Search Results

Bridge Radio BRIDGE Radio is a weekly Christian podcast that aims to bring awareness to classic and contemporary Christian books through author interviews. We have had the pleasure of interviewing guests such as D.A Carson, Joel Beeke, R.C Sproul Jr., J. Warner Wallace, Gary Habermas, James White, Douglas Wilson, Rosaria Butterfield and more. Our prayer is that through our podcasts, God would stir the heart of His people to pick-up and read great theology from gifted preachers and teachers of His church. Listen to the podcast 1 2 3 4 5 1 ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 ... 100

Why Do We Baptize Babies? Theology Jon Delger Multiplication Pastor Peace Church Published On: March 19, 2024 I serve as a pastor in a healthy, large, non-denominational church. On the surface, I imagine that we look like many other non-denominational churches. We talk a lot about Jesus, we preach the Bible boldly, we worship passionately, and we don’t show a lot of signs of being “traditional.” However, as people get to know us through regular Sunday attendance, participating in our membership class, serving, or joining a small group, they realize that under the hood we have some rich Reformed theology. And… when they attend one of our baptism services, there are many who are shocked to find that we baptize babies. Why would a church that doesn’t have “Presbyterian,” or “Reformed,” or “Lutheran” in its name baptize babies? Why would any church baptize babies? Is it because of tradition? Is it because they are being careless with the sacred sacrament of baptism? The real answer is that we believe this practice is deeply biblical. We are not beholden to tradition (though we do value practices, confessions, and catechisms of Christians who have gone before us). We are not careless with sacred baptism. We have studied the Scriptures and believe (though we still love our baptist friends) that this is the best practice according to God’s Word. While whole books have been written on this topic, in this short article, I will seek to provide a concise answer to the question: Why do we baptize babies? What is Baptism? In order to understand why we would baptize babies, we first need to understand baptism itself. In order to understand baptism, we first need to understand a major theme of the Bible — covenant. Covenants & Covenant Signs Covenant isn’t a word frequently used today. Nonetheless, there is still one place many people will recall having heard the term. When a man and a woman are joined in marriage, it is referred to as a covenant. While much could be said about the meaning and history of covenants, a covenant could be simply defined as a relationship sealed by promises. This is precisely what we witness in a marriage. Two people have been in a relationship for some length of time. They have spent time together, grown to appreciate each other, and at some point they decided that they now want this relationship to be life-long and exclusive. In the wedding ceremony, the relationship, becomes defined and protected by promises — in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do us part. What was once only a relationship, now becomes more than a relationship, it becomes a covenant. This covenant involves greater commitment, but it is also matched by greater intimacy. Because of the promises inherent in the covenant, the two parties have a deepened trust for one another which allows for even deeper relationship. One of the things that accompanies a covenant is a sign. In marriage, the covenant sign is a ring. Wedding rings are typically made of precious metal symbolizing the preciousness of the relationship and the promises. Rings are also in the form of a circle, a shape without end-points. The never-ending nature of the circle symbolizes the promise of a relationship that can only be ended by death. The wedding ring is a visible sign of an invisible reality. Whenever a married man or woman looks at their ring, they are reminded of the precious and life-long covenant they have with their spouse. This sign is also a seal (or guarantee, or assurance) that the covenant is true. When a married person has reason to doubt the surety of their marriage, they need only look down at their finger to be assured that the covenant is true. When a married person faces temptation, they need only look down at their finger to be reminded of their covenant commitment. The Bible is a story of covenants. One example is the story of Noah and the flood. After destroying the earth with a flood while carrying Noah and his family safely through on the ark, God makes a covenant with Noah. God and Noah already have a relationship, and now God adds promises to that relationship. God promises that he will never again destroy the earth by a flood (Gen. 8:20-9:17). To assure Noah and his descendants of the truth of this covenant, God provides a sign — the rainbow. The rainbow is a sign and seal for God and Noah of the covenant between them. Another very important example of covenant in the Bible is the story of Abraham. God called Abraham to leave his home and former way of life and to follow him. At the beginning of this story, God promises Abraham three things: land, descendants, and blessing (Gen. 12:1-3). However, this covenant is not really about earthly blessings. The heart of the covenant is summarized when God says “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Gen. 17:7 ESV). What is at the heart of the covenant between Abraham and God? Relationship. This promise is repeated throughout the Old Testament in the words, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” It is fitting that we began this discussion of covenant with the example of marriage. This is just what God enters into with his people. He is the bridegroom and they/she is the bride. God also provides Abraham and his descendants with a sign of this covenant, although the sign may seem a bit strange. Circumcision. Really? This is the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham? The heart of God’s promise to Abraham is relationship. How is circumcision a sign of relationship? In order to answer that question we must ask another. What does it take for a holy God to have a relationship with sinful people? The great problem in the story of God and man is sin. In order for a holy God to have relationship with sinful people, the problem of sin must be resolved. Sin must be cut away. Sinful people must be cleansed. This is just what circumcision symbolizes. A part of the body is cut away so that the body may be clean. The Old Testament attests that this was in fact the symbolism of circumcision. Just as the body was circumcised, so surely did God promise to circumcise the hearts of those who put their faith in him, thus removing their sin so that they could have everlasting relationship with God (Deut. 30:6; Rom. 4:11-12). So a covenant is a relationship sealed by promises. Covenants are accompanied by signs and seals that symbolize and assure people of the truth of the covenant. The central covenant of the Old Testament is a promise of relationship, and the sign and seal of this covenant is circumcision which symbolizes cleansing from sin. So what is Baptism? Now when we look at the New Testament, we might notice some similarities. Circumcision symbolized cleansing from sin so that a person could have relationship with God. Baptism likewise symbolizes cleansing from sin for relationship with God. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4). The Apostle Paul even connects the Old Testament sign of circumcision with the New Testament sign of baptism in a single verse. “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:11-14). Baptism is a visible sign of an invisible reality. Just as surely as water cleanses the body from dirt, so surely does the blood of Jesus cleanse the heart from sin. It is a seal or assurance of the gospel promise that all who put their faith in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sin and everlasting relationship with God. One of the things we believe about the Bible is that the New Testament and Old Testament are connected. Perhaps the best description of this connection is that of promise and fulfillment . The Old Testament provides promises and foreshadows, while the New Testament provides fulfillment of these promises and shadows. For example: The OT promises a Messiah who will overcome sin and rescue God’s people. It also foreshadows this Messiah in characters such as King David. In the NT we find the fulfillment of these promises and shadows. Jesus is the Messiah who overcomes sin and rescues God’s people. David was a great king and hero; Jesus is the greatest king and hero. When we consider covenants and covenant signs, we find the same thing. God promised Abraham a relationship (Gen. 17:7). In order for this relationship to happen, sin had to be overcome. God declared Abraham righteous not on the basis of works, but faith (Rom. 4:11-12). Circumcision was the sign given to symbolize and provide assurance of this promise. Isn’t this the gospel preached in the New Testament? God promises to have everlasting relationship with his people. Jesus pays for sin on the cross to remove the obstacle to relationship. God declares his people righteous not on the basis of works, but faith in Jesus. Baptism is the sign and seal of this reality. Just as surely as water cleanses the body from dirt, so surely does the blood of Jesus cleanse the heart from sin. The gospel preached in the New Testament is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. The sign of baptism given in the New Testament is a fulfilled version of the sign of circumcision in the Old Testament. Just as the New Testament provides fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant promise, so it also provides a fulfilled version of the Old Testament covenant sign. So what is baptism? Baptism is a covenant sign and seal of the gospel. An Important Point At this point, let me pause to make something clear that is extremely important. Baptism does not save people. One of the things we have to understand about covenants is that they are conditional. This may sound strange at first because we are used to talking about God’s love toward us being unconditional. However, the gospel is a conditional promise. What is the condition? Faith. The good news of the gospel is for those who believe (John 3:16). This same thing is true for the signs of the covenant. Just as the covenant is conditional, so is the sign. The gospel promises salvation for all who believe. Baptism provides a sign and seal of salvation that is only realized in those who believe. Long ago, kings would write letters and put their seal upon them with melted wax and a signet ring. In these letters, the king might promise to do something for one of his subjects once a certain condition was met. His wax seal then became a sign and seal of his promise. As surely as that seal bore the king’s mark, so surely could the recipient of the letter trust that the king would do as he promised. However, this promise was still conditional upon the recipient doing what the king asked. If the recipient did not do as the king asked, then the recipient could not expect the king to do as he promised. The king provides a sign and seal that his promise is true, yet the seal only provides a guarantee if the conditions of the covenant are met. Baptism works the same way. It is a sign and seal of a conditional promise. Just as surely as water cleanses the body from dirt, so surely does Christ’s blood cleanse us from sin if you put your faith in him. In fact, if the recipient of a covenant sign does not complete the conditions of the covenant, the sign actually stands as a mark of judgment against them. It signifies that just as surely as you did not meet the condition of the covenant, so surely will you not receive the covenant promise. Why do we baptize babies? Thus far, we have seen that a covenant is a relationship involving promises. Covenants are accompanied by signs and seals that symbolize and assure people of the truth of the covenant. Covenants and their signs are conditional, meaning that only those who meet the conditions really receive what is promised in the covenant and receive assurance from the sign. The gospel is a covenant promise that was foreshadowed in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the covenant was accompanied by the sign and seal of circumcision, in the New Testament the covenant is accompanied by the sign and seal of baptism. So why do the children of believers receive the sign of the covenant? The short answer is this: because the children of believers have always been treated as a part of the covenant people and received the covenant sign. God dealt with families in the Old Testament. The promise of relationship with God for all who put their faith in his promise was for Abraham and his children. Israelite boys received the mark of the covenant at 8 days old. This sign was a mark of a conditional promise. These children did not automatically receive eternal life by their circumcision or their being children of Israelite parents. In fact, we know that many Israelites did not ultimately put their faith in God and were not saved even though they received the sign of circumcision (Rom. 9:6-8). The meaning of the sign, cleansing from sin for relationship with God, was only true for those who fulfilled the condition of the covenant — faith. Nonetheless, the (conditional) covenant promise was given to the Israelite people, God’s covenant people, and thus the sign was for them and for their children. God continues to deal with families in the New Testament. The good news of relationship with God for all who put their faith in Jesus is the gospel promise. This promise is for believers and their children, just as it was in the Old Testament. There is no indication in the New Testament that the children of believers should now be excluded where they were previously included. Jesus and the apostles speak of the continuing special place of the children of believers. In his Pentecost sermon, Peter affirms the special place of covenant children in relationship to the promise. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:38–39 ESV) When his disciples try to ward off children from coming to him, Jesus affirms the special place of covenant children. And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:13–16 ESV) The early Christians were converted Jews. The Jews had included children in the covenant people and given them the covenant sign throughout the entire history of their people. As much discussion as there is about whether or not to continue Jewish practices in the New Testament (Acts 15), you would think that if the apostles thought people should stop marking their children with the covenant sign they would have said so. How would these Jewish people, who have always applied the covenant sign to their children, have known not to apply it to their children? Throughout the majority of church history, Christians have believed that God deals with families. Outside of the New Testament, we have evidence that within the first two centuries after Christ Christians were practicing infant baptism. It wasn’t until the sixteenth century that Christians began to question this practice. While church history is certainly not the Bible, it is worth noting that infant baptism was the primary practice of the church for 1500 years, while not baptizing infants has only been a practice of the church for the last 500 years. Conclusion Baptism is a sign and seal of the gospel. In the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, “As surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and His Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, in other words, all my sins.” Believers and their children receive this sign to assure them of the truth of the gospel. All who put their faith in Jesus will be washed clean of sin and enjoy everlasting relationship to God. Praise God for the gift of baptism. For Further Study This essay provides a concise explanation of the practice of infant baptism. Much more could be said about this topic and much more has been written. For further study, check out “The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism” edited by Gregg Strawbridge. More Blogs You'll Like Do the Resurrection Accounts Contradict? How differences in the Gospel accounts strengthen rather than undermine the credibility of the resurrection Read More What is 'Probably' Missing From Most Nativity Sets Miracle, Myth, or Meteor? Identifying What the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Truly Was Read More Is The Bible Really Without Error? A Closer Look at Scripture’s Reliability, Inerrancy, and Historical Trustworthiness Read More

Educational Choices as Mission Fields? Christian Life Elizabeth Leach Podcast Host Mom Guilt Podcast Published On: February 20, 2024 One sunny summer's day in Michigan, I walked side by side with a dear friend during a play date. She is the type of friend you can talk about anything with as she is bold enough to ask the hard questions yet humble enough to listen. God had called her and her family to homeschool and this had become the main topic of our discussion that day. She and I shared many things in common; such as our love for the gospel and how to intentionally disciple that love in our children, but homeschooling was not something we had in common. God had called my husband and I to enroll our children in public school. As we watched our children pedal their bikes down the quiet road, she gently asked me; “okay so what is your hope/goal as a believer with sending your children to public school?” Almost immediately I said; “that they would be a light and share the good news of Jesus to those around them.” It felt as though this was the only right thing to say as a believer; that I could never just say; “because I want them to get a well-rounded education that I personally can’t and don’t feel called to provide to them.” Just as quickly as I answered she responded; “so you are sending your children out as missionaries?” I could see the point she was making and to be honest it was a good one. I left that play date with my head spinning. It certainly is not wrong as a Christian parent to hope and pray that your children in the public school system would share the gospel with others at their school, but this conversation forced me to look at my own time in public school. I did not become a believer until I was an adult and I did not grow up in a believing household. My parents were as loving and kind as any other parents, but I never once heard them pray, read scripture, or ever mention Jesus as their savior. Growing up I had many friends who were professing Christians, but to be honest they were never the ones to share the gospel with me or disciple me. Believe it or not, it was their parents. I can remember going to one of my best friend's house in elementary school, as I walked into the dining room I saw a bible open on the table with words highlighted. This intrigued me, I had never read or really seen a bible in person before that day. This family would continue to invite me into their home. It was at that same dining room table where I witnessed a family pray together for the first time and talk about God during dinner. I remember thinking that I wanted my own family like that someday. As I became better friends with their daughter I would come over for more play dates, dinners, and eventually sleepovers. My friend and I would strategically plan how we were going to ask her parents to let me stay the night and after we put on the charm, they would say yes, “but only if she comes to church with us in the morning.” As a young child who could not drive and make my own decisions, this was the only time I would go to church and I loved it. This was not the only Christian family during my childhood to invite me into their homes and lives. I later became best friends with the local Pastor's daughter. Again she never preached the gospel to me, but it was through her parents and home life that I saw the gospel at work. It was a massive seed planted early in my life and God used it to spark a desire for Him that He would later grow into fruition. You see it was not other peers or friends who were the salt and light to me in public school, but it was their families. Although I was not a believer or by any means a perfect child, they invited me into their homes and showed me what it means to love the Lord. So my new answer to that question is; that my hope and goal as a believer in sending their children to public school is not that my child would solely be called to preach the gospel in their schools, but that we as a family would preach the gospel by inviting others into our homes and displaying the gospel at work in our lives. The truth is we are all commanded to be missionaries. In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus says we are to make disciples of ALL nations; that includes foreign and domestic. And what do missionary families do when God calls them to another country; they do not simply leave their children behind because of potential danger, but they bring them along with them. So whether God has called your family to homeschool or participate in the public/private school system, you are still called to go out and make disciples. Starting with your own children. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." We certainly cannot shirk God's calling as parents to disciple our children. We cannot merely send them to Christian school or weekly church programs and expect them to disciple our children for us. No, we are called to teach and train our children in what scripture says and what it means to walk with the Lord. So, parents, no matter what education you choose for your child do not neglect to disciple them and to be missionaries to those around you. Invite your child’s friends and families into your lives. If those words sound daunting to you, do not fret. Simply start with the way you see your dining room table. See it as more than just a place to eat, but an invitation. It is an invitation and opportunity to disciple your children and invite unbelievers to witness God's redemptive work in your own life. More Blogs You'll Like Is Prioritizing Love Un-Christian? What Does The Bible Say? Read More More Than Meets the Eye Discovering God’s Purposes for Motherhood Read More Mom Guilt and How to Fight It Read More

Unboxing Scripture: John 4:1-15 Unboxing Scripture Mitchell Leach Jon Delger I Didn't Know I Needed the Church Jon Delger Coming Out of Catholicism | Session 2 Creating Meaningful Traditions Jon Delger Christianity and Politics: Q+A Jon Delger I Didn't Know I Needed the Bible Jon Delger Coming Out of Catholicism | Session 1 Jon Delger Withstand: How The Culture War Is A Spiritual Battle Jon Delger Christianity and Politics: Where Do We Go From Here? Jon Delger Coming Out of Catholicism | Q & A Kelly Needham | Women's Christmas Party People Pleasing Jon Delger Christianity and Politics: Are We a Christian Nation?

Sermon Discussion Questions 1 Title Sunday, January 12, 2025 Womb to Tomb Exodus 22:22-24 Caring for Widows 2 Overview Main Idea: God's people are to share God's heart to care for those who can't care for themselves Sermon Outline: God has concern for those who are neglected. {Exodus 22:22-23} God has condemnation for those who are unjust. Exodus 22:24} 3 Pre-Questions James 1:27 describes pure religion as looking after orphans and widows in their distress. How does this verse challenge our current practices in caring for widows within our church community? When you hear the term ‘pro-life,’ what aspects of life come to mind? How does caring for widows fit into a holistic pro-life ethic? 4 Questions General Questions: In 1 Timothy 5:3-16, Paul provides specific instructions on supporting widows. What principles can we extract from this passage to apply in our context today? Psalm 68:5 describes God as a ‘father to the fatherless, a defender of widows.’ How can embodying this aspect of God’s character influence our approach to social justice and mercy ministries? 1 Timothy 5:4 emphasizes that if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to show godliness by caring for their own family. How can families and the church collaborate to ensure widows receive comprehensive support? In what practical ways can you personally contribute to caring for widows in your community? Consider time, resources, and advocacy. Family Questions: Have you ever met someone who was lonely or needed help? How did you feel when you helped them? Do you know someone in our family or church who has lost a loved one? How can we show them that we care about them? A widow is someone who has lost their husband. How do you think they feel, and what can we do to make them feel loved? In Luke 4:18, Jesus said He came to help people who are hurting or lonely. How do you think Jesus would want us to treat widows or people who don’t have family to help them? What are some things we can do as a family to help people who are lonely, like widows or older people in our church? Activity: “Love in Action” Challenge • Plan a family project to bless a widow or an older person. Ideas include: • Making a homemade card or artwork. • Baking cookies and delivering them. • Inviting them over for a meal or visiting them. • Offering to help with tasks like yard work or groceries. PDF Download

PODCAST That's a Good Question Bridging Beliefs: Catholicism in Contrast March 4, 2024 Jon Delger & Ryan DB Kimmel Listen to this Episode Jon So, Hey everyone, welcome to That's a Good Question, a podcast of Peace Church and a part of Resound Media. You can find more great content for the Christian life and church leaders at resoundmedia.cc . That's a Good Question is a place where we answer questions about the Christian faith in plain language. I'm Jon, I serve as a pastor at Peace Church, and you can always submit questions at peacechurch.cc/questions. Today I am here with lead pastor, Pastor Ryan. Ryan Hello, Pastor Jon. Jon And I'm also here with Mitchell Leach, producer. Mitchell Hey. Jon And we get to have an awesome conversation today about some questions that have come in about Catholicism and how it relates to Protestantism, which is a church like Peace Church and many other churches. And so we're going to talk about how those two things are different and similar and also want to let you know that if you've got more questions about Catholicism, we would love to hear them. So we're going to answer just two questions today, but we're actually working on a resource, a written resource, that we're going to release in the next month or so that provides a lot of answers to these kind of questions, because we're just seeing more and more people move from Catholic backgrounds into Peace Church, and so we want to provide a resource to our church and to other churches that answers those kind of questions about what's it like to move from Roman Catholicism into a church like Peace Church, a Protestant church. And so, today is just the beginning. So we'd love to hear more questions as you have them, as you listen today. So Mitch, you want to kick us off? Mitchell Yep, here we go. I grew up Catholic and believing in the seven sacraments. Can you discuss why or why not you believe in the sacraments and how you practice them? Lots of facets to this. I think we could break it down into, I mean, I think we should probably just start with what are the sacraments? Question #1: I grew up Catholic and believing in the seven sacraments. Can you discuss why or why not you believe in the sacraments and how you practice them? Lots of facets to this. I think we could break it down into, I mean, I think we should probably just start with what are the sacraments? Ryan So my understanding is that sacraments connects to the Latin word sacramentum, which is in many ways Isn't it originally connected to the symbol that a Roman soldier would wear on their armor? There's this notion that it's a it's a symbol that denotes that you are a part of something. Sure I think either way whatever the root word is the sacrament is something that is Sacred is something that sets us apart. That's what I was thinking, it was sacred or holy, yeah, set apart. I think there's probably some overlap in the etymology of the word, but either way, it's the notion that it is something that you do slash wear slash ascribe to you that denotes you're a part of something. You're separated out for something else. And so for the Roman Catholic Church, they have seven of those. We would say we have two of those. But I would say, I don't know how much we want to get into this, right now, that is one thing that even in the Protestant world, the word sacrament isn't always the terminology used. We think of our Baptist friends, they would use the term ordinance for the things that we're talking about, for the two sacraments that we hold to, which would be, of course, baptism and the Lord's Supper. But in the Catholic Church, they have more than just those two, which are? Mitchell Baptism, confirmation. Confirmation, holy communion, penance, marriage, anointing of the sick. Holy order. Jon Yep, yep, so somebody's called into ministry. Yeah, sweet. Ryan I think those are special things, but do they hold equal weight in the faith as baptism and Lord's Supper? Right. That's what we would say. Probably not. Right. Special awesome things. Well, actually, I don't, I can't say it about all of them. I'm not very familiar with all seven. I knew that marriage is one of them. Jon Yeah, well, I mean, like last rites, we would see that very differently. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. But going back even to the idea of just what is a sacrament, so like when we talk about them here at peace, we talk about their relationship to the covenants, that the sacrament is a sign. So when we do a baptism service here, for example, we get to do a short 10-minute message or so on what is baptism before we perform baptisms, and we talk about the sacrament as being a sign and seal of God's covenant. Ryan A sacred sign and seal. Jon Yeah, a sacred sign. So in the Old Testament, we talk about the signs of the Passover and of circumcision. Those were signs, they were visible things, they were seals or guarantees of the truth of God's promise and his relationship. So covenants in the Bible have promises, they have blessings, they have curses. God promises something and he offers a blessing to those who walk with him in that promise and in relationship and in obedience to the conditions. There's curses, there's results for disobedience. And in the Old Testament, the two visible signs and seals are the Passover and circumcision. In the New Testament, we've got baptism, which corresponds to circumcision, and you get the Lord's Supper, which corresponds to the Passover. And so I think for us, there's a very different just context even to what a sacrament is and means, and even how it works. So for us, we see it as a sign and a seal of the word, right, it's the word of the promise that is really like the root thing, the main thing. God is giving a promise, and then there's this visible element to it. Whereas in Catholicism, they would say that the visible element, the sacrament, is the thing that actually does the work, that grace comes from the sacrament. Ryan So we'd also say part of the reason that sacrament, or part of the implication for us for sacraments is that it's for everyone who's part of the covenant versus the Roman Catholicism. I don't know if they were tied to the covenant because there are sacraments that wouldn't apply to all covenant bearers. Marriage is exactly what I was thinking of, or the Holy Order being called into the ministry. Those are things that can be applied to covenant bearers, but it's not universal for everyone who's part of the covenant. That's why we would say that the sacraments are those things that apply to everyone who is a covenant bearer. And so that thing, that's a distinguishing mark between us and the understanding of the Catholicism is that the, for our understanding is that sacraments again, are those things that apply to everyone who's a covenant bearer. That's why we baptize infants. And that's for the, and then for those who confess faith, we do have the Lord's Supper, but they're not special, unique things for certain situations. Sure. Like we said, like holy orders and marriage. Jon Yeah, so we've talked about, so there's a difference in the number of sacraments, there's a difference in the context of sacraments, but if I may even go right to, I think some of the very core difference, I think, in how we think about sacraments comes to that, where does grace come from? How do you get saved? How do you get right with God? Those kind of questions. So I want to read, I've got a couple of books here next to me, and... Ryan I just want to, I really want to emphasize this because I know where you're going and it's really important, especially for the person who answered this question because they'll see where we have some, quote unquote, overlap in our sacraments, right? We have two, the two that are in the Catholicism, so that must mean we believe the same thing about those. And we would say there's gonna be some overlap belief, but there's a key fundamental difference that separates what we believe, not just about the individual sacraments, but the entire notion of sacraments, and that's where you're getting in. So I just wanna just go back, this goes back as far as you possibly can to the differences between Catholicism and Protestant believers. Jon Yeah, there's some surface level differences, and then there's some really deep, important differences, and this is really what led to the Protestant Reformation, things that separate out the separation of us from the Catholic Church. So let me read, this is section 1263 out of the Roman Catholic Catechism, and it's about baptism. So here's what they say about baptism. By baptism, all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. In those who have been reborn, nothing remains that would impede their entry into the kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin nor personal sin nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God." Okay, so I think that's just one kind of sample of things that they say about the sacraments, but I think for me that makes it really clear the difference. We actually, in our baptism services, are really clear every time to say baptism does not save neither child nor adult. Ryan Yeah, yeah, exactly. Whether it's a family presenting their child for baptism or it's a person themselves being baptized, that act is not what saves them. Jon Yeah, what saves somebody is faith in Jesus, God's grace that comes to us through faith. Whereas in the Catholic system, the sacraments are really, that's grace comes through the sacraments. I mean, they of course believe you need faith in Jesus, but they believe sacraments is how the grace comes to us. It's where you're, I mean, it just says it really clear, by baptism all sins are forgiven. Whereas you would say, no, it's by faith that sins are forgiven. So one of the, just to break out, as long as we're talking about Roman Catholicism, we might as well break out some Latin, right? So, the Latin phrase ex oper, operata is how the Roman Catholics, that's what they would say, that's how the sacraments work. They just, they work. So we would say the sacraments only do something for you if they're accompanied by faith in Jesus, faith in God's word, a personal relationship with Jesus. Whereas they would say, whether or not you have those things, the sacraments just work. Baptism, confirmation, last rites, these things do work all by themselves. Whereas we would say, nope, they only work because they're right there with the Word, they're right here with somebody's faith in Jesus. So the other part of the question was about how. How is our practice different in how we do the sacraments? Yeah. Can you discuss why or why not you believe in the sacraments and how you practice them? So do we believe in the sacraments? We do believe in the sacraments. We have a different list than they do. And we've talked about how we have a, Jonthere are some very core distinctions in what we mean when we say sacrament. But yeah, how do we, how do we practice them that's different from Roman Catholic churches? Ryan I think when it comes to practice, as far as like how they play out in a church service, quote unquote, I think there's probably some commonalities, happens in a church service among the body of believers as part of the celebration of the gospel. That's how we would say we do it. We do it among the company of believers, something to be celebrated as we are seeing the sign and seal placed out in real life on the covenant family. Mitchell But that even can be different, right? You go to a Catholic wedding and they do communion and it's only for the first, you know, for the bride and groom where we would. Ryan That's interesting. Yeah, because, because I mean that they would say that the marriage is the sacrament. So yeah, I think the biggest thing is that where we start from that these are signs and seals of the covenant of grace. But then also there's the notion that we only have two. We only have the two. Mitchell Well, and I think even like, we would never do a wedding where only two people could take, you know, Have you ever performed a wedding and done communion at the same time? Jon No, I've always said no to that, just because I think, you know, the sacraments are for the church. Have you had people ask? Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. Ryan I've never had someone ask, but I would say no as well, too. Not unless you're gonna do it for everybody. Jon That would be kind of it, yeah, sure. Mitchell Yeah, I think even like you look at the difference, this determines our architecture in churches, right? You go to a Catholic church, there's the altar is at the center. And in a Protestant church, if you go to a peace church, you'll see the pulpit. And it's kind of saying, what is the most central part of this service? Ryan Right, and then we talk about that a lot. This is a little bit of a side note, but the reason I use a pulpit is there's a utility that's where my notes and manuscript and where I place my Bible, but there's also even more than that, what's more important than that is it's the symbol that the word is central. Jon Right. Totally. And that's also reflected in how we spend our time during the service. You know, in Roman Catholic churches, the message is usually like 10 to 15 minutes. The homily. Yeah, the main focus for them in the service is the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper. Whereas for us, the main focus is the preaching of the Word. Lord's Supper is really important, but the main focus is the preaching of the Word. Mitchell All right, let's jump into our next question. Can you discuss the Catholic belief of transubstantiation, the Lutheran belief of consubstantiation, and the bread and the wine as symbols of Christ's body and blood? Question #2: Can you discuss the Catholic belief of transubstantiation, the Lutheran belief of consubstantiation, and the bread and the wine as symbols of Christ's body and blood? Mitchell Where do you fall on this spectrum? Jon We'll be right back after this break. Elizabeth Hi, I'm Elizabeth, one of the co-hosts of Mom Guilt, a podcast with new episodes every Monday. Mom Guilt is a podcast about the daily struggles of motherhood. Stephanie and I share real experiences of Mom Guilt and how we have found freedom from that guilt through the gospel. Listen to us on resoundmedia.cc or wherever you find podcasts. Jon So this is where it gets back to what you were starting to say about that there's even a spectrum within Protestant churches. Ryan So yeah, we could lay that out. Yeah, so we're talking about the Lord's Supper here, the bread and the wine, the bread and the grape juice, and what actually is going on, I think is the nature of the question is. So transubstantiation would say that when you perform the Lord's Supper, that the bread and the drink literally, physically become the body and blood of Jesus. And obviously you're taking Luke 22 pretty literally when Jesus says, this is my body and blood, do this in remembrance of me. And so that's what transubstantiation means, that in that ceremony, the bread and the drink become the literal body and blood. Consubstantiation, think of congruent along with, that the bread and the drink remain bread and drink, but they also take on elements of the physical body and blood of Jesus, that they're con, they're with, they're congruent. And we would say that neither of those is happening, that this is a symbolic act while a real spiritual thing is happening, no physical change is brought to the bread and the drink. And then even within more Protestant circles, I would say that our view is actually, so yeah, so you got transubstantiation on one side, so that's the Roman Catholic view, and then you move over to Protestant views. Consubstantiation is one, that's the Lutheran view, and then although I heard, I was reading online before this that actually Lutherans don't like that phrase, even though that's classically how they're... Yeah, I was going to say, I don't know if I've ever heard a Lutheran say, use that phrase. Jon Yeah, yeah. Ryan It's been, I've always heard it. So it's been applied to them. Jon Yeah, I've always heard it. Which is important to say, we want to be fair. Right. In the understanding. Yeah, yeah. So they would frame it a little bit differently, but that's the word that's just always been kind of used to describe their position. Then you've got sort of far over, on the other side, you've got what's like the Baptist position of it. There are ordinances, not sacraments. It's the Lord's Supper. There is no special presence of Jesus. These are just bread and juice. Ryan It's just a celebration, right? I don't want to use the term ritual because that sounds like cultic, but it's... Jon Yeah, it's like a commemoration. Ryan Yeah, commemoration is probably a better way to say it. Mitchell Remembrance, I've heard. Remembrance, yeah, yeah. Jon Which it is. Ryan I mean, that's what we're saying. I mean, that's what Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. But we are also saying that while no physical change happens in some mystical way to the bread and the drink, we're still saying something spiritual important is happening there. Jon Well, that's what I was going to say. The Reformed view is actually the middle view in Protestantism. So you got Lutherans on the one side saying consubstantiation, physical, human nature, presence of Jesus. You got Baptists on the other side saying, you know, no presence whatsoever, this is only symbols. Then you got us in the middle, Reformed view, saying that there is no physical presence of Jesus, but there's a spiritual, there's something spiritually special about Lord Sephar. Ryan Yeah, I'm completely comfortable saying that as the bread and the drink nourish the body, in that act through faith, grace continues to nourish the spirit. Right. I've heard it described too, Catholic and Lutheran is God condescending again in the sacrament. And the Protestant view or the Reformed or Baptist view would be that it's more of us being brought up. I think either way, I think we're all going to agree that it's something Jesus commanded us to do. We do this to honor him and to remember the sacrifice that he performed on our behalf. But as far as the question of what actually is going on, we would say there is something spiritual that is actually happening. This isn't just a commemoration. This isn't just a ritual. We're not just going through the motions so that memory is evoked in our brains, but something actual is happening as far as in terms of the spiritual elements of grace. Jon So here's a question. One of the things that historically has been said by many is there's been the accusation against the Roman Catholics that the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, communion is a re-sacrificing of Jesus. John Calvin, no, not, well, the Heidelberg Catechism talks about it as an idolatrous thing, as sin, as something we shouldn't partake of. You guys want to talk about that? What do you think? How far do we go with that? Ryan Man, well, I mean, I was also thinking in terms of when Jesus says, this is my body, when he says, this is my blood, it's after he's broken the bread. It's after he's poured out the drink. When he breaks the bread, that's when he says, this is my body. When he pours out the drink, that's when he says, this is my blood. Do this in remembrance of me. Jon And so, yeah, so this is very interesting to me. So this is Roman Catholic Catechism, section 1367. This is them explaining that whole aspect of the sacrifice and what happens in the Eucharist. So here it is. The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice. The victim is one and the same. The same now offers through this ministry of priests who then offered himself on the cross. Only the manner of offering is different. And since in this divine sacrifice, which is celebrated in the mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and offered in an unbloody manner, this sacrifice is truly propitiatory." Ryan Whoa. Jon That last line really gets you, doesn't it? Ryan That, I mean, I was already not liking it, but that just went, they doubled down on that. Jon Yeah. So , that's the thing. A propitiation is an atoning sacrifice. So, that's what the Bible says Jesus did on the cross. He atoned for our sin. He gave a sacrifice himself that atoned or took away our sin on the cross. So, it's a huge deal. That's what we believe. That's the gospel. That's what happened on the cross with Jesus. And right here in the Catholic Catechism, they're saying that this sacrifice, talking about the Eucharist, is a sacrifice and it is propitiatory, meaning it's an atoning sacrifice, that what happens in the Mass when they celebrate it. That sounds a lot like a re-sacrificing of Jesus. Ryan That's what it sounds like to me, and that just goes against what Jesus himself said on the cross when he said, it is finished. When Jesus said it is finished, I don't think he's meaning for now until you do it again. Like, I mean, that was a once and for all statement. Mitchell Yeah, to be fair, they say it is the same sacrifice that they just say in some supernatural way it happened both in the first century AD and then it's also happening, that same thing happens when they do. Jon Yeah, so they definitely don't use the language of resacrificing. They would say, no, it's not a resacrificing of Jesus. But I think once you start to say that what happens in the Mass is propitiatory,I think you start to get into a place where... Ryan Or at any level that it's the same, it carries the same spiritual, sacrificial, saving weight, I just can't draw that argument from Scripture. Mitchell I think when you hear that, when you hear that this is propitiatory, That can be really confusing for someone who hasn't gone through this catechism and memorized it verbatim. Jon Sure, but more than confusing, I think it's theologically problematic. Kevin DeYoung has a book on the Haberberg Catechism, and I wanted to see what he said about question and answer 80, which talks about this. And they're like, they're wrestling with this idea wrestling with this idea of when they kneel in front of the Lord's Supper. That if it really is Jesus, the body and blood of Jesus, you know, if it's really been transubstantiated, then kneeling is the appropriate response. But if that's wrong, then it's actually idolatry. And so I think, and that's where it comes down to for us is we're saying that they're wrong, that it's not the actual body and blood of Jesus and therefore, you know, you're bowing down to something that's not Jesus. Ryan And this is why we're, this is why we say theologically practically matters. Is what you believe and how you behave, if those are mismatched, it's going to lead you to some dark places. So , yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's, I think that's why it was viewed as idolatry, right? Because it's, you're, you're bowing to something that's not God. Jon Right. Yeah. So, again, plenty of room for modern-day Catholics to, you know, they've got some explanations, and I don't want to move past their explanations. There's some nuances there that are important, but also for us as Protestants, just going to go back to there's some core ways in which we definitely disagree on how we view some of these things. Ryan And again, we want to say to the people who are listening, this is all by way of introducing a topic that we're going to continue to address. And so as you listen to this, submit more questions. It's going to help us as we formulate a resource that we want to provide. Again, because we have a number of people who are steadily coming into Peace Church from a Catholic background, or from the Catholic Church, or from a Catholic background, and we want to be able to address all of the questions that are relevant to there. Jon We love you. We're happy to hear your questions. We're happy to have you come. We want to walk it through together, think through what does the Bible say about these topics, how has maybe what you grew up with or what you've been taught, how is that different from what we're teaching and what we're seeing in the Bible? Well thanks guys, great conversation. Thanks everybody for listening. Thanks for the great questions. Again please submit some more questions and especially we'd love to hear some more questions about Roman Catholicism and how you're wrestling with that as you're moving to Protestantism so that we can continue to provide good resources on that topic. Have an awesome week everybody! that topic. Have an awesome week everybody! You can find That's a Good Question at resoundmedia.cc or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Beyond the Heart Theology Jon Delger Multiplication Pastor Peace Church Published On: April 10, 2024 Maybe you’ve been asked the question before - “have you made a profession of faith?” Maybe you are part of a church where occasionally people stand up front and “profess their faith.” What does it mean to make a profession of faith? Is it biblical? Is it an old church tradition? How does it relate to church membership? How does it relate to baptism? Profession & the Bible Scripture is quite clear that if you have faith in Jesus, this faith should not only exist in your heart and mind, it should also be expressed outwardly. For example, Romans 10:9-10 says, 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Belief in the heart is to be accompanied by confession of the mouth. Likewise, Jesus says that anyone who is ashamed of him (ie. ashamed to profess their faith in him publicly) will be denied by Jesus before his Father (Matthew 10:33; Luke 9:26). So while the Bible doesn’t give explicit instructions for how to profess one’s faith (ie. How many people have to be present? Should they be Christians or Non-Christians? Should this be a public ceremony?), we can see the importance of such an outward act. Profession & Church History Throughout church history, Christians have held ceremonies for new Christians (1st generation believers) or Christian children coming of age (2nd generation believers) to profess their faith. One example is the catholic practice of confirmation, which is a rite of initiation. Reformation leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin affirmed the importance of educating young believers and then providing an opportunity for them to profess their faith. For children in believing families, John Calvin believed this should happen at ten years old and that children should not be permitted to partake of the Lord’s Supper until after making a public profession of faith. Today, Reformed and Presbyterian churches continue this tradition by asking children coming of age and new members who have not made such a profession in a church to make a public profession of their faith. In Baptist churches, this profession of faith is paired with baptism. Profession, Membership, & Baptism Some of the confusion that sometimes arises about profession of faith has to do with how it relates to membership and baptism. At Peace Church, where I serve as a pastor, we sometimes find adult believers offended at the idea that we would ask them to make a profession of faith before the church in order to become a member. They will say, “I’ve been a believer for many years, I profess my faith in conversations with my family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. I’ve never stood in front of a church and done it, but why should I have to profess it now as if my faith were something new?” Others will ask, “Why are some people baptized when they make profession of faith while others are not?” Let me try to answer these questions and then share a way we have tried to simplify the conversation. First, the relationship of profession and membership. At Peace Church, we stand in the Reformed and Evangelical tradition of Christians that believe standing before the church to profess your faith is an important thing for the individual and the church. We also pair this act with the covenantal making of promises - promises to God and the church to walk with the Lord, to help other believers walk with the Lord, and to accept loving correction in one’s own life if one’s walk falters. We ask all new members who have never taken this step before to do so. For most, it is an exciting opportunity (despite some natural stage fright). For some, it feels strange because they are not a new believer or a child coming of age. In this situation, my encouragement is to view it more like a testimony. No, your faith is not new, but you are giving glory to God and encouraging the body of believers by proclaiming your faith in Jesus and perhaps sharing a little of how he has worked in your life. Second, the relationship between profession and baptism. At Peace Church, we believe in covenantal infant baptism . So most children growing up in the church will have been baptized as children and will make a profession of faith when they come of age and have a firm understanding of the gospel. We don’t set a necessary age for this, but it is often in the range of 10-18. Some of those coming of age may not have been baptized as children. In this case, they are baptized at the same time that they make a profession of faith and become a church member. Here are the main questions our elders ask in membership interviews. The first is where the bulk of the time is spent, and the rest are usually short answers to clarify the situation they are coming from. Tell me about your relationship with Jesus. Are you currently a member of another church? Have you ever stood in front of a church and declared your faith in Jesus? Have you ever been baptized? Are you currently under church discipline in another church? More Blogs You'll Like Do the Resurrection Accounts Contradict? How differences in the Gospel accounts strengthen rather than undermine the credibility of the resurrection Read More What is 'Probably' Missing From Most Nativity Sets Miracle, Myth, or Meteor? Identifying What the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Truly Was Read More Is The Bible Really Without Error? A Closer Look at Scripture’s Reliability, Inerrancy, and Historical Trustworthiness Read More

Polarizing Division vs. Gospel Peace Sermon Series: Withstand Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Ephesians 6:15 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said, Amen. Gun laws, climate change, abortion, governmental power, immigration, public education, Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, Russia, marijuana, gay marriage, transgender, and taxes. Need I go on? These are the issues that we have not just disagreements on, but they say these are the issues that Americans are divided on. And as recent polls show, they say that the polarization is getting worse. After an August 2023 polling, which was showing the widening of the American divide since 2003, that was roughly 20 years ago, after they did this poll comparing this year's results from 20 years ago, this is what one Gallup polling analysis said. It said, this confirms the fundamental foundation for any analysis of UF's politics. The fact that individuals' political identity is highly correlated with their views of social and policy issues, resulting in substantial differences in how issues are viewed across political segments. This in turn reflects the fact that the two major political parties have staked out widely differing positions on the type of issues included in this analysis. Now that was a mouthful and I'm a simple man so let me just say to you simply what was just said. It's basically in America all coming down to whether you are a Republican or a Democrat. That is unfortunately the biggest indicator of where you stand on various issues and in our world today Because apparently the contrast is so drastically clear I just want you to know I want to work extra hard To be known by my allegiance to jesus before i'm known by how I vote. So I'll say it plainly to you I am an ambassador of the kingdom of heaven Sent to this wonderful country to represent my king. And I am an American. And I am thankful that I live in this country and I care about its future. I love being an American. I love being an American citizen. I love raising my kids here. There's no place else I'd rather live. I count myself fortunate to be able to live and raise my kids here. I will not rag on this country. We are not perfect. I'm not saying that but I believe this is the best country There is and I'm allowed to have that opinion. I Am old enough to say that I was an adult 20 years ago. I Remember 03 who here remembers 03 who here wasn't alive don't raise your hand, please don't I don't want to know I don't want to know. I remember 03 and I will tell you this and if you've been around you've known this things have changed. Social norms have changed. COVID changed everything. There are many factors and as we look at the divide and the polarization, this is what both sides do that I think does not help. We see where people stand on one issue and then we think we know everything about them. But for the Christian, when we see someone, whether they are a transgender person with blue hair wearing a mask or they are a redneck with the red cap who's open carrying, do you know what is the first thing that we Christians think when we see someone? That right there is a person made in the image of the Almighty Creator. That is the first thing we think, or at least it should be. That we see a person standing before us. And I'm just gonna put this on the screen, until we see the humanity in people, before we see the difference in politics, we'll never be the people to bring the message of peace this world needs to know. Because that shows something about our heart posture towards other people. We need to see them and their humanity, and more than that, the fact that they are made in the image of God. And that's what we're going to be looking at today as we continue our series called Withstand. We're going to see how the culture war, the political war, is at its root spiritual. We're looking at Ephesians 6. If you've been with us, you know that. So please open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6. We are looking at what the Bible calls the spiritual armor, that we've been given spiritual armor to take our stand and to fight spiritually against the true enemy, who is the devil and the way that he's having sway and influence in our world. And the piece of armor that we're looking at today is shoes. The boots that we wear for battle as we are looking at polarizing division versus gospel peace. Now as you turn to Ephesians, just to remind you, if you haven't been here, Paul wrote this letter. This actually just was a letter that one man wrote to a church in a city called Ephesus. And in this letter, he's teaching them about certain doctrines of the Christian faith and how to live out the Christian ethic in our day-to-day life. But then he closes up this letter by talking about this deeply spiritual issue, talking about the spiritual armor, because he's reminding the people in Ephesus and the Holy Spirit's reminding us that our battle is spiritual. That our neighbor is not our enemy, the devil is our enemy, and the influence that he is having, that's what we take our stand against. And so, Paul and the Holy Spirit talks about this spiritual armor, and this spiritual armor is composed of essential aspects of our faith, and that's what we are dressed with as we look at Ephesians chapter 6, verse 15. And so with that, would you hear God's word? Ephesians 6:15 And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. That's what we're looking at today. So let's pray and we'll get started. Let's pray together. Father God, we come before you. Lord, we just ask that you would help us to find our rest, our assurance, and our strength in you. Would you protect us from the evil one during this series and in our lives and help us by pouring out your Holy Spirit upon us. That Holy Spirit, you would fill us and guide us to live lives, live lives, knowing the truth, that we might live as we take our stand. We pray these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus and everyone said Amen. So our verse very, very simply says as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace here, the notion here is quite simple. Our feet carry us as we carry the gospel message. And so if I was gonna give you a main point, I'd put it like this today, very simply. The gospel makes us ready to bring peace in a polarized world. The gospel makes us ready to bring peace in a polarized world. And as we look at this one verse, we're gonna take it phrase by phrase, and here's how we're gonna break it down today. Point one, like shoes, the gospel gives us what we stand in and on. Second thing we'll look at is like shoes, the gospel makes us ready to face the world and the third thing We'll look at is like shoes the gospel brings us back home. Like shoes, the gospel... Gives us what we stand in and on makes us ready to face the world brings us back home I will go ahead and just warn you with this disclaimer today, and I hate disclaimers, but I think it's important I will warn you that today some of you will think that I'm going to be too political Some of you will wish that I would talk on a broader range of topics than I am going to this morning. Some of you may choose to leave the church. I will tell you now, this sermon will fall short for many people. But I am preaching for God's glory and for the good of this church, not for any political party. My challenge here will be to those who are on the left and on the right, make sure that you have not so connected and immersed your identity with your political affiliation that you have lost all ability to think objectively about the truth that's around us. And so what I'm going to ask you to do is please don't walk out at the first statement that you don't like or disagree with. I'm going to do my best to represent some facts here this morning and some data that I think is relevant to the discussion, but I will submit to you right now, it's by no mean exhaustive. We could spend a lot more time talking about a lot more topics, but through it all, in this divided world, we're going to see how we as Christians are to respond to a world that's so polarized. And I will just tell you now, it is by being firstly people of the gospel. 1. Like shoes, the gospel gives us what we stand in and on And as the Bible shows us, first point here we'll look at, is that like shoes, the gospel gives us what we stand in and on. All right, I need everyone, and you in other venues, I need you to finish this sentence for me, if you know it. Finish this sentence. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for... I think that's so true. But here's what I'm going to say to you. We raise our kids, but do they know not just what to do or how to behave, but do they know why? Are you giving your kids not just morals but a mission? Do they understand why we are to behave in the ways that God has called us to? Because it's glorifying to Him, because it's ultimately what's best for us, and it's what makes us effective in our mission. The last thing that the Gospel of Matthew records is Jesus giving his disciples the Great Commission. A pathetic number of Christians don't know what the Great Commission is. The Great Commission is the last great mission that Jesus gave his church before he returned to heaven. It was simply this, go and make disciples. Go into all the nations, proclaim the name of Jesus and make disciples, but how are we to do that? Yes by loving them, of course with the love of Jesus. We are to love others But it cannot just be that We have to also share the name of Jesus if we are to make disciples They need to know who they are going to be a disciple of and that's why Christians in this day and age, as with for all time, we can never not say the name of Jesus. We need to always be able and willing and be brave enough to speak the name of Jesus Christ. "We need to always be able and willing and be brave enough to speak the name of Jesus Christ." I was way enough to go on a tangent, I decided not to. I'm going to stick to my notes. So here we go. As for shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness, the readiness, or you could say the preparation given by the gospel of peace. I love this. I love how the Bible ties together the gospel and shoes, because the gospel is not just to be lived out in our home, it's to be shared with the world, it's to be brought into the world. And like shoes, like boots, the gospel gives us something to stand in and stand on. And the gospel, what is that? Very simply, very purely, the gospel is good news. So why are we afraid to share it? The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross in our place for our sins. By so doing that, he took our punishment so that we wouldn't have to pay the penalty for our own sins. And He died on the cross. And then, in the greatest miracle there ever was, greater than the formation of the cosmos, the greatest miracle, Jesus rose again on the third day. And thereby granting eternal life. Thereby proving He was who He said He was. And giving us eternal life that does not start when we die, giving us eternal life that starts now. And Jesus calls it new life. In fact, it's so new that Jesus says it's literally like being born again. That's how much of a fresh start it is when you become a Christian, that your slate is wiped completely clean and you are seen as righteous before God. And that is good news. Amen. There is no more eternally important news than that. The gospel is the foundation of what we stand in and on. It's our heart and it's our backbone. And that truth, the gospel truth, the good news is more important than any political, social or cultural division we may have. No matter if you are red or blue, one thing I can tell you about us all is that we all are sinners in need of a savior. And I'm happy to tell you his name, it's Jesus. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jesus never got into a screaming match with those who opposed him, and neither should we. Why? Because we don't stand against them, we stand for the gospel, we stand on the firm foundation of the gospel, and it's what we put on our feet, like shoes. The gospel gives us what we stand in and on. 2. Like shoes, the gospel makes us ready to face the world And the second thing is like shoes, the gospel makes us ready to face the world. Our verse continues, having put on the readiness, having put on the readiness by the gospel of peace. You guys know, probably know that I have got four kids and when it's time to leave the house, do you know what we say to our kids? All right, kids, go put your shoes on, time to leave. And then we spend the next 10 minutes fighting about getting their shoes on because they're distracted or they lost one But here's the reality when you have your shoes on that's like the last thing we put on Before we walk out the door whether it's cold You need a coat the last thing we put on and there's our shoes and when we have our shoes on when I see the Shoes on my kids feet, then I know that we're ready to leave shoes Make us ready to leave and face the world, just like the gospel makes us ready to face the world. You cannot just understand the gospel and its certain aspects of the gospel in your theology. You need to have the gospel impacted your heart and in your life. "You cannot just understand the gospel and its certain aspects of the gospel in your theology. You need to have the gospel impacted your heart and in your life." That's when you're ready to face the world, when it's impacted who you are at your identity level. And until that point, I dare say, you may just add to the divide and the polarization because we are the people of gospel and not just gospel, the gospel peace. The Bible says that we are to withstand the evil day. Do you know what that means? It means we're going to have to face it. We can't hide from it. We can't run from it. We stand and we withstand in this evil day. And thanks be to God, He's given us exactly what we need to make our stand. He's given us the spiritual armor, which is a call to fight spiritually. I stand up here and fight spiritually every Sunday when I stand up here and preach. You, you do this every week when we gather and we celebrate God's word and we respond in worship and we lift up the name of Jesus. That's why it's so important for Christians to still gather in this world where it's so easy to stay home and watch online. This is why it's so important for us to gather. Because when we gather, we together are taking our stand. When we gather, it's showing the world and the forces of evil that we are making our spiritual and peaceful protests. So don't. I mean, I'm thankful for the opportunity that technology gives us when we're away and when we're sick, but don't forsake gathering. This is one of the ways that we make our stand and take our stand, is when men bring their families and we worship together and we listen to the preaching, and men and women and children come together and we lift up the name of Jesus. It's one way that we stand and fight our battles. And yet, what's funny is that with this piece of armor, shoes readied with not just the gospel, but listen here, the gospel of peace is part of our spiritual armor. Anyone feel the conflict of interest there? We're wearing armor, but yet we're meant to bring peace. How is that so? That's so because our fight is a spiritual fight, that we fight spiritually with a peace that transcends all comprehension because our peace is greater than the divide that's before us in our culture. Now listen, we're about to get into it. Let me just say this, in our last election, our governor lost Berry County by only getting 37% of the vote. She barely won Kent County with only 54% of the votes. And so I know that for me to stand up here and talk about how crazy the left has become would be like preaching to the choir. I'll tell you right now, I have no interest in doing that. I am here to speak truth to this specific congregation. I neither have nor want a larger platform than this pulpit here to this church family because I'm a local church pastor called to equip this church family with the knowledge and the truth of God so that we can go and represent the King out there. I am not here to make friends, I'm here to make disciples. Drink it, let's go. Mm . We're about to, we're about to, sister. I will say this though, if you wanna get coffee, I'm always up for that. Here's what I want you to do. Take a deep breath, and let's all get uncomfortable here for a minute. Again, Gallup Poll did a poll last year comparing the results from 20 years ago. Now listen, polls are polls and numbers are numbers and I'm not a pollster, I'm not an analysis. I'm just reporting on what's been reported. And these polls I'm going to cite, and I'm happy to share with you the documents I use, it's about the stance of Republicans and Democrats. Again, which unfortunately appears to be the clearest divide in this country. And it should be noted that what these polls did was they asked those who identify as independents to indicate which way they leaned, left or right, and then they lumped their numbers in with Republicans or Democrats respectfully. Other polls separate out independents,which is why you may find some discrepancies. Now, I'm not gonna get into political issues, I just wanna stick with what I believe is clearly biblical issues. And as you see here, it's clear that the political divide, it's clear that in this political divide, the blue party is most aligned with some key views that are the most blatantly unbiblical. But they're not alone. Let's see what I mean. Abortion. Yeah, let's just start there. The killing of the life of unborn babies in the womb is something that the Democrats have gotten more radical on. In 2003, the percentage of Democrats who believed abortion should be legal under any circumstance was 32%. Today it's at 59%. That's a 27 point increase. Republicans have stayed largely the same over 20 years, actually slightly dipping from 15% to 12%. But listen, while the left is more aligned with some views that are the most clearly unbiblical, the Republican side is growing in acceptance of things the Bible does not stand for. I'm sorry, my friends, smoking pot and getting high is a form of intoxication. The Bible is not opposed to alcohol, but it's opposed to getting drunk and intoxicated. And that's what typically a person seeks to do when they smoke marijuana. If you don't think getting high is spiritual, let me just tell you, as a teenager in the 90s, it certainly is. In the last 20 years, Democrats approval of marijuana has gone from 48% to 83%. Republicans have gone from 23 to 55%. Let me do the math for you real quick. This means the rate of increase of acceptance has been the same for both sides of the aisle. Or take the acceptance of the normalizing of having children outside of marriage, that focus is no longer supposed to be for a two-parent household, but the normalizing of children outside of marriage. Twenty years ago, Democrats were at 49%, they are now at 82%. That's a 33-point jump versus Republicans going from 37% to 61% a 24 point jump that is trending away from the biblical moral foundation. Or take gay marriage and mind you President Obama got elected while saying He believed that marriage was for a man and a woman 20 years ago 52% of Democrats approved of gay marriage almost divided now to 85 percent. Another 33 point jump versus Republicans who went from 30 percent to 57 percent. A 27 point increase, again, trending away from the biblical standard. And when it comes to the moral acceptance of divorce, I'll be the first one to say that this one needs more nuance than what the polls allow. But if we just want to speak in very broad ways, here's the data. 20 years ago, 61 percent of Democrats said divorce was morally acceptable. It's now at 88% a 27-point jump Republicans have gone from 53% to 69% a 16-point increase That's trending away from the biblical hope for marriage now. Listen marriage is a deeply spiritual thing It's also essential to the life and the health of a culture This is an important one the Bible does reserve divorce for very specific in situations But the biblical hope for marriage is that marriages are to be fought for If you're taking notes, let me let me summarize something here for you church in Many of the moral issues if you listen to what I just said The Republicans in general are more liberal on these issues than the Democrats were 20 years ago, with abortion being a noted exception. What I'm trying to tell you is that if you are a lifelong Republican, I hope you see that it's not just the blue party that's changing. Now, this isn't a sermon that both parties are just as bad. That's not what I'm saying here. But if anyone thinks that the Republicans or the Democrats fully represent the kingdom of God, let me tell you they don't. The church represents the kingdom of God. I am an ambassador for God's kingdom. You know what that does? That allows me to take an objective look at both parties to see where they are getting strong and where they are falling flat. And I understand, believe me, I completely understand that people cast their vote for a wide range of political and moral issues, way more than what I've just talked about here, many more than I can describe here. I'm not attacking anyone for how they vote. I'm just asking everyone to see that when you look at both parties, in many respects, both of them are trending away from the biblical standard. So let's be clear on the data here. One party is perfect. The church isn't perfect. I'm certainly not perfect. But I will just tell you, when I'm looking to cast my vote, it's for a party that's advocating for rational immigration policies that welcome people legally into this country, as many as we possibly can do, but not an open border. I'm looking to cast a vote for a candidate who's not for killing children in the womb or the sexual mutilation of children who feel uncomfortable in their bodies. I'm looking for a party and a candidate that I fully understand will be imperfect, but I'm looking for the one that's the closest to the values I hold, the closest that the Bible teaches, because I believe that's what is best, not just for me, but for all of humanity. Because in our system, we need to remember that in many ways, the thing that a politician does will last longer than their tenure. But the way things are trending, I have to ask, I wonder if 20 or 30 years we'll be able to tell the difference between the two parties. And because of that, the church better awaken themselves to what's happening on both sides of the aisle. And even more than that, we need to wake up and return to our original mission which is to go and make disciples with shoes laced up with the gospel. Let me tell you Peace Church, I'm happy to say this, we have quite a few people in our church family who are very active in local government. I want to honor them and we need to pray for them. Amen. So if you are involved in local government, I've got a rolling list. I would love just to make sure that you're on the list so I can be praying for you. If you are involved in any form of local government, would you please shoot me an email and just let me know how you serve so I can put you on my prayer list. So here's the question. How does the gospel make us ready to face the day? Here's how. By reminding us that we are citizens of a country for a lifetime, but we are citizens of heaven for eternity. And because of that, we should be objective about politics as we speak the presence of Jesus and peace into both sides of the aisle. How does the gospel make us ready to face today? By causing us to remember who we truly represent, by reminding us what we really stand for. As you remember that our fight is not with our neighbor or our political opponents, but it's with the spiritual forces of evil in this world that are moving everyone away from the biblical standard. How does the gospel make us ready to face the day? By reminding us that our symbol is not a donkey or an elephant. It's a dove that comes in power. It's a lamb that was sacrificed. Our symbol is the lion of the tribe of Judah. How does the gospel make us ready to face the day? By reminding us that our identity is not in any political party. It 's in our Savior who shed his blood for us. It's in our Savior who does not come from either side of the political system, our Savior who comes from heaven. And so we need to stand. Stand ready with the gospel for the gospel. And if you're like me, you get weary of the divide sometimes. If you're like me, you get angry at what's happening in our world. And so if you're like me, let me leave you this last point. Like shoes, the gospel brings us back home. 3. Like shoes, the gospel brings us back home The gospel of peace. I don't want this division. I don't want this divide. I don't want this polarization. Do you know what I want? I want to go home. My ultimate citizenship is in heaven and the gospel is my ticket there. Because it's the gospel of peace. And the most important peace we can have is not peace between the two sides of the aisle in America. The most important peace we can have is peace with God. And that's what the gospel brings us. It brings us to a peace that we can have with God because Jesus has removed the barrier of sin that separated us and God. And when we share that gospel with people and they enter into that peace, then we share in that peace with them. Because you know what the gospel does? The gospel turns our neighbor into family. Sometimes family has disagreements on certain parts of politics. But you know what a family is united in? A family is united in values, in who our father is, and where our home is. And just like how my boots will bring me home at the end of the day, the gospel will bring me home at the end of my life. And between now and then, we have to fight. Between now and then, we wear our spiritual armor and we stand for the truth this world needs to know. We fight spiritually against the forces of evil as we speak the name of Jesus to those who need to hear it. So when this world seems dark and the bitterness seems so strong and the divide seems to be only getting bigger, just remember when it's all done the gospel will bring us home. So let's stand and fight until then. Until that day with the hope of heaven in our hearts, we are to stand and we are to fight. Fight with truth and love, because remember, the gospel makes us ready to bring peace in a polarized world. So may you represent your Savior to a sinful world, holding Him out as the only hope we have as we stand with shoes readied by the gospel. Amen. Would you please stand? I think in this time of all this newness and this divide and all the craziness, I think it's probably very appropriate for us to go back and sing an old hymn together. And so here's what I'm going to encourage you to do. If you are a follower of Jesus, we are singing for the glory of God in response to what Jesus has done for us, and we are singing as a church united in our peaceful spiritual protest against the great enemy. That's what we get to do here now as we raise our voices. So let's pray. Father, we come before you. We ask here now, Lord, that as you have and you'll continue to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, the Holy Spirit, as our ultimate worship leader, will you call us into a deep, deeply united time of worship as we sing with one voice of the truth of the gospel. God, we love you and we thank you. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. And everyone said, Amen. And everyone said, Amen. Church, let's worship together.

Judah's Mess Taste & See Women's Conference | Session 2 Video Teaching Stephanie Delger Jon Delger I Didn't Know I Needed the Church Jon Delger Coming Out of Catholicism | Session 2 Creating Meaningful Traditions Jon Delger Christianity and Politics: Q+A Jon Delger I Didn't Know I Needed the Bible Jon Delger Coming Out of Catholicism | Session 1 Jon Delger Withstand: How The Culture War Is A Spiritual Battle Jon Delger Christianity and Politics: Where Do We Go From Here? Jon Delger Coming Out of Catholicism | Q & A Kelly Needham | Women's Christmas Party People Pleasing Jon Delger Christianity and Politics: Are We a Christian Nation?

New Year New Life Sermon Series: New Year New Life Logan Bailey Family Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Ephesians 4:17-24 Transcript Good morning. How are we doing? I've said it before, I'll say it again, the front row is where the fire is at, but there are four front rows this morning and they are not all equal. So I will try my best, but we'll all leave here a little disappointed in my performance of how good I can spin and talk. So this is my best attempt right here. We'll see how I can continue to do that. Good morning, Peace Church. Good morning to those online as well. If we have not met yet, my name is Logan Bailey. I lead high school ministry here at Peace and young adult ministry here at Peace. My wife, Rachel, also works here. She's the community life director. So if you are new to Peace, she will be in the lobby after service ready to answer all of your questions. So don't forget that. Today, we are looking at Ephesians 4, 17 through 24, and we will see that we have new life in Christ, new life for the new year, may we walk in it. So I want to start with a story this morning. Many of you may recognize this story. It's the story of a good king, his page boy, and a winter storm. I had no idea what a page boy was a month ago now I do I'm going to tell you what it is so then we all know in the Middle Ages everyone wanted to be a knight and before you could be a knight you'd have to be a squire and before you could be a squire. You'd have to be Page boy it started around the age of seven a page was between the ages of seven and fourteen and the first step to becoming a knight started at age seven and pages would help run errands, they'd gather clothing and hold equipment and they would learn good manners as they watched the knights and kings that they aspired to be. So now we all know what a page is and we can get back to the story. So the story is a story about a page boy and a good king. And this king looked at the large feast that he was eating and he thought of all the people outside of his castle that were going hungry and He was warm in his castle and he was looking outside of the bitter winter storm And he was thinking of all the people that were cold outside of his castle and the story goes That this good king and his little page boy gathered gifts and supplies for the winter and they went out into the storm and handed it out to those in need. Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together through the rude winds, wild lament and the bitter weather. Raise your hand if you have any idea what I'm talking about right now. All right, amen. All right, cool. So as they walked through this winter weather, the young boy began to grow very tired. The snow was heavy. It kept getting heavier and heavier as they walked. The gifts he was carrying got more and more difficult to carry, and he got his king's attention and begged him to stop, to turn around, to go back to the castle. He did not know how much further he could go, and the good king looked at him, knelt down close and said, wasn't not much more difficult for our good king to journey from heaven to earth for us? He said, my child, use my footprints, walk where I walk, step where I step and the snow will be less of a burden to you. And so they walked, carrying the gifts, and that young boy found warmth and guidance in his king's footsteps. Life sometimes feels like that winter storm, and how often do we feel like a child just being tossed by the wind? But we are not alone. We are not left to figure it out on our own. We are given guidance. And Jesus tells us that if we abide in His Word, we are truly His disciples and we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. So my goal in the time that I have this morning is to point out the footprints in front of us. God has given us guidance in His Word. So let's go to His Word and receive instruction of life. Let's read Ephesians 4 together, 17 through 24, and we will be reminded that we have new life in Christ. May we walk in it. So please follow along, starting in verse 17. Now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality greedy to practice every kind of impurity But that is not the way you learned Christ Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus to put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Let's pray. Father Almighty we pray that you guide us this morning as we worship you. Jesus thank you for being our good shepherd who guides us. And Holy Spirit, we pray that you speak through your word this morning. May you be glorified in everything we do and in our hearts. In your name we pray, amen. So the book of Ephesians, if you've studied it before, you'd know this, that the first six chapters, the first half, the first three chapters are doctrinal and the second half is practical. Meaning, chapters one through three, they are stating true things about God. They're saying true things about God and about life. And then 4 through 6, the second half of Ephesians, are encouraging a way of life in light of those truths. What kind of things does Ephesians say in the first three chapters? It says that we have eternal purpose in God, that we have been given grace through faith, and that there is unity and peace in Christ. And then starting in chapter four it says, in light of those truths, therefore, live differently. In light of those truths, therefore, live differently. Christ has won for us new life, therefore, walk in it. And so knowing that background of our passage, let's go, I just want to go through these verses a chunk at a time to get a bit deeper. So starting in verse 17 it says, Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. And so right off the bat this passage has a biblical command. It's telling us to do something. No longer walk as the Gentiles do. And if you know chapter 4, if you have your Bibles there you can see verse 1 of chapter 4. It's the same command. Walk according to the calling to which you have been called. The same command, just the other side of the coin. Walk according to the calling to which you have been called, and no longer walk as the Gentiles do. My paraphrase of this is, of this biblical command, stop living like you once did before you knew Jesus. The word Gentile is a biblical word for non-Christian. In this passage we could say pre-Christian. The way of life of someone who does not know Jesus and what follows in verses 18 and 19 is a description of the non-Christian, a description of who a Christian used to be before they met Jesus. And it is not easy to read. It's brutal to read. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous, have given themselves greedy to practice every kind of impurity. Futility of their minds. What does that mean? Well based on this passage, whatever it means, this passage is showing us that the non-Christian's mind and understanding alienates him from God. So that is the description of a non-christian The mind is hard-hearted and distant from God. And so now the word futility makes a bit more sense because futility means weak or Unable meaning those who do not have Jesus are without hope Because without Jesus we are unable to find what we're looking for. Because without Jesus we are unable to be who we are meant to be. The Bible is very clear that we are meant, we are created to find contentment in Him. That we were made to be who He has designed us to be. And if we are made to be who He has designed us to be, how could we ever imagine doing that without Jesus? How could we ever imagine being who God has made us to be without Jesus? Unable! Without Jesus, we are unable to live the life that we are meant to. So stop living like you used to before you knew Jesus. heart that causes you to distance yourself from your Savior, settling for things of flesh rather than eternal joys, settling for temporary joys rather than the ways of God. Walk as you ought, not as you used to. I want to reflect a bit more on the idea of futility, the inability that we see in the non-Christian. An old Christian mathematician once said something that I think is very important for us this morning. His name is Blaise Pascal and he said this, all men seek happiness. All men seek happiness. This is without exception. The cause of some going to war and of others avoiding it, it is the same desire in both. This is the motive of every action, of every man, even those who hang themselves. All men seek happiness. I think this helps us better understand what the Bible is saying. That the ones who are alienated from God are actually attempting to do so. People aren't non-christians because they are being blinded. People are non-christians because we blind ourselves, covering our eyes to the glories of God, thinking it will help us find what we're all looking looking for which is happiness but it is in vain if we don't have Jesus we are all after happiness joy and contentment but the Bible isn't simply being poetic when it addresses these things in our hearts when it says that God gives us the desires of our hearts or when it says that the Christian is like a flourishing tree planted by the water, the Bible is always directly addressing the needs of our hearts because it knows that we long for joy, we long for contentment, we long for flourishing. Even Jesus himself came to us and went to the cross for the joy set before him. The non-Christian too is seeking to find joy and contentment, but the effects of sin are disastrous across all of life, most tragically on the mind. Sin's greatest deception of all is the deception of the mind, and it is as true today as it was then. The man who thinks the beginning of wisdom is the rejection of God is a fool. But the needs of humanity remain the same. We are still in need of the guidance of our Creator God whether we think we are lost or not. We are still in need of our Savior, whether we think we need to be saved or not, we are still in need of a renewed mind, whether we recognize the deception of sin or not. In my own story, my own testimony, I see the deception of sin pretty clearly. I just didn't see my sin until the Holy Spirit peeled my hands away from my eyes. When I was 16, I saw as if an audience member to the event, the Holy Spirit changed my heart. The Holy Spirit renewed my mind and to free me from this deception of sin that was over me. And not soon after that, I saw the deception of sin on the mind on display in someone that I brought to church as a high schooler. We sat there listening to the preacher preach the gospel, the holiness of God, the goodness of God, our sin and how it alienates us from Him and the repentance and forgiveness available in Jesus on the cross and resurrection and my heart was on fire as I heard the gospel message and in that moment the man I brought leaned over and whispered in my ear, hey where's the bathroom at? We heard the same message but with his hand over his eyes he just refused to see it and scripture is saying that we are all this way, but for those of us in Christ, we are sticks and twigs snatched from the fire, rescued, redeemed, bought back, our hearts and mind regenerated and given new life. And so if you are sitting here this morning and you don't see the deep joy in that then perhaps I'm doing a poor job of preaching but please consider perhaps your heart is darkened by sin and you're suppressing the truth consider it as an Yes, the Bible has harsh words to say against the godless lifestyle because the Bible knows the state of our hearts and doesn't hold anything back. The godless life looks a lot like, from the Bible's perspective, destructive rebellion to God and that shouldn't be surprising because whenever you wing it without the instruction manual it's not going to be pretty imagine if we were all the gun range and I decided I'm just gonna throw a blindfold on and spin around a few times and then then I'm gonna try to shoot the target get out of there, that won't go well. The Bible is going to be honest, it's going to be precise about the state of our hearts, especially when it's not going well. Just like how it would be completely unloving for God to hide a fatal diagnosis from you. Verses 20 and 21 bring out the gospel to the forefront and it says, but that is not the way that you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus. So the non-Christian has alienated himself from his Savior, but not you, not anymore. You know Christ, you've learned Christ. You've been taught the truth by Jesus. And so this command and encouragement of the text is if you know Jesus, then live according to the new life you have been given. If you know Jesus, then live according to the new life you have been given it is no surprise it should not be a surprise at all that the Bible has an opinion on the right way to live we live in a world that is offended by exclusive claims and we are so saturated in that world that many of us cringe when we read a passage like this but it is right that the Bible has a stance on the right way to live. It isn't just a warning against destruction, it is an invitation to life. No longer walk the way you used to. You are different now because you've learned a new way of life. The Bible says, behold, the old is gone, the new has come. You are a new creation. This is the message of the gospel. The good news that Jesus came, took our sins, died on the cross, and then he rose to new life so that we too could walk in new life. Jesus rose from new life so that we too could walk in new life. We have new life in Christ. May we walk in a new life for the new year. So using the illustration that we opened with, the king and his page, I just think it's a powerful illustration because we know that life is constantly pulling at us, life is constantly nagging us, life is constantly beating us down. It is the winter storm and whether that is the suffering of life, the temptation of Satan or just the destructive sinful habits in our own hearts, this winter storm is brutal. And God describes it as brutal because it is and it's destructive. But we have been invited to a better way. We have a guided path. We have a better way through the storm. We have the footprints of our King. We have the guidance of our King. So stop trying to make your own path in this snow. Get on the path that God gives us in scripture for the joy set before us. May we see our good king as he kneels down to us and whisper, my child, hear my voice, see my guidance, use my footprints. And he says, this winter storm won't be worth comparing to the eternal joy I have for you. So how can we take this and apply it to our lives? New life, new year. Thankfully the Bible does it for us. So the Bible gives us a picture of what this looks like in our lives. It says to put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness. The Bible says put off. That's good news that we can we can remove our hard hearts because we have a savior who can take it from us and give us something eternally better, of renewed mind, eternal joy, truth that sets us free. So take it off. Jesus has brought you into a warm house, put you by the fire, take the jacket off. Take off the shame, take off the guilt. Jesus took it to the cross. Put off your old self, start walking in new life looks like is seen at the end of A Christmas Carol in the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. If you know A Christmas Carol, the light bulb comes on for Ebenezer Scrooge at the end of the story, but not because of guilt and not because of fear of death, but because God Graciously shows him the way of life that gives true lasting joy That is the path that God wants for all of us to follow him into new life towards joy So So, your homework is to go home and watch the 1984 edition of Christmas Carol with George C. Scott. Second option would be the Muppets. So, consider what this all means for your 2023, to put off your old self, lifestyle, former desires, former dreams, the pre-Christ life that is dominated by hardness of heart towards the things of God and embrace the life that God has won for you. Follow your Savior. The Bible is saying if you know Jesus, if you know Christ, if you have heard His truth, then you have been renewed by your Savior. You aren't lost, you aren't blind, you aren't alone, but you are saved. You can see the truth and you can be confident that eternal joy is yours because He who began a good work in you is faithful to bring it to completion. You can be confident that eternal joy is yours because He who began a good work in you the odds lean towards God getting what he wants which is his glory and your joy so this new year I think our encouragement is to do some course correction to get back to the guidance guidance that God has for us. Yes, it would be a good thing to call Max effort tomorrow and get the gym membership to start the new year. It'd be good. But much more importantly, thinking of New Year's resolutions, infinitely more importantly, we need to be thinking about how we can better walk in his footprints. How we can better follow the guidance of our King. So here's a question for all of us. How often in a week do you read your Bible? Or listen to your Bible? Or listen to someone's thoughts about the Bible? Or think about the Bible at all? How will you submit to the word of God in 2023? How will we better submit to the Word of God in 2023? Read it before work, read it before bed, every day. Talk about it weekly with a friend or two. Join a Bible study or two. Don't try to do all of it, but please do something. When God found Adam and Eve after they sinned in the Garden of Eden, he was blunt about their sins. He didn't pull any punches. He didn't hold anything back about But God also saw the clothes that they made for themselves, the ragged clothes, and God made new clothes for them. So imagine this moment where Adam and Eve have to take off the clothes they made for themselves, set it aside, and put on the new clothes that God made for them. To do anything else would have been foolishness when a prisoner is released It would be unthinkable for him to keep wearing his prison clothes in other words Jesus doesn't save us merely to add to our life But to kill our old life and give us a new one the Bible says the old is gone He took it to the cross and the new has come so let's live like it So when Satan says, remember how ragged your clothes are, the gospel enables us to say, how ragged my clothes were. They aren't ragged anymore. So let's live like it. Let's read the word of God and think and believe that it really is true, that there really is a heavenly father who made a way for sinners. That is what it looks like to have a renewed mind and spirit, to let the word of God be your guiding light every week, every day, every morning, every evening. So in 2023, the greatest resolution we have to make is how will I better submit to the word of God? We have new life in Christ. May we walk in it. May we cling to the guidance of God's Word as if it were the footprints in front of us, guiding us in new life. Let's pray. Father, you are gracious, you are good. Father, you know each and every one of us in this room. You know where we're at, you know the storm that we're walking through and you go before us so Father, I just thank you for the beauty of your word the truthfulness of your word and I pray God that we are Joyfully willing to submit to it because we know that you have our joy in mind for your glory and our joy father I just pray for everyone in this room every family in this room father that we all can leave and see you clearer and have a conviction to read your word more and submit to it, be read by it and follow you. God, you are so good. and follow you. God, you are so good. We love you. In your name, we pray, Amen.

The Purpose Is Personal Sermon Series: Contender Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Jude 17-23 Transcript ;Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said with all of our hearts, amen, amen. My name is Ryan, I'm lead pastor here at Peace Church. If we haven't had a chance to meet yet, sure would love to make that happen before you leave here today. And as we get going, I wanna start with this question for you. What would it take for you to step in? What would it take for you to get involved, involved in what you might say? You know what I mean. If there's something going on, what would it take for you to step in? You've all seen those hidden camera movies online where you see a situation happening, clearly fabricated, clearly staged, but the people around don't know. And there's some sort of conflict going on. They're trying to measure what would it take for people to step involved, to step outside their comfort zone or step into a situation that doesn't directly involve them, what would it take to get involved? What would it take for you to step in? Now, before you continue that thought, let me just play a little mentalist here for a moment. I'm willing to bet you're thinking about a situation that doesn't directly involve you. Because if it does involve you, if you're personally connected to what's going on, there's no question about stepping in and getting involved. Because, here's what I want you to remember, we are more apt to take action when it's personal. We're more apt to respond to an offense if we take it personally. It is one thing for men to joke about how wives are, right? Nick, you know what I'm talking about? You know how wives are, right? I mean, it's one thing to talk about that, but it's another thing to just talk about how your wife is. Yeah, we can have fun about how wives are, but don't talk about how my wife is, because suddenly we're gonna have a different sort of conversation. Amen, gentlemen? Because we're more apt to take action when it's personal. We're more willing to put ourselves out there. We're more willing to sacrifice when it's personal. A kid gets bullied at school, we feel bad about that. Your kid gets bullied at school, now the teacher's getting a call. Some of you will skip that teacher, leap frog the president, you're going right to the superintendent. I see you. A kid gets bullied, we feel bad, but our kid gets bullied. Well now we're more apt to take action when it's personal. And if that's true, do you think that's true? Okay, so if that's true, then I can show you how personal your faith is by how much action you're willing to take for it. I can tell how much you love Christ by how willing you are to put yourself out there, how willing you are to risk embarrassment, incur pain, how much you're willing to sacrifice. I can tell how much you love Christ by how much you're willing to put yourself out there. Do I really love my wife if I will only tell her that I love her but I would never tell anyone else? You're more willing to take action when it's personal. Our world has told us something and many of us have bought into this. Our world has said that faith is a personal matter, and what they mean is that faith is a private matter, so don't you dare bring it into the public square. And too many of us have bought into that, and so what we've done is we've hidden our faith with some sort of fear, or maybe you need to call it out and even say some sort of cowardice, but I'm here to tell you, we have all just agreed that you're willing to take action if it's personal. So how personal is your faith? Well I guess I can tell by how much action you're willing to take because that's what we just said. Are you willing to not just believe but are you willing to take a stand? Are you willing to not just love Jesus but contend for the faith? Because my friends that's been the call upon Christians since the very beginning. In fact, Jesus' own brother, Jude, right at the onset of Christianity, writes a letter, an open letter to Christians, and one of the main things he says is that we are to contend for the faith. And so I'd ask you to turn there, turn there now to the book that Jude wrote. It's actually a letter that he wrote, and here's a shortcut for you. It's the second to the last book of the Bible. Jump on down, we're gonna look at verses 17 to 23 today as we see this, that the purpose is personal. If you wanna use the Bible, it's happy for you to do that. That's on page 1308. And in this letter, Jude reminds us that if we're going to be faithful people, it will affect us personally. And we personally need to respond. So here we are, third week in our series on Jude verses 17 to 23. I would ask you, if you are able, would you please stand for the reading of God's Word here this morning. Would you hear the Word of the Lord, the letter of Jude verses 17 to 23. Would you hear God's Word? But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the spirits. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others show mercy with fear, hating even the garments stained by the flesh. Amen. This is God's word. Remain standing as we say a quick prayer. God of heaven and earth, you have personally revealed yourself to be our Father. You are the master and designer of all creation. You are the Lord of the universe and yet you revealed yourself as our Father. I ask here now, Lord, that you continue to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us so we might know you more fully by the words you've inspired in Jude's letter. And we do pray these things in the name of the one who personally saved our souls. It's in Jesus' name that we pray these things. And everyone said, amen, amen. Go ahead and have a seat. Let me give you just one overarching thought here, church family, for today. As we think about our faith not being just an abstract thing but faith being that thing that literally drives every action of our life. Here's our main point for this morning. We are to contend for the faith because the purpose is personal. Our faith does not come with a blank check that gives you license to do whatever you want. Our faith comes with a purpose to be fulfilled because God has a plan and he has a purpose and that includes you. Seven verses, we'll look at three points here today. Let's take it verse by verse. First point is this, the purpose is personal so it will affect you. Look at verse 17. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the word you here is actually plural, meaning you all, but the point here is written to all of us so that we would remember this one thing, to keep in front of our minds what the apostles said was going to happen. They predicted this. Verse 18. They said to you, in the last time. Now let's stop there real quick. In the last time. Doesn't mean previously, like we would say, the last time I went to the grocery store. Last time here means the last times, meaning the end times. But Jude is also speaking of his time. So I may mess with a few people's eschatology here real quick. Meaning Jude saw the epoch or the period of time after the resurrection of Jesus as the last time, the end times, the time that he was living in, meaning the time between the resurrection of Jesus and the return of Christ. This is clearly also the time that we are living in. But listen to how Jude and what he says is happening in his time, and try to tell me this isn't also happening in our time. Look at verse 18. They, the apostles, they said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. Do I even need to translate this? Do I need to make an argument for this? Is this not happening in our day? There will be people who ridicule and despise faithful Christians as they themselves choose to follow their own ways rather than God's ways. The term Jude uses is even more explicit. He says ungodly passions, meaning they follow their feelings that are opposed to the things of God. Church, listen to me. Just because your passion is sincere does not make it right. Just because you have a sincere feeling doesn't mean it is right before God. You will be, as a Christian, you will be laughed at by people who they themselves sit in their own sin and Jude is warning us about this. He's reminding us of this warning because look at what he says about them in verse 19. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people devoid of the spirit. Church, and here comes the confrontation. You will be scoffed at. If you want to be a faithful Christian in this world, you will be scoffed at. Your beliefs ridiculed and attacked as people give themselves to the pleasure of sin while we ourselves remain in the joy that only comes through God's love and righteousness. They will bring division. They'll seek to do it in the church and they most certainly will do it in your lives. But if you have a true and personal faith, you must remember it will affect you. Of course it will. It's personal. Our faith is personal. When it's attacked, it hurts. You will be affected. True faith will come into true conflict with those who are immersed in the ways of the world and opposed to the true ways that God has revealed. Just like we don't let our children do whatever they want, God does not let us do whatever we want because he has a better plan for us, just like how we have a better plan for our kids. Jude calls them worldly people, meaning you'll see people who are more in love, involved, and interested in the affairs of this world and the entertainment they're in, rather than what God is doing in this world through his kingdom. Now these opening verses here, 17 to 19, you'll see that Jude is pointing out fake and wayward Christians that were in their midst, but then he turns with the rest of the letter and begins to address the true believers, exhorting us to continue in the faith, but not just continue, but to contend for the faith because our faith is secure if we remember this next thing. And this is point number two. The purpose is personal, so stay in God's love. Let me read verse 20 to you, and you tell me if something sounds familiar. But you, beloved, right there, Right there. For the second time in our passage today, and for a total of four times in this short 25-verse letter, Jude addresses Christians as beloved. My grandma was about the most down-to-earth person you've ever met in your life. She was just simply and always her awesome self. She was not prideful. She never gave a compliment that was actually some sort of backhanded jab. She was selfless. And she loved me. And she never said anything weird, like how grandparents sometimes do. You know what I'm talking about? She never said anything weird, except for this one thing. She didn't say it all the time, but every now and again she would say this weird thing. And I didn't understand it then, but I tell you, I understand it now. Every now and again, she would call me beloved. And she'd say it like that, beloved. I didn't understand it then, but I understand it now. Do you know what beloved means? Beloved is taking the sentence, you are loved, and turning it into a title. She would call me beloved, because that was her way of saying, you are loved, and I'm the one that loves you. Christians, you are loved by God with an eternal and flawless love. You are beloved, not just beloved, you are beloved. We need to say it like that because that just sounds more regal like what's befitting for sons and daughters in the kingdom of God who are beloved by the God on high. Verse 20, but you beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. That was a thick, rich statement, but there's some critical phrasing in there, so we want to make sure we get it right. Let's look at it piece by piece. Verse 20. Building yourselves up in your most holy faith, meaning you are ever meant to be growing in faith. You are not meant to get stagnant or stop. Faith is something that's ever to be developing in your life. So here's the obvious question for us all. Have you grown in your faith over the last year? Has your faith increased? If not, why not? What are you doing with your life that God, the most important thing that there is, is not the priority of your life? My friends, have you stopped contending? Do you no longer put up a fight? You are to ever be building yourselves up in your most holy faith. So simply ask yourself, I'm not asking you, I'm asking you to ask yourself, have you become a worldly person? A person who's, who can't see beyond this momentary life to see the eternal calling that God has placed on you. Have you become a worldly person? You just check your social media and find out. We are to stay in God's love. That's what keeps us separate. If you're not growing in your faith, then I'm willing to bet it's because that your prayer life is either non-existent or your prayer life is on life support. And it's no wonder that Jude says this in the next saying. He says, praying in the Holy Spirit. Yes, pray to the Father. Yes, pray under the name of Jesus. But be praying in the Spirit. He's not talking about speaking in tongues. He's simply talking about being in step with the Holy Spirit. That we pray in the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ has returned to heaven. He no longer walks among us. But what He has done is sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who now walks among us as he fills the church and fills you, calling you to a more holy, holy faith. You can't grow in your faith without the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. So pray in him. And then in verse 21, we get what is the chief commandment of today's passage. This is the left hook. This is the imperative. This is the state of command. This is your great to do in light of today's message What are you supposed to do in light of today's message exactly what Jude says here in verse 21? keep yourselves in the love of God That's the primary love. That's the love that forms and frames all other loves that we have in our life right now I don't know if you've noticed this but it really seems like right now more than ever in our world There are so many calls to love your neighbor. I hear it all the time Clearly it's it's coming out of the political climate or the perceived political climate that we have in our world that we feel like there's This this need to constantly remind each other. We are to love our neighbor. Let me remind you my dear friends Yes, we are to love the Lord your God. And that is the love, the love that God directs and dictates. That is the love that forms our love for our neighbors. The left does not decide what it means. The right does not decide what it means. The centrists in our culture do not decide what love means. God does, because God's love is perfect. And it's that love that we are to stay in the love that was so great that God sent his son to die on the cross in our place for our sin and on the third day rise again so that we could not just experience God's love but so that we can have eternal life with which we get to experience this love and that's why Judah's so quick to end his thought like this keeping yourselves in the love of God waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life because there is no experiencing God's love that does not come through the gospel of Jesus Christ that is the bullseye of this passage we are to stay in God's love not the world's love not the love of self not your boyfriend's love but the love of God his personal love for you, which readies us for this last part. The purpose is personal, so remember your mission. Christians in the house, you are an ambassador of Jesus Christ in this world. Jesus has told us what our mission is to make disciples. And we do this by loving our neighbor and by sharing the gospel. And so yes families, hear me, especially dads in the house, this starts in your home. But every Christian is on mission and it is assigned without qualification by Jesus Christ himself. And it's called the Great Commission. It's the last great imperative that he gave us before he returned to heaven, that we are to go into all the world and make disciples to teach them about Jesus so that they might receive the gospel and come to know God's great unending love for them. And then Jude gives us a very important reminder about this. Verse 22 is so clear. Look at verse 22. He says, And have mercy on those who doubt. Now if you remember, if you're here on week one of this sermon series, I said something, and I was surprised about how many gasps I heard in light of this. In week one, I said that my strongest words are not for unbelievers, but for believers who sow discord in the church. Christians, we should hold a higher standard for each other, for those who should know better, but for those who don't, we extend mercy to them. Mercy, not because they don't deserve it. If they deserved it, it wouldn't be mercy. If they deserved it, that would be called justice. But they don't deserve it. But we give mercy to them anyway, just like how God gives mercy to us, even though we are undeserving. We extend mercy because they don't know better. Have mercy on those who doubt. And I've said it before, I'll say it again, I'll say it until you are sick of me saying it. But at Peace Church, we want to be a place where people feel safe to ask their questions and express their doubts. We invite that, we want that, we want to be a place for you to be able to talk about the faith and wrestle through questions. We want to engage that for however awkward it may be, but I'm telling you, we will be merciful to you in the midst of that because we love you and because we are commanded to. So express your doubts, express your concerns, ask great questions. We want that. And we will be merciful. We'll be merciful for those who doubt as we want them to work through their doubts and concerns so that they might come to know Jesus Christ fully. Or as Jude says in verse 23, as we are continued to do, as he says in verse 23, love your neighbor as your... Oh wait, that's not what he says. In this great moral imperative of what Christians are supposed to do in this world, did you see what he says next? Verse 23, it's not love your neighbor as yourself. Verse 23, save others by snatching them out of the fire. Because without the covering of Christ's pain for our sins, our destiny is judgment. Judgment for our sin. And with the guilty verdict already clear and pronounced, all that is left for us is punishment which the Bible has a name for and it's called hell. Hell is the eternal separation from God and it is the proper and just punishment for our sins. Don't get hung up if you think hell is an unjust, unjust place. No, no, no, you need to understand hell is a perfectly just place. It is the proper and right equal proportionate punishment John 3 verse 36 says this, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. See, we don't know that verse because people don't post that verse on social media. The wrath of God remains on him because that's what those who are in their sin can expect. It results in the final right in eternal punishment, in eternal separation of God, as we will spend eternity paying off our sins because that's what our sins properly deserve. It will take a literal eternity to pay for your sins. And listen to me, my friends, you don't have to believe in a God who would send people to hell. Just don't say that you believe in the God of the Bible then. Jude is reminding us that our mission is even more dire than life and death. It is the difference between heaven and hell. This is no laughing matter, which is why Jude closes up his passage, continuing this serious vein, when he says this, to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. What does that mean, the garment stained by the flesh? It simply means that we just don't hate sin. We are to hate sin But we are to hate everything that sin touches Because sin separates us from God. What Judas is saying is that our love is meant to produce mercy for people But even in the midst of this we are still to maintain our identity in Christ as we pursue holiness We do not mess with sin, but our cell phones just keep us in such proximity to it. I'm saying this because I love you and I'm saying this because you need to hear this. We hate even the cell phones tainted by sin, don't we? So the question is, is are you doing this? Are you showing mercy? Are you sharing the gospel to save people from hell? Because listen to me my friends, if all you are doing is loving your neighbor, but not sharing the gospel with them, then all you are doing is holding their hand as you personally escort them to hell. Loving your neighbor is the second commandment, subservient to the first, which forms and fuels the second commandment. Here's the problem, here's the great problem with the human heart, and you find it even in churches, is we take secondary things and we make them primary things. And that's why things get all messed up, and that's why things rung amok, because we take secondary things and we make them primary things. Church, my friends, we need to make the primary thing the primary thing. The very first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. But these are the commandments, the commission Jesus has given us. The mission is to go and make disciples, to announce and share the name of Jesus Christ. If he's your personal Lord and Savior, then you must take this personally. And if it's personal, then you'd be willing to act. But too many of us are not on mission because it stopped being personal. Christians in the house, let me ask you, whose funeral do you have to attend before you realize you waited too long? Whose funeral do you have to cry at before you realize you waited too long to share the name of Jesus? Some of you are not contending for the faith simply because you need to realize, and I say this with love, I say this with the utmost love, some of you need to realize you're not contending for the faith because you actually don't have faith. I say this with the utmost love. Some of you need to realize you're not contending for the faith because you actually don't have faith. What you have is a tradition of going to church on Sunday and maybe even serving at that church, but if it was personal, then we all just agreed that would result in real action in our lives, action according to God's commands and God's outline, that we would contend for the faith, not just on Sunday, but Monday to Saturday. See, the letter of Jude does something that we don't like to do in our world. The letter of Jude is all about drawing contrast. Contrast between those who have fallen away, those who have stayed strong, between those who are in love with the things of the world and those who are walking in step with the Holy Spirit, between those who just maintain and those who are actually on mission. Yes, the purpose is personal. So let me encourage you again, contend. Contend for the faith because the purpose is personal. Don't just take it seriously. Take it personally. Take action. Contend for the faith. Listen my friends, this doesn't happen by faking it. Hate to tell you, but it's kind of easy to tell. This happens by first and foremost staying in the love that God has expressed to you through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Stay in his love, praying in the spirit. My friends, stop clowning around and start contending for the faith. Start taking it personally. Because we have a personal God who personally sent his son, who personally died for you, personally gave up his life so that you could have not just a personal hope but a living hope a hope realized because listen to me jesus has already done the work i am not talking about earning your salvation we don't live out our faith in order to hopefully one day gain salvation we live out our faith we take action because we already have it made secure. We don't follow God to earn salvation, we follow God because we already have it. Listen, my friends, the call is simple. Now is the time to contend for the faith, to take real action because Jesus took real action in pouring out His blood to save you. Let that encourage you. Don't feel condemned by that. Feel more empowered to contend for the faith. And one of the ways we do that, yes, is by standing shoulder to shoulder as we sing praises to the one who saved us. Amen. My friends, we're gonna sing a song that I've actually personally chosen that we'd sing because of the number of times we talk about the personal pronouns in this, that Jesus has saved me, he's my living hope. Not because we don't have a corporate faith, we most certainly do, but you also have a personal faith. And so here's what I'd say to you, listen to me. Before you start getting your purse ready and putting your Bibles away, listen to me. It does not matter what sort of morning you had. Does not matter what sort of week you had. If you feel worthy, something's off. God is not waiting for you to get cleaned up to come to him. He wants you to come to him right now in this moment. The devil will want to tell you, if you sing this song right now, you're a hypocrite. The devil will say to you, if you sing this song right now, you're just a massive hypocrite. Look at your life this past week. This is where you say, get behind me, Satan. And you turn and look upon the Father through the Son in step with the Holy Spirit and right now as a church we personally and together sing that Jesus is our, He's my living hope. So may you lift up your voice as we sing together a song that announces that there is one hope and His voice as we sing together a song that announces that there is one hope and His name is Jesus. Would you please stand

Christ & Confidence Sermon Series: Final Words Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: 1 John 5 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said, Amen and Amen. So it is a awesome morning at peace, as you've already heard. And I'm just going to add one little personal special detail to the, to the morning that makes it extra sweet. Just for me individually is, uh, today actually is my 10 year anniversary of being a pastor at Peace Church. It's been, thank you. It was 10 years ago this weekend that I started at Peace Church as the family pastor that over time grew into the executive pastor and then for the last two and a half years I've been blessed to be the lead pastor at Peace. It's been amazing to reflect on these last 10 years. That first Sunday that I preached for Peace Church, that 4th of July weekend in 2013, I did some investigating on our numbers and our total attendance on that Sunday, 10 years ago, is how many children we have every Sunday morning now, which is just amazing. And before I came to Peace, I was a youth pastor for seven years at another great church. And over my nearly 20 years being a pastor, what is very interesting to me is I reflected on my time, and there's been one question that I've been asked from Christians to their pastor. There's been one question that's risen above all the others that I've gotten the most. And it's this question. I wonder if you could guess it. The question I get the most is this. How do I know that I'm saved? Here's what they're asking. How can I have assurance in my faith? And I will be very transparent with you. That question breaks my heart. It breaks my heart that people who believe in the gospel could come to a point where they would question whether or not they are saved. I want people to know the promise and the guarantee that they have in their faith. I'm here to tell you this morning, the reason that you can have assurance in your salvation and confidence in your faith is not because of your faithfulness, it's because of Jesus' faithfulness to us. That's how you can have confidence and assurance in your faith and in your salvation. So this morning, we're going to be talking about those two things. We're going to be talking about Christ and confidence. Would you please turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 5. If you're using the Bibles we've provided, please do so. That's on page 1304. And as you're turning there, just a little context about what's going on here at Peace Church. We are in the midst of a sermon series called Final Words. As we're looking at the last three letters that John wrote, and to clarify, not John the Baptist, we're talking about John the Apostle, one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, and in all likelihood, the youngest of all the disciples, of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. He's now the only one left. He's an old man now and he writes these three letters and we're looking at these three letters for the sermon series. And today we're gonna close up looking at his first letter. So we're gonna jump to the very end of that first letter he wrote, 1 John. We're gonna start at verse, we're going to start at verse 13 and just read to the end of the chapter. So again, like think for a moment. Engage your brains for a second here. This man walked and talked with our Lord and Savior. John was the last one alive. John was the only one there at Jesus' crucifixion. And this kid brother of the faith is now the father figure of the church. He's the only one left. He writes this seemingly open letter to the Christians back then, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, it's written to us here and now. And listen to how this giant of the faith ends his first letter. We'll read 1 John chapter 5, start at verse 13 and just go to the end of the chapter. With that, would you hear the word of the Lord? John writes and he says this. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have asked of Him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask God and God will give him life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that does not lead to death. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, that we may know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. This is God's Word. Let's pray and we'll get after it. Let's pray. Father God in heaven, Lord on this 4th of July weekend, we who are Americans, we celebrate our freedom and we are thankful for it, Lord. But for those of us who know your Son, we know that our freedom is eternal. And so, Lord, I pray that for those who can hear my voice, I pray that they'll come to know the voice of the Lord, that they may know and trust in Jesus for not just temporal freedom, but eternal freedom and eternal life. Holy Spirit, would you please open our hearts and minds today to receive your truth, that we would be transformed by it. And we pray these things in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And everyone said very loudly. Amen. Amen. Amen. So Peace Church, if there was a message that I'd want to give you here on a morning that's special to me, I think this would actually be it. Talking about Jesus and confidence. So here's the main point I'd leave for you this morning. If you just take away one thing, here it is. Of all the many things our faith gives us, it gives us confidence. That's our main point this morning. If you are in the faith, please hear and be reminded of this. And if you're not a Christian, number one, I'm so thankful you're here, but if you're not a Christian, would you listen this morning to hear what you are missing out on? In a world of confusion and corruption, Christians have Christ and we have confidence. So as we look at this passage today, I want to warn you, it's kind of a tricky passage, but here's going to be a path through it this morning. Of all the many things our faith gives us, it gives us confidence. Confidence in our salvation given from God, confidence in our prayers to God, and confidence in our relationship with God. I don't know about you, but I like to listen to sermons throughout the week. Anyone else listen to podcasts, listen to sermons throughout the week? So I do. And I can tell you, sometimes when I listen to other pastors, not the pastors of Peace Church, other pastors out there in the world, sometimes they tell stories, and I'll be honest with you, I kind of roll my eyes sometimes. Because sometimes when pastors tell stories, it sounds like a story that only a pastor could tell. Like it sounds like a story only a pastor would live. Like normal people don't do those sort of things. And so I'm going to tell you a story this morning that unfortunately sounds like it would come from a pastor. So here's how it starts. So I was debating this Muslim this one time on the streets of London. True story. True story. Actually it was on a trip that, it was a number of years ago, and actually we have a number of youth who are on that very same trip right now, over in London, if you are, if you know what I'm talking about. They landed safely this morning after some delays, but they're on the ground. And what it is, it's an evangelism training and a worldview development trip. So you go to London, in many ways it's kind of like the capital of the world. So many religions and cultures are in London. And they're studying how to evangelize, and they're studying other religions and other worldviews. It's great. So they study in the morning, then they go out and practice in the afternoon. And I was on this trip a number of years ago, and I found myself engaging in a robust, but a kind-hearted, a robust debate with a Muslim man. And the topic turned to the nature of salvation. And I basically asked him, how do you know that you're saved? And he said, I know, I believe that I'm saved because I trust in the mercy of Allah. And he basically told me that when he dies, that Allah or Allah will look at the good life that he's lived and then Allah will be merciful to him and grant him everlasting paradise. So I said to him, well, so it sounds to me like that it's partly you're saying that it's your God's mercy but it sure seems like a lot hangs on you living a very good life I said do you think that you're that good of a person and he basically said well I try to be and I said to him this is the difference this is the difference between your religion and mine this is the difference between your God and my God you ultimately put your hope and being rewarded by your good works But you won't really know until you stand before your God but I I Do I put no trust in myself? My salvation does not come from from me being a good life or God being merciful to me because I've been a good person My salvation comes from God's grace because I will never be good enough to inherit heaven. And I think if you all here truly examine and look at the mirror of your soul, I think we all know in our heart of hearts, we do not deserve heaven. I said, you know, this whole notion of getting what we don't deserve, this is called grace. And I'm telling you, the grace of Yahweh is better than the mercy of Allah. That is what we have in Jesus. See, this is what makes Christianity different from every other religion. We contribute nothing to what saves us. And oddly enough, that is the very thing that gives us confidence in our salvation. I am telling you, the second you add me to the equation of my salvation, that's when I start to lose hope. You take me out of the equation and you say, this is completely the work of God, I have a lot of confidence in that. This is the great difference between Christianity and every other world religion. In its basic sum form, every other religion basically says live a good life and maybe you'll get to heaven. Christianity says, we know you can't. That's why Jesus came and did it for you. This is the great difference between Christianity and every other religion. Church, I've said it before, I'll say it again. The second you add me to the necessity of my salvation, that's when I lose hope. But when you place it squarely at the foot of Jesus, that's when I have the utmost confidence in my salvation. Look what John writes. If you question your salvation like so many people have come to me and questioned theirs, I want you to hold on to this verse. 1st John 5 13, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. That you may know. Not so that you may question, not so that you may wonder, not so that you may doubt, not that you may worry or wonder if you're gonna pass the test when you stand before God, that you may know that you have eternal life. But you may know that you have eternal life if you believe in the name of Jesus. Not acknowledge the name, not respect the name, not acknowledge its prominent place in history, but if you believe in the name of the Son of God, Jesus, if you believe in the name of the Son of God, Jesus, may you know you have eternal life, because it's what Christ has done for you, not what you do for Him. I'm sure most of you would probably know the lyrics to this old song. I'll read the first couple lines, see if you can finish the last line. It says this, air of salvation, purchase of God, born of his spirit, washed in his blood. Washed in his blood. Like if you grew up singing that song, you'd probably forget how, like, utterly grotesque that may sound to someone who has no idea what you're talking about. Washed in His blood. Spiritually speaking, yes, the blood of Jesus washes us and makes us new. What's the name of that song? Anybody know? Blessed Assurance. Foreshadow the closing song. Blessed Assurance. assurance. Because that's what we have in our Savior. That's what Christianity has that no other religion can offer you. Blessed assurance in your salvation. Welcome to Jesus. It's because of Him that we have confidence. It's because of Him that we have assurance. It's because of Him that we have salvation. No matter where or how the world actually goes, goes for Christians we know it ultimately turns out all right. Of the many things our faith gives us it gives us confidence in our prayers to God is the second thing. Confidence in our prayers to God. Before we get into this I wonder for those of you who are married in the house for those of you who are online watching for those of you who are married here's the question I have for you. How often do you have real, rich, deep, faith-filled conversations with your spouse? How often do you have real, rich, deep, faith-filled conversations with your spouse. And here's, I said it, I'll say it again, not here to shame anyone, I've got a young family, I get it, life is busy. But, but, here's what I'd say to you. The depth of our relationships is intimately tied to the depth of our communication. Same goes for marriages, and the same goes for our faith. The depth of our faith is in so many ways intimately tied to the depth of our prayer life. And of the many things that our faith gives us, it gives us confidence in our prayers to God that by the blood of Jesus, we have access to God, that through the name of Jesus, we know that our prayers are lifted to God's heavenly throne room. Look at verses 14 and 15. I'm gonna tell you these next couple verses they get kind of tricky So stay with me We'll have it on the screen But it's best if you have an open in your Bible in front of you verse 14 Says and this is the confidence that we have toward him that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us And if we know that he hears us and whatever we ask we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him I get that's a little tricky here. So let's let's try to play it out for a second here again these two verses the next two Stay with me For verses 14 and 15 that we have here before us the point that John is trying to make is that through our faith as? We become more Christlike as we grow more into the image of Jesus We'll be more and more Conforming to the image of God's will the more that our lives will conform and that we will seek to have our lives conform to God's image and to God's will and our prayers will reflect this. I love what John Stott says about this passage here. I'll have a put up on the screen. I love this quote. Says prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, but bending his or bending his will to ours. But prayer is but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his. It is by prayer that we seek God's will, embrace it, and align ourselves with it. Every true prayer is a variation on the theme, thy will be done. Meaning, our faith, if we are growing in our faith, it will lead us into a deeper prayer life, and if we enter a deeper prayer life, we'll see our faith grow. And prayer is communication with God, not a God who is distant, not a God who doesn't have time for you, but a God who is present, who gave his very self for you. And he hears us. He hears us when we approach him in faith in the name of his son. John is calling us to a deeper prayer, a deeper prayer life where we walk with God and we learn to trust Him all the more. But then he takes this notion of prayer and he addresses something that is, he takes this notion of prayer and he addresses something that is, in all honesty, really confusing. And we don't have time to fully flesh it out because, well that would take centuries, because for centuries theologians have been trying to discern exactly what john's getting at here so let's look at these next two verses here versus 16 and 17 among the most confusing verses in all scripture I think he says this if anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death he shall ask and God will give him life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that does not lead to death. Okay, again, like we don't have time to sort this all out because theologians have been trying to sort it out for centuries. So let me just point out a couple of things about this section here that I think is important for us. First thing, remember, this is a letter, while inspired by the Holy Spirit, this is a letter that a man wrote to fellow believers. And it feels very real because of that. So, it's quite possible that John is using known phrasing for the time that he was living, maybe a sort of like insider language that we've maybe lost over time. But again, this shows us that it's a real letter written by a real man to a real audience. And while we don't know exactly what he means, it's an all likelihood, maybe the original audience did. So here's what we can do. We can take some general implications from these two verses and apply it to our lives. If you want to talk about some of the specific debates about people's assumptions and guesses and study about what John means, we can talk about that later. But for for right now, let's just take some general implications and apply it to our lives. First one is this, sin is serious business. While we don't contribute anything to our salvation, I think what the wrong thing people do is, they think, well, then I guess it doesn't matter if I sin, because Jesus saves me anyway. And John's basically saying, real Christians don't talk like that. So number one, sin is serious business. But the other thing that we see is we see the power of prayer highlighted here. The power of prayer among Christians praying for each other. And this ties into a larger idea about how faith gives us confidence in our prayers. The moral of the story I think here is this, that if you see a fellow Christian You do not gossip about it. If you see another Christian in sin, start with prayer. Why? Because of our faith in Christ, we can have confidence in our prayers, which leads to the last notion here, confidence in our relationship with God. Please hear me on this. Confidence in our relationship with God. Church, I want you to hear from me, like this, this is what I missed out on for so long. I grew up in a sense going to church and I went to Sunday school as a little guy and I learned my Bible stories, but I can tell you this, I was never told or taught about a relationship with God. In fact, when I first heard that language as a teenager, that just, it didn't compute to me. Like, God, that being that's like way out in heaven or somewhere, like have a relationship with him? What does that even mean? This is what I missed out on for so many years. Christ has come to reconcile us to God. So follow me on this. See, sin, sin, all the wrongdoing we do in our lives, sin has destroyed our relationship with God. But one of the things that Jesus came to do is he came to restore what sin has destroyed. And so John, again, who walked with Jesus, who knew the texture of Jesus' hair, John who walked with Jesus, who stood by Him as Jesus was crucified. John says this amazing thing in verse 18. He says, we know that everyone who has been born of God, speaking about Christians, I want to clarify some things on the screen here for you. We know that everyone who has been born of God, meaning Christians, we do not keep on sinning. But He who was born of God, meaning Christ, talking about the incarnation when Jesus was born on earth, but He who was born of God protects Him, meaning Christians. And the evil one, Satan, does not touch Him. Let's unpack that for a second here. But before we do, I think it was last week, last week I was interviewed by a woman from Nashville, Tennessee, who works for a Christian magazine called Outreach Magazine. She called me to tell me something pretty cool. That among the 100 fastest growing churches. Isn't that crazy? And so she was writing some articles on these churches, and so she called me and she wanted to know, like, why? And, of course, it is all God. 100% God from top to bottom and she was very kind and she was like yes, yes, yes, but what are you doing? and I just said, you know, I Can't tell you anything. I can't tell you anything fantastic. I can't tell you anything sexy I can't tell you anything that's gonna like make a newsworthy article. We just try to preach the Bible and be a good church We want to love our neighbor and we want to glorify God and we want to reach out, we want to know the truth, we want to proclaim the truth, and that's really who we are, and people keep coming. And she was like, okay, but what are you doing? And I was like, okay, I thought really hard, and here's what I said. I said, okay, I think I can give you something that's maybe a distinctive, maybe. We'll see how, we'll see. I said, here's what I can tell you. This is one thing that constantly amazes me about Peace Church. I said, as the lead pastor of this church, I said, what's odd to me is that I cannot challenge this church enough. And not me, but, but scripture, like scripturally speaking, like I cannot bring a hard enough challenge to this congregation that they just don't rise to the challenge of, but they go on to exceed it. I said, every time I laid down a hard challenge, a challenge that I think would actually like prune the church, like a challenge that I think would like turn people off and make them like never wanna come back here, like every time I bring one of those messages, we grow by like 150 people the next week. I'm like, I don't get it, but I do get it. Because this is what I've come to understand. Our world is sick of the fluff. Our world is looking for something true and eternal and something that transcends what's going on in our wacky world. I said, our church wants to know the truth and they want to apply it to their lives and they're doing it. Like we just said, this is a side note here, like we just told you, we just did our year end, we just closed up our fiscal year 20% ahead of the budget and when we like approved this budget, it was enormous step of faith for us. And it's like church just continues to give and give and give. And I'm telling you right now, it's not because it's funding me or Pastor John's man cave, okay? I don't have one. It's called the furnace room in my basement. True story. But this church loves the Lord and they love to see a church equipped. We were able to purchase that house without even dipping into our reserves. And we continue to give to our missionaries and we continue to great ministry and this church just continues to do amazing, amazing things. And that's just financially speaking. I'm hearing constant testimonies of you reaching out with the faith and sharing the gospel with nonbelievers. And that pumps me up. I'm seeing I'm meeting new people every single time that you have been reaching out to and sharing the gospel with. And it just seems like I cannot lay down a hard enough challenge that this church just doesn't, it's like you're thirsty for it. Because we're sick of the fluff and we want something real. So if you want a challenge, John lays down a really good one right here. He says, we know that everyone who has been born of God, speaking of Christians, we know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning. Do you feel challenged? That's a massive challenge. So let me clarify a few things. John is not saying that once we become a Christian we'll never again sin. What he's saying is that for those who become Christians, we will not willfully, continuously give ourselves to what we know is wrong in God's eyes. Because Christians don't live for the self, we don't live for the world, we don't look for the approval of man. Christians live for God. And so Christians, if you found yourself trapped in a habitual sin, if you found yourself constantly doing that very thing that you know God doesn't want you to do, I think one reason could be you've kind of strayed from Jesus. Christ is no longer first in your heart. You're not walking with your Savior. You're not spending time daily at the foot of the cross being reminded again of God's great love for you. It's because you've become distant from your Savior. It's like this. I think most people, most people are less likely to swear or tell dirty jokes the more that their kids are around. And it's not because kids are a buzzkill, it's because kids remind us of things that are more wholesome and holy, and let's just be honest, more truly joyous. And I think that's what it's like the more that we stay with Jesus, right? He's not a buzzkill. Jesus reminds us of what is more holy and wholesome and joyous. I'm telling you right now, for the Christians in the house, the true Christians who are walking with their Savior, they're the most joyous people I know. No matter how dark or weird the world gets, we are people that do not lose our joy because we stay close to our Savior who's ever calling us to Himself. He says, but we know that everyone who's been born of God, Christians, we do not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God, meaning Christ, he protects us from the evil one. Meaning, when we are closer to Jesus, we're not just saved from sin, but we're more protected from Satan and his influence in our lives. So let's talk about him for a second. Verse 19 says, we know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. I don't like talking about Satan, but let's spend a moment. I tell you what, the devil isn't even trying to hide anymore. He is on full display. Award shows public TV and award shows are showing men and women dressed up as Satan and demons acting out all sorts of atrocious things. Do you know that there are actual satanic after-school clubs put on by the satanic temple? By the way, the satanic temple just announced that they reached 700,000 members. The devil's not even trying to hide anymore, but we welcome him like it's comical and childish and kiddish. There is a real evil purveying our culture that's not even trying to hide in the shadows anymore. And Christians, you want to know the number one way to combat it? What's the number one way to combat the darkness? It's with the light. And that's what Christians are to bring to this world. We're to bring the light that casts out the darkness. The whole world lies in the power of the evil one. But we know one who is more powerful than him. So let's talk about him for a moment. And we know that the Son of God, Jesus, the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true, meaning God. And we are in Him who is true, in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God in eternal life. He is the true God in eternal life. So there is some ambiguity in the original Greek. We're not exactly sure, does He refer to the Son, Christ, or God the Father? We don't know. There's debate over that. Either way, John is saying to us, despite Satan's power in the world, we are protected because we are in God. And this gives us confidence, confidence in Christ. I'm not trying to speak anything into existence. I'm just trying to acknowledge what's real and what's probably going to happen. Satan clubs for kids will continue to grow in our world. The demonic will become more and more normalized and accepted in our world. But church, but church, do not fret. When this happens, do not run around like a bunch of chickens with your head cut off. Don't freak out on social media. We know one who is more powerful. We know how the story ends. So stand up, shine the light, and show people confidence. Not pride, we just got done with that month. Not worry, that's not who we are in Jesus. We are people of confidence because of God, because of what he's done and what he's done for us. Church, this is a time to be diligent and vigilant. And I think that call is actually summed up in this last little line that John ends with. It seems like an odd line to end with, but here's what John says. It says, little children, keep yourselves from idols. This is how John ends his letter. This enormous, beautiful, big, bold letter, John ends it with this weird little line that just says, it's just kind of abrupt, he just says, little children, keep yourselves from idols. I don't think John is speaking to six-year-olds here. I think him being the father of the church, he's speaking to all of us. We are to keep idols from our lives. And idols, what are those things? Hear me on this church, idols are anything that keeps our heart away from God. Anything that we place in our life that takes the place of God, or is more important than God. And I wonder, can you spot those in your own heart? I wonder, can you identify those in your own life? What is taking the place of God? What is becoming more important to you than Jesus? I wonder, can you name the idols in your life? Is it money? Is it sports? Is it a boyfriend? Is it that wretched little device we call a cell phone? Let me ask you, do you have people in your life who love you and love the Lord who could point those out for you? Because here's what I'm going to tell you, if you don't have those people in your life, I think it's going to be really hard in this world to grow in Christ. We are meant to have fellowship with one another. So back to the beginning. For those of you who have repented and believe in the name of Jesus, please do not wonder if you are saved or not. Don't add yourself to the equation. Don't let idols speak whispers into your ears. If you believe in the name of the Son of God, if you believe in the name of Jesus, He's taking care of your salvation for you. John says, I write these things to you, that you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. Of all the things our faith gives us, it gives us confidence. And what better way to close a morning like this is with that old hymn, Blessed Assurance. Amen. Amen. Amen. Transcribed with Cockatoo