WHAT DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?

                 When you hear the word Christianity, what comes to your mind? What is your image of a Christian? The term “Christian” has taken on a very broad meaning. The umbrella of Christianity has been spread very wide to cover far more than the basics of the faith. Unfortunately, for many people, the words Christian and Christianity has taken on a negative meaning. Part of the reason for this is that for many people the basic truths of Christianity have been lost and have been replaced by a political/social agenda. This is not the first time that Christianity has been distorted and misunderstood.

                During WWII, C.S. Lewis was invited to give a series of talks on the BBC about the Christian faith. Lewis had come to realize that many of his countrymen were ignorant of the very basic truths of Christianity. Christianity had morphed into a vague moral code, mixed with patriotism. Christianity was about being a good person and doing your duty to God and country. So, he masterfully laid a foundation upon which genuine faith can be built. Later these talks were revised and put into a book titled Mere Christianity.

                The very reasons for why Lewis embarked on his quest to clarify the basic truths of Christianity are in many ways front and center today. How well do you know the Bible? How well versed are you on what you say you believe? Here is a simple quiz that you can take to measure your own understanding of the Bible and of the Christian faith.

1. Which Old Testament person is viewed as the father of our faith?

2. How did God get Moses’ attention in the wilderness when He wanted to call him into service?

3. What are the first five books of the Old Testament referred to as?

4. How many books are there in the Bible?

5. What is the main theme of the Old Testament?

6. What is the main theme of the New Testament?

7. What does the word “Gospel” mean?

8. How would you define Grace? How would you define Mercy?

9. Why did Jesus come into the world?

10. What is the main focus of the four Gospels?

11. What is the main focus of the book of Acts?

12. What is the Great Commission?

                How did you do? For too long we have taken our faith for granted. We are casually familiar with what the Bible teaches us, but we have only a vague idea of what it really says. There are major gaps in our understanding of what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. It is time to get back to the basics. As Lewis did back in the 1940’s, we need to lay a solid foundation for biblical faith that can transform people’s lives.

                We have become an increasingly secular society. Only 47% of U.S. adults belong to a religious congregation. The percentage of Americans without religious affiliation, who mostly identify as "nothing in particular", (referred to as "Nones"), is around 23%. Even for those who would say that they are religious, the idea of God as a part of their everyday life has been placed on the back burner. They see God as their fallback position when things go wrong. For many people, science has replaced the need for God. The more science helps us to understand the way that our world works, the less people feel the need for God. Yet, the vast majority of people still long for some connection with the transcendent.

                Religion has not gone away in America. It has become more complicated. As America becomes more and more pluralistic, other major religions are vying for the attention of the masses. Although Christianity still occupies a prominent place in America, the influence of other religions is definitely on the rise. Christianity’s majority is steadily diminishing. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age philosophy, pantheism, and generic spirituality are all taking their place along with Christianity on the public stage. Most people have only a vague idea of what each of these religious systems teach. Most people have bought into the faulty idea that all religions teach the same things, they just use different words. Many people who identify as Christian are willing to embrace other religious systems as compatible with their faith. This syncretism of religious faith has muddied the spiritual waters.

                As a society, we are at an all-time low in a basic understanding of what Christianity teaches. We have, for the most part, become a biblically illiterate people. According to a report from the Barna Group and American Bible Society, a majority of U.S. adults (81 percent) said they consider themselves highly, moderately or somewhat knowledgeable about the Bible. Yet less than half (43 percent) were able to name the first five books of the Bible. Only half of those interviewed knew that John the Baptist was not one of the 12 apostles. Many young adults who enter Christian colleges cannot pass a basic Bible knowledge exam. According to Kenneth Berding, professor of New Testament at Biola's Talbot School of Theology, we are facing a biblical literacy crisis.

                It is to re-examine the basic themes of the Christian faith; to show how they address the underlying issues of life. We need to clear away some of the clutter that keeps people from taking a serious look at Christianity. It is time to demonstrate how our faith practically interfaces with our everyday lives.

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?

 

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Answers to Quiz

1. Which Old Testament person is viewed as the father of our faith? Abraham

2. How did God get Moses’ attention in the wilderness when He wanted to call him into service? He used a burning bush that did not burn up.

3. What are the first five books of the Old Testament referred to as? They are called the Torah or the Law. The are also referred to as the Pentateuch.

4. How many books are there in the Bible? 66, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament

5. What is the main theme of the Old Testament? The main theme of the Old Testament is God’s redemptive interaction with the people of Israel, calling them to be His unique people and laying the groundwork for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

6. What is the main theme of the New Testament? The main theme of the New Testament is the redemptive work of Jesus through is life, death, and resurrection and the practical outworking of that through the Church.

7. What does the word “Gospel” mean? The word “Gospel” means good news.

8. How would you define Grace? How would you define Mercy? Grace is God’s unmerited favor toward people, giving them what they do not deserve. Mercy is God’s compassion toward people, not giving them what they do deserve.

9. Why did Jesus come into the world? Jesus came into the world to redeem sinful people and to restore their relationship with God the Father. As it says in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

10. What is the main focus of the four Gospels? The main focus of the four Gospels is the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

11. What is the main focus of the book of Acts? The main focus of Acts is the birth of the Church.

12. What is the Great Commission? The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 

TRUE FREEDOM

 Galatians 5:13

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

                What does freedom mean to you? How would you define it? If we listen to the rhetoric of our day, freedom is the right to do whatever I want to do without interference from others. In other words, freedom is ultimate self-indulgence.

                The Bible gives us a very different picture of what freedom is. First and foremost, freedom is release from our bondage to sin. Sin is a cruel master. It promises us what it cannot deliver, then mocks us for being so gullible. Sin is like spiritual quicksand; it draws us deeper and deeper into its suffocating clutches. To be honest, at first sin seems enticing and even fun. But once we take the bait, it begins the process of distorting our soul. We become slaves to the whims of sin, unable to resist. Like the drug addict or the alcoholic, we become dependent on sin. The longer we indulge, the more we must consume just to get some dark reward. Sin is like spiritual salt water that promises to quench our thirst, but only makes us thirstier.

                Jesus came into the world to rescue us from our downward spiral of sin. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and He offers us, not a fresh start, but a new life in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

                 When we place our faith in Jesus, we are set free from our bondage to sin. It is not that sin disappears, but we now have the power to resist its entreaties. We are no longer slaves to sin, but sons and daughters of God. As Paul says in Romans 6:22-23, But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                But that is not the end of the story of freedom. True freedom is the opposite of selfish indulgence. True freedom is the ability to love and serve others with no strings attached. Too often our relationships are based on what we can get from the other person. That approach places us in bondage to the opinions and actions of others. We begin to measure our life by how other people see us and how they treat us. The freedom we receive from Christ allows us to love others as ourselves; to really care more about the well-being of the other person than what we can get from them. Our sense of purpose and self-worth are found in our relationship with Jesus. Because we know that He loves us unconditionally, we can love others in the same way. We are truly free to be a blessing to others. True freedom changes our focus from being inward to being outward.

Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

                 There is still another aspect of true freedom. True freedom allows us to become the people God created us to be. A person who is truly free does not live in constant competition with those around them. A person who is truly free is able to use their gifts and talents without their ego getting in the way. They live humble, simple lives that reflect the very character of God. As the Holy Spirit does His work in a person’s life, they are transformed from the inside out. They begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit in their everyday lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Humility becomes a dominant feature of the person who is truly free.

Ephesians 5:8-10

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

                 True freedom is not found in self-indulgence. Self-indulgence is really bondage to sin. True freedom is found in giving over the control of our lives to Christ and living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

John 8:34-36

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.