Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - The Aim of Sanctification
If you aren't taking aim, you're going to miss the mark. So how do you walk in this world in a way that helps you hear 'well done'? By learning loyalty to God. Jeremy does what God already showed us, that we learn what doctrine means and how to live life by studying how the saints in the Bible lived as they pursued obedience to God.
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament Framework. Today a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.
Speaker 2:So let's look at the phases first. So we're very clear and I just kind of talked about this. Now what we're doing is just delineating it. So there's positional phase. The first phase of sanctification is positional. The second is experiential. So position is not experience, it's what you have by position or what Israel has by position. Experience is an ongoing, you know experience.
Speaker 2:So in Israel, their positional sanctification is what God said he would do for Israel in the Abrahamic covenant. In other words, it's Israel's place in God's plan right covenant. In other words, it's Israel's place in God's plan right. It's Israel's place, unique among all the nations, in God's plan. I mean, no other nation in the history of the world had God make a covenant with them. It just didn't Only Israel had God make a covenant with them. Now that didn't mean that it was only ultimately for them, because you see in the terms there land seed and worldwide blessing that that worldwide, that it was only ultimately for them. Because you see in the terms there land seed and worldwide blessing that the worldwide that's much larger than Israel. So the intent of the Abrahamic covenant that God made with Israel and giving that their position in his plan was to bless the whole world. And we are enjoying part of that blessing today, are we not? Since we have salvation in the Jewish Messiah, jesus Christ, right? So that's their position and in our sanctification it corresponds to our justification. The moment that you believe in Christ, you are credited with Christ's righteousness. So you are set apart. Right, you are set apart in phase one of your sanctification, or what we just call justification. So at the moment of faith, you are set apart.
Speaker 2:Now, as far as experience is concerned with Israel, this is what God wanted Israel to do. So the position is what God said he would do. Right, experience is what God wanted Israel to do, and it's in the Mosaic Covenant. And if they did do the Mosaic Co covenant, then they would enjoy the land. They would recognize the seed, or the seed line that would come through Abraham, isaac, jacob, the tribe of Judah, as the covenant comes to David in the next story in the Bible, that the seed would come through David's house. And they would also enjoy blessing. You know, fruitfulness, the fruit of the vine. You know everybody sit under their own shade tree. Doesn't this sound good, you know? So this is the blessing that they would enjoy if they kept the Mosaic law in their experience.
Speaker 2:Okay. So keeping the Mosaic law, of course, would set them apart from other nations. Other nations had other constitutions, maybe it was the laws of Ashnuna or the code of Hammurabi or whatever. Whatever other nations had their own legal codes, god had a special legal code for Israel and if they kept that, it would set them apart from all the other nations, right? So the more they kept that, the more distinct they looked from the other nations, and this was supposed to be a testimony. So this corresponds to our sanctification. We're not under the Mosaic covenant, but we are under this thing called the new covenant and there are laws, the law of Christ.
Speaker 2:Galatians 6, 1 Corinthians 9, talk about the law of Christ, and these are the commands that he wants us to follow, he wants us to keep, and so as we keep them, we enjoy experiential blessing right. If we break them, of course, we don't enjoy blessing right. But for everything for Israel, there's also a correspondence for the church. I'm just trying to point that out. So these are the phases and every Jew who was following Joshua's leadership as they went into the land, the first thing they need to know is that position right there. Hey, this land belongs to us. It's our land by divine right. God said it's ours. Right, that gives you some backbone, doesn't it? I mean, you know, then, God is on your side. Right, because he promised us this. And it's motivation to experientially obey the Mosaic covenant and enjoy taking the land and being blessed in the land. Right, it's motivation. So that's the way a Jew should think in the time of Joshua.
Speaker 2:As far as the aim, what were they aiming for? The aim is always to learn loyalty to God through His Word. Learn loyalty to God through His Word. Sometimes we talk about love. We use the verse love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. That's the aim. That's what we're going for. Right, I just replaced love with loyalty, because so many people think that love is a mushy term. I mean, it's just come that way in our culture. So, to get rid of the mushiness and to convey what the intent is when it says love the Lord, your God, I've replaced it with loyalty, because that's how we show loyalty to God. We keep his commandments, we do what he has said. Right? So we want to learn loyalty to God. It's a process. It takes time. You're not going to wake up tomorrow and just be easy or something like that.
Speaker 2:But the goal or aim is to learn loyalty to God through his words, which means you have to be meditating in the word, otherwise you don't know what he wants you to do in every situation. So learn loyalty to God by staying in his word. Right For Joshua and them, it was meditate on the word day and night, right, so you're very careful to do everything that's written in it. That's what the text says and this is the same thing for us. Okay, we have to listen to his word so we can learn loyalty to him. So there's the process of listening. That's hearing his voice in the scriptures, listening to the word, reading the word, having the word taught, thinking about it, learning to trust, because faith comes by hearing. So trust grows as you listen to the word and it works its way out in obedience. Okay, so there it is Listen, trust, obey. And I think that's on our website. I think that's like the main thing on the front page.
Speaker 2:This is kind of our whole theme and vision for this whole church as an overall focus for years and years to come. That's what we're going for, our aim For Israel. What were they to listen to? Well, not the law of Christ. Christ hasn't come yet, but they were listening to the law of Moses, right, the laws that are under the covenant that God made with them at Mount Sinai, and they were to listen to that and then learn to trust the Lord and obey Him, right? It's really kind of a simple formula, isn't it? It's really kind of a simple formula. The problem is, well, we want to listen to all these other voices. We're so busy. We have to listen to this and listen to that. I don't have time for the Bible. That's just saying I don't have time for God. That's what you're saying. I don't have time for God, my Creator. I to cover it up however you want. That's what you're saying.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app, and until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.