Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Framework - How to Counter Attack
In this session, Jeremy discusses how, we as Christians and citizens, can reclaim our society and culture for God. It's not simply putting out a simple message of love or hope with Christian language. It takes much more effort than that but produces far greater results. Are you in a position to reclaim some small part of our culture for Christ?
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Today on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas, we have a small sample of the larger lesson which is coming tomorrow. These lessons are in the Framework series. They are all about taking more detailed, intricate and complex doctrines and building upon the framework that was established in the Basics series. The intent is to greatly expand your knowledge and appreciation of the intricacy and the beauty of God's holy word.
Speaker 2:Third view is the counter-attack approach to separation, and this, I think, is the biblical position. It's a position that in church history has been thought long about and thought hard about. It's the position that what we do is we present an alternative to the world's ideas. So alternative ideas, okay, and we highlight these alternative ideas, because what we're trying to do with people in the culture around us is get them to think. So this is what we want to develop, and to do it, I want to go to Romans 12.2 first. So Romans 12.2. Most of the scripture we've already looked at. So today is just distillation of everything we've learned in the last four or five weeks. Usually we're right in a text, but today it's just distillation of everything we've learned in the last four or five weeks. Usually we're right in a text, but today it's just distillation of the concept. So Romans 12.2. The first step in the separation from culture in terms of counterattack first step is mind transformation, mind transformation, and we're developing this from is mind transformation, mind transformation, and we're developing this from Romans 12.2.
Speaker 2:In your mind, in my mind, you have a map. It's deep down on the operational level of your mind. There is a map. Everyone has one, believers and unbelievers, it doesn't matter. That map is how you view the world, and here's the thing. I'm going to tell you something that might offend you. So be ready, brace yourself. It's wrong, not in all aspects, but it has parts that are wrong. That map that you hold in your mind has problems with it.
Speaker 2:Now, that is the presupposition under Romans 12.2, isn't it? Because Romans 12.2 says Do not be conformed to this world, but what? Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That's why I call this mind transformation being step one. Now, why do you need your mind to be transformed if the map in your mind is right? You don't. You wouldn't need that at all.
Speaker 2:So this is the classic New Testament text on the counterattack method of being separate from the culture. The first thing that has to happen is your mind has to be transformed, it has to be renewed. Notice the emphasis on not being part of the culture. It doesn't say what you need to do is change where you live, get a different job or go to a different church. It doesn't say that. The emphasis is on what's going on in here in your mind, the way our minds think, have to be changed, and so the mind is basically what I call the map level. It's deep down. You're operating out of this on a daily basis.
Speaker 2:It's basically where all your issues are, and when we teach Scripture, we teach the Bible, and you hear it, and the Holy Spirit comes along and he starts to renew your mind. That's, who does this operation in your mind? I like to think of him like cutting a wrong connection and making a new connection. Okay, so whenever you're hearing the word and like there's a new connection and it's like a light bulb comes on oh, I never thought of that before. What just happened? The Holy Spirit cut one connection and he made a new connection for you that you had never thought of before. In other words, he corrected part of the map. Okay, but don't forget, as he makes new connections, he's also cutting bad connections. So that's a good thing in the end, but he's remapping your mind through the Scriptures so that you become to think like him.
Speaker 2:And so this is where separation has to start, because if you can't get separated in your mind, you can never get separated in anything else. This is just the root of it. All Everything else comes out of your mind. So what happens as you undergo mind transformation is something radical happens. You start to realize that this is the way the world system thinks over here. What happens as you undergo mind transformation is something radical happens. You start to realize that this is the way the world system thinks over here and this is the way God thinks. And you see that there's this stark contrast. One is light and one is dark, and they're not. There's no gray areas. This is what you begin to realize. Okay, that leads to the second step in the separation method that I call counterattack, and that is engaging the arts and sciences. And I want to explain this a little bit, of course. What I mean is developing the arts and sciences in a distinctly Christian fashion, developing the arts and sciences in a distinctly Christian fashion, developing the arts and sciences in a distinctly Christian fashion.
Speaker 2:I'm going to quote from a guy way back in 1920. His name was J Gresham Machen. I used to read Machen a lot and enjoyed reading him. So this was 101 years ago. Here's what he said Instead of destroying the arts and sciences or being indifferent to them, let's cultivate them with all the enthusiasm of the various humanists, but at the same time consecrate the arts and sciences to the service of our God. Let us go forth joyfully, enthusiastically, to make the world subject to God. Okay, let's practically explain what he's saying. Okay, he's saying, for example, let's say you watch a movie, okay, and you say that's a bad movie. Okay, it may be a bad movie, but that's not enough to just say it's a bad movie. Go to film school and make good movies. Okay, make Christian movies. In fact, some people have been doing this in the last 10, 15 years. They've been working on it, right. Some groups have sought upon themselves to develop movies that are biblically based, sound, good movies that a family could sit down and watch, right?
Speaker 2:Okay, frankly, my wife thinks that a lot of these, you know, go to the movie downtown or something like that and you go, I can't even watch this and you leave. You know, go to the movie downtown or something like that and you go, I can't even watch this and you leave. But a lot of people will want to go watch these movies, good movies. So it's not just it's saying this is saying don't just critique, critique, critique. It's easy to critique. That's a bad movie, that's a bad piece of art, okay, fine, do something about it. Go to film school, go to art school, develop a new technique and develop distinctly Christian art. Why not do that Instead of just critique all the time, right? So when I say this, for example, let me clarify here's another thing. I don't mean let's take Christian music, okay. I don't mean ball the world's music and put Christian lyrics on it. That's not what we want to do. That's accommodating. Okay, that would be an accommodation technique. You try to keep all the tunes of the world, but you just put Christian lyrics in it. That's not what we're talking about. I'm talking about inventing music. That is specifically what I would call or classify as sacred music. Set apart music, which is what we're trying to do here. That's what our whole music team is all about.
Speaker 2:So, Francis Schaeffer I don't know if you know Francis Schaeffer he's been gone since 1980, but he basically pushed for this, engaging the arts and sciences for his whole life and he basically said that the church in the 20th century failed. What did he mean? That the church of the 20th century failed? What he meant is that they did not develop an alternative, no alternative to the culture. The only disciplines where they did this, other than movies I mentioned some Christian movies that are coming out is in the area of science. In the 1970s in this country, it really got underway. Biblical scientists started showing up and they were looking at the evidence. But rather than look at the evidence through the lens of pagan philosophy, they looked at it through the lens of the Bible, and what do you know? But it resulted in alternative interpretations of the evidence that were actually more rational and logical to the common mind.
Speaker 2:And so the idea here is that if we don't develop a competing thought form in all these areas, then what happens is, over time, we lose all these areas to pagan thought and, before you know it, christians become totally irrelevant to the culture around them and we're isolated in this little religious box over here. And you know people out there in the world. I was about to say they want to talk about science, but I'm not sure what kind of science they want to talk about anymore, since it's so politically and economically driven. But people generally want to talk about things that are interesting, like science. They might want to talk about art, they might want to talk about music and they want to talk about government and politics, of course.
Speaker 2:But because Christians don't really have anything to say in those areas, in their mind we're just pretty much irrelevant. All that Christians want to do is blah, blah, blah about Jesus. So they think, why should we even be interested in you? In fact, that is what has happened in America. Jesus and Christianity have become irrelevant to all modern culture because Jesus and Christianity supposedly don't have anything to say about the real world we live in.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this episode of Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you're interested in learning about the foundational doctrines and themes of the Bible that gave rise to this series, then Season 1 of this podcast is for you, on the basics. Additional material can be found on our website at beyondthewalls-ministrycom. If you found this information useful and helpful in your spiritual walk, then please consider rating this podcast in your favorite podcast player. And until next time, we hope you're living by the fruit of the Spirit.