Tag: eternal life

The Death of a King

Wednesday

Romans 5-8

There are a handful of ways to think about the meaning of the death of Jesus. From a Jewish point of view Jesus was killed because he was a false prophet. From a Roman point of view, he gathered a large following that was counter-cultural to Roman authority, so they executed him. Or if you’re a muslim, Jesus wasn’t killed at all on the cross. Almost all people recognize that Jesus actually did die, but the question is why? The New Testament has several different ways of understanding why Jesus died. These include, Jesus died to destroy the works of the devil, to satisfy God’s need for justice, to justify us apart from Torah or the law, and to give us eternal life. However, the most ubiquitous reason the New Testament gives as to why Jesus died, is that he died for our sins.

“Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from this present evil age…” Gal.1.3-4

“…he bore our sins in his body on the cross…” I Pet. 2.24

“God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” – Rom. 5.8

“…when he had taken the cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin’” – Matt. 26.27-28

The reason Jesus’ death is so significant is because it solves the problem of sin. Sin is a barrier between us and God, it is impossible for us to be in the presence of God because he is holy and perfect and we are not. Jesus’ death satisfies God’s need for justice. The cost of sin has been paid for by Jesus. So through Jesus we can have a renewed relationship with God through Jesus. Apart from Jesus, God sees us as worthy of wrath and death, he sees all our mistakes and rebellion. But in Jesus, he sees us being right before him and clean and pure. Because of Jesus we are able to be in the presence of God. Jesus’ death is the means by which we can enter the kingdom. Hope, forgiveness, contentedness, and so much more can be found when someone accepts the gift of Jesus’ death for them.

For someone to be restored to God and to be a part of the kingdom when it comes, they must accept Jesus’ death. Through Jesus’ death all can live.

-Jacob Rohrer-

 

 

Why Am I Reading This?

John 20-21

Jn20

Saturday, June 3

If you are in high school, you have asked this question sometime this year. If you are in college, the question probably gives you flashbacks of finals. If you are like me, you are 300 pages deep in a 400 page textbook by the time the question comes up. By that point, you are too doggedly determined to put the book down. “By gum, I’m gonna finish it!” the stubborn, stalwart voice in my head says.
Truthfully, it is a great question. When we ask, “Why am I reading/watching/listening/responding to this?” we ask a bunch of questions at once. What do I hope to gain from this? How will this knowledge inform my future actions? In what way does this information or content contribute to my mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, or financial success and well-being? And the answers to “why am I reading this?” may be diverse. Maybe, like us college & graduate school students, you read something simply to gain the information from it for a test or project. Maybe you are reading to make wiser decisions in the future. But beyond these questions, which we ask of ourselves, this is also a question we ask of the author. We are also asking, “Why did you write this?” Why did J.R.R. Tolkien put pen to paper and craft some of the most iconic stories ever? (Lord of the Rings) Why did C.S. Lewis tell of magic (The Chronicles of Narnia), of angels and demons (The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy), and teach through his lovable, accessible, British way (Mere Christianity)?
In the Bible, this question doesn’t get answered too often. The Book of Job doesn’t tell us why the author wrote it. Sure we have very informed guesses, like, “The good and righteous will suffer. That is the way of this world.” But never once does the author tell us WHY he (or she) wrote the text. The authors of Matthew, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles, similarly did not take the time to tell you why they wrote. Again, there is a case to be made that the purpose can be found, like “to record history.” But then, why is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life so different than John’s, and why do 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles differ so greatly in their retelling of the same events? (There are answers to these questions. They are not easy answers, but they help us in understanding the text, if we are willing to do the work.)
All this is to point to two of my favorite verses in the entire Bible, John 20:30-31. If you have never memorized a verse in your life (John 3:16?), seriously, start with these two in John, because they could basically sum up the ENTIRE NEW TESTAMENT. Actually, there is a case to be made that the ENTIRE BIBLE could be summed up in these beautiful words.
John 20:30-31 –  Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.
The author of John completely acknowledges he left things out. It doesn’t matter to him that every single detail down the line be absolutely perfect. He does not even begin to suggest that he told the story in chronological order. There is no way to make the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and John compatible, with one single “correct order of the life of Jesus.” That isn’t the author’s point. The author didn’t write this Gospel to give us another “play-by-play” of Jesus’ life.
What the author does say, the reason why he put his pen to paper, what the Spirit was doing in him when it moved in and used him to write down words through the authors hand and brain, is so that YOU may believe. You reader. Not another “you”. I’m talking to you. These signs, these teachings, this crucifixion and death are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. The author cares about how you deal with this. See, if at the end of the day you are done reading John and you say “Jesus was a really good man” or “Jesus was a wise teacher” then YOU’VE MISSED THE POINT. The point is not that Jesus was a pretty cool dude, or that he was a man who died for what he believed in. He was inaugurating the Kingdom of God by coming, and that we can choose to be a part of God’s Kingdom now; in other words, he is the Messiah. He came to live a perfect life, overcome the world, and be the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; in other words, he is the Son of God. Any other reading of John is a mistake. It is wrong. Jesus is not just another good leader, good religious teacher, good dude. He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Only Begotten Son.
If you end up believing in WHO Jesus is, in WHO he pointed us toward, in WHAT he was doing by ushering in a new way of being, then you have hit the point of the message of Jesus. You understand what the author of John was doing in all these many chapters, in signs, teachings, moments with the Savior. Moreover, by believing in Jesus, you will have life in his name, eternal life, abundant life now that can’t help but last forever! I hope that is where you find yourself today. The reason why I write so much about John is because I love it. I am a mess. I am a broken and sinful mess. But there are a couple things I know. I see these signs, these miracles and this death and resurrection and I have to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. And because I believe, I know that I have life because of him. I didn’t earn it. I don’t deserve. But I’ve got it. Come, you who are also undeserving, just like me. You sinners like me. You broken messes like me. Jake, like John, calls out “Believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing, you too can have life in his name!”
In Christ,
Jake Ballard
(Photo Credit: https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John.20.29)

The Importance of “the”

John 14-15

the

Wednesday, May 31

We live in a world where diversity, multiculturalism and relativism rule the day. In some respects this is not bad. Having a variety of opinions in the “market place of ideas” means that the best are used, recycled, reused, adapted, interpreted, and used again. In short, the best ideas, the best inventions, the best of the best succeed. Diversity should be a part of our society we embrace; indeed the Kingdom is made up of people “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Rev. 5:9) God delights in the diversity of tribes, where people look and think and act differently from one another. He glories in the diverse languages we use to bless Him and our fellow humans. He loves all peoples, all nations. We praise God for the diversity of humanity we see in creation. But is this true in every situation? Is diversity always acceptable? Because of some of the claims of Jesus, I am inclined to say that no, not all types of diversity are acceptable. What could I possibly be talking about? If you haven’t read John 14:1-6 yet, please do. As you read it, what strikes you about this teaching of Jesus?
Notice that there are a few words Jesus repeats a couple times. Jesus has said a few times that he is going away and his disciples know the way he is going. But Thomas, the doubter a few chapters later, asks a REALLY good question “How can we know the way if you’ve been speaking in riddles?!”(14:5) Jesus up until this point, it seems has been withholding what would happen to him other than expressing it as being “glorified” or literally, “lifted up” (John 3:14, 7:39, 11:4, 12:23-34, and on). But Jesus is talking about his death. He is going away to the Father, to glory, by way of death. Jesus is say “You know the way to the Father, to eternal life.” Thomas, expressing his wonder, exclaims how can we get to the Father, how can we have eternal life?
And then Jesus says that “Well, all paths lead to life. As long as you sincerely believe whatever you believe and you don’t harm or judge anyone else, you’ll get eternal life.” Right?! That’s what we would expect if all the diversity and relativism in our society was correct. But Jesus says some stuff that really ruffles some feathers if we understand it. If you actually read the verses, or if you have memorized this verse (good on you if you have!) John 14:6 reads “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus used something grammarians (people who study grammar and language, like dorks like me) like to call “the definite article.” Normal people call it the word “the”. Each word in this list of three gets a definite article: the way, the truth, the life. I want you to get the importance of what this means. Jesus is not saying that his life is just “a life.” The life he has been promising, this eternal life, is the only life. There is only one life, and he is THE life. No others, no others compare. Jesus and his teachings are not “a truth” in a market place of truths, where you can pick which ones work for you and which ones don’t. Jesus claims he is THE truth. Buddha, the Gurus, Muhammad and other religious leaders or movements are not competing with Jesus in the matters of truth. Jesus is TRUTH, and the source of all truth. As far as they align with Jesus they are correct and when they differ with Jesus, they are in error. Jesus is the standard for truth, no one and nothing else. Jesus is not claiming to be “a way” to God. The analogy that Jesus is “one path up the mountain to God” could not be farther from the words of Jesus himself. Jesus said that he is the ONLY way to his Father, who is the only true God. (John 17:3) When you walk on the path of Islam, the path of secular humanism, the path of Buddhism, your path does not lead to the Father, according to Jesus.
And that is the shocking thing about this. I am not making these claims on behalf of Jesus. I don’t have to try and defend these claims on my own authority or reason or anything. Jesus himself made these claims, and the most shocking claim that anyone who comes to the Father comes only through him. Anyone who will be saved in the final days do not do it because they are really great Muslims, devoted Buddhists or EVEN great Christians. The only reason anyone will ever be given eternal life, the only reason anyone will live in the Kingdom, the only reason is Jesus Christ himself. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Belief in Christ, trust in him, love in him is the only way to life.
If this offends your modern sensibilities, trust me, it offended me, too! Jesus is claiming that he is better than all other religions and leaders and rulers and law-givers! How? But remember, we are not talking about one more leader or ruler or religious man or law giver. John testifies that Jesus is the Word, the Logos of God, made flesh among us. All the wisdom, power, planning, and thoughts of God take on flesh in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect representation of the very nature of God, he is the image of God in skin and bones walking around. Instead of taking offense at Jesus and his hard teachings, as so many do, this teaching should cause us to fall down and worship and be grateful that God showed us any way to eternal life, and that Jesus is not restrictive in who can come to him. All who are weary and heavy laden, he will give rest. He will give life to as many as call on him, as many as trust that he is exactly who he claimed to be. Let us praise God that he has revealed to us Jesus as a gracious and merciful Lord, the one who is “the way and the truth and the life.” Let each and every one of us come to God through the name of Jesus Christ!
-Jake Ballard

Consequences (Deuteronomy 28 & 29)

Tuesday, September 20

deut-28-picdeut-28-pic-2

By Jill McClain

Moses had previously told the people all of God’s directions and commands.  He gave them very detailed instructions about what type of behavior God expects.  Next Moses lays out the consequences for either following or disobeying God’s rules.  God has created all humans with a free will.  We are free to walk in his ways or to defy his directions.  However, there are definite consequences for the choices we make.  Chapter 28 first lists a series of blessings that the people will receive if they observe God’s decrees.  There are blessings for individuals and the entire nation.  Crops, livestock and children will all flourish, enemies will be defeated, and the people will be granted “abundant prosperity” (verse 11).  Conversely, there is also a list of curses that the people will face if they are disobedient.  Diseases, plagues, famine, and the loss of their land are just some of the curses listed.  Ultimately, God’s people are always free to choose if they will follow in his ways, but there will be consequences for their actions.

Forty years earlier God and his people had made a covenant.  God promised to bless the Israelites, and they in turn, vowed to love and obey God.  In Chapter 29, Moses once again urges the people to honor their commitment.  The chapter concludes with verse 29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”  There are some secrets that God has not revealed to us.  However, he has shared with us all that we need to know to have eternal life. It is up to us to diligently study the Bible and apply all we have learned to our own lives.