Category: Church Life

Are You Connected to a Biblically Minded Church? – Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, Practical3 Comments

When I was in seminary, almost every class I took required me to write a research paper, which meant that over a two and half year period, I wrote a lot of research papers. As I soon learned, there is a certain learning curve when it comes to writing a good research paper.

I remember, at the beginning of my seminary career, turning in one paper, thinking I had done a good job. After all, I didn’t write it the night before like some of my friends. Instead, I spent weeks gathering my research, outlining, writing, and re-writing. Needless to say, when it came time to submit my paper, I did so with confidence. A few weeks later, however, my confidence was deflated when I received a less than desirable grade. As I flipped through my paper, reading my teachers comments, I discovered the main reason for my grade was a lack of evidence. Even though I had spent a lot of time on the paper, I hadn’t cited enough of my research. In other words, I hadn’t given enough evidence for my claim.

Evidence matters. It matters in research papers, in the courtroom, on the news, and in churches. Evidence matters because it reveals what we know, what we’ve done, or who we are. Focusing in on that last one – who we are. I am going to spend the next few posts expounding on the evidence of a biblically minded church.

What is a Biblically Minded Church?

By a biblically minded church, I mean a church that is centered on God’s Word, so much so that God’s Word influences the way it thinks and the things it does.

What is the Evidence of a Biblically Minded Church?

I believe there is, at least, four pieces evidence of a Biblically Minded church in Colossians 1:3-14. The first piece of evidence we come across tells us,

(1) A Biblically Minded Church Preaches the True Gospel, Resulting in True Salvation.

In this day and age, preaching is readily available. All you have to do is take out your phone or turn on the tv. A lot of what you can access, however, isn’t biblical preaching because the true gospel isn’t being proclaimed. Instead, in its place might be a prosperity gospel, which is centered on health, wealth, and material possessions. A gospel of social justice which is centered on eradicating oppression. Or a progressive/liberal gospel which denies the inerrancy or truthfulness of Scripture and teaches that Christianity is just one of many ways to experience the Divine.

The True Gospel

In contrast to these false gospels, a biblically minded church preaches and teaches the true gospel. One that is derived from Scripture. It is what Paul calls in verse 5 “the word of truth.” Throughout the book of Colossians, he expounds on the gospel, but a good summary is found beginning in verse 12,

“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:12–14)

The true gospel, on the one hand, doesn’t shy away from the bad news, which tells us that before we turn to Christ we are sinners who live in the domain of darkness. As a residence of that domain, we live in rebellion against God. As rebels, we deserve punishment in hell for all eternity.

On the other hand, the true gospel doesn’t leave out the good news either. It tells us that God in His grace and Mercy sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins. All those who believe that Jesus is their Savior, repent of their sins and turn to follow Jesus are forgiven. They are redeemed from the wrath of God, are adopted into God’s family, and have the bondage of sin and death broken as they are transferred from one kingdom to another, where they will live for all eternity with Jesus as their King.

That is the true gospel, the good news that actually gives us hope. That’s the message you will hear in a biblically minded church.

The result of consistently preaching the true gospel is true conversions.

People’s lives and hearts are truly changed. The sin they once enjoyed is cast off. The desires they once had fades away. The things they once worshiped are broken and thrown out. The life lived for self, turns into a life lived for God.

Of course, this doesn’t happen immediately. Instead, it happens over a lifetime as one consistently follows Jesus. But it does happen. Those who have truly been converted do grow to be more Christlike over their Christian lives.

So that’s the first piece of evidence of a biblically minded church — it preaches the true gospel resulting in true conversions.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are you apart of a church that preaches the true gospel?
  2. Have you witnessed true conversions in your church?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon Are We A Biblically Minded Church?

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Does God Hear Us When We Pray?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Devotionals, Discipleship2 Comments

About a year or so ago, I was working one afternoon on one of my sermons, when my computer just froze on me without any warning. If you have ever had this happen, you know your heart skips a beat; little beads of sweat emerge on your forehead, as panic starts to set in. The first reaction besides screaming, “NO!” is to start banging on the keys trying to coax the machine back to life, so you can save your work. After trying that for a while, I realized the computer wasn’t coming back to life, so I did what I really didn’t want to do — I pressed the restart button and prayed.

As I sat expecting to hear the familiar Apple startup chime, nothing happened. No chime. The computer wouldn’t come back on. The situation was much worse than I first thought. I hadn’t just lost some work; I had potentially lost my computer.

One of the first things I did was call my friend Jonathan, who works at the Mac Shack at the high school. I knew if anyone could fix my computer he could. And, you know, my thought was right; he was able to fix my computer. I had to purchase a new motherboard, which is essentially the brains of the computer, but he got it working again.

Just like I knew who to go to for my computer, I also know who to go to about things in my life, family, and community — and that is God. When things are good or bad, I know I should go to God in prayer because God answers prayer.

Why don’t we pray?

But often times we don’t go to God in prayer. Maybe we prayed in the past but didn’t receive an answer from God. After which, we slowly but surely stopped praying because we thought it was useless. In place of prayer, we began handling things on our own. After all, something was getting done, even if it wasn’t ideal.

If that is you, I can assure you God does hear your prayers and He does answer them. How do I know God hears and answers us? Not only have I experienced answered prayer in my own life, but Daniel’s experience recorded for us in Scripture also tells us God hears and answers prayer.

Daniel’s experience

In Daniel chapter 9, we see God not only hears Daniel’s prayer, but He also provides an answer. God’s answer comes through Gabriel beginning in verse 20. Let’s pick up there.

“the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.” (Da 9:20–23)

To be sure God heard Daniel’s prayer. It didn’t fall on deaf ears. Hearing Daniel, God provides an answer. Admittedly, God’s answer isn’t an easy one. It has given commentators, pastors, and scholars difficulty for centuries. Working with a seventy weeks timeframe, Gabriel tells Daniel what is going to happen in the near future and what will happen in the distant future. My intention isn’t to solve the debate. It is rather for you to see God hears and answers prayer. The seventy weeks prophecy is evidence of the fact, even if it is difficult and highly debated, it tells us that we can be sure God always hears the prayers of His children, and hearing us, He always provides an answer. He may not send an angel, but He always provides an answer.

Hearing that you may be thinking, “If that is true, why aren’t our prayers answered more often? Why do we pray, but get nothing in return?”

Several reasons our prayers may seem as if they are unanswered

(1) God’s time is not our time

I know you all have seen the Staples commercial with the “easy button”. The “easy button” is great because the moment you press it, all the hard work you had ahead of you is done. Often times, we think prayer is an “easy button”. We lift a request up to God, and poof it is supposed to be answered. But prayer isn’t an “easy button.” God isn’t Staples. He doesn’t do things according to our time, but His.

(2) Unrepentant sin is hindering our relationship with the Lord 

Confessing sin is an important practice because it is what qualifies us to ask God to answer our prayers. Unrepentant sin hinders our daily relationship with the Lord (Matt. 6:12; 1 John 1:9). It doesn’t severe our relationship, we are justified by faith in Jesus, but sin does hinder our day-to-day fellowship with God (Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Eph. 2:13; Heb. 9:14; 1 Peter 1:2). So confession should be one of the first things we do when we go to the Lord in prayer. If we can’t think of any specific sins we need to confess, we should pray as David prays in Psalm 19:12: “clear me from hidden faults.” (Ps. 19:12)

Now I don’t want you to misunderstand what I am saying. We don’t need to be completely free from sin before God will answer our prayers. If that were the case, no one would have their prayers answered. However, God does delight in our obedience, and our obedience does have an impact on the effectiveness of our prayers (Ps. 15:8, 29; 66:18). So if you find that your prayer life is not as fruitful as you might expect, you may need to examine your life and repent.

(3) We are not asking in faith

James, in the first chapter of his epistle, writes,

“…for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas 1:6–8)

So if we aren’t asking in faith, truly believing the Lord can answer our prayers, and if we aren’t willing to depend on Him, then, as James tells us, our prayer is not going to be answered. Prayer should be more than wishful thinking. It should spring from trust in a holy and personal God, who desires we depend on Him.

(4) Our prayer may not be according to the Lord’s will

God has a plan for our life and this world. What we are asking the Lord to do may not be in accordance with His plan or purpose. If that is the case, He is not going to do what we ask (1 John 5:14-15; Matt. 6:10; John 15:7).

If you think with me for a moment, just because the Lord doesn’t do what we ask, doesn’t mean He isn’t answering our prayer. In some sense, He is answering our prayer by revealing to us what we are asking isn’t according to His will, or at least it’s not at that time.

So if your prayers seem as if they are going unanswered, most likely one of the above is true: it is not God’s time, unrepentant sin is hindering your relationship with the Lord, you aren’t asking in faith, or what you are asking is not according to God’s will.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Have you stopped praying because you think God doesn’t hear you?
  2. How does knowing that God hears you affect your future prayer life?

Resources

Developed from my recent sermon The Prayer of the Saints and the Sovereignty of God

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Is just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned the true meaning of justification?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Pastoral, Quotes3 Comments

One sometimes hears the popular explanation that justification means “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.” The definition is a clever play on words and contains an element of truth (for the justified person, like the person who has never sinned, has no penalty to pay for sin).

But the definition is misleading in two other ways because

(1) It mentions nothing about the fact that Christ’s righteousness is reckoned to my account when I am justified; to do this, it would have to say also “just-as-if-I’d-lived-a-life-of-perfect-righteousness.”

(2) But more significantly, it cannot adequately represent the fact that I will never be in a state that is “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned,” because I will always be conscious of the fact that I have sinned and that I am not an innocent person but a guilty person who has been forgiven. This is very different from “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned”!

Another difference

Moreover, it is different from “just-as-if-I’d-lived-a-life-of-perfect-righteousness,” because I will forever know that I have not lived a life of perfect righteousness, but that Christ’s righteousness is given to me by God’s grace.

Our true situation is far different

Therefore both in the forgiveness of sins and in the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, my situation is far different from what it would be if I had never sinned and had lived a perfectly righteous life. For all eternity, I will remember that I am a forgiven sinner and that my righteousness is not based on my own merit, but on the grace of God in the saving work of Jesus Christ. None of that rich teaching at the heart of the gospel will be understood by those who are encouraged to go through their lives thinking “justified” means “just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.”

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you agree with Grudem’s assessment of the phrase just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned?
  2. How will this change the way you explain justification?

Resources

Wayne Grudem, Systematic, footnote 4 page 727 (headers mine)

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Are You a Church Consumer?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Devotionals, Quotes1 Comment

One of the hallmarks of the modern mindset is individualism. We instinctively focus on the freedom and the rights of the individual to do or say whatever he or she chooses. This attitude has inevitably spread into Christian culture, where my commitment to God’s people has been replaced by the idea that a church should serve and fulfill me, providing the teaching, music, friendship and sub-culture that I desire.

Yet really, this is only an expression of our sinfulness, a way of putting ourselves at the centre of our own lives.

When God rescues people, however, He puts them together to live for the benefit of one another. This means that my greatest concern should not be how a church could serve me, but how I may best serve that church, using the gifts that God has given me.

Question for Reflection

  1. How can you best serve your church with the gifts God has given you?

Resources

Read/Mark/Learn Romans, 232

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On Guard: Watching for the Things that Influence Us

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, PracticalLeave a comment

Like most schools, Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth has a security staff that patrols the campus 24 hours a day. One of my good friends worked for them for a while. Since he was the low man on the totem pole, he had to work the night shift, which is not really conducive for a seminary student taking classes during the day, but he took the job anyways.

At night my friend had to patrol mostly by himself. As he did, he told me he always had to be watchful, never letting his guard down because he never knew who or what he might encounter.

In the same way, Paul tells us we have to always be watchful, not getting too comfortable and letting our guard down. Instead we must always be aware of what is influencing us.

What influences should we be watchful for?

(1) Culture’s Influence 

Everyday we are bombarded with messages on the tv, in the newspaper, and on the internet that have the power to shape our worldview — how we view or see the world. That’s a problem because as Christians, our worldview should be shaped by God’s Word, not by the culture’s word.

One way to avoid being influenced by the culture is to consistently run its messaging through the lens of the Bible. In other words, we must constantly check our culture’s ideas against that of the Bible’s. The only way we are going to be effective at checking the world’s ideas against the Bible’s is for us to know God’s Word, which is where we run into a problem. As senior research Professor David Wells says,

Every study on the internal life of churches shows that they are becoming increasingly less literate biblically. With that, our ability to judge where our culture is intruding upon our souls is diminished [1].

Wells’ research not only looked at new Christians, but seasoned Christians as well. His conclusion, then, is representative of both groups, which tells us that we don’t know the Bible as well as we should. In fact we are trending more and more biblically illiterate by the year. Our biblical illiteracy is the result of a lack of prioritizing God’s Word.

How should we response to Wells’ research? 

We shouldn’t beat ourselves up over it. Instead, we should feel the conviction, repent, and then commit to making a better effort in prioritizing God’s Word in our lives.

If you don’t know where to start, let me encourage you to start by reading through the Bible. So you don’t get too bogged down, start by reading two or three chapters in the Old Testament and one or two chapters in the New Testament. By doing that, you will read the New Testament faster, which is ok. When you get finished, just start back in Matthew.

As you read, write down questions your reading sparks, then spend some time later on answering those questions. Don’t get too bogged down in all the laws and genealogies you will encounter at the beginning of the Bible. If you find your eyes glazing over, just skim them while asking yourself, what characteristics do these laws reveal about God.

(2) Bad Theology

I am often shocked by what some Christian bookstores put on their shelves, and advertise front and center as you walk in the door. Just because a book is on the shelf of your local Christian bookstore, doesn’t mean it can be trusted. There is a lot of bad theology out there, which means we have to always be on guard. Every sermon, Bible study, tv or radio broadcast; every book, article, or blog could be an opportunity for bad theology to creep in, so we must keep our guard up.

How do we guard ourselves? The same way we guard ourselves from culture’s influence — by knowing our Bible and using it. We must make it a point to check everything against God’s Word, just like the Bereans did when Paul taught them. I know many of you have heard the phrase “Be Berean’s”. Well, that’s what we have to be. We have to be Bereans in order to guard ourselves from bad theology.

(3) The Company We Keep

Back in Chapter 15 in verse 33, Paul says,

“Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor. 15:33)

As much as we would like to think that we will remain strong no matter the people we are around, it’s simple not true. If non-Christians are our only friends, we are going to be influenced by them. I know this first hand. When I transferred to the University of Georgia, I roomed with some great guys but they weren’t Christians. As a result, I started living and thinking like them.

In order to combat the influence of non-Christians in our lives, we need a solid support network of Christians. I say it like that because I don’t want you to get the impression that you should severe all relationships with non-Christians, because we shouldn’t. As Christians we can’t just gather in our holy huddles blocking out the world completely. We must have non-Christian friends. We are called to make disciples. If we don’t know anyone who isn’t a Christian, it is going to be hard for us to win people to Christ. So we must have non-Christian friends, but we must balance those relationships with a strong Christian support network, one that will hold us accountable and help us grow in God’s Word.

(4) Our Own Actions 

I include this as something we should watch out for because our actions reveal a lot about our heart. They can tell us if we are being influenced by God’s Word, the culture, the company we keep, or our own sinful flesh. So when it comes to our actions, we need to ask ourselves: Are we treating each other harshly, or with love? Are we acting self-centered, or selfless? Are we greedy, or generous? Are we practicing sexual immortality, or sexual restraint? Are we worshipping idols (the things of the world), or Christ?

Our actions tell us a lot about our heart. They tell us a lot about what we are being influenced by, so we need to watch our actions carefully.

Question for Reflection

  1. What are other influences we need to be watchful for?

Resources

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Post adapted from my recent sermon: How can we live in the world, while living for Christ?

[1] David Wells, The Soul-Shaping Reality of the Gospel, an interview in Table Talk Magazine, January 2011.

6 Ways to Begin Developing a Gospel-Centered Culture

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Leadership, Pastoral3 Comments

Over the last several years, there have been numerous ministries, books, conferences, blogs, and churches gravitating toward gospel-centered ministry. Thankfully, I was blessed to be a member of one of those churches during seminary. Through that church I came to understand that the gospel must be what all our ministries are based on, empowered by, and result from. After seeing that modeled for three years, when I left for my first pastorate, I immediately began working to create a gospel-centered culture within my church. Three and a half years later I am still working, but by God’s grace a lot of progress has been made.

Recently, I was asked what exactly I am doing to help create a gospel-centered culture here at Sycamore. Although my ministry and I are imperfect, I want to share with you six things I have been doing over my time here.

6 Ways to Begin Developing a Gospel-Centered Culture

(1) Preach the gospel

Pastor, your pulpit ministry has a huge influence over your church, which means if you want your church to be gospel-centered, your preaching must be gospel-centered. Gospel-centered preaching involves more than tacking the gospel on to the end of your sermon, as if it was an after thought. Instead gospel-centered preaching involves the gospel taking center-stage. You know that has happened when you use the gospel to encourage; convict; draw out; spur on; and promote joy, hope, and courage among your flock. So if you desire to create a gospel-centered culture in your church, make the gospel the center of your preaching.

(2) Counsel with the gospel

A pastor’s ministry doesn’t end after he steps out of the pulpit. In most cases, it is just beginning. That’s because faithfully preaching the gospel week in and week out will inevitable draw questions and sin to the surface, questions and sin that must be dealt with in the counseling room. Just like in the pulpit, the gospel must take center-stage in your counseling. You must not motivate your people to change through positive thinking and bootstrap mentality. You have to motivate them with the gospel. Doing so is not only what is best for them, but also it’s what will help create a gospel-centered culture in your church. As your people see the power and benefit of the gospel for both salvation and sanctification, they will begin applying it not only to themselves, but to those around them as well.

(3) Motivate with the gospel

When it comes to motivation, the tactic most people default to is guilt. I think that is because it works, and it is what comes natural to us. While guilt can motivate in the short-term, it can’t and doesn’t produce lasting and healthy results. That’s because it leaves our people feeling beaten up and, at times, depressed. I know you don’t want that for your people, which means you have to use something other than guilt to motivate them. You have to use the gospel. So the next time you need to motivate your flock to volunteer, tithe, reach the lost, or deal with their sin, apply the gospel, rather than guilt. It is not only what’s best for them, but also it is what will help create a gospel-centered culture in your church.

 (4) Talk about the gospel

I don’t know who said it first, but whoever said, “Your people aren’t really hearing what you are saying, until you are tired of saying it”, was right. Which means, if you want to create a gospel-centered culture in your church, you can never tire of talking about the gospel.

(5) Give gospel-centered resources 

If you are anything like me, you not only grew in your knowledge of gospel-centered ministry through your local church, but also through books, podcasts, videos, and articles. Just as you benefit, your people will as well. So as often as you can, give your people gospel-centered resources to read, listen to, and watch.

(6) Pray for a gospel-centered culture

Prayer is powerful; it truly can change things. It can change the hearts of men, it can bring about healing, and it can change the culture in your church. Often times I believe we forget the power of prayer. When we do, we begin to rely on our own strength, know-how, and ingenuity. But that alone won’t do when it comes to creating a gospel-centered culture because people’s hearts and minds need to be changed. The only way that is going to truly happen is if God changes them. So if you want a gospel-centered culture to take root in your church, go to the Lord in prayer, asking Him not only to change your own heart and mind, but those of your congregation as well.

Question for Reflection

  1. How are you working to create a gospel-centered culture in your church?

Resource

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