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Location:
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Joseph
Slife, lay speaker January
21, 2007 "In
the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth." (Gen.
1:1) But
"sin entered the world through
one man, and death through sin,
and in this way death came to
all...because all sinned." (Rom.
5:12) But
"God loved the world so much that
he gave his one and only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him
will not perish but have eternal
life." (John 3:16 NLT) God
"desires all people to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of
the truth....
[T]here is one God, and
there is one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for
all." (2 Tim. 2) But
the focus of what I am going to
say is a challenge to us who have
already made a profession of
faith in Jesus Christ. And
let me mention up front that some
of my thinking on this has been
influenced by a book I finished
reading last month titled,
Total Truth, by Nancy
Pearcey, one of the top Christian
books of published in 2005.
A
few days ago in the Athens
Banner-Herald, a letter
writer asserted that "science has
all the facts but no certainty;
religion has all the certainty,
but no facts." This
idea is common in our culture:
Science is based on facts,
religion is based on faith.
Another way to say it is that
science is objectively true,
while religion is simply a
"value." Religion
-- and in turn, ideas rooted in a
religious view of the world --
are subjective. They are not
facts. They as simply matters of
personal preference. This
is the prevailing view in our
day. This is why we hear so many
protestations about religious
conservatives -- primarily
Christians -- "trying to impose
their views on other
people." If
religion does not deal with truth
but simply with preferences, then
argument is well taken. I have
preferences about music, TV
programs, automobiles, food. But
how would you feel if I said,
"You have to have those same
preferences -- or otherwise you
face the judgment of
God"? Do
you begin to see why there is
such an aversion, such a
revulsion among some people to
religion, especially to any sort
of religion that has a moral
framework? A religion that has
concepts of right and
wrong? They
think, "Why should I have to
abide by your preference
regarding right and wrong? It's
just preference -- just a
subjective 'value.' It has
nothing to do with
facts." Unless,
of course, religion -- and I'm
speaking specifically about
Christianity -- unless is it
really
more
than simply a preference, more
than a subjective view of the
world. So
let me put it before you again --
and this is
my
first point: the prevailing view
in our day is that religion
doesn't deal with facts.
It
deals with faith, with subjective
experience, with how we "feel"
about things. Religion is
internal -- and what you sense,
or believe, or feel internally is
your business, but it has nothing
to do -- or should have nothing
to do -- with the world at
large. Now,
what I want you to understand --
and again, I'm speaking to
followers of Jesus -- is that
from the beginning, the Christian
faith, which has its roots in
Judaism, the Christian faith --
at its core -- has never been
about subjective values and
personal preferences. This
is point
two: The core of the Christian
faith, has never been about
subjective values and personal
preferences. Let
me be clear. We have all
preferences about the way we like
to "do church." We like this kind
of worship service, these kind of
classes, this type of building,
and on down the line. That's
not what I'm talking about. I'm
talking the Christian faith --
the body of teaching that is at
the core of what the church has
proclaimed through the
ages. And
what the church has proclaimed is
that Christianity is about truth
-- about the way things really
are. Not about our preferences,
not about our subjective
"values," but about what really
is so. You
see, Christianity -- and Judaism
before it -- is rooted in
history. The claim of the
Scriptures is that certain
things, some of which I recited
in your hearing a few moments
ago, really happened. The
Apostle Peter wrote this in the
letter we know as 2nd Peter: "We
did not follow cleverly invented
stores when we told you about the
power and coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, but we were
eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2
Peter 1:16). Speaking
in Jerusalem on the first
post-resurrection Pentecost,
Peter said this to the crowd:
"[Y]ou…put
[Jesus of Nazareth] to
death by nailing him to the
cross. But God raised him from
the dead" and we -- talking about
the 120 who believers who were
present -- "we are all witnesses
of the fact." Listen
to these very familiar words from
John's gospel: "In the beginning
was the Word and the Word was
with God and the Word was
God…. [And t]he Word
became flesh and made his
dwelling among us. We have seen
his glory." And
listen to these words from Paul
in 1st Corinthians 15: "Friends,
let me go over the Message with
you one final time...this Message
on which you took your stand and
by which your life has been
saved... "The
first thing I did was place
before you what was placed so
emphatically before me: that
[Jesus] the Messiah died
for our sins, exactly as
Scripture tells it; that he was
buried; that he was raised from
death on the third day, again
exactly as Scripture says; that
he presented himself alive to
Peter, then to his closest
followers, and later to more than
500 of his followers all at the
same time...." (The
Message) Let
me sum it up: Jesus came,
claiming to be the Messiah sent
from God. Eyewitnesses spoke of
the power of His life, the
reality of His death, and the
fact of His resurrection. They
emphatically claimed to be
speaking the truth. In
fact, in 2nd Timothy 2, Paul says
these exact words after saying
that God wants everyone to be
saved and that Jesus is means of
that salvation -- he says: "I am
telling the truth, I am not
lying." Christianity
is not a philosophy someone
dreamed up. It is not about
fanciful accounts of imagined
happenings. Christianity claims
that a transcendent God has acted
in human history. Even more, that
He is the Creator -- the first
cause, the author and giver of
life, without whom there would be
no human history. I
hope you begin to understand how
radical an idea this is in our
culture today -- a culture that
wants to consign religion -- and
I think especially Christianity
-- to the realm of subjective
experience and personal
values. So,
point one: Our culture says
religion is not about facts.
Point two: The Christian faith
claims exactly the opposite --
that it is about facts. It is
about truth. And
here's the third point -- one
that is especially radical in our
day, not only to the world but
also to many of us who have
tended to think of Christianity
only in terms of "religious
truth":
The
third point is that the Christian
faith claims to be true not
simply about so-called "religious
things" but about
everything. Here's
what I mean by that. Christianity
claims to provide the most
accurate "big picture" of any
belief system regarding the way
things really are -- about where
we came from, what's wrong with
the world, and what the solution
is. This
"big picture" gives us a
perspective -- revealed by God
Himself -- for viewing
all
of life: morality, education,
politics, science, business,
family life, financial matters,
you name it. There
is nothing left untouched by the
implications what Christianity
declares to be so. Can
you believe that Christianity
isn't just about "religion" but
about everything? This
is not a minor question. Really
this is the question -- the big
question of all of life. It's the
question that goes right to the
heart of what we're staking our
lives and our futures on, what
we're willing to invest our time
and money in, and how we behave
day in and day out, even moment
by moment. Now,
when I say "Christianity is
true," I'm not saying we should
have an attitude of arrogance
toward people who rebuff a
Christian view of the world. Nor
should we think of ourselves as
"holier than thou." In
fact, just the opposite. If we
really believe it's all true --
about God, about sin, about
redemption, about coming judgment
-- we certainly have no basis for
being arrogant. Instead we are
humbled -- and we are grateful to
a gracious God. And we hurt for
people who have not yet received
the truth -- those
"pre-believers" whom we are
called to love and to serve and
to bear witness to. I
am also not saying that followers
of Christ are going to agree on
everything. Clearly, we do not.
This may come as a shock, but I
don't even agree with my wife
about everything. The
early church had its share of
disagreements -- and so does the
church today. These disagreements
flow from the fact that although
we all follow Christ, that
doesn't make us perfect in our
understanding or in our judgment.
We sometimes don't see eye-to-eye
about the implications of the
gospel and how those work out in
day-to-day living. But
nonetheless, from its earliest
days, the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ has proclaimed a
message that claims to be
objectively true -- and has
declared that this message
affects all of
life. The
question for us is: Is this
message affecting all of our
life? Is what we profess on
Sunday making a difference in how
we behave on Monday? Does
what we read in the Book mold how
we think about we read in the
paper? Do
we incline our ear to the voice
of the Holy Spirit -- or to the
voices of our age? Are
we able to spot things that are
counterfeit because we are so
well acquainted with that which
is true? And,
here's a really tough one: Do we
have the courage of our
convictions? Are we willing to
speak up and declare Christian
truth in a hostile
world? I'm
not talking about getting into
shouting matches or being
disagreeable. I'm talking about
speaking and acting with
conviction regarding what the
Scriptures declare to be
so. As
a certified lay speaker in the
North Georgia Conference, every
so often I have to go take a
class to keep my certification
active. And in class yesterday
morning at Young Harris, we were
going around the room and talking
about the people who have
influenced us to follow Christ.
And one guy told us about an aunt
-- Aunt Miney. She
loved to write letters to the
family -- and in every letter, in
addition to helping people stay
up with what was happening among
all the cousins and siblings and
aunt and uncles, she would always
include something about a prayer
that had been answered, or about
a ministry that she was engaged
in. Nothing
spectacular -- just a steady
witness that touched a young
boy's heart. The truth of God, he
said, was "interwoven in the
texts of her letters and in the
text of her life." Those simple
letters were part of what led him
to Jesus. We're
now three weeks into a new year.
And maybe, like me, you been
taking inventory of your life.
Reflecting on the past, wondering
about the future. And this is a
good question to ask: Is the
truth of God seen in the text of
your life? Do
people see God's truth lived out
through you? Let
me give give you one more: "Can
you believe that?" -- from
Colossians chapter 1, verse 27.
The Apostle Paul writes this:
"Christ lives in you." You
see, we can believe all that the
Bible says about the reality of
God and about how he has acted in
human history, we can even
resolve to try to live in a way
that honors God -- and yet still
miss the key to making sure that
truth of God is interwoven in the
texts of lives. The
key is that -- if you are a
Christian -- Christ lives in you.
God
wants to reveal Himself through
your
life
-- and to do that, he has put
Jesus in you. This
is part of what God calls us to
believe, to trust in, to live our
lives by -- that no matter what
we face, Jesus is with us, He is
in us, and that He will live His
life through us, and in so doing
will reveal God's truth to the
world, if we will only -- believe
that. I
want to end this way -- by
reciting together one of the
church creeds in back of the
hymnal -- number 885: "A Modern
Affirmation." So
many people today believe that
there is no God. They say life is
just a cosmic accident produced
by time and chance. But
the Christian Church says, "No.
No. In the beginning,
God..." Let's
recite this together: We
believe in God the
Father, We
believe in Jesus
Christ, We
believe in the Holy
Spirit We
believe that this
faith Amen. Trusting
the truth May
I tell you something -- on the
authority of the Word of God and
by the Spirit of Jesus living in
me? You
and I are not a cosmic
accidents -- mix of molecules
that just happened to come
together through time and
chance. No,
no. There is meaning to life
-- a meaning rooted in the
plans and purposes of a loving
God. Plans
that involve Jesus Christ --
who is the Way, the Truth, and
the Life -- living through
you. And
one day, He Himself will wipe
away every tear.
Gateway
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at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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A
GATEWAY SERMON
Can
you believe that?
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
Can
you believe that?
"God created man in his own
image." (Gen. 1:27)
Can
you believe that?
Can
you believe that?
Can
you believe that?
Can
you believe that?
This
sermon is for those of us who are
already followers of Jesus
Christ. If you're not yet a
follower of Jesus, you are
certainly welcome here -- and you
may get some information with
which you can provoke your
Christian friends.
Facts
vs. faith?
The
way things really
are
Total
truthCan
you believe that?
Clarifying
comments
Questions
to ponder
The
texts of our lives
Christ
in youCan
you believe that?
We
believe
Infinite
in wisdom, power, and
love,
Whose mercy is over
all his works,
And whose will is
ever directed to his
children's
good.son
of God and Son of
man,
the gift of the
Father's unfailing
grace, the ground of
our hope, and the
promise of
deliverance from sin
and death.as
the divine presence
in our lives,
whereby we are kept
in perpetual
remembrance of the
truth of Christ, and
find strength and
help in time of
need.should
manifest itself in
the service of love
as set forth in the
example of our
blessed Lord,
to the end that the
kingdom of God may
come upon the
earth.
The
Christian faith is true. The
claims of Jesus of Nazareth
are true. And because they are
true I can tell you this with
confidence:
There
are many things I don't
understand, but "ask ye what
great thing I know?": the life,
the death, and the resurrection
of Jesus Christ, together with
the giving of the Holy Spirit,
assure us that no matter what may
happen, God is working toward a
good end.Can
you believe that?
In
the name of the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
A
mp3 audio file of this sermon is
here
(24
min.).
(Download
to a PC by right clicking on the
link and choosing "Save Target
As." Mac users: click, hold, and
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Depending on your connection
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download.)
An
audio tape of the sermon
summarized above is available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request a tape by
calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
070121a: Can You Believe
That?
©
2007 Joseph M.
Slife