Date: 3/10/2021
Scott Manor sermon / Knox follow up questions
- Help me understand how a laity certificate (which costs $9,000) will help me do what is being taught from the pulpit this weekend.
- Sermons are needed, but not sufficient in and of themselves.
- Like most things in life, investment comes with a cost.
- When a Christian at Gateway knows their Bible better, Gateway is going to be a better church.
- I’m excited that I’ve already filled out a pastoral reference for folks who are wanting to know their Bible better through a seminary education.
- How do you see Colossians 3:23 fitting with the message/sermon this week?
- Colossians 3:23 (NLT) – Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
- Ephesians and Colossians were written at the same time. Have a lot of similarities.
- I think Colossians 3:23 reiterates what Scott was emphasizing in his sermon on Ephesians 4 — Pastors/teachers (church leaders) equip the saints to do the work of ministry (and to do so as if you are working for the Lord).
- Is choosing to not engage in a specific ministry the same sinfulness as choosing to not serve in any ministry?
- Serving is a biblical expectation for the people of God. So, to not do so, would be disobedience.
- But if you’re serving in one area, say the nursery, but not serving on the worship team…that doesn’t mean you’re sinning.
- I struggle with ego in the role of my service. What/how should we differentiate service we are doing for God’s purposes instead of our own egos?
- Pride’s a killer when it comes to serving for the glory of God as it makes our service done for the glory of self.
- Ask others for input in your life and service.
- Are you serving only in areas where your good works are seen by others?
- Are you serving out of love for God and others or out of love for yourself?
Questions
- Do you plan to do a study on the book of Revelation? I’d be interested in how Josh landed on an amillennial view. What do you view as the top “trouble verse” for each position and how do you get most comfortable with the a-mill view?
- I’m memorizing Revelation right now, but not planning to preach through it any time soon.
- I did mention to Scott Manor that a class that includes Revelation would be well attended, so that’s something pastor Robert should be looking into.
- How’d I land amillennial? Episode 47 we talked about this.
- I read 3-4 books on each of the different millennial views (dispensational pre-mil; historic pre-mil; post-mil; a-mill).
- I found parts in all of the views that I agreed with as one would hope if these views are using the Bible.
- The question I asked was, “Which of the views has the least significant biblical problem” in my mind?
- Meaning, all of these views have Bible verses that you can ask, “But what do you do about….?” The Bible isn’t a systematic theology. It’s not as clean as systematic theology wants to be (neat little categories). The Bible has paradox and mystery which don’t work well in systematic theology.
- Based on me answering the question, the amillennial view had the least biblical “what about” questions so it seems to be most consistent with the Bible overall (even though it has its issues).
- Historic pre-mil came in a close second though. Post-mil a distant third. And dispensational pre-mil — think the Left Behind series — I found to be the least biblically consistent of all the views. Unfortunately, it was used in a popular fiction series that sold like crazy influencing folks more than their Bible when it comes to their view of end times.
- Troubling verses/issues for each:
- Dispensational pre-mil — the whole system of doctrine is troubling to me; doesn’t seem to interpret the Bible consistently; Daniel parenthesis
- Post-mil — doesn’t seem to take into account verses that talk about how bad things will get near the end.
- Historic pre-mil — “All” (Romans 11; Revelation 19); Is Christ the true Israel, seed of Abraham, etc…?; is Satan not bound right now (Rev 20)?
- Amil — End of Isaiah;
- Word of caution to all of us:
- I get quite a few questions about different teachers and/or books about End Times stuff.
- Be very careful with books that interpret the United States or current events back into Revelation.
- Exegesis vs Eisegesis
- Exegesis — what does the text say? What did the author mean? What did the original recipients/audience understand the text to mean?
- Eisegesis — what do I want this text to say? What does this passage mean to me?
- Eisegesis examples:
- Doing a Bible study, and asking the group, “So what does this passage mean to you?”
- In our nation’s history, people used the Bible to approve slavery.
- Today, people use the Bible to approve of sexual sins. “Homosexuality is different, in the Bible, than what we mean today.”
- And interpreting Revelation, and other End Times passages, with the US as a key figure.
- The original meaning of the author is true for all generations (the last 2,000 years of Christianity). And to those who believe the meaning has changed, did previous generations of Christians lack something central/important to our faith? This isn’t a matter of “could God reveal something new to us today” this is a matter of “why would God withhold this new revelation/interpretation from previous generations? And what might he be withholding from us?”
- So we must ask, “What did John mean when he wrote Revelation?” He had a meaning. A point. A “this is what I mean” and the Spirit was guiding him.
- Once we know what the original author meant (exegesis), then we can turn to “how does this apply to us today” kind of questions. But we can’t let application questions become “What does this mean to us today” — in the sense — that we ignore what the text meant to the original author and audience.
- So these authors/teachers/books should drive you to your Bible. Search what the biblical authors meant and then, like the Bereans in the book of Acts, investigate the claims of the teachers/authors/books with the Bible. The Bible is the filter for what is being said, not these other books being the filter for what the Bible is saying.
- How can I explain to friends and family how God intending for men to be pastors instead of women is not an anti-women viewpoint?
- We’ve covered this on other podcast episodes as well.
- You may not be able to do so if they’re caught up in secular thinking.
- Ultimately the question is who has the final authority? God or us?
- Do we submit to his Word and his order of creation or are we at the top of the food chain and even God must submit to our thoughts/opinions and order of things?
- What’s the offense in God creating men to be pastors and not women?
- Does the “Prosperity Gospel” have a wrong “gospel” and should we not use music from Hillsong, Bethel and Elevation because they are part of the “word of Faith/ Prosperity” movement. I’ve heard some pretty scathing critiques and negative testimonials about these churches on Youtube. It’s hard to know what sources to trust.
- Yes, the prosperity gospel is a wrong or false gospel.
- Word of faith/prosperity movement is pretty tricky. It’s not like there’s a denomination or club that people all sign up for membership in. So it can become subjective as to who should be included in these groups.
- Youtube critiques — there’s one about Gateway on Youtube — supposedly we worship Baal — or at least Gateway did when Ben was pastor according to the video.
- Music from churches
- What do the lyrics say? Are they biblical? Gospel oriented?
- Paul quotes unbelievers in his letters because the quote contained truth.
- I have been reading in Hebrews 11 recently, and love personal questions. So, can each of you share about someone in your life that speaks to you by their example of faith? Please share, whether past or present, but specifically someone you have known, and identify how their faith has encouraged you.
- Josh – Karl House (podcast interviews)
- Will Pastor Josh please play jazz saxophone for the 100th episode? Just the intro music! If not, you should have Jared do it. Something tells me that guy has a natural talent for jazz saxophone 🙂
Final Thought: Josh
- When one person at Gateway begins to know their Bible better the whole congregation is getting better.
- Keep reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible.
- Let God’s Word be the authority in your life and God’s Spirit will empower you to be faithful men and women who follow Jesus.