On Sunday, September 26, 2010 I preached a message on the critical importance of the deity of Christ. It, along with the doctrine of the trinity, make up the two main pillars of the Christian faith. Without them, there is no Christianity!

Wayne Grudem  in his book, Systematic Theology wrote, “Christianity stands or falls with the confession of the Trinity and the deity of Christ. They are the heart of the Christian faith… If Jesus is not fully God, we have no salvation and ultimately no Christianity.”

The doctrine of the Trinity states that God eternally exists as three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and each Person is fully God and there is only one God. The doctrine of the deity of Christ affirms that Jesus is fully and eternally God. He was not created. He became a man through the virgin birth and will forever be 100% God and 100% man.

John wrote his Gospel, in large part, to demonstrate that Jesus was not only human, he was divine.

John 1:1-2 and 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Putting those verses together: “In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God and Jesus was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

Here are three other accounts in the Gospel of John that show that Jesus was God:

John 8:48-59 – Jesus claimed to be the God (I AM) who spoke to Moses at the burning bust in Exodus 3!

John 10:22-33 – The Jews accused Jesus of claiming to be God and Jesus did not refute them.

John 20:24-29 – After Thomas was convinced that Jesus was truly alive following the crucifixion, he affirmed that Jesus was his “Lord and God” and Jesus did not correct him, he affirmed his statement.

As C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “Either this man (Jesus) was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and god. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

I agree with the doctrinal statement of the National Association of Evangelicals, which is made up of 40 different denominations with 45,000 churches: “We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Do you?

Tim

As I’m sure most of you know by now, a congregation in Florida plans to burn copies of the Koran this weekend. It has created a firestorm of criticism from around the world, including our top political and military leaders. In an article I read this morning, Pastor Terry Jones was quoted as saying that his congregation would pray about whether or not to go through with burning Korans on Saturday. Therefore, I strongly urge you to join his congregation in prayer, asking God to change their minds. This is not the way Jesus would have us respond to the Muslim world. They need to see and experience our love, not our hate. Love prevails!

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. One the contrary: If you enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:17-21

Please take time soon to pause and ask God to intervene in Jones’ heart and act in a manner fitting of a follower of Jesus Christ!

Tim

If you were in the service today and you want to re-watch the amazing video, “Creation Calls” or you missed the service but want to see one of the most incredible videos of God’s creation, here it is! I want to thank The Branch Church of Dallas, Texas for their work in putting this video together and also for making it available on the web for others to view!

Tim

Wayne Grudem is a professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona. I am giving you the link to a site where you can listen or download four lectures by Dr. Grudem on the subject of creation. He speaks on the topics of how God created, how long it took him to create and creationism verses evolution. I think you will find his lectures both interesting and informative.

Tim

This Sunday I will begin my fall teaching series, Great Statements of the Bible. Of all the verses in the Bible,  and there are 41,173 of them, I have selected a handful that I consider vital to understanding the nature of God, the core doctrines of the Christian faith and the essential attributes of a Christian. I am truly looking forward to this series and I hope that we are all challenged, encouraged, and motivated to live a life as a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

Tim