This is the original English version of a sermon preached in Portuguese on the 25th July 2010 at Sao Miguel Paulista Corps, Sao Paulo. It has been simplified a little for greater ease of translation.
(All the bible readings are from the New International Version.)
Sao Miguel Paulista Corps - Salvation Meeting 25/07/10
Text: Matthew 13:23
Bible Readings: See below
Theme: Continued obedient faith.
Introduction
Tonight we have witnessed the enrolment of three Junior Soldiers. And what that signifies is that these three young people have made a choice in their life. They have said that they want to be Junior Soldiers. They have said that they want to be young disciples of Jesus. They have said that they want to be Christians and live Christian lives, more specifically, they want to live a particular form of Christian life that is the special calling of the young Salvationist. They have made a choice.
They have made a decision. I sincerely hope that this is their decision: that they have been persuaded and not coerced. Because I believe that children can make decisions, even important spiritual decisions, despite their lack of experience. God can speak to children, and sometimes they hear him more clearly than many adults! They can understand the difference between right and wrong. They can understand that Jesus is God and that he died to save them; that Jesus died so that God the Father can forgive them. Hard as that might seem to understand, in their simple innocent way, they can understand it. They can understand that God loves them, and that they can love God, and that the Holy Spirit can help them to be good. And if they can understand all that, then they can decide to put their faith in Christ, and they can be saved.
How many people here were children when they became Christians? I think I probably was a Christian as a child. But then I stopped being a Christian. And that is the biblical truth that I want to look at tonight: the truth that says that once we have made that decision to put our faith in Christ that is not the end; it is not all over. It is not true to say that at the moment we believed our salvation was guaranteed for the rest of our life, no matter what we then do or say. Yes, of course, we can be assured that we are saved every day of our lives; but only if we know that every day of our lives we continue to believe in and to be obedient to God.
If we continue to believe and obey, then we continue to be saved. This is a very important truth for these new Junior Soldiers to learn and to hold on to. If you put your faith in Christ and obey him every day of your life, then every day of your life, you will know for sure that you are saved. If you put your faith in Christ and obey him every day of your life, then every day of your life, you will know for sure that your life will be filled with the presence of God; If you put your faith in Christ and obey him every day of your life, then every day of your life, then every day of your life you will you will know for sure that you have eternal life.
What a fantastic promise for each one of us who believes! But for us to receive this promise, we are required to choose every day. We are required to use our will to choose salvation. We must choose every day to accept God’s promise or reject it: every day. And this is the truth that lies within the Salvation Army’s ninth article of faith. So, please, let’s read this article together now:
9. We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon a continued obedient faith in Christ.
When a person repents of their sin, says sorry to God for everything they have done wrong; when they trust in Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross as the means by which God can forgive them; when they ask the Holy Spirit to come and dwell within them to make them a different person, a better person - then that person is saved: that person is in a state of salvation.
And if a person is in a state of salvation, if they then die, only one second later, because they are in a state of salvation they will immediately go to heaven to be with God forever. Aleluia! If a person is in a state of salvation, they know that God loves them and will never leave them.
However, a person can only continue in that state of salvation by continuing to have faith in Christ. And if that person has faith in Christ to save them and to keep them saved, then it is inevitable that that person will be obedient to Christ. That person will follow his commands in the bible; and they will follow his commands brought to them by the Holy Spirit through other non-biblical means. If a person continues to have obedient faith, then they will continue to be in a state of salvation.
But of course, the obvious implication of all this is that it is possible for a person to not continue to have faith in Christ and obey him. It is possible for these new Junior Soldiers at some point in the future to stop having faith in Christ and then stop obeying him. I pray O Lord right now that in your mercy you will find a way to ensure that this will never happen. Amen.
But the doctrine that we read suggests that it is possible. Christians can stop being Christians. And this is only possible because God only persuades and never forces. The bible tells us that God is love and so he will use every means to persuade us, but he will never force people to believe in him. If God forced us to put our faith in him, he would have to take away our free will, and if he did this, he would be controlling us, and this would not seem to be a very loving thing to do. Indeed, if he did this, it would be hard to see how we could freely love him, which is what the Bible says that he wants.
But if God only persuades and doesn’t force, then that must mean that people can choose to reject him. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, verses one to twenty three, Jesus told a parable about someone who went out into a ploughed field to sow seed. Perhaps some of us have seen pictures that have been painted to represent someone sowing seed in the time of Jesus. In the pictures, the Semeador doesn’t bend down and carefully press the seed into a carefully prepared seedbed. No, he scatters the seed by throwing it into the air around him. And this is why Jesus is able to talk about the seed landing on places where it will not grow. I’m going to use the four different places where the seed lands in Jesus’ parable as the framework on which we can look at continued obedient faith in Christ.
Let’s begin with
1. The seed that falls on the path.
1. Not understanding the gospel allows wrong thoughts to destroy our faith in Christ.
Let’s take a look at John 6:60-71; now here, Jesus has just spoken about how he is the bread of heaven and therefore is someone wants to have eternal life they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, which, at first sight, is not an easy teaching, I think we would all agree; so how do his disciples react?
John 6:60-71
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
70Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
So here we have disciples betraying Jesus, firstly by turning back and not following any more, and secondly, in the case of Judas, by selling Jesus to his enemies. Now the scripture here seems to suggest that these disciples (presumably including Judas) had never really believed. But in that case, why had they followed him. In the end, that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that when their understanding of religion was challenged, when Jesus said something that seemed to them a blasphemy, when he said something that they just could not accept, they left him. The devil spoke into their confusion the lie that Jesus was mistaken, that he was a heretic, that he was lying, and they made up their minds and they left him.
And that still happens, when new believers struggle to understand the gospel, perhaps because it challenges the ideas that they have always held, perhaps because they lack good teaching, then the devil whispers into their ears different ideas that deny the gospel. Paula and I ran a youth group in our church in Scotland and one of the young boys who attended for a little while was very keen to debate with us on the subject of evolution. He had once been a junior soldier, but the influence of his science lessons at school and his father who was an intelligent atheist influenced him to reject the church. I hope and pray that he has returned to God, but I don´t know.
I also know someone who left the church because they could not accept the church’s position on sex outside of marriage. People decide to stop following Jesus because the gospel has not had a chance to take root in their understanding which in turn leads to a change of heart.
However, even when the gospel has put down a root into someone’s heart, it might not be deep enough.
2. The seed that falls on the rocky ground.
2. Persecution and troubles make us forsake our faith in Christ
Let us read together
2 Timothy 4:6-18
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 12I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
14Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
16At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Now this reading is set against the dramatic background of Paul locked up in a prison dungeon. It is possibly near the end of his life as he awaits his execution. So the general context is one of persecution, possibly at the hand of Emporer Nero who had thousands of Christians executed during his reign. And what Paul seems to describe is betrayal on every side. In particular, when he most needed supporters to stand by him, they all deserted him. This is not unlike Jesus being deserted by all his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane.
And why did Paul’s followers desert him? Well, the implication here is that the difficulties of Paul’s ministry – the opposition he faced, the lack of funding, the risks he took – made life very difficult. And more than that, there was now a very good chance that accompanying Paul could result in your arrest and execution.
Once again, I knew a someone who was actually a local leader in her church who had various problems in her personal life. These problems got worse and her response to all this was to leave the church and stop following Jesus.
As to persecution, this is not something that happens to Christians today in the way that it happened to Paul. We read stories of modern martyrs and those who kept the faith despite persecution. Indeed, there are wonderful examples in the twentieth century of Salvationists in China, the former Soviet Union and Korea who kept on following Jesus despite state persecution. But what we don’t hear so much about are those people who gave up their faith when it appeared to be too costly.
I heard the story of a minister who was forced to give up his ministry because he was convicted of a crime. Apparently, he stopped attending church and had feelings of resentment and anger towards many people in his church because of what had happened to him.
We have looked at how a lack of understanding, and experiencing trouble and persecution can make people decide to stop having faith in Jesus, and therefore stop following him, but in the parable of the Semeador, Jesus goes on to describe people who might well still be in the church, even perhaps following him, if at a considerable distance. These are people who allow their worldly concerns to stop their faith from producing fruit. They have a faith which they testify to in church, but this faith doesn’t result in much love or joy or peace, or patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control. Neither does it result in anybody being helped to become a Christian.
3. The seed that falls amongst the thorns
3. The worries of life and the promise of wealth make our faith in Christ unproductive.
Let’s read from
Mark 10:21-31
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is[a] to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"
27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
There is a book which all Recruits are supposed to read as preparation for become a Senior Soldiers in the Salvation Army, called Chosen to be a Soldier. And I think I am right in saying that in this book there is a section about living the simple life. The idea is that a Soldier in the Salvation Army should not be concerned with accumulating unnecessary wealth or possessions. Part of the rationale for this is that these things can become, at best, a distraction from the mission of saving souls, at worst, an idol that one can worship instead of the one true God. Most of us would refute the idea that we would ever worship our money or possessions; but it is a useful spiritual exercise to regularly calculate how much time and money we given to acquiring things for ourselves, and how much of our time and money is given to God’s mission to save souls and serve suffering humanity. Jesus asked the rich young man to make such a calculation. He asked to swap his earthly wealth for heavenly riches.
I had a friend once who was quite a successful man with a high position in a company. That success was demonstrated by the house he owned, the car he drove, the clothes he wore and his hobbies. We were talking about faith and he confessed to me that he really believed in things he could touch with his hands, and to demonstrate he slapped his hand on his newly fitted kitchen units. Now this man was not a bad man. I´m sure that he tried to do good to others and to be a good example to his family. But there are perhaps many people who have spent much of their lives engaged in the business of making and losing money, who could perhaps have done much more to help and grow the church than they did. And indeed, I think there are many people who have left the church, because it didn’t fit in with their plans for prosperity, or they didn’t see how it could fit in with their schedule. And there are many people who are still inside the church who put the making of money or their worries about family, or friendship, or education, or work before following Jesus, before growing the church. And let us be clear, we are not talking about circumstances forcing them to make other things a priority. Like the rich young man, they have a choice. We all have a choice. And this choice faces us every day of our lives. Do we say yes to Jesus? Do we say, whatever you require of me Jesus, I will do, regardless of the cost? Do we say, whatever you require of me Jesus, regardless of all my own worries and concerns, I will do it? Or like the young man, does our face fall, and we go away sad?
Well, I realise that all this sound very negative. But I am trying to emphasise that we are involved in making a decision. We all get to decide what we do with our lives. Some of the circumstances of our lives might be decided for us, but we get to decide how we live our lives; whether we live a life of faith in Christ, or whether we live a life of faith in ourselves or something else. But let me end on the positive, just as Jesus’ parable ends on the positive.
4. The seed that falls on good soil
4. When we understand the gospel and have faith in Christ, we produce a harvest of goodness.
Let us carry on reading from Mark 10 beginning at verse 28:
28Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"
29"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Jesus acknowledges to Peter that he has asked a great deal of him. But he assures him that the reward for his sacrifice will be so much greater than that which he has given up. Peter, the humble Galilean fisherman would go on to become a leader of the worldwide church. He left his home and family but gained a thousand homes and many thousand new brothers and sisters in the new church of Christ. And it is the same for us, Jesus asks us sometimes to give up things that are precious to us. And his promise to Peter is true for us too. If we obey Jesus; if we do what he asks of us, no matter what the cost, then he promises to reward us. I could perhaps interpret Jesus’ saying as meaning that our reward will be responsibility within the church. For that is what he asks of us, that we will be responsible for his church, by playing our role within the church. And that responsibility is also our reward, because when we play our part in the growth of the church, then we become shareholders in the church. And one day that share in the church will reap a great dividend, eternal life.
But notice again, that Peter and the other disciples and the followers of Jesus through history have each day had to decide to obey Jesus’ demands upon them by faith in him. They had to have faith in him that he would deliver on his promises, both in this life and in the next. And history shows us that when they had faith in him, and they obeyed him, Jesus kept his promise. When they had faith and they obeyed him, they remained in a state of salvation.
The officers and soldiers who began the work of the Salvation Army here in Sao Miguel Paulista obeyed the call of Jesus to begin a church here, and to put its growth above their own personal desires and cares. And 42 years later the Lord is still rewarding their obedience and faith. In 1865 the Reverend William Booth was obedient to the call of Jesus to leave the comfort of his position in the Methodist Church and start a evangelistic mission amongst the poorest people in the East of London. And one hundred and thirty five years later, Jesus is still blessing the Salvation Army with new life – at the recent World youth congress they celebrated the fact that the Salvation Army has recently begun work in ten more countries of the world.
And this is his promise to you as well. If you have faith in Christ every day for your salvation, and you demonstrate this by being obedient to whatever it is that Jesus asks of you, then you will be in a state of salvation, and you will receive his blessing. And that blessing is first of all a certain knowledge of his presence being with you. And then he also blesses you with a new family to love you, called the church. And that blessing is also the certainty, that you will know and love God forever.
Obedience is not always easy for us. For some of us, it is very difficult indeed. For various reasons, some of us have made vows to never be obedient to anyone, if this is possible, and these vows can sometimes include Jesus. But thank you Lord, you help us. You send the Holy Spirit to persuade us, to help us understand, to soften our hearts, to heal us, so that we can obey you as we should. Thank you Lord.
Tonight my challenge is a simple one. Have you been obedient to Jesus? Are you being obedient to Jesus? Have you trusted him for your salvation, and are you living your life as you know he requires? Does your obedience to Jesus show itself in the fruit of the Spirit that I spoke of earlier? Is your faith and obedience demonstrating itself by a growth in the church?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, don’t be embarrassed or offended or upset. Someone is here who can help you – the Holy Spirit is here. The Holy Spirit can help you start again. The Holy Spirit can give you a fresh start, or he can help you be more obedient, have more faith. If the word of God that we have read tonight has challenged you; if the Holy Spirit, even now is giving you a feeling of conviction about your fruitfulness, about your state of salvation, then respond to him by coming and kneeling here at his altar. Here, at this place, you can meeting God, you can know his forgiveness, you can choose to follow Jesus, to be obedient to him, for the rest of your life, one day at a time. As we sing together, please be obedient and come and meet with your Saviour.
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