I was reading in 1 Timothy today and I became so overwhelmed with what I was reading. I came to chapter 1 verse 8-10 which says:
"We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers. And it is for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine."
At first I didn't really understand what this passage was saying because it was talking of the lawbreakers, which I feel is all of us. At this point, my mind was going crazy because I was just so overwhelmed and read it possibly 10 times to try and understand. I didn't understand what it meant when it was talking about the law in this sense. But as I started to look in other books throughout the new testament, I slowly began to realize what it was saying. I resorted mainly to Galatians and began to see a beautiful story unfold of the love God truly has for us. Here are some of the verses I read:
"The law is not based of faith; on the contrary, it says 'Whoever does these things will live by them.' Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.' He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit." Galatians 3:12-14
"Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was put in charge of us until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Galatians 3:23-25
"So my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were controlled by our sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:4-6
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1-2
"By calling this covenant 'new', he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." Hebrews 8:13
After reading in Galatians and Romans, I was overwhelmed with the love of a mighty God. Because God sent his own son to become the curse for us, we are set free from the law that once bound us. We are not judged by the law but by our faith in Jesus Christ, and that is more than beautiful; that God would have more love than we could ever imagine for us. How can we not tell of this love? It is imperative that we tell this good news to the world; if not, they are still judged by the old law and they are hopeless without the saving power of a savior. We can't just sit around waiting for someone else to go and preach to the world, we must go ourselves. We need to share the love and freedom that Christ has given us with all nations because it is what he has called of us. But why wouldn't we want to share this to everyone anyway, especially if we know that they are condemned to the old law without the one who has saved us?
The love of Christ is the most beautiful love you could ever experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et00UNFDjVM
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The "Gospel" Life
Earlier tonight, I was studying Galatians Chapter 1 with a good friend of mine. This chapter talks about how we have strayed from the true gospel and about Paul's conversion. As we were studying, it really hit us hard how we are not living the life of the gospel. How can we say we believe in something, but not live it out? If we believe something shouldn't we be proving it? When we look at the scripture, it says:
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let that person be under God's curse!" (vs. 6-8)
When I read these verses it makes me cringe because we have strayed so far from what the gospel is really saying. Instead of seeking what the bible says, we have allowed the world to preach a fake gospel. We have become confused ourselves, which makes me cringe even more because without the counsel of God himself, we are teaching a gospel that is not only throwing ourselves, but others into confusion. I think we have made the gospel way too comfortable and painted this pretty picture of what following Jesus looks like. But when we search the scriptures, we see Jesus and his disciples being persecuted, beaten, and even killed. Looking at Luke 9:57-62 it sounds as if Jesus is talking people out of following him because he knows that following him is a hard road. But he also promises that whoever loses their life for his sake will save it (Luke 9:24).
I guess what I'm trying to say is are we preaching a watered down version of the gospel so that we can please people, or are we more focused on what God thinks? We have become a people who is more about pleasing someone than pleasing the King himself. We have a tendency to fear what man thinks over what God thinks. We may not think that, but our actions say otherwise. Why would we, or anyone, change what the Bible says to accomadate what people want to hear? To please people. Paul directly faces this issue in verse 10: " Am I now trying to win human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."
What gospel are we preaching to those who don't know the gospel at all? Are we telling them the entire truth, or are we covering some of the truth up, leaving them blinded when they discover the real truth...
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let that person be under God's curse!" (vs. 6-8)
When I read these verses it makes me cringe because we have strayed so far from what the gospel is really saying. Instead of seeking what the bible says, we have allowed the world to preach a fake gospel. We have become confused ourselves, which makes me cringe even more because without the counsel of God himself, we are teaching a gospel that is not only throwing ourselves, but others into confusion. I think we have made the gospel way too comfortable and painted this pretty picture of what following Jesus looks like. But when we search the scriptures, we see Jesus and his disciples being persecuted, beaten, and even killed. Looking at Luke 9:57-62 it sounds as if Jesus is talking people out of following him because he knows that following him is a hard road. But he also promises that whoever loses their life for his sake will save it (Luke 9:24).
I guess what I'm trying to say is are we preaching a watered down version of the gospel so that we can please people, or are we more focused on what God thinks? We have become a people who is more about pleasing someone than pleasing the King himself. We have a tendency to fear what man thinks over what God thinks. We may not think that, but our actions say otherwise. Why would we, or anyone, change what the Bible says to accomadate what people want to hear? To please people. Paul directly faces this issue in verse 10: " Am I now trying to win human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."
What gospel are we preaching to those who don't know the gospel at all? Are we telling them the entire truth, or are we covering some of the truth up, leaving them blinded when they discover the real truth...
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Cost of Discipleship
The past few weeks, I have been hit extremely hard by the passage Luke 14:25-35:
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
So many people ignore this passage or just skim over it and never devote their lives to this "concept." But isn't this what Jesus commanded us to do? To give up everything to follow him? My mind has been consumed with what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. For those of us who call ourselves Christians, are we really living that life - the life that Jesus has commanded us to live if we are to follow him. Are we giving up everything to go and preach the gospel to those who are unreached, who have no freedom in Christ? How is it that we just sit and wait for others to do the "dirty" work, yet call ourselves disciples? How is it, with so many unreached peoples, that so few Christians are going?
Jesus calls us to abandon our comforts and all that is familiar to us and natural to us. I mean look at Mark 10:17-31. A young man wants to follow Jesus but he cannot give up the things that hold him back and distract him in life, such as all the possessions that he values so highly. Jesus ends up telling this man to "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me." (vs. 21) I don't think Jesus meant this literally, to sell everything, but he did want the young rich man to give up what was holding him back from following the Son of God. Jesus wasn't trying to strip this man of all his pleasure but offering him eternal treasure. He was saying that "This is better, not just for the poor, but for you as well, when you abandon the stuff you are holding on to."
I guess what consumes my mind is do we really believe that Jesus Christ is worth abandoning everything for? Our wants, desires, and even our lives? What does being a disciple really mean to us these days? Does it mean anything...or everything? Have we found something worth losing everything else for? Being a disciple of the one who calls us means believing in him enough to obey and follow him where he leads, even when the crowds turn the other way...
"But I want to know him. I want to experience him. I want to be part of a people who delight in him like the brothers and sisters in underground Asia who have nothing but him. And I want to be part of a people who are risking it all for him."
~ Radical by David Platt
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
So many people ignore this passage or just skim over it and never devote their lives to this "concept." But isn't this what Jesus commanded us to do? To give up everything to follow him? My mind has been consumed with what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. For those of us who call ourselves Christians, are we really living that life - the life that Jesus has commanded us to live if we are to follow him. Are we giving up everything to go and preach the gospel to those who are unreached, who have no freedom in Christ? How is it that we just sit and wait for others to do the "dirty" work, yet call ourselves disciples? How is it, with so many unreached peoples, that so few Christians are going?
Jesus calls us to abandon our comforts and all that is familiar to us and natural to us. I mean look at Mark 10:17-31. A young man wants to follow Jesus but he cannot give up the things that hold him back and distract him in life, such as all the possessions that he values so highly. Jesus ends up telling this man to "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me." (vs. 21) I don't think Jesus meant this literally, to sell everything, but he did want the young rich man to give up what was holding him back from following the Son of God. Jesus wasn't trying to strip this man of all his pleasure but offering him eternal treasure. He was saying that "This is better, not just for the poor, but for you as well, when you abandon the stuff you are holding on to."
I guess what consumes my mind is do we really believe that Jesus Christ is worth abandoning everything for? Our wants, desires, and even our lives? What does being a disciple really mean to us these days? Does it mean anything...or everything? Have we found something worth losing everything else for? Being a disciple of the one who calls us means believing in him enough to obey and follow him where he leads, even when the crowds turn the other way...
"But I want to know him. I want to experience him. I want to be part of a people who delight in him like the brothers and sisters in underground Asia who have nothing but him. And I want to be part of a people who are risking it all for him."
~ Radical by David Platt
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