Not a Myth

Lectionary • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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Putting our faith in Jesus also means listening to and believing the proclamations of the Apostles, who were eye-witnesses to the life, miracles and revelation of Jesus the Christ.

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Scripture Reading

2 Peter 1:16–21 (NLT)

16 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes 17 when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” 18 We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

Focus Statement

Putting our faith in Jesus also means listening to and believing the proclamations of the Apostles, who were eye-witnesses to the life, miracles and revelation of Jesus the Christ.

Point of Relation

When I was a youth pastor and still in seminary, I was asked by one of my youth if I thought God was truly real or not.

It turned out that he was reading the book, The God Delusion, by Dr. Richard Hawkins, a world renowned atheist.

As such, I invited him to read the God Delusion with me and that we could discuss it together as we did.

So, to the shock of some people, I held a one-on-one book study with him and followed that up with the book,

The Dawkins Delusion, by Dawkins’ own Oxford colleague and theologian Dr. Alister McGrath,

which was only 1/4 of the length of Dawkin’s book but successfully showed how flawed his arguments were.

I did this because I remembered a passage from 1 Peter 3:15, where Peter wrote:

1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)

“...If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

And so, I felt this was the perfect time to follow through on Peter’s advice.

It turned out to be quite the fruitful bible study and I believe the youth got a lot out of it.

Let me put it this way, he didn’t end up losing his faith or refusing to come to church.

Things to Consider

It is easy for us to be skeptical of things that seem to be outside of what we know to be Scientifically possible...

But let me remind you that the word science, from the latin word scientia which traditionally meant knowledge in Latin.

Any school of thought that lead to knowledge was considered in the ancient world (and really should be in ours as well),

as a school scientia or science.

Thus Philosophy was the academic study that led to the science or knowledge of Wisdom.

Psychology, which has its roots in Philosophy, is the academic study that leads to the science or knowledge of the mind.

Theology, is the academic and religious study that leads to the science of knowledge of Theos or God.

So, when we view “real science” merely through the lens of the natural world, we are limiting the meaning of the word science...

and our skepticism is misguided as a result of that.

What Scripture Says

First of all, Peter is addressing a common argument against the Christian Gospel

from new and FALSE teachers, teaching things that countered the Gospel message.

The main thing they were saying was that the apostolic proclamation of the “power and coming” or coming in power” of Christ

(known in Greek as the parousia) was based “clever stories” or, as it is written in the NRSV, “cleverly devised myths”.

The term parousia in Greek originally meant a visit to a city from a god, a ruler, or an important person to dispense rewards or mete out judgment.

In Christianity, parousia came to refer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead.

Well, in passages such as Mark 9:1 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, the Gospel message is that some will live to see the return of Christ.

For instance, as it is written in Mark 9:1, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrives in great power!”

Also, in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Paul writes, “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”

As such, early Christians came to believe and were being taught that the Apostles would be alive when Jesus came again to judge the living and the dead...

Yet, as time went on and more and more of the apostles, Paul included, died,

There were Christians who started to not only doubt that Jesus would return in power at all, let alone during the lifetime of the apostles.

And so they began to teach that the apostolic proclamation was nothing more than clever stories or myths...

Arguing that those thing were metaphorical at best.

2 Peter 1:16-21 then is addressing the critique and, ultimately, false teachings as they were leading other Christians astray.

To combat this line of argument, Peter immediately reminds his readers that he, James and John were all there when they saw Jesus transfigured. He wrote:

In other words, those apostles were physically there and are proclaiming what they saw with their own eyes...

Therefore, the apostolic witness is the only TRUTH that needs to be considered and listened to…

as the false teachers were NOT there and only have worldly speculation to go on.

Finally, Peter then lets his readers know that because of that experience on the holy mountain with Jesus, the apostles have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the Jewish prophets.

In other words, the apostles were eye witnesses to the fulfillment of prophecy proclaimed by God’s prophets in the Old Testament.

In verses 20-21, Peter then wins the argument out by adding, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”

Therefore, Peter teaches his readers that Prophecy never comes out of the prophets own understanding or from human initiative, let alone lofty speculation from people WHO WERE NOT EYE WITNESSES.

You either believe the Apostolic Witness and join in with Orthodox, Traditional Christianity...

Or you don’t…and are not truly Christian. That’s it. Period. No ifs ands or buts.

The Apostolic Witness and Proclamation is to be believed because IT IS NOT A MYTH…it’s FOR REAL...

And Jesus will one day come again in Glory.

In fact, it is important to note that when the three apostles witnessed Jesus in his HEAVENLY, DIVINE form on the day of the Transfiguration...

They also witnessed what he would look like on the day he ascended into heaven in front of all his disciples.

What This Means for You

Have you ever found yourself skeptical of the things you learn at church or in the Bible?

First, let me say that there is nothing wrong with healthy skepticism or doubt,

because those are signs you have faith.

You cannot have faith or belief without the existence of doubt...

And your skepticism or doubts can ACTUALLY grow your faith if you approach worship and the Bible with an open heart and an open mind.

Second, there is nothing wrong with questions and, if you want a safe space to ask them besides meeting with me (which I am always available to do so),

Join our Bible Studies…and engage in learning the Scripture in an intimate and supportive way, as well as engage in discussion, including asking questions.

The only wrong question is the one not asked.

What This Means for Us

How can we as a church become better witnesses to the Apostolic Proclamations about Jesus Christ our Lord?

How can we be out in the community? Where in the community should we be?

Perhaps being in the town parade and at Newton Day...

Perhaps volunteering at Treasures of Hope, Benny’s Bodega, and the Manna House?

How can we not only SPEAK the Gospel witness…but show it with our actions and our presence in the community.

Friends, people will not just come to us for the sake of it...

We have to go to them, as Jesus and the Apostles did,

And show them HOW MUCH We love them!

Remember, it’s not about RELIGION it’s about RELATIONSHIPS and truthfully there can be no RELIGION without RELATIONSHIPS!

So, let us as a church begin to work on building relationships with people in our community and neighborhoods...

And inviting them to join us in being a part of what Christ is doing here in Newton and Beyond. Amen? Amen.

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