Category: Romans (Page 13 of 28)

The Gospel is Not Old News

April 5, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” ~Mark 16:8

If it’s real, I have to tell. If Jesus really is the risen Messiah, if he really was raised from the grave, and if we really are forgiven and restored and righteous because Christ Jesus is crucified and resurrected, then we have to tell. But we’re so reluctant to tell. For some reason we run and hide

It’s not because we’re bashful. We’re not shy. If I find a new restaurant or a new album or a new soap, I’m telling people about it. “It smells great and it doesn’t dry out my skin!” Come on, we all do that. “That Longhorn Steakhouse on I-40, you’ve got to try it!” “Tom Petty’s new album, you’ve got to get it!” “That Cloverfield movie, you’ve got to see it! It’ll mess you up!” We all do this. When something brand new impacts me, I want other people to experience it, too. And I’m talking about it all the time.

“They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”

Are we afraid? Is that why we don’t tell? We’re probably not afraid of being persecuted or killed if we tell. What are we afraid of? Are we afraid that maybe the Gospel is old news?

I wonder if we define the Gospel as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that happened almost two-thousand years ago? If so, it’s not really news. It’s not right now. And I was saved a long time ago. I was buried with Christ in baptism almost 40 years ago. I was raised with Christ, I put on Christ decades ago. Is that why we don’t tell? Because it doesn’t feel fresh? Is it not much more than the memory of something you obeyed a long time ago and you’re glad you did? Are we afraid the Gospel is irrelevant? Maybe it’s historical and theological and religious and good — but it’s not going to be super helpful or practical for my friends. Not like a new toothpaste or a place that serves really awesome bread sticks.

Let me challenge your thinking on this: the Gospel is not a point in history. The Gospel is not an event in time. The Gospel is what God is doing, what God has always been doing, and what God will continue to do in the future. The Gospel, the good news of salvation from God, is not limited to the first four books of the New Testament. The Gospel is what God has been doing since time began and what he keeps doing until the end.

When God doesn’t destroy Adam and Eve, that’s the Gospel. When God delivers the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, that’s the Gospel. When God forgives David, when he rescues Daniel, that’s the Gospel. It’s ongoing, continuous, and relevant to every human need. You name any need, you define any problem, and the Gospel is the answer. Jesus showed us.

Jesus shows us a man who’s been beaten up, lying in a ditch. I’ve got good news for that man: he’s going to get picked up! He shows us a rebellious son who runs home to his father smelling like a pig pen. I’ve got good news for that son: he’s going to get hugged! The man falls on his knees in front of Jesus and says, “Heal my child if you’re willing.” “I’ve got good news for you,” Jesus says, “I am willing!”

That’s the Gospel, today, yesterday, and tomorrow. God is involved and things are changing. The Kingdom of God has broken in. Jesus is risen and Jesus is Lord! That is very much today and very fresh and very right now. Jesus is Lord and he is fixing everything and he wants everybody to get in on it!

So I can’t just be a shopkeeper. Our churches can’t just hold religious services. We can’t just mark time.

It’s not old or irrelevant. His mercies are new every morning. We are being renewed by his Spirit day by day.

And we should probably stop saying the phrase “1st Century Church.” That’s not helping. We’re not the 1st Century Church. We can never be the 1st Century Church even if we wanted to be the 1st Century Church. And who would want to be? The Gospel demands that we be a 21st Century Church doing 21st Century things in 21st Century ways right now today in our 21st Century world. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is not a moment, it’s a movement! It’s fresh. It’s new. It’s very relevant.

When you tell a dying man that God will take care of his family, you’re telling the Gospel. When you tell a lonely woman that she’s invited to a feast and to join a family, you’re telling the Gospel. When you cry and pray with the parents of a gay son or a lesbian daughter and you tell them God loves you and God loves your child and this thing’s not over yet, you’re proclaiming the Gospel. You’re sharing the good news, even with people who are already saved.

“The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.” ~Romans 10:8

Peace,

Allan

Apostles’ Creed

January 11, 2016 / Allan / 0 Comments

“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” ~John 17:3

In today’s postmodern world in which the accepted truth is that there is no truth at all, we can’t take for granted anymore the articles of the Christian faith. Biblical literacy is low. Doctrinal literacy is low. There is a tremendous need for the Church to refocus the center of our faith, to get a better grip on our true identity as Christ-followers. We’ve got to get clear on our core. It occurs to me that the best way to keep from being blown by every wind of doctrine is to have a doctrine.

So, yesterday here at Central, we began a year-long exploration of the ancient Apostles’ Creed.

I know, I know; I know what you’re thinking. We don’t do creeds in the Church of Christ. In our faith tradition it’s always been, “No creed but Christ!” That, ironically, is one of our better known creeds. We have traditionally rejected human creeds because “We call Bible things by Bible names and do Bible things in Bible ways.” Again, that’s one of our hardest held creeds. Funny, huh?

All individuals and communities function from a center of belief and practice. These core beliefs that inform and guide a group’s values and behavior can usually be summed up in a short statement: a creed. A statement of belief. Whether they’re written down or not, everybody’s got them. Democrats and Republicans have their creeds. So do Cowboys fans and Hindus, labor unions and college sororities, civic clubs and sovereign nations. Christians aren’t the only ones with creeds — everyone’s got creeds.

And I think Christians wanting to summarize and write down and memorize the specifics of the faith can be clearly seen in the Scriptures. The apostle Paul is very particular about what Christians need to believe and how they need to believe it.
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” ~Romans 10:9

Several places in 1 John make it clear that being a Christian doesn’t just mean believing in Jesus, but believing certain things about Jesus. If you deny that Jesus is the prophesied Jewish Messiah, then you’re denying God. You’re a heretic or, as the passage says, an anti-Christ (1 John 2:22). You have to believe that Jesus came to earth in the flesh and blood of a human being or you don’t have God; you don’t have his Spirit (1 John 4:2-3). There are summaries of the faith throughout the pages of the Bible in Deuteronomy 6, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Timothy 6 to name a few. These statements clarify the truth and sweep away any false beliefs. Believing the right things in right ways is important. Scripture is very serious about rebuking false teachings and holding to the “pattern of sound teaching.”

The Apostles’ Creed is one of these ancient summaries. Outside of the Bible, it’s the earliest known version of a summary statement of the Christian faith. It goes all the way back to the late second century when candidates for baptism were asked to publically confess their core beliefs on the way into the water. Hippolytus writes the words down in 215 AD as if the Church has been reciting them for years. So, it’s old: really, really old. Technically, it’s older than the New Testament canon. Yes, the New Testament gospels and letters had already been written when the Church adopted the Apostles’ Creed. But the ink was still wet. In fact, the church councils used the Apostles’ Creed to help guide them as they were deciding which books belonged in the New Testament and which ones didn’t. After all, the creed had been faithfully recited by the Church for more than a hundred years at that point. So it played a major role in the canonical process.

Now, I’m not actually preaching the Apostles’ Creed. We’re using the creed as a guide while we preach the Bible. The Apostles’ Creed is not the authority. It has no authority in and of itself. It’s like the moon. The moon is awesome to look at. The moon is beautiful and inspiring, we write songs and poems about the moon. The moon doesn’t have any light in and of itself. But it tells me there’s a light out there.

The Apostles’ Creed reflects the light of the Word of God: the written Word, the Scriptures, and the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.

It’s ancient. It’s good. And it’s strong. It affirms the unshakable beliefs of the Christian faith: only one God, the divinity of Jesus, the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, the coming judgment, the Holy Spirit, the one Church, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life. It’s timeless. It’s withstood all the tests. We’re memorizing it and reciting it in our families and in our assemblies. And it’s going to be good for us.

Peace,

Allan

He Gave

October 19, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” ~Romans 8:32

Scripture says God gave the land to Abraham. The Lord gave success to Joseph. God gave his children manna in the desert. The Bible tells us our God gave his people deliverers when they were in trouble. Through Christ, God gave us the right to become his children.

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” ~John 3:16

In the Gospels, Jesus says I give you eternal life. I give you my peace. I give you the Spirit. This is my body given for you. The Kingdom of God is given to you. I give you victory. Paul says God has freely given us of his glorious grace.

God created in order to give. Jesus came to earth in order to give. He lived and died and rose again and reigns at the right hand of the Father in heaven so he can give.

“Life a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.” ~Ephesians 5:2

That’s the Good News. God gave. Now I give. Freely you have received, freely give. God through Christ gave. Everything. To me. Now I give. Everything. To him. That’s the Gospel. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Peace,

Allan

Trading Places

October 13, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies.” ~Romans 8:22-23

Scripture gives us many metaphors for what God is up to in this world. One of the most prominent word pictures or set of images is the motif of changing places. Switching roles. The rich and powerful being brought down and the poor and weak being lifted up. God is turning things upside down. It’s Freaky Friday to the max. Actually, it’s more like Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places, only without the one dollar bet and gorilla costume.

The way the world is right now, all the power structures, the way things are: all the people in charge and all the people in the streets; the people who are oppressed and the people without a care in the world; people who are trapped in hopeless cycles of despair and people who are living high on the hog — God is working to totally flip it all around. God’s day of glory is going to be opposite day!

We look around at all the brokenness — there’s a lot of it — and we groan. We see the devastation in Syria, and we groan. We see the body bags in Iraq and Afghanistan and Oregon, and we groan. Deadly flooding. Racism and violence. Senseless crime. Extreme drought. We see the rich get richer and the poor get poorer; we see the innocent oppressed and watch the guilty go free. Creation is not in harmony with its maker, the nations do not bow down to God, and we don’t even like our neighbors! And we groan.

We know it’s going to change. We know it’s coming. We can sense it. We can feel it. It’s going to happen. We don’t groan because we don’t know what’s going to happen; we groan because we know exactly what’s going to happen. Everything is going to be turned upside down.

The psalmist groans. He can feel it. Sense it. Anticipate it. It’s going to happen.

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord!” ~Psalm 113:7-9

He’s actually borrowing from Hannah’s prayer. Listen to the reversal language here. Trading places.

“The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.
The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes.” ~1 Samuel 2:4-8

Hannah can feel it. She knows it. She’s waiting for it. She groans.

Mary the mother of Jesus knows what the coming of the Christ means and she expresses it in praise to our God.

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” ~Luke 1:52-53

Then Jesus comes! Yes, finally, the Holy One of Israel comes! And what does he preach?

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh…” ~Luke 6:20-22

This is Act Four of the Story of God. The Creator comes to us in the Messiah Lord. Emmanuel. God with us. Jesus comes to us to reverse the curse. Jesus is all about turning things upside down.

He heals the Centurion’s servant. He brings the widow’s dead son back to life. He drives out demons and heals the sick. And he doesn’t just heal the physical things. When Jesus heals, he fixes everything: physical, spiritual, emotional, relational. God works through Christ to totally restore. Peace. Shalom. Wholeness. Completeness.

The woman caught in adultery. Jesus gets involved and she moves from her day of public execution to a brand new life without sin. Lazarus is dead, he’s been dead for four days. His sisters are groaning, all of Bethany is groaning and grieving. And Jesus says this is not how things are supposed to be. And he reverses the curse.

Jesus is dying on the cross. He’s suffering and suffocating. He’s moments away from dying. And I imagine he lifts his head up and prays to his Father: “Dear Father, please let me do it one more time. Let me fix one more thing. Let me turn one more person’s life upside down.”

And the criminal being hung on Jesus’ right turns to him. And he groans. “Jesus, remember me.” And Jesus says, “Done. You’re with me.”

Everyone Jesus met, he saw as beautiful. Beautiful because of what they were meant to be. Beautiful because of what they were created to be. Beautiful because he saw in them what they were actually going to be. They were groaning and he turned their lives upside down.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” ~Romans 8:18

God is giving glory to his people and to his entire creation. God is working right now to transform his people into the perfect image of the Christ. That’s the climax. That’s where we’re headed. Us and all of creation.

The groanings in the world, the groanings in your own life, I’d say, are actually proof that the God who began a good work in you, in us, is indeed bringing it to completion.

Peace,

Allan

Act Six – New Creation

September 30, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

Drew Stubbs’ running, leaping catch of Ian Kinsler’s drive to the center field wall with runners on the corners in the 9th inning snapped the Rangers’ three game skid and increased their lead in the A.L. West to two games now over the Angels. The magic number is four now, instead of three, because the Halos have moved past the ‘Stros for second place in the division. The rubber match with the Tigers is tonight, but then L.A. comes into Arlington for a season-ending four game series that will determine the division champion and the playoff seedings. What looked like a sure thing one week ago now comes down to every inning in these last five games.

Is there a way to leave Josh Hamilton out of the lineup? Even as a pinch hitter?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’

He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!'” ~Revelation 21:1-5

As the great Yogi Berra once said, “This is deja vu all over again!”

A new creation. A new heavens and earth. The sea that separates the heavens from the earth is no more. Heaven and earth become one, just as intimately and beautifully as a new husband and his lovely bride become one. God is living again with the humans. Men and women are living again in the immediate presence of God. No more sorrow, no more heartache, no more death. Everything that’s gone wrong has now been fixed. The old order of things has passed away. I am making everything new!

I am making everything new!

And we’re so worn out with “new.” We don’t even know what “new” means anymore. They say it’s a new cereal, but it’s not. It’s the old cereal, but instead of yellow marshmallow stars they have blue marshmallow hearts and a different stripe on a smaller box that costs more money. They say it’s a new detergent, but it’s not. It’s the old detergent with a few added purple cleaning crystals and the words “maximum power” on a smaller box that costs more money. They say it’s a new iPhone, but it’s not. It’s the old iPhone with two features removed and three features added that costs more money and will be obsolete in three to six months. We’re so worn out with “new.”

But the Creator of Heaven and Earth says, “I am making everything new!” This is not a different label or a brighter color. This is not about a longer lasting battery.

The last act of the Story of God is not about people’s souls escaping from their bodies and rising up above the earth to go to heaven. What we see is heaven descending to the earth. This is not “I’ll Fly Away!” It’s not “This World is Not My Home.” God shows us the final act, the end of the Story, and it’s heaven coming down into the world, uniting with the world to purify it of its brokenness. This is what the prophets talked about:

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create… the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more… The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy… says the Lord.” ~Isaiah 65

This is the new Garden of Eden. Men and women living in perfect relationship with each other together in the holy presence of God. Absolute peace and harmony with nature. No more injury or disease or death. No more hatred or violence or war. No more poor or needy or slaves or criminals. Everything is new. Everything is perfect. Everything is fixed.

Jesus predicted this in Matthew 19 when he spoke of “the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne.” The apostle is given credit for this same vision in 2 Peter 3: “In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” Paul foresees the same thing in Romans 8: “The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God!”

The whole world will be healed as it is drawn into the fullness of God’s glory. Evil will be finally, ultimately destroyed. And all the potential of creation will explode in glorious fullness and beauty.

Peace,

Allan

Proclaiming the Kingdom of God

September 28, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

The Good News is that Jesus is the new King. With the resurrection and ascension of our Christ, all the kingdoms and nations of the world are claimed under his Lordship. That’s what we proclaim. That’s what the Christians were doing in Thessalonica; and it got them in trouble.

“They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” ~ Acts 17:7

Paul goes to Rome, right under the nose of Caesar himself, right in the middle of the Empire’s capital city and “preached the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ boldly and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31).

The whole point is that the world has turned a new corner. A new age has arrived. The entire earth has a new King and people have to be told about it. Because not everybody knows.

Most people today, in a world where Jesus is Lord, are still serving the old kings. And there’s no hope in that. No hope. Most people place their trust and faith in the old kings and old governments, old political systems and old rulers. And there’s no hope.

You see it in the Middle East where dictators rule unjustly and people are treated unfairly. You see it in Africa and parts of Europe where the government refuses to meet the basic needs of their people. No grace. No mercy. No salvation. You see it in the United States where the political system is a gigantic mess. Every politician on both ends of the spectrum and at every position in between says, “Vote for me! Vote for us and everything will be better!” But we don’t believe any of them anymore so they have to dress it up with more hype and noise and spin.

We are sent, each of us, by the authority of Christ Jesus and by the power of his Spirit to spread the news of his good and righteous rule. By our calling as his ambassadors and emissaries, it is our duty and command, all of us, to tell the nations they have a new King. By virtue of his resurrection and our own participation in the new eternal life, it is our great privilege to shout from the rooftops the dawning of the age of the Kingdom of God.

And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re up for it. We experience God’s restoration every day. We have received his grace and peace. We can speak of a new creation and we can live a new life because our Lord has already won the war and reigns right now today and forever at God’s right hand.

“Now to him who is able to establish you by the Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ… so that all nations might believe and obey him — to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” ~Romans 16:25-27

Peace,

Allan

Category: Romans (Page 13 of 28)

The Gospel is Not Old News

Apostles’ Creed

He Gave

Trading Places

Act Six – New Creation

Proclaiming the Kingdom of God

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