Exploring Faith: Christ's Nature, Vocation, and Assurance

The question is, is he able to sin or not able to sin and uh there's a little bit of a Divergence here within the reformed tradition and you do find people lining up on either side the ones who want to say that Jesus is able to sin uh usually get there because they want to see The Temptations as real they want to see them as having teeth so to speak so that when Jesus is our high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses the understanding is that he if he was not able to sin is he genuinely legitimately in an existential way able to sympathize. [00:00:49]

I think that the impeccable uh that he was not able to sin is the preferred View and and uh still see that Jesus in his U incarnate God Man U is our sympathetic high priest but I I can understand where the peccability camp is coming from uh but I I think we just should not ascribe that to the Incarnate Christ I think I want to Nuance that just a little by saying I think at least two things one, one I don't think that the doctrine of impeccability even if it's true is one that finds expression in the New Testament. [00:01:49]

The necessity for me to try and get that right is to try and preach the gospel to myself every day to to remind myself even though I have a duty and I I'm not afraid of the word Duty uh there are commands there are obligations on me as as a Christian um but what is the motive of Duty and what is the motive of obedience uh and and the motive is that I am the Lords that I am forgiven that I have been adopted that I uh that I am in Christ that I'm a New Creation in Jesus Christ. [00:05:51]

I think if if the word of God isn't present with us then a love for God is less likely to be developed and I would you know in that regard particularly commend to you that the Psalms as uh really Hearts engaged with God and um I it's a duty Delight issue that we're talking about here and I think the mistake is is if I do the duty without the Delight I'm being insincere or inauthentic and that's almost the worst sin you can commit in our current climate to not be authentic but we have the obligation to the duty and I think we commit to the duty and the Delight follows. [00:07:48]

Luther comes along and and attaches calling to our familial relationships as husbands as as wives spouses children parents comes along and ascribes callings a vocation rather to to uh professions I think everyone except Banker not sure Luther had much much respect for bankers and lawyers and and lawyers so if you avoided those two Fields you were but but what he was trying to say there was we've got to sort of get past this notion of a two to Sharp of a sacred secular distinction. [00:09:42]

I think that's it's a dimen not the sum of answering this question I think it's a dimension to it we can't hear serving God and immediately compartmentalize that into full-time Christian platform Ministry um I love that doctrine of vocation I think that's part of it and then I think the other part of it is sort of what we were just talking about in the in the Christian disciplines of of prayer and and faithful Bible reading and faithful discipleship in the point the place in which God has put you uh that's serving God sometimes we just over mystify this or over complicate this um when just simple obedience is serving God. [00:10:31]

I think there are certain things that you have to say that there is no salvation apart from Christ I don't I don't believe in The Wider hope although reformed Christians like shed uh went in that direction but I think that's that's an unbiblical direction there's no other name under Heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the father but by me and the positive of that is that there is an absolute imperative upon us to take the gospel to every people group and that burden ought to weigh down heavily upon us uh that there is an urgency uh to take the gospel to as many people as is as is humanly possible. [00:29:19]

I think we must think this through and we must help our our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ think this through if if our if our instincts are to to to go the route of well surely God is a merciful god and the unevangelized uh God is sort of overlooking that or God is making accommodation for that I think is where our instincts want to go because we think somehow that's a a better portrayal of God or that's a better God that is more commendable and what we're doing when we move in that direction is we're moving into what what theologians will sometimes call inclusivism and it's a it's a movement away from exclusivism. [00:31:19]

The trajectory of of scripture is not to go to blame God for the lack of preaching of the Gospel but to actually encourage us to do that how can they hear without a preacher uh and and so the burden to to preach the gospel to the person next door and across the street and across the world ought to be the burden of the modern Church of of the church from its very Inception it it was to be the burden of Israel also I think agreeing with everything that's been said. [00:33:12]

I think this is a crucial question because it it really does impact Christian Life and so we're talking about Assurance we've got first John and John wants us to know that we are a child of God he doesn't want us doubting and and wondering and and you can how do you how do you make progress if you're just constantly in Despair and so you know read first John he he wants us to know these things but the Westminster Confession has an interesting way of dealing with this it's talking about Assurance in terms of our we are we are in Christ and that's the basis of assurance. [00:43:44]

Calvin says we have to with the question of assurance always first look to the promises of Christ and then if you really embrace the promises of Christ if you rejoice in the promises of Christ then you dare look to see if you have a little faith and have a few good works because they should be there and should support that Assurance but the primary Assurance needs to be in Christ and in his promises and I I think that's helpful but certainly if if you're falling desperately into sin you're not looking to the promises of Christ and the Assurance will Wayne. [00:46:48]

I think that's helpful but certainly if if you're falling desperately into sin you're not looking to the promises of Christ and the Assurance will Wayne and this issue of course is examined in in detail uh in another John John bunan uh in pilgrims program progess and uh actually I great many of these questions this morning uh find um answers uh in in John Bunyan's wonderful allegory which you need to read to enter the ply Gates. [00:47:58]