From ccrlist at tulip.org Sun Sep 17 16:30:04 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Sun Sep 17 16:30:09 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Sunday School Lesson Series: What is Faith Message-ID: <007a01c6da98$0f15aa00$1901a8c0@tantrim> Thank you for your patience as we continue to recover from the loss of our Pastor Max Forsythe. We hope you are encouraged and blessed by the Sunday School Lesson series that we will be sending out over the next 7 weeks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What is Faith? What is faith? To gain a better understanding of the word ?faith? we?ll look at it in light of the history of its development or etymology. If we look up faith in the dictionary we will find the following: 1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : HYPERLINK "http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/loyalty"LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions 2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust 3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs Notice that there is another word in this definition?BELIEF?if we look up belief we will find this: 1 : a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing 2 : something HYPERLINK "http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/believed"believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group 3 : conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence The importance of what words mean cannot be overstated. Belief doesn?t always imply certainty. Faith however, almost always implies certainty. This is where scripture divides many folks. Many believe in God or a god, but not all have faith in God. However, all who have faith in God must by certainty believe in God. Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The dictionary defines substance as 1 a : essential nature : HYPERLINK "http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/essence"ESSENCE b : a fundamental or characteristic part or quality 2 a : ultimate reality that underlies all outward manifestations and change Essence is defined as: 1 a : the permanent as contrasted with the accidental element of being b : the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing especially as opposed to its existence c : the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in its proper class or identified as being what it is Evidence is defined as: 1 a : an outward sign : HYPERLINK "http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/indication"INDICATION b : something that furnishes proof : HYPERLINK "http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/testimony"TESTIMONY; specifically : something legally submitted to a tribunal to ascertain the truth of a matter 2 : one who bears witness So using the meanings of these words let?s expand out this verse from Hebrews: Now belief and complete trust in and loyalty to God is the essential nature of things hoped for, and the outward sign or testimony, that which furnishes proof of the things not seen. How rich is that? It is incumbent that we as Christians really begin to understand what we read and profess! We can say the word faith till we are blue in the face, but do we really know what faith is? Hebrews 11:1 indicates that those who profess faith show evidence of that faith and we can see that as we read down through the verses that follow it. Look at verse 3 ? the elders obtained a good testimony. Now what does that mean that they obtained a good testimony? Usually we are asked to give our testimony, but the word here is obtained. Think of Abel and Enoch ? these obtained a good testimony from God and in both of these cases God declares them righteous because of their faith: Genesis 3:4 Genesis 5:24 In both examples, the definition of faith is played out. Hebrews 11:5 Notice that the verse says ?without faith it is impossible to please God?. Since we now have a definition of faith, this should make more sense if you ever questioned what the scriptures meant here. Behind that simple 5 letter word are 3 other words: Belief, trust, and loyalty. Now you may begin to see why not all ?faith? is pleasing to God. As Calvinists, we are sensitive to the sovereignty of God and the realm of faith is no different. It is essential that we understand faith in this light because of the 3 words that define what faith is. The framers of the Westminster Confession also understood the importance of what words mean as they set about collecting the scripture proofs that support our basic doctrines. Why isn?t all ?faith? saving faith? This question by now should be rhetorical, or maybe you know that all ?faith? isn?t saving faith, but just don?t know why. Well let?s take a look at where the rubber meets the road so to say and take this all apart. We?ll begin in chapter 14 of the WCF ? Of Saving Faith I. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened. There is that g-word: grace. The dictionary defines grace as follows: 1 a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b : a virtue coming from God c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace For one thing, saving faith is not faith that we humans dream up of various fashions. Saving faith is not something that we approach God on our own terms with. Saving faith, the faith that pleases God, does not come from us at all. It is given to us, despite us, by God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit within us using the Scriptures to teach us and with the Lord?s Supper and Baptism increase and strengthen that ?pleasing? faith. Let this sink in a moment. The faith that you have, that saving faith, is not a work that you did or are doing. It is a work that God did and is doing. It is a gift. If you have saving faith, that faith came from God Himself. This is a wonderful thing it also fulfills what Jesus says ?if the Son sets you free, then you are free indeed?. You are free from having to waste your life trying to achieve saving faith, this is your eternal Sabbath ? you can rest from your works. That you believe in, have complete trust in and loyalty to God is granted to you by God, you could never have achieved saving faith on your own. Now ? that little chunk of change in James ? faith and works should now take on a different hue since you now understand what faith is by studying its etymology. James 2:14-26 Faith without works is dead. Amen! What are the works of faith? Remember Hebrews 11:1 the evidence or essential nature of faith is belief, trust and loyalty. The demons believe that God exists, however they have no trust or loyalty to God, yet they tremble because they know who God is and they also know their end. Likewise many people believe God exists, but they also have no trust or loyalty to Him nor do they tremble. While they profess a ?faith? in God, they have no works to prove their ?faith? ? no belief, trust, loyalty that bring forth fruit. That faith is not saving faith and in fact there is not now or ever was any real faith. James 2:21 - 23 Verse 21 begins a discussion about Abraham. Luther insisted that ?saving? faith is a ?living? faith. The only evidence that people see of our faith are deeds of obedience. Verse 24 echoes this truth as well. A person is shown to be just by what that person does. Remember though, ultimately we are only justified by the merit of Jesus Christ ? only by trusting in Christ alone can we be made righteous in God?s sight. However to those around us, our actions speak much louder than our words and may prove to be our undoing. Abraham possessed a living faith. God told him to pack up and move to a place he probably had never even heard of ? and he did it. God told him that in his old age he?d bear a son, Sarah laughed, she even gave her handmaid to Abraham, but in the end, Sarah had a child and God?s promise of a son was fulfilled. God told Abraham to take Isaac and sacrifice him ? and Abraham proceeded to do it and before the knife struck, God tells Abraham to stop. In all the cases where the scriptures deal with Abraham, God commands and Abraham does. Was Abraham?s faith blind, no, because he had absolute trust in, belief in and loyalty to God. Hebrews 11:17 ? 19 We are not left without a witness to Abraham?s works so to say ? God made a promise to Abraham concerning Isaac and yet commands Abraham to sacrifice him. 19 says that ?Abraham concluded that God would raise Isaac up from the dead? so in Abraham?s mind he knew that God?s promises could not be annulled by human action. This should be to us, the greatest of comforts. How are folks saved, what is the means or instrument of salvation?it is FAITH Romans 3:26 Paul is careful to indicate that it is not just having faith, but it is having faith in the correct object, which in this case is Jesus Christ that results in saving faith. Faith outside of Christ is not saving faith, that faith is also dead faith. Faith always has an object. Romans 4:1-5 & Genesis 15:1-6 Paul again brings us back to the archetype orthodox Christian, Abraham with a wonderful discourse on faith. Here Paul?s argument is against the Jewish ideal that Abraham was sustained in covenant with God because he obeyed God and was faithful to God?essentially under a covenant of works. But Paul refutes this idea in a wonderful way. Romans 4:6 ? 8 There is that word ?IMPUTE?. What does the word mean? Do not confuse impute with infuse. The dictionary definition is as follows 2: to credit to a person or a cause In these sets of verses it is used 4 times: In verse 8, 11, 23 and 24. Infuse means literally to ?pour into or permeate? which is not the same as ?credit?. The righteousness of Christ is not poured into us, we are clothed in it. Words mean things and this is a huge difference. Romans 4:9 ? 12 Paul puts forward the notion that Abraham is righteous before God not because of the law, because Abraham was before the Law was given from Moses some 430 years later; there was no Law so to say at this point. So Abraham is justified before God not by Law but by faith and this shall be the way of all Abraham?s seed. Because all folks are sinful, faith is the only means of receiving the promise; it is impossible by keeping the Law. Christ is the promised seed of Abraham and the promise of God to Abraham is already begun in Him (Psalm 2:8 and Matthew 28:18 ? 19). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Permission to redistribute is granted for unedited copy bearing this restriction. Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) ? Reynoldsburg, OH 43068 ? Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) All rights reserved -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.4/449 - Release Date: 9/15/2006 From ccrlist at tulip.org Tue Sep 26 19:24:45 2006 From: ccrlist at tulip.org (ccrlist@tulip.org) Date: Tue Sep 26 19:24:49 2006 Subject: [Ccrlist] CCR Weekly - Sermon Message-ID: <002801c6e1c2$f3d95750$1901a8c0@tantrim> Living in Love 1 John 2:3 ? 11 September 24, 2006 >From the pulpit of Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) in Reynoldsburg, Ohio Why is it so hard to live in love? It may or may not be easy to have feelings for others, but when love is defined as a commitment to the wellbeing of others we all fall short. You may have heard the story of Corrie Ten Boom who survived the Holocaust. But her family did not. They were Dutch Christians caught by the Nazis for hiding Jews in their home. Following the war, she became famous for her book "The Hiding Place," which shared the story of her family. She embarked on speaking engagements, sharing her faith with thousands of people. One night she spoke about the reality of Christ forgiving us. Afterwards a man came forward to speak to her. She recognized him as a guard from the concentration camp. She instinctively felt all of the hatred and pain from the horror those years of persecution. He said he had been moved by her talk on forgiveness and, crying, he asked if he might receive the forgiveness of Christ of which she had spoken. In herself she could not offer that forgiveness. The Lord had put his finger on something which was preventing her from becoming more 'Christ Like.' She remembered the command of Christ to love your enemy and to forgive, ?seventy times seven,? the person who has wronged you. As Corrie Ten Boom prayed that Jesus would give her the strength to forgive the man, she felt a sensation begin in her heart and flow through her hand as it touched his. Then she heard herself saying, "I can forgive you because of Jesus." This is a result of the work of Christ who came to save sinners like you and like me. If you have been forgiven, you are empowered to live in His light. Living in light, means that you will grow in right thinking and right affections. It means that you will grow in your desire to keep His commandments. It means that you will live in love. 1 John 2:3-11 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Living in light means right thinking and right affections. 1 John 2:4, 9, 11 4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. How can one call himself or herself a Christian and not live by God?s standard? How can we live for God and not have our affections affected? John was familiar with those in the Christian community who erred towards salvation by intellect and others who erred toward salvation by feelings. He calls both groups to LIVE in the light of truth and love. The worshippers of intellect though they could come to a knowledge of God by their reasoning skills. Plato led the way based on his belief that knowledge of things was eternal and unchanging. Thus, some in the Christian community could know the commandments without being bound to live by them or to love them. There are two problems with this thinking. First, moral living was not promoted. One could have correct thinking without having right living. Second, people are more than intellect. They need to relate to their thinking and be able to experience it. Another option for the Greeks was emotionalism, whereby God was not sought through the mind, but through emotions. If intellectualism could not satisfy, perhaps the emotions could. The mystery religions became popular as they attempted to stir the emotions in an attempt to relate to God. This did not produce right living either. There are also two problems with the emotional approach. First, emotional experiences do not last and must become increasingly greater to bring satisfaction. Second, the mind was neglected. Where is God?s glory in seeking only intellectualism or emotionalism? God must be sought with the whole person. 1 Chronicles 22:19 Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Exodus 36:1-2 ESV "Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded." 2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. They were to work in ways which the Lord commanded. Verse 2 implies that there were more to whom the Lord had given skill than actually worked. Only those whose heart was stirred came to do the work. Nehemiah had a similar experience as he rallied people to work on the wall. The mind falls short and feelings fall short, but heart and mind in concert may accomplish God?s purposes. Architecture can help us get a grasp on the need for both mind and heart. If you were looking for a place to live and wanted a strong sturdy place you could purchase a warehouse. After all, its concrete and steel make a strong, safe structure for your family. I knew a businessman who actually lived in one. He had warehouse space for his business and car collection and had finished off some of the space for his home. I knew another family who lived in a manufactured home. It was large, comfortable and cozy. It had a large living room, Jacuzzi tub, and Florida room. However, I wouldn?t want to ride out a hurricane in that Florida trailer. In my opinion, the best home is one that is both well built and comfortable. Good thinking about God is like the strong warehouse. Emotions are like a nicely finished mobile home. Combined good thinking and rightly placed affections are to be preferred. To only generate right thinking will make you a somewhat useless bystander in the church. To only spout out emotions will make you a hopeless idealist. Kingdom-minded believers will fill their minds with right thinking and be released in ministry with their affections engaged. Living in the light does not involve only right think or only an emotional experience. Living in light involves following both the old and new commandments. 1 John 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 1 John 2:7-8 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. If we keep all the commandments, can we then say that we know God? One might check off the boxes and decide that they?ve kept God?s commandments. It may sound strange to say that the commandments are both old and new. It is similar to an old home with a new fa?ade. One might glance over the old commandments and think they are living by them. It was common to show love for family and close friends and thereby be considered a keeper of God?s commandments. Jesus came to expand the idea of love as He loved His enemies such as you and me. The sinner outside of religious circles was not ?supposed? to be loved. But Jesus wanted his disciples to love their enemies as he stretched out the basic requirement of love. Jesus restates the summary in Matthew 22:34-40 when the Pharisees heard that he (Jesus) had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37 And he (Jesus) said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." You might say, ?I can?t love like that! I can?t love my enemies. I struggle to love those in my own family sometimes.? My friend, that?s the point. You can?t love that way and that?s why you need a Savior. Jesus loves the way you can?t love and you must give up your desperate failures and ask Him for His love that you don?t have. Have you ever been involved in planning a wedding? Usually, the bride has ideas and dreams she has been accumulating since childhood. The typical groom is clueless as to what needs to be accomplished or even what he is supposed to wear. A ?yes dear? response on his part is common and not inappropriate throughout the planning period. Patricia and I planned our wedding in about 4 months. There was a large check-off list. The days we were going to pick flowers, pots, forks, kitchenware, I felt like letting her do it all since I did not know about, and had no interest in those items. I found out that it was more enjoyable than I had expected because it gave us time together. It also showed me her love and gave me a chance to exercise mine for her. Simply following a checklist is not love. So far this morning we?ve looked mostly at what not to do and you may be wondering, what is the good and right perspective on living in light. Living in light is not simply knowing correct doctrine. Neither is it merely having an emotional experience with Jesus. It is not just doing the things you should and not doing what you shouldn?t. Actually the Scriptures show us that all of the above is important, yet remains two-dimensional. What acts as 3-D glasses to make it all jump off the page of our life? LOVE. Living in light means living in love . 1 John 2:5-6 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. Let me give a quick summary of how love brings together all the fragments with which we get sidetracked: Love is the embodiment of correct doctrine 1 John 2:4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, The truth or ?correct? doctrine is not present (i.e. not correct) where love is not present. A person who has the correct doctrine is a person who loves. Love is the desired outpouring of emotions 1 John 2:10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Emotions are important. One is to love others and not hate them. Love for God produces the joy which is usually an emotional feeling. Love motivates the Christian to live as Jesus lived 1 John 2:5-6 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Christians showing their love for God are in the process of having their love for God fulfilled. As they see God working in their life they become more sure that they do indeed belong to God. They possess love and assurance. Romans 13:8 love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John is hammering home that God?s love is displayed as His children keep His Word for they are living as Jesus lived. A little boy was giving blood so his brother who had surgery could live. He looked at His daddy and said, ?When will I die?? He thought he was giving everything and was glad to do it for his brother. Do you consider the need of your brothers and sisters in Christ? They need you. You have something to give. Living in love means knowing that you have something to offer other believers. Love is not an inferiority complex, thinking that you only need to receive from others in church to grow, but it is the awareness that you have something to contribute. After all, that?s part of the reason for covenant communities like this church. That is why the church is called a body. What if your feet only showed up when it was time to walk? As you grow in your understanding of forgiveness and Christian responsibility to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ you are living in love. Your mind and heart are both engaged. You are obeying Christ more and more out of love. You are also living in love as you give yourself to others. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Permission to redistribute is granted for unedited copy bearing this restriction. Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) ? Reynoldsburg, OH 43068 ? Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA) All rights reserved -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.9/456 - Release Date: 9/25/2006