This week at Vacation Bible School the kids learned about the Word of God, the Bible. Why did we pick this topic? Why not pick a fun story from the Old Testament. Why talk about some dusty old book that no in America seems to be reading anymore.
We picked it because their destiny lies in what they think about this book and the truth that it contains. Where these kids spend eternity, whether it be Heaven or Hell, rises and falls upon their belief in the Words found in these pages. This is not only true for our kids, but it is true for all of us. This book, God's Word to us, is the revelation of our salvation. This book has the answers to your deepest questions and your deepest need. This book is the primary key in unlocking the joy your so desperately long for. The verse that we used to start our week at Vacation Bible School is Pslam 119:105, I will use to start today.
Think about this. If this is really God's Word this means that when you read the Bible you are standing before the throne of your Creator soaking in his presence and wisdom. This means that the words on these pages are not like any other words you have ever come in contact with before. For these words are from a being who is Holy, all powerful, all knowing, and unchanging. If this book is the Word of God, then this book has power. For it was God's Word that created the heavens and the Earth. God said, let there be light, and their was light. It was God's words that brought something from nothing. I am guessing that if you truly believed this book is the breath of God, you would read it more than you eat food. It would be your daily bread. It would be the source of your life. It would be what you used to nourish your soul when it is famished and longing for satisfaction. If you believe this book was God's Word you would say things like Jesus did in Matthew 4:4.
Our problem is that we don't believe that this book is the breath of God, at least not as much as we should. We see it as just another book on the shelf. We see it as an archaic, historical book that our grandparents built their life upon but it holds little relevance to us in this age. We see this book as something for pastors and priests, but holds no value for the common man. No, Satan has done an excellent job of keeping the lamp of God's Word turned off in our homes. Satan's desire is to keep you as far away from this book as possible, for He hates the Word of God. Why? Because he knows it power. In Ephesians 6:17 we are told that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. The Bilbe is our weapon by which we do battle against the schemes of the devil. Satan would rather you be unarmed when he shows up at your house tonight to tempt you. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, not only does it say that all scripture is breathed out by God, but it also says:
Therefore, since the beginning of creation, Satan has declared war on the Word of God. The very first attack was not on Adam and Eve, but on the Word of God. The first words out of Satan’s mouth in the beginning of human history was, “Did God actually say…” And Satan has not changed his strategy. Why? Because it worked then, and it works now. Satan is working overtime attempting to keep you from knowing the truth that is in God’s Word. In Mark Chapter 4 Jesus tells a parable about four soils and the seed that is sowed on the four soils. The seed in the parable we are told is the Word of God and the four soils are: 1) the path, 2) the rocky ground, 3) the thorns, and 4) the good soil. Listen to what he says about the seeds that are sown on the path.
One of the main ways he has done this is to whisper the lie into the ear of this nation that the Bible was written by men independent of God. That it is not God's Word but man's word. To those who believe the Bible is man's word, I ask, have you ever read it? Have you ever opened up the pages and seen what this book says? Have you ever considered the reality of this book and the miracle that it is that I hold it in my hand today? To all of the Bible doubters I say with confidence and with full assurance that this is God's Word. It was written by men and inspired by God. Why do I say this? Because the proof is in the pudding. The more I read these pages the more I smell the breath of my Creator. The evidence is overwhelming. God is all powerful and all knowing and all present and He inspired men to be messengers His truth. The Bible itself is a collection of 66 separate books, written by 40 different men, over a period of 1600 years. God used shepherds, Kings, prophets, poets, doctors, fishermen, Pharisees, and tax collectors to bring His Word to mankind. This alone is amazing. That I hold a book that has parts that were written 3600 years ago is unprecedented. Despite the age, variety of styles and numerous authors there is a supernatural consistency that runs throughout each and every book that points to one singular truth, our deep and desperate need for Jesus Christ. The consistency of this book is incomparable. It is 66 books, but one Story. It is a variety of men, but one Spirit inspiring them all. I am always amazed that people struggle with this. Why do people fabricate such a small God? If God can stretch out the heavens with his fingers, then those same fingers can write a book. Not only that but this book testifies that the author is God.
The next way Satan attempts to keep us from this book is to tell us that it is not relevant to our lives. That there is nothing in this book that matters. It is just a collection of boring stories. This could not be farther from the truth, for as I said earlier this morning, your destiny rises and falls upon the pages of this book. Just as Peter says in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” In this book God gives gives us the diagnosis of our soul, and the prognosis is not good. In this book God tells us that our hearts are desperately sick. In this book God reveals to us that we are sinners. In this book God warns us of his wrath. In this book God informs us that we are blind, deaf, lost, broken and spiritually dead. In this book that God tells us we are destined to face judgment before a Holy God with nothing to offer him but our filthy rags of unrighteous works. This book is a window into the wickedness of our soul, showing us our depravity and the hopelessness of our state. This book is like scalpel opening up our hearts and showing to us that our condition is fatal. Having said that, also in this book that we are introduced to the Great Physician who can heal our sickness. In this book we are told of the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the World. In this book God paints a picture of the suffering King who was hung on a cross to purchase a people for His own possession. In this book God bears witness to his obedient Son who loved Him and was perfectly righteous. In in this book the Glory of God is displayed in the face of Jesus. It is in this book we are introduced to the Hero to our Story, Jesus Christ. Therefore this book, the Bible, God’s Word, holds within its pages the diagnosis of our condition and the cure to our disease. It truly is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. For it points us to Jesus Christ who is the way, truth and the life, and that no one gets to the Father but through him. And off course, Satan does not want you to know any of this. He wants us to be oblivious to the disease we call sin. Listen to what 2 Corinthians 4:4 says about Satan.
At Cornerstone we deeply recognize the power of God's Word. Our desire is for people to be educated, holy, equipped, competent, and able to do the work of God. Our desire is to hand each person the sword of God's Word so that they can do battle against Satan. Our desire is for people to be saved. Our desire is to help people find the door into Heaven, to find the door to joy, and they way we do this is the way God told us to do it, to feed upon every word that comes from His mouth. So in closing, if you don't have a Bible, we would love for you to take one. If you want someone to read it with you, ask, and we would love to. If you want to study this book, we have several Bible studies that meet throughout the week. But above all, open it up and read it. Let the light of God shine into your life.
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Preached at Cornerstone Church in Cascade, IA on April 27, 2014
Last week, we took a break from studying the Sermon on the Mount, and we focused our attention on the explicit Gospel. In doing so we looked at 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and I asked two questions, what is the Gospel and why is it “of first importance.” Sunday night as I was beginning to reset for another week, I was debating if I should turn back to the Sermon on the Mount or not, for there is so much in the passage of 1 Corinthians 15 that I glazed over due to time constraints. Therefore I decided that we need to hang out in this text and focus more on the Gospel for two more weeks and then we will return to the Mountain. So with that said, let us read our text, pray and then see what God wants to show us.
In the midst of that that chain, that progression that I just laid out, is a gap. The gap lies between the gospel being preached and the Gospel being received. The Greek word behind “receive” is paralambanō this means to take, to join to one’s self, to make it yours. One way that this word, paralambano, is used is in the context of marriage. It is the word used by the angels to encourage Joseph to take, or receive, Mary as his wife after he found out she was pregnant.
We are told very clearly and directly in our text that the way you receive the Gospel and therefore all of the benefits that flow from the Gospel is by believing. Look at verse 2 and verse 11.
This is one of those times when you are reading scripture that its helpful to understand what the passage does not say. The passage does not say that you are saved if you come to church. It does not say you will be saved if you are baptized. It does not say that you are saved if you take communion. It does not say you are saved if you are a good person. It does not say you are saved if you are a republican. It says very explicitly you are saved from the wrath of God by believing, believing that Jesus died for you, a sinner, and that he was raised from the dead. That’s it. Believe. Scandalous isn’t it? Just so we are clear, this is not the only place we see this in the Bible. Here is a small sampling of other passages in the Bible that say the same thing.
Within the Church of Galatia there were people who called themselves Christians. They sang the songs, they were baptized, they were “good people,” but they said that believing in Jesus wasn’t enough. They said in addition to accepting Jesus you had to, also jump through specific religious hoops. They said that you still had to work, or earn, grace. This is, by the way, an oxymoron. If you earn something it is a wage, not grace. In essence, what these fake Christians were saying is that Jesus didn’t really give you a gift, he just gave you a discount on your salvation. It was like an Easter day sale. You still had to pony up and provide some cash in the form of righteous acts. This blasphemy was the main issue that caused Paul to write one of the most stinging books in the Bible.
Many of you may be saying, we get it, stop beating a dead horse. Do we? Do we get it? Do we understand that nothing we do can make God love us more or less? Do we get that nothing we do can make us more attractive to God. Do we understand that we are saved by faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone? Do we really believe 1 Corinthians 15, John 3:16, Romans 1:16, the book of Galatians? I am not sure that we do. One of the primary means by which Satan undermines the Glory of Christ is by convincing you that Christ is not enough; that Jesus just wasn’t able to rescue you; that Jesus can only save you so far. Satan attempts to strip the glory of Christ and tries to convince you to take some glory for yourself. Why does he do it? Because he wants you in hell with him. This is what we call false religion. It is the form of religion, but is lacks power. It lacks the Gospel. It takes the Gospel and makes it pointless. Understanding that it is faith alone that is the means to accept the gift is so crucial, for you don’t receive it, if you don’t believe it. Do you here that? You don’t receive forgiveness, if you don’t believe that through Christ you are forgiven. You don’t receive eternal life, if you don’t believe Jesus purchased it for you. Why is it this way? Why does God set up redemption through believing in Christ? It has everything to do with Glory. God created this universe to display his glory. Isaiah 48:11 says that God will not give his glory to another. This includes the glory of saving sinners.
But if instead when you are standing before the judgment seat of God and God asks you on what basis you shall avoid Hell you say, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” Get ready for eternal joy. Folks, it is time for a reformation. It is time for us to nail the 95 thesis on our hearts and to get back to the Bible and read the words of Paul, John, and Jesus. We must see 1 Corinthians 15 for what it says. The Bible is so clear, that it amazes me when people try to save themselves by religion. Religion does not save. Jesus saves. Amen? Preached at Cornerstone Church in Cascade, IA on March 16, 2014.
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5:17. Here at Cornerstone we desire to be Bible people, and by Bible people I do not mean the four gospels, or the New Testament. I mean the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation and everything in between. Every single thread that weaves its way through God's redemptive story we want to read and embrace. Too often this is not the case for Christians. Too often Christians only read portions of God's word. One reason that some people limit themselves is because they see the Old Testament as the law, and because of Jesus, we are not under the law, we are under Grace. Therefore, they believe the law is not important. First, this is an extremely shortsighted understanding of grace. Second, it is unfortunate because when we do this we are cheating ourselves out of understanding the fullness of God's glory as displayed in Jesus Christ, and therefore we cheat ourselves out of the joy of deeply knowing Him and what Christ has done for us. Our text today helps explain why we, at Cornerstone Church, are entire Bible people, namely because Jesus was an entire Bible person. Let us begin today with reading our scripture, we will pray and then we will see what God had to say for us this morning.
Now that we know what Jesus means by the law and prophets, let us ask the question why does he make that statement about not abolishing the law and prophets, the Old Testament? Perhaps this seems odd to you. One possible reason is because there were a fair number of people who desired for Jesus to do just that. At this point in Jesus' ministry he was becoming extremely popular. Very large crowds were following him, and the religious leaders, the Pharisees, were starting to take notice and were concerned about his popularity. One reason He was so popular was that the Jews were tired of the burden, or the yoke, that was placed upon them by the Pharisees. Many of the Jews may have desired a complete reset of the Jewish system. The believed the bathwater was dirty, so they were ready to pitch it, baby included. Jesus kills these dreams by stating clearly that this is not why he came. He had not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill. What does Jesus mean when he says that he has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets? This statement means several things, all of which are the basis to why we worship Jesus. His fulfillment of the Old Testament is what makes Him worthy to be praised. This is why we sing songs about Jesus and study about Jesus and pray to Jesus and testify about Jesus. It is because He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Or to put it another way, Jesus is the fulfillment of all redemptive history. The first way that Christ fulfills the Old Testament is that it testifies about Him. The Old Testament is the shadow and Christ is the substance. The Old Testament is just one long story that points to Jesus. Listen to what Jesus says in John 5:39.
Jesus is saying that when you read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Isaiah, Psalms, Malachi, etc. they all point to one reality, Him. Think of each book of the Old Testament as the brush strokes of God in the creation of His singular masterpiece paining, His Son. Each Book provides more and more and more detail, color, and clarity of who the painting is about. This is not the only place that Jesus says something like this. Listen to His Words on the road to Emmaus:
Jesus is telling his followers that when you read the Old Testament something in your heart cries out Jesus. You should see the Gospel of Christ dripping from every page. Here is just a sample of what I mean. Jesus is the Seed of Eve in Genesis 3, He is the Passover Lamb in Exodus, He is the High Priest in Leviticus, He is the bronze serpent in Numbers, He is the Prophet in Deuteronomy, He is the Army Commander in Joshua, He is the lawgiver in Judges, He is the kinsman redeemer in Ruth, He is the Temple, He is the peace offering, He is the show bread, He is the lamp, He is the sacrifice, He is the King, He is Israel, He is the suffering servant, and so on and so on. Every single book testifies, points to, Jesus Christ, sometimes generally and sometimes specifically, but make no mistake, He is the substance of the shadow that is cast in the law and the prophets. This is one way by which Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. However, this is not the only way that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. Let us look at Matthew 5:18
Why is the Old Testament called “the law?” The answer to that is quite simple. The Old Testament is primarily about God interacting with His people by means of law. We see this right out of the gates in the Garden of Eden.
Of course, we know how that went. Adam and Eve disobeyed the law. Next, in the book of Exodus we have God delivering the Israelites out of Egypt in Exodus. What is the first thing God did? He established the law.
With that said, what does Jesus mean in verse 18 when he says, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” This is a pretty significant statement, for one dot of the law is pretty small. Yet Jesus says that all of it must be accomplished. What is he talking about? How does Jesus fulfill or accomplish the demands of the law? Jesus accomplishes the law by giving it what it demands, specifically obedience and payment. The purpose of laws is to require a certain type of behavior. Take a moment to think about some of our local laws, speeding, seat belts, driving while intoxicated, possession of illegal drugs, etc. Each law is an attempt to make people live in a certain way that the State believes is good, or right. The law demands obedience. Alongside those laws is punishment. Speeding for example, if you exceed the speed limit and are caught, the fine is, let’s say $100. If there was no punishment, there are no teeth in the law. People will not obey. Punishment goes hand in hand with law. If there is a law, without teeth, then it is pointless. The law of God is no different. The first law that was given to man occurred in the Garden of Eden. God said you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. That was the law. Alongside that law was the punishment. God said if they disobey His law, they will die. Once again we know how the story goes. They ate from the tree and Adam and Even were instantly spiritually dead, and eventually they physically died. Due to their disobedience death entered into the world through sin. Once again, as stated above, the Law as given to Israel was similar. Listen to what God says to Israel in Deuteronomy 28:15.
So once again, this law of God came with demands. It demanded obedience and it demanded punishment, and we are no different. All humanity sits under the law of God.
The law for all mankind is to live Godly lives. Everyone of us. We are all called to love Him, to trust him, to give thanks to Him, to honor him. You, me and every single person on this planet. If we do, we are His treasured possession, and if we don't we are going to feel His wrath. And just like the Israelites, we can't fulfill the demands of the law. No matter how hard we try, we fall short. We have all lied, lusted, coveted, cursed, gossiped, you name it. We are sinners. WE are rebels just like Adam and Eve and just like the Israelites. We want to live according to our own law, not Gods. Two famous verses that all of us should have memorized are Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23.
We have all rejected our God and transgressed His law. This is what sin is. It is rejecting his authority in our lives. It is rejecting his sovereignty over us. Instead of loving Him, we want to love ourselves. Instead of living for Him, we want to live for ourselves. Instead of listening to him, we listen to ourselves. This is sin, this is law breaking. And the punishment for this, the wage, is death. And no matter how hard we try we cannot abide by the law. We cannot end our rebellion. We do not have the capacity to do it.
We cannot please God; However for justice to be upheld there must a price that must be paid, and Jesus does just that. Jesus fulfills the legal demand of the law. Jesus accomplishes the law by absorbing its punishment. He takes upon himself the wrath that we deserve. He stands in our place.
Jesus fulfilled the demands of the law and paid the price required. Our sins required our life, yet Jesus gave us His life instead. This is Grace, and it is amazing. Second, not only did Jesus pay the price that the law demands, but he lived the life that the law demands. Listen to Galatians 4:4-5.
Jesus submitted himself to the same law that you and I, and all of us are accountable to. This was part of the plan. In order for Jesus to redeem us, to bring us to God, he had to live a perfectly obedient life, a righteous life, under the law. If he would have sinned, than they entire rescue operation would have been over. Jesus Christ fulfilled all requirements of the law, to the dot. Everything His Father asked him to do, he did. The compass of Jesus’ life was His Father’s will. No matter what, Jesus drank from the cup that His Father gave Him. Jesus was on mission to do exactly what God asked of him. You can see this in a few chapters before this at the time of Jesus’ baptism.
Jesus fulfilled all righteousness. He is the only one every to walk on this planet that is without sin. No other religion, no other philosophy, no other academic can say this. It is an exclusive reality of Christ. He is the only one who is righteous. He fulfills every dot every iota of the law. He lived the life we couldn't. Jesus has what we lack. Which leads us to the last point.
Turn with me to Philippians 3:4-10. The writer of this passage is Paul. Paul was on the fast track of becoming the best Pharisee of his day, but Jesus interfered with his plans. Listen to what Paul says.
How can our righteousness exceed those of the Pharisees and scribes? Only through what is called the great exchange. Jesus takes our punishment and we take his righteousness. It is at the cross that the law and grace collide. And they way by which we receive this amazing grace is by faith. Just like Paul says, we do not have a righteousness of our own. None of you are good enough to avoid God's wrath, we must receive Christ righteousness by faith alone. Thanks be to Jesus. |
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