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Guest (Male): Pointing out the reason why some don't understand. Here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Thom Keller: The understanding will come after that sign-on, after you make that leap of faith. I've often said through apologetics, you can get somebody close to the gospel. You can through apologetics, but you'll never get them to where faith and unbelief touch. There will always be a place you have to jump, a leap of faith. That's why they call it faith. There will be a point you have to jump. And once you make that jump, then the Holy Spirit comes into you and begins to give you understanding.

Guest (Male): You've heard the saying seeing is believing, but to see something, the most important things, the reverse is true: Believing is seeing. We'll hear about those most important things and how to access them on today's Study the Word with Pastor Thom Keller. We'll do that as we continue in Philippians chapter 3. But first, let's answer another question about faith with Pastor Thom.

Thom Keller: Galatians 2, verse 17. But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we've abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not. I love the way the Living Bible puts this same verse. But what if we trust Christ to save us and then find that we are wrong and we cannot be saved without being circumcised and obeying all the other Jewish law? Wouldn't we need to say that faith in Christ, faith alone in Christ, had ruined us? God forbid that anyone should dare to think such things about our Lord.

Would that mean that Christ had led us into sin? Absolutely not. He says, but what if I trust Christ to save me and then I find out that I'm wrong and that I cannot be saved without being circumcised and obeying all the other Jewish law? Listen, wouldn't I need to say that faith in Christ had caused my damnation? Paul says God forbid that anyone would dare to think such things about our Lord.

Listen, I have a quiz for you. It's a fill in the blank quiz. Here it is. In order to become a Christian, if I want to be saved by my works, the standard is perfection, right? No other way. You can get to heaven without Jesus. You can. You just have to live a perfect life. Not starting now. Remember when you were 18, when you were 16, all those years? Perfect life, never one sin.

So, second quiz for you. So once I become a Christian, if I want to maintain my salvation by my works, the standard is perfection. Right. As you know, both are impossible. So who maintains my salvation once I'm saved? No one. No one maintains your salvation. Your salvation was completed the day you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It was completed on that day.

And even under Old Testament law, it was the same. Think about it. Think about it. When a worshiper took a sacrificial animal to the temple, the worshiper was never examined. It was implicit in the fact that the worshiper had to bring his sacrificial animal to the temple, that the worshiper had sins that needed to be paid for. That's why he came to the temple. It was only the sacrifice that was examined, never the one bringing the sacrifice.

The worshiper knew that he was sinful, that's why he came. It was the sacrifice that needed to be spotless and examined in order to be accepted. So too in New Testament redemption. The worshiper is never examined, only the sacrifice, only Jesus. And when you finally come to accept Christ's finished work on the cross, His finished work on the cross, your relationship transitions into a confident, beautiful, peaceful place of really knowing Christ and of being confident in His love for you. Everything changes, but that's the tipping point.

Listen, Philippians 3:10 says this: "I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. I want to know Christ. I want to know Christ." What does it mean to really know Christ? Let me give you an analogy.

When I was in college, a good friend of mine told me about Sue Klein and he showed me her senior picture and told me some things about her. Now, based on what I saw and what I had heard about her, I thought she was beautiful and a wonderful person that I'd like to meet. But if you would have asked me to tell you something about her, I could only have told you what others had told me about her. I had no experience firsthand.

Then I met Sue in 1973 and now 48 years later, I can tell you almost everything about her. I know her many different laughs. I know her many different smiles. I know her gentleness, her compassion. I know how she loves me—miracle of miracles—and enjoys being with me—amazing. I know that she would never turn away from me. I know that she would never desert me. I know that she would never intentionally hurt me, never.

But here's the question: How did that relationship come to be? How did I get to know her? It's really pretty simple. It started with a desire to want to get to know her, which resulted in me spending time with her, hearing her heart, learning who she is. And how will you get to know Jesus better? In exactly the same way. It begins with a desire to want to get to know Jesus better, which results in you spending time with Jesus, hearing His heart, learning who He is.

Now, how did I do that with Sue? Well, I walked up the sidewalk to 16 East Walnut Street in Lebanon and I picked her up and took her out and we spent time together. How do you get to know Jesus? The same way. You walk to a Christian bookstore, you pick up a Bible, you take it out, and you spend time together with Jesus, reading His love letters to you. That's how you get to know Jesus. As His word speaks to you, you are sitting next to Jesus.

Listen, literally, anybody doubt that? When you're in the word, He's sitting right next to you. He is sitting right next to you. "I will never leave you or forsake you." Is that just fluff? He will never. He is always with you. That's how you get to know Jesus better.

Listen, if I would have never listened to Sue, never, how much would I know her today? Zilch. And what a loss that would be for me. So, do you really want to know Christ? Then the only way, folks, the only way is to spend time in this book. That's it. It's the only way.

The commentator Maclaren says this: "Knowing Jesus involves becoming conscious of the riches of truly knowing Christ and counting its gains. As a man knows the bliss of a wedded love only by having it, or as he knows the taste of food only by eating it, or the glory of music only by hearing it, or the brightness of the day only by seeing it, we can know Christ only by knowing Him."

Maclaren makes a point that we first possess Christ on an emotional basis. Why? Because understanding someone requires an investment of time. And that takes time. An investment that our early days with Christ we have not yet made. So we begin our relationship on an emotional level.

Again, it's the same thing with Sue. When I first met Sue, I was in awe. I never knew anyone like her existed. I was smitten. I went home to my parents' house after that first date. My grandma was living with us at that time. She was in the kitchen by herself and I went into the kitchen. I'm jumping up and down, I'm twirling around. I said, "Grandma, I met her. I met her. I met her. I met her." Now that was an experience of emotion.

Was that an expression of me understanding Sue? No. That developed over time. It's the same with Jesus. When we came to faith in Christ, for many of us, that was an event that was based on more emotion than it was understanding. We knew we were sinners, we knew we needed a savior, we didn't want to go to hell. I was in fifth grade and I only understood what I could understand.

But over time, as I study the Word of God, that relationship, as I get to know Him better, that relationship deepens. On this concept, Maclaren says this: "In knowing Christ, there must first be the perception and possession by sense or emotion simply by believing. But as we spend time with Jesus, then the perception and possession occur by way of understanding."

And the Bible confirms this. 2 Corinthians 3:14 says this: "But the people's minds were hardened, and to this day, whenever the Old Covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth." And listen, this veil, this veil of misunderstanding, this veil is removed only by believing in Christ. The veil comes away once we believe in Christ.

You know, many people will tell me, "I need to understand this whole faith thing better before I believe." And what the Bible says is just the opposite. It says look, you make a leap of faith and come, the veil will be removed. The veil of misunderstanding will be removed only once you believe. And doesn't it make sense? God doesn't cast pearls before swine. He's not going to give that understanding to an unbeliever. The understanding will come after that emotional experience, after that sign-on, after you make that leap of faith.

I've often said through apologetics, you can get somebody close to the gospel. You can through apologetics, but you'll never get them to where faith and unbelief touch. There will always be a place you have to jump, a leap of faith. That's why they call it faith. There will be a point you have to jump. And once you make that jump, then the Holy Spirit comes into you and begins to give you understanding of the truth of the gospel, the truth of grace.

The same principle applies to all truth, if you think about it. It must be believed by faith, we own that as our own, and then the understanding will follow. It took me years to figure this next thing out, but I think I've figured it out. I stopped trying to argue with people about the completeness and finality of salvation by grace. You know why? Because if they don't understand that concept, if they don't own that for themselves, you'll never talk them into it. That concept has to be owned by them, a truth that they possess, a truth owned by them, before they can say "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine."

And when you own salvation by grace as your own, you will discover—and this goes back to you believe by faith and then understanding comes—when you own salvation by grace alone and you really own that, scriptures will come alive to you and they will speak to you so clearly of the truth of salvation by grace that you never saw before you owned that principle yourself. That's just how it works.

Going on, Philippians 3:10 and 11: "I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another, I will experience the resurrection from the dead."

So Paul says here that this growing in understanding involves three steps. Number one, we need to experience the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead: our new life in Christ, that we are resurrected from the dead. Number two, learning what it means to suffer with Him and what it means to share in His death: I no longer live, but Christ liveth in me. And number three, we need to experience the resurrection from the dead.

C.S. Lewis said this: "The cross of Christ only triumphs in the breast of believers over the devil and the flesh when their eyes are directed to the power of His resurrection." Folks, there is tremendous power in the resurrection.

When you go through the book of Acts, when you go through the gospel, but especially the book of Acts, I encourage you to look at every place where Paul or some of the church leaders presented the gospel and where it's detailed. You will discover that on average, this is close, on average, 50% of their gospel presentation deals with the resurrection of Christ. 50%.

Look it up. In my Bible, I put a starting point and an ending point to all of those places where they share the gospel. And then I highlight where they talk about the resurrection, and it's almost 50%. How many of our gospel presentations involve 50% on the resurrection? And you know why they did that? Because there is power in the resurrection. The Holy Spirit makes that connection. When we talk about the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit takes that truth and just drills that into the spirit of the person receiving it.

And how do we personally experience the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead? By first believing by faith. What God says about being raised from the dead to new life is found in Colossians 2:12: "For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. It represents the old man dying. And with Him, you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinfulness was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ and He forgave all your sins." Praise God.

To know Christ is to experience this new resurrected life, this life that is back from the dead, this life that allows you to draw near to God, certain of, confident in His love for you, even when He is silent.

I remember somebody saying that when we first get saved, it's an emotional experience. We know we're sinners, we know we need salvation, we realize Jesus died for me, I'm the reason He died, that as He hung on that cross, He thought about me, and it breaks me. And through that emotional experience, I walk into that relationship with God. But this writer went on to say, eventually God will withdraw that feeling from you purposely. And the reason is He wants you to know that your relationship with Him is not just based on feelings.

As I said, when I met my wife, I jumped up and down, I twirled all around. I said, "Grandma, I met her. I met her. I met her." We've been married for 46 years now. I don't jump up and down and twirl all around anymore when I see her. You know, I don't do that. Does it mean I don't love her as much as I did? That was such an immature—you can't even call it love. You know, when I talk to Sue, I can't say "I loved you from the beginning." I didn't love her from the beginning. It was infatuation, it was spinning around, but it wasn't love.

And if I still spun around every time—if she walked in or I spun around and jumped in the air, you'd say, "This guy's lost his marbles. There's something wrong with him." Because you would recognize—you might not be able to label it—but you'd say, "That's an awfully immature relationship." You wouldn't figure out why, but it is.

And God doesn't want our relationship with Him to be based solely on emotion. And the problem with that is some people never figure this out. And so they chase emotional experience after emotional experience after emotional experience to keep that propped up inside of them because they're looking for that emotion to be proof that their God loves them.

That's why God purposely removes that and sends us into that dry time so we understand that He's with us even when we don't feel it, even when the emotion isn't there. And the danger of chasing after that emotion is—because I know those people and you know those people—their lives are always, always this way: highs, high; lows, low. Crash and burns and mountain top experiences, but never the balance because they need emotion to pull them in there. And you won't have that emotion all the time. Once the high's gone, bang, down to the bottom. That's why He purposely removes that feeling.

Because until you really know Christ, that uncertainty of His love will demand all kinds of proofs or signs of God's power and presence. And the difference between those two groups of people is when tragedy or suffering comes, while the one living close to God draws even closer and rests in God's presence and power in such times of testing, the other group falls into despair, doubting His presence.

An unknown author wrote this: "We are not citizens of this world trying to make our way to heaven; we are citizens of heaven trying to make our way through this world." That radical Christian insight can be life-changing. We are not to live so as to earn God's love, inherit heaven, and purchase our salvation. All those are given to us as gifts, gifts bought by Jesus on the cross and handed over to us.

We are to live as God's redeemed, as heirs of heaven, and citizens of another land, the kingdom of God. We live as those who are on a journey home, a home that we know will have the lights on and the door open and our Father waiting for us when we arrive.

That means in all adversity, our worship of God is joyful. Our hope, our life is hopeful, our future secure. There is nothing we can lose on earth that can rob us of the treasures God has given us and will give us.

I want to end by reading a letter written by Jesus.

"My dear child, I just had to send a note to tell you how much I love you and care about you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your friends. I waited all day hoping you would want to talk with me. As evening drew near, I gave you a sunset to close your day and a cool breeze to give you rest. And I waited, but you never came. It saddened me, but I still love you because I am your friend.

I saw you fall asleep last night and I longed to touch your brow, so I spilled moonlight on your pillow and your face. Again I waited, wanting to rush down so that we could talk. I have so many gifts for you. But you awakened late in the next day and rushed off to work. My tears were in the rain.

Today you look so sad and all alone. It makes my heart ache because I understand. My friends let me down and hurt me many times too. But I love you. Oh, if you would only listen to me. I really love you. I try to tell you in the blue sky and in the quiet green grass. I whisper it in the leaves on the trees and breathe it in the colors and give the birds love songs to sing to you. I clothe you with warm sunshine and perfume the air with nature's scents.

My love for you is deeper than the oceans and bigger than the biggest want or need in your heart. If you only knew how much I want to help you. And my Father wants to help you too. My Father is that way, you know. Just call me, ask me, talk with me. Please, please don't forget me. I have so much to share with you. You are free to call me, it's up to you. I'll wait because I love you. Your friend, Jesus."

Guest (Male): A touching illustration from Pastor Thom Keller on Study the Word. And he'll join us again in just a few moments. We're in Philippians right now. Would you like to give this a second listen? Either go to our website at ccleb.com or visit our YouTube page. Simply subscribe to our channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. And there you can watch our services live or on demand. That includes this series in Philippians.

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If you prefer to write, jot down this address: Study the Word, 740 Willow Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania 17046. We also want to invite you to join us for a Sunday service, either in person or online. For more information or to watch the live stream, visit ccleb.com or again go to our YouTube channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. Now to end our time in prayer, here's Pastor Thom once again.

Thom Keller: Lord, my heart's desire as a pastor would be that this fellowship would increasingly be aware of Your amazing, unconditional love for them. That Your love does not ebb and flow, rise and fall. It does not recede and come back in and go back out. It is constant, unmovable, unshakable, never changing, never wavering, maxed out every single moment of every single day. You cannot love us more one moment of a day than another moment.

Guest (Male): What a love God has loved us with. Trust you're comforted by it and that you'll join us again next time to learn more here on Study the Word with Pastor Thom Keller, a presentation of Calvary Chapel Lebanon.