Tith a what?

We have heard it before: The ultimate definition of love is "the laying down of one's life for another." When Christians hear that, they immediately think of the death of Jesus, who selflessly "laid aside His life" (died) for the benefit of His beloved. The Apostle John reiterates this in I John 3:16, and although the death of His Lord may be one thing that was on His mind, could he have been alluding to something else? If John wanted to say true love is demonstrated by the sacrificial death of someone on behalf of another, why didn't he say that? The word John uses is a Greek word, τιθημι (tith-ay-me), which simply means "to lay aside." The "laying aside" of one's life may include dying, but that is only one aspect.

What characterized our Lord was not just His sacrificial death on our behalf, but His sacrificial life. Jesus said "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many." He demonstrated the pattern in John 13 by washing His disciples feet shortly before His death. He set the pattern of what supreme love is. For the Savior, supreme love meant taking upon Himself the full measure of God's wrath on our behalf, but loving one another may not require a sacrificial death, but it does require a sacrificial life.

If we are to love as Jesus commands us, we must "lay aside" our lives for one another. This does not mean, as some may believe, that we can go on living our lives to please ourselves, but be willing, when the moment is right, to sacrifice our physical lives in order to allow another person to live, it means moment by moment, we sacrifice our own preferences, resources, time, energy, will, and desires for the benefit of one another. I confess to you I just read that sentence, and I'm convicted. If you are convicted, also, because you recognize your own insufficiency to love in this way, than be sure to thank your God, who loves us in this way, and is so patient with us, and may we all, by the power of His Spirit, learn to love each other that way.

The Only Wise God

Well, I haven't quite figured out how to blog my sermons yet, but I do want it to be on here. I am just going to copy my notes for now, and as I blog more, hopefully I will get it more organized. Oh, and about going to Disneyland, that is a euphemism for deciding what I will leave in and leave out in my message.

SUMMARY OF ROMANS:

The need for God’s righteousness (1:18-3:20)

The provision of God’s righteousness (3:21-5:21)

The demonstration of God’s righteousness (sanctification) (6:1-8:39)

The vindication of God’s righteousness (restoration of Israel) (9:1-11:36)

The behavior of God’s righteousness (12:1-15:13)

Conclusion (15:14-16:27)

Here is the point: you need a righteousness that is not your own. You cannot earn it, you can’t buy it, you won’t find it anywhere other than in Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father but by me!” If you did not come away from this study understanding your need for perfect righteousness and God’s provision of that righteousness in His Son, than I am afraid we have done you a great disservice.

Remember, in this doxology, Paul is worshipping! He is not giving a theological treatise.

I. The Power

a. Who is able? God or man. How you answer determines how you trust.

b. He establishes

c. The power is not the message, it is the God! We do not put out faith in a book, rather, we put it in the God who wrote it. If I wrote you a letter saying you need to serve jury duty, it would mean nothing. If the state of California did, however, that would make a difference. Same words, but different authority. We believe it is important because He said it was important.

d. What is the message?

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. It is the message Paul articulates throughout this whole book. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ provides for us the perfect righteousness we need to stand justified by God. Paul says in Corinthians he was determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This was “Paul’s Gospel.” (read Romans 5:6-11) Paul’s gospel was not unique to Paul.

II. The Wonder: Jesus was not plan B.

a. The gospel kept secret (from long ages past)

b. The gospel revealed according to plan

God took several thousand years to weave together this gospel throughout redemptive history! And it is “by the Scriptures of the prophets” in other words, it was prophesied by them! And then, as if God was in heaven the whole time, with His finger up, just waiting, watching Abraham have Isaac, seeing the birth of a nation, watching them fall into apostasy, all the while giving clues about this coming redeemer with carefully placed prophecies throughout the whole testament, He is just waiting, and then, “at the proper time, He says “now.” This gospel happened according to the commandment of God! That is what Paul is saying, and that is why he worships! Listen to what Peter says in his first sermon: “This man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” They were blind. They didn’t see it. Turn to Peter 1:10, and lets read what He says about this mystery.

This was IT. This was what they had waited for, all controlled by His command, and Jesus, through His apostles makes the gospel known to the world. This mystery, so important to Paul, is proclaimed to the world.

III. The Response: Obedience of faith.

This is new covenant language. The Jews always had a problem remaining faithful. The big difference is not just gentile inclusion, but a new heart indwelt with the Spirit of God that enables us to love God and seek after Him. (Jer 31:31,33). This should also be the natural response of everyone who hears and believes the gospel.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus...

I am noticing that as I mature in my Christian life, the gap between God and I seems to be getting bigger. The truth is, I'm just getting a better picture of how big that gap (chasm?) actually is. Remarkably, the larger that gap appears to be, the bigger Jesus becomes. I may never know how large that gap is this side of glory. I'll pay lip service to its immensity, but will I truly feel the weight of it? I believe if I did, Christ, and what He has done, would be far more precious to me than He is.

Jeremiah 9:23; Isaiah 66:2

Jeremiah 9:23 is a powerful verse. Its clarity enables us to understand it even without its context. In spite of this, the context is certainly worth our consideration.

Jeremiah was sent by God on a mission that was doomed to fail. Like most true prophets of God that brought bad news, he was ignored… at best. You would expect this weighty exhortation to crescendo some exalted praise of the glory of our Lord, but it lands in the middle of a tragic prophecy of the events that will soon take place. The preceding verse should be enough to clue you in: “The corpses of men will fall like dung on the open field…”

So why this verse? Does the context tell us anything? If you are an Israelite, one of the most terrifying passages in the Torah for you will be Deuteronomy 28:15-58, where God describes the consequences of disobedience. Jeremiah was the lucky guy God choose to warn them about this nightmare becoming a reality.

As people who exist in an age of grace, we do not need to worry about mothers eating their children as a judgment for disobedience (though it could be argued our fate will eventually be worse). Jeremiah’s point is simple. There is something more tragic than all the calamities that would happen to Israel, something more horrifying, namely, the priorities of their hearts. I do not believe God could demonstrate through the worst disasters imaginable the tragedy of those who boast in something other than God, or treat His Word as something to be passed over in pursuit of our own wisdom, strength, or wealth.

All of us are looking for a niche. We want to be honored, respected, noticed, considered, for… fill in the blank. For some, it may be sports. For others, music, art or philosophy is something we seek to be noticed for. Some wish to be great thinkers. In ministry, it could be preaching and teaching, or the size of “our” church or ministry. It could be our family, house, cars, intelligence, capabilities, or any number of things we pursue, but the Word of God is something we are relatively uninterested in.

God does not deny our natural inclination to aspire towards something we can be proud of, instead He reminds us of what we should be proud of. That we understand and know Him. I know there is a movement that believes God can be understood and known through things other than His word, but this is idolatry; modern-day Baal worship. I know there are well-meaning Christians who pursue the Creator through His creation, art, science, music, philosophy, community, altruism, or merely contemplation. There can be great value in these things when learned about and appreciated subsequently to His Word, and in their proper context.

Friends, if you truly claim to seek God, and desire to know Him, consider these words of His: “But to this one I will look: to Him who is contrite of Spirit, and who trembles at My Word.” If you have a casual interest in His Word, do not expect any peace from God. Do not expect Him to reveal Himself to you. To let your Bible collect dust while you seek Him is to try and find Him through Baals, Asheroths, and golden calves.

Update

So many things are running through my mind, it is hard for me to organize them. It seems like new and wonderful things happen everyday, and I'm always challenged. Here is a summary in no particular order of how things have gone so far...

1. Marie and I have been nominated to be deacons at Grace Church
2. I have a new beautiful daughter named Aviyah
3. I am both Greek and Hebrew Exegesis which has been challenging.
4. I signed up for Rick Holland's preaching class
5. My heart is still at Beacon, and after a great conversation with my pastor, it makes me long for there even more.
6. I have had opportunities to serve the Lord through music, which has been a blessing
7. Jesus Christ is becoming more precious to me as I learn to serve Him.
8. Marie and I are still learning how to be married and raise two kids, but God has been so very gracious
9. We are so thankful to be here, and marvel at God's goodness towards us.
10. I've had about six cups of coffee, and will probably crash soon.


Well, it's brief, but it's an update. May God bless you all.

well well well...

A lot has happened since I started this little faith journey. I learned Biblical Hebrew and Greek, coached a junior high girls soccer team, started playing guitar for 4 and 5 year olds, learned all sorts of things about church history, started Grant Horner's bible reading plan and have actually been keeping up with it, made the wonderful switch from PC to Mac, made a ton of new friends, got a new job as an apartment complex manager, got to preach to k-9th graders (in three separate sessions) twice, will be (God willing) the proud father of a little girl in just a little while, have separated completely from the military, is seriously reconsidering some of the "values" I have always just assumed should be important, and even debated for, as long as I can remember (mostly political), am learning to love my wife more, and lead my family, am more convinced now than I ever have been that Jesus Christ is the only hope for this world... now I just need to learn to articulate that.

now I'm off to change my son's stinky diaper. It's ok, though, in 1 week we begin 3 days of intense, gladiator potty training.

The Times They Are a-Changing...

I'm not sure how long this will last, but I want to start writing again. I've been apprehensive for a couple of reasons, not the least of which being my own immaturity. I've been very dogmatic about several things in the past, and since coming out here, I've begun to see my own immaturity. I'm learning to choose the hills I die on, because there is nothing worse than feeling it is necessary to to combat your own presupposition of what someone else's position may be. I've done that many times, blinded by my own pride, and paid dearly for it. Writing has always been difficult for me not because I don't love it, I do, but because it's hard to communicate clearly sometimes.

To give everyone a brief update, I want to start by telling everyone what I am thankful for:

First and foremost, I am thankful for Jesus Christ. Jesus is so much more than I could ever understand this side of heaven. What I do understand gives me more comfort than anything else. He is my Lord, my Savior, and my friend. Everything I cannot do to justify myself before God He has done for me, and because of that, I am so very thankful. He has given me His Spirit to comfort me, enlighten His Word to me, and guide me through life, and I depend on that to keep myself from going crazy. Each day, I learn more and more to lean on His guidance and submit to what He has said in His Word. That may be difficult for some people to understand, and as someone outside of Christianity looking in, it may even seem a little cooky. I don't blame you, especially what has been done "in the name of Jesus Christ" in the past.

I am also thankful for the Word of God. Since coming out here, I have been able to study the Bible more deeply. In that process, I have been exposed to my own hypocrisy, and received fresh insight into why Jesus Christ is so precious.

I am also very thankful for TMS and GCC. I have met so many different people from all sorts of walks of life that are learning to love God. I am being challenged to love my family, manage my time, and love God unlike I have ever been before. I'm also discovering how little I know in the grand scheme of things, and how much more I have to learn about everything.

I am thankful for life, health, provision, shelter, care, etc. Since coming out here, I have had every need met in some amazing and generous ways. People do not hesitate to give. We lived with a family for free for six months, got all of our furniture donated to us for free, had dozens of meals cooked for us, and have seen God's continuous provision the entire time we've been out here.

I am also thankful for the friends God has given me out here. I have met a lot of people that encourage me, and I'm so thankful for all of them, and look forward to many years of friendship.

For the sake of Brevity, I'll end there, and say more another day.