YOUR BEST LIFE IS NOT NOW

On March 27, 2016March 25, 2016 By Pastor TomIn Bible, Bible Teaching, Easter, Jesus1 Comment

RESURRECTION SUNDAY, 2016

When people or things in our life die, we want to know why God didn’t prevent it. Perhaps he has something better in mind than fixing this imperfect life here and now.

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John 11:1-53

I’ll bet you never guess what I want to talk about this week. That’s right. I’m going to teach about the birth of Jesus. Just kidding of course.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central truth on which all Christian theology depends. If Jesus wasn’t really raised from the dead, then he was a madman or megalomaniac. But if he was truly raised, then what he said was true; and he said he was God the Son, come into the world for our salvation.

I have talked before about the theological implications of the resurrection. I probably will again in the future. I have shared with you substantial evidence that supports the claim that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. I’ll do that again in the future also. But this year, I want to talk about the resurrection in a personal way. To do that, I want to consider a different resurrection: the resurrection of Lazarus, recorded in John chapter 11:1-53. Don’t get me wrong, this is also about the resurrection of Jesus. However, I think by considering what happened in this incident, we can learn some things about Jesus’ resurrection, and the eternal life he offers us.

Jesus was at least two days of traveling from his friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Lazarus became seriously ill, and so the sisters sent word to Jesus. What John says next is pretty strange:

5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

John connects two things that don’t seem like they should be connected. He says Jesus loved Lazarus, so when he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was. Sometimes it is helpful to pay attention to the connecting words like “so,” and “therefore.” I checked the Greek, and sure enough, “so” is a good translation. But what kind of sense does that make? I can see John writing, “Jesus loved Lazarus, but when he heard he was sick, he stayed where he was anyway.” Or it would make sense to say, “Jesus loved Lazarus, so when he heard he was sick, he hurried to his side.” But John very deliberately connects the fact that Jesus loved Lazarus to the fact that he didn’t go to him, and allowed him to die.

Now, of course, that isn’t the end of the story. Jesus does go eventually back – after Lazarus has died and been in the ground for four days. He speaks to Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” This is actually a statement, but implied here is a question: “Why did you let him die? Why didn’t you come when we called?”

We know the end of this particular story. Jesus had bigger plans for Lazarus than merely healing him from a deadly disease. He had plans for resurrection. But Martha couldn’t see those plans.

I think that often our deepest struggles with God are like this. We run into trouble because frequently, God is working from an eternal perspective, and we are not. He knows things we can’t know, things we will never know on earth, and maybe not even in eternity. He has purposes that are greater and better than we have thought. And so, what looks like death and tragedy to us looks like an opportunity for resurrection to him.

You can’t fault Martha and Mary and the disciples for failing to see it. It is so much bigger than anything they have thought of hoping for. They are thinking of this life. They are thinking of what seems possible, given their level of interaction with Jesus. But they are not thinking like Jesus.

²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:23-27, ESV)

Jesus doesn’t answer her unspoken question. Instead, while their brother is still rotting in the tomb, he asks them to put their faith in him. He asks for faith before they have any reason to give it.

I identify with Martha and the others. I usually hope for what seems somewhat realistic. Considering how they had themselves seen Jesus heal people, it was reasonable for them to hope for healing. But resurrection was outside their experience. It was outside their paradigm. So often, we are like that. We want healing and continuation of this life. Jesus wants to give us resurrection. We want what seems possible, even if unlikely. Jesus wants to give us what we haven’t even thought of yet. We want to restore things as they were. Jesus wants to let things “as they were” die, so that he can resurrect something better in its place.

I have a very old Mercedes-Benz. Because the car is so old, a number of things don’t work correctly. I can’t control the side mirrors. The horn doesn’t work either. A few of the dashboard lights don’t function as they are supposed to. Water leaks into the trunk in heavy rain. The only way to lock and unlock the car is through the trunk. Don’t get me wrong, I love the car and the way it drives – still drives like a Mercedes. It just has its little foibles.

One day, our car wouldn’t start. Kari and I were pretty disappointed. We had a lot of driving to do the next day, and we both had to go different places. I called a man in our church who is a talented as a mechanic. He came and got it to start. We’re thrilled to have it back. None of the other things got fixed. I still can’t control the side mirrors or use the horn or see the time and temperature. I still have to use the trunk to lock it up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful to our friend and very grateful to have the car working again. But it is still the same car.

But now, suppose for a moment that my friend the mechanic was very rich and generous. Imagine that when he heard the trouble I was having, he decided to buy me a brand new Mercedes-Benz. So, imagine that when I asked him to come fix my old car, he said, “No, Tom, I’m not going to do that,” all the while planning to give me a new car, a car in which everything works. I might be disappointed in my friend, not knowing his plan for me. I would be focused on getting my old car back. He would be focused on giving me something much better. I think sometimes this is how we are with Jesus. Our vision is small.

Our vision is for a nice life in this imperfect world. We want “our best life now.” Jesus promises that our best life will never be now, on this earth, and we should be glad of it. His vision for us is for something much more glorious, more real, something far better than anything that has occurred to us.

There is something else about this story that strikes me. In order for resurrection to occur, death must occur first. In other words, Jesus cannot resurrect something unless it dies first. To go back to the point I made earlier: Jesus loved Lazarus, therefore he let him die.

This isn’t necessarily a pleasant thought. Usually, we want to skip the dying part, and go right to the resurrection; but death is a part of the equation. Jesus said:

²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24, ESV)

This is an obvious truth when it comes to seeds. When you plant a seed, you destroy it, as a seed. But the destruction of a seed results in something new and wonderful, something that is actually much greater than seed was.

It is true also with the caterpillar. When the caterpillar goes into the chrysalis, for all intents and purposes, its life as a caterpillar is over. It will never again crawl on the ground or eat leaves. But instead, it will fly, and drink sweet nectar from flowers.

In the same way, resurrection requires death. This truth is all over the bible:

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matt 16:24-26, ESV)

When Jesus says “take up his cross” he means quite simply, “be willing to die.”

² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:2-3, ESV)

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20, ESV)

Ultimately, this means our physical death. It means that death is not something to fear. It leads to resurrection. But even now, before physical death, there are things that Jesus would like us to let go. There are ambitions, hopes, values, material things, perhaps even relationships, that we need to allow to die. [By the way, when I say “relationships” I don’t mean marriages. As always, we need to consider the whole scripture, and the Lord has made it clear that he considers marriages to be permanent in this life. Please do not interpret this message in any way that contradicts some part of the bible]. We might feel like letting go of our rights, or our dreams or material things is a terrible thing. And it might indeed be very difficult and traumatic. But there is a resurrection waiting, and sometimes the only thing holding up the glorious new life is the death that must come first.

So anyway, if you haven’t heard the story before, Jesus went ahead and raised Lazarus from death. But there is something about this resurrection I that always struck me as odd. Where is Lazarus today? Dead, of course. Jesus ascended to heaven. But Lazarus grew old and died again. In other words, the resurrection of Lazarus was a temporary thing. The real thing didn’t happen until Jesus died on the cross, and became the first one to be raised to eternal life.

I think this is a message for us also. We want Jesus to raise things that will just have to die again anyway. We get so focused on this life, and the things in it. But the resurrection Jesus offers isn’t just the restoration of our old bodies with our flaws and problems.

Resurrection is not just a restoration of what we have right now. That was Lazarus’ resurrection, but it is not the resurrection that Jesus promises, and ultimately that Jesus himself had. Paul returns to the seed analogy:

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶ You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain… (1 Cor 15:35-37)

⁴² So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ( 1 Cor 15:42-44)

So, in light of these things, let me ask you a few questions:

Are you wanting to fix something workable, but which the Lord wants to die? Perhaps what you are dealing with has already died, or begun to. Do the actions of Jesus puzzle you? Are you wondering why he won’t just fix it? Is your vision too small? Do you want God to do too little for you?

Are you looking for temporary resurrection – something that lasts only this world?

Are you looking for real resurrection, but you want to skip the “death part?”

Ultimately, I want us to deal directly with what Jesus says to Martha:

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Do you believe this? Do you believe that the resurrection is found only in Jesus? Do you believe that true life is only in him?

If you marry someone who has a vast fortune, that fortune belongs to you, through your spouse. You can use it and enjoy it. But you have it only through your relationship with your spouse. To the extent that you have your spouse, you have that fortune. If your relationship is genuine, then you live as one-flesh, and what you have, you have together.

The resurrection is in Jesus. It comes only through relationship with Him. If you have Jesus, you have the resurrection. It is as simple, and as difficult as that. You can’t get it through religious activity. You can’t get it through being good, or deep meditation. If you want Jesus, he will have you, if only you humble yourself enough to confess your needs, and to ask.

That involves repenting of your sins, and also of your inward sin – that commitment you have to being king or queen of your own life. And then we simply invite Jesus in, and trust him to take over. If you would like, do that right now.

Short Pause in New Sermons

On January 16, 2016 By Pastor TomIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Hey folks,

I’m sure some of you have noticed that you haven’t been getting any new messages for a few weeks. Since August, I’ve been battling a persistent health problem, and we are now in kind of an intensive phase to try and get it fixed. It does not appear to be life-threatening in any way.

In our local church, we are going to be doing something different for the next 6-8 weeks. During that time, when I can, I’ll be going back through my sermon archives and posting some previous messages. If you want a vote about what I might post, you can look at the archives tab (above) and request something that interests you.

If you are one of our many wonderful prayer supporters, you can add my healing to the list.

Thanks so much,

Pastor Tom

Step-Dad to God’s Son

On December 24, 2015December 23, 2015 By Pastor TomIn Bible Teaching, Christianity, Christmas, Matthew, Podcast, Religion, SermonLeave a comment

The Christmas Story in the Bible has a lot of heroes, and few villains, but one of the most overlooked heroes is the Step-Father of God’s son – Joseph. The fact is, Joseph is man of profound faith and steadfastness. His example is one that could help us.

To listen to the sermon, click the play button:

To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Christmas 2015

Christmas Eve 2015

Matthew 1:18-25; 2:13-15; 2:19-23

The Christmas Story in the Bible has a lot of heroes, and few villains, but one of the most overlooked heroes is the Step-Father of God’s son – Joseph. The fact is, Joseph is man of profound faith and steadfastness. His example is one that could help us.

Let’s consider his situation. Back in those days, engagement was a big deal – in fact it was almost as big of a deal as marriage. So when it says Joseph was engaged to Mary, this was no casual thing. Engagement involved what we might consider marriage vows, and engagements were not usually broken off except for some very serious causes, like the discovery that one partner was unfaithful. An engaged couple still hadn’t had the ceremony and begun to live together, but in general, they were considered to be as committed to each other as a married couple. Unwed pregnancy was also a very big deal in those days. Jewish law actually provided that a woman who was unfaithful to her husband could be stoned to death. By the time of the New Testament, that didn’t happen very often any more, partly because the Romans put a stop to it, but it was still there in the Jewish law. Even without that, it was a major scandal for an unmarried woman to have a child.

So here is Joseph, engaged, and he finds out his fiancée is pregnant – and of course, it wasn’t his baby. Even in this day and age, that would be enough for most men to call off a relationship.

A few years ago, I shared what the wedding day would have meant to Mary – it would have been the biggest, best day of her life. But this was also true of Joseph. On that day – and most likely, only on that day, in his entire life – he would feel like a king, and eat like a king. Your wedding was the highlight of life in a place where the poverty was soul-crushing. I’m sure Joseph was looking forward to that day.

Everything we read about Joseph tells us he was a good, decent man. He still cares enough for Mary that he doesn’t want her to suffer public disgrace, so he plans to break of the engagement quietly and discreetly. Even so, think of the hurt and humiliation he must feel! Even before they are properly married, this woman has cheated on him. All his happy dreams for the future are shattered around him by this humiliating betrayal.

So, after making his plans, he goes to bed. He has a dream in which an angel of the Lord tells him what’s really going on with Mary. Now, I want you to consider something. They knew just as much about the birds and bees back then as we do now. It’s not like they thought, “Oh sure, every so often you’re gonna have a virgin get pregnant, even though she’s never been with a man.” And in Hebrew culture, the idea of God impregnating someone was borderline blasphemy. The ancient Greeks worshiped Gods who were sort of like really big and powerful human beings. Their gods, from time to time, would get enamored with some beautiful human woman and come down and have an affair. But this is not at all the type of God that the Jews (or we) believe in. To a Jewish man, this is a strange and almost blasphemous idea.

So here’s Joseph. In his mind, he’s already been made a fool and rejected. Now some sort of angelic being comes in a dream, and says, “don’t worry, she’s still a virgin, she hasn’t been unfaithful. God put the baby in there through his Holy Spirit.”

I think my response might have been, “Yeah, right. Whatever.” But here is Joseph, being played for an even bigger fool than before, and what is his response?

“When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her, but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus. (Matt 1:24-25)

Joseph was confronted with a crisis of faith. He had a choice. He could follow proper social convention and save face for himself and protect his injured pride. Or he could step out into the wild abyss of faith, risking ridicule and humiliation. He chose faith. And though we don’t often make a big deal of it, he is truly one of the heroes of faith in the Bible.

There’s another thing, too. Okay, he accepts in faith that God is in this. But now, think of it: Joseph was going to be God’s step-dad. Seriously! There’s a song by Michael Card that I love. The picture is of Joseph standing there, holding Jesus as a baby, rocking him to sleep. And he’s thinking, “How can I do this? How can I be a father to the son of God?” Again, he faced the choice. He could have said, “This is ridiculous. I can’t do this!” He could have made all kinds of objections: “I can’t provide him with the education he will need. I can’t even be sure I’ll be able to feed and clothe this child. How do I raise him? How do I discipline him? Will I need to discipline him?”

But, as before, he responded in faith. The first few chapters of Matthew show us a man who relied on God, was sensitive to him, and responded quickly and obediently to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He marries Mary, just as the angel told him, though it is almost certain that the ceremony was nothing like the celebration involved in a normal Jewish wedding.

Mary has the baby, and they stay in Bethlehem for about two years. Then, after a visit from the Magi, the Lord tells Jospeh to move the whole family down to Egypt. This is a major journey. And of course, Egypt is a whole other country. But Joseph doesn’t hesitate. The same thing happens a few years later: the Holy Spirit tells him to go back, and even which town to settle in. Joseph does it.

I think that it is no accident that Joseph was the kind of man who heard from God. God picked not only Mary, but Mary and Joseph together. Joseph was ready to hear from God. He was probably the sort of man who wanted to be closer to God, wanted to hear from him. He remained sensitive to him and willing to make the hard choices of faith over feelings, faith over conventional wisdom, faith over fear. He made the choice of faith time after time.

Joseph is great example to us. Christmas can give us sweet, warm fuzzy feelings. But when we really think about it, that little child is confronting us with a choice. Will we believe and accept that the Creator of the universe willingly joined himself to a human egg, laid aside the privileges of divinity, and became this little baby? We really believe that here, in this frail, impoverished child, with the young, inexperienced mother and the plain, ordinary step-father, is the salvation of the world? Are we willing to take action on that choice of faith?

I hope Joseph’s example will encourage us to say, “yes.” If Joseph can look that stupid, so can we. If he can marry a pregnant woman, be step-father to God’s son, move all around the world because he heard something in a dream, we can certainly give up our pride, and trust this little child Jesus with our lives now, and our eternal future.

Help us understand how you use this blog

On December 16, 2015December 11, 2015 By Pastor TomIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hey folks,

It’s the end of the year, and I’m trying to do some evaluation of our ministry these days. I know how many of you get this by email, and I know how many visitors we get to the site. What isn’t clear to me is how many of you are reading or listening to the messages, nor how often. If you would, please take the time to fill out the following poll. It should take less than a minute. If you don’t, I’ll assume that means that you don’t often read or listen to the messages I post. That’s fine, I’m just trying figure it out.

SECOND CHRISTMAS

On December 15, 2015December 10, 2015 By Pastor TomIn Advent, Bible, Christianity, Christmas, Jesus, Podcast, Religion, Sermon1 Comment

Christmas has a way of awakening our desires. What we often don’t understand, however, is that our deepest desires are mere echoes of the great Reality that awaits us on the other side of time.

To listen to the sermon, click the play button:

To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Advent 2015 Part 3

2 Peter 3:1-18. ADVENT 2015 #3 (fourth week in Advent)

Remember when you were a kid, and it seemed like Christmas would never come? I sometimes enjoy the movie A Christmas Story. It really captures the combination of yearning, excitement and apprehension that some children feel about the holiday. In that movie, Ralph, a young boy, desperately wants a BB gun. He needs it. His heart will not be at peace until he possesses it. Throughout the whole movie he is aching for Christmas to come, but also a bit fearful that he’ll be disappointed.

As I have pointed out during the past few weeks, Jesus also promised us a “second Christmas.” He said he would return some day. In some ways, I think we look at the return of Jesus the same way Ralph in A Christmas Story looks at Christmas. We want the gifts we might get: eternal life, an end to sorrow and suffering, being reunited with those we loved and have lost. Revelation 21:1-5 puts it like this:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

That sounds exciting. That sounds like a present we could really look forward to. In fact, in my better moments, I yearn for this. I know my soul won’t be at rest until I receive it.

But at the same time, we have a certain amount of apprehension about second Christmas. What if, when it comes, we are disappointed? What if Jesus was just messing with us when he promised to take us to be with him (John 14:1-6)? I think our fears about his return fall into a few different categories. I fear that won’t enjoy the time leading up to it. The holidays between Thanksgiving and Christmas can get hectic and stressful. In the same way, the Bible indicates that the time before Jesus returns will be stressful.

Another thing we tend to worry about it, is this: will heaven really be all it cracked up to be? I mean, I might get bored, singing in the choir, after a thousand years or so. Is our “second Christmas” present really as good as we think it is?

Finally, I think some us worry about this: will we really get the present we want? Or will we be left out? Jesus promised, but what could be taking him so long? Is the promise really for me? Is he even coming back at all?

The apostle Peter, in his second general letter to Christians, addressed some of these issues in 2 Peter 3:1-18. When Jesus first promised to come back, the apostles and the early church expected him within their lifetimes. No one ever dreamed he would wait for 2,000 years or more. So many Christians had begun to doubt, or at least wonder, about this promise. They were excited, but also worried. Here are several points from what Peter writes, that might help us as we look forward to the second Christmas.

1. Second Christmas (the return of Jesus) is going to come. Scoffers are mocking the promise of Jesus, saying he is never really going to come back. But Peter reminds us that God is not bound by the same rules of time that bind us. A thousand years might be like a day to the Lord, or vice versa. If that is the case, the church of Jesus Christ has only been waiting two days for him to return. It seems like forever – just like Christmas seemed forever away when you were a kid – but it is not forever. God doesn’t count time the same way we do, just like adults see time differently than kids. But he has not forgotten or changed his promise. He will come back. The time-delay is because of God’s mercy and grace (2 Peter 3:9 & 15). He doesn’t want anyone to miss out on a chance to receive the incredible gifts he is bringing. So he is giving the world a chance to repent of sins and self-centeredness, and receive him. We may be apprehensive, but we are dealing with a loving and gracious God.

2. It really will be good. In fact, it will be better than we can fully understand. This world is full of things that disappoint us. Remember that Christmas present you yearned for as a kid? How much joy does it bring you on a day-to-day basis today? By the time we are adults, if we are wise, we have learned that lasting joy does not come from temporary things. However, heaven is the opposite of temporary. We are promised eternal life, eternal joy. C.S. Lewis, among several other great Christian writers, suggests that our deepest desires are signals to us of what will be fulfilled in heaven:

Now, if we are made for heaven, the desire for our proper place will be already in us, but not yet attached to the true object, and will even appear as the rival of that object.

Heaven is not a place where we wear robes and sing in a choir all day. It is the place where our entire purpose for existence is consummated. Our deepest desires are mere echoes of the great Reality that awaits us on the other side of time. Let me give you a specific and surprising example: A lot of people wonder if there will be sex in heaven. The biblical picture we have is unclear. But what is quite clear to me is that the joy and pleasure and intimacy with another person that we want to experience through sex is a pale, weak shadow compared to the stunning fulfillment we will find in heaven. The kinds of questions we raise about heaven are like a little child who is on his way to visit his grandparents, and wants to know if he will still be able to talk to them on the phone when he gets there. We are promised that it is better than we can ask or imagine. C.S. Lewis puts it this way:

These things – the beauty, the memory of our own past – are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never visited.

3. This Gift has been promised to us, and we can rely on the promise. Peter says the earth and sky will be consumed in fire, but: “In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)” Again this is the same promise reiterated in Revelation 21, quoted above. It is unimaginably good; better than we could ask or conceive of.

4. The expectation of second Christmas should affect how we live today (2 Peter 3:14).

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

Let’s understand something clearly. Too many people get the cart before the horse. We don’t make efforts to be blameless and at peace with God in order to get to heaven and receive these promises. No. It goes like this: because we have these promises, and because we believe Jesus has given them to us out of his grace, our response to get ready for the life he offers. We don’t try to act right in order to receive God’s grace – we receive God’s grace first, and as a result, we make every effort to be blameless and at peace with him. The promise of Christmas can have a wonderful effect on young children. Sometimes, it is because they think they must be good in order to get good presents. But more often, it is the knowledge that at this time of the year, there is plenty of goodness and to go around. They are going to get goodness, and their response is often to be good in return. Ours should be the same, whether we are adults or children. The Lord has promised good to us (Jeremiah 29:11) – let that goodness flow back to him in a response of gratitude.

The fact is this: if we really are looking forward to the return of Jesus as the ultimate Christmas present, it should affect our lives. Worries that might otherwise be a big deal, don’t have to be so dominant. Things that others to do hurt me, don’t have to be unforgivable. God is being generous with me at Second Christmas, so I can spare some of the goodwill, and be generous with love and forgiveness toward others. There are a lot of things we get all tied in knots about, that simply won’t matter very much once Second Christmas comes.

5. We can be secure in grace. (2 Peter 3:17-18)

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Peter writes that we should be on our guard. We are not invincible. We might be carried away by the opinions of others, or our own love of sin. However, though we are not invulnerable, we can be secure – Peter himself calls our position secure. He tells us to grow in grace. What does that mean? I think it means that we grow in our understanding of how powerful and incredible God’s grace and love are. Because of what Jesus has done, there is no sin you commit than cannot be forgiven if you repent. There is nothing that can keep God’s love from you. Second Christmas is coming, and it is good, and the promise is yours simply by trusting that it is for you. These verses are about the end of the world. But they are not meant to scare us – they are written to encourage us, and comfort us.

Enjoy Christmas this year. But keep your eyes on the real promise – the Second Christmas, the return of the One who came the first time as a little baby. To focus our thoughts right now, let me close with two more quotes from C.S. Lewis and the weight of glory:

At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of the morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendors we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so someday, God willing, we shall get in.

Nature is mortal; we shall outlive her. When all the suns and nublae have passed away, each one of you will still be alive. Nature is only the image, the symbol; but it is the symbol Scripture invites us to use. We are summoned to pass in through nature, beyond her, into that splendor which she fitfully reflects.

PREPARING FOR THE END OF THE WORLD

On December 8, 2015December 5, 2015 By Pastor TomIn Advent, Bible, Bible Teaching, Christmas, Podcast, Religion, Sermon, TNLeave a comment

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Advent Week 3 (sermon #2). Matthew 24:36-44

As you are probably aware, there are only seventeen shopping days left until Christmas. This is the season when we remember how God selflessly surrendered the powers of his divinity and came to us as a helpless human baby. We typically commemorate this by generously cursing the people who steal our parking places at the mall, and mediating peacefully on new credit card debt while we drift off to sleep.

Of course, there is something else we can do as the days lead up toward Christmas. We can spend the time and energy in expectation. We can focus on the coming of some really cool Christmas presents! Ha Ha! Just a little pastoral humor for you there. Actually, while the time leading up to Christmas can be a wonderful time of remembrance and focusing on Jesus’ birth, it is also a time that can help us think about Jesus’ next physical visit to our world – his triumphant return. In fact, that is the traditional purpose of the church season of Advent, which we are now in.

As we read in the Bible about the things that led up to the birth of Jesus, it becomes obvious that the people living at the time did not know exactly what was coming, but all the signs and prophecies pointed to this: God was going to act in History. Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Anna and Simeon – all experienced things and remembered prophecies that encouraged them to get ready for the Lord to come to his people. None of them understood completely how it was all going to play out, but they believed and they acted in obedience and prepared for the Lord’s arrival.

Now, where are we today? Jesus has already come as a baby. He grew up. He sacrificed his innocent life for us. And he was raised from the dead, and left our world physically. It’s wonderful to remember that. It helps our faith. I also want to encourage us to also do what those faithful believers did before that all happened – to prepare for the coming of Jesus. In our case it is not his coming as a baby, but rather his coming into our lives personally, and of course, his triumphant return to earth. To help us do that I want to look at some things Jesus said before he left us. Please read Matthew 24:36-44 in your Bible.

This teaching of Jesus occurred during the week before he was crucified. Just prior to saying this, Jesus said that it will be possible to notice and consider “the signs of the times” that indicate his return is near. His next statement is this: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Now, I have met people who like to describe in detail what everything will be like just prior to the ending of world. I’ve met others who feel that they can guess with some degree of accuracy when it will come. I think, if we consider carefully what Jesus is saying here about his return, we will realize two things:

1. It is possible to recognize the “season” just prior to Jesus’ triumphant physical return to earth.

2. It is not possible to accurately predict specific details about the future, just prior to the return of Jesus, nor the exact time it will happen. Even Jesus himself did not know, prior to his leaving our world.

I think the Lord has set things up like this because he wants his followers to live in a state of continual expectation of his return. Look at this way: if we knew that Jesus would come back exactly at 9:00AM on November 2, 2027, I think we would all relax a bit and say, “well, I don’t have to bother about that for quite a while yet.” Let’s face it – some of us wouldn’t start to get ready for his return until 8:15 that morning. But if we look at this little passage, we can see that the point Jesus is making is that we should always be ready. The fact is this: it could be any day now. It could be today.

Jesus indicates that the season of his return can be recognized. Are we in that season? I think so. I recognize, however, that the apostle Paul thought so too. Fifteen hundred years later, and 500 years before now, Martin Luther thought he was living close to the end times. This doesn’t discourage me in the least, because I believe Jesus wants every generation of his followers to live as though his return is imminent. Some of the things that indicate to me that the season of Jesus return might be near are these: the formation of the Jewish nation in 1947; The dramatic increase in the number of lives lost through war in the twentieth century; the incredible spread of immorality and godlessness in the world. I think huge natural disasters like the tsunami a few years ago are also significant.

But even if I am mistaken in one sense, consider this. It is entirely accurate to say that, for all intents and purposes, Jesus will return by the end of my lifetime. When you die, it has virtually same effect, for you, as if it was the end of time, and Jesus has returned. At the time of your death you will meet Jesus face to face. Your existence on the old earth will have ended for you. If you think this old world will keep spinning in space for another 4 billion years, fine. But you won’t be on it for much longer, all things considered. It is not given to us to know when we die. I may get in a car wreck next week, and for me, Jesus has returned. So you also must be ready, because “the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Jesus says it will be like the days of Noah. Virtually every culture that keeps any sort of history, has a historical tradition that includes a story very much like Noah and the ark. The Samburu people, living in the near-desert of Northern Kenya have a flood story. The people of India have one too, as do those in Indonesia, and around the world. There is debate about whether the flood was worldwide or local, but the historical and genetic evidence is that all people on earth are descended from one family, a family which apparently survived a great flood. The people in the days of Noah were warned about the flood. It didn’t seem to them like anything would ever change. Noah took 300 years to build the boat, and probably even he wondered if it would really come. But one day it did, and it destroyed everyone but the family that believed and prepared for it.

The return of Jesus may seem like it is a long way off. It may seem like things will never change. But those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

So how can we be ready? How do we “keep watch” as Jesus said? First, we need to receive and welcome Jesus as he comes to us right now. Consider Hebrews 3:7: “So as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 adds this thought: “As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

Jesus’ coming happened yes, at Bethlehem when he was born as a baby. And yes, He will come again in Judgment. But right now, He comes to us every day. He comes to us to spend time with us. Maybe that is time in prayer and meditating on the scriptures, or time going for walk and talking to him as well as listening to him. He comes to us, wanting to bless other people through us. Are you receiving him today? Maybe you’ve never received him into your life at all before. If not, please pray a simple prayer, something like this: Lord Jesus, I want to receive you in my life. I need your forgiveness and love and grace. Please come now and take over my heart and my will, and live your life through me. Thank you for hearing and responding. AMEN.

There’s really no point in getting all excited about the return of Jesus if we aren’t interested in the ways he comes to us right now. But if we have received in him into our lives, I think, as I said earlier, he would like us to live each day in expectation of his return. How would you live today if you knew, absolutely for sure, that Jesus was coming back at 11:00PM tonight. Would you express your love to your friends and family? Who would you spend time with? What would you say to people? How would you spend your time on the last day in history? Now, why can’t you do some of that every day, no matter how many or few days you have left? Why can’t you regularly tell people about Jesus? Why can’t you always affirm your loved ones and express your love for them? Why can’t you just avoid sin, just for today? Why can’t you fully surrender to Jesus every day?

It’s not a gimmick – Jesus really is going to back, whether we are ready or not. Instead, it’s grace – he’s told us he is. He wants to live his life through us, in the expectation of what he will do when he comes back. Will you let him?

YOU ARE TOO OLD!

On December 1, 2015November 27, 2015 By Pastor TomIn Advent, Bible, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Jesus, Podcast, Religion, SermonLeave a comment

In the season of Advent, we remember that God is still acting in this world, that Jesus has promised to return ,and that God still wants to bless and use His people, no matter who they are in the eyes of the world.

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Advent 2015 #1 . Luke 1:5-25; 57-80

If you are following along with our series in the book of Matthew in real time, this is not it. I preached Matthew #69 just at the end of November. Now, for the next four weeks, we’ll be focusing on the seasons of Advent and Christmas.

Bear with me a few moments while I explain what we call “The Church Year.” After Christianity became legal in the Roman empire, Christian churches began to have more contact with one another, and it wasn’t long before “the church” was also an institution with an organizational structure and a hierarchy. There were, of course, a lot of negatives about this. However, one of the positives was a sense of unity that extended among virtually all Christians. One way that unity was preserved was through having all churches reading the same scriptures as other churches each week; this later became known as the lectionary. The lectionary was organized around “church seasons.” There are some small variations, but in general the seasons are: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and “after Pentecost,” (sometimes call “ordinary time”). Each season has a kind “character” to it. For instance, Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus and the significance of His incarnation. Lent is a time many Christians use to reflect on the suffering of Jesus, and to engage in personal repentance. Easter is about the resurrection, and so on.

I want to emphasize that these church seasons are not given to us by the bible; they are traditions, and no true Christian would say that it is necessary to observe them in order to be a follower of Jesus. One of the negatives of the church year is that it means that huge portions of the bible will never be read in churches which strictly observe it, since those churches focus only on the lectionaries given for each season. Even so, I think we can benefit at times from the traditions associated with the church year.

For me particularly, Advent is one of the seasons that I find very helpful. Advent actually marks the beginning of the church year, and starts four Sundays prior to Christmas. I use the season of Advent, with its traditional readings, to help me get the most out of what the rest of the world calls “the holiday season.”

The focus of Advent is helpful to me, because it takes my eyes off of the commercial aspects of Christmas and the holidays. It even takes me out of simply sentimentally reflecting on the birth of Jesus Christ. The theme and scriptures of Advent remind me that Jesus has promised to return. They encourage me to focus on what Jesus is still doing, and will do in the future. It keeps my hope focused on eternity, and my work focused on how God would use me here and now.

Now, I am going to go ahead and show the weakness of the church year by using some scripture that is not in any of the traditional Advent readings. I think, however, that these verses can help us get our focus in order for this season.

One of the overlooked figures surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ is the father of Jesus’ cousin John. John’s father was Zechariah, a priest. In the year when both Jesus and John were born, Zechariah was chosen for the rare honor of offering incense during the sacrifice. Priesthood was determined by birth – they had to be descended from the first priest, Aaron. Each priest served with others in his division for two weeks every year; Zechariah was in the division of Abijah. Duties were assigned by random lot. Jewish documents suggest that at that time, a priest would have such an honor only once in his entire lifetime, and many priests never had the chance. To be chosen for this duty would be the highlight of Zechariah’s life.

One interesting note is that from all this we might take a stab at finding out what time of year Jesus was actually born. Zechariah’s priestly division was the eighth out of twenty-four, and so we can estimate when he was serving at the temple. The Jewish new year varied a little bit each year, but the best guess for that year would be that Zechariah encountered the angel sometime in May or June. Luke says “after those days,” Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth conceived John. Five months later, the angel visited Mary, and then Luke says “in those days” Mary came to Elizabeth’s house. So if it all happened immediately, that would mean John was born in April of the following year, and Jesus in September. But we don’t know exactly how much “after those days” and “in those days” really means. If there was a lag time of just two months total in those two flexible periods, then Jesus was indeed born in December. The exact date of his birth doesn’t really matter, of course. I just think it is interesting, after all the years I’ve heard “Jesus wasn’t even born on Christmas” to find that the evidence shows it is quite possible, maybe even likely, that he was born, if not on December 25, sometime close to it.

The innermost part of the temple was called “the holy of holies,” or, “most holy place.” In it (originally, before they were lost) was the ark of the covenant, a pot of manna and the staff of Aaron. This was where the Hebrews believed that God’s presence remained. A thick curtain separated the “most holy place” from the “holy place.” In this second, larger space stood a table with bread, which was renewed every seven days. Also here was a seven branched golden lampstand (something like a Menorah) and finally, the altar of incense. Zechariah would have been accompanied into the Holy Place by two assistants carrying coals and incense, whom would withdraw and leave Zechariah alone in the sanctuary to complete the ceremony. Meanwhile, a large gathering was worshipping out in the courtyard, which means it may have been a Sabbath day.

Now, I want to set the stage a little bit. Zechariah and Elizabeth are described as “blameless.” I don’t think Luke means they never sinned, but rather, they conducted themselves in faith and integrity for their whole lives. This is significant when we learn that they don’t have any children. In the first chapter of Genesis, God blessed the first human beings and told them to “be fruitful and multiply.” For thousands of years, Jewish culture saw this as a sign that children are God’s blessing; they also believed that when people could not have children, it was because God was somehow displeased with them. Many people felt that such couples must have sinned in some way, so that God prevented them from having this blessing. It is true that Abraham and Sarah did not have children until old age, and Hannah, the mother of Samuel also was barren for a long time before Samuel. Even so, it is virtually certain that their childlessness was a source of very real emotional pain for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They must have wondered what they had done wrong. It is quite possible that others in their community thought that they had been particularly sinful, for God to withhold children from them. Zechariah and Elizabeth may even have felt angry with God – after all, they had lived in faith and integrity, but still, God withheld this blessing from them. By the time Zechariah was chosen to burn incense in the temple, both of them were obviously older than normal child-bearing age. In fact, a fair description of them would be “old.”

In temple alone, Zechariah would have been praying for the worshipers and for the nation of Israel. At this point, an angel appears to him. I think it is interesting to note that Luke records that it appears “to the right” of the altar of incense. There is nothing particularly significant about the position of the angel, and that reinforces the authenticity of this scripture. Luke is carefully recording a story that had been told and remembered in detail, even unimportant details. For me, it is one of those hundreds of little things that rings true in the biblical accounts of history.

As recorded elsewhere in scripture, the appearance of the angel was awe-inspiring, provoking a kind of fear. Like so many angels before, this one begins by saying: “Do not fear.” The angel goes on, telling Zechariah, “your prayer has been heard,” and then explaining that he is about to become a father. One thing that isn’t clear is what Zechariah’s prayer actually was. As a priest, it was his duty to pray for the people. He might also have been praying for himself and his wife. The fact is, God’s answer, foretold through the angel, addresses both Zechariah’s personal desires, and his prayers for people of God. On the personal level, Zechariah and Elizabeth are going to have the joy of parenthood. On the larger level, their child will be used by God to do significant spiritual things for the people of Israel. By the way, this follows a familiar pattern from the Old Testament. Sarah and Abraham longed for a child of their own, and in finally fulfilling their desires, God began the nation of Israel. Samson’s parents were also childless until an angel announced to his parents that he would be born; but Samson wasn’t just for his parents – he would also be used by God to deliver Israel. Hannah was full of grief because she could not have children, and finally God answered her prayers and gave her a child, Samuel. But Samuel was not just a blessing to his mother – he became one of the greatest prophet-leaders in history.

In light of all the people in Israel’s history who had famous babies after long barrenness, Zechariah’s response might seem surprising. He questions how it can happen, since both he and Elizabeth are getting along in years. But at another level, I think it is entirely understandable. First, there is the issue of age. In ancient Israel, older people were given respect, and yet, at another level no one expected much of them. Healthcare then was not anything like it is today, and people then could not expect to remain active as long as they do today. So, Zechariah knows that he is nearing the twilight of his life. Since that is the case, why would God possibly choose him, not only to be a father, but to be the father of someone that God was going to use in great ways? It just didn’t seem likely. In his response to the angel, he mentions Elizabeth. It is clear that he thinks of her in the same way as he thinks of himself: too old.

Second, and I am reading into the text a little bit here, I wonder if Zechariah, at some level, thought that God was being too good to him. Here he was, in the holy place of the temple, standing where very few Israelites would ever get to stand in their lifetimes. He is been blessed with this great honor, and now God is coming along saying “I’m going to bless you even more.” It just seemed too good to be true.

Third, in spite of the fact that in the past God granted previously barren women the ability to have children, he certainly did not do that for every barren woman in history. In addition, all that happened a long time before Zechariah was born. The latest incident that I mentioned above was that of Hannah and Samuel, and that occurred about 1000 years before Zechariah stood in the temple that day. In other words, though I’m sure Zechariah believed that God had done this sort of thing in the past, and he probably even believed that theoretically, God could do it now, it was a whole different thing to believe that God was actually going to do it now, and for him. I mean, I have a hard enough time believing that God will repeat miracles that I have seen with my own eyes in my own lifetime, so I can’t blame Zechariah for saying “How can I know this will happen?”

Now, I want us to see how God responds to Zachariah’s weakness. First, of course, Zechariah is rebuked for his lack of faith. Then, as now, the Lord is seeking people who will trust him wholeheartedly, and he makes it clear that Zachariah failed in this. This is an important message for us: all the Lord wants from us is trust. He wants us to trust his promises, to trust his goodness, to trust his word.

But I want us to see the incredible grace that God gives to this old man. First, we need to understand, it was not that Zachariah had no faith at all, but his faith was weak. I’m sure he wanted to believe it. He did not say “I don’t believe a word of it.” Instead, his question was: “how can I know for sure?” God’s response is both a rebuke for Zachariah’s failure to trust wholeheartedly and at the same time a gracious answer to Zachariah’s desire to know for sure that God was going to do this:

20Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” (Luke 1:20, HCSB)

Do you see what is going on here? His lack of faith is both disciplined, and answered. The angel made it so he couldn’t talk. Certainly, this must have involved some hardship for Zachariah, but it was not, after all a very terrible thing, and it was temporary. I think most of us could learn a lot, and even perhaps find some unexpected peace, if we were forced into nine months of silence. [Spouses, insert your jokes at each other’s expense here] At the same time, the fact that he couldn’t talk would have been a constant reminder to him that the words of God were true and trustworthy. Even while disciplining Zachariah, God gave him the answer that he desired.

Afterwards, when the child was born Zachariah demonstrated his faith by naming him what the angel told him to name him. At this point, he was released from his silence. Luke records that Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to praise God. I think this is very important. When Zachariah was focused on what he wanted, and upon his own unworthiness and unfitness, his faith was weak. But now his focus is all on God; his focus is not on the gift of his son John, but on the giver of the gift: God himself. The words he spoke at this point have lived on for 2000 years in Luke’s gospel.

So, what is all this have to do with us? What would the Holy Spirit say to you through the Scriptures?

The first and most obvious one to me is that God can use anyone. Think about what God was doing at this point in history. He used an Emperor to take a census which ultimately caused the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem in fulfillment of prophecy. He used an unwed teenage girl to become the mother of his own Son. He used a humble carpenter to become the stepfather of the son of God. And he used an old man and an old woman who had already had a full and blessed life to bring even greater blessing into the world: John the Baptist, who in turn prepared the way for the Messiah.

Not too long ago, Yogi Berra, the famous baseball player, died. One of his famous sayings was: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” For a guy who said a lot of silly things, that one is very profound. If you are alive enough to read or listen to this sermon, it ain’t over for you, not yet. The Lord still wants to bless the world through you. Before you say, “But how can he possibly use me?” I want to remind you that that is more or less what Zachariah was asking. I’ll be honest: I don’t know how he will use every single person. However, I do have a suggestion: pray. Prayer, in and of itself, is a powerful force for God’s work in the world. When you pray, you invite God into the things you are praying for, and he shows up where he’s invited, and where he shows up, he does his work and accomplishes his purposes. When you pray you are partnering with God to release his power into the world. Every single one of us can pray, which means that God can use every single one of us in amazing ways. In addition, it was as Zachariah prayed that the Lord showed him what else he wanted to do in and through his life.

Another thing I get from the story of Zachariah is that God is good; so very, very good. Zachariah had already received the honor of burning incense in the holy place. He lived a long and full life. Then he was promised a son, and when he doubted the promise he was given a sign to show him that it was true, and to help his faith. This is one blessing after another heaped upon Zachariah and Elizabeth, even towards the end of a blessed life. This encourages me to trust the goodness of God.

Finally, Zachariah reminds me to focus more on the giver then on the gift. John was a tremendous gift for Zachariah and Elizabeth. But by the time he was born, Zachariah had learned that the greatest gift he would ever have was the grace and love of God, and nothing could ever take that away. I hope and pray that you and I can also have that same perspective.

As we consider that Jesus not only came 2000 years ago, but also promised to return, let’s try to learn from Zechariah. God is still working in the world. He wants to involve you in what he is doing, no matter how unqualified you might feel.

Let the Holy Spirit speak to you now.

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LEAVING ALL FOR JESUS: THE HAPPY, FUN SIDE!

On November 17, 2015November 14, 2015 By Pastor TomIn Bible, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Jesus, Matthew, Podcast, Religion, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Following Jesus is not a reliable way to wealth, health and earthly security. But Jesus is unequivocally promising his disciples that their sacrifices will not go unnoticed or unrewarded.

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Matthew #69. Matthew 19:27-30

27Then Peter responded to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You. So what will there be for us? ”28Jesus said to them, “I assure you: In the Messianic Age, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.29And everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother, children, or fields because of My name will receive 100 times more and will inherit eternal life.30But many who are first will be last, and the last first. (Matt 19:27-30, HCSB)

After the encounter with the rich young ruler, and the discussion about the difficulties of riches, Peter points out to Jesus that he and the others did what the rich young ruler was unwilling to do. In all of the Gospels, the disciples are usually portrayed as very human and fallible. In some ways, this is both a very human moment for Peter, but also a touching one. Peter sees the rich young man keeping his great wealth. But he, and James, and John, and Matthew, and perhaps some of the others, left thriving businesses to follow Jesus. They didn’t have the same kind of wealth as the rich young man, but at least those four certainly appeared to have viable livelihoods until they started following Jesus. You almost get the sense that as Peter watches him walk away he wonders “Did I do the right thing? Was this guy smarter than me?” I don’t see Peter here as a failure, or dense. Instead, I think he is just being very real. He left an actual business, and actual way of making a living, for something very insubstantial: faith. Peter was a fisherman. You can see fish, you can smell them, and you can trade them for coins that you hold in your hand. He owned boats and nets and sails and oars – real things that hold real value for people. But you can’t see faith, you can’t smell it, and you can’t touch it physically. You certainly can’t trade it for money. It is only natural for him to be insecure from time to time. It is only natural to wonder: “What kind of future can I really have, when I have left everything that might have given me security?” Following Jesus can feel very lonely at times, especially when you see others who are not as “sold out” as you are, and yet they appear to be thriving in this life.

Especially in these types of sermons, I feel a little funny pausing to ask for your prayers, because I have all these fine words about giving up everything to follow Jesus. But the truth is, we all need help in that journey, me no less than anyone else. We don’t do this on our own. So I do deeply appreciate your prayers for this ministry of Bible Teaching. I believe the Lord works when we invite him to, so please invite him to work in and through this ministry, and to provide for us. Thank you!

It seems like these days, most Christians make one of two errors when we start talking about Jesus rewarding his followers. The first error, I mentioned last time: the prosperity gospel. Some people, calling themselves Christians, teach that following Jesus is a way to wealth, health and prosperity. We considered this in the previous message in this series. But there is another error. For some Christians, perhaps because of the falsehood represented by the prosperity gospel, it has become “unfashionable” to talk about being rewarded for faith. However, clearly, in our passage for today, Jesus promises rewards to those who make sacrifices for him.

Mark and Luke record Jesus as also saying that his followers will receive some of these rewards “in this time” (Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30). In fact Mark has, “now, in this time.” I think there are three things to consider about this.

First, there are a few main Greek words for “time.” One is hora which is literally, “hour.” Another is hemera which is literally “day.” A third is kronos, which you may recognize in English as the root of chronological, or chronograph. It refers to specific moments. A fourth word is kairos which is used to designate a special or proper moment in time, as in “My time has come.” Kairos is the word Jesus uses in Mark and Luke. So it isn’t necessarily “chronological time” (that would be kronos) – it is the proper time, the right moment in which the apostles will receive their reward.

Second, let’s suppose for a minute that we should take it literally as “in this very moment.” The fact is, Peter and the others did not receive literal houses and fields and so on in that moment, nor did they literally receive them during their lives on earth. But it could be something like this: at the moment they made their sacrifice for Jesus, their reward in heaven was set apart, and reserved for them. So, in a sense, they received their reward immediately, but they had no way to make use of it until after they had died and gone to be with Jesus. By the way, this does not contradict the first point.

A third idea is that in following Jesus they found 100 times the joy that they might have had with the families that they left in order to follow the Lord; they found 100 times the peace and security that they might have had from possessions and money; They found, leaving home for Jesus, that they were at home anywhere in the world in his presence. That sort of reward begins now, in this life, and continues on in eternity.

I think it is clear that Jesus is not speaking literally. When he says they will receive brothers and sisters, I highly doubt that he means their mothers will conceive and give birth to more siblings for them. But they did indeed find relationships with other Jesus-followers that became as close and wonderful as those between brothers and sisters. They did not receive literal houses; and yet, within a very short period of time they could go to almost any city in the Roman empire and find a house where they would be welcomed, where the Jesus-following owners would invite them to stay and be refreshed.

By the way, I have found this true in my own life, going all the way back to my childhood as a missionary kid. We left behind friends, uncles, aunts, and grandparents when we went overseas. But we found people there who are now just as close and dear to us as our blood relatives. I have many “aunts and uncles,” dozens of “cousins.” I too, have houses all over the world where I know I would be welcome. In terms of relationships, I have already been richly rewarded for following Jesus.

I could even say the same, in terms of “fields.” I don’t love cities. We live in a semi-rural area, on ten acres of land. Ten acres is really nice – much better than the tiny little lot we came from, but we do have neighbors on either side of us, probably 100 yards away or less. Shortly after we moved here, we met the man who owns 400 acres and a tall hill, running up against back of our property. He invited us to go hiking on his land anytime we wanted to. His is a beautiful piece of land, with trees and rocks and little creeks and from the top of the hill, views that go on for twenty miles or more. One day I was hiking up there, and I prayed, “Lord, why can’t we have all this?” (yes, sometimes I’m that shallow). I don’t hear audible voices from God, but sometimes I get a sense of a “conversation” between He and I. What I heard that day was: “What is that you want here that you don’t have? Did you want to pay to keep the meadows mowed? Did you want maintain the fences or pay taxes on the land?”

I realized that I “had” the land in any way I wanted it – which was simply to roam around and explore and look at wildlife and views. I don’t own it, of course, and I’m deeply grateful to my neighbor for letting me hike there, but I don’t have to own it to enjoy it. So sometimes, when we give up ownership for the Lord, he gives us the enjoyment of things we don’t own. And frankly, I probably enjoy my neighbor’s land more because I don’t have to maintain it.

Now, I don’t want to get too caught up in material things. I am saying that Jesus promises some sort of sense of being blessed for following him, even here and now. But of course, the main reward is spiritual things, not physical. I also think it is clear that many times scripture uses things we can see and touch – like fields, houses, brothers and sisters, to describe spiritual truths that we cannot fully grasp, this side of heaven. So, for instance, part of our reward in the spiritual realm, will be something sort of like a house is to us in physical realm. It isn’t necessarily an actual house, but maybe something like the joy and security and rest you get from a physical house will be given to you in some way (100-fold, says Jesus!).

Again, following Jesus is not a reliable way to wealth, health and earthly security. But Jesus is unequivocally promising his disciples that their sacrifices will not go unnoticed or unrewarded.

At first, the promise seems a little, well, underwhelming. We give up real things like houses and fields and boats and money, and we get insubstantial things like love and joy and peace. We give up things we can hold and smell and touch for things that we don’t actually “get” until after we die. But stop and think about it for a minute. We know that everyone dies. In the entire history of earth, no one has ever managed to take a single physical thing from this world with them when they die. So we know that whatever we accumulate here – the things we smell, and touch and hold – are temporary, and useless to us after we die. But Jesus offers us rewards we can have even after death. It’s like he is saying, “If you give me your monopoly money, your pretend money, I will give you solid gold ingots.” We are trading the temporary for the eternal, and that’s a darn good trade. As missionary-martyr Jim Elliot said:

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he can never lose.

Jesus says something else here, in verse 30, that I find tremendously comforting:

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

At first, I felt ashamed that these words comfort me, but, as usual, Jesus is saying something very profound and important. As a Christian, it is a great temptation for me to compare myself to others, especially when I’m feeling insecure. Peter might have been comparing himself to the rich young ruler. The young man kept his wealth, and Peter gave up his own. In this life, it appeared that the young man had made the wise decision, and Peter the foolish one. Peter had nothing, the rich man had everything. But Jesus says, “things are not always going to be the way they seem right now. Those who appear to be making it here and now, those who are ‘winning’ by the standards of the world might actually be ultimately losing. In the same way, those who appear to be ‘last,’ the losers, they might be the ones coming in ‘first.’”

What I get from this is that it is pointless to compare yourself with others. We can’t see, here and now, whether who is really “getting ahead.” As much as we might feel like we are being left behind, left out, the opposite may be true.

I think it is important to remember that this life is not all there is, and that sometimes, the greatest rewards are the hardest to quantify. Jesus is telling us that he will not forget what we have given up for him, and he will not fail to reward it, starting now in some ways, but more fully in the Life to come.

CAN YOU BE RICH AND BE A JESUS FOLLOWER?

On November 3, 2015November 3, 2015 By Pastor TomIn Bible, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Jesus, Matthew, Podcast, Religion, Sermon1 Comment

We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)

To listen to the sermon, click the play button:

To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Matthew Part 68

Matthew #68 Matthew 19:23-26

As always, I want to remind you that we deeply appreciate your prayers for us!

23Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

25When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved? ”

26But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:23-26, HCSB)

These words come right after the rich young ruler leaves, sadly choosing to keep his wealth rather than follow Jesus. Verse 25 says that the disciples were utterly astonished at the words of Jesus about wealthy people. To be honest, I’m tempted to be utterly astonished at the disciples. It’s not like this is the first time Jesus has talked about money. Earlier, he said:

“No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money. This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? (Matt 6:24-25, HCSB)

If this is the case, it shouldn’t be so surprising that the wealthy have a difficult time entering the kingdom of God. Most wealthy people, whether they admit it or not, are serving money. Since they can’t do that while also serving God, it stands to reason that it would be hard for them to enter the kingdom.

In the parable of the Sower, Jesus warns that wealth is a great spiritual danger:

22Now the one sown among the thorns — this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (Matt 13:22, HCSB)

All in all, Jesus’ words, and the subsequent teachings of the apostles, leave us with the clear understanding that wealth is a significant obstacle to being a disciple of Jesus. I think it’s possible, perhaps even likely, that some of you reading this might be surprised and a little bothered that I put it so bluntly. But I think it really is as simple and blunt as that. I’ve already shared three different places where Jesus warns about this. Rather than argue the point myself, I ask you to also prayerfully consider the following scriptures:

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But you, man of God, run from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. (1Tim 6:9-11, HCSB)

5Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.6Therefore, we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Heb 13:5-6, HCSB)

9The brother of humble circumstances should boast in his exaltation,10but the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.11For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activities. (Jas 1:9-11, HCSB)

Come now, you rich people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your silver and gold are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up treasure in the last days! (Jas 5:1-3,

HCSB)

16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.17Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,18I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.19As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent. (Rev 3:16-19, HCSB)

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real. (1Tim 6:17-19, HCSB)

All of this appears to be quite clear: the pursuit of wealth and the guarding of it are generally very negative things for Christians. We need to understand how terribly counter-cultural this is. Money is THE idol in Western culture, and in fact, in much of the world. We deeply want to cherish the belief that we can pursue wealth and Jesus at the same time. We desperately do not want to believe that wealth is an obstacle to entering the kingdom of God, because frankly, we want wealth, and we want eternal life insurance too.

I think the reasons we want wealth are precisely the reasons it is a problem. We want wealth in order to make a better life for ourselves here on earth. That keeps us focusing not on eternal things, but on temporary, trivial things. When we pursue wealth, we become very serious about things that are more or less meaningless in the light of eternity, and we do not have time for what really matters. We want money as a way to make our lives a little more like heaven, and in doing so, we reduce our desire for the real thing. As C.S. Lewis puts it,

We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)

I would add that another of the things we “fool about with” is the acquisition of wealth.

We also want wealth as a form of security. We think that if we have enough money, we will have fewer worries. In other words, we want wealth because we think it is a better way to peace of mind than trusting God.

I know a number of people who are much wealthier than me (which, to be fair, isn’t hard to be). I know some who make several hundred thousand dollars each year. I know others who could liquidate their assets and have a million dollars cash within a few weeks. One thing that surprised me the first few times I met such people, is that they are very concerned about money. I tend to think that if I had that much, I wouldn’t be worried. But as a matter of fact, these people appear to worry about money even more than I do. Can I say it this way? Money will not often bring you peace, and even in those rare times it does, it is a false peace that leads you away from trust in God.

Now, I am sure that some few people get wealthy as they follow Jesus. If you just happen to become wealthy while you live your life as Jesus’ disciple, committing yourself fully to Him and His purposes, it’s probably not a problem. If your goal is never money, but always Jesus, then you might be able to handle wealth in a spiritually appropriate way.

Notice that in our text today (Matthew 19:23-30) Jesus does not eliminate all hope for the wealthy – he says all things are possible with God. In fact, we know of three wealthy people who, unlike the rich young ruler, did follow Jesus. The first is Matthew, who gave up the source of his wealth (his tax collection business) to follow Jesus. The second is Zacchaeus, also a tax collector, who also gave away a great portion of his wealth after meeting Jesus. The third is Joseph of Arimathea. We don’t know whether or not he remained wealthy after becoming the disciple of Jesus.

But I have to be honest with you. Most people don’t get wealthy by following Jesus, and it is not because they are “doing it wrong.” It could happen, but following Jesus is not a reliable means to financial prosperity. Jesus himself was never wealthy. It didn’t work out for wealth for Peter, Andrew, James, John, Nathaniel, Simon, Philip, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, or Thaddaeus – the eleven faithful apostles. The other close disciples of Jesus who failed to become wealthy include: Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Silas, James (the half-brother of Jesus). In fact, we know for sure that there were very few wealthy Christians during the time of the New Testament. Even throughout history since that time, when you think of the “great” Christians through the ages, the ones who really made a difference, they were usually not wealthy. You might argue that Saint Francis of Assisi became great precisely because he gave up his wealth. Augustine, Martin Luther, Wycliffe, Thomas a Kempis, and many, many more either gave up wealth to follow Jesus, or never had it.

If what you really want is wealth, or even really good financial security, I think you need to make a choice between that and Jesus. Decide which one it is, and if it is money, you might as well stop pretending it is God. It’s not like He doesn’t know. Now, I’m not saying that this can never be a struggle. Of course it is a struggle. Jesus isn’t saying that it is easy. But you will wear yourself out, and never win any part of the struggle if you go on deceiving yourself by thinking that you can have both the ambition to follow Jesus, and also the ambition to be wealthy. Am I wrong about this? Re-read Jesus’ words yourself, and the other New Testament verses I’ve shared, and see if there’s any other way to interpret them without twisting them around.

Please don’t misunderstand me: I am not saying that wealth is inherently sinful. But these verses do show us that wealth is inherently spiritually dangerous. From a spiritual perspective, wealth is like high explosives. Most of the time, most people have no need to have them. However, in certain, limited situations, it could be very useful to have high explosives around. But if you do have them, you must handle them very, very carefully, or they will blow up and destroy you. I think this is kind of like the picture we have of wealth from the bible.

I want to cover one more thing. There is nothing in the bible that says poverty is a virtue, like faith, or love or patience. Jesus isn’t saying “part of being righteous is being poor.” The point is not that we must be poor, but rather, that wealth should mean nothing to us. If wealth means nothing to us, and we focus on following Jesus, we might end up wealthy with the temporary riches of this world. We might also end up impoverished, at least in the eyes of the world. We might also be somewhere in between. The point is, it shouldn’t matter to us, one way or another.

I think the writer of the following proverb has a pretty good insight:

8Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.9Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, “Who is the LORD? ” or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God. (Prov 30:8-9, HCSB)

Paul makes a similar case:

But godliness with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

Let me make this practical by sharing some things from my own life. By the way, I don’t share what follows as some sort of covert attempt to get you to send me money – I’m just trying to make all of this real and practical to my own life, because I want to live with integrity to the scripture, and I’m sharing it here because I hope that it may help you get real and practical with the scripture in your own life.

I believe the Lord has called me to write and preach these messages, to serve the small churches I am serving, and to write mystery novels, and to perform music with my wife. Following Jesus, for me, practically, means doing these things. The thing is, sometimes this means we live on the edge financially. This past week we incurred more bills fixing a single vehicle than we made for the entire month. It’s not that the repair was outrageous, but our income was even lower. I don’t know where the money will come from, but I know that Jesus says, “trust me.” I am absolutely open to doing some things that make more money, if Jesus leads me to them, but I want to follow Jesus, not the money. Our way of life right now might eventually become unsustainable, but frankly, I’ve expected that to happen for several years now, and it hasn’t yet come to that.

I sometimes daydream about what it would be like to not worry about money. I think of what I would do if I had a big pile of cash. If I am honest, in my daydreams I do give a lot of my money away, but I also enjoy a lot of it by traveling, upgrading to a car made in the current decade, and so on.

But my daydreams are interrupted by the knowledge that Jesus tells me I don’t have to worry about money right now. Having more or less has nothing to do with it; not worrying about money comes down to trusting Jesus in my real, everyday life. He also tells me I can be generous with what I have right now, and that He looks at the heart and proportion of the gift, not the dollar amount.

In the end, Jesus wants us to make decisions based on what it means for how we relate to him. The rich young ruler made his decision based upon what would happen financially. That is the heart of the matter.

WHY DON’T GOOD PEOPLE GO TO HEAVEN?

On October 27, 2015October 24, 2015 By Pastor TomIn Bible, Bible Teaching, Christianity, House Church, Jesus, Matthew, Podcast, Religion, SermonLeave a comment

The Old Testament commands concerning relationship with God are all fulfilled in trusting and obeying Jesus. What the rich young ruler lacks is not outward behavior, but an internal commitment to the Lord as his one and only true God. Even so, in Jesus, we don’t have to be perfect – we trust that he meets that standard for us. This isn’t license to sin, rather, it is a comfort to sinners who want to do right, but fail sometimes. It is reassurance that our only “goodness” comes from the only One who is good.

To listen to the sermon, click the play button:

To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Matthew Part 67

Matthew #67 Matthew 19:13-22

Verses 13 through 15 record an incident with little children. This is similar to what came previously, in chapter 18, and we spoke about it then. Again, Jesus states that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like children. In addition, we can see that Jesus does indeed value and love actual little children.

After this, Matthew records an incident that is also covered by Mark and Luke. I want to point out that we have here one of the “contradictions” that skeptics are always talking about. Matthew remembers that the young man asks “Teacher, what good must I do to inherit eternal life?” One the other hand, Mark and Luke record the shocking difference that the young man says: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” You talk about a contradiction. Wow. People often say “the bible is full of contradictions.” They usually can’t give many specific examples (that is, they really don’t know what they are talking about), but this is one them. As you can see, the contradiction makes no difference. In fact, Matthew does not claim that the young man never called Jesus “good teacher,” so actually there is no necessary contradiction.

I believe that this is an incredibly relevant passage of Scripture, precisely because the discussion is about “goodness.” Goodness is at the heart of the point of this passage, and is also at the heart of the divide between Christianity and all other religions. It isn’t so much that we disagree about what goodness is (although there is a certain amount of disagreement there), but Christianity has a fundamentally different understanding of how to achieve goodness, and the role that goodness plays in our relationship to God.

I want to pause for a moment, and thank those of you who are praying for the ministry of Clear Bible and supporting us financially also. It’s easy to skip the piece I usually put in at the end about prayer and support, but we really do need your prayers, and we really do appreciate them. It’s not that we are in crisis, but we are in spiritual work, and spiritual work needs spiritual support – that is prayers. I am being honest when I say that we also need material support – that is, financial support. But I believe that if you join us in praying for that, as well as for the ministry in general, the Lord will provide what we need. If he leads you to be a part of that provision, you can use the donate button here on the blog, or you can send a check to New Joy Fellowship; 917 Canyon Creek Drive; Lebanon, TN 37087. Just put “Clear Bible” in the memo. Your check will be tax-deductible.

All right, let’s get back to the text. Virtually every other religion on earth besides Christianity has this basic proposition: “Your behavior will determine your eternal destiny. Behave well, and you will reach the goal you are seeking; behave badly, and you will fail.” What many people don’t notice about this, is that it means you are in control. If you just do certain things, you win the prize. Religion is humans trying, through their own efforts to become good, and then immortal (though in the case of Buddhism, humans are trying to become immortally nothing). It is about human effort and human goodness.

This is the attitude of the young man who approaches Jesus. His question is “What [good] must I do to enter eternal life?” In other words, his underlying assumption is that he is able to control his eternal future, if he just does the right things. Jesus’ response is very interesting.

17“Why do you ask Me about what is good? ” He said to him. “There is only One who is good.

Right away, Jesus is confronting the man’s assumption. The implication of what he is saying is that the young man can’t be good, since there is only One who is good – and that would be God. In other words, Jesus is already hinting that it isn’t about doing good, but rather, knowing the One who is good and giving your allegiance to Him. But Jesus’ next words seem almost like a contradiction, not only to his first sentence, but also to what Christians have believed and taught for 2000 years:

If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

It sounds like what Jesus is saying here is that you have to obey the commandments in order to get eternal life. However, I think Jesus is answering the young man’s question on the young man’s terms. In other words, he is saying: “If you wanted to get into heaven by being good, you have to obey all the commandments.” I don’t think Jesus means that we really can achieve eternal life that way. Paul talks about this in the book of Galatians:

1Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.2Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all.3Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law.4You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace. (Gal 5:1-5, HCSB)

In other words, theoretically, you could reach eternal life by being perfect. However, if you are going to go the route of trying to earn your salvation through your own goodness, then you must keep the law perfectly. I think that is what Jesus is saying to this young man.

But, as Paul points out in numerous places, nobody can actually do it in practice. Here are two references:

9What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin,10as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.11There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.12All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. (Rom 3:9-12, HCSB)

15We who are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners”16know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. (Gal 2:15-16, HCSB)

So, it is clear that Jesus is engaging with this young man on a more or less theoretical level; but that is where the man starts the conversation, so Jesus meets him where he is. Next, the man asks a very interesting question: “which commandments do I have to follow?” This question is not as hypocritical as it might sound at first. By the time of Jesus, the Jews had developed a huge body of rules and regulations that they claimed needed to be followed. I’ve mentioned this in a number of sermons on the book of Matthew. So the Jewish religion was no longer simply based upon the Old Testament, but also on the collected teachings of various rabbis, and numerous traditions and regulations that have been handed down. Modern Jewish rabbis will readily admit that no one could possibly follow all of these things consistently. So the young man is probably thinking of many things besides simply the 10 Commandments. Jesus, as he always does in such situations, brings it back to God’s word as it was given in the Old Testament:

1 Jesus answered: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness;19honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 19:17-19, HCSB)

There is a fascinating subtext here. Do you notice anything missing? Jesus has left out every command that pertains to following, loving and obeying God. In the 10 Commandments, God told the people to have no other gods besides him; to neither create nor worship idols (things that represent God to us, but are not him); to honor, and not misuse the name of the Lord; and to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. These are the first four Commandments, and they all have to do with our relationship with God, and Jesus says nothing about them.

Why?

The commandments that Jesus told the young man to follow are quite similar to the basic moral code for Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, and of course, Jews. Apart from the second one that he named, almost anyone in Western culture today, Christian or not, would be happy to agree with Jesus’ response. Even atheists are generally against murder, stealing, and lying for gain; and they are generally for being good to your family and loving others. This is the type of thing that leads people to ask: “Aren’t all religions the same?”

But Jesus is about to burst the bubble of the rich young man, and along with it, the bubble of those who think all religions are the same. He was a brilliant teacher, and part of his brilliance was helping people to come to the right conclusion through their own thought process. You can see it happening in this young man right before our eyes:

“I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack? ” (Matt 19:20, HCSB)

I don’t think we need to criticize the young man for saying that he is kept all the commandments the Jesus named – millions of people think they do this, at least, externally. But I want us to see what Jesus has done to him. This guy knows that there is another shoe that hasn’t dropped yet. If he was a good Jew, he certainly knew that Jesus had left out the first four Commandments. By leaving them out, Jesus has called his attention to the fact that he is missing something, and so he asks “What do I still lack? What am I still missing?”

21“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” (Matt 19:21, HCSB)

What is Jesus saying? First, he is saying that in order to have eternal life, the young man must be perfect. He is spelling out what I mentioned before: if you want to try to get eternal life in this way, you must be perfect. Second, Jesus is telling him to obey, in a practical way, those first four commands that he omitted to mention before. This young man was rich, and his money was both a God to him, and an idol. For this man to obey: “you shall not worship an idol,” he had to sell all of his possessions. For this man to have no other gods, he had to get rid of his wealth. For this man to honor the name of the Lord, to trust him above all, he had to become poor so that his wealth would not tempt him. For this man to worship, to honor the Sabbath and rest, he had to give to others, and free himself from the cares and worry that came from being rich. And above all, Jesus is claiming his ultimate allegiance: “Come and follow me.” This is yet one more place where Jesus claims to be the Lord, the God of the Old Testament. He is telling this young man that the command: “I am the Lord, you have no other gods before you,” is practically fulfilled in following Jesus. The Old Testament commands concerning relationship with God are all fulfilled in trusting and obeying Jesus. Jesus makes that clear here.

What the rich young ruler lacks is not outward behavior, but an internal commitment to the Lord as his one and only true God. He needs to get rid of everything that is standing between him and following Jesus, and then follow.

This is an answer for those who ask: “What about the good Buddhist, who lives a moral life? How will he be kept from heaven?” First of all, if someone is a good Buddhist, he doesn’t want to go to heaven. He wants to eternally cease to exist. Seriously, that’s the goal, and when people ask that question, they are only revealing their ignorance of religion. But there is a valid point there, so let’s replace “a good Buddhist, with “a good Muslim.” I know Islam has a lot of negatives, but I have met many Muslim men who basically want to live good, moral lives. The commands that Jesus lists here not so different for Muslims. So, Jesus could be talking to a good Muslim in this passage. The one thing such a person lacks is total commitment to Jesus as Lord. And Jesus makes clear that that is the one thing necessary for eternal life.

So, to be clear, there are two answers in this text to the question: “Why can’t a good, moral person who does not believe in Jesus go to heaven?” The first, is that Jesus says only God himself can be good enough. If you want to get into heaven by your good works, the standard is perfection. I don’t care who you are, no “good moral person” is perfect, and Jesus says here that in fact no one is even good, except God.

Second, Jesus also makes it clear that the only way to eternal life is to give all of your allegiance to him. We must get rid of what comes in between us and following Jesus, and then follow him. When we do that, we are not judged based on our perfection, but rather on our faith in, and allegiance to, Jesus. This is the message of the entire New Testament, and in fact the entire Bible. Re-read Galatians 2:15-16 above. Here’s another from 1 John 5:10-13

10Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.11And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1John 5:10-13, ESV2011)

Though it isn’t spelled out in Matthew 19, the rest of the New Testament teaches true goodness is a gift from God that we receive when we trust Jesus Christ, and follow him. Trust in Jesus comes first, and what we call “morality,” or “doing good” comes about as a result of that faith. Doing good without faith will never be good enough, because, as Jesus said here “Only One is good.”

So, let’s makes this practical for us today. The rich young man was prepared to do good, but he was not prepared to give up his wealth in order to follow Jesus. He was not prepared to give his ultimate allegiance to Jesus. It isn’t a command for all Christians to be poor, rather, it is an example of how we might be called to give something up for Jesus. So, what is it in your life that keeps you from following Jesus? What are the things that tempt you not to give your ultimate allegiance to him?

For some, it may be a relationship. You are afraid you might lose your spouse, or your lover, or your group of friends if you really gave your whole life to Jesus. For others it might be a lifestyle choice. You’d have to give up whatever Jesus wanted you to give up, and there are some things that, frankly, you are not willing to let go of, even for the sake of Jesus Christ. It might be alcohol, or drugs, or sex outside of marriage. It might be that you want to remain master of you own destiny, and if you follow Jesus you are afraid your life might be boring, or you might not get to do what you want in terms of your career. It doesn’t necessarily have to be sin. Kristen Powers, an anchor for Fox News, had an intense struggle before becoming a Christian, in part because she, and everyone in her circles, despised Evangelicals. She had to be willing to give up her reputation to follow Jesus. Wealth, in and of itself, is not necessarily sinful, but that was what was keeping the young man in the text from following Jesus. Remember what Jesus said, at least twice already in the book of Matthew:

8If your hand or your foot causes your downfall, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.9And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire! (Matt 18:8-9, HCSB)

37The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.38And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.39Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it. (Matt 10:37-39, HCSB)

In essence, he is making these word practical, specifically for the rich young man: “get rid of your wealth, because it is keeping you from following Me, keeping you from having no gods before Me.”

I want to make something clear here. When we do give our trust and ultimate allegiance to Jesus, he meets the standard of perfection on our behalf. I mentioned a number of things above that might keep us from following Jesus. Even after we trust him and start to follow, some of those things may still be a problem for us. But if we are following, after we fail and fall down, we get back up with the help of Jesus, and continue on following him. In Jesus, we don’t have to be perfect – we trust that he meets that standard for us. This isn’t license to sin, rather, it is a comfort to sinners who want to do right, but fail sometimes. It is reassurance that our only “goodness” comes from the only One who is good.

With that in mind, hear Jesus’ call to surrender everything to him, and follow him.

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