Sermon Notes for November 23, 2003

Communion

The Spiritual Process of

Becoming A Godly Christian

Colossians 2:6-7

Introduction

What We Do To “Become” A Christian.
I have two goals in today’s message:
to help you understand what a person must do to “become” a Christian.

1. so that no one hearing this message today will have any
questions or doubts about how to become a Christian.

2. because some of you:

a. think” that you are a Christian but are not

b. don’t “think” that they are Christians, but
indeed are.

to help you understand what a person must do in “being” a Christian

1. what “else” must happen for a person after they become a
Christian

2. can a person simply “become” a Christian and do no more?

So . . . I will be speaking to two audiences today:
those who are NOT Christians yet – to help you understand what you need to “do”
those who ARE Christians - to help you understand what you need to “be”
in a sense, I want you all to know the spiritual steps that are required in our spiritual growth and the evidences that you are getting there.

Let’s Look At What We Need To Do In The Process of “Being” A Godly Christian.

I. The DEFINITION Of A Christian.

Our RECEPTION Of CHRIST.

Vs. 6a – “so then, just as you have received Christ Jesus, as Lord.”

What it DOESN’T mean to “become” a Christian.
my story
Trip’s story
Frank Barker – the pamphlet “What Does It Mean To Believe?”
my first sermon – “What Does It Mean to Believe?”

1. nervous, excited; I gave a 25 minute sermon in 12 minutes!

2. BUT I WANTED THEM TO KNOW!

What it DOES mean to “become” a Christian.
the word received defined

1. Peter uses the Greek word paralambano

a. to grasp; to seize, to take

b. to take to oneself

c. to accept; to acquire

d. to take into fellowship

2. the Greeks used this word paralambano to describe a “mentor”

a. a paralambano would “enter” a person’s life and become
that person’s mentor

b. thus, to receive Jesus is to ask Him to become your
lifelong mentor.

3. Greek scholar Gerhard Kittle said this of the word
paralambano – “Paralambano cannot be the reception of
purely intellectual materials. It is acceptance into the
essential core of personality, which is more than the
intellect alone.”

4. the verb tense is in the active tense

the word received applied

1. QUITE SIMPLY, what the word received means practically is
this:

a. UNTIL you have personally received Jesus Christ into
your heart and life . . . YOU ARE NOT A
CHRISTIAN!

1. it doesn’t matter what you believe “ABOUT”
Jesus

2. this word received means that in order to
become a Christian you have to:

a. take Him into yourself

b. accept Him as your Savior

c. take Him into the fellowship of your
life

b. HAVE YOU DONE THAT? IF NOT, YOU ARE
NOT A CHRISTIAN!

1. the verb tense for received is an aorist active
indicative

2. these tenses show that these people have:

a. aorist – in the past received Christ

b. active – made the decision individually

2. there is a very simple way to take care of this question in your
life

a. simply ask Jesus to come into your life and to be your
Savior

b. BY DOING THIS, YOU CAN BE SURE!

B. Our RECEPTION OF CHRIST AS LORD.

You CANNOT merely receive Christ as your Savior.
You must receive Christ AS YOUR LORD.
so, before you decide to receive Jesus Christ
you need to ask yourself, AM I WILLING TO ALLOW JESUS CHRIST TO RULE MY LIFE?
because when you receive Jesus Christ into your life, HE WILL ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM WITHIN YOUR HEART!
because He will become your mentor

II. The DUTY Of A Christian.

The Christian Is Called To WALK.

Vs. 6 – “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him.”

The word walk defined.
the NIV translates the word, live; the KJV translates the word walk
the Greek word is peripateo

1. to walk; to walk about

2. to be occupied; to make one’s way

in the Hebrew, the word means:

1. to regulate one’s life

2. to conduct one’s life

The word walk applied.
the word walk suggests that it is something you do with your feet!

1. what is the PURPOSE of your feet?

2. are your feet to be used only for standing?

Jesus suggests this same thing in John 13:10 - Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."

1. after we are saved, we will walk on our feet

2. although our feet will get dirty, we are still called to walk!

the word walk is the FIRST EVIDENCE that you have “become” a Christian

1. you CAN’T say that you are a real Christian if you don’t
“walk” with Christ at all.

2. because, remember this:

a. when you receive Christ, He becomes your paralambano
or mentor

b. when Jesus enters a life, HE WILL CHANGE YOUR
LIFE.

c. THEREFORE . . . IF YOUR LIFE IS NOT
CHANGING, THEN YOU ARE NOT A
CHRISTIAN!

d. WHERE THERE IS NO CHANGE, THERE IS NO
CHRIST!!!

The Christian Is Called To PLANT.

Vs. 6-7a - So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him.”

The word rooted defined.
Paul used the Greek word rhizoo

1. to cause to take root

2. to strengthen the root system

3. to establish

the verb tense is in the passive tense

The word rooted applied.
you cannot be satisfied with merely receiving Christ, you must begin to “put down deep roots”

look at what often happens to some who don’t put their roots down after receiving Christ – Mark 4:17 – “But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”

1. how often a person accepts Christ with excitement!

2. but how often nothing is done to help that person grow deeper
in his new-found faith

a. that’s EXACTLY what happened to me!

b. that’s why I believe so strongly in one-on-one
discipleship

c. no follow up is like leaving a new-born baby at the
hospital

I like these quotes:

1. Warren Wiersbe – “Christians are not to be tumble weeds
that have no roots and are blown are blown about by any
wind of doctrine.”

2. “The tree may shake in its topmost branches but its roots
are firm because they grasp the solid earth.”

The Christian Is Called To BUILD.

Vs. 6-7 - “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

The word build defined.
Paul uses the Greek word epoikodomieo

1. to build upon; to build up

2. to build on the foundation

the sense of the word is that after a person accepts Christ, they are given a foundation. Now the house must be built on that foundation.

1. our foundation on our property

2. we must have a foundation BEFORE we can build

The word build applied.
we are built in our faith in Jesus

1. WHAT is the MEANS by which WE BUILD THIS
FOUNDATION?

a. can I simply “will myself” to believe?

b. can I simply “teach myself” to follow Christ?

2. THE MEANS by which all of this happens is by FAITH.

a. the word faith is used in the Scripture some 231 times!

b. notice some of the ways that the word faith is used:

1. Luke 8:24-25 - The disciples went and woke
him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to
drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the
raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was
calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his
disciples.

2. Acts 15:8-9 – “God, who knows the heart,
showed that he accepted them by giving the
Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He
made no distinction between us and them, for he
purified their hearts by faith.”

3. Acts 16:4-5 – “As they traveled from town to
town, they delivered the decisions reached by the
apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to
obey. So the churches were strengthened in the
faith and grew daily in numbers.”

4. Romans 1:5 – “Through him and for his name's
sake, we received grace and apostleship to call
people from among all the Gentiles to the
obedience that comes from faith.”

5. Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been
justified through faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

c. FAITH AS DESCRIBED IN SCRIPTURE IS A
REAL THING!

1. it is a NOUN, not a verb –

a. it is not, “I hope, I hope, I hope”

b. BUT, it IS my hope

2. faith is the means, a “vehicle” by which we
“live” the Christian life

3. in a sense, faith is like a “sponge”

a. as my “sponge” is filled up, then I am
allowed to live spiritually

b. as my “sponge” dries out, I fail to walk
with Jesus

we are built by the facts of Scripture

1. now, HOW is one’s faith fed? How do we “fill our sponge?”

2. notice what the Scriptures say:

a. Romans 10:17

1. NIV – “Consequently, faith comes from
hearing the message, and the message is heard
through the word of Christ.”

2. KJV – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.”

b. I Timothy 4:6 – “If you point these things out to the
brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus,
brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good
teaching that you have followed.”

3. so . . . you can talk about “faith” all day long, but your faith will
NOT grow unless you:

a. grow deeply in God’s Word

b. notice the correct order

1. fact

2. faith

3. feeling

4. LET ME ILLUSTRATE HOW YOUR FAITH IS BUILT
BY THE SCRIPTURES.

a. how do you view your spiritual self today?

b. look at what God’s Word says to Christians and how
your “faith” can be built up:

1. Romans 5:1-2 – “Therefore, since we have been
justified through faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have gained access by faith into this
grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in
the hope of the glory of God.”

2. Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.”

3. Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.”

4. Romans 8:31 – “What, then, shall we say in
response to this? If God is for us, who can be
against us?”

5. Romans 8:37 – “No, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him who loved
us.”

6. Galatians 1:3-5 – “Grace and peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who
gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the
present evil age, according to the will of our
God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen.”

7. Galatians 4:6-7 – “Because you are sons, God
sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the
Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you
are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you
are a son, God has made you also an heir.”

c. now that you have heard the facts, what is the result of
your faith and your feelings?

III. The DELIGHT Of A Christian.

The RESULT Of Praise Of A Godly Heart.
NOTICE the result or evidence of a Godly life – THANKFULNESS.
in fact, a truly Godly life will be OVERFLOWING WITH THANKFULNESS!
The Greek suggests an overflowing like a waterfall.

1. thanks pouring forth from your mouth

2. YOU CAN’T HELP BUT PRAISE GOD!

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE EVIDENCE SHOWING THE PROCESS OF A CHRISTIAN’S LIFE.

The REASON For Praise In A Godly Heart.
We praise Him for our walk with Christ.
how can you NOT praise Him for His coming into your life and saving you?

1. filling you with His Spirit

2. giving you meaning in life

3. giving you Christian friends

4. giving you His Word

5. giving you a peace within your heart

BUT THINK ABOUT OTHER “GRACES” IN YOUR LIFE!

1. if you have:

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend church meetings without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion in the world.
If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare, even in the United States.

2. I am thankful because . . .

The taxes I pay because it means I am employed.
The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have more than enough to eat.
A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.
My huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.
The person behind me in church who sings off key because it means I can hear.
The piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.
The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive.

2. But MOST IMPORTANTLY . . . we MUST praise and thank Him for the work
of Christ.

if you are not overflowing thankfulness, THEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS DID FOR YOU ON THE CROSS!

1. the word thankfulness is the Greek word eucharista – which
means the giving of thanks because of the favors that have
been done for you.

2. JUST LOOK AT WHAT JESUS DID FOR YOU!

a. He left His place of glory, honor and dominion and
came to this wretched, sinful earth

b. where He was rejected at His birth, at His life and at
His death – BUT HE CAME ANYWAY.

c. He suffered a physical beating that could kill most
men, then He was placed on the most torturous death
instrument ever devised – the cross.

1. on that cross, He physically suffered as His
physical body was taken from Him

2. but on that cross He spiritually suffered as His
spiritual relationship with His Father was broken

d. He laid in a tomb for three days and was resurrected –
SO THAT HE COULD GO TO THE FATHER TO
PRESENT HIS FINISHED WORK ON YOUR
BEHALF.

1. so that you would not go to hell

2. and that you would live in heaven forever

so . . . you can see that something is BADLY wrong with a Christian that is not abounding with thankfulness.

IV. The DEGREES Of A Christian.

You See the SPIRITUAL PROCESS Of A Godly Christian.
we “receive” Jesus as our Lord and Savior
we begin our “walk” with Him as we:
put our spiritual roots deep into His spiritual soil
we pour our spiritual foundation so that we can build a spiritual home
building that house with the lumber and bricks of Biblical truth
with faith being the laughter and attitude that permeates the atmosphere of our spiritual home

1. with that in mind, what is the “atmosphere” in your spiritual
home?

a. complaints?

b. expectations?

c. blame?

2. HOW CAN YOUR ATMOSPHERE NOT BE
THANKFULNESS?

a are you not walking with Jesus?

b. are you not aware of the work of Jesus for you?

You See The SPIRITUAL PRAISE Of A Godly Christian.
Thankfulness becomes THE KEY EVIDENCE of where you truly are in your spiritual life.
Let us not be like the lepers in Luke 17:11-19
there were 10 lepers

1. leprosy was a contagious disease

2. thus lepers were rejected by society

a. The Leprosy Mission International says that leprosy is
an infectious disease caused by the bacteria
Mycobacterium leprae. The leprosy germ affects
nerves which lie near the skin, and, untreated, this can
lead to a loss of feeling in the affected parts of the body.
Most at risk are the hands, feet and eyes/face.
Because the person affected with the germ cannot feel,
wounds or other injuries go unnoticed or untreated.
Life-long care of anesthetic limbs is one of the greatest
challenges faced by people affected by leprosy, and
neglect can cause damage so severe as to cause partial
paralysis, such as clawed fingers or lagopthalmos (an
inability to blink, resulting in corneal ulcers, and, if
untreated, blindness.)