Following God: Statement Of Faith

“I believe in one thing only, the power of human will.” - Joseph Stalin

“There's nothing I believe in more strongly than getting young people interested in science and engineering, for a better tomorrow, for all humankind.” - Bill Nye

“It’s my life, it’s now or never. I’m not gonna’ live forever – I just want to live while I’m alive. My life is like an open highway; like Frankie said, ‘I did it my way.’ I just want to live while I’m alive. Its my life.” (Bon Jovi, “It’s My Life.”)

Everybody believes something.We are formed by what we think is true and good. We might not always be consistent, but our lives follow the trajectory of our beliefs. David wrote in Psalm 115:

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear;
 noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk;
 and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them. (Psalm 115:4-8)

We become like what we believe – and ultimately, what we worship. So we are going to walk through our statement of faith in the next number of weeks to cover what we as a church confirm that we believe, because that informs how we worship and whom we become. 

CREEDS

Our statement of faith affirms and is based on the classic Christian creeds. Creed comes from the Latin word ‘credo’, meaning 'I believe'. We see the first statements emerging within the New Testament itself. 

·      55 AD: “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Corinthians 8:6)

·      55 AD “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-7)

·      62 AD “Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11)

·      67 AD “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of  our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

When the early church wrestled with differing theological challenges, they formed their own formal essential statements of belief. Iraneus is the first non-biblical writer to record a creed. He wrote around 180 AD about what he called the Rule of Faith:

: “. . . this faith: in one God, the Father Almighty, who made the heaven and the earth and the seas and all the things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was made flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who made known through the prophets the plan of salvation, and the coming, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily ascension into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and his future appearing from heaven in the glory of the Father to sum up all things and to raise anew all flesh of the whole human race . . .”

Hippolytus (225 AD) wrote this account of a baptismal service:

 When the person being baptized goes down into the water, he who baptizes him, putting his hand on him, shall say: "Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty?"  And the person being baptized shall say: "I believe." Then holding his hand on his head, he shall baptize him once. And then he shall say: "Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and was dead and buried, and rose again the third day, alive from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of the Father, and will come to judge the living and the dead?" And when he says: "I believe," he is baptized again. And again he shall say: "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, in the holy church, and the resurrection of the body?" The person being baptized shall say: "I believe," and then he is baptized a third time.

As time went on, they became more detailed as they more specifically addressed new challenges. What follows is a combination of the Nicene Creed (320) and the Apostolic Creed (390), two of the earliest church-wide creeds that made official what had been taught as the core of the gospel for 300 years:

 I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us [ALL] for our salvation, came down from heaven, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary and made man; he suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell (or the dead). The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from thence he shall come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and whose Kingdom shall have no end;

 I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

 I believe in the holy catholic and apostolic church: 

 The communion of saints:

The forgiveness of sins:

The resurrection of the body (the dead):

And the life everlasting in the world to come. Amen.

CONFESSIONS

Around the 1500’s (post-Reformation), we start to see Confessions of Faith that include statements on the Bible.[1] Confessions (again, generally speaking) are statements which a person must affirm in order to be accepted into a formal church body (ie, a denomination). These statements are like creeds in that they are drawn from scripture, but they fill in a lot of the blanks that the creeds leave. (For instance, creeds say little about creation, eschatology, means of baptism, sanctification, church discipline, exactly how God saves, etc): 

·      The Augsburg Confession in 1530 (Lutheran)

·      Belgic Confession of Faith in 1561 (Netherlands, Dutch Reformed)

·      The 39 Articles in 1571 (England, Anglican)

·      Westminster Confession Of Faith in 1646 (Scotland, Presbyterian)

·      London Baptist Confession of Faith in 1689  (Switzerland, Baptist)[2]

STATEMENTS AND DECLARATIONS

Statements and Declarations are a more recent development created by churches, denominations, organizations, or various alliances when they think that the view of the church needs to be made public on a specific issue. They are certainly worth taking a look at, as they hopefully help us clarify our views and state them more succinctly. They are, however, different from the above categories.

·      Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy

·      Manhattan Declaration (life, marriage, religious liberty)

·      Nashville Statement (human sexuality/gender roles)

·      The Ligonier Statement on Christology (Jesus)

In evangelicalism in the United States – which is our historical stream - a history of statements and declarations from the National Association of Evangelicals (1942) looks something like this:

·      National Association of Evangelicals Ecology Resolution (1970)

·      Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern (1973)

·      National Association of Evangelicals Resolution on Racism (1991)

·      Evangelical Declaration Against Torture (2007)

·      Manhattan Declaration (2009 – life, marriage, and religious freedom)

·      National Association of Evangelicals Statement On Immigration (2009)

·      Nashville Statement (2017) from the Coalition On Biblical Sexuality

Our statement of faith is meant to stand firmly on the tradition on the theological creeds while offering statements on historic Christian belief on two specific issues that have implications for image bearing (the sanctity of life) and covenant (marriage).

The Bible: We believe the Holy Bible to be the inspired Word of God, inerrant in its original manuscripts. It is our standard for faith and practice and the measure by which all of life and personal revelation is to be evaluated. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21)

God (The Father): We believe that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 8:54-59). He is Creator, Redeemer and the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. We believe that God is omnipotent (He can do anything that can be done), omniscient (He knows anything that can be known), omnipresent (there is no place or circumstance of which God is unaware or in which he is not active), and unchanging. He is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power.

God (The Son, Jesus Christ): We believe in the historical reality of Jesus Christ as the only incarnation of God. We believe in His deity, His virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-23), His sinless life  (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22), His miracles (Acts 2:22; Acts 10:38), His substitutionary death (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21), His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4), His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Acts 1:9; Acts 1:11; Acts 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3), His intercession for the sins of His people (1 Timothy 2:5-6), and His future personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:10-11).

God (the Holy Spirit): We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells believers (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), confirming their salvation (Romans 8:14-16) and enabling them to bear godly fruit (Galatians 5:22). We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit also empowers believers to have a bold and effective witness (i.e Luke 12:12), so He manifests His gifts in their daily lives for the edification of the church and as a testimony to the world.

The fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) is the result of a Spirit-filled life, and evidence of spiritual maturity. True followers of God will be known by their fruit (Matthew 7:16).

The gifts of the Spirit are different manifestations of the Spirit to build up the body (Isaiah 11:5; I Corinthians 12:1-11). They ought always directly point people toward God (John 15:26; John 16:13-14). We are instructed to diligently seek the gifts (I Corinthians 12:31, 14:1), but they must be exercised in an orderly and understandable way (I Corinthians 14:26-33) and used in the context of love (I Corinthians 13:1-13), lest our expression cause others to stumble (1 Corinthians 8).

We have different gifts given as the Holy Spirit wills, and the gifts must be expressed in love, sincerity, and in a way which honors others above ourselves (Romans 12:1-10).

Sin: We believe that we sin (i.e, “hamartia,” in Romans 3:23, and “chata” in Judges 20:16 and Exodus 20:20) when we disobey the commands of God’s inspired Word and reject His authority All of us have sinned and are therefore, in our natural state, lost and separated from God. We believe men and women were created in the image of God (Genesis 2:26). However, by a voluntary act of the will, Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Genesis 3:6). As a result, mankind began to die spiritually (Romans 5:12-19). Sin separated humankind from God (Ephesians 2:11-18) and left us in a fallen or sinful condition (Romans 3:23; Genesis 1:26,27; Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12-19). 

Salvation: We believe that God the Father showed His love for all people by sending His Son to die as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. (Luke 18:27; John 3:16,17; Romans 11:33; 1 Peter 1:16; 1 John 4:7-10; Revelation 4:8)

We believe Jesus’ death paid the penalty our sins warranted, and His resurrection grants us the life we could not attain - both of these being necessary to reconcile us to right-standing before God. (Matthew 16:16,17 and 25:31-46; Mark 14:61,62; Luke 1:34,35 and 2:7; John 1:1 and 1:14 and 5:22-30 and 10:30 and 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22-24.)  It is not through our efforts (Acts 4:12;  John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; 
Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5-7). 

When we admit our sin, confess that Jesus is Lord, and repent, we become a new creation and are gradually transformed into the image of Christ (Galatians 5:22, 23; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 3:18)

Eternal Destiny: We believe in the resurrection of the saved and the lost, and that both will stand before the judgment seat of Christ; the saved will enter into everlasting life in God’s presence, and the lost will be sent into everlasting death, devoid of the presence of God. (Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 9:43-48; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8).

The Church: We believe that the Church is Christ’s symbolic body in the earth (Colossians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 12:27), and that it should reveal His character, His message, and His love to the world.  We believe that the Church is to go into all the world, preach the gospel, and make disciples. This will lead people to have fellowship with God (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16) and community with others (1 Corinthians 12:13). 

Human Life: We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image (Genesis 1:27). Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Psalm139)

Marriage and Sexuality: We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. Together they reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27).  Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:5-6). It is intended to be a covenant by which they unite themselves for life in a single, exclusive union, ordered toward the well-being of the spouses and designed to be the environment for the procreation and upbringing of children.

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Why does this matter?

A friend recently told me a very simple but profoundly true thing: “I am the kind of person who does that kind of thing.”  It’s a phrase that’s intended to bring into sharp focus not who I think I am, but who I actually am. I an NOT talking here about victims of abuse, where actions are coerced. I am also not trying to suggest that the point is always to assign blame to something inside us. It’s a way of stating a generally true observation: What we do reflects something – healthy or unhealthy, whole or broken - about who we are.

·      I am the kind of person who does puzzles.

·      I am the kind of person who hates cardio.

·      I am the kind of person who thinks its okay when I leave stuff lying around the house for others to trip over, but not for others to do the same.

·      I am the kind of person who teaches ethics.

·      I am the kind of person who pastors.

·      I am the kind of person who rests more than I used to.

Why am I like that? Because I believe certain things to be true.

·      I believe doing a puzzle is a good use of my time. 

·      I believe that lifting heavy things will be sufficient exercise.

·      I believe that my sloppiness is inconsequential and everyone else’s is a big deal.

·      I believe ethics matter.

·      I believe pastoring is where God wants me to be.

·      I no longer believe that productivity is a sign of value.

I want to push back against this. I really do. The implications are unsettling. 

·      I should drop fried food altogether, but I don’t. I mean, I believe it’s bad for my heart, right? So what do I believe that is overriding that enough to spoil my belief about a healthy diet?

·      I believe God calls me to love my wife as a servant to her and yet I don’t do that consistently. What do I believe that is overriding my belief about servanthood?

·      I believe grace is unearned, and yet I find myself more inclined to extend grace to those whom I think deserve it. What do I believe that is overriding my belief about God’s grace? 

I can’t avoid it: What we do emerges from what we believe, whether that is a freely chosen belief or one that developed as a result of someone else’s positive or negative impact on our life. Another way of saying it: Where we follow emerges from whom we follow. 

We often say, “I believe X.” To find out if that is true in any meaningful way, look at what you constantly do or where you constantly go, and then ask yourself what that implies that you constantly believe. 

We must believe true things about God, His Word and His world in order to become true followers of Christ.  What emerges from that is meant to be life, abundant and everlasting. 

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[1] “Confessions usually were created in response to some historical controversy or event to make it clear how one group differed from others. It’s worth noting that church and state were not separated then, so while these were definitely theological distinctives, they were tightly identified with a region. Therefore, sometimes a group held to one that existed (such as Belgic or Heidelberg), but then rewrote it and tacked on their own local or religious distinctives.  Even if you don’t hold to any of these denominations, their explanations of scriptural principles are well worth reading.” – Scott Smith J

[2] “Catechisms essentially take a confession and turn it into a series of questions and answers that are easy to memorize. Examples: Westminster Catechism (Scotland, Presbyterian); Heidelberg Catechism (Germany, held today by many); New City Catechism (Tim Keller’s church – they even have an app).” – Scott, again

Followership

To start the new year, I want to talk about followership because – and I’m going to give away the point of the message this morning – there is only one leader who does not follow, and that is God. We Christians are called to be followers of Jesus before we are anything else. Great people follow great leaders well before they lead well. It is inevitable and necessary that we understand followership, or this enterprise of life in our culture and in our church is going to fall apart. 

We talk a LOT about leadership. From the time we are in elementary school and everybody wants to be the “line leader,” we are drilled with the idea of being leaders and not followers. Be a trend setter; be innovative.

If I see a conference advertised for Christians, it’s almost always about leadership. (‘Church leadership conference’: 20 million hits on google. ‘Church followership conference’: 135,000 hits, and a quick look at the list showed half the title contained the word ‘leadership’, as if the whole point of learning how to follow Jesus well is so you can lead. So…not really about followership after all. It’s seen as a means to a more important end). I’ve yet to get a mailer for a Followership conference. If I did, I doubt it would be held in a stadium. Maybe a classroom somewhere.  

Nobody takes pride in our culture in being a follower. We associate it with weakness.  You never hear at a funeral, “They were trend followers. They knew how to line up behind good leadership. They knew how to follow so well.” 

We live in a culture that devalues the art of good following. And I think that’s a problem.

 I get it: terrible things have happened when people blindly follow a leader. I remember as a kid reading about Jim Jones and his cult, and wondering how on earth people could be so gullible. The history of racism in our country was often the result of followers blindly accepting a grossly unjust status quo, and it was leaders (often Christian ones) who challenged this. 

 So, yeah, it’s important that we not be “sheeple” (docile, foolish, easily led by other people).

But…have we considered that the first recorded rebellion against God was because we (humanity) didn’t want to follow? We wanted to lead, and it was not our place. The best thing Adam and Eve could have done in the Garden was to follow God, and they didn’t.  When you read the stories of the primary figures in the Old Testament, their problem over and over is that they try to lead without having first learned how to follow the God who placed them in leadership. 

In the New Testament, the term “leader” as we think of leadership[1] in the church community is rarely used. More often than not, ‘leadership’ carries with it the idea of being an example. When words that more closely align with our idea of leadership are used, they are surrounded by cautions: 

 ·      “Not many of you should desire” it (James 3:1)

·      It’s going to look a lot like being a servant or a slave to others (Matthew 20:25-27). 

·      It’s not going to be the kind of leadership the world values: it’s not for your gain; don’t ‘lord’ over others (1 Peter 5:3). 

Following – “imitating Christ” or “being a disciple” – is the focus over and over again. Any discussion of authority or leadership stems from one’s passing on the message of Jesus and exemplifying the life of life of Jesus in words and actions. Over and over, this is about following Jesus – following him into radical self-sacrifice as seen in the “broken and spilled out” part of communion; following him into servanthood by doing lowly but honorable things, such as washing feet, etc. 

In God’s church design, ‘leaders’ are Christ-followers exemplifying Christ-followership and then helping other Christ-followers flourish in following Christ.

 Only some have this as a formal appointment, but we all have this as a calling. 

I’m not going to talk today about leadership and followership between people. Maybe that will show up this year because it’s an inescapable part of human community –we need good leaders, but not everybody is (or should be) leaders at all times or in all ways; we also need followers, which all of us are at some point or in some way. But that’s going to have to be a sermon for another time. 

I want to talk about Foundational Followership: Following Jesus. I will use three categories to help us think about this today (Rod Dempsey at disciplemakingblog.wordpress.com wrote the original list that informed my thinking here). 

Kingdom Perspectives

1.    There is only one King that we follow. (Eph. 1:21; Rev. 19:6).[2]

2.    Our job is to help others follow this King. When Paul says, “imitate me,” it’s paired with “as I imitate Christ.” 

3.    We are stewards who follow the vision of our King. Our successful stewardship will compellingly point others toward the King and pave the way into the kingdom. “Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.” (I Peter 2:12)

4.    Humble obedience is a badge of honor for a good steward; it is the way in which the King plans for His followers to flourish, and by which the name of the King is made great. “Do you want the Kingdom run like the Romans run their kingdom? Their rulers have great power over the people, but God the Father doesn’t play by the Romans’ rules. 26 This is the Kingdom’s logic: whoever wants to become great must first make himself a servant; 27 whoever wants to be first must bind himself as a slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as the ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)

Kingdom Principles

1.    To represent the King, we must spend time with Him:

·      his mission: save lost people 

·      his orders: spread the good news

·      our design: in His image (value, worth, dignity)

·      our purpose: glorify God by becoming like Christ

·      our worldview: the values of the King (God-others-self; people over things; love everyone as Christ loves us; be stewards committed to shalom) 

2.    If we spend time with Him, we become like Him. To be a good follower of the King, we must “be” before we “do.” (Like the Minions say, “be-do-be-do-be-do.”) Otherwise, when we go on mission, we run the risk of misrepresenting the King. I don’t mean we should passively wait until we are perfect. I mean we need to spend time with the King even as we go about the King’s business.

3.    A follower is a “doer” and not just a “be-er.” Followers don’t study the Bible and congratulate themselves on how smart they are. They do something with it. If we don’t – if it doesn’t change our lives in radical ways – we are deceiving ourselves (James 1:22). 

4.    God’s word is our textbook. Not Forbes, not the WSJ or the Washington Post, not CNN or Fox or The Constitution or somebody’s blog. Not our favorite preacher or teacher.[3]Followers of God have one primary text by which all other texts are judged. Be ready to feel the tension between the texts of empire and the Text of Kingdom. 

Kingdom Practices

1.    Followers connect new followers to the King. We are ambassadors or diplomats, tasked with representing the heart of the King, the message of the King, and the values of the Kingdom. 

2.    Followers follow the King together. Our King demands Kingdom community; forsaking community is not followership. That means face-to-face, dysfunctional, messy, hard, annoying and deeply meaningful family community.

3.    Followers are vulnerable and teachable. Leave no thought undiscovered, no behavior unexamined, no pattern unshaken, no assumption unchallenged, no attitude unchecked, no talent unexplored. #surrenderistotal

4.    Followers Follow the Mission: preach the gospel, and make disciples.

“[What] did Jesus first command us to do? “Come, follow me” (Matthew 4:19). In fact, it’s His first command, period. Maybe the place to relearn following is the place where we strip away all we have followed and find the core of what, why and whom we should follow.

“Come, follow me.” In His language, Jesus was asking His disciples to come away or come out. “Follow” did not mean to trail behind someone like a groupie waiting for an autograph but to choose to leave behind one life and completely enter another. Followers were to turn their backs to all other loyalties and priorities and turn their faces to Jesus alone. It was a radical change of focus.

That others do not want to follow our Jesus may have something to do with the reality that we do not leave behind the things we should. We talk about following Jesus, but our political, cultural, economic or personal glasses continue to filter every decision we make and every opinion we form. We are the tourists traipsing along behind the tour guide, getting sidetracked by sore feet and street vendors when our Guide is trying to point out the great kingdom sights for which we came. 

If we want the church to be a place people come to practice followership, we need to follow Jesus — not a political party, country, doctrine, church style or type, leader, or celebrity. Just Jesus.” Jill Richardson

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[1] 1 Corinthians 12:28 is a close definition of what we think of as leadership. “2941 kybérnēsis – properly, someone who steers (guides) a ship; (figuratively) the divine calling which empowers someone to lead in affairs relating to the Church. ("a helmsman who steers") refers to a pilot (a captain, as in Plato) – a director who guides, administrates, etc. (Abbott-Smith). Kybérnēsis only occurs in 1 Cor 12:28.).” Even then,“others would take it tropically here, and render it wise counsels.” – all quotes from Biblehub.

[2] “First, no one can be an effective leader until they first learn how to follow. Second, the heart of the Christ life is not leading – it’s following. The clarion call of Jesus to all who would listen was, “Follow me!” Finally, Jesus also made it clear that the greatest among us are those who serve others (Mt. 28:11).”  - James Emery White

1.     1 Corinthians 3:  “One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Um, no. 

From Shacks To Mansions: A Parable

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity  

CHAPTER ONE: The Ruins

You live in a broken, run-down house. You’ve been here as long as you can remember. You know nothing else. For a while you were able to at least keep it looking nice on the outside, but it’s always been falling apart. The landlord seemed like a great guy at first (2 Corinthians 11:24). He allowed you to skip rent. He let you host all the parties you wanted – he even helped fund more than one. Sure, your friends trashed the place, but you trashed theirs, so it all seemed fair in a messed up kind of way.

But you slowly realize that the landlord is a hard owner. You thought he was your friend. He isn’t. The landlord keeps promising that you will have a better house and a better life if you will just do one more thing: fix the roof, mend some pipes, hang new drywall, repaint, rebuild the foundation that keeps sinking further into the sandy soil. But all those things cost money that you don’t have, so you borrow money from the landlord. Nothing ever pans out. You end up spackling over holes in the wall and wrapping duct tape around leaking pipes, but you know your house is going down (Jeremiah 19:13).

It doesn’t help that you are really sick. You feel as run down as your house looks. Maybe it’s the asbestos in the walls, or the lead in the paint, or the leaky pipes in the stove, or the fact that it smells like sulfur. There’s something toxic about this house. It’s killing you. But as far as you know, this is all you have. This is the only place to live.

You hate the person you have become in the house you’ve allowed to fall apart. Your house is in ruin. Your life is in shambles. And to make things worse, you realize one day that somebody is following you. Literally. He’s one step behind you everywhere you go. When you are finally able to catch a glimpse in a mirror, you realize… it’s you. Not just like you, but a zombie version. You look like one of the Walking Dead. By the end of the day, he’s got a hand on your shoulder. The next morning, he drapes his arms around you and makes you carry him everywhere you go. He stinks. He’s dead weight. (Romans 7:24)

You call your landlord hoping he can do something, but he already knew. “Yeah, they always show up in my houses.”

“Who is it?”

“It’s you. It’s just the real you. The dead you.”

“Why did it show up just now?”

“Oh, it’s always been there. You’ve been dead for years. You just couldn’t see it. ”

There’s nothing you can do. The landlord doesn’t care. Most of your friends hang out somewhere else, and the ones that show up don’t know what you are talking about. They don’t see the dead you. They try to help do things like paint the siding that is falling off the side of the house. (Jeremiah 8:11) It’s tough for them to paint. They carry the dead with them too, and they don’t even know it.

CHAPTER TWO: Bring Out Your Dead!

The next day a man walks onto the porch. “Bring out your dead!” he calls cheerily. (John 11:25) You don’t watch Monty Python, so you don’t get the joke.

“Don’t I know you? I do! You’re Mary’s boy, right?” He nods cheerfully. “Why are you asking for the dead? Are you a mortician now? Haven’t you been helping your daddy build houses?”

“I have indeed been about my Father’s business,” he agrees cheerfully (Luke 2:49), “but there’s more than one kind of house, and more than one way to build them. Bottom line: I am here to help you with your housing situation.”

“What makes you think there are dead here?”

\ “I could see it from the road. I can smell it on your breath; I hear it in your words (Romans 3:13); I see it in your eyes. Oh – and it clings to you like a monstrous burden. This house has killed you. Your landlord cracked the gas lines and installed the asbestos. Your landlord made sure there are no detectors for smoke or gas. He made sure you owe him so much money that you feel like he owns you. Your landlord likes his tenants dead. But you were meant to be alive. (John 5:21) And I can get rid of that body of death and make this house livable.”

This sounds great, but… “Why should I trust you? Lots of other builders have claimed to be able to help, and none of them got the job done. Most of them made it worse, in fact.”

“Why do you think you even know that the dead lurk around you? You thought you were just tired and sick. But that day you first truly saw yourself in the mirror, I was the one who showed you what was real. I was the one who opened your eyes. You needed to know (2 Timothy 2:26). You can trust me because I bring you truth that will set you free.”

”I don't think you understand. It won’t be that easy. I’m drowning in debt; I’m dying in my sickness; I’m doomed to live here until it collapses or I do. I’m a captive here.”

“I do understand, actually. I’ve been in this neighborhood for a while. And I’ve got good news: I already paid your debt. The penalty is gone; the power of your landlord is broken” (Galatians 3:13-15).

“How did you do that?”

This time his gentle smile was also grave. ”It was…costly. But I took your captivity captive; I paid your debt. I am here to offer you freedom from your landlord and your dead self. All you have to do is accept it.”

“Why me? I’m nothing. Nobody. I’ve done nothing to deserve this.”

“Why not you? I care about you. I seek and save people and situations that seem hopeless (Luke 19:10). Plus, I would like to move into this house (1 Corinthians 6:19), and where I am, there is no room for death and ruin” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

“Where would I go if you move into this house?”

“Why would you want to go?” You sit quietly for a long time. Your father always said you got what you deserved, and he never helped with your house or your health. Your landlord pretended to be your friend while guiding you down a road to death. Your friends had trashed your house, then taken their dead selves to their dead parties on dead-end streets. You look around at the shambles all around you. You remember the landlord’s harsh, condemning voice (Revelation 12:10). You feel the dead weight of your sins, failures and inadequacies on your back (Isaiah 43:24). You’ve never known anyone who seemed to care about you and your life. He offers a new start. He offers a new identity. He offers to make all things new (Revelations 21:5).

Finally you whisper, “I have no future. I have no hope. Everyone offers me death. There is nowhere else to go. You are the only one who has ever offered me life (John 6:68). So…yes. Let’s do this. I and my house are yours.”

The Man stands up and lifts your dead self off your back and onto his. “Well done. You have asked for resurrection, and I will give it. I will get the deed to your house, and when I return, I will show you what life is supposed to look like.” (Hebrews 2:14-18)

You watch him until he is out of sight. It takes a while. He stops and knocks at every house. You wonder what he is going to do with all the dead he takes upon himself as he walks through the town. Then you rest. (Matthew 11:28) When you awake at dawn three days later, everything has changed.

CHAPTER THREE: ReOrientation

You have a hard time believing the changes. When creditors knock at your door, it’s Mary’s boy who answers. Now the rain stays outdoors and the plumbing stays in the pipes. Your front door actually latches. It’s…amazing. (2 Corinthians 5:17) But this man – you’ve started calling him the ReBuilder - has a bigger plan than you realized. He wasn’t going to just uncondemn the house and sweep up the garbage. He is planning to turn your shack into a mansion that looked suspiciously like a temple (1 Corinthians 3:16).

When he first tells you, you say, “Awesome! Go right ahead!”

But the ReBuilder smiles and says, “Not without you. It’s our house. We work together. You need to give yourself to this project” (Romans 12:1)

The first thing you do is take an honest assessment of the mess that your house has become. You forgot how many rooms you had added, locked rooms haunted by other ‘dead yous’ that you had forgotten were even there.

• The ghost of Abused You huddles in one room, running out and clinging to you in unexpected moments. In the next room,

• No Longer Innocent You sits among reminders of how and when childhood slipped away.

• Addicted You sits in the middle of needles, bottles, food, and binge shopping purchases, eyes glued to a tiny screen.

• Greedy You keeps trying to expand the room where you first learned to trample on and consume others.

• Angry You still punches holes in the wall of his room and watches the fear grow in the eyes of the others.

• In the room of Mouthy You, you first learned that words can manipulate, control, and wound – and you liked it.

• The room of Never Good Enough You? That’s the largest, and the oldest, and the walls are covered with photos of family and friends.

It’s a shameful tour for you, but the Rebuilder doesn’t seemed shocked. He keeps an arm around you as you walk; he lifts your chin up when your shame overwhelms you. When you are done he says, “Has anyone ever killed a fatted calf for you? (Luke 15:11-32)”

“What? Um, no.”

“Well, then, it’s about time. This deserves a celebration.” “

What? This-” (you point at the hallway with so many Dead You rooms – “ this deserves a celebration?”

“No, not that. But you were lost; now you are found. You were dead, and now you are alive. This deserves a celebration. Something barbecued or maybe even deep fried, and with an onion blossom of some sort. And we’re going shopping. The living do not wear the clothes of the dead.”

You don’t argue. Despite your feelings of inadequacy, this is something you feel it is important to accept. No one had ever celebrated you before.

CHAPTER Four: ReBuilding

When it’s time to get to work, you’ve got nothing to offer once again, but the man is ready for that too. He gives you a blueprint and all the tools you need. He gives you a fund to draw from for building materials, expert advice and help, etc. Since he’s the architect, designer, builder and inspector, He will be available every day – leading, guiding, protecting, correcting (Romans 8:14). But you have to set your alarm, get out of bed, put on the tools, pick up the lumber, swing a hammer, get splinters, and break and rebuild a few things. You are going to invest some sweat equity into this house (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Some days are better than others. You notice other houses in the neighborhood that are also being transformed by this… ReBuilder… and it’s easy to be jealous of other houses that look nicer– or proud as you compare yours to the ones the look less advanced. The ReBuilder just shakes his head. “Build your own house with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). I’ll worry about the others.”

You get hurt; you get tired; you put walls at the wrong place and shoot yourself with the nail gun. You question the ReBuilder’s blueprint. You argue when He shows you something that is not up to code. It turns out you had built your house on a terrible foundation – who chooses a lot full of shifting sand instead of bedrock? He takes care of that, too (Luke 6:46-49).

One hot day, as you are dumping water over your head and wringing out your sweat-soaked shirt, you ask a question you’ve been wondering about for a while. “What happened to your hands? Your side? And you’ve got a LOT of scarring on you back. Construction accident?”

“Construction, yes, Accident, no. It was all part of doing my Father’s business.”

“Oh.” I didn’t think construction was that rough. “What exactly was your business?”

He smiles. “You. You were my business. I have come to bring you life. To save you from death means another must die. That was your wages. That was your debt. And then it was mine. This” – he held up hands – “this is a sign. All my bruises? (Isaiah 53:5) The price for your sins. There will be others who will tell you they, too, rebuild lives. They are pretty good at temporary fixes – a good coat of paint can cover up a lot - but they did not pay your debt. They did not stop your foundation from sinking. They cannot free you from death. The only true ReBuilder will be known by his scars.”

“So… you died to pay for my debt? You’re standing right in front of me, clear as day.”

“The rotten embrace of death looks hopeless to you, but not to me. Death holds no power over me (Romans 6:9). I took the inevitable beating your landlord was going to give; I took all of the Dead Yous on my back and carried them to their place; I came back from death’s clutches to offer you this gift.”

We stand quietly for a while. “That’s quite a gift. Thank you.”

He winks and slings his tool belt around his waist. “It’s what I do.” And we continue building.

You occasionally find your old landlord crouching outside your door (Genesis 4:7), wondering if he can hang out for a while. “Take a break,” he says. “Don’t take life so seriously.” Some days you actually invite him in and you hang out. It sometimes fun for a while, but it never ends well. You feel worn down again, almost as if your dead self was back, hand on your shoulder, whispering emptiness and loneliness into your ear. Your landlord always ends up roaring through your house, punching holes in the drywall, unfastening pipes, taking a jackhammer to that new foundation - basically trying to demolish everything. (1 Peter 5:8) But the Rebuilder helps you resist, and the old landlord has to leave (James 4:7).

More than once he has caught one of your old Dead Selves trying to sneak back in; he picks him up by the collar and throws him to the curb. You apologize to the ReBuilder when this happens. He hugs you. He doesn't yell (1 John 1:9). His forgiveness is a gift too (Ephesians 1:7).

You spend days –weeks – months – it turns into years - cleaning up the mess. The Rebuilders faithfulness and patience is amazing, but he constantly reminds you of his promise: he will continue what he started (Philippians 1:6). You pick up all the stuff you can; the Rebuilder gets the places you can’t reach and corrects the damage beyond your ability. He helps you make a plan to resist and avoid this situation the next time (Ephesians 4:27; 2 Corinthians 2:11).

There are some days you wonder why the ReBuilder even puts up with you. But he never leaves you on your own. He remains true to his word. He holds you to the code but patiently helps you when you miss the mark. He teaches you how not to shoot anyone with the nail gun. You know you are in this together, that he is for you, that he will restore you and help you even when you are at your weakest (Psalm 51:10-12). So every day you arise and build, and you find increasing satisfaction in the affirmation of the ReBuilder and the pleasure of a job well done (Nehemiah 2:17-18; Matthew 25:23).

CHAPTER FIVE: ReBuilt and Alive

It’s not all work. He fishes with you on still waters. You both shoot hoops at the YMCA and join friends at Buffalo Wild Wings for March Madness and go to Jonny Lang concerts and Ohio State games, which he seems to really, really enjoy. Being around him restores your soul (Psalm 23) even while your callouses thicken. You realize that you are absorbing his ideas, his language, his priorities, his way of living life abundantly (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Others have been joining you at the restaurants and games. Some still bring their dead; some have been set free. Some still live in shacks; others are working with the ReBuilder on mansions. The Rebuilder welcomes them all. He didn’t come to condemn the dead to their bare, cold shacks. He came to save them and rebuild their lives (John 3:17). You invite even more to hang out with you (1 John 3:10). Some do; some don’t. You never stop inviting. The Rebuilder never stops offering his gifts of free inspections, free debt cancellation, and free rebuilding.

Slowly but surely, your house is becoming the kind of mansion that showcases the glorious power of the Rebuilder (Philippians 1:6). You find that you easily congratulate others whose houses are flourishing, and you compassionately help neighbors who are struggling.

You begin to notice that you have your own growing history of scars that you got from the hard work of helping your neighbors. Their houses take a toll on you; you often walk away with something broken, something the Rebuilder mends when you get home. Increasingly, when you share the occasional supper of bread and wine, you begin to think that when he says, “broken and spilled out,” as he passes a hand-torn hunk of bread to you, that this about more than food. “Do this in remembrance of me,” he always says, and one day, as you hobble yet again toward your neighbors, you realize that is exactly what’s happening (I Corinthians 11:24; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:18-20).

The blueprint for your own house and the houses of others makes more sense than it used to. You look forward to your alarm clock. The old landlord still comes around, but more than ever you see through his lies (John 8:44). He rarely makes it past the bottom step of the porch. Your Dead self sits on the curb, looking for ways to sneak in, but he fades a little more every day.

You notice a neighbor starting to work on his new house. He looks miserable. You take him some water one hot day (Mark 9:41) and find out that he found a blueprint. “Oh,” you say, “Did you meet the ReBuilder?”

“No,” says your neighbor. “Why would he want to help with my house? It’s horrible. I am going to fix it up enough so the ReBuilder will notice. Once I make it good enough, I’ll be ready for the ReBuilder.”

You say, “This isn’t Field of Dreams. This isn’t, ‘If you build it, he will come.’ It doesn't work that way. Put your handmade tools away. Stop trying to do it yourself (Isaiah 64:6). Unless the Rebuilder builds it and gives you his tools, your labor is useless (Psalm 127:1). It’s making you angry and annoying your neighbors, and your still sitting on a plot of sand. The next big storm is going to put you back at square one” (Matthew 7:24-27).

He turns his back and returns to his works. His Dead Self hugs him tighter, smirking at you as you walk away.

You find that the longer you work with the ReBuilder, more than a few note that you are starting to look more and more like Him (Ephesians 5:1). You are humbled and encouraged; your friends used to comment on the eerie similarity between you and your former landlord (John 8:44; 1 John 3:10). This is much better. “But,” they say, “what’s with all the ongoing work? You told us this was a gift.”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. He paid my debt, designed my new house, laid a new foundation, brought me all the tools, took my dead selves away, healed my wounds, and works with me at no cost to me (but at great cost to himself). Now, I have new gift: Working side by side with the ReBuilder (1 Corinthians 1:9). I don't deserve to be his apprentice. Who am I to swing His hammer on His house? Who am I to cut expensive trim, and build a strong chimney? I brought nothing to this project, but he gives me everything I need to build great things (Colossians 3:1-12). “He has given me far above what I could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

“ I just wanted to know Him and understand what kind of person gives grace to the failures and life to the dead (Philippians 3:10). I just wanted to be near him and be like him. And then all these things” - you wave your hand to show His house, His tools, the work of His hands, the campfire where He sits with his friends, the table where you break bread, the community where you get the privilege of introducing others to the Rebuilder – “were added unto me” (Matthew 6:33). This, my friends, is what happens when obedience responds to grace. This is life” (John 10:10; Romans 8:12-14).  

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ENDNOTES CHAPTER ONE

Among other horrible things that happened during Bible times, captive soldiers were sometimes forced to carry a dead body until the rot of the corpse killed them. The Roman poet Virgil wrote: “What tongue can such barbarities record,
Or count the slaughters of his ruthless sword?
Twas not enough the good, the guiltless bled,
Still worse, he bound the living to the dead:
These, limb to limb, and face to face, he joined;
O! monstrous crime, of unexampled kind!
Till choked with stench, the lingering wretches lay,
And, in the loathed embraces, died away!” About 100 years later, when Paul was looking for an analogy about how much he hated the part of him prone to sin, he wrote: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24) Several commentators have noted that Paul was possibly referring to the same thing Virgil did.

CHAPTER TWO

Christ sets us free from that dead weight that’s been killing us. Why? Because He can, and he loves us. We just need to ask. Then we are set free from that body of death. Here’s how Paul explains it in Romans 6 (beginning in verse 2):

"We died to our old sinful lives, so how can we continue living with sin? Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism. When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life… We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin...”

CHAPTER THREE

What we call “sanctification” is Spirit-driven obedience as an act of worship. “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1) But a living sacrifice wants to get off the altar sometimes. That old body of death is hanging around. “On the one hand, I serve the law of God in my mind; but on the other hand, the carnal side of me follows the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25)

This is an image for the process of sanctification. Initially, we are set apart (sanctified) when we are justified by Christ. It changes our identity. We are no longer spiritually dead, enslaved to sin. Now we are alive and renewed. In an ongoing manner, the justified person who submits to God's will is becoming conformed to the image of Christ. Colossians 3:1-12 gives a great description of how the process takes place:

“Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. Christ is your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory. So put all evil things out of your life: sexual sinning, doing evil, letting evil thoughts control you, wanting things that are evil, and greed. This is really serving a false god. These things make God angry. In your past, evil life you also did these things. But now also put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk. Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you. This new life brings you the true knowledge of God. In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews, those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people who are foreigners, or Scythians. There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers, and Christ is all that is important. God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

See this tension? Though we are freely justified, but fitting the mold of goodness doesn’t come naturally. God will continue to do a work in us through the Holy Spirit, but we invest sweat equity too. We see this tension other places in the Bible as well.

• God works in us for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

• God helps us bear good fruit (John 15:4).

• God equips Christians to do his will (Hebrews13:21).

At the same time the Bible also states:

• We must work out their salvation (Philippians 2:12).

• We work to supplement our faith with virtue and good works (2Peter 1:5-7).

• We commit to abounding in the work of the Lord (1Corinthians 15:58).

CHAPTER FOUR

Baptize meant to "put into" or "immerse" so that the thing baptized takes on the properties of the thing into which it was baptized. Garments were "baptized" in dye so that the garments took on the color of the dye. Cucumbers were “baptized” so that they became pickles. Christians absorb the righteousness that comes from Jesus’ death and resurrection. But part of devotion is making a choice about to whom you will offer yourself.

“Surely you know that when you give yourselves like slaves to obey someone, then you are really slaves of that person. The person you obey is your master. You can follow sin, which brings spiritual death, or you can obey God, which makes you right with him. In the past you were slaves to sin—sin controlled you. But thank God, you fully imitated the pattern of our teaching. You were made free from sin, and now you are slaves to goodness.” (Romans 6:16-18)

This “pattern of our teaching” refers to melted metal cast into a mold and conforming to the impression that is sunk or cut in the mold. They used to pour themselves into sin, and they conformed to its pattern. Now they are choosing to pour themselves into the truth about Christ, and they conformed to it. They looked like goodness.

If we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him…You should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus. So, do not let sin control your life here on earth so that you do what your sinful self wants to do. Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin, as things to be used in doing evil. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used in doing good. Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law but under God’s grace. (Romans 6:1-8; 11-14)

“To live” in something was to be wholly given to it. An ancient writer, Aelian, wrote: “The Tapyrians are such lovers of wine, that they live in wine; and the principal part of their life is devoted to it.” Not only do we soak up righteousness (which is a passive word of transformation), we can be wholeheartedly devoted (an active verb).

Chapter Five

Sanctification is Holy Spirit-empowered obedience as an act of worship in response to grace. When we see our righteous works as responsive worship to a God who so deeply loves us, our obedience, our righteous acts, become a profoundly personal expression of trust in God. Conformity to the image of Christ follows commitment and obedience. We aren’t obedient in order to be justified; we are obedient so we can increasingly enjoy the life we have been given in and through Christ. Sanctification reminds us:

• We need renewal and transformation all the time.

• What we choose to do matters. Live well.

• God does not coerce; God invites. We must invite others.

• God’s Spirit and ongoing grace are vital. Be humble.

• A sanctifying God loves unsanctified people. We should love them, too.

Snapshots Of Jesus: The Terms Of Peace (Matthew 21)

This is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem (as found in Matthew 21).

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.

Riding on a donkey was something a very particular kind of King did. “In the ancient Middle Eastern world, leaders rode horses if they rode to war, but donkeys if they came in peace. First Kings 1:33 mentions Solomon riding a donkey on the day he was recognized as the new king of Israel… The mention of a donkey in Zechariah 9:9-10 fits the description of a king who would be ‘righteous and having salvation, gentle.’ Rather than riding to conquer, this king would enter in peace.” [1]   

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds (of disciples) that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”0 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” When Jerusalem came into view, He looked intently at the city and began to weep.

Jesus: Oh, Jerusalem, how I wish you knew today the terms of peace! But you can’t see…”

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Jesus used the phrase “the terms of peace” (or “what would bring peace”) elsewhere.

“What king going to encounter another king in war will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks the king the terms of peace.” (Luke 14:31-32)

 It’s the same phrase both places. The king will bring peace, but it will be the King’s peace, on the King’s terms, and in the King’s way. Peace! Sounds great!

·      Then Jesus drives out the money lenders in the Temple

·      Then Jesus curses a leafy fig tree for not bearing fruit. 

·      The he tells the chief priests and the elders that tax collectors and prostitutes would be in the kingdom of God ahead of them

·      Then he tells them the parable of a landowner with a vineyard who sent his son to collect the harvest, and the tenants killed him. “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

Oh, so…they are the fig tree that looks really healthy but produces nothing. This doesn’t seem peaceful, but there must be something here about peace that might not seem obvious on the surface but is present nonetheless.

* * * * *

This bringer of peace was, it turns out, in some ways very unsettling.

The religious leaders were looking for Temple messiah, one who would purify the Temple and restore its reputation and influence in the world. Well, Jesus purified the Temple, but not in the way they expected. He confronted the hypocrites in the temple, then demonstrated the uselessness of a tree that does not bear the fruit it is meant to bear, and told the chief priests and elders that that tree was them: fruitless; barren. He goes on to tell them they actually made disciples on behalf of hell (Matthew 23:15).  

The crowds cheered him as The Messiah – and by that, they meant a zealot warrior who would overthrow Rome.[2] That’s why there were palm branches. It was the sign of the Zealots. They wanted bloodshed from a Messiah with a sword. I have to imagine they weren’t too excited about a King on a donkey instead of a war horse. In their eyes, Jesus let them down time and again.

·      He refused to start an uprising against Rome. 

·      He actually told people to give to Caesar what was Caesar’s.

·      He told them to repay evil with good. 

·      He told them that his Kingdom was not of this world, so his followers shouldn’t use force to spread His kingdom or even defend him. 

To get an idea of just how unsettling this was, think of John the Baptizer, while in jail awaiting his death, who sent a message to Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” This was the same guy who once announced Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He needed to know if Jesus was the real deal.

 Jesus replied by quoting Isaiah (35:5 and 61:1): “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. And blessed are those who do not take offense in me.” (Luke 7)

That last line seems odd, but remember what the Jewish people were expecting and longing for. Then note that Jesus left off that he was here to proclaim the day of vengeance (Isaiah 61:2) and focused on the Lord’s favor (also Isaiah 61:2). Jesus is basically saying, “I am here on the king’s terms, not yours.”

* * * * *

“Oh, Jerusalem, how I wish you knew today the terms of peace! But you can’t see…”

So what is the peace the Messiah was bringing, and where do we see it? It was Jesus, and we see the terms in Jesus. 

·      “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”  (Ephesians 1:7)

·      “For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

·      “… and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood…” (Revelation 1:5-6)

·      “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)

·      “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

This is the peace: that God himself pays the penalty for our peace-breaking sin so that we can live in peace first with God, then with others and within ourselves. If we expect that peace will come to the world (and to us) when the King takes care of the things around us, we will often be disappointed. 

 He didn’t make the Romans go away; he told the people how He would help them live in the presence of Romans. He didn’t confront others in answer to the hopes and prayer of the Pharisees; he confronted the Pharisees. They wanted a Messiah who would set everyone else right, as if the problem was only around them rather in them. This is why they couldn't see it. They assumed that God needed to deal with others. 

 But the problem was them. They were the source of sin in the world. They were the ones for whom the Messiah had to come. They absolutely needed deliverance, but they hadn’t realized they needed deliverance from themselves.

The king set the terms of peace:  He made things right between sinful, fallen humanity and a holy God by paying the price of reconciliation. He satisfied the requirements of a just God while showing the heart of a loving God.  

“God did not, then, inflict pain on someone else, but rather on the Cross absorbed the pain, violence, and evil of the world into himself… this is a God who becomes human and offers his own lifeblood in order to honor moral justice and merciful love so that someday he can destroy all evil without destroying us.” (Tim Keller)

 Justice must be served because God is just; to save just one of us, it would have cost him a crucifixion. This should always humble us, because it reminds us that we are more sinful than we want to admit.  

But mercy must be offered because God is merciful. To save just one of us, Jesus was willing to do this. This should always encourage us, because it reminds us that God’s love for us is so much deeper than we can ever imagine.  

 This peace will lead to others kinds of peace if we become people of peace. The more the peace of God reigns in our hearts, the more we become peace-makers with our attitudes, words and actions. But that kind of God-inspired peace only comes after the King of Peace brings His peace to us.

_______________________________________________________________________

[1] gotquestions.org, “Why would A King Ride A Donkey Instead Of A Warhorse?”

[2] A short list of Messianic Kings who had tried and failed:

·       Judas (of Galilee), Zealot, led revolt against Romans AD 6 (Acts 5)

·       Judas Maccabeus 160's BC, considered on par with David/Gideon.  He entered Jerusalem at the head of an army, purified the temple.  His reconstitution of the temple is the basis of Hanukah. He destroyed altars to Ashdod, but was eventually killed in battle.

·       Menahem ben Judah, (grand)son of Judas the Galilean led a revolt against Agrippa II. 

·       Simon bar Kokhba ca. 135), founded a short-lived Jewish state that he ruled for 3 years before being defeated in the Second Jewish-Roman War.  580,000 Jewish people died. He went from Kokhba,“Son of a Star” (Numbers 24:17) to Kozeba, “Son of the Lie.”

·       Theudas (mentioned in Acts 5:36) died in AD 46. He claimed to be a Messiah, and led about 400 people to the Jordan River, where he said he would divide it to show his power. He didn't. He was stopped and executed.

·       The Anonymous Egyptian (Jew). c.55, (an allusion to Moses), with 30,000 unarmed Jews doing The Exodus reenactment.  He led them to the Mount of Olives, where he claimed he would command the walls around Jerusalem to fall.  His group was massacred by Procurator Antonius Felix, and he was never seen again.

Snapshots Of Jesus: Dying To Live (John 12)

You may have heard of an autobiographical book called Eat Pray Love written by Liz Gilbert in 2006. Here’s a brief synopsis thanks to Google:

“Liz Gilbert thought she had everything she wanted in life: a home, a husband and a successful career. Now newly divorced and facing a turning point, she finds that she is confused about what is important to her. Daring to step out of her comfort zone, Liz embarks on a quest of self-discovery that takes her to Italy, India and Bali.”

This was not the first time Gilbert had discovered something about herself. In 2015, Gilbert wrote an article in the New York Times in entitled “Confessions Of A Seduction Addict.”[1] In it she describes what she found out about herself in the years before the events in Eat Pray Love.

It started with a boy I met at summer camp and ended with the man for whom I left my first husband. In between, I careened from one intimate entanglement to the next — dozens of them — without so much as a day off between romances. You might have called me a serial monogamist, except that I was never exactly monogamous. Relationships overlapped, and those overlaps were always marked by exhausting theatricality: sobbing arguments, shaming confrontations, broken hearts.

 Still, I kept doing it. I couldn’t not do it.… If the man was already involved in a committed relationship, I knew that I didn’t need to be prettier or better than his existing girlfriend; I just needed to be different… Soon enough, and sure enough, I might begin to see that man’s gaze toward me change from indifference, to friendship, to open desire. That’s what I was after: the telekinesis-like sensation of steadily dragging somebody’s fullest attention toward me and only me.

 My guilt about the other woman was no match for the intoxicating knowledge that — somewhere on the other side of town — somebody couldn’t sleep that night because he was thinking about me. If he needed to sneak out of his house after midnight in order to call, better still. That was power, but it was also affirmation. I was someone’s irresistible treasure. I loved that sensation, and I needed it, not sometimes, not even often, but always…

In my mid-20s, I married, but not even matrimony slowed me down. Predictably, I grew restless and lonely. Soon enough I seduced someone new; the marriage collapsed. But it was worse than just that. Before my divorce agreement was even signed, I was already breaking up with the guy I had broken up my marriage for… If you asked me what I was up to, I might have claimed that I was a helpless romantic — and how can you judge that? If really cornered, I might have argued that I was a revolutionary feminist, taking brazen agency over my own sexuality…

For the first time, I forced myself to admit that I had a problem — indeed, that I was a problem. Tinkering with other people’s most vulnerable emotions didn’t make me a romantic; it just made me a swindler. Lying and cheating didn’t make me brazen; it just made me a needy coward. Stealing other women’s boyfriends didn’t make me a revolutionary feminist; it just made me a menace.

 I hated that it took me almost 20 years to realize this. There are 16-year-old kids who know better than to behave this way. It felt shameful. But once I got it, I really got it: There is no way to stop a destructive behavior, except to stop…

She then tells a story about meeting a man to whom she was really attracted but whom she resisted. She stopped her pattern of destructive behavior. As far as one can tell when the article ends, all is well. It’s heart-breaking to read, but there’s a happy ending. 

Then she traveled on her quest for self-discovery as chronicled in Eat Pray Love, which culminated in her marrying someone new. Then, one year after her article about her move into maturity, this appeared in the New York Times[2]:

Ms. Gilbert, speaking directly to her readers in a Facebook post, said that after 12 years she was separating from José Nunes, the Brazilian importer whom she met during her travels and later married, and who was a central character in the book… In April, Ms. Gilbert said that she missed travel: “I’ve never been to Japan, Iceland, South Africa and other places that it would be a pity to come to this earth and miss.”

So there was no happy ending. In her journey of self-discovery she discovered things about herself, but to what end? It turns out that the act of discovery is not enough. What we do with what we discover matters a lot. 

Mrs. Gilbert’s self-discovery didn’t solve an apparently returning restlessness, what some would call an existential void that she has had all her life. It might manifest in different ways at different times, but what she was seeking at the deepest level simply won’t be found - and can’t be found - with the things she is pursuing. Sadly, her story has a lot of fans convinced that her approach is the way to a good life. The Daily Mail wrote: 

“Eat Pray Love had struck a chord with an entire generation of women who, Gilbert feels, didn’t ‘get the memo that they are in charge of their own lives.’”[3]

This might be the place to note that “being in charge” might not always be the blessing we think it would be.  Sometimes, putting ourselves in charge is a terrible idea. And frankly, as much as she used the language of choice, self-empowerment and self-discovery, I am not so sure she has been in charge of her life as much as she thinks she has.  

In fact, ‘being in charge’ simply means we choose who or what we will serve. To use biblical language, we will all be servants or slaves to something. We all give our lives to something that we believe will ultimately satisfy our deepest longings, and that thing first intrigues us, then itmolds us, then leads us, and then defines us.

You don’t have to be a Christian to see this. I am fascinated with the insight by a novelist named David Foster Wallace. He was not a Christian by any stretch, but he noted the following:

“There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship—be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles—is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. 

If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.”

He finished his 2005 speech [4] by saying,

 “It is about making it to thirty, or maybe fifty, without wanting to shoot yourself in the head.”

David Foster Wallace did not make it to 50. Four years after he gave this speech, he committed suicide. I am reminded of what the always quotable C.S. Lewis had to say:

"Thomas More said... 'If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.' Will it really make no difference if it was women [or men] or patriotism, cocaine or art, whiskey or a seat in the Cabinet, money or science? Well, surely no difference that matters. We shall have all missed the end for which we are formed and rejected the only thing that satisfies. Does it matter to a man dying in the desert, by which choice of route he missed the only well?" 

Everybody worships. And we will either worship something that always leaves us unsatisfied – “wells that run dry or leave us thirsty,” (Isaiah 58) and leads us to disillusionment, unhappiness or despair - or we will draw our refreshment from a well that will never run dry, and will lead to hope and satisfaction as we worship a God who meets us in the deepest and most profound levels of our longing (John 4). 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

My snapshot of Jesus today is from his final public teaching as recorded in John 12. He had just raised Lazarus, and he had quite a crowd following him. In this teaching he makes the turn from physical resurrection to spiritual resurrection. I’m condensing all of the teaching in this chapter to one paragraph that focuses on what I believe is the main topic. 

“ I tell you the truth: unless a grain of wheat is planted in the ground and dies, it remains a solitary seed. But when it is planted, it produces in death a great harvest. The one who loves this life will lose it, and the one who despises it in this world will have life forevermore. Anyone who serves Me must follow My path; anyone who serves Me will want to be where I am, and he will be honored by the Father… (v.23-26)

The reality is that everybody dies to something so they can live for something else.  We all “lay down our lives” for something that we believe will bring us life.  In some ways, Jesus’ call to ‘die so we can live’ is not the radical part; the radical part is the call to die to self and for someone else – in this case, Jesus.

But this dying to self is not simply the way to bring life to ourselves.  It’s how we bring life to everyone around us. Everybody worships, right? And whenever we worship, somebody is sacrificed, and it will be either us or others.

·      If I worship my comfort, I will sacrifice my wife and kids. They will pay the cost of my comfort. “Stop bothering me. We will talk when I’m good and ready. No, you adjust your hopes and dreams and priorities because they don’t match mine.”  I will sacrifice my friends. “You upset or hurt me. Clearly you are the problem. I need a better class of friends.” I remain dead in my selfishness and sin, and I drag down those close to me.

·      If I worship my reputation, I will sacrifice any of you who don’t make me look good. “You think I’m wrong? You’re an idiot. You don’t like how I pastor? You clearly have a heart issue. You are winning an argument with me? I will lash out and try to humiliate you or keep beating this argument to death because I can’t be wrong.”  And I will remain dead in myself selfishness and sin and drag down those around me.

·      If I worship money, I will choose work time over relationship time and I will choose profit over people.  

·      If I worship my health, I will make everyone else take second place to my diet and workout schedule. 

·      If I worship sex, all that will matter is my fulfillment and my happiness, and I will sacrifice the dignity and autonomy of people around me as I manipulate and pressure and use… And I will remain dead in my selfishness and sin and drag down those around me.

You want to know what you worship? Ask yourself who in your life you sacrifice; then ask yourself why. 

So what do we do if we are caught in this trap? What does it mean to present our bodies as living sacrifices, wholly acceptable unto God? (Romans 12:1) I will focus on the first crucial step: dying to self.

 In the same way you gave your bodily members away as slaves to corrupt and lawless living and found yourselves deeper in your unruly lives, now devote your members as slaves to right and reconciled lives so you will find yourselves deeper in holy living. In the days when you lived as slaves to sin, you had no obligation to do the right thing. In that regard, you were free.

But what do you have to show from your former lives besides shame? The outcome of that life is death, guaranteed. But now that you have been emancipated from the death grip of sin and are God’s slave, you have a different sort of life, a growing holiness. The outcome of that life is eternal life. The payoff for a life of sin is death, but God is offering us a free gift—eternal life through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King. (Romans 6: 19-23)

It begins with a commitment to Jesus. Acknowledge the reality of who Jesus is; surrender your life to Him; commit to following his path.  This is the biblical idea of ‘dying’ so that we can be raised to life. We must commit to learning what it means to love Jesus and others more than ourselves, to valuing the kingdom of God over the Kingdom of the earth. 

And part of that re-ordering of our loves and priorities is learning where to place our focus: specifically, how to sacrifice ourselves. We turn to C.S. Lewis again for a great summary:

“The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him… The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life.

 Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

I remember thinking as a young man that I wanted to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. I really wanted my life to count. I saw some older folks who were godly and whose presence had really impacted my life. I knew it was because of Jesus at work in them, and I wanted that! 

Well, I had to be willing to die. If I wanted to live, I had to be crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). If I wanted the power of the resurrection, I needed to participate in the fellowship of His suffering (Philippians 3:10). 

·      If I wanted to become wise, I had to prioritize certain things in my life that would lead to wisdom. 

·      If I wanted to self-controlled, I had to practice self-control. 

·      If I wanted to overcome anger, I had to address my anger and the issues fueling my anger. 

·      If I wanted to move from lustful thoughts to pure thoughts, I had to change my habits and my focus and bring in something new.  

There was no amount of wishful thinking that was going to change me in those areas.  There was, however:

·      Praying (prayers of surrender and for supernatural help)

·      reading and studying biblical truth

·      seeking Christian counsel (casual and professional) that would help to guide me in the path of righteousness

·      choosing accountability with others

·      putting into practice what I learned  

The need for new life is ongoing, of course. The problem with a ‘living sacrifice’ is that it can crawl off the altar and try to throw somebody else up on the altar instead. Every day, we surrender our pride, our time, our desires for comfort and fun. 

But what we find on the other side of death is resurrection, and when we finally get up on that altar so that we die instead of others and the life of Jesus begins to work in us and through us – then we begin to truly see how the Kingdom of God is meant for our good and God’s glory.

This is the pattern. 

·      In Jesus’ death and resurrection we see the foundation of the promise of salvation. We see the nature of profound love: dying so others can live. 

·      This establishes the pattern God will use to bring us to life from the midst of our death, first spiritually and ultimately physically. 

·      Our lives become characterized by dying to self (self-sacrifice) rather than living for self (self-indulgence). 

·      That sacrifice is not just a vague practice of denial: it’s a purposeful commitment to livingfor Jesus by living like Jesus to point others toward Jesus. 

And in that process, that seed of our life that ‘dies’ comes to life and bears a crop in which the goodness of God is multiplied for the good of others and the glory of God.

 ________________________________________________________________________

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/magazine/confessions-of-a-seduction-addict.html?src=recg&_r=0

[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/02/style/elizabeth-gilbert-separation-eat-pray-love.html?_r=0

[3] Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3683437/What-happens-romance-inspired-thousands-happy-comes-bubble-popping-end.html#ixzz4ECYoi98w

[4] “This Is Water.” http://bulletin.kenyon.edu/x4280.html

What DID Jesus Do?

Remember the WWJD days? Lots of people were wearing bracelets remind themselves that it was important to think about how Jesus would handle the situation they are in. That was a great reminder, but I think there is an even more fundamental question to ask first, and that is, “What DID Jesus do?” So that’s where we are going today. We are going to look at five key things that happened to Jesus, and in the process of seeing how his life unfolded, we can see what He DID, and what the implications are for our lives.

* * * * *

The first thing that happened to Jesus was that he was born. (Brilliant, I know…) Luke takes the geneology all the way back to Adam, but Matthew gives the geneology of The Son Of Man, and he starts with Abraham.

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconia aand his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim,Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob are the founders, so that’s impressive, but….

• Rahab was a Canaanite

• Bathsheba was a Hittite by marriage

• Ruth was a Moabite

• Tamar’s origin is unclear, but we do know she seduced her father-in-law by pretending she was a prostitute

• Jehoram killed all his brothers to secure his power and the Bible says he “abandoned God.”

• Ahaz offered his son to the god Moloch by burning him alive.

This family or origin tension hits even closer to home.

• PARENTS – Jesus was born into a family who, while morally strong, were viewed as morally weak. As far as people knew, Joseph and Mary had jumped the gun a bit in terms of getting family life started. It is almost certain there was a stigma attached there.

• Nazareth (“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”) James Strange, an American archaeologist, notes: “Nazareth is not mentioned in ancient Jewish sources earlier than the third century AD. This likely reflects its lack of prominence both in Galilee and in Judaea.” Plus, there was a Roman garrison there – seriously occupied enemy territory.

• His dad’s vocation was very ordinary and very hard.

Jesus has what would appear to be a family tree with a lot of shade by the standards of the world; Some embarrassing skeletons in the family closet; assumed to be conceived before his parents were married; lived in a nothing town; had an ordinary job. When the Bible says that Jesus ”made himself of no reputation,” it wasn’t kidding.

If the accounts of Jesus life are meant to give us insight into both Jesus and life, I suspect we have details like this recorded so that we will have hope as we build upon or overcome our family of origin.

“The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure.” (D.H. Lawrence. ) I am going to paraphrase: “You can’t have a flower without dirt, and sometimes some crap.”

If people dig into where our roots are, sometimes there is a lot of good soil….but sometimes its just dirty, and it stinks. Even Jesus had a family history that had to simultaneously be embraced and be endured.

If you are a person who struggles with your roots – your parents, your family, really anything about the formative parts of your past - the key is to learn how to embrace the good and admit the bad without shame. The Bible didn’t try to hide Jesus’ hurdles. I believe everything that is in the Bible is purposeful, and one thing God apparently wants us to know is that no one has to be ashamed of where they have come from. God can grows beautiful things out of crappy soil.

THE FIRST LESSON: WE MUST LEARN HOW TO GROW FROM THE EARTH AND THE MANURE INTO WHICH WE HAVE BEEN PLANTED.

* * * * *

Here is God in the Flesh, and when he is 12 years old he gives this great line in the temple - “I must be about my Father’s business” – and then he disappears. So what did Jesus do during the 18-or-so year gap in the gospel records between the last record of his youth and his adult ministry? The Bible gives this vague explanation: “He increased in wisdom, and stature (physical maturity), and in favor with God and man.” (graciousness of manner; divine influence reflected in life; reputation.)

Jesus most likely remained in his father's (Joseph's) home and learned the family business. This was the most common path for Jewish lads to follow. In Jesus' case, it would mean he worked in his father's shop as an apprentice until he fully learned the trade. This trade is commonly been held to be carpentry, but was more likely stone cutting and building (the Greek text supports this point). As the oldest son, he probably was responsible for his mother after Joseph died (which is assumed by the time Jesus went to Calvary).

So what did Jesus do for 18 years? He lived a normal life. He was sent to earth to save the world, and how did he get ready? He just put one foot in front of the other, for 18 years.

One of the hardest things to do is wait, especially in a culture of instant gratification. But the reality is, it is in the times that we think are wasted that God does some of his best stuff. If you are in a place in life where you feel like you are spinning your wheels, be content. Perhaps this is the time for you to increase in wisdom, and to find favor in the eyes of God and others. If you are surrendered to God, there is no wasted time. The Kingdom of Heaven is full of people who have learned to be content with God’s timing.

THE SECOND LESSON: WE MUST SEE EVEN THE MOST ORDINARY OF MOMENTS AS OPPORTUNITIES TO BECOME WISE AND BUILD REPUTATION.

* * * * *

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.'"

And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written,
'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU,' and,
'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,
SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

These three temptations mirror what 1 John 2:16 calls the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

• The lust of the flesh: the desire of the natural body to indulge in things –perhaps even good things - at the wrong time or in the wrong way. There are natural cravings that will draw us to experience something about God’s creation in improper ways.

• The lust of the eyes: the desire for forbidden things. Greed for things we do not or should not have.

• The pride of life: arrogance. Building identity, achieving status or demanding respect because of the things that I have acquired.

Jesus met these head on.

• “You are really hungry; make bread!” (Lust of the flesh)

• “Don’t you want this glittery, beautiful world?” (Lust of the eyes)

• “And then you can demonstrate your power in front of everybody!” (The pride of life)

THE THIRD LESSON: WE MUST BE READY FOR THE DESERT

• Pray that God helps you learn the art of self-control (lust of the flesh)

• Pray that God gives you contentment (the lust of the eyes)

• Pray that God gives you humility (the pride of life)

Even people with the best backgrounds, and the greatest increases in wisdom and reputation face tremendous desert experiences where these three desires seems overwhelming. Be faithful; the one who withstood them all is with you.

* * * * *

Luke 4: 14-16 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read…”

THE FOURTH LESSON: YOU WILL HAVE A MINISTRY

1. Your effectiveness comes from the Holy Spirit (“in the power of the Spirit”) Don’t forget that it’s not about you. If you minister to people with effectiveness and authority, thank God, because He is empowering you. There is a world of difference between “God needs me” and “I need God.” You are a vessel that God is preparing to use to carry Him to others. When you arrive at your destination – when you realize that you are at the place where God plans to reveal himself through you – get out of the way.

The death of our effectiveness is confirmed any time we find ourselves saying or thinking something along the lines of, “Do you know who I am?” All that matters is who God is, and the rest of us are in the same category – jars of clay, in desperate need of God to fill us.

2. Your audience is closer than you think (“Galilee…surrounding district”) Don’t look so far away for a mission field that you overlook your yard. If we are not careful, we become bifocal Christians – we are almost always looking far away for a mission field, and when we look close to home we adapt a posture of looking down our noses. (“We are going to JPUSA to work with the homeless…Safe Harbor? I can’t stay up all night!) ( I’m going to Costa Rica to work with children in the villages…Sunday School in my own church? I can’t send out cool Christmas letters about that!)

There is nothing wrong with going some distance if God calls you there; but I think more often than not, He wants you to start by ministering to your kids, your spouse…your neighbor…your parents…your friends…the people and ministries in your church.

3. Your habits lay a foundation (“The synagogue, as was his custom”) Someone once said, “First we form habits, then they form us.”

When Jesus was 12, he was in the temple. When we see him again at 30, he is going to the temple. What did he do between those two events? Developed a custom. We are what we do, and we become what we consistently do.

4. Your authority comes from God’s Word (“and stood up to read.”)

The first words of Jesus that are recorded after he began his official ministry are from the book of Isaiah. If proclaiming God’s Word is a good starting point for Jesus, I have to think it’s a good starting point for us. And it wasn’t just a random reading. It was purposeful. Jesus knew what he was doing. We are the followers of the Word become flesh; we need to be people of the Word.

THE FIFTH LESSON: YOU WILL NEED TO DIE (TO SELF), BECAUSE THERE IS NO RESURRECTION WITHOUT CRUCIFIXION.

Reading Scripture Well (2 Peter 3:14-18)

So, my friends, while we wait for the day of the Lord, work hard to live in peace, without flaw or blemish; 15 and look at the patience of the Lord as your salvation. Our dearly loved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, has written about this. 16 He says essentially the same in all of his letters, although uneducated and unstable readers misinterpret the difficult passages, just as they always misread Scripture, to their spiritual ruin.17 So hear my final words, my friends. Now that I have warned you about what’s ahead, keep up your guard and don’t let unprincipled people pull you away from the sure ground of the truth with their lies and misunderstandings. 18 Instead, grow in grace and in the true knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Anointed, to whom be glory, now and until the coming of the new age. Amen.

Peter makes a big deal about true and false teachers, about learning what has been passed on by the prophets and apostles, about the importance of this to avoid spiritual ruin. Because of the importance of these final words from Peter, I want to walk us through some principles of Bible study today so that we do not misinterpret and fall into spiritual ruin.

Christians may still have points of tension on certain issues even if all parties are following these principles. God seems content to let mystery remain in the midst of things that are certain. That’s not a bad thing. I think it’s supposed to force us into community – but that’s my final point ☺

KNOW THE GENRE

• History - a purposeful presentation of facts. Real people and places and events. This includes biography, war texts, etc.

• Law Texts – Moral (don’t kill), ceremonial (wash your hands), hygienic (quarantine lepers), civil (forgive debts every 7 years).

• Wisdom Lit - Wise or insightful saying about general principles in life. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (and possibly even a good way to understand some of the law texts).

• Poetry – Psalms; scattered throughout the Old Testament A lot of symbolism (“He will cover you with His feathers and wings”) and emotion. Poetry is often a journal rather than a manual.

• Prophetic writing - prediction of the future or an analysis of how people are doing from God’s perspective.

• War texts - a particular way of recording conquests

• Apocalyptic – Revelation, parts of Daniel. Meant to be hopeful for people in distress. It is full of strange imagery and codes.

• Romance - Song of Solomon; Ruth

• Epistles (letters)- Personal communication on theology, church life, Jesus, the work of the Holy Spirit, living in the city, etc.

• Parables – stories to illustrate a point

KNOW THE PURPOSE

A. Prescriptive (“Do/believe this not that!”)

• The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)

• 7 churches in Revelation (Revelation 1-3)

B. Descriptive (“This is what happened.”

• Jephthah sacrifices his daughter in Judges 11.

• John the Baptist confronts Herod Antipas (Matthew 14)

Passages can be both – but they might not be. Read carefully.

KNOW THE CONTEXT [1]

What was the original author trying to say, and what did the original audience hear?

“Language assumes a culture, operates in a culture, serves a culture, and is designed to communicate into the framework of a culture…. We must translate the culture as well as the language if we hope to understand the text fully.” – John Walton

“We can easily forget that Scripture is a foreign land and that reading the Bible is a crosscultural experience.” – Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes

The Bible is situated in a culture. Cosmology; covenants; images (the sea is “chaos”), honor/shame; worship rituals; kings and kingdoms; sacrifice; societal structures, loaded language…

A book is situated in the Bible.

A chapter…in a book

A paragraph…in a chapter

A verse….in a paragraph.

A phrase…in a verse.

A word…in a verse.

Meaning always flows from the top (the Bible) down (to the verse), not the other way around.

Practice: what do these phrases mean in the broader context of the passage of Scripture in which they are situated?

• Philippians 4:13 - “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” (What things can we do, specifically?)

• John 12:32 – “When I am lifted up, I will draw all men…” (How is Jesus lifted up?)

• Ruth 3:9 and Ruth 2:12; Numbers 15:37-40 – what is Boaz ‘spreading’ over Ruth in 3:9?

• John 10:10 – “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy…” (who is the thief?)

• Romans 4:17 – “Call things that are not as though they are…” (Who does this, and what is the thing that ‘is not’?)

• Matthew 18:18-20 – “Whatever you bind…loose…in heaven…“whenever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am...” (Hint: what is this section about? Where does the Old Testament talk about the importance of two or three witnesses, and why?)

• John 8:32 – “The truth will set you free…” (What kind of truth? What kind of freedom?)

• 2 Timothy 1:7 – “God has not given us a spirit of fear…” (what is meant by “spirit” here? Hint: however you interpret ‘spirit’, does it fit if you use the same meaning in the rest of the section when the word ‘spirit’ is used?”

• 1 Corinthians 10:13 “God will not give you more than you can handle…” (Is this trials or temptations?)

• 2 Corinthians 10:4 – “divine power to demolish strongholds…” (What are the strongholds?)

• Isaiah 55:8 - “my ways are not your ways” (Hint: why does God remind his people of this? What does he want them to do?)

Practice: Choose one of the following sections of Scripture for contextual analysis:

• Mark 11:12-21 A visit to the temple occurs between two incidents with a fig tree. What do they have in common? (Note: the fruit should appear before the leaves on a fig tree. A leafed tree should have fruit.)

• Luke 4:14-28 Why are the people angry with Jesus? You will need to reference Isaiah 61:1-2. (Note: it was not uncommon for rabbis to quote only portions of a passage or bring in parts of other passages in order to make a particular point.)

NUMBERS AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE NEED FOR CONTEXT [2]

We have to be careful. Sometimes numbers are just numbers. But in the ancient Near East, numbers were often used symbolically rather than literally. If we try to make those writers’ symbolic use match our literal use, we can miss the point - sometimes badly.

NOT FIRST; SECOND

God often gives the most value to the second person – which is in direct opposition to the idea that the firstborn was the most important. We see this in events as well. The second is often more important than the first in God’s plan and purpose. It’s part of the “upside down” kingdom, where the wisdom, priorities and values of the world are turned upside down and shown to be foolish and unimportant.

• Not the animals who were created first on day 6; the humans

• Not the first creation (Eden), but the second (New Heaven and New Earth

• Not Esau; Jacob

• Not Saul; David

• Not Ruth’s first husband; the second

• Not Joseph’s first court appearance (he was jailed); the second

• Not Moses’ first try freeing the people (killing the Egyptian); the second

• Not the first leader out of Egypt (Moses); the second took them to the Promised Land (Aaron).

• Not the first Adam/Abraham/David/Moses/Noah; the second (Jesus)

• Not the first sacri@icial system; the second (the cross)

• Not the first lamb (Passover); the second Lamb (Jesus)

• Not the first birth (physical); the second (spiritual)

• Not the first Jerusalem; the New Jerusalem

• Not the first tree (in the garden), but the second tree (after the garden, on a hill)

THE NUMBER 6, the numbers of humanity (and beasts)

• On the 6th day, men and beasts were created. You will actually see “man and beasts” paired together a LOT through the Old Testament.

• 666 is familiar, yes? It’s the ultimate humanist mockery of the Trinity.

THE NUMBER 7, the number of completion (and perhaps perfection).

• On the 7th day, God rested.

• 7 days of creation/days of the week

• 7 covenants with humanity (Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Levitic, Davidic, and Messianic)

• 7 days (and seven times) around Jericho

• “Wash in the Jordan seven times.” (2 Kings 5:10)

• 7 pairs of each clean animal on the ark (Genesis 7:2)

• 7 stems on the tabernacle’s lampstand (Exodus 25:37)

• 7 qualities of the Messiah in Isaiah 11:2

• Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus has 6 sets of 7 generation - putting Jesus as the 1st in the 7th seven.

• Luke’s has 77 generations from Abraham.

• 7 signs in John’s Gospel

• 7 things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16

• 7 parables in Matthew 13

• 7 woes in Matthew 23.

• “70 weeks” prophecy in Daniel 9:24 (7 times 7 times 10).

• Jeremiah 29:10 predicted the Babylonian Captivity would last for seventy years (7 times 10).

• Jesus is the seven-fold “I AM” in the Gospel of John.

• forgive a wrongdoer “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22)

• 7 letters to 7 churches; 7 spirits before God’s throne (Revelation 1:4)

• 7 golden lampstands (1:12); 7 stars in Christ’s right hand (1:16); 7 seals of God’s judgment (5:1); 7 groups of people judged in Revelation 6

THE NUMBER 10 is fullness or entirety.

• Ten generations from Adam to Noah, and Noah to Abraham.

• The Ten Plagues fully expressed God’s judgment

• The Ten Commandments

• Jesus used the number ten often in parables to represent the full number of something.

• Beasts from Daniel and Revelation often have ten horns - a full representation of earthly or evil power.

• “Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer….that you may have tribulation ten days.” (Revelation 2:10:)

THE NUMBER 40 is the number of testing

• The rain in the flood was 40 days and nights

• Moses was 40 years in Egypt, in the desert, and on Mt. Sinai.

• Jonah warned Ninevah for 40 days.

• Jesus’ testing in the wilderness was 40 days.

• It’s the number of days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. [3]

RECAPITULATION is the retelling of the same events with a different perspective and different purpose. There is an Old Jewish saying: “repetition is the mother of all wisdom.” No wonder that the Jewish writers used repetition.

A. Genesis 1 & 2 recapitulate: all of creation (Chapter 1) and then a focus on the 6th day (Chapter 2)

B. “The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.” (Genesis 41:32 NIV).

C. Daniel 2 looks at empires from a human perspective; they’re worthy and valuable (described with precious metals). Daniel 7 looks at empires from God’s perspective; they are grotesque beasts.

D. The four gospels are recapitulations:

• Matthew: Jesus is the complete fulfillment of the Old Testament

• Mark: Jesus was a servant, so no genealogy because slaves and servants had no genealogies.

• Luke: genealogy to Adam - Jesus is the Son of Man

• John: all the way back to before creation – Jesus is God

E. The book of Revelation is full of recapitulation [4]

• Revelation 6 - stars fell to the earth, which would completely destroy the earth. It’s the great day of the wrath of God’s judgment.

• Revelation 11 - the 7th trumpet ushers in the end of the world

• Revelation 16 - 7th angel’s bowl of judgment ends the world

• Revelation 19 - the divine warrior’s sword wipes out all of the evil in the world and ends the world again.

• Revelation 20 - Satan is kept from deceiving the nations, but didn’t he just get thrown into the lake of fire the previous chapter? At the end of the chapter, evil is wiped out again.

• Revelation 21 - evil is thrown into the lake of fire. Again.

Linearly, this makes no sense. As a cycle of recapitulation, this is beautiful and all works together. Recapitulation allows for multiple perspectives and points on the same story. They all hammer home the same message – if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, stand firm in the midst of persecution. God wins in the end.

WAYS TO APPROACH BIBLE STUDY [5]

THE BOOK SURVEY METHOD [6]

• Read through a book without stopping to consider the details (Titus, Philemon, James, Jude, Haggai, and Malachi are good ones to start with).

• Draw a chart or outline (you can also find good ones online).

• Find out all the background information you can. [7]

• Read it again, perhaps in a different version (or in a side-by-side format ), taking notes of things that stand out while you read. [8]

• What is the purpose of the writer? What “feel” do you get from reading it? Is the writer angry? Sad? Happy? Worried? Excited?

• What are some of the significant words or phrases? What ideas are repeated or emphasized the most?

• What seems to be the key verse or thought?

• Use commentaries to see how you are doing ☺

THE CHAPTER ANALYSIS METHOD

• Check the context. Who is speaking and being spoken to? When and where is it being spoken? What is the occasion or circumstance?

• What is the main subject of the message? What other background material clarifies this statement? Are there cross-references somewhere else in the Bible that would be helpful?

• Ask interpretive questions. Why did the writer say this? What is the meaning of ____________? What is the significance of ____________? What is the implication of ____________?

• Write out a paraphrase it. The simplest way is just to rephrase the chapter in your own words. Read multiple translations, commentaries concordances to help you with particular words.

THE VERSE BY VERSE ANALYSIS METHOD

• Same as above, just with a verse ☺

READ IN COMMUNITY

The Bible is intended to be read in the company of others in whom the Holy Spirit is at work. This includes voices from the past and the present, and from around the world.

______________________________________________________________________

[1] Some resources that have been influential for me in this area:

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, by Kenneth Bailey. 

Sexual Morality In A Christless World,  Matthew Rueger

Insights into Bible Times and Customs, by G Christian Weiss, published by Moody Press.

Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes, E. Randolph Richards

Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus, by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard.

40 Questions About Interpreting The Bible, by Robert Plummer

The Untold Story Of The Church, Frank Viola

Hard Sayings of the Bible, by Walter Kaiser, F.F. Bruce, and others. 

Paul Among The People, by Sarah Rudan. Excellent insight into the culture in which Paul wrote.

followtherabbi.com (Ray Vander Laan’s site)

Some of John Walton’s books (try “The Lost World Of The Old Testament”)

The Bible Jesus Read and The Jesus I Never Knew, Phillip Yancey

Dennis Prager’s Rational Bible series offers some insightful perspectives on the Old Testament through the lenses of Jewish history and tradition (Prager is Jewish, not Christian).

Is God a Moral Monster?  Making Sense of the Old Testament God, by Paul Copan. 

Reading The Bible With Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg

Hard Saying of the Old Testament, by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. 

Hard Sayings of Paul, by Manfred T. Brauch. 

Series on Biblical books by Timothy Keller (such as Galatians For You) or N.T. Wright (his New Testament for Everyoneset)

[2] See “Design Patterns In Biblical Narrative”  (a video from The Bible Project) and Nicole Clark, “Literary Design Pattern: See, Take, Do.” as good introductions to this.

[3] Also, the number 1,000 is rarely used literally. Check out all the verses with 1,000. God owns the cattle on 1,000 hills, for example, or God’s promise to Abraham is for 1,000 generations. We are not to assume the next hill or generation is exempt. 

[4]  From a series by Shane Woods on Revelation, with help from notes by a dude named Mike (https:// www.catlinchurch.com/content.cfm?id=213&download_id=736)

[5] I’m building/paraphrasing from info I found in a book Rick Warren wrote on methods of studying the Bible. He has a lot more ways he recommends; I am focusing on these three to stay with the theme of ‘context.’

[6] The Bible Project does a fantastic job giving overviews of each book.

[7] A website called Precept Austin has a lot of information. If you become a member of Bible Gateway (membership is cheap), they have excellent resources for this. Adam Clarke’s commentaries are helpful, as are the commentaries at biblehub.com. 

[8]Bible Gateway is fantastic for this.