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!

Wildfire 2010--"Act Like Men: Strong Advice for Tough Times, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14"

Hello all:

This weekend I am teaching break out sessions at a Men's Impact Weekend called Wildfire 2010. The conference meets at Thomas Road Baptist Church. I already had one session (with a room full of men and folks sitting on the floor and standing in the hall!). I have another session this afternoon, but I thought I'd share my notes here for any who may want to see them. Let me know if you have any questions!

Act Like Men
Strong Advice for Tough Times
1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Introduction
What does it mean to be a “man” today?
How about when you were growing up?

The movie “Second Hand Lions” and the “how to be a man speech”

Our passage today is Paul’s version of “how to be a man”
It is strong advice for tough times

All of the statements that follow are commands, they are not options
God expects us to take these things seriously

Corinth
What do you know about the church in Corinth?

These people were a mess:

They had divided on doctrinal issues
They had split into factions determined by slogans and political posturing
They had forgotten what they were taught and become lazy in their spiritual growth/wisdom
They had ceased to serve one another and passed judgment on each other to the point of lawsuits
They had immoral activity in their church
Their marriages were on the rocks
They abused their spiritual liberty and hurt one another with it
They had no spiritual discipline and had become disorderly in their use of God’s gifts
They lost love for one another
They had forgotten the power of God’s love and Christ’s resurrection
They needed some men to lead them

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

1. Act Like Men
Andrizesthe—Greek term (present tense)
a. To behave like a man as opposed to acting like a juvenile
b. Be men constantly, play the man
c. Exhibit positive masculine properties
d. Be mature and be brave

Three characteristics to note here:
a. Spiritual maturity—1 John 2:12-14—John encourages his readers to progress on to a mature position, to leave behind childish things (1 Cor. 13:11-12)—cf. Ephesians 4:13
This maturity comes from the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 John 2:12-14—young men are strong in the Word of God)—this Word of God refers of course to both the written Word (the Bible) and the Incarnate Word (Jesus)—to be spiritually mature requires us to be adept in both (1 Cor. 14:20—the Corinthians need to grow up)

What about us? Where do we need to grow up? Where do we need to stop acting juvenile? What relationships and situations need maturity instead of juvenile selfishness?

b. Courage—John Wesley: “Give me 100 men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world: I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the Kingdom of God on earth.”

c. Consistency—a constant process of growth that builds Christ-like characteristics in our lives. God isn't looking for perfectionism, but he desires a consistent growth and process of sanctification. We must continue to become like Jesus!

The rest of this passage reveals for us what it means to “act like men” according to Paul
To act like men requires us to first be on the alert

2. Be on the Alert
“Be watchful”—a military word with a strategy in mind that means to be alert or vigilant
It is the opposite of indifference or apathy
It is an active concern to be aware

What happens when those on guard duty fail their watch?
The enemy sneaks in
Soldiers suffer loss
Someone may die

In the spiritual life of a Christian man, watchfulness must be combined with prayer
Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2

What are the objects of our watching?
The enemy (1 Peter 5:8)
Temptation (Mark 14:38)
False Teaching (2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1)
Opportunities to share God’s good news or to do God’s works (Titus 3:1; 2 Timothy 4:5)
The return of Christ (Matthew 24:42-44)

To act like men means to watch out for each other
Watching out for each other requires a solid foundation in Christ

3. Stand Firm in the Faith
Another “militant” term—Paul is calling on the Corinthians to make a stand, to be recognized, to hold their ground (cf. Ephesians 6:10-11)
1 Corinthians 15:58

There is a connection between being watchful and standing firm
An army on the watch is an army ready to stand
An army caught off guard or on break is an army soon defeated

How do we “stand firm”?
a. Be a disciple/learner—spend time learning the great truths of God from the Bible—be a Berean who searches the Scripture to find God’s plan
b. Know what you believe (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
c. Know why you believe it and be ready to offer a reason (1 Peter 3:15)
d. Once you know what and why, then act on it—do the truth

Standing firm is like a tree planted with deep roots—it is solid because it has a strong foundation—our foundation is what God accomplished through Jesus and the revelation of his truth in the Bible

Our faith (belief and action) should be an anchor for us (2 Timothy 2:15)

To act like men means to make a stand in what God has done
Standing in God’s work requires and results in strength

4. Be Strong
Krataio—refers to a strength in action rather than simply strength in possession
It isn’t how much you bench press, it is how you act when strength needed
The biggest muscles will freeze up if there is no strong character

Ephesians 6:10—”be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”
Three kinds of strength here—empowerment (be endued with the Lord’s power), strength (a similar word as used in 1 Corinthians), and power (might or muscle)
We must gain power from God, act on what he gives us, and use it to accomplish his purposes

2 Corinthians 10:3-6—we pull down fortresses

What does this strength look like in action? Philippians 2:3-4
God’s power properly applied usually acts on behalf of others

Which brings us to our final point
We have all these “militant” terms, then Paul calls us to love
To act like men, we must be strong—but strength must be always be tempered with love

5. Do All in Love
What’s love got to do with it?
Only everything
God at his most powerful is also God at his most vulnerable

John 1:1-3, 14—God who created all things revealed his glory, grace, and truth by becoming one of us and revealing God among us (i.e., “Immanuel”)

Philippians 2:5-8
Equal with God, but didn’t take advantage
Emptied himself, and became a servant
Incarnated as a human, he humbly obeyed even to the point of dying for our sins on a cross
How did Jesus love? He gave himself so others could live
That’s the love Paul refers to here

To act like men requires us to do all things in love

The Corinthians certainly needed this kind of love (Paul even discussed it in chapter 13 of this book)
Their divisions had caused factions and fighting
They had become rivals instead of brothers
They were engaging in lawsuits instead of love
They were acting like children
They were not watching out for each other
They were not standing firm in the truth Paul had taught them
They were giving in to weakness

Where do we need love? Where do we need to show love?

To act like men, we must learn to do all things in love
That little three letter word is difficult isn’t it?
“All” things—even my marriage? My kids? My job? My business relationships? Even with those who don’t “love” me? Even in situations where showing love could result in a loss for me?

What do you think?

Acting like men is not easy
No one said growing up would be simple
Paul’s advice here is tough

Conclusion
So what do we do? How do we respond to this passage?

Our circumstances are not so different from the church in Corinth
We live in a divided society, live in divided families, even attend divided churches
We have people around us acting like juveniles—blaming others for their problems or only looking out for themselves—we have a lack of “grown ups”—we need some mature men
We have problems creeping in, temptations attacking, people falling, we need someone to be on the watch
Our society and our churches seem at times to be slipping into all kinds of problems or errors or sin. Nothing seems to be solid or firm. We need folks who are on a solid foundation
We need strength tempered by love

Our response to this passage is simple
We must act like men
We must go to our homes, our churches, our neighborhoods and embody the principles Paul has described here

Will we risk it?
If we don’t, who will?

What will our families, our churches, and our world look like if we do?
I’d like to see that!

Thanks for reading!

Three Stages of Growth: Growing on to Maturity, 1 John 2:12-14, Theology Matters Series, 1 John 2:12-14

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 September 12, 2010. A couple of weeks ago, we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:12-14 and discusses the need for Christians to grow through the stages of Christian life on their way to maturity. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Three Stages of Growth: Growing on to Maturity
Theology Matters Series
1 John 2:12-14

Introduction
Our study of 1 John has focused several times on fellowship

We have talked about fellowship with God, fellowship with Christ, and even fellowship with one another

Fellowship requires relationship—there can literally be on “communion” or fellowship where there is no relationship

Today’s passage takes this idea into account and offers for us three stages of growth in our relationship with God
1. Being Children
2. Being Youth
3. Being Fathers

1 John 2:12-14
Relationship is a process
The process of Christian growth results in maturity
Let’s grow to maturity

1. Children
1 John 2:12, 13c

Teknia—infant, baby, refers to relationship by birth
Paidia—a half grown child, a child under instruction (Gal. 2:24—Law as a tutor to lead us to Christ—”tutor” is paidagogos)

Characteristics of “children”
a. Sins are forgiven on account of Jesus
This is the “little child” stage in the family of faith. All of us begin here—our sins are forgiven because of what Christ has accomplished (1 John 2:1-2; 1 John 1:7-9;
The basic Christian position is one of having received forgiveness of sins. It is the starting place of our salvation experience.

b. Know the Father
This is the reason our sins are forgiven, i.e., because we know the Father
We have come to God as to a Father, not a stern Judge or a sentimental and libertarian Grandfather
As children, we have a Father, a Daddy, an Abba (Gal. 4:6; Romans 8:15)
John 17:2-3—eternal life is defined as knowing the Father through Jesus

We start as children who love “Daddy”

The danger of immaturity (Heb. 5:12-13)
Little boy who fell out of bed: “I guess I fell asleep too close to where I came in.”

Remaining an infant is hard to live with on a permanent basis, isn’t it?

Little children can be rude, lazy, even selfish, but they know their Daddy
There must be a beginning to the Christian life, but we should not end there.
The goal should be maturity. Just as we expect an infant or a toddler to grow, so we should expect a new Christian to mature (2 Peter 3:18)

We must grow out of childhood

2. Youth
1 John 2:13b, 14b

Characteristics of the “youth”
a. Overcome the evil one
b. Strong/Vitality
c. Word of God abides in them

The first two items above are a bit more “militant,” i.e., they describe a youth who is battle ready. They are strong and ready to fight and win.
These are Christians whose faith has been tested and found to be solid (1 Peter 1:6-9; James 1:2-4)
They have wrestled with the evil one and won
Their eyes are open to the true nature of the conflict (Eph. 6:12ff)—we wrestle not with flesh and blood
The immature Christian tends to look at other people as the source of their problems

Those who have overcome the evil one know better
The battle is in the mind and in the heart, with attitudes, temptations, and spiritual assaults
They have learned to live in fellowship with God through Christ—God’s strength is their armor (Eph. 6:10)
They know that they cannot win the battle alone—they need God and they need brothers and sisters (i.e., “a band of brothers” or “comrades in arms”)
They have learned to walk in God’s Spirit

Youth glory in their strength or accomplishments

The source of their strength and training is found in the last item—it is the Word of God
a. They have a hunger and a thirst for God’s Word
b. They don’t simply read or study it, they “abide” in it
c. They pitch their tent in its regions, they listen to its instructions, they act on its advice
d. They realize that their orders and their training are found only in this one source—God’s Word
e. This is a reference, of course, to both the written Word and the incarnate Word of God
f. We need God’s instruction (the Bible) and God’s incarnation (Jesus Christ)

These Christians are a bit further along in spiritual growth than the “little children,,” yet they are not quite mature
All they lack to be “mature” is experience

We must press on to adulthood

3. Fathers
1 John 2:13a, 14a

Characteristics of the “mature”
a. Know him who has been from the beginning
b. Got in on the ground floor
c. Know the One who started it all

These “fathers” or “mature” are the ones who have been there since the beginning of the Christian movement. They may well be John’s disciples

These are those Christians who have progressed through the earlier stages of Christian growth. They have probably even produced spiritual offspring

These individuals have “known him who was from the beginning”: a possible reference to 1 John 1:1 and the Incarnation

Spiritually mature folks don’t forget their foundation

By long experience, these folks have come to know God with a deep intimacy
They have a personal acquaintance with the Father through Jesus that has spanned a long time and many hardships

It is a close relationship, like a married couple who have been together for decades

They have become like the One they love—they are Christ-like

1 Cor. 13:11—they have put away childish things

They are no longer juvenile in their attitudes

They are no longer unstable, flippant, or petty, but they are dependable, faithful, competent, and thoughtful

These people are mature

They walk in forgiveness (both receiving and giving it), they resist/overcome the evil one, they know the Father, they act like the Son, and they walk in the Spirit

Spiritually mature people become like Jesus/We must grow to maturity

Application
The family of Christ includes many followers at different stages of Christian life and discipleship

There are those who are just starting out or learning to walk in the faith
There are those who through diligent study and application of God’s Word have become strong warriors in God’s family
There are those who by long experience and intimacy with God have become mature leaders and parents for others

The application then becomes clear—God intends for us to grow on to maturity in our walk with Christ. We cannot risk the danger of remaining children or youth in our faith forever. We must continue to grow.

This week:
1. Take time to evaluate your spiritual growth chart. Like those charts our parents used to chart our height or growth as children, so do we need to take stock of where we are. How long have you been a follower of Christ? How far have you come? Are you still in infancy? Young adulthood? Are you mature? Make an honest assessment.

2. Make time to get familiar with God and his Word this week. If the youth gain their strength and vitality against the evil one by abiding in the Word, then we need to learn to do this as we mature in our faith. Read 1 John and the Gospel of John. Act on the commands.

3. Make time to relate to your brothers and sisters. Are you in an accountable relationship? Do you have a group of people who regularly challenge you to grow and to do the things God has called us to do? If not, find a group. Motivation is important in Christian growth, and we should motivate one another. How can you motivate your brothers and sisters? How do you need motivation?

4. Make time to show God’s kindness to others.

We must move on to maturity
Will we?

Discussion Questions

1.Motivation is important in Christian growth, and we should motivate one another. How can you motivate your brothers and sisters? How and where do you need motivation?

2. Why is knowing forgiveness so basic to the Christian life (see 2 Pet. 1:9)? Is there a danger of abusing this truth? Where do you need forgiveness? Where do you need to give it?

3. What areas need to change so that you can grow on to maturity?

4. Where has God worked maturity in you? How did he do it?

5. In what ways are you like Christ? Where do you need to change?

6. How can you help others grow on to Christ-like maturity?

7. Who do you know that needs to start a relationship with God? How can you introduce them to Christ?

Thanks for reading!

What Jesus Wants: Love One Another, Theology Matters Series 1 John 2:7-11

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 meetings on August 29-September 5, 2010. A couple of weeks ago, we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:7-11 and discusses the necessity of loving one another as an example of being obedient to Jesus. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

What Jesus Wants
Love One Another
1 John 2:7-11

Introduction

Our study of first John until now
1. The importance of a good theological foundation via the Incarnation (1 John 1:1-4)
2. The importance of living in God’s spotlight (1 John 1:5-10)
3. The importance of knowing Jesus and keeping his commandments (1 John 2:1-6)

Last week we took a brief side trip to look at the greatest commandments and to consider the importance of loving God and others (Matthew 22:34-40)

This week John brings us to a description of what keeping Jesus’ commandments looks like

If 1 John 2:1-6 describe how we love God (by keeping his commandments), then 2:7-11 explains how loving each other perfects God’s love in us and reveals God’s life and light in us

This week, we look at what Jesus wants according to John

1. The Commandment
1 John 2:7-8

The first six verses of 1 John 2 remind us to love God and to see God’s love perfected in us

These next verses (7-11) teach us how to make that love obvious in our lives—it is by loving others that God’s love is perfected in us

A couple of weeks ago we spoke about knowing Jesus and how that relationship is expressed by doing what Jesus tells us to do—by keeping Jesus’ commandments

In today’s verses, John says that he is writing this letter to give his church an old and new commandment

Questions
What is the difference between old and new?
How can something be old and yet also be new?

What does Jesus want?
Jesus wants us to keep his commandments

The description of this commandment
a. Something old—it is not brand new or just made up
b. Something they had from the beginning—probably a reference to what they learned early on as Christians as opposed to something that is being taught as a recent doctrine or a “new revelation”
c. Something that they heard—it was taught, preached, talked about
d. Something new—the Greek word here means “fresh” as opposed to “recent”—this command is “new in kind” not “new in time”
e. Something true—it reflects the true Light of God (remember our discussion about the spotlight of God?)

This old/new commandment is true in Jesus and it is true in his followers

How is it “true” in Jesus? How is it true in His followers?
It is truly revealed in the life and ministry of Christ and it is proven in the experience of his believers

It is Light that causes the darkness to fade away
It dawned with Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and it continues to push the darkness back as the children of God continue to live it

This command is clear—love one another (John 13: 34-35 cf. vv. 1-17 and the footwashing)—this is the specific test of true obedience—God’s love is perfected in us as we learn to love one another (more on this in a minute)

What does Jesus want?
Jesus wants us to love one another

Side Note: What does John want?
John is writing to help the church become a loving, caring, sincere family where each member is intimately and genuinely concerned about others. He wants a church where truth and living co-exist. John envisions a church in which brothers and sisters are slow to take offense, quick to forgive, ready to accept one another (warts and all), and quick to encourage.

John was no doubt profoundly influenced by Jesus’ love and ministry. He probably recalled Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” The words of Jesus concerning the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39), “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” were still ringing in John’s ears. John wants a church that looks like Jesus.

2. The Contrast
1 John 2:9

In the verses above, John contrasts (and combines) old and new, but also includes true (and by implication) versus false. Now he distinguishes these further by the contrast of light and darkness in the lives of people

What does John say characterizes light?
a. Light is true in Christ (v. 8)
b. Light shines and causes darkness to fade (v. 8)
c. A person walking in the light (i.e., fellowship with God—1 John 1:6-7; speaking truth—1 John 1:7-8; confessing sins—1 John 1:9-10) is one who does not hate
There is no wiggle room here—John sees light as love and darkness as hate—no middle ground
d. If you are in the Light you will not hate your brother

What does John say characterizes darkness?
a. Darkness is false
b. Darkness does not comprehend Jesus (John 1:5)
c. Darkness does not fellowship with God, does not speak truth, and does not confess sin
d. Darkness hates

The contrast is pretty clear here—we cannot claim to walk in God’s light and continue to live in any way that does not reflect God’s love
To hate others is to reject God’s command and to remain in darkness

What does Jesus want?
Jesus wants us to walk in his light

1 John 2:10-11
John continues his restatement of the command as a contrast between love and hate (or light and darkness)

Characteristics of one who walks in darkness/hate
a. The one in darkness does not know where he is going (i.e., he is “lost” in the night)
b. The one in darkness stumbles over obstacles
c. The one in darkness is “blind” and unable to see (cf. John 9 and the healing of the blind man—who is really blind?)
d. The one in darkness hates his brother and does not look out for his brother—the main concern is probably selfish but certainly is not focused on the needs, encouragement, or improvement of his neighbor’s life

Characteristics of one who abides in light/love
a. The one in the light knows where he is going (i.e., he can see to follow Christ)
b. The one in the light does not stumble nor causes others to stumble
c. The one in the light is not blind but able to see what God is doing and to rejoice in God’s work
d. The one in the light loves his brother and looks out for the needs, encouragement, and improvement of his neighbor’s life

What does Jesus want?
Jesus wants us to walk in love for one another

Loving One Another
What does it mean to love other believers? In 1 John 3:16 John defines it, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Love is characterized by being willing to give up everything, including life itself, for the sake of another.

Jesus loved us in this way (cf. Phil. 2:5-8). He willingly, of his own free will, gave up his life for us when we were yet sinners and enemies of God (Rom. 5:8-10). This is the example of love we have been given! This is how we should love each other.

What does Jesus want?
He wants us to love as he loves

Side Note 2: What about John?
Church history tells us that when John was old and unable to walk, members of the church where he lived would pick him up and carry him to the meeting place, so that John could address his beloved brothers and sisters. On the way, John was often heard saying, “Little children, love one another.” In fact, the testimony of the early church was that they did love one another. Tertullian notes that the love of the early church was so obvious that it impressed even those who did not believe in God. Tragically, this spirit disappeared, and in view of the controversies of the fourth century, a non-Christian writer named Ammianus would state, “The enmity of the Christians toward each other surpassed the fury of savage beasts against man.” Something changed from the first century to the fourth century. Controversies arose in the church, and instead of treating one another with love, factions developed, and with factions came anger and hatred, so much so that by the time of the Reformation those who claimed to be followers of Jesus Christ were killing each other over doctrinal disputes and differences. (W. Robertson Nicoll, commentary on 1 John)

Sad, but true. How are we like this today?

Application
In 1 John 2:1-6 we were encouraged to keep Jesus’ commandments and have God’s love perfected in us. This week we are told more directly that Jesus’ commandment is that we love one another.

How can we do this?
Do we really need instruction?

This week:
1. Ask the hard question—where is the evidence in my life that I love others? Other Christians? Other people (non-Christians)? What do I do that looks like God’s love in Christ? We need to search our hearts and ask for God’s conviction about this situation. Is there a relationship we need to improve? Do we need to show love by reconciling? This week ask God about it and act on what he tells you.

2. Spend time in God’s Word—get out a concordance and look up the word “love” and read the passages. Go on-line to http://www.blueletterbible.org/ and search the word “love” in the Gospel of John and 1 John (it occurs 26 times in the Gospel and 36 times in 1 John). Learn about love from God’s Word.

3. Go out and love others. Give a larger tip than usual, encourage a friend, write that note you intended to write, be kind to one another and even to strangers, share your faith with someone, or simply give your time to helping others. Make it a priority to do love. It isn’t just about words, it is about actions
Love one another and walk in the light—that’s what Jesus wants

Discussion Questions
1. Give some reasons why it is impossible to walk in the light and hate others at the same time.

2. In what practical ways have you been showing love to other Christians? To other people? Do such acts define or motivate your goals in life?

3. What priority do the commands of God have in your life?

4. What is different about the new commandment compare to say the 10 commandments?

5. The person hating his brother apparently has a stumbling block in him. How may hating a brother cause him to stumble?

6. What affect does this have on the world's perspective of Christianity?

7. What would the church look like if we took seriously Jesus’ command to love one another?

8. Who needs God’s love this week? How will you show it to them?

Thanks for reading!

Knowing Jesus, 1 John 2:1-6, 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 meetings on August 8-15, 2010. A couple of weeks ago, we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:1-6 and discusses the the effect that knowing Jesus should have on the life of a Christian. We consider the role of Jesus regarding sin and redemption, the importance of Jesus' commandments, and the need to walk as Jesus walked. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Knowing Jesus
Theology Matters Series
1 John 2:1-6

Introduction
Our series “Theology Matters”

We started our study of 1 John a few weeks ago
We introduced this letter and discussed issues related to its writing—author, date, reason for writing, situations in the church, and even the problems facing some of John’s people
Then we looked at how John presents the Incarnation as a foundation for joy and for fellowship with God and with others
The past couple of weeks we looked at how God’s Light illuminates our lives and helps us overcome and avoid sin
We discussed how walking with God is an ongoing experience that requires both effort and practice
This week we find John continuing that theme by focusing in on Jesus

Our passage this week finds John clarifying his discussion about walking in the Light by explaining how knowing Jesus helps the Christian

Our passage gives insight into three important areas regarding knowing Jesus
1. Knowing Jesus’ role regarding sin
2. Knowing Jesus’ commandments
3. Knowing Jesus’ example

Knowing Jesus is the only way to true life as a Christian

1. Knowing Jesus’ Role Regarding Sin
1 John 2:1-2

John further clarifies his discussion concerning light and dark by outlining for his readers the reason for his letter
a. He writes to warn them to avoid sin
b. He writes to describe for them the character of Christ and its impact on their lives as Christ followers

John tells his readers: “Do Not Sin” (v. 1a)
Earlier he warned us not to claim to be sinless
Now he tells us not to sin
Which is it? Are Christians sinful or sinless? How much will a real Christian sin?

Definition of Sin
1 John 3:4—sin is lawlessness
Romans 3:23—falling short of God’s glory

Our goal should be to avoid and to resist sin

John writes as though his letter may help his readers in avoiding or at least resisting sin
a. Scripture can aid us in avoiding and resisting sin (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 119:105)
b. As we walk in God’s Truth (his Light, remember last week?), we will be aware of our sins and aware of the potential traps in life
c. God’s Word is our most convenient revelation from God—to neglect it is to neglect God’s self-disclosure

Knowing Jesus leads us to lives that avoid and resist sin

In verses 1b-2, John further describes the role of Jesus by the words “advocate” and propitiation

Advocate
a. Paraclete—the same word describing the Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7)
b. “Called along side”
c. Carries the following ideas
Advocate, Helper, Counselor, Intercessor, etc.
d. To plead another’s case or the aid them in their defense

Atonement (1 John 4:10; Romans 3:23-25; Hebrews 2:17-18)
a. Hilasmos—Propitiation, Expiation, or Atonement?
b. Has to do with appeasing an angry deity or in making payment for sins
c. May also mean bringing reconciliation between warring parties
d. God, in Jesus, offers the only sacrifice that will deal adequately with sin
e. Jesus is the hilasmos for the whole world (John 3:16)

Jesus died as a result of sin—all sin—the sin of every human being
Therefore salvation is available to all because the sacrifice is on behalf of the whole world
Of course, only those who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ receive the benefit
God provides the means of salvation, humans receive the gift by faith

Knowing Jesus leads to fellowship with God and forgiveness of sins
Through Jesus we get both salvation and sanctification

2. Knowing Jesus and His Commandments
1 John 2:3-5a

Salvation comes from knowing Jesus as the atoning sacrifice and only advocate for our sins

Assurance of our salvation comes from knowing and keeping his commandments
“By this we know that we have come to know him”

What does it mean to know Jesus?
a. The word here means more than simply intellectual acknowledgment or understanding
b. The idea in the Greek has to do with experience or with sharing life together
c. It implies a “fellowship” or unity built on shared life

John says that we can have assurance in our relationship with God if, and only if, that relationship has caused a change in our way of life
If we are genuinely followers of Christ, then we should keep his commandments

What are his commandments? (Matthew 22:35-40)
a. Love God
b. Love your neighbor
c. Love one another

Some of John’s opponents seem to teach that you can come to know God and live any way you want, or that you can sin outwardly and not receive damage to your soul
John says that is a lie—if you know God through Jesus, you will do what Jesus tells you to do

Verse 5 tells us that if we “keep” God’s Word (another way of saying, “Do what God tells us to do”), then we will find the love of God has been perfected and by this love we will gain assurance that we know Jesus and abide in him

Perfected Love/Love of God

Whose love?
a. God’s love for us
b. Our love for God
c. A little of both?

The word “perfect” may mean the following:
a. Perfect
b. Complete
c. Mature
d. Finished

God's love for us is already perfect, complete, mature, and finished, so the love that needs perfecting is our love for Him and for others.

Abiding in Jesus (John 15—Jesus is the vine, we are the branches)
a. Abiding in Jesus means to draw from him what we need to live as God intended

Knowing Jesus means doing what he says
If we know him, we will do what he tells us to do

3. Knowing Jesus’ Example
1 John 2:5b-6

Abiding in him (John 15 again!)

We know we are in God or in Christ because our lives have changed/because we now keep his commandments

We are not saved by our obedience, but our obedience provides assurance that our lives have been changed

Looking at your life, how strong is your assurance?
How has God changed you? How have you obeyed him?

Following in his footsteps/Jesus as our Example
a. Following Jesus/keeping his word is the very definition of being his disciple (John 8:31-32)
b. A disciple/student will become like his teacher (Luke 6:40)
c. We must grow to be more like him if we are genuinely following him—it is the goal of salvation/sanctification (Romans 8:28-29)
d. How did Jesus live? He did what the Father did and said what the Father said (John 5:19, 30; 15:15)
e. We should also say what God says and do what God says to do (which means we must spend time in his Word and listening to his Spirit)

Knowing Jesus means knowing how he lived
We cannot claim to know Jesus if we refuse to live in the same manner he lived

Application

The easiest answer here is to say what John says
a. Avoid/resist sin
b. Obey God
c. Be assured

Unfortunately that is not always as easy as it may sound
To avoid or resist sin is a part of obeying God
To do these things requires us to know what God wants us to do

Here are some suggestions:
a. Set aside 15-30 minutes a day to read Scripture. As we’ve been doing throughout this study, focus in on 1 John and the Gospel of John. Look for commands or places where Scripture seems to say that you should do something. Write those down. Pray for wisdom and opportunity and strength to do them.

b. Then, go and do it. God says to share our faith—find one opportunity to testify of God’s mercy to you. God says to love our neighbor—find a need to meet this week and do it. God’s Word says to confess our sins—acknowledge and confess your sins.
Hear what God says and say it. Find out what God is doing and do it.

Knowing Jesus means living like him
Will we take the risk?

Discussion Questions

1. How much will a real Christian sin? What should your goal be? Is it good enough to only sin a little bit? Why shouldn’t you sin?

2. Why is Jesus a perfect Advocate? In what areas do you need Jesus to be an Advocate for you? On what grounds does Jesus defend us?

3. How well must you obey God’s commandments in order to have assurance?

4. In what areas are you working to keep God’s commandments? Where does obedience characterize your life in Christ?

5. In what areas of your life do you need to be more like Jesus? How often to you long to be like Christ? Have you seen any progress in being like Christ?

6. If you begin to walk like Jesus regularly, what areas will need to change? In what ways will you need to take your sin seriously?

7. In what ways should we imitate Jesus?

8. How would imitating Jesus change your neighborhood? Your workplace? Your family?

9. How much is God’s grace to you in Christ worth?

10. Where have you seen God’s work in your life? Where have you responded to God with your own work on his behalf?

Thanks for reading!