Welcome!

For 5 years I was the pastor of Trinity International Church in Strasbourg, France. I created this blog with those people in mind. In mid-November 2018 I will become the Senior Pastor of Word of Life Church in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The focus of this blog will therefore shift, but I pray that people from the blogosphere will continue to find it helpful wherever they might be found.
The churches' websites includes recorded sermons for those who are interested. Click the links below to access them.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Apostles' Creed: Part 6 - We Believe in the Holy Spirit



The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is the focus of the next line of the Creed. For many, the Holy Spirit is a mystery and unknown. Often the excesses of Pentecostalism create a fear of the Holy Spirit that is completely unfounded. The full activity and presence of the Holy Spirit are no more to be feared than the presence of God the Father or God the Son. After all, Jesus said, "If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13). Many of us would benefit from a prayerful examination of the major Bible references to the Holy Spirit. Such a study would produce incredible transformation in our lives. Let me lead us through just two verses that will begin to unlock the richness of the NT teaching on the Holy Spirit.

If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth" John 14:15-17
Jesus promises to give the Spirit to those who love him. Jesus tells us that he will be a "Helper" or "Counselor" or "Advocate." These three translations of the Greek word all provide insights into the role of the Holy Spirit, but we must also consider the word "another." The Spirit will be "another Helper" indicating that there was a similar Helper already in the lives of the disciples. Who was that? In the context of John 14, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure. The Spirit is being given to replace Jesus in their lives. Jesus would be going to heaven and the Holy Spirit would take his place.

The disciples had lived with Jesus for three years. With rare exceptions, they had traveled and ministered together as a group. Now Jesus was leaving and the Holy Spirit would be with them forever. Unlike the physical presence of Jesus, the Holy Spirit could be with them individually wherever they went. They could split up to take the gospel to the nations and have the presence of the Holy Spirit with them wherever they went. So essential was the Holy Spirit in fulfilling their mission that Jesus would tell them that they should wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come upon them (Acts 1:8).

The disciples walked with Jesus. As we read the book of Acts, we see that the presence of the Holy Spirit mentioned in almost every chapter. The epistles of Paul are almost incomprehensible if the real and experiential knowledge of the Holy Spirit is not possible (Romans 8:1-39; Galatians 5:16-26). When Paul found some believers in Ephesus he noted that they did not seem to know the vibrant presence of Holy Spirit in their lives. There was something missing in their Christian experience: the Holy Spirit! (Acts 19:1-6).

When the Creed says that "we believe in the Holy Spirit" it is not talking about some abstract force or mere theological doctrine. It is saying that we believe that the Holy Spirit is present to empower, counsel, and secure the believer and that the believer can know this in practical experience. If a person is a follower of Christ and does not know the presence of the Spirit, they should ask the Lord for this (Luke 11:13). As followers of Christ, we are to walk in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Satan is the father of lies. The Holy Spirit is an exposer of lies and a revealer of truth. He inspired the writers of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He is also the one who enables us to recognize truth as we read the Bible (John 16:12-15). We can find the Bible dull and uninteresting if we treat it like an ordinary book. It is important to ask the Holy Spirit to be the teacher and to reveal his truth to us in the Word.

Another aspect of the Spirit as the Spirit of truth is that he convicts the world of sin (John 16:7-11). Ananias discovered the foolishness of deceit (Acts 5:1-6). If we think that we can hide our sins from God we are deceiving ourselves (1 John 1:5-10). It is important that we live in obedience to his commandments if we want to know and enjoy the ongoing ministry of the Spirit in our lives.

All of this leads to the question: Do you know the person of the Holy Spirit? Not the doctrine or theory...but the Person of the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit part of your daily experience? If not, pray that God will fill you with the Holy Spirit!




Friday, September 22, 2017

The Apostles' Creed: Part Five - He will come again...


There are over 150 chapters in the Bible that deal with the last days. Putting all of these pieces together is difficult, but there are certain things that are very clear and which all evangelicals agree.


The Return of Christ


Jesus Christ will return to earth. His return will be sudden and unmistakable. It won't be some "spiritual" return, rather he will physically return to earth. He physically ascended to heaven and he will physically return to earth (Acts 1:11; 1 Thes 4:16; Rev 1:7). The fact that it has been 2000 years does not make his return any less certain. His first coming was prophesied hundreds of years before his birth! Rather than being filled with doubt because of the delay, our hearts should be filled with longing to see him (Rev 22:20) and we should live as if he could return at any moment (Matthew 25:13). The early church lived with this eager expectation (Phil 3:20; James 5:7-9; 1 Peter 4:7) and it fueled their missionary zeal. At the same time, they realized that his return would be on his timeframe, not their own (2 Peter 3:8-9).

Scripture is clear that we do not know that day or the hour that the Lord will return (Matthew 24:44; Mark 13:32-33). We must be careful of falling for those who make specific predictions regarding the date of his return. Many predictions have been made and none of them have been true. In the late 1980s thousands of copies of Edgar Whisenant's book "88 Reasons in 88" were sold. "Rapture fever" spread among evangelical Christians. His follow-up book "89 Reasons in 89" did not sell nearly as many copies! You would think that people would learn, but even today the secular press is carrying a story about a Christian "numerologist" that is predicting the return of Christ on September 23, 2017!

Because of the numerous false predictions and the daunting amount of material to be analyzed, many have ignored the study of the end times. This is foolish! To neglect over 150 chapters of God's Word is to miss much of what God has given us to equip us to live fruitful lives today (2 Timothy 3:16-17). In addition, while the Bible tells us that no one knows the day or hour, it also says that it will NOT surprise us like a thief (1 Thes 5:3-4).

There are certain things that the Bible tells us must take place before his return. We are told to watch for them because when we see them we will know that his return is near (Matthew 24:32-33). Here are a few of them:
  • The gospel must be preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14).
  • An intensification of wars, famines, and earthquakes (Matthew 24:6-8).
  • The Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-31).
  • Cosmic signs (Mark 13:24-25; Matthew 24:29-30; Luke 21:25-27).
  • The Coming of the "Man of Sin" and the Rebellion (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10).
  • The Salvation of Israel (Romans 11:25-26). 


The Judgment


Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV)
In his first coming, Jesus came to bring salvation (John 3:16-21). His second coming will serve a different purpose. He will come to judge each person. Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1; Acts 10:42). He will judge impartially according to a person's actions (1 Peter 1:17). No one will be able to complain that they were treated unfairly. The wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong that they have done (Col 3:25). There will be degrees of punishment for the wrongdoer (Luke 12:47-48). This should not lead us to think that the "light" punishment will be tolerable. The torment of punishment will be terrible for every sinner (Luke 16:22-24; Matthew 25:41). While we struggle to see justice here on earth, when that day comes we will look at the perfect justice of God and rejoice. 

Revelation 20:15 tells us that the key to not being thrown into the lake of fire is to have one's name written in the book of life. This is a reference to those who have accepted the salvation that is found through Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-13). There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). Followers of Christ have nothing to fear at the last judgment (John 5:24)!

Still, it is clear that believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10). The judgment will be a time of revelation and reward. It appears that on that day all things will be exposed and revealed (1 Cor 4:5). This includes the sins of believers. It is important to remember that these sins have all been forgiven and the result of their exposure will be praise and glory to God for His incredible mercy and grace. There will be an incredible realization that heaven is populated by sinners saved by the grace of God and the result will be worship.

But there is more. It also seems clear that there will be specific rewards given to believers based on their faithful service to him (Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:17-19; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We will be rewarded based, not on the amount or popularity of work or ministry that we perform on earth, but on whether we were faithful to the tasks that the Lord prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Varying rewards in heaven will not be a basis for boasting or pride. We will lay them before the Lord and worship singing with the elders:

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created." (Rev 4:9-11).

Friday, September 15, 2017

The Apostles' Creed - Part 4: Crucified and Rose Again

We have been looking at the Apostles' Creed as a way of reminding ourselves of the fundamental truths of the Bible. This ancient creed tells us that God created the world and that Jesus Christ is God and that he became flesh by being born of the Virgin Mary. This post considers the death and resurrection of Jesus.



Historical Reality

Make-believe Hero

The creed affirms that Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. It is interesting to observe that it adds the detail that he was "crucified under Pontius Pilate." This grounds the crucifixion in history. The idea of death and resurrection may be common in some pagan mythology, but the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are placed at a specific time and place in history.  The existence of Pontius Pilate is well-attested in historical literature. Belief in Jesus is not like belief in Superman, Wonder Woman, or Spiderman. The events of his life are not the work of an imaginative writer. They are not myths or legends. They are historical facts. To believe in Jesus means, at the very least, the acknowledgement that his life, death, and resurrection actually happened. Of course, being a Christian means more than this because even Satan knows this.

Significance


Of his death

Everyone dies. The fact that there was a man named Jesus that died is insignificant unless in a very unique sense did not deserve to die. We find it tragic when someone is punished for a crime they did not commit. But the Bible teaches us that all of us have sinned and therefore all of us deserve death. We cannot find someone to pay the penalty of death for us. Our parents cannot do it because they sinned. Our friends cannot do it because they, too, sinned. Everyone has sinned and justly deserves death and hell.

Jesus never sinned. Therefore Jesus is the only human being that did not deserve death. He is unique.
Because he never sinned, his death could pay the penalty for those who had sinned (Mark 10:45). He took our place. John tells us that Jesus sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10 see also Hebrews 2:17). Propitiation is a sacrifice that bears and removes the wrath of just punishment. It changes wrath into favor. Jesus died on our behalf so that we could be forgiven and experience eternal life rather than eternal damnation (John 3:16-19).
Real Hero

His death for our sin forms a foundational belief of Christianity. Remove the death of Christ and there is no Christianity. If it did not happen, then we are fools to say that it did. If it did happen, then we are fools to not accept the forgiveness that is available.

Of his resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus is important for several reasons. First, it demonstrates the reliability of what Jesus said. While it might be possible to predict that the Roman and Jewish were conspiring together to kill him, Jesus made the totally outlandish promise that he would rise from the dead. If that "outlandish" statement proved to be true, how much more should we believe the other things that he said!
Not only does the resurrection demonstrate the reliability of Jesus, it provides evidence that God accepted his sacrifice for sin (Romans 4:25). By being united with him through faith, we experience regeneration (1 Peter 1:3). The power of the resurrection is at work in Christians (Ephesians 1:19-20) and is critical in living a life free from the power of sin (Romans 6:4-11).


Thursday, September 7, 2017

The Apostle's Creed - Part 3: The Incarnation and the Virgin Birth

In an age when new things catch our eye old things can get passed over as being irrelevant. This is a form of pride that believes that we are wisest generation and that those from the past have little to teach us. We are like foolish young teenagers who think their parents are astonishingly ignorant. Oh, the wisdom there is to be gained by learning from those who came before us!

In this series I am looking at the Apostles' Creed. It is old, dating back to the first generations of Christians. While not inspired by God, churches throughout history have agreed that it is a helpful summary of the basics of what the Bible teaches regarding salvation. It is not exhaustive, but it is helpful and forms a tremendous foundation for understanding what the gospel is all about.

So far we have examined the fact that God exists and he is the Creator of all that is. We have considered that Jesus is God and that he is the Savior and Lord of Christians. Now we will look at the next phrase in the Creed.


The Bible teaches that Jesus was conceived supernaturally by God. When the angel told Mary that she would give birth to a son Mary was confused because she did not have a husband. She must have been thinking, "How is this possible since I have not had sexual relations with anyone?" The angel explained it this way, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).

Sometimes it is objected that the idea that God had sexual relations with Mary is beneath His dignity. However, the Bible does not teach that is what happened. It implies that the conception of Jesus was miraculous and mysterious. As the angel told her fiancé Joseph, "that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20). Causing a young woman to become pregnant even though she never had sex is not a difficult thing for One who created galaxies! Mary was caused to be pregnant by God and the child that she bore was God's Son. It was the fulfillment of a strange prophecy in the book of Isaiah: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you will call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means "God with us."

Why is this important?


In our "scientific" culture, we often are skeptics often scoff at the idea of the virgin birth and reject it. However, God's Word clearly teaches that it happened and we must not reject what God says. In addition, there are a number of important implications of the incarnation and the virgin birth.

Jesus was fully God and fully human.

Jesus was 100% man. He had the strengths and weaknesses that we all face. He got hungry and tired (Matthew 4:2; John 4:6). He had human emotions (Matt 8:10; John 11:35, etc). He faced temptations (Hebrews 4:15). He was like us with one exception: he was without sin. Adam and Eve were created without sin. They sinned, and since then all humans share both in their inherited guilt and have sinned themselves. Jesus was 100% man but never committed sin. This is important because his perfect life was offered as a sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 2:16-17)

Jesus was 100% God. He demonstrated omnipotence (Matthew 8:26-27) and omniscience (Mark 2:8; John 6:64). The full divinity of God dwelt in Jesus (Col 1:19; 2:9). This is important for several reasons. Only God could withstand the infinite penalty for sin and could serve as the mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).

There have been a number heresies that have resulted from incorrect understandings of how to fit the biblical texts together. As as result, the church called a meeting in Chalcedon in 451 and wrote that Jesus had two natures (human and divine) that were united together in the being of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was fully God and fully human without inherited sin.

All of us have inherited guilt because of the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12-21). Jesus, however, did not inherit the moral corruption and guilt that all other humans. Jesus was not descended from Adam. As the angel declared in Luke 1:35, "the child to be born will be called holy." This does not mean that somehow fathers are the only one to pass on inherited sin, rather it means that the line from Adam was broken. Jesus had the opportunity as man to live a sinless life because his father was God, not Joseph (a descendant of Adam).

But what about Mary? Why didn't Jesus inherit a sinful nature from her? The Roman Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of the "immaculate conception." By this they mean that Mary was born without a sinful nature.* There are two problems with this idea. First, all it really does is push the problem back one generation. How could Mary have been born without sin if her parents were sinful? Second, the Bible does not teach it. It clearly teaches that Jesus was holy because the Holy Spirit came upon Mary at the conception of Jesus (Luke 1:35). It is best to place the miracle right where the Bible places it: at the conception of Jesus, not at the conception of Mary.

The fact that Jesus was fully God and fully man demonstrates that salvation is from God. 

Salvation from sin could not come from the hand of man. Throughout the history of the world, with billions of people living and dying, none of them were capable of removing the guilt of sin. It would take an act of God himself to secure our salvation. The incarnation and virgin birth are proof that it was God himself who came to earth to intervene on our behalf by suffering the punishment that was rightfully ours.

*The Roman Catholic Church also teaches the perpetual virginity of Mary and the assumption of Mary. The perpetual virginity of Mary is the idea that Mary remained a virgin her entire life. This doctrine is not biblical. Matthew 1:24-25 tells us that Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary "until she had given birth to a son." This clearly implies that after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary consummated their marriage. In addition, the gospels tell us that Jesus had brothers and sisters. These siblings are usually included with Mary, so it is natural to assume that Mary was their mother (Matthew 12:46; 13:55-56; John 2:12). 
The assumption of Mary is the idea that Mary did not die but went directly to heaven at the end of her earthly life. The Bible records that Elijah and Enoch went directly to heaven (2 Kings 2:11; Hebrews 11:5), but it does not say that Mary did. 
We must be aware that the earliest Christians held Mary in high esteem. She was, after all, the one God trusted to give birth to and raise Jesus. Her acceptance of the will of God in spite of its difficulties is a model we should ponder and seek to follow. (Luke 1:38; 2:33-35). We should do this while avoiding non-Biblical doctrines which tend to take the focus off of Jesus.

Friday, September 1, 2017

The Apostles' Creed - Part 2: And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord




The Apostle's Creed is one of the earliest affirmations of faith. It is acknowledged by all major Christian groups and forms an excellent response to the question, "What do Christians believe?"

The Creed begins by declaring that we believe in the Creator God. We are not atheists. We do not believe that the material universe always existed. God created the universe and everything in it. He created it for a purpose and it is suited for that purpose. We, and all of creation, were created for the glory of God.



But the creed does not stop there. We not only believe that God created the universe, we believe that he sent his Son Jesus Christ. While it is common to say, even in secular society, that "we are all God's children," the creed declares that Jesus Christ is uniquely the Son. Jesus is his "only Son." This immediately separates the Christian from Islam. Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet. It also separates the true Christian from those who would say that Jesus was merely a great moral or religious figure. How could Jesus be the Son of God? The creed will go on to explain that and we will look at that next week.

Jesus is not only the Son of God, the Creed declares that Jesus is the Messiah or "Anointed One." The word "Christ" is not the last name of Jesus, it is a title. Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. The Old Testament spoke of one who would come as a savior and deliverer. This "anointed one" (Messiah or Christ) would be born in Bethlehem and be a descendant of David and would rule his people.

A careful reading of the New Testament reveals something interesting: Jesus is rarely called "Jesus Christ" in the gospels. The authors refer to "Jesus Christ" in their introductions (Matthew 1:1; Mark 1:1; John 1:17). They record conversations where people are speculating that Jesus could be the Christ (Matthew 26:63), but normally he is simply referred to as Jesus rather than Jesus Christ. Jesus was a common name. The angel who met Joseph instructed him to give the baby the name Jesus. He would have been known as Jesus bar Joseph or Jesus of Nazareth, not "Jesus Christ." Still, the fact that he was named Jesus had a special implication: this baby, named "God saves," would save his people from their sins.

Jesus of Nazareth was born to save the people from their sin. The disciple John explains that the whole reason that he wrote his gospel was to demonstrate that Jesus is the Christ (John 20:31). Christ is a title given to Jesus on the basis of his fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, including his death and resurrection. John and the other gospel writers carefully explain how he fulfilled these prophecies, but they only use "Jesus Christ" four times. Acts and the epistles, written to explain the significance and impact of Jesus,  called him "Jesus Christ" so frequently (246 times) that we have come to think of Jesus Christ as his name.

It is worth noting that the first believers were not called "Jesusites," but "Christians." They believed that he is the Messiah. When we call ourselves Christians we are saying that we believe that Jesus is more than a great moralist. We believe that he is the long-promised Savior. We also believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The term "Lord" (kurios) refers to one who has power and authority. It was used by servants to address their masters and by commoners to refer to people with governmental powers (Matthew 6:24; 10:24; etc.). When the Creed refers to Jesus Christ our Lord it means that Christians submit to the authority of Jesus. He is our Master and our King.

But the word "Lord" means more than simply one's master. The Greek word kurios is the word commonly used in the Greek Old Testament to refer to God. In fact, it is used over 6000 times that way! There are many contexts in the New Testament where the term kurios must be understood to mean God. I will mention two. First, John the Baptist tells people to "prepare the way of the Lord" and is quoting Isaiah 40:3. John is calling people to be prepared for Jesus, but the reference in Isaiah is explicitly referring to the Lord God coming to his people (Matthew 3:3). Perhaps the most powerful reference is found in the book of Revelation. When Jesus returns he has "King of kings and Lord of lords" written on his robe and on his thigh. To say that Jesus is Lord is to say that we believe that Jesus is God. Jesus himself declared he was in John 8:58: "Before Abraham was, I am!" The phrase "I am" not only claims continual existence since before the time of Abraham, the phrase is the one God gave as his own name to Moses in Exodus 3:14.

The Scriptures clearly teach that Jesus is the only Son of God, Christ (the Anointed Messiah), God himself, and the King we submit to. This is what we mean when we say, "We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord."