YOU'RE HIS RESPONSIBILITY

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: A Grace Preacher
2. Why the First Covenant Could Never Save
3. Jesus Established the New Covenant
4. Why Righteousness Cannot Come Through Law
5. The Jerusalem Council and the Burden of Moses
6. The Theme: "We Shall Be Like Him"
7. Stop Striving
8. God Equips His Children
9. God Produces What Pleases Him
10. Cooperating with the Holy Spirit
11. A Personal Testimony of Marriage and Grace
12. Hearing the Voice of the Holy Spirit
13. Seeing Christ Like a Mirror
14. Transformation Through Believing
15. Expecting Heaven's Kingdom on Earth
16. We Shall Be Like Him
17. Your Identity in Christ
18. Closing Prayer

Introduction: A Grace Preacher

Leonard Rola begins the message following an extended time of worship and thanksgiving. Before introducing the sermon itself, he acknowledges that if the Holy Spirit desires to interrupt the service, He has every right to do so. This establishes the tone for the entire teaching: dependence upon the Holy Spirit rather than dependence upon human plans or religious structure.

Leonard then immediately identifies himself as a grace preacher. He carefully distinguishes his ministry from what he describes as a mixture of law and grace. Rather than teaching a balance between the Old Covenant Law and the New Covenant of Grace, he declares that his message is centered entirely upon God's grace through Jesus Christ.

He also explains that he is still growing in his own understanding of grace. Although God has revealed much to him, he says every time he believes he has fully grasped the subject, the Lord reveals even more. Grace, according to Leonard, continually unfolds deeper truths as believers grow in Christ. He emphasizes that biblical teaching must always be supported by Scripture. Personal opinions are insufficient. If something is truly scriptural, it should be demonstrated from the Bible itself. This principle becomes the foundation for the remainder of the sermon, as nearly every major point is supported with passages from Scripture.

Why the First Covenant Could Never Save

After introducing the message, Leonard transitions directly into the subject of the Old Covenant, explaining that understanding why God established the New Covenant begins with understanding the weakness of the first covenant. He opens Hebrews chapter 8 and encourages everyone present, as well as those watching online, to follow along in their Bibles because the foundation of faith must always come from Scripture rather than personal opinion.

Leonard points his listeners to one of the most significant statements found in Hebrews regarding the Law.

Hebrews 8:7–8- "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

He pauses over the wording of this passage and asks the congregation a question. If Scripture says, "If the first covenant had been faultless," then what conclusion should readers draw? His audience responds that it clearly means the first covenant was not faultless.

However, Leonard immediately clarifies something he considers extremely important. The problem was not that God's Law itself was evil or defective. The problem was the people. According to Leonard, Hebrews clearly states that God found fault with "them"—the people—not with His own perfect standard. Humanity could not simply keep every requirement of the covenant God had given through Moses.

He explains that after Israel entered into the covenant at Mount Sinai, God already knew they would never succeed in perfectly obeying it. Even though the people willingly agreed to keep everything He commanded, God understood that sinful humanity could never consistently live up to His perfect standard. Because of mankind's inability, God established the sacrificial system.

Leonard explains that God essentially provided Israel with another provision because He knew they would continually fail. Through the sacrifices of bulls and goats, Israel's sins could be covered temporarily so that God could continue blessing His covenant people.

Yet even this provision proved insufficient.

The sacrificial system could cover sin for a season, but it could never permanently remove sin or permanently perfect the worshiper. Humanity continued failing under the Law. According to Leonard, this is precisely why God Himself had to intervene by sending Jesus Christ. Instead of depending upon repeated animal sacrifices, God provided His own perfect sacrifice once and for all. To demonstrate this truth, Leonard turns to Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10:14- "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Leonard emphasizes the phrase "one offering." Unlike the continual sacrifices under the Law, Jesus offered Himself only once. That single sacrifice accomplished what centuries of animal sacrifices never could accomplish—it perfected forever those who belong to Him. For Leonard, this verse becomes one of the foundational truths of the New Covenant. Believers are not being perfected through repeated religious efforts or continual sacrifices. They have already been perfected forever because of the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He then moves immediately to another verse from the same chapter.

Hebrews 10:9- "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."

Leonard explains that Jesus willingly accepted the Father's plan of redemption.

The Father sent the Son. The Son willingly embraced the Father's will. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled that mission. According to Leonard, Hebrews plainly declares that Jesus "taketh away the first" covenant to establish the second. In other words, the New Covenant of Grace did not merely supplement the covenant of Law. It replaced it. This becomes a major emphasis throughout the sermon.

Leonard argues that many Christians continue attempting to live under principles of the Old Covenant while simultaneously claiming the promises of the New Covenant. In his view, this mixture produces confusion, guilt, and continual striving because people attempt to earn what God freely provides through grace. He tells the congregation that many believers still do not understand the New Covenant. Instead of resting in Christ's finished work, they continue trying to please God by performing works of the Law. According to Leonard, this approach can never succeed because Scripture consistently teaches that righteousness cannot be earned through human effort.

This truth prepares the way for the next section of the sermon, where Leonard turns to the writings of the Apostle Paul to show that if righteousness could come through obedience to the Law, then Christ's death would have been unnecessary.

Jesus Established the New Covenant

Having shown that the first covenant was never capable of producing righteousness because of mankind's inability to keep it, Leonard directs the congregation's attention to Jesus Christ. He explains that God did not merely improve the Old Covenant or add additional commandments to it. Instead, God established an entirely new covenant through the finished work of His Son. This New Covenant would accomplish what the Old Covenant never could—provide permanent righteousness through one perfect sacrifice rather than continual human effort.

Leonard reminds the congregation that after Israel repeatedly failed under the Law, God Himself intervened. The sacrificial system had temporarily covered sin, but it could never permanently remove it. Animal sacrifices had to be offered continually because they were only shadows pointing to the true sacrifice still to come. According to Leonard, that true sacrifice was Jesus Christ. God did not leave humanity to continue struggling under a covenant they could never fulfill. Instead, He sent His own Son to become the perfect and final sacrifice for sin. Through Jesus, God accomplished what no amount of human obedience or repeated sacrifices could ever accomplish.
To support this point, Leonard first refers to Hebrews 10:14.

Hebrews 10:14- "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Leonard emphasizes several expressions found within this verse. First, he points to the phrase "one offering." Unlike the priests under the Old Covenant, who continually offered sacrifices year after year, Jesus offered Himself only once. There would never be a need for another sacrifice because His offering completely fulfilled God's requirement for sin. Second, Leonard highlights the words "perfected for ever."

He explains that believers are not gradually becoming acceptable to God through religious effort. Instead, according to this verse, Christ's one sacrifice has already perfected those who have been sanctified forever. Their acceptance before God rests entirely upon what Jesus accomplished rather than upon their own performance.

For Leonard, this verse summarizes the superiority of the New Covenant. Where the Law continually exposed failure, Christ's sacrifice permanently secured righteousness for all who believe. Leonard then continues into the next key passage.

Hebrews 10:9- "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."

Leonard explains that these words describe Jesus willingly embracing the Father's plan of redemption. The Father sent the Son. The Son willingly accepted the Father's will. Through His obedience, Jesus fulfilled everything necessary to establish God's New Covenant with humanity. Leonard stresses that Hebrews does not say Jesus merely added to the first covenant or revised it. Instead, Scripture plainly declares that "He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." According to Leonard, this means the covenant of Law was set aside so that the covenant of Grace could take its place. The New Covenant is not an extension of the Old Covenant—it is its replacement.

Leonard believes this truth is often misunderstood in the modern church. Many believers, he says, continue trying to please God through principles belonging to the Old Covenant while also claiming the promises of the New Covenant. They attempt to combine grace with law, believing that although salvation comes through Jesus, maintaining God's favor depends upon their own religious performance. According to Leonard, this mixture produces continual frustration because believers never experience the freedom that Christ purchased for them. Instead of resting in Jesus' finished work, they remain occupied with trying to earn God's approval through works of righteousness. He explains that the purpose of the New Covenant is entirely different.

Rather than calling believers to establish their own righteousness, it reveals the righteousness that God freely provides through Jesus Christ. Instead of continually striving to become acceptable before God, Christians are invited to trust in the One who has already accomplished everything necessary for their acceptance. This shift—from human effort to Christ's finished work—forms the foundation upon which the remainder of the sermon is built.

Leonard concludes this portion of the message by observing that many Christians still have not fully understood the covenant of grace. They sincerely desire to please God, yet they continue attempting to do so by works of the Law. He argues that Scripture consistently teaches that righteousness has never been attainable through human effort. This prepares the congregation for his next major point, where he turns to the Apostle Paul to demonstrate that if righteousness could come through the Law, then Christ's death would have been unnecessary.

Having established that Jesus instituted the New Covenant, Leonard now turns to one of the Apostle Paul's clearest explanations of why the Law can never produce righteousness. He explains that while many Christians regularly quote Galatians 2:20, they often overlook the very next verse. In Leonard's view, Galatians 2:21 is one of the most powerful verses in Scripture because it explains why every attempt to earn God's acceptance through religious performance ultimately diminishes the work of Christ.

Leonard begins by reminding the congregation of the familiar passage.

Galatians 2:20- "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

He acknowledges that this verse is one of the most frequently quoted passages from Paul's writings. Christians rejoice in the truth that their old life has been crucified with Christ and that Christ now lives within them. It beautifully describes the believer's union with Jesus and the new life that comes through faith. However, Leonard says the next verse deserves just as much attention because it explains the foundation upon which that new life rests.

He then reads Galatians 2:21.

Galatians 2:21- "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

Leonard pauses over Paul's words and expands their meaning for the congregation. He explains that Paul is speaking about every aspect of a believer's standing before God:

• Right standing with God.
• Justification.
• Peace with God.
• Acceptance before God.
• Righteousness itself.

According to Leonard, Paul makes an unmistakable declaration. If any of these things could be obtained through keeping the Law or performing religious works, then Jesus Christ died for no reason.

Leonard calls this an "awesome verse" because of the weight of what it says. Christ's death was necessary because righteousness could never be earned through human effort. If mankind could have achieved righteousness by obeying the Law, the cross would have been unnecessary. He emphasizes that this is not merely Paul's opinion; it is the logical conclusion of the Gospel. Either righteousness comes through Jesus Christ… or it comes through the Law. There is no middle position. Attempting to combine the two actually undermines the grace of God because it suggests that Christ's sacrifice was insufficient by itself.

Leonard explains that many sincere believers unknowingly fall into this way of thinking. They trust Christ for salvation but then spend the rest of their Christian lives attempting to maintain God's approval through their own performance. They believe that although grace saves them, their daily acceptance before God depends largely upon their own obedience and effort. According to Leonard, Paul completely rejects this idea. Christ's finished work is sufficient from beginning to end.

Leonard then broadens the discussion by explaining that this conflict between grace and law did not originate in modern churches. It was one of the earliest doctrinal battles faced by the apostles. He recalls how, after Paul preached the Gospel and Gentiles believed in Jesus Christ, other teachers would frequently arrive insisting that those new believers still needed to observe the Law of Moses. With a smile, Leonard refers to these individuals as "the law dogs." By this expression, he means those who continually followed behind Paul attempting to persuade Christians that faith in Christ alone was not enough and that obedience to Moses remained necessary.

Although the term is humorous, Leonard uses it to illustrate how persistent legalistic teaching can be. According to him, the same pattern continues in many churches today. He explains that these teachers were willing to acknowledge Jesus Christ, but they insisted that believers must also remain zealous for the Law of Moses. In Leonard's words, their message sounded something like this: "Believe in Jesus Christ… but also keep the Law."

This mixture, he argues, was exactly what the Apostle Paul spent much of his ministry confronting. The Gospel that Paul preached proclaimed salvation and righteousness entirely through Christ, while the Judaizers continually attempted to add the requirements of the Law back onto the Gospel. Leonard believes the same tension still exists today whenever religious teaching places greater emphasis upon what believers must do than upon what Christ has already done.

To demonstrate that this controversy was settled by the apostles themselves, Leonard next turns to Acts chapter 15, where the apostles and elders gathered in Jerusalem to decide whether Gentile believers should be required to keep the Law of Moses. He explains that this council provides one of the clearest biblical answers to the relationship between law and grace and becomes the next major focus of the sermon.

Why Righteousness Cannot Come Through Law

The Jerusalem Council and the Burden of the Law

Leonard now turns to one of the most important events in the history of the early Church—the Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts chapter 15. He explains that the struggle between law and grace was not something invented centuries later. It was a controversy that arose almost immediately after the Gospel began spreading among the Gentiles.

After the Apostle Paul preached the good news of Jesus Christ and people believed, another group often arrived shortly afterward. Leonard humorously refers to them as the "law dogs." These individuals accepted Jesus as the Messiah but insisted that faith in Christ alone was insufficient. They believed Gentile converts must also obey the Law of Moses. According to Leonard, this was one of the greatest doctrinal battles of the apostolic church, and he believes the same battle continues in many churches today. To demonstrate this, Leonard reads directly from Acts.

Acts 15:5–11- "But there rose certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God chose among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us. And put no difference between them and us, purifying their hearts by faith.

Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they."

Leonard first draws attention to who was making this demand. These were not unbelievers attacking Christianity. Scripture says they were believers from the sect of the Pharisees. They had believed in Jesus, yet they continued clinging to the Law of Moses and wanted every Gentile convert to do the same.

For Leonard, this demonstrates that a person can sincerely believe in Jesus while still failing to understand the New Covenant of Grace. Religious traditions and legalistic thinking can remain deeply rooted even after conversion if believers do not renew their understanding through God's Word. He points out that the apostles and elders gathered specifically to resolve this issue. Then, with a smile, Leonard comments that although the apostles settled the matter nearly two thousand years ago, many churches still have not.

He remarks that the issue remains unresolved throughout much of Christianity because countless believers continue hearing messages centered on religious obligation rather than the finished work of Christ. He adds that, at least within their own church, they believe this question has been settled through the understanding of God's grace. Leonard then focuses on Peter's testimony before the council.

Peter reminds everyone that God had previously chosen him to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, referring to the events surrounding Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. Peter explains that God Himself demonstrated His acceptance of the Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit exactly as He had given the Spirit to Jewish believers.

According to Leonard, this is an incredibly important observation. God did not require the Gentiles to first become followers of Moses. He did not require circumcision. He did not require observance of the ceremonial Law. Instead, God accepted them immediately through faith in Jesus Christ and confirmed that acceptance by giving them the Holy Spirit.

Leonard emphasizes that Peter plainly says God "put no difference" between Jew and Gentile because He purified their hearts through faith. For Leonard, this is one of the clearest biblical demonstrations that faith—not works—is the basis of acceptance before God. Leonard becomes especially excited when Peter asks what he considers one of the most powerful questions in the New Testament.

Peter asks: "Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" Leonard pauses to let those words sink in.

Peter openly admits that neither he nor the generations before him had been able to successfully bear the burden of the Law. If Israel itself could never keep it, why should anyone expect Gentile believers to succeed? According to Leonard, Peter's statement destroys the idea that Christians should now attempt to accomplish through their own efforts what generations of God's covenant people could never accomplish.

He then highlights Peter's conclusion. We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved." Leonard calls attention to the simplicity of Peter's answer. The apostles did not conclude that salvation came partly through grace and partly through obedience. They did not establish a blended covenant.

Instead, Peter declared that everyone—Jew and Gentile alike—is saved through the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Leonard presents this as the apostolic resolution to the law-versus-grace debate. Applying the passage to the modern church, Leonard observes that the same pattern still appears today. Whenever believers continually hear statements such as:
"You need to…"
"You must…"
"You have to…"
"It is your responsibility…"

their attention gradually shifts away from Jesus Christ and back toward themselves. According to Leonard, this is the same formula that failed under the Old Covenant. It did not produce righteousness then. It cannot produce righteousness now. Instead, he encourages believers to focus on what Christ has already accomplished.

Because of Jesus:
-Now we are.
-Now we can.
-Now we have.

Those three statements summarize the New Covenant from Leonard's perspective. Under grace, the believer's identity, ability, and inheritance all flow from Christ rather than from personal effort. This thought naturally leads into the heart of the sermon, where Leonard introduces the central theme: "We Shall Be Like Him."

After establishing that believers are no longer under the covenant of Law but under the covenant of Grace, Leonard introduces the central theme of his message. He explains that the Lord recently impressed this truth upon his heart, and it became the title of the sermon:

"We Shall Be Like Him."

Then, almost immediately, he acknowledges the question many believers might ask. "Wait a minute…aren't we already like Him?" Leonard smiles at the apparent contradiction.

He says that although the title speaks of becoming like Christ, the reality is that believers are already like Him because of what Jesus has accomplished through the New Covenant. The remainder of the sermon is devoted to helping Christians understand what that actually means and how that truth transforms everyday living.

Leonard explains that under the covenant of Grace, God's desire is not for believers to spend their lives trying harder to become acceptable to Him. Instead, God wants His children to recognize who they already are because of Jesus Christ. According to Leonard, many Christians live as though spiritual maturity depends upon continually striving to become something God says they already are. The Gospel of Grace reverses that thinking. Rather than working to earn identity, believers live from the identity Christ has already given them. He then introduces the first practical application flowing from this truth.

The Theme: %22We Shall Be Like Him%22

Stop Striving

Leonard says that the first thing God wants believers to do under the New Covenant is surprisingly simple:
Stop striving.

He begins speaking personally, reflecting upon many years of his own Christian life. He remembers desperately wanting to love God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength.

He sincerely wanted to please God.
He sincerely wanted to live a holy life.
He sincerely wanted to perform what he believed were works of righteousness.

Yet despite all of his effort, he continually failed. Every failure brought another cycle of guilt. Another cycle of shame. Another cycle of condemnation. He describes repeatedly going to the altar, crying before God, repenting, promising to do better, and making fresh commitments to try harder. Each time he believed he would finally succeed. Yet each time the cycle repeated itself because his confidence remained centered on his own effort instead of God's grace.

Leonard then recalls the Scripture that completely changed his perspective. He again refers back to Paul's words in Galatians.

Galatians 2:21- "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

He admits that for much of his Christian life he simply did not understand this verse. Once he finally grasped its meaning, everything began changing. If righteousness cannot be achieved through human effort… If God's acceptance cannot be earned through religious performance… Then continually striving to become righteous is actually the wrong approach altogether.

Instead of producing freedom, striving continually produces frustration because it asks human effort to accomplish something that only Jesus Christ could accomplish. Leonard says that understanding this verse was both liberating and deeply humbling. It shifted his focus away from himself and back toward Christ.

From there, Leonard introduces another passage that he believes beautifully describes God's role in the believer's life. He explains that this is not a prayer directed toward one individual but toward an entire group of believers. He then reads from Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:20–21- "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Leonard focuses first on the opening promise. "Make you perfect in every good work to do his will." He asks the congregation to notice who is doing the work.

God is the One equipping.
God is the One preparing.
God is the One supplying everything necessary for believers to accomplish His will.

According to Leonard, this completely changes the way Christians should think about spiritual growth. Instead of attempting to equip themselves through endless striving, they are invited to trust the God who has already committed Himself to equipping them. Leonard contrasts this with many messages believers often hear.

They are told:

"You need to make yourself usable." "You need to prepare yourself." "You need to become qualified." According to Leonard, this language reflects the mindset of the Law rather than the mindset of Grace. Grace begins with God's action rather than man's effort.

God equips.
God empowers.
God prepares.

Believers respond by trusting Him rather than attempting to manufacture righteousness through their own strength. He then points to another phrase in Hebrews 13:21 that deeply impacted him. The verse says that God is: "…working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ…"

Leonard pauses over this statement.

If Scripture says that God Himself is producing what is pleasing in His sight, then pleasing God is ultimately God's work within the believer rather than the believer's independent achievement. He asks the congregation to consider the implication. Why has religion so often turned this into something Christians believe they must accomplish themselves?

According to Leonard, Hebrews says exactly the opposite. God Himself produces what pleases Him. And He does so through Jesus Christ. Leonard concludes this portion of the sermon by emphasizing that this understanding removes an enormous burden from the believer's shoulders.

God is equipping.
God is producing.
God is working.
God is accomplishing His purposes through His children. Because of that, believers can stop striving and begin resting in the flawless grace of the New Covenant.

For Leonard, this is one of the greatest freedoms the Gospel offers—a life no longer driven by fear, guilt, or relentless effort, but by confidence in the God who has accepted full responsibility for completing the work He began.

God Equips His Children for His Will

Having urged believers to stop striving, Leonard now shifts the focus from what Christians are trying to do for God to what God Himself is doing in and through His people. He explains that one of the greatest misunderstandings in Christianity is the belief that believers must somehow make themselves spiritually qualified before God can use them.

According to Leonard, the New Covenant teaches exactly the opposite. God does not wait for believers to become equipped. God is the One who equips them. This truth, he says, is one of the most freeing discoveries he has made while growing in the understanding of God's grace. Returning to Hebrews 13, Leonard carefully walks through the passage again.

Hebrews 13:20–21- "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Leonard pauses over the words "make you perfect in every good work." He explains that the verse does not command believers to perfect themselves. Instead, it declares that God Himself is making them complete and equipping them for every good work He has prepared for them. This is an entirely different way of viewing the Christian life. Rather than beginning with human effort, the New Covenant begins with God's initiative.

God supplies what is needed.
God prepares His people.
God enables His children to accomplish His purposes.

Leonard asks the congregation to consider the implications. If God is the One equipping believers for His will, then Christians do not need to exhaust themselves trying to become worthy of His use. Instead, they can trust that the same God who calls them also provides everything necessary for the calling He has placed upon their lives. This realization removes a tremendous burden. The Christian life is no longer about earning God's approval through performance but about trusting the One who faithfully provides everything required.

Leonard then points out another remarkable statement in the passage. The verse continues by saying that God is: "…working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ…" He emphasizes these words carefully.

God is working.
God is producing.
God is accomplishing.

Everything pleasing to Him originates with Him and is accomplished through Jesus Christ. According to Leonard, this completely overturns the religious mindset that says believers must somehow manufacture spiritual fruit through determination and discipline alone. He asks a simple question. "If God is producing everything that pleases Him, why has religion made pleasing God into something we believe we have to accomplish by ourselves?"

For Leonard, this question exposes the difference between law and grace. Law says: "You must produce."
Grace says: "God produces."
Law emphasizes human responsibility. Grace emphasizes God's ability.

Leonard believes many Christians continue living under unnecessary pressure because they have unknowingly adopted a law-based mindset while believing they are living under grace. He also highlights the phrase "through Jesus Christ." Everything God accomplishes in the believer's life comes through Christ. It is not accomplished independently of Jesus. It is not accomplished through self-improvement. It is not accomplished through religious striving. Rather, Jesus Himself is the means through which God performs His work within every believer.

Leonard explains that once Christians understand this truth, the focus shifts away from personal performance and back toward dependence upon Christ. Leonard then references another passage that reinforces the same principle.

Romans 8:11- "But if the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

Although speaking from memory, Leonard points to the incredible reality that the very power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead now lives within every believer. This is not merely symbolic language. According to Leonard, God's resurrection power actually dwells inside His children through the Holy Spirit.

Because that same power lives within them, believers do not need to depend upon their own strength to live lives pleasing to God. The power already resides within them. God Himself has supplied everything necessary. Leonard reflects personally on what this understanding has meant in his own life. For years he carried the weight of believing that spiritual success depended primarily upon his own effort. Now he sees something entirely different.

God is equipping him.
God is producing in him.
God is leading him.
God is transforming him.

As he says repeatedly throughout this section of the sermon, it is God's work. It is grace. According to Leonard, this realization removes guilt, lifts condemnation, and frees believers from the exhausting cycle of constantly trying to earn what Christ has already secured.

He concludes this section by declaring that this is precisely why the New Covenant of Grace is "faultless and flawless." It succeeds because it depends upon God's faithfulness rather than man's ability.

God Produces What Pleases Him

Continuing from Hebrews 13, Leonard focuses on what he considers one of the most liberating truths in the New Covenant. After explaining that God equips believers for every good work, he directs the congregation's attention to the next part of the passage. Rather than placing the responsibility for spiritual growth upon the believer, Scripture declares that God Himself produces within His children everything that pleases Him.

According to Leonard, this truth completely changes the way Christians should think about the Christian life. Instead of constantly asking, "What must I do to please God?" believers can begin asking, "What is God producing in me through His grace?" Leonard again returns to the passage in Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:20–21- "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

He asks the congregation to notice one particular statement: "…working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight…"

Leonard pauses and reflects on the significance of those words. God is the One doing the work. God is the One producing. God is the One creating within believers everything that pleases Him. According to Leonard, this does not sound like a responsibility placed upon the believer. Instead, it sounds like a promise concerning what God Himself has committed to accomplish. He then asks a thought-provoking question. "If God is the One producing what pleases Him, why has religion turned pleasing God into something we think we have to accomplish ourselves?"

Leonard believes this question exposes one of the greatest differences between law and grace. The mindset of law teaches people that they must perform well enough to earn God's approval. The mindset of grace teaches that God's approval flows from Christ, and God Himself works within believers to produce the very life that pleases Him.

According to Leonard, much of the guilt, frustration, and condemnation experienced by Christians comes from confusing these two covenants. He points out that there is another phrase in the verse that should not be overlooked. Scripture says that God accomplishes this work: "…through Jesus Christ…"

Leonard emphasizes that God's work within believers is never independent of Christ. Jesus is not merely the One who saved believers in the past. He is the continual source through whom God is actively producing transformation in the present.

Everything that pleases God is accomplished through Jesus Christ working within His people, not through believers attempting to manufacture righteousness on their own. To help the congregation appreciate the practical impact of this truth, Leonard reflects on how much pressure it removes from the Christian life. For many years, he believed that living a life pleasing to God depended primarily upon his own discipline, determination, and religious commitment.

Under that mindset, every failure produced guilt. Every shortcoming produced condemnation. Every mistake made him feel that he needed to try harder the next time. But Hebrews presents a completely different picture.

God is equipping.
God is producing.
God is working.
God is accomplishing His purposes within the believer.

Recognizing this reality lifts an enormous burden from the shoulders of those who trust Christ. Leonard summarizes this section by declaring that everything he has been describing is the very essence of God's grace. Grace does not ask believers to perfect themselves. Grace reveals a God who perfects His people. Grace does not command believers to produce righteousness through effort. Grace reveals a God who produces righteousness through the power of Jesus Christ. This is why Leonard repeatedly describes the New Covenant as "faultless and flawless."

Unlike the covenant of Law, which depended upon man's ability to perform, the covenant of Grace depends upon God's faithfulness to complete the work He has begun. Because the responsibility ultimately rests with God, believers are free to trust Him rather than continually striving to accomplish in their own strength what only He can produce.

Cooperate with the Holy Spirit

After explaining that believers no longer need to strive because God Himself equips and produces everything necessary for His will, Leonard introduces the second practical principle for living under the New Covenant of Grace. He summarizes it in a single sentence:

"Cooperate with the Holy Spirit."

According to Leonard, if believers stop striving, they are not becoming passive or inactive. Rather, they begin learning how to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit instead of relying upon their own strength. Grace does not eliminate obedience; it changes the source from which obedience flows. Instead of obedience being produced through self-effort, it is produced through the work of God within the believer. Leonard first points to Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8:14- "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

He explains that one of the defining characteristics of God's children is that they are led by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is fully capable of leading believers.

The Spirit is fully capable of guiding them.
The Spirit is fully capable of revealing truth.
The Spirit is fully capable of empowering them.
The Spirit is fully capable of carrying them through every circumstance.

According to Leonard, Christians often assume they must figure everything out on their own when, in reality, God has already placed His own Spirit within them to direct every step of their lives. To reinforce this truth, Leonard turns to another passage from Paul's writings.

Philippians 1:6- "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
Leonard emphasizes Paul's confidence. Paul does not merely hope that God will continue His work. He says he is completely certain. Leonard echoes that confidence for the congregation. He repeats that he, too, is certain.

God began the work.
God continues the work.
God finishes the work.

According to Leonard, every phrase in the verse places the responsibility upon God rather than upon human effort. God is the One who initiated salvation. God is the One who continues transforming believers. God is the One who will faithfully complete what He started. This truth becomes another pillar supporting the sermon's central theme that believers are God's responsibility. Leonard observes that throughout these passages, one consistent pattern emerges.

God equips.
God produces.
God begins.
God continues.
God completes.

He smiles as he points out that the emphasis keeps returning to "God, God, God" rather than "me, me, me." He insists that he is not manipulating Scripture to fit his theology. Rather, he is simply allowing the repeated testimony of God's Word to speak for itself. According to Leonard, the Bible continually directs believers away from confidence in themselves and toward complete confidence in God's ability to accomplish His purposes through them. He then introduces another verse that further develops this idea.

Ephesians 2:10- "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Leonard focuses on the phrase "His workmanship." Some translations use the word "masterpiece," and Leonard adopts that language while explaining the verse. He tells the congregation that believers are God's masterpiece. They are not self-made Christians. They are God's creation in Christ Jesus. Even the good works they perform have already been prepared by God beforehand. According to Leonard, this means Christians are not inventing God's will for their lives through personal effort. Instead, God has already prepared those works, and believers simply walk in what He has already established.

Leonard explains that cooperating with the Holy Spirit means learning to recognize and respond to His leading rather than attempting to force spiritual growth through determination alone. To illustrate this principle, he begins sharing a deeply personal testimony from his own marriage.

For approximately thirty years, he was determined to become the husband he believed God wanted him to be.

He attended numerous conferences.
He completed relationship courses.
He studied books on marriage.
He listened to motivational speakers.
He learned personality systems and communication techniques.

Everything he did had one goal: To become a better husband through his own effort. Despite all of that education and determination, the result was not what he expected. According to Leonard, after thirty years, he and Lori had reached the point where divorce seemed possible. His continual striving had not produced the transformation he longed for. Instead, it had left him frustrated and exhausted. This personal testimony becomes the foundation for one of the sermon's most powerful illustrations of the difference between law and grace.

After explaining that believers cooperate with the Holy Spirit rather than strive through self-effort, Leonard illustrates this principle with one of the most personal examples in the sermon—his own marriage. Rather than presenting a theological argument alone, he shares how understanding God's grace transformed an area of his life where decades of personal effort had failed.

According to Leonard, this testimony demonstrates the practical difference between living under law and living under grace. Leonard explains that for approximately thirty years he was determined to become the husband he believed he should be. He sincerely wanted to love his wife well. He sincerely wanted to become a better husband. To accomplish that goal, he pursued every resource he could find. He attended numerous marriage seminars. He completed relationship courses. He studied books about marriage. He listened to well-known motivational speakers. He learned personality systems such as DISC. He invested enormous amounts of time trying to improve himself. Everything he did was motivated by a desire to become a better husband through his own effort.

Leonard specifically mentions several examples of the resources he pursued. He recalls taking courses such as Man in Demand and Man of Velvet, Man of Steel. He remembers studying the popular relationship book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. He listened to speakers such as Florence Littauer, who taught personality differences, and Dr. Robert Rohm, known for teaching the DISC personality profile. Looking back, Leonard remarks that he had studied nearly everything available on relationships. He had tried every method he could find.

His goal was always the same:

To make himself into a better husband. Yet despite all of those efforts, the results were heartbreaking. Instead of producing a thriving marriage, years of striving eventually brought their relationship to the point where divorce seemed possible. Leonard shares this honestly with the congregation.

All of the education…
All of the seminars…
All of the techniques…
All of the determination… had not produced the lasting transformation he desperately desired.

For Leonard, this became another example of how human effort, even when sincere, cannot produce what only God's grace can accomplish. Then everything changed. Leonard explains that he began discovering the truth about God's grace. He started learning who he truly was in Christ. He began understanding God's design under the New Covenant. Most importantly, he stopped concentrating on trying to manufacture love through discipline and instead focused on how completely God loved him. According to Leonard, this became the turning point. As he meditated upon God's love toward him, something unexpected happened. His love for God began growing naturally. It was no longer something produced by commandment or obligation. It became the spontaneous response of a heart overwhelmed by God's grace.

Leonard explains that this new understanding also transformed his marriage. The love he experienced from God overflowed into his relationship with Lori. Instead of trying to love her through determination and self-effort, he simply allowed Jesus and the Holy Spirit to work through him. According to Leonard, the transformation was so complete that it reminded him of the words from the familiar love song: "I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow." He uses the song humorously to illustrate how their love continued growing naturally rather than being forced through human effort.

Leonard then shares several lighthearted examples from everyday married life. He tells the congregation that he genuinely enjoys accompanying Lori while she shops for shoes, dresses, and clothes. He happily sits outside the dressing room while she tries on outfit after outfit, encouraging her each time she comes out. Even when she decides she does not like something he thinks looks beautiful, he remains content simply being with her.

The joy is no longer found in accomplishing a task or proving himself. It is found in enjoying the relationship itself. Continuing with humor, Leonard tells the congregation that during the previous six months Lori had probably purchased around twenty-five pairs of shoes. He immediately adds that she had also returned about twenty-five pairs. The congregation laughs as Leonard explains that none of this bothers him. If she wants to shop for more shoes, he is happy to go. If she wants to return them, he is happy to go. His delight is not centered on the shopping itself but on spending time with his wife.

For Leonard, this serves as a practical illustration of the love that God's grace has produced within him. He concludes the testimony by sharing another simple example. While he was watching FIFA World Cup soccer matches, Lori sat beside him—not because she particularly loved soccer, but because she wanted to be with him.

Leonard describes how much he enjoyed simply sharing that time. These ordinary moments, he explains, are evidence of a relationship transformed not by decades of striving but by the work of God's grace. According to Leonard, this is what happens when believers stop trying to produce spiritual fruit through self-effort and instead allow the Holy Spirit to produce that fruit through the love of Christ working within them.

A Personal Testimony of Marriage and Grace

Hearing and Responding to the Voice of the Holy Spirit

After illustrating the transforming power of God's grace through his own marriage, Leonard returns to the practical question that naturally follows. If believers are no longer striving under the Law… If God is the One equipping… If God is the One producing what pleases Him… Then how do Christians actually cooperate with the Holy Spirit?

Leonard answers that the process is both simple and deeply practical. Cooperation with the Holy Spirit begins by recognizing His promptings and choosing to respond to them. Grace is not passive. Grace invites believers into partnership with what God is already doing within them. Leonard explains that every believer experiences moments when a thought suddenly comes into his or her mind.

Using his marriage again as an illustration, he contrasts how he used to think with how he now experiences the leading of the Holy Spirit. Before understanding grace, certain thoughts simply never occurred to him. He jokes about household chores, remembering that the only time he had ever attempted laundry was while he was in college. Laughing, he recalls putting every piece of clothing—every color—into the washing machine together. When the clothes came out, everything had changed colors, leaving him with what he humorously describes as a collection of "psychedelic clothing." The congregation laughs as Leonard uses the story to show that domestic responsibilities were never naturally on his mind. He then contrasts that former way of thinking with what began happening after he embraced God's grace.

Now, he says, thoughts unexpectedly come into his mind such as: "Cook dinner for your wife." "Clean the house for your wife." According to Leonard, these thoughts are different. They are not attempts to earn God's approval. They are promptings from the Holy Spirit. The difference is not merely the action itself but the source from which the action originates.

Leonard explains that when one of those promptings comes, the believer has a choice. He can ignore it. Or he can simply respond: "Yes, Holy Spirit."

According to Leonard, something significant happens at that moment of surrender. The instant the believer agrees with the Holy Spirit's leading, God's grace is released. The power of Jesus Christ is released. What follows is no longer merely human effort. Instead, it becomes the work of God flowing through a yielded believer.

For Leonard, this is the practical difference between works performed under the Law and works produced by grace. The outward action may appear similar, but the source is completely different. One originates from self-effort. The other originates from the Holy Spirit. Leonard pauses and asks the congregation whether this makes sense. He wants to be certain they understand that he is not discouraging good works.

Rather, he is distinguishing between works produced independently through human striving and works that flow from responding to the Holy Spirit. According to Leonard, only the latter truly reflects the New Covenant of Grace. He broadens the illustration beyond marriage and household responsibilities. Believers often experience promptings to pray for someone.

Sometimes they feel impressed to help a stranger. Sometimes they sense they should carry another person's groceries. Other times they may notice someone stranded with a flat tire and feel prompted to stop and assist. Leonard explains that these moments happen continually in the Christian life. The Holy Spirit speaks in practical, everyday ways.

The question is whether believers will recognize His voice and cooperate with it. He then alludes to Jesus' teaching that His sheep know His voice. According to Leonard, this is one of the primary ways grace operates in daily life.

God speaks.
His children hear.
His children respond.
When they say "yes" to His leading, God Himself takes over.

The believer is no longer attempting to manufacture spiritual fruit. Instead, the Holy Spirit empowers the very action He initiated. Leonard describes this as allowing grace to work rather than attempting to replace grace with human effort. To reinforce this point, Leonard shares another personal experience involving his friend Barry Bennett.

He describes Barry as a gifted preacher and teacher whose ministry has helped many people experience freedom and healing through the power of God's Word. Leonard recalls attending a healing seminar where Barry had just finished delivering what Leonard considered one of the finest messages he had ever heard. After Barry stepped off the platform, Leonard greeted him warmly and asked a memorable question:

"Who preached that message—was it you or was it Jesus?" Barry immediately answered: "Jesus."

For Leonard, that brief exchange perfectly illustrates the principle he has been teaching. A believer can minister through personal effort, or a believer can yield to the Holy Spirit and allow Jesus to minister through him. The outward activity may look identical, but the source makes all the difference. According to Leonard, cooperating with the Holy Spirit means allowing Christ to express His life through believers rather than attempting to accomplish God's work through human strength alone. Leonard concludes this section by summarizing the progression of his message so far.

First:
Stop striving.

Second:
Cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

These are the first two practical responses to understanding the New Covenant of Grace. Having established these principles, Leonard introduces the third major truth that believers must embrace if they are to experience continual transformation: They must learn to see and believe what God says about them in Christ.

Having explained that believers are to stop striving and instead cooperate with the Holy Spirit, Leonard introduces the third principle for living under the New Covenant of Grace:
See and believe.
According to Leonard, transformation does not begin with trying harder. It begins by seeing what God says is already true through Jesus Christ. As believers continually behold Christ and believe their identity in Him, the Holy Spirit performs the transforming work. This, Leonard explains, is God's method under grace. To support this truth, Leonard turns to Paul's words in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 3:18- "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Leonard immediately pauses over the opening words of the verse. "So all of us who have had that veil removed…" He explains that to properly understand this verse, believers must understand what Paul means by "the veil." According to Leonard, the veil being discussed in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 is the veil associated with the reading of the Law of Moses. When the Law is read apart from Christ, there is a veil that prevents people from seeing the fullness of God's revelation. Under the New Covenant, however, that veil has been removed. Believers are now able to look directly upon the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

Leonard encourages the congregation to read the entire third chapter of 2 Corinthians for themselves, noting that Paul's discussion centers on the contrast between the ministry of the Law and the ministry of the Spirit. With the veil removed, Christians no longer relate to God through the old covenant of commandments but through the revelation of Christ. Because of this, they are free to behold His glory without anything standing between them and Him.

Leonard then focuses on the phrase: "…beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord…" He explains that many translations describe this as looking into a mirror. For Leonard, the mirror represents God's Word. When believers open the Scriptures, they are not merely reading information. They are looking into a mirror that reveals Jesus Christ. But more than that, Leonard says they are also seeing the new creation God has made them to be in Christ.

The mirror does not simply reveal who Jesus is. It reveals who believers have become because of their union with Him. He tells the congregation that every time they look into this spiritual mirror, they should see glory. They should see Christ. They should also recognize that His righteousness, holiness, and acceptance before the Father now define their own standing before God. According to Leonard, this is one of the greatest truths of the New Covenant. The believer's identity is no longer determined by past failures or present performance. It is determined by Christ Himself.

Leonard then returns to the final portion of Paul's statement. "…are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." He asks another important question. Who is doing the changing? His answer is immediate:

The Holy Spirit.

According to Leonard, believers often assume that transformation depends primarily upon their own discipline and effort. Paul teaches something very different. The Holy Spirit is the One who performs the transformation. The believer's responsibility is not to manufacture change but to continue beholding Christ and believing what God says is true. As believers continually look at Christ through the mirror of God's Word, the Holy Spirit changes them from one degree of glory to another.

Leonard next emphasizes the importance of believing what Scripture declares about the believer's identity. He reminds the congregation that throughout Paul's letters, Christians are repeatedly called saints. He notes that Paul uses this description approximately forty times. According to Leonard, believers should not dismiss those descriptions as mere theological language. Instead, they should believe them. If God calls His people holy, they should believe they are holy. If God calls them saints, they should believe they are saints. The mirror of God's Word reveals God's verdict concerning His children, and believers are called to agree with what they see.

Leonard continues listing several truths that believers should learn to believe whenever they encounter them in Scripture. When God's Word says they have been perfected, they should believe it. When God's Word says Christ became sin so they could become the righteousness of God, they should believe it. When God's Word declares that Jesus was delivered for their offenses and raised again for their justification, they should believe it.

According to Leonard, spiritual transformation begins when believers stop measuring themselves by their failures and begin agreeing with God's declaration concerning who they are in Christ. He then refers to two additional passages that reinforce this truth.

Romans 5:1- "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"

Leonard reminds the congregation that peace with God is not earned through works but comes through justification by faith. Believers should believe this declaration whenever they read it. Likewise, he points to another promise.

Romans 8:30- "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

According to Leonard, believers should believe every part of God's declaration. If God says they are justified, they should believe they are justified. If God says they are glorified, they should believe they are glorified. Faith agrees with what God says, even when feelings or circumstances seem to suggest otherwise.

Leonard summarizes this entire principle by returning to the mirror illustration. Believers look into God's Word. They see Christ. They see what God says about them because of Christ. They believe it. Then the Holy Spirit performs the transformation. According to Leonard, the order is crucial.

Transformation is not produced by striving until believers become like Christ. Transformation occurs as believers behold Christ, believe His finished work, and allow the Holy Spirit to conform them to the image they are already seeing in God's Word. He concludes this section by emphasizing that when believers "believe right" according to Jesus Christ—the true measure of the Christian life—they are changed into His image by the Holy Spirit, not by their own works or effort.

Seeing Christ Like a Mirror

Transformation Through Believing

Building upon the truth that believers are transformed by beholding Christ, Leonard explains that spiritual growth under the New Covenant is not achieved through greater effort but through greater faith in what God has already declared to be true. According to him, transformation is the natural result of believing God's Word concerning the believer's identity in Christ. As Christians continually see Jesus and agree with God's verdict about them, the Holy Spirit brings about genuine inward change. Leonard reminds the congregation that the order established in Scripture is extremely important.

First, believers look into the mirror of God's Word.
Second, they see Jesus Christ.
Third, they see themselves as God now sees them because of Christ.
Fourth, they believe what they see.

Only then does the Holy Spirit carry out the transforming work. According to Leonard, many Christians unknowingly reverse this process. They believe they must first become more Christlike through effort before they can see themselves as righteous, holy, or accepted by God. The New Covenant teaches exactly the opposite.

Believers first believe God's declaration. Then the Holy Spirit produces the transformation that corresponds with that belief. Returning once more to Paul's teaching, Leonard repeats the foundational passage for this principle.

2 Corinthians 3:18- "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Leonard emphasizes that believers are changed "by the Spirit of the Lord." He asks the congregation once again:
"Who's doing the changing?" His answer remains the same: The Holy Spirit.

The believer's responsibility is not to manufacture spiritual growth through discipline or religious performance. Rather, it is to continue looking at Christ, believing God's Word, and trusting the Holy Spirit to perform the work that only He can accomplish. Leonard explains that this understanding dramatically changes the Christian life.

Instead of constantly measuring themselves by failures, weaknesses, or shortcomings, believers begin measuring themselves by what God says about them in His Word. Whenever Scripture calls them holy, they believe it. Whenever Scripture calls them righteous, they believe it. Whenever Scripture says they are complete in Christ, they believe it.

According to Leonard, faith agrees with God's declaration rather than personal experience or emotion. The mirror of God's Word becomes the believer's true identity. He reminds the congregation of several truths that believers should continually embrace. If God's Word says they have been perfected through Christ, they should believe it. If God's Word says Christ became sin so they could become righteous, they should believe it. If God's Word says they have peace with God, they should believe it. If God's Word says they have been justified and glorified, they should believe it.

Leonard explains that transformation begins when believers stop arguing with God's verdict and begin agreeing with it by faith. To reinforce this point, Leonard again refers to Romans.

Romans 5:1- "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"

He explains that peace with God is not something believers are striving to obtain. It is already theirs because they have been justified through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, they should see themselves as people who already possess peace with God rather than continually wondering whether God accepts them. According to Leonard, believing this truth removes fear and condemnation from the Christian life. He then points to another passage that strengthens the believer's confidence.

Romans 8:30- "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
Leonard explains that every part of this verse reflects God's completed work.

God called.
God justified.
God glorified.

Believers are invited to believe God's declaration rather than continually questioning whether these things are true of them. According to Leonard, faith accepts God's verdict because it comes from God Himself. Leonard summarizes the principle by saying that believers should continually "see and believe."

They see Jesus.|
They see their identity in Him.
They believe what God's Word declares.
Then the Holy Spirit performs the transformation.

This is not positive thinking or self-confidence. It is confidence in the finished work of Jesus Christ and in the promises of God's Word. The Holy Spirit responds to faith by continually transforming believers from "glory to glory" into the image of Christ. He concludes this section by emphasizing that when believers "believe right" according to Jesus Christ—the standard of the New Covenant—they are no longer relying on works, determination, or religious striving to change themselves.

Instead, they are allowing the Holy Spirit to accomplish within them what only He can do. For Leonard, this is one of the defining characteristics of living under grace: transformation is the work of God, while faith is the believer's response.

After explaining that believers are transformed by seeing Christ and believing what God's Word declares about them, Leonard introduces the fourth and final practical principle of the message. He tells the congregation that believers should live with continual expectation.

In his words, they should:
"Believe something very special is about to take place."

According to Leonard, the Christian life is not meant to be lived with fear, discouragement, or merely enduring life until heaven. Instead, believers should expect God's kingdom, God's power, and God's activity to be manifested in their daily lives. Living under grace produces an attitude of confident expectation because believers know that God is actively working on their behalf. Leonard explains that this expectation is rooted in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples.

He reminds the congregation that Jesus did not simply teach them to pray for heaven someday. Rather, He instructed them to pray for heaven's reality to be experienced here and now. He then quotes the Lord's Prayer.

Matthew 6:9–10- "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."

Leonard pauses over the words: "Thy kingdom come." "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." According to him, these words reveal God's desire for believers to experience His kingdom while they are still living on earth. The prayer is not simply about a future destination. It is about God's rule, God's reign, and God's will becoming evident in the believer's everyday life.

Leonard explains that if God's will is perfectly accomplished in heaven, then believers should expect His will to increasingly be manifested on earth as well. Grace teaches Christians to look for God's activity. Instead of expecting defeat, they expect God's kingdom. Instead of expecting failure, they expect God's grace to work.

Instead of living under constant anxiety, they live with confidence that God is actively fulfilling His purposes. According to Leonard, believers should wake each day believing that God is about to do something significant because they belong to His kingdom. He then turns to another passage that explains why believers can have this confidence.

Colossians 1:12–13- "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:"

Leonard focuses on the fact that this is not describing a future event. According to the Apostle Paul, believers have already been delivered from the domain of darkness. They have already been transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. This is their present spiritual reality. Because of Jesus Christ, Christians no longer belong to the kingdom of darkness. Their true citizenship is already in God's kingdom.

Leonard explains that although believers continue living in this world physically, their identity and citizenship belong elsewhere. He tells the congregation that they are only temporary residents of this present world. Their real home is the kingdom of God. Because they belong to that kingdom, they can experience its realities even while living on earth. According to Leonard, Christians are not waiting to someday enter God's kingdom.

They are already citizens of that kingdom and should therefore expect to see God's rule and reign manifested in their lives now.\ Returning to his main point, Leonard again encourages believers to "believe something very special is about to take place." This expectation is not rooted in wishful thinking or human optimism. It is rooted in the promises of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ. Because believers have been transferred into Christ's kingdom, they can confidently expect God's grace to continue working in them, through them, and around them.

For Leonard, this attitude of expectation naturally flows from understanding the New Covenant.|
If God is equipping…
If God is producing…
If God is transforming…

Then believers should also expect God to continue revealing His kingdom in their everyday lives. This section prepares the way for Leonard's concluding teaching on 1 John 3:2, where he returns to the sermon's title, "We Shall Be Like Him," and explains what it means to continually see Christ and recognize the believer's identity in Him.

Expecting Heaven's Kingdom on Earth

We Shall Be Like Him

Having taught that believers are transformed by beholding Christ and living with the expectation of God's kingdom at work in their lives, Leonard returns to the central theme of the sermon.
The title is: "We Shall Be Like Him."

He explains that this statement is often misunderstood. Many Christians read it as referring only to a future event when Jesus returns. While Leonard acknowledges that believers will certainly experience complete glorification in the future, he believes the passage also has an important present-day application. According to Leonard, every time believers behold Jesus through the revelation of the New Covenant, they are reminded of who they already are in Him. As they continue looking to Christ, the Holy Spirit continually transforms them into the image they are beholding. To support this teaching, Leonard turns to John's first epistle.

1 John 3:2- "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

Leonard begins by emphasizing the opening words. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." He points out that John does not speak of believers becoming God's children sometime in the future. Their identity already exists. They are already God's children because of Jesus Christ. Everything that follows in the passage is built upon that present reality.

Leonard then addresses what he believes is a common interpretation of the verse. Many Christians read the passage as meaning that one day, when Jesus visibly returns, believers will finally become like Him because they will then see Him face to face. Leonard explains that while he is not denying Christ's future return or the believer's future glorification, he believes John is describing something believers can experience now when understood alongside Paul's teaching in 2 Corinthians chapter 3.

According to Leonard, these two passages complement one another. Both emphasize seeing Christ. Both emphasize transformation. Both point to the work of the Holy Spirit rather than human effort. Leonard reminds the congregation of what they previously studied in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 3:18- "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

He explains that when these two passages are read together, they reveal an important principle. Whenever believers see Jesus… Whenever they behold Him through the mirror of God's Word… Whenever they recognize His righteousness, holiness, and acceptance before the Father…

They are also seeing who they have become because of their union with Him. According to Leonard, believers should not merely admire Jesus from a distance. They should recognize that, because of the New Covenant, His righteousness has become their righteousness. His acceptance has become their acceptance. His standing before the Father has become their standing before the Father.

Leonard summarizes the thought by saying: "When He appears, it's like you're appearing." He explains that because believers are united with Christ, seeing Jesus should immediately remind them of their own identity in Him. This is not intended to elevate believers above Christ or make them equal with Him in deity. Rather, Leonard is emphasizing the believer's new identity under the covenant of grace. According to him, Christians should learn to view themselves through the finished work of Jesus rather than through their own failures or religious performance. To reinforce the practical result of this identity, Leonard refers to another familiar verse.

Philippians 4:13- "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

He explains that this verse is not merely positive thinking. Neither is it confidence in personal ability. It is confidence in Christ's strength working through the believer. Because believers are united with Christ, they can confidently say: "I can." Not because of themselves… But because Christ strengthens them. This continues the central theme of the entire sermon. The Christian life depends upon Christ's ability rather than human ability.

Leonard begins drawing the sermon toward its conclusion by reminding the congregation how God now sees His children. In God's eyes, believers are exactly what His Word declares them to be.

They are:

• Holy.
• Righteous.
• Blameless.
• Perfected.
• Complete.
• Sanctified.

According to Leonard, these are not future goals that Christians are struggling to achieve. These are present realities established through Jesus Christ. The believer's responsibility is not to create these qualities but to believe God's declaration concerning them. He also reminds the congregation that because they belong to Christ:
They can.
They have.
They are.
They are not merely heirs awaiting an inheritance someday. They are already joint heirs with Jesus Christ, possessing every spiritual blessing through faith in Him. For Leonard, this is the practical conclusion of the New Covenant. Believers no longer define themselves by the Law, by failure, or by religious striving. They define themselves by Jesus Christ. The more they behold Him, the more the Holy Spirit transforms them into the image they already possess through grace.

This is why Leonard entitled the message "We Shall Be Like Him." It is both a future hope and, in the context of his teaching, a present reality that believers progressively experience as they behold Christ and trust the Holy Spirit to accomplish what only He can do.

As Leonard brings his message to its conclusion, he shifts from explaining how God works in believers to reminding them of who they already are because of Jesus Christ. Throughout the sermon, he has repeatedly emphasized that the New Covenant is not centered on what believers must become through effort, but on what God has already made them through Christ. According to Leonard, one of the greatest struggles in the Christian life is believing God's declaration concerning the believer's identity. Many Christians continue defining themselves by past failures, present weaknesses, or religious performance instead of accepting what God says about them through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Leonard encourages the congregation to remember that God's view of His children is not based upon fluctuating emotions or inconsistent performance. It is based upon the completed work of His Son. He tells the congregation to always remember: "In God's eyes…" This becomes the foundation for everything that follows.

Rather than measuring themselves according to the standards of the Law or the failures of yesterday, believers are called to see themselves through the righteousness of Christ. According to Leonard, this is the perspective from which grace operates. He then lists several descriptions that God gives His children through the New Covenant. According to Leonard, believers are:

• Holy.
• Righteous.
• Blameless.
• Perfected.
• Complete.
• Sanctified.

These descriptions are not future goals that Christians are trying to attain through discipline or religious effort. Rather, they are present realities established by the finished work of Jesus Christ. Leonard emphasizes that believers should learn to agree with God's declaration even when their feelings or experiences seem inconsistent with it. Faith accepts God's verdict because it comes from God Himself. He reminds the congregation that throughout the message he has repeatedly demonstrated this principle from Scripture.

God equips His people.
God produces what pleases Him.
God begins the work.
God continues the work.
God completes the work.

Now, Leonard says, believers should also believe what God says they already are. This is not pride. It is not self-confidence. It is confidence in the truth of God's Word. According to Leonard, humility is agreeing with God rather than continually arguing against His declaration because of personal shortcomings. Leonard then points the congregation back to one of the practical results of this identity. Because believers belong to Christ, they can confidently say:
"I can." Not because of natural ability. Not because of human determination. But because Christ Himself strengthens them. He again refers to Paul's declaration.

Philippians 4:13- "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

According to Leonard, this verse summarizes the New Covenant perspective. The believer's confidence is never placed in personal strength. It rests entirely upon Christ's strength working within them. Grace shifts the focus from "I must" to "Christ can."

Leonard also reminds the congregation that they are not spiritually poor people hoping one day to receive God's blessings. Instead, through faith in Jesus Christ, they have already become joint heirs with Christ. Everything that belongs to Christ through the New Covenant has been graciously shared with those who belong to Him. According to Leonard, believers should begin thinking from that position of inheritance rather than continually seeing themselves as defeated, unworthy, or distant from God. He summarizes this identity using three simple declarations that have echoed throughout the sermon: Because of Jesus…

You are.
You can.
You have.

These statements summarize Leonard's understanding of the Gospel of Grace. "You are" speaks of the believer's identity. "You can" speaks of the believer's ability through Christ. "You have" speaks of the believer's inheritance under the New Covenant. None of these realities are earned. All of them are received by faith because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Leonard concludes by encouraging believers to continually view themselves through the mirror of God's Word rather than through the lens of personal performance. When Christians believe they are who God says they are… When they cooperate with the Holy Spirit…When they stop striving… When they behold Jesus Christ… The Holy Spirit faithfully performs the transforming work.

For Leonard, this is the essence of living under grace. Believers are not responsible for creating their own righteousness. They are called to believe God's Word, rest in Christ's finished work, and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal more and more of the identity they already possess through the New Covenant.

We Shall Be Like Him

Closing Prayer