You Are Saved for God, Part 2
Tom Shrader continues a new series on growing in grace, building on the phrase 'saved by God, from God, for God' to show that salvation produces both an internal change of destination and designation and an external change of life and conduct. Drawing from Matthew 5:13-16, Isaiah 6, and 2 Corinthians 5, he argues that believers are ambassadors of reconciliation whose good works must be visible and whose words must direct observers to glorify God rather than the person. He closes by listing eight practical ways believers glorify God — including confessing sin, trusting God, bearing fruit, giving thanks, suffering faithfully, living contentedly, praying, and spreading the Word.
“God saved you for a reason, God saved you for a purpose.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: You are Saved for God
Recorded: 2006 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 32 min
Themes: salvation, good works, glorifying god, ambassadors, grace, bearing fruit, light of the world, reconciliation, new believer, struggling with purpose, wanting to grow spiritually, feeling unworthy, young adult, questioning how to live out faith, church member, seeking deeper discipleship
Scripture: Psalm 3:8, Matthew 5:13-16, Isaiah 6:1-8, John 9:3, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Ephesians 2:8-10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Joshua 7:19, Romans 4:20, John 15:8, Psalm 50:23, 1 Peter 4:16, Philippians 4:10-20, John 17:3, 2 Thessalonians 3:1
Theological Themes: sanctification, becoming holy, soteriology, salvation doctrine, justification, ambassador of christ, glorification, means of grace
Full Transcript
Introduction: A New Series Begins
Now, let's get back to work. We finished a series titled *God's Plan for Salvation*, and when we finished it, I made a decision that we are going to begin a new series — and not just new in that it is now beginning, but new in that we have never done this before. The working title, which may stick, is *God's Plan for Growing in Grace*. So we have *God's Plan for Salvation* and *God's Plan for Growing in Grace*.
The series is born out of the little phrase we used in *God's Plan for Salvation*: I am saved by God, from God, for God. I am saved by God, from God — saved by grace, the grace of God, who saves me from the wrath of God. That is *God's Plan for Salvation*. That is the doctrines of grace. But then there is that third part, and we have not in a series form dealt with that before. We talk about it all the time, and it is really part of what we teach each and every week, but I decided we would spend some time on it.
I am not sure how long we will be in this series, nor am I sure exactly of the total content, but I have a general sense of it. My intent — as we did last week and will do this week — is to start big and global in terms of concept, a macro view, and then week by week gradually narrow this down.
Saved for God: Destination and Designation
Salvation is by God, from God. Psalm chapter 3, verse 8: *Salvation is of the Lord.* It is entirely His doing from beginning to end. I am saved by grace through faith, but I am saved for God. When God saves me, when God delivers me, something changes — at least two things: my destination and my designation. My destination changes from hell to heaven. My designation changes from sinner to saint.
Those of us who are followers of Christ are as certain of heaven as the saints who are already there. In fact, we are called saints. God is angry with sin and judges sin, but not the sin of a believer. Our sin was judged by Christ on the cross. So there has been an internal change of destination and designation, and that internal change will produce an external change. Our life will begin to change.
Three Passages of Scripture
There are three passages of Scripture we want to begin with, and we are going to look at all three of them today. We will start in Matthew chapter 5, then go to Isaiah chapter 6, and close in 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
Matthew chapter 5 is a passage we looked at last week, and next week we are going to spend time beginning to unpack it further. Matthew 5:13: *"You are the salt of the earth."* Matthew 5:14: *"You are the light of the world."* And then Matthew 5:16, which has been for me the catalyst in terms of thinking through what we are talking about and beginning to process it.
Let Your Light Shine
Here is how Jesus instructs us: *"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."* He has just told us we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and now He says to make that light visible. There are three segments here for me. *Let your light shine in such a way that they may* — and here is a key word — *see*. Something must be visible. Remember what we said: internal change of destination and designation produces an external manifestation of that. I ought to be able to see your Christianity. That is what He is saying.
He then uses the phrase *your good works*, whatever they are — and that is what we are going to talk about next week and for a while. And when they see your good works, they should glorify your Father who is in heaven. So here is what Scripture is teaching us: if we are followers of Christ, we are saints, heaven is our home, we are citizens of heaven living here as ambassadors — we will look at that this morning. That internal change should manifest itself in everything that I do, so that the people around me can look at me and say, there is something different about them.
They are not going to look at you and simply say, oh, that must be a follower of Christ. They are going to look at you and say, there is something different about you — hopefully not odd, but something special, something distinctive. As life gets lived around you, you are not in panic. You deal with the things that God allows to come into your life: hurt, pain, suffering, illness, broken relationships. You can add to that list and make your own. You deal with these things, you encounter life, you live in such a way that people around you say, there is something different about him, there is something different about her.
Making the Invisible God Visible
Now, what Jesus says is let your light shine in such a way that not only do they see that difference, but the end result should be that they glorify your Father who is in heaven. There is no way that they are going to see your good works and on their own glorify your Father who is in heaven. They are never going to make that connection on their own. Those are disconnects. They may see your good works and glorify you. They may say, he is really something special, she is really something special. Or they may attribute it to your environment, your upbringing, your disposition, or whatever it might be. Natural man will glorify you.
Here is what He says: they are to see that — make the invisible God visible — but then I have to speak the truth boldly. I have to tell them it is not me; it is Christ living in me. That became for me the anchor verse, the verse I keep going back to again and again, saying that both of these things need to take place. There needs to be the good works in our life, and there then needs to be the recognition that those good works are generated by God Himself. I am saved by grace through
Saved for God's Glory
Faith is not of ourselves — it is a gift of God, so that no one would boast. We are His workmanship in Christ Jesus, and the works themselves are an act of God's grace working in us. That is what Scripture says, and it becomes an anchor verse. If we take the Westminster Catechism's first question — what is the chief end of man? — the answer is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That theme runs through all of Scripture: we are saved by God, from God, and for God, for these good works, so that we might glorify Him.
Speaking of Matthew 5:16, John MacArthur writes that our good works are to magnify God's grace and power. This is the supreme calling of life — glorifying God. Everything we do is to cause others to give praise to God, who is the source of all that is good. The way we live should lead those around us to glorify the heavenly Father.
We talked last week about a man who was in Africa on a missions trip. A cab driver was practicing his English on him, and the phrase we commonly use is, "What in the world are you doing?" The cab driver had turned it around — the same seven words — and asked him this: "What are you doing in the world?" That is exactly what we are talking about. What are you doing in the world? Saved for God. For what? For His glory.
In John chapter 9, there is a man who was blind from birth. Jesus and His disciples are passing by, and they ask Him, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answers in John 9:3: "It was neither this man that sinned nor his parents, but it was so the works of God might be displayed in him." That is precisely what we are saying. Saved by God, from God, we become a display case for the works of God — saved for Him, for His glory, for His honor, for His benefit, to please Him. They look at us, and they see Him.
Isaiah 6: Saved By, From, and For God
Turn to Isaiah chapter 6, where we spent all of our time last week. In verses 1 through 4, Isaiah sees the glory, the majesty, the power, the might, the holiness, and the sovereignty of God. When he does, in verse 5, he sees himself. The New American Standard says, "Woe to me for I am ruined." The King James says, "Woe to me for I am undone." The English Standard Version says, "Woe to me for I am lost." Take any of those words and they all say the same thing: I am in real serious trouble here. I cannot compare to God. Compare to you, I am alright. Compare to God, I have issues.
At this recognition, a seraphim flies to the altar, the place of sacrifice, takes a coal, and applies it to Isaiah's lips. His sin is taken away and he is forgiven — saved by God, from God. Then in verse 8, we see the "for God." God asks, "Who shall I send, who will go for us?" And Isaiah answers, "Here I am, send me." God saved you for Him. God saved you for a reason. God saved you for a purpose. We are taking this idea very broadly, and hopefully as we bring it smaller and smaller, you will begin to answer the question: why did He save me specifically? What is unique about me?
The New Creature in Christ
Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17. We are talking about change. "Therefore, if any man is in Christ" — if any man has come to Christ in repentance and faith, put their trust and security in Him, knows that heaven is truly their home, and operates not under their own power but under the power of God living inside them in the person of the Holy Spirit — "he is a new creature." He is born again. Same old earth suit, but something is different: destination, designation, something has changed. "And therefore, the old things have passed away." The old value systems, the old desires, the old beliefs, the old passions — they pass away.
We tend to think of this in huge, grandiose terms, but it shows up in simple things. Susan and I had been Christians maybe nine months or so when, on a Monday night, we were with Larry and Sue Wright at Mary Coyle's Ice Cream. We were having ice cream and laughing and talking, and it suddenly occurred to me that the Cowboys were playing on Monday Night Football. For most of my life, that would have been a major event. But my whole value system had changed. I am not saying do not enjoy the NFL — I am simply saying that on that particular Monday night, different from any Monday night there had ever been Monday Night Football, my desire was to eat ice cream at Mary Coyle's and talk about Jesus. I did not plan that. I did not schedule that. I did not even realize it until the night was almost over.
Your life begins to change, and some of it simply happens. Your language begins to change. Your thought process begins to change. The things you value begin to change. Because you are a person of faith, there is the reality that in most Biblical Christians there is a sense that to kill a baby in the womb is wrong — that to kill them even in the very process of being born is wrong. Four thousand babies every day in the country you and I live in. It seems to me we ought to have some effect on that. Am I saying get involved in politics? I am saying that policy is important.
Living with an Eternal Perspective
The Greek word used here indicates that this newness is a continuing condition of fact. As one author writes, the believer's new spiritual perception of everything is a constant reality for him. He now lives for eternity, not for temporal things. Old things have passed away, new things have come.
Paul has just dealt with this same idea in chapter 4, verse 16: "Though the outer man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day by day." Then comes that incredible three-word phrase: "momentary light affliction." Temporary means exactly what you think it means — temporary. Light means weightless trifle. Affliction means intense pressure. Those words don't go together, do they?
Here is what Paul is saying about life — your life. This temporary, weightless trifle of intense pressure is "producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." We don't even have a file, we don't have a box to put this in. Heaven compared to here — there is no comparison, we can't even get there.
Then he says in verse 18, "We look not at the things that are seen but the things that are unseen, because the things that are seen are temporary, the things that are not seen are eternal." Old things have passed away, new things have come. What are the new things? The eternal perspective — the idea that I see the world differently now. I look and see things that aren't physical, yet they are realities: heaven, and the reality that God is there and He works, and all the things that go with it.
All These Things Are from God
Now, "all these things" in verse 18 — what things? Going back to verse 14 and forward: the love of Christ controls us, having concluded that one died for all. We are saved, we are delivered, God indwells us. All these things are from God. They are all gifts from God. He did it all.
That is why, when we are talking about Christmas and we get into this gift-giving thing, Christmas is not about giving — Christmas is about receiving. It is about receiving these things from God: redemption, life, a life that has meaning and purpose, a Spirit that indwells us.
All these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ — that is the cross — and then He gave us a ministry of reconciliation. Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He committed to us the word of reconciliation. He saved us. He reconciled us to Himself and then said, now you go and take that ministry, you proclaim that word to people all around the world that they can be reconciled.
The Problem of Alienation
That is the core problem men and women have. It is a problem of alienation — not just from one another, but estrangement from God. People talk about poor self-image, about not having a sense of worth, acceptance, or security. You never will have those things until you experience the acceptance, security, and worth that God places on you.
I was watching a show the other night featuring a woman who had undergone 27 surgeries — all sorts of procedures done to her. She said, "I'm addicted to this surgery and I know I'm fighting a losing battle." I thought about how in those interviews they never ask the one follow-up question: why do you do that? Why do people behave the way they do? Why do kids do stupid things in front of other kids? I heard in the news just last night about a gang shooting about a mile and a half from my house. When you listen to gang members explain themselves, what do they say? "It's family. I want to be accepted."
The truth is, you will never feel true acceptance until you are reconciled with God. If you are here today with a sense that something is deeply wrong and you do not know what it is, here is the answer: you are not in right relationship with God. That relationship is available only through His Son, Jesus Christ, and you need to repent. You can talk to the person who invited you here, speak with someone at the front of the room afterwards, or call us at the church.
You Are an Ambassador for Christ
Now, Paul gives us a title in verse 20: you are an ambassador. "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us." He is speaking through you. "We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
We are ambassadors in the same way that an ambassador from the United States to another country speaks on behalf of that nation, represents that nation, and watches out for its citizens living on foreign soil. And yet, as that ambassador goes about his work, he lives with the reality that this posting is not home. The parallel holds exactly here. We represent God in this world. We can say, "Thus saith the Lord." We can speak the truth, guard the truth, speak on His behalf, and watch out and care for one another.
The Ambassador's Posture: Investing in the Church
Can you be a Christian and not go to church? Sort of. But an ambassador is also hanging out with his own people. He is in the embassy. He is spending time with his brothers and sisters in this foreign land. There ought to be something that drives us to church even if I am not getting anything out of it, because it is the place I go to put something into it — time, energy, effort, and money — because I care about my brothers and sisters and I care about lost people.
Why should you come at 8 o'clock on Christmas Eve when you have already staked out your seat at 9:30? Here is why. There will be people who come that morning who would not typically come. They are going to come at prime time, which is 9:30, and if you get out of that chair, they will get into it, and just maybe God will use that to touch their heart and bring them to salvation. That is a huge deal.
All of a sudden, my mind begins to think differently. Why would I give sacrificially — even as I talk about the buildings and the millions of dollars involved? Because what God is doing is really, really important. It is not just about time and energy and effort; it is money as well. All those things begin to work together. My whole mindset shifts — all the old things are past. What is the old thing? Selfish, self-centered self. And the new things have come. I think of God's kingdom.
The Foundation of It All: 2 Corinthians 5:21
Look at verse 21 — how can you ignore that? "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Jesus was born — that is what this whole Christmas thing is about. He was born so that He could die.
Glorifying God in Everything
God left us here for a whole range of reasons, and one of them is to glorify Him. Now, when I hear that phrase — that I am here to glorify God — I think lofty thoughts. I think big things. But Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do it for the glory of God." Paul goes exactly the opposite direction. He does not go for the big things; he goes for the mundane things. Whether you are eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, driving the car, playing with the kids, letting out the dog, bringing in the paper — whatever it is you do, you do it for the glory of God.
Anything and everything we do is for God's glory. Glory simply means something that is worthy of praise or exaltation. God is worthy of praise and exaltation when people see His grace exposed through a transformed, changed life. It makes me laugh, because it is exactly the opposite of how I think. When someone says, "Tom, glorify God," I am thinking big. And He is saying, no — in everything.
Eight Ways to Glorify God
That language — glorify God — catapults my imagination into huge areas, so let me give you eight practical ways you can glorify God, each with a passage to work on.
**Number one: Confess your sin.** Joshua 7:19 — "Joshua says to Achan, 'My son, I implore you, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him. Tell Him what you have done.'" Confess your sin. Acknowledge who He is.
**Number two: Confess God — trust Him.** Romans 4:20 — the context is Abraham. He has been promised not just that he will have a child, but that he will have a son and that he will be the father of many nations, and his biological clock would seem to indicate that is not going to happen. Yet, with respect to the promise of God, Paul writes about Abraham: "He did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God."
I knew a lady at the church — this was years ago, when we were over on Dobson — and she got cancer, and she got really bad. She was a wonderful lady who loved Christ, and her husband hated God, hated Him. She was dying this agonizing death, and there were people around her trying to comfort her, encourage her, provide some level of physical relief, and pray for her. Her husband was in the room saying to her, "Where is your God now? Where is He? Look at you." Literally, that is what he was saying — he did not even have the decency to let her die in peace. And yet, in my contact with her, in the midst of that suffering and that pain, her trusting God was glorifying Him. That was a great opportunity for her to abandon her faith, and she did not.
**Number three: Bearing fruit.** John 15:8 — "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit." Your life yields fruit. I am the vine, you are the branches — apart from Him, you can do nothing.
**Number four: Thanking Him.** Psalm 50:23 — "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me."
**Number five: Suffering for Christ.** 1 Peter 4:16 — "If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God."
**Number six: Being content.** Philippians 4:10–20 — Paul talks about contentment, learning to live with a lot and learning to live with a little. He says, "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in the glory of Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever." Being content. Being satisfied. This is a remarkable time of year to talk about contentment — because this is the time of year when you really...
Saved by God, from God, for God
Gift giving reveals how much we have. When you try to find something for someone and can't, it's because they already have everything they need. Susan and I are set this week to have that very conversation — "What do you want?" — and the honest answer is that there's nothing either of us really needs.
As parents, there is a point where we can feed wrong thinking in our children. If you are laying out for three days to get a PlayStation 3, you are spending that money foolishly. What you're trying to say is, "I really love you," but if you truly love them, you teach them they can live without a PlayStation 3 — and that you can pick one up in May on eBay for twenty dollars. That is the lesson worth teaching.
Praying and Spreading the Word
Let me give you two more things before time gets away from us. The first is prayer: "Whatever you ask in My name I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Prayer is tied directly to the glory of God. The second is the process of spreading the Word. 2 Thessalonians 3:1 says, "Finally, brethren, pray for us that the Word of the Lord may spread and be glorified."
So I am saved by God, from God, for God. I am saved for good works, and those good works do not produce my salvation — they are the result of it. I am to live in such a way that these good works become visible, so that people can see Him and then glorify Him.
What Comes Next in This Series
For that to happen, I am going to have to tell people it is Him. Over the next three or four weeks we are going to camp on this idea of good works — what they actually are. I want to unpack Matthew 5:13–16 next week and begin talking about the good works themselves, and then talk about the process of glorifying our Father, which means speaking that truth boldly. We will continue looking at all of that as this series goes forward.
Closing Prayer
Thank You for the gift of eternal life that we find in Christ Jesus. This world keeps saying, "You'll find life here — buy this, get that, get that game, get that person, get that job — get, get, get." But there is only one thing we need to find life, and that is an intimate relationship with Your Son Jesus Christ.
For those of us who are Christians, living the abundant life means drinking from that well each and every day, eating from the bread of life each and every day, and growing deeper in our knowledge and love of You — who You are, what You are all about, how You saved us, and that You saved us for a reason and a purpose.
At this Christmas time, the last thing I want to do is be a killjoy. Let us have fun, celebrate, and give gifts. But if we think we are going to find life or satisfaction there, we are absolutely wrong. "This is life, that you might know Me, the one true God, and My Son Jesus Christ." That is life. If we give a gift, let it be the gift of eternal life found in Your Son Jesus. We pray to You in His name, amen.