My Annual Christmas Post

Hey y'all:

Since I started this blog about 6 years ago, I have posted a piece I wrote around Christmas 2003. It kind of sums up for me what is the "Mystery of Christmas" as I meditated on the Incarnation and its implications for humanity (and for God!). The very idea of God becoming "one of us among us" (Immanuel, anyone?) still fascinates and overwhelms me. God, the creator of all things, entered his own creation so as to renew and redeem us (and, ultimately, all of creation as well). As you celebrate the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, I hope you enjoy this rerun! Feel free to make comments if you'd like!

A little over 2000 years ago, a tiny child was born in the bleakest of conditions. Oh, he wasn’t the only one born in a bad state. In fact, in some ways, he was one of the lucky ones. He and his mother actually survived childbirth and thrived. Still, this story is unique and amazing on several levels.

First, this child would literally change the way time is reckoned in the world. His life and abilities would so impress generations of others that a brand new movement would be created, one that would radically change the very face of the earth (sometimes for good, sometimes for bad). His name would become recognized among the names of the greatest of humans, yet he never forgot his humble beginnings or lost a sense of who he was.

The second thing about this child is tied to the first in that this baby, this helpless lad full of spittle and mush, was born as the very Son of God. When Mary held his little head to her breast, he drank human milk. Yet, he was (and is) the God of the universe. Can you picture this simply ridiculous, yet somehow poetic scene? God, who calls the stars by name, pressed to the human breast for sustenance. Humble, yet almighty, is how most folks would no doubt recall this child.

A little over 2000 years ago, God proposed that the only remedy for the human condition of sin would be if he humbled himself, stepped out of eternity and into human flesh, and suckled at Mary’s breast in preparation for the greatest, most impressive conversion of all. God, in Mary’s arms, toddling around Joseph’s shop, learning to talk, learning to walk, tasting and touching things with human hands! As the Psalmist says in Psalm 139, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for us, we cannot contain it!”

God knew that the only way to redeem us was if he did it himself. Haven’t you ever had that thought? You know, the one where you say, “If I want something done right, I’ll just have to do it myself?” Imagine God having that thought about bringing us back to proper relationship with him. Imagine again that the only way he knew he could do that is if he came to earth as a baby. Think of it—-how vulnerable the almighty God was at that moment, how paradoxical that the God of all creation had to learn to walk! And why did he put himself in this situation? Out of his divine since of justice and righteousness, out of his inexpressible love for each of us he acted in this manner.

He became insane that we may be sane. He became flesh so that we might walk in the Spirit. He became sin that we might be righteous. He became poor so that we might be rich. He became a toddling, dribbling, helpless babe so that we could become mature humans in the image of the almighty God. What wondrous love! What humility and service! How then can anything he asks of us be too difficult?

Lord, in this Christmas season, remind me of your sacrifice and love so that I might be a light shining in darkness to others. May the grace of God and the peace of Christ rule in my family and my life.

Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas!

Living in the Light of Jesus' Coming, 1 John 2:28-3:3, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meetings on December 12-19, 2010. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:28-3:3 and discusses the idea that we need to consider how we live our lives in the light of the promised return of Jesus. Jesus' second coming (according to John) offers motivation for us to pursue righteousness in our lives. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Living in the Light of Jesus’ Coming
1 John 2:28-3:3
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
About a month ago we ended a church-wide series on “Living Like You Were Dying” where we focused on the characteristics our lives as Christians should exhibit if we expect to die soon

Today’s passage is like that in some ways, except instead of thinking of our own mortality, we will look at our Lord’s return as a motivation for pursuing certain characteristics in our lives

This being the Christmas season, we typically speak of Jesus’ first coming, the time he revealed God to us by the Incarnation (a topic that John addresses earlier in this very epistle)

The first time Jesus came to earth, things changed dramatically
The lives of many in the first century were changed eternally
The calendars that track our lives were affected
Judgment came in the way people respond to the life and ministry of Jesus

What kinds of changes will come when he returns a second time?

When Jesus’ comes the second time, everything will change
Life as we know it will be completely different
There will be judgment
Things will be revealed and made known that we think are secret

John mentions this return of Jesus (described as his “appearing” twice) in 1 John 2:28-3:3

In this passage John gives us three things to pursue as we wait for Jesus to come. We must pursue:
1. Assurance by abiding
2. Acceptance by his love
3. Purity to be like him

Where will you be when he returns?

1. Assurance from Abiding
1 John 2:28-29

The idea of abiding
Last week we spent some time on this topic
Abiding carries the idea of “remaining” or “continuing” or even (to some degree) “possessing”

Our passage last week reminded us to abide in God’s Word and in God’s Spirit
This passage reminds us to abide in Christ

What does it meant to abide in Christ?
John 15—the vine and the branches
The call here is to stick close to Jesus
As we mentioned last week, we must let everything about Jesus permeate everything in our lives
We must be possessed by him, inundated with his character
In short, we must be so vitally connected to him that we draw life from him

John tells us that this abiding will lead to assurance, but the lack of abiding could lead to shame

John wants his readers to have confidence and not shame when Jesus returns
Shame results in a “shrinking away,” a subtle denial or exclusion of Jesus and his claims on our lives
Shame (and “shrinking away”) is first recorded in Genesis 3
Adam and Eve were “ashamed” at what they had done
Living a life of sinful selfish indulgence leads to shame at Jesus’ appearing

Assurance/confidence comes from what Jesus has accomplished
Jesus is righteous, and his righteousness is ours by faith in what he did in his life, death and resurrection (1 Cor. 1:30-31; 2 Cor. 8:9)
We can be confident in God’s accomplishments
Our confidence/assurance is not in what we have done (Romans 3:21-26)
But what we do can exhibit the assurance of God in our lives
Remember, what we abide in possesses us
John is calling on us to abide in Jesus and receive assurance from what he accomplishes

To avoid being ashamed at his coming, do what he wants you do to do
Abide in him

Where will you be when he returns?
Will you shrink in shame due to selfish living?
Will you stand in confidence due to his righteousness?

2. Acceptance by His Love
1 John 3:1

Note the amazing proclamation here—God loves us
“See how great a love the Father has given us”

The Greek here indicates an “otherworldly” type of love—”from what country”
John depicts God’s love as something that is beyond our normal experience
John describes God adopting us into His family out of pure, raw, unconditional love—for no other reason than the fact that He loves us!

God’s love is what makes us children of God
We are not born Christians, we are “born again”, we are born of him (John 1:10-13; John 3:3, 16-18; Romans 8:14-17; 2 Cor. 5:17-18)

We are adopted into God’s family

We need to spend some time contemplating the great privileges that come from being adopted into God’s family
We are joint heirs with Christ
We lose our sin and gain Christ’s righteousness
We have the joy of calling God “Father” and enjoying the protection and provision that a Father offers

Such contemplation will result in assurance

We need to gain an appreciation of what God’s love means for us
It means life and redemption
It means living in assurance and without shame
On the other hand, it means that we will not gain acceptance from those who are not of God

God’s love for us gives us acceptance
We are accepted as his children
Acceptance gives us assurance in God’s presence
Acceptance gives us confidence when Jesus returns

Where will you be when he returns?
Will you stand with the world, conformed to their mindset and ways?
Will you stand in and shine out his love?

3. Purity to be like Him
1 John 3:2-3

John tells his readers that they are destined for great things
We are destined to share Jesus’ glory when he returns

As children of God, we have a present and future status
John speaks of a “now” and a “not yet”
Our present status has to do with our adoption and its privileges as mentioned in v. 1 above
Our future status has to do with the likeness of Christ

When Jesus returns, we will see him in his glory
Seeing him in his glory has an effect on us (Col. 3:4)
Seeing Jesus results in our being like Jesus
When we see him as he is, we will be made like him (2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:20-21)

Jesus’ return promises us a future glory (Rom. 8:28-29)
While we wait, however, we have responsibilities too

John tells his readers that they need purity
Knowing we are destined for glory should motivate us to live for Jesus’ glory now
If we are bound by God for greatness, shouldn’t we strive to live great lives while we wait?
Living for Jesus’ return means living pure lives for his honor now (Col. 3:4-5)

A mind set on meeting Jesus will discover a renewed passion to pursue righteousness now

If we know Jesus today, that knowledge should lead us to pursue the kind of life that will honor him now
We should live in the light of his coming by purifying our hearts
This purification will have an effect on how we live

Where will you be when he returns?
Will you stand in the shame of selfishness?
Will you stand in the purity of his likeness?

Application
It may seem that applying this passage is easier than others, but the truth is that speaking of Christ’s imminent return does not always lead to motivation for godly living

Nonetheless, there are some things we can do this week to put this passage into our lives

First, learn to abide in Christ and to pursue his righteousness. That may sound a bit esoteric, but it really isn’t? If abiding means being possessed by something, then find ways this week to be gripped and possessed by Jesus. To do that requires some time in his presence. Pursuing righteousness may be understood as doing the right thing. What “right things” would Jesus want you to do? Where do you struggle to do what is right? What can you do to overcome this week?

Second, spend some time actually thinking about the wonderful benefits that come from being a child of God. How can the reality of God’s provision of adoption have an impact on your daily life?

Third, look for ways to purify yourself. Where do you need purity? What can you do to “purify” yourself?

Where will you be when Jesus returns?

Discussion

1. Why does John tell his readers to continue in Christ? (2:28)

2. What do those born of Christ do? (2:29)

3. Why doesn’t the world recognize Christians for who they are? (3:1)

4. How should Christians be different than non-Christians?

5. What will happen to believers when He appears? (3:2)

6. What does John mean by “abide in Him”? How does one do that?

7. What does Christ’s return have to do with how we live now?

8. What can you do to “purify” yourself?

9. How can you allow the reality of Christ’s return to have an impact on your life today?

Thanks for reading!

The Importance of Abiding, 1 John 2:24-27, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meeting on December 5, 2010. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:24-27 and discusses the idea that what we abide in possesses us, and what possesses us becomes obvious in how we live. That is why the idea of "abiding" is important in 1 John. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

The Importance of Abiding
1 John 2:24-27
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Last week we spoke of the need to avoid deception and the provision that God has given to us as revealed by John
We mentioned the need to know our teachers
We spoke of the need to know the truth/sound doctrine

This week John continues this discussion a bit by speaking of the “truth” which he had given to his readers—this truth revolves around the word “abide”

What do you think of when you hear the word “abide”?

In 1 John 2:24-27, John uses this word at least five times

Our passage today speaks of the importance of abiding by focusing on two things
1. The Abiding Word
2. The Abiding Spirit

The main point—What we abide in affects how we live

1. The Abiding Word
1 John 2:24-25
There is a command here—”Let that which you have heard from the beginning abide in you”

What is that which we have heard from the beginning? (see 1 John 1:1-4)
What was heard from the beginning refers to the message about Christ. In fact, it refers to Jesus himself.
This is a reference to Christ as the Word of God (i.e., the Incarnation), but it may also be a reference to Jesus as revealed by the Word of God (i.e., Scripture)
Separating Jesus from Scripture is simply not an option. It is God’s Word that makes Jesus known. Jesus is God among us in life and action, and Scripture is God’s self-disclosure in words and thoughts

John speaks here of the importance of remembering and rehearsing the good news of salvation as revealed in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus
We need to hear the old, old story over and over and over again. We need to know it intimately and experientially

The command is to let this revelation abide in us
The word “abide” carries the idea of “remaining” or “continuing”
Ray Stedman substitutes the word “possess” for this word, and he may be on to something. The Word of God needs to hold us in its grip

The expression “Make yourself at home”

John is saying more than this—he is telling his readers that they need to let the testimony of God’s revelation, even Jesus himself, possess them body, soul, and spirit. We need to let God’s Word overwhelm everything we are and everything we have

What abides in us possesses us
What possesses you?

There is a condition here—”If that which you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father”

“If the Word, if the truth of God has possessed you, then you will be possessed by the Son and by the Father, i.e., by the fullness of God which is in the Son and the Father.” Ray Stedman

John 14:23—If we love Jesus, then both Jesus and the Father will make their home in us

John 15—the vine and the branches
This is a reciprocal relationship: To the degree that we react in faith by obeying the Word, to that same degree both the Son and the Father will abide in us accomplishing the Word in our lives

Christ is completely available to us, if we are willing to have him
He will give himself to us if we are willing to obey him

There is also a promise here—this abiding leads to eternal life (cf. Isaiah 40:31; John 17:1-3)
“Eternal life” is not simply a future home in heaven
This term refers to what Jesus calls “abundant life” in John 10:10 (cf. John 5:39-41; Matt. 13:13 and 25:29)
This “abundant life” involves how we live here and now as well as what life will be in heaven

Paul speaks of this life as a life of liberty (2 Cor. 3:17-18; Gal. 5:1)
This is life that comes from God’s Spirit, that is free to do what God calls us to do (John 3:6-8)

What abides in us affects our life and our relationships

2. The Abiding Spirit
1 John 2:26-27—Here John continues his argument by pointing out that with the Word of God we also have an anointing, an “inner witness” of God’s Spirit to aid us in pursuing the truth

John gives a contrast here—a contrast between the antichrists/false teachers who try to mislead others (we spoke of them last week) and true Christians who have the anointing of God’s Spirit

The warning—John states that he has “written” to his readers to warn them of deception
Once again, John understands his letter as some kind of instruction or revelation for his readers
May imply the importance of God’s written Word for direction and teaching in our life
Certainly he reminds us here that the church must be careful of false teaching in all ages

The false teachers in John’s day seem to claim a special “anointing” or “knowledge” or “revelation”
We need no special revelation outside of what God has made know in Jesus and in Scripture
This is John’s perspective in this letter

What is our source of truth? Do we look only to others, or do we look to God?

The other half of the contrast refers to true believers who have the anointing of God’s Spirit

What is this anointing?
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 may provide one answer (cf. 1 John 2:20-21)
This anointing is the presence of God’s Spirit in each believer
The Holy Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of conversion, and his presence in us is a sort of divine “lie detector” or sorts if we will simply follow his lead

We are to let the Word of God abide in us, to possess us—this requires a regular coming to the Word and spending time in and with it

The Holy Spirit , on the other hand, he abides with us if we are already in Christ—we did not get a part of the Spirit at salvation, we got all of him. The Spirit is already present within us

This anointing of the Spirit teaches us what we need to know

What about the words “you have no need that anyone should teach you”?
I don’t think John means we don’t need to listen to human teachers—if so, then his letter is pretty much a waste of time
Rather, he is contrasting the superior claims of the false teachers to the leading of God’s Spirit
We do not need a “skilled” or “enlightened’ or “illuminated” teacher or prophet to reveal “new” truth to us—that is the sense of what John says here (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9-13)

The Spirit guides us in truth (John 16:13)—an illumination of the mind and the heart

What abides in us teaches us—what teaching are we hearing?

John gives another command—As the anointing (i.e., God’s Spirit) teaches you truth and not lies, abide in him just as he taught you

The anointing of God teaches us “in all things”—this doesn’t mean that we are spiritual “know-it-alls,” but rather that this anointing permeates every aspect of life

This anointing teaches us the truth and reveals lies—the presence of the Spirit should help us discern between what is according to God’s Word and what is not, but this certainly does not excuse us from spending time in God’s Word (remember the first point above)

The anointing abides in us, but John commands us to abide in this anointing
Remember that “abiding” means something like “remaining” or “continuing” or even “possessing”
We must pitch our tent in God’s anointing

To abide in God’s Spirit requires us to respond to him in obedience

What we abide in is shown by how we act
What do others see in us?
What directs our path? What anointing do we trust?

Application
How do we respond to what John is teaching here?

This week, I think we can live this truth in several ways

First, the obvious one is that we should make time to spend in God’s Word. We cannot hope to have the Word “abiding” in us if we do not take time to learn what it says. This week, set aside at least 15 minutes a day to dig into the Bible. Don’t just read a passage, actually spend some time investigating the material. What is God saying here? How can I act on it in obedience? What is God requiring of me? This week, read 1 John or the Gospel of John and pay attention to the places where John speaks of God’s Word or encourages us to “abide”

Second, tell the story of God’s redemption in your life. John is calling us to be “possessed” with God’s revelation, and one way to do that is to talk about what God has done. During the Christmas season this sharing is a little easier, but you have to be intentional. Take time to remind yourself of what God has said and what God has done. Tell it to others

Make an effort to abide in the anointing that God has given you. Train yourself to listen to God’s Spirit (that means you may actually have to take time to be quiet and still). Remember, God’s Spirit will only lead you into truth, so ask the hard questions about things you hear and see this week—where is God’s truth in this? Is there anything true here?

Finally, act on what God has commanded and shown you—make an effort this week to show God’s love and kindness to another so that they may know the truth of God’s redemption in you. Find a way to stand for God’s truth and then do it.

What we abide in will possess us, and what possesses us will be shown to others
Where do we abide?

Thanks for reading!

Truth or Consequences: How to Avoid Deception, 1 John 2:18-23, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meeting on November 28, 2010. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:18-23 and discusses the idea that our we have to be careful about our doctrine and where we get our theology. John warns us that there are people who want to deceive us or to draw us from the Truth about Jesus, and he gives us some tips on how to avoid spiritual deception. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Truth or Consequences: How to Avoid Deception
1 John 2:18-23
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Teaching philosophy at the community college yielded some interesting conversations:
a. Well, that is “your” truth, not mine
b. It doesn’t really matter what you believe, just as long as you are sincere

These views can be dangerous, right?

If I genuinely believe that a bottle of poison will cure my illness, I may end up dead in spite of my belief
The example of the person who almost kills a loved one because he or she sincerely believes that the person is an intruder

In religious circles, we sometimes hear things like:
Doctrine divides, so let’s avoid doctrine and just focus on getting along
Jesus said you will know you are my disciples by your love, not by your doctrine. Let’s avoid disputes about doctrine and just find places where we agree

John, on the other hand, seems to put a premium on doctrinal issues

In chapter one he even claims that true joy comes from a sound doctrinal foundation
He argues against a bad doctrine that ignores the Incarnation or makes Jesus less than God

What a person believes is just as or more important than the sincerity of that belief

Apparently, it really makes a difference what you believe!

John has already given us a couple of tests in this chapter—the moral test of obedience to God (2:1-6) and the relational test of love (2:7-18). Now, John reminds us that there is also a doctrinal test for believers to consider—1 John 2:18-23

John here offers a warning of sorts to his readers—be careful what you believe, be careful what you accept

In John’s day, there were false teachers who were teaching a doctrine whose consequences would lead to shipwreck and death

In our passage today, John gives his readers instructions on how to avoid deception in spiritual matters. To avoid deception, we need to focus on two things:
a. We need to know the source
b. We need to know the truth

Let’s look at John’s advice on how to avoid deception
1 John 2:18-23

1. Know the Source
1 John 2:18-20
John contrasts true believers and false teachers in these passages

The first thing that many note is John's reference to “the last hour”
May be a reference to the return of Christ
Most likely a reference to the fact that since Christ’s resurrection and ascension the world has entered the last stage of history before God’s kingdom is fully revealed
Mark 13:33—no one knows how long this period will last, but there is a sense of urgency here
The end could come at any moment

Another interesting issue is his mention of Anti-Christ and antichrists
John alone uses the term “antichrist” in his epistles. It does not appear anywhere else in the NT
“Anti-Christ” refers to a particular person, but that does not seem to be John’s focus here
“Many antichrists” is the reference that John emphasizes
“Antichrist” means either “against Christ” or “in place of Christ”

John is referring here to the spirit that stands against the sound teaching of Christ or that tries to replace Christ with another

In John’s day, these folks came claiming a “new revelation” or a “deeper knowledge of the truth” –they claimed an experience that no one else had

To avoid deception, know your teachers

These false teachers (or “antichrists”) may operate in the range of Christian ideas and concepts—they may even came from our ranks

This means we need to be careful to examine ourselves—are we genuinely following Christ, or are we merely tagging along with others to see what happens?

We also need to be on our guard—there are actually people in the world who would like to mislead others and teach a false doctrine

These false teachers may have started off as orthodox teachers, but soon they veered from the truth so that they no longer abide by the teaching of apostles
a. They are more interested in being popular
b. They are more interested in being heard
c. They are interested in making money
d. They claim to have a “fresh” or “new” revelation not given before

The false teachers separated themselves from the church, from orthodox belief
We must beware of anyone who breaks from orthodox teaching of the Scripture to pursue a new or different doctrine

Verse 19 does not refer to individuals who simply leave a church to go to another place of worship. Rather, it refers to folks who leave the sound teaching of who Jesus is for a false gospel that puts the focus on anything but Jesus

They not only attack orthodox beliefs, but they also recruit others to their aberrant views
Modern examples include: Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Scientology, Christian Science, Islam, etc.

John makes the following points:
a. True Christians are born of God
b. True Christians persevere in the truth and with other believers
c. Church growth or unity are not as important as good doctrine

The test of orthodoxy is submission and obedience to the apostolic teaching found in the New Testament, particularly the teaching about the person and work of Jesus

Verse 20 mentions an “anointing” that Christians have
The false teachers apparently claimed a higher anointing than John or the apostles
John says that we all know the truth because of God’s anointing in our lives
John 14:6-7; 16:13-14
We must be diligent to learn and to follow the truth

To avoid deception, know the source of your doctrine

2. Know the Truth
1 John 2:21-23
In these verses, John reminds us that we must be careful to know the truth
Not knowing the truth has consequences

We live in a day that has rejected the idea of absolute truth
To think that someone could stand in front of a group like this and claim to speak of “the Truth” is considered illogical, intolerant, and even (in some cases) evil by many postmodern people
Truth is what you make of it in a postmodern society

John simply does not agree

In verse 21, John claims to be writing to those who actually know the truth
John was no postmodern

To avoid deception, pursue and know the truth

As we noted earlier—sound doctrine matters
John encourages his readers to recognize the difference between a lie and the truth
Simply stated, truth and lies do not mix—they do not get along (i.e., the Law of Non-Contradiction)

Lies are tied to how Jesus is viewed (v. 22)
To deny Jesus as the apostles taught him is to deny truth, to deny God himself

Sound doctrine is strongly linked to a personal relationship with God
To deny the Son means that one does not “have” the Father
Knowledge of Jesus is salvation, to deny who he is (i.e., the Incarnation of God, God in the flesh, God among us) is to deny what he accomplishes and the God he makes known (John 1)

Sound doctrine about the person and work of Jesus is essential to a proper relationship with God

True believers pursue the truth about God as revealed in Christ (Heb. 1:1-3)

John wants his readers to know that Jesus is the only true revelation of God
a. He is not just a good teacher or an anointed man
b. He is God among us, redeeming us, and leading us
c. He is our only means of salvation, and his divinity guarantees our redemption

To avoid deception, know good doctrine/learn the truth

Application
So what do we do with this information? How do we respond to what John has written here?

If we wish to avoid deception in spiritual matters, then we must be discerning in two areas—who teaches us and what is true doctrine

This week we can do the following
a. Look closely at those who teach us—are their lives consistent with the life of Jesus? Do they exhibit the same attitudes as Christ (Phil 2)? Where is their focus? Are they focused on legacies, numbers, buildings, money, or Jesus? What is their character?

b. Pay attention to your own doctrine. Take some time this week to read through 1 John or the Gospel of John. Ask the Spirit who anoints you to give direction and understanding about what the Bible says about Jesus. Read good books on sound doctrine. Make it a point to be around believers who hold to sound doctrine.

c. Check yourself by John’s three tests—are you obeying God’s commands, do you love others, and are you abiding in truth?

To avoid deception, we must know our teachers and know the truth

Thanks for reading!

The Origin and Reliability of the Bible, You Asked For It Series, The Point in Charlottesville

Today I had the privilege of addressing the fine folks at the Point in Charlottesville, VA. Their pastor requested that I address the issue of the origin and reliability of the Bible. Below I am attaching my notes from my presentation. As soon as the podcast is available, I'll try to link it here too. By the way, I ought to add that some of the notes below come from a variety of sources. Andy Stanley did a sermon on this issue that prompted me to research it further. The works of Gary Habermas and Craig Blomberg were also very helpful in my research. I want to acknowledge that I am "standing on their shoulders" so to speak in the material that follows. I hope it is helpful to you!

Here is the link to the podcast: http://pointcville.podomatic.com/entry/2010-11-16T07_33_58-08_00.

The Origin and Reliability of the Bible
You Asked For It Series

Introduction
This is an unusual Sunday morning for me.
Usually I am teaching or preaching on Sunday morning, and usually I am focusing on a particular passage of the Bible
My mandate today is a bit different

Your pastor has asked me to prepare a presentation on the reliability of Scripture. As a result, I will try to offer to you the following arguments without many references to particular passages of the Bible for support.

What I intend to do is to show you where your Bible came from and why you can rely on it as a sound witness to the historical events surrounding the life and ministry of Jesus

Are you ready?
Buckle up, it will be an interesting ride!

What is the Bible?
The Bible is a collection of books, it is not a single book
It consists of 66 books collected into one volume
These books were written by around 40 different authors over a wide range of time

In general these books agree on one thing—God is making himself known through these writings

The purpose of these books is the self-disclosure of God, his character, and his interactions with humans

In Christian circles, the Bible is divided into two basic sections

a. The Old Testament (or Hebrew/Jewish Scripture)
39 books
Reflects the history of God’s interaction particularly with Israel but also with other people

b. The New Testament
27 books
Focuses on the life of Jesus and his impact

The Bible is more precisely a library of books that speak of one major topic

How Did We Get Our Current Bible?
Since the individual books of the Bible were written over a period of more than one thousand years, the question of origins could be a lecture in itself

Simply put, these books were written by authors at a particular time and then collected by those who acknowledged the importance and inspiration of the documents

The actual development of our current Bible may be summarized as follows:

Many of the Jewish or Hebrew Scriptures began to be collected shortly after they were written
By the time of Jesus, most of the books currently in our OT were recognized as authoritative by Jews
Criteria for this recognition included the following: conformity to the theology of the Law (first five books), inspiration (Prophets), written in Hebrew, and commonly used among most Jews

After Jesus’ life and ministry, some of his followers wrote materials pertaining to his life and impact on humanity. These books were written roughly from AD 45 to about 100. They began to be collected early on (Paul’s letters are mentioned as a collection by Peter sometime in the mid-60s—2 Peter 3:14-16), and we have authorized list of our current 27 books as early as the second century. The criteria for acceptance included the following: the books ties to an apostle, the use of the book by the church at large, the theology of the book, and inspiration

By the fourth century AD, the Bible as we current know it was considered authoritative and settled (no more books were to be added—Council of Carthage)
Since then Christians everywhere have accepted this as God’s Word

Is the Bible Reliable?
Now that we have some history about this collection of books, we have to consider whether or not we can accept this collection as reliable. In order to make the process more manageable, we will focus only on four books of the New Testament—The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

My argument is simple
1. If these books are reliable historical witnesses, then what they say about Jesus is true
2. If what they say about Jesus is true, then the claims that Jesus is the Son of God must be true
3. If Jesus is the Son of God, then what he says about the rest of the Bible must be true and what he says about God must be true too

How do we determine historical reliability?
Note that we are primarily concerned here with historical reliability

How can we tell if a document is historically reliable?

We have to be aware that offering a “proof” of history is difficult if not impossible. “Proof” requires observation and repetition. What we have to consider is evidence. What does the evidence tell us?

Think of a court of law. Both sides of a case present evidence to support their view or their claims. Evidence is not a proof, it is simply a testimony to the probability of a certain set of circumstances. Whichever set of evidence is considered most probable usually wins. (Example—how do you prove you are married, or that you came to church today? )

The question to be answered involves what is most probable, not what is possible—we have to have probable cause

An example from my life—a car wreck in Waco, TX
What is the most probable explanation of what happened?

Ancient Manuscripts and History
The four books we are considering are ancient manuscripts

Two ways to show the reliability of ancient manuscripts
a. Look at their age/date and distribution
b. Look at their authors

Let’s consider the manuscripts first
Consider the example of Roman history

Rome existed for almost a millennium—during that time Roman emperors and other leaders commissioned many different authors to write an authorized version of Rome’s history

Literally dozens (if not hundreds) of documents were created, published, and preserved. Writers like Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, and Tacitus wrote volumes on Roman history.

The Gallic Wars—our oldest copy dates to around AD 900—many centuries after the events they record
Yet only a few of the copies remain

Tacitus—lived and wrote near the end of the first century—wrote a 30 volume history of Rome
Yet only about 20 copies representing half of the volumes remain

These Roman materials are used regularly in history classes all around the world.
In spite of the limited number of copies and the late date of the materials, these works are considered historical and worthy of use as representations of “what really happened”

The NT Manuscripts
Let’s look at the manuscripts of the Gospels

They represent not a history of an entire kingdom, but rather about three years of the life of a Jewish carpenter in the first century

We actually have hundreds of copies of the manuscripts for the Gospels (not dozens, but hundreds)

We even have one fragment of a manuscript that dates to around AD 130—the John Ryland’s Papyrus—that is a part of the Gospel of John

This manuscript was found in Egypt, which means that it was probably written sometime near the end of the first century (to give time for a copy to be made and circulated to Egypt)

By AD 250, we have complete copies of all four Gospels as we have them in our current Bibles

As far as the rest of the NT is concerned, we have over 5000 copies of manuscripts of the books of the NT—almost 10 times the number of manuscripts for Homer’s works

Compared to Roman history, the Gospels (and the other NT books) have a better distribution and dating of manuscripts.

What about Differences?
What about errors? Don’t the copies have errors?

Example of copying a letter today

Given the sheer number of copies of New Testament works, you would expect some differences in the manuscripts

On the other hand, the sheer volume of copies also provides comparison data to ascertain the probable original wording

To compare this—the manuscripts of the NT are old enough and numerous enough to offer the promise of ascertaining the original readings, even though the originals no longer exist

We have over 600 manuscripts of Homer and scholars are certain that we have restored Homer to 90% of the original

Given the sheer number of NT manuscripts, we should be able to do better than 90%

In fact, the differences in the NT manuscripts are negligible—the manuscripts agree on over 90% of the material, and the disagreements amount to insignificant details

There are no doctrinally significant differences in NT manuscripts

Can we trust the authors?
Let’s consider the authors of the Gospels
Matthew—a tax collector and eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry
Mark—a friend of Peter (1 Peter 5:13)—history tells us that Mark wrote down what Peter preached
Luke—a Gentile doctor and friend of Paul
John—a disciple of Jesus and an eyewitness

The material these individuals wrote agree on basic topic, order, and historical record

Although they wrote at different times and from different perspectives, they come to the same conclusion about Jesus and present the same basic historical information about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ

These four different presentations of Jesus offer historical events
They are portraits of the life and ministry of Jesus

The Case of Dr. Luke
Luke is the most unique among the Gospel writers

He was not an eyewitness follower of Jesus nor a Jew
He came to be a follower of Christ as a result of the testimony of others
He then decided to investigate the claims about Jesus so that he could write an orderly account for his friend (Luke 1:1-4)
He interviewed eyewitness and read accounts about Jesus so that he could compile his history of the events
He had no idea that his work would be collected with three other accounts and included in some “Bible”!

Luke claims to write an orderly account so that Theophilus can be sure of what he has heard about Jesus

Four Witnesses, Four Perspectives
The other three writers put together their materials for different purposes, but they all exist as witnesses to the same historical events (1 John 1:1-3)

Since they are writing about similar events from different perspectives, shouldn’t some variation be expected?

Think of four witnesses to a car accident
Each one will remember different details as they describe the same incident
One may remember the colors or makes of the vehicles
Another may remember the gender of the drivers
Yet another may remember the accident itself
But all are describing the same incident

We have a similar probability with the Gospels

Differences As Evidence
All four Gospels describe the same event from different perspectives
They emphasize different details
They offer varying levels of detail
They agree on the general flow of the story (they all focus on Jesus’ character, ministry, and passion)

As a result, the apparent “contradictions” are just what would be expected if we had four different witnesses

The differences show that collaboration among the four writers is unlikely

Our hypothetical car accident above took only a few minutes to develop, but the Gospels are writing about events that happened over a period of almost 3 years

We ought to expect some differences in these materials

Each Gospel writer sees Jesus from a different perspective
None of them became rich or famous for their writings—in fact they all died for their conviction that Jesus was who he claimed to be—the Son of God who came to reveal God to humans

Legend and History
Sherman White in his research found that two generations (a little over 50 years) is not sufficient to cause a legend to alter a solid core of historical fact
In other words, if the Gospel information about Jesus was a legend, then it would take 50+ years before its repetition would be viewed as historical events

How much time separated the writing of the Gospels from the actual events of Jesus’ life?

Conservative scholars place the earliest of the Gospels around AD 45 to 55. Even liberal scholars date the earliest Gospel before AD 70.

If Jesus lived and ministered in the mid-30s, then the first Gospel is written just a few decades after his life. That is not long enough for it to be the result of a newly created legend!

There is also evidence that the story of Jesus’ life and resurrection circulated during the lifetime of the authors of our Gospels

Three witnesses—Paul, James, and Tacitus

First Century Witnesses
Paul—left a leadership position in Judaism to become a follower of Christ, plant churches all over the Roman empire, and write books about Jesus (Paul died in the mid-60s of the first century AD)

James—another author of a NT book who left Judaism to become a Christian. He mentions the return of Jesus in his letter (conservatively dated to around AD 45—just fifteen years after Jesus). Where did he hear about Jesus’ return? How could Jesus return unless he left (as the Gospels report)?

The final witness is the most important, in my opinion

The Non-Christian Witness
Tacitus
Wrote around AD100 to 115
Wrote about events in the life of Roman Caesar Nero
Nero ruled from AD 54 to 68
Peter and Paul were reportedly martyred under Nero

Tacitus wrote about Nero:
“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite torture on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.” He continues: “Christ, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate. A most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, but even in Rome.”

Other witnesses include the following non-Christian historians:
Pliny the Younger (AD 62-113)—describes Christian worship
Suetonius (AD 100-160)—describes Claudius’ edict of AD 49 that kicked Jewish Christians out of Rome

The Conclusion
The conclusion is obvious, isn’t it?

Tacitus and Pliny reference a superstition, not a teaching, or a philosophy.

What brought people to Christ was the story of the resurrection! It wasn’t Jesus’ teaching or philosophy that attracted people, but his claims to be the Son of God and the evidence of the truth of this claim in his resurrection.

This Jesus, who was crucified by Pilate, came back to life. That is the so-called superstition.

The disciples began preaching the resurrection within 2 months of Jesus death and resurrection.

The existence of Christianity in Rome less than 2 decades after Jesus’ life and ministry support the historical perspective of the Gospels

This means that the Gospels are reliable history

What do we do now?
What will you do with this information?
How will you respond?

If what I have shared supports the historical reliability of the Gospels, then the claims made about and by Jesus are also historical and reliable.

We cannot ignore them. Jesus spoke of the OT, he spoke of God, he forgave sins, he rose from the dead.

You now have to decide—if the Gospel accounts are historically reliable, you cannot ignore the claims about or by Jesus.

He is either a liar or he is God. He cannot be both.

What do you think? How will you respond?

Thanks for reading!

Forgiveness: Jesus Style, John 21:15-19, Live Like You Were Dying Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the notes on my blog. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on November 7, 2010. Thomas Road started a new church wide series entitled "Live Like You Were Dying." The staff at TRBC provided teachers topics and notes for each lesson for the next few weeks (this is our fourth and final week). I used the notes they provided and tweaked them a bit to fit our particular group. The result are the notes below entitled "Forgiveness: Jesus Style: John 21:15-19." If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Forgiveness: Jesus Style
John 21:15-19
Live Like You Were Dying Series

Introduction
This is the last Sunday of “Living Like You Were Dying”

We’ve talked about:
a. Proper focus to be God’s champions and live as he desires
b. The need to speak sweeter and seek to be agents of God’s healing touch in the lives of others
c. The need to follow Jesus’ example of love in reaching out to others

Every week we walk into this building and act as though our lives are in fine shape
We claim to be “fine,” and it seems that everyone here has their act together
We all act like we are living the American Dream

But life isn’t nearly so neat, is it?
We all have issues—relationships that are broken, an ongoing struggle
We simply don’t want anyone to know

The starting place today is to acknowledge the elephant in the room. We are all broken and we all have failures. And somewhere along the way in life, we will all need to restore and reconcile a broken relationship. Sometime in your journey you are going to need to ask forgiveness and then there will be times when you will need to extend forgiveness.

So, here’s the question of the hour “How do we face that which is uncomfortable to face and restore that relationship that has been broken?”

Peter’s Story
This week we will look at the issue of “giving forgiveness”
We will consider how Jesus forgives by looking at one particular example of Jesus’ restoration of Peter

This is a story of release and restoration

Remember Peter’s denial
What do you think Peter felt when he heard that crowing rooster? How did his denial hit him?
The sense of failure was all consuming. Peter, the rock, had been crushed and crumbled under pressure

Fast forward to the resurrection
Peter saw the risen Christ and heard the words “Peace be with you”
But how could he be at peace? Had he not disqualified himself?

So, he went fishing

You know the rest of the story
Jesus shows up and cooks them breakfast after showing them where the fish were

Now breakfast is over, and an awkward silence descends on the scene
Jesus turns to address Peter
They are going to talk about the elephant in the room

John 21:15-19
Jesus does three things in showing forgiveness:
1. He pursues
2. He focuses on relationship
3. He restores

1. He Pursues Us
Jesus comes looking for Peter and the disciples

God takes the initiative. Sometimes we talk about people being seekers but the Bible portrays God as the original seeker. He pursues us. No matter what you’ve done or what’s in your past, the great God of the universe pursues you.

John 14:16-18—Jesus doesn’t abandon his own—he sends another Comforter (i.e., another of the same kind as Jesus)
Jesus will never forsake his people
The Spirit “comes alongside” of us to provide help for our spiritual journey

Jesus is our advocate—Hebrews 4:14-16
Many of us portray a self-confidence and a self-reliance that betrays a common truth—we all want to be pursued

Is there somebody that you have a broken relationship with that you need to pursue?

Jesus didn’t wait for Peter to come to him and seek to restore the relationship.
Jesus tracks down Peter

Jesus pursues Peter because he is focused on relationship

2. He Focuses on Relationship
He doesn’t drag up the past
Jesus prepares a meal and eats with Peter
Notice that he doesn’t drag up Peter’s past failure
There is not one word of rebuke
Jesus is in the grace business, not the guilt business
He comes to restore, not to condemn
Romans 8:1, 34

If any could condemn us, it would be Jesus
But he chose to die for us rather than to condemn us (John 3:16-19)—cf. Psalm 103:12

Apparently Jesus had “let go” of Peter’s denial—he didn’t keep rehearsing it over and over

We need to learn from Jesus
Colossians 3:12-13

Discussion question: In what ways have you learned to “let go” the hurts of the past? What are some practical ways that you can “make allowance for each other’s faults”?

Jesus asks Peter three questions
He doesn’t ask them to condemn Peter, but to check on the relationship
He asks these questions to see where Peter’s heart was regarding their relationship

Matthew 26:31-35—Peter promised to stay with Jesus until death, even if no one else did
Of course, Peter not only denied Jesus, he pronounced curses on himself if he even “knew” Jesus

Jesus didn’t recount Peter’s promises, he went right to the heart
“Peter, are you still with me? Do you love me?”

Jesus sought to restore the relationship

Jesus focuses on relationship because he wants to restore Peter to service/ministry

3. He Restores to a Place of Service
Three times Jesus asks Peter about their relationship, and three times he requests that Peter would look after Jesus’ sheep or lambs

The most precious thing to Jesus is people
People created in God’s image need a witness of God
Jesus asks Peter to be that witness, to shepherd the flock with the same love he received

“There are a lot of people who sit in church pews who profess love for Jesus Christ, but by whose lives you would never know it. If we truly love Jesus, it will work itself out in ministry: to his people and to his world. Our love needs to be so deep that we are led to really follow in Jesus' footsteps and to love those around us.” Jerome Cooper

Jesus places his most treasured possession in Peter’s care

“The proper foundation for ministering to other people is not guilt, which focuses on ourselves, not even love for others, which focuses to often on people, but love for Jesus Christ, which is the only true focus of ministry. And it's as we love him, that the love for others will grow.” Jerome Cooper

The issue here is not only forgiveness but also restoration
What relationship needs to be restored or re-instated?
Peter moves from resigned to re-instated. This is an incredible gesture of trust from Jesus to Peter

Jesus doesn’t view Peter as disqualified from ministry or from service
In spite of the denials from Peter, Jesus sees Peter as a valuable member of the family. Jesus wants Peter to serve the flock of God.

Jesus wanted to restore Peter, and not just to a relationship with Jesus. He wanted to restore him to a significant ministry in the church

It is interesting to me that the assignment he repeated to Peter 3 times was “take care of my sheep”. It wasn’t to build a great church or launch a world-wide ministry. It was to shepherd people.

God was not through with Peter, and he is not through with us
Jesus wants to see broken relationships restored and re-instated
He wants all of us to act as reconcilers—those who forgive and restore one another (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
He has done it for us, now he wants us to do it for others

Where do you need to look for reconciliation? Who needs restoration in your life?
Jesus seeks reconciliation, should we do any less?

Application
Pope John Paul, Corrie Ten Boom, C. S. Lewis--examples of people who learned to forgive

We all have hurts, we all have needed forgiveness, release, and restoration at one time or another

Those of us who follow Christ have experienced this first hand in our salvation—God forgave our sin, released us from past guilt, and put us in a position of service and ministry for him

This week, what can we do to put this message into action
1. First, spend some time thinking about Peter’s situation. Read 1 Peter to hear his take on “feeding” and “caring for” Jesus’ flock.

2. Second, pursue those who need God’s forgiveness. Make time to share the good news of salvation with those who are estranged from God. While you are at it, pursue those in your own life who need forgiveness from you. Face the elephant in the room. Pursue reconciliation and seek to restore relationships that have been broken. If there are those in your life who you need to forgive, then do it. Do what you can to restore relationship.

3. Finally, look for opportunities to serve out of love for Christ.

If we want to forgive others, we must follow Jesus’ example

Discussion Questions
Do you want the fire of God’s love to motivate your ministry? What kinds of things can quench that love?

Why did Jesus ask about Peter’s love three times? What did Jesus expect Peter to do to show his love?

What does it mean for us to feed or care for Jesus’ sheep or lambs? What does that look like in real life?

Where has God’s forgiveness, relationship, and restoration blessed you? How has God restored and re-instated you?

Who needs your forgiveness, relationship, and reconciliation? How can you bless someone else as God has blessed you?

What would the church look like if we followed Jesus’ example of forgiveness?

Will we do it for the love of Jesus?

What needs to change for us to live this way?

Thanks for reading!

Love Deeper: Following Jesus' Example, Luke 13:10-16, Live Like You Were Dying Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on October 30, 2010. Thomas Road started a new church wide series entitled "Live Like You Were Dying." The staff at TRBC provided teachers topics and notes for each lesson for the next few weeks (this is our third week). I used the notes they provided and tweaked them a bit to fit our particular group. The result are the notes below entitled "Love Deeper: Following Jesus' Example" and looking at Luke 13:10-16. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Love Deeper
Following Jesus’ Example
Luke 13:10-16
Live Like You Were Dying Series

Introduction

We are in the middle of our series “Live Like You Were Dying”
The first week we focused on our need for God and his love in order to be champions for Christ
The second week we discussed how to treat others by “speaking sweeter”
This week we will consider how to love deeper

How did your week go? Did you get many chances to “speak sweeter” to others?

This week, we want to challenge you to be a radical dispenser of God’s love to others.

Discussion Question: what is the most radical, extravagant expression of love you have ever received?

Can you imagine what would happen if just the people in this class really began to love with abandon? What if we got unleashed to start demonstrating bold, reckless, God-like love to those around us?

1 John 4:7-8
If a person is born of God, then they should express his love. According to this passage in 1 John, if your life is devoid of love or if you have little or no compassion for people, then your faith is probably fiction.

Augustine is credited as saying: “Love slays what we have been that we may be what we were not.”

Love changes things. It takes sinful people and by the blood of Jesus and the love of God makes them saints. Love slays the past and changes the future.
Love is a verification and validation of your faith, and it is the sign of a growing faith. It’s not knowledge, or a change in habits, or how many times you come to church in a month. The best indicator of spiritual growth is an ever-increasing love.

Our passage today gives an indication of how Jesus loved on people
Luke 13:10-16

To love deeper, we must follow Jesus’ example

1. We must see others
2. We must engage others
3. We must reach out to others
4. We must persevere even when criticized
5. We must seize the moments God sends us

1. See Others
Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, just another preaching event in the life of a traveling preacher. The crowd was into the sermon, and as Jesus looked at them he noticed one special person: A woman who was bent over and couldn’t stand up. Luke 13:16 tells us that a demon had caused her problem

Notice the important word in Luke 13:12—Jesus “saw” the woman—he noticed her
Jesus locked his eyes on this poor woman and had compassion for her
One of the unique aspects of Christianity is the idea that God notices us—the God of all creation pays attention to us

This is an amazing idea when you think about it
God has numbered the hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30—but that doesn’t mean he’ll replace the missing ones!)

Matthew 9:36—Jesus looks with compassion on others

Two things to recognize here
a. People want to be noticed, they want attention
b. To notice others may require us to slow down

Attention is one of the most powerful forces in the world (i.e., attunement for babies)
People want our undivided attention
They want us to show interest

Everyday we pass people who simply want to be noticed, to be acknowledged
They are bent over, even crippled by a lack of compassion or notice, and they are waiting for a friendly face
To see them we must slow down

If someone was standing on the side of the road, would you notice them more if you were driving by or if you walked by them? The speed of our lives causes us to miss many people who God wants us to notice.

This week, take time to notice people
Take the time to look people in the eye, notice them, encourage them
Slow down enough to spend some time reading the Bible to see how Jesus treats people and ask his Spirit to help you to treat others that way

To love deeper, we must first see others as God sees them

Once we’ve noticed people, we need then to take a risk in engaging them

2. Engage Others
Luke 13 tells us that Jesus didn’t just “see” the woman, he took the risk to engage her and her need

Jesus spoke to her in the synagogue (something taboo in the first century—an unattached male speaking to a woman that is not his family member)
He called her over to himself and healed her

Jesus demonstrated bold and reckless behavior to show compassion to this woman
Sometimes love requires bold action in its expression

C.S. Lewis said “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one.” The Four Loves

Our culture encourages us to disengage, to remain isolated, and to plug into the internet instead. Stay out of touch! Who knows what might happen if you get involved?

The truth is, entering into other people’s lives or experiences is messy

But we are commanded to love: Matthew 5:46-47

We don’t have to do it all perfectly, but we must show up. We must take the risk, take the initiative and get involved in spreading grace to others. (2 Cor. 5:14-15)

How can we engage others in love? Where do we need to take a risk?

Make some time this week to listen to someone’s story or find a place to bless someone

To love deeper, we must take the risk to engage others

3. Reach Out to Others
Most of all, love gives and reaches out. Giving is how love expresses itself. Everyone you meet is made in the image of God. You never lock eyes with another person that doesn’t matter to God.

Jesus notices this poor woman, he engages her, and now he reaches out to her

Luke 13:13 says he laid his hands on her and healed her
He stepped outside of the “comfort zone” of his society and ministered to her need

Notice how Jesus reached out to this woman

a. By the words he spoke
In verse 16, Jesus refers to her as a “daughter of Abraham”. He doesn’t see her as an elderly, crippled, woman. He sees her as a child of the great patriarch of the Jewish people.
Our words can heal or destroy (remember last week?)

b. By his touch
Everyone needs some touch.
Luke 5:12-16—Jesus heals a leper—he actually “touches” him!
All people need human touch. Studies have been conducted showing that people who experience meaningful touch on a regular basis actually have a longer life expectancy.

This week, hand out some hugs, a gentle touch, or some kind words

To love deeper, we must reach out to others

4. Expect Criticism/Resistance
Notice the reaction of the synagogue official in verse 14. An amazing miracle has happened in his church service, and instead of rejoicing in the amazing mercy shown to this woman, this official gets upset that his “order of worship” was overlooked
Where the synagogue official saw a policy issue, Jesus saw a person. What you will notice in the Bible is that Jesus showed incredible patience and grace to those who were broken and seeking. However, he had little patience with pompous, self-righteous religion that cared nothing for people or their needs. Jesus received criticism for his kindness and for hanging out with the “wrong kind” of people. (Luke 7:34)

In spite of the criticism, Jesus continued to love on others. He refused to stop.

When we decide to follow Jesus as his disciples, we may well find ourselves doing things that others will criticize.

If we are doing the works of Christ, however, we should keep it up and love even those who criticize or persecute us (Matt. 5:43-45)

To love deeper, we must be persevere

5. Seize the Day
In this passage, Jesus finds himself involved in a normal Sabbath activity—he was in the synagogue and he was teaching. He did not let the mundane or normal activity keep him from looking for opportunities. In the midst of the “usual,” Jesus looked for a moment to do something unusual. He seized the moment that God provided.

1 John 3:18 and 1 Thess. 3:12

Let’s take advantage of the moments God gives us

To love deeper, we must look for opportunity

This week, in the midst of your normal activities, do these things

a. Look around and see what is happening—look for the need
b. Take a chance, risk engaging others with God’s love and grace
c. Reach out and touch those who need it
d. Ignore the critics
e. Seize the day

Discussion Questions
In what ways were you “crippled” by your life and sin? How did Jesus heal you?

Describe a time when extravagant love overwhelmed your life. How did you respond? How did it make you feel? What was the impact of this love?

Describe a time when someone took a risk and touched your life.

Who in your life is “bent over” or “crippled” by circumstances or Satan? How can you bring the grace of Jesus into that situation?

What is your routine? Who are some of the people you see on a regular basis? How can you engage them and touch them with the love of Christ?

What can you do or say this week that will show the love of God to another?

Will you risk it?

Thanks for reading!

Speak Sweeter, Matthew 5:21-24, Ephesians 4:25-5:2, Live Like You Were Dying Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on October 24, 2010. Thomas Road started a new church wide series entitled "Live Like You Were Dying." The staff at TRBC provided teachers topics and notes for each lesson for the next few weeks. I used the notes they provided and tweaked them a bit to fit our particular group. The result are the notes below entitled "Speak Sweeter" and looking at Matthew 5:21-24 and Ephesians 4:25-5:2. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Speak Sweeter
Matthew 5:21-24
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Live Like You Were Dying Series

Introduction
Second week in our church wide series, “Live Like You Were Dying”

We are trying in this four week study to strip away the layers of our spiritual lives to expose the core. We want to focus on what ought to be the center of our lives.

Central to any proclamation of God’s Word is the idea of “relationship”
Jesus even says that all of the Law and the Prophets can be summed up in two commandments related to relationship—love God and love others

Last week we looked at the need for focus and passion in our pursuit of knowing God—we considered the need for focus in our relationship with God

This week we will consider the other relationship, the one with other people
Relationships are what give our life so much meaning. We are going to shine the spotlight on one facet of our relationships; how we treat each other. And, even more specifically, we are going to take a look at how we treat each other with our words. The phrase from the song Live Like You Were Dying that we are camping on is “speak sweeter.”

To speak sweeter means to change how we talk and how we act

Our passages today will help us focus on this issue, and we will see that to speak sweeter means:

1. We must stop using words to destroy
2. We must start using words to build up

The main point—Our speech reveals our heart

How we talk to others will show how much we either love (or don’t love) them
(By the way, how you talk “about” others will show that too)

Let’s look at our passages today
Matthew 5:21-24
Ephesians 4:25-5:2

1. Stop Using Words to Destroy
Let’s look at some context here
The Matthew passage takes place in the Sermon on the Mount section
Jesus is addressing a lot of people, and he is considering what true worship or godly living looks like

The problem Jesus addresses here begins in the heart

The ultimate issue in this passage concerns reconciliation with others
We must realize that how we treat others is often revealed by our words as much as by our actions—Anger is destructive

Angry words start beneath the surface—they start in our heart

Jesus addresses the issue of murder and reminds his hearers that anger is just as bad
Anger is pretty much murder without the actual killing

Judgment is reserved for those whose hearts are filled with anger and rage
Luke 6:45—the issue is our heart
Jesus says, “Before anything ever rolls off your lips or shows on your face, I am concerned about the attitude in your heart.”

We must learn to deal with anger in our heart (Proverbs 4:23)

Angry words flow from an angry heart
What is your heart condition?

Angry words do lasting damage
Proverbs 29:11

When we vent our anger, we often leave devastation in our path

The progression in Matthew 5:21-22
a. Anger begins in the heart as an attitude
b. Then it shows itself in attempts to question the character of others
c. Raca—means “fool” or “idiot” and more than that—it represents a calculated attack on someone’s character

If anger is left unchecked, it can wreak havoc
Ephesians 4:26-27 (gives a place to Satan)
Paul challenges us to get rid of anger (Eph. 4:31-32)

How do you handle anger?
Explode?
Implode?

Our first step to being disciplined here is to understand our tendencies

Our speech reveals our heart—stop being destructive

2. Start Using Words to Build Up
Ephesians 4:29
Proverbs 18:21

Question—Describe a time when someone’s words were used to encourage you. How does that impact your life today?

Let’s consider three ways we can speak sweeter and build others up this week

1. Be Encouraging (Prov. 12:25)
Anxious hearts are everywhere. Encouragers are needed. Will you be a Barnabas and take a chance on encouraging a Saul? You may find a Paul.

What can you say this week that will build someone up? Who needs encouragement in your circle?

Encouragement can be as simple as noting a job well done, or acknowledging something positive in a person’s life or character. It may also require you to work hard to do it.

2. Be Gentle/Kind (Eph. 4:29, 32)
Jesus is described in Matthew 11:29 as “gentle and humble”—another word is perhaps “tender”
When we talk about gentle words, we are not just talking about the actual words themselves but also the spirit and tone in which we say the words.

Who needs a gentle response from you? Think about your normal routine. Where do you have the best opportunity to speak gentle words?

Gentle words can bring life and health to others (Prov. 15:4)

Being gentle may also be reflected in our kindness to others
Christians ought to be some of the kindest people, in my opinion—how do we show kindness in our daily lives? Who benefits from our kind words or our kind lives?

3. Be healing—be an agent of reconciliation (Eph. 5:1-2; cf. Matt. 5:23-24)
Too often we use words (and actions) to bring pain to others, but Paul (and Jesus) remind us that our primary goal as followers of Christ is to bring life to others
Love is the primary means to bring life to others

Ephesians 4:25—Speak the truth in love
Not gossip
Not speaking harsh things to “make a point”
This means to live transparent lives of reconciliation
The goal is for all of us to be like Jesus (Eph. 5:1-2)

Romans 14:19—pursue peace and building each other up

Conclusion
Life is too short and relationships too precious for you to ignore this teaching. Maybe right now God has brought to your mind a situation that needs to be reconciled. You take the first step. And, do it now.

As we leave today, we must make an effort to be at peace with others. Yes, we have to do it. No matter how bad they have treated you. No matter what they have done. Jesus only died for us because of love, where do we need to die for others to show them God’s great love?

Our speech reveals our heart—start building others up

Thanks for reading!

How to be a Champion, Philippians 3:8-14, Live Like You Were Dying Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on October 17, 2010. Today Thomas Road started a new church wide series entitled "Live Like You Were Dying." The staff at TRBC provided teachers topics and notes for each lesson for the next few weeks. I used the notes they provided and tweaked them a bit to fit our particular group. The result are the notes below entitled "How to be a Champion" and looking at Philippians 3:8-14. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

How to be a Champion
Live Like You Were Dying Series
Philippians 3:8-14

Introduction
Beginning a new series today as a church wide topic
Live Like You Were Dying
A popular song by Tim McGraw

Question
If you only had 30 days to live, what would you do different? How would it change you?

To consider these questions today, we will look at some wisdom from Paul in Philippians 3:8-14

Paul finishes this passage with the statement that he is pressing on to win the prize
Everybody loves a winner, right?
What kinds of sports produce champions in our culture?
What does it take to produce champions in these sports?

If that much effort is poured into creating winners for temporal, fading rewards, then how much more significant is it to invest our efforts in being spiritual champions.

Paul compares our spiritual life to a race, probably the Isthmian games from Corinth. Paul says that what is true for athletes should be true for Christians.

Focus and passion are required to be a champion

1. Proper Focus
In verses 8-11, Paul reminds us that to be spiritual champions requires us to focus on life’s highest priority

Paul says that life is worthless compared to the amazing privilege of knowing Jesus Christ

In a race, distractions can be dangerous
What are some things that distract or weigh down Christians in the 21st century?
Hint: What did we talk about last week from 1 John 2:15-17?

Sometimes we fill our lives with so much stuff and activities that we do not slow down enough to focus on what is important

When we do that, we find ourselves tripped up by distractions

The problem with “full lives” is that all too often God speaks in the margins.
To hear God and to know God you must create space in your life for God. You must create margin moments in your day when you can sit at the feet of Jesus. These times require focus on what is important and will help us grow by nourishing our souls

The ultimate target in life is a personal, intimate, growing, ongoing relationship with Jesus
a. Ginosko here refers to an experience, not simply head knowledge or mental assent
b. It is the same word John used in his first epistle—we have to realize that knowing Jesus is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE
c. Everything else pales in comparison
d. There are no relationships, no job opportunities, no position of fame or “success” that is as important as knowing God (remember Matthew 22:37-40)

Question
How would knowing you only have a month to live change your pursuit of God?

Ambiguities will destroy our focus—we must know our goal

Our highest calling is a life changing relationship with Jesus

Paul’s impressive resume earlier in the chapter vs. Paul’s focus in vv. 8ff

Paul mentions that he wants to know Jesus and the power of his resurrection
All of us want to sign up for that

He also talks about suffering and death
Paul is talking about “no pain no gain” here

Focus and passion are required to be a champion
Both of these need practice to develop properly

2. Practice
In verses 11-13, Paul reminds his readers that he is not claiming perfection

Remember, this is the Apostle Paul we are talking about:
a. After threatening to kill Christians, he has a face-to-face encounter with the resurrected Jesus
b. He goes on to preach the gospel all over the Roman empire and especially to Gentiles
c. He writes almost half of the New Testament
d. If he hasn’t arrived, who can?

We have to remember that our relationship with Christ is a process—to succeed in that process requires us to practice what God has taught us

What keeps us from moving forward? What hinders us from growing in Christ?

We need to develop a discontent with where we are spiritually so that we may be motivated to move forward

Example—football practice
Even though it was difficult and I sometimes hated it, I knew I could not play football as well as I wanted unless I practice the necessary skills needed to succeed

We must be discontent with where we are, we must move on to the things God wants us to do

Focus and passion are required to be a champion
To attain these requires a proper perspective

3. Perspective
In verses 13 and 14, Paul reminds his readers that one thing that is needed for proper perspective is we must put the past behind us (or, for you “Lion King” fans—”put your behind in the past”)

Paul says that he is “forgetting what lies behind”
He doesn’t mean trying to erase all past memories from his mind
He means something like what I hear at football games when a quarterback makes a bad play
The announcer will say “He needs to focus on the play to come and not on what just happened.” In other words, he should not let his “bad plays” have an effect on his present actions

Living in the past (or looking in the rear view mirror) typically causes us to stumble in our race

Learning from the past is important, of course, but living in bondage to the past just hinders us

We must choose not to be held hostage by our past

Another important part of perspective is the need to keep our eyes on the future—to look forward with expectation to what God is doing in us and through us

Think of a runner or the driver of a chariot nearing the finish line
We need to lunge forward, to lean into the future

Clarence Jordan says “It is difficult to be indifferent to a wide-awake Christian, a real live person of God. It is even more difficult to be indifferent to a whole body of Christians like this.”

If you found that you only had 30 days to live, how would you live differently than today?

A. W. Tozer says it this way—those who are passionately focused on and devoted to God
Are facing in one direction (i.e., they allow no hindrances)
Can never turn back (i.e., they keep moving in the direction of God)
No longer have plans of their own

Focus and passion are required to be a champion
What does your focus say about you?
What does your passion reveal about your goals?

Application
How do we respond to these things?

George Bernard Shaw said:
“This is the true joy in life . . . being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. . . I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. For the harder I work the more I live. Life is no brief candle to me. It’s a sort of splendid torch which I’ve got to hold up for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

We know that our spiritual life is like a race, and we know that winning that race requires focus and passion. What can we do this week to improve these things?

First, this week check your focus. Where is our attention? Where is our focus? This week take 20 minutes a day to get in the presence of Jesus. Read his Bible. Listen to his Spirit. Ask where your focus needs to be. Then do what he tells you. Also, take a look at the things that are important to you. Make a list. Does that list reflect a focus on things more than on people? If so, make a point this week to focus on others. Meet needs that you see in your circle. Put people first.

Second, find ways to increase your passion. Like practice for an athlete, find ways to motivate yourself to do those things that seem to have become “humdrum” or every day. What can you do this week to increase your passion? What will we have to leave behind to pursue a passion for Christ? What things rob us of our passion? We need to deal decisively with those things. Put them aside. Repent and pursue God. Ask him to increase your passion.

Focus and passion are required to be a champion
This week let’s focus on what pleases God and let’s be passionate about what honors him.
Let’s be Champions for Christ

Discussion Questions
1. Where is your focus and passion? Do they need adjustment?

2. Why did Paul view his former accomplishments as "rubbish"? (3:8)

3. What “rubbish” or “garbage” do we find ourselves hanging on to as a means of justifying our existence or our position? How does this stuff compare to Jesus?

4. What hope did Paul express? (3:9-11) How is one “found in Christ”?

5. If someone asked you how you “know” God, how would you respond? How has the knowledge of Christ changed your life?

6. Where have you experience Christ’s power? His resurrection? His death?

7. In what ways did Paul's spiritual life resemble the discipline of a runner? (3:12-14) In what areas do you need discipline or practice to improve your focus?

8. What was Paul's view of the past? (3:13) Where have you allowed your past to hold you hostage? How can your past help urge you forward?

9. What was Paul's goal? (3:14) Had Paul attained it?

10. How can we imitate Paul in our spiritual journey? What do we need to help us stay focused in our relationship with Christ?

11. Who in your world needs to see a person “totally alive” for Christ? How can you be that person?

Thanks for reading!

Love and Identity, 1 John 2:15-17, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on October 3-10, 2010. A few weeks ago, we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:15-17 and discusses the idea that our identity as Christians is revealed by what we love. If we have the love of the Father, then our actions will reveal an identity in keeping with God's will and plans. If we love the world, then we will find ourselves identifying with the world instead of God. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Love and Identity
Theology Matters Series
1 John 2:15-17

Introduction

The Problem with Tests
Comprehensive exams for graduate school
Does anybody like tests?

John gives several tests in this letter to reveal a person’s commitment to Christ
1. The theological test—what we believe about Jesus
2. The social test—how we act towards others
3. The moral test—how we respond to God’s demand

Our passage today comes in the context of the social test

Chapter 2 has discussed the importance of brotherly love, the spiritual family, growth in God’s family, and obedience to God’s commands

In verses 15-17 John gives instructions regarding love and identity

John says “Identity is revealed by love”
What or who we love reveals who we are
John asks, “Where is your love?”

1 John 2:15-17

1. A Command
1 John 2:15—This is the only command in this section, so it must be the main point

Let’s define some terms

What does the word “world” mean?
Greek term, kosmos, means “world” with four variations
The universe or created order or the earth specifically (Romans 1:20; 1 Cor. 8:4, Rev. 11:15)
Humanity in general (John 1:29; 3:16)
Earthly possessions (Matthew 16:26; 1 John 3:17)
Hostility to God (2 Corinthian 5:19)
John’s use seems to encompass the last two in this passage (example: “world of sports”)
John wants us to avoid loving the sphere of things that are hostile to God or lead us away from God

What does the word “love” mean?
Ironically, the Greek term here is a form of agape
Probably used here as cherish, show affection for, value, hold in high esteem
Think of Lord of the Rings and Gollum’s “Precious”

Now that our terms are defined, let’s look at the command

Don’t love the world or its things
We were commanded earlier to love our brothers and not to hate them
Now we are given a negative command about love
John seems to imply that loving the world is the opposite of loving our brothers and sisters

The command is to avoid cherishing possessions or things hostile to God (they are not the same thing)
Stuff must not be as important at people

If you do love the world, you do not have the love of the Father
Jesus says you can’t serve two masters (Matt. 6:24)
We cannot have God’s love or love for God while loving that which leads us away from him

The lover is consumed by the beloved

What we love reveals who we are
What does what you love or cherish reveal about you?
What is your “precious” that consumes you?
Love of God produces love for others—that should be our identity

2. A Contrast
1 John 2: 16—John defines what the “things of the world” are
In doing so, John gives us three characteristics of what infatuation with the world looks like

a. Lust of the flesh
Refers to a desire or longing or appetite
Eve’s temptation (tree was good for food) or even Jesus’ temptation (stones to bread)
The problem: these appetites may become the controlling factor of life, driving everything we do
These are desires gone wrong, desires that have replaced God as the focus
What does your appetite reveal about you and what you love? Do you control your appetites or do they control you?

b. Lust of the eyes
Things triggered by sight, the seductive lure of attractive things
Eve (the fruit was a delight to the eyes—it looked good) and Jesus (taken to the top of the temple and told to throw himself off)
Think of the seductive nature of advertising that leads to “I need something” whether I need it or not
This is the danger of the attractive, the beautiful, the sensual
Attractive things in themselves are not sinful, it is the “lust” or the “craving” for them that is the problem
Wanting to own or to possess it as a matter of uncontrolled or wanton desire
What do the things we look at or long for tell us about ourselves and what we love?

c. Boastful pride of life
The outward show of “stuff” or “position” or “prestige” as a means of attaining my security
This is wanton self sufficiency—”See what I accomplished”
Eve (the fruit is desirable to make one wise, to be ike God) and Jesus (the offer of the world as a kingdom)
Where is my security? Is it in “stuff” or “position”? What makes me proud and what does that say about my love and my identity?

By describing what the “love of the world” looks like, John implies for us what the “love of the Father” looks like: it is the opposite

Three characteristics
a. Does not desire things for selfish use
b. Does not desire things for possession because they look good
c. Is not boastful or self-sufficient

The love of the Father is focused on God and his desires, his possessions, his ability
The love of the Father pushes us to use our “stuff” for others, to avoid trying to control others, to be willing to see others put ahead of us or blessed in spite of us
This is love for the brothers and sisters

How do you use things? How do you view others? How self-sufficient are you?

What we love reveals who we are
The love of the Father leads to love for others

3. A Comparison
1 John 2:17—John now reveals the lasting difference between the love of the world and the love of the Father

The stuff of the world is passing away
The world is temporary (1 Cor. 4:17-18—things that are seen are temporal)
The stuff of the world will not last (Heb. 11:25—passing pleasures)
The world and its stuff leads to death

The love of the Father leads to eternal life
Love of God leads to doing what God wants
For John, keeping God’s commandments equals life (1 John 2:3-5; 1 John 5:2-3; cf. John 14:15

What we love reveals who we are
Love for the world reveals death in us
Love for God reveals his life in us by the things we do—loving God shows up in how we treat others

Application
How do we respond to this information? If what we love reveals who we are, then what does our love reveal about us today?

Some of us may be in good shape. In fact, I think many of you are doing well in this regard. Your love for Christ reveals itself in your selfless love for others. You love to spend time with the Beloved and with his people. You are consumed with his stuff, his Words, his presence. You are “in love” with the Father because of the Son.

On the other hand, some of us may have misplaced our love—we came to Christ and were initially consumed by him. He was everything to us, and we wanted to be with him and in him in all things. We would surrender even our lives just to be around the Beloved. Something changed, however, and our love grew a bit cold. We avoided too much contact with him. We were hesitant to hang around him. We found other “attractions” to “meet out needs.”

What can we all do this week to put feet to the truth of this passage?
1. First, take a hard look at your heart. What do you love? What does that love reveal about your identity, about who you are? Are there things that have gotten your attention and misplaced your love? List them, then deal with them. Confess them to God. If necessary, physically remove them. Find a way to keep them from becoming idols again. Be accountable.

2. Second, begin to cultivate love for God. Make an appointment to spend time in his presence. Make time to spend time with his people. Use your things to love others, give your eyes to love him. Look at and pay attention to those things that are attractive to God—humility, selfless giving, encouraging others, putting the needs of others before your own, loving without expectation of return. This week make a special effort to find your security in him—not in a job, a relationship, a pay check, or a dream. Let love for him consume you. Remember what he has done to show his love for you. God loved you enough to die for you.

What we love reveals who we are—will we be consumed by God’s love?

Discussion Questions

1. What is the danger of loving the world and the things of the world?

2. Where has the stuff of the world invaded your spiritual life? What things do you find yourself pursuing as “ultimate things”?

3. What is it about the world that makes it so attractive? How does the love of God help us overcome the allure of the world?

4. What is the result of loving the world? How should that motivate us? Where do you need God’s help to love not the world?

5. How can you root yourself more deeply in the love of God in order to overcome the attraction of the world?

6. In what ways does God love the world? What is it about the world that God does not love?

7. How should we live in response to God’s love? Who needs God’s love through us this week?

8. Where do we need to resist the world? Will we?

Thanks for reading!