News and Updates

by Steve DuPlessie  |  May 30, 2018

Never before in the history of our country has there been a faster or more significant culture change than the wholesale recognition—in academia, public policy, popular culture, and the marketplace—approving of homosexuality and same-sex relationships.

This immediately presents a challenge and many questions for any followers of Jesus who take what the Bible says seriously.

One of the first questions people might ask is, “If homosexuality is wrong, why didn’t Jesus talk about it?” And your Bible’s concordance will quickly show you that Jesus condemned murder and greed, hypocrisy and pride among other sins, but he never used the “h” word.

But Jesus did condemn “porneia,” the common Greek word usually translated in our English Bibles as “sexual sin” (NLT) or “sexual immorality” (NET, NIV, NASB, NKJV) as in Mark 7:21. Porneia is usually defined as any intercourse outside of marriage. In ancient Greek literature outside of the Bible, porneia included adultery, prostitution, and same-sex acts. Jesus may not have mentioned same-sex acts specifically because all of his listeners understood that same-sex behavior was prohibited in the Hebrew bible, and considered as just one of the many expressions of sexual sin (porneia) off limits for Jews. Besides this, Jesus repeatedly affirmed God’s original design and intent of marriage for one man and one woman.

So then, some ask a second questions, “What about obvious gluttony and rampant divorce? Don’t you people have a big enough plank in your own eye to worry about without picking on someone else?”

And of course they have an embarrassing point. Gluttony is a huge problem, pardon the pun. And it seems quite hypocritical to condemn committed same-sex relationships … when traditional marriages are failing all around us. And the blatant hypocrisy of Jesus-followers is as big a problem as our judgmental attitudes.

But, accepting that criticism with humility, someone’s struggle with cheesy fries and too much of a good thing does not excuse my habit of robbing banks, or her not-so- hidden racism, or his struggle with same-sex behavior. (One sin – hypocritical or not – does not excuse, minimize, or give a pass to another; we all ultimately stand, or fall, before the judge of the living and the dead, God himself.)

Third, some say, “It’s not fair! God made me that way!” And of course the implication is that gays and lesbians, trans and intersex people, are born that way. And while that might seem to be true as you observe one person and another, scientists still have not been able to identify a gay gene that makes it inevitable for a person to be gay. In fact, the most recent statement of the American Psychiatric Association, concludes…

“Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors.”

And that truth is demonstrated simply and un-arguably in the fact that identical twins—exactly alike in their genetic makeup, even down to the prescription for their glasses, and frequently alike in their nurturing environment as well—are not always the same in their sexual preference or behavior, including homosexuality .

But even if biological causes for homosexuality could be isolated—and even if the desire is almost always uninvited and unwelcome—that doesn’t change the conversation. We are all products of both nature and nurture. We all struggle with inbred inclinations and weaknesses—some to addictions, some to anger, others to, whatever—and we all wrestle with learned desires that should not be gratified, and with intense longings for things we should not have or do. Our own sense of desire or pleasure is not self-validating, though just saying that is very unpopular in our current “Me and my rights, my comfort, at any cost” culture.

So then some will ask a fourth question, “But how it is fair for those with same-sex attractions to not be able to ever be married?” Sam Allberry, a single Anglican pastor with same-sex attraction, writes in his brief but excellent book, “Is God Anti-gay?”, that “…for Christians wit same-sex attraction, the only alternative is to actively embrace a life … of hope-filled celibacy.” And again, that self-denial flies in the face of our culture that refuses any personal limits, any denial of personal comfort or pleasure.

But actually, get this now, a life of celibacy is what the Bible expects of all Christians outside of marriage, gay or straight. Those who are single, dating, even engaged. Those who are divorced, widowed, whatever the circumstance. Sex is designed by God (Genesis 2:18-25) not only to be pleasurable but to knit a woman and a man together at a deep and intimate soul level. And God knows that kind of soul intimacy is best reserved for a committed, unbreakable covenant relationship: marriage.

“A life of celibacy is what the Bible expects of all Christians outside of marriage, gay or straight.” – Sam Allberry, Is God Anti-gay?

Resisting sexual desire outside of the marriage relationship is part of discipleship for every Christian of every age and every relationship situation.

So then others ask, “Aren’t you on the wrong side of history, like those who tried to support slavery from the Bible?” Well, that phrase, “the wrong side of history” implies that any progressive change is always good, always positive.

And yes, it certainly was a positive change when Christian activists like Baptist pastor Roger Williams organized the first effort to make slavery illegal in Rhode Island in the 1600s, and later when British Parliamentarian William Wilberforce led the effort to abolish the slave trade in England in the 1700s.

Here in the US, Harriet Tubman made 13 missions to lead slaves to freedom on The Underground Railway from 1849-1865, and Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852 which exposed the cruelty of American slavery. Among many others, they each were motivated by their devout biblical Christian faith to change the course of history.

But some progressive changes have not been so positive. The move to no-fault divorce in the ’70s and early 80s has, in general, devastated the American family. The advent of the birth-control pill and the resulting sexual freedom movement of the ’60s have devastated the lives of millions of absent-father children. And before that many progressive intellectuals thought that it was best eliminate the “inferior stock” in humankind, Darwinian-style, through restricted immigration, institutionalization, abortion, and sterilization. Not all progressive change is good.

That being said, the Christian church has universally held the traditional view of marriage of “one man and one woman” for the better part of 2,000 years. And while it is possible to be old and wrong, some things are old and right, no matter what the current cultural or political temperature might be.

And then some might ask, “I love my son, but should I go to his gay wedding?” Put another way, is it possible to love someone and still not approve of what they are doing? And of course the answer to that is … yes. Every day parents who love their kids deeply – love them enough to die for them – yet don’t approve everything their kids do. From leaving their wet towel on the bed all day, to picking a loser for a boyfriend, parents can love their kids and still not approve what they do.

But how about a significant life decision? Where they go to school? What job they take? Who they marry? On the kid’s side, it sure is difficult to feel loved when mom or dad don’t approve. Yet parents also are concerned with what is best for their child. Love naturally wants what is best; and Christian parents can love their child deeply and yet, wanting what is best for them not approve of that same-sex relationship or that trans surgery.

So do you go to the wedding, or stay home? Every family has to decide that themselves. I’m inclined to think attending the wedding means “I think this is great! I’m really happy for you! I pray that God will bless this union!” And if you can’t say that with authenticity, then maybe it’s best to stay home that day, and try hard to hold the door open for a relationship based on love and authenticity.

Last question for today. Some might ask, “But I thought the church is a place for broken people. Why not homosexuals?” And the answer is “Yes, praise God, the church is a place for broken people!” And gay people are very welcome here. Let me say that again, LGBTQQIFC (see the endnote below) people are very welcome at GNBC. See, we’re all about God’s story here. We looked for a few minutes earlier at the beginning: Creation, fall… and the central plotline of the Bible is a holy God making a new way to dwell in the middle of unholy people.

From an ark that saved God-fearers from destruction, to a ram that took the place of a doomed son; from the lamb that took the place of the first born in Egypt, to the God-guided trek to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey; from the tent of God’s presence set up in the middle of the camp, to the altar of sacrifice at the entrance to that tabernacle; from the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, to the recall from exile in Babylon—the Bible is story after story after story of God pursuing a rescuing, redeeming relationship with broken and fallen, cursed people.

That’s the story. That’s what the bible is all about. In one sense, there’s not a lot there about homosexuality. The 1,189 chapters of the Bible are not filled with God giving a finger-pointing lecture on same-sex relationships. Although LGBT rights are one of the most pressing and painful controversies of our day, it’s not what the church has been singing and praying and preaching about for 2,000 years. And yet in some ways … it is.

For 2,000 years the church has focused on worshipping a Christ who rescues, a Christ who forgives, a Christ who cleanses, a Christ who challenges and changes us, a Christ who is not content to leave us where we are, but convicts us and converts us. See the good news of the gospel is…

We are all—straight and gay—we are all … more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are all—gay and straight—more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

That’s why Jesus came, holy God living here (John 1:14), in the middle of unholy women and men. He came to live, and finally to die in our place, enduring all of God’s wrath for our brokenness, our sin, taking on himself our curse at the cross. And because of his death in your place, in my place, we can be forgiven, redeemed and restored from our brokenness.

So 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV) says, “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. (I love that!) Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were (get this) you were … made holy; you were … made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…”

Listen, if you’re struggling with same-sex attraction or other gender issues, the good news for you is that God knows all about that struggle, and God loves you deeply (John 3:16): let me repeat that so you can let that truth from the Bible wash over you… God knows all about your struggle, and God loves you deeply, so deeply actually that sent his Son Jesus to pay the price in full for all your brokenness, all of your sin.

And because God loves you, he wants only what is best for you. And he won’t pat you on the head like a celestial grandfather and say, “Oh, that’s okay.” No, he calls you to repent, that’s turn from your sin, to accept His offer of complete forgiveness, and to trust Him to help you live between the two worlds of broken, but being restored; lost, but coming back home; blind, but beginning to see.

Then again, maybe you’re not struggling with same sex attractions, but there’s something else that has a strong hold on you and won’t let go, and Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” So the invitation to you is the same: Come, come to the cross where Jesus died for you; give all that stuff to Jesus, and trust Him for forgiveness, healing, and rebuilding.

Is God anti-gay? Well God hates all sin. Let me say that again: God hates all sin. The sinful behaviors of gay people. And the sinful and arrogant pride of straights who look down in judgment on gay people. God hates all sin. The sex-saturated lifestyles of our culture—straight and gay—that value personal freedom over commitment, pleasure over sacrifice, and independence over obedience. God hates it all  because it ignores and rebels against his original design, and so God calls all of us to repent, to accept his offer of forgiveness, and submit to his call to live the holy life he designed us for.

In closing, one last question: How should Christians see and act towards gay and lesbian, bi- and trans-, queer and questioning, intersex and fluid, family and  friends and neighbors, school buddies and family members? Pretty simple really. Follow the example of Jesus who loves people—genuinely loves, authentically loves, sacrificially loves people—just the way they are. Start there. And pray for God’s redeeming love and healing grace to break through.

 

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Endnote: LGBTQQIFC: The growing academic area of Gender Studies has named some of the numerous ways that people “identify their gender.” L = Lesbian; G = Gay; B = Bi-sexual; T = Transsexual; Q = Queer (a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders); Q = Questioning; I = Intersex (ambiguous anatomy); F = Fluid (individual, personal gender identification is an ever-changing personal choice); and C = Cis (traditional gender identification according to biology/physiology recorded at birth). In this article I use the more common “LGBT” as a shorthand abbreviation for the longer list of gender identifications.

By Steve DuPlessie  |  April 30, 2018

So right up front I want to say that despite the questions from your friends, in spite of the History Channel specials that suggest all sorts of alternative theories, the reliability of the bible is not a hard debate to win. The fact is that the bible is by far the most reliable ancient document in the world.

Ok, so to be clear, when we say “the bible,” what we really mean is a book that is actually a mini library, a collection of books, written over a period of 1,500 years, by more than forty different authors, who wrote to very different audiences and cultures on three different continents, in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.  All with one single grand unifying theme: God’s revelation of his love-driven plan to redeem and have a relationship with people like us.

Most people don’t know this. When they say they don’t believe “the bible,” they think they’re rejecting an old book written by one person at one point in history.

Now that would be true for The Book of Mormon, or the Koran (Qur’an,) and the ancient Bhagavad Gita. One guy, Joseph Smith, dictated The Book of Mormon to a groups of scribes in 1830. An Arab trade merchant, Muhammad, wrote the Koran in the years following AD609. The Hindu sage Vyasa composed the 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gita, divided into 18 chapters, sometime between 500 and 200BC.

The Bible is different…
But the Bible is different. It’s actually a collection, a compilation, of 66 different books of history and poetry, wisdom and theology, prophecy, biography and advice letters, plus a unique literary form called Apocalyptic. So skeptics don’t get to dismiss the Bible in one fell swoop. They have to examine and dismiss sixty-six different books written by different people to very different audiences at different times. And believers don’t have to defend all 66 books. What I do is defend 27 of them. I focus on the reliability of the New Testament (NT). For two reasons…

First, I think the biggest concern that you should have with a skeptic is to show them evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Don’t get sucked into a discussion of the worldwide flood or people living in whales. There are good answers to those questions, but I suggest you not waste your time on that. Pick your battles.

Second, I argue for the reliability of just the NT because that automatically proves the general reliability of the Old Testament (OT). The NT includes Jesus’ own affirmation of the OT. Jesus teaches the OT is the word of God; so if the NT is reliable, we can also trust the OT.

Let’s look at the evidence…
So let’s look at evidence for the reliability of the NT. Judging the reliability of an ancient document begins with asking how many copies of the document are still available for us to examine. Original manuscripts of ancient documents don’t exist. So copies are as good as it gets. Fortunately for us, copies are enough to prove what the original text actually said.

This process is called Textual Criticism: reconstructing the original from what we have available in the copies of that original. The more copies you have, the easier it is to sort through errors made by the scribes who hand-wrote the copies so you can determine the original text. Here’s an example in English of how you can reconstruct an original text from four different, hypothetical copies of Philippians 4:13…

1. I can do all t#ings through Christ who strengthens me.
2. I can do all th#ngs through Christ who strengthens me.
3. I can do all thi#gs through Christ who strengthens me.
4. I can do all thin#s through Christ who strengthens me.
[Example from Geisler, N. L & Turek, F., I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist
(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), p. 228]

So it’s pretty easy to tell that the original text said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This is how scholars, using the principles of textual criticism, can reconstruct an original manuscript from its copies. And you can see that the more copies you have, the easier it is, and the more certainty you can have that the reconstruction of thee text is accurate.

So, the question is, how many copies of the NT do we have to work with? Ok, so there are more than … 6,000 manuscripts in existence today in Greek, the original language of the NT. Nearly 600 of those copies were made in the first thousand years of the originals.  The oldest Greek manuscript of the NT, a fragment of verses from John’s Gospel, chapter 18, dates back to AD130, the early second century, just about 40 years after the original was written by John.

How does the Bible compare to…
Ok, but how does that compare to other ancient writings that are known and accepted by everyone as authentic? Well, there are fewer than 2,000 copies of Homer’s epics, Illiad and Odyssey that you had to read in HS world lit class. Written about 850BC, the oldest manuscript of Homer’s work is about 350 years removed from the original – not a few decades.

It’s that way with all the ancient texts: For Ceasar’s Gallic War, composed between 58 and 50BC, there are only 9 good copies, and the oldest is 900 years after Caesar’s day. The Roman historian Tacitus – who gives us so much of what we know today about ancient Rome – his 14 volume set called Histories, written about AD100, has only four-and-a-half surviving copies, and those date from about AD900 – 800 years after they were written.

British scholar, FF Bruce, gives us tons of other examples in his study called The NT Documents: Are they reliable? And in every case, there are more manuscript copies and fragments of the NT available than any other ancient written document. And the NT copies are all closer to the original document than any of the other texts everyone accepts as reliable today.

Remember Shakespeare?
Let me give you another example, a little bit closer to our time, to make the point. Did you have to read some Shakespeare in High School English lit class or maybe in college? Sure. The Bard of Avon wrote in a short, 20-year period from 1591-1611, just a few years before the Pilgrims arrived down the road here in Plymouth. Among other things, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, from Henry VI to The Tempest.

Now compare that to the NT. 27 books. By 8 different authors including a historian, a physician, a Jewish Pharisee and a Jewish rabbi, some missionaries, a few fishermen, and a Roman-collaborating-tax collector. 27 different books of varying length written over a period of 46 years, from AD50 to AD96.

Here scholar John Lea gives us the report of his analysis of Shakespeare’s 37 plays with the 27 books of the NT. He writes, “With no more than twenty exceptions total, the text of every one of the 7,957 verses in the Greek New Testament has been settled by general consent of scholars, so that any dispute is about the interpretation of the words rather than the actual words themselves. But in every one of Shakespeare’s thirty-seven English plays there are about a hundred uncertain readings still in dispute, a large portion of which materially affect the meaning of the passage.”

Using the techniques of Textual Criticism, the many different English translations we have today come from the Greek NT text that scholars, after literally hundreds of years of examination, have agreed is the original text in Greek. And the same strategy applies to translating the OT.

Because we have such a high degree of confidence that we have the correct version of the Greek NT, the only question that remains for us is, Do the original writers tell us the truth? Did the authors of the NT invent their stories? Were they accurate in what they wrote about Jesus and his teaching? How can we know for sure? Just knowing that we have an accurate copy of the NT isn’t enough. It could just be the accurate copy of a lie.

Passing 4 historical tests…
Well, we have good reason to believe the NT authors told us the truth because their writings pass four very important historical tests. First, the NT displays all the hallmarks of eye witness accounts. First for example, the NT eyewitness testimonies includes embarrassing details about its authors. If you are going to make something up, would you make something up that makes you look bad?

Like arguing who is the greatest on the night Jesus is arrested? Like, denying that you even know Jesus? Like still doubting if Jesus rose from the dead after you had seen and touched him? Like admitting that you persecuted followers of Jesus? All that stuff that makes you look pretty bad if you’re just making it all up!

Second, the eyewitness testimonies include the testimonies of women and in the first century women were not considered reliable sources for testimony in court. So if you’re making this all up, would you include a witness that you knew no one would trust?

Third, the NT records events that have the support of multiple independent sources. Remember, the NT is not one book. It is a curated collection of independent sources that often speak to the same thing. The principle here is that the more sources you have recording the same event, the higher the level of certainty that the event happened. While there are some variations, the major themes of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus for our salvation are consistent throughout.  Plus we have many sources like the Jewish historian Josephus and the very well-known classical quotations from Tacitus, Pliny – some written by hostile non-believers – who never-the-less confirm the facts of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

And fourth, there were many, many eyewitnesses still alive when these documents were written and circulated, any of whom could say “That’s not what happened!”  Made up stories, deliberate fabrications, fake news, gets exposed by people who were there.

Listen, the NT passes every test that historians and scholars, skeptics and critics, can throw at it. I gave you the quick fly-over version. The good news is though I’ve been brief, it’s not from a lack of evidence. There’s a short list of suggested resources on the notes insert in your program if you want to dig deeper or read original scholarship on the question of the reliability of the Bible.

The real Question behind the Question…
But here’s the thing. Most people who question the reliability of the bible … have never actually read the bible, never mind studied it or explored the evidence for the best manuscripts. So their questions, their objections, cover over the question behind the question. It’s not really about trusting the bible at all. The real question behind the question is, “If you could know for sure today that the bible is true, would you believe it?”

If your family-member or friend says Yes, then offer to spend some time together exploring what we talked about today for yourselves. I’m happy to point you to some easy to use tools. I’m pretty confident that if they are sincere in wanting to discover if the bible is reliable, you’ll like where your study together goes.

Because believing the bible is true is just a starting point. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

I like the NLT that says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

2 Peter 1:20, 21 further explains, “…no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

Inspiration simply means that God directed and used each writer – in their time and culture, with their language skills and their education – to write what God wanted us to know about him and his grand unified plan to redeem broken and fallen people like me a you.

It’s the bible that tells us there is one and only one God. It’s the bible that tells us God loves you so much he sent his one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the total and complete penalty required for your sin so you can be forgiven, redeemed, and adopted into God’s family. It’s the bible that tells us how Jesus rose, alive, after he died, to prove he is God and prove his power over sin and death.  It’s the bible that tells us how God will ultimately redeem and remake all of this broken, fallen creation to what he intended it to be in the first place. It’s the bible that tells us that Jesus will return and usher in justice and peace to replace injustice and evil, sin and sickness, and even death itself.

My mom copied an old quote (author unknown) and wrote it inside the cover of my first bible, “This is the Word of God. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. Christ is its grand subject, our good is its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully.”  You can believe it…

By Steve DuPlessie  |  April 17, 2018

But here’s the thing: it takes as much “faith” for the doubters to believe what they believe as it does for those of us who believe the truths of the bible. Let’s take the questions around creation for example. Skeptics like to mock believers because we say that God created the heavens, and the earth, and all the life we see around us…

They’ve got piles of questions about the age of the universe, and the evidence of fossils and dinosaurs. They’ve got questions about how so many different races came from just two individuals and the apparent expanding universe. Lots of questions that are challenging for non-technical, non-scientists to begin to answer.

Yet at the same time, the alternative to a planned, deliberate, designed, point-in-time creation is the coincidence of chance over many years that increases in complexity in spite of Newton’s 2nd Law of Thermodynamics that tells us all things spin down from order to disorder.  And of course, there’s the question of what caused the Big Bang, the moment when absolutely nothing … suddenly erupted violently into … all matter … which became everything we see today. Believing that takes a leap of faith too.

So if their worldview requires a leap of faith too, there’s always the possibility that an honest and sincere skeptic will be challenged to reexamine what they believe. For example one med school student, completing his residency training, was a convinced atheist. He saw his years of education in scientific reason as the logical answer to everything. Until he encountered patients facing devastating disease with strength, and death with calm, unexplainable confidence.

Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., helped to discover the genetic misspellings that cause cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntington’s disease, and a rare form of premature aging called progeria. A pioneer gene hunter, he led the Human Genome Project from 1993 until 2008. For his revolutionary contributions to genetic research, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, and the National Medal of Science in 2009. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and currently serves as the Director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Collins tells the story of his journey from outright unbelief as a med student to solid faith in Jesus in his book, The Language of God: A scientist presents evidence for belief.

There’s the story of a hard-nosed, award-winning newspaper reporter, a long time skeptic and critic of all things religious, who was confused and intrigued by his wife’s sudden change after her religious conversion. An investigative reporter at heart, he began a project to figure out what happened to her, interviewing scholars, authors, former believers, and scientists. In a two-year crusade to disprove his wife’s new faith, Lee Strobel gradually began to see that all of his deepest questions had very reasonable answers.

His book The Case For Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus, tells how Strobel became convinced after hearing good, solid answers to his long list of tough questions. He went on to write The Case for Faith, The Case for the Creator, and recently The Case for Miracles, each a deep investigation into good questions and reasonable answers.

There’s Holly Ordway, die-hard academic, liberal arts professor, convinced atheist. Her book, Not God’s Type: An atheist academic lays down her arms, tells how she came to saving faith in Jesus through long conversations with patient friends who listened to her questions and looked for the answers together with her.

Of course, there’s the Irish professor and author, convinced atheist, angry at even the thought of God, but engaged in deep discussions with his Oxford friend and fellow author, JRR Tolkien. CS Lewis later wrote in Surprised by Joy, that he came to faith, “… like a prodigal, kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape.” He later wrote Mere Christianity, a carefully reasoned explanation of biblical faith that has brought thousands of sincere seekers to saving faith in Jesus, and helped countless doubters find answers and inner peace.

Speaking of resources, there are more resources now than ever before for getting answers to tough questions of faith. My favorite is the Veritas Forum on YouTube that gives short interviews with people engaged in the front line of ministry with 20- and 30-somethings like Tim Keller, Ravi Zacharias, and Os Guinness.

There’s a great VF video of MIT professors Alan Lightman, Troy Van Voorhis, Alex Byrne, and Daniel Hastings discussing “Life, the Universe, and MIT” in a conversation moderated by Rosalind Picard who’s the founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the MIT Media Lab.

Other VF videos include talks by John Lennox, the Irish apologist, Oxford University mathematician, and philosopher of science (somewhat of a slacker with only two MA degrees and three PhDs); plus Dr. Owen Gingerich, professor of astronomy and the history of science at Harvard University; and Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, American astronomer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Each is a respected professional in their field; all top-shelf intellectuals who find reasonable answers to the questions, doubts and objections that are posed to their faith in Jesus.

The point is, you don’t have to leave your brain at the door to believe in Jesus. In fact, Jesus said – quoting the Greatest Commandment – that we should “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind.” All of your mind. You don’t have to suspend reality, ignore difficult questions, hide from challenging conversations, or apologize to anyone for believing in Jesus. No apologies.

Just the opposite. Believing in Jesus – while still a leap of faith – is a reason-filled leap of faith that is deeply satisfying because it answers the big questions of life like, Where we came from and Why we’re here and What’s happening after this life. It’s satisfying because it answers all the current cultural questions like Is there a universal standard for morality, Why do individual people matter, and Why do the wicked prosper?

But for right now, I want to encourage you with these simple truths. First, far from disappearing, believers in Jesus are growing and flourishing even as our culture becomes more secular and divided. Second, it is not just OK, but it’s actually good to identify and embrace your doubts and questions – only when you confront them can you find the reasonable answers you need. Third, recognize that it does require a leap of faith – for you and for the skeptic – to believe. And finally, the path to getting answers and overcoming objections is illuminated for us by many, many great minds who’ve gone before us and bravely asked reasonable questions, and found reasonable answers.

By Steve DuPlessie  |  April 8, 2018

A few days ago I was reminded of an old prayer, written by a man named Frank Morris. It’s from something called Frank’s Daily Chuckles. It’s one of those things that makes you laugh and then makes you think. Frank wrote…

“Dear Lord, So far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, over-indulgent, coveted my neighbor’s spouse, or taken your name in vain. I’m very thankful for all that. But, in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m going to need a lot of help from you. Amen.”

I smiled when I read that prayer again because it’s so typical of most of us. The Christian life wouldn’t be quite so hard if we could stay in bed all day. It’s all that stuff that happens after we get up that gives us problems.

This morning I want to talk to you for a few moments about obeying God. I’m going to make two assumptions. First, I’m going to assume that most of us on one level truly want to obey God. That is, as Christians we want to do the right thing and we want to please our Lord if we can. In putting it that way I’m going to give us all the benefit of the doubt. It’s always easy to question motives, but this morning I’m going to start with the assumption that in your better moments you really want to please God.

But my second assumption is that no one obeys God all the time. As James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote, “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). So that little bedside payer is basically right. Gossip is no problem until we hear something juicy. We don’t usually lose our temper as long as we’re not around other people. We’re usually not grumpy or nasty until someone gets under our skin. We do OK as long as we’re in bed; it’s the stuff that happens after we get up that gets us in trouble.

So obedience isn’t necessarily easy, is it? It’s a challenge that takes deliberate courage, every day. It’s great to be here today, to worship together, and to watch as three disciples, three followers of Jesus are baptized. They are taking the first step of obedience as a disciple of Jesus.

The core concept of discipleship comes from one of Jesus’ last conversations with the 11 remaining disciples, just before he returned to heaven. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus said that step #1 of being a disciple is be baptized; publically identify yourself with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus; when he died for you, it’s as if you died; when he rose again, it’s so you can have new life. Baptism, going under and then coming up from the water, is a simple but powerful one act drama that demonstrates your trust in Jesus as your Savior, who died for the forgiveness of all your sin so you can be made right with God. Baptism is the first step of a faithful heart.

And Jesus said that the next step in being a disciple after baptism as a follower of Jesus, is to begin obeying his commands. For some of us, the first-borns maybe, obeying comes easier than for others who disobey either on principle or from years of practice. But I want to show you at 8 truths, 8 principles from the bible about obedience.

First, Jesus promised to be with us if we obey him… That’s John 14, verse 23. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and … we will come to them and make our home with them.”

Of course, it’s important to remember that believers are not made right with God by what we do or don’t do. Salvation is always a free gift of God, and we can do nothing to earn it. But Jesus promised a special, personal and intimate relationship with those who love him and are willing to obey his commands.

So I’m remembering what it was like to be a kid. I always knew that my mom and dad loved me, but I also knew that when I lied or deliberately disobeyed them, there was tension, a distance, a separation in our relationship, even though they still loved me. Jesus promised an unbroken, close intimacy with all who obey his commands.

Second, obedience is an act of worship. I’ve been reading through the bible this year, I’m in 2 Kings right now, and I began weeks ago to circle the word “obey” every time I saw it. Dozens of times so far from Genesis on. Obedience is important to God.

But true Christian obedience flows from a heart of gratitude for the love and mercy and grace we have received from God through his sacrifice of Jesus for our forgiveness. So Romans 12:1 tells us, “…dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to willingly give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (NLT). Obedience is an act of worship.

Third, obedience to God proves our love in authentic. The old Apostle John wrote, (1 John 5:2–3) “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (ESV)

Again John wrote, (2 John 6) “Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. (NLT)” It’s easy to say we love God, but actually obeying Him demonstrates that love.

So that connects to number 4: obedience to God confirms our faith. Again John wrote, 1 John 2:3–6 “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” (NLT)

Okay, so none of us is perfect this side of heaven. But a deliberate refusal to obey the commands of God should bring serious question if your faith is real saving faith. “I love God, but I love living with my boyfriend, too.” “I love God but it’s ok to be rude to my parents.” “I love God but I can lie on my taxes a little bit…”  Really? Obedience to God confirms our faith.

Fifth, obedience is better than religion. 1 Samuel 15:22–23 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols!” (NLT).

Too often I think I can go through the motions of religion: go to church, read my bible, say my prayers, wear a Christian t-shirt or wrist band, and that will cover my willful disobedience to what God has clearly and simply commanded. No. No it won’t. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Sixth, disobedience has consequences. The disobedience of Adam and Eve brought … sin and death, evil and suffering onto all of us.  Galatians 6:7 tells us plainly, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” It’s true, the pleasures of disobedience last for a while, but the consequences hang on and on for a long time. I have friends who made some foolish decisions in their teens and twenties and are stilling paying the consequences of those choices decades later.

The seventh principle is related to number six: through obedience, we avoid the shame and guilt that comes with messing up. Psalm 118 says, “You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands!” (NLT)

While forgiveness is possible because of the cross of Jesus, the shame and the guilt, the embarrassment and the regret still linger like a bad smell. Not worth it.

And eighth, God rewards obedience. Over and over again we read in the Bible that God blesses and rewards obedience: Jesus said, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice” (Luke 11:28 NLT).

James wrote, “But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you don’t forget what you heard and actually do what it says, and then God will bless you for doing it” (James 1:25 NLT).

Ok, so what are some of the blessings that come with obedience? Well, sleeping with a clear conscience is one. Setting a positive example for your kids and grandkids to follow is another blessing of obedience. Plus there’s the uninterrupted relationship with the Savior who loves you, and the confidence that your prayer requests aren’t derailed … since it’s pretty obvious that God can’t bless dis-obedience.

There’s avoiding embarrassment for yourself and your family that’s a huge blessing for obedience. Then there’s bringing honor and fame, not dishonor and shame, to the name of Jesus that’s another blessing that comes with obedience. And the list goes on.

Obedience for a follower of Jesus begins with being baptized. And then it continues as we learn the commands of Jesus and obey them. And God promises to bless those who obey him. So I’ll make a deal with you: I’ll pray for you to grow in willing obedience to Jesus … if you will pray for me. …

By Steve DuPlessie  |  April 1, 2018

Acts chapter 1 tells us that Jesus met, 40 days after the resurrection, with the eleven remaining disciples one last time outside Bethany. Verse 6 tells us, “Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’” They were still fixated on the Triumphal Entry/King thing…

“He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”

Verse 9, “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Apparently just he went straight up, out of their sight. As the disciples stood there, awestruck, incredulous, amazed, staring, mouths hanging open, into the clouds, the text tells us “…suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back… will come back in the same way you have seen him go … into heaven.’”

There’s another chapter to be written…
And with that we understand that there’s another chapter yet to be written. He will return! He said we can’t know the day or the hour. But one thing’s for sure, the King is coming!

Later James, the half brother of Jesus — converted late to faith after the resurrection of Jesus — wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You must be patient, too. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near!” Catch that excitement, that anticipation? “The coming of the Lord is near!”

The Apostle Paul, writing to sisters and brothers in the region of Thessaloniki in Greece, wrote, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Again, Paul, challenging his protégée Titus to live in a  way that honored his Savior, wrote, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own” (Titus 2:11, 12).  “Waiting for our blessed hope…”

Living in eager expectation…
That’s living holy lives in eager expectation. Living in hope-filled anticipation. Not just accepting intellectually, but actually counting on, watching for, praying for, hoping for, preparing for, Jesus’ imminent, any-moment return; living like it could be today!

I joke frequently about eating dessert first; I mean, why eat vegetables first and leave dessert behind for the pagans if Jesus should return suddenly before I get to the strawberry-rhubarb pie with coffee ice cream.  But I grew up with sisters and brothers in Christ who said things like, “I’m going, Lord willing, on vacation next week.” Or, “Let’s plan to do that at 2 tomorrow, if the Lord tarries…” There was this prevailing attitude of living in constant readiness, constant anticipation, hope-filled expectation, that the King is coming.

Sisters and brothers, that hopeful watching and waiting is missing from us. Totally missing. We’ve been lulled, seduced by 2,000 years of waiting into thinking that there’s another 2,000 years to wait. Listen, that’s un-bliblical thinking. That’s disobedient thinking. Jesus said, “Watch and wait.” Be ready. Live like it’s today.  So I’m going to summarize all that as “Be watching.”

But did you notice that just before he left, Jesus gave the 11 disciples instructions for their mission: You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth!” So we’re not supposed to sell all our stuff, and sit on the roof waiting. We’re supposed to be working, on mission. So that’s “Be watching, and, be working while you’re waiting.”

BE WATCHING, AND BE WORKING WHILE YOU’RE WAITING

Sure, go ahead and plan for college or marriage or even retirement. But plan with the expectation that it might never happen, because … the King is coming! I don’t know about you but I can’t wait! There’s nothing here worth holding onto! There’s nothing so great down here that won’t be so much better in the new heaven and new earth of eternity! No sickness, no sadness. No pain or death. No poverty or violence.  Just joy, peace, justice! All good!

Unless, of course, you’re not exactly sure where you’re going after this life is over.  If that’s the case, then I want to help you get that straight today. Check out this short video, then email me directly at steve@gnbc.org to follow up on that.

But, if you’re confident about the next life after this life, then I urge you to “sleep with one eye open,” (just kidding!), but actually live every day to the fullest, watching, waiting, expecting that the King is coming. That’s when “Justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24) Everything will be made right when the King gets here! And the King is coming! Maybe today! I can’t wait!!