Come Sojourn with Us
This is where you will find sermons and updates for our church. Our mission is to preach expository sermons focusing on the gospel of Christ. We are a church that is tied to the reformed tradition and seeks to submit to the scriptures so we walk in the Lord’s wisdom rather than our own.
We would love to have you join us on our Christian sojourn if you are in the Belgrade, MT area. If you are not in area then join us by listening to our bi weekly free sermon podcast.
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The question that we can always ask is how do I know if the Lord's redemption is mine? We know that God promises to redeem, but how does that promise become my promise? This is where faith is the essence of assurance. This means that when we have faith in Christ we have assurance. The reason is because faith in Christ takes hold of Christ and all his blessings.
(Sunday August 28, 2022)
A strange slogan for the gospel could be, “The Lord can save even a cretan.” This does not sound very polite, but the apostle Paul quotes from a cretan philosopher who summarizes non favorable cretan philosophers. Nevertheless, Paul makes very clear that even the cretans get the same gospel as Abraham. The point that Paul is making is that we are all set apart in Christ as a people who have been made worthy in Christ. It is because Christ has redeemed us that desire to live out of gratitude. In fact, it is a blessing to be owned by Christ.
Peter warns us that Satan is prowling around seeking someone to devour. This is a horrible picture to think that our main enemy is seeking to destroy us in such a degrading way. This sounds like we are facing David's fate where he writes, "like a ravening and roaring lion"(Psalm 22:13). The thing we need to remember is that Psalm 22 does not end with a cry of abandonment, but the comfort of God's presence. So Peter exhorts us to see the Lord's presence in the midst of our suffering. We consciously persevere while being assured of God's preserving power.
Our instinct is to think that if we are assured of our faith then we will not grow because we will continually backslide. We might think that in order for us to grow we should be a little afraid, terrified, of God. If we are not terrified of the Lord's wrath then we will not be properly motivated to grow to conform to him. This is what we might think, but the Canons of Dordt is teaching us the opposite truth. The Canons of Dordt teaches us that If we are not assured of our faith then we will not grow in our faith. How does the Apostle Paul exhort the church? What can we learn from his exhortation?
The Apostle Paul shows where God's people have failed and disappointed the Lord in the past. The Lord's people have fallen into idolatry while calling it proper worship. This is intended to sober God's people and awaken us to see that we too are prone to these temptations. The Apostle Paul interjects at the conclusion of these examples that God is faithful. How can God being faithful encourage us when we doubt his goodness? Why is it so assuring that God will keep us until the end?
One would think that if we are assured that Christ's work is enough then it would cheapen grace. It seems that we would think there is no need to desire good works because we have already attained it all in Christ. How can our assurance of faith bring us to a place where we want to bring forth good works? How can Christ's work compel us to want to live for him instead of self?
Christ is in his dying moments and it appears to the human eye that his idealistic kingdom and mission has failed. He is on the cross, helplessly nailed to a board as a covenant breaker, and he is hung there between two criminals. Clearly, Christ’s messianic claims are fraudulent, but are they? What do we see in this narrative that communicates that Christ really comes to save, and that his mission is absolutely successful?
When we consider the message of Matthew’s gospel the concern is that we discern whether or not we are insiders seeking to do the Lord’s will. However, if I am not genetically tied to the Israelite people, Abraham is not a direct genetic descendant in my family tree, and I am not genetically tied to the prophets then can I be an insider? What if my faith is not as strong as it should be does that mean I am excluded from the inside? How do I know if I am an insider who possesses the Gospel promises?
We would not think that death could hold our Lord, but then we have the record of his resurrection. Why is the resurrection of Christ so essential? Why do we have such a huge problem understanding the resurrection of Christ?
If we already know the gospel then why do we need to hear about our sins being forgiven? Why would we want to talk about the forgiveness of our sins week after week?
Why do we want to conform to the Lord if we are already secured in Christ? Do we want to conform to the Lord because it is better than facing the dread of not conforming to the Lord? What is the primary motivation for our desire to conform to the Lord? If you look at our confessions it seems that we do so because of what God has done or as we say, “Out of Gratitude.” It seems that we obey the Lord because of His grace. So, how can grace motivate us to conform to the Lord rather than just living selfishly in rebellion against Him?
If we are really honest we must affirm that we struggle in our faith. This means that there are times when our faith is strong, and there are times when our faith is not so strong. In fact, we do not like to admit it, but we even sin. We really do not like to admit it, but most of the time we enjoy our sin for a little while. If we are so weak, and broken by our sin, then how can this weak faith be so necessary? Should we trust in our faith or are we asking the wrong question?
When we go through this life and we struggle in our faith it is hard to know where we find our hope. Do we find our hope in believing the promises of the Gospel or do we need to wrestle with how many fruits of faith we have to make sure we really have Christ? If we say that we are not to wrestle with all these fruits then why such a chapter on the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11? What is the purpose of calling attention to their works and struggles? What does the flow of this text tell us about assurance?
We are a bible believing church in the Belgrade, MT. We are a Reformed Protestant church who desire to build one another up in love as we sojourn under the sun.
