Converted Unto Good Works
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 6/28/2009 AM |
Text: | II Corinthians 5:17; Lord's Day 33 |
Psalters: | 375, 233, 426, 68 |
- Its character.
- Conversion is God’s work.
- Conversion is a spiritual turning from going in a sinful direction to going in a God-glorifying direction.
- True conversion is a change in our conscious relation to God.
- The conscious motivating power of conversion is love of God.
- Conversion's author is God, not man.
- God turns us, both in initial conversion and in continual conversions (Jer. 31:18; Lam. 5:21; Psalm 80:3).
- God works by His Spirit through the Word so the heart is turned spiritually towards Him.
- When the Spirit works this conscious awareness in the believer, then the believer moves to activity.
- Conversion’s activity is that of mortifying (killing) the old man and quickening (making alive) the new man.
- Re. the terms "old man" and "new man" (Colossians 3:9,10 and Ephesians 4;22-24).
- We are to become increasingly aware of this "law of sin," so we fight it and kill it with the sword of the Spirit.
- First and most frequent is the presence of godly sorrow for our own sins and sinfulness.
- As a result we strive more and more to give sin less room to operate.
- And conversion is a conscious quickening of the life of Christ in us, a sincere rejoicing in our hearts.
- There is an increasing measure of joy in God and in the things of God.
- It is the endeavor to place ourselves and our life under the dominion of Lord Jesus.
- Conversion is manifested in the performance of good works. Good works ....
- ...are in harmony with God's objective standard, His law (cf. I John 3:4).
- Only God can say what is good, for He is Creator and the only Good (Deut. 12:32).
- Obedience to God's law is loving God and our neighbor, for “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).
- ...are rooted in faith (Hebrews 11:6 and Romans 14:23).
- The idea is that for a work to be good it must proceed from Christ.
- Abiding in Christ we are able to bear fruit and without Him we can do nothing (John 15).
- ...have the end or goal of the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31; Romans 14:6-8; John 15:8).