After You Believe 18 June 2017

hope not “going to heaven” but resurrection into the new creation “the new heaven and the new earth”

shalom Everything wrong with the world will one day be made right.

What is the point of being a Christian?

Life Heaven

character

Christian ethics To “do” To “not do”

What we are “here for”… is to become genuine human beings, reflecting the God in whose image we’re made: in worship in mission by “following Jesus.”

Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-30 Rich young man Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-30 I want us to look at the story of this rich, young, eager man

What good thing must I do?

Mark 10:17 Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

“eternal life” “going to heaven” 1st century Jew: the age to come the time when God would bring heaven & earth together the time when God’s kingdom would come & his will would be done on earth as it is heaven [CLICK] many think “going to heaven” [CLICK] but as a 1st century Jew

How can I find true happiness?

How to behave How to be happy [CLICK] how to be happy

wrong Keep the commandments Go to heaven [CLICK] wrong

Mark 10:20 Teacher… I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.

10 commandments No other gods No murder No idolatry No adultery Don’t misuse the name of the Lord Sabbath Honour parents No murder No adultery No theft No false witness No coveting [CLICK] no murder. [CLICK] Sabbath, [CLICK] but the 1st 3

Mark 10:21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

challenge Not 1 or 2 more commandments Not a higher moral bar But be transformed

Mark 10:22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

How are we to be the people who will not only inherit the kingdom of God but who actually partner with God to see it happen?

Mark 10 2-12 divorce 17-22 money 35-45 power [CLICK] each line

NOT… BUT… …here are the rules to obey …follow your heart… your dreams …transformative, character-changing

Mark 10 2-12 divorce 13-16 way of the child 17-22 money 32-34 death – resurrection 35-45 power [CLICK] for v 13-16, 32-34

the coming of God’s kingdom follow me

How to behave rules How to be happy longings

Not specific type of behaviour But a call to type of character Mark 10 Not specific type of behaviour But a call to type of character

being human being eikons being Fully Alive shalom The NT shows us how & points us to…

character

character

The harder I work the luckier I get

N.T. Wright we urgently need to recapture the New Testament’s vision of a genuinely “good” human life as a life of character formed by God’s promised future… that future-shaped character lived within the ongoing story of God’s people, and with that, a freshly worked notion of virtue.

Character transformation aim at the right goal figure out the steps to take those steps need to become habits [CLICK] each line

character The goal is a life of character, a life of reflecting Jesus