The Road So Far

 Last night we took some much needed time to stop and reflect on what we have learned so far this year. Volleyball was the name of the game for the evening and I don't know about everyone else, but I had a really good time.

As we moved into the "message" time, I opened with a brief overview of everything we had covered up to this point. Below you will see a simple illustration (drawn by yours truly) of the foundation for all of our messages this year.

You would not believe how long it took me to produce that simple image... Anyway, the heart above represents your life. It represents you. Everything we are talking about this year centers around how to live the Christian life in a non-Christian world. The cross represents Jesus Christ being at the center of your life and the book represents the Word of God (the Bible) as your basis for truth. You see, if we want to live the Christian life, we first must be sure that we are of the faith and that we are in submission to the Bible as our authority in life. If you don't believe in Jesus, or you don't trust the Bible as a reliable source of truth, then you will fail to live out the Christian life in this world. Everything else that we have talked about or will talk about this year is founded on the understanding that Jesus is Lord and the Bible is our authority. That means we look to Jesus and we trust His Word to teach us what is right and good.

The Bible tells us about the nature of mankind - that we are created in the image of God but are separated from Him because of our sin, which condemns us to death. Every person is born with a sin nature and is destined for death. On our own, there is nothing we can do bridge the gap and get to God. When we understand this about mankind, it helps us to see that apart from God we are all doomed. We are not basically good, we are not evolving into better or more perfect beings, and we are not all going to Heaven (apart from God, none of us are). This has HUGE implications for living the Christian life, because it means that if we are not going into the world and telling people about Jesus (as we are supposed to do) then they won't ever have access to God.

The Bible also tells us about our role in the world, and specifically how we are to relate to non-believers. In His famous "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew 5-7, Jesus tells His disciples that they are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We broke that down to mean that we are to be blessings toward others (salt), doing good whenever and wherever we can. We are also to speak the truth whenever and wherever we can (light), shedding truth and light in an otherwise very dark world. Even if someone is in direct opposition to God and persecutes us as Christians, we are to speak the truth and demonstrate toward them the same kind of live and mercy that God showed us through Jesus Christ.

The Bible gives us a direct command when it comes to our relationship with our parents: "Honor your father and mother". We talked about the fact that "to honor" means "to obey". We are to obey our parents. And this is a serious command, as it sits right in the middle of the 10 Commandments. Its right up there alongside "Do not murder". And there is no caveat to this one either. There is no stated exception, like "obey them unless they are being quite unreasonable". We are to obey our parents, unless (yes, there is actually an exception) they tell us to do something that goes against the Bible. We obey God first, then parents. And if we do this, it will go a LONG way in helping us to have a good, healthy relationship with our parents.

The Bible completely obliterates any foundation for racism. In the beginning when God created Adam and Eve, He was starting the entirety of the human race from one set of parents. That means that all of us, no matter our skin tone, are able to trace our lineage back to the same common ancestors. We are ALL descendants of Adam and Eve, which means we are ALL one race - the human race. Therefore, skin tone should have absolutely no bearing on how we treat each other. No one is superior or better than anyone else, this is what the Bible teaches. We are equals in sin and separation from God, and those of us who have been saved are equals in the forgiveness and grace we have received in Jesus Christ.

The last two weeks we watched a YT video by Dr. Jason Lisle, in which he shared evidence from astronomy that supports the truth of the Bible. One of the benefits of seeing this evidence is that it encourages us in our faith, to know that what we believe to be true is supported by the world that God created. Knowing these evidences also helps us to have an answer for the hope that we have in Christ. When the people of the world come against us and accuse us of being crazy or stupid, we can show the rationality of our faith and stand our ground.

Most of our time last night was spent in a discussion, as I gave students the opportunity to voice any questions that had been raised but not answered in any of the previous messages. It started slow but it turned into a good discussion, and I am planning on having another one sometime in February of 2022. I hope you're able to be there and participate.

As we move forward this year, we will continue to tackle some of those big topics that the church is facing right now. We will discuss a biblical perspective on abortion, sexuality, social justice, and even politics. It is important for us, as Christians, to discuss these topics and come to a common understanding of how we should handle each of them from a biblical perspective. I fully expect there will be some hard conversations to come, but they will be necessary.

May the God of all peace be with you.

Salty Flashlights

Salt is so incredibly useful. Most of us use it on our food, either to enhance the flavor or to curb some of the bitterness (a pinch of salt in coffee works wonders). Mankind has also used it for ages as a preservative. Long before refrigerators there was salt, keeping our food from going bad. And of course, we're gearing up to throw it all over the roads (and our front porch) as winter approaches, as something about salt melts ice and prevents it from building up.

Similarly, light is essential. Not only so that we can see, but the light from the sun gives plants energy and allows them to grow. Could you imagine a world devoid of light? Life would be so different. I used to go camping a lot more than I do now, and at night I would often use a flashlight to get around in the dark without bumping into or tripping over things. The light would show me what was around me so I could navigate through it safely. The Bible often talks about itself in this way, that the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It shows the way. It shows the truth.

In the main passage for today, Jesus actually calls His people the light of the world. This is the final entry in our series on How to Live the Christian Life in a Non-Christian world. We've already discussed that first you have to be sure that you are of the faith. I mean, what's the point of trying to live the Christian life if you're not even a Christian? Second, as a part of being a Christian, you have acknowledge the Bible as an authority in your life. You have to believe what it says to be true and live by it. And third, you need to understand the nature of mankind as revealed in the Bible - we were created good, but messed up and became separated from God, fallen in our sinfulness with no way to fix it by ourselves.

Today I want to talk about our role as Christians in relation to non-Christians. How do we, or should we, interact with nonbelievers? Let's look at Matthew 5:13-16:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Jesus says we are to be the salt of the earth. I said earlier that salt is something extremely useful and helpful in our daily lives. It enhances flavor, preserves food from spoiling, and protects us from slipping on ice. If we are to be "salt" to others, then that means we should be useful - a blessing - in the lives of the people around us. We should be looking for ways to enhance other people's lives, make them better, or help in some way. This goes beyond offering to pray from someone, on to doing something practical for them. For example, if I see someone struggling to change a tire on the side of the road, I can pull over and help them (if you don't know how to change a tire, maybe don't do this). If I see that a friend is really struggling in math, I can offer to study with them. If I see that a coworker is just having a rough day, I can talk to and encourage them, or even offer to help them with their duties for that day - to make their load a little easier and their day a little better. That is what it means to be salt.

A word of warning here: salt, when used in the wrong way, can be bad. Just imagine putting salt in your hot chocolate instead of sugar - not good. We need to make sure that what we are doing is actually helping the other person, not just creating more problems. Good intentions isn't enough, we need to do good. Why? Jesus gives us the reason in the second part: "that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

We are to be salt, and we are to be light. What does light do? It illuminates, it shows the way. It helps us to see in dark places and avoid obstacles. Mot importantly, light helps us to see where we are going. If we, then, are supposed to be a light to the world, then that means we need to be showing people where they are going. Our good deeds - being salt - should point people to Jesus, not to us. Being light involves speaking the truth (which we find in the Word of God) AND living by it. When we live the way God has called us to live, and we do good for others, it will point them to God. In that sense, then, we are pointing people to God - we are light.

There is one more important thing to understand about how we are to relate to nonbelievers, and that is found in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13:

"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked person from among you.'"

It is not our job to judge those outside the church. I'll say it again. It is NOT our job to judge people outside of the church. "But Mike," you might say, "you just said we have to speak the truth! Doesn't that mean we have to call people out on their sin?" Yes, we need to speak the truth, and that means showing people that they are sinners (just like us). But there is a huge difference between showing someone that they are a sinner and judging them for their sin. The first is meant to lead them to the understanding that they need Jesus to save them from their sin, while the second is meant to make them feel bad. Should we feel bad about our sin? Yes, absolutely. Should we go out of our way to make other people feel bad about their sins? No. The Holy Spirit, God, convicts people of sin, and God is the one who will ultimately judge them. That's His job, not ours. Our job is to speak the truth - to let people know they are sinners and in need of a Savior, Jesus. And we do that in love, as we do good in their lives and point them to Jesus.

So to put this all together (and I know that last part might have gotten a little confusing):

1. Be salt - demonstrate God's love in practical ways - help and serve others.

2. Be light - be the person God has called you to be and speak the truth of His Word.

3. Share the Gospel, not judgment. Judgment IS coming, and that is a part of the Gospel, but it is not WE who are going to be doing the judging - that's God's job.

If we do these things, we will be living the Christian life, and these are all things we can be doing in a non-Christian world. People may not like us (a lot of people hated Jesus), but it is what God has called us to do. God bless.