The Master‘s Class, LifeChange Church Wichita

IS GOD'S PLAN REASONABLE? (Romans 3:27 to 4:5)

Is God’s plan of salvation reasonable?  That is an interesting question, for if we are to consider whether or not God’s plan of salvation is reasonable, then we have to ask is God reasonable?

I have to admit that I have never thought of the word reasonable in relation to God.  God is divine, therefore, He doesn't have to be reasonable.  God is gracious, God is loving, God is our judge, He is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent, but is God reasonable?

Is God reasonable as He judges our works?  What are His standards?  Are they reasonable?

The word reasonable is defined as rational, in accord with common sense, not expecting more than what is possible, not exorbitant, and fairly good.  So with these words in mind, if you believe that you will be accepted by God based on your works, or how much good versus how much bad you have done, then will God be reasonable in His judgment of your works?

To answer this we have to ask what is the standard that God will use to judge us by? And the Bible tells us that our works must meet the standard of God’s own perfect righteousness and holiness.  Is it rational for God to expect perfection?  Is it in accord with common sense, and is it not expecting too much? 

Most people would answer that God knows that we cannot be perfect so it would be expecting too much for Him to demand perfection.  My response is that God created Adam and Eve in perfect bodies and placed them in a perfect environment called the Garden of Eden.  God expected Adam and Eve to keep that perfection.  It was man who willfully chose to sin and corrupt the perfection that God had created.  So it is certainly reasonable for God to expect man to be as perfect as He created him.

If this is true, then that leaves those who believe in salvation by works with a problem.  How can they meet the standards demanded by God when man is no longer capable of perfection?  

Does God have to change His standards?  The Bible says there is no changing in God.  What God demanded in the past, God demands today.  What God expected from Adam in the past, God expects from us today.  The bottom line is that I would not trust the best five minutes of my life to meet the perfect standards of God.  So if man’s plan is not possible, what is God’s plan?

God’s plan is salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.  In man’s plan of salvation by works, everything depends on the sinner.  In God’s plan of salvation by faith, everything depends on the perfect work of salvation performed by the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  

Listen to this podcast to learn that if you want to plead not guilty and demand a fair trial, then God will give you one, a trial where your works must meet His standards of perfection.  The more reasonable approach is to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, plead guilty, and depend on God’s mercy and grace that He is able to grant us through the perfect work of Christ.

IF YOU BELIEVE GOD, WILL YOU ACT ON THAT BELIEF? (James 2:25-26)

If you believe God, will you act on that belief?

There are a majority of people in this country who believe in God, as well as those who claim to believe what God says in His Word.  For many years there was a popular bumper sticker that said “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”

Yet, if you were to ask those same people if their belief in what God says has made a revolutionary change in their lives, the number of people who said yes to this question would likely be much smaller.  The term believer means that you believe what God has promised you in the Bible about what Jesus has done for you, about His shed blood, about forgiveness of your sins, and about death and eternal life.  But God demands more from those that He calls His own.    

A true believer will take what God says, internalize it, and then act upon it.  The promises that God makes to us will create a revolution in the life of person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.  They will view life differently.  They will view death differently.  The things that were once important to them are no longer important.  There are new things that are the focus of their lives, things that God wants you to accomplish.  Things that you want to accomplish for God, because of your love for Him.  You will take what God has said, and because you believe it is true, you will act upon it in your life.  You will create works for God and through God.

Listen to this podcast to learn the story of Rahab.  How she heard the promises of God.  How she believed those promises, and how she then acted upon them.  

A TEST OF YOUR FAITH (James 2:14-20)

What is the test of your love?

   

Valentine’s Day has just passed and most of us demonstrated our love for that special someone in our life by buying a gift, candy, flowers, or a special meal of some kind.  This custom is so ingrained in our society that to fail to do something leads to being called a callous, worthless, uncaring, bum, by your recently past, not-so-special anymore, loved one in your life. There are those that see this as an actual test of their spouse’s love.

It is not enough that you say that you love them, for the word love is an often used word that can have various levels of intensity.  

It is not enough that you believe that you love them, for how many times have you really believed that you loved someone, just to find out that it was more of a physical attraction, instead of real love?

There must be more, there must be a demonstration of that love, or your spouse will consider your love dead, or missing, or simply a mental assent to the concept of love, but it must not really reach down into your heart.  

In other words, love without works is dead.  You can tell your wife that you love her, and then she will probably look at you and tell you how nice that is, but that she shows you her love by her works.  

Therefore, the test of your love for your spouse is your works.  

It doesn’t mean that you do not love her if you do not have works.  You can be married without works, but if you truly love your wife, or your husband, there will be works that are the natural result of that love.  They will come from the emotional, heartfelt, desire, to do things for your spouse that will demonstrate your love for them.  Those works will be the fruit of your love.  

You will do things for your spouse all of the time, not just on Valentine’s Day, not just because you want to pass a test, or a judgment to come, but because to love someone in the manner that God has intended for a man and a women to love each other, means that what they want and need is much more important than your own wants and needs.  

Now, if you can understand this concept, then you will be able to understand one of the most widely misinterpreted, and misunderstood, sections of the Bible as we study it today.  Listen to this podcast and learn what the Book of James says about a test of your faith, and how a faith without works is dead.