This is the summary for the third lecture. The summary here is shorter than the other two, simply because I skipped the examples mentioned in the lecture and directly take note of the main ideas. As always, please do point out to me if there is anything wrong with it.
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Truth that can be Defended: Responding to Our Critics
Faith makes sense. It does not only appeal to our minds, but also to our heart. There is a book called “The meaning of life” published in the 1990s. The book didn’t tell the reader about what the meaning of life is, but it tells the reader that the true meaning of life should have a sense of urgency, purpose and value. All these are answered by the Gospel. We need to be assured that we matters to God and we need to find what we need to do in our life. Each of us needs to be salt and light in our life. Where does God want you to be?
We must never see the church as a place where we hide. We have to see the church as an oasis where we will be refreshed and renewed before we go back to the world. The church is not designed as a barrier to the world, but to energize us to do our calling in the world.
Apologetics means giving ‘an account of our faith’. It is important to us. It has two elements: (1) answering/meeting objection and (2) explaining and communicating of the enormous joy and peace that our faith brings. Faith makes so much sense and we must know why it is. There are answers to the objections of our friends, and we need to discover and search for it.
Psalm 34:8 (ESV) says that “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Tell to others: “Look! I have tasted the Lord and I can tell that He is good!” Invite them: “I want to invite you to taste and see that as well.” We don’t need to be a master of words to become salt and light, but we need to shine light to the world through our life.
The apostle Paul said this in his letters to the Philippians: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21, ESV). Paul is convinced that he has found what the meaning of his life is, life that is from Christ. We have that life as well, but there are many others who didn’t know about it. We need to share it with them, just like beggars who tell other beggars where to find bread.
The Christian Gospel is about the love of God. Martin Luther said, “He did that for me” when he imagine Christ suffering and dying on that cross. It is the proof of God’s love to us. This truth need to be shared with others.
The next point to be discussed is Grace. We can say that GRACE is an abbreviation of “God’s Righteousness At Christ’s Expense”. We can’t do anything good enough to earn merit in God’s presence. But He is a God that accept us for whoever we are – and that is how great His grace is. Before we resource others with His grace, we need to find an hold that grace ourselves which resources us.
We need to find the answer to the question: “What is so special about Christ that you have faith in him?” What is faith? Faith has a rich meaning inside. It is not an irrational, but it is so great that our mind can’t comprehend it. Faith is not just about believing. It is about trust and commitment. Just like Abraham from yesterday’s lecture, like all that cloud of witnesses before us (Hebrew 12). The prophets are speaking about God, Christ is speaking about God, and those accounts are trustworthy.
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Truth that can be Defended: Responding to Our Critics
Faith makes sense. It does not only appeal to our minds, but also to our heart. There is a book called “The meaning of life” published in the 1990s. The book didn’t tell the reader about what the meaning of life is, but it tells the reader that the true meaning of life should have a sense of urgency, purpose and value. All these are answered by the Gospel. We need to be assured that we matters to God and we need to find what we need to do in our life. Each of us needs to be salt and light in our life. Where does God want you to be?
We must never see the church as a place where we hide. We have to see the church as an oasis where we will be refreshed and renewed before we go back to the world. The church is not designed as a barrier to the world, but to energize us to do our calling in the world.
Apologetics means giving ‘an account of our faith’. It is important to us. It has two elements: (1) answering/meeting objection and (2) explaining and communicating of the enormous joy and peace that our faith brings. Faith makes so much sense and we must know why it is. There are answers to the objections of our friends, and we need to discover and search for it.
Psalm 34:8 (ESV) says that “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Tell to others: “Look! I have tasted the Lord and I can tell that He is good!” Invite them: “I want to invite you to taste and see that as well.” We don’t need to be a master of words to become salt and light, but we need to shine light to the world through our life.
The apostle Paul said this in his letters to the Philippians: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21, ESV). Paul is convinced that he has found what the meaning of his life is, life that is from Christ. We have that life as well, but there are many others who didn’t know about it. We need to share it with them, just like beggars who tell other beggars where to find bread.
The Christian Gospel is about the love of God. Martin Luther said, “He did that for me” when he imagine Christ suffering and dying on that cross. It is the proof of God’s love to us. This truth need to be shared with others.
The next point to be discussed is Grace. We can say that GRACE is an abbreviation of “God’s Righteousness At Christ’s Expense”. We can’t do anything good enough to earn merit in God’s presence. But He is a God that accept us for whoever we are – and that is how great His grace is. Before we resource others with His grace, we need to find an hold that grace ourselves which resources us.
We need to find the answer to the question: “What is so special about Christ that you have faith in him?” What is faith? Faith has a rich meaning inside. It is not an irrational, but it is so great that our mind can’t comprehend it. Faith is not just about believing. It is about trust and commitment. Just like Abraham from yesterday’s lecture, like all that cloud of witnesses before us (Hebrew 12). The prophets are speaking about God, Christ is speaking about God, and those accounts are trustworthy.
There are many dangers in our journey with God. Our experience is more than often wrongly perceive what is going on in our life. We often think that God doesn’t care about us. There are many things that we encounter and we don’t understand, but God came for us and He knows how we feel and what we are facing. Paul knew this as he gave his encouragement to the believers in Corinthians: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Cor 13:12, ESV).
Let us reassure ourselves that we really matters to God. Then, ask the question where God want you to be, what God wants you to do, and have joy in what you do.
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-- though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:3-14, ESV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6-7, ESV)
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thes. 5:24, ESV)
Let there be light!
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