robwilkerson.net: Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Conclusion

Monday, July 09, 2012

Conclusion

My friend, Arthur Atsma, is a magician. He is simply incredible. I am amazed at all the tricks and slight-of-hand that he does. Usually I am "wowed" with my jaw dropping, wondering how he does it.

One day I was in a workshop he was doing for teenagers. I have two teenagers who were there, so I figured they needed an adult to tag along. Secretly, of course, I had the heart of a teenager and wanted to learn how to do some of the tricks he would teach them how to do.

As we sat through the workshop he explained, point by point, how he performed one of the tricks he did in an earlier session that was open to the public. As he walked us through it one step at a time I got to the end and was simply amazed that the trick was so...well...simple! I felt like a massively complex equation just got solved...and that I could do it too in front of my friends!

This is something of an illustration on what happens to people when they discover how simple the gospel is. Religion makes a relationship with God complex, and this is what most people are familiar with when it comes to thoughts of God and sin. But forgiveness is no magic! Yet when it is explained in all its biblical simplicity, I've seen people - christians and unbelievers alike - respond with stunning amazement that something so huge could be so simple!

And it IS simple! You're a sinner. God searched for you and found you. God forgave you. And God rejoices over recovering you.

So this brings me to two questions in closing then, both of which are about how you keep the gospel simple, both in your own mind and then in how you portray it to others.

First, do you meditate on this everyday? I gave you an outline or structure in the previous post so you'd have something to pray over and think through and rejoice inevery single day of your life. K.I.S.S. was a good acrostic my dad taught me when I was younger: Keep It Simple Son!

We often lose the joy of oursalvation because we lose the simplicity of our salvation. We learn all the segrand and glorious truths about salvation and the doctrines of grace and justification, reconciliation, sanctification, glorification, election, redemption,and all these other "tions". But in spending too much time on these truths the gospel goes from simple to being complex, and our minds wander, thinking about things that are too difficult for us sometimes.

This leads us to get confused, putting pieces together that probably don't go together. And in our attempt to try to solve the theological puzzles of history we lose sight of the simplicity of the very thing we're studying. We were lost but God found us! We were sinners and God forgave us!

Second, if you meditate on this everyday, I guarantee you that you'll experience a more simplistic approach to evangelism in your local church. You'll probably find yourself hanging out with a different kind of sinner...those who know they're sinners, and not those who are self righteous...those who know they're sick, and not those who think they are well.

And when you do find yourself hanging out with prostitutes, notorious sinners, scumbags, and prodigal sons, you will also find yourself communicating to them a simple message: You're lost, God is searching for you and He's found you because I'm here talking to you now, and He's forgiven you, and He's rejoicing that He's recovered you.

I have great respect for Evangelism Explosion, Christian Witness Training, The Way of the Master, the Romans Road and other "plans of salvation." But if you've worked your way through this series then you've seen for yourself how much more simple it really is right here in Luke 15. It's about the forgiveness of sins, plain and simple.

Sure there may be other things you need to discuss to clear the forest, so to speak, and help the sinner see who they really are. But target first those who know they are sinners, not those with whom you've got to argue til you're blue in the face.

Seek and save the lost, and not the self-righteous and you're work of evangelism in your local churches will be much more effective and fruitful.

About the Author: Rob is a entrepreneur in Statesboro, GA, where he envisions and pursues missional-shaped business for the kingdom. He and his wife Sherri have been married for 18 years and together have three sons and a daughter. Rob believes the mission of the gospel is summed up in four simple phrases: know God, obey Jesus, make disciples, and plant churches. This is the pursuit of his life, as well as the point of his blog.

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Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 6

Sunday, July 08, 2012

The Structure of the Simple Gospel of Forgiveness of Sins

In Luke 15 we find three stories Jesus shares. Like any good teacher He tells three different stories to teach the same truth. And like any good teacher, He does this because He wants to emphasize the truth in all three stories so that nobody can miss it. That means it's really, really important. In other words, missing the point of all three stories would make us pretty lame-brained.

This brings me to an outline of sorts that I think will be helpful in structuring our understanding of the simplicity of the gospel in the message of forgiveness of sins. Let's read through the remainder of Luke 15 and then I'll unfold that structure.

Parable of the Lost Sheep

4 "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven ove rone lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!

Parable of the Lost Coin

8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say,'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.' 10 In the same way,there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."

Parable of the Lost Son

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estatenow before you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13 "A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land,and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger 18 I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant."' 20 "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son,embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.'

22 "But his father said to the servants, 'Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger andsandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began.

25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 'Your brother is back,' he was told, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating becauseof his safe return.' 28 "The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, 'All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to.And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!

31 "His father said to him, 'Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!'"

In these three stories I see a structure to the simplicity of the gospel of forgiveness of sins that looks like this:

1. Know You're Lost
2. See God's Search
3. Hear God Forgive
4. See God Rejoice

Let's look briefly at each one so you get the gist of it.

1. Know You're Lost

A sheep was lost, a coin was lost, and a son was lost. Jesus told three stories using three different items to illustrate the same truth to the self-righteous because of their attitude towards other despicable, scum sinners.

The reason the gospel is simple and must be kept simple is because it's about a simple problem, a simple condition. If you don't know Jesus then you're wandering around, looking for the next opportunity in life that might really make things happen for you...that next big break.

And you believe it's going to come from something the world has to offer you, usually in the form of money, sex and/or power or control. That means you're lost. You don't know where you
should be going.

2. See God's Search

The beauty of all three stories is that despite the condition and situation of each lost item, God is portrayed as the One who takes an interest in that which was lost, and pursues it until He recovers it. In the first story, God is the shepherd who recovers that one lost sheep. "If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost inthe wilderness, wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it ?"

In the second story, God is the woman who recovers that one lost coin. "Won't she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it?"

And in the third story, God is the father who recovers his lost son. Except in this story, interestingly, God is not portrayed as searching like He is in the first two stories. And I think that is because it presents the other side of God as the faithful and patient and omniscient and providential One who has orchestrated the whole rebellion of the son so that he would come back home to dad.

In other words, God has planned out the events of this man's life so that he will come back home. So God is sort of in the son's search, if you will, for happiness, not finding it, of course, until he comes back home.

3. Hear God Forgive

Here is the simplicity of the gospel. We see it more in the third story than we do in the first two, although there is a feature in the first story that shows it to us in a very interesting way In the story of the lost sheep we see God's forgiveness portrayed this way in verse 5:

"And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders."

There's your God right there! There's His simple message of good news! He pursues you until He finds you and then He joyfully carries you home on His shoulders. He is not reluctant that He found you. He is not out of breath and impatient when He finds you. He is not like the mother who loses their child in the mall, feels terrified, then finds the child only to cry, hug, and spank allat one time.

He's JOYFUL! He doesn't spank or beat you all the way home. He CARRIES you all the way home, on His shoulders, wrapped around his neck where your face is close to His, where your ear is close to His mouth so that you can hear the whispers of His love for you as He carries you home.

In the story of the lost coin we can see just a glimpse of God's forgiveness in the way the woman views the coins. In the Greek the silver coin was actually a drachma, which was a full-day's pay in that day and time. If you work for $10 an hour right now and you work ten days at eight hours a day, and you get paid daily, it would be like losing $80 of your $800. That's a tenth of what you worked so hard to earn!

You wouldn't think or respond, "well, it's just $80. I can work another day and earn that back." NO! You worked hard for that $80, that full day's wage, so you're going to look high and low until you find it. And that's because that money, like YOU, dear friend, is valuable, as verse 8 describes.

You may be a notorious, despicable, scummy sinner. But God also says YOU are valuable! And why are you valuable? Because God forgives you. He has searched for you, found you, cleansed you, made you pure again...forgiven you. You are precious in His sight because you belong to Him. This is portrayed the clearest in the story of the son who comes home humbly acknowledging his stupidity and foolishness. He knows he's been an idiot so he's just happy to come home and work as an employee on dad's farm. But dad will have NONE of that! Jesus says,

"But his father said to the servants,

'Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house, and put it on him.

Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet.

And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen."

THAT is a picture of forgiveness! Again, this is not reluctant God sighing and huffing as He inches out a little mercy and grace to you one little dose at a time, waiting to see if with each inch of it yourespond like you ought to before He gives you any more. NO! This is God overwhelming you with ALL of His mercy and grace and blessing. THAT'S forgiveness.

4. See God Rejoice

Finally, in all three stories this is my favorite part. God REJOICES! He is portrayed as a happy God! Not some old scruffy, stiff man with a frown on His face and a cane he's holding waiting for the first opportunity to rap you on the shins! In the first story here's how Jesus portrays the Father, in verses 6-7:

"When you arrived, you would call together your

friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found.

In the same way, heaven will be happier over one sinner

who returns to God than over ninety-nine others

who are righteous and haven't strayed away!"

And in the second story Jesus describes the Father this way, in verses 9-10:

"And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors

to rejoicewith her because she has found her lost coin.

In the same way, there is joy in the presence

of God's angels when even one sinner repents."

And in the third story, Jesus portrays the Father this way, in verses 24 and 32:

" 'For this son of mine was dead and has now returned to me.

He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began..

'We had to celebrate this happy day.

For your brother was dead and has come back to life!

He was lost, but now he is found!' "

Do you see this! God is a rejoicing God! God is a happy God! Heaven is a happy place! The angels love to rejoice when sinners repent!

This is a joyous occasion!

This is not just one huge universal sigh of relief that you finally came to your senses and got right with God.

NO! This is the universe rejoicing that God has found you (when you should have been looking for Him but weren't) and that you've repented and turned to Him!

In the next post, I'll make some concluding remarks on this series.

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Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 5

Saturday, July 07, 2012

The Shape of the Simplicity of the Gospel (Luke 15)

If someone were to ask you what the forgiveness of sins means, you'd probably be able to give them a simple answer. Most of would respond that forgiveness is letting go of the hurt someone else has caused you. And that's very much true. The heart of forgiveness is making a decision not to let the bitterness and resentment from someone else's offense cause you pain anymore.

While that is part and parcel of forgiveness, how would you answer the question as to how forgiveness actually works? How is it that we are able to be forgiven by God? The church as a whole throughout church history has typically made this complex. The Catholic Church, for example, has been the greatest offender in this regard. In this theological vein there is one opinion which says that the sacraments, confession, mass, etc. are all pathways to receive God's forgiveness. Jesus shed His blood to forgive us, but God mediates that forgiveness through human participation in human events.

On the other hand, some hold the opinion that God already grants forgiveness of sins to us all through Christ. But human participation in human events are necessary to maintain and/or enjoy forgiveness of sins. Both opinions however, make our participation in man-made events inseparable from the forgiveness of our sins. Both opinions would firmly hold to a belief that forgiveness must be mediated by humans.

This can quickly trend in a dangerous direction, and in fact, it has. Making forgiveness complex is in fact antithetical to the gospel of Jesus. HE alone is the mediator between God and man, and no one else. In fact, nothing else. Anyone or anything that keeps a person connected to his or her sins because of anything else other than simply asking for it is complex legalism, since it attempts to convince a person that a relationship with God is based on something other than Jesus Christ's death.

A rediscovery of several key features in Luke 15 will provide a model or shape to the simple gospel. This is no doubt THE key text on the mission of Jesus Christ. And I love the way Luke introduces this chapter.

1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such despicable people—even eating with them! 3 So Jesus told them this story..."

Immediately, Luke begins this chapter by introducing us to basically the town mafia. If you've read the series on Pursuing the Humility of the Gospel, you'll recall what we discovered about the tax collectors, or the publicani as they were called back then. Luke adds to them a group called "notorious sinners," which means famous outcasts. What is more, Luke even adds the adjective "despicable" to describe them.

This was a gang of really nasty people, publicly, socially, spiritually, religiously. Back in chapter 5 of Luke, in verses 29-30, we read of the apostle Matthew, who before was a tax collector. He threw a party at his house and invited his colleagues in crime. And there Luke includes the Pharisee's description of those folks as "scum"!

Don't miss two important truths that come to mind in Luke's introduction to this chapter.

First, notice that the simplicity of the gospel of forgiveness is based on the simple condition of mankind: they are all sinners, all of them notorious to God. All of them are despicable scum. This includes the Pharisees and religous leaders of the day. But the difference, as we discovered in the story of the Publican and the Pharisee, is that the tax collectors knew they were sinners. They didn't put on any false pretenses about who they were. They knew they were bad folks, outcasts of society, and they didn't pretend to be all religious and pious like the Pharisees.

Second, notice that Luke makes a special point in his gospel to let us know that Jesus purposefully hung out with these kinds of people. In Luke 5:31-32, right after the story about the party Matthew threw at his house, Jesus makes the statement,

"Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do.

I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins,

not to spend time with those who think theyare already good enough."

This is such a key statement for us as a local church. Too often, I'm afraid,I've spent my time attempting to evangelize those who think they are already good enough, instead of those who
know they are scum. These people were Jesus' targets, and they are to be ours as well as in our local churches.

The primary reason is that the simple gospel of forgiveness of sins is best understood by those who know their sins are many, like the prostitute we read about earlier. Those who know they are sinners, know how much they've been forgiven of, and as a result love Jesus much more than those who don't really know how much they've been forgiven of.

In other words, the church of Jesus Christ is made up of those who really love King Jesus as He ought to be loved, because these kinds of people know what ought to have happened to them, and they feel it in a way other self-righteous people do not. The church of Jesus Christ stands to be a brighter light to the nations when we pursue the kinds of people Jesus pursued with the kind of simple gospel message Jesus preached to them.

In the next post, we will work through an outline of sorts that will be helpful in structuring our understanding of the simplicity of the gospel in the message of forgiveness of sins.

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Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 4

Friday, July 06, 2012

The Fourth Text:
Luke 24:47

The Forgiveness of Sins is the Simplest Foundation for our Life Mission

Through my thirty years of walking with Jesus, and my twenty years of discipling others I have found one thing to be true across the board when it comes to making disciples in western contexts: discipleship is extremely complicated.

Stop and think for a moment about how many books have been written on the subject of discipleship. There are thousands of books about discipleship and tens of thousands of books that are supposed to disciple you. I went through several of them while I was in High School. There was the series produced by Campus Crusade for Christ at the time, which included several volumes of small paperback books. I then went through the Navigator series, followed by some stuff put out by a famous Youth Minister back in the day. I was discipled using the materials put out by Bill Gothard and his Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts. And the list could go on and on.

All of this had the cumulative effect, for me personally, of making me feel like there was so much to following Jesus that I often got discouraged because I simply could not do it all. I carried an immense guilt around in my gut most of my teenage and college life because I just knew I wasn't doing all the stuff I had learned in all those books. Yet when I would read the Bible and see a simplicity to the mission Jesus called His disciples to, I would reason that all the stuff I was having to do was also what Jesus made His disciples do, but it just wasn't recorded in the Bible for us. Hogwash!

Jesus made discipleship and His mission quite simple. In summary, Jesus sort of said, "Hey! I love you always and will be with you always, no matter where you go. So do everything I've told you to do. Do everything I've showed you how to do. Make other disciples by teaching them to do the same thing. And always live like my Father's promises are true." Jesus always had a knack for taking the complexity out of things and making most things simple.

Things brings me to the final passage I want to explore in this little survey on Luke. It's Luke 24:46-49 and it's one of the last recorded talks Jesus had with His disciples before ascending to heaven.

46 And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: 'There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.' 48 You are witnesses of all these things. 49 "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."

Notice three things about this passage.

First, notice the simplicity of the message Jesus wants proclaimed "in the authority of his name to all the nations: there is forgiveness of sins for all who repent." That's what Jesus wants you to take to the world, friends. That's what Jesus wants us to pursue in our local churches.

Second, notice the simplicity of the assumption Jesus makes about the presence and power of sin. Do you see anywhere in the passage where Jesus wants us to try to convince the nations they are sinners? No! They already know they are, and we are simply to preach about how it is removed: through the forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ.

Third, notice that the simplicity of the message also is the foundation for the power of the Spirit's work in and through the local church. The promised Holy Spirit was coming, but His power would be based on the authority of King Jesus to forgive sins. This means the effectiveness of the local church would be based entirely and completely on its faithfulness to the simplicity of that message.

In other words, I don't think it's far fetched to wonder if the lack of the Spirit's power in the local church and the lack of a local church's effectiveness in world missions is due to its lack of pursuing a vision of asimple gospel in the forgiveness of sins.

Wherever there's a complex and difficult message, I'll bet you there's no Holy Spirit power. His power ungirds the simple gospel message of forgiveness of sins. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the power is in the simplicity. Simplicity means purity, undiluted,unclouded, unmuddied, unadulterated.

Now, with the understanding that the simple message of forgiveness of sins is the foundation for our worship, our prayer life, and our life mission, what exactly is the shape of this simple message? What does the forgiveness of sins look like? We know what it means. It means to cleanse or take away sin.But what does it look like biblically?

But exactly how is forgiveness enacted, put into effect, played out, etc.?

In the next post, we'll discover the answer in the Shape of the Simplicity of the Gospel.

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Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 3

Thursday, July 05, 2012

The Third Text:
Luke 11:1-4

The Forgiveness of Sins is the Simplest Foundation for our Prayer Life

Life as a first-world citizen complicates things. We are knowledge-based, intellectually oriented, and mentally rooted in a critical-scientific method of thinking.

We feel like we must have all things proven to us. There is often this deep-rooted feeling that we are owed all the pieces of the puzzle. We take it personal when there are any variables or unexplained elements. Largely too smart for our own good, there is an inherent pride about the fact that can discover and create just about anything, solve and resolve just about any problem, and mass produce just about any product we can dream up.

I have found in my own life, as well as the those whom I've discipled, that prayer is a spiritual discipline that has become the victim of complication. That inherent pride I just spoke of drives us to feel like we are owed an explanation about everything. Consequently, when we go to God in prayer, the Creator of the Universe who owes no man any explanation is largely silent in His sovereignty.

This in turns makes us uncomfortable in what is largely a cognitive dissonance about our obligation to submit to His sovereign ways. As a result, we pray less. Or in some cases, we pray "harder", making things more complicated than they need to be. When I read Jesus anywhere on the subject of prayer, He makes things simple. It is all about asking the Father. Period.

That's why I'm so thankful to God for Jesus' teaching on the forgiveness of sins. When connected with the subject of prayer we find an incredible simplicity which forms the foundation for a simple prayer life. We find such a connection in Luke 11:1-4, and here is a familiar though concise story as told in the New Living Translation:

1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of hisdisciples came to him and said, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." 2 Jesus said, "This is how you should pray: "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need, 4 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to temptation."

If the forgiveness of sins was the sick man's friends's simplest foundation for faith, and if it was the prostitute's simplest foundation for worship, then it is aso the simplest foundation for the prayer life of a follower of Jesus.

Notice how simple that kind of prayer life gets. It's simply about asking that we keep God's name holy, that God would bring His kingdom to earth, that He'd feed us, forgive us, and not let us fall to temptation. Yet how complex and difficult do we make our prayer life?! We make things so hard, don't we?

I don't want you to miss two crucial truths here.

First, Jesus doesn't teach you to ask for forgiveness everyday because you've got to do this everyday in order to be saved. That would make our salvation and our relationship with Him based on merit. Jesus is not some priest sitting in a confessional to whom we must go in order to actually be forgiven of our sins. This is especially good news to those in denominations or theological circles where the teaching is put forth that a person can lose their salvation, or that they must "get saved" again after every sin committed.

If Luke's story of the prostitute worshiping Jesus showed us anything itwas that her sins were already forgiven as was evidenced in her worship. In the same way then, asking for forgiveness of the sins we commit daily is evidence that we recognize the absolute necessity of God's forgiveness, and the truth that we have already received forgiveness.

Second, Jesus is showing us the reflection of humility in His teaching on prayer. If anything, the simplicity of this kind of prayer life is simply about a recognition that we live every breath under the need of and protection in God's forgiveness of our sins. Again, this teaching of Jesus on prayer is not about humiliating us under God's wrathful hand of judgment for every sin we commit. No, it is about humbling us under God's gracious hand of mercy for the forgiveness we receive for every sin we commit.

Are you humbled by such simplicity? Does it humble you that Jesus' death on the cross for your sins is something applicable each and every time you sin against God? Or do you feel this inner awkwardness about what to do after you've sinned? Is there this strange sense of obligation you have, like you've got to do something to make up for it? Something like...praying more, or praying harder...or reading your Bible more...or going to church more...or giving more money to the church...or whatever? If so, this is the enemy's way of complicating the simple message of the forgiveness of your sins.

Don't let him get the upper hand any longer. Choose instead to pray to the Father like one who's simply been forgiven. Choose to worship like one whose sins are forgiven...forever. Choose to believe what God promises because your sins have simply been forgiven. This changes everything, doesn't it?

In the next post, we will discover the fourth text (Luke 24:47), and explore the forgiveness of sins as the simplest foundation for our life mission.

Authority

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 2

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

The Second Text:
Luke 7:36-50

Forgiveness of Sins is the Simplest Foundation for Worship

Technology has created an environment for first-world citizens which complicates things. We are so overtly exposed to that which was built or produced bigger and better than whatever came before, that we have become desensitized. This makes it hard for us to become excited.

Entertainment is by far the worst culprit in this problem. Special effects have to be bigger and "badder" than previous movies. Story lines have to be more complicated and "smart." The effort to outdo whatever came before means that we in turn become harder and harder to satisfy when it comes to entertainment. This makes parenting especially difficult, and if you're a parent you can attest to this. Trying to watch great movies with my kids that were produced when I was a kid becomes a joke as they all grow bored with the less-than-special effects available during those times. My kids make fun of various features throughout so that enjoying the movie is virtually impossible.

Shift the focus over into the local church and the problem is no less different. Music and programs are the two areas where this problem is most noticeable. The music has to be bigger and better than it was last year. Children's ministry programs have to be bigger and better than last year, and especially bigger and better than the church down the street. Sermons are not exempt, because they too are revised every year it seems, to keep an ever-increasingly unsatisfied consumer satisfied enough to keep coming back. All of this together has the unfortunate and destructive effect of obscuring genuine worship of God. Simplicity flies out the window, unless of course simplicity happens to be the next trend in church life.

This background in my culture makes me immensely grateful for the simplicity of the gospel in the forgiveness of sins. Jesus tells us that His forgiveness of sins is the simplest foundation for our worship (Luke 7:36-50). If we turn to the story of the prostitute who encountered Jesus in Luke 7:36-50, we see a scenario unfolded by Luke quite similar to our first text, but this time with some other features added. Once again, here is the story as told by the New Living Translation.

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet,weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair.T hen she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She's a sinner!" 40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. "Simon," he said to the Pharisee, "I have something to say to you." "Go ahead, Teacher," Simon replied. 41 Then Jesus told him this story: "A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver* to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt." "That's right," Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. 47 "I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love." 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 The men at the table said among themselves, "Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?" 50 And Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

There's so much I'd love to camp out on in this text! It's an incredible story chock full of so much helpful stuff when it comes to forgiveness. But notice again the argument here over Jesus' authority to forgive sins. In the first story about the paralyzed man, He demonstrates His authority in healing. In this second story Jesus demonstrates His authority to heal in a story. And the point of the story was made simple by Jesus: the person who knows how great a debt they owe to God loves Jesus more. As Jesus explained,

"I tell you, her sins - and they are many -

have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.

But a person who is forgiven little, shows only little love."

The simplest foundation for loving Jesus and worshiping Him, like this prostitute did, is the forgiveness of sins. Jesus explains that the fact that she was worshiping Him the way she was was evidence that her sins were already forgiven. And your degree of love toward Jesus and your depth of worship to God will be built upon the simple foundation of forgiveness of sins. The thicker that foundation, meaning the deeper you become aware of your unworthiness, the wider your love will be built, and the higher your worship will be built.

Forgiveness of sins is the engine with which you love King Jesus. How big is your engine? Do you have a motorcyle engine? Or do you have a freight train engine?

In the next post, we will discover the third text (Luke 11:1-4), and see that the forgiveness of sins is the simplest foundation for our prayer life.

Authority

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 1

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

A Survey of the Simple Gospel of Forgiveness of Sins in Luke's Gospel

There are four key texts in Luke which reveal and explore the simplicity of the gospel's good news of forgiveness of sins. I will spend the next four posts discovering these texts.

Text One: Luke 5:17-25

Forgiveness of Sins is the Simplest Foundation for Faith

In this text we see the simple gospel revealed in the truth that Jesus alone has the authority to forgive. That's great news in a world filled with "red tape" to get almost anything done. Just the other day my wife and I were discussing the need to cancel her gym membership in order to cut expenses and save money.

The lady in charge of the franchise where my wife attended informed her that cancelling the membership would be a three-fold process. First, she would have to write a letter stating that she wanted to cancel, as well as why. Second, she would have to mail that letter certified, in order to make sure the letter actually gets there and is signed for on delivery. Third, she would have to follow up with a phone call within two or three days of the delivery of that letter, in order to talk with someone about the letter and proceed with the cancellation.

For me that's WAY too much red-tape for something so simple. This kind of cultural experience happens regularly for the average first-world citizen, and it makes me, for one, thank the Father that He has made forgiveness of my sins such a simple thing. All I have to do is ask by faith for it, and then act upon it by believing my sins are forgiven.

When we come to Luke 5, we see that early on in Jesus' ministry He gets in trouble for healing a man who was paralyzed. Here's the story from the New Living Translation:

17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord's healing power was strongly with Jesus. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn't reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Young man, your sins are forgiven." 21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, "Who does he think he is? That's blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!" 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Stand up and walk'? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man* has the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!" 25 And immediately, as everyone watched, theman jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God,exclaiming, "We have seen amazing things today!"

Notice first in this passage that forgiveness of sins is connected with faith. Faith believes that Jesus can and will do what He came to do, what He said He would do. These friends had heard about the works of Jesus, and had perhaps seen Him do miraculous things before, and acted on what they heard and saw by bringing their sick friend to Him.

So right off the bat you don't want to miss the simplicity of gospel through the simplicity of faith. Faith is simple. It believes in a simple truth. It simply acts on that simple truth. And simple faith is the doorway to receiving the simplicity of the good news, which is the forgiveness of sins.

"Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man,

'Young man, your sins are forgiven.'"

Don't miss the fact that these men came all the way from who knows where to get their friend some help, and Jesus chooses instead to focus on the forgiveness of sins. That's what the young man needed more than he needed to walk. He needed to have his soul healed far more than he needed to have his body healed.

Notice second in the passage that Luke decides to emphasize the portion of the conversation centering on the ability and authority of Jesus Christ to forgive sins. He has the authority to forgive sins because "only God can forgive sins!" as the Pharisees themselves acknowledged. And then Jesus displays His authority to forgive sins through His ability to remove the effects of sin, by healing the man.

"So I will prove to you that the Son of Man

has the authority to forgive sins."

This ability is simply mercy and grace. Jesus is the kindest person I've ever met. He's the kindest person you'll ever met. And He demonstrates that kindness in His ability to heal, based on His authority to forgive.

In the next post, we'll discover the second text (Luke 7:36-50), and see that the forgiveness of sins is the simplest foundation for worship.

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Conclusion

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 6

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 5

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 4

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 3

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 2

Pursuing the Simplicity of the Gospel: Part 1

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