Saturday, May 9, 2009

Porn Stars as Sisters?


1 Timothy 5:1-2 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.
Ok, I'll go ahead and admit that I'm taking this passage somewhat out of context, but not really. So bear with me.

I saw a video today that was, dare I say, revolutionary to my heart. I know this is a concept that is thrown around a lot in conservative evangelical circles, but I don't think it really sinks in. That concept is the way we are to look at and think about other members of the body of Christ. I know 1 Tim 5:1-2 is talking about rebuking/encouraging, but I think it can also apply as a general model for how we ought to relate to the body. Older men are fathers, younger men brothers, older women mothers, younger women sisters. SO, to get to the point of this post, I want to encourage all my fathers and brothers out there, perhaps even all my mothers and sisters, to think about this video next time you're tempted to lust after another person, and especially if you're tempted to view pornography:



All nit-picking aside, that video blew me away.

NOTHING
will help you in your fight against lust and pornography like realizing that the women (and men) involved in that industry are people who desperately need the gospel of Jesus Christ. That video drove that truth home to me. That video burned in my mind the reality that that particular girl, Patrice, formerly Nadia Styles, is now my sister in Christ! Now, more than ever, she is to be viewed as a sister, "in all purity." And she's not alone. Other girls are leaving the sex industry thanks to the mercy of God and the ministry of folks like Shelley Lubben.

In closing, I just want to encourage, exhort, admonish, SCREAM at my brothers in Christ (and perhaps my sisters as well) that people in the sex industry need Jesus Christ, NOT you ogling at them and fulfilling your sinful desires as you watch their lives be destroyed before your very eyes.

So brothers, I say with Paul, "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:13

Thursday, May 7, 2009

The Deification of Man

"We readily acknowledge that it is very humbling to the proud heart of the creature to behold all mankind in the hand of God as the clay is in the potter's hand, yet this is precisely how the Scriptures of Truth represent the case. In this day of human boasting, intellectual pride, and deification of man, it needs to be insisted upon that the potter forms his vessels for himself. Let man strive with his Maker as he will, the fact remains that he is nothing more than clay in the Heavenly Potter's hands, and while we know that God will deal justly with His creatures, that the Judge of all the earth will do right, nevertheless, He shapes His vessels for His own purpose and according to His own pleasure. God claims the indisputable right to do as He wills with His own."
-- Pink, A. W. The Sovereignty of God (Carlisle, PA; The Banner of Truth Trust, 1998), p. 48.

I have been tremendously blessed by A. W. Pink's writings both in the past and present. He has an unwavering commitment to the priority of the Scriptures and it really shows when you read him. After reading The Sovereignty of God, or any book of his for that matter, you will really wonder why there is even a debate between Calvinists and Arminians.

The reality that God is the sovereign Potter cannot be denied from Scripture. All those "theologians" who do so many hermeneutical gymnastics in order to preserve "libertarian free will" are simply making themselves God (as Pink describes, "the deification of man"). This is why I despise Arminian, Molinist, and Open Theist "theology." They are simply man's last ditch effort to dethrone God and take His place as the only potentate.

Why not simply let God be God? Why not accept the plain testimony of Scripture? Why not do away with all the philosophizing? Why not humble yourself before your Maker?!?!

Perhaps because "a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. "1 Corinthians 2:14

Or perhaps they just don't want to see...

Just some thoughts.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Be Thankful for Truth!

Yesterday I was working on a study on "Answered Prayer" I will be delivering in a few weeks. After consulting several commentaries, I was reading Johannes G. Vos' commentary on the Westminster Larger Catechism. As I read the catechism, I began to envy the Presbyterians for their rich history, their strong theological tradition, and their churches. At that moment I wished I could be a Presbyterian and enjoy the benefits of being in a large, well ordered, theologically sound organization. But, I was quickly convicted of the foolishness of that kind of thinking. It wasn't long before I realized that I should be thankful that I have the truth, even if I don't have some temporal comforts. I should be more thankful that I am firmly convinced that I am in a better theological strand than they are. I should be thankful that the Lord has been pleased to open my eyes to things in Scripture like believer's baptism and New Covenant Theology. It is not a small thing to be convinced of the truth. Therefore, I should not envy those whom I believe are in error on certain points.

I am in no way inteding to bash the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Westminster Confession of Faith, or the Westminster Shorter Catechism. They are all three great documents and I have benefited greatly from them. After all, even the 1689 London Baptist Confession is just a baptized version of the WCF (which is why I prefer the 1646 London Baptist Confession, but that's another issue all together).

I guess the reason I'm posting this isn't so much for those of you who may be struggling between different denominational positions. Rather, I am posting this in hope that you will be thankful to God for the fact that there is objective truth, that we have His Word, and that we can know Him! I believe that New Covenant Theology is a more accurate system than Covenant Theology. I believe that believer's baptism is the only scriptural form of baptism. But, that doesn't mean I think everyone who doesn't agree with me is lost. If anything, the differing positions encourage me to search the Scriptures further and seek out which position is accurate.

I hope that you will love the Truth, be thankful to God that He has revealed His Truth, that you will search the Scriptures that you may discover what is True and what is not, and that you will be thankful that you have Truth, even if you don't have some of the temporal comforts you may desire.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Middle Knowledge

R. Scott Clark has posted a good article on Middle Knowledge at his blog. It is worth your time to read it, especially if you're a Southern Baptist. Middle Knowledge seems to be in vogue among certain SBC big-wigs. I loathe this aberration of the truth and pray you won't get duped by the false teachers propounding it!