Jesus Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Q: When will Jesus come back?

A: When the time is right.

Trinitarian Life

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

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

Communal – specifically, family community

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

Loving

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

Transparent

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

Complementary

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

Worship

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

Eternal

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

Sabbath

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Practical Benefit: Relaxation

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

Spiritual Benefit: Increased trust

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

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

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

Missional Benefit: Witness

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

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

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

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

There are 3 primary ways on how to Sabbath:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Glorifying God & the Economic Stimulus

The first round of auto-deposits for the electronic stimulus went out today. What are we to do with this "free" money? Buy a TV? Put a down payment on a car? Get some new furniture?

Here's my challenge to you all: think first of how you can glorify God, help others, and then see what's left for yourself.

We are given physical resources like money to be stewards of. Everything belongs to God...everything. So the stuff we have is really His, and we're just to manage it well...for His glory, not ours. Here are some suggestions for your "economic stimulus":

1. Tithe off of it. Give God the firstfruits. Since this is not regular income from you job, really make a point to give at least 10%.

2. Help someone in need. There are some in the body of Delta who have been without work, and some going on short-term mission trips this summer...think of how you could bless somebody! There are also many needs in our city in regards to the poor, abused, marginalized, etc.

3. Pay down some of your debt. It's real tempting to go and buy something new, but if you're sitting on some consumer debt that is preventing you from being a better steward, use this opportunity to pay the debt down or eliminate it if possible.

4. Save some. Don't blow all of it! Put some away or invest it. By doing this you'll be able to weather a rough time that may be in your future, or you'll be able to bless somebody when they really need it.

5. Have a little fun with it. There's no harm in using some of this to bless your family, friends, or others with a nice meal out, some small gifts for the kids, or beautifying your home a little. I would encourage you to not just spend it on yourself, though. Whatever fun you may have, include others so it becomes an act of love to build community.

Let's keep our eye on the ball of God's glory and look for ways to be a blessing.

Authentic Worship

Over the last couple weeks at Delta, we've looked at John 4 and Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. The overall theme to the passage is the idea of "authentic worship". The first half (verses 1-26) speaks of what authentic worship is. The second half (verses 27-42) speaks of what authentic worship does. A summary of this entire passage could be stated as: "Authentic worship leads to spiritual transformation in us and others." I've broken this down into 6 action points for authentic worshippers:

1. Authentic worshippers see value in all people. All outward appearances (looks, race, culture, gender, socio-economic status, etc.) take a back seat to the status of a person's heart.

2. Authentic worshippers speak truth without judgment and condemnation. Sin isn't to be sugar-coated; but it is to be dealth with truthfully, undergirded with a spirit of love.

3. Authentic worshippers share their story. Everyone has a story, and our stories will help draw people into relationship with Jesus. We need to see our stories as part of God's Grand Story.

4. Authentic worshippers find satisfaction and fulfillment in joining God in His work. We need to fight against laziness and apathy, and limiting our "work" to clocking time in a specific ministry. We join God in His work as we engage the lost and share the Gospel.

5. Authentic worshippers create margin in their lives to see spiritual needs and meet them. If our schedules, our emotions, and our checkbooks are constantly maxed out, we have nothing to give to others when opportunities arise. We need to create space in our lives to give us room to love others.

6. Authentic worshippers seek to dismantle barriers between the disconnected and the Gospel through living lives of love. Prejudices, sinful backgrounds, culture, worldview, activities, relationships, attitudes, etc. can all be in the way of a person and the Gospel. We need to work hard at helping people overcome those barriers.

May we all become authentic worshippers.

Springfield is officially Nineveh!

http://sj-r.com/News/stories/28691.asp

http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=jonah+4%3A11

We may not have much cattle, but we sure do have corn.

Things have changed

The family and I are in Memphis doing a little vacationing/homeschool learning adventure. We arrived today and our first stop was the National Civil Rights Museum. The NCRM located at The Lorrain Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King was shot 25 years ago. The museum was an amazing journey through the history of slavery, segregation, integration and equal rights. I was thinking how the difficulties with integration was a factor in my family moving from South Carolina to Chicago in 1974, as my older brothers during their school years dealt with the difficult reality of segregation & integration in the South during that time. And honestly, I hate to say this, but having many family members still in the "old South", there is still a wide gap between blacks and whites.

But there is hope, and things have changed, thanks much to modern-day heroes like Rosa Parks and Dr. MLK.

Today, as we were in the Civil Rights museum, my 2 year old son Aiden got my attention and said "Daddy, look! There's a baby...I'm going to go kiss her." (This is not uncommon, since Aiden has a 1 year old baby sister). But Aiden walked over to a beautiful little black girl, who was around 1 or so like his sister, bent down, and gently kissed her on her cheek. I looked at the little girl's parents and smiled, and they did the same.

Being in Memphis, on the spot where Dr. King was shot, and seeing my very white son treat a little black girl just like he would his sister, brought Dr. King's vision of a day when his children wouldn't get judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Things have changed...for the better. Thanks, Dr.

Red? Blue? What's a Christian to do?

Have you ever seen a presidential race like the one we're in? Never before has religion, race, gender, war, and economy been such hot issues...and we're talking about the candidates themselves! So, how is a Christ-follower to vote? What is the proper criteria?

I have a couple thoughts, and they're not very conservative by traditional standards. For the first time in my life, I'm really trying to ignore candidates positions on issues like abortion & homosexuality. Now, let me clarify: I have strong positions on these issues. I believe in the sanctity of life from the point of conception and I believe that homosexuality and same-sex marriage is not God's design, and practicing them is sin. But I do not think that those are "make-or-break" issues for the leader of our country.

I firmly believe that government is powerless to legislate morality & issues of the heart. Making a law against abortion will not stop abortion, for example. I believe when it comes to our government leaders, we need to strongly look at leadership in the economic, military, education, social welfare, and foreign diplomacy realms. The issues of morality are beyond the lawmakers. Instead, I think that Christians and the Church in general need to step up more and actually begin living out the Gospel with their fellow man. Because the Church has failed to engage and influence society as God intended, people are now looking to government to lead them morally, and that's not their place.

So this is really a call for Christians to actually live like it and bring the Gospel to people, allowing Jesus to change a person's heart when it comes to issues like love, mercy, protecting life, and living out our relationships as God has designed. This may all sound too idealistic, but it sure feels like what Jesus had in mind. We do not live in a Christian nation, and the only way to live in a Christian nation is to make more Christians; not trying to pass laws influenced by Christianity.

Here's a good blog that gives a good outline on how to engage in politics as a Christ-follower without selling your soul out to any particular political party: http://www.smartchristian.com/?p=5535

How to go to church

A couple weeks ago I preached on John 2:12-25, where Jesus whips some lazy worshippers and extortionists into shape and cleans up the Temple. I took some time at the end of that sermon to show how you can best prepare yourself to come to a worship gathering.

Don’t blow it off – Hebrew 10:24-25
Scripture tells us to be intentional about gathering for worship so we can encourage each other and motivate each other to live lives that actively love others. As a Christ-follower, it is a sin to not regularly participate in a local body. We are created as inter-dependant beings who need each other (cf. Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4).

Right motivation – Psalm 122:1
Come not out of guilt or selfish gain, but come expecting to meet God and to worship Him with your community of faith. Coming together to worship is a joyful occasion…you should look forward to it and you should be glad about it. If you are not glad about coming together to worship, you need to examine your heart, repent of sin, or reconcile a relationship.

Come hungry – Matthew 5:6
Come needing to be filled up with Jesus’ righteousness. All of our so-called “righteousness” are nothing but filthy rags to God. We need to come before him, both personally and corporately, hungry and thirsty for Jesus. If we don’t come hungry, we will become critical, judgmental, and unteachable; preventing ourselves from being blessed by God and by our community (much less blessing anybody else).

Bring your best gifts – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Come prepared to give to Jesus sacrificially and cheerfully. Every local church is dependant on the financial giving of her members and regular attenders to accomplish the vision and mission of ministry that God has given to that church. Ultimately, we give to God…and God deserves and demands our best gifts, not our leftovers. But our giving is a response to the great love that God has shown us through Jesus, so we are to give sacrificially (like Jesus sacrificed for us) and we are to give cheerfully (because we love Jesus so much).

Manage your time well – Numbers 9:2
Come well rested, unhurried, and prepared. Each worship gathering happens at an ‘appointed time’. You know when it’s coming, so we should prepare our selves not just spiritually, but also physically. If we go to a morning gathering, we need to make sure that we get proper sleep the night before (especially the kids!). Our mornings also need to begin early enough to where we aren’t rushed and getting to church 10 minutes late while we’re arguing with our spouse and dragging the kids behind. If you are serving in a ministry during a worship gathering (band, children, greeter, etc), make sure that you have reviewed, rehearsed, and prepared yourself to serve with the right attitude and spirit.

Use your talents – 1 Corinthians 12:7
Come ready to bless your community of faith with the talents, gifts, and abilities that God has given you. The whole point of our abilities, talents, and spiritual gifts are for the ‘common good’ – that is, to bless and minister to the entire body. Withholding your gifts does not honor God or your church; in fact, withholding your gifts hurts the body.

Engage the lost & disconnected – Luke 7:34
Come with a friend or ready to befriend someone who is spiritually disconnected and needing Jesus. Jesus was known as a friend of sinners. The reason Jesus came was to connect the disconnected and heal the “spiritually sick” (Mark 2:17). As we join Jesus’ mission, we actively befriend the lost and include them in our community of faith, praying that they would come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. The lost and disconnected are a vital part of the church, for they are the reason that the church exists.

Easy Bible Reading Plan for Dudes

So I was talking with a guy from church the other day about reading the Bible. He was very honest about not being a big reader and would rather be out hanging with friends. I totally get that this is where many guys are at. So, to not just excuse any spiritual laziness, here's a suggestion to help guys read their Bibles more:

Read in the bathroom.

Seriously. A guy's "bathroom schedule" is relatively predictable, and most guys read in the john...usually a magazine like ESPN, Car & Driver, or some porno. So guys, engage your brain and turn down the hormone-o-meter. Keep a Bible in your bathroom (but not the one you would bring to church, that's just nasty) and read the following:

1. Genesis 1-2. It's where everything begins, plus Adam's living in a Garden with a naked chick.

2. Genesis 19. Good ol' wrath of God stuff destroying Sodom & Gomorrah.

3. Genesis 29. How to win a woman's heart (hint: you have to work a long time for it).

4. Genesis 39. How to remain sexually pure and not sleep with every chick that comes on to you.

5. Exodus 14. Great story on the power of God (plus God wipes out an army).

6. Judges. Yes, the whole book. But it's story after story about war and battles.

7. 1 Samuel 17. The underdog wins big! (and the giant's head gets cut off, which is the best part of the story)

8. 2 Samuel 11 & 12. Learn the consequences of sexual sin.

9. 1 Kings 18. The One True God beats up on a false god.

10. Nehemiah. Learn how to lead with vision, and carry out that vision.

11. Psalm 1. Basic comparision of the godly and the ungodly.

12. Psalm 119. This shows the worth of scripture.

13. Proverbs. Practical wisdom for young men.

14. Daniel 3 & 6. How to show faith in God and have courage.

15. Luke. You gotta read about Jesus! Plus, good stuff on John the Baptizer, who Jesus said was the greatest man ever born.

16. Acts. How the church got started.

17. Mark. The shortest Gospel; you could read this in one bathroom visit.

18. 1 Corithians. Paul answers questions that the church in Corinth had about living the Christian life.

19. 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. An older guy mentoring a young leader.

20. James. This is how to actually live out the faith of a Christ-follower.

So, there you have it. The Bathroom Guy's Bible Reading List. The next step is to maybe print all this on a roll of toilet paper....hmmmmm...

Bunch of Bible Questions Part 3

Here are our next round of Bible questions. Today's grouping has to do with the Bible and the writings of other belief systems.

Q- How do we know the bible is the standard (the only authoritative Scripture) and not other writings (e.g., Qur'an, Hindu scriptures, etc.)? How should we look at things like the Book of Mormon that claim to be in alignment with the Bible and subsequent 'revelations from God'?

A- This is a classical postmodern, pluralistic question. We live in a time when the only real sin, according to our culture, is to stake your claim in one Truth. With so many other belief systems out there, especially some major ones like Islam, how can Christianity say that our scripture is the True Scripture?

It basically comes down to the issue that there are major contradictions between all of these holy books. Contradictions cannot be true on major belief points. It's like one person saying that George Washington was the first president of the U.S., and someone else saying that Thomas Jefferson was the first. Somebody's wrong here!

Norman Geisler, a leading Christian apologist and editor of "Who Made God?", writes the following:

"If the Bible declares that Jesus died on the cross and rose bodily from the dead three days later (1 Corinthians 15:1-6), and the Qur'an teaches that he did not (Sura 4:157), both cannot be true on such a crucial teaching. If the writings of Joseph Smith teach that there are many gods (in his Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible as well as the Mormon books of Moses and Abraham), and the bible declares that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4), then both of these writings cannot be true."

Other belief systems may indeed teach things are true (for example, the "Golden Rule" is found in some form in nearly every belief system), but where they differ from the bible, then they are false.

The bottom line is truly found in the fact that the Bible continually gets affirmed in its teachings throughout history, that it does indeed transform people's lives, and that it implores people to live selfless lives of love, not seeking their own glory, but only the glory of God.

Q- How can I help my friends (who are Jehovah's Witnesses) to understand that Jesus is God? They have a hard time understanding that Jesus can be the "Son of God" and God at the same time.

A- This isn't so much a bible question, but an important one about how we help build bridges with people of other belief systems. Honestly, trying to understand the Trinity is like a high school guy trying to understand why girls go to the bathroom in packs. Thinking on it too much makes your brain hurt!

Jesus said that he was God (John 10:30) and his claim to be God was the blasphemy that we was accused of by the Jewish High Priest in Matthew 27:63-65. Also, Jesus made many "I am" statements about himself (John 8:58) that equated himself with God. Jesus also forgave sins (Mark 2), something reserved for God. Jesus also allowed his disciples to worship him as God (John 20:28; Matthew 16:15-17).

The great theologian and church father Augustine makes the argument that for God to be perfect, he has to exist in community. Since God is love (1 John 4), and love has to be shared; it is an action. And since God is self-sufficient, he must be able to share that love within Himself. Therefore, God must exist in community so he can express the love that is inherent to Him. Again, Norman Geisler say that with love, there must be a love (God the Father), and loved one (God the Son), and a spirit of love (God the Holy Spirit).

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not separate entities...they are three persons yet one essence. Visually, you can think of God like a triangle - three distinct corners, but one shape. You can also picture God mathmatically in the equation: 1x1x1=1 (as opposed to 1+1+1=3; this would be polytheism). But in the end, every illustration breaks down; for this is one of the greatest mysteries of our faith.

A Bunch of Bible Questions part 2

OK, here's the next round of questions about the Bible that we'll tackle this week. Remember, these are real, honest questions from the peopel at Delta Church.

Q- Did only the disciples write the Bible?

The Bible was written by solely by Prophets. Prophets were basically mouthpieces for God; speaking to people on behalf of the Lord. Some writers were prophets by office (e.g., Moses, Samuel, Jonah, etc.); and some writers were prophets by gifting (e.g., David & Daniel). In the New Testament, the writers were Apostles (Matthew, Paul, Peter) or a disciple of an Apostle (Luke, Mark).

Q- Was the Bible written in different languages?

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.

Q- How can we take literally a translation (the Bible wasn't written in English, and surely the cultural and linguistic context of Scripture are important to its interpretation)?

Generally, there are 2 categories of Bible translations. The first is word-for-word, where the original language is translated, remaining true to the original sentence structure. Examples of this type of translation is the KJV, NASB, and the ESV (which Delta uses). The difficulty with these sometimes is that they can be more difficult to understand due to sentence structure from the Greek to English can be tricky, and honestly, the reading level is higher than the typical American adult. The average reading level for an adult is around 8th grade, but 1 out of 5 adults have a reading level below 5th grade; and 2 out of 5 older Americans and minorities read below a 5th grade level.

The other category of Bible translation is thought-for-thought. This is where the tranlation team will look at the idea of the original language, and interpret the idea into English. Examples of this type of translation are the NIV, RSV, NLT, and the CEV. Sadly, important theological terms often get substituted. A common word that is substituted is "propitiation"; which means that the wrath of God toward sin was satisfied with Jesus' death on the cross. But thought-for-thought translations will use the words "sacrifice", "atonement", or "expiation" which do not carry the weight that God intended with using "propitiation."

A last category would be a paraphrase. Popular paraphrases are the Living Bible, The Message, or Philips. These Bibles "update" the language into common language, but their starting point is a translation and not the original text. They are fine for personal reading (along with a good translation), but are insufficient for teaching and preaching.

For a more in-depth look into this question, specifically of why Delta has chosen the ESV as our preferred translation, please read this article.

Lastly, it is important to understand the context of the text. To understand why it was such a big deal that Jesus made friends with tax collectors like Matthew and Zaccheus, you need to understand the cultural implications of being a tax collector during those times (tax collectors basically were traitors to their own people (the Jews) and worked for the oppressive Roman government who ruled at the time, over-taxing in the process to make themselves rich). Same principle goes for Paul's oft-misunderstood teaching regarding women (not be allowed to speak, not wearing jewelry or make-up, etc). Knowing the cultural context allows us to see the eternal truths and translate them into our own day (e.g., modesty and living out our God-given Biblical roles are the principles that Paul talks about).

Q- Are all the stories in the Old and New Testament actually (literally) true or an analogy for teaching?

Everything is the Bible is true. The flood, Jonah and the big fish, Daniel in the lion's den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the firey furnace; the Virgin Birth of Jesus, and Jesus' resurrection are all true. With that said, since God chose to inspire human writers to record his truth, he did use their personalities, situations, and different literary forms to communicate his truth. So, in the Bible you will find historical narrative (Samuel), poetry (Psalms), parable (much of Jesus' teaching in the Gospels), metaphor (John 15:1-8), allegory (Galatians 4:21-5:1), and even hyperbole (Matthew 5:29; Luke 14:26). So, read the literal parts literally, and read the metaphorial parts metaphorically.

That's good for now. We'll tackle some more questions next week in regards to the Bible and other religious writings.

Tragedy at NIU

A horrible thing happened yesterday. A gunman stormed the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. 21 were shot. 6 were killed (including the gunman, who shot himself). Lives will forever be changed.

Sin has a devestating effect on the world and on individual lives. I pray for those who are wounded and for the families and friends who have undergone a terrible loss.

Many questions will be put forth in regards to God, suffering, and justice. The questions can really wait a couple days, for now is the time to grieve. But to help you process the relevant issue of pain and suffering in the world, and where the Gospel fits into all of it, I encourage you to listen (or watch) Dr. John Piper from his message during the Gospel Coalition back in May 2007: http://thegospelcoalition.org/plenary_downloads.php

I'll continue the mini-series on "A Bunch of Bible Questions" later today, or perhaps on Monday.

Grace+Peace to all...

A Bunch of Bible Questions

This past Sunday I began preaching through the Gospel of John. I began the series in a very introductory manner, emphasizing the reliability of Scripture and Jesus as the center of the entire Bible. Now, teaching a subject like that brings up a myriad of questions, so I gave Delta the opportunity to write down some questions about the Bible that I would categorize and answer here on the blog. There are some great questions, and I will be posting answers over the next couple weeks. But to get us started off, one question (which really isn't a question, but more of a positional statement) jumped to the front:

"There is no absolute truth. I don't believe the Bible, so any response that finds its foundation in the Bible I reject. Christians are narrow-minded thinking there is only one way, their way."

Now, I have no idea who wrote this, so I'm not going to worry about offending anyone in my answer.

The first statement, "there is no absolute truth", ironically is an absolute statement. He (the handwriting looked like a guys, so we'll go with that) absolutely said there is no absolute truth. Right off the bat he is condraticting himself. So in the attempt to pull his gun out of the holster, it went off and shot himself in the foot.

The second statement about rejecting any internal biblical evidence is a very fair one. The only problem here is that making a statement, or assumption, like this completely denies any historical accuracy of the bible. Doing so is simply ignoring nearly 4000 years (going back to the Old Testament) of biblical steadfastness. But there's a question to be asked here, what about the bible don't you believe? If you say you don't believe the bible, then you're saying that you don't believe obvious historical facts of something as obvious as the nation of Israel existing. So, I'm guessing that what is meant is that any truth claims the bible makes is what's being rejected, specifically revolving around the person of Jesus Christ. Now, there are extra-biblical sources that speak to the existence of Jesus Christ and the influence of Christianity. Writings by the Jewish historian Josephus and Roman historians Cornelius Tacitus and Pliny the Younger are the most popular. You can read their writings for yourself here and here.

The last statement about Christians being narrow-minded is both true and very ignorant. Jesus himself said in John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one come to the Father except through me." And in Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." So Christians are narrow-minded because that's what Jesus himself taught. The problem isn't with Christians, it's with Jesus.

But this is narrow view is not limited to Christians. Any devout follower of any religion would believe the same thing about their religion. Author and theologian Ravi Zacharias says, "All religions are not the same. All religions to not point to God. All religions do not say that all religions are the same. At the heart of every religion is an uncompromising commitment to a particular way of defining who God is or is not and accordingly, of defining life’s purpose. Anyone who claims that all religions are the same betrays not only an ignorance of all religions but also a caricatured view of even the best-known ones. Every religion at its core is exclusive.”

I would argue that the same would be said of those who are pluralists or even atheists. To be accepting of all ways, or not accepting any way, is being narrow minded as well. And trying to convince others of your position (or should we call it a belief) is doing the work of what we Christians call an "evangelist"...or what secular people refer to as proselytizing - an effort to convert someone to your way of thinking or believing. So, the rules that a pluralist, or a Religious Reletivist (as Tim Keller puts it), makes about being narrow minded are broken as soon as they are made. As soon as you say that all religions are subjective, that is that the "path to god" is completely personal and that is the position you try to get others to accept, suddenly the pluralist is just as narrow as the monotheist. So that is a useless argument and position.

So, either Jesus is THE way, or there's NO way. Jesus is the only major religious leader to claim that sort of exclusivity. Jesus is the only major religious leader who claimed to come down from heaven, as opposed to 'ascending' to heaven or a god-like position. When it comes down it, in the midst of a myriad of religions and belief-systems, you have to ask yourself, "which of these religions leads me best in the path of love and service to my fellow man?" At the heart of Christianity is a God who became a man and sacrificed himself for the beings that he created. The heart of Christianity is the highest form of love: sacrificing yourself for another, especially one who is undeserving and by all rights deserves punishment, not love and grace and mercy. Following Jesus is about living a life of love, service, and reconciliation. There have been many who have gone to war, have acted tremendously selfish, and have oppressed their fellow man in the name of Jesus. These people have missed the whole point of the Bible and the life that Jesus lived. But they have illustrated the darkness of the heart of man, and why we need a Savior so desperately. And that is exactly why Jesus came to earth, lived, died, and rose again.

Bad ride home from Bootcamp

The Acts 29 Chicago Bootcamp went really well, but my ride home just sucked. I left Chicago at 2pm, and got home at 10pm...yeah, 8 hours. The weather was terrible (most of Illinois is getting covered with 6-12 inches of snow). I got stuck for 45 minutes on the 55 south exit of off 294. But the worst of it was when I got to Bloomington, a mere hour away from home, I hit a patch of ice, fish tailed all over the highway, and crashed into the concrete wall (on a bridge no less). Here's what my Blazer looks like:

My only thought as I was spinning around was that I didn't want to hit too hard and flip over the wall. And had I hit another 20 or so feet further down the road, I would have hit a metal barrier, smashed through that and would have been down in the hill in a ditch. All in all, my truck got the worst of it. My neck and back are a little sore. Major thanks to my buddy Scott for coming and fetching me and bringing me home to my family.

A29 Bootcamp in very cold Chicago

I'm currently up in Chicago (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, to be exact) for the Acts 29 Network Bootcamp. What we do is basically provide large-group training, networking opportunities, and assess potential church planters for the Network. It's been a great time being with my A29 brothers and meeting new guys around Illinois who are wrestling through a call to church plant.

Nasty winter weather blew in last night. We saw the temperature drop over 40 degrees yesterday, and winds gusting to over 40 MPH, and got 3 inches of snow. When I woke up this morning, the normal temperature was -1 with a wind chill of -20. When you go to Chicago in January, this is what you get!

I've heard great messages so far from my friends Darrin Patrick, Mark Driscoll, and Ed Stetzer. Mark Dever will be speaking today, as will Mark again, and the A29 director, Scott Thomas will be as well. Within the next month, these message will be posted on the Acts 29 site for your listening pleasure as well.

This is also a good time for a reminder of Delta's church planting vision: 8 church plants in Central Illinois by 2018. We feeled called to be a church planting catalyst in Central Illinois as we seek to train, resource, network, and coach men who want to bring the Gospel to the 217 area code (you can read Mark 2:17 for our inspiration).

Anyway, I've got to warm up and drink a lot of coffee...baby, it's cold outside!

Defeating Idolatry

I'm currently up in Chicago for the Acts 29 Bootcamp...I'll write an update on that in the next day or so.

1 John 5:21 "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

This past Sunday at Delta we explored idolatry. Idolatry is pretty much anything, anyone, any idealogy, any whatever in your life that takes the place that only Jesus deserves, which is #1. Theologian FF Bruce defines idolatry as:

“[Idols] are false conceptions of God. Any conception of Him that is at variance with His self-revelation in Christ is an idol."

When a person has an idol, he is pretty much settling for something immediate and accesible in order to find happiness and temporal fulfillment. It's basically reaching for something that very well may be good instead of going after what's best. For example, money is a good thing and does bring an amount of happiness to a person's life; but money will never bring the lasting joy that only Jesus provides. But things like money, possessions, relationships, etc are only "surface level" idols - the real idols are deeper. There are four of them:

Comfort – deepest desire is to escape stress, and have freedom
Sensory driven; look to “feelings”…people find comfort in food, possessions, no accountability. If you typically feel bored, comfort may be your deep idol because there’s no risk in your life

Approval – deepest desire is to be affirmed, accepted
Relational driven; look to people…find approval in relationships, respect, lack of conflict. If you typically feel fearful, approval may be your deep idol because you are terrified of rejection and being alone

Control – deepest desire is for self-discipline, certainty, maintaining standards
Authority/mastery driven; self driven, but impose your control on others…find control in your schedule, independence, religion/irreligion. If you typically feel worried, control may be your deep idol because deep down you know you can’t control everything

Power – deepest desire is to succeed, win, be influential
Achievement driven; find power as you’re in charge, your ideology/cause/race/culture has power. If you typically feel angry, power may be your deep idol because you’re just ticked off that there are others in the world that have more influence than you do

The surface level idols are sign posts to the deep idols. And how do you defeat these idols? Paul simply tells us to "flee" from them (1 Corinthians 10:14). But we need to run with purpose and toward a goal: the person of Jesus Christ and his word. Jesus overcame idolatry when tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:8-10). Here are some scriptures to run to in your quest to defeat your idols:

If you have a Comfort idol, take comfort in these truths:

Jeremiah 31:13
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

If you have an Approval idol, find your approval in these truths:

1 Thessalonians 2:4
Hebrews 11:6
Ephesians 2:4-5

If you have a Control idol, remember who is really in control;

2 Corinthians 5:14
Galatians 5:22-23
2 Timothy 1:7
Hebrews 2:8

If you have a Power idol, remember the source of ultimate power

1 Chronicles 29:11
Mark 14:61-62
Acts 1:8
2 Corinthians 10:3-4

God desires for you to have the best - and that's Jesus; not any cheap imitation. Don't settle for cheap happiness...go after true joy.

Happy Birthday Delta!

Today marks the official 1 year birthday of Delta. We launched our Sunday services on January 21, 2007 on a very cold January day (not something I would recommend). Yesterday as we celebrated, it was eerily familiar as the temperature was hovering somewhere around 10 degrees. But we had a good crowd, some new visitors, and I was able to finish up our "Foolishness" mini-series by exploring craziness of church planting and where Delta is heading this next year as well as the future.

Yesterday evening we also had a special "constituting" service where we got to baptize a couple people, have our members officially adopt and sign our church constitution, and we installed our first Elders, yours truly and my good friend Charles Campbell. It was a great time to hear testimonies about how God is transforming lives in the Delta community and how God has knitted together this church. Our story really is the story of many people (which I likened to the highway system around Atlanta - very chaotic) and how God has intersected our journeys at just the right time and place.

So, happy birthday Delta! I look forward to see how God continues to work in and through us as we seek to love Him, see people's lives transform because of the Gospel, and watch us change the world.

Some good research

Check this out from the missional yoda, Ed Stetzer:

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/01/new_research_on_the_unchurched.html

Foolishness

This week leads up to Delta's 1 year Anniversary on January 21. One year ago I was going in wide-eyed into the "public" phase of church planting. I've been personally celebrating the occasion this whole month by preaching through 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 talking about the "foolishnes" of the cross, the church, and my church, specifically.

Not that I think that the cross is foolish...but Paul makes the argument that those who are perishing - the spiritually disconnected - do indeed think that the Christian faith is a bit foolish. He then goes on to talk about how God intentionally chose the foolish of the world (namely, people; the church) to be the main way that he would expand his kingdom. Paul then opens up chapter 2 very personally admitting that he didn't show up in Corinth with anything fancy about himself, but he just told people about Jesus and His death and resurrection.

It does indeed seem to be a foolish thing to plant a church. You're trying to gather people together to create a community based on what one Man did 2000 years ago, have them live sacrificially in regards to their time, their abilities, their money, and then have them go find others to add to the mix. And we're not doing this in some mover-and-shaker city like Chicago, New York, or L.A., but we're in the middle of corn fields in Springfield, Il.

It's all rather foolish.

But I can't imagine doing anything else. Wanna join us?