Crossroad

OK, here we go with Q & A from ‘First Importance.’ Look for your question or one close to it. Sometimes we get a little overlap in questions and I will just combine them.

Is Crossroad going to be so long all the time? (this is actually my own question) Answer: No. No way. No how.

Can you elaborate more on shame as a biblical principle? I’ve always thought that God wants us to be convicted but not ashamed.

Shame is a painful emotion felt when one has violated conscience or a known moral boundary. No doubt, when people first started using the word ‘convicted’ to represent the place where one had violated God’s Law, it was an appropriate synonym. But like a lot of things, our flesh takes the concept and turns it to make it easier to not have to deal with the fullness of what sin is and what we have done. Consider this, when Acts described the first Christians and how they lived, this is the statement Luke writes in Acts 9:31- the church grew walking ‘in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.’ The church today has radically embraced the ‘comfort of the Holy Spirit’ but completely done away with ‘the fear of the Lord.’ Strange thing is- YOU CANNOT HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER!! They are inseparable. It is only the true shame (sorrow, grief) over sin that will lead to true repentance that brings true faith and the true Holy Spirit with the true consolations of Christ.

How do I explain to someone why God breaks us?

Simple- tell them that God is trying to make sure that people understand the seriousness of sin and its consequences. Consider the punishment for sin- eternal hell. Now people today are trying to push hell away and say that God couldn’t possibly do something like that. God, on the other hand, has gone to extraordinary lengths to make absolutely sure that people know that is exactly what He is going to do. God breaks us to make sure that we know what the stakes are. Consider it this way- you go into a Dr’s office and he comes back with some test results. One Dr says “Looks OK, you could try to work on your fat intake a little.’ Another Dr says ‘Your cholesterol reading are bad news. If you do not change, you are going to die. If we do not see improvement by your next visit, I will no longer be your Dr because I am not going to watch this. This is your warning.’ Which did his or her job? #2. Same with God. Its a warning.

Repentance is recognition and confession of sin. Is that confession to God and ourselves only, or also to Christian brothers and sisters?

Good one. Depends. First, yes- confession is always to God. Consider when David had gone into the whole mess with Bathsheba. He lies. Kills her husband. And when he is confronted and confesses, in his Psalm of confession (Ps 51- which everyone should read) he says ‘against You and You only have I sinned.’ In one sense, he is right. There is only One against whom we can sin- God. In another way, he had sinned against Bath. Part of his repentance would be to confess to her and make it right. The Bible does teach us to confess to one another. I think that this is so we will be accountable to one another. I can confess my sin to God all the time and trick myself into thinking everything is cool pretty easy. Another person makes it ‘real,’ if you will. We definitely are called to make things right between ourselves and those we sin against. So I think that it is case by case.

I’m confused about how someone who seeks repentance will not receive it- like Esau.

Anyone who seeks repentance will find it. The point made last night is that sorrow is not repentance. Esau was sorry, but he was not repentant. The author of Hebrews was saying- if you want to repent, you better do it now, because your own heart will turn on you if you don’t.

Is repentance a gift from God? Is it something God does through us or is it something we do for God?

Both, actually. Acts 11:18 tells when the Jews discovered that Gentiles were becoming Christians as well, they said “God has granted to the Gentiles repentance.’ In 2 Tim 2:25 the Apostle Paul tells Timothy to be gentle with people because God might grant them repentance. No one repents who has not received repentance as a gift from God. At the same time, Paul in his letters tells people to stop doing the things that they had formerly been doing and start doing the things that God had placed before them to do. Here is the simple answer- the truly repentant are the ones who start doing what God has asked them to do and work at stopping what God has asked them to stop. They will fail at times at both, but will keep going.

In Mark 1, Jesus had not yet died and risen from the grave, so what does ‘gospel’ mean? What are they supposed to believe in?

‘Gospel’ simply means ‘good news.’ The word is used by the angels in Luke 2:10 at Jesus’ birth, for example. Modern Christian have a tendency to say that the ‘Gospel’ is nothing more than Jesus’ death and resurrection, but the Biblical authors saw it as a wider set of happenings. I guess the easiest way to answer the question here is to say that they are to believe that Jesus is who He says He is. The ‘good news’ of God among them at that time.

I have received Jesus into my heart and want to start a relationship with Him. I have made many failed attempts. Where should I start reading?

In a church. That is awesome news and I am so glad to hear that God is calling another of His children to His side. You need- no, MUST- be in a place where there are people that can challenge and teach you. HANGING OUT WITH CHRISTIAN FRIENDS WILL NOT GET IT DONE. You need people further down the road to help you along. The Bible, to be sure, is going to be crucial for the rest of your life, but you will need help understanding parts of it. As for the literal ‘where should I start reading?’- the Gospels. Start with John.