Dluxe's World

The most important thing.

2008-05-06T09:07:00.008-04:00

If you are here now and don't know what all this 'Gospel stuff' is (or don't believe it), this is the most important thing you'd find on this blog:

If you are a Christ-follower, then this is the most important thing you'd find on this blog:

Yes, they say the same thing. The Gospel is everything, for believer and unbeliever alike.

The Apostle John wrote in his account of Christ's life: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31)

Believe, find your life in Christ, and truly live in His name. That's all.

An Epilouge (Epi-blog?)

2008-05-05T15:25:00.005-04:00

Blogging is a funny thing... With just the click of a mouse, any person with access the internet can set up their own virtual soapbox. It's fitting that one major thought-blog is called 'Instapundit'.

I started blogging because I think better out loud. Since some people found it distracting (or frightening) when I'd argue with myself, I thought perhaps typing would be better. I also wanted a couple geniuses I know to read and challenge me to think better. The funny thing is that a lot of people who I didn't know decided to peek in from time to time. Some of you even stuck around, and I'm humbled that you did.

So, why am I closing up shop now? It's pretty simple really...

First, I simply don't have the kind of time to devote to posting that used to be available to me.
Second, this verse still gives me the shakes: "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." (James 3:1)

In the early days of this blog, I wrote garbage but no one read it except the people I had asked to come and correct me. There are now others of you here, and many from the church in which I continue to serve. For me, the line between 'teaching' and 'just thinking' has just been blurred too much - especially when I lack the time to devote towards 'teaching well' here on a blog. God has graciously given me a broadening ministry at our church, and I feel whatever time I have is better spent investing in serving that flock (Acts 20:28-32).

So, if you've been here reading along... Thanks. I'm humbled that you've stayed tuned, especially considering the dreck that filled the last several months. If you've been a regular reader, leave a comment on this thread. I'd love the chance to say thanks personally.

I have only one parting thought to leave you with before closing up shop. But, we'll save that for tomorrow.

Favorite Posts [1] : Under Attack

2008-05-05T09:15:00.002-04:00

Not too long into my blogging career, I had one of those comment threads spring up that make your head hurt... A young atheist stumbled on one of my posts and began attacking the use of the Bible as anything approaching an authoritative book. Predictably, the conversation moved into a back and forth where he would cite a presumably 'wicked' bible passage and challenge me to explain how in the world I could believe the Bible when it contained such ridiculous/evil things.

Comment threads are not the place for hashing this out, so I asked him to email me his top handful of attack verses and promised a series of posts attempting to explain how they are sensible on their own (in context) and fit into the overarching narrative of the Bible.

Some might be surprised that the series of posts I've chosen to list as my #1 favorite is neither the one for which I hold the most affection nor anything close to the top hit-receiver. I believe, however, that this series of posts is unlike any I've come across elsewhere in the Reformosphere and just might be uniquely helpful to some skeptic or new believer in the future. That reason alone is sufficient to make this Under Attack series the most significant thing I believe I've written.

Under Attack - A prologue [1]
Under Attack - Deuteronomy 22:13-21 [2a]
Under Attack - Deuteronomy 22:22-30 [2b]
Under Attack - Judges 19:22-30 [3]
Under Attack - 2 Samuel 6:1-15 [4]
Under Attack - From Robots!! (An interlude) [5]
Under Scrutiny - 1 Corinthians 10:13 [6]

I hope, by God's grace, someone somewhere finds it edifying to their faith.

Favorite Posts [2] : Discontinuing Cessationism

2008-05-01T09:48:00.007-04:00

For most of my life, I didn't have any pressing reason to answer the "miraculous gifts" problem so it remained unanswered. I merrily worshipped in churches on both sides of the divide, never quite thinking that either had it right.

That was until summer of 2006... That summer, there was what I think could be best described as a charismatic 'outbreak' among some Christian students on campus - some of whom I knew. Between needing to respond to that event and contemplating church planting, I dove in to the Word to settle the issue. This (long) series of posts was the result.

Discontinuing cessationism [1]: The Danger
Discontinuing cessationism [2]: The Argument
Discontinuing cessationism [3]: The Scriptures (Prologue)
Discontinuing cessationism [4]: The Scriptures (1)
Discontinuing cessationism [5]: The Scriptures (2)
Discontinuing cessationism [6]: The Scriptures (3)
Discontinuing cessationism [7]: The Scriptures (4)
Discontinuing cessationism [8]: The End

Even as I glance back through these posts, I remember affectionately the time spent studying the Word and thinking through the thoughts of other Godly men. I'd nuance my conclusion ever-so-slightly if I wrote this series today: I'd identify myself as a "Reformed Continuationist". I think that's a more academically correct term, and it avoids the baggage caused by so many errors within the broader 'charismatic' community.

I've had further argument... er, interactions with several people, including three pastors (two from the PCA, one Master's dude) that I bumped into on the Logos newsgroups. I remain unmoved from my position, though I continue to seek/welcome more discussion and challenges.

This was also a well-linked series of posts, thanks especially to Adrian Warnock who linked and emailed some encouragements and challenges along the way. Once you get linked by Adrian, a fair number of other NewFrontiers folk comes along for the ride. I'm grateful for the many friendships - in that strange internet sense of the word - that were made.

*I'd be wrong to not also note that Dan Wallace edited a fabulous ebook from the Cessationist side called "Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit". I'd recommend you read this regardless of where you land. GREAT STUFF.

Favorite Posts [WWW1] : WWWednesday Videos

2008-04-30T08:50:00.008-04:00

IMHO, the Top 9 that are still live links. I didn't have time to go searching for dead linked vids (though there were some good ones missed). So, let's get to work!

9) ... 6th of the 28th stages of metageneration ...

8) Drink more FANTA, Sensei!

7) Ask a Ninja

6) Japanese Tongue Twisters

5) Kiwi

4) Minesweeper

3) You had a bad WWWednesday

2) Super Bad Brad

1) Business Time (marginally inappropriate)

Favorite Posts [3] : (Mostly) Loco for Logos

2008-04-29T09:27:00.006-04:00

If I was collecting posts based on the number of hits they've generated for this bloggity-blog, this would be the top of the heap by a wide margin.

Shortly after purchasing my copy of Logos Bible Software, I decided to post a simple, 'new user' review. I was sure there were people like me out there - aspiring seminarian/pastor types - who didn't know enough to compare BibleWorks and Logos rigorously, but knew they could make real use of something. My hope was to offer something that might be helpful to those kinda folks.

Surprisingly, Logos picked up the review on their blog, which generated a flood of immediate traffic. Later, they were even gracious enough to put a permanent link in their reviews. I hardly think that this merited that, but it was pretty cool to have the attention.

So, if you're considering buying Logos - Do it. Then read these reviews and I'll tell you why I'm glad I did.

(Mostly) Loco for Logos [1]
(Mostly) Loco for Logos [2]
(Mostly) Loco for Logos [3]

Favorite Posts [4] : Leadership Conference '07

2008-04-28T09:49:00.005-04:00

Last April, I had the distinct joy of attending Sovereign Grace's 2007 Leadership Conference with a couple of my dear friends. It was the first Pastors conference that I ever attended in person, and LC07 set a very high bar for any deal-io that I might attend in the future.

Unlike the bulk of my other 'favorite posts', this post contains no Bible exposition, no ranting, and no ... well, that's pretty much all my posts contain under normal circumstances.

What makes this post memorable is two things: First off, it's a chance to reflect (again) trip memories that still warm my heart and challenge my head. The fellowship and teaching were fabulous* and I'm already watching eagerly for registration to open for LC09.

However, more importantly, it's a chance to cheer for people who (by God's grace) are rightly deaf to the noise of the crowd. What I observed at LC07 was a group of people committed to diminishing their own reputation so long as the name of Christ is lifted up. In a world where we are taught - even in the church - to build bigger barns, it is helpful to be reminded of the humility the Gospel should create and the great calling that we've received.

[LC07 Part 1] [LC07 Part 2]

* Plus, they had Krispy Creme donuts in abundance... Who can argue with that?

Favorite Posts [5] : Thinking Caps at the Ready

2008-04-26T12:45:00.004-04:00

At the 2006 Desiring God conference, Tim Keller gave a typically awesome "Keller-style" message. In the course of his speech, he asked a very provocative question. What will an approach to postmodern evangelism look like? If, as Keller contended, the "Four Spiritual Laws" and "Evangelism Explosion" programs of the past have lost their traction, how will we develop evangelism methods that marry Biblical and Systematic theology?

I started a short series of posts to must on that question, and the initial was picked up by the guys at TeamPyro in one of their blogspotting rolls. As a result there was a lot of traffic for a couple days, though not the ton of commentary that I'd hoped for.

Thinking Caps at the Ready [1]
Thinking Caps at the Ready [2]
Thinking Caps at the Ready [3]
Thinking Caps at the Ready [4] (The Aftermath)

The funny (and awesome!) thing is that Tim Keller just decided to answer his own question. His book, Reason for God, and the follow-up speeches he has been holding at colleges and hip place like Google really seem to be his way of developing and refining an approach. I'd recommend giving them a look.

Favorite Posts [6] : Whitefield for the Weekends

2008-04-25T09:39:00.013-04:00

I once heard someone (Piper? Dever?) admonish budding pastors to makes friends with a dead theologian and walk through the rest of their lives with him. Certainly Piper has cultivated a deep identification with Jonathan Edwards, and Dever's doctoral thesis is still the most about Richard Sibbes available in print.

About the time I heard this admonition, I came across the following quote regarding George Whitefield from J.C. Ryle's biographic article:

On the morning of Saturday, September 28th, the day before he died, Whitefield set out on horseback from Portsmouth in New Hampshire, in order to fulfill an engagement to preach at Newbury Port on Sunday. On the way, unfortunately, he was earnestly importuned to preach at a place called Exeter, and though feeling very ill, he had not the heart to refuse.

A friend remarked before he preached that he looked more uneasy than usual, and said to him, "Sir, you are more fit to go to bed than to preach." To this Whitefield replied: "True, sir"; and then turning aside, he clasped his hands together, and looking up, said: "Lord Jesus, I am weary in thy work, but not of thy work. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for thee once more in the fields, seal thy truth, and come home and die." He then went and preached to a very great multitude in the fields ... for the space of nearly two hours. It was his last sermon, and a fitting conclusion to his whole career.

After the sermon was over, Whitefield dined with a friend, and then rode on to Newbury Port, though greatly fatigued. On arriving there he supped early, and retired to bed. Tradition says, that as he went up-stairs, with a lighted candle in his hand, he could not resist the inclination to turn around at the head of the stair, and speak to the friends who were assembled to meet him. As he spoke the fire kindled within him, and before he could conclude, the candle which he held in has hand had actually burned down to the socket. He retired to his bedroom, to come out no more alive... If ever man was ready for his change, Whitefield was that man.

I wanted to know that man and that heart. And so, Whitefield has been a companion and inspiration for me ever since.

Because Whitefield preached open-air and (mainly) extemporaneously, most of his sermons in print are from early in his ministry. But even in his youth, Whitefield was a powerful thinker and preacher. My own favorite quote - if I had to choose only one would be this from a sermon called The Righteousness of Christ:

[A]rise, take comfort, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of life, the Lord of glory, calls for thee: through his righteousness there is hope for the chief of sinners, for the worst of creatures. What if thou hadst committed all the sins in the world? … Christ's righteousness will cover, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will cleanse, thee from the guilt of them all.

My dear friends, could my voice hold out, was my strength equal to my will, I would wrestle with you; I would strive with arguments, till you came and washed in this blood of the Lamb; till you came and accepted of this everlasting righteousness. O come, come! Now, since it is brought into the world by Christ, so in the name, in the strength, and by the assistance of the great God, I bring it now to the pulpit; I now offer this righteousness, this free, this imputed, this everlasting righteousness to all poor sinners that will accept of it.

For God's sake accept it this night: you do not know but ye may die before tomorrow. How do he know, but while I am speaking, a fit of the apoplexy may seize, and death arrest you? ... Think, I pray you, therefore, on these things; go home, go home, go home, pray over the text, and say, "Lord God, thou hast brought an everlasting righteousness into the world by the Lord Jesus Christ; by the blessed Spirit bring it into my heart!" then, die when ye will, ye are safe; if it be tomorrow, ye shall be immediately translated into the presence of the everlasting God: that will be sweet! Happy they who have got this robe on; happy they that can say, "My God hath loved me, and I shall be loved by him with an everlasting love!" That every one of you may be able to say so, may God grant, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the dear Redeemer; to whom be glory for ever.

Arnold Dallimore, in his superior biography of Whitefield, writes:

Yea, that we shall see the great Head of the Church once more raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labor and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they shall appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives.

Indeed. May God raise up more Whitefields to preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, aglow in the fullness of the Gospel. I know this is my longest 'favorites' post, but it's not long enough to reflect on a man whose ministry touched so many and has already effected me profoundly.

Whitefield for the Weekend Posts
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]

Favorite Posts [7] : (re)Marriage - Matthew 5:31-32

2008-04-24T09:59:00.003-04:00

Most of my recent posts are depressing to me as I look back over them. Either they are complete silliness or rambling drivel. I just haven't had the same time to devote to posting that I used to...

However, a recent series on marriage/divorce was a welcome exception to that trend. While I'm all for silliness and frivolity, there's no place for those things in discussing the Bible. And I enjoyed the chance to just write again about the things I was chewing through in my head.

This series of posts grew out of some questions that came up in our Sunday night Bible study. What a neat thing it is to be able to wrestle with God's Word with other believers...

(re)Marriage - Matthew 5:31-32 [1]
(re)Marriage - Matthew 5:31-32 [2]
(re)Marriage - Matthew 5:31-32 [3]

Favorite Posts [WWW2] : WWWednesday Non-Videos

2008-04-23T09:58:00.006-04:00

If there's been anything consistent around here, it's been WWWednesday posts... Lately, most of them have been videos only. In the beginning, however, there were quips and other content. Here's some of my favorites:

8) Tuscan Whole Milk... MMMMMMmmm
After being listed on Amazon, everyone and their cousin 'reviewed' the creamy goodness. Says one reviewer:

Only three times in my life have I had better milk than this, and twice I'm fairly certain it was laced with flavor enhancing enzymes. The third was a milk so pure, it was actually hand delivered by the dairy farmer, who pumped it from the milk well right there in the middle of his ranch and drove it out to you in his old model T Ford pickup. Regardless, that was some expensive service, but the milk was like unto gold in a bronze world.

7) Jo Frost, the Nanny, don't take no lip.
"I wonder how the Super Nanny trash talks... "[bleep]! You call that weak-[donkey stuff] a manners chart? [Heck]! You ain't even gots no star stickers!"

6) Mark Driscoll vs. Mark Disco
In the 10/11/06 WWWednesday post I noted the following story:

I was saving this for a WWWednesday post, but now most of you have already seen it. Mark Driscoll posted some fascinating thoughts on Jenna Jameson on Monday. Yes, that Jenna Jameson...

Later in November '06, someone came to this blog looking for "Mark Disco"... Prompting this from me:

I post about Mark Driscoll fairly often. But, have you read my posts on his rather odd cousin, Mark Disco?? Oh yes... I've long been a fan of his 'best and farest' [whatever that means] work with the OC Bombers [whoever they are]. And you thought he was just a good dancer!*

5) Best opening line EVAR!!!
The opening line is a classic: "She was the Robochick. He was Billy-O. According to police, her obsession with him led her to drive 900 miles from Houston to Orlando, bringing with her a trenchcoat and wig, armed with a BB gun and pepper spray, and wearing a diaper to avoid bathroom breaks on the arduous drive." Then it gets wei rd.

4) 1st WWWednesday post and Cessationsomething
Noteworthy simply for the trend that it set. One thing I used to do was list search terms that people used to find this blog... I'm particularly fond of one that I mentioned in this post:

It seems that I know a little something about "cessationism or cessationist or cessationists or charismatics or charismata or continuationist or continuationism or charistmatic". Then again, given all those 'or' statements, I imagine google just returned the whole web.

3) The Princess Bride as legal proof
How could we forget and the disgusting/amusing story of Bryan Hathaway?

"Bryan (no relation) was caught getting a little friendly with a deer in a roadside ditch. A dead deer. And this is no first offense, mind you. He'd "previously has served time for killing a horse he intended to sexually assault". As if that isn't enough, check out this gem of a quote from his attorney his court filing:

Whether the term "animal" includes carcasses presented and issue of statutory interpretation... [A]n "organism" is defined as "a living individual; a plant or animal." Thus, the term "animal" refers to a living organism, not a carcass.

In addition defining animal to include carcasses would lead to absurd results. At what point of decompose would the carcass cease being an animal? ... As Billy Crystal noted in The Princess Bride (1987), "There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead."

It's bad enough that attorneys, once considered intelligensia in our society, are having to argue whether or not fornicating with an animal carcass violates a statute against fornication with animals. It's even worse when, to really zing their point home, the refer to The Princess Bride."

2) "I have only done this once before..."
1) Julie's classic "Sixth Sola of the Reformation"
"Julie @ Lone Prarie seems to be a regular feature of these WWWednesday posts. Her rediscovery of the 6th Sola of Reformation is perhaps the most deserving link yet. I wonder if this will make Piper an 8-point Calvinist instead of the oh-so-yesterday '7-point' variety..."

Favorite Posts [8] : (Pre)Destined for Debate

2008-04-22T10:29:00.006-04:00

In the fall of '06, the Reformosphere was in a buzz about the on again, off again debate between the Caner brothers and James White/Tom Ascol re: Calvinism in Baptist streams. That same month, one of our pastors started a series on reformed theology in our adult class at church.

Eventually we wound up in the death-spiral discussion of the infamous doctrine of predestination. It's funny that the idea of God sovereignly extending grace to thankless sinners can cause so much bile and distress. Actually, it's not funny or surprising after all. Every one of us clings desperately to our own sovereignty far too often - in our thoughts (theologically), in our lives (functually), or both...

Anyway, I decided to write a series of posts recounting my own wrestling with this difficult doctrine. My hope was to give a couple people in our class the chance to chew on things through the week... I don't know if this helped or hurt, but I was blessed by meditating on the grace evident in the Gospel again.

(Pre)Destined for debate [1]
(Pre)Destined for debate [2]
(Pre)Destined for debate [3]
(Pre)Destined for debate [4]

Favorite Posts [9] : Bad Theology Rants

2008-04-21T10:53:00.007-04:00

As I went through all the posts that have appeared on this blog, it is obvious that my favorite literary medium is the rant. My best rants were usually reserved for the completely whack theology that I'd come across...

Here a countdown of my personal favorites:

6) Brian McLaren's novel approach to tough issues
I am a person who often needs to spend a lot of time thinking things through... My brain is underpowered and has too many cobwebs around for me to be willing to just pontificate at the drop of a hat (more on that in a future post).

Even so, something about Brian McLaren's approach to dealing with the homosexuality issue just made my teeth grind together. Again, my brain is slow... But it seems to me that the issue has already been clearly resolved in Scripture. Take it or leave it.

5) Whatever Joel Osteen is, it ain't a pastor
Smilin' Joel-O has been a favorite whipping boy of mine since I first heard him 'preach' on TV. I'm sure Joel is a nice guy, and he may even be a Christian... But he cannot be a good pastor - at least not when held against any Biblical standard of 'pastoring'.

Just for comparison, take a gander at this little juxtaposition of the message in Joel-O's first book and John Owen. Which one is more likely to shepherd the readers toward conformation to the image of Christ?

4) Low-balling marriage for the sake of 'mission'
Another Emergent rant... In this case, I'm rambling about how one emergent pastor (Bill Yaccino) decides whom he'll marry at his church. He seems to think that giving 'spiritual people' their traditional church wedding is a way to be "missional". I beg to differ.

This was the 2nd 'big link' in this little blog's history... Of course, two posts after this I ranted against the owner of the 'watch-blog' that linked in. So much for that budding opportunity at fame.

3) "Snoogums the Chihuahua" and Purpose-Driven Pets
Still one of the top-hit generators on this blog, and the first of two pot-shots taken at the Purpose-Driven man himself, Rick Warren.

I love animals... Really! But there's just something wrong with accepting a theology that says Heaven will include our pets since we probably couldn't be happy in eternity without them. I dunno. I just don't remember see that bit surrounding the endless cries re: the triumph of the Lamb. Perhaps it's in the apocrypha?

This was the 1st 'big link' in Dluxe's World history - and it came from no less than the mega-uber-blogger Tim Challies. I suppose when you link someone, quote them, and describe their comments as "eloquent" good things are bound to happen. Thanks, Tim!

2) The Methodist Chronicles (Part 1 and Part 2)
I was born and raised in a small-town United Methodist church. So, it's not surprising that I keep an eye on the developments within the UMC and feel the need to rant about what I see.

First, I went a little coo-coo-for-Coco-Puffs over the Minnesota UMC's decision to "to fully welcome gays and lesbians and to support gay marriage and the ordination of gay clergy." As I mentioned re: Brian McLaren above, I just can't help but see that issue as settled in Scripture. The post did lead to a fun discussion with my favorite Methodist seminarian (and soon-to-be-pastor), Josh Doughty.

Josh reappeared (on request) for the fun in my second UMC rant... This time, my blowing a fuse was caused by the decision of one church/conference to retain a pastor after he and/or she had undergone a sex-change. I didn't really rant much - instead leaving the insightful commentary to the much more piercing Al Mohler.

1) Beware of the concordance!
This isn't really a rant, per se, but it's absolutely my favorite "They did what??!?!" post of all time. Try to figure out what's wrong with this banner ad I spied while surfing the net one day (church name clipped to protect the guilty).

Once you think you've got it, click here to get the answer from the original post.

Ahhhh.... The internet. Never-ending source of amusement.

This blog will be dead in two weeks.

2008-04-19T20:27:00.003-04:00

I have been blogging here since November of 2005 - nearly two and a half years. And it's time for it to stop.

This blog will be dead in two weeks. It's been a fun ride, but all things come to an end.

For me, there are some compelling reasons to stop trying to keep up with updating a site that was really only intended to be seen by me and a couple friends. God has, through this weird medium of 'the net', been kind and allowed me to chat/connect with many more people that I would've imagined... And I'm exceedingly grateful for the way those conversations have led to 'friendships', challenges to think more clearly, a laugh or two, and a continued deepening in my affection for - and knowledge of - Jesus Christ.

But it is clear that this is the time to cut the blog-line.

For the next couple weeks, I'll be posting reflections on my previous blogging. Mainly, there will be links to old posts that I thought said something meaningful or particularly humorous. I intend to repost summaries of a couple 'series' that I did on here in order to pull the content forward and aggregate the posts for some future surfer who stumbles here. I may post on some of my reasons for quitting, or I might not.

Regardless, start the countdown. This blog will be dead in two weeks.

Wisdom for the Weekend [7]

2008-04-18T07:27:00.002-04:00

In Romans 10 Paul argues cogently for the necessity of preaching the gospel if people are to become Christians. His argument implies that there must be a solid content in our evangelistic proclamation of Christ. It is our responsibility to set Jesus Christ forth in the fullness of his divine-human person and saving work so that through this "preaching of Christ" God may arouse faith in the hearer...

Let me invite you to consider the place of the mind in evangelism, and let me supply two reasons from the New Testament for a thoughtful proclamation of the gospel.

The first is taken from the example of the apostles. Paul summed up his own evangelistic ministry in the simple words "we persuade men." Now "persuading" is an intellectual exercise. To "persuade" is to marshal arguments in order to prevail on people to change their mind about something.

The second New Testament evidence that our evangelism should be a reasoned presentation of the gospel is that conversion is not infrequently described in terms of a person's response not to Christ himself but to "the truth." Becoming a Christian is "believing the truth," "obeying the truth," "acknowledging the truth." Paul even describes his Roman readers as having "become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed." It is plain from these expressions that in preaching Christ the early Christian evangelists were teaching a body of doctrine about Christ.

I pray earnestly that God will raise up today a new generation of Christian apologists or Christian communicators, who will combine an absolute loyalty to the biblical gospel and an unwavering confidence in the power of the Spirit with a deep and sensitive understanding of the contemporary alternatives to the gospel; who will relate the one to the other with freshness, pungency, authority and relevance; and who will use their minds to reach other minds for Christ.

John Stott

Is it a sin to covet a new Bible?

2008-04-17T11:42:00.005-04:00

You can view sample pages and the like here, but if these endorsements don't make you want a new ESV Study Bible I think you need therapy. :)

"The ESV Study Bible is the finest study tool I have seen in fifty years of Bible teaching." Jerry Bridges

"The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God." - John Piper

"Wow! Concise, lucid, enlightening—the ESV Study Bible is an amazing resource. With its textual fidelity, doctrinal substance, and artistic beauty, the ESV Study Bible will be an immense help to all who hunger for God-breathed Scripture. I wholeheartedly recommend this exceptional resource." - Randy Alcorn

“Outstanding! The ESV Study Bible is a treasure—a beautiful volume, filled with a wealth of resources. It will be just as useful for the seminarian and long-time pastor as it will be accessible to the brand-new Christian.” - R. Albert Mohler Jr.

"I can’t imagine a greater gift to the body of Christ than the ESV Study Bible. It is a potent combination indeed: the reliability and readability of the ESV translation, supplemented by the best of modern and faithful scholarship, packaged in an accessible and attractive format. A Christian could make no wiser investment for himself, a pastor could recommend no better resource for his congregation." - C. J. Mahaney

“Like the ESV itself, this Study Bible sets a new standard in excellence. The craftsmanship invested in every page—from the insightful articles and informative notes to the crisp design and gorgeous illustrations—makes it an invaluable tool for students of God’s Word. As a pastor it’s my goal to get one into the hands of every member of my church.” - Joshua Harris

[HT: Justin Taylor]

"You had a bad WWWednesDAY."

2008-04-16T10:17:00.001-04:00

Mascot Bloopers - Click here for more amazing videos

Tim4G

2008-04-14T15:20:00.002-04:00

Well, Tim is off to Together for the Gospel... Originally, I was registered. Shortly thereafter, $ issues caused me to cancel. Then Tim decided to go.

And now, I alternate between excitement for him and (in moments of lesser sanctification) seething jealousy. Kidding, of course. Mostly. :)

In case you are unawares, roughly 5000 pastors, their wives, and assorted other reformed types are descending on Louisville, Kentucky for this conference. You might even know someone there.

Be praying for the Gospel to truly draw these people together... I'll post any audio/video links I come across so we can feel like we're there too!

Wisdom for the Weekend [6]

2008-04-11T09:26:00.002-04:00

I have tried to sketch six spheres of Christian living in which the mind plays an essential part -- Christian worship, faith, holiness, guidance, evangelism and ministry. If these things are impossible without using our minds and acquiring some biblical knowledge, we must also recognize the corollary, that the acquisition of biblical knowledge must lead into these things and enrich our experience of them. Knowledge carries with it the solemn responsibility to act on the knowledge we have, to translate our knowledge into appropriate behavior. Let me enlarge on this.

First, knowledge should lead to worship. The true knowledge of God will result not in our being puffed up with conceit at how knowledgeable we are, but in our falling on our faces before God in sheer wonder and crying, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unscrutable his ways!"

Secondly, knowledge should lead to faith. We have already seen that knowledge is the foundation of faith and makes faith reasonable. "Those who know thy name put their trust in thee," wrote the psalmist.

Thirdly, knowledge should lead to holiness. We have considered some ways in which our conduct could be transformed if only we knew more clearly both what we should be and what we already are. But now we have to see how the more our knowledge grows, the greater our responsibility to put it into practice. Psalm 119 is full of aspirations to know God's law. Why? In order the better to obey it.

Fourthly, knowledge should lead to love. The more we know, the more we should want to share what we know with others and use our knowledge in their service, whether in evangelism or in ministry. Sometimes, however, our love will restrain our knowledge. For by itself knowledge can be harsh; it needs the sensitivity which love can give it. This is what Paul meant when he wrote: "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

Knowledge is indispensable to the Christian life and service. If we do not use the mind which God has given us, we condemn ourselves to spiritual superficiality and cut ourselves off from many of the riches of God's grace. At the same time, knowledge is given us to be used , to lead us to higher worship, greater faith, deeper holiness, better service. What we need is not less knowledge but more knowledge, so long as we act upon it.

John Stott, "The Mind in Christian Life"

AWESOME ALERT!!!!!

2008-04-10T16:43:00.001-04:00

This is an "all hands on deck" Awesome Alert.

Matt Chandler, John Piper, Mark Driscoll. Doing Q&A.

SWWWednesday and a miss...

2008-04-09T13:45:00.003-04:00

Sorry posting has been so lame. Will try to do better.

Wisdom for the Weekend [5]

2008-04-04T10:11:00.002-04:00

The Reformosphere (see if that term sticks) has been buzzing as of late thanks to the release of Colin Hansen's book Young, Restless, Reformed. This book is an outgrowth of an article Hansen wrote for Christianity Today last year.

As one of the young(er) Reformed-sorts, I've been interested to get hands on a copy of Hansen's book. However, before even reading it I think that Scott Lamb's 'review' is an important read. If I can borrow a hip-hop turn of phrase - "We need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves."

So, a little modern wisdom for your weekend. Read Scott's article here.

[ht: Challies, naturally]

ChocoWWWate

2008-04-02T09:26:00.002-04:00

Who knew the death of chocolate could be so creepily beautiful?

Or how about frighteningly absurd?

More here.

Enter the April

2008-04-01T08:56:00.003-04:00

Well, March came in like a something and went out like a something. So I suppose that means we're in April...

For me, March '08 wasn't nearly as productive on a reading front as I had hoped. I planned to read some Sibbes, but was bummed to discover that not much of his stuff has made it out on the web. A sermon here and a sermon there. That said, what a preacher! Sibbes just seems to be incredibly adept at encouraging the saints by shining light on the evidences of God's grace in our lives.

Obviously, this consolation is the whole bent of Bruise d Reed, but it's always interesting to see how different pastors have particular themes that God weaves into them.

The other major read I got through in March was Tripp's Age of Opportunity. What a fantastic little book... I keep wondering when I will come across a CCEF book that won't represent a home run. Haven't found it yet. So, if you're a parent of a teen or a pastor with responsibility for ministering to teens or their parents, I would urge you to pick up a copy and feast.

Well, onto April. I'm picking up the month by (re)reading John Stott's Cross of Christ. I raced through it when I was going through my reading regiment over a year ago... But, I really didn't savor it at that time and I honestly think I need to spend some time 'abiding hard at the Cross' for my own soul.

On display, not on stage

2008-03-31T08:46:00.005-04:00

In preparing this section of Matthew 6 for our Bible study, one phrase/analogy kept ringing in my ears.

We are intending to be on display for Christ, rather than on stage for him.

When you go to an art museum, there are various works on display. None of them are shouting at you for your attention, none of them are clamoring for the best spot for display, and they do not speak a word to promote their own glory. They are silent, but at the same time plainly testify to something outside of themselves. Some are contemplative, others are beautiful, quirky, amusing, or even gaudy. But they are unaware of themselves in a wonderful way - simply 'being' what their maker made them... Reflecting the artists skill and personality which brought them into being.

An actor, on the other hand, consciously puts on a different face in every play. The person who appears when the lights may be loud and blaring even though the actor may be quiet and meek. Actors toil at their craft, and no doubt take pride in it. Most walk on stage thirsting for the applause and adulation of the curtain call. They gleefully sign autographs or grant interviews to reporters and critics who want to know them and their gifting. Playwrights write plays for them - having a particular person in mind for a particular role.

They must perform and be noticed, because their next role depends on them being valued and known. Far too often, the craving for attention spills over into a life that can no longer distinguish between the private and the public - never being able to escape the stage. Sure, they point to the mastery of the playwright (to the degree their acting allows them to 'disappear' into the plot), but they are not unconscious of it.

So, it shouldn't be surprising that the word for 'hypocrite' in our passage is the same word for an actor. The hypocrites were out to display themselves and their faux righteousness, stepping on stage and calling all eyes to rest on them. Whatever attention went to God for their giving, prayers, and fasting was secondary to them - a fortunate side-effect of their curtain call and evidence of God's grace surpassing our sin.

We must live our lives before God, humbly willing to take no credit and receive no praises while here on Earth. This doesn't mean we don't talk about our giving or pray in public ever... However, we must have hearts that are content with the Savior alone seeing our lives and being pleased.

Calvin, commenting on these verses puts it so well:

[Jesus] tells them, that God does not need a strong light to perceive good actions: for those things, which appear to be buried in darkness, are open to his view. We have no reason, therefore, to suppose that what escapes the notice, and receives not the testimony of men, is lost... A most appropriate remedy is thus applied for curing the disease of ambition, when he reminds us to fix our eye on God: for this banishes from our minds, and will utterly destroy, all vain-glory. — In the second clause, which immediately follows, Christ reminds us that, in looking for the reward of good works, we must wait patiently till the last day, the day of resurrection. Thy Father, says he, shall reward thee openly.

To express it in a few words, whether a man prays alone, or in the presence of others, he ought to have the same feelings, as if he were shut up in his closet, and had no other witness but God.

Believers do not pray, with the view of informing God about things unknown to him, or of exciting him to do his duty, or of urging him as though he were reluctant. On the contrary, [believers] pray, in order that they may arouse themselves to seek him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on his promises, that they may relieve themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into his bosom; in a word, that they may declare that from Him alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things. God himself, on the other hand, has purposed freely, and without being asked, to bestow blessings upon us; but he promises that he will grant them to our prayers. We must, therefore, maintain both of these truths, that He freely anticipates our wishes, and yet that we obtain by prayer what we ask.

May God display His beauty and perfections in us, and remove all our ambition for the spotlight and the encores of the crowd.

Wisdom for the Weekend [4]

2008-03-28T07:34:00.004-04:00

Give me a hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a bit whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.

John Wesley

I have but one candle of life to burn and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light.

John Falconer

If God calls you to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king.

Jordan Groom

Untold millions are still untold... Here, and abroad. Who will tell them?

Had a missions committee meeting last night... Can you tell?

Oh, what a beautiful WWWednesday...

2008-03-26T08:01:00.003-04:00

I am hardly a fan of visual arts, but I recently stumbled across a video medium that seems to be 'hip' right now called kinetic typography. It's fascinating to me for some reason.

On a completely different note, how many other people agree that this experiment seems to headed for a bad end?

Let me be the first person to welcome our new hybrid-liger overlords.

Next week, a "Death [of] Chocolate" themed WWWednesday!!

What a day...

2008-03-25T09:17:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging... Nothing new today, I'm afraid. We're moving offices at work. Lots of other stuff on the mind to think about while I'm waiting for the movers to come carry me away....

Come on WWWednesday!

He is Risen!

2008-03-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

[W]e are but dead men, we are like so many carcasses wrapped up in grave clothes, till that same Jesus who called Lazarus from his tomb, and at whose own resurrection many that slept arose, doth raise us also by his quickening Spirit from our natural death, in which we have so long lain, to a holy and heavenly life.

We might think ourselves happy, if we had seen the Holy Jesus after He was risen from the dead, and our hands had handled that Lord of life. But more happy are they who have not seen him, and yet having felt the power of his resurrection, therefore believe in him. For many saw our divine master, who were not saved by him; but whosoever has thus felt the power of his resurrection, has the earnest of his inheritance in his heart, he has passed from death to life, and shall never fall into final condemnation.

I am very sensible that this is foolishness to the natural man, as were many such like truths to our Lord’s own disciples, when only weak in faith, before he rose again... O that all unbelievers, all letter-learned masters of Israel, who now look upon the doctrine of the power of Christ’s resurrection, or our new birth, as an idle tale, and condemn the preachers of it as enthusiasts and madmen, did but thus feel the power of it in their souls, they would no longer ask, how this thing could be? But they would be convinced of it, as much as Thomas was, when he saw the Lord’s Christ; and like him, when Jesus bid him reach out his hands and thrust them into his side, in a holy confession they would cry out, “My Lord and my God!”

George Whitefield, The Power of Christ's Resurrection

The Best Friday

2008-03-21T13:41:00.006-04:00

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Is 53:3-6)

"Here we have a beautiful contrast. In ourselves we are scattered; in Christ we are gathered together. By nature we go astray, and are driven headlong to destruction; in Christ we find the course by which we are conducted to the harbor of salvation. Our sins are a heavy load; but they are laid on Christ, by whom we are freed from the load. Thus, when we were ruined, and, being estranged from God, were hastening to hell, Christ took upon him the filthiness of our iniquities, in order to rescue us from everlasting destruction. This must refer exclusively to guilt and punishment; for he was free from sin. (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22) Let every one, therefore, diligently consider his own iniquities, that he may have a true relish of that grace, and may obtain the benefit of the death of Christ." John Calvin

"Wonderful medicine! Marvelous healing! Where shall we find the like? The Physician drinks the bitter draught, and so cures the patient; whoever heard of such a wonder as this? The Physician is put to death, and that great sacrifice heals the patient; whoever heard of such a thing as this before? The whole gospel in a nutshell lies in this verse: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
...
There is no meaning at all in this chapter if it does not teach that Christ did take upon himself the sin of his people, and did suffer in their room and place and stead. Let who will object to this doctrine, it is the gospel, the very heart and marrow of it; and there is nothing that can make a heavy heart glad until it sees sin removed by the death of Christ: “He shall bear their iniquities.”" C.H. Spurgeon

Update: If you want to listen to a fantastic exposition of this passage in Isaiah, I don't think you can find better than C.J. Mahaney's address at last year's Resolved Conference. Tony has graciously posted it on the SGM Blog. Click here and check the audio.

Keller @ Google...

2008-03-20T10:27:00.003-04:00

Last Friday's post was a video of Tim Keller speaking at UC-Berkeley. The next day, he delivered a similar speech at Google and the vid has finally found its way out onto the net.

Since I haven't said anything else original this week, I thought I'd keep up the tradition and post the new Keller vid for your edification.

Deef made an interesting point last night... Over a year ago, Keller delivered a speech at the Desiring God conference calling all our best theologians and thinkers to work on a compact Gospel presentation that would fit the rising postmodern mindset... The old 'pitches' (4 Spiritual Laws, Evangelism Explosion, etc) assume a quasi-biblical worldview that just is less and less common in our culture today. Deef pointed out that Keller is answering his own call with his book and taking this presentation into places like google.

Anyway, enjoy the vid.

Tomorrow is Good Friday so I'll post something appropriately reflective, Lord willing.

I am the WWWednesday. Koo Koo Katchoo!

2008-03-19T07:44:00.003-04:00

With that out of the way, how's about some classic cinema?

Or maybe some cool science?

Yes.

2008-03-18T10:52:00.002-04:00

Read this. That's all for today. That link is enough.

Happy Birthday, Cadie!

2008-03-17T09:10:00.002-04:00

I'm home for the day to celebrate my daughter's birthday with family. We're blessed to have my parents up from Delaware and my mother-in-law freshly returned from Kenya.

Back to posting tomorrow, Lord willing.

Wisdom for the Weekend [3]

2008-03-14T08:13:00.003-04:00

This is long, but just awesome. Sit, listen, chew, and discuss.

HT: Steve McCoy

The Limits of ID

2008-03-13T08:13:00.011-04:00

As the previous post (well, the comment, actually) shows, I'm feeling 'ranty' today... I was exchanging emails with a good friend regarding teaching people in our church last night. In one message, he mentioned this:

I had a woman [at work] this week tell me that she did not matter and that she only lived to not disappoint her daughter. Her life ended when her husband left her 20 years ago. She said that she loved her husband and expected the same in return. She acknowledged that there was a design to marriage and family and that her husband had violated that design when he left her and now her life had no meaning. I said if there was a design then surely she must acknowledge a designer and that perhaps the designer was the origin of her meaning. Her reply was, "but my parents are dead." This is the kind of depressive thinking I see too often.

There's a lot to say about that. But, I just want to rant on one narrow slice for a moment. I think that Christians are being far too enthusiastic about embracing Intelligent Design as a gadget for evangelism.

I remember Ravi Zacharias mentioning that life has four big questions that we are seeking to answer:

Origin (Where did I come from?)
Meaning (Why am I here?)
Morality (What is right/wrong, or good/evil?)
Destiny (Where am I going?)

Using intelligent design as an apologetic platform is fundamentally flawed, in my opinion, because it only seeks to answer the first question. Let's assume that I am sitting down with a skeptic here at my office... Through a winsome presentation of ID theory, there is a breakthrough in their mind and they begin - perhaps for the first time - to see and acknowledge the presence and intervention of a Designer.

If I pick up my cup of coffee and go home now, what have I accomplished? This person is aware of a Designer with no idea of the Designer's identity or how to connect to him/her. I haven't gone far enough in bringing this person towards a revelation of who God is. Now, I understand that not everyone in the ID community picks up their coffee and leaves. Still, the stock mantra of ID doesn't go far enough.

ID is also universalist in nature. If my friend leaves our coffee time believing for the first time in a designer, what happens when the Mormon missionaries show up on his doorstep that evening? The argument for design in isolation is just as effective for them to use as a means of drawing my friend towards a false gospel as it could be towards drawing my friend to the true Gospel.

Two people in our church are doing biology studies here at the college. They informed me that a Muslim scholar, Harun Yahya, had produced a book called the Atlas of Creation and sent copies to nearly all the life sciences professors at major US universities. In the 'About the Author' section of the 1st edition, you read the following:

The Prophet's seal on his books' covers is symbolic and is linked to their contents. It represents the Qur'an (the Final Scripture) and Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace), last of the prophets. Under the guidance of the Qur'an and the Sunnah (teachings of the Prophet [may God bless him and grant him peace]), the author makes it his purpose to disprove each fundamental tenet of irreligious ideologies and to have the "last word," so as to completely silence the objections raised against religion. He uses the seal of the final Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace), who attained ultimate wisdom and moral perfection, as a sign of his intention to offer the last word.
All of Harun Yahya's works share one single goal: to convey the Qur'an's message, encourage readers to consider basic faith-related issues such as God's existence and unity and the Hereafter; and to expose irreligious systems' feeble foundations and perverted ideologies.

What is to prevent me from following Allah as a result of ID argumentation? I read this book, was convinced, and it pointed me to Allah, right? Maybe the Designer was Allah. Or maybe Vishnu, or maybe even Xenu & L. Ron? Intelligent design points to our Creator, but leaves it up to our sinful minds to identify and seek Him.

The trick is that the Bible says we already know God and willfully suppress the knowledge of Him so we can go on in rebellion. What is to prevent that same sinful impulse from leading me to the altar of 'another god'?

Lastly, I fear that ID might allow us - or even motivate us - to escape from the offense of Christ's work on the cross. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians:

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God... Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men...

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 1:17-2:2, ESV)

I can't help but believe that there inside of every true Christian is a nagging voice which reminds us that, without the Gospel, people will perish. They need to hear, and they won't hear unless someone speaks to them (Romans 10). So, we feel that urge to speak but know that what we have to say will be offensive and uncomfortable. As a result, we selfishly look for ways to speak while not offending - to silence the nagging feeling inside without alienating the person in front of us. So, we speak in broad terms of a Creator and design without getting to the hard issues of our sin and need for redemption.

We must preach the Gospel. With only a knowledge of a Creator, people stand condemned in their sins. With only an acknowledgment of design, a hurting world is left to cast about in an attempt to find relationship with their Creator - all the while being driven apart from Him by their sin.

If we want to comfort the hurting and redeem the lost, we must bring the only message that truly can bring lasting change and fulfillment to someone's life.

Let's revisit the woman in our first example... When someone confesses their life has no meaning, can we please be bold enough to take them by the hand and say something like this:

Let me tell you what I believe... I believe that there is a loving God who made everything we see. He crafted the whole world, including every cell in your body, with His hand. But instead of running to Him, the Bible tells us that we have all rebelled against God. We have taken His laws, that He gave for our good, and broken them in our own selfish interests. God is just and pure, so our lawbreaking deserves punishment.

The incredibly good news is that God loves you so much that, rather than punish you for your rebellion, He chose to punish His only Son. So, Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again so we can be brought back to God. Our sentence has already been served by another.

If you want meaning, find life in the only one who can give you that... Look to the cross where God demonstrates His love for rebels like you and me, believe, and live!

Now, look. I say that as much out of aspiration as anyone. I certainly don't embrace evangelistic moments the way that I should... But my point is that I believe the Holy Spirit is just as capable of converting someone's heart with a 'naked' presentation of the Gospel as He is able to draw them using Intelligent Design arguments. If that's true (and it is), can't we just get to the main thing and trust the details to God?

ID, though awesome and cool, cannot being people to Christ. If we win people to Intelligent Design with no recognition of Jesus, then we haven't won them to anything yet. We must be faithful to answer all the important questions, and the Gospel in itself does that.

It's offensive, but it's true. And God honors to proclamation of the glory of His Son. So, let's speak boldly and rationally. Not the other way around.

Welcome to the [Homeschool] California.

2008-03-13T07:35:00.006-04:00

Al Mohler brings everyone up to speed on the California homeschool controversy.

Whoa! A WWWednesday?!?!?!

2008-03-12T07:39:00.005-04:00

What blog resurrection would be complete without restoring WWWednesdays to their former glory??

1) Chuck Norris has, not surprisingly, laid a whoopin' on Oprah. However, you might be surprised to know his whoopin' was of the theological variety. The pen is mightier than the roundhouse kick, you know. (HT: centuri0n)

2) Speaking of violence... Would you believe that Mark Driscoll tried to take down John Piper at the recent Text/Context conference? (BTW, the excellent conference audio is now online here!)

3) VIDEOS. We gots them.

First off, if these things aren't cool, I don't know what is.

Long time readers know I have a geek-thing for Japanese culture - particularly their advertising. In that spirit, this cracked me up:

This proved some Japanese have too much time on their hands:

And this proved Japanese animals are just spooky:

Tune in next week for more wwwackiness.

Continuing to Re-cease Continuationist Cessations

2008-03-11T08:27:00.002-04:00

About a year and a half ago, I wrote a series of posts stating my position on the continuationist/cessationist debate. In the end, I landed (firmly) in the camp of the 'Reformed charismatics' though I've since come to strongly prefer the identifier of 'Reformed continuationist'. Same meaning, half the baggage!

Anyway, Nathan Busenitz started a string of posts interacting with the same material over on Pulpit Blog starting in January of '07. We interacted briefly in the comments over there, and I was looking forward to him continuing to offer his thoughts. Nathan is, as we say in New England, wicked smart (pronouced 'smahht') and I've learned much through his posts.

He's picked up the topic again, and so I thought I would point everyone to it. For the record, Nathan's arguments haven't moved me from my position. But if we aren't humble listening to the opinions of people we respect and evaluating our theology in light of their comments, it probably points past firm biblical convictions towards the idol of pride. So, let's read along and discuss... Shall we?

O-well.

2008-03-10T13:49:00.003-04:00

Little political diversion, for a moment.

I just finished taking down the Huckabee poster that was on my bulletin board... Yes, I was in denial. Anyway, almost immediately thereafter a friend forwarded this to me and asked if I'd hop on the Obama-bandwagon.

Just to be clear, I think Senator Obama is an amazing, charisma-rich (charismatic has a dif'rnt meaning on this blog) candidate and may well be the best political communicator we've seen since Reagan...

Nonetheless, I'll pass on the bandwagon. I can't really stomach the Senator's economic policy, and definitely won't support his social/moral platform even with a gun to my head. So, go on without me... I guess I'll catch a different train.

Wisdom for the Weekend [2]

2008-03-07T07:20:00.004-05:00

"Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles." (Matthew 12:18)

And shall God love [Christ] and delight in him, and shall not our soul delight in Christ? ... Does Christ delight in us, and God delight in Christ, and shall not we delight in Christ that delights in us, and in whom God delights? In I Cor. 16:22, the apostle is bold to pronounce a bitter curse ... upon him that loves not the Lord Christ Jesus, a most bitter curse.

Christ shall [became] a servant to do our work for us, to suffer for us, to bear the burden of our sins upon the tree, to become our husband, to bestow his riches upon us, to raise us to the same condition with himself... God loves and delights in him for the work of salvation and redemption by his blood, and shall not we love and embrace him for his love which is for our good? What good has God by it but only the glory of his mercy, in saving our souls through Christ? Therefore if God love him for the good he does to us, much more should we love him for the fruit of it that we receive ourselves.

It should shame us therefore when we find dullness and coldness upon us, that we can hear of anything better than of Christ; and arguments concerning Christ are cold to us. Alas! Where is our love, and joy, and delight; and when we can make no better but a carnal use of the incarnation and other benefits by Christ? We should therefore desire God to shed the love of Christ into our hearts more and more, that we may feel in our souls the love that he bears to us, and may love God and Christ again, for that that he has done for us.

Richard Sibbes, A Description of Christ

(re)Marriage - Matthew 5:31-32 [3]

2008-03-06T20:30:00.005-05:00

Building off these two posts, we're now at the point of trying to frame a Biblical response to the common 'application' questions that spring out of reading Matthew 5:31-32. I think there are three questions that we might need to answer:

How do we counsel someone who is considering a divorce based on their husband/wife's infidelity?
What obligations does a single person who previously was divorced (for any reason) have to their single, former spouse in light of this teaching?
How does our counsel change if one or both parties have remarried?

These questions can obviously be situationally nuanced many ways... Still, I think this gives us broad categories that will be helpful. Also I'm assuming, for the purpose of this exercise, that we're dealing with professed believers on both sides of the relationship.

For illustration, let's create a fictitious couple - John and Suzy. John and Suzy are both professing Christians, valued members of a local church, and have exhibited evidences of God's grace (fruit) in their lives (though, as this picture demonstrates, that grace hasn't crossed into the area of 'fashion'). John, seemingly out of nowhere, is discovered to have entered into an affair with a woman from his office. Suzy is deeply grieved over this development but desires, above all, to honor Christ with her conduct towards John.

1) How do we counsel Suzy, who is considering a divorce due to John's marital infidelity?
I think, based on Scripture, that the over-arching theme that should be present in the interrelating of two Christians is that of 'grace'. While the pain of adultery is deep and very, very real, adultery is still a sin for which Christ died in order to secure forgiveness from God. As we each recognize the vast depth of our sin before God's holiness, we should see other people's failings in a completely different light than the rest of the world. Believers should also understand that, while we are profoundly impacted by these sins 'against us', the fact is that the core issue is the offense against our holy God.

I am convicted, given the deep meanings applied to marriage in the Old and New Testaments and given the grace we see displayed in Christ, that a Suzy should seek marital reconciliation - even facing John's adultery. The provision for divorce in the Law is just that - a provision, and not a command. If there is a even glimmer of hope that the marriage can be reconciled (that is, if the John attempts to stop his behavior and professes any repentance), then I think we must pursue the restoration. God is glorified in making right those things that seem completely beyond any human expectation of peace.

This kind of humility and commitment on the part of both husband and wife is, in itself, an evidence of grace. And those around the couple must join in crying out to God for His hand to be evidenced in the knitting back together of what has been torn. Without the miraculous work of God's Spirit in this marriage, true, Biblical restoration is humanly impossible.

That said, if John continues to chase after sin through repeated/continued infidelity and scornful indifference towards restoration of the marriage, I think there is ground for the Suzy to seek a divorce. In the OT, we noted that the penalty for adultery was death and that such a penalty ends earthly marriage. Similarly, a complete ly debased pattern of adultery and hardheartedness at least starts to release Suzy from her marital obligation. HOWEVER, this must never be seen as a 'good thing'. It is sad beyond words - the option of absolute last resort and cannot be taken without considerable attempts to extend grace/mercy and after much prayer. And even so, I can't help but hear overtones of 1 Corinthians 5 ringing that the ultimate purpose of this action would (hopefully) be to restore John and bring him back into right relationship with Christ.

2) John's continued pattern of sin results in Suzy pursuing a much-grieved divorce. Two years later, God graciously breaks John's heart over his sin and he leaves his lover. He finds that Suzy has still not remarried. What obligations do they now have to one another?

Assuming true repentance from John, the marriage should be restored. Period. The couple should seek Biblical counseling through, and in subjection to, their local church with a definite plan to work through the (undoubtedly) lingering issues and legally reconstitute the marriage.

In God's eyes, the covenant of marriage was clearly intended to be one man with one woman for one lifetime. Since restoration is possible, it must be pursued. As noted above, the mercy and grace required for these two people to truly knit themselves together again is massive - but God is able and we must place our trust in Him. There is a long, slow road ahead of John & Suzy, but it is the right road to be on.

3) Suzy and John's divorce has been final for several years. After a time, Suzy meets another man through her church and remarries. Later, John is crushed over his previous sin by the ministry of the Spirit. What obligations do John and Suzy have to one another?

I think the conduct here is straightforward... John should seek to communicate his (genuine!) sorrow and repentance to Suzy for the pain he caused in their marriage. True forgiveness should be extended to one another. However, under no circumstances should Suzy or John consider 'striking up the old band again'. Suzy has now married - with the full weight of the Biblical obligations - another man. The idea that some people have of tearing on marriage up to restore another is ludicrous!

I hope it is obvious that a massive amount of pastoral care and discernment will need to be applied here. For example, John should not contact Suzy directly. Instead, his peace-making overtures should be sent through Suzy's church/pastors or through her husband. Clearly, the emotionally-charged nature of the situation implies that contact through the church might be the better option. I would also think that Suzy's husband or one of her pastors should be present for any and all communication she has with John.

The purpose of these conversations is to allow both John and Suzy to repent to one another and extend forgiveness. Once that is done, I think it is wise for them to go their separate ways and not maintain contact for at least some time. Suzy is now another man's wife, and nothing in this reconciliation process should be allowed to deceptively compromise her marriage through stirring 'old flames' for her former husband. Indeed, I would say that if John had heard Suzy was 'newly married' he should just hold his peace until the new couple has firmly settled into their marriage. As it is (fictitiously, that is), John and Suzy must set clear, appropriate boundaries with discerning input from those people who keep watch over their souls.

I suppose it is possible that, in time, John and Suzy (and their new spouses) may build a friendship. If so, what a beautiful picture of how God's grace is able to restore and make new! Nonetheless, the purpose of repentance/reconciliation at this stage is different than before: Here, John's coming forward to seek reconciliation should be seen as a way to enable Suzy, his sister in Christ, to be a better wife to her new husband and freed from past guilt to serve her Savior. John's 'future' relationship with Suzy must be a distant afterthought in everyone's mind.

So, there are some thoughts that I pray are rooted in Scripture... I'd welcome your thoughts and counsel, dear readers.

YadsendeWWW Teppum

2008-03-05T09:05:00.001-05:00

(re)Marriage - Matthew 5:31-32 [2]

2008-03-04T10:36:00.004-05:00

So, here's the first question that came up when we read Matthew 5:31-32 :

Is Jesus removing/rescinding the allowance for divorce on the grounds of 'sexual immorality'?

Jesus is alluding to Deuteronomy 24:1-4 which says:

"When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance." (ESV)

While this passage does mention divorce, it's more interesting because of what it does not say.

First off, the grounds for divorce here can't be adultery since that was previously outlined as punishable by death (see Deuteronomy 22).
You don't see any imperative word (shall, must, will) regarding divorce nor a suggestion (should, could, might). This issuance of a certificate of divorce is not a command from God for dealing with whatever impurity the wife has... There's nothing here to indicate the pleasure of God in the existence of divorce.

We must also balance these legal provisions with an understanding of the grace of God... Many erroneously think of the Old Testament as the 'angry God' side of the book. In so doing they miss the grace of God clearly displayed in sweet passages like this from Hosea:

"And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”" (Ho 3:1, ESV)

So, what do we take from all of this? When the Mosaic Law allows for divorce, it seems to be moderating the bad behavior of the people of Israel rather than lauding the practice of divorce. While the death penalty for certain crimes (including adultery) terminates an earthly marriage, it seems clear that God intended marriage to be a 'once for all' institution. If that is the case, we'd expect to find the New Testament upholding and even clarifying that view...

And, of course it does. Jesus again alludes to this section of the Law later in the Gospel of Matthew:

"They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”" (Mt 19:7-9)

Here we clearly have Jesus unpacking the context of Deuteronomy 24 for us. These divorces are to be seen as an accommodation for human sinfulness by a gracious God rather than a 'good option for us if we need it'.

We must recognize that we have seen the covenant of grace, wrought by Christ's blood, inaugurated where the Old Testament saints had not. The more I think about it, this nullifies the question of whether or not Jesus saw divorce as merely permissible!

For believers on this side of the Cross, we should recognize that the outward sin of adultery is not, fundamentally, worse or different than our sin. Just like in Hosea above, we know that we too have 'played the whore' relative to our relationship with God. If God has chosen to act towards us in kindness - fully revealed in the Cross - then shouldn't we be prepared to extend the same deep grace to a spouse even if they've sinned against us?

So, our first priority if we are sinned against should be to reconcile with our spouse and redeem the marriage (that should be our second, third, and fourth priorities as well)... In a marriage between two believers, such reconciliation is possible (by God's grace) though it's clearly not going to come easily. Repairing the rift created by infidelity will be immeasurably hard, but certainly not harder than what Christ did to redeem us from the idols to whom we were enslaved.

I am convinced that, biblically, a spouse would not be 'wicked' for seeking a divorce over a repeated, willful pattern of infidelity in their husband/wife that is coupled with a complete lack of interest in reconciliation. "Thanks that you want to make up, but I prefer to keep sleeping with so-and-so whether you like it or not." In such an extreme case, I think divorce is a permissible option for the believer, but only after significant prayer and fervent attempts to woo their spouse back. This consistent sin in effect 'kills' one spouse to the other. This is still not to be taken lightly, however.

Jesus' teaching in this section of Matthew reminds us that we take marriage far too lightly. Our marriages exist for our pleasure, to meet emotional and physical needs that we have. But, the truth is that marriage, rightly understood, is all about God! When we sin against a spouse, we deface the image of both unity in the Godhead and unity between Christ and his Church which marriage was intended to display to a watching world. Similarly, a desire to 'be done with a problem marriage' reveals that we don't understand the depth of our own sin and the magnitude of the the grace that has been given us.

"So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." (Mt 19:6)

Well, what counsel do we offer to people who have been divorced (for non-adultery reasons) and are now seeking to remarry? Or how should someone who is already remarried behave towards a former spouse in light of this verse? More fun next time.

(re)Marriage - Matthew 5:31-32

2008-03-03T11:08:00.004-05:00

One of the great joys is my life is the small group we get together with on [most, or at least some] Sunday nights to study God's Word. It's a joy to fellowship with and be challenged by other believers with Scripture clearly at the center.

Over the past two meetings, we spent a fair amount of time staring at Matthew 5:31-32. There Jesus says:

It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (ESV)

This passage dominated conversation since we all know people, including believers, who have experienced a past divorce and are considering remarriage or have already remarried. And we seemed to have three questions that we moved through in our discussion:

Is the construction of this passage 'supporting' (even if only in a limited way) the provision for divorce on the grounds of adultery or is the passage noting something else? For example, would a valid reading of the passage also be "everyone who divorces his wife makes her commit adultery, except on the ground of sexual immorality"?
What counsel should we give Christians whose spouses have been unfaithful to their marriage?
What obligations does someone considering remarriage have towards a former spouse in light of this text? What about if someone is already remarried? How does that change their responsibilities towards their former spouse?

The fact is, among many other things, I need to work on how to be a better teacher. I tend to be one of two ways: In order to spur discussion and not be dogmatic, I don't do the heavy lifting of study and so I am not prepared to teach/lead well. On the other hand, if I press into a text my tendency is to be 'preachy' and dogmatic and probably counterproductive to the dynamic a small study is supposed to create. (Let's leave aside the massive issue of the accuracy of my rigidly held exegesis for a moment, shall we?)

The nice thing about a blog is that I can work things through to my Type-A satisfaction without having to be preoccupied with my inability to lead discussion well. HOORAY INTARWEBS!!!

So, Lord willing, I'm going to spend a couple blog posts trying to answer those questions listed to my satisfaction. With grace, perhaps a kernel of what is said will be helpful to you too...

Wisdom for the Weekend [1]

2008-02-29T13:29:00.004-05:00

"Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles." (Matthew 12:18)

There was no such love as Christ's to become a servant, there was no such misery as we were in, out of which we were delivered by the abasement of Christ becoming a servant. So it is wondrous in that regard, springing from the infinite love and mercy of God, which is greater in the work of redemption and reconciliation that in the creation of the world...

[F]or the distance between and something was less than the distance between sin and happiness. For nothing adds no opposition; but to be in a sinful state there is opposition. Therefore it was greater love and mercy for God, when we were sinful and so obnoxious to eternal destruction, to make of us sinners not only men, but to ... make us heirs of heaven out of a sinful and cursed estate...

[H]ere His mercy triumphed over that which is opposite to God, over sinfulness and cursedness... Therefore there is mercy above all mercy and love above all love, in that Christ was a servant.

Richard Sibbes, A Description of Christ

Where's the beef, yo?

2008-02-29T13:18:00.005-05:00

Ok. So, I actually manage to start blogging again and half the emails I get are chastising me for the lack of original content. Yeesh. You people are so hard to please.

Since I'm a people pleaser, I'll start getting some non-quotation, original-ish stuff up starting next week. At the very least, I'll post quotes with some personal observation or addendum. I'm also going to try to bring back the WWWednesday and Whitefield posts. In the case of the former, it will be kept tame. In the case of the latter, truth is that there will be less Whitefield for a while, so I'll be pitching them as 'Wisdom for the Weekend' posts instead.

Hope that's helpful, and hope something here will be edifying for your walk with Christ.

"What the world calls accident"

2008-02-28T08:00:00.003-05:00

Poor little boy! It is mercy indeed that he recovered from such a formidable hurt. The Lord wounded, and the Lord healed.

I ascribe, with you, what the world calls accident to him, and believe, that without [God's] permission, for wise and good ends, a child can no more pull a bowl of boiling water on itself than it could pull the moon out of its orbit.

And why does He permit such things?

It is to remind us of the uncertainty of life and all creature-comforts; to make us afraid of cleaving too close to pretty toys, which are so precarious, that often while we look at them they vanish, and to lead us to a more entire dependence upon himself; that we might never judge ourselves or our concerns safe from outward appearances only, but that the Lord is our keeper, and were not his eye upon us, a thousand dangers, and painful changes, which we can neither foresee nor prevent, are lurking about us every step, ready to break in upon us every hour.

How many are laboring and planning in the pursuit of things, the event of which, if they obtain them, will be but like pulling scalding water upon their own heads. They must have the bowl by all means, but they are not aware what is in it till they feel it.

John Newton, The Works of John Newton - Volume I

Take up and read, again...

2008-02-27T16:04:00.004-05:00

Well, I think that I've devised a plan I like... I'm posting it here for feedback and so that a couple of you who are close to me will hold me to it.

My plan is to divide the year up two different ways:

On one hand, I wanted to adopt a modified version of Dever's "Canon of Theologians" to try to get back in reading the foundational classics of the faith.
On the other hand, I wanted to also be reading contemporary authors on the major 'spheres' of pastoral ministry ('ministry of the Word', counseling, and theological engagement contemporary issues).

So, I've married the two... Since I read relatively fast, I'm going to have the two 'tracks' going concurrently. It looks a little something like this:
Since I know this isn't the clearest diagram, let me outline March as an example. I plan to get a hold of some of Richard Sibbes sermons (I read Bruised Reed last summer) and read through a couple over the course of the month. At the same time, I'm going to be reading Age of Opportunity by Tripp. In April, I'll move on to John Stott (probably Cross of Christ, which I never finished) and some other counseling book.

Obviously, I tried to group the 'old and not-so-old staples' to fit with the quarterly themes (Piper, Spurgeon, and Lloyd-Jones under preaching, Edwards and Carson under theological engagement) but I'm not restricting my reading of those guys to the subject areas. For example, I can completely anticipate reading Grace Abounding during John Bunyan month even though it has little to do with 'counseling' proper.

So, what thinkest thou?

Back on the Reading Rainbow

2008-02-26T16:45:00.004-05:00

One of the first things that was plastered on the pages of this blog was a book/reading list that I was trying to work my way through (and ultimately stopped updating like everything else around here)... Well, I managed to get all the way through that list and more. The lone exception is that my Greek still sucks. Oh well.

About a year ago, I started to stop reading... That is I had exhausted my 'want to read' and 'need to read' lists. Shortly thereafter, I hit what I can only describe as the first fog of depression that I've even been in. Truth is, there are still lingering wisps of that around but far fewer than there were only a couple months ago.

One thing I was convicted about the other day is that I really need to get back to feeding my soul by reading. In trying to come up with a model that works, I was greatly helped by a couple resources from our friends at Sovereign Grace: The first of their new 'leadership podcasts' dealt specifically with developing better reading habits among pastors. In addition, I stumbled back across a seminar that Mark Dever gave at LC07 on his annual reading plan.

So, tonight I'm going to draft a plan of attack for the year ahead (ok, what's left of it anyway)... I hope you'll peek back and comment to help me flesh it out.

In the meantime, pick up a book yourself and stretch you brain a little.

Spurgeon said it, again.

2008-02-26T12:45:00.002-05:00

Stop to think about the emphasis on works and the characterization of the atonement as 'cosmic child abuse' that have started to gain traction in the church. Now, read this by Spurgeon... This could've been written days ago, rather than a hundred or more years ago! How timely!

Those who set aside the atonement as a satisfaction for sin also murder the doctrine of justification by faith. They must do so. There is a common element which is the essence of both doctrines; so that, if you deny the one, you destroy the other.

Modern thought is nothing but an attempt to bring back the legal system of salvation by works. Our battle is the same as that which Luther fought at the Reformation. If you go to the very ground and root of it, grace is taken away, and human merit is substituted. The gracious act of God in pardoning sin is excluded, and human effort is made all in all, both for past sin and future hope. Every man is now to set up as his own savior, and the atonement is shelved as a pious fraud.

I will not foul my mouth with the unworthy phrases which have been used in reference to the substitutionary work of our Lord Jesus Christ; but it is a sore grief of heart to note how these evil things are tolerated by men whom we respect.

We shall not cease, dear brethren, in our ministry, most definitely and decidedly to preach the atoning sacrifice; and I will tell you why I shall be sure to do so. I have not personally a shadow of a hope of salvation from any other quarter: I am lost if Jesus be not my Substitute. I have been driven up into a corner by a pressing sense of my own personal sin, and have been made to despair of ever doing or being such that God can accept me in myself.

I must have a righteousness, perfect and Divine; yet it is beyond my own power to create. I find it in Christ: I read that it will become mine by faith, and by faith I take it. My conscience tells me that I must render to God's justice a recompense for the dishonor that I have done to His law, and I cannot find anything which bears the semblance of such a recompense till I look to Christ Jesus. Do I not remember when I first looked to Him, and was lightened? Do I not remember how often I have gone as a sinner to my Savior's feet, and looked anew at His wounds, and believed over again unto eternal life, feeling the old joy repeated by the deed?

Brethren, I cannot preach anything else, for I know nothing else. New dogmas may or may not be true; but of the truth of this doctrine, I am sure.

Spurgeon said it...

2008-02-25T09:45:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday, I finished a four-week series in our ABF on the Bible (shortened thanks to illness from five). The goal I had in mind was to help build an increased affection for God's Word in the saints and help people build something of an apologetic framework for defending Scripture to people outside the church.

Today, I came across this quote from Spurgeon that would've been a great bookend to the series... Wrapping up a sermon, the Prince of Preachers said this:

Well, now, time fails us, and I can say but little. I have only just cursorily touched on the text. I now hand it to you. May the Lord help you “sons of Jacob” to take home this portion of meat; digest it well, and feed upon it. May the Holy Ghost sweetly apply the glorious things that are written! And may you have “a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees well refined!”

Remember God is the same, whatever is removed. Your friends may be disaffected, your ministers may be taken away, every thing may change; but God does not. Your brethren may chance and cast out your name as vile: but God will love you still. Let your station in life change, and your property be gone; let your whole life be shaken, and you become weak and sickly; let everything flee away-there is one place where change cannot put his finger; there is one name on which mutability can never be written; there is one heart which never can alter; that heart is God’s - that name Love.

What a blessing it is that God, who is there and who is always the same, has given us His Word to be an anchor in the storm and a feast for our souls.

2008-02-25T07:53:00.002-05:00

Driscoll-ing

2008-02-20T11:04:00.002-05:00

Tim Challies writes some fabulous, balanced thoughts on the lightning rod that is Mark Driscoll.

I really appreciate that Tim is both direct in his critique of Driscoll's tongue and yet willing to embrace openly the good that God is doing in and through Driscoll's ministry.

"I need someone who will look me in the eye..."

2008-02-19T20:03:00.002-05:00

I've been admonished that I should start blogging again. So, I am here to try to do that.

Fascinating video here from a recent episode of ER. Did anyone see the full thing? I'm particularly curious at how the 'chaplain' character responds to the very pointed attack on her theology? Does this serve as a crisis point for her character, or is she 'allowed' to push off the issue?

Anyway, I've always thought that ER does a good job of offering compelling TV. Here's yet another example. View, and discuss below.

A study in contrasts...

2008-02-01T01:12:00.000-05:00

Go here, and watch the video there then listen to the audio right underneath it.

That's all.

Dever @ Acts29

2008-01-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

I'm hardly the first to post this, but these comments are worth reposting here:

Mark Dever recently spoke at the Acts29 Network 'boot camp' in Chicago. Here's an excerpt from his remarks:

Our differences are enough to separate some of my friends—your brothers and sisters in Christ—from you. And perhaps to separate them from me, now that I’m publicly speaking to you. And I don’t want to minimize either the sincerity or the seriousness of some of their concerns (things like: humor, worldliness, pragmatism, authority).

But I perceive some things in common which outweigh our differences — which the Lord Jesus shall soon enough compose between us, either by our maturing, or by His bringing us home. I long to work with those, and count it a privilege to work with those whom My Savior has purchased with His blood, and with whom I share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I perceive that we have in common the knowledge that God is glorified in sinners being reconciled to Him through Christ. This is not taught by other religions, nor clearly by the ancient Christian churches of the East, or by Rome, by liberal Protestant churches, by Mormons, the churches of Christ, or by groups of self-righteous, legalistic, moralistic Christians. And not only do we together affirm the exclusivity of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone—we agree on the sovereignty of God in life and salvation, the regenerate nature of church members, the importance of church membership and discipline, the baptism of believers alone, the priorities of expositional preaching, and evangelism, the importance of authority and a growing appreciation for the significance of complementarianism. These are not slight matters. And they only fire my desire to encourage you and cheer you on, until you cross that finish line that the Lord lays down for us.

That's just awesome stuff.

The long, cold winter...

2008-01-23T10:07:00.000-05:00

Well, a handful of people have nagged me regarding the complete lack of updates to this blog. This is surprising. First, I'm surprised there are a handful of people to even notice that updates had died. Second, I'm surprised any of them really would care.

I'm humbled and grateful.

So, I will endeavor to do a better job getting updates posted. I'm teaching again and starting to work with our church's missions board. I imagine that one or both of these will spur some ranting and raving.

The best family photo ever...

2007-12-13T09:59:00.000-05:00

Steve McCoy has posted his family's Christmas photo over on his blog.

I think it's the greatest family picture I've ever seen...

Enjoy!

4LL #41L!!!!1!1!!1!

2007-12-07T19:44:00.000-05:00

Surprised? Not.

2007-12-06T09:48:00.000-05:00

Saw this story over on centuri0n's blog. Is anyone surprised?

Prince Caspian

2007-12-05T09:41:00.000-05:00

The first full trailer for Prince Caspian is out.

Watch or download it here. (I just dl'ed the high def one, Eva!)

Al Mohler's Dark Materials....

2007-12-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

Not really... but that headline just sounded too funny in my head.

Al Mohler reviews and comments on the Golden Compass controversy. As always, well worth reading.

All I want for Christmas...

2007-12-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

So, Eva and I have had a couple discussions on whether or not we adults should have Christmas lists. Being the prickly type that I am, I'm posting this for anyone who cares.

I know that many people enjoy the hunt for the 'perfect gift', some unique offering that shows you intimately know and deeply care for someone. I don't mean for my pragmatism to rob anyone of shopping joy.

But a word on gifts for me from family this year: I usually ask for cash. And while that's gotten groans in the past, I offer that as a gift idea again. Look, cash-ola is a little tight around the Dellinger house - especially with the heating/electric costs this year. So, any dollar given allows me to be home with my family rather than working a 2nd job.

If you're simple like me and cash doesn't suit you, check out my alternate amazon wishlist for book ideas.

Above all, remember what Christmas is truly supposed to be about (hint: not about presents under a tree)... If you do that, I can say that's the best present you could give me.

YES!!!!!

2007-12-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

Who wants to watch a football game next Saturday?

CHuckabee...

2007-11-20T13:53:00.000-05:00

Reason #314 why we're a Huckabee House.

Driscoll on Humility

2007-11-15T10:25:00.000-05:00

Mark Driscoll has some rough edges... But it takes something to stand up in front of your congregation and say this stuff.

...and...

Some people on "teh interwebs" question whether humility or pride wrapped in humility's clothing is at the root of these comments. I suppose time will tell. In the meantime, good words to take to heart on a Thursday.

when speaking of the 'e.c.' ....

2007-11-13T09:13:00.000-05:00

... you must use only lowercase letters and occasional punctuation

Well, I promised some actual content would start appearing on this blog again. And I am at least someone who (tries) to keep my promises (as often as I can). In this case, the topic kinda fell into my lap though it is a rehash of a lot of old stuff.

I posted a set of videos a few days ago in which WOTM radio's Todd Friel interviewed emergent church 'leader' Doug Padgitt. If you haven't watched them, you might want to before reading the rest of this post.

Let me start by saying that I specifically refrained from commenting on the original videos because I wanted them to speak for themselves. I am not a huge WOTM fan and never have been. Moreover, Friel still has too much of the edgy-comedian edge to him to be a great interviewer.

Additionally, it's worth noting that I would affirm, in agreement with the 'emergers', that there have been some pretty significant errors in the traditional church and evangelical mindset that needed correction. The increased emphasis on missional living, cultural engagement/contextualization, removal of artificial legalism, and default patterns for 'doing church' are all things I find myself applauding.

Ok. In the comment thread to the Friel/Padgitt videos, our friend Mary had some things to say. I want to respond to several things she raised here in the main... Mary's comments are in italics.

An odd and rather unfortunate interview... It seems to polarize the two men onto extreme sides without searching for common ground between them. This happens all the time in the political realm and I wish it wouldn't happen in the church so much.

I agree the tone of the interview is not spectacular.... However, I understand the reason it might've been that way.

Some of us are theological neatniks and would hold that there are clearly areas of theological disagreement that no amount of common ground can repair. For many on the outside of the e.c. stream, the perception is that there are fundamental areas of orthodoxy which the e.c. is content to be 'vague' on. At best, that fuzziness is rooted in a desire to engage saint and seeker alike in a process of real, vital discovery rather than simply 'preaching'.

While there is clearly merit to that approach in certain circumstances, there are also times where there is black-and-white truth that needs to be dealt with. The public faces (more on this later) of the e.c. don't seem to draw the lines the same place I do. For example, a lot of tension in the interview could've been diffused had Padgitt simply said something like "Well, there will be a new heavens and a new earth and we will be in the presence of God for eternity." However, he chose to take the postmodern "What's in a word?" route... I can't help but wonder where else the fuzziness comes in...

Like or not, the so-called "emerging church" is here and will have a major effect on American theology for years to come, so it seems that a better approach would have been oriented more towards reconciling and understanding rather than nasty polemics.

Again, agreed assuming that we can find the common ground. If we're talking about methodology and style, ok. But if we're talking about doctrine, there are areas that I think we rightly need to challenge. I think that we fail to recognize how incredibly easy it is for us to pervert the Gospel of grace into something far dif'rent.

Anyway, I think I would like to have heard more from Pagitt about what it means to be "at work in the world." While not fond of the evasive speech that has come to define the e.c. movement, I really think their missional life has a lot to offer and inspire.

I think the emphasis on missional living is a vital and valid corrective that the e.c. community has brought to the fore... It is important to mention here, however, that the emergers hardly have a copyright on this. Find me a person interested in missional living who hasn't found themselves nodding along with Tim Keller, Ed Stetzer, or Newbigin. Yet those three balance an almost-emergent committment to living the Christian life with both a strong ecclesiology and traditional, orthodox doctrine.

The "at work in world" philosophy of ministry and life is a prophetic call to many American Christians to stop hibernating in the cave of evangelical subculture.

YES! Agreed and affirmed.

I just wish that e.c. leaders were more plain-spoken. I think the idea is to be more "user-friendly," but one must be careful not to engage in deception. From experience, I know that many emerging churches are actually still very conservative in doctrine... they just won't admit it outright.

Three things to say here:

1. One of the main challenges the e.c. has with people on the Reformed side of the fence is that the leaders are plenty plain-spoken. If you haven't read McLaren's new book, you should. It's an eye opener and quite plain about the need to "question and reinvent" just about everything traditionally held as orthodoxy or praxy.

A Josh Harris quote always rings in my brain in this discussion: "It is not humble to be uncertain about those things that God has made plain [in the Bible]." Such 'uncertainty' is, at its core, pride-saturated elevation of human intellect and 'logic' above the disclosed word of God. Worse yet, it only takes a couple small compromises before I think we're "preaching a Gospel different to the one [Paul & the apostles] preached".

2. The e.c. is a ridiculously slippery entity... To call McLaren, Padgitt, Tony Jones, and others the 'leaders' of the e.c. is admittedly problematic. "After all," an emerger might say, "We're not a church with a statement of faith like everyone else. We're a conversation."

So, I recognize that the so-called leaders of the e.c. hardly speak for everyone inside the conversation on every issue of doctrine or practice.

But...

3. The problem with Mary's statement is that there is little or no outcry from within emergent streams poo-pooing the more outrageous statements by the proposed 'leaders'. The silence, in this case, is truly deafening.

Obviously, many people may be unaware of McLaren, Padgitt, and others. "If I don't know what they're saying, I can't speak out in for/against them..." However, as Mary noted, the e.c. stream is a force within the evangelical world today. For pastors to not be engaged with the pertinent ideological issues is irresponsible, I think. Mind you, that engagement looks very different for a pastor in Windsor, VT than it does for the guy in NYC.

So, they are actually less an enemy to traditionalists than is currently perceived. Pagitt's soteriology is not really representative of the emerging church movement, but he sure does make a good whipping boy.

I agree that the e.c. as a movement is not an enemy to the cause of Christ. I think the supposed leaders are real problems, however. The ideas being touted by these men/women are impacting an entire generation of new believers and future leaders. That's a big deal. And when McLaren can be completely passive re: the questioning of the doctrine of penal substitution, I get worried. And when no one else in the stream speaks up, I get extra worried.

If Padgitt's view of salvation is not representative of the movement, then where is the outcry? Of all the issues we might want to get loud about, I'd think salvation specifics is one of them.

....

Closing comments... I would call myself a closet-emerger. I love the personal connectedness in how the emergers 'do church'. I think the challenge of how to better handle cultural engagement is long overdue - and I thank the e.c. for spurring the discussion. I listen to some 'emergent type' preachers (Darrin Patrick, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler) and like them a lot.

But, I have been concerned from the start regarding he increasing 'epistemological humility' that is continuing to grow in the movement. There are things that we must know and communicate clearly - like the Gospel. If we're not doing that, all the good, God-centered thoughts, works of community outreach, or compelling discussions will save our hearers from sin or make us a true church.

I hope this will continue in the meta....

//rant off.
/// re: The TeamPyro Po-Motivators - I just think they're hilarious! So there.
//// If you're interested in getting some helpful info re: the emerging church, hurry and check out Darrin Patrick's excellent lectures at Covenant Theological seminary (which Steve McCoy is tracking on his blog) . Really helpful on the history and some help with classifications....

Not-so-black-and-white Sabbath

2007-11-08T09:54:00.001-05:00

Our church is in the middle of a series on worship. This coming week, we'll be discussing the implications of the Sabbath on us as New Testament believers.

Last year, out ABF went through a series on the Ten Commandments and I had the opportunity to teach two weeks on the "Sabbath" command. In many ways, that time of preparation was one of the most challenging and rewarding times I've had in the Word. The command itself is straightforward, but it's implications are massive and rarely discussed in contemporary evangelicalism.

It is true that our righteousness was completed in the work of Christ on the Cross... Our standing before God is not based on our rigid adherence to the particulars of the Sabbath law. I want to make these points up front lest the ugly accusation of legalism come up. We are, quite literally, freed from strict obedience to the Law.

However....

We'd agree that how we spend our money as believers reflects something of our values. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Similarly, the Sabbath command challenges us to examine the priorities we set on our time. If we value Christ, how does our life reflect that?

If I had a chance to take a day off and go watch a Delaware football game (Go Hens!), I would look forward to it with eager (indeed, rabid) anticipation. I'd work hard to clear my calendar of any potential distractions. Other appointments with family or friends would have to wait. I love the Hens, and so I wouldn't let anything get in the way of getting a chance to see a game.

Well, what about our time with God? And I don't mean to focus narrowly on Sunday mornings here... Do I keep portions of my day free from intrusion so I can devote the time to prayer and study? Do I grow impatient on Sunday because I need to get home for the game? From a strictly numerical angle, how much of my time per week is devoted to communion with my Savior versus work and play?

The quote that stuck with me last year is this from Piper:

"The reason that so many people feel it as a burden is partly that we have so much leisure, we don't feel the need for the sabbath… [B]ut more important, I think, is the fact that not many people really enjoy what God intended us to enjoy on the sabbath, namely, himself. Many professing Christians enjoy sports and television and secular books and magazines and recreation and hobbies and games far more than they enjoy direct interaction with God in his Word or in worship or in reading Christian books or in meditative strolls.

Therefore, inevitably people whose hearts are set more on the pleasures of the world than on the enjoyment of God will feel the sabbath command as a burden not a blessing… The measure of your love for God is the measure of the joy you get in focusing on him on the day of rest. For most people the sabbath command is really a demand to repent. It invites us to enjoy what we don't enjoy and therefore shows us the evil of hearts, and our need to repent and be changed."

May we be challenged by God's Word to make our practice line up with the words of devotion that easily slip from our lips. More than that, may God give us hearts that are awakened to who He is and that joyfully seek to draw closer to Christ...

From here on

2007-11-07T09:37:00.001-05:00

Well, this blog has been pretty pathetic of late. Astute readers will point out that it was fairly pathetic in the first place, but it has certainly declined.

So, what can be done about that?

Well, I'm going to try to bring the content up (both in nature and quality) a little over the coming weeks. My goal is to post something substantive on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The WWWednesday posts will keep coming, I suppose, though I have been chastized (rightly) for the content a bit. We'll clean that up a bit.

Anyway, if you're still here, I'll hope you'll stay tuned.

How to beat a Grandmaster (or two)

2007-11-06T12:04:00.000-05:00

Your WWWednesday post, a day early:

Gannon has taken an interest in chess, and we play at home almost every evening. As a result, I've been reading chess stuff on the net. Thought this video was interesting. See if you can figure out "how he does it" before he tells us at the end.

One note: There is one 'swear word' early in the video, so preview this sans children.

Under Attack - Redux

2007-11-06T10:20:00.000-05:00

I have need of some old, previously unindexed posts... So, I'm pulling them together here. If you've been a reader here for a while, just move along... Nothing new to see.

For others, here ya go:
Under Attack - Prologue
Under Attack - Deuteronomy 22:13-21
Under Attack - Deuteronomy 22:22-30
Under Attack - Judges 19:22-30
Under Attack - 2 Samuel 6:1-15

Hee Hee! Classic.

2007-11-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

DENVER—Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez found a way to inject some excitement into baseball and make the slow month of October interesting last Sunday when he announced that he would opt out of his quarter-of-a-billion dollar contract with New York in order to become a free agent this offseason.

The unusually slow month, the only interesting point of which was a seemingly unending array of baseball games—some of which even went past their usual nine-inning limit—was very nearly a complete disappointment for the league. Now, however, the clutch statement by Rodriguez has inspired fan interest once again and has many fans and members of the baseball media calling Rodriguez "a contemporary Mr. October."

"Thank you, A-Rod," said ESPN's Peter Gammons, who left a baseball game in Denver between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies immediately after hearing the news Sunday and flew to Legends Field in Tampa to get comments from Yankees front man Hank Steinbrenner. "We desperately needed something to get us out of the never-ending drudgery that is fall baseball. This is a real treat. "

Read the rest of the hilarious article here.

Happy 490th...

2007-10-31T10:51:00.000-04:00

Happy Reformation Day to everyone!

Gospel

2007-10-30T14:03:00.000-04:00

Theological Double-speak

2007-10-26T09:24:00.001-04:00

Whoa.... Check this out.

Part 1

Part 2

Toys

2007-10-24T12:34:00.000-04:00

You know... for all the technology we have at our fingertips, kids toys sure haven't benefited.

Want WWWednesday

2007-10-16T11:08:00.001-04:00

Ok... I could waste a whole ton of time with this:

Star WWWawful

2007-10-11T09:59:00.000-04:00

Oh, this is so bad. It made me laugh 'til I cried.

Ummmm. Uh oh?

2007-10-10T14:06:00.001-04:00

While I'm not a Seventh Day Adventist, this can't be a good thing.

Political WWWednesday

2007-10-10T11:39:00.000-04:00

This post is not intended to be an endorsement of Ron Paul. For the record, we're a Huckabee Household.

Iran so far aWWWednesday

2007-10-03T13:49:00.001-04:00

SqWWWirrel Melt

2007-09-26T09:56:00.000-04:00

WWWhat's a girl to do?

2007-09-24T12:05:00.001-04:00

Creepy furries on bikes + eerie music = Teh Awesome

SeWWWing and the Hammer

2007-09-19T10:17:00.001-04:00

So true....

2007-09-15T17:43:00.000-04:00

ht: Brendt @ Two Sheds Gomer

Wickstrom WWWednesday...

2007-09-13T15:35:00.000-04:00

... or Thursday. Or double-coupon Mondays.

If you have no idea what this is about, it's a parody of THIS. If you still have no idea, check out the whole Chad Vader series.

Needed this today... will need more tomorrow.

2007-09-13T09:14:00.000-04:00

2XL WWWednesday

2007-09-12T10:25:00.001-04:00

Ahhh.. Happy memories.

Marginally inappropriate WWWednesday

2007-09-05T14:41:00.001-04:00

Pitagora SuiWWWednesday

2007-08-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

Ummmmm. Puppet Master!!!

2007-08-28T11:16:00.001-04:00

A Non-WWWednesday post????

2007-08-23T10:51:00.000-04:00

These days, it must be something pretty cool to warrant a non-WWWednesday post from me... Yeah, sorry about that. Nonetheless, there are two things you should know about. And I am the man appointed to tell you, it seems.

1) Sovereign Grace Ministries has made me extremely happy by making audio downloads of all their 'lesson material' (conference sessions, workshops, etc) totally free.

This is so cool even the Desiring God guys are throwing out propers. Anyway, go here, download a ton of stuf f, and be edified.

2) Ben Stein, dressed as Angus Young, talking about the closing of the American mind?* WHOOO HOO! Come on, February! Click the image for the trailer.

*By the way, if you haven't read Bloom's landmark The Closing of the American Mind, repent and borrow it from your library. I can assure you it will not be checked out. This book completely changed my worldview in 1993 when I read it.

Quando, WWWednesday??

2007-08-22T10:55:00.000-04:00

Speaking of unfortunate backup bands... Check this out.

NarcoWWWednesday

2007-08-15T10:15:00.001-04:00

MinesWWWednesday

2007-08-08T12:14:00.001-04:00

Why bad things happen...

2007-08-02T09:02:00.000-04:00

Pray for the people in Minnesota who've been impacted by the collapse of the I35 bridge.

Then, John Piper takes reminds us why things like this happen.

Coach, wrong WWWednesday...

2007-08-01T08:49:00.000-04:00

2007-07-25T11:18:00.001-04:00

Peeking in...

2007-07-24T11:38:00.001-04:00

Well, if you're still here it's probably because you have this blog plugged into your RSS reader and have just neglected to delete this dead feed 'til now.

Sorry for the lack of posting on here. I blame three things for the inactivity here:

OASIS. I knew things were going to get busy right around the go-live date in early July. However, I did not anticipate quite as much lingering stuff on my plate. I'm flat out at the office, and that means little time to think about something to blog about.
Summer. Even though we're not a 'high activity' family, it's amazing to see how busy the summer always seems to get.
Bridge. Particularly, BBO. As I've mentioned on here previously, I've always wanted to get better at playing bridge. The mental exhaustion from OASIS has made it so I'm really no good for continuing my studies right now. However, cards has provided the perfect diversion.

So, all that is to say that things here should pick up soon. For those still sticking around, thanks.