“Not Just Another Club Talk”

seminar summary sheet

  1. Person of Christ (Christ is Christianity, His divinity answers other questions)
  1. Claims of Christ
  1. Direct Claims
  1. Son of God (Matthew 11:27)

-1st example of this claim is in John 8

(I AM)

-2nd example of this claim is in John 20:26-29 where Jesus accepts Thomas’ designation of Lordship

  1. Indirect Claims
  1. Jesus forgave sins: Mark 2:1-12 and in Luke 7:36-50 where a woman washes Jesus’ feet with her tears
  2. Jesus gave life: John 6:35, John 10:28, John 5:21, Mark 10:17
  3. Jesus taught the truth: Mark 6:3, John 7:15, Matthew 7:28-29
  4. Jesus came to judge the world: Matthew 25:31-46, John 12:47-48…..Jesus said he would come again to judge….no ordinary teacher would speak this way
  1. His dramatized claims- “His works dramatize his words”
  1. John’s gospel has six or seven selected signs which he associates with “I am statements”

-Water to wine, John 2, water is the old religion and Jesus ushers in the new (wine)

- Jesus feeds five thousand in John 6 and then claims to be the bread of life then heals a blind man and calls himself the light of the world

-Jesus raises Lazarus and states that He is the “resurrection and the life”

-Only Christ can satisfy hunger, restore sight and give life

  1. Character of Christ
  1. What Christ himself thought
  1. Jesus acknowledged his own sinlessness in John 8(adulterous woman) and many other places

-this is unique because he could point out hypocrisy in others

-his biography is unlike the saints; those who lived in Christ senses their sinfulness while Jesus acknowledged just the opposite

2. What Christ’s friends said (apostles)

a. the apostles are credible testimony because

they lived with Him, were soaked in OT tradition

and spoke of Jesus’ sinlessness indirectly, they

didn’t set out to prove this…..they noticed it

3. What Christ’s enemies conceded

a. Mark lists 4 criticisms in Mark 2:1-3:6 (blasphemy, evil associations, frivolity of His religion, Sabbath breaking)

4. What we can see for ourselves

a. Jesus was human (tired, thirsty, etc.)

b. Jesus was divine

c. Jesus was unselfish

d. His teaching was self-centered but his actions

were not

  1. The Fact and Nature of Sin (man’s need)
  1. Sin is universal-everybody has sin (Psalm 14)
  2. What is sin? Failure to hit a mark, inward badness which is an inner disposition that falls short of what is good
  1. Sin is also referred to as a transgression of a boundary or lawlessness
  2. The Ten Commandments serve as a reminder that we do not measure up especially the way Jesus explains them in Matthew 5-7
  3. Other definitions
  1. Sin is our rebellion to God’s authority in our lives
  2. Sin is the fact that we were made so that God could take care of us and we have chosen to take care of ourselves
  1. Consequences
  1. Alienation from God (Hab. 1:13, Isaiah 33:14) sinful man, while still in his sins could never approach a holy God
  1. it separates us and cuts us off (construction of the Tabernacle)
  2. if we reject Jesus who offers us eternal life, we will die eternally in the next life (Isaiah 59:1-2)
  3. this creates a hunger in us which only God can satisfy
  1. Bondage to self- sin enslaves us
  1. our outward actions (sins) are only signs of what is wrong inwardly (Sin) (Mark 7:21-23) and (Galatians 5:19-21)
  1. Conflict with others and with ourselves
  1. we become consumed by our own self-centeredness so we:

-treat others terribly

-and we do not see ourselves as image bearers of God or see ourselves as His children

-we have no identity

4. There is nothing we can do about it (“Man cannot operate on himself”) Stott

  1. Why do talk about this condition?
  2. “We shall never put our trust in Christ until we have first despaired of ourselves.” Stott
  1. Death of Christ (Christianity is a rescue religion)
  1. Centrality of the Cross
  1. Passion narrative takes up significant percentages of each gospel and almost half of John
  1. Meaning of the cross
  1. Christ died as our example: Jesus models to us that we need to live a life in submission to God’s will even if it means suffering
  2. Christ died as our sin bearer
  1. Sacrifice- our sin was transferred to Jesus, Day of Atonement, Hebrews 7 and Hebrews 10
  2. Propitiation- God hates sin and needs to be appeased (Romans 1:8, Romans 3:25, 26)

-Deliverance from wrath:

“his holy and uncompromising antagonism to evil, with which he refuses to negotiate”

-Don’t we want God to hate evil?

  1. Reconciliation- our relationship with God has the possibility for restoration (Ephesians 2:11-18, Romans 5:9-11)
  2. Redemption- payment made for a ransom, God has bought us back (redeemed us), payment has been made for us and we are free (Matthew 20:28)

-we are redeemed from the power of sin

-we are redeemed from the guilt of sin (Galatians 5:1)

-don’t over emphasize just one of these motifs

  1. Resurrection
  1. The body was gone
  1. Swoon theory-Jesus was only mostly dead
  2. Thieves took the body
  3. The disciples took the body
  4. The Romans or Jews took the body
  1. The grave clothes were undisturbed

1. The positioning of the grave clothes and the fact that the body was gone are both witnesses to the resurrection…this was not a resuscitation

  1. Jesus was seen
  1. ten appearances
  2. these vary in time, person and place
  3. not wishful thinking, not inventions or hallucinations
  1. The disciples were changed
  1. Who would die for a lie knowing it was a lie?
  2. Look at Peter, James and Paul
  3. Look at the spread of the message
  1. Salvation of Christ- Jesus offers to change not only our standing before God but our very nature. We must be born again and the inward transformation we receive is the work of the Hoy Spirit. (John 3)
  1. We will continue to be aware of our sinful desires but will now be aware of a counteracting force pulling us to holiness
  2. God is more than just saving individuals independent from one another but rather is calling out a people for himself
  3. The church is the body of Christ and how we are to be blessed
  4. Not only do we belong to the church universal but cannot claim to be members of this worldwide body if we do not share in one of it’s local manifestations
  1. Counting the Cost- we must respond to Jesus
  1. The call to follow Christ
  1. Renunciation of sin- we need to repent, turn away from what is wrong
  2. Renunciation of self- we need to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, to say no to ourselves and yes to Christ
  1. The call to confess Christ- we are to not only follow him privately but confess him publicly
  2. Incentives
  1. We need to follow Jesus for our own sake. To follow Him is to find ourselves.
  2. We need to follow Christ for the sake of others. “Whoever loses his life will save it…for the sake of the gospel” Mark 8:36
  1. We experience true life when we give life to others through the gospel
  1. We need to follow Jesus for His sake. Mark 8:34-37
  1. Reaching a decision
  1. Jesus wants to come into our heart. He wants to be your Lord and Savior. “He died to be our savior. If we receive Him, He will be able to apply to us personally all the benefits of His death.” Stott
  2. We must hear His voice and come to Him.
  1. Admit: Romans 3:23
  2. Believe: John 3:16
  3. Commit/Child of God: John 1:12
  1. It is a definite act
  2. It is a unique act- you can take this step only once
  3. It is a deliberate act- you do not have to wait for a supernatural act…this offer is extended to you now
  4. It is an urgent act- don’t wait forever
  5. It is an indispensible act- there is no substitute for this decision
  1. Final thoughts
  1. Please read: “Basic Christianity” and “Cross of Christ” by John Stott, “Who is this Jesus” by Michael Green, “Foundations of the Christian Faith” by James Boice and “Love Walked Among Us” by Paul Miller
  2. Read the gospels and live in them.
  3. What do you see? Commentaries can be helpful but what about you? Who do you say that He is?
  4. Let the Bible do the work. “Scripture is like a lion. Whoever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose; it will defend itself.” Charles Spurgeon
  5. Spend your preparation time mostly on the Biblical account and not on your stories, tricks and illustrations.
  6. People are captivated first by beauty and then truth. Show them beauty and they will ascent to the truth.