Perspective

Are you joy-FULL? You and I ought to be. Oh how full of joy we ought to be!! If we are not, it probably means we are not looking at life from a biblical perspective. If this is not true, explain to me how to make sense out of passages like Acts 5:40-41 and Acts 16:23-25? How can it be that the apostles and Silas simultaneously suffered and were joyful? If my professor is right, the answer is found in their perspective – how they interpreted life. How do you interpret the common everyday events of your life? Do you see everything that happens to you as sweet providence from the hand of the Lord? Is God for you or against you? Rest assured, he is either for you or against you. What about these times of spiritual complacency you are going through? What about your laziness in discipline? Your lukewarm affections for your Creator? You should ask, “What are you trying to teach me Lord?” Do you see that he is trying to teach you just how desperately you need him for life, both today and into eternity? Do you see how gentle and kind and longsuffering he is with you even as you live as though he were not as significant as your comfort or your pleasure or your schedule? My dear brothers, you and I can live with a perspective like Paul’s and Silas’. How? Look at Christ. Gaze intently and closely and carefully and long upon him in his word – that is where he has revealed himself! Pick a gospel and read it carefully. See the love he has for you and love him more for it. Your life is but a vapor. Won’t you give it up completely because you see that your Master and Messiah gave his? You are not your own – you are a slave – and a slave is not better than his master. Won’t you die to yourself that you might live to Christ? Won’t you sell everything you have so that you might have the pearl of great price?

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Imago Dei

The Image of God in Man

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
(Genesis 1:26-28)

What does it mean to be an “image-bearer” of God?

The primary point of this section of Genesis 1 is that mankind has been created in the image of God and therefore has been made to image him. It can be said that man was created an analogue of God. What this means is that man’s thinking, willing and doing is analogous to God’s thinking, willing and doing. Those things pertaining to our natures as men are derivative from the nature of God, and our creation as image-bearers of God – “God’s offspring” (Acts 17:28) - is peculiar to man.

It should be noted here that, in fact, all of creation bears some analogy to God. It is evident from the pages of the Bible that there are analogies to God from virtually every area of creation. We see analogies used where God is compared to inanimate objects (God the “rock of Israel”, Christ the “door of the sheep”, the Spirit as “wind”, “breath”, and “fire”, etc); plants or the produce of them (God’s strength like the “cedars of Lebanon”, Christ the “bread of life”); animals (Christ the “Lion of Judah”, the “Lamb of God”); abstract ideas (God as spirit, love and light; Christ as way, word, truth, life, wisdom, righteousness); etc. This point is a study unto itself.

But the emphasis of the verses in view here is that man, created as a bearer of the image of God, was created as the captain or crown of creation. No other creature possesses man’s exalted position in God’s created order. The psalmist sings:
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
(Psalm 8:3-8)

Because man alone is created in the image of God, God has commissioned man alone to reproduce in creation God’s own activity. The bearing of God’s image means that we “image-forth” him. How is it that this imaging-forth occurs in the cosmos? It is by our doing the very things which God himself does! It is of note when considering this, that no other creature has been endowed with this ability. If we closely examine the pattern of God’s creative work in Genesis 1 we see that God takes primal components from days 1 and 2, reforming and restructuring it all into a more glorious pattern, evaluating the work of his hands and resting and enjoying his creation. Adam is to follow God’s example, taking the creation, being thankful for it, using his God-given creative power to reform it into a more glorious pattern, evaluating the work of his hands and enjoying their fruit with God and others. That is exactly what it means to bear the image of God.

So when God created Adam in his own image, part of what that means is that he empowered (enabled) him and his posterity to live in active obedience to the divine commission to which he called him – to fill and to subdue (Genesis 1:28). How do we see Adam fulfilling this command in Genesis 2? We see Adam “subduing” through his word through the work of his hands (Genesis 2:15, 19). And with the introduction of Eve we see Adam empowered to “fill” the creation with other image-bearers.

If we think about all of this in the context of the Garden of Eden, we see that God’s mandate to exercise dominion is very specific. The Garden may be seen as a model of heaven itself – the temple of God. Adam and Eve’s reproduction of other image-bearers would progressively fill Eden and even all the earth. As the image-bearers moved forth, they would in effect expand the very throne-room of God as they went. It is interesting to note the mention of gold and precious gemstones in Genesis 2:11-12. It is not a far-fetched notion to think that these materials were just mediums for the beautification and expansion of the Garden. We see the eschatological end of this notion in Revelation 21. Eventually, this notion will be fulfilled in the new heavens and new earth, where the entire world is a replica of the throne room of God, and just like in the Garden of Eden, God will dwell with his people.

At this point it might be profitable to ask: Is the notion presented here of man imaging-forth God indeed biblical? Here are two biblical examples, briefly introduced, to support the notion which has been proposed:
1)In Exodus 25-31, God lays out a blueprint for the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness. God’s plan for the tabernacle is divided into seven speeches, each one beginning with the phrase “Yahweh spoke to Moses saying”. If we look at each of these seven proclamations closely we see that they correspond in striking ways to the seven days of creation. There is much symbolism in the carvings, furniture and implements in the tabernacle to the Garden and world model of Genesis 1 and 2.
2)Another clear correspondence is found in God’s promises to Israel regarding Canaan as the promised land – a land much like the Garden of Eden. Israel is promised Sabbath rest if they obey Yahweh by subduing and filling the land.

At this point we should see that Adam and Eve had a tremendous responsibility and calling as image-bearers. They and all their posterity were to expand the throne room of God, the kingdom reign of God, to the farthest reaches of creation.

The Problem

The problem is that Adam disobeyed God. Through Adam’s disobedience in Genesis 3, the image of God in him is marred. This marring of the image of God in man by man’s sin is what we refer to as “The Fall”. And this is the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! If we miss the meaning of man bearing God’s image then we cannot see the fullness of beauty in the Gospel and the Great Commission.

The Solution

Wonder of wonders, after the disobedience of the first Adam, God did not repeal his commission to man to image him forth rightly in creation. We might wonder why God did not wipe mankind out and start all over again. In our wisdom, that may seem right, but it is not so according to the wisdom of the Creator. God repeatedly confirms with each restatement of his covenants that his original mandate stands, and with each covenant he progressively designates more specifically and clearly the Man who truly would subdue and fill the earth.

Jesus Christ, the most real and true man, the divine image of whom Adam was the prototype, fulfills the divine commission. He, the man who is God, completely fills the mandate of the Father – to subdue and fill the earth – and he empowers His people to do likewise. Image-bearing finds its perfect expression in Jesus Christ who is both God and man.

Ponder Anew

Romans 4:16 tells us that if we have the faith of Abraham, God forgives all our sin and engages to pursue us all of our days with goodness and mercy. If we relinquish all our self-confidence and bank on the promises of God for our happiness and security, then we stand justified and clean and free before the Lord God Almighty, the King of creation! God promised Abraham: “I will bless you, so that you will be a blessing… By you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3) There was an utterly amazing transaction that happened between God and Abraham. Abraham believed God, and God justified Abraham (Genesis 15:6). Abraham took God at his word and rested in his promise – so much so that he was ready to obey God in sacrificing his own son – the very son through whom God had promised to give Abraham a great posterity! Abraham wholly and completely banked on the promises of God for his security and happiness, and God justified him. God acquitted Abraham of all of his sins: past, present, and future. The death of Christ purchased Abraham’s redemption 2000 years earlier and my redemption 2000 years later. Abraham did not know how God could acquit sinners and still be just. He simply left that in God’s hands and banked on God’s word of promise. Today, we know how God can be both just and justifier. So our faith and our hope is in Jesus Christ.



Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!


Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
now to his temple draw near;
praise him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,
shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen
how thy desires e‘er have been
granted in what he ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
biddeth them cease,
turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
sheddeth his light,
chaseth the horrors of night,
saints with his mercy surrounding.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the amen
sound from his people again,
gladly for aye we adore him.

(Words: Joachim Neander (1650-1680), 1680)

Conversion to Christ (conclusion)

But, thank God, there is a fourth great truth. This truth, unlike the first three, cannot be learned from nature or from our own consciences. This is a truth which was designed by God to be told to neighbors and preached in churches and carried by missionaries; namely, the glorious good news that God has decreed a way to satisfy the demands of his righteousness without condemning the whole human race. He has taken it upon himself, apart from any merit in us, to accomplish for us our salvation! The wisdom of God has ordained a way for the love of God to deliver us from the wrath of God without compromising the righteousness of God. And what is this wisdom?
Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24)
And again:
God put Christ forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over our former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.
How is it possible for the righteous Judge to exonerate sinners who have been ungrateful for his great goodness?
God made Christ to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
And again:
Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24).
He died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).
If the most terrifying news in all the world is that we are under the judicial condemnation of our Creator and that he is bound by his righteousness to pour out wrath on our ingratitude, then the greatest news in all the world is that God was willing to sentence his own Son in our place (Galatians 3:13) and thus demonstrate his righteous allegiance to his own glory, and still save sinners like you and like me!

But not all sinners. Everybody is not saved from God’s wrath just because Christ died for sinners. And this is the fifth great truth we need to hear: there is a condition you have to meet in order to be saved. “What must I do to be saved?” is probably the most important question any human can ask.

The answer in Acts 16:31 is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”

In John 1:12 it is that we must receive Christ: “To all who received him… he gave power to become children of God.”

In Acts 3:19 it is, Repent!; that is turn away from sin: “Repent therefore, and turn again that your sins may be blotted out.”

The answer in Hebrews 5:9 is obedience to Christ: “Jesus became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”

Jesus himself answers the question in a variety of ways. In Matthew 18:3 he said that childlikeness is the condition for salvation: “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

In Mark 8:34-35 the condition is self-denial – the willingness to lose your earthly life for Christ: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

In Matthew 10:37 Jesus says the condition is loving him more than anybody else: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (See also 1 Corinthians 16:22; 2 Timothy 4:8)

And in Luke 14:33 the condition for salvation is that we be free from the love of our possessions: “Whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

These are some of the conditions that the New Testament says we must meet in order to benefit eternally from the death of Christ on the cross. We must believe on him, receive him, turn from our sin, obey him, humble ourselves like little children, love him more than our family, friends, possessions, and even our own life. This is what it means to be converted to Christ. And this alone is the way of life everlasting.

But what is it that holds all these various conditions together? Is there a truth which unites them all? I think the answer is given in the little parable we read at first:
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then from his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The person who is converted and brought into the kingdom of heaven has discovered a treasure – namely, Christ – and is impelled by joy to sell all he has to have this treasure. You are converted to Christ when Christ becomes for you a treasure chest of holy joy! We are converted when Christ becomes a treasure in whom we find so much delight that trusting and obeying him and turning from all that belittles him becomes our normal habit.

There is no evidence in the Bible that God will accept people who come to him out of any motive other than desire for joy in him. You cannot please God unless you come to him in search of reward. Hebrews 11:6 says,
Without faith it is impossible to please God. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
When Peter focused on his sacrificial self-denial and said “we have left everything and followed you” (Matthew 19:27) Jesus pointed out his pride: “There is no one who has left anything for my sake who will not receive a hundredfold now and in the age to come eternal life.” Jesus was saying “Peter, if you don’t come to me because I am greater treasure than all those things you have left then you don’t come to me at all.” You think far too highly of yourself if you think you are anything more than a little baby branch sucking righteousness, peace and joy from Christ, the vine! The condition of salvation is that you come to Christ in search of reward, finding in him a treasure chest of holy joy.

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live. (Isaiah 55:1-3)

Conversion to Christ (continued)

The first truth we must face is that God is the Creator and we owe him profound gratitude for all we have. Your own experience in life is powerful evidence for this. Have you ever done something for someone only to have them fail to respond in gratitude? How did that make you feel? (Angry, like they were inconsiderate, etc.) Why do you think our hearts jump so quickly to judgment when someone fails to show gratitude when they have been the recipient of great kindness? The real reason is because we were created in the image of God. Your judicial sentiment which automatically holds me guilty if I ignore you after you’ve just snatched my child from in front of a speeding car is the voice of God in you. We involuntarily hold people accountable for ingratitude because we were created in God’s image. Therefore, you know in your heart that there is a God to whom we owe genuine gratitude.

The second truth we must deal with is connected to the first: we have not felt, nor do we now, nor will we tomorrow feel the depth and consistency of gratitude to God which we owe him as Creator. Our own consciences are sufficient to convict us in this regard. We know that we do not render to God the very gratitude which we demand for ourselves from our neighbor. The judicial sentiment in our heart which holds other people guilty for ingratitude bears vivid witness to the truth that God holds us guilty for our astonishing ingratitude to him. And if we try to suppress this witness in our own hearts, the Bible makes it plain:
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth… For though they knew God they did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.
(Romans 1:18-21)
Is it clear to you that everything you have is a gift from God, and that as a creature you are dependent on him for life and breath and everything? Has your life been filled with the joy of gratitude to God which is proportionate to his infinite kindness to you?

Built on these first two great truths is the third: we must face the truth that God’s wrath abides upon us even this moment if we are outside of Christ, and it does so because of our ingratitude. You know that your own judicial sentiment will not allow indignities against you to be ignored. How much more so is this true of God’s own dignity! God is righteous and that means that he must uphold the worth of his own glory! When we, by our own ingratitude, belittle the worth of God’s glory it demands wrath and justice from God. God alone is infinitely worthy and therefore our defamation of his character in our utter ingratitude brings down upon us righteous eternal destruction. The wages of sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23), and this is the most terrifying truth in the world.
(To be continued...)

Conversion to Christ

44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:44-46


Not everyone will share eternally in God’s joy. Is that true? WHY? Why is it that not everyone will share in God’s joy forever? This is true because there is a condition which must be met in order for you to live in him and enjoy him forever. WHAT is that condition? What is the condition which must be met in order for you to live in him and enjoy him forever? What is the condition which must be met before you can be a part of the kingdom of God?

The condition is that you obey the command of Psalm 37:4 : Delight yourself in the Lord. But many people take more delight in money or sex or recreation than they do in God, and so they have no share in God’s saving mercy. They are lost. What they need is conversion to Christ. Lest we move on too fast from this statement, consider: What is the case with you today? Do you take your greatest delight in Christ? Do your habits prove that you delight in the Lord? Does your conversation? What about your thinking?

We live in a superficially Christian society where thousands of lost people think they do believe in Jesus. As we consider conversion to Christ, I want to challenge you to think about the times in which we live and examine yourself carefully. The phrase “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved” is virtually meaningless in our society. Drunks on the street say they do. Unmarried couples sleeping together say they do. People who haven’t sought worship or fellowship for 10 years say they do. Every stripe of world-loving church attendees say they do.

My responsibility as a teacher is not just to repeat precious biblical sentences, but to speak the truth of those sentences in such a way that it will prick the conscience of the hearer, helping you feel your need for Christ. I hope to take this sweet truth in Matthew 13:44-46 and make it as sharp as I can in the hope that some hearts will be stabbed broad awake. You may be sitting there thinking “I’m already converted. I don’t need to hear this.”, but before you tune me out let me caution you. The gospel truths I am going to talk about here are the gospel truths that believers themselves go on believing by. So now let’s go on to consider some great truths about reality that make conversion necessary. (To be continued...)

Responsibility of the Listener in Preaching - Part 3

Responsibilities After the Word has been Preached

Review

The Bible actually promotes the idea that you should personally review the message that was preached:

Acts 17:11 - Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

This is another reason to take notes. Realize that in Shawn’s construction of the sermon, he had to distill a truckload of great biblical information and application into the 40 minutes or so that you will give him. You should dig deeper on your own. Reflection and meditation on the Word preached to you is a foundation for the Lord to build upon. Notice how Solomon said this in Proverbs 2:1-11:

1 My son, if you will receive my words

And treasure my commandments within you,

2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,

Incline your heart to understanding;

3 For if you cry for discernment,

1Lift your voice for understanding;

4 If you seek her as silver

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord

And discover the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

8 Guarding the paths of justice,

And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice

And equity and every good course.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart

And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

11 Discretion will guard you,

Understanding will watch over you,

Retell

You should make it a point to teach other people this week what you were taught in the sermon the previous Sunday. Study it and preach it over again to yourself until you know it well enough to preach it to someone else. You have been entrusted with something worthy of passing on to others – the very Word of God expounded.

Take Action

Shawn’s sermons are worthless if they don’t change your life. You should act on the truths laid out in his sermons. That may mean you should change the way you believe about something. That may mean you should change some behavior. That may mean you should change your attitude. The primary means that God has designed for changing you are Holy Spirit empowered, conscious and purposeful actions. You should be doers of the Word, and not hearers only.

Responsibility of the Listener in Preaching - Part 2

Responsibilities During the Preaching of the Word

Worship

The value of the music preceding the preaching should not be underestimated. Your singing, prayer, the giving of tithes and offerings, listening to Scripture reading before the sermon, all of these are important acts of worship which you should engage in earnestly. The sermon is not something separate from all of this, but it is the culmination of it. Reverence and responsiveness are critical.

Think

You should carefully evaluate and process all that is expounded from the pulpit (1 Corinthians 14:29). Do not be critical in a negative way; rather, be “positively biased toward the message of Scripture and the messenger.” (from Jay Adams – A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching)

Take Notes

Taking notes can greatly impact the influence of a sermon on your life. The purpose in note-taking is not to produce a transcript of the sermon – we have that available on CD. No, the purpose of taking notes is that it is a statistically proven fact that it helps with recall. Listeners who take notes are much more likely to remember a sermon longer than those who don’t.

Use Your Bibles

Bring your own Bible to church. Just turning to a passage and orienting your mind to where it falls in the text is an important part of the service – it will help you commit it in whole or in part to memory.

Responsibility of the Listener in Preaching - Part 1

I have profitted greatly from reading Michael Fabarez's Preaching That Changes Lives this summer as part of the requirements for my Homiletics 2 class. I have been struck with an increased sense of responsibility as a listener from the reading of this book, so I figured I'd share. :) Blessings to you!

Responsibilities Before The Word is Preached

• How do you prepare for church?

• Do you pray for your encounter with the sermon?

• Do you pray for your pastor in his preparation during the week?

• Have you taken the time to study the next part of the passage which you know will be preached this week?

• Do you rise early enough to eat a good breakfast so that your stomach doesn’t distract you during the sermon?

Focus on Preparation

We are taught in seminary that men should not preach without preparation. That is true. But, men ought not hear without preparation either. Which do you think needs more preparation, the sower or the ground?

Study The Parable of the Soils – Luke 8:4-15

Why is coming to church, especially to preaching, so important? Because it is where the seed of the Word is sown in your hearts!

Pray for Something Significant

We should pray for and trust God for a significant encounter with Him through His preached Word every time we come to hear it. Very often our minds and hearts are not in line with God’s. Therefore we should spend more time with God in prayer, asking for His expectations to become ours. If you come into church not knowing what you want, you will probably get what you deserve. There ought to be a sense of anticipation in your heart as you come to church to hear God’s Word preached! You have not because you ask not! Ask and expect God to minister His Word to you!

Pray for the Preacher

If you are looking for a rich sermon from pastor Shawn, you ought to supply him with the needed material. You should realize that your prayers are the means which God uses to make him more of a blessing. You should pray for his preparation to preach to you. You should pray for God to urge him to pray. You should pray realizing that the means God most commonly uses to minister great revival in your life is preaching. Pray fervently for Shawn.

Schedule Around Church

Church should be given a very high priority in your schedule. Paul describes it as “God’s household, the church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Scripture requires that we “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25), so you should plan your weekends around the gathering of “God’s household”. Be punctual. Sunday morning is the most important time of the week. Wake up earlier and plan a real breakfast. Getting ready for church is so much more important than getting ready for work or class any other day of the week. This should impact your Saturday evening plans.

Brewer reveals new SBC-friendly line of beverages

Responding quickly to the Southern Baptist Convention’s resolution to ban alcohol, Anheuser-Busch released its new adult beverage, aptly called Drinking Water. Company President August Busch IV stated “We hope this drink will be as popular among Baptists as our top seller Budweiser was”.

Restless and Longing

God has made everything beautiful in its time; also He has put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11

God has reminded me in a fresh way this week that restlessness and longing are essential traits of my heart and yours. That can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. It is good when the object of that restlessness and longing is the Lord Christ and his kingdom and his righteousness. It is bad when it is anything less. God has designed us with a heart-sickness. We try to satisfy this insatiable longing with vacations, food, visual stimulation, music, sports, alcohol, hallucinogens, and on, and on, and on...

Almost everywhere you look the grass is greener than where you stand. This is nothing less than the Spirit of God beckoning you and me to come to him! And yet we turn away from him again and again to a new toy, a movie, an automobile, a tanning bed, or the beach.

Jeremiah said it like this:

My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

The drugs and alcohol can’t keep you from waking up to reality and your messed-up relationships. The tan looks so artificial and sure does fade quickly. Within a few weeks, maybe just days, that new toy becomes boring and commonplace. What does this mean? Is there any satisfaction there to be found in the greener grass for which we long? No. We have been deceived by the image. We don’t really want the high provided by the drug or the alcohol. We want the eternal reality of bliss behind the buzz. We don’t really want the sweet and cool refreshment of water in the blistering heat of a parched desert. The water is just a picture of the eternal reality underneath it. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. It flows with the water of life, bright as crystal from the throne of God and from the Lamb. You were made for God. The hunger and thirst of your life which cannot be satisfied by anything in this world is God’s constant pleading with you to remember that you were made for him.

Jesus has something to say about this universal unquenchable yearning:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. And at another place: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Jesus says that those who will be satisfied in the end are those who crave the mercy to be merciful, the grace to be gracious, the purity to be pure, the holiness to be holy – the very righteousness of Christ himself manifested in his body.

Don’t get involved in religious activities. And don’t settle for the meager satisfaction of just being a millionaire.

If the Lord permits...

It would appear that we are going to be blessed with another child!!!

How beautiful and sweet are the words of Psalm 127!

1Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

3Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children^[a] of one's youth.
5Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.^[b]

The Memphis Declaration

I have a request. No, it is actually a plea. If you are reading this blog and you are a Southern Baptist, I beseech you, take time to give this article some earnest consideration. I think it is self explanatory. In short, I think what these men have voiced in this Declaration embodies the only way ahead for the Southern Baptist Convention - repentance.

Still wonderin' where the money goes...

Well, I finally got around to making my first few phone calls. I figured I'd start right here at home. I called four men (three of them members of my church) who I thought might know how the money gets spent. One out of four had an inkling, and he was the one who was not a member of my church. He happened to be one who had served on the Executive Committee (I think that's what he said, maybe Executive Board) of the Alabama Baptist Convention. I didn't really get any good information on exactly how the money gets spent, except that at the state Convention level we have somewhere around 100 employees at the "Baptist building" on the Southern Bypass here in Montgomery.

Thanks to "Gunny" from a previous post for this link to a great article on national contribution comparisons to the SBC.

I found this article noting that $2.4 mil had been given in relief for Katrina. Also includes some other general Alabama Baptist info that is good to know. More to come.

Strange BaptistFire

I couldn't resist a quick post to advertise the new Strange BaptistFire blog that has just recently appeared. The reason I am excited about the appearance of this blog is because their purpose is to counter the putrid spew of the anti-Calvinist site baptistfire.com. This wouldn't be of such note except for the fact that baptistfire.com was used just recently in my church (Morningview Baptist) to promote division which ended up being very destructive to the body of Christ. I am thrilled to see the authors of Strange BaptistFire taking the time and making the effort to set the historic Baptist record straight.

Where does the money go?

I'm feeling sick. I've been doing a little research on the Internet lately, and the more research I do, the more sick I feel.

The topic of my research has been my beloved denomination and how the various denominational entities at the local, state and national levels use the funds that get contributed to them. I am a Southern Baptist. I've been a Southern Baptist all my life. I remain a Southern Baptist because I have become one confessionally. I think those great historic Southern Baptist confessions are still the best. Confessions like the Abstract of Principles of 1858 (of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), or the New Hampshire Confession of 1833, or the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. And for the record, I'm ok with the BF&M 2000. I am a Baptist. And more specifically, I am a Southern Baptist. And I am very thankful. But I am also sick.

From just my online research, I have found that my state convention's budget is somewhere around $42,000,000. I haven't been able to determine the SBC overall budget, but best I can tell, the International Mission Board's (IMB) is somewhere around $300,000,000. Here's where I start getting queasy. We've currently got somewhere around 16,000,000 members on roll at Southern Baptist churches, and we are currently fielding somewhere around 5300 missionaries (don't know if that is IMB + NAMB or just IMB). But let's just say for the sake of conservative argumentation we double that number just in case its just IMB numbers. Say we've got 10,600 missionaries. That would mean that just 0.06625 of 1% of my denomination's membership are missionaries funded by the SBC. Now that is a sobering statistic.

Now I realize that this is not the fault of the Convention. Local Southern Baptist churches are ultimately responsible for not being more missional than they are. But what concerns me is what I will call the "machine" that we Southern Baptists have built. I'm just an average joe. But common sense tells me that something is dreadfully wrong with our system. How much of the IMB's $300,000,000 budget actually gets to the mission field? What do they do with the rest of it? I'm not insinuating that anybody is trying to hide any of this information, I just can't find it online. How does the $42,000,000 in my state convention's budget get spent? What about my local association - the Montgomery Baptist Association? Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic here, but it sure sounds like, smells like, and looks like alot of pork. I am just one man, but this man wants to be sure that his tithes and offerings are being invested well in the Lord's kingdom. Lord willing, I'm going to start making some phone calls Monday morning.

I sure hope that Dr. Ascol's resolution gets presented and taken seriously at this year's convention. I think it would be a healthy first step in the right direction.

A delectable little morsel from C. S. Lewis

In reading Has the Church Misread the Bible? by Moises Silva (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1987), I came across this C. S. Lewis quote I just gotta share (pp. 65-66). Oh, for some of the mastery Lewis had of our language!

Of the cursing Psalms I suppose most of us make our own moral allegories... We know the proper object of utter hostility - wickedness, especially our own. From this point of view I can use even the horrible passage in [Psalm] 137 about dashing the Babylonian babies against the stones. I know things in the inner world which are like babies; the infantile beginnings of small indulgences, small resentments, which may one day become dipsomania or settled hatred, but which woo us and wheedle us with special pleadings and seem so tiny, so helpless that in resisting them we feel we are being cruel to animals. They begin whimpering to us "I don't ask much, but", or "I had at least hoped", or "you owe yourself some consideration". Against all such pretty infants (the dears have such winning ways) the advice of the Psalm is the best. Knock the little bastards' brains out. And "blessed" is he who can, for it's easier said than done.
C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1958), p. 136.

Entire dependence upon God

Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. (Revelation 4:11)

As we anticipate the arrival of our pastoral candidate, nothing could be more important than for us to have the mind of Christ. As I have been seeking to obtain this in my own life I have set myself on the consideration of the humility of Jesus as our Master and example. The day and time of my departure from this life is firmly fixed - oh, how I want that hour to find me ready for it in joyous slavery to my Lord!

As I consider biblical humility, it seems to me the proper place to start is to look to Jesus in order to determine what the principles were which he lived by when he was here. If he is indeed my example in his lowliness, I must understand the principles in which that humility was rooted and own those principles myself.

Jesus repeatedly acknowledged his own dependency upon the Father (John 5:19-20, 26, 36; 6:27; 12:49-50; 13:3; 14:10). If Jesus recognized his dependence upon the Father, how much more so should we as his disciples? As you meditate on Revelation 4:11 today, consider that God, in his creation of the universe, made man, the creature, a partaker of his blessedness and perfection. He revealed himself in and through us by communicating as much of his glory and goodness as the creature was capable of receiving. But this life which God bestowed was not imparted all at once; rather, each moment continuously by his mighty power. From the nature of this relationship between the Creator and the creature we see that humility is properly defined as total dependence upon God. It is the first virtue and the highest duty of the creature and its enemy, pride, is nothing more than the loss of it. Man lost his right relationship with God in the Garden of Eden – he lost his humility. Jesus came to bring humility back to earth and saved us by way of his own humility.

There is nothing more natural, insidious, difficult or dangerous than pride and we possess in ourselves alone no ability to cast it out. Let us look to Christ and study his character until we are broken down under a sense of our own pride and our souls are filled with love and admiration of him and his lowliness. Let us ask God for a determined perseverance in discovering how lacking we are in the grace of humility and for grace to see how powerless we are to obtain what we seek. And let us believe and ask Jesus Christ himself to impart to us this grace of humility as a part of his wonderful life within us.

Ingratitude

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:21-23
Honor and thanks are due God. How grateful are you to God for the abundance of blessing he has toward you? Paul shows here ingratitude as the sin which opens the door to all manner of wickedness. He who has ears, let him hear.

My interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7:14

For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. (ESV)

The overall context of the passage (read verses 10-24) is clear enough – Paul is giving the Corinthians direction regarding spiritually mixed marriages. This is significant to the proper interpretation of verse 14. Paul is clearly talking about a marriage where one spouse is a believer and the other is NOT. This must guide our thinking when we come to verse 14. We must deal with the verse as it stands and not begin here by putting on our covenant-colored glasses (as I would argue the paedos do). Paul says, “For the unbelieving husband is made holy”. In the Greek, “is made holy” is one word. It is the verb form of the adjective “holy” Paul uses at the end to refer to the children. Recognize, the unbelieving spouse is UNBELIEVING! What can Paul mean, then, by “is made holy”? He CANNOT be saying that the unbelieving spouse is fit to be considered saved, for that goes against what he has just stated – that the spouse is unbelieving! So there must be some other usage Paul has in mind for “is made holy”.

This is a good place to note the argumentation of the paedos. Many of them I have read interpret this verse as an argument for infant baptism, arguing that the latter part of this verse clearly implies that children of even one believing parent fall under what they call “the pale of the church” (huh? I haven’t found that in the Bible either). A cornerstone of paedobaptist theology is that “the covenant” is the sole basis of infant baptism and that the ground of baptism is thus identical for adults and children. What they have neglected in their interpretation of verse 14 is to deal sufficiently with the text! What EXACTLY is the holiness that the children possess? What EXACTLY is the holiness that the unbelieving spouse possesses? And is there any difference between the sense of the two? If we draw a distinction and try to make the holiness of the children different from that of the unbelieving spouse, it clearly detracts from the logic of Paul’s argument in the verse. Paul’s argument is based upon a similarity between the two parties! He’s directing the believer to remain with the unbelieving spouse because of the POWER of the Gospel in the believer’s life! “Covenant” status of the children is no encouragement to remain with the unbelieving spouse if it does not apply to the unbelieving spouse. Paul’s argument overall is illogical if there is a distinction drawn between the possession of holiness on the part of the children over against the unbelieving spouse. It is my humble opinion that the paedos are guilty of eisegesis at this point. Let’s get back to exegesis.

Paul says: “the unbelieving [spouse] IS made holy” (emphasis mine). Recognize that within this small phrase is a paradox. “Holy” and “unbelieving” are commonly contradictory terms. So the question is what does Paul mean? Look at the verse. It appears clear from the text that Paul considers the case of the children parallel to the case of the unbelieving spouse. Here is the clear logic: IF the unbelieving spouse is holy, THEN the children are holy – NOT because one is CAUSED by the other, but because they are LIKE CASES – THEY ARE BOTH ALIKE. John L. Dagg says this in his Manual of Theology (by the way, he’s one of the best systematic Southern Baptist theologians, and he’s buried in Hayneville!):

a believer and an unbeliever may lawfully dwell together...The intercourse of a married pair with each other, and that of parents with their children, must be regulated by the same rule. An unconverted husband or wife stands on the same level with unconverted children. If intercourse with the former is unlawful, intercourse with the latter is equally unlawful. [The contrary decision] would sever the ties that bind parents to their children, and [force them to leave their children]. By showing that this monstrous consequence legitimately follows from the doctrine, he has furnished an argument against it which is perfectly conclusive.

This interpretation assigns an identical meaning to the holiness of the children and the sanctification of an unbelieving spouse. If the holiness of an unbelieving spouse falls short of qualifying him/her for baptism, then according to Paul’s reasoning, the holiness of believers’ children fall short as well. I believe this to be the true meaning of the text and commend it to you.

Mental "disorders" & Biblical counseling

Recently I was asked:

Based on your experience, in the area of Christian counseling, is it possible that some folks actually have medical conditions that lead to various mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, obssesive compulsive, etc. and it is not due to a sin problem?

My response:

There are legitimate organic causes which can and do contribute to people’s problems. For example, someone might have a real physiological problem with their pituitary gland and that might be a contributing factor in their behavior. So yes, there are organic causes which must be considered when evaluating and counseling people. The problem is that secular diagnosis will NEVER address the whole problem because it will not address the whole of man (physical as well as metaphysical (spiritual)).

With that in mind, it should be obvious that many diagnoses in “clinical psychology” today are merely attempts at classification of behaviors. If you really think about it, it is ironic that the medical community exults (and generally excels) in cold and hard physical facts and the interpretation of them (or “science”) yet they cannot avoid in diagnosis the reality of something unseen and metaphysical like emotions. Such psychiatric diagnoses as manic depression and bipolar disorder are merely observations and classifications of behavior that cannot be tested for and verified by scientific means. For example, there is not a test you can run on the blood of an anxious person in order to verify anxiety as a medical (physical) condition. You might, however, if you tested hundreds of patients experiencing anxiety, find a pattern or “chemical signature” that was common to the majority. The question then becomes: what EXACTLY is the first cause? Was there something seen or unseen that originally caused the chemical “imbalance”, resulting in the observed behavior? Or was the original cause of the observed behavior a physiological fluctuation in the chemicals within the individual?

I hope you can see that these questions are not solvable merely by science, and it is because they are founded upon fallacious presuppositions. The system that begins with only that which can be seen is doomed from the outset.

The true Christian counselor takes both the physiological and the spiritual into consideration when counseling. That is why a Christian counselor might work with a doctor in a case where an individual suffering from anxiety might use medication to assist in overcoming anxiety in the short term. The overarching principle that would apply in every case, though, is that the individual is RESPONSIBLE for their behavior – EVEN WHEN THERE IS A PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTOR. The Bible says that we are responsible for our behavior - PERIOD.

When closely examined, the labels used in diagnostic “clinical psychology” usually end up being nothing more than excuses to justify sinful behavior.

The Doctrine of Providence

Sorry so long since I've posted! School is killin' me (but I'm lovin' it!)

Article IV of the Abstract of Principles:
God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.

All things owe their original creation as well as their continued existence with all their various properties to the will of God.
- Hebrews 1:3 – He upholds all things by the word of His power
- Colossians 1:17 – He is before all things and in Him all things consist
- Nehemiah 9:6 – He alone is creator and preserver
- Acts 17:28 – In Him we live, move and are
- Ephesians 4:6 – He is over all, through all, and in all

All things, both in heaven and on earth, from the seraphim down to the tiny atom are ordered by His never-failing providence. Dr. Charles Hodge said,
To suppose that anything is too great to be comprehended in His control, or anything so minute as to escape His notice; or that the infinitude of particulars can distract His attention, is to forget that God is infinite… The sun diffuses its light through all space as easily as upon any point. God is as much present everywhere, and with everything, as though He were only in one place, and had but one object of attention… He is present in every blade of grass, yet guiding Arcturus in his course, marshalling the stars as a host, calling them by their names; present also in every human soul, giving it understanding, endowing it with gifts, working in it both to will and to do. The human heart is in His hands; and He turneth it even as the rivers of water are turned [Proverbs 21:1]. (Systematic Theology, I, p. 583)

God determines when, where, and under what circumstances every person is born, will live, and die. He does whatsoever He wills. His distribution of His favors lies solely within His own will. Some get riches, some honor, some health, some talents of this kind, some talent of another kind. Others are poor, unknown, dishonorable, victims of disease, living lives filled with all manner of wretchedness. Some are the beneficiaries of growing up in Christian homes, and others live and die in the darkness of paganism, never having heard the Gospel. To a very large degree, these things that have absolutely nothing to do with individual choice decide a person’s eternal destiny. Both Scripture and everyday experience teach us that God gives to some what He withholds from others (see Matthew 11:25-30). Only the doctrine of the Fall and Redemption can give us true understanding regarding what we see around us. God does not simply “watch over” the universe He has made, as if he had set the creation to spinning and then retreated to watch what then would come to pass. No, He is everywhere present and active, the all-sustaining ground and all-governing power of all that is.

All of history and every particular event in it is its own part of progress toward a predetermined end. Put a man in a time of real danger and most often his innate, instinctive response proves these truths. Even the reprobate is often found appealing to God in such times of danger. The fact that this is true in our experience testifies to the universal sense in man of his own moral responsibility and dependence upon God (see Romans 1:18-21).
A conundrum?
Does this doctrine do violence to the nature of man? Wicked men are called the rod, staff, axe, and saw in His hand (Isaiah 10:5-15). The Bible everywhere teaches this universal, providential control of God, and yet, at the same time the Bible everywhere teaches that man is fully responsible for all his actions. How can the responsibility of man and the doctrine of God’s providence be reconciled? I would assert that there is no contradiction here. The only violence done is done to the proud heart of a man. A man always does what he wants to do the most - always and without exception. If a man then does according to his volition, who other is to be held responsible for his own actions which proceed from his own will? Man does not like the sound of this because it places him firmly and squarely in the need of Someone outside of and above him.

Commentary - Part 2

I could proceed to speculate on what the author means by use of the term “traditional” by including here the definition that was offered in “the letter” that was mailed to the membership of Morningview back in September. There would be no shortage of errors I could point out in that definition, but rather than do that, I want to engage my readers on a much more basic level. The original letter that was mailed to Morningview members back in September and most of the rhetoric generated by that group (this latest “Advertiser letter” included) reveals what I think is a basic problem in rational thought or reasoning, and I think it has mainly to do with the presuppositions upon which the reasoning construct is built, and it is this observation which I will discuss.

If you are a Christian, it should be evident to you that the world around you does not begin with a system of reason founded upon the doctrine of God. The world does not see the Bible as the final authority on all things. Certainly there are variants and extremes in the field of philosophy, but all of philosophy can be segregated into two distinct and antagonistic schools – there are ultimately only two types of philosophy: one begins with God and the other begins with man. The Christian should see this basic antithesis clearly. Consider the fact that since the earliest days there has only been two counsels. There is the counsel of God, and the counsel of the creature. Now, to the unregenerate man, these things are foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). We should not be surprised that the unregenerate man thinks the way that he does. What is surprising, though, is when Christians integrate worldly reasoning constructs into their systems. This is tantamount to embracing that which is evil as good! This is the innate problem with so much of evangelicalism today – the supplanting of the wisdom of God with the “wisdom” of this age; hence, the relativism and subjectivity so prevalent in so-called Christianity today. It is treacherous ground that we stand upon when we do not see clearly the sharpness of the contrast in presuppositions upon which systems of thought are built. That's all I have time for now, but more to come on the implications of what I have said here...