This We Believe - Round 3

We jumped around a bit this week - here is what we covererd:

What about Science?
Ever heard someone say, “You can’t prove Christianity Scientifically?” It’s like if you can’t prove something scientifically, it’s not true. Well, as we shall see, that in itself is not true!

“Scientific proof” is based on showing that something is a fact by repeating the event in the presence of the person questioning the fact. There is a controlled environment where observations can be made, data drawn, and hypotheses empirically verified.

Now, what if I asked you to use the scientific method to prove that you went to class this morning – can you do it? No! Because you can’t “repeat” the event.

Here’s where we get to “legal-historical” proof, where we show that something is fact beyond a reasonable doubt. This proof depends on three types of testimony: oral testimony, written testimony, and exhibits.

The Christian faith is not a blind, ignorant faith, but rather an intelligent faith. We are called to love God with all of our minds, as well as our heart, soul and strength. John 8:32 says that, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So, the nest time someone tells you that you “Can’t prove Christianity Scientifically,” all you have to do is agree with them and tell them that they also can’t prove scientifically that they went to work yesterday. – neither is a “repeatable event.” However, ask them if they are interested in learning about “legal-historical” proof that Christianity is indeed true!

Truth
So, over the last couple of weeks this verse has come up from John 14:6, “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.”” That is a basic fact of Christianity, that Jesus is indeed the Way and the Truth and the Life.

However, I am realizing that based on the world that we now live in, you can’t just present the first part of John 14:6 – you also have to present the rest of the verse. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Why do you suppose that is important?

A: Because some would say that it’s okay for Christianity to have it’s own “truth,” it’s just that other’s have their own “truth,” and everyone still gets to God. However, the rest of John 14:6 makes it very clear that THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.

Remember from the first lesson we had about this - that is why the majority of the world has a problem with Christianity – because it leaves no room for another path. However, as we also realized, this path of Christianity IS OPEN FOR ALL TO TRAVEL! All that Jesus asks of us is to come in faith.

What makes Christ the only Way – Why he had to die for my sins.
“Salvation in its full sense is from the guilt of sin in the past, the power of sin in the present, and the presence of sin in the future.” Sinners receive through faith in Christ alone “the gift of righteousness” (Rom 1:17, 5:17, Phil 3:9) and thus become “the righteousness of God” in him who was “made sin” for them (2 Cor 5:21).

Let’s look at the twin realities of God that we must deal with to have a solid belief system. God is a God of wrath and judgment, but he is also a God of love and grace.
Let’s look at these words from 2 Thess 1:6-10
6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

God’s judgment runs through the center of the universe. God is God. Jesus is our judge. That truth makes the Gospel such GOOD NEWS! Check out 1 Tim 1:15 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.” Jesus the Judge is also Jesus the Savior. This is the heart of the gospel.

Let’s try to grasp the big picture. We were created by God and for God – to love, worship and be in relationship with him. But we have rebelled, and now we worship ourselves. To get back to God, we are now dependant on his mercy. Realize that there is no reason in us that God should be merciful, but there is every reason in himself to be merciful. Because at the core, God is love. And his infinite love is greater that even our greatest rebellion.

However, there is a real barrier to our forgiveness. It is not the fact that we have sinned, but the fact that sin is ultimately against God’s character. To maintain his justice as God he must judge all sin. So then, how can God forgive any sin without compromising his own justice and integrity??

We find that Jesus’ death, as a sacrificial offering made to God in our place, “atones” or makes up for our sin by receiving the punishment that would otherwise be ours. Simply put, Jesus’ death pays the penalty for our sins in our place.

Through the death and resurrection of Christ, God made it possible to forgive sinners and welcome them into his kingdom while at the same time protecting his righteousness.
At this point, it will hopefully be very clear why the only path to salvation is through Jesus Christ. We come to God with nothing but our sins. As a righteous judge, God must proclaim a “guilty” sentence on us, and punish us. And without Christ to take our punishment, we must endure it on our own. The consequence for us is death – eternal separation from God, separation from eternal life with him.

The choice is simple – take your own path and you will continue to have the guilt of past sin, the power of present sin, and the presence of future sin. OR, choose Christ and receive mercy from God as Christ takes your punishment. He died that you might live.

This We Believe - Round 2

Who Are We?
“For the Christian Church to ignore, euphemize, or otherwise mute the lethal reality of sin is to cut the nerve of the gospel. For the sober truth is that without full disclosure on sin, the gospel of grace becomes impertinent, unnecessary, and finally uninteresting.” -Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

What is truth? Pilate asked, and we still deal with that today. The truth is that we all start out as sinners. We all have a lethal condition that, if not dealt with, will result in our destruction. But the truth is also that there is a cure – a vaccine that will save us from death.

Original sin is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man, that naturally is ingendered of the offspring of Adam; wherby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation.
-The ninth of the Anglican Articles of Religion (1563)

What is sin?
-Sin is rebellion.
-Human life is rebellion. Rebellion against God is the natural state and condition of the entire human race.

What's the conclusion?
-Human beings are born rebels to God by reason of original sin.
-Acknowledging our need should promote humility, causing us to grow in our knowledge of God and of ourselves.

So, we now understand that we were born sinners. That is the Bad News. But it doesn’t stop there! There is Good News coming!

Who was Jesus?
Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?!

Ever heard anyone say. “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” The problem is that, to Jesus, who people believe him to be was of fundamental importance.

Let’s stop for a minute. Jesus claimed to be God, and to be the only way to God. Doesn’t that leave us a problem if we are going to try and accept him as just a “great moral teacher?”

The Lord, Liar, Lunatic debate was first proposed by CS Lewis in Mere Christianity. Let’s look at each of the three elements to help us understand his reasoning better.

Was he a liar?
If Jesus knew that he was not God, then he was deliberately lying. That would also make him a hypocrite, because throughout his whole life he was teaching others to be truthful! He also would have been very evil, as he was encouraging people to trust him for their eternal destination! On top of it all, he would have been a fool – as his claims led to his crucifixion. Was he all those things? Could Jesus be a “great moral teacher” and all those other things?

Stop and think about what you know of the results of Jesus’ life and teachings. If everything Jesus is about was a lie, then why is it that the result of his life and teaching leads to honesty? Liars become converted and tell the truth. Nations come under his power and choose to do what is right. It would be impossible to find anyone who has influenced the world to do so much right. Is it possible for all of that to have happened if it all started with a lie? Is it possible for a deceitful, selfish, depraved man, to invent and consistently maintain the purest and noblest character of anyone who has ever lived? And then sacrifice his own life for what he knew was a lie? Is it possible?

Was he a lunatic?
Could he have thought himself to be God, but been mistaken? It is possible to be sincere and wrong! If any other Jew in Jesus’ time proclaimed himself to be God and the only way to God – he would have to be a lunatic! It was a monotheistic culture! To tell others that their eternal destiny depended on you… that would have been lunacy.

They have places today where they lock up people who think they are Napoleon or Elvis. They lock them up because people like that are not “normal.” You can tell by interacting with them that they have a “few screws loose.” But Jesus spoke some of the most profound sayings ever recorded. The skill and depth of his teaching point towards complete mental wholeness. In fact, if he is not God then we have a new problem of trying to explain how a mere man could come up with such a depth of truth and insight!

Is he Lord?
It’s impossible to conclude that he was a liar or a lunatic, which leads us with the conclusion that he is Lord! Most Jews are convinced that Jesus was not a Liar or a lunatic, but they will also say that he was not God! How can that be?

All three of these options are possible but only one is probable. Only one is really even remotely possible.



But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:31 (NIV)

This We Believe - Round 1

For the next while we will be using Kairos to examine...

aWhat do we believe?
aWhy do we believe it?
aHow do we explain it to others?

We started off the evening (Nov 15) asking the question, "Does my life have meaning?"

Check out this link to learn about a life of no meaning...
http://stripe.colorado.edu/~morristo/sisyphus.html

We found that meaning comes in this form, through Wonder, Truth, Love, and Security. Then we concluded that meaning is found in each of these areas through Jesus Christ.

Jesus: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” -John 10:10
People who came to Jesus drew life and joy from him. He gave life meaning.


Then we had some fun asking what people believed, and why they believed it.

Responses included, "Because the Bible says so," "Because that's how I was brought up," "Because of my experiences," and "Because there are no better options."

While these are not wrong answers, we realised that people from different belief systems use these same answers to explain why they believe in their own faiths. If we all use the same answers to explain what we believe, then how is Christianity different?

Conclusion? Fulfilled Prophecy!!! Only God knows the future, therefore only God can reveal the future to man. Check out this link if you want to learn more: http://100prophecies.org/

We finally concluded with the question, What makes Jesus so Different??

The obvious answer is that Jesus Christ claimed to be God, and also to be the only way to God. It's a pretty exclusive claim, but the good news is that the offer is open for all to come to God through him.

So, the starting point of faith rests in your answer to the question, Who is Jesus?

Next week we will deal with possible explanations for Jesus' claim to be the "Son of God."

PS - Please add your thoughts of Psalm 40:1-3 as a comment on this post!

International Students

Interested in developing a relationship with an International Student? Just think, all the benefits of learning about and interacting with a different culture - without even leaving home!

Email Wade or leave a comment if you are interested.

Single Mom's Night Out!

Just wanted to comment on what a great night it was! Thanks, Lindsey, for setting it up!

This coming Saturday Night (Nov 19th) we will be doing childcare at the Salvation Army center at 908 Yuma St. This will make it possible for the single Mom’s to have a night out. What a great way to serve!

We will be there from 5pm-9:30pm. We are helping in shifts, from 5-7:15pm and 7-9:30pm. Please come and help.

The Salvation Army is located near the corner of Circle and Galley, behind Walgreen’s. Park in front of the building and come on in!

See you there.

Weekly Mountain Biking

Interested in Mountain Biking?
Starting on Sunday, Nov 20, we will meet each week at 2:30pm (Be ready to ride at 2:30pm!) at Palmer Park.
Check out the picture – that’s where we will meet. Brenner Place turns South from Austin Bluffs at the NE corner of the park. You will just park along the road, and there is a bike entrance to the park there.

You will need to bring your own bike!

PS - The picture was just to get your attention!

Sand Dunes Trip

Looks like this will take place on Nov 12, possibly on the 11th and 12th if there is interest?

Rob - are you heading this up? :)

Post comments if you are interested.

Winter Ski Retreat

Camp Como is putting on another Winter Ski Retreat this year, Jan 2-5.

Lodging, Lift Tickets, and Rentals: $275

Lodging Only: $100

Interested? Let Wade know.