Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
California Conference 2005. The Church at Sardis, Part 6.
Thursday PM, September 15, 2005
Point 9. Hope as a Motivation and Momentum in the Royal Family Honor Code.
The Christian way of life is total dependence on the integrity of God.
The omniscience of God connected with the justice of God and the perfect righteousness of God =
God is perfectly qualified to evaluate us.
Hope is not only the motivation and momentum in the advance of the plan of God, but the motivator in the function of Christian integrity, ROM 15:12-14.
Hope is total dependence on the integrity of God.
In the first hope, or Hope 1, the believer has confidence that once he exercises faith in Christ, he receives perfect righteousness and eternal life.
In the second hope, Hope 2, the believer has confidence that by persistent metabolization and application of doctrine, he will reach maturity and receive fantastic blessings in time.
In the third hope, Hope 3, the believer has the confidence that by continuing in maturity he will receive eternal blessings and rewards, which glorifies God forever.
Hope is the confident expectation of blessing at certain stages in God’s plan.
In stage 1 or hope 1, the blessing = salvation.
In stage 2 or hope 2, the blessings = temporal.
In stage 3 or hope 3, the blessings = eternal.
Your hope [confidence about the future], is your momentum to carry you to maturity, and to give you confidence before the judgment seat of Christ.
Point 10. The Doctrine of the Royal Family Honor Code Deals with the Principle of Production.
Every believer is a priest, 1PE 2:5,9; REV 1:6; REV 5:10.
Every believer is an ambassador, EPH 6:20, 2CO 5:20, Phm 9.
2CO 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
The Royal Family honor code excludes all forms of illegitimate or legitimate Christian production or “works” as the means of blessing.
Neither morality, talent, personality change, asceticism, sacrificial giving, devotional worship or working in a church will elicit blessing from God.
Blessing from God originates from doctrine in the soul producing capacity for life, which in turn triggers the imputation of divine blessing to perfect righteousness.
Works are the result of the advance, but never the means of advance.
Production may be a manifestation of spiritual progress, but never the means of spiritual progress.
When the launching pad launches any form of production with the proper energy as its strength then the believer produces divine good.
1. Christian service means more than spending a maximum amount of time performing good deeds or functioning in some extensive system of works.
2. It is not what you do that counts, but it is your status quo as a Christian that determines the legitimacy of your Christian service.
3. Service is a result, never a means of fulfilling God’s plan.
4. Motivation, mental attitude, and status quo are the real issues in Christian service.
5. Christian service or fruit bearing is never a means but always a result of spiritual progress and growth.
6. The motivation for Christian service must be related to the virtue produced through the perception and metabolization of Bible doctrine.
7. The performance of divine good must be motivated by the filling of the Holy Spirit (first spiritual skill), then by the cognition of doctrine (second spiritual skill), and reaches its maximum by the execution of the PPOG (status of spiritual maturity).
8. Christian service must never be performed with eyes on people, but Jesus Christ must always be the role model.
Point 11. The Royal Family Honor Code Demands Avoidance of Self-pity or Any Function Which Arouses Pity from Others.
Seeking to gain pity from others is living a phony life.
Since impersonal love depends on doctrinal norms and standards in the conscience, it automatically excludes self-pity on the part of the subject.
Putting on the uniform of honor demands that every believer in time of trouble, in time of tragedy, in time of heartache, must find his blessing, encouragement, and strength in the resources of doctrine in his soul.
To seek to arouse the pity of another is a sign of weakness and not a sign of royalty.
When you have disaster and trial and heartache, reflect on the application of doctrine rather than pity from others.
Point 12. The Thrust of the Honor Code Demands Authority Orientation for Continued Momentum in the Christian Way of Life.
Authority involves a person who is willing to take responsibility for the lives of others.
Most people think of authority in terms of arrogance: the idea of telling others what to do, or running someone else’s life.
Authority demands moral courage as well as honesty, integrity, and fairness to all.
Your attitude toward authority is an index of your character.
The only issue between you and your Pastor is: are you learning doctrine from him or not?
Acts 20:28 – the Holy Spirit assigns a certain Pastor to a certain congregation.
1PE 5:3 – there are certain believers who are allotted or assigned to a certain Pastor.
Acts 20:28 be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
“Lording it over those allotted to your charge” = the Pastors who violate the Royal Family honor code by violating the royal priesthood of the believer.
Freedom is a part of a structure, and like every structure that is wonderful, it is based upon a system of authority.
In the spiritual realm authority is delegated to the Pastor-teacher who has the spiritual gift and is functioning in a local church.
The Pastor’s authority extends to teaching doctrine and enforcing policy in the local church; that is his professional function.
1TI 5:17 let the elders who rule well [honorably – R.F.H.C.] be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
1Cor 16:15-16 Now I urge you brethren concerning those who have devoted themselves to the ministry that you submit to such men.
1TH 5:12 We request of you brethren, [Royal Family] that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you in the Lord and give you instruction,
1TH 5:13 and that you esteem them very highly in agape love because of their work.
Point 13. The Royal Family Honor Code Excludes Self-righteousness and the Influence of Legalism.
Our Lord condemned self-righteousness in His great dissertation of Mat 23 –
“Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites.”
It is the arrogant reliance on one’s own assumed, inconsistent, and hypocritical righteousness.
Self-righteousness is the arrogant conviction that one’s own righteousness is superior to that of all others.
Self-righteous arrogance is defined as divorcement from reality; and it is the logical progression from preoccupation with self.
If a believer divorces himself from Bible doctrine, he divorces himself from reality, and the drive toward unreality results in becoming mentally ill.
The antinomian’s sins shock the legalist, so that he insists the antinomian believer was never really saved.
Self-righteous arrogance produces these categories of legalism:
1) Salvation by works.
2) Spirituality by works, personality, taboos, dress, speech.
3) The vanity of the unique experience.
4) The emphasis on human achievement rather than on what God has provided.
5) Morality as a substitute for Christianity.
6) Blessing from God through human good or dead works.
7) Blessing from God through human achievement or self-sacrifice rather than grace.
Point 14. Maximum Function of Putting on the Uniform of Honor is to Risk or Give One’s Life for Another Member of the Royal Family, ROM 16:3-4; JOH 15:12-13; 1JO 3:16.
1. Occupation with someone you love [such as TLJC, the right man or right woman, or friends].
2. In the case of impersonal love, where you do it because of who you are, the integrity in you.
The apostle John mentions this principle of the honor code, 1JO 3:16.
JOH 15:13 “Greater love has no man than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
PHI 1:20-21 according to my intense concentration and resultant hope that in nothing shall I be disgraced, but in integrity, even now as always, Christ shall be exalted in my person, whether by living or by dying. For my living is Christ, and dying is advantage.
Point 15. The Standards of the Uniform of Honor.
1. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone gossip, maligning, and slander.
2. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone the violation of privacy and sticking your nose into the affairs of others.
3. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone a passive slothful relationship with TLJC.
4. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone acting independently of God and the PPOG.
5. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone coming short of God’s righteousness.
6. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed.
7. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone putting aside doctrine and loving each other.
8. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone arrogance, jealousy, implacability with revenge motivation.
9. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone sowing discord or strife between the brethren.
10. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone the rejection of Bible doctrine from one’s right Pastor.
11. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone stealing money or being dishonest for monetary gain.
12. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone emotional sins such as fear, worry, anxiety, anger, and hatred.
13. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone legalism, self-righteousness, and rejection of authority.
14. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone morality as a substitution for the Christian way of life.
15. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone blessing from God through human good or dead works.
16. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone blessing from God through human achievement or self-sacrifice rather than grace.
17. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone discrediting any Pastor who communicates Bible doctrine.
18. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone thinking evil and presumption.
19. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone distraction and withdrawing from Bible doctrine.
20. The standards of the uniform of honor do not condone apathy, indifference, and wrong priorities toward the plan of God.
Lord’s Supper
California Conference 2005
This aristocracy is a line of kings and queens that share in the battlefield royalty gained by our Lord Jesus Christ at the great military victory of the cross.
Revelation 3:21 (NASB95) ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
All precedent for the spiritual life of the church age believer is found in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you might expect, the Royal Family Honor Code is no exception.
1 Peter 2:21-25 (NASB95) For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
So when you think you can’t go any longer, when the suffering is too great, when the pain is too intense, when the temptation is overwhelming, just ask yourself a simple question: “Did I go to the cross today?”
Precedent is a remarkable thing. It gives strength to the weary. It gives hope to the hopeless, and endurance to the impatient.
All precedent for the spiritual life of the church age believer is found in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you might expect, the Royal Family Honor Code is no exception.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (NASB95) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NASB95) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate when it comes to the law of expediency.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate when it comes to the law of supreme sacrifice.
John 10:17-18 (NASB95) “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
We are called to do it like He did it!
In the end, it’s simply a matter of love.
Romans 8:18 (NASB95) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.