The Gospel (Part 3 of 5)

GOD chose to rescue

MAN out of his sinful rebellion through...

JESUS...

Part 3 in this series focuses on Jesus as the means of our rescue or salvation.  So much could be said about the work of Jesus on our behalf. As I sit here at my keyboard I have a sense of woeful inadequacy to even attempt to capture the scope and wonder of the sacrifice of Jesus toward us.  Yet it is with that acknowledgment I will attempt to provide a sliver of the glory of Jesus Christ.

But first let's review:

GOD is creator. He is our creator. We answer to Him. We are accountable to Him.  

MAN has sinned.  We have gone our own way, turning our back on God. We reject the accountability. We are indebted to, enemies with, and separated from GOD our creator. "But God..."   GOD rescued.

This is how God rescued us...

God entered into our humanity (the same way you and I entered humanity).  He was born. We celebrate this at Christmas.  God entered the world though the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus was fully God and equally fully human.  Jesus lived our life--yet he lived it the way that we were intended to live it--without sin. Then he died our death.  Jesus died on a Roman cross.  But why did Jesus have to die?  How was that the plan?

To answer this question we need to look at the character of God.  God is a God of love, mercy and kindness.  We all know this. But God is also a God of justice, righteousness, and holiness.  God cannot violate one aspect of His character in favor of another.   So, as God saw man suffering and dead in their sins, in love and mercy God may have wanted to just excuse our sin, overlook it, ignore it.  But as a God of justice, righteousness, and holiness He could not.  In the same way a Court Judge can not let the guilty just go free--fines will be paid, sentences will be served. Enter JESUS. Jesus became the solution to that problem.  The Bible explains this in Romans 3, God presented Christ [JESUS] as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness [character] at the present time, so as to be just [a God of justice] and the one who justifies [a God of love and mercy] those who have faith in Jesus (to justify means to forgive and be made righteous).

You see, in JESUS, God Himself entered into our world and lived a human life.  In his humanity, Jesus could be our substitute--taking our place, serving our sentence.  Yet in his divinity, he was able to pay the penalty for all.  Jesus, being God, has an equally eternal depth of holiness.  When he died he paid the penalty for the sins of all who would believe.

As sinners we have committed treason against God--against our King. In doing so we have received the sentence of death.  So here we stand on the hangman's gallows with the rope tight around our neck.  The executioner steps up to the platform, places his hand on the lever and asks for any last words.  Just then you hear a voice, but it's not coming from the onlooking crowd. It's coming from the balcony. It's the King.  

"Executioner, stay your hand!"

Then he comes down from his throne, walks up the steps to the platform and stands right in front of you.  Then he takes the rope off of your neck and puts it on his own. And says

"You are free."

As you begin to walk away, he hands you the keys to the castle.

GOD rescued MAN through JESUS.

The Gospel (Part 2 of 5)

Last time I introduced a simple definition of the Christian gospel or good news. My hope is to give you a better understanding of the Gospel and the ability to share it clearly, concisely, and completely with others. To do that I'm taking 5 blog posts to provide an in-depth look at each part of the Gospel message.  The simple statement we are working from is this:

GOD chose to rescue
MAN out of our sinful rebellion though
JESUS and offers us the 
GRACE of forgiveness and new life.

Last time we looked at GOD rescuing us (see that post here).  In part 2 we will look at MAN and our sinful rebellion.

The Bible clearly says that no one is exempt, but that all have sinned (Rom 3:23). We all like sheep have gone astray, turning to our own ways (Is. 53:6). There is no one righteous and no one who seeks God. (Rom. 3:10-11) All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. (Is. 64:6-7).

But what does it really mean that MAN is sinful?

Pastor and theologian, R.C. Sproul, shares three ways in which scripture describes our sin against God.  First sin is a debt.  Not a financial debt, but a moral debt.  God as our Creator has the right to require certain obligations from His creation. When we fail to live up to our moral obligations we incur a debt.  But, we don't like this. We don't like having obligations imposed upon us... we are FREE!  We reject this notion of moral obligations and certainly reject the idea of being indebted. This just further shows our sinfulness. Now, you can become upset about this, but that will just lead to more indebtedness!

Secondly, scripture describes our sin as enmity.  Enmity means to position oneself against or to stand as an enemy.  This is a picture of our moral protest, our rebellion. Scripture clearly says that in our natural, sinful state we are enemies of God (Rom 5:10, Col 1:21).

Thirdly, sin is criminal.   Sin is transgressing, or violating, God's law.  God's law is simply an expression of His Chrarcter.  His love for all, His perfect justice, His honesty, His kindness, His holiness, etc.  We, being made in the image of God are to live like His Image.  When we don't we violate His Character in which He made us.  When we sin we violate, we transgress the Law (Character) of God.  Like any violation of the law it come with a penalty. 1

If you were to smack me across the face, what would the penalty be?

Scripture says the wages of sin, or what sin deserves, is death.  Now that might seem a bit harsh, but consider it this way....   If you were to smack me across the face, what would the penalty be? I would get a little upset, but not much more.  If you were to smack a police officer across the face, what would the penalty be? You would probably be arrested and be put in jail. If you were to smack the president across the face, what would the penalty be?  You would be lucky if you didn't get shot! 2

The offense was the same in all three scenarios--smacking someone across the face, but, you see, it is the one the offense is against that makes the difference.  And we have done far more than smack God across the face. We have committed treason against our Creator. We have each staged a personal coup.  We have taken the life God gave us, the image God has given us and said, "Thanks, I'll take it from here.  I don't want to go Your way, do things in Your Character, I want to be my own boss---I'm free!"  This kind of treason carries the penalty of death... and through death it was paid in full! We will look at that in part 3.


1 http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/cosmic-treason/
2 heard this illustration from my friend Luke Rosenberger

The Gospel (Part 1 of 5)

The Gospel is the good news. It is the foundation of our faith. It is our motivation for serving. It is our hope, our joy, and our peace.  But what is it?    I'm afraid that many Christians have difficulty clearly, correctly, and concisely articulating the Gospel.  For example some have said...

• The Gospel is that God loves everyone no matter what...
• The good news of God's establishing his kingdom on earth through love...
• God wants you to have your best life...
• God wants to have a relationship with you...
• Jesus died for you...

While some of these may contain truth, they do not fully capture and explain the Gospel. Throughout different preaching series I have given this concise, clear, and complete description of the Gospel, and it is simple to remember by the following outline.

GOD 

MAN

JESUS

GRACE

GOD chose to rescue 

MAN out of our sinful rebellion through

JESUS and offers us the

GRACE of forgiveness and new life

In this blog series I will be going through the different points of the gospel and providing further explanation of each.  My hope is to give you a better understand of the Gospel and the ability to share it clearly, concisely, and completely with others.

GOD 

The Gospel must start with God.  The Gospel doesn't start with us, or even the cross. It starts with God, for it is God that we answer to.  He is our creator and He made (designed) us in His image (Genesis 1:26). It is against Him that we have sinned.

Our first parents--though temptation by Satan and their own choice--sinned, marring that image and breaking their fellowship with God and each other. They have since passed down a nature and environment of sinfulness to all their descendants (Rom 3:23, 5:12). In this fallen sinful state humans are hopelessly separated from God. By our nature and behavior we stand condemned before Him and are objects of God’s Holy wrath against sin (Eph 2:1-5).

"But God..." are some of the greatest words in the Bible. The chariots were coming, but God parted the Red Sea...  The giant was strong, but God was with David... We were dead in our sins, but God who is rich in mercy made us alive... We were in a sinful, separated state, "but God" chose to rescue us.  My boys have a book entitled, "The Jesus Storybook Bible". (I would highly recommend to parents of young children. amazon link) Over and over again it refers to God's salvation as "God's rescue plan". God did not sit idly watching us flounder in our sinful state. God initiated contact. God reached out. God rescued.  It may seem like we found God, or we cried out to Him, but the reality is any finding, crying, or reaching is only a response to God first drawing us to Himself (John 6:44).

Picture a person out at sea in choppy waters--struggling to stay above water. Their boat has sunk, they are minutes from drowning. Suddenly from out of nowhere a Coast Guard helicopter flies over.  Hovering above the distressed swimmer, the chopper lowers down a rescue cable. A member of the crew jumps into the frigid waters and helps the victim into the harness, makes sure the cable is securely  attached, and gives the "thumbs up" to the crew above to lift the tired soul out of the dangerous waters.  Just as the cable tightens, the rescue diver shouts, "Hold on tight!"  Once safely on board the helicopter, the distressed swimmer says, "Whew, it's a good thing I was holding on tight!"

Seriously?  As if holding onto the cable on the way up is what rescued him!  Yet if we don't start with God and Him rescuing us, we can easily mislead ourselves into believing that we are responsible for our salvation, or rescue.  No, the only thing we are responsible for is our sinful condition, but that will be covered in part 2.

I just can't memorize scripture... so I stopped trying

I don't know if our brains get slower or if they get fuller, but the older I get the harder and harder it is to memorize Scripture. I realized this to be true recently by observing my children and their ability to memorize Scripture.  Every week Laurie prints off a new verse and puts it on the fridge. The boys read it before meals and see it when they get a snack.  By about day three they have it memorized. It is amazing and wonderful! And they aren't short verses, either. They are usually multiple verses.  And my boys memorize them, word for word--even the twins, and they can't even read, yet! 

Scripture memory is important:

Chuck Swindoll wrote, “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. . . . No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified” (Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994], p. 61).

Scripture memory is beneficial toward

• Living Like Jesus
• Daily Choosing Obedience over Sin
• Giving Comfort and Counsel for People You Love
• Communicating the Gospel to Others
• Understanding and Enjoying God 

Scripture memory is hard 

My mind wanders. I get words mixed up. Good luck if I can ever remember the chapter and verse numbers. Many verses sound like other verses, so I get them confused in my mind...  so I stopped trying.

There's this weird phenomenon where the things we want to memorize, we can't, but the things we don't try to memorize we can.  

I stopped trying to memorize it. I stopped trying to be able to recite it perfectly. I stopped getting frustrated, and I started learning Scripture. I started absorbing Scripture. I started just reading the same passage over and over to become familiar with it. I read it over and over to squeeze every last drop of understanding out of it. I focused on understanding Scripture, letting go of the pressure to memorize it.  And guess what happened?  I began memorizing it.  I'm not sure if it is a trick that I'm playing on my brain, or if it is linked to what some people have called "test taking anxiety", but this seems to work.  I have also found that when I "memorize" this way, I tend to remember it longer (Sort of like the difference between learning and simply cramming for the test.)

If you have a system of memorizing Scripture that works for you, keep at it!  There is great benefit in it. Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

But for others who have become frustrated with trying to memorize Scripture, try this approach. Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  

Scripture memory resources:
www.fighterverses.com
www.navpress.com/Topical-Memory-System

What’s in a name?

At 10:30 AM on Sunday, April 13, 2014 Solid Rock Baptist Church voted on the recommendation of the Pastor and Deacons to officially change their name to Solid Rock Community Church.  The vote was unanimous. I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you the reasons we decided to change our name.

To better reflect who we are

This decision to change the name of the church was NOT so we could do some things differently and somehow the term “Baptist” was holding us back. No. This decision was because Solid Rock is not like a “typical Baptist church” (if there is such a thing, I’ll get to that in a moment). Or at least it is not like what most people have in their minds and past experiences of Baptist churches.

Baptist is not a good identifier.

What does it mean to be a Baptist?  Baptists are not the only group that baptize by immersion. All Baptists do not hold to one common doctrine, in fact, there is quite a long list of difference in beliefs among Baptists (eternal security, gifts of the Holy Spirit, interpretation of Scripture, role of women, homosexuality, etc). [1] In researching this, I found that there are over 80 different Baptist groups in the United States, and some of them differ greatly in belief and practice. [2] For example there are Full Gospel Baptists, Fundamental Baptists, General Baptists, Regular Baptist, Free Will Baptists, Progressive Baptists, and the list goes on and on.   There is not a uniform, typical Baptist church. A person’s view of Baptist is largely left up to what they've experienced or heard. 

In today’s day and age, we don’t need a label to identify who or what we are

Even if “Baptist” was a good identifier, with the ease of access to information via our website, Facebook page, twitter, etc.  we don’t have to rely on people’s assumptions of who they think we are, they can go to our website find out for sure. Furthermore, “Community Church” is a non-descriptive title with little to no uniformed preconception. This will drive people to investigate who we are, not who they assume we are. 

Over half of Americans have a negative view of the Baptist faith  [3]

Let that sink in a moment… Over half of Americans have a negative view of the Baptist faith.

I don’t think that this is the fault of our doctrine.  The gospel is good news in the wake of bad news.  We stand guilty before God our Creator, yet in His love for us He entered our humanity as the person Jesus. He lived the life we could not live, died the death we deserved to die and offers us the gift (forgiveness and new life) that we could not earn. We can have a right standing before God our Creator because of what Jesus has done for us. 

I don’t think it is the message that more than half of Americans have a negative view of. The Gospel is Good News and at Solid Rock we will never stop declaring it. I think people have a negative view of their experiences with and in Baptist churches. Perhaps they experienced judgment, legalism, or unkindness at one Baptist church. If you have a bad experience at a national chain restaurant, because the food was awful. How likely are you to visit that same restaurant in a different location? Not likely, I would imagine. We know that not all Baptist churches are like Westboro Baptist Church, who protest at the funerals of soldiers, and cheer at tragic disasters, yet we carry the same label.  At Solid Rock we don’t want to be doing those things or be associated with it, whether real or perceived.

In all we, as a church, don’t exist to lift high the Baptist name, and not even the name Solid Rock. We want to lift high the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, whatever we call ourselves.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists#Beliefs_that_vary_among_Baptists

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Baptist_denominations#United_States

[3] Stetzer, Ed: "Planting Churches in a Post-Modern Age", page 235. Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2003.