Never Be Embarrassed by What the Bible Says
September 13, 2020, Cities Church, let us resolve this:
We will never be embarrassed by what the Bible says.
No matter what.
Even if every new scientific study was said to debunk Christian truth;
if every political expert were to call our theology problematic;
if every sociologist were to consider our worldview bigoted;
if every neighbor were to say that the exclusive claims of Jesus are a form of hate speech —
We stand by the words of Scripture. “Let God be true though every one were a liar!” (Romans 3:4).
This is the calling of every generation of Christians, but it also can be an elusive calling — because for some reason we tend to want this world (which is under the power of the devil [see 1 John 5:19]— we want this world to like us. And so the pressure is (and has always been) to dilute Christian truth so that it will be a better fit with a godless palette. And we just want to say No to that.
When we read things in the Bible that ruffle the feathers of our modern sentiments, we take that to be our problem, not the Bible’s.
We’re not trying to squeeze the Bible into the standards of popular culture, but we want — by God’s grace — to bring everything under the authority of God’s word, and the main message of God’s word, which is the good news of Jesus Christ.
So I exhort you, Cities Church: never be embarrassed by what the Bible says, but happily embrace it for our good and the glory of God.
Prayer of Confession
Father in heaven, we come now to a time of confession and we long to see as you see. We ask that you search us by your Spirit and disclose to us the darkness in us that leads us shrink back from embracing your truth. We confess that at times it can be easier to put you to the test rather than ask that you test our hearts. We find it more comfortable to follow our own devices than to follow you — and this is a great evil. So Father, we repent. Have mercy on us. We also have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. So Father, we repent. Have mercy on us. And please guide us now by your Spirit as we confess our individual sins to you in silence. …
Now, Father, we celebrate your mercy. You are sovereign in your grace, and overflowing in your love, and we know you can forgive every sin. We embrace that forgiveness now.
We were dead, but Jesus made us alive; we were lost, but Jesus has made us found; we were your enemies, but Jesus has made us your sons and daughters — all because he lived and died for us in our place, because he is risen from dead, because he is reigning for us now and coming for us soon. And it’s in his great name we pray, amen.
