So how did I get from God to Jesus? That is what I want to try and answer here. The last thing that I said in part one was that I knew God was real but I didn’t know who God was or even what God was but I knew that He was and I knew because of my experience that the Bible held some “power” or influence. I began telling everyone that God was real and looking for opportunity to share what had happened and to share this new revelation in my life. But I only spoke of God in the most generic vague sense because that is all that I had. What I knew was that God had delivered me in a mighty way and that He had given testimony to creation and the Bible by using those things in my deliverance.
\ What do I mean by deliverance? Within one week, actually 5 days, I had been freed from addiction. Addiction to everything. My language changed. The actual words that I spoke with changed. I stopped cursing and swearing and being profane, nobody told me to, I just knew that it was right. It wasn’t hard to stop cursing, I wasn’t even mindful of it, I just stopped because it was as if God said stop, not in an asking way but authoritatively and commanding way. It was as if He said stop, and there was nothing I could do but stop. I stopped using drugs. Not just illegal drugs but all drugs: Tylenol, Sudafed, caffeine, even cigarettes. The last is probably the most amazing. I had been smoking since 7th grade and was now smoking a pack a day for two years. On the fifth morning I sat down to smoke my first cigarette of the day. I lit it, took the first drag, and coughed. I coughed like the first time I had ever smoked. I heard that still small voice say to me, you no longer smoke. Again, the voice was not asking or suggesting, but commanding as if making a statement. I put the cigarette out, threw the rest of the pack away (even threw the rest of the carton away) and never smoked again. No cravings, no withdrawals. Just stopped. It wasn’t as if I quit smoking but more like God quit for me. His voice was definitive and irresistible. I was delivered from addiction including the need for acceptance. I now knew what I knew and knew it more certainly than I had ever known anything. I was at peace.
I was at peace. I had been summoned by God. I had been called to His revelation. I knew what life was all about and why everything else had failed. I had a message to share and that message was “God is real!” It didn’t matter now what other people thought of me. I understood why I existed and without having to be told, I understood what I was created for; namely, God.
I talked about God all the time but when Jesus would come up my answer was always the same, “I know God but I’m not sure about Jesus.” What changed. I started reading the Bible and attending a church. This is when the Lord began confirming and explaining things to me. Again, as before, people at church were talking to me but I wasn’t hearing them, I was hearing their voice and their words, but they were impacting the depths of me, their words were not their own, but the Lord’s speaking through them. I began growing in my understanding of God and Jesus but I was still not sure why I needed this Jesus.
I joined a discipleship group with two other people. This group was designed to get us into the Bible and allowed for more personal discussion. Every week I would attend and listen, but in the back of my mind I always felt like I had the inside track. I felt that I was a little closer to God, a little more special because of the way that He had called me to Himself. These other people needed Jesus to get them to God, I didn’t, God by-passed Jesus and had gotten me Himself, or so I thought.
I felt so special, there were very few people that had my kind of experience that alters life so radically and drastically, I must be very special indeed. One night, while sitting in our group, the Lord began to impress something upon, something that I had yet to grasp. He began impressing upon me the knowledge that if all I had was my experience then I had nothing. He began showing me my need of a savior. That I had been truly delivered from drugs and addiction but that I still had a bigger issue, an eternal issue. Just because I was now free from what had been my sin doesn’t mean that I hadn’t still sinned and that a consequence, a punishment, wasn’t still right. I began to see, sitting there on that sofa, that I was doomed, or better, damned. I had sinned in abundant and gross ways, I had blasphemed God and rejected Him for years, nearly all my years, and worse, I was still sinning. What was I going to do with my sin, again, I needed deliverance, but this time not earthly and physical but spiritual and eternal. I needed God to forgive me for my life not just free me from addiction. Addiction was merely a symptom of a larger problem: sin. I needed a Savior: Jesus.
That was the night that I remember embracing Jesus as my only hope. I remember sitting there in almost disbelief, dumbfounded. I have no idea what we were talking about because I wasn’t listening. I understood now Who delivered me from addiction and Who would deliver me from sin: Jesus.
I understood that Jesus was God, that He had been the one that had set me free. I understood that as important and as good as my physical deliverance had been it paled in comparison to what had actually taken place. Jesus forgave me my sins. He was the only way to God. Jesus had come two thousand years ago and lived as a man in my place, keeping the law that I could not keep. After living a perfect life in my place, He died a perfect death in my place. How was His death perfect? He, being holy and righteous, without sin, sacrificed Himself in my place. I justly and rightly had merited wrath and judgment but Jesus took that wrath and judgment upon Himself in my place. The Perfect dying for the imperfect. The Holy and Righteous dying for the wicked and depraved. His death was perfect, the perfect sacrifice. I could never pay for my sin, there is nothing I could ever do to justify or excuse my sin. I had sinned not against man, or a great man or even a ruler or country but against God. Hell is just because sin against an Eternal Holy God deserves an eternal consequence. Sin is much more wicked then we imagine and a far greater offense to God then we admit. It is cosmic treason of the worse degree. I could never pay for my sin, no one could, for all men are just like me, but a perfect Man, a Holy Man, a God Man, could, and only He could. The Perfect in the place of the imperfect. I was shaken to my core, again.
I could have trusted in my experience and my thoughts of uniqueness and still perished. I could have lived the rest of my life proclaiming the reality of God and gone straight to hell. I was no better than anybody else, in fact, I was worse. I actually in my wickedness looked down upon those who trusted Christ, who trusted the True God to save them. I now knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt why Christ had come and what it was that He had accomplished. He was my Savior and my God. He was my Deliverer and my Refuge and my Ever Present Help. He was my Hope, my only Hope, and as I have grown as a Christian, He has grown as my Savior. My need for forgiveness and grace are as great as they have ever been and it is only in His sacrifice upon the cross, in my place, that I have peace and reconciliation with God, with the One True God, Jesus Christ.
And how do I know what Jesus did upon that cross accomplished what I believe that it did? Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Three days after his crucifixion He rose. He rose because His sacrifice had been accepted. If He had stayed in the grave He would be no different then any other religious figure or idea. Mohammed, Buddha, Smith, they are all dead, there is no testimony to their lives. They came and taught and died. Jesus came and taught and lives. He is God and has shown and proved beyond any doubt that He is who He taught Himself to be. The resurrection is the hope and confidence that Jesus is God.
And I cannot leave this section without inviting you to know Him also. Not an idea or way of thinking or a belief code to live by, but a Person. Real, personal and knowable. Jesus lives and Jesus saves and Jesus offers His salvation to any that will trust in Him and His work upon the cross. The Gospel is simple: God in His grace sent Jesus to live and die in the place of sinners and He freely offers His salvation to any that repent of their sin and trust Him. He forgives our sins upon the basis of Jesus’ work and sacrifice, and in Jesus we have reconciliation with God. Jesus taught that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. To the lost, He is the Way to God. To the deceived, He is the Truth of God. And to the dead, He is eternal life with God. And we are all, all three.
I hope that answers “why Jesus?” I called this section “my hope,” because I wanted you to see why I hope in Jesus and not in anything else. The third section is “my rock,” and I will be writing about the confirmations of God in my life that have grounded me and assured me of truth. Thanks for reading, I have prayed for you as I have written.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Why I Believe Part I
Why do I believe what I believe? This seems like it will be the much more difficult of the two to write. I have decided to break this into three sections, more for my self than any other reason. First, I will share my experience. Second, I will share, what I am calling, “my hope.” Third will be “my rock.” These sections will compliment each other and overlap some I am sure, but each is rather distinct I think.
First, my experience. I will try to stay away from all the details as they are less than important and stick to the general outline of how I first came to faith.
I was a drug addict; by that I mean, I found my purpose and identity in drugs. Didn’t matter what drug just so long as I was using something. I truly thought that using drugs gave me purpose, friends, identity, value and reputation. Drugs were everything to me, they were my god, my idol to whom I surrendered myself and to whom I worshipped. I sacrificed everything for drugs: education, friends, jobs, money, time, health, possessions, family, I’m sure the list could go on. Simply put, I worshipped drugs, they gave me life and really, the first time I felt like somebody was when I was high. I was told once not to glorify drugs or I would be a junkie, that is what I did, I glorified drugs. In 1999/2000 my drugs “turned” on me. They were all I really had and I could no longer use anything. I was faced with a very simple dilemma, keep using drugs and slowly die from it or turn my life around. I could either continue on the same path I was on and end up dead or I could go back to school, get a degree, find a wife, have a family, get a dog, 2.5 kids, a 3 bedroom 2 bath all brick house with a picket fence and still die.
Neither option appealed to me. Either way I was going to die and I didn’t have the desire to do either. They both were hopeless. I don’t think that I was depressed, I didn’t have depression symptoms, I was working and hanging with my friends and in a band and having fun, I think that the reality of life just set in. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, you die. In the end, death wins 100% of the time. The rules to life didn’t seem fair and I didn’t want to play anymore.
I decided to commit suicide. I stole a bottle of heart medication and got a six pack of beer and decided to drink and take pills till I died. I was tired, the alcohol kicked in first and I fell asleep. I remember crying when I was going to kill myself, not because I was sad but because this terror settled on me, a terror I had never really considered before: what if there was something on the other side of death? I was never a spiritual person or religious person, I really didn’t have a religious upbringing, God had never really been a thought in my head. I had spent much more time thinking of Satan, not that he was necessarily real just that the thought of him was appealing to me. But suddenly as I wanted to kill myself I became terribly aware of my lack of knowledge of what was to come, after all, I really never considered what was after life.
I began hearing God “talk” to me. At first, I didn’t think that it was God, more that it was just my own mind or conscience, but the thoughts weren’t my thoughts or at least not thoughts that I had ever had before. The music that I listened to began speaking to me about life, love, reality, purpose. Even my friends when they would speak would sound like somebody other than themselves, their voices weren’t different but the impact of their words upon me were different, it was like they were speaking to the thoughts of my heart or mind. It seemed as if music and my friends could read my mind and then answer what I was going through.
I know that this all sounds crazy, I would think the same thing but it happened to me and I am in good company (but I will get to that in the section: “my rock.”)
One night I very much now felt like God, whoever that was, was speaking to me about drugs and I vowed never to use drugs again. I don’t know why. I just did. The next day I sat with some friends and somebody passed a pipe around the room and as soon as I used it something bad happened. Things got dark and scary and uncomfortable, a couple people left the room (I think because of what was happening) and I left too, I was scared, something was wrong, very wrong, but I wasn’t sure what. I stepped outside on the balcony of the apartment and asked two of my friends what was going on, as if they would know, and one of them looked at me and said, “you aren’t suppose to forget that easily.” What? Oh my gosh, I knew what I had forgotten, I had vowed never to use again and I had. (You know, I have since asked that friend why he said that and he has no idea.)
I left there as fast as I could and started driving for home, which happened to be with a friend in Billings. I have no idea why I was going home but I was. The drive home was terrible, I can only describe it as if I was coming undone, like I was having a complete and total physical and mental break down. By the time I got home I felt as if I was dying, I could barely walk and was tearing my shirt off, my room mate helped me inside to a sofa and laid me down.
Now this room mate was certainly not a spiritual or religious person either, but they seemed to know exactly what to do. They brought me a glass of water and as I drank it it was the best thing I had ever drank, it was as if the Lord was saying to me as I drank it, “I made this for you that’s why its good for you.” Suddenly, consciously, I was aware of God, I knew that God was the only thing that could help me so I asked Carmen for a Bible. Why a Bible, I have no idea, but that is what I asked for and she found my bible that had been given to me when I was a little boy. As I grasped the bible it was as if light radiated up my arms and through my body. Still reading? It sounds crazy to me too.
Now I still have no idea what is going on, though I think that at this point I am realizing that God is real, really real. I’m going to skip some details as they are still obscure and confusing to me and I am not sure how to relay them without lots of explanation and history. At any rate, when the ordeal was done, which included something leaving me, I was rolling around on the floor clutching a bible to my chest and all I could say was, “God is real! God is real!”
I was sent home from work the next day because all I could say was “God is real, God is real.” The world suddenly made sense. Everything made sense. I understood who I was, what I was here for, what I was suppose to be doing and all of reality looked physically brighter. I was in love with life for the first time because for the first time life made sense. No one had told me about God, no one had coached me or explained anything to me, God had just revealed Himself to me and not just to my understanding but to my being. I knew what I knew more certainly then I knew anything else and suddenly nothing else mattered. I began to tell my friends that God was real and I expected only warmth and embrace from them, but instead I was met only with disapproval and indifference. That was hard, I had been brought to know the greatest thing imaginable and I was deeply happy.
I think that is about the whole of the “why: my experience.” I will start the next two soon.
First, my experience. I will try to stay away from all the details as they are less than important and stick to the general outline of how I first came to faith.
I was a drug addict; by that I mean, I found my purpose and identity in drugs. Didn’t matter what drug just so long as I was using something. I truly thought that using drugs gave me purpose, friends, identity, value and reputation. Drugs were everything to me, they were my god, my idol to whom I surrendered myself and to whom I worshipped. I sacrificed everything for drugs: education, friends, jobs, money, time, health, possessions, family, I’m sure the list could go on. Simply put, I worshipped drugs, they gave me life and really, the first time I felt like somebody was when I was high. I was told once not to glorify drugs or I would be a junkie, that is what I did, I glorified drugs. In 1999/2000 my drugs “turned” on me. They were all I really had and I could no longer use anything. I was faced with a very simple dilemma, keep using drugs and slowly die from it or turn my life around. I could either continue on the same path I was on and end up dead or I could go back to school, get a degree, find a wife, have a family, get a dog, 2.5 kids, a 3 bedroom 2 bath all brick house with a picket fence and still die.
Neither option appealed to me. Either way I was going to die and I didn’t have the desire to do either. They both were hopeless. I don’t think that I was depressed, I didn’t have depression symptoms, I was working and hanging with my friends and in a band and having fun, I think that the reality of life just set in. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, you die. In the end, death wins 100% of the time. The rules to life didn’t seem fair and I didn’t want to play anymore.
I decided to commit suicide. I stole a bottle of heart medication and got a six pack of beer and decided to drink and take pills till I died. I was tired, the alcohol kicked in first and I fell asleep. I remember crying when I was going to kill myself, not because I was sad but because this terror settled on me, a terror I had never really considered before: what if there was something on the other side of death? I was never a spiritual person or religious person, I really didn’t have a religious upbringing, God had never really been a thought in my head. I had spent much more time thinking of Satan, not that he was necessarily real just that the thought of him was appealing to me. But suddenly as I wanted to kill myself I became terribly aware of my lack of knowledge of what was to come, after all, I really never considered what was after life.
I began hearing God “talk” to me. At first, I didn’t think that it was God, more that it was just my own mind or conscience, but the thoughts weren’t my thoughts or at least not thoughts that I had ever had before. The music that I listened to began speaking to me about life, love, reality, purpose. Even my friends when they would speak would sound like somebody other than themselves, their voices weren’t different but the impact of their words upon me were different, it was like they were speaking to the thoughts of my heart or mind. It seemed as if music and my friends could read my mind and then answer what I was going through.
I know that this all sounds crazy, I would think the same thing but it happened to me and I am in good company (but I will get to that in the section: “my rock.”)
One night I very much now felt like God, whoever that was, was speaking to me about drugs and I vowed never to use drugs again. I don’t know why. I just did. The next day I sat with some friends and somebody passed a pipe around the room and as soon as I used it something bad happened. Things got dark and scary and uncomfortable, a couple people left the room (I think because of what was happening) and I left too, I was scared, something was wrong, very wrong, but I wasn’t sure what. I stepped outside on the balcony of the apartment and asked two of my friends what was going on, as if they would know, and one of them looked at me and said, “you aren’t suppose to forget that easily.” What? Oh my gosh, I knew what I had forgotten, I had vowed never to use again and I had. (You know, I have since asked that friend why he said that and he has no idea.)
I left there as fast as I could and started driving for home, which happened to be with a friend in Billings. I have no idea why I was going home but I was. The drive home was terrible, I can only describe it as if I was coming undone, like I was having a complete and total physical and mental break down. By the time I got home I felt as if I was dying, I could barely walk and was tearing my shirt off, my room mate helped me inside to a sofa and laid me down.
Now this room mate was certainly not a spiritual or religious person either, but they seemed to know exactly what to do. They brought me a glass of water and as I drank it it was the best thing I had ever drank, it was as if the Lord was saying to me as I drank it, “I made this for you that’s why its good for you.” Suddenly, consciously, I was aware of God, I knew that God was the only thing that could help me so I asked Carmen for a Bible. Why a Bible, I have no idea, but that is what I asked for and she found my bible that had been given to me when I was a little boy. As I grasped the bible it was as if light radiated up my arms and through my body. Still reading? It sounds crazy to me too.
Now I still have no idea what is going on, though I think that at this point I am realizing that God is real, really real. I’m going to skip some details as they are still obscure and confusing to me and I am not sure how to relay them without lots of explanation and history. At any rate, when the ordeal was done, which included something leaving me, I was rolling around on the floor clutching a bible to my chest and all I could say was, “God is real! God is real!”
I was sent home from work the next day because all I could say was “God is real, God is real.” The world suddenly made sense. Everything made sense. I understood who I was, what I was here for, what I was suppose to be doing and all of reality looked physically brighter. I was in love with life for the first time because for the first time life made sense. No one had told me about God, no one had coached me or explained anything to me, God had just revealed Himself to me and not just to my understanding but to my being. I knew what I knew more certainly then I knew anything else and suddenly nothing else mattered. I began to tell my friends that God was real and I expected only warmth and embrace from them, but instead I was met only with disapproval and indifference. That was hard, I had been brought to know the greatest thing imaginable and I was deeply happy.
I think that is about the whole of the “why: my experience.” I will start the next two soon.
What I Believe
What do I believe and why do I believe it? Lets start with the “what.”
I believe that Jesus Christ is God. What does that mean? It means that before anything existed Jesus was. He always has been God, perfect, immutable, everlasting. He, Jesus, is perfectly just, righteous, loving, merciful, wise, gracious, and wrathful. He is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing. He is not only Creator but Governor and Sovereign in all things. All His ways are perfect and right. He is without spot or blemish, without imperfection. He is the Only Holy Lord of All.
I believe that Jesus Christ created man without sin. Man was created without sin but with the ability to sin. Man was created with a will that was directed towards God. I believe that the first man, Adam, was created as a head of all mankind, a representative. When Adam disobeyed God, he not only brought sin upon himself but upon all men. All man is now born with a nature that is compelled and ruled by sin. When Adam was first created he was able to not sin, because of Adam’s sin, man is no longer able to not sin.
Sin is not only action but inaction. Too often we think of sin as something we do but sin is much deeper than that, sin is why we do everything that we do. Sin is not only the product of action but the producer of action. Sin dominates man, we are ruled by sin, there is nothing that man can now do that is not the direct effect of sin. Sin not only created an inability in man to do nothing good but also rendered man hostile to God. Man can not be indifferent to God. The way man(kind) is born now is with a nature that is opposed to God, unable and unwilling to honor God even though this honor is most right. Sin has blinded man to all truth, hardened his heart from receiving the truth and created a love for error and deception. Because sin reigns in the heart of man every way seems right to man except for the way that is right, namely, Jesus.
Jesus Christ became man about 2000 years ago. He did not cease to be God. He was fully God and fully man. He lived His earthly life in perfect obedience to the Law of God, keeping every point perfectly, He was without sin. He was hated by men because of sin, as I said above, sin creates hostility towards God. Jesus lived a perfect life in the place of sinners, just as Adam was a federal head for all of man, so Jesus was a representative for man also. Jesus was a substitute in His life of obedience keeping the Law of God perfectly in the place of sinners whom could never, nor would ever.
Jesus was crucified and died for sinners. Jesus lived the life you could never live and then died the death (at the wrath of God) that you deserved. Sin accrues the wrath of God. Sin brings great displeasure and anger (wrath) from God. Jesus, in the place of sinners, satisfied the wrath of God. Jesus was a sacrifice in the place of sinners. Just as Jesus lived in the place of sinners satisfying the demands of the Law, so Jesus died in the place of sinners satisfying the wrath that they rightly deserved for their sins.
Jesus did not stay dead but on the third day He rose from the dead. He showed Himself to many people and in overcoming the grave and death showed Himself to be God. He forever proofed that Who He claimed to be is Who He was and is, God. In raising from the dead He showed that His life and death had been accepted by God as an offering. In raising from the dead and overcoming death He set Himself apart forever from all other historical and religious figures, for no one else has ever done what He did. His life in my place is hope. His death in my place is hope. And His resurrection is hope for all of eternity.
I believe that Jesus calls to all people and freely offers the salvation that He forever accomplished. His offering in our place is by grace. We can do nothing to merit, earn, buy, or accomplish salvation. Jesus, on the grounds of grace, offers this salvation freely to any that would simply trust Him, that is believe in Who He is and what He has done. This salvation is by grace through faith. The good news (the gospel) is that Jesus has paid the full price to redeem you and that there is nothing left to pay. The good news is that you are accepted by God, reconciled, on behalf of Jesus, if you will trust Him. The good news is that when there was no way back to God, nor any desire, Jesus came and lived and died and rose that you could have eternal life. Jesus does not call the religious or the moral or upright or the conservative or the right or the left or the immoral or the liberal or the irreligious but He calls all men unto Himself not on the basis of who they are or what they have done or could do, but solely on the merit of His life and death and resurrection. He calls us to stop trusting our wisdom and understanding and the ways and methods that seem so right to us and simply trust Him.
In turning from our understandings we repent, this is essential to faith, no repentance means no faith. We must turn from all of our false gods (idols) and turn to the true God, Jesus Christ. We all worship the wrong things, for some it is money or fame or success or possessions or relationships or false religions. We cannot serve two masters, we must choose whom we will serve; either the true God whose promises are true and lasting or the false gods whom promise much but, ultimately, can do nothing. Faith and salvation must include repentance of sin.
I believe that there is no salvation to be had anywhere accept in Jesus and that the one thing everybody needs (truly needs) is salvation. Sin has blinded men to the truth and created hatred towards truth. Man longs for everything accept the truth, that is why there is a great movement towards tolerance of everything except Jesus. Every view is valid and accepted as long as it is not Jesus.
I believe that the Bible is the only true, inspired, infallible word of God perfect for revealing all that we need to know of God and salvation.
I believe that God has left us here so that we may make the Gospel of Jesus Christ known to as many people as possible in the hope that God will save His people.
I believe that followers of Jesus are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is our teacher, guide, helper, strength, wisdom, and power. We are not sufficient for the purposes of God apart from His Spirit.
I believe in the Trinity as taught in the Bible. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, not three gods, but one. The Father is God. The Son, Jesus Christ, is God. The Holy Spirit is God.
I believe that the only true life is the life Christ offers and that before we accept this life we are dead. What appears to be life is really empty and vain, Jesus gives true life, abundant life, life of joy and hope and peace overflowing. Come, taste and see.
I believe that the Church is the body of Christ and His Bride. Upon faith in Jesus one is in-grafted into the Church and consequently into a church, a local body of believers.
I believe more than this but I have tried to hit some of the essentials of the faith. My why is to follow. Hope to see yours soon.
I believe that Jesus Christ is God. What does that mean? It means that before anything existed Jesus was. He always has been God, perfect, immutable, everlasting. He, Jesus, is perfectly just, righteous, loving, merciful, wise, gracious, and wrathful. He is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing. He is not only Creator but Governor and Sovereign in all things. All His ways are perfect and right. He is without spot or blemish, without imperfection. He is the Only Holy Lord of All.
I believe that Jesus Christ created man without sin. Man was created without sin but with the ability to sin. Man was created with a will that was directed towards God. I believe that the first man, Adam, was created as a head of all mankind, a representative. When Adam disobeyed God, he not only brought sin upon himself but upon all men. All man is now born with a nature that is compelled and ruled by sin. When Adam was first created he was able to not sin, because of Adam’s sin, man is no longer able to not sin.
Sin is not only action but inaction. Too often we think of sin as something we do but sin is much deeper than that, sin is why we do everything that we do. Sin is not only the product of action but the producer of action. Sin dominates man, we are ruled by sin, there is nothing that man can now do that is not the direct effect of sin. Sin not only created an inability in man to do nothing good but also rendered man hostile to God. Man can not be indifferent to God. The way man(kind) is born now is with a nature that is opposed to God, unable and unwilling to honor God even though this honor is most right. Sin has blinded man to all truth, hardened his heart from receiving the truth and created a love for error and deception. Because sin reigns in the heart of man every way seems right to man except for the way that is right, namely, Jesus.
Jesus Christ became man about 2000 years ago. He did not cease to be God. He was fully God and fully man. He lived His earthly life in perfect obedience to the Law of God, keeping every point perfectly, He was without sin. He was hated by men because of sin, as I said above, sin creates hostility towards God. Jesus lived a perfect life in the place of sinners, just as Adam was a federal head for all of man, so Jesus was a representative for man also. Jesus was a substitute in His life of obedience keeping the Law of God perfectly in the place of sinners whom could never, nor would ever.
Jesus was crucified and died for sinners. Jesus lived the life you could never live and then died the death (at the wrath of God) that you deserved. Sin accrues the wrath of God. Sin brings great displeasure and anger (wrath) from God. Jesus, in the place of sinners, satisfied the wrath of God. Jesus was a sacrifice in the place of sinners. Just as Jesus lived in the place of sinners satisfying the demands of the Law, so Jesus died in the place of sinners satisfying the wrath that they rightly deserved for their sins.
Jesus did not stay dead but on the third day He rose from the dead. He showed Himself to many people and in overcoming the grave and death showed Himself to be God. He forever proofed that Who He claimed to be is Who He was and is, God. In raising from the dead He showed that His life and death had been accepted by God as an offering. In raising from the dead and overcoming death He set Himself apart forever from all other historical and religious figures, for no one else has ever done what He did. His life in my place is hope. His death in my place is hope. And His resurrection is hope for all of eternity.
I believe that Jesus calls to all people and freely offers the salvation that He forever accomplished. His offering in our place is by grace. We can do nothing to merit, earn, buy, or accomplish salvation. Jesus, on the grounds of grace, offers this salvation freely to any that would simply trust Him, that is believe in Who He is and what He has done. This salvation is by grace through faith. The good news (the gospel) is that Jesus has paid the full price to redeem you and that there is nothing left to pay. The good news is that you are accepted by God, reconciled, on behalf of Jesus, if you will trust Him. The good news is that when there was no way back to God, nor any desire, Jesus came and lived and died and rose that you could have eternal life. Jesus does not call the religious or the moral or upright or the conservative or the right or the left or the immoral or the liberal or the irreligious but He calls all men unto Himself not on the basis of who they are or what they have done or could do, but solely on the merit of His life and death and resurrection. He calls us to stop trusting our wisdom and understanding and the ways and methods that seem so right to us and simply trust Him.
In turning from our understandings we repent, this is essential to faith, no repentance means no faith. We must turn from all of our false gods (idols) and turn to the true God, Jesus Christ. We all worship the wrong things, for some it is money or fame or success or possessions or relationships or false religions. We cannot serve two masters, we must choose whom we will serve; either the true God whose promises are true and lasting or the false gods whom promise much but, ultimately, can do nothing. Faith and salvation must include repentance of sin.
I believe that there is no salvation to be had anywhere accept in Jesus and that the one thing everybody needs (truly needs) is salvation. Sin has blinded men to the truth and created hatred towards truth. Man longs for everything accept the truth, that is why there is a great movement towards tolerance of everything except Jesus. Every view is valid and accepted as long as it is not Jesus.
I believe that the Bible is the only true, inspired, infallible word of God perfect for revealing all that we need to know of God and salvation.
I believe that God has left us here so that we may make the Gospel of Jesus Christ known to as many people as possible in the hope that God will save His people.
I believe that followers of Jesus are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is our teacher, guide, helper, strength, wisdom, and power. We are not sufficient for the purposes of God apart from His Spirit.
I believe in the Trinity as taught in the Bible. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, not three gods, but one. The Father is God. The Son, Jesus Christ, is God. The Holy Spirit is God.
I believe that the only true life is the life Christ offers and that before we accept this life we are dead. What appears to be life is really empty and vain, Jesus gives true life, abundant life, life of joy and hope and peace overflowing. Come, taste and see.
I believe that the Church is the body of Christ and His Bride. Upon faith in Jesus one is in-grafted into the Church and consequently into a church, a local body of believers.
I believe more than this but I have tried to hit some of the essentials of the faith. My why is to follow. Hope to see yours soon.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Two Builders
The Builders (Matt 7:24-27)
As we saw that there are two paths so we will see that there are two builder. Both builders, we are told, “Hear(s) these sayings of mine,” says Christ. So we can assume safely that both people are being exposed to the truth, perhaps through church or maybe through the culture in which they live, but never the less they are hearing the teachings of Christ. We are also told that they are both building houses, structures: spiritual lives. The only difference that we know about these people is the foundation, the one thing unseen and the first thing laid. When you look at a house it may look identical to another house. Same shutters, shingles, doors, carpet, identical. You could inspect the inside of the house and find that much is the same there too. So it is with people. You could meet two people that go to church with you, both carry their bibles, both pray, worship in song, participate in activities; they may even head a ministry. You could get to know these people, spend time with them, build a relationship with them and feel that you really know them. But people are a lot like houses. The foundation is hidden. Even foundations can be deceiving, if the concrete wasn’t mixed right, it could look hard and last a while and then begin to crumble. Unfortunately, home foundations are easier to check then people’s foundations.
People can be very deceiving and very convincing. A lot of us have known someone that seemed to be “born again”, and then fell away. We have all heard of some famous preacher or teacher that later rejected Christ. I think that the clearest story of this I know is of Charles Templeton. Charles Templeton was a preacher along side Billy Graham, they preached together all over Europe. Charles Templeton was by every external measurement a man of God. And yet, he would reject his faith, reject Christianity and accept an agnostic view of life. If any of us had known this man we would have been convinced of his conversion.
I Cor 3:9-15, we are told by Paul that it is the foundation that matters, “let each one take heed how he build on it (the foundation).” We are told that know matter how you build on this foundation, whether “gold, silver precious stone, wood, hay, straw…” that it will be the foundation that gets us to heaven. What we build on that foundation may be lost but the foundation will stand. Have you ever driven by a house that has burned and all that is left a concrete slab where the house once stood? So it is with us.
“If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” Isn’t it wonderful to know that once the foundation has been laid that even if we don’t build right upon it, yet, if the foundation is Christ, we will be saved. Of course this doesn’t give us license to do whatever we like, to be careless in our building, for the point that Paul is making is that we need to “take heed how” we build for we are the temple of God.
Back to the builders is Matthew. Both of these builders are building. They have heard what the foundation is to be and now they progress in their building. It is my assumption that both of these men knew they needed a strong foundation (after all they were building a house) and also that they each believed they had that strong foundation that they needed to build. They certainly didn’t set out to build a house that wouldn’t stand or that wouldn’t be safe. They set out to build houses for the same reason that most people build houses: to live in. These builders progress in their building confident that what they were doing would last. Certainly, any person that knew they didn’t have a foundation would never build. But to know you have a foundation and to think that you have a foundation are very different.
Our builders have finished their houses and like all people they must admire their work. They have invested themselves in these houses, both financially and physically. And now the test, “the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house”. The first house, built on Christ’s words, the sure foundation, stands. The second house, though hearing the word has not built upon it and it fell, and not only fell but “great was its fall.” The destruction of the house was great. Nothing is left of this house but a pile of ruble, a sad reminder of what was and could have been.
How are we building? Or more importantly on what? For as we have seen, you can build a life that is nearly identical to what the Bible prescribes and yet be completely off the mark. You can hear the words of Christ, think that you are on them, build a life on what you think is a laid foundation and yet, when the storm comes, destruction. How can we know when we are building on the true foundation and how can we know when we are building on a foundation that hasn’t been laid by Christ? Paul tells us how, when writing again to the Corinthians, he admonishes them to “examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (II Cor 13:5)
I know that many people don’t like being challenged in their faith and that the people that come along and cast doubt upon them are not appreciated but a philosophy that I have adopted is that I would rather see 100 Christians examine themselves and receive a greater assurance of their salvation then to allow one lost person believing they are saved, to perish without ever being challenged to really examine themselves. Though my intention is not to cause uncertainty but examination, if these words of Christ do cause uneasiness then maybe examination is just what we need. And often, the more resistant we are to examine, the more danger we are in. This was the problem with the Pharisees. They couldn’t nor wouldn’t except that they were blind, no matter how much Christ told them, instead they just got more and more angry and indignant. Their pride, their certainty, kept them from repentance! (Matt 23).
As we saw that there are two paths so we will see that there are two builder. Both builders, we are told, “Hear(s) these sayings of mine,” says Christ. So we can assume safely that both people are being exposed to the truth, perhaps through church or maybe through the culture in which they live, but never the less they are hearing the teachings of Christ. We are also told that they are both building houses, structures: spiritual lives. The only difference that we know about these people is the foundation, the one thing unseen and the first thing laid. When you look at a house it may look identical to another house. Same shutters, shingles, doors, carpet, identical. You could inspect the inside of the house and find that much is the same there too. So it is with people. You could meet two people that go to church with you, both carry their bibles, both pray, worship in song, participate in activities; they may even head a ministry. You could get to know these people, spend time with them, build a relationship with them and feel that you really know them. But people are a lot like houses. The foundation is hidden. Even foundations can be deceiving, if the concrete wasn’t mixed right, it could look hard and last a while and then begin to crumble. Unfortunately, home foundations are easier to check then people’s foundations.
People can be very deceiving and very convincing. A lot of us have known someone that seemed to be “born again”, and then fell away. We have all heard of some famous preacher or teacher that later rejected Christ. I think that the clearest story of this I know is of Charles Templeton. Charles Templeton was a preacher along side Billy Graham, they preached together all over Europe. Charles Templeton was by every external measurement a man of God. And yet, he would reject his faith, reject Christianity and accept an agnostic view of life. If any of us had known this man we would have been convinced of his conversion.
I Cor 3:9-15, we are told by Paul that it is the foundation that matters, “let each one take heed how he build on it (the foundation).” We are told that know matter how you build on this foundation, whether “gold, silver precious stone, wood, hay, straw…” that it will be the foundation that gets us to heaven. What we build on that foundation may be lost but the foundation will stand. Have you ever driven by a house that has burned and all that is left a concrete slab where the house once stood? So it is with us.
“If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” Isn’t it wonderful to know that once the foundation has been laid that even if we don’t build right upon it, yet, if the foundation is Christ, we will be saved. Of course this doesn’t give us license to do whatever we like, to be careless in our building, for the point that Paul is making is that we need to “take heed how” we build for we are the temple of God.
Back to the builders is Matthew. Both of these builders are building. They have heard what the foundation is to be and now they progress in their building. It is my assumption that both of these men knew they needed a strong foundation (after all they were building a house) and also that they each believed they had that strong foundation that they needed to build. They certainly didn’t set out to build a house that wouldn’t stand or that wouldn’t be safe. They set out to build houses for the same reason that most people build houses: to live in. These builders progress in their building confident that what they were doing would last. Certainly, any person that knew they didn’t have a foundation would never build. But to know you have a foundation and to think that you have a foundation are very different.
Our builders have finished their houses and like all people they must admire their work. They have invested themselves in these houses, both financially and physically. And now the test, “the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house”. The first house, built on Christ’s words, the sure foundation, stands. The second house, though hearing the word has not built upon it and it fell, and not only fell but “great was its fall.” The destruction of the house was great. Nothing is left of this house but a pile of ruble, a sad reminder of what was and could have been.
How are we building? Or more importantly on what? For as we have seen, you can build a life that is nearly identical to what the Bible prescribes and yet be completely off the mark. You can hear the words of Christ, think that you are on them, build a life on what you think is a laid foundation and yet, when the storm comes, destruction. How can we know when we are building on the true foundation and how can we know when we are building on a foundation that hasn’t been laid by Christ? Paul tells us how, when writing again to the Corinthians, he admonishes them to “examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (II Cor 13:5)
I know that many people don’t like being challenged in their faith and that the people that come along and cast doubt upon them are not appreciated but a philosophy that I have adopted is that I would rather see 100 Christians examine themselves and receive a greater assurance of their salvation then to allow one lost person believing they are saved, to perish without ever being challenged to really examine themselves. Though my intention is not to cause uncertainty but examination, if these words of Christ do cause uneasiness then maybe examination is just what we need. And often, the more resistant we are to examine, the more danger we are in. This was the problem with the Pharisees. They couldn’t nor wouldn’t except that they were blind, no matter how much Christ told them, instead they just got more and more angry and indignant. Their pride, their certainty, kept them from repentance! (Matt 23).
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