The Real Hope of the Resurrection

This past Sunday was Easter, the most important day of the year for Christians. It marks the day that Jesus rose from the dead, forever defeating death. While it doesn't get the press that Christmas does, it is certainly more important. For some perspective, if you take away the accounts of Jesus' birth, you lose about 4 chapters in the bible. But if you take away the death and resurrection of Jesus, you lose the entire meaning of the New Testament, in addition to the last 2000 years of history! Here are some things that we know about Jesus' resurrection, according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-11:

It is the most fundamental truth of the Christian faith (v. 1-3a). Paul is reminding them of the gospel - the good news that God has graciously saved sinners. The resurrection is of "first importance."

It is upholds the truth of the bible (v. 3b-4). Everything about the Jesus' death, burial, & resurrection is supported by scripture. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 speak most directly to Jesus as the "suffering servant." Psalm 16:9-10 echoes the resurrection. But a deeper echo of the resurrection I believe is found in Genesis 1-2 where we see God as Creator. For what does God create? He creates life, not death, which led Jesus to teach himself on the resurrection in light of God being "The God of the living" (Mark 12:26-27). Interestingly, the Jews didn't expect the Messiah to resurrect. They only believed in a corporate resurrection, not an individual one. So when Jesus resurrected, that actually cemented his claim as the True Messiah in a day when there were many so-called "messiahs' who would get caught & killed...and stay dead.

It is an historical fact (v. 5-8). There were hundreds of witnesses that Paul mentions here that he is begging the Corinthians to talk to in order to check out his story about Jesus. 1 Corinthians (along with Philippians and Colossians which contain some early creedal hymns about Jesus' deity) predates the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, & Luke by a decade and John by two decades. 1 Corinthians was a public document meant to be distributed and read. By going so public with Jesus' resurrection, it underlines the truth of the event. And, there is simply no other way to explain the transformation of people's lives, the explosive growth of the church, and the impact on the history of mankind if the resurrection never happened.

The core of the resurrection is grace (v. 9-11). At the heart of the resurrection is a loving God who did what we were unable to: rescue us from our sin. Sin leaves us powerless. We can't work hard enough, do enough good things, serve or give enough, be kind enough, etc to be connected to God and have the promise of heaven. So God decided out of love to show his lost children grace - giving them a blessing they did nothing to deserve. Jesus took all of our punishment and penalty for sin on the cross and then defeated death by his resurrection. That grace is what then motivates us to work, give, serve, and do good. All we're asked to do is believe it (v. 11).

I pray that you believe the truth of Jesus' resurrection. Because if (or should I say since) the resurrection is true, then everything changes. You can have real hope. You can have real healing. You can experience true transformation. If you do not have this faith in Jesus, or if your faith is struggling, all you need to do is ask God to give you faith to trust in His grace that He gave us in Jesus through his death, burial, & resurrection - the fundamental truth of the Christian faith.

Killing the Religious Idol

The last post dealt with the types and symptoms of religious idolatry. I want to be clear that I don't believe that religion in and of itself is bad. Religion can be a good and beautiful thing, as long as it's kept in its proper context. Formal religion (liturgies, creeds, systems, structures, denominations, etc) is simply a tool to help us know Jesus and grow in our faith. We are finite, linear creatures that need structure, even in our spirituality - thus, religion comes into play. God himself is the author of this, when he first gave Moses the law.

But where everything gets jacked up is when people put too much stock into the form of religion and not the object of religion, namely Jesus. The result is a heavy, weighed down, performance-driven life that doesn't free people to love God, but enslaves people and puts fear into them, because if they don't "do things right", they will no longer be acceptable to God (nor the religious community).

How can this religious idol be killed? The answer is one word: faith.

We see this in verses 13-14 of 1 Corinthians 10. Verse 13 is an oft-quoted verse about being able to get out of a sticky situation where you'll be tempted to sin. But what we need to keep in mind is the context of the verse. Paul exposes the religious idol in verses 1-12, and then writes the refrain in verse 14 "Therefore my beloved, flee from idolatry." The context is of utmost importance.

Here's what's going on, I believe: at the heart of religion is our efforts to be acceptable to God and be about his work. It's basically what we "do." And I will propose that this is the default of the human heart, particularly in American culture. If we want something done, we need to do ourselves. We believe that if we work hard enough, we can accomplish anything. People really, really believe these statement. And since they really, really believe them, they really don't need God to do anything for them. They can do it themselves. Enter the religious idol. The "temptation common to man" is the temptation to depend on moralistic, legalistic, religious effort and performance to be acceptable to God.

The point of verse 13 is that we may be able to endure the temptation (or "testing", which is the root word). If we always had a tangible "escape" from all testing, the result would be an extremely weak faith. Think of it like lifting weights. You strain (or test) your muscles in order for them to grow and get stronger. Same with your faith. The only way for your faith to grow is for it to be tested. And every time you are able to endure a testing of your faith, you can endure a greater testing the next time. And what's more, as a Christian you have the ability to endure any temptation. Why? Because as a Christian you have the Holy Spirit - God Himself - dwelling inside of you. And nothing is too great for God!

So what is the way of escape then? It's the exercising of your faith. Sometimes the "escape" we need is simply to wait on God and let Him be God. When you find yourself in an apparently overwhelming situation, don't look to act right away; pray and wait on Jesus. (what I don't mean is intentionally putting yourself in a sinful situation - sometime you do need to flee like Joseph did from Potiphar's wife; I'm just saying that's not exactly what this particular passage is talking about). But if you try to do God's job for him simply because you refuse to wait on Him, then you will fall into religious idolatry; just like the Israelites did with the golden calf in Exodus 32 (they stopped waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, so they took things into their own hands, and paid a dear price for their idolatry).

So in order to fully kill the religious idol, we must first keep religion in its proper place and remember that it is a tool to help us connect to God and grow in Him. Secondly, we must exercise faith in Jesus when we feel tempted to simply get something done on our own. We need to remind ourselves that through our faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross, are we fully accepted by God. And as we wait upon the Lord, we will find our faith strengthened and will experience a very real reality of God in our lives, and will experience much joy and give much glory to God.

Biblical Marriage

There's lots of debate on marriage these days. Even though the permanency of marriage isn't valued very much, most people will get married. So what does the bible say about marriage? Here's few quick bullet points:

• It is not good to be alone (unmarried) (Genesis 2:18)
• We are made to marry (Matthew 19:4-6)
• Marriage is honorable (Hebrews 13:4)
• Prohibiting marriage is demonic (1 Timothy 4:1-3)
• Finding a wife is finding a good thing (Proverbs 18:22)
• Married people make the most ideal leaders (1 Timothy 3:1-12)

The bible is a very "pro-marriage" book because God is a "pro-marriage" God. Marriage is God's idea and creation for our good and His glory. Biblical marriage is a covenant - a God-ordained special promise that is witnessed, ratified, consummated, and remembered. Because of this, marriage is to be honored, respected, treated with dignity, and not gone into lightly.

We then have to ask what the purpose of marriage is. The best place to go to is Ephesians 5:31-32. The Apostle Paul makes a clear connection between marriage and Christ's relationship with the Church. CJ Mahaney defines the purpose of marriage as this: "Marriage between a man and a woman is meant to reflect the relationship between Christ and the Church.” This means two main things:

• Marriage is to be God-centered. Marriage should not be centered on a spouse, a child, or a perceived need (comfort, sexual fulfillment, possessions, lifestyle).
• Marriage is not about our happiness, but is for our holiness. No other relationship will confront selfishness and idolatry like marriage does. God's intention is for the marriage relationship to make his followers more holy and like His Son Jesus.

But what about things like romance, love, and sex? Where do they fit into the marriage conversation? Those things are very important! God gave us an entire book in the bible called The Song of Solomon to illustrate how important love, romance, and sex are in a marriage. But those are just not ultimate things about marriage. Marriage is "deep waters". And only when the "deep waters" of marriage are begun to be understood should a man and a woman humbly enter such a wonderful, sacred relationship.

Next up: Sex & Marriage

What are Gospel Relationships?

Have you ever wrestled with the question (as Christians), why are we here? Not individually, but corporately. What is the purpose of this community called the church?

Many times, the answer comes from bible verses like Genesis 2:18 (it's not good for man to be alone), or Psalm 133:1 (good for brothers to dwell in unity), or Proverbs 27:17 (iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another). While all these things are fully true, to simply define the purpose of community as a cure to my loneliness, my need for camaraderie, or my personal growth is just shallow and selfish (notice all the "my's"). Don't you think God wants something deeper and bigger for his church?

Of course he does. One passage we can look to is 1 Peter 2:9. We see that God has indeed made for himself a people, and that his people are to proclaim the excellencies of God. So what we see right away is that community is first and foremost God's (not ours) and that the purpose of community is to share the gospel. I think this is the point to where the best descriptor of community is "gospel relationships." Looking at community through a gospel lens points us vertically toward God and horizontally out to people, not for the purpose of getting our needs met, but giving the gospel to those who need it.

But what about the real needs that you and I have? This is where it gets beautiful. When we fully live for God's glory and live on mission for the gospel, along the way our needs get met. Our loneliness is cured as we are on mission with other. Our camaraderie is met as we have a deep common goal. Our personal growth happens as others sharpen and encourage us along the journey. It truly is the best of both worlds!

Community - gospel relationships - are interconnected to mission. You can't fully have community without mission, and you can't fully have mission without community. This is what we see littered all throughout scripture, in particular the new testament. People on mission together in community enjoying God Himself and the benefits of each other.

Next up: Practicing Gospel Relationships

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.

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.

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!

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Happy Missional Halloween!

Here we are yet another Halloween.  All of the horror/monster movies are moved to the front of the video stores, ungodly amounts of candy are being bought, and parents are freaking out about their kid's costumes (my kids choice in costumes this year: Wednesday Addams (Hannah), an Angel (Ellie), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Aiden, or as we call him 'Obi-Wan KeMobley'), a Zebra (Rachel), and a Chili Pepper (Lydia).

Some parents and churches don't like this holiday.  They believe that it's "of the devil" so they either don't do anything with it (no candy, no costumes) or they come up with some silly "Christian alternative" like a Fall Festival where they basically do Halloween, but only with other Christians and they outlaw costumes that have to do with witches, monsters, or people beheaded by guillotine.

Here's my take on Halloween.

I would venture to say (by experience) that the vast majority of people who celebrate Halloween don't know and don't care about it's origin - it's simply the "dress up and get candy day".  Is the origin of Halloween important enough to abstain from it?  I don't think so.  You can argue that the time of year and traditions that surround Christmas and Easter have pagan roots.

Think about the major holidays in our country: Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, 4th of July.  Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving are very family-focused events, and rightly so.  On the 4th of July, we see friends gathering together for BBQ's and communities gathering for parades and carnivals.  I guess you can even throw in St. Patrick's Day, where communities gather for parades and public drunkeness.  But there's something unique about Halloween: it's the only holiday where people in your neighborhood open up their homes to each other!  Families en mass are walking the streets of your neighborhood, kids are running and laughing, and people are greeting each other.  The opportunities for showing hospitality are incredible!

My suggestion on celebrating Halloween is this: just get over the "evilness" of it and use it as an opportunity to get to know your neighbors.  Have some fun, dress up, and hit the streets!  If your kids are older or you don't have any kids, turn on the porch light, make some hot chocolate for cold parents, stock up on the chocolate (if you want to be really popular, give out full-size candy bars!), and meet people.  Strike up conversations.  Talk with parents and tell them how cute their kids are (because they really are!).  Make Halloween a missional event in your neighborhood.  Once you're introduced to people, look for them as they're out and say "hi".  Send them a Christmas card.  Maybe host a block party or community BBQ when the weather warms up. Don't miss this opportunity to show some hospitality, love on your neighborhood, and build some bridges with people who need Jesus.

Behind the Miracles

Just like there's a story behind every song, there's a meaning behind every miracle. In John's gospel, he records 7 miracles of Jesus. But these miralces aren't to just show off how powerful Jesus is; no, they clearly tell us what man's disposition is apart from Jesus and how only Jesus redeems that disposition. Check them out:

John 2:3 “They have no wine” tells us about man being void of Divine Joy.

John 4:46 “the nobleman’s son was sick” tells us the condition of the sinner’s soul.

John 5:7 “the paralyzed man” tells us the sinner is helpless and unable to make himself well.

John 6:5 “the multitude without food of their own” tells us the man without Christ does not have in His own possession that which gives him strength.

John 6:18 “the stormy sea” tells us the dangerous position of the sinner before Christ comes to him.

John 9:1 “the man born blind” tells us the inability of man to see their own condition and see Jesus without Jesus first opening their eyes.

John 11:14, we see that Lazarus, Jesus’ friend is dead…showing us the most frightening thing about man apart from Christ…we are dead as Ephesians 2:1 says that outside of Christ we are “dead in our trespasses and sins”. Only Jesus can breathe life into a dead soul

*Thanks to David Fairchild of Kaleo Church for some help on this.