NewDayvotional

From the pastor for the people

Jesus and Homosexuality, Part 2 of 2

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I once received the following email:

“In the future when you want to talk about gay people in your sermons, just say what Jesus said about the subject, and that is nothing, nothing at all…Show me a quote by Jesus that is DIRECTLY condemning homosexuality, and the answer is, you can’t.. so don’t you do it either.” 

I can only assume that if I receive such feedback from time to time, you (the people of New Day Church) do as well. I’d like to share a biblical response that I would encourage you to share, as you have opportunity. As you share, don’t forget the biblical guidelines for doing so. For it to be biblical, we have to share with “…gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

Now Jesus absolutely said something on the topic of homosexuality, which I covered in depth in my previous post Jesus and Homosexuality Part 1. But let’s pretend for a moment that he didn’t. The argument “Jesus said nothing about homosexuality” is still fatally flawed for the following four reasons: 

  1. It’s an argument from silence. 

There are lots of things Jesus never mentioned that clearly violate God’s moral. Are we really to believe that Jesus didn’t care about incest, rape, abortion, human trafficking, wife-beating or child-molesting just because He said nothing about them? There are any number of immoral behaviors Jesus did not mention by name; surely we don’t condone them for that reason alone! What reason do we have for believing that Jesus’ ostensible silence on any issue, should be understood as his support for it? The answer is “Absolutely none.” 

  1. The argument wrongly assumes that the Gospels are more authoritative than the rest of the books in the Bible. 

At no point did Matthew, Mark, Luke or John say their books should be elevated above the Mosaic Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy) or, for that matter, any writings yet to come. What the Bible does say is that “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). This verse assigns equal value to all books of the Bible, which prevents us from elevating some (i.e. the Gospels) over others (i.e. the Torah or the Pauline Epistles). 

Even if the Gospels were silent on the subject of homosexuality (which they are not), that would in no way condone homosexual practice. The entirety of biblical teaching must be taken into account before we can make conclusions concerning what the Bible actually teaches on any given subject. Again, even if the Gospels were silent on the topic of homosexuality (which they’re not), the rest of the Bible certainly isn’t. And the books of the Bible outside of the Gospels are just as authoritative as the Gospels themselves, for they were just as much “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) as the Gospels.

  1. The argument wrongly assumes that the Gospels are more comprehensive than they really are. 

The Gospels do not provide us with all we need to know by way of doctrine and practical instruction in Christian living. That’s why God gave us the rest of the Bible – the books outside of the Gospels. We need all of it to learn to walk in God’s ways. 

  1. It presumes to know all of what Jesus said. 

The Gospels never claim to include everything Jesus taught. On the contrary, they teach the exact opposite. The apostle John wrote in John 21:25, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” This means that we don’t have in the Bible a record of every miracle or teaching of Jesus.

I’m not claiming that Jesus said something on homosexuality that we don’t have written down, only that based on John 21:25 we cannot rightly conclude that Jesus’ silence on a subject automatically means that he never said anything on that topic.

CONCLUSION: A specious argument is an argument that is superficially plausible, but actually wrong. That is precisely the case when it comes to the argument “Jesus said nothing about homosexuality.” It looks good from far, but turns out to be far from good. At first glance it appears structurally sound, but if you test the foundation by the Word of God, it all comes crashing down.

Anti-Social Media: Using Facebook to Protect the Reputation of Christ

Anti-Social Media: Using Facebook to Protect the Reputation of Christ

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“You need to go back to Born Again 101” – reads a Facebook posting in response to a Christian article.

Have you ever signed on to Facebook to see your friends arguing over something silly? These (very public) disagreements rarely end well, embarrassing every person involved. I understand that Facebook has made sharing our opinions and memories with each other easier than ever. However, as Christians, we need to be extra careful that we don’t bring shame on the name of Christ when we argue about trivial or political matters that don’t advance the gospel.

Unrestrained gut reactions can change others’ perceptions of Christ, painting Him and His amazing sacrifice in a negative light. You are a representative of Christ online and your voice has more power than you can imagine. Converse with others with the aim of building the Kingdom of God; it is what He has called us to do! Take care to avoid petty arguments that everyone can see. This is especially true of sharing political views, which are often divisive to many people. Romans 12:18 says “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Sometimes disagreeing Christians publicly argue with each other on Facebook. The Bible says we must always prove our point and try to convince people of our viewpoints…oh wait, that’s not right.  God commands  that we are to be known by our love for one another (John 13:35), but when believers publicly rip each other, Jesus’ instruction to us is clearly violated. If a brother/sister posts something that is biblically wrong or misrepresentative of Christ, call them and have a conversation with them, privately. Encourage them, in love, to delete their post as it is controversial (don’t even address whether it is correct or not). If this does not work, prayerfully consider a peaceful way to correct that misinformation publicly or seek wise counsel. However, keep in mind that the apostle Paul said “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” If you must correct it, be very cautious on how you approach it and avoid further knee jerk reactions. For more advice on disagreements, Jesus provides some solid action steps in Matthew 18: 15-22.

To conclude, ask God to guide all of your Facebook posts before posting. Never post based off your emotions at the moment, always carefully and prayerfully consider what you say online. While you may not care what others think of you, if you’re a Christian you have a bigger responsibility to the faith to consider. Preview your posts in the most critical of lenses, especially if you plan on making a statement about Christianity or are known as a Christian. While these suggestions are only meant to serve as general guidelines, please take it to heart and remember to do all things for the glory of God!

Five Time Management Tips Part 4

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The Bible gives us at least five tips for how we can manage our time in a God-honoring way. In this post we’ll at the fourth.

Tip #4: Prune your schedule. 

Most of you are doing too many of the wrong things. And you’ll never get to the place where you’re excited about one day giving an account of your life to God until you cut out some of the superfluous activities from your life that are keeping you from making a bigger difference in this world for God.

Jesus put it this way in John 15:1-2, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser [the gardener] 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” According to Jesus, the key to bearing more fruit – that is, the key to making a greater difference with your life for eternity, is pruning. And of all the things that need pruning in our lives, at the top of the list is our schedule!

For five years I was part of this senior pastor coaching network led by a pastor named Nelson Searcy. One of the things Nelson would tell us over and over and over is: You are doing too many of the wrong things. You need to make a “stop doing” and “start doing” list. We would put on the “stop doing” list all the things we were doing but shouldn’t be doing and then we’d put on the “start doing” list all the right things we’d have time to do once we stopped doing the wrong things.

So I’d like to give you a homework assignment this week. I’d like each of you to create a “stop doing” list. We all have black holes where our time gets lost. It could be watching TV (the average American watches over 4 hours a day), it could be social media (some spend hours on Facebook or Instagram or whatever), it could be spending an inordinate time in front of the mirror, it could be YouTube (if some people spent as much time reading the Bible as they did watching YouTube videos their spiritual life would be at a whole next level). We all have our black holes. I want you to evaluate them this week to see what needs pruning. In the same way, we all have commitments we’ve made. Some of these we shouldn’t have made. I want you to evaluate all your commitments this week to see which ones you need to cut out of your life.

You should easily be able to spend an hour a day reading your Bible and praying. On Sunday you should easily be able to spend one hour attending service and then another hour serving at a different service. Throughout the week you should be able to easily spend two hours a week with your growth group. If you can’t do these things, that’s an indicator that you’re doing too many of the wrong things, so I want you to ask God this week “What do I need to stop doing?” Here’s why it’s so important that you do this: We are so, so busy now a days – but interestingly enough, people report feeling emptier than ever before. Friends – that’s the barrenness of busyness! Now a days people confuse activity with productivity. But there’s a big difference! We must remember that true productivity is the accomplishment of God given tasks and goals. When we do the right things by God, that’s productivity that leaves us feeling fulfilled. When we do the wrong things, that’s activity, which leaves us feeling empty.

  • Doing the right things is energizing! Doing the wrong things is draining.
  • Doing the right things is a blessing! Doing the wrong things is a burden.
  • Doing the right things is a privilege! Doing the wrong things is an obligation.

You can avoid the barrenness of busyness by periodically pruning your schedule!

What Will the Rapture Be Like?

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What will the rapture be like? The Bible gives us four things:

1. There will be a return. John 14:2-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:16

The original “I’ll be back” came from Jesus, not Arnold Schwarzenegger. We’ve already seen in John 14:2-3 that Jesus told his disciples that he was going away, to the Father, to prepare a place for them and that when he was finished preparing the place, he would return for them. Well the rapture is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to return. In fulfillment of His promise 1 Thessalonians 4:16 tells us that at the rapture “…the Lord himself will come down from heaven…” In other words, Jesus will return for us.

Everyday when I leave the house I say to the kids “Ok – I’ll see you in a bit.” When I run an errand I say to Kristin “Ok – I’ll see you in a bit.” I say this because I’m not going away forever – only temporarily. Jesus in effect told us before ascending to heaven, “Ok – I’ll see you in a bit.” So the first part of the rapture involves Jesus’ return (as promised).

Now don’t confuse this with Christ’s second coming. He’s returning for his church, but he’s not returning to the earth (at this time). When Jesus came to die – that’s what we refer to as his first coming. When Jesus comes to reign (for a thousand years) – that’s what we refer to as his second coming. You see, for it to count as one of Jesus’ comings, he has to actually touch down on the earth, which won’t happen during the rapture. First Thessalonians 4:17 is clear on this point when it says we will “…meet the Lord in the air…” At the rapture Jesus will return for his church, but he will not return to the earth at this time.

So we see that first there will be a return. Secondly we see that…

2. There will be a ruckus. 1 Thessalonians 4:16

When Jesus returns he’s going to make a great big commotion. We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that when he returns it will be “…with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God…”

You must understand that in the Bible the trumpet call consistently was used to gather people together. For example, in the Old Testament…

  • In the Old Testament when the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness for 40 years, Numbers 10 tells us that it was trumpet that would gather them together, whether for worship or for war.
  • In the New Testament, the trumpet serves the same exact purpose. In Matthew 6:2 Jesus instructed the people that when they gave their tithes and offerings they weren’t to announce it with trumpets. The idea here is that they weren’t to gather everyone together to show off how generous they were.

As a kid my dad would whistle for us. Wee-Ooh-Weet! Wee-Ooh-Weet! It called us each night from the neighborhood to gather together for supper. I remember getting lost as a kid and listening for Dad’s whistle. It was the call “come gather over here!”

In the same way – all throughout the Bible the trumpet was used to gather people together. So it makes perfect sense that when Jesus returns, he will blow the trumpet, which is the call for the church to gather together to meet the Lord in the air.

So we see that secondly, during the rapture there will be a ruckus. Thirdly we see that…

3. There will be a resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

1 Corinthians 15:20 says “…Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Christ was the first to be raised from the dead, but not the last. Here’s how it will work at the rapture…

  • If you’ve already died when Christ returns you will resurrected first.
  • If you’re alive when Christ returns you will rise to meet the Lord in the air directly after the dead in Christ are raised.

The other day I was at Costco and the lines were backing up. A new cashier opened her register. Who got to get in this new line first? The ones who had been waiting in line the longest. In the same way, those who have been waiting the longest (those who have already died) will be the first to rise from the dead at the rapture. As 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 puts it “…the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up…”

So we see that thirdly there will be a resurrection. Fourthly we see that…

4. There will be a reunion. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

1 Thessalonians 4:17 says that when Jesus returns we “…will be caught up together with them [that is, with our deceased Christian loved ones].” I personally believe this will be the second most emotional experience humanity has ever had.

  • children will be reunited with their formerly deceased parents
  • a mother will finally meet the baby she miscarried
  • a father will be reunited with his son that he lost to Leukemia
  • friends who will have been separated for years will reunite

It’s going to be absolutely awesome! Now I say it’ll be the second most emotional experience because at this time we will meet our Savior for the very first time. As great as the reunion will be, it will be far better to finally see Jesus face to face! But I digress. My point is this: At the rapture, there will be a reunion.

What’s Jesus Doing in Heaven? Part 4

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We simply must understand what Jesus is currently doing in heaven. If we don’t understand what role He is currently playing in heaven, we’ll never understand what role we must currently play on earth. So what’s Jesus doing in heaven?

Fourth, He’s preparing an eternal home for us (John 14:2-3). 

When each of us plays the part God has assigned to us, people get saved. We see this clearly in Acts 6. The pastors played their part – they gave themselves to the ministry of the Word of God and to prayer and gave oversight to the church. And the people played their part – they ran the various ministries of the church. And as a result “…the word of God spread. The number of disciples…increased rapidly, and a large number…became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). Well all these people who get saved as a result of the work of the church need a place to live for eternity. So while being High Priest and leading his priests here on earth and while making atonement, Jesus is ALSO preparing a place for us to live with him forever!

I leave you with this exciting thought. God made the world and everything in it in only six days. As beautiful and intricate as this world is…it was all made in only six days. Well Jesus has been working on heaven for 2,000 years. How do I know? Well Jesus said he would come back when everything was ready. Since he hasn’t come back, we know he’s not finished just yet. Can you imagine how amazing heaven is going to be!

If you’d like to make sure you’re going to be there when you die, I want to invite you to say the following prayer in your heart.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for the salvation that’s available to me because of what Jesus has done. Let me be super clear. I do not want to die for my sins. I want to accept Jesus’ offer to make payment for my sins. And now that I’m saved, I want to step into a role within the church that will help others find the same salvation I’ve found through Jesus. I’m committing today to join you in working to bring others to Jesus. I will find a place to serve. You have my word. Thank you for my salvation and thank you for letting me play a part in your work of bringing salvation to the world. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.