Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 7 (Sept 18): Union with Jesus Christ – Why It Matters

The Sunday School Class was recorded and can be heard here:Union with Jesus Christ – Why It Matters

Today I want to discuss “Union with Christ.”

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Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 6 (Sept 11): The Salvation of Man in Jesus Christ – Why It Matters

The Sunday School Class was NOT recorded and can NOT be heard here because I failed to get it turned on properly

Salvation – What is it?

Everyone knows that there are problems in their lives and the world. The world is broken. Is it right to say that we need salvation economically? In our families? Internationally (wars)? Politically?

RCC Confessional Statement:

8. We believe that God the Son, namely Jesus Christ, though existing eternally in the Godhead, was born to the virgin Mary, and that He lived a life in complete obedience to God’s Law, and yet suffered and died on the cross, becoming the sinbearer of the elect. We believe that all those that believe on Him (being enabled to believe by the Holy Ghost) are saved from eternal damnation and will live forever with God. We believe that all those that do not believe on Christ (being unable and unwilling to do so apart from the quickening of the Holy Ghost) will spend eternity in damnation and death.

The guilt of sin requires forgiveness – Ex. 34:7; Num. 14:18

“And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”” (Exodus 34:6–7, NKJV)

Atonement – To be made one with God – Bloody

Biblically – Life is associated with blood (Gen. 3:21; 4:4:10; 9:4-5) – Blood is required

“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.” (Genesis 9:4–5, NKJV)

Every attempt of man to be right with God apart from the shedding of blood (both OT & NT) is an attempt at making things right in life on man’s terms – not in God’s terms. Necessity of Atonement: Guilt & pity; sadism & masochism. Only by the blood of Christ can men have their sins forgiven.

“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22, NKJV)

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7, NKJV)

Atonement restores relationships – with God and with others.

Justification: Vicarious (substitutionary) sacrifice = forensic justification (a legal/court act)

Justification = Righteousness in the Bible

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, NKJV)

It is by grace, through faith, we are saved – not by any works that we do: No boasting.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, NKJV)

There are so many more biblical concepts related to salvation: redemption, adoption, sanctification, etc.

The solas of the Reformation: Jesus Christ alone, Faith alone, grace alone

Why It Matters

How much of man’s life is impacted by salvation in Jesus Christ?

When we sin against each other – do we require a bloody sacrifice? How do we deal with sins?

What are other means (apart from Christ) that men use to bring salvation to their lives? Politics (negotiation, compromise, funding/investment), economics, education, counseling, medications

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 5 (Sept 4): The Fall of Man – Why it matters

The Sunday School Class was recorded and can be heard here: The Fall of Man – Why it matters

RCC Confessional Statement:

5. We believe that in Adam’s fall, we sinned all. We believe that all men are conceived in sin and in rebellion against God, suppressing His truth in unrighteousness. We believe that man is unable and unwilling to repent of his sin and turn to God, apart from the elective work of the Holy Ghost.

Anthropology – The Study of Man. We said last week that man was created in the image of God. What does that mean?

What do you think we mean when we talk about the Fall of Man? Genesis 3

• What was the original sin? Pride – to be as God

• Did the Devil make him/her do it? (Eve was deceived, not Adam) – Not a created flaw. Adam volunteered himself and posterity for service to Satan.

• What is the curse(s)?

o Death: To victory, work to live and rule, submit to fill.

o Was the earth cursed? Adam rebelled against God and nature is in rebellion (by God’s command) against man

o God uses the curses to restrain sin in mankind so that man can continue his work of dominion.

• What was God’s remedy? Salvation (next week) – not religion, per se. Relationship, covenant – union.

• Is Got the author of sin? Job 34:10; Dt. 32:4; James 1:13

The extent of the fall – all of man’s being? Just the will, not the mind? Total Depravity

What is sin? Rebellion – Ethical, broken relationship. Just ignorance? Sin implies a standard – above humanity.

Inherited and actual sin. Rom. 5:12-19; 1Cor. 15:21-22, 49; Rom. 3:23; 6:23

Covenantal view of sin: All men were represented in man; all men willfully sin.

In what sense is sin part of our nature?

If we are by nature sinners, how can we be held accountable?

Homosexuality – made that way?

Is sin a result of our environment? Yes and no.

Is temptation sin?

Rom. 1:18-25 All men know God, but in rebellion suppress the truth of God and worship/submit to creation – Satan.

Man is still in the image of God – and responsible to God. He is a twisted rebel.

Man’s calling – now impossible or just harder?

RCC Confessional Statement:

7. We believe that man was originally given a cultural mandate, and commanded to exercise dominion and to subdue the earth. With the fall of man, the mandate was not removed, but made more difficult. So that by regeneration man is able to walk in obedience to this recalling, as empowered by the Holy Ghost.

Sin and wickedness and evil are not a substance – its not something that have in your as something alien. Rather – sin is rebellion

Can sinful people to good? Yes. God uses sinful men to do good in the world – despite men’s sinful intentions.

Can saved people sin? Are all men’s works sinful?

The Westminster Confession of Faith: Chapter VI

Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and the Punishment thereof

I. Our first parents, being seduced by the subtilty and temptations of Satan, sinned, in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin, God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory.

II. By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion, with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body.

III. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed; and the same death in sin, and corrupted nature, conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation.

IV. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.

V. This corruption of nature, during this life, does remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be, through Christ, pardoned, and mortified; yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.

VI. Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, does in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.

Rich Lusk recently gave a series of talks at Saint Mark Reformed Church (CREC) at their “2011 Living as the Church Conference”: Mission: It’s Meaning and Manifestation.  He provides an excellent introduction to Christian mission that is solidly biblical and practical.

Rich Lusk is the Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL and has written numerous articles, chapters, and books

Rich Lusk has been a very useful servant of the Lord, both as a writer, speaker and pastor.  I have very much appreciated not only his careful scholarship, clear and useful writing style, but also his commitment to serving his church faithfully.

He has made available a good many of his writings on the Trinity Presbyterian Church Pastor’s Page, which I strongly endorse.

The four talks can be listened to individually at these links:

1)  Mission and the Home

2) Mission and the Marketplace

3) Mission and the Poor

4) Mission and the Gospel

Psalm 67

God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us,

That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.

Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.

Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth.

Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.

Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

How is it that songs of joyful praise from all the nations to our God will come about?  This question presupposes that the nations will want to do such a thing. We are assured by the scriptures that indeed the command to disciples the nations will be brought to completion and that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. Thus, the gospel will indeed bring the nations to want to sing of the blessedness of our own God! Further, the question presupposes that the nations will be able to sing His praises.

I recently came across the work of Eric Whitacre and his virtual choir. The video below is his own explanation of what he has accomplished.

Toward the end of his clip he talked about two things that struck him as a result of this project:

1) Human beings will go to any lengths necessary to find and connect with each other…

2) People seem to be experiencing an actual connection…not just a virtual connection…

These two things don’t surprise me because indeed we are created as image-bearers of the Truine God – who has an infinite capacity and desire to connect socially. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have loved each other perfectly throughout eternity, and have made us to yearn for connection with Him and one another. This social connectivity in manifested in so many ways over the last six thousand years that we could not possibly imagine them all. Chief among the ways that the Bible tells us that we are to be connected to other people, by the Spirit of God, is to speak to one another in song (Eph. 5:18-21). In so doing we learn to lay down our lives for one another in mutual submission and love.

Fascinating to me is the phenomenon of social media and how people actually feel some connection with people, virtually, that they wouldn’t feel without it. While I neither understand it, nor do I think all of it is edifying, it is without doubt very important to our world today.

In some way, when seeing the work of Whitacre and his virtual choirs, it occurs to me that this is indeed an expression of the human race united together in song and beauty. It puts me in mind of what it is like for God, each Lord’s Day, when He hears the songs of His beloved children singing to Him in worship.  It puts into perspective precisely what is happening when we sing together each week, along with millions of other believers around the world. If only we could see and hear what God Himself experiences – it seems to me that we would have a much larger and more healthy view of the world – and the goal of the kingdom of God. It would cause us to long and labor all the more to see the nations be glad and sing for joy along with us!