A belief-filled Christianity is an informed faith built on trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. God Gives Us His Words of Eternal Life
Luke 13:22-30
Found on page 873 in our guest Bibles.
Today’s Scripture:

2. “I’m a Presbyterian Minister Who
Doesn’t Believe in God”
John Shuck, Minister of Southminster
Presbyterian Church in Beaverton, Oregon

3. I believe one of the newer religious paths
could be a “belief-less” Christianity. In this
“sect,” one is not required to believe
things…. But what about belief in God? Can a
belief-less Christianity really survive if God
isn’t in the picture? Can you even call that
Christianity anymore? In theory, yes….
“
~ John Shuck, “I’m a Presbyterian Minister Who Doesn’t Believe in God”

4. Someone quipped that my congregation is
BYOG: Bring Your Own God. I use that and
invite people to “bring their own God” — or
none at all. While the symbol “God” is part of
our cultural tradition, you can take it or leave
it or redefine it to your liking. That permission
to be theological do-it-yourselfers is at the
heart of belief-less Christianity.
~ John Shuck, “I’m a Presbyterian Minister Who Doesn’t Believe in God”
“

5. “I don’t appreciate being told that
I’m not truly a Christian.”
John Shuck, minister of Southminster Pres Church in Beaverton, Oregon
in “I’m a Presbyterian Minister Who Doesn’t Believe in God’

6. Salvation’s Narrow Door
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-30

7. 22 He went on his way through towns
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
and villages, teaching and journeying
toward Jerusalem.

8. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
those who are saved be few?”

9. Jesus, is it
possible for
me to be
saved
?

10. And the Lord said to them, 24 “Strive
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
to enter through the narrow door….”

11. “Strive” = Greek: agonizethe
(ἀγωνίζεσθε)

12. “Strive” = Greek: agonizethe
To bring everything you’ve got
to aim for the prize
(ἀγωνίζεσθε)
To focus your attention and energy
on entering the narrow door

13. Jesus again said to
them, “Truly, truly, I
say to you, I am the
door for the sheep….
If anyone enters by
me, he will be
saved….”~ Jesus of Nazareth in
The Gospel of John 10:7ff.

14. “I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No one
comes to the Father
except through me.”
~ Jesus of Nazareth in
The Gospel of John 14:6

15. “And there is salvation in
no one else, for there is no
other name under heaven
given among men by
which we must be saved.”
~ The Apostle Peter in
The Book of Acts 4:12

16. Christianity is too
exclusive. I believe any
sincerely good person
can find salvation.

17. “For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
will not be able. 25 When once the master
of the house has risen and shut the door,
and you will begin to stand outside to
knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to
us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not
know where you are from.’”

18. 26 “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
and drank in your presence, and you
taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say
to you, “I tell you, I do not know where
you are from. Depart from me, all you
workers of evil….”

19. 28 “In that place there will be weeping and
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets
in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves
cast out….”

20. ~ CS Lewis, Oxford Professor
Mere Christianity
God cannot give us a
happiness and peace
apart from Himself,
because it is not there.
There is no such thing.

21. 29 “And people will come from the east
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
and west, and from the north and south,
and recline at table in the kingdom of
God….”

22. 30 “And behold, some are last who will be
The Gospel of Luke 13:22-20
first, and some are first who will be last.”

23. Why does Luke record this
account in his historical
biography of Jesus?
Important Question

24. “He came to his own, and
his own people did not
receive him. But to all who
did receive him, to those
who believed in his name,
he gave the right to
become children of God….”
~ The Apostle John
in the Gospel of John 1:11

25. Because Jesus is
salvation’s door…
…his invitation
we can’t ignore.

26. Enter through
the Narrow Door

27. “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may
have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon.”
~ Isaiah 55:6-7

28. A belief-filled Christianity
is a informed faith
built on trust in
the Lord Jesus Christ.

29. Find your courage
to follow Jesus.

30. Lord will only
a few be saved?

31. “After this I looked, and behold, a great
multitude that no one could number, from
every nation, from all tribes and peoples
and languages, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, clothed in
white robes, with palm branches in their
hands, and crying out with a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits
on the the throne, and to the Lamb!”
~ The Apostle John in Revelation 7:9

32. NCC, as a people who have passed
through Salvation’s Narrow Door,
may you be a people who proclaim
the Gospel of Jesus Christ
until your dying breath.

33. flickr images courtesy of:
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other info:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/03/17/im-a-presbyterian-minister-who-doesnt-believe-in-god-2/
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