Dale Partridge - July 22, 2020


Real Christianity #103： Can Christian Disobedience Prevent Salvation？


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18 minutes

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2,834

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193

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Transcript

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00:00:00.000 Welcome to this episode of Real Christianity. My name is Dale Partridge, where each week
00:00:13.120 I offer 15-20 minute answers to tough theological and pastoral questions. This is a 100% listener
00:00:20.600 supported audio ministry of relearn.org. And for those who don't know, our mission at relearn.org
00:00:27.500 is to educate and equip ordinary Christians to plant biblical, confessional, and missional
00:00:33.380 house churches.
00:00:34.680 For more information, just visit relearn.org forward slash house.
00:00:39.700 Okay, have you ever feared that your inability to obey God's word would lead to the failing
00:00:49.540 of your faith?
00:00:51.240 Have you ever worried that you're not obeying enough to please God?
00:00:57.160 Now, I know that this is a very real concern for many people.
00:01:01.980 This has been an issue that I've had to deal with in my own life in the past.
00:01:06.440 But we're going to unpack this important discussion in just a minute.
00:01:10.480 But before we begin, I want to talk about house church just for a second here.
00:01:15.820 For those that are interested in exploring the idea of planting or starting or being a part of a biblical house church,
00:01:21.940 I want you guys to consider picking up a copy of a book that I wrote along with our Theological
00:01:28.060 Advisory Board. It's titled House Church, and the subtitle of this book is really not actually a
00:01:35.080 book. It's more of a document that goes over the theological convictions, the order, the liturgy,
00:01:42.040 the structure, the doctrines of what a biblical house church really looks like, the theological
00:01:48.940 nuts and bolts of a gathering because getting together with a few Christians and their Bibles
00:01:54.660 isn't necessarily a church. Now in this little booklet, you'll understand and learn what does
00:02:01.780 make up a church and how do we do that according to scripture? How do we gather according to
00:02:06.720 scripture? So it's a great little book. It's very cheap. I think it's between 10 and 15 bucks.
00:02:11.200 You can buy that on our site again at relearn.org forward slash house. Again, that's relearn.org
00:02:17.880 forward slash house. Second thing I want to mention is if you are struggling with
00:02:24.540 a habitual use of pornography, you're looking at it over and over again, and you want to be
00:02:32.860 set free. You're ready to be set free from the bondage of pornography. There's a great resource
00:02:39.620 that we've created. It's a gospel-centered resource. If you or anybody you know is struggling
00:02:44.460 with pornography, consider checking it out at standinvictory.org. Again, that's standinvictory.org.
00:02:53.020 All right. Today's question is from Henry in San Diego. He asks, Pastor Dale, I feel like I'm
00:02:59.600 drowning in temptation. And while I fight back with morning devotion and worship and prayer,
00:03:05.720 some days I feel like I'm just going to give in to my sin and fail God. I want to be obedient,
00:03:12.580 but I feel like I don't have what it takes to keep God's commandments.
00:03:16.660 How can I ensure that I'll stand strong and not fall out of God's will?
00:03:22.480 Okay, thank you for this question, Henry.
00:03:27.040 I'm hoping that you're listening to this episode.
00:03:29.620 I think this is actually a common concern among Christians.
00:03:34.280 However, I don't think this is a practical question,
00:03:37.600 Meaning, I don't think what you need is a list of scriptures that'll help you stay in God's will, as you have put it.
00:03:45.620 I think this is more of a theological issue.
00:03:48.900 Now, I could be wrong, but I think you might be, might be, operating under an incorrect understanding of the gospel.
00:03:57.360 Now, I could be wrong, as I said, but just stay with me for a second.
00:03:59.740 I say that because you said, quote, I feel like I don't have what it takes to keep God's commandments.
00:04:08.920 So first, that's absolutely true.
00:04:12.440 You don't have what it takes to keep God's commandments.
00:04:15.420 Nobody has what it takes to keep God's commandments.
00:04:18.960 In fact, I would say that the central purpose of God's law in the Old Testament was to make people realize,
00:04:26.220 or his people realize that they are unable to meet its demands and their obvious need for a savior
00:04:34.500 because they couldn't keep the law. They needed somebody that could. But this is, you know,
00:04:39.280 actually the beauty of the gospel, right? We're not saved by our ability to keep God's commandments
00:04:44.300 and maintain a holy life. We're saved by Jesus's ability to keep all the commandments and by his
00:04:51.920 holy life, right? And by faith, you know, our faith, God has attributed or imputed Jesus's
00:05:01.360 perfect righteousness and holiness to us who believe forever. Okay. That word is important
00:05:08.220 forever. In other words, we're going to sin and fail and fall, but that doesn't change the status
00:05:14.880 of our salvation because our salvation is not dependent upon the fickleness of man,
00:05:19.820 but on the perfectness of Christ. Okay, so to say that another way, we don't need to fear that our
00:05:27.860 failing character will threaten our salvation because our salvation isn't founded upon our
00:05:33.560 character. It's founded upon the character of Christ. Now, you might be wondering, okay, Dale,
00:05:40.200 are you being licentious here? You know, are you just kind of permitting, you know, unholy behavior?
00:05:46.060 Uh, you know, I'm just saying, I'm just saying, you know, I'm not saying go do whatever you want
00:05:52.600 because your righteousness is in Christ and not in yourselves. That's not what I'm saying.
00:05:56.180 Uh, because the truth is you actually could do that. Um, you could keep doing what you want and
00:06:01.720 it wouldn't change your salvation. If you're a born again, Christian, you can sin and it would 0.86
00:06:05.960 have no effect on your status as a child of God. Romans eight one even says there is therefore now 0.56
00:06:11.360 no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, just because we can doesn't mean we
00:06:19.560 should. And this is exactly the reason why Paul said in Romans 6, 1 through 2, he says,
00:06:26.340 are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Let me stop there for a second. Because it will
00:06:32.480 abound, the grace will abound. But then verse 2 says, certainly not. Paul is teaching us something
00:06:38.880 really important here. And pay attention for those that are listening, especially Henry.
00:06:44.260 Hopefully you're listening here. Pay attention. Paul is saying that the reason Christians
00:06:49.600 shouldn't sin is not because we fear that if we do, we will fail to meet the standard of God's law.
00:06:57.980 That's not the motivating factor. We don't sin because it would be ignoring the abundant mercy
00:07:05.700 and grace that we received through God's love. In other words, born-again Christians aren't
00:07:12.980 motivated by the fear and the law. We're motivated by the grace and the love. We don't fear that
00:07:22.000 we're not enough. We know that we're not enough, and that's okay because we also know that Christ
00:07:29.580 is enough and it's his righteousness that we stand upon, not our own. Now, this doesn't mean
00:07:37.760 that God doesn't call his children to walk in obedience to his commands. He does. He calls for
00:07:43.140 holy living. But our obedience is not what saves us. I really like what Charles Spurgeon once said.
00:07:50.140 He says, obedience is not the root of salvation, but it is its fruit, right? Saved people obey
00:07:58.100 God. That's what they do. It's an evidence of that. Not perfectly, but there is an obvious
00:08:04.440 evidential fruit in their life. Additionally, I would say they do not obey God because they
00:08:13.400 need to. They obey God because they want to, which is going to lead to my second point.
00:08:18.840 I want you just to pay attention because this really addresses an important part of this
00:08:26.680 question that Henry asked. I heard this tone, Henry, of concern for your ability to obey.
00:08:35.580 And your concern is a good thing. It's evidence of a heart that wants to please God. But your worry
00:08:41.420 that you're not equipped with the ability to maintain obedience is what I think out of step
00:08:48.720 with what the scriptures teaches us in the matter. Let me explain. When a Christian is born again,
00:08:53.900 They're sealed for redemption.
00:08:57.020 Romans 8.30 says,
00:08:58.480 And for those whom he predestined, he also called.
00:09:01.940 And those whom he called, he also justified.
00:09:05.260 And those whom he justified, he also glorified.
00:09:08.660 There is an unbreakable chain of redemption.
00:09:11.840 These are events, right, in eternal history, right?
00:09:16.120 Predestined, called, you come to faith, justified, glorified, right?
00:09:21.800 this is like a chain link together. If you're saved, if you're part of that first chain link,
00:09:28.040 then you will be saved forever. This is why Jesus can promise you eternal life. If your salvation
00:09:34.300 could be lost or if it was dependent upon your works to keep you saved, he couldn't promise
00:09:41.060 eternal life. John 10, 28, Jesus says, I give them eternal life and they will never perish
00:09:49.880 and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
00:09:53.100 Just sit on that for a second.
00:09:54.760 They will never perish.
00:09:56.220 You can rest in the fact that you're not going to find yourself
00:10:02.120 outside of God's salvific power with your disobedience
00:10:07.360 if you're truly born again.
00:10:09.760 But God doesn't just promise us eternal life.
00:10:12.320 He also promises that we'll be made by sanctification of the Spirit
00:10:17.600 to be like his son, Jesus.
00:10:19.940 Philippians 1.6 says,
00:10:21.920 And I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
00:10:29.300 So again, this idea that Jesus, that God is the starter or the initiator of your faith,
00:10:34.640 he who began a good work in you will take it to its completion, right?
00:10:38.760 He's the author and the finisher of your faith.
00:10:41.080 So I want to make an important point here.
00:10:43.640 In the new covenant, God does not merely command obedience.
00:10:47.860 He gives it.
00:10:49.080 right? It's a fruit of those who are saved. Now, anyone can modify their behavior to be in
00:10:54.840 alignment with God's commands. That's what the Pharisees did. It's self-righteous and therefore
00:10:59.240 sinful, however, okay, when you're just doing it to be in alignment. But only those that are
00:11:05.480 actually in Christ can produce obedience that pleases God because it's actually driven by
00:11:10.320 love. It's driven by the Holy Spirit. And I would say, in fact, outside of your faith in Christ,
00:11:16.600 you and I can't produce God-glorifying obedience. Again, this is what's seen in the Pharisees,
00:11:23.140 right? They're not doing God-glorifying obedience. Outside of our faith in Christ,
00:11:28.280 any act of obedience, just hear me on this, outside of our faith in Christ, any act of
00:11:34.480 obedience is done from self-righteousness, which is sinful, which is why Paul says in Romans 14,
00:11:39.880 23, for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. And it's why Isaiah 64, 6 says,
00:11:49.200 even our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment to God. The only earthly obedience
00:11:54.620 that is accepted by God is the obedience accomplished by those in Christ who are
00:12:00.120 operating by the Spirit. In Deuteronomy 30, verse 6, God spoke about the new covenant
00:12:08.320 that would eventually come to pass. He said, and I'm going to quote here,
00:12:14.140 the Lord, your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring. So he's going to do
00:12:20.140 it so that you will love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul that in that
00:12:26.540 you may live. Any love that we have for God can't be attributed to our self-righteous ability,
00:12:33.640 but to the work that God did in us, right? He's the one that gave us the new heart so that we will
00:12:39.680 love God. Ezekiel 36, 26 through 27, God says, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
00:12:51.340 within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will
00:12:59.380 put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and
00:13:06.860 do them. So this is the writings of the Old Testament predicting the theological and spiritual
00:13:16.360 shift that's coming in the new covenant, the covenant that we're in. You can read more about
00:13:20.260 that Ezekiel 11, 19 through 20 as well. But the Bible says to give credit where credit is due.
00:13:25.160 And I think we often, out of self-love and pride, pat our own backs when it comes down
00:13:30.780 to obedience.
00:13:31.280 Like we choose righteousness and feel pretty good about ourselves.
00:13:36.240 But that's sin.
00:13:37.820 Every time you have said no to sin for the glory of God, it was not you, but Christ in
00:13:44.480 you.
00:13:45.180 Every time you said no to sin because of morality's sake, it was sinful because it was done from
00:13:51.580 self-righteousness and not from faith, right?
00:13:54.160 So I'm just hoping that you're catching all this here, but Henry, God's election of you
00:13:59.740 as his son is an eternal commitment to you.
00:14:03.440 He's going to provide you with everything required to maintain your status in the new
00:14:10.900 covenant doctrines, right?
00:14:12.700 This means that by your election, you will be called.
00:14:16.380 In that calling, you will be given a new heart capable of repentance and faith.
00:14:20.340 Through that faith, you're going to be justified.
00:14:21.960 And in that justified state, you will be sanctified and you will obey and you will follow your shepherd.
00:14:27.200 You will hear his voice, as Jesus says.
00:14:29.880 And lastly, in that sanctified state, you're going to die physically, but your soul will not.
00:14:34.420 And at the coming of Christ, your body will resurrect and you will be glorified with him.
00:14:38.580 That's the promise of the gospel.
00:14:40.980 John Piper once said,
00:14:42.820 God, not you, will unfailingly work in us all the conditions required for salvation so that he
00:14:52.480 may get all the glory. For God says in Isaiah 48, 8, I am the Lord. That is my name. I will not
00:15:00.620 share my glory with another. And so if you believe your faithful obedience is driven by your own
00:15:08.540 capability and somehow your works have contributed to your salvation or kept you saved, then you're
00:15:17.740 taking away from God's glory. All of our spiritual fruit is a result of him, every single bit of it.
00:15:24.680 Therefore, he must get the glory. So to close, are we called to obey? Yes, we're called to obey.
00:15:34.280 Obedience, again, is a vital evidence of someone who is truly saved.
00:15:40.280 Are we saved by our obedience or kept saved by our ongoing obedience?
00:15:45.780 No.
00:15:46.200 No, we're saved and kept by Christ's obedience and sacrifice alone.
00:15:53.360 And so, guys, let's just—you should spend a moment today just reveling in that truth
00:15:57.620 that you who have been called and have been justified will be glorified
00:16:06.320 and you will be given everything you need to be carried all the way until the end.
00:16:13.380 So guys, I'm going to leave you with two resources here.
00:16:17.540 I'm going to give you two song recommendations.
00:16:20.360 These are good songs for you to listen to.
00:16:23.460 These will be available on the website, on the post page for this episode.
00:16:28.000 This is episode number 103, titled, Can Christian Disobedience Prevent Salvation?
00:16:34.400 And the songs I want to recommend to you is, one is by Norton Hall Band.
00:16:40.580 I will link this, the Spotify link on the article, but it's titled,
00:16:47.160 He Will Hold Me Fast. Fantastic song, Resting in Christ. Another one by Modern Post is titled
00:16:57.720 Grace Alone, and it's the acoustic version. And so take a peek at those two songs,
00:17:03.640 listen to the lyrics. They're beautiful. Hopefully those are helpful. Guys, if you're a regular
00:17:08.080 listener to this show, thank you. If you haven't left a review, would you consider doing so? Just
00:17:13.120 take a minute right now, like right as we're about to close this episode, would you take a
00:17:16.860 minute, go to the iTunes app, tap on our show, tap the stars. You don't even need to write anything.
00:17:22.700 But if you choose to write something, I'll read it. So thank you guys for those who have left a
00:17:27.820 review. And if you haven't, just take a minute to do that. It would be very helpful for the ministry.
00:17:32.920 My name is Dale Partridge. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Real Christianity. We will
00:17:37.440 see you next Wednesday. Thank you for listening to this episode of Real Christianity. If you're
00:17:44.700 regular listener to this show, would you prayerfully consider making a donation to support our ministry
00:17:49.060 efforts? Simply visit relearn.org forward slash donate. Again, that's relearn.org forward slash
00:17:55.800 donate. And for those looking to explore the idea of joining or planting a church in your home,
00:18:00.560 you can download our free PDF ebook titled The Basics of Biblical House Church by visiting
00:18:05.260 relearn.org forward slash house. Lastly, do you have a theological question you would like
00:18:10.780 answered on the show, submit your question at relearn.org forward slash question. Thanks for
00:18:16.360 joining us on this episode of Real Christianity. We'll see you next Wednesday.