Scripture:
Genesis 3.1-19; Rom. 1.18-32; Rom. 6; Rom. 10.9-13; Matt. 4.1-11; Matt.
28.16-20; Acts 8.1-3; Gal. 1-2; John 8.30-59, esp. 8.32
Translation: Genesis 3.1 and the
serpent was more clever than all the animals of the field that Yahweh God made.
And he said to the woman, "how is that God could say 'Don't ever eat from
all the trees of the garden.'" 2 and the woman said to the serpent,
"we can eat some of the fruit of the trees of the garden. 3 but from the
fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden God said 'you can't eat
from it, and you must not touch it, so that you don't die.'" 4 and the
serpent said to the woman, "There's no way you'll die! 5 because God knows
that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil. 6 and the woman saw that the tree was fod for
eating and that it was appealing to the eyes and the tree was desirable for
giving wisdom. so she took from of its fruit and ate [it] and moreover gave it
to her husband with her and he ate [it]. 7 and their eyes were opened and they
knew that they were naked. and they sewed fig leaves together and made
coverings for themselves. 8 and they heard the sound of Yahweh God moving around
in the garden in the wind of the day. and the man and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of Yahweh God in the middle of the trees of the garden. 9 and
Yahweh God called out to the man. and He said to him, "Where are
you?" 10 and he said, "I heard Your voice/sound in the garden and I
saw that I was naked, so I hid myself." 11 and He said, "Who told you
that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat
from?" 12 And the man said, "the woman that You gave me--she gave me
[a piece of fruit] from the tree, and I ate [it]. 13 And Yahweh God said to the
woman, "What did you do?!" And the woman said, "The serpent
tricked me and I ate [some fruit]. 14 So Yahweh God said to the serpent,
"Because you did this, you are cursed more than all the animals and more
than all the creatures of the field! You will move on your belly and you will
eat dust all the days of your life. 15 and I will put hostility between you and
the woman, between your progeny and her progeny. He will hit you on the head
and you will hit him on the foot." 16 to the woman He said, "I will
greatly intensify your pains and conceptions/pregnacies. in pain you will give
birth to sons. Your desire will be towards your husband but he will rule over
you." 17 To the man He said, "Because you listened to the voice of
your wife and ate from teh tree that I commanded you: 'Don't ever eat from
it!" the ground is cursed because of you! In pain you will overpower it
all the days of your life. 18 and it will produce thorn bushes and thistles for
you. and you will eat the vegetation of the field. 19 And you will eat food by
the sweat of your face until you go back to the ground, because from it you
were taken, because you are dust and to the dust you will go back."
Matthew 4.1At that time Jesus was lead up
into the desert by the Spirit to be tested by the devil. 2And after
fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, He was finally hungry. 3And the
tempter came to Him and said to Him, “If You are God’s Son, say that these
rocks should become loaves of bread. 4But He answered and said, “It
really is written, ‘Man will not live only on bread, instead [he will live] on
every word coming out of the mouth of God!” 5Then the devil took Him
with him to the Holy City and stood Him at the top of the Temple 6and
said to Him, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down, because it really is
written that “He will command His angels for You, and they will carry You by
hand, so that you don’t strike your foot against a stone.” 7Jesus
said to him, “Again it really is written “Don’t utterly test the Lord Your
God!” 8Again the devil took Him with him to a very tall mountain and
showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory 9and said
to Him, “I will give all these things to you, if you will fall down and
worship/swear allegiance to me!” 10Then Jesus was saying to him, “Go
away, Satan! Because it really is written, “You will worship/swear allegiance
to the Lord Your God and serve/worship only Him!” 11Then the devil
left Him. And look, angels came and were serving Him.
Romans 10.9[The message of faith is] that
if you confess with your mouth that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe with your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, 10because with
the heart it is believed resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth it is
confessed resulting in salvation, 11because the Scripture says,
“Everyone who believes on Him will not be put to shame, 12because
there’s no difference between Jew and even Greek, because the same Lord is over
all, and is rich for all those calling on Him, 13because whoever
calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved!”
Romans 1.18You see, the wrath of God is
being revealed from Heaven on all impiety and unrighteousness of men who
disregard the truth in unrighteousness.
Romans 6.1So what will we say? “Let’s stay
in sin, so that grace can overflow?” 2Never! We, the people who died
to sin, how will we still live in it? 3Or don’t you know that
whoever gets baptized into Christ Jesus gets baptized into His death? 4So,
we were buried with him through baptism into His death, so that just as Christ
was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so too we can walk in
new life. 5for if we became united with the likeness of His death,
instead we will also be united with His resurrection! 6knowing this,
that our old person was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin could be
destroyed, with the result that we are no longer enslaved to sin, 7because
the person who dies really is being made right from sin. 8Thus, if
we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, 9knowing
that Christ who was raised from the dead no longer dies: death no longer rules
over Him. 10you see, what died died for sin once for all. And what
lives lives for God. 11So also you, consider yourselves dead to sin
on the one hand and living for God in Christ on the other! 12So, sin
must not reign as king in your mortal body with the result that you obey its
desires. 13And don’t offer your body parts to sin as tools of
unrighteousness, instead offer yourselves to God as those living from the dead
and your body parts to God as tools of righteousness! 14you see, sin
won’t rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace. 15So
what? Should we sin, because we are not under the Law but under grace? Never! 16don’t
you know that who you offer yourselves to as slaves to obey, you are slaves to
who you obey, either sin which results in death or to obedience which results
in righteousness? 17And gratitude belongs to God, because you were
salves of sin, and you obeyed from the heart the example of teaching you gave
yourselves to, 18and being freed from sin, you are enslaved to
righteousness! 19I’m talking humanly because of your weakness. You
see, just as you offered your body parts as slaves to impurity and lawlessness
resulting in lawlessness, in that way now offer your body parts as slaves for
righteousness resulting in sanctification. 20you see, when you were
slaves it was to sin, [and when] you were free it was for righteousness. 21So
what fruit did you have at that time? things you’re ashamed of now, because the
end of those things was death! 22but now because you’re freed from
sin, and are enslaved to God, you have your fruit resulting in sanctification,
and the end of them is eternal life. 23You see, the payment of sin
is death, and the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Applications
1.
Outline
a.
Intro:
i.
Today we are starting a
series on the essential doctrines that we believe from the Bible as Christians
and how those truths impact and matter in our daily lives. However, before we
talk about the different theological points and how they shape our lives for
the better and change the way we live, we need to think about why theology
matters at all. And what we will see today is that theology matters, because it
shapes not just this life now, but also the life to come. Getting good theology
will is great because it benefits you now and forever!
ii.
Everyone of us of course
has theology, because theology is just another way of saying, what you believe
about God and the world. You already believe something about God and world, the
question is just whether God agrees with you. Theology is just what you believe
is really true about God, about people, about the world, about the church,
about the future. You believe something about those things. The question is
just whether you are believing the truth or a clever lie that you have either
duped yourself into believing or been duped into believing by the devil or by
those working for him.
iii.
However, while I will be
presenting the two alternatives (good and bad theology), it is not having good
theology that saves. In fact, in some sense the devil and the rest of the
demons have good theology—in some sense they know the truth—but this does not
impact their lives for the better, if anything it is their knowledge of the
truth that they rebel against. While good theology is required for salvation
and thriving, fruitful relationship with God, it does not save. Knowledge can
never save. Merely knowing about what is true or right does not save, so don’t
listen to this sermon and go home thinking, “I’ve got to save myself by
perfecting my theology!” because that is not how it works. instead, the point
today is to see that it is important to have good theology. The point is for us
to go home knowing that theology matters, and because it matters feeling
motivated to pursue knowing and growing more mature in our theology.
b.
Good Theology is matter of
life and death, because Good Theology enables you to be victorious over Satan,
a tool in God’s Hand, while bad theology only results in you being an enslaved
pawn of Satan, a disposable means to an end
i.
Victory
1.
Matt. 4.1-11
a.
Jesus knew the truth. He
had good theology. Perfect theology in fact, which is why even when Satan uses
a bible verse to try to temp Jesus, Jesus stands strong. He knows the truth of
the Word, but not just a bunch of random passages but how those passages fit
together into a coherent theology. It is only because Jesus understands the
true theology of the Bible as a whole that He can clearly refute Satan’s
twisted interpretation.
b.
It is such a matter of life
and death, that even Jesus used a coherent systemized understanding of the Word
of God to refute satan, because if there was not a system in which the
different passages are interpreted and guided towards a proper application, it
would just be a duel between passages. (you could suggest that was merely the
understanding of the context of the passage’s true intent, but Jesus doesn’t
respond that way. He responds to Satan with a counter passage that is
theologically more controlling than the obscure verse and evil application Satan
was offering)
2.
John 8.30-59
a.
It is having an accurate
theology of Christ that is being argued about in this passage. The discussion
is about who is under the control and influence of Satan. The Pharisees and the
Jews contend it is Jesus, while Jesus contends that it is they who are under
Satan’s influence. Jesus says in v.32: “You will know the truth and the truth
will set you free!” Free from slavery both to sin and probably implicitly to
Satan.
3.
Ephesians 6.10-20
a.
While it is true that the
majority of the passage here involves things that Christ gives us on the cross,
the overarching assumption is that the things mentioned as the armor of God
must not just be true of us in the Spiritual but embraced by us in our own
lives and struggles against Satan, which assumes that we have to believe and
then live the truths that God has revealed, while they will be true whether we
believe and live by them or not, it is when the doctrine of Union with Christ
is true understood and lived out that the armor functions as intended.
ii.
Pawn
1.
Gen. 3.1-7
a.
We often think that bad
theology is our own fault, which is certainly true on one level, but it is also
the case that bad theology often comes from the influence of Satan, and Satan
manipulates people to serve his own aims, even though they often think they are
serving themselves.
i.
Eve is there talking with
Satan, and she thinks that what this snake is telling her is trust worthy, and
that doing what he is suggesting will actually serve her own desires to get
something she thinks she wants. And yet, when she succumbs to the devil’s
temptation, none of what she thought she wanted was worth having and her own
purposes were undone, the only one who got what he/she wanted out of the
interaction was Satan. He played her like a chump. And it did it by undermining
her good and true theology with twisted and warped theology. She knew God was
good and truthful and in charge, but Satan gets Even to leave that good
theology behind for a vision of the world in which God is evil, untrustworthy,
and not the king of the universe—instead, Eve is the ruler of her life, she
becomes the one she trusts, as well as the serpent. She trust a snake to be
more good than God, even though all her experiences with God would suggest that
God is trustworthy, God, and Sovereign.
ii.
2.
Matt. 4.1-11
3.
John 8.30-59
a.
Jesus’ main argument is
that they are doing the devil’s bidding, but they contend that they are not.
The funny thing about how the devil uses bad theology is that he tends to make
us think that we are serving our own interests and are totally independent from
his influence, but often nothing is further from the case.
4.
Matt. 16.21-23
a.
Peter is a good example. He
tries to correct Jesus’ good theology with his own bad theology. He thinks that
he is serving his own purposes, convincing Jesus, Peter’s favorite person, not
to go to the cross, but Jesus says, “Get behind me satan!” This indicates that
even though Peter was the one talking, the influence of Satan was not far off.
iii.
Thus, theology matters
because unless you want to be living in fake reality being used by satan, you
need good theology to overcome Him.
c.
Good Theology is matter of
life and death, because Good Theology is required for salvation, freedom from
the curse of God, while bad theology puts you under the curse of God
i.
Bad Theology puts you under
the curse of God
1.
Genesis 3.14-19
a.
Their bad theology led to
bad actions, and God cursed them for acting on their bad theology
i.
He cursed the serpent for
knowing the truth and tricking them
ii.
He cursed the woman for her
pleasure outside of God, because she compromised her theology
iii.
He cursed the man for
rejecting the command of God, because he disregarded his theology
2.
Rom. 1.18-32
a.
The people reject God, they
reject the truth about God and the appropriate response to God being God.
b.
So God curses them
3.
Gal. 1-2
a.
Paul’s whole argument in
the first few verses is basically that people who corrupt the Gospel are cursed
by God, they are going straight to Hell, and part of that is because their bad
theology keeps them from knowing God and truly having a real relationship with
God through faith based on His grace.
b.
Paul argues that their
theology matters and that it needs to make sense, trying to get saved in the
wrong way will not get anyone saved, just destroyed.
ii.
Freedom from the Curse of
God, Salvation
1.
While good theology doesn’t
save it is a requirement for salvation.
a.
Cf. Matt. 28—the Pharisees
and the guards both know that Jesus rose from the dead, but that doesn’t make
them worship Him, it makes them scared, it makes them lie and deceive, because
knowingly or unknowingly their sin and the devil was using them. It is a great
example of knowing the truth but still not trusting in Christ.
2.
John 4
a.
Jesus it is very clear is
offering the woman eternal life, but it is not appropriated until she knows
that Jesus is the Messiah and trusts Him. The reason is that we get connected
to God through faith, and faith requires knowledge to operate, but knowledge
doesn’t force faith to happen.
3.
Gal. 1-2
a.
The problem here is that
people have tried to change the good news from salvation in Christ alone
through faith alone because of God’s grace alone to salvation in Christ, sort
of alone, through faith and ritual, and hence because of human effort.
4.
Rom. 10.9-13
a.
You have to believe the
right things to be saved, but believing is not merely knowing. Believing
involves dependence on God, where as just knowing doesn’t mean you depend on
God
b.
Cf. James 2.18-19, where
merely knowledge doesn’t have to change things, but faith does
d.
Good Theology is matter of
life and death, because Good Theology enables you to have full and fruitful
life, while bad theology results in a wasted and often self-destructive life
i.
Full and fruitful life
1.
Rom. 6
a.
The whole argument of Rom.
6 is that good theology should and does impact your spiritual life, if you
really believe and embrace the riches of the Gospel, you will leave sin behind
and live for God
2.
Gal. 2
3.
1 and 2 Thess.
a.
Paul corrects theological
issues so that they can live productive Godly lives, but their bad theology about
the coming of Christ kept them from the full and fruitful life they should have
had.
4.
Eph. 1-5
ii.
Wasted and self-destructive
life
1.
Rom. 1.18-32
2.
Gen. 3.1-19
3.
Eph. 5.18
4.
Philp. 3
e.
Good Theology is matter of
life and death, because Good Theology blesses the people around you, while bad
theology often results in harm to others
i.
Cf. Acts
ii.
2 Peter and Jude
iii.
Rev. 1-2
f.
Summarized: Good Theology
Affects Your Life Now and Good Theology Affects Your Life Forever
2.
Discussion Questions
a.
How interested are you in
theology? Scale of 1-10. Why is that?
b.
Have you ever seen
difference bad or good theology can make in someone’s life? If you can, please
describe the situation.
c.
Is there any area of
theology that you are interested in learn about? What is it?
d.
How does what you believe
about God, the world, people, the future, etc. affect your life? It does affect
it, so think about how it does so.
e.
Give three reasons why
theology should matter to us individually and as a community. it’s ok if you
have to think about it.
f.
Pick one way to pursue
going deeper into theology this week.
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