differences

Roads Day 10 The Gospel + Something = Nothing

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 1:7-8 
Galatians 1:6-10
Romans 10:9-10 
Psalm 73:23-28 

Roads, Day 10

 Many have said people can believe in the biblical view of God,
while still ascribing to the Catholic faith.  

In preparing for this Journey Study, I set out to examine this claim for myself.
A difficult task, I might add.  

I began with the Twelve Articles of Catholic Faith, which are central to the Catholic faith. These mirror the Apostle’s Creed, a summary statement of apostolic beliefs.   

The 12 Articles 
A triune God who created the universe. 
Jesus as Divine Savior; He is fully God. 
Jesus was born of a virgin, conceived through the Holy Spirit, proving He is fully human and fully God.
He was crucified under the word of Pontius Pilot, a Roman governor of Judea. He died and was buried. 
Jesus then descended into Hell and rose from the dead three days later. 
Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven, mediating for us. 

Jesus will return to earth to judge the living and the dead.
They believe in the Holy Spirit.
They believe in the catholic Church (meaning one global church) and communion of Saints. 
The forgiveness of sins. 
The resurrection of the body. 
And finally, in everlasting life.  

While these 12 are core doctrine for Catholic and Christian beliefs,
the difference lies in definitions.   

Forgiveness of Sin
According to Catholic doctrine, Christ’s death “afforded grace for the forgiveness of sin.”
But it wasn’t actually “enough”, we still need to “work” to be “good enough” for that forgiveness to be extended to us.
Catholicism says “original sin” is removed only through baptism, which is a bit like the “Door to Forgiveness” being opened for you. To walk through it, however, you must participate in the “Sacrament of Penance.” This mainly happens through Confession with a Catholic priest. The priest is said to be the mediator between God and humankind, able to extend God’s forgiveness to us on His behalf.  

To a Catholic, Christ’s work on the cross was insufficient to forgive sin without these works of baptism and confession to a priest on our part.

Christian doctrine also holds to Baptism and Confession,
but with different definitions.  

Ephesians 1:7-8 makes it clear:
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of His grace, that He richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.”

Through His blood.
By His grace.
Nothing more, nothing less.
We don’t need to work for forgiveness,
it’s freely given through Christ’s complete sacrifice.  

Our Catholic friends are constantly working to cover up the bad things they’ve done through penance, instead of walking into the guaranteed forgiveness the cross and shed blood of Christ brings.  

With constant work comes a constant question,
“Am I good enough for forgiveness?”

Eternal Life
Death, for a Catholic, continues to beg the question, “Am I good enough?’.
At death, if their soul is deemed holy by God, they go to Heaven.
If the soul is evil, they go directly to hell.
If the soul is neither holy nor wicked, they go to purgatory until the soul is cleansed of any sin (through others praying to Mary on their behalf) before going to Heaven.

In the Catholic faith, Mary is the mediator between us and Jesus, as we pray to her, and she prays to Jesus for us.  

However, Scripture teaches two precious truths:
There is only one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ! 1 Timothy 2:5
We are given access, through Christ’s precious blood, to boldly and directly enter His throne room of grace. (Hebrews 4:16)

When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he tore the veil in the temple.
That veil separated the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God resided, from the rest of the temple. Only a priest could enter the Holy of Holies to intercede for forgiveness on the peoples’ behalf. If the priest entered in with sin in his life, he would be struck dead.  

But Jesus, who is the only sinless one,
came to earth to make God accessible to us through Himself.  

Jesus came to take the place of the priests as mediator.
He is our perfect mediator because He is the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
Mary was a great woman, but being human means that we are sinful.
She was never intended to be the mediator between us and Jesus. 

The Gospel
The gospel says Jesus’ shed blood and resurrection plus our acceptance equals salvation. Romans 10:9-10 

But Catholicism says the gospel plus work equals potential salvation.  

For all of the good, solid doctrine Christianity shares with Catholicism,
when we start adding things to the gospel, it’s no longer the gospel.  

Good Enough?
If we’re honest, it’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves.
It’s one I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.

Good enough to go to Heaven?
Good enough to bypass purgatory?
Good enough for God’s forgiveness?  

If we’re honest, it’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves.
It’s one I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.  

In truth, Sisters, we can trust that neither are we good enough, nor do we need to be!
Because our God is more than good enough. 
It’s not by baptism that our “original sin” is removed.
It’s not by attending mass without missing.
It’s not by confessing sins to a priest, or any other requirement.
Salvation is found, and forgiveness atoned for, by confessing with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Romans 10:9)

Our eternity is secure.
Nothing can ever snatch us from His hand once we’ve crossed the line of salvation for ourselves. (John 10:28)
The full gospel, nothing more, nothing less, is solid enough to hold our souls for eternity.
Jesus + Nothing = Everything!
Have you trusted Him?!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Roads Day 8 How Much Is Enough?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 2:1-10
1 John 2:1-6
John 1:1-18 

Roads, Day 8

Imagine a young woman named Fatima who grew up in the Islam faith. 
As far back as she can remember, she has seen her mother quickly cover her head, kneel on her prayer rug, and pray five times a day during the namaz (required memorized prayers).

She has watched her brothers being sent to the Imam (EE-mom) weekly to learn recitation of the Quran in Arabic. Arabic wasn’t Fatima’s native language and though poorly understood, was necessary for recitation as it was chosen by Allah.

On Fridays, her brothers and Father proudly wear their white caps and Kurtas (long shirt) and pray at the mosque.

Fatima’s mother has strictly taught her to keep her skin covered in front of men, following the example of Prophet Mohammad’s wives. Allah’s command is for women to be modest so as not to entice men. She regularly hears her parents sneering at their unbelieving neighbors who eat unclean pig, drink forbidden alcohol, and flaunt their women instead of protecting them.

As Fatima seeks to obey the principles of Islam, she sees how this pleases her parents and she is filled with pride. The more she denies herself with fasting from “worldly” desires, the more she is seen as righteous. She feels a strong sense of pride in being Muslim. 

This is a common picture for an Islamic family today.
Taking pride in their religion is taught from a young age as Muslims are family and community based. Their communities are centered around mosques; religious practices are outward, not private or personal.

The biggest difference between Christianity and Islam is how Jesus is understood.  Muslims are taught Jesus was a great Islamic prophet.
Believing Jesus is the Son of God will send you to hell. (Quran 5:72)
Christianity believes Jesus is the Son of God and belief in Him, as being fully God, will save you from Hell and grant forgiveness.

What does this mean in everyday life?
Since Islam does not believe in Jesus as Savior, good works attain salvation.
Salvation in Christianity is based on grace and faith alone, with no good works in order to be forgiven. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
How will we know if our good works have finally achieved salvation?
How much “good” is good enough?
And, of course, there is the constant pressure to perform and perform, better and better.  

In my conversations with girls like Fatima, I have often asked,
“What happens to you after you die?”
They respond, “I will go to heaven if Allah wills.”
When I ask, “How do you know if Allah wills it?”
They shrug their shoulders saying,
“We cannot know for sure. 
We hope our good works outweigh our bad, 
and hope Allah will be merciful.”

These words break my heart!
Our gracious, loving God has given us His truth that we may indeed know for certain He will rescue our souls for eternity!

The Qur’an teaches that in the last day, Allah will bring out a scale, weighing good versus bad deeds. Many hope their prayers and rule-keeping to be enough to grant acceptance by Allah on judgment day. 

All religions and belief systems, except for one, are the same as Islam;
they are man-made,
relying on our ability to work for forgiveness and eternal security.

That one that’s different?
It’s Christianity!
The Bible teaches faith in Christ’s work on the cross for eternal salvation is,
and will always be,
enough to cover the sins of the truly repentant heart.
This stark contrast between true Christianity and all other religious belief systems, including Islam, should give us confidence as we share our faith with others!

One reason Christians feel inadequate, even scared, to share the Good News with Muslims is because they aren’t sharing regularly with anyone.

Learn to share the Gospel and begin sharing 
with everyone God puts in your path!
As evangelism becomes more natural, through faithful obedience and dependence on God, you will be able to adapt and adjust to whatever religious or spiritual background you encounter.  

There’s no silver bullet in how to share with a Muslim, but Christianity and Islam share much common ground we can utilize to begin and continue spiritual conversations.

Both religions believe in creation, monotheism, similar prophets, Torah/Psalm/Injeel (New Testament), many of God’s qualities (such as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence), and many things about Jesus (such as His virgin birth, no sin, many miracles, His ascension to heaven, and His future return to earth). 

Want to help a Muslim understand the gospel?
Intentionally make a friend!  
Because Muslims practice their faith in community, many immigrants to America feel isolated. Take this opportunity to disprove any wrong presuppositions they might have toward Christianity as they get to know you.

What does that mean practically?
Humanize them!
These are the faces of individuals with many of the same problems as you:  finances, marriage, raising children, workplace difficulties, etc.
Invite them over for birthdays, holidays, and special events.
Start regularly praying for specific concerns they have.  

As your friendship grows, be intentional to share the Good News both directly and indirectly.
This isn’t time to shy away until you “know each other better”.
Direct sharing is as simple as sharing your Gospel-focused story of how Jesus remade you! As you gain their trust, you can ask what they believe about Jesus, Christianity, and the Bible. Not all Muslims believe the same way. This will provide opportunities to humbly use God’s Word to correct wrong understanding of Christian principles and beliefs.

Indirect sharing can be accomplished by drawing them into your everyday life. Allow them to witness the sincerity of your faith in the way you treat your spouse, children, and time spent in worship and prayer. Don’t pull away from your regular spiritual practices out of fear of offending your Muslim friends.  

There is a good chance that a woman like Fatima lives near you.
Be intentional, share in her life, faithfully pray for her, and speak of Jesus often with reverence and love, using Bible stories about Him.  At the appropriate time, you can gift a Bible in her heart language (the New Testament, Psalms, and the first five books of Old Testament are acceptable portions of Scripture in Islam).
Then, if she is willing, teach her how all the books of the Bible fit together!
Just as Islamic women are proud of their religion, let us also be unashamed of the Gospel of Christ! 
Let’s pray for boldness in reaching Muslims around us, in order to bring them into eternal Christian community!
Because Jesus is more than enough!

*Written by Janna Comfort 

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Roads Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Palette Day 3 Image Bearers

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 1:26-31
James 3:1-12
Psalm 139:13-16
1 John 4:14-16  

A couple of years ago, our community group was challenged to go beyond our comfort zone and engage with those who lived on the streets of Kansas City. Those who made their dwelling places under bridges, behind abandoned warehouses, and in the hidden corners of forgotten parks. As children usually are known for doing, our kids went “all in”. We prepared meals together as a group and piled into the car, eager to find a lonely friend who needed a hot meal. From the backseat, the kids begged to be “next” to pass a bag of food, new gloves, or a warm blanket through the car window.

We coached our kids to not label those we would meet as “homeless”, but rather to see them as people, just like us, who needed love. We practiced looking into a person’s eyes when we talked to them and encouraged our kids to ask the other person’s name.
The experience was profound for each of us.
Our children led the way in their excitement and the way they had conversations in reaching out to these people who looked and lived nothing like them.
They were each thrilled to hold out their hand to another.

The impact was so far-reaching that even now, 2 years removed, they will still randomly ask to buy extra “day old bread” at a local sandwich shop so we can trek downtown and give someone lunch. They do the same with water bottles, extra blankets they find, cookies they bake, or even portions of their meals. The transformation was more than I’d hoped for and was deeply convicting for me and my own view of people.

Superiority is ugly.
But it shows up, slithering in, when we least expect it.
And it’s rooted in our hearts when we choose to ignore the truth that
we are each created in the image of God.
That solid truth levels the playing field when it comes to how we see people.

I remember sitting on a counselor’s couch painfully recounting how I couldn’t bear to see myself on the same playing field as my father, at whose hands I had suffered so much emotional damage. She responded with words I’ll never forget,
“I would put to you that, before the Lord God, we are all on the same playing field.”
She was so right.

The girl dying in Zambia for lack of clean water.
We are equal.

The man who has lived his entire life on the streets.
We are equal.

The aging woman who still holds the scars in her heart of the child she aborted.
We are equal.

The white mama raising bi-racial children in a society that doesn’t favor them.
We are equal.

The grown boy whose mental deficiencies make most turn their heads away.
We are equal.

These are the ones, we are the ones, created in the image of God.
And we mirror Him best when we love others
Just As We Are Loved!

I’m reminded of James’ words in James 3:10-11.
Can both fresh and salt water flow from the same spring?
He was speaking of our tongue.
How we cannot, with integrity, curse our brother and worship our Savior with the same mouth.
With the same heart that loves Jesus and the same lips that teaches salvation, we cannot only use those arms to reach out in friendship to those whose skin color matches our own.
Equality and Inequality cannot both reside in the heart of the believer!
A Greater and Lesser view when it comes to how we see people cannot co-exist!
It short-changes the God who sent His only Son to be the Savior of the world.

When we choose to stay quiet about racism, ignore other races, or be engaged only with those who act like, look like, and live like us,
we intentionally step out of sync with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When we choose fear of others over compassion for their souls, we’ve placed our judgement of ourselves higher than the Lord’s.
We’ve superseded another human being who was crafted from the same God who knit us together by His own hands.

See the color, my friends.
See the diversity.
See the Korean, the Japanese, the African, the Latino, the Indian, the Caucasian….
and link arms in praise to a creative God who has crafted each of us in His own image!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Palette Day 2 Fighting The Fear Tactic: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days...are a pretty big deal at GT!

We search God's Word together, ask questions as we read, dig around to find the original intentions at the time of writing, and then make some applications to our everyday lives.
Along the way, we hope you'll pick up some new tools to study Scripture and you'll see truth in a new and accessible way!
Dig In!

The Passage

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Journey Study?
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Ephesians 5:1-2, 6-16 English Standard Version (ESV)

1  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
2  and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
6  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7  Therefore do not be partakers with them;
8  for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
9  (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
10  trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11  Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
12  for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
13  But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
14  For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”
15  Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
16  making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

The Questions

1) What does it mean to be an imitator of God where race is concerned?

2) What does it mean to walk in love?

3) What do deceptive words look like in verse 6?

4) How can we expose the deeds of darkness to the Light?

The Findings for Intention

1) What does it mean to be an imitator of God where race is concerned?
To be an imitator of God is to be an imitator of Jesus. In His time on earth, Jews did not talk to Samaritans. Samaritans were considered half-breeds. They were the offspring of the descendants from the Northern tribe of Israel and the Canaanites that inhabited their lands. Monotheistic Jews did not like Samaritans because they often worshipped God alongside all their pagan gods. However, we see Jesus on multiple occasions associating with or encouraging others to associate with Samaritans. A few examples are when He talked to the woman at the well (John 4:4-26) and when He told the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In both cases, Jesus treats the Samaritan just as He would treat a fellow Jew. He makes no distinction between race.

2) What does it mean to walk in love?
The Greek word for “walk” is paripateo, and it means to live or behave in a specified manner. The Greek word for “love” is agape, and it means a strong affection and regard for a person and their good. It is especially characterized by a willing forfeiture of rights or privileges on another person’s behalf. This is the kind of love that Christ displayed on the cross. He gave up His own rights to do what as best on our behalf. So, to walk in love means to care more about another than you care about yourself, to live in such a way that you are doing what is best for the other person, not what is always best for yourself.

3) What do deceptive words look like in verse 6?
In this passage, Paul just got done telling them what sins to stay away from-immorality, impurity, greed, filthiness and silly talk, or course jesting. The deception was coming from men who were telling them that these things really wouldn’t hurt them. “Everyone is doing it!”, they would say. Gnosticism was running rampant at the time, and Gnostics believed that sin could only touch the body, but couldn’t harm the soul. Paul is warning the Ephesians that these men are wrong and that the wrath of God will come on them.

4) How can we expose the deeds of darkness to the Light?
In verse 7, Paul says, “Therefore do not be partakers with them.” The first step he gave the Ephesians was to not participate in these acts of sin. He reminds them that they’ve been saved from the darkness and are now children of Light. In verse 11, he says again, “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.” The word expose actually means to reprove with conviction upon the offender. In other words, they were to correct the sinner, make them aware of their sinful patterns, not just ignore them!

The Everyday Application

1) What does it mean to be an imitator of God where race is concerned?
In our world today, the best way to imitate Jesus is to treat everyone as equals- red, yellow, black, and white, rich, poor, EVERYONE!! God doesn’t show partiality (Romans 2:11), and He doesn’t want us to either. Ask yourself what thoughts or attitudes or words or actions in your life need to change to truly see every single person as an image bearer of God.

2) What does it mean to walk in love?
I think to walk in love in our culture today means to look fear square in the face and tell it to leave in Jesus name!! We have been sent so many messages about people that are different than us. They’re dangerous. They don’t like you. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. They’re lazy. They’re thieves. On and on and on, but here’s the deal, until you get to know each person individually, you can’t know any of those things about them. Is it scary to walk in love? YES!!! Do you think Jesus really wanted to die on the cross? He did that, knowing every single thing He was about to endure, because He loves us. We must conquer our fears and walk in love when it comes to people that don’t look like us or talk like us or act like us. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

3) What do deceptive words look like in verse 6?
Today, deceptive words look like racial jokes and racial slurs. They can even be attitudes that are deceptive. Ideas that we believe about other races that have been taught to us over the years or that we have perceived all on our own. I think it’s easy to let a bad encounter taint our view of a whole race. We need to be aware of where our prejudices come from and ask ourselves if we’re stereotyping a whole race of people off of an encounter that we saw on the news, or that someone told us about, or even one that we experienced for ourselves.

4) How can we expose the deeds of darkness to the Light?
For me, this means getting into God’s Word and allowing it to cut out the parts of me that are dark, the parts that don’t glorify God, the thoughts and attitudes I’ve acquired over my lifetime that don’t line up with who Jesus is. It also means that, once I know truth, I must stand up for truth. I must point out to others the darkness I see when I hear their deceptive words, their racial overtones. I must sympathize with others in their suffering. When something is going on in our world that effects those of other races, I need to let them know I care, I see, and that they’re not alone. I must walk in faith and truth and not in fear and lies.

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I Can Do That!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

The Community!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Palette Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Tools!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Why!

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Palette!