DATE: 2-22-26

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

A few weeks ago, we reintroduced an ancient practice to our worship services — a time of pastoral prayer. Where — each week — we’re being more intentional about praying for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and world. 

Today we’ll be praying for our friends in Bucyrus. This is their last Sunday with us — as their new pastor begins next week. We’ll pray for those who serve our community as emergency medical responders. We’ll pray for those who serve in the military. And we’ll pray for our Christian witness around the world as this is the first Sunday of Lent. 

Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, what a gracious God you are. For every good and perfect gift comes from you — including the gift of fellowship with our friends in Bucyrus. And how thankful we are that they’ve found a pastor to lead them. May you bless them in the weeks and months ahead as they and their new pastor get to know each other. May you forge a sweet relationship between him and the elders. Spirit, may you unite the congregation together in a common purpose — and that purpose isn’t finished now that a pastor has been called — for the purpose you’ve called your church to — wherever she is found — is to go and make disciples of all nations. So may the arrival of their new pastor be the beginning of a new and fruitful season of making disciples of Jesus Christ. 

As we turn our attention to our local community, we lift up to you those who serve as emergency medical responders. Spirit of God, give them quick thinking, wisdom, and steady hands as they help those in need of their service. And we ask you to help them to not only live trying to save the lives of others — but may you help them to live life themselves. To live the abundant life that’s only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.

For our nation’s military — first — we thank you that they’re willing to serve us by protecting our freedom as a nation. As someone who’s served — the further I’m removed from my time in the military — the more I see how precious a thing it is to have others who are willing to give their life so that we can experience the freedoms we have in our country. Even the freedom to disagree with the decisions our military makes is a freedom they’ve secured on our behalf. May you protect them. May you give those in leadership wisdom from on high. And may all of us — no matter our political views — be grateful for those who protect the freedoms we have.

And — finally — as many Christians around the world participate in the season of Lent — the forty days between now and Easter symbolizing the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness before being tempted by Satan — may those who participate — and even those who don’t — recognize and respond to what Jesus accomplished on our behalf during those forty days. Jesus, thank you for denying yourself and overcoming the temptations you faced. The times that we’ve done the opposite are countless — and it’s only by your grace that we find forgiveness when we come to you in repentance and faith. 

May all of us — who believe in Christ — recognize what a gift it is to repent of our sins. What a gift it is to believe in Jesus Christ. What a good and perfect gift salvation is — and may we show the world what wonderful gifts these are — during Lent — and throughout the entire year.

And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. Learning from the younger brother of Jesus who believed that his older brother was the Son of God. And James seems to have taken Jesus at his word — for much of what we read in James — appears to be mini-sermons — explaining, illustrating, and applying what Jesus had taught. So there’s much wisdom for us to gain from what we find in this book — including what James has for us today.

So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to James chapter one — we’ll be looking at verses sixteen through eighteen together today. We’re in James chapter one — beginning in verse sixteen. There we read…

James 1:16–18 ESV

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

This is going to be a very theological sermon. But the goal isn’t for this to just be a sermon for our minds — the goal is for this to be a sermon that penetrates our hearts. For what we’re going to discover today — about God and salvation — is meant to stir not only our minds — but is to excite our hearts as well. Let me explain what I mean.

If you were here with us last week — when we saw God’s purpose in the trials we experience in life — we uncovered a truth about where temptation comes from — and it was a sobering truth. For temptation — we saw — comes from within us — from what’s called our sin nature. In and of ourselves we’re not pure — we’re tainted by sin. It’s the condition we’re born in because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God in the Garden.

Yet we also saw how — one of the habits of our sinful hearts — is to find someone else to blame for the temptation we give into — for we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that temptation comes from within us — so we look outside ourselves. And it’s quite common to throw blame right at God. But James told us that — not only is God not tempted by evil — he also doesn’t tempt us with evil. Meaning — the temptations we face don’t come from God.

We also learned that temptation — when given into — leads to sin. And sin always takes from us — ultimately taking away life — for sin — James tells us — leads to death. And — death — is the ultimate taking away from.

So — in arguing against the belief that God’s the one tempting us and — instead — arguing that temptation comes from within us — James now says…

James 1:16 ESV

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Don’t be deceived. That’s the only command in our verses. So — if you want to know what you’re to do today — this is it: Don’t be deceived. Don’t be misled from having a true and proper belief about where temptation comes from.

The Bible gives us many warnings about being deceived. For instance, why are we deceived? According to Jesus…

Matthew 22:29 NET

29 “You are deceived, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.

While others will be deceived by…

Matthew 24:24 NLT

24 False messiahs and false prophets [who] will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

Or — in a quite memorable way — Paul warns…

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

And the consequences for being deceived are severe.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And none of us are above being deceived. In fact — especially those of us who believe in Jesus should remember how…

Titus 3:3 NIV

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

So…don’t be deceived! Don’t be fooled! Don’t blame God for tempting you to do evil when what’s to blame is the sin within you.

ON GOD

That’s the command James uses to transition us from last week’s text to our verses for today. And — now — he’ll show us how great God is. We’re in verse seventeen.

James 1:17 ESV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In this verse we find incredible truths about God. We find that he’s generous, unchanging, and is light.

First, God is abundantly generous to us. James tells us this in saying that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” 

Now — when I read this verse — the question that came to my mind was, “What’s the difference between a good gift and a perfect gift?” And I don’t know that I discovered any great difference other than what’s pretty obvious: a good gift is something with positive qualities whereas a perfect gift — is just that — perfect — complete — without any deficiency.

Good gifts are something we humans can give. As Jesus says…

Matthew 7:11 ESV

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Obviously Jesus is helping us to question something we so often doubt — something James is reiterating to us: Is God good? Will he be good towards me? 

What Jesus and James are saying is that — because our Father in Heaven is good — he only gives good gifts to his children. To stress his point — Jesus mentions how we humans — as imperfect as we are — have managed to figure out how to give good gifts to our children. And then he says — how much more so does your perfect God know how to give good gifts to his children?

Now the perfect gift — that James refers to — is something we’ll come back to. But our first truth about God is that he is gracious.

Second, God is unchanging. About God — James says — “There’s no variation or shadow due to change.”

Variation is a word that means “mutation or a change of position” — and change means a “turning around or reversing course.” So what great news! God doesn’t change. As Scripture tells us…

Malachi 3:6 ESV

6 “For I the Lord do not change…

And…

Hebrews 13:8 ESV

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God doesn’t change — which means — when you read of God — in the Bible — you’re reading about who God is today — and who he’ll always be. God doesn’t waver in who he is — like we do. Who he is isn’t a response to anyone or anything else. 

• He’s not loving because we’re worthy of his love. He’s loving because he is love. 
• He’s kind because he’s kind. 
• He’s merciful because he’s merciful. 
• He’s just because he’s just. 
• He’s good because he’s good.

With God you get exactly who he says he is — every single time. That’s why we must take him at his word — which means you have to know his word. Let him tell you who he is — to do anything else — is the ultimate act of foolishness.

God is gracious. And God doesn’t change. And — third — he’s the Father of lights. As the apostle John also tells us…

1 John 1:5 ESV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

God is light and in him is no darkness — which is why he’s the Father of lights. Light represents purity — holiness — being completely separate and untainted by evil. And God’s purifying light is so bright and powerful and holy that nothing can block — or interfere with — his light. Nothing stands between God’s light and where he wants it to shine — which is why his light never casts a shadow. For a shadow is what happens when something interrupts light — but nothing can stop God’s light from shining wherever he wants it to shine.

In his gospel — John begins his words about Jesus this way.

John 1:1–5 NLT

1 In the beginning the Word (that’s Jesus) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John goes on to say…

John 1:9–14 NLT

9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn — not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

The Father of lights sent his Son — who is the light of the world — to shine the message of salvation — so that a world clothed in darkness might have hope.

God is gracious. God doesn’t change. And God is light.

ON SALVATION

But there’s one more truth about God that we discover in the next verse — verse eighteen — which is also where we’ll discover the perfect gift that God gives to his children.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Here James focuses on the topic of salvation. But — before we get to salvation — let me explain what’s about to happen. A few weeks ago — I had some guys in my office — and I was showing them how I prepare my sermons — how I take a few verses — like our three verses for today — and end up with a sermon. 

Quite often — a lot of the work that I do in sermon preparation — is actually in my sermon — if you know what to listen for. But I’m going to make it even more clear for you all today as we talk about salvation. So imagine — if you will — that I’ve invited you into my office to show you how I prepare a sermon.

When I’m preparing a sermon — and this can apply to any time you read the Bible — but preparing a sermon is a time when I slow things way down. And while I’m reading the Bible passage — I’m constantly asking questions about the text. And when I tell you the questions I ask you’re going to think, “There’s no way it’s that simple.” I promise — it’s really as simple as what I’m about to tell you. Of course there’s an anointing by the Holy Spirit that makes what one person does — with this process — and spiritually multiplies it to be used for others through preaching — but any follower of Jesus can look at a text, ask the questions that I’m about to share with you, and better understand the Bible.

So here are the secret, mysterious, “got you on the edge of your seat” questions that I ask when I’m preparing a sermon. Are you ready? Got your pen and paper — or your notes app open? Here they are:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• And how?

Anybody’s mind blown right now?

That’s right — who, what, when, where, why, and how — questions you learned to ask back in elementary school! Some of you can’t believe that what I’m saying is true — so let me show you.

Here’s our verse again — and then we’ll ask it some questions. About salvation — James writes…

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

So let’s ask a question: Who? Who’s will is James referring to? Who’s will is it for people to be saved? James writes…

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will…

Who does the word “his” refer to? God the Father. How do we know? Because the Father is the last “who” referred to in our verses.

So look at what James is telling us: God is the one doing the action in our salvation. This is one way to describe God’s sovereignty in our salvation. God’s sovereignty means that God’s in control of all things. And what James is telling us is that — the act of salvation — is an act done to us — it’s not something we do. And — to prove his point — James uses a phrase that’s meant to bring to mind an illustration.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth…

The phrase “brought us forth” is the same phrase he used in verse fifteen when he said…

James 1:15 ESV

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

So what does “brings forth” mean — what is James describing? He’s describing what theologians have called regeneration — or the new birth — or being born again. This is the moment where the Spirit of God gives life to our spiritually dead and stone-like hearts — awakening us to the truth of who Jesus is — leading to our repentance and faith. And — remember — this is of God’s own will and he’s the one bringing us forth — this is an act of God.

Now — I did say that — regeneration does lead to repentance and faith. Repentance is our turning away from sin and rebellion against God — and faith is our turning to Jesus — trusting in him alone for our salvation. Repentance and faith are our choice — we make the decision to repent and believe — this is what is called conversion. But prior to our repentance and faith is a work of God — where he transforms the condition of our heart — so that we can repent and believe in Jesus.

Here’s what Jesus had to say on this topic when he spoke to a man named Nicodemus.

John 3:1–8 NLT

1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

“You must be born again,” Jesus says. “And humans can’t do this — only the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” For — just as sin “brings forth death” — God is the one who “brings forth spiritual life.”

Often — at this point — many people — including many Christians — have a strong reaction against the idea that God — according to his own will — is the one who brings forth new life in those who believe. This is why the illustration of giving birth is so helpful — because — in the illustration that Jesus gives — we’re the baby being born. 

The mom gives birth — the baby is born. No one says, “The baby gave birth to itself” — the mom gives birth. And James and Jesus both say that God is the one who gives spiritual birth to his people. We don’t spiritually birth ourselves — we can’t. But we do respond to the spiritual birth that God gives. And — just like a baby in the womb — there’s nothing that baby can do to stop itself from being born. It may fight. It may fuss. It may even turn itself around and force the doctors to do a C-section — but — it’s gonna be born. So too when it comes to God giving new life to his children.

OK. So God the Father is the “who” — and “what” he’s doing is giving us spiritual birth — but “how” — “how” does this new birth take place? Back to our verse again?

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth…

God the Father gives us new life by the word of truth. And what’s the word of truth? The word of truth is the Word that is truth. As the apostle Peter says…

1 Peter 1:23 NLT

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

Notice how Peter uses the same born again language. And how being born again leads to a new and eternal life. And this new life is eternal because it comes from where? It comes from the eternal, living word of God. And what is the word of God?

That’s a bit of a trick question. For we learn in the Bible that the word of God is both Jesus — as we saw in the gospel of John — and Scripture. But — here — James is referring to the Bible — the written word of God. 

The Bible is God’s Word and it is both true and truth. And the message of salvation — what’s called the gospel — is found in this book. Yes — the gospel can be shared to a friend over lunch without a Bible present — but the message being shared comes from the Bible. And the message of the Bible is the means by which God brings forth new life and saves his people.

As you heard me say in a sermon a few weeks ago — God’s Word to us is his generosity on display — it’s one of his good gifts to us. And it’s a gift — not only to those who believe — but to those who’ve yet to believe.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

And what’s the result of the word of God being alive and powerful? One result is that…

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NLT

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

And one way that God’s word accomplishes this purpose is when pastors…

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

And pastors are to rightly handle the word of truth because they’re called to…

2 Timothy 4:2 NLT

2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

And — through the preached Word — God calls people out of spiritual death and darkness — and into new life that’s found in his marvelous and saving light.

So God the Father uses the word of truth — the gospel — to give us new life. But why does God do this? Back to our verse one last time.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Why does God save us? So that we’d be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So what does that mean?

If you’re thinking, “OK, Josh. We get it. You’re laying all of the who, what, where, when, why, and how on pretty thick right now” — I’d encourage you to take note of how often you hear them in future sermons — or go listen to some past sermons if you’re up for it. For — not only am I preaching a sermon — I’m modeling for you how to read the Bible so that you get the most out of it when you do. And the sermons you hear should make you a better interpreter of the Bible when you read it — which is why I’m taking time to show you how to understand God’s Word when you read it.

So back to us being firstfruits of God’s creatures — what does James mean by that? It means that we’re God’s choice offering — meaning — God considers us the first of all of his creation. 

Paul uses the term this way in writing to Christians in Thessalonica.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Notice — again — who’s doing the act of salvation here? God is. “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved,” Paul says. The Bible’s quite consistent and clear when it comes to salvation. Yet I think firstfruits — in addition to meaning God’s choice offering — gets a bit clearer in its meaning — in another of Paul’s letters. In a section where he also writes about our salvation.

Ephesians 2:1–10 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Though we were once spiritually dead because of our sins — living just like the rest of the unbelieving world as children of the devil — following the desires of our sin nature — subject to God’s wrath and just judgment like everyone else — “but God,” Paul says. There’s God in action once again. “But God” — this God who is abundantly generous, who never changes, and who’s sovereign — “but God, who’s rich in mercy and love, gave us life” — and he raised us up from the dead by the power of Christ’s resurrection. And this is all by grace — it’s undeserved — it can’t be earned — it’s a total and completely free gift from God to his people.

And now we get to the firstfruits part: Why did God do all of this? So that he can show the rest of his creation how gracious and kind he is towards his people. So that he can show all of his creation what he’s done — through Christ — for his beloved children. That’s what it means for his people to be his firstfruits. This is what it means for you — if you believe in Jesus. 

It means that God is lavishing his grace and kindness and favor and mercy and power and love on you — so that the world may know how generous he is — and will always be — to his people — for he is the unchanging God. To be God’s firstfruits means that you’re his masterpiece — and it means he has a specific plan for you — a life to live — a mission to accomplish — so that the world may know of his great and never-ending love for his people.

CONCLUSION

Friends, do you see where James has taken us today? As one person has said, “Far from enticing [us] to evil, God is the source of every good gift, one of the greatest of which is the new birth.”

When you hear me say, “God loves you” — know that this is what I mean by those three words. May you rest in God’s generous, unchanging, and saving love towards you. May you soak it in. May you embrace his love. May you enjoy him and his love for you. May you respond to his love. May you have hope because of his love. And may you show the world what it means to be loved by the God who saves. For he’s the giver of every good and perfect gift — and he is lavishing gifts on you so that the world may know how generous he is to his children. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious and generous Father, we marvel at who you are. We’re in awe. We feel the holy weight of your love towards us right now — and it feels good.

Holy Spirit, may you take your word preached — and use it to give new life to some who are listening. And may you do so at this very moment. For that woman who came here today feeling hopeless — give her eternal hope. For that man who came here today feeling dead inside — may you raise him from the grave and give him new life. For that college student who’s been overwhelmed — may you draw them to the Prince of peace. Spirit, whoever they are — those who — according to God’s own will today is the day of salvation — may you give them life.

And — Jesus — this new life is only possible because you gave your life on the cross for our sins. The good and perfect gift of salvation is ours because you gave the good and perfect gift of your life on our behalf because of your eternal love for us. Thank you for loving us — and for proving your love for us on the cross. We pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / If you’ve responded, please stop by the Resource Center)

Whoever you are — Christian or not — may you respond to God’s generous, unchanging, and saving love towards you. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 8-17-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in Romans this weekend and — to everyone’s delight — we’re moving on from the topic of politics — three weeks on the subject was enough. But we are continuing in Paul’s letter — and we’re in the application section — where he’s showing us how what we believe is to change how we live. 

So — if you have your Bible with you — please turn with me to Romans chapter thirteen. We’ll be in Romans chapter thirteen — looking at verses eight through ten. There Paul writes…

Romans 13:8–10 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Today we’re going to focus on what it means to be people who love others. And we’ll do so by looking at — one — what Paul means when he says that we owe others our love — two — how our love fulfills the law — meaning the Ten Commandments — and — three — what it means to love others as ourselves. What does Paul mean when he says we owe others our love, how does our love fulfill the law, and what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? That’s where we’re headed today.

Now — if you’re here and wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — know that for those who follow Jesus — God’s Word is our final authority on all things — or at least it’s supposed to be. We Christians are a work in progress — individually and corporately — so don’t hold our failures against God. But with God’s Word as our final authority on all things — his definition of love and what it means to be a loving person is what we aim for. Again — God’s Word gives us the ideal — of who we Christians can and should be — but because of our sin — just like you — we regularly fail at being who we long to be. That doesn’t invalidate God’s Word — in fact — many times our failures prove the truthfulness and trustworthiness of God’s Word because — often — it’s like, “Yup. The Bible did say that would happen if I did that.”

• That you’d experience anxiety by putting all of your hope in keeping up your appearance rather than being honest with others about what’s really going on in your life.
• Or that you’d face a seemingly insurmountable gap in your relationship by betraying your spouse for that one night stand on a work trip.
• Or that you’d know the feeling of loneliness by refusing to practice spiritual disciplines that God designed for his people’s good.

So — yes — God’s Word is our final authority. And — yes — we Christians still often try to find a way to fulfill what we long for while ignoring God’s Word. But we gather together each week to sit under God’s preached Word — so that — we’re all drawn back to God and his Word and live the “therefore lives” that Paul’s describing to us. Which — today — is on how we’re to love others.

WE HAVE A LOVE DEBT TO PAY

So let’s jump in by returning to the beginning of verse eight where Paul writes…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…

With as slow as we’re going through Romans — it’s hard to remember how what we’re currently reading relates to what we’ve previously seen in Romans. But not too long ago, Paul wrote…

Romans 12:9–13 ESV

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

We looked at this passage back on Mother’s Day — three months or so ago — which is long enough to miss the connection between it and our verses for today. My point is that our love for others isn’t a new topic for Paul. He brought it up back in chapter twelve — early in his description of what a life changed by Christ looks like. In fact, I’m not sure that Paul ever left the topic of love. In describing genuine love — in Romans twelve — Paul mentions “holding fast to what is good” and “honoring” others. He then tells us how to overcome evil with good and — as we’re all familiar with by now — he goes on to talk about how we’re to honor those who are in authority over us. Including the words…

Romans 13:7 ESV

7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Which then transitions nicely to our verse…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…

Paul’s made it clear — I think — that those who believe in Jesus are not to go delinquent on the debt we owe. Whether it be taxes to the government. Revenue for something we’ve purchased. Respect and honor to those in authority. But — now — he adds love. And Paul says that we’re to owe no one anything — except — to love each other. 

Some take Paul to be saying that Christians are not to have debt — no credit card, car, or mortgage debt. Yet this would be quite odd for Paul to say right after saying, “pay back what you owe people” — including financial debts. I’m not saying we’re free to pile on a bunch of debt — there’s biblical warrant for being careful about debt — but what I am saying is that this kind of debt isn’t on Paul’s mind in our verse — he’s focusing on a different kind of debt we owe: a debt to love others.

In fact — the point of this sermon’s title — “love does no wrong” — is to highlight the importance God has put on love in the life of his people. For God calls his people to be lovers of people — where everything we do is to be done as a loving person. And love does no wrong towards the one loved. As Paul writes elsewhere…

1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV

14 Let all that you do be done in love.

…including — paying back the debts we owe. Which means that we — who believe in Jesus — don’t just pay our taxes — even non-Christians can and should do that. But we’re to pay our taxes — not reluctantly, or angrily, or indignantly — but lovingly. And we pay for our purchases lovingly. And we show respect and honor — and are to do so — lovingly. And we know exactly what Paul means by love. For he defines it when he writes…

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Words used in wedding ceremonies — but unfortunately — have failed to be applied to the breadth that Paul originally intended. For Paul wasn’t even writing about marriage when he wrote these words. He was just talking about love. Love for husbands and wives? Sure! But also love that Christians are to have for other Christians. And love that Christians are to have for non-Christians. Even love that Christians are to have for their enemies.

Now — in our culture — love is often described as a subjective feeling. Then there are people who — if you say, “You never say ‘I love you’,” will respond with, “My actions demonstrate that I do.” Paul challenges both of these views of love. Love isn’t a subjective — undefinable — feeling — he’s defined love! — and neither is it purely action. As one pastor has said…

Love is not just an action toward a person; it’s a mindset, an attitude, a disposition that produces behaviors that are good for people. Isn’t it amazing that Paul’s description of love contains almost entirely inner dispositions not outward actions. To be sure all these dispositions produce certain outward behaviors, but that is not the essence of love: patience, not envying, not arrogant, not irritable, not resentful, not rejoicing at wrong, rejoicing in the truth, bearing, believing, hoping, enduring. These are all acts of the soul first, not acts of the body.

Which means — you can be doing all of the “loving things” while still not loving people — or God — for that matter.

So — here’s where we are. Everything we do is to be done in love. And love is specifically defined for us in God’s Word. Yet we still haven’t seen how loving others is a debt we owe them. Remember Paul tells us to…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…

Admittedly confusing language — because — owing something usually means that they’ve given us something. Whether we agree with all that it goes to or not — we owe taxes because we receive benefits from the government. We owe someone revenue because we’ve received something from them. And so on. But there are many people who’ve never given you or me anything — and yet — Paul says we owe them our love. So what does he mean — how did we get in their debt? 

Let’s make this personal — how did you get into my debt — where you owe me your love — just as I owe you my love — just as we all owe each other our love — just as we owe everyone in Findlay and Bucyrus — and ultimately the world — our love? That’s a really big debt to owe, right? So how’d we get into such debt?

Again Paul says, “Owe no one — that’s all inclusive — anything, except to love each other” — and the “each other” refers back to “no one.” So — for the Christian — this command includes loving Christians and non-Christians — because loving everyone is a debt we owe. So how’d we get into this debt?

We believed in Jesus.

Look at what Paul wrote earlier in Romans.

Romans 1:14 ESV

14 I am under obligation (“I owe a debt”) both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

And what is the debt Paul owes them? He goes on to tell us.

Romans 1:15 ESV

15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The debt he owes — to Jews, Greeks, barbarians, slaves, and freemen — is sharing the gospel with them. And why is Paul under this debt? He tells us in his opening words of the letter.

Romans 1:1–7 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God had called Paul — called him from spiritual death to spiritual life — called him from being an opponent of Christianity to an apostle. He says that God set him apart for the gospel — set apart is one of the most common phrases used to describe God’s people — holy ones, saints, set apart ones — something true not just of Paul but of all who believe in Jesus. Additionally, Paul says that God had given him grace and faith — and gave these gifts to Paul for the sake of God’s name being proclaimed among all the nations — including those in Rome who are loved by God. And — all of this — put Paul in debt.

And since — if you believe in Jesus — God has called you from spiritual death to spiritual life. And God has set you apart for the sake of his gospel being proclaimed throughout all of his creation. And God has saved you through faith in Jesus Christ and all that he accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection on your behalf. You also are in debt.

Yet this is not a debt you can pay back to God. So the debt you owe isn’t to God — you can’t pay that debt back. Yet — the debt we owe to others isn’t because of something we’ve received from them either. The debt we owe — to love others — all people — Christians, non-Christians, even our enemies — with a love that is patient and kind, isn’t arrogant or rude, and so on — the debt of love you owe to others is because you’ve been loved by Christ when you did not deserve his love. And — in response to his love for you — not to pay him back — but because you want to honor him and make him and his love for you look glorious to the world — you love all people.

• What about those who don’t deserve your love? Remember — you didn’t deserve Christ’s love.
• What about those who won’t receive your love? How long did Christ love you without you receiving his love?
• But, Josh, this sounds awfully self-sacrificial and costly.

1 John 3:16 ESV

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought (are debtors) to lay down our lives for the brothers.

1 John 4:11 ESV

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought (are debtors) to love one another.

Two questions before we move on. First, do you know that God loves you in this way — unconditionally so? God doesn’t love you because he weighed his options and thought, “Well, I’ll get a little more something out of this one than that one, so I’ll love her and not him.” He didn’t think, “Look at how pathetic she is, I’ll only give her a little bit of my love, but not all of it.” Nothing like that.

When God chose to love you he knew everything about you. Including that…

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, [and how you followed the] the course of this world, [and followed] the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, [and how you carried] out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

And — yet — he said, “This one’s mine anyway. I love him. I love her. She’s my daughter. He’s my son. They’re my forever children.” Pastor Tim Keller described all of this with these words: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

And — in being loved this way — we find ourselves obligated to love God in return — so much so that our love for him overflows into our love for all people. And this kind of love is a love that fulfills the law.

A LOVE THAT FULFILLS THE LAW

As Paul writes…

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

And…

Romans 13:10 ESV

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The “law” — here — refers to the Ten Commandments. We know this because Paul quotes some of the Ten Commandments in verse nine. This is important for us to understand — because this highlights the difference between true Christianity and what many think is Christianity. Many think that Christianity is — if you do these things — or don’t do these things — then God will love you. Where — what you do — earns God’s love. And that’s not Christianity. 

Christianity — true Christianity — is what Tim Keller said. Yes — you are more flawed and sinful than most of us would ever dare admit about ourselves. And — at the same time — you’re more loved and accepted by Jesus than most of us are able to dare believe is true. But — in being loved — not because of what we have or haven’t done — but simply because God has chosen to love you — now — what you do isn’t done to earn God’s love, but is done because you are loved. Meaning the motivation behind what we do — having believed in Jesus — isn’t the law — “if you do this you’ll be rewarded or if you do that you’ll be punished” — but is love. For the God who created everyone and everything has said, “You are my forever loved son or daughter.” Love — not law — is the motivation for what the Christian does. And — plot twist — that includes — obeying God’s law!

So it’s not that the law — or the Ten Commandments — is unimportant or out of date. What Paul is stressing is that the motivation for the Christian — when it comes to…

• Worshiping no other gods.
• Including the idols of our day.
• And not taking God’s name in vain.
• And resting as we remember the Sabbath.
• And honoring our fathers and mothers — which — as we saw the past few weeks — applies to all who are in authority.
• And our motivation for not murdering.
• And not committing adultery.
• And not stealing.
• And not lying.
• And not coveting…

…is love. God’s love for us and our love for him in return. And our love for God can’t help but spill over into our love for other people. I mean — right — more than half of the Ten Commandments are about our relationships with others. And our obedience to these commandments — like all of the commands — is love.

Which may make you wonder, “Then what’s the point of the law?” Traditionally there are three reasons for God’s law — but we’re only focused on one: God’s law shows us how to love God and love others. That’s why — when Jesus was asked…

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

LOVING OTHERS AS WE LOVE OURSELVES

I’m sure you noticed — if you hadn’t already — that Paul quotes Jesus when he writes…

Romans 13:9 ESV

9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is a quote from the Old Testament book of Leviticus. What an interesting command — the wording, I mean: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Some have tried to take Jesus’ two commands and make them into three. 1) Love God. 2) Love others. 3) And love yourself. But that’s not what he says — that’s not what Paul says either. 

It’s 1) love God and 2) love others…as you already love yourself — or in the same way that you already love yourself. You see — Jesus and Paul — and the rest of the Bible for that matter — assume we already love ourselves. Now — because this is what we do — we go to a few exceptions. Like, “What about the suicidal person? Do they really love themself?” There’s not enough time to explore such a personal subject like suicide. All I’ll say is that — exceptions like this — prove a principle — they don’t disprove it. And what we see all around us is that the vast majority of people are experts at loving themselves. Thus God found no need for “love yourself” to be a command. 

So what are Jesus and Paul saying? Essentially they’re saying, “With all of the passion, zeal, energy, and focus that you put in loving yourself — make that your measure of what it means to love others.” Sometimes we Christians are way too quick to call the idolatry card on others simply because they’re finding enjoyment in God’s creation. And — to be clear — being loving towards yourself and enjoying God’s creation aren’t necessarily sinful — though they can become sinful.

For example…

• For those who love to golf — who find great joy and delight in getting out on the course. Take the same passion you have for golfing — the zeal, the time you put into it, and so on…Paul says, and “Put in the same effort toward loving God and loving others.” Then you’ll know that golf is simply a gift from God that you enjoy and not an idol of your heart.
• Or maybe you find joy in sewing, or crafts, or painting — what Jesus and Paul are saying to you is to put the same passion you have for your sewing, crafting, painting, or whatever — the same zeal, the same time and effort you put into it, and so on…and put the same effort in your loving God and loving others. Then you’ll know that your hobby is simply a gift from God that you enjoy and not an idol of your heart.
• Whether it be running, or listening to music, or playing video games, or going on vacations to Disney World, or whatever you find joy in — put the same energy and focus into your love for God and others — so that you love others as you love yourself.

Now — some of you are playing mind referee right now. Instead of thinking about yourself — you’re thinking of someone else. If this is you — the first thing you should do is repent. And — second — know that the very real spiritual enemy we face loves nothing more than for you to hear truth from God and ignore how it applies to your life by thinking of how it applies to someone else. 

Does it apply to others? Absolutely! But the point of hearing God’s Word preached is for God to speak to you about your life first. 

• All of us have good gifts from God that are vying for the affections of our heart. 
• All of us have an enemy who wants us to hear God’s Word and — instead of being changed — to become religiously smug and proud. The irony being that — in doing this — we end up being unloving towards ourselves.
• So I’ll be honest for all of us: We all have room to grow in our love for God and others. None of us have matched our love for others with our love for ourselves. 

So…

• How might God want you to love others? 
• To love your family? 
• To love your spouse — if you’re married? 
• To love your co-workers? 
• To love those who are part of your church family? 
• To love the kids in Kidway? 
• The youth? 
• To love your neighbors?

CONCLUSION: LOVING OTHERS AS JESUS FIRST LOVED US

Yet we can’t talk about loving God and loving others — without remembering two other things Jesus said on this subject. 

Luke 10:25–37 NLT

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ 36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Jesus’s point is obvious: it’s possible to be very religious — and — very unloving. You can even be an expert in God’s Word — and — be an expert in being unloving. At the same time — someone can not fit the mold of those same religious so-called experts — and yet be someone who fulfills the law by their love.

Second, Jesus said this about love.

John 13:34 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Followers of Jesus are not only to love our neighbor in the way we love ourselves — we’re to love others in the way we’ve been loved by Christ. For Jesus is the true and better Good Samaritan who didn’t leave us to eternally perish on the side of the road because of our sin, but entered into our world to soothe and bandage the wounds caused by our sin. And he took our place — not just half dead beside the road — but on a cross where he died for our sins. And it’s this love — Jesus’ love for you as displayed in his life and death — that he now commands you — and me — and all who believe in him — to love others with. For this is the only love that does no wrong — not to God or others. For it’s a love in response to — and empowered by — the perfect love that Jesus Christ has for you. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Loving Father, today your Word has told us of your great, powerful, and saving love for your people. And — in being loved by you — we’re indebted to love others. Forgive us — we ask — for the many times we’ve not loved you or our neighbors. And forgive us for forgetting and doubting your love for us. For when we really trust in your love — grasp your love — dwell on your love — we will be changed into people who love.

Spirit, you’re the One who causes this change in us. Change us, we ask. Give us new hearts. Open our eyes and ears. For those who already believe — stir in us an increasing passion and trust in your love so we live a life of loving others.

And — Jesus — you are the perfect display of what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. We’re so grateful for your love. May we keep our eyes fixed on you so that we show the world your love for them through our love for them.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — to any who’ve yet to trust in your love — may you draw them to you — giving them new life — as you give them faith to believe and trust in your love for them. And we pray all of this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / I believe, now what? at Resource Center)

May you go knowing that Jesus gave his life in love for you — and in response — may you love God and love others. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 6-8-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series looking at some of King David’s psalms that address the topic of suffering. There are many aspects to suffering — many reasons for our suffering that David touches on in his psalms — and each is important for us to consider. And though you may not be in a season of suffering — suffering has a way of showing up — often unexpectedly. Yet — for the follower of Jesus — suffering is an opportunity: suffering is an opportunity to spiritually grow for those of us who follow a Savior who experienced suffering.

Now — for sure — suffering is not an easy opportunity to grow — often suffering comes when life is most challenging. But — in another sense — suffering is one of the easiest opportunities to spiritually grow — because — when life is most challenging we’re forced to change in some way. The question for us is: Will our change be to become more like Christ?

So let’s continue to see how our Christian faith offers a different opportunity in these hard moments of life: an opportunity to become more like our Savior — Jesus — who — in love for us — experienced suffering, trials, persecution, hardships, rejection, hatred — you name it — he experienced it so that we might have hope in the midst of the sorrows we face.

And I say all of this knowing that not all of us believe in Jesus. But all of us have experienced suffering — or know others who’ve experienced it. And — if you’re honest — it’s scary. Because there’s no good answer offered by our culture as to why we suffer — and even more importantly — how to suffer well. That’s why so many turn to coping mechanisms to numb themselves — drugs, alcohol, overeating, sex, binge watching Netflix — or give up on life altogether in a seemingly never-ending depression.

But is that all there is — is that the best offer on the table in a world full of suffering? It’s not.

Which is what we’re exploring in this series as we look at some of David’s psalms — including today’s psalm — psalm thirty-two. So — if you have your Bible — please turn there — to psalm thirty-two. And while you’re finding psalm thirty-two — last week — if you weren’t here — we looked at the relationship between suffering and our prayer life. And — in the coming weeks — we’re going to look at the suffering we experience at the hands of others, we’ll see the important relationship between our suffering and worship, as well as the relationship between suffering and salvation. But — today — we’re looking at the suffering we experience due to unrepentant sin in our lives. Not a topic many want to address when it comes to suffering — especially in the victim mentality age in which we live — but we must face the reality that — there are seasons of suffering that are a result of decisions we’ve made. David addresses this in our psalm for today — psalm thirty-two — when he writes…

Psalm 32 ESV

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Today we’re addressing an unpopular aspect to suffering: Suffering we experience due to unrepentant sin in our life. But there’s good news in this not so good news — unrepentant sin need not be the cause of our suffering. There is hope — even for those whose suffering is due to our own sin.

THE UNREPENTANT

Let’s return to our psalm — but — before we do so — it’ll be helpful to know that many scholars believe that David wrote this psalm in response to his sin with Bathsheba. David and Bathsheba is a biblical story most people have heard about — but to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind — here’s what happened.

At this point in history — David is king of Israel. And one day — while his army was off at war — David was back at his palace when…

2 Samuel 11:2–27 NLT

2 Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3 He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. 5 Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.” 6 Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. 8 Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. 10 When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?” 11 Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.” 12 “Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. 14 So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. 15 The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” 16 So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. 17 And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. 18 Then Joab sent a battle report to David. 19 He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. 20 But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? 21 Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’” 22 So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. 23 “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, 24 the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.” 25 “Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!” 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.

Around a year goes by before God sends a man named Nathan to confront David and — eventually — David responds with repentance. But it’s this year of unrepentance that David’s probably describing when he writes — in verse three of our psalm…

Psalm 32:3–4 ESV

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

And skipping to verse nine we read…

Psalm 32:9–10 ESV

9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10a Many are the sorrows of the wicked…

Did you notice how David describes the consequence of his unrepentance? Similar to last week’s psalm — David says his bones were wasting away. Last week — when David used this phrase — I mentioned how we don’t know if David’s suffering was self-inflicted or caused by others. But — here — we’re fairly certain that this is self-inflicted suffering. Yet he uses the same phrase — “my bones waste away” — which means his sorrow and suffering has affected all of who he is — down to his bones. I’ve been reading a book titled Counseling the Hard Cases and — in one chapter — there’s a repeated idea: The mind affects the body, the body affects the mind, and a downward spiral begins.

In David’s case — it could’ve been the anxiety of being found out — someone doing pregnancy math and saying, “This doesn’t add up.” Or someone blabbing about the orders he gave to have Uriah murdered. The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind.

I wonder how many of us can relate? Have you ever done something and waited in angst for the consequences?

• Maybe you’re sixteen and you accidentally ran a red light. You didn’t tell your parents, but live in fear that — every ring of the doorbell is the police.
• Or a night out having fun and partying and too much to drink led to a night you can’t remember. And — as you wait for the pregnancy test result — your stomach’s upset, your head aches, you experience involuntary shakes. The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind.
• Or you’ve maxed out your credit card and know you can’t even make the minimum payment. Your body is tense — your temper is short.

One of the reasons why self-inflicted suffering is so hard is because — deep down — we know we don’t have anyone else to blame for our situation. We were the ones looking at our phones while driving. We had the extra drink. We saw our version of Bathsheba and — like David — made sure we got what we wanted.

“Well how do you know that what David’s referring to was self-inflicted?” By the way he personally takes responsibility in other verses in our psalm. David uses the phrases “my sin” — which he uses twice — and “my iniquity” and “my transgressions” to describe the cause of his suffering.

But it’s not just the act of sinning — that’s the cause of his suffering — David’s unrepentance is also a contributor. To repent means to turn away from sin — which includes confessing — or admitting — the wrong you’ve done. Unrepentance is what David describes in our psalm when he gives the command to not be like a horse or mule which must be curbed — or restrained — by a bit in its mouth.

What a picture of how stubbornly unrepentant we can be. That I can be. That you can be. God help us all to respond to our sin with repentance — and to respond to those who lovingly point out our sin with gratitude. For rare is the friend who loves us enough to call us to repentance. It’s much easier — isn’t it — to distance ourselves — “if I don’t see him I won’t have to talk to him about…” — or explain away — “that’s just her personality” — it’s tempting — and all too easy — to avoid doing what Nathan did for David.

Yet none of us are without sin — we’ve all sinned. And — if we’re honest with ourselves — some of the suffering we are — or have experienced — is due to sin that we’ve committed. And — until it’s repented of — it will waste away our bones and dry up our strength and cause us to groan — which is what we experience if we’re blessed. Because many — instead of groaning and dried up strength and wasting away bones — many continue in their stubbornness and unrepentance and will experience far more serious — and eternal — consequences.

THE BLESSED

But — for those who are blessed — the groaning and wasting away and weakness — is not God’s end goal. Instead — as we read in verse one…

Psalm 32:1–2 ESV

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Let’s be mesmerized by the blessing of forgiveness. David says that blessed — or happy! — is the one whose transgression is forgiven. Transgression is a word that means “rebellion against God.” So blessed — or happy! — is the one whose rebellion against God has been forgiven. And blessed — or happy! — is the individual whose sin is covered. Sin means “turning away from the true path.” So blessed — or happy! — is the person whose turning away from the true path has been covered. And blessed — or happy! — is the person who the Lord counts no iniquity. Iniquity means “distortion, evil, perversion, or disrespect for God.” So blessed — or happy! — is the man, woman, or child whose disrespect for God is no longer counted against them.

What’s being described here are the actions that happen to us — and our sin — when we repent — when we turn from our sin and turn to God in faith.

First, we’re forgiven — which means that our transgressions are removed from us — our rebellion against God is removed from us. Second, our sin is covered — it’s concealed from sight. And — since our sin has been removed from us — that’s what forgiveness means — this concealing of sin doesn’t mean that the sin is still present with us — remember it’s been removed from us — but this sin which has been removed from us — God no longer regards — he no longer considers — it’s not on his mind. Which results in God not counting our iniquity — or are disrespecting him — against us.

This is what it means to be blessed — which results in us being happy! For what could possibly make us more happy than to know — I mean think about this — that the God who created everyone and everything — who we’ve had the gall to disrespect — because we’ve turned from our sin and turned to him — he forgives us and no longer counts our transgressions against us — and puts it all out of his mind.

Which — with great hope — should cause all of us to ask: How do I receive this blessing? Meaning — how does one go about having their transgressions forgiven? Who are these people that God counts no iniquity against them?

REPENTANCE LEADS TO BLESSING

We find out in verses five and six of our psalm.

Psalm 32:5–6 ESV

5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

How do we receive this blessing — what’s the key to true, lasting happiness? Repentance — acknowledging our sin to God. No longer covering it up and trying to hide it away. Instead we confess our sins to God as we turn to him in faith — trusting that he forgives all who come to him truly repentant of their sin.

What sin might you need to acknowledge to God — to stop covering up and pretending as if it’s not part of your life?

We often think of sin as bad things we do — and that’s definitely an aspect of sin. But — equally important — sin also includes not doing the good things that we’re commanded to do. Here’s an easy example.

Stealing — stealing is sin. It’s wrong to take from someone what’s rightfully theirs. We get that — Christian or not. But the Bible goes further. For you can not steal — and yet — still sin in regards to money. For example, you can be selfish with it — greedy — and not be generous towards others which is also a command in the Bible.

“OK. I get all of that Josh. So what’s the big deal?” The big deal is that this tells us that sin isn’t just the presence of evil — sin also includes the absence of good. After all, Jesus’ younger brother did write…

James 4:17 NET

17 So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.

Thus the biblical goal — in regards to money and wealth — isn’t just “don’t steal” — though it’s one of the ten commandments and should be obeyed — but the biblical goal — in regards to money and wealth is to be generous. The absence of generosity is sin in a person’s life — which I know can be hard for us to grasp — that the absence of something good can be just as sinful as the presence of something evil.

To which — one theologian said…

If I have a hole in my sock, the hole is not anything at all, it is just an absence of wool or cotton or whatever, but it is a perfectly real hole in my sock. It would be absurd to say that holes in socks are unreal…just because the hole isn’t made of anything…Nothing in the wrong place can be just as real and just as important as something in the wrong place. If you inadvertently drive your car over a cliff, you will have nothing to worry about; it is precisely the nothing that you will have to worry about. (Systematic Theology 13.3.5. Sin as Privatio)

I wonder how many of us are comfortable with the absence of something good in our lives — not realizing that its absence is just as sinfully serious as accidentally driving your car off a cliff?

Now you’ve heard me say the words repentance — which I’ve said is turning from sin — and confession — but what is confession? Confession means either to admit sin or affirm belief. Both aspects are important for us to understand. Most of us — I think — when we define confession usually focus on the admitting sin part — and it’s an important part. But — similar to what James taught us about not doing the good we know to do — confession also has a positive side to it: confessing what we believe.

In church history, confessions — or statements of belief — have been written to positively articulate what Christians believe. And confessions have been used — not only to guide us in knowing when we’ve sinned — but also in fighting temptation before we sin by reminding us of the truths we believe. In our church tradition — the Westminster Confession of Faith is a positive statement of what we believe.

What does the Westminster Confession have to say about repentance? It says…

Repentance which leads to life is the blessed product of the gospel working in believers’ lives. (WCF 15.1)

Jesus connects repentance to the gospel — the Good News of what he accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection — while explaining how all of the Bible was about him to his disciples after his resurrection.

Luke 24:44–48 NLT

44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.

What good news indeed! There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.

The Westminster Confession says…

In this repentance the sinner is able to see his sins as God sees them, as filthy and hateful, and as involving great danger to the sinner, because they are completely contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God. Understanding that God in Christ is merciful to those who repent, the sinner suffers deep sorrow for and hates his sins, and so he determines to turn away from all of them. And turning to God, he tries to walk with him according to all his commandments. (WCF 15.2)

The Bible distinguishes repentance from the sorrow of being caught. Paul explains it this way to Christians in Corinth who had received a letter calling them to repent.

2 Corinthians 7:8–11 NLT

8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

Repentance leads to change — a change of direction — a change in our choices. Repentance leads us away from sin and towards God. True repentance even results in thankfulness for the one whom God used to call us back to him — no matter how severe and painful it was to hear.

About repentance — the Westminster says…

Just as there is no sin so small that it does not deserve damnation, so there is no sin so great that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent. (WCF 15.4)

Two truths we must remember. First, there are no insignificant sins. Every sin is worthy of eternal judgment — may this humble all of us and call us to repentance. Second, no sin is so great that forgiveness can’t be offered to those who repent. As the apostle John tells us…

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And as the prophets of the Old Testament remind us…

Micah 7:18–19 NLT

18 Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. 19 Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

And…

Isaiah 43:25 NLT

25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.

For as the Westminster Confession says about God…

He is completely loving, gracious, merciful, and long-suffering. He overflows with goodness and truth. He forgives wickedness, transgression, and sin, and rewards those who diligently seek him. (WCF 2.1)

Friends, this is why it’s important to know what you believe and to have Scripture that backs it up. This is why the historic confessions of the church are so helpful — and necessary — in our day when many believe that biblical illiteracy is at an all time historic high. May the truths we’ve looked at today lead us to repent when we sin and fight against sin when we’re tempted.

REPENTANCE LEADS TO JOY

For all of this good news — this good news about repentance and forgiveness and who God is —what does it all lead to? It leads to our joy. In verse seven of our psalm — David writes…

Psalm 32:7 ESV

7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

And skipping to verse ten…

Psalm 32:10–11 ESV

10b but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Even when our suffering is self-inflicted due to sinful choices we’ve made — joy is still possible. How so? Because the steadfast love of the Lord surrounds those who trust him — who trust that he always forgives those who turn to him in repentance. 

Earlier we saw the command to not be like the stubborn horse or mule. Here — the commands are much more positive. We’re commanded to be glad in the Lord and to rejoice and to shout for joy! Why? What’s the source of our glad rejoicing and shouts of joy? This truth: The steadfast love of the Lord surrounds the one who trusts in him.

Nothing else in all of creation can guarantee unwavering joy — even in the midst of suffering — accept knowing that you are surrounded by the love of God. A reality we so easily forget. A truth that our spiritual amnesia is the first to snatch from our hearts. This is why you hear from me every single week what? That God loves you. And that I love you too. Because no one hears these words enough — and none of us believe them to the degree that they’re true. We don’t. I don’t. You don’t. But here’s what I so love about us.

We’re believing in God’s love for us more and more every time we gather together. Our forgetfulness isn’t as quick as it once was. And — not only are we remembering God’s love for us — individually — but we’re reminding each other of God’s love for us. It’s the norm now — when I talk to you on the phone — for the call to end with us saying “I love you” to each other. And I pray that this isn’t just when it’s me on the call — but that we’re all loving each other and reminding each other of God’s great big forgiving love.

CONCLUSION: LISTEN TO GOD!

Therefore — may we all leave here today listening to God! As David writes…

Psalm 32:8 ESV

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

This is God speaking and acting in these verses. It’s God who is instructing and teaching us the way that we should go. It’s God who’s giving us counsel — who’s attentive to what’s going on in our lives — even in our seasons of suffering. Therefore — may we all leave here today listening to his instruction — receiving his teaching and counsel on repentance and forgiveness and how loving, kind, and merciful he is. May we leave here knowing that he’s aware of what we’re going through. And may this bring us comfort — may it give you comfort — that the One whose steadfast love surrounds you is the God who so cares for you — that he offers relief from our suffering even when we’re the cause of it. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious Father, what a marvelous truth: your love surrounds those who trust in you — even when we’re suffering. Even when our suffering is due to sinful choices we’ve made.

Holy Spirit, help us to trust — to really believe — that we’re loved by you. For when we know that we’re loved — repentance will be our heart’s desire. For our love for you will exceed our love for sin.

Jesus — you came to make forgiveness of our sins possible. For the joy set before you — you endured the cross — to pay the debt for our sins. And now — for the joy set before us — eternal life with you — we choose to trust in your never-ending, always pursuing and protecting love for us — and that you always forgive those who turn back to you in repentance. 

For you — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — are completely loving, gracious, merciful, and long-suffering. You overflow with goodness and truth. You forgive wickedness, transgression, and sin, and reward those who diligently seek you. May many more seek you today. May many trust in your love. May many repent of their sin. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / Self-inflicted suffering)

May you go with great joy — even in suffering — knowing that the steadfast love of the Lord surrounds you. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 4-13-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re taking a break from our Romans series as today begins Holy Week in the Christian tradition — this is the week where we remember all that happened leading up to, during, and after Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

And — if you have your Bible — we’ll be looking at Psalm 118 for this Palm Sunday. Earlier — if you’re at one of our Gateway campuses — a passage from Luke’s gospel was read. It described what happened leading up to Jesus arriving in Jerusalem. Our psalm for today — Psalm 118 — is one of many passages in the Old Testament that we find being fulfilled upon Jesus’ arrival and entrance into the city.

For example — in Matthew’s gospel — similar to Luke’s — we read…

Matthew 21:8–11 ESV

8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Now the crowd’s shouting was most likely singing. But what did they sing? They were singing psalms about living in exile and the hopeful return to their homeland. Thus — in verse 9 — when the crowds shout, “Hosanna” they’re shouting, “Save us we pray! Save us King Jesus!” A quote which is from our psalm.

Let me show you. Here are the words found in Psalm 118 — beginning in verse 19.

Psalm 118:19–29 ESV

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

I’m sure you saw it — but in case you missed it — in Matthew the people were quoting verses 25 and 26 of our psalm.

Psalm 118:25–26 ESV

25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.

What we’re going to do is briefly look at — one — what we think we need saved from — two — what God knows we need saved from — and three — what it means for today to be the day of salvation. Again — what do we think we need to be saved from. What God knows we need saved from. And — finally — what it means for today to be the day of salvation.

WHAT WE THINK WE NEED SAVED FROM

So — first — what do we think we need to be saved from? Make it personal: what do you think you need to be saved from?

The people who were shouting, “Save us” — thought they knew what they needed to be saved from: the oppressive occupation of the Roman Empire. In fact — the oppressive occupation of foreign nations is a recurring theme for the Jewish people throughout the Bible. A foreign nation occupying their land was often the consequence for the sinful rebellion and unfaithfulness of God’s people. In fact — our psalm — is a song meant to celebrate God giving them victory over hostile nations. It’s a psalm sung during the time of Passover. If you don’t know — the Passover will be celebrated just a few days after Jesus’ arrival at Jerusalem — because the Passover is the pinnacle moment in the nation of Israel’s history. It’s the quintessential example of God triumphing over an enemy on their behalf.

The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years — but the time of their rescue was at hand. Through the prophet Moses — God brought judgment upon Pharaoh and the entire land of Egypt — through the ten plagues. The final plague was the death of all firstborn males in Egypt. But here’s the catch: Not even the Israelites were exempt from this plague. The only way to avoid the death of the firstborn was to — in faith — follow God’s instruction of sacrificing a lamb and putting its blood on the doorpost of your home. For God promised that the angel of death would see the blood and pass over — thus the name — the homes and the firstborn males would live.

Now everything happens just as God said it would. The Egyptians suffer incredible loss and the Israelites — because they believed God and trusted him — escaped from the hands of Pharaoh by the victorious hand of God. Again — the ultimate “save us, we pray, O LORD” moment in the Jewish people’s history. A moment they remembered every year when they celebrated the Passover meal.

So — back to this moment when the people are shouting “save us” — what do they think they need to be saved from? From the Roman occupation. That’s what their eyes can see. Yet — we know that their eyes are looking in the wrong direction — and it’s not even a new wrong direction for them. For we read of moments like this one from earlier in Jesus’ life where — after miraculously feeding more than 5,000 people…

John 6:15 ESV

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

A king who can feed your empty belly — and thousands of others — by means of a miracle — is a king who can definitely kick the Romans out of your backyard, right? And that’s what the people thought they needed to be saved from most. 

What do you think you need to be saved from? If the word “save” bothers you — “rescue” is a fine synonym — what do you think you need to be rescued from?

• A pile of debt.
• The never-ending sorrow because of the death of someone you love.
• A semester that’s hit rock bottom because of some choices you’ve made.
• A terrifying health diagnosis.
• A loveless marriage.
• Depression.
• Hopelessness.
• An addiction.
• The options seem endless, right?

WHAT GOD KNOWS WE NEED SAVED FROM

Yet — here’s what we learn from our psalm and its fulfillment in the life of Jesus: God knows exactly what we need to be saved — or rescued from — most. We find this in verses 19 and 20.

Psalm 118:19–20 ESV

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.

We’ll talk more about these verses on Easter Sunday but — for now — notice that it’s only the righteous who will enter into the city through this gate. Which leads us to an important question: What does it mean to be righteous? 

To be righteous means to be right with God. To have a right relationship with God — to be in good standing with him.

Now — the thinking of our day is that everyone is right with God. We think this because many have become comfortable with a god who has lower expectations of us than we have of others. What do I mean? Think of all we see going on in our culture today. The expectations that one must meet in order to be an insider — or on the right side — or to be trusted — have never been this rigorous and demanding. And it doesn’t matter what kind of group we’re talking about: all groups have made the qualifications to be an insider more narrow and specific than ever before.

This is why political parties are divided — and I don’t mean the divide between Republicans and Democrats. I mean how Republicans are divided among Republicans. And Democrats are divided with their fellow Democrats. It used to be enough that someone was part of your political party — but that’s no longer the case. Now it’s a matter of “did you vote for so and so?” Because we know that anyone who’s a real — fill in the blank with either political party — definitely voted for so and so. And — not only voted for them — but fully endorses anything they’ve said and done or will say and do. That’s why any critique from within a party is seen as betrayal. Because — to be right with a political party — these days — is to check all of the boxes. High — and very specific — expectations must be met.

But then — when it comes to God and his expectations of what it means to be right with him — well he’s not that picky, right? Surely he’s got very low expectations of what it means to be right with him. Nothing like the expectations of political parties today.

But what if God’s expectations were not low — but high. Very high. Much higher than even what we find in our political parties. Expectations like…

Matthew 5:48 ESV

48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What if perfection is God’s standard of being right with him? Perfection according to what? According to the law and commands that God’s given to us. Commands like…

• Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
• Love your neighbor as yourself.
• Love your enemies.
• Take sin seriously.
• Be reconciled to one another.
• Seek God’s kingdom first.
• Don’t worry about tomorrow.
• Don’t fear those who persecute you.
• Be on guard.
• Practice forgiveness.
• Don’t grumble or gossip.
• Deny yourself.
• Make disciples of all nations.
• Be generous.
• And many more commands.

If we’re honest with ourselves — all of us will acknowledge that we’ve not perfectly obeyed what God has commanded — which means — we’re unrighteous. And Scripture agrees.

Romans 3:10 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 John 1:8 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV

20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

Psalm 14:2–3 ESV

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

CONCLUSION: THIS IS THE DAY OF SALVATION

Hopeless sounding news that sets up the most glorious news in all of history. For…

Psalm 118:24–26 ESV

24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.

You see — from our moment in history — we know something the crowd didn’t yet understand: Jesus was entering Jerusalem — not to overthrow the Romans — but to defeat Satan, sin, death, and Hell once and for all. He was entering Jerusalem as the King of kings and Lord of lords who would lay down his life as the sacrifice for the sins of his unrighteous people. Where — instead of the blood of a lamb being put on the doorposts of our homes — the blood of Jesus would cover our sins so that the judgment of eternal death would pass over us — and all who put their faith in him — the Righteous One of God.

For Jesus is the only righteous person who’s ever lived. He did not sin. He perfectly obeyed all of the commandments that we’ve disobeyed. He only did his Father’s will — including entering Jerusalem — the city where he’d be killed. This too was a day that the Lord had made — and Jesus — because of the joy set before him — entered Jerusalem knowing that the cross — and all of its agony — was just before him. For this was the answer to our prayer, “Save us, O Lord! Give us success! Rescue us. Give us triumph over — not only the enemies that we see — but even over what we don’t know is our greatest foe.”

Which is what will happen in just a few days. Our salvation — and the salvation of all who put their hope in Christ alone — will be made secure. And the only proper response to such good news is to declare that…

Psalm 118:28–29 ESV

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

We’re to praise God with thanksgiving — for he’s rescued us. Though unrighteous — we were not unloved. Though disobedient — we were not discarded. Though rebellious — we were not abandoned. Though faithless — God remained faithful to us because he cannot deny who he is.

This is the hope of our psalm and what Holy Week helps us to remember. That our God is good. And his steadfast love endures forever. And the proof of his goodness and love is Jesus. The one who knew exactly what he was doing and what he was going to experience as he entered Jerusalem — for he knew what we needed to be rescued from most. And — though it would cost him his life — Jesus rode straight into the city. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, you are perfect, good, and loving. As the one who created all things — you rightly have given us commands that we’re to obey. Including “be perfect.” Yet we must confess — otherwise we’re nothing more than liars — so we confess that we are not perfect — thus we’ve failed to obey you.

Holy Spirit, what is bad news becomes the path to good news as you use our confession to draw us to the One who is perfect. As you open our eyes to see — in faith — what it means to be loved by him who gave his life for our sin. And — in seeing what it means to be loved in this way — we’re thankful — even with a pile of debt. And hopeful — even as we mourn the death of someone we love. And joyful even at rock bottom, or with a diagnosis, or a lifeless marriage, or whatever we used to think was what we needed to be saved from most. For we now see that what we need to be rescued from most is what Jesus has saved us from.

And you — Jesus — our Savior and King — the miracle-working God who fed thousands and walked on water — is the one who allowed us to falsely accuse you, and beat you, and crucify you. And — you did so — because you are good — and your steadfast love endures forever.

So we give you thanks — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — for you are good. And your love endures forever. And this is the day that you have made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. And may today be day one of rejoicing for some who hear my voice — day one because it’s the day of their salvation. The day of their rescue. The day when they believe in Jesus for the first time. The day when they cry out, “Save me, O Lord. Save me.” And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / I believe, now what? RESOURCE)

May you go giving thanks to our saving Lord — for he is good — and his steadfast love endures forever. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

Date: 6/8/2022

Questions

We know God loves us all equally, God does not show favoritism, and God does not take bribes. But yet we know the power in fasting and the importance of fasting. How is fasting not considered a bribe?

1. Feasting and Fasting sermon on Mark 2:18-22 (3/29/18)
   1. A basic definition of fasting is “to go without food as a sign of repentance, grief, or devotion to God.” And it’s usually done in connection with prayer.
   2. The only mention of Jesus fasting is in the story of him being tested in the wilderness by Satan. Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days — there wasn’t any food around for him to eat — so he fasted while he prayed in the wilderness — in preparation for his encounter with Satan.
   3. Matthew 6:16-18 ESV – And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
      1. With these words Jesus implies that his followers will fast even if it’s not commanded of them.
   4. But nowhere do we find — in Scripture — that fasting is any sort of bribery. Where — if we fast — then God owes us something.
      1. Even when Jesus tells his disciples that they couldn’t remove the demon because it could only be removed through prayer (“and fasting” isn’t found in most English translations nor most reliable manuscripts; Matthew 17; Mark 9) — this is simply a description of a particular situation. Not a prescription of “every time you pray (and fast) you’re guaranteed to be able to remove a demon from someone.”

Could you please expand upon 1 John 5:16-17. What is meant by sin that leads to death versus sin that does not lead to death? And is the author saying that we should not ask God to help those who are committing the sin that leads to death?

1. The letter of 1st John has a lot about community in it.
2. One of John’s points — in the letter — is that a Christian community is one that has a deep concern for each other.
   1. Thus “if anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life…” (1 John 5:16a ESV)
   2. So there’s an observation of sin in someone else’s life. Prayer for that person and this particular sin. And an answer to the prayer.
   3. But before we focus on the “sin that leads to death” let’s talk about all of the other sin in our faith community and if all of this other sin is affecting our prayers for one another?
      1. The type of congregation that John says is spiritually healthy is a community of believers who have deep concern for one another. So much so, that they spend time praying for each other’s sin struggles. 
      2. Who knows your sin struggles in this congregation? Who’s pleading on your behalf to God so that you don’t get caught up in a particular sin? Who in this congregation are you so deeply concerned for that you regularly lift them up to God, asking him to protect them from sins that may lure their heart away from God?
      3. There’s a mutual responsibility on our part to watch out for one another, to admonish one another, to warn one another, and to pray for one another. These are all benefits of being a member in a local church. Others are watching out for you and you’re watching out for others. 
   4. Now what about the “sin that leads to death”?
      1. Not one Bible commentary is confident that they know exactly what John means by “the sin that leads to death.” So if you happen to know exactly what sin John’s referring to, you need to write a commentary on this verse — or — acknowledge that you don’t know for certain what the sin is either.
      2. And since we can’t say for certain what the sin is — that leads to death — guess what you should do for anyone you know who’s struggling with sin? Pray for them! Pray that they would repent of their sin. You don’t know what is the “sin that leads to death” but you do know what you’re supposed to do in response to the sin of others — pray for them!
         1. And the only way we’ll pray for others to repent of sin is if we have great hope in the power of the gospel to change lives. We must see their sin through God’s love as poured out on the cross. In doing so — you’ll see them and their struggle with sin — not as something to be judged — but as a person to be loved.

Date: 8/31/2022

Questions:

In your best estimate, how many people of the ~850-900 attendees at Gateway are regenerate? (Compelling Community, page 46) Certainly very difficult to ascertain but curious how we might assess that after reading chapters 2&3 of the book. Seems our path forward as a church depends largely on how we take inventory of what we have today.

1. No real way of knowing.
2. Studies have shown that church membership isn’t fool proof. 
3. I can’t remember the exact study, but one done years ago found somewhere around 50% of church members were actually unregenerate. Meaning they knew Christian language but did not exhibit evidence of a life changed by the gospel — regarding both their beliefs and behaviors.

Not sure how far the elders are in the book (Compelling Community) but anything stand out so far? Any plans for change or action as a result?

1. I actually asked the elders for their reply to this question during our last elders meeting. Here’s some of their responses.
2. We don’t have this all figured out; we’re open to change, but we need to dig into some things further. Such as…
3. Possibly looking at an annual membership renewal; the longer we (members) go without being reminded of expectations, we tend to forget; idea of membership vow reminders before communion
4. Appreciate the informal suggestions for community and discipleship vs. starting and maintaining more programs; programs won’t change culture 
5. Importance of leaders modeling the behaviors we say are important – what should that look like [for us]?

Compelling Community chapters 3 and 4

How would we model that love between believers is a sign of saving faith? (p. 52)

1. 1 John 4:19-21 NLT — We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
2. Book quote: For John, love between believers isn’t a sign of maturity; it’s a sign of saving faith. (52)
   1. I think my sermon on the spiritual gifts — when I highlighted that 1st Corinthians 13 love is the love meant to be displayed in the church is a first step. 

Calling Based Commitment (p. 54-55)

1. Where would you pin Gateway on the scale of Comfort-Based Commitment to Calling-Based Commitment? How would we grow toward Calling-Based Commitment?
   1. Comfort-based: Serving in the church is a tool to get people committed to the church. Same with small groups, counseling, and other ministry programs. “If we can get people to do ____, then maybe they’ll commit to us.”
   2. Calling-based: Growth in commitment is good. But growth into commitment is unbiblical. “To be a Christian is to be committed to a local church. With a clear definition of what being committed looks like.”
      1. Worship – Connect – Serve – Go – Give

The Bible Assumes Commitment is Significant (p. 55-57)

1. Would our members agree with this? What kinds of responses might members offer if asked what they think the Bible says about commitment?
2. Romans 12:13-16 — When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
3. Hebrews 10:24-25 — Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
4. Hebrews 3:12-13 — Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your (plural) own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You (plural) must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you (plural) will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
5. Jude 20-23 — But you (plural), dear friends, must build each other up in your (plural) most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. 22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

Why Diversity Matters (p. 73-75)

1. Where do we transcend boundaries described here?
2. “If by diversity we only ever mean ethnic diversity, we’re missing the main message…after all, not every region of the world has ethnic diversity.” (73)
3. Diversity e.g.: age; economics; politics; social ability; cultural background
4. “Unity will often require sacrificing our interests for those of our brothers and sisters in the Lord.” (75)
   1. What sacrifices am I making (or refusing to make) for my brothers and sisters in the Lord at Gateway?
   2. Hard not to think of Philippians 2. “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ” (Philippians 2:1-11 NLT)
   3. Since Christ has done this for you — dear Christian — what are the implications for how you’re now to sacrifice for others?

“A church composed of natural friends says little about the power of the gospel. Yet the gospel-revealing community of natural enemies will require sacrifice in every aspect of our life together.” (p. 81)

1. How do we foster an environment where enemies / people of differing backgrounds are drawn to one another? How do we do this ourselves?
   1. E.g. in the book: sacrifice…our comfort (some folks are easier to talk to after the service than others), our preferences (music style; food we serve at a gathering), our resources and time (money; serving), our habits (are people able to interrupt your plans and routines).

Date: 9/27/2022

Questions

What are your thoughts on what is going on in Gen 6:1-4 when the “sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they married”? I’ve read a few explanations but am curious to know what you think. Can you explain the Nephilim? Giants?  Fallen angels? 1/2 angels?

• I thought we’d begin with an underwhelming answer to our listeners’ questions. 
• I have no idea what the Nephilim are. I’ve read similar explanations that the questioner mentions and still don’t have a real opinion on which explanation is best.
• But a mystery like this — or an unanswerable question — shouldn’t cause us to doubt our faith or God’s Word. This is a historical narrative being recorded — not a theological truth that’s essential to our faith. What we can understand is the big picture of what’s happening at this point in history (lots and lots of sin) and God’s judgment of wickedness.

Can you explain the wedding parable that is found in Mathew 22:1-14?  It seems to me that because the man was invited to the banquet, he was chosen. But due to his surprise at the kings’ reaction to him being there, it almost seems as if he believed in Jesus but was being rejected. If this is the case, then how can anyone have confidence in their salvation? If we cannot have confidence, then doesn’t that contradict all the verses that say we can be confident in our faith (such as Philippians 1:6).  Is it possible to genuinely believe you are saved (hungry for a relationship with God) and be blindsided when your time has come and you’re destined for hell?  That seems to contradict John 3:16. I am so confused by this man being turned out from the wedding he was invited to in this parable.

1. First, verse 14 makes it clear that the man was not chosen. “For many are called, but few are chosen” is the punchline of this section of Scripture.
2. Second, the man’s response is that of being speechless. The Hebrew has no leaning towards him being surprised, though. He’s just silent in response to the question. All that to say, be careful not to read into his response our assumptions (like he was surprised by the question).
3. Which leads us to the most important question being asked: How can anyone have confidence in their salvation?
   1. The gospel call goes out as the Good News is proclaimed.
   2. The Spirit of God uses the proclamation of the gospel as the means by which an inward call takes place in the hearts of those who are chosen by God.
   3. This results in their new birth, conversion, justification, sanctification, and so on. What we call their salvation. This is all God’s doing — he’s saving us — we’re not saving ourselves.
   4. Which results in the one saved being part of the people of God — the church. Yet the visible church is a mixture of both believers and unbelievers. The call (gospel preaching) happens to all people in the church, but only the believers are the chosen. 
   5. To press this truth on people’s hearts — that all are called, but few are chosen —  we’re told to work out our faith in fear and trembling. To work out our salvation. We’re given tests throughout Scripture that we’re to use to examine, probe, and investigate our faith — to see if it’s genuine. 
   6. If we’re doing this, then there’s no surprise — no being blindsided — regardless if we’re chosen or not because the difference between believing in Jesus and not believing in him is drastic! We’ve forgotten this in recent history. We’ve confused good, moral behavior as the same as being a Christian. If you vote right, talk right, dress right, watch the right shows, listen to the right music, and so on…then you’re a Christian, right? Not at all! 
   7. But if we turn to Scripture and allow it to test our faith — we’ll find that the heart change expected of those who believe, which always results in God-honoring behavior — can’t be faked. We just don’t have it in ourselves to fake being a biblical Christian for very long.
   8. And the promise to us is that we can know if we believe if we use Scripture to test our hearts. We’ll be looking at this next year as we journey the First John together. With the whole point of John’s letter being, “That you may know that you have eternal life.”

I recently did a Bible study on Galatians. The author said the sex between Abraham and Haggar which resulted in Ishmael was not consensual. So rape was implied. What is your opinion on that encounter between Abraham, Sarah and the maid servant?

1. Without knowing the Bible study material or the author, it’s hard to respond to what they’re saying as I don’t know how they defend their position.
2. Here’s what I do know. The Bible — and the Old Testament — in particular does know how to describe rape. In fact, the same book — where the stories of Abraham and Haggar are found — Genesis — has other stories that include rape (Genesis 19; Genesis 34) and describe what happens as rape. 
3. For example, the Hebrew words describing the abusive sexual acts in these other stories in Genesis is not the same as what we find in Abraham and Haggar’s story. Showing that the author of Genesis could have used the same language to describe Abraham and Hagar if he had wanted to, but he didn’t use rape language in their story.
4. Now — by our standards today — was their relationship consensual or abusive? I’m not sure that’s the right question. The better lesson for us is that the entire narrative of their relationship indicates a moment when Abraham and Sarah did not trust God to fulfill his promise to them — that they’d have a son. They trusted their own means to make the promise happen. That — ultimately — is the most atrocious sin in their story: they fail to trust God. Which also leads to the ultimate ridiculous act of grace in their story. God fulfills his promise to them anyway, forgives them of this momentary lapse of trust, and even has written of Abraham, “Against hope Abraham believed in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations according to the pronouncement, “so will your descendants be.” 19 Without being weak in faith, he considered his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. 22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” (Romans 4:18-22 NET)
5. That’s a reputation that Abraham didn’t deserve nor did he earn. But God — being gracious like he is — graces Abraham with this reputation.

Psalm 11:5 says the wicked are those who love violence. In verse 7 it says the lord is righteous and he loves justice. Justice can at times include violence. How does God distinguish these two?

1. Not sure if the Bible translation being used is the NIV, NLT or some other translation. But it’s definitely one with a translation philosophy of conveying the idea of the language rather than a more literal word for word translation. Often, Bible translations that are conveying the idea of the original text (and not word for word) don’t like repetition, so they’ll use different English words to translate the Hebrew, which loves repetition. 
2. I say that because the ESV — a more literal translation — doesn’t have the word “justice” but instead has “righteous deeds.” So the word “righteous” — found in verses 5 and 7 — is married to  “righteous deeds” in verse 7.
3. So here’s what the psalmist is saying. “The Lord tests the righteous” (those who are right with God). “The Lord is righteous” (God only does what is right). And “the Lord loves righteous deeds” (God loves actions that are right). 
4. Now the question becomes “can doing the right action” include “violence”? And the answer must be no if we allow the Hebrew to define our terms (and not our modern definitions). The Hebrew word, translated as “violence” means “malicious wrongdoing”. So it’s not necessarily the act itself but the intent of the act that’s wrong. Someone, as the psalmist says, “whose heart loves malicious wrongdoing.” Someone who is righteous has a heart that loves God. Thus — even though an act may be similar, the intent and reason for doing it is not the same. 
5. Thus God can command the Israelites to do things we’d define as violence, but the act is being done for a reason other than “being malicious.” The reason may be to “purge sin from among you” or “to defend yourself” or “to honor God’s name.” 
6. A helpful reminder — and I say this not because I want folks to distrust their English Bibles, but because the translation process from one language to another is never as clean as we’d like it to be — when you find yourself asking a good question like the one this listener has sent in, a good first step is to think, “I wonder how a few other English Bible translations have translated this verse.” Especially if you don’t know the original languages or aren’t familiar with how to use language tools. A few good English Bible translations will usually point you in the right direction.
   1. Bible translations I always look at: ESV, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, and MSG. 
   2. These cover a few that are word for word all the way across the translation spectrum to paraphrase type translations. 

Currently reading through the book of John and in Chapter 7 verse 5 it says that even Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe in him. Why do you think that might be? Did Mary not tell them Jesus’ birth story to try to protect the family?

1. Belief includes knowledge, but true belief in Christ does not happen solely because of knowing the right things.
2. So Jesus’ brothers may have known everything about his birth — miracles and all. But without their own “new birth” (them first being given a new heart that believes) they could not believe that he was God.
3. But once some of his siblings did experience the new birth, we know that some did in fact believe. And even became authors of Scripture (James and Jude).

Date: 11/16/2022

Questions

I saw an article that mentioned this and wondered your thoughts. Do we need to repent of sins we commit in dreams?

1. I cannot imagine a reason why we’d need to repent of something that happens in our dreams. 
2. Dreams are not reality. Dreams are not willful choices or thoughts we make. They’re involuntary. 
3. To sin is to willfully choose to either disobey or choose not to obey. But we’re not making that choice in a dream.

How are we biblically viewing Solomon or David having multiple wives and what kind of example it is? A common response is that this was just a cultural norm for purposes of alliances and relationships? How do we respond to those who point this out as an “inconsistency or hypocrisy?

1. Biblically we view Solomon, David, and any other non-one man and one woman marriage relationships as sinful.
2. The Bible doesn’t praise or glorify multiple marriage partners. It will state facts (so and so had multiple wives) and will often show us the consequences of having multiple wives.
3. So I don’t know that there’s an inconsistency or hypocrisy in the Bible. What we have is the Bible showing us all sorts of sinful decisions people — even the people of God — have made, the consequences of their sin, and why Jesus is the great Rescuer of sinners. He’s also the faithful husband to his (singular) bride — the Church. 

I know that some people do not use the divine name because they say that it is too sacred to speak, but others say that God wouldn’t have given us his divine name if we were not supposed to use it. So I guess I’m just confused as to whether or not we should speak the divine name and wondered what your thoughts were.

1. There’s no commandment in Scripture to not use God’s divine name — assuming the individual is meaning Yahweh. Though we are commanded to not take God’s name in vain (which would imply saying the name).
2. Not saying God’s name became a Jewish tradition a few hundred years before Jesus was born.
   1. They believed the name was too holy to be spoken.
   2. They did use a different name for God — Adonai. 
3. But I’d like to suggest that we — Christians — all do use the divine name of God more frequently than we may realize. But it may not be the name you’re thinking of. The apostle Paul writes this, “You should have the same attitude  toward one another that Christ Jesus had, 6 who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. 8 He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross! 9 As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)
4. According to Paul, the name above all names, the name that will be revered by all, the name that all mouths will confess is Lord, the name that all knees will bow down to — is the name Jesus. And there’s no fear in saying his name and no fear in calling out his name for those who believe in him.

I am really struggling. I am honestly so new in truly pursuing walking with Jesus that I sometimes feel like I am too much of a failure. I feel like I don’t have the right mindset, I am not patient enough, maybe honestly not good enough. Like I am just faking it is how it can seem to me, I am doubting my own thoughts and prayers, thinking what an imposter I am. I “know” that everything I am thinking that’s negative is wrong but do I? Am I missing something? Am I fooling myself about how I am trying to change? Where do I turn? I have not felt like I have heard God guiding me and to hear so many have these interactions just seem to reaffirm my paranoia that I am unwelcome. I am attending Bible studies and really trying to dive into God’s word but those thoughts just keep bubbling up. How do we know that we are truly chosen? Maybe some just think they are and actually aren’t, how do we know? Is that how faith is? Is this normal?

1. Not good enough / impostor syndrome
   1. I want to be sensitive here, but Scripture tells us that none of us are good enough. The apostle Paul writes, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10b) Later he writes, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
   2. So — in a sense — all Christians are impostors. Because we’ve been declared righteous though we’re not righteous in and of ourselves. We’ve been declared to be good though Scripture says none of us are good on our own. We’re sinners who’ve been transformed into saints. Yet we’re saints who still have our old sinful self hanging around until eternity. 
   3. Yet the beauty of the Christian faith is that all that Christ accomplished and all that he is in his humanity has been transferred to us. He became our sin on the cross so we are his sinlessness. He became our disobedience so we are his obedience. His back bore the punishment that we deserve so that our backs are protected by the loving arms of our Heavenly Father. 
   4. And though this feels like we’re an impostor — because none of it has been earned — impostors we are not. We’re children of God — heirs of the eternal riches and life that Christ earned on our behalf.
2. Additionally, I’d say to be careful to not judge your relationship with Christ by others’ relationships with him and vice versa.
   1. God has made each of us in unique ways and that means not all of our relationships with God are exactly the same.
   2. Maybe one person really experiences God’s presence or his voice through Christian music. While another does through being outdoors in God’s creation. While another does in a dense theological book. While another does working out in their garden.
   3. Having said that, there are some general practices that all Christians should do even though they won’t all have the same exact experience of God while doing them.
      1. Bible reading
      2. Prayer time
      3. Christian fellowship
      4. Serving
      5. Giving

How do I know if I’m chosen/saved?

1. The fact that you’re even asking this question is a good start. Not being concerned about our salvation is a sign of arrogance and a hard heart. Being concerned about our salvation is biblical. We’re told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Not that we’re to save ourselves but we’re to never presume on our salvation and start living an ungodly life while thinking our eternity is secure.
2. The book of First John is a great place to start as the whole point of the letter is that the reader may “know” that they have eternal life. I’d encourage you to begin reading First John for assurance of your salvation.

Do some think they’re saved when they aren’t?

1. Scripture does teach that some will believe they are right with God, saved, going to Heaven, and — yet — are gravely mistaken. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
2. The question then becomes, “What is the will of God for us?” To love him with our “heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves” is a good starting point.
3. There are many who think they’re going to heaven even though they don’t love God — or love God as he has revealed himself to be in Scripture — nor love others.

Questions Release Date: June 21, 2023

At the end of the sermon you said “we’re living in the last hour and we don’t have time to waste our lives on anything but being obedient to God’s will and obeying his commands and living for his glory. What does that look like in terms of hobbies and sports? Like is that wasting our life? Should we be doing mission work all the time? (3:15)

You kind of touched on this in the sermon but when it comes to memorizing scripture, I find myself mixing up chapters and it almost feels like sometimes I’m going backwards. Do you have any advice or tools or tricks to help those who are trying to memorize larger sections of scripture? (6:20)

You were talking about in the sermon about being given the power of the holy spirit and the Holy Spirit living in us. Can we do the same things now that the apostles could do? Like could we heal people through the power of the Holy Spirit like Peter did? (3:10)

Josh’s questions/thoughts on sermon

What room in your house best reflects your personality? (17:15)

When you heard me say “we’re living in the last hour — the end times, the last days — what goes through your mind? What emotions do you experience? (18:55)

Age of abandonment section: I talked quite a bit about the corporate time of worship. Why do you think it’s so easy for us to abandon the gathering to worship? What do you do to keep it a priority? (20:45)

Can you explain what is meant in verse 27 where it says, “…and you have no need that anyone should teach you”? Don’t we come to church on Sunday mornings to be taught? (24:20)

Release Date: June 7, 2023

Questions

You mentioned a few sermons ago that you have a life mission statement. What did the process of writing that look like and how would you recommend on us writing one? (4:50)

You talked about persecution a lot, what kind of persecution do you face as a pastor and how do you confidently conquer that persecution? (9:15)

Can you give some context as to why John refers to children and young men and fathers but never addressed young women and mothers. Is that a cultural reasoning? (13:30)

In your manuscript, page 8, it talks about Colossians 2:15. So if God has disarmed our spiritual enemies then why do we experience this spiritual warfare. (15:15)

You mentioned that as a parent it is your job to lead your children into adulthood. I grew up in the church and I’d say that I started at the 50 yard line like you mentioned but then leaving home and especially for school was hard, I felt like I was alone and struggled through a few bumpy years. But since then I have felt like I have had people who pushed me off the 50 yard line to like 52- 55 yard line. What does the child to adult process look like for the child and the parent? How can we encourage people who have heard truth but are riding on their parents’ coattails? And what are next steps for someone who wants to grow? (22:40)

You talked about how at Gateway we want to partner with parents to help their kids grow and become disciples, what would you say for people who don’t have children at home right now, how can they also help lead the kids towards following Jesus forever. (31:15)

Josh’s questions/thoughts on sermon

What’s something that people do in traffic that really bothers you? (35:15)

In the sermon, I mentioned not getting caught in the comparison trap (football field illustration). When have you found yourself caught in the comparison trap? (37:40)

In the sermon, I mentioned why God forgives us: for his name’s sake. How has this truth changed the way you live, your priorities, etc…? (38:55)

I ended by reading a bunch of promises to us, from Jesus, from the book of Revelation. How did/does your confidence increase when you hear these promises? (42:50)