Lesson #5. Growing to be like Jesus: OUR PART

KEY TRUTH: A lesson that highlights our part in God’s gracious eternal plan to conform believers into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

1. SAVING SINNERS IS THE BEGINNING OF GOD’S PLAN FOR HIS CHILDREN:

   GETTING PEOPLE SAVED IS ONLY THE BEGINNING: Churches can often give the impression that when people come to Christ the mission is complete. Nothing is further from the truth. Coming to Christ is the just the beginning.

   BELIEVERS MUST STAND OUT FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD: It brings little glory to God for a person to claim to be a Christian who continues to live a life of sin and whose lifestyle is no different from the world around them. It honours God when we grow to take on the likeness of Jesus. Peter states it this way – 9 For whoever lacks these qualities of Christlikeness is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet.1:9-11).

2. LEARNING TO LIVE DAILY FOR JESUS CHRIST:

   WE ARE SAVED TO LIVE FOR CHRIST: The apostle Paul expressed his new life in Christ as follows – 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal.2:20).

   TRUE BELIEVERS LIVE OUT THE ‘DIVINE SWAP’: Coming to Christ involves an exchanged life – a ‘Divine Swap’ since – 24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet.2:24) … 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit … (1 Pet. 3:18).

3. A NEW WAY OF VIEWING AND LIVING LIFE:

   SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S VIEWPOINT: The New Testament suggests a true Christian has a new approach to living and growing. We are to see life from God’s point of view …

   1. KNOW YOUR RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD: You now have a right standing with God through Christ. This gives you freedom to choose as never before since His sacrifice means you are no longer a slave to sin – 9 … you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator (Col.3:9-10 c.f. Rom.8:1).
   2. CONSIDER THAT YOU HAVE A NEW MASTER: Since you are accepted by a holy God based on the merits of Christ and you are now under a new Master – 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (see Rom.6:8-11).
   3. PRESENT YOUR BODY AS A LIVING SACRIFICE: You must learn to offer yourself afresh to God daily and ask the Holy Spirit to make you an overcomer – 12 Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace (Rom.6:12-14 c.f. Rom.12:1-2).
4. FACING THE TRUTH ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR SIN NATURE:
   1. THERE HAS ONLY EVER BEEN ONE PERFECT MAN: There has never been a perfect person to walk this earth apart from Jesus Christ. This has implications for believers because – 21 … God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor.5:21).
   2. EVEN THE GREATEST SAINTS HAVE SINNED IN THOUGHT, WORD, & DEED: Even the best saints and servants of God commit sins in thought, word, and deed every single day. Paul wrote – 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor.10:12-13).
   3. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE SINLESS IN OUR SINFUL BODY: This side of glory, we will all struggle with sin. Paul testified – 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (Rom.7:21-25).
5. GOD PROMISES TO HELP YOU TO OVERCOME: The Bible gives us some encouraging insights into becoming an overcomer.
   1. GOD WILL COMPLETE WHAT HE HAS BEGUN: – I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil.1:6 c.f. 1 Thes.5:23-24; Jude 1:24-25). God does not leave me to my own resources.
   2. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS ME OF MY SIN: Every true child of God is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He convicts us of sin to when I quench or grieve Him with my sin. Jesus told His disciples – 7 I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (see Jn.16:7-8; c.f. Eph.4:30; 1 Thes.5:19).
   3. THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLS YOU TO EMPOWER YOU: 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil.2:12-13).

      N.B. Philippians 2:13 addresses our two major problems and struggles …
      (a) WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO OBEY GOD: Sometimes I don’t want to resist temptation and sin. God has placed His indwelling Holy Spirit in you to create a desire for you to want to do His will.
      (b) WHEN YOU STRUGGLE TO DO THE WILL OF GOD: Even when you want to obey God, you are often powerless and fail. The Holy Spirit dwells in you to give you the power to do His will.

      1. THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN: John urged his readers – 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn.2:1-2 c.f. 1 Jn.1:7). PROPITIATION describes God’s gracious nature in which He turns His anger into acceptance because of Christ’s sacrifice.
      2. GOD IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE AND TO CLEANSE – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn.1:9).
      3. OUR PART IS TO CONFESS: David felt distant from God UNTIL he admitted his sin to God – 1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit, there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin (Ps.32:1-5).

         We should keep short accounts with God.

6. THE BELIEVERS PART IN FOSTERING A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP:
   1. GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED AND WILL CHASTEN DISOBEDIENCE: Though God will continue the process of sanctification, there is a part for the believer to play. Whenever we refuse to obey, God brings chastening into our lives – For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb.12:11 c.f. Gal.6:7-8).
   2. A SENSITIVE CONSCIENCE TO SIN IS EVIDENCE THAT YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD: True children of God will be miserable until they repent and return to God. When people enjoy a life of sin and selfishness it may indicate they are not born again – 5 Examine yourself, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourself. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (2 Cor.13:5 c.f. Rom.8:9). In fact, God may take a constantly rebellious believer home ‘prematurely’ when they commit a ‘SIN UNTO DEATH’ (see 1 Jn.5:16-17).
7. DISOBEDIENT CHRISTIANS WILL BARELY GET TO HEAVEN:
   1. THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST FOR BELIEVERS: True believers may be saved by the ‘skin of their teeth’ (see Job 19:20). But who wants to miss a life that pleases the Lord – 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw – 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Cor.3:10-15 c.f. Rom.14:11-12; 2 Cor.5:10).
8. PUT OFF THE OLD AND PUT ON THE NEW:
   1. PRESENT YOUR BODY AS A LIVING SACRIFICE: The New Testament pictures our new life in Christ like undressing each night and dressing in clean clothes each morning. The true Christian will desire to ‘PUT OFF’ the deeds and desires of the old nature and ‘PUT ON’ new desires that produce the fruit of the Spirit – 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom.12:1-2 c.f. Gal.5:22-23; Col.3:1-17).
9. BE SPIRIT-CONTROLLED BY APPLYING THE DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
   THE DISCIPLINES OF THE LIFE OF FAITH ARE REINFORCED THROUGH DISCIPLE-MAKING: Jesus taught His followers various disciplines of the faith that are repeated throughout the New Testament. These are reinforced by the lessons in these Disciple-Making notes …
   1. MAKING NEW DISCIPLES: Training people to pass on the basics of the Christian faith.
   2. LIVING OUT THE NEW COMMANDMENT: Creating an environment to develop the ‘one another’s – 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another (see Jn.13:34-35).
   3. EMPOWERED THROUGH PRAYER: Encouraging each other in the discipline of prayer.
   4. BIBLE STUDY AND APPLICATION: Learning tools to study, memorize, and apply the principles of the Bible.
   5. SUPPORTING FELLOWSHIP: Deepening fellowship and partnership in the gospel and ministry.
   6. SHARING THE GOSPEL AND SHARING YOUR TESTIMONY: showing and supporting each other in sharing the gospel and your personal testimony with the unsaved.
10. WE SHOULD FOCUS ON PLEASING JESUS:
    1. THE GOSPEL PROVIDES A WAY FOR LIVING VICTORIOUSLY: The book of Romans is the best explanation of how God saves sinners. From the low point of addressing the battle with the old nature in Chapter 7, Paul goes on to speak of the ultimate triumph – 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will he not also with Him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered’. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom.8:31-39).
    2. SATAN WANTS OUR SIN TO PARALYSE US. CHRIST WANTS US TO FOCUS ON SERVING HIM: God has brought us victory. We can become overly preoccupied with our sin. The NT unfolds God’s answer to the sin problem. A major focus should be to use the spiritual gifts God has given us to serve Him (see Rom.Chpt.12 – we will deal with this in a later in # 17 of our Disciple-Making lessons). He urges us to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God (see Rom.12:1-2). Living for Christ is the ultimate way to please God. We are not saved by works. Nevertheless, we are saved to live a life of good works – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph.2:10).

GROUP DISCUSSION:

Q.1. Who benefits when you become more like Jesus? … You – family – friends – others – God?

Q.2. Can we get too bogged down with our sins and failures?

Q.3. Where should the focus be for the newborn child of God?