GatewayLife

The Church Local, the Church Universal

If you are a Christian, you have had the great privilege of being reconciled to God through Christ. You have received forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. You are a new creation - the old has gone, the new has come. Your past has been redeemed and you are now being conformed to the image of Christ. You have access to God through Christ and you have now been restored to your original purpose in life. You have received grace upon grace and power from on high. What a blessing! We have so much to be thankful for! We tend to get the individual nature of salvation. As Americans, we understand just about everything from an individual perspective. Me, mine, I, self - these are the lenses through which we see the world. We have been taught from the very beginning to see things this way by our culture, our families, and just about every bit of information that comes our way. Seeing things individually is not wrong in and of itself - God made us in His image as individuals to reflect His glory. But, we were also made to be in families and communities of worshipers. We were made for fellowship. Of course, sin marred all that. It marred our individual relationship with God as well as our communal understanding of our relationships with one another. Jesus came to restore us to God individually as well as to one another. This is what the church is all about. The church is meant to be a colony/outpost of Heaven in a strange land. We are to reflect Kingdom values and truth in a world drunk on selfishness and pride. We are different because our God is different - Holy. Through the church, God displays His wisdom to all of the powers and principalities (Eph. 3:10). Through the church, God shows His communal intentions for humanity. This happens as Christians everywhere are in relationship with God and each other (Church Universal), but also (and primarily, I would say) when Christians are in covenant relationship with one another in local communities called the local church. If you are a Christian and consider yourself committed to Christ, that must play out in a local church. We cannot live as strangers in the crowd and experience the full life that God has for us. Community is hard. Being committed to a local church works against all of our individualism. We have to die to self and live for God and others. But, there is always blessing in obedience.

- from the Gatepost

Easter to Pentecost: 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die

This past Sunday being Easter and with the Resurrection in full view, I encouraged our church to read one chapter each day of John Piper's 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die. If we read one chapter a day starting Easter Sunday, it will lead us to Pentecost Sunday on May 23 with the work of Christ on our behalf fully in view.

Here are a few quotes from the first four readings:

"we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is - dishonoring God by preferring other things over Him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn't God."

"There is a holy curse hanging over all sin. Not to punish would be unjust. The demeaning of God would be endorsed. A lie would reign at the core of reality."

"But the love of God does not rest with the curse that hangs over all sinful humanity. He is not content to show wrath, no matter how holy it is. Therefore God sends His own Son to absorb His wrath and bear the curse for all who trust Him. 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us' (Galatians 3:13)."

"Let us not trifle with God or trivialize His love. We will never stand in awe of being lived by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of his wrath against us. But when, by grace, we awaken to our unworthiness, then we may look at the suffering and death of Christ and say, 'In this is love, not that we have lives God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the (wrath absorbing) propitiation for our sins' (1 John 4:10)."

"When the Bible says that Jesus 'learned obedience through what He suffered,' it doesn't mean that he learned to stop disobeying. It means that with each new trial he learned in practice - and in pain - what it means to obey. When it says that he was 'made perfect through suffering,' it doesn't mean that he was gradually getting rid of defects. It means that he was gradually fulfilling the perfect righteousness that he had to have in order to save us."

"The wrath of God was satisfied with the suffering and death of Jesus. The holy curse against sin was fully absorbed. The obedience of Christ was completed to the fullest measure. The price of forgiveness was totally paid. The righteousness of God was completely vindicated. All that was left to accomplish was the public declaration of God's endorsement. This He gave by raising Jesus from the dead . . . And of we put our trust in Christ, we are NOT still in our sins. For 'by the blood of the eternal covenant,' the Great Shepherd has been raised and lives forever."

This past Sunday being Easter and with the Resurrection in full view, I encouraged our church to read one chapter each day of John Piper's 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die. If we read one chapter a day starting Easter Sunday, it will lead us to Pentecost Sunday on May 23 with the work of Christ on our behalf fully in view.

Here are a few quotes from the first four readings:

"we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is - dishonoring God by preferring other things over Him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn't God."

"There is a holy curse hanging over all sin. Not to punish would be unjust. The demeaning of God would be endorsed. A lie would reign at the core of reality."

"But the love of God does not rest with the curse that hangs over all sinful humanity. He is not content to show wrath, no matter how holy it is. Therefore God sends His own Son to absorb His wrath and bear the curse for all who trust Him. 'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us' (Galatians 3:13)."

"Let us not trifle with God or trivialize His love. We will never stand in awe of being lived by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of his wrath against us. But when, by grace, we awaken to our unworthiness, then we may look at the suffering and death of Christ and say, 'In this is love, not that we have lives God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the (wrath absorbing) propitiation for our sins' (1 John 4:10)."

"When the Bible says that Jesus 'learned obedience through what He suffered,' it doesn't mean that he learned to stop disobeying. It means that with each new trial he learned in practice - and in pain - what it means to obey. When it says that he was 'made perfect through suffering,' it doesn't mean that he was gradually getting rid of defects. It means that he was gradually fulfilling the perfect righteousness that he had to have in order to save us."

"The wrath of God was satisfied with the suffering and death of Jesus. The holy curse against sin was fully absorbed. The obedience of Christ was completed to the fullest measure. The price of forgiveness was totally paid. The righteousness of God was completely vindicated. All that was left to accomplish was the public declaration of God's endorsement. This He gave by raising Jesus from the dead . . . And of we put our trust in Christ, we are NOT still in our sins. For 'by the blood of the eternal covenant,' the Great Shepherd has been raised and lives forever."

The Poor and Needy

I drove through one of Montgomery’s most impoverished sections of town this morning (Rosa Parks from Downtown to Fairview Avenue) and then I stayed on Rosa Parks all the way to the South Blvd.

Those not from Montgomery only need to know that this area of town is rough. Once beautiful homes are in disrepair. People are standing around with nothing to do and nowhere to go. I drove by a drug deal, I think. (Parked car, money exchanged, you tell me). There are several housing projects in this stretch.

The whole time I felt like God was moving me to make this drive. I did not have to go down Rosa Parks as it was not even the fastest route to my job from where I had a meeting downtown. The whole time I was moved to compassion for a destitute area with very little hope.

Except…

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has hope for these people and for this community. Ultimately, people are selfish and even the best among us will revert to selfishness but for the work of Jesus Christ in the hearts of people.

The Bible says:

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. – Psalm 9:18.

Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. – Proverbs 14:21.

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. - Proverbs 14:31.

These samples are just part of an overall picture in Scripture of a God who loves the poor and calls us to love them as well. Yet we who are privileged have a tendency to sit in our ivory towers and look down on the world. We say that they have done this to themselves.

We are probably right in some cases, but God has not called us to pass judgment on the poor. He has called us to help the poor and to love them as he loves them. He has called us to take his truth that changes the soul to these people.

The sins of pride and selfishness affect the wealthy as much as the poor. The Gospel changes our hearts and moves us to seek a higher goal, Jesus. He is the solution for poverty. We can trust government programs that may fill the belly temporarily, but true and lasting change only comes from Jesus.

Do we have a heart for this city, for Montgomery, Alabama? Do we understand what it means to love our neighbors?

I do not, but I pray that God will continue to turn my heart toward the poor. 

Thanks, 

Jeff Moody

Is it Lawful?

Jesus has an interesting episode with the Pharisees in Matthew 12:9-14. The issue is whether or not it is lawful for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath. The Pharisees interpreted Sabbath law to the point that it was unlawful to do ANY work on the Sabbath. 

Again, they see the law but miss the point. Jesus answers them practically and in doing so brings their heart into question: 

Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

Let's be honest. We are all guilty of being Pharisees. We do our best to bring God down to a list of do's and don'ts and we miss out on the whole point. We take good things, like following God's command on the Sabbath, and make an entire legal structure out of it that we end up using to exalt ourselves and put others down. 

When we read the Gospels, we run the risk of making the Pharisees the "other." You know what I mean: "I can't believe they acted like that!" The reason why these interactions are included in the Gospels is so that Jesus can challenge our hearts in the same way he challenged theirs. 

Of course it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were so caught up in their own attempts at righteousness that they missed the point. 

Do we get the point? Do we do things hoping to earn favor with God or do we do things because we have favor with God and he has told us to do them as a part of the life he gives us? These distinctions are very important because we must look inside ourselves lest we fall into the same trap as the Pharisees. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Empty Religion Means Nothing

Matthew 12:7

And if you had known what this means, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice," you would not have condemned the guiltless. 

The Pharisees had everything figured out, so they thought. However, they missed the continual words of the Scriptures they supposedly loved so dearly, like Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness (mercy), and to walk humbly with your God. 

Contrast this statement with what Jesus said about the Pharisees in Matthew 23. 

For thety preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. 

You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.

You tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and merct and faithfulness. 

You also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

We must ask ourselves: Is my Christianity based on Jesus or on me? Do I do what he says for his glory and his kingdom or to be seen by others? This is a heart issue. If we only work on the outside, the result will be empty religion and we will not know God. If we seek Jesus with all our hearts (Jer. 29:13), then we will follow his calling by his power. 

Let us not be distracted by empty deeds but seek to follow God with all our hearts. In doing so, he will give us a heart of mercy for others. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Lord of the Sabbath, Lord of All

Matthew 12:1-8.

Jesus constantly makes those who hear his voice look at their hearts. When his disciples grabbed heads of grain on the Sabbath, the Pharisees (already challenged by Jesus' words and looking to trap him) thought they had something against Jesus. 

Wrong. 

Jesus points to Old Testament examples that they would know where the letter of law was relaxed but the spirit was upheld. This was the point Jesus was making to them. You keep the letter of the law, but you are far from the God who wrote it. 

Jesus said "Something greater than the Sabbath is here...For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." 

Fast forward to the 21st century and we Christians are guilty of the same sin. We follow our regulations (Read: Steps to Living the Christian Life, etc) so much that the regulations become the rules and we forget the God they are supposed to lead us to. 

We have to ask ourselves questions to make sure that we are pursuing God and not an idol. 

1. Do I read the scriptures to see who God is and what he tells me to do or to find support for my own ideas? (Proof-texting).

2. Do I pray to communicate with God or to follow a formula to gain his blessing? 

3. Do I fast because I feel I am obligated or because I want something from God or to grow closer to him and to see his will? 

4. Do I have a desire to see the lost come to Christ so that the kingdom can expand or am I simply me focused and constantly working on my own spirituality?

Remember the Lord of the Sabbath is also the Lord of the Church and the Lord of Our Hearts. If we place anything, even those things deemed Christian, we are guilty of idolatry. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com 

Enter into His Rest

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. -- Matthew 11:28-30.

We have a bad habit as believers of constantly reverting back to depending on ourselves for our own growth in Christ. When presented with a series of steps, we will always try to make that our new law because our sinful nature desires that we do all the work and receive all the glory. 

So we strive. But we do not strive to rest in God as much as we strive to follow some system that is supposed to lead us to God. The system, wrapped in spiritual terms, becomes a new law for us and we fight to follow the steps. 

When we get worn out, we simply turn to a new system. This is the reason why Christian bookstores can carry so many books about the steps to following God and will continue to have best-sellers. We constantly look for the next big thing that is going to finally bring us close to God for the rest of our lives. 

Sound familiar? The problem is not in the books themselves but in how we turn them into the system that takes us away from depending on God and toward depending on ourselves. Jesus has called us to rest, to utter dependence on him. Anything that burdens us with rules of righteousness is another repackaging of the law. Jesus operates by grace in that he moves in our hearts to draw near to him. 

Are you burdened by the rules and responsibilities of our law-driven Western Christianity? Come to Jesus and find rest for your souls. Do not bring your list of accomplishments. Bring your heart. What you take away will be far greater than whatever you can gain on your own. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

The Christian Attitude

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

How do you approach God? Do you come to him with an attitude of pride? Do you bring your understanding of the world and your gifts before God and think of how much you can be used for the kingdom?

This is not the attitude we should have before God. Our mindset must be one of humility. This passage shows us two things about the truth of Christ:

1. It cannot be gained by earthly wisdom and understanding.

2. It cannot be discovered without the work of God in someone's heart.

You tell me, which of these two things are we capable of performing by ourselves? Neither. Then what reason do we have to approach God as though he needed us?

Our attitude before Christ must be one of complete humility. We bring nothing to the table. This truth is hard for us to grasp because our society is built on the concept of self-accomplishment. But we have to say to Jesus, "I have nothing. You have everything. I need all of you."

This is the true Christian attitude.

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

The Coming Judgment

What do you do with Jesus? 

I do not mean what you think about Jesus, or the casual Jesus waiting to meet your felt needs and give you good parking places made popular by evangelicalism. 

What do you do with Jesus, the real Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible? 

The same Jesus that says to unrepentant cities: But I tell you it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.

We cannot talk about Jesus without talking about the punishment for sin. Those who reject Jesus will face consequences for their sin. This does not sound like the Jesus we so often read about in the Christian Best Sellers section of your local bookstore. 

Sorry for the rant, but what passes for Conservative Christianity today is a lie. Yes, Jesus is the giver of all good things and should be worshiped as such, but He is God. He is holy. He has no room for sin. Unless we understand the penalty for sin, we cannot understand the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. 

So, first things first, Do you know Jesus for who he is and not who we want him to be? 

Secondly, are you going to reject him and face the same punishment as the unrepentant cities? 

What are you going to do with Jesus?

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Avoiding the Extremes

Matthew 11:18-19

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon." The Son of Man came eating and dreaking, and they say, "Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.

The Pharisees cannot figure out which side of the fence they were on. John the Baptist called them a "brood of vipers" and challenged their hearts, so they said "He has a demon." John rebuked them with the power and knowledge of God and they dismissed him, instead choosing to continue in their ways. 

When Jesus comes and challenges their religious rules, they call him "a glutton and a drunkard." They view Jesus as having too much freedom by asribing to their various regulations. In doing so, they also dismiss Jesus as being unworthy to tell them what to do. 

See a pattern here? The Pharisees choose which extreme to fall to so that they did not have to repent. First, they lean toward license with John as they do not accept his words because he was too extreme. Second, they practice legalism with Jesus who shows them that the restrictions they place on themselves and others do not lead to godliness but lead to pride. 

Lest we think this is simply a Pharisee problem, we must realize that we do exactly the same thing. We dismiss God's word to us as either too restrictive or too free. We hide behind on our freedom or our own legalism, choosing to follow ourselves rather than follow God. 

God does not leave us where we are. He is always working to change us, challenge us, and make us more like him. These changes can be uncomfortable and we often respond by turning away from God's will. We have to come before God with no pretense; nothing but ourselves with an open heart to be more like him. 

That is the path to life. 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com