The Nashville Statement

A Shifted Landscape

Intro:

How many of you like math class? Let me see a show of hands

Me, I did not like math class. My favorite thing about math class was actually the end of math class.

Which, it’s quite interesting that I at one point had picked accounting as my degree

But here me out, I didn’t always hate math. I didn’t mind addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc.

In fact, I’m actually quite good with numbers and can do a lot in my head.

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But when you start adding letters to what is supposed to be a numbers thing, I’ve got issues.

I felt betrayed by my elementary teachers you know? They could have at least warned me what was coming.

I remember sitting in algebra 2 doing my problems, and I had a problem, I never wrote anything down. I’m an all in the head kind of guy. Problem is, I’d get a problem wrong, and my teacher would get so frustrated because she couldn’t help me because I never wrote anything down.

I did everything out of memory, or out of what I thought was the right way to do it.

Let me ask you this question though. What makes the number 2, worth 2?

You know, 2+2= what?

But what if a 2 was worth 4?

What if I decided you know what, no you’re all wrong, I’m going to believe that a 2 is equal to 4.

And no matter how many times you show me why I’m wrong, I’m going to ignore you and just go off of what I feel is right or what I think is the right way to do it.

Is that logical? Does that make sense?

Of course not, of course not.

Culture is a lot like me in the sense that, they are okay with a God of love, a God of forgiveness, a God of peace, but they really struggle when the letters are introduced, the letters being, a God of judgement and a God of design

A shifting culture

See, I’m very fearful for you guys today, living in the world that you are living in.

Let me be honest, when I was a teen, yes we had problems, and yes we had a culture that was increasingly against God and His Word and Design, but nowhere near the extent that you guys are facing it today.

So, naturally, I worry about each of you standing for Christ when culture is constantly telling you that you are wrong and your Bible is outdated, and your belief system is incorrect.

As our culture, our world, gets farther and farther away from this (Bible), it’s going to get worse and worse and worse. That’s a fact, rooted in .

So, how will you stand against the two hottest topics in our post-Christian culture today: Homosexuality & Transgenderism

Why is it important that we believe in male and female

Many Christians in our culture are not standing against this, to be truthful, and they are jumping ship from solid Biblical doctrine to do so.

Why is it important that we believe

Here’s the problem with that, just like math, if you remove one of the foundations, the whole thing crumbles.

So, if we pick and choose our faith based upon what feels right, or based upon what culture is telling us, we’re doing the same thing, and our faith....crumbles.

So, the evangelical leaders of our day…evangelical meaning leaders and pastors that are faithful to God’s entire Word and Gospel, got together and came up with a document titled, “The Nashville Statement”.

It is a 14 Article statement on their standing based on Biblical principles.

You guys, this is huge.

We as people, tend to want to view everything through the lense of emotion and what we feel.

And we point to verses like, “Love Jesus with all your heart” “Love others”, but we tend to never want to follow doctrine, or in other words, we just want to follow our hearts.

Our hearts are so deceitfully wicked as says

So we as Christians, more than ever, we need to know why we stand for what we stand, otherwise we won’t stand for anything.

You guys, as Christians, listen, this Word has never changed, and it never will. But you are going to pressured, you are being pressured to cave.

What this statement does is it gives us Biblical framework to stand on, to hold to, to cling to.

Let’s get cracking, and if you have a question about one of these or what they mean, ask.

Article 9 - Group challenge