The Significance of Being A Christian - Belonging To The Lord

"THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEING A CHRISTIAN“

Lesson #2Belonging To The Lord

INTRODUCTION

In our previous lesson, we began this series... Asking what is the

significance of being a Christian. Starting with the idea that a

Christian is “A Person Reborn"

INTRODUCTION

We noted that a Christian is a person reborn because in Christ...

They are a new creation. They have been born again.

They now have a new loyalty: to serve Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION

We begin this lesson by noting Paul's comments to the Corinthians...

1 Corinthians 6:19 NET Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the

Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your

own?

INTRODUCTION

20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your

body. In which he challenged their

thinking by asking "Do you not know...you are not your own?"

INTRODUCTION

The Christian needs to understand that they have been "bought at a

price" and consequently "Belong To The Lord"

GOD'S SPECIAL PERSON

"Belonging to the Lord" has many connotations attached to it.

One is that a Christian is...



CHRISTIANS ARE NOW GOD'S OWN SPECIAL PEOPLE...

1 Peter 2:9 NET But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy

nation, a people of his own,


so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of

darkness into his marvelous light. 10 You once were not a people, but now

you are God's people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have

received mercy.


“a chosen race““a royal priesthood“

“a holy nation““people of his own“

These are terms that were once reserved for the physical nation of

Israel.


The Lord had chosen them Deuteronomy 10:15 NET However, only to your

ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants,

from all peoples — as is apparent today.


He made them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Exodus 19:5 NET And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my

covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all

the earth is mine,


6 and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'

These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites."


Thus they had become a special people above all other nations Deuteronomy 7:6 NET For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. He has chosen you

to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth.


What had once been limited to physical Israel, is now possible to

all people who are in Christ, as promised to Abraham.


Galatians 3:8 NET And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of

time, saying, "All the nations will be blessed in you."


9 So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer.

Galatians 3:28 NET There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female

— for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.


29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise.

SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

A SPECIAL PEOPLE, WITH


To proclaim the praises of God.


1 Peter 2:9 NET But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his

marvelous light.


10 You once were not a people, but now you are God's people. You were shown no mercy, but now

you have received mercy.


Because He called us out of darkness into

His marvelous light.

Because He showed mercy, and made us the people of God.


To grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:8 NET For if these things are really yours and are

continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and

unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more

intimately.


9 But concerning the one who lacks such things — he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing

of his past sins.


10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble

into sin.


11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and

Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.


To make our calling and election (as God's people) sure.

To have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom.


From the example of physical Israel, let us beware of becoming hardened and not lose faith, or we may not enter the heavenly rest

that awaits us!


Hebrews 3:12 NET See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has

an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God.


13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called "Today," that

none of you may become hardened by sin's deception.


14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial

confidence firm until the end. 15 As it says, "Oh, that today you would

listen as he speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."


16 For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came

out of Egypt under Moses' leadership? 17 And against whom was God provoked for forty years?


Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the

wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who

were disobedient?


19 So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief. 4:1 Therefore we must be wary that, while the promise

of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come

short of it.


2 For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in with those who heard it in

faith.


Hebrews 4:11 NET Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following

the same pattern of disobedience.


A Christian is truly "a special person" because he belongs to

the Lord. He can rejoice in knowing that he is one of God's

"beloved."

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

God's love for the Christian is made even more evident when we note

that he is also...

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

CHRISTIANS ARE BLESSED TO BE

CHILDREN OF GOD...

In one sense, all people are God's children.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

Acts 17:26 NET From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and

the fixed limits of the places where they would live,

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around

for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

28 For in him we live and move about and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we

too are his offspring.'

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

29 So since we are God's offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an

image made by human skill and imagination.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

In another sense, many do not have God as their Father.

John 8:42 NET Jesus replied, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and

am now here.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

I have not come on my own initiative, but he sent me. 43 Why don't you understand what I am

saying? It is because you cannot accept my teaching.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

44 You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what

your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and

does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature,

because he is a liar and the father of lies.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

Yet Christians are the children of God in a very special way.

Because of their faith, and having put on Christ in baptism.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

Galatians 3:26 NET For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. 27 For all of you who were

baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

Redeemed and adopted by God, they have received His Spirit into

their hearts. Galatians 4:4 NET But when the appropriate time had

come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be

adopted as sons with full rights. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our

hearts, who calls "Abba! Father!"

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

Because we do the Father's will, Jesus considers us His family. Matthew 12:48 NET To the one who

had said this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother and who are my

brothers?"

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

49 And pointing toward his disciples he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is

my brother and sister and mother."

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

Christians should be touched by this expression of God's love

1 John 3:1 NET (See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that

we should be called God's children —

GOD'S BELOVED CHILD

and indeed we are! For this reason the world does not know us:

because it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, we are God's

children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed.

BLESSINGS & RESPONSIBILITIES

We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him,

because we will see him just as he is. AS GOD'S CHILDREN, WE

HAVE BLESSINGS AND

RESPONSIBILITIES


We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ

Galatians 4:7 NET So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a

son, then you are also an heir through God.


Romans 8:16 NET The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God's children. 17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow

heirs with Christ) — if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified

with him.


For we are heirs according to the promise of God

Galatians 3:29 NET And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to

the promise.


It is an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, that does not fade, and is reserved for us in heaven. 1 Peter 1:4

NET that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.

It is reserved in heaven for you,


As heirs, we have many responsibilities, including: Being thankful for the

inheritance we have. Colossians 1:12 NET giving thanks to the Father who

has qualified you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light.


Abstaining from the works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19 NET Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,

impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions,

factions,


21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom

of God!


Perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 6:17 NET Therefore

"come out from their midst, and be separate," says the Lord, "and touch

no unclean thing, and I will welcome you,


18 and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and

daughters," says the All-Powerful Lord. 7:1 Therefore, since we have

these promises, dear friends,


let us cleanse ourselves from everything that could defile the body and the spirit, and thus accomplish holiness out of

reverence for God.


If we wish to receive the promised blessings, we need to patiently

carry out our responsibilities with an enduring faith.


Hebrews 10:35 NET So do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward. 36 For you need

endurance in order to do God's will and so receive what is

promised.


37 For just a little longer and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he

shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him.


39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith

and preserve their souls.


Besides being God's special person and God's child, a Christian who "belongs to the Lord" also has a

special relationship to the world in which they live.

GOD'S HEAVENLY PILGRIM

GOD'S HEAVENLY PILGRIM CHRISTIANS ARE IN THE

WORLD, BUT NOT OF THE WORLD.

As Jesus mentioned in His prayer for His disciples.


John 17:15 NET I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but

that you keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to

the world.


Like Abraham, a Christian is a sojourner, a pilgrim.

Hebrews 11:13 NET These all died in faith without receiving the things

promised,


but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged

that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the

city that is to come.


1 Peter 1:1 NET From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those

temporarily residing abroad (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the

province of Asia, and Bithynia) who are chosen


We are fellow citizens with members of God's family. Ephesians 2:19 NET So then

you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's

household,


As such, our true citizenship lies in heaven, not here on earth.

Philippians 3:20 NET But our citizenship is in heaven — and we also await a savior from there, the

Lord Jesus Christ,

GOD'S PILGRIM’S OBLIGATIONS

AS GOD'S PILGRIMS, WE HAVE SEVERAL OBLIGATIONS...

To conduct our sojourn on earth with fear.


1 Peter 1:17 NET And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one's work, live out the time of your temporary residence here in

reverence.


To abstain from worldly lusts.1 Peter 2:11 NET Dear friends, I urge

you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul,


1 John 2:15 NET Do not love the world or the things in the world. If

anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,


16 because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the

desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material

possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.


17 And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains

forever.To keep our conduct honorable,

filled with good works.


1 Peter 2:12 NET and maintain good conduct among the non-

Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds

and glorify God when he appears.


To obey the laws, and respect the leaders, of the countries in which

we sojourn.1 Peter 2:13 NET Be subject to every

human institution for the Lord's sake,


whether to a king as supreme 14 or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those

who do good. 15 For God wants you to silence the ignorance of foolish people

by doing good.


16 Live as free people, not using your freedom as a pretext for evil, but as God's slaves. 17 Honor all

people, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the

king.

CONCLUSION

We have seen that a Christian is a person who

“belongs to the Lord", one who is...God's special person,

God's child, God's pilgrim.

CONCLUSION

The more we understand the significance of such privileges. We

ought to be filled with gratitude and humility. We ought to be

moved to be the kind of people God intended.

CONCLUSION

Are we living and conducting ourselves as those who “Belong

to The Lord"?Are we acting like a special people?

Do we live like a child of God should?

CONCLUSION

Is our life truly a sojourn, or are we living like we want to make this

earth our permanent home?As we saw in our beginning text:

CONCLUSION

1 Corinthians 6:19 NET Or do you not know that your body is the temple

of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and

you are not your own?

CONCLUSION

20 For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your

body.May the significance of belonging to

God prompt us to always glorify God in our bodies and our spirits!

The Significance of Being A Christian - Belonging To The Lord

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