The Marks of Manhood – Al Mohler

Posted on January 12, 2013 by PS

In his brief book The Marks of Manhood, Al Mohler provides thirteen areas where boys need to mature to men.  The book can be read in five minutes and is worth thinking through if you have a son.  Mohler’s areas of maturity are:

  • Spiritually to lead a wife and children
  • Personally to be a responsible husband and father
  • Economically to hold an adult job and handle money
  • Physically to work and protect a family
  • Sexually to marry and fulfill God’s proposes
  • Morally to lead an example of righteousness
  • Ethically to make responsible decisions
  • Worldview maturity to understand what is really important
  • Relationally to understand and respect others
  • Socially to make a contribution to society
  • Verbally to communicate and articulate as a man
  • Character maturity to demonstrate courage under fire
  • Biblically to lead at some level in the church
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In the Land of Blue Burqas – Book Review

Posted on January 8, 2013 by PS

Summary: In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord (pseudonym) allows you see though the eyes of the author as she takes you into the homes of families in Afghanistan and talks with (primarily) women about their lives and religion of Islam.  You learn about how Islam is truly practiced though strict Sharia law, the poverty and suffering of a country that has been in a war for thirty years and that Jesus provides hope and healing despite the oppression and loss.  McCord sheds light on many Muslim practices by Islam such as fasting during Ramadan, good works (sawab), prayer (salah) and polygamy, but more importantly she explains how Jesus provides the forgiveness, peace and love that Islam does not.

Assessment: In the Land of Blue Burqas  is highly recommended book and would great choice for book club discussions or mother/daughter (high school or college) discipleship time.  The book intertwines Biblical truth and compassion in the story of a woman who faced the difficulty of living out the message of the Gospel in Afghanistan for five years.   It is both grounded in doctrine and translated across a wide cultured divide to be lived out in practice.  Blue Burqas is partly a comparison between Christianity and Islam, partly a study of the Afgan culture and partly a call to love our neighbor (and our perceived enemy).  The narrative is well written, so that the reader is engrossed in the neighborhood encounters while also learning about the vast differences from our religion and life.

If you want to hear more from the author, you can hear her interviewed on Midday Connection.

Disclosure: This book was provided me by Moody Press in exchange for an impartial review.

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Naaman and Healing from Works Righteousness – Joseph Alleine

Posted on January 5, 2013 by PS

In A Sure Guide to Heaven, Joseph Alleine provides a powerful illustration of the parallel between Naaman’s cleansing from leprosy and God’s provision for our salvation.  Just like Naaman, all religions want to do something significant to receive what we need – healing from our sin.  Whether it’s walking on burning coals, fasting for long periods or repeating prayers daily, we want to earn our way to the reward we seek.  God sees things differently.  He knows we can’t do enough, so He did it for us.  Here’s how Alleine describes it:

God has stooped as low to sinners as with honor He can. He will not be the author of sin, nor stain the glory of His holiness; and how could He come lower than He has, unless He should do this?

God does not impose anything unreasonable or impossible, as a condition of life, upon you. Two things were necessary to be done, according to the tenor of the first covenant. 1. That we should fully satisfy the demands of justice for past offenses. 2. That we should perform personally, perfectly, and perpetually, the whole law for the time to come. By our sins we render salvation through either of these ways impossible. But behold God’s gracious provision in both. He does not insist upon satisfaction: He is content to take of the Surety, and He of His own providing too, what He might have exacted from you. ‘All things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation: to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation’ (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). He declares Himself to have received a ransom, and that He expects nothing but that you should accept His Son, and He shall be righteousness and redemption to you. If you come in His Christ, and set your heart to please Him, making this your chief concern, He will graciously accept you.

O consider the condescension of your God! Let me say to you, as Naaman’s servant to him, ‘My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather when he said to you, Wash and be clean!’ If God demanded some terrible, some severe and rigorous thing of you, to escape eternal damnation, wouldn’t you have done it? Suppose it had been to spend all your days in sorrow in some howling wilderness, or pine with famine, would you not have thankfully accepted eternal redemption, though these had been the conditions? No, farther, if God had told you that you should burn in the fire for millions of ages, or be so long tormented in hell, would you not have accepted it? Alas, all these are not so much as one grain of sand in the glass of eternity. If your offended Creator should have held you but one year upon the rack, and then bid you come and forsake your sins, accept Christ, and serve him a few years in self-denial or lie in this case for ever and ever; do you think you should have hesitated at the offer, and disputed the terms, and have been unresolved whether to accept the proposal? O sinner, return and live; why should you die when life is to be had for the taking, when mercy entreats you to be saved? Could you say, ‘Lord, I knew You, that You were a hard man’, even then you would have no excuse; but when the God of Heaven has stooped so low, and condescended so far, if still you stand-off, who shall plead for you?

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The Story of Isa’s Birth

Posted on December 24, 2012 by PS

mary joseph

Read the story from the Injil (Luke 2) in Arabic or Farsi

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.  The angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Nazareth in Galilee, to a young girl named Mary.  Mary was 14 or 15, engaged to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Gabriel came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled when she heard this, and tried to understand what the angel meant. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Israel forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am not married?”

The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. Look even your cousin Elizabeth in her old age is six months pregnant and is going to have a son. Many people thought that she would never have a child, but nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to what you have said.” And Gabriel left her.

Mary hurried to see Elizabeth in a town in Judah.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is your baby! Why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord should come visit me? For when I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed what God told you would come true.”  Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home in Nazareth.

The Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus ordered that a census should be taken of the Empire and all should be counted.  Everyone went to be registered, each to his own ancestral hometown. Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem, the city of David, in Judea, because he was a descendant of David.  He went to be registered with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.  She gave birth to a son, her firstborn child, and wrapped him in a cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Nearby there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.  They were terrified, but the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in a cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly the angel was joined by a multitude of other praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels left and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. When they saw him, they told Mary and Joseph what the angel had said about the baby. All who heard the story were in awe of what the shepherds told them. Mary treasured up all these things, thinking about them often. The shepherds returned to their flocks of sheep, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen because it was as the angel had told them.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘You, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and questioned them about what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, tell me where he is, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. The star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they returned home to their own country by another route.

Now after they left 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 stay there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to kill him.” He rose and took Jesus and Mary by night and left for Egypt and remained there until Herod died. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Why is this story so special?  Jesus did not come as just another in the line of God’s prophets, but as the final prophet, who was God made man.  Jesus, who is uncreated and eternal, became a man to do what we couldn’t do…fulfill the Law perfectly as required by God.  He came as God-man to save people by taking the just punishment for the Law they broke as a substitute for them.  The punishment He endured was an unjust death on a Roman cross nearly 2000 years ago.  But He did not stay dead.  Jesus rose from the grave after three days and appeared to hundreds of people.  Jesus doesn’t ask us to do the impossible, that is to keep the Law perfectly, but instead to throw ourselves at His feet confessing our sin and trusting in Him as our Mediator for forgiveness before a great, holy and just God who hates sin.  Jesus is God’s love made manifest and the solution to our guilt before God that we can’t remove ourselves.  We are to follow His example of sacrificial love by loving God with our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving others as we love ourselves.

If you’d like to learn how the Bible shows that Jesus is more than a prophet, but the eternal God see these articles about why Jesus came and proof from the Bible that Jesus is God or for a summary of the Good News of Jesus read the Gospel

If you have questions about Jesus, please send a message at the Who is Jesus Facebook page.

– Birth story consolidated from Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2

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Puritan Practice of Mediation on Scripture

Posted on December 17, 2012 by PS

In the book, A Puritan Theology, Joel Beeke explains the Puritans plan for Scripture reading and meditation.  There is a significant amount of wisdom in this approach and it’s worth of consideration for your Bible study time.

“The Puritans advocated setting a time in your daily schedule when you will meet with the Lord for the reading of the Scriptures, meditation, prayer, and perhaps reading other solid devotional material. Be disciplined; do it every day. Find a quiet, private location. Follow a plan to read the Scriptures. The Puritans abounded in practical directions on how to meditate on the Word…Reading and study discover truths in the Bible. Meditation preaches those truths to your own soul to warm your heart, stir your affections, and lift up your will to love God and hate sin.

  • Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you. You might use Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
  • Read a portion of the Scriptures. Don’t read so much that you have no time to meditate.
  • Focus on one verse or doctrine, something easy and applicable to your life. Repeat the verse or doctrine to yourself several times to memorize it.
  • Analyze it in your mind by its various names, properties, causes, and effects, together with illustrations, comparisons, and opposites. Be careful not to speculate further than what God has spoken.
  • Preach the truth to your soul to stir up your faith, love, desire, hope, courage, grief, gratitude, and joy in the presence of God. Examine your life and make detailed application.
  • Resolve with prayer to grow in grace.
  • Praise the Lord with thanksgiving. So to meditate is to pray, read, focus, analyze, preach to yourself, resolve with prayer, and praise God in a manner that revolves around a single truth of Scripture. By regular times of meditation, you will practice personal devotion to the Lord and experience John 15:5: “He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit.”
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Ravi Zacharias Apologetics Method

Posted on December 14, 2012 by PS

Ravi Zacharias provides a helpful apologetic framework that’s useful when discussing difficult issues.  He breaks all debates into three levels.  The first level is logic, which is why we believe what we believe.  The second level is imagination, feeling and experience, which covers why we live the way we live.  The third level is the application to reality or why we legislate for society the way we do.  Based on these levels, all beliefs can be tested as to whether they are tenable in an argument, livable in reality and transferable to others.  In Zacharias’ framework, our arguments must begin by establishing truth (level 1) before applying it to ourselves existentially (level 2) and then prescribing it to others (level 3).  In every area of life the questions associated with these levels must be answered sequentially.  1) Is my belief tenable?  Can I defend it with the laws of logic?  2) Is it livable?  Can there be a harmony in existence?  3) Is it transferable?  Do I have the right to make moral judgments?

Many of our everyday moralizing and prescribing in life are had at the third level, which Zacharias calls kitchen table conclusions because they are not grounded in logic.  Questions like “Is my good grandmother going to hell?” and “Is homosexuality immoral?” fall into this category.  Discussions at this level can be highly emotional and rarely lead to solid conclusions because the they are an exchange of opinions without foundational authority or a moral referent.  In a relativized culture, everything becomes a matter of taste or preference.  The second level is problematic to argue at as well because it is the existential realm of art and imagination.  It isn’t bound by rationality.  Zacharias recommends that all debates be brought up to the first level, so that the laws of logic can be applied and truth identified.

The most important step to moving someone to the level of logic is to spend time understanding where the person is coming from in his/her worldview.  If someone calls you and asks for directions to your house, the first question you would ask them is “Where are you?”.  You wouldn’t give directions if you don’t know where someone is at.  Yet we often jump into providing answers without finding where they’re at spiritually or philosophically.  Peter Kreeft has said, “There’s nothing more pointless than answers to questions not fully understood.  We’re far too impatient with questions and therefore far too shallow in appreciating answers.”

Here are the steps:

1) Identify the level of the discussion.  If the question being debated is what someone should or should not do (i.e., prescriptive in nature), then it is at level three
2) Move the conversation to level one to take the emotion out and talk at the level of truth by asking questions to define terms such as “What do you mean by good?  How do you know what’s good?” or “Who decides what’s moral?”
3) The person you’re discussing the topic with will either answer with a relative or absolute view.  If they respond from a relative perspective, then they can’t expect a definitive answer for anything because there is no single source of truth.  It’s then just a battle of opinion with no way to resolve the dispute.  Each of us, then, can define the answer.  However, if s/he responds from an absolute view, then you can move to the question of authority
4) With this step you should help them see that they are relying on something or someone as the definitive source of authority for defining good and bad, right and wrong.  Question them about the credibility of their authority source and/or why they accept parts of the source but not others (e.g., some parts of the Bible but not others)
5) Up to this point, you’ve only been asking questions to understand the perspective where the person is coming from.  Now, you can begin to provide answers.  You should build from your authority source, the Bible, up to answer the question about what is good, right or moral.

Zacharias details this process in the appendix of his book, A Shattered Visage, and applies it to fallacies in atheism.

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Long Bible Passages to Memorize

Posted on December 10, 2012 by PS

As you do Bible memorization for yourself or with your children, consider memorizing whole books or at least large sections of books.  The benefit of this approach is that you will know the context of verses to understand them correctly, spend less time on memorizing verse references and have a clear memorization plan.  You can also find audio Bibles that will read you the books to help with the memorization process.  The cost of tackling long passages is that you will need to spend time on a few less useful Bible verses that fall within the book.  The following books and passages provide a reasonable balance of highly concentrated material organized from shortest to longest:

  • Psalm 1
  • Psalm 100
  • Hebrews 11
  • Romans 5, 8, 12:1-13:14
  • Matthew 5-7 (Sermon on the Mount)
  • Colossians: concentrate on 1:9-4:6
  • Philippians: can focus on 1:3-2:18, 3:7-4:9
  • James: good book for kids to start with because there are fewer difficult theology concepts
  • 1 Peter
  • Ephesians: it’s difficult to skip any parts, but you could consider not learning 3:1-13
  • Galatians: can focus down to 2:15-6:10
  • 1 John 1:5-5:12

If you’re up for tackling on of the longer books first, start with Ephesians.  It has a nice balance of doctrine in the first three chapters followed by application in the last three.  It teaches about the nature of grace, the sacrifice of Christ and the mystery of the Gospel along with unity in the church, putting off the old self to imitate God, relationships and the armor of God.

There are also several good lists for additional ideas depending on your memorization goals:

There’s also an article that supplements this one with a more prioritized Bible verse list

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The Sacrament of Evangelism – Book Review

Posted on December 8, 2012 by PS

Summary:  The thesis of The Sacrament of Evangelism is that evangelism is a sacrament (i.e., filled with the presence of God) and should be part of the daily lives of all Christians.  Evangelism isn’t optional, only done by super spiritual people or left to those called to the ministry.  Rather “Christians out to plant God’s flag wherever they are called, using the unique opportunities and relationships He provides”.  The book is targeted to those new to evangelism who need encouragement and basic direction at the high school or early college level.  It has four sections that cover the God’s requirement of evangelism, God’s love expressed in evangelism, connecting with others at their point of need to engage in evangelism and reproducing evangelists.  It’s sprinkled with examples of evangelism from the two authors and generally limited to their experiences.

Assessment:  It’s not a bad book, but it’s not really a great one either.  The authors didn’t seem to know what they wanted the book to be about.  It’s a mile wide and an inch deep with a mixture of examples of how to do evangelism, quotes from secular philosophers that show identify the longings of humanity, a very basic introduction to theology and encouragement that anyone can (and must) call others to God through the Gospel.  None of them were necessarily bad, but I was hoping for something deeper.

My favorite chapter was titled “Points of Connection.”  It provided helpful guidance on how to relate to other and move beyond small topic to conversations of more substance that could ultimately lead to a discussion about our need for God.  The book is also designed with short chapters and study group questions after each, which make it a useful tool for small group discussions on the topic of evangelism.

Note: This book was provided to me by Moody Press in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Questions to Move You Beyond Small Talk

Posted on December 8, 2012 by PS

Most of our conversations happen at a very sterile, arms-length level.  We may not know Question markpeople who we’ve been friends with for decades very well because we stick to discussing the results of the weekend’s game or what’s happening at the kids’ school.  Maintaining shallow relationships makes it difficult to engage in serious topics like the need for God’s forgiveness and our depravity before Him.  As you engage with friends begin to weave in more intimate questions that really get to the heart of who they are and what they care about.  The list below was compiled to provide you with some ideas.  The questions start out less revealing, but require more vulnerability as you go down the list.  After both you and your friend or family member open up to more meaningful discussions, you can turn some of the answer to the questions toward Jesus and how He solves our need for forgiveness.  Alternatively, discussing the themes and/or characters in a book or movie can lead you to topics which provide a transition asking about one’s belief in God or basis for their moral positions.  Either way, the idea is to get past the small talk and connect with them that you might ultimately tell them about Jesus.

Four simple questions

  • What’s the besting thing going on in your work/family/life?
  • What’s the worst?
  • How does that affect you?
  • What can I do to help?

Complete list of questions

  • What do you believe are the most important inventions in the past 100 years?
  • What do you think are the most significant problems in the world?  What is the primary source of those problems?
  • What will the world be like in 10 years?  Will it be better or worse off?
  • What were the key turning points in history?  Which event would you most want to change?
  • What quote, proverb or Bible verse is most meaningful to you?
  • What career would you be the best/worst in?  How did you get started in your career?
  • Who are your heroes?  Who is your favorite author?  musician?  athlete?
  • What is your favorite place to travel and what do you like to do there?
  • If your house caught on fire and you could save one thing beyond family or pets, what would it be?
  • If you could gain one quality or ability, what would it be?
  • What movie or book characters do you most identify with?  What do you find most admirable and vexing about this character?
  • What do you think have been the most influential books in history?
  • Who do you admire the most?  What religious leader to you admire most/least?  Who do you believe Jesus is?
  • What do you think God is like?
  • What do you regret not doing or learning to do?
  • Who has influenced you the most?
  • Who have you influenced the most?
  • What is your best memory?
  • What are you most passionate about?  What is the source of that interest?
  • What do you spend your free time doing?
  • What do you know about more than anything else?
  • What have you dreamed of doing, but haven’t done?
  • What are the most significant risks you’ve taken?
  • What events have had the most influence on your thinking?
  • What is your philosophy of life?
  • What have you changed your mind about recently?
  • What do you pray about most?
  • What’s the most interesting/challenging dilemma or decision you’ve faced lately?
  • What was the biggest decision in your life and how did you approach it?
  • How do you make judgements about good or bad, right or wrong?
  • What have been the most critical points in your life?
  • What was your greatest success / failure?
  • What is your greatest need?
  • If you could relive or redo a day in your life, what would it be?
  • What do you have most difficulty forgiving yourself for?
  • What do you think happens after you die?

A few of the questions have been derived from this list about bonding with others and the background information in this article.

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Jesus Use of Contrast in His Teaching

Posted on November 18, 2012 by PS

Throughout Jesus’ ministry He used sharp contrasts to teach His audience what God deemed right and what He deemed wrong.  They could walk away from an encounter with Him knowing exactly what they should and shouldn’t be doing.  In many cases He’s very blunt in challenging the tradition behind a belief by saying, “You have heard it said…but I say to you…”  The list below summarizes the majority of His lessons and then provides a summary of how we can apply His teaching method and the lessons to our own lives.

Parables

  • Wise vs foolish home builders (Matthew 7:24-27) – hear Jesus words and act upon them as the foundation of all things
  • King who forgives servant’s debt vs servant who doesn’t forgive debt (Matthew 18:23-35) – God loves and forgives us for our great debts (sins) against Him.  We should do the same for the small sins committed against us
  • Wheat vs tares/weeds (Matthew 13:24-30) – we cannot know for sure who the true followers of God are because false disciples are intermixed with true ones.  At the judgment, it will become clear when God separates one from another
  • Obedient (tax collectors, sinners) vs disobedient sons (Priests) in the vineyard (Matthew 21:28-32) – we must repent (change our mind like the good son) and obey God
  • Prepared vs unprepared virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) – be ready for Jesus return, so that we aren’t left out of the kingdom
  • Sheep (righteous) vs goats (unrighteous) (Matthew 25:31-46) – serving those in need is equivalent to serving Jesus and is an indication of our salvation
  • A servant with large debt (prostitute) vs a small debt (Simon) (Luke 7:41-50) – it takes more love to forgive someone who owes a great deal, but that is what God’s love is like
  • Prodigal son vs faithful son (Luke 15:11-32) – the Father forgives our past and accepts us into His house when we return to Him
  • Rich man vs Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) – our position in this world is based on lineage and wealth, in eternity the delineation will be between those who know God and those who don’t
  • Arrogant Pharisee vs humble tax collector in prayer (Luke 18:9-14) – humble will be exalted

Encounters and examples

  • Those who love others vs those who don’t (enemies/tax collectors/Gentiles) (Matthew 5:43-48) – love others by engaging with them and praying for them
  • Those who do good secretly before God vs the hypocrites who seek public praise (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18) – give, pray and fast in secret
  • Centurion’s faith vs Jews’ lack of it (Matthew 8:5-13)- Jesus authority over all things should lead us to complete faith in Him
  • Those who lose their life vs those who save it (Matthew 16:24-26)– deny our earthly desires and find life in following Jesus
  • Mary vs Martha (Luke 10:38-42) – service is second to maintaining a relationship with Jesus
  • Ungrateful (nine) cleansed lepers vs one grateful one who thanked Jesus (Luke 17:11-19) – thankfulness for God’s provision
  • Rich men vs poor widow giving at temple (Luke 21:1-4) – giving a little sacrificially is of more value than giving much out of plenty because it shows God where our heart is and Who we trust in
  • Greatest vs least disciples (Luke 22:24-27) – those who are great humbly serve others rather than seeking to elevate themselves

Application

  • We learn about Jesus nature.  He is wise (Mark 12:34) and authoritative (Matthew 7:29).  We understand this through how He responds to people’s questioning
  • Jesus doesn’t leave us guessing at how to live the Christian life.  He creates a clear dichotomy between those who follow their sinful nature vs those who have a new nature to illustrate how His listeners should live (loving, thankful, servants, obedient, repentant, trusting, forgiving)
  • We see that He is counter-cultural.  His teaching makes women, Jewish enemies (e.g., Samaritans, Romans) and the lowest castes of people (e.g., prostitutes, lepers, and tax collectors) the heroes of the illustrations
  • We can understand the value of contrast as a teaching technique because He constantly relies upon it.  We don’t truly understand something until we learn what not to do or be like.  For example, this affirmation and denial from the Gospel of Jesusstatement:
    • We affirm that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, the only mediator between God and humanity (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5).
    • We deny that anyone is saved in any other way than by Jesus Christ and his Gospel. The Bible offers no hope that sincere worshipers of other religions will be saved without personal faith in Jesus Christ.

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