On to Maturity

Our obedience is not the source of salvation; our obedience is our response to Christ's salvation. We are to turn ugly into beautiful, to right evil with goodness, and to replace darkness with light.

Scripture:  Hebrews 5:6-14

Sermon Notes:

1. Jesus entered His week of passion and suffering with prayers and supplications, with tears and groanings.
2. Moved with compassion and sorrow Jesus weeps and cries out to God, for His disciples and for Himself.
3. God heard Jesus’ prayer, and yet He suffered and died; it was in the resurrection that His prayer was answered.
4. The hope of the Church is that those who die in Christ will be raised to eternal life.
5. Jesus learned the full extent of what God required of Him, and He followed through to death on the cross (Phil. 2:7-8)
6. The death penalty for sin did not apply to Christ; He died not for His own sin, but for our sake.
7. The work of salvation was made perfect by Christ for our sake (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13).
8. The cross is the clearest revelation of the gravity of our sin, which brought the eternal Son of God to a cruel death.
9. Propitiation means God’s wrath against our sin was poured out upon Christ.  Expiation means that God took away our sin, burying it in the grave (cf. 1 John 4:10).
10. Christ is the source of eternal salvation, bringing peace, righteousness, and God’s Spirit to those who obey Him.
11. Jesus is both Lord and Saviour.  Because we know Jesus as Saviour therefore we obey Him as Lord.
12. Our obedience is not the source of salvation; our obedience is our response to Christ’s salvation.
13. Christ’s suffering is our example of obedience and how to live the Christian life (1Peter 2:21).
14. Death is the precondition of life (John 12:24ff.).
15. We are participants in the cross: the path of obedience leads us through suffering to resurrection and glory.
16. We need to be ready to face increasing persecution in Canada, knowing that Christ will carry us on to the end.
17. Anchored to Christ, we are growing up to maturity, discerning good and evil, lest we drift away.
18. We need still to apply God’s Word to today’s pressing issues.  Unskilled Christians do not consider what is good, right, and beautiful, but what is safe.
19. We need to see the world through the lens of Scripture.
20. We are to turn ugly into beautiful, to right evil with goodness, and to replace darkness with light.
21. We each need to be trained by constant practice in prayer and God’s word so that it becomes a habit. 
22. We are also to engage in these practices communally, devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.
23. Proclaiming the gospel in a culture that is increasingly hostile to God, we trust in Jesus who is the source of eternal salvation for those who obey Him. 

Application Questions:

1. Meditate on and discuss these scriptures: Heb. 12:1-3; 13:12-13; 2 Cor. 4:5-10; Hosea 6:1-3.
2. How does Christ’s model of suffering apply to us?
3. Are we bringing transformation, or choosing the safe path?
4. Contrast the consequences for those who die in Christ versus those who are without Christ.
5. Discuss the implications of these statements for our lives: “We are not spectators. We are called to suffer.”
6. How are we applying the Word of righteousness?
7. Are we benefiting from the communal training in the Word and prayer?

Sermon Notes