Tag: gospel

Sermon Idea: The preaching of the Word is a means of conversion and a means of grace through which Christ speaks to His people. 

Introduction: I don’t usually like to begin a sermon by reviewing the previous week’s message, but in this particular case, it is a bit of a requirement. Last week, I introduced the ordinary means of grace, setting the stage for the remaining five weeks.

We began by looking at Acts 2:41-42,⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. ⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Ac 2:41–42)

This is an incredible passage that gives us insight into the worship priorities of the early church. After all the wondrous, extraordinary acts of God at Pentecost, what did the early church devote themselves to as they gathered? What did they continue, persist, and persevere in? They were devoted to what later Christians would call the ordinary means of grace. 

For the sake of clarity, let me offer a definition adapted from J. Ryan Davidson’s helpful little book, Green Pastures. 

The ordinary means of grace are the instruments Christ ordinarily uses to birth and strengthen the faith of God’s people as He is present among them.

Of course, ordinary is not intended to connote boring or uninteresting but to the regular means God uses to strengthen our faith by his grace. It also refers to what has been ordained by Christ for this purpose. You can hear the word connection between ordinary and ordained. 

To say something is a “means” is to say it is an instrument or a medium through which something is accomplished. 

Although God can and does use a variety of good things for our edification, the reason why these means—the ministry of the Word, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer—are identified as means of grace is because they were instituted by the Lord Jesus for practice in the church and accompanied by a promised blessing from God. 

So last week’s sermon introduced the ordinary means of grace by exploring three points: God saves the church by his grace, God builds the church up by his grace, and God builds up the church by grace through ordinary means.

This morning we are going to see that the preaching of the Word is a means of conversion and a means of grace through which Christ speaks to His people. 

The Westminster Larger Catechism states really beautifully what I hope to show you in 1 Peter this morning. 

Q. 155. How is the word made effectual to salvation?

1. The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners; of driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ; of conforming them to his image, and subduing them to his will; of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions; of building them up in grace, and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

We will look at a number of passages this morning, but we will allow 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 to be our primary foundation because it contains two of the three major points this morning in one passage. Peter helps us see that the preaching of the Word is a means of conversion and a means of grace. Let’s look at verses 22-25 and see how Peter describes the preaching of the Word as a means of conversion. 

I.) The preaching of the Word is a means of conversion (1 Peter 1:22-25)

Peter’s main point in these verses is to encourage the church to love one another because they have been born again. I want us to see how Peter describes their conversion and how Peter identifies the means of their conversion. 

He first describes their conversion as purifying their souls to obedience to the truth. That is, through repentance and faith in Christ, they have “obeyed” the gospel preaching, which is identified here as the truth. 

It is common in the New Testament to refer to the gospel as the truth. For example in Ephesians 1:13 Paul says, and in him you also, when you head the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 

To obey the truth is to respond to the preaching of the gospel with repentance and faith. 

So Peter is in no way saying they have saved themselves because our passage already clearly states in verses 18-19 that they were purified by the blood of Christ. 

¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Pe 1:18–19)

God has saved them by grace because of the finished work of Christ,  but their response may be appropriately called obedience to the truth. 

What is most important for our purposes, though, is the clarity Peter gives us regarding the means of their conversion. The means God used to convert them was the Word of God. Let’s look carefully at verses 23-24. 

²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for 

“All flesh is like grass 

and all its glory like the flower of grass. 

The grass withers, 

and the flower falls, 

²⁵  but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 

And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Pe 1:23–25)

God causes us to be born again, but the instrument or the means used is the Word of God. The Word of God is living and abiding because God lives and abides forever. His Word is not like the flesh or the grass; it’s not like the kingdoms of man that rise and fall like Babylon or Rome. No, the Word of God is living and abiding. It is powerful, and it is the good news that God uses to convert sinners. Notice the emphasis on preaching in verse 25, and this was the good news that was preached to you. 

And if this is true, it’s hard to think of any activity for the church to prioritize more than preaching the gospel. God saves through the preaching of the gospel, so preaching is central to the church’s life.  

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Ro 10:14–17) 

The Word of God, the gospel, is the power of God for salvation. It is a means of conversion through which God has ordained to work. 

The world can think little of preaching all it wants. It can scoff and mock, but Michael Horton is right when he writes, “Though seemingly powerless and ineffective, the creaturely mediation of his Word through faltering human lips is the most powerful thing on earth.”

The power of the gospel is illustrated beautifully by the true story of Elias Keach. That name may not be familiar to you, but his father, Benjamin Keach, was a very influential Baptist theologian and pastor in London in the 17th Century. 

Well, his son Elias Keach was an unbeliever who moved to America and decided the best way for him to make a living was to use his family name and pose as a pastor to make a living. What happens during this time is rather astonishing.

As he preached the truths of the gospel as an unbelieving poser, the Spirit of God gripped his heart in the pulpit and converted him. He paused, trembled with tears in his eyes, confessed his sin, and that day marked his conversion. He would later be baptized and properly ordained before being sent out as an evangelist.

He performed well enough till he had advanced pretty far in the sermon. Then, stopping short, looked like a man astonished. The audience concluded he had been seized with a sudden disorder; but, on asking what the matter was, received from him a confession of the imposture with tears in his eyes and much trembling. Great was his distress though it ended happily; for from this time dated he his conversion.

The preaching of the Word is not just a means of conversion. It is also a means by which God builds up the church by his grace. Let’s look at 1 Peter 2:1-3 and see the preaching of the Word is a means of grace. 

II.) The preaching of the Word is a means of grace (1 Peter 2:1-3) 

To pursue brotherly love for one another, Peter encourages us to put away malice, deceit, hypocrisy, and slander. That’s the negative command, but a positive command follows it. 

² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Pe 2:2–3)

Believers are to continue to depend on the same grace that saved them to sustain, strengthen, and mature them. In fact, we are too long and desire pure spiritual milk as a newborn infant longs for nourishment from its mother. The word translated as “long” here in the ESV is the same word often translated as “desire” in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Listen to Psalm 83:3. 

My soul desires and faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoiced exceedingly in the living God. (Ps 83:3)

We are to long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word for a reason: because it is God’s means to mature us in our faith. In other words, it is a means of grace. Look at the language of verse 2 closely, that by it you may grow up into salvation. 

So, as the church gathers on the Lord’s day to hear the Word read and especially the Word preached, Christ by the Spirit is at work in us to build us up by his grace. 

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16,¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Ti 3:16–17)

The necessity of the Word of God as a means of grace is why Paul told the elders in Ephesus, as we saw last week. 

³² And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Ac 20:32)

This not only places great emphasis on preaching but also emphasizes the importance of preaching well. Three points and a poem won’t cut it. God’s people need more from pastors than cute stories and entertaining jokes. The church needs biblically saturated sermons—sermons that don’t just preach from the Bible but preach the Bible faithfully to its content and aims—to save sinners and transform them into the image of Christ.

Whether I do this well is for someone else to judge, but my hope is that I preach in a way that provides you with a particular appetite for preaching that is thoroughly biblical and centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Whether you’re here or moving elsewhere, I hope you will continue to long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word, which is God’s means of maturing you in the faith. 

Should this not impact your view of the Lord’s Day gathering? And as I said last week, does it not raise the cost of neglecting to gather with God’s people on the Lord’s Day? 

We do not gather to hear reflections by a man we hired to comment on Scripture. We gather to be built up by God through the means of his Word, to hear from God, and to be ministered to by Him. 

For all these reasons, the Second Helvetic Confession states without reservation that,

“The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God…Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very word of God is preached, and received by the faithful.” (The Second Helvetic Confession, 1566)

Do you think about the Lord’s day and especially the preaching moment in this way? Beloved, when we gather on the Lord’s day, you should have the expectation—an expectation without hesitation and without reservation— that you will encounter the living God through the living Word of God.

This brings us to our last point. The faithful preaching of the Word is Christ speaking to his people. 

III.) The faithful preaching of the Word is Christ speaking to his people 

A foundational truth undergirds our understanding of the ordinary means of grace: the risen and ascended Christ is not absent, apathetic, or silent. 

Remember, these are means. Christ speaks and addresses his people through his Word, even through finite and humble preachers of the Word today. Is there a scriptural proof for this idea? There are actually a few, but we don’t have that much time, so I want to point you to the most obvious because the others may require a little more explanation. 

Consider with me for a moment Ephesians 2:14-17. Here, Paul talks about how God in Christ has made Jewish believers and Gentile believers into one body, one people. Listen carefully and pay special attention to verse 17. 

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (Eph 2:14–17)

Did you catch it? Who is the “he” in verse 17? The antecedent of he is Jesus Christ. Does Paul mean that Jesus descended from heaven to preach to these people? No, of course not. So what does he mean? 

When the gospel is preached truly and faithfully, it is Christ speaking and preaching to his people. Christ saves. Christ builds up the church. To hear the Word faithfully preached its to hear Christ’s divine address. 

Several crucial things have to happen for this to be the case. God has not promised to bless any word I say, and we should never think this implies that every pastor’s or preacher’s words are equal to God’s words. That isn’t the case at all. 

What is the case, though, is that when God-called pastors proclaim the Spirit-inspired Word of the gospel, it is the very Word of God for the people of God.  

Several passages support this understanding of preaching, but none is clearer than 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

¹³ And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers (1 Th 2:13)

Isn’t that amazing? We do not worship an absent, apathetic, or silent Lord. Gathering and hearing the Word of God is to be addressed by the risen Christ. It is how the church continues to hear his voice. 

Application

1. Pray persistently for Christ to speak through faithful preaching. 

Understanding the preaching of the Word as a means of grace should implore us to pray often for Christ to speak to us through his Word. I wonder what would happen in your life if you committed to praying each Sunday morning, “Christ speak to us through your word, so that we may be built up by your grace.”

2. Pray persistently for faithful pastors to commune with Christ in preparing to preach. 

Understanding the preaching of the Word as a means of grace should lead us to pray often for our pastors. We should pray for the pastors of our own local church and then pray often for pastors we partner with. Pray that pastors walk closely with Christ and preach from the overflow of the Spirit’s work in their lives. 

3. Listen intently & joyfully to the Word of Christ through preaching. 

How do you prepare to hear the Word preached? Do you bring a bible so that you can follow along closely? Do you come well rested so that you won’t drift off? Will you sit up with the intent to listen? Will you be easily edified because you long for the pure spiritual milk of the word?

4. Believe the Word of God is central to the life and ministry of the church.  

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that preaching is the primary activity of the church because God never changes, and man’s needs never change. 

“…the moment you consider man’s real need, and also the nature of salvation announced and proclaimed in the Scriptures, you are driven to the conclusion that the primary task of the Church is to preach and proclaim this, to show’s man’s real need, and to show the only remedy, the only cure for it.”

Sermon Idea: The joy-filled Christian life trusts that God works in us to advance the gospel and for our progress in the faith. 

Introduction: C.T. Studd was a renowned cricket player in England, the best of his time. He was the son of a wealthy father and inherited a large inheritance upon his father’s death. His story is not one of fame or fortune but of forsaking both. 

Studd gave away a large inheritance and became a missionary to China with the China Inland Mission in 1885. According to the Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, this decision “caused a sensation in the public press.” Except for some breaks because of health reasons, Studd would spend his life committed to foreign missions, first in China and then in Africa, until he died in 1931. Part of his legacy is a poem with a famous refrain. I want to read a portion of this poem to you, and I would be grateful if you could listen to the refrain at the end of each stanza. 

Only one life, yes only one,

Soon will its fleeting hours be done;

Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,

And stand before His Judgement seat;

Only one life,’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,

In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;

Faithful and true what e’er the strife,

Pleasing Thee in my daily life;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,

Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;

And when at last I’ll hear the call,

I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;

Only one life,’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last. 

Studd’s life and this famous poem testify to a single devotion: Christ is all of life, and all of life is for Christ.

We can say this and more about the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:12-26. As Paul provides an update about his circumstances, he sums up how he understands his entire Christian life in two verses. 

¹² I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel… (Php 1:12)

²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith (Php 1:25)

The word “advance” in verse 12 and the word “progress” in verse 25 are the same, just translated differently to better fit the context. 

Paul sums up his whole life in two ways: the advance of the gospel, and the progress of Christians in the faith.

This is why one of my former professors, Andy Davis, speaks of the Christian life as two journeys: the inward journey of sanctification and the outward journey of gospel advancement. We are to grow more like Christ and to proclaim Christ to the glory and praise of God. 

These ways, Paul tells us, are the way of joy. Paul knows joy in all circumstances because his life is Christ and all his life is considered in light of Christ.  

So this morning I want us to learn from Paul about the joy-filled Christian life. 

I want us to see that the joy-filled Christian life trusts that God works in us to advance the gospel and for our progress in the faith.

I.) God works in us to advance the gospel (Phil. 1:12-18) 

Verses 12-26 are essentially an update about Paul’s missionary efforts, much like we would hope to receive from missionaries that we support. He wants the Philippians to know that God is still at work even through his imprisonment. Their partnership and friendship are still needed. 

There is one encouraging update that Paul wants to give the Philippians: his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel, and he provides two means of testimony to support this. 

The first testimony Paul gives is that the gospel has advanced so much, that even the imperial guard and many others have come to learn that Paul is imprisoned for Christ.

¹² I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. (Php 1:12–13)

In Rome, where Paul is likely imprisoned, those held were done so as they awaited a trial or waited to be executed. Paul doesn’t share the details of his imprisonment, but we know that he was chained. The phrase “my imprisonment” is literally “my chains,” as the NIV and NKJV translate it. Whatever the details, it was not a pleasant experience. It was one of suffering, and it was suffering in chains. 

Paul would likely have been chained to a rotation of guards who changed shifts every four hours. This would provide Paul with numerous opportunities to share the reason for his imprisonment, the gospel of Jesus Christ. So words begin to get around, and that word is about Christ. 

Not only did these chains not stop the gospel, but Paul’s chains became the means for the gospel’s advancement, even among the imperial guard, which was an elite group of troops who were like special bodyguards for Ceasar. 

The second form of testimony is found in verse 14. Many people have been inspired toward greater confidence and faithfulness in preaching the gospel. 

¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Php 1:14)

It is not that these brothers were excited about imprisonment and suffering, but saw firsthand what God was doing through Paul’s suffering in chains and it was God’s work in this situation that made them confident in the Lord, and so they began to preach Christ boldly without fear. 

God has used Paul’s imprisonment as a servant for gospel advancement. The chains of Paul become a means to accomplish God’s purposes. 

There is nothing that a government can do foreign or domestic to subvert, silence, or stop the advancement of God’s Word in the gospel. Paul’s testimony in Philippians reminds me of God’s promise in Isaiah 55 about his Word and purpose. 

¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, 

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Is 55:10–11)

The gospel’s advancement is not only one way Paul understands his life purpose and current circumstances; it is a source of joy. Even when Paul reports that some are preaching with poor motives, Paul’s focus is rejoicing that Christ is being proclaimed. 

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. (Php 1:15–18)

A lot of ink has been spilled in an attempt to understand the nature of this division. Are these two factions of one larger group of true brothers and sisters in the Lord? Or are these two different groups? What matters most though is not the historical background, but Paul’s perspective. 

Paul’s life is of such singular devotion that he rejoices in the proclamation of Christ no matter the motive.

So, if God works through Paul’s imprisonment and works in others to advance the gospel, how might we reflect on God’s providence in our own lives so that the gospel might advance through our lives? 

How has God providentially ordered your life? What neighborhood do you live in? What vocation do you have? What recreation spaces do you find yourself in? Who are the people that God has brought close to you? 

If Paul can view his suffering and imprisonment as a means for gospel advancement, why can’t we view our regular lives that way? 

Who has God brought close to you? Have you considered that God might be preparing someone for salvation by bringing them near to you? 

If you want to rob yourself of joy in this life, view all of your circumstances apart from God’s providence and apart from the purpose of advancing the gospel. 

Your job is not a cosmic accident. God was not careless when your realtor found your house. Your networks of recreation—sports, dance, outdoors, etc— are not meaningless extracurricular activities. 

In the words of a dear friend of mine, God has you where has you to advance the gospel through you. 

A really practical way to respond is to start thinking about the people in those areas of your life. Write down one person in your neighborhood whom you can pray for, get to know, and befriend. Do the same for your job, your recreation space, etc. 

What might happen if we all thought about our regular lives in light of God’s providence to advance the gospel? 

Paul’s joy is not only in the gospel’s advance but in the truth that Christ is his life. Paul’s life is for Christ, for the progress and joy of others in the faith. His life is Christ, so that even in death he gains more of Christ. 

Let’s look at the end of verse 18 and see that God works in us for our progress and joy in the faith. 

II.) God works in us for our progress and joy in the faith (Phil. 1:18-26) 

Paul is confident that he will ultimately be saved or delivered despite his suffering. Now, Paul might be convinced that he will soon be released from prison, and that makes sense because he expresses his hope to revisit Philippi in verse 26, “so that in my you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” 

He may be convinced of this, but he is confident in much more than this. He is confident that he will be saved and delivered no matter what happens to him. 

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Php 1:18–21)

If he is executed for preaching Christ, he will share in the suffering of Christ in his body but will be saved through prayer and the help of the Spirit. Paul isn’t going to compromise, he isn’t going to fall away, he isn’t going stop preaching Christ. He will honor Christ in his body even in death. And if he dies, he will die in Christ and live forever in the presence of Christ.

Last week, I introduced the sermon with a question from the Heidelberg Catechism. The most famous question of that Catechism is the first one. It fits our text perfectly and is simply too rich not to share.  

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul,

in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Finding comfort in these glorious truths, memorized by Christians for hundreds of years is only possible by someone who believes what Paul has written in verses 20-21. 

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

The deliverance that Paul is confident of his salvation in Christ Jesus by God’s grace, a salvation that will be fully realized in glory. Salvation in Christ is the only way death becomes gain! 

Paul believes that death is gain, but we must not miss what it means to live as Christ.

²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Php 1:22–23)

All of Paul’s life is for Christ, and so if he continues to live in the flesh, he will fruitfully continue labor. He will preach the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and strengthen other believers. 

Paul speaks as if he’s hard-pressed between life and death, not because he is suicidal or hoping to die. It’s a rhetorical device that speaks of his life in uncertain terms. Paul may not be released and at worst be executed. Paul may be released and at best continue to be fruitful in ministry. 

By speaking of both with uncertainty, we have to consider equally what both life and death mean for someone who is in Christ. Paul wants us to see death as gain in Christ and life as Christ that consists of fruitful labor in the gospel. 

His love and affection for the Philippians leads him to ultimately say that he desires to pursue their progress and joy in the faith. 

²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. (Php 1:24–26)

Much like God used Paul’s sufferings to advance the gospel, God is going to use Paul’s life toward the progress and joy of the Philippians faith. In the next few weeks, Paul is going to parse out what this progress looks like. To progress in the faith means to live in a manner worthy of the gospel (1:27), to stand firm in one spirit (1:27), and to live in humility, seeking the interest of others over one’s own (2:1-4). 

We will get to that in time, but what I want us to see is that God works in us, often through others, for our progress in the faith. We are meant to grow in our adoration of Christ and into great Christlikeness. 

This is the way of joy! A life that is spiritually stagnant, discontent, and apathetic toward sin will not cultivate joy. 

A joy-filled Christian life progresses in the faith and works toward the progress and joy of other believers. Every Lord’s Day gathering is an opportunity to walk into this building to contribute to another believer’s progress and joy in the faith. 

This is one of the primary drives of my entire life. It is to show myself progressing in the faith and laboring toward the progress and joy of God’s church. Another occurrence of “progress” appears in 1 Timothy, and its use is similar to Philippians 1:25. 

¹⁵ Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶ Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Ti 4:15–16)

One of the things God is doing in your life at this very moment is working through the preaching of the Word toward your progress in the faith and toward greater joy in the faith. 

Friends, sin is the path of shame and guilt masquerading as a path toward joy. Our sin patterns are broken cisterns. They’ll never satisfied, and they will never be a source of Joy. 

Believe God and trust His Word. Believe that a life devoted to a single vision is the path to joy.  Christ is our life, and our life is for Christ. 

When we do this, we’ll see our lives as a means of gospel advancement, and we’ll work toward not only our progress and joy but the progress and joy of other believers. This is a life’s purpose worthy of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Only one life,’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last.