What I Did on My Summer Vacation

The family and I just got back from an 8-day excursion that took us from Springfield to Hot Springs, Arkansas to Lake of the Ozarks. Here's a few things I learned:

• U.S. 67 is a boring and slow way to travel through Missouri into Arkansas. I'll stick to I-55 next time.
• I'm pretty sure there's a Wal-Mart in every town in Arkansas.
• Of all the hub-bub influential cities get, the amount of rural America is immense.
• Speaking of rural America, you've got to love names like Knob Lick, MO and Toad Suck Park in Arkansas. I'm being very serious.
• Flying a plane is fun.
• The amount of food you're offered at Lambert's (where they throw the rolls at you) should be illegal.
• Watching a lightning/thunderstorm roll in at midnight over Lake of the Ozarks is a very spiritual experience.

One last thing: I've gained some deeper appreciation for gospel community and gospel hospitality. Here's what I mean: my family of SEVEN travelled about 1000 miles, stayed in two cities, and while I haven't added up all the receipts just yet, my estimations is that this trip only cost us about $400! How is this possible? It's possible only because of the gospel.

We visited and stayed with some dear friends in Hot Springs, which is a beautiful area of the country and boasts a very unique National Park. These are the type of friends where Dawn and I are "Aunt & Uncle" to their kids, and they are the same to our kids. The community we have because of the gospel is what really makes this friendship so deep and true community. When we're together, everything is shared and it really feels like family (in the best way!).

For our Lake of the Ozark leg of the trip, we were given an amazing condo to stay in. For free. By people we've never met. Talk about hospitality! The hearts of these dear people is for their condo (which is right on the Lake; which they've named "Still Waters") is for people to connect with Jesus and find some rest for their souls. Just take care of the place and clean up when you're done. They understand that it really isn't "their" condo, but it's God's, and it's to be used for His glory.

May we all truly live out Gospel Community and Gospel Hospitality.

Gospelizing Your Idols

We are an idolatrous people. Not that this is anything new, but it's more prevalent than you'd think. Culturally, it is quite easy to see our current "temples" of our "gods", namely: shopping malls, restaurants, sports stadiums, strip clubs, and even technology centers in California and the Pacific Northwest (had to include this since I really can't say that the Internet is a "place"). Everyone on the planet falls into either one of two categories: worshipper or idolater. A worshipper is a gospel-centered Christ-follower who understands and strives to live out Romans 11:36 "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever." An idolater is then anybody who is not a Christ-follower OR a Christ-follower who has gotten their eyes off of Jesus. This is what Paul has been confronting the Galatians on. The issues beneath their issue of legalism is that of idolatry. This is exactly what he confronts them on in Galatians 4:8-11. He makes a direct comparison of their legalism to their former life of pagan idolatry.

So how do we figure out what our personal "idols of the heart" are? What do we do with them? Tim Keller gives us some great counsel regarding this.

1) Diagnose yourself to begin to identify the areas of idolatry in your life. Ask yourself these telling questions:

• Am I anxious? Am I prone to be fearful and worried?
• Am I angry? Am I prone toward bitterness and guilt?
• Am I empty? Am I prone to boredom, feeling despondent, or having a negative view of myself?
• Has my thinking been clouded, distorted, full of assumptions, and not rooted in reality?
• Do I struggle with intense over-desires or inordinate longings?

2) Identify what your primary idol may be.

• Comfort. A comfort idol has "dialects" of seeking salvation in things that bring you pleasure, always seeking new experiences (or the flip side, never taking risks), a high need for independence, or materialism.
• Approval. An approval idol has the dialects of a high need of being loved or respected by other people, overly-conscious of your image, having others dependent upon you, and an unhealthy perspective on being in relationships (finding Mr. or Mrs. "Right", being included in a certain "inner ring" of people, putting all of your hopes in one friend/family member).
• Power. A power idol has the dialects of needing to be influential, always achieving more, having your particular ideology in the majority (ie, Republican or Democrat), or positioning yourself so people always need you to accomplish whatever they're needing to do.
• Control. A control idol has the dialects of a meticulously maintained schedule, a predictable work environment, or a rule/tradition-laden religious expression.

3) Heal from your idols.

• Reject moralizing. Don't simply think all you need to do is repent and practice behavior modification. It just doesn't go deep enough.
• Reject psychologizing. Don't simply think you need to embrace and rejoice in that God loves you as you are. This goes a little deeper in addressing feelings, but it's still not deep enough.
• Embrace "gospelizing". You need to realize that you are looking to something or someone apart from Jesus for happiness and meaning (this is called a "functional savior"). And you need to : Remember Jesus' work on the cross and your identity in Him; Repent of your idolatrous attitudes, thoughts, & behaviors; and Rejoice that God does indeed love you as you are, but loves you enough to continue to pursue you so you don't stay that way!

The only way to truly find healing and victory over sin in your life is to identify the idol underneath it and root it out! This begins with being "known by God" (Galatians 4:9)...that it's His work in you and that according to 2 Peter 1:3-4, we have everything we need for life in the gospel. It then continues by living in community where you have gospel-leadership to submit to and have gospel-friendships where you can be transparent and have others love you and encourage you. This is called "discipleship"...but maybe more more appropriate to refer to it as "gospelizing" one another.

How to Gospelize

I'm a pastor, in particular a church planter.  And given the three perspectives of pastoring (as seen in Jesus - prophet, priest, and king), I'm foremost a prophet - but not in a Nostradamus-end-of-the-world type of way.  It's more like a "I love you, so I'm going to yell at you from the bible for 45 minutes every week."  Things like truth, confronting sin, and right doctrine are important to me.  But, if that's all I did all the time, I would be a terrible pastor, because people also need priests (who love and care for people) and kings (who organize, administrate, and strategize for ministry).  This is why it's so important to have a plurality of eldership in the local church to the lead the church, and why the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is important as well.  The bottom line is that although God does specifically call some into vocational ministry (or lay ministry, like elders who don't get paid), the truth is that we all are called to minister to each other, which is what Ephesians 4:11-16 is all about.

But back the pastoring thing.  You just can't yell at people all the time.  Yes, truth must be stood up for and sin confronted (in a spirit of sincere love), but you have to put your arm around somebody's shoulders and gently communicate your heart for them.  This is what Paul does in Galatians 4:8-20.  He's been hammering them for three chapters, calling them "foolish" and "bewitched."  But now in this section his tone is completely different and uses terms like "brothers and sisters" and "little children."  Paul really loved them like family and that's why he had been so firm with them up to this point.  He now talks to them like a priestly-pastor.

It's important to note that as you seek to minister to people (or as I'm beginning to like to say "gospelize" people), two elements are pretty important.  First, is having a sincere emotional investment with others.  We see this in 4:12-16.  Paul recalls their time together, how they cared for him, and experiences they shared.  Relationships take time to develop.  There has to be significant time invested in others so they deeply know you desire nothing but Jesus' best for them.  The second element is the goal of ministry, which is Christ.  This is what Paul brings out in 4:17-20.  He didn't want to reproduce clones of himself; he wanted the Galatians to be formed into the image of Jesus.  Because now, Jesus is the only one who really has disciples.  If any church or church leader calls you to anything or anyone other than Jesus as the goal for the Christian life, knock the dust off your boots and get out of there!

So what does "gospelizing" really involve?  On it's most basic level, it is helping people to move from being an idolater to a worshipper.  Every person on the planet will "proclaim worth" to something - a tree, the ocean, a relationship, a bank account, a pro sports team.  But if the object is anything other than Jesus, that is by definition idolatry.  And idolatry is something that Christ-followers can be guilty of as well.  Remember, in Galatians Paul has not questioned their salvation.  In 3:27, he affirmed them being baptized into and clothed with Christ; but they've gotten distracted.  They have begun to seek to "please man" rather than pleasing God (Galatians 1:10).  What Paul has really been doing the whole letter is not just confront their legalism, he has been confronting their idolatry (see how he tied idolatry to legalism in 4:8-10).

This post is getting a tad long, so I'm going to hit the "pause" button and finish it up tomorrow.  The next post will be on how to diagnose, identify, and heal from our idols.  Peace out.

How the Gospel Transforms Us

People don't like instability.  When we have breakdowns relationally, vocationally, financially, or any other way, it just tends to freak us out.  Why?  Sure, it's uncomfortable, but is there a deeper reason?  I think there is.  I think instability exposes our fear...but fear of what?  My answer is fear of not being in control.  And when our control issues are exposed, what comes to the surface then is really an issue of where our identity lies and what we put our hope in.  So, if my identity and hope for happiness lies in my spouse, but then we get in a fight, my life feels out of control and unstable which causes me to live in fear.

The good news is that the gospel is designed to go all the way down to these deep levels of our hearts.  The gospel isn't limited to being the elementary truths of being a Christ-follower, it's also designed to carry us through our PhD work, if you will. Tim Keller has often said that the gospel is not just the A-B-C's of Christianity, it's the A-Z.

In Galatians 3:25-4:7 we get a picture of this.  We see how large the scope is of the transforming power of the gospel.  The gospel changes us in the very core of our being, and in doing so provides a stability in life that everything else pales in comparison to.  It is in fact the "perfect love" that John writes about in 1 John 4:18, which "casts out fear."  So, what we find is three areas in which the gospel transforms us.

1) Our identity is transformed to that of a son of God (3:26, 4:1-5). This is not a chauvinistic or sexist idea.  In this culture (and in many places today) it was the firstborn son that had full rights to everything of the father's.  This was called primogeniture.  Paul is saying that both men and women alike, through faith in Jesus, are given the legal status of "son of God."  God in his love and mercy looked out on those who were created to be in relationship with Him and redeemed (bought out of slavery to sin; bought back what was His in the first place) and adopted (chose to be his children and given full rights as sons) them.  What are the benefits of this sonship?

• You are free from the control of sin and are controlled by love.
• You are a full recipient (heir) of every blessing available from God the Father.
• You are not bound to live by the pattern of the world, but by faith.
• You are fully loved by the Father and enjoy intimacy with Him and his protecting authority.
• When you fail (sin), condemnation doesn't drive you away, but the love of the Father draws you back.
• You are secure in your status of a son which will never change.

2) Your primary community is transformed to one with other sons of God (3:27-29). When a marriage happens, the women takes the husbands name, placing her into his family.  That is a picture of what Galatians 3:27 is meaning.  We are baptized and clothed with Christ, becoming fully identified in Him, much like the message a surname communicates.  This is important to note, because it sets up a very misinterpreted verse 28.  Galatians 3:28 is not about the dissolution of race, class, or gender - for there are obvious distinctions and roles within those - but it is about the primary community you belong to.  As a Christ-follower, you have infinitely more in common with other Christ-followers than you do of those who share your race, class, or gender but who aren't Christ-followers.  This shows us the communal aspect of the gospel.  While our faith is personal, it is not private, for God has made for himself, according to 1 Peter 2:9-10 a plural "people, race, priesthood, and nation."  The benefits of this community transformation are:

• You are intimately connected to the first and primary community of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Spirit
• Your local Christian community is irreplaceable and even mandatory for your growth
• You are connected to a history of people - people of faith dating thousands of years back to Abraham
• You are accepted in community as a fellow saint and sinner
• You are never, ever alone

3) Your experience is transformed by the Spirit (Galatians 4:6-7).  Christianity is not simply something we understand and agree with, it is something we experience.  This is one reason we are given the Spirit - so that we experience through our sonship & community the love of the Father, enabling us to cry out to Him in both need and satisfaction.  Being a Christian is about being madly in love with God not in a weird-romantic sense, but in a  passionate, consuming, joyful, satisfying Father-child relationship deeper than any systematic theology or apologetic reasoning.  A child who spontaneously gets picked up, hugged, and kissed by his father has an experience of his love that  a simple knowledge of love doesn't communicate.  So this experiential transformation means:

• We have passion for God
• We have an intimate prayer life - beyond the "niceties" of a meal time prayer, but springing up from our very souls
• We have a deep sense of assurance for our Father's love is unconditional and His love fuels our obedience

What must we do to fully live out this transformation?  It starts with fully surrendering to Jesus. We also must meditate on His Word; not in a way to simply study and learn, but to soak in it and having it become a part of us. We have to walk with others in community by encouraging each other, praying for each other, confessing to each other, serving together, and living together. And we must cry out to God the Father in unscripted ways; the more we spontaneously cry out, the more we are reminded of the Spirit's active presence with us.

Guarded for the Gospel

First, this is a landmark post...it's number 100!  Woo-hoo!  So what...let's get moving.

One of the more curious things to figure out about Christianity, specifically about the Bible, is what we're supposed to do with the Old Testament, particularly what's referred to "the law."  Being on this side of the cross, how are we supposed to read it?  Is it outdated like an old rotary phone?  Why use it when we have the "iPhone" of the New Testament?  Seriously, are we really supposed to follow the rules about not eating shellfish and not wearing mixed-fiber clothing?  How can David write the longest chapter (119) in the longest book (Psalms) and it's all about how he "loves" the law?  We hear the word "law" and we all grimace and feel disdain.

This is what Paul addresses in Galatians 3:15-25.  In the previous section, he talked about the negative effects of the law.  In this section, he talks about the positive effects of the law - and why we continue to need it, even on this side of the cross.  So let's establish a framework from this passage:

First, we need to understand what Paul meant by "covenant."  God always has made covenants, which are basically "promises."  The most common usage of this word in Paul's day was in context of a last will and testament, the most unalterable of all human contracts (this was verified by Dave Edwards, a lawyer and one of Delta's deacons). So basically Paul is saying that when God makes a promise (that He initiates, set up the parameters, and ratifies) that promise will never change and will be fulfilled.

Second, we need to understand the relationship between the covenant and the law.  First, they are exclusive of each other - they are different.  In verse 18, the teaching is basically this: if you are given something based on a promise, it's NOT because of your performance, and conversely, if you get something because of what you have done (ie, a paycheck), it's not because of a promise.  But in versese 21-22, we see that the covenant and law are in agreement.  The law was never expected to grant salvation (because keeping it fully was impossible); if it could, the Jesus never would have had to come (Galatians 3:17)!  So basically, the law shows us our need for salvation by faith through grace - the law points to the promise.  Everything in scripture is either looking forward to the cross, or looking back at the cross.

Third, we need to understand where Jesus fits into all of this.  According to verse 16, Jesus was the true fulfillment of the "offspring" promised to Abraham.  Additionally, Jesus was the only person to keep the law 100% in deed and in spirit (Matthew 5:17).  Jesus fulfills BOTH the promise AND the law!

Fourth, what purpose does the law truly serve?  Verse 23 says that the law "imprisoned" us like a jailer.  The law kept people in bondage until the fullness of time when Jesus would come (Galatians 4:4).  The law kept us "locked up" to protect us from our great propencity to sin.  But then in verses 24-25, we see this word "guardian" which is better translated "tutor."  In this, we see the ultimate end of the law was to instruct us for maturity, namely faith in Jesus - that we would be obedient not becaus we have to, but because we want to.  So, while we are no longer under a guardian, we still have great need for a guardian.  Paul wrote in Romans 7:7 that if it wasn't for the law, he would not know what his sin was.  John Stott beautifully wrote, "It is only against the inky blackness of the night sky that the stars begin to appear, and it is only against the dark background of sin and judgement that the gospel shines forth."

So with those points as our framework, we know can make these three conclusions:

1) We know how to read the Old Testament.  When reading through the lens of the gospel, we see it all pointing to Jesus.

2) We have a different starting point for obedience.  Fear and guilt are transformed into love and grantitude.

3) We are released to attempt great things for God.  We now have the FREEDOM to fail!  Our acceptance & relationship with God is not on the line, we do not live in performance-based Christianity.

The law exposes our need to be connected to God and provided a limited pathway for that.  Jesus has come completely fulfilling everything that God requires on our behalf so we can be vitally connected to God in the fullest sense.

There is a reality of law and sin.  But there is a greater reality of faith, grace, love, and mercy.

Commitment vs. Surrender

Everyone on the planet knows and feels that something is missing from their lives.  They don't know quite what it is, but the search to have the void filled and find completion is seemingly never ending.  People look for completion is things like vocational, educational, recreational, spiritual, relational, possessional (is that a word?), or moral achievement.  Basically, the thought is this: if I can just make the right commitments to get what I want, then I'll be happy and complete and this empty feeling will go away.  But the problem is that people suck at keeping commitments.  Whatever rules we have imposed on us or that we impose upon ourselves will be broken.  We just can't keep our commitments.

This is what Paul confronts the Galatians with in Galatians 3:1-14.  As Paul instructed them previously that it was their faith in Jesus that justified them (positionally made them right with God), it was that same faith that sanctifies them (grows them to be more like Jesus).  To think that you get "in" by faith, but then have to "work" to stay in and grow is the equivalent to being a fool and allowing someone to bewitch or deceive you.  It would be like starting a road trip by fueling up with gas, but halfway through believing someone who tells you that you should use root beer to fuel your car.  Totally foolish! As a car is built and designed to run on gas, Christ-followers are built and designed to run on faith.

To prove his point, Paul takes the Galatians back on a journey with Abraham, who is the father of the Jewish nation.  His point is that God called a pagan idolater named Abram to follow him, and it wasn't because of anything that Abram did to earn this relationship with God (Genesis 12:1-3, Joshua 24:2).  Then, even after his call, Abram still wasn't the poster child of a worshipper of the One True God, for he was a liar, a coward, pimped out his wife, made bad real estate decisions, and simply didn't lead like God called him to (see Genesis 12-14). Still, God initiated a covenant with Abram and only God ratified the covenant, because he knew that Abram would be unable to (Genesis 15:5-18).  The only thing that was credited as righteousness to Abram was his faith.  Why is all this Abraham talk important?  Because it showed the Galatians that it is clearly not keeping law that justifies or sanctifies you, as illustrated from the very beginning with Abraham; and it shows us that when God makes a promise to bless everybody (including you and me), he always keeps his promises.  We are "children of Abraham" because of our faith, not our good works, achievements, or commitments.

Paul goes on to show that when we impose law or have law imposed upon ourselves, the very law we live by is the very law that will kill us because of our inability to keep it.  We are, in effect, "cursed".  A loose paraphrase of the Leviticus 18:5 that Paul quotes in 3:12 would be "if you live by the sword, you'll die by the sword."  And mostly keeping the law, mostly keeping our commitments doesn't but it, either.  James 2:10 clearly says that breaking even the smallest of the law is worthy of the punishment for breaking all of the law.  

So what are we to do?  How are we to live for God? Well, Paul is clear: we are to live by faith.  Ok, so what does that look like?  Aren't there still expectation to live up to?  Yes, there are.  But we don't do anything.  Jesus does it for us.

Here's where the beauty of the gospel shines brightly.  Jesus became a curse for us.  He legally took our penalty.  He took our sin, we are given his righteousness.  God's justice and mercy work in complete harmony. So, we are to "live by faith."  Meaning, every moment of every day is lived in surrender to Jesus.  When we surrender, we give up our will to the will of another.  This means that our faith in Jesus is not just what initially saves us, but also continually saves us and becomes the fuel for our everyday lives.  Jesus just didn't die for our sin nature, but for our sin.  So everyday becomes a rhythm of confession-repentance-reconciliation-rejoicing.  Our justification is secured at the moment of salvation, and then our sanctification grows.  So by daily (or hourly, or minute by minute) reminding ourselves of the gospel, we let go of all of our commitments and promises we can't keep anyway, surrender our will to Jesus, and the let the Spirit do His work in our lives.  2 Corinthians 3:18 loudly resounds this work of sanctification: we are transformed more and more into the image of Jesus NOT by our efforts, but by the work of the Spirit in us!

A life of faith is not marked by empty promises and unkept commitments that result in guilt, shame, and condemnation.  A life of faith is marked by surrendering our will to Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, which results in love, joy, serving, and missional living because you are just so thankful.

Living in Line

Think of a time that you found yourself in conflict with somebody and you had to confront or be confronted.  What was the motivation?  What was at stake?  Was it something like integrity, reputation, pride, protection, respect, or jealousy?  Those are some usual motivators for our confrontation.  We read about a confrontation between Paul and Peter in Galatians 2:11-14.  Peter was missional engaging the Gentile Christians until Jewish Christians from Jerusalem came along.  His hypocrisy even effected a rock-solid guy like Barnabas.  Paul sees this and confronts Peter, but not on the basis of any of the reasons we listed above.  According to verse 14, Paul confronted Peter because his "conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel."  The gospel was Paul's motivation.  The phrase "not in step" in Greek is literally "walking in line" (orthopodeo - like how an orthodontist straightens crooked teeth).  What this practically means is that the gospel is simply not just a truth to be believed by the non-Christian, but a truth to be infused into every area of the Christian's life.

Through the rest of chapter 2 (verses 15-21), Paul teaches the theology behind the confrontation.  In it, he communicates the "heart of the Gospel": justification through faith in Jesus.  Justification is a legal term which means "being declared righteous; a person is no longer liable to any penalty, but is entitled to all the privileges due to one who has kept the law."  Biblically, it means that you status before God is one of acceptance.  Justification fixes both problems that sin causes: alienation from God and becoming a subject of God's wrath.  Being justified means that we are brought near to God and his wrath is removed from us.

So how are we justified, that is, how are we accepted?  Is it like college where we fill out forms, send in transcripts, have interviews, and pay money?  Not at all.  Romans 8:33 is clear that it is God who justifies, not us or anything we do. Galatians 2:15-16 are clear that it is specifically faith in Jesus that justifies us.  A few interesting things from these verses: 1) "justified" is in the past tense; meaning that through faith it has already happened, not something we still seek; 2) in the Greek, the article "the" (as in 'the law') doesn't exist; so Paul is saying that it isn't just Jewish ceremonial law that he's addressing, it's any type of moralism/works that we can come up with; and 3) in verse 16, "faith in Jesus" could also be "faithfulness of Jesus", emphasizing the fact that salvation & justification is totally God-centered; where our faith is weak and small, it is Jesus' complete faithfulness that paves the way for our justification.

And by no means does this "passive righteousness" give us any licence to abuse it and sin all the more.  This is the argument that Paul addresses in verses 17-18 of Galatians 2.  Reflecting Romans 6:1-2, Paul is saying that if a person's life is continually marked by sin - selfishness, arrogance, pride, sleeping around, addiction, whatever - with no remorse or transformation, then there's really no true faith in Jesus.  This person has "proved to be a transgressor."

Remember, this is about "living in line" (v. 14) with the gospel.  That our total lives are affected by this justification.  Galatians 2:19 says that we now free from following rules to please God, for our faith in Jesus is what pleases Him; and through that faith we have new hearts that have a desire to please Him.  We now "want to" obey without feeling like we "have to".  Galatians 2:20 communicates this new life that we have.  All of our sin was put to death on the cross with Jesus and doesn't define us because Jesus does.  And even though we "live in the flesh" (with all of the struggles with sin we still face), we live by faith in Jesus which empowers us for living; fueled by Jesus' great love of his sacrifice.  And if we don't live in faith, verse 21 soberly says that what we are practically saying with our lives is that Jesus died for nothing, and we erase his grace out of our lives.

So what are the practical implications of being justified by God through faith in Jesus?  It all has to do with 4 views - 4 frameworks that we function out of:

1. God's view of us is that we are a loved and accepted child - a full member of the family - with ALL of the privileges entitled to it.
2. Our self-view becomes that we are loved and accepted, and we are marked by "humble confidence" - humbled by God's love, and confident of His work in and through us.
3. Our view of others is transformed from what people can do for us to how we can love them because of what God has done for us.
4. Other's view of us simply doesn't matter like it used to! We don't have to live in fear of man or to please man, because the God of the universe is pleased with us already because of Jesus, and we live to please him and to be his servant.

How do you identify the areas of your life that aren't "living in line" with the gospel?  Remember, this whole section of God's Word was drawn out from a conflict (between Paul and Peter).  I would then say that areas of regular conflict in your life expose the areas that aren't in line with the gospel.  And it's not about you just trying to correct your course; you can't...in fact, you've probably been trying and it keeps not working.  It's simply recognizing your inability to do so and believing in Jesus as your only hope. God then justifies you, empowers you with His Spirit, frees you from fear, and you live confident in your acceptance.

May grace be with you.

Humiliation vs. Humility

When was the last time you were humiliated?  What about the last time you were humbled?  Yes, those are two separate questions.  Humiliation and humility are not the same thing.  Humiliation is brought about by things like guilt, embarrassment, ridicule, defeat, or even abuse.  My freshman and sophomore high school football teams combining for an 0-16 record is pretty humiliating. Humility, on the other hand, comes from being overwhelmed by things like love, grace, mercy, and generosity.  When a financial need for Delta was made public the other month, some fellow church planters in our church planting network, Acts 29, brought our need to their elders and we received a number of financial gifts.  It was a very humbling experience to be the recipient of such love and generosity.

Galatians 1:13-2:10 shows us a very personal snapshot of how the gospel was working in and through Paul.  While there are many things that could be pointed out and talked about in this section, I think the one key theme that stands out is that of gospel humility.  When the gospel does it's work in and through people, humility happens, and humility begins to produce some very godly fruit.

In Galatians 1:13-23, Paul tells of his conversion and very early ministry.  In one amazing sentence, he communicates the height of his moral character and the depth of his depravity (v. 13-14).  Paul could have honestly said that he was moral enough to not need the gospel, yet depraved enough to not deserve it.  Then he unpacks the beauty of God's love and grace in verses 15-16 in that it simply pleases God to pour His grace out on people and love them.  And the result that this type of grace-induced humility brings?  A changed life, as noted in verse 23.

Now, it's so easy for people to look at the "triumphs" of others, champion the human spirit, and worship the gifts and abilities of others.  Athletes like Labron James, who come from humble beginnings yet achieve super-stardom, are caught saying very self-promoting things like "There are few people that can take over a game, and I'm blessed to be one of them."  Paul could have been accused of this type of self-promotion in telling his dramatic story.  But we have to look at the result of his story; how people responded to it.  Galatians 1:24 is clear that a truly humble result of a changed life is that God is glorified, not a person.

In the beginning of chapter 2, Paul fast-forwards his story about 14 years, and shows him and his ministry partners going to Jerusalem.  He wanted to find out if their message was to have been "in vain" (2:2).  This is a little perplexing, for according to Galatians 1, Paul is very confident in the pure gospel message.  What was at stake here was the "truth of the gospel preserved for you" (2:5).  Paul, an apostle called by Jesus himself, wanted to check off with the leaders of the church - Peter, James, and John - which was headquartered in Jerusalem.  If these "pillars" (who were still sinful, human beings) had begun to preach, like the Judaizers, that you needed to do something in addition to having faith in Jesus (in this case, adhere to Jewish ceremonial law), then the fruit of Paul's gospel message was in jeopardy.  That is the "vanity" that Paul was concerned about.  He saw a potential church split, and desperately wanted to avoid it.  But because Paul was a man humbled by the gospel, that resulted in a spirit of submission, in him going to the leaders of the church.

A glorious thing happened during this meeting, which I believe was a reference point for Paul as he wrote Ephesians 4:1-3.  Peter, James, & John "added nothing" (2:6) to Paul's message!  They agreed that faith in Jesus alone is what causes God to accept us.  This was symbolized by the "right hand of fellowship" (2:9), which saw Paul and the Jerusalem leaders bond together, and also symbolically deny the false teachers.  The humility all these men had before God and his gospel resulted in great unity.  Sadly, Paul's fears still came true, as our time is perhaps the most divided time in church history with the three main tribes of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant plus the countless denominations.  This makes the message of Galatians of utmost importance - that we lay aside meaningless traditions and distinctions that distort and reduce the gospel of Jesus.

This brings us to Galatians 2:10.  At first read, it seems a little odd - sort of out of place - even borderline "legalistic".  So what gives with the serve the poor thing?  Actually, this verse unlocks the whole theme of humility for the passage.  Serving the poor is instrinsic to gospel humility.  God has always wanted his people to care for the poor (Leviticus 23:22). Jesus said that his ministering to the poor was a fulfillment of him being the messiah (Matthew 11:1-6). Paul mandated that Christians and their churches serve the poor when he spoke with the Ephesians elders (Acts 20:35).  The early church was made up of both rich and poor, and was a great picture of how unity can be achieved amongst social classes (Acts 4:34-37).  And Jesus, in his greatest collection of teachings called the Sermon on the Mount, said that the poor in spirit are the ones who are blessed (Matthew 5:3), and serving the poor reminds us of our spiritual poverty.  Galatians 2:10 is not an "add on" at all. Serving the poor is a natural expression and result of gospel humility. 

But we get humility all wrong.  We confuse it with humiliation.  We run away from it and become self-righteous.  We over-do it and play the self-pity card.  So what are we to do?

Nothing.  God has to do it in us.  Which is exactly why Jesus came.

Philippians 2:7-11 shows us this.  He was humble because we couldn't be.  He was obedient because we wouldn't be.  He brings unity because we won't.  And he will be glorified because he alone is worthy.

That is the ultimate result of gospel humility!

Confronting Gospel Confustion, part 2

Now that the probable issue regarding the Galatians' problems have been exposed (see yesterday's post), Paul unpacks 4 truths of the gospel (and us).

Truth 1: There is only 1 true gospel, but people will distort it - Galatians 1:6-7

Jesus Himself made the biggest exclusivity claim regarding salvation in John 14:6, and that is the message that Paul preached to the Galatians.  The eye-opening thing here is that Paul uses some strong words ('deserting', meaning going completely AWOL; and 'distort', meaning a complete reversal).  Paul was saying that if you add anything to Jesus' gospel (religiosity, morality, etc.) you are in fact leaving the gospel entirely!  It's practically saying, "Jesus, you are not enough, your sacrifice was not sufficient."  So even a "distortion" of the gospel of Jesus is on the same plane as following another faith system.  Scary stuff!  James Montgomery Boice has written, "embracing legalism is rejecting God."

Truth 2: No one is exempt from the temptation to distort the gospel - Galatians 1:8-9

Paul says that the penalty for distorting the gospel is to be "accursed".  This word in original Greek is 'anethema', which means "being devoted for destruction with no hope of being redeemed." And Paul quickly points out that the Galatians should reject anybody that distorts the gospel, even himself or an angel!  No one is beyond this.  Because of our sin, we all are at risk of polluting the gospel.  We need to be honest with our depravity and weigh all voices (including our own) against the truth in scripture.

Truth 3: The gospel's biggest enemy is man - Galatians 1:10

Too often people think the opposite of God is Satan.  This is untrue on a couple levels.  First and foremost, God is Creator, and Satan was a part of creation.  Aside from possession, Satan has no ability to "make us" do anything.  All he (or one of his henchmen demons) has to do most often is just nudge us in the right direction and leave us to our sin.  CS Lewis demonstrated this beautifully is his classic work, "The Screwtape Letters." As we seek to please ourselves or another person, we cease being a servant of Jesus; for our greatest joy as servants of Jesus is to please Jesus.

Proverbs 14:12 clearly says that man's ways (our thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc) lead to DEATH.  Yet, a few verses later in Proverbs 14:27, it's clear that God's ways lead to LIFE.  There is no middle ground, as Peter said in Acts 5:29.  Pleasing man functionally makes us an idolater and no longer a worshipper of Jesus.

Truth 4: God reveals the gospel to us - Galatians 1:11-12

Paul communicates how we come to know the gospel.  He first tells us three ways we don't learn it, and the only way we do.

First, the gospel is not according to man (v. 11). Our humanistic philosophies or logic are not the gospel.

Second, the gospel is not received from man (v. 12). We don't get the gospel from human osmosis, human transmission, or just by parroting some teacher we've heard.

Third, the gospel is not taught (v. 12). A systematic presentation or apologetic argument won't get someone to believe the gospel.  It's not just a mental exercise.

Fourth, the gospel is revealed to us (v. 12). Jesus will reveal his gospel to us.  We need to experience the gospel.  It's important to note here that our experience needs to be weighed according to the Bible (1 John 4:1-3), we do not weigh scripture against our experience, for that leads to untruth and men-centeredness.

A heart (and head) knowledge of the true gospel is central to everything - for without it we have no true wisdom or discernment to judge the people and situations that enter our lives that can lead us away from Jesus.  We need to be honest with ourselves, be humble before God, and pray that God plants the truth of his gospel in our lives.

Confronting Gospel Confusion, part 1

In Galatians 1:6-12, Paul literally comes out swinging in his confrontation of the Galatians' abandonment of following the gospel of Jesus Christ and their embracing of the legalism the Judaizer's (traditional Jews who now follow Jesus, but mandate the keeping of ceremonial Jewish laws) are pressuring them with.  He uses some pretty strong language like "astonished" and "deserting" and "distort" and "accursed" (we'll unpack those tomorrow).  What I'd like to address now is what I believe to be the reason for the Galatians' turning to legalism.

Think about this: a person or situation that has entered your life and caused the very foundational beliefs of your life to be shaken.  I suppose this could be a good thing, say, like the birth of a child - makes you do a reevaluation of everything.  But typically these are stressors in your life: job change or loss, moving, relational breakdown, or some kind of financial crisis.  When one of these stressors comes into your life, where do you run?  What do you go to in order to find relief and peace?  If you run to anything other than the gospel of Jesus you are being an idolater, for you are looking to something other than Jesus to be your Savior.  Idols are what are called "functional saviors."  Another way to define them is "something you life for, and feel that you can't live without."

Tim Keller says that there are three main categories of idols: personal, religious, and cultural. Personal idols include things like: money, romance, looks, sex, self-expression, or your kids (this list could go on).  Religious idols can be truth (you love your theology so much that you forget about grace), spiritual gifts/experience, or morality (following the rules, serving, giving, avoiding sin and sinful people).  Cultural idols can be things like what family you're a part of (or not), political affiliation, ideologies, or even geography (living in a certain part of the country will bring you 'salvation' and fix your problems).   The times in our lives that idols take center stage is at times of distress - when our world gets turned upside down.

I think this is what happened to the Galatians.  Paul planted the seed of the gospel in them, and it was just beginning to take root to grow, but it was still a tender, young plant.  People (Judaizers) came into their midst and shook them up with their message of legalism (you need to add to the gospel of Jesus) and the Galatians took the bait and were running to an idol of religious moralism.  Paul hears of this and confronts their idolatry with the gospel (see Galatians 1:3-5).

So, when your life has gotten shaken up, where have you gone?  Have you run (or are you currently running) to some functional savior?  Has this crisis exposed a shallow belief in the one true gospel of Jesus?  If so, take heart, for God in his mercy has given us Pauls' letter to the Galatians to help us repent and course-correct.  What Paul unpacks through the rest of verses 6-12 are 4 truths about the gospel and people.  We'll take a look at those tomorrow.

How you change

First, I'm currently hanging out in my favorite Chicago neighborhood, Lincoln Park.  So I'm happy :-)  Secondly, I got to hang out with a church planter, Aaron Youngren, who's planting The Line Chicago, so I'm extra happy.  Thirdly, I was privileged to deliver to the Youngrens some house warming gifts that our church collected for them...much love going around; so I'm super happy.  All this has got me thinking on how people change.  What? You don't see the connection?  Let me explain.

It all has to do with the word I just used: connection.  The only way people change - and I am meaning how people overcome sin patterns, addictions, become more holy, bear for fruit of the Spirit, and generally become more like Jesus - is through being connected.  But connected to what?  More specifically, connected to whom?

First, there is no way you can change without being connected to Jesus through the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.  You see, when we believe in Jesus, we are given the Holy Spirit who lives in us, regenerates us, and basically makes us a brand new creation. Connection to God the Father, through God the Son, by the power of God the Spirit is primary when it comes to our transformation.

Secondly, there is another connection needed on more practical levels.  What I've seen personally in ministry for the last 16 years and what I see the bible teaching is that we need to be connected to other Christ-followers.  By submitting ourselves to community (spiritual leaders and spiritual friendships), we allow others to speak into our lives for encouragement, support, teaching, correction, confrontation, accountability, and disicpline.  This is where we see scripture come alive regarding Acts 2, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, Galatians 6, and Hebrews 10 and 13. God has given us the Church (other believers, who have the same Spirit in them, by the way) to sharpen us to help us grow.

My time with Aaron today, and the time I spent on the phone with another church planting friend on the phone on my way to Chicago, reminded me of the importance of being connected together, with our foundation of Jesus, in our journeys of growth.

So, are you connected?  First, to Jesus?  Second, to other Christ-followers?  It is your only hope for change.

The Amazement of Grace

With it being Holy Week, I've been thinking quite a bit about the Gospel - the good news about the Person and Work of Jesus.

I think one of the most powerful gospel statements in all of scripture came from Jesus' own lips just before he died on the cross: "It is finished", from John 19:30.  The reason I find this so powerful is because it puts to death all things that reek of religion - meaning, all these things that people feel they must do to be right with God and hopefully go to heaven some day.  When Jesus said "It is finished", He meant it. There is no more work for us to do - Jesus has done it all.

What we're talking about here is grace.  In His limitless love, God gives us grace by giving us His Son to be all that we can't, do all that we are unable, and pay for the debt we owe.  And according to passages like Romans 5 and Ephesians 2, this grace is free - it's simply offered to us.  We receive it by having faith (Romans 5:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-9).

A lot of "Christians" that I know reject God's grace, although they may not be aware that they are doing so.  How do they do this?  Here's a short list:

-They are unforgiving.

-They are judgmental.

-They serve with an underlying sense of guilt.

-They barely, or rarely, give.

-They over-emphasize tradition and ritual.

-They believe that it takes a long time to change.

-They constantly criticize others and gossip.

-They feel like they always have to pay back a kind deed done to them.

-They feel like they never read enough of their bibles, pray enough, serve enough, or attend enough bible studies or church services.

-They feel and act responsible to fix themselves or other people's problems.

That's just my short list...but I think it hits the biggies.  Part of this is a cultural thing where we "pay to play", and part of this is a human condition thing and collateral damage of our sin nature.  And honestly, grace is so amazing, so incomprehensible, so foreign that we mostly don't really believe it.  We may believe it for salvation, but we don't believe it for sanctification (our daily lives as we grow more like Christ).

What does a life marked by grace looke like?  If you really believe in God's grace to both save you and grow you, what would your life look like?  Here's another short list:

-Loving

-Forgiving

-Joyful

-Hopeful

-Generous

-Hospitable

-Transformational

-Peaceful

Quite a different list, huh? If you sit and read and think something along the lines of "I wish" or "I could never" or "That would be too hard" or "That's not reality", I would challenge you if you really believe God's grace or perhaps believe the Gospel at all.

Because here's the deal: if God hadn't designed or desired us to live in His grace, Jesus never would have come, he would have never lived the life he did, taught the things he taught, suffered the way he suffered, died the way he died, or rose from the dead.  It never would have happened.  Nothing would be finished.  The work would still be on-going.

But that's not the case.  Jesus came, lived, loved, died, and rose again.  We have a cross to reflect on this Friday and an empty tomb to celebrate on Sunday.  By faith we have a new identity as His children. We have been given a community to live in called the church. We are part of a grace-filled kingdom where Jesus reigns and is sovereign.

We have grace that is sufficient.

A Sabbath from Sabbath

Vacation is supposed to be relaxing and rejuvenating, right?  Not necessarily so.  We've been in and out over the last few weeks with multiple-day trips to both Michigan and then Wisconsin.  We piled our 5 kids (ages 9 1/2 months-11 yrs) into our van complete with cartop carrier and have spent nearly 30 hours in said vehicle, counting all the running around at our desitination places.  On top of this is lots of time and conversation (some pretty intense) with friends and family, staying up late, playing Wii, a few sleepless nights for me, getting caught in a snowstorm with only windbreakers, fast food, still preaching a couple times & counselling in the midst of all this, and finding a dead bird in our basement upon our arrival back home.

Did we have a lot of fun?  You bet we did.  It was a blast and the kids were great.

Are we dogged tired?  You bet we are.

So I've been reflecting on how to properly rest.  God is pretty clear in both commanding and exampling "Sabbath" - a time for rest, reflection, & enjoyment of His goodness and blessings in our lives.  But you either Sabbath well or poorly.

Poor Sabbath is inconsistant (or doesn't ever happen), unplanned, unprepared for, busy (vocational work is just replaced by chores & errands), and plugged in (still on voicemail, email, TXT, Twitter, Facebook, etc.).  Coming back from a poor Sabbath finds you tense, exhausted, and edgy.  I am currently guilty of poor Sabbath right now.

To Sabbath well is have a consistent weekly, quarterly, and annual times of rest.  They planned and prepared for, so surprises are minimized and responsibilities are taken care of.  While you still may enjoy hobbies (gardening, reading, cooking, hiking, etc.), you take break from your vocational work as well as regular chores.  Also, in our information-laden, technological, socially-networked culture, the importance of "unplugging" is paramount.  One of the bright spots of my vacation last week was that for most of the time I had no cell phone signal.  It was liberating.

So, now I'm back from vacation suffering the natural consequences of not Sabbathing well.  I have some repenting to do and some rest to catch up on.  Please learn on my dime and make a point to really Sabbath well.

The One True Story

Yesterday was a great worship gathering for Delta.  One thing that made it so good was that we celebrated God's Story, and how our stories graciously fit into His.

Stories are something that people need.  Stories offer us hope, allow us to dream, and they expand our world.  But there is One True Story above all other stories...the story of God and his redeeming love.  With the help of my friend James Harleman, I outlined for Delta God's One True Story and how we are a part of it.

The Continuum of God’s One True Story – 11 Acts

Act 1: Creation – “In the beginning God…” Genesis 1:1 

Acts 2: Contravention – “Did God actually say…?” Genesis 3:1

Act 3: Condemnation – “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great…” Genesis 6:5

Act 4: Compassion – “The LORD came… “Fear not…I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” – Genesis 15:1

Act 5: Coming – “For unto you is born this day…a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:11

Act 6: Crucifixion – “It is finished…and gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30

Act 7: Conversion – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Act 8: Commission – “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ…” – 2 Corinthians 5:20

Act 9: Convergence – “…every knee should bow…every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” – Philippians 2:10-11

Act 10: Conflagration – “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire…” – Revelation 20:10

Act 11: Conclusion – “And night will be no more…the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 22:5

Most people in the world are stuck somewhere in Acts 2 & 3...lost in the consequence of sin and experiencing the pain, confusion, and dysfunction that go along with it.  Acts 4-6 are a distant hope and dream for them.

Most Christians tend to get stuck on Act 7 and pray that tomorrow brings Act 11.  But the Church is called to "flex its muscles" in Acts 8 & 9, bringing God's One True Story to the culture full of lost, hurt, confused, dysfuctional, dying people.  This is exactly why Delta exists: to point people to the Hero by telling our stories of how the Hero has rescued us.

Enjoy God's One True Story.  Know that your life is a story as well, but that Jesus is the Hero & main character, not you.  See your story in His, and be sure to tell someone about it.  Someone is waiting to hear it.

Wearing my Heart on My Sleeve

If you've hung around Delta more than few weeks or have listened to more than 3-4 of my sermons, you know that I can be a pretty emotive guy - whether it's getting a little loud and sounding like an old-school bible-thumper or whether it's preaching through tears.

One of the tear moments came yesterday.  Now, just so the record's clear, I'm a dude (and a big one at that, being 6'3" and 275lbs), I watch a lot of football, eat chicken wings, enjoy an occasional red lager, and have Metallica's S&M on my iPod (and actually listen to it!).  So what's up with the crying?

Biblically, dudes like Abraham, Joseph, David, Job, Jeremiah, Paul, the Ephesian Elders, and Jesus Himself are recorded as ones who weeped over things that moved their soul or in lament over their sin or the sin of their people.  But what about me?

As I've thought about this, there are 2 main categories that consistently bring me to tears:

1) God's grace.  I don't understand it...never will.  All I do understand is how unbelievable jacked up and sinful I am, yet God in his mercy has chosen to love me and make me His child.  When I preach on texts that bring this theme up, I'm honestly thinking of the Gospel in my own life and I get overwhelmed by it.

2) People I love.  Particularly: my family, my close friends, and the people in my church.  My tears come from how deeply I care for them and how desperately I want to the Gospel to be vividly alive in their lives.  My natural personality lends me to come off as a little hard, but truth be told, my heart melts for people.

There have been times when I've taught (for a few years, actually) and tears never came.  But those were the times when I was either a) not following Jesus very closely, or b) more concerned with  projecting an image that was expected of me.  That's just not worth, because I wasn't authentic, and being authentic is really important for me.

I once heard Mike Yaconelli (former president of Youth Specialties, who is now with Jesus) say at a conference, "When you are close to Jesus, you tend to cry more." I resonated with that.  The closer I'm walking with Jesus, the more I'm in tune with his heart, the softer mine is.  This may not be true for everybody, and that's OK; but it rings true for me.

God has created you with a full range of emotions - just like He has.  If you intentionally suppress them or handle them in an inappropriate way, that could lead you to sin.  But more than anything, be comfortable with how Jesus has made you and love him with everything that you are.

Values

So we've started this new series at Delta called "V6" that's talking about our 6 Values as a church: love, family, story, feasting, blessing, and missional living.  Ideally, every evangelical church would say that they're about the "Great Commission" and "Great Commandment" (ie., making disciples & growing disciples - although whether or not they actually do that is another thing entirely).  But what makes a local church unique?  It comes down to the values they live out.

Think about it.  A lot of churches value money or attendance or a good show.  Some value history and tradition (more than biblical faithfulness, unfortunately).  Some just value survival.  But aside from theological or ecclesiastical differences, it's the values that sets a church apart.

Have you thought about your personal or family values?  What makes you unique in how you live your life?  Are your values grown out of who God is and what His Word says, or simply out of your preferences?  I encourage you to take some time to define what your main 3-6 values are and where they come from.  Compare them to God and His Word.

Want a couple verses that highlight a few of God's values?  Check these out: Hosea 6:6 (quoted a few times by Jesus) and Micah 6:8.

Good Sex Wrap Up

Yesterday, I finished up a 4-part series at Delta called "Good Sex Revolution."  The main point of the series was to champion a biblical view of our sexuality...mainly, that sex is something holy.

'Sex Is Holy' was the theme for the first week of the series.  In a culture where sex is cheap and truthfully, animalistic, when we look at what God has to say about sex we see that when you combine the God-design of sex, the longing of connection that sex illustrates, the intense pleasure that sex brings, and the celebration and creation of life that sex produces, you get something...holy.

In week 2, the title of "Foxes Aren't Sexy."  In Song of Solomon chapter 2, Solomon's Love urges him to "catch the foxes" - those things that can enter our lives, relationships, and sexuality that brings ruin.  We identified 3 breeds of foxes: selfishness, fear, and immorality.  We also discovered how God's pure love shown to us through Jesus is the only thing that can really kill a fox.

The third week was specifically given our singles - "It's Sexy Being Single."  The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 paints a big, beautiful picture for single people; communicating that a single person has the opportunity to have "undivided devotion to the Lord" that married people don't have.  Singleness, then, is actually a tremendous gift to take enjoyment in and advantage of.

In the final week, our playful title was "Married People Should Have Sex."  We spoke of what marriage is, and how sex is to be enjoyed in a marriage covenant.  Again, Solomon and his Love gave us a great example of an erotic, loving, marriage steeped in sexuality as they mutually and selflessly gave themselves to each other to fully enjoy - freely and frequently!

Needless to say, the Good Sex Revolution sparked some interest in people and thankfully, gave people a biblical vision for how great the gift of sex is.  Even though the series is now over, I believe that the Good Sex Revolution is actually just beginning!

Missed a week?  Want to listen to previous sermon?  Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes!

What is the Kingdom of God?

"Kingdoms" aren't something that we in the West really understand.  In fact, fleeing from a kingdom is what got our country started in the first place.  But throughout history, monarchys were commonplace.  When Jesus began his public ministry, one of his more famous lines was "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17 - side note: "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" are interchangable).

Here are some basics about kingdoms:

1) Kingdoms have Kings.  The King soveriegnly rules over his kingdom.  His word is law.  He establishes the way of life for people.

2) Kingdoms have subjects.  Subjects are the people who live in the kingdom.  While they are ruled over soveriegnly, the subjects still have the choice to follow and obey the king.  Disobedience leads to consequences and discipline.

3) Kingdoms have a certain way of life.  As stated earlier, this is set by the king.  If the king is harsh, the way of life will be oppressed (think about the king from the movie "Braveheart").  If the king is kind, the way of life will be joyful (think "Camelot" and King Arthur).

Now, regarding God, scripture is clear that He is the sovereign King over all creation (Psalm 103:19; 2 Samuel 7:28; 1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Philippians 2:10-11; Colossians 1:15-20; Revelation 1:5).  When Jesus came to earth and began His ministry, by Him proclaiming that the "kingdom of God (heaven) has come near", he's in essence saying that for the first time in history, people will actually be able to see how the Kingdom of God was meant to be lived out.  This "kingdom living" was taught by Jesus in his most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7.  Basically, Jesus teaches us and models for us how kingdom living upside-down from the way the secular world lives, and upside-down from how legalistic religous people live.  Jesus continually says that the condition of a person's heart is what truly matters, for from  the heart is where the motivation for living comes from.

So, in "kingdom living", the following are markers:

-Jesus is King.  He is who we follow, submit to, and seek to become like.

-Rules are followed for rules' sake, but for the sake of love for the King.

-People aren't viewed as objects or means to an end, but are valued for their being made in the image of God.

-Sex & Marriage aren't treated lightly or selfishly, but held in honor.

-Love and Charity aren't acts demanding recognition or fuel for future favors, but given freely and joyfully for the benefit of God and other people.

-Money & Work aren't the source for identity and success, but money is viewed as a tool to expand God's kingdom and to be given away freely...work becomes the means by which we reflect God's image and influence our world for the Kingdom.

The list can go on.  But the point is that the Kingdom of God is different than the kingdom of man, for the main fuel for living in the Kingdom of God is love for the King, not getting ahead of others in the kingdom.

And one last note...the Kingdom of God, one day, will be very tangible.  Revelation 21 shows us that when Jesus returns and once and for all does away with all sin, death, & suffering, there will be a new city christened - New Jerusalem.  God Himself will reside there, along with His followers, in His direct presence.  We will feast with all the saints of history at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we will see Him face to face.

What Is Salvation?

What do people get "saved" from?  Usually life-threatening situations.  Lifeguards have jobs because people who don't swim well begin to drown and need saving.  Firemen regularly rush into burning buildings to save people.  The issue that makes "salvation" difficult for people is that most people don't see that their lives are in danger.

What we need to be saved from is sin (please refer to my previous post on What Is Sin?).  What is the effect of sin though?  According to Romans, sin causes death - not necessarily the stop breathing, no brain waves type of death; but spiritual death...being eternally separated from the presence of God and spending eternity in anguish and regret.  Not exactly a nice walk in the park on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Too often, salvation gets reduced to banking on some kind of spiritual/church heritage of your family, praying some prayer as a kid because the pastor freaked you out because he told you about Hell and you didn't want to go there, or raising your hand and walking some aisle during a church service because you ended up having some spiritually charged emotional experience.

So what exactly is salvation?  The first thing we need to start with is God.  Salvation starts (and ends) with Him.  Jonah 2:9 declares clearly that "Salvation belongs to God."  Jesus plainly said in Luke 19:20 that his mission was to "seek and save the lost." Paul writes to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 2 that Christ "made us alive in Him" and "raised us up and seated us with Him" and saved us "by His grace"; and to make sure we get the point, Paul also writes "And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God."  The point is that we need to understand that it is God who saves sinners.  It is God who makes spiritually dead people spiritually alive.

Theologically, there are 3 aspects to our salvation:

1) We are justified.  Being justified has to do with our standing before God.  Because of Jesus' finished work on the cross and our faith in the Person and Work of Jesus, we can stand before God holy - cleansed of our sin.  This is a one-time event that only God does.  Here are some key verses: Romans 3:24, 28, 5:1; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 2:16.

2) We are sanctified.  Sanctification is basically the process of becoming more and more like Jesus in our daily lives.  It means a transformation of our thoughts, actions, and attitudes.  This is the part of salvation where we partner with God.  Through our response to mercy and our obedience we become more and more sanctified.  Some key verses are: John 17:17; Hebrews 10:14; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:12-13.

3) We will be glorified. This is the final piece of our salvation process...when we are finally rid of all the terrible consequences of sin.  This is when we are given our resurrection bodies (like Jesus had upon this resurrection) and will live forever in joy in the presence of God in heaven.  Some key verses are: Romans 8:15-30; 1 Corinthians 15; Colossians 1:27, 3:4.

So here's the honest truth about salvation: it's living in tension.  It's living in the "already/not yet".  It's trusting that God has saved you and that you stand blameless before Him because of Jesus.  It's working with God in becoming more like Jesus.  It's hoping that all that is wrong in you and in the world will be righted one day.

But the bottom line: it is initiated by God, made possible because of God, and brought to completion by the power, goodness, and faithfulness of God.

What is Sin?

Sin is something that's amazingly popular.  It's the one thing that everybody on the planet participates in.  Even the people who don't recognize or follow any particular religion or faith system believe in sin, as the popular phrase "Nobody's perfect" is what's used when someone says, thinks, or does something not right.

Now there are some static, linear definitions of sin like "missing the mark" or "falling short of God's perfect standard" or "anything you think, say, do, or attitude you possess that isn't what God has prescribed."  All of those are absolutely true.  They are fine definitions.  But they also fall terribly short themselves, and do not speak to the depth of sin in our lives.  The problem with linear definitions is that they reek of religious moralism.  Sin just becomes a check list to avoid.  And when you avoid the negative checklist, it's just too easy to compare yourself to others and see how much better off you are than they, and you become self-righteous which is a form of pride.  Which is sin.  Perhaps the most dangerous one.

So how do we understand sin on a deeper level?  In Tim Keller's book "The Prodigal God," he unpacks the parable commonly known as the Prodigal Son from Luke 15.  The younger brother in the parable is the poster-child for a rebellious sinner.  The older brother is the steadfast, hardworking son.  But at the end of the parable, it's the older brother who finds himself not enjoying the Father (note the capital "F") and the rebellious younger brother is restored back into the family.

The lesson? Sin is more than just breaking the rules like the younger brother.  Sin also includes using our morality and obedience to get the things we want - like control over God (like "foxhole prayers" - God, if you just get me out of this, I'll sell all my stuff and be a missionary to deepest, darkest Africa).  So, as Keller puts it, sin is really putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge.  We do this both through our rebellion and through our moralistic obedience.

The bottom line?  Sin is idolatry.  The idolatry of ourselves.