A Summary of Christian Duty (Part 1 of 2)

The idea that we ought to be people who do our duty feel a little old-fashioned in today's world, but is that concept still relevant for us today on Truth for Life.

Alastair Begg teaches us how our gratitude toward God is expressed as we fulfill our Christian duty.

We recognize that you draw near to us in the hearing of your so grand and this might be our experience in these moments for your glory and for our good.

For Jesus sake, we ask can I invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Hebrews in the 13th chapter going to concentrate this morning on just three verses as we seek to move our studies in hubris to a close by this evening. Those verses are 15, 16 and 17. I like to read them in your hearing. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess his name and do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased, obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden for that would be of no advantage to you on 21 October 1805. One of the most famous scene battles in the history of warfare took place at the Battle of Trafalgar. The British troops under the leadership of Adm. Lord Nelson soundly defeated the French and Spanish fleet, and although the details of that historical period are hazy to virtually all and particular snippets of information are known only to a few.

Any well-educated English schoolboy will be able to tell you two things concerning the battle of Trafalgar one, they will be able to tell you that the name of the flagship on which Nelson was carried was the victory and it will also be able to tell you that the message which Nelson conveyed first to his captains when they came on board the flagship victory and then to the other members of the crews of the remaining 26 ships by means of flags going up the land yards. The message was simply this. England expects that every man will do his duty. England expects that every man will do his duty and consequently all the members of the crews of these various ships would acknowledge the fact that while it was a privilege for them to serve their king and their country. It was impossible to think privilege without at the same time thinking Judy. Another reason I mention that is because when we read our Bibles with care and we discover that all of the Christians duties. If we understand them properly are nothing other than privileges and that when we think in terms of Christian privilege.

They in turn proved to be nothing other than sources of obligation and motives to Judy while duty is a dirty word. People think that unless you feel something you shouldn't do anything that is really utter nonsense and so many realms of life and not least of all in the matter of Christian pilgrimage. We are sustained by the prompting of the spirit of God in our lives directed by the word of God and we are called to abiding faithfulness to fulfill the privileges of our walk with Christ in the expression of our Judy and from the earliest days at Sunday school in Scotland being brought up in the post-World War II generation. The teachers and the songwriters seized every opportunity to make that point and to drive it home and I sense the same was true across on the side of the Atlantic Ocean and so you would have hordes of little children scurrying around the classroom singing. I am too young to march with the infantry to ride with the cavalry and to shoot where the artillery and I'm too young to zoom more the enemy, but I am in the Lord's army and the teachers labored hard and long so that we might understand that the privilege of knowing Jesus brought with it the demands of Judy and the Bible is replete with this emphasis the high point if you like of the whole emphasis of the book of Hebrews was reached in the 13th and 14 verses of this chapter where the writer calls upon the readers to identify themselves in such a way with the Lord Jesus Christ, that they will know the privilege of disgrace and there is in that paradox. Great truth to be identified with Christ is the great privilege to recognize that in doing so, there will be demands that are placed upon us.

There will be disgrace that attaches to is to be nothing other than biblically taught and thoroughly realistic.

Underwriters essentially pointed out that from the vantage point of victory. The captain of our salvation sends the message out to all whom he has enlisted heaven expects that everyone will do their duty now in these three verses we have three aspects of Christian duty, and they are simply these first of all, in verse 15, our spiritual Judy with respect to God.

Then in verse 16. Our moral duty with respect to men, and then in 17 out ecclesiastical Judy with respect to Christian leadership now going to give some time to each in turn. First of all, in verse 15, Judy with respect to God through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice. Now the Jewish leaders were well aware of the nature of sacrifice, and as we been going through this letter we have seen again and again. The juxtaposition of the Old Testament order which was pointing forward to this final great solution to the problem of sin that the day of atonement is the high priest entered into the most holy place, bearing with him sacrifices on behalf of the sins of the people they were pointing forward to the day when Jesus Christ, that great sacrifice of atonement would bear sin in his own body on the tree and the finality other than the sufficiency that reverberated through the pages of the letter. For example, in the 12th verse of chapter 10, contrasting what had been going on in the prior system where the sacrificial offerings were going on again and again and again without the ability to take away sin.

Hebrews 1012 but when this priest that is Jesus had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down on the right hand of God and by this sacrifice.

Jesus atoned for the sins of his people now in the Old Testament structure.

This sacrifices were offered not simply for our sin, namely propitiated Tori sacrifices are XP 83 sacrifices, but there were also be offering dedicated 3 Sacrifices Which Took Pl. not so that people might be accepted with God not in order that sin might be forgiven but to place in order to express the thanksgiving of the people for the way in which God had accepted the propitiated Tori sacrifice, and these were material sacrifices the Jew would bring an ox or sheep or goat and they would offer it up there on the altar and in doing so, they would say God I am thankful to you and I recognize the wonder of what you have done in providing a sacrifice for sin. Now it is this very emphasis which the writer brings to his readers here. Hence, the significance of that, therefore, is the third word in verse 15, the Christian is bound by obligations strong ones, tender ones to present at thank offering to God what is the offering of a Christian then brings to God not an option to go on a sheet, what then ourselves through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that bear his name. Probably the best parallel passages in Romans chapter 12 familiar to some news to others.

Therefore, says Paul same word same point of emphasis. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy. What is God's mercy. Where is it shown it, shown in his atoning death, Jesus death on the cross.

In view of God's mercies as I urge you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. So what is my Judy, then to God. This is not the summation of it all, but this is a significant part of it, namely to bring my life as a daily offering to God in the way that the Jew would've brought an auction or sheep or goat is an expression of our gratitude for all of the wonder of what he is done. The thought is captured exceptionally well by the statement of the missionary statesman CT start when with inescapable logic. He encapsulates it in this way, if Jesus Christ being God and dying for me then no sacrifice that I could ever make for him could ever be too great.

If I gave away all that I own. If I gave up my career in his service.

If I buried myself in obscurity. If I offer my body to be burned.

There is no sacrifice that could ever be so great that took into account the immensity of what the Lord Jesus had done and that is the point that he is making here in worship is to be far more than simply that the trotting out of songs there a harassing of tunes. The restating of poetry, ancient and modern.

It is to be the very fruit of lips which acknowledges name you notice that this sacrifice of praise as it is referred to here is that which is offered through Jesus through Jesus. Don't allow your eye just to scan that and jump on. It's very important.

Through Jesus, the one who, with whom we identify and find ourselves in the realm of disgrace.

It's a point of emphasis because the writer is saying it is through Jesus and only through Jesus. We do not offer this sacrifice, he says through the functions of Judaism. You do not offer this sacrifice of praise by means of saints and angels. You do not offer this spiritual worship by means of the Virgin Mary. It is only through Jesus, saints and angels and virgins in Jewish priests and all the rats providers zero access to the God to whom we owe this spiritual Judy. They are not our altar.

They did not cleanses by their blood. They did not suffer in our place.

They did not open up a new and living way for us to approach God and therefore to seek access to God the father by any other route is to deny the uniqueness and sufficiency of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you are sensible people examine the Scriptures to see if these things are so John Brown commentating in the early 19 century in Scotland says all our religious services must be presented through the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ independence on what he did on earth and is doing in heaven. It is only when viewed in connection with his atonement and intercession that any of our religious services can be acceptable to God. I don't have time to make application of about one word in passing when people come to us and say, surely all that matters is that we want to seek God Don let's get set aside now by our particular predilections in relationship to this. Surely the words of Oprah Winfrey inner commencement address to the women of Wellesley College is sufficient far as I she said find whoever it is. I like to call it God.

She says you can call it what you want you can call it source. You can call it power. You can call it Alpha, but it doesn't matter. She says all that matters is that you unite with the energy audit and you can be anything you choose to be. Through Jesus, therefore, and only through Jesus dealing that he went to the extent of leaving heaven coming to act being born as he was born living as a live dying as he died to open up the only way to God so that he might then look from having to say really all those other ways are flying the notion that we might conclude that all roads lead to heaven like delete the Timbuk2 is certainly very prevalent but we can find no substantiation for it in the Scriptures spiritual Judy that is offered through Jesus, and it may be offer continually continually and because it may, it should continue offering to God. Not an hour a week, not something that simply happens in a corporate way but somebody was life is so interwoven with the Lord that the very walking and talking, sweeping and injecting reading and so on is all an expression of praise. This was mind blowing to his readers because when they thought in terms of offering sacrifices they can only do the particular times and they can only do it in particular places notices the reader.

This spiritual service may be presented at any time and in any place this wonderful truth about our special building, you have to meet with special people. All of our lives interwoven with God that he was. I had the privilege of this in your family life you have something for which to be deeply grateful I was reflecting upon it this week. As I came to this verse. I don't know why would come to mind boasting about how often my father would sing as we drove along in the car was a mistake for a number of reasons.

One, because my father is not a very good singer and to because he didn't exactly have a very receptive audience around them in the car three in the back and one beside him, not necessarily getting blessed by his melodic interchange. Nonetheless, it never prevented them. And since we had no radio to turn on whereby we might drown them out. No tape player to use whereby we might be done within we would sit there and listen to him sing anything all kinds of things not to move these came to mind as I'm sitting my desk upstairs during the week. One went like this I would say it for you because I'm as bad as my father when I was singing I go along life's road praising the Lord praising the Lord singing I go along life's road for Jesus has lifted my low not a particularly earth shattering lyric and not as for humility line. I can assure you, and certainly not a brilliant singer but as a kid sitting in the back. As I was forced to process this. Say whatever is happening in my dad. He's singing he goes along the road and he would quickly follow that he had a little to punch routine when he would follow that with one that he said he learned from a missionary in South America somewhere and he would wax into this one too great pay and when.

Like this Jesus is with me wherever I go. Jesus is with me. I know over the mountains.

The land and the sea Jesus I know is with me as off through the valley of sorrow. I go his hand is upon me. I know I know Jesus is with me wherever I go. Jesus is with me. I know very clearly didn't sing that once because if it only some the ones I never would have remembered it from once. Therefore, we must assume that a lot.

Therefore, he must've been a very jolly man sing all the songs are really saying when he was happy they only sang them when he felt like it if my dad only sang when he was happy and felt like I probably would never have heard him say no because he was morose and unhappy because he had three teenage kids had a job, a wife stuff. Hey man's request.

Let's start. Let's freeze-frame it right at this point in our lives of all the things that anybody you say about you or me in any way sick and on their forget it didn't matter when I was with. He was praising the Lord in a matter where you went in matter what you are doing. She always was blessing the Christian duty is not a glandular condition. Assembly of people in worship as well is very intriguing to me. You raise your hands and it's nice you don't and that's nice but there's certain ones that you raise your hands on. And there's another one you don't raise your hands on work out what it is is her suite was on inside your tummy goes hand razor 900 is it a melody is in a truth.

What is see the issue loved ones is that it is matter where we are. Doesn't matter who were with it is our Christian duty to offer spiritual worship to God that engages our minds stirs our hearts and flows from secondly, I noticed that our duty is to be shared with respect to others is Matthew Henry quite quaintly puts it, Thanksgiving is good but thanks living is better thanks living is better when John writes, he says, dear children.

One John 318, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth, the hymn writer puts it really well filled out my life will Lord my God in every part with praise that I have my whole being may declare your beauty and your ways, not for the lips of praise alone, but for the praising heart.

I ask you for a life made up of praise in every part and that praise then is expressed in the way in which not only I confess his name, but also the way in which I do good to others of the Jewish people again understood this. All of the blessings that they had experienced what to be passed on to the aliens and strangers in their gates card and give me all this stuff so that I consider him to be a fat cat even give me all the stuff so that I may sit around with my friends and party so that I may congratulate myself on how well I've done so I may tear down my barns and build bigger and say take life easy, drink and be merry because you've done a tremendous job know he gave it to his in order that we might use it in order that in our moral responsibilities living as citizens in the community and living as brothers and sisters in the family.

We would not forget to do good, that we would be do-gooders as it was at all will record when it comes to doing good were not do-gooders. We better start do-gooders because were supposed to be not so that we might gain acceptance with God. As a result of doing good, but in order that by our good deeds we might declare the father's glory. There's more for us to learn about fulfilling our Christian duty to hear that tomorrow in part two of this message listing to Truth for Life with Alister. If you're a frequent listener to Truth for Life. You probably know that teaching the Bible is our passion. We know that it is through the teaching of God's word that unbelievers are converted levers are established in their faith and local churches are strengthened when you support Truth for Life in the fulfillment of this mission your giving brings Alister's teaching to men and women all around the world to thank you for your support. We carefully select and then recommend books that supplement the messages you hear on this daily program the book were currently featuring is titled God's Bible timeline. The big book of biblical history. This is a captivating book that organizes areas of biblical history into more than a dozen sequential timelines. This includes timelines that span periods from Abraham to Joseph. The period of the Kings and the prophets. The first missionaries. Those are just a few of the ones included colorful illustrations in this book, timelines, easy to follow Greenlee engaging only for adults with children as well is a book for the whole family requester copy when you donate to Truth for Life today. Simply tap the image you see on the mobile app or visit Truth for Life.org/donate or call us at 888588788 and Bob Lapine.

Thanks for listing. Join us again tomorrow to find out why believers should be first in line when it comes to doing good. The Bible teaching of Alister is furnished by Truth for Life learning is poorly