Tag: christianity

Two Reasons the Resurrection is a Necessity

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical6 Comments

Resurrection

Yesterday was Easter Sunday – the day Christians all over the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.

But why? Why celebrate the resurrection? Why was it necessary? There are at least two reasons the resurrection is a necessity.

Two Reasons the Resurrection is a Necessity

(1) The resurrection was necessary to prove Jesus’ death actually satisfied God’s wrath.

In Philippians 2, we learn that Jesus is glorified. He is highly exalted and made to be our king because He humbled himself on the cross.

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Php 2:8–11)

Jesus wouldn’t have been resurrected and made our King, He wouldn’t be exalted, if His sacrifice wasn’t sufficient and satisfied God’s wrath.

So Jesus’ resurrection was a necessity because it proves His sacrifice was sufficient to pay for our sins. Without it we are all still damned to hell.

(2) The resurrection was necessary because without it we couldn’t experience eternal life.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians,

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:20-22).

If Christ had not raised from the dead, then we wouldn’t either. Death is the end. Eternal life doesn’t exist. Heaven doesn’t exist.

Thankfully that isn’t true. Thankfully the resurrection happened, which means this world isn’t the end for us. Eternal life is to come. Life in a perfect world, ruled by a perfect King is to come. There is hope. There is something for us to look forward to.

Question for Reflection

  1. What reasons would you give for the necessity of the resurrection?

Resources

Post adapted from my sermon: The Seriousness of Sin and the Necessity of the Cross and Resurrection

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Learning to Teach from the Master Himself

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Family, Leadership, Pastoral, PreachingLeave a comment

Jesus Stain Glass

If there is one person who can teach us to teach others, it’s Jesus. He is a master teacher. A teacher whose teaching impacted and connected with the 1000’s who followed Him.

His teaching connected because He knew how to relate to His listeners. His parables weren’t chosen at random. Rather, they were purposefully selected for their teaching and relatability.

We Should Relate to Others with Our Teaching

Likewise, we should use scenarios that relate well to those we are teaching. While that statement is easy for me to write, it’s not easy to do. More and more I find, in our mobile society, many of us come from different background, grow up in different parts of the country, and are influenced by differing world views. All of which make it difficult to relate to others.

Even though that is true, we shouldn’t give up. Instead, we must ratchet up our efforts in getting to know those we are teaching. We must work to understand their background, their cultural customs, and their worldview.

Parents and Grandparents are Teachers Too

While we primarily think of Pastors, Sunday School Teachers, and Bible Study Leaders as teachers, as those who need to heed this advice, I also have another group in mind – Parents and Grandparents. You guys are teachers too. You teach your kids and grandkids on a daily basis.

As you all know and have experienced, even though you live in the same house, it’s not easy to relate to one another. That, however, doesn’t mean we give up in frustration. God has commanded us to teach our children and grandchildren. So instead of giving up, we have to work to relate to them.

The best way to get to know others is to hangout with them, ask questions, and listen. If you do that, you’ll be in a better position to not only understand their struggles and temptations, but you will know how you might relate biblical truth in a way that will impact them.

Question for Reflection

  1. Other than the ones I listed above, what are ways for parents to learn how to relate to their children.

Resources

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Sermon adapted from my sermon Those who Embrace Jesus Produce Fruit

5 Motivations to Call Others to Repent

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical1 Comment

Unashamed

I spent last week in Louisville, Kentucky visiting friends and attending Together for the Gospel. The time with friends and the conference was a blessing.

This years conference was subtitled Unashamed. It’s focus was evangelism. While it is a common tactic to make evangelicals feel guilty for not evangelizing the lost, I appreciated that that was not their tactic. Instead of focusing on guilt, they focused on the power of the gospel to make men alive in Christ.

Some motivations that stuck out to me where the ones Thabiti Anyabwile gave. He specifically provided five of which I have highlighted below.

5 Motivations to Call Others to Repent

(1) Repentance is for the joy of heaven, the church and Christ.

(2) Repentance is calling someone to see worth in God’s sight.

(3) Repentance is a call to gain heaven’s greatest pleasures.

(4) Repentance isn’t emphasis on do’s and don’t’s, but on seeing God as He really is.

(5) Repentance is a call to what God calls beautiful.

Question for Reflection

  1. What other gospel-centered motivations would you add to the list above?

Resource

If you would like to hear Thabiti flesh these points out, you can watch his message here.

What is Jesus’ Mission and How Does it Affect Us?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Mission

What is Jesus’ mission? How does it affect us? A good summary of Jesus’ mission and how it affects us is found in Ephesians chapter 1. In verses 3-10 we learn three things:

(1) Jesus’ mission was given and prepared before the world was created (3-4; 9-10a)

Everything that has happened in this world is no mystery to God. He knew Adam and Eve would eat the fruit in the garden, that they would rebel against Him. He knew the world would turn out the way it is today.

God was prepared. He had a plan to save His people, so they could experience life with Him. His plan involved Jesus, His Son.

Ephesians 1:3-4 says,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” (Eph 1:3–4)

And Ephesians 1:9-10a says,

“making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time,” (Eph 1:9–10a)

So Jesus’ mission was God given. It was a plan that He and the Father came up with before this world was even created.

(2) Jesus’ mission was to take our punishment for us (7)

As sinners we are separated from God and we deserve His punishment, but Jesus came to die in our place, to take God’s wrath on Himself.

Ephesians 1:7 says,

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” (Eph 1:7)

The way we experience redemption is by Jesus shedding His blood. The way Jesus shed His blood was by being nailed to a cross. While He hung on that cross, the Father’s wrath was poured out on Him. The wrath that we deserve was poured out on Jesus as He hung in our place.

So Jesus’ mission was to take our punishment for us.

(3) Jesus’ mission was to unite us to God for all eternity (10b)

We know this because the second half of Ephesians 10 tells us the plan that was revealed in the fullness of time was,

“to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Eph 1:10b)

So Jesus’ mission then is designed to restore all creation back to God. To restore shalom or peace first between us and the Father. Second between us and each other. Third between the Father and creation. Fourth between us and creation.

So Jesus came to unite us to God for all eternity through His shed blood on the cross and this was a mission that started before time even existed.

The Good News

The good news is that all those who would repent of their sin, who would turn from living how they want, admit Jesus is their Savior – that He came to die in their place, and follow Jesus will experience salvation.

So have you done that? Have you turned from your sins to follow Jesus? Have you given your life over to Him? Do you recognize Jesus’ mission was to come and die in your place so that your relationship with the Father could restored?

Or do you deny Jesus’ mission? Do you refuse to repent? Do you refuse to recognize Jesus as the Messiah? The Savior? Do you try to come against Jesus and destroy Him?

Questions for Reflection

  1. What do you believe?
  2. What have you done?
  3. Where are you at?

Resources

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Post developed from my sermon: Those who Come Against Jesus Don’t Win in the End

True Christians Bear Fruit

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Fruit

Israel was God’s chosen people. They were chosen by God to represent Him to the nation. As God’s chosen people they directly interacted with God, His prophets, and His chosen leaders. If anyone should know God’s will and what He expected of them, it should have been the Israelites.

But even though they knew God’s will and they looked promising, they didn’t live according to His commandments. They didn’t bear fruit. Sure, they were religious. They went to the Temple to worship. They said their prayers. They made sacrifices. They kept the religious festivals, but even in all that they weren’t obedient to God. They didn’t live according to His will because their heart wasn’t given to God.

Since Israel was unfruitful they faced God’s judgment just like the fig tree faced Jesus’ judgment when He found it didn’t bear any fruit in Matthew 21.

What Does Israel’s Actions Teach Us?

Israel’s actions teach 21st Century Christians it is not enough to be Religious. It is not enough to look the part. God doesn’t just want us to use spiritual language or do spiritual things. No, God wants more.

What God Wants

God wants us to give Him our hearts. He wants us to live for Him. He wants us to be a true follower of Jesus. He wants us to be someone who takes what He says and applies it to our lives. He wants us to bear fruit and bring glory to Him.

What Happens If We Don’t Bear Fruit?

If we don’t bear fruit and just live a life of religiosity, we are no better than the Israelites. And we will face the same fate they did – we will face God’s judgment.

A Plea

Don’t be like the Israelites. Don’t be like the fig tree. Truly bear fruit. Truly follow Jesus, that’s what it means to be a Christian. Being a Christian doesn’t just involve saying a prayer or being dunked in a baptistry. Being a Christian means giving your whole life to Jesus. When you give your life to Jesus and follow Him, you will bear fruit.

What Do You Do?

Have you given your life to Jesus? Do you live according to God’s will? Do you follow Jesus? Or do you just come to church on Sunday and do some religious activities because you think you have to in order to appease God, your spouse, or your family? Which one are you?

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are you the true follower of Jesus who bears fruit?
  2. Or are you the religious person who bears no fruit?

Resources

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Post adapted from my most recent sermon: The Unexpected Enacted Parable of Jesus

On Personal Bondage

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Quotes2 Comments

At its most basic level the Bible teaches that bondage to sin is deeply personal. It is not only a cosmic or social reality that exists “out there,” but also an inward imprisonment. As Jesus declares, “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg explored the implications of this text in a way that might surprise our democratic ears:

There is no natural freedom [according to the Bible], and making choices does not yet guarantee our freedom. In John 8, we have this conversation between Jesus and his Jewish partners who are proud of being freeborn and not slaves. Jesus tells them, “If you sin, you are a slave. You will be free when the Son makes you free.”

Pannenberg goes on to explain:

Christian proclamation should have criticized the Western ideology of freedom by telling the public that having choices doesn’t mean freedom. The alcohol-addicted person or the drug-addicted person is also making choices. The problem is that he or she always makes the same choice – to take the drug or drink the bottle – again and again. Having choices doesn’t yet guarantee freedom.

Even though we don’t sense that our freedom has been compromised, Jesus said that it has. Under sin’s dominion this virus affects everything we do. In fact, it affect every aspect of who we are.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you believe Pannenberg that having choices doesn’t yet guarantee freedom?
  2. Do you believe sin not only affects what we do, but also who we are? If so, how does that affect our surroundings and what we believe ourselves to be?

Resources

Kelly Kapic, God So Loved, He Gave, 37.

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