In the General Epistles, Part 1

Driving home: The Bible has a doctrine not only of dead works which will damn the soul, the effort to bring to God what we have done as stairs by which we hope to climb to heaven. God calls those works dead works. So it has a doctrine…

James' analogy of a body without a spirit being dead is used to illustrate that faith without works is likewise dead, lacking animation and life.

And if a man professes to have faith in Christ unto the saving of his soul, that is not a faith unto the transformation of his life into a pattern of good works, James says that kind of faith cannot save him. It is like a dead body. As the body apart from the spirit is dead, it has no animation, no life. It is just the empty shell.

10:14 - 10:44 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The apostles did not have the silly notion so current in our day that it's not what you believe that matters the thing that really matters is that you be sincere about what you believe it is not the object of your faith …

Martin uses the analogy of someone sincerely believing they can fly by flapping their arms after jumping from the World Trade Center to show that sincerity of faith is not enough; the object of faith (truth) matters, as gravity's reality will overcome false belief.

who shall privily bring in destructive heresies you see the apostles did not have the silly notion so current in our day that it's not what you believe that matters the thing that really matters is that you be sincere about what you believe it is not the object of your faith but it is faith itself that is important my friends that notion so current in our day finds no foundation in the bible the bible says what you believe is the difference between life and death and heaven and hell the bible says in second Thessalonians people who believe a lie shall be damned

26:56 - 27:40 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The apostles did not have the silly notion so current in our day that it's not what you believe that matters the thing that really matters is that you be sincere about what you believe it is not the object of your faith …

He gives the example of false teachers promising 'total freedom' in sexual ethics, advocating for sex outside of marriage, to illustrate how they are 'slaves of corruption' despite promising liberty.

you will become a child of God people hear that message and they are just in the process as it were of coming under its power and escaping from the defilements of the world when those come along and say hey look look that message they're going to give you the other side of it pretty soon if they haven't already it tells you you've got to say no to your flesh you've got to say no to sin you've got to say no to the world we have a better message that is total freedom and total liberty they promise liberty all the while they're the bondage slaves of corruption sound familiar? people who come and ...

29:54 - 30:38 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He then addresses 2 Peter 2:20-22, warning about false teachers and the severe danger of those who, after escaping the world's defilements through knowledge of Christ, become…

The process of braiding hair is used to illustrate how the world can 'entangle' someone who has seemingly escaped its defilements, weaving its strands back into their life until they are overcome.

And it's very interesting. This word entangled, in the same family of words as the word used later on by Peter, or earlier by Peter in his first letter, for braided hair. Now this is the verbal form. Now what happens when you braid hair?

34:17 - 34:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He then addresses 2 Peter 2:20-22, warning about false teachers and the severe danger of those who, after escaping the world's defilements through knowledge of Christ, become…

The metaphor of dogs returning to their vomit is used to show that those who apostatize were never truly changed from their 'doggish nature' to 'sheep'.

But in going back, they show that they were never changed from dogs to sheep.

36:10 - 36:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: child of God may become entangled but he will never be overcome

The metaphor of a washed sow returning to the mire is used to illustrate that outward cleansing (like an apparent conversion) does not change the inward nature, and if the heart is not changed, the individual will revert to their old ways.

Dogs who return to their vomit manifest their doggish nature. And these people show that they were dogs, though they had the appearance of sheep. And furthermore, you may wash the sow and take the mud from her skin, but you cannot take the mud from her heart. And if you put her near the mud, she's back in it because sow she was and sow she is.

36:18 - 36:42 Read in full sermon

The point: If you believe James and Peter's warnings, you will be found engaged with all your powers in the use of every God-appointed means to be kept upon the way.

Martin quotes J.L. Dagg's statement that 'perseverance in holiness is the only infallible proof that the heart is right,' using it to underscore the critical importance of continuous perseverance as evidence of true grace.

we will be found engaged with all of our powers in the use of every God-appointed means to be kept upon the way and as I conclude this morning I want to read from an old Southern Baptist writer he wrote most of his book of systematic theology in church order when he was blind almost blind his knowledge of the word of God is an amazing thing he just weaves scripture into his sentence structure page after page his name is J.L. Dagg D-A-double-G he's just recently been reprinted and this is his statement on perseverance

42:17 - 43:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Never reason, 'I've been in the way for years, so I can venture into sin with impunity because God is committed to preserve me.' This is tampering with your eternal soul's well-being.

He uses the analogy of a 'bypass meadow' that looks attractive and innocent, tempting a believer to stray from the straight way, to illustrate the danger of reasoning from past grace to present laxity.

to depart from Christ and the greater his past attainments may have been the greater is the occasion for alarm because his case if he falls away will so much more resemble that in which renewal to repentance will be the case is impossible in other words when you are tempted to sin don't you ever reason this way oh well I've been in the way five years I've been in the way ten years I've got ten years of accumulated evidence that I'm a true child of God and knowing that no true child of God will ever perish I can venture

44:27 - 45:11 Read in full sermon