Sermon # 591 Luke
Sermons
Title: What
is Christianity?
Text: Luke 9:23-27
Subject: Four Characteristics of True Faith
Date: Sunday Evening –
Tape # W-56b
Introduction:
What is Christianity? Should you go out tomorrow and
ask a dozen people that question, you are likely to get a dozen answers. The
fact is, in this the most religious of all societies and most religious of all
ages, very few people have any idea what Christianity is. Let’s turn to Luke
9:23-27, and learn from the lips of Christ himself what Christianity is.
[Luke
9:23-27] And he said to them all,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow me. [24] For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
[25] For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose
himself, or be cast away? [26] For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and
of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his
own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. [27] But
I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of
death, till they see the
The words of our Lord Jesus
Christ in these five verses of Scripture are solemn, weighty words indeed. They
separate the precious from the vile. They are a winnowing fan in the Master’s
hand, by which he distinguishes wheat from the chaff. These are words which
ought to be read often, prayed over much, and mediated upon continually.
Proposition: These few words define true
Christianity more distinctly than all the volumes of theology and apologetics
written by me.
Divisions: As we look at our Lord’s words
in this passage, I want to draw your attention to four things. Here are four
aspects of true faith, four things vital to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christianity is…
1.
Coming To Christ (v. 34)
2.
Carrying The Cross Of Christ (v. 34).
3.
Consecration To Christ (vv. 35-37).
4.
Confessing Christ (v. 38).
I. Christianity is coming to
Christ (v.
23).
Throughout the Scriptures faith is portrayed as a
matter of coming to Christ. To believe on the Son of God is to come to him. To
come to him is to believe on him. We come to him by following after him, as
disciples follow after their Master. Our all glorious Christ says, “If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself.”
A. Coming to Christ is the result of a deliberate,
purposeful choice.
It is an act of the will. Our Master says, “if any man will”. Let us never alter
his Word. I know that faith is a gift of God. I know that you will not come to
Christ unless God the Holy Spirit graciously, effectually causes you to come.
Yet, I know that if you come to him, you will come to him because you want him
and you choose him. God does not save sinners by knocking them in the head and
dragging them to Christ. He saves sinners by causing them to want Christ more
than life itself.
Faith in
Christ is not a matter of conscription, but a voluntary act. The soldiers in
Christ’s army are not drafted, forced soldiers, but volunteers.
Psalms 65:4 "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy
courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."
Psalms 110:3 "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of
holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth."
B. Coming to Christ is an act of the heart, a
spiritual, not a carnal thing.
No one has ever come to Christ by walking a church
aisle, kneeling at an altar, saying a prayer, or signing a decision card. If
you would come to Christ you must do so without moving a muscle. You must come
to him in your heart. Faith is a heart work.
Romans 10:1-11 "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer
to God for
C. Coming to Christ is a continual thing.
Our Savior does not speak of coming o him as a one
time thing, as a single act, but as a constant, continual, lifelong thing.
Faith in Christ is not an event in life, but a way of life.
1 Peter 2:3-4 "If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (4) To whom coming, as unto a
living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,"
D. Any sinner in all the world who will come to Christ
may come to Christ.
Our Master uses that blessed word of universal
application and uses it frequently -- “Whosoever”. I am so thankful he
said “Whosoever will” – “If any man will”
rather than if Don Fortner will.
Had he said that, I would have concluded he must have meant some other Don
Fortner. But I cannot doubt that “whosoever”
and “any man” includes me!
Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
Revelation 22:17 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Not only
are sinners bidden to come to Christ, we are commanded to come. The warrant of
faith is not my feeling, my emotion, my meeting certain prescribed conditions,
but God’s Word. If the Son of God says for me to come to him, then I may come
to him!
The first
aspect of faith, the first characteristic of true Christianity is coming to
Christ. The second is…
II. carrying the cross of christ
(v. 23).
Read verse 23 again. This is not an optional thing.
In this verse of Scripture, as throughout the Word of God, our Master tells us
plainly that if we would follow him, if we would be his disciples, if we would be
saved, self-denial is an absolute necessity.
[Luke
9:23] And he said to them all, If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow me.
Again,
this is a matter of personal, deliberate choice. Carrying your cross for Christ
is not enduring providential hardships with patience, but deliberately choosing
a course that is sure to bring trouble upon you, because trouble lies in the
path of following Christ.
A. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in
Christ alone.
We are not saved by what we do, or by what we
suffer, but by what Christ has done and suffered for us. We are saved by grace
alone.
·
The Election Of Grace.
·
The Atonement Of Grace.
·
The Imputation Of Grace.
·
The Call Of Grace.
·
The Preservation Of Grace.
Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest
any man should boast. (10) For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them."
B. Yet, if we are saved by the grace of God, we must
through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of of God.
1. We must deny self, if we follow Christ.
·
Sinful Self.
·
Righteous Self.
·
Carnal Self.
“A religion which costs nothing is worth nothing. It
will do us no good in the life that now is. It will lead to no salvation in the
life to come.”
J.
C. Ryle
2. If I am saved by the grace of God, I take up my
cross and follow my Master.
·
The Cross Of His Doctrine.
·
The Cross Of His Will.
·
The Cross Of His Honor.
Our Savior’s words here are as plain as the noonday
sun. If I choose not to bear his cross on this earth, I shall never wear his
crown in heaven.
Christianity
is coming to Christ, carrying the cross of Christ, and…
III. consecration to christ (vv. 24-25).
[Luke
9:24-25] For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same
shall save it. [25] For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole
world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
A. If would save
my life, I must loose it to Christ.
Salvation is neither more nor less than surrender to
the rule and reign of Jesus Christ as my Lord and King.
Luke 14:25-33 "And there went great multitudes with
him: and he turned, and said unto them,
(26) If any man come to me, and
hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (27) And whosoever doth not bear his
cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (28) For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not
down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? (29)
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, (30) Saying,
This man began to build, and was not able to finish. (31) Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth
not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him
that cometh against him with twenty thousand? (32) Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth
an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. (33) So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Faith in
Christ, Christianity, is giving over the rule of your life to Christ; but that
is no great sacrifice at all.
B. “For what is a man
advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”
Mark
expressed the Lord’s doctrine in similar words. -- "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
1. Each of us has an immortal
soul, a soul that will live forever, either in the bliss of eternal life or in
the torment of eternal death.
2. It is a very easy thing for
you to lose your soul.
·
You can murder it, by loving and clinging to the world.
·
You can poison it with the deadly wine of false religion.
·
You can starve it, by neglecting God’s ordained means of grace, the
preaching of the gospel, by keeping from it the bread of life.
There are
many ways to hell. Whichever way you choose is a matter for which you alone are
responsible. But there is only one way to life eternal. Christ is that Way.
True
Christianity, faith in Christ involves coming to Christ, carrying the cross of
Christ, consecration to Christ, and…
IV. confessing Christ (v. 26-27).
[Luke 9:26-27] For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of
my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own
glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. [27] But I
tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of
death, till they see the kingdom of God.
We do not
have to guess what it is to be ashamed of Christ. It is to refuse to confess
him, to refuse to identify ourselves with him. It is to tacitly deny him. That
is exactly what he tells us in Matthew 10.
A. If I am ashamed of Christ’s doctrine, I am ashamed
of him.
Romans 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
(17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:
as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
B. If I am ashamed of Christ’s ordinances, I am ashamed
of him.
·
Confessing Him In Believers Baptism
·
Confessing Him At The Lord’s Table.
·
Worshipping In His House.
C. If I am ashamed of Christ’s people, I am ashamed of
him.
Read Matthew 10 and 25.
D. If I am ashamed of Christ and his words, his gospel,
in this world, he will be ashamed of me when he comes in the glory of his
Father with his holy angels to judge the world.
Application:
I call upon you now in the
name of the Lord to…
1.
Come to Christ.
2.
Take up your cross and follow Christ.
3.
Consecrate your life to Christ.
4.
Confess Christ.
Illustration: “What does it take to be a
Christian?” – “Nothing from you, but all of you.”
1 Mark Series #35 – Truths of Deepest Importance (Mark 8:34-38) – Preached at Danville on Sunday evening December 7, 1997