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Nehemiah 12:27-43; Pastor Pete Morehead

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I don’t know about you, but when I’m confronted by an international disaster like the earthquake in Haiti, I have a gnawing sense of guilt–like I should do something, but not sure what. Most of us can’t just take off work and hop a plane for Haiti. So what can you do? Here’s the quiz–check the box for each “yes”.

◊ 1. Distract yourself with entertainment until the feeling of guilt goes away.

◊ 2. Believe the gospel, which means you do not get right with God by doing good
things like heading off to help in Haiti, but by trusting in what Jesus Christ has done
for you (2 Corinthians 5:21), and…Because you are right with God, and loved by
him…

◊ 3. Pray for the people of Haiti (through Jesus, you are a child of your Heavenly Father
and can ask for anything in his will).

◊ 4. Give generously to help relief efforts–Most of us struggle to make ends meet, but God is able to replace what we give out to help the poor. It’s not my business to tell you where to give, but one place you can give is “Churches Helping Churches” which is partnering with Acts 29 to get relief to Haitians through churches already there, who know how to distribute resources. Click on the link for “Churches Helping Churches” below to read more about Churches Helping Churches and/or to donate.

◊ 5. Go. If you have medical skills, contact us New Hope and we’d be glad to help
connect you with agencies that can use your abilities–use “contact us” on menu
bar.

Answer Key: If you answered yes to number 1, you are an average American. If you answered yes to 2, and 3, 4, or 5, you are, hopefully, a believer in Jesus Christ learning to respond to his leadership in your life–way to be!

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God created us to glorify him and enjoy him forever. There’s only one problem with that. We don’t. We live for our selves, we live for our glory, we like what we want to like, we will do what we want to do, we will be our own lords and saviors. In other words, we are hopelessly mired in the quicksand of slavery to our desires and ourselves. And we can’t change ourselves. The consequences are devastating—Now, in the present, it is a nagging sense of alienation from God. No matter what we achieve, or acquire, somehow, when we get there, or get it, it is never all we thought it would be. We are somehow, always on the cusp of getting that thing that will change or fulfill our lives only to find satisfaction slipping through our fingers. Lasting satisfaction in achievement or things never ultimately happens because God made us for himself—to know him, be satisfied with him, and worship him. Any substitute, any lesser “god”, will satisfy the heart only temporarily at best. The consequences for eternity are even more terrifying: facing him, in all his holiness, knowing we rejected him and lived for ourselves…Well, no wonder the Bible speaks of the wrath of God and promises that it is coming, because it is.

OK, that’s the bad news. But there is good news! The good news is that God has seen our plight, and given us the gospel through Jesus. So you’re saying, “I know, I’ve heard about that.” But do you really understand the gospel? Because if this good news does not make you sing, dance, worship, laugh for joy, you don’t understand it.

So stay with me for a few more paragraphs. Consider 2 Corinthians 5:21: ”For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Second Corinthians 5:21 teaches us two very important facts about the gospel. Many people get one of these. Far fewer understand both.

The first thing is “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin…” What this means is that when a person believes in Jesus, I mean really trusts in Jesus, it means that God has taken all their sin and burdened it on Jesus, who bore it on the cross. It means that Jesus was punished for my evil thoughts and ways. Look at it this way: God calls us to obedience to all his commands. In regard to this I know I fail, every day. But Jesus takes the entirety of my failure, rebellion and sin on himself, and bears the penalty for me. He took my sin! Can you say that? Do you know he has lifted your guilt from you? This makes Jesus the greatest weight lifter of all time, because he lifts the burden of sin and guilt from people like you and me. But that’s not all.

The second thing this verse teaches us is, “…so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” As we’ve already seen, God commands obedience to all his commands. But in the gospel, Jesus obeys all the commands for us! His full obedience is actually credited to those who believe in him! God treats a believer as if he or she has done everything Jesus did. This gift of righteousness comes to us as we believe the gospel.

This is what Martin Luther called the great exchange.  By grace, through faith, he takes our sin, and gives us his righteous standing.  It really is amazing.

How do we receive this gift of forgiveness and righteousness?  We must repent of our rebellion against God and believe the gospel.  Admit you have a great need to be forgiven.  Admit you are hopeless in yourself.  Believe in Jesus, and all he does for messed up people like you and me!

We’ve been talking about a Christian community, and last time we asked “how can we be Christian community?” This time, I want to ask “why is Christian community sooooooo important?” And again, I am passing on a quote from Harbor Presbyterian Church:

“Why Is “Christian Community” Important?

We need community to be fully human. God said before the fall: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Adam was lonely not because he was imperfect; he was lonely because he was perfect. God has wired us in such a way that we cannot be what he meant us to be unless we are living in community. We need community for three reasons:

1. To Grow. We grow in Christ’s likeness in community not in classes. Classes are important for conveying truth content, but real change comes in community. Jesus and his disciples lived together, ate together, experienced life together. Jesus modeled to his followers what it meant to love God and neighbor in very specific situations. Community allows us to “look over the shoulders” of mature Christians as they accept people who are different, grieve the death of a loved one, handle unemployment, resolve conflicts, grow old in grace. We need to live in community so that the gospel can be passed onto the next generation.

2. To Serve. The quality of our community is the real secret to finding our calling in life. God has given each of us gifts—special abilities and skills—to serve him in the world and in the church. But how do we discern what our gifts are and how to best employ them in service to others? It is by living in a community of believers where we can discuss our passions, test our gifts, and be encouraged, counseled and prayed for by those who know us.

3. To Witness. “A city on the hill cannot be hidden.” The quality of our life together is a witness to the world. Jesus prays in John 17:23, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Our unity in community is the main way that people will believe the gospel.”
(From “Values of Harbor Presbyterian Church”)

When Jesus saves us, he does not just save individuals, but creates a new community (Romans 12:5, Ephesians 4:13-17).

What this means for us is that the gospel (the good news of Jesus and what he has done for us) is such great news that when we believe it, it calls for a willing commitment not only to Jesus, but also to others who also believe. It means that the Bible commands us to active commitment in a local body of believers, not just attending, but stirring one another to love and good deeds, encouraging one another, serving, loving, using our spiritual gifts, and being encouraged, served, and loved by others. The New Testament is full of “one anothering” commands (what we do to love and serve one another). Hearing the Word is great, but God intends that there to be more than going to “church” and listening to a sermon. He calls for your commitment to, involvement with, and enjoyment of the people of God

How Can We Be A “Christian Community”? Consider this quote from Harbor Presbyterian Church:

1. By Preaching the Gospel to One Another.

Christian community is a gift that is received through the Gospel. In Ephesians 4, we are commanded to “maintain the spirit of unity” not establish it. Christ has already established it through His cross and His Spirit. We are ushered into this unity the moment we believe in Christ. It is a gift that is received but it is also a gift that is cultivated. We will cultivate Christian Community by continually reminding one another of the Gospel—we are far more sinful than we ever dared imagine, but in and through Jesus we are far more loved than we ever dared dream.

2. By Devoting Ourselves to One Another.

Christian community is cultivated as people believe the Gospel and in response devote themselves to the Lord and one another. When Luke describes the early Christian Community he says immediately after believing the Gospel “they devoted themselves…to the fellowship” (Acts 2:42). The word “devoted” means they “set as a priority”, “committed to”, spending significant time with one another. They ate together in their homes, discussed God’s Word, worshipped, prayed, and shared their resources with one another. That’s why the basic building block …will be our Community Groups—small groups that meet to experience Christ’s presence in community. The promised result: “a city on the hill which cannot be hidden” (look at Acts 2:47).” ‘

You get the idea that Christian community is much more than Sunday morning. It is a quality of community that is unique because it is rooted in the gospel.

Last blog, we saw that a gospel community needs to be built around what the objective truth of the word. But some might warn that this can be very dry–dry teaching and lecture with little emotion or involvement of the heart. It may even be legalistic–always stressing how we need to live as Christians. But being centered on the Word doesn’t need to be that way, nor is it supposed to be that way. In their book, Total Church, Tim Chester and Steve Timmis write: “Bible study and theology that do not lead to love for God and a desire to do his will–to worship, tears, laughter, excitement, or sorrow–have gone terribly wrong. True theology leads to love, mission and doxology (worship)…We should not expect an adrenaline rush every time we study God’s word…but when we study God’s word we should pray that the Spirit of God will not only inform our heads, but inspire our hearts.” (from Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis)

At New Hope, we have come to believe (along with many others before us) that the key to grasping the Scripture in our heads, and being inspired in our hearts, is to see that the gospel is both the central focus in Scripture and the key to how we change (our sanctification).

First, the gospel is the central focus in Scripture: It has been said that the Scripture is really a story–the story of redemption, or how God saves his people. And if this is right, then the hero of the story is Jesus, and everything leads up to his coming, dying, and being raised victorious after completing his quest to save a great multitude. When Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus after his crucifixion and resurrection, he hid his identity from two disciples and allowed then to express their confusion about all that had happened. Jesus then rebuked them saying, ‘”How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27) Jesus himself makes clear that all the Scripture is about him, and his gospel work.

So everything points to him. As early as Genesis, the Scripture points to him when God says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head,and you shall bruise his heel.” What this prophecy means is that one day, the devil would inspire Pilate and Herod and others to crucify Jesus (you shall bruise his (Jesus’) heel). But it also means that Jesus would deal a death blow to Satan (he (Jesus) shall bruise your head). Amazing! The victory-through-death of Jesus predicted centuries before, and fulfilled in the pages of Scripture. Pastor Tim Keller is well known for pointing out that Jesus is the not only the fulfillment of the prophecies, but also the true and greater fulfillment of many biblical characters as well. For example, Jesus is the true and greater Moses, who lead his people not just out of bondage to human masters, but out of bondage to sin and death itself; he is the true and greater Solomon, who not just built the Temple, but is the Temple; he is the true and greater David, who represents his people and kills the giants of sin, guilt, and death, and so on. It all points to him, and his gospel work.

So he is the key to understanding every passage. When we read, we ought to ask, where does this fit in the great story of redemption? How is God revealing the gospel? How does it point us to Jesus?

But as we said above, the gospel is not only the central focus of Scripture; it is also key to growing in grace, or “sanctification”. Again, Tim Keller, put’s it so well:

“In Galatians 2:14, Paul lays down a powerful principle. He deals with Peter’s racial pride and cowardice by declaring that he was not living “in line with the truth of the gospel”. From this we see that the Christian life is a process of renewing every dimension of our life– spiritual, psychological, corporate, social–by thinking, hoping, and living out the “lines” or ramifications of the gospel. The gospel is to be applied to
every area of thinking, feeling, relating, working, and behaving. The implications and applications of Galatians 2:14 are vast…

…Paul is showing that we never “get beyond the gospel” in our Christian life to omething more “advanced”. The gospel is not the first “step” in a “stairway” of truths, rather, it is more like the “hub” in a “wheel” of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A to Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we make all progress in the kingdom.

We are not justified by the gospel and then sanctified by obedience, but the gospel is the way we grow (Gal.3:1-3) and are renewed (Col.1:6). It is the solution to each problem, the key to each closed door, the power through every barrier (Rom.1:16-17). It is very common in the church to think as follows. “The gospel is for non-Christians. One needs it to be saved. But once saved, you grow through hard work and
obedience.” But Col.1:6 shows that this is a mistake. Both confession and “hard work” that is not arising from and “in line” with the gospel will not sanctify you–it will strangle you. All our problems come from a failure to apply the gospel. Thus when Paul left the Ephesians he committed them “to the word of his grace, which can build you up” (Acts 20:32).”

This is my first blog entry, and for the two of you out there reading it, I wanted to begin by talking about what has essentially become our way of doing ministry at New Hope. I do this in the hope that it might encourage you, stimulate your thinking, and help those who are interested know what we are trying to do at New Hope.

We have found very helpful a statement from Harbor Presbyterian Church in San Diego.
It reads, “In regard to the Word, we are gospel-centered. In regard to the church, we are gospel-renewal. In regard to the world, we are missional.” At New Hope, this has become for us three trajectories that encompass a broad and expanding way of doing ministry. So let’s take a look at each.

But before we begin with the Word being gospel-centered, let’s talk for a moment about the centrality of the Word in the life of a gospel community, or church. Because without the Word, we won’t know what the gospel is, and we won’t know what our mission is.

The Bible itself is clear about the central, authoritative, life-giving and life-sustaining role of the Word in a gospel community. Paul says that it is through the words of Scripture that we receive salvation: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Peter adds that it is through the Word that the new life we have in Christ is nourished, as the Spirit gives us understanding: “…long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you might grow up into salvation–” (I Peter 2:2). In John 17, Jesus teaches us that he gives us eternal life, and that eternal life means knowing the only true God. But how is it that we know the only true God? It is through the Word: “I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me” (John 17:3,8). 

Not only is the Word the means of giving and sustaining spiritual life. It also defines the authority of God’s servants who teach and preach. Their authority is both derived from the Word and limited by the Word. In other words, they have authority to pronounce and make clear what the Word says, to make clear the authority of the Word and to enforce the authority of the Word. On the other hand, their authority is not to exceed this, or to be based on the force of their personality or charisma. Pastors who forget this tend to use and abuse the church as if it belonged to them, when in fact it is the bride of Jesus!

Maybe this sounds basic, but it seems increasingly forgotten in many circles. To be specific, see if you have experienced these kinds of neglect or abuse of the Word.



The Word as inerrant, but not sufficient–In other words, we say the Word is truth, but when it comes to teaching, we resort to other things. For example, one popular television preacher has his congregation hold up their Bibles and say, “This is my Bible, etc.” and then puts it down and proceeds to talk about everything else but the Word. No. We need to study the text, and draw our nourishment from it, not the happy thoughts of a mere man.



The Word as pretext to say whatever I want–A variation of the above, but here, the verse is quoted and then made to say whatever the preacher wants to say.  No. We are to humbly sit under the Word and learn what God says through it, not just hear it say what someone, however charismatic, wants it to say.

The Word as whatever it means to you–Here, it’s not what the preacher injecting his thoughts into Scripture–Here it is you who is encouraged to see whatever you want in the text. “What does this say to you?” we are asked. No. We need to ask, “What does God mean to say through this text?” Then we can ask what it means to us in our situation.

Experience, not Word as central--In this variation, we are encouraged to experience God apart from the Word. But experience apart from truth is dangerous. The experience we say is “of god” might not be from God at all. For example, a married man might say to his mistress “I feel God has brought us together.” He might feel that. But the Word says, “No, that is wrong. Go back to your wife.” So his feeling of what God wants is self-deceiving and altogether wrong. The same thing can happen when a church as a whole majors in experiences that are not rooted in the Word. We should experience God–joy, wonder, reverence, ecstasy, yes, we should. But it must be experience that springs from the truth of the Word and which is in line with the Word.
If we avoid this minefield of abuses, and stick with respecting the Word as the Word, we will see, over time, the benefits of spiritual health, depth, strength, and vitality!