Bethany Community Church

Hell, it seems, has fallen on hard times. Back in the days when Jonathan Edwards preached about “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, the fear of hell was strong enough to scare people into righteousness. But times have changed, and now we like to talk about the love of God more than His wrath. I’m glad things have changed, because the fear based approach doesn’t seem to be that to which we’re invited today, as I’ll share below. Still, while it seems that Edwards had some misguided notions about God’s wrath, the reality of God’s judgment is supremely important, because it declares two things:

1) there is both good and evil in the universe
2) evil will not be forever tolerated

Text: Ephesians 4:710
Date: November 2, 2008

Of course, there’s much more to the gospel than these two statements, and when the gospel is reduced to these two statements, we end up in some sort of fear based approach to God, exactly the opposite of what we’re invited to enjoy.

But we make a severe mistake when we try to erase those two important points because they too are part of the good news. I quote CS Lewis at length in order to make the point:

Blake wrote, “The marriage of heaven and hell”…in some sense or other the attempt to make that marriage is perennial. The attempt is based on the belief that reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable ‘either-or’; that, granted skill and patience,and time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found; that mere development or adjustment or refinement will somehow turn evil into good without being called on for a final and total rejection of anything we should like to retain. This belief I take to be a disastrous error.

Lewis goes on to declare the reality of hell, and the reality that those who are there, are there by their own choosing, not because an angry God condemned them to this against their will. As I’ll share on Sunday, this is in keeping with what the Bible teaches hell to be, and what the Bible has to say about God’s judgment.

Hell is the English word we use to describe several different things in the Bible: the grave, the abode of the departed, and the lake of fire are all referred to by the same word ‘hell’ in English, though they’re different words in Hebrew and Greek. So when the creed says, “he descended into hell” there are lots of questions about ‘which hell’ is meant: the grave? the place of departed souls? the lake of fire? Commentators and scholars argue about it. I’m not sure it matters.

The more important matter, by far, is to note the depth of Jesus sacrifice and love for us. Philippians 2 speaks of this, and Ephesians 4:7-10 speaks of Jesus ascent being tied, of course, to His descent into ‘the lower parts of the earth.’ Here are some questions to spark your thinking as we look at Jesus, hell, and our callings to follow Him -

1) Tim Keller’s excellent book: “A Reason for God” talks about the doctrine of hell as being one of the more offensive points for many who are considering the faith. Keller’s reply is that if God didn’t intervene and confine all evil to some specific place, God’s intent for the universe as a place filled with life and beuaty would never be realized. Furthere, he’d argue, like Lewis, that God doesn’t send people to hell; people choose hell because of their condition. Read the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 and share your own thoughts about this.

2) Whatever you think of hell, most of you would agree that hell is hell to the extent that it is the absence of God. By this definition, Jesus experienced hell because He experienced the absence of God when he died on the cross. Read Philippians 2 and ponder how Jesus life intersects with the convential wisdom we have today about putting limits on our compassion (a word which means ‘to suffer with’). If Jesus had learned the language of limits, would He have continued to the cross?

3) Based on your answer in #2 above, ponder the reality that we’re asked, in Philippians 2, to empty ourselves in a like manner as Jesus did, following in His example. What does this mean? Can you share an experience of this in your own life? What were the results?

We need to ponder the thought that Jesus carried all the guild, all the absence of God, and that these were the judgments of God poured out on one who absorbed them willingly so that we’d be able to become not only forgiven, but transformed. But our way of transformation is no different than His – we ascend by descending, we gain by giving away, we really live by being the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. Let’s ponder that as we prepare for the Lord’s table this Sunday.

We live at a time in history when there’s a huge disconnect between Jesus and His followers. People like Jesus… a lot. There are all kinds of bumper stickers, pins, bracelets, t-shirts, and flags available that will let you show your loyalties. At same time, though, lots of the same people who claim to be tight with Jesus can’t stand other Christians, and really can’t stand the church.

Study notes for: October 26th sermon.
Text: John 18:28-19:16

My question this coming Sunday is this: If Jesus is so wildly popular, why did everyone, religious and secular, patriotic and rebellious, from the right and left alike, conspire to kill the man? What was it about this person that made His death a necessity from the perspectives of such wildly diverse people as Romans and Jews?

The second question: What’s the value of Jesus death? What was gained by it? To understand the framework for this question, you might want to pour yourself a cup of coffee and take a look at the atonement theories that have been cast by theologians down through the ages. If you’re bored with that, just read I John 2:1-3 and II Corinthians 5:21.

1) According to these two passages, what’s the value of Jesus death?
2) What does Paul mean in Romans 6 when he says that we died with Christ? What does this look like in real life?
3) When you think about Jesus death, are you supposed to be glad that he died for you, sad that he suffered so much, intent of being willing to suffer more for him? What is response as you recall the death of Christ through the Lord’s Table and Baptism?

Now…on to the reasons people killed Jesus -

1) Jesus proclaimed a different kingdom and told his followers that, while they should ‘render unto Ceasar…” the reality is that their loyalty to Christ’s reign supercedes any other kingdom. Can you think of Christians who’ve paid a price in America for placing their loyalty to Christ above that of country? What would that look like here?

2) Jesus’ teaching was, eventually, an offense to everyone – but in His physical absence, the church has the luxury of re-interpreting His sayings, and thus runs the risk of lessening both the offense and impact of the gospel. If Jesus were to walk among your church today, what might He tell us that we’re misrepresenting? Please use the scriptures to support your thoughts.

The Christian life was not promised to be one of rational choices and logical conclusions. Both the humanity of Christ and the necessity of disruption in our lives are essential if we are to allow Christ to fill our lives so that we might bear fruit.

Discussion questions:

1. What are some of the costs that came to Mary because of the timing and manner of her pregnancy? What are some of the costs that came to her by virtue of being Jesus’ mother?
2. In spite of all the costs and challenges, Mary’s response is one of trust and availability, resulting in her outpouring of praise for the privilege of being chosen to carry Christ’s life. Why do you think she saw her out of wedlock pregnancy as a gift from God, rather than a bother? What in her attitude is instructive for us today?
3. Name a time when the presence of Jesus in your life has been disruptive. What was your initial response? Why?
4. In what area of life are you longing for God’s fruit to be seen? Is there an area where you’re resisting, hesitant to allow Christ’s birth for fear of what it will mean? Pray for one another about these things.

II Cor. 11:1-3

Love and community within the Trinity are both the source of all intimacy, and the example. The love and lordship of Jesus are central to our abundance and life.

Discussion Questions

1. The notion of “simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” can be hard to define. What examples, either personally, or through others, can you share that would help others understand how this devotion to Christ is practiced? What are your barriers to maintaining this devotion?
2. “Christ” means Messiah, which means the One on whom Israel has pinned her hopes. Yet the reality is that Jesus was overwhelmingly rejected as Messiah by the very people who knew their bibles the best. “He came to His own, and His own received Him not.” Why was He rejected? Is there a danger that we too might reject the true Jesus, and His true teaching, while thinking, like the religious leaders of Jesus day, that we’re standing on the moral high ground? What is the best protection against this happening?
3. Saying “Jesus is Lord” could get you killed in the early church, because it meant that you had a higher loyalty than the state. Some material that might help you understand the historical significance of this can be found here. Do you agree or disagree with this article’s notions regarding Lordship, as it applies to America? Why or why not? Does the author’s article make enough provision for our calling to maintain a measure of involvement with, and prayer for, our nation and its leaders?
4. People often say, “I like Jesus – it’s the church I can’t stand.” If Jesus is so wildly popular today, what do you think it was about His life that got Him killed in the first place?
5. The outgrowth of true devotion to Jesus as Messiah, Lover, and Lord is overwhelmingly positive, as seen in the Acts narrative, and the lives of the saints. Which of these three elements are most challenging for the church today? How about you personally?

It’s Friday. I’m driving back to the Eugene airport after teaching Thursday night and this morning for a small group of people who love to read and write. They’re the editing team for the book I wrote, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the conversations with them, from the moment I arrived yesterday at the airport, until I said goodbye this morning.

The rain is falling as I drive south on the Oregon coast, the road dropping off to my right offering glimpses of the waves crashing against the rocks. I see a sign for “Cooks Chasm” and impetuously pull off out of curiosity. There’s a sign at the far end of this tiny parking area and I walk over to it. From there I can stare straight down into the chasm, maybe 100 feet deep. Waves are crashing into this narrow gorge with explosive force, but nothing has prepared me for what happens next. As I’m looking down into the chasm, what appears to be a geyser suddenly shoots out from the rock, shooting sea spray about 50 feet into the sky. This is accompanied by a thunderous explosion, like the sound of thunder. This is called a ‘blow hole’, and it’s the result of the pressurized water of enormous waves shooting into the chasm.

I spend the next 20 minutes watching the blow hole perform, and each shot is pure delight. Between shots, I gaze across the landscape of wave and ocean, mindful that these waves have been crashing upon this share for generations, through the rise and fall of nations, wars, reformations, counter-reformations, and the rise and falls of political systems, economic systems, and world views. There’s something about standing in the face of that which points to power, eternality, and steadfastness that invites me into the Father’s arms. It’s good to be here, by the sea, with the Lord.

I ponder the working of sea on rock, ponder the metamorphosis of stone that comes because of water’s relentless caresses. This is how our Father transforms us as well. As we allow ourselves to be touched by His caress, we become, inevitably, shaped into His likeness. It happens through our renewal. It happens progressively. It happens so slowly. But like waves against the rock, it happens. Can we rest in this? Can we find peace in this? I hope so.

Learning how to pursue our God, how to allow that caress, how to embrace our long journey of transformation, requires discipline on our part, placing ourselves in the path of transformation so Christ can be seen. This is why silence, solitude, prayer, and Bible reading, and so vital in our lives. They are the waves that caress our soul, transform our mind, and shape our hearts. Little by little, as we show up, we place ourselves on the path of transformation. These are the ancient paths that lead to life. We keep showing up. The waves of His life, love, and mercy, keep transforming us.

We are rocks: Stubborn; resistant’ rooted. I pray that in these exciting days we’ll learn to place ourselves in the waves of His life.

This phrase was one of the last ones added to the Apostle’s Creed and some believe that it was added in order to combat the encroachment of gnosticism into the church. Gnostic teaching, though offered in many forms and complexities, had the net effect of negating both the goodness and value of the physical world. The world was divided into two parts: physical and spiritual, or visible and invisible. Value, for the gnostic, always resided in the spiritual and the invisible. No wonder the dark ages happened!

Discussion Questions

1. Churches often fall out of balance with respect to their relationship with the physical and spiritual realms. It’s easy to emphasize one at the expense of the other. What is most tempting for you to emphasize, body or spirit? Why?
2. Share a time when you encountered God’s revelation through creation (music, art, nature)?
3. The global church is divided about the subject of ‘the image of God’ in fallen people. Some think that our image bearing capacity was completely lost through the fall in Genesis 3, basing their conviction on passages such as Psalm 51:5, and Romans 3:11-13. Others believe that image of God was marred through the fall but not lost completely based on passages like Psalm 8 and Genesis 9:6. What do you think? Why? What implications does this have on your life?
4. Holding the tension of living a glorious, yet fallen world can be difficult. Some of us live in denial of the fall by turning up the music, and medicating the pain, while others wallow in the fall, becoming dark and cynical. Talk about this tension in your life, and how you deal with it.
5. Our calling as ‘joint heirs’ with Christ (see last week, or listen to the podcast) means that we have responsibilities as stewards of the earth. What should be our goal as stewards? How do stewardship issues compare in importance with evangelism?

Romans 8:12-17 Every declaration in the creed was chosen because these are the central beliefs needed, not just for future eternal life, but for the joyous, generous, life giving adventure that is intended to be ours now. What we believe, and what those beliefs mean are both equally important.

Discussion Questions

1. What adjectives describe your relationship with your father?
2. How easily do those adjectives transfer over to your relationship with God?
3. Is it easier for you to think of God as deeply personal, or as all powerful? Why?
4. What helps you build trust in God when things don’t turn out as you’d hoped, or prayed for?
5. What kind of elements in one’s life contribute to building our relationships between children and parents? Do any of these carry over into building our relationship with God?
6. What do you to in order to overcome your tendencies to disengage from relationships: with others? with God?

Here’s the quote of the day: “We’re all worried about losing our jobs,” Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican, declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote. “Most of us say, ‘I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it – not me.’ “

What else could you expect from an economic system predicated on the notion that everyone acting in their own self-interests will always lead to a win/win situation. Somehow, I wonder: WWJT. What would Jesus think?

He’d think that we should put the interests of others before our own. He’d think we should put the interests of the kingdom before our own. He’d think we should live generously. He’d think we should open our homes, share our food, and care for those who can’t care for themselves, and that these kinds of things should be our priorities.

We’ve been trying to reconcile Adam Smith and unregulated economics with the gospel for a long time. Can we please stop? What’s needed is a new model where the government rewards, not self-interest, but service and sacrifice. This might be an opportunity to build a new energy and technology infrastructure. Maybe America can begins producing goods again, rather than trying to live off fabricated wealth. Maybe, but I’m not sure. If Christians, who have the very words of Christ about money refuse to alter their view of self-interest economics, how will the rest of world do?