Intro: Some of the most terrible words that shoppers can hear on black Friday or any day in this shopping season “Sold Out.” What does that mean? It means it is no longer available to be purchased and unavailable to another buyer.
That is exactly what Paul is telling his 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Don’t you know Jesus has already purchased you? You should no longer be available for sale to the highest or lowest bidder? Why should this be important? Because if we are already purchased then we no longer belong to ourselves we are supposed to belong to Jesus. (Listen to the text)
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. 20 You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.”
“Ye are not your own: for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."
So how is it we are to live as sold out people in a for sale world? A wonderful and short book called Titus will tell us how we can live as people purchased by Christ.
Paul wrote this letter to Titus in Crete. Crete is an island 160 miles long between 7 and 35 miles wide just off the tip of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. The Cretan people had acquired a bad reputation in the Roman world. Paul quotes one of their poets Epimenides in Titus 1:12 “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” The Cretans were such habitual liars that a word was used in the Greek to describe it, kretidzo, which means to Play the Cretan or to lie. It was in this very inhospitable soil that the gospel was planted. We live in a time and on a planet that is full of Cretans. We must remember we were bought with a price. Paul used a classical expression to tell us it was a highly expensive price. The Blood of God was poured out for our purchase. We no longer belong to ourselves if we have received Jesus as Savior and Lord we belong first and foremost to Him.
So how do we live in this world and time sold out for Jesus?
I. We understand the purpose of His purchase
A) God’s choosing of sinners
The term elect in 1.1 reminds us that God chooses us. John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.”
We choose to receive His choosing. We receive Jesus as Lord and savior. God’s choice does not remove our responsibility for sin.
How can I know that I am saved? If you depend on Jesus finished work for your salvation that comes from God. There will also be evidence of new life in your thinking, decisions, and emotions. You will love God and want to know Him better. You will hate sin that seems to defeat you and desire to live in Jesus power to overcome it.
B) God’s growing of saints 1.1 “To build up the faith of God’s elect.”
1) Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
2) Ingestion of the Holy Word
3) Investment of Holy Leaders
II. We understand the plan for our godliness
A) Surrender as slaves of God
B) Surrender to principles of God’s truth
C) Surrender to spiritual leadership
III. We understand the goal of our godliness
Read 2:1-5 – Older to disciple and mentor the younger so that God’s message will not be slandered.
Read 2:6 –10 Behavior of all is to make our life with Jesus beautiful to non-believers
Adorn in the Greek is Kosmeo it carries the idea of putting something in order so it is beautiful. In ancient times kosmeo was used of arranging jewels in a brooch, necklace, ring, or crown in a way that best displayed the beauty of the gems. So the idea is that the excellent behavior of the bond slaves (God’s "jewels") would be seen and would make the "doctrine of God" "attractive" or beautiful to unbelievers. So it is the living out for the benefit of the world around us. This demonstrates the redemptive and transforming power of the gospel.
We are called to be ornaments of God’s grace for the world around us!
Read 2:11-14 Warren Wiersbe so clearly communicated adds that In the Christian life, we get many of our blessings through transformation, not substitution. When Paul prayed three times for the removal of his pain, he was asking God for a substitution: “Give me health instead of sickness, deliverance instead of pain and weakness.” Sometimes God does meet the need by substitution; but other times He meets the need by transformation. He does not remove the affliction, but He gives us His grace so that the affliction works for us and not against us...When Paul accepted his affliction as the gift of God, this made it possible for God’s grace to go to work in his life. It was then that God spoke to Paul and gave him the assurance of His grace. Whenever you are going through suffering, spend extra time in the Word of God; and you can be sure God will speak to you. He always has a special message for His children when they are afflicted. God did not give Paul any explanations; instead, He gave him a promise: “My grace is sufficient for thee.” We do not live on explanations; we live on promises. Our feelings change, but God’s promises never change. Promises generate faith, and faith strengthens hope." (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)
When grace is operating in our lives good works are the result
Grace in the Greek is charis from which we get our word charity. Charity originated from God.
In 2 Corinthians 8-9 ten times charis is used to describe grace giving. Giving that goes beyond religious requirements. Grace giving is an evidence of love, love for Christ, love for God’s servants who have ministered to us, and love for those who have special needs that we are able to help meet. Grace not only frees us from our sins, but it frees us from ourselves
God’s grace His presence and principles teach us to live Godly. We cannot hope to do this alone. This is why we have pastors teachers, Sunday School teachers, deacons, etc. We need to have accountability to live Godly. We need to have instruction both lips and lives that show us how to follow Jesus.
What are some good works that I can do?
We are encouraged and enabled by God’s Spirit to continually say no to ungodly desires, decisions and deeds. We are also encouraged and enabled by God’s Spirit to continually say yes to godly desires, decisions and deeds.
1) Practice grace giving
To support those that minister to you. To support a ministry that touches peoples lives. To support a vision to take the gospel to people New Hearts, Larry’s Car Ministry, Food pantry. To support missionaries. To make it possible for more people to come and hear the gospel of the grace of God.
2) Practice grace living
The term to instruct is more appropriately translated to discipline or disciple. Vance Havner says you cannot sharpen an ax on a cake of butter. For our lives to cut through the deception of this world we must be sharpened on the hard and trying times of life.
Forgiveness, self-control, faithfulness, denying worldly lusts living Godly. We are to have character chiseled by God and conduct that will convict others of the truth of the gospel.
If the hope of Jesus return isn’t encouraging and enabling you to live out the principles of grace as the pattern for your life then you are just fooling yourself into thinking you are saved.
According to 2.14 Jesus paid highly not just for our removing sins penalty from our life but also sins power.
Conclusion: How can I know I am sold out? I am sold out when ideas, desires, and no longer pull at us or give pleasure. Why did Jesus tell us to shine as lights in Philippians, to let our light shine in Matthew? Because when we get zealous for good works it means we burn with passion to please God and see others introduced to Him.
John Piper asks a question that we should all seriously ponder...
If you dropped dead right now, would you take with you a payload of pleasure in God or would you stand before him with a spiritual cavity where covetousness used to be? (Piper, John. Future Grace)
Someone once said old habits die hard. Jesus knew that and it is why he crucified our old habits of selfish living on the cross. If you are Sold Out to Jesus the Holy Spirit will make it possible for you to practice Holy Habits.
