The attitude of the publican

The word of the Lord says: "wake up you who sleep and Christ will light you up" so let's get ready because God has something very special. Pay attention to the word of God, that word is powerful to do transforming things in our lives this afternoon.

I want to invite you, there is a passage of scripture that reflects very well the topic we want to deal with; It is found in the Gospel according to Saint Luke chapter 18, Luke chapter 18, let's go to verse 9, a well-known passage.

How many have heard of the parable of the Pharisee and the publican? How many have heard? Raise your hand, okay? At least one less slice than I thought. Some perhaps are asleep and did not listen to my warning.

Let me tell you first so that you can understand what you are hearing, because some brothers may not have brought their Bibles and they do not understand who is a Pharisee and who is a publican, we have a lot of new people here in the church that they are just entering the ways of the Lord, and they are not necessarily going to understand that he is a Pharisee, which for many of us is a common word or a publican is definitely more difficult.

Firstly, a Pharisee was a member of a religious sect in the time of Jesus that put a lot of emphasis on keeping the law of Moses, keeping the dietary laws of Moses; don't eat this, don't eat that; Keeping the law on Saturday very precisely, that is, not doing... They almost dared to say you can't even breathe because that's work on Saturday.

So cautiously that they kept the law of the Sabbath and also kept a number of ritual laws like washing hands continuously and not touching a dead person and not touching a woman in her menstrual period or whatever.

It was a captivity, so to speak, of laws that froze the spiritual life of Israel. And these people had control of the spiritual life of Israel practically and Jesus had a lot of opposition against it because of that justice that they felt about themselves, that sense of pride that they kept the law and therefore were better than others.

And, on the other hand, there was also in the time of Jesus, a class called tax collectors who were officials of the Roman Empire, Jews but who cooperated with that empire that the Israelites hated so much because they ruled them the force. And these agents of... we could say it were internal revenue agents, one of the most unpopular people in the world, the income tax. those who take one's income tax, the IRS

And these people, although they were Jews, cooperated with the Romans and abused their position, many times stealing from people more than they owed and staying with the rest. They gave Rome their share and they kept a good part of the money. And they were hated for being traitors to the country and also for being oppressors of the country. They were like the symbol of sinners, nobody wanted to know about the tax collectors, and people saw them as an abomination before God and before the Jewish nation.

So we see there, one at one end, a very respectable person, supposedly very religious, very dedicated to complying with the requirements of the religion and another who was completely out of religion due to unacceptable behavior.

Now let's get into the reading of the parable in Luke 18:9 and listen or read with me, it says: “…to some who trusted in themselves as righteous and despised others, he also told this parable ....”

A parable is an illustration, a narrative, a story told to people to illustrate a spiritual truth. Look who he was addressing it to, people who were very confident in themselves, like they were fair, that they had complied with the law, so they looked at the others from above as if to say - poor devil, you who don't keep the law and you don't know what the things of God are, right? they despised the others - he also told them this says:

“....Two men went up to the temple, to the church to pray, one was a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood up and prayed with himself”, look how revealing that is, right? He was praying to himself, he wasn't even praying to God. That's very important, God was maybe a thousand miles from him at the time but he was praying for his own satisfaction.

“....He prayed with himself in this way: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, thieves, unjust, adulterers or even like this publican, I fast twice a week I give tithes on everything I earn.

But the publican says the Lord being far away did not even want to raise his eyes to heaven, the total opposite of the first, right? He was stuck there in a corner of the church where no one saw him, and he did not even dare to raise his eyes to God. The other was standing very upright, very proud, very sure of himself, very confident in his own justice. The other quite the opposite, a broken heart aware of his sin, overwhelmed by the fact that he knew that he had offended God and that he was sinning with his behavior, and this man says that he did not dare to raise his eyes to heaven but rather hit himself the chest saying: "God be propitious to me" that is to say have mercy on me; sinner in other words, he recognized who he was.

And look at the verdict of the Lord at the end, he says: “I tell you that this, meaning who? the publican, that terrible offender, that sinner, he went down to his house what? justified,” what does that mean? In other words, he went home forgiven, his debt paid, his relationship with God settled, he did what is supposed to happen when one comes into the presence of God, he came back clean, he returned his accounts settled with God.

".....he went down to his house justified before the other.....," in other words, I think the other one didn't even give him to pay the water bill that day, completely dry. “.....because anyone who exalts himself, that is, anyone who boasts and feels very proud of his own justice, will be humiliated and he who humbles himself will be what? Exalted, he will be lifted up....”

Brothers, here you have exposed in a very graphic way what is the basic dynamic of how a man or a woman must approach God in their condition of sin.

And what does God expect of us? Remember that I am preaching this series of sermons that I have called doctrinal sermons, sermons that try to explain to us very important aspects of Christian, biblical doctrine.

I am going to be preaching to you on many different topics in these next Sundays that I know will help you to better understand what God expects of you and me and as a church what are the basic teachings that we have to practice and retain in our spirit and in our mind.

And here you have, I would say the essence of the gospel, and that is that a man, a woman is justified in the presence of God not by the things he does, not by his behavior, not by anything external that he can carry out, and later I am going to clarify that, but that is the essential truth, if not through an attitude of his heart that connects him with the grace of God.

That attitude of heart requires a couple of things. Number one, it requires acknowledgment of sin, it requires the person to admit that they have offended God, that's the first thing. One of the problems many times today when people are spoken to in certain areas and they get offended that the church is pointing out this and that to them, is that they do not want to admit their sin, but have disguised it and are calling it by another name so that it does not seem like a sin. And we tell him: "look why do all those gymnastics and do all that somersault if the only thing that God wants is for you to admit, - yes Lord, I sinned- as the Mexicans say, - I scolded her-". And then that from there God can work with you.

The first thing that is required is an attitude of repentance, the word says “…to the contrite and humiliated heart…” what? “…Thou shalt not despise, O God…”, God never despises a truly repentant person, so there has to be heartfelt repentance.

Secondly, there has to be a confession, there has to be a verbal admission, something that verbally suggests that the person… it's like signing something. When you acknowledge and declare before God, "Lord, yes, I have sinned, I have offended you" that calms the heart of God, immediately appeases God's wrath.

Now after that, that I put under the rubric of acknowledgment of sin, you have to take one more step and it is then one to entrust oneself to the mercy of God through whom? Of Christ Jesus, what Christ did on the cross of Calvary.

One then remits his debt and places it in the hands of Christ Jesus, and one says: "Father, I recognize that my debt now has to be covered by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary" . Now when you do that, and you come under the work of Jesus, then God gives you something that the Bible calls grace. Then God extends his grace to him and he says: “you know what my son, my daughter? I forgive you, clean slate”.

Grace, you didn't do anything, you didn't have to go to Rome on your knees, you didn't have to go up some stairs all bleeding to receive, you didn't have to go to the pastor to hear the your verbal confession, you don't have to go buy an indulgence somewhere to take away a hundred years of purgatory, you don't have to go to a saint's relic where there is a little piece of the cross inside a glass box and touch it, you do not have to do anything physically, but simply that attitude of heart already makes you deserving of God's mercy and grace, it is so.

That was what happened to this publican, he was full of sin, but he went before the throne of God, he repented from his heart, he felt the weight of his offense, he recognized, confessed, humbled himself and God I forgive him.

The other, what was he trusting? In everything he did. Thank you Lord because I fast twice every week, I give my tithes perfectly well, that does not mean that it is not important but understand well, but the problem with him is that he was putting his trust in those things and the one who puts his trust... It is not so much that you do good things, I am going to qualify that, but that you cannot think that because you do those things you are saved, because God changed that old system of law and converted it to the system of grace through of his son Jesus Christ.

Let me give you an example because what I want you to understand well today, that you leave here understanding these doctrinal sermons well, this interrelationship. The interaction that exists between, on the one hand, the grace of God and, on the other hand, the works. It is not that we are saying that we are simply going to remove the works on one side, remember what I told you before? but I want you to understand these concepts of scripture, grace, works, God's forgiveness, the concept of justification, what happens when we are already within God's grace and we sin? What resources do we have left? All these kinds of things so that you leave here with a good idea of this system that God has established for the benefit of all of us.

But the first thing we see here, in this passage is that, that the justification of a human being, that is, being right with God depends not on actions but on heart and attitude.

I was telling the brothers this morning an example to understand this better, look, there is no person who drives who does not continuously break the traffic law in some way or another. The Bible says that no one can say that they have not sinned, human beings sin because they have no other recourse, it is impossible not to sin against God, it is impossible not to violate God's law, and do you know what the Bible says? That he who does not await all the law perfectly is guilty of death.

If you technically offend God just once, it's like you've already broken the whole law, why? Because violating God's law just once already makes it technically, judicially, deserving of God's rejection, legally it is so because God is perfect God and no imperfect thing can enter his kingdom.

And you know that a thing is perfect or imperfect, there is nothing in between. A single little thing that violates the seal of perfection already makes that person imperfect and then they can no longer enter, they are already damaged, they cannot enter the kingdom of God.

So we all technically sin continually, how can I see that? Look, I used to tell them, for example, in the traffic department that it is only a little piece of human life, so small that it is the driving area, but look, in a two-hour trip let's say to Portland-Maime or wherever or to Connecticut, even if you don't want it, you are going to break the law several times. Because let's say that you are listening to a very lively and happy song and when you come to see, look at the speed meter and it's already at 67/68, you didn't realize it, that's for the brothers who are careful, imagine those who aren't. You have already violated and even if you do so and lower the accelerator a little and put it back to 65 or 55 you have already violated the law.

The brothers who drive here in the city... you are driving, you come to a stop sign, to a sign... a stop sign and what happens? What do most of us do? Let's go… we stop very quickly, in the best of cases, we look around while the car continues to move a little, we see nothing and we continue forward. You already broke the law, yes or no? Why what does the law say? That you have to stop dead, look one way and the other and who knows if you look again… ah!! and it has to be behind the line, be careful!!! If he stepped on the line, he was fried too, and then move slowly and get through, how many of us do that? Be honest.

So one is always breaking the law. You are driving and when you come to see, without realizing the car went a little off and you stepped on the next lane, do you know what the law says? That you have to signal before changing lanes and be careful if it's a solid line or whatever, even worse.

So one sins or through ignorance or bad intentions or a defect in the car or whatever, one is always violating the law.

Imagine what would become of us if there was something stuck in the car that every time I make a traffic error it flags me and they send me a ticket at home, most of us would be bankrupt, we already If they had canceled the license, I believe that almost all of León de Judá, only the pastor would have a license.

I have already sinned there, brothers, all... the Bible tells us, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Now look at that, if that's in such a small area of life as driving, multiply that by a hundred and add all the other dimensions of life, human relationships, marriage, relationship with children, work, finances, the IRS, the church tithe, all the other things out there, hundreds of dimensions of human life.

Brother, one sins even while sleeping, one sins when thinking, one sins when speaking because it is impossible not to leave the line, not to speed up the car, not to eat the stop, it is impossible, man is inherently sinful.

Imagine if you then had... every time you committed an infraction and searched the car, if you had to pay a fine, in this case it would be if you had to make a confession and if you forgot a sin is already fried, and if he didn't see something he did too.

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Martin Luther, the great church reformer, was obsessed with it, and he already had his confessor... because he was a Catholic monk, very picky, with incredible morals, that man but he was completely neurotic, because he was... he lived confessing any little thing, any little sin. The confessor told him: "You are already driving me crazy Martin, you have to trust God" and Martin Luther had to go to the Bible for that reason.

They assigned him to be a theology professor because he was a man who knew a lot about Scripture, rather he knew about religion but he didn't know about Scripture and when he had to start his lessons and lectures he was forced to reading the Bible was when he stumbled upon the doctrine of grace, salvation by grace and not by works.

Because until then Rome demanded the confessional, it demanded bulls and indulgences, it demanded pilgrimages to sacred places, it demanded the touching of relics of such a saint, or so-and-so, it demanded giving alms and good works and it was the only way a person could go, not to hell, to purgatory because then they would fry him there for a thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand years depending on his situation and then he had to be removed from there with indulgences and with other things, it was a terrible trap.

When Martin Luther read in the Bible that salvation is by grace and not by works, that was a revelation that took a terrible weight off his shoulders and from there began the great reform that became what it is today Protestantism, the gospel. Glory Lord.

So I want brothers, that you understand that first, that God has established a new one through Jesus Christ where when you offend, when you sin, when you violate God's law, you can go and appeal. There is a fine that is generated but that fine is paid by the blood that Christ shed on the cross of Calvary and immediately there is something that covers. Now that is if we acknowledge our fault.

There is a balance to be had. I have shown you here what this passage says, right? Salvation by grace, by repentance, but also the other part of this process requires that we also have a degree of repentance and that we live according to what God asks.

Look at what first John says, chapter 2, the other side of the coin. I like this passage from First John, 2, from 1 to 6 because here I see that balance that God wants us to have. On the one hand, brothers, I want you to understand that as children of God, you and I do not have to live under condemnation. That means that God has established a system so that when we sin there is a cover, there is a source of forgiveness, there is a source of justification before God, but there also has to be the other side, right?

Let me give you another illustration so that we understand well before reading this passage. We continue with the image of the traffic department, because it is something that we can identify with. Let's say a person commits a traffic violation and goes to the department of motor vehicles, is going to pay the fine; as long as he has not paid the fine he is in sin before the law so to speak, he wants to go to the department to be justified. Justified means that God tells you: you know what? You no longer owe me anything, you and I are already fine, like the tax collector who went home justified. And the law says when you break the law for you to be justified you have to pay somehow, whether it's a jail sentence or a fine or whatever, but you have to make restitution somehow under the law.

Well, you go to the motor vehicle department, take your checkbook and when you get to the counter, hand over your ticket and say: “Yes, Miss, look here, I admit that I ate that red light and I'm here. to pay the ticket" and the young lady says: "You know what, sir? there's a new program that we just started... a filthy rich man has left a fund so that anyone who has broken the traffic law if they admit it's their fault and sign up for the program, they don't have to pay because he's going to pay the fine. All you have to do is sign up for the program and admit guilt.

If you say that you did not do it, that it was your wife who was talking to you and distracted you, that is not valid. But if you acknowledge that you were the one who offended and register in the program and we are going to take a picture of you when you smile and raise your hand, you are part of the program and that way you do not have to pay the fine. And he says: “Wow I love it!!! Go ahead, let's do it, right?" And you do what you have to do, they pay your fine and you go home justified before the law, you no longer owe the law.

That is justification by grace, but when you leave very happy and say: "wow, here I can drive as many times as I want at high speed and eat all the lights because I already have Bill Gates who He's going to pay me the fine." And the Lady says: “Oh I forgot something, you know what, sir? You also have to promise to behave well from now on and respect the law because this is not meant to be abused either.

If you abuse the system and we see that you are repeating the same things over and over again, the same faults and you are constantly coming to bring me your tickets, it doesn't work that way. But from time to time, when you have a problem, because we know that there will always be difficulties, well, if you repent and come here and admit, we are going to... that program will be working and we are going to pay your fines but don't abuse of the program.

You have to conduct yourself very well, because now you are under a program that others are not. We want others to enter the program, and we want you to let others know that this program exists so that they don't have to waste their money out there, paying fines unnecessarily, but you have to be an example for them too, because otherwise everything will falls down.

I think that there you have a good illustration of what justification by grace is, but also at the same time there is a balance that God asks that you not abuse it but that you also keep trying to do everything possible, because if you continue to live as a person who does not belong to the system that God has established, then you are not reflecting the fact that you belong to that new system. You are simply saying that you have not experienced that redemptive work of God.

So let's go now to first John chapter 2, in verse 1, (my usher brothers if you have a little water thank you, thank you) first John, two, verse one. Look how Juan handles, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, that balance, which I want you to have and I also have in our spiritual life. Handle grace, works, justification, Christ's sacrifice, faith, these terms that together create a total system that we have to learn to handle very well as believers.

Look at what it says here: ".... my children" the apostle Paul speaks to his readers... and I always say how beautiful the word of the Lord is, with what mercy God speaks to us. Know? God is not that ogre, that boring old man who is out there with a bunch of lightning bolts and sparkles in his hand ready to shoot people every time he does something, God is loving, merciful, fatherly, he speaks to us with mercy and with love and advises us just as I said in Ezekiel 33:11: "... I do not want the wicked to die, but to repent and live..." and John says: "My children, these things I write to you" for what? “so that you do not sin”, in other words, what does the word of God exist for? to advise us and so that we live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

So God is always telling us: "children, I hope that you behave well, that you live a life that is pleasing to me, a life that is acceptable to me, that you do not voluntarily violate my law" as Romans said, sorry Hebrews, chapter 10 last week when we read: "...these things, he writes so that they do not sin....".

Now look at what it says here “......and if someone sins… what happens? Whom do we have a lawyer with the Father? To Jesus Christ the just....” As the Pentecostals say, that lawyer never lost a case, glory to God. That lawyer is always there.

So look, God doesn't want you to sin and you have to be careful about sinning voluntarily, sinning as a behavior. One must be careful not to abuse the law of God's mercy as well. Because many Christians today have not learned that… yes, God is love, but that he is also a consuming fire.

So we walk around carelessly because ah we already have grace, we have the forgiveness of our sins, we have a God who knows us, who has mercy on us. But no, God wants us to keep his law. Now when we break that law, once we are in the ways of the Lord there is a safety system, there is a system of…a safety valve so to speak, that allows for restitution even in that case, if you fill the right conditions. correct attitude.

I told the brothers, for example, an illustration, this building, when we renovate it here, the law requires us to take all kinds of precautions, take all kinds of precautions so that there is no fire here. So, for example, that carpet that you step on is not flammable, that means that if you hit a match on that carpet, it does not catch fire, all it does is emit a little smoke but it does not catch fire. If there's a fire in here, that rug isn't going to catch on fire, say glory to God.

Those chairs aren't flammable either, they're made of a fabric that doesn't catch fire either, because imagine if there's a fire and the chairs start to burn how terrible it would be, so there's a precaution there.

The walls that we share with the building next door have a double layer of shiprock, a wall that can resist two hours of fire, I said one hour this morning but it's two hours of fire. That means that if there is a fire, that wall, the layer that covers the brick, is going to take at least two hours for it to melt or burn completely and because if people take refuge in the… for example in the stairs that they are also surrounded... don't you thank the Lord for all the security that is in this place? all the stairways, all the stairwells are surrounded by two layers of wall to make sure that if people take refuge inside, there is no fire that can penetrate and burn the place of refuge. That is why the stairs are also made with a certain degree of security and we can say many other things, the doors have... why do you wonder why the doors have a bar instead? that bar is called a panic bar, and the doors have to open outward, why? Because when there's a crowd trying to get out, if you have to open a handlebar, whatever, what happens? People can get stuck and the ones that are attached to the wall become stickers, right? everyone is going to push them and if the door opens inwards they won't be able to get out. So that door is made so if a crowd wants to get out, the crowd is going to push the bar and the door is going to open and everyone is going to be able to get out.

Look how people think right? All of these are security measures so that people do not suffer, now you know that if this system fails, there is an additional system that still works, what is that system? Those sprinkles that are there, those tubes, and there are also those little dots that you He sees there in white, they are sprinkler heads, for irrigation, when the temperature reaches a certain level or there is smoke that reaches up there, those little things fly, those little caps fly and water falls and his hair is ruined in half of the sisters here. Everywhere here there are sprinklers, there are irrigation heads, why? Because many times the systems fail and there has to be a second system.

Well it's a long illustration to say something, look God has said to the believers, now that you are on the path of faith, you are not supposed to sin but if you do sin, there is also a system of irrigation that is called the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin, that washes us continually, that if we repent and confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive him says the word of the Lord.

So that is what the apostle John says here, he says: "....but if we sin, if anyone sins, we have a lawyer.....", an irrigation system that does not allow us to let them still catch fire, “......Jesus Christ the righteous, says here “......and he, Jesus Christ, is that? the propitiation for our sins....”

What does it mean that he is propitiation? It means that he is the sacrifice, he is the substitute for our sins. When Christ died on the cross of Calvary, your name was Christ on him, although you still did not even think of being born.

And Christ is the one who stands before the Father and takes your sin and assumes it himself so that you can be justified before God, he says: “…and he is the propitiation for our sins…”.

That's why brothers, don't let anyone put you in a poke as they say out there, not even the saints, with all the respect I have for many of those people, not the saints, not Maria, nor is anyone the propitiation for their sins. You can't go to a saint to have your sins forgiven, you can't beg a dead relative of yours to help you pay for your fault, he says, who is it? He is the propitiation for our sin.

There is only one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, always remember that. What you should do is pray to the Father in the name of Jesus and you receive forgiveness for your sins, glory to the Lord.

You don't have to live your life weighed down by guilt. If you sin, go directly to the Father, confess your sin, get right with God, refer your cause to Christ Jesus and you can go back to having a problem-free, untarnished relationship with your heavenly Father because God has set up that system. He is the propitiation for our sins, he says, and not only for ours but also for those of the whole world, glory to the Lord.

In Christ there is grace enough to forgive all potential sins of mankind. So, he says in verse 3:

“...and by this we know that we know him, how? If we keep his commandments.....”

How do you know that you are a child of God? Well, you know that you are a child of God firstly because you have received Christ as your Lord and savior and you have confessed him, but you also have to... if your life is messy, disorderly, if there are repetitive sins in your life If your behavior does not reflect that order of the kingdom of God, if there is a contradiction in your life, then there is something wrong, the computer does not compute and you have to start telling yourself, have I really been regenerated by God? have I been…have I had a saving experience with Jesus Christ? because my life does not reflect that.

What the Bible says is that there is unity between being a child of God and behaving like a child of God, now what is the difference? Why then if behavior is important then why do they say it's grace that matters? It is because it is the order of things that sometimes causes confusion, and the relationship between one and the other, works are important, grace is important, but how fundamental is one or the other for salvation? that is what differs.

In the old system of law, you were saved by performing the rituals of the law, by fulfilling the requirements of the law, by keeping the Sabbath, by bringing a ram to be sacrificed as a propitiation of your sins, for going before a priest to make a shrew over you so that you could be forgiven, whatever. God said no more that, my son paid the price on the cross of Calvary, my son arrogated all the sin of humanity and now the only thing that the person has to do is believe in my son as his savior.

And the Bible says “....if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, what happens? You are saved....”

That is the role of faith in God's system, when you believe in the salvific role of Jesus Christ and you are saved, it is not because of what you did, because your behavior, for the tithes, for fasting twice like the Pharisee, no. What happens now? The foundation is Christ and the grace that God releases through Christ and the faith that you place in that system, but now that you are already a child of God, then now the fact that you are a child of God, wants to say that your new nature is going to be reflected by behaving in a way that reflects your nature.

That's why James says it's impossible to separate faith from works. It is not that James was contradicting the Apostle Paul as many have said, but James was adding a little nuance to this problem that we have had such a hard time solving. How is the identity of adopted children of God that we acquire through Jesus Christ and behavior and works related? I am going to put it this way, as I did this morning with the brothers.

Look at this flower, what is this flower called Meche? The sunflower, and I'm going to ask Diana because she's a fan of sunflowers. This is a sunflower, okay? This is a beautiful flower, you can see it here. Now that flower is a sunflower, why? Because if you analyze its genetic, biological or chemical composition, the genetic configuration of that flower is totally identical to all the other sunflowers in the universe, in the world. Its composition, its internal constitution makes it a sunflower.

Now, it's not its color, it's nothing, but it's what's written in the genetic code, in each gene that has that bush, okay? Now, since it's a sunflower, you know that since it's a sunflower it's pretty, it's yellow, look how pretty the texture is, different circles inside, different shades of color, look how beautiful those petals are, look at the harmony of their appearance, look at how beautiful the green leaves behind it are, its stem. These are all the works of that entity. Its nature is to be a sunflower, and its works are to adorn the world, bring enjoyment to the eyes when they look at it, pleasure, beauty, it has harmony, it has coherence, it has symmetry, it has texture, why? Because it's a sunflower. It's not a sunflower because it has those things. It has those things because it is a sunflower. That is the perfect combination of nature and behavior or appearance.

In other words, a child of God is a child of God because he has the constitution of Christ in his spiritual nature, because by accepting Jesus he has been made a child of God. He says that all those who believed in his name were given power over what? From being made children of God, spiritually we become children of God, but what happens? If you are a child of God then you have to bear fruit, have the appearance, behave, have the mentality of a child God.

There's no way this could be a sunflower walking around with two pincers walking like a crab walking on the ground. You are going to tell me: it is impossible a sunflower does not do that, a sunflower is like that, passive, beautiful yellow with brown and other things. You weren't expecting a lecture on sunflowers this morning, you see?

But what I mean is that the apostle James says: “Hey, if you are a child of God, you have to behave like a child of God, and if you are behaving like something else then it is not possible for you to be a child of God, because a child of God produces certain natural fruits of a child of God.”

An apple tree doesn't produce pears, right? And a pear tree does not produce apples, because each tree produces what? according to its nature. So that's why... that's where I solve the problem of whether Santiago contradicted Paul or what? No, there is no contradiction, the two things are perfectly linked.

Let me make a digression and go to the epistle of James so that you understand what the Apostle James says about this in chapter 2 of James, verse 14, as I am finishing, he says: “…brothers My friends, what is the use if someone says that they have faith and do not have works?..." He is asking a rhetorical question, because the answer is: it is not useful at all.

If someone says: no, I'm a Christian, I love the Lord, but lives like a pagan, what's the use? It just can't be. A pagan does not live like a Christian and a Christian does not live like a pagan because there are two different natures, each one bears fruit according to its nature.

Then Santiago says: “my brothers…” and I think he wrote this to correct that defect that when people heard the doctrine of grace, they fell in love and said Wow, tremendous, now I can forget about it behavior pleasing to God, because I am already a child of God saved by grace.

Be careful, right? “......My brothers, what good is it if someone says he has faith and does not have works? Will faith be able to save him?...." It seems a contradiction because we have said that the just shall live by faith, says the apostle Paul.

That's why listen to this saying. James is contradicting what the Apostle Paul said, right? “.....Faith can save him, he says. And if a brother or sister are naked and need daily maintenance and one of you says to them: "Go in peace, warm yourselves, be satisfied" but you do not give them the things that are necessary for the body, what does it profit? So faith also if it does not have works is dead in itself...”

In other words, a child of God, for example, is compassionate and merciful, and if he sees someone dying of Cold or hungry, your nature as a child of God will emit what? love, compassion, mercy, generosity, and his nature will lead him to share with that person.

And Santiago says, how can one say I am a child of God and see his brother starving and do not feel it in his heart? Because a child of God by nature feels compassion for his brother, go? Or feel other things. He is using only one example. Then faith also says so if it does not have works it is dead in itself.

"...someone will say: "you have faith and I have works, show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works......"

You're putting an example there, aren't you? There are people who will say: "well I am a specialist in faith" and others say: "no, I am a specialist in works", there he says: "ah well, let's compare notes, you are an expert in works and I in faith ”. Santiago says that it is not like that, you have to have faith and have works, the two things go together.

Now your work is not what makes you a child of God, but your faith but if you have faith, works will inevitably come with your faith. Do you understand the comparison? So when someone says to you over there: “oh, there is a contradiction in the Bible…” no, there is no contradiction, what there is is complexity, what there is is the richness of the word of God.

“.....You believe that God is one, you do well, the demons also believe and tremble.......,”

In other words, there are many people who say I believe in God and Santiago says: "yes, you know that even democrats believe in God, they know that God exists, they know that God is real and they are afraid of God but they do not change their behavior" or many Sometimes they say: “oh yes, I believe in God, I have… but hey, where is it…, that's why people… I don't need to go to church because I believe in God, in this and that, but where? Are the works of a person who believes in God? Look, if you believe that God exists, that has a number of incredible ethical, moral, and behavioral consequences.

A person who knows that God exists out there, that is to totally change his life. A person cannot recognize that God exists and live as if that were just another piece of information in the world, that is revolutionary.

Then there must be consequences, ".....man wants to know more, says Paul, James that faith without works is dead...." Verse 24, look over there, says: " …you see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone…”

Again what he is saying is not that one is justified or saved by works alone but that he is faith first and works later, the two things go together. No one can simply say: well I am saved by faith and I no longer have to worry about the type of life that I live. Rather, there has to be a nuance between the two things, do you understand me, brothers? Very good, okay?

I hope that… and that's what I want to establish here. Now again, look at how wonderful God is, that even in that expectation that he has that we behave according to his commandments, he has assigned something called the Holy Spirit that I am going to talk about.

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian? You know that the Holy Spirit is your helper, the Holy Spirit is the paracletos, he is the one who stands next to you to help you, so that you can fulfill the law of God, even for that God provided help. The Holy Spirit is there to strengthen you, to advise you, to guide you towards all truth, to pick you up when you fall, to warn you when you are walking on a path of danger, all these things, that is, even in the expectation that you are going to behave As a Christian, God says: I am going to help you even in that. Because you are not alone, you have the paracletos to help you fulfill the law of God.

I'm going to ask the musicians to come over here immediately.

So brothers, this afternoon I want to leave you in mind that complex system that God has devised. He sent his son Jesus Christ for us to put our faith in him. God said: "...this my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him....".

And once you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you immediately enter into peace with God. Your belief in Jesus releases grace from the unlimited bank account of the Father and all your debts, all your fines are immediately paid, and then God tells you: now my son, my daughter, we are going to walk together and we are going to go the way of life, you and me and when you fail, although I do not want you to fail, I have made provision even for that, I am going to lift you up, I am going to strengthen you, the devil could not accuse you because if you repent and fix I will always cover your life and when the devil comes to tell me: look what he did, I'm going to tell him: we settled accounts with him, you can't accuse him anymore. The Bible says whoever will accuse God's chosen ones, he is the one who justifies.

So there is a beautiful system that God has established, it is not for us to leave here overwhelmed but quite the opposite, encouraged.

God wants your behavior so that you are happy, not so that you live an unhappy life. When we stray from God's ways, then suffering begins because we stray from his protection and the devil then has the legal right to say: look at that, he is carelessly violating your law, I have the right to demand that you let me touch him and there comes the suffering of the human race.

As children of God we have to bear fruits of repentance, fruits of justice, because we are justified and the Holy Spirit (please brothers, if you are so kind) if the Holy Spirit is in your life, that goes to make sure that you can get your life right with God.

Brothers, you do not have to live anxiously, you do not have to live wondering if you are going to be saved or not, God has made things very simple, God wants you to pass the exam and he is committed to you for walk. God is very simple, we have made it very complicated and we resist this system that he has put in place so that we can have peace with him.

I would like us to put our heads down for a little while now , and I want to invite anyone who is here, who has a pending fine and who knows there are accounts to settle with God and has not done so yet, and hardly sleeps because he knows that there are bills to pay and that the interest is going up and has not settled accounts with God. And God says, you know what? Remember this system that I have established, very simple, if you register under my system all your fines... my Son has already paid them. We are going to cancel all your debts as long as you stay within the program and make an adequate effort, I am going to be with you, you do not have to live in anxiety, I am going to protect you from the devil's attacks and I am going to protect you from his accusations and I am going to help you so that every day you are a little better, a little better and more like my Son. But you have to go into the system and you have to type your name into the system and register.

So I want to ask if there is anyone this afternoon who still hasn't made their peace with God and wants to register in the system that God has established and I want to invite you to raise your hand to pray for you before to leave here. I want to ask if there is anyone who wants to give their life to Jesus this afternoon and receive him as their Lord and as their savior and say to Christ: pay my debt and I want to register in your new system.

God bless that brother who raises his hand there, is there anyone else who recognizes that they need to get even with God and wants to receive that forgiveness from God? Here are two hands raised in front of me, praise the Lord.

Is there anyone else who wants us to pray for you this afternoon? And what do you say: you know that I want to, I'm tired of paying fines myself, and I want to enter God's new system, will there be someone else? And I want from here on out to do everything possible… God bless those two men back there too, with the help of God's Holy Spirit to walk as God wants me to walk, anyone else?

May I ask those brothers and sisters to come by for a moment please? Come here, we're going to take a picture of you so you can enter the new system, okay?

That is all, says the Lord Jesus Christ, whoever confesses me before men I will confess before my Father who is in heaven. There are no clandestine Christians, there are no secret clandestines, Christianity is to be lived publicly. So I want us to pray for these beautiful lives that are here ahead and if someone else wants to come here, there is still time, go ahead and enroll in this system of salvation by grace that God has opened.

He says, “......come and let us reckon and your sins were red as scarlet they will become white as white wool, says the Lord, I will forgive all your debts.... No matter how great they are, there is more than enough grace in God's system.

Will there be someone else who wants to come right now to receive forgiveness for their sins, receive grace that will run all the days of your life? Remember that, if you offend the Lord from now on, you have a lawyer with Christ Jesus, you should not offend him, but if you fall for any reason, appeal to your lawyer. There is a lawyer who will be with you 24 hours a day and you never have to come before your God in fear because the Lord is committed to you until the end of the world. Glory to the Lord.

If you want to come and pray for one of these brethren, put your... stand behind them, welcome to do that, just stand there and bless him in Jesus' name. Stand up if you want and extend your hand towards him or her and accompany him in what they are doing so important, which is when a life says: I know that by myself I cannot save myself, but Christ has already paid the debt and I can be comfortable now because he saved my soul from the perdition of hell.

So, confess there in your heart, say: Lord, I acknowledge that I have sinned, I have sinned against heaven and against you, and I ask you now to forgive my debts, erase all past offenses with blood of your Son, cleanse me, and enter my heart, I renounce sin. I renounce offensive behavior in front of you, and I promise to please and obey you and if I offend you I know that in Christ Jesus I will have salvation and forgiveness of my sins until the last day of my life I will depend on you Lord Jesus, thank you.

Receive me into your kingdom and enter my heart and make me yours in Jesus name. Thank you Lord, amen, amen.

I bless you in the name of Jesus, your debts are canceled brothers, the blood of Christ cleanses you from all sin, now to walk as children of God, to walk as children of God and to enter into a relationship of growth and transformation until the last of your days, we bless you in the name of the Lord.

If you want to stay there for a little while, do it, don't worry, stay there and let the Lord shower you with his grace and make you feel truly that you have reached where you need to go. Hallelujah, we give glory to the Lord, give a big round of applause to the Lord Jesus Christ.