outside the gate

The next post will be up on Wednesday, November 18th. In it, I’ll be writing about the Substance and Expression of Worship.

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An anonymous person asks a great question.

Before I respond, I’d like to get everyone up to speed on this question. The author of this question wanted to know if we intended to teach the Bible line by line, or if we intended to use sermon series and subject based talks.

Recently, there’s been a lot of emphasis on teaching the Bible line by line. In the Christian world, people have often equated this type of teaching (what is often called exposition) as the way to best get at the heart of what the Bible is saying. This can be true, but is not always the case.

Here’s why.

There are 66 individual books in the Bible. And a quick glance at these books makes it easy to see that within the Bible there are different genres of literature. For instance, some of the genres of the Bible are considered to be poetry, history, genealogies, gospels, letters, etc. Each of these genres requires a unique approach to the way they are read and taught.

Think of it this way. You would read a newspaper differently than you would read a letter from a loved one. You would approach a work of fiction differently than you would approach a work of non-fiction. So it is with the Bible. Some areas of the Bible are more easily taught in a line-by-line fashion, while other areas require a different approach.

This is especially true in a book like Acts, which is largely a narrative story chronicling the growth of the early church. So, it’s best to teach the Bible in the fashion each book was written, rather than imposing one method of teaching on the whole Bible.

So to answer the question…we intend to teach the whole Bible (Acts 20:27) in a way that reflects the original intent of the author who wrote the book. We also intend to do this with a healthy dose of diversity. It’s fair to say series, subjects, theology, felt needs, cultural questions, will all be on the teaching palette. And, we intend to teach these truths with a voice that is in tune with, and committed to developing Christians and reaching our culture.

So…what do you think?

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My next post will answer the question, “How will we teach the Bible at the new church?”.

The post will be up on November 12th.

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Alright, here is another question I would like to pose to you.

Many studies are revealing that people in North America are embracing the idea of being Spiritual.

Why do you think “spirituality” is on the rise in North America?

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Okay. We’ve had a steady diet of responses to many of the questions you all have asked over the past weeks. I’ll resume answering your questions early next week. For now, I’d like to ask you a question.

Do you feel the church today is relevant?

Here are some ground rules for the way you answer this.

1. Be specific about why you feel it is or, is not.

2. Do not use the names of people or specific churches. I will delete these immediately as I do not want to slander any person or church. The main goal of this is to get a feel for our experiences with the church.

So…what do you think?

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Robie R. asks a great question.

The subject of how works and grace relate to each other often produces a broad range of opinions. In my mind, I can already hear the arguments….

On one side we hear: The Bible says, “The Christian faith is grace alone…our works have nothing to do with our faith…if you think working makes you a Christian, than you have to question whether or not you truly are a Christian.”

One the other side we hear: The Bible says, “works are what validate that we really have faith…if your not working…then you have to question whether or not you truly are a Christian.”

So, who is right?

Well, both are. The key to answering this question is that both of the above responses are found in the Bible. If we really want to understand how we find a balance between grace and works, then we have to make sure that we don’t ever pit grace against works. A more accurate way to look at the relationship between works and grace is to say, “our works are a confirmation that we have received grace”.

Here is what I mean by this.

Let’s start with grace. In the Bible, grace is best exemplified in Jesus. God decides to break into the course of human history by sending his son Christ to the Earth. In Jesus we see unconditional love and forgiveness. This unconditional love is so deep that he is willing to die on the cross for us. This is grace at its deepest level. Grace is an unmerited favor. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s forgiveness, or to stay in his good graces. It is solely based on what Jesus did for us on the cross (Ephesians 2:8).

However, while grace is certainly offered to us freely, it came at a very steep price to God. The offer of grace to humanity meant that God would have to sacrifice His son. This sacrifice came at a great cost to God. It meant giving up the life of one whom he loved dearly…Jesus.

The way grace and works interact with each other is really based on how seriously we see the sacrifice of Christ. James tells us, “a faith without works is dead”(James 2:20). Our faith is built on the truth that Jesus lived a life of incredible sacrifice for his Father in Heaven, and without question the human race. If we really believe this to be true, than our lives should reflect the same balance.

The balance being, recognizing that our faith only comes through the grace of God, however the cost of that grace to God should create in our hearts a desire to love God in deeply sacrificial ways, as well as the people around us.

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Just a quick update. The next post will be on Wednesday, November 4th. In it we’ll deal with a question about balancing Grace and Works.

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Pat asks a great question. Here is a bit of the backdrop to the question…

This question was raised after Pat heard a nationally known pastor give a talk against using this method of teaching. I think the pastor even went so far as to say it was wrong to do and a waste of time.

This is a common objection/question in certain circles of Christianity. Some people believe it is impossible to teach the Bible in a relevant way to those who both believe, and do not believe, in God. The argument says, “Teaching in this manner will always exclude one group at the expense of the other”.

I do not agree with this.

Teaching that seeks to include unbelievers does not have to exclude believers. In fact, I think Tim Keller’s (a well known Presbyterian Pastor in New York City) philosophy of wrestling with the objections of unbelievers while you teach is something that helps both believer and unbeliever.

For example:

Addressing and deconstructing unbelieving objections in your messages helps to clarify the truths of Christianity to those who do not believe and those who do. Teaching this way helps both parties to take a step towards Jesus.

On the unbelieving side, a person might have their heart turned one degree closer to Christ. This is also a great time for the Christian to help people who have experienced false expressions of Christianity to experience a Christ-centered expression of Christianity.

On the believing side, we equip the Christian to understand what unbelievers think about the faith. We help them to understand that there are legitimate concerns and questions that people have about Christianity. While discussing this in our teaching we are equipping believers for Christian Mission, the very mission Jesus left in our care.

It seems likely that God could, and does, use the type of preaching Keller talks about. Think of this from a Biblical perspective. Jesus constantly has mixed company before him as he communicates the truths of the Kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul didn’t start out with Christians in his missionary journeys. He had to teach unbelievers about God. We see clear examples of Paul teaching the truth while being relevant. Paul had to think, and clearly does think, like his unbelieving audience as he presents the truths of the Gospel. This is very evident in Acts 17, and as a result some find God!

So long as we are not diluting or misrepresenting scripture…I would argue we do more damage to the cause of the Kingdom by only preaching to Christians. In the Bible it is clear that the church is the primary way God has chosen to reach our neighborhoods and the nations.

Why would we ever think that preaching/teaching, one of the primary tools of the local church, would be exempt from our call to reach the world?

So, What do you think?

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Jon S. asks a great question.

While this question was originally asked in the context of marriage, I think it would be helpful for us to say that as God’s people we should seek to make Christ-centered decisions in everything we do. Certainly our marriages are no exception; however, for the sake of this post let’s talk about why we should intentionally seek to make Jesus the highest priority in our lives as we make decisions.

In the Gospel of Matthew (6:33) Jesus tells us that we are to, “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. This is the short answer to the question. Jesus tells us to seek God’s Kingdom and his righteousness above all else. In doing so, we are much more likely to make good decisions based on God’s Kingdom and the life of Jesus.

This is a simple truth, however the actual doing part can be quite difficult.

Why? Because for many of us the tyranny of the urgent is what dictates our lives, not God’s Kingdom, or the ways of Jesus. Basically, we spend our time figuring out how to get “these things (whatever they may be)” added to our lives at the expense of seeking that which can help us to know God’s will for our lives; his righteousness.

Often I talk to people who believe God’s will for our lives is something he wants to withhold from us. It’s as if God is like an older brother dangling a piece of candy just above his younger brother’s reach. The younger brother tries his hardest to grab it, but is destined never to get it. If we think the will of God is like this then we’ll lead ourselves down a dangerous road; a road where fear and paralysis, not confidence in Christ, are more likely to define how we make decisions.

As Christians, if we want to make Christ-centered decisions, we should immerse ourselves in the truths of the Bible, we should pray for clarity, wisdom and God’s righteousness to be the rudder that steers our lives. We should consult others who have a proven record of faithfulness to Jesus and His Kingdom. Then…we should make a decision! That’s right, I said it. We need to make a decision!

Even when we make mistakes, God has proven time and time again that his Grace is enough to see us through any circumstance. We are certainly not the first, or last, people who have made mistakes in God’s Kingdom, however we are far more likely to make Christ-centered decisions, not mistakes, when we are saturating our hearts with His Righteousness.

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