“The Great Privilege to Those That Are Born of God”
John Wesley Sermon Series
(taken from John Wesley on Christian Beliefs, The Standard Sermons in Modern English, Vol. 1, Abingdon Press:2002)
I John 3:11-18, 5:1-5
July 27, 2003
Purpose: While Wesley’s sermon was based on the choices that we make as Christians to sin or not sin, this sermon takes that one step further by saying that the great privilege is being a disciple of Christ. The rest of the Christian faith comes to us as a benefit (through grace.) As a disciple, we still walk in grace (sanctifying) but we are not to stand still and just enjoy the benefits. We have a privilege, and to exercise that privilege we need holiness.
I. Introduction – The difference between privilege and benefit.
The American Heritage Dictionary says that privilege is “a special advantage, immunity,
permission or right…granted to or enjoyed by an individual” or individuals. While a benefit is “something that promotes or enhances well-being” of the whole.
A privilege is special….a benefit promotes the well-being of everyone.
Wesley knew this distinction when he sat down to write this sermon. He said that
Christians were getting confused between the two. While being the grace that God offers
is the potential benefit for everyone, Wesley noticed that people were resting only in that benefit and not moving forward into the “privilege” – the special advantage of that grace-filled offer – which is discipleship.
For Wesley – the offer of grace – what we call justification – provided relative change.
But the life-long relationship found in being a disciple of Christ – the privilege – offers real change.
In coming to Christ, we accept what God does for us.
In living out our discipleship, we experience what God does in us.
One’s a benefit…the other a privilege.
II. So how do we exercise our privilege then as Christians? – We love.
Love one another – I John 3:11 “This is the message we have heard…”
This is the message you have heard from the beginning…we should love one
another.”
( a majority of chapter 4 deals with this message of love (vs. 7ff) )
How do we know???
Show our love in our actions – I John 3:16-18
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we
ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us now love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”
How do we know???
Why? Because we want to follow his commandments. – I John 5:2-5
“This is how we know…that we love the children of God: by loving God
and carrying out his commands. This is love for God (this is discipleship): to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God
overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
The great privilege is more than a benefit…it is receiving the grace to become free from willful sin.
The great privilege is more than a benefit…it is the distinctive gift of holiness, of discipleship, that God’s gives to his children.
The great privilege is more than a benefit…it is the call to Christians to remain vigilant…to embrace the journey with Christ at our side.
We enjoy the benefits of the benefits of our faith.
But it’s a privilege to be a disciple of Christ, loving God and loving one another.
III. But doesn’t this privilege and benefit thing? Let’s look Wesley’s sermons we’ve
heard in this series…
1 – The Almost Christian vs. the Altogether Christian
The rich man wanted all the benefits, but he didn’t want the privilege of
discipleship
…he followed all the laws, but when it came to selling all that he had in order to
come and love God and one another to follow Christ he didn’t want it. So he turned away.
…Christianity is more than the benefits…it’s the discipleship/the relationship we have with Christ
…almost doesn’t cut it…we need to be the Altogether Christian that by God’s grace loves God, loves one another, and lives a life of discipleship.
benefit – getting closer to God will for lives
privilege – discipleship
2 – Salvation By Faith though Grace
Paul told the church at Ephesians that once we were dead in sin, but now we are
made alive in Christ. Not by what we do, but by what God has graciously done,
and by what we have accepted by faith.
benefit – forgiveness and salvation
privilege – discipleship
3 – The First-Fruits of the Spirit
We read in Romans that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
Our forgiven sins- yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s, the first-fruits or first-gifts of the Spirit – are given without condemnation. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
benefit – no condemnation, sin no longer has power over us
privilege – discipleship
4 – The Means of Grace
Through prayer, the searching of Scripture, and the Lord’s Supper, which Wesley
called the Chief Means of experiencing God’s grace, and by many other ways, we
have the opportunity to physically experience God’s grace.
benefit – recognizing God’s grace among us
privilege – discipleship
Some might say there’s a contradiction, I say it’s the challenge of being a blood-bought, Sprit-filled Christian…
Yes, we enjoy the benefits of our faith.
And yes, we do so, by continually walking with Christ, in Christ, for Christ –
deepening our discipleship.
IV. – Final Illustration…
There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending school in Utah.
Brother Christianson taught at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into the brother’s classroom.
Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.
One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, he pulled Steve aside and said,
"You think you’re pretty tough, don’t you?"
Steve’s answer was, "Yeah, I do."
"Well, how many push-ups can you do?"
Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."
"200? That’s pretty good, Steve," the brother said. "Do you think you could do 300?"
Steve replied, "I don’t know... I’ve never done 300 at a time."
"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," he said.
Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it."
"Good!” said the brother, “I need you to do this on Friday."
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts.
Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited - it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.
Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?" Cynthia said, "Yes."
He then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then he sat back at his desk.
Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk. He then went to Joe, the next person, and
asked, "Joe do you want a donut?" Joe said, "Yes."
Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.
And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.
Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"
Scott’s reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?" Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."
Then Scott said, "Well, I don’t want one then."
Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?" Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn’t want one!" Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it." And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.
Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on he floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. But Bro. Christianson continued down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.
By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.
But Bro. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!"
Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."
"Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?"
Steve didn’t answer but began doing the ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and he sat down.
When Bro. Christianson had finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular.
Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?
Linda with head bowed, said very softly, "No thank you."
"Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?" – the words fell like bricks in the silent room.
Grunting from the effort, Steve barely did ten very slow pushups for Linda.
Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, "Susan, do you want a donut?"
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson, I can’t, let me go and help him?"
Bro. Christianson, choking back tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone.” Turning to Steve, he began the words which now sounded like pounding nails, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"
The room was quiet. Pushup by slow, agonizing pushup, Steve very slowly finished. With the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. Silence filled the room as Steve laid there exhausted.
"And so it was,” Bro. Christianson’s words broke through the silence, “that our Savior, Jesus Christ, pleaded to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died.”
“And like some of those in this room, although the gift is given freely, many don’t follow-through, many never respond to the grace given, many leave this gift sitting just on their desks, never to be eaten, never to be lived-out, never to be enjoyed."
*****
Wakelee Church, the greatest privilege of being a Christian is more than eternal life, more than the benefits of being the church, more than the experience of being religious….the greatest privilege of those that are born of God is not only accepting the gift of grace, but also doing something with it.
The push-ups have already been done. God’s just waiting for us to pick up the gift and enjoy the privilege of walking as a disciple of his Son, Jesus Christ!
And with that the church says…Amen.
Will you join me in prayer?
Heavenly Father,
We give you thanks for the great privilege you have set before us to be your disciples.
We give you thanks for the tremendous amount of grace that has brought us this far, and the
tremendous amount of grace that you will give, as we continue to grow closer to you.
Lord, for those whom we have hurt over the past week, we ask for forgiveness.
For the times we have put possessions at a higher level than our discipleship,
For the times we’ve decided that being right is more important that loving one another,
For the times we have failed to forgive and ask forgiveness,
For the times we, as a privileged people, act as if we’re living only on your benefits,
For those times, we do not take up the offer, but instead leave your invitation to
discipleship untouched…
Lord, we seek your forgiveness.
Help us to remember that instead of tearing each other down, we are to be those people who “ought to lay down our lives” for one another.
Help us to love, and to show that love to others, so that our words will not conflict with our actions.
Help us to be the disciples you’ve called us to be, in every facet of our existence, so that we will not only claim that privilege, but find that victory in our lives that “has overcome the world through our belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Maker, in whom we breathe, in whom we are and move…we give you thanks for the ministry of John Wesley and for the endearing message of your love, your offer of salvation, your grace, and our “great privilege” of discipleship that has been shown through that ministry.
In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray….Amen.
#88 – Maker in Whom We Live
Benediction…
(remind congregation to be seated after the benediction)
Hear these words from Wesley…
“Therefore, children of God, stay awake constantly so that you can always hear the voice of God! Be faithful to pray without ceasing. At all times and in all places, pour out your heart before God! Doing so, you will always believe, always love, and never fall into sin.”
May we go from this place, in full assurance of our benefits, with a keen eye on our privilege of discipleship, resting fully in the grace of God. Amen.
Note: If for any reason you did not find this sermon helpful, please let me know by contacting me at gb@clergy.net. Your input will help me personally and my congregation as I learn professionally.
