The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. A year ago we marked the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation, when Martin Luther brought the light of Scripture back to the church. One of the discoveries that jolted Luther as he studied the New Testament was that every Christian struggles with an ongoing battle—between the saint and sinner in us. Or as Paul puts in in Romans 7, the battle between the spirit and the flesh, or the new self and the old self. So long as we are alive we have this constant struggle against our old sinful nature, tugging and pulling us toward all manner of sin, selfishness, greed, and impurity. And the new nature that seeks after holiness, righteousness, and God’s Truth. That struggle only ends in the grave, and after the resurrection of our body, to the sinless eternal life in Christ. But the new self is already implanted and germinated in us in Christ Jesus. So day by day we faithfully struggle again...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father of lights, Jesus, His Word of Truth, and the Holy Spirit whom He makes to dwell in us. Amen. We’ll take today’s reading from James 1:16-21 verse by verse. James writes pithy, punchy statements that pack a lot of weight without rambling. To get the full depth of his letter, like any other book of the Bible, let the Bible be its own interpreter—connect the dots between James and the rest of the Bible—his rich theology draws heavily on the words of Jesus and other scripture. Some call his letter the Proverbs of the NT, or see parallels between James and the Sermon on the Mount. Our reading begins abruptly “ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ” The “ do not be deceived” part comes right after explaining that temptation is not from God, but originates in our own sinful nature. So d...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today Peter addresses Jesus on the question of forgiveness, and seems to be testing the upper limits of what God expects or requires of our forgiveness. Shall I forgive my brother 7 times? From the perspective of our sinful flesh, 7 times seems pretty generous and patient. But Jesus replies, “ I do not say to you seven times, but seventy seven times ” or “ seventy times seven ”. There is disagreement about how it’s translated. But whether 77 or 490 times, Jesus’ point is clear—don’t keep score of the sins committed against you, and don’t seek for an upper limit of forgiveness. Do not keep track, but forgive generously and without limit, as God has done for you. Jesus then tells a parable of forgiveness that begins with the debt a person owes, amounting in what today would be hundreds of millions or billions of dollars—or perhaps the equivalent of a couple hundred thousand years of work, at a laborer’s wage. Jesu...

Note: for the full audio of the sermon, check out my podcast. This is a limited outline. • Cain and Abel—first brothers on earth, prototype of our conflicts, of worship of God, of temptation and the nature of our hearts under sin. • When Adam and Eve sinned, they gained something they didn’t have before—a knowledge of evil; and the persistent, slavish impulse to give in to it. We’ve carried that same impulse and slavery ever since. Cain is ruled over by it. “sin doesn’t take long to go right to the bottom” (Brandt). • Rejected offering. Why? Cain’s anger, and God’s warning. Genesis 4:7 “ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Sin personified. It’s desire is contrary to you. Sin and disobedience is against our own interest, but we are blind to that. We propel ourselves further in, without consideration to our harm (physical, mental, emotional, moral, spiritual) or...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In the Gospel reading today, we hear a section of Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount, where He teaches on the 5 th , 6 th , and 8 th commandments in particular. The commandment on murder, adultery, and lying. Jesus’ teaching will confront us on many angles and leave us all convicted of our sin. He is rooting out our sinful human tendency to try to escape from God’s law by various tricks. Sometimes we try to narrow down God’s command into a category that doesn’t apply to us, so we don’t recognize that we’ve disobeyed. In particular, when we think of the law only outwardly, and not applying to the heart and mind—or when we try to find loopholes that will justify our behavior, saying the law doesn’t apply to our situation, so we can still feel we are righteous. But instead of allowing that, Jesus closes all the loopholes, leaving us condemned by the law. The law finds us out, and there is no escaping it. If the La...

·          Intro to 6 part sermon series on Galatians: Apostle Paul, to the Christian church in Galatia (modern day Turkey). Church founded by Paul, but now in his absence, overtaken by a powerful and destructive false teaching. Paul was no stranger to churches suffering confusion about the Word of God, wrestling with immorality in their midst, or a facing a host of other serious concerns. Uniqueness of Galatians in the fervor, anger, and vigorousness of his reply. Skips his usual pleasant greeting, his habit of thanking God for the church he’s addressing, and almost immediately expresses his profound shock and disappointment. ·          Why? What moved Paul to such heights of emotion and passion, that even remarkably dysfunctional churches like the one in Corinth, did not create the same intensity of response? ·          Here, above all else, it’s the heart of th...