The Christmas holiday season brings a variety of things in our culture that people will celebrate. Some of it has much to do with the birth of Jesus, while for others, perhaps not so much and yet is still a joyous time for them.
On this program we try to take a look at Christmas with a wider lens to see the bigger picture of what came together as it relates to eternity for God's creation. The Christmas message may largely focus on the scene with a miracle baby in a manger ... but let's not stop there.
God desires to reveal Himself to us. It is not something that is comprehended with the mind or intellect but is spiritually discerned. While our knowledge may grow and our minds become renewed when it comes to understanding the truth of the gospel, the revelation comes from God's Spirit to our spirit in the heart of our innermost being. It opens the spiritual eyes of our understanding.
It is not rooted in an academic approach because God's revelation surpasses knowledge and Bible philosophy or theology—and it is centered on the person of Jesus Christ. As we've been discussing, God's will for us is based more on knowing the living Christ than it is simply having knowledge about Him.
Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" After they answered, He then asked, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter spoke up and said that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus declared that Peter was blessed because flesh and blood had not revealed this to him, but it came from the Father in heaven.
Peter probably wasn't even aware of his source at the time ... but he didn't hear it from another human who was trying to recruit him as a convert or a visitor for the Sunday School class. This wasn't a "one and done" where Peter would be the only person to receive such a revelation. God desires to reveal so much to us by His Spirit who now abides in the hearts of believers in Christ ... and it may be happening much more than we realize. But it all begins with not just having knowledge about Jesus, but knowing Him. It goes beyond a philosophical or intellectual belief.
Stop and think about the emphasis that is placed on the topic of faith within our churches and even within multiple religions. Those who believe in a supreme being may often identify themselves as "people of faith." The Apostle Paul stated that the commandments contained within the Mosaic law are not of faith—and yet we find a tremendous emphasis being placed on small portions of that law within the Christian church.
For those who were attempting to be doers of the law, God required the Jewish people under that law to obey all of it (which no one ever did). On the flip side ... Paul told believers in Christ that if they were going to attempt to cling to even one commandment from the law (such as circumcision), they would be obligated to keep the whole law package (containing 613 line items). The result would be a falling away or distancing from grace. He also articulated that if a single law could give life and righteousness, then those things would have been provided by such a law. But life comes by faith in a living Christ—not a religious system of works that seeks to establish phony self-righteousness.
Many interpretations of scripture are rooted from a certain mindset. Assumptions about certain things related to the Bible and its content can lead to a point of view which may or may not be true. Bible verses that get singled out and quoted without the proper context of the passage or even the gospel message itself can result in people being misinformed.
A listener had written to us asking if there was any advice we could give regarding the proper understanding of context ... especially as it may relate to what was written directly for us as believers in Christ compared to issues being addressed by the writers to those specific people of that time in the early years after the cross.
There may not be a perfect answer to such a question, but we talk it out to provide some food for thought.
Welcome aboard ... as it occurred to us after starting this program that we have now been doing the Growing in Grace podcast for 19 years. Springboarding off of recent programs, we examine the typical mindset that is often adapted within a multitude of church buildings where they focus on what they consider to be wrong with people instead of the goodness we've received as believers in Christ. This leads to the futile attempt of doing or avoiding a variety of things that will "hopefully" bring people to a place where they are considered clean and more acceptable to God, but it is usually followed by repeating the same efforts over and over.
Anything that you are taught that you "must do" in order to be considered right with God is not the gospel but a fable. So let's ask the question ... is Jesus truly a Savior or is He not? Did He do everything necessary to save to the uttermost or are we responsible for our eternity by our actions? If the latter is true, then He died for nothing.
We've heard from so many listeners around the world over the years who came to be enlightened by God's perfect love, grace and once-for-all forgiveness. It can be stunning when coming to realize just how good the gospel message is while experiencing freedom from religious routines ... and coming to grips with how very different it is when compared to the many things we've been taught by religious tradition that seeks to establish right standing with God through human effort.
It's different and so much better to experience Jesus as our peace. But some will wonder how they should proceed as believers in Christ who are taking on a new mindset which may go against many of the things they've embraced as their most cherished and sacred assumptions. The focus of this week's conversation will be a reminder that we have much more than writings in the Bible, but as believers in Christ, we have the unique blessing of being able to interact with the living God by one Spirit who lives within.
The church system in Christianity is largely based on following formulas and three-point sermons to help people work at how to become something they think they are not. The message of the gospel of grace is based on a very different and more solid foundation. Instead of working through steps and principles on how to become a better Christian ... more holy, more sanctified, forgiven, etc. we come to realize God has gifted us as heirs with these qualities as His child.
His divine power in us has given everything we need that pertains to life and godliness—apart from works. It's not about trying harder or a "how-to" but it's about "a Him" ... where our life and identity is found in a place of peace and perfection.
On a number of occasions, the Bible refers to "holding fast to our confession." Notice the confession is singular, not plural. Some might think this has something to do with continuous confessions of sins. But we know our sins were forgiven, taken away, no longer counted against us, and remembered no more by God. The Apostle Paul never once suggested confessing sins to receive a renewed forgiveness from God.
So what were the writers really talking about along these lines after Jesus would have established the New Covenant? Let's take a closer look at why some were encouraged to hold firmly to a good confession of hope ... a confession of Jesus Christ and the gospel.
We take a closer look at not "what" the writer was referencing ... but "who" they were highlighting in this passage and throughout the letter.
The problem with taking lengthy passages of scripture and chopping them into individual Bible verses is the frequent attempt to interpret the meaning of each verse. Context gets missed, which can have a domino effect on other interpretations regarding the writings. We give an example from Hebrews 4:12, which states the word of God is living and powerful. Many of us were taught this is a reference to "the Bible." Keep in mind, these people who were receiving this message would have had no idea what a Bible was ... and most of their knowledge about the law and the prophets came from hearing it in the synagogues or other sources not associated with their bookshelf.
We take a closer look at not "what" the writer was referencing ... but "who" they were highlighting in this passage and throughout the letter.
