IF – Part 3
Scripture: Daniel 3:12-18; John 11:21-26; Romans 10:8-10
This is part three of my series on “IF”. As I have shared previously, “IF”, as defined in the dictionary, is “a conjunction used to indicate the circumstances that would have to exist in order for an event to happen.” When this word is used in Scripture, it applies to conditions that we must meet in order to walk in complete faith and fellowship with God. When we read this word in the New Testament, it gives us the opportunity to examine ourselves as it relates to our faith, our trust and our belief in what the Bible says. This morning you will have an opportunity, as you hear the message and read the scriptures, to honestly assess where you believe you are in terms of this one question: Do I really believe this deep down in my heart? Only you and God will know where you truly are. So, please be brutally honest with yourself because if you, no, if we don’t start from a place of honesty with ourselves, how can we have an honest conversation with God about why we are struggling to believe what the Bible says? New Light, without that honest conversation, we will not be able to come to a place of complete fellowship with God. I am going to repeat something that I’ve said before: only when our hearts beat with God’s heart will we have fellowship with Him. And this morning, our hearts, believing with our hearts, will be the focus of this “IF” message and we will start with one of the Scriptures we looked at last week. Let’s return to Romans 10:8-10.
Romans 10:8-10 says, “But what says it? The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8-10) As I shared with you last week, these verses are about relationship – about becoming part of God’s family – and fellowship with God is not possible without first being either His son or daughter. We become part of God’s family when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. In these verses you see that in order to have the relationship with God that leads to fellowship, we must believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead. The “IF” in these verses lets us know that, now listen closely, that faith, and only faith, is a prerequisite for salvation. We must believe that the spiritual change that happened in us really happened. When we believe, doubt ceases to exist. New Light, I know that my salvation is real. I know that I am going to spend my eternity with Jesus. I know this. No one, and I mean, no one can convince me to the contrary. Everyday, I do my best to live out of my salvation. I do my best to live the way my Father wants me to live. It is my prayer, my hope New Light, that you are as sure of your salvation as I am of mine and that you are doing your best to live the way your Father wants you to live. So “IF” we are to be saved, we must believe in Jesus; that He is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead. We must believe this FIRST, and let’s be clear here – I’m talking about having faith because that’s what this passage is. Believing it, doing it, is an act of faith because we have nothing else to go on other than what the Bible says and the Bible says this is the way salvation happens. Now, if you don’t believe this FIRST, then everything else that I will cover this morning does not matter for you. This is how we access the fellowship that God wants to have with us. So if you “believe” this first, then we can continue with other “beliefs” that you will need to add to this foundation. Once we believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him, then we must start believing what happens after that. Turn to Romans 6.
In the fifth chapter of the book of Romans, Paul addresses what happens to us when we accept Christ and are saved by grace versus the works of the Law. Grace was given to us through the death of Christ, but apparently some took it to mean that we can continue in sin because we are under grace. Doesn’t this sound familiar? Are we not hearing this preached today? Ecclesiastes 1:9 says there’s nothing new under the sun. So this belief about grace is not new. Paul addressed this head on in verses one and two of chapter six. It says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) Paul tells the Romans that, because they are now born again, it is impossible for them to continue to sin as a way of life and believe that God’s grace will be their “free of sin” card to use as they sin. It won’t. The first two words of verse two make this clear – “God forbid.” In the Greek this is an emphatic answer. Paul is saying “You actually believe you can sin as you please and that God’s grace will make everything all right? That’s unbelievable! Let me remind you: The Christian life begins with death to sin!” He goes on to explain to them why this is the case – that they were baptized in Christ’s death and therefore buried with Him. He then explains that because they were buried with Him they were also raised with Him into a new life. In verse six he writes, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we should no longer serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7) The first two words of verse six, “Knowing this” – let me say it this way, “You should know this.” Paul is reminding the people of something that should already be settled for them. The “old man” that lived in “the body of sin” is talking about the sin nature that we received when we were born into this world. If we are born again, it no longer exists because it has been crucified and destroyed. That’s why we are no longer slaves to sin. We have been made free!
Now what I want you to see is captured in verses eight through twelve. It reads, “Now if we are dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He lives, He lives unto God. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” (Romans 6:8-12) Everything that Paul said about sin and grace starts with “IF”. It starts with faith. IF we are dead “with” Christ, then we believe that we shall live with Him. Now let me ask you a question: if a person is dead, will the person’s body respond to anything that’s done to it? No. You could show it a pornographic movie. No response. You could put a lit cigarette in its mouth. No response. You could stick it with a straight pin. No response. Why? The body is dead. This is what Paul is trying to get us to understand when it comes to sin. We are dead to sin. It has no impact on us whatsoever. New Light, if sin is not dead to us, then we cannot be alive unto God through Jesus Christ. In other words, we are not born again. We are not going to Heaven. I hope you are seeing this. And it starts with understanding the “IF” at the beginning of verse 8.
So what does this tell us? Well in my simple mind it tells me that if I choose to continue living the same way I did before I “accepted Christ,” then I must not believe that I died with Him; was buried with Him; and was raised with Him. In other words, everything that happened with my “supposed” salvation did not truly make me free from the power of sin. People this is just not true. So “IF” you confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, believe He is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead, all of this means you truly died, and was buried and raised with Him. New Light, if you did all of this, then you are a new person! Sin no longer reigns over your mortal body – “IF” you died with Christ. If you died with Christ, you “believe” – you have faith that cannot be shaken – that you will live with Him.
Let’s continue. Turn to John chapter eleven. Do you remember the story of Lazarus being sick? Lazarus was sick and his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent for Jesus to come and heal him. After Jesus received the word, He waited before He departed. When He arrived Lazarus had already died and had been buried. Let’s pick up the story at verse twenty-one where Martha greets Jesus as He is entering the village. “Martha then said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:21-26) When Jesus arrives at Bethany, Martha greets Him and tells Him that “IF” He had been there Lazarus would not have died. You know this story. What she was implying was that Lazarus died because Jesus was not there to stop it by healing him. Now Jesus turns it around and tells her that Lazarus would rise again, but Martha misunderstood that to mean she would see him again at the resurrection. She was not thinking about Jesus raising him up after he had been dead for four days. Jesus told Martha that those who believe in Him – He is the resurrection and the life, or, He is the “resurrection life” that will live in them forever even “IF” they die here on earth. This is what I want you to see. We all know that this life is temporary and once our spirits step out of our bodies, we will live again – this time a much better life! Lazarus had the awesome privilege of being raised from the dead twice! He was raised from physical death and he was raised from spiritual death to spiritual life! Let me read another Scripture that speaks to this and should bring us comfort.
Turn to First Thessalonians chapter four and we will begin reading at verse thirteen. This is one of my favorite Scriptures to read whenever I need reminding that I will see my loved ones again who have died. I wrote the draft of this message on Monday. When I turned my computer off and went upstairs to sit on the deck for a moment of reflection and time with God, I received the phone call about Dea. DeWayne’s passing. I cannot tell you how that hurt my heart. After I got the news and settled my mind down some, my mind immediately went to this Scripture that I had just written in this message. Let’s begin reading at verse thirteen. It says, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
I want you to focus on the “why” behind the words that Paul wrote to these Christians. He said that he did not want them to be ignorant – unawares of what has happened with those who have died. He was comforting them with knowledge because he did not want them grieving as one would who lost a loved one and believing they would never see them again. Paul told these believers that “IF” they believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead then we know that those that go home before us, who have also believed this, will be brought back with Him when He comes again. Can you imagine how that must have made them feel – knowing that because they believed in Christ that they will be reunited with their loved ones in heaven? Can you imagine the relief that came with that understanding? Again it goes all the way back to the beginning with what we read in the book of Romans. Our relationship starts with our acceptance of Christ. The relationship then begins our fellowship. Everything else we experience is based on the fellowship we have because of the relationship. So “IF” we believe in our hearts that Jesus died and rose from the dead then at death we will continue to live and be reunited with our loved ones who have gone home before us. Praise God!!!
I want to close part three with some verses from Proverbs chapter two. While these verses would have been a fitting end to the whole series, I am placing them in part three because I want to encourage you to seek the Lord. I have shared some things in these first three messages that might have made some of you pause and think about your lives, which is great. However, in doing so, I want you to know that as you seek clarity from God He is likewise seeking to give you that clarity. He wants a true fellowship with all of us that is built on trust and it starts with our seeking Him. Listen to what is captured in the second chapter of the book of Proverbs.
“My son, if you will receive My words and treasure My commandments within you; make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.” (Proverbs 2:1-12)
In these verses we find the keys to believing with our hearts so that when it comes to “IF” moments pertaining to our hearts and our relationship with God then those “IF” moments are not really “IF” moments because our hearts have already settled every issue pertaining to our relationship with God. When we believe with our hearts when we are presented “options” we will always defer and choose the one that God would approve of. So how do we get to that point? In Proverbs 2:1-12 it tells us we need to seek wisdom from the Word of God. In summary it says:
If we will:
• receive God’s words and treasure His commandments within us;
• make our ears attentive to wisdom and incline our hearts to understanding;
• cry for discernment and lift our voice for understanding;
• and seek wisdom and understanding as silver and search for it as for hidden treasures;
Then we will:
• discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.
• discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course.
When we receive the Word of God and treasure it within our hearts; when we make ours attentive to the wisdom in it and choose to seek understanding and discernment versus outright rejection then there are some things that will change in our lives. The Bible says when we do this we will be able to discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God and we will discern righteousness, justice, equity and every good path. In other words, we will understand to reverence God and through that God makes wisdom and knowledge available to us! Wow!!! We find the knowledge of God and receive His wisdom and knowledge when we begin to reverence Him versus ourselves. I am sharing this today because I want each of us to examine ourselves and begin to seek God. To reverence Him truly, not just with words from our mouths, but with our whole hearts. And then start seeking wisdom – the wisdom that comes from seeking God openly and honestly without reservation. When we do this I love what verses nine through twelve tell us about what will happen. It says, “Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.”
Amen!!! We will examine IF and obey next week.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
