Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
"No man is an island"
Unfortunately, our human nature is always going to want to run away and from speaking the truth to others, to disengage. We see this tendency starting with the Israelites not wanting to be the kingdom of priests to the Gentiles like God wanted them to be. Further down is Jesus, and just in case we did not get the message, he prays in John 17 over his disciples, and consequently us, that we would not be taken out of the world, but that God would protect us from the evil one. Separation is not the point of the Christian life. The bit of history of this separation phenomenon is most clearly seen in the fundamentalist insistence to "come out from them and be ye separate." To one extent or another, that verse is taken out of the context that it is meant to function. Following Christ IS to be holy (separate). Plus, holy in the context of Scripture is not necessarily pure or free from sin, but set apart for a specific purpose. To move from picking on the fundies, a Christian's life is not to see how many trinkets in this life he can get, nor is it to help yourself or someone else with low self-esteem, nor is it even to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, just for their sake alone. One can indeed do all that and still not be known of Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23) without faith in him. Our purpose as Christians is to bring God glory (1 Cor. 10:31). In the moment of regeneration, our allegiance changes from ourselves, to God.
We must engage. Rom. 10:14-17. If we do not engage them through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, they'll never know about Jesus. This is why we get food for a family who has nothing. This is why we get a coat for a kid that does not have a good one or one at all. This is our motivation--that the Gospel would go forth, that the kingdom would come, that God would be glorified all the more in the changed lives of his people.
We must engage. Rom. 10:14-17. If we do not engage them through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, they'll never know about Jesus. This is why we get food for a family who has nothing. This is why we get a coat for a kid that does not have a good one or one at all. This is our motivation--that the Gospel would go forth, that the kingdom would come, that God would be glorified all the more in the changed lives of his people.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Amos 1-2
While chapter one of Amos describes the judgment that the Lord is raining upon the enemies of his covenant people, the culmination of that judgment is in chapter two with the judgment on Israel and Judah themselves, the purpose of which is to bring his people back to Himself in faith.
There are two forms of judgment that God judges with. God uses the first judgment to bring the consequences of the pagan nations' sin to themselves, while the second God uses to bring his covenant people to himself as we see in 4:6-13 where God says the purpose of his judgment is to bring them back in faith.
The literary forms of the judgment on all parties is the same, as seen with "For three transgressions of___, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." However, the purpose of that punishment is differing, the pagan nation's punishment is there for their sin against Israel and therefore God himself, while the punishment on Israel is their covenant unfaithfulness, and one other major offense. The other major offense is absolutely frightening to me, because I know that I don't fulfill that obligation that is upon all who are stewards of God's resources.
Each of the judgment statements on the other nations, including Judah, are almost so cut and dried that reading becomes repetitious, until the judgment on Israel, the Northern Kingdom. The other major offense that Israel evidences is their oppression of the poor and afflicted, which is one of the themes that runs throughout the book. That is one of the applications that I can see from this passage, that just having right doctrine (which the Israelites probably did not have) is not enough to live the Gospel. James the apostle goes into this in more detail in James 2:14-26, which may be the next book that I study. How do we as Christians balance faith and works; staying doctrinally correct while reaching out to those around us in need. Reaching out and caring and sharing are concepts that are popular this time of year being Christmas, but what about sharing and caring and giving in the middle of February?
Let us be sensitive to the needs of those around us, living out the Gospel that we claim, and using our giving in order to point to the glory of Christ's work in our lives.
There are two forms of judgment that God judges with. God uses the first judgment to bring the consequences of the pagan nations' sin to themselves, while the second God uses to bring his covenant people to himself as we see in 4:6-13 where God says the purpose of his judgment is to bring them back in faith.
The literary forms of the judgment on all parties is the same, as seen with "For three transgressions of___, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." However, the purpose of that punishment is differing, the pagan nation's punishment is there for their sin against Israel and therefore God himself, while the punishment on Israel is their covenant unfaithfulness, and one other major offense. The other major offense is absolutely frightening to me, because I know that I don't fulfill that obligation that is upon all who are stewards of God's resources.
Each of the judgment statements on the other nations, including Judah, are almost so cut and dried that reading becomes repetitious, until the judgment on Israel, the Northern Kingdom. The other major offense that Israel evidences is their oppression of the poor and afflicted, which is one of the themes that runs throughout the book. That is one of the applications that I can see from this passage, that just having right doctrine (which the Israelites probably did not have) is not enough to live the Gospel. James the apostle goes into this in more detail in James 2:14-26, which may be the next book that I study. How do we as Christians balance faith and works; staying doctrinally correct while reaching out to those around us in need. Reaching out and caring and sharing are concepts that are popular this time of year being Christmas, but what about sharing and caring and giving in the middle of February?
Let us be sensitive to the needs of those around us, living out the Gospel that we claim, and using our giving in order to point to the glory of Christ's work in our lives.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Amos 1
I am reading through the OT book of Amos, and it is quite the ride! The themes that run through the book are:
1. Injustice is not tolerated by our Holy God. (2:6-8), (4:1)
2. The reason that God sends judgment is not for punishment, but to show the people that they need him. (4:6-13)
3. Those who oppress the weak to get rich will get what's coming to them. (3:15) (6:4-7)
4. Those who trust the Lord will be saved, but those who trust themselves will be destroyed. (6:1-7)
5. God is sovereign over everything and everyone. (9:1-10)
6. God is still faithful to accomplish his purposes. (9:11-15)
What Amos is trying to say all through the book, is that God's law is not just the outward obedience, but a changed heart. The question to keep in the front of our minds is, "How does this book show Jesus?" The reasons for this, if we believe that the Bible is inspired and profitable, (2 Tim 3:16) then it all has one central theme. That central theme Jesus reveals in Luke 24 in the stoy of the road to Emmaus. (vv 25-27) says that he opened to them all the things that Moses and the Prophets wrote of him, and not only that, that it was in "all the Scriptures" were the "things concerning himself." Therefore, the central theme of the Bible is Jesus. It's all written by God to reveal himself, and the clearest way that God revealed himself was in his Son, Jesus. The Bible is not primarily about us, how to live life, or the rules.
As Sally Lloyd-Jones says in The Jesus Storybook Bible, "Now some people think the Bible is a book of rule, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. The show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done...There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them."
1. Injustice is not tolerated by our Holy God. (2:6-8), (4:1)
2. The reason that God sends judgment is not for punishment, but to show the people that they need him. (4:6-13)
3. Those who oppress the weak to get rich will get what's coming to them. (3:15) (6:4-7)
4. Those who trust the Lord will be saved, but those who trust themselves will be destroyed. (6:1-7)
5. God is sovereign over everything and everyone. (9:1-10)
6. God is still faithful to accomplish his purposes. (9:11-15)
What Amos is trying to say all through the book, is that God's law is not just the outward obedience, but a changed heart. The question to keep in the front of our minds is, "How does this book show Jesus?" The reasons for this, if we believe that the Bible is inspired and profitable, (2 Tim 3:16) then it all has one central theme. That central theme Jesus reveals in Luke 24 in the stoy of the road to Emmaus. (vv 25-27) says that he opened to them all the things that Moses and the Prophets wrote of him, and not only that, that it was in "all the Scriptures" were the "things concerning himself." Therefore, the central theme of the Bible is Jesus. It's all written by God to reveal himself, and the clearest way that God revealed himself was in his Son, Jesus. The Bible is not primarily about us, how to live life, or the rules.
As Sally Lloyd-Jones says in The Jesus Storybook Bible, "Now some people think the Bible is a book of rule, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. The show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done...There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them."
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Centrality of the Gospel
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
(2Corinthians 4:1-6 ESV)
It is my prayer and hope that what is discussed on this blog would be glorifying to the Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and reflect that glory to a dying world. I do feel a calling to preach and expound the word.
Let us discuss with open hearts the Good News and how that affects our everyday lives, and then live it in such a way to convict the world of sin and outward righteousness!
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