Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Taking Your Toilet for Granted
I recently read a book review of a book entitled "The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters." The review is well worth reading as it does a good job of summarizing the main issues raised within the book. There are of course many needs in the world that need to be addressed, but I find myself continually drawn to the ones that seem most overlooked. In my opinion, the lack of proper sanitation facilities should be very near to the top of the list of overlooked and regularly unaddressed needs in the developing world.
Monday, December 22, 2008
"Silly Foolish Religion" Colossains 2:16-23
Do you consider yourself to be religious? I think the question is a bit of a loaded one, given how many different conceptions there are today about what "religion" is. But, for the most part, I would suggest that religion for many people means following different rules and practices in order to get everything out of life that we think we should get. Religion is a way to make sure that our life will ultimately "measure up." It's in this sense that I would say then that most people are religious. We may be formal or informal about it, we may have lots of rules or very few rules that we follow, but the main motivation for many of us is to somehow find some path through life that will help us be fulfilled or enlightened or reach our full potential. And we will follow such paths with passionate, legalistic vigor if we think that our efforts will bring us success.
In Colossians 2:16-23 however, we see religion thoroughly debunked. Being "religious" will not help you measure up. In fact, God sent Jesus to save us from trying to justify our lives by being religious! Jesus came to save people who are trying to save themselves through a legalistic pursuit of religion.
The new teaching in Colossae was calling for people to become more religious. It involved keeping a lot of different Jewish rituals along with following ascetic practices and seeking visionary mystical experiences. Paul in confronting this teaching makes clear that this new teaching is really false teaching. Religious legalism never produces the kind of people it claims to produce. It creates people who become "puffed up without reason" (Col 2:18). Instead of making kind, humble, confident people, it creates joyless, harsh, insecure, judgmental, prideful people. This is because religious legalism cuts people off from Christ. Christ is the only means by which people find real fulfillment. From Christ comes a humble confidence about life. From Christ comes the kind of growth that will last and matter because it's a growth that comes from God (Col 2:19).
Paul concludes his assessment of the false teaching in v.20-23 by highlighting the fiction of legalistic religion and the truth of Christ. The fiction of religious legalism is that it suggests that the key to life will come by following self-made, human based rules. But such rules can never cultivate eternal qualities in people. More religion can not actually change people's lives. It can only bring "an appearance of wisdom." It can't do anything substantial to truly stop sin within the human life and within our world. At best it can bury sin under the cover of keeping lots of rules. At worst, it makes people sin more because it encourages them to look down with pride on other people who aren't as religious as they are.
The truth of Christ, however, is that the Christian has died with Christ to "the elemental spirits of the world" (Col 2:20). This means that they are no longer under their power. They no longer belong to their realm, which is the realm within which our world still resides. This realm is characterized by pride and competition, where you must always compare yourself with other people and must always make sure you are doing well enough in comparion to others in order to validate your existence and your importance in the world. Instead, the Christian belongs to a heavenly kingdom that's governed by love and grace, where there's no need to compare oneself with other people because everyone has been equally loved by God and saved by his grace. The Christian has a life that is already validated. It already measures up! And it has been given every resource available to stand strong and assured and grow to full maturity.
The song "A New Law" by Derek Webb captures well many of the themes in Colossians 2:16-23. As Derek writes, we don't want to know about moderation and liberty, we "prefer a shot of grape juice." We don't want to know about loving our enemeis or listening to the Spirit, we just want "a new law." However, there is one voice that cuts across all our religious striving - it's the voice of Jesus, and it's his voice that expresses the final words of the song, "Do not be afraid." In Matthew 14 we are told about a time when the disciples were caught in the midst of a rough sea and they saw Jesus walking towards them. They think it's a ghost and they become afraid. But then Jesus tells them, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
So also, we face many rough seas as we navigate through life. This incites great fear in us. Isn't this why then we often look to religion and legalism as a way to gain more control and direction over our lives? Rather, we must heed the voice of Jesus, who still tells his people to not be afraid. Jesus has overcome all things, including things that religion can never overcome. And because the Christian's life is linked with Jesus, the Christian can and will overcome all things.
In what ways do people today still look to legalism or religion or "spirituality" in order to validate their lives? Why is legalism so pathetically lacking in comparison to the true substance and growth that we only gain from God in Christ?
In Colossians 2:16-23 however, we see religion thoroughly debunked. Being "religious" will not help you measure up. In fact, God sent Jesus to save us from trying to justify our lives by being religious! Jesus came to save people who are trying to save themselves through a legalistic pursuit of religion.
The new teaching in Colossae was calling for people to become more religious. It involved keeping a lot of different Jewish rituals along with following ascetic practices and seeking visionary mystical experiences. Paul in confronting this teaching makes clear that this new teaching is really false teaching. Religious legalism never produces the kind of people it claims to produce. It creates people who become "puffed up without reason" (Col 2:18). Instead of making kind, humble, confident people, it creates joyless, harsh, insecure, judgmental, prideful people. This is because religious legalism cuts people off from Christ. Christ is the only means by which people find real fulfillment. From Christ comes a humble confidence about life. From Christ comes the kind of growth that will last and matter because it's a growth that comes from God (Col 2:19).
Paul concludes his assessment of the false teaching in v.20-23 by highlighting the fiction of legalistic religion and the truth of Christ. The fiction of religious legalism is that it suggests that the key to life will come by following self-made, human based rules. But such rules can never cultivate eternal qualities in people. More religion can not actually change people's lives. It can only bring "an appearance of wisdom." It can't do anything substantial to truly stop sin within the human life and within our world. At best it can bury sin under the cover of keeping lots of rules. At worst, it makes people sin more because it encourages them to look down with pride on other people who aren't as religious as they are.
The truth of Christ, however, is that the Christian has died with Christ to "the elemental spirits of the world" (Col 2:20). This means that they are no longer under their power. They no longer belong to their realm, which is the realm within which our world still resides. This realm is characterized by pride and competition, where you must always compare yourself with other people and must always make sure you are doing well enough in comparion to others in order to validate your existence and your importance in the world. Instead, the Christian belongs to a heavenly kingdom that's governed by love and grace, where there's no need to compare oneself with other people because everyone has been equally loved by God and saved by his grace. The Christian has a life that is already validated. It already measures up! And it has been given every resource available to stand strong and assured and grow to full maturity.
The song "A New Law" by Derek Webb captures well many of the themes in Colossians 2:16-23. As Derek writes, we don't want to know about moderation and liberty, we "prefer a shot of grape juice." We don't want to know about loving our enemeis or listening to the Spirit, we just want "a new law." However, there is one voice that cuts across all our religious striving - it's the voice of Jesus, and it's his voice that expresses the final words of the song, "Do not be afraid." In Matthew 14 we are told about a time when the disciples were caught in the midst of a rough sea and they saw Jesus walking towards them. They think it's a ghost and they become afraid. But then Jesus tells them, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
So also, we face many rough seas as we navigate through life. This incites great fear in us. Isn't this why then we often look to religion and legalism as a way to gain more control and direction over our lives? Rather, we must heed the voice of Jesus, who still tells his people to not be afraid. Jesus has overcome all things, including things that religion can never overcome. And because the Christian's life is linked with Jesus, the Christian can and will overcome all things.
In what ways do people today still look to legalism or religion or "spirituality" in order to validate their lives? Why is legalism so pathetically lacking in comparison to the true substance and growth that we only gain from God in Christ?
"God's Great Triumph in the Cross of Christ" Colossians 2:8-15
Yep, I've gotten a bit behind in these sermon recap blog posts so hopefully I can play a bit of catchup this week. This blog post sums up what we considered during the sermon at Roosevelt back on December 7th.
You'll remember that we began our time talking about the power of fear. We fear because we do not have control over many aspects of life. To deal with our fear we search for ways to get control. We look to religion or drugs and alcohol or sex or technology to get control over life and gain a measure of fulfillment and validation for ourselves.
When we turn to God however we gain a confidence like no other, one that will push back even our worst fears coming from the worst conditions spurred on by the worst enemies of humanity. This is because God has achieved a great triumph in Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus, God's triumph becomes our triumph. This means we don't need to be ruled by fear. We don't need fulfillment or validation from anything or anyone. In Christ, the Christian believer has everything!
This truth would have had particular resonance for the Colossian church. The Colossian Christians were being lured by a new teaching that suggested that Jesus was not enough if they really wanted security and control over their lives. They needed to get involved with the things this teaching was advocating (see Col 2:16-23 for more details) if they really wanted to save themselves.
Paul makes clear however that this new teaching was really "empty deceit" and ultimately demonic in origin (Col 2:8). To counteract the claims of this teaching Paul elaborates on what it means for someone to be in Christ (Col 2:9-12) and then draws out the full implications of God's "powerful working" for those in Christ (Col 2:13-15).
So what does it mean to be "in Christ"? When you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you become "in Christ." And being "in Christ" means being in God, since the whole fullness of God dwells bodily in Christ (Col 1:9). In Christ you gain all of God's power over every hostile spiritual power that would play to your fears and uncertainties. You gain this power because of the spiritual circumcision that happens when you believe in Jesus. Sin and its power to enslave is "put off" (Col 1:11) and the believer then gets raised by God with Jesus into a new life that is free from the enslaving power of sin.
What are the full implications of this work of God in the Christian's life? All our sins are forgiven (Col 1:13). The debt we owe to God, because of our sins against him (which are in effect treasonous acts against our rightful King) has been fully canceled (Col 1:14). Indeed, our full debt was effectively paid and wiped out at the cross of Christ. At first glance the cross looks like a total defeat. Instead, the cross is God's signal to all the cosmos that there is life and victory to be had in Jesus Christ.
Satan and his demons seek to constantly remind people of their failures and to encourage them to live in fear and guilt and shame. These are all abject lies. The real story is that Satan and his demons have been fully disarmed (Col 1:15). They have been stripped of all their power and accusations and claims. They are in effect prisoners shuffling behind in chains behind the victorious general Jesus Christ. The cross allows each Christian believer to look past the lies and deception and realize that all the demonic enemies of human existence have been exposed as frauds. They have been disarmed, humiliated, and defeated. That means there is now no power in the cosmos that can rule you by fear and doubt, that can enslave you under sin, that can accuse you before God, or that can prevent you from experiencing all of God in every area of life. The Christian is a person who has been empowered by God in Christ Jesus. This truth is the battle cry that every Christian should use to reclaim any part of their life that has been ceded over to defeated enemies.
Take some time to look over Colossians 2:8-15, and in particular v.15. What will it look out for us to more fully lay hold of the "disarming power" of God in the cross of Christ within our community and within our own lives?
You'll remember that we began our time talking about the power of fear. We fear because we do not have control over many aspects of life. To deal with our fear we search for ways to get control. We look to religion or drugs and alcohol or sex or technology to get control over life and gain a measure of fulfillment and validation for ourselves.
When we turn to God however we gain a confidence like no other, one that will push back even our worst fears coming from the worst conditions spurred on by the worst enemies of humanity. This is because God has achieved a great triumph in Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus, God's triumph becomes our triumph. This means we don't need to be ruled by fear. We don't need fulfillment or validation from anything or anyone. In Christ, the Christian believer has everything!
This truth would have had particular resonance for the Colossian church. The Colossian Christians were being lured by a new teaching that suggested that Jesus was not enough if they really wanted security and control over their lives. They needed to get involved with the things this teaching was advocating (see Col 2:16-23 for more details) if they really wanted to save themselves.
Paul makes clear however that this new teaching was really "empty deceit" and ultimately demonic in origin (Col 2:8). To counteract the claims of this teaching Paul elaborates on what it means for someone to be in Christ (Col 2:9-12) and then draws out the full implications of God's "powerful working" for those in Christ (Col 2:13-15).
So what does it mean to be "in Christ"? When you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you become "in Christ." And being "in Christ" means being in God, since the whole fullness of God dwells bodily in Christ (Col 1:9). In Christ you gain all of God's power over every hostile spiritual power that would play to your fears and uncertainties. You gain this power because of the spiritual circumcision that happens when you believe in Jesus. Sin and its power to enslave is "put off" (Col 1:11) and the believer then gets raised by God with Jesus into a new life that is free from the enslaving power of sin.
What are the full implications of this work of God in the Christian's life? All our sins are forgiven (Col 1:13). The debt we owe to God, because of our sins against him (which are in effect treasonous acts against our rightful King) has been fully canceled (Col 1:14). Indeed, our full debt was effectively paid and wiped out at the cross of Christ. At first glance the cross looks like a total defeat. Instead, the cross is God's signal to all the cosmos that there is life and victory to be had in Jesus Christ.
Satan and his demons seek to constantly remind people of their failures and to encourage them to live in fear and guilt and shame. These are all abject lies. The real story is that Satan and his demons have been fully disarmed (Col 1:15). They have been stripped of all their power and accusations and claims. They are in effect prisoners shuffling behind in chains behind the victorious general Jesus Christ. The cross allows each Christian believer to look past the lies and deception and realize that all the demonic enemies of human existence have been exposed as frauds. They have been disarmed, humiliated, and defeated. That means there is now no power in the cosmos that can rule you by fear and doubt, that can enslave you under sin, that can accuse you before God, or that can prevent you from experiencing all of God in every area of life. The Christian is a person who has been empowered by God in Christ Jesus. This truth is the battle cry that every Christian should use to reclaim any part of their life that has been ceded over to defeated enemies.
Take some time to look over Colossians 2:8-15, and in particular v.15. What will it look out for us to more fully lay hold of the "disarming power" of God in the cross of Christ within our community and within our own lives?
Friday, December 5, 2008
What We Should Do with Our Money - A Recent Sermon by Mike Bullmore
Mike Bullmore was one of my preaching professors while I was attending Trinity and is currently the senior pastor of Crossway Community Church. He recently preached a sermon on 1 Corinthians 16 entitled “What We Should Do with Our Money” that I think is right on. Mike certainly did a better job than I did when I preached on this chapter back in September!
Andy Naselli took notes, and also listed helpful articles and books on the subject of biblical giving. Here is the summary of the main points and application points from the sermon:
Main Points:
Andy Naselli took notes, and also listed helpful articles and books on the subject of biblical giving. Here is the summary of the main points and application points from the sermon:
Main Points:
- Give to relieve the suffering of others, especially of fellow Christians (1 Cor 16:1–4). This “collection” was a special offering in addition to regular giving.
- Give to support the work of the gospel (1 Cor 16:5–11).
- Our giving should be a planned priority.
- Our giving should be proportional to our income. Give obediently, generously, and sacrificially. Cf. C. S. Lewis: “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusement, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our giving does not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say it is too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our commitment to giving excludes them.”
- Our giving should be marked by prudence. It should be transparent, above board, and marked by integrity. For example, a church’s giving should have public accountability.
- Our giving and our teaching about giving should be simple and straightforward. No pressure, no gimmicks, no excessive emotion. Simply put: don’t waste your money; rather, use it for God’s purposes and for his glory.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
"Get in Christ" Colossians 2:1-8
Paul writes to the Colossian church to warn them away from a trend that he saw as a great threat to their faith. In essence, this trend was to follow certain teaching that was "not according to Christ" (Col 2:8). Dangerous trends similar to this still exist today and sadly they have become firmly entrenched within much of the current church culture. As Michael Horton points out in his recent book, "Christless Christianity," the modern-day church has become largely Christless. Christ has become a nice supplement to faith and community instead of being the instrumental cornerstone of faith and community. This happens as Christians become taken in by "plausible arguments" (Col 1:4) that suggest that we should define our lives by peripheral matters (which tend to be the kind of topics that play towards our emotions, our personalities, and our comfort level) as opposed to central matters like the gospel.
How do we deal with these threats? Paul's strong advice to the Colossians was, in effect, to get in Christ and stay in Christ. In Christ we find everything we need to know about how to live life wisely (Col 2:2-3).
Nothing then is more important than receiving Christ Jesus as the Lord over your life and then basing the rest of your life on this truth (Col 2:6-7). As Proverbs 1:7 tells us, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So it makes sense that the first step towards living life wisely will mean a continual conscious respect of Christ as Lord over every step you take in life.
How will this look like within the context of the church? First it means the church should promote straightforward, clear, communal thnking about Christ Jesus the Lord. We need to always make sure that we are thinking rightly about Jesus and in particular rightly of him as Christ and Lord. Second, the church should promote active, accountable, communal practice of Christ Jesus as Lord. It is the responsibility of each Christian within the church to help one another work out all the consequences and implications of the fact that we have received Christ Jesus the Lord into our lives. This will mean intentionality and will mean digging past the superficial to get towards the kind of relationships where we are deeply known and we deeply know others.
Take some time to meditate on Colossians 2:6-7. What are some specific areas in the modern day church and the modern day Christian life that need to be confronted with the truths of this verse? (ex. money, time, family, career, dating relationships) How would our priorities and decisions in these areas change if people began to truly get in Christ Jesus the Lord and stay in Christ Jesus the Lord?
How do we deal with these threats? Paul's strong advice to the Colossians was, in effect, to get in Christ and stay in Christ. In Christ we find everything we need to know about how to live life wisely (Col 2:2-3).
Nothing then is more important than receiving Christ Jesus as the Lord over your life and then basing the rest of your life on this truth (Col 2:6-7). As Proverbs 1:7 tells us, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So it makes sense that the first step towards living life wisely will mean a continual conscious respect of Christ as Lord over every step you take in life.
How will this look like within the context of the church? First it means the church should promote straightforward, clear, communal thnking about Christ Jesus the Lord. We need to always make sure that we are thinking rightly about Jesus and in particular rightly of him as Christ and Lord. Second, the church should promote active, accountable, communal practice of Christ Jesus as Lord. It is the responsibility of each Christian within the church to help one another work out all the consequences and implications of the fact that we have received Christ Jesus the Lord into our lives. This will mean intentionality and will mean digging past the superficial to get towards the kind of relationships where we are deeply known and we deeply know others.
Take some time to meditate on Colossians 2:6-7. What are some specific areas in the modern day church and the modern day Christian life that need to be confronted with the truths of this verse? (ex. money, time, family, career, dating relationships) How would our priorities and decisions in these areas change if people began to truly get in Christ Jesus the Lord and stay in Christ Jesus the Lord?
"Why Paul Does What He Does" Colossians 1:24-29
Ministry is tiring. It takes a lot of energy and effort. It's often overwhelming. So why keep doing it? What can motivate us to keep doing it? Paul's answer is to make sure that his ministry was about proclaiming Christ, which meant admonishing people and teaching people (Col 1:28). He did this in order to achieve a very specific goal - people becoming "mature in Christ." This is what ultimately drove Paul and his associates, to be in people's lives in such a way so that they become fully developed Christians.
A healthy church then is one that will warn and teach people so that they don't stay as little bitty baby Christians but become fully grown, mature Christians. This is what Christian ministry must always be about. If ministry is just us doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff, our efforts will eventually be overrun by our tiredness or our frustrations or our laziness,or our selfishness.
However, if our ministry is about this message - "Christ in you" - and this goal - "complete in Christ" - we will find the kind of ministry that is worth struggling for and even dying for. And we can be assured that we won't be struggling alone; God himself gives his energy and power to anyone who is involved in this kind of work (Col 1:29).
So what are your thoughts about this passage? Can you say that you became more mature in Christ over this past year? What evidence have you seen of this in your life? How are you encouraging others you know to become mature in Christ?
A healthy church then is one that will warn and teach people so that they don't stay as little bitty baby Christians but become fully grown, mature Christians. This is what Christian ministry must always be about. If ministry is just us doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff, our efforts will eventually be overrun by our tiredness or our frustrations or our laziness,or our selfishness.
However, if our ministry is about this message - "Christ in you" - and this goal - "complete in Christ" - we will find the kind of ministry that is worth struggling for and even dying for. And we can be assured that we won't be struggling alone; God himself gives his energy and power to anyone who is involved in this kind of work (Col 1:29).
So what are your thoughts about this passage? Can you say that you became more mature in Christ over this past year? What evidence have you seen of this in your life? How are you encouraging others you know to become mature in Christ?
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