‌DATE: 2-2-25

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 returning to our series in Romans this weekend. And we’re at a pivotal point in Paul’s letter. You see — after eleven chapters of rich theology — explaining to us who God is, who we are, what sin has done to us and God’s creation, and God’s plan to right the wrong we’ve caused — after eleven chapters of rich theology — Paul now turns to the “so what” question. What do I mean?

Here’s what I want you to imagine. After three hundred and fifteen verses explaining the gospel, faith, sin, salvation, and so on — imagine that someone in the back of the room yells out loud, “Hey Paul, so what?” Now — to be clear — Paul wasn’t present. He wrote this letter and had someone take it to the Christians in Rome — but you get the idea. After the first eleven chapters of all of this theology — imagine someone yelling out, “OK. But what now?” Or “Paul, why does any of this matter?” Or “What’s your point?”

A completely understandable and common question to ask: So what?

Let me encourage you to always listen for the answer to this “so what” question in the sermons and podcasts you listen to, the videos you watch, and look for an author’s answer to the “so what” question when you read their book — regardless if what you’re watching, reading, or listening to is Christian or not — everyone’s answering the “so what” question. Fox News and CNN are, Disney is, Mr. Beast does, Joe Rogan — everyone is trying to give you their answer to the “so what” questions of life — which is why this is such an important question for us to not only ask ourselves — but to watch for — and be aware of — what answers are given by others. And — if you really want some extra credit — pay attention to the answers you give to this “so what” question.

But here’s Paul’s response to our “so what” question after all that’s come in the first eleven chapters of his letter. He writes in verse one of Romans chapter twelve…

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

WE’VE HAD SOME STUFF TO DO, BUT NOT MUCH

Up to this point in Romans — the commands have been pretty light. Meaning — things for us to do have been few and far between in all of the theology that Paul’s been explaining. For example, the first command in Romans is found in chapter six. That’s right — it’s not until the sixth chapter that we find the first command for us to obey — six chapters before we find something we’re told to do. Here’s the first command Paul gave us.

‌Romans 6:11 (ESV)

¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

‌And the command is “consider.” Now — for most of us — considering isn’t exactly something to do that we get all excited about. If — at the end of a sermon — the thing for you to do is “now go and consider what you’ve heard” — many of us will think, “Well I hope next week’s sermon is better.”

But — never fear. Though he waited six chapters to give us the first command — Paul gets on a bit of a roll and — two verses later — we find the next two commands…

‌Romans 6:13 (ESV)

‌¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

‌And a few verses later another command…

‌Romans 6:19b (ESV)

¹⁹ so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

So three commands on how we’re to present ourselves — which is another way of saying, “Here’s how you should live. Not as slaves of unrighteousness, but as slaves of righteousness.” 

I guess that’s better than “considering” — but not quite the commands that scratch our “so what” itch. We want something on parenting, or relationships, or serving the poor — but considering and presenting — come on Paul — you got anything better than that? And — if you haven’t liked any of his commands thus far — you have to wait until chapter eleven to get to his next three commands.

Romans 11:18 (ESV)

¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches.

The branches being Jewish people. And…

Romans 11:20b (ESV)

²⁰ do not become proud, but fear.

So — to recap all that we’re told to do in the first eleven chapters of Romans — we’re told to…

• Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
• To not present our bodies as instruments for unrighteousness.
• But to present our bodies as instruments for righteousness — as slaves to righteousness.
• We’re told to not be arrogant.
• To not be proud.
• And to fear.

‌Seven commands. Count ‘em. Seven.

Think about how little there’s been for us to do in the first eleven chapters of Paul’s letter. While — at the same time — there’s been much for us to learn about God, ourselves, sin, salvation, and God’s mercy towards us in Jesus. And Paul does this intentionally — not just here in Romans — but in many of his letters you’ll find a similar format where Paul starts with theology and then answers the “so what” question. 

For example — in Ephesians — the first three chapters are rich with theology and — the final three chapters — are full of implications of how we’re to live because of the truths in the first three chapters. So that great section on marriage — in Ephesians chapter five — is how we’re to live as married Christians because of the theology found in the first three chapters. Or the beautiful picture of what the church can and should be — in Ephesians chapter four — is what we can and should be as a faith family because of the theology we believe that’s found in the first three chapters.

Now — to answer the “so what” question — in case any of you’re wondering, “So what, Josh? Why does any of this matter?” Well — what makes Christianity different from all other religions — and even distinct from what many incorrectly call Christianity — is this: What we do — how we’re to live — is a response to the truths of our faith that we believe. Meaning — truths — theological truths — that we’re to believe come first — and these truths — and our belief in them — shape how we live. 

And when we get this backwards — when how we live shapes our theology — we end up creating our own religion — which often is still called Christianity even though it’s not biblical Christianity. Because we end up — as an example — creating a God who is only love — we’ve even got a Bible verse that we think backs up our claim — because a God who is only love allows me to keep living in sin — living however I want — I can even disobey other parts of the Bible that clearly tell me I’m wrong — because — God is love. Yet the Bible — God’s Word to us — tells us that yes — God is love — but he is also just — and will judge those who live in rebellion against him by unrepentantly disobeying his commands. And this truth — that God is both love and just — just two of his attributes — changes the way you live when you believe it.

So back to Romans. Starting in chapter twelve — Paul’s going to make a significant shift in his focus. There’s going to be less theology for us to learn and a lot more for us to do. And — what we’re to do — is based on what we’ve learned in the first eleven chapters. And I’m going to remind you of this again and again and again because we’re all prone to separating our behavior from our beliefs. But what we believe can’t help but determine the way we live.

But listen to what we’ll be encountering in the weeks and months ahead. And listen for all of the stuff that we’re to do because of the theology of the first eleven chapters that we’re to believe.

Romans 12:9–21 (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. ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Just in these verses there were at least twenty-eight ways we’re to live differently as followers of Jesus because of the truths we’ve learned from the first eleven chapters. Twenty-eight things to do — twenty-eight commands to obey — in thirteen verses — compared to seven in the first eleven chapters! Again — hear me out — because this is so important. 

If Paul would’ve started his letter with the verses I just read — he’d be a moralist. Meaning — if commands are given without being built on theological truth — we’re doing nothing more than tightening our belts and pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. Phrases that mean “to improve your situation by your own effort and without help from others” — including help from God! That’s moralism. Our culture loves moralism — especially when it makes us feel good about ourselves. But moralism is not the direction we’re headed in! 

NOW WE’VE GOT A LOT TO DO…BECAUSE OF GOD’S MERCY

And I want to remind you why we’re to live differently — why we’ve now got things to do — and a lot of things to do. This is why I just warned you about — get ready to be reminded of these theological truths many times in the coming weeks and months. For — the reason why we’re to do the things we just read — and obey the commands in these final chapters — is because of God’s mercy. Back in verse one — Paul writes…

Romans 12:1 (ESV)

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Paul says, “I’m appealing to you because of God’s mercy towards you in Jesus Christ — therefore…”

It’s like Paul is saying, “Having explained to you the depth, and height, and breadth, and width of God’s limitless love for you in Jesus Christ — here’s how you should live…”

Or “Having shown you that — due to your sin and rebellion against God — you deserve his wrath and just judgment — yet because he is kind and gracious he will not count your sins against you — therefore…”

Eleven chapters of trying to get these wonderful truths through our thick skulls and hard hearts so we’re awakened to the beauty that is salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Paul’s been showing us the futility of works-based salvation — of thinking that we can earn God’s love — as well as showing us the folly of chasing after the desires of the world as if we won’t be judged for our sin and rebellion. Paul — in hopes that our eyes have been opened to spiritual reality — and that we’ve responded with faith in Jesus Christ and by repenting — or turning away from — our sins — Paul says — “Therefore…” And he’s going to show us how to now live — not to earn God’s love — but how to live because God has demonstrated his love for us in Jesus Christ.

I hope this all sounds familiar to you. In fact — some of you may wonder why you hear me say something like this all time. I say this all of the time because the order matters. And — it matters so much — because even though I say it all of the time — it’s common for me to hear from you all of how — even though you’ve been here at Gateway for a long time — how you’ve finally heard what I’ve been saying. If you’re a parent — it’s like when your kid comes home and says, “Mom — Dad — you won’t believe what the teacher taught me today.” And then your little one tells you something you’ve told them a thousand times. They’ve heard you say the same thing over and over again — but they never “heard” it until now.

So I repeat myself — a lot. Because our hearts naturally believe, “If I do this, God will love me.” And that’s not biblical Christianity — though it has all of the same elements as biblical Christianity. But — “if I do this, God will love me” — is not biblical Christianity. Instead — biblical Christianity is, “God loves me, so now I will do this.” And the “this” can be the same thing.

• “If I come to church to worship him, God will love me.” Not biblical Christianity.
• “Because God loves me, I go to church to worship him.” Biblical Christianity.
• “If I’m generous with my money, God will love me.” Not biblical Christianity.
• “Because God loves me, I’ll be generous with my money.” Biblical Christianity.
• “If I serve others, or stop cursing, or read my Bible, or pray or ___ (fill in the blank), God will love me.” Not biblical Christianity.
• But “Because God loves me, I will serve others, stop cussing, read my Bible, pray, and ___ (fill in the blank).” That’s biblical Christianity.

‌Bible scholars call this the difference between the indicatives and the imperatives in the Bible. The what and the what? Imperatives are commands in the Bible — things we’re to do. Whereas indicatives are statements of objective facts. And here’s what you find in the New Testament and especially in Paul’s writings — I mentioned this earlier — but let’s flesh it out.

Indicatives — objective facts — come before imperatives — the commands we’re to obey. Remember — eleven chapters with seven commands — seven imperatives — but full of indicatives — full of theological truths — over thirty of them in fact. Objective facts like…

Jesus is the Son of God (1:4)

And that God’s kindness leads us towards repentance (2:4)

And all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (3:23)

And since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1)

And God has demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8)

And sin is no longer your master (6:14)

And the wages of sin is death (6:23)

And you died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another (7:4)

And there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8:1)

And that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us (8:18)

And salvation depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy (9:16)

And if you confess and believe you will be saved and justified (10:9-10)

And at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace (11:5)

And — in response to these truths — and many more — Paul says — here’s how you’re to live. Because — you can’t believe all of this — and not live differently. These are such glorious truths that they change the way a person lives who believes them. 

THE THEREFORE LIFE

This change — this difference — we’ll call — the “therefore life”. Back to verse one for the last time.

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

These two verses are a summary of all that’s going to follow. So — everything else in Romans is essentially a picture of the “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” pleasing life of those who follow Jesus. But notice what Paul emphasizes at the very beginning: Don’t be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. 

The word “conform” — in the original language — means to “model after, to assimilate one’s self to.” And we’re told to not conform to the world. What might this look like?

• Conforming to the world could mean allowing yourself to be assimilated into the rat race of chasing after social status, or achieving a certain level of material comfort — working long days or filling your family calendar with activities for your kids that cause you to sacrifice time together as a family, your church involvement, and so on.
• Conforming to the world could mean adopting unbiblical behaviors at work — gossiping about coworkers, making unethical decisions, flirting with others even though you’re married.
• Conforming to the world could mean modeling how our culture celebrates division and anger and degrading other people.
• Recent studies on pornography use, divorce rates, living together before marriage — and so on — indicate that many people — who call themselves Christians — have conformed to the world.
• As does the rise in acceptance and approval of LGBTQ+ lifestyles — more evidence of conforming to the world and disobeying one of the first commands that Paul gives us after eleven chapters of theology.

‌Instead of conforming to the world — we’re told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And our minds are renewed — or renovated — by God’s Spirit as he uses God’s Word to transform us. And — listen — we will not live — and to be clear — you will not live the transformed life without first having your mind renewed by the Word of God. That’s why Paul started his letter with theology. Because “what we believe about God and life informs the direction we choose to pursue and impacts our response to our world.” That’s not original to me — that’s a statement written by someone who’s spent a lifetime counseling people from Scripture. Here’s the quote again — it’ll be on the screen.

What we believe about God and life, informs the direction we choose to pursue and impacts our response to our world.

So what we believe — that’s what our verses in Romans are focused on — this is the renewing of our minds that Paul’s talking about. But the obvious next question is: What we believe about what? About God and life. That’s what Paul’s been covering for eleven chapters. Now — he hasn’t covered everything about God or life — but with the rest of the Bible — it’s all covered.

And what we believe about God and life informs the direction we choose to pursue. And I hope you see how this is true for Christians and non-Christians alike. Our beliefs inform what we do. What you believe determines the direction of your life. And our beliefs also impact our response to what we experience in the world — both when our experience agrees with our beliefs and when our experiences counter what we believe to be true.

Here’s one example — we’ll use someone other than Paul this time. The apostle Peter writes this.

1 Peter 5:6–8 (NLT)

⁶ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. ⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. ⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

Since we’re jumping right into Peter’s letter — know that he’s writing to Christians who are being persecuted and who are experiencing much suffering. But what I want you to notice is what Peter tells us about how a Christian is to respond to suffering. You see — it’s very common in seasons of suffering for Christians — and non-Christians — to experience anxiety — to worry — and to have concerns. And what does Peter tell us to do with our anxiety? We’re to give all of our worries and cares and concerns to God because he cares about us.

This objective fact — God cares for his people — and your belief — that God cares for me — informs the direction we choose to pursue — we give our worries to God. Our belief — that God cares for us — also informs the direction we choose to pursue in staying alert — and watching out for our enemy — who we know uses seasons of suffering to attack and try to devour us. And our belief — that God cares for us — which informs the direction we choose to pursue — to give him our worries and to watch out for our enemy — impacts how we respond experientially and emotionally to our suffering.

CONCLUSION

That’s just one characteristic of God — that he cares for you — and look at how believing that he cares for you can change the way you respond to suffering and everything that comes with it. Renewing our minds — with God’s Word — believing who he says he is — as revealed in Scripture — and who we are, and what he’s doing, and what his plan of salvation is, and what it means to follow Jesus — and so much more — renewing your mind with the truths of God’s Word will change the direction of your life.

Now — if you don’t know where to start — maybe you’re feeling convicted, or inspired, or compelled to do something — but aren’t quite sure how to allow the Bible to renew your mind — I’ve written this booklet on how to make the most of your devotional time. I explain what I’ve been doing for years to renew my mind with God’s Word. We’ve got free copies of it at the Resource Center at both of our campuses — hopefully some copies made it to Bucyrus as well — you can also find it on our church website — gatewayepc.org/booklets. But get a copy and begin the journey — or revive your journey — or refine your journey — of having your mind renewed by the Word of God so the direction of your life is a “therefore life” — a life being transformed by the gospel. Because what you believe about God and life will inform the direction of your life. And the truth we believe — the gospel — is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And believing it — will transform your life. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious Father, thank you for your Word that you’ve given to us. A powerful Word. A mind-renewing Word. A life-changing Word. A Word that raises the spiritually dead to new life. A Word that is to be believed because it is your Word.

Holy Spirit, what we believe determines how we live. We ask you to take your Word and renew our minds with it so we live more faithfully as followers of Jesus. For what we believe about God and life informs the direction we choose to pursue and impacts how we respond to our world.

And Jesus — to you our Savior and Lord — what you believed about God, yourself, and mankind set the direction of your life while here on earth. Your belief is what empowered you to defeat the devil when he tempted you in the wilderness. You didn’t allow your circumstances — being physically weak due to a forty day fast — to be an excuse for unfaithfulness. Instead — what you believed — determined how you lived. And how you lived is the hope of our salvation — for you lived the perfect life in our place and died the death we all deserve.

So we thank you — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We thank you for revealing to us who you are, who we are, your plan of salvation, and for calling us to be a people who live transformed lives. And — may you draw many to yourself — and transform their life today. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Date: 10/14/2020

Lighting Round

1. Should we consider Catholicism a mission field or fellow Christians?  I had constantly prayed for my children to marry Christian spouses and two of them married Catholics. I felt it was more important for them to be united in Church and avoid mixed church issues where the kids don’t embrace any faith. Recently I’ve been watching YouTube sermons by John MacArthur and he is really critical of Catholic theology, and says  it’s dishonoring all the martyrs of the Reformation to endorse Catholicism. I have to admit that my grandchildren in Catholic schools know the Bible very well, but MacArthur says it’s a serious salvation issue.
   1. There are true believers who are Catholic and those who are just religious.
   2. But the same is true for protestant churches (including Gateway).
   3. Should we make them a mission field? Our community is our mission field and I think the best context, in our day, is to build a relationship first, show people we and God loves them, and then tell them why. 
   4. John MacArthur is critical of a lot of things. 

2. Would you give us a practical example of the word of religion?
   1. Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton
   2. Almost Christian by Kenda Dean
   3. Five core beliefs:
      1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
      2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
      3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
      4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
      5. Good people go to heaven when they die.
   4. Practical examples:
      1. Sermon series that focus on things like 5 steps to a healthier marriage or 3 steps to manage your finances that don’t get you to the gospel as being the reason why your marriage and your finances matter.
      2. Don’t want to make this a rule of thumb, but generally, when people ask for more “relevant” sermons they’re wanting MTD preaching. Nothing is more relevant to our lives than God’s Word and his gospel preached.

Questions

1. In a recent sermon Pastor Josh recommended “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. I started reading it and it has already challenged some of my thinking and has sparked a new level of excitement/longing for Heaven. What would you say to someone who has a view that Heaven might be an everlasting church service in the clouds? Someone who thinks heaven might be better than hell but maybe not all that exciting? 

2. Corinthians 12:2 “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.” How many heavens are there? Is there a book that discusses the different heavens?

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

1. Intro
   1. My (Josh’s) favorite book on Heaven. 
   2. Others who have or are reading it are telling me the same thing.
   3. It will encourage you to long for your eternity.
2. The author
   1. Randy Alcorn was a pastor in Oregon before turning primarily to a writing ministry.
   2. He’s written over 50 books.
   3. Nonfiction and fiction.
   4. Interesting story as to why he made minimum wage for 20 years despite having numerous best selling books. But you’ll have to find that story on your own.
3. Book breakdown
   1. Three parts
      1. A Theology of Heaven (the longest part)
      2. Questions and Answers about Heaven
      3. Living in Light of Heaven
4. Part 1: A Theology of Heaven
   1. Are you looking forward to Heaven? Chapter 1
      1. Edwards resolution “Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can.” – 5 … “Tragically, however, most people do not find their joy in Christ and Heaven. In fact, many people find no joy at all when they think about Heaven.” – 5
      2. Satan need not convince us that Heaven doesn’t exist. He need only convince us that Heaven is a place of boring, unearthly existence. If we believe that lie, we’ll be robbed of our joy and anticipation, we’ll set our minds on this life and not the next, and we won’t be motivated to share our faith. Why should we share the “good news” that people can spend eternity in a boring, ghostly place that even we’re not looking forward to? – 11
   2. Is Heaven beyond our imagination? Chapter 2
      1. “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). This is a direct command to set our hearts on Heaven. And to make sure we don’t miss the importance of a heaven-centered life, the next verse says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” God commands us to set our hearts and minds on Heaven. – 20 … What have you been doing daily to set your mind on things above, to seek Heaven? What should you do differently? – 21
      2. C.S. Lewis quote “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven you will get earth “thrown in”: aim and earth and you will get neither.” – 21
      3. He then tackles topics like:
         1. Is Heaven or Hell our default destination?
         2. Can you know that you’re going to Heaven when you die?
         3. What is the nature of the present Heaven? Will it be physical? What will life be like? (Answers the “how many heavens are there” listener’s question.)
            1. This is where most people reading the book will have their view of Heaven and eternity expanded big time. 
            2. Generally, I think that many of us don’t think about the difference between the Heaven we go to when we die and the Heaven that we will live in after Christ’s Second Coming.
         4. Then after a theology of the present Heaven, he gives a biblical and theological overview of the New Heavens and Earth.
5. Part 2: Questions and Answers About Heaven
   1. Won’t spend much time on this section, but some of the questions that he tackles — that I know many people wonder about — are:
      1. What will we be like?
      2. What will our bodies be like? 
      3. Will we be us? Meaning will I be Josh and Shaun be Shaun, etc…
      4. Will we eat and drink?
      5. Will we be capable of sinning?
      6. Will we learn new things in Heaven?
      7. What will our relationships with God and other people be like?
      8. What about animals? Will our pets live again in Heaven?
      9. Will Heaven ever be boring?
      10. Will there be arts and sports in Heaven?
      11. And many other questions.
6. Part 3: Living in Light of Heaven
   1. Though there’s application throughout the book, this final part focuses more on the practical application side of living in light of eternity.
   2. He quotes another theologian who said, “Our great affliction is not anxiety, or even guilt, but rather homesickness — a nostalgia or ineradicable yearning to be at home with God.” – 455
   3. Christ-centered righteous living today is directly affected by knowing where we’re going and what rewards we’ll receive there for serving Christ. – 470
   4. When I’ve meditated on Heaven, sin is terribly unappealing. It’s when my mind drifts from Heaven that sin seems attractive. Thinking of Heaven leads inevitably to pursuing holiness. Our high tolerance for sin testifies of our failure to prepare for Heaven…. [But] when we realize the pleasures that await us in God’s presence, we can forgo lesser pleasures now. – 471

Release Date: May 24, 2023

Questions

Referring to Genesis 49 where Jacob blesses his sons before he dies, is there a different context to the word “blessing”? Many of Jacob’s blessings for his sons don’t sound like what we would consider blessings in the modern context. (5:20)

Is there any correlation or significance when we see the “hand of God” in Scripture? We see it in the Exodus narrative with God’s hand being against Pharaoh and Egypt, then the Pharaoh’s magicians admitting one of the plagues is the “finger of God,” the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God, and later on in Daniel we see a manifestation of a hand writing on the wall sent by God. (7:30)

How long did Job go through his season of suffering? (10:20)

Are the sons of Korah that wrote a few of the psalms from the same Korah that we find in the lineage of Esau? (10:55)

In Joshua 21:43, it says the Lord gave the Israelites all the land he swore to give their fathers and they took possession of it. However, God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-21 included land from Egypt’s river to the Euphrates river and my research is mixed as to whether the Israelites ever possessed land to the Euphrates and some researchers interpret Egypt’s river as the Red Sea instead of the Nile river, because almost everyone agrees the Israelites didn’t possess land to the Nile. Is this an instance of being lost in translation or is there something I’m missing? (11:45)

My daughter attends the local Catholic school and she comes home with many questions about the Catholic faith that are difficult to answer. Recently, she learned of different miracles in the Catholic Church such as a priest eating the bread at communion and it literally turned into flesh dripping with blood and another where a doll of Mary was crying real tears. She asked me if they were true and if I believed them. The honest answers to these questions are “I don’t know” and “I’m very skeptical” but I didn’t say that to her. I found myself struggling to find a response that would encourage her to be discerning of these miracles but also not so skeptical to never believe in the miracles that God clearly did all throughout the Bible and still does today. How should a Protestant Christian respond to these miracles? How should I have responded to her question? (13:25)

I was talking to my Mother-in-law over Easter and we are both struggling on what the right thing to do is with – pronouns. We have a gender confused nephew who identifies as a woman and his girlfriend identifies as they/them. Jesus loves everyone and we should live like Jesus. These gender issues today are really the devil playing mind games with people. There are 2 genders – man and woman. Also in the Bible only the devil is referred to as they/them. As a Christian how should we approach this gender issue? (21:35)

• Article (What’s Josh Reading?) in our weekly email back on February 24, 2023. https://www.str.org/w/why-agree-to-use-preferred-names-but-not-preferred-pronouns-

Matt kept saying that the Lord provides (present tense), but when he was talking about Jesus being our substitute, he switched to past tense.  Was that correct or should they all have been in present tense?  Or is either tense correct? (23:25)

Matt was kind of light-hearted about the name of the place being called Jehovah Jireh, but how did we move historically from it being the name of a place to a name of God? (24:20)

Release Date: April 25,  2023

Questions

On what foundation do the Jehovah Witnesses beliefs come from and how could they believe in Jesus and not all he taught and said? How can we talk to a Jehovah Witness about our faith, especially if we are close to them? (5:00)

How do you truly know what you’re focusing on is really in line with the purpose God has given you? (8:50) 

Have you ever had a decision you were making that you feel like it went against your life mission statement so you ended up saying no? (19:10)

What’s the best way to deal with it when people say no they don’t want you to pray for them? (23:05)

What does joy mean in the context of the sermon? Does it mean you are always happy no matter what is going on? Or is it more that no matter what is going on or how we feel that we know we have hope in Jesus as our Savior? (33:25)

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 19:16-30; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (ESV)

DATE: 1-6-19

It’s good to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And one thing I want you to know — and it doesn’t matter if it’s your first time with us or if you’re worshipping at our North Main campus — is that God loves you and I love you too. 

SERIES INTRODUCTION

Just about a year ago, we took some time to look at topics that are divisive in our country. It turned out to be a pretty popular series and so we thought we’d return to a similar kind of series this year. 

And we’re calling this series “Evil” because there’s a dangerous tendency to call things good that God has said are evil. Where we blur the lines between good and evil, acquire a taste for evil, and even allow evil practices to become acceptable. And this is just as true for the church as it is anywhere else — so we want to look at the ways we’re exhausting God by calling good — what He’s said is evil. And what it means to experience the justice of God as we do these things.

That’s the imagery in the opening video. Evil things that were called good by some. Some of those evil things were done by the church. Evil things people did while thinking they were pleasing God.

And the idea behind this series is found in the Old Testament book of Malachi who wrote these words. 

“You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (And then the prophet gives some examples of the evil going on in his day.) “Then I (that’s God speaking…then I) will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 2:17; 3:5 ESV)

And these two verses are guiding us in this series. Last week, we looked at God’s justice and we saw how it has both a retributive and a liberating side. There’s the side of justice we usually think of — judgment — punishment — getting what you deserve — and then there’s the unexpected freeing — liberating — side of God’s justice. And we’re taking these two sides of God’s justice and seeing how they apply to the different groups that Malachi mentions.

Next week, we’ll look at how God’s justice applies to the foreigners among us — that’s what the word sojourner means. Pastor Ben is going to help us see how God’s justice applies in this area of life. Then in two weeks, Ben will help us explore how God’s justice and sanctity of life come together. 

Then I’ll help us connect God’s justice to lying — or swearing falsely. And we’ll wrap up this series, by looking at God’s justice for the adulterer. And odds are this will either be the least or highest attended weekend in a long time because — this topic — is a wee bit prickly. But I’m praying especially for this week as I want us all to see how God offers freedom for the adulterer — we won’t ignore God’s judgment for the unrepentant — but my hope is that many who walk in shame because of this sin will find the freedom that Christ offers.

And today we’re going to look at God’s justice and how it applies to the different religions in the world. So let’s turn to our passages for today.

ANNOUNCE THE TEXT

If you have your Bible, please turn with me to Matthew 19. We’ll be looking at verses 16-30. And then you’ll want to find 1 Corinthians 15 — as we’ll be looking at some verses there as well.

And, if you’re a guest with us, something we like to do at Gateway is let you ask questions. So if you have a question during the sermon, you can text it in to the number printed on the bottom of the sermon notes sheet or you can submit it on the Gateway app.

RE-ANNOUNCE AND READ THE TEXT

Here are the words found in Matthew 19. Beginning in verse 16. 

“And behold, a man came up to him (him being Jesus), saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:16-30 ESV)

And now turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We’ll begin in verse 1. First Corinthians chapter 15 — verse 1.

The apostle Paul writes. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ESV)

SERMON INTRODUCTION

There’s a quote — by a Christian theologian — that says, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” The theologian was Augustine who was born in North Africa in 354 AD. His mother was a Christian and his father a pagan. Augustine was a notoriously rebellious teenager who lived with his girlfriend, joined what was basically a cult, and ran away from his mother and her faith.

He went on to become a brilliant teacher of public speaking and was living the life he always wanted. No sin was to great for him as he tried to find pleasure in all that the world could offer. But in the words of U2, he “still [hadn’t] found what [he was] looking for.” 

After spending some time listening to the preaching of a man named Ambrose — Augustine turned away from his secular career and became a monk. And his quote shows us that he came to realize that all of the stuff that he thought would make him happy — from all the sex a man could want, to having a prestigious job, to “trying out” a new and exciting spirituality — he realized — after becoming a Christian — that those things wouldn’t satisfy him. He realized that the only way for his longing heart to be put at ease was to find satisfaction, joy, love, and peace in God. 

And like Augustine, many of us have recognized this same kind of longing. We feel it with each waking moment, but our temptation is to try and appease this longing with things that don’t last — money, material possessions, relationships, sex, even spiritual experiences that we think offer a way to God, but ultimately fall short and end in disappointment. 

And it’s in this longing to find fulfillment that many have turned to any number of religions. Now there are a few ways you may view religion. I’ve heard these views from non-Christians and from people who claim to be a Christian. And what we find in these views is a blurring of the lines between what God has said is good and evil — these two views are a way that we exhaust God by ignoring what He’s said is good and evil — when it comes to spiritual faith.

First, you may view all religions as being basically the same. You see all religions as trying to grasp at the same divine truth and — so instead of dividing over religion — you wish that people would embrace all religions for the uniqueness each brings as a way of experiencing spiritual things. 

An example that’s been used, is that all religions are like blind men touching an elephant. The first blind man put out his hand and touched the side of the elephant. “How smooth! An elephant is like a wall,” he said. The second blind man touched the elephant’s trunk. “How round! An elephant is like a snake.” The third blind man touched the elephant’s tusk. “How sharp! An elephant is like a spear.” The fourth blind man touched the leg. “How tall! An elephant is like a tree.” The fifth blind man touched the ear. “How wide! An elephant is like a fan.” The sixth blind man put out his hand and touched the elephant’s tail. “How thin! An elephant is like a rope.”

All of the blind men are touching the same elephant — but they’re all limited in their understanding of what the elephant actually is. And that’s religions — for you — all grasping a part of spiritual truth but none of them understanding all of it. And if they’d listen to one another they’d have a better understanding of the spiritual truth they’re all trying to grab hold of. Maybe that’s your view of religion.

A second view of religion is the opposite — you view all religions as damaging and destructive. You think we’d be better off if all religions were rejected. Maybe you believe that there’s no ultimate spiritual truth — and so — you think religions are comprised of superstitious — maybe even irrational people — and things would be better off if these people would get a clue. 

Now there are things that I appreciate about both of these views. First — for those who say that “all religions are the same” — I can appreciate how this idea often comes out of a deep longing for people to get along. You long for peace and you see how religion can be divisive and so — in an effort to find peace — you want to show how religions are more alike than dislike one another.

And — as hard as this may be for you to believe — I even have appreciation for folks who hold the second view — where religions are damaging. For many who hold this view — their skepticism is based on religious movements that have used people — brainwashed them — controlled unsuspecting folks. And that’s evil. I’m thankful that there are people — even unbelievers — who hold religious leaders and organizations accountable for how they treat people.

But both of these views have some things I disagree with. For example, to say that “all religions are the same” actually denies the uniqueness of the various religious traditions. And often people who make these claims do so without listening to the people who practice the religions. You see, most devotees of the major religions would not say that all religions are the same. People who practice the major religions in the world know that many of their central claims are quite exclusive and contradict the claims of other religions. 

For example, the heart of Islam isn’t the prophet Muhammad — which is what most people think — the heart of Islam are the revelations he said he received. The first words spoken in the ear of a Muslim infant are: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” That shows us the significance of Muhammad’s revelations — his messages. To deny his messages would mean that you have a significant disagreement with the Muslim faith. 

And guess what? Other religions deny Muhammad’s revelations. Muhammad believed he was receiving words from the creator of all things — yet Buddhism doesn’t believe in a creator god. In fact — this may surprise you — Buddhists don’t worship Buddha — Buddha isn’t even a god. Buddhism is a religion focused on wisdom, enlightenment, and compassion. It has some gods, but they’re not nearly as important as in other religions.

Like — say — Hinduism — a religion that has 33 million gods. Islam has one god, Buddhism doesn’t make a big deal about gods, and then Hinduism has 33 million gods. And Hinduism teaches that the “ultimate cause of suffering is people’s ignorance of the Self,” which Hinduism teaches is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, perfect, and eternal.” The self — not God — is all knowing, all powerful, present everywhere, perfect, and eternal. 

Then there’s the Jewish faith. They have much in common with Christianity up until we get to Jesus — He kind of drew a line in the sand — a line that many Jews have refused to step over. Jews are waiting for the Messiah to come — Christianity claims the Messiah has come — His name is Jesus.

And then there’s the Christian faith. Central to it is Jesus Christ. His life, His death, His resurrection, His divinity and humanity. To Muslims, Jesus was a great prophet, but not God. To Jews, Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. Even among the religions that believe in one god — there’s no agreement about Jesus.

So with all of these differences — all of these very distinct beliefs and teachings — including their different views on Jesus — how can you say that all religions are essentially the same?

And to the person who’s skeptical of religion — or believes that the world would be better off without religion — well — if this is you — I think you may have overlooked the significance that religion has done for good — especially Christianity. The ways in which the Christian faith has helped to shape the world we live in for the better. For example, how many hospitals have a name that comes from the Christian faith? So whether or not you agree with the truth about Jesus, it’s hard to avoid the fact that much good has been — and continues to be done — in His name. 

THE RELIGIONS OF OUR WORKS

But something that all religions — but one — do have in common is this:  Ultimately, getting into Heaven, eternity, nirvana, eternal bliss — call it whatever you like — all but one religion believes that you have to work to get there. That’s what the story from the gospel of Matthew is about. 

A rich young man comes to Jesus asking what he must do to be sure that he has eternal life. He wants to know how to get to Heaven. And Jesus asks him about his obedience to the commandments. This is the standard for a lot of people when it comes to getting into Heaven. “I’m a good person. Here are the good things I’ve done and here’s a list of the bad things I haven’t done. For instance, I haven’t murdered anyone.”

I was meeting with some staff and we were talking about this and I said to them, “When someone says — ‘I’m a good person; I haven’t murdered anyone’ — I want to say, ‘Well welcome to the club, buddy. In the history of mankind the majority of people have never murdered anyone. Not murdering doesn’t make you all that particularly special.’” 

But this rich young man doesn’t realize that it’s easy to deceive oneself about your true inner desires. That’s what Jesus shows him when He basically tells the guy, “Well you’ve almost got this whole eternal life thing figured out. Just two things left for you to do and Heaven is yours. Sell everything you own and follow Me.” What a test. “You say you’re a good person — well let’s see — because surely a good person would be willing to give up all the treasures of the world in order to show how good, and noble, and God centered they are.”

But the guy doesn’t do it. His heart loves money more than it loves God. And that shows us that the young man — though he may never have murdered anyone — had broken the first commandment — to have no other gods in his life but the one true God. Money was his god.

That’s the thing about working your way to Heaven. You can’t slip up once or you’re done for. James said, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” (James 2:10-11 ESV)

James says, “You want to talk about works and earning your way to Heaven? OK. If you break one commandment — you’ve broken them all. Game over.” Now this is so obvious that it hardly needs mentioning, but do you know the ninth commandment? It’s about not lying. Game over for all of us.

Paul takes it one step further when he writes, “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 ESV)

Even if you somehow deceive yourself into thinking you’re doing a pretty swell job at obeying the law — that your works are out of this world — well guess what? No one will be justified by the works they do. Justified means to be declared not guilty — to be justified means that you’re declared to be — by God — worthy of Heaven and His presence for all eternity. And no one will receive that news based on what they do.

But this is what most people think of when they think of religion. And this is what most people think will get them into Heaven — even many who claim to be a Christian. They think of religion as a bunch of rules — things to do and not do. And usually you have to do a bunch of stuff you don’t want to do and you’re not supposed to do all of the fun stuff you want to do. That’s religion — that’s how you work your way to Heaven — no fun — whatsoever.

But then — in the name of being irreligious — some people make up all kinds of new rules that sway the “I’m going to Heaven when I die” scale in their favor. 

• You know, where the command to not lie isn’t really that big of a deal. I mean, “Who doesn’t lie?” 
• So we’ll scratch that one off the list — but keep don’t murder on the list — because most of us pass that one. 
• Scratch off anything about not being greedy — because we love our money and stuff — but put on the list something about not being a University of Michigan fan — that’ll earn some points with God for sure. 
• Doesn’t it all sound ridiculous? But why do so many of us believe that what we do is what will get us into Heaven? 
• And I know that your list may or may not include the things I just said — but don’t be deceived — your list is just as ridiculous. 

And if Jesus came to you today — like He did to that rich young man — He’d ask you to give up the very thing that’s keeping you from really following Him. And — listen — I say this because I love you and your eternity is too important for me to not say the hard things in love — the very thing Jesus is asking you to give up is the very thing that He knows will lead you straight to Hell. 

• For the young man, it was his money. For some of us, it’s money. 
• For others, it’s shacking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend. 
• For others it’s what we watch on our screens. 
• For others, it’s how we use our time. 
• If you asked Jesus, “What do I need to do to get to Heaven?” — what would He tell you to give up? 

THE RELIGION OF JESUS’ WORK

But only those who know it’s not what they do that gives them eternal life — are the ones who are willing to give up all things for Jesus. Because there is another option — a truly different kind of religion — one not based on our works — but based on Someone else’s work. A religion that’s utterly unique when compared to all of the other religions of the world. And that’s the religion of true Christianity — true faith in Jesus. It’s what Paul writes about to the Corinthians.

What Paul says was of first importance is the work that Jesus accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection. 

• A work where He obeyed all of God’s commandments during His life — not breaking even one of them. 
• A work of paying the debt for the sins of those whose works always come up short. 
• A work of substituting His death on a cross for the eternal death we deserve for breaking God’s commands. 
• Jesus’ work is a perfect work. A complete work. An “it is finished” work. 

And Jesus says to us, “If you believe in the work I’ve done for you — the work that I’ve accomplished on your behalf — a work of rescuing people who realize that their works will never earn them Heaven because the admission price is too high for them to pay and their works earn to little compared to the price of admission. But I’ve paid the price for their admission into Heaven. And the ticket — that I earned with my blood — I now give to them as a gift.”

“But,” Jesus says, “know that the ticket is costly in two ways. First, it cost me My life — My life was the cost of your admission into Heaven — that’s the first cost. And second, it’ll cost you your life too. For when I pay for your sins, you are now mine. And this shouldn’t frighten you — for I am good — I’m your friend — I’m the one who willing died for you because I love you. This shouldn’t frighten you — this should free you — release you — liberate you — so that you’re willing to give up all things for Me because I gave up all things for you.” 

JUSTICE FOR ALL

And here’s the good news for people of all religions. Here’s good news for the person who thinks that all religions are the same and for the person who’s skeptical of religion. Here’s good news for all of us. 

Jesus doesn’t discriminate who He receives into His family. Anyone — no matter what their religious upbringing, their race, their gender, their nationality — anyone — through faith in Jesus — can be made right with God.

That — as we’ve been seeing — God’s liberating justice is possible for all kinds of people — even for people of all religions — if they turn to Christ in faith. Because God’s liberating justice sets captives free from working their way to Heaven. 

• From trying to earn their way into Heaven. 
• From thinking that some day they’ll measure up to a standard that they gave up on when they broke their first commandment. 
• That God delights in pouring out His liberating — freeing — justice on those who believe in His Son who appeased His retributive justice on their behalf.

And know — dear friends — if Jesus did not appease God’s retributive justice on your behalf — then God will pour it out on you for all eternity. Your sin debt must be paid in full. And I’m pleading with you — Jesus is pleading with you — to receive His gift of paying your debt in full. 

• Turn to Him in faith. 
• Give your life to Him. 
• He is good. 
• He can be trusted. 
• He will do you no harm.

CONCLUSION

Are all religions the same? Not even close. Only one offers the eternal hope that Jesus has made possible. That’s what Augustine discovered after searching for years to fill the void in his life that only Jesus could fill. And filling that void is what so many are still searching for in religions, in stuff, in sex, in all kinds of things that are sure to disappoint — maybe that’s you. But know that what you’re searching for isn’t hidden — it’s right before you — you can find what you’re looking for. His name is Jesus. And He’s eager for you to receive the gift of eternal life — and hope and peace and joy and purpose — that He’s offering you through faith in the work that He’s done on your behalf. Let’s pray. 

PRAYER

God of justice, help those who are here to receive the gift of eternal life that Jesus has made possible through His perfect work on their behalf. Help us all to give up the notion that we can work our way to Heaven. The price of admission is to high for our works to pay the cost. 

But the amazing — wonderful — awe inspiring — news of the Christian faith is that You have done for us what we can’t do for ourselves. You sent Your Son — Jesus — to come and live the life of perfect works that we’ve failed to live. To suffer the punishment of Your retributive justice on the cross — so that we might experience Your liberating justice. For Jesus came to set us captives free. Free from Satan, sin, death, and Hell. Free from trying to work our way to Heaven. Freedom from trying to fill the longings of our heart with things that are sure to disappoint.

Spirit, help us to be honest with ourselves — even those of us who claim to be a Christian. Help us to see if we’re believing solely in the work of Christ for our eternal hope — or if we’re trying to earn our eternity by our works. For only through faith in Christ alone will anyone experience everlasting joy with You forever. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go trusting in the perfect work that Jesus has done for you. Amen.

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