This last Wednesday we closed the year on a talk about what it means to "be a disciple" of Jesus. So many of us simply consider ourselves "Christians" (and that term is fine!) but the hard thing about it is that it can mean almost anything at all to be a Christian. And I say that because that term ("Christian") is not defined anywhere in the Bible. And so, while it's totally fine for us to call ourselves that (we've been called that for centuries, after all), it can be difficult because there are people on both sides of every political view and on both sides of every ethical and moral issue and every social issue that would call themselves Christians. See, the Bible only uses the term "Christian" 3 times. The followers of Jesus were given a different term... perhaps a more direct and narrow term... they were, of course, called "disciples." It's pretty easy to define what a disciple is according to the Bible. The word "disciple" or "disciples" is used over 300 times in Scripture!!
My primary concern is not what students call themselves, though. My primary concern is that they know what a disciple of Jesus looks like... my main premise was that they should see "disciple of Jesus" as their identity and everything else as a role. If you're a Christian, you're a disciple first, and a student, employee, baseball player, show choir performer, or guitarist, etc. second.*
*In the Great Commission, some of the last words Jesus said to His disciples before He left earth, He gave 3 aspects that make up a disciple's identity:
Read Matthew 28:19-20 for yourself and see how these 3 aspects pop out.
If Jesus would have remained dead, all further discipleship to Jesus would have ceased. But Jesus didn't remain dead. He's fully alive today, in the flesh even---in a perfected, resurrection body. He's just not on the earth, but in heaven. So being a disciple of Jesus continues. The real question is "will you fight to be a disciple of Jesus?"
Consider these 3 aspects often as you head into the summer.
*Much of this content is from Jonathan Dodson, found in his book Gospel-Centered Discipleship.
]]>Do Not Love the World - 1 John 2:15-17
James Pruch
This last Wednesday we started a new series in Oasis called "Life Issues," talking about some of the everyday life stuggles and influences we have. Every day, whether we realize it or not, we are influenced. Perhaps the most significant way that this happens is through media. Media is simply the many channels of communication that try to get us to love something, namely ourselves! Whether it is wearing Axe Body Spray to get the girls or logging onto to Facebook to envy someone's life or possessions, we are influenced by communication. The problem isn't media (whether social, news, entertainment or otherwise), per se. The problem is that we use media to get what we want. We use media to get approval from others, comfort in life, and power over people and our destiny.
The Apostle John writes to some Christians 2,000 years ago who never had iPhones or Facebook or body sprays or designer clothes. But they were continually at risk to love things other than God. Most of John’s first letter is about how loving God leads to loving others. But in our passage, John takes a detour from talking about loving others, to address loving the world. He talks about loving the world because he wants to make his point clear:If you love the world, you cannot love God. And if you do not love God then you cannot love other people.
In 1 John 2:16, John points out three things that are "in the world." First, he points out the desires of the flesh. This comes from our inner sinful nature that move us to want what is contrary to what God wants. Second, he mentions the desires of the eyes. We see things that are pleasing to our eye and we crave them. This could also mean any kind of intellectual desires or aesthetic desires—things that are not necessarily tangible. Finally, join points to pride in possessions (or life). This is pride in what we have. One scholar wrote that this person seeks to "impress everyone he meets with his own non-existent importance.” So John boils what is in the world down to three things. These three things are basically summarized like this: an unhealthy desire in what we do not have and an unhealthy pride in what we do have.
What we see is that sin is inherently anti-social! Life becomes a refrain of “I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want, I want!" When our lives sing this tune, we cannot love God, or other people for that matter. We are in the darkness and are blind and cannot tell where we are going. If you love the world, you cannot love God. But if you read John, what we see is that Jesus came to do away with this kind of life. The world--this narcissistic kind of living--is controlled by the evil one (John 12:31; 16:11) and 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the work of the devil.” We can draw the conclusion then that John essentially says, “Do not love what Jesus came to destroy.”
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to destroy this kind of life so we can love God. Jesus destroyed the desire for approval because, by faith in him, we are approved by the Father. He destroyed the desire for comfort because our true comfort lies in the fact that we no longer serve the devil as our father, but we serve God as our Father. Jesus destroyed a desire for power because we can rest assured that he reigns over the world, so we do not need to reign over anyone--even ourselves.
Media—the world—offers you what you can only find in Jesus. You may not believe this. But only Jesus can deliver because his promises come with a new life. And faith in him is the only way to receive him and the new life he gives. He said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy leaden, and I will give you rest.” He said, “If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink.” Go to him. He wants you to come. That might mean getting rid of Facebook or TV or a cell phone. It might mean simply cutting back. Whatever the case, God must be our treasure, not the world. As John says, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
]]>And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”Luke 23:34Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46
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It’s possible to read the Bible, study the Bible, and memorize large portions of the Bible, while missing the whole point of the Bible. It’s entirely possible, in other words, to read the stories and miss the Story.
This is what happened to the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24.
They were dejected, down, and despairing because the one they had put all their hope in had just been executed. They heard “rumors” that he was missing from the grave but, as far as they knew, these were unsubstantiated claims. As they were walking and talking Jesus came up and walked with them “but they were kept from recognizing him.” Jesus asked them, “What are you two talking about? Why are you so sad?” Looking strangely at this stranger, they asked, “Where have you been? Don’t you know what’s just happened? It’s the talk of the town.” They went on to explain that the one they were banking on to restore Israel to it’s national and political prominence had just been put to death. Their hopes had been dashed, their dreams shattered.
Jesus looked at them and said, “Do you not read your Bibles?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27). Jesus showed them that if they had understood what the Old Testament was really about, they wouldn’t have been so shocked by the things that had happened. They knew their Bible’s, but they missed Jesus.
Luke 24:21 tells us what they thought the Bible was about. They read it as if it was fundamentally about their glory–Jesus was coming to restore their prominence, position, and power.
We make the same mistake.
As I mentioned in my last post, we often read the Bible as if it were fundamentally about us: our improvement, our life, our triumph, our victory. And as a result we treat it like a book of timeless principles that will give us our best life now if we simply apply those principles. We treat it, in other words, like it’s a heaven-sent self-help manual. But by looking at the Bible as if it were fundamentally about us, we totally miss Jesus–like the two on the road to Emmaus. In fact, unless we go to the Bible to see Jesus and his work for us, even our devout Bible reading can become fuel for our own narcissistic self-improvement plans.
So, if we read the Bible asking first, “What would Jesus do?” instead of asking “What has Jesus done” we’ll miss the good news that alone can set us free.
As I’ve said before, the overwhelming focus of the Bible is not the work of the redeemed but the work of the Redeemer. The Bible is not first a recipe book for Christian living, but a revelation book of Christ who is the answer to our unchristian living. Scripture, in other words, is the portrait of Jesus. It’s a picture of who he is and what he’s done. The Bible tells one story and points to one figure: it tells the story of how God rescues a broken world and points to Christ who accomplishes this. The OT predicts God’s rescuer; the NT presents God’s rescuer. In all of its pages and throughout all of its stories, the Word of the Lord reveals the Lord of the Word. The plot line of the Bible, in other words, is Jesus-centered. He is the Hero of the Story.
Even though it’s a children’s Bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible is, in my opinion, one of the best resources available to help both children and adults see the Jesus-centered story line of the Bible.
In the Introduction of that book, author Sally Lloyd-Jones rightly explains what the Bible is not before she beautifully explains what the Bible is. She writes:
Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They 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.
Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you’ll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times, they’re downright mean.
No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything–to rescue the ones he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!
You see, the best thing about this Story is…it’s true.
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.
It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in the puzzle-the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.
For an amazing article by Sally on the need to teach children that the Bible is not about them, go here.
And here’s a message I gave on the subject of what we miss when we don’t read the Bible in a Christ-Centered way. This message was delivered at the 20/20 College Conference 2012 at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary a few weeks ago.
]]>We Christians have a remarkable tendency to focus almost exclusively on the fruit of the problem. We do this as parents with our children, pastors with our parishioners, husbands with wives and wives with husbands. We do this with ourselves. Others do it with us. Like Job’s “friend”, Eliaphaz, we often draw simplistic conclusions about life, ourselves, and others based exclusively on what we see (Job 4:8).
The gospel, on the other hand, always addresses the root of the problem. And the root of the problem is not bad behavior. Bad behavior is the fruit of something deeper. Our chief problem, as Jesus made clear, is “not what goes into a man”, but the defiled heart–or root (Mark 7:15).
Harold Senkbeil rightly identifies our real enemy: death. Sins are the fruit of a much deeper problem, a problem that only God can solve. Death is the root of the problem.
“This looks good”, she thought to herself. Such shiny fruit; it fairly cried out to be eaten, to be enjoyed. And what a broadening experience such enjoyment would be---the knowledge of good and evil, the Mighty One had said. How could He want less than the very best for His own?
“My husband and I will be like God Himself,” she reflected. “Now, could that be so bad?”
The serpent made sense: it would be much better to know both good and evil than to know only good.
“Here, have some.” She handed the juicy pulp to her husband.
“This is good stuff. By the way, Adam, do you know what God meant by that word---I think it was ‘die.’”
All sinful behavior can be traced back to the death that happened in Eden. To address behavior without addressing death is to perpetuate death. The Pharisees were masters of this and Jesus called them “white-washed tombs.” Many of us Christians are guilty of making this same mistake. We tend to think of the gospel as God’s program to make bad people good, not dead people live. The fact is, Jesus came first to effect a mortal resurrection, not a moral reformation-as his own death and resurrection demonstrate.
Most people think that the human dilemma is that our lives are out of adjustment; we don’t meet God’s expectations. Salvation then becomes a matter of rearranging our priorities and adjusting our life-style to correspond with God’s will. In its crassest form, this error leads people to think they earn their own salvation. More often in today’s evangelical world, the error has a more subtle disguise: armed with forgiveness through Jesus, people are urged to practice the techniques and principles Christ gave to bring their life-style back into line.
It is certainly true that sinful lives are out of adjustment. We are all in need of the Spirit’s sanctifying power. But that comes only after our real problem is solved. Sins are just the symptom; our real dilemma is death.
God warned Adam and Eve that the knowledge of evil came with a high price tag: “. . . when you eat of (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Our first parents wanted to be like God and were willing to pay the price. And we are still paying the price: “the wages of sin is death . . .” (Rom. 6:23); “. . . in Adam all die” (1 Cor. 15:22); “. . . You were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Eph. 2:1).
The real problem we all face is death. Physical death, to be sure. But ultimately and most horribly, spiritual death---being cut off from God forever. And everyone must die. You can either die alone or die in Jesus.
In his death Jesus Christ swallowed up our death, and rose again triumphantly to take all of the teeth out of the grave. In the promise of the resurrection, death loses its power. When we die with Jesus, we really live! (Senkbeil)
Sanctification consists of the daily realization that in Christ we have died and in Christ we have been raised. Life change happens as the heart daily grasps death and life. Death is the operative device that sets us free in Christ–when we die, we truly live. Daily reformation, therefore, is the fruit of daily resurrection (Romans 6:1-11). To get it the other way around (which we always do by default) is to miss the power and point of the gospel. In his book God in the Dock, C.S. Lewis makes the obvious point that “You can’t get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.” Behavior (good or bad) is a second thing.
“Life is a web of trials and temptations”, says Robert Capon, “but only one of them can ever be fatal---the temptation to think it is by further, better, and more aggressive living that we can have life.” The truth is, that you can’t live your way to life–you can only “die [your] way there, lose [your] way there…For Jesus came to raise the dead. He did not come to reward the rewardable, improve the improvable, or correct the correctable; he came simply to be the resurrection and the life of those who will take their stand on a death he can use instead of on a life he cannot.”
Moral renovation, in other words, is to refocus our eyes away from ourselves to that Man’s obedience, to that Man’s cross, to that Man’s blood---to that Man’s death and resurrection!
Learning daily to love the glorious exchange (our sin for his righteousness), to lean on its finishedness, and to live under its banner, is what it means to be morally reformed!
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And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” Mark 2:19-20
Dear Lord Jesus, it’s Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. For the next forty days we have the privilege of focusing our hearts, surveying your cross, and preparing for the greatest of all celebrations: Easter—the foundation of our hope and the fountain of eternal joy. What a great opportunity and gift.
For your glory and our growth, we ask you to inundate us with fresh grace in the coming weeks. We don’t want an ordinary Lenten season, Jesus. Saturate it with the gospel; overwhelm us with your daily mercies; stun us with your steadfast love—the only love that will never come to an end. It’s all about you, Jesus, it’s all about you what you’ve done forus, not what we promise to do for you.
Sadly, I used to dread Lent like late summer football practice—a lot of striving and sweat, mixed in with much uncertainty and fear. “What’s the coach thinking about my performance? Am I doomed to sit on the bench? Will I even make the team this year?” What a complete misrepresentation of the gospel. What a dismal way to live the Christian life. You’re calling us to repentant faith, not penitent doubt. We’re a betrothed bride, not a berated people—those upon whom you’ve set your heart and lavished your love.
Indeed, Jesus, we begin Lent today anticipating our wedding, not our funeral, for you’re the loving bridegroom who died to make us your cherished bride. The work’s already done; the dowry has been paid in full; the wedding dress of your righteousness is already ours; the invitations have been sent out; the date has been secured; and you’ll not change your mind! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Over these next forty days intensify our hunger for you, Lord, and ignite our longing for the day of your return—the Day of consummate joy, the wedding feast of the Lamb. In light of that banquet, we choose to deny ourselves (fast from) certain pleasures for this brief season. But we’re not looking to get one thing from you, Jesus—just more of you. Fill our hearts with your beauty and bounty. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.
]]>But is that all marriage is? Ephesians 5:22-33 tells us that God purposefully designed marriage to be a life-action dramatization of how Jesus relates to his church. Certainly that has implications for us! Paul ups the ante for Christian husbands and wives when he tells them what their roles really mean. The husband is to imitate Christ, who died for his Bride. The husbands, then, are to die to themselves by denying the desires and needs that do not benefit their wife. The wife is to imitate the Church, who lovingly adores and submits to Christ, her Husband. The wives, then, are to not play the role of doormat, but should defer ultimate leadership in the home to her husband. After all, any football team knows that two quarterbacks make for divided allegiance.
This post was originally posted here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/2012/02/14/a-prayer-for-valentines-day/
I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me. Song of Sol. 7:10
Gracious Jesus, it’s the day in our culture in which red hearts, overpriced cards, dark chocolates, and cut flowers abound—Valentine’s Day is upon us. For some, it’s a day of incredible kindness, sweetness, and gratitude. For others, it’s a day in which brokenness, loneliness, and emptiness are magnified. For all of us, it should be a day in which our longings for intimacy and rich connection find their way home to you, Jesus, the consummate lover.
How fitting that I’m presently 35 thousand feet in the air somewhere between Dallas and Nashville, for as I contemplate the wonders of your love this morning, my heart soars to regions where your mercy is endless, your grace abounds and your love is lavish. Oh to more fully grasp the liberating implications of this heart-thrilling affirmation, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me.” How can this be so? How can this really be true? I believe, help my unbelief.
Grace me with a deeper and richer experience of belonging to you, Jesus. I’m no longer my own, hallelujah! You died for me; you bought me; you married yourself to me. You actually desire me, want me, enjoy me… you are the ultimate Spouse. All I really need in life, and in death, is your love, Lord Jesus. This is my unquestioned theology, make it ever-pulsating doxology.
Indeed, free me from the insidious thievery of my unbelief. One moment I believe you truly delight in me and rejoice over me with singing; and the next I can be filled with disorienting unbelief. That’s when I begin to place unrealistic demands on other relationships. But there’s no one human being (or any number of them)—there’s no other romance story, no torrid love affair can possibly fill the God-shaped vacuum in my soul.
Even the best marriage is merely a hint and whisper what it means to belong to you. Even the worse marriage can become a garden in a desert where you meet us, free us and overwhelm us with your all-sufficient love.
Oh for the day when my betrothal becomes the day of great banqueting—the day I long for more than any other—the wedding feast of the Lamb. Until that Day, free me to love others as you love me. You are enough, Jesus, more than enough. So very Amen I pray, in your tender and tenacious name.
]]>So we started a new series last night at Oasis for the month of February called "True Love." We'll be focusing on the topics of love, sex, dating, and marriage and seeing how the Gospel applies to them. We talk about these issues a lot (at least every year), and we know that some students are perhaps tired of talking about them. Nonetheless, they are vitally important for high school students to think about. Why? Because living a God-honoring lifestyle in these areas can save them from a world of hurt and pain. We're talking about this stuff because we want students to have awesome relationships, with the Lord and with the opposite gender.
So last night we talked about sex. God designed the marriage relationship and sexual intimacy in a marriage relationship actually to be a reflection and an expression of His exclusive, faithful relationship with us.
Two preliminary things to be aware of were: 1. Your past will show up in your future - what you are practicing now will not easily go away in your future; so realize that what you're doing now MATTERS! 2. You think that meeting the "right person" will make everything alright. It won't. We always expect the other person to be our savior to some degree. The only problem is that they are looking at us and thinking the exact same thing. And we're both screwed up! We're both sinful; we both have issues. The question you need to ask yourself is "Am I the person that the person I'm looking for is looking for?" (read that slowly again.... it will make sense eventually!).
We look at 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:9 and saw that the Bible holds up a radically HIGHER view of sex than any other view out there. Paul, in this passage, shows us that the biblical view of sex is neither the "sex is just a physical appetite" kind of thing or the "sex is gross and wrong and evil" view.
The main myth about sex that we confronted is that sex is just physical. Our society says it's just physical. It's just something you do. But the truth is that sex is NOT just physical and we all know it. Ask a person who was sexually abused; ask someone who was raped. They will tell you that sex is not just physical.
Sexual sin is not like any other sin NOT because God hates it more, not because it won't be forgiven you, not because it will keep you from heaven, but because it hurts you in a way that no other sin does. It is NOT just physical.
The problem, though, is that NONE OF US is without sin. Most high school students already have some kind of sexual baggage. We've been hurt badly by a boyfriend or girlfriend; we've gone too far sexually with someone (maybe our boyfriend or girlfriend, maybe not); we've made a certain crush on someone ultimate; we've made them our "god"; we've indulged in internet pornography; OR we think we're better than everyone else because we haven't done any of these things. When we think about this, it is SO GOOD TO KNOW (for those of us who are Christians), IT IS GOOD NEWS that Jesus Christ took all of our sin, and all of that guilt and shame and dirtiness that we've felt, and He paid the full price for it on the cross. If you have received that free grace from Him, it’s gone! You’re clean! You are freed! And you need to let go of it—some of you are still holding on to it! JESUS REMAINED PURE FOR YOU! HE IS SPOTLESS AND RADIENT! HIS PERFECTION COVERS YOUR MESS AND MY MESS! IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE; IT’S ABOUT WHAT HE’S DONE FOR YOU! Our response to this must be to worship Him. How else could we respond to such a wonderful Savior?
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