Jesus is under attack

I know it's a cliche statement but it's so true. One of the reasons that I wanted to start this blog was because the question Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:15, "But who do you say that I am?" (ESV) is still being asked by many today. Some teachers believe that the Jesus of the Bible and Jesus of history are two different people, that the gospels are figurative accounts of the life of someone who idealized the Christian life. This is sad because it is not Christianity. If Jesus is not God, then our sins are not fully and finally paid for because he was just a man, and one mere man cannot pay for every sin for all time. And if Jesus is not man, then He is no example to us and not the sympathetic high priest able to sympathize in our weaknesses and temptations. I do not say any of this arrogantly but confidently because I believe the Bible is God's unchanging Word to humans and believe Jesus when says He is the only way to heaven.
There are teachers out there, that say all this is figurative not literal. They teaching that when Jesus said He is the door to heaven He didn't really mean that literally. But Jesus said that a day was coming when what He said would be made plain to us and that day came when the Holy Spirit came to live in the hearts of those that believe in Him. (John 16:25). Paul tells us that God has made His way plain to us (Romans 1:19), there is not some hidden meaning that we are now discovering, the way of salvation by believing that Jesus was fully man and fully God and that He died on the cross to pay for our sins and that He rose from the dead overcoming the power of sin for those that believe in Him.

Friends, this is the gospel and this does not change.

Jesus is also under attack from a little box that was "discovered" recently. When I heard that this box could be the grave box of Jesus of Nazareth, there was a moment of unbelief in my heart, "What if it's true?" But then God whispered and reminded me of what Dr. Al Mohler told the world on CNN, the disciples wouldn't have died and been martyred for a lie. If they knew that Jesus didn't die on the cross, escaping it and living on or that He did die and did not rise from the dead, then when questioned and threatened with death they would have confessed that it was a lie. But they did die for what they believed because they knew that Jesus died brutally on that cross and that He rose from the dead and that is what compeled them to spread the gospel.

I don't say any of this in anger, instead it is sad to me that people are being led astray by lies about the Saviour. Emerging movements that are to be commended for reaching out to a new mindset are chipping away at the foundation, chipping away at the Rock, the chief Cornerstone.
And men with movie cameras are trying to make a boatload of cash through controversy at the expense of attacking Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter son who is the Saviour of the world.

Friends, Jesus is still asking who we think He is and the answer is the same one that God gave Peter in Matthew 16:16, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (ESV)

Welcome

This blog will serve many purposes over the next days, weeks, months and years. First, it will provide me an opportunity to spew out random observations about life, one that I will follow with momentarily. The second, perhaps more important purpose will be to share ideas and thoughts about God. I have a concern and a burden that Jesus is being attacked and it hurts my heart to think there are people out there being deceived about who God really is. Most of those blogs will be longer, so bear with me, but please do read along as God reveals Himself to all of us. A term comes to mind with this second purpose and that is "humble orthodoxy". My goal over the course of this blog is to embrace and explain what that means clearly because it is a conviction of mine, to make much of God and His one true gospel and yet do this with humility and in love, because it is love for others and them hearing this message of life that motivates me. So do read, and do comment and let's rediscover the old, old story again.
Tonight at our men's meeting, through a book, "Lost in the Middle" and through a friend's humble sharing of a struggle, I was reminded of the battle that rages in our hearts, in my heart with sin. We talked about regrets and how in our lives these regrets can lead us to do one of two things. One, we can put the blame elsewhere, thinking that everyone else is to blame for our troubles, our sins. Or, we can look inward at our own hearts, realizing their is a battle going on.
When we get angry at our wives or friends, we can often regret words or actions that come out from a moment of anger, and it is in that moment of regret that we can learn. We can say, "I'm just frustrated with life right now," or we can admit that we are angry, even angry at God and ask the God of the universe for help in overcoming anger, in helping us understand what the root cause of the anger is (pride, fear of man, etc) and even what lesson He is trying to teach us through this trial.
I am a sinner, but I am a sinner that knows that God is for me, that He will in HIs mercy show me my sin so that I can grow to look more like His Son, but He will also give me the power through His Holy Spirit to help me change.
Consider what God is saying to you right now. Are there regrets in your life? Know this, that God even uses our mistakes in His plan, but that He wants to teach us in those mistakes and He wants to help not make those mistakes again.
Thank you God for your love for us and thank you for a friend's humility in sharing to help me see this tonight.