Some of the EVBC Non-Negotiables
Tom Shrader presents six core doctrinal non-negotiables for East Valley Bible Church: the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture, the universal sinfulness of man, salvation exclusively through Christ's death and resurrection, salvation by grace alone, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit evidenced by fruit, and the believer's calling to glorify God. He frames these convictions against the backdrop of a visit to the Shepherds Conference, a student ministry trip to Willow Creek, and a Larry King panel discussion in which prominent church leaders took universalist and inclusivist positions on salvation. Throughout, Shrader insists these truths are non-negotiable for anyone seeking a leadership role at EVBC, and he urges the congregation to find confidence and worship in understanding that salvation is entirely God's work, not their own.
“The Bible is the Word of God written by the Holy Spirit through men over centuries, and it is infallible and inerrant — it's absolutely trustworthy.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: DNA of EVBC
Recorded: 2003 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 1 hr 19 min
Themes: inerrancy, salvation, grace, sin, holy spirit, glorifying god, sound doctrine, exclusivity of christ, new believer, questioning salvation, searching for truth, pastor, church leader, new to church, struggling with universalism, seeking solid teaching
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21, 2 Peter 1:3, Hebrews 4:12-13, Psalm 19:7-9, Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10-12, Jeremiah 17:9, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Ephesians 4:17-19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6:23, John 14:6, John 10:9, John 11:25, Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 5:16-23, Titus 2:9, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 2 Corinthians 5:9, 2 Corinthians 6:1
Theological Themes: biblical inerrancy, biblical sufficiency, total depravity, sola gratia, sanctification, becoming holy, soteriology, salvation by grace alone
Full Transcript
Introduction: Three Promptings
Here is the point in the service where I would normally say, "Open your Bibles, please." I am not going to do that today. I will do it next week, when we will be in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, beginning in verse 1. But I want to take this week to talk about some things that are on my mind and share them with you.
These thoughts are prompted by three independent events. First, we were gone last week at the Shepherds Conference at Grace Church in Los Angeles — John MacArthur's church — where he and his staff and others ministered to shepherds who had gathered there. What became clear is that many of the men attending were not there alone; they had brought people with them, hoping their pastor would hear from John or the others and begin to adapt, particularly in expository teaching format, as well as in adhering to some very basic truths.
The second incident that prompted today's message is that while we were in Los Angeles, our student ministry team was in the Chicago area at Willow Creek for a conference. Their experience was very different from ours. They were in an environment where the Word is certainly acknowledged, but not taught in the same way. The staff would consciously avoid terms like "sin," the Bible may be used as a point of reference but is rarely taught verse by verse, and some areas of ministry were so seeker-sensitive that they had literally no punch to them at all.
The third incident was a discussion on Larry King's show last Tuesday night, with five Christian leaders talking about the war with Iraq, the morality of it, and all that goes with it. Those three things came together and motivated me to set aside 2 Corinthians chapter 6 for a while and address what I have titled "Some of the East Valley Bible Church Non-Negotiables." I have six of them. I use the word "some" because I am sure you could add to this list, but these are very important ones — especially against the backdrop of what I just described.
These Are Non-Negotiable
I want to say this at the beginning, and I will say it again at the end: we will never, never, never, never waver on these. You will pry these truths from our cold, dead hands. There is no chance that this church will modify its position on any of them.
For many of you who have been around for a while, you will recognize them and quickly embrace them. For others, this morning may be one of those moments when the scales drop off and you say, "Now I understand why they do what they do, and the way they do it." And if you are new to the church, this is a terrific time to be here.
I had the privilege of meeting with three couples who were visiting this morning as a representative group considering planting a church on the west side. We sat in the infant care room afterward and only had ten or fifteen minutes, but they asked what I would do if starting over — all the questions you would anticipate. I said, "You picked the perfect service to be here." What you have to do when planting a church is understand who you are, so that people can say, "Yes, I want to be part of that," or, "No, it doesn't fit for me." That clarity is very important.
If you want to be part of East Valley Bible Church — not just attending, but serving, leading a small group, or aspiring to teach — you will never be placed in a position of leadership if you do not embrace these six things. We are not even dialoguing about them. They are simply the way it is.
Non-Negotiable #1: The Bible Is the Inspired, Inerrant Word of God
The first non-negotiable is this: the Bible is the inspired Word of God — infallible, inerrant, and sufficient in all matters of faith and conduct. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16 says very clearly, "All Scripture is inspired by God." That word "inspired" means God-breathed. God moved these authors. In most instances they retained their own vocabulary and experiences, but God used them to produce this infallible Word.
Peter writes in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 21, "No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." This is God's Word — that is critically important. There are people who would call themselves Christians, people in all kinds of churches — community churches, Bible churches, certainly denominational churches — who would say the Bible *contains* the Word of God. We would never say that. That is not strong enough. The Bible *is* the Word of God.
If you say it merely contains the Word of God, then the question becomes: how do I know which part is the Word of God and which part is not? Which part is true and which part is not? This is God's Word, written by the Holy Spirit through men over centuries, and it is infallible and inerrant — absolutely trustworthy.
It has great practical truth as well. The Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for doctrine — some translations say "teaching" — speaking to the content of what we study and believe. It is profitable for rebuke, correcting wrong behavior and wrong beliefs. Many of you have been in the situation of confronting someone — a friend, a co-worker, a fellow student — about their behavior or their sin.
The Living Power of God's Word
We aren't that smart. We just have the answer book. If you're here this morning, and I don't say this arrogantly at all, you've been blessed, because God brought you to a place with answers. We're not all in here trying to be on a journey, figuring it out. We have it figured out. Here is the Word. Here is the truth.
Look at what the author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 4. The Word of God is living. It's alive. It's active. It's sharp. It judges the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from it. All things are open and laid bare before the eyes of God. That phrase, "open, laid bare," is a phrase that was used in extra-biblical Greek literature to talk about the preparation of the neck — removing all clothing and obstacle so they could sever the head from the body for a beheading. That's what the Word of God does. It is that convicting. It is a living word.
When it is taught, when it is declared, people come. We live in a day and age when people don't want to hear that. They want some recipe — a little bit of this, a cup of this, a shake of this, a dose of that — and you don't teach the Word. Are the other things important? Sure they are, as they support the teaching of the Word. But God honors the teaching of His Word, and it opens you up.
A Word That Finds You Out
That is why you've had instances like this, and I've had them too. The very first time I went to Larry Wright's Bible study, it was like it was just Larry and me in the room. I literally thought that somehow — although Susan didn't know him and didn't know I was going to this thing — somehow Susan had given him all this information about what was going on in my life. And Larry was just going right at me the whole time.
I had a similar incident one Wednesday night when I was teaching. A lady came in and said, "Boy, you need to really be good tonight, because my sister is here and she is not a believer and she is visiting. So you need to really be good tonight." I said, "Please don't say that to me." So the sister sat down, and at first she seemed very receptive. But after a while her hands were like this, then her arms folded, then her leg crossed, and by the end she was nearly in a fetal position. I was sensing her spirit closing off. They left, and I figured, well, whatever.
When I walked out, I saw my car was on one side, but under a light on the other side, the two sisters were sitting together. I could have gone straight to my car, but I smelled an illustration if I went the other way. So I went over, and I said, "Hey, ladies, how are you doing?" The sister who had come with her said, "Tell him. Tell him what you think." The visiting sister said, "No, I'm not going to do that." "Tell him. He can handle it." Finally she said, "I know what you did in there tonight. I know exactly what happened. My sister called you. She told you everything that is going on in my life, and then you just took that thing and went right at me the whole way." I said, "I have never talked to your sister. That is God's Word."
No Need to Defend It — Just Open the Door
That is why you don't need to defend this thing. I'm fine, I suppose, with apologetics, but sitting and arguing with non-believers about whether this is the Word of God doesn't seem to me to be really productive. If I have a lion caged and I want to prove that lion is strong and can defend itself, all I have to do is lift the door and let it go. I don't need to defend it. All I have to do is open the door and let it go. I know there is a place for apologetics and that it is important to defend Scripture in world systems — yes. But this is the Word of God, and it can take care of itself.
What the Word Does: Doctrine, Reproof, Correction, Training
The Word is not just helpful for its content and for reproof. It is helpful for correction — restoring things to their proper condition. In extra-biblical Greek literature, the word used for correction spoke of something that had been knocked from its place, like a vase from a shelf, and then put back in its proper place and proper condition. It is the only time that word appears in the Greek New Testament. So it is not just that the teaching comes along and lays you bare — it builds you back up. It puts you back together. And it is good for training, for instruction.
Over the years we have tried to help people remember this simply: the Bible tells us what's right, what's not right, how to get right, and how to stay right. What's right — that's doctrine. What's not right — that's reproof. How to get right — that's correction. How to stay right — that's training. So it is a Bible filled with doctrine that has enormous practical application.
Infallible and Inerrant: The Trustworthy Word
We also said in our introduction that Scripture is infallible and inerrant. As Webster defines those words: infallible means incapable of error, never wrong; inerrant means making no mistake. Let me say it plainly — it doesn't merely contain the Word of God. It is the Word of God. And not only does it not have error, it cannot have error. This is a trustworthy book.
And once I have it, 2 Peter 1:3 tells me that I have been granted everything I need for life. I have Christ. I have the Holy Spirit. I have security in Him, assurance of my faith, and now I have true knowledge.
The Word of God: Psalm 19
Open your Bibles to Psalm 19. Every one of the points today could be a message, if not a series, on its own. I am not going to unpack this fully, but I want to challenge you to go and study these three verses. If you would like, you can also study the three that follow them — Psalm 19, verses 7, 8, and 9.
The reason I select this passage is that I want you to get in the Word and begin to use your powers of observation so you can start to see patterns. Let's read it, and then I'll show you what I mean.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether."
Observing the Pattern
Put away your Greek and put away all the other reference tools for a moment. What you see there, as you begin to look carefully, is that there are six different statements. Within those six statements there is a pattern: first, a term is identified for the Word of God; then a characteristic of that Word; and then the benefit or result of that Word in the life of a believer.
Here are the six different words or phrases the psalmist uses to describe Scripture: the law of the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the commandment of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, and the judgments of the Lord. They are all slightly different variations that help us see what the Word of God is. Then come the characteristics: it is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true. These are all different ways of saying you can believe it and trust it. Perfect means it is complete — you have it in its entirety. Sure means you do not have to wonder, vary, or be skeptical. It is true and worth following.
When you understand the Word of God and its characteristics, there are great benefits that follow in your life. Look at them. There is the restoring of the soul, which deals with conversion and also with simple refreshment — because sometimes you are so dry, so thirsty, and the Word of the Lord is where you go for refreshment. It makes the simple wise, taking people who may not be extraordinarily knowledgeable in things of the world and giving them wisdom through the Word. There is joy in the heart, light for the eyes, and a truth that endures forever.
I want to ask you to go in and study this passage and find all the nuances that are in there. People are always asking for something to study or look into — Psalm 19, verses 7, 8, and 9 is a great place to start.
Non-Negotiable One: The Bible
So that is our first point: the Bible is the inspired Word of God — infallible, inerrant, sufficient in all matters of faith and conduct.
Non-Negotiable Two: The Sinfulness of Man
Here is the second point: all men are sinners and need a Savior. I remember studying Greek philosophers in one of my philosophy classes in college, and one of the theories about man used the Latin phrase *tabula rasa* — the blank slate. The idea is that we come into the world morally neutral, and then events, parents, and circumstances come along to produce who and what we are. According to this view, man is essentially morally neutral.
Man is not morally neutral, nor is man basically good. We live in a time when the general consensus in society is that man is basically good, and this astounds me. I cannot imagine a biblical truth for which there is more empirical data than the sinfulness of man.
If you think children are essentially neutral or basically good, here is what you do: write on your response tab, "I will work with the two-year-olds," and your mind will be changed on the basic goodness of man in about thirty seconds. The Bible says it clearly. Romans 3, verse 23: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Paul makes that statement after opening chapters 1, 2, and 3 with a blanket indictment against all of mankind — religious and non-religious, Jew and Gentile alike.
Here is his conclusion in Romans 3, verse 10: "There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good, no, not one." That is the condition of man.
The Heart of the Problem
Now, this is a little perplexing, because experientially we look around and we see people doing what we would call good things. So where is the breakdown? The breakdown is here: we look at the action, but God looks at the heart of the actor.
Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Ecclesiastes 9:3 says that the hearts of the sons of man are full of evil. Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica and said they took pleasure in their wickedness. Paul himself said, "I know that no good thing dwells in me, that is, in my flesh." Titus speaks of the fact that we are defiled — that nothing pure is in us, that our mind and our conscience are defiled.
Again, Paul writes to the church at Ephesus and says they are corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, futile in their minds, darkened in their understanding, and have become callous.
The Condition of Man
You've given yourself over to sensuality. That is the condition of man. All mankind — every man, woman, boy, and girl, every person who has ever existed — is a sinner and desperately needs a Savior. That is a doctrinal truth. How does that begin to flesh itself out?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes this: "Man is a dissatisfied and unhappy creature. He is in a world which he does not understand, a world so vast that it baffles him." By the way, if you are not a believer, or if you are a Christian but you do not hold to the infallibility of Scripture, you are never going to understand the world. You are never going to understand why people are the way we are, why there is suffering, why there is pain, why there is hardship. If you do not believe Genesis chapter 3, you are never going to understand the world around you.
It will never make sense to you. You can take all the sociology and psychology and anthropology classes you want. You can read every latest study. If it is not based on this, you are never going to understand the world — the world is going to baffle you. That is Lloyd-Jones's point.
Lloyd-Jones continues: "Man has his problems, personal and larger social problems. The whole world is in a state of confusion and turmoil. Moreover, man has within him a sense of God, whether he tries to deny it or argue it away or not. We seem to be incurably religious."
Incurably Religious
I remember an interview with Jane Fonda a few years ago that was tragic and somewhat funny at the same time. In the course of it, they were talking about spiritual things, and this is what she said — and I am quoting — "I pray every day, but I don't know who I'm praying to." We see that. In the midst of uncertainty, we run to pray.
Think about September 11th. We had Auto Body World, Dillard's, the flower shop, the tile shop — they all wanted to run in here and pray. Why? Because they instinctively knew that the world was careening out of their control. It was not out of control; it was careening out of their control. They were hoping there was some God holding it together. Incurably religious — isn't that remarkable?
Things are beyond our control. This is a very dangerous world. I saw a travel warning recently that caught my eye because it listed countries to avoid. It had the countries you would expect to see all the time — the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong. And then Canada. I cannot go to Vancouver? This world is out of our control. Well, it is not out of His control, and you are never going to know that if you do not read the Word.
Lloyd-Jones continues: "Man has a feeling that things are not as they ought to be, and that he himself is meant for something bigger. He has a feeling there is something else, someone else. Man's whole trouble throughout the centuries has been that he has been trying to arrive at reality. He has a feeling all the time that somewhere there is a solution."
The Search for Happiness
Maybe you are here today and that perfectly describes you. You are searching and searching and searching. If I could just get that car, I would be happy. If I could just get that house, I would be happy. If I could just get that job, I would be happy. If I got that promotion, I would be happy. Oh, if she would go out with me, I would be happy. Oh, if she would marry me, I would be happy. Oh, if she would leave me, I would be happy.
If I could have kids, I would be happy. If they were not delinquents, I would be happy. We go from one thing to the next, thinking we are going to find happiness there. But that is not reality. The only way you are going to understand this world, the only way you are going to understand reality, is to see the world as God sees it. You are not going to get it until then.
The world has a sense that we are living in the land of the living, and when we die, we go to the land of the dead. But Scripture says no — you are in the land of the dead, and when you die as Christians, you go to the land of the living. That is the condition of man.
God's Gracious Salvation Through Christ
Here is the third point: God's gracious salvation is solely through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All men are sinners and desperately need a Savior. God could have left us right there. He did not need to save anybody, or He could have saved everybody. He has chosen to save some, and He will do that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21 — and I do not think we need to spend much time on it, because we spent an entire Sunday on it two or three weeks ago: "God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf." Jesus was sinless. He did not become a sinner. He was treated by God as though He were guilty of sin. We trade our sin for His righteousness.
J.C. Ryle writes this: "At the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, and allowed the wrath of God to fall on His own head. For our sins, as our substitute, He gave Himself, suffered and died, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, that He might deliver us from the curse of the broken law, and provide a complete pardon for all who are willing to receive it."
Jesus Christ died on the cross, and in doing so, He secured the salvation of His people. There is salvation in no one else — no other church, no other belief, no other person.
The Larry King Interview
I mentioned there were three things that prompted this message. One of them was an interview show last Tuesday with Larry King. Let me remind you who the participants were: Bob Jones, the president of Bob Jones University; Max Lucado; a Catholic priest, Father Michael Manning; a bishop who is the ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Church, Bishop Melvin Talbot; and John MacArthur. They were there to talk about the war — that was the topic — but they ended up talking a little bit about salvation.
Exclusive Salvation: The Only Path to the Father
Larry King asked John MacArthur, "Is the Muslim world all false?" MacArthur replied, "Well, the theology of Islam is false. It's the wrong God. It's the wrong view of Christ." King then asked, "When they hear that, don't they get that as an anti-American thought?" MacArthur answered, "It has nothing to do with America. I'd say it if they were French." He added, "It has nothing to do with the Americans."
Larry King then turned to Bishop Talbot of the Methodist Church: "Don't you believe that Christianity is the right path?" Talbot replied, "I believe for Christians, but we're not here to settle which religion is right. That's settled. That dispute belongs to God. We're here to practice what we preach." King pressed further: "Do you believe your religion is right?" Talbot said yes. King followed logically: "Or else, why believe it?" Talbot agreed — but when King said, "So therefore, the other religions have to be wrong," Talbot replied, "No, I don't say that at all."
The bishop then said, "I believe my God is large enough to be inclusive of all human beings who were created in God's image, and that includes all those that aren't Christians." This has become a very popular thought among many people who call themselves Christians in many churches. MacArthur responded immediately, asking why Paul said that if any man preaches any other Christ than the true Jesus, let him be accursed. He asked why the Bible says neither is there salvation in any other man other than Jesus Christ, and why Scripture condemns anyone who rejects Jesus Christ and the gospel of Christ.
The bishop replied, "For me, salvation is in Jesus Christ, is the way, and what I try to do as a Christian is to live by that example. My responsibility is not to convert all other religions, but to live the Christian faith in the face of those religions." He then asked whether MacArthur was going to say that Larry King, who is Jewish, is on the wrong path — concluding, "That's God's choice. That's God's judgment, not mine."
The Exclusive Claims of Jesus Christ
The discussion eventually returned to the central question. Larry King asked MacArthur directly, "Do you believe the Islamic people are wrong? Their beliefs are wrong?" MacArthur replied, "That's right. That is not my personal belief. That's Jesus. He said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.'" King responded, "Yes, but if they don't believe that —" and MacArthur completed the thought: "'No man comes to the Father but by me.'"
King then turned to the Catholic priest, Father Manning, who said, "I believe very much that the love of God is strong. Jesus loves all people. Jesus died for all people." When King asked, "He died for the Islamic too?" Manning replied, "Of course he did. Of course he did. He loves them with passion." MacArthur acknowledged, "I believe God loves His creatures and His creation." Then all the participants began speaking at once, and when the cross-talk settled, MacArthur stated plainly: "But in the end, He's going to condemn to an eternal hell all those who reject His Son, Jesus Christ."
King asked, "All of them?" MacArthur answered, "All who reject His Son, Jesus Christ, the Bible says, are condemned to eternal punishment." Father Manning then said, "Jesus rejoices when the Father is glorified, and when a Muslim or a Jew glorifies the Father, I can't imagine Jesus coming and saying, oh well, when are you going to look at me. The joy of Jesus is in the glorification of the Father." That is how far this thinking has developed.
Why Exclusive Truth Matters for Missions
If we believe a person can be saved in any other religion, why would we have any missionary zeal at all? Why would we go through all the time, energy, effort, and expense to send out missionaries if we don't believe ours is the only true religion? If a person is saved in their ignorance or saved in their own religion, why would we disrupt that by sending a missionary to tell them about Jesus? It doesn't make any sense at all.
The Scriptures speak clearly on this. Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin are death," but "the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus." John 14:6 records Jesus saying, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." In John 10:9, Jesus says, "I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved." John 11:25 records Him saying, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me shall live, even if he dies."
Peter states it most plainly in Acts 4:12: "There is salvation in no one else. There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." This is a non-negotiable. The Bible is the Word of God. All men have sinned. God sent His Son as Savior — that is why He came, that is why He died. We find salvation in Him, and Him alone, and nowhere else.
Salvation Is Entirely a Work of God's Grace
Here is the fourth point: our salvation is a work of God's grace, accomplished by Him, and is not a result of our effort. Ephesians 2:8–9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. That is not of yourself. It is a gift of God. It is not a result of works." It is not of yourself. It is not a result of your works. If you are a Christian today, it is because the Father, before the foundations of the earth, chose you to be saved. It is because the Son went to the cross and died specifically for you.
The Spirit's Work and the Fruit He Produces
When you understand that God saved you in spite of you, not because of you — that He gave you grace and faith, that your belief today is a result of His work in your life, not your work — all of a sudden you begin to understand how hopeless you were. Your praise and worship and adoration and thanksgiving for Him gets bigger and bigger and bigger. If you want to jump-start your spiritual walk, the fastest way to do it is to understand this truth. If you want to become a person filled with praise and worship and thanksgiving, understand this God, the God who saved you.
By the work of the Holy Spirit, God continues to work in our lives, and that work is manifest by the fruit of the Spirit. I want to ask you to turn to Galatians chapter 5. I just want to make this point and encourage you to spend time in this passage.
Living by Faith, Not by Sight
As I am traveling around, especially in areas of poverty and other places, I am seeing an alarmingly high number of people coming up to me and telling me the Lord has led them to say this or do that. I don't buy it. I had a man rearrange my schedule to meet with him. He was trying to figure out whether to take a job and move, and his first words to me were, "God has told me to move. What do you think?" I said, how disobedient must you be? Why would you ask me what I think? If God has told you to move, you ought to be calling Allied Van Lines. If God says you don't commit adultery, you don't come to me and say, "What do you think? Are you for adultery?"
This has gotten way too loose for me, and I believe it goes back to a point I tried to make a couple of weeks ago. We are no longer comfortable living by faith. We want to live by sight. We are no longer comfortable with His Word and resting in that. We want to see it. Show me a miracle. Speak in a tongue. Raise the dead. Do something. But we walk by faith.
How to Know If You Are Being Led by the Spirit
If you want to know whether you are being led by the Spirit, here is a real easy test in Galatians chapter 5. Paul said, "I say, walk by the Spirit" — Galatians 5:16 — "and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." When this word talks about being led by the Spirit, it is not talking about God moving you in some mysterious way to figure out where to live, what to do, who to date, or who to marry. That is decision-making.
How do we make decisions? It is very simple. We look at the decision in front of us and we see if it has moral consequence. If it has moral consequence, we go to the Word. If our options are addressed in the Word, then we gather wisdom, search our heart, look at sin in our life, and then we do whatever we want to do. It is sanctified common sense that we live by. You don't need a sign from heaven to figure out what house to buy. God is not leading you in some way that you can know it definitively in the moment. You may be able at the end to say, "God orchestrated that." But don't bring to me that God led you to say this or that, or do this or that. I don't buy it. I think it is wanting to live by sight, not by faith, and needing some tingle or something special. I am not saying God doesn't influence you and help you make decisions.
The Fruit of the Flesh versus the Fruit of the Spirit
Verse 17 tells us, "The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. You are either being led by the Spirit or led by the flesh. If you are being led by the flesh, here is how you will know it. Look at verse 19: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.
Don't look at this list and say, "I'm not involved in sorcery, so I guess this doesn't apply to me." It is not a matter of a single one of these leaving you safe. The question is, what does your life look like overall? Is your life filled with immorality? Is your life filled with dissension? Are there factions in your life? Is there envy? Is there a sense where you are never happy? Is there idolatry?
By idolatry, we mean, are there desires controlling you? They can even be good desires. A desire to have a house is a good thing. But if the desire for a house is so great that you will forfeit your family, work in a way that is unhealthy, and ignore the things that are truly important, then the desire has become a lust. Lust is not just sexual. It is a good thing to want to be married — there is nothing wrong with that. But if your desire to be married is stronger than your desire for God, something is wrong.
If this kind of fruit is present in your life on an ongoing basis, you have, at least in my mind, no biblical assurance of your salvation. You may be saved, but you will not know it by that fruit, because that is the fruit of the flesh. If you are being led by the Spirit, here is what you are going to see — Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Is that what is present in your life? If you are led by the Spirit, that is what you are going to find. If you are walking in the Spirit, that is what you are going to find.
Sanctification and the Work of the Spirit
Being led by the Spirit, moved by the Spirit, or walking in the Spirit always relates to moral behavior — the fruit of the Spirit. We are talking here about sanctification. It is God's work in our life, and our effort as we begin to obey Him that allows us to be more and more like Christ. It begins at regeneration, and it is never fully completed until glorification, which is our time in heaven.
Living to Glorify and Please God
Our life's desire is to glorify and to please God. We are not trying to pay God back. We have an infinite debt to Him — He saved us, He rescued us, He delivered us — and you cannot pay Him back for that. So what do you do? You desire to glorify Him and to please Him.
1 Corinthians 10:31, which is really in the context of liberty, speaks to what we do, what we eat, what we drink: whatever it is, just do it for the glory of God. You live to honor God. 2 Corinthians 5:9 says, "Therefore our ambition is to be pleasing to God" — in fact, the New King James renders it "well-pleasing to Him." It is the same term used in Titus 2:9 that describes a slave who is passionate to please their master. We get a sense that Paul's highest goal was to please God, and that is how you live.
A Summary of the Non-Negotiables
Let's go back over them briefly. We believe the Bible is the Word of God, and that all men have sinned and need a Savior, and God provides that Savior through Christ and through Christ alone — there is no other way. We are saved solely by His work. His grace accomplishes this; there is nothing that we do. The Holy Spirit continues to work in our life.
We will know that we are truly His if we come in repentance and faith, and then there is fruit. If there is no fruit, then you have no biblical assurance of your salvation. It does not matter how many times you walked an aisle, how many times you prayed a prayer, or how much you say you believe — because if you say you believe Him, you keep His commandments. Then we simply live to please Him.
Defending the Non-Negotiables Against Compromise
I am sure you could add to this list, and I am sure there are others who would be more than willing to help you, but these are non-negotiables. This is driven by those men I have in mind — I felt such hurt for them, that we were having to drag their pastors in and say, "Could you just teach the Word? Would you think about just doing that?"
And when I think about the people at this large, world-influencing church that says it exists to accommodate the seeker — when the Bible says that person does not even exist — they decide they will not talk about sin and will not use any of those hard words, because they do not want to offend anybody. Or you see people in positions of leadership in mainline denominations making the same kinds of compromises. Someone said to me the other day, "Doesn't it make you sad that these churches are shrinking and becoming inconsequential?" And I said, "Absolutely not." Those denominations have drifted into essentially universalist positions, and that is not helping anybody. There is salvation in Christ, in Christ alone, and nowhere else. We will never waver on these things. They are non-negotiable.
Comfort in Conviction, Grace in Disagreement
I find great comfort in that, and if I were sitting where you are, I would be very comforted by it as well. There are issues of preference, and I understand that — music is largely preference, and so are many things regarding when you meet, what you do, and how you dress. Those are preferential matters, and we can disagree on them without any problem. But we cannot disagree on these non-negotiables, and you need to understand that.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for this truth. Because we are around it so often, we can begin to take it for granted, but the moment we venture out even in the smallest way, we start to see that what we have here is very special — not because of who we are, but because You have granted us the ability to see this truth and then the courage to live by it.
Father, I thank You for the elders at East Valley Bible Church, both here at Gilbert and Tempe, and for their unwavering resolve to serve You. Thank You for the people. God, let us be faithful as we leave this place and go out into the mission field You have given us here in the valley. Let us be faithful ambassadors with the ministry of reconciliation and the ministry of the Word. Father, let us share this not from a position of arrogance or arrogance, but of graciousness and humility, and yet unwavering — for that is hard to do, and it is impossible to do if our hearts are not broken before You.
Father, we thank You for this Word. We thank You for Jesus — for His life and death and the salvation that is in Him. We thank You that You did not leave us as orphans but gave us the Holy Spirit. And God, we pray that our lives individually and collectively will glorify You and please You. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.