Preparing for Worship This Weekend

I hope that as you prepare for worship this weekend, whether you are here or away on vacation, I hope your heart is stirred in adoration for King Jesus.

Hillsong United on Worship from Family Life on Vimeo.

Romans 3- Heroes of the Bible and World

Why is it that Sunday School curriculum's insist there there are heroe(s) of the Bible? Haven't they read the Scriptures? Let's take a whirlwind tour of our so called heroes. Jacob was a liar and swindler. Yet he became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses was timid and fearful. When he was finally used of God in the second half of his life, his insecurities lead him to trust in means more than he trusted in God. This kept him out of the promised land. Gideon, who had a great victory, was in fact a coward. David, the man after God's heart, leveraged his power to seduce an attractive woman. She was already married when he did this. When news came that she was pregnant with David's child, he tried to cover it up with lies. When the deception wasn't working he essentially had the husband murdered. He was an adulterer, liar, betrayer, and murderer. Yet, we call him our hero. Move to the new testament and we get the same picture. Peter was brash and illogical. He betrayed the King of Glory. Then was restored. But, even after being restored he had a sinful tendency. He played favorites with the Jews and was confronted by Paul. Paul too was less than perfect. Before his conversion he was a passionate Christian hater and murderer. Even after conversion he had character flaws like arrogance and a divisive spirit. He dealt with ongoing sin (Romans 7) and a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble, which he needed badly. The Corinthians said of him, "His letters are weighty, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing" (2 Corinthians 10:10).

Do you see yet? The Bible is full of ordinary people. There is only one hero of the Scriptures, Jesus Christ. That is what Romans 3 tells us as well.

"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:10-18).

Here we have a clear picture of the fallen state of humanity. Some claim that humans are inherently good and we just need to unlock their potential... The Bible actually says we are inherently bad and we need a total soul makeover. Let me be clear; humanity has phenomenal potential for good. We are created in God's own image. But that image is scarred and marred by the fall. No amount of cover-up make up and good works can repair the image of God in man. Only God himself is able to restore to fullness the image of God in man by the work of Jesus Christ. Left on our own we are incredibly unrighteous. We see this come out at night in the dark crevices of society. The tendency toward wickedness is pervasive. There is no one righteous on their own... We need the transformational righteousness of Jesus Christ. God apart from our efforts, and to His own glory by his grace, declares the wicked, "Righteous!"

Unbelievable!?! I know who the true hero is... it is Christ.

Romans 2- Inconsistency

Inconsistency is frustrating.... why is it that when we boast in our relationship with God, proclaim to be teachers of the truth, desire to be a light for the world, why is it that tend to be hypocrites and not deliver the goods? Our lives do not always demonstrate the realities that we claim.

One of the reasons why God so swiftly delivers this gospel punch to our guts is because we often need it. We oftentimes actually think that we measure up. We need to be constantly reminded that we don't. In the context, Romans two leads to Romans three where Paul is saying, "There is no one righteous, no one who seeks God, not even one."

Most older generations fear going to the hospital. They believe that they are well and that if they are to go to the hospital then all of sudden things start breaking. They believe the cause is the hospital visit. It is a classic mix up. The reality is that the sickness has been lying beneath the surface. To the onlooker, and the patient, everything appears fine, but in reality there is a life-threatening disease that needs to be dealt with. Once the physician finds the problem he can administer the much needed care.

In the same way, Romans 2 uncovers the sickness. You are not who you claim to be.... you who brag about the law actually fail to live up to the law you so love. You who teach others about the ways of God, actually you fail to teach them to yourself. You are sick and in need of soul care.

My conviction here is that most people misunderstand the remedy. I think you can read Romans two and resolve to set your life in order. Because of the deep conviction inflicted on you, you have a new kindled desire to change. You break the law so naturally you put into place more things that will help you live out the law. You fail to live up to what you teach others so you work harder at listening to your own message. You try harder to become better. Let me say this with emphasis: Morality is not the answer. Jesus is.

Romans 3, heart of the Gospel, is where Jesus breaks into the scene and masterfully administers his scalpel to your soul, remedying your greatest need. The process is painful, but the end result is glorious. Jesus transforms us into His likeness by His Spirit. That is real change.

Lets bring this down to real life. You and I will sin before the day is out.... We are not who we claim to be. The process to godliness is not to try harder not to sin, although we are to exert all the effort we possibly can. The process to godliness is to return to the Surgeon, lay yourself on His operating table, and tell Him the symptoms. Confess your sins to Him. Express your desire to be different and let Him work His grace afresh. I know this process seems redundant! Every single day we are need of this. You may say,"But, how many times Cory?! Shouldn't there be a point when Jesus gets sick of this?! Shouldn't I just shape up so that He doesn't have to do the procedure again?!" No my friend. That counsel is from Hell. The quicker you are to rely on yourself, the quicker that means you dismiss Jesus' work on the cross.

I know it seems incredible that when we continue to sin He continues to forgive us.... the reason is because it is incredible. But we must learn to run to Jesus! I need to hear this over and over and over again!

Romans 2- The Stupidity of Religion

"Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth-- you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."" (Romans 2:17-24)

When I was little, I was involved in martial arts for a couple of years. For the most part it was fun, but there were a couple of experiences that were less-than fun. One of those less-than-fun experiences was getting an unexpected kick to the gut. If you are prepared you can tense your body up and take the blow in stride, but if you are not ready for it, you lose all the air in your lungs. Your abdomen feels like "the blob" at summer camp when a chubby kid drops on it from the towering high dive. The whiplash of the blow sends your diaphragm up like a tidal wave which crashes on the shores of your lungs, evacuating your life-giving ability to take in oxygen. No matter how great of a fighter you are, this is crippling. (It is also embarrassing if it causes you to moan like an injured animal). Come to think of it, I hate martial arts;)

Romans 2 has that sort of effect on me. It is a swift gospel-kick to the abdomen of my soul. It deflates my self-centered, self-reliant, religious, Pharisaical lungs. Most seasoned Christians are jocking and vying for the best religious seat in the house. We attend church weekly, we listen to christian audio(music, sermons, etc...), we maybe read a little christian literature, some christian blog, we abstain from gross moral sin as best as we are capable, and we boast. We boast in our ability to be good "christians." Let me warn you though, God hates "good christians." When Jesus talked to a bunch of religious people (what we might call "good christians") he said they weren't sons of God, but instead, sons of the Devil (John 8:44). The Devil himself seems to advocate self-reliance in becoming a good person, "I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). Which is the mantra of "good christians" everywhere. Good christians say things like; I will attend church, I will change my life, I will become a better husband, I will get control over my emotions, I will, I will, I will... Which is dangerously similar to Isaiah 14:13,14. The reality of that attitude is that you do not need a god if you are a god for yourself. If it is within you to change your life for the better then why would you need Jesus? Do you see the absurdity of Christ if you are religious?! If you are religious then you can come to church and God can stay home. We don't need Him.

Look again to Romans 2. "If you are convinced you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, etc..." Those are all well and good but subtract God from them and they become religious and spiritually dead. Those that practice outward appearances of good without real inward gospel-change are spiritually dead too! "You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?" (vs. 21). There seems to be a contradiction between what is being said and what the teacher's life actually demonstrates. This is the case with religion, it has no power to actually change people. It is a form and it is a dead form. Furthermore, the form leads to hypocrisy and even slander of the Name. "As it is written: God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you"" (vs. 24). A religious person can never live up to the holiness and righteousness of God Himself. Our best efforts are laughable and sub par (Isaiah 64:6).

We must be warned of this! It's been said over and over, "religion is the default of the human heart." We naturally resort back to "I will" statements. We naturally become a god for ourselves looking for ways to save ourselves and others.

Paul tells us what we need... we need an inward change by The Spirit. We need an inward circumcision of our hearts and Spiritual renewal by God Himself, which He provides for us by His grace, through His Son (vs. 28-29). Praise God that even though our religious acts are rebellion, even though we are more likely to trust ourselves than we are to trust God, even though we usually dismiss God and emphasize our own efforts, even in all those things God loved us enough to send Jesus. Jesus is the only one who has the right to say, "I will.... I will be a guide for the blind and a light for the foolish. I will teach you, I will preach the kingdom, I will correct, I will renounce idols, I will make a way." Praise His Name. He rescues rebels like you and me from the stupidity of religion. He delivers a gospel-kick to the gut. He does this so we exhale our stale, life-less, puffed up, religious breath, that He can fill us with the life-giving Spirit!

Romans 2- The Desperate Need of the Gospel

Let's be clear on this next portion of Romans 2. Those that have not heard the gospel will stand condemned. We must feel the seriousness and urgency so we will take up our calling to make disciples with haste.

"Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secret through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares" (Romans 2:14-16).

Paul notes that even those that do not have the law do things required by the law because the law is written on their hearts (vs. 14-16). So even a people group in the jungle with no Bible will stand condemned on the basis of their own moral compass (the law written on their hearts by the finger of the Almighty), or as a previous entry noted, by their tape recorders. I hope you see the need for the Gospel!?! The Bible clearly says, "All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law" (vs. 12). We must conclude that all people groups that have ever existed, stand under the curse of sin, the curse of Adam (Romans 5). And, all people groups are in desperate need of liberation, by and through the work of the second Adam, Jesus Christ (Romans 5).

How should this effect us? Well, by very nature, it begs us to take action. The fact that we sit idly by as many of our friends and coworkers race toward everlasting destruction is sin on our part. We cannot remain cool or calm regarding others that do not know Christ. We are compelled to share. Not because we want to convert or win over others to our way of thinking, but because out of great love and compassion, we want to rescue them from torment and deliver them into a everlasting kingdom of joy.

This passage should also inform our world missions. On the local front we are concerned for those that do not profess Christ. But, there are presentations available. We live in a Church saturated society. The gospel, if you don't know, is being preached in Beloit, Wisconsin and the surrounding areas. There are Disciples of Jesus in our midst that are making Him known. However, there are places where there is no visible Church of Jesus Christ. There are places where the gospel has not penetrated the darkness and it is our duty to pray, give, and sacrifice (even our own lives if necessary) to see the Gospel reach those places and those people.

Romans 2-Condemned by Yourself

When it comes to this concept of judgment found in Romans 2, I think Francis Schaeffer does a superb job of illustrating. He writes about it like this:

Let us suppose for a moment that as each baby is born, a tape recorder is placed about its neck. Let us further suppose that this tape recorder works only when moral judgments are being made. Aesthetic judgments, etc., are not recorded, but every moral judgment is. Throughout one's whole life, every moral motion is recorded upon the tape recorder. Finally, when each person dies and stands before God in judgement, God pushes a button and each person hears with his own ears his own moral judgments as they roll out over the years: "You were wrong in doing this. You are wrong in doing that." Thousands of moral judgments pour forth, and God simply turns and says, "On the basis of your own words, have you kept these moral standards?" And each man is silent. No person in all the world has kept the moral standards with which he has tried to bind others. Consequently, God says, "I will judge you upon your own moral statements (those judgments upon which you have bound and condemned others), even if they are lower than moral statements should be. Are you guilty or not guilty? No one will be able to raise his voice. The whole world will stand totally condemned before God in utter justice, because they will be judged not upon what they have known, but upon what they have judged others and have not kept themselves. So all men must say, "Indeed I am justly condemned." (A Christian View of the Church pg.278)

As you can see, God is utterly just in His dealing with us. I try to emphasize this over and over, there will never be a person in Heaven that feels slighted. Grace will be the only explanation of why anyone is present.

Romans 2- So Quick to Judge

"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things." (Romans 2:1).

Why is it so natural to judge? As I sit here and try to think of things and people that I condemn, I am having a hard time coming up with a substantial list. The reason however, is not because I do not judge, but because it is so natural that I hardly give a thought to it. The reality is that I judge all the time. I judge people that I come in contact with, I judge the performance of others, I judge the attitudes displayed by others, I judge motives, I judge content, I judge, I judge, I judge.

Now the reason why this passage is so indicting is because it says, "you who pass judgement do the same things." It would be one thing if I was morally blameless. However, the reality is when I am judging something or someone else, I am judging something that I myself do or have done.

We all stand guilty. We are each guilty of being annoying, guilty of not looking or acting a certain way, guilty of flaws, guilty of making mistakes, guilty of reacting wrongly, and most damning-- guilty of treason against God. But, God in His infinite kindness, tolerance, and patience, has lead us to repentance (vs. 4). Imagine for a moment, that God actually gave you what you deserve... Recently the Great Accuser has marched my most embarrassing sins through my mind in an effort to discourage. They are absolutely terrible sins that I wish I could undue. Take a moment to think through some of the utterly despicable things you have done.... What if God treated you as your sins deserved? We would all be in a lot of trouble. Yet, God in his grace has redeemed us by Jesus' death on a cross. Amazing! But let us press this even further. Even after your conversion, you still do things that are absolutely punishable. This week even, when given the option of obedience or sin, you chose sin. (I'm not a prophet. I simply know my own flaws and think they are common to humanity.) But, God is still patient with you!?! Isn't this bizarre?!?

In 1555 John Bradford was burned at the stake for being a protestant Christian. He was known as a compassionate and Christ-like man. Also, he had made a habit of cultivating a life of repentance. Meaning, he made it his ambition to see his own flaws and shortcomings and repent of them quickly. One of the practices that he was known for, I heavily recommend to you: When Bradford would see criminals being lead out to execution he would say, "There but for the grace of God go John Bradford." (Rediscovering Holiness, by JI Packer pg. 116).

We live in a world of broken and messed up people. We need to be careful that we do not judge others for what we ourselves do. Whenever I see someone who is stumbling through life, making mistakes, and sinning, I should remind myself, "there but for the grace of God goes Cory Williams."

Spring 2010 Newsletter

Here is a link to a newsletter to let parents and families know what is going on around Central these days. If you are a parent or student check it out here.

If God Wants His People to Grow Up...

My dad reminded me tonight of a great video from John Stott Ministries also known as the Langham Partnership. It is a beautiful reminder of the global church and the basic requirements of spiritual growth. Superb.

"If God wants His people to grow up, which He does... and if they grow by the Word of God, which they do... and if the Word of God comes to them mainly through preaching, which it does, then the logical question to ask is, "what can we do to raise the standards of biblical preaching?" Because then the Word of God will come to the people of God more effectively, and they will grow up to the glory of God Himself."

John Stott's Final Chapter

Last month was a big month for "uncle John," as some call him. The release of his newest and self-proclaimed last book took place mid April. Which was followed by his 89th birthday last week.

His last book is titled, "The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of our Calling" is a beautiful work.

A few years ago Stott wrote a book called "The Living Church" in which, after decades of serving the Church, he wrote a phenomenally profound and incredibly simple book on what the church should be. I was rocked as I read this man's honest assessment of what the Church needs to strive for.

The Radical Disciple had a similar affect. As Stott is now in the final chapter of his life, he is assessing his many years of experience and addressing the generations to come. In this book he looks at what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He takes up eight different profound yet simple aspects that Christ followers should exhibit.

The eight aspects are rather diverse. I believe that is because he is emphasizing "neglected" aspects. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Simplicity. That is an area that I have often neglected in my discipleship. Stott says, "we resolve to renounce waste and oppose extravagance in personal living, clothing and housing, travel and church buildings" (pg. 76). I will be the first to admit that this is a hard aspect to live up to because I am steeped in materialism!

I am sure this will be a book I return to over and over again.

God is Still God, and God is Still Good

I found this video over at the resurgence blog... It is well worth a viewing.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.