Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

Update from the Wendlers (Grace Life)

by John Mark and Lauren Wendler

1) What have you been learning?

We have been learning a lot in the first chapter of the book of Mark. The purpose of Mark’s gospel was to prove that Jesus was the Son of God to a Gentile audience. We see that people reacted to the gospel the same way in John the Baptist’s time as today: some believed, some thought they didn’t need it, others thought it was crazy. Jesus was baptized so he could relate to sinners, and He then immediately submitted to the Spirit’s impelling him to go into the wilderness and be tempted by Satan. Jesus can sympathize with our weakness because he underwent this testing and trials. We then see how Jesus sought out the disciples, and Peter, James, John, and Andrew were immediately obedient by leaving their nets (and their father for James and John!) to follow Jesus.

2) What has been particularly challenging for you?

Having a Lord that sympathizes with us really challenges us to give all our desires and passions for what we do and want to accomplish to be more in line with the life Jesus calls us to(self-sacrifice, loving others, etc.) The disciples willingness to drop what they were in the middle of doing to follow Jesus is especially challenging as it is easy to hold tightly to the security a job provides, or the comforts of living in San Diego.

3) How has the study been stimulating your spiritual growth?

Seeing Jesus’ willingness to relate to the world by going through trials, calling his disciples with references to their occupation has caused a deeper love for scripture and has enhanced our prayer life by adjusting our mindset when talking to our Wonderful Lord and Savior who is also our Friend.

The Strengthening Your Relationship questions that we go through together, on our week off from Mark, help evaluate our spiritual health. We have found that the questions facilitate God glorifying conversations in which we can make it a habit to evaluate how we are doing and encourage each other along the way.

Living Theology #47 – Baptism

by Garrett Glende

Continuing on in Wayne Grudem’s section on ecclesiology, we come to the chapter on baptism, the ever-dividing distinctive between churches. And this is a sad thing – that there is so much strife over this issue – because baptism really should be something for all Christians to celebrate, as it reflects the reality of our great salvation. This article will deal shortly with a few doctrinal issues, mostly because Richard has already written an extensive series on the topic, but also because I want to flesh out more of the practical implications. So please go and read Richard’s articles first and then come back here to get another helping of the Bible’s teaching on baptism.

First, we must establish that the purpose of baptism is for the believer to identify him or herself with Christ. Specifically, we identify with a risen, victorious Savior, who has conquered sin and death. When someone is baptized, they are proclaiming to the world that they have received new life in Christ and that they are now a part of His team, per say. We see these themes played out in Romans 6:3-4 where Paul writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Paul also notes that we have “been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:12). By taking part in the ordinance of baptism, the church body as a whole is able to celebrate their own newness of life along with the person being baptized.

The division amidst churches over this issue that I mentioned before comes in exactly how this ordinance is observed. At Lighthouse, we teach that baptism by immersion is the biblical model that we should follow. Not only does the Greek word for “baptize” literally mean “to plunge, dip, or immerse,” but the symbolic meaning of the practice is best conveyed by full immersion. Christ’s death and burial is symbolized by being dunked under the water, not being able to get out unless brought back up. Thus, being lifted up out of the water illustrates our identity with Christ’s resurrection. Other methods such as sprinkling do not convey this image to its fullest extent and are not supported by the majority of the Bible’s teaching on baptism. We should additionally note that baptism is only to be administered to those who have professed a saving faith in Jesus Christ. For more on these issues, read Richard’s articles.

Since the purpose of baptism is to reflect an already present spiritual reality, those who have been baptized must live in light of these spiritual truths. Going back to Romans 6, the context of these verses comes right after Paul has explained the abundant grace of God in forgiving us all of our sins. Then in verse one he anticipates that some will ask, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” He sharply denies this assumption and then goes on to explain that we have died to sin and are now raised to newness of life, which is the exact teaching that is reflected in baptism. Therefore, all who have been baptized must live according to the new life that they have received. First of all, this means that we must take sin seriously. Paul condemns all attitudes that treat the grace of God cheaply, calling them to remember their unity with Christ’s death and resurrection. We shouldn’t just assume that we can go on sinning so that God can show us more grace. To the contrary, we must kill the sin in our lives, knowing that it is the very thing that separated us from God in the first place. Additionally, our lives must be lived with an eternal perspective. In baptism, we identify also with the resurrection of Christ, knowing that one day our own bodies will be raised from the dead and we will live for eternity with Him. It’s so easy to get caught up in the things of the world and only live for what we can see. Our culture tells us to pursue material wealth and comfort, but these things will not last. Thus, all Christians must live in light of the fact that their true home is in heaven for eternity. This is where our hope is found. We cannot hold tightly onto things that will ultimately burn, but rather cling to our hope found in the resurrection of Christ.

What Is a Family?

by Pastor Patrick Cho

In a recent article entitled “Four in 10 Say Marriage Is Becoming Obsolete,” by Hope Yen, posted on Yahoo! News, studies have shown that the general public does not consider marriage to be as much of a necessary factor in what constitutes a family as in times past. While most society-defined “families” today still include a husband and wife in a marriage relationship, single parent homes and same-sex couples with children are also gaining widespread acceptance as “families.”

Since the numbers for divorce continue to rise and single parent homes are more the norm than the exception, Yen writes, “More people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren’t needed to have a family.” Certainly, the article is not offering anything particularly new. One merely needs to flip on the television and watch a few sitcoms or dramas to see the paradigm shift. It is becoming less common to see television shows focused on nuclear families. Instead children on TV are being raised by single parents or same-sex couples (consider for example shows like “Modern Family,” and “Two and a Half Men”).

Certainly, a single mother living with her children constitutes a family (albeit a broken one), but what is troubling about this article is the idea that the definition of family should be adjusted to more accurately describe what we are seeing in today’s society. Not only is this simply mistaken, it is also a case of missing the point.

Yen reports, “When asked what constitutes a family, the vast majority of Americans agree that a married couple, with or without children, fits that description. But four of five surveyed pointed also to an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent. Three of 5 people said a same-sex couple with children was a family.” What is a family anymore? To the general public, the definition seems to be getting more and more blurry. Broken homes are no longer considered broken, but rather are accepted as common. Divorces are seen less as unfortunate and more as expected. Celebrity marriages in particular become the butt of jokes as people estimate how long they will last.

But does this unfortunate trend in society mean that the definition of family needs to change? This is indicative of a culture that is not anchored by truth. Words become muddled. Definitions become difficult to nail down. Right changes to wrong, and wrong to right. All of this stems ultimately from an abandonment of the Giver of truth and the Word of truth. Sadly, the ideals of Christianity, which were once widely accepted, are now looked upon less as good and more as antiquated, intrusive, obnoxious, or hateful. Even that might not be so bad, were it not for the overwhelming tide of pluralism that seeks to relegate religious belief entirely to the realm of subjective, personal experience.

Interestingly, the same redefinition is happening with the church. The popular trend has been to see the church as obsolete. Christians are encouraged to go on “spiritual journeys” and find individualistic ways to develop their spiritual well being. Church is no longer thought to be necessary because people have deemed it as such. Doesn’t this sound eerily similar to what Yen is writing about the family? I wouldn’t be surprised if some popular Christian author came out with a new book entitled something like Family Revolution, arguing for an abandonment of a biblical understanding of family and instead adopting a sociologically defined one.

What is needed is not a redefinition of terms to justify the unfortunate trends we see in society. If definitions are constantly changed in order to describe current societal trends, definitions will eventually become obsolete, and discussing anything in absolute terms will become next to impossible. Instead, what is needed more than anything else is for people to turn to God’s Word to see how God has defined terms, concepts, and ideas. Society needs to be anchored in truth so that we can know when we are straying from what was originally intended. It is as if in our attempt not to label anyone as wrong, we are simply redefining words to make wrong more acceptable. This is not charitable, it is cheating; to borrow a sports analogy, it’s simply a case of moving the goalposts. Only when one begins with God’s truth can there be a true understanding of right and wrong, along with the ability to discern one from the other.

The Messiah Shall Be Cut Off…

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Daniel 9:26

Blessed be His name, there was no cause of death in Him. Neither original nor actual sin had defiled Him, and therefore death had no claim upon Him. No man could have taken His life from Him justly, for He had done no man wrong, and no man could even have lain Him by force unless He had been pleased to yield Himself to die. But lo, one sins and another suffers. Justice was offended by us, but found its satisfaction in Him. Rivers of tears, mountains of offerings, seas of the blood of bullocks, and hills of frankincense, could not have availed for the removal of sin; but Jesus was cut off for us, and the cause of wrath was cut off at once, for sin was put away for ever. Herein is wisdom, whereby substitution, the sure and speedy way of atonement, was devised! Herein is condescension, which brought Messiah, the Prince, to wear a crown of thorns, and die upon the cross! Herein is love, which led the Redeemer to lay down His life for His enemies!

It is not enough, however, to admire the spectacle of the innocent bleeding for the guilty, we must make sure of our interest therein. The special object of the Messiah’s death was the salvation of His church; have we a part and a lot among those for whom He gave His life a ransom? Did the Lord Jesus stand as our representative? Are we healed by His stripes? It will be a terrible thing indeed if we should come short of a portion in His sacrifice; it were better for us that we had never been born. Solemn as the question is, it is a joyful circumstance that it is one which may be answered clearly and without mistake. To all who believe on Him the Lord Jesus is a present Saviour, and upon them all the blood of reconciliation has been sprinkled. Let all who trust in the merit of Messiah’s death be joyful at every remembrance of Him, and let their holy gratitude lead them to the fullest consecration to His cause.

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Weekly Links (12/3/2010)

by Stephen Rodgers

Hello everyone, and welcome to Friday! We’re back with a collection of links for you from around the web. Hang on to your hats, because here we go…

That’s it!  See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

Single Life Devotional

by Pastor Patrick Cho

At our last staff meeting, I shared a devotional with the Singles staff from Ephesians 5:2. The simple command that Paul gives in that verse is to “walk in love.” I suppose the command is simple enough, but the application is not as easy. I love how Paul doesn’t move on without first explaining what he means by that. He adds, “as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” In other words, walking in love is all about sacrificially giving of myself to others. This of course has many applications, but for our staff it at least means that we need to be keeping a watchful eye out for the various opportunities given to us to serve and love others. When we show up on Friday nights or Sunday mornings, we shouldn’t just be thinking of ourselves.

This means that love is sometimes inconvenient and uncomfortable. It requires dying to self, looking to others’ interests, and considering others more important that ourselves. Jesus did this for those who hated Him. How much more should we seek to love those we call brothers and sisters in Christ. This application, Paul says, rises up to God as a fragrant offering of praise. God is pleased when we become imitators of Christ (Eph. 5:1).

In contrast, in Eph. 5:3, Paul also instructs the church that there is an ungodly way of “loving.” He writes that “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” These are self-centered expressions of “love.” These sins do not serve others but rather use, abuse, and take advantage of others. This sort of thing is not supposed to be associated with Christ’s followers.

In summary, Paul calls believers to do as Christ did. The love we show others must not be self-centered, but others-centered. We should seek to be a blessing to others – to love them even if it costs us. This is a huge challenge to sinners who are accustomed to thinking primarily of themselves. It is a call to put on a complete change in mindset. Paul instructs his followers to put off selfish love and put on sacrificial love. As a staff, this is what we are going to continue to strive to do each week as service to our brothers and sisters and as worship to our Lord.

LBC Weekly SPARK – December 1, 2010

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Hello LBC family and friends!

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful week and that you are walking in the Lord. With the holiday season comes a busy time for the church. Please read below about some of the things you’ll want to take part in and attend. Please take advantage of the opportunities God gives us to represent Him with those who do not know Him. Like we’ve said before, it is particularly during this time of year that those who are typically closed off to the gospel will be willing to at least talk to you about Christ. Let’s not let these opportunities go wasted.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are the announcements for this week:

  1. Flocks. We will not be meeting with our regularly scheduled affinity group Bible studies this week (i.e., Kids’ Club, Lumos Youth Group, College Life, Single Life) because of flocks. More information about flocks can be found at the church website. Come out to a flock and enjoy some refreshing fellowship! Be sure to download and complete the homework sheet so you can take part in the group discussion.
  2. Communion. Don’t forget that we’ll be taking communion together this Sunday as a church family. Please come having prepared your hearts to remember Christ and the cross.
  3. New Visitors Meet N Greet. This Sunday, immediately following the regular service, we will be having a Meet N Greet in Room 101. If you have come to Lighthouse within the past couple months, please join us for that time of fellowship. Pizza and drinks will be provided.
  4. Christmas Concert. Our Christmas Concert will be on Saturday, December 11 at 6:00pm. No tickets are required for entrance, but flyers are available if you would like to invite your family and friends. This is a great chance for them to hear the message of salvation, so be sure to invite them! As this is an annual highlight for the church, so you won’t want to miss it!
  5. Angel Tree. We will be participating in Angel Tree once again this year, which is a ministry to children of incarcerated parents. If you would like more information about how you can get involved, please talk to Joyce Kang.
  6. Softball at the Park. Want to get to know some of the people at church better? On Sunday, December 12, at 1:00pm, we will be heading to the park to play some softball and enjoy lunch together. If you are interested in participating, please contact Abram Kim. Don’t forget your cleats and mitts!
  7. Christmas Service. We will be having a special Christmas service on Sunday, December 19. This will be a chance for us to be reminded of why Christ came. We will not dismiss the children that Sunday for their Sunday School classes. Instead, we will have all the families worship together in our service. Nursery care will still be available.
  8. New Year’s Eve Fellowship. We will be having a New Year’s Eve Fellowship on Friday, December 31 at 6:00pm at the church. In order to allow parents to put their kids to bed early, we will have a countdown at midnight Eastern time (9:00pm here!). We’ll continue to fellowship and play after that until midnight Pacific time, when we’ll countdown again! =) While we celebrate the coming of a New Year, this will also give us an opportunity to reflect on this past year and worship together.

Living Theology #46 – Means of Grace Within the Church

by Garrett Glende

As we resume our walk through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, we come to chapter 48, “Means of Grace within the Church.” The purpose of this section is to inform us of how God has blessed believers through the local church. There might be a little bit of confusion from the usage of the term “means of grace” because of the Catholic meaning behind it. While the Roman Catholics claim that these different activities within the church actually contribute towards one’s justification, the correct understanding of the term is that these means of grace are simply additional blessings in a Christian’s life. Grudem lists eleven different means and goes into some detail for each of them. We won’t have the space to go into each one fully, so I will just highlight a few.

(Here is the full list from Grudem if you were wondering):

  1. teaching of the word,
  2. baptism,
  3. the Lord’s Supper,
  4. prayer for one another,
  5. worship,
  6. church discipline,
  7. giving,
  8. spiritual gifts,
  9. fellowship,
  10. evangelism, and
  11. personal ministry to individuals.

Certainly, this is not an exhaustive list, as there are many ways by which God blesses those within the fellowship of the church, but these are the most prominent. And there are really none greater than the teaching of the word itself. This is the primary function of the church and it is how God uses the church to bless the world. Yes, you can read your Bible even if you do not attend a church, but it is nearly impossible to have the same impact on your life as opposed to having the word taught to you. We need to digest God’s truth in many different ways. One of the methods through which this takes place is by hearing the word taught from the pulpit. We need this to take place in our churches because the Bible is the only thing that can really cause change. The Holy Spirit working through the truths of God’s word is the sole instrument for sanctification in the lives of believers. We see this in Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, as he asks that they may be “sanctified in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). God’s word not only brings us towards holiness, but it also guides us as a lamp (Psalm 119:105) and grants us wisdom to make the best decisions (Psalm 19:7). If the word of God is central to the fellowship of the church, then there will be tremendous spiritual growth and people’s lives will be truly changed.

Another true blessing that God has given to us through the church is the company of fellowship. There is no other organization, group, team, or community that is able to provide the type of grace that comes from true Christian fellowship. It is a unique thing to have what really is a second family. Being baptized into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13) means that all Christians are now a part of the same body and the same family. We can now truly bear one another’s burdens, rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. We can come alongside one another and give an encouraging word. We can lift one another up in prayer together. All in all, we get to share our lives together! The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. There are no lone ranger Christians. We need the rest of the church body to help us through struggles and be there next to us during the greatest joys. We need a brother or sister to confront us in our sin. And all of this happens because God has united us together through Christ’s death and resurrection and we are now able to love God and love one another. The fellowship found within the church is truly a rare thing.

It really is amazing that God has given us these blessings through the church, but the question is, do we take advantage of it? If you aren’t involved in a local body, then you’re missing out on all of these benefits! Yes, there is work to be done and a commitment to be made, but the rewards of church membership far outweigh the costs. Pastor Patrick has written a lot recently about this issue, so go and read his articles in the pastor’s corner section (they’re better than mine anyway). But I’ll assume many of you are already members of a local church and have committed to contributing to its life. So my question for you is, are you truly invested in it? Being a member of a church is not just about attending every Sunday and occasionally serving. It’s about being involved in the lives of your fellow brothers and sisters. It’s about making sacrifices for their sake and doing so in order that they would be sanctified and God would be glorified. We really must take advantage of every opportunity that God has given us to invest in the church. I believe the saying is true that “the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.” Also, since it is the Thanksgiving season, I believe we should spend some time reflecting on the ways that God has blessed us through the church. After all, these “means of grace” are all things that we hardly deserve. So let’s be thankful. If we had to make a list, I’m sure it would be quite long.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions (part 2)

by Elder Mike Chon

In the last article we saw how the culture of our day can sometimes influence our decision-making, causing us to look away from God and look to another source. One of the differences between someone that has a true biblical worldview and someone that doesn’t is how they begin to make their decisions. Someone without a biblical worldview begins with questions that start with themselves:

  • “How is this going to impact my life?”
  • “Will this decision help my family?”
  • “Will this help me grow closer to God?”

At the heart of all these questions is a very self-centered view of the world. I have to pause at this moment to make an announcement that many of us have already heard before. “Life is not about you!” If you begin to make decisions based on you, then you become the fool that the book of Proverbs writes about (see last article). Those that have a true biblical worldview will begin their decision-making process by asking questions such as:

  • “Does God’s Word have anything to say about this?”
  • “How does God’s character impact how to make this decision?”
  • “Will this decision consider others before myself?”

So how do we guard ourselves from becoming the fool that God warns about?

A fool, biblically speaking, is someone that has forsaken the true wisdom of God. Please understand, the Bible is not engaging in cheap name-calling here; rather it is describing someone who is rebellious, who refuses to use their reason in the way that God intended.  All unbelievers are considered fools because they have forsaken the wisdom of God, primarily in unbelief of the gospel and His Word. But for believers we sometimes act as a fool when we don’t consider God before we consider ourselves. For example, in Romans 12:1 it says “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” How are we to “discern what the will of God” is? By the renewal of our mind. So to have a biblical worldview we must start with God’s Word which reveals to us who God is. First of all our mind needs to be renewed with a true understanding of the character of God which comes primarily through the Scriptures. Many times our view of God is incomplete and we allow the world to define God’s character for us which appeals to our sinful mind and heart.

For instance, God’s Word tells us that God is love. But how do we define love? There are so many misconceptions of love that when we describe God’s character to be love, many thoughts may come into mind. Please take time to listen to the audio messages from the 2010 All-Church Retreat to understand what it means that God is love. It may be surprisingly offensive.

God’s Word also describes God as being good. So does that mean that if something “bad” happens in this world or to us, then it must not be from God. But who defines something to be “good” and something to be “bad?” Many of us define the origin of our circumstances based on how we perceive something to be “good” or “bad.” If it is “good,” we will happily and enthusiastically attribute it to God and His goodness. If something is “bad,” it must be from Satan or the world, since a good God would never allow something like this to happen to me. So in our decision-making we pick the path of life that seems “good,” since God would only want us to enjoy our life and not have to suffer. Therefore, the path that seems “good” must be the path that follows God’s will for my life. He wouldn’t want me to pick the path that is more difficult or a path that may bring suffering to my life. Or does He? So how does Scripture define the goodness of God?

When we think of God being good we are not talking about good as opposed to God being bad; it is not related to something He does, but rather something He is. Biblically God’s goodness is related to Him being benevolent, that God is kind. And many times His goodness is related to God being patient in wanting men to repent (Romans 2:1-4). The word “good” in the Greek conveys the idea of being generous, merciful and kind. So when we think about the goodness of God, we can think of the kindness of God. Therefore, all our circumstances can be seen in light of God’s goodness. So when we look at decisions we make, and one choice appears to be more difficult, more inconvenient, the choice will cause us to suffer, is that a “bad” choice? Can we sing worship with David in Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life?” Do we trust that God is good and that His kindness and mercy will follow us like a shepherd? Are our decisions based on the fact that God’s goodness, His mercy, His kindness leads us to repentance and to know that the greatest good in our life is to put aside sin and put on holiness? Do you consider your relationship with God in your decision-making? Do you choose the decision that will help you be transformed more into God’s image or do you choose the one that is most convenient? The one that is logical? The one that will benefit you most in this life? Therefore understanding and trusting in the character of God will help us to make decisions that will truly honor and glorify God.

Only those that have repented of their sins and have been saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can ever make decisions to know God’s will. If you are not saved, God’s goodness is extended to you in patience so that you have the opportunity to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9). If you are not saved and continue in your unbelief you will never know, and will never be capable of knowing God’s will for your life. You will continue to live in this life as a fool who has rejected the true wisdom of God. For believers, we should never conform to this world by making decisions in our life that reflect the foolishness of this world and not the wisdom of God. Who do we consider first in our decisions, God or man? In the next article we will expose some of the common mistakes that we make in our decision-making process and consider that God does hold us responsible, not only to make wise decisions but also responsible in how we make those decisions.

I Will Help Thee, Saith the Lord

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Isaiah 41:14

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: ‘I will help thee.’ ‘It is but a small thing for Me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with My blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside My glory and became a man for thee; I gave up My life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. ‘Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. ‘Help thee?’ Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of My all-sufficiency. ‘I will help thee.”

O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here-thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. The Eternal God is thine helper!

‘Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismay’d!
I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid.’

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