The Truth Project Lesson One--What is Truth?

I hope those of you who were in class today enjoyed watching the first lesson from the "Focus on the Family" Truth Project. The DVD takes 56 minutes and was presented by Dr. Del Tackett, a Senior Vice President of Focus on the Family. The first question posed to the class was, "Why did Jesus come to earth?" Perhaps, the best explanation of this discussion comes from the words of Dr. Tackett himself and from the Holy Scripture. The following paragraphs are lifted verbatim from The Truth Project website:

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." Gal 4:4

For years, I have been asking my students the question: "Why was Jesus born? For what reason did He come into the world?" My first objective is to get people to think, which we unfortunately don't engage in much today. I have been amazed to see the look on people's faces when this question first confronts them. I can see they haven't really thought about it before. The second reason is that it affords the opportunity to ponder one of the most astounding events in all of history. Paul, in 1 Timothy 3, spoke of it this way:

16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.

John, in John 1, spoke of it this way:

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I don't suppose we can properly grasp the full essence of what it meant for the infinite, holy, omnipotent God of the universe to put on the form of finite man and dwell among the living dead. The reasons for Him doing this are probably deeper than we could possibly contemplate. However, it is not as if we have to guess about this thing. God has given us clear testimony in His Word concerning the reasons why He humbled Himself and "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Philipians 2:7)

Here are a few of them:
Matt 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Matt 10:34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
Luke 12:51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.
Luke 12:49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
Matt 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
John 12:47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
1 Tim 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.
1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
Mark 1:38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
John 9:39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Matt 9:13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Mark 2:17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 638 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'"
John 12:27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.
1 John 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
But the final reason I ask this question is to focus on the very specific words of Jesus as He was giving the "good confession" before Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13):

John 18:37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

Here is one of the clearest and most objective statements that Jesus made about the reason He came into the world. This statement doesn't override the others, in fact, I think it helps to clarify many of them. For example, in 1 John 3:8, we are told that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. What is the devil? A liar. When Jesus said that He didn't come to bring peace, but a sword, we understand that it is not a worldly sword that He is referring to. The Scripture makes reference over and over again to the sword being the Word of God (Eph 6:17), which in Hebrews 4:12 reiterates that it divides (" For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." ) This reinforces what Jesus said about coming for judgment that the blind should see (John 9:39), coming as a light (John 12:46), came to preach (Mark 1:38), came to give us understanding so that we would know him who is true (1 John 5:20), and so on.

Now, so there be no misunderstanding. This does not, in any way, diminish the great, grand and glorious purpose of Jesus to give His life as a ransom (Matt 20:28), that he appeared to take away our sins (1 John 3:5), that He came to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10). That is another of those astounding things that are beyond comprehension—that God would, Himself, take the penalty and wrath that was due us. Absolutely breathtaking.

So, our focus upon the words of Jesus to Pilate that He was born and came into the world to testify to the truth, should not be seen as diminishing the work of Christ upon the cross nor the power of the resurrection. But, it is evident that the life of Jesus was dedicated to this task of testifying to the truth. And, in a world that is dead set against truth, it is time for us to elevate it to its proper place. And, as we briefly mentioned in Tour 1, there is a great Scriptural link between the issue of truth and salvation.

Amen and Amen. (Accessed October 18, 2009, Dr. Del Tackett, The Truth Project Website, http//www.thetruthproject.org)

If you are interested in learning more about the DVD curriculum that we will be using for the next 12 weeks or so, I encourage you to access the website at http://www.thetruthproject.org

I hope you will come join us as we learn to develop a Biblical world view. The next lesson deals with the question, "Who is Man?" Cindy and I will be in Washington D.C. next weekend, so we will miss you all. However, Beth Miles has graciously agreed to facilitate the lesson. We will look forward to seeing you all again on November 1.

Have a great week ahead!

We were honored to have Steven and Gena Higginbotham in class today. If the Higginbothams see fit to join us again next week, I hope you will introduce yourselves and I know you will make them feel at home.

Jimmy


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THE TRUTH PROJECT BEGINS NEXT WEEK

As we have been discussing in Sunday School, we will begin a new DVD series from Focus on the Family next week: THE TRUTH PROJECT. I have watched the first three lessons. While there are some deep philosophical questions addressed in these lessons, the program attempts to provide a Biblical lens through which we can view the world around us. For example, the first question addressed is, "What is truth?" Think about it. If you were asked to define "truth" right now, what would you say? How would you describe truth? Would you use examples? While the leader of the lesson does make reference to a dictionary definition,(he uses a 1928 version of the dictionary because it is much less directed toward politically correct definitions)he also makes reference to scripture and ultimately uses scripture to help us understand truth and to understand the many concepts in our culture that are simply pernicious lies. I hope you will gain much understanding from these lessons and that you will enjoy learning about the Biblical world view.

I do need to ask for your help. Would you please make a special effort to get to Sunday School by 9:00 a.m. so that we can start the DVD by 9:10 a.m. or 9:15 a.m. at the latest? The DVD lessons run for 56 minutes. Therefore, there will be little or no time for follow-up discussion in class. We may be able to have a very brief follow-up if we get started early, but on most days, we probably will not have time for a discussion. We may be able to consider some issues through this blog...you can make comments on this blog. However, we will need most of the Sunday School class just to watch the DVD. So, please set a reminder and make your best effort to be in class by 9:00 a.m. See you all next Sunday.

Jimmy

"More Than Conquerors"--Romans 8:31-39

Today's lesson was our final lesson in this series. The lesson focused on on the promise implied in Paul's writing, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"(Romans 8:31) We talked about all the challenges of life that can cause us to perceive that everyone and everything is against us. We face such challenges in the area of relationships with family and friends, with our finances, with health issues, with work-related concerns, and in many other areas of life. Yet, we can take comfort in Romans 8:31. If the all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent King of the universe is on our side, who can possibly prevail against us? Verse 32 assures us that if God sent his son to earth to die on a cross for us, we can have confidence that He will meet the needs of His children. I love the last two verses of this chapter, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." AMEN! There is absolutely NOTHING that is capable of separating us from the love of our God. What a powerful, comforting thought during times of challenge and seasons of despair! As Natalie Halbert pointed out during our discussion, this promise can bring great comfort to us IF we will remember it when we face such challenges. I trust that each of us will keep these promises in mind as we face the days ahead!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
Steve Day's brother and his family
First Baptist Church Corsicanna and the family of Pastor David Edwards who was killed in a car wreck
Those who are ill

LET'S EAT SUPPER TOGETHER

On Friday, October 9, the church is offering baby-sitting so that couples can have a night out together. Our class is planning to meet together at a local restaurant and ejoy fellowship with each other while eating a nice meal without having to cut up the meat or fix the sipper cup or referee a disagreement between siblings. It will be a fun time together. Tracey Scasta is checking to see if we can reserve space and will be communicating through the class e-mail. As soon as we determine the location, she will be sending out that information. We plan to get together around 6:30 p.m. on Friday. I hope you will join us for an enjoyable evening with Christian brothers and sisters. Have a great week!

Jimmy

"The Coming Glory"--Romans 8:18-30

A "hope-filled perspective and a spirit-filled passion": these concepts are the theme of our scripture passage this week (Romans 8: 18-30). In today's lesson, we looked at examples of a hope-filled perspective and a spirit-filled passion. Bono, for example, could be considered a person with a spirit-filled passion. He has contributed significantly to the effort to make people aware of the human tragedy that is occurring in Africa. He has worked tirelessly to pressure western governments to provide support for the countries of Africa where abject poverty, a runaway pandemic of AIDS, and government corruption are prevalent. As a result of Bono's commitment and dedication toward bringing about change in Africa, he was named as the TIME MAGAZINE "Person of the Year" in 2005. During one of his speeches, Bono paused and addressed the believers in the room. He asked, "Any believers out there?" And then he exhorted, "For the believers in the room, we should see Africa as an issue of obedience." He continued, "God is with the poor, and He has a special place for them in His heart." And then he exclaimed, "God is with us if we are with them." Bono has a spirit-filled passion. How about you? Is there something in your life that could be described as a "spirit-filled passion"?

As we considered a hope-filled perspective, we talked about the movie "Saint Ralph" in which an unlikely young boy contended to win the Boston Marathon. When Ralph is told that his comatose mother won't recover without a miracle, he decides to create one--by setting out to win the Boston Marathon. Little does he know, he's in for the run of his life. Here are some questions to consider when faced with challenges such as the one that faced Ralph:
* Do you ever feel it's all for naught--that it all went wrong?
* Do you ever feel helpless, hopeless, especially when life doesn't go your way?
* Have you ever had a dream vanish before your watching eyes?
* Have you ever hoped and prayed for a miracle that never came?
* Have you ever failed so badly that you thought it could never be turned into anything good?
* Have you ever wondered if there is any good purpose to suffering and loss?
* Have you ever done your best and done most everything right, only for it all to go wrong?
* To whom do you turn in the midst of such pain, disappointment, fear, suffering, and loss?
* Do you believe in a God who can and does redeem?

In today's scripture passage, Paul addresses these implicit questions. We can indeed view our life and our world with a hope-filled perspective.

Romans 8:28 provides a promise that brings this hope-filled perspective:
"And we know that God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Bo Miles shared that he has written beside these verses in his Bible, "9-11". Do you remember the fear and despair that we all experienced on 9-11-2001 and the days immediately after 9-11? What a frightening, difficult time for all Americans. Yet, God's children still had this promise in Romans, God causes ALL things to work together for our good. Somehow, someday, someway the tragic events of 9-11 would be used to work together for the good of those who love God and who are called according to His purpose. We can't help but experience a hope-filled perspective when we meditate on this promise of God.

We also can take comfort in the promise of verses 26-27 in today's passage. Isn't it comforting to know that the Holy Spirit is interceding for you according to the will of God? It gives me great courage and confidence to know that the Holy Spirit Himself is interceding before God on my behalf and even though I may not know the right thing to pray for, I can be assured that the Holy Spirit is interceding for me according to God's will for my life. Amen and Amen.

As you approach the week before you, I hope you will view your world with a hope-filled perspective and that you will develop a spirit-filled passion for the things that God reveals to you.