'Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads' Mark 14:29
The world will ignore Easter this Easter. If they think about Jesus dying on a cross at all, it won't be for very long, and with a metaphorical shake of their heads they'll get on with their life. Millions of people will walk past the cross and laugh this Good Friday; just as people did on the first Good Friday.
Jesus hung there on his cross, the innocent Son of God paying the price of the sins of a guilty world; and the world just laughed and insulted him. Do you do that? Perhaps once you stopped at the cross and knelt, and gave great thanks to the man on it for dying in your place; but recently you've stopped thinking about it, and you just walk by, and in your ignoring it in your life you're shaking your head at it. Why not stop and come back to the foot of the Son of God's cross and be blown away once more by the love he shows you, and stop your insults and say 'Thank you'.
The world still laughs and insults Jesus. Will we as Jesus' followers allow that to hurt us at this time of year especially; will we call people not to laugh but to weep, not to throw insults but to bow in reverence? As Jesus hung there, dying and derided, his friends were nowhere - rather than defending him, they had deserted him. If we are friends of Jesus this Easter, let's make sure we defend our God on his cross from the taunts and casual ignorance of our friends and families; let's stand up for his name and call people to stop at the cross this Easter and see what Jesus offers them as he dies on it.
Thursday 29 March 2007
'As well as in the...' pub (see below)
Having been thinking about Paul's evangelistic strategies (don't stay in church and wait for people to come in, take the news about Jesus to where they are), I went to the pub in the evening to watch the England game with a guy who's just started coming to our church and three of his mates. We watched the football, discussed why Rooney's rubbish for England and whether Ferdinand or Woodgate should partner Terry; and then conversation turned to church and Christianity. Here's what these three guys said;
'I'm really interested in all this stuff, I really am. I'd love to know more and ask questions, but I've never known anyone to ask.'
'Can you just tell me, what does the Bible say about sex? I've been wondering.'
'What do Christians believe then?'
I left with one of them saying he'd come along to church sometime, and another one giving me his phone number so we can meet up when he's back off holiday to talk about Christ. And I'd hardly done anything! Just gone to where they were at, and let it be known I was a Christian (easy when you work for a church!)...and I left with a result considerably better than England's against Andorra! None of which would have happened if I hadn't been in a pub in the first place. Don't save your evangelism for church and church events - take it to your marketplaces, and you might just be surprised at how God uses you...
'I'm really interested in all this stuff, I really am. I'd love to know more and ask questions, but I've never known anyone to ask.'
'Can you just tell me, what does the Bible say about sex? I've been wondering.'
'What do Christians believe then?'
I left with one of them saying he'd come along to church sometime, and another one giving me his phone number so we can meet up when he's back off holiday to talk about Christ. And I'd hardly done anything! Just gone to where they were at, and let it be known I was a Christian (easy when you work for a church!)...and I left with a result considerably better than England's against Andorra! None of which would have happened if I hadn't been in a pub in the first place. Don't save your evangelism for church and church events - take it to your marketplaces, and you might just be surprised at how God uses you...
'As well as in the marketplace'
I'm preaching soon on Acts 17:16-33, Paul in Athens, the cultural centre of the world in those days (a bit like Hull today...?) And I've been really struck on how Paul gets the message about Jesus to people - in v17, we're told 'He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the market-place day by day with those who happened to be there.' To bring that up to date, we could say 'he reasoned in the church with religious people, as well as in the pub/street/school/party/football team with those who happened to be there.'
Paul understood something that is so obvious, but so often ignored. He knew that there would be some religious people who'd go to a religious building and who were interested in religious things - so he was happy to go there and tell them about Jesus. But he also knew that there would be lots of people who didn't take religion seriously, and who didn't go to a religious building - and so if he was going to tell them about Jesus, he'd have to go to where they were at. In Athens, it was the market-place - so he went there and told 'those who happened to be there' about Jesus.
In our non-Christian society today we need to learn from Paul. It's easy to think that evangelism is only for church on Sunday mornings; that we should just organise events there, or at church youth group, and wait for people to flood in. But they won't; most people under 30 in this country have never been to church voluntarily, and they won't start just because we put some posters up.
Just like Paul, we have to go to where they are at. We each have a marketplace; it might be a classroom, or a pub, or a football team, or a street corner. That's where we need to stand up for Jesus, and tell people about Jesus; that's where we need to spend a decent amount of our time. Paul could just have spent time with and spoken to those nice, safe religious people (you can picture them, they wore cardigans and sandals I expect) - but he didn't - he spoke to them but also to random people in the places he found himself.
This is something we desperately need to learn, because 'church' is something that the vast majority of young people in this country have nothing to do with. If we want to see Jesus' name honoured in our nation, we need to get out of church and into pubs and clubs and parties and schools and tell people there. That's risky and it's hard; but it's in the marketplaces of life that our evangelism must be done.
Paul understood something that is so obvious, but so often ignored. He knew that there would be some religious people who'd go to a religious building and who were interested in religious things - so he was happy to go there and tell them about Jesus. But he also knew that there would be lots of people who didn't take religion seriously, and who didn't go to a religious building - and so if he was going to tell them about Jesus, he'd have to go to where they were at. In Athens, it was the market-place - so he went there and told 'those who happened to be there' about Jesus.
In our non-Christian society today we need to learn from Paul. It's easy to think that evangelism is only for church on Sunday mornings; that we should just organise events there, or at church youth group, and wait for people to flood in. But they won't; most people under 30 in this country have never been to church voluntarily, and they won't start just because we put some posters up.
Just like Paul, we have to go to where they are at. We each have a marketplace; it might be a classroom, or a pub, or a football team, or a street corner. That's where we need to stand up for Jesus, and tell people about Jesus; that's where we need to spend a decent amount of our time. Paul could just have spent time with and spoken to those nice, safe religious people (you can picture them, they wore cardigans and sandals I expect) - but he didn't - he spoke to them but also to random people in the places he found himself.
This is something we desperately need to learn, because 'church' is something that the vast majority of young people in this country have nothing to do with. If we want to see Jesus' name honoured in our nation, we need to get out of church and into pubs and clubs and parties and schools and tell people there. That's risky and it's hard; but it's in the marketplaces of life that our evangelism must be done.
Any Questions?
Everyone has questions we'd love God to answer, whether we trust in his Son for life here and beyond, or whether we're rejecting his Son. At my last youth group the 'Question Box' became quite famous and much-loved; next term we're running a course for adults called 'So Many Questions.'
It's great to have questions, to keep having questions, and to keep seeking for answers - but it can also be dangerous. It strikes me that in the Bible people ask two types of questions. The question itself can be the same; it's the motivation for asking it that differs.
First type: what I call 'psalm questions'. In the psalms you get quite a lot of deep, challenging, 'What the heck are you doing God' kind of questions, for instance 'Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?' (Psalm 10:1) These are honest, blunt questions - but crucially, they are being asked by someone who already has faith. It is faith that prompts a question like this, and it's faith that answers it...so by the end of Psalm 10 the same guy can say 'You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and listen to their cry.' Psalm questions can be blunt and difficult, but they're questions we ask of a God to whom we bow regardless of the answer, regardless of whether we're even given an answer.
Second type: 'Pilate questions'. At his trial, Jesus tells Pilate 'Everyone on the side of truth listens to me' - to which Pilate asks 'What is truth?' (John 18:37-38). I'm sure he was quite pleased with his question, and I'm sure he sounded very clever (people who live in universities manage to earn a lifetime's salary from talking about that question) - but he was a fool. He was a fool because he used a question to keep God's King at arm's length. His question was a defence mechanism which he could use to put off deciding whether or not Jesus was God's Son or not. And people do that all the time today, too - ask questions which make themselves look clever, and which allow them not to accept the claims of Jesus in their lives. Christians can do it too - if we keep asking questions, we'll never have to apply the answers to our lives. Pilate questions are questions we ask of God in order to prevent ourselves having to bow to him.
As I said, it seems to me the same question can be a Psalm question or a Pilate question. Let's take an example...
'When it says in the Bible 'Do not get drunk', what does drunk actually mean?'
If I'm asking a Psalm question, I'm asking that question because I want to make sure that I definitely don't sin by getting drunk, and I'm wanting to make sure that I bow to God in this area of my life.
If I'm asking a Pilate question, I'm trying to get round the command not to get drunk and hoping that perhaps 'tipsy' will be OK, and I'm trying to show God that I'm actually pretty clever because I'm asking a question which he might not answer in the Bible.
Same question, different motivation. It's worth stopping and thinking sometimes before we ask a question 'Is this a Psalm question or a Pilate question - am I asking this from a position of faith in God and obedience to him, or am I asking this question in an effort to evade applying one of his commands to my life?'
It's great to have questions, to keep having questions, and to keep seeking for answers - but it can also be dangerous. It strikes me that in the Bible people ask two types of questions. The question itself can be the same; it's the motivation for asking it that differs.
First type: what I call 'psalm questions'. In the psalms you get quite a lot of deep, challenging, 'What the heck are you doing God' kind of questions, for instance 'Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?' (Psalm 10:1) These are honest, blunt questions - but crucially, they are being asked by someone who already has faith. It is faith that prompts a question like this, and it's faith that answers it...so by the end of Psalm 10 the same guy can say 'You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and listen to their cry.' Psalm questions can be blunt and difficult, but they're questions we ask of a God to whom we bow regardless of the answer, regardless of whether we're even given an answer.
Second type: 'Pilate questions'. At his trial, Jesus tells Pilate 'Everyone on the side of truth listens to me' - to which Pilate asks 'What is truth?' (John 18:37-38). I'm sure he was quite pleased with his question, and I'm sure he sounded very clever (people who live in universities manage to earn a lifetime's salary from talking about that question) - but he was a fool. He was a fool because he used a question to keep God's King at arm's length. His question was a defence mechanism which he could use to put off deciding whether or not Jesus was God's Son or not. And people do that all the time today, too - ask questions which make themselves look clever, and which allow them not to accept the claims of Jesus in their lives. Christians can do it too - if we keep asking questions, we'll never have to apply the answers to our lives. Pilate questions are questions we ask of God in order to prevent ourselves having to bow to him.
As I said, it seems to me the same question can be a Psalm question or a Pilate question. Let's take an example...
'When it says in the Bible 'Do not get drunk', what does drunk actually mean?'
If I'm asking a Psalm question, I'm asking that question because I want to make sure that I definitely don't sin by getting drunk, and I'm wanting to make sure that I bow to God in this area of my life.
If I'm asking a Pilate question, I'm trying to get round the command not to get drunk and hoping that perhaps 'tipsy' will be OK, and I'm trying to show God that I'm actually pretty clever because I'm asking a question which he might not answer in the Bible.
Same question, different motivation. It's worth stopping and thinking sometimes before we ask a question 'Is this a Psalm question or a Pilate question - am I asking this from a position of faith in God and obedience to him, or am I asking this question in an effort to evade applying one of his commands to my life?'
Thursday 22 March 2007
Verse of the week
'Again the High Priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of glory." Mark 14:61-62
This exchange marks the climax of Jesus' trial, and his answer, still affirming that he is God's Son even when faced with death, is what puts him on Death Row. Within 24 hours he would be dead.
But while our focus could be on the trial of Jesus in AD33, Jesus' words point us towards another trial on another day. He tells his accuser and his judge, the high priest, that one day he will see Jesus again; only this time not as a bound, beaten man but as the eternal, powerful ruler, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand - in other words, as the judge of all. With these words Jesus faces the most powerful religious leader in Israel and tells him that one day the tables will be turned; though at that moment Jesus was the defendant and the high priest the judge, there would come a day when Jesus was the judge and the high priest, and all humanity the defendants. And while stating the truth about Jesus' identity was what incriminated people in the High Priest's court, in Jesus' court knowing the truth about him will be the only defence.
That day is still to come; and just as on that night in AD33, it's Jesus that remains on trial today in every heart, and in the court of public opinion. And as we look around, we see a country, a government and a society which seems determined to kill Jesus off; a society which is happy for Jesus to be anyone (a teacher, a philosopher, a moralist) other than who he is; the eternal, all-poweful Son of God.
Which trial's verdict do you care about? Do you care most about public opinion, about what friends and teachers and family say about your faith in Jesus? Do you seek to avoid a guilty verdict by keeping quiet about Jesus, by living like everyone else rather than as Jesus asks? Or do you care most about the day when you will stand before Jesus the Judge, on trial for your life? If you want to avoid a guilty verdict on that day, you need to just one thing; trust in the Judge as your Saviour.
The ultimate irony of the high priest's court was that they found worthy of death the one man who could give them life; the great tragedy of our country is that it continues to find offensive the only man who could give them acceptance with God. Let us not do that; let us confidently stand up in our trial wherever we find ourselves today and declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the eternal ruling Judge; and let us make sure we always care more about the trial of the world before Jesus when he returns than we do about the trial Jesus and his followers face each day at the hands of this world.
This exchange marks the climax of Jesus' trial, and his answer, still affirming that he is God's Son even when faced with death, is what puts him on Death Row. Within 24 hours he would be dead.
But while our focus could be on the trial of Jesus in AD33, Jesus' words point us towards another trial on another day. He tells his accuser and his judge, the high priest, that one day he will see Jesus again; only this time not as a bound, beaten man but as the eternal, powerful ruler, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand - in other words, as the judge of all. With these words Jesus faces the most powerful religious leader in Israel and tells him that one day the tables will be turned; though at that moment Jesus was the defendant and the high priest the judge, there would come a day when Jesus was the judge and the high priest, and all humanity the defendants. And while stating the truth about Jesus' identity was what incriminated people in the High Priest's court, in Jesus' court knowing the truth about him will be the only defence.
That day is still to come; and just as on that night in AD33, it's Jesus that remains on trial today in every heart, and in the court of public opinion. And as we look around, we see a country, a government and a society which seems determined to kill Jesus off; a society which is happy for Jesus to be anyone (a teacher, a philosopher, a moralist) other than who he is; the eternal, all-poweful Son of God.
Which trial's verdict do you care about? Do you care most about public opinion, about what friends and teachers and family say about your faith in Jesus? Do you seek to avoid a guilty verdict by keeping quiet about Jesus, by living like everyone else rather than as Jesus asks? Or do you care most about the day when you will stand before Jesus the Judge, on trial for your life? If you want to avoid a guilty verdict on that day, you need to just one thing; trust in the Judge as your Saviour.
The ultimate irony of the high priest's court was that they found worthy of death the one man who could give them life; the great tragedy of our country is that it continues to find offensive the only man who could give them acceptance with God. Let us not do that; let us confidently stand up in our trial wherever we find ourselves today and declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the eternal ruling Judge; and let us make sure we always care more about the trial of the world before Jesus when he returns than we do about the trial Jesus and his followers face each day at the hands of this world.
A downward spiral
Yesterday I was leading a Bible study for a group of retired women, and we were looking at 2 Samuel 11, about David's disastrous connection with the beautiful Bathsheba...and it reminded me of looking at the same passage with some teenagers in Highgate a year or so ago. It's one of those bits of the Old Testament that reminds us just how helpful narrative can be to us as we try to live as God's people. It's great to have a command ('Do not/Do...') but it's also very useful to see what happens when things go right/wrong in real life.
So it is with the account of David and Bathsheba - whoever's writing this account (inspired by the Holy Spirit) makes no comment of their own about what happened - they just give us the facts, and never say 'In doing this, David had really, really stuffed up, what an idiot.'
And 2 Samuel 11 (do look it up) shows us the downward spiral of a man who had been such a great king over God's people, and had always sought to follow God. First he sees a beautiful woman bathing (v2) - and, crucially, he allows his thoughts to dwell on her even though he's already married. He finds out about her (v3), and finds out she's married too. But still he carries on on his destructive path, and in v4 he summons her and sleeps with her. When Bathsheba gets pregnant he tries to cover it up, and ends up having her husband killed to hide the shame (v14-17). And so David, from one long, lingering glance at a beautiful woman, finishes up committing adultery and murder.
It's a stark reminder that sin starts in our minds. Before David slept with Bathsheba, he had to think about her. Before he summoned her to his bed, he had to look at her and keep looking at her instead of away. If he'd recognised and dealt with the sins of his thoughts, he'd never have sinned in his actions.
So it is for us. We all struggle with sin, and if we're being honest right now we could name three or four sins we know we commit in our actions. But all those sins begin in our minds, and it's there that we need to tackle it. Rude words begin with impatience in our minds. Laziness begins with a selfish mindset. Sexual sin begins with lustful thoughts.
And so when we ask God for help in stopping a particular sin, we need to ask him to help us as much with our thoughtlife as with our actions. Rather than attacking the end of the spiral (in David's case, adultery and murder) we need to attack the root of the spiral (in David's case, staring at naked married women). All this we see from the straightforward narrative of 2 Samuel 11; a great reminder of how vital it is to read our Old Testaments, to learn from the mistakes and examples of members of God's people who have gone before us.
So it is with the account of David and Bathsheba - whoever's writing this account (inspired by the Holy Spirit) makes no comment of their own about what happened - they just give us the facts, and never say 'In doing this, David had really, really stuffed up, what an idiot.'
And 2 Samuel 11 (do look it up) shows us the downward spiral of a man who had been such a great king over God's people, and had always sought to follow God. First he sees a beautiful woman bathing (v2) - and, crucially, he allows his thoughts to dwell on her even though he's already married. He finds out about her (v3), and finds out she's married too. But still he carries on on his destructive path, and in v4 he summons her and sleeps with her. When Bathsheba gets pregnant he tries to cover it up, and ends up having her husband killed to hide the shame (v14-17). And so David, from one long, lingering glance at a beautiful woman, finishes up committing adultery and murder.
It's a stark reminder that sin starts in our minds. Before David slept with Bathsheba, he had to think about her. Before he summoned her to his bed, he had to look at her and keep looking at her instead of away. If he'd recognised and dealt with the sins of his thoughts, he'd never have sinned in his actions.
So it is for us. We all struggle with sin, and if we're being honest right now we could name three or four sins we know we commit in our actions. But all those sins begin in our minds, and it's there that we need to tackle it. Rude words begin with impatience in our minds. Laziness begins with a selfish mindset. Sexual sin begins with lustful thoughts.
And so when we ask God for help in stopping a particular sin, we need to ask him to help us as much with our thoughtlife as with our actions. Rather than attacking the end of the spiral (in David's case, adultery and murder) we need to attack the root of the spiral (in David's case, staring at naked married women). All this we see from the straightforward narrative of 2 Samuel 11; a great reminder of how vital it is to read our Old Testaments, to learn from the mistakes and examples of members of God's people who have gone before us.
Thursday 15 March 2007
Saved from what?
Recently I was involved in a discussion with a high-level churchman (who will remain nameless!) and lots of other people who worked in churches. We were all asked to respond to the question 'What is salvation and what does it mean to you?' It would have been better if the question had been 'What does God say salvation is and what does God say it means to you?' but it wasn't.
Various responses were given, none of them wrong; salvation is being given purpose in your life, salvation is knowing you're accepted by God, salvation is knowing your stuff-ups have been forgiven.
Someone ventured this answer: 'Salvation is being saved from something - God's anger at our rebellion against him - and being saved for something - life lived his way for eternity.' Now, that's straight out of the Bible - we deserve God's rightful anger (Romans 1:18-20, 2:5, John 3:36, and countless other places), but in dying on the cross Jesus saved us by bearing our punishment (1 Peter 3:18, Mark 15:33-34, Isaiah 53:4-6, and lots of other places) so that we could have eternal life (John 3:16, Revelation 21, 1 Peter 3:18, etc). That is what God says salvation is; being saved from his anger for eternal life with him.
No, no, said the eminent church leader; 'I don't want to think of God being angry; I prefer to start with God's love for me, not God's anger. That's not what I find Jesus saying in the Bible.' Cue much nodding from most of the others there - salvation was about acceptance, not anger.
Why am I blogging about this? Well, because 'not wanting to think of God being angry' is the default position of the human heart, it is increasingly the default position of the Anglican Church, and it leads to a total misunderstanding of salvation.
Let's see why it's serious. If God is not angry at my sin, if I am not rightly facing eternal death and separation from the love of God, why do I need salvation at all? To be saved, you have to be saved from something. Imagine a man swimming in a river. He's having a lovely time, it's warm and calm and he's enjoying himself. Then suddenly in jumps some guy, grabs him, wrestles him to the riverbank, drags him up onto some grass, and starts kissing him. 'Why did you do that?' asks the man who was enjoying a pleasant swim. 'I saved you!' says the second guy. 'That's ridiculous,' says the by now annoyed first man - 'I didn't need saving from anything. I was fine. You haven't saved me - and I'm not thankful to you for doing it.'
Now imagine that guy in a river, swimming along, when suddenly he realises he's caught on something and is being dragged down. He's drowning, and there's nothing he can do about it. He's going to die, he has no chance of getting himself free. He begins to lose consciousness. Then suddenly in jumps some guy, grabs him, wrestles him to the riverbank, drags him up onto some grass, and starts giving him the kiss of life. 'I saved you,' says the second guy to the first.' 'That is awesome,' says the extremely thankful first man. 'I needed saving desperately. I was lost. You saved me - and I will always be thankful to you for doing that.'
There's the difference - to be saved, you have to first be in trouble. And mankind is in desperate trouble, facing God's anger day by day and most of all on the Day of Judgement. That's what Jesus saved us from, and if you take that away then Jesus' death on the cross becomes pointless. And the problem with ignoring God's anger is that the Jesus of the Bible talks about it himself - he talks about people being punished in hell (Luke 17:19-31), he talks of separation and judgement when he returns (Matthew 13:24-29, 36-43), he tells people 'Unless you repent, you too will all perish' (Luke 13:5). To ignore the reality of God's anger and his judgement of human sin, you have to ignore Jesus.
We may not like to think of God's anger, we might in our sin prefer a God who doesn't mind about injustice and genocide and murder and all other forms of rebellion against him, including our own (though that's not a very loving God then, is it?) We may like to think that God would never punish people for rebelling against him (though that's not a very just God then, is it?) We may not like to think about it, but if we don't understand the desperate position we find ourselves in before God then we will never understand what salvation is.
The doctine of God's anger at human sin is controversial, is unpopular, and is increasingly ignored by those within the church as well as without. But we must hold on to it, because it is the truth God tells us in his Word, and because if we do not realise what Jesus saves us from, we do not understand that Jesus saves us at all.
Various responses were given, none of them wrong; salvation is being given purpose in your life, salvation is knowing you're accepted by God, salvation is knowing your stuff-ups have been forgiven.
Someone ventured this answer: 'Salvation is being saved from something - God's anger at our rebellion against him - and being saved for something - life lived his way for eternity.' Now, that's straight out of the Bible - we deserve God's rightful anger (Romans 1:18-20, 2:5, John 3:36, and countless other places), but in dying on the cross Jesus saved us by bearing our punishment (1 Peter 3:18, Mark 15:33-34, Isaiah 53:4-6, and lots of other places) so that we could have eternal life (John 3:16, Revelation 21, 1 Peter 3:18, etc). That is what God says salvation is; being saved from his anger for eternal life with him.
No, no, said the eminent church leader; 'I don't want to think of God being angry; I prefer to start with God's love for me, not God's anger. That's not what I find Jesus saying in the Bible.' Cue much nodding from most of the others there - salvation was about acceptance, not anger.
Why am I blogging about this? Well, because 'not wanting to think of God being angry' is the default position of the human heart, it is increasingly the default position of the Anglican Church, and it leads to a total misunderstanding of salvation.
Let's see why it's serious. If God is not angry at my sin, if I am not rightly facing eternal death and separation from the love of God, why do I need salvation at all? To be saved, you have to be saved from something. Imagine a man swimming in a river. He's having a lovely time, it's warm and calm and he's enjoying himself. Then suddenly in jumps some guy, grabs him, wrestles him to the riverbank, drags him up onto some grass, and starts kissing him. 'Why did you do that?' asks the man who was enjoying a pleasant swim. 'I saved you!' says the second guy. 'That's ridiculous,' says the by now annoyed first man - 'I didn't need saving from anything. I was fine. You haven't saved me - and I'm not thankful to you for doing it.'
Now imagine that guy in a river, swimming along, when suddenly he realises he's caught on something and is being dragged down. He's drowning, and there's nothing he can do about it. He's going to die, he has no chance of getting himself free. He begins to lose consciousness. Then suddenly in jumps some guy, grabs him, wrestles him to the riverbank, drags him up onto some grass, and starts giving him the kiss of life. 'I saved you,' says the second guy to the first.' 'That is awesome,' says the extremely thankful first man. 'I needed saving desperately. I was lost. You saved me - and I will always be thankful to you for doing that.'
There's the difference - to be saved, you have to first be in trouble. And mankind is in desperate trouble, facing God's anger day by day and most of all on the Day of Judgement. That's what Jesus saved us from, and if you take that away then Jesus' death on the cross becomes pointless. And the problem with ignoring God's anger is that the Jesus of the Bible talks about it himself - he talks about people being punished in hell (Luke 17:19-31), he talks of separation and judgement when he returns (Matthew 13:24-29, 36-43), he tells people 'Unless you repent, you too will all perish' (Luke 13:5). To ignore the reality of God's anger and his judgement of human sin, you have to ignore Jesus.
We may not like to think of God's anger, we might in our sin prefer a God who doesn't mind about injustice and genocide and murder and all other forms of rebellion against him, including our own (though that's not a very loving God then, is it?) We may like to think that God would never punish people for rebelling against him (though that's not a very just God then, is it?) We may not like to think about it, but if we don't understand the desperate position we find ourselves in before God then we will never understand what salvation is.
The doctine of God's anger at human sin is controversial, is unpopular, and is increasingly ignored by those within the church as well as without. But we must hold on to it, because it is the truth God tells us in his Word, and because if we do not realise what Jesus saves us from, we do not understand that Jesus saves us at all.
Verse of the week
'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth' Acts 1:8
Famous last words are often quite funny (like the general who, on being told he was too close to the enemy's guns, said 'Nonsense. They'll never hit us from over th...'); rarely are they as significant as these, for verse 8 of Acts 1 are Jesus' last words on earth before he ascended into heaven.
And it must have been pretty scary for his disciples, around a hundred of them in a world of millions who did not know who Jesus was. Especially as Jesus told them that they were his witnesses; that his followers were to stand in the courtrooms of the marketplaces, the shops, the meal tables, the schools, and to witness to the truth about Jesus. That is the job of the follower of Christ; to witness to him. It was hard then (as the execution of 11 of the 12 apostles proves), it has been hard through history, and it is hard today - hard for us to tell people of Jesus Christ, God's Son, who has died to save them from judgement and for eternal life with God. And yet that is the job that Son of God charges us with today and every day. Whether you are a school pupil, a plumber, a politician or a policeman, if you're a Christian you have a job; to tell others the truth about Jesus. When was the last time you did that? When was the last time you prayed for an opportunity to tell your friends? When was the last time you risked laughter and rejection to be a witness for Christ?
That's the challenge; but we're not alone. 'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you', Jesus told those first Christians; and as Christians today we all have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. If we let him, he will give us the courage; give us the chances; give us the right words; and then, wonderfully, he will use our humbling, stuttering efforts at telling our friends and families about Christ and use them for God's glory. Perhaps he will even give us the privilege of being used to bring someone else to trust in Christ and become his witness. I think that's such a relief, to understand that my job is to witness about Christ, and the Spirit's job is to use my witness for God's glory. It's not my responsibility to convert someone, only to tell them; not my responsibility to use long words and fancy arguments, only to explain the gospel message.
And yet so often we don't witness, so often we don't tell others. Let's resolve this week to do our part in God's plan; to tell others about his Son, and then trust in the Holy Spirit to do his part, and work through our words to enable them to come to Christ. Who are you going to witness to this week?
Famous last words are often quite funny (like the general who, on being told he was too close to the enemy's guns, said 'Nonsense. They'll never hit us from over th...'); rarely are they as significant as these, for verse 8 of Acts 1 are Jesus' last words on earth before he ascended into heaven.
And it must have been pretty scary for his disciples, around a hundred of them in a world of millions who did not know who Jesus was. Especially as Jesus told them that they were his witnesses; that his followers were to stand in the courtrooms of the marketplaces, the shops, the meal tables, the schools, and to witness to the truth about Jesus. That is the job of the follower of Christ; to witness to him. It was hard then (as the execution of 11 of the 12 apostles proves), it has been hard through history, and it is hard today - hard for us to tell people of Jesus Christ, God's Son, who has died to save them from judgement and for eternal life with God. And yet that is the job that Son of God charges us with today and every day. Whether you are a school pupil, a plumber, a politician or a policeman, if you're a Christian you have a job; to tell others the truth about Jesus. When was the last time you did that? When was the last time you prayed for an opportunity to tell your friends? When was the last time you risked laughter and rejection to be a witness for Christ?
That's the challenge; but we're not alone. 'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you', Jesus told those first Christians; and as Christians today we all have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. If we let him, he will give us the courage; give us the chances; give us the right words; and then, wonderfully, he will use our humbling, stuttering efforts at telling our friends and families about Christ and use them for God's glory. Perhaps he will even give us the privilege of being used to bring someone else to trust in Christ and become his witness. I think that's such a relief, to understand that my job is to witness about Christ, and the Spirit's job is to use my witness for God's glory. It's not my responsibility to convert someone, only to tell them; not my responsibility to use long words and fancy arguments, only to explain the gospel message.
And yet so often we don't witness, so often we don't tell others. Let's resolve this week to do our part in God's plan; to tell others about his Son, and then trust in the Holy Spirit to do his part, and work through our words to enable them to come to Christ. Who are you going to witness to this week?
Thursday 8 March 2007
Help for weekends
We've all been there (or most of us have); the party with the booze and drugs, the guys gathering around FHM, the girls' night in where the main subjects are gossip and bitching. And we all know how tough it is to behave as God wants us to at those points, how easy it is to just have a couple of drinks, to just have a quick look (it won't hurt!), to nod along with the bitching.
Philippians 3:17-4:1 helps us in those situations. Paul speaks of those who 'live as enemies of the cross of Christ,' and describes them in a very strange way. 'Their god is their stomach, and their glory is their shame.' Have you ever thought of it like that? When people get drunk, or look at porn, or bitch about others, they're feeding themselves and their desires, they're making a god out of what they want. Who are they worshipping? Their stomachs, their own greed, and of course a stomach is never permanently satisfied, it always needs feeding, and ultimately (to put it bluntly) it's useless; whatever you put into it comes out again, and you have to keep filling it up. That's what drunkenness, looking at porn, bitching, obsessing about our looks or our shape is; having our stomach for our god. And the problem? 'Their destiny is destruction'.
Christians do not have their stomach, their own desires, for a god; Christians hold the Lord Jesus Christ to be their God. A God who far from taking all the time gives, as our Saviour. A God whom we worship not as someone who cannot do anything for us, but as one who one day will return from heaven to take us to eternal life.
But there's more, and this is what I think is really helpful when we're tempted to serve our bodies as our gods through drinking or porn or sexual immorality or obsessing over looks...one day Jesus will, 'by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.'
What a different picture that is to the one of people who serve their stomachs as gods by getting drunk, filling their minds with porn, using their tongues to gossip. There's no glory in a body like that, only shame, and the benefit for your body from serving that god is minimal and fleeting; but the Christian knows that their body will be transformed by their God into a glorious, perfect body. The benefit to the body of serving the Lord Jesus Christ is infinite and eternal.
Remembering that can help us to withstand the pressure to serve our stomachs, our own desires, as our god. Remember the result for us and our bodies of serving that god is destruction, and remember that the result for our body of serving the Saviour God, Jesus, is eternal glory with him. While all around us seek desperately to serve their stomachs as their gods, we get on with serving Jesus as ours, and 'eagerly awaiting a Saviour from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.'
Philippians 3:17-4:1 helps us in those situations. Paul speaks of those who 'live as enemies of the cross of Christ,' and describes them in a very strange way. 'Their god is their stomach, and their glory is their shame.' Have you ever thought of it like that? When people get drunk, or look at porn, or bitch about others, they're feeding themselves and their desires, they're making a god out of what they want. Who are they worshipping? Their stomachs, their own greed, and of course a stomach is never permanently satisfied, it always needs feeding, and ultimately (to put it bluntly) it's useless; whatever you put into it comes out again, and you have to keep filling it up. That's what drunkenness, looking at porn, bitching, obsessing about our looks or our shape is; having our stomach for our god. And the problem? 'Their destiny is destruction'.
Christians do not have their stomach, their own desires, for a god; Christians hold the Lord Jesus Christ to be their God. A God who far from taking all the time gives, as our Saviour. A God whom we worship not as someone who cannot do anything for us, but as one who one day will return from heaven to take us to eternal life.
But there's more, and this is what I think is really helpful when we're tempted to serve our bodies as our gods through drinking or porn or sexual immorality or obsessing over looks...one day Jesus will, 'by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.'
What a different picture that is to the one of people who serve their stomachs as gods by getting drunk, filling their minds with porn, using their tongues to gossip. There's no glory in a body like that, only shame, and the benefit for your body from serving that god is minimal and fleeting; but the Christian knows that their body will be transformed by their God into a glorious, perfect body. The benefit to the body of serving the Lord Jesus Christ is infinite and eternal.
Remembering that can help us to withstand the pressure to serve our stomachs, our own desires, as our god. Remember the result for us and our bodies of serving that god is destruction, and remember that the result for our body of serving the Saviour God, Jesus, is eternal glory with him. While all around us seek desperately to serve their stomachs as their gods, we get on with serving Jesus as ours, and 'eagerly awaiting a Saviour from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.'
How can I know myself?
'If I ever wanted to understand me, I’d have to talk to someone else.' So says Gnarls Barkley on 'Who Cares?' (I've just bought his album, 'St Elsewhere', which is actually not only good musically but pretty thought-provoking too, unless I'm reading too much into it!)
Most of us accept that sometimes other people close to us know us better than ourselves - our mums, or our best friends, or our husbands/wives. And in our society, when we really find ourselves in trouble we go and speak to someone else to understand ourselves - a therapist, a psychiatrist, a rehab clinic (just look at celebrities!) On shows like Desperate Housewives and Ally McBeal (if you're old enough to remember it!) therapists are a part of normal life, because they help people to understand themselves.
But ultimately, if you really want to understand you, you'd have to talk to the Someone Else who is your Maker, the God who created everyone in his own image (Genesis 1:26-27). No-one understands you like him, because no-one knows you like him - not even you.
That's why a very influential theologian from the 1500s, John Calvin (you have to say it with a French accent, as that's where he was from), begins his major work, his 'Institutes', with precisely that observation. Until you know God, he says, you cannot know yourself. Until you know what your Creator says of you, you won't be able to understand yourself.
On the album 'St Elsewhere', Gnarls Barkley turns to several different places to work out who he is, to understand himself - at no time does he turn to the God who made him. That's the tragedy of modern society; never have we spent so much money on working out who we are, on getting other people to tell us what we're like...when all the time, the One who made us is offering a free consultation in his word. If you want to know who you are, to understand yourself, pick up a Bible!
So why don't people do that? Maybe it's because we don't like the understanding of ourselves that the Bible gives us. We want to be told we're basically good people, not basically sinners who have rebelled against God; we want to be told we're heading in the right direction, not heading to hell; we want the option of finding someone else to give us a different answer, not find only a God who gives us total brutal truth.
'Everybody is somebody, but nobody wants to be themselves.' So continues 'Who Cares?'. We are all somebody, a somebody who is a sinner and needs saving, and can only understand that by understanding God; but nobody wants to be that somebody, so we run away from that truth by spending millions listening to others and ignoring God. The lesson? Listen to Calvin, and not to Barkley; 'If I ever wanted to understand me, I'd have to...listen to God.'
Most of us accept that sometimes other people close to us know us better than ourselves - our mums, or our best friends, or our husbands/wives. And in our society, when we really find ourselves in trouble we go and speak to someone else to understand ourselves - a therapist, a psychiatrist, a rehab clinic (just look at celebrities!) On shows like Desperate Housewives and Ally McBeal (if you're old enough to remember it!) therapists are a part of normal life, because they help people to understand themselves.
But ultimately, if you really want to understand you, you'd have to talk to the Someone Else who is your Maker, the God who created everyone in his own image (Genesis 1:26-27). No-one understands you like him, because no-one knows you like him - not even you.
That's why a very influential theologian from the 1500s, John Calvin (you have to say it with a French accent, as that's where he was from), begins his major work, his 'Institutes', with precisely that observation. Until you know God, he says, you cannot know yourself. Until you know what your Creator says of you, you won't be able to understand yourself.
On the album 'St Elsewhere', Gnarls Barkley turns to several different places to work out who he is, to understand himself - at no time does he turn to the God who made him. That's the tragedy of modern society; never have we spent so much money on working out who we are, on getting other people to tell us what we're like...when all the time, the One who made us is offering a free consultation in his word. If you want to know who you are, to understand yourself, pick up a Bible!
So why don't people do that? Maybe it's because we don't like the understanding of ourselves that the Bible gives us. We want to be told we're basically good people, not basically sinners who have rebelled against God; we want to be told we're heading in the right direction, not heading to hell; we want the option of finding someone else to give us a different answer, not find only a God who gives us total brutal truth.
'Everybody is somebody, but nobody wants to be themselves.' So continues 'Who Cares?'. We are all somebody, a somebody who is a sinner and needs saving, and can only understand that by understanding God; but nobody wants to be that somebody, so we run away from that truth by spending millions listening to others and ignoring God. The lesson? Listen to Calvin, and not to Barkley; 'If I ever wanted to understand me, I'd have to...listen to God.'
Verse of the week
'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall...' Exodus 20:2-3
What is it that makes you a member of your school? Is it your school tie, or the fact you turn up on time (hopefully!) at the school building each day, or hoping your school rugby team win? Actually no, it isn't...after all, I could do all those things myself, and I wouldn't be a member of your school! What makes you a member of your school is that you were accepted on your first day; maybe you passed an exam, or signed on to go to that school. You wear your school uniform because you're already a part of the school, not because wearing it makes you part of that school.
It's the same with being part of God's people; often it's easy to think that behaving like part of God's people is what makes us part of his people. I go to church; I say my prayers; I don't steal or lie or gossip; I go to youth group. Surely that's what makes someone part of God's people, a Christian?
Well, no, and that's what God's reminding his people here. He's about to give them the Ten Commandments, the summary of how his people live; but first he reminds them why they are his people. It's because he's rescued them from 'the land of slavery'. It's because in the Exodus he gave them a lamb to die instead of them. God's people are God's people not because of anything they've done, but because of what God's done. And it's the same today. Christians have been rescued from eternal slavery to sin and hell by God, by him sending his Son Jesus to die instead of us. So Christians must never think that what they do is what makes them part of God's people; they're already part of God's people, because of what God has done.
But God goes on to give the Ten Commandments, which is a bit like your school uniform. Wearing your school uniform doesn't make you a member of your school; but if you are already a member of that school, you wear the uniform. It's part of the rules of the school which you obey as a member. Likewise with being part of God's people. He has rescued Christians, made them his people, so that he can rule them, as his people live his way. That's why he reminds his people that he's rescued them, and then says 'You shall'. Living by God's rules is not what makes us part of God's people, but it's how we live as God's people.
So Exodus 20 is a useful reminder that we must always look to Jesus and his death and not to ourselves and our actions for the reason we are part of God's rescued people; but as part of that people, we are ruled by God. You'd never not bother wearing your school uniform, because wearing it is what you do as part of that school; so never not bother to obey God's rules, because being ruled by God is what you do as part of his rescued people.
What is it that makes you a member of your school? Is it your school tie, or the fact you turn up on time (hopefully!) at the school building each day, or hoping your school rugby team win? Actually no, it isn't...after all, I could do all those things myself, and I wouldn't be a member of your school! What makes you a member of your school is that you were accepted on your first day; maybe you passed an exam, or signed on to go to that school. You wear your school uniform because you're already a part of the school, not because wearing it makes you part of that school.
It's the same with being part of God's people; often it's easy to think that behaving like part of God's people is what makes us part of his people. I go to church; I say my prayers; I don't steal or lie or gossip; I go to youth group. Surely that's what makes someone part of God's people, a Christian?
Well, no, and that's what God's reminding his people here. He's about to give them the Ten Commandments, the summary of how his people live; but first he reminds them why they are his people. It's because he's rescued them from 'the land of slavery'. It's because in the Exodus he gave them a lamb to die instead of them. God's people are God's people not because of anything they've done, but because of what God's done. And it's the same today. Christians have been rescued from eternal slavery to sin and hell by God, by him sending his Son Jesus to die instead of us. So Christians must never think that what they do is what makes them part of God's people; they're already part of God's people, because of what God has done.
But God goes on to give the Ten Commandments, which is a bit like your school uniform. Wearing your school uniform doesn't make you a member of your school; but if you are already a member of that school, you wear the uniform. It's part of the rules of the school which you obey as a member. Likewise with being part of God's people. He has rescued Christians, made them his people, so that he can rule them, as his people live his way. That's why he reminds his people that he's rescued them, and then says 'You shall'. Living by God's rules is not what makes us part of God's people, but it's how we live as God's people.
So Exodus 20 is a useful reminder that we must always look to Jesus and his death and not to ourselves and our actions for the reason we are part of God's rescued people; but as part of that people, we are ruled by God. You'd never not bother wearing your school uniform, because wearing it is what you do as part of that school; so never not bother to obey God's rules, because being ruled by God is what you do as part of his rescued people.
Thursday 1 March 2007
Verse of the week
'Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain' Psalm 127:1
There's a lot to do for God, isn't there? If we're Christians, there are friends and family who need to hear about Jesus, there are friends and family who need to be encouraged to keep following Jesus, there's a church and a youth group at which to serve, there's our own praying and Bible reading to keep doing...a Christian life is a busy life.
And yet...amidst all the busy-ness, how often we need to remind ourselves of this verse. We don't build the house; God does. It's not our work that grows the kingdom of God, that builds the house of his people; it's God's work to do that. If God doesn't bless our work, it doesn't matter how hard we're working, it will be in vain. The lesson of this verse for the keen, energetic, driven Christian is to remember to rely on God's building work, and not on ours.
But that's not an excuse to down tools, stand back from the building site and watch and wait for God to finish the building. Unless God builds the house, the builders labour in vain; but if God is building the house, the builders will still labour - because God builds through his builders. God builds his kingdom through his people, he brings people's friends and families to trust in his Son through the lives and words of Christians. So this verse is also a lesson for the lazy Christian - to remember that God works through his people, through you. How are you working for God today?
There's a wonderful old song, written by a missionary a while back, whose first two lines capture the teaching of this verse, and which always brings a lump to my throat when I sing it;
'Facing a task unfinished, that drives us to our knees;
A need that undiminished, rebukes our slothful ease.'
If you're a Christian, you need to hear one of those lines today. Do you work hard for God, working on the unfinished of growing his kingdom...but forget to get onto your knees each day and beg God to build his house, beg God to use you to increase his glory? Do you work hard for God, but speak to him little? Get on your knees!
Or, do you not work hard for God? Do you get on with your easy life, hoping someone else will do the work for God. Read the second line. Look at the needs of your school, your town, your country, in such desperate need of the Word of God; and then allow your slothful, lazy ease to be rebuked. Get to work on God's building site!
If God is not at work, our work is useless; but when God is at work, he works through his people. Ask him to work through you today.
There's a lot to do for God, isn't there? If we're Christians, there are friends and family who need to hear about Jesus, there are friends and family who need to be encouraged to keep following Jesus, there's a church and a youth group at which to serve, there's our own praying and Bible reading to keep doing...a Christian life is a busy life.
And yet...amidst all the busy-ness, how often we need to remind ourselves of this verse. We don't build the house; God does. It's not our work that grows the kingdom of God, that builds the house of his people; it's God's work to do that. If God doesn't bless our work, it doesn't matter how hard we're working, it will be in vain. The lesson of this verse for the keen, energetic, driven Christian is to remember to rely on God's building work, and not on ours.
But that's not an excuse to down tools, stand back from the building site and watch and wait for God to finish the building. Unless God builds the house, the builders labour in vain; but if God is building the house, the builders will still labour - because God builds through his builders. God builds his kingdom through his people, he brings people's friends and families to trust in his Son through the lives and words of Christians. So this verse is also a lesson for the lazy Christian - to remember that God works through his people, through you. How are you working for God today?
There's a wonderful old song, written by a missionary a while back, whose first two lines capture the teaching of this verse, and which always brings a lump to my throat when I sing it;
'Facing a task unfinished, that drives us to our knees;
A need that undiminished, rebukes our slothful ease.'
If you're a Christian, you need to hear one of those lines today. Do you work hard for God, working on the unfinished of growing his kingdom...but forget to get onto your knees each day and beg God to build his house, beg God to use you to increase his glory? Do you work hard for God, but speak to him little? Get on your knees!
Or, do you not work hard for God? Do you get on with your easy life, hoping someone else will do the work for God. Read the second line. Look at the needs of your school, your town, your country, in such desperate need of the Word of God; and then allow your slothful, lazy ease to be rebuked. Get to work on God's building site!
If God is not at work, our work is useless; but when God is at work, he works through his people. Ask him to work through you today.
Your help needed
I've been thinking a bit recently about the range of good quality Christian books on offer to 'the yoof', and about how often in my church work I've ended up giving books written for adults in their thirties to young people in their teens, simply because there's no book written on that topic which is actually aimed at teenagers.
It's not that I think teenagers can't read and enjoy books written for adults, or that they need stuff written for them which has lots of BITS IN CAPITALS or even in bold just to keep them interested (because obviously Christian teenagers don't get excited about Christianity, only bits in bold or capitals!), but just that it strikes me that being a teenager is (a) very different to any other age, and (b) incredibly tough to live as a Christian. And doesn't that mean that teenagers mainly need books and Bible studies which bring Christian doctrine to bear on the issues facing them in their current circumstances?
So I'm thinking of having a go at writing a book...but if I'm going to be true to the above two paragraphs, I want to work out what areas it is that Christian teenagers most feel they need biblical advice and application, and then bring the Bible to that area, rather than me sitting here thinking 'Ah, I think this is what teenagers probably ought to know' and then getting it wrong.
So please help me, if you're a teenager - email me at lafertonc@hotmail.com, and tell me, if you were reading a 60-page book on an aspect of Christian belief or living, what would be most helpful for you to read about. And I tell you what, I promise if the book ever existed and is published (Hah!) then I'll give anyone who emails me a mention in it...
Go on, email now!
It's not that I think teenagers can't read and enjoy books written for adults, or that they need stuff written for them which has lots of BITS IN CAPITALS or even in bold just to keep them interested (because obviously Christian teenagers don't get excited about Christianity, only bits in bold or capitals!), but just that it strikes me that being a teenager is (a) very different to any other age, and (b) incredibly tough to live as a Christian. And doesn't that mean that teenagers mainly need books and Bible studies which bring Christian doctrine to bear on the issues facing them in their current circumstances?
So I'm thinking of having a go at writing a book...but if I'm going to be true to the above two paragraphs, I want to work out what areas it is that Christian teenagers most feel they need biblical advice and application, and then bring the Bible to that area, rather than me sitting here thinking 'Ah, I think this is what teenagers probably ought to know' and then getting it wrong.
So please help me, if you're a teenager - email me at lafertonc@hotmail.com, and tell me, if you were reading a 60-page book on an aspect of Christian belief or living, what would be most helpful for you to read about. And I tell you what, I promise if the book ever existed and is published (Hah!) then I'll give anyone who emails me a mention in it...
Go on, email now!
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