Sermon Video: Having Grace in Disputable Matters, part 3 - Romans 14:15-21

Having established the need for grace in the areas of Christian liberty about which we disagree with our brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul now turns to the need for love to limit that liberty if exercising it were to cause harm to fellow Christians.

How can it harm others if I follow my conscience with respect to disputable matters?  Two key ways: (1) The who have "weak" faith my imitate you, even though their conscience tells them that they should not, it then being an act of rebellion for them, or (2) those who disagree may look upon your choice as sinful (even though it is not) and have their faith damaged by your seeming hypocrisy at tolerating sin in your life.

In the end, Paul's command to us is to not allow our preferences in non-moral issues to ever bring other believers to harm.  Proactively we must look out for each other and be willing to restrain our freedom if it will help the faith of other people for whom Christ died.

Sermon Video: Having Grace in Disputable Matters, part 2 - Romans 14:10-14

Continuing his teaching that Christians must show grace in disputable matters, the Apostle Paul adds the new consideration that we will all stand before God one day and answer for how we have lived our lives (i.e. we will account for judging others unnecessarily, and we don't need to judge when God will take care of it in his own time).  In addition, Paul explains that at the heart of the truth that there are indeed disputable matters is the reality that no thing is good or evil (clean or unclean to use terminology related to the Law of Moses) in itself.  It isn't things that cause evil, so in Christ there is no need for a continuation of the Mosaic purity laws, nor for a Christian version of them.  Lastly, Paul warns those who extend God's rules beyond what he has stated that they will be bound by their own rules (lest they sin by, in their own mind at least, rebelling against God).

Sermon Video: Having grace in disputable matters, part 1 - Romans 14:1-9

Chapter 14 of Romans is Paul's full argument as to why Christians ought to treat each other with grace with respect to "disputable matters."  In this first part, we see two key truths: (1) The need for grace when Christians disagree, and (2) the reality that disputable matters do indeed exist, they are not a flaw but rather evidence of our freedom in Christ.

How can Christians be OK with disagreement?  Simple, it is the will of God.  To further explain, God made us in his image with the ability to discern what is the best path for us in our circumstances when the issues at hand are not questions of morality but rather preference, personality, style, or emphasis.  We absolutely must have agreement on the core beliefs of our faith (i.e. orthodoxy), but outside of these truths the rule of thumb is grace.

Sermon Video: How should we view ourselves? - Romans 12:3

Before explaining how the various members of the church (local and universal) fit together in God's will, the Apostle Paul offers a reminder that as Christians we need to look at ourselves with sober judgement.  His primary emphasis is the danger of letting pride skew our self-view, there is an equal (hard to say if it is more/less common) danger in letting doubt/despair skew our self-view in the opposite direction.  In both cases we can rely upon baseline truths to help us avoid self-deception: (1) We are all created in God's image, this creates a floor of self-worth, nobody is worthless. (2) We are all lost sinners, incapable of pleasing God on our own, this creates a ceiling of self-worth, nobody is perfect.  (3) We are all saved by grace, this moderates both extremes by lifting us up because of our transformation in Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and reminding us that this gain is all a gift of grace.

Sermon Video: A Remnant Chosen by Grace - Romans 11:1-6

When his Covenant people rejected the Messiah, how did God respond?  Did he reject them and walk away?  No, God continued to be faithful by working with the remnant that did accept Jesus.  God did the same thing in Elijah's day, working with a faithful remnant to continue through a period of darkness (i.e. the reign of Ahab).

The same thing holds true in the Church Age.  During generations of turmoil or faithlessness, God has held true with his remnant.  Whatever comes in the future, God will continue to keep his promises to the Church, continuing to work with those who by grace have been called.

Sermon Video: Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved - Romans 10:5-13

How simple is it to receive the Good News of the Gospel?

Amazingly simple.  The intellectual hurdle is minimal, one only need acknowledge that Jesus has risen from the dead and he is Lord.  The crux of the matter is the willingness of the heart to accept the need for salvation in Jesus.

For everyone who does so, seeking salvation in Jesus, they will find it.

Sermon Video: Christ is the culmination of the Law - Romans 10:1-4

Why did Paul's generation of Law observant Israelites fail to accept Jesus as the Messiah?  One of the primary explanations, coming from Paul who knew this personally before his own Damascus Road conversion experience, was the presence of prideful self-righteous zeal.  Too many of the people sought to please God with their own efforts, rather than by faith trust in God's mercy and forgiveness.  The Law of Moses could never be the path to righteousness, it only showed God's people where they fell short of his holiness.

How did Jesus fix this apparent dead end?  By totally, completely, and forever fulfilling the Law.  The sinless life and guiltless death of Jesus Christ is the end of the Law because the moment Jesus breathed his life he had fulfilled it fully, thus bringing to a close the Law's time as the guardian of His people.  The Spirit would soon come at Pentecost to confirm this transition.

Righteousness has been been achieved by human effort or desire, it has always been, and always will be a gift of grace given through faith.

Sermon Video: Righteousness by Faith, not Law - Romans 9:27-33

Since the Law was given by God to his people, and he rewarded them for keeping it and punished them for breaking it, why couldn't righteousness come through obeying it?  Simple, that was never its intent.  God knew that humanity could never follow his commands perfectly, that all would sin, all would be lawbreakers.  The Law made God's people conscious of their sin, it did not offer them the solution to it.  The answer to that dilemma was always grace.  God's forgiveness and mercy given to his people, and his people's need to trust in that grace by faith.  Ultimately Jesus came to be the solution, to be the sacrifice for sin, and our faith became in/through him.

Sermon Video: Salvation depends upon God's mercy, not human effort - Romans 9:10-18

It is all about the mercy.  Salvation depends utterly upon the mercy of God, thanks be to God for that.  The Apostle Paul uses the example of Jacob and Esau (twin brothers) to demonstrate that God's mercy does not depend upon our character or effort, he gives it to whom he chooses.

Why is this a conclusion to be praised rather than a cause for alarm about freewill?   Because God's love, mercy, and grace will always be greater, more reliable, and more effective than any human effort.

FFOZ (Torah Clubs) admit they are sharing a another/new/different Gospel

 

It really isn't a big deal if FFOZ (Torah Clubs) reinterprets the Gospel message in a way unknown throughout Church History, is it?  If that's what you think, you may not be familiar with the Apostle Paul's dire warning to the churches in Galatia.  

Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV)

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

This is indeed a big deal, to those of us who claim Jesus Christ as Savior, its everything.  Listen, I know that in Church History there have been plenty of examples where would-be reformers were falsely labeled as heretics preaching a 'different Gospel', these steep overreactions from the Church have been deeply tragic.  That caution lest we repeat the mistakes of our ancestors in the faith in mind, we cannot allow a new version of the Gospel to go unchallenged, we cannot ere so far on the side of caution that we ignore false teaching.

How do I know that FFOZ (Torah Clubs) is teaching a new Gospel?  They readily admit it.  They know what they are teaching is new to the Church, the radical nature of what they are trying to convince others of is a big part of their motivation.  Let their own words bear witness...

{All quotes below comes from the video recordings of the Malchut 2022 Conference, a gathering of Torah Club leaders and financial backers, in other words, this is what they tell the insiders, the true believers.}

Direct quotes will be in italics, added emphasis in bold is mine, my commentary in {brackets}.

I mean, as this evangelical I did not understand the full scope of the gospel message. That is for sure. Especially as it pertained to Israel. But I would say as it pertained to any human being, but especially as it pertained to Israel. Instead, I learn to divide the world, as I’m sure many of you did, into two types of people: the saved and the unsaved, right? Those who have been born again by accepting Jesus into their hearts for a personal relationship went into a category we called the saved, that is the Christians. And those without Jesus, the unsaved, the non-Christians. And so the onus was on those of us who are the saved, that we have a responsibility and a mission to save the unsaved and persuade them to become Christians.  Which seems reasonable. In this respect this approach to evangelism, you know from what I’m looking at it now, was a little naïve and largely a misunderstanding of the gospel message. I mean, this is just not what Yeshua taught. We thought the gospel message was believe in Jesus so that you will go to heaven when you die. I mean, really, that was it. So believing the right things about Jesus. That was our sacrament. Having the right things in your head about Jesus, that was the thing that saved you. But that’s not what Yeshua said and that’s not what he taught. When I started to learn the New Testament from a Jewish perspective and to study the teachings of the Jewish Yeshua, I discovered a totally different gospel message. In fact, it used to trouble me that he never said anything about becoming Christians. Didn’t it trouble anyone else? I mean, it really troubled me. I mean, I’m talking as a teenager reading. I remember throwing the Bible across the room because it just seemed like everything contradicted, everything in the Bible contradicted everything I was learning in church. (Daniel Lancaster - Missionaries, 24:10ff)

{Daniel Lancaster, who grew up as an Evangelical Baptist, admits that he rejects the Church’s understanding that the people of the world can be divided into the saved (those who trust in Jesus) and the unsaved (those who do not trust in Jesus).  Lancaster then goes on to describe a very poor Straw Man version of what the Church has always taught about the Gospel, rejects this, and proclaims that he "discovered a totally different gospel message." through Judaism.}

His message had nothing to do with consenting to a creed. He didn’t introduce a new religion. Instead, he called for repentance within the religion that he was already in. (Daniel Lancaster - Missionaries, 26:37ff) 

{Again, Lancaster proclaims that FFOZ’s version of the Gospel has nothing to do with what you believe about Jesus, is NOT a new religion, but only a reform movement that was intended to and must remain within Judaism.}

Going to heaven and escaping from hell, in other words, dealing with the world of souls, these are corollaries. They’re related ideas. But not at all the focus, and never presented as the measure by which humanity can be divided into two categories, or that we could divide humanity into two categories, saved and unsaved. Wow! You know for somebody who grew up as an old Evangelical like me, that’s a big shift. It’s taken most of a lifetime for me to absorb the implications there, and I am still to this day trying to process it. I mean, it’s another one of those complete reshuffling of the cards, right? The Jewish gospel as I just described it is far more nuanced and at the same time far more robust, far more sweeping than rescuing a few fortunate souls from the fires of perdition. But, if you’re like me, and I’m assuming a lot of you are, coming from an evangelical background like me and accustomed to a simple formula message that divides the world into black-and-white, saved and lost, who is in and who is out, then this broader, deeper, wider message of the gospel actually leaves you feeling a little tongue-tied when it comes to evangelism and articulating the mission. (Daniel Lancaster - Missionaries, 30:13ff) 

{Here Lancaster fully develops the Straw Man version of the Gospel, one that only cares about souls and Heaven and has nothing to say about repentance and how we live this life (Who is preaching this nonsense?  Virtually nobody).  By creating the deficient Straw Man, now Lancaster can reject the traditional Gospel in favor of what FFOZ intends to replace it with.}  

I hope tonight to communicate clearly that the message that all of us have heard, the gospel message that all of us have heard, is not the message of the gospel of the kingdom. It’s a gospel in fact devoid of the kingdom, a gospel that has in fact obscured the kingdom. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 8:27ff) 

{The Founder and President of FFOZ proclaiming that the Gospel message taught by the Church is NOT what God intended.}

We’ve seen something that most Christians haven’t. Most followers of Yeshua have accepted him as their Savior, maybe as their Lord, but they have yet to see him as a humble rabbi from Nazareth, a teacher of Judaism who upheld the Torah and the Jewish way of life. Missing these critical aspects of Yeshua’s life and ministry doesn’t just mean missing out on Shabbat or Passover. It means we are missing the very corner stone of his message, the gospel of the kingdom. In fact the biggest difference, the biggest tension between post-supersessionist Christianity and Christianity, mainstream Christianity, isn’t what holidays we keep or the kind of food we eat. It’s not the biggest difference. It’s our understanding of what Yeshua ultimately came to teach and accomplish. The church’s gospel, the church’s interpretation of Yeshua‘s core message, has been incomplete for nearly 2000 years. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 8:27ff) 

{FFOZ believes they are the first ones in Church History to teach the “complete” Gospel, the hubris involved and the blanket condemnation of the entire Church is astounding.}

Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. It’s a message to Israel and it’s a message that doesn’t make sense without Torah, without Judaism, without Jewish people, and without Jewish, like, identity. It’s a promise of restored monarchy, restored Sanhedrin, restored nation of Israel. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 8:27ff) 

{A Gospel without obeying Torah, practicing Judaism, and adopting Jewish identity doesn’t make any sense??  It is clear where FFOZ stands.}

Every house needs a firm foundation. The church has built its entire mission on an incomplete foundation on a partial gospel. This process began early, early, early when church theologians intentionally, intentionally stripped away the Jewish context of the New Testament. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 8:27ff) 

{According to FFOZ, the Early Church intentionally warped the Gospel message.}

The church today is floundering in the waves of cultural change with no Torah to guide them, no clear direction, and no concrete moral compass. Like shattered glass, thousands of denominations and independent churches fight each other over theology and practice because their core message is missing something. The gospel of the kingdom has been replace with an oversimplified distortion of Yeshua‘s message. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 16:53ff) 

{Boaz blames a non-unified Church on a delinquent Gospel message.}

The same Christians who propagated this incomplete gospel also translated the Bible into languages all of us can understand. The whole world knows about the Messiah of Israel because of missionaries and their efforts. But they were only telling a small part of a much larger story. Perhaps HaShem has ordered that for a time, let’s consider this. It’s temporary. The gospel of the kingdom needed to be watered down. It needed to be simplified so that at least some part of Yeshua’s message, his name, would travel as far as possible. And reach as many people as possible...But I believe that gospel and that time is coming to an end. I believe that the missionary efforts of the church have paved the way for the original gospel of the kingdom, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 16:53ff) 

{Why did God allow the Church to “flounder” with a “watered down” Gospel for 2,000 years, and why were missionaries so successful in spreading it?  Boaz thinks that it made evangelism easier, so God allowed it, but now the world is finally ready for the “real Gospel”.  FYI, God doesn’t operate like this, how could this be the Church that Jesus promised was coming and the Spirit came at Pentecost to empower?}

This gospel that has gone forth is only a tiny sliver of an idea but yet it was able to spread like wildfire and drew billions of people into the church. But, without Torah, without Israel, without repentance, it’s not the gospel of the kingdom. The whole world knows at this point, from my perspective, the whole world has heard or seen, knows the name Jesus, perhaps even Yeshua. They know the classic formula for what it means to believe or to go to heaven. Everyone has heard it. But the work isn’t finished. It’s just beginning. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 19:10ff)

{Is it sufficiently clear yet that FFOZ firmly believes that what the Church has taught for 2,000 years is NOT the true Gospel, and that they alone have the wisdom to replace it?}

Bringing Yeshua’s message to Gentiles is the whole purpose of the Torah Club. If you’re a Torah Club leader or student you’re part of this prophetic movement to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all nations. Even if it’s not happening at pulpits and churches or in theological textbooks or in alter calls, it’s happening in your living room. Gentile Christians are finally discovering Yeshua’s message (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 33:19ff) 

{According to FFOZ, The Church is not bringing the message of Jesus to the world, only FFOZ is, for this first time, in this generation.}

I believe that there is a seed already planted by the gospel message that has been sent out, that is ready to be watered, ready to be nurtured so that it blossoms into the gospel of the kingdom. And as kingdom goes from something that looks dry and dead to something that is green, plush and beautiful. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 46:21ff) 

{The Gospel of the Church is “dry and dead”, FFOZ believes they will bring forth something new to replace it.}

Don’t think of this as a Bible study. Don’t burden yourself with the idea that, “You’re just, you know, each week…” You’re proclaiming the kingdom. You’re bringing Israel’s redemption. What we are doing is so much bigger than a Bible study. (Boaz Michael - And Then the End Will Come, 50:01ff)

{Just a Bible study?  They don’t think so.}

We teach that Jesus and his disciples were all Jewish, that their religion was Judaism, that Jesus did not cancel the law, Christians don’t replace the Jewish people, and Yeshua and the Apostles didn’t start a new religion to replace an old one. (Boaz Michael - What is your IQ? p. 2) 

{They believe Christianity should never have existed, only Judaism is God’s true plan.}

Because we are on a mission from God to transmit this good news unencumbered with the distractions that have beset it, the distractions of theology and supersessionism and misconstrued dogmatisms about eternal destinies. (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 7:47ff) 

{The Gospel that the Church preaches needs to be stripped of its false dogmas according to FFOZ.}

Until then, however, there’s a small remnant, right. It’s a pretty small remnant of the kingdom on earth. There’s a few of us. There’s a few of us clinging to the Commandments in the testimony of Yeshua as it says in the Book of Revelation. (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 7:47ff) 

{Any Gospel that supposedly only saves a tiny minority of those who claim Jesus as Savior is warped and twisted.}

Only a few proclaim an unencumbered gospel message like this. (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 9:23ff)

{FFOZ knows that their version of the Gospel represents only a tiny minority, that it is NOT the same as that of the Church.}

Too often the good news of the gospel has been presented as bad news, as you know. I mean, It’s bad news for Israel, I tell you that. According to the bad news of the gospel, you know and I’m just gonna be a little facetious for a little bit, just forgive me because that’s just the way I am. It’s just part of my yetzer hara. But we need to harness the yetzer hara for the service of the kingdom. So that’s what I’m doing. According to the bad news of the gospel that missionaries ordinarily offer to Israel, Jews who don’t believe in Jesus, you know, suffer in hell for eternity. So that’s a good opening line. Along with the vast majority of humanity, so at least they won’t be lonely. But if you consent to believe in Jesus you can escape that fate in hell wherein, of course, almost all of Israel parishes but the only catch is you need to quit being Jewish because in Jesus there is no such thing as such thing as Jew and Gentile. I’m not kidding. I said I’m going to be a little facetious. But that is the message. That is the implicit message anyway that Jesus does away with Judaism and Jewish identity. (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 17:43ff) 

{Daniel Lancaster, writer of the Torah Clubs materials, speaks with disdain about the idea that believing in Jesus or not affects a person’s eternal destiny.}

Likewise, the traditional message to the world doesn’t sound like good news for the nations either. It sounds, you know, something like this. God created you to be a worthless sinner. From the moment you were conceived, God destined you to suffer in hell forever. And if you’ve ever broken a single commandment, well it doesn’t really matter because Adam did for you, but you’ve broken them all and of course you know “all have sinned and fallen short” of his impossibly high expectations and the wages of that is eternal torment along with the Jews. So, therefore, you’re consigned under God‘s eternal wrath unless you consent to a certain set of theological propositions according to one side of the church or to a specific sacramental series of rituals according to the other side of the church. (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 19:25ff) 

{Utilizing a poor Straw Man presentation of the Gospel, Lancaster again mocks the traditional message of the Gospel as “bad news.”}

OK, I’m done being facetious now. And again, I apologize. I’m just trying to make a point. When you put it like that the Gospel does, you know, it sounds pretty bleak. And it sounds a little absurd. That’s not good news for anyone. That would be bad news. And that particular formulation of the message probably did work pretty well in the Middle Ages when you could frighten people with dogmas that dangle them over hell only inches above, you know, a host of horn demons with pitchforks. It might have sold well in the Reformation when people were willing to except anything that could liberate them from the authority of Rome. But it just does not have a lot of traction with the average thinking person today. Who wants a religion like that? Who needs it? (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 20:31ff)

{While the traditional Gospel could be sold to the less educated people of the Middle Ages and Reformation, according to FFOZ, thinking people today want no part of it.  The disdain for, and mockery of, the Gospel as it has been believed since the Apostles is very thick.}

Now, again, I’m not just trying to be controversial or irreverent. I’m just explaining to you why we need to reassess this. Why we at First Fruits of Zion and in Messianic Judaism, why we are putting the time and the effort into recovering the original good news message proclaimed by Yeshua and the Apostles. And this is why we need to understand the Gospels from a Jewish perspective (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 21:34ff) 

{FFOZ is leading  a conscious ‘reassessment’ of the Gospel, replacing it with what they claim to be the original version.}

Outside of the Jewish context really, when you strip it back, doesn’t really make a lot of sense. It comes out convoluted. It comes out sideways like this which is—and it comes out in a way that really repels people rather than drawing them near to the kingdom and nearer to God. It’s rather than a message about God‘s love for Israel and his love for all of humanity. Even though that’s what we say it comes out—it sounds—when you really read between the lines of what we’re saying it sounds an awful lot like a message about God’s hatred for Israel and for human beings in general. And so, we’ve got something wrong here. (Daniel Lancaster- Band of Survivors, 21:34ff) 

{In Daniel Lancaster's opinion, the traditional Gospel is the message of God’s hatred for Israel and humanity.  This statement is beyond bold, it is deeply heretical, but also honest in that it reveals that FFOZ has no use for the Gospel of our ancestors in the faith.}

And when we clear the debris and uncover the truth, I don’t think it’s gonna take a lot of effort to sell the Good News, because it really is good news. But it does take a lot of effort to clear away the obstacles that are obscuring it. (Daniel Lancaster - Band of Survivors, 24:21ff) 

{The Gospel, as it is, is unacceptable to them.}

Sometimes you have to believe people when they repeatedly tell you who they are and what they're trying to do.  First Fruits of Zion, under the leadership of Michael Boaz and Daniel Lancaster, have gone much further in their denouncements of the Gospel and the Church when talking to the insiders at the Malchut Conference than they do in the published Torah Clubs materials.  Given that they're trying to win converts from those already attending church, it is wise (and deceptive) of them to hide their true disdain for, and rejection of, the traditional Gospel message.  In these direct quotations it comes through loud and clear.  This is why the Franklin Christian Ministerium unanimously decided to move forward with opposing this false teaching.  We may have differences on any number of other theological issues, but none of us are seeking to teach people a different Gospel than the one handed down to us.  That is what is at the heart of the mission and purpose of FFOZ, and it has no place in the Church.

** An important reminder: Our contention is not with Jews, Judaism, or Messianic Judaism.  FFOZ is a gentile led organization targeting gentiles, they are not associated with the Jewish people, the religion of Judaism, or the movement within Christianity known as Messianic Judaism. **

Sermon Video: "No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"! - Romans 8:1-4

Having established, in Romans, that all of humanity is alike condemned for sin, the Apostle Paul has offered up salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, a gift from God, as the answer.  Here, in Romans 8:1, Paul emphatically declares just how far and how lasting that salvation really is.  Where once there was universal condemnation, now NO condemnation remains for each man, woman, and child who is in Jesus.  The implications are astounding (and the rest of Romans 8 will dive deeply into them), but for a moment just enjoy the wonder of being set free from sin and death.

Sermon Video: Joseph graciously accepts the Christmas gift he didn't ask for - Matthew 1:18-24

Have you ever received a Christmas gift that you absolutely hated?  One that you can't wait to return, one that you struggle to pretend you're happy for?

Joseph was given a Christmas gift that he didn't ask for, the way he responded to this unexpected gift show why God chose him to be the dad here on earth to the long-awaited Messiah.

Sermon Video: The Gospel in a nutshell - Romans 6:23

The Gospel in one sentence.  Think about that for a moment.  God's plan to redeem humanity from sin and death, to turn humanity history from a tragedy into a triumph, can be summed up in one sentence.  Romans 6:23 does this beautifully, and in it virtually word is worth our pondering.

Sermon Video: "do not let sin reign" - Romans 6:8-14

Having described the condition of the redeemed Christian as being 'dead to sin' and 'alive with Christ' and 'alive to God', the Apostle Paul focuses on one key implication of this changed status: Sin can no longer reign in our lives.

Given that we have the power, via the Holy Spirit, to have victory over sin, we must do so.  Instead of simply being a 'just say no' campaign, Paul tells us what must take sin's vacated place: the offering of our lives to righteousness.

Lastly, Paul ends with an additional reason for that we can achieve this transition from sin to righteousness, one he will develop fully in the book of Galatians: We are not under Law, but Grace.

Sermon Video: Even Abraham was saved by grace through faith, Romans 4:1-12

Having established the theological position that salvation can only come by grace through faith in Jesus, the Apostle Paul now turns to the ultimate example of this truth in action: the Patriarch Abraham.  If even Abraham was justified by faith, surely the rest of us would be fools to trust in ourselves.  By quoting Genesis 15:6 Paul demonstrates his point, heaven doesn't have a superhero exception to the rules, even the best among us needs grace.

Sermon Video: The Gospel is incompatible with boasting - Romans 3:27-31

Concluding his section on the triumph of faith in Christ, being both our means to justification and forgiveness, the Apostle Paul asks what room is left for boasting?  The answer, clearly, is none.  All who come to God by faith do so because they realize they are not self-sufficient, that they don't measure up on their own.  

Along with this thought, Paul points out that God is the God of both his covenant people (Jews and Church) and the rest of the world (Gentile and un-Churched).  That being said, faith is the solution for both even though one group has the advantage of knowing more about God, both need Christ's salvation, both need grace.

Pride?  We don't have room for it.

Sermon Video: "justified freely by his grace" - Romans 3:21-24

After establishing that the Law is incapable of saving those who have broken it, as all of humanity has, Paul then begins to explain HOW the righteousness of God, as revealed through the Incarnation, can be applied to humanity.  How can the righteousness of Jesus save us?  The answer is faith.  Faith, belief, trust, hope, in Jesus...From here the Good News gets better, everyone who believes in Jesus can be "justified freely by his grace."  What does this mean?  It means that God, as the judge of the living and the dead, will declare sinners 'innocent', not because of anything we have done, but because we have faith in what Jesus has done for us, taking our sins upon his shoulders while on the Cross.

Sermon Video: Divorce: From God's Perspective - Mark 10:1-12

 Marriage being a fundamental building block of human society, questions about the purpose of marriage, and the morality/legality of divorce, touch upon nearly everyone. Given that, the perspective of God, as given by Jesus when asked to interpret the Law of Moses, has immense value. Jesus' answer is rooted in the Genesis account of Creation, as he emphasizes that God's ideal is that two halves would become a whole and remain united. Given that Moses offered a divorce exception, what should our response be as a Church to this issue? (Hint: It involves grace, but you should know that already.)

After Election 2020: The Way Forward for the Church

 

The United States is as closely divided as one can imagine.  When all the dust settles on the 2020 election, the Presidency will have been decided by razor thin results in a few states, the Senate will be within a seat or two, and the House will be within a handful.  The issues that divide us are plentiful, the visions being offered about the future seemingly incompatible.  What do we, as a Church, do now?  How can we chart a way forward when the present is so volatile? 

The Way Forward begins by looking backward.  Before they were first called Christians, those who believed in Jesus Christ were known as "The Way" (Acts 9:2), and this designation is a useful reminder to us.  Jesus Christ said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, NIV)  So, as his followers, the early Christians were known as the people who followed 'the way' that Jesus had established, and that way was centered upon himself.  In other words, Jesus both established the way (as a trailblazer and guide) and was literally the way itself (as the atoning sacrifice that opened the way to the Father).

At any point in its history, when the Church has wandered from its foundations or been infected with dangerous ideas, the solution has always been the same: go back to the beginning, go back to 'the way'.  So, what does the way forward look like for the Church in America in the 21st century?

The Way Forward is...

(1) Christ-centered

When other things push their way toward the center, the Church loses its purity and purpose.  Christ, and Christ alone (i.e. God), belongs at the center.  We operate by God's power, not man's.  We seek God's glory, not America's.  We proclaim God's Truth, not our 'truth'. 

(2) Biblically guided

A Church that does not take the entire moral counsel of the Word of God seriously will falter.  Morality matters, within the Church first and foremost.  For example: The Word of God declares the value of human life, created in God's image.  Because we are made in God's image, every human life has value, our attitudes, words, and actions need to reflect that reality.  The way forward for the Church is holistically pro-life.  That is, from the unborn to the elderly, from citizens of our nation to immigrants and refugees, from those who look like us to those who do not.  We need to find a way to meaningfully support all people, as God's image bearers, as people for whom Christ died, overcoming the host of issues that try to wedge between the people of God and those to whom we are called to minister.  We need to do this in a way that upholds biblical morality without invalidating the call to 'love our neighbors as ourselves'.  The challenge is immense, but not optional.  This list needs to be exhaustive, including LGBT individuals, minorities, and those with a criminal record (among others).  The Gospel has one solution for all of humanity, the Church needs to figure out how to maintain that belief and not act as if some people need the Gospel less or others need it more (Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.").  That some individuals and some groups believe they have no place in the Church, assuming they answer the call to repent and believe like anyone else, is a tragedy we must find a way to overcome.  

(3) Grace infused 

There is no meaningful path forward that is built upon our pride.  In addition to needing humble servants, the Church needs bridge builders not moat diggers, and the people of God need to seek and embrace common goals (within and without the Church), not partisan advantages. 

This list is certainly not exhaustive, but it is foundational.  The Church has two thousand years of history behind it.  The portions of that history that bring honor and glory to God have been all three of the things I've listed: Christ-centered, biblically guided, and grace infused.  We need a way forward, and for that we need to go back to the beginning.

Sermon Video: Grace is Greater than Law - Mark 2:23-3:6

 Having been accused by Pharisees of violating the letter of the law regarding the Sabbath, Jesus reminds them of the way in which David violated the letter of the law in order to meet an extraordinary need.  This sets up a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees about whether or not it is proper to heal on the Sabbath.  Jesus does so, elevating Grace above Law, the doing of Good above questions of how, when, or where.  As Christians, we can be in danger of becoming like the Pharisees, of elevating the form of religion over the heart, or of defending morality (God, Law, ethics, Truth) in ways that are inconsistent with the character of God (the Fruit of the Spirit).  This is not acceptable, to further the Kingdom of God, we need to act in Christ-like ways, no matter what cause we're championing.

To watch the video, click on the link below: