ONLY JESUS Part One

 ONLY JESUS Part One

What makes a person a Christian? It has everything to do with what he does with Jesus.

 

What will you do with Jesus; neutral you cannot be. One day your heart will be asking, “What will He do with me?”

 

We cannot take a neutral position on Jesus Christ. We must either accept Him or reject Him. In fact, if we do not accept Him as Lord and Savior, we reject Him.

 

John 3:18 (NKJV) He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 

Jesus is a dividing line in today’s culture. Many people claim God as a part of their life, but struggle to profess Jesus as God. They also paint a picture of Jesus that bears little resemblance to the Jesus described in the Bible. 

 

Last week I talked about our belief in the God who is there. He exists and is not silent. He loves us and is with us. 

 

I want to continue along that theme again today, but specifically deal with what we believe about Jesus. 

 

The third tenet of our statement of faith reads: We believe in the Deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us, and in His personal return in power and glory.

 

Let’s take this apart phrase by phrase and see what the Bible says about each one. We will take two weeks to do this, so don’t worry about a super long sermon!

 

1.    We believe in the Deity of Christ. 

 

Simply stated, we believe that Jesus is God. We made this clear last week in our discussion of the Trinity. Jesus is not merely a good man, a gifted teacher or a radical political revolutionary. He is God. Belief in the deity of Jesus is essential to our faith. Everything that follows on this tenet of our faith flows from that distinct, singular doctrine.

 

Hebrews 1:1-3 (NKJV) God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 

 

1 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh,

Justified in the Spirit,

Seen by angels,

Preached among the Gentiles,

Believed on in the world,

Received up in glory.

 

2.    We believe in His virgin birth. 

 

In this age of religious skepticism, the virgin birth is often treated as an archaic remnant of some senseless non-scientific myth. But the Bible is clear: The Messiah would be born of a virgin!

 

Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

 

Some have said, “Virgin here just means a young woman.”

 

Let’s go to the New Testament. 

 

Luke 1:34 (NKJV) Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

 

Mary is testifying that she is a virgin! There can be no doubt!

 

Why is this important? Because we get our sin nature from our father. 

 

Romans 5:12 (NKJV) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. 

 

Jesus did not have an earthly father, so he had no sin nature and could be the perfect sacrifice. But there is more. 

 

3.    We believe in His sinless life.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NKJV) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Because of his sinless birth and sinless life, He could, and did, redeem us!

 

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NKJV) Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

 

John the Baptist proclaimed when he saw Him: 

 

John 1:29b (NKJV) Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

 

Oh brothers and sisters, what a blessing that declaration brings to our lives. Jesus, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God not just forgives our sins, not just covers our sins, He takes them away! He removes them as far from us as the east is from the west. He puts them out of sight, behind His bank, and hides them in the depths of the sea! And He did it “once for all!”

 

Romans 6:10 (NKJV) For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

 

Hebrews 7:27 (NKJV) Who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

 

Hebrews 9:12 (NKJV) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

 

Hebrews 10:10 (NKJV) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

 

We need to sing with the angels:

 

Revelation 5:11-14 (NKJV) Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

 

MINISTRY TIME 

 

THERE IS A GOD

 THERE IS A GOD

I love the way the Bible begins. 

 

Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

 

There is not an argument here; there is not a defense here. There is only a bold declaration: In the beginning, God! This is the beginning point of our faith. God exists and He has revealed Himself to us in creation, the Bible, and the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

As we continue the series, Does It Really Matter, the second tenet of our church’s statement of faith is also a bold declaration of this truth. 

 

We believe that there is only one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

Today, I want to look at this statement and talk about the hope it gives us. I am not here today to win an argument or give you an apologetic proof of God’s existence. I only want us to know the blessings that have come to us because the infinite God became imminent to His creation; the eternal God broke into time and space because He loves us and wants to intervene in our lives! In the beginning, God!

 

1.    There is a God. 

 

I have used this phrase many times in my life. When I would hear a miraculous testimony, I would utter, “There is a God!” When praying with someone who faced an incredible burden, I would utter, “There is a God!”

 

This phrase gives hope to anyone who is hurting, whose heart is heavy, who needs help beyond what man can provide. 

 

There is a God who creates something out of nothing. There is a God who gives us what we need. There is a God who covers our sin. There is a God who delivers us, directs us, and destines us. There is a God! 

 

2.    There is only one God. 

 

We don’t believe in many gods; that is polytheism. We don’t believe that everything is god; that is pantheism. 

 

We believe what the Bible clearly says…

 

Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!

 

Literally: the only one! And His name is YHWH, the Lord God Almighty. His name is not Allah; it is not Buddha; it is not Krishna.

 

His name is also not money, possessions, positions, prestige, fame, or family. His name is not focused on face, race, or place. 

 

The very first commandment teaches us that Jehovah God alone is to be worshipped. 

 

Exodus 20:3 (NKJV) You shall have no other gods before Me.

 

Other gods are always bidding for our worship. But we reserve it for God alone, because He is the only one who can save us. 

 

Psalm 115:3–11 (NKJV) But our God is in heaven;

He does whatever He pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,

The work of men’s hands.

5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;

Eyes they have, but they do not see;

6 They have ears, but they do not hear;

Noses they have, but they do not smell;

7 They have hands, but they do not handle;

Feet they have, but they do not walk;

Nor do they mutter through their throat.

8 Those who make them are like them;

So is everyone who trusts in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;

He is their help and their shield.

 

Allah cannot help us; Buddha cannot help us; Krishna cannot help us. Money and power and fame cannot help us. Only God can help us!

 

Psalm 121:1–8 (NKJV) I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

 

3.    God has always existed in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

 

This is referred to as the Trinity. The word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible, but it is taught throughout the Word of God.

 

Creation

 

Genesis 1:1-2 (NKJV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

 

John 1:1-3 (NKJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Jesus’ baptism

 

Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV) When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased

 

The Great Commission

 

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 

Paul’s Benediction 

 

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

 

Work in Salvation

 

1 Peter 1:2 (NKJV) elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

 

Why is this important? 

 

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that Jesus is God! If Jesus is not God, then our faith is worthless. Christianity is the only religion in the world that proclaims Jesus is God! In fact, one of the signs of a false religion or a cult is that they do away with the Deity of Christ. Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism all teach that Jesus is not God. Christian cults like Mormonism and Jehovah Witnesses teach that Jesus is not God. Only Christianity proclaims Jesus is God!

 

Why does this matter?

 

1.    Jesus said He is God. 

 

If he lied about this, we cannot trust anything else he said. He is either Lord of all, or He is a liar and a lunatic.

 

John 8:58 (NKJV) Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 

John 10:30 (NKJV) I and My Father are one.

 

After each of these statements, the Jews tried to stone Jesus because they understood He was claiming to be God!

 

2.    We cannot be saved if we do not confess that Jesus is Lord. 

 

Romans 10:9 (NASB) that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

 

3.    No one with the Holy Spirit will say Jesus is not God.

 

1 Corinthians 12:3 (NKJV)

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

 

4.    The anti-Christ will say Jesus is not God in the flesh. 

 

1 John 4:2-3 (NKJV) By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

 

Now some practical stuff. 

 

If Jesus is not God, He cannot help us. 

 

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NKJV) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

If Jesus is not God, He cannot intercede for us. 

 

Hebrews 7:25 (NKJV) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

 

If Jesus is not God, then he is not in heaven preparing a place for us. He is not coming again to get us. 

 

John 14:1-3 (NKJV) Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

 

But brothers and sisters, I have good news today for you. Jesus is God! And because He is God, we can trust everything He ever said. We can be saved. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit. We will not be deceived by the anti-Christ. 

 

More than that, we can come boldly to Him and He will help us. We know that He is praying and interceding for us right now. We don’t have to have troubled hearts, we can believe in Him and trust Him. We know He is preparing a place for us and is coming again to take us with Him so that we can live with Him forever!

 

Is that Good News to anyone this morning? We have the ministry of the Father. We have the ministry of the Son. We have the ministry of the Holy Spirit. If God be for us, who can be against us!

 

MINISTRY TIME 

DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

 DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Through the years I have been asked two questions many times, “What kind of church is Restoration Fellowship?” and “What do you believe?”

 Now you may say, “Does it really matter?” My answer is “Yes!” In this age of relativism and shifting attitudes toward truth itself, it is vitally important what we believe. Jude said this…

Jude 3 (NKJV) Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Jude 20 (NKJV) But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,

Faith here does not mean our personal faith in the Lord Jesus, but the body of doctrines and beliefs the Bible proclaims that defines Christianity. It is this body of truth that is the foundation of our personal faith. If the foundation is faulty, then our faith is faulty. 

Matthew 7:24–27 (NKJV) Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

So, let me ask you, “What kind of church is Restoration Fellowship?” and “What do we believe?” Have you ever read our statement of faith! It is posted on our website. Let me read it to you from the site. 

What We Believe

1.    We believe the Bible to be inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God, and our only guidebook to faith and practices.

2.    We believe that there is only one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3.    We believe in the Deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us, and in His personal return in power and glory.

4.    We believe that lost and sinful men and women must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit in the new birth in order to be at peace with God and become members of His Church.

5.    We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to manifest both the gifts and fruits of the Spirit.

6.    We believe in the resurrection of those who know Christ, and those who do not; one to eternal life in heaven, and the other to eternal death in hell.

7.    We believe in the two sacraments instituted by the Lord Jesus: Water Baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper (Communion). Baptism is a post-salvation picture of our spiritual death, burial, and resurrection. Communion is a remembrance of His body and blood given for us in covenant.

8.    We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and that they constitute the Church Universal, His Bride and Body, the Fullness of Him who fills all in all. The local church is a voluntary band of baptized believers gathered together to carry out the Great Commission.

9.    We believe in the personal, physical, and imminent return of Jesus Christ to the earth and the consummation of all things.

When we look at our church constitution and chartering statement, you will find some more…

10.We also believe other truths enumerated in our chartering statement:

a.    The preeminence of Christ as our Divine Lord and Master

b.    The right of private interpretation of Scripture

c.    The competency of each person to directly approach God

d.    The separation of church and state

e.    The independence of the local church

f.     The equality of congregational government

g.    The world-wide program of missionary fervor and evangelism

 During this summer, I want to help us see what kind of church we are and what we believe. 

 The first question is what kind of church is Restoration Fellowship?

I have always described us as a Bapticostal church: Baptist in theology and polity, charismatic in practice. 

In truth, we are an independent non-denominational church who fellowship and cooperate with  other churches of like faith and practice. 

This is expressed clearly in our statement of faith. This gets around to question two: What do we believe?

Let’s begin with tenet #1. 

1.    We believe the Bible to be inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God, and our only guidebook to faith and practices.

The Bible is God inspired. 

2 Peter 1:20–21 (NKJV) knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

1.    We let the Bible speak; we do not decide what it says. We do not twist what the Bible clearly teaches in order to justify our position or justify our sin.

2.    The writers were “carried along” by the Holy Spirit so that they wrote the very Words of God through their unique personalities.

3.    We have an unction, an anointing, from God that allows us to know what the true meaning of the Bible is. We call this illumination. 

The Bible is infallible. 

The Bible contains no errors.

Psalm 119:89 (NKJV) Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

Psalm 119:160 (NKJV) The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

Isaiah 40:8 (NKJV) The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

This is important because if we believe the Bible is unreliable, then we cannot trust any of it. 

The Bible is authoritative. 

 It judges us; we do not judge it.

Matthew 24:35 (NKJV) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

 Hebrews 4:12–13 (NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

1 Peter 1:23–25 (NKJV) having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”

The Bible is our only guide. 

Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Psalm 119:133 (NKJV) Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.

Where the Bible speaks, we speak. Where the Bible is silent, we are silent. 

APPLICATION

This first tenet is the roots from which all the other tenets flow. The Word must be first! We must have a sure anchor in this world where truth is a commodity that is bought or sold to the highest bidder. Truth never changes. 

Jesus declared:

John 17:17 (NKJV) Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

 James says that we can be deceived by listening to things that shift with the wind!

 James 1:16–18 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

 Do we individually and collectively live according to the dictates of the Word of God? That is the application question. Take any given area of your life. Does it line up with the Word of God? If not, why?

 INSPIRATION

Matthew Emadi writes about Martin Luther. 

He is the most famous of the reformers and his experience on April 16, 1521, is probably the most well-known event of the Reformation. It was the day Martin Luther stood before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, at the Diet of Worms. Luther entered the city of Worms like a hero. People lined the streets, crowded the roof-tops, hung out of windows so that they might catch a glimpse of the people’s champion. But for Luther, the occasion for his coming to Worms was not a reason to celebrate. He was going to be tried for his life. The Diet of Worms would examine him for heresy, which if convicted, he would likely be burned at the stake. 

So the day of his trial arrived. Luther, the son of a miner, was brought into the hall to appear before the Holy Roman Emperor himself, Charles V. Luther did not enter the Diet of Worms like the boxing heavyweight champion of the world. He did not have the eye of the tiger on his countenance. No posture of unswerving confidence, ready to defend his writings to the last breath. It appeared that he was a little nervous. Realize Charles V was thought to be “God’s Viceroy on Earth.” He was an intimidating figure viciously committed to the Roman Catholic Church. When he entered the Hall and saw Luther, Charles muttered, “That fellow will never make a heretic out of me” (Bainton, 177). 

The emperor’s spokesman plopped all of Luther’s books on a table. He asked Luther if these were his writings. And Luther, in almost a whisper, admitted that the books were his. He was then asked to recant all of his writings. You know what Luther said? Let me think about it. Luther was caught off guard. He was not expecting to be asked to recant everything he had ever written. He knew the stakes were high, or should we say hot, so he needed more time to think about it. He was given one day. The next day Luther appeared again before the Holy Roman Emperor. This time he was not quiet as a mouse but bold as a Lion. He was asked to recant, and Luther announced that he would not retract his attacks against false doctrine. “Good God,” Luther said, “what sort of tool of evil and tyranny would I be” (Reeves, 15). Luther demanded that his views be refuted by Scripture. If Scripture would prove his teachings wrong, then he would burn the books himself. So one final time, the council demanded, “Will you recant your teachings?”

Here is Luther’s famous response:

Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen (Bainton, 182).

Martin threw his arms up in the air and slipped out of the hall. For the rest of his life, Luther would never cease to stand on the authority of Scripture alone.

God is asking us to commit to the veracity of the Word of God and accept it as our only guide for faith and practice. Will we do it? As a people and a church? 

MINISTRY TIME