The Starving Theologian - Digging for Diamonds

Great Expectations

2008-01-04T08:33:00.000-05:00

Our pastor, Carey Hardy, spoke to several men in our church this morning about expectations. He has been talking to us periodically about growing in our love and devotion for Christ. He explained that one thing that can throw water on the fire of our passion for God is having high expectations - high expectations of what we think our lives should be. That sounds negative at first, but what he means by this is that it can stifle joy if you have your expectations so high that when reality sets in we can get down, depressed, or respond in some other sinful way. This is ultimately an expression of anger towards God and his providence. Bibliclly, we call this idolatry. Ezekiel 14 calls these expectations idols of the heart. James, in chapters 1 and 4 of his letter, calls them lusts. You can know that this is happening when you respond sinfully when something doesn't go the way you expected.

How do we fight against this? Do we just set our expectations in life as low as possible so as to avoid disappointment? Do we just take the mindset that it is better to aim at the gutter to avoid failure? No. We focus on the fact that we don't deserve anything and, therefore, we should be very grateful for anything we get. Pride and ingratitude go together. Humility and gratitude go together.

We should set goals. We should have dreams. But in the end we must always add to our goals and dreams this sentiment: "if the Lord wills."

Book Review: Everyday Talk

2007-12-26T14:32:00.000-05:00

I just recently read Everyday Talk by John A. Younts, published by Shepherd Press. John (Jay) Younts is the author of What About War?, In Touch with Paul Stewardship Series. An elder in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church, John has taught on and studied issues related to biblical child rearing for over thirty years. John is a frequent speaker for parenting conferences, church seminars for parents, and youth meetings. He has been interviewed on radio stations around the country. He and his wife Ruth have five grown children and reside in South Carolina (I got this information from his website)

Everyday Talk: Talking Freely and Naturally About God with Your Children is basically a guidebook to speaking to and in front of your children in a way that glorifies God and blesses children. The purpose of the book is to encourage parents to talk about God in our everyday talk in accordance with Deuteronomy 6. He defines everyday talk as follows: “talk that happens in the unplanned moments. It happens in casual, unguarded moments. It happens when you are distracted or irritated and would rather not be talking at all.” (11) This kind of talk happens no matter what. But God wants your everyday talk to be about Him! “God wants you to talk about His world. God wants you to talk about what He does and how people respond to Him. He wants you to do this when you’re at home, when you are out and about, when you relax. He wants you to talk about Him with love and awe every day. He wants you to talk freely and naturally to your children about His commands…” (12) Sounds a lot like Deuteronomy 6!

This book was very helpful for me as a father of four. Younts doesn’t just leave it at the theoretical level. He goes in to detail about how to talk about some very important topics, such as the gospel, obedience, preparing for the teen years, the world, sex, and music. He explains how to use the “mundane” topics like the weather to bring out truths about God and His world.

He gives principles for parents to follow and not just dos and don’ts. One specific area where I was challenged was the way in which the truth should be presented. He used Proverbs 1:8-9 to show that we should present the truth as we would a precious piece of jewelry to a child. He explained that if we bought precious jewelry for a child we would not ball it up and throw it at them. We would put it in a special box, wrap it and present it as something special. We should do the same with the truth. Our words should be pleasant. The word of God is precious and therefore we should present it to them as such. Our words are to be spoken in love. Younts was very strong in this area and his words were used by the Lord to help me think about the way I talk to my children about the truth.

There were also several good examples found in the book (both Biblical and otherwise) to help bring these truths into focus.

This book is certainly consistent with some other very good parenting books. Books like Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Tedd Tripp), Age of Opportunity (Paul Tripp), Heart of Anger (Lou Priolo), and Teach Them Diligently (Lou Priolo). I think the contribution lies in the broad range of the topics that he addresses. He doesn’t deal extensively with disciplining and other parenting issues because that was not his goal. His goal was to give parents a theology of God-centered speaking with practical application. If anyone were to ask me what two parenting books I would recommend if they were only going to read two, I would recommend Shepherding a Child’s Heart (first) and Everyday Talk (second) in that order. Shepherding a Child’s Heart lays the foundation and gives the big picture for goals and procedures at each phase of a child’s development. Everyday Talk delves in to some of the more specific areas and challenges.

Far from giving the impression that parents are to just talk, Younts also explains that we must be very intent and serious listeners before we will have anything that is helpful to say. In addition, our lives are own lives as parents are to reflect that we have been changed by the wonderful truths that we are seeking to impart to our children. This is nonnegotiable. I highly recommend this book to anyone with children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, or anyone who knows children that need the truth. I think that covers just about everyone.

The Focus Conference 2008

2007-12-26T11:50:00.000-05:00

Check out the website for this excellent youth conference coming up in February 2008. It is going to be a God-centered, cross-focused time of encouragement accompanied with excellent preaching and worship. The Focus Conference 2008 is being put on by my church.

The Encyclopedia of Theology

2007-08-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

I love this! This is an outline adapted from Abraham Kuyper's Encyclopedia of Theology. It is basically the understanding of a well-rounded theological education. In which elements are we, in today's evangelical environment, weak? Strong? Thoughts about this outling?

I.EXEGETICAL
THEOLOGY
A.Books of the Bible-Isagogics
B.Text of the Bible
1.Biblical Philology
2.Textual Criticism
3.Hermeneutics
4.Exegesis
C.Contents of the Bible
1.Bib. Archaeology
2.Bib. History
3.Bib. Theology
--------------
Object: the Bible as such
Aim: biblical interpretation

II.HISTORICAL
THEOLOGY
A.Ecclesiastical or Church History
1.Chronological
2.Territorial
3.Denominational
B.Doctrinal History--History of Doctrines
--------------
Object: the church in historical manifestation
Aim: historical perspective

III.SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
A.Apologetics
B.Dogmatics
1.Prolegomena
2.Revelation
3.God
4.Man
5.Christ
6.Holy Spirit
7.Salvation
8.Church
9.Last Things
C.Ethics
D.Polemics
--------------
Object: Christian
doctrine and dogma
Aim: systematic
construction

IV.PRACTICAL THEOLOGY
A.Homiletics
B.Liturgics
C.Poimenics
D.Catechetics
E.Church Order
F.Missions
--------------
Object: the Church as the agency for
propagating the Word
Aim: effective communication

The Lightlings: A Book Review

2007-08-14T12:24:00.000-04:00

Publisher's Description: "In The Lightlings, Dr. R.C. Sproul weaves an allegorical tale that captures the essence of the biblical story of redemption. A race of tiny beings known as lightlings represent humanity as they pass through all the stages of the biblical drama—creation, fall, and redemption. In the end, children will understand why some people fear light more than darkness, but why they need never fear darkness again. Richly detailed illustrations by Justin Gerard will hold children’s interest, and discussion questions and Scripture references in the back will help parents guide children into the deeper meaning of the story."

RC Sproul has done it again. As he has done in other children's books like The King Without a Shadow and The Priest with Dirty Clothes, Dr. Sproul uses allegory to bring the beautiful truths of the gospel both down to the level of a child's understanding and up to a new level of profundity for all. Using the Biblical theme of darkness and light, this little children's book explains creation, the fall and its effects as well as the gospel and its reversing effects. I read this book to my three older children (7,4, and 3) and they all got it! They all understood that the Great King of Light was God, that the lightlings were Adam and Eve (and us by extension), and that the Son of the King of Light was Jesus. The questions at the end of the book are very helpful in making all of this clear to the children. The illustrations by Justin Gerard are excellent! One thing that is needed today is an understanding that the gospel is beautiful and that Christ is beautiful. Many people claim to be saved by the gospel but do not savor the beauty of the godhead in it. They merely want to be rescued by it, not to revel in it. This book is a a beutiful meditation on the redemption that we have in Christ. May God use this little book so that many will savor him more fully!

Waldron Continues on Millenium

2007-08-02T09:33:00.000-04:00

Sam Waldron has posted several times on his response to MacArthur since the last time I mentioned it on the blog. Go here to see the posts.

Worry as Sin

2007-08-01T11:21:00.000-04:00

A good friend of mine has posted an excellent series of blog entries on the subject of worry.

Ryle on Training up Children

2007-07-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

I was looking online today at monergism and found an online book by Ryle on the duties of parents. In this book, he gives several hints for training your children. I felt chastened when I read hint #2:

"2. Train up your child with all tenderness, affection, and patience.

I do not mean that you are to spoil him, but I do mean that you should let him see that you love him. Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct. Kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, forbearance, patience, sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish troubles, a readiness to take part in childish joys, — these are the cords by which a child may be led most easily, — these are the clues you must follow if you would find the way to his heart. Few are to be found, even among grown-up people, who are not more easy to draw than to drive. There is that in all our minds which rises in arms against compulsion; we set up our backs and stiffen our necks at the very idea of a forced obedience. We are like young horses in the hand of a breaker: handle them kindly, and make much of them, and by and by you may guide them with thread; use them roughly and violently, and it will be many a month before you get the mastery of them at all."

How often I am rough and violent, attempting to drive my children (especially my son) to obedience rather than drawing them with the thread of love. How harsh and impatient I often am with them. Thank God for the cross...

Ligonier's Website

2007-06-22T07:23:00.001-04:00

Ligonier Ministries has updated its website. Check it out here.

Preaching the Cross

2007-06-21T07:25:00.000-04:00

As you probably already know, the material from the Together for the Gospel conference in 2006 is now in book form. What a conference... What a gospel.

Book Review: The Expository Genius of John Calvin

2007-06-18T12:23:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading The Expository Genius of John Calvin by Steven J. Lawson, published by Reformation Trust. It is a subseries of the larger Long Line of Godly Men Series, a five-volume series where Lawson surveys men throughout history (from 1400 BC to present) who have taught and defended the doctrines of grace. This book on John Calvin is part of the "Long Line" Profiles where Lawson will "focus in on the ways in which these [especially gifted] men discovered, honed, and empoyed their gifts, affording insights for God's servants today." Other such profiles in the future will include Luther, Whitefield, Edwards, Suprgeon, and more! This 142-page book is not intended to be a full blown biography of Calvin. Rather, Lawson delves into thirty-two distinctives of his pulpit ministry.

Are you a Calvinist? What an offensive question. What an offensive term. I have been told that you should not use that term because it is very offensive and that it scares people. It gives the impression that you claim allegiance to a man. You are of Calvin. There are many negative things that this man's name has provoked throughout history. Many picture a mean, crusty theologian who like systems more than scripture. As we see in this book, nothing could be farther from the truth. Rather, we see that Calvin's "system" came from years and years of verse by verse exposition of the scriptures. Like Luther before him, his system came from scripture - not the other way around.

Much like Piper's book on Edwards that I read a few years ago, I found this book to be very helpful in that it gave concrete examples of how to preach and different elements to included in sermons without exalting homoletics as the key to Biblical preaching. Biblical preaching must be Biblical. In other words, the meaning of the text is the text. These examples came mostly (if not exclusively) from his sermons on Micah and Galatians. I was again struck with the importance of being God-centered and blood earnest in the ministry. Again, much like when I read the Supremacy of God in Preaching (which surveyed Edwards) it amazed me that these men were not what many would consider outstanding speakers. They weren't the best orators of their respective days. But they were very serious about the task of preaching and they were hyper-theocentric (my word). This gave their words a weight which many today (and apperenty in their day) don't have. We are all too often lighthearted in the assembly. Listen to Lawson on this:

"The preacher must speak, Calvin said, "in a way that shows he is not pretending." This calvin did-he was blood-earnest in his preaching. Listen to him exhort his congregation:

Moreover, let us learn that God does not intend there to be churches as places for people to make merry and laugh in, as if comedy were being acted here. But there must be majesty in His Word, by which we may be moved and affected."

This book accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish, namely, to inspire men and show men how to "return to preaching that is Word-driven, God-exalting, Christ-centered, and Spirit-empowered." Lawson says the need of the day is this: "we need Calvins again to stand in pulpits and boldly proclaim the Word of God." You ask me if I am a Calvinist, I say I am not nearly as much of a Calvinist as I want to be.

The Sabbath

2007-06-14T07:31:00.000-04:00

Well, I asked a question about the Sabbath or Lord's Day a couple/few weeks ago. Richard Barcellos at MCTS is now doing a series of posts about the Sabbath. I am hoping that it will answer some of the many questions I have about this doctrine.

Waldron's Blog Book

2007-06-05T10:51:00.000-04:00

Waldron has posted a few more times on his blog book in response to MacArthur. Here is the latest one.

End Times Debate Continued

2007-05-22T21:33:00.001-04:00

Sam Waldron continues his response to MacArthur here.

George Whitfield's Biography

2007-05-22T11:27:00.000-04:00

I want this book and this book! Read Tim Challies review of them here. If any of you are feeling generous, you would make me a very happy Vinnie if you bought on of them for me. Father's Day is coming up, as well as the 4th of July, my birthday and then Christmas. Rachel...

Help with the Sabbath (or the Lord's Day)

2007-05-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

I am confused about this Christian Sabbath thing. My thing is this (a few things): I think that it is pretty clear that the Ten Commandments are binding for Christians because of the way that the new testament uses them and assumes that they are binding on Christians. However, it seems that there is little or no evidence that the Lord's day is to be practiced as a sabbath. Yet, Christians are the new and true Israel and it is true that the New Testament requires that Christians meet on the first day of the week for corporate worship. Further, the law of God (which I believe is the ten commandments) is written on our hearts. I believe this because of Jeremiah 31:31-34 and passages like 2 Corinthians 3 (where the contrast is between the law being written on tablets of stone and on tablets of human hearts). The only thing that was written on tablets of stone by God was the ten commandments, not any other laws. The other laws under the Mosaic administration were written down by Moses. Further, Paul talks about the doers of the law being justified in Romans 2. The law, I believe, is talking about the ten commandments (Romans 2:21-23). Therefore, it must be biding on the Christian as a rule of life (the historic third use of the law as set out by Calvin). What confuses me most about this issue is that Mohler, Luther, Calvin, and Gill (just to name a few) don't believe in a Christian Sabbath. Rather, they believe in the observance of the Lord's day with the emphasis on the positive importance of the corporate gather together in worship, fellowship, and praying with God's people. The emphasis is not on resting. Therefore, they would not call it a Christian Sabbath. What makes this more confusing is that Mohler says it is emphatically not a Christian Sabbath and then he quotes the Baptist Faith and Message (BFM), which says this:
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and by refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employments, work of necessity and mercy only being excepted.

Mohler actually quoted this and still says that it is not a Christian Sabbath! I am confused. I'm even more confused because the BFM came from New Hampshire Confession which came from the 1689, which are both Sabbatarian. The New Hampshire Confession basically says the same thing, except the title is "The Christian Sabbath" instead of "The Lord's Day". It is almost like they want it to be called the Lord's Day but observed as a Sabbath...

Further, I have come to embrace the regulative principle of the Church, which is the opposite of the Anglican normative principle. The Anglicans say that, with regards to worship, anything that is commanded and anything that is not expressly forbidden is okay for the church to do in the activities of worship. The puritan regulative principle says that, for corporate worship, the tasks of the church, and the government of the church, only that which is either commanded or that which has Biblical precedence is true worship. Because it is God's house (or temple) He has the right to say what is and is not acceptable (1 Timothy 3:15). It is not the same as how I would do family worship or how I make many of the personal decisions I make. In our every day life we take the principles that we learn in God's word and apply them in the ways that we think best. Every situation is not addressed in scripture, but we can take the principles in God's word and apply them to those situations. Not so in the way that God's church is run because it is his place of special presence (Matthew 18:20). Much like God set out the specification of His temple in the OT, He has the right to determine how church is to be done. You get the point.

What does this have to do with the Sabbath? Well, if God is going to specify the way that worship is to be done, then would he not specify the day of worship?

Another thing I am wrestling with on this is the fact that the Bible does not trace the origins of the Sabbath back to the Mosaic Covenant but back to creation. Exodus 20 8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. Men like John Owen and Vos have argued that the Sabbath was a creation ordinance and, therefore, does not go away with the comng of the new covenant. According to them it is binding on all generations because it is part of the law written on the hearts (conscience) of all men from birth as Romans 1 and 2 set out.

Any help here? I am confused and need the help of my theologically-minded brothers.

Excellent Counseling Article!

2007-05-20T10:30:00.000-04:00

Check out this great article about counseling (which has implications for the entire Christian life) here. A little controversial...

New Affections!

2007-05-19T09:49:00.001-04:00

I got this excellent Thomas Chalmers quote from Piper's book, Future Grace:

"There are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world-either by a demonstration of the world's vanity, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one. My purpose it to show that from the constitution of our nature, the former method is altogether incompetent and ineffectual, and that the latter method will alone suffice for the rescue and recovery of the heart from the wrong affection that domineers over it."

So let us preach and counsel, yes, against sin and wickedness but also for the beauty and excellence of God and all the he is for us in Christ. Let us emphasize the greatness of God over the futility of the world.

Waldron Posts Chapter 4!

2007-05-16T16:41:00.000-04:00

Finally, Sam Waldron has posted Chapter 4 in his blog book in response to MacArthur's sermon at the Shepherd's Conference here.

Books I have Read

2007-05-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

First I must qualify that I have not read ALL of each of these books. In other words, I have chosen to list the books that I have read either all the way through or most of the way through (I have a bad habit of starting new books before I finish the ones I am already reading). These are only the ones I can think of off the top of my head without giving it much thought:

Piper
Desiring God
When I Don't Desire God
God's Passion for His Glory
The Hidden Smile of God
Future Grace
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
Legacy of Sovereign Joy
Don't Waste Your Life
Counted Righteous in Christ
The Supremacy of God in Preaching
God is the Gospel
The Innkeeper
A Hunger For God

Sam Waldron (my professor at MCTS)
Reformed Baptist Manifesto
End Times Made Simple
In Defense of Parity
Biblical Baptism
To Be Continued?
Who Runs the Church
We Must Obey God

John MacArthur
The Gospel According to Jesus
The Murder of Jesus
Battle for the Beginning
Why One Way?
Fool's Gold
Successful Christian Parenting

Others
The Cross - Lloyd-Jones
The Cross Centered Life - Mahaney
Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God - Mahaney
God at Work - Veith
Mortification of Sin - Owen
The Doctrine of Repentance - Watson
The Mischief of Sin - Watson
Is God Really in Control - Bridges
Some of Systematic Theology - Grudem
An Eschatology for Laymen - Ladd
Religious Affections - Edwards
The Complete Husband - Priolo
Heart of Anger - Priolo
Shepherding a Child's Heart - Ted Tripp
Age of Opportunity - Paul Tripp
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life - Whitney
The Church - Clowny
Chose by God - Sproul
Grace Unknown - Sproul
The Sovereignty of God - Pink
Spurgeon Versus Hyper-Calvinism
Tell the Truth - Metzger
Today's Gospel - Authentic of Synthetic - Chantry
The Gospel According to Dispensationalism - Kimbro

That's all I can think of right now...

Historical Theology

2007-05-14T09:49:00.000-04:00

After some of Greg Stancil’s posts on historic premillenialism, I am leaning toward historic premill as my view on the end times. A big part of that has to do with the wide acceptance of it in the early church. It also occurred to me (again) that historical theology can be very helpful in developing our own theology. Of course, we don’t come to our conclusions based solely on church history. For that would be a return to Roman Catholicism. Exegesis is our primary epistemological source. But it is an unwise overreaction to Rome to ignore church history in formulating our own system of theology. This got me thinking about some other areas that I have been wondering about and led me again to contemplate the role that Ten Commandments are to have in the Christian life, particularly, the fourth Commandment regarding the Sabbath Day. I asked the question, “What did the early church think about the Sabbath Day and how did it affect their practice?”. You can see for yourself in this article by Philip Schaff.

Sale at Westminster Bookstore

2007-05-11T07:21:00.000-04:00

The CCEF (Christian Counseling and Education Foundation) books are on sale at the Westminster bookstore right now at half price!

Historic Premil

2007-05-10T00:03:00.000-04:00

My friend, Greg Stancil, is posting some blogs about historic premil and how it compares to other eschatological systems here.

Living the Christian life

2007-05-07T17:21:00.000-04:00

Mark Redfern posts this great James McDonald quote here.

Sam Waldron Continues His Response

2007-04-26T15:04:00.000-04:00

Here, here and here, Waldron continues his response to MacArthur.

The Church is Very Important

2007-04-26T09:24:00.000-04:00

In studying for my seminary class, it has struck me how little value and importance is placed upon the church (especially in its local expression) in today's evangelicalism. This doesn't quite square up with scripture pasages such as 1 Timothy 3:15:

"but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth."

-The church is the household of God
-The church is the church of the living God
-The church is the pillar and support of the truth

Let us treat it as such!

Sam Waldron Responds to MacArthur

2007-04-25T14:05:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to the first of several posts in response to John MacArthur's opening address at the 2007 Shepherd's Conference.

The New Covenant and Boasting in the Cross - 2

2007-04-20T09:40:00.000-04:00

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (Luke 22:20)

What is the New Covenant?

“The phrase “New Covenant” is used explicitly seven times in the New Testament. There are at least five more times in which clear allusions to it occur. This, however, does not adequately reveal the all-importance of the New Covenant in the Bible. The last 27 books of our Bibles are called the New Testament. This phrase is an alternate translation of the New Covenant. In one sense, the New Testament is the New Covenant. That is to say, the Scriptures of the New Testament are the scriptures of the New Covenant, just as the scriptures of the Old Testament are the scriptures of the Old Covenant. This in no way takes the Old Testament out of the hands of Christians. Just as the Old Testament has to do with the establishment and implications of the Old Covenant, so the New Testament has to do with the establishment and implications of the New Covenant.”

Here we see that Christ is linking His death with the New Covenant as He is instituting one of the two sacraments of the church - the Lord’s supper. I said all that to say this. The New Covenant is very important for Christians to understand and appreciate. The whole New Testament , in a sense, has to do with the New Covenant. The most important event in the history of the world, Christ’s shedding of His blood on the cross is linked to the New Covenant. This is very important to grasp. So let’s get into it. What is the New Covenant?

-The New Covenant is the fulfillment of promises made in the Old Testament – Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:40; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Isaiah 54:10; 55:3; 59:21; 61:8; Hosea 2:18-23; Malachi 3:1-4

-It is contrasted with the Old Covenant – Jeremiah 31:32; Exodus 19:1-8; Exodus 24:6-8

The Old Covenant here, then, is the Mosaic Covenant with all the institutions of worship annexed to it (Hebrews 9:1-3). This covenant is going to be different than the Mosaic Covenant.

We will talk more about the specific provisions of the new covenant next time as well as how the New and Old Covenants are different. This week I want to move on to Christ’s next phrase in Luke 22:20, “in my blood.” This is the new covenant in my blood. What does He mean here?

The New Covenant and Boasting in the Cross

2007-04-18T14:41:00.000-04:00

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (Luke 22:20)

How much do you value the blood of Christ? Do you ever just stop in the middle of your day and say, “Thank you Lord, for the blood of Christ”? I don’t typically do that. It is my conviction that one of the reasons why I don’t is because I don’t understand the value of the cross of Christ and how much his shed blood truly accomplished for me. One of the things I don’t think many Christians understand is how the blood of Christ and the new covenant relate. This passage connects these two things - the blood of Christ and the new covenant. What I would like to do in the next few posts is just expound upon Christ’s phrase here in the latter part of this verse, “the new covenant in My blood”. This verse that we read over so often and so quickly is full of meaning and implications for the Christian life. I would like concentrate on what those meanings and implications are for our lives. I think this will help us appreciate the blood of Christ more fully. It is important to appreciate the blood of Christ because that is what makes us more Christlike and less worldly. “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

God Should be Central in all of Life

2006-11-08T07:43:00.000-05:00

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

I couldn't help but think of the very obvious and intended application for parents in these verses. One of the main implications that struck me was the fact that Biblical Christianity and Biblical parenting are not compartmentalized. You should not have the Bible as your guide and the topic of discussion only in Sunday school and at church. Here the Bible is to be the topic "when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." We should be teaching our children, not only at set times for catechism and family devotions but also in the milieu of life. They should know that the word of God and the God of the word are relevant and supreme in all realms of life, not just at church on Sunday.

A Poem for Your Birthday

2006-11-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is the question people regularly ask children. We, as parents, have the advantage of life experience to answer this question. Many parents would answer the question differently if they could answer if for their children. As Christian parents, we should answer differently than parents that are not Christians. What the world wants for their children and what Christians want for their children should be noticeably different. The world may want things like wealth, fame, power, reputation, etc. A biblical vision for what we want for our children should look quite different. I asked myself what I want for my oldest child and it turned into a poem. This poem is my feeble attempt to put into words my mission for my firstborn son:

Tyler, When You Grow Up

When you grow up,
I want you to show yourself a man

When you grow up,
I want you to show mercy as much as you can

When you grow up,
I want you to love God and hate sin

When you grow up,
I want you to fear God and not men

When you grow up,
I want you to know your God and know yourself

When you grow up,
I want you to lead and love your wife

When you grow up,
I want you to train your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord

When you grow up,
I want you to be a doer of the word

When you grow up,
I want you to speak truth boldly and without fear

When you grow up,
I want you to know that your home is not here

When you grow up,
I want you to find your joy in God and store up treasure in heaven

When you grow up,
I want you to be a passionate man

When you grow up,
I want you to cherish doctrine

When you grow up,
I want you to exalt Christ’s name and avoid self-glorification

When you grow up,
I want you to do risk-taking acts of love

When you grow up,
I want you to set your mind on things above

When you grow up,
I want you to love others enough to say what they don’t like

When you grow up,
I want you to save your life by losing your life

When you grow up,
I want you to deserve nothing in your own mind

When you grow up,
I want you to be genuinely kind

And when you grow up, son, I want you to know,
That wherever your earthly father is, your heavenly father is with you wherever you go

BACK FROM THE DEAD!

2006-10-31T15:30:00.000-05:00

I am still alive. Just been pretty busy. Here is something I was thinking about today:

"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)
This verse is full of theology. Yes, that bad word “theology”. It is all about God. It is not man-centered. In fact, it is bringing out the point that man is not to be admired, but that man, unlike God, is sinful and therefore he lies. It also brings out the fact that man is weak and lacking knowledge and wisdom and, therefore, changes his mind about things. It is a thoroughly God-centered verse. It shows that God is true and never lies. It shows that God is omniscient and, therefore has unlimited knowledge of the past present and future in all places. Therefore, He never makes a decision based on a limited amount of knowledge, only to learn that His decision was based on wrong assumptions. That has never happened. It never will. He doesn’t change his mind. He never says that He will do one thing only to decide against it later. He never tells us He will do one thing and decides to do another. He never promises not to do something only to turn around and do it anyway. That has never happened.

The argument I have heard is that theology is not practical or relevant. Therefore, we must find preaching that is practical and nitty gritty. This theology stuff is not relevant and it has nothing to do with how we live our lives. This verse, which is very theological, has immense practical implications and is a testimony to the fact that the argument outlined above is shortsighted. This argument is a perfect reflection that shows how pragmatic, impatient and lazy our culture has become (including most who fill the pews of our churches every Sunday). All one needs to do is ask the question:

“Why does the fact that God never changes His mind and never lies matter to us?”

I answer with another question: What if we really believed that God would never lie and that he never changed his mind?

You guys tell me the implications of such a wonderful truth…

To Teach, or not to Teach

2006-01-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

One thing I have been puzzled about is the tension between James 3:1 and Hebrews 5:12

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. (James 3:1)

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. (Hebrews 5:12)

Well at first glance it seems that these two texts are contradicting one another. One says that not many should not aspire to teaching because there will be a stricter judgement. The other says that one thing that naturally comes with maturity is to be teachers. These people weren't ready to be teachers because of their spiritual immaturity, but they should have been teaching. So how do these fit together? The Greek word will not help. It is the same Greek word used in both verses. I will let you guys help me on this one too. I know there are some exegetical geniuses out there that read my blog, so let er rip!

Why memorize scripture?

2006-01-09T13:16:00.000-05:00

This is from a devotional I prepared for our youth group. One of my resolutions is to memorize the fighter verses (used by John Piper @ Desiring God and Bethlehem Baptist church in Minneapolis) for the year 2006. If you following this program, you will have memorized one strategicly chosen passage of scripture each week to help you fight the fight of faith. It is my goal to do this. Here are some motivations for so doing:

1. To know specifics about God
2. To know specifics about His commands (1 John 5:2-3; 2 John 1:6)
3. To know the promises of God (2 Peter 1:1-4)
4. To be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1-2)
5. To avoid sinning against God (Psalm 119:9-11; Luke 4:1-13)
6. To be strong in times of adversity (Psalm 1:1-3)
7. To be a Christian sage (Proverbs 22:17-21)
Definition for sage: One venerated for experience, judgment, and wisdom.
8. To become what you think about (Proverbs 23:7)
9. To learn, support, and defend sound doctrines of the Christian faith
10. To promote Biblical prayers

Different types of verses to memorize:
a. Verses that tell about the attributes of God ("The Lord is gracious, slow to anger," etc.)
b. Verses that tell about the positive commands (i.e. "You shall love your neighbor...")
c. Verses that tell about the negative commands (i.e. "You shall have no other gods before Me")
d. Verses that aren't commands, but that help you be wise and live life and avoid pitfalls (Proverbs)
e. Verses that tell about the promises of God (i.e. "I will remember their sins no more")
f. Verses that teach solid doctrine and help us understand the gospel and our salvation (i.e. "By grace you have been saved through faith")
g. Verses that are models for good prayers (i.e. the Lord's prayer, Ephesians 1, Ephesians 3, etc.)

It is good for us to memorize all these different categories of scriptures in order to have our minds transformed into the mind of Christ. This, with the Holy Spirit's help will cause us to begin to not only think the way Christ thinks but also to feel the way He feels about things. We will begin to hate sin, love people, and most of all love God more and more. Let's resolve to memorize more scripture in 2006!

Help!

2005-12-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

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!

The World's Remedy for Emptiness

2005-12-16T12:08:00.000-05:00

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."

Justification and Sanctification

2005-12-15T22:24:00.000-05:00

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?

The Best Humorous Calvinism Blog Ever!

2005-12-12T23:13:00.000-05:00

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!

The Glory of God and the "Starvation Response"

2005-12-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

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)

Clash of the Theological Giants

2005-11-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

The Bible wants us to have heroes. Hebrews 13:7-"Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith." It has become pretty important to me to have some good heroes to "imitate". John Piper has helped me in this area. "It seems to me that the Christian leaders who come closest to being heroes are the ones who had great heroes." I think he's right. Piper got some advice to dig into the writings of one solid, Biblical, pastor to become conversant with that theologian's writings. Piper chose Edwards. Man am I glad! Can you imagine Piper without the influence of Edwards? About a year or so ago I started to consider (1) if I should do the same with a (preferably) dead theologian who would be good to really be discipled by. (In large measure I have already done this with the living, John Piper), (2) If I should do this with one of the great, dead theologians/pastors (they should be both), which one would I choose? Of course, Edwards was one of my top "contenders". However, as I have learned a little more I have started to consider another, namely, John Owen. At Piper's pastor's conference in 1994, he did a biological message on John Owen. Reading that message (and more recently listening to it on Piper's radio program) was enough to make one consider Owen as an equal with Edwards in many ways. Consider some of these things about Owen's life.

There have been many great theologians that have considered Owen to have been the most influential Christian writer in their lives. J.I. Packer, Roger Nicole, and Sinclair Ferguson, to name a few. At the time Piper did this conference he had invited six me as keynote speakers. The three men that I noted above were included in that group of six men. So that was just in a six year period of time. Who knows how many others would say the same? He has had 11 pastor's conferences since then. I suppose one might object by saying that a person may be a good writer without being much more than a writer. Granted, but I doubt that we could accuse Owen of that.

Owen was always essentially a pastor (from 1643 until his death in 1683). Piper comments, "...even when involved with administration at the University of Oxford and even when involved with the political events of his day. He was anything but a cloistered academic. All of his writing was done in the press of pastoral duties." In 1646 Owen was invited to speak to the Parliament. It was this message that catapulted him into political affairs for the next 14 years. Oliver Cromwell made him his chaplain and then (1651) appointed him to the Deanship at Christ Church College in Oxford and then the next year made him also the Vice-Chancellor. That wasn't very busy at all (Sarcasm). His duties included responsibility "for the services of worship because Christ Church was a cathedral as well as a college and he was the preacher. He was responsible for the choice of students, the appointment of chaplains, the provision of tutorial facilities, the administration of discipline, the oversight of property, the collection of rents and tithes, the gift of livings and the care of almsman and the church hospital. But his whole aim in all his duties Peter Toon says was 'to establish the whole life of the College on the Word of God.'" "In spite of all that administrative pressure and even hostility because of his commitment to godliness and to the Puritan cause, he was constantly studying and writing, probably late at night instead of sleeping." And study and write he did. Today, we have a 16-volume set of works in addition to the 7-volume set on Hebrews! Who in the world can write seven volumes on Hebrews? Well, John Owen and ... John Owen. Nor did he dabble on the surface of the subjects which he addressed. Andrew Thomsen said, Owen "makes you feel when he has reached the end of his subject, that he has also exhausted it." Name a theological subject and, for the most part, Owen not only touched on it but seemingly exhausted it.

Owen tried to help get John Bunyan out of prison and failed. Of course, if he hadn't failed then we probably wouldn't have the second-best selling book of all time - The pilgrim's Progress. Since Bunyan was a tinker, he didn't know anything about publishing. Owen did. He recommended his own publisher, Nathaniel Ponder. So Owen failed to get him out of jail, but succeeded in finding him a good publisher.

The main reason I would consider Owen as even close to Edwards is because of what I see that was most important to him and what motivated him in all the great things he was able to do. Some people may do a lot of good things for the wrong motives (like self-exaltation). From what little information we have about Owen (outside of his works), we can see that there were a few things that made him tick and really drove him.

In Owen's own words,

"I hope I may own in sincerity that my heart's desire unto God, and the chief design of my life ... are, that mortification and universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of others, to the glory of God, that so the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be adorned in all things."

I think he could say that without fear of anyone calling him out as being hypocritical. As we have already established, he was a very public figure. David Clarkson was his pastoral assistant in the later years of Owen's ministry. He gave his funeral address. In it he said,

"A great light is fallen; one of eminancy for holiness, learning, parts and abilities; a pastor, a scholar, a divine of the first magnitude; holiness gave a divine lustre to his other accomplishments, it shined in his whole course, and was diffused through his whole conversation."

It may be a difficult and dangerous thing to try summing up Owen to one or two key themes. But, others have tried. Richard Daniels, who wrote in his dissertation on The Christology of John Owen said this:

"...there is one motif so important to John Owen, so often and so broadly cited by him, that the writer would go so far as to call it the focal point of Owen's theology, namely, the doctrine that in the gospel we behold, by the Christ-given Holy Spirit, the glory of God "in the face of Christ" and are thereby changed into his image." (92)

"...the knowledge of Christ was the all-surpassing object of Owen's desires, the center of his doctrinal system, and the end, means, and indispensable prerequisite for Christian theology." (516)

Here's how Owen said it in Meditations on the glory of Christ:

"The revelation ... of Christ ... deserves the severest of our thoughts, the best of our meditations and our utmost diligence in them ... What better preparation can there be for [our future enjoyment of the glory of Christ] than in a constant previous contemplation of that glory in the revelation that is made in the Gospel."

Piper writes, "Richard Baxter...called Owen 'the great doer'. He lived in the public eye. He was involved in academic administration; he was in politics up to his ears; he was entangled with the leading military officers of the country; he was embroiled in controversies over all kinds of matters from the authenticity of the Hebrew vowel points and the Epistle to Ignatius to the national laws of toleration and the nature of justification; he was looked at by thousands of congregational independent ministers as their spokesman at the national level; he was all the while pastoring people-and don't forget, losing a child in death every three years."

Owen was a pastor who loved Jesus and wanted others to love Jesus more and more by seeing Him in the gospel. Owen knew that when people see Jesus by looking at Him through the lens of the gospel they are changed.

Back to my question about picking one main, dead theologian/pastor to delve into. I have some questions for you bloggers:

1. Should we do this? Is it wise to pick one main guy to do this with and really get to know that one guy's thoughts and system of theology, etc? Obviously it was good for Piper. God used Edwards in a major way in Piper's life. Since every man has weaknesses would it be more wise to be more well-rounded and to dabble in the writings of many of the great writers of Christian history? Or is it better to go really deep into one trustworthy source (which may be what Piper would argue)? Of course, this doesn't mean that you don't read other authors...

2. Edwards vs. Owen (hence the title of my blog). Much more is known about Edwards so I chose to give some info about Owen on the blog. Tell me your thoughts. Assuming it is healthy to delve into the writings of one great Christian writer, Owen or Edwards? Why? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for persevering such a long blog entry.

Saving Faith

2005-11-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

William Guthrie, in "The Christian's Great Interest", says this about saving faith in Jesus Christ:

"In a word, whatsoever way [Jesus] may benefit poor man, He declares Himself able to do. And as He holdeth out Himself in the Scriptures, so faith does point towards Him. If He be a Bridegroom, faith will go out in a marriage relation; if He be a Father, faith pleadeth the man to be a child; if He be a Shepherd, faith pleads the man may be one of His sheep; if He be a Lord, faith calleth Him so, which none can do but by the Spirit of Jesus; if He be dead, and risen again for our justification, faith 'believeth God has raised Him' on that account. (Rom. 10: 9.) Wheresoever He be, there would faith be; and whatsoever He is, faith would be somewhat like Him."

In other words, to receive Christ is to believe in Him. To believe in Him is to receive all of Him, not just Christ as savior but also as Lord and treasure. If you really receive Christ, you receive all of Him - not parts of Him. You will receive Him in all of His offices. He is prophet, preist and king. Lord, savior, treasure. Whatever scripture declares Him to be, saving faith receives Him as such. Indeed, saving faith savors who He is and makes Christ all. As Piper has said, "Saving faith is being satisfied with God and all that He is for us in Jesus."

Tyler - For Your Birthday

2005-11-02T23:41:00.000-05:00

I'm no poet. I'm just a dad who is pretty sappy sometimes. I get choked up thinking about my kids growing up. My son, Tyler, is turning six years old tomorrow. Because I am so sappy, I wrote a poem for my son on his sixth birthday. Here it is. As far as poetry goes, it's pretty pathetic. Anyway, here it is:

Little guy, just writing this makes me tear up.
You're six years old and growing up.
Yesterday we brought you home,
Tomorrow we know that you'll be grown.

I felt the need to write you, son.
You need to know when all's said and done
That your dad loves you more than you'll know
And that his hope is that one day you'll grow
To be a joyful man who loves
His family and God above
All earthly joys and treasures here;
That no man's worthy of your fear.

Someday, I pray, you'll love your wife
And use the word that's like a knife
To lead your family in the way
Of holiness and learn to pray
Like Jesus did - the One who hid
The word and fought the Devil with
What He had stored up in His heart.
Tyler, our God has made you smart.
So use your mind to glorify
The maker of the earth and sky.

Don't waste you life on things that rust,
Nor build up all your hope and trust
On shadows that don't satisfy
But on Jesus who gives true life.

You're like your dad in many ways.
I used to hope it was a phase,
But in six years it's gotten worse.
It's nothing that we can reverse.
So maybe I can help you to
Avoid some things that I still do.

There's still some time to spend with you.
And when we're done I want you to
Be sure your dad loves you so much
That he's in awe that God gave such
A precious gift of love to Him.

I hope there'll be more words to come
From me to you if God gives some.
For now, another year's gone by.
Happy birthday, my little guy!

A little humor

2005-10-26T11:38:00.000-04:00

I suppose it's time I do something a little more lighthearted on my blog, lest everyone think that I am always serious. I do have a tendency to be a little too serious, but I will tell you one comical story about my five year old son, Tyler. The other day while my wife was in the DC area visiting family, my wife (Rachel) took my 2 year old daughter (Anna) to the restroom. After a few minutes Tyler started to wonder what was taking so long, so he asked his grandmother what was going on. She said, "I think Anna is having some bowel problems." Tyler was silent for a second and then he said, "She's having problems with A,E,I,O,U?". My wife's homeschooling has really paid off...

Calvinism and its Implications

2005-10-25T12:48:00.000-04:00

I have talked to some people that have been around many Calvinists in their lifetime that have obviously been bad examples. I recently had a conversation with someone about this issue. He said that he noticed that all Calvinists think that the doctrines of grace is the most important thing in the Christian faith - the cardinal doctrine by which all Christians should be judged. According to this guy, we think that what people believe about Calvinism is what is most important. Is that true? Do Calvinists think Calvinism is more important than it really is? Is Calvinism important? Does it affect a lot of other things in the Christian faith? He said that the Calvinistic people that he has known have exhibited arrogance, intellectualism, lack of joy, lack of love and lack of evangelism. Do they? I have many thoughts on this, but here are my questions for you guys:

-Tell me how important the doctrines of grace really are and why?
-What are the practical implications of these doctrines?
-Do they affect a lot of what the Christian faith is about?
-Why are there so many arrogant Calvinists?
-Give me some examples of Calvinists who are not / were not arrogant.
-Give me some examples of Calvinists that are not / were not unloving.
-Give me some examples of Calvinists that are / were evangelistic.
-What about joy and Calvinism? Should the two go together?

I think I have lobbed you guys some softballs here. You should have plenty to work with. You guys are going to write a booklet for me. Don't worry. I'll give you credit.

It really concerns me that this is the view (at least of one person I know) of Calvinism to which people hold. I love these doctrines, find them to be thoroughly Biblical, and think they are very important. If you believe the same, tell me why and help me defend these precious doctrines. If you don't, tell me why.

Like Finding a New Toy!

2005-10-23T22:15:00.000-04:00

My good friend Mark Redfern showed me how to do some new tricks - nothing that is very difficult (even for an accountant). I now have the ability to do links and pictures. I thought I would use my new skills to put some pictures and links on here. I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about some of the books that have infulenced me most. Perhaps you want to steer clear. :)

Desiring God
When I Don't Desire God
God's Passion for His Glory
The Supremacy of God in preaching
Future Grace
Counted Righteous in Christ
The Sovereignty of God
Shepherding a Child's Heart
Mortification of Sin
The Religious Affections
Today's Gospel
Tell the Truth
The Cross-Centered Life

If I had to pick one that has had the biggest influence on me, I think it would have to be a combination of God's Passion for His Glory, followed by Desiring God, followed by When I Don't Desire God. God's Passion for His Glory expounds on the foundational Biblical truth that God's glory is the ultimate end of eveything. Desiring God expounds on this truth and expands to show that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. When I Don't Desire God helps you apply the truths taught in Desiring God to your life. Once you see that the affections are not optional, it is devastating. Once you see that you don't have what we are commanded to have, namely, joy in God Himself, it is devastating. The book, When I Don't Desire God gives practical steps as to how to fight for joy in God. These three books together have shaped my theology more than any others. These books give a big-picture, foundational understanding of what the Bible is really all about.

Blogging is fun.

Connecting Two Blogs

2005-10-22T21:25:00.000-04:00

I got a lot of feedback and wisdom from people on the last post regarding productivity organizations. I appreciate the help. Tonight I read the latest post on another guy's blog. I don't know how to do links or any of that yet, but his post was a simple, yet profound statement about our existence - 50 words that tell us why we were created. It inspired me to think more about my existence and to get more serious about this question: am I fulfilling the purpose of my life? All 50 of the words that he used were synonyms for proclaiming Him / magnifying Him / glorifying Him / enjoying Him, etc. How do the two blogs relate? Well, an organization like the ones we talked about on the previous post (as a result of God's common grace) can help one formulate mission statements, goals, fulfilling responsibilities, etc. If we are guided by scripture then we understand what the ultimate purpose for everything is, namely, spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ (or however you like to say it). Perhaps we could use more focus on being better stewards of God's time (redeeming the time) by reading some of this material or taking some of these classes. Or perhaps we would be more comfortable reading from someone in the Biblical counseling realm who has formulated some similar tools. James C. Petty has written a book entitled "Step By Step" and a smaller booklet entitled, "Priorities: Mastering Time Management." Both are in the "resources for changing lives" series. (this would be another good spot for some links and/or pictures of the book/booklet. If any of you want to offer some advice on how to do some of these techy things - I'm an accountant and we are usually behind on technology.) If any of you out there have not spent significant time formulating a mission statement, goals for your life, and/or resolutions, I strongly recommend that you do so. The same goes for churches and other organizations. Jonathan Edwards is one great example of a Christian who did this. I think he was a teenager (at least for part of the writing of his 70 resolutions). Two great things to keep in mind for a mission statement/resolutions/goals, etc:

1)What Edwards wrote at the beginning of his resolutions:

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

2)Keep in mind is that we must regaulrly review them to see how we are doing. Again, Edwards is helpful here:

"Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week."

You could write the best mission statement known to man and never look at it again. This is not God-honoring. This is not redeeming the time. It is like being a hearer of the word and not a doer. I pray that we would be good stewards over this precious gift of time that we have been given. May God grant you resolve to glorify Him!

Productivity Organizations

2005-10-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

I read a post on Justin Taylor's blog today regarding his friend (the director of radio and internet at Desiring God), Matt Perman. Perman was mentioned on the blog of productivity expert David Allen. In the blog, Allen quoted Perman's email that he had sent to him about the benefits of taking Mr. Allen's Minneapolis RoadMap seminar. Here it is:

"And thank you for the great work that you do. Getting Things Done and Ready for Anything have been paradigm-shaping books for me and several others I work with. It is so freeing to have a clear enough view of things that I can choose my work, rather than have it choose me. The GTD system has also taught our organization how to hold together our sometimes competing values of creativity and execution. In fact, the vision I now have for my department is: creativity, quickly executed."

Here is my question for you guys/gals: Is there anything wrong with Christians taking these types of courses (like Mr. Allen's or Franklin Covey's) to improve productivity and/or time management, etc? Some of you may think that this is a silly question to even ask because it seems like there is obviously no problem with it. I tentatively agree with you, but I just want to solidify my foundational thinking on this. The reason I even ask the question is because of two things:

1. Before I became a Christian I was really into the whole Franklin Covey thing - really into it. It was almost like a religion (I think it was an idol). It is something that you can get so wrapped up in that you find your happiness and satisfaction in "Getting things done". The problem is, what if you don't get things done? So when I became a Christian I think I shied away from it for fear of it becoming an idol. This may be unbalanced (I think it is), but you can help me with that.

2. I am a little leary of taking my cues about how I live my life from non-Christians. As someone with convictions about the sufficiency of scripture and the power of a nouthetic model of counseling as opposed to psychology sprinkled with Bible talk, it scares me a little to take courses like these and allow people with no Biblical foundation to counsel me as to how to live my life.

That being said, I have some other thoughts as to why this would not be a bad idea. Instead of me including my thoughts, I would like to allow you folks to help balance me out and point out where my thinking may be wrong in this regard. I'm hoping to get some good responses on this one. Perhaps you have benefited from these types of courses and would like to share why you wouldn't hesitate to read and/or practice some of the things that they teach. Talk to me...

Glorifying God Through Joy

2005-10-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

I preached a message on Romans 15 a few months ago. Following are some of the thoughts that came out of that study. As I honed in on what I determined to be the key verse of that text, 15:7 - "Therefore, receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God", it caused me to ask what receiving one another for the glory of God meant there. In order to answer that question I was forced to look at Romans 14 because this context is the key to understanding what “receiving one another” means here. In looking back at chapter 14 I realized that it is a Christian liberty issue. The stronger and weaker brothers both have an obligation to one another. As I was thinking further about what the second half of the verse meant, “to the glory of God”, it became evident to me that this text was a perfect example of the Biblical idea of Christian hedonism. Here I see in several places in this passage (Romans 14:1-15:13) the idea of the glory of God and the joy of His people so intermingled that it is hard to determine which is which. Of course, I think, and believe it can be argued on the basis of this text, that those two ends are actually one. Romans 15:7b-13 would be one argument and very forceful used by itself. But the force of the argument (that God’s passion for His glory and my desire to be satisfied are not at odds, but are actually one and the same goal) is increased even more when you consider the context of Romans 14, dealing with eating meat offered to idols, drinking wine, and observing certain days and its parallel with 1 Corinthians 10:23-31. Paul is talking about the same thing in this passage, namely, eating meat offered to idols. The phrase that caught me was Romans 14:16-17. "Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." In other words, the main thing in Christianity is not rules and regulations about what we should be eating or drinking it is "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." That sounds like joy to me. Christianity is about joy. This made me think back to 1 Corinthians 10:31. What does that say, in the context of the exact same issue? "Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." So it is not about eating or drinking, but about glorifying God. I do not think that it is a stretch to say that these are parallel passages, especially in light of the obvious contextual similarities (they are dealing with the exact same issue). If they are parallel, then you could use these terms interchangeably and make this statement about these verses: They are saying the same thing, namely, that Christianity is not about making rules regarding what can and cannot be eaten or what can and cannot be drank. Christianity is about glorifying God through righteousness, joy, and peace. Christianity is about being happy in God because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Even if one were not convinced as I am about this parallel and the consequent connection I have made, Romans 15:7b-13 are pretty convincing verses in themselves. Praise God that my longing for happiness is not at odds with His passion for His own glory. What a freeing truth! Oh Lord, help me live for your glory by fighting for righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit!

God-centered Repentance

2005-10-11T13:28:00.000-04:00

In reading Thomas Watson's "The Doctrine of Repentance" today, the God-centeredness of the puritans, and particularly of Thomas Watson jumped out at me again. Watson (as with all the puritans) had such a beautiful way of getting to the heart into the thoughts and motives. This book reminds me of Owen's "Mortification of Sin" in the way that he wields the sword to cut through to the heart like a great surgeon of the soul. Watson shows that God is the ultimate motivation to true repentance and I saw that in a major way today. In talking about sorrow over sin (one essential element of true repentance), Watson talks about the reason for sorrowing over sin. These two quotes were very convicting and Biblical:

"Question 2: But how great must sorrow for sin be in all?
Answer: It must be as great as for any worldly loss. "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10) Sorrow for sin must surpass worldly sorrow. We must grieve more for offending God that for the loss of dear relations. Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. (Isaiah 22:12): this was for sin. But in the case of the burial of the dead we find God prohibiting tears and baldness (Jeremiah 22:10; 16:6), to intimate that sorrow for sin must exceed sorrow at the grave; and with good reason, for in the burial of the dead it is only a friend who departs, but in sin God departs."

"We usually weep for the loss of some great good; by sin we have lost the favour of God. If Micah did so for the loss of a false god, saying, 'Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I more?' (Judges 18:24) then well may we weep for our sins which have taken away the true God from us."

May we share the same radical, God-centeredness in all our dealings with sin. Oh, for more puritans today!

God Comforts the Depressed

2005-10-08T16:33:00.000-04:00

Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. (2 Corinthians 7:4-7)

Sovereignty is at the forefront of my mind because of the Desiring God conference. I was reading Tim Challies live blog from the conference. It is always the big controversial thing to talk about God being sovereign over calamity (a sweet truth that I would never deny). Sometimes we Calvinists have a tendency to focus so much on God being in control of bad, that I wonder if we forget to praise Him for the good things that happen. This text proves that Paul thinks of God as being in control of blessings. In fact, Paul says that "God...comforted us by the coming of Titus; and...also by the comfort with which he was comforted in [them]." So, in Paul's mind, it was not Titus that comforted them but God that used Titus to comfort them. God was the one who providentially comforted them through Titus. I think this is a lesson in the way that we should talk about good things happening to us in our lives. The fact is, people don't talk like this today. Christians rarely talk this way! We would do well to follow Paul's example to give credit (glory) where credit (glory) us due! God is sovereign. If a blessing comes to you, it didn't come from Karma or because "what goes around comes around". It came from God. Let's start reflecting a Biblical vocabulary when good things happen. We calvinists affirm the sovereignty of God in suffering. Let us not forget to praise God and reflect with our speech to others that "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17) This is a strange way of speaking in today's entitled, Godless, man-centered, affluent America.

Dangerous Duty

2005-10-06T18:34:00.000-04:00

I am brand new to the blogosphere - just a couple hours old, in fact. As I was thinking of a name for my blog, "Dangerous Duty" came to mind because of John Piper's little book entitled, "The Dangerous Duty of Delight". A dangerous duty it is indeed! A difficult duty it is! For a wretched, nasty sinner like me to delight in God as the Bible commands is impossible! We all need grace to fight the fight of faith, to be given eyes to see the beauty of Christ. This fight is not for the timid and it is not for those with a light, trivial, fun view of the Christian life. The Christian life is war! We should be blood-earnest and serious about delighting in God more than life on this earth. For the stakes are eternal.

Love the Truth

2005-10-06T18:20:00.000-04:00

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12)

From this passage and others, we see that saving faith involves more than a mere assent to the truth. It involves a change in the affections. Paul says in v.10 that they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. One might think that Paul is going against the doctrine of justification by faith alone that he develops so fully in Romans. I can almost hear the objections: “Wait a minute, Paul. You said that we just had to believe the truth, not love it!” However, I think Paul would respond with v.12 and say that believing the truth and loving the truth are the same. True saving faith includes a change in affections, not just assent. You can make the connection in this text between receiving “… the love of the truth” (v.10) and “…believe the truth” (v.12). You can also make a connection between “…believe what is false” (v.11) and “…(take) pleasure in wickedness”. There is no middle ground you either “take pleasure in wickedness” or you "love...the truth”. Which is just like saying you either believe what is false or believe the truth.

Accursed from Christ!

2005-10-06T17:20:00.000-04:00

Romans 9:3 – “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh…” Notice what Paul really puts the emphasis on for the worst possible outcome of one’s life – being accursed from Christ. Not burning in hell, as horrid as that would be! The absolute worst thing that could happen to a person would be eternal separation from Christ, which, Paul explains at the end of chapter 8, can’t happen to a true believer. The emphasis and the horror of going to hell is not the torture that surely occurs there, but the separation from Christ. As one puritan put it, “If I were to die and go to heaven only to find that Jesus wasn’t there, that would surely be hell to me.” Paul would say it the same way. “For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” Why is dying gain to Paul? “…to depart and be with Christ…is far better.” (Philippians 1:21; 23) For Paul (and for all real Christians), heaven is not great because of the streets of gold and the reunion with Aunt Betsy. Those things are great, but the greatest thing about heaven and eternal life is that Christ is there and we can have perfect fellowship with Him there. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Eternal life is so magnificent because it enables us to know God in Christ. Being damned to hell is exceedingly horrible because by it we experience eternal separation from fellowship with Christ.