The Town

<p>David was an adulterous murderer. Moses was a coward at one point. Solomon had no self control. Adam brought the whole ship down. Eli couldn't keep control of his sons. Aaron built idols. Balaam talked to donkeys. Elijah played hide and seek. It doesn't take long to see that all of the prophets, priests and kings of the Old Testament were not Messiah-ready. That is because they were only a type of the one who was to come. Jesus was the perfect prophet, priest, and king. He fulfilled all of these roles as the fulfillment of the Covenant promises that God had made throughout the Old Testament.</p>

<p>David was an adulterous murderer. Moses was a coward at one point. Solomon had no self control. Adam brought the whole ship down. Eli couldn't keep control of his sons. Aaron built idols. Balaam talked to donkeys. Elijah played hide and seek. It doesn't take long to see that all of the prophets, priests and kings of the Old Testament were not Messiah-ready. That is because they were only a type of the one who was to come. Jesus was the perfect prophet, priest, and king. He fulfilled all of these roles as the fulfillment of the Covenant promises that God had made throughout the Old Testament.</p>

<p>Jesus is not dead. He has risen from the grave by his own power. He crushed sin and death. The resurrection proved that Jesus was indeed who he claimed to be. In the resurrection we see the dual nature of Christ very clearly. His body, like any other body, was buried in a tomb and was laid there without life. Jesus was fully dead. But God did not stay in the grave. He brought life back to his body with as much ease as when he created all things. Paul says that we are to be pitied above all others if Jesus did not defeat the grave. There is no Christianity if there is no resurrection. Jesus rose to prove he was God, to rule all heaven and earth, to foreshadow our resurrection, and to cause us to live in the power of the resurrection.</p>

<p>Jesus did not lord his omnipotence over us. As we drove nails into his hands he forgave us. As our sin was placed on his back he paid the ransom. He was made a sin-offering for his enemies and we were his enemies. Without the cross there is no Christianity. Isn't it interesting that the word "crux" comes from crucifixion? The Cross really is the centerpiece of what we believe and who Jesus is. Jesus died to reveal God's justice and absorb His wrath, as the final sacrifice, for our justification, to redeem us from the curse of the law, to remove sin, to bring reconciliation, and to defeat Satan.</p>

<p>The virgin birth is crucial to the early church confessional statements. It is a centerpiece of the Gospel story. It was foretold by a prophet some 700 years before the incarnation. It's vital to who Jesus is. It was necessary, it is central to the Christian faith, it was expected, and it means God came to earth.</p>

<p>God did not leave mankind in sin and misery even after they directly disobeyed him in the Garden of Eden. He immediately stepped into history and promised us a Redeemer who would crush Satan's head. In order for this to happen, a man, a second Adam, would have to do what the first Adam was unable to do. No man could keep God's law once sin entered the world. So God became man. Jesus did not cease to be God. He wasn't a man who became god-like. He wasn't an apparition. He was a real man, born of a real woman with a real genealogy. Jesus had two natures, God and man, in one person without any confusion, composition, or conversion. He laid aside some of his divine attributes only to be used at the direction of the Holy Spirit. He took on flesh, experienced all that we experience, and became one of us—only perfect. By becoming man, the Son of God became the perfect atoning sacrifice for our sins. As the God-man, he satisfied divine justice on the cross. Jesus was God dwelling among humans as a human.</p>

<p>There is no other person like Jesus Christ. A man who was God. A man who claimed to be God. A God-man who backed up his claims by defeating death and rising from the grave on his own authority and power. No other man has changed the world like Jesus. He really is the God who became <a href="http://man.This" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">man.This</a> is the extraordinary claim of Christianity. This is the beginning of our journey as we examine the claims of Jesus. The crux of Christianity is the claims and actions of Jesus Christ. The entire church ought to shut its doors if any one of Jesus' claims can be proved false. We worship Jesus as God. We call him God. We trust in him as God. He is the crux of Christianity.</p>

<p>The argument goes something like this: if God is all powerful and good and loving, how come he allows people to suffer, evil dictators to rule, tragic deaths, disease, orphans, and other horrible catastrophes? Couldn't he just stop the evil? How can there be an all powerful God and evil existing in the same universe. It is easy to theologize. Indeed, good theology will be like a healing balm in the midst of intense grief. But we cannot assume to have all of the answers. The bottom line is that God is sovereign and we are not sovereign. Because only one of us is sovereign only one of us will have all of the answers. Since no man is sovereign, no man can answer some of these divine mysteries. We have to look to the Scriptures to see what answers God has given us and then decide whether or not we want to believe and trust those answers.</p>

<p>So why do we need to understand what election and predestination is? Does it really matter? The simple answer is that the Bible refers to predestination and so it matters. In the English Standard Version of the Bible, the word predestined appears in Romans chapter 8. In both verses 28 and 29, the Apostle Paul talks about how God has predestined us to be conformed to His Son. Paul also talks about predestination in Ephesians chapter 1. In both verses 5 and 11, Paul uses the word predestined to talk about God's choosing of his people to be adopted sons. Since it is discussed by the words of the Bible, we should likewise discuss the topic. This then puts the responsibility on us to understand what it is and how it applies to our lives and theology (our understanding of God).</p>

<p>One of the greatest prayers offered to us in the gospels is Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17. Here, we read that Christ asks that his disciples, and all those who would come to believe in him, would be one! The appeal for Christian unity is a large theme of this great prayer offered to the Father from His Son. Christ goes on to ask that we might be one, even as He and the Father are one—that is, that the church might display the same type of unity that the Son and Father display in the Trinity. We know that the prayers of Jesus Christ are efficacious (producing the desired effect) and that they are powerful! Yet as we look across the landscape of Christianity, we see, at least in its visible form, more division, fragmentation and more separation than at any other time in its history. Some recent statistics claim that the number of distinct Protestant denominations in America alone well over 2,000. This immediately raises a host of questions, including: "If Christ is the only way, why so many denominations?" or "What exactly is the church anyway"?</p>

<p>How is it possible to know that the Bible is true and that it has any authority in our lives? What makes the Bible so different or more important than the Quran, ancient Hindi writings, the Jewish Scriptures alone, or the latest book in the Twilight series? In essence, the question that many asked in our Religious Questions survey was why any of us should trust the Bible? I want to set out to demonstrate several things about the Bible. We will take a look at how the Bible came together throughout history. We will look at the claims of the Bible about itself. And finally we will seek to understand what we are called to believe concerning the Scriptures.</p>

<p>During the 2008 presidential election, Rick Warren hosted an interview with Barack Obama and John McCain in which he asked, "Does evil exist, and if it does, do we ignore it, do we negotiate with it, do we contain it, or do we defeat it?" This question is more complicated in our current generation where evil is not a common term and its existence is often questioned. The aim of Christians should be to come to a biblical understanding of evil and its origins, in order to decipher the proper ways to respond to it.</p>

<p>What is going on in churches and in the Christian faith today? What exactly do we believe and why? Can Christians articulate their beliefs and does it really matter? So what if a person prays a prescribed prayer? Anyone can do that! What are the fundamentals of the faith? To be a right-wing Republican? To be a theological conservative? To be a "Reformed Christian"? Does it really matter what we specifically believe if we already have the "basics"? Why bother with the minutia of theology if all we really need is simple faith? Is it true that a person who simply "prays the prayer" and "lives the life" is saved? Saved from what? Saved from hell? A conscious hell? Really? Do Christians truly believe that all people who don't "believe the way we do" are going to suffer eternal and conscious punishment? If we believe that, why are we not out pleading with our friends and relatives to "come to know the Lord"? What are the fundamentals of the Christian faith?</p>

<p>God has given us parameters for sex. We shouldn't be afraid to talk about them. We should embrace them and celebrate them. Our culture, family, teachers and friends all attempt to dictate what we think and act concerning sex. Rather than allowing these people to dictate our view on sex we should turn to the Bible—God is the author of sex and therefore He knows best. We will all have a choice when we discuss biblical sexuality: We can either obey God or we can ignore Him. In this case, I'm going to go with God, and I hope you will too.</p>

<p>Christianity used to be so easy. All you had to do to be a Christian was to hold on to the fundamentals of the faith. Over time more rules were added as the culture shifted and produced new problems that the church needed to address. For many, Christianity became a list of rules rather than the story of redemption found in Scripture. God was no longer pursuing his people; instead, his people were pursuing their own brand of righteousness. In response to what became known as "legalism," many Christians turned to a newfound freedom in Christ, and abandoned the strict rules the church had created. Unfortunately, many of these freedom-infatuated Christians also abused the gospel message. In their so-called freedom, they gave license to take part in many sinful acts. They too had their own faulty version of the Gospel. Where can we draw the line when we are asking questions about what is permissible and what is sinful? What questions should we be asking when we are making seemingly harmless decisions?</p>

<p>There is no doubt that God designed marriage. Genesis 2 shows God creating a helper and completer for Adam because it was "not good" for man to be alone. In all of his creation, this was the first thing that God declared was not good. So he created Eve, and the Bible states in Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." God designed marriage from the beginning, and God does not design anything without purpose.</p>

<p>It's probably a safe bet to say that every Christian, at some point in their life, has asked what God's will for them was. Since we look to him as the Creator and master over all things, it makes sense to consider what he would have us do, where he would have us go, and how he would have us live. Recognizing this aspect of God's lordship is not a stretch for most Christians. But there are two big aspects to God's will that become a concern for us. The first concern orbits around how we go about determining God's will for us. Is it by reading the Bible? Praying? Talking to godly friends? Elders? Going to the pastor? Reading extra-biblical material? Looking for certain circumstances to align? The second concern is closely related to the first, and that is what God's will actually is. Basically, how do we truly know that whatever conclusion we've arrived at is indeed his will for us? Is there ever a way to reconcile these things?</p>

<p>What sometimes gets lost in this story, as we focus on how bad Jonah was, is how evil Nineveh was. They weren't the poor, innocent neighbors who just needed to hear about Jesus. Assyrians hated Israel. They eventually would help undo the entire nation. Eventually, the northern ten tribes of Israel, because of the actions of the Assyrians, would never be heard from again. Jonah had good reason to hate Nineveh. At least he had good human reasons to hate Nineveh. When Jonah was finally obedient, he would only offer an eight word sermon. It is almost as if he thought about it five minutes before he began. Even after the great storm, the great waves, the great fish, Jonah still didn't put much effort into his sermon when he saw the great walls of Nineveh. Who knows? Maybe he just whispered it gently and tried to walk away before anyone started asking questions. Jonah was obedient and only did what was required. Jonah 3 demonstrates what happens when God's people are obedient and love their enemies. It's easy to pick apart other people's belief systems and to shove doctrine down their throats. But are we willing to love those who do harm to us? Are we willing to go where others don't want to go? Is our mission an incarnational mission? The Church must be willing to do what no one else will do. Jonah once again demonstrates how great Jesus is. Jonah was obedient—but begrudgingly so. Philippians tells us that Jesus did all that was required and more. He humbled himself to the worst possible death. He went where no one else could go in order to save his enemies. That's right. We were the enemies of God and yet he loves us so much to send Jesus to die in our place. Jesus didn't preach eight word sermons. He healed, he loved, he wept, he taught, he died and he rose again. Jesus was no Pinto.</p>

<p>Jonah 1:17 through all of chapter 2 tell us the story about Jonah's spiritual and physical death. So far, the entire book of Jonah has taken us on a downward journey to Hell itself. There has been no little debate about whether or not Jonah was actually in the belly of a fish for three days. It would be hard to remain dogmatic about certain interpretations. The focus of these verses is that Jonah, the disobedient prophet, from the time Yahweh spoke to him up unto this point, continued to spiral downward until the point of death. The message here is that Jonah was a dead man in need of rescue. God, in his patience and love, appoints a great fish to rescue his disobedient servant. Jonah, suffering a horrible ordeal, is transformed. Many teachers have taught that the great fish was God's way of punishing Jonah. We focus on the smell, or the pain and suffering. But the fish is meant to show us salvation through the death of ourselves. When we come to the end of ourselves, there is either darkness or there is light. There is either eternal hell, or there is everlasting salvation. In the belly of the fish, Jonah was confronted with his sin and misery, and he responded with repentance. We have to come to the end of ourselves and rest in the work of Christ alone for salvation. Jonah suffered for his sin, but Jesus suffered for our sin. Jonah was in the belly of a sea beast for a time. Jesus died and was buried in the earth for a time. Jonah repented, but Jesus bestows repentance as a gift to us.</p>

<p>In Jonah 1:4-16, we continue to learn a lot about the man Jonah, about ourselves, and about Jesus. We'll get to the Jesus part in just a moment. But first let's talk about us. Just like Jonah, we try to thwart God. We have gone astray. Psalm 51 tells us we were sinful from the time we were conceived. We didn't have a shot at being perfect. For some reason, we continually try to thwart God. Paul explains this best when he talks about our flesh (sin loving part of us) continuing to win some battles in this life (see Romans 7). Even though the Christian has been saved from sin and desires to do what is right, we often still do what we know is wrong. In these sinful episodes, we find ourselves trying to thwart God. For some reason, whether out of ignorance, defiance, or plain stupidity, we think we can outrun, out-maneuver, and out think God. We do this by trying to make God's commandments friendly so that we can be comfortable with our hypocrisy and disobedience. Jonah, like us, was a sinner who needs to be saved. Thankfully, Jesus, the sinless Savior, became sin and rescued us out of our misery. This week, let's take a look at how Jonah tried to thwart God and how God saved him anyway. We cannot thwart God, because he pursues His people in His infinite grace.</p>

<p>Like Jonah, we are prone to disobey, despite the clarity of God's call on our lives. Our rebellion is often based in fear, self-righteousness, a wrong understanding of God's character, or some combination of the three. Whatever the case, we can see in Jonah that God's plans will be accomplished despite our disobedience. God's sovereignty, patience, and desire to save all people will not be swayed by our desire to flee, our resistance to being on mission, or our selfishness in thinking that God's blessings are somehow reserved only for us.</p>

<p>The main message of Jonah is often missed because of much debate around whether or not the story is historical or a fable. We have already devoted much time to discussing the nature of Jonah. Let's look into the message. Jonah reveals much to us about God's character. We learn through this amazing story that God is a universal God, He desires to bless us rather than blow us sky high, and that He is patient with us even though we are selfish and imperfect. Before we begin to take a look at ourselves, we should begin with who God is and how He loves His people. As we begin to understand this overarching message, the rest of Jonah will make more sense to us. Ask yourself what you believe about God's character. Compare your understanding of God's nature and character with what the book of Jonah reveals.</p>

<p>The Gospel of Luke has often been likened to a manual on true discipleship. Luke 9-19 explores the journey to Jerusalem that Jesus took with His disciples. Jesus knew He was heading to the cross. It would be a burden of unspeakable pain and misery. And yet, Jesus was to fulfill the will of the Father. On the road, Jesus teaches His disciples what it means to be a disciple of the Savior. Luke records several instances when people express initial interest in Jesus, but, upon learning about what it takes to follow Him, decide to head back to their homes or their ordinary lives. In this passage we find that Jesus wants His disciples to leave possessions for experience. Jesus wants a trader to "live dangerously" so they can see God work in and through them.</p>

<p>Every church has a mission statement. Well, at least they are told they are supposed to have a mission statement. You will notice that the mission statements of Bible-believing churches look very similar to each other. That is because Jesus gave the church its mission statement in Matthew 28. It is Christ's desire that His church should proclaim his name, baptize His people, and teach them all that Jesus taught. The Church's purpose is to "get, gather and glorify." Our mission statement at Stone's Throw is to participate fully in God's mission and purpose as we introduce people to Jesus and mobilize them to change the world. This involves introducing new people into situations where they can hear about the Good News of Jesus, being purposeful in gathering the whole church together for kingdom building and discipleship, and glorifying God through worship that is of the Spirit and in truth.</p>

<p>There are many churches popping up all over Middletown. One question we will have to ask ourselves is whether or not we are valuable to the community. What makes a church valuable? Our value is in how much of Jesus people see when they see us. Are we leading people to the Savior? Our motto says that we want people to "come as they are." When people come, they will want to know if we really mean what we say. Are we willing to demonstrate to people that we practice what we preach? Will we come as we are? Our value will be measured by how transparent we are. Because when we are transparent, open, and honest about what we have been saved from, people will see Jesus rather than us.</p>

<p>Luke records for us in Acts 2 that the church met together with four main purposes. They devoted themselves to apostolic teaching, fellowship, eating together, and prayer. What was the result? It went beyond just being a close-knit group of believers or even having felt needs met. It was much more! These first community groups rocked their community. No church member went without having his/her needs met. The church was glad and sincere; it was worshipful—and it influenced the community. People were added daily to the number. The book of Acts is all about the growth of the church and the resulting "going" of the church. Through the growth of Community Groups, our church will learn to "go" into the community. This is where we understand our motto best, "Come as you are. Go as Jesus says."</p>

<p>The resurrection screams out that God cares about this world and His people. We know that God wants to save His people from sin, but we also must realize that God is saving us TO something. We have to live in the reality and power of the resurrection. Many Christians only focus on avoiding sin but miss the whole picture of how God is moving. Our God desires us to trade our old life for resurrection life. He desires to use us to affect the world. The best way we can affect the world is to be "agents of reconciliation".</p>

<p>Peter's audience were suffering for the cause of their mission. This isn't the case for most American churches. When we do suffer, many Christians view the trial as a punishment or inconvenience. Yet Peter tells us to neither be surprised nor hurt by suffering, but rather joyful. The early church members were no strangers to suffering, and neither should our local congregation be strangers. They were told that their suffering was a cause for rejoicing because they were actually sharing in the suffering of Jesus. Are we willing to be involved with the mission of the church, to find our calling, answer the call, and get beyond our own comfort? A trader is someone who is willing to get beyond comfort and into the fray. A trader is willing to trade comfort for trial.</p>