Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Today on Telling the Truth, Stuart Briscoe shares biblical encouragement to help you put your faith into action. Everyone experiences disappointments in life, and when those thoughts are left unattended, they can lead you to despair and cause you to miss out on the abundant life Jesus promises. That's why we want to help you win the battle against feelings of discouragement by sending you Stuart and Jill Briscoe's five-message series, Hope for the Disheartened.

The Hope for the Disheartened series is our thanks for your gift to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy when you give today. Call 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now here's Stuart Briscoe with his message, Faith Requires More than a Little Effort.

Stuart Briscoe: There are some people who would like very much to keep everything in the driest dust theological arena so that it doesn't make any difference in their lives. And there are other more practical people who say, "Don't bother me with the theology, just tell me what to do." The Bible will not allow you away with either position because the Bible basically teaches us you have to have a theological base in order to have an ethical application. You need orthodoxy in order that you might have orthopraxy or, to use very simple terminology, if you've got a belief, it's got to behave.

And so we're going to look into a passage of Scripture that talks about the behavioral patterns of those who profess a life of faith. Let me read to you from verse 14 of Hebrews 12: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." Now there's something that strikes you as a little odd as soon as you read those verses of Scripture. We're talking about the life of faith, but then it says immediately, "Make every effort." When we talk about faith, we usually have something passive in mind.

Faith is trust. Faith is dependence. You just trust yourself to the Lord, you just depend upon him, which is absolutely true. But there's another aspect to it: there is an active dimension to faith as well as a passive aspect of faith. To put it in another term that I've already used for you, belief behaves. And so it is necessary for us to recognize that genuine faith will express itself in work. Genuine faith will express itself in work.

James in his epistle says basically, "Don't tell me about your faith, let me see your works. I want to see this faith being worked out." Well, here's some ways you do it. We make every effort to do what? To live in peace with all men. Now you and I know that one of the characteristic ways of describing our world at the present time is simply this: things are not the way they ought to be. This is true in a general sense, but it's also true in a very specific sense in the arena of relationships.

We are created as relational beings. Therefore relationships are of paramount importance in our lives. And because things are not the way they ought to be generally in life, specifically in our relationships, quite frankly, often things are not the way they ought to be. Now what do we do? You say, "That's the way it is. That's the way it is," and we just go on with life. We just have nothing to do with somebody with whom we're not at peace. The Bible says no, you can't do that.

People of faith work at their faith, and one of the things they work at is this: they make every effort to be at peace with people. They make every effort to make sure that their relationships are in order as they ought to be. Now people often tell me that they've established goals. I've heard of people whose goal in life is to make their first million by their 25th, make their second million and their third million by their 40th, and retire by their 45th. They've got very specific goals.

They know what they're working towards and they pursue it with intensity. I've yet to meet somebody who says, "My goal number one is to relentlessly pursue all my relationships to make absolutely certain that every one of them is in order as it ought to be." That's the life of faith. That's what he's saying: to live at peace with all men. Now, of course the problem is this: some people won't let you be at peace with them. And that is why the apostle Paul has a word for us on this subject that's very beneficial. Romans chapter 12, this is what he says: "If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live at peace with all men."

That's slightly different because that faces the reality. Some people are just plain awkward. Some people are just plain difficult. But very, very often we will use that as an excuse and say, "He's awkward, she's difficult, I just can't please her," and so on. "I've given up on her." No, no, no. "If it is possible, as much as it depends on you." The fact that she's awkward is irrelevant. What is relevant is this: as a person of faith, you establish a goal to make absolutely certain that you leave no stone unturned to try to ensure you live at peace with all people. Wow. That's the life of faith at work.

Now if you think that's difficult, try this one. Verse 14: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy." All right, goal number two. Not to make my second million by 35 or whatever it is. Goal number two: I am totally committed to developing a holy lifestyle. That's the life of faith. We should make every effort to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. Oh, I suddenly want to be holy. I suddenly want to be holy. There's incentive enough. Holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Now that raises enormous questions in many people's minds. Let me try to clarify it for you.

When you read about holiness in the Bible, it comes across in three tenses. When you trust Christ, when you first become a believer, when you identify with Christ and become his disciple, when you are saved, when you're converted, when you're born again, whatever term you want to use—there's a fistful of terms you can use here. When that happens, you come into a relationship with Jesus. And the relationship with Jesus is a very simple one: you relate as a sinner to a savior, and you relate as a servant to a master, and you relate as a subject to a lord. That is the new relationship you've entered into.

Ah, well that leads us into the second thing, you see, because if you have become a saint, now you have to learn how to be what you've become. And that takes you into the second kind of sanctification, which is not initial, it is now progressive. Initial sanctification is something God does to you. You have been made holy. But now progressive sanctification is something that the Holy Spirit produces in you through your cooperation as you make every effort to be holy. There is a process of sanctification where you learn to be what you have become.

You begin to look like somebody set apart. You begin to talk like somebody set apart. You begin to think like somebody set apart. You begin to behave like somebody set apart. You begin to be a set-apart person. And it starts the moment you trust Christ and it finishes the moment you see him, which leads to the third dimension of sanctification. The third dimension of sanctification is this: when you see him, you'll be like him. That's it. Now you'll really be holy, and that is ultimate salvation.

Guest (Male): Don't go anywhere, there's more life-giving truth from the Briscoes headed your way. Tellingthetruth.org and the Telling the Truth app are great resources to help you grow in your spiritual life. Packed with videos like Ask the Briscoes, articles from Stuart and Jill, and encouraging audio teaching content, you'll find a treasure trove of resources to encourage you and others in your faith. And while you're there, you can also request this month's featured resource when you give a gift to help more people around the world experience life in Christ. So visit us online or download the app today. We look forward to connecting with you. Now here's more from Stuart.

Stuart Briscoe: Now it stands to reason: without holiness no one will see the Lord. Of course they won't. And without initial holiness that has manifested itself in reality in progressive holiness, which manifests itself in ultimate holiness, no one will see the Lord. For the only way you're going to see the Lord is in Jesus and because you were committed to him. There is incentive. So I look at my life and I say to myself: What is it in the way I'm comporting myself that is contradictory of my stance as a holy person?

What is it about the way I'm talking? What is it about the way I'm relating? What is it about the way I'm reacting that is just antithetical to what I profess? What is the difference between what I become and what I'm being right now? Oh, I see. This is what I need to work on. This is what I need to establish as a goal this year. This is what I need to pursue relentlessly. It's called the life of faith, for faith expresses itself in work. All right, number three. Verse 15: "See to it that no one misses the grace of God."

"See to it that no one misses the grace of God." Now what does that mean? Well, there's a lot of grace out there to be received. It is God's goodness made available to us at tremendous expense: Christ's death and resurrection. But his grace will touch us at every point of our lives. He is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you at all times in all situations might have all sufficiency in every good thing. That is grace. Now there are some people who are not enjoying that.

They're not living in the good of it. They are living spiritually impoverished lives when they could be rich in Christ. Well, what do we do about them? We see to it that nobody misses out on the grace of God. In other words, we take a very, very keen interest in the spiritual well-being of the people around us. And we accept it as a responsibility on our part to be a nurturer and an encourager and an up-builder of those people, because we don't want any of them to miss out on the grace of God.

All right, read on, verse 15. Oh no, I'm not through with verse 15, you say. Don't worry about 15, just keep going. No, we work through the whole thing here. "See to it that no one misses the grace of God, and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." You know what can happen in the community of faith. We know this can happen. It happened with the Hebrews. Now what do we do then? We have to recognize that when a bitter root grows up—listen, I'm quoting the Bible here, it's a good book on the subject—when a bitter root grows up, it can defile many.

It can defile many. It begins to spread like gangrene. Now somebody ought to do something about it. Who? Who? Well, you know who, don't you? The man of faith, the woman of faith. What do we do? We see to it. We see to it that they're ministered to. There's lots to do, isn't there, in the life of faith? But we're not through yet. Read on, verse 16: "See that no one is sexually immoral." Oh, now we've got a real doozy here.

Have you seen things that your parents would not even have dreamt of or countenanced becoming accepted as perfectly normative now, and their grandchildren are into those things and people are simply saying, "That's how it is now. Oh dear, that's how it is"? Is that how the person of faith accepts the declension of morality in the area of sexuality? No. The person of faith sees to it. Sees to it that the people who are engaging in behavior like that, out of ignorance in all probability because they don't know biblical principles, they don't know creation principles.

All they know is Hollywood. All they know is MTV. They don't stand a chance if the Christians have nothing to say. And if the Christians have standards themselves that are being eroded, the simple fact of the matter is this: when standards decline in society as a whole, instead of the church affecting the declension in standards, more often than not the church is infected by the declension in standards. But we're not through yet. Verse 16: "See that no one is sexually immoral or is godless." Or is godless like Esau.

Now you may not be familiar with Esau, it's an Old Testament story. Let me just remind you: Esau had a brother called Jacob. Jacob was a real creep. He was a crook, actually. His name means literally "twisted." He was a twister. He hung around his mother and he worked in the kitchen and the other brother, Esau, he was a hunter. He was out pursuing things. And one day he came back from hunting and his brother had made a delicious bowl of chili. And Esau was so hungry and he said, "Oh, give me some of that chili. Give me some of that chili."

And this creep of a brother of his, Jacob, said, "Give me your birthright and I'll give you some chili." And Esau said, "Sure, just give me the chili." When Esau says, "I will trade my birthright for a bowl of chili," what is he saying? He is saying spiritual issues, spiritual privilege, spiritual responsibility is of no value whatsoever to me. He is godless. Do you know anybody like that? What do we do about it? We see to it. We see to it.

We try to show them by our demeanor, by our concern, by our attitude, by our relational qualities that we have something that they should want, that they should enjoy. We should be in the up-building business. This is what the life of faith looks like. The life of faith expresses itself in work. Faith not only works, faith worships. Notice how this chapter ends. Some of it won't make sense because we've taken it out of context, but there's enough to make us consider it. Therefore, verse 28: "Since we're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

What it means is that he is a God of intrinsic holiness and righteous justice and he will judge the world in righteousness. But I also know this: that Jesus is my mediator, that Jesus is the one who shed his blood that my sins might be forgiven and that I might be allowed access into the presence of holiness, made holy in him. Our worship, all the externals, are unacceptable unless they stem from a heart reality. And the heart reality is this: now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me, not for the years of time alone but for eternity and I am so glad and I am so grateful.

Listen to me, watch me. I want what I say and what I do and what I am to simply reflect whose I am in Christ.

Jill Briscoe: "If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live at peace with all men." Stuart, that's a very tall order from Paul in Romans. How do we as believers walk that out?

Stuart Briscoe: Notice very, very carefully what Paul said and notice equally carefully what Paul did not say. What he did say was, "If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live at peace with all men." What he did not say was, "Live at peace with all men." That is more than a tall order; that is an impossibility. So, bearing in mind the sheer impossibility of being able to make peace with some people, the apostle Paul very, very carefully says, "Now, if it is possible."

In other words, there are situations where we may have difficulty with somebody and we take all the appropriate steps to rectify this situation and quite frankly, there is no response. There is a resistance. All right, well the second thing kicks in. It wasn't possible, but you did your part, as much as it depends on you. And so I would say it isn't as tall an order as a cursory reading would suggest it is.

If we read it very carefully, I think it's perfectly reasonable to say, "Look, if it is possible, go out of your way to try to make things be at peace with somebody, as much as it depends on you," but—and this is not said—but fully understanding that some people will not cooperate, some people don't want peace, they'd rather have a fight. As much as it depends on you, if it is possible, make sure you're living at peace with the people in your sphere of influence. If it isn't possible and you've done all that you can, then leave it there.

Jill Briscoe: Stuart, how do we cut off a bitter root before it gets firmly planted?

Stuart Briscoe: I think we need to look very, very carefully at the "firmly planted" in our heart. Very often we'll find a twinge of bitterness that surprises us. Sometimes we will be hurt more deeply than we realized and there is a degree of resentment about the hurt that we have been exposed to. Well, the time to make sure it doesn't get firmly planted in our hearts is to recognize it early.