New Logo for a New Series

I have put together a new logo for our new Sermon Series.  We’ll be wrapping up Ephesians in the next month and starting a new 5-week series.  It’s called “The Bible in 5″.  I am planning to preach through the Bible in 5 sermons.  No, they will not be 5 hours each   We’ll start the series on March 14th and continue through April 11th.  Easter Sunday is April and we’ll talk about the Resurrection then.  Come out at 10:45 AM to Cresset Baptist Church.  We’d love to have you join with us

Salvation in a Bottle

It has been far too long since I have posted anything here.

I was listening to a talk show on the radio yesterday and the guest was a medical doctor specializing in preventative medicine, specifically nutritional remedies.  I only caught a bit of the interview but one thing stood out that he said.  He was answering a question about which blood pressure medications have the least side effects.  His answer was, “we are asking the wrong question.  Too many people think the right medicine will solve their problem.  When in fact their problem is often due to lifestyle choices.  Most don’t do much of anything to change their diets and exercise routines.  Most people think they can keep doing the same things that got them into health trouble, take a pill, and continue the same lifestyle.  Medicine has become the new religion with ’salvation in a bottle’”

I am in no place to debate the merits of his comments from a medical perspective (though he did say heart related deaths are on the rise even with the proliferation of heart medicines).  I think he is correct in his estimation of how people view medicines.  Instead of radical changes in diet and exercise, most people would rather continue living the way they live and simply take a pill once (or thrice) daily to “solve” their problem.  I thought about his phrase “salvation in a bottle”.  I wonder how may people who are followers of Jesus, view Jesus as a quick fix solution?

As a Pastor and Teacher I worry that I may ever give the impression that Jesus is a “quick-fix”, “say a little prayer”, “feel sorry for your sins”, and “want Heaven” kind of solution.  Too often people want to continue living exactly how they lived before and they have simply added Jesus in their life as a “salvation in a bottle” remedy.

We have a tendency to focus on Jesus as our way to Heaven.  Once we have that covered, it’s business as usual.  There are several problems with this outlook.  First, coming to Jesus for Salvation involves a radical transformation.  Not one brought by our own hands, but by Him.  We go from death to life, from darkness to light, from children of wrath to children of God.  It is a complete transformation of our standing before God.  Second, coming to Jesus for Salvation is about entering into a relationship with the Son of God.  It is not only about Heaven.  It is about a relationship with the Creator.  Jesus said in John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only True God, and the One you have sent, Jesus Christ.”  There is nothing in this definition about streets of gold, angels, harps, or pearly gates.  Eternal Life is knowing God.

My prayer is that we as God’s children would understand the radical transformation that has already occurred when we came to Jesus; that we would live lives consistent with this transformation; that we would be a witness to the world that following Jesus means more than what we do on Sunday mornings.

What is the goal?

Yesterday I had the joy of speaking to the High School students in chapel here at Cresset Christian Academy.  This is the best school in North Carolina (I’m not biased).  The students have chapel each Thursday and I get to speak to them at least once a month.  Yesterday we had a “Q&A” day.  I wanted to call it “stump-the-pastor”, but that would have been too easy for them.  I started the discussion with a question…and we stayed with the topic the entire time.  Here’s the question, “Can you lose your salvation?”

The correct theological answer is “no, you cannot.”  I often put it this way, “we are never good enough to receive salvation, so we can never be bad enough to lose salvation.”  The students were very engaged in the discussion and some of their questions were hypothetical like, “what if a person is a Christian and then turns their back on God and might even start following another religion? Are they still saved?”  You can make the case biblically that either they were never saved to begin with, or they are saved and living in disobedience.  I don’t believe biblically you can make the argument that such a person would lose their salvation

Unfortunately we ran out of time before we could finish the matter.  I think the premise of the question is troubling.  So many Christians think of salvation as their “ticket to Heaven”.  As long as they have their ticket when they die, all is well.  We miss so much when this is our mindset.  Jesus said that eternal life is to know God and His Son Jesus Christ (John 17:3).  We think of eternal life as mansions, streets of gold, harps, angels, and clouds.  We think the ultimate thing is to simple get there.  Jesus is far more concerned with how we live life each day.  He didn’t speak much of Heaven, as if He was some sort of eternal salesman.  Instead He spoke of following Him, sacrificing for others, showing love, and speaking truth.  We must follow this example.  When we live each day like this, we won’t be as concerned about our “ticket to Heaven.”

It is true that once a person is born-gain they cannot lose that, it cannot be un-done.  In our human condition we often ask, “how much can I sin before it gets me into trouble (or I might lose my salvation)?”  The real question is, “what does Jesus want for my life today?”  Eternal Life, knowing Jesus, is a relationship.  When we die there will be a change of location (earth to Heaven) but not a change in our relationship to Him.  Jesus will still be our Savior, the Father will still be our Father.

Satan loves to distract us from serving Jesus and walking in obedience.  He often does this by bringing in doubt.  The Bible says that you can know you are saved.  One of the primary ways we see this is the evidence of our works.  Do you see Jesus changing your life? Are your attitudes and thoughts and priorities changing?  This is the mark of a disciple of Jesus.  Sure we will all sin and have our struggles.  1 John 1:8 is clear on that.  But 1 John 1:9 says He will forgive our sins when we confess them to Him!

Let us determine together to not worry about losing salvation.  Let us walk with one another in obedience and seek to grow closer to Jesus.  Our salvation has an element that we will experience after death.  There is an element for us today.  It is for us to walk in obedience and live lives transformed by the power of the Resurrection of Jesus!

What is the goal?  It is not Heaven.  It is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection!  We can never lose that.  We can always grow closer to Jesus.

Back from Hiatus

To those who visit here frequently, thank you and I’m sorry.  Thank you for visiting and reading the items I post.  Also, I am sorry that it’s been so long since I have posted anything.  Excuses are plentiful, but I’ll only offer a few.  First, our whole family came down with the H1N1 Virus at the same time.  Second, I ended up with pneumonia which then threw out my back from coughing.  Third, I have been trying to catch up with things.  And finally, this week is the least likely for me to post again since I have had meetings at church every night (some until 10:45PM).  But alas, here I am.  Back in the world of blogging.

spending time

I love spending time with my kids on these weekends when I am not as “busy”. They love spending time with me. It doesn’t matter to them what we’re doing. I wish I was as excited to be with my Heavenly Father as my children are to be with me. We can learn so much from the little ones He puts in our lives.

Studying Scripture Part 4

Here is part 4 of my series.  (It does not refer to Twitter, I’m sorry).  This is a follow-up to part 1, part 2, part 3.

4.  Remember the Goal

I do not consider myself a scholar, but I have graduated from 2 theological schools.  I have spent much time studying the Scriptures in an academic setting.  It can be a challenge when the Word of God is a textbook.  The goal of studying the Scripture is not simply to increase our knowledge of this book.  The goal is to teach us more about the character and nature of God so that we might live lives that glorify Him.  The Book is all about Jesus, and through Him we are able to bring glory to God.  As we study Scripture we should be moved to love Him more and to love others more.  After all, these are the 2 greatest commandments.  The goal is growth in my life, not growth in my knowledge.

Studying Scripture, learning Greek and Hebrew, reading theological books and commentaries are a means to an end.  The end is not only learning, it is about growing.  It is far too easy for God’s Word to become academic.  As the writer of Hebrews says, “the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword.”  It is fine to spend hours seeking to determine the author of these words, but it is far better to take these words to heart!  May our goal never become knowledge for knowledge sake.  Studying Scripture is a means to an end, it is not the end in itself

Studying Scripture #3

Here is my third installment of Studying Scripture (this follows part 1 and part 2).

3.  Don’t put God in a box.

In other words, don’t assume that God must work in this way or that way only.  I am glad that He is more creative than I am.  Too often we approach the Scriptures (and our Christian lives) with simple, pat answers to hard questions.  Studying Scriptures with this approach can lead to legalism.  We assume this is what is meant, and this is all that is meant.  We deduce from it a simple maxim for our lives.  Be sure, God’s Word doesn’t change.  It doesn’t mean something today that it did not mean in years gone by.  But, His Word is living and active and sharper than a 2-edged sword.

Here’s an example.  Ephesians 5:18 says, “don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit.”  A simple approach to this would be to read this verse and walk away from it thinking, “ok, don’t get drunk”, and then move on to the next verse.  That kind of thinking only produces legalism.  You would then live the rest of your life in complete sobriety while missing the point of this verse.  True, drunkenness is a sin, the Bible is clear on that.  But here Paul is telling us to be filled, or controlled, by the Holy Spirit.  In the same way wine controls the drunk, the Holy Spirit is to control the believer.  To really live out this verse, we must spend the rest of our lives under His control and influence.

When we look at Scripture and ask God to give us a list of do’s and don’t’s,we fall into legalism and mis what He may have for us each day.  An amazing thing about studying Scripture is that God speaks to our hearts in different ways at different times in our lives.  Don’t assume you know what each verse teaches and you can cross it off your spiritual to-do list.  Dig into His Word and ask Him to speak to your heart fresh and new today!

Studying the Scriptures, Part 2

Sorry it has been 2 weeks since part 1 of this series.  Here is part 2 of my studying the Scriptures and teaching the Scriptures series.

2.  Don’t be afraid of the questions.

Christians are often too cautious to ask the hard questions.  Not only questions about God and Jesus in general, but also specific questions about the text.  We shouldn’t be.  the Bible can stand on its’ own without any trouble.  The Lord has preserved His Word for a few millenia, our questions won’t make a difference.  If you are a follower of Christ He has given you the Holy Spirit.  He aides us in understanding the Word of God.  We cannot begin to truly understand the Scriptures without the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, you must be a believer to truly understand the Scriptures.  This is what Paul says in 1 Cor. :12-16.  When studying the Scriptures, don’t be afraid to ask “what does this mean?”  Don’t be afraid to wrestle with the text.  Often it means just what it says.  We like to pick apart words, phrases, and letters.  The truth is that it often means just what it plainly says!

When teaching the Scriptures, anticipate the questions that may be raised in the minds of the audience members.  This is good teaching!  Perhaps even ask the question and answer it in your presentation!  But above all else, don’t be afraid of the questions that may be asked.  Know what you are teaching, know what you believe, trust the Holy Spirit, and teach!

Politics?

Matthea and I spent some time with some dear friends yesterday and the topic of politics came up, briefly.  We discussed the issue some on the way home.  We are concerned about things in our country, we have been for several years (not just several months like some of our friends).  Isn’t it refreshing that our citizenship is in Heaven.  Earth is not our home, the United States isn’t our home, North Carolina isn’t our home, and Durham isn’t our home.  When Matthea and I gave our lives to Jesus (age 20 for me, 19 for her) we became citizens of a Kingdom far bigger and far greater than the United States.  In fact, we are now citizens of a Kingdom that has been around forever and will be around forever!  That’s more than I can say for our current country of residence!  I love the freedoms we enjoy in our country, but the truth is we are aliens and foreigners here.

I have had the chance to visit 1 other country in my life (2 if you count Canada, but not much cultural difference).  I spent nearly 3 weeks in Ethiopia last Fall.  I was not a citizen of the U.S. while there.  I was not a citizen of Ethiopia while there.  I was and still am a citizen of Heaven.  I am simply still on the earth as His ambassador.  I am to represent my King and His interests while here.  When I put my life into that perspective, our current political back and forth in the United States fades in importance. If we ever lose freedoms here, it won’t matter.  There are places in the world without our “religious freedoms”, and His Kingdom is doing just fine there!  If you are in His Kingdom, our earthly place of residence simply becomes secondary!

Studying Scripture part 1

As promised, here is the first installment of my series on Studying and Teaching the Scriptures.  This is not an exhaustive list.  Many others, far more qualified than I, have put together their thoughts on the subject.  I simply want to pass along some thoughts of mine when it comes to studying and teaching Scripture.  While flying a few months back, I pulled out my notebook and began to jot down thoughts related to this issue.  They fall under 5 main categories.  Hopefully, they will serve as these 5 posts.  So, here goes:

1.  Have an understanding of the conceptual nature of Scripture

Here is what I mean.  God has given us His Scriptures through human authors.  2 Tim. 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed.  From that starting point we must understand that each “book” of the Bible was written by an author with a certain audience in mind.  All of Scripture has application for us, otherwise God wouldn’t give it to us.  In order to better understand what we are reading and studying, we must first know something about the original audience.  The Scriptures cannot mean something to us that they did not mean to the original audience.  I am speaking in terms of application.  An example would be the admonition against gossip.  We would say today to be mindful of those quick little phone conversations that can dip into the arena of gossip.  Christians in the first century knew nothing of a telephone, but there is application today about our telephone conversations when we discuss the broader teaching on gossip.

The Scriptures are conceptual in that God wants us to understand the concepts that are being conveyed.  There are Universal truths in the Scripture.  It was true when it was written and it is still true today.  God has never changed His truth.  Our society and culture has changed, but God’s Word has not changed.  In studying Scripture we must derive the principles being taught and then apply them to our lives today.  What was sin in the first century is still sin today.  Too often we focus on the outward thing when it comes to identifying sin, but the realty is that sin is more often in our hearts and minds than in our actions (see Matthew 6 and the Sermon on the Mount for more on this)

There are some helpful tools in understanding the broader teaching of Scripture.  Survey studies, Book Introductions, and individual book studies help a great deal.  When we pick up our Bibles and begin reading at some random point, we are much less likely to understand the text within its’ context.  Study the Bible by books.  This is one reason why I preach through books of the Bible in my sermons on Sundays.  In fact, this past Sunday we began a study through Ephesians.  Lord willing, we will be here until March ‘10.