Loving God, Loving People, Living Free
Friday May 10th, 2019
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Pastor Ethan's Weekly Message to our Extended Church Family
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Hello to all of you all around the country (and world!). I hope your spring weather is beautiful, because here it is WET. Not as wet as other parts of the country, but a gloriously wet spring for us here in the mountains. In fact, it has snowed multiple times in the past week. We love the rain and moisture, as it brings the promise of an even more beautiful summer and fall. The ground is getting green here in the valley, hope to see you soon!
So, last week I posited a preposterous proposition: What if there were an '11th Commandment', and that commandment was "Thou Shall Drink Coffee." If drinking coffee (which, by the way, I love) was a matter of moral law, what would be the reason to drink coffee?
My point, of course, was that the answer Paul gives us is love. Law would never need to enter the equation, because my motivation of love for coffee makes any such law functionally unnecessary. Why then do we obey God? In the New Covenant economy of God's Grace, the overwhelming New Testament answer is Love of God and Love of People. And the law- the 10 commandments and whatever moral law there may be (Romans 13:9)- for us New Creations in Christ who are living out of love, becomes functionally unnecessary. Not revoked, but unnecessary. As Paul concluded in verse 10 of Romans 13, love is the fulfillment- the completion- of the law.
This sums up everything Paul has been proclaiming since the beginning of Romans 12. And as we now live by love instead of law, in the same way we now live by relationships instead of rules.
It's a good thing every now and then to remind ourselves of these relationships and what God has to say about them. Again, starting in Romans 12, Paul lays them out:
- First (and foremost) Our relationship with God. Romans 12:1-2
- Our relationships with other believers. Romans 12:3-13
- Our relationships with people who may come against us. Romans 12:14-21
- Our relationship with the Government and systems of authority. Romans 13:1-7
- Which brings us to the source of all our relationships- God's love in us and through us. Romans 13:8-10
As we wrap up chapter 13, Paul comes full circle back to where he started- our love relationship with God. And whereas Paul opened by calling us to love God by 'not being conformed to the pattern of this world', he now exhorts us to express our love of God through the great expectation- the blessed hope- that Christ will soon return to this world.
And do this, understanding the present time:
The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber,
because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
Romans 13:11-12
Friends, it is impossible for us to fully grasp the hope contained in those words. And yet, there is also a problem. Not with the truth of this text, but with what Christian culture has at times done with this truth. If the question before us is "how then shall we live", how do we answer in light of the hope of Christ's return? Unfortunately, some of these answers include the following:
- Behavior being motivated by fear of being 'caught' when Christ returns. Christian culture is rife with end times teaching that uses fear and dread as a motivator, rather than joyful expectation.
- A de-emphasis or dismissal of the pressing issues of our time, including environmental issues. "If the world is going to end soon, and 'dissolve like snow', then why bother trying to improve the world? (No disrespect to Chris Tomlin, but that popular addition to 'Amazing Grace' is shaky theology at best. A good conversation topic if you want some coffee.)
- A loss of the sacred value of the now, replaced by a singular waiting for tomorrow. If the rapture is your retirement plan, you've lost sight of scriptures emphasis regarding Christ's return. New Testament Eschatology is less about us leaving the earth than it is Christ coming to restore the earth.
- Losing sight of the New Testament truth that as followers of Christ, our greatest hope is not an event (the return of Christ), but a person, Christ himself.
Sunday we will look into this question through the lens Paul gives us in Romans 13:11-14. We will see that the hope of Christ's return indeed informs how and why we live today, and does so by focusing not so much on the future to come, but on bringing the hope of that future into the now. A good friend pointed out to me that the christian cliche' 'keep looking up!' is scripturally misguided. According to Paul in Ephesians 2:4-7, we are already raised and seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, and in light of our scripture this Sunday, our 'end time' mantra should rather be 'keep looking down!'
We miss you all during this shoulder season, and ask for your prayer in our ongoing ministry. This Sunday we will be celebrating the baptism of one of our awesome kids, and next weekend we will hold our CHRIST AS LIFE retreat. Pray that hearts will be moved to attend, and soft to hear the miraculous message of Christ's life as our life. Love you all!
Waking from slumber,
Pastor Ethan
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This Sunday's Message: How Then Shall We Live?
Focus Scripture: Romans 13:11-14
Messages in this series
Week 1, April 28th: Respect for Government. Really?
Week 2, May 5th: Law, Love and One True Debt
Week 3, May 12th: How Then Shall We Live?
Week 4, May 19th: The Weak and the Strong
Week 5, May 26th: We Are All in This Together
Week 6, June 2nd: Why We Do What We Do
Week 7, June 9th: One Mind, One Voice
Week 8, June 16th: Hope Overflowing
Visit the 'sermons' tab at www.trinityvail.com for Pastor Ethan's weekly study/reflection guide, scripture reference links, message audio links, and more. Ethan’s message audio is also available through various podcast apps on both your iPhone and Android devices. Just search for “Trinity Vail Valley Ethan” in your podcast app.
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If you are coming into town soon and would like to learn about Trinity's upcoming events, visit our 'coming events' tab at trinityvail.com, or just click HERE!
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Trinity Church
P.O. Box 2676, 90 Lariat Loop
Edwards, CO 81632
Phone:(970) 926-1759
Fax:(970) 926-1754
Email: trinity@trinityvail.com
Website: www.trinityvail.com
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