Posted by Chris on October 21, 2007 under Sermons
God spoke these words to live by …
Exodus 20:8-11 — “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Years after the time God spoke these words, Moses recalled them saying to the people: “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5)
The first four words to live by focus on our relationship with God. If the first three are a three course meal, then this fourth word is the table setting. The first three words reveal to us who God is and who he isn’t, but the fourth word creates the environment for the relationship with the God who delivers, the God who cannot be manipulated or made into our image. We are to keep the Sabbath by keeping it holy. A special day for the whole community.
It seems so ancient and meaningless, this command to set aside a special day. Hasn’t this command been repealed? Isn’t this the command that hasn’t been repeated or carried over into the NT? We typically think of Jesus as the one who emphasized the enduring significance of the Ten Words. Here’s what Jesus had to say about the Sabbath …
Mark 2:23 – 3:6
- Jesus did not respect the legalistic observance of the Sabbath that ignored the needs of people. The Pharisees were maintaining a religious system that attempted to sanctify a 24 hour period, but it ignored real issues such as hunger and health. Jesus does not support their legalistic system …
- But Jesus is not against the Sabbath. He contends that if they understood that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,” then would understand the principle of the Sabbath.
- Of all the words to live by, this is the one that especially calls us to understand the principles that are embodied in the keeping of this commandment …
Principle 1: The Principle of Remembering [Honoring God, listening, holiness]
- Our lives can get so busy that we lose the ability to reflect and refresh. “Be Still and Know that I am God” is a song we need to sing more often. Too often the song we sing is “Get busy and think that you are God.” Being still and quiet reminds us that He is God and we are not.
- Remembering and Holiness allows us to experience true rest: We are overwhelmed with leisure. Our play is sometimes a lot of work.
- “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ?Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'” (Mark 6:30-31). True rest is rest with God.
- The Sabbath is about respecting ourselves and connecting with our Creator God.
Principle 2: The Principle of Trust [Created Order – Exodus 20]
- The rationale for the Sabbath in Exodus is found in the created order. Cycles and patterns are part of the created order. “God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.” The seventh day is not unimportant. It has real meaning. The seventh day is a day in which God enjoys his work. The seventh day is when God created satisfaction, tranquility, peace.
- God’s created order teaches us how life is supposed to be lived, and if we understand the principle of Sabbath Trust, then we can reflect on how we tune our lives to the rhythms of the created order: Night and day, inhaling and exhaling, animals and plants.
- The created order is an interconnected system and the observances of holy periods of rest are for the best. Learning to trust God’s wisdom in the created order rather becoming so proud that we do whatever we want. [The Dust Bowl in the 1930’s was the result of overproduction and a severe drought in the west. Cotton was a cash crop but it also dried up the soil. The land was taxed beyond its limits and it dried up so bad that nothing could be grown on the land.]
- But our tendency is to trust in our work. The Sabbath corrects that. In Israel, the Sabbath was also the seventh year and not just the seventh day … In the Sabbath year. … “You may ask, ?What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?’ I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.” (Lev. 25:20-21) Could we trust God this much?
- The Sabbath is about respecting the world God made – the land and resources — rather than overusing it and abusing it.
Principle 3: The Principle of Humanity/Spirituality [Justice – Deuteronomy 5]
- The rationale for the Sabbath as it is mentioned in Deuteronomy is a sense of justice. The Sabbath was a way of keeping God’s people from relapsing into slavery. The power of Pharaoh had dehumanized and demeaned the people through the overwork of slavery.
- So, the Sabbath declares to all that “We are not slaves.” This is more than private time. This is a public feature of the community. Notice that the Sabbath wasn’t simply for the wealthy or the true members of Israel. It was communal and it even extended to servants and foreigners living among them. Since the Sabbath principle of being human rather than slave is communal and public, no one is taken advantage of.
- This principle of Sabbath keeps us from serving the wrong master. But the concept of shutting everything down for a day is very counter-intuitive. Our work ethic supports excess. Rather than a Sabbath ethic (which is Biblical and supported by Jesus) we are more influenced by a Puritan Work ethic (which is not Biblical and originated with Calvinism). Unfortunately, the Puritan work ethic (which encourages constant labor) leads to becoming dehumanized or it leads to enslavement. The Sabbath ethic is humanitarian and leads to spirituality.
- Can our institutions really respect this? Chick-Fil-A is a rarity in the world of business. Every Chick-fil-a store is closed on Sunday. The only rationale is that it honors God and it honors employees. The founder of Chick-Fil-A has been told countless times about the profit he is losing by being closed on Sunday. But Truett Cathy seems to recognize a principle greater than profit. What if our institutions respected people as humans rather than workers.
- The Sabbath is about respecting human beings rather than abusing, using, or enslaving them.
Posted by David on October 18, 2007 under Sermons
Quite often when we are driving, we will see a yellow or orange sign that says, "CAUTION." We know immediately by the color of the sign and the word used that we are being warned. Though only one word and one color appear on the sign, we understand that we are being warned of possible danger, and we are being told to exercise special vigilance. If we have an accident because we ignore the sign, few people will sympathize with us. The attitude likely will be, "You were warned. Why did you not pay attention to the warning?"
This lesson is intended as a warning. The warning does not come from me. It comes from my understanding of what God said. The source of the warning is God, not me. To "steal" God’s warning by "hiding His caution sign" would not be a harmless prank. It would mean the potential death of people.
Ironically, most Christian are convinced they think like God thinks. That has never been the case! The reason we study scripture is to learn to think like God thinks. Long before Jesus Christ came to earth or Christianity existed, God said through one of the prophets:
Isaiah 55:6-9 "Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.’"
Isaiah revealed many harsh realities to Judah and Jerusalem. (See Isaiah 1:4-9 as an example.) There were some who understood his warnings. They basically reacted by saying, "It is too late. Too much evil has occurred." Isaiah basically said, "You do not understand how to think like God thinks. He does not think like you think."
Jesus once told the Pharisees, "But if you had known what this means, ?I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent (Matthew 12:7)." The Pharisees were recognized in first century Jewish society as the "official conservative interpreters of scripture." Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6, and said they did not know what God meant by that statement. He said if they understood what God meant in that statement, they would not have condemned the innocent. They did not know how God thought.
- Because a person is immersed in Christ does not mean he or she automatically thinks like God thinks.
- Because a Christian reads the Bible regularly (which is a wonderful thing to do) does not mean he or she automatically thinks like God thinks.
- Such reading can lead you closer to God’s thinking if some things are true.
- You listen as you read.
- You carefully refuse to force your desires on God’s revelations.
- You are willing to grow as you increase your understanding.
- Your are willing for God to change your thoughts and understandings.
- If the Pharisees (who were recognized as experts in scripture) could fail to understand how God thinks, so can we.
- Because a person goes to church, listens to the preacher, and follows the direction of their elders does not mean he or she automatically thinks like God thinks.
- Going to church does not carry an automatic guarantee that your thoughts will be God’s thoughts.
- Listening to the preacher is an important help if his thinking is in tune with God’s thinking.
- The same is true for elders.
- Because of one’s position in a congregation, we must not assume the person is spiritually mature.
- Consider an example.
- Let’s begin with an incident in Luke 22:24-30.
And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ?Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- This incident occurred just after Jesus gave them the Lord’s Supper.
- That means the twelve were with him his entire earthly ministry, yet they still did not "get it."
- Jesus said his kingdom was not like all the kingdoms they knew–those kingdoms were power based.
- Those who occupied positions of authority liked the power of position and loved the designation of the person of power.
- It would not be like that with the twelve.
- Greatness would be like being the youngest person (the least influential person) and like being a servant.
- Yet in Jesus’ kingdom he would turn things upside down–the server would be greater than the served.
- The 12 were given positions in Jesus’ kingdom, but as servants.
- That is not the way things were done then and is not the way things are done now.
- People are still power-based (it is who I know or what I have).
- We want our significance to be declared by our position over others.
- Jesus said in his kingdom that was not the way it worked.
- Consider an extension of the example in Mark 9:33-37:
They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me."
- The 12 had an argument among themselves about who would be the most significant in Jesus’ administration when Jesus ruled in his kingdom.
- When they reached their destination, Jesus asked them what they were discussing as they traveled.
- They did not respond because Jesus had made himself clear on this matter before.
- He told them in his kingdom the path to greatness was the path of servitude.
- He illustrated his point by taking a child in his arms and stating that receiving a child meant receiving him and God.
- Frankly, it just does not work that way in anybody’s world in any age.
- Servitude is a matter of behavior, not a matter of words and claims.
- Nobody wants to be a servant.
- Everybody wants to be served.
- However, Jesus said greatness (not the path to greatness) was achieved in his kingdom by serving.
- You have to really listen to God to learn to think like He thinks.
- To save us, God served–that is the only reason we have grace, mercy, and compassion.
- To give us a Savior, Jesus served–all the way to and including death on a cross.
- The 12 became our servants.
- The apostle to the gentiles was a servant.
- Paul told the Christians at Philippi in Philippians 2:3:
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;…
- There is no way you would ever learn to think that way if you did not listen to God–people just do not think of being great in connection with serving rather than being served.
- Consider Jesus’ statement give in a prayer shortly before his death.
John 17:20-23–"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
- Just as Jesus was about to give the ultimate sacrifice of self in suffering and death, he prayed for the oneness of all who believed in him.
- He not only prayed for our oneness as believers, but that our oneness would reflect the oneness he had with God the Father.
- His prayer was that he be so thoroughly in us that we would reflect his presence in the oneness we share with each other.
- It is by sharing this oneness that we cause the world to believe three things:
- That God sent Jesus.
- That God loves those who follow Jesus.
- That God loved Jesus even though He permitted Jesus to die on a cross.
- In his request, Jesus forever gave proof that oneness can exist even when there is great differences (something we have been very slow to learn).
- Jesus was flesh; God was not.
- Jesus could and would die; God could not die.
- Jesus was temptable and about to face his greatest temptation; God is not temptable.
- Jesus could physically suffer and know physical pain; God could not.
- Jesus could actually experience human emotions that could threaten his commitment; God could not and does not experience those emotions.
- As different as they were, Jesus the Son being human and God the Father being divine, they were one.
- And we struggle with each other because we do not agree on every detail.
- In Jesus and God’s value system, oneness ranks high on the list of important things.
- Does it on ours?
- Or do we reason that to preserve unity we need to divide and place "me" in control?
- Do we really know how to think like God thinks?
Learning to allow God to teach us how to think is a huge, never-ending challenge if we aspire to spiritual maturity. It takes enormous courage to allow God to change your thinking. When a person allows that to occur, he or she increasingly becomes behavior- centered in his of her life. It is more than what he or she affirms to be correct. It is allowing conviction held to become behavior practiced. It is a faith in Jesus that increasingly becomes focused on "me" instead of a faith focused on others.
Posted by Chris on October 14, 2007 under Sermons
Have you searched for your name with Google?
Rumplestiltskin – The princess had to guess his name to gain power over him.
Unlike Rumplestiltskin, God can give out his name freely. He has no problem revealing his name as he cannot be controlled.But the people who receive his name must treat the name with respect …
God reveals himself through his name. This is part of the Exodus story
Exodus 3
- Moses asks: “Who Am I and Who are You?” (3:11-13)
- “I AM” sent me to you
- The Name by which I am known (3:15)
Exodus 6:3
- God appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
- But he was not known by his name “YHWH”
Exodus 34:6-7
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
Seven Divine Names
1. YHWH
2. El (God)
3. Elohim (God)
4. Adonai (The Lord)
5. Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh (I Am Who I Am)
6. Shaddai (Almighty)
7. Tzevaot (Lord of Hosts)
There is an urban legend that circulates about the FCC wanting to remove the name of God from TV in every single way. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
- Pious Talk Making Claims in God’s Name
- Political and Religious Overuse of God’s Name
- “Oh, my God!”
Respect and Holiness -vs- Throw Away Casuality
We are a throw away culture. Things used to last generations they were passed on. They were made with the greatest of care
Words are just as meaningless in a throw away culture.
The word written and spoken litters our landscape.
Tetragrammaton
Jehovah
“YHWH” → JeHoVaH
The Name
- YHWH did not withhold his name
- He cannot be controlled
- He can reveal his character and nature to the extent that his people can stand it.
Posted by Chris on under Sermons
This is the third word that God spoke. This is the third word to live by. We typically think of this as the command against cussing. Well, that’s a start. In fact – just notice from reading Exodus 20:7 – this is about so much more than “cussing.”
What does it mean to misuse God’s name? Why does God take it so seriously?
Since the Exodus, God was known among the Israelites as Ha-shem, which means “The Name.” The people knew God’s name, but God is so holy that even his name is holy. Sinful people like us should not mention that name without preparation and serious intent.
To the ancients, names have power – they are not merely words. Of course words have power and names are even more powerful for with a name you have a handle on something. You can manipulate it. You can define it. And so, if God has a name there is a temptation to define him – to use that name for influence, power, and protection.
What a burden to know God’s name in a world that puts so much stock in words and especially in names! What was God thinking in revealing his name?
If you know God’s name then you know exactly what he was thinking. God reveals his name to Moses through the burning bush (Exodus 3). Moses needs a tag, a label, a handle to get a grip on this God who wants him to go to Egypt and demand the release of the captives. That’s a huge and daring task and he wants to know if he is going to have the power to back up these claims. Besides that, these suffering Israelites aren’t just going to accept the wild claims of some old goat-herder. He had better have a business card, some credentials to make his case.
But there’s a risk in God giving out his name! What if Moses or anyone else wants to steal God’s identity. Anyone can go around speaking in the name of the Lord. Anyone can use God’s “PIN Code” of a name to open up the vaults of heaven. What was God thinking in revealing his name?
If you know God’s name then you know exactly what he was thinking. God’s name is “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE.” God is telling Moses (and everyone else who hears his name) that you cannot use this name to manipulate me. You cannot use this name to reduce me, to define me, to summon me, to dismiss me or to control me in any way. So there is no risk to God in revealing his name.
But there is a risk to the people who know the name. Although God is not tamed by his name, the name is a holy and powerful name. It is still the name of a God who is greater than idols and has the power to define not only himself but also the created order.
The name of God tells us that in our relationship with “the one who will be what he will be” that He is always present and we must come to know him not through a magic formula, or a theological statement, or a pious poem, but through his character.
He reveals that character in these Ten Words:
- He is jealous. There is no room for other Gods in the relationship.
- He holds generations accountable for the sins of those who reject his ways. That seems so harsh, but it is reminder that our poor choices and bad behavior remain among our children for a very long time.
- He is faithful and kind to thousands of generations of the ones who are devoted to him. God saved Israel because of a promise he made to Abraham. You and I are blessed by the devotion of saints who lived long before us. God blesses us because of their faithfulness to him.
If the character of God is so untamed, then certainly it means something to speak his name. Yes, we ought to take care to how we drop his name and how we hand out his business card. Its no risk to God – after all he will be who he is. And yet that’s just the problem, when we blithely bring God into a situation we invite the one whom we cannot control. How then should we use and not use this Holy Name?
Thankfully, Jesus taught us what this third word to live by really means. There’s a certain danger of misuse when it involves swearing by God’s name. Telling the truth and verifying trust often depends on people swearing by the name of a god or a holy thing. Jesus teaches us to simply speak the truth. If your Yes is Yes and your No is No all the time then you have the character of God and are not simply dropping his name to make your point. (Matthew 5:33-37) If you don’t normally speak the truth, don’t bring God’s name up to prove you are not lying. You may want God there when you speak truthfully, but the “I AM” was also there when you were lying and bending the truth.
I am glad that Jesus taught us what this third word to live by really means. There is a certain danger of misusing God’s name to punish and curse people. After all, if he really does hold people and their offspring accountable for three or four generations, then suddenly the name of God is a powerful weapon against the people who irritate us and abuse us. So we go through life like a bunch of magicians out of a Harry Potter tale invoking God’s name in our curses. We might use words like “damn or hell” – that’s elementary. But when we are advance, we simply take a self-righteous stance and use God as an excuse for retaliation or exclusion.
Jesus did not teach us that. He taught us to love our enemies. He taught us to use God’s name in prayer for those who do us wrong. (Matthew 5:43-48) Paul, who persecuted Christian families, understood what Jesus was teaching when he wrote “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (Romans 12:14)
Jesus taught us to make things right with a brother or sister before we come before God and try to worship him on our moral high ground. According to Jesus, God is better praised in valley of humility and reconciliation rather than the lofty high ground of personal offense or religious principle. If we love even our enemies and settle matters quickly with each other before they grow into feuds and grudges, then we have the character of God – we are perfect even as he is perfect. If you need to get something right with another person, don’t bring God’s into it by asking him to take care of something he expects you to deal with. You may want God to show up when you put on your Sunday best, but the I AM was there when you were nursing your grudge.
God takes it seriously when we invoke his name. The Name of God is the beginning of holiness. When Jesus taught us to pray he taught us that the first thing to say is “Our father who is in heaven, holy is your name.” Learning to respect God’s name is the first step to respecting that which is holy – things like the soul and the image of God in other people. The name of God is not a handle that we use to manage God; it is a handle we use to manage ourselves. That’s why he puts his name on us when we are born into Christ. Live up to your family name and live out the character of the God who will be who he will be.
Posted by Chris on October 7, 2007 under Sermons
Different traditions number the Ten Commandments differently …
Are the first two commandments one or two?
Two or One?
- No other Gods
- Do Not make Idols
- Are these saying the same thing?
- Are they two different points?
Among the Gods
- Exodus 15:11
- Exodus 18:11
- Joshua 23 – 24
- Psalm 86:8-10
Battle of the Gods
- Exodus 12:12
– “I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.”
Household Gods
- Genesis 31
– The God of my Father (v. 5)
– Laban’s household gods (v.19)
– Jacob respects Laban’s gods (vv. 31-32)
Buried Gods
- Jacob wrestles with God – Gen. 32
- Conflict with Shechem – Gen. 33-34
- Throwing Away Foreign Gods – Gen. 35
Dumb Idols
- Isaiah 44:13-20
– An idol is a worthless, powerless thing
– Its maker is mortal
- Psalm 115:2-4
Two Concerns
- You must not have other gods
- Other “powers” may exist
- GOD is the only divine power worthy of our worship
- God is “Jealous”
- You must not make graven images
- The Character of GOD cannot be captured in an image
- An image is not God
Posted by Chris on under Sermons
Image. The second word is a warning about making graven images. (idols = graven images). This may be a more serious word than we imagined. We are good at making images. We are a visually-oriented culture. Image is as important as language in our culture.
- Politics is becoming more and more image driven. Next year there will be a lot of talk about the possibility of a woman President or African-American President. Watch and see if there isn’t talk about what that means for America’s image. Personally, when it comes to image, I wonder if we will ever elect a fat President? The last plus-size President was Taft.
- Business is driven by image. Product sales can depend totally on image and have nothing to do with quality. And what’s even more incredible is that consumers may “know” that a product is not good quality or practical, but they will buy it anyway because of the image it projects. [Barclay cigarettes. How do you know this is Coke?]
- Entertainment is obviously concerned with image. Magazines and tabloids make money hand over fist selling us images of people who often aren’t significant except for the fact that people tend to buy pictures of them. Expectation of beauty, confidence, acceptance are imaged in the media and marketing. And we tend to buy it.
Image isn’t really wrong though; it’s just really powerful and we don’t often realize that. Images have changed the world for the better. Images taken from real moments have lasted for generations. They remind us of the joy of being human. They confront us with things that must change. They inspire courage and hope. Images are powerful and we must recognize it, for image is an important part of faith when correct. God created us in His image. However, God speaks this second word to live by and warns us not to make images of God or any other kind of god.
Graven Images
Images themselves aren’t wrong – graven images are the problem. We have to pay careful attention here or we will miss God’s point: The second word to live by is not a call to jihad that encourages us to smash up every idol, statue, and religious display. We are not the Taliban. We are not Imperialist missionaries. God isn’t telling us to go out and smash up everyone else’s graven images, rather he is warning us not to make our own. Graven or carved images are crafted deities that we can shape into whatever pleases us. They are made of wood and our own will. They are made of metal and mental assumptions. Whatever medium we use, tangible or intangible, the graven or carved image is a god that we make into our own image.
We may think it ridiculous that someone would make their own God. We might laugh right along with Isaiah (Isa. 44) when he pokes fun of the foolish fellow who cuts down a tree and uses part of the wood to heat his house and roast his meat, but carves a god to worship out of the rest. Yes, that seems silly enough. But often the gods we shape, the gods that we end up making for ourselves, the gods that compete for our loyalty are things that really seem very good …
Israel didn’t think it was ridiculous to worship the bronze snake that God had given them in the desert. When they were plagued by venomous snakes on their journey through the desert, God had Moses craft a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole. Anyone who was bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake and they were healed (Numbers 21:4-9). That’s a good thing. But it wasn’t such a good thing centuries later when King Hezekiah destroyed it. By that time the people had been burning incense to it and gave it a name – Nehushtan (2 Kings 18). It was a gift from God, but it wasn’t God.
Israel didn’t think it was ridiculous to place their confidence in the Temple of God rather than the God of the Temple. It was truly a holy thing. Solomon himself dedicated it, and yet even as he dedicated this holy place he wondered …
27 “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 28 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. 29 May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ?My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 30 May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.” (1 Kings 8)
The temple was God’s address, but it wasn’t God. And the people seemed to have forgotten that in the days of Jeremiah. They had become confident that God was okay with them as long as the Temple was in Jerusalem. So God had Jeremiah preach a sermon to them saying, Do you think you can rob and murder, have sex with another man’s wife, tell lies nonstop, worship the local gods -and then march into this Temple, set apart for my worship, and say, “We’re safe!” thinking that the place itself gives you a license to go on with all this outrageous sacrilege? (Jeremiah 7:8-11)
The good things that bring us closer to God can become the trickiest of idols. It’s very easy to equate these things with God and we can be tempted into thinking that when we manage these things we manage our relationship with God.
- When the stone monument of the Ten Commandments was rolled out of the Alabama Supreme Court Rotunda, one of the angry protestors began screaming “Put it back!” And when he was admonished by the others to calm down he broke away from them and yelled, “Get your hands off my God!” It was the oddest of statements. Did he really mean that the 5000 lb. granite monument was his God? Was his God the idea of having that religious symbol inside the court house? Had he really read the second word on that monument?
The good things that bring us closer to God can become the trickiest of idols. It’s very easy to equate these things with God and we can be tempted into thinking that when we manage these things we manage our relationship with God …
- We do that when we equate the Bible with God. Any attempt to limit God to the pages of a book is a graven image that attempts to shape God to our expectations – to limit and reduce God – carving Him into our image.
- When we use the term “church” in place of God we run the risk of worshipping our concept of church rather than the God who calls the church and adds to the church.
- When we reduce our relationship with God to the strict observance of the Lord’s Supper and disregard the living Lord who meets us and serves us. We participate in the body and blood at the table, but when we reduce it to an “act” we have crafted a god that we can manage.
- When baptism becomes a procedure rather than a new birth in Christ, we have put our faith in the command rather than the Commander.
When we try and stamp our image of God on these very good things, they become graven images.
Notice the subtlety here … the Bible, the church, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism are all extremely important. They are all very holy. But they are not the Holy One. We are the church – not an institution apart from us – and we encounter the Holy One, the Living God when the images of word, water, bread and wine are living images, not graven images. And when we participate in these living images we share in the life of our Living God and He stamps His image on us.
God spoke the first and second words to live by because he wants us to know who he is and who he isn’t. God made us creatures with bodies and he understands our tendency to want to shape something that we can see, touch, feel and control into a God.
Thanks be to God that Christ “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15-16)
The problem with graven images is that we make God look like us. The good news of God became flesh is that God makes us look like Him.
Imago Dei – In our relationship with God, He is the One who will be making images – not us.
Posted by David on September 27, 2007 under Sermons
Among the common struggles we experience is our struggle for identity. That struggle begins very early in our lives. When we are quite young, our identity is commonly formed by our perception of our Mom and Dad. When we are a child at home before starting to school, we commonly exaggerate and embellish the images of our parents to fill our own needs for significance.
Then we begin our long journey through school. Constantly, we are trying to determine who we are. Do I determine my identity in terms of what I have? In terms of what I wear? In terms of who are my friends? In terms of what activity I am a part of? In terms of my skills (what I can do?) In terms of my interests?
In high school we get a degree in peer pressure. In college we get a graduate degree in peer pressure. If we are not very careful, in careers or jobs, peer pressure can determine what we buy, our priorities, and what we do. It takes a wise person to distinguish between peer pressure and personal interests.
Not only do we struggle with a sense of identity as a person, but we also struggle with a sense of identity in our institutions. That is ONE (just one) of the reasons some people do not like change within an institution. Being a part of the institution contributes to the person’s sense of identity. When change occurs that affects the institution in what the person regards as significant, they feel threatened.
Today, the church tends to be an "institution" in most of our thinking. We speak of "membership" in the concept of being an acknowledged member of a particular organization. The "membership" is determined by people who say a person is "in" or "out." Our common concept of membership often is in conflict with Acts 2:47 and the Lord adding to their number daily those being saved.
Christians tend to get more upset by the way worship is done than how people behave in their daily lives. "Where does the prayer come? Is there too much or too little prayer? Who leads the prayers? How many songs should we have? When should we sing? How old are the songs? Who leads the songs? Should songs be on a screen or in a book? Who can preach? What are the acceptable subjects? How often should he preach on a subject? Are his sermons too long or too short? When should we have communion? Who can serve it? How should it be done?" Thus, if the right things are done in the right way at the right time by the right people within the right time frame, it is a good worship and therefore a good congregation with good elders and a good preacher. The institution is good. If it is institutionally correct, the church is sound, the truth is taught, and our personal identity is intact. We have done "Church of Christ" things in "Church of Christ" ways and my identity is intact because I have declared, "I am Church of Christ." If I regard the institution as sound, then I can know I am sound because I am a member in a sound church. How does that concept fit with the fact that the congregation in Sardis was dying, desperately needing to repent, but they had a few worthy people who had not soiled their white garments (Revelation 3:1-4)? Worthy Christians in an "unsound congregation"? How can that be?
- The first thing I want to call to your attention is the fact that their evangelistic lessons focused on Jesus the Christ as Savior.
- First, direct your attention to the lessons in Acts and note how often people are called to the Savior.
- In Acts 2 Peter spoke to a Jewish audience after Jesus died and was resurrected.
- In verses 22-24, Peter focused his lesson on Jesus:
Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
- After Peter used proofs that his Jewish audience understood, he said in verse 36:
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ-this Jesus whom you crucified.”
- In Acts 3 when Peter and John went to the temple to pray and healed the lame man, Peter utilized his opportunity to teach by focusing their attention on Jesus:
Acts 3:12-16, But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
- When Peter and John were arrested for their miracle and for teaching about Jesus, a part of their explanation to the court included this:
Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
- When all the apostles were arrested by the Jerusalem Sanhedrin, consider Gameliel’s advice to the counsel and the apostles’ reaction.
Acts 5:38-42, So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.” They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
- The same was true when the message was spoken to the gentiles.
- Consider part of Peter’s message to Cornelius and those he assembled.
Acts 10:34-43, Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)-you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
- Consider Paul’s message to the Jewish synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia with gentiles in attendance.
- Acts 13:32-39, And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ?You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ?I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ?You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
- Acts 13:44-49, The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, ?I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.'” When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.
- Throughout Acts the church is spoken of as the ekklesia, "the called out," God’s people who have been called out of an idolatrous world to enter Jesus Christ.
- Consider the fact that the church was a saved people.
- It experienced "great fear" (Acts 5:11).
- It could be persecuted (Acts 8:1).
- It could experience havoc (Acts 8:3).
- It could experience rest (Acts 9:31).
- It had ears (Acts 11:32).
- It could be mistreated or vexed (Acts 12:1).
- It could pray fervently (Acts 12:5).
- It could be gathered (Acts 14:27).
- It could bring people on their way (Acts 15:3) and receive them (Acts 15:4).
- It could be confirmed (Acts 15:41).
- It could be fed (Acts 20:28).
- Paul writings confirmed that the church was people who entered Christ.
- Most of his letters were addressed to the church at a specific place, even if it was as troubled as the church of Corinth.
- It was not to be "offended" (1 Corinthians 10:32).
- It could be persecuted (Galatians 1:13).
- It could be nourished and cherished (Ephesians 5:29).
- It can be saluted (Colossians 4:15) and hear a reading (Colossians 4:46).
- My point is not that Jesus and his church can be or should be separated; my point is that we should not reverse the roles served by Jesus and the church, thus making the church something it was not in the New Testament.
- Jesus is the Savior.
- He and he alone can extend salvation.
As Peter said in Acts 4:8-12, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
- It is his blood that cleanses us of our sins and his resurrection that gives us the expectation of life after we die.
- The church is those who are saved by the Savior.
- It does not have the power or the mission of saving.
- The church is the saved who are excited about what they have found, received in their Savior, Jesus.
- People are not converted to the church, but to Jesus.
- They are converted to the Savior to be part of the saved.
- They are not converted to be Saviors but to call people to the Savior.
- They allow Jesus to change their behavior so they can give glory to God, be Jesus’ disciples, and live as a contrast to godless lives in this world.
Then what is the crisis? It is the crises produced when we preach the church as an institution instead of people, when we deliberately create the impression that the church saves rather than Jesus, and when we assume people know Jesus. The result of this crisis is that people feel "spiritually safe" if they are a part of "the right" institution and exhibit very little faith in Jesus, or desire to change their behavior, or desire to involve their time and lives in God. This crisis commonly exists when people want "to belong" rather than serve. Rather than living lives of faith, we are convinced that all we have to do is conform to the demands of the institution.
Posted by Chris on September 23, 2007 under Sermons
Code of Hammurabi
- 6th century King of Babylon – Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Hammurabi’s Code, one of the first written codes of law in recorded history.
- 1810 – 1750 BC
- He received the Babylonian Law code from the gods of Babylon
- The Law Code is engraved on a stele and placed in public
- Offenses receive specific penalty
- Law greater than King
Sample Codes
#25 – If fire break out in a house, and some one who comes to put it out cast his eye upon the property of the owner of the house, and take the property of the master of the house, he shall be thrown into that self-same fire.
#108 – If a tavern-keeper (feminine) does not accept corn according to gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the water.
#127 – If any one “point the finger” (slander) at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked. (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair.)
#196 If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.
#200 is tooth for tooth.
#218 – If a physician makes a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, or open a tumor with the operating knife, and cut out the eye, his hands shall be cut off.
Ancient Law Codes
- Law Code of Ur-Nammu (2100 BC)
- Codex of Eshunna (1930 BC)
- Lipit-Ishtar of Isin Code (1870 BC)
Two Types of Law
Apodictic law is the kind of law that we have in the Ten Commandments for example. It is not conditioned on anything. It is unconditional, it is general, it is unlimited, it may be expressed in the positive or the negative, but the “you shall not laws” are among the things that keep people out of trouble.
The Casuistic laws, on the other hand, are what might be called case law, where an instance of something is cited. In effect, an example or sample is cited, so these are conditional. These do not usually apply absolutely to everyone. They apply only when the conditions described in the law are met. They are very specific as guidelines rather than being universal.
Decalogue and Law
- Exodus 20:1-17 are the Ten Words
- Exodus 20:22 – 23:19 are Laws
- The Laws are both Apodictic and Casuistic
- The Decalogue is extremely Apodictic (See Deut. 5:22-32)
- The Decalogue is unique in that none of the ten words carry a penalty or charge. They are apodictic, but even more so. They are behavioral and ethical. They have to do with character and relationship
Decalogue Structure
Words 1 – 4 describe the relationship with God.
Words 5 – 10 describe the relationship with one another.
Greatest Commandments
Love God with all you heart, soul, strength, and mind.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Posted by Chris on under Sermons
There’s not a lot to brag about when it comes to flying on Southwest Airlines. The planes are high mileage. There’s in flight service is basic. Forget about movies and in-flight radio. There’s no formality. The flight crew is super-casual. You typically fly into the older, less used airports. Southwest is all about no frills bargains. It’s the Wal-Mart of airlines.
But Southwest Airlines has a way of making me feel great about flying on their planes. After the plane lands, a flight attendant grabs the mike and after announcing all the gates for connecting flights she will say, “We hope you enjoyed your flight today. We know that you have choices when you travel and we thank you for choosing Southwest Airlines.” Southwest Airlines may not give me the greatest airline snacks, but they recognize that I have the power to choose and they respect that. They make me feel good for choosing them instead of Delta, American, or Continental. Southwest knows that I am a customer and they are so thankful and appreciative of me. And they had better appreciate me – or I may just fly Northwest!
Perhaps God could learn a lesson from Southwest Airlines. You see, God has always been in competition with other gods. In ancient times there were dozens of gods to choose from. Really neat gods and goddesses with cool names – they went on adventures and had magic powers.
Well, we’re supposedly enlightened now and grown up past such beliefs. But there are still choices. Today one can choose different types of spirituality. One doesn’t even have to have a god in order to be spiritual. So, God isn’t the only option. God might think about the choices that people have and try to respect that. Maybe he should do more to greet us when we come to worship him and then send us out with a word of thanks saying, “I hope you enjoyed your worship today. I know that you have choices when it comes to a Supreme Being and I thank you for choosing God.”
But God isn’t listening to Southwest or their marketing agents. No, God has the audacity to make the following statement: Exodus 20:2-3 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me.”
How on earth can God make such a statement? People do have choices, right? So why does God have to be so absolute?
- God isn’t a retailer, he’s a relator. There’s a relationship here when God says: I AM the one who delivered you. The Israelites who first heard these words at the base of Mount Sinai, had been slaves for generations in Egypt. God had delivered them from slavery. No other god. No other power. God was the one who had saved them, fed them, nurtured them, and protected them.
God is still delivering people from enslavement. People are enslaved to fear, worry, hatred, addiction, pride, poverty, loneliness, and despair. People are dehumanized and demeaned by oppressive powers of sin. But God is more powerful than the powers. What other God died for us and redeemed us? What other God made us into a people with purpose. What other God brings us hope? Before we ever thought about choosing God – He chose us!
- Because of that relationship, there are certain claims established. God is our God and we are his people. It’s like a marriage. You have a choice in who you marry, but once you marry that relationship is exclusive. So God is all-inclusively exclusive. God knows that there are choices. I suppose you can choose another god, but once you choose God, it’s exclusive. Anyone can come to God. God can deliver anyone. But once you enter into the relationship – it’s you and God. It’s us and God. The relationship is established.
- This is why the first word in the Ten Words is so important. You have to get the first one right or the others won’t follow. [Buttoning my shirt in the dark.] The other nine words don’t have the same effect when they are out of alignment without the first word. When that happens, and it often does, the “Ten Commandments” are like gems that have fallen off a chain. They may sparkle and shine on their own, but you cannot tell how the jeweler put them together as a whole.
There are numerous books and articles from different perspectives that appeal for a return to the ethics of the Ten Commandments, but they stop short of returning to the God who spoke these ten words. Without that relationship, the other words lose their impact because they are no longer personal. You have to get this one right or the others won’t follow.
Ten words aren’t simply for anyone to anyone to follow. Living them out begins by accepting that God chose us. And so these ten words are for those who accept God’s invitation to enter into an exclusive relationship – the good news is that all are invited, but living out the ten words is the adventure that awaits those who dare to live in total dependence on God.
Posted by David on September 20, 2007 under Sermons
Please get your Bibles and read with me.
Matthew 9:14-17, Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
All of us deal with the fact that our world changes. Let me illustrate that fact with changes that have occurred in my lifetime. I want those of us who remember to help me by raising your hand. How many of you remember nickel cokes? (Pause) How many of you remember gasoline for 35 cents a gallon? (Pause) How many of you remember when most places that sold gasoline also sold kerosene? (Pause)
Think with me for a moment about wonderful business opportunities. You do not need to raise your hands, but I ask you to think with me. How many of you remember our society before anyone owned a personal computer? (Pause) How many of you would think you were given a wonderful business opportunity if you were offered the opportunity to be the major shareholder in a company that makes only typewriters? (Pause) How many of you would like to own the rights to the production of 8-tract cassette tapes? (Pause)
My point is, hopefully, worth thinking about, but it is rather simple. If we are going to understand the world before the changes occurred, we must understand the changes. If we are going to understand the illustrations Jesus used in our reading, we must understand a time that had little in common with our society.
In the Jewish society Jesus lived in, fasting was a common religious occurrence. Commonly, devout Jewish people fasted. Every Monday and Thursday, devout Jewish people fasted. It was a way of saying, "We humble ourselves before You, God. We know our place. You do not have to punish us for us to know how small we are and how great You are." Jews have been participating in religious fasts from the time when the Day of Atonement was instituted (Leviticus 16:29-31). Religious fasts occurred so frequently in Jesus’ day, it was unthinkable that a person could claim to be God’s spokesman and not fast.
Thus, when Jesus and his disciples did not fast, it was considered just plain strange.
Jesus did not condemn fasting. He merely said it was inappropriate for his disciples to fast then. Fasting was not an appropriate part of a wedding. You did not patch a hole in an old piece of clothing with new, unshrunk cloth — to do so would make the tear worse. You did not put new wine in old, hardened wineskins lest the gas escaping from the new wine explode the old, hardened skin and everything is lost.
You and I understand that Jesus was God’s means of unthinkable change during his lifetime. Even today, the man or woman who dares follow Jesus will be a part of incredible change.
- When we share Jesus with people, those who come to Jesus may not be the people you want to come to Jesus.
- Jesus was often criticized because the "wrong people" listened to him, accepted him, and associated with him.
- In Matthew 9:10-13 we read:
Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ?I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- Tax collectors and sinners were the worst of the worst.
- Jewish people who collected taxes that benefited the Roman government were considered by some to be traitors against Israel.
- Sinners were Jews who rejected the religious laws and teachings of Judaism–they did not even pretend to be acceptable.
- No self-respecting Jew who considered himself religious would associate with either group.
- Jesus did more than let them listen.
- He ate with them!
- That was the highest form of fellowship/association extended in their society.
- Jesus did something no self-respecting religious Jew would do.
- The religious elite of their society did not like it one bit!
- Jesus’ answer was astounding!
- The sick need the doctor, not the healthy!
- Understand what God meant when he said through Hosea (6:6) that He wanted compassion, not sacrifice–you need to understand what that means.
- I did not come to call the righteous (some were righteous).
- I came to call those you consider sinners–people who need to turn to God.
- Mark referred to the same incident in Mark 2:15-17.
- He adds three details.
- It occurred where Jesus customarily ate with his disciples.
- There were many tax collectors and sinners.
- These people were following Jesus.
- It was not an isolated incident, but a situation Jesus encouraged.
- Luke refers to a reception which Levi gave which records much of the same information:
Luke 5:29-32, And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
- Luke also refers to another situation in Luke 15:1, 2:
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
- The point I make is simple: Jesus appealed to people the religious elite did not approve of.
- When Jesus addressed his Jewish audiences, he appealed to people in need, regardless of their background.
- Who Jesus appealed to was not determined by the Jewish devout.
- Later, after Christianity came into existence, Paul made this statement to Colossian Christians in Colossians 3:9-11:
Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
- I want you to consider an enormous stress the Christians of the first century faced.
- At first the gospel was preached only to Jewish people and those gentiles who has been converted to Judaism (see Acts 2:10).
- It started in Jerusalem.
- It spread to the Samaritans (who were partly Jewish and accepted the first five books of the Old Testament as their guide).
- Only after Acts records its outreach in Palestine does it discuss the outreach of Christianity in other places among other peoples.
- Then the presentation of Jesus as the Christ and the Savior of the world was presented to non-Jewish peoples.
- The word "gentiles" refers to any nationality or people who were not Jewish.
- As long as Jesus Christ was preached only among the Jewish people, those people could regard the preaching and teaching about Christ as a Jewish movement.
- However, when gentiles became Christians (consider Acts 10 and the first part of 11) it became a very complex matter for Jewish Christians.
- As long as only Jews became Christians, it was simple.
- There certainly were Jews who strongly opposed any Jew calling Jesus the Christ or Messiah.
- However, they were alike in culture, in tradition, in what they regarded God, and in what they regarded scripture.
- Basically, they ate the same things, did the same things, and worshipped the same God.
- Then gentiles became Christians.
- What they ate, what they did, and what they worshipped before conversion was different.
- They did not previously worship the same God.
- They did not have thousands of years of history to honor.
- Many of them did not have anything that even resembled the role of Jewish scripture.
- In fact, most gentile Christians worshipped many gods previously, and often considered people who worshipped only one God as atheists.
- They had almost nothing in common with Jewish converts in Palestine.
- That is likely why Romans 14 was written to the Christians in Rome.
- Because God does not care who becomes Christians does not mean Christians do not care who becomes part of their congregation–I want you to think about how difficult it was for people who believed in Christ in the first century.
- Before they became Christians, Jews and gentiles had different gods.
- Jews and gentiles did not have the same culture or traditions.
- Jews and gentiles did not have the same values, the same concepts of what was right and wrong.
- Jews and gentiles did not eat the same things for religious reasons (read Leviticus 11).
- Typically, gentile converts had much more spiritual growing to do and would require much more patience than Jewish converts–a person who previously worshipped idols and a person who previously worshipped the God of creation do not have the same starting point when they are converted to Christ.
- To look upon each other as Christians required enormous adjustments.
- In many ways, we face the same problems as Christians today.
- There was a time in many of our lifetimes when we were all basically alike.
- We were probably rural because the Church of Christ then was mostly rural.
- We were probably lower middle-class because the Church of Christ then was mostly lower middle- class.
- We were probably southern because the Church of Christ then was mostly southern.
- Our traditions and practices were the same or similar because our backgrounds were the same or similar.
- Our values were the same or similar because our backgrounds were the same or similar.
- With many of us the Bible played a prominent role in our parents’ lives, and worshipping God on Sunday was not left as a decision or an option.
- Have things ever changed!
- Now our largest congregations are in cities, and many congregations that were rural have disappeared.
- The typical congregation is no longer lower middle-class.
- Congregations exist throughout our nation in all regions.
- Traditions, practices, and values are no longer the same–they typically change as the region changes.
- Now we can no longer assume that converts come from a strong, religious background.
- They may come from no religious background, or from a religion that is not Christian.
- The only thing we may have in common is faith in Jesus as the Christ.
- And everyone will have to adjust.
- And faith in Christ starts at many different points.
- And nothing is to be assumed.
- And it can be very stressful, just as it was when it all began.
There is one thing we all need to understand and remember: people in need respond to Jesus. Those needs may be different and start at different places. But God does not care. And belonging to Jesus means we learn not to be concerned either. We exist to help people find direction in Jesus Christ. The fact that people were tax collectors and sinners does not bother us because it did not bother Jesus. People who believe and repent are always welcome to come to Jesus, and as Christians we want to learn how to help them come to Jesus. It is still the sick who need Jesus. The righteous should not prevent Jesus from ministering to them.
