What Happened When You Became a Christian, Part 2

Colin Smith: If faith was just my personal decision to trust Jesus, if it's just my personal decision, then I might come to a really rough time and and I might make a different decision. I might be moving one way and then 10 years from now be moving another way. How do you know that that won't be true of you?
Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith and Colin, that is a huge question right there. When we do experience tough times in life, and we all will, how do we know we're not going to walk away from our faith?
Colin Smith: Well, because to be a Christian is more than my decision. It involves a new birth. I become a new creation, a new person in Jesus Christ.
Steve Hiller: And I think for some of us, we may hear you say that I become a new person, but we struggle to really understand what that means and what that entails.
Colin Smith: It's the work of God to bring new life to a soul that previously was dead. You were dead in transgressions and sins, and God has made you alive in Jesus Christ. God has done something. So it's more than what I've done. It's what God has done and what he is doing for me.
Steve Hiller: For the person who says I hear you say God has brought new life, Colin, but I'm still not understanding exactly what that means, new life. I am living. So what is this new life that God is bringing?
Colin Smith: Yeah, I'm living but dead towards God. That's what the Bible says. And so a new life towards God, dead towards God means to be completely unresponsive towards God. Life towards God means that I'm I'm able to respond to him. I have a desire to respond to him because now his spirit is at work within me. That's to be in an entirely different position.
Steve Hiller: Okay. Well, that's the position that we're looking at in today's broadcast. We're continuing a message entitled what happened when you became a Christian? I hope you'll open your Bible and join us in Ephesians chapter two. Here's Pastor Colin Smith.
Colin Smith: What happened when you became a Christian? God gave life to you. God imparted power to you. God secured heaven for you. God showered grace on you. And grace means that which is unmerited, unearned, undeserved. Number five, God saved you. It is by grace that you have been saved. Wonderful word. And he repeats it not only in verse five but also in verse eight, the same words. It is by grace that you have been saved. Now that word gets tripped around a lot in our culture, doesn't it? Saved. And sometimes it can lose its meaning. Saved from what? Well, saved from everything that we were learning about in verses one to three. Saved from spiritual death, saved from being dragged around by the sinful nature, saved supremely from the fearsome prospect that hung over you and me of an eternity under the wrath of God. You've been saved from that, saved from that. Divine wrath burned itself out on Jesus Christ at the cross as far as you are concerned if you are in him today. That is glorious. And you will never know what it is like. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So why Paul in first Thessalonians describes Jesus as the one who rescues us from the coming wrath. And in Romans chapter five, he says this, since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him? And all this is the display of his love. What happened when you became a Christian? God gave life to you. God imparted power to you. God secured heaven for you. God showered grace on you. God saved you. And then number six, yet another view. God gave faith to you. Verses eight and nine, it is by grace that you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. And it's not by works so that no one can boast. Now, of course, it is true that you believed. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. You exercised faith in coming to Christ and you exercised faith in walking with Christ. But Paul is stating quite plainly here, just looking at these words, he is saying that this faith which you exercised, it was the gift of God to you. And how could it be anything other if you were dead? How can someone who is spiritually dead towards God generate faith from within themselves? It has to come from outside. It has to be the gift of God. And here's how it happened. The eyes that finally saw the glory of Christ were opened by God. The ears that finally heard his word were opened by God. Behind your decision to trust Jesus, which truly was your decision, he led you to it. But behind it, there was this massive, amazing work of God laying hold of you in your death and in your slavery and in your condemnation and giving you life and raising you up. All this God has done for you personally. It is the work of the Holy Spirit within you. It is amazing. It is his love for you that he's done this. And this wonderful truth that faith is the gift of God and therefore much more than merely my decision is to me the most marvelous builder of confidence with regards to the future. And here's how. If faith was just my personal decision to trust Jesus, I make a lot of decisions in life as you do. And sometimes we change direction, you know. If it's just my personal decision, then I might come to a really rough time and and I might make a different decision. I might be moving one way and then 10 years from now be moving another way. How do you know that that won't be true of you? It gets so hard you go another way. If that's all it is, just you and your decision. But friend, if it is true as we are seeing in the Bible here that behind that decision there is the gift of God. What that means is this. The gift that God gives is a living seed. Faith is a living seed. And because it is a living seed that has come from the hand of God, it is a seed that will grow and it is a seed that will bear fruit within the life of every Christian believer until the day when that faith has fulfilled its function and it is no longer needed because faith has turned to sight. And you are in the presence of Jesus with great joy forever and forever. Number seven. What happened when you became a Christian? God prepared work for you. Verse 10, for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. We are God's workmanship. Isn't this beautiful? Every Christian is handcrafted by God. And God has no mass production line. He creates us with unique individuality, so he saves us with that unique individuality. And he has handcrafted the new life in you himself. It's wonderful. You are God's workmanship. The potter and the clay, beautiful. The word translated workmanship here is the word poiema from which we get our word poem. So for all of you who are artistic today, this is another glimpse of the love of God. Every Christian is God's work of art, God's poem literally. In other words, there is something beautiful about every redeemed life. If you are in Christ, then something of the beauty that has been imparted by his own workmanship crafting you in the likeness of Jesus Christ will become increasingly evident in what you do and what you say as you grow in Jesus Christ. It's wonderful. I'm going to risk a culturally foreign illustration here. There are many Scottish poets, but only one that who is known and and that's Robert Burns. And the style of his writing was so distinctive that it's very recognizable. So if I was speaking in Scotland, this would be dead easy, but I'm not. So I'm I'm on dangerous ground here. Burns wrote many poems. One of them, one of the most famous, to a haggis, which is something that you eat. And if you've been to Scotland, you know they have these occasions when they bring in the haggis and they open it up and you're looking in doubt of me already. And some someone will then quote Robert Burns and he says these words about the pudding and how the pudding is well worthy of a blessing as long as your arm. And I'm very conscious right now as I'm about to give you these words that we have folks translating. And this is absolutely impossible. My dear brothers and sisters, for you, here are the words of Robert Burns. Great chieftain o' the puddin-race. Now anyone in the country from which I come who hears these words would say that's Burns. Nobody else writes like that with which you could probably heartily agree. That's Burns. They wouldn't even say that's like Burns. They say that's Burns because the poetry is an extension of the poet. The the man himself is in it and he is expressed by it. Now I take these moments with that remote illustration because you see the whole point about the works that are spoken about here. He's prepared good works for us to do. The whole point of this is when redeeming love from Jesus Christ is at work in the life of a Christian believer. A life will flow out of that that would cause people to say that's Jesus. And not even that's like Jesus. That's Jesus because it is a representation of Jesus Christ that I'm seeing here. There's something that becomes recognizable. That's where it comes from. It's an extension of that life in this life. We are God's workmanship created by Jesus Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. That's why our Lord Jesus says let your light so shine before man that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Steve Hiller: We have pause here, but we'll continue this message, what happened when you became a Christian in just a moment. This is Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad that you're listening. And all month long we've been talking about a special thank you that we'd love to send you for your support. Open the Bible Weekend truly is listener supported. It is your generosity that allows us to bring you Pastor Colin's teaching. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we'd love to send you a book that Pastor Colin has picked out. It's written by Tim Keller and it's called What is Wrong with This World? Our thank you for your financial support. And today's the final day to give your gift and receive your copy of what is wrong with this world. To find out more or give online, come to openthebible.org or call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or come to openthebible.org. Back to the message, here's Pastor Colin.
Colin Smith: What happened when you became a Christian? God gave life to you. God imparted power to you. God secured heaven for you. God showered grace on you. God saved you. God gave faith to you. And God prepared work for you. Glorious. Seven views of the love of Christ. And these are all the realities that have taken place in your life if you are a Christian believer. They're true of every Christian. Now here's the conclusion, three very simple questions. Number one, are you savoring the joys of God's love? We began in verse four, because of his great love for us. All of this is the love of God in Jesus Christ to you. So as we're cycling past these seven views as it were, take them in, look at what God has done in love for you. And my first prayer for us today is that God would bring many to not only see the extent of our own sinfulness and our deadness towards God and the captivity of the sinful nature with which we were born, but that we would come to see in the light of that, the glory of what God has done for us and does for us in Jesus Christ. That you would come to a place of saying, Lord, I knew that you loved me, but I never knew that you loved me like this. Second question. Do you see the unique glory of Jesus Christ? Do you see today the unique glory of Jesus Christ? I've left this point until now because I want to make it especially clear and not to lose it in our journey through the seven views. But did you notice how everything that God has done for us in love and in mercy is tied to Jesus Christ? So you have it five times in just six verses. God made us verse five alive with Christ. God raised us verse six up with Christ. Verse six again, God seated us in heavenly realms in Christ. Verse seven, the incomparable riches of God's grace are expressed to us in his kindness in Christ. Verse 10, we are God's workmanship created in Christ. Now you can't miss it. It's it's like a drumbeat all the way through. So friends, understand this. Your life is in Christ. Your strength is in Christ. Your salvation is through Christ. Your faith is in Christ. Your works are for Christ and your heaven will be with Christ. So when somebody asks you next week or next month, how can you really believe that Jesus is the only way? You might like to respond by saying the only way to what? Because you see, when you understand what the New Testament is saying about what salvation actually is, it leads to these questions. Who else gives life? Who else is raised from the dead and therefore able to raise others from the dead? Who else is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven? Look at the spectrum of God's love. Look at what our salvation actually is. Look at these miracles of grace. No one else could do them. These gifts are ours in Christ. They are gifts because of Christ and through Christ. And none of them are ours without Christ. And that is why unashamedly we worship him as savior and as redeemer and as Lord. There is no one else like him. No one else can do these things. Last question is simply this. Have you then grasped what it means to be a Christian? I have a good friend who some years ago came to a church with a distinguished history in Washington, D.C. And when he began as the pastor there, what he discovered were that there were many good and moral people who did not really have a living and personal knowledge of Jesus Christ, a walk with him as some people say. And I suppose the New Testament would describe it like this. Paul talks on one occasion about many people who have a form of godliness, but denying the power. It's a very important phrase, a form of godliness, but denying the power. In other words, they are moral and they are dutiful and they are generous and they do so many good things, but there is not much knowledge of the life of Christ within their souls. They would sign off on a creed, but there isn't much of the heart experience of worship or of love for Christ or of prayer or of these evidences of spiritual life. And we got to talking about his ministry. I I said, what did you do? And and he said, you know, for the first year I preached my way through Mark's Gospel and every sermon was basically a sermon about what it means to be a real Christian. And he said, gradually what was happening was that over time people began to figure like this. If that's what a real Christian is, that's not me. And so maybe having thought for 20 50 70 years that I really am a Christian and I was born that way and all that kind of thing, maybe I need to begin seeking after God and to start asking if God that these realities that I'm hearing about will become true in my life. And he said the wonderful thing was over the years that followed so many people came to new life in Jesus Christ. I want to tell you having been pastor your pastor here for 15 years now, I thank God from the bottom of my heart for every one of you who have said to me at some point in the last 15 years, you know, I used to think that I was a Christian. And now I've discovered I didn't really know what that was, but I found new life in Jesus Christ now. This happened to scores of us. Did that happen to you? Can you say today? Really, measure your life by the word of God. What what's the point in opening it otherwise? Can you say today God has given life to me? God has imparted power to me. The Holy Spirit lives within me. God has secured heaven for me. Can you say today God has saved me? God saved me. Can you say today God has showered grace on me? Is that your testimony? Can you say God has given faith to me? You're going to go out into this week and say God has prepared works for me. That is true of every Christian. If it's true of you, I want you to come before the Lord right now and to thank him and to say miracles of grace have happened in my life for which I cannot in all eternity adequately thank you. And if these things are not true of you, will you not bow your head and your heart and draw near to Jesus Christ in faith and say to him today, Lord Jesus, I see now that I need you to give me what I do not have and to make me what I have not been for your sake and for your glory.
Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called What Happened When You Became a Christian? It's the first message in our series called The Inside Story of the Christian Life. If you ever miss a broadcast in the series, you can listen online at openthebible.org. You can also order a copy of the entire series on CD. Ask about The Inside Story of the Christian Life when you call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or you'll find ordering information online at openthebible.org. We're Open the Bible is able to be on the station because of your generosity. So thank you for supporting Open the Bible with your financial gift. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to say thank you by sending you a book called What is Wrong with This World? It's written by Tim Keller. And Colin, why would we need this book?
Colin Smith: Well, I think because diagnosis has to come before prescription. I mean, you know, if you went to the doctor and said I have a pain in my stomach and the doctor immediately just said, oh well, I'll give you these tablets, you would immediately say well, wait a minute. Have you paused to diagnose as to what the problem actually is? And it strikes me that we have so much conversation that's going on all around us about how to put the world right. Who's asking the question what's wrong with the world? That's the question that's at the heart of this book. And really until we've understood accurately what the core of the human problem actually is, conversation about what's going to be the answer is going to float above the realities that we're dealing with. So this book by Tim Keller, it's a wonderful read. It is a thoroughly biblical examination of what is wrong with the world. And he puts it like this. If we are to stand any chance of answering the question of what is wrong with the world, we must begin with sin and end with the unfailing love of God who chooses to save us from it. I think that encapsulates something really important that every Christian wants to grasp.
Steve Hiller: Well, we want to send you a copy of this book. Again, it's called What is Wrong with the World? Is our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. You can give your gift online. Come to our website, openthebible.org or call 1-877-673-6365 that's 1-877-OPEN-365. Or again, the website is openthebible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening. And I hope you'll join us next time. Open the Bible Weekend is a listener supported production of Open the Bible.
Colin Smith: Hi, this is Pastor Colin again. And I want you to know about what's your doctrine. What's your doctrine is a six-session course that is geared for leaders but accessible for every believer. The six sessions will introduce you to six central truths of the Christian faith, how we know God, how God speaks to us, how sin affects us, how God's spirit brings new life, how we're made right with God, and what Jesus accomplished on the cross. There are questions at the end of each session and you can use them on your own or you can discuss them with a friend. For more information or to begin this free online course, visit openthebible.org/courses. That's openthebible.org/courses.