3/20/17
The best way to obtain knowledge of God is by going directly to the source of His divine revelation, the Bible. Outside sources can be helpful in understanding the Bible, but one should be cautious in looking to outside sources to gain knowledge of God as they can sometimes twist scriptures and create a skewed image of God. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” There are signs everywhere in nature that point to the creator, but to understand the God of the Bible, one must read the Bible. Sheer knowledge of God does not imply that one has a relationship with God. James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe- and shudder.” John 16 explains the Holy Spirit convicts hearts and guides the elect into all truth. The revelation of God is thankfully not reliant on the folly of my words, but it is through the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of individuals. We have a responsibility to share the Gospel, but we cannot simply provide head knowledge and expect one to be saved. Despite how great our redemptive creator is, our words don’t have the power to radically turn someone in their tracks, but the power rests in God alone.
As far as the doctrine of Creation goes for Christian faith, I believe three things need to be believed. First, God created the universe and everything in it. Things didn’t just randomly emerge from a big bang alone, but God did it. Second, God created the world and called it good. The world was without sin when he first made it, but man sinned and sin entered the world at the fault of man. Thirdly, Adam and Eve were directly created as the Lord made them out of the dust of the Earth, and took the woman out of man. They were real historical people because Romans 5 says so, as does the rest of the Bible. According to genealogies recorded in the Bible, man had his beginnings not millions of years ago, but at about 6,000 or 10-15,000 years loosely. This does not imply the Earth is this old, just man. As far as the more controversial issues, it is okay for someone to hold the belief that the earth is six literal days. There is no sense in getting into vicious arguments over this topic. The first verse of Genesis says, “In the beginning he made the heavens and the earth” … He makes everything. Then, day by day, he prepares the land, not bringing new things into existence, but preparing the land, causing growth, and organizing the land and water. Certain views eliminate the literal readings of Genesis, and this can be a dangerous place to be ‘hermeneutically’. If we were to deny Christ as the creator entirely, we would be denying the entirety of the Bible.
To determine the scope of sin, it is important to define sin and determine its root. Sin is any feeling, thought, speech, or action produced from a heart that does not treasure God over everything. A heart that does not prefer God over all people and things of the world is the heart we are born with. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Paul adds in Romans 7:18, “Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh”. Apart from the redemptive work of the Spirit of God through Christ’s atoning work on the cross, we are the embodiment of resistance to God. Romans 8:7 says, “The mind of flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” Our flesh desires other things, and leads us astray. Sin is not necessarily what you do, it is primarily who you are until you are a new creation in Christ. Even after becoming a new creation, it is a constant enemy that is to be slain daily by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). That leaves the question, can sinners do good works as well? Building hospitals, following the laws, feeding the poor, and healing diseases are all good things, right? Romans 14:23 say, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin”. For instance, if not committing murder comes from a heart that has no love for God and values other things above God, then that act of goodness is not an expression of love to God. Paul’s life prior to God involved persecuting Christians, but it also included many good deeds and the avoidance of many evils; however, after his conversion, he said, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. . . and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). To paraphrase, unless his ‘good’ deeds came from his faith in Christ, they are counted as loss. Actions that don’t come from faith, don’t come from valuing God above everything. This is sin – preferring and treasuring anything over God.
Sin is a problem that mere man cannot resolve. To be redeemed, the ultimate sacrifice had to be made to atone for this sin. This sacrifice could only be made by God himself, which is why God became flesh. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” If Jesus had been only man, not God, his death on the cross would have been in vain as mere man cannot live blamelessly. The flesh of man is sinful. If Jesus had not been made fully human, he could not have died on the cross and taken the penalty for humans. Hebrews 2:17-18 says, “He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” I think it would almost be destructive to our comfort and faith if Jesus was not fully man. He would seem very distant and unsympathetic if he had not suffered the way he had on Earth. It is essential that the natures of Jesus being fully man and fully human are distinct because they each have their own properties. The do not alter each other, nor do they mix together into a hybrid nature. Because he is God, we can have complete confidence in everything he told us as our adequate savior. Because Jesus is man, we can relate to him and he can come to our help as our sympathetic High Priest in our weakness.
Christ saves by paying the penalty that was due us for our sin. Christ’s sacrifice satisfies the wrath God has for sinners. Every aspect of man including the mind, will, and emotions are totally ‘depraved’. Man is spiritually dead and completely incapable of atoning for sin in any way. Christ paying the penalty of what man deserves provides forgiveness and reconciles man to God. Through faith, man’s penalty for sin can be paid. This “theory of atonement” is called the penal substitution theory. Penal substitution is clearly taught by the Bible (i.e. sacrifices and offerings to God). Isaiah 53:4-6 says, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Paul says, “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” To be saved I must recognize my need for a savior (I am a sinner), and know that God created the possibility for sin during creation (he does not cause one to sin). Sin means falling short of God’s expectations, and this sin puts us under his wrath and judgment. Once one is saved, their lives become centered on Christ. They have a great love for him and, thus, desire to obey him. Jesus plus nothing provides the answer to salvation. We have nothing to bring to the table, no works could ever do anything to change God’s view of man.
Contrary to many perceptions, the “church” never referred to a specific building in the New Testament. It always refers to the total number of believers who have ever lived, or a local community of those believers. In Ephesians 4:4, Paul refers to the universal church, which represents every believer to ever live. There is only one church, “one body”. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, however, the “church of God which is at Corinth” is addressed. There are many letters written to local churches like Corinth and Thessalonica included in the Bible. These two definitions of the church are important in understanding the sin qua non of the “church”. To simply put it, the local church is a group of baptized believers who meet regularly to worship God through Jesus, to be exhorted through the preaching of the Word of God, and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper under the leadership of appropriately appointed leaders. The Gospel creates new families as we (believers) are adopted into the family of God through faith (John 1:12-13). Matthew 28:19 says the church is to make disciples by baptizing and teaching them. This was seen uniformly in the early church. Hebrews 10:25 commands that we are not to neglect to meet regularly. Ephesians 1:6, Acts 2:47, and Romans 15:6-7 speak to worshipping corporately as a local body. The leaders of the church are the way in which God desired to feed his sheep; thus, the exhortation from the Word of God must be included when meeting. It is essential to the health of the church to also celebrate the Lord’s Supper. It might seem unimportant at first glance, but it is important to remember the sacrifices Jesus and joy that Jesus brought us (Luke 22:19). In the early church, Paul appointed elders in each church, then gave instruction as to the qualifications of deacons and elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. In Ephesians 4:1 and 4:12, Paul explains that the pastors to the church are there to walk in a worthy manner and equip the saints for the work of the ministry, that is building up the body of Christ. In my opinion, these constitute the bare necessities of a church; however, we should not simply strive to meet the bare minimum, but to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. The question should not be, “what is the minimum standard to constitute a church?”, rather it should be, “what makes a maximum church?”. The church should constantly be seeking to better display God’s glory to the world and to live in a way that people can see that our God is real. Churches in today’s world are dying because they are not living lives that give evidence to the radical change that comes from truly putting faith in Jesus Christ. Churches need to be servants to others because this shows the fruit of a relationship with Jesus.