Drew Boswell

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The Fundamentals of Our Faith; What We Believe Sermon Series “We Believe in God” Miscellaneous Verses

The Fundamentals of Our Faith;

What We Believe Sermon Series

“We Believe in God”

Miscellaneous Verses 

At the conclusion of our worship service today I am going to stick around in the sanctuary for about 10-15 minutes to answer any questions that you may have regarding the topic of God and “what we believe” on that subject.

Introduction

Why have a sermon series on beliefs and doctrine? Because the church is united or divided over what it believes. Unity promotes love among a church, and it is much easier to understand the mission and direction of the church when there is unity behind beliefs.

There are some beliefs that we should part ways over, and there are some doctrines that while important are not worth leaving fellowship over. Not all doctrine is the same and of the same importance, so where do we draw the line on when to leave a denomination, or a church, or is this the right church for me to join?  Your first question should not be about a children’s or student ministry, but “what does this church hold to as being doctrine?”

Gavin Ortland in his book, Finding the Right Hills to Die On gives four major categories that I think will be helpful for us as we negotiate through the various Christian beliefs over the next few weeks:

  • First-rank doctrines are essential to the gospel itself. An example would be, the Trinity.
  • Second-rank doctrines are urgent for the health and practice of the church such that they frequently cause Christians to separate at the level of local church, denomination, and/or ministry. An example would be mode of baptism.
  • Third-rank doctrines are important to Christian theology, but not enough to justify separation or division among Christians. An example would be the millennium.
  • Fourth-rank doctrines are unimportant to our gospel witness and ministry collaboration.[1] An example would be, how many angels are there?

So we, are going to cover doctrines that are mainly at the first-rank level, and some second rank-level.

Our topic today is God, next week is Jesus. The only way to accurately understand anything about God is for Him to reveal Himself to us. God has revealed Himself to us in two ways; His Word and in Nature (which includes our conscience). Romans 1:20 “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”

 Prayer

How Do We Know God Exists?[2]

First, the Bible assumes God’s existence and therefore does not seek to prove His existence. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created . . .” But, we can briefly cover some arguments”

 Universal Religion. Everywhere you go on the planet, throughout human history, mankind has worshiped something and created a belief system. There is a instinctive recognition that something is bigger than they are. However, for mankind to get the religion right, God has to step in and reveal some things about Himself.

Cosmological Argument. Hebrews 3:4 “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.” Everything has an origin, a beginning, so does the universe and all of creation. There must be an original source.

Teleological Argument. “order and useful arrangement in a system imply intelligence and purpose in the organizing cause.” Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above1 proclaims his handiwork.” If one finds a gold pocket watch in the forest, they assume that there is a maker of the watch.

 What Is God Like?

We are going to break down the characteristics of God into two categories: those which He shares with humanity, and those which He does not share with humanity.

Ways We Are Like God[3]

God is Holy – the word holy means set apart from sin to righteousness. It is God’s righteous nature that defines sin. God does not sin, therefore anything like God is not sin. He does not live up to a standard, He is the standard of right and wrong, sin and righteousness.

We have the ability to be like God in the way in which we choose to live our lives, but that holy living is only possible through our relationship with Christ. 1 Peter 1:16 “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

God is Loving – God’s love is displayed in all His works from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New Testament. The New Testament uses three different words for love. One is a brotherly love, one is a romantic love, and the word for love used to describe God is agape.

An agape love, “is the exercise of one’s will for the good of another. God has committed his will for the good of humanity.”[4] 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” God is love was ultimately expressed and personified in the life of Jesus, and especially in his three year ministry.

God is Just – Justice is when we apply consequences to a person’s actions according to a fixed standard, without regard to favoritism, or any other intervening thing. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Since all have sinned the wages of sin is death, it is justice for people to be judged because they have sinned.

God is Merciful – this is a characteristic of God that guides Him to provide a way of escape when we deserve judgement. We deserve to die, but God sent Jesus to earth to die for us. God’s justice and His mercy combine to provide a way to be saved from the consequences of our sin.

Titus 3:5-7 “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God is Good – God’s goodness means that, in the end, all will be well, even though some things between now and then may be difficult. Deuteronomy 8:16 “who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.” When we understand God infinitely more intelligent and powerful than us – it would be terrifying if He were evil, or corrupt. Imagine spending eternity with God if he were not good.

God is Spirit – God has revealed Himself to humanity as being a person, with personality, emotions, etc. John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Even though we cannot see God the Father, the part of us that is spirit can communicate with His spirit.

Ways We Are Not Like God

 God is Eternal – Timeless, God never had a beginning, and will never have end. He has always existed. Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

God is Immutable – God is unchanging; He has and will never change. He can never be wiser, more holy, more just, more merciful, more truthful – not less. His paths and purposes do not change. James wrote He is, “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

Malachi 3:6 “For I the LORD do not change;” Often times it feels like God may be for us in a moment, and then against us in another. But remember, God does not change, and it is often we who have changed in our relationship with God.

In the book of Jonah, The Bible speaks of God “changing His mind.” God was aware of the city’s sin and sent a prophet to tell the city of Ninevah that they needed to turn from their sins or they were going to be destroyed. God saw how they repented, and “He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened (Jonah 3:10). It was not God who changed, the people repented.

Some people wrongly suggest that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath and anger, while the New Testament portrays God in Christ as love and gentleness. The God of the OT repeatedly had mercy on the Israelites and saved them from their own perversions.

This same God in Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people killed the prophets and would not turn to the Lord (Matt. 23:37). Jesus taught often about heaven, hell, and eternal judgement – God’s justice and love are knit together throughout the entire Bible.

God is Transcendent yet Immanent – God is above and separate from the rest of creation. He is self-existing, he needs nothing. He has life in himself, and is the source of all life. He created gravity, but it does not affect Him – he is above creation and it’s laws. While He does not choose to alter then very often, He can if He desires (i.e. miracles).

While God is separate from creation, He is still close to it. We see again and again in the Bible where God desires to have a relationship with humanity. Isa. 57:15 “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

But he is not so close to creation, that He is in it (pantheism) or indistinguishable from the universe. He has also revealed Himself to us as a loving Father, and we are His precious children. Therefore, communication is also possible, and we are told that God desires to talk with His children.

Each of the three characteristics begins with the word “omni,” meaning unlimited.

God is Omnipresent – He is everywhere at the same time. There is no where a person can go to escape Him, but also, no matter where you go, he is there with you. Psalm 139:7-10 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

God is Omniscient – God knows everything, both actual and possible.

God is Omnipotent – all powerful. God can do anything He chooses to do. Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” The omnipotence of God has self-imposed intrinsic limitations. He is limited by His moral character. So, while nothing is impossible with God, Hebrews 6:18 tells us that “it is impossible for God to lie.”

His omnipotence applies to inherent possibilities, not inherent impossibilities. If someone were to ask, “Is it possible for God to make anything too heavy for Himself to lift? If not, how can we say He is omnipotent?”

From God’s omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience – He created what we see and understand as all that exists. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We are not told how He did it, only that the creation that we experience is from Him.

 Theologians use the term ex nihilo, based on two words; ex, out of, and nihilo, nothing – God created all that exists from nothing. It did not exist, and then it existed as a result of God desiring it to be. From creation itself, we can see that as a Creator, God has immense intelligence, and unimaginable power. We cannot even grasp the size of the cosmos, let alone the specifics of how it came to be, or fully understand how it works.

 We can also see, based on creation, that God is capable of holding it all together. From the smallest particle, to whole galaxies we are dependent on His grace and benevolence.

God is Triune – The word trinity does not appear in the Bible, but when we look at the Bible in its entirety this fact is inescapable. At Jesus’ baptism we see all three members of the trinity, Mark 1:10 “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

The Son of God appearing as the Savior of the world, the Father sends His Son, and the Holy Spirit guiding people to respond to Jesus as the Savior – all three present and active. God is one in his essential being, but his divine essence exists in three persons.

Conclusion

Why should we hold to and defend a proper doctrine of God (the first and second rank doctrines?) Because without them the gospel is either vulnerable or incomplete. Without a sound and accurate doctrine, we don’t understand our need for salvation. nor do we have a means of salvation.

Our theology and biblical doctrine also act as a filter that catches false teachings, anti-biblical worldviews, so if he are not rooted in these things, Ephesians 4:14 “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.” Without a solid understanding of what the Bible teaches, we are exposed to every false teaching that the world throws at us.

__________________________

[1] Gavin Ortlund, Finding the Right Hills to Die On, The Case for Theological Triage (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2020) 19.

[2] Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures In Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979) 27.

[3] Max Anders, New Christian’s Handbook, Everything New Believers Need to Know (Nashville, Tennessee; Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) 1.

[4] Paul E. Little, Know What You Believe, A Practical Discussion of the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith (Colorado Springs, Colorado; Cook Comminications, 1999) 25.

Steps of Grace; Genesis 1

Creation and My Mother

UnknownAs I sit in the waiting room while my mother is having surgery on her foot, I was reading through Genesis 1 in the Bible. As I read through the passage the following questions came to mind, “Why did God not just create everything in a single moment? Why spread it out over six days? Why not create the entire universe or ‘creation’ in a single instance?”

Genesis 1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. . . And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. . . . 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.3 And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. . . “ and so on and so forth for all six days of creation.

It could have been to show the importance of how the sky or heavens are above the earth, and therefore attach some kind of theological significance; or, to show the separation of light over darkness, etc.… But couldn’t we just discern these things from the completed creation? I think so.

I believe that God broke creation down into steps or days to show a process. He desires to move from one thing to another, from one moment to another moment. Time had never existed before creation, so His ability to show process is significant. He gives order and how elements work together in creation – but in time these elements change how they work together. In eternity there is the eternal present, and any reference to time is insignificant.

Creation Teaches Us About Relationships:

1)   Creation teaches us that every aspect of creation is important and significant. It is given its own day, or part of a day in the creation account. Each day therefore is important. Each aspect of creation is highlighted.  Man was created with a need for a woman. Creation was created with a need for something to have dominion over it. We are linked together, and each part is important.

2)   There is the development of marriage and relationships, which develop, grown, deepen, and change over time. Having been married for over fifteen years, I love my wife differently than how I loved her the day we were wed. My relationship with my mother has changed as well. She is still my mother, but how we relate to each other has changed over time. She was once my caretaker and provider, now she has moved to friend and dearly loved person that I find myself helping to care for.  Not only can you know a person (which is a great blessing), but at different stages of the relationship you experience life differently with them. We can only speculate as to what a perfect marriage would have been like, and how their love for each other would have grown deeper over time apart from sin. Or as parents and children would have grown to love each other in a perfect Eden.

3)   God would come in the cool of the day and speak with Adam and Eve. This shows that God intended for mankind (His children) to have an ever-changing relationship with Him as well. The time they would spend together would help them to love Him more, and to understand Him at a deeper level.  He has designed us to take in information over time, in segments, instead of some kind of instant download as in a Matrix movie.  In many ways the work we are to do in this life is the work of deepening relationships with others and our God.

4)   God, in this time with mankind in the cool of the day, would show them their purpose, responsibilities, and how to work for/serve God in such a way that brings Him glory. As a minister, parent, husband, friend, son, etc. I have grown in my knowledge of how to bring glory to God with my life. I am not as faithful to that knowledge as I would like to be, but it is true that God teaches you how to live for Him over time. There are even specific things that we need to learn at different stages of life.  Stages and processes allows mankind to learn, grow in depth of love for others and God, and to experience life differently.

5)   Lastly, I believe that God’s grace is shown to us in the creation account. There were seven days where everything was perfect, but it would not be very long before sin entered into the world. But the days don’t stop, the sun doesn’t stop shining, and the fish still swim in the sea. Life continues onward. Every day you get to start over. Every season you can plant again (even if the previous year was a disaster). Every year brings new opportunities to learn how to live life differently.

I am thankful for my mother, her provision, her friendship, and continuing love. I am also thankful for God’s Word and how it allows us to see life through His perspective. I am thankful for another season of life to know new people, and to experience the older ones at a different level.

 

 

 

Who Owns Your House? Luke 20:9-18

Luke 20:9-18 tells the parable Jesus gave of the owner of a vineyard who went away and how the tenants desired to wrongly own the vineyard themselves. In order to maintain control of the vineyard they abuse messengers sent by and even kill the owners son. As with all parables, we must be careful not to push details of the story too far, but the main idea is that the owner of the vineyard has the rightful claim of the vineyard and that the tenants are wrong in their desiring to own the property. The parable points back to the Old Testament and how God’s prophets were sent to the Israelites and the world and their ultimate rejection of these prophets. It also points to Jesus’ ultimate (as the Son) death at the hands of the religious leaders and sinful mankind.

Luke 20:9-18 “9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant2 to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”’

But there is a common question that I have encountered in ministry that this passage helps us to understand. In conversations with non-believers and discussions of the Bible I have heard something like “if God is so loving why would he tell the Israelites to kill everyone on the land they were conquering?”

The root of the answer is “who has rightful claim to the land?” God created the world, and as Creator it is His (Genesis 1:1 ff.).  He created man and sent them out (as His followers) to “fill the earth.” His original design was for the world to be filled with those who bear His image to reflect His character and bring Him glory. But sin came into the picture and whole nations rejected the One True God and followed false gods.

God also, in His mercy and love, sent prophets among the nations to warn them of the consequences of their rejection. So by the time we see passages like 1 Chronicles 21, Deuteronomy 3, Joshua 6, Judges 21, and 2 Kings 10 these nations are not innocent. They have all rejected the One True Creator God, and as the owner of all, God had the right to take certain land from one group of people and give it to another group of people. Also, in many cases Israel’s conquering and killing was a judgment upon these pagan nations. This same judgment would also come upon God’s own people when they apostatized throughout the Old Testament.

The Holy/Promised Land (as was the entire planet) was a place that was to be dedicated to the worship of the One True God (the Creator). So when the owner of the “vineyard” demanded that they give him a portion of the harvest (worship, praise, tithes, adoration, etc.), we can see how evil it is for the tenants to reject the messengers and even kill his son. God owns everything in all of creation, and yes, even you (for you are wonderfully and beautifully made). Our choice is to accept this as God’s Word lovingly and mercifully warns us, or reject it and face the ultimate consequences of trying to claim something that is not rightfully ours.

 

What of Those Who Feel Called?

God originally called the nation of Israel to Himself and established a covenant with them. However, because of their disloyalty they forfeited this claim on God. There is frequently the thought that it is amazing grace of God that the whole people were not consumed and that a Remnant continues to inherit the election. The Israelites were elected to service and that one element of service was a universal mission to the world. Within Israel itself, however the thought is a collective one, either of the whole people or of the group that constituted the Remnant.

*Those who are truly called come from God’s chosen people.

Within the elected nation, individuals were also chosen for service. Several are said to have been chosen before they were born, and in this way it is emphasized that their election is not the reward of their worth. They are not chosen for what they are, or even primarily they will be, but for a specific task that is assigned them and for service God requires of them.  For that service they are equipped by God, and all that is required of them is humble obedience to His will and surrender of themselves to His power.

* Calling has nothing to do with talent, skill, gifting, or worthiness.

Some are chosen to be judges and kings, to be God’s vice-regents among His people, to deliver them from their foes and to rule them in His name. Gideon was chosen to deliver Israel from the Midianites [1] , and Sampson, even before his birth, was chosen that he might be a thorn in the side of the Philistines.[2]  In the story of the establishment of the monarchy, Saul was chosen by God to enable Israel to throw off the yoke of the Philistines. There are two accounts of the setting up of the monarchy in the Biblical story. According to the latter account the institution had its origins in nothing more exalted than a popular desire to imitate foreign nations, and it was in itself an act of disloyalty to God and rebellion against Him. According to the earlier account the initiative was with God, who said to Samuel, “About this time tomorrow I will send unto thee a man from the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be the leader over my people Israel; and he shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, because I have seen the affliction of my people, for their cry has come unto me.” [3] Acting on these divine instructions, Samuel privately anoints Saul, who then takes the lead in the rescue of Jabesh Gilead and is in consequence hailed as king by all the people.

* God alone chooses what the calling will be to, i.e. the task to be performed

David was later chosen to replace Saul. Of the rejection of Saul we have two accounts. One attributes it to his impatience in not waiting for Samuel at Gilgal, [4] while the other attributes it to his failure to annihilate the Amalekites. [5] It should be noted that Saul’s failure to annihilate the Amalekites sprang from a defect of character. He accepted the commission of Samuel as the command of God, and yet failed to carry it out, because he set his own will above the will of God. The other story reveals an impatience of spirit, while all the story of Saul there is apparent an instability of character that marred his achievements. But here in this story of the Amalekites there is revealed a deeper defect of spirit, and a rejection of God’s will as final for him. If then election is for service, and its first corollary is loyalty of spirit to God, and if the abandonment of that loyalty is equivalent to the renunciation of the election, Saul had indeed renounced his election. He had revealed the attitude of his heart towards God, and it was no longer serviceable.

* One can disqualify himself from a calling of God by a rebellious and sinful heart.

How prophets were recruited is still unclear, but what we do know is that of several prophets we have some record of their Divine call to their office. They were not prophets because they were born to the office, or because they fancied the life, but because they felt a constraint which they believed to be of God. It is frankly recognized in the Old Testament that to tell a true prophet from a false one was no easy matter. Of the call of Moses in the wilderness, of Samuel in his childhood in the shrine of Shiloh, of Amos when pursuing his daily work, of Hosea in the tragedy of his domestic life, of Isaiah in the temple, of Jeremiah in his youth, and Ezekiel in the bizarre vision that came to him, we have a familiar record. All of these men became prophets because the hand of God was laid upon them. Some tried to resist the call, only to find that it could not be resisted. Amos 3:8 says, “The Lion hath roared, who can but fear? The Lord Yahweh hath spoken; Who can but prophesy?”

* God seems to delight in calling all “types” of people to be His.

All this would imply that the call of the prophet was the arbitrary act of God, and especially if he was called before he was born. Yet there is much in the Old Testament to indicate that it was neither arbitrary, nor so irresistible as the experience of the greater prophets would suggest. There were prophets who did not fulfill the purpose of their call, and who stand under sharp condemnation. The edge of their spirit’s sensitiveness became blunted, and no longer did they feel the command and constraint of God’s hand. More are called to service than truly respond to the call. There is a paradox in this area of calling. The prophet’s response to the call that he feels the irresistibility of the constraint, and he who most justifies the call and fulfills its purpose is most conscious of the Divine element and least conscious of the human element in his commissioning.

Paul could feel himself to be the “chief of sinners,” and it has ever been the case that the nearer a man becomes to God the nearer he wants to come, for it is only he who is very close to God who can feel the gulf that separates him from God. It is apparent that the true prophet is thought of as one who stands in so close and intimate a relationship with God that his personality becomes the vehicle of God’s Word.

* The effectiveness of a called man of God is directly related to his closeness with God.

God calls men by His own volition and gives them abilities to perform the tasks they are asked to do. God always calls individuals to particular acts of service (a pastor, youth leader, associate pastor, etc.) and as with any position, especially that of a pastor, his effectiveness in that position is dependent upon his closeness and dependence upon God. When the one who is called turns from God, he is no longer usable and will be replaced. The calling process appears to be a personal matter between an individual and God, whereby the latter places His hand upon that person “in a special way” and directs them to a position of leadership within the church body.  But there is also recognition of this calling by a body of believers and the apparent power of the prophet.

* God will give His called one what he needs to perform his task and will empower him to show that he is God’s man.

[1] Judges 6:15
[2] Judges 13:3-5
[3] 1 Samuel 9:16
[4] 1 Samuel 13:8-14
[5] 1 Samuel 15

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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