Update and new Blog

I will begin preaching my last series for Missio Dei Church, Asheville beginning this Sunday, May 2. We will take 12 weeks and work through Habakkuk: wrestling with faith. I hope that it will be an encouraging series for our community.

This is the final post for this blog. With the transition to plant a new church, I am blogging here.

Sermon from Cancelled Gathering

Because the kids will not have the option of Treehouse and Sprouts and the nature of the sermon, combined with the desire to keep on track with our sermon schedule, I thought it would be helpful to cover the text here.


Below is an abridged version of my sermon notes from Sunday (Dec. 20). I hope that it is readable and helpful.

Intro:
God is going to reveal His rule over all things to the world. He’s going to use us to accomplish that task (all of us) – in particular, He’s revealing this through a “sexually whole us.”

Text: Eph. 5:3-14

What does the text say?
Paul turns from self-sacrifice to self-indulgence
(v. 3) Three main subjects, sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness (greedy)
o These things are not to be named among the set apart ones
• These should not characterize the life of the believer
o These things are completely alien to a god-honoring lifestyle
o Paul works from the broken outward expression (sexual immorality) to the inner working of the heart (greed)
o It's interesting to note how greediness is ultimately expressed through sexual perversion

(v. 4) No filthiness, foolish talk, or crude joking…instead thanksgiving
o Not only is the expressed act wrong, so are perverted discussions, because this is really about what's going on in the heart.
o These types of speech are “out of place” for a people who have been rescued and given new hearts
o Thanksgiving stands in contrast to sexual innuendo, because it recognizes God’s generosity rather than a selfish attitude
o SEX IS NOT AN AMUSEMENT FOR GREEDY PLEASURE
o Casual, vulgar, discourse about it cheapen it’s beauty, steal it’s pleasure and reveal a darkened heart.
• We don't behave this way toward sexuality because we are ashamed or afraid of it, but because we have a high and holy view toward sexuality.

What does the text mean?
• Participation in sexual immorality, “impurity,” and greediness demonstrate a relationship that is broken from God and each other
• We want joy and God-honoring sexuality – our experience is often perverted because our view of sexuality is too permissive or too restrictive.
• There are both proper and improper ways to express sexuality (in practice and in conversation).

How do we resist?
• We are so exposed to sexuality in promotional and negative forms that we lose the wonder of it.
• Divorce
o The number 1 reason for divorce in the US is infidelity
o 80% of those who are unfaithful are caught (the other 20% either admit or simply walk away from the marriage)
• Only 3% marry the person with whom they committed adultery and 75% of those marriages end in divorce (devastation)
o 78% of marriages that have experienced infidelity yet remain together describe the marriage as unhappy or empty (devastating)

• Our view of sexuality is usually too loose, or too restrictive
• Too loose = Sexuality (in all forms) is good and should be liberally pursued
o Anything and everything goes (“as long as you’re comfortable”)
o We should talk openly and graphically
o Exposure to sexually explicit material has no effect on how we express our own sexuality (lie)

• Too restrictive = Sexuality (in most forms) is bad and should be fervently avoided
o It’s a necessary evil
o We shouldn’t even discuss it
o The church has embraced this view OR has only highlighted what is bad about sex and doesn’t “reconstruct” with a biblical view of sex

• Some of us have had bad experience with sexuality because we’ve sinned or because we’ve been sinned against and so sex is gross for us.
o What we need is to have our minds renewed, so that we can have a fresh perspective on sex.
o When there is betrayal, then we need to go back to the foundation of the marriage, because trust has been devastated and the whole thing has exploded. We need community around us during this time

• Most of us don’t have to look at our lives for too long to realize that we have some unbelievable brokenness sexually
o We’re either trying to recover from devastation, or we’re having problems connecting sexually, or we’re struggling with feelings of guilt and shame…on and on.
• We need something with power to come and rescue us…from ourselves.

Why does this matter?
(v. 5-6) Sexual immoral, impure and covetous (greedy) has no inheritance
o Those who act that way and talk that way are excluded
o Not just in the future, but also in the present “has no inheritance”
o Don’t be deceived…exclusion is certain!
o These things invite the wrath of God
(v. 7) Therefore, don’t participate with those who do such things
o This doesn’t say to stay away from them, but not to participate with them!
• Joy/wonder/intimacy and the picture of God with His people is lost when we treat sexuality lightly

How is Jesus the hero?
• Jesus’ death on the cross breaks the back of Satan’s deception about sexuality
• We can be forgiven for past sexual sins and have the opportunity to have future security, peace, comfort etc. that godly sexuality brings
• Jesus' Kingly rule frees us to use our sexuality as joy-filled acts of worship
(v. 8) You used to do this, but now you are “children of light” so act like it.
o Main motivation is not simply punishment (or withholding of blessing), but a living out of the mighty change that occurs because of Jesus.
• We should set godly examples when participating and talking about sexuality
(v. 9) Your walk should be categorized with what is good, right and true
o SHOW THAT YOU ARE NOT GIVEN OVER TO IMMORALITY, IMPURITY, ETC
o The Bible does not forbid talking about sex or engaging in sexuality, but it does outlay the right picture of it.

What does repentance look like?
(v. 10-14) Strong encouragement to change way of life – no longer be consumed with darkness, but expose the right view of sexuality on your former dark past = Jesus offers wholeness, even among the sexually broken
• Sexuality is not to be God, nor is it to be avoided, but to be sacred, enjoyed and valued in it’s place, for what it is.
• Even the sexually broken can experience wholeness
Sex is a gift – an act of worship within marriage
• Marriage is the context of sexuality – leave mom and dad (grow up), cling to wife (get married), become one (sexuality of persons)
(v. 10) Be discerning = there isn’t an absolute standard here
• NOTE – there is not an outline of how to participate and talk about sexuality – there are prohibitions and freedom
Guidelines for sexuality
• Sexuality should promote “oneness”
o This means it is part of a lifetime commitment to one another (not a one night commitment to yourself
o This means that others are not allowed into your bedroom (Heb. 13:4).
• Lust for anybody besides your spouse is sin (Matt. 5:28)
• Unmarried = fornication
• Married = adultery
• No porn, no fantasy life, don’t encourage your spouse to look like other people. Your spouse is your standard of beauty.
• It should not be accompanied with shame for one of the partners
o We all come into the marriage relationship with some sexual “baggage,” which will relent as the relationship grows.
• One of the ways Missio exposes light on this issue is through our Hope House ministry – a recovery home for teenage girls who have been tricked/forced into prostitution

Questions for Reflection
• What are the top three things that need to change in me?
o The views I have that are greedy or dark
o The practices that do not promote “oneness” with my spouse.
o Confess those to Jesus, to your spouse (if applicable)

Theology of Spirit Gifts

While some deny Jesus as God in the flesh, others, in an attempt to protect His God-nature, end up unwittingly denying His humanity and miss the power of the Holy Spirit in His life. Jesus was full of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and did works in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1-14). This enabled him to live the perfect human life without sin as our substitute and as our example (Matt. 4:1-10; Heb. 4:14-16). Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a new spirit for His people (Ezek. 36:26-27). Not only was Jesus our substitute in life, but also being full of the Spirit (Is. 61:1-2), He laid down His life as our substitute so that we could receive the Holy Spirit (John 16:7, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4). After the resurrection and before His ascension back to the heavens, Jesus promised that the Church would continue the new Spirit-filled lifestyle (Acts 1:8). Because of Jesus, God’s Spirit brings the reality of God’s presence to God’s people (Ezek. 39:29, Joel 2:28, Acts 2:1-22).

This becomes the theme of the Scriptures at the book of Acts. The NT era is uniquely the age of the Spirit. We are called to be a people “filled” with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). What this looks like has been the source of much dissention in the church, in particular over the last several decades. At least three camps have surfaced in explaining the relationship and the evidence of the Spirit-filled life.

The first is the “charismatic” camp. These Christians have an earnest desire to practice the supernatural gifts (predominantly speaking in tongues and healing) as proof of God’s presence among His people. Their practice stems from a movement of independent churches known as “Pentecostals,” whose history can be traced back to about 1901. The movement was a reaction to the sterility and dead orthodoxy that was plaguing many American churches at the time. They placed emphasis on an emotionally charged, personal, and mystical experience with God, evidenced by supernatural gifts. By the 1960s, the term “charismatic” was used to describe those who exercised a Pentecostal understanding of the gifts, but were among other denominations. The term comes from the Greek word “charismata,” which literally means, “Grace gift.”

Recognizing the dangers of appealing to the subjective experience of people engaged in charismatic practice, the more orthodox in the Church responded with a teaching called “cessationism.” This is the belief that the supernatural gifts mentioned in the Bible were for the apostles and prophets as they were used of God to lay the foundation of the Church. However, with the completion of the New Testament, those miraculous gifts are no longer necessary or available, in other words, the miracle gifts have ceased.

There is a third camp that recognizes the dangers and unbiblical practices prevalent in many charismatic groups, but is unwilling to make the claim that the miracle gifts have ceased. These are known as “continuationists.” This group has an earnest desire for the higher gifts (I Cor. 12:28-31), with an understanding that the gifts are not the point, but are to work toward a proclamation of the Gospel that demonstrates a people lovingly united under Jesus’ rule of all things. This is the most Scriptural of the three views since one doesn’t have to do interpretive gymnastics to make the Spirit gifts disappear, but keeps the right perspective on how they are to be exercised (I Cor. 14:33).

This view points out that a spiritual gift is a God-given ability for service (I Cor. 12-14, Eph. 4:7-16), that all believers are gifted by the spirit in some way (I Cor. 7:7; Eph. 4:7; I Peter 4:10), and that no believer has all of the gifts (I Cor. 12:12-26). The gifts are something that every believer should long and pray for (I Cor. 12:31; 14:1), not for an emotionally charged, mystical experience, but in order to build up others (I Cor. 12:7; 13:1-3; 14:26; Eph. 4:12).

The purpose of the gifts is to unite the people of God for the praise of God. The Spirit’s work in the book of Acts was often marked by miraculous gifts…but it is clear in the Bible that gifts were not the goal, spiritual transformation was and should still be. Filling with the Spirit produces fruit (Gal. 5:22-26), which is played out in the way that we live our lives.

Theology of Prayer

The Bible is flooded with stories about people who in many and various circumstances (both beautiful and tragic) pour their hearts out to God in prayer. For many of us, however, our prayers are often few and far between. When we pray we are often moved to do so out of guilt instead of joy, praying not for the connection with God, but because it’s something we’re “supposed” to do. Perhaps we pray because we believe it will manipulate him into giving us more toys to distract us from the vanity of our lives. Perhaps we don’t pray because so often it feels as though we are simply talking into the air.

If we’re honest, many of us are completely confused about why we should pray and how to do it. While explaining how we should pray, Jesus tells us, “do not heap up empty phrases,” because, “your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt. 6:6-7). So then, why pray? Why does God, knowing what we need instruct us to ask for it?

Asking this question gives us tremendous insight into the purpose of prayer. It teaches that prayer is not a magic formula for the acquisition of health and wealth, but is something higher and deeper. It teaches that prayer is among the most tangible ways to express faith in God. It teaches that what we need, more than things is communion with God. We pray so that we don’t draw our joy primarily out of circumstances or possessions, but out of talking with a God who listens. Prideful, independent people who, in their own estimation, have no need of instruction or guidance do not pray.

But those who realize the realities of life continually pointed out in Scripture, “ought always to pray and not lose heart” because God “will give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night” (Luke 18:1-8). It’s interesting that Jesus compares prayer to crying. One author put it like this, “The cry is the force with which the stream of prayer rushes on. It is possible to have correct words, and deep thinking, and yet no real intensity of heart, no agony of soul” (Smith, James. Handfuls on Purpose, series VII, p. 86-87). Why are we not a people who cry out to God in faithful prayers day and night? Because our joy is drawn far more from our goods and situations than in God. So prayer is, as the Westminster Divines described it, “an offering up of our desires to God” (WLC Q178). It’s not so much a change of our state of affairs as it is a movement of God’s Spirit to transform our perspective.

Jesus gave his disciples a helpful pattern in Matt. 6 where he says, “Pray like this” (v. 5-13). We don’t have to abide by formulas, but they are helpful in structuring times of prayer. The pattern he offers has four basic elements, which can be remembered by the acrostic ACTS. First, prayers can be opened in a time of Adoration where God’s name and work is honored (i.e. “Father…Hallowed by your name…Your kingdom come…”). Second, we can move into Confession yielding an opportunity to be forgiven and cleansed (i.e. “Forgive us our debts”). Next, we can offer up Thanksgiving recognizing that God is the give of all things (i.e. “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever). Finally, we can close with Supplications asking God to move on our behalf (i.e. “Give us this day our daily bread…and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”).

If we do not have disciplined times of prayer, there will probably not be fullness in spontaneous times of prayer. What matters is not the amount of time we spend in prayer (15 minutes, 3 times/day), but the intensity of the focus of prayer. Our focus should be a desire for Christ. It should aim toward asking God to satisfy your heart and free you from sinful desires so that you exalt Christ and employ sacrificial love toward others.

Theology of Justification

One of the fascinating features of Christian thought is the idea that God is involved in rescuing people and creation from sin and restoring all things into a right relationship with Him. The Scriptures refer to this activity of God using the broad term “salvation,” but being “saved” has various aspects.

The theology of justification is one of those aspects. It is defined as a legal declaration from God that a sinner is not counted as guilty, but as truly righteous because he receives by faith the righteousness of Jesus (Rom. 3:21-26, 5:6-10, 18-19, Gal. 2:20-21, I Pet. 3:18). Justification is a one-time objective event, not a process. The process of being saved from sins is known in the Bible as sanctification, another aspect of salvation (Rom. 6:22, I Thess. 4:3).

The doctrine of justification is what makes the Christian faith truly unique. It is the one faith tradition granting assurance that those who have failed at perfect morality can be forgiven and restored to life. Justification declares that a sinner has right standing before God because of Jesus, the one who didn’t fail morally, but paid the ultimate price of death as if He had.

Since the basis of being declared righteous is not the ability of people to live a certain way, the apostle John assures believers that we can “know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13), because they are counted as righteous (Rom. 4:1-8, Phil. 3:7-9) or have Jesus’ righteousness credited (the theological term is “imputed”) to them. Paul explains it this way, “For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (II Cor. 5:21).

This doctrine was the central issue of the Protestant Reformation. While the clarity was elaborated because the Roman Church was abusing its members with a false understanding of salvation, the implications of a correct understanding were too great to be ignored. The Reformers wanted a return to the biblical teaching that believers work from a position of justification with glad hearts, sincere joy, and bold confidence instead of for it, allowing our works to prove our faith rather than earn our justification (Heb. 10:19-24, James 1:22-25).

In many ways we need this reminder today since people profess justification by grace through faith, but do not live as if they have been justified. Churches are filled with people who think that they have to perform to earn God’s approval and are motivated by guilt and fear of condemnation. If any do not live as men and women who have “escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire,” then he is “so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (II Pet. 1:4, 9). Jesus’ life and work were sufficient and our hearts can rest believing “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

Theology of Depravity

As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dialogue over the creation of the universe, God makes a remarkable comment about creating humans in Gen. 1. He says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (v. 26, 28). So humans have the special privilege of being created with the unique dignity of reflecting and representing God; glorious and holy, powerful and good, righteous and giving; we could go on and on.

The problem we have in believing this is that the stories of our lives seem to lack these qualities. We experience among other things, frustration, heartbreak, misunderstanding, abuse, confusion, and tragedy in a way that makes us feel powerless and insignificant. So what happened?

In Creation, God created Adam as a representative for all people. Gen. 1 describes the creation of humans generally as male and female and in Gen. 2, God describes creating Adam as the specific representative head of the human race. To Adam was given the rule of not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and Adam was the one responsible for keeping that rule. Yet, he could not contain himself and decided to stray and blame others for his distrust of God, trampling of his image, forsaking of responsibility, etc. (Gen. 3:6,10-12). Eve had been deceived, but Adam, who was “with her,” was willfully disobeying (I Tim. 2:14).

God doesn’t weakly and powerlessly overlook Adam’s rebellion. In holy justice, He responds by cursing Adam. The curse involved losing intimate communion, right standing and becoming defiled and cursed enemies of God (Matt. 25:41, Rom. 5:12-14, 6:23, Eph. 2:3-5, II Thes. 1:9). This affliction was passed on to all humans as all now have a heart after Adam’s image and likeness to rebel spiritually (Gen. 5:3, Gen. 6:5, Rom. 5:12). While in popular thought, it is often taught that people are condemned because they commit sin, the Scriptures teach that we are condemned because we are sinners, that we commit sin because it is in our heart to do so (Eccl. 7:20, 29, Jer. 17:9, Rom. 3:9, 10, 23, Gal. 3:10, Eph. 2:3-5, I Jn 1:8).

This is what is meant by “depravity.” Humans were created for greatness, but have been corrupted. They do what they shouldn’t (what the Bible calls, “trespass”) and don’t do what they should (what the Bible calls, “sin”) (Rom. 7:15-20, Eph. 2:1). This perversion saturates people to their very depths. Though many want to celebrate a “free-will,” human will is held in captivity to this corrupting influence, evidenced by our inability to live perfectly or live forever. People need God to intervene over their wills (Psalm 51:1-12, John 6:44, 16:8-9, Rom. 7:18, 9:16).

This begs the question, how can we explain beauty and justice if we are corrupt? In other words, how do people who don’t indicate any inclination toward God do such good things? The Bible points out that although we are defiled, we still bear the image and purposes of God (Gen. 9:1-7). All people have exposure to the truth of God through creation and through the law written on their hearts (Ps. 19:1, Rom. 1:19-20, 2:14-15). This is called “Common grace,” and it explains why God allows good fortune to fall on all people (Eccl. 9:2, Matt. 5:45) sometimes causing trouble for those who lean into God (Psalm 73).

So what is our hope of escaping the curse of God? We need a representative who is not depraved and does from the heart what people were created to do. The good news is that Jesus is that representative (Rom. 5:16-19, Rom. 8:1-4). He became cursed for us and was raised in victory over God’s curse (Gal. 3:13, I Cor. 15:1-4). We now have the hope of being reborn, recreated, renewed and restored (John 3:1-21, II Cor. 5:17-21, Eph. 4:20-24). And our hope is to return to the urban garden where we have unbroken fellowship and joy in life as we reflect God (Rev. 22).

Theology of Holy Spirit

Unique to the Christian faith is the confession that God is One; united in power and substance yet distinct in the person of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This formula, One God in three persons, is known as the Trinity. As one of those persons of God, Holy Spirit is God. He is called God (Psalm 51:11; Isaiah 63:10, II Cor. 13:14) and does works as God (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13, Titus 3:5). Lying to Spirit is lying to God (Acts 5:3-4). He is equal to Father and Son in addresses to God (II Cor. 13:4, Rev. 1:4-6, Matt. 28:19).

Holy Spirit is often the most abused or ignored person of the Holy Trinity. Generally speaking, He is nearly bypassed in circles that apply diligence to studying the Scriptures and have high views of doctrine and theology. Others who don’t know much of what the Scriptures actually say credit Holy Spirit with chaotic nonsense that doesn’t reflect the glory of Christ, but feed the selfish desires of men using God for toys. This not only causes frustration among those trying to communicate the Christian faith, but also, unhealthy division that grieves God.

Part of the confusion is from the difference between His work in the Old Testament (OT) and in the New Testament (NT). In the OT, the work of the Holy Spirit among people included the generation of life (Gen. 2:7; Psalm 33:6; Psalm 104:30) and the inspiration and qualification of people to works of service (Ex. 31:3-4; I Sam. 16:13). Jesus, during his ministry in the NT, explained that the age to come would be the age of the Spirit and that His ministry would be more dramatic and personal (John 16:7-15).

The ministry of the Spirit in the NT would include sealing, indwelling, and filling true believers of the Gospel. Sealing is God’s securing of believers, marking them as God’s purchased possession (Eph. 1:13-14). Indwelling is God’s personal dwelling among believers of all nations (not just Israel), enabling them to live in the likeness of Christ (John 7:39; Rom. 8:9, Gal. 5:22-25). Filling is yielding to the Spirit as the dominant influence of the believer’s behavior (Eph. 5:18). So in the OT, He was the power and presence of God among His people, and especially of some, while in the NT He is poured out on every class and race of people who truly believe the Gospel.

One of the most divisive teachings, which began to surface in the early 1900s, is the false idea that there are multiple stages to belief and that one does not have access to Holy Spirit upon believing in Jesus, but that subsequent prayers for Him will be met with the gift of speaking in “tongues.” One only has assurance that he belongs to God if he evidences it by spouting off random jibber-jabber and ecstatic utterances. This teaching ignores the Scriptural statements that believers are “sealed and indwelt” with the Holy Spirit upon believing in the Gospel (John 7:39, Eph. 1:13-14) and besides perverting the biblical teaching of tongues, overemphasizes a subjective experience over a more objective teaching of Scripture desiring to elevate a particular gift of God beyond its proper measure (I Cor. 12:4-11, 13:1).

As we encounter these false teachings, we should bear in mind two things. Not every claim of spiritual gifting is valid (I John 4:1-2), nor is it appropriately exercised (I Cor. 14:6-12). However, we must not overreact as some have and deny legitimate filling of the Spirit that encourages men and women to remember the Gospel of Jesus (John 16:14-15). Much of the chaos and unbiblical practice among so-called “charismatic” believers makes the worship of Jesus into a circus sideshow, but proper response isn’t the gagging out of the Holy Spirit’s power. Those who do not consider themselves “charismatic” can be guilty of ignoring the work of the Spirit. His presence is the fulfillment of the many promises of Jesus about God’s presence with His people and Ephesians points out that He is the guarantee of our future hope and our power for daily living and confession and faith. He is the most personal presence of God among us and we do well to take notice and be filled by Him.