Christianity Is Judicial and Set in Stone

By Dan Delzell , May 9, 2013|9:11 am

 

So you are having a hard time wrapping your mind around Christianity. Join the club. Many people have been there, and have since crossed over into the light. They now get it. So what made the difference?

 

Well, you will never understand Christianity until you understand the judicial nature of God's revelation to man. Once you start to see it, the message of the Gospel will begin to come into focus as well.

Consider these facts. You were born in God's jurisdiction here on earth. There is an ultimate Judge. His name is Jesus Christ. There will be a divine courtroom. There will be guilty people coming before the Judge. The sentence will be handed down on Judgment Day. And there will be those who are free and clear of any charges against them.

You have heard of the 10 Commandments which God gave man on those stone tablets. That is God's law. If you break one of them, the Bible says you are guilty of breaking all of them. (see James 2:10) Lawbreakers are guilty before God and must be punished. God's punishment is not gentle, and it is not temporary. God is eternal, and so His punishment of sin is eternal. God doesn't do things halfway. God is perfect in justice.

If that was everything, we would all be in a heap of trouble. But God is more than perfectly just. He is also perfect in love. It was this love which led Him to send His only Son to pay the price for our sin by dying on the cross. "The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." (Isaiah 53:5) Christ was the innocent One, but He allowed Himself to be falsely accused and sentenced to death. He then willingly took our punishment so that we could go free.

While still here on earth, you are in essence "out on bail" awaiting your appearance before the Judge. You have been charged with many sins according to God's Word. As it stands today, you are on the road to being convicted and receiving your sentence. But God is offering you a "plea deal." You can plead guilty before God today and accept His offer.
Here are the terms. You admit your sin to God as you confess that you have broken His laws. You not only plead guilty, but you also "plead" the blood of Jesus over your soul by trusting in Christ to wash away your sins. You accept Jesus as your Savior as you turn to Him in faith. You immediately hand over control of your life to the One who went to the cross for you. And you prepare to follow Him for the rest of your life.

That's the deal. There will be no other plea deals offered to you. God has done everything necessary to make this deal available to you. If you choose to decline this plea deal during your time on earth, you will enter God's courtroom one day with no defense. You will not be offered a deal on that day. You will only be sentenced for your transgressions and for the many times you have broken God's law.

On the other hand, by accepting God's plea deal, you are immediately "justified" before God. That is a judicial term in the Bible which means you are declared "not guilty." Your slate gets wiped clean instantly. Justification is a doctrine which is emphasized in the New Testament. God wants us to understand the judicial nature of our situation.

If you choose to accept God's plea deal, He will forgive your sins and He will send you to share God's offer with other sinners. That is what Christians are called to do. It is our job to help sinners come to see the judicial nature of Christianity and what it takes to be forgiven and go free.

Now if you are not a sinner on the other hand, I guess you have nothing to worry about. In that case, I imagine you are expecting God to welcome you into heaven based on your perfect life. Let me tell you something. Apart from the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, a perfect life is the only other way a person will come out of God's courtroom being declared "not guilty." And so far in the history of humanity, only One Person has lived a sinless life. That is actually one of the reasons He is qualified to be our Savior.

You really need to stop and consider God's case against you. The charges are real. You will be prosecuted to the full extent of God's law. That is, unless you accept God's plea deal. Just remember. God was not the one who sinned. We put ourselves in this predicament. Each of us is culpable. We brought on all the charges we are facing. Each of us is guilty of various capital offenses against the Lord. So God decided to sacrifice His only Son to get us out of the mess we had created for ourselves.

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17) God's law was set in stone. God's love was shed in blood.

If you have any questions about your case, you can learn more about it in the Bible. And you can ask Christians to help you get a better handle on it. Beyond that, I guess you can take it up with the Judge. Make no mistake about it my friend. You will get your day in court. The warrant for your arrest has already been issued.

"It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) "For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ." (2 Cor. 5:10) God's verdict for you on that day will be final. There will be no opportunities to appeal your verdict. And parole will never be available to those who are sent to their eternal prison.

Meanwhile, the plea deal is available to you at this very moment. You are the defendant. You are the lawbreaker. And Christ is your only hope. God loves you very much. So take the deal. Do it today, because who knows? There is no telling how long God is going to allow you to remain out on bail.

Dan Delzell is the pastor of Wellspring Lutheran Church in Papillion, Neb. He is a regular contributor to The Christian Post.

Haiti reflection...

Having been on several mission trips as an adult leader/coordinator for adults and youth, I relished the idea of having a new experience as a team member by going to Haiti for the first time on a construction project.  Participating where God is already at work is always a fun adventure for me, but as an added bonus this time, I was going with friends whom I have known for over 30 years, who are seasoned veterans of many short-term mission experiences.  I expected to encounter God, meet some new Haitian friends, and learn from my brothers.  I was not disappointed on any of the counts.

Haiti is situated to be a tropical paradise with rich resources for its people.  I instead found a troubled, mismanaged nation, considered to be the poorest in the Western hemisphere, and possibly the world.  Its population of roughly 10 million has an unemployment rate in excess of 70%, an annual average income/person of $310 USD, a life expectancy of 62, and a religious history of voodooism.  Progress is being made on several fronts, albeit challenging and somewhat slow.  Foreign governments have infused the country with large amounts of financial and material aid which is mismanaged and helping only a portion of the population.  The Christians, meanwhile, have made tremendous efforts to evangelize the population, sharing the Good News, teaching vocational skills, providing medical care, and openly confronting voodooism to break its hold among the various people groups.

 

With this as a background, our team of six (6) men from Tulsa, OK area churches landed at the Port Au Prince airport and met our hosts and OMS Homes for Haiti (H4H) project coordinator.  We were taken to the OMS Villa Ormiso, a walled compound where we would be sleeping and taking our meals.  The interior of the villa had beautifully maintained gardens with tall mango trees where falling fruit targeted every head that made its way from the bungalows along the perimeter to the center dining facility around the edge of an empty pool damaged in the earthquake.  Yes, a pool had been promised, but our team should have checked whether it would be filled with water.  The villa’s staff and hosts were marvelous and deserve the highest thanks for making our time most beneficial, feeding us like kings with healthy delicious Haitian meals.  Our hosts provided country briefings, answering questions we had about history, governance, religious development and current project status.  A large map adorned one end of our eating area where we found ourselves orienting, learning about our surroundings, and project locations. 

Our project for the week was to complete one house and start a second one.  Traversing Port Au Prince in the back of our open 2-ton truck each day to the project site was always an adventure in unique sights, sounds and fragrances that constitute a culture.  We tried not to inhale, but were moved daily to compassionate prayers for those struggling souls we passed through each day.   Our first house was in the interior of a city neighborhood and nearly finished (75%) except for the roof and ceiling which we attacked with our portable generator’s circular saws and power nail guns.  I loved seeing my Tulsa brothers acting as teachers for my Haitian brothers with whom we were working.  I learned that power tools can be bridges to faith.  The shared work and effort transcended language barriers to the extent of us sharing a laugh or frustration without using our native tongues.  It’s a beautiful thing to relate and that we did.  Each day we also got to share our Tulsa testimonies with our Haitian brothers, explaining how we have experienced God in our lives.  We also heard the testimonies of our Haitian brothers and were moved to know the extent to which Jesus was working in their lives and families.  After a day and a half, our team had the first house ready for dedication and began looking to our second house.

On an afternoon following our first house, our project coordinator provided us a tour of the greater Port Au Prince area with a visit to the Baptist Mission in the mountains above the city, a welcomed 15 F degrees cooler, than our capital city 3000 feet below.  It is a wonderful example over the last 30 years plus of the faithful living out of our Baptist brothers by teaching vocations that enable their students to succeed within the context of their environment and culture.

The location for the second house was absolutely stunning, a 5-star resort location in the hills overlooking the capital’s bay.  Footings were dug and we bucket- barricaded the 40-50 pound cement containers to their appointed locations.  We truly were exhausted over the next day and a half, but satisfied knowing we made a difference in getting the foundation laid.

It was time for us to depart and none of us, to a man, was anxious to leave.  Short-term missions are like that.  They often end before we feel that we have fully given all we had to give, and find ourselves compelled to return.

Our team resolve is to do the following:

• Pray for Haiti to break its spiritual bondages to the past. Voodoo continues to permeate all levels of society.  The nation needs to find true freedom in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Pray that Haiti will find godly leaders who put the nation’s interests before their own.
• Pray that the influence of the OMS and other growing Protestant church efforts will continue and expand, offering the solution to the hopelessness and despair found throughout the country.
• Pray for Christian leadership training opportunities to expand for the local pastors to increase their effectiveness.
• Pray that OMS Homes for Haiti project can be a model for showing the love of Christ in a tangible, meaningful way to the peoples of Haiti.

retiring with purpose... new season

I am out of the office starting 11/23/2011 using the balance of my PTO until I officially retire from the Saint Francis Health System, effective 12/03/2011, and I want to thank everyone for their kindness over the years.

With my retirement, my wife and I plan to volunteer, travel and spend time with family and friends. 

My main take-way from my 14.5 years at SFH is a deep sense of personal spiritual growth.  For me, everything in life is spiritual.  I believe God facilitates our life experiences to mature us into the spiritual adults He wants us to become. My persistent prayer here at work has been “What am I suppose to be learning from these days and how do I apply that particular insight in my life?”  In response, God has been gracious with me and helped me gain understanding, perspective and peace as time has passed.

Of special interest to me in my next season is a program known as ‘Celebrate Recovery’.  It is a Christ-centered 12 step program, in which I serve as a facilitator working with men who seek help to overcome and be free of their addictive, compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors.  It is an effective program available nationwide through many churches and one I would recommend you consider. 

As a shameless plug, should you be interested in supporting the ministry, please consider donating.  Funds contributed go toward program costs, e.g. Bibles, workbooks and meals hosted prior to the weekly teaching and testimony assemblies.  Since no one is turned away who wants to work on their personal issues, participants costs are often reduced or waived.

The Celebrate Recovery ministry at Believer’s Church, which is one among many here in the Tulsa area, is a 501(3) c tax deductible organization recognized by the IRS, http://www.bctulsa.com/.  Your contribution can be mailed to “Believers Church's Celebrate Recovery", 4705 South Memorial Drive, Tulsa, OK 74119.

Here are my parting 3 pieces of advice to you:

• Always stay in community.  It’s the lone gazelle that gets eaten by the lion every time.  Family was God’s idea and there is a reason we need one another.
• Honestly deal with your own hurts hang-ups and problems.  Denial and rationalizations do not make for a healthy person – never has.  Most other folks are aware you have issues, so take personal responsibility, own them, and pursue getting help.
• Engage with God by accepting His gift of Jesus as your Redeemer.  We each need to have our connection with God, the Father, restored by resolving our ‘sin’ debt.  Jesus paid that debt, allowing us an unmerited 2nd chance for life, forgiveness and relationship with God.  So choose wisely and choose life.

See you down the way…..   Rob

what I believe...and hold dear

The Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed was written by the early Church and adopted (in a slightly different version) by the Church Council at Nicæa in AD 325 and appears in its present form by the Council at Chalcedon in AD 451. It has remained in use since that time. It is an essential part of the doctrine and liturgy of the Lutheran and Episcopal Churches. The Episcopal Church requires its usage at every Eucharist on Sundays and Major Feasts (except when the Apostles' Creed is used as the Baptismal Creed). The Lutheran Church gives the option of the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed, suggesting the Nicene Creed as the more festive or solemn of the two.

The Nicene Creed was thus not based upon the Apostles' Creed (which did not yet exist), but upon the baptismal creeds used in the churches in various places -- which were not all exactly the same, but were remarkably similar. The statements chosen at Nicea were carefully formulated to exclude the Arian heresy and the elaborations at I Constantinople (the Second Ecumenical), which brought the Nicene to its final form, were chosen to clarify the deity of the Holy Spirit and to exclude the Apollinarian and Marcellian heresies. This Creed, and that of Chalcedon, is the only creeds that came out of the Ecumenical Councils. The Nicene Creed is the Creed of Christendom, accepted by the Orthodox Church, by Rome, and by those aspects of Protestantism that are willing to accept creeds at all (text from various web sites).

Core Doctrine- One God

      We believe in one God,

            the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

Core Doctrine- Deity of Jesus Christ

      We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

            the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.

     

Core Doctrine- Atoning Work of Christ

            For us and for our salvation

                  He came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary

                  and became truly human.

            For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried.

            On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;

                  He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

            He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

Core Doctrine- The Trinity

      We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

            who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

            We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

Core Doctrine- Salvation by Grace

            We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

Core Doctrine- Bodily Resurrection

            We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.  Amen

my witness...

I follow Jesus, the Christ, acknowledging Him as my Lord and Savior.

As a consequence, I believe it is important to have a presence on the Web to tell you why I believe, the miracles my family and I have experienced firsthand and to Glorify God the Father who sent Jesus to rescue me.
 
In the coming weeks/months/years, I will share my experience, how He changed my life and why I would ask you to consider following Jesus as well.

Micah 6:8 "... And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

eye witness miracle...

My wife Cathie and I have been married over 30 years (spring 2002) and over the last couple years, we have found that we enjoy camping in remote areas that are considered primitive.  In April 2000, we were in the Arkansas Ozarks at such a location.  We had used a 4X4 to get to back to one of our favorite sites that over looks a small lake.

We had gotten there a little later than usual.  Storms were blowing in and we went about setting up the tents and equipment.  After an hour or so it started to rain.  Around 3:30pm in the afternoon, the rain was steady. Rather than being confined to our tents and area, we decided to hike around the lake looking for wildlife.  With our ponchos keeping us dry and comfortable we started looking for various tracks.  The rain picked up, which helped to muffle our sound, as well as our scent.  With the excellent cover we soon found a large group of deer making their way through the forest.  We followed the deer, keeping watch, seeing how close we could get without being noticed.  Once or twice we were detected and the deer would take off across the hills and we would move away and plot a course to intercept them.
 

Well, we lost track of time, playing “reindeer games”, when I had noticed it getting darker.  I thought it was part of the storm passing overhead, but realized too late that it night coming to the forest and not simply another dark cloud.   When we realized that we had overstayed our time, we reoriented ourselves to the lake.  The lake is 6 to 7 miles around its shoreline; we thought we were about half way.  Rain was continuing, and with the foliage overhead it was getting progressively darker.  The rain also made the rocks and forest floor on the side of the hills rather slippery, slowing our movement, as we picked our way around fallen trees, ravines, cliffs and other unknown objects in the dark.
 

 

We were struggling and getting frustrated in the dark.  At this point, Cathie was trailing me as we held hands to stabilize one another and to simply maintain connection in the dark.   As I recall, somewhere in that process Cathie said something about the next time we go on a hike we should start earlier.  It seemed to me to be one of those really helpful comments spoken at the wrong time, and I turned to make a smart remark that I probably would have regretted later.
 

As I turned to respond to Cathie I was able to see her face clearly.  I looked past her face and could see back from the direction we had come about 50 feet into the woods.  I stopped.  I looked to my left and could see about 10 feet off to my left.  I turned around and could now see about 70 feet in front of us into the forest.  I asked Cath if she could see what I thought I was seeing and she said yes.  We looked at our hands and could see some sort of the light reflecting off our hands.   There was no moon that night, no lightening with this heavy rainstorm and we were standing under the forest foliage, with this light around us.
 

Anyway, I was amazed.  I stood there thanking God, and turning, I asked my wife what we should do.  Sometimes I ask really stupid questions.  She wisely said we should keep going and try to find the trail and head toward our camp.  As we moved, the light moved with us.  We eventually found the trail and headed in the direction toward our campsite.  Every so often I stopped and looked around for the source of the light – I found none – yet it persisted.  My wife encouraged me to keep walking…
 

After 3 to 4 miles through the forest, we got back to our campsite, the light staying with us the whole time.  As soon as we got back to the site I grabbed the flashlight and in the moment I turned it on, it was the only light source in the dark.
 

You say nice story Rob, but I don’t believe you.

As I think about this story, I have a hard time believing me, but I have a problem.  My wife was there, and we both shared the same experience.  What do I do with that?
 

Application

I am reminded of my forest experience when I reflect on the challenges we face at work: 

• Issues of creativity, focus - strength to see a project task through to a completion, finding satisfaction in work.  Think about dealing with difficult people – isn’t that a dark night of the soul?
• It is so challenging to be nice to everyone, to acknowledge and celebration other folks’ efforts and victories.
• Think about tasks you can do here at work for which no one will ever know it was you that did that thing.  Isn’t that troubling – no credit or brownie points?
• On a grander scale we have projects like the Owasso Joint Venture, the Broken Arrow Hospital, or the PACMAN project.  They each in their own ways seem to be very dense forests.

 

By letting God come to work with us, He can provide insight, focus and inspiration, thinking way outside the box, circle, rhomboid, or the cubicle in which you live.  He helps us to look at issues differently.

With His help, we can move beyond the areas over which we feel we have control and step out into areas where our fear says we are at risk or have the most to lose.
 

I have a couple questions for you

Do you truly want God active you where you live & work?  Have you given Him permission to mess with your life?

• We have free will, or choice, and God will not come into an area He has not been invited.
• In Deuteronomy 31:7, He has promised to never leave or forsake me.
• In 2 Chronicles 15:2, God says “Seek Me and you will find Me”.
• In Matthew 7:7  Jesus says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

 The other question is -  If you want Him active, are you willing to leave some preconceived ideas of religion at door?

• In our culture and world we are pretty smart people, proud.  We have defined God from our perspective and wisdom.  We have built complex religions with our little 3 pound brains.  We come from a Greek mind set that elevates the intellect and rational thought – a lot of good things come from that….
• The world didn’t recognize Jesus when He came the first time.  The best minds, the brightest people, only a couple thousand years ago.  He didn’t fit their definition of a Savior.  He was a lunatic, or a liar – cause He couldn’t possibly be their Lord.
• Much as Israel is the point of contention for the world today in all that is playing out, Jesus was and continues to be the stumbling block for those seeking to know God.  It all comes down to who you think Jesus is.

Want to leave you with this Challenge

Proverbs 3:5-6  (Be intentional - Ask God to be active in your life. Read through this a couple of times and then break apart.

 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and  (Seek Him, run after, pester Him, knock down the door, tackle Him, go after Him)

 

Lean not on your own understanding; (Have faith, use your mind and all your assets but don’t be limited by it, realize He doesn’t think like you or me and that is a very, very good thing)

 

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and  (Strive to be Obedient, ask Him for help to simply do the simple stuff, help me with first steps, celebrate God in everything you do)

 

He will make your paths straight.    (Lord please help me to see you when you show up in my life, help me recognize your solutions, Be expectant, know that collaboration with God in this life is the goal and the true mark of success)