Journey To Faith

Jesus teaches us how to live the life of true righteousness. He first describes false righteousness or hypocritical religion. He instructs us to pray and give and fast in secret and our Father in heaven will reward us. If we do these things in public our only reward will be the praise of men.

Jesus teaches us how to pray, how to fast and what to pursue (righteousness and the Kingdom, not money) and he teaches us to be anxious for nothing but to be entirely dependent on God.

Following Jesus in this way is exactly what I need to do. Why does it seem so hard?

Labels: fast, Jesus, kingdom, pray, righteousness

The sermon on the mount: Jesus teaches His disciples and raises the bar of righteousness. I don't know if His call to righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees and the scribes was to point out that theirs was a faux righteousness or that the standard is higher than mortal man can attain. Jesus ratchets up the ten commandments such that calling one's brother a fool is akin to murder and lusting after a woman is akin to adultery. I know under these standards I am guilty of all of the ten commandments.

Jesus closes this chapter with "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect". There is the standard. Anything less results in condemnation. Thank you Father, that you do not see my sin but you see the perfection of your Son and the covering of His atoning blood.

Labels: disciples, Jesus, Pharisee, scribe, Sermon on the mount, sin

Jesus goes into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasts and then the devil comes to Him at His weakest to try to ensnare Him. It's noteworthy that the devil tries to use scripture against Jesus sometimes, but Jesus always responds with scripture. Just like the devil said to Eve in the garden, "did God really say ...", he takes the word of God and twists it as he attacks Jesus. After Jesus fights off three (complete?) of the devils attacks, the devil departs and angels minister to Jesus.

Jesus also begins his formal ministry in this chapter. He starts with the same call as John the Baptist: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He also begins calling His disciples. He starts with two pairs of brothers: first Simon and Andrew and then James and John. Jesus begins his ministry in the Galilee, possibly to avoid conflict early with the Jewish leaders. The text says that He saw that John the Baptist was taken into custody so He went to the Galilee. I remember from our trip to Israel, that our guide, Pilar, also pointed out that this was a perfect place for Jesus to minister and have maximum effect. The Galilee was a major trade-route crossroads and he would interact with the most diverse people, both Jews and Gentiles, who would take His message all over the world.

Labels: Andrew, devil, Galilee, James, Jesus, John, John the Baptist, Simon, temptation

John the Baptist is introduced in chapter 3 as an itinerant preacher preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. He preaches repentance and water baptism to Jerusalem and all those around the Jordan and throughout Judea. He also rails against the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Even though he feels unworthy, John baptizes Jesus after Jesus tells him it is fitting and proper to keep in accordance with the scriptures. Throughout these first three chapters Matthew keeps referring to the scriptures and to fulfilled prophecy. The Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove and the Father says, "this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

Labels: baptism, Jesus, John the Baptist, Pharisee, Sadducee, Spirit

God works through many peoples and here he works through foreigners from the East who come to Bethlehem to proclaim the Messiah's birth. Who were these Magi? Wise men, astrologers, astronomers, Babylonian, Chinese? I have no idea. Clearly they were under the direction of the Holy Spirit as they came to place where Jesus was born and then avoided Herod on their departure.

Matthew again takes care here to point out the fulfillment of many prophecies in the birth of Jesus. The fact that He was born in Bethlehem and yet was a Nazarene and that He came out of Egypt are all noted here. These three prophecies alone probably make Jesus unique, but when combined with all the other prophecies fulfilled in Him, there can be no doubt that He is truly the one and only Messiah.

Labels: fulfillment, Herod, Magi, Messiah, prophecy

Matthew summarizes Jesus' genealogy from Abraham to Joesph. He breaks the history into three sections each with 14 generations: Abraham to David, David to the exile, and the exile to the Messiah. It's worth noting that the genealogy is not "pristine": Rahab the foreign prostitute is there as is Solomon, a son from the affair David had with Basheeba. God does not look on the outside or on what we once were. Rather, He chooses us independent of those things and looks at our heart.

Matthew also tells of the virgin birth of Jesus. Thus scripture is fulfilled that Jesus is born as the seed of Abraham, in the tribe of Judah, of the Davidic kingly line and yet not by the will of a man but by the Spirit.

Labels: Abraham, Bathsheeba, David, exile, Jesus, Joseph, Judah, Matthew, Rahab, Solomon, virgin

These are my notes from Alistair Beg's preaching on 2 Timothy (aired 2/3/07).

- there's probably nothing like the prospect of death to clarify the issues of life

- this is the context in which Paul finds himself as he writes to Timothy - he passes the torch to Timothy

- the church was facing a variety of threats both internal and external

- he writes passionately to ensure that the gospel will be guarded and accurately passed on

- there are several parallels to the church in our day; the church doesn't face annhilation but capitulation and it suffers prtoblems both theological and methodological; it has embraced the spirit of the age including its syncretism and pluralism

- we fail to recognize the call to be radically different

- we're much more comfortable being unclear and vague than clear and certain

- we're confused regarding behavior and belief

- there exists in the christian community a crying need for a solid experiential grasp of basic christian doctrine

- Sinclair Ferguson notes that it is one of the great enigmas of our day that in a world of great opportunities, many christians have less knowledge christian doctrine than sunday school children had in previous generations. It may be this is one of the reasons for the difference between the quality of christian character in previous eras and the relatively poor standard of our own christian lives today.

- standard greetings in verse 1 & 2; gives credentials because the letter would be read by the wider church not just Timothy; Paul was a member of the unique group of apostles

- warm address to his "beloved son"

- it is surprising that Timothy was given this charge: he was young, frail, timid; yet God delights in choosing that which man would not

- Paul's greeting reminds Timothy of his resources: God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord together constitute the one spring from which this three-fold stream flows forth (John Stott) - grace for the trials, mercy for the failures, and peace in the face of dangers and doubts - the same things we need

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