Mark Driscoll preaching 1 John

This week I listened to Mark Driscoll's twelve-part sermon series on 1 John that he preached at Mars Hill Church in 2004. Below are four quotes from two talks that really struck me.

From 1 John 3:1-10 (August 15, 2004)

People who don't know what they're gonna be like in the end don't know what to be like right now.

Parenting is nothing more than Christianity on a micro scale. You give birth, God gives new birth. Now you gotta raise the kids. You gotta make some rules so the child doesn't destroy themselves. Same thing with God - He makes laws and says, 'obey my laws.' The laws are to promote life. God wants to bless you. My main rules with my kids are "Obey your daddy and have fun." Those are the two rules in our home. Daddy's rules are to create life and health in a place where daddy can enjoy the kids and the kids can enjoy the daddy. We can all have fun and a good time. But as soon as you break those rules you end up destroying what is good, creating chaos where there should be order, and no body gets to have any more fun because sin has come in.

From 1 John 5:14-21 (September 26, 2004)

I pray that the Lord Jesus would be the subject of our discussion, the center of our lives, and the object of our affection.

I remember when I was a little kid... I went to a Hindu friend's house and in the center of their living room was this big shrine they had made, and they said their god lived in that shrine. I remember walking away from the house thinking, "well that's silly...they've got this little god with a candle on and they all give money to this little god and they all sit around and spend their time looking at this little god." And then I went home and we had cable TV. And we did the same dang thing! It was the center and everyone sat around it and it was the object of our worship. It took our money, it took our time. Sometimes it was said, "kids don't talk to me now, my show's on." Interpreted: "I need to get my time with god." Or: "Sorry honey, we can't have dinner together, we can't be intimate together, we can't pray together because right now I'm spending time with my Lord--the game's on."

Christian Basics - Chapter 4

Belief in God the Father

The Existence of God

1. The Fact of the Universe – Just as every building has its architect, every painting its artist, and every mechanism its designer, so the universe, mysterious, beautiful, and intricate, must have had its Creator. He is the Cause from which all effects ultimately derive. He is the Life to which all life owes its being. He is the Energy from which all motion comes. (Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20, Acts 14:15-17)
2. The Nature of Human Beings – High ideals and lofty aspirations stir within us. Things beautiful to our eyes, ears, and touch deeply move us. There is an ultimate Beauty, Truth, Goodness, and Love to which our whole personality responds! Why are all human beings worshiping creatures, who manufacture their own gods if none is revealed to them?

The Triune God

Without doubt, the Trinity is the greatest mystery of the Christian faith. The word itself is a contradiction of the words “tri” and “unity” and refers to the fact that God is both three and one.

The New Testament is trinitarian through and through. (Matthew 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The unity of God is not mathematical but organic. Within the complex mystery of the infinite God are three eternally distinct personal modes of being, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

There are many things in life we cannot fully explain but nevertheless experience. One might mention electricity, or changes in barometric pressure, or love. Similarly, although we cannot explain the Trinity, yet every time we prayer we enjoy access to the Father through the Son by the Spirit (Ephesisans 2:18).

God is Creator, Ruler, and Father

1. The Creator – The Bible tell us plainly that God is the Creator of all things; it nowhere tells us how he did it, expect that everything came into being by his will (Rev 4:11) as expressed in his Word (Gen 1:3; Ps 33:6, 9; Heb 11:3). Science addresses itself to “how” things function; Scripture is preoccupied with “why” questions. (1) God made everything. (2) He made it out of nothing. (3) He made male and female in his own image. (4) Everything he made was “very good”.
2. The Sustainer – What God created, he sustains. God is “immanent” in his universe. That is, he is present and active in it, continually upholding, animating, and ordering it and its creatures. Perhaps the dominant theme of the whole Bible is the sovereign, ceaseless, purposeful activity of Almighty God. Our God is a living and busy God.
3. The Father – “Father” is Christianity’s distinctive title for God. It is our duty as well as our privilege to trust God. Since God is our Maker and Sustainer, we depend upon him as his creatures. If he is also our heavenly Father, we depend upon him as his children. We have two good reasons to look to him with humble confidence. It is an honor to be the dependants of such a God.

Christian Basics - Chapter 3

How to Grow as a Christian

1. The Need for Growth

Justification – the position of acceptance with God which he gives us when we trust in Christ as our Savior. It is a legal term, borrowed from the law courts, and its opposite is condemnation. To justify is to acquit, to declare and accuse person to be just, not guilty. Sanctification – the process by which justified Christians are changed into the likeness of Christ. When God justifies us, he declares us righteous through Christ’s death for us; when he sanctifies us, he makes us righteous through the power of his Holy Spirit within us. Justification concerns our outward status of acceptance with God. Sanctification concerns our inward growth in holiness of character.

We are not only justified but also regenerated or born again. The metaphor has changed. We have left the law court and entered the maternity ward. The dramatic crisis of birth is followed by the laborious process of growth. So then, what sanctification is to justification, growth is to birth. But hundreds of people in the church have never graduated from the nursery.

2. The Areas of Growth

- Faith – Faith is trust. The reasonableness of trust depends on the trustworthiness of the person being trusted. Faith should be living and growing.

- Love – We are to love God with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

- Knowledge – Whenever the heart is full and the head is empty, dangerous fanaticisms arise. The Hebrew concept of knowing was never purely intellectual. It went beyond “understanding” to “experiencing”.

- Holiness

(1) Holiness is Christlikeness, and sanctification is the gradual process of being transformed (2 Cor. 3:18).

(2) Holiness is the work of the Holy Spirit. The secret of sanctification is not that we struggle to live like Christ, but that Christ comes by his Spirit to live in us.

(3) If the Holy Spirit is to do his work of transforming us “with ever-increasing glory”, our part is “with unveiled faces” to contemplate and so reflect the glory of God.

The carpenter from Nazareth is still busy with his tools. Now by the chisel of pain, now by the hammer of affliction, now by the plan of adverse circumstances, as well as through experiences of joy, he is shaping us into an instrument of righteousness.

Be patient, but determined. Do not lose heart. Watch the discipline of your Christian life. Be diligent in daily prayer and bible reading, in churchgoing and attendance at the Lord’s Supper. Make good use of your Sundays. Read helpful books. Seek out Christian friends. Get busy in some form of service. Never leave your sins unconfessed and unforgiven. Never allow a pocket of resistance to arise in your heart. Above all, yield yourself without reserve each day to the power of the Holy Spirit who is within you. Then step-by-step you will advance along the road of holiness and grow towards full spiritual maturity.

3. The Means of Growth

Analogy of a growing child: The greatest single condition of children’s physical growth is the regularity of a right diet, and of their psychological development the security of a happy home.

Right Diet: God’s Word – It’s simple teaching is like milk and its deeper truth like solid food. Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Scriptures. A good appetite is a reliable sign of spiritual health, as of physical.

Happy Home: God’s purpose is that children should be born into, and nurtured within, a stable and loving family. His ideal for newborn Christians is the same. Many of us have altogether too individualistic a concept of the Christian life. Church membership is neither a luxury nor an optional extra; it is a duty and a necessity. The church is the new community of Jesus. We need to be full and active members of the church.

Christian Basics - Chapter 2

How to Be Sure You Are a Christian

Each of the three persons of the Trinity contributes to our assurance.

The Work of God the Son – Our acceptance with God depends not on ourselves and what we could ever do, but entirely on Christ and what he has done once and for all on the cross.

The Word of God the Father – Our assurance rests above all on God’s word about Christ’s work, it does not depend primarily on our feelings. Feelings are an unreliable index to our true spiritual condition.

The Witness of God the Holy Spirit – confirms the word of God the Father concerning the work of God the Son.

Christian Basics - Chapter 1

How to Become a Christian

Christianity is not primarily a creed, nor a code of conduct (the essence of Christianity is not ethics), nor a cult (system of religious worship), important as these are in their place. It is in essence neither an intellectual, nor an ethical, nor a ceremonial system. It is perfectly possible (though rare because difficult) to be orthodox in belief, upright in conduct, and conscientious in religious observances, and still to overlook the heart of Christianity.

Christianity is a person, and a personal relationship to that person. In essence, Christianity is Christ. Christianity without Christ is a frame without a picture, a body without breath.

To be a Christian is to know Christ as our friend

To be a Christian is to trust Christ as our Savior

To be a Christian is to obey Christ as our Lord

Christianity involves something to…

Admit – we are sinners and need a Savior

Believe – Jesus Christ is uniquely qualified to save sinners. He has taken our human nature to himself at his birth; He has taken our sin and guilt to himself at his death.

Consider – Jesus Christ wants to be our Lord as well as our Savior. He demands our thoughtful and total allegiance. We must repent—a decisive turn from everything we know to be displeasing to God.

Do – Come to Jesus Christ personally and cry to him to have mercy upon us. Ask him to be our Savior and our Lord. An act of personal commitment.

Serious Questions to Consider in light of Revelation 3:20:

Have you ever opened the door to Christ? Have you ever invited him in?

On which side of the door is Jesus Christ? Inside or outside?

Recommendation: Christian Basics by John Stott

I'd highly recommend this book for new-Christians who desire to walk more deeply with God, seasoned-Christians who hope to remain rooted in the essentials, and non-Christians who are curiously drawn to consider following Jesus. It is clear, concise, and compelling. Get the book!

I'll outline it here, and for the next 10 days post notes from the next chapter (for my own reinforcement, and your perusal).

CHRISTIAN BEGINNINGS

1. How to Become a Christian

2. How to Be Sure You Are a Christian

3. How to Grow as a Christian

CHRISTIAN BELIEF

4. Belief in God the Father

5. Belief in Jesus Christ

6. Belief in the Holy Spirit

CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR

7. Moral Standards

8. Bible Reading and Prayer

9. Fellowship and the Lord’s Supper

10. The Service of Christ

Doctrine of Last Things

I believe that death is coming for everyone (Gen. 3:19; Heb. 9:27) unless Jesus returns first (1 Thess. 4:15-18). Death is the separation of what was never meant to be separated—material body from immaterial soul (Eccl. 12:7, Matt. 10:28) and separation from fellowship with God (Eph 2:1, 12). All people die physically; some die spiritually. Death is not a natural part of living, we were created for eternal life with God, but sin brought about death (Rom. 5:12). Death is an enemy that Jesus has conquered (1 Cor. 15:26, 50-58). Upon physical death the immaterial soul enters an intermediate state—believers to paradise with the Lord (Lk. 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8), unbelievers to a place of punishment (Lk. 16:22-23)—where they remain until the resurrection at the return of Christ (Rev. 20:11-13). At the resurrection, believer’s bodies will be reunited with their souls (1 Cor. 15:53) and will face judgment at the Bema seat of Christ, receiving rewards according to their faithfulness (2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 25:23). Believers will reign with God during the millennium and will dwell with Him forever on the new earth in glorified bodies (Rev. 21:3, 6).

I believe that prior to Christ’s return, there will be increased tribulation of satanic influence on the earth (Jn. 16:33; Acts 14:22), culminating in a Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:4-21; 2 Thess. 2:3-12). During this time, God will judge His enemies (Rev. 6:15-17), purify Israel (Jer. 30:7), and protect the church (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10) as He did the Israelites during the plagues in Egypt. At the end of this Tribulation, Christ will return suddenly, personally, and visibly (Matt. 24:29-31; Acts 1:11; Rev. 19:11-16) and rapture His church (1 Thess. 4:16-17). Believers will join Jesus in triumphal procession as He comes to establish His millennial kingdom on the earth, reigning from His throne in Jerusalem (Rev. 20:1-6; Isa. 2:2-4). After these thousand years of peace and righteousness (Isa. 11:6-10; 65:20-25), Christ will release Satan, defeat him, and cast him into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-9). Unbeliever’s will be judged at the Great White Throne and will join Satan in hell, experiencing conscious torment apart from God forever (2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15). Jesus will deliver the kingdom over to His Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28) and will bring history to a close, instituting the eternal state—a new heavens and new earth—where God will dwell with His people forever (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21-22). I believe that Christ is coming soon (Rev 22:20). His return is certain (Matt. 26:64), though the exact time is not known (Mk. 13:32; Acts 1:7). We wait in eager anticipation. Come, Lord Jesus!