Author Archives: Royce

Sep 8 2011

Eternal life is not a what, it is a Who


The ultimate claim of Christianity is the immortality of it’s adherents. I think that many of our well-meaning friends over emphasize that if you come into a relationship with Christ you can have a better life now, at the expense of the message of the resurrection life of Jesus.

If you follow those faithful followers of Jesus after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus the hope of shared resurrection was a constant theme in their preaching. Man’s greatest enemy had been decisively defeated. There was clear proof. Jesus’ closest associates had seen him, eaten meals with him, and had seen him ascend into the clouds. And, on one occasion over 500 people saw him very much alive at one time. And then there’s Paul the Apostle, perhaps Jesus’s greatest spokesman, who didn’t fit the mold of the others, but also saw Jesus face to face long after his resurrection.

The Gospel of John gives the account of Jesus’ conversation with the Jewish leader Nicodemus. What Jesus offered one of the most holy men in Israel was simply “eternal life”. He said it in no uncertain terms. The choices were, trust in me and live forever, or don’t trust me ….you are already condemned.

Then there’s the narrative of Jesus showing up later than expected after the sickness and death of his friend Lazarus. John 11 tells about Jesus’ words to the sister of the dead man saying “I am the resurrection and the life” and that “everyone who lives and believes in me, even though he dies yet will he live” and then asks “Do you believe this?”

Wow! “I am the resurrection and the life“! The implications of this, if true, are staggering. Well, it is true. You see, what God offers through the gospel about Jesus is Jesus himself. Eternal life is not just one of several benefits afforded like forgiveness, peace, community, hope, etc. Eternal life is a PERSON! I have said this to people in classes and small groups and they don’t seem to grasp the weight of it. It is true anyway.

The opening words of 1st John are very straight forward and hard to miss if read carefully and thoughtfully.

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
1st John 1:1-4

John’s testimony is that Jesus is himself eternal life! He has always been “the life” or “eternal life” and he was “made manifest” (the incarnation) and he is now proclaiming “the eternal life, which was with the Father (before Jesus’ human birth) and was “made manifest“. When you are looking at Jesus you are staring eternal life in the face. So when a sinner repents and puts his trust in Christ what God gives him is not a “something” but rather a “somebody”, namely the man Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the 5th chapter of 1st John it is confirmed and I think even more clear.

10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1st John 5:10-12

The record is crystal clear. Jesus is eternal life. People who are living life dictated by the appetites and desires of their bodies and are swimming along with the culture toward certain destruction do not need religion. They don’t need a life coach or new resolve or even better morals. What they desperately need is Jesus who is eternal life and our blessed hope. What the good news offers is a person, A man who lived a life pleasing to the Father that you and I could never live, A man who willingly died being punished for our common sins, as a substitute for us, so we would never have to face the wrath of God.

In short, the good news is very good news! There is a way out! Jesus loves you, He died for you, and if you will put your whole trust in Him, He will give you himself with all that he is. He will come to be your constant companion and friend by the Holy Spirit, and as a promise that you never need worry if you will finally be with him forever when this earthly life is done. Sins gone, eternal life now, a free gift to you by the God who loves you. What a deal!

The Bible describes those who are not Christians as spiritually “dead”. A dead man needs only one thing, life! Here it is, His name is Jesus, trust Him now.

Aug 31 2011

A gospel witness hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth.


1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 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.

7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53

 

Aug 28 2011

More Acceptable? (Guest post by Edward Fudge)


Through the years, various Christian groups have claimed some unique understanding, experience, or application of original Christianity that makes them more acceptable to God than other Christians. This claim often becomes a selling-point for persuading other believers to abandon their own groups and to join the superior group. So what should we make of this? Is one’s acceptance by God made any more likely by joining a particular Christian group?

* * *

More acceptable? In the entire history of our race, there is only one short period, in the life of one man, that God accepts and approves without qualification. It consists of approximately 12,000 days — “the days of his flesh” (Heb. 5:7). It is the earthly lifetime of the incarnate Son of God. In this unique sequence of human today’s, Jesus of Nazareth heard God’s voice and did God’s will, never hardening his heart even once (Heb. 3:6-8; 10:7-10). Here alone is seen the perfect “doing” that can pass unsinged through the fires of judgment. Only here is seen the perfect “dying” that exhausts the curses of a broken covenant and offers the Father the flawless fruit of a faithful heart.

This, not our own experience, comprises “holy history.” God accepted the life that Jesus lived and offered. He accepted Jesus because he lived it. And God accepts us because Jesus is our representative. His obedience, his blood, and his now-risen and glorified life secured our acceptance by God and assure God’s approval of us. Jesus obeyed, and we are pronounced righteous (Rom. 5:19). He died and we are reconciled (Rom. 5:10). He arose and we shall pass safely through the great judgment day (Rom. 5:10).

The performance that makes us acceptable to God is finished — the gospel proclaims that news. All we can do is believe it and respond in trusting obedience and praise. Seen in gospel light, our own achievements are as ephemeral as morning fog. The everlasting gospel frees us to die to our own accomplishments and claims and to trust wholly in Jesus Christ. His faithful life and death are the grounds of our acceptance. We could not possibly be “more acceptable” than we are in Jesus Christ.

 

 

Aug 25 2011

Faith Alone?



 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob, Martha, and Bruce all were eye witnesses to a horrible auto accident. It was so bad that the drivers of both cars were fatalities. The surviving family members desperately want to know the details of the crash for a variety of reason, not the least of which the possibility of a large insurance check to the family of the driver not at fault.

Bob was waiting to cross the street on the north-east side of the intersection. He was looking at a text message on his iPhone when he heard the sound of tires screeching and he looked up just in time to see the two vehicles collide.

Martha had just walked out the door of an upscale clothing store near the south-east corner of the intersection and as fate would have it, she looked toward one of the cars only two or three seconds before the collision.

In court, Bob gave his version of what he saw. He recalled the events the very best he could and gave some detail about who he thought was at fault. When Martha took the stand, she too gave her view of the accident, but was certain that the other vehicle was at fault.

Both Bob and Martha were eye witnesses to the same automobile accident and both, under oath, told what they saw from their vantage point and it was almost as if they had not seen the same wreck. Neither of them purposely lied, it was simply a matter of perspective.

Oh, about Bruce. Bruce was a traffic reporter for one of the local TV stations and he witnessed the accident from several hundred feet above the scene of the accident and told a different story than Bob and Martha. From his perspective he knew which car crossed which line on the road way and in fact had the whole episode video taped.

Each of the three people were truthful and gave an accurate accounting of the event the very best they were able but Bruce’s eye in the sky account decided the case.

For the past several months I have read blog posts and comments from a variety of people about faith in the Bible. What is it? Does God honor faith alone or is it faith plus works that He desires? And, just as in my fictional story above one person makes a statement from his perspective, based on his faith history and theological views and he accuses another of not being a good Christian because the other person doesn’t see it the way he does. And back and forth it goes, tempers and temperatures rise, and soon there is some name calling and one begins to wonder, ‘Is this a group of Christians?” It can get ugly quickly.

Since I am feeling more generous than usual tonight I’ll call all the participants in these online discussions “brothers”. I will assume the best about each of them. All of us are members in good standing at some Church of Christ. The group is sort of polarized into two main groups, “Conservatives” and “Progressives”. (I despise both labels and think they are misleading and wrong) The narrow, short version of the discussion boils down to this question. How does God save a sinner? Must a person be immersed in water to be saved? Most of the so-called “Conservatives” are in the affirmative. And, most of the so-called “Progressives” at a minimum, somewhat disagree. And, as with any group of people there is a scattering of mixed and mingled ideas and statements that are no more than wasted bandwidth.

What is sad about this is that the “Conservatives” are calling the “Progressives” cute names like “Digressives” and damning them to hell. And the “Progressives” are calling the “Conservatives” “Legalists” and excoriating them as well. I have personally been called a “Satanist” and a short list of other things that are not terms of endearment from a family member who is supposed to love me. My crime is that I don’t agree with everything some of my “brothers” think I should.

The most recent discussion and back and forth has been centered on the nature of faith. One group insists that God only saves those who are “properly” baptized because without obedience one does not have faith. Those of us who believe God justifies those who have faith in Christ are accused of being like devils who “believe and tremble” and that we don’t believe a Christian has any obligation to be obedient to God. Of course both extremes are wrong. So, I said all that as an introduction to my perspective of what biblical faith is. It is my view. I am not God, or the Holy Spirit, and I make misteks. Following is my answer to the question, “What is biblical faith?”

What is Biblical faith?

I believe the most elementary definition of faith would be “Taking God at His word.” If God says it, that’s it! It’s final, I believe what He says and I can count on it. However, I think that in the Bible we can find that faith has three major components.

1.Faith is Intellectual. There are some things we must know before we can have faith in God. “Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) We would hardly expect a person to have faith in God who has not heard of Him, or more correctly “from Him”. There are some things we must know.

“whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists...” (Hebrews 11:6)  So, one component of Biblical faith is that we must know some facts. We must receive some data from hearing, or reading, about God. Knowing, although important is not faith.

I believe George Washington was the first President of the United States. I really, really, believe it. So what? You might really be convinced that Jesus was a real person and even that he died and was raised from the dead. So what? How is that set of facts going to change your life? The answer is, it isn’t if all you have is facts that you have given mental assent to in your cognitive thinking and reasoning.

2. Faith is emotional. Not only must we know some data, we must embrace it at the seat of our emotions. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Not only must you believe God “is”, you must believe that He “rewards” those who seek Him.

If you “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9b) “For with the heart one believes and is justified” (Romans 10:10)

It is only when in the depths of your inner self you begin to embrace the truth of the facts you know that you are on your way to having Biblical faith.

3 Faith is volitional. What you know in your head and have embraced in your heart you must now choose to act upon. Jesus’ fame and stories of his exploits were well-known. Those in need of what only He could do really wanted his word, His touch. So when Jesus showed up those who knew in their heads and wanted in their hearts were told “take up your bed and walk”, “stretch your arm out”, “go and wash…”now go and sin no more”. They finally had to act on what they knew and loved.

Again in Hebrews, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) It is not enough to know and want, you must exercise the will and act.

In Romans 10:8-11 “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

In Acts chapter two Peter preached a great sermon on Jesus. The people learned some facts. The Bible says they were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37) and asked “Brothers, what shall we do?”. They had the facts, they were convinced in their hearts and now they asked what they should do and Peter told them to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38a)

These men heard the gospel about Jesus, they embraced Him in their hearts, they were willing to change the direction of their lives and they reenacted the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in baptism. And the Bible says “about three thousand souls were added” that day.

So who was right here, Paul or James? They both were! Biblical faith is always obedient, it always works. Head knowledge, mental assent to data is not faith, that is only knowledge. Even embracing the truth is not enough. Had the cripple not stood up and carried his bed away as Jesus commanded he would have stayed crippled. Only when by an act of the will we choose to do something is faith realized.

Going to church does not save. Rites and rituals do not save. Only Jesus saves. Now I ask you, what part of this faith can you claim as originating with you?. A verse I have not heard once in a church of Christ is this one in Acts 2. “For the promise (Holy Spirit) is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Again, the scene in Acts 2.

1. God sent the message and the messenger. Romans 10:14-17
God commissioned and equipped Peter to tell the good news.

2. God gave repentance and faith. Acts 2:37, 11:18, Romans 10:17, Hebrews 12:2

3. God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

Nothing in my hand I bring, only to the cross I cling. We can claim no tiny part of our great salvation. Jesus gets all the praise and glory, He has done it all. We only receive His love, and grace, and eternal life.

Can faith alone save you? Yes, this kind of faith saves to the uttermost those who come to God. We are all saved exactly the same way, by grace though faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Agree or disagree I welcome your comments.

Royce Ogle

 

 

 

By Royce • Posted in Faith
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