A Little Bit of a Stretch

The other day I preached in my Preaching Lab on Judges 13. I spoke about the divine visitation that Samson's parents received heralding his birth. One of the interesting aspects of this divine visitation is that was totally undeserved. The Israelites not only were doing evil in the sight of the Lord (v. 1) but this is the first point in the book of Judges were that phrase is not followed by "And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord..." (see 10:10, 6:7, 4:3, etc...). The apostasy of Israel had spiraled down in such a way that they no longer even cared to repent. Sin was just a part of life. The sinfulness of sin had completely escaped their minds and hearts.
Consequently, the Israelites found themselves at the altars of Baal and Ashteroth, the local fertility gods, and worshipping by having sex with temple prostitutes. It's easy from our 21st Century perspective to look down on their gross immorality...but we're not that different, just more sophisticated.
Every day we are bombarded with the a gospel. It's a gospel message that says consume me and you will find happiness. The whole Marketing and Advertising profession is built on a gospel message that says, "Your life is deficient. This product bring fullness to your life." Check out the claim on the back of my Gobstoppers package:

"Inside this scrumdiddlyumptious package you will find mystic & marvelous surprises that will entrance, intrigue & delight you beyond measure."
That's pretty bold coming from a glob of dextrose, maltodextrin, and less than 2% corn syrup.
But, we fall for these false gospels everyday. Lord, would you give us the faith to repentant of our desires to find satisfaction apart from you and turn to you through Christ, who alone is our satisfaction.

Back from the Summer

Kim and I just got back from our summer at Camp Vesper Point. It was a tremendous summer, full of great ministry. There were many opportunities to explain the Gospel to kids who had never heard or understood it. There were also many opportunities to explain the Gospel to the counselors. The Gospel isn't just the message that we preach to unbelievers, so that they can know Christ. The Gospel is also the message we preach to believers, so that they can be changed by Christ. The message of repentance and faith is for our sanctification as much as it is for our justification.
We are glad to be home and gearing up for another semester of school. We got back to Orlando the day before Summer Greek I started. I had the privilege of being the Teaching Assistant for Greek I, and that was also a great experience. It was, however, my first real "classroom" teaching experience. Personality-wise, I am much more of a "feeler" than a "thinker." It really pained me to mark off on quizzes and tests...especially when many of those guys are my close friends. But, we must be faithful to teach well, which includes grading honestly...even when I just want to put happy face stickers on everyone's tests! (not really, but you get the picture).

Donatists and Rascal Flatts

The Donatist Controversy was a church crisis during and after the reign of the Emperor Diocletian (302-305AD). The controversy centered around priests and bishops who renounced their faith under the persecution of Diocletian and how to re-admit penitent priests back into the church. One of the central issues was whether on not the baptisms performed by these priests were valid since they became apostate. Should people who received baptism from one of these priests be re-baptized? Is the efficacy of the baptism dependent upon the faith of the one who administers it?
The Donatists answered these questions by saying the baptisms were not valid because they were invalid due to the faultiness of the priest's faith. The majority of the church said the baptisms were valid because the faithfulness of Christ gurantees the efficicacy.
I give this history lesson because of a song I heard on Christian radio the other day. It was "God Bless the Broken Road." This song was originally performed by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and made hugely popular by Rascal Flatts. The song was re-recorded by a Christian artist and has received wide air-time on Christian radio. The original and the "Christian" versions of the song are the same. Yet the superior recording (done by the non-Christian band) is not played while the other version (performed by the Christian band) is. What makes one acceptable for Christian radio and the other one not? Do we tie the efficacy of a song to the faith of the one performing it? What if a popular Christian recording artist abandoned the faith? Is the spiritual connection you may have had through that person's music now invalid?
I think we can take a lesson from the Donatists controversy and recognize that art is not good because it is "Christian." There are Christians who make good art, but let's be honest, there are lots of non-Christians who make better art (and while we're being honest, there are lots of Christians who make terrible art...don't get me started about the front half of every Christian bookstore. Retailers: Please note, "bad art + bible verse = Christian art" is not a valid equation). The value of art is not tied to the faith of the artist. We should be wise in understanding art. We should understand the message that the work of art (be it song, painting, sculpture, film, etc.) is communicating. That message and the aesthetic of the work must be evaluated and judged against the rule of Scripture, but don't make the life of the artist the point of measurement. There isn't a one of us who hasn't been radically affected by the presence and power of sin.

Which is Clearer?

I've come across two different interviews of famous (or sorta famous) people who are attempting to articulate their understanding of the Gospel. One of the interviewees is well-known pastor. The other is the lead singer of one of the most popular rock bands of all time (and probably the only person whose picture actually does appear in the dictionary under the definition of "cool."). Who do you think more clearly articulates the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Interview #1
"I often put it this way: If there is a God, some sort of Divine Being, Mind, Spirit, and all of this is not just some random chance thing, and history has some sort of movement to it, and you have a connection with Whatever—that is awesome. Hard and awesome and creative and challenging and provoking.

And there is this group of people who say that whoever that being is came up among us and took on flesh and blood—Andrew Sullivan talks about this immense occasion the world could not bear. So a church would be this odd blend of swagger—an open tomb, come on—and humility and mystery. The Resurrection accounts are jumbled and don't really line up with each other—I really relate to that. Yet something momentous has burst forth in the middle of history. You just have to have faith, and you get caught up in something."

Interview #2

"But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there’s a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let’s face it, you’re not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled … It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven."

You can click here for the full Interview #1 and here for Interview #2 and to find out who is who.

In Prison

I spent Monday morning in prison...by design. I've helped my church start a Bible Study at a local prison facility. Monday was my first morning in the facility with the inmates, and it was awesome. The men there are so spiritually hungry and open. They've reached the end of a rope that few people on the outside understand. It is in those darkest valleys that we can best understand out need for a Savior.
I spoke with the men about the Crucifixion of Jesus. I tried, however, to take a little different tack than was expected. We spent most of our time discussing the Crucifixion by looking at Genesis and Psalm 22.
We started in Genesis and laid the groundwork for the story of redemption. We also looked at Genesis 15, God's covenant with Abraham. The most striking aspect of this passage is the nature of the curse component of the covenant. Typically in a covenant, it was ratified with the sacrifice of animals. The animals were split in two and the parties of the covenant would walk through the pieces of the sacrifice. The significance was that the one who violated the covenant would be treated like the animal that was sacrificed. The nature of this curse in Genesis 15 is that only God walked through the sacrifice. God ratified the covenant with Abram and promised that if Abram broke the covenant the curse would rest upon God, himself.
With this idea, we turn to Psalm 22 and looked a this great Psalm of lament. There are two parts to this psalm. The first half is a lament. The psalmist alternates between suffering and faithfulness of God to deliver us from suffering. The second half changes in tone from lament to joy because we begin to see God's plan for redemption, first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. There is no distinction between rich or poor; near or far; born or unborn. All of God's children will come to him through the suffering of his servant.
The descriptions of the Crucifixion in Psalm 22 are amazing. The opening verse was quoted by Jesus in the Matthew and Mark accounts of the Crucifixion. We know that Jesus must have been meditating on this psalm as he hung on the cross. As he bore the full measure of God's righteous wrath on my behalf, he experienced the same lament the psalmist described. Jesus was not unaware or unsympathetic with our sufferings because he suffered the same things (Heb. 2). But Jesus also knew that this psalm turns to joy. There is joy because the Father is faithful. Jesus knew that God's wrath would be satisfied and we would be "delivered from the sword" (Ps 22:21). "The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord!" (Ps 22:26). As Jesus meditated on this psalm he knew His righteousness would be proclaimed to a generation yet unborn and they would know that because of His work IT IS FINISHED! (Ps. 22:31). And these are the very words that John records as Jesus' last words on the cross, "It is finished."
The inmates really connected with the idea of suffering. They knew that they have both caused suffering and are experiencing suffering. I was struck with the fact that I am no different from these men in prison coveralls. I too have experienced suffering...and caused much suffering. But God is not unaware or disconnected from our suffering. Even repentant criminals can know that the Creator of the Universe understands their suffering more intimately than they understand it themselves. And this same God bids us to come to him in faith and repentence. If this isn't Good News, then nothing is Good News!

Grandmother Levi's Funeral

The past month I have lost both of my grandmothers. It has been a difficult month. My Grandmother Levi (maternal) died in March. She was a lovely woman who deeply loved the Lord. I miss her a lot.
My family asked me to officiate the funeral ceremony. It was an honor to do so.
You can listen to my funeral message here.
One really neat part of the funeral service was that we were able to play a song my grandmother had recorded years ago for a friend's funeral. It was also played at my grandfather's funeral. I have managed to make an MP3 copy and posted it here. I hope you enjoy it.

March 2009 Newsletter

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The Heart Tied Up

Catherine Larson, author of "As We Forgive," shared with a group from school about the Rwandan genocide in the early 90's. In 1994 Hutus killed a million Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers. Many of those killed were hacked to death with machetes and farm tools. Before 1994 Rwanda was held up as one of the success stories of the modern missionary movement. It was 80% Christian. Much of the violence perpetrated was Christian on Christian violence. Catherine quoted a Rwandan bishop who said, "It appears that our hearts were more tied up with Hutu and Tutsi than our hearts were tied up with Christ."
This is the problem with my own heart. There are so many things that vie for the attention of my heart. I know they all pale in comparison to the glorious riches of the Gospel, but I still allow them to tie up my heart. Republican, Democrat, American, white, black, rich, poor, evangelical, liberal...these are all things that can identify us. What is it that draws our hearts to these labels. I believe it is that they offer us hope. These labels offer us a hope of belonging, a hope of a better life, a hope that will not be fulfilled. "Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12). The hope of glory is Christ in you (Col 1:27), therefore our identity must first and foremost be in Christ.
I have never participated in genocide. But I know that my heart is capable of the division that caused the genocide, because my heart strays from the One who offers true hope. May the words of the old hymn "Come Thou Fount" be our prayer:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Ridderbos on the General Character of the Kingdom of Heaven

"It is clear that the great future announced by Jesus is considered entirely from the standpoint of divine kingship. And then it is not a question of a general timeless statement concerning God's power and reign, but especially of its redemptive-historical effectuation which will one day be witnessed. That is why the idea of a coming of the kingdom is pre-eminently the idea of the kingly self-assertion of God, of his coming to the world in order to reveal his royal majesty, power and right. This absolutely theocentric idea of the kingdom of heaven should always be borne in mind, if we want to have a correct insight into the general purport of Jesus' preaching. It is the basic motive of all his preaching. It explains why from the outset the annoucement of the fullness of time had a two-fold content both with Jesus and with John the Baptist, namely that of redemption and that of judgment. The one as well as to the other is the direct consequence of the plan of God. The kingdom means redemption, because God maintains his royal justice towards those who put their trust in him as his people. And it means judgment because God maintains his royal will in opposition to all who resist his will. This excludes any nationalistic element. It is not in the first place the heathen who are called to repent, but it is Israel. It is the glory of God, not the pre-eminence of the people which is placed in the center both at the beginning and during the progress of the preaching of the kingdom."
Herman N. Ribberbos, Coming of the Kingdom (P & R Publishing, 1962) pp.19-20.

The Future

HT: Challies.com

Jesus Love Me

Millie's favorite new song:
Jesus love me
I know
the Bible tells me so much

The Kindness of the King

EvenSong is our monthly evening communion service at church. The seminary interns are asked to take turns preaching the homily and this week was my turn.

I spoke on II Samuel 9:1-13. It is the story of David's kindness to Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was crippled in both his feet. He was the son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul, David's enemy. He was living in exile at Lo-Debar. The picture the author paints of Mephibosheth is that of a person with no real value in society...yet, David is loyal to his covenant with Jonathan and showed kindness to him. This story is a beautiful picture of the loyal kindness Christ has for us. There is nothing worthy in us, but Christ in his faithful covenant kindness offers us grace.

Mephibosheth's story ends with him no longer fatherless and an outcast, but sitting and eating at the table of the King as one of his sons.

The key to interpreting this story is seeing David not just as a great man, but a picture of the King whom God will call to rule his people. If we fail to make the connection of these two, then we will be tempted to think the point of this story is to be nice to disadvantaged people. We should be nice all people...but not because of this story. The message of II Samuel 9 is much deeper than that. David is not the promised one, but that King will come from his seed. That King is Jesus. Those who come to Christ in faith and repentence also enjoy this kindness:

Eph 2:4-7 (ESV) 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus

We are left with the picture of Mephibosheth reclining at the table of the King where his infirmities are completely covered by the kindness of the King. And because of the kindness of the Greater King we can come to His table and see our infirmities covered.

Seminarian Tricks

I finished Hebrew I this week. I fully acknowledge my citizenship in Nerd-dom by proclaiming that Hebrew I was really fun (and not very difficult). I got an A (a 99.6% to be exact, but who's counting?).
The Spring Term starts next week, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm taking 13 hours and sitting in on an additional class.
My class load includes:

• Educational Ministry of the Church - philosophy of church programs and teaching
• Gospels - intro to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
• Genesis to Joshua - Intro to the first six books of the Bible. From what I hear, we'll spent 80% of our time in the first half of Genesis and then try to cram the rest into the last two weeks of class. Who really needs to know what Leviticus means anyway?
  
• Hebrew II - Continuation of Hebrew I
• and Greek Exegesis - Translation theory and practice by translating Paul's letter to the Galatians.

I'm also sitting on a Hermeneutics class. Hermeneutics is one of those words pastors and seminarians use when they don't really know what they're talking about but can't let you know that they don't know (Exegesis is another one of those great words). So, they'll say something like, "Well, Barth is brilliant but I just don't agree with his hermeneutic." Which means, "I have no idea, but you'll think I'm smarter than you."
Basically, it is a class on how you interpret the Bible. You don't read Robert Frost the same way you read Dostoevsky and you don't read Stephen Ambrose like you'd read an IRS tax form. Why? Hermeneutics. You take into account the genre, purpose, authorial intent, etc when you read something and it affects your understanding. We have to do the same thing with the Bible. Genesis is written differently that Psalms, which is different from Ezekiel which is different from the Gospels, which is different from Romans.
I'm only sitting in on the class because of the Campus Crusade/RTS agreement. My classes with CCC count for my Hermeneutics requirement...but since this is such a foundational class, I figured I ought to do the reading and go to the lectures. Lord willing, some church that hires me down the road will be thankful for this minor sacrifice.
Kim is also taking a class. Systematic Theology II. She'll be spending some time reading Bavinck. That's another seminary trick; say things like. "Well, Bavinck would say..." or "I was reading Ridderbos and..." It makes you sound really smart. But, non-seminarians can play too. Just say, "I was reading (insert Dutch sounding name here) and was really challenged by his view of infralapsarianism." Most seminarians will nod approvingly, so as not to appear that they aren't aware of this profound theologian. It makes you look smart.
So, that's my semester. One thing I've noticed about this term's reading list...thicker books. It will be more work...but just think how smart people will think I am when they see these books on my shelves!

Jack Bauer and Abraham Lincoln

I was watching 24 the other night and during Jack's questioning before a Senate panel he commented that he adapted his mode and methods to best attack the terrorists. He knew that he was breaking laws and subverting rights, but it was necessary for the good of the country. My thoughts were drawn to an Abraham Lincoln quote, " Are all the laws but one to go unexecuted and the government itself go to pieces lest that one be violated." This was Lincoln's response to Chief Justice Taney's issue of a Writ of Habeas Corpus for John Merryman during the Civil War. Lincoln essentially told the Supreme Court, "Mind your own business, I'm working here." Arguably our greatest president ever completely ignored the ruling of the Supreme Court. How'd that go over today?
It seems that this season of 24 will be testing this quote. Can a group of citizens (Bill, Chloe, Tony, and Jack) operate outside of any authority to bring down terrorists? Where is that line drawn when you are no longer protecting the country but withholding others' rights? I'm really curious to see where this heads.

What I've Been Reading

I was asked the other day what books I'd read in seminary this term. I thought it would be a good idea to post the books I read and brief blurb about each of them. I'll post my Winter Term books in a few days and then the Spring Term books.

Salvation Belongs to the Lord
John Frame
This is an intro to Reformed doctrines of Scripture. It is written in a simple, straight-forward manner.

Socrates to Sartre and Beyond: A History of Philosophy
Samuel Enoch Stumpf
This is a standard textbook on Philosophy. If you really like reading philosophy you probably wouldn't read a textbook. If you don't like reading philosophy you probably don't want to read a textbook about philosophy. Overall, it was one of my least favorite reads of the semester.

A Method for Prayer
Matthew Henry
This is a fascinating prayer book from everyone's favorite free Bible commentator. Henry outlines how to pray by praying Scripture. Each chapter has various types of prayer (Adoration, Confession, Petition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) and each prayer is nearly all Scripture. Ligon Duncan has added an appendix that outlines Henry's prayers to make an easy prayer reference. I will continue to use this book for many years.

With One Voice
Reggie Kidd
Reggie was one of my professors. His book is kinda about worship, kinda about music, kinda about the heart, and kinda about Jesus. Reggie writes about three common styles of worship; Bach, Bubba, and the Blues Brothers. I found this to be an edifying read. I often found myself thinking about parts of the book long into the week.

Lectures on Calvinism
Abraham Kuyper
This book is a series of lectures that Kuyper delivered at Princeton in 1898. In the lectures he outlines how Calvinism interacts with various spheres of life. Kuyper makes a great argument for why Calvinism is the only worldview that adequately addresses religion, art, science, politics or the future. There are awkward moments where Kuyper writes less as theologian more like a white European colonialist...but overall it is a phenomenal book. My pastor in Lexington told me that if evangelicals had read his book we would have had a far better impact on society over the last 100 years. I agree.

The Gospel Myster of Sanctification
Walter Marshall
Walter Marshall (1628-80) was an English Puritan pastor. His book on sanctification is a liberating read. Marshall finds a sweet spot between the twin dangers of legalism and licentiousness. He outlines a biblical model to help the Christian pursue holiness. It was an encouraging book. It has 14 chapters and my only criticism is that there is little progression from one chapter to the next. If you want to read it, make sure to get the modernized translation...the original language is a little taxing.

Creation Regained
Albert Wolters
If I recommended only one book from my Fall semester, it would be this one. This is a biblical basis for a reformational worldview. The book centers around Creation, Fall, and Redemption. God created all things perfect. Sin marred and affected all things. Christ will come back and redeem all things. The heart of this is seen in Wolter's explanation of God's Structure (Creation as it was meant to be) and Direction (Creation as it was affected by sin). The fall affects all aspects of God's creation but God has called all Christians to participate in Christ's redemption of the world.

Tell the Truth
Will Metzger
This is an evangelism standard. Metzger helps Christians to share the whole Gospel to the whole person by the whole people. If you have questions about how to share your faith, this is a great manual to reference.

A Faith Worth Sharing
Jack Miller
This is a memoir of Jack Miller's experiences sharing his faith. He shares his successes and colossal failures in trying to share his faith. When you finish you realize that he has shown you how to share Christ with all the different types of people in your life. I often found myself reading his stories but thinking of similar people or situations in my life. You will be encouraged about sharing your faith by the book.

Evangelism and Sovereignty of God
J.I. Packer
Dr. Packer is a living legend of evangelicalism. In this book Dr. Packer clears us the confusion about the antinomy of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility. Do you pray for your friends who do not know Christ? If you do then you believe in the sovereignty of God. If you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you should pray for the lost.

Christ-Centered Preaching
Bryan Chapell
Chapell serves as the president and professor of preaching at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He outlines the reason and methods of redemptive expository preaching. His method helps the preacher to find the redemptive focus of the text and then preach the Gospel answer to the problem. His process gives the preacher a structure to make sure that his sermon is clear, coherent and unified in presenting Christ.

The Supremacy of God in Preaching
John Piper
Piper's book addresses the heart of the preacher. Why should the preacher preach? He must explain and proclaim the supremacy of Christ to the world. In Part I Piper explains the Goal, Ground, and Gift of preaching in a Trinitarian formula. In Part II Piper showcases Jonathan Edwards as an example of preaching the supremacy of Christ.

We also read an unpublished book by Edmund Clowney and Tim Keller titled Preaching the Gospel in a Post-Modern World. It is a written form of lectures that they presented to students at RTS. It, like Chapell, helps the preacher to address the root sin issue in the listener's life and apply the salve of the Gospel to that wound.

If you have questions about any of the books, feel free to drop me and email. I'd love to share my thoughts on them. Enjoy!

Faith & Repentance

God is a loving God. Sin is deadly. Jesus saves. These statements are all true. But the question is, “How do these become true in my life?” Jesus taught that they come by repentance and faith.

What is repentance? Repentance is a 180 degree turn. It means to renounce any belief that you are able to make yourself right before God. It means to confess to God your sin, wrong attitude, evil desire, and guilt. It is turning from yourself and turning to Jesus Christ in faith.

The other side of the coin of repentance is faith. What is faith? Faith is the knowledge of God’s promise, the belief that God’s promise is true and the trust that God’s promise will work. If I am rappelling down a cliff, I can know that the rope will hold my weight and still not rappel. I can believe in the knowledge that the rope will hold my weight and still not rappel. I will only rappel if I trust the rope to hold my weight. Trust is putting the belief in the knowledge into action. It is not enough to stop short of trust. Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Repentance and faith go hand in hand. Faith is turning to Christ and repentance is turning from sin. You cannot do one without the other. This also means that when you trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation, he becomes your Savior and your Lord.

So, where does this sit with you? Do you understand the Good News? Do you believe it is true? More importantly, do you trust your life to it? Would you like to receive Jesus Christ? It is a call to repent of your sin and self trust and believe in faith in the person of Jesus Christ. The reward is to know God as a father. John 1:12 says, “But to all who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

If you truly want to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, you can do so right now. You can pray and ask for understanding of the Gospel. You can ask God for the ability to repent and turn from sin and self trust. You can ask God for the faith to trust in Christ. Here is a sample prayer:

Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I need your forgiveness. Thank you for living a sinless life and dying a sinner’s death on the cross for my sins. I now turn from my sinfulness and self-trust, and I place my trust in you alone for the forgiveness of my sins and the free gift of eternal life. I now receive you as my Risen Lord and Savior. Thank You for taking my sins upon yourself and giving me the gift of your righteousness through faith. Take control of my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.