Conversing the Kingdom: A Shadow of the Future

Colossians 2:11-15

In the old covenant circumcision was reqiured as a sign that an individual was under the covenental promise of God. Without it one could not be saved. This practisce as with all the practices of the old conenant was a shadow of what was to come in the new covenant. Circumcision is still present in the new covenant but it is a spiritual circumsion of the heart a circumcision made not with hands, the circumcision of Christ. This circumcision is a putting off of the body of the flesh and signifies our inclusion in the new covenant. This putting off of the flesh is not something we could have achieved by ourselves but is only possible because we, through faith and in a baptism of identification, have been buried and raised with Christ through the power of God! Because of this we who before were spiritual dead in out sins and had no part of the old covenant as gentiles through our lack of physical circumcision have now been included in the new covenant through Christs circumcision of our heart through our faith in his death, burial and ressurection on our behalf. So we are no longer spiritually dead but alive because our sins have been forgiven, out spiritual debt cancelled because our sins were nailed to the cross. This image is of a notice nailed to a cross listing all the crimes of the condemed. Jesus died for all our sins, our sins were nailed to his cross.
And what has all this achieved? We are alive in Christ our sins have been forgiven no longer can we be accused of that sin. No longer can God's ememy Satan accuse us in fact he has been completly disarmed. His power lay only in his ability to accuse humanity before God. Satan has been put to open shame as the power he had has been removed through the cross and he has been triumphed over...
Praise the Lord!
The power of sin has been removed as Christians no longer can we be accused. But as Christians, still here on earth, there is still the presence of sin to deal with that requires a life of repentance. Each day we need to put to death sin to continually crucify the flesh and again strip sin of it's enslaving power.

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Conversing the Kingdom: Rooted, Built up and Established.

As the Church we are the bride of Christ and he is head over the church as ultimate ruler with ultimate authority. It is to him that we live in submission and obedience according to the truth of Scripture as revealled by the Spirit. This can only happen, if as Paul describes "so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith... abounding in thanksgiving"
How can we do this if we are not talking to him in prayer about the decicions and choices in our life?
How can we do this if we are not studying his word daily and drawing out his will for our lives?
How can we do this if we are not abounding in thanksgiving, that produces a true humility?
What is the alternative?
We turn to tradition, we turn to religion, we turn to the philosophies of self esteem, morality, pride etc.
Beware Paul says these things lead into a captivity. If we look to earn salvation through good work we will be captive to fear that we must be constantly balancing our good deads off against our bad deads. But that's not the end of it as Paul takes us one step further and says, these traditions these worldly philosophies are demonic, inspired by Satan and demons. Let us not be ignorant of the rulers, principalities and powers that exist behind the physical apperance. As Christians we are to be captive to Christ not the demonic of the world. We are to fear the Lord not live in fear of living up to the wordly traditions and philosophies...

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Conversing the kingdom: The Constraints of Freedom

Galations 2:1-10
Tim Keller - Absolutism

Christianity claims absolute truth but does this not take away freedom? Is not freedom the right to choose truth for ourselves? The answer to this is no because the reality is as follows:
Truth is more important than you think!
Freedom is more complex than you think!
Jesus is more liberating than you think!

Truth is important because the freedom one experiences is grounded in it's associated truth claims. However truth claims in general are power plays as by their very nature they elevate themselves above those of others. In general therefore truth claims erode the freedom of others.

Freedom is more complex because true freedom comes from submission to the truth not evasion of it. One is free to drive a car if one submits to the truths of how to drive it. Freedom is not an absence of constraints (liberalism) nor the presence of constraints (religion) but the presence of the right constraints in accordance with the truth of what God made us to be. A person will never excel as a musician without the constraint of practise. A person without a musical gifting will not excel as a musician with the constraints of practise. But a person with gifting and practise is freed to excel.
The greatest example of the complexity of freedom is love. A husband and wife will only truly love when in mutual submission to one another they constrain individual freedoms to be released into the deeper freedom of marriage, partnership.

Jesus is more liberating...
In John 1:1 we read "in the beginning was the Word (logos)" logos means reason of existence therefore John implies Jesus is the reason for existence. We are made to know him,love him, serve him, and find our joy in him in a marriage relationship. This marriage relationship is Jesus as the head and the church as his bride. Only in this relationship can we experience true freedom. But like any marriage relationship surrender of individual freedoms by the presence of constraints is needed. Jesus has surrendered more in in his incarnation, life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection and accession than we could ever know. In response we too can now surrender into that relationship because of what Jesus achieved on the cross.
If our logos was an absolute truth (a set of rules) salvation would be achieved in fear and that brings slavery. The gospel is not a set of rules based on abstract truth but a relationship of surrender. This knowledge truly frees us from our former slavery. As Paul rightly says the love of Christ constraint us... Producing true freedom....

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Conversing the Kingdom: The Hell Fire Within!

Luke 16:19-31
Tim Keller's sermon on hell.

Things one needs to know about hell...
It will exist but doesn't just yet.
It will be at a location separated from God, but will not be a physical relm like earth but a spiritual one.
Jesus Christ will rule as Lord over hell, not Satan
Those who go there will want to and they will lock the door behind themselves.
The fire and torment of hell will be self inflicted.
Hell can be defined as follows: A freely chosen identity in something or someone other than God.

Confused let me try and explain...
For the Christian the taste of hell we get here on earth will be the closest we ever get to the true hell.
For the non-Christian the taste of heaven they get on earth will be the closest they ever get to the true heaven.
Hell begins here on earth within us as a spiritual addiction of an identity in something or someone else other than God. The reason this is hell is because an identity built this way will never satisfy. Like any true addiction we constantly need more and more to produce less and less satisfaction. In fact the temporary satisfaction here on earth got by the non-Christian is the only taste of heaven (true satisfaction) they will ever get. When they die and everything they have (every little taste of heaven they have horded) even their body will be taken from them and in hell there will not even be that temporary satisfaction experienced here on earth but only the craving for heavenly satisfaction remaining. This is hell and but for the grace of God, where we are all headed.
To understand the judgement of God (and the necessity of hell) allows us to be at peace here on earth knowing that every act will be accounted for. Without this perfect justice that comes from God we are destined for an endless cycle of retribution.
It is not good enough to be convinced of the existence of hell through some clever argument or as in this parable the returning of someone from the dead, even Jesus! All this does is produce a fear of hell and a selfish desire to avoid it. What we need to understand is the Love of God. Love has no worth unless it costs something. God showed us how much he loved us by paying the ultimate cost by dying in the cross taking all our sin on his shoulders and as a result suffering the separation of the Godhead for our sake! There is no greater cost that could have been born and this therefore produces the greatest love ever made known. The Godhead of Father, Son and Spirit did this out of love for us to spare us the torment of hell... If only we believe!!! Because if we don't the alternative is a hell of our own making...

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