This morning we are wrapping up our summer series. We've been working our way through the Apostles' Creed looking at a very foundational thing. The series is called I Believe because these are our core convictions as Christians. The Apostles' Creed is, as we've been saying, it's the oldest creed written after the Apostles and it's been embraced by Christians of all stripes because it so clearly reflects the truths that we find in Scripture. We believe these truths not because they're old. We believe these truths not because we've inherited them from mere church tradition. We believe these things because they reflect what's written in scripture. We believe these things because we find them to be true in God's word, and these truths, therefore, are not man-made. In fact, like the song that we opened with states, we don't make these doctrines. Rather, these doctrines make us. These truths make us into the people that God has designed us to be. These doctrines bear fruit in our lives when they are embraced by faith. And so today we are wrapping up this confession, this creed, and we are really looking at the end. Right, because the end of this confession points to the end of the world as we know it and it leads us into a recreated earth and eternity lived together in the presence of God, and so the creed ends with this. I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. That is something that we actually do believe, and when we're talking about the end, all worldviews point to the end and try to answer that question what's going to happen, what will eventually come of this world, or what happens after death? Every worldview wants to answer that in some way, and there are those who would say nothing happens when you die. It's lights out, you're worm food and that's the end. The end is really the end. There is nothing after that. And then other theologies and other religions have other ways of answering these questions. But what we find in scripture is the truth of what happened, not just after death but in all eternity what we can expect Now.
Speaker 1:People care less today about that question where do we go when we die? In fact, a recent survey done by Lifeway Research showed that, not just generationally, but people alive today are really not asking that question like they used to just decades ago. Decades ago people were concerned with that question what can I expect when I die, or what's going to happen in the end? But today people are much more focused on the experience. Now, what can I expect from life today? Or do I have a meaning or value?
Speaker 1:Now, although people are asking this question about what happens in the end less today than in previous generations, it doesn't mean that we don't need to address it. It's in our creed, because it does matter, and it matters on the level of truth, it is true, so we should know it, but it also does matter on the level of experience, because who you are and what you do today is directly impacted by your theology and what we believe about God and Christ and the body. So what we're gonna do here today is we're going to unpack these truths, right, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Going to unpack that and to do this, we're gonna look at a number of different passages of scripture, okay, so you can follow along if you want, flip around, or you can just kind of make mental notes or write down these references if you like. When we start our sermon series a new sermon series next week, we will be going through a book of the Bible, so we'll be camping out in one passage at a time, but today we're going to be popping around quite a bit. So, and in unpacking these doctrines, what we want to see is what this theology is supposed to do in us.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, first of all, we say I believe in the resurrection of the body. We have to talk about ourselves as human beings, because here's the thing that we tend to not get, and that is that we as human beings are human beings, body and soul. Right, you are a person made in the image of God, body and soul. This really does matter. We read about it in Genesis 2 and in Genesis 1, right, that God made man from the dust of the earth. And in chapter 2, it says that. And in Genesis 1, verse 27, we're told that God made man, male and female, in his image. Okay, male and female. He created them. We are made in the image of God, body and soul.
Speaker 1:Like some of you are already uncomfortable with the idea, because I keep stressing the body, this is who. You are right, you are a human being made in the image of God. And to be in the image of God, it means that we reflect God in some way. Every human being, regardless of what they believe or where they come from or what they've done, every human being, body is made in the image of God and in some way they reflect who God is, to greater or lesser degrees, of course. So we reflect God's image because we are made by him, and what this means for us is that the real you, the real you, is not the spirit. For us, is that the real you? The real you is not the spirit we sometimes want to pit it against, like our flesh, like, well, the real me is the spirit. The real me is the soul, this body. You could just take this body and throw it away. It has nothing to do with who I really am. This is untrue. The real you, the human being made in the image of God, made to know God and reflect God and experience God and all of his blessings, human body and soul.
Speaker 1:The problem, the problem is that we tend to become frustrated with our fallenness, right, our sinfulness. There is corruption in this world. So, yes, every person is made in the image of God. It means that we reflect God in some way. Think of it like a mirror. Right, a mirror reflects the one looking into it and as God's creature is made in his image, we are designed to reflect God, not only to himself but to everyone else. But though we are mirrors, we are broken mirrors. Right, there are a lot of cracks, there are pieces missing from this mirror. So our reflection of God is dim and it's in peace from this mirror. So our reflection of God is dim and it's in peace. And it's this fallenness, this sinfulness in us, this corruption in our hearts, that frustrates about who we are as human beings and it leads to bad theology. We try to come up with ways of wrestling with okay, well, I'm a human being, but something's not working here, something's broken, and it leads to this bad theology.
Speaker 1:And there's two ways, historically, that this bad theology has come about, as it respects who we are as human beings body and soul. And the two things really are dualism and asceticism and I know you're thinking, I don't know those words, I've never heard that before. Dualism or asceticism, it doesn't matter what the words are Doctrines that have corrupted the church, but people throughout the centuries. And dualism essentially teaches that spirit is good and matter is bad. Right, that things spiritual, those are the good things, but all things physical, those things are evil and corrupt. And so really the goal of life is to press to all things spiritual and distance ourselves from all things physical. That's dualism.
Speaker 1:Spirit is good, material is bad, and with that comes asceticism, and this has been popular in the church over the centuries, and asceticism teaches that the way that you press into the spiritual and find salvation, enlightenment and who you really are is by denying yourself physical pleasure. So historically these people would wear uncomfortable, even painful clothing, because if you can deny yourself the pleasure of wearing soft cotton or polyester or whatever you like to wear, like, if you can deny yourself that would be my affliction, I think wearing polyester you deny yourself pleasures, and by denying the pleasures of material, physical experience, you are then enlightened and enabled to press into the spiritual. The problem with this is that the material world is made by God. He makes it, he says it is good, right, god created the heavens and the earth, did all things and filled all things, and in Genesis 1, it says, after everything that he makes, it is good, it is good. And he makes mankind and he says look, this is very good, what God makes is good, it is not evil and it is not to be rejected. And we're going to come back to this verse later on, but I want us to just read it now.
Speaker 1:1 Timothy, chapter 4. 1 Timothy, chapter 4, starting in verse 3, paul is telling this young pastor, timothy, about the dangers of false teachers and these prophets that are going to bad theology. And so he's talking about them in 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 3, and these false teachers are men who say or who forbid marriage. Right, they forbid marriage and they require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. Now here's this theology.
Speaker 1:Here's Paul's theology about the material world. Everything created by God is good and nothing is to be did if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. So it's these bad theological answers that we come up to answer the question of why is everything corrupt in the world? It's not because the world is bad and material is bad and experience in this material world is bad. What's the sin and corruption? And Paul says no, you can receive these good gifts from God in creation with thanksgiving. And Paul says no, you can receive these good gifts from God in creation with thanksgiving, and all praise goes to God.
Speaker 1:We're going to come back to that later on, but for now what needs to be clear in our minds is that the real you is the whole person. You are a human being made in the image of God body and soul, not just spirit. And what we mean then is that, since we are corrupt, since we are broken and sinful and are even under the condition of God as sinners, when we talk about needing salvation and longing for redemption, we are not just needing salvation of our spirits, but but of our bodies. Right? We mention in restoration who we are, physically as well as spiritually, and they're deeply connected. So our salvation is not a move from the physical to the spiritual. That's not what it is, and a lot of people even think this way about heaven. Well, you know, the whole point is that I'm gonna die body you can do away with, but my spirit, the real me, will go into the presence of God and then I'll be happy for all eternity with him. And this is a very truncated and inappropriate view of heaven that we need to correct today. So when Christ redeems someone, he redeems us entirely, body and soul. So we say that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and from the effects of sins, and so when he rescues us, he rescues spiritually. We have the forgiveness of sins and we are put at peace with God, the Father, and yet we long for the completion of our redemption through the resurrection of the body.
Speaker 1:There is a benediction that we read here often at Redeemer. It's 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 23. So you're familiar with it. But listen to it again, verse 23,. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, that is, may God change you completely, make you holy completely, he says. May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it.
Speaker 1:So the longing for redemption and this blessing that we receive is the hope not just of the forgiveness of sins, but that God will actually. We receive is the hope not just of the forgiveness of sins, but that God will actually, in the end, present us body and soul completely human and completely perfected. Our redemption is of the whole person. So you, you must be saved Like all of you. I don't just mean all of you individually. Yes, we all need salvation, but all of you needs to be saved, every part of your mind, body and your spirit, and your soul and your heart. We need this kind of redemption Not just to free us from the painful impact of sin and death in this culture, but so that through redemption of our bodies, even we can experience and express the pleasures and the glories of God for all eternity. And when I say listen, you need to be redeemed, the whole, you needs to be redeemed. You already know it, even if you don't believe in the gospel. Even if you're hearing all this and you're thinking you know Christian thing, it's kind of cool, but whatever, it's not really my belief and you've got your way and I've got my way. Maybe you don't believe in the direction of the body or life everlasting, but you do believe in the need of redemption. I've yet to meet a person who longs to be made whole, to be made complete, like that. There is a solution that needs to be given to us so that we can find who we really are.
Speaker 1:Our problem is that when we recognize that we need redemption and we need some kind of salvation, our problem is that when we recognize that we need redemption and we need some kind of salvation sanctum, restoration when we recognize that we are not what we're supposed to be, we tend to default to our sinful conditions, and that is vanity, because we are vain and then we realize I'm not what I'm supposed to be. We try to deal with the problem superficially. We try to make ourselves handsome or pretty and we think in doing that maybe in sculpting abs or getting implants or doing our hair better right, in doing any of these things we can somehow become what we're supposed to be. It's like we're missing the point entirely. And yet we are trying to address the problem on some superficial level. So vanity is our curse here in trying to deal with our own corruption.
Speaker 1:And it happens because we do confuse beauty with being pretty or handsome. Like human beauty has nothing to do with cultural norms or expectations. All humans are beautiful because all human beings are made in the image of God. We have infinite value and worth and dignity. So to become more beautiful is to see the image of God restored in us, become more like him, less like our fallen selves and more like our maker. We look more like Jesus, perfect humanity on display. See, what we do is we confuse it with being pretty or handsome and we miss this point entirely.
Speaker 1:So when we're talking about our salvation being of the whole and our redemption being the total redemption of me, body and soul, we are talking about the restoration of the imago Dei, the image of God, and that is happening now progressively, spiritually, is trust in Christ and follow him, and God changes our minds and our hearts and it's a spirit that longs for God and we grow and we become more mature. But it isn't until Christ returns and there is this great resurrection of the dead, when we receive our bodies and be made like Christ and all corruption and sinful interference will be gone. This is what we believe. So we're talking about here the resurrection of the dead. Now, the resurrection of the dead is a core Christian belief. It is one of those non-negotiables. We believe that the resurrection of the dead is so important that it's built into our old discussion and it is a part of what we preach and it all hinges on this fact. That Jesus himself was raised of the dead is so important that it's built into our old discussion and it is a part of what we preach, and it all hinges on this fact that Jesus himself was raised from the dead.
Speaker 1:I know that some Christians really get into eschatology and they can be annoying. Sometimes we get so fixated on eschatology. Eschatology is the doctrine of the end end times. Sometimes we get so fixated on eschatology in thechatology is the doctrine of the end end times. Sometimes we get so fixated on eschatology in the end we forget that we are made to live now, and what we believe about the end should be impacting us now. But sometimes we get so fixated on what happened that we miss entirely the point of experiencing these truths in our lives, in our families and in our churches.
Speaker 1:And with that, though, has come this fascination with something called the rapture. Now, listen, I've been following Jesus for 20 years, and in all of the conversations that I've had about the end, the vast majority of the time I'm going to ballpark it at around 80% of the time when I'm talking with Christians about the end, the point is the rapture. Now, if you don't know what the rapture is in Christian theology, it's the idea that Jesus will come back, as he's promised. He'll come back, and the church will meet him in the air. Now here's where the differences come.
Speaker 1:Some people believe, when they talk about the rapture, that the people of God will meet Jesus in the air and then he will take us away, and then literally, literally. All hell breaks loose on them right Judgment, tribulation, all kinds of difficulties happen on the earth, but the church has been taken away, and so, at the very least, the rapture is this idea that the church will meet Christ in the air when he returns. That what I just said. That much is biblical. We read that. We're going to read it in a minute. But the point in all of the eschatology and everything that we read in the Bible about the end, everything that we read about Christ, the point is his return and the resurrection. That's everything for the church. It's not the rapture, whatever that is. That word isn't used in scripture, but what we do find is that Christ will return, and when he does, he will raise the people from the dead. Those who have died will be raised, they will receive their bodies, and then judgment will happen.
Speaker 1:Here's a passage of scripture we need to be familiar with. Okay, it's 1 Thessalonians, chapter four. The Thessalonian church was fixated on the return of Jesus. That's good theology Jesus is coming back. They were very fixated.
Speaker 1:Sometimesian church was fixated on the return of Jesus. That's good theology Jesus is coming back. They were very fixated. Sometimes. They were so fixated on it, though, that they would neglect what was supposed to be done around them. They wanted Jesus back and they were so sure that he was going to come back so quickly that they began to neglect their responsibilities here and now. Bad deal. It's a bad effect of theology that isn't tempered with the rest of Scripture. So it's a bad effect of theology that isn't tempered with the rest of Scripture. So Paul has to correct them and he's trying to encourage them.
Speaker 1:And some of them had been waiting and been passing and Jesus hadn't returned. And then some of their Christian brothers and sisters had died and they were thinking, oh man, they're going to miss out on the resurrection. I mean, they're going to miss out on the return. Jesus is going to come back and they're going to miss this great arrival of our great savior. And so Paul wants to address their concerns that their dead sisters are gonna miss out on the resurrection.
Speaker 1:So here's what he says, verse 13 of chapter four in 1 Thessalonians we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, dead, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope, for since we believe that Jesus died and rose again. He said fallen asleep or died, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of man, with the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be word for, encourage one another with these words. If I can break it down for you, he's saying this Don't worry about those who have died in Christ, those who have perished. Those who have died in Christ have not perished. They're in the presence of God.
Speaker 1:But when Christ returns, when Christ returns to execute judgment and to make all things new, those who have died will be raised and we will all meet Christ together. It descends in the air and the picture is one of like a wedding processional, really in this culture that the groom is coming for his bride and the bridal party goes out to meet the groom and then to come in with him as he gets to his bride, so the wedding can actually take place. That's the picture here. So Christ will return, the dead in Christ will rise, those who are alive will be transformed and we will all meet Christ in the air. And then judgment and the end begins, and the resurrection of the dead includes both the wicked and the righteous, the believing and the unbelieving, those who have been forgiven of God and those who have not sought forgiveness in Christ, and it's a resurrection for everyone, but it is a resurrection unto life for those who know God and resurrection unto eternal death and judgment for those who do not.
Speaker 1:In John 5, jesus talks about these contrasting resurrections, the point being, though, that the resurrection, we receive our bodies back so we are whole again, but they're into eternity, either one of judgment or one of blessing, and this is longed for to be made whole, to be right with God, and what this means is that the end, the end of all things, is spiritual and physical. It's both. It's so important for us to get, because we talk about heaven in such a way that makes everybody uninterested in going there, especially your kids, right, because heaven is this crazy place. It's all white and you wear robes and you play the harp, which is nice in measure, right, but you don't want harps all the time, right? So it's this boring, sterile, cold, immaterial place. You don't even have a body. This is how most of us talk about at least think about heaven, but the eternal state is both physical and spiritual. So let's just clarify heaven a little bit when we talk about heaven. But the eternal state is both physical and spiritual. So let's just clarify heaven a little bit.
Speaker 1:When we talk about heaven, we can talk about it in two ways. People die, and when a believer dies today, the body lies in the grave and the spirit, we are told, is in the presence of God. Paul talks about this in Philippians, chapter one. Okay, that to die and to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So this is a good thing. There's heaven okay, we can talk about heaven that way. But this is what theologians call the intermediate state. It's a period of time where we will be with God after our death, before the resurrection. And this is an intermediate state because we're not designed to be immaterial. We've been created by God to be physical, body and soul, and so when we talk about heaven, it's okay to talk about it in that way, or think about it at least, in that way immaterial. But that's not heaven in the end. That's not the end, that is not our salvation fully experienced. Because later, when Christ returns to judge the quick and the dead, he will establish a new earth and those who have been raised to life will dwell on this earth forever.
Speaker 1:2 Peter 3 is just one passage to consider, starting in verse 10. It says but the day of the Lord will come like a thief, surprisingly quick. The day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies, that is, planet, solar systems, everything that we can see in the created order in the sky, all of these things will be burned up and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. There's judgment. Since all things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be, in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved? Heavenly bodies will melt as they burn? But, according to his promise, we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. New heavens, new earth it means God will recreate everything and we will dwell with one another and in the presence of our God, body and soul on this planet, perfected, forever.
Speaker 1:This is good news, because people balk at the idea of heaven. Some Christians balk at the idea. But the two people that I'm really kind of balk at the idea of heaven as it is popularly presented are my kids and atheists. Those are the two people that balk at the idea of heaven as it is popularly presented are my kids and atheists. Those are the two people that balk at the idea of heaven as it is popularly presented. My kids don't like it because they have very deep and I'm serious, very deep concerns, theological concerns as it was popularly presented to them. You know, as they start to consider these things.
Speaker 1:So if heaven, if we go, we don't have our bodies, how can we enjoy God and his gifts? How can we if we don't have a body? We can't see or hear? Or do I mean what about all the good things that God gives us? How can I do that? How can we talk to each other in heaven if we don't have mouths right? Those are actually very real questions. Theologians wrestle with this idea of the intermediate state because we are made human beings, body and soul, and to not have your body, you are somehow incomplete. So it's a serious question. And the other people that I hear mocking of heaven and perhaps there's some legitimacy to their complaint are some of my atheist friends, and there are a couple in particular who were recently just railing on heaven.
Speaker 1:Why would I want to go to heaven? Right, I love good music. I'm not going to have ears in heaven, so I can't listen to music. I can't listen to classical music. They like to go to the symphony and they're not going to be able to listen to the symphony because in heaven, well, there's no symphony, because there's no strings, there's no wood, you can't make the instruments, you don't have a tongue or a mouth. Now, they were being dismissive, derisive, but there's a point they're making right, and I so badly want them to get that.
Speaker 1:That is not heaven. That's not the end, because in the end we will have these bodies, we will have ears, we will be able to sing and laugh and we can talk to one another and we will live on this recreated earth. We will walk in fields of grass and enjoy company with one another. We will work and enjoy all God's good gifts. It matters, what are we telling our kids that they can expect in the end? My son can have a pet dinosaur in the eternal state because he's like no God's going to recreate the earth. It's going to be awesome. I mean, this is going to be. This is amazing. And Eli's like dinosaur pet. That's what I'm going to have, because he can't eat me, because there's no crying, so he won't bite me.
Speaker 1:God made us and saves us body and soul. It's who we are, and we believe not only in the resurrection of the dead, but life everlasting. Everlasting, forever. Right, forever is a long, long, long time and absolutely, when we talk about eternal life, we are talking about life with God and with his people that lasts forever. All right, that's a big part of it. We're not snuffed out, we don't need to exist. It's not blackness, it's life and light and joy and happiness and peace and righteousness. Forever with god and his people on a beautiful, in a beautiful paradise. It's forever, but you could have all the things right. You could have peace and prosperity and um, you could have relationships that are not soured by, and you could have a good creation. You could have all of these things, but if Jesus wasn't there, if God wasn't there, it would be an empty, meaningless eternity. And so when we talk about life everlasting, we're not only pointing to the fact that we will go on forever in this great place. We are ultimately talking about this knowledge of God, this relationship with God.
Speaker 1:In John 17, jesus reveals what eternal life is. John 17 is Christ's high priestly prayer. He's praying to God, the Father, before he offers himself up as a sack for the sins of the world, and so, as a priest, he is praying for his people, those who will believe in him. He's praying for them. Listen to what he says in John 17 and let's reevaluate how we think about eternal life. Bay says it says in John 17, verse 1,. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and here's his prayer Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. Eternal life, right. And then he says this this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. That's eternal life.
Speaker 1:We get so fixated on the timeline, right? We think like, oh it's, we're going to live forever, which is nightmarish if you don't have the knowledge of God, because at best it would be some kind of bland existence, walking around without purpose and listen, you might think it's a good, oh man, at least we've got grass and food and we can hang out with people. It sounds good, until you realize that you were made to know your maker and you're redeemed. If you don't know him, you are restless and you are empty and you cannot find satisfaction even in the best of his business. So heaven without Jesus is meaningless. It's close to hell. Eternal life is knowing God. It's knowing our maker and, yes, we come to know him, we have this relationship with him and it carries on forever.
Speaker 1:This is our theology here at Redeemer. We believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. But what we want are people who not only agree with this theology. We don't want people who just know right on down with the resurrection, right, good to go. We want everyone to not just agree but to experience this theology in such a way that it changes us right. And when you receive the truth of God by faith, you are changed.
Speaker 1:So this theology does like what you believe about God will bear fruit. It's why Tozer says what you think about when you think about God, it's an important thing about you. He says that because our theology will always produce some kind of ethical impact in our lives. It will produce some kind of a change in our mind, and it's not just a sociological, it's also that God uses his truth, when it is received by faith, to make us into the people he has designed us to be. It's by his truth that he conforms us into the image of Jesus and transforms our mind. So the fruit of this theology is at least threefold Three things that naturally happen to us, or I should say, supernaturally happen to us as we believe this theology, and the fruit of this theology is big picture.
Speaker 1:Naturally happen to us as we believe this theology, and the fruit of this theology is big picture. It is a transformation of who we are that serves as an example to those around us. The fruit of your theology should always produce some kind of transformation in your life that serves as an example, not only to the validity of the truth but the beauty of it to all around you. Think about your kids, if you have kids, or your spouse, your neighbors. Okay, three things, three fruits that come from this theology.
Speaker 1:And the first is this when we believe this, when we understand that God has made us to be human body and soul and that our redemption includes the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. It moves us to be reluctant to overvaluing the things in the world. Right, so we could say it this way that this theology leads us to, or it protects us from, overvaluing the things in this world good things or, obviously, corrupt things. Right, because in this world we have great gifts from God, good gifts, things that we should enjoy, and what tends to happen to us, particularly in our culture, is we buy into materialism and it produces all kinds of idolatry. Because in our what 21st century suburban Chicago, we want to get as much stuff as we can possibly get right, and we become so easily dissatisfied with what God has given us as soon as we see something else that looks a little bit better, like my car's in the shop right now, or our minivan is in the shop.
Speaker 1:And so they gave us another minivan, but it's a post-resurrection minivan. It's a really nice minivan. It's all electronic, the doors open by themselves, there's Star Trek lighting on the roof and the kids think it's the coolest. My kids think this minivan is the coolest car ever. They love it and they're like can we keep this one, can we have this? No, we can't afford this minivan we're going to be good, and they're like, oh, we've got to go back to the ghetto wagon. You know, great, that's so not cool. Everything's manual, I've got to open the door and push it open, like that is materialism and we understand it right. We understand it because this is true of all of us.
Speaker 1:We tend to take these good things that God gives us and make them ultimate things and we want to accumulate them for ourselves and we begin to find our identity in those things. And when we don't have what we want, we feel like we aren't what we're supposed to be. It just feeds our vanity and these good gifts become idols that we worship. In 1 John 2, john says in verse 15, do not love the world nor the things in the world. Those things in the world are not to be exalted. Delighted in God is to be exalted in the corrupt things in the world. Those are from the devil. And the good gifts in the world, those are to be received by faith but not worshiped. So when we see the end, when we properly see the end, resurrected body, life everlasting and the presence of Christ, when we have that as our theology, jesus eclipses everything else in this world, so it protects us from exalting these material, man-made things or good gifts of God to an undue place. So the first fruit is that we become to overvalue the world if we have this theology. The second fruit is that we find freedom to actually enjoy God's gifts, god's earthly gifts. So it's not racism, it's not like, well, I'm going to only love Jesus and I'm going to become a minimalist and I'm not going to enjoy any of these things that are in the world, like the cool Stony Van. Right, we're going to enjoy the gifts that we have now in light of the good God who gives them. And this is the point I was trying to make with my kids. Right, listen, kids, we're so thankful that God gave us the ghetto wagon. Right, it's a nice car. They don't call it the ghetto wagon and it's not really a ghetto wagon, but it's not as fancy as this one. But I said, listen, we're so thankful for the ghetto wagon. It's a good car, it's working, it's getting fixed right now and we'll be able to drive it again, but now we can enjoy this as well, receive it with thankfulness. We don't need to feel bad about receiving God's gifts. So let's go back to that.
Speaker 1:First Timothy passage. First Timothy, chapter four the teachers. What do they do? In verse three in first Timothy four, they forbid marriage. They require abstinence.
Speaker 1:Foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. Here. That God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. Here's the theology again Everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God in prayer. See, when we understand that God created this world and what he made is good, we can then receive his good gifts in this life with gratitude to God.
Speaker 1:And what that gratitude does is it protects us from abusing the gift or neglecting it. We don't abuse it, we don't neglect it. We receive it with thanksgiving so we can enjoy food and not become a button. We can enjoy wine and not become a drunk. We can receive these things and thank God in the midst of it. That protects us from exalting those things to an undue place and overvaluing them. You can enjoy these earthly blessings food, marriage, sacred inside of marriage, right, it's meant to be enjoyed, not dismissed, not downplayed. Recreation play like these are good gifts from God that we can enjoy but not worship. Gifts from God that we can enjoy but not worship. That gratitude produces within us temperance, and temperance is not like the temperament. Temperance movement said no to drinking right, for example. So temperance became associated with abstinence. But temperance is not abstinence. Temperance is the right use of something. It's using something lawfully and appropriately, but not going beyond the bounds of what is appropriate Food, drink, recreation, tv, whatever we can enjoy in modern, but not become enslaved by it.
Speaker 1:Third and final fruit that comes from this theology is we are blessed with patience that enables us to endure suffering and the absence of things that we want or even need in this life. In Romans, chapter 8, this is a passage of scripture that we'll look at Romans, chapter 8, beginning in verse 18. Paul says this. He says was subjected to futility, not willingly, because of him who subjected it, and hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation is groaning in the pains of childbirth until now, and not only the creation but we ourselves, who have the first of the spirit. We groan inwardly as we eagerly wait for adoption, our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies, for in this hope we were saved. In this hope we were saved In this hope that God saves us body and soul. And it is this eager, assured anticipation of our full redemption that gives us patience in the midst of suffering, affliction and the absence of things that we need.
Speaker 1:Some of you yes, you have real needs. Some of you need employment. Some of you need comfort, belief, and in the midst of not having what we need, we can look to God's good plan for us. With this assurance, not only does he work all of this out for our good now, but we know that it is all leading us to the place where we will receive our bodies glorified, living in the presence of God and with one another forever. What happens is this?
Speaker 1:Theology tells us that God and nemesis are enough. They're enough in this life, so we can say that I can be content, the author of Hebrews. I can be content with what I have, because God will never leave me nor forsake me. He is enough. And we then suffer well, by appreciating the gifts that he gave us, because no one lives in this vacuum that is, of God's blessings. You may have serious needs. You may not have what you want or have what you need in your life in certain areas, but grace still abounds and you have many gifts and this theology helps us to appreciate those gifts and suffer well. This is what we believe at Redeemer that God saves us body and soul.
Speaker 1:We want you to know the truth. We want everyone to know this theology. We want to find the forgiveness of sins and eternal life and we want these truths to be more than an old creed, more than a confession that we recite. We want these truths to be what you receive by faith, so that make you and shape you and fit you for the life God has for you and for eternity. Our hope is rooted in the gospel that God extends saving grace to all who will believe through the life, death and resurrection of his son.
Speaker 1:We're praying that that theology is embraced by faith, that these truths, that this fact, what happened when Christ came to earth would be embraced by faith and that we would all cast ourselves upon him for mercy and find life now and forever. Let's pray, god. We ask this morning that you would speak to us by your word. Lord, we have looked at your word. We've seen so many passages of scripture and we want to know you. We don't just want to be accurate theologians, we don't all simply want to agree on something, lord. We want to know you truly, deeply and in such a way we are changed by it, so that the image, your image, would be restored in us, that we would reflect your glory, your beauty, back into others around you, others around us. Lord, as we seek you together, we trust that Christ is lifted up and honored in such a way that your church grows, in such a way that lives are changed. We thank you for your word, for your truth, for the grace that you've extended to us, that you've made yourself known. In Christ's name, amen.