I am preparing my lesson for youth group tomorrow night, in my preparation I have have been studying Gal 2:17.  I have not “found” anything “new”, but I have been greatly impressed by what Paul is saying!

Gal 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

Paul is addressing the issue of Peter moving away from the Gentiles because they were not following the Mosaic Law. Paul speaks this verse as a great challenge and accusation against Peter! He is saying: If while you are saying you are justified by grace, yet you are still seeking to be justified by the Law, you are saying that the grace of God was not good enough to justify you. In fact you are saying that even after the grace of God you are still a sinner! This is not true because Christ is NOT the minster of sin! If you are looking to the Law to justify you, you are saying Christ what you did wasn’t good enough!!!!

What a strong accusation!

There are two applications from this verse:

One, if you are unsaved, Christ’s grace is more than you need to be justified, there is NOTHING you can do! Following the Law will not justify you. Christ is not the minister of sin, but if justification and if you are seeking to be justified any other way you will not be justified!

Two, if you are saved, you are already justified! And as Paul says in verse 18, if you seek to go back to works to justify yourself you are make yourself a transgressor and not justifying yourself. The Law was NEVER meant to justify, but to show that one was a sinner and needed a savior!

I hope that you have been challenged as I have been! Not to look to the Law to make me a better person, but to look towards Christ! The Law is there to help teach us what is wrong so that we look to Christ for what if right!

~ Nate

I am reading a book for a class that I am currently taking call “How To be a Team Player and Enjoy It!” by Dr. Matt Williams. The book is an excellent book on being a team player. In one paragraph he discusses where our standards should find their source. I liked the way that he put it so well I wanted to quote that paragraph here:

“For every rule there must be a Biblical reason. If we cannot express a Biblical principle and show a convincing correlation between it and the rule, we need to reconsider. Our standards should not be a cloak for our personal preferences. We are called to lead our people to Christlikeness, not to make them clones of ourselves. This is most important in our ministry to young people. We can require whatever conformity we desire, but the only standards that they will keep for a lifetime are those for which they understand the reasons. This understanding should come from the Bible. If we do not teach the Biblical reasons for what we consider important standards, our young people will not make them a part of their lives. When they leave home, they will leave their standards, too, and will be left to form new ones at a time when they have little of no encouragement to do right.” (Italics are mine)

So whether you are a pastor, teacher, parent, or youth who is setting up standards, remember make sure they are based in the Bible. This is the only way to foster true godly character.

~ Nate

Matt Williams, How to me a Team Player and Enjoy It! (Independence, MO: American Association of Christian Schools, 1992), p. 51

I have heard to taught more than once that the Promised Land is a type or illustration of becoming a Christian or the Christian life. When you step back and think about this it really does not make sense.

For Instance:

If Canaan is a type of the Christian Life, does that mean God will deny entrance to some base on their works?

If Canaan is an illustration of the Christian Life, does that mean I have to drive all the evil of it first before I can possess Christianity?

If Canaan is a picture of Heaven, does that mean we are going to have to drive the armies of Satan out of Heaven before we can have rest?

There are many more ways to look at it, but the point is that Canaan is not a type of picture of anything other than Canaan! So then, what significance is there of Canaan that I can apply to my life?

Though Canaan may not be a type of the Christian life, there are many lessons that can be learned from the action of Israel when they entered it and were to conquer it.

Lessons to be learned:

God has a plan for every aspect of our life.

Sin has consequences.

We must be careful not to be fooled by the enimy.

God expects full and complete obedience, not partial obedience.

Forsaking attendance to the place that God has designated for worship will allow your heart to be pulled away from him.

There are many more lessons that can be learned. I challenge you to see everything that you can learn from Canaan next time you read Joshua and Judges.

~ Nate

ECCLESIOLOGY

Summary Statement: I believe that the Church is the body of Christ and a family. It is God’s instrument to accomplish His purpose on earth. Though God has set aside Israel He has not forgotten her, and has not replaced her with the church. The Church finds is beginning at Pentecost and it’s conclusion at the Rapture. There are two Biblical offices in the church, Pastor and Deacon, though this does not limit ministry to only these offices. There are also two ordinances for the church to continue in, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The churches primary function is the edification and training of the believer.

1. Body of Christ – One of the important aspects of the Church is that it is a body. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 we see this description give to the Church. This is important to understand. The Church is made up of many individuals that contribute to the ability of the Church to accomplish God’s work. Yet, though there are many individual part, they for one complete whole, whose head and purpose is singular.

2. Family – “Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” In these verses from the writings of Paul was find another characteristic of the Church, it is a family. This has many implications in church practice. We need to treat one another like we our family, inside and outside the church. Christ says that the world will know that we are his disciples by our love for eachother.

3. Instrument to accomplish His purpose – When the Jews rejected Christ and crucified Him. God turned to the Church to be his light in the World. Israel had been the light for the world to see and come to. Now the church was God’s light to the world to show the world who God is, and they were to go out into the world.

4. Set aside Israel, but has not replaced her – In Chapter eleven of Romans Paul deals with Israel being broken and the church believer being grafted in. Paul makes is clear though that we are not to get high-minded because God can do the same to the Church. He also points out that Israel is only set aside and not disposed of. He reminds that in the end of days, there will be a deliverer come to redeem Israel and return her to her previous state.

5. Pentecost – The Church finds it’s beginning at the time of Pentecost. Jesus had instructed the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49). At Pentecost, after receiving the Holy Spirit, the church goes out into the entire world. This is the beginning of the Church.

6. Conclusion at the Rapture – At the Rapture God takes the church out of the world. When he does so we see the end of the church and the reinstating of Israel as His tool. It will take time, specifically through the Tribulation, for Israel to come back to Christ, but they will.

7. Pastor – The Pastor is the leader of the Church. He responsible for leading the Church in the direction that God would have them to go. In first Timothy chapter three Paul gives the qualifications of the Pastor. Though all these qualifications are important, they are all governed by the first, which should be considered the most important. To be blameless. If this characteristic is prominent in one’s life the rest of the qualifications will likely be met.  His main responsibility is to be in prayer and study of God’s Word so that he can train and lead the people of God (Acts 6:4)

8. Deacon – The Deacon is to assist the Pastor in the day to day needs of the Church. In Acts 6:1-3 we seen the need of the Deacon mentioned. The needs of the Church were multiplying as the number of the Church was growing. The Deacon is to have basically the same qualifications as the Pastor. The Deacons are to serve the Church, they are not to be lifted up but are to remain humble.

9. Does not limit ministry – To clarify, the Pastoral and Deacon roles are not the only possible ministries in the Church. There are many ministries that all can be active in, there will still be qualifications, but they will vary by position.

10. Baptism – Baptism is one of the ordinances of the Church. Baptism is for the purpose identifying with the church, which is important. This identifying is important, because it signifies a leaving of the world and coming to Christ. Baptism is also important because it is an illustration of what Christ has done for the believer. For this reason (as well as others), I believe that baptism is to be by emersion, as it seems to be the Biblical precedent is emersion, as well as the best way to illustrate what Christ has done for us.

11. Lord’s Supper – The Lord’s Supper is for the remembrance of what Christ has done for us. The Lord’s Supper is to give time to reflect on Christ, and to search our hearts to make sure that we are right with him. Christ commanded it to be done, and we see that it was being practiced in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Though Paul had to correct their practice, he did not tell them to cease. The Lord’s Supper is for the believer and not for the unsaved.

12. Primary function is the edification and training of the believer – I believe that Acts 2:42 gives the primary function of the church. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Though some might see the Church as an evangelization organization, this is not the primary function of the church. The Church is for the edification and training of the believer. The church is to train and build up the believer so that there is fellowship between believer so that they can function as a family, and most importantly the training of the believer so that THEY can evangelize. When this is accomplished the church will become an organization of evangelism.

Fiddler on the Roof 1971

Anyone who has watch Fiddler on the Roof knows the raving of Tevye in his song “Tradition”. Nothing should change, nothing should be done any different  than it has been done for generations! As I was writing the last part of my Bio page, I decided to write this post to clarify exactly what I meant and to lay boundaries to be careful of crossing.

This is a cry that we hear so often today, “We must believe/do something because that is the way it has ‘always’ been!” To begin by looking at the positive side of tradition, tradition can be a great help in directing us along our journeys, both spiritually and non. What are parents, grandparents, and great grandparents have done and believed should not be taken lightly. If they so believed, then they were convicted (or under the binds of tradition) enough to hold on to. Especially those traditions that many died for, paying the ultimate sacrifice. Traditions, when it is in line with scripture, helps to keep us grounded, and can act as an anchor when we are being blown to and fro. Many times traditions are right, and are very helpful, but I believe that tradition might be what is stifling many believers today.

This leads to the negative side of tradition, doing/believing things only because someone else did, not because we hold a truth that is from scripture. Many times people look to Proverbs 22:28 to say that the younger generation should not try to change the things that the previous generations have put in place. Pro 22:28 says “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” The idea of removing landmarks is found three other times in the Old Testament (Deut 19:14, Job 24:2, Prov 23:10), each time it is clearly referring to the stealing of another person’s land be changing the boundary markers. If on looks at the context of Pro 22:28 they will see that this idea fits better here than the idea of not changing what your predecessors have done. It is this mentality of doing/believing things because that is what has been done for generations, that is stifling many Christians today. When they study the Bible and they think it says something, then they are told that they are wrong because that is not what the reformers believed. A new Christian joins a church and are given a bunch of standards to follow, when they as for scripture so that they can learn, none is given to them, or some is but it is pulled out of context. We are not to base what we do/believe on tradition, but on scripture alone! Scripture tells us what to do, scripture tells us what to believe, and hopefully tradition aligns itself with scripture.

Now having blasted on tradition, let me make it very clear that I am in no way suggesting that we throw tradition out the door. When you read proverbs, often the writer advises us to listen to the instruction, counsel, and law of those that have gone before, particularly our parents. The preceding generations have been through and dealt with much more then the current generations and their thoughts and teaching should be taken heed to. Traditions is good, but we must remember that we are to base ourselves on the Bible, tradition my help us find our way there.

~ Nate