Gospel

Be Encouraged, Do Not Fear

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GospelOn this man-made holiday, there is a lot going on in the world that brings confusion, anxiety, and even fear in the Church. Confusion because the visible church doesn’t seem to make a firm stand against the pagan-centered revelry of a holiday that celebrates falsehood, false theology, and false deities. Anxiety because the church has forgotten the message of the Gospel, and in doing so have ascribed falsely some extra power of the enemy defeated by Christ on the Cross. It is finished means just that, by the way.

John 19:28-30 (ESV)

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Next week’s OT study we will look at this finishing work of Christ on the Cross more closely, but for now be encouraged, and do not fear the defeated enemy, for Christ already finished the work of Salvation at the cross. We walk by faith, and not by sight. The enemy is a liar. Let’s look at the encouragement Paul wrote to Timothy as he faced the daunting task of leading the church while Paul was in prison.

2 Timothy 1:1-14 (ESV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

This so-called holiday has no power over the Gospel of Jesus Christ. None. You who have believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ have been sealed by God the Holy Spirit, and that is not a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of self-control. Do not be conformed to this world and its fear and its customs. Speak life to those who are celebrating death. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is life to those who would believe the Word of God.

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV) Doxology

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

(Bonus) Voddie Baucham|”What is the Gospel?”

Today, I’d like to close by sharing a good sermon by Voddie Baucham, Pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Texas.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/code_sourcefeatured.asp?iframe=TRUE&reversecolor=FALSE&showoverview=FALSE&flashplayer=TRUE&tiny=FALSE&minimal=TRUE&eventtype=EVENTID&series=SUBTITLE&speaker=SPEAKERNAME&sermonid=42511113392

Their website makes a transcript for the sermon available: http://media.sermonaudio.com/mediapdf/42511113392.pdf

The sermon is an hour long, and the transcript is approximately 7K words long. Voddie does a great job of taking a hard look at how the Gospel is misrepresented and how we need to get back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is primarily teaching from Romans 9. The sermon can be broken down into the following major points:

  1. The gospel is not just how we get saved. You talk to the average Christian and you ask them what the gospel is and more than likely they are going to give you a plan of salvation. The gospel is not the plan of salvation. The gospel is not the four spiritual laws. The gospel is not just how we get saved.
  2. The gospel is not just the two great commandments. And that is what is popular in our day. You just boil it down to love God and love people. Listen to Carson’s word on this. “Other voices identify the gospel with the first and second commandments, the commandments to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as ourself. These commandments are so central that Jesus himself insists that all the prophets and the law hang on them, but, most emphatically, they are not the gospel.” Love God, it is not the gospel. In fact, here is the irony. That phrase, love God, love people, is actually a summary of the law.
  3. The gospel is not the moral teachings of Jesus. Ok? Listen to this one carefully, especially those of us who live in home school circles, because you hear this one a lot. The gospel is all of the moral teachings of Jesus. The third option today is to treat the ethical teaching of Jesus found in the gospel as the gospel. Yet it is the ethical teaching of Jesus abstracted from the passion and resurrection narrative found in each gospel. Think about this for a moment. If we say that the gospel is all the moral teachings of Jesus found in the gospels, then here is what we have said. You see, God in the Old Testament gave us a law, but that law either wasn’t righteous enough, wasn’t clear enough or wasn’t effective enough. So Jesus came and gave us another law so that that one could be kept, because our problem wasn’t us. It was God. Made a mistake the first time, had to come correct it. The first law didn’t work, gave us another law. All that stuff about his Son dying, don’t know how that fits into this mindset if all he came was to just give us another law. Folks, that is not the gospel.
  4. The Gospel is God-centered, Christ-centered, and Grace-centered.

OT | Consecration of the Firstborn

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Christ in Gethsemane by Heinrich Hofmann

Christ in Gethsemane by Heinrich Hofmann

Last week, in our Old Testament Study, we looked at The Passover Lamb  in Exodus 12 and how it points to Christ as explained in Hebrews. This week, we will move ahead in Exodus to see how the consecration of the firstborn of Israel also continues to point to the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, Son of the Living God.

 

Consecration of the Firstborn

Exodus 13 (ESV) | Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lordmay be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord‘s. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

Here we again see that God is instituting a statute of reminder for the people in that context, and we also see a shadow of God’s coming Salvation, the promised seed that would crush the head of the serpent. As with the feast of unleavened bread, the offering of a sacrificial lamb for the redemption of the firstborn is to serve as a reminder of what God has done for Israel, and for what He will do for Creation. The latter might be more difficult to see since what takes place here is a shadow of things to come. As always, to rightly understand the Old Testament, we need to draw our understanding from the New Testament. There are two key terms or concepts that connect this statute of the Law to the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Redemption and Firstborn.

Redemption. Now, in our culture we feel we have an understanding of the concept of redemption. When a store issues us a 25% off coupon, we know that if we decide to shop at that store and present the coupon, the redemption of which means that the store pays for 25% of the item, and we pay only 75%. The store redeems the coupon by paying for (or absorbing the cost of) the discount. But this is a poor explanation for the concept of our redemption. What we have here is a declaration that every firstborn belongs to God. Either it is redeemed by an atoning sacrifice of a lamb, or it must die. Clearly, this is only expected for livestock as all male children must be redeemed and not killed. Still the statute remains as both a reminder and a promise.

Firstborn. As soon as Adam sinned, and he and his wife were made aware of their nakedness in sin, blood was shed to cover their nakedness. This animal sacrifice was not enough to fully redeem Adam (the man, or all of mankind). God promised a seed of woman would crush the head of the serpent. We saw last week that the Passover Lamb pointed to Christ. Now we see that the Lamb is needed to redeem the firstborn. But we also know that Jesus is the firstborn (John 3:16-18) Son of God. Jesus is both the firstborn (that belongs to God) AND the sacrificial Passover Lamb. Now, there was no way of knowing this was God’s plan for redeeming all of mankind at this point, for God will continue to reveal His plan throughout the Law and the Prophets. For now, this is a statute of the Law set as a reminder of His favor, His love, His Grace, and His Mercy for the children of Israel. Let us now look at how the New Testament writers drew their understanding of the Law under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit with the Gospel of the Cross as their focal point.

Ephesians 1:3-10 (ESV) 

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Colossians 1:15-23 (ESV) | Preeminence of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Hebrews 9:11-28 (ESV) | Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

All praise, glory, and honor be to the our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This week’s reading is a bit short because I want to save the crossing of the Red Sea for next week. For now, let us close this post with the realization and understanding that we, who are in Christ Jesus, have been fully redeemed by God in the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, on the cross. By His blood you have been redeemed, once and for all. Remain in Him, holding firmly by faith to the promise of the inheritance of eternal life with Christ.

We will continue studying the Exodus and how it points to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. I do hope you will join us again. if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share.

Romans 16:25-27 (ESV) 25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

May the Grace of God be with you today and always,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Gospel Wednesday | Ephesians 4-5

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bibleWelcome back to our Gospel Wednesday series. Last week we took a look at Ephesians 1-3 and we learned about the context of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus.  While Paul does a wonderful job of summarizing the Gospel to the elders, he does so by way of reminder of what he had already spent 3 years teaching them in person. Chapter 3 closes with a wonderful prayer, but Paul is not yet finished with his letter, so today we will continue reading in Chapter 4.

Unity in the Body of Christ

There are a lot of books and conferences on how Christians are supposed to live their lives now that they have been Saved from their just punishment of hell. Some good, and some not very good at all. Before jumping into one of those guides or studies, let’s see what the Word of God emphasizes for His Body, the Church. First and foremost, as a born-again believer, you’ve been brought into the Body of Christ, His body. While it may have taken place in a specific church congregation, your place in the Body of Christ is much bigger than the 4 walls and local leadership of your church. When we talk about Unity here, don’t limit your understanding to just your local membership to a congregation; rather, understand that our Unity is in Christ and His Word (Law and Gospel). We assemble with the brethren for the building up of the Body of Christ, to the maturing of the Saints. Unity in Christ isn’t defined by your local body of elders, nor by your church covenants, it is defined by the Word of God, for Christ is the Head of His Church.

Ephesians 4 (ESV)| Unity in the Body of Christ

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

When we think about our modern-day church, it might seem difficult to fathom verse 5, that there is One Lord, One faith, and One baptism. When we focus in on our denomination, how lovingly are those of a different denomination portrayed? One Faith. Yes, there are a lot of major differences between Pentecostalism and Reformed, but they can’t both be completely right because there is only One Faith. The One Faith comes from the One Spirit (verse 4) and everything we know of God is by His Word. There is the ultimate standard of Truth, the Word of God. However, unity in the Body of Christ demands that we speak to our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ with ALL humility, gentleness, patience and love. We have no right to vilify our brothers who do not agree with us. There is a difference between having a different understanding and holding to False Doctrine. Scripture exposes false doctrine, and we are never to accept or tolerate false doctrine, nor are we to allow any doctrines of men to rise to the level of Scripture.

Once we have been born again, made alive in Christ by grace, through faith granted as a gift from God by His Word, we need to grow in Christ so that we will no longer be children, easily mislead. Such growth isn’t a mystical endeavor filled with “spiritual trial and error”, it is a very real study and understanding of God’s Word, learning from the teachers and shepherds of the flock and studying the works of the Apostles and Prophets as recorded in Scripture.

Ephesians 4:17-32 (ESV) | The New Life

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do,in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Our conduct should be an outward expression of our faith in Jesus Christ. For just as He has called us out of the world, and made the way for such by His Blood, by faith we are to walk in the Spirit of God rather than by our sinful flesh. If this thought worries you, remember the cross. We do not earn forgiveness, nor do we earn salvation, nor are we sanctified by our own works. To put off your old-self will be a daily, lifelong pursuit as long as we continue in this fallen flesh. No matter how much you grow in Christ, you will not outgrow the need to repent and be forgiven until the Day of Christ’s Return, when death will finally be defeated and we will all will be given new bodies, free from sin and the curse of death. We must always bear the fruit of repentance, and know that in Christ (and ONLY in Christ) there is the forgiveness of sin.

The putting on of the new self is done bit by bit, and not perfectly as long as we live here in this fallen world. As you learn the Scriptures, the Testimony of the Goodness of God, the Holy Spirit will give you understanding. Paul is echoing some of the basics as a reminder, put away falsehood by speaking the truth (You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor), let the thief no longer steal, but let him work honestly (You shall not steal), don’t sin in your anger (emotion) and settle the matter (particularly your anger) that same day, so the devil doesn’t have an opportunity to tempt you to bitterness and murder. Paul isn’t just giving a brand new list of commandments for Christians to obey in order to be righteous. None of these qualities are new to the Scriptures, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ means that the wrath of God (the righteous and just punishment for falling short of the Law) has already been poured out onto Jesus Christ in our place. In Him we are forgiven already, and by Him we are made free to walk in His Ways. Let’s explore this further in the next chapter.

Ephesians 5 (ESV) | Walk in Love

5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Notice here that the Law is still the Law. The Law still identifies sin, and our flesh still desires sin. Sin still brings death (for we know we still face a physical death and after that judgement) under the Law. Our freedom from the Law is in Christ and as such cannot be separated from Christ. Christ fulfilled the Law perfectly and then laid down His life anyway taking the full punishment for our sake. We are vulnerable when we sin, and we dare not continue in sin for fear of making shipwreck of our faith. Expose sin, and don’t take part in it. This is particularly tough considering our flesh and its addiction to corruption. Immature Christians often invoke the devil as the root of their sin, but in truth they are simply obeying the cravings of the flesh rather than casting it off. I think it is helpful to think about alcohol, nicotine, or even caffeine addiction. The body craves these chemicals it has grown to love and will fight to convince you its a good idea, that it’s what you really want. The flesh does this to us with all sin. We don’t all have the exact same failings, but we are all the same in that we have all failed. Therefore, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to look after each other, in love, being ever mindful that none of us is made righteous by our own actions or endeavors, but by the Grace of God.

Next week, we’ll close out Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as he breaks down key relationships and their application to the Christian walk. Each of these are important and central to the Kingdom of Heaven so I’m excited to dive into them next week. For now, let us focus on how we are living our lives hour-by-hour and day-by-day. All men and women are sinful, the question is whether or not you remain repentant of your sin and ask God for forgiveness. The focus must be on the Cross, for had He not laid down His life for us, forgiveness would not be available to us. But because Christ came and died and rose again, we who believe in Him have everlasting life. In Christ, we have no right to attack our brothers and sisters, to speak falsely to our neighbor, nor to sin against them… we who are in Christ should treat others in a manner that is in keeping with our faith in Jesus Christ. As our Faith grows (by hearing the words of Christ) our walk will improve as an extension of our faith, and so we will grow in the Unity of the Body of Christ.

1 John 1 (ESV) | The Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

In closing, let us revisit Paul’s written prayer in Ephesians 3.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (ESV) 

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Amen, indeed.
In Christ Jesus,

Jorge

DiM (Bonus) | “Do Something” by Matthew West

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Okay, so I was going to make today’s DiM post about my listening experience from last night’s grocery run, but I decided to make it more of a bonus edition since the song isn’t on any charts I reviewed.

We are going to take a slightly different approach to this bonus post. I want to give a sneak peek into what goes on in my head when a song grabs my attention while I’m driving in the car. Have you ever noticed how quickly your mind can race when given the right mix of anticipation, frustration, or excitement? So we are going to walk through the song as if it were playing for the first time, and I’ll share the thoughts I had as the song played…

Lyrics (via K-Love.com)

I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”

Whoa there… God has done everything for us, don’t go blaming Him for the sin in the world

Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”

Uhm… the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom, dude. Maybe this is a Job type of story where Matt West is about to be corrected in his thinking by the Word of God or something

He said, “I did,…{pause for dramatic effect}

Okay, cool, God is going to remind Matt of what He did at the Cross, right?

“… I created you”

::sigh::

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

So… the direct revelation from God regarding the problems of sin in the world is that God created us to “do something”? Really?

So, what is it, pray-tell, that we should be doing that will bring an end to all this pain?

I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands and feet
But it’s easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s alright, “somebody else will do something”
Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says,
I’m gonna do something”

So the reason the world is in sin is supposedly because we’ve been living lives of apathy, lives with no desire and a flame won’t do but we want a fire. My wife chuckled at this line and said “isn’t a fire a flame?” to which I smiled (while the chorus repeated) and said, “touché”. Still the song nagged at me… so apparently we’ve moved on to thinking that even asking God to do something is part of living the apathetic life, huh? I guess we are not asking God for this fire that isn’t a flame?

We are the salt of the earth
We are a city on a hill
But we’re never gonna change the world

::sigh::

By standing still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still
No we won’t stand still

Wow… that was awful. The irony of this situation, is that the performer of this song never gets round to saying what it is we should be doing. People pay money to hear him sing a song of judgement for somehow not having already put an end to sin and death here on the earth.

God did do something

Romans 5  (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Don’t set aside the Gospel of Jesus Christ to sell a music album or push the false-gospel of social activism. Stop co-opting the social justice nonsense, the Great Commission isn’t about “changing the world”, but about preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

John 3:16-21 (ESV) | For God So Loved the World
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

I pray this song disappears from the Christian airwaves. Thoroughly troubling. Apparently the music video is all about the Good Works that answer the “do something” appeal… I’ll share it here for fairness sake, but there is no music video when this song plays on the radio.

[youtube http://youtu.be/b_RjndG0IX8]

So yeah… “Do good works… or else… the world won’t change”.

In Christ,
Jorge

DiM | “More of You” by Colton Dixon

Faithful Stewardship Leave a comment

Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Well, it looks like 20theCountdownMagazine continues to be the most reliably updated music chart. Today, at #7, we find Colton Dixon’s “More of You”. Without getting too far ahead of myself, let me just say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

Lyrics (via K-Love.com)

More Of You | Colton Dixon

I made my castle tall
I built up every wall
This is my kingdom and it needs to fall
I want You and no one else
Empty me of myself
Until the only thing that’s left is

More of You
Less of me
Make me who I’m meant to be
You’re all I want all I need
You’re everything
Take it all I surrender
Be my king
God I choose
More of You
Less of me

More of You

This life I hold so close
Oh, God I let it go
I refuse to gain the world and lose my soul
So take it all I abandon everything I am You can have it
The only thing I need is

All to You I surrender
All to You my blessed Savior
I surrender all

Publishing: © 2014 9T One Songs / Ariose Music / Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing / / 19 Tunes / D Soul Music (ASCAP) (Admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)
Writer(s): Colton Dixon, Ben Glover, David Arthur Garcia

The video for the song adds a positive element to this analysis. Let me say in advance that I do not “like” the video artistically, but they managed to convey a Gospel message that is quite refreshing, so I find myself in a position of recommending something I actually don’t “like”.

[youtube http://youtu.be/qYXjXi8PtzQ]

Positive Elements

Verse 1. This is my kingdom and it needs to fall got me nodding my head in agreement. The first “You” is quickly clarified as a reference to God the Holy Spirit as the verse moves on to empty me of myself.

Chorus. Such a wonderfully refreshing focus on God. More of You, less of me. Wonderful. You’re all I want, all I need, everything… Be my King.

Colossians 1:9-10 (ESV) 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Verse 2. Letting go of the cares of this life, refusing to gain the whole world, Lord take it all. The focus is good.

Luke 9:23-27 (ESV) | Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Music Video. Okay, so the scene playing out in the music video doesn’t flow with the storyline of the song. I found it visually frustrating and in some places rather disturbing, until I realized that the entire music video seems to be locked into the very first verse of the song. We start with a person looking to build his own kingdom out of sand.

Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV) | Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Matthew 19:23-30 (ESV)23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

But the really cool thing about this video comes when the main character is underwater (after the great fall of his house of sand) and he sees a treasure chest. He pulls out a helmet and puts it on. The significance of the helmet?

Ephesians 6:10-20 (ESV) | The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

And I love that once the main character finds his friend again, he passes on the helmet, which is a picture of evangelism.

Concerns

Video. As pleasantly surprised as I was with the video’s ending and the focus of the lyric of the song, it wasn’t without some concern. Primarily, the idea that the helmet is all we need. I mean, read the full passage from Ephesians 6, there is so much more that Paul was trying to convey. We live in a time when the visible church keeps trying to make “becoming a Christian” as simple as possible… relevant… and palatable for the unbeliever. Some have made it as simple as raising their hand and agreeing silently while the speaker leads in the “sinner’s prayer”… and they’re good so they just need to become members, volunteer, give money, and invite friends. By the way, that isn’t the Gospel. The “hope” there is that eventually the Gospel will catch up to the church member and overtake them or something, but I digress. Regarding the passing along of the helmet of Salvation, maybe it was an artistic choice to simplify the visual, but I think it leaves too much room for error. It takes a full Gospel to create a full Christian. The gift of faith (shield) doesn’t come through “our testimony”, it comes through hearing the Word of God (Sword of Truth).

Romans 10:14-17 (ESV)14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Lyrics. Lyrically, the major concern here is that the song seems to skip over the need for us to deny ourselves in a real sense, or at the application level. It’s great to “want” to be emptied of “me” and to ask God to do that work in our hearts, but at the application level we must repent daily, take up our crosses and follow Christ. How do we follow Christ? We die to ourselves, we die to the flesh so that we might walk in the Spirit. As long as we live in these mortal bodies, this will be a continual process. We must take every thought captive, and tear down every lofty opinion that raises itself against the Knowledge of God. We must bear fruit in keeping with repentance. In popular Christian music, I get so frustrated with the tendency to sing anthems of self-importance with all of the great things “I” can do because “I’m a Christian”, but when it comes to denying ourselves and repenting the songs make that an appeal for something God has to do. We need the Law (as Christians who still walk in the world in fallen flesh) to convict us of sin, and we need the Gospel for the forgiveness of sin. The song does not clearly convey Law and Gospel, particularly in the confession, repentance, and the forgiveness of sin.

Conclusion

This song turned out better than expected. While the video is odd to me, and the closeups on Colton in the transitions just seem out of place to me, but overall it is not bad. While this song does not clearly convey Law (sin, confession, repentance) it does present a Gospel message and focuses primarily on keeping a Christ-centered focus and attitude of humility and deference to God. Colton Dixon’s voice is phenomenal and the song is a solid pop song. While I don’t care so much for the visual styling of the video and the brevity of verse, the chorus has the right focus to serve as a reminder for Christians driving to and from work, school, or play.

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ,
Jorge