New Testament Archives - Page 86 of 208

New Birth & New Creation

Christ Church on July 25, 2021

INTRODUCTION

The theme of creation and new creation is a significant one in Scripture, but sometimes we may forget where God has determined to begin that new work. The new birth is not merely a significant improvement of who we are. It is a new creation; it is heaven breaking into this world. And this is what makes the Christian Church tick. This is what makes Moscow tick. This is the center of who we are and what we’re about.

THE TEXT

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create… I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; not more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress…” (Is. 65:17).

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband… He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:1-4)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17).

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

Because of where I want to focus this message, it is important to nail a couple of things down first. None of what follows should be taken to downplay or lessen the physical return of Christ, the glory of heaven, or the new heavens and new earth in the slightest. For Christians to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord in heaven, and it is far better to be with the Lord than to be here (2 Cor. 5:8). At the resurrection, when we are clothed once more in new, immortal bodies, all things will be finally and completely made right (1 Cor. 15:15:53-55). The glory of heaven will be immense and completely perfect. We will see God face to face, and we will be like Him, without any sin or suffering (Rev. 22:3-5, 1 Jn. 3:2). This is our hope and joy.

HEAVEN ON EARTH

Nevertheless, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray that heaven would come down to earth. And Scripture says that the new heavens and new earth are coming down out of heaven like a bride coming down the aisle to her husband, like a city full of light and jewels (Rev. 21:1-2ff). Furthermore, the Bible teaches that by the gift of the Spirit, God has come to dwell with us already: “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit” (1 Jn. 4:13). Finally, we are able to behold the glory of the Lord even now, so that we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another, becoming more and more like Him in this life (2 Cor. 3:18). What is that like?

HEAVEN NOW

The temptation – growing up in a Christian family/church/school is to take this for granted, to underplay the radical nature of the new birth. The great blessing of living in a covenant community is the momentum and gravity generally pulling in the direction of holiness and faithfulness. But that is also the context in which it can become perilously easy to float, to go with the flow, which is not the same thing at all as being made new. The text says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). To be “in Christ” is to be made completely new. The old has passed away, the new has come. Another way to make this point is to recognize that the language of “new creation” is the language of heaven.

What is heaven? It is the presence of Christ – God with us. It is the presence of His perfection, His holiness, His joy, such that we know Him and the power of His resurrection (cf. Phil. 3:10). Heaven is the full possession of unending, indestructible, abundant life. And what does Jesus say? “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (Jn. 11:25-26). Our text from Isaiah 65 goes on to describe life in this world, foretelling days in which people live extraordinarily long lives and children are born for blessing and not cursing (Is. 65:20-23). In other words, that new heavens and new earth begin here, in a Jerusalem of rejoicing, where there is no weeping or crying (Is. 65:18-19). For those who are new creations in Christ, the old is passed away. Christ is with us and everything is fine. He is wiping away every tear even now.

CONCLUSION

The same Creator God who commanded light to shine out of the darkness in the beginning is still in the business of creating new worlds in human hearts, through the knowledge of the glory of God in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). We have this treasure in the earthen vessels of fallen bodies and souls (2 Cor. 4:7). But this is the point: we have this treasure. The New Birth is a New Creation of a new and perfect world inside every believer.

Do not settle for a decent conservative Christian life. Do not settle for reasonable. Do no settle for mediocre. Christ does not make mutant mistakes. Christ died to make people new creations. Christ rose in order to give the treasure of everlasting life – heaven now. He came to give abundant life, to make us more than conquerors. We do live in a veil of tears, but if you are in Christ, you live in that veil of tears with Christ. Christ is with you and in you. And if Christ is in you, the fullness of heaven is already in you and your tears disappear almost as quickly as they appear. Do you have that treasure? Do you know that joy? It is impossible for you to get this for yourself, but it is something that God delights to do. Call on Him now. Turn to Him now.

This is what makes us tick: Jesus. 2000 years ago He was crucified on a Roman cross between two thieves. And when He was beaten, whipped, and nailed to that cross, our sins were laid upon Him. And now we bear them no more. The old is passed away, behold the new has come. Because Christ is here. He is with us. He is our heaven, and He holds us tight.

Grown Up Christian Business Principles (Further Up #6)

Christ Church on July 18, 2021

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INTRODUCTION

Another one of the ways God is blessing our community immensely is through the explosion of businesses and industry. As this grows, the opportunity for business bumps will increase. Of course it’s often a great gift to be able to do business together as believers, but there is no guarantee that Christians will not sin, make mistakes, or botch projects. These are challenges that we must embrace, and work through as Christians. And this process is essential to growing up into a mature Christian city.

THE TEXT

“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” (1 Thess. 4:9-12).

LOVE IS OBEDIENCE FROM THE HEART

We cannot say this enough in our current cultural moment, but “love” is not whatever we want it to be. Love is obedience to God from the heart. And in this case, the “love” that Paul is urging the Thessalonians to “increase more and more” is clearly spelled out. Just before our text, love means abstaining from all fornication and not defrauding one another sexually (1 Thess. 4:3-7). We may as well spell out the fact that this means: monogamous heterosexual marriage. And then he adds to that here: study to be quiet, mind your own business, work with your own hands so that you are known for your honesty and lack nothing. This is love. Notice that Paul doesn’t say anything here about warm feelings or following your heart.

The connection here between sexual ethics and economic and business practices is not accidental. Rampant sexual fraud in the bedroom leads to rampant economic fraud in the public square. The family and home are the basic building blocks of business and economy. Covenant keeping in the home is practicing to keep your word at work. Of course it goes both ways, and shoddy work in the market place is a great way to practice unfaithfulness at home. The foundation for our commitment to this kind of love is the gospel of Christ: He was obedient to the death for our salvation. This is love. And we love because He loved us first (1 Jn. 4:9-11).

GIFT GIVING ECONOMY

God so loved the world that He gave (Jn. 3:16). And so it is that the basis for all truly free markets is this kind of love: gift giving. This means that when it comes to doing business, our instinct should always be to blessothers, especially brothers and sisters. This is the opposite of looking for or expecting a deal or a discount – as a buyer or a seller – simply because you’re both Christians. It is more blessed to give than receive, and therefore, the accent is on you giving, not you getting other people to give to you. So, if you need the goods or services of someone else, you should want to give as big of a gift as you can in exchange for it. You are of course free to shop around, but you should want to bless them (pay) so they can give even more. And if you are giving the good or service, pricing should be set sufficiently so that you can keep on giving a good gift that is high quality, excellent, and thoroughly honest. God does not want us to give beyond what He has actually given (2 Cor. 8:12). We are to work in such as a way that we lack nothing (1 Thess. 4:12). In terms of quality of products and services, Christians should despise the sentiment of the bumper sticker that says, “not perfect just forgiven.”

WRITE IT DOWN

Paul said that the Thessalonians didn’t need him to write to them, but he did it anyway, and given the challenge that they would soon face (2 Thess. 2:2), it was very important that he did. We are people of the written word, and therefore one of the hallmarks of Christian civilization is the written contract. Therefore, write all business agreements down. Do not say that since they are Kirkers you don’t need to write it down; do not say they are fellow believers so everything will be fine. Do not write some of it down, and have additional verbal agreements and handshakes. No, from the beginning God wrote everything down for us, not because He would forget His word, but because we are the kind of people who forget. This is central to our commitment to honesty. This need not be a suspicious or accusatory thing; it should be considered one of the central ways we love one another. In the absence of a written contract, the Bible says elsewhere that we should rather be defrauded than bring shame on the name of Christ by making a big stink about it or taking a brother to court (1 Cor. 6:7).

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Of course, as members of Christ and bound together by membership vows, we have promised to watch out for one another and bear one another’s burdens (cf. Gal. 6:2). But in the same place it says, “let every man prove his own work… for every man shall bear his own burden.” If the great principle of Christian business is love (defined as obedient and glad gift-giving), then our duty to work hard and mind our own business so that we lack nothing means that our goal should be to mind our own business, which is not at all the same as autonomous self-sufficiency. Part of minding your own business means take care of your own garden. It also means not assuming you know anything about your brother’s situation. This applies to what you might be tempted to think your brother can afford to pay or give; this also applies to various business decisions, whether it’s your competitor or the fact that somebody in the church went with your competitor. Don’t assume the worst; don’t assume anything. Life is complex. Related is the fact that you must not take business decisions personally. And while you should want to do everything you can to be at peace with a brother and cover a multitude of sins, a negative review of work need not be cause for being out of fellowship.

CONCLUSION

When a business deal goes south it can be a real tangled mess, especially in a small, tight-knit community, but the gospel applies here as well. This doesn’t mean being naïve, gullible, or being walked all over. The cross teaches us is that love is obedience from the heart. Obedience is scrupulously honest (Ps. 15:4), but love also speaks the truth, holds brothers accountable, and is willing to work long and hard to bring resolution and make things right, because Christ suffered for us. They will know we are Christ’s disciples not just because we get along but because we love one another even when by all human standards we shouldn’t (Jn. 13:35).

Excellence in Education (Further Up #5)

Christ Church on July 11, 2021

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INTRODUCTION

Education fills up our days and hours and weeks and spills out constantly in our community, and that is entirely on purpose. Teaching and learning is at the center of discipleship, and we are disciples of Jesus who have been given the Great Commission to disciple the nations, beginning with the ones living our own homes. But we do not want this mission to grow into anything perfunctory. What we are doing is aiming at cultural impact over generations.

THE TEXTS

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily… And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou rise up…” (Dt. 6:3-9) “… That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:1-4).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXTS

Both of these texts teach not only the moral imperative of teaching God’s truth to your children diligently, they also teach the significance and potency of that education: lives going well, mighty increases, and long lives in the land (Dt. 6:3, Eph. 6:2-3). Both of these texts also clearly lay the responsibility for education at the feet of parents, and fathers in particular (Dt. 6:7, Eph. 6:1, 4). Finally, both of these texts insist that a Christian education take place all day long: at the breakfast table, in the car, in the front yard, on the front porch, and when you go to bed and everywhere in between (Dt. 6:7-9) and it must be applied to every area of life: giving the counsel and culture of Jesus in everything (Eph. 6:4).

EDUCATION, BLESSING, AND POWER

Pagans understand in a very narrow, limited way that education is important for jobs, and jobs are important for money, security, and provision. Many Christians are either Gnostic in their thinking, pretending that they have no needs or responsibilities with regard to jobs or provision or they imagine that vocational skills and wisdom will just happen. Both tend to mismanage the opportunities of education and resources. Other Christians simply live bifurcated lives, where they pretend to be Gnostics on Sundays and during small group, and then they just assume pagan assumptions about their work, 401Ks, or retirement plans. But notice that both of our texts connect material prosperity and the blessing of God to the task of education (Dt. 6:2-3, Eph. 6:3). This is because living under God’s blessing really does tend to prosperity. This does not mean that God’s blessings are like a vending machine. We are in no position at any point of demanding anything from God. But those who obey God’s commands and honor their parents are offered the promise that it will go well with them, and this promise that was originally given to Israel in Canaan, was then offered to Gentile kids in Asia Minor, and therefore we can apply it to us here in Idaho. Teaching God’s truth diligently to our children is God’s ordinary way of raising up generations that increase mightily in every form of wealth: wisdom, children, churches, businesses, lands, houses, technology, medicine, influence, etc.

EDUCATION IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS

The duty of teaching children is placed squarely on the shoulders of parents, and this begins with teaching obedience to children (Eph. 6:1). This is the foundational lesson: hear and obey (Dt. 6:3-6). And parents are the first people that must hear and obey by teaching their children to hear and obey. It is not heavy-handed to require complete, cheerful obedience of your children, but your first lesson you are teaching is your parental obedience. If you are slow to correct, angry, or frustrated, the lesson you are teaching is that it is ok to obey slowly or with a bad attitude. Fundamentally, if children are not taught to hear and obey, they will not be able to learn any other lessons. We should also note here that this task of education applies to both sons and daughters. While we do recognize the gloriously different callings of men and women, this does not mean that our daughters need less of an education.

Notice also that it is not enough to teach wooden conformity; the center of Christian obedience is love: “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Dt. 6:5). Instinctively, people tend to remember and learn well those things which they love the most, but do not fall into a modernist sentimentalism, love is a skill and duty that God requires, that must be taught and practiced. This need not devolve into cold duty, but it really is something like warm-hearted duty (Prov. 3:1, 4:23). Related to all of this is the requirement that fathers in particular not provoke their children to wrath (Eph. 6:4). This provocation can come from a father’s harshness and short fuse, but it can also come from a father’s abdication and emotional or physical distance or detachment. But God the Father is loud about His pleasure in His Son, and now you are in His Son. The education of children is the responsibility of both parents, but the father is responsible for the state of his whole household. Many Christian families suffer from the father’s lack of leadership in education.

EDUCATION & VOCATION IS ALWAYS MORAL

Finally, wound through both of our texts is the clear teaching that all education is always moral in nature. There is no neutrality. You are either growing to love God all day long or not. You are either learning the counsel and culture of Jesus in mathematics, science, writing, history, literature, and music, or else you are learning some other counsel and culture. The greatest lie of modern, government education is that there is such a thing as “religion-free” zones, which is what the First Amendment has been twisted to mean. But it never meant that; it always meant that the government could not run churches or be partial to a particular denomination. But our founding documents universally acknowledge the Christian God and Creator, and our constitution recognizes Sunday as the Lord’s Day and the birth of Christ as the most significant date in human history. All of which should have kept government out of the education business. In the absence of Christ, other gods and values always fill the vacuum. The other side of this lie is the claim that you can have math or language or history work apart from Christ. But all things hold together in Christ (Col. 1:17). Remove Christ and you remove reason. But Christ is always there to be loved and worshiped. And refusal to do so is disobedience and cowardice.

CONCLUSION

The center of Christian education is to love all that God is with all that we are. This is the “counsel and the culture of Jesus.” But we are only able to love God rightly as we receive His love in Christ: Christ the Creator, Christ born, Christ obedient, Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ ascended over all. And where Christ is there is always flourishing and abundant life. This life is creative, curious, joyful, diligent, savvy, courageous, and it looks for fruit over many generations.

Silver Shrines of Artemis

Christ Church on July 11, 2021

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THE TEXT

When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” ²²So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

²³And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. ²⁴For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ^[a]Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. ²⁵He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. ²⁶Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. ²⁷So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and ^[b]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” ²⁹So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. ³⁰And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. ³¹Then some of the ^[c]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. ³²Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ³³And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. ³⁴But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess ^[d]Diana, and of the image which fell down from ^[e]Zeus? ³⁶Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. ³⁷For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of ^[f]your goddess. ³⁸Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a ^[g]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. ⁴⁰For we are in danger of being ^[h]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly (Acts 19:21–41).

The Sufficiency of Christ

Christ Church on July 4, 2021

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THE TEXT

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39).