Monday, December 19, 2005

Help!


The good news: I just got a $30 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble and I can get any book I want. The bad news: I just got a $30 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble and I can get any book I want. Now I have to make a decision! I need your help. I need suggestions. Let me narrow it down for you. I want something in the following categories:

1. Systematic theology
2. Historical theology / biography
3. Homiletics / pastoral theology

No Piper, no MacArhur, no Edwards, dead rather than living, puritan rather than anything else. You can see some other books that I have already ready here.

Ready...go!

Friday, December 16, 2005

The World's Remedy for Emptiness

I have been struggling lately with doubts, depressions and being down in the dumps. All those good d-words. When I struggle like this I usually seek counsel from men that I respect with regards to the soul's happiness and joy. At the top of the list, of course, is John Piper. When I don't Desire God is a big help in this regard. This time around I have picked up a book by Jeremiah Burroughs entitled, "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment." so far it has been good.

In contrast, I was listening to NPR this morning on the way to work. This was not good. The gentleman that was being interviewed was talking about how people tend to go through these cycles in their lives where they are happy and others where they are not so happy. There are typically "happy years" in a persons life. This is usually into the 20s. Then happiness usually gets progressively less and usually hits bottom sometime in the late 30s or into the 40s. Then there are usually more happy years as people get older. At this point the NPR interview brought up the concept of the "hedonic treadmill". This is the concept that says that we are constantly looking for something to make us happy. It may be the promotion or the pay raise. When we get the promotion or the pay raise, the new and the satisfaction eventually wear off and then we are onto something else to satisfy that longing. But we are never satisfied. The interviewer then asked what could be done to maintain a happier state and perhaps to defeat this "hedonic treadmill." The interviewee's answers were pretty pathetic. Here's what he suggested: (1) He said that one of the things that have been documented to help is that you not have a long commute to work every day. (2) Another thing that he suggested is that you have some flexibility in your work schedule. If you have varying hours at work this will help. (3) The last thing he mentioned was friends. He said that it really helps to have some close friendships where you spend time regularly with these friends.

This morning as I listened to this guy's advice I thought, "That's all you got?" "That is your answer to the problem of emptiness and depression?" Have a short drive to work, flexibility in work schedule, and have some close friends and this will help. However, I think what he was basically saying is, "There is no cure to this. All you can hope to do is alleviate some of the misery with a comfortable work environment and some friends." What a miserable worldview.

I suggest that the Christian alternative is better on so many levels and on so many plains. One verse, Psalm 16:11 - You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. There are no hedonic treadmills in heaven; there are only never-ending, soul-satisfying pleasures.

This kind of rhetoric only confirms what Augustine said in his Confessions. "our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee."

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Justification and Sanctification

A friend of mine asked about the relationship between justification and sanctification. Here's how I responded. There is so much more that could be said since this is pretty much what the Christian life is all about.

"Hey, I've been thinking about this some lately. I was talking about it with Tyler the other night. In justification, we get two things. Both are suited perfectly to the needs of the sinner. The sinner is in the hole, so to speak. He/she has a bad record before God. Having lived a life that has "fallen short", we have done tons of bad things are exposed to the just wrath of God because of those sins. That's one problem - a sinful record. The other problem is the lack of righteousness. Even if we didn't have the bad record, we would then only be back at square one. We still wouldn't have the positive side - a righteousness. So the sinner stands condemend because he has sinned (the negative) and he lacks righteousness (the positive). This is the very bad news that makes the gospel very good news. Christ died to grant forgiveness for sins (the negative) and He lived the perfect life to grant the righteousness (the positive). When the sinner attaches himself to Christ by grace through faith, he/she is then counted to have lived Christ's perfect life of obedience. The Father also counts Christ to have lived the sinners wicked life. This is what happened at the cross - double imputation. John MacArthur once said in a sermon, "God treated Christ like He lived your life so that He could treat you like you lived His." Unbelievable! Except by grace, then it becomes believable. How does justification relate to sanctification. One will not happen without the other. Sanctification will not happen unless justification already has. Those who have been justified will be sanctified and will progressinvely become more Christlike. Conversely, it is impossible for justification to happen without sanctification. In other words, Christians will be sanctified. This is why the Bible can say things like these without teaching works-based salvation:

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

According to this verse, we will not go to heaven if we are not sanctified. How do we reconciled this with Romans 5, which says that we are justified bny faith and Ephesians 2:8-9 which says that we are saved by grace through faith? It reconciles because those who are saved by grace through faith will also be sanctified. So there will be no Christians who are not sanctified. All real Christians will be progressively sanctified. This is consistent with other verses that seem to say the same thing. Compare Romans 8:13 and 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. One of the questions is Tyler's catechism book, in speaking of the sinful heart that each of us has from birth, asks this question:
Can you go to heaven with this sinful nature?
Answer: No, my heart must be changed before I can be fit for heaven. Our hearts must be fit for heaven. My father in-law had a book in his study over Thanksgiving that was titled, "No holiness, no heaven." Good title! Piper says that the only sin that can be overcome is a forgiven sin. Thanks for the discussion."

Your thoughts?

Monday, December 12, 2005

The Best Humorous Calvinism Blog Ever!

Check out this post. You will be rolling if you have Calvinism-obsession tendencies as I do.

And yes, I am still alive. I just haven't made as much time to blog lately. Please forgive me!

Thursday, December 01, 2005

The Glory of God and the "Starvation Response"

I am very out of shape. I am out of shape because of a lack of discipline and a love for food. Over the years, there have been times when I was actually in good shape. I used to lift weights quite a bit and I even ran. I have even had some times where I have studied a little regarding weight training and fitness, etc. One thing that I have learned (but haven't yet applied) is that "dieting" doesn't work. When I say "dieting" I mean cutting calories and eating less and less in order to lose weight. It doesn't work because of the way that God, in His wisdom, has designed us. I have been skimming a book entitled, "Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle." Nice title, huh. Anyway, here's what the author, Tom Venuto, says about traditional low-carlorie diets:

"Most people are dead wrong in the way they diet to lose body fat. Almost every conventional diet program ever conceived has one thing in common: Extremely low calories. Nearly all of these low calorie diets produce weight loss in the beginning. The problem is, none of them work for long – it’s physiologically impossible to lose fat permanently by starving yourself. The human body is simply too
“smart” for this to ever work. When you starve the fat, you also starve the muscle. When you starve the muscle, you lose muscle along with the fat. When you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down and your body enters the “starvation mode.” When your body enters starvation mode, fat loss comes to a screeching halt as your body tries to conserve its energy. When the fat loss stops, you either give up (and gain back the fat you lost), or you grit your teeth and drop your calories (starve yourself) even more. If you drop your calories even more, your metabolism slows down even more. And if your metabolism slows down even more, fat loss comes to a screeching halt again. Eventually, you always end up throwing in the towel because you can’t keep dropping your calories forever. It’s a vicious cycle. You just can’t win the very-low-calorie-diet game."

Here are some quotes from others that are knowledgeable in this field:

"Dieting is not effective in controlling weight. You can get a temporary weight loss
with a diet, but each scheme ultimately gives way to weight gain, and subsequent losses become increasingly difficult. Worst of all, you get progressively fatter on less food. Dieting actually makes you fatter!”
-Dr. Lawrence Lamb, Author of "The Weighting Game: The truth about weight control.”

"Cutting calories backfires. The more you cut, the more your body fights to hold onto
its fat stores as reducing calories signals the “starvation response” where the body tries to “survive” and hold onto its calorie reservoir known as fat.”
- Chris Aceto, author of “Everything you need to know about fat loss.”

This has been my experience exactly. The thing that strikes me, though, is that hardly anyone understands this. How many people do we know that are on some sort of "diet" where they try to lose weight by eating less. I thought I would post this here because it is not only helpful to us, but more importantly, it glorifies God. God has designed the human body so that if we start to eat less then our body automaticlly "knows" that it needs to slow down it's metabolic rate in order to conserve the energy provided by the food that has been taken in prior to the reduction in caloric intake. It amazes me that many of these people that do understand it refuse to give the glory to God. Rather, it is some sort of evolutionary characteristic of the "fittest". Anyway, praise God for the "starvation response". Now that you have this important information, use it wisely.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. (Psalm 139:13-14)