Matthew 110
(Chapter 24)
Are we in the end times
Part-three: (wait we need to pause for a second) The Great Tribulation
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
John 14:1 (NIV)
1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
You all have inundated me with information about
· The end times
· The Olivet discourse (some of you got it going on)
· Some sent your opinions (both good and bad)
So, before we go any further, let talk about a couple things
Everything we are discussing right now are secondary issues
What is core to our beliefs (primary issues)
· While many theological differences exist among Christians, most hold a set of beliefs in common.
· Jesus is the Son of God and is equal with God and is the second part of the trinity
o (John 1:1, 49; Luke 22:70; Mark 3:11; Philippians 2:5–11)
· Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life
o (Hebrews 4:15; John 8:29)
· Jesus was crucified to pay the penalty for our sins
o (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 15:2–4)
· Jesus rose from the dead and ascended in to heaven
o (Luke 24:46; Mark 16:6)
· We are saved by the grace of God alone; that is, we cannot add to or take away from Christ’s finished work on the cross as full payment for our sin
o (Ephesians 2:8–9)
It could be argued that belief in the inerrancy of God’s Word is also a core belief of Christianity because, if the Bible’s veracity is suspect, then all we know about God is in doubt. Saving faith is inextricably linked to the Word of God: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ”
(Romans 10:17).
Second, remember what theology is!
· Theology is a philosophically oriented discipline of religious speculation and apologetics that is traditionally restricted, because of its origins and format, to Christianity!
· This is literally man trying to understand God
· And all of us (theologians) will get some of it wrong
· I somehow think we look too deep down the rabbit whole
Why Pastors don’t like to preach on certain topics (secondary issues)
· Things like
o End times (when, where, how, why, what…….)
o Predestination (the election of people into the kingdom god determined/God and Man determined)
o Sanctification: In theological language, the term sanctification has largely referred to something that we do, normally our growth in holiness. However, the Bible uses the term sanctification in a more definitive way, indicating the holy status that we have already through our union with Christ.
o Money (how much, when, why, what for)
o Spiritual Gifts (what are they, are they real and do they even still exist)
o Baptism (when, where, how, who)
o Denominational Differences (that is just nuts)
o Most of the Old Testament
o Revelations (after chapter 3, no one wants to touch it)
The crazy thing (most people are way more passionate about secondary issues)
“If the enemy can’t destroy you, he will distract you.”
· Secondary issues get in the way when they become primary
o For Christians to agree to disagree (even if you know you’re right like Paul did!). It’s not a failure of theological nerve to recognize that some good believers will make different decisions than other good believers.
· The problem is when our passion for these issues exceeds our passion for the gospel, for the cross, for the lost, for the afflicted, for the mission Jesus sent us to do.
· And what I am seeing is a lot of your/our passions are getting in the way of the gospel in our lives
But Chris, isn’t all God's word important?? (Short answer “Yes”)
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,17so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
· Absolutely it is
· And look what Paul says about God’s word
o Teaching – that the doctrine (a belief or set of beliefs held and taught) of the church should come from God's word, in its totality
o Rebuking - show sinners their failures, clarify the point of the mistake, and lead them to a new sense of peace and wholeness.[1]
o Correcting – restore someone’s doctrine, their way
o Training – to bring along someone else, to train disciples
· The problem is most believers are not in God’s word enough to form good opinions
o That leads me to my next point
Romans 14:1–5 (The Message)
1Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
2For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly.
3But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table.
4Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
5Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
Not every issue matters as much as every other issue. Not every position deserves out fieriest passion. Save the big guns for the big ones. Get the heart pounding for the doctrine of the Trinity or penal substitution or God’s sovereignty. If your “thing” is Christmas trees or the kind of beverage in the communion cup, it’s time to get a better “thing.” The Christian life allows for lots of passion, discourse, and detailed application—as long as we don’t get everything out of whack.
[1] Lea, T. D., & Griffin, H. P. (1992). 1, 2 Timothy, Titus (Vol. 34, p. 237). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
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