Are You Living by the Word of God?

Introduction

Appreciate everybody’s presence tonight. Thank you for coming out to support the Word of God. Hope that you have your Bible. Cross-referencing what I say against the Scriptures. I wanted to ask a favor of you all, and that is on behalf of my mother. Some of you know that my mother has been battling cancer for quite some time. And here recently things have turned uh taken a turn for the worst, so to speak. She’s in the hospital having a hard time with swelling in her abdomen, and they’re not quite sure what’s causing that. It could be caused by uh her reaction to the medicine she’s taken, it could be caused by the congestive heart failure she suffers from, or it could be caused by liver cancer. And of course, we’re very concerned about that.

So if you could keep her and uh uh my father and uh our family in your prayers, we would definitely appreciate. I can tell you that we have seen answered prayer uh in her ordeal. And it’s just amazing to see the things that she’s been able to fight through and survive because brethren have lifted up her name and petitions to the Lord, and the Lord has answered, and so we appreciate that. And as I told my dad last night, we believe in the power of prayer. So if you could remember our family, we would greatly appreciate it. The question I want to ask you tonight is whether or not you are living by the word of God. Are you living by the word of God? Because it’s important to your eternal destiny that the answer to that question be yes.

That you are indeed living by the word of God. And if you’re not, then your soul is in jeopardy. But perhaps that is an unfair question to ask when I haven’t explained what that phrase means. What does it mean to live by the word of God? Not fair to ask somebody if you’re doing something if you don’t understand what it is you’re supposed to be doing. And I want to suggest to you that that phrase is not some fancy preacherism. It wasn’t taken from any preacher’s sermon. But might I suggest to you that it’s taken directly from the Bible. I want to direct your attention to Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 11. Matthew, the fourth chapter, verses 1 through 11. Are you living by the word of God?

Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 11. The Bible says this. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry. Now when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple. And said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Jesus said to him, It is written again. You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, All these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. And so we open up this account with Jesus being led up by the Spirit, led up by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. Up down what? Oh, yeah, that’s right.

I told him that this view thing is killing me. All right. Let’s see. How’s that? Is that it? All right, there we go. Sorry about that, guys.

Are you living? No, I won’t do that. We open up Matthew chapter 4 with Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness for what purpose to be tempted. And he is indeed tempted. It says that he goes 40 days and 40 nights without eating. That’s a long time. And think of how weak he would have been. Think of how vulnerable he would have been. Think of how, as the scriptures say, how hungry he was. And of course, at that moment, here comes the devil. Sensing the weakness, sensing the vulnerability, sensing the opportunity. He comes to him and says, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. And that would have been very tempting because again, this man has gone 40 days and 40 nights without any food.

And Satan is appealing to him, saying, Now you can remedy this, you can take care of this, you have the power to do this. Just turn these stones into bread. And in fact, there’s actually even more of a temptation there. Did you recognize how Satan presented that to Jesus? It’s kind of peculiar. He said, if, if you are the Son of God. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Now I don’t know about you, but I know how my pride is. Somebody challenging me. What do you mean if I am the Son of God? I’ll show you. You see how the devil’s very slick there. Not only appealing to his sense of hunger and his weakened state, but his sense of pride. If you are the Son of God, then you turn these stones into bread.

And how does Jesus react to that? Does he give in to it? Does he give in to the pride? Does he give in to the hunger? Does he display it? No. He refers to the word of God. It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Now there you go. That’s the answer. He fought that temptation with the most powerful tool at his disposal. That is the word of God. He said, No man’s not going to live by bread alone. I don’t have the right to use this power in the way that you’re appealing to me. I don’t have the authority from God to do that. And that’s whom I’m trusting in. That’s who I’m abiding by.

That’s who I’m adhering to. I’m living by the word of God. Remember, I asked that question at the very beginning. Are you living by the Word of God? Jesus lived by the Word of God. But you know, I think there’s something interesting about Jesus using that particular passage. You know, he’s quoting the Old Testament when he responds to Satan on that occasion. Specifically, he’s quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 8, verses 1 through 3. Let’s turn over there. Deuteronomy the 8th chapter, verses 1 through 3. Are you living by the Word of God? Deuteronomy chapter 8, verses 1 through 3. Deuteronomy the 8th chapter, verses 1 through 3. The Bible says this. Every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe. That you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way, these 40 years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. So he humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know. Now listen to this, that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Isn’t that so appropriate that the Lord would quote from Deuteronomy chapter 8, verses 1 through 3, in this situation where he’s been led up by the Spirit into the wilderness and has been hungry for 40 days, 40 nights, no food, and now is presented with this temptation from the devil?

Isn’t that so appropriate? There’s so many parallels that we see there. In Deuteronomy chapter 8, verses 1 through 3, who are we talking about? We’re talking about the children of God, a sanctified group of God’s children. And then over in Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 11, who are we talking about? We’re talking about the Son of God. Children of God, the Son of God. But not only that, did you see over in Deuteronomy 8, verses 1 through 3, where had God led them to wander for 40 years? The wilderness. And where had God the Spirit led Jesus in Matthew chapter 4 and verse 1 to the wilderness. But did you also see that the children of Israel wandered in that wilderness for how long? 40 years.

And how long was it that Jesus wandered in the wilderness that he was in that the Spirit led him to? 40 days. And did you also see in Deuteronomy chapter 8, verses 1 through 3, the Bible says that God allowed his people to hunger? And do you not know in Matthew chapter 4 and verses 1 through 11 that God allowed Jesus to be hungry for 40 days and 40 nights? Did you not see in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verses 1 through 3 that God demanded that his people trust and rely upon him, the manna from heaven, not living by God’s word, not man’s bread. But did you not see that also God expected Jesus to trust and rely upon him while he was in the wilderness?

And did you not see that God provided for his people? He provided the bread from heaven, he provided the manna. And did you not see at the end of that temptation that God provided for Jesus by bringing the angels to minister to him? You know, it’s just there’s so many parallels there. Just so appropriate for Jesus to refer back to Deuteronomy 8, 1 through 3 to say that man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And that’s what we want to talk about tonight. We want to talk about what does it mean practically in my life to live by the word of God? How can I emulate Jesus in that fashion? How can I walk in his footsteps?

1. To Know and Understand the Word of God

How can I too live by the word of God? May I suggest to you, first of all, if we’re going to live by the word of God, to live by the word of God is to know and understand the word of God. To live by the word of God is to know and understand the word of God. Think about this. When Satan tempted him, what did Jesus instantly know? Well, first of all, Jesus recognized that there was word of God that was relevant to his situation. He understood that there is word of God that covers this situation. There is inspired teaching from God that applies to my situation. He remembered that, and then he evoked the power from that to what? Fortify his will so that he would not fall prey to the temptation.

You see that? He knew God’s will. He knew that God’s will applies to this situation, and he called it to memory, and it strengthened him so he could resist the temptations of the devil. Friends, we need to do that. We need to know God’s will. And we need to know how it applies to our everyday life. You know, one of the best verses in the Bible in terms of giving hope and solace and strength is 1 Corinthians 10 13, which tells us that with every temptation, there’s a way of escape. But you know, some of us are so ignorant we don’t know that there’s a need to escape from anything. We don’t even know that there’s a need for escape. Why? Because we don’t know the word of God.

And we cannot, like Jesus, understand that there is word of God that applies to this situation, call it to memory, and fortify our will against the temptations of the devil. We need to know God’s will in order to walk by the word of God, in order to live by the word of God. And that takes time, folks. That takes effort. There’s no shortcut. You just got to turn off the television and go to a few less hunting trips and a few less fishing trips and go to a few less ball games and spend time with God’s word. God expects that. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15. Are you living by the Word of God? To live by the Word of God is to know and understand the Word of God.

2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15. The Bible says this. Be diligent to present yourself. What? Approved to God. A worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Wait a minute. Did he say a Bible study is work? Yes, he did. Roll up your sleeves and let’s get after it. I want you to notice that he says that you can rightly divide the word of truth. But what does that also mean you can do? You can wrongly divide the word of truth. What’s the difference? I need to be a worker who does not need to be ashamed. I need to be diligent, not uh haphazard, not doing it occasionally, not uh, you know, five minutes of Bible study before you go to bed, not that study just to prevent embarrassment Sunday morning, Wednesday evening.

No, we’ve got to spend time with God’s word. And we’ve got to know God’s word. Why? Because you can’t live by that which you do not know. We’ve got to know God’s will in order to live by it. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 12 through 16. We referenced this yesterday in a different context. But it’s a great verse to encourage us to be faithful in studying God’s word, to spend time knowing what God’s will has to say, so that when we are faced with these temptations, we know the danger, we know the will of God, and we use that will to fortify our own will against the temptations of the devil. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 12 through 16. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 12 through 16.

The Bible says this. Let no one despise your youth. But be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, and truth and purity. To I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. What’s important, Timothy? You take heed to the doctrine. You give attention to reading, you give attention to doctrine, you give attention to encouragement.

Do we give attention to reading and studying? And do we, as Paul told Timothy, meditate on God’s word. Do you spend time thinking about God’s word? What does it mean? And it takes time. And we said that yesterday. If you’re the kind of person that’s like, well, I just don’t like Bible study. I’m just not excited about it. I just have to do it. It’s like castor oil. It’s medicine. I know I need it, but it doesn’t taste good. But I’m no. Try it. Just try it. Spend some time with God’s word. You’ll be amazed. You’ll get hooked. And you’ll want more. And more and more. And you’ll be like that fellow we talked about yesterday that just wanted to study all the time, didn’t hardly want to work.

Because he loved God’s word. We’ve got to know the will of God. And the will of God is so broad, it encompasses everything. And so there’s not any aspect of our life that you can say, well, I don’t have to worry about that because there’s no God’s word on it. No, God’s word covers every aspect of our existence. And so we need to know that. If it covers every aspect of our lives, if it governs everything we do, why would we not want to know what our God, our Creator, has said? We need to study. Somebody said, Well, heaven, there’s there’s some difficult things in there. I don’t know if I can get the minor prophets. I don’t know if I can get the book of Revelation.

There’s some difficult things. Well, you know what? There are some difficult things in the Bible. The Bible says that itself. Look over at 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 14 through 16. 2 Peter the third chapter, verses 14 through 16. Listen to what the Bible has to say. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, he’s talking to the end of the world, the second coming. When Jesus comes back, he says, be diligent to be found by him, a reference to Jesus in peace, without spot and blameless. And consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation is also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. Now I want you to listen to this next verse.

As also in all his epistles, speaking to them of these things, and which are some things, what did he say? Hard to understand. Which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures. Do you know the scriptures themselves said that even some of the epistles of Paul are what? Hard to understand. But you know what he didn’t say? He didn’t say they were impossible to understand. He didn’t say you couldn’t understand. He just said it was hard. And if you’re doing 2 Timothy 2 15, you’re being diligent. Guess what? You can overcome the difficulty and understand what God has said. It’s not an impossible task. Don’t be intimidated by it. Don’t try to say, well, I’m not going to start because I’m never going to get there.

No, you can get there. You just got to spend time with it. And don’t say, well, my mind doesn’t work that way. Or I’m not quick on my feet. Or I’m not exceptionally, uh, I’m not very good at school. I didn’t do well in class. I don’t like reading. I’m not an exceptionally gifted student. My mind is not sharp. It’s not about all that. Some of the best students of the Bible I have ever seen or heard are men that have very little formal education. Some men that never even graduated from high school. And they are mighty in the scriptures. Why? They spent time with God’s word. That’s what it’s about. It’s about character. You spend time with God’s word, you’re going to know God’s word.

Don’t use those excuses because God knows better than that. God knows what our minds are capable of. You’re not going to fool him on judgment day. He’s not going to be hoodwinked. He knows what we can do. We just need to quit making excuses and sit down and study God’s word. We need to know and understand God’s word. But something else. Did you see something else? Jesus not only knew God’s word in Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 11, he understood God’s word. He didn’t just know it, he understood it. How do you say that? Well, you remember, let’s read on down a little bit more. Go back over to Matthew chapter 4. And I want you to look at this. Then the devil, verse 5, took him up, Jesus, into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.

For it’s written, He shall give his angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is written again. You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Wait a minute. Did I just read what I thought I read? Is it true? Is it possible that the devil knows Scripture? Yes. He knows Scripture. And he quoted Scripture. He quoted Psalm 91, 11 through 12, and used that as a temptation. And then what did Jesus say? He said, It is written again. Now I want to make sure that we understand what’s going on here. I don’t want to get any kind of misconceptions. It wasn’t a situation that here it is that you know the devil comes out with his scripture and starts shooting at it, and here comes Jesus, and he’s got super scripture that trumps the scripture that the devil put out there.

That’s not what happened. That’s not what happened. Notice what he did. Jesus, he didn’t deny that what the devil had quoted was scripture. He didn’t deny that that was the authorized word of God. And he’s not demeaning, discounting in any way that scripture. What he is saying. Listen to what he says. Yeah, that’s written. It is written again. And what’s he saying? You’ve got to get all that God has to say on this subject to properly understand that passage. So, devil, you have misinterpreted that passage. How do I know? Because the way you’re interpreting the passage conflicts with the other passages that says, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. And so what the Lord is showing us is one of the oldest principles of biblical interpretation.

Let Scripture interpret Scripture. You see that? So that’s what he did. He’s trying to show that look, yes, you quoted some scripture, but you’ve misunderstood it because you haven’t taken all that God has to say. Let’s look at an example of that. Turn your Bibles to Mark chapter 10, verses 11 through 12. Mark chapter 10, verse 11 through 12. In order to live by the word of God, we must know and understand the will of God. Mark chapter 10, verses 11 through 12. Mark the 10th chapter, verses 11 through 12. So he, Jesus said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. Now, if that’s all you knew about this subject of marriage and divorce and remarriage.

You just knew Mark 10, 11 through 12. What would you understand that the word of the Lord was? You said you can’t get divorced. Period. No reason. No excuse, no rationale, no justification. You just can’t get divorced, period. And you would be wrong. Just like the devil was wrong, and quoting Psalm 91, 11 through 12, out of context. How do we know that? Because then you cross reference, it is written again in Matthew 19, 9. Turn over there. Matthew 19, 9, it is written again. What else does the Lord have to say on this subject? Matthew chapter 19, verse 9, the Lord said this, and I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, now listen to this, except for sexual immorality. Now we didn’t see that in Mark 10, 11 through 12.

And I said to you, whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery. And whoever marries who is divorced commits adultery. So what do we have here? We have additional word of God on the subject that puts Mark 10, 11 through 12 in its proper context. It is written again. You see, the Lord understood what the will of the Lord was. And we have to understand what the will of the Lord was. Psalm 119, 160 says, the sum of thy word is truth. When we study a subject, we need to be careful that we have everything that God has to say on that subject. So many false doctrines have been built on people cherry picking verses, taking them out of context, not considering what else the Lord has written on this subject.

2. To Obey the Word of God

What else does the Lord said on this subject? We have to take the entirety on any subject, the plan of salvation, the work of the church, the qualifications of elders. We need to take everything that God has to say on that subject, and then we have truth. In other words, it is written again. But let me give you a second lesson when it comes to trying to live by the word of God. Not only what we know and understand God’s word, but secondly, if we’re going to live by the word of God, we must obey God’s word. It’s not enough. Would it have been enough for Jesus to simply say, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God?

So he’s called to mind the scripture and he understands what it says. And then he proceeds to turn the stones into bread and to eat. No, that would not have been enough. Why? Because he would have failed to obey. It’s not simply to know and understand. That’s important. We don’t want to take anything away from that. But also we must obey the word of God. It’s very important. Obedience has fallen out of favor in the religious world. Nobody cares about obedience. Everybody just wants to believe, but nobody wants to obey. And somehow people think obedience takes away from the glory of God and detracts from his grace and his mercy. No, it doesn’t. Listen to what Jesus said in John 14, verse 15. John 14, verse 15.

Turn over there. To live by the word of God is to obey the word of God. John chapter 14, verse 15, very simply, our Lord and Savior says this. If you love me, keep my commandments. Then jump down to verses 23, 24, the same chapter, John chapter 14. Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves me, he will what? He will keep my word. And my father will love him. And we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me, does not keep my words, and the words which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me. What did Jesus say? If you love me, what will you do? You’ll keep my commandments. What’s that? That’s obedience.

We have to obey. It’s not enough for us to say, I love the Lord. I’m a Christian. I’m in the Lord’s church. That’s not enough. Are you doing what God said? Are you obeying his will? Are you taking your will and subjecting it to what God has said? That’s obedience, and it’s important. And we’ll get to this more. It’s not a matter of, well, you’re just trying to earn your way into heaven. No. No. What did Jesus just say? He says, if you love me, keep my commandments. I think we love Jesus, right? So how do we show Jesus that we love him? We keep his commandments. That’s very simple. And that doesn’t mean that we feel like we’ve earned our right. Nobody’s going to get to the pearly gates of heaven and say, oh, I’ve done such a good job keeping your commands.

You just got to let me in. No, no, no. Jesus said in Luke 17, 10, even if you’ve kept all the commandments, all you can say, we’re unprofitable servants. We’ve simply done what was our duty to do. Nobody’s going to get to heaven based on obedience and the record alone. But obedience is required. It’s a condition of that grace. It’s a condition of that mercy. And Jesus has said, here, do you love me? Do you love me? Then keep my commandments. Look at James chapter 1, verses 21 through 27. James chapter 1, verses 21 through 27. If we’re going to live by the word of God, we have to obey the word of God. We have to conform our conduct, our actions, our speech, everything about it, our address to the will of God.

That’s living by the word of God. James chapter 1, verses 21 through 27. The Bible says this, brethren, therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. Listen, verse 22. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and listen to this, and continues in it. Is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone among you thinks he’s religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one’s religious is useless. This one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefined religion for God and the Father is this to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the word from the world. It’s not enough for us to know what the truth is. It’s not enough for us to understand God’s truth. That is important. It is necessary to know and understand God’s will. It’s not sufficient. Why not? Because we have to obey. We have to do what we know. And we have got a lot of people, a lot of people are not even doing what they know. We, there could be some people in this audience who know God’s will and know that it applies to some aspect of your life, and you’re not doing it.

Why? Why are we not obedient? Why are we not doing it? Do we think we’re saved because we know the truth? Do we think we’re saved simply because we understand the truth? The Bible just says here, no, the one who’s blessed is the one who hears that word and what continues in it. He’s living in it. She’s living in it every day. There’s got to be consistency to it. I think it’s very interesting towards the end. One of the examples he gives is the use of the tongue. How many times have you seen this? I’ve seen this in my workplace. You have people that, boy, they’re religious, and they go to church and they have their Bible sitting there on their cubicle and they’re quoting passages, and then they get angry and they get upset, and all kinds of words fly out.

And they don’t see any inconsistency in that whatsoever. Well, the Lord just said, if that’s the kind of religion you’re practicing, he says, that’s useless. You say, wait a minute, Lord, I have the faith. I have the belief. I have the understanding, but you’re not doing what you know, believe, and understand. There has to be obedience. Folks, folks. It’s important. It’s not enough for us to simply have an intellectual understanding of the truth. We have to live it. We have to do it. It has to guide, guard, and direct all of our actions, all of our thoughts, all of our conduct. There’s not an aspect of your life that the word of God does not govern. If we are living by the word of God. So many people.

I remember there was a friend of mine in school. We got to talking about something. He was not a baptized believer, but he was religious. And we got to talking about a dispute that he and his wife were having.

And his wife was very concerned about trying to get the word of God just right on this subject. And he was telling me, he said, Kevin, she just doesn’t understand. She doesn’t understand. We’re saved by grace. Now what you think about what he just said there.

So he’s saying, obedience doesn’t matter. We’ve got grace. So you got two things in his mind that are opposing one another. You’re either in grace or you’re trying to do it by obedience. But that’s not what the truth teaches. In fact, look at Romans chapter 6. Paul addresses this head on. There’s a lot of people that think somehow that grace rules out obedience. That if you’re saved by grace, then there’s no room for man’s conduct to conform itself to God’s will. And Paul just addresses this head on. Makes it clear that obedience is absolutely required, and grace is no excuse for disobedience. In Romans chapter 6, beginning verse 1, listen to this. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? There’s the argument right there. Oh, we got grace. We’ll just keep sinning because the more we sin, the more God’s grace is magnified, and the more God is exalted because He’s so holy and we’re so. He says, We’re not going to do that. We don’t live like that. Grace is not a license to sin. Grace is not some insurance policy. You just live it up and do whatever you want to, and it just takes care of it. No. He said, How can we who what died to sin live any longer in it? If you’re in this audience, you’re a baptized believer. I hope that’s the way you live. And if you don’t live that way, let’s repent of that.

We’re not using Christianity as some license to sin. And think about all of the harm that’s been done to the cause of Christ by people who have handled Christianity that way. I think I told you about my wife who came in, came out of a denominational background. And she was telling me that one of the things she struggled with as she was in that denominational background, and she was a young person, she was a teenager. And there would be these members of the church, members of the Lord’s body. And she would look at them and observe their conduct, and they were going to the parties.

They were cursing. And my wife was not fornicating. My wife was not going to the parties. My wife was not drinking. And my wife wasn’t using that profane language. And yet these people who are living this way are saying you go to hell. She had a hard time with that. You wonder why? There’s a problem with that. Don’t live in sin. Just because we know and understand the truth doesn’t give us a license to disobey God. And when we disobey God and continue in that, it does harm to the cause of Christ. It brings reproach and shame on the name. It drives people away. No, no. Paul told Titus, you tell the servants to adorn the doctrine of Christ in Titus 2 9 through 11. Don’t bring reproach and shame on it.

We need to learn how to obey. It’s important. And let me say this. When we obey, we are not thinking that we are earning our salvation. People can’t get that through their heads. But if you’re careful about doing what God’s word is, and you’re careful about obeying God’s word, and you’re careful that all your conduct, all of your speech, all your thoughts are lined up with God’s word. Somehow you’re being pharisaical. Somehow you’re being legalistic. Somehow you’re just trying to earn. No, no, no. I’m just trying to please the God I love. That’s all. I’m just doing 2 Corinthians 5 9. Turn over there. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 9. I’m just trying to please God. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 9. Love this attitude.

Listen to this. 2 Corinthians 5 9. The Bible says, therefore we make it our aim. Whether present or absent to be what? Well pleasing to him. That’s our aim. That’s the goal of our life. That’s the mandate. Every we wake up. I want to be pleasing to God. And I want to be pleasing to God in all aspects. We understand that. If you have somebody you love, don’t you want to please them? Don’t you want to please your wife? Don’t you want to please your husband? Don’t you want to please your parents? The people you care about, don’t you want to please them? And you don’t go through and say, Well, I’ll please them in some things, but not others. No, we want to please them in everything.

And that’s what this writer is saying. Paul is saying, everything we do, our aim. Whether I’m at school, whether I’m at work, whether I’m in the community, whether I’m playing ball games, whether I’m going to the movies, whether I’m shopping, whatever I’m doing, my aim is to be well pleasing to God. That covers everything. And that’s not being legalistic. And that’s not taking away that that exalts God. How can that take away from the glory of God when you’re saying, I love God so much that I want to please Him in every aspect of my existence? I don’t understand why that’s legalistic. I don’t know why that takes away from the grace of God. We say that because we know the grace of God. We understand that we’re unworthy.

We understand that we’re sinners. We understand that what we deserve is hellfire, but we don’t have to suffer that outcome. And because we’re so appreciative of that, and we’re so thankful for that, and we experience that love. We want to reciprocate. We want to give it back. And the best way we know how is to be pleasing to God in all aspects of our lives. That’s what he’s saying. That’s not legalistic. That’s not trying to earn your way to heaven. That’s not dispensing with the grace of God. That’s just trying to please the one you love who is God. Are you living by the Word of God? To live by the Word of God is to obey the Word of God. But let me give you a third thing.

3. To Totally Submit Your Will to the Will of God

And you may say, well, that’s kind of related, but it’s a little different. Are you living by the Word of God? To live by the Word of God is to totally submit your will to the will of God. Totally submit your will to the will of God. Because sometimes I think we fall into this trap. We try to master certain commands of God’s word. But we haven’t totally submitted ourselves to God’s word. Let me give you an example of that. Matthew 19, 16 through 22. Matthew, the 19th chapter, verses 16 through 22. Are you living by the word of God? To do so is to totally submit your will to the will of the Father. Matthew chapter 19, verses 16 through 22. Matthew, the 19th chapter, verses 16 through 22.

The Bible says this. Now, behold, one came and said to him, Jesus, good teacher, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? So he said to him, Why do you call me good? No one’s good but one. That is God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to him, which once? Jesus said, You shall not murder, you should not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me.

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful. For he had great possessions. And I want us to be impressed by that young man before we get to the point. I mean, the young man is interested in eternal life. And he comes to Jesus, and that’s a good thing. That’s a good place. You want eternal life? Let’s go to Jesus. And he’s asking Jesus about what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. And Jesus tells him to keep the commandments. And he says, All these things I’ve kept for my youth. That’s a pretty impressive testimony, folks. And Jesus doesn’t challenge that. Be impressed by that. But here’s my question. Had the rich young ruler, had he totally submitted himself to God’s will.

He said, All these things I’ve kept for my youth, I didn’t ask that. The question I asked is, had he totally submitted himself to God’s will? And if he had, what would he have said? Jesus said, one thing you like, go sell what you had, give to the poor. Come follow me. Now, if you have totally submitted yourself to God’s will, which means you’ve said whatever God wants, when I discover God’s will, I’m going to do it. I’m going to conform my actions to what he says. If you made that total commitment, what do you do when the Lord says, just got one thing? Just one thing. Just show all you have, give it to the poor, and come follow me. What do you do it?

It’s that simple. That’s what you would expect. But what does he do? Does he do it? No. He goes away and he’s sorrowful. He’s sorrowful because he had a lot of possessions. So that tells me, I don’t know why he was doing the things he did, but I know one thing. He hadn’t totally submitted himself to God’s will, because if he had, he would have done it. But he was so caught up in those possessions. And don’t, I mean, understand too. Mark 10 21 says, The Lord looked at this young man and loved him. And loved him. But he didn’t love the Lord enough to be able to give up that one thing. And that’s the challenge that we all have. God wants everything. I think we said the other day that we have this saying in America that just doesn’t work in Christianity.

All things in moderation. There’s no moderation in Christianity. It is an all or nothing proposition. If you’re half in, you’re not in. It’s not for you. Well, Kevin, I’m going to give 75%. It’s not for you. Oh, Kevin, I’m going to give 90%. It’s not for you. 95%, not for you. 99.9%. Not for you. It’s 100%. Oh, it’s nothing. If you’re not willing to make that sacrifice, don’t try. You say, I can’t believe a preacher’s discouraging people. Hey, it’s an all-nothing proposition. That’s what I’m saying. Let’s be real. Don’t fake it. Don’t play church. Don’t pretend to be a Christian. It encompasses everything. Look at Romans 12, 1 through 2. We may not appreciate the sacrifice that we’ve already said that we’ve made when we obeyed the gospel.

Romans 12, 1 through 2, the Bible says this. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Holy, acceptable to God, which is your what? Reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Now I understand offering up the blood of bowls. And I understand offer up the blood of goats. And maybe I can give up some of my clothes and maybe I can give up some of my money and some of my entertainment and maybe my car, maybe my house, but no, no, me. That’s what he said.

We offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. All aspects of our being presented to God as a sacrifice. But Kevin, that’s too much. That’s too hard. That’s too difficult. That’s exactly what God said. And guess what? If God said it, God who created us, who knows what our minds are capable of, who knows the limitations of those minds. If God said, now this is what’s required, what do I know that I can do? I could offer myself as a living sacrifice. God has never imposed on anybody something that you cannot do. And you’re not going to fool the Lord on judgment day and say, Oh, I just can’t. Yes, you could. And you just decided not to. Friends, this is what this is what we need to understand.

God demands it all. And we talked about yesterday from Acts 17. That’s, I mean, I love the way Paul says it. That’s reasonable service. Other versions say, that’s rational service. That’s the only rational response to the understanding of this great God we worship. Who created the entire universe, who just spoke it into existence, who spoke us into existence, who allows us to breathe, to be here, who created us, who created man. The only rational response to a God who has created everything is for us to give up of all of our entire being. That’s rational. And we need to dwell upon that and think about that. When we’re too tired on the weekend to go out and visit a brother and sister and encourage them. When we’re just too tired to take out the Bible and study and understand more about the minor prophets and the book of Revelation.

When we’re just so upset with that co-worker that just gets under our scan, I’m just ready to tell them what they need to be told to stop that. We need to remember that God governs everything. God even governs our thoughts. You know that? What we think needs to be brought under submission to God’s will. Why? Because He deserves it. He deserves it. And I hope I’m not trying to be discouraging. I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just saying what the Word says. And hey, I don’t stand before you saying I got this worked out. I got a str I’m struggling with this. But just because I’m struggling doesn’t mean it’s no less true. It is what it is, whether you’re struggling with it or not.

Conclusion

Are we living by the word of God? Now, now let me ask that question. Now that we know to live by the word of God is to know and understand the will of God. Now that we know that to live by the word of God is to obey the word of God. Now that we know that to live by the word of God is to totally submit my will to the will of God the Father, now I ask the question, are you living by the word of God? And if not, when are you going to repent of that? Because that’s what God demands. That’s the kind of people that will be with God for all eternity.

Live by the word of God. You know, it’s interesting. When Jesus said that, did Jesus say, Well, man should not live by bread alone, but by some words, a few words. Most no every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And let me let me let me for those people that think, oh well, we don’t have remember my friend who said, Well, we got grace. We don’t have to worry about obedience and getting caught up in all the minutiae and all the. You know, let’s go back real quick to Deuteronomy 8, verse 1. Again, this is where Jesus pulled from when he responded to the devil, and I like the very first verse. Every commandment which I command you today, you must be what? Careful to observe.

I like that. Every commandment, you must be careful to observe. Can I ask you? Are you careful to observe every commandment of the Lord? That’s what it means to live by the word of God. If anyone is here and not a Christian, we want to encourage you to become one. We want you to start this walk. You can’t even begin to live by the word of God unless you’re first made alive, as we talked about yesterday and start growing in Christ. You say, Well, what does it mean to be made alive? And I’m not dead. I’m fine. I haven’t done anything wrong. Well, the Bible says that all of us have sinned. All of us have sin, and sin is transgression of God’s law. We have violated God’s law.

Either God told us to do something and we have not done that. And that’s sin, folks. Sin of omission is no less sin because it’s omission. It’s sin. If God says you need to do this and you haven’t done it, you have sinned. Or God has said, thou shall not do something and you’ve done that. That’s sin too. Regardless of how it is, when we commit that first sin, all it takes is one. Then we are worthy of hell. You say, no, no, no, no, no. I did something for seconds. I did something for minutes. And you’re saying that deserves eternal separation from God? I didn’t say that. God says that. And maybe that ought to wake us up about how serious a thing it is to sin.

Yes, you can do something in seconds that will lose your soul for all eternity. That’s what the Bible says. Now we’ve got to come to grips with that. And when you come to grips with that, you’re like those men in Acts chapter 2, men and brethren, what shall we do? A cry of despair. And fortunately, there’s an answer to that. Because Jesus died on the cross. If Jesus hadn’t died on the cross, there would be no answer to that question. We just have to die in despair and face our judgment. But we don’t have to. Why? Because Jesus died on the cross. We don’t have to, why? Because Jesus shed that divine blood. We don’t have to, why? Because he rose from the dead. We can access that blood and be cleansed and made a useful vessel for God.

How do I do that? I’ve got to obey the gospel. How do I do that? I hear the gospel message. I believe that message. And not some mental ascent to some facts you memorize. It’s the kind of belief that we read about Hebrews 11 that compel people to do things. Abraham had the kind of faith that compelled him to kill his own son. He had the same kind of faith to leave his place, his own homeland and go to a land that God hadn’t even told him where he was going. That’s what we’re talking about. Having faith, believe the gospel message. Did you ever think about this? We believe the impossible. We believe the impossible. It’s impossible for a man to rise from the dead. And yet we believe it.

Because it happened. That’s faith. And that’s what’s required. Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. For here comes a God must believe that he is. And that is a rewarder of those who definitely seek him. Hebrews 11 6 says. So we’ve got to believe. And on the base of that belief, what do we do? We confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And on the basis of that belief, we repent of our former way of life. There’s change. We talk different, we walk different, we live different. When you get self off the throne of your life and put Jesus there, there’s change, fundamental transformation. And then, yes, that same faith that motivate us to confess, that motivated us to repent. Yes, that faith motivates us to be baptized for the remission of sins.

And it’s not sprinkling, that’s not pouring, because that’s not what the Bible defines baptism as. It’s not some partisan thing. It’s not some debate. The debate is settled by the words themselves. The word means baptismal, burial. Submersion. Immersion. So it means to be immersed in water, to be buried, as Romans 6 says. And when we’re buried in the waters of baptism, we contact the blood of Jesus, it washes away our sins, and God adds us to his church, and he added to the church daily, those who are being saved. Acts 2.47. And once we’re added to that church, folks, you have the most noble work there is to be done on this side of the grave. And that’s the seeking to save that which is lost.

There’s not a more important work. It’s not being a police officer, it’s not being a mechanic, it’s not being a doctor, it’s not being a lawyer, it’s not being governor, it’s not being president. The most important work to be done on this side of the grave is to seek and to save lost souls. I know that. I know that because it was that and that alone that brought Jesus down. To seek and to save. That’s what he said in Luke 19 10. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. And friends, you can join that. You can be a part of that. And there’s such an enriching existence to be able to be a vessel in God’s kingdom. To save, to be, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, an ambassador for Christ.

As though God were pleading through us, urging men to be reconciled to God through Christ. That’s your life. That’s my life. That’s what’s most important. Don’t you want that? If you’re here, why are and you’re not a Christian? I ask, why not? That is the best life. That’s fulfilling. And let me say this. That’s the carrot. Let’s talk about the stick. What if the Lord comes back tonight? And you’re having you haven’t obeyed the gospel. What’s going to happen? You know what’s going to happen. Same thing happens to me if I haven’t obeyed the gospel. God’s no respecter of persons. If we haven’t obeyed the gospel, we’re going to hell. And I don’t say that with any glee in my voice. And I know that goes against the culture.

Don’t condemn. Don’t say there’s right. Don’t say there’s wrong. But God has declared that anybody outside of the blood of his son will be condemned for all eternity. And I’m just trying to say, share the message. If you’re here and you haven’t obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, will you do that tonight? Will you do that tonight? Because you don’t know whether the Lord’s going to come tonight. And here’s the other thing you might die tonight. And don’t say, oh, I’m a teenager. I’m 20s. I’m in my 30s. I’m in my 40s. Folks, people die in all of those age brackets. Had a friend of mine in high school, freshman in high school, 14 years old. Alan Wade went to sleep one night. Alan Wade did not wake up.

It happens. Be prepared. Be prepared. There’s no security. There’s nothing. All these wellness programs, all these medicines, there’s no security in this world except in Christ Jesus. That’s the only way you can feel secure. With that, it doesn’t matter what happened. Let the hurricanes come, whatever. If I’m safe in the arms of Jesus, there’s nothing you can do about that because I’m going to heaven. Don’t you want that? If anyone’s subject to this invitation, we ask you to come forward as we stand, as we sing.