The Friday Update--May 16

Good morning,

Next week we will start the revised Friday update. Therefore, I thought it would be good to spend time setting a foundation for this summer.  

The premise I will be assuming is this, absolute truth exists! Some of you have heard me talk about this in our apologetic studies over the winter. This reality is very important today, for many in our culture reject this fact.

An absolute truth is a reality that is always true. It was true yesterday, it will be true today, and it will be true tomorrow. In short it is true all the time! 

The simplest way to prove my point is through logic. The statement that ‘there is no such thing as absolute truth’ is in itself an absolute truth claim. In other words, by stating this thought, you are actually denying the very thing you are hoping to prove. 

Let me take another route to prove my point. Here are some of the many absolute truth claims that we live under.

· 2 + 2 = 4 … is always true.

· 36 inches equals a yard … is a constant.

· 100 pennies equal $1.00 … is a fact, or we have no reliable currency. 

· Always stop at a red light … or we have havoc on our roads.  

I could go on and on listing absolute truth claims. So why am I boring you with this reality? For the reason that we can now come to the application of what this means for you as a Christ follower. 

The first is that the Word of God, the Bible, is a Book of Absolute Truth. It claims this for itself. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Secondly, the Bible is making Absolute Truth claims constantly. This is true in the ‘parting of the Red Sea’ … ‘the walls of Jericho falling down’ … ‘Jonah in the belly of the whale 3 days and nights.’ Most importantly in the Son of God coming to earth.

You can argue with the Bible and disagree with it. But you cannot deny that it is making absolute truth claims. Another such claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed “resurrected on the third day”. 

My desire in these updates will be to ground your life in truth. By doing this you will long to know more and more truth … as declared in the Word of God. It will also create a deep desire within you to fellowship with the Living God in prayer. 

May God bless your summer reading of His Word and prayer(s) to Him.

Steve  

Good morning,

I have recently been pondering the Love of God in Christ Jesus. The question is, is His love conditional or unconditional?

So often we hear of the unconditional love of God. However, the Word of God declares just the opposite. Scripture tells us that His Love is based on conditions. 

Here are some verses where Christ tells of terms or restrictions for what He will do.

· “You are My friends, if you do what I command.” (John 15:14)

· “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, (so) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

· “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, (that) you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

· “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

There are many statements where Jesus tells us who will not enter “the Kingdom of God.” The Apostle Paul also says the same thing in his letters. Paul tells us, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

We see these conditions in the Old Testament as well. In Deuteronomy 28 the LORD sets ‘blessings and curses’ before His people. God tells them that if they obey all His commands then they will be blessed. However, if they disobey these commands then they will be cursed. 

In the Garden of Eden God told Adam, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it (then) you shall surely die.” We all know how it ended for Adam and Eve.

The Good News of Jesus Christ is that the Love of God in Christ is unconditional, but only for all that put their faith in Him. Those that trust in His life, death, and resurrection for their salvation are His friends. 

By our faith in Christ, we become sons and daughters of God … and are therefore treated as such!! His everlasting and infinite Love is given to us and He “will never leave us or forsake us.” We also know that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is His unconditional love for His Chosen People. 

The key to His unconditional love is faith in Christ crucified. Is your faith in Jesus Christ alone, or is it in something else? 

Steve