Grace in Tullahoma

wk 1 | Jesus is God.

Matthew 16:13-17

Why this matters:

It’s what sets Christianity apart from other religions.

Most religions claim positive things about Jesus. They lift Him in high regard. They say He was a great prophet and a good teacher. But where they differ drastically is in what they think of the deity of Jesus. We understand that Islam and Buddhism are different religions, but this is also the point where we are able to differentiate between what claims to be Christian and what really isn’t. In other words, cults. Like Mormons and Jehovah’s witnesses. They do not believe that Jesus is God. They may claim Christianity as their religion, but it is not. This is a dividing factor in regards to religion.

It’s the one question every person must answer.

“Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-17)

The Bible tells us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2:10-11) It says this a few verses after talking about the humility of Jesus, though He was in the form of God, emptied Himself and took the likeness of man. (2:6-7) The thing is, for some it will be too late. Once they are “under the earth” they will realize that they had the opportunity to answer the question for themselves, but it will be too late (see Luke 16).

Reasons we know Jesus is God:

Jesus and Creation

There are several examples in the Bible that have to do with Jesus and His relation to creation that can only apply to God.

-He is before creation. (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1; John 17:3-5; Col. 1:17)

Philosophy tells us that there has to be a “first cause” or “uncreated Creator.” There had to be an initial start to all things, the first domino that toppled the next, etc. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus existed before all things were created.

-He is Creator, not created. (Col. 1:15-17; John 1:1-3; Heb. 1:2)

Another thing the Bible tells us about Jesus and creation is not just that He existed before creation, but He is Creator. Every religion has an idea of how everything came to be. The religion of atheism believes everything came from nothing. Every theistic and most polytheistic religions believe a deity created everything. Christianity claims that Jesus is deity and is the agent of Creation, one with the Father and Spirit.

People’s Claims (2 Pet. 1:1; Titus 2:13; James 2:1; John 20:27-29)

Another indication that Jesus is God is the claims of those who followed Him or were close to Him. These were Jews whose most beloved doctrine was Deuteronomy 6, “The Lord is one.” They would not claim that Jesus is God lightly. It would be blasphemy. Which is what Jesus was charged with because of His own claims.

Jesus’ Claims

Some skeptics say that Jesus never said that He was God. This is just silly. First, we just saw that His followers believed Him to be God, of which He was their rabbi and teacher. They didn’t just get this idea from thin air. Secondly, He clearly states that He is, and you can tell even more so by people’s responses to His claims.

-“I Am” (John 8:58; Mark 14:61-64; Exodus 3:14)

God was known, in the Old Testament, as “I Am.” That’s what He told Moses to say to Pharaoh. So, in John 8:58, Jesus flat out says, “Before Abraham [who was the Father of the Jews] was, I am.” First off, this seems like bad grammar. Unless you are God who has always existed and will always be. We see this talk of “I Am” again. Many people claim that book of John overemphasizes Jesus’ deity and that it’s not true. These same people think Mark is the most accurate gospel from which the other gospels got much of their information.

In Mark 14:61-64, Jesus is standing trial. They ask Him if He is the Son of God, the Christ. He said, “I am.” I believe He left a dramatic pause in there. And then He said you will see Him in power, coming on the clouds of heaven. Their response to Him is the giveaway. They don’t think He’s just claiming to be the Messiah. They cry out “blasp

1 Timothy 4:12-16

1 Timothy 4:1-11

1Timothy 3:1-16

1 Timothy 2:9-15

1 Timothy 1:12-17

I never start my messages like this, but since Brother Tim cannot be here, I’m going to start off with a joke, one that sounds like how he would tell it.

A priest, a Baptist Preacher and a Jewish Rabbi were at the bar debating over which of their religions was best.

The priest suggested a competition. He said that the best way to figure out whose religion was best was to see who could convert an atheist to his own religion. “No that’s too easy,” said the Rabbi. Suddenly, a bear walked by and the Baptist preacher said, “the true religious man would be able to convert this bear.” So, one at a time, each religious head tried to convert the Bear to their respective religions. A few weeks later, they met up at the bar and the Baptist preacher, with a few missing fingers, said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to baptize the bear.” The priest, who had two broken arms, said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to put the bear in the confessional.” The priest and the pastor turn to look at the rabbi, who is in a full body cast, and the rabbi says, “You know what, looking back, maybe I shouldn’t have started with a circumcision.”

Now, the joke kind of has an actual intended purpose. What religion we follow matters.

“A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.” -Martin Luther

Read James 1:26-2:13

Signs of true, acceptable religion

I don’t have a problem saying I believe in religion. Religion is what differentiates one way from another way. It sets up parameters of belief, ones that when I say I follow the religion of Christianity, I believe in what that religion states. God created all things. Jesus, who is God, took on human flesh. He died a sacrificial death. He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. He’s coming back again and making all things new for all eternity.I believe in that religion.Now, believing that religion and following that religion are two different things.The people who say I don’t follow religion, I have a relationship, they are trying to say this…even though they do follow a religion.What they’re saying is, it takes more than intellectually believing a set structure of ideas. What matters is living out those ideas.This is what James says in this book. Real faith is one that follows. It has action.But it’s real faith in what? In the religion of Christianity.

(James gives us, in the passage we are studying today, some signs or marks of what is acceptable religion. What are some things you will see if someone is really and truly following this Christian religion? What will it look like if someone has “Real Faith?” You will see that there are outward marks and there are inward marks.)

Outward Marks of True Religion

Controlled speech (1:26)When you speak, you tell the truth about your heart.Matt. 12:34 – You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matt. 15:18 – But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.Luke 6:45 – The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.The way we use our words shows what’s at the center of our universeThe way I talk or don’t talk to my wife – The way I treat my kids – often shows that I am at the center of my universeGossip, Slander, Cursing, Making fun, rude, or just consumed with trivial thingsWhat you talk about and how you talk shows what’s at the center of your universeAlso, what we don’t talk about shows what’s not at the center of our universe.I don’t have hour long conversations about barbies. (I will hold them for my daughter though.)I don’t talk to anyone on the street about this cool new mathematical equation I came across. (Math is dumb.)What does it show about our heart when we never speak of God? The things of God? What we’re learning about God? How good and faithful G

Acts 17:1-6