Volitional and Behavioral Attendants

In this part of the sermon: Martin briefly reviews the previous sermons in the series, reiterating that repentance and faith are indispensable and inseparable, rooted in God's grace, and involve a felt sense…

Repentance and faith are likened to the hinge on the door of salvation, emphasizing their indispensable and inseparable connection.

And we pray that amidst our instruction, our reproof, and our confirmation, that we would indeed savor the fragrance of the presence of Jesus himself, drawing near and opening the scriptures to us, and causing our hearts to burn. Hear us, we pray, for the good of our needy souls, and that we may have additional reason to leave this place today full of praise, singing from our hearts, hallelujah, praise Jehovah. Amen. We come this morning in the ministry of the word to the seventh message in a series of studies which I have entitled, Repentance and the Word. Repentance and faith, the hinge on t...

1:51 - 3:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin briefly reviews the previous sermons in the series, reiterating that repentance and faith are indispensable and inseparable, rooted in God's grace, and involve a felt sense…

The image of a tree is used as a visual aid to structure the discussion of repentance, with soil, taproots, trunk, and branches representing different aspects.

that repentance and faith are both indispensable and inseparable in any saving experience of the grace of God. They are both indispensable and they are inseparable. And having established that fact to underscore that this was not an abstract doctrinal study about repentance, but that this was entering into the very nerve centers of life and of salvation, I then proceeded to underscore in your hearing that three things would be dominant in the course of these messages. As we deal with the subject of repentance, the scriptures will be our supreme authority. Secondly, the shorter catechism will b...

3:13 - 4:36 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine whether your purpose for new obedience is followed by honest, sincere endeavor.

The old catechism writers are praised for including both 'purpose' and 'pursuit' (endeavor), as merely pursuing bypasses the heart, and merely purposing leaves room for self-deception. They 'balked us in' and 'nailed us' at both points.

He is making an honest, sincere endeavor after what he said he purposed to pursue. You know, those old men were very, very wise. Very wise. Had they said merely pursuit without purpose, they would have bypassed the heart.

12:46 - 13:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. Out of the heart are the issues of life, and out of the fountain of a man's being, a woman's being, a boy's being, …

A 'stone' is used to illustrate the unresponsiveness of the natural heart to God's law and impulses, even when God's words are laid upon it.

Yea, they may be made as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit by the former prophets. Therefore there came great wrath from the Lord of hosts. A stone is unresponsive to touch. It's unresponsive to any felt impulses.

16:55 - 17:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. Out of the heart are the issues of life, and out of the fountain of a man's being, a woman's being, a boy's being, …

The prevailing internal spiritual disposition of the unconverted is described as 'one clenched fist in the face of God,' illustrating active enmity rather than mere indifference.

The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. Out of the heart are the issues of life, and out of the fountain of a man's being, a woman's being, a boy's being, a girl's being, who has nothing but the heart mom and dad gave him or her, is this cleansing, is this adamant time disposition that says whatever I do, whatever I want, whatever I choose, I will not be subject to God from the heart. I'll be willing to incorporate into my head notions about Him that may not jar me and disturb me. I'll be willing to believe things about Him, but ...

18:11 - 19:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Reflect on whether you have experienced a desire to do God's will, where your 'want' and 'ought' coalesce.

Martin describes the amazement of some converts who, after years of reluctant external conformity, suddenly found themselves 'wanting what to do' when their 'want' and 'ought' coalesced, illustrating the inward inclination of new obedience.

Some of us can remember whose conversion was not very dramatic but we can at least point to the general time frame. What an amazement it was after years of having a conscience enlightened by the Bible in a Christian home under some measure of Christian instruction and reluctantly dragging our feet into the standards and ways of a Christian as much as we could wherever we could without crossing too much what else we wanted. We were in amazement to ourselves when we found ourselves wanting what to do when our wanton are ought to coalesce in our hearts and in our lives. Do you know that? If you d...

22:50 - 24:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second characteristic is its universal extent, contrasting with the partial, external, and selective obedience of unconverted individuals. True repentance leads to a desire…

The rich young ruler is presented as an example of someone who rendered apparent, external, and selective obedience to God's law without true heart change, believing he had kept the commandments from his youth.

Now think with me. By nature men may render various degrees of apparent obedience or external and selective obedience to the revealed will of God. Remember the rich young ruler? He comes to Jesus.

24:03 - 24:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You see one of the fundamental difference between mere nominalism and real vital saving religion is this if you're going to keep up your nominalism if you're going to keep up the respect of the religious community that m…

Paul's pre-conversion claim in Philippians 3 to be 'blameless' as touching the law is used to show that external conformity is possible without genuine repentance.

There was a measure of consistent external obedience to the law of God. By nature men may render various degrees of apparent obedience and external and selective obedience. Remember what Saul of Tarsus said in Philippians 3 as touching the law I was what? Blameless.

25:23 - 25:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Be as meticulous about keeping your thoughts pure and grieving over inward sins as you are about outward behavior that meets community standards.

The difference between nominalism and vital religion is illustrated by the selective obedience of those who maintain outward respectability but allow 'hard footprints of thoughts of meanness and bitterness and uncleanness and self-pity' in their minds, contrasting with the meticulous inward purity of true penitents.

no severing of the feelings and affections of the heart from outward visible actions in a word a new obedience though imperfect in degree is impartial and universal in regard to its objects it says with David I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way first of all in myself new obedience though imperfect in degree is impartial and universal in regard to its objects you see one of the fundamental difference between mere nominalism and real vital saving religion is this if you're going to keep up your nominalism if you're going to keep up the respect o...

30:25 - 31:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Deal ruthlessly with anything that would hinder universal obedience, regardless of human knowledge, because God's eyes matter most.

Motives are described as 'the motors that drive our actions' and desires as 'the mother of our deeds,' emphasizing their foundational role in behavior.

in angry cursing in the presence of a hundred of the group whose acceptance you want it's not their eyes and ears that matter most to you it's the eyes and ears of God and therefore the new obedience is not only new with respect to its source but it is new with respect to its extent whenever sin is detected regardless of what human being may or may know about it is of no concern to you what concerns you is the eye of your savior are you actually dealing ruthlessly with anything that would hinder universal obedience if not how can you justify in the theater of your own conscience that you are e...

33:23 - 34:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in the 'hacking and throwing and plucking and casting' of sin, not just moaning and groaning, as evidence of love for Christ.

The necessity of 'hacking and throwing and plucking and casting' is used as a vivid metaphor for the ruthless mortification of sin, contrasting with mere 'moaning and groaning' or 'bonfires with our toys and trinkets'.

and i'm personally persuaded the apostle injected that at the end of that letter because working through all of the morass of the corinthian mess again and again he shows how if only they understood who jesus was and if only they were adjusting life and thought and relationships to who jesus is and what jesus has done his own heart is so filled with the wonder of christ that he says if anyone doesn't love so lovable a being let him be cursed of god and if we love so lovable a being the evidence is we obey him not when obedience is just convenient but when obedience cost us chopping off right h...

39:18 - 40:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in the 'hacking and throwing and plucking and casting' of sin, not just moaning and groaning, as evidence of love for Christ.

The grace of God revealed in Christ is likened to a prism that 'breaks out in all the marvelous colors of his manifold grace,' without softening the 'sharper angles' or 'intimidating dimensions' of God's being.

awesome being you see the grace of god revealed in christ does not in any way soften the sharper angles nor the intimidating dimensions of the being of god it's simply beautifully and wonderfully beams them all down through the revelation of his heart of mercy and the person and work of jesus christ and like a prism breaks out in all the marvelous colors of his manifold grace but god does not cease to be a consuming fire it's in the context of the better things of the new covenant that the writer to hebrew says for our god not was under moses covenant but god is a consuming fire again setting ...

45:16 - 46:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I have found helpful in my own mind to give what is a sort of collation of strands of thought from different sources and simply to state it is that fear which so regards god in his awesome being and in his astounding gra…

Martin contrasts common misconceptions of God as a 'horrible ogre' or an 'ubiquitous amorphous glob of undefined emotion called love' with the true revelation of God's character in the gospel.

horrible ogre who makes these unreasonable demands and is out to just zap us and get us or is this big ubiquitous amorphous glob of undefined emotion called love wouldn't hurt a flea all except of god that he's all sternness and harshness or is this amorphous glob of guttiness and everything in between in the gospel we see him for who he is he's the god who has rights over us and we've defied him trampled underfoot his law we've incensed him because of our sin and the god who is so pure and so holy and just that he will not as it were give vent to the impulses of his love to pardon without his...

48:15 - 49:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: my nihism cause that the death of my nihism grief and hatred of his sin does with what full purpose of an endeavor after new obedience for I know that the only way I can begin to glorify God is in the way of obedience to…

The human soul is described as an 'empty vacuum of desire' and a 'mass of wanters,' illustrating humanity's natural obsession with fulfilling desires and gratifying senses.

our likeness god's intention being that as they fulfilled the mandate to be fruitful and multiply and replenish and fill the earth this earth would be full of accurate albeit human but accurate mirrors reflections of god in all the multi dimension glory of what makes him god in his essential moral character in his ways and works man is image of god if the absence of the fear of god is the crowning shame of man then failure to glorify god is what that's the crowning tragedy we're failing to be the very thing we were made to be we live to do anything other than glorify god we come into the realm...

52:44 - 54:12 Read in full sermon

Driving home: my nihism cause that the death of my nihism grief and hatred of his sin does with what full purpose of an endeavor after new obedience for I know that the only way I can begin to glorify God is in the way of obedience to…

The 'lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life' are called the 'world's trinity,' which unconverted humanity worships by nature.

these capacities to enjoy things our life becomes obsessed with what fulfilling those desires and satisfying those senses so as I said earlier all that is in the world what is the world's trinity the lust of the flesh the desire to enjoy things the lust of the eyes the desire to possess things and the vain glory of life the desire to be somebody is the world's trinity and we all worship it by nature but what happens when God graciously deals with us brings us under some measure of felt awareness of what we are as sinners and we come to experience something of some measure and I am not about to...

54:12 - 55:41 Read in full sermon

Driving home: my nihism cause that the death of my nihism grief and hatred of his sin does with what full purpose of an endeavor after new obedience for I know that the only way I can begin to glorify God is in the way of obedience to…

The parable of the prodigal son is used as an extended example of true repentance, where the son's 'coming to himself' leads to self-loathing, shame, and a disposition to live for his father's purposes, not his own.

base activities that make me most like the animals to have a passion to glorify God 1 Corinthians 10 31 whether therefore you eat that's what Fido does when he sticks his snoot in the bowl he eats whether you drink when he's lapping his water dish or whatever you do do all to the glory of God begin to live for the purpose for which you were made don't you see that it's subtle but I believe it's real and I know there is the dictum that every parable has but one central truth I'm not quite so sure I accept it I think in principle we ought not to look for all kinds of meanings in all the details ...

57:10 - 58:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Honestly ask God to search your heart and determine if the attendants of repentance unto life are the present disposition of your soul.

An extended quotation from Ashbell Green's lectures on the Shorter Catechism is used to elaborate on the meaning of 'full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience,' emphasizing its opposition to partial, temporary, or delayed resolutions.

out of a true sensitive sin in an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ doth with grief and hatred of it turn from it unto God with full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience the inseparable relationship grief self-loathing and shame for sin may be nothing but the sorrow of the world that works death if it is not accompanied with this full purpose of an endeavor after new obedience I close by giving you a taste of ash bell green it cannot be otherwise than that he who acts in the manner just described should have a full purpose of an endeavor after new obedience full purpose that is...

64:29 - 65:58 Read in full sermon