted Christians in India- those who are spreading the gospel over there and those who are citizens facing persecution by the government and society. All of the major world religions are practiced in India, but it is the birthplace of Hinduism and it continues to be the dominant religion people follow. Although India's constitution says that religious freedom and worship of any and all religions is allowed, it is not adhered to in practice. Hindu extremists have been persecuting "foreign" religions such as Christianity since the early 1990s, but especially in recent years as the Christian church grows there. Each week, our Global Disciple-Making Team emphasizes a different part of the world and people-group that needs prayer. Pray for those whom God has sent to India to share the gospel (that they would be kept safe, that he would use them to do his will, and that he would be glorified through their persecution) and those unreached people who have never heard of Jesus as their Savior (that God opens their heart to receive his truth and this gift of salvation, Luke 24:45).

This reminds me that I'd like to take the opportunity to mention a BIG factor about Christianity that sets it apart from every other religion that people in this world follow or believe in, and why it is the only true way to be reconciled to God (John 14:6):

In every other belief system, salvation of your soul and being in a place of favor with God is something you must earn. You must strictly adhere to rules and follow traditions in order to be in right standing with God and know that you're going to Heaven when you die. With Christianity, salvation cannot be earned. We are saved by our faith, first and foremost (Ephesians 2:1-9). Yes, faith without works is dead. The works we do show our love and gratitude to God for what he's done for us. We try to become more like Christ and be a good person because Christ is in us and God is transforming us to be more like him so that he may be glorified. However, we cannot do anything to earn favor with God. We can't do anything so wrong or so good in order for God to see us as righteous. Our righteousness is like filthy rags to him. Even when we’re behaving our best and doing good works, it’s not considered enough for Him. Only Jesus was able to live up to God’s glorious standard (Isaiah 64:6). We are helpless in our sinful nature and unable to save ourselves from God's punishment on our sin. We need a Savior! We need someone who can live the perfect life and be the person that we cannot be and then be the mediator for us, interceding on our behalf so that God doesn't pour his wrath on us. Salvation is a gift of God offered to us solely by His grace through faith alone, in Christ alone. It's not about what you can do. It's about what already has been done for you.

If someone were to ask you “Have you been saved?” and you begin your response with “Yes, I…” then you’ve completely missed the point. I’m not considered saved because “I go to church” or “I accepted Jesus into my heart” or “I believe in God” or "I'm a good person." No, our response should always begin with “Yes, because God…” or “Yes, because Christ…”

“...because God loved me and opened my heart to hear and understand his truth. Because God was so kind to offer my salvation. Because Christ died for my sins and through his crucifixion and resurrection I can now have a relationship with God our Father.”