Gratitude and Generosity in the Midst of Persecution and Poverty...

As I have had the opportunity to have conversations with those who have either failed to connect or have disconnected with the church, one of the reasons that I hear for rejecting the church has to do with the subject of money. Some people refuse to connect with the church because they believe that all that the church wants is their money. For this group of people, God seemed to be portrayed as simply someone you believed in so that you could use Him for your financial benefit by a “name it and claim it” pastor on TV who was wearing a gold suit and sitting on a gold chair.

For others, their refusal to connect with the church is based on Christians who they encountered who repeatedly stated that money is the root of evil in the world. Therefore, if you are rich you must love the world too much, but if you are poor, then you really are spiritual. And giving to God was communicated as being driven by a desire to fulfill a command and a duty that must be done. Maybe I have just described encounters that you have had with Christians. Maybe you keep Christianity and the church at arm’s length because you believe that the church is all about the money. Or maybe you are a Christian but you still have many questions about the church and the subject of money and giving.

So, is the church all about the money? And even if you do not believe that the church just wants your money, then why is it we can tend to get so uncomfortable when the issue of money is brought up in church? And why do churches pass the plate and take an offering? Do they take the offering because God needs the money? Or is it just because the pastor needs the money? Why does the church ask Christians to give every week?

For the next two weeks, we are going to ask and answer these and many other questions. And to do that, we are going to be looking at a section of a letter in our Bible that was written to a church that was located in a city and a culture that was remarkably similar to American culture today. And it is in this section of this letter that we will discover that the issue of money and giving is not a new question. The issue of money and how Christians are to interact with money have been around since the church was born. So let’s begin by looking at a section of a letter that a man named Paul wrote to a church that was located in Corinth Greece called 2nd Corinthians. The section that we are going to spend our time in begins in 2 Corinthians 8:1. Let’s look at it together:

Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

Paul begins this section of his letter to the church in Corinth by sharing with them the evidence of God’s activity in and through several churches that were located in Macedonia. These were churches that Paul had previously planted in the cities of Philippi and Thessalonica, which were located in the northern region of Greece. And in our Bibles today, we have several letters that were written to these churches. The book of Philippians and the books of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians were written to these very churches at around the same time that this letter was written to the church at Corinth.

Paul explains to the church at Corinth, which was located in southern Greece, that in spite of the trouble and distress that these churches were experiencing as a result of persecution and exploitation by the Roman government, these churches were marked by an unexpected joy. In spite of their outward circumstances, these churches demonstrated an attitude and mindset of gratitude and gladness.

But not only did this church demonstrate unexpected joy in the midst of their persecution. Paul also reveals for us the reality that these churches experienced deep poverty. What is so interesting is that this phrase, in the language that this letter was written in, literally means that their poverty was so significant and extreme that is was difficult to measure. The apostle Paul had a hard time wrapping his mind around how poor these followers of Jesus were. Yet, in spite of their extreme poverty and the intense persecution they were facing, these churches were extremely rich when it came to their generosity. The phrase the wealth of their liberality, if communicated in the language of our culture today, would sound something like this: “these churches had a ‘no strings attached’ approach when it came to their goodness and generosity.

You see, Paul was surprised, and even taken aback, by their attitude of gratitude and the actions of generosity that he experienced at these churches that were immersed in a culture of poverty and persecution. And as this letter continues, we see Paul unpack how these churches demonstrated their gratitude and generosity, beginning in verse 3:

For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

Here we see Paul sharing with the church at Corinth how he experienced the unexpected joyous gratitude and generosity of the churches. Now to fully understand how Paul experienced the gratitude and generosity of these churches, we first need to understand what Paul is referring to with the phrase “participation in the support of the saints”. When Paul talks about the support of the saints, he is referring to churches involvement in a special offering that was being taken for the church of Jerusalem, whose members were suffering as a result of a famine in the region. In a previous letter to this church that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the book of 1 Corinthians, we discover that while other churches were following Paul’s instructions to invest their treasure to meet the needs of the church in Jerusalem, the church at Corinth was failing to follow through on their commitment.

In verse three, Paul explains that, unlike the church at Corinth, these poor and persecuted churches were willingly investing their treasure to meet the needs of the church at Jerusalem. Paul did not have to make a sales pitch or a guilt trip to these churches. Instead, these churches heard of the need and were motivated to respond. As a matter a fact, they were so motivated to respond that they gave beyond their ability. In other words, they gave sacrificially. They responded to the need that they saw by pleading and appealing to Paul to be a part of God’s activity by meeting the pressing and practical needs of the church in Jerusalem. What makes this act by these poor churches so significant as compared to the inaction of the church at Corinth was the difference in the socio-economic condition of these churches. You see, Corinth was a wealthy port city and commercial center and was a key player in the world economy. Unlike the churches of Philippi and Thessalonica, the members of the church at Corinth had the resources that they could easily invest to be a part of what God was doing to help the church at Jerusalem.

So, while the wealthy church at Corinth was dragging their feet when it came to following through on their commitment, the persecuted and poor churches of northern Greece dove in head first in order to be a part of God’s activity in the world. That is why, in verse 5, Paul makes the statement that he did not expect such gratitude and generosity. When Paul uses the phrase “gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God”, he is revealing for us the reality that these churches were first and foremost dedicated to God’s desires for their life and their investment and involvement in what He was doing in the world. And as a result of his experience with these churches in Northern Greece, Paul was provoked to respond. Tomorrow, we will see how Paul responded to what was happening in Corinth.

Responding to Something that Happened in History...

This week, we are looking at what makes Easter Sunday so special and significant. We discovered that what makes Easter Sunday special and significant is not doctrine or theology but something that happened in history. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity. You see the core message of the gospel; the essence of Christianity is not about theology. The core message of the gospel and the essence of Christianity revolves around an event that occurred in history. What makes the Bible so compelling and different than other religious literature is that Christianity is rooted in history.

What is so fascinating, however, is how early followers of Jesus responded to Jesus death and resurrection. When we read in the Bible and in other secular historical material about what happened in the city of Jerusalem shortly after that first Easter Sunday, we discover that Jesus followers began to gather in community with one another on Sundays for times of worship. But not only that, we see that the early followers of Jesus began to meet together throughout the week in homes. These early followers of Jesus also began to love and serve those in their communities and minister to real and practical needs.

But the problem was that they just kept talking about Jesus. These early followers of Jesus would come into the temple at Jerusalem and would begin to talk about the very man that the religious leaders of the day had just killed only a few months earlier just outside of town. And as you might imagine, the religious leaders were not too pleased about this. And after one such encounter in the temple, the Jewish religious leaders of the day arrested Peter and John, who were two of the leaders of this early movement of followers of Jesus that we now call the church, and brought them in for questioning.

And in Acts 4:15, as we enter into this story as the religious leaders try to decide what to do about Peter and John, we are given an amazing glimpse of what drove these early followers of Jesus:

But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, "What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. "But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name." And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

In other words, we cannot deny that these men had miraculously healed someone. But we can’t have them coming into the temple talking about Jesus, who we just killed because He threatened our religious system and power. So let’s just tell them to quit mentioning this name. I mean they could not even bring themselves to say Jesus. So these religious leaders bring Peter and John back in and command them to quit talking about Jesus. Notice Peter and John’s response:

But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

“For we cannot stop speaking about our theology. We cannot stop speaking about what happened to the dinosaurs. We cannot stop speaking about what will happen in the end times. We cannot stop speaking about whether the earth was created in 6 days or millions of years. We cannot stop speaking and holding signs at military funerals that say that God hates gays”. No that is not what they said. Here is what they said:

for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."

For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. Peter, John, and the early followers of Jesus were driven to speak boldly not about their differing theological views; they were driven to speak about something that happened in history. They could not stop talking about Jesus because of something that happened in history; something that opened the door and provided the opportunity for all of humanity to receive forgiveness and enter into the relationship with God that they were created for.

Now maybe you are not a Christian and one of your biggest push backs to the whole Jesus church thing is frankly how obnoxious Christians can be when it comes to talking about the Bible and Christianity. If you are a follower of Jesus, what drives you to talk about Jesus? Are you driven to speak about Jesus to show how smart you are? How you have everything figured out when it comes to your doctrine and theology?

Because here’s the deal: what we believe about God, our theology is inseparably related to an event that occurred in history. And it was this event that occurred in history that makes Easter Sunday so significant and that drove the early followers of Jesus to boldly speak of all that God had done through His Son Jesus. It is what happened in history that first Easter Sunday that makes the gospel good news. So when you talk about Jesus, the church, and the Bible, does it sound like good news?

Now if you are not a Christian, you still may find yourself wondering “what makes any of this good news? Why is Easter Sunday so significant?” What makes Easter Sunday so significant and such good news is that while all of humanity was created for a relationship with God and one another, all of humanity selfishly chose to reject that relationship, instead choosing to love our selves over God and others. And it is out of our selfishness that we do things that hurt God and those around us, which the Bible calls sin. And it the events of that first Easter Sunday that reveals how God responded to our selfish rebellion. On Easter Sunday, we see God provide the means that could rescue rebellious humanity by raising His Son Jesus from the dead, who came to earth and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life.

And what makes the message of the gospel; what makes Easter Sunday such good news is how simple the events of that first Easter Sunday make it to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Receiving the forgiveness for sin and entering into the relationship with God that you were created for can summarized in three simple words: believe, trust, and follow. First, you need to believe that you have done selfish things that have hurt God and others and are in need of forgiveness and that Jesus was who He said He was; that Jesus was God in a bod, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived His perfect life. Second, you need to trust that Jesus life, death, and resurrection provides forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God you were created for. And third, you need to follow Jesus as Lord and Leader. It’s as simple as that.

Now you may be here and you may be thinking, “but Dave I have questions. I mean, what happened to the dinosaurs? And how old is the earth? And why does God allow bad things to happen to good people”? And while those are all legitimate questions and tensions that we all have to respond to, they are not the most important questions that we need to respond to. The most important question that we need to respond to is this “do we believe that something happened in history? Something that provides forgiveness and rescue into the relationship with God we were created for?”

So do you believe that something happened in history? Something that provides forgiveness and rescue into the relationship with God we were created for?” Because to restart the relationship with God that you were created for requires responding to something that happened in history. Let’s pray together.

The Responses to Something that Happened in History...

This week, we are looking at what makes Easter Sunday so special and significant. We discovered that what makes Easter Sunday special and significant is not doctrine or theology but something that happened in history. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity. You see the core message of the gospel; the essence of Christianity is not about theology. The core message of the gospel and the essence of Christianity revolves around an event that occurred in history. What makes the Bible so compelling and different than other religious literature is that Christianity is rooted in history.

Now at about this point, a natural question that arises is “well Dave how do we know that the resurrection is a historical reality and not just mythology or fiction? And how can we trust the truthfulness of what is contained in this letter?” As Paul continues his letter to this early church, we see the answers to these questions revealed for us by the response of those who were witnesses to the resurrection. So let’s look at the response of each of these witnesses, beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:5:

and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Now it is important to understand that when Paul uses the word appeared, he is not referring to seeing Jesus is a dream or vision; this word refers to an actual visual encounter with the Risen from the dead Jesus Christ. Paul then provides a list of people who had an encounter with Jesus after he was raised from the dead. First, in verse 5, Paul lists Peter, who had denied Jesus three times while he stood outside his trial. Paul then lists the remaining eleven disciples. And while one could easily argue or question the truthfulness of the testimony of his closest followers, as Paul continues his list, he expands the scope of who had a visual encounter with the risen Lord, which we see in verse 6:

After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

Here we see Paul transition to explain that Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people at one time, most of who were still living. Paul is saying to the church “if you do not want to believe me or the disciples, then go ask these five hundred people. Do you think five hundred people would have the same dream or vision at the same time?” Paul’s point here is that there were people who were still alive that could testify as to the truth of the reality of the resurrection.

You see, this letter to this early church was not written hundreds of years after the claim that Jesus was raised from the dead. This letter was written within 25 years of the events that took place that first Easter Sunday outside of the city of Jerusalem. And while some had fallen asleep, in other words died, the vast majority of those who had this encounter with Jesus were still alive and could be questioned by any skeptic who did not necessarily buy the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. And as Paul continues his list of people who had this encounter in history with the resurrected Jesus, we find a most convincing name mentioned next in verse 7:

then He appeared to James,

Paul then explains that James, the step brother of Jesus, the same James who had mocked Jesus claims during His life on earth, he saw the resurrected Lord, so go ask him. The same James who became the Senior Pastor at the church that was located in Jerusalem. Now here is a question that would help provide us some perspective on how significant James is to this claim that Jesus rose from the dead: What would your sibling have to do in order to convince you that He was God? What would a step brother have to do in order to bring you to the place that you would believe that He was God? What would cause someone to worship His brother and serve as a leader in His new movement called Christianity? But not only did Jesus appear to James, Jesus also appeared to another group of people:

then to all the apostles;

Paul then explains that Jesus also appeared to all of the Apostles, which we read about in another letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Acts, in Acts 1:1-11. It is important to understand that these appearances did not occur decades or years after Jesus crucifixion, they occurred within 40 days of His crucifixion. In addition, these appearances occurred in Jerusalem, within sight of the very place where Jesus was killed and buried. Paul then concludes his history lesson with an autobiography, which we see in 1 Corinthians 15:8-11:

and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Here we see Paul refer to his own encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, which we read about in Acts 9. Apparently, the members of the church at Corinth viewed Paul as a freak and insignificant as compared with the other Apostles. Paul responds to this criticism by explaining the while he should have the lowest status among the Apostles as a result of his persecution of the early church, the exceptional effect of God’s gracious activity in his life resulted in Paul leveraging all that he had to serve the Lord and proclaim the gospel.

I mean what else do you think would cause someone like Paul who persecuted the church to become the greatest missionary of the early church? What else would cause someone who was zealously opposed to the movement known as Christianity to become the very person who wrote the majority of what we now have as the New Testament in our Bibles? Paul’s point here is that the resurrection of Jesus is a historical reality that was witnessed by hundreds of people over forty days time. I mean, all that was needed to stop the fledgling movement that was Christianity was to produce Jesus dead and rotting corpse for all to see. They did not have to travel far. And they did not need to search for where Jesus was buried, as Jesus tomb was just outside the city of Jerusalem and had been previously guarded by Roman soldiers.

And for 2,000 years people have been trying to find Jesus corpse, with absolutely no success, because the reality is that Jesus has been raised from the dead by God’s supernatural activity. And it was the reality of God’s activity through an event that occurred in history in real time and in a real place that you can go visit today that resulted in the transformation of lives and the spread of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout history.

And just as it was some 2,000 years ago, when it comes to restarting you life when it comes to a relationship with God, we are able to receive the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God not simply because of what we believe about doctrine or theology. The timeless reality is that to restart a relationship with God requires responding to something that happened in history. To restart a relationship with God that you were created for requires responding to what happened that first Easter Sunday.

What is so fascinating, however, is how early followers of Jesus responded to Jesus death and resurrection. We will look at the impact that Jesus resurrection had on His early followers tomorrow.

What Makes Easter Special and Significant?

This past Sunday marked Easter Sunday. And what I find so interesting is that regardless of where you are in terms of what you believe about Jesus, the Bible or Christianity, our culture tends to view Easter Sunday as a special and significant day of the year? But why do so many of us, regardless of where we are in terms of a relationship with God, view Easter Sunday as so significant?

For some Easter Sunday was the first time that they had attended church. For others, they may come to church like clockwork two times every year; Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. They come to church on Christmas and Easter because it is something that they are just supposed to do, isn’t it? There is something significant and special about Christmas and Easter that provokes something within us that we otherwise ignore or dismiss the remaining 51 weeks a year to come to church. And for others, while Easter is seen as a special and significant day, attending church is also a part of their regular routine. Sure, someone may try to convince them to dress up because it is Easter; but at the end of the day it is another Sunday that people spend time together at church.

But what makes Easter Sunday significant? What makes Easter Sunday so significant that we feel the desire to dress differently? What makes Easter Sunday so significant that many of us will change our normal Sunday morning routines to attend church? What makes Easter Sunday so significant that many people will relentlessly pursue and ask those who do not normally go to church to attend church?

You see, regardless of what you believe about the claims of Christ and the teachings and message of the Bible, we can all tend to misunderstand the significance of Easter Sunday. Maybe you do not buy the whole Bible, Jesus, or church thing. Or maybe you would describe your spiritual journey in terms of all the bad experiences that you have had with Christians and churches. Or maybe you would say that you feel like you do not know and do not feel that you can ever know about whether or not the Bible or church is real or relevant.

If you fit in one of those categories, I want to let you know that I have some good news for you that is often missed or misunderstood when it comes to the significance of Easter. And that good news is this: What makes Easter significant and special has absolutely nothing to do with what we believe in terms of theology. In other words, what separates Easter and makes it so significant in the lives of Christians is not about what we believe about God. What separates Easter and makes it so significant in the lives of Christians has everything to do with something that happened in history.

You see, for those of us who are Christians, what often makes those who are far from God or skeptical about God so hesitant to engage Christians is that Christians seem to want to spend their time arguing about what we should believe about God. And while what we believe about God is important as Christians, the reason why Christianity exploded in the first century and has had such an impact throughout history is because Christianity, at its core, is all about something that happened in history.

We see this reality revealed for us in a letter in our Bibles called 1 Corinthians. And it is in a section of this letter that was written by a man named Paul to an early church that we see that the core message of the gospel, which literally means “good news’ is not about theology; it is all about something that happened in history. So let’s look at this section of this letter beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:1:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Paul begins this section of his letter to a first century church that was located in Corinth Greece by reminding them of the message of the gospel that he had previously proclaimed to them. Paul explains that the members of this church had responded to the message of the gospel by agreeing and accepting the message in a way that resulted in them entering into the relationship with God that they were created for. Their acceptance of the message of the gospel by faith in what God had done to rescue them from their selfishness and sin was based on their firm adherence to the message that Paul had proclaimed to them. When Paul uses the phrase unless you believed in vain, he is explaining to this early church and to us today that the only way that the message of the gospel does not result in salvation from our selfishness and sin is if we respond to the message without careful thought.

Paul’s point is that believing, trusting, and following Jesus is more than an emotional response. Salvation revolves around a person recognizing and responding to their selfishness and sin by embracing the facts that surround the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by placing their complete confidence in those facts by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. Paul here is explaining that the message of the gospel that results in salvation is rational in nature and is rooted in history. Paul then reminds this church, and us here today, what the core message of the gospel revolves around. And it is in this good news which we call the gospel that we discover what makes Easter Sunday so significant. So let’s look at this core message together, beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:3:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

In these verses we see Paul remind this first century church, and us here this morning of the essence of the Christian faith. What is of first importance; what is the closed handed and non-negotiable center of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ, who is God in an bod, entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Jesus Christ died after being crucified.

Now crucifixion was the most humiliating form of punishment ever devised. Death on the cross was usually reserved for condemned slaves, who were considered the lowest form of humanity. This was a death that was reserved for the worst criminals and for enemies of the Roman Empire. Crucifixion was designed for maximum humiliation and maximum suffering. As a matter of fact, crucifixion was so abhorred by society that it was not even depicted in early Christian art. Historians have discovered that the first depictions of crucifixion only occurred after all those who had ever seen a live crucifixion had died. Early Christians did not need a picture of a cross because the image of a cross and what it meant was an all too present reality in their lives.

Paul then states that not only that Christ died for our sins; Paul also states that He was buried. Now the reason that Christ was buried was because He was dead. Jesus did not pass out; He was not in a coma; He was buried because He was dead. Jesus was crucified by professional executioners and these men knew a dead person when they saw one. When Paul uses the phrase according to the Scriptures, he is reminding us that Jesus life and death was predicted and proclaimed throughout the Old Testament. Throughout the Old Testament, we read of God promising a rescuer, a deliverer to save us from our selfishness and sin and to bring us into the relationship with God we were created for.

But not only was Jesus life and death proclaimed throughout the Old Testament, Paul also explains that Jesus burial and resurrection was predicted and proclaimed in the Old Testament. When Paul talks about resurrection here, he is referring to a literal, physical, bodily resurrection. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of God’s transforming activity.

You see the core message of the gospel; the essence of Christianity is not about theology. The core message of the gospel and the essence of Christianity revolves around an event that occurred in history. What makes the Bible so compelling and different than other religious literature is that Christianity is rooted in history. These are real events that occurred in real time and at real places that you can visit today. What we believe about God, or our theology, flows from events that occurred in history.

Now at about this point, a natural question that arises is “well Dave how do we know that the resurrection is a historical reality and not just mythology or fiction? And how can we trust the truthfulness of what is contained in this letter?” If those questions are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And as Paul continues his letter to this early church, we see the answers to these questions revealed for us by the response of those who were witnesses to the resurrection. Tomorrow, we will look at the response of those who were witnesses to the resurrection.

So how do you view Christianity? As a philosophical worldview? Mythology? Fiction? Or history?

Easter Sunday Sermon...

Did you miss being able to attend Easter Sunday services? If so, you can listen to one here:



http://citybiblechurchbhc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=7

The Justice and Love of Good Friday...

One of the many questions that those who are skeptical of the Bible and Christianity ask is "How can God be both just and loving at the same time?" It would seem that love and justice are incompatible attributes. If God is just, He must punish sin. But if He is loving, He would forgive sin. How then can He be both?

The attributes of God’s justice and love are not contradictory. He is both absolutely just and unconditionally loving. Actually each attribute compliments the other. In other words, God's justice is administered in love and His love is distributed justly.

And there is no more perfect example of this reality then what followers of Jesus remember as Good Friday, where Jesus was killed by being crucified on a cross. In His love, God sent His Son Jesus into humanity in order to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. This is most clearly expressed in Romans 5:8:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus death on the cross was not only an expression of His love; it also satisfied God’s justice, which demands eternal death for our selfish rebellion. We see this in the first part of Habakkuk 1:13:

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor.

God’s justice demands that sin be punished, but God’s love compels Him to save sinners. So Christ’s death on the cross releases His love and satisfies His justice. Thus there is no contradiction between absolute justice and unconditional love.

So how does this reality impact your view of God? How does this impact how you view Good Friday and Easter? How does this reality impact your response to the Bible and Christianity?

To Restart a Relationship with God Requires Our Total Devotion...

This week we have been looking at a man named Joshua's final conversation with those closest to him and with the nation that he led. After affirming, challenging, and reminding his leadership team of their responsibilities, Joshua then turns to have his final conversation with the Jewish people that he had led over the years. So let’s look at this final conversation together, beginning in Joshua 24:1:

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

In this verse, we see the context for where this final conversation was to take place. Joshua called for the entire Jewish nation to meet at a place called Shechem for this final conversation. In our culture today, this would have the feel of a state of the union address. The reason why Joshua chose Shechem to have his final conversation with the Jewish people was because Shechem was the place where Abraham, who was the father of the Jewish people, first received the promise from God that the Jewish people would be given the Promised Land, which is recorded for us in the very first letter in our Bibles, called Genesis 12:6-7.

And it is here, where God first made His promise with the Jewish people, that God would remind the Jewish people of all that He had done for them. In Joshua 24:2-13, we see the Jewish people reminded of God’s activity throughout their history as a people. After recounting all that God had done for the Jewish people, Joshua then makes a statement that is perhaps one of the most memorable statements in the entire Bible. Let’s look at this statement together, beginning in Joshua 24:14:

"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Now whether you were raised in church and regularly attend church or if this is the first time you have attended church; whether or not you have read much of the Bible, most people have heard the last part of this statement or seen the last part of this statement on a coffee cup or a plaque in someone’s office- “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. But notice the context for which this memorable verse occurs in the Bible. Joshua, after reminding the Jewish people of God’s activity throughout their history commands them to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth.

Now when the Bible uses the word fear, it is not referring to the fear that we may experience while watching a horror movie. The word fear here is referring to a reverence for God that involves two specific concepts that inform this words meaning. And those two concepts are the concepts of submission and obedience. To fear the Lord involves recognizing that God is God by coming under His leadership. In addition, to fear the Lord involves faithfully following God’s word as it informs our life. And we see both of these concepts in verse 14.

In light of who God is and what God has done in their lives, Joshua calls the Jewish people to serve the Lord in sincerity and truth. The word sincerity here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means completeness. The word truth here is the same word that is also translated as faithfulness. Joshua is commanded the Jewish people to respond to God’s activity in their lives by serving and following Him completely and faithfully. The reason for this statement is seen in his next command “put away the gods which your father’s served in the past”.

Apparently many of the Jewish people wanted to be a “Jesus plus” people. There were some Jewish people whose faith was like a buffet line where they were choosing what they liked from various faith systems and chose to ignore the parts of the faith systems that they did not like. It wasn’t as though they didn’t like the blessings God was providing them. They just were not serving the Lord with a total and complete faithfulness. They were either “on the fence” when it came to the Lord, or they wanted to be a Jesus plus people.

And because of this reality, Joshua calls for the Jewish people to get off the fence. Either be fully and completely committed to striving to live a life in a relationship with the Lord, or be fully and completely committed to live a life worshipping a false god. And it is in this context that Joshua makes His decision known: “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord”. And it is in this final conversation that we see revealed for us a timeless principle that is necessary when it comes to restarting our lives. And that timeless principle is that to restart a relationship with God requires our total devotion.

Just like the Jewish people in Joshua’s day, it is impossible to be a fence sitter when it comes to a relationship with God. Just like the Jewish people in Joshua’s day, it is impossible to have the relationship with God that you were created for when your faith system can be described as “Jesus plus”. A relationship with God is not a spiritual buffet line where you can pick and choose from various religious systems.

Now you might be thinking “why not? Why Can’t I sit on the fence? There might be many paths that lead to God. I’m not sure I buy this whole, Jesus, Bible thing. I want to hedge my bets. Why can’t I believe in Jesus plus?” If I have described you, I just want to let you know that these are great questions to be asking. And fortunately for us, we find the answers to these questions in what happens next in this story:

The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. "The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God." Then Joshua said to the people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you."

What is so interesting here is that while the Jewish people respond by acknowledging that it was the Lord who was their creator, provider and deliverer, Joshua did not seem to be satisfied with their answer, did he? As a matter of fact, Joshua goes so far as to say that they would not be able to serve the Lord in their current state. So what did Joshua see that would make him respond with such a strong statement? I believe that Joshua saw some Jewish people who were on the fence and believed in Jesus plus or in a spiritual buffet when it came to a relationship with God.

And here we see Joshua reveal the reason why we cannot be a Jesus plus people; here we see why a relationship with God is not a spiritual buffet. We cannot approach a relationship with God like a spiritual buffet with Jesus as one of many options that we can add or modify to make us feel better because the Lord is holy and jealous. When the Bible refers to God as holy, this word conveys a sense of something being incomparable, sacred, or set apart. In other words, there is nothing that can compare to God; He is set apart and sacred as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

And it is God’s holiness that leads to the fact that God is jealous. Now by jealous, this means that God is zealous to maintain His glory and honor. This morning, the timeless reality is that God desires, deserves and demands to be worshipped. God will not tolerate any other created being receiving the glory, honor, and devotion that rightfully belongs to Him.

Now you may be here and you may be thinking “well then God seems like an arrogant narcissist”. Here’s the thing; if I stood up here this morning and stated that I desired, demanded and deserved your devotion now that would be arrogant. That would also be heresy. But if you are God, who else are you going to be into? Certainly not me and certainly not you. You see God is into God. God is all about Himself; He is full of Himself. You see, God desires our total devotion not because He is arrogant but because of His incredible love for us.

The most unloving thing that God could do is lead us to be devoted to something less than the best, the most powerful, loving, intelligent, just, and eternal being. For God to desire and demand less that our total devotion would reveal that He does not want or know what’s best, which would mean that He would not be the best, and thus would not be God. It is because God is who He is that leads Him to desire our best, which is our total devotion and worship of Him. And as Joshua concludes his final conversation with the Jewish people, we see his call for their devotion to the Lord repeated, beginning in Joshua 24:21:

The people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD." Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses." "Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice." So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God." Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

The Jewish people respond to Joshua’s warning by reaffirming their desire to follow God faithfully and completely. Joshua then explains to the Jewish people that God will judge them based on the very words that they had spoken. Their words would be a witness; they would testify as to their desire to lean into God and to turn away from the nations and cultures that had previously lived in the Promised Land. And to remind them of their covenant commitment that they had just made, Joshua wrote their covenant commitment down to be recorded throughout history; we are reading that commitment this morning. In addition, Joshua set up a large stone that would serve as a witness that would remind and testify against the Jewish people if they ever tried to deny the covenant commitment they had made that day.

And shortly after this conversation, Joshua died and went to be with the Lord that he so faithfully served. However, the story of the Jewish people does not end here with “and they lived happily ever after” does it? Just one generation after this letter was written, the Jewish people began to eat at the spiritual buffet of syncretism and idolatry. For the next 1400 years the Jewish people suffered the consequences for failing to be completely and faithfully devoted to the Lord. The consequences of hurt, pain, disappointment and failure.

Instead of wandering in a desert, the Jewish people found themselves living in captivity as a result of their selfish rebellion and sin. And even after being released from captivity, the Jewish people failed to be faithfully and completely devoted to God. And some 1400 years after this letter was written, the Jewish people found themselves as a conquered people under the rule of the Roman Empire. A people who found themselves once again on the fence; a people who found themselves eating at the spiritual buffet of syncretism and arguing about theology and doctrine while failing to be devoted to the Lord.

And it was into this context; it was into this environment that God entered into humanity. It was into this context and environment that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday on a donkey and called people to get off the fence. It was into this environment that Jesus called people to get away from the spiritual buffet table so that they could experience life in the relationship with God and one another that they were created and called to live. And the Jewish people responded to His call to get off the fence and restart their lives by receiving the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that they were created for by killing Him.

Yet it was Jesus willingness to enter into humanity and allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life that provides us the opportunity to receive the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that we were created for. Because, just as it was in Joshua’s day; just as it was on that Palm Sunday 2000 years ago; just as it is today; to restart a relationship with God requires our total devotion.

So who or what are you devoted to? Are you a Jesus plus person? Do you worship at the spiritual buffet line of syncretism?