Category: Practical

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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How to Worship the Lord Daily in 2016 – Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical2 Comments

In my last post, we learned that we can worship the Lord daily by living according to His Word. Doing that, however, takes us sacrificing our will and desires for God’s. Sacrifice is where we run into a problem because as my father-in-law likes to say, “Living sacrifices have a habit of crawling off the altar”.

How Can We Die to Self, Giving Ourselves fully to God?

(1) We can and should be motivated to die to self and give ourselves fully to God because of the gospel (the mercies of God). 

The gospel tells us that we are all sinners who want nothing to do with God. We will remain in the state, until God works in our lives, creating in us a new heart with new desires. Until God works, we won’t give ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice because our inward affections, desires, and way of thinking won’t have changed. But once God renews our inward man, we are given the power to live for Him because our affections, desires, and way of thinking are brought in line with His.

Along with having the power to live for God, we should also be motivated to live for Him. Armed with the knowledge that God created a new heart in us and saved us from His wrath should spur us on to live for Him instead of self. We don’t do that in an effort to pay Him back because we never could. Instead, we live for God out of gratitude for what He has done for us.

As one author puts its,

“All Christian living and ethics are ultimately rooted in a deep gratitude for what God has done for us… [so that our] [e]very decision and every action…[is] a response to His mercy.”

(2) We can die to self and give ourselves fully to God by purposing to no longer be conformed to the world. 

In Romans 12:2 Paul writes,

“Do not be conformed to this world…” (Rom 12:2a)

The idea behind the word conform is that of a mold. Thinking about that reminds me of my son Camden’s play-doh set. Not only does it come with several containers of play-doh, but it also comes with a bunch of molds that help him make some really cool things like alligators, dolphins, monkeys, and dogs out of the play-doh.

The molds are easy to use, so easy that even Camden can use them. All he has to do is roll out the play-doh, push the molds through, and wa-la he has one of the animals.

Just like it’s easy for Camden to mold his play-doh into one of the sets many shapes, it is easy for the world to roll us out and mold us into itself. Christians, however, are  to avoid being conformed to the world because its values and goals are antithetical to God’s.

While conforming to the world is something we must avoid, it is also something we have to be careful with. On the one hand, we are naturally nonconformists who don’t conform for nonconformities sake. But we can’t just be blanket nonconformists so that if the world wears lipstick, we don’t. Or if the world goes to the movies, we don’t. Or if the world plays sports, we don’t. And so on and so forth.

But on the other hand, because we are conformists by nature we must be careful we are not conforming to the world’s sinful patterns. So then, we must not run to either extreme. Instead, we must balance on the beam between conformity and nonconformity, which we do by purposing to no longer be conformed to the world, and by being transformed by the renewal of our minds so that we know the will of God.

(3) We can die to self and give ourselves fully to God by being transformed by the renewal of minds.

Starting in the middle of Romans 12:2, Paul says,

“but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:2b-c)

Paul is explicit. He tells us that our minds must be renewed so that we can know and test what is the will of God. There is only one problem. We can’t renew our minds on our own. We first need God to work in our lives because our minds are fallen. They have a spirit all their own — a viewpoint, a mindset, a bent. Thankfully God doesn’t leave us in that state. He works in our lives renewing our minds through the work of the Holy Spirit, who both changes us from the outside-in and the inside-out.

From the outside-in He changes us by presenting God’s Word to us. By drawing us into prayer, and into relationships with other godly Christians. As well as by leading us to hear the Word preached and to meditate on Christ.

He also changes us from the inside-out, which is necessary because without this type of change we wouldn’t accept the truth of God.

You ever wonder why someone can grow up in a Christian home, attend church every week, have godly mentors, and even read the Bible cover to cover, but then reject God as soon as they move off to college? It’s because their hearts haven’t been changed by the Holy Spirit to accept the things of God. If our hearts aren’t changed, we can hear all the preaching we want, meet with godly people, and read God’s Word cover to cover, but we won’t accept God’s truth, nor will we apply it to our lives, which is why it is so crucial we be changed first from the inside-out.

Once the Holy Spirit has wrought a change in our heart, we should work as well.  We work alongside the Spirit by reading God’s Word, attending weekly worship services, going to the Lord is prayer, meeting with godly Christians, memorizing Scripture, and reading Christian books and commentaries that help us understand and apply God’s Word. In these ways and others, we work alongside the Spirit to renew our minds, which means we must put a premium on doing these things.

As we do all these things our minds are renewed so that we are able to discern what the will of God is and live by it. Living by the will of God means that we are giving ourselves as living sacrifices, and we are worshipping God.

Conclusion

So if we want to worship God every day, we need to purpose to give ourselves as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God, which we do by:

  • Meditating on the gospel, preaching it to ourselves daily.
  • Purposing not to be conformed to the world around us.
  • Working alongside the Spirit so that we are transformed by the renewal of our mind and are able to test what is the will of God.

So now that you know how, I challenge you to be resolved to worship God daily. To give yourselves “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Question for Reflection

  1. How are you doing living as a living sacrifice so far this year?

Resources

Post developed from the sermon How Can You Worship God Daily In 2016?

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How to Worship the Lord Daily in 2016 – Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical4 Comments

If there is one thing we all share in common, it is that we all make New Year’s resolutions. We make these resolutions as a way to motivate ourselves to start working out, eating better, spending more time with family, take a vacation, read a book or whatever else you may come up with.

Many of us make resolutions every year. If we are honest, almost every year we fail to keep them. Of course, we have good intentions, but by about March our intentions are thrown out the window and we settle back into life as usual. This year, however, I want you to try and do something different. Instead of settling back into life, as usual, I want you to try to keep one New Year’s Resolution. The resolution I want you to try to keep is to worship the Lord daily in 2016.

Hearing me ask you to do that, probably leads some of you to think, “Does this mean that I have to go to church every day now?” No, you don’t have to attend church every day. In fact, you don’t need to come to church at all in order to worship God daily. Now, that doesn’t mean you can stop showing up to your church on Sundays. While we don’t need a daily church service to worship God, it is still a necessary and commanded part of our life together.

However, for those who do attend church weekly, we must recognize there is still 6 days and 23 hours left in which we are to worship God. How are we going to worship God during that time? In order to worship God the rest of the week, we have to change our idea of what worship is. It has to change from what takes place inside the four walls of a church building once or twice week, to what we do all day every day. But how do we do that?

How do we get to a place where we are worshipping God every day?

I believe the answer is found in Romans 12:1

There Paul says,

“I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present yourself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1b-c)

It’s here that Paul tells us that we must die to self in order to worship God daily. We are to die to self, giving our lives to God because He has given His life for us. Notice in what Paul grounds his appeal. He says, “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,” (Rom. 12:1a)

As many of you know, when you see a “therefore” you are supposed to ask what is it there for? In this case, it is there to point us back to all that Paul has written so far. We don’t have time to explore all of Romans but suffice me to say that prior to chapter 12, Paul expounds for us the gospel in detail.

The gospel, or good news, as presented to us in Romans tells us that we all are sinners who have rebelled against God. Because of our rebellion God has given us over to our sin, as well as He is planning to visit His wrath on us one day. There is nothing we can do on our own to escape that day. Because we are incapable, God does the unimaginable, He sends His Son to be our substitute, to take our punishment for us. Then, because we won’t turn to Him on our own, God gives us the faith we need to believe in Jesus. Those who believe experience salvation —Freedom from sin, satan, death, and God’s wrath. As well as they have the promise of eternal life. That’s the gospel — the mercies of God — as it is presented to us in Romans.

In light of the gospel, we must offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. That is what Paul tells us next. Right there in the middle of verse 1, Paul tells us “to present [ourself] as a living sacrifice,” (Rom. 12:1b). His word choice — “sacrifice” — is significant. It not only tells us what we are to do, but it paints a picture of what is expected of us. What God expects is for us to be wholeheartedly devoted to Him. Think about a sacrifice, say a lamb. Half the lamb isn’t brought, chopped in half, and burnt on the altar. Instead, the entire lamb is brought, killed, and offered to God as a sacrifice. Once it is given to the priest to be sacrificed it can’t be taken back. That is what must happen with us. We must purpose to give our ourselves over to God in wholehearted devotion. We can’t just give ourselves one day and take it back the next so that we are living for God on, say Sunday, and for self the rest of the week. We must give ourselves completely and fully to God each and every day.

Giving ourselves fully to God means that we turn our actions, thoughts, and plans over to Him. Literally everything about us must be given over to God so that we are allowing Him to guide and lead us in every aspect of our lives. Commenting on the idea of giving ourselves fully to God, R. C. Sproul says,

“God does not ask us to bring in our livestock and burn it on the altar; he asks us to give ourselves, to put ourselves alive on the altar. To be a Christian means to live a life of sacrifice, a life of presentation, making a gift of ourselves to God. Some people think that all it takes to be a Christian is to scribble a cheque or to give a few hours of service here and there on special projects for the church. But that’s not what believers are called to. My life is to be set apart and consecrated to God. That is what is acceptable to him; that is what delights him; that is what pleases him; that is the appropriate response to him and for him.” –  R. C. Sproul, The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1994), 195.

When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, we are worshipping God. Look at what Paul says in the last part of the verse, “Which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1d). Paul’s last phrase tells us that by allowing God to direct our entire lives, we are worshipping Him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Question for Reflection

  1. Have you given your entire life over to God or are you still holding part of it from Him?

Resources

Post developed from the sermon How Can You Worship God Daily In 2016?

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My Top 10 of 2015

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

As we venture into the New Year, I thought a time of reflection was in order, so today I highlight my top 10 posts from last year. These are not my favorite posts, but yours.

How did I determine your favorites? Not through complicated metrics or surveys. I simply looked at the stats to see which ones were viewed the most. Some of these you may remember, others you may not. Either way, these were the ones you clicked on last year the most. Without further ado, here are my top 10.

#10 Jesus, the Warrior King

#9 Characteristics of Believers in Christ

#8 Ungodliness: It is all in how you live.

#7 Prophet, Priest, and King

#6 Do You Have an Idol?

#5 A Christian View of Social Justice

#4 Celebrate the Savior for He is Risen

#3 Respectable Sins: Impatience and Irritability | Part 1

#2 Judge Not – What does it really mean?

#1 11 Characteristics of the Self-Righteous

Share Your Story

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, PracticalLeave a comment

If you are a Christian, you have a story about how you came to salvation — a testimony.

My Story

My testimony is that I grew up in a Christian home, and I went to a Christian school. Because of my familiarity with the Bible through church and school, I mistakenly thought I was a Christian.

However, when I was 16, some of my friends in the youth group and my Youth Pastor, at the time, started to challenge my understanding of what it meant to be a Christian. I knew all the right words to say, I knew all the answers to give — I was a sinner, Jesus was my Savior, I needed to repent and believe. If you would have pressed me, I would have said I believed those things. There, however, was just one problem, what I professed to believe hadn’t affected my life. I still desired, did, and sought out the same things as before. That’s a problem because when you become a believer your heart should change, which means that your affections, desires, and will should change so that they are for the things of God. Of course, this will take place in greater degrees over time through the process of sanctification, but if this has not happened in your life, then you may need to question whether you are a believer or not like I had to do.

As I thought about the conversations I had with my friends, I realized I was actually living in opposition to God instead of for Him. It’s at that time I repented of my sins, made a public profession of faith through baptism, and I started to actually live my life for God. Since then, I have had my fair share of struggles and setbacks, but, for the most part, I have been living for and growing in my relationship with Jesus. That’s my story.

Share Your Story

I know you have a story as well. Just like I have shared my story with you, it is good for you to share your story with others. It’s an easy way to evangelize, and a way to worship the Lord for the work He has done in your life.

If you haven’t shared your testimony with anyone lately, I challenge you to do so. Hearing that, some of you may be like a deer in the headlights — frozen with fear. Or you might be thinking, “You want me to actually open up to someone else and tell them my story?” Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do. I want you to share your testimony with someone else. To make it easier, I suggest you start with your spouse or a family member. You know them well, so it should be easy to talk with them.

After you have shared your testimony with a friend or family member a few times and are comfortable with it, begin to work outwards. Next time you are talking with a co-worker, friend, or neighbor and the conversation turns toward the spiritual, take some time to tell them your story. It’s a great way to share the gospel with them because everyone loves to hear stories, especially stories of change. So if you haven’t shared your testimony lately, I challenge you to do that this week.

Necessary Elements

While we all have our individual stories of how we came to salvation, there are several threads that should be present in all our stories.

  • We must all recognize that we are sinners, who deserve to be punished by God.
  • We must all recognize Jesus is our Savior, the One who took our punishment for us.
  • We must all recognize our need to repent of our sins, and follow Jesus as the Lord of our lives.

Those are the necessary elements that should be present in all our stories, so build your testimony around them as you practice sharing it this week.

Question for Reflection

  1. Who did you share your testimony with this week?

Resources

Post developed from my sermon The Humility of Salvation.

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Submission, a Biblical Principle that Gets a Bad Rap

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, Practical2 Comments

It is highly controversial in this day and age to talk about a wife submitting to her husband. It, however, is a biblical concept, which means we can’t avoid it just because it is controversial.

Submission is universal and voluntary

In Colossians 3:18 Paul writes,

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” (Col. 3:18)

Zeroing in on the second half of the verse for a moment, we learn that a wife’s submission is fitting for all times and places. In others words, Paul’s command wasn’t solely for his day. Rather it is still active and alive today, which means it’s something that is expected of all Christian women.

Even though it is expected, it isn’t to be forced on women. Submission is voluntary. Wives are not slaves or servants who are to be controlled and dominated by their husbands. Instead, they are to voluntarily submit to God’s command as obedient followers of Christ.

What does it mean for a wife to submit to her husband?

Let me start by saying what it doesn’t mean because I think that will clear up some misunderstandings.

  • Submitting to your husband doesn’t mean you are to be dominated by your husband – A husband is supposed to love his wife, not harshly rule over her.
  • Submitting to your husband doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with or even challenge your husband’s ideas – A wife is to be a helper. Helping others doesn’t mean you agree with everything the person says. It means contending with and helping them think through situations, so that they act in a way that accord with godliness. So submitting to your husband doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with or even challenge his ideas.
  • Submitting to your husband doesn’t mean your husband can use and abuse you and you must take it willingly – If you are in an abusive relationship, the best thing you can do for yourself and your husband is to call the cops. It is never kind or loving to make it easy for someone to do wrong. When a wife doesn’t report abuse, a husband doesn’t have to own up to what they have done, nor do they have to deal with it, which means they ultimately won’t repent and change, which isn’t healthy for the family or society. As well as it undermines one of the purposes of a marriage relationship, which is sanctification.
  • Submitting to your husband doesn’t mean you can’t call them out on their sin – Again one of the purposes of marriage is sanctification. Overlooking sin isn’t healthy. Not only does it have the potential to destroy your marriage, but it also has the potential to destroy the person.

Submission isn’t compatible with any of the above. It can’t be because a husband is supposed to lead like Christ.

Instead, a wife submitting to her husband means:

  • She willingly accepts her God-given role as her husband’s helper.
  • She willingly allows him to lead and guide her.
  • She willingly accepts his Christ directed decisions.

A wife’s submission is modeled after Christ’s submission

We know the above is what it means for a wife to submit to her husband because that is how Jesus submitted to the Father. Even though Jesus is co-equal with the Father, being God Himself, He willingly accepted His position as the Son, submitting to His Father. In doing so:

  • He accepted His role as Christ — The One who died for the sins of mankind.
  • He willingly allowed the Father to lead and guide Him, even to the cross.
  • He willingly accepted the Father’s will — Allowing His decisions to be final.

A wife’s submission to her husband, then, is modeled after Jesus’ submission to the Father, which tells us Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything He wouldn’t or didn’t do Himself.

Why are wives supposed to submit to their husbands?

When I was in high school, I, probably like many of you, had to take an Algebra class. Thinking back to that time, I remember asking, on more than one occasion, why I needed to take that class. I asked because I couldn’t see an everyday application for algebra. (If I am honest, even now I don’t have an answer to that question, but that doesn’t mean you don’t or won’t have an answer, so you probably need to learn it.) Since I couldn’t understand why I needed Algebra, I didn’t fully apply myself to learning it.

I tell that story to make the point that knowing the “why” for what we are to do is important. It is often the difference between us doing or not doing something. Why, then, are wives called to submit to their husbands? Is it just another way for women to be oppressed by men, or does it actually provide value? I don’t believe it is a way for men to keep their thumb on women. Instead, I believe God commanded submission because it is what makes for a healthy and productive family environment.

From the business world, we know that more than likely if two people try to run a corporation, fights and stalemates will hinder the company from running well. As a result, the stock price will drop, employees will lose their jobs, and consumers won’t enjoy their product.

You can apply that same logic to the family. In order for a family to run well, one person, not multiple persons, need to be the head. One person should be responsible for making the final decision, breaking the tie or stalemate when there is one. God has divinely determined the husband is to be that person. He is responsible for making the final decision. His wife is supposed to submit or defer to his decision, so long as he isn’t leading his family into sin.

A family works best when a husband lovingly leads his wife, and a wife joyfully submits to her husband.

All this tells us a wife should submit to her husband, so that her family would be healthy and productive at accomplishing it’s God-given task, which is to honor Christ; build each other up in Lord, sanctifying one another; and then, when you have kids, training your children in the way of the Lord.

A husband can make submission easier

Even though a wife is commanded to submit out of obedience to Christ, her husband can make her submission, and subsequent obedience to Christ, easier by having a loving, caring, and sacrificial approach to his wife’s well-being. When the man puts forth the effort and operates in the way God calls him to operate, he makes submission a joy, not a chore for his wife.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you agree or disagree with the biblical idea of submission?

Resource

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