Ron Dunn Podcast - The Source of Growth - God's Side

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

We have an assurance of success in our Christian lives. Our growth and maturity are not dependant on ourselves.

Now would you open your Bibles to the book of 1 Corinthians 15. I'm going to read verses 9 and 10. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 9 and 10. This is another instance where the Apostle Paul can't help but slip in his own personal testimony. He was never able to divorce theology from doxology. He was never really able to talk about all that God had done in Christ Jesus without giving a good illustration of it in himself. And so in this 15th chapter where he is speaking about the resurrection of Christ, where he

is trying to put down some heresy that was in this church, Paul just can't help but giving a personal testimony. He says, For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God." Paul was never able to forget that. Occasionally someone will come to me and be a little disturbed in their Christian life because they have been unable to forget sins that they committed before they were saved or before they found forgiveness. This has disturbed them because they felt like once God had forgiven that they could just forget it and it would never again come to their mind. Yet over and over again as you read the letters of Paul, he makes reference to the fact that he persecuted the church.

Paul never got away from that. Paul never forgot that. He was constantly aware, even though after being saved all these years, even though God had forgotten it, God has the ability to forget as well as forgive. And he says, I will remember your sins against you no more. Yet Paul could not forget, even after all these years of being an apostle, he could not forget. And constantly makes reference to him, reference to it, because it was something he deeply regretted. But in a way it was good he could not forget because it kept him in constant awe of the grace of God. He said, I am the least of the apostles.

I'm not fit to even be called an apostle because I've persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am and his grace toward me did not prove vain, but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. By the grace of what I am. Success stories are always interesting. We're always wanting to know what makes great people great. I remember as a young boy I bought a great many books and subscribed to several correspondence courses and things because they would advertise something like this, learn the secrets of the prose.

And I always wanted to learn the secrets of the prose. Even after I was saved and God called me to preach, I wanted to learn the secret, you know, of the pros. And one of my favorite readings was reading the biographies of men that I considered to be great in the Lord. I wanted to know what made them great. I'm not beyond that yet. I bought a book not long ago. It was a book about a little profiles of certain preachers and it says what What made them great? I'm still not beyond that. I don't suppose I ever will But I'm always interested in what makes a man great. What is the secret of his life?

Because you see it is obvious that some men are greater than others. It's obvious that some are more successful than others. Even in the Christian realm, it is obvious that there are those who are more holy than we. There are those who have the ability to serve God with a greater capacity than we have. And we often look at those people with a longing saying, I wonder, I wonder what their secret is.

What is it that they do that I don't do? What is it that they know that I do not know? Shortly after I began preaching when I was just a teenager, I greatly admired my pastor and I thought to myself, I wish I could just follow him around for one day just to see what makes him great. I would hazard the statement that the Apostle Paul was a pro. I suppose next to the Lord Jesus Christ more has been said about him than any other Christian.

And here is a man who accomplished more, he says, even though I was the least of the apostles, and you could say he was the least and also the latest. After everybody else had been chosen, he was chosen. Even as he said, an apostle born out of due time, he was the least, he was the latest, he wasn't even fit. But notice what he says, yet he said, I labored more abundantly than them all. Even though I was the least, even though I was unworthy, even though I was a

Johnny-come-lately, I accomplished more than all of them. Now that sounds immediately like he's boasting, and he is, but he's not boasting about himself. I'd like to know what was the secret of Paul's success. What made him great? And he says right here in this 10th verse, it's a tremendous statement. He says, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And to prove what the grace of God can do, just look.

I was the least, I was the worst, and yet I labored more than all of them. But it wasn't I. He's boasting, but he's not boasting about himself. He said, it wasn't I that did it, but it was the grace of God with me. He's boasting, but he's boasting about the grace of God. And so here is the secret of Paul's success. By the grace of God, I am what I am. Paul says, whatever I've accomplished,

whatever I've become, it's by the grace of God. Now, he is not referring simply to his conversion. He doesn't say, I was saved by the grace of God. He was, but that's not what he's saying. He is saying, I am right now, present tense, after years and years of living, ministering, a mature spiritual man, if there ever was one. If salvation ever reached its goal in a man, it reached its goal in the apostle Paul. And he's not referring to the initial act of salvation. He's not saying I was saved back yonder on the road to Damascus by the grace of God.

He's saying more than that. He's saying what I am, what I have become, I have become by the grace of God. Whatever I am, it's by the grace of God. We've been talking a great deal lately about this matter of Christian growth and maturity. It is the embarrassment of the Christian church today that so many, so many remain babes in Christ. And so many are carnal because they never experience Christian growth, never go on to maturity. I say that that is probably the number one problem in Christianity today is the fact

that Christians are dwarfs, that Christians have stunted growth and they have never realized and are not realizing the potential that God has for them. Well how is a person to grow? What is the secret of growth? What is it that causes us to grow and mature? And the apostle Paul says it's simply this, by the grace of God I am what I am. It is the grace of God that causes a man to grow. The source of all Christian growth and all Christian maturity and all Christian success is found right here by the grace of God. It's not only the grace of God that saves us initially and brings us into the family of God, but it is the grace of God that constantly works in our lives to mature us and to bring us into a

Christ-like character and a Christ-like life. And Paul's secret of success is very simple. He says, by the grace of God I am what I am. The source of all growth and development in the Christian life, the source of it, is the grace of God. Now grace is one of those threadbare words in the Christian's vocabulary. It's one of those words that has hung in the sun of our attention so long it's been faded and has lost all of its color.

And most of us, when we hear the word grace, we say, sure, I know what grace is. Grace is what God, caused God to give Jesus to die on the cross, and grace is what brought me to Jesus, and I was saved by grace. And that's where we stop, and that is what grace is. But if that is your view of grace, you have emaciated a dwarf, a one-dimensional view of grace. Grace is much more, much more than just

God's kindly attitude towards us. Grace is God's undeserved favor acting in our behalf. Grace is not simply an attitude that God has towards us. Grace is an activity that God has towards us. Grace is an activity that God does in us. The grace of God is God's love in action. God's love acting in our life. God working in our life.

God doing us a favor. It's God's favor. The word grace means favor. It's God doing us a favor. It's God's favor. The word grace means favor. It's God doing us a favor. When God sent his son to die on the cross, he did us a favor. When God put into my heart the desire to be saved, he was doing me a favor. When God brought me to Jesus and after I received him he saved me, God was doing me a favor. I didn't deserve it, I didn't earn it, God did me a favor. And God is continually, continually doing us a favor. It is His grace that not only saves us,

it is His grace that keeps us saved and makes us sufficient for every need that we encounter. You see the epistle of Peter in chapter four, verse 10, speaks of the manifold grace of God. The manifold grace of God. The word manifold means various kinds of grace. And so you see there's more than just one kind of grace. There's saving grace, but that's just one kind. There are many different kinds of grace. There's not only saving grace, but there's sustaining grace,

grace that makes us strong. Paul had his thorn in the flesh and he prayed three times that the Lord would remove it. God's answer was this in 2 Corinthians 12, nine. My grace is sufficient for thee. Paul, I realize you're going through a hard time. I realize that you have a real problem. But he said, I've got something better

than removing the problem. I've got grace for you. And more valuable and more precious than removing the problem is I will give you more grace so that you'll be able to bear it. There is sustaining and strengthening grace. There is grace that makes us sufficient for every need that we have in our life.

In 2 Corinthians chapter nine and verse eight, the Bible says God is able to make, notice this, all grace abound towards us that we always having all sufficiency in all things might abound to every good work. You see, there are different kinds of grace. Let me read some references here to the enabling grace that God gives us.

You see, you and I cannot even serve God except by His grace. It is God's grace that enables us to serve God. Paul says in Romans chapter 12 and verse three, for through the grace given to me, I say to every man, and he goes on to make a statement. Now what is Paul saying? Paul is saying, God gives me grace to speak to you.

I could not even speak to you and preach to you if God did not give me enabling grace. In Romans 15, 15, he says that God gave him grace and speak to you and preach to you if God did not give me enabling grace. In Romans 15, 15, he says that God gave him grace to become a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. In Ephesians chapter three and verse two, he says there was given to him a stewardship of grace.

In Ephesians chapter three and verse seven, he tells what that gift of grace was. He said it was to become a minister to the Gentiles. Over and over again, the Bible continually says that there is such a thing as enabling grace, grace that God continues to give us to enable us to do all that He wants us to do and to become all that he wants us to become.

Many different kinds of grace. So, I am saved by grace. Initially, I know that I'm saved by grace. What now? How do I progress in the Christian life? How do I overcome these temptations? How do I gain strength? How am I made able to serve and to witness and to pray and understand this book?

The same way you were saved in the first place. I've made this statement a number of times. Everything you receive in the Christian life you receive by grace through faith. Have you ever heard me say that? Has it dug itself into your heart where you understand that? Everything you receive in the Christian life, everything you receive by grace, through faith, grace means God does it all.

Faith means I simply receive what God provides. God's favor to us, God's favor to us is extended and God does for me what I cannot do for myself. You see, there are two things that men need in living the right kind of life. You go out on the streets, whether a man is saved or not, he may be subject to some habit, he may be a slave to alcohol,

a man may want to live a better life. There are two things that are essential that every man needs. One is motivation. A fellow has to have motivation. He must have a desire to live a better life. That fellow who is enslaved by some habit before he can ever be helped,

there must first of all be the desire to be free from that habit. You can't help anybody that doesn't want to be helped. And the one thing that men need first of all is motivation, desire. You can't help a marriage if that marriage doesn't want to be helped. You can't bring a husband and wife back together if one of them doesn't have the motivation and the desire to come together. The second thing that man needs is not only motivation, not only desire, they need the power to carry out that desire.

You know what one of the most frustrating things in our earth is? I think today in our country we have had enough problems and we have seen enough and we have been disillusioned enough now that there is spark within us, a desire for change, a motivation to become again an honest nation. But you know what is frustrating? We have the desire but not the power. And I promise you something, I promise you failure. Because it's not enough to have the desire, it's not enough to have the motivation, there must be with it the power, the power

to carry out that desire. The Apostle Paul stated this so clearly in Romans chapter 7 when he said, I have the will but not the power to do what is right. He said, I want to do what is right, but how to do it? He said, I just don't know. Now the grace of God provides both of these things. The grace of God provides both these things. It provides the motivation, it provides the desire, and it provides the power to carry out that desire. Let me illustrate it like this. When a person is lost, there is nothing in him

that is spiritually alive. There is nothing in him that responds to God. This is why the Bible says he is dead spiritually, spiritually dead. Now the old theologians used to have, used to hear this phrase a lot, you don't hear it much anymore, but what they call preventant grace. It is grace that comes to a man before he is saved.

It is the grace of God that comes to a man while he's lost and begins to arouse in his heart a desire to be saved. You see, Jesus says, you've not chosen me, I've chosen you. Charles Haddon Spurgeon used to say, I'm glad that God chose me because if it had been left up to me, I would never have chosen him. Paul says in Romans chapter three,

there is none that seek after God. there is none that seeketh after God. There is none that seeketh after God. And yet you do find people seeking after God. Watch the answer. Well, man left to himself in and of himself, there is nothing there that would cause him to seek after God. But God in his grace, in his love, in his mercy

comes to a man and he arouses in that man a desire to be saved. He makes that man dissatisfied with what he is. He begins to convict that man of his sin and convince him that he needs Jesus. He puts the desire in his heart to become a better man. He puts a desire in his heart to be saved. Listen, I hear people say, man, I can be saved anytime I want to.

Oh no, you can. Oh no, you can. You can only be saved when God, by his grace, puts the desire in your heart to be saved. If the desire is not there, you are a dead man if you're lost. You are dead spiritually. There is not anything at all in you

that can respond to God. The grace of God gives us the desire. And then when that desire has been aroused and we say, all right, I will surrender to this wanting. I will surrender to what I know I ought to be. At that moment then the grace of God gives you the ability to be saved. Gives you the power to become a child of God.

John chapter one says, but as many as received him to them gave he the power, the ability to become the children of God. Now, that's the way it was in the initial act of salvation and folks, that's the way it is in growing as a Christian. Let me share with you a passage of scripture. Philippians chapter two, verse 12. Paul says, so then, my beloved,

just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Now, let me stop here for a moment. That doesn't say work for your salvation. That says work out your salvation. The word work out means to cultivate,

to bring it to its finished product. Just like working out a garden. You can't work out a garden unless you have a garden. You can't work out salvation unless you have salvation. Paul is not saying here, work for your salvation. He's saying now that you have salvation, you work it out. You've cultivated. You let it become mature with fear and trembling.

Now if he'd stopped right there, all of us would have said, okay, it's up to me. Lord, you saved me. Now I need to work out this salvation, make it work, and make it grow, and make it become fruitful, and make it everything you want it to be. And so Lord, I hope I can handle it.

I'll do my best. If that's where Paul had stopped, it would have been a despairing command. But notice in verse 13, Paul says, for it is God who is at work in you, now get this, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. What's Paul saying?

He's saying now you've been saved, you are saved. Now he says you need to work that salvation. That salvation needs to be cultivated. It's the word that is used of a sculpture, of taking a slab of marble and carving out of it the finished product. He says, now you take the salvation and you bring it to its finished product.

You become all that God saved you to become. And he said, listen, you need to know this, that while you're working, it's really God who's working in you. It's not left up to you. It is God who is doing it, and he does it on two levels. God worketh in you to will.

That means, first of all, he gives you the will to grow. He gives you the desire to grow, and then God works in you to will and to work. He has good pleasure. God gives us the desire, and then he does in you to will and to work. He is good pleasure. God gives us the desire and then He does it for us. That's grace. That's grace. It is extremely important that a Christian understand

that God is the author of all Christian growth and progress. All growth comes from God. And the source and the secret of our growing in the Lord and becoming mature believers is the grace of God. Now, there are three relationships that you and I must have to the grace of God if the grace of God is to do its work in us. By the way, did you know that you can receive

the grace of God in vain? Did you know that you can nullify the grace of God? The Bible says that. So if the grace of God is to do its work in bringing us to growth, there must be three things in our relationship to it. I'm going to talk about one this morning and the other two tonight.

First, the grace of God causes our growth and maturity when we recognize that it is by grace that we grow. The first thing is we must recognize that it is by grace. You say, but why, that's just beside the point. That's just simple. That's obvious. Why make such a deal of that? Paul was careful to make it clear

that it was the grace of God. He recognized and acknowledged the grace of God. He said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. He said, I have accomplished more. I have worked harder than all the other apostles put together. But he said, it wasn't I. It was the grace of God working with me. Paul's first motive was to make it clear to the people to whom he was writing that his growth, his development was a result

of the grace of God operating in his heart. Why is it so essential that we recognize the grace of God? That it's God who does it, not we ourselves. First of all, it will save us from struggling in the energy of the flesh. It will save us a lot of wasted effort in trying to make ourselves grow. We do not make ourselves grow, and sometimes a Christian will do this,

he'll say, all right, I know I need to grow, now I'm gonna grow, I'm gonna work as hard as I can, I'm going to make all of these vows and all of these resolutions, I'm going to do my best, I'm going to grow. And he works and he works and exhausts himself and there's no growth and he becomes frustrated. And if you and I can come to understand

that the only growth that you and I ever have in our Christian life is a gift from God, it is not because we have done certain things. It is not because we have done certain things. It is not because we have done more than this person. It is not because we have redoubled our effort. It is because God has done us a favor, and God has so worked in our heart, He has grown us.

All growth comes from God. And you see this so clearly in this passage we've been looking at lately, 1 Corinthians chapter three, where Paul again and again says, one man plants, another man waters, but it is God that gives the increase. It is God that gives the increase. A plant grows naturally as it responds to its nourishment.

It doesn't grow by itself. You can't just stick a plant out there or a tree out in the ground, and that tree say, all right, I am determined to grow, and I'm going to grow. It'll die. But that tree must be nourished with water, with sunlight, with the soil.

And you know how a tree grows? Growth, now careful, listen, is the effortless natural response to nourishment. And the nourishment that you and I receive for our growth is the grace of God. God's activity, God working in my life, what is my part? To respond to that.

But it's by the grace of God that I grow. And if I get the idea that it's by my own effort and by my own accomplishments and by my working harder and redoubling my efforts that I grow, we will do what Paul says we can do in Galatians 2.21. We will nullify the grace of God. You see, Paul was writing to people in Galatia who thought that, well, it's good to start out

in the Spirit, but you have to make yourself mature by the flesh, Galatians 3. You started out in the Spirit, man, you're right, God saved me, but now it's up to me, you know, to do it all. He says, if you do that, you will nullify the grace of God. Why is it?

All of us as Christians receive grace. The Bible says we're under grace, we're heirs of grace. Then why don't all Christians grow? Because some are nullifying the grace of God that comes into their life because they don't understand. They think it's by self effort and doing my best and working as hard as I can, and they measure their growth by how many scriptures they learn.

They measure their growth by how much time they pray. They measure their growth by how much service they render. Now, those things are good and necessary, but I've known Christians who can pray, who can read the Bible, who can serve, serve, serve, and they never grow. They never grow, why, and they never grow. They never grow. Why?

Because they fail to recognize that growth is a gift from God. It'll save you from struggling in the energy of the flesh. All right? The second thing, it's important for us to know that it's by the grace of God that we grow because this will give us assurance of success. I don't know about you, but I need assurance of success. And I don't have that in a lot of things, but I do have it in one thing.

I do have it in my Christian life. Now I want to tell you something. You say, now, you don't understand, you don't realize how important what I'm saying to you right now is. Most of us become discouraged and disillusioned and begin to condemn ourselves and put ourselves down and throw up our hands in resignation and say, well, I'll never make it because it looks

like we're making some progress and all of a sudden we have a big setback. All of a sudden the old enemy catches up with us. All of a sudden we fail. And man, it just throws us into the valley of depression and despair. And I tell you something, if growth and maturity in my Christian life depended upon me, I have a right to be discouraged. But if I come to realize that it is by the grace of God that I grow, then my failures and my setbacks

won't discourage me. You see, since I grow by the grace of God, my strength is no help. And since I grow by the grace of God, my weakness is no hindrance. None whatsoever. This is what Paul is saying. He's saying, listen, I was the least of the apostles.

I wasn't fit to be called an apostle. I came along after everybody else. I persecuted the church of God. I was, of all men on the earth, I was the least fit to be an apostle. But I want to tell you something. Can you imagine this? He say, I was down in the cellar.

I was the last one on the totem pole. I was the worst. I was the least. But I want to tell you something, folks, I have done more than all of them put together. And he says, and listen, it wasn't me, it was the grace of God. It was the grace of God. If you would be honest, I could ask you this morning,

how many of you have been discouraged this week because of a setback, a failure? Man, you thought you were sailing. You thought you had it made. You thought you had it all together. And then wham. You lose your temper, do things you thought you'd never do again. You just fail.

The old devil comes and says, see, you're not one of the chosen. You're saved all right, but you'll never make it. But I want you to know something, if I recognize that it's by the grace of God that I am what I am, then it gives me assurance. And I can get my eyes off of my failure, I can get my eyes off of my defeat, I can get my eyes off my setback and not be discouraged by it, get my eyes on the grace of God and

say, Lord, I thank you that my growth and my progress and my power in the Christian life doesn't come from what I am or what I do, but it comes as a gift from you just like salvation did. I couldn't save myself, it's the grace of God, and I cannot make myself grow and keep myself mature. It's the grace of God. It'll give you assurance of success. There's a third reason why we need to understand

it's the grace of God. It'll keep you from comparing yourselves to other people. Now I want to tell you something. Growth is a sovereign work of God. Growth is a sovereign work of God. God does the work in me according, the Bible says, to his pleasure. You remember that passage in Philippians 2?

He says, for God both works in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Hebrews 13, 21, or 28 says that God is working in us that which is well pleasing to him, not which is well pleasing to me. And you know what happens? We grow differently. Some of us grow faster than others.

Some of us grow in different areas than others. And we'll begin to compare ourselves with this fellow. Man, he, look, man, how fast he's grown. And I haven't grown that fast. I guess I'd better work harder or something's wrong. We become jealous, we become discouraged. We're comparing ourselves to other people. Why haven't we made that progress?

I confess to you, when I was 30 years old, 34 years old, I'd see other fellas 25, 26. Man, they'd be so far advanced, they'd be so far ahead of me, I could just barely see their smoke. Now I'd wonder what in the world, Lord, what did I do wrong? Where did I miss it? Where'd they go to school?

What degrees do they have? What are they doing that I'm not doing? You know, it's really discouraging. I tell you, it really is. It's really discouraging to be 37, nearly 38 years old and see a 20-year-old kid just leaving you behind in the Christian life and ministry. And I say, Lord, I wish, and God says, son, you're right on time. Right on time. Growth is sovereign. Growth is sovereign. We sometimes wish we had what this man had or wish we could accomplish what he's accomplished or wish we had the ability of this man or wish we were as far along as this man. No. D.L.

Moody some years ago was in Milwaukee for a three-day preaching mission. A fellow asked him, said, Mr. Moody, do you have enough grace to be burned at the stake? Mr. Moody said, no, I don't. He said, well, do you wish you had? He said, no, I don't. He said, right now, I need just enough grace to help me stay in Milwaukee for three days and preach the gospel. God gives you grace that is sufficient. That is sufficient. My Lord has never said that he would give another's grace without another's thorn. But what does it matter since every day of mine sufficient grace comes to me with the morn. And though the future may bring some heavier cross, I need not plow the present with my fears.

For I know that the grace that is enough today will be sufficient still through the years. God gives me just what I need today. God gives me just what is sufficient today. Growth is sovereign. Growth is sovereign. And so that keeps me from looking and measuring myself by everyone else. Just keep my eyes on the Lord and say, Lord, I see this fellow over here making seemingly much more progress than I am,

but Lord, it's simply because of your grace that pleases you. Lord, you have me in this position that pleases you. All growth comes from God. One man plants other-man waters, but it's God that gives the increase. Growth is sovereign. Now, there are two other things that we mentioned very quickly and hurriedly. Another reason it's so important for us to recognize it's the grace of God that causes us to grow is it will keep men in their proper place, And it will keep the instruments that God uses in their proper place. Do you read me?

The trouble with the church at Corinth was one man said, I'm of Paul. Another man said, I am of Apollos. Another man said, I'm of Cephas. Paul says, the man that plants and the man that waters, he is nothing. It is God that gives the increase. And if we understand that growth comes from God,

we will appreciate the men that God gives us. We will appreciate the study of the Bible. We will appreciate service. We will appreciate prayer, but we will keep them in their proper place, knowing that these things do not bring growth. It is God using these things that brings growth. And so, we don't give all the glory and the credit

to the man, or to how many hours I spend in Bible study, or to how much I have worked and served the Lord. We give all the glory and the credit for God, and that's the last thing I mentioned. It's so important for us to recognize that we grow by the grace of God. By the grace of God, I am what I am. And this gives God all the glory.

Gives God all the glory. No matter what Paul had accomplished, no matter that he had labored more abundantly than everybody else, he couldn't take any credit. He said, listen, it was the grace of God working with me. By the grace of God, I am what I am. I think that's why I love that song that John Newton wrote. I'll tell you if there was ever a fellow need to be saved, it was John Newton. You know the story of his life. A drunk, a lascivious man, slave trader on the ship. This man, this devil was saved. And he never lost the wonder and the awe of it. He never lost the wonder and the awe of it. I guess that's why one of our favorite songs is Amazing Grace.

How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. You see what you and I need more than anything else today is grace. Grace to be saved. Grace to go on with God after we are saved. And if you've never been saved There's no spiritual life in you And you recognize the fact But there is a desire I want to

To come to Jesus to be saved to have your sins forgiven that's the grace of God and The grace of God will enable you this morning to be saved. You just respond to it. Respond to the desire that God has placed in your heart. And say, I want to be saved. I will. I will receive Christ as my Lord and my Savior. And you've come right here to the front. There'll be others that God will speak to about decisions that you need to make.