Bonus Content from “The Way” Series

Bonus Content from “The Way” Series

Below find responses to the questions texted in during the recent sermon series entitled “The Way.” Thank you for your submissions, and apologies for the delayed response!

Is it possible that Mark 9:1 also applies to Stephen’s seeing “the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand” before he tasted death?

This question came from the sermon “This is My Beloved Son” (Mark 9:1-13).

Though it’s possible that this is one such event that demonstrates the kingdom of God coming with power, Stephen’s stoning doesn’t seem to be a central enough event to be the only referent of Jesus’ words in Mark 9:1.

Because of the narrative flow of this section, I do think Mark arranges his gospel in such a way that he immediately shows us a fulfillment of 9:1 in 9:2-13. In other words, the transfiguration is a primary fulfillment of the kingdom coming in power.

How about Mormon and Jehovah’s Witnesses churches?

This question came from the sermon “The One Who Is Not Against Us Is For Us” (Mark 9:30-41).

The Big Idea of that sermon was, “Don’t oppose people who are working for Jesus.” I called in that sermon for graciousness toward others who claim the name of Christ, for being slow to write them off or hinder their work.

I assume this question is asking about where members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses fall in this paradigm. Are they decisively to be treated as opponents of the gospel, or would Jesus instruct us not to hinder their work?

First of all, I do believe that both the LDS church and Jehovah’s Witnesses preach a sufficiently different gospel that they should not be treated as brothers and sisters in the faith. We would not accept a Jehovah’s Witness or LDS person as a member of our church, for example, because of their inability to affirm the core doctrines of the faith as laid out in the scriptures and captured in the major ecumenical creeds.

That said, there may be times in which it’s appropriate for us to partner with Jehovah’s Witnesses and LDS individuals/churches in the community. For example, any time we would partner side-by-side with a Jewish congregation (e.g. for humanitarian or community work, or to make a case for some public policy objective), I’d be happy to partner with these churches as well. But the more proclamation is involved, the more hesitant I’d be to labor side-by-side with such churches.

Is it a pardonable sin if a believer marries an unbeliever?

This question came from the sermon “What God Has Joined Together” (Mark 10:1-12).

There is no sin so egregious that the blood of Christ can’t pay for it! And this certainly applies to the sin of a believer marrying an unbeliever. If the believer repents and pleads the blood of Christ, he or she will certainly be forgiven.

You said (regarding Mark 10:23-27), “We all have sin that keeps us from God, and wealth hides that sin.” Can you give examples of how wealth hides a sin?

This question came from the sermon “A Hundredfold Now” (Mark 10:17-31).

My full quote: “It’s not that wealth is sin that keeps us from God; it’s that we all have sin that keeps us from God, and wealth has a way of hiding that sin from our sight.”

As we’ve been seeing throughout this series, there is one major difference between those who come to Jesus and those who don’t. Those who come to Jesus come empty-handed, acknowledging their need. Those who don’t feel acute need have a much harder time coming to Jesus.

What makes wealth particularly dangerous, then, is that it obscures our need. It has a way of removing desperation from our lives such that we can start to think we’re fundamentally okay on our own.

To make it concrete, some examples of thoughts we wealthy people (who don’t live paycheck or paycheck or meal to meal) are prone to think:

- “My life has worked out for me so far; I’m sure my eternal destiny will similarly get sorted out.”

- “If God was displeased with me, why would He allow me to be so successful?”

- “I’m the one who helps others, not the one who needs help.”

As such, I wasn’t saying that wealth hides any one particular sin as much as that wealth prevents us from seeing the reality that sin (generally speaking) is present in our lives and threatens to separate us from God.

Wasn’t that the Holy Spirit that told Bartimaeus that Jesus is the Son of David?

This question came from the sermon “Get Up; He Is Calling You” (Mark 10:46-52).

It certainly could have been! When Peter made a similar proclamation, Jesus attributed Peter’s realization to God. But in this case, where no such affirmation is given, we can’t be so sure.

-Pastor Tim