Are You Sold Out?

The following posts are rough transcipts of a set of talks I recently did at a youth camp. The overarching theme was that of TV ads and the messages they teach us. These messages were set against the backdrop of King David's life, highlighting the contrary messages he learned.

Since giving the talks, a youth worker has suggested other themes that have become apparent in advertising. It might be stretching the point to try to make these 'slogans' match elements of David's life too, so these will be added later. In the end, the important thing is not to make the series of talks 'neatly' fit David's biography, but to draw a young person's attention to the 'preaching' and 'indoctrination' that takes place through the media. Our only defence against this war on our minds is the truth found in Scripture.

The title of the series is "Are You Sold Out?" To which message - the world's or the Lord's - are we sold out?

It is my hope that through getting these talks online I will be corrected, advised and challenged as much as being a help to others. In the end, I consider myself more at home with children's work rather than working with teens, so I know for a fact that my knowledge of youth issues is quite out-of-touch. I just hope that whatever help I've been given in appreciating the life-lessons of Scripture can be of help to fellow Christians who work with teens all the time. And they (you), in turn, can advise me of errors I make, weaknesses in arguments, and new relevant issues to explore.

"The Lord's Day" Rev 1:10

So, for a future date, when my blog may be read, I have a question.

Why do many believers refer to Sunday as the Lord's Day? To equate it to the Jewish Sabbath, or to apply rules regarding it as a day of rest, are separate issues. I simply want to know where we got this particular title for a Sunday.

There may well be Scripture I'm not thinking about, or haven't noticed, but the only one that comes to mind is Revelation 1:10 where John says:

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day"

Now if this is the only mention (and I'm not asserting yet that it is, though I think it is), why would we assume this means Sunday/the first day of the week?

Could it not mean "The Day of the Lord" since that is effectively what Revelation is all about?

Lyrics to Iron Hall children's Christmas songs

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

(Chorus) Light light light light
Light of the world
He's the light light light of the world (x2)

Down to Bethlehem
Went the wisest men
For they followed a star that shone in the night
For before that day
In a manger lay
A brighter light than the one that shone in the sky

(repeat chorus)

Down to Bethlehem
Let us go again
Let us look at the One who made the night sky
God who made the sea
Was a child like me
For He came to remove the dark in my life

(repeat chorus)

Oh we still need Him
For we all have sinned
We need Jesus to chase the darkness away
And it all will leave
If I just believe
Then this Christmas He'll turn my night into day

(repeat chorus)

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Christmas morning, we all wake early
We all wake early and rise
Down the stairs, we walk oh so gently
Walk oh so gently and smile
Christmas morning, we open our gifts
We open our gifts and cheer
But the best one, it stays unopened
It stays unopened each year

(Chorus) Why do we get so happy with this unwrapping
If we won't unwrap the best?
Jesus Christ paid a big big price
And it's all mine if I say 'yes' (oh yes)

Christmas morning will pass so quickly
Will pass so quickly and go
It's a day I'll forget by Easter
Forget by Easter, I know
But the new life that Jesus gives me
That Jesus gives me will last
Even after my life on this earth
My life on this earth is past

(repeat chorus)

So this Christmas I'll open the gift
I'll open the gift He gives
For He says that whoever takes it
Whoever takes it will live
Then each time that I think of Christmas
I'll think of my Saviour's name
For I know that it is the time that
It is the time that He came

(repeat chorus) Oh yes!

ONE AND ONLY

When the world was lonely
When the world was lonely
God sent down His Son
He sent His one and only
Jesus came
He came to be a friend

When the world was hungry
When the world was hungry
God sent down His Son
To fill us with His love
'Cause Jesus came
With bread that never ends

(Chorus) The time had come
For God to send His one and only Son (x2)

When we were unable
When we were unable
God sent down His Son
He sent Him to a stable
Jesus came
To love God and obey

When we were in danger
When we were in danger
God sent down His Son
He sent Him to a manger
Jesus came
To make for us a way

(repeat chorus)

Whosoever trusts Him
Whosoever trusts Him
Has eternal life
And never will be lost
'Cause Jesus came
And died for all our sin

Whosoever calls Him
Whosoever calls Him
Has a faithful Friend
To lift us when we fall
'Cause Jesus came
And I believe in Him

(repeat chorus)

THE BEST

Gifts were laid down at You
But the cloth that wrapped You
Held inside the best gift of them all
You once shone in brightness
But You became like us
All our hopes were in a child so small

Oh eternal life for free
Because Jesus came for me
And if I get nothing else
Still this Christmas will be the best

Men were laughing at You
And the cloak that wrapped You
Was torn off when they led You to die
I know why You let them
You want me in Heaven
So You bought the gift I cannot buy

Oh eternal life for free
Because Jesus died for me
And if I get nothing else
Still this Christmas will be the best

Empty tomb around You
But the cloth that bound You
Could not stop You rising from the grave
Jesus never changes
Throughout all the ages
For He lives and has the power to save

Oh eternal life for free
Because Jesus rose for me
And if I get nothing else
Still this Christmas will be the best
Still this Christmas will be the best

HE IS THE SAVIOUR

Who made the journey down,
Down from Heaven to Bethlehem? (x2)

Who is this baby boy,
Little stranger in Bethlehem? (x2)

Who made a great big star
Bring wise men from afar
To a child born in Bethlehem
A child born in Bethlehem?

(chorus) He is the Saviour (Jesus Christ)
He is the Saviour (Jesus Christ)
He is the Saviour (Jesus Christ)
He is the Saviour

Who do the shepherds praise
In a stable in Bethlehem? (x2)

Why do the angels say
There's a King born in Bethlehem? (x2)

Remember this great name
For He will come again
And the whole world will worship Him
The stranger from Bethlehem

(repeat chorus twice)

the following Iron Hall Christmas songs were not written by Iron Hall...


2000 YEARS AGO

Two thousand years ago
In Bethlehem, in Bethlehem
Two thousand years ago
A baby King was born (x2)

(chorus) Gather round and listen to our Christmas story
Though you've heard it many times before
How the God of Heaven showed His love towards us
So that we can live forevermore

Two thousand years ago
He came to us, He came to us
Two thousand years ago
He came to love us all (x2)

(repeat chorus)

Two thousand years ago
He died for us, He died for us
Two thousand years ago
He died to take our sin (x2)

GOOD NEWS FOR ALL THE WORLD

(Chorus) Good news for all the world
For the love of God has come to earth
Good news for everyone
For in Bethlehem our light has come

In the fields near Bethlehem
On a starry night
All the shepherds sleeping there
Saw an awesome sight
But the angel said to them
"Do not be afraid!
For a Saviour has been born
Born for you today!"

(repeat chorus)

Then the angel told them all
Where the baby lay
In a simple cattle stall
Lying in the hay
Suddenly a multitude
Filled the midnight sky
Many angels praising God
Praising God on high

(repeat chorus)

BETHLEHEM

The angel known as Gabriel
Came to the land of Israel
And Mary heard him say "Behold!
You soon will bear the Christ foretold!"

Just down the road from Jerusalem
There lay a city named Bethlehem
This humble town as cities go
Will house the Son of God below

(chorus) Bethlehem! Bethlehem!
Oh little town of Bethlehem!
Tonight we celebrate the birth
The Son of God has come to earth!

A multitude of angels came
To celebrate; God's love proclaim
"Glory to God", they hailed the birth
"This night has brought God's Son to earth"

Then like the angel said to them
The shepherds came to Bethlehem
And at the manger gathered round
They worshipped Him, the King they found

(repeat chorus)

The people walking in darkest night
As prophesied, have seen a great light
We celebrate this Christmas morn
For unto us a child is born

(repeat chorus)

Tonight we celebrate the birth
The Son of God has come to earth

Structures and purposes in Luke's gospel

Over the last 12 months I have been focussing my (sporadic) Bible readings on Luke's gospel. It all started out of curiousity from a CD I heard from the Grace Evangelical Society, by a man called Al Valdes.

Not that I remember too much from that CD now but one thing did stick in my mind. He drew attention to how the Temptation account differs from Matthew's. Most would say, and maybe correctly, that Luke is putting the temptations in the correct chronological order since that was his stated purpose to Theophilus in chapter 1.

But Valdes' CD got me thinking that there was something more to it than that - that the structure after the temptations, and prior to the crucifixion account, followed a pattern set by the temptations. I can't remember exactly how he defended this, but I remember it did involve the use of Greek words in certain sections that reflected back to the Greek words used in the temptation account. Not knowing any Greek I can't argue with this.

But over the course of the last year his suggestion that the temptation account is pivotal to the ensuing structure of the gospel has struck me as quite persuasive.

I have not yet, by any means, completed these thoughts, but perhaps the following may suggest that there is something to this.

The first temptation (4:3,4) shows the temptation towards the lust of the flesh, "Command this stone to be made bread". Christ's answer, drawing from Deuteronomy 8:3, is that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Now as we scan Luke's gospel until 9:17, I think there is an argument that most, if not all, of the content reflects the principle that Christ stated here in 4:4. We see many examples where man 'lives' by the word of God: the spoken word of Christ, proving that He is God.

4:31-37 - Jesus casts out an unclean spirit ("But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”)

4:38-39 - Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law ("So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.) Christ's provision, by His spoken word, is not only the healing of the woman, but the subsequent provision for the disciples as a result of her good health.

4:40-41 - Jesus heals many, and as a result the demons try to bear witness to who he is. ("And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.") Is Christ here teaching the lesson that man will only live by HIS words, and not the testimony of demonic/sinful sources?

5:1-11 - The catch of many fish ("But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”) The provision for the disciples is by the word of Christ, the word of God.

5:12-16 - Jesus cleanses a leper ("Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.)

5:17-26 - Jesus forgives and heals the paralytic (Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”)

5:27-32 - Matthew follows Christ (And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.) Aren't we to assume that Matthew learned to forsake all because he had seen or heard that Jesus provided?

6:6-10 - Jesus heals the man with the withered hand ("He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.")

6:20-49 - Sermon on the Mount. These words are for the disciples (v20) who are now being taught comprehensively in word what they had seen in practice. It is the poor, meek, mourning, etc who will receive the ultimate provision. Love of material possessions is to be discarded for a trust in the provision of Christ.

7:1-10 - Jesus heals a centurion's servant - provision for Gentiles too - ("But say the word, and my servant will be healed.)

7:11-17 - Jesus raises the widow's son ("And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”).

7:36-50 - Jesus forgives a sinful woman ("Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”)

8:4-15 - Parable of the sower ("Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God")

8:16-18 -Parable of revealed light - ("Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him), ie. fulness of life comes from "every word of God".

8:22-25 - Jesus calms the storm - ("Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.")

8:26-39 - Demoniac of Gadara - ("Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.")

8:40-56 - Raising of dead girl ("But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.”)

9:10-17 - Feeding the 5000 ("Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.)

This is where I believe there seems to be a transition to accounts that reflect principles taught in the second temptation. It is probably a large enough blog already to go into the next part.

I'm not saying that the above is the only purpose of Luke's gospel. Clearly there is major emphasis on the fulfilling of OT scripture, the reaching of the Gospel to Gentiles, Christ's love for the neglected/weak/poor and the inclusion of woman in what was a very exclusive society.

I also believe that principles coming out from the 2nd and 3rd temptations are briefly mentioned/hinted before they are expounded more obviously later in the gospel - particularly the emphasis on the kingdom which I think is the main focus of temptation 2. Is Luke (I'm reluctant to say the Holy Spirit, because I don't want to be accused of putting words into His mouth if I am wrong!) slowly bringing the kingdom to our attention before giving us some major teaching on it?

It does seem that the main principle from the second temptation - that man should not seek his own glory, but rather humbly submit to his service to God - is a theme prevalent in the next section of Luke.

New Perspective

At the end of the comments on my last post Matthew asked if I had any thoughts on the 'New Perspective' on Paul.

I didn't, cos I knew nothing about it. And still I know next to nothing, though I'm perusing through this link: http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_New_Perspectives.htm which is a conference script by NT Wright, the Bishop of Durham, and main exponent of this view.

If anyone knows links to critiques of this view can you let me know? So far I'm finding it very heavy. I don't want to say too much too soon, but among so much that doesn't sit well with me there are one or two interesting points. It would be easy to just dismiss it all with a blanket statement, but I don't want to do that.

The New Commandment

"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God".
Galatians 2:19

The general belief among evangelicals that I listen to, or read, is that the letter to the Galatians was written to argue against justification by the law.

Though it's not the intention of this post to begin a discussion on this, I feel that the evidence points more toward the controversy being sanctification by the law. The Judaisers, generally speaking, held to justification by faith alone in Christ alone. But their issue (and the issue of Peter, Barnabas, James, etc.) was this: 'OK, we're saved by faith in Christ, but now what?' Hence they taught (some more dogmatically than others) that believers should be circumcised and keep the Law.

Even if this view of Galatians doesn't ring true, the question is still vital. The opening quote above from Galatians highlights what is said elsewhere in the New Testament: the Law, including the Ten Commandments, has no authority over a believer's life. We are dead to it.

So what now? What standards or rules do I live by? Am I free to live by no rules whatsoever?

I think this is something that has become so complicated in the church today (or the churches I know of).

It is my view that the rule of the believer's life is faith. Galatians 5:6 seems to say this: "For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which works by love." This same verse defines how the life of faith works: by love.

This then seems to fit with Christ's declaration of His "new commandment" which He mentions in the Upper Room discourse (John 13-17): "love one another, as I have loved you."

In His ministry Christ also drew the attention of the Jews to the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:36-40). The most important concerned our love for God, the second our love for man. It has been said that these two commandments sum up the Ten Commandments.

So, in a sense, though we are dead to the Law, when we are "under the law to Christ" (1 Cor 9:21) we can reflect on Christ's words, and have a more 'compact' understanding of the Ten Commandments through these two commandments. But these two commandments also belong to the Old Testament law, so we cannot use them as our life-rule either.

Is it the case then that Christ was drawing attention to the concept of love for God and man, rather than the commandments themselves? After all, the law was our "schoolmaster" (Gal 3:24) which could only serve to point to faith in Christ because it exposes sinfulness. It has no other purpose (other than to conversely see the absolute holiness of God).

But if our new life-rule is faith in Christ, then it is a natural step-up from the initial faith that gives eternal life. It is faith in the power of Christ to change us, brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians do not take this next step. Many live by this rule fleetingly. Few apply it consistently.

The ongoing belief of Christ being in us, through the Spirit, is then the liberating factor that allows Christ to be expressed in us. Then He who fulfilled the commandments perfectly during His first advent can likewise express the same pefection through us (not our perfection - His).

I want to develop this further but time is at a premium (moving house in 9 days so I'm packing frantically). There are others references to the Ten Commandments in the epistles that I want to mention. These seem to be characterised by love, transferring our focus from the commandment to the concept of love - God's love in us.

This is a subject that seems too big for me (because it is) but I'd like to get a better hold on it. If I do, then I am in a much better position to live a better life.

Easy Believism?

If someone told a non-Christian that they simply needed to believe in Jesus to get eternal life, have their sins forgiven and be guaranteed a place in Heaven, there would potentially be disagreements from both sides, Christian and non-Christian. And the disagreements would be similar in that 'it can't be that easy'.

Though I do agree that belief in Christ is the only thing needed, I also agree that it's not that easy. As human beings we have a tendency to want to earn things, so non-Christians may feel that their genuine goodness as people will be acceptable to God, and Christians (though they know they can't earn such a priceless gift) can feel that there must also be a change in their attitude toward God, sin, and life in general, before their belief in Christ becomes acceptable to God. This, to me, is the same principle that good non-Christians operate by. It is works.

It is far less easy to accept that nothing at all in our actions or attitudes can earn us acceptance into God's family. It is far less easy to accept that we have nothing at all with which we can say to God, "I have this attitude, or this action, so please give me eternal life in exchange."

To only believe in the free offer of eternal life by Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, and accept that as sufficient, is by no means easy. When someone gives us an unexpected gift at Christmas, if you're like me, the tendency could be to think, "Oh no, I'd better get them something in return." In other words we're not appreciating the gift for what it is: free and without conditions. However, when we were children and received a gift from our parents, we took it without conditions, without a sense of owing something in return. And this is the attitude - the attitude of a child - that is needed for someone to receive God's eternal life, which is why Jesus commanded people to become like little children (not childish, but childlike).

But here's a potential misunderstanding: if we have to believe in Christ to get eternal life, then surely that faith is a condition? And if so, then the offer of eternal life does have a condition. Well, faith/belief is a totally different concept to good works, or even to a change in attitude. When we do good works we initiate the action, and the same is true for our attitude. If I wake this morning and decide that I must get rid of a certain sin in my life, even with God's help, I am still the initiator of the action, in that I can choose to ignore or accept the Holy Spirit's prompting.

But faith is not something we initiate. It is a response to something. It is just like the child's simple response of accepting his parent's gift. Faith is not an attitude, nor an action. And we can call faith a condtion for eternal life precisely because of that. It is not an action. It is a re-action. It is not something we make an effort to do. We do not choose to believe something. We naturally believe or don't believe. When our parents gave us a gift when we were small children we naturally accepted it; we did not make a decision to assess the nature of the offer, nor deem the gift to be over-generous. There was a childlike trust in the nature of the offer. We knew our parents loved us, and this knowledge led to the natural re-action that their offer was free and without condition. We didn't refuse.

But if faith is not something we initiate, does that mean we can't control the situation? Does that mean we have no say in whether or not to believe in Jesus Christ? Well, we can't choose to become Christians, or 'make a decision' as some people put it, but we can lay the groundwork that leads to belief. We can choose to be open-minded about the gospel message, about the problem of sin, about the Person that Jesus Christ is. When we do this, we will be presented with the clear free offer of eternal life, and a natural response will result: belief or unbelief. Those who do not believe may have a number of reasons, but among those reasons there will often be the thought 'it can't be that easy'.

Those who do believe accept that it is that easy, and yet the process they will have gone through to come that conclusion will not have been easy (unless they are children).

And so I am of the opinion that one becomes a Christian through belief in a message that is easy to understand, yet not easy to accept.

John's gospel mentions no other way to eternal life than belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Well, 'millions of people around the world today believe that so are they all saved?' True, many people do believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but do they believe that only by faith in that fact they are saved? No, most people do not. They add to this message. Some add to it by saying that we must also do good works, and others say that there must be a genuine desire to give our lives over to God (an attitude). To add to the concept of belief-only is to nullify the message, and thus one can't be saved if this is their hope.

To many people, inside and outside the church, the idea of only-belief-in-Christ-alone for eternal life seems very foolish. But that's the point. To human eyes it is a foolish message (1st Corinthians 1:17-29). But as we are sinful beings, and God is the only wise One, we had better humble ourselves and take His word for it. This is the belief that God demands.

So what is my hope of eternal life? My belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and... nothing else. His work on the Cross paid for my sin, His Resurrection means I will rise from the dead one day too. But it is only faith in Christ Himself that opens the gift.

"Why should I let you into Heaven?"
"Jesus."