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September 15, 1986 | by John Piper | Topic: Christian Hedonism Subscribe to...
When I asked two weeks ago, "Is the Doctrine of Total Depravity Biblical" my answer was, Yes. And one thing I meant was that all of our actions (apart from saving grace) are morally ruined. In other words, everything an unbeliever does is sinful and thus unacceptable to God. I said that one of my reasons for believing this comes from 1 Corinthians 10:31. "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." I asked, "Is it sin to disobey this Biblical commandment?" Yes. So I draw this somber conclusion: It is sin to eat or drink or do anything NOT for the glory of God. In other words, sin is not just a list of harmful things (killing, stealing, etc.). Sin is leaving God out of account in the ordinary affairs of your life. Sin is anything you do that you don't do for the glory of God. But what do unbelievers do for the glory of God? Nothing. Therefore everything they do is sinful. That is what I mean by saying that, apart from saving grace, all we do is morally ruined. Some of you then asked the practical question: Well, how do you "eat and drink" to the glory of God? Say, orange juice for breakfast? One answer is found in 1 Timothy 4:3-5: "[Some] forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." Orange juice was "created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe the truth." Therefore, unbelievers cannot use orange juice for the purpose God intended namely, as an occasion for heartfelt gratitude to God from a truth heart of faith. But believers can, and this is how they glorify God. Their drinking orange juice is "sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." The word of God teaches us that the juice, and even our strength to drink it, is a free gift of God (1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Peter 4:11). Theprayer is our humble response of thanks from the heart. Believing this truth in the word, and offering thanks in prayer is one way we drink orange juice to the glory of God. The other way is to drink lovingly. For example, don't insist on the biggest helping. This is taught in the context of 1 Corinthians 10:33, "I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved" (RSV). "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Everything we doeven drinking orange juicecan be done with the intention and hope that it will be to the advantage of many that they may be saved. Let us praise God that we have escaped by his grace from the total ruin of all our deeds. And let us do everything, whether we eat or drink, to the glory of our great God! Seeking to saturate all of life with God, Pastor John
Wanted Dead and Alive Romans 6:1-14 Romans chapter 6 is Gods wanted poster. However, God is not looking for criminals. He is looking for Christians. He wants us dead and alive- that is, dead to sin and alive to Him.Victory over sin begins when we become aware of and appropriate the reality that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. I. An awareness of our position in Christ (vv. 1-10): when Christ died on the cross, He died as our substitute. He died for us and as us, setting us free from the penalty of sin and identifying Himself with us and setting us free from the power sin and giving us new position in Christ.
A. We are one with Christ (vv. 3-5): the word baptize in verse 3 pictures our oneness with Christ when He died for us and as us. It refers to our Spirit baptism or to the day of our salvation (I Corinthians 12:13). Salvation totally identified us with Christ, making us one with His death and resurrection. B. We are dead to sin (vv. 1-2, 6-8): crucifixion of the old man is not something that we do; it refers to something that has already been done. (Ephesians 4:22 & 24; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5) C. We are alive in Christ (vv. 9-10): our salvation identified us with Christs death and resurrection. Christ defeated the penalty of sin, broke the power of sin, and placed His power within us, thus empowering us to walk in the newness of life. II. An appropriation of our provision in Christ (vv. 11-12): the word reckon is a bookkeeping term and means to impute to ones account or to count on a fact as being true. It is being aware of the fact that Christ has made adequate provision for you and depending on this fact to be true. A. Appropriation terminates the dominion of sin (v.11a): Faith is not based on feeling; it is based on Gods word. He, by faith, imputes victory to our account. B. Appropriation empowers for Holy living (v.11b): the power of Christ is absolutely adequate for our every need. III. An abandonment of our person to Christ (vv. 13-14): in order to maintain victory over the power of sin, we must continually yield ourselves to God. A. Abandonment begins with a decision (v. 13): we are to surrender ourselves to God. This includes the body, the hands, the feet, the eyes, ears and tongue-our entire being. B. Abandonment brings with it deliverance (v.14): we can anticipate daily deliverance and continual victory over indwelling sin. Victory over sin begins by being aware of our position in Christ. It is realized by appropriating our provision in Christ, and it is maintained by abandoning our person to Christ.
August 19, 2010 (Pathway to Power by Michael A Redick)