Applying the Gospel = Theology

I want to put in a good word for Gospel-centered theology today. It seems appropriate as our church begins its study of A Gospel Centered Life on Wednesdays. What we are seeking to do with this study is good theology, that is, applying the truth of the Gospel to every area of life.

We need theology. The fact that God called Paul to be an apostle is proof of the fact. One of the chief reasons that God chose Paul is that the early church needed a theologian. More specifically, the early church needed someone who was well-equipped to apply the Gospel to the new Gentile believers.

Think about the fact that the early church flourished and grew for several years before God even called Paul to be an apostle. In addition, it was some time before Paul began to exercise influence in the early church. What this tells us is that a clear and full theology are not needed for a young Christian church or individual to flourish. However, theology is much needed as the church or individual grows and begins to confront new circumstances and difficult questions.

Most of us know this by experience. When you first came to rest in Jesus, you probably knew very little of the Bible and its implications for your life, but you loved Jesus and rejoiced in your new life and flourished for a time apart from a clear theology. But as time goes on, if we are to continue to grow and flourish, we need to begin to apply the Gospel to every area of our lives. Without this we very soon begin to drift and loose joy and power and hope in our lives.

Doing theology means asking questions such as: How does the Gospel apply to obeying the law? How does the Gospel apply to what I watch on T.V.? How does the Gospel apply to reading God’s Word and prayer? How does the Gospel apply to the house or car that I purchase? How does the Gospel apply to my sexuality or my bad habits or my loneliness or my hyper-critical spirit?

Many people never ask these questions—they never do theology. Gospel theology that brings life also sustains our life in Jesus and makes us fruitful for His Kingdom.

Gently rebuff those who say that theology doesn’t matter. It matters because what God thinks about everything matters. To not care about theology is not to care about what God thinks.

May God help all of us to be “little theologians” because we love Jesus; we love His Gospel. We want to be more like Him.

Destin Log Column

Below is my first column that ran in the Destin Log on December 10, 2010. Enjoy!

Jesus is Great and I am Not
By James Calderazzo
Pastor, Safe Harbor Presbyterian Church

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” These words from the hymn, Amazing Grace are so familiar that it is almost hard to read them without humming along that timeless, lilting tune. John Newton, the former slave-trader who encountered Christ and then went on to become a faithful pastor for four decades, knew first-hand the overwhelming mercy of God’s grace. Near the end of his life he summed up what he considered to be the most vital truth—not just for himself but for all of us. Newton said, “When I was young, I was sure of many things; now there are only two things of which I am sure: one is, that I am a miserable sinner; and the other, that Christ is an all-sufficient Saviour. He is well-taught who learns these two lessons.” I am a sinner. He is sufficient.

As a local pastor, who continues to rely on Newton’s “two lessons” daily, I am thankful every eight weeks or so to have the opportunity to lift up the “sweet sound” of the grace and truth of Jesus in this column. There is simply no one like Him. Even skeptics and atheists must admit the profound and positive influence that Jesus and His teaching have had throughout our world.

I do approach Jesus from a certain perspective. I am a person who, like Newton, has encountered Christ personally and who believes that He is more than just a positive role model--He is the unique Son of God, the Messiah; indeed, He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That last description of Jesus is found in the first Chapter of the Gospel of John, and it reminds us of something important. We are sinners. Many people believe that those who follow Jesus think of themselves as good people. That is not the message of the gospel. Those who see themselves as good people have little real need for Jesus. It is Jesus who is great and not us. We are sinners; He is our Savior—the Lamb of God who takes our sin.

In March of 1861 the great Baptist preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon, was speaking at the dedication of his new church in London, the Metropolitan Tabernacle. On that day he declared, “I would propose that the subject of the ministry in this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the person of Jesus.”

Spurgeon also stated, “I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist; I do not hesitate to take the name Baptist; but if I am asked what is my creed, I reply, ‘It is Jesus Christ’ Jesus who is the sum and substance of the gospel, who is in himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth, the all-glorious embodiment of the way, the truth and the life.”

I am definitely not the exceedingly gifted Charles Spurgeon, nor do I speak from the Metropolitan Tabernacle. But I join with Spurgeon in saying, (with one slight change), “I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist; I do not hesitate to take the name Presbyterian; but if I am asked what is my creed, I reply, ‘It is Jesus Christ’ who is the sum and substance of the gospel.” We need more of Jesus—all of us. Jesus is everything, and there is great joy to be found in knowing and resting in Him.

How God's Love Motivates Obedience: Part 2

How does knowing that we are loved by God actually motivate greater and more joyful obedience? It's an important question. And, I think, the dynamic is many times not well understood.

The most common answer that I have heard is that knowing that we are loved should make us want to please God more and, therefore, be more obedient. This answer is right, but it needs to go further. We need to ask, what kind of obedience is pleasing to God? One might think of Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." So the obedience that is pleasing to God must be obedience that arises from faith. The next question follows: faith in what or in whom? In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." John Piper states that for Paul "His whole life was nothing but a daily experience of working out what it meant to be loved by the Son of God—what it meant moment by moment to bank on being loved by Jesus."

There is our answer. That is obedience. It is moment by moment banking on being loved by Jesus. God's commands to us show us what it means to rest in His love and acceptance day by day.

Think about this. Why do I need to lie to someone? Usually I lie or deceive someone so that they will think well of me or, at least, better of me. But I am loved and accepted by Jesus. The only who matters already thinks well of me. I don’t need to fear the disapproval of someone else.

Why get anxious when the economy goes South—Jesus loves you. He is for and with you. If your earthly father who loves you provides for you, then how much more will your heavenly Father provide all that you need?

Why do I condemn and criticize others? At the bottom of my condemning spirit is, more often than not, a need to tear others down so that I will feel better about myself. Why do I need to do this if I know that Jesus loves me and accepts me?

Why do you need to continue to harbor bitterness and unforgiveness—Jesus loves you. He gave himself that you might know the sweetness of being forgiven. Why do you need to hold on to that bitterness? What does it give to you that Jesus does not?

And the list can go on and on. As I said in the last post, it is knowing that we are loved and accepted in Jesus that truly frees us for joyful and even radical obedience. Abide in Christ's love each day and see if obedience does not begin to flow more and more from your life.

How God's Love Motivates Obedience

You know the question: if God loves us, and He will continue to love us no matter what we do or don't do then why should I bother about obedience? Answer: Christian obedience flows from resting in the love of Jesus. At least this is what I believe the Apostle Paul taught.

In Paul's wonderful prayer for the Ephesian believers to know more of Christ's love (Eph. 3:14-19), he says that they are "rooted and grounded in love." I take this to mean that Christ's love for His people is the very foundation of their Christian life. Christ’s love is the base on which everything is built in the Christian life. Everything else follows from knowing we are loved by Jesus.

Let me give you one example from the OT. Do you remember in Exodus 20 when God gives the 10 Commandments to His people-- a call for His people to obey Him and live holy lives before Him? I want you to notice the foundation of God’s call to obey Him. It is Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other God’s before me.”

That little introduction is vital, and we tend to miss it and move right into what we are to do. But in that introduction God is laying the foundation for us to obey Him. In essence He is saying, “Remember how I have shown you that I love you. Trust in me and trust in my love and you will begin to walk in obedience.”

A lot of us get this backwards. We think that if we are obedient and holy today then God will love us (or love us more). This is not what Paul says. He says that we should be obedient and holy because we are loved by Jesus. It is knowing that we are accepted and loved by our Savior that truly frees us to begin to really live for Him.

I will put forth some specific examples in my next post.

Movie Clips for Illustration in Worship

I've been reflecting on the use of clips from popular films in worship as part of the sermon. Some of you have probably seen them and seen them used effectively during worship. Perhaps a pastor is speaking about how love in Christ overcomes differences in race and socio-economic background, and they then play a powerful scene from The Blindside to illustrate their point. Is this a wise and Biblical practice?

God has certainly not forbidden the use of screens and/or movies in church. God has given us much freedom in the forms we may use in worship, so I don't see this as a simple "movies in church are forbidden" issue. However, I personally don't think that the use of popular movies in worship is wise. I'll give two reasons--one my own and one from John Piper.

First, for a great many Christians movies are a stumbling stone. It is very difficult to sit through 115 minutes of attractively presented worldliness without having your heart drawn toward the materialism, sensuality, amorality, cynicism and God-absent world view that are prevalent in most popular movies. By playing clips from those movies during our central act of corporate worship are we not implicitly encouraging already struggling folks to go back to those "broken cisterns" which are causing such destruction in so many lives?

Second, from John Piper: "I believe profoundly in the power and the till-Jesus-comes-validity of preaching. And by that I mean the spirit-anointed exposition of the Scripture through clear explanations and applications of what's there. There's something God-appointed about that.

I think the use of video and drama largely is a token of unbelief in the power of preaching. And I think that, to the degree that pastors begin to supplement their preaching with this entertaining spice to help people stay with them and be moved and get helped, it's going to backfire. It's going to backfire.

It's going to communicate that preaching is weak, preaching doesn't save, preaching doesn't hold, but entertainment does. And we'll just go further and further. So we don't do video clips during the sermon. We don't do skits.

Of course, it would probably help if we all could preach like Piper.

Bottom line: Are the gains from playing movie clips--strong emotional impact and cultural relevancy--worth the potential losses? My fear is that many in the name of pragmatism are not even asking the question.

What is Love?

What is love? We speak of it all the time in church--God's love for us; our love for God and one another. But what is it? Jonathan Edwards gives, what I believe, to be a great and biblical definition of the word love, but it's not what you might expect from a rather prolix and exacting theologian. This definition comes from his sermon series Charity and Its Fruits:

Love is an affection of the heart whereby one is dear to another.

A simple and wonderful definition of love. Therefore when we say that God loves you, it means that you are dear to the heart of God;

you are precious to Him; God delights in you.

What is the Scriptural foundation for this definition? Edwards does not say. I wonder, though, if it comes from Paul's words to the church at Thessalonika when he writes, "So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (I Thess. 2:8).

This is part of the amazing news of the Gospel. Because of what Jesus has done those who look to Him in faith are dear to the heart of Jesus and to our Heavenly Father. You are loved!

Resisting Temptation

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1Co 10:13).

Many have struggled with wondering whether this verse is true--myself included. Temptation comes: watch this TV show which I know I shouldn't; get angry and not love someone who has hurt me; be impatient with my spouse or children, etc. Then we cry out to God, "Lord, help me! You have promised that You will not let me be tempted beyond my ability. Show me the way of escape!" Nothing seems to happen, and we fall back into the muck of sin.

What has happened? Is God's Word true? What is wrong with me? These may be some of the questions that we begin to ask. Let me highlight two thoughts from this verse that may help those who have found themselves in this agonizing plight.

1) "With the temptation he will also provide the way of escape."-- This says to me that the temptation and the way of escape come together. Temptation does not strike and then some time later God provides a way of escape. Right with the temptation there is a way out. It is there.

Why can't I see it? There does not seem to be a way of escape, or at least I don't have the ability to use it. This leads to the second point . . .

2) The way of escape is often to call out to another brother or sister for help and prayer-- Remember Paul says that whatever temptation has seized you is "common to man." So often Satan wants us to think that our sin is unique and especially shameful. We don't want others to know about it. A personal and private sin needs to be handled personally and privately. This is a lie. To believe it closes off a primary way that God has provided for us to resist temptation. The way out is to trust Christ in the body of Christ.

So there we are crying out, "God, help me! Save me! Give me the ability to resist!" And God says, "I have given you the way. I have given you brothers and sisters who love you and care for you, but you will not pick up the phone and avail yourself of the obvious way of escape that I have provided. You'd rather sin than humble yourself in asking for help from my flesh and blood body on the earth."

We respond, "Could you perhaps provide another way?"

A Life Worthy of the Gospel

Someone once said, "Live your life in such a way that when you die you will be missed." Paul Belardino is greatly missed. I know that God's work for Paul here was finished . . . but there is a void left when a beloved saint goes home. A real friend, a real Christian brother, one who faithfully loves and prays for you is a rare and precious thing in this fallen world. Some of you reading this know what I mean.

The following are some of my comments from the funeral of our brother, Paul Belardino:

I first met Paul four years ago when my family and I moved to this area to pastor SHPC in Destin. Paul was a member of Safe Harbor and had served faithfully as a ruling elder since 2002. Paul was a good friend and not just to myself, He was a Father in the faith.

The last time I spoke with Paul 3 Sundays ago I asked him what Scripture had been speaking to his heart during this time. He told me Isaiah 40. I want to share some of this Scripture with you this morning.

Isaiah 40:28-31 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Is.+40:28-31)

I wish I could read it with Paul’s same booming voice. As I read this Scripture it reminds of two things about Paul:

Paul was a man of prayer. If you asked me to say one thing about Paul it would be this, he was a man of prayer. Paul stood so tall for Jesus because he spent so much time on his knees. He knew what it meant to be tired and weary and he sought strength for Himself and others from the living God in prayer. Many of you here have probably enjoyed prayer with Paul at some time. Paul led our prayer in worship each Sunday. I loved to hear him pray because his prayers seemed to usher me into the presence of a holy and loving God. Paul prayed . . . and He prayed to a Big God

And that is the second thing I want to say--Paul had a huge vision of the greatness of God like Isaiah. “Have you not kno

wn? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God. The creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His wisdom—no can fathom.” God made everything. He is everlasting without end. He is all-powerful. His wisdom is infinite and He is and exhaustable fountain of love and goodness to the needy. Paul had a God-given, God-centered, God intoxicated, God-entranced vision of all things. To Paul God didn’t just touch each area of life—God was central to every area of life. He loved and enjoyed God so much because He saw the glory and grandeur of God so clearly—especially in His Word. And now He sees Him face to face.

Many of you know that Paul’s view of God’s glory was strongly influenced by the great American preacher Jonathan Edwards. Several years ago Paul memorized much of Edwards famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and had the opportunity to repreach this great and sobering sermon. I was mentioning this to my wife Susan the other day and she said, “Paul is probably talking with Edwards right now.” And he is. Talking with Edwards and worshipping with Edwards. Having their breath taken away by the glory of God!

I want to share a quote from Edwards that I am sure Paul knew on the joy of heaven that Paul is enjoying right now:

"The enjoyment of [God] is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean."

Paul is with His heavenly Father and He is with his Savior Jesus Christ. I think Paul would not be happy with me if I did not end by pointing each of us to Jesus. Paul was who he was, a man of love and prayer, a man with huge vision of God because Jesus rescued him. Paul was one of those sinners who needed to be saved from the anger of God by the Son of God. Paul loved Jesus and He is now with Him. To end one more word from another giant of the faith whom Paul loved--Charles Spurgeon.

“There will be little else we shall want of heaven besides Jesus Christ. He will be our bread, our food, our beauty, and our glorious dress. The atmosphere of heaven will be Christ; everything in heaven will be Christ-like: yes, Christ is the heaven of His people.”

Segregated Worship--a Gospel Issue?

I continue my Quixotic quest against dividing a church into a contemporary and traditional worship service. I just can't help but believe this is a GOSPEL issue and not just one of preference. This time I turn to David Wells and his book Above All Earthly Powers:

"The church is not only to declare the gospel, but to model its truth, and if it does not model the truth it will undermine what it declares as truth. . . . The gospel declares that there is no natural merit, no human standing, which advances a person toward God and his salvation, or makes one person more acceptable to God than another. All of the ways in life in which people seek importance and seek preeminence over one another are irrelevant to their standing before God. This is true of ethnicity, wealth, class, power, privileged birth, connections, profession, generation and religion. If this is the truth upon which the gospel rests, then it is the truth which the Church is obliged to model. So it is that Paul declares that there 'is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus' (Gal. 3:28). And by extension, should we not also say that because we are all one in Jesus Christ, there is neither Builder nor Boomer, neither Xer nor child of the Millennium, city dweller or suburbanite, Westerner or Third Worlder? Exploiting generational distinctions in the pursuit of success, which is what is at the heart of the seeker church movement, should be as offensive as exploiting racial differences for personal advantage . . . .

The gospel calls for the Church to exhibit in itself the fact that what typically divides people has been overcome in Christ; marketing frequently leads the Church to capitalize on what divides people in order to exploit the niches of class and generation.

What is at stake here, as Paul argued, is nothing less than the gospel. What is at stake is also nothing less than the work of the Trinity. To the Ephesians, Paul argued that there "is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all who is above all and through all and in all' (Eph. 4:4-6).

Paul's argument is compelling for its simplicity. There is only one body because there is only one Spirit; there is only one faith because there is only one Lord; there is only one family because there is only one Father. The unity of the people of God is as secure as the unity of the trinity. The Church's responsibility, therefore, is not to create unity, as the ecumenical movement proposed, but to preserve the unity that God himself has already created in Christ..." (pg. 294-295).

TV Church or Real Church?

Came across this article at Desiring God. All I can say is a big "Amen." We need the living fellowship that comes from being a part of the body of Christ.

Is Watching a Very Good Sermon the Same as Church?

When you read that question, your reaction may well be, “Are you kidding? What a ridiculous thought!” Perhaps the earliest (even before the days of personal computers) and most caustic response I recall hearing about people who rationalize doing “TV church” was an in-your-face, “See if your TV gives you a hug when you’re sick, lonely, or need advice.”

More recently, Johnathon Bowers, our South Site Coordinator, commented on this topic at a staff meeting, remarking about an article’s description of the age we live in.

For the first time in church history, our generation is able to watch and hear quality Christian preaching and music seven days a week, morning, noon, and night. And indulging in this wealth breeds in some a “consumer mentality,” such that they can simply change channels or turn off completely whatever they don’t like. In this, many people fall into a similar pattern with their actual church participation, i.e., to routinely “surf the Web of congregations” instead of hanging in there with all the other imperfect people in their church.

They, therefore, ignore the plain biblical instruction for their good—that God ordains struggles, conflicts, and outright orneriness within a church body so that he will get the glory of saved sinners like them growing in their faith, practicing his “one another” commands, and showing a clueless, alienating world his alternative community of reconciliation and grace. --David Livingston, DesiringGod.org

Segregated Worship

This past Sunday my sermon included some comments on churches having "contemporary" and "traditional" worship services. My argument in the sermon was that though churches who do this usually do so with the best of intentions (to reach more people with the Gospel), is it possible that segregating the generations during worship actually undermines the Gospel that we are trying to proclaim? In other words, is it possible that this is actually more than a matter of preference but a Gospel matter? The passage that we were looking was Galatians 2 where Peter has withdrawn from eating with the Gentiles believers. Paul confronts Peter and tells him that he is not "living in step with the truth of the Gospel." But why does Paul say this? Peter is just affiliating with those whose culture he is most comfortable with. Peter certainly knows that the Gentile believers are clean in God's sight. Yet in withdrawing himself from them he is implying that in some way they are not as acceptable in his sight as the Jewish believers. Paul is convinced that Peter is implying that cultural differences are more important than Gospel unity.

What are we communicating when our central act of corporate worship each week is no longer corporate but divided? I've scanned the net for anyone approaching this question from a Gospel-centric view point. The only relevant comment I have found comes from Tullian Tchividjian, Billy Graham's grandson, who was recently called as pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian. Following is an excerpt from his blog:

"Many churches offer a “traditional service” for the tribe who prefers old music and a “contemporary service” for the tribe who prefers new music. I understand the good intentions behind some of these efforts but something as seemingly harmless as this evidences a fundamental failure to comprehend the heart of the Gospel. When we offer, for instance, a contemporary worship service for the younger people and a traditional worship service for the older people, we are not only feeding tribalism (which is a toxic form of racism) but we are saying that the Gospel can’t successfully bring these two different groups together. It is a declaration of doubt in the reconciling power of God’s Gospel. Generational appeal in worship is an unintentional admission that the Gospel is powerless to “join together” what man has separated. Plainly stated, building the church on age appeal (whether old or young) or stylistic preferences is as contrary to the reconciling effect of the Gospel as building it on class, race, or gender distinctions. Negatively, when the church segregates people according to generation, race, style, or socio-economic status, we exhibit our disbelief in the reconciling power of the Gospel. Positively, one of the prime evidences of God’s power to our segregated world is a congregation which transcends cultural barriers, including age."

If God Kills You

Recently our Gospel Transformation study was reading in the book of I Samuel where we came across an incident that raised some serious concerns about God and His goodness.  In I Samuel 15 God commands Saul, King of Israel, to utterly destroy the Amalekites because of their treatment of the people of Israel on their way into the promised land.  The Lord says to Saul, “Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (I Samuel 15:3). 

Several years ago my daughter, Hannah, and I also struggled with this command.  Can you guess what upset Hannah in this verse?  Our conversation that followed went something like this:  She said to me, “But I thought that Jesus loved little children.  Why would God command that children and babies be killed?”

How do you answer?  You can only say, “Go and ask your mother” so many times.  “You should ask the pastor” wasn’t going to work for me either.  So I thought for a moment, and I prayed that Jesus might give me words to help Hannah to understand.  Then I said, “Just because God kills you, does not mean that He doesn’t love you.”**  Hannah looked more than a little confused by this statement, so I asked, “Who has God loved with an infinite love from all eternity?”  She knew the answer to this question; “Jesus,” she said.

“That’s right,” I replied, “God has always loved and delighted in His one and only Son with a love that can never be measured.  But let me ask you this, what did God do to His one and only Son whom He loves with an infinite love?”

She wrinkled her brow and pondered for a moment and then it came to her, “God killed His Son.”

She was right.  God killed His Son.  Isaiah 53:10 says, “Yet it was the will of God to crush him;  he has put him to grief.”  On the day of Pentecost the apostle Peter proclaimed that “Jesus [was] delivered up [to be killed] according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).  The Father who loves the Son willed to crush Him, to deliver Him over for crucifixion.  Just because God kills you, does not mean that He doesn’t love you.  Jesus above all others shows us this.

It is a hope-giving truth for 7 year-olds and 37 year-olds and 87 year-olds.  One day we know that we will die, that God will take our lives.  It may be by cancer or car accident;  it may be a heart attack or a bomb in Iraq.  Unless Jesus returns first, we will all die.  But the fact that God will kill us one day does not mean that He doesn’t love us.

No, what it means is that there is something that is infinitely worse than death and something that is infinitely better than earthly life.  We often think of death as the worst thing that could happen to someone, but we know it is not.  Hell is the worst thing.  To spend eternity away from the presence of the Lord and all that is good, is horror beyond imagining.  To spend eternity in the presence of God, seeing Jesus face to face, knowing Him as we have been known, is joy unspeakable.  Life in God’s presence will make this life (and our death) seem almost as nothing, compared to what is in store for those who know and love Jesus.

Let us join with the apostle Paul and say, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).  Let us add our voices to Job’s and proclaim, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15).  Let us remember that God loves us, and therefore “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15).  Amen.  Just because God kills you does not mean that He doesn’t love you.

____________________

**But did God love these infants and children of the Amalekites?  As I stated, just because God kills you does not mean that He doesn’t love you; but the fact that God kills you does not mean that He does love you.  Did God love these pagan children?  For some the answer would be that all children who die before the age of accountability (whatever that age may be) are elect children and will go to heaven.  Thus God did love these children.  Rather than have them grow up as pagans and be lost eternally, He brought them to Himself.  This may be.  

One might also consider that even if these children were not saved, it may have been more loving of God to take their lives at an early age than to allow them to grow up.  Why?  Because as they grew older, walking in rebellion to God, their sin and guilt before God would have been compounded, and thus their degree of eternal punishment would have been much worse (see Luke 12:47-48;  20:47;  Matthew 11:22). 

 

 

The Best Book Makes Itself Unnecessary

Came across this quote from A. W. Tozer about books:

"It takes a determined effort of the mind to break free from the error of making books an end in themselves. The worst thing a book can do for a Christian is to leave him with the impression that he has received from it anything really good; the best it can do is to point the way to the Good he is seeking. The function of a good book is to stand like a signpost directing the reader toward the Truth and the Life. That book serves best which early makes itself unnecessary, just as a signpost serves best after it is forgotten, after the traveler has arrived safely at his desired haven. The work of a good book is to incite the reader to moral action, to turn his eves toward God and urge him forward. Beyond that it cannot go."

A good prayer when we take up a new book--"Lord, in these pages may I see more of You, and may You increase my desire to follow You more closely with greater confidence in who You are."

Election Thoughts

A couple of things on my mind and heart as we contemplate Barack Obama's victory.

1) Our calling is clear as Christians and citizens. We are to pray for President Obama. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4). Notice Paul even says we should pray, intercede and give thanks for President Obama.

2) Please. Please. Please. Be very careful about any rhetoric that says Barack Obama's election is God's judgement on our country. I would even say repudiate it. Think about our black brothers and sisters who are rejoicing this day in seeing an African-American raised to the highest position of leadership in our country. And they should rejoice. In 40 or so years we have moved from entrenched, Jim Crow discrimination to an African-American President. Do we call this judgement when so many of our black brothers and sisters call it a blessing? Such talk will come across as racist and hateful.

In addition reading or interpreting providence apart from God's special revelation is just plain dangerous. Most of us know that prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God's blessing. We also know that affliction is not necessarily a sign of God's displeasure (see the Book of Job). So what does the election of Barack Obama mean? How do we interpret it? Is this God's blessing of America or his judgement? My answer: I have no idea and neither does anyone else.

Why Did God Allow the Fall of Man?

In our Gospel Tranformation study two weeks ago this difficult question arose: why did a good and sovereign God allow the Fall of man? I will answer this with an explanation from Jonathan Edwards. But then I would like to explore a follow up question that was asked: can this be explained to unbelievers?

First, why did a good and sovereign God allow the Fall of Man? Edwards writes,

It is a proper and excellent thing for infinite glory to shine forth; and for the same reason, it is proper that the shining forth of God's glory should be complete; that is, that all parts of his glory should shine forth, that every beauty should be proportionably effulgent, that the beholder may have a proper notion of God. It is not proper that one glory should be exceedingly manifested, and another not at all. . . .

Thus it is necessary, that God's awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God's glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all.

If it were not right that God should decree and permit and punish sin, there could be no manifestation of God's holiness in hatred of sin, or in showing any preference, in his providence, of godliness before it. There would be no manifestation of God's grace or true goodness, if there was no sin to be pardoned, no misery to be saved from. How much happiness soever he bestowed, his goodness would not be so much prized and admired (from Concerning the Divine Decrees).

Edwards' stunning answer is that by allowing the Fall more of the glory God will be seen and known than if God had not allowed the Fall to take place. We will see more clearly God's hatred for sin, His justice and holiness. But we will also know in a greater way His mercy, His patience, His compassion which will shine that much brighter as we see how much God hates sin.

I know it is a lot to take in. However, it is well worth pondering and praying over. 

What of the second question? Is this something that can be explained to unbelievers? Here is what I would say: if they ask we should be ready to respond as best as we are able. The problem with giving this answer to those who do not yet know God is that it sounds as if God is absolutely full of Himself. In the skeptic's ear it sounds as if God allowed all the suffering in history that sin has brought about so that He will look good. We get sin and suffering. He looks more glorious. It sounds atrocious! We suffer so that God looks good.

But it is not, if we can understand that seeing more of God's glory is what brings mankind true and lasting happiness. Edwards completes the above passage by saying:

So evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature, and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature's happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and the sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect.

If Edwards is correct that man's highest happiness consists in the knowledge of God then we must bow before God's throne in wonder. God allowed the Fall that His glory might be seen and the joy of His people be made full.

Again, can a skeptic understand this? I think so. But a work of God's Spirit is needed to make this truth beautiful and compelling to the one who hears it.