Jesus Questions

From my last sermon on Jesus' deity, I received just a couple questions that I'll do my best to answer:

Q: Since Jesus is 100% God and 100% man, could he have sinned or chosen to use his power in a sinful way? Could he have chosen to not die?

A: Sin is passed down through the seed of the man (Romans 5:12), which is why the virgin birth is so important. Jesus was born with no sin nature, no inherent sin. So could he have sinned by omission or comission? No. By also being 100% God, in whom there is no sin, impurity, etc.; Jesus could not and would not sin. But, this doesn't mean that he did not feel the full weight of temptation. He did in fact fully bear every temptation that we face (Hebrews 4:15), yet never caved into sin like we do. Could Jesus have chosen not to die? That was the plan from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5); plus, that was the greatest act of love that God could show us (John 15:13).

Q: When Jesus was hanging on the tree, and God the Father separated Himself from Jesus, God the Son, because He took on all our sins; did Jesus become fully man and not fully God & man for a moment?

A: This is a great question and a great mystery. This questions alludes to Jesus, in Mark 15:34, crying out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" God is so holy and pure that he cannot even look at sin (which is why the term being "clothed with Christ" is so important for us; when he looks at us Christ-followers, he sees his Son). When Jesus took on all sin (really, became sin - see 2 Corinthians 5:21), the Father had to turn away. How the Trinity was fractured is a mystery. The pain Jesus and Father & Spirit felt must have been unbearable. But, how deep the Father's love for us! How vast beyond all measure!

Q: When will Jesus come back?

A: When the time is right.

Trinitarian Life

Yesterday at Delta I preached on living a Trinitarian Life from John chapter 5. The basis for our entire Christian life is birthed in who God is; not from our preferences, traditions, or expectations from others. The reason that Jesus was in such hot water with the Jews is because he was proclaiming himself equal with God (John 5:18). The following verses go to show how God the Father and and Jesus are intimately connected, and specifically outlines two of Jesus' main roles in the Trinity, that of Savior and that of Judge.

Because God is Trinity, we find in Him the model for our lives as Christ-followers. So, a Trinitarian Life is:

Communal – specifically, family community

John 5:19 – As the God the Father and God the Son relate to each other as family, we are to do the same. We are adopted into God’s family as sons (Romans 8). Church leaders should run the church like a household (1 Timothy 3). Christ-followers should treat each other with the honor due to fathers, mothers, sisters, & brothers (1 Timothy 5).

Loving

John 5:20 – the Father loves the Son
Love is what motivates each and every relationship we have; because God is love, because He loved us first, and because he is love and has infused his love into us, we can’t help but love others. We show love by our commitment to each other, our sacrifice for each other, our accountability to each other.

Transparent

John 5:20 – The Father shows the Son all that he is doing
How transparent is your life to your community of faith? How open are you with your friends here? How open are you in your community group? If you don’t let people in, your life will not transform as God intends for it to; as life transformation happens most often through relationships.

Complementary

John 5:21-29 – Son is equal to the Father (v. 18), but has distinct roles to play
Jesus gives spiritual life & proclaims judgment; meaning eternal life is awarded to those who believe, and eternal death is awarded to those who do not believe. For us, this means that everyone stands equal before God – titles, position, or gender do not make us closer to God – but within that equality, we each have a distinct roles to play in life, marriage and in the church. Paul used the image of a body in 1 Corinthians 12 to illustrate this.

Worship

John 5:23 – we are to live lives that honor Jesus; our speech, actions, thoughts, attitudes, choices, relationships, finances, everything is to honor Jesus. Worship is so much more than singing…it encompasses your entire life. Our worship lifestyle is solely for God’s glory – the very heart of Jesus’ lifestyle of worship (John 17:1).

Eternal

John 5:24-29 – to say that being a Christ-follower is a “personal relationship” is only saying a half-truth…it’s also a “communal relationship”. The Trinity is eternal…the Father, the Son, & the Spirit have always been and they always will be. When we place our faith and trust in Jesus, we enter into an eternal relationship not only with God, but also with other Christ-followers. Revelation 7:9-12 gives us a picture of this. If you have issues with other Christ-followers, especially with others in this room, you better get over it real quick, because eternity’s a long time to not get along!

Sabbath

This past Sunday I preached on "Sabbath" at Delta, taking a topical look at John 5:9-17. It was chock full o' information; so here's a summary of the what, why, when, & how of biblical Sabbath. Enjoy!



Biblical rest is called Sabbath. Its origin comes from Genesis 2:1-3. God rested from his work of creation (not his work of maintaining & sustaining or else we’d cease to exist; see Colossians 1:17 and Hebrews 1:4). He did this to model and to create for us a rhythm for us to live our lives by. Jesus said in Mark 2:27 “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” It’s a gift that God has given us.

An official definition for Sabbath is: Entering into God’s rest by enjoying the fruit of His labor and the fruit of your labor.

Just as God created everything “very good” and then sat back and enjoyed his creative work…we are to do the same.

The phrase “entering God’s rest” comes from Hebrews 4:9-10. There are three phases of entering God rest:

1.Receive the Gospel – Deuteronomy 5:15
You remember God’s deliverance when you Sabbath (Jesus delivered us from the bondage of our sin).

2.Obey – Exodus 20:8-11
Observing a Sabbath is commanded; disobeying is sin. God had to make it a commandment, for if left to ourselves, we will work rest right out of our lives!

3.Rest in His Word – John 1:3
A proper Sabbath involves worshipping Jesus.

You will not be able to fully rest well, to truly Sabbath, unless you love and follow Jesus…you can’t appreciate the beauty of this world without a heart-knowledge of its Creator.

In speaking of “rest”; there are 2 main type of rest for us to do:

1.Physical rest. Exodus 23:12. We are to rest from the work of natural life (your job, housework, yard work, etc.)

2.Spiritual rest. Leviticus 23:3. A “holy convocation” literally means a set apart assembly of people. Gathering to worship is spiritual rest and renewal!

Taking a regular Sabbath has practical benefits, spiritual benefits, and missional benefits.

Practical Benefit: Relaxation

You get to relax your mind, heart, & body from the daily grind. When you relax, you actually get better sleep, more energy, your body is more healthy (increased immunity), you are more efficient, and you more emotionally stable.

Spiritual Benefit: Increased trust

Exodus 34:21. God has commanded us to rest even in the midst of our busiest work seasons! Too many of us honestly believe that we either have a red cape flapping behind us like Superman or sport bullet-deflecting bracelets like Wonder Woman. We think the whole world rests on our shoulders and if we don’t work ourselves to death, that our businesses or homes will crumble to the ground.

We need to understand that over-working is an idolatry issue. Either we’re looking to work to get our justification or we put own selves in the place of Savior for our businesses, bosses, or clients.

By taking a regular, weekly Sabbath you are practically placing your trust in Jesus to meet every need you have – including the needs of income, production, advancement, etc.

Missional Benefit: Witness

Exodus 31:17. By taking a regular Sabbath, enjoying God’s rest both physically and spiritually, you become a witness to the world. In our workaholic culture, taking a Sabbath is a very counter-cultural way to live the Gospel and model God’s Kingdom.

Our Sabbath is to modeled after God work of creation and his day of rest…6 & 1…work 6, Sabbath 1.

Does it have to be on Saturday or Sunday? What if you work in foodservice, and Sunday breakfast & lunch are your busy times? Does it have to be a certain day?

This is the issue Paul dealt with in Romans 14:5ff. Since the Sabbath was made for man and we have freedom in Jesus and conviction from the Holy Spirit…we get to pick whatever day works best for us. The point is to enter God’s rest properly.

There are 3 primary ways on how to Sabbath:

1.It starts in your heart
Matthew 12:1-8 (*v. 7). The Pharisees (the religious legalists) were just concerned about the outward acts of religion…the sacrifices that showed how spiritual they supposedly were. Jesus says it’s a mercy issue – a heart issue.

2.Unplug
The big drawback for us in the 21st Century is electricity…we no longer live by natural rhythms (up at sunrise, sleep at sunset). We have 24 hr email, internet, TV, grocery, gyms, and fast food; one of the most popular TV shows today is “24”! When you Sabbath, turn off your phone, shut down the computer…if you watch TV, do it with your friends & family so it’s an act of community at least…but get out in God’s creation and get in touch with the Creator.

3.Enjoy
Do stuff you like to do, with people you love, for God’s glory. Take a nap, take a walk, play a game, go to a ball game, whatever. But whatever you do, do it for God’s glory - 1 Corinthians 10:31.

What are you to do now? Most of us need to repent because we don’t Sabbath, at least we don’t Sabbath well.

If you work all the time, repent of your idolatry. You take control of your life’s schedule, don’t let it take control of you. Ask yourself: How is my trust practically playing out?

If you rest all the time, repent of being a sluggard. If life is slow for you right now, find something to do like look for a job, volunteer, serve in ministry, or any number of things that would contribute to the needs of others or that would bless your city.