Offense!!!! Hiding the promises of Jesus.

 

What is sadly lacking in churches are the teaching of the promises of Jesus. One of the promises not taught is the first one promised in the prayer our Lord taught us. This is offensive to Jesus due to His wanting us to trust in His promises especially in difficult times. It also offends those who trust in Jesus for they are unaware of what Jesus wants for them to have even here on earth.

When we say Our Father which art in Heaven….. We can understand that Jesus is giving His Father to be our Father. This means we can go to Our Father as a dear Father and He regards us as dear children. We can trust that he will give us good gifts. As His full hands supplies the needs of all His creation He knows our needs before we ask and had provided for them. In a world caught up in greed, insecurity, robbery and other sin this is of great comfort.

So much is Father’s love and concern for us He sent Jesus to live the perfect life. Jesus also took the sins of all and had them pinned to the cross with Him. And by His resurrection seals our Justification that we receive through trust in Him.

Thank you Father for your generosity in providing for our every need. Also for the Love you have for sinners that you did not spare Jesus your Son but rather gave Him as the atoning Sacrifice for our sin. Praise to you Lord Jesus for taking our penalty upon yourself and richly providing for us eternal life in Your Name. We worship and glorify You Holy Spirit for giving us sight to see Jesus as our only Lord and Saviour. 

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. †

Offended!!!! Decision Theology

Decisions Decisions

Where to live? Whom to marry or even to marry? Which employment do I seek or stay where I am already employed. These and many other decisions face people each and every day. But do we decide when it comes to Jesus? I often hear from people the evidence they want in order to decide whether God exists and do they need the salvation from Jesus.

The so called Evangelical section of the church is quite wrapped up in what is called Decision Theology. This will raise more questions than it answers. This will not work at all when speaking to atheists or other questioners. And this will encourage them to, in addition, claim he or she does not need it.

When talking to a Christian who is mistaken that it was their decision which saved them more than likely will ask “When did you decide to follow Jesus?” If one cannot remember a point in time where they went from unbelief in Jesus then doubt will be cast upon that person. How exciting is it to think I am a believer in Jesus because I examined the evidence. I came to the conclusion that it made sense. So I decided to give my heart and life to Jesus. Heady stuff! This false teaching, indeed, appeals to the inner brat.

Instead of focusing on the finished work of Jesus these brothers and sisters will look at experience for assurance. This is the primary offense for it robs God of his glory in salvation.

Ephesians 2:2  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ²  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, followingthe prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy,because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  ESV

God from beginning and throughout salvation is doing the saving and keeping without the help or permission of the saved. This is indeed good news for, again, the only focal point for a sinner is the Crucified and Risen Lamb of God. No need therefore, to spend countless hours trying to remember the exact time that you made a decision for Jesus. We no longer need be concerned whether our decision was in earnest or possibly too shallow. Let us trust this good news and live in its peace. In the name of Jesus. Amen. †

Offense!!!!!! Fruit Inspection.

I would like to have, say $1.00, for every time a person will say of another; “He cannot be saved. I see no fruit.” The fruit referred to is either some thing Inspector X wants done or a falling short in a way which Inspector X especially finds revolting. When trying to remind Inspector X that one is saved by faith apart from works a verse gets used to justify this fruit inspection.

Matthew 12:³³  “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.³⁵  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.³⁶ I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” RSV

Context is everything. This follows the incident of the enemies of Jesus saying he was doing things by the power of the devil. v 24 It was out of the evil heart of unbelief and denial of the true Messiah that produces this bad fruit. No person, with faith in Jesus, would ever say such a thing about his work. This is the bad fruit which shows the heart is not trusting Jesus. The unbeliever will not receive the gift of salvation won for him or her on the cross of Jesus.

This judging of another believer is offensive to our crucified and risen Lord who desires us to look at his finished work and trust that for salvation. Through the hearing of his word, faithfully preached and divided, he gives us true repentance and salvation. He has also given us the gift of baptism to know we are adopted into God’s family. Jesus also gives us his body and blood in the Supper to know that our sins are forgiven, to strengthen us and to keep us in the faith.

Let us trust this good news, gifts and promises. Instead of always looking within look to Jesus and live in his peace. †

Offense: Wrong teaching about overcoming sin.

Practice makes perfect. This wise old saying is in most cases true. One wants to play and musical instrument or sing then hours or preparation are in order. Doctors, after years doing the job, are more apt to diagnose correctly. And the list goes on in efforts on this planet where practice pays off.

When it comes to sin which so easily entraps us this is not the case. One can curb sin of action by resisting the temptation. In addition the sin of omission will be curbed by doing what is right when it presents itself to be done. However, what about the sin of the thought life based squarely in the mind and heart.

Romans 7:²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ESV

Reason would look at that question and she would suggest to try harder. This is the natural answer to many of the challenges we face in life. The answer, sadly, in much of  the Christian Church is casting the sinner back on him or her selves. This is pagan Greek philosophy but in no way Christianity. Where does St Paul point us?

Romans 7:²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. ESV

Romans 8: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ESV

What human reason and effort cannot do Jesus did for us by his holy life, bitter sufferings, death and resurrection. This handled the curse of the law for us. Do we want to sin and keep on sinning. No. But out of true repentance we look to Christ and trust his doing the whole job for us. Let us trust this good news and live in the peace it gives.

In the name of Jesus. Amen †

The God is Angry With You Offense

This error is based mostly on assuming the behaviour of the Christian is related to justification. We all fall short in our thoughts words and deeds in trying to do what our Heavenly Father desires of men. This error is preached, it seems, to guilt the believer into either changing behaviour and perhaps increase service in the church. This hurts people who are sensitive to the law and loves Jesus that he or she would wish to follow perfectly. However, is God really angry with us for our failures to follow his commands and desires for our lives?

Colossians 1: ²¹  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind,doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³  if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. ESV

In this letter to the Colossian congregation on will see that we are reconciled with God by the death of  Jesus for our sins. We are also by virtue of the innocent and bitter suffering and death of our shepherd presented holy and blameless. This should answer once and for all the fear that God is angry with us and will reject us or we are not truly saved due to our falling short.

One can be so hurt by this wretched error that one can lose faith in Jesus. One may err from the faith and adopt a “why bother trying since my trying is or was a failure?” This hopelessness often leaves one erring from the faith rather than keeping in repentance and true faith in Christ.

This error is not beholding the bitter suffering and death of Jesus in a correct manner. A true view will see God’s fierce wrath toward sins as well as how that Jesus bore this wrath for all people. Hence the teaching of God being angry towards a believer is an actual slap in the face to the Crucified Lamb of God. When one has been granted repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ God is no longer angry with the believer. And the grateful response of the Christian is to out of gratitude seek to guard the words of Jesus seeing them as a  Light unto his or her path.

Let us trust this good news and live in the peace it gives. In the name of Jesus. Amen. †

The Cross-less law offense.

Do this, this and this and you will be:

1. Happier

2. Healthier

3. Wealthier

4. Wise

Such is the promise much of the Christian Church makes today. This promise is false, just as other false teaching, it will hurt people. It is the misapplication of the law which is the cause of this hurt and possible offense.

Galatians 3:²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law,imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian

The law, not a do God a solid and he will do you a solid, but rather a prison? Surely one cannot love God with all his or her heart and his neighbour as himself. One needs to see to his or her own needs first which will necessarily take the place of Jesus and move him second. One would be worse than an infidel if he or she neglects his or her own household to serve the neighbor.

The offence comes when one has pulled the teeth of the law and makes it doable and sells it to the believer. For example to make the love spoken of in the law as a gushy feeling toward God and my neighbor with whom I happen to get on. That can only be a dismal failure as Jesus promised we will have tribulation. At times this tribulation will include neighbors who are down right nasty. This will offend the believer when he or she is confronted with the law in all its full chomping force and proceeds to terrify. This being terrified has caused many to loose faith due to no cross or blood of Jesus which absolves the guilt.

The command has more to do with the love we have as fruit of the Spirit, rather than one worked up by ourselves, which loves God and our neighbor perfectly. It is a glorious promise that in Jesus’ death and resurrection our failures at the law are forgiven and we are totally justified. This will be indeed good and comforting to the troubled soul. It will offend, the proud and arrogant sinners, which are the ones who need offending.

Let us believe this good news and live in the peace it provides. In the name of Jesus. Amen. †

Our Elder Brother For You and Me.

With Joy He did this for you.

Hurt and Offended by False Promises.

Mark 4:

³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,“Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

In this wonderful account shows the power of Jesus over the elements. Myself I will probably never face a raging storm on a small ship. However, life has constant storms of a different kind. A job is lost due to a weak economy and one finds it nearly impossible to find another one. A marriage or other relationship will go on the rocks against a person’s desire and not a result of abuse or neglect. The Specialist Physician, speaking of a cell in your body which has turned into a consumer, has taken over and nothing more can be done. These are the storms of life which can overcome us all.

Some offended people at God will at times share how that at a critical time another believer referred to the above passage as accusation. This, perhaps was meant for comfort, but the dear suffering saint of the Lord sees it as accusing him or her of no faith.

This is not the lack of faith to which Jesus is referring. The disciples were well acquainted with the scriptures which refers to the coming Messiah. These tell of how this Deliverer will be whipped, crucified and rise again. Jesus had proven his Messianic office many times in many ways. His followers did not look at those passages in assurance that they would not flounder in a raging storm.

Jesus as God incarnate can of course address all those storms and solve each one. However, we have no promise in scripture to this end result. What we have is the promise of Jesus there with us. Jesus with crucified and risen arms to hold us up and ultimately, in the resurrection, deliver us from sin and death.

Let us strive live in peace according to the precious promises we have from our Good Shepherd. Let us not give accusation to the suffering people by telling them he or she has no faith. Rather we want to weep with those who weep and point to the strong and precious promises of Our Lord.

In the name of Jesus. Amen †

Am I a Stumbling Block?

1 And he said to his disciples, Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! ² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Luke 17:1-3 ESV

Jesus takes the faith of those who believe in Him very seriously according to the above statement. In speaking with people who no longer attend worship or even have become atheist a common thread has appeared. Many of these people, when asked kindly, why he or she does not attend worship or  no longer think God exists were once dedicated believers.

It would be the easiest thing to condemn the unfaithfulness and hatred of God. But is that the response desired by Jesus? We see in the Gospel accounts our Shepherd being kind to offended people. Whether an adulteress in a despised village or a leper chased from a religious city Jesus showed compassion, kindness and forgiveness to that person. He did this because it pleased his Father and that was his major motivation. This should become our motivation in serving our neighbour as well.

The good news is that Jesus fulfilled this requirement for us and we receive this accomplishment by faith. Both those who offend and the offended have sins forgiven on the cross of  Jesus and in his resurrection we all have justification.

Let us believe this good news, repent and receive remission for our sins. At this time we know we are in God’s peace and will strive to live in that peace. Amen. †