Bless-ed! 52 Blessings Your Lost Friend Doesn’t Have . . . And What You Can Do About It! (Part 5)

I believe it is critical for the Christian to have unsaved friends. And one of the many benefits (other than being a friend of sinners like Jesus was!) is that they remind us what we have in Christ that they don’t yet have. My friend “Mike” got me thinking to about what I have as a believer and what those who are lost don’t have.

Asked about his status before God, Mike thinks he is just fine. But God’s Word says we are lost and under God’s judgment without Christ. In our previous posts we’ve seen that our unsaved friends — (1) don’t have an authoritative source for what they believe; (2) don’t have the assurance that their sins are forgiven; (3) don’t have a life-long, satisfying mission in life, and (4) don’t have somewhere (beyond this world) to go with their guilt!

Let’s think about a fifth benefit of the believer as we recognize a truth about our unbelieving friends. And it is that —

5. THEY DON’T HAVE A COMMUNITY (BEING BUILT BY JESUS) WHERE THEY CAN BE TRAINED TO DO GOD’S WORK!

Here, of course, we are talking about the local church. But it’s important to remember that the believer in Jesus is part of the universal Body of Christ (another meaning of the term “church”). And the local church is an expression of that universal Body.

Unfortunately, it seems that for many Jesus followers today the local church has become optional. Some serve only when convenient, attend only when the weather is too bad to go to the lake, and contribute only when there’s a bit of extra money or time. But that’s not how it’s supposed to be!

The local church — imperfect as it often is — is what Christ is building! And I want to be part of His building project! I want to give my best — my best abilities, resources, time, to what Christ is building. Don’t you?

To be part of a local church might make no sense to your unsaved friend. So pray that your church would reach out to the lost, show the love of Christ, and get busy cooperating with the Son of God is what He is doing right now in the world! (to be continued)

 

 

Time for Another Quote on the Holy Spirit from A.W. Tozer!

 

Thankful for God’s People! (A Study of I Corinthians 16)

Friends: If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that my friend Frank (in New Jersey) and I have been doing an email Bible study for over a year. We read the same chapter every day for a week — and then send a brief email of encouragement to each other. We’ve completed most of the epistles of the New Testament — and it’s been a great discipline for both of us.

We’re now finishing the book of I Corinthians. We started reading I Corinthians 15 on Easter Sunday! As we conclude I Corinthians, this will be my last outline for chapter 16.

Thankful for God’s People! (A Study of I Corinthians 16)

I.    Emotional Support for Timothy (vv. 10-11)

         >>> Note the words “fear,” “contempt,” and “peace.”

II.  Guidance Wisdom for Apollos (v. 12).

        >>> Note the words “strongly urged him . . .”

III. Submissive Devotion to the Household of Stephanas (vv. 15-16).

       >>> Such devotion deserves submission!

IV. Honoring Refreshment from Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (vv. 17-18)

      >>> Recognizing those who “refresh” our spirits!

V.  Warm Greetings from the Church at Aquila and Priscilla’s House (v. 19).

       >>> A house church that cares about other believers.

VI. Greetings from all the brothers & sisters here (v. 20)

        >>> Mutual affection in the family.

VII. Greet one another with a holy kiss (v. 20)

         >>> Emphasis on a “holy” kiss!

Today’s Challenge: How important are God’s people to you? Important enough to give thanks for, encourage, esteem, support, submit to, warmly greet? Get specific today and thank God for His family and those who labor hard for the gospel!

 

Uploaded Video for My Kirkland Students — Ecclesiology!

Friends: Due to the Coronavirus I am not allowed to meet face-to-face with my Kirkland cohort (many are lifers) for the rest of the semester. I’m providing a couple of videos for them to watch. And you might like what I’ve done! This one is about 15 minutes long. Let me know what you think! Dr. D.

 

A Theological Check-Up: Do You Really Believe? Part 7: The Church

IF – is a big word, though only two letters long. These posts have been inspired by the very helpful books of Paul Little: Know WHAT You Believe and Know WHY You Believe. We’re asking the question not about what or why we believe, but IF we indeed believe.

We have asked IF we truly believe what the Bible teaches about Truth, Sin, God, Jesus Christ, and Salvation. But WHAT do we believe about the CHURCH — and do really, really believe it?

Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. He is only building one thing — His church. The writer Dorothy Sayers once said that “God underwent three great humiliations in his efforts to rescue the human race. The first was the Incarnation, when he took on the confines of a physical body. The second was the Cross, when he suffered the ignominy of public execution. The third humiliation is the church.”

How do we bring humiliation to the Lord? Let me suggest several attitudes that reflect a poor view of the church:

(1) “I’ll serve — but only if I have the time. Afterall, don’t we pay the pastor and the staff to do the work around here?”

(2) “I really don’t care for the music. Maybe we should start looking for another church.”

(3)  “You want me to witness to my friends?! But what if they won’t be my friends anymore?”The early church in the book of Acts practiced four priorities: They worked hard at teaching the doctrines of the faith. Truth mattered to them. They practiced genuine fellowship with one another. They recognized the fact that when Jesus saved them, He put them in a Body. They worshiped together. They knew that their God was worthy of praise and adoration — and so they gave it willingly. They actually prayed with and for one another.

Here are a few questions to consider IF you and I really believe in the CHURCH:

1. How high a priority does your church give to truth? To the preaching and teaching of God’s Word?

2. How dependent are you and I on other believers — for their encouragement, service, fellowship?

3. When you or I leave a “worship” service, is our breath taken away by what we have learned about our God?

4. Do people in your church or mine ever actually pray for each other? Do you see that happening in the foyer or the parking lot?

 

An Examination of I Timothy 3:12-16 (Part 9-Final): A Great Creed!

This is our last post on our study of I Timothy 3. We are looking forward to our trip to New Jersey, September 28 to October 7. For our Sunday School on October 6 we will be looking at the 2nd half of I Timothy 3. Let’s look at our passage one last time  —

Verse 16 concludes this chapter and Paul’s instructions about overseers, deacons, deaconesses, and behavior in the “household of God.” And what a marvelous concluding verse it is! Here’s what we read:

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

If that doesn’t sound like an early Christian creed, I don’t know what would be! The editors of the NIV (and other translations) center the 2nd half of this verse, indicating that it was perhaps a commonly-used statement of faith which believers recited! Here’s my suggestion concerning these six great affirmations:

 

 

 

 

 

Finding Deep Joy in a Sad, Shallow World (A Study of Philippians) Part 8 JOY and the Community of God

As we continue the theme of JOY as expressed in the epistle to the Philippians, we come to Paul’s fifth use of the term It is found in chapter 2 where we read —

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Here we learn that we impact one another’s JOY! Paul appeals to these believers to be of one mind and to serve Christ in humility. In that way, he says, they will “make my JOY complete.” Is it not true that all of us have, in a sense, a kind of incomplete JOY? It is JOY in process. It is hopefully growing and expanding and increasing.

What, then, is the role of other believers in our own personal JOY? According to Paul, it ought to matter to us how they are doing in the Christian life. Are they finding their deepest needs met in Christ? Are they working toward a unity and oneness in their service for Him?

Is your JOY complete? Increasing? Negatively or positively impacted by the lives of other believers around you?

In our Western culture it seems our individualism has affected how we view the Christian community. We may think of JOY as strictly personal. But there is a corporate side to one’s JOY. We ought to care deeply how other believers are doing in their lives, recognizing that their growth has an effect (or should have an effect) on our JOY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Should We Believe Anything at All? (Part 4)

Friends: I’m looking forward to preaching at Cedarcroft Bible Chapel on January 27 and February 3.  My topic will be —

Of course, we all believe many things!  But when it comes to God and man and sin and forgiveness, of the four sources for one’s beliefs that are typical (REASON, EXPERIENCE, ECCLESIASTICAL TRADITION, and SUPERNATURAL REVELATION), we believe we should allow the Scriptures, God’s Holy Word, to be our final authority.

The doctrines of the Bible are typically divided into ten areas of study.  Those ten areas are:

INTRODUCTORY MATTERS   BIBLIOLOGY  THEOLOGY PROPER  CHRISTOLOGY  PNEUMATOLOGY  ANTHROPOLOGY  HAMARTIOLOGY  SOTERIOLOGY  ECCLESIOLOGY  and ESCHATOLOGY

We drew several conclusions about the first five areas of doctrine IF the Bible is true!  Let’s think about the second set of five areas.  If God’s Word, the Bible, is true (and I am allowing it to be my final authority in my life), then —

1.  In the area of ANTHROPOLOGY (the doctrine of man), the Bible is right that man is of value, has been made in the image of God, and exists to glorify and serve His Creator!

2.  In the area of HAMARTIOLOGY (the doctrine of sin), the Bible tells us the truth about man’s fall away from God.  Temptation and sin are real.  There are no small sins against a holy God.  And all of us are in a lot of trouble with the God who is holy.

3.  In the area of SOTERIOLOGY, the Bible teaches that God has done something about our sin.  Free forgiveness is an act of God’s mercy because of Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on the cross to pay the debt of our sins.  The one who repents and believes in Jesus begins the process of sanctification (becoming holy like the Lord).

“Want to join me in building my church?” (Jesus)

4.  In the area of ECCLESIOLOGY, the church is the one thing that Jesus Himself is actively building!  And I am to join Him in His building project.  The Bible spells out the church’s mission, priorities, leadership, ordinances, discipline, gifts, and other issues that help it to be a light in the world!

5.  Lastly, in the area of ESCHATOLOGY (the study of final things), the Bible says that God will wrap up history through several climatic events, judge all men (those “in Christ” and those “not in Christ”), and that Christ will rule for 1000 years on the earth.  The Bible then teaches that all people will either live with God in the New Heavens and New Earth  (if they are redeemed) or exist separated from Him forever in the Lake of Fire (if they are not redeemed).

So, why believe anything at all?  We have every reason to believe all that the Bible tells us, for it alone is the Word of God!  And its instructions are very specific — about the cruciality of faith, the character and works of God, the truth of God’s revelation to man, the Person of the Lord Jesus, the reality of the Holy Spirit, the value and nature of man, the problem of sin, the merciful provision of salvation, the importance of the church, and the specfics about the end of history!

 

 

Church as a Rusted-Out Bus? A Metaphor . . .

We are not picking on the church, but when I took this picture of this old bus, I thought that some aspects of this picture suggest areas of the church that can improve.  I’ll re-post this picture in a couple of days with my thoughts.  (You might consider printing out this picture and having your Bible study or small group think about the needs and challenges of the local church).

 

The Church as a Dilapidated Old House — Some Observations . . .

I am not looking to be particularly critical of the church. But this picture tells me there’s much work to do — in the local church!

Starting at the top left, the local church is often “greatly in need of repair.” Changes in leadership, in programs, in priorities might need to be seriously considered.

There are “plenty of windows,” but there appears to be no one home! How is the local church looking at the world, at its immediate neighborhood?

This house “looks dangerous — for all the wrong reasons.” One can get seriously hurt in this house with its many broken parts. There is, however, a good kind of danger in the local church, right?

There are “probably a lot of leaks (gossip?)” in this house. Gossip is lethal. Gossip is hearing something you like about someone you don’t. And it has no place in the local church!

What’s the “junk cluttering up the front porch” of the church? Pet doctrines? Overly indulged preferences? Cliques?

Did you notice that there seems to be “no people/no one living there’? When our numbers begin to dwindle in the local church, we should not be surprised that outsiders aren’t interested in joining us.

There appears to be a “fence to keep people out.” Fences can be good (especially regarding orthodox and heterodox doctrine). But there are things we do in our local churches that essentially put out a NOT WELCOME mat!

This house “needs a serious painting.” Not a whitewash. But some color, some protection from the elements, some scraping away of whatever contributes to its ugliness.

Well, that is my perspective. But don’t miss the note at the bottom: “there’s still hope! (no condemnation sign posted)”!