‘THE PROOF IS IN THE POSTURE’: J.D. GREEAR TALKS WITH MARK DRISCOLL ABOUT SALVATION

Pastor Mark talks with J.D. about his latest book, Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know For Sure If You Are Saved.

Mark Driscoll: In the book you talk about how you “asked Jesus into your heart” countless times. Why so many false starts, and how did the truth finally click for you?

J.D. Greear: I never was sure I had gotten it right. Had I really been sorry enough for my sin that time around? Some wept rivers of tears when they got saved, but I hadn’t done that. Was I really sorry? And there were a few sins I seemed to fall back into over and over again, no matter how many resolutions I made to do better. Was I really sorry for those sins? Was that prayer a moment of total surrender? Did I really get grace?

So I would pray the sinner’s prayer again. And again. And again. And maybe get baptized again. Every student camp, every spring revival. Rinse and repeat.

I know it sounds a little poetic, but things really clicked for me my freshman year of college, when I read Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans. Luther points out that salvation comes by resting on the facts God revealed about the death of Christ. Just as Abraham was counted righteous when he believed that God would deal with his corruption, we are saved by believing that he has.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law part III

The assembly of believers from Jewish and Gentile into one spiritual body (the Church) is called by Paul a “mystery”, meaning a truth that hasn’t been revealed clearly to people in antiquity, but has now been revealed to the children of God.  For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:1-6, ESV)

In the New Testament  all differences between Jewish and Gentile disappear. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28, ESV) Like all nations, to obtain the salvation, Jews must accept Christ. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16, ESV) 

Of course all believers must overcome the ethical standard of the Old Testament and live now at height of the teachings of Christ. What Christ told us is not a contradiction of the teaching of the Old Testament, but rather a complement and a deepening of them. Christ came not to abolish but to fulfill.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law part II

Just as we have shown that the law and grace are also found in both Old Testament and New Testament, we must emphasize now that a Christian can not restrict only to the New Testament. The Apostle Paul taught us that:  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)

God’s revelation we have in the New Testament is not splintered from the on received through the Old Testament, but derives from it, as a natural continuation. Everywhere in the New Testament we are reminded that the Old Testament was the Word of God. There is a continuity not only regarding the content of the two testaments, but also in the characteristics of God’s people which are found in them. Approximately two thousand years before Christ, God called Abraham and chose to turn him into a numerous people through which bestow to the world His two greatest blessings : The Scriptures and Messiah.

Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions

Some two thousand years after he walked the earth, Jesus Christ is still a hot topic. And for all the ridiculous, twisted, Da Vinci Code-esque conspiracy theories and lies about Jesus that have permeated popular culture and even the academy over the years, the truth about his character, nature, and work has not changed. So what exactly is the truth about Jesus Christ?

That’s the question the authors of Vintage Jesus seek to answer by breaking it down into a number of sub-questions about Jesus, including Is Jesus the only God? Why did Jesus come to earth? Did Jesus rise from death? Why should we worship Jesus? and others. Nonbelievers and new Christians looking to sit down and delve into the topic of Jesus, asking the toughest, most confounding questions they can think of, will find solid, biblical answers presented in a relevant, accessible way.

Twenty-five Old Testament prophetic promises fulfilled in the New Testament Part V

21. Promise: By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? (Isaiah 53:8)

Fulfillment: Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

Twenty-five Old Testament prophetic promises fulfilled in the New Testament Part IV

16. Promise: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

Fulfillment: But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. (Matthew 27:12)

17. Promise:  For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet. (Psalm 22:16)

Fulfillment:  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. (Luke 23:33)

Twenty-five Old Testament prophetic promises fulfilled in the New Testament Part II

6. Promise: When Israel was a child,  I loved him, and out of Egypt I  called  my son. (Hosea 11:1)

Fulfillment:  Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”  And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt  and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:13-15)

Nehemiah 1

 Building a city within the city

In this chapter we see that Nehemiah acts as a mediator for the Hebrew people and Jerusalem. I was surprised when I found out that Nehemiah was a simple Hebrew man. He was not any leader for the Jewish people, he was simply a Jew who was working under the Persian King. It impressed me greatly that he was still acting as a mediator for his people, something I have rarely seen in the Old Testament. Usually just Priests acted as mediators, rarely do we see a simple man act as one.

Romans 12:1-21

Romans 12 Community

I recently read through Romans 12 and was very intrigued by the idea of what a community would look like if it was a Romans 12 community.

The Bible is clear that a believer needs to be meeting regularly with other believers. (Hebrews 10:25) Every believer should have a community of Christian brothers and sisters that they can be with regularly. And I got to thinking, if we all need a community, then what does a good and healthy one look like? I believe that each and every person was created with a deep desire to share in a community that is loving and holy. And because of this deep desire, I have always thought about what that community would be like. I do not claim to have a complete understanding of what this community would be like, but I know that through my Bible reading, listening to sermons, and experiencing being in a community myself, I understand much better what a community should look like.

Matthew 28:19-20

 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

The last commandment that Jesus gave to his disciples before he left to the Father to prepare a place for those who will follow Him was this, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” We can see in this verse that Jesus sent his disciples to go and spread the Gospel to all the nations. Many of us think that this might just be for the 12 apostles, or pastors, or missionaries, but if we look at the next verse we can see that this is not true. He also said, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” From here we can see that He said this commandment is for all who follow Christ, regardless if you are a pastor, missionary, or simply a Christian.