Jeffrey Burns

The Jesus Paradigm

2010-08-24T21:34:00.000-04:00

Book Review- The Jesus Paradigm, David Alan Black, Energion Publishers, 2009.

First off, I must apologize for taking such an incredibly long time to read and review this book. In order to get an advance copy, I told the publisher I would read it, write a review, and publish it on my blog. Well that was over a year ago, I think, and here I am, finally getting around to it. Before I get to the review proper, I want to say a little bit about why now, after so many months, did I finally read this relatively short book. In a nutshell, the Lord has been teaching me a great deal lately about the need to be a radical follower of Jesus. I listened to some very influential sermons by folks like Paul Washer, Bob Jennings, and others, on the need to be totally devoted to Christ. Also, I have been convicted of the need to live out the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. We as Evangelicals like to say a lot about the innerancy of Scripture, but not much is ever mentioned about the sufficiency of Scripture. I have come to believe more and more that the Bible speaks just as clearly to how we are to live and order our lives as it does to what we are to believe. So, as I was thinking of these things, mainly the question, “How do we work out the sufficiency of Scripture as radical followers of Jesus in 21st century America?” I remembered The Jesus Paradigm, sitting in my office gathering dust, addressed many of these issues. I picked it up last Wednesday evening and decided to read it during my day off. Now I know the reason I never got around to reading it last year was due to the simple fact that I was not ready for the contents on these pages. God had not yet brought me to the place where I saw my great need to be totally and completely different than the world around me. I had yet to embrace the need to be radically different than even most “Christians.” Enter The Jesus Paradigm.
The main theme of the book is the sufficiency of Scripture to order every aspect of our lives. Every chapter seeks to bring to bear the sufficiency of Scripture on a particular topic. I genuinely appreciate the way in which brother Dave continually seeks to call his reader back to his need to decide whether or not the Bible will be his ultimate authority. Several times in the course of the book, Dave points out that the church is at a cross roads: business as usual or radical adherence to the New Testament. If the main theme of the book is the sufficiency of Scripture, the main question is, “How does one follow Jesus unreservedly in the twenty-first century?” (p.15) The solution one finds fleshed out in the various topics addressed through the course of the book is rather simple; in short, by restoring the Scriptures to their proper place in our lives and by following the example of Jesus, the humble, suffering Christ.
Subsequently, in each chapter Dave seeks to address some key areas in which this answer must be implemented in order to see true change in our churches and culture. First, we must return to the eminency of the local church. We can no longer play at church. We must really be the church like the writers of the New Testament and our Savior command us to be. “The church is simply a group of radical Jesus-followers ministering to each other sacrificially and reaching the community about them with the Gospel in word and deed.” (18)
Second, we must make a clean break with Christendom and churchianity in order to follow Christ. Believers today must decide if they are going to follow the Word wherever it leads them or only some places. The church needs to be restored to the New Testament. Will we do what it takes? Or will we be shackled to denominational tradition? On this point Dave utilizes the help of the Anabaptists to show us how this can practically be done. “The Anabaptists greatest gift to the church…was their ability to cut to the core of our problem as Christians: our refusal to repudiate churchianity and to be radically committed to Jesus as Lord.” (21)
Third, we must implement New Testament patterns of body life into our local assemblies. Dave points out the correlation between the majority of American’s abdication of responsibility and husbands’ abdication of their roles as leaders and fathers. Simply put, every member is a minister, but men have systematically abandoned their responsibilities to the pastors, and so we’re left with top heavy, entertainment driven organizations where people come to get felt needs met rather than to function as the body of Christ. What the church needs is a fresh realization that “God’s call to salvation and his call to mission are one and the same.” (75)
Fourth, Dave explains how the church must begin taking leadership cues from Christ and the Bible rather than from denominational tradition and the world. One-anothering and plural, equal eldership are necessities. Because Jesus is the only senior pastor, all church leadership must be non-hierarchical. We are all brothers in Christ and there are no second rate brothers.
Fifth, Christians need to return to the politics of Jesus. Jesus wasn’t anti-political, He was apolitical. He never took sides with any of the ruling parties of his day, never tried to bring about His kingdom on earth, never gave undue priority to kings or magistrates. Instead, He placed all priority on the Kingdom of Heaven, which is not of this world. We too ought to do likewise, “Christians today must maintain an ultimate commitment to Christ and eschew loyalty to a political party—any political party.” (106)
Sixth, by focusing on missions, giving our all to God, and loving our neighbors, we will take the Jesus paradigm to the ends of the earth. In his final chapter, brother Dave makes a heart-felt appeal to believers to be about missions, taking the gospel to those who need it most. Are we going to be Great Commission churches? families? individuals? What will we be known as? Dave’s words are convicting, “Fundamentally, my wife and I want to be known as ‘Great Commission Christians,’ people burdened by the needs all around us, including the ‘ends of the earth.’” (133)
Finally, the book concludes with an afterwards on the future of theological education. In this section Dave briefly states the need for biblical education to be returned to the local church and for local congregations to become the primary training center for pastor-teachers, and the primary sending agency of missionaries. He ends with a challenging word, “Let us confess and cooperate with God by throwing out the stuff that is displeasing to him and recommitting ourselves to a Gospel- and kingdom-driven lifestyle.” (143) I pray the Lord will give me the strength to do this!
On the whole, this is a tremendous book, and I’ve already recommended it to several folks since reading it. I am so thankful for Dave’s emphasis on the sufficiency of Scripture and the priority of the local church. These are two things that have been on my heart lately, and it leapt within me in agreement many times while I read. I also appreciated the candid nature and down to earth writing style Dave employs (there are so many quotable one liners!!)
But, the book is not without its faults. Unfortunately, the entire book has an undercurrent of criticism of the Bush administration and Iraq war that pop up in the most unexpected places and seem to color a fair portion of the discussion. Because of this, the section on the Politics of Jesus is very muddled and difficult to read without getting a bit annoyed. Not that I even necessarily disagree with Dave, but his biases shine through so clearly that you have a hard time believing he’s adopted the apolitical mindset he seems to be advocating. Aside from this, I have no other criticisms.
In sum, The Jesus Paradigm is a timely book that will really challenge you in all the right ways. Are we going to continue to seek success in manner in which the world suggests? Or, will we travel the downward path to Jesus and embrace the better way of Scripture and suffering. The choice is left up to the reader, but one thing is clear: upon reading The Jesus Paradigm, a choice must be made.

Jack Everett Burns

2010-06-26T10:04:00.002-04:00

From Jack!

First off, Lisa and I want to say thank you everyone for all of your prayers!!! As I told Lisa and the rest of the family, it’s no coincidence that we have been reading a book for the past several months about missionary endeavors in China funded and sustained solely by prayer! One thing we have been reminded of throughout the past couple of days is that the Lord answers the prayers of His people. There is simply no other explanation for Jack’s amazing turn around.
Now, for the details. Lisa began early labor around 2:30pm on Saturday the 19th. The contractions continued to increase in frequency and severity for the next few hours until finally at 8:00 we decided this was it and headed for the hospital. When we arrived Lisa was examined and the nurse confirmed she was definitely in labor. Lisa was admitted and the doctor was notified. We moved to our own room around 10:30pm and began the long process that would eventually lead to Jack’s birth a few hours later. Around 4:00am Lisa the effects of Lisa’s epidural began to wear off and the nurse was considering calling the anithesiologist about repositioning the tube. But, just to be on the safe side, she checked Lisa one last time. Good news! Lisa was fully ready to begin pushing, and so, we did. At 4:16 and with the first set of pushes, we saw a little bit of Jack’s head emerge. Cindy, our nurse, was absolutely amazed, stating that most women push for an hour or so before seeing such progress. After about 4 or 5 good contractions, Cindy decided we’d better take a break until Dr. Gray could get up there or she’d be catching the baby herself! So, we waited until Dr. Gray arrived and got prepped, and she helped Lisa deliver Jack, a wonderful experience that was completed only a few minutes later. Jack was born at 4:43am and placed on his mommy’s chest. Praise the Lord!
I was able to cut the cord and end the 9 month long dependency for a new type of relying on mommy. It was truly a joy to watch him experience life outside the womb for the first time. He was cleaned up and weighed as we all watched and Dr. Gray began attending to Lisa. Jack tipped the scales at 10lbs 2oz. and stretched the tape to 22 ½ inches!!! Who knew such a big boy could be hanging out inside Lisa?!
Pretty soon the doctors and nurses noticed that Jack’s crying didn’t sound right. He was struggling much too hard to breath and the mucus coming up out of his lungs did not look very good. They took him up to the nursery to see about getting his lungs cleared out and observing his breathing. Lisa was taken to another room where we dealt with complications of her own. After about 4 hours or so a nurse practitioner came down to our room and informed us that Jack was not doing well at all. At this point they did not know what was wrong with him, but had three possibilities in mind 1) pneumonia, 2) something with a long name I can’t remember, or 3) a problem with the plumbing of his heart. An x-ray was performed in order to check for the first two, and a pediatric cardiologist from UNC-Chapel Hill came over to read a EKG on his heart. The rest of the day was spent in prayer and anxiety as we waited to hear the news. Around 9pm that night we learned his heart was ok and the hugest weight was lifted from our shoulders, it seemed. As you’ve seen in the pictures, at this time Jack spent all day on an open bed, head under an oxygen hood, as doctors and nurses tried to saturate the air with as much pure oxygen as possible. Attempting to keep the atmosphere around his head as close to 100% pure oxygen as possible, Jack still struggled to get his blood oxygen saturation to 75%. The doctors officially decided it was pneumonia that was causing Jack’s breathing problems and they began administering a 10 day course of antibiotics. And so, Father’s Day ended with the greatest present a father could ever ask for, and at the same time barely a day into the greatest challenge we’ve ever faced.
Monday was spent trying to catch up on some much needed rest, with frequent trips up to Jack’s new home, the Special Care Nursery. Monday was a much better day for our son, as he continued to improve, he gradually got his blood oxygen saturation up while nurses steadily decreased the amount of pure oxygen being pumped into the hood. A feeding tube was put down into his stomach and Jack received milk instead of intravenous nourishment for the first time since being born.
Tuesday morning I couldn’t sleep and so I rode the slowest elevator in the world back up to the SCN at about 6:25am. I was allowed in for a few minutes before the nurse’s shift change at 6:30am required all visitors to leave. As I entered the Pod, I noticed a dramatic difference in Jack’s appearance: no oxygen hood! I spoke with the nurse on duty and was informed that they had gradually weaned him off of pure oxygen until at last he was able to breath room air and maintain 90-100% blood oxygen saturation. Also, late Monday night he removed the feeding tube on his own, and a nurse decided to try a bottle rather than replacing it, as his breathing had slowed to a safe rate. He ate like a champ and hasn’t looked back!! Tuesday was spent with more trips up and down the elevator, going back and forth between the SCN and Lisa’s room. Two wonderful developments took place: I was able to hold Jack for the first time and Lisa was able to begin nursing him. Late Tuesday night, Lisa was discharged and we made the (seemingly) long trip home to Wake Forest. Being home was great and difficult at the same time. We were overjoyed to be in our own bed again, but it was no fun leaving Jack at the hospital.
The rest of our time here has been thankfully uneventful. Aside from the IV lines and monitor leads, Jack is much like any other baby. We’ve been able to hold him, change his diaper, try to figure out why he’s crying, and rock him to sleep. We’ve brought him some of his own clothes and blankets, in an effort to make the SCN feel a little more like home. Tomorrow, I go back to work... But we’ll be over here every day until he gets out.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We’ll keep you updated of anything else that happens.

Matt Chandler Chapel Message at Southern

2009-11-15T10:56:00.004-05:00

So I'm at home sick with H1N1 and wanted to finally watch this video that I've seen posted over at The Gospel Coalition's website. Chandler is a great guy. His preaching is always encouraging to me and this message is no exception. I hope you will find the time to watch this, or just listen to it. If you're pressed for time, skip to about the last 15 minutes.

Paul Washer Video

2009-11-06T17:56:00.003-05:00

As many people who know of Paul Washer, I'd say 80% of them know about him as a result of his message at a 2002 youth conference, largely referred to as the "Shocking Youth Message." The good folks over at I'll Be Honest have interviewed Washer about that message and his very thoughtful insight can be found here.

The video of the original message is here.

And the audio is here.

Enjoy.

Time Management

2009-10-22T11:25:00.001-04:00

I’ve been convicted lately of my poor habits in the realm of time management. I find it incredibly easy to waste many hours reading blogs, watching television, movies, etc. and so very hard to discipline myself to spend considerable time in study, prayer, and meditation. I think the value of time is paradoxical in this microwave generation. We are too impatient to wait a few minutes for our food at a restaurant, we get bent out of shape if we’re stuck behind a slow driver, we expect web pages to load in nano-seconds, and the list could go on and on. And yet, in spite of this apparent understanding of the preciousness of time, we are content to waste hours upon hours “surfing” the web or sitting in front of the television. What if we got a proper understanding of the preciousness of time and actually began “redeeming” it? Listen to these words from Charles Bridges’ Christian Ministry:

“The secret of this efficiency seems to have much consisted in a deep sense of the value of that most precious of all talents—time; and of an economical distribution of the minutest particles for specific purposes. Mr. Alleine would often say, ‘Give me a Christian, that counts his time more precious than gold.’ Mr. Cotton would express his regret after the departure of a visitor—‘I had rather have given this man a handful of money, than have been kept thus long out of my study.’ … But here we should be, like the miser with his money—saving it with care, and spending it with caution. It is well to have a book for every spare hour, to improve what Boyle calls the ‘parenthesis or interludes of time: which, coming between more important engagements, are wont to be lost by most men for want of a value for them: and even by good men, for want of skill to preserve them. And since goldsmiths and refiners are wont all year long to save the very sweepings of their shops, because they may contain in them some filings or dust of those richer metals, gold and silver; I see not, why a Christian may not be as careful, not to lose the fragments and lesser intervals of a thing incomparably more precious than any metal—time…’”
This section really made me ask, “Am I treasuring my time? Am I using it wisely? Am I focusing on things that have eternal value?”

How does one focus on things that have eternal value? Well, it means that you spend more time reading Scripture than you do watching television! It means you spend more time reading books on Theology or Apologetics, or at least Pastoral Ministry than you do watching movies! I’m not saying that we can’t spend any time being entertained or relaxing with our families and friends. But, I don’t think many Americans have any trouble budgeting in time for entertainment. So what will you sacrifice? Well, you probably won’t be up to speed on the latest news. You probably won’t be as knowledgeable about your favorite sport team as you could be. You won’t be able to follow the storyline of the latest season of your favorite television program. But, you will gain eternal rewards in heaven! You will have a deeper understanding of Scripture and God. You will be better able to give an account when someone asks of you. You will be better able to shepherd the flock of your family. You will be better equipped to minister to the saints in your local church. Sure you may give up some “Social Currency,” but I submit that it is worth it, and you won’t regret it.

"Mean" Thoughts of God

2009-10-20T09:09:00.003-04:00

I read a sermon by Jonathan Edwards last night entitled, "The Sole Consideration, That God is God, Sufficient to Still All Objections to His Sovereignty." In it Edwards critiques many of the misunderstandings and sinful attitudes that cause men to doubt the sovereignty of God. Of the many great portions of this sermon, I found one quote to be particularly noteworthy:

"If you had not mean thoughts of God, you would not find fault with him for not setting his love on you who never exercised any love to him. You would not think it unjust in God not to seek your interest and eternal welfare, who never would be persuaded at all to seek his glory; you would not think it unjust in him to slight and disregard you, who have so often and so long made light of God. If you had not mean thoughts of God, you never would think him obliged to bestow eternal salvation upon you, who have never been truly thankful for one mercy which you have already received of him.--What do you think of yourselves? what great ideas have you of yourselves? and what thoughts have you of God, that you think he is obliged to do so much for you though you treat him ever so ungratefully for the kindness which he hath already bestowed upon you all the days of your lives? It must be from little thoughts of God, that you think it unjust in him not to regard you when you call upon him; when he hath earnestly called to you, so long and so often, and you would not be persuaded to hearken to him. What thoughts have you of God, that you think he is more obliged to hear what you say to him, than you are to regard what he says to you?
It is from diminutive thoughts of God, that you think he is obliged to show mercy to you when you seek it, though you have been for a long time willfully sinning against him, provoking him to anger, and presuming that he would show you mercy when you should seek it. What kind of thoughts have you of God, that you think he is obliged, as it were, to yield himself up to be abused by men, so that when they have done, his mercy and pardoning grace shall not be in his power, but he must be obliged to dispense them at their call?"

Calling?

2009-10-12T13:32:00.005-04:00

The following is a short position paper I had to write for an elder training program I am a part of at my church. The question being addressed is, "What is your role and the church's role in calling/sending?" I think that the issue of "discerning one's call to ministry" is fairly common, especially in the seminary environment, and therefore I believe this short article might get some people thinking, or perhaps get further discussions started.
______________________________________________

The question, “What is the individual’s role and the church’s role in calling and sending?” is difficult to answer due to the sheer multifaceted nature of the topic. When one begins asking such questions, more immediately arise, such as the legitimacy of various models of church polity, the role of the Spirit in subjective experience vs. the role of Scripture in objective instruction, the very hermeneutical quandary of “descriptive” versus “prescriptive,” and scores more. Therefore, I will only endeavor to present my convictions on the subject while openly admitting that they will be narrowly presented, largely out of context, and grossly underdeveloped. Throughout this paper, I will be assuming my roles in calling/sending in the description of the responsibilities of both a man desirous of ministry and of a member of a congregation.

The most important question to answer before any others can begin to be addressed is, “What is meant by the term ‘calling?’” I submit that this term is largely used in an unbiblical manner. The idea of “calling” to a vocational ministry smacks of Old Testament patterns and practices, in which the Levitical Priesthood, Davidic Monarchy, and the Prophets were Divinely called out from among their brethren to mediate, rule, and speak God’s Words to the people.

In the New Testament, the word “call,” from the Greek kaleo rarely refers to God “calling” a man to do ministry on His behalf. The word, when used of God calling men, almost always refers to the call to salvation (Rom. 8.30ff). Paul speaks of himself as being “called to be an apostle” (note that Paul’s call to apostleship was simultaneous with his call to salvation) (Rom 1.1; 1 Cor. 1.1; Acts 9.3ff; 1 Cor 15.8) and of his readers as “called to belong to Jesus Christ,” and “called as Saints,” or more simply just as the “called.” (Rom 1.6, 7; et. al.) Thus, it is my conviction that the term “call” ought to be only used to refer to the call to salvation and that we ought to dismiss with the terminology “call to ministry.”

The closest thing we see in the New Testament to the idea of an inward, subjective “call to ministry” is seen in 1 Tim 3.1, “The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” I feel that much of what young men talk about today as “God’s call on my life” would be better described as “what I want to do.” I am in no way seeking to undercut the role of God’s sovereignty in influencing circumstances and situations in order to produce such desires. I am simply saying that there is a great deal of mysticism and not a great deal of biblical wisdom present today. What is Paul’s assessment of a man’s desire of the office of overseer? He states plainly, “He desires a noble task.” How then does Paul instruct those who feel such desires? He immediately lists certain character qualifications they must possess if they are to make their desire a reality. Therefore, the best course of action would be to begin cultivating the character traits listed in 1 Tim 3.2ff.

As an aspiring man begins to develop the necessary character traits, those in the local church to which he has joined himself will begin to take notice. As he matures in Christ, he will naturally begin to exercise his gifting for the edification of the body, which will also be noticed. It then becomes the local church’s responsibility to recognize him as one who may possess the character traits and the gifting required of an overseer or deacon. If the church congregation is so large that they cannot get to know him in the course of regular body life and pastors must step in to make the identification, so be it. However, I believe this necessity speaks more to the need for smaller congregations than it does for elder oversight during the identification process. In the selection of the proto-deacons in Acts 6, the congregation was exhorted to pick men “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” These men must have been well known to the congregation in Jerusalem, else they would have been breaking the Apostle’s instructions by appointing men of questionable (that is, unknown) character.

Once the man has been recognized as a potential leader, a time of testing must then ensue. The length ought not be set in stone, as no passage of Scripture mentions this time, though practicality demands it. During this time of testing, the congregation ought to examine the man’s life more carefully than they did before. Simultaneous to the time of testing, the potential elder should begin (or hopefully continue) his theological training. It is the church’s responsibility to train its upcoming elders well (Acts 18.26; 2 Ti 2.2). It is unfortunate that this responsibility has been passed on to para-church organizations such as seminaries and Bible colleges. After the time of testing is completed, if he is found to be without any disqualifying character defects and if he is still desirous of the task, he ought to be appointed officially by the leaders of his local church. Robert Reymond notes an interesting nuance in the Greek of Acts 14:23, “they had appointed cheirotoneo) elders for them in every church…” cheirotoneo literally means “choose, elect by raising hands,” thus implying that though Paul and Barnabas appointed the elders, they did not do so without the input (show of hands) of the congregation. Thus, it is up to the man to seek to qualify himself through character development, and it is the responsibility of the church to recognize him as a potential elder.

Once the man is appointed as an elder, he and his fellow elders must determine whether he will stay at the local church or whether he will be sent out to do national or international church planting. The congregation ought to be involved in this process as well, still identifying gifting and making recommendations, though this is not as essential as before. If it is determined that the brother should be sent out, the main role of the congregation during this time is “fasting and praying” for the work, and then sending him off (Acts 13.3).

If the elder does go, the local church should partner with him by committing to pray for him and his family, the new church plant, and to support him financially and administratively (Phil 4.16; Acts 8.14ff, 11.22ff, 15.1-35). This partnering may continue indefinitely, and should not be shunned as infringing upon the autonomy of the local church.

I have not dealt with the issue of “calling” and “sending” of missionaries specifically because I believe that missionaries, unless they are joining a church that has already been established, will in effect be church planters, and thus ought to be sent out as elders; in which case, the above process applies to them as well.

2009-07-22T09:43:00.002-04:00

I've been reading C. H. Spurgeon's autobiography for a while now, and I just came across this great paragraph.

The setting is shortly after Spurgeon relates the first sermon he ever preached. He delivered an address of unknown length to a group of poor farmers and tradesman in a thatch-roofed cottage, in Teversham, a village about 6 miles from his home in Cambridge. A lowly beginning indeed!

"Are there not other young men who might begin to speak for Jesus in some such lowly fashion--young men who hitherto have been mute as fishes? Our villages and hamlets offer fine opportunities for youthful speakers. Let them not wait till they are invited to a chapel, or have prepared a fine essay, or have secured an intelligent audience. If they will go and tell out from their hearts what the Lord Jesus has done for them, they will find ready listeners. Many of our young folks want to commence their service for Christ by doing great things, and therefore do nothing at all; let none of my readers become the victims of such an unreasonable ambition. He who is willing to teach infants, or to give away tracts, and so to begin at the beginning, is far more likely to be useful than the youth who is full of affectations, and sleeps in a white necktie, who is aspiring to the ministry, and is touching up certain superior manuscripts which he hopes ere long to read from the pastor's pulpit. He who talks upon plain gospel themes in a farmer's kitchen, and is able to interest the carter's boy and the dairy-maid, has more of the minister in him than the prim little man who keeps prating about being cultured, and means by that--being taught to use words which nobody can understand. To make the very poorest listen with pleasure and profit, is in itself an achievement; and beyond this, it is the best possible promise and preparation for an influential ministry. Let our younger brethren go in for cottage preaching, and plenty of it." C. H. Spurgeon, Autobiography, 184.

Quote de Jour

2009-07-20T16:46:00.001-04:00

"Let us not aim at being original thinkers, but at being witnesses and heralds of what God says to men." C. H. Spurgeon

Hebrews 3:12-15

2009-06-23T10:40:00.002-04:00

12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when the provoked Me."

These are some sobering/encouraging words. I pray that today you would continue to hold fast to the assurance of your salvation, Jesus the Christ, and that you would encourage your brothers and sisters to do the same. He is WORTHY, live like it!

Upcoming...

2009-06-10T14:08:00.003-04:00

I received my advance copy of Dr. David Alan Black's newest book The Jesus Paradigm, due to be released sometime in mid July. I will be reviewing the book here as soon as a finish it. So far it has been a great read and I look forward to putting down some thoughts to share with you all!

Idolatry and Preacher Worship

2009-06-10T09:24:00.003-04:00

I attended the Advance '09 conference last weekend in Durham, NC thanks to the good folks over at Journey Church in Raleigh who provided me with a free ticket 2 days before the conference started! At that conference Mark Driscoll spoke a scathing message against idolatry in every corner of the human heart. I can honestly say that I agreed with just about everything he said in that message. It was so cutting that John Piper declared himself to be "wobbly" when he took the pulpit just minutes later, "wobbly" to the point that he felt he could be "attacked from almost any direction right now." So, Mr. Driscoll had a lot of good things to say about idolatry in the heart and in the church.

So I'm here to add one to the list of his 11 or 23 points: PREACHER WORSHIP.

It seems to me like a no-brainer that you probably shouldn't set yourself or your ministry up as an idol for your people, no matter the size of your church. So, why are so many men ignoring Mark Driscoll's call to cast down the idols in their ministry? Why all the polity and ecclesiology that makes men say, "I am the only qualified elder/pastor/brother,etc. to preach on Sunday mornings"? Why not allow the body of Christ to be edified by many different men who are able to teach or who may be seeking to discover IF they are, in fact, able to teach? It seems to me that the only explination for such pulpit hoarding is preacher worship, whether it be in the heart of the preacher or the people.

I believe the worst manifestation of this sin of preacher worship-idolatry is multi-site video casting.

So I turn to a blog post I read recently, entitled "How to Be in More Than One Place at a Time." The post begins by saying, "This Sunday, June 14th, by God’s grace and enabled by technology, I will be simultaneously preaching four sermons in eight locations scattered across two states. As I prepared these various sermons it dawned on me what a truly amazing day we live in for the proclamation of the gospel."

In order to accomplish said feat of being in more than one place at one time, this pastor isn't even going to be using technology to fly or drive him to multiple locations on the same day. Rather he will be video broadcasting his sermon to several different sites. Did I say sermon? I meant sermons. That's right, 4 different sermons to 8 different locations at the same time. So, scratch broadcasting. Two of these sermons will be pre-recorded. One a week old. The other two will be live.

My question to this pastor is, aren't there any gifted teachers at these 8 other locations (it's actually more like 11 locations)? Couldn't a real live, flesh and blood man get up and preach a sermon to the people at 10 of those locations you're not physically able to be at? Guess not. Besides, once the buidling gets so big, most folks just look at the jumbo-tron screen anyways, right? So what's the difference?

The gross sin of idolatry in the form of preacher worship is running rampant around America.

I believe the only way to curb this form of preacher idolatry is to get invested in small to small-ish churches that are commited to letting all the gifts be exercised (that means you can still participate on Sunday mornings if you can't play the guitar). It just seems ridiculous to me that a man, any man, would come to believe that only he is qualified to preach the gospel to several locations, even in his absence! At least let some eager young teacher give it a shot when you're out of town.

Sorry this post has been more of a rant than anything else, but sometimes you just need to rant.

Oh, and if you're interested in reading that blog post, you can find it here.

Porn Stars as Sisters?

2009-05-09T00:51:00.003-04:00

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

The Deification of Man

2009-05-07T10:00:00.006-04:00

"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.

Be Thankful for Truth!

2009-05-05T11:10:00.005-04:00

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.

Middle Knowledge

2009-05-03T23:37:00.003-04:00

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!

The Deceitfulness of Sin

2009-04-23T14:05:00.006-04:00

Sin is a liar.

This is a lesson I have been trying to learn for many years. I have known the truth of this statement since I first became a believer, but yet, I find that I must struggle daily to remember that it is true. It is not a difficult concept to grasp. It is not some "secret knowledge" that one must possess. Rather, the fact that sin is a liar is revealed on almost every page of scripture. And yet, I am too often led away by its deceitfulness.

The writer of Hebrews understood this truth. In 3:12-13 he says, "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." The writer understood that the deceitfulness of sin was a real and present danger for his hearers. If we, as the body of Christ, do not exhort one another daily, we will become gullible, believe the lies of sin, and harden our hearts to the truths of the gospel.

I believe that the number one reason I sin, the number one reason you sin, is because I am so incredibly gullible! I do not preach the truth of the gospel to my own heart. Instead, I allow sin to whisper lies into my minds all day long. Sin promises pleasure, fulfillment, comfort, security, ease, joy, renown, recognition, friendship, LIFE. Sin promises your best life now! Why wait? Why put of "pleasures" in the here and now in the hope that you will receive them in the next life? Sin can deliver them right this moment!

But this is sin's biggest lie of all. Sin promises life, fulfilled life, your best life now! But what does Scripture say? "For the wages of sin is death..." (Rom 6.23), "If you live according to the flesh you will die..." (Rom 8.13). The truth of Scripture blasts darkness dispelling light into the deceitful promises of sin. Sin tells us, "Indulge in me and you will know what it's like to live!" Scripture tells us, "If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

Remember our first parents next time sin tries to deceive you. The serpent promised life and knowledge. But what did they get? Death. Oh sure, they got knowledge, but not the kind they were hoping for. They wanted the knowledge of good and evil in a hypothetical sense. What they got instead was the knowledge of good and evil in an experiential sense! Remember the lie of the serpent. Remember he told Eve, "you will not surely die," even though he knew full well that sin would ultimately result in death. Remember that next time sin comes to call at your door. Remember that it cannot fulfill its promises. Remember that sin is a liar.

The Wretchedness of Sin

2009-04-23T01:04:00.000-04:00

“Suppose a man should come to his dinner table, and there should be a knife laid down, and it should be told him, ‘This is the very knife that cut the throat of your child!’ If the man would use this knife as a common knife, would not everyone say, ‘Surely this man had but very little love to his child, who can use this bloody knife as a common knife!’

Look upon the cross on which Christ was crucified, and the pains He suffered thereon—and the seeming sweetness which is in sin, will quickly vanish. When you are solicited to sin, cast your eye upon Christ’s cross; remember His astonishing sufferings for your sin, and sin will soon grow distasteful to your soul. How can sin not be hateful to us—if we seriously consider how hurtful it was to Jesus Christ?”

—Thomas Brooks, “The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures”

John Piper is NOT your Pastor!

2009-04-21T12:44:00.005-04:00

This post from the guys over at Pyromaniacs really hit the spot for me today. We need to remember that we have been given real, flesh-and-blood shepherds over us to whom we are to look for pastoral leadership. We shouldn't seek to fill that spot with dead men, or pastors from around the country who don't know us from Adam.

I only wish I'd learned this lesson sooner! How different things might be...

Quote de Jour

2009-04-20T19:50:00.003-04:00

"By itself the privilege of close contact with God's word is no guarantee of blessing; what is needed is a continuous exposure of the heart to it and a continuous response of faith." -Andrew T. Lincoln

Lincoln's words concerning the Word of God could not be truer.

The Word is a sword (Heb 4:12) that will judge men, either by cutting them asunder in condemnation of sin (John 12:47-8), or by cutting out, as a surgeon's scalpel, the heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh (Ezk 36:25-7).

Where do you stand under the sharp blade of the Word?

MacArthur Speaks Out

2009-04-20T07:30:00.003-04:00

My pastor from home alerted me to the following articles by John MacArthur concerning Mark Driscoll's sermon series on the Song of Solomon. I recommend them to you as a sober analysis of the plague that is sweeping through the evangelical world.

Spurgeon Gems

2009-01-12T11:00:00.004-05:00

I've been reading C. H. Spurgeon's autobiography recently and I must say, it is by far the best reading I've ever done in the biographical genre. As you probably already know, Spurgeon was an amazing communicator. His ability to communicate clearly and powerfully was not limited to his sermons, but spilled over into his publishing as well. Here are a couple of gems that I have enjoyed up to this point.

An account from his school days at Stockwell School:
"After I had once succeeded in gaining my position at the top of the class, I was careful to retain it, except at one particular period, when I made up my mind to get right down to the bottom. My teacher could not understand my unusual stupidity, until it suddenly occurred to him that I had purposely worked my way from the head of the class, which was opposite a draughty door, down to the foot, which was next to the stove. He therefore reversed the position of the scholars, and it was not long before I had again climbed to the place of honour, where I had also the enjoyment of the heat of the fire."

An account of a conversation with his mother:
"My mother said to me, one day, 'Ah Charles! I often prayed the Lord to make you a Christian, but I never asked that you might become a Baptist!' I could not resist the temptation to reply, 'Ah, mother! the Lord has answered your prayer with His usual bounty, and given you exceeding abundantly above what you asked or thought.'"

Returning education to local churches

2009-01-12T10:57:00.004-05:00

This essay from Dr. David Alan Black is very helpful. In it he explains why he believes theological education needs to be restored to the local church. I could not agree more fully! Enjoy.

George Muller on the Scriptures

2009-01-07T12:28:00.004-05:00

I just finished reading George Muller's diary today, having only picked it up yesterday. Needless to say it is an amazing read that will greatly encourage your heart to trust in the Lord. I may post more quotes from the diary, but for today I will relay this account of Muller's belief in the sufficiency of the Scriptures as an example to us to be of a like-mind in this matter.

"As to the other means of grace I would say: I fell into the snare, into which so many young believers fall, the reading of religious books in preference to the Scriptures. I could no longer read French and German novels, as I had formerly done, to feed my carnal mind; but still I did not put into the room of those books the best of all books. I read tracts, missionary papers, sermons, and biographies of godly persons. The last kind of books I found more profitable than others, and had they been well selected, or had I not read too much of such writings, or had any of them tended particularly to endear the Scriptures to me, they might have done me much good. I never had been at any time in my life in the habit of reading the Holy Scriptures. When under fifteen years of age I occasionally read a little of them at school; afterwards God's precious book was entirely laid aside, so that I never read one single chapter of it, as far as I remember, till it pleased God to begin a work of grace in my heart. Now the scriptural way of reasoning would have been: God Himself has condescended to become an author, and I am ignorant about that precious book, which His Holy Spirit has caused to be written through the instrumentality of His servants, and it contains that which I ought to know, and the knowledge of which will lead me to true happiness; therefore I ought to read again and again this most precious book, this book of books, most earnestly, most prayerfully, and with much meditation; and in this practice I ought to continue all the days of my life. For I was aware though I read it but little, that I knew scarcely anything of it. But instead of acting thus, and being led by my ignorance of the Word of God to study it more, my difficulty in understanding it, and the little enjoyment I had in it, made me careless of reading it (for much prayerful reading of the Word, gives not merely more knowledge, but increases the delight we have in reading it); and thus, like many believers, I practically preferred for the first four years of my divine life, the works of uninspired men to the Oracles of the living God. The consequence was that I remained a babe, both in knowledge and grace. In knowledge I say, for all true knowledge must be derived, by the Spirit, from the Word. And as I neglected the Word, I was for nearly four years so ignorant, that I did not clearly know even the fundamental points of our holy faith. And this lack of knowledge most sadly kept me back from walking steadily in the ways of God. For it is the truth that makes us free (John 8. 31, 32), by delivering us from the slavery of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The Word proves it; the experience of the saints proves it; and also my own experience most decidedly proves it. For when it pleased the Lord in August, 1829, to bring me really to the Scriptures, my life and walk became very different. And though even since then I have fallen very short of what I might, and ought to have been, yet, by the grace of God, I have been enabled to live much nearer to Him than before."

Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions and Mine

2009-01-01T18:44:00.005-05:00

The beginning of the new year is always a good time to reevaluate one's life. American culture promotes that, and Jonathan Edwards believed agreed: you'll see how he makes mention of assessing certain things on an annual basis in the following resolutions. I read these 70 resolutions today as I sought to begin the new year with a fresh look at my life and my walk with the Lord and I'm attaching them here for you to read for yourself that you too may benefit from reading them.

One of my goals this year is to write more meaningful content on this blog in order to keep in the habit of communicating thoughts clearly and succinctly across the written media, as I won't be forced to do that anymore by any educational institutions. I do hope that I will be faithful in that, more for my sake than yours, but perhaps the Lord will see fit to benefit other folks as well. Either way, may He be magnified by all that is said on this blog in 2009. Happy New Year!

THE RESOLUTIONS

of

Jonathan Edwards

BEING SENSIBLE THAT I AM UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT GOD' S HELP, I DO HUMBLY ENTREAT HIM BY HIS GRACE TO ENABLE ME TO KEEP THESE RESOLUTIONS, SO FAR AS THEY ARE AGREEABLE TO HIS WILL, FOR CHRIST' S SAKE.

Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God' s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.

2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new contrivance and invention to promote the aforementioned things.

3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God. July 30.

9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

11. Resolved, when I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances do not hinder.

12. Resolved, if I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.

13. Resolved, to be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality.

14. Resolved, never to do any thing out of revenge.

15. Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.

16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

17. Resolved, that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

18. Resolved, to live so, at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notions of things of the gospel, and another world.

19. Resolved, never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.

20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance, in eating and drinking.

21. Resolved, never to do any thing, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him. (Resolutions 1 through 21 written in one setting in New Haven in 1722)

22. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

23. Resolved, frequently to take some deliberate action, which seems most unlikely to be done, for the glory of God, and trace it back to the original intention, designs and ends of it; and if I find it not to be for God' s glory, to repute it as a breach of the 4th Resolution.

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

25. Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.

26. Resolved, to cast away such things, as I find do abate my assurance.

27. Resolved, never willfully to omit any thing, except the omission be for the glory of God; and frequently to examine my omissions.

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

29. Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.

30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.

31. Resolved, never to say any thing at all against any body, but when it is perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said anything against anyone, to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this Resolution.

32. Resolved, to be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that, in Proverbs 20:6,‹A faithful man who can find?Š may not be partly fulfilled in me.

33. Resolved, to do always, what I can towards making, maintaining, and preserving peace, when it can be done without overbalancing detriment in other respects. Dec. 26, 1722.

34. Resolved, in narrations never to speak any thing but the pure and simple verity.

35. Resolved, whenever I so much question whether I have done my duty, as that my quiet and calm is thereby disturbed, to set it down, and also how the question was resolved. Dec. 18, 1722.

36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it. Dec. 19, 1722.

37. Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,- what sin I have committed,-and wherein I have denied myself;-also at the end of every week, month and year. Dec. 22 and 26, 1722.

38. Resolved, never to speak anything that is ridiculous, sportive, or matter of laughter on the Lord' s day. Sabbath evening, Dec. 23, 1722.

39. Resolved, never to do any thing of which I so much question the lawfulness of, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or not; unless I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.

40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. Jan. 7, 1723.

41. Resolved, to ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better. Jan. 11, 1723.

42. Resolved, frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at my baptism; which I solemnly renewed, when I was received into the communion of the church; and which I have solemnly re-made this twelfth day of January, 1722-23.

43. Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God' s; agreeable to what is to be found in Saturday, January 12, 1723.

44. Resolved, that no other end but religion, shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it. January 12, 1723.

45. Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion. Jan. 12 and 13, 1723.

46. Resolved, never to allow the least measure of any fretting uneasiness at my father or mother. Resolved to suffer no effects of it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or motion of my eye: and to be especially careful of it with respect to any of our family.

47. Resolved, to endeavor, to my utmost, to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good, and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented and easy, compassionate and generous, humble and meek, submissive and obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable and even, patient, moderate, forgiving and sincere temper; and to do at all times, what such a temper would lead me to; and to examine strictly, at the end of every week, whether I have done so. Sabbath morning. May 5, 1723.

48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or not; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of. May 26, 1723.

49. Resolved, that this never shall be, if I can help it.

50. Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world. July 5, 1723.

51. Resolved, that I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned. July 8, 1723.

52. I frequently hear persons in old age, say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.

53. Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.

54. Whenever I hear anything spoken in conversation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, Resolved to endeavor to imitate it. July 8, 1723.

55. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do, if, I had already seen the happiness of heaven, and hell torments. July 8, 1723.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

57. Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversities, to examine whether I have done my duty, and resolve to do it, and let the event be just as providence orders it. I will as far as I can, be concerned about nothing but my duty, and my sin. June 9, and July 13 1723.

58. Resolved, not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness and benignity. May 27, and July 13, 1723.

59. Resolved, when I am most conscious of provocations to ill nature and anger, that I will strive most to feel and act good-naturedly; yea, at such times, to manifest good nature, though I think that in other respects it would be disadvantageous, and so as would be imprudent at other times. May 12, July 11, and July 13.

60. Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination. July 4, and 13, 1723.

61. Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it-that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc. May 21, and July 13, 1723.

62. Resolved, never to do anything but duty, and then according to Ephesians 6:6-8, to do it willingly and cheerfully as unto the Lord, and not to man:‹knowing that whatever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord.Š June 25 and July 13, 1723.

63. On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true luster, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time. January 14 and July 13, 1723.

64. Resolved, when I find those ‹groanings which cannot be utteredŠ (Romans 8:26), of which the Apostle speaks, and those‹breakings of soul for the longing it hath,Š of which the Psalmist speaks, Psalm 119:20, that I will promote them to the utmost of my power, and that I will not be weary of earnestly endeavoring to vent my desires, nor of the repetitions of such earnestness. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

65. Resolved, very much to exercise myself in this, all my life long, viz. with the greatest openness, of which I am capable of, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him: all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, fears, hopes, desires, and every thing, and every circumstance; according to Dr. Manton' s 27th Sermon on Psalm 119. July 26, and Aug.10 1723.

66. Resolved, that I will endeavor always to keep a benign aspect, and air of acting and speaking in all places, and in all companies, except it should so happen that duty requires otherwise.

67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what am I the better for them, and what I might have got by them.

68. Resolved, to confess frankly to myself all that which I find in myself, either infirmity or sin; and, if it be what concerns religion, also to confess the whole case to God, and implore needed help. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

69. Resolved, always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. August 11, 1723.

70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak. August 17, 1723.

The text of these resolutions can be found here.

New blog

2008-10-06T11:10:00.005-04:00

Hey there fellow bloggers and bloggettes. I'm writing to inform you that I've created a new blog by the name of LibraryHumor. This blog will be mainly devoted to funny books I find around the library. I know that sounds like a dumb idea at first, but if you had any idea some of the stuff I've seen on these shelves you'd understand. I'll add it to the blogroll of the left. Enjoy!

Latest Piper Sermon Jams

2008-09-30T22:23:00.003-04:00

Well folks, I was going to type this out, but it's late, I'm tired, and I couldn't keep up with Piper. So I'm just going to post a link to where you can listen to this. Its only about 4 minutes long and well worth your time. http://relevantrevolution.com/mp3/solid.mp3

Being Yourself as You're Used of God in the Body

2008-09-29T09:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday my wife and I worshiped in Greenville, SC with the body at New Covenant Christian Fellowship. I was encouraged, challenged, and exhorted by the brothers there, mostly through individual conversation after church over lunch and coffee. Conversing with three brothers in particular was greatly encouraging and the Lord revealed to me an important truth as I sat this morning, thinking over our discussions the day before. Each one of these three brothers has a very different personality and a very different style of relating to others. On the other hand, each of them can be accurately characterized as continually having the gospel on their lips. Their speech runs sweet with love for Jesus and their lives reflect that love in the form of humble obedience to His lordship. The first brother is a sober-minded, analytical, slightly introspective type. The second brother is an evangelistic, "let me tell you what He has done for my soul," Barnabas-the-encourager type. The third brother is a visionary, go for the gusto with the gospel, "tell me what you think about this new idea" type. Enumerating their characteristics in this way was a phenomenal help to me this morning, as I realized that each one of these men is simply being himself as he submits himself to the lordship of Christ through a life of humble obedience and diligent love for Jesus and His word. This helped me realize that I cannot be like all three of these brothers. I probably cannot be like even one of them. The only thing that I can do is be who I am. At the same time, I can be like these brothers in devoting myself to my Lord and yielding my life, my personality, and my talents to His purposes. I also realized that we all have the same Holy Spirit empowering us, so rather than wishing I had more time to fellowship with them and glean from their love for Jesus and His word, I can go straight to the foot of Jesus like Mary did and straight to His word and seek to be the things I see in them.

I apologize for the scatter-brainedness of this post. I do hope that you see the same thing I saw and cease striving to be like others, whether it be men of God around you, or men of God in history, and instead, seek to be who God has made you to be as you submit yourself to His lordship in every area of your life.

Driscoll Loves Piper

2008-09-25T13:35:00.001-04:00

This post is absolutely great. The part about Piper's fashion sense is priceless. I think I want to sell my TV more now than ever. And disconnect the internet. Too bad I need it for school.

Quote of the Day

2008-09-19T15:22:00.003-04:00

"When you see that you are dependent, not self-determined, then--and then alone--can you appreciate Who God is and who you are. God is the Creator of all things Who made you for His pleasure; He does not exist to please you. He is not some cosmic vending machine that will give you whatever you want when you insert the proper prayer coins. You were made to glorify Him either as a vessel of mercy or as a vessel of wrath. It is not incumbent upon God to glorify you. That He has chosen to save you, Christian, should not merely please you; it should astonish you."
- Jay Adams, The Grand Demonstration, p. 49-50.

A Thinking President

2008-09-18T07:51:00.003-04:00

I'm pleased to say that we have a thinking president at SEBTS. Yesterday in the "Q&A with Dr. Akin" chapel, Dr. Akin received questions from students and provided some thoughtful, scriptural insight. I must say, I was thoroughly pleased with Dr. Akin's response to the Arminian question. Anyone who was there will know to which I refer. Dr. Akin spoke clearly to the issue, and even went further than I expected him to go. Toward the end of his answer Dr. Akin said "Pelagianism is heresy, Arminianism is error." I take this to be roughly the same as Spurgeon saying "And what is the heresy of Arminianism but the addition of something to the work of the Redeemer?" Both Akin and Spurgeon recognize that Arminianism is clearly aberrant, but that it not a soul damning error. To prove the difference in types of "heresy", Spurgeon later goes on to comment "But far be it from me even to imagine that Zion contains none but Calvinistic Christians within her walls, or that there are none saved who do not hold our views....and if there were wanted two apostles to be added to the number of the twelve, I do not believe that there could be found two men more fit to be so added than George Whitefield and John Wesley." My hat definitely goes off to Dr. Akin for speaking so clearly to this theologically charged issue. I wonder what he would have to say about Molinism? Perhaps next Q&A time...

Great Quote

2008-09-16T12:15:00.001-04:00

"The successful perseverance of a Christian is the consequence of a steady preoccupation with Jesus Christ."

- Arturo Azurdia

Salvation is of the Lord

2008-09-16T06:18:00.002-04:00

"I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it on the special and particular redemption of his elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.

If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas!
Would fall a thousand times a day."

-C. H. Spurgeon

Election

2008-09-05T13:35:00.006-04:00

Per the advice of the kind folks over at Strange Baptist Fire, I listened to an excellent sermon today on purpose driven predestination, which was preached at Southern's chapel this past Thursday by Dr. Russell Moore. So I pass on this lovely information to you in hopes that you too will listen to this sermon and be both encouraged and challenged in your understanding of the doctrine of election. You can find the SBF post here, or you can go directly to Southern's website to download the sermon here.

Unity in the Body

2008-08-23T10:45:00.000-04:00

The topic of unity has come up quite a few times in the past couple of days and as such, I've been mulling it over in my head and heart. At small groups on Wednesday night we prayed for the unity of the church, both local and universal. People lamented the lack of unity among the body of Christ and prayed that the Lord would cause people to see the need for unity and work toward it. After Wednesday I read an article which contained unity as a major sub-theme and had a spontaneous conversation with a great brother about the need for unity in the body. So, it would appear that the Lord is putting the topic in my path in order that I might think on it. And here I am, thinking on it.

A primary verse came immediately to mind when considering this topic, Eph 4:3, "being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Its quite obvious from this verse and others like it that unity is a serious matter that we shouldn't take lightly. The real issue is, I think, how do we bring about unity in the body, locally and universally? This is a difficult question, especially in times of vast diversity. How do we go about pursuing unity with those whose traditions and beliefs are different than ours? Where do we draw the line in order to prevent sacrificing truth for false unity? And, finally, how do we maintain unity in the bond of peace, not just begrudgingly? Unfortunately I don't have the answers to all these questions I've just posed. But I do think they're answerable and I intend to be thinking through them in the future more than I have in the past.

I'll begin here by rehashing that conversation I mentioned earlier. This will be especially relevant for seminarians and other folks who are involved in the thought-wars of academia. A lot of time and energy seems to be devoted to defending and refuting beliefs, in classrooms, in churches, in peer-groups. So how can we defend that which needs to be defended, refute that which needs to be refuted, and all the while preserve unity in the bond of peace? By doing so in a spirit of charity. Two men come to my mind when I think of excellent examples of this, D. A. Carson and John Piper. If you really want to hear and see two men who can walk through the fire of conflict and come out not smelling like smoke, listen to and read the work of Carson and Piper. I include Carson because of his ability to always have something good to say of any position or any person which is about to critique. I've heard him on many occasions speak against false-teachings or false-teachers and begin by say "Now, so-and-so has really offered some great insight into these particular areas and I am indebted to him for his work on this particular subject. However here on the matter of ______ I think he's grossly mistaken." I've heard Carson have good things to say about everyone from E. P. Sanders to John Dominic Crossin. But he doesn't back down from point out where they're wrong and even where they're dangerous. We need this attitude to penetrate our own practices of "defending the faith." As my good brother pointed out, if all we do is rail someone from start to finish, those hear us will simply write that individual and all his disciples off (I use the term disciple very loosely); and, in doing so, become further isolated from a part of the body. If instead we took Carson's approach, we might get our hearers to think critically about what they listen to and read, eating the meat and spitting out the bones.

I choose John Piper as my second example of a model to follow when confronting controversy because of his amazing ability to be charitable to individuals but at the same time violently opposed to false teaching. Two instances come to mind here. First, Piper's dealing with N. T. Wright and the new perspectives on Paul in his newer book The Future of Justification. Piper explains in the introduction that he chose to speak out against Wright and not someone else, like James Dunn, because of Wright's widespread influence and popularity. The entire book is very charitably written and Piper is always as gracious as possible toward Wright, but that's not the main point. The main point is that Piper went to great lengths to make sure he was accurately representing Wright's position. He even sent Wright a first draft of his manuscript so that he would have a chance to respond and so that Piper could incorporate his response into the final product. That's pretty bold. In a later interview, Wright said that he and Piper were both old enough to know that the debate wasn't personal, as with their added years they'd both lost the testosterone aspect of theological discourse. I found that to be very interesting, as I know how charged I can get over a doctrine, especially one I consider to be a false doctrine. Second, Piper doesn't play around when something dangerously aberrant is being promulgated. Consider this video on youtube, in which Piper condemns the prosperity Gospel. Even using the word "hatred" concerning his stance against it. So, Piper knows how to debate like a gentleman and how to dig in his heels. I think we can learn much from his example.

I know this hasn't been a very thorough treatment of the matter of unity. I've only briefly touched on a couple of examples I've seen as ideals for confronting conflict, but I hope that these examples will be helpful and will cause you to think about your own interaction with those you disagree with.

Mutual Encouragement and "One-anothering"

2008-08-16T17:03:00.004-04:00

In Romans 1:11-2, Paul says, "For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine."

These two verses really struck me in my studies today and yesterday. Just think, the Apostle Paul is about to pen the greatest letter ever written, the greatest expression of Christian Theology in the New Testament, and here in the introduction he says that he looks forward to coming to the Romans so that he can be encouraged by their faith! That is truly amazing to me. Paul shows us here an incredible amount of humility. He could've been prideful and thought, "What can I possibly learn from these Romans?" or something of the sort. But that's not the way Paul learned Christianity from his Master. Instead, Paul longed for an opportunity to come to them in order that both he and they could be encouraged by the other's faith. Is this something you practice in your local church, in your small group, in your group of friends? Is this something I practice? Dr. Black, one of my professors at SEBTS really made me aware of the New Testament concept of every member ministry and the "one-anothering" that is seen throughout the pages of the NT. Its almost like reformed soteriology, once you see it, you see it everywhere. I can't read my Bible anymore without seeing the one-anothers and the ways in which the body of Christ functioned as a family in the NT. We've drifted so far from this pattern in our modern congregations, but there are a lot of folks out there who are desperately seeking to reverse the wrongs and restore to American Christianity a more biblical model. I can only hope that the Lord will see fit to use me in this reformation of sorts.

"Whole" Salvation or "Soul" Salvation?

2008-08-12T20:46:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned previously, I've been working my way through N. T. Wright's newest book: Surprised By Hope. In the final third of this book he is discussing the implications of life after life after death for the local church and the lives of believers; how do we live out the consequences of the resurrection here and now? The first way in which Wright suggests that we ought to change our thinking and practices is in the area of salvation. He states that believers need to seriously rethink what salvation means in light of the fact that heaven is not our "final resting place" or our ultimate goal, as many Christians mistakenly believe. He makes some good points and raises some good questions. One that has particularly got me thinking is his question of whole salvation versus soul salvation. Whole salvation, he contends, is the salvation of the entire person, soul, mind, body, life, etc. Soul salvation is simply being saved from sin and to heaven, or something along those lines.

I applaud Wright for calling people to realize that you can't just get someone "saved" and then leave them in the exact condition in which you found them. The church I am a member of here in Raleigh, Treasuring Christ Church, emphasizes this point frequently. People need to hear the gospel, but they may also need help financially to get them out of a life of bondage to poverty, or counsel to help them get on track to get free from debt, or an education to free them from the slavery of illiteracy and ignorance, and the list could go on and on. So, I definitely understand what Wright means when he says we need to recapture a theology of whole salvation. However, I had a problem with his exegesis to get to this point. His main text was Mark 5 and the parallel passage in Matthew 9, which tell the story of the healing the woman with the issue of blood. My great trouble with Wright's exegesis was his translation, and subsequent interpretation, of Mark 5:34 and Matt 9:22. In Greek, both of these passages use the word sozo, which is commonly translated "to save." However, no major English version translates Mark 5:34 or Matt 9:22 as "saved." They all opt for another meaning of sozo; "healed," or "made well." Herein lies my main disagreement with Wright. It seems as if from his translation and exegesis of these passages that he believes this woman experienced whole salvation that day, obviously Jesus had no problem saying that she was "saved," and this ought to be our model for understanding salvation. I just don't see that in these passages. I do not believe that Jesus was making a pronouncement on this woman's spiritual condition, but rather her fleshly one: she was saved from her illness. After all, the text of Mark does go on to say "Go in peace and be healed (hugies) of your affliction." This leads me to my next problem with Wright's exegesis. By using these passages, which are devoid of any mention of the spiritual or forgiveness of sin or anything of that nature, Wright seems to forget these elements in his whole salvation paradigm. In short, he emphasizes the physical to the detriment of the spiritual.

I believe that he is on to something in his whole salvation theology. However, it seems to me that he has largely forgotten the spiritual aspect of salvation. If that is left out, there is little value in the rest of the equation. We must never put the salvation of souls in the back seat to social justice or meeting physical needs. This was the mistake of 20th century liberalism and it may very well make a reappearance in our time as well. We cannot rely on any organization, be it the government, civic clubs, or even the church, if all they are seeking to do is treat felt needs in order to somehow "save" individuals. Rather than embracing this distorted view of whole salvation, we need to embrace a real whole salvation; one that addresses the spiritual and the physical. We also must realize that just because we make efforts towards social justice and meeting the physical needs of new believers does not mean that God's purpose for all people is a comfortable, pain free existence. God may keep an individual right where he is, in poverty, or in physical illness in order to bring Himself most glory. And hold on, 'cause here comes a doozy, God may even call the wealthy and affluent to sell all they have, give it to the poor, and follow Him to the darkest corner of the globe! Thus, the question isn't "whole" salvation or "soul" salvation, that is too obvious. The real question is what does whole salvation really entail and how can we be a part of God's purposes to save sinners.

Please let me know what you think about this, I'm definitely looking for feedback as I continue to wrestle through these issues, especially how we can see the needs of people met in the context of the local church.

Fast Food and the Gospel

2008-08-08T16:32:00.004-04:00

Last night I tagged along with my friend Corey to the men's TCC men's Bible study downtown. The usual guy was out of town so I volunteered to go. It was a great time of fellowship and study, even though there was just one guy and we were in the McDonald's on Wilmington Street! Anthony, our sole attendee, Corey, and myself studied the first chapter of Ephesians. We sought to understand the main theme of the chapter and to identify the three things Paul lists in verses 18 and 19: what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. We had a great time and I can honestly say that I got just as much out of it as Anthony did. I must thank Corey for his thoughtful direction that he gave to our study. He asked some great questions like, "Since we see here that Jesus is the one in whom all things are united, how can we love those people who don't believe in Jesus, or who believe in other religions?" At the end of our time I found myself praising God for His grace in calling me to Himself, I'm no better than anyone else and certainly no more deserving of His salvation. But thanks be to God that He saw fit to choose me for Himself! What a great love our Father has for us, His adopted children.

Romans

2008-08-05T20:16:00.002-04:00

I've started studying the book of Romans this past week. I imagine it will take me a few years to plug my way through it. I used to be much better about personal study time in the Word. When I was in college I spent about 2 years working through the book of Hebrews word by word. That was extremely profitable and I hope to reclaim that kind of devotion through my current study of the book of Romans. I feel a lot like the people the writer of Hebrews addressed in chapter 6, those who ought to be teachers but were still in need of going over the basics again. I feel like I'm always going over the basics again and again. Not that its bad to constantly refresh the basics in your mind, but sometimes I feel like that's all I have the mind to do. I often wonder at the ability of other people to retain information and at my ability to forget it! But I know that the mind is something that can be trained with use. I also recognize the fact that I have been quite lazy with my mind for a good while and that I will not see a recapturing of it without considerable devotion to studies. Entertainment is just so much easier than the hard work of study. It's quite a shame to because entertainment is really so pointless. Its pleasure is fleeting and its rewards cheap. Hard work and study are different, very different. The pleasure of study is lasting and its rewards can be eternal.

That's why I've endeavored to go at it full speed ahead this coming semester. I'll be taking 12 hours, 4 classes: Greek 3, Theology 3, Methods and Issues in Biblical Interpretation, and Philosophy. I hope that they will be challenging, but manageable as well. I don't want my wife to forget what I look like and I don't want to get burned out. However, North Greenville really taught me to work hard and take the hard classes, so that's what I'm going to do. I hope that if I am able to go on to do PhD work that it will be both thoroughly challenging and rewarding. I'm tired of people laughing about how dumb they are and how poorly they did on their exams/paper/whathaveyou. I want to be in classes where people are motivated to do their best and where the institution doesn't pat them on the back with extra-credit when they fail to give something their all. Hopefully, if I keep my nose to the grindstone, the Lord will bless me with a sharp mind that is like a sponge instead of a sieve.

Half Finished Books

2008-08-05T19:37:00.004-04:00

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I'm about half way into 3 to 5 different books, I think. I have a reading bug. I'll get so far into one book, and then another one will cross my path and I'll think, "Man, that looks really interesting, I should see what they're talking about." Then I end up spending more time reading the other and the cycle just continues.

Right now I'm reading an array of material. I'm stuck half way through The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burruoughs, The Reason for God by Tim Keller, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham, and Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright.

The Reason for God is a good book, Keller brings up some difficult issues and questions often raised by unbelievers and then systematically shows how they do not either defeat Christianity or give the unbeliever a leg to stand on. It's an interesting read, and I look forward to getting back to it and finishing it out, perhaps in the coming days.

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses is a bit more academic. In it, Bauckham is arguing that the Gospel writers were either eyewitnesses or associates of eyewitnesses. He is deconstructing much of the premises of the Historical Jesus movement as well as much of liberal theology in general. By examining the internal evidence of the Gospels, Bauckham is able to demonstrate that the Gospels were not based on oral traditions, passed down over hundreds of years, but actually written shortly after the events they described based on eyewitness testimony, thus adding a great deal of credibility to what they contain. It's an interesting read, but can be a bit deep at times. That one might have to wait until Christmas time before I can revisit it.

Surprised by Hope is N. T. Wright's most recent book and deals primarily with the topic of life after death, mainly life after life after death: the resurrection. This book is extremely interesting, even though at times I'm not entirely on board with Wright on certain points of his exegesis. He will definitely make you think through the book about much of modern Christianity's doctrine concerning life after death and heaven. Apparently I was fortunate enough to have been a part of a congregation in South Carolina that already greatly emphasized the New Heavens and New Earth, so that a lot of the stuff that Wright is talking about is already old hat for me. But, I can see how much of this book would be revolutionary for some believers who look forward to resting on a cloud for eternity. The book is divided into three main sections: 1. Establishing the foundation for the conversation; 2. Looking forward to understand God's future plan; and, 3. Examining how we are to live today in light of these things. I'm just at the threshold of the third section and am very interested to find out what Wright believes are the implications of the resurrection on our present life. It seems as if his primary focus is going to be in the areas of politics, social justice, and the environment. I'll post more when I find out how he concludes, assuming I don't get sidetracked again for another few months!!!

I wish...

2008-07-10T13:01:00.001-04:00

I wish I had more interesting things to write about on here.

I wish I had more time to read for pleasure.

I wish I had enough money to go to the Desiring God 2008 National Conference.

How Committed am I to the Bible?

2008-06-10T11:53:00.004-04:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how committed am I to the truth of the gospel and other biblical doctrines which I am firmly convinced of. A good bit of this introspection is the result of a semester with Dr. Black in New Testament 2. In that class we were constantly pushed to go back to the New Testament and discern what it had to say about sundry matters. I've also been thinking a lot about the priority of the local church in body-life. The seminary, and so many other para-church organizations, has come in and completely taken over much of what biblical local churches are responsible for. I'm growing to believe that the most commonly held paradigm for training and hiring elders is almost totally unbiblical. As I sit through classes at SEBTS and listen in on conversations around campus, it's truly amazing to me that some people think they're on the road to biblical eldership. They might not use the term "elder" or even hold to an ecclesiology that allows for elders, but it makes no difference: it's the only paradigm the NT knows.

In the past few days I've been reading John Hammett's new book, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology, and I suppose that has a bit to do with getting the ol' wheels in my head a turnin'. In this book Hammett is seeking to define what a church is, who a church is, how a church is governed, what the church does, and where the church is going. I'm a little bit over half way through the book. The first two sections are good, it's hard to be a conservative baptist and not have a good definition of what and who a church is. Regenerate church membership is one of his strongest arguments in this section, however, as he continues to flesh out the implications of regenerate church membership in his section on how a church is governed, things start to unravel. His arguments for congregationalism are almost entirely pragmatic. He even admits in several places that congregationalism is a pragmatic conclusion. At one point he goes so far as to say the following, I was shocked:

"In the end, they [the congregation] are the ones who must give financially to support the ministry he [the pastor] envisions; they must act if the church is to love and reach and disciple people as he desires. They are far likelier to give and act on plans they have had a part in developing. And, if the members are maturing spiritually, why would a church or its pastors want to cut themselves off from the wisdom they may contribute?" (p.211)

I've digressed into the subject matter of the book instead of going where I had intended with this post, so if you don't mind, I'm going to get back on track and not comment on that quote. I don't think I can handle it right now...

So, like I was saying, I've been thinking a lot about my commitment to the Bible and it's principles. As you may be able to tell already, I'm specifically concerning with church polity and my role in the local church. Here are some things that I'm struggling with:

1. What is the role of para-church organizations in the life of the local church?
2. What is my personal conviction concerning my responsibility to act on what I believe to be biblical?
3. Where should I be focusing my energies at this point in my life?
4. Is pursuing a career in a Bible-college or seminary setting right for me?
5. Where are my priorities? Am I more concerned with earning a degree and getting a job or with 1 Tim. 3:1-13?

For as much as I dislike Hammett's pragmatism, I see so much of it in myself. I'm afraid that I may be paralyzed by the thought of having to start from scratch to get into a career of any other sort than the one that I'm currently pursuing.

When I was at NGU, loving the Bible and theology and the things of God seemed to me to be a clear pointer to further studies in order to one day be able to teach those things to others. Now I believe that loving the Bible, God, theology, etc. is something that every Christian ought to aspire to, not just the seminarians. Like a good friend of mine pointed out the other day, the qualifications in 1 Tim 3 are not reserved for elders and deacons, they are necessary for all believers. It's not the elders who are barred from drunkenness and immorality, it's every Christian: thus, every Christian male should either be aspiring to be an elder or a deacon. I don't know if I'm ready to say every, but I think probably most, and if they're not aspiring to the office, they should at least be serving in those ways unofficially.

I apologize for the sporadic nature of this post, all this is compounding in my mind and heart, and has spilled over here. I simply desire to be true to the Bible and it's teachings. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Heatstroke and the Grace of God

2008-06-05T23:50:00.004-04:00

Two somewhat interrelated topics are on my mind this evening. The first is the amenities we enjoy in this era. Today, for a few hours, the AC in our house was broken. At one point the temperature reached 94 degrees inside. It was truly miserable. However, due to the Lord's grace, a repair man was able to come only 3 hours after I called and it was fixed within 30 minutes of his arrival! So I am truly thankful to the Lord for His grace in causing this repair to happen speedily.

The second is God's sovereign grace in my salvation. Today, as I lay on the bed, under the fan, listening to an Indelible Grace album, I thought about how some people I know would never fathom listening to music like that which I was presently enjoying. I began to think of how the lyrics would seem so foreign and how some might even mock them. I then thought about some people and some friends from days past who are not believers and who do not love Jesus or the things of God. At that moment I was simply rocked by the Lord's favor toward me in His gracious electing and subsequent saving work in my life. It is only because of grace that I am at all concerned with God and His Word. I was truly amazed by the fact that for some reason the Lord saw fit to save me. It is only because of His free, unconstrained good-pleasure that I read the Bible or care about holiness. It is only because of His marvelous grace that I do not pursue sin with a reckless abandonment. Like my brother Blake said this evening, I don't want to ever get to a place where I forget the true gospel and the grace of God in my life. Sometimes it's hard to imagine how that could ever happen, knowing what I've experienced in my relationship with the Father. However, then I remember folks who have fallen away, a college professor I had, a man and woman from a church I was a part of, pastors, etc. etc. and I realize that I am, in and of myself no different than they. I possess in me all the wretchedness that drove them to turn their backs on the faith and pursue sin instead. I just hope and trust that I am a part of those mentioned in Hebrews 6:9 and not those mentioned in the previous portion of the same chapter.

The Word of God

2008-06-04T10:10:00.005-04:00

The past few weeks have been very beneficial for my soul. I highly recommend that you download and listen to the messages from the New Attitude 2008 conference. I didn't attend the conference, but I have listened to the messages and they are fantastic. The topic this year was the Word of God and as such all the messages are geared toward making much of God's word. These messages really encouraged me to get off my (spiritually) lazy butt and read diligently. I have a summer reading goal of 3 books, which are listed below. However, I've not gotten very far in the second book; I've been too busy reading the Bible.

As some of you may know, I work in the library at SEBTS. This allows me a bit of time to read during work (especially now that we're in summer sessions). Instead of bringing several books to browse and/or study while I'm at work, I've started only bringing my Bible. In the past couple of days I've read through Hebrews, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Galatians. On top of that I'm reading through Bible using M'Cheyne's schedule; right now I'm going through Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah, and Revelation. I'm not writing any of this to boast in my holiness or ability or anything of the sort. On the contrary, just a few weeks ago I was struggling to get through the reading for M'Cheyne and had little desire to do so. I'm writing this to encourage you to overcome whatever it is that's causing you to neglect your daily Bible reading. Nothing really comes close to sitting down and reading through an epistle in one sitting. By reading these entire books in the past few days I've been immensely encouraged to love Jesus more and to love others more, especially my wife and my brothers and sisters in Christ.

One other thing that pertains to this subject of Bible reading. I was encouraged by Dave Black's blog, especially his post from Thursday, May 22, @ 6:32 am (unfortunately you can't link to specific posts, so you'll just have to do some scrolling), to begin marking in my Bible. This might sound strange to some of you, but I was a Bible page purist. I loved the look of the untainted page. My hand isn't steady enough to make a good underlining, and I abhor a thick black snake of ink running through the text. So, with PENCIL in hand, I've begun to carefully mark and make notes in my Bible. I know that some of you are probably thinking "wow, big deal." But, it is a big deal for me, and if there's anyone else out there who secretly, or openly, is too cautious to mar the pages of his beloved Bible, let me just say that there can be some benefits from doing so. Though a part of me still likes the look of the clean page. Hopefully the benefits of recalling and finding specific verses and/or thoughts will outweigh the OCD impulses I feel.

Internetolution

2008-05-29T13:39:00.002-04:00

Dr. Mohler's latest post about the affects of the internet on libraries and information in general is a good read. I work in the library at SEBTS, so I can see what he's talking about going on first hand... It's truly amazing the way the internet has changed so many areas of our daily lives. Not only information, but communication for instance. Today I talked to two people in two very different parts of the world: Afghanistan and India. It boggles my mind how I can sit here and almost instantly communicate with these two people, so many thousands of miles away from me.

Definitions

2008-05-28T13:46:00.002-04:00

Two things:

1. Why is it so hard to maintain my Greek?! I took 4 semesters in college and then completely lost almost everything I learned by not touching it for 2 years. I've just finished re-taking Greek at SEBTS and I'm already unmotivated to study. What will it take for me to get myself into action?

2. Is anyone else as annoyed as I am with the over abundant use of the term "ground zero" these days? Look it up and you'll see that it has nothing to do with what most people (especially the media) use it for.

Sentiment at the Movies

2008-05-27T20:20:00.002-04:00

Usually my wife and I are too frugal (or cheap if you wish) to see many new releases in the theater. We have netlfix and prefer to wait until they come out on DVD. Recently we've broken this habit for two new releases. However, I really wish we hadn't.

The two movies we deemed worthy of our hard earned money were Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones. I must say, I was sorely disappointed with both. Now I'm no movie critic and I certainly don't want to persuade anyone to think one way or another about these films, and for all I know, no one even reads this blog yet, so I guess it makes no difference; but, I have had several conversations about these films in recent days and thought this would be a good place to say some things I've been thinking.
1. I think that there should be a law passed that alerts the movie goer that they are about to see another alien movie before they purchase a ticket. Seriously. Indiana Jones is NOT supposed to be about aliens! Oh well.
2. Whoever owns the rights to C. S. Lewis' works needs to be drug out into the street and shot for allowing Hollywood to butcher his work. I was aghast at what the producer and/or writer did to Prince Caspian. Not only are there entire sub-plots in the movie that are not even suggested in the book, but the whole thing smacks of Americanisms that are simply not there in the book. I noticed this problem first in the movie version of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. In that movie the children behave like bratty, spoiled, self-centered Americans. In Prince Caspian the acting has improved (I suppose the age difference might have something to do with it), but the annoying 21st century influence is still there. In the book Peter tells Caspian that he hasn't come to take the kingdom but to give it to Caspian. Not so in the movie. Instead the writers thought it would be better for a power struggle to play out for a little while. Also, Lucy found Aslan more toward the beginning of the story, and there was no disobedient self-reliant raid on Miraz's castle. A central theme of the book that has been undermined in the movie is that of faith and trust in Aslan. The movie simply destroys the characterization so central in Lewis' work, and in doing so, the rich symbolism is almost lost.

These were just some of the things that bother me most about these two movies. Why do these things even matter? one might ask. Well, for me, I guess it's the sentimental attachment I had to the stories told by each. I grew up watching Indiana Jones and I remember how much fun those movies were. This new one doesn't convey the same sense of "believability," if you will. And I've read the entire Chronicles of Narnia a few times and they've become one of my favorite fiction works. It seems then that the primary issue is that of expectations. Someone who knows nothing of the old Indiana Jones movies or of Lewis' written Narnia series probably won't take much issue with these movies. But someone with enough experience to know what great things could be, but what is painfully not, is negatively affected by these films.

As I sit here typing out these thoughts, one thing moves to the front of my mind. This is a very good analogy of what is happening to today's Churches. Those who have actually felt true community with both the Head of the body, Christ, and with the body itself, the church, are becoming increasingly disappointed by the 21st century, American-dream, consumer-driven, man-exalting "churches" that do such a poor job at accurately portraying the true church as described in the written Word of God. From conversations I've had about these two dissimilar subjects, it seems to me that this younger generation, mine, is ready for a genuine attempt at accurately presenting the original Author's story and message.

Summer Reading

2008-05-27T20:09:00.003-04:00

I finished my first summer reading book yesterday. I figured after a semester of molanist teaching in Theology 2 it would be good to read something a little more in line with what I believe the Bible teaches. Not only that, but I had heard of this book before and always wanted to read it. So, I decided to include Redemption: Accomplished and Applied by John Murray to my list of summer reading. It was a very good book, divided into 2 sections: 1. Redemption accomplished, 2. Redemption Applied. I flew through the first section and was greatly encouraged by it. The second section was also uplifting, though not quite as much of a page turner for me. One quote really sums up the content of the book:

"Christ discharged the debt of sin. He bore our sins and purged them. He did not make a token payment which God accepts in place of the whole. Our debts are not canceled; they are liquidated. Christ procured redemption and therefore he secured it. He met in himself and swallowed up the full toll of divine condemnation and judgment against sin. He wrought righteousness which is the proper ground of complete justification and the title to everlasting life. Grace thus reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He expiated guilt and "by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." "Being made perfect he became the author (the cause) of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." In a word, Jesus met all the exigencies arising from our sin and he procured all the benefits that lead to, and are consummated in, the liberty of the glory of the children of God."

Having finished this first book I've moved on to my next installment of summer reading. I have always wanted to read the Puritans, but have never really gotten around to it, but what better time than now? I began reading Jeremiah Burroughs' The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment today. It is a very down to earth, practical guide to how believers can learn to be content in all things (Phil 4:11). I trust that I will benefit greatly from digesting the truths contained within its pages.

Great food and cheap books

2008-05-22T23:50:00.000-04:00

Tonight Lisa and I went to the Hollander's for dinner. Much thanks to them for their hospitality. The food was excellent.

The post dinner trip to Mr. Otsby's was also excellent. There Blake acquired Owen's massive 7 volume commentary on Hebrews for a mere $35 as well as many other gems. I was able to snag about 15 books for under $40. Of one D. A. Carson laments, "That it is now out of print is a serious loss." I'm happy with my purchase and the envy for Blake's good fortune is slowly subsiding.

I think I will need some more shelf space soon...

Here are my summer reading books...

Finally, I thought I'd share with you this painting my friend Matt Tolbert did for me. I love it.

New to the blogosphere

2008-05-22T23:40:00.003-04:00

This blog is named simply for a reason. I make no promises to keep it up. I make no promises to post anything particularly insightful. I do hope to use this as a way to organize some of my thoughts and hopefully share something of what the Lord is doing in my life with you, the reader.

Having said that, I am a Christian, a newly-wed, a student at SEBTS, and a member of Treasuring Christ Church in Raleigh, NC. I am captivated by the Word of God, and interested in Greek, New Covenant Theology, Ecclesiology, and a spattering of other things. I also enjoy fishing, the outdoors, good coffee, and automobiles.