Tag: Religion

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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On Our Accomplishments Being God’s Gifts To Us

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Quotes1 Comment

Of course, most of us have an easier time believing that God created the universe in the past than that he has provided us with everything we have in the present. This is especially true when we think of personal paychecks and college diplomas, which God tends to give us after periods of hard work and personal exertion.

The Bible teaches that it is never easier to forget about God than after he has richly blessed us.

Affluence can produce a spiritual amnesia. While our society teaches us to keep careful catalogues of all our accomplishments, the Bible reminds us that everything on our personal resume belongs to God, for the power of productivity itself comes from him:

“You may say to yourself, ‘ My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deut. 8:17-18; cf. 1 Cor. 4:7).

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you believe God gives you all that you have or that you work for it on your own?

Resources

Kelly Kapic, God So Loved, He Gave, 24.

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The Uneasiness of Change

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Change

Change, it is not easy. It is not something we usually want. It, however, is necessary. It was necessary for those in Jesus’ day, and it is necessary for us today.

The Day Jesus Changed Things in Jerusalem

In Matthew 21, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey with a procession essentially shouting He is the Messiah. Given the commotion, the shouts of the people, it is clear this man is claiming some sort of Jewish kingship. Rome ruled the Jews at this time. Rome wouldn’t take this man’s claim lightly. They didn’t in the past. If you remember, in Matthew 2 when the Wise Men came into the city asking for the king, Herod had all the first born babies killed.

The people are worried. They don’t know what is going to happen. They don’t know how Rome would react. Threatened by this man’s presence, they want to know who He is. At the end of verse 10, they ask just that. They ask:

“Who is this?” (Mt. 21:10b)

The crowd responds by telling them:

“This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Mt. 21:11)

While there is debate over this point, I believe they mean He is the prophet like Moses prophesied about in Deuteronomy 18. There the text says,

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers – it is him you shall listen -…And whoever will not listen to my words that He shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deut. 18:15, 19).

So the crowd, observing all that Jesus has done and said, determines He is the prophet like Moses that God has sent. He is the One who has come to lead God’s people. With that pronouncement Jesus is not only set against Rome but also against the religious leaders of the day.

Hearing the crowds answer, the citizens of Jerusalem knew their comfortable peaceful life was being disrupted. Their life as they knew it was being threatened.

Jesus Disrupts Our Life

Isn’t that what Jesus does? He comes into our life and shakes things up. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us don’t want Jesus messing with things in our life. Disrupting what we have going for us.

We don’t want Jesus to change things because we like our sin. We like being in control. We like what’s comfortable. We don’t want anything to change. Jesus, however, wants things to change in our life. He not only wants things to change, He changes things. He comes into our life and changes things just like He did in Jerusalem.

Jesus Doesn’t Change Things To Hurt Us

Instead, He changes things because that is what is best for us. He does it to set things right in our life so we will live according to God’s will, which is what we were created to do. So Jesus doesn’t change things to hurt us, He changes things because it is what is best for us. He changes things so that we will better accomplish our God given purpose.

Question for Reflection

  1. What is Jesus changing in your life right now?

Resources

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Are you a Disciple or a Consumer?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical3 Comments

Disciple or Consumer

In Matthew 20:34 we are told that the blind men Jesus just healed “followed him.” These men didn’t just use Jesus for their own personal gain. They didn’t think of Him as a genie in a bottle who comes out to heal them before disappearing back into the bottle. No, after their sight was restored, after they were healed by Jesus, they got up and followed Him.

Disciples

While some may argue that they just followed Jesus into Jerusalem for the Passover, I believe Matthew is getting at something more. I believe he is telling us they became one of His disciples.

What Their Actions Teach Us

Their actions then teach us that we shouldn’t use Jesus for our personal gain. Instead Jesus’ work in our life, either miraculous or through the church, should cause us to follow Him.

While that is true, I think a lot of people don’t do that. People suffer illnesses or injuries all the time, are healed in miraculous ways and may even credit that to Jesus, but they don’t follow Him.

Crediting Jesus with Something and Following Him are Two Different Things

Following Jesus requires us to allow Him to call the shots in our life, to direct the way we live. Many people don’t want that. Sure, they want Jesus to give. They want His healing touch. They want Him to work everything out in their lives, but they don’t want to follow Him.

For Who He Is

And you know, we are going to continue to use Jesus until we see Him the way these men did in our story, as the Son of David, as our King, as the one who has the right to direct our lives. Until we recognize who Jesus is, we won’t follow Him. All we will do is take from Him, consume, and treat Him and His church as a genie in a bottle. Someone we run to when we are in trouble, but nothing more than that.

So do you see Jesus through the eyes of these two men, as your King? Or do you see Him as just another way to get a handout?

What Jesus Wants

Jesus doesn’t want us to take from Him. Instead, He wants us to give ourselves to Him, to see Him as our King, to follow Him. Jesus wants these things from us. In other words,

He wants disciples not consumers.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you a disciple, or are you a consumer?

Resource

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