Perfects Mothers (In a Perfect World)

Perfect Mothers (In a Perfect World)

2 Corinthians 12: 7 – 10.

Introduction

I have a confession to make…Mothers’ Day sermons are stressful for me.

Earlier this week I described my Mothers’ Day sermon as “Standing in front of the church, trying to be an expert on something I know nothing about.”  I am not a mother.  I have never been a mother.  AND, I will never be a mother.  But, I do have an appreciation for mothers…I honestly do not know how you do all you do.

One way I could resolve this stress is to preach a sermon about how to rear your children.  I’m not sure that helps me very much.  Before I had children, I had three theories on how to rear godly children.  Now, I have three children and no theories.

Another thing about Mothers’ Day that stresses me out is to think about all the women who feel left out on Mothers’ Day.  There are some women who intentionally stay away from church on Mothers’ Day, because it is simply too painful to come to church.  Mothers’ Day is hard for some women, because they have a desire to become mothers and cannot.  Divorce, singleness or even infertility makes motherhood impossible for some women.  While I do want to be sensitive to these feelings, I also want to celebrate godly mothers as a part of worship on Mothers’ Day.

And, there is one more thing that is stressful about Mothers’ Day.  Some women come to church and suffer in silence, because they do not think they measure up.  For example, some preachers tend to preach from Proverbs 31 on Mothers’ Day.  Have you ever read Proverbs 31?  That is an impossible standard!  She works outside the home and provides for her family’s financial needs.  She runs an orderly household by cooking for her family and making all their clothes at home.  She is recognized as wise and knowledgeable on all subjects.  AND, her children hold her in high esteem.

When we hold this woman up as our standard, we make a lot of mothers feel guilty.  They feel guilty, because they don’t think of themselves as “perfect mothers.”  If you don’t think of yourself as a “perfect mother,” then I have some good news.  First, I will not preach on Proverbs 31 today.  Second, I believe there is only one place where “perfect mothers” exist…Perfect Mothers exist only in a perfect world.  Since we don’t live in a perfect world, there is no such thing as a perfect mother.

Early this week I read an article by a woman who wrote about a favorite childhood memory.  She used to love to play with her friend’s dollhouse.  She arranged the furniture exactly the way she wanted it.  She put the pots and pans on the stove exactly the way she wanted them.  Then she arranged the family of dolls (mother, father, children and dog) exactly the way she wanted them.  Everything would be perfect when she left her friend’s house.  But, when she went back to play the next day, nothing was the way she left it.  The furniture had been moved; the pots and pans were in the “wrong” places; and the family was no longer posed like the perfect family.

That makes me think of what mothers must experience every single day of their lives.  You do everything in your power to create the “perfect home.”  But, how long does it take for your “perfect family” to mess up your “perfect home?” 

If you want a “perfect home,” you should get a dollhouse and a pose-able family.  Real families do not live in “perfect homes.”  Real families (and real mothers) have to learn how to deal with “messy homes” and “messy relationships.”  As long as we live in an imperfect world, we have to deal with the mess.

So, how can we as both mothers and Christians live in a messy world?  I think the answer comes from the Apostle Paul as he tells us about his weakness. 

2 Corinthians 12: 7 – 10.

 7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

These verses serve as a kind of conclusion to a larger section (2 Corinthians 10 – 12) where Paul feels the need to defend himself to the Christians at Corinth.  Apparently, some “super-apostles” have come into the churches of Corinth and criticized Paul and his ministry.  They build themselves up by tearing down Paul.  They claim to be closer to God than Paul is, and they “prove” it by comparing all the good things in their lives to the difficulties in Paul’s life.

I really don’t think Paul wants to boast about his ministry or his relationship with God…but he feels forced to boast.  And, Paul does have a ministry pedigree to boast about.

Paul had a thorough Jewish upbringing.  He was an Israelite who could read the Old Testament in the original Hebrew language.  He was a child of Abraham who advanced in the Jewish religious tradition (in other places he tells us he was a Pharisee).  This Jewish background led him to believe that Jesus is God’s Promised Messiah.  Of course, he did not come to this conclusion on his own, or through his knowledge of the Bible.  Paul had a personal encounter with Jesus, while Paul was persecuting the Christian church in Damascus.  There was even a time when Paul was “caught up” into Heaven and experienced a divine vision where he heard Heavenly things which could never be put into words.

Paul’s encounter with Jesus changed Paul’s life.  He gave up all of his religious pursuits in order to become a “servant of Christ.”  He went on numerous missionary journeys to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and plant churches in Gentile cities.  The churches of Corinth were a result of Paul’s ministry.

Corinth was one of Paul’s success stories.  But not all of Paul’s ministry was successful.  As a result of his preaching the Gospel, Paul had experienced sufferings of many different kinds.  He worked hard for Christ but also spent time in prison.  He preached faithfully but also was whipped, stoned and beaten by rods.  He trusted God to meet all his needs but also found himself in shipwrecks and poverty.

There were times when Paul felt successful and strong.  But, there were other times when Paul felt failures and weakness.  In fact, he tells us that he had to live every day of his life with a constant reminder of his weakness.

Thorn in the Flesh

Paul does not define his “thorn in the flesh” for us.  But, that has not stopped people from trying to determine what it was.  Some people suggest that Paul struggled with some secret sin—like lust.  Others suggest that Paul is referring to a specific person—either an unnamed woman who was believed to follow him around or Alexander the silver worker who caused Paul a great deal of harm.  More commonly, the suggestion is made that Paul dealt with an ongoing physical problem—like malaria, epilepsy, eyesight problems, and on and on and on…

Notice that Paul uses two phrases in verse 7 to refer to this weakness.  He calls it both “a thorn in my flesh” and a “messenger of Satan.”  This leads me to believe three very important things about Paul’s weakness.  First, it was a physical problem that affected his flesh—his body.  Second, it was a physical problem which caused him spiritual anxiety.  It was a “messenger of Satan,” and it was evil.  Third, Paul did not believe that God had done this to him.  It came from Satan, not God.

This leads me to believe that Paul is describing an eyesight problem.  In Galatians 4: 12 – 15, Paul told the Galatian Christians that he was not actually planning to spend time preaching in their region.  Instead, an illness caused him to stop in Galatia instead of traveling to another place.  He gave us a clue about this illness by telling the Galatians that they would have “torn out their eyes and given them to Paul if they could (Galatians 4: 15).”  Then, he closed the Book of Galatians by saying “see what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand (Galatians 6: 11).”  Perhaps this meant that his eyes were so bad that he had to dictate his letters to a secretary and then write a personal greeting in his own handwriting. 

If I am right about Paul’s eyesight problem, then we can say that his illness kept Paul from doing everything he wanted to do.  He was limited in his travels.  He was forced to travel with his own physician.  And, he couldn’t write as frequently as he would have liked.  Paul’s eyesight problem might have kept Paul from doing everything Paul wanted to do, but it could not stop God from using Paul despite his limitations.

Paul’s weakness was living proof that God can take something evil and use it to accomplish good things in each of our lives.

Not the Answer He Was Looking For

Paul did not believe his physical problems were caused by God.  However, he did have enough faith in God that God was capable of healing him and taking away his “thorn in the flesh.”  So, Paul prayed…and he prayed…and he prayed.

Have you ever prayed for something and felt like God did not answer your prayer?  Unanswered prayer is one of the biggest challenges to the Christian faith that we face.  Sometimes we pray and do not get what we asked for.  How do we explain that?

Paul found himself in the exact same position.  He knew that he would be more effective as a missionary and church planter if he didn’t have to deal with his physical limitations.  He was not praying selfishly.  Paul wasn’t praying for more money or for a more comfortable life.  He was praying that God would expand his ministry and that Paul could accomplish more for the sake of the Gospel.

But, Paul didn’t get the answer he was looking for…

You have heard other preachers say the same thing I am going to say about unanswered prayers.  There is no such thing as an unanswered prayer.  God always answers.  But, God does not always answer the way we want him to.  Sometimes God answers “Yes.”  Sometimes God answers “No.”  Sometimes God answers “Wait.” 

When Jesus taught his disciples about prayer (Matthew 6: 5 - 8), he set up two different kinds of people who pray.  Some people pray publically so they can be rewarded by the applause and compliments of other people.  Some people pray privately so they can be rewarded by God.  But, we will be rewarded when we pray. 

Of course, it is obvious how God rewards us when God answers “Yes.”  We get a new job, a healed body or a healed relationship.

When God answers our prayers with a “No” or a “Wait,” the reward is not so obvious.  Yet, there is still a reward.  The reward might not be what we had hoped for, but there is a reward.  The reward in God’s “No” or God’s “Wait” is the reward of greater faith.  Perseverance makes our faith grow stronger.  Perseverance demonstrates that we do not have the strength to make it on our own and that our desires are not always the best thing for us.  God knows what is best for us and shows us his ways are higher and better than our ways by answering “No” or “Wait” to some of our prayers.

The reward of faith can only come from a private prayer life.  The reward of being applauded and congratulated by other people comes by praying for show.  However, you can only have one of these rewards.  You must choose which you prefer.  If you pray for applause, that is the only reward you will receive.  If you pray for increased faith, that’s the reward you will receive…But be prepared.  You might not like the way God grants increased faith.  Sometimes it comes through the answers “No” and “Wait.”

Grace Is Sufficient

Even though Paul didn’t get the answer he was looking for, God did answer Paul’s prayer.  God answered with, “My Grace is sufficient.”

As a pastor, one of the things I do is to pray with people who are facing difficult situations—surgery, hospitalization, the dreaded cancer, and sometimes the certainty of death.  Many times I have people tell me that they don’t know what they would do without prayer (even when God does not answer “Yes” to our prayers). 

Prayer is important, because it is a reminder of God’s presence.  God is not an absentee landlord or even a cosmic watchmaker who has set everything in motion and steps away.  God is interested and involved in our lives.  God demonstrates his presence by sometimes answering “Yes” to our prayers.  Other times,, God demonstrates his presence by promising to be with us always, even as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”

No matter what we face, God promises to be with us.  God’s Grace is sufficient.  God’s Grace will get us through the most difficult trials of life.

Conclusion

Paul has a lot he could boast about, but he prefers to boast about his weaknesses.  That sounds so strange to our modern ears.  When I am weak, then I am strong.  We have a hard time imagining someone who boasts about weakness, because it never happens.

Have you ever heard a presidential candidate boast about his weaknesses?  I have never heard anyone in a presidential debate say something like this, “I’m a pretty smart guy; I was born into a political family; and I have a lot of connections.  But I really have no idea what I am doing.  I’m probably the second best candidate in the race.  Vote for me, and I will try my best.”

Have you ever known a business leader who brags about what a mess his or her business is?  “Sales are lower now than when I first took over the company.  People are quitting every day.  Shareholders have lost all confidence in our company and in me as the leader.  Things are going great!”

Ultimately, this is what Paul is saying about his ministry and is setting a personal example for us to follow.  Paul has learned to depend on God and his Grace in the messiness of life, because Paul’s weakness drives him to depend on God’s strength.

If I were strong in every situation, then I would be tempted to brag about my strength.  But, if life is messy and painful, then God gets the glory / credit…We cannot make it on our own strength.  Weakness reminds us that we need to depend on God.

When I am weak…God remains strong!

God and Creation

God and Creation

Psalm 8

Introduction

There are five basic ways people describe God’s relationship with the world.

1.        The world is all there is.  God is not real.  The only things that are real are the things we can perceive through our senses.  (Materialism)

2.        God and the world are the same.  Everything is God and God is everything.  (Pantheism)

3.        The world is a part of God.  The world is God, but God is more than the world.  God is a combination of everything and everyone in the world.  (Panentheism)

4.        God is not the world and does not exist in the world.  God sets the world in motion but does not interfere with what is going on in the world.  (Deism)

5.        God is not the world, but God exists in dynamic relationship with the world.  God is concerned about the world and acts in the affairs of the world.  (Theism—the Jewish and Christian view of God)

Last Sunday, we sought an answer to the question: “What can we say about God?”  The simplest answer to that question is that we can only say what the Bible says about God.  The Bible is our authority on God.  The Bible is God’s revelation of himself to us.  The Bible was written for the purpose that we might know God.  Therefore, if we want to describe the way God relates to the world, we must turn to the Bible.

In the first book of the Old Testament (actually, in the first verse of the first book), we discover something very important about both God and the world.  Genesis 1: 1 tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  This tells us that God is not a part of the world, and the world is not part of God.  God is separate from the world.  God is the creator…The world is the creation.

However, Genesis is not the only place where we read that God is the creator.  This is a foundational theme which runs throughout both Old Testament and New Testament—God is real, God is separate from nature, and God is the creator.

Psalm 8: 1 – 9.

Psalm 8: 1 – 2…  1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens.  2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

Notice that the word “Lord” is used twice in verse one.  The first use of “Lord” is spelled in all capital letters…L-O-R-D.  In the Old Testament, this is the way all English translations render the Hebrew word Yahweh, the personal name for God.  This is the name God revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3.  At the burning bush, God called Moses and sent him to rescue God’s people from slavery in Egypt.  Moses asked who was sending him.  God answered “I Am.”  The Hebrew name Yahweh is derived from the Hebrew word Hayah, which means “I Am.”  This name is only used to refer to the One True God of Israel.

The name Yahweh is closely associated with the story of the Exodus.  The Exodus is a story of salvation.  God heard the cries of his people and sent Moses to rescue them from slavery.  When Moses led the Hebrew people out of slavery, he also led them to Mount Sinai.  At Mount Sinai, God established the Hebrew people as the nation of Israel—God’s chosen people and the people who entered into a covenant relationship with God.  Salvation is more than just God’s rescuing us.  Salvation also involves relationship with God.

The second use of “Lord” is not written in all capital letters.  In Hebrew, this is the word “Adonai.”  Adonai can refer to the One True God, or it can refer to a human master.  It indicates someone who is the lord, the master or ruler of another person.

So, Psalm 8 begins with a profession of faith…Yahweh is both the God of salvation and our sovereign Lord.  Yahweh is the God who saves us and enters into relationship with us.  He is the ruler of Heaven and Earth.  All of the earth should recognize that Yahweh is the Lord.  His glory can be seen in his created works.  His praise can be heard even from the lips of children and infants.

Psalm 8: 3 – 5…  3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

There is no biblical story associated with this Psalm.  However, we can figure out the context from what is written in verses 3 – 4.  These verses describe a familiar scene.  The Psalmist is looking at the vastness of space.  He is probably sitting outside at night, looking up at the stars and the moon.  And while he is sitting there, he begins to feel small and insignificant.

The Psalmist did not know everything we know today about the universe and the way it works.  For example, he did not know that the moon is 238,900 miles away from earth or that the sun is 93 million miles away from earth.  But, he knew enough to feel small.  All he knew was that God had created a wonderful and beautiful and infinitely huge creation.  He knew that he was only a part of all God had created.

With all of our scientific discovery and easy access to knowledge, this is something that we still have a difficult time acknowledging.  We know that the moon is 238,900 miles away.  We know that the sun is 93 million miles away.  But, we still think we are the center of the universe.  We think of ourselves as the most brilliant mind in the universe…When, in reality, we are not the creators of the universe.  We are merely a part of God’s creation.  We have never actually created anything by our own power or intellect.

In verse 3, the Psalmist makes a connection between Yahweh (the God who saves us) and the God who created heaven and earth.  This is a remarkable confession of faith.  It stands in stark contrast with what most ancient people believed about God and creation.  Most ancient people worshipped the creation and believed that nature was divine.  The Psalmist confesses that nature is NOT God.  Nature is merely a creation of God—a work of God’s hands and fingers.

God Is Creator

The Bible places a lot of significance on God as the creator.  It is significant that nature is NOT God.  Nature is the work of God’s hands.  It is also significant when we consider the way God created the heavens and the earth.  God created everything out of nothing.  Before God created, there was nothing.  God did not use any preexisting materials.

If God created everything out of nothing, then God’s work of creation is different from creative work we might do.  We use materials and stuff to build and create something new and different.

If God created everything out of nothing, then all of creation depends on God for its existence.  Without God, there would be nothing.  There would be no heavens (sky, clouds, sun, moon and stars).  There would be no earth (land, sea, plants and animals).  There would be nothing under the earth (cells, molecules and atoms—the building blocks of matter).  And, without God, there would be no human life!

When the Psalmist realized how small he truly is and that he is only one part of God’s vast creation, he expressed an existential crisis.  He asked the question, “What is man?”

I think it is important to note that he did not ask, “WHO is man?” or even “WHO am I?”  This is a very impersonal question…What is a human being?

There are several ways we can answer this impersonal question.  A human being is an animal life form.  A human being is a complex organism made up of atoms, cells and molecules which have to be in perfect balance in order for life to exist.  A human being is a body with many different parts and internal organs linked together by blood vessels and nerves.  But, none of these answers are satisfying, because they do not describe the purpose or meaning of human life.

A human being is creation of God.  In the story of creation, the human beings were God’s final creations.  They were not created in the same way as the other created beings. 

One difference is that human beings were the only created beings which were not created by God’s spoken word.  God spoke, and there was light and dark, sun and moon, earth and water, plants and animals…  But, when God created human beings, God stooped down and got his hands dirty.  He took dirt and shaped it into a man.  He took a rib and used it to build a woman.  Human beings were personally and intimately made by God’s hands.

Another difference is the fact that God created human beings (both male and female) in the image of God.  Another way to say this is to quote Psalm 8:5, “You created him a little lower that the ‘heavenly beings’…”

Technically, the Hebrew word here is the word Elohim, the plural form of the word El.  A simple translation of El is god.  A simple translation of Elohim is gods.  However, the Old Testament rarely uses the singular El to refer to the One True God.  More commonly, it refers to God as Elohim, in the plural. 

I believe the best way to interpret this phrase is to say that God has created human beings a little lower than himself.  We have been created in the image of God, but we are NOT God…We are NOT little gods.  You may be small, but you are special to God.

Instead, we have been created by God and given purpose and meaning in life.  God has given us a responsibility to work alongside God in God’s creation…

Psalm 8: 6 – 8…  6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

Human beings have a higher status than anything else in creation.  But, we need to recognize something about our status.  Our status in creation is a derived status.

In verse five, we read that God has “crowned us with glory and honor.”  In verse six, we read that God “made us rulers” and “put everything under our feet.”  This is royal language and should make us think of God as the ultimate King of the created order.  God, as King, has assigned us a royal responsibility to serve as his representative in creation.  Human beings are not the ultimate King.  But, we do have a royal assignment from the King.  Our assignment is to participate with God in preserving and sustaining God’s creation.

God has made human beings the rulers over flocks and herds (domesticated animals), wild animals which can be tamed and wild animals which cannot be tamed.

As we think of humanity as “ruler” over creation, we need to keep in mind God’s intention for rulers.  Worldly rulers wield power over their subjects in order to promote themselves and to keep other people in subjection.  Godly rulers use power selflessly in order to serve other people and to meet their needs.

When we apply this to humanity’s relationship to creation we can talk about the biblical view of dominion.  In the creation story, God created humanity and gave them dominion over creation.  Dominion is not the same thing as domination.

Some people think humanity is supposed to dominate creation by exploiting the earth to the point of using up all natural resources.

Dominion is more like stewardship.  It is recognizing that the creation does not belong to us.  It belongs to God.  God has entrusted the creation into our hands.  We are to use God’s creation, to enjoy God’s creation and to take care of God’s creation by making sure that future generations can also use and enjoy God’s creation.

If we think of ourselves as stewards or caretakers of God’s creation, then we can affirm two things about God and his relationship with his creation.  First, God has created us—he has given us life.  Second, God has provided for our needs through his creation.

God Sustains His Creation

If God created everything out of nothing, then all of creation depends on God for its existence.  But, that is not all…  Creation also depends on God to sustain and to preserve our existence.  Without God’s sustaining presence, the world would collapse into nothingness.  Every moment and at all times, God is involved in his creation.  God creates life and preserves life by providing for all of our needs.

As human beings, we have learned how to manufacture goods, and we have mastered agriculture to cultivate the land to produce food.  BUT, we cannot create something out of nothing; and we cannot make seeds grow into produce.  We cannot provide for our own basic needs—food, water and the air we breathe.

Conclusion

Psalm 8: 9…  9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8 ends exactly the same way it began…O LORD, our Lord…  These are the same words we read at the beginning of the Psalm.  But, they sound a little different now.

The LORD, Yahweh, is the Creator of Heaven and earth.  The LORD, Yahweh, has created you and provided for all of your needs.  The LORD, Yahweh, wants to be your Lord—your ruler, your master, the leader of your life.  God, the creator and sustainer of life, is worthy of our worship and our lives.

If God is the creator, and I am a part of God’s creation; then I am NOT God.  Instead, I have been created by God and have been given a meaning / purpose by the God who created me.  God created me.  God sustains me.  God invites me to find meaning / purpose in life by participating with God in taking care of creation.

Physical life comes from God.  But, so does spiritual life.  God has met all our physical needs through creation.  God has met all our spiritual needs through his Son, Jesus. 

The Creator has not left us to figure things out for ourselves.  God is already involved in your life as the creator and sustainer of life.  In addition, God loved you so much that he has actually pursued you.  He demonstrated his love for you through the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  Now, he invites each of us to enter into a proper relationship of Creator and creation—a relationship of worship and service. 

The God who created you is the God who sustains your life and offers you salvation.  God is worthy of your worship and is worthy of all of your life.

What Can We Say about God?

What Can We Say about God?

1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 8.

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago, I started preaching a series of sermons on getting back to the basics.  This is intended to go along with all the recent sermons I have preached about evangelism and outreach. 

One of the important things we do as a church is to tell other people about Jesus.  We tell the Good News about God’s Love and salvation found in Jesus Christ—his death and Resurrection.  Another important thing we do is teach the Christian faith.  We teach a proper understanding of God to our children; to people who are inside the church; and to people who are outside the church.

There are several different words we might use to describe this proper understanding of God.  We might use the word “doctrine,” or the word “dogma,” or the word “theology.”  I prefer to use the word “theology” for a couple of reasons.  First, I think the word “theology” is much more descriptive.  Second, I think “theology” is something to be performed by all Christians and not to be reserved for the academic types in universities and seminaries.

The word “theology” comes to us from two Greek words.  Theos is the Greek word for God.  Logos is a Greek word with a couple of different translations.  On one hand, logos is where we get our English word “logic” and can be translated as “reason” or “logic.”  On the other hand, logos can be translated as “word” or “speech.”  Therefore, we can say that the definition of “theology” is “thinking about God” or “speaking about God.”

“Speaking about God” is not something that only happens in professional settings like a university, a seminary, or even a church.  “Speaking about God” ought to happen in universities, seminaries, churches and beyond.  We should speak about God in our homes—around the breakfast table and while putting our children to bed at night.  We should speak about God with the people who are closest to us—spouses, children, parents, family, friends, coworkers and classmates.  We should speak about God with people who are not close to us—neighbors, casual acquaintances, the person behind the counter, and perfect strangers.

Anyone can practice theology…AND, I would suggest that all Christians should practice theology by “speaking about God.”  However, not everyone practices Good Theology.  It is possible to speak about God while promoting some messed up beliefs about God.  There has to be a way to determine the difference between Good Theology and bad theology.  There has to be an objective standard…a way to judge between right and wrong…

I believe the Apostle Paul gives us a brief description of this objective standard in 1 Corinthians 15 where he teaches us about the Resurrection…

1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 8.

1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Good Theology Is Good News

There are a couple of important words in verse 1.  First, Paul addresses these verses to his “brothers.”  Second, Paul reminds them that the message he preached to them was the “Gospel.”

“Brothers” is the most common word Paul uses to refer to other Christians.  He does not address these verses to his biological male siblings.  He does not speak these verses exclusively to men.  No.  This is an inclusive term for all Christians—male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile.  We are all brothers and sisters, if we are children of God through faith in Jesus as Lord.

“Gospel” was a common word in the ancient world.  In fact, I believe it was a politically charged word in Paul’s day.  Each time a new emperor rose to power in Rome, the government issued a “Gospel” proclamation all over the Roman Empire.  These proclamations all sounded alike.  They said something like this…Even though there has never been a political leader who fulfilled all your hopes and your dreams, this one will be different.  The new Caesar will keep all his promises.  He will give jobs to all jobseekers.  He will cut taxes and increase benefits.  There will be no more war.  We will live in peace.  And all nations will respect us as the best and the most powerful.

(Does that sound familiar?  It sounds like the promises we hear every four years before and after the U.S. Presidential elections.)

Paul preached Good News about Jesus.  Jesus is the Son of God.  The life, death and Resurrection of Jesus is a tangible expression of the Love of God.  (Romans 5: 8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”)  The Death and Resurrection of Jesus is Good News, because it demonstrates for us that God is more than All-Powerful and All-Knowing.  It is not enough to say that God is All-Powerful and All-Knowing.  We must also say that God is All-Loving.

The Love of God is Good News.  This is because the Love of God is what leads to salvation from sins, relationship with God and eternal life.

    

Good Theology Is Not New

In verse 3, Paul tells us that the message he preached is the same message he received from others.  There are two things about this which are important.

First, Paul has not invented the message.  The message of the Gospel existed before Paul and continues to be preached even after Paul has died.  Paul was neither the first nor the last to preach the Gospel.  Paul was nothing more than a messenger who received a message from someone and then passed that message on to someone else.

Second, Paul did not add anything to the Gospel or take anything away from the Gospel.  It is important to say that Paul is nothing more than a messenger.  BUT, it is also important to say that Paul was a faithful messenger.  He faithfully transmitted the message which had been trusted into his care.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is describing the Resurrection of Jesus and the Resurrection of all those who believe in Jesus.  So, when Paul insists (in verse 3) that he is a faithful messenger of the message he received, he is referring specifically to the Resurrection.

Paul’s teaching about the Resurrection is not new.  It is the same message given to Peter and the Twelve who spent three years physically in the presence of Jesus and were the first witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection.  Paul’s message is the same as James (the brother of Jesus) and all the apostles.  There is nothing new about Paul’s teaching.

This is important for us to remember when we are listening to modern-day preachers.  The Gospel is an unchanging message.  It is the message of God’s Love which was demonstrated in the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus.  It is the message of Jesus who is the same “yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13: 8).”  Jesus does not change.  God’s Love does not change.  God’s salvation does not change.  God’s message does not change.

Beware of the person who preaches a NEW MESSAGE.  Beware of the person who says they have a new word from God.  Paul did not preach a new message…And Good Theology is not a new message…It is the OLD, OLD Story which still has the power to change lives today!

Good Theology Is Biblical

In verses 3 – 8, Paul makes two appeals to authority.  Paul did not invent the Gospel message.  Paul was simply a messenger who passed along the message he was given.  Therefore, Paul did not claim authority for himself.  Paul spoke with authority, but that authority was an authority derived from another source.  Actually, Paul appealed to two authorities…Scriptures…Apostles…

In Paul’s day, the word “Scripture” could only mean one thing.  It meant the Jewish Scripture, or what we would call the Old Testament.  (There was no New Testament in Paul’s day.  There wasn’t even a collection of Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.)  The crucifixion and Resurrection are not confined to the New Testament alone.  Paul preached Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish Messianic hope from the Old Testament.  Paul preached Jesus as the sacrifice to take away our sins from the Old Testament.  Paul preached the hope of the Resurrection from the Old Testament.

Paul’s second authority is found in his appeal to the Apostles.  There are a couple of ways we can think of the word “Apostle.”  In its literal sense, Apostle refers to people who have been “sent.”  God sent Jesus with a mission and a message.  Jesus sent his followers to continue the same mission and message.  A more specific or technical meaning of the word “Apostle” developed over time.  In this understanding, Apostle refers to those who have seen Jesus and were eyewitnesses to the Resurrection.

This is where the New Testament came from.  The Jews had a set canon of Scripture which the early Christians adopted and interpreted through the lens of Jesus as the Messiah.  Over time, the men who had been eyewitnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus wrote down their stories.  They described the earthly life and ministry of Jesus.  They described the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus.  They described the birth of the church and the spread of the Gospel message from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 

The books which are included in the New Testament are not the only ancient books about Jesus and the early church.  The books of the New Testament are the ONLY books which have an Apostolic pedigree—we can reasonably trace the authorship of these 27 books back to someone who knew Jesus and was an eyewitness to the Resurrection.

In the same way that Paul appealed to Scripture and Apostolic authority, Good Theology in our world today must also be biblical theology.  We can only say about God what we have read in Scripture—Old Testament and New Testament. 

Conclusion:  Good Theology Can Stand Scrutiny

Paul makes a very interesting statement about the Resurrection of Jesus in verse 6.  He tells us that after the Resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter, the Twelve, AND to 500 others who are still alive!  (This was probably written approximately 20 years after the Resurrection.)

Why do you think Paul would add the phrase, “most of whom are still living?”  It is because Paul is inviting his readers to check the story for themselves.  You do not have to take my word for it.  You can look into it for yourself.

When I stand up to preach, I promise that I will “speak about God.”  Therefore, my sermons will be theological.  Whenever you hear me preach, you will hear Good News about God’s Love.  You will not hear anything new—it will be the Old, Old Story.  AND, you will hear from the Bible—I do not preach as the authority…I preach from the authority of the Scripture and the Apostles.  But, you do not have to take my word for it.  I do not want you to become my blind followers.  No.  I invite you to compare what you hear me say to your own pursuit of truth—Read the Bible, study history, observe nature and science.  Good Theology can withstand scrutiny, because Good Theology is truth.

When I was a college student, I was a religion major.  In my first Bible class, my professor stood up in front of the class and offered us an introduction to the class.  He said, “In this class, you will be exposed to a lot of things that you have never heard before.  Some of these things you will agree with.  Some of these things you will not agree with.  When you hear something that you do not agree with, I encourage you to open your Bible and read for yourself what the Bible says.”

I challenge you to search out the truth for yourself.  You do not have to take my word for it.  In fact, take my words (and my theology) and compare it to everything you know to be true.  Compare what I say to historical truth and everything you can observe in nature and through science…  Good Theology can withstand any scrutiny, because Good Theology is true.

How Can We Know God?

How Can We Know God?
Psalm 19: 1 – 14 AND Hebrews 1: 1 – 3

Introduction

(Before standing up to preach this sermon, we heard a testimony from a man who is a Christian physician in a Communist country which is closed to the Gospel.)

If I wanted to travel to a foreign country, I would need a passport.  When I exit the airplane, I have to stand in line and show my passport / credentials to a government official.  The government official checks to see if I am allowed to enter into his / her country.  God does not have a passport…and God does not need a passport.  No government official gets to check God’s credentials to see if God is allowed into his / her country.

No president, king or dictator can decree that God is not allowed.  No legislative body can vote God out.  No judge can rule against God.

Last Sunday, I preached about the character of God.  There are several ways we can talk about the character of God.  We could describe God by using all the “Omni” words…God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, etc…  Or, we could describe the “perfections” of God…God is Perfect in Goodness, Perfect in Love, Perfect in Wisdom and Perfect in Power.  Or, we could describe God in his basic essence…God is transcendent.

When we say that God is transcendent, we affirm the perfection of God and all the Omni characteristics of God.  We agree with the words of the Prophet Isaiah who declared that God is “high and lifted up.”  God is higher than we are.  God is above us.  God is holy and set apart.  God is not like us.

Of course, when we say that God is transcendent, we are describing a problem.  If God is “high and lifted up”…If God is holy and set apart…If God is not like us…Then, how can we ever know God?

God is above us and different from us.  Whereas we are sinful, God is perfect.  Whereas we are finite and limited by our temporary lifetimes, God is eternal and cannot be threatened by death.   Whereas we are influenced by the world, God is Holy / Set Apart / Heavenly.  Whereas we are predictable (inasmuch as we are influenced by sin and always make sinful choices), God is unpredictable because God is truly free.  Therefore, God is not only above us…God is also beyond us.  In some ways, God is unknowable and will always be a mystery to our finite minds.

The only way this transcendent, mysterious and unknowable God could ever be known is that God has made himself “knowable.”  Left to our own devices, we could never discover God.  We could never know the unknowable.  However, God wants us to know him.  Therefore, God has made himself known.  God has revealed himself to us.

Psalm 19 is a praise Psalm which contains some very important theology.  It can be divided into three sections which describe (in something like a progression) three ways God reveals himself to us.

Creation Reveals God… 

Psalm 19: 1 – 6, “1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.”

These verses are unique in the ancient world.  They describe a distinctly Jewish world view—a world view which carries over into Christianity.

The pagans of the ancient world would not proclaim that creation declares the glory of God.  Instead, they would say that Creation is God.  The pagan view of creation takes one of three perspectives.  First, some people in the ancient world worshipped the individual element of creation—sun, moon or stars.  Second, other ancient people worshipped everything in creation—this could be described as “pantheism,” which is to say God is everything and everything is God.  Third, other ancient people worshipped creation as a whole—this is what we might describe as “panentheism,” which is to say that everything comes together to form God…God is in everything and everything is in God.

Christians and Jews have a completely different view of creation.  In our understanding, creation is not God.  Rather, creation is the handiwork of God.  Looking at creation invites us to reflect on the God who made everything we can see.

Worshipping creation is a distinctly ancient problem.  Modern-day men and women do not actually worship creation.  People may love nature and the environment…but no one actually worships creation.  However, there is a modern-day equivalent.  People in the Twenty-First Century are tempted to worship science in the same way ancient people were tempted to worship creation.

The ancient pagans were nearsighted.  When they looked at creation, their focus stopped short.  They were not able to look beyond creation and see the God who created everything.  In the same way, some modern-day skeptics are also nearsighted.  They are not able to look beyond science to see the God who not only created everything science describes but who also establishes the rules and characteristics of scientific discovery.

Creation is not God.  Creation is the handiwork of God…God is other than creation.

Scripture Reveals God…

Psalm 19: 7 – 11, “7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11 By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

In these verses, we read six parallel statements that describe the Scriptures.  The Law of the LORD…The Statutes of the LORD…The Precepts of the LORD…The Commands of the LORD…The Fear of the LORD…The Ordinances of the LORD…

Creation can only reveal so much about God. Creation shows us that God exists, that God creates, that God is good and wise.  But, God is other than creation.  And, God has actually stepped into his creation to redeem what God has created and to call a people to himself.  God’s activity in his creation is recorded in Scripture.  Therefore, we read the Bible in order to know God…And, we know God by the way he has dealt with and acted within his creation…The Scriptures describe the redemptive work of God.

The redemptive work of God is recorded in the History of Israel.  God heard their cries for help when the Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt.  So, God stepped into his creation and called Moses (from a burning bush) to rescue God’s people.  Through Moses, God led the Hebrew people to Mount Sinai and established them as his Chosen People by giving them his Law.  God continued to pursue Israel as God’s people (and to act in their history), despite the fact that they were unfaithful to God.  Then, God entered history in general (and the nation of Israel in particular) through the Person of Jesus of Nazareth—the Virgin-born Son of God.

A Personal Cry for Help… 

Psalm 19: 12 – 14, “12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Notice how this last section sounds different from the previous sections.  The other sections are written in the third person—the psalmist is writing / speaking / singing praises ABOUT God.  In this section, the psalmist is not writing / speaking / singing about God…Here he is writing / speaking / singing TO God.  We might even say he has shifted from praise to prayer.

The transcendence of God makes it impossible for us to know God or to discover God by our own intellect.  The only way we can possibly know God is for God to reveal himself to us.  God must help us to see him / to know him.

We need Personal help in order to overcome our sinfulness.  Our sins distort our minds and our understanding.  In order to know God and to receive God’s revelation of himself, we need God to forgive us and make us right.

Theology of Revelation… 

In my understanding of Psalm 19, there is a progression in God’s revelation.  There are three ways we can know God.  God has revealed himself in three ways. 

First, General Revelation—available to all people in all places at all times.  Nature and creation.  Human conscience and morality.  Love and family relations.  Search for meaning and the desire for a better future.  General Revelation is available to anyone who has eyes to see what God has done in creation.

Second, Special Revelation in Scripture—available to all people who are willing to read the story of God’s redemptive activity in history through the Nation of Israel.  Law, Prophets, Writing…All describe God’s redemption in history.  Special Revelation is available to anyone who has ears to hear what God has done in the story of redemption found in Scripture. 

Third, Personal Revelation in the life, crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ—available to anyone who acknowledges that Jesus of Nazareth is the unique Son of God.  Personal Revelation is available to anyone who has a heart open to experience the love of God through Jesus.

Hebrews 1: 1 – 3, “1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

If God had only revealed himself through creation and Scripture, then we could say that knowing God is a matter of receiving a proper understanding of information.  In this sense, knowing God would be nothing more than accepting certain propositions about God; memorizing data and historical facts about God; and interpreting abstract truth from the historical data. 

However, creation and Scripture are not the only ways God has revealed himself.  God also revealed himself through the Person of Jesus.  Therefore, God’s revelation of himself is not about Information…It is about Transformation…Allowing your life to be transformed by Jesus Christ.

Since God revealed himself through Jesus, we know God by experiencing a relationship with Jesus. 

Jesus transforms our lives by offering us forgiveness of sins.  Forgiveness is not about information…It is transformation. 

Jesus offers us a reason / purpose for living by giving us abundant life.  Again, abundant life is not about information…It is transformation. 

Jesus also offers us Eternal Life.  Eternal Life is the result of a life transformed by Jesus and not something to be gained through information.

Conclusion

God’s revelation of himself is both Deep and Wide…

As wide as all of creation…available to everyone with eyes to see…

As wide as the Scriptures…available to everyone with ears to hear…

As deep as the cross and Resurrection of Jesus…available to everyone with a heart open to God’s love…A heart open to love God and to be loved by God…