Redemption: To Be Born Again

Today we are continuing our series on church doctrine.  We have been going over this series since Sept. 6, 2015 and we hope to complete it by May 1, 2016.  Today’s message is “To Be Born Again” which could be alternatively titled “The Doctrine of Regeneration.  However, I want to remind you that our purpose for sharing these messages on doctrine is not to make great theologians at CCC.  Rather, the purpose for these messages (and all Sunday morning sermons) is to help equip the saints for the work of service. 

Before I begin today’s message, I want to define a few terms and explain how they relate to today’s topic and to this series on doctrine. Doctrine by definition is a noun meaning a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church.  That is what this series is all about, a set of beliefs held by our church.  In contrast, dogma is also a noun meaning a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority that is unquestionably true.  That is not what this series is all about, although we may cover some of the principles in God’s Word that would be considered dogma as we discuss the different doctrinal topics.

Redemption: The Gospel

Today we continue in the series Sound Doctrine, and we continue to investigate the area of our Redemption.  Today’s topic is the gospel, and that’s good news.

What is the gospel?

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.  Galatians 1:11

It is no message from men.  It is a message from God to us.

With that, let’s pray and ask God to speak into our time:

Lord Jesus, we need understanding and insight.  Impress on us the beauty of the gospel message and the effectiveness of its call.  Encourage us to be even more diligent to communicate the good news to others.  All this we pray, in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Redemption: The Elect

We are in the heart of our series Sound Doctrine.  If you recall, from late November through the end of the year our topic was Jesus, and we talked about His nature as God and Man, Jesus as the Focus of Prophecy and the Object of Foreshadowing, the Incarnation, the Atonement, His Resurrection and Ascension.

Last week, we opened a new part of our series on the topic, doctrine, or area of study:  Redemption.  Redemption is one aspect of the Atonement which we talked about just after Christmas.  As sinners, we were in bondage to sin and to Satan.  We needed someone (Jesus) to redeem us out of bondage.  It’s the idea of ransom described in Mark 10:45.  Now, we are going to look at the application of redemption in our lives.

One way of thinking about this topic of Redemption is, “What does it mean to ‘be saved’ in its many aspects?”  From this point until early March, we will talk about God's Grace, The Elect, The Gospel, Being Born Again, True Repentance and Saving Faith, Justification and Adoption, Growing in Likeness to Him, Persevering, and concluding with Death and Resurrection. 

Brian spoke about God’s grace last week.  Today, we will look at the Elect and consider when and why did God choose us?  As well as the difficult to consider thought, are some not chosen?

Redemption: God's Grace

The crippled young man was carried into the room.  He had heard about the one he was about to meet and had mixed feelings.  Were the stories all true?  He heard that this ruler had been responsible for killing thousands of people.  He was a great warrior and was greatly feared.  He could give a command and it would be obeyed quickly.  The whole country was under his control.  Other countries feared him as well.

The young man heard that this ruler had humble beginnings.  He had heard that he was a man just like him, except not crippled.  He was honored and excited to get a chance to even see someone that entire families would never see throughout generations.  What kind of man was he about to meet?  Why did he want to see him?  Why did he bring him here?  Was he in trouble?  That could be the only explanation because he had nothing to offer.  After all, what could a crippled man offer to a king?  So, Mephibosheth was sat down in the presence of King David and this is where our story begins.

This story is a good picture of what God’s grace is like.  King David was a powerful man.  Mephibosheth was a crippled man.  David initiated with Mephibosheth and not the other way around.  The king brought Mephibosheth to himself just like God draws people to himself for salvation.  David brought Mephibosheth out of a barren land just like God can bring us out of the barren land of sin and into the land of peace.  He shows gentleness to Mephibosheth just how God exercises gentleness over us.  The crippled man was brought into a relationship with the King through somebody else that he knew, not because he had something to offer the king.  In the same way, God has given us forgiveness if we belong to Jesus Christ.  Even though Mephibosheth wasn’t actually a son of the king, he was adopted just like God adopted us.  David was elaborate in his generosity towards Mephibosheth just like God is toward us.

Jesus of Nazareth: Resurrection and Ascension

Happy New Year! I am honored to share with you our first message of 2016. At the beginning of a new year, I often think of the poem God Knows, written in 1908 but only becoming widely known in 1939 after Princess Elizabeth of England handed it to her father, George VI, and he quoted part of it in his 1939 Christmas speech to the British Empire. It was the early days of World War II, a time of great uncertainty and foreboding in the world, not too different from the fear of terrorism that we face now. The poem begins:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

It’s a great encouragement to remember that whatever 2016 holds we can walk toward it confidently, holding the hand of God. The reason we can have that confidence is because of the reality of what we are going to be talking about today: the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. This truth is at the heart of what we believe as Christians, an essential part of what Jesus came to do. Last Sunday, I believe you talked about Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. His death was the sacrifice that paid the price for all our sins, allowing our relationship with God to be restored. That is what the atonement means. However, the story doesn’t stop there. Jesus came back to life, breaking the power of death, proclaiming his eternal victory over Satan and all the forces of evil. Without the resurrection, it would mean that this life is all that there is – and what a hopeless prospect that would be!