Tag: Jesus

The Exclusivity of the Gospel & Biblical Fellowship

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Church Life, Discipleship, Practical1 Comment

In 1 John 1:3, John tells us the reason he is writing is so that we will have fellowship with each other, with the Father, and with the Son. In marking out these different types of relationships, John is saying, our fellowship with one another, and our fellowship with God is based on our fellowship with Jesus. This differentiation is made more clear in verse 7, when John says our fellowship with one another is based on Jesus’ cleansing of our sins. What we learn in these two verses is that only through our belief in the person and work of Jesus, can we have true fellowship with the Father and with one another.

The Exclusivity of the Gospel

Before I explain what it means to have fellowship with one another, I want to make a point about the exclusivity of the gospel. The fact that we can only have fellowship with God through Jesus means those who believe they can have fellowship with God through other means are mistaken. When those in society claim there are multiple ways to God, or say we need to all co-exist, they are proclaiming another gospel, a false gospel that does not lead to God. The gospel is exclusive and there is only one way to be reconciled to God and experience true fellowship with Him and one another and that is through Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to have fellowship?

Fellowship carries the idea of a close mutual relationship involving mutual interests and sharing. It is a uniquely Christian relational experience that no one but those born of the Spirit of God can experience.

Fellowship With God

To have fellowship with God means we are reconciled to God through our union with Christ. This occurs by believing we are sinners who are in need of a Savior and that Jesus is that Savior. He is God incarnate, eternally existing with the Father, who came in the form of man, dying on the cross for our sins and resurrecting on the third day to ascend to the throne where He now reigns as King. Through our belief in this good news, or what we would call the gospel message, we have fellowship with God. Even more than a reconciled relationship with God, our fellowship with God means we accept His values, His commandments, and His message about Himself and us, and we live accordingly.

Fellowship With One Another

Now that we know what it means to have fellowship with God, we need to ask and answer the question: What does it means to have fellowship with one another? In order to answer that question, I want to talk about what Christian fellowship is not.

What Christian Fellowship is Not

Christian Fellowship is not any warm human exchange we might have with one another. Granted we may share interests with one another such as: Hunting, hiking, fishing, sports, knitting, facebooking, running, a love for the outdoors, or even discussing the latest political candidates, but talking about or participating in these interests together does not constitute Christian fellowship. Remember, Christian fellowship is a uniquely Christian relational experience. We can experience these things with anyone, Christian or not. So then, if Christian fellowship is not solely getting together with Christians to talk and hang out, then what is it?

What Christian Fellowship is

Christian Fellowship means we are participating together in the life and truth made possible by the Holy Spirit through our union with Christ. It is sharing something in common on the deepest possible level of human relationships – our experience of God Himself.

Christian fellowship then involves mutual care and love for one another which is expressed by:

  • Sharing what God has done in our life
  • Sharing what we are learning in His Word
  • Confessing sin to one another
  • Correcting one another
  • Worshipping God together
  • Praying for one another
  • Utilizing our Spiritual gifts
  • Carrying one another’s burdens
  • Serving one another

This means we cannot say we are having true Christian fellowship:

  • Until we have moved from talking about the latest game to talking about God’s Word.
  • Until we have moved from the weather to what God is doing in our lives.
  • Until we are truly self-sacrificially loving one another.

Conclusion

Christian fellowship is a uniquely Christian relationship that involves more than a warm human exchange we might have with one another. It is deeper than shared worldly interests. It is a relationship we can only have by believing the gospel message concerning Jesus. It only occurs when we connect on a level we cannot connect on with those in the world because they do not share our relationship with Jesus and God. May we regularly take advantage of this unique relationship we share with others who believe in Christ as their Savior.

In order to help promote Christian fellowship, I have written another post: Gospel Conversations and Biblical Fellowship.

The Cost of Following Jesus

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

I am following a read through the Bible in a year plan. My readings this morning were in the gospel of Matthew chapters 15 and 16. At the end of chapter 16, Jesus begins to tell His disciples He must go to Jerusalem to suffer many things, be killed, after which He will raise on the third day (vs 21). To this news, Peter rebukes Him, telling Him this will never happen (vs 22). Instead of agreeing with Peter, Jesus rebukes him along with Satan. He tells Peter he is being a hindrance to Him and that he is setting his mind on the things of man, not the things of God (vs 23).

The Cost of Following Jesus

After this brief dialogue with Peter, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach his disciples what it means to follow Him. The text says,

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

The cost of following Jesus is to daily take up our cross and follow Him. In other words, we are to be willing to give up our life for the sake of following Christ.

Hard Words

These are hard words to stomach. Even harder words for me to know the true meaning of as I live here in the United States free from religious persecution. We, in the United States, often want Christ and the world, but Jesus tells us we are to set our mind on the things of God, not the things of this world (vs 23). We are to sacrifice for the sake of Christ, even if it means we are uncomfortable, poor, or killed. Again, these are hard words for us, who live in comfort and have plenty. Even so, they are true and what we must be willing to do, if we want to be a follower of Jesus, because to follow Him is to take the road less traveled.

Follow Jesus: It is the only thing that matters

Gaining the world will not profit our soul. No matter how much worldly wealth or fame we have gained. In the end, all that matters is that we have counted the cost of following Jesus, recognizing it is much greater than anything this world can ever offer us, and we followed Him.

Image: chrisroll / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Every Knee Will Bow

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

This morning I was reading Psalm 22 as part of my devotional. This Psalm is often referred to as a Messianic Psalm because it points forward to the work of Christ on the cross.

Similarities with Jesus’ Crucifixion

The first line of this Psalm is quoted by Jesus when He was hanging on the cross. In Matthew 27:46 Jesus says,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

As you read through the rest of the Psalm one notices a similarity to what happens to Jesus and how those crucifying Jesus act. Jesus’ bones are out of joint, His strength has dried up, He is thirsty, His hands and feet are pierced, but His bones are not broken (14-17). Those in the crowd mock Him, they call out for Him to ask God to deliver Him from the cross, and they divide His garments by casting lots (7-8, 18).

The Lord has not forsaken Jesus

It seems the Lord has forsaken Jesus on the cross, but He has not. His plan has always been for Jesus to die for the sins of mankind (Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1). A plan worked out from before the foundations of the earth.

Every Knee Will Bow

Instead of forsaking Jesus, the Father resurrects Jesus and exalts Christ to His heavenly throne with the promise that everyone will worship Him (Psalm 22:27-28; Phil. 2:8-11). In verse 29, the Psalmist says,

All the prosperous of the earth eat
and worship;
before him shall bow all
who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not
keep himself alive.

Indeed, all will bow down to worship Him, even those who are not Christians. Every man, woman, and child will bow their knee before the Lord when He returns. Isaiah predicted it (Isa. 45:23), Paul confirmed it (Rom. 14:11; Phil. 2:10), and John wrote about the coming day when the Lamb (Jesus) would sit on His throne and every creature would recognize Him as Lord (Rev. 5:13).

There will be a day when Jesus will return, and there will be a day when every knee will bow to Him as Lord, whether you recognize Him now as Lord or not.

A Plea

Now is the time my friends to confess Christ as Savior and Lord of your life. If the Lord has given you the faith to believe in Him, then believe. For you can either confess Jesus as Lord and Savior now, or in the after life, but after this life is over, our chance of reconciliation with God and eternal life goes with it (Ecc. 3:17; 9:4-6).

Assurance

Those who are believers in Christ, be assured of your salvation. Place your hope fully in Christ and Christ alone, knowing He is our Savior and Lord. Know that the Lord will return and He will defeat the enemy, Satan. Know and trust that He will reign on His throne forever and ever, and that we will experience true joy for all of eternity as we worship and praise Him. Come Lord Jesus, come!

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Building the Church: What is the End Goal?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Leadership, Pastoral, PracticalLeave a comment

In Ephesians 4:7-16, Paul tells us Jesus gives gifts to the church for the building up of the body. Jesus gives gifts to the individual members of the church. He also calls some men, to become Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Pastor Teachers, and gives them as gifts to the church, in order to equip the saints for the work of ministry. The congregation, along with the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Pastor Teachers, are to build up the body of Christ. They are to work toward a certain end. It is that end that I want to focus on today.

You do not start a building project without first understanding what you are building, nor do you start building up the body of Christ without first understanding the goal in mind. What is that goal? Where are we as a congregation supposed to be headed? Paul provides the answer in verses 13-14 when he says,

Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

I believe we can pull three attributes out of these verses, which tell us where we are headed as a church, which is ultimately to maturity. Let’s look at the three characteristics of a mature church:

1. It is a church were everyone is unified because of a common faith and where everyone has a deep intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ

The first phrase Paul writes, “Unity of the Faith and the knowledge of the Son of God” has the idea that the entire congregation is united, they are one, because of their shared faith. As well as those in the congregation have an intimate and real knowledge of Christ, which is gained from seeing Him work in the body.

The psalmist is a good example of one who had an intimate knowledge of God. We often read of him crying out to God as his protector, comforter, and salvation. He sees God as a righteous judge and deliverer, as well as one who provides for the poor and the needy.

The psalmist does not know these things about God because he has studied them, even though he has, but he more so knows these things about God because he has experienced them first hand either in his life or in the life of those he knows.

Just like the Psalmist. As we see families in our congregation go through struggles and walk with them as Christ works in their lives, we come to know that Christ is faithful. As we see recent converts change their way of life, casting off addictions and clinging to the Savior, we come to know that Christ is better than our former way of life. As we see Christ work in the congregation, or in our own life, we develop a deep intimate knowledge of Him.

2. It is a church that resembles Christ in its thoughts, actions, and knowledge

Paul says we are to keep building up the body until we reach “mature manhood.” The idea is that we, as the body, are to become a well-built full grown man. What does a well-built full grown man look like? The next phrase tells us.

A well-build full grown man is one who, as Paul says, reaches the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” In other words, it is a church, where the entire congregation resembles Jesus in their  thoughts, actions, and knowledge.

3. It is a church that is able to discern false doctrine and combat those who desire to destroy the church through deceitful schemes

In verse 14, Paul gives us the reason for why we should grow in maturity, which also serves to tell us what it looks like to be a mature man. He says,

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

As we become unified and grow in our knowledge of Christ. And as we move toward being a full-grown man, one that resembles our glorified Savior, Jesus Christ, we should be able to discern false teaching and the schemes of those who seek to destroy the church.

Instead of being like children who are easily influenced, we are to be like full grown men capable of discerning what others are telling us. Instead of being like a rudderless boat that is tossed to and fro by every wave that comes by, we are to be like a stable ship, which is able to navigate rough waters with a clear path.

As we grow in our maturity, we, the entire church, are to be able to evaluate the latest doctrines and theological trends that try to pass themselves off as Christian teaching, as well as discover who it is that is trying to destroy the church. In doing so, we put ourselves in a position where we are able to protect the church.

The end product is three-fold:

(1) It is a church were everyone is unified because of a common faith and has a deep intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ.

(2) It is a church that resembles Christ in its thoughts, actions, and knowledge.

(3) It is a church that is able to discern false doctrine and combat those who desire to destroy the church through deceitful schemes.

Conclusion

To these ends, we, as a church, are to be building because they represent the final product of a mature church. In order to get there, it will take every member of the church exercising their God given gift. As well as we will need to speak the truth of God’s Word to each other in love (vs 15). May we, as a church, work together until we attain to this goal, knowing our work will not be fully complete until Jesus returns.

Grace, Hope, and Holy Living

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals5 Comments

In 1 Peter 1:13, Peter tells Christians, based on the fact that God is a God of kept promises, that they are to confidently and fully set their hope on God’s future grace.

In order to grasp the magnitude of Peter’s command we need to look specifically at two words, which are grace and hope. Then we will look at what hope in future grace should produce in us, namely, holy living.

Grace

The context tells us God’s grace will be given to us at the revelation, or return of Jesus Christ. This means God has given us a measure of His grace now, but it is not all the grace He will pour out on us. When Christ returns, God will pour a final measure of grace on us bringing us into a state of glorification. The body of death Paul talks about that hinders him in living completely for Christ will be put away and we will receive our glorified bodies. Sin will no longer reign in our members, rather, we will be perfect.

So we see: (1) Our final salvation is completed in the future, at the return of Jesus Christ. (2) It is God’s grace and nothing else that will provide us with eternal salvation. (3) It is God’s future grace we are to place our hope in.

Now that we understand we are to place our hope in God’s future grace and what that grace will accomplish for us, namely, eternal salvation. We need to look at hope, understanding it from a biblical perspective.

Hope

The Bible defines hope differently than our modern secular society. Hope in modern English has the idea of a wish that is uncertain.

For example, if we are going to a ball game this weekend with our family, we may hope it does not rain. We don’t know if it will or will not rain, but our wish is that it will not.

So then, hope in modern English carries the idea of wishfulness, but not certainty.

In biblical terms, hope is defined differently. Instead of a wishful thought, hope is certain. When Peter tells us to put our hope in the grace that will be poured out on us at the return of Christ, he is telling us something we can be confident in. Jesus’ return and the grace that will be poured out on us then is certain. Meaning Christ’s return and the grace we will receive at His return is not a wishful thought, it will happen.

Knowing what God’s grace will accomplish for us, and that He is a God of kept promises, means we should fully place our hope in God’s future grace, knowing for certain His grace will be poured out on us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Hope in God’s Future Grace Leads to Holy Living

Our hope in God’s future grace is not just the key to heaven, but it also is the key to holy living. If we don’t hope in God’s future grace alone, trusting in faith that He will pour out that final measure of grace on us at Jesus’ return, then living a holy life will not follow.

A holy life will not follow because it is pointless. If we don’t believe God will provide us with eternal life, then why would we live according to His commands? In other words, if the promises of God are not more satisfying to us than sin, why would we not sin?

All of this means that before we can live holy lives, it is important that our hope be in God alone, that we believe life with God for eternity is better than sinning now.

Challenge

So I must ask: Do you hope in God alone, realizing He will provide you with more satisfaction than sin ever will? If you don’t, then you will not live a holy life.

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Rejoice in the Lord in the New Year

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

I though it right to start the New Year off with a dose of Spurgeon. Read what he has to say about rejoicing in and magnifying our Savior in the New Year. May we all see our salvation in Jesus as a cause to rejoice in the New Year.

We will be glad and rejoice in thee (Son of Solomon 1:4)

Be Glad and Rejoice in the God

We will be glad and rejoice in God. We will not open the gates and begin the new year on a note of sadness. Rather, we will sing to the sweet strains of the harp of joy and the high sounding cymbals of gladness.

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1).

We, the called and faithful and chosen, we will drive away our griefs and set up our banners of confidence in the name of God. Let others lament over their troubles.

Magnify the Lord with Joy

We who have the sweetening tree to cast into Marah’s bitter pool will magnify the Lord with joy. Eternal Spirit, our perfect Comforter, we will never cease from adoring and blessing the name of Jesus. Jesus must have the crown of our heart’s delight. We will not dishonor our Bridegroom by mourning in His presence. We are ordained to be the minstrels of the skies. Let us rehearse our everlasting song before we sing it in the halls of the New Jerusalem.

We will be glad and rejoice – two words with one meaning – double joy, blessing upon blessing.

Should there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord even now? What riches are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source and every drop of their fullness in Him!

Concluding Prayer

Sweet Lord Jesus, You are the present inheritance of Your people. Favor us this year with such a sense of Your preciousness that from its first to its last day, we may be glad and rejoice in You. Let January open with joy in the Lord and December close with gladness in Jesus.

Resource

Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: January 1, Evening