Built on the Apostles: Foundation and Faithfulness

One of the great confirmations for me of the validity of the Bible is that the Bible is unbelievably honest about the people that are in the Bible. It doesn't sugarcoat their lives. We've been reading about David in second Samuel. David's life right now in second Samuel is not glamorous. It is a mess and he's got consequences because of the things that are there. Just think about if you're gonna start a new religion, wouldn't you want all of your characters to just be perfect and have everything together? And that's not what the bible does. The New Testament authors wrote honestly about their mistakes. [00:34:05] (41 seconds)  #UnfilteredBible

And over the next several years, they will be shaped by a daily encounter with Jesus. I I've often thought about them. I I'm always fascinated when I read the gospels of looking at what it must have been like for them. Nobody had ever experienced this before. God coming down and literally living in the old testament, there were moments where Jesus appeared called a Christophany in the old testament. But those are just moments. These guys are daily eating, touching, listening, talking, asking questions, observing Jesus rise people from the dead, Jesus healing the blind, the sick, the lame, the leper. [00:17:50] (42 seconds)  #ShapedByJesusDaily

We live in 2026. Is it important for us to be connected more to our current culture or more to the historic culture? Through the years, I've shared one of my favorite old testament verses. It's Jeremiah 6:16 You'll remember it likely when I share it. Go to the crossroads and ask for the ancient paths, the path from the very beginning that God called his people to walk on which was obedience. What what was Adam and Eve called to walk into? The ancient path of obedience. Every person outside of the garden was called to walk in the same ancient paths. So does Lifepointe have a responsibility to maintain continuity with the apostolic church and faith? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Now there are things in our culture that they could not even fathom and imagine we're going to that the church was had his his tools and so we can use all of those things as tools. But here, listen to this, this is really important. We are not inventing Christianity. It has been invented and established. We are continuing in what has been established And it should give us an appreciation for being connected to God's long long redemptive work that has happened over the last two thousand years. [00:47:02] (107 seconds)

historic testimony of the gospel has been tested and proved over and over and over and over again. Do you not think that if this was not true, somebody if it's not true, somebody by now would have discovered some way to blow all this up. And it has stood the test of time, and it will stand the test of time because what has come to us is absolutely reliable. By the way, all 11 of the original apostles, well, 10 of the 11 were either beheaded, had their skin cut off of them, crucified, stabbed, stoned to death, or beheaded. They believed it to death. This testimony of the apostles is so important for us to embrace. [00:53:10] (62 seconds)

Tradition is absolutely okay as long as it is tied to scripture and when it becomes more important than scripture, then there is a problem. That was the problem that Jesus had with the religious leaders. So listen this morning. Scripture presents the church not as something we also reinvent. We're not to reinvent the church. It's not our call. But we are to receive as the apostles received it. We are to guard it as the apostles guarded it and we are to pass it on to the next generation as they did. So we close with a few thoughts as to why this essential continuity with the apostles is critical for Lifepointe and for your life. Number one, because truth is received not recreated. This is critical. The gospel did not originate with us. Jude three says, the gospel was in was given once for all to the saints in the first church generation. So the apostolic continuity is to be anchored in what God has originally revealed. Secondly, why this continuity is important? Because the church is built on a fixed foundation, not a shaking foundation. We're not to continue to build foundations for the church. It has already been fixed. [00:49:04] (98 seconds)

Now listen to what Paul says. But even if we, me Paul, we we come to you, we come to you or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we originally preached to you, let that person be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. This is absolutely critical and important. Many of the current cults affirm this an angel, some holy thing happened and communicated this new direction. Do not buy it because the eyewitnesses have given us the clarity of the gospel. They've given us the sound doctrine so that we know what is genuinely in error. So kinda with that, they define for us true theology, they call us to a a deep commitment to truth and sound doctrine. Many of the letters of Paul were written to address issues that came up in the churches of falsehood and things that were being taught. [00:40:27] (74 seconds)

not just looking way back when and saying, that's great that they were there and they were present when the church began, but there is an ongoing important role of their lives in our lives today in 2026. We are not to forget just because the church was started two thousand years ago. We are to continue to look to them in their model for us. You could not have started the church or Christianity without the eyewitnesses of Jesus. Absolutely incredible and important. What they saw, what they heard, and what they did. And so their role is important for us ongoing. [00:06:48] (41 seconds)