Deliverance: From Sin to Righteousness, Part 1

Nobody is a Christian who doesn't believe in the true gospel and who doesn't have holy longings, righteous affections love for what is right, deep animosity, you wouldn't you know that's a classic picture of the unregenerate center. He's in the worst possible trouble, yet he doesn't realize that he doesn't know he's in danger of God's judgment for sin.

Surprisingly many churches today purposely do not tell sinners there in danger. Imagine the consequences for the unbelievers left in the dark and for those who refuse to communicate it well.

Grace to you is committed to the truth of God's word.

Even the hard truth that you don't always hear today. John will explain the danger herein. If you don't know Christ and if you're a believer.

He will help you communicate the gospel with conviction. So stay here as John continues his study titled delivered by God, I must continue to deliver what I feel is pressing on my heart. I don't ever remember hearing a sermon on deliverance.

I don't ever remember reading a theology about deliverance and so I began to look in some of the indexes in the back of theology books to see if there was any discussion on the subject of deliverance. I couldn't find anything. I began to view salvation from the perspective of deliverance and realize that this great truth is largely neglected in the church so we're in the midst of this series on deliverance.

The neglected doctrine and why is it important.

It's important because I am saying to you in this series that I am continually saddened and I'm continually disappointed by the widespread lack of discernment in the quote unquote evangelical church and while it's lack of discernment is obvious to any discerning person and while we could make a long list of things that they don't seem to discern very well at the very top of that list is one most critical matter where there is a serious lack of discernment and that is the issue of who is a true Christian. It really is amazing to me that the evangelical church the very term evangelical connects it with the evangel the gospel.

The very gospel church, the very Church of the gospel cannot or will not distinguish those people who have been truly converted by the gospel from those who have not. There is this new latitude. There is this new broadness that wants to embrace all claims to Christianity as true even if they are oblique and self defined and in fact resents any challenge to that broadness, the series has caused no small amount of discussion around here and beyond received a phone call from a man was driving long listening to the series on tape and he said to me, I'm listening to the series and I have to tell you something and I said what is it he said that you know of course what people are saying about you and I said well I could sort of guess on the broad general level, but maybe you'd like to tell me what you heard and he said this is what I heard all that's just John MacArthur and he thinks he has all the truth and he said you know I'm listening to the tape and this grieves me that this is what people are saying this is just John MacArthur and he thinks he knows all the truth. I just want you to know that I don't have the truth in me. I am not the source of the truth but I do believe there is truth believe that I believe there's true that puts me at odds with the whole culture. You understand that this is a postmodern world there's no truth modern world.

Modernism means search for truth. A search they didn't find another decided we couldn't find it so doesn't exist. The reason they couldn't find it. As they refuse to look here biggest problem in American cultures. The Bible is the biggest problem in American culture. You understand do understand we would be having any discussion about pornography.

If there was in the Bible we would be having any discussion about pedophilia, fornication, adultery, divorce, breakup of the family, we wouldn't have any discussion about any of that. There was a Bible we wouldn't have any discussion about abortion, euthanasia. This culture is divided over this book. This book is a problem in the left liberal secular culture doesn't mind us believing in this book. They just want to bring it out of the church, keep it inside the walls don't bring it into the public discourse because it contains truth. We don't want to hear. This book is the big problem I understand that from the world but when this book becomes a problem for the evangelical church that is series. I'm not telling you that I know the truth, I'm not telling you that I'm the source of the truth but I'm telling you the Bible has the truth and there is. I wonder if people even know what the word truth means anymore because everybody has the freedom to define truth on her own terms. Let me just give you a simple definition of truth.

Truth is the way things really are you that that's what this is not what you think they are thready really are. There is truth about how the universe got here and how it's held together. There is truth about everything material in the world and there's truth about everything spiritual in the world and the truth is way way things really are, and if one on the way they really are then have to go to the source of all truth. The God of truth. The Christ to his truth in the spirit of truth in the word of truth and you learn the truth, not trying to pass off my opinion.

I'm not inventing this as I go. I'm just studying the Bible not smart enough to even have opinions at people care about, let alone establish truth.

But there is truth and the truth is in the word of God.

My friend said to me on the phone. He said you you you should know that one of the leading pastors in America large church said to me, all MacArthur gets upset about things and he just needs to realize that the Reformation wasn't as big a deal as we made it.

I guess not. If you don't care about the truth I care about the truth. I live for the truth. I live by the truth. I proclaim the truth and I contend for the truth and that's why I'm saying what I'm saying and it's not because I want to gain some notoriety. It's because I believe God should be heard alternative folks is giving the truth okay the truth is the word of God is revealed it and this one of the seminary students asked me if it was important in preaching not just to tell people the truth, but to show them in the Scripture how it is the reasonable interpretation of the word. You can't just pontificate and say this is true.

You have to show them in the word of God. Why this is the reasonable way to understand this truth and I said of course you can't. You can't pontificate.

You can't just stand up and say this is so, and this is so, and this is so because you have some self-imposed authority if if if I'd tell you something and you look at the Scripture. And you search the Scripture and you don't find that it's the truth that's serious my eye object in preaching to you is to show you the word of God, and to lead you to understand the word of God so that it becomes very apparent to you what the truth my friend RC Sproul probably gave me that the most kind and best introduction I've ever had and I've had lots of introductions by lots of different people in different places one time introduced me and said John MacArthur. He's my friend, because if I can show them from the word of God worries Ron will change. I appreciated and that's the way it is. But there are some things in the word of God that are very clear and those of the things that are at the heart of our faith and one of them is to understand who is a true Christian and it's astonishing to me how confused people are in the way you understand who a Christian as I concluded after long time, turn it get to this point is to understand deliverance. The theology of deliverance. You can tell a Christian because they're delivered. That's what the Bible teaches. And you know just at that point. Maybe we can talk practically deliverance I believe may be the best, most comprehensive most clarifying word to define a Christian, but that's not the way we do it is how we do ask yourself or your Christian are you are you are justified by God. Are you reconciled to God. Have you been redeemed as the ransom Christ paid been applied to you. Are you a Christian and then ask yourself, how do you know that you know your first say well I prayed a prayer I will do it. Went forward at a meeting I felt very emotional and maybe I cried and I went down there and talk to somebody nuts, not how you can tell your Christian well. I felt really bad. I I did some things and I felt really bad or I got into a predicament in my marriage are in my life and I I felt so bad I just needed help from God and I reached up I will do it why I believe II actually believe in God and II believe in Jesus, must be a Christian. Or how about I was baptized when I III was baptized name of the father and son and Holy Spirit. See all that is looking at an event might've been a physical event or an emotional event doesn't tell you your saved. I just tells you you prayed. Lots of people prayed were going to heaven you went forward. All lots of people go forward. Whatever that means in some meeting do not saved or not converted, they don't belong in the family of God. A lot of people feel bad and a lot of people believe even the demons believe and feel bad about their fate and lots of people get baptized, that's not it. There is, in any event that's ever occurred in your life that can in itself. Verify that you are a Christian, true salvation is revealed and manifest by the divine work of the Holy Spirit in delivering you. If you are Christian, the Holy Spirit has delivered you and we are understanding the idea of deliverance as a general truth that sums up the realities of salvation that are manifest and experiential. There are elements of our salvation that are not experiential. Justification is not something you experience reconciliation is not something you experience adoption is not something you experience redemption is not something you experience there are elements of our salvation that are legal that have to do with our status that have to do with our state have been with our position before God. But there are other elements of our salvation that are manifest revealed experiential thing regeneration. New birth conversion sanctification, and when you begin to look at those you begin to see them in the imagery of being delivered so that you can know you're a Christian, not by an event, but by the fact that you are manifestly delivered from one thing to another.

One spiritual realm to another. One life principle to another one set of realities to another. There is a real deliverance and what we say. The first one was also belong to the Lord been delivered from error to what the truth. Colossians 112 and 13 for mom.

I just cannot touch this lightly and then I'm going to say whatever relates to this and then make a transition is the second point, but Colossians 1 and please I'm I'm just really, delivering my soul on this so you have to be patient with me because of the importance of it.

Colossians 112. We give thanks to the fatherly we believers, we who are in the family of God.

We give thanks to the father because he qualified us.

We were unqualified we we were unworthy.

We had no qualifications whatsoever by which to be accepted by him, but he qualified us and you know how he did that by applying the righteousness of Christ to us. He qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Light is a metaphor for truth and then verse 13 for he delivered us there is that concept of deliverance.

He delivered us out of the domain of darkness, which is a metaphor for error. The first category of deliverance is those who are really Christians have been delivered out of error into truth. I listen when I say no one is a Christian who does not understand, believe him grace and love the truth. What truth the truth that we call the gospel.

No one can be a Christian who has not been delivered out of false doctrine and the true doctrine and that is into the gospel of Jesus Christ. You must be delivered into the true gospel any other gospel. Galatians 1 results in a curse. In second John anybody who does not abide in the teaching of Christ who doesn't settle down in the true teaching of Christ does not have God. Second John people say you hear this and mission discussions almost people over there. We never heard the gospel Lord's going to save them. Somehow nobody will ever be saved. Nobody will ever come into a saving relationship with God who does not know the true gospel regarding Jesus Christ.

Nobody there is any salvation in any other name, one who does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God the one who does abide in that teaching has both the father and the son. Nobody is a Christian who hasn't been delivered out of error into truth and that truth is that the Bible is the word of God in which the doctrine of salvation is clearly revealed in its fullness. That is a belief in the true God, the God who is the Trinity, the God who revealed himself in the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity through a virgin birth, lived a sinless life.his substitutionary death rose from the grave in a literal resurrection ascended into heaven sent the Holy Spirit reigns with the father at his right hand intercedes for the saints, and someday we'll come back to establish his eternal kingdom and glory that is the substance of the foundation of gospel truth and nobody is saved, apart from understanding that not obviously in all of its full ramifications but understanding it in its truth, believing it embracing it and loving it. In the spirit of truth regenerates. He moves people from error to truth, he brings the center of the understanding of belief in embracing love and total commitment to the truth. That's why in Colossians 1 it says essentially that the saints dwelling in light is almost a synonym have been transferred into the kingdom of his beloved son light and the sun are synonymous. Jesus said it, I am the light to be in the light that is to know the truth is to understand the one who is the truth. Jesus Christ now let me just take you to a passage that will ask for us as a transition turn to Romans 10, you have to understand this, how more clear. It can be stated in verse nine if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, which embodies all of his person and work and you believe in your heart that God what raised him from the dead will be saved if you don't believe that you don't believe the Jesus is Lord and God, and sovereign Master. The sinless one if you don't believe that he actually rose from the grave and all that that implies.

It implies that the that God himself was satisfied with his atonement and raised him from the dead, that he is therefore the perfect and exalted Savior. If you don't believe that you can't be saved with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Now there's no distinction verse 12 says it's open to everybody. Verse 13 says whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but you have to call in the name of the Lord have to believe the essence of the gospel. You can't be saved without it. And that's why verse 14 says, how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed if nobody's told them the truth and nobody's given them the information to believe how are they going to call on him and how are they going to believe if they haven't heard and how are they going to hear without a preacher and how are they gonna preach unless there said to get the picture. They can't understand and they can't believe unless they hear and they can't hear unless somebody goes and nobody goes unless somebody said the point being, we gotta go visit her in any other way why Jesus said, go in all the world and what should gospel to every creature that the only hope nobody's ever going to be converted and taken to heaven who didn't get delivered out of error into truth. The truth regarding Jesus Christ person work in salvation by grace alone through faith alone and him alone.

That's why we say in verse 15. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the glad tidings of good things. How how how beautiful are the feet of those who go because if they don't go they can't hear if they can hear they can't believe that they can't believe they can't be saved.

In verse 17. Faith comes from what. None come from intuition comes from hearing what the word of God, word of Christ. Actually, the betterment minister of the word of Christ.

The word about Jesus Christ the gospel is what we have to go and believe me, if it is I told you before if people out there live up to the light.

They have the light of conscience in the light of reason. Gotta make sure they get the light of the gospel, God is not at all limited in bringing the message to those whose hearts are prepared by his spirit now turn to Romans six, verse 17 just a simple thought her okay thanks be to God, you were slaves of sin stop there was a slave. All assets word carries a lot of baggage with the right a slave is somebody who is an abject dutiful service under a master. We think of a slave was that we think of someone who's will whose ideas whose opinions whose plans whose purposes, whose future are not in their own hands the matter, slave or somebody does whatever he told a slave is somebody who is under commanding authority and he says about us.

You were slaves of sin. We are literally dominated by sin. Sin is our master. Occasionally we do something that is humanly good, kind, and something that might be even humanly noble. Occasionally, we express love would take care of children. We take care of older people. We give to charity, but the basic dominating force and power in our lives is sin way. This in verse 18, but you been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

While this is a dramatic change misses a major dramatic change you. You no longer slave to sin.

You're now a slave to righteousness your master is righteousness your your compelling power is righteousness and where once you found your satisfaction and you found your delight and you found your joy and you found your fulfillment in and in sin, you now find your delight in your satisfaction and your joy in your fulfillment and righteousness were once you hated the thought of doing right love the thought of doing wrong. Now you hate the thought of doing wrong. Love the thought of doing right is a big change. Change nobody's a Christian who doesn't believe in the true gospel and who doesn't have holy longings, righteous affections love for what is right and it deep animosity toward what is wrong. That's indication that you have been delivered.

So when you evaluate somebody's Christianity. Many will say to me Lord, Lord, right Jesus said in Matthew seven on the say depart for me. I never knew you workers of what I just look at your life and I see the product you do iniquity you will belong to me, under which a claim is you do iniquity will belong to me that matter. The said Lord Lord. We did this in your name did that prophesy cast out demons doesn't doesn't point look at your life. Workers of iniquity. You can tell who's a Christian's manifest they been delivered.

They have been delivered to faith in the truth. The language of second Thessalonians 213 and they have been delivered into sanctification by the Spirit as they have been separated from error and from sin into truth and righteousness. You see, how can we ask the question who's a Christian, it's all right it's all right believe the truth and the live as new creations. That's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary with a vivid picture of the transformation that takes place when you're saved from your sin when you were delivered by God. That's the title of John's current study here on grace to you, delivered by God.John earlier today. You said that the biggest problem in America is the Bible when your point was that in America and really in any culture. The Bible is truth that confronts and divides and without its clear, authoritative, exclusive claims there be a lot less friction, but of course if Christians don't stand firm on biblical truth. We really don't have a message to proclaim now and I and I think from the very outset, you have to start with the person of Christ.

They killed Christ for telling them the truth, and then Jesus said this, they hate me because I tell them their deeds are evil has why they hated Christ and crucified him. So yes, you have to acknowledge that the proclamation of the gospel is the most divisive message in the world and that's whether such hostility toward it, but it's also the most necessary message in the world I want to mention a book that is very close to my heart and has been for a long time. The title is the truth war the truth were right. I don't think we always think about the truth as starting a war. But that's exactly what this book points out the truth were subtitled fighting for certainty in an age of deception. Again, you don't normally think of a Christian book is a war training or training for fighting. But that's exactly what we face in this hostile world we live in a time when the very idea of truth is unacceptable, clear objective, knowable truth is under assault. It's this is the postmodern not just non-Christian world, but anti-Christian world anti-biblical world for us. However, we know we who love the truth know the truth is the only thing that is going to save people from eternal damnation.

So you have to understand the truth war you have to be on the right side being a soldier for the truth and fight for certainty in an age of deception. We love to get one of these books in your hands. We have them available a grace to you. We want to equip you to be effective to have a real impact in the in the world in which you live in the people that you contact with weather at your family, friends, schoolmates or whatever it is, so get a copy of the truth war 240 pages of critical biblical truth available from Grace to you right and so you understand this is not a book about winning an argument.

It's about having a genuine love for God and defending against attacks on him and his word.

The truth war can equip you to respond to those who question the authority or clarity or truthfulness of the Bible to order the truth war. Contact us today our web address Jide TY.org and our toll-free number 855 grace the truth war cost $11 and shipping is free. Maybe your pastor has said something you don't agree with something that runs counter to true. How should you deal with. Do you confront the pastor leave the church or what this book will help you think biblically about issues like that again to order the truth war, go to Jide TY.org or call us at 855 and when you visit Jide TY.org. You also find thousands of free resources including a recent blog series that gives practical advice for growing in discernment.

You can also download more than 3500 of John's sermons including the eight messages from delivered by God study you heard part of today download any sermon free of charge in MP3 or transcript format. Just go to Jide TY.org now for John MacArthur and the grace to you. Staff thanks for tuning in today and tomorrow you're going to see how coming to Christ should affect your day-to-day decisions and the effect that has on your future be here for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace