Lordship of Christ in Salvation Part 1

The point: Learn to stop being mentally lazy during didactic teaching to avoid arrested spiritual growth.

Martin uses the metaphor of mental laziness and being 'spoiled rotten' to describe congregants who only engage when the preacher is highly energetic, urging them to overcome this to avoid arrested spiritual growth.

So, the Corinthians that becomes the necessary basis of meaningful, effectual exhortation. Now, that's the framework I'm following. What I'm going to give you in the remainder of the class time this morning is going to be heavily didactic. And frankly, there are some of you that are mentally lazy. You only like it when the preacher's working up the sweat and trying to work you into a spiritual sweat. And frankly, some of you are spoiled rotten in this area.

7:22 - 7:53 Read in full sermon

The point: Develop sufficient biblical discernment and Bible knowledge to identify errors in theological writings, even from respected authors.

Martin uses the metaphor of the devil establishing and maintaining his kingdom by error and lies to emphasize the importance of addressing theological confusion and error.

in Christ? Ryrie's answer is just the opposite. That not only is it possible, but in many cases it is actually true that sinners truly believe upon Christ to the saving of their souls and have not yet decided the issue, shall I bow to the authority of Christ and be prepared to live by the rule and the way of Christ. Now I say there is widespread confusion, current discussion and debate on the issue, and since the devil establishes and maintains his kingdom by error and by lie, John 8, 44, year of your father the devil, the lust of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the b...

13:48 - 15:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Develop sufficient biblical discernment and Bible knowledge to identify errors in theological writings, even from respected authors.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'embalmed in printer's ink' to refer to Ryrie's written work, contrasting it with the 'light of the word of God' to highlight its deflection from scripture.

So here we are told that true Christian maturation comes in a way of speaking truth in love, being established in the truth, so that you, as an ordinary believer, could pick up Charles Ryrie's book and have sufficient biblical discernment and Bible knowledge to see the errors that oft times are passed with an exegetical and a theological sleight of hand. Now I am not saying a thing about the man's moral character. May night very plain. I am not slandering his moral character.

16:35 - 17:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second reason for addressing the issue is the elder's task, as defined in Titus 1:9, to both exhort in sound teaching and to convict gainsayers. Martin emphasizes that this…

Martin uses the legal metaphor of a jury, court, and criminal to explain the elder's task of convicting gainsayers, showing error to be guilty and false to an unbiased conscience.

the heart, moral courage, and love, and the mouth. The ability to set forth these things clearly, and notice the two prongs, that he may be able both to exhort, to encourage, to impel, to motivate in the realm of sound or healthy teaching, and to convict the gainsayers. The word convict means to bring something to the test and show it. It is a twofold task in the handling of the faithful word of God. We are to show it to either be guilty or false. It goes beyond merely reproving. It means so to reprove as to convince the jury of the undefiled conscience of another that what you are pointing ou...

18:34 - 19:35 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If surrender is something I must do as a part of believing, then it is a work, and grace has been diluted to the extent to which I actually do surrender.

Martin uses the metaphor of heat, light, and misty clouds to describe how strong opinions in a debate can obscure the core issue, aiming to 'blow the clouds away' for clarity.

Secondly, I want to help you to identify the heart of the issue. Now, whenever you come to matters of discussion and debate, because where there's heat, there often is little light. The more heat there is, the less light there is. And when you come into a debated issue, so often, if the issue is found within this circle, the heat that comes from strongly felt opinions can often act like sort of misty clouds.

24:16 - 24:48 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If surrender is something I must do as a part of believing, then it is a work, and grace has been diluted to the extent to which I actually do surrender.

Martin quotes Ryrie's metaphor of human works as 'termites in God's structure of grace' to agree with the principle but then critiques Ryrie's application of this to 'surrender' as a work.

Number one, it is not a question of whether salvation is all of grace or whether it is grace plus the merit of human endeavor. It is not a question of whether salvation is all of grace or grace plus the merit of human endeavor. Now, it's at this point that Dr. Ryrie greatly errs. Now, that's a serious charge to make, and I'm making it publicly, and it's going out on tape. I make it responsibly. He says on page 18, and this is not quoted out of context, but as the conclusion, of seeking to do this very thing, that is, to identify what grace is, and Dr. Ryrie says this, human works are like term...

26:04 - 27:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: To clarify the debate, Martin first identifies what the issue is not: it's not about salvation being grace plus works, nor about how much a person must know of Christ's Lordship…

Martin uses the metaphor of salvation coming 'out of the hidden mountains in eternity of God's gracious free sovereign election' to illustrate the divine origin of grace.

The very essence of faith is the whole life. herd of termites to erode the foundation of salvation by grace no dear people no one believes i trust more firmly than we do that salvation is all of grace from its origin to its consummation in its origin it's all of grace second timothy 1 9 who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in christ before times eternal we say our salvation comes out of the hidden mountains in eternity of god's gracious free sovereign election and then in its ground it is al...

28:31 - 29:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: To clarify the debate, Martin first identifies what the issue is not: it's not about salvation being grace plus works, nor about how much a person must know of Christ's Lordship…

Martin uses the metaphor of bringing forth the 'top stone thereof saying grace, grace, grace unto it' to illustrate the consummation of salvation in glory as entirely by grace.

Galatians 1.15 When it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace. And as it has its tap roots in grace, its grounds in grace, its conferral in grace. When we stand with Christ in glory, then the ancient prophecy will be fulfilled.

29:47 - 30:08 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: To clarify the debate, Martin first identifies what the issue is not: it's not about salvation being grace plus works, nor about how much a person must know of Christ's Lordship…

Martin uses the example of Apollos in Acts 18, who had limited knowledge of the gospel but was truly converted, to argue that the amount of cognitive knowledge of Christ's Lordship is not a prerequisite for salvation.

That God may use to save a man is God's business. And you have the clear example of Apollos in Acts 18. All he knew cognitively was the content of the Gospel up to the point of John the Baptist's death. He did not hear that Christ died for our sins.

31:33 - 31:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: To clarify the debate, Martin first identifies what the issue is not: it's not about salvation being grace plus works, nor about how much a person must know of Christ's Lordship…

Martin uses the examples of David and Peter's backsliding to illustrate that true Christians can fall into patterns of sin and practically deny Christ's Lordship in certain areas, but this does not mean Christ is not their Lord.

It is not a question of whether or not true Christians may and do manifest practical denials of the Lordship of Christ. It's not a question of whether or not true Christians may and do manifest practical denials of the Lordship of Christ. Christ in a very real sense every time I sin I deny the Lordship of Christ if I covet I deny his Lordship over my heart's affections if I say an angry word I deny his Lordship over my tongue if I fail to do what he's commanded me to do in loving my wife as Christ loved the church putting her concerns first I'm denying his Lordship over my marital affections s...

32:43 - 34:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Can a rebel find pardon for his rebellion and thereby be ready to go to heaven while still purposing to pursue the very life of rebellion that makes him deserve hell?

Martin uses the metaphor of a rebel seeking pardon for rebellion while still purposing to pursue that same rebellion to highlight the contradiction in separating Christ as Savior from Christ as Lord.

Can a sinner truly embrace Christ as his Savior while consciously, willfully refusing to submit to Christ as the ruler and the governor of his life? Can a rebel find pardon for his rebellion and thereby be ready to go to heaven while still purposing to pursue the very life of rebellion that makes him deserve hell?

36:17 - 36:51 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Can a rebel find pardon for his rebellion and thereby be ready to go to heaven while still purposing to pursue the very life of rebellion that makes him deserve hell?

Martin uses the metaphor of a sinner stretching out one hand for the benefits of the cross while the other hand is 'clenched in a fist of defiance' against Christ's rule to vividly portray the core issue.

Can a sinner stretch out one hand to take the benefits of the cross of Christ while the other hand is clenched in a fist of defiance saying, I will not bow to the rule, to the crown, and to the scepter of Christ? That is the issue. That's the issue.

36:54 - 37:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't let 'smoke' or secondary examples cloud the core issue of whether the Father's drawing work changes the disposition of rebellion.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'smoke clouding' the issue to urge listeners to focus on the fundamental questions rather than getting sidetracked by secondary examples like Lot.

You see the issue? That's the issue. And don't let any other smoke cloud. Oh yeah but what about Lot?

41:35 - 41:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin quickly outlines three necessarily related issues: whether a man can be a true believer and not a fundamentally committed disciple, whether there is such a thing as a…

Martin uses the metaphor of a 'straw dummy' to refer to the idea that some might dismiss his characterization of certain views on repentance as an exaggeration, then quotes Ryrie to prove his point.

question fiery answers yes he said all there'll be some fruit must be some fruit but the basic answer is there can be precious little over precious long time and still be a Christian MacArthur says no way Jose both ain't right and the Bible doesn't teach both and then the third related question is this can true faith be exercise divorced from repentance and true faith be exercise divorce from the dependence and I tell you it's pathetic I agree read or read fully for the first time in preparation for today Ryrie's chapter on repentance and I've heard you've heard me say that some people teach t...

45:44 - 46:45 Read in full sermon