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Use this space to ask your questions by posting a reply. Once you have asked your question, Pastor Marc or I will answer it on this blog. Chances are many people are asking the same questions you are.
posted by pastordan at 10:35 AM
7 Comments:
How long has Restoration Life been a church?
Restoration Life began in July of 2005 with 20 people meeting in the living room of Dan and Nicole Axtell. We sensed a calling to reach into the old part of the city with the eternal good news of Jesus Christ. By August of 2005 we had our first service at Coloma Community Center with 75 in attendance. In December of 2005 pastor Marc Prescott became our associate pastor.
I just listened to your pod cast sermon on legalism. It was very eye opening and comforting to hear. I have a tendency to be legalistic in my walk with God and it has been very hard for me to shake it. I've been doing a lot of soul searching, trying to figure out why I keep thinking I have to earn God's love. After listening to your sermon on legalism, I'm wondering can it really be that easy? You mean I can confess my sins to God in my heart and be forgiven, and not have to physically go to a confessional for God to forgive me? I would love nothing more than to be able to just go to God in prayer every night and have Him forgive me in that instant. But I keep thinking it won't work unless I go to a confessional and the priest hears it. Anyway, I want to thank you for your sermon on legalism. I plan on reading more about this topic to find a way to clear the debris and meet God in my heart one on one. Thank you for pointing the way.
Jesus came to make things simple. Under the law of the old Covenant men and women were often overwhelmed by the rules. Try as they might, they could never live up to the righteous law of God. The law kept condemning them and it was a heavy burden to live under. But when Jesus came, He chose to shoulder the burden of righteousness the law demanded of each of us. That is why Jesus says in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” By taking the burden of perfection on himself and becoming a sacrifice for our sins, we can be forgiven and made right without fulfilling the law. Instead we let Jesus fulfill it on our behalf. When Jesus died, He said, “It is finished.”
If you feel guilty and have a hard time letting go of your sins, remember that you are trying to pay again for what was already purchased for you by Christ. Your sin and guilt are real, but so is the offer of forgiveness. Do you have to go to a priest? No. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” A mediator is one who stands in the gap. Although the bible does tell us in James 5:16 to, “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other,” it does not say that the person must be a priest or that all sins must be confessed before they are forgiven. Sharing your struggles with another person is part of God’s grace to bring about change in your life. As Solomon says, “Two are better than one.” It is certainly not wrong to confess your sins to a priest, but it also not necessary.
As for what God requires you to do in confessing your sins to Him, it is important to remember that Biblical forgiveness is when you make a U-turn. It’s both turning from the sin and turning towards righteousness. It is not as simple as lip service. True repentance comes from the heart and is expressed in actions. That is why James says, “Faith without works is dead.” So, when you confess your sins to God, if you mean it from your heart, you can have confidence that your sins are forgiven. Nothing more than repentance is required.
Thank you. I will print your response and refer to it often whenever I lose sight of the fact that legalism is stepping away from God, not towards Him. This is something I will go to the Bible and in prayer with. This has been an open wound that I haven't been able to fully heal yet. I will take your advice and learn from it. Thanks again, pastor Dan, for everything.
I like much of what I find on your Web site, and as a Soldier set to return to Sacramento from Iraq in a few months, I'm looking for a church to call "home" and spiritually recenter after what have been some tumultous times.
One concern stands out - your emphasis on Calvinistic doctrine, or what you term the doctrine of election. My concern is not that you hold to Calvinist theology, but the importance it seems to hold for you, enough so that you would blog on it repeatedly.
My question, then, is whether a non-Calvinists - whether they identify themselves as Arminians, Lutherans, Molinists or none of the above - can feel at home in your church, or will "Reformed" (misnomer) theology saturate the church's teaching so that one with aforementioned leanings would often find themselves in internal conflict.
Again, I take no issue with someone holding Calvinist convictions - each should follow their own conscience or reasoning - my issue is the dedication many Calvinists have toward their theology, perceiving it as an essential of pure faith and sound doctrine, and seemingly as interested in making disciples of Reformed thought as they are followers of Christ. Indeed, they many fail to even see the distinction.
Thoughts?
Thanks for your consideration. I will visit again as time permits.
Will
Baghdad, Iraq
Will, First of all, thank you for serving us through protecting our freedom. We are proud of how our military works around the world.
As to the issue of Calvinism or Reformed theology, you can rest assured that one of our seven core values is, "Balance, not Extremes: Major on the majors, no the minors." Whether you agree on eternal security or not does not matter to us. If you agree that we all need salvation and are saved only by faith in Jesus Christ the God-Man who died on a cross for our sins then we it's not important to agree on eternal salvation. As much as I do believe it a solid conclusion from honest Biblical study, it is a doctrine of the Church and is not universally agreed on. When you get back we'd be honored to serve with you in building the Kingdom. Our people are amazing. Our Church is real. Our God is good.
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