Acts 17

Two women are out to dinner. These lifelong friends are celebrating the fact that one of them just turned 60. The birthday girl places a small, neatly-decorated box on the table. She pushes it across the table toward her friend. The other woman’s mind is abuzz with questions. “Aren’t I supposed to get you something?” “Why are you giving me this?” “What is it?” “Isn’t this a bit unnecessary?” “What is the meaning of this?” The questions in the brain aren’t able to exit the mouth. She is simply speechless. Her friend says, “Open it.” As the questions finally tumble forth, the birthday girl isn’t interested in answering them. She simply says, “Just open it.” By giving us Communion, Jesus slides the gift across the table. During a meal that commemorated God’s salvation and redemption (Exodus 12:1-28), Jesus gave us a new gift in quite the same vein (Mark 14:13-16, John 1:29). Jesus, the true Passover Lamb (John 1:29, Revelation 5:6), was celebrating the meal that pre-figured the redemption he would soon accomplish, when he took bread and said, “this is my body,” and took wine, saying “this is my blood” (Matthew 26:26-27, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20). At this, the disciples’ heads are all abuzz with questions, like: “What did he just say? What does this mean? This isn’t part of the ‘Passover script,’ is it?” Jesus has just slid the gift across the table. We, along with the disciples, are wondering, “What in the world is going on?” What is this thing, or these things, Christ has just placed before us? One way in which many have made sense out of this gift is to assume that when Jesus said this, he was is establishing a symbolic memorial meal; to establish a recurring tradition to meditate on the significance of Jesus’ flesh-and-blood death. As satisfying as this may seem, it assumes that Jesus is speaking in metaphor when he called bread and wine his body and blood. Don’t get us wrong, Jesus is not a stranger to figurative language, but he usually gives us good reason to take his language figuratively, couching his language in context that says, “I’m talking in metaphors now.” Here, however, he doesn’t do that. He just says, “it is.” So, what is it? Fast forward with us a few decades. Jesus died on the cross (John 19:30), rose from the grave, appeared to the disciples in his resurrected body (John 20:16-31), gave them the commission to go and preach about what they had seen (Matthew 28:19-20), and bam! The Christian church is off and running. Christians did not forget about this meal, this gift, Jesus had bestowed upon his church. They kept breaking bread and passing around wine, calling it Jesus’ body and blood, taking great care over the very Word spoken over these things (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Some 20-30 years after that Last Supper with the disciples, the Apostle Paul gives instruction to the Christians in Corinth about how to keep on celebrating the meal Jesus gave us. Paul teaches that the meal (what we call “Communion”) is not only a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice, but a proclamation of it (1 Corinthians 11;26). There is a right way and a wrong way to celebrate it (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). And as such, it isn’t right to force the unprepared to partake of it (1 Corinthians 11:28), or those who don’t understand its meaning (1 Corinthians 11:29), or those who don’t have “communion” with the church family with whom they partake of it (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). Taking all these things together with Jesus’ own words at the Last Supper, it’s clear that the Christians that gathered to celebrate this meal never thought of the bread and wine as anything less than the actual body and blood of Christ. Is your head abuzz with questions? Probably, just one: “How? How can bread and wine be Christ’s body and blood?” But the gift is in front of us. If we get stuck on the “How?” we may miss the “Why?” which Jesus gave us right away. If you read the passages from the Gospels, you caught it. Jesus gave us Communion “for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Through Communion, Jesus gives you the gift of a tangible expression of forgiveness. God is so good that he doesn’t just express his love for you with words, but with actions (which we call “sacraments”). He gives you a way to taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). We call it “Communion” first and foremost because the relationship of communion with God is strengthened through it. The second reason it’s called “Communion” is the next big blessing behind the sacrament. It is given to strengthen our bond with the family of believers (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). That’s why the imagery seen in many churches is so powerful - a semi-circle of communicants gathered as if at a table together as repentant sinners seeking God’s goodness in what he promises to give. Taking this fact together with Scripture’s warnings against taking Communion without proper preparation (see passages from 1 Corinthians 11 above), celebrating Communion is to be done only with fellow Christians who have made their unity public by becoming members of the same church or church body. Q: Isn’t it unloving to withhold Communion from someone who wants it? A: It may seem that way at first, but given that Jesus gave us this gift, we want to use it the way he says to. If the birthday girl in the example above gave her friend a thin silver necklace, she wouldn’t be happy to see her friend use it to try to floss her teeth. At the same time, if someone desires to take Communion with us, we are so glad for that! And we will want to begin establishing unity as soon as possible. There is no other way to do this than to examine Scripture’s teachings together through meetings that we call “Bible Basics.” Q: You haven’t explained how bread and wine can be Jesus’ body and blood, though! A: You’re absolutely right! The “how can this be?” aspect of Communion is not spelled out for us. We simply trust that this is what we receive in, with, and under the bread and the wine. Without the real presence of Jesus’ body and blood, this sacrament would not carry with it the promise to forgive our sins. Since the Almighty God who can do all things declares to me that this is what I receive in Communion, I’m going to take what he says for granted even when it contradicts my reason. Q: How do we know that what we’re receiving Communion the right way? A: Scripture urges that we celebrate with those with whom we’re in fellowship with (1 Corinthians 10:16-17), that we examine our own hearts with honest repentance before approaching (1 Corinthians 11:28), and that we recognize what we’re receiving (1 Corinthians 11:29). Lets say you’re a member of our church, waiting in the pew to be invited up by the ushers for Communion, and you want to make sure you’re well prepared. Simply ask yourself, “Do I know that I’m a sinner in need of forgiveness?” if the answer is “yes,” then follow up by asking, “Do I believe that in Communion I receive forgiveness?” If the answer is “yes,” then you’re ready! Also, remember how Baptism is effective because the Word is there (“in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”). You know that you are receiving Christ’s true body and true blood in, with, and under the bread and wine when the Word is present, commonly called “the Words of Institution” (when Jesus said, “take and eat,” “take and drink”). The Word of God is what makes Communion powerful to forgive sins, not the person giving it nor the people receiving it. Q: Aren’t you teaching that there is another way to be saved and forgiven other than Jesus’ death on the cross? A: Refer back to our discussion of Baptism (the devotion called, “Prove It!”). It is always and only faith in the gospel that saves. This faith is created and strengthened by reading and interacting with Scripture, through Baptism, and as we discussed today, through Communion. These are not three ways to be saved, but three means that God uses to connect us to his gracious salvation! There are likely many more questions about this wonderful gift Jesus has given us, and we would love to continue the conversation with you. We hope you join us for Bible class any Sunday at 9am and worship at 10:15am. For now, come back with us to our example of a birthday dinner. Jesus has slid the gift across the table. Our head is abuzz with questions, “What is this? How can this be?” but the most important question has been answered: “What is it for?” Jesus says, “This is for you. This is for your forgiveness of sins.” Before we ask another question, simply hear his voice. Like the birthday girl finally cut off her friend with, “Just open it.” Jesus cuts off our doubts and our apprehension to receive such a tangible expression of his love with simply and lovingly saying, “Do this.” Pastor Mike Cherney

By the time you read this, Valentine’s Day will likely have passed. How did it go for you? Which outcome do you most resonate with? A) You knocked it out of the park. You went the full nine yards for your beloved B) You did your best, but because of financial or time constraints, you’re worried about whether your efforts were effective. C) You are glad it’s over, because you can’t stand the commercialization and greed of those who profit off of your romantic love D) To you, Valentine’s is a sick and unwelcome reminder of love lost, or loneliness. Allow me to suggest that all Valentine’s Day activities and attitudes center on the need for proof. If you are in the A category, you feel that you satisfactorily proved your love to your beloved. If you’re B, you did your best, hoping it was enough to prove your love genuine. If you’re C, you likely said, “I shouldn’t have to prove that I love my significant other to anyone!” If you’re D, Valentine’s Day instead is proof that there’s something missing from your life, because you have love to give, but nobody to give it – to prove it - to. What is proof if not the point at which our questions cease, our doubts are calmed, and our curiosities satisfied? You can tell me that the moon is made of cheese, but only when you present some moon cheese for me to taste are you lending me proof. Today we’re discussing how baptism is proof that God’s love and salvation are ours. Assuming you’ve read our devotion series up to this point (if not, pause here and circle back to previous posts with “A discussion of…” in the title), you’ve walked with us on a great biblical journey. You went to the Garden of Eden with us, where all mankind’s problems first began (Genesis 2-3). You heard with us God’s plan of salvation (Genesis 3:15). You have seen with us that only through the person and work of Christ do we have any hope of salvation, but that Jesus came into the world to bring exactly that salvation we’re so desperate for (John 3:16-17). You heard with us that “faith” is that trust-relationship with God that connects you to Christ and saves your life by changing it entirely (Galatians 2:20). And all this is done for you as a free gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8). God, in his infinite grace and wisdom, has not stopped there. He has given us proof of this new reality in the gift of baptism . We get the word “baptize” directly from the Greek βαπτιζω, which means “to wash.”* Jesus’ relative John prepared the masses to understand the significance of his distant cousin’s arrival by baptizing them (Mark 1:4-5), pouring water over the baptized, or immersing them completely (we’re not told whether John and later baptizers always did either or both, just that water was always used), connecting this action with “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). Jesus himself began his ministry of teaching and healing by being baptized by John (Matthew 3:13-15). Why? Because this was a new era for God’s people, and God was showing believers to look to baptism for blessing, which Jesus (having set aside full use of his divine power in what theological bigwigs call his “state of humiliation”) benefitted from. Sure, Jesus did not need repentance for the forgiveness of his sins (Matthew 3:14), but by being baptized in his humble state, he showed that baptism is for blessing. Jesus accomplished our salvation by living out the righteousness that God’s Law requires (Leviticus 11:44). He suffered death to remove our guilt (Isaiah 53:5). He rose from the dead, affirming that we are at peace with God (John 20:19). After all this, some of his last words to his disciples before ascending into heaven gave the answer to the “so now what?” that was lingering on their minds: “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.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus’ parting command to his disciples was to make more disciples. He commanded that they carry forward the ministry of baptism, of washing people with water in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the forgiveness of their sins, and to accompany that baptism with teaching and growing in the faith. What is the meaning of this baptism? Is it just what you do when someone is ready to become a Christian, to show that they are really serious about their walk with Christ? Consider what Jesus says in John 3:5-6, “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” We are born in sin (Psalm 51:5), and sin’s cycle will continue into future generations unless someone intervenes. Jesus says that baptism (water and the Spirit) is how that cycle is disrupted. It makes a child of “the flesh” (a common metaphor for sin in the New Testament) into a child of “the Spirit” (a common metaphor for that trust relationship with God, faith – See Romans 8:14-17). Jesus is teaching that baptism itself bestows the faith relationship with God we so desperately need. Not convinced? Read Titus 3:4-7, where Paul calls baptism, “the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Spirit,” and declares that baptism “saved us,” by pouring the benefits of Christ on us generously. Baptism bestows the blessings of what Christ has done onto the person being baptized. Still unsure? 1 Peter 3:21 teaches that baptism “saves you” by connecting you to the work Jesus has accomplished for you, and thereby becomes your “pledge of a clear conscience.” Therefore, your baptism becomes your PROOF that God loves you, that you are his child, and that you are saved. Wait a second! I thought we said that we are saved by God’s grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8), that faith only comes from hearing the gospel (Romans 10:17), and that the gospel alone is the power to save people (Romans 1:16-17). Can we really be so bold as to suggest there is another way to be saved other than hearing the gospel?! Pardon my facetiousness, but we’re not saying that there are multiple ways to be saved. There is only one way to be saved, and that is through faith – a trust-relationship with God that connects you to God’s love. But the emphatic statements of baptism’s blessings show that this washing of water and the Word is a method God uses for giving the gospel! Many come to faith by hearing and believing the gospel. Many more come to faith because they were brought to be baptized. The faith is the same. The delivery method may have been different. Now, for some rapid-fire questions! Q: If you come to faith by hearing the gospel, do you still need to get baptized? A: Not only does Jesus want us to be baptized (Matthew 28:19), but look again at the passages cited above, and notice the blessings that it gives. The better question is, if I trust in God’s Word to provide me with these great blessings, why wouldn’t I want to receive them? Q: If someone passes away without a chance to baptized, are they condemned for the simple reason that they were never baptized? A: Remember this: God saves a soul by giving that life-giving faith in the gospel. God is able to accomplish this in someone’s heart through hearing the message (Romans 10:17). Although we would want such a person to be baptized in order to receive its blessings, we would not assume that they would go to hell if they passed away before having that chance to be baptized. Q: If someone is baptized by a church leader who later is found out to be a false teacher, or they are baptized in one denomination but now desire to become a Lutheran, do they need to be re-baptized? A: After looking at all the passages about baptism above, where did you notice that the power to forgive and save comes from? It never comes from the person doing it. It always comes from the Word that accompanies it. If a person is baptized in a church that does it “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” then that baptism was effective. After all, what church leader can boast of such great character and perfection in teaching that they themselves give baptism its power? Answer: none. Q: If someone gets baptized and trusts in this for their salvation, doesn’t that eliminate any need or encouragement for godly living, since they can say, “I’m going to heaven because I was baptized”? A: Far from it! Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Romans 6:1-4, and Galatians 3:26-27. In every case, the fact that you are baptized is used as proof that you should fight against sin, you should reject temptation, you should live for God! These passages essentially say, “Sin is not who you are anymore! Live who you are, as a baptized child of God.” God saved you by his grace first and foremost. We never earned it or deserved it, so why would we need to earn or deserve God’s salvation after it’s given? Rather, God has changed our lives and hearts. We want to live out that newness of life by listening to God’s Word and following what he desires (Galatians 2:19-21). There are many other questions and topics surrounding baptism that we could talk about, and should. I hope you are able to join us for these discussions on Sunday mornings at 9am, and worship at 10:15am. For now, let me close with this thought: Baptism is about proof. Many people falsely teach that it is your moment to prove that you’re ready to follow God, that you’re really serious about your relationship with him and are ready to fully commit. That’s not the Bible’s perspective on baptism at all. Baptism is about God proving his love to you. Whether you’re a full-grown adult or a newborn baby, God washes you and purifies you through baptism, totally forgiving your sins. He makes your heart a home for His Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and declares you his own dear child (1 John 3:1). Baptism is not your gift to God, but his gift to you. Therefore, your baptism becomes your moment to look back on for comfort and assurance that God’s grace, salvation, and love are all yours in Christ. Pastor Mike Cherney P.S. Are you interested in baptism, for you or a loved one, and want to talk more? Please get in touch with us! Email pastormike@trinityelpaso.org, or pay us a visit and speak with Pastor Mike or a church leader! We would be honored and overjoyed to help! *William Arndt et al., in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 164.

Do you care who wins the super bowl on Sunday? On Sunday, even if you turn the game on just for kicks and giggles, you probably have opinions about who will win and why. Many will have strong feelings about who the victor should be. Yet no matter how certain a Chiefs or Eagles fan may be in their team’s imminent victory, there’s always going to be a shred of doubt. The probability that one team will defeat the other may be great, but it is never 100%. Until the game is over, any opinion about who should win remains a hope. For such a positive word, “hope” is not a fun place to be. “I hope she’s the one,” implies that your buddy is taking a bit of a risk in trusting his long-term girlfriend. “I hope we get there on time,” betrays more than a hint of anxiety. While there’s any probability that things will go wrong, it’s hard to relax, no matter how much evidence we may have to the contrary. At first glance, the beginning of the Bible paints a pretty bleak, maybe even “hope-less” picture. After God creates a beautiful and perfect world (Genesis 1-2), the very first humans mess it up. They run it off the rails with a simple act of rebellion and disobedience (Genesis 3:1-11; Romans 5:12). Adam and Eve were given a simple command: don’t eat the fruit of this one tree, otherwise “you will die” (Genesis 2:15-17). Many have puzzled over why God would jeopardize his perfect creation with this command. Martin Luther explained that the tree Adam and Eve were to avoid became their “church,” as their willful act of obedience to God’s command would have been like singing a hymn to God. God provided Adam and Eve (and their future generations of children) a method of praising him, of submitting their wills to his, of declaring, “This is how I show the world what you’re worth to me, God!” God created human beings for relationship. He gave them a way to express that relationship. But it was through that good command that Satan (the serpent – see Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, and 2 Corinthians 11:3) slithered his way into the equation and tempted Adam and Eve to sin (Genesis 3:1-5). As he does to all people of all time, his primary goal is to attack our relationship with God. He desires our demise (Luke 8:12). As with Eve, his primary method is to lie (John 8:44), to get us to believe that God’s will is not good, that God is holding out on good from us. He attacks the very foundation of our lives: our relationship with God. And, sad to say, he succeeded. It is not an overstatement to say that all mankind’s problems of all kinds can be traced to this singular moment in history and its resulting consequences. When Adam and Eve gave in (they weren’t forced, but rather compelled by Satan’s temptations), the effects of sin were immediate. They gained knowledge, alright, but like I don’t know what it’s like to be attacked by a shark and never want to, they gained knowledge no one wants: knowledge of shame (Genesis 2:25 and Genesis 3:7), of strife in their formerly loving relationship (Genesis 3:12 and Genesis 3:16), of physical pain and turmoil (Genesis 3:16-19). All creation suffers because of sin (Romans 8:22). It has corrupted our nature (Psalm 51:5), but that doesn’t get us out of any blame. We willingly give in to sin’s demands (Ephesians 2:3, Romans 7:18). We are the problem. This is a pretty hopeless and bleak picture, isn’t it? If this were all we had to say, what hope do we have? Does this not confirm our experience, though? Haven’t we lived long enough to see that human beings often cause more problems than we solve? Aren’t you and I more often our own worst enemy, because we can’t keep up with being the people we know we should be? The statistics are not in our favor. Now, if you asked me, “Is there any chance of salvation, of help?” what if my reply was, “hopefully!” What if all we could say was, “There’s a chance.” It might be an exciting way for the movie to set up an exciting climax to its story, that the main characters have to take a huge risk to defeat the bad guy or make it home safely, but that’s not much help when I’m face to face with the guilt and shame I know I’ve caused. That’s why, even when humans messed everything up, God was quick to provide hope. But this hope is worlds apart from the way we use the word. God provided certainty. Even when he was enumerating the consequential effects of mankind’s sin, God offered a promise. He quickly made his plan of salvation known, so that Adam, Eve, their children, and their children’s children could know what to look for and expect. Read Genesis 3:15. He promised a Savior: a singular descendant of Eve (“your offspring… he”), who could come and defeat Satan (“he will crush your head”) through a great sacrifice (“you will strike his heel”). God was quick to reveal that despite the greatness of Adam and Eve’s sin, all was not lost. There was the sure and certain hope that a Savior was on his way. Over the course of history, God continued to teach about this Savior to people who despaired of their own sins and inadequacies, and looked to God for hope. He promised Abraham that the coming Savior would come from his family line (Genesis 12:7). He promised the Israelites that he would send a Prophet to reveal God’s true love to them (Deuteronomy 18:17-18). He promised David that his descendant would be an everlasting King (2 Samuel 7:12-13). He promised that this offspring would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and that he would bear the sins of all people (Isaiah 53:4-11). There are many more prophesies about the coming Savior, but these are sufficient to show that God continually held this promise before mankind. He was teaching people to put their full and certain hope in God’s fulfillment of this promise. I hope you sense how different this is than if God said, “Hang on, I’m going to try something,” or “Let’s see if this works.” No, God said, “You have sinned, but I have the solution figured out already. I will send a Savior to forgive sins and restore the relationship with me that was broken because of it.” The probability of God doing what he says is %100. Every prophecy and prediction about the kind of Savior God would send is fulfilled in Christ. This means that hoping in God is always certain. As the writer to the Hebrews says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19a). The four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each take great pains to show how humanity’s expectations are fulfilled in Christ. Whether you’re an Old Testament Israelite waiting for the Messiah (or “Christ,” as both words mean “Chosen / anointed one”), a New Testament believer watching Jesus teach and preach, or a 21st century Christian reading this blog right now, all of us rest in the hope of what Christ accomplished. Could it really be that all our deepest hopes and desires are fulfilled in one person, Jesus Christ? Can it be that I am fully and completely saved from the sin that is my own fault by the work that Christ accomplished for me? Can it be possible that my relationship with God is restored for me? The answer is, “Yes.” “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20a). A significant portion of your life as a believer will be spent growing and personalizing this hope more and more. This hope is one that deserves to be unpacked more and more through worship and time in the Word. We only had a chance to mention a few of the promises of a Savior in the Old Testament, but truly the entire Bible centers on Christ and his fulfillment of promises. For further review, read the accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry called the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – we recommend beginning with Mark!). Check out chapters like Romans 5. Read the Psalms (start with Psalm 1 and keep going!) and continuously ask yourself, “How do these Psalm-prayers model a heart that hopes in God?” Join us for Bible class any Sunday morning at 9am, as it is part of our dedicated time to unpack how the hope of Christ informs our lives! The task of growing in this hope is joyous and it is great, and we’re committed to doing it together! Pastor Mike Cherney *(See Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 1: Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 1-5 , ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 105.)

This devotion accompanies themes that have been studied in the previous week’s Sunday morning Bible class. Over the next few weeks, join us at 9am on Sundays at Trinity for the following discussions! After commanding her ten-year-old to pick up the dirty laundry on his bedroom floor for the seventh time, mom is getting tired of repeating herself. And when her son protests for the seventh time, “Why do I have to do this right now?” she is out of patience. She resorts to a classic play straight from the book millions of other parents and says, “Because I said so, that’s why.” However, her son adeptly launches a counter-attack that she didn’t see coming. “But mother,” he says, “Your logic is flawed. That I should obey you because you say so is a classic example of the circular fallacy.” “The what?” the mother asks, growing evermore frustrated. “Your argument is that I should obey your authority because you have authority. Logically, this doesn’t make sense!” If this were the conversation we were met with, we’d join the mother in shouting, “Just do it already!” The circular fallacy is familiar to most Christians, because it’s exactly the fallacy we’re accused of committing. Over the last blog posts, we learned the horrible truth that we are by nature sinful (Psalm 51:3-5), but that God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6), crucifying it on the cross and therefore setting us free from sin (Romans 6:6-7). We learned how we are connected to this glorious forgiveness by God-given faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). This newly-established relationship with God expresses itself in our thankful actions and our desire to serve God and neighbor (Ephesians 5:1-2, 8-10). “And then we lived happily ever after,” right? We’re saved by Christ alone. We’re saved through Faith alone. We aren’t saved by our good works, but we live them out as expressions of thankfulness to him. Easy peasy! As you have undoubtedly learned, these matters may be so simple that a child can understand them, but living them out is the hard part (see Paul’s description of his and our struggle to live as we ought in Romans 7:7-25, and Galatians 5:16-26). How do we navigate the struggle to live as well as we should, know Christ as well as we should, and be God’s people as we know we should? The answer is simple. The Word of God serves as our constant companion to ease our doubts, calm our troubled conscience, and give us direction as we struggle to live as people of God and leave his mark on the world. How can it do all that at once? Well, because it’s the Word of God, of course! God inspired (“breathed into”) human authors his enduring Word to reveal to us the truth of sin and grace (2 Timothy 3:15-16, 2 Peter 1:21). How do we know he did? Why, he tells us, of course (see passages cited above)! Now, isn’t that “the circular fallacy”? Isn’t it flawed logic to say that I should trust what the Bible says because the Bible says to trust what it says? Maybe it doesn’t seem like the most logically airtight argument in the world, but that doesn’t make it false by any stretch. Allow me to explain: Almost all systems of belief center on one truth: we should be good. You can believe in one god or many gods. You can believe in no gods at all, or consider it an open question. No matter what, most approaches to life boil down to that fact: we should behave well. Have you ever wondered why most religions (and even forms of atheism) basically boil down to that same point? The Bible explains that this is because mankind can easily observe and conclude that some powerful person or force created this world (Psalm 19:1-4, Romans 1:20). Haven’t you also noticed that basically everyone has some idea of right and wrong? Before opening a Bible or any religious text, each person has a conscience by which they try to live rightly (Romans 2:14-15). The problem is, if that’s all you’ve got, there are still a ton of unanswered questions and unsolved problems. Who gets to define what “right and wrong” actually are? What about when I do everything “right” but still feel bad about myself? Where are we going when we die? If there is a god, who is he/she? We cannot answer these questions if all we’ve got is our own senses and intellect. This is about as far as most faith systems get us. Most. The Apostle Paul affirms in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 that nobody could have cooked up who God actually is and what he actually does for us. John 1:18 affirms that salvation from sin by God’s grace through faith alone had to be revealed to us. This needed to be revealed to us. We should trust what God says about us, the world, and our lives, because these words come from God. Does that challenge our human logic? Sure, why shouldn’t it? Jesus’ life-saving obedience of God’s will for you, death for you, resurrection for you, and current all-encompassing reign for you is a lot more than I could have ever come up with for you. And it’s a lot better. That’s what all other faith systems other than the truth of the Bible lack: grace, unconditional love. Since this truth is revealed in Scripture, I better hang onto that Scripture! Since this divine, transcendent, out-of-this-world reality of full and free salvation comes from God’s Word, I want to stay in God’s Word! My whole life I want to be singing that song many learn to sing in their childhood: “Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.” The Bible, then, becomes our constant companion. God speaks through it to soothe your troubled conscience with the Gospel, pointing always to his grace through Jesus. God grows your faith by deepening your understanding of who he is and how he works. He gives you guidance as you seek to turn your thankfulness to him into action. You’re reading this blog on the website or newsletter from a Lutheran church, so I hope you don’t mind a little more talk about Luther. Martin Luther recognized and taught that there are two main teachings in the Bible: the Law and the Gospel. When I read the Bible and discover that I’m not as well-behaved as I thought I was, that’s the Law at work. The Law reveals God’s will for his creation. When I see what God really wants from me, I am compelled to give up the charade of being “good enough for God.” That’s a good thing, even if it feels awful. It is good because it prepares me to hear the gospel, which is Scripture’s proclamation that God has saved me purely because he wants to, because he loves without conditions, and he promises to always love me and forgive me for Christ’s sake. These two teachings work together to keep us mindful of who God really is, how he really works, who we really are in Christ. “Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Once I’m comforted by the gospel, and looking for ways to say “thank you” to God, the Law returns, not to slay me all over again, but as a useful guide to help me find my direction as God’s dear child. I might need to come up with better ways to explain why obeying my commands is a good idea than saying, “Because I say so,” but do we really need any other explanation for how we can be sure God loves us than “Because he says so”? And knowing that this is the God who wants what is best for me, whose will is always good (Psalm 106:1), who is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does (Psalm 145:17), do I really need any more justification for following what he has to say than, “Because he says so”? I realize that this may bring up a whole host of other questions. I should hope that it does! I likewise hope that you’ll join us in our discussions of these things in our 9am Bible Class every Sunday Morning. You are welcome to reach out to us at any time. We would love to continue the conversation with you! God bless you through the revelation of his love that he gives in his Word! Pastor Mike Cherney

This devotion accompanies themes that have been studied in the previous week’s Sunday morning Bible class. Over the next few weeks, join us at 9am on Sundays at Trinity for the following discussions! A high school cafeteria can be a scary place. More than just a place to find nourishment for the second half of the school day, one’s behavior in the cafeteria is governed by unwritten rules and invisible forces. Getting a tray of food is not the hard part, but what happens after. Where you park that tray of room-temperature pizza and baby carrots is the most important thing you do in that cafeteria – in the eyes of the rest of the students, anyway. Where you sit says a lot. Whom you can or should sit next to is thoroughly scrutinized. Apparently, the religious group known as the Pharisees had not outgrown this adolescent obsession with such scrutiny. Mark records for us that they were viciously critical of Jesus for no smaller a reason than the people with whom he chose to sit and eat. “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” they asked (Mark 2:16). Jesus sat with the lowest of the low – the social outcasts. Jesus knew he would fall under that kind of criticism. He sat with these people intentionally. He wanted to show by a simple but friendly gesture of sharing a meal that the love and forgiveness he came to bring is for everyone. He replied to his critics, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). In other words, if you catch Jesus showing love to people who don’t deserve it, good! You are noticing why he came in the first place. Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, all need to be justified by God’s grace. Thanks to Christ, we are (Romans 3:23). We are saved by God’s grace alone (Ephesians 2:8). So everyone is going to heaven, then, right? Because Jesus came to save all people from their sins (1 John 2:2) why isn’t everyone’s relationship with God restored? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,” so doesn’t that mean we are all saved? That Jesus has done the work of justifying the whole world (Romans 3:23), of reconciling the world to God through his sacrifice (2 Corinthians 5:18-19), of atoning for all sins (1 John 2:2), is an objective fact. But don’t forget how the most famous verse of the Bible ends: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8) that connects you to the work Jesus accomplished for you, summarized by the term “gospel” (Romans 1:16-17). But what even is faith, and how do we get it? Faith is confidence (Hebrews 11:1). It is trust (2 Corinthians 4:8). Faith is as simple as looking at Jesus and saying, “That’s my Savior!” (John 3:14-15). “Faith” is another way of talking about the trust-relationship with God that flows from understanding that he has saved you from all your sins (Psalm 13:5-6). In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the titular vampire is only able to enter the homes of those who willingly invite him in. A lot of people think that’s how Jesus works, too. But clearly, in the sinful state we inherit, we are incapable of inviting him into our hearts. Before this trust-relationship with God happened, we didn’t know God nor wanted to (Romans 1:21), and if we did, we would have opposed him with all our might (Romans 8:6-7, see also Ephesians 2:1). So clearly, if it were up to us to make this relationship with God happen, we have no chance. We are too far gone on our own to accept God into our own hearts or make a decision to follow and trust in him. But Jesus barges into our lives and wins us into his kingdom by his love. He makes a home of our hearts through his glorious gospel (Ephesians 3:16-19), freeing us from our sin-darkened minds by showing us the light of his love and grace. He does this through the gospel (Romans 10:17, Romans 1:16,17). Through the gospel itself, Jesus changes our hearts from enemies of God to his trusting children; from spiritually dead to spiritually alive; from dreadful objects of wrath to heirs of eternal life (Romans 9:9-11,14-17). This is how much God loves you: not only does he forgive you your sin, but he uses the message of your forgiveness to breathe the breath of life into your heart, so that you are now able to rest secure in him. The reason some aren’t going to heaven is not because Jesus didn’t die for them. Nor is it because God doesn’t want them to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-6). It is because of their own rejection of the gospel (John 3:17-20). Do you have to understand all 66 books of the Bible in order to be saved? Do you have to be able to explain deep theological concepts? Or is it just enough to know the name of Jesus? The key word to remember here is “trust.” As soon as a baby emerges from the womb, she trusts in her mother. A severely disabled patient trusts the compassionate nurse that attends him. Trust does not depend on intellect. The kind of trust we’re talking about is a spiritual thing, not just an intellectual thing. Remember that Jesus described saving faith as simply looking to him and thinking, “That’s my Savior” (John 3:14-15). A baby, a double PhD Philosophy professor, or a fourteen-year-old struggling to find his way through freshman year are all capable of relying on the goodness of God to save them. If I’m saved apart from anything I can do to earn or deserve it, and the faith that I have in my heart didn’t get there by my decision or inviting it in, but is a gift from God, what kind of life am I supposed to live? You will notice that Scripture answers this question very thoroughly, but if we forget what has been said previously, we’ll miss the point. Yes, God has plenty of things to say about the kind of people we should be, but remember that you are different now. Now you have been changed, taught by God himself to rely on him for all goodness, for love, for salvation, and for his strength – apart from anything you can do (Ephesians 2:8-9). Scripture’s encouragements for how we should live can be summarized this way: “Live as the person you now are.” I wish we had more time to discuss this. For now, see Ephesians 4:1-6, Ephesians 5:1-10, Romans 8:1-17. There are many other passages, but those will be a great start. When Jesus sat with the tax collectors and sinners, he loved them despite their sinful failures. He showed his forgiveness, and then would have explained how to live in the light of that forgiveness (see the example of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:9-10).  We would love it if you joined us as this conversation continues in our Bible class at 9:00am every Sunday morning. We also would love to hear from you on this or any topic, so please get in touch with us! God bless you with rest, knowing that your relationship with him is secure in Christ. May God give you guidance and courage to live out that relationship every day! Pastor Mike Cherney