No Crisis Experience Commanded #4

In this part of the sermon: Martin turns to Romans 6 to address how believers deal with sin, refuting the idea that a crisis experience is needed. He explains that Paul grounds victory over sin in the…

Martin uses the 'devil's logic' to illustrate the false deduction that if grace superabounds where sin abounds, then sinning more would magnify grace even further, setting up Paul's strong refutation in Romans 6:1.

Well, let's add to that wonderful statement the devil's logic. Well, if there's a mountain of sin this high and grace superabounds over it, then if we raise a mountain this high, then grace superabounds even higher. So the way to magnify grace is to do what? To sin. I mean, that's logical, isn't it? Logical. That's devil's logic. But that's the logic applied to Paul's doctrine of the grace of God being the basis of the sinner's acceptance with God.

13:30 - 14:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Instruct your mind with reference to the facts of what God has already done for you in Christ, rather than seeking something new.

He compares a believer's death to sin to a person's physical death, where all fundamental relationships to this world cease, to explain the radical break with sin's dominion.

When a man dies in this present world, all his fundamental relationship to this world ceases at the moment of death. We who died to sin, viewing sin as a cosmos of spiritual existence. He said, we died to that. How shall we live in it?

16:09 - 16:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Get your head sorted out with regard to what God has done for you in Christ, and let your heart and life comply with that truth.

The gospel is likened to a mold into which believers are 'cast' when they embrace it, emphasizing that conversion shapes them into obedience.

the gospel came as a form of teaching like a mold and when under the power of the spirit you embraced that gospel you were cast into the mold of that teaching. You were delivered unto the teaching. That's the emphasis of the original. It wasn't that the teaching was delivered unto you.

20:57 - 21:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Get your head sorted out with regard to what God has done for you in Christ, and let your heart and life comply with that truth.

Chronic disobedience is compared to a virus that saps strength and makes one dull, even if other spiritual disciplines are practiced, illustrating how unaddressed sin hinders spiritual health.

Now in the same way in the same way any chronic area of disobedience as we'll see when we get into the matter of conscience God willing in the next hour can act like a virus does in the body. And you may have a virus that is just sapping all your strength and making you feel just dull and lifeless. You may have the best diet the right mixture of ordinary and health foods and all the rest see how compromising I am by please everybody I please everybody. And you have an excellent diet and you get plenty of exercise you do everything that's prescribed for good health. But if that virus is at work...

24:25 - 25:18 Read in full sermon

The point: Get your head sorted out with regard to what God has done for you in Christ, and let your heart and life comply with that truth.

A hypothetical story of a husband who, through preaching on 1 Peter 3, realizes his 'iron-fisted' headship is godless, repents, and experiences a spiritual crisis, demonstrating how truth can lead to profound change without being a commanded 'crisis experience.'

Bibles and going through the motions of prayer. But if there is a conflict of conscience there is a spiritual virus eating away at the soul. Alright. Now suppose because this is fresh in our minds suppose that virus was the virus of an insensitive dwelling with one's wife. Alright.

25:18 - 25:38 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have glorious spiritual feelings, ride the crest, but understand that spiritual reality is not determined by these fluctuating emotions.

Spiritual feelings and experiences (like happiness or glumness) are compared to the changing waves on the ocean, while spiritual reality (what God has done in Christ) is likened to the unchanging ocean floor, emphasizing that reality is not determined by fluctuating emotions.

I liken it to the difference between the waves on the ocean and the ocean floor. Now if you wake up in the morning and you're right in the crest of a big wave fine. Ride it for all it's worth. But tomorrow morning you may be there.

28:29 - 28:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not elevate circumstantial incidents or feelings into a doctrine for victorious Christian living.

He uses the example of someone having a glorious experience while meditating on Psalm 37:4 at sunrise, to show that such circumstantial incidents are not the basis for a doctrine of victorious Christian living.

But now imagine you see if a person the thing that sort of brought him up here. So he was sort of climbing a crest and then he brought to the crest because he was meditating on Psalm 37 4 and looking at the sunrise and he really got here. That was the final thing that brought him up here. You say how stupid it would be for him now to write an article on how to live the victorious Christian life. Meditate on Psalm 37 4 while looking at the sunrise on Tuesday morning. Those are simply incidents. Circumstantial things that have nothing to do with the real issues that ought continually to be befor...

29:28 - 30:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin shifts to the issue of assurance, critiquing the teaching that a 'sealing of the Holy Spirit' crisis experience is necessary. He introduces 1 John 5:13 as John's explicit…

Martin quotes Lloyd-Jones's emphasis on a 'sealing of the Holy Spirit' as a distinct, definite second work of grace for assurance, setting up the counter-argument from 1 John.

And I quoted some of those quotes from Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones who is perhaps the most well-known and able proponent of these things in contemporary literature. He's gone to be with the Lord, but while he was alive, particularly in his last years, very strongly emphasized this. And the teaching is that if we lack assurance, the way to get it is to seek until we obtain a distinct, definite, second work of grace, a baptism in the Holy Spirit which he preferred to call a baptism which should be conceived of as a sealing which gives this level of assurance that will make our lives qualitatively dif...

30:49 - 31:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin shifts to the issue of assurance, critiquing the teaching that a 'sealing of the Holy Spirit' crisis experience is necessary. He introduces 1 John 5:13 as John's explicit…

Martin recounts a young man challenging Lloyd-Jones, who responded by asking if the challenger had the experience, illustrating the experiential basis of crisis theology and its dismissal of those without the experience.

And I quoted some of those quotes from Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones who is perhaps the most well-known and able proponent of these things in contemporary literature. He's gone to be with the Lord, but while he was alive, particularly in his last years, very strongly emphasized this. And the teaching is that if we lack assurance, the way to get it is to seek until we obtain a distinct, definite, second work of grace, a baptism in the Holy Spirit which he preferred to call a baptism which should be conceived of as a sealing which gives this level of assurance that will make our lives qualitatively dif...

30:49 - 31:53 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that assurance does not rest solely upon evidences, but neither is it possessed exclusively of them.

Martin recounts an illustration used by a proponent of crisis theology: a photograph of family is a substitute when away, but unnecessary when physically present. This was used to argue that evidential assurance (like a photo) is 'second best' compared to a direct 'divine sealing' (like physical presence), which Martin strongly refutes as opening the door to deception.

away from home a family man who loves his wife and children he doesn't have them so what does he do he takes along a photograph of them and when he doesn't have them this representation of them is a good substitute or the best substitute if he can't have them at least he can have them so he sets up a picture in his motel room and when he gets up in the morning he looks at his wife and his children he thinks of them that representation sort of is a substitute for them though it can't really fill the place that they fill he went on to say in his illustration if he's over his business trip and ba...

40:03 - 41:31 Read in full sermon

The point: If assurance is lost, get back on track and seek it again through biblical means.

Frank shares an anecdote about a pastor calling for a 'penthouse experience' to address church problems, illustrating how crisis theology is presented as a solution to spiritual deficiencies.

oh it's possible to lose it yes it's possible to lose it well then you've got to get back on the track and get it back again yes oh yes most would teach that you can lose it I don't know any that teach you can never lose it I haven't encountered any such teaching no so it's not as though once you get up there you can't fall back down here yes Frank recently I was at a church with a man who was teaching the crisis experience in terms of the penthouse experience very late he was he was saying look we've got a lot of problems in this church he didn't say that but knowing the background he was say...

48:38 - 50:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not give comfort to people who should have no grounds for comfort by telling them they are converted when they are living in unrepentant sin.

Martin shares a personal story of a man realizing that the emphasis on a 'second work' (crisis experience) in his denomination stemmed from a lack of understanding of the 'magnitude of the first work' (conversion), which powerfully summarizes the sermon's main point.

it not only gives comfort to people who shouldn't have any see as long as you're telling them now you're telling them look you're converted but you're a mess I mean here you are shacking up with girls and you're doing this and doing that and doing the other thing listen listen you're a mess now you're converted but you're a mess you need this to really live the person says oh well if you tell me I'm going to make it so I make it second class so what I make it that's all that matters so you give them comfort where they should have no grounds for comfort and you create a climate for a false teac...

54:25 - 55:53 Read in full sermon