Tag: christianity

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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The Object of Our Faith Saves

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral, Preaching, Quotes2 Comments

It is not the intensity or clarity of our faith that saves us, but the object of our faith. Excerpt from the message How long O Lord Steadying Our Soul In the Midst of the Storm 

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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Apologetics: A Reasonable Defense

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, EvangelismLeave a comment

Ask most church goers what it means to do apologetics and you will most likely be met with blank stares, an explanation about how we are to apologize to others, or tales of boredom as they tried sitting through a lecture or trudging through a book full of philosophical arguments. While the study of Apologetics can take you off into heady arguments, that’s not all Apologetics is.

Apologetics?

Apologetics simple means to offer a reasonable defense. At a minimum, that requires us to tell others what we believe and why we believe it.

Be Ready Always

As Christians we are called to do just that – offer a reasonable defense for our faith. Peter makes this clear when he says,

“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (1 Pe 3:15–16)

The context in which Peter gives his command wasn’t peaceful. Christians were living in exile, experiencing ostracism for their faith, and suffering persecution. Yet Peter tells them not to fear or cower, but to be ready to offer a reasonable defense for the hope within. Christians, then, in all walks of life, locales, and cultural climates must be ready to offer a defense of their faith.

Tied to Our Mission

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commands His disciples to go and make more disciples. In order to be obedient to Jesus’ command, we must be able to tell others what and why we believe what we believe, which means we must spend time preparing ourselves to offer a reasonable defense.

“When we become Christians, we do not leave our mind in the parking lot. We are called to think according to the Word of God, to seek the mind of Christ and an understanding of the things set forth in sacred Scripture.” – Burk Parsons

So if your neighbor notices you are a Christian and asks what you believe, you should not only be able to answer his or her question, but you should also be able to tell them why you believe it. Hearing that means many of us need to get busy learning what we believe and why.

Suggestions to Get You Started

The first place we have to start is with God’s Word. It is the foundation of our beliefs because it is the place where God reveals who He is, who we are, what He has done and is doing, and how we are to live. There are a variety of tools to help you read through the Bible. Here is a great list.

Next, I would suggest looking into the Theology and Biblical Theology books listed on my Book Recommendation page. These will give you both an overview of the biblical storyline and a deep understanding of the theology and doctrine of God’s Word.

Lastly, take a look at the New City Catechism. It is a quick way to build your doctrinal and theological knowledge.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you know what you believe and why?
  2. Are you ready to give a defense?
  3. How will you prepare yourself?

Resources

With Gentleness and Respect by Burk Parsons TableTalk Magazine January 2016, pg 2

An Apology for Apologetics by Stephen J. Nichols TableTalk Magazine January 2016, pg 6

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Are You Prepared to Give a Defense?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Evangelism, Quotes2 Comments

In his first epistle, Peter writes,

“In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Pe 3:15).

In his commentary on 1 Peter, Dr. R.C. Sproul writes:

Our preparation is to make us ready to give a defense and a reason for the hope that is in us…If your neighbor says, “I notice that you are a Christian. What is it that you believe?” are you ready to explain not only what you believe but why you believe it? Some Christians tell those who inquire that we simply take a leap of faith with no bother about the credibility or the rational character of the truth claims of the Bible, but that response goes against the teaching of the text. The only leap of faith we are to take is out of the darkness and into the light.

When we become Christians, we do not leave our mind in the parking lot.

We are called to think according to the Word of God, to seek the mind of Christ and an understanding of the things set forth in sacred Scripture.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you prepared to talk to others about the hope within you?

Resources

Table Talk Magazine, With Gentleness and Respect, January, 2016, pg 2.

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