The Word of God is Sharp - Proceed with Caution - BIG Ideas on Faith No. 5

Proceed with Caution! The following BIG Idea is fundamental to the Christian Faith. It is not to be sneezed at.

Firstly, if this 'BIG Ideas on Faith' collection is an all encompassing approach, then it's important we recognise the centrality of the Scriptures in our journey. Have a look at this passage from 1 Thessalonians 2:13:

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

Without a doubt, the Bible as we have it today, was written by humans, but it's inspiration is not simply from human aspiration. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, 'All Scripture is God-breathed...'
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Have a look at Pete's Bible Commentary here
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Jesus frequently referred to the Old Testament Scriptures and the Apostle Paul was a learned man in the Jewish law. Early Christians accepted and spoke regularly of the Old Testament writings and they believed they were authoritative to inform their faith. As the gospels came to be written along with the letters of Paul and Peter, James, Hebrews and others, the New Testament began to take shape. During the time of theologian Origen of Alexandria (185-254 A.D.), the Word of God was complete.

How many books are in the Bible? The Bible comprises of 66 books, 39 books from the Old Testament and 27 books from the New Testament.

This was a monumental, God-inspired feat. There were many, many different authors, spanning hundreds of years, and somehow through the grace of God they produced a sacred, powerful, significant text called the Bible. God's inspired Word.

So, why is this a BIG idea? I know some of you thinking, surely I can just read a little Stephen Covey and Dr Phil McGraw and find all the inspiration I need? Surely, a little Deepak Chopra, the occasional Wikipedia article and a yearly run through of a latest autobiography will suffice?

BUT! The Word of God is given by inspiration of God. It's a living and breathing document. Haven't you heard of the suicidal hotel consumer, who opened up a Gideon's Bible? Haven't you heard someone testify about the power of the Word for them at a particular crisis in life? This inspiration, 'describes the ways in which the writers of the Bible, who often used many different literary sources, were so enlightened and directed by the Holy Spirit that they produced a trustworthy and enduring witness to God's saving work for humanity, centred upon the life and person of Jesus Christ' (The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine, 2010: 5). See: John 20:30-31, 2 Peter 1:20-21. This leads me to BIG Idea No. 5:

BIG Idea No. 5 - The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by the inspiration of God.

Here's the application. Read the Bible. Absorb it. Pray on it. Let God speak to you through it. It's inspired. It's anointed by God. Proceed with caution; your life will be radically altered by Jesus Christ.
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<-- How to Pray without Hurting God's Ears - BIG Idea No. 4
--> Can God Suffer? BIG Idea No. 6
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Why did Jesus die on the Cross? - BIG Ideas on Faith No. 3

Why did Jesus die on the Cross?

Some people say Christianity needs to be crucio-centric. That's a fancy way of saying the crucifixion of Jesus is central to the Christian faith. Though what makes the death of Jesus on the cross central to Christian belief? There must be something significant regarding this sacrifice!

The question worth asking is, 'Why did Jesus die on the cross?' I mean when you reflect upon it, Jesus was brutally murdered; left to hang upon a tree. He was beaten and whipped and gruesomely nailed to the wood. But for what purpose? If Jesus' death on a cross is so central to Christian faith, then why?

Chris Wright ("Whose world? Whose Mission?") unpacks some thoughts on the centrality of the cross. He provides five answers to the question of why Jesus died on the cross.

• To deal with the guilt of human sin (1 Pet. 2:24)
• To defeat the powers of evil (Col. 2:15)
• To destroy death (Heb. 2:14)
• To remove the barrier of enmity and alienation between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14-16)
• To bring reconciliation to the whole of creation (Col. 1:20)

A few years ago my wife and I saw a film depicting Jesus death on the cross, and our hearts absolutely sank. I cannot explain my anguish, the sense of sinfulness I felt at that moment. My wife and I left the movie theatre, and drove to our local Salvation Army Corps. We raced inside the building, attempting to both hold in our emotions. We were wrecked. Wrecked by the realisation that we had just been confronted with who Jesus is. We were all of a sudden somehow aware that we were sinners and in need of redemption. We were broken and in need spiritual repair. Kneeling at the cross, on the mercy seat, we cried, and cried and cried. A memorable, defining moment was occurring for us. In those sacred moments, we asked Jesus for forgiveness, and we dealt with the sense of guilt were feeling. The story of Jesus; the life of Jesus; the message of Jesus came flooding upon our minds, and we transacted with God that night.

Maybe you have had the same experience at some point? Either way, my prayer is that you would be continually interrupted and kindly reminded of your sinfulness and your need to embrace the forgiveness that is available through the death of Jesus on the cross.

BIG Idea No. 3 - Jesus death on the cross is central to the Christian faith.
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<-- What is the Gospel? BIG Idea No. 2
--> How to Pray without Hurting God's Ears BIG Idea No. 4
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BIG Ideas on Faith - No. 2 - What is the Gospel?

Continuing our look at BIG Ideas on Faith, let's consider the question, 'What is the Gospel'? We hear words in church like, 'Open up to Matthew's Gospel', or 'Preach the Gospel', or the 'Gospel saves lives', and some of us scratch our heads. I mean, what is the gospel?

Let's look at some Bible stats. Bible.org says, 'The term gospel is found ninety-nine times in the NASB and ninety-two times in the NET Bible. In the Greek New Testament, gospel is the translation of the Greek noun euangelion (occurring 76 times) “good news,” and the verb euangelizo (occurring 54 times), meaning “to bring or announce good news.” ' So the word gospel occurs often, making it imperative we understand what it means!

The word gospel correlates to good news. But what good news?

When I read the newspaper I struggle to find good news, unless it's a local paper that intends to write 'good news stories'. Quite often than not, I'm reading about drug smuggling, brawls, murders, disasters, underworld crime, falls from grace and political whingeing.

The New Testament that centers around Jesus, is not full of corruption and negativity. There are books full of good news. News of a promised Messiah. News of salvation freely available to all. News of victory over death. News of the beginnings of a dynamic church.

The gospel is the good news about Jesus. The Apostle Paul sums it up in 1 Cor 15:1-4 when he writes, "     1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. "


The gospel can then be summed up in BIG Idea No. 2.

BIG Idea No. 2 - The Gospel is the good news that is found within the birth, life, death, resurrection, and promised return of Jesus Christ.

Will you believe the gospel? Will you preach the gospel?
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<-- How could God love someone like me? BIG Idea No. 1
--> Why did Jesus die on the Cross? BIG Idea No. 3

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