Friday, October 28, 2011

Funny Friday (10/28/2011)

It's towards the end of the month and my allowance is running very low.  Actually, I'm in the red.  I guess I won't be entering in my little girl's room until the first...


"No boys allowed in my room.  If you want to come in my room, you have to pay me a quarter."

Thursday, October 27, 2011

In the Seminary of Soul

Eschatology


Sovereignty and Providence


The Immanence and Love of God


The Grace of God

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Something About Soul

There is something about "soul" that grabs every human being. Soul moves a person beyond the intellect, beyond dignity, and beyond wondering what other people might think. Soul is what I think, what I feel, and what I am experiencing, while I am fighting and struggling this wilderness life.  When others stand by and observe, they too, are often moved into the world beyond - into they very heart of human existence.

I have often wondered what it is about Dave Matthews that I love so much.  Even when he is singing blasphemy (i.e., in the song What You Are or The Deed is Done), he is doing so with soul.  It is honest, transparent and moving.  It would be totally wrong at this point to correct what he is singing about - though correction is merited.  Soul demands an audience first, an instructor second (or fifth!).  For the most part we need to hear it before we instruct it.

Carl Ellis Jr., in Free At Last?, discusses the origins of soul in the African-American community.  I am deeply grateful for his insight because it helped me understand my own heart.  He helped me to understand why it is that I lack soul and why it is so uncommon for many in our communities to feel the depths of it.  Ellis writes,

The early masters, with few exceptions, had never intended that their slaves should become Christian.  However, this did not prevent the slaves from experiencing the power of the Word of God...Resistance to oppression is itself an expression of God's grace.  When a people are subjected to such oppression, they are driven inward, to the depths of the very humanity the oppression is trying to negate.  Any cultural expressions that emerge from such a suffering people will come from those human depths.  Other human beings who encounter these expressions will be affected at comparable depths.  This, I believe, is what LeRoi Jones meant when he described us as the "Blues People."  This cultural depth and the skills to express such depth are what is today popularly known as "soul."

It is because of these depths that the African-American church is very significant.  And it is because of the apparent lack of these depths that a lot of white churches are practically insignificant.  Theology mixed with oppression and suffering is powerful and authoritative as it commands the hearts of its audience.  It is not difficult to understand how theology worked out only over coffee lacks the power and authority mentioned above.  Theology with no "soul" often enters the mind where it is quickly forgotten or used as a means to gain one's own glory.

The African-American spirituals that were sung during the dark days of slavery where beams of meaningful light, filled with biblical eschatology, and pregnant with meaningful truth.  That is why I try to listen.  It is also why I long to worship with my brothers and sisters who are filled soul.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Unconditional Election: Breaking Down Broken Analogies

Analogies are common and useful tools that help us get a message across in an understandable way. Because we are hard-headed, getting truth into our skull is like trying to drive a nail into a brick.  We have to use every means possible, and there is something about analogy that does the trick.

But as useful as they can be, they can often be just as harmful.

In my context, false analogies often arise in discussions concerning the nature of God.  And because I am a reformed evangelical, these analogies are often used as discussions center around the doctrine of salvation - especially the doctrine of unconditional election.  The analogy goes something like this:

Imaging that a dozen children fell into a pool of water.  They are drowning.  As they reach for help, you stand on the edge and choose to save only three of them.  The others sink to the bottom and die.  I would call you a mean person.  God is not that way.  Your doctrine of election is therefore false.

You may have heard it put another way, but the gist is the same.  God is unfair and mean for electing some and not electing others.

This analogy, while very powerful, is also very false.  It does not describe the biblical picture of humanity or God truthfully at all.  It is true that people are "in a pool" and "drowning."  But that is about all that is not false about it.  Let's break it down.

First, the children.  If there is a skewed theology, it can commonly be traced to one's doctrine and understanding of man's sinful condition.  We are not children who accidentally fell into a pool.  We are a wicked people who chose to defy and rebel against a holy, good, and just God.

Second, the pool.  The pool is not merely water, but a sinful lifestyle that wicked people choose and love.  It is also a context of hatred towards God and not love for him.

Third, the actions of the people in the pool.  Wicked people who are willfully enslaved to sin are not reaching for God.  They are metaphorically running away from him, while at the same time, they hate him and would rather have him dead.

Fourth, the God who elects.  God is not sitting at the edge of the pool turning down those who would love to be saved by him (Jn 3:16).  Rather, he gives his own Son to die in order to rescue wicked sinners who are swimming headlong to the bottom of the very pool that is killing them.  As they rebelliously run/swim away from him, he mercifully chooses one saying, "No.  Not you."  Then he mercifully chooses another, "Not you either."

Simply put, our Lord never turns people away from heaven.  Rather, there are many who are turned around by God from running toward hell.

If the first [false] analogy is bought, one is left wondering and questioning how God could not choose someone.  The biblical analogy, however, is very different in that it should leave us all wondering how in the world God would choose to save any.  

We should be thankful and humbled that he chose us while we were sinners.  We should also beware of using analogies that distract and even dissuade us from such gratitude and humility.


Monday, October 24, 2011

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The Rest of the Rest (10/22/2011)

Applied Theology
Anthony Carter describes the practical nature of our doctrine of justification.  It is unfortunate that many may know the doctrine in their heads but struggle to feel it in their hearts.  If anyone has been in involved in any sort of relationship, for any length of time, this article The Cross and Self Justification is a must read.  It will pin you down and force you to look upon the work of Christ in justifying sinners by faith.

Social/Politics
I was very thankful for this article The Forever Recession.  In it, Seth Godin discusses the implications of the current recession as well as those of the "forever recession."  Technology and pragmatic consumerism is taking us to places we have never been as a culture.  To act as if this is not happening, and to build strategies accordingly, is like building sand castles right at the shoreline.  All of the efforts are soon whipped completely out, because we fail to recognize and account for our current context.

Pornography
Al Mohler gives a sobering description of two types of men in our present over-sexualized, pornographic culture.  Take the time to read this.  I would also consider discussing it with young men that are within your circle of influence.

Funny
What can I say?  I love pranks!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Obeying God Without Even Knowing It - Some Thoughts on Christian Liberty and Law

Paul writes to the Romans, "Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law" (3:31).  Similarly, James writes, "But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" (1:25).  The law, for the Christian, is not some burdensome, tyrannous, Old Testament thing that Jesus abolished by his advent, death and resurrection.  On the contrary, it is a gracious and liberating gift from the Lord himself.

I say that it is liberating, not only because this is the biblical witness, but because it is the reality of the Christian experience.  Freedom, regardless of modern day definitions, is not being freed to do whatever a person wants.  Rather, true freedom is being freed to do, and to want, whatever the Lord commands.  When a Christian desires to do what he or she ought to do - that is freedom.

After saying this, I believe it is important to realize that we often allow our freedom in Christ to go unnoticed.  That is, we are often blinded to the reality that we almost unconsciously desire and do that which we are obligated by God to do.  A man kisses his wife before leaving for work without necessarily knowing he is following the command to love his wife well.  A young lady is excited to be at church on Sunday without actually recognizing the Lord's commands to fellowship with other believers.  And a wife joyfully sings while she prepares dinner for the household without intellectually acknowledging her duty to care for her husband and children.

For the Christian, the desire and ability to do what the Lord desires is more the rule than the exception.  When we do fall into sin, like when an argument between the above husband and wife happens, the law comes in and directs them both back to Christ.  I cannot think of a more gracious gift.

The heart of flesh (Ezek 36) which was ordained by the Father, purchased by the Son, and effected by the Holy Spirit, is the primary source of empowering liberty in our lives.  It runs deeper than our intellect and even directs our volition.  The law, in this sense, is truly written on our hearts.  It is, therefore, not uncommon for us to obey without even knowing it.  While this is a good thing, it is not good to leave the work of the Spirit unrecognized in our lives.

Failing to understand this, many tend to give most of their attention to the areas of life that demand a bit more sanctification than others - the areas of our lives where the law and our desires don't exactly match up.  If we focus on this, we become inclined to say that the law is more burdensome than liberating.  We are also more inclined to live lives of ingratitude, failing to thank him for the thousands of liberties the Lord has graciously given (see above).

But when we recognize the tremendous, blood-bought, grace of a changed and liberated heart, we are moved to give thanks and praise after we willingly love our spouse, when we joyfully serve a friend, and when we freely love the Lord who bought us.  He has made us free indeed!  And most of the time, it is not burdensome at all to do what the law commands (1Jn 5:3).

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

When Should We Pray - Before or After We Are Well?

It is not uncommon to feel as if we must get our life right before coming to church.  In our mind, we are too sinful to walk in the doors.  The Lord will not accept us this way.  This mentality not only infects our church life, but also our prayer life - that we must do things for God before we can ask things of Him.  Surely, we think, it'd be selfish to ask God for something, when we had just been so neglectful of Him.

I was overwhelmed today in my devotions from Psalm 51.  This is a common Psalm that many of us run to after falling into sin.  After all, isn't this what David wrote after his sin with Bathsheba?  What I have never noticed, however, is the amount of petitions that he brings to God.  I just counted twenty imperatives that David directed toward God in prayer:

v.1  Have mercy on me...
v.1  blot out my transgressions...
v.2  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
v.2  cleanse me from my sin!
v.7  Purge me...
v.7  wash me...
v.8  Let me hear joy and gladness...
v.8  Let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
v.9  Hide your face from my sins...
v.9  blot out all my iniquities
v.10  Create in me a clean heart...
v.10  renew a right spirit within me.
v.11  Cast me not away...
v.11  take not your Holy Spirit from me.
v.12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation...
v.12  uphold me with a willing spirit.
v.14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness...
v.15  open my lips...
v.18  Do good to Zion...
v.18  build up the walls of Jerusalem...

Take a moment to notice the order of the petitions - mercy, cleansing, revelation, healing, acceptance, renewal, restoration, endurance, evangelism, and glory.

David understood that he could not make himself good enough to come before God.  He understood that it was God alone who could, and, according to His own steadfast love, would do all that was needed to restore His servant to uprightness.  So David began asking.

We must not get this wrong.  The Lord calls sinners to ask Him for all they need.  Just as it makes no sense to go to the doctor after you have become well, it is equally nonsensical to "visit" the Lord after we think we are righteous.

When David was at his lowest, he asked most of the Lord.  His need for righteousness far exceeded his need for a large home or some pimped-out chariot (please excuse the expression). I, too, find that when I am having a good day I may whisper a prayer or two; and when I do, I ask for less than necessary things.

But, when I feel as if my world is falling apart, I take time to actually pray.  And in these prayers I find myself asking for commodities I cannot buy - like mercy, cleansing, revelation, justification, righteousness and so on - commodities that were purchased by the Lord Christ Himself when he died for sinners like you and me.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

What's the Big Deal About Creation? Why Ex Nihilo Matters.

The truth that God created everything ex nihilo, or, out of nothing, is not just metaphysical in nature. It is more than just a brute fact that tells us how everything but God came to be. It is also ethical, with moral implications that reach into the depth of our being. While we may reduce the first few verses of Genesis to theological, or even scientific data, the biblical writers saw the first chapter of Genesis as deeply soteriological.

Sure they would have understood the theological truth that God created everything out of nothing; but this would have led them to humble worship, knowing that it implied that He also brought light to their previous darkness. He gave them life while they were spiritually dead.  Though the phrase, “Let there be light” speaks into the realms of creation, the same divine phrase echoes through the corridors of redemption.  It hit my ears some 12 years ago.

The apostle Paul made this clear to the church in Corinth saying, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6).

There was a time when each of us was without God and without hope in the world. We lived in darkness and were spiritually dead. Just as something doesn’t bring itself out of nothing, neither could any of us bring ourselves to life when we were dead. In our darkness, we could not manufacture light. We needed God the Creator to continue his creative work “out of nothing.”

Similarly, though, there are times in our lives, even as Christians, when we find ourselves in very dark places. Situations in this fallen world often appear physically and emotionally impossible. With all of our resources exhausted, we stare at the wall, and though we may not pray it, we think it - “Lord, I really need you to create something out of nothing.”

When we hit the unwillingness of our deepest being, and it doesn’t budge; when we know that we should forgive, and we just can’t; when we want to desire God, but we just don’t; when we want to cry about something sad, but we feel numb; and when we want to love like we ought, but our well seems dry, we don’t need a god who needs our help to bring us to life.  We need the One who is mighty, magnificent, all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present. The only basis for faith and hope in our present world is to cling to the God who created everything out of nothing - even our salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Glory of Adoption

Here is a post from my good friend Adam Viramontes.  I have been changed, encouraged, and even convicted by Adam, and his wife Heather's story of adoption.  On that basis, I feel obliged to share his convictions with you.

THE GLORY OF ADOPTION by A. Viramontes

Why is it that when we consider the word ‘adoption,’ the first thing that typically comes to our mind is earthly adoption? We think of delicate newborns, confused toddlers and rebellious teenagers in need of unconditional acceptance and tangible love. We think of the often difficult and discouraging paperwork process and financial burdens of adopting children into families. While I’m not suggesting that these are not realities of adoption—I have personally experienced them—I would like to see our initial paradigm shift from the earthly to the heavenly. Adoption is always heavenly before it is earthly. Without an accurate understanding and pervasive experience of our spiritual adoption, we will never grasp the profundity of earthly adoption.

It is unfortunate how little our understanding of God’s vertical adoption influences our culture’s understanding of horizontal adoption. Consider these brief reflections on spiritual adoption:

1. God only adopts children with ‘issues.’ There is nothing in humanity that moves God to adopt us. There is no lack of branches in God’s family tree; the Trinitarian family is sufficient for eternity. The magnificence of adoption is discovered when a contrast is made between the person adopting—the great and glorious God—and the objects of adoption—miserable sinners, children of wrath and disobedience by nature. We are not cute, cuddly and lovable newborns. We are not children that ‘deserve a better life.’ Apart from Jesus Christ—God’s eternal, only-begotten, natural Son- all of God’s children are those ‘problem kids.’ God did not scour the earth to find ‘perfect children,’ rather he embraced the kids with the most ‘baggage’ and declared them as his own!

2. Spiritual adoption is expensive. If you think adopting children is expensive on earth, consider the fees of spiritual adoption. The God who owns the ‘cattle of a thousand hills’ and has endless resources at his fingertips secured our adoption with a priceless payment- the life of his only ‘biological’ child. Not only was Jesus Christ put to death to pay our debt; his death was brutal and vicious. In the death of Christ, our adoptive Father poured out the fullness of his wrath and the heat of his anger for our rebellion against him on his Innocent Son. This was the only form of payment that was acceptable for this adoption transaction—no grants, tax-credits or loans accepted—merely a shameful and cursed death on a cross to an undeserving, yet willing, Older Brother.

3. Spiritual adoption is a past action that is secured forever. Because of the nature and sufficiency of the death of Christ, adoption into God’s family is forever. Because our adoption rests on the object of faith and not the strength of our faith, we can rest assured that the final judgment of adoption has been signed and sealed. God legally declares our innocence (justification), welcomes us into his family with full rights to the inheritance (adoption), transforms our lives into the image of his Son (sanctification) and promises to deliver us to eternal life and peace in his Kingdom (glorification). God will never revoke these promises. We will never be ‘returned to sender,’ regarded as ‘damaged goods,’ or declared unfit for the family. We are not even referred to as ‘adopted children,’ in Christ, we are simply sons and daughters of the living God. Accepted and welcomed forever.

4. Spiritual adoption deserves to be imitated in the earthly realm. The premise of this post was for us to recognize that adoption is always heavenly before it is earthly. While I hope I have communicated some of this clearly, I don’t want us to neglect the earthly implications of our spiritual adoption. The vertical necessitates the horizontal. Reconciliation with God necessarily demands reconciliation among humanity. When we consider the glorious doctrine of adoption, how much more are we inclined to mirror our Adoptive Father in our own lives?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Two Different Fathers: The Church and Absentee Fatherism

I wrote an article for Holy Culture concerning the similarities between common church methodologies and the common trend of absentee "fatherism."  Here is a section from the article:

"The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how we have allowed this distorted view of fatherhood to influence how we represent and embody Christ’s church in the world. If the marriage union is one of the most significant ways that we are to see and experience Christ’s relationship to His church, it should not surprise us that the utter breakdown of marriages in our culture is deeply affecting our perceptions of how we Christians ought to represent Christ in and to the world around us. It has been my observation that we have allowed the fatherly role in our culture to cloud our understanding of our Father’s role in heaven. Consequently (and tragically) the fallen world sees a heavenly Father who is merely a weekend playmate and a guy who is supposed to send us a check every month.

If we are honest, we would have to say that most churches do the same things. Church is a place where we go on the weekends to have fun, and, if we get in a bind, it writes checks too. I am not downplaying the importance of weekend worship services and events. Nor am I undermining efforts that churches make to provide financial help to individuals in need. However, when the church is only these things, it has failed to be the embodiment of Christ on earth, and has become the embodiment of the all-too-common absentee father. At this juncture, it would be appropriate to point out a few ways in which Christ is distinctly different from our common distorted perceptions."

You can read the entire article here.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Moral Perversion and College Athletics

I am reading a book called Not the Way It's Supposed to Be by Cornelius Plantinga.  I must say that this book paints a picture of sin that is more thorough and detailed than any resource I have encountered on the subject.  We typically think of sin as a single act of one individual that begins and ends with that individual.  Plantinga's biblically grounded treatise, however, describes it more as a vine with many relational branches, that attach, infect, and even steal the life out of other living things, throughout long periods of time.

In one chapter, Platinga describes the horrible nature of perversion.  "To pervert something", he states, "is to twist it so that it serves an unworthy end instead of a worthy one or so that it serves an entirely wrong end."  He goes on to say that one of the greatest examples of perversion of judgment in our day can be found in college athletics.

He writes: University athletic programs, especially men's football and basketball, often develop a life of their own that has little to do with higher education.  Some of these programs might just as naturally be attached to meat-packing plants as to universities.  Ordinarily the celebrity coaches of major sports programs claim to be teaching teamwork and building the kind of character that will prepare their proteges for careers as good citizens.  Still, wise educators ask, How often in good society do you become a hero for knocking some other good citizen's helmet off?  How often is blind obedience taught in place of the courage of conviction?  How often is intimidation taught under the guise of tenacity?  How often is manipulation and deliberate rule violation taught as strategy?  How often is composure and sportsmanship mistaken for lack of effort?

I often struggle to find out what exactly I love so much about college football.  I'd love to say it's the good competition, strategy and sportsmanship; but I am not so sure that I have kept my heart from loving the perversion of good things.  When the height of human experience (let's get real, football games are the height of human experience in America right now) is to watch one human pridefully triumph over another; when we exalt that victor's physical strength over his moral responsibility to the point where we lose sight of the greater need for moral strength altogether; and when our commitment to these image bearers lasts only as long as their athletic career, we must approach the subject with far more caution and with our spiritual eyes wide open.

I do find it somewhat ironic that we praise a kid for knocking another kid's helmet off in a game, while we call him a complete idiot when he takes that same behavior and commits the same act after the game is over.  I know that the context and the rules change after the game; but I am not oblivious to the fact that the contextual lines might be blurred a bit in a 19 year old's mind who has just felt the praise of 90,000 people.  That much praise, given to a person that age, is more likely to become a breeding ground perverting judgment than a platform for judicial citizenship.

Am I saying we should abandon college athletics completely?  I don't know.  Something must have a good purpose before it can be perverted.  Therefore, college athletics may not need removal, but redemption.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The Rest of the Rest (10/8/11)

Church
Carl Trueman continues to give accurate analysis and criticism of the American evangelical church's tendency towards exalting mega-church pastors to celebrity status.  The point in many of his recent posts, this being one of them, is that, while not all mega-churches fall into this, most do what it takes to bring in the people and the money.  Consequently, things that entertain the church, shouldn't.  Topics that occupy space in church media, shouldn't.  And even many who lead these churches, shouldn't be [leaders of the church at all].  The people and the material that the church are desiring fall more under the category of entertaining, than evangelical - more comedy, than news about the Creator.  While I too understand there are exceptions to this,  I have not yet found an objectionable point in Trueman's writing on the subject.


Books
Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald Whitney is a decent book for those who are regular "Church-going" folks who don't tend to read a lot of Christian literature.  For those who read a lot, reading the table of contents may just be enough for you.  In this work, Whitney answers some very important and pointed questions such as, "Do you thirst for God?" "Are you more loving?" and "Are you sensitive to God's presence."  He looks to the classics for diagnosis and remedy, quoting multiple times in multiple chapters theologians like Spurgeon and Edwards.  Overall, I was dissatisfied with a particular shallowness of the book.  Whitney seldom addresses why people may not thirst or love or delight in God's presence.  More or less, the chapters explain the question, quote from theologians concerning it, and give practical ways to address it.

Technology
For all of you iPhone lovers (or coveters) out there, here is a great article by a guy who gave his iPhone up and has not looked back.  Most of us know the technology struggles that are becoming more and more common, if not down right aggravating.  The author was convicted by his continuous neglect of discipline and even people; but his continuing devotion to a little device - the iPhone.  I'm not trading in my iPhone after reading this, but I am more aware of certain ways the iPhone (and other phones like it) may cause me  and others around me to erroneously and irresponsibly rearrange our responsibilities.

And, no, I don't have any thoughts concerning Steve Jobs death other than that, from what I know, he died without Christ.  I am reminded every time I see a video or read an article about his contributions and accomplishments of the biblical irony of gaining (or changing) the world but losing one's soul (Mark 8:36).  Would that Apple never existed on earth if that meant Jobs would have known Christ in heaven.

Life and Gospel
There is a common word floating around that accurately characterizes my life right now - struggle.  In this video, Paul Tripp gets right to the point and purpose of disappointment, selfishness, and struggles in life.  Watch this.






Thursday, October 6, 2011

Avoiding Traps In Defending Your Faith

It is not uncommon for Christians to engage in a conversation about the existence of God.  More times than not, these discussions boil down to a sort of evidential tug-of-war between the two parties. Whoever has the most evidence on their side wins.  While such conversations can be good, they can turn ugly if the Christian falls into, what I call, the evidential trap - a conversation that accepts only evidential terms, from the outset, and excludes faith-based statements that are beyond the reason's ability to prove.

For example, if a Christian mentions matters of faith, such as the Bible or Christ, the evidentialist vehemently says, "Wait!  You aren't allowed to speak of those things here!"  If the Christian unquestionably concedes, he has fallen for the trap.  At this point, Christ is not set apart as holy (1 Peter 3:15), but set aside as a subject to be proven by His creation.  Christians must avoid such traps at all costs.

To do so we have to first be ready to expose the flaws in the trap.  Perhaps one of the greatest flaws is that it assumes that evidence alone is sufficient for all certain knowledge - in this case, to prove God's existence.  The truth is, however, that all evidence is interpreted and thus ultimately vulnerable to the subjectivity of human reason.  Because of this vulnerability, conclusions based on evidence alone always leave room for either denying God's existence or holding that His existence is only probably true.

Second, the trap presupposes that evidence is more authoritative than God's Word.  If God speaks (which He does!), then His Word is sufficient to convince, convict and assure us of His existence and salvation.  It is treasonous to say, "The Bible doesn't convince me.  I need to see evidence." This leads me to my third point.

Third, Christians must be equipped and ready to expose the faith commitments of the trap.  To say that evidence alone can prove God's existence is itself a faith based comment - something that is unprovable by the evidence itself.  In other words, to say that God cannot be known by any other epistemological means, is itself a statement that is beyond the ability of reason to prove.  Very simply, the Christian has every right to stop the conversation by saying that he/she does not agree with the premise that certain knowledge comes only via empirical evidence.  Revelation is also a sufficient way that people know things.

Further, in this line, I have not found a single evidentialist that is not relying heavily upon statements from others when promoting their views.  Most have not tested the evidence themselves but merely quote authors they have read.  The Christian should reduce the conversation to what it really is:  The word of a person vs. The Word of God.  Christians, in trusting the Words of God, should not fall into the trap of conceding that a person's words are more reliable and more authoritative than God's Words.

Finally, it is a fallacious appeal to authority to say that a kindergardener, who trusts the Word of God, could not correct the most educated unbelieving scientist concerning the existence of God.  In other words, a PhD who writes a book about his theory of creation, can be silenced by a small child who simply says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  When the good doctor asks what evidence the child has for her conclusion, it is completely rational for the child to answer, "The Bible tells me so."



Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I Wish My Sins Didn't Affect Others...

In a fallen world, sin is always followed by the prepositional phrase "against another."  It never occurs alone, no matter how secret the sin may be.  Its fingers always reach into the lives of those around us.  And, most importantly, its stench always reaches into the heavens.

I wish this theology wasn't true.  I wish that I could disagree with my own orthodoxy concerning my own sin.  But I can't.  Truth is a person, a divine person, who is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, and who cannot be touched, manipulated or relativized by me or anyone else.  Therefore, I am forced to struggle with the implications of my own fallenness.  My sin is always against another.

When I slow down to consider my role as a husband, I can barely bear the weight of it.  My wife, who is closest to me, is ironically the one who is most likely to see, and be affected by, my untamed sins. Then, I move down the relational line to my children.  For some reason I am more sorrowful when it comes to them, and can even be brought to tears when I think about the ways they might be formed and molded by their sinful daddy.  Will my little girls grow up and have acceptance issues?  Will I hear my son one day tell me, "I never felt like you loved me."?

I'd also like to think that life isn't as serious or significant as it really is.  Sometimes I want to sit my kids in front of the television and sleep the day away; or, get a sitter so I can escape to search the web or read some theological book.  Other times, I lose hope altogether and over-desire a place that doesn't exist in this life - a place where I am sinless and not accountable for my actions; a place where only my good deeds affect people and my bad ones sort of evaporate before they touch another human being.

I'm going to resist now the ever-so-easy pastoral transition that goes something like, "But God...now I feel better."  I can't say that I opened by Bible today and with my eyes closed pointed to just right the verse to fix me.  I'm not fixed.  I will say, however, that the reality of the above has forced me to think seriously about Christ, and how He is more significant and serious than the topic of a sermon or paper; that He is more than some theological avenue to let people know how much I know about Him.

Through these difficult weeks, I have been agonizing over the implications of the atonement.  I have asked Him time and time again, "Jesus, I know you have redeemed me from the slavery of sin.  But, what about the relational consequences of my sin?  What about my sin "against others?"   What about my children?  What about my wife?  Do you redeem that too?"

The orthodoxy that I previously desired to reject, now gloriously comes to rescue.  The nature of the Savior cannot be understood apart from the nature of sin.  If the tragedy of sin is that it is always against God and others, then I must understand redemption in the same relational context. The gospel informs me that Christ's redemption alone can heal the relational places my sin has wounded.   In other words, my hope is found in nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.

In Him, redemption provides healing for every sinful wound.  At this point, I rest in this.  That I only need to show my wife and children Christ, who, unlike daddy, perfectly loves, saves, and redeems. Unable to fix what I have done, I am forced to abandon my selfish ship.  By openly and honestly repenting to those I have hurt, I direct them to the Healer, the Refuge, who alone deserves our worship, and who is the only true object of our faith.


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

One Altar Call, Many Wounded

About a year and a half ago I went to a Christian rally where about four thousand people, mainly youth, gathered to hear about Jesus.  The organizer of the event, whose name will remain unsaid, did a great job getting people to a place where they were ready to hear the gospel.  The testimonies, music and prayers were Christ-centered and God glorifying.  For that, I commend them.

But when it came time for the "altar call", that is when my encouragement quickly became concern. While I am not a huge fan of altar calls, I usually refrain from criticizing those who utilize them.

If you live in the south, you have undoubtedly experienced the end of the sermon when the preacher tells everyone to bow their head and close their eyes.  After this, he typically directs people in self-reflection, helping them to understand their need for the Savior.  This is usually followed by a brief gospel presentation.  That night, the preacher was on this track.  So far so good.  The next few minutes, on the other hand, were not so good.  

After presenting the gospel, he ensured that everyone still remained with their head bowed and eyes closed.   This was undoubtedly done to calm the nerves of those who were ready to accept Jesus, and where to indicate such by the raising of their hands.  This could be a very embarrassing moment for a 12-14 year old, to let four thousand people know that they were a sinner in need of a Savior.

The preacher asked them to raise their hands.  They did.  All I could think about was Spurgeon's comment, that a repentant sinner, after hearing and believing the gospel for the first time, is like a wounded deer, who would rather go off to lick his wounds than parade his decision before men.

A minute or so later, the preacher told them they could put their hands down and that everyone could raise their heads and open their eyes. I was wholly unprepared, however, for what he said next. He told those that raised their hands to stand and come up front!  After about half reluctantly did so, he then told the rest that if they denied Jesus before men then, Jesus says, He will deny them before the Father.

I almost stood up and openly rebuked this man.  I could hardly stay seated.  Not only did he take this Scripture out of context, but he used it to murder the conscience of young believers.  That night, kids were lead to believe that the Christ who forgave all of their sins would now deny them before the Father because they were scared to "go up front." Perish the thought.

The fact that the name of this organization would be recognized by most, if not all, of those who read this post leads me to believe that there are probably thousands of kids who may be burdened in their conscience for not answering that altar call.  If you are one of those people, or know someone who might be, let faith alone in Christ alone be your creed.  Remain in your seat, trust in Christ, be set free.  Those who trust Christ will never be denied.

Monday, October 3, 2011

The Priorities of God: Ordinary Preferred Over Extraordinary

Miracles can be defined as extraordinary manifestations of God's covenant lordship (See Frame, The Doctrine of God).  While every word in the definition is important, the word extraordinary stands out to most as that which, in our day, is either highly coveted or strongly doubted.  Those who believe in God, along with those who desire to see proof of His existence, often look to the miraculous as the final linch-pin of certainty - the convincing straw that breaks their unbelieving back.  For those who actively desire to disprove God's existence, they deny any possibility of miracle, presupposing from the outset an ordinary explanation for the extraordinary.

At first glance, the desires of both camps are pretty reasonable.  Believers should want to see more miracles; and, unbelievers should want to see none.  We shouldn't, however, be so quick to agree with either.  I propose that things should be just the opposite.  Consider two brief thoughts.

First, if unbelievers were consistent with their presuppositions, they should desire the extraordinary. The reasoning is simple.  If the universe is random and if all of life and matter was brought about by chance, then it seems to me that ordinary events would be more miraculous than extraordinary ones. If it is ordinary for life to appear randomly and by chance out of nowhere, I see no reason why it would be extraordinary for a BMW to magically appear in my driveway - given enough time of course. Simply put, the unbeliever would find more evidence for his worldview in a highly extraordinary world - in a world where random things happened all of the time, without particular explanation, and without any known purpose.  But, as it presently stands, the ordinary is the saw the unbeliever uses to cut off the branch upon which he sits.

Second, while God has used the extraordinary in glorious and redemptive ways, His priority is to use the extraordinary to prepare for the ordinary.  This is perhaps the most significant point I learned from Frame's discussion on the topic of Miracle.  He writes, "We often value spectacular experience over day-to-day routine.  But God's priorities are different."  In Genesis we see that the extraordinary flood is followed by the covenant of preservation where God promises ordinary and regular seasons (Gen 8:22).  During the wilderness years, Israel was fed in an a miraculous way; but, their goal was to finally be in the land of Promise where normal harvests were the fulfillment of God's promise.  And finally, Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, tells them that the miracles of tongues and prophesy are far less important than ordinary love - for, love is that which remains.

Miracles are important, and are one way that the Lord manifests (and has manifested) His covenant faithfulness and lordship.  It is the testimony of both Scripture and natural revelation that the ordinary is a glorious spectacle of His power, grace, and redemption.  The believer and the unbeliever alike should stand in awe of the ordinary, for it is Jesus Christ Himself who holds it all together.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Rest of the Rest (10/1/11)

Books
James K. A. Smith's Desiring the Kingdom, is a very thought provoking work.  The main message of the book is that our philosophical anthropology, especially post-Enlightenment, is too reductionistic, focusing our educational efforts on informing the mind while neglecting the more foundational work of forming the heart and affections.  Contra Cartesian thought, we are more than just thinkers.  And, contra Augustinian thought, we are more than mere believers.  Smith argues with needed repetition that we are, at the most fundamental level, lovers who are pulled through life (rather than pushed) by our imaginative affections (rather than our minds) toward the telos of the good life.  While this book is more philosophically than biblically referenced, I appreciate Smith's recognition that we are more than just minds in a body. Humans are so much more than thinkers...we are first and foremost worshipers.

I wanted so much to like reading The Trustworthiness of God: Perspectives on the Nature of Scripture, edited by Carl Trueman and Paul Helm.  But I found it to be far more academic than the title let on.  It should rather have been entitled something like The Trustworthiness of God: Authority Preserved Despite Historical and Biblical Criticisms of the Last Half Century.  With all due respect for the authors and contributors, this book is not for the layperson.  It is a compilation of articles by seminary professors and theologians whose goal is to confront and correct the critics of the nature and authority of Scripture.  Don't get me wrong, this is a much needed and very informative book.  It is better suited however, for the seminary syllabus than the Amazon Wish List.

Miscellaneous
This is a very insightful article by Carl Trueman entitled Is the Reformation Nearly Over?  In it Trueman reminds us that the Reformation was not just about theology, but also about ecclesiology.  Communities under the dominion of Medieval Catholicism were plagued with pastoral absence as well as ministerial fetishism.  Ironically, the priests, bishops and popes, while highly neglectful of their pastoral duties, where, by the very people they neglected, worshipped.  Dr. Trueman points out that modern evangelicalism, with its praise of and tendency toward the multi-site mega church model, is falling into the same deadly patterns.  The pastors of these churches are, for the most part and for most people, absent.  The shepherds, while highly esteemed, don't know their flocks.  Because they are celebrities, they are untouchable - and this is antithetical to how things should be.

This article discusses the gospel-centered truth that Christ paid for our sins and how this protects and guards us from desiring that the people we love (namely, our spouses) pay for their own.

Here is a must read for both men and women about backward porn addiction.  It discusses the temptation that women have to "capture the gaze of men."  The question at the end of the article should stick with us all while we shop and chose clothing to wear.

Music
Here is Lecrae's testimony on I Am Second.  This is well done.

Cool Stuff
Google makes the Dead Sea Scrolls available online.  I don't think I can ever forgive myself for not visiting the DSS exhibit that came to Mobile.  But now, thanks to Google, I can view the documents in high digital resolution on the web.

Take a look at these phenomenal pictures of eyes.  While you look, think "random molecular activity" and "by chance" and "without design."  After those thoughts strike you as absurd, worship the Creator, Jesus Christ for His excellency and wonderful creation.

Good Quote
Nothing makes a man more unpopular in the controversies of the present day than an insistence upon definition of terms.  J. Gresham Machen

Ranting
Can I just vent for a second?  I hate - yes, hate - front loader washing machines!  For some reason all of the clothes decide while they are being washed that they want to tangle themselves together.  Then! when I go to pull them out, about four or five articles of wet clothing fall on the ground (doesn't this defeat the purpose?)!  This may be no big deal to those of you who are shorter than 6'9", but when I have to constantly bend down and pick up clothes off of the floor, I feel more like I'm doing squats for Sean T than laundry for my home!