Book Review - Church Membership

The iconic ‘little black book’ is a small journal or address book that supposedly contained contact information for dating and romantic purposes. Popular culture, such as the 2004 movie Little Black Book, has reinforced this symbol of less-than-committed social relationships. If you’re old enough, you may have first encountered this social motif while watching Happy Days; Fonzie would regularly consult his little black book to find a suitable date for a Saturday night. But I’d like to discuss a little book that comes in a different colour.

Jonathan Leeman, the Editorial Director for 9Marks and author of The Church and the Surprising Offense of God's Love, has written a ‘little blue book’ that is concerned with a different social construct than that of dating and romance. Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus is a concise book covering a broad spectrum of church membership related questions and issues and is notable for its moving illustrations, analogies, and anecdotes. At only 130 smallish pages, this indeed is a little book. But do not let the diminutive dimensions deter you from reading this book. Its benefits are incommensurate with its size.

Concise

The word concise is chosen because despite the relatively short length of this work, its topical breadth is surprising and the force with which it covers its ideas is impressive. Leeman covers church membership by looking at five all-encompassing ideas about what the church is which leads into what church membership is. These five big ideas about the church are: the church as the highest earthly authority in things pertaining to faith, the church as a people bound together under Christ’s rule, the church as Christ’s embassy on earth, the church member as one who is officially affirmed and publically recognized, and the church not as something one joins but rather something one submits to. Clearly, covering all these topics could easily require several books. And though Leeman’s writing on this topic is not exhaustive, definitely not a goal of this work, it is thorough, enlightening and helpful.

Leeman continues by considering membership through the Biblical accounts of the New Testament church. This chapter confirms that “to be a Christian is to belong to a church” (46) by way of ten Scriptural themes preceded by an interesting historical narrative. The book progresses with definitions of a church and church membership and then clarifies these definitions by looking at the bible’s metaphors for the church. Two chapters, on becoming a member and being a member, shine light on the practical reality of what Leeman has advanced thus far. Leeman proceeds through a delicate yet direct discussion of church discipline followed by a chapter considering how church membership might look different depending on the societal context of the church.

It should be obvious with the breadth of topics and ideas under consideration in this book that Leeman has indeed been concise in his writing. At no time did the transfer of information seam threadbare or meagre; the discussion seemed surprisingly thorough.

Notable

Stylistically, what makes Church Membership notable are its refreshing and real-to-life illustrations, anecdotes, and analogies. Leeman has a penchant for memorable commentary on the point he is deliberating. His personal anecdotes are appropriately chosen to help the reader reflect on issues and see them in light of real circumstances. Leeman’s story of a church member’s discipline and restoration was emotionally powerful and intellectually engaging. It allowed me to grasp the power of Biblical church practices. Suitable analogies are employed to help clarify ideas. The presentation of the church as Christ’s earthly embassy, a foundational idea in this book, was particularly adroit.  Leeman’s skill in illustrating concepts may be seen most convincingly in his discussion of the Bible’s metaphors for the church. I found this discourse on the bible’s use of figurative language pertaining to the church engaging and engrossing, enlightening and edifying.

This ‘little blue book’ is a wonderful introduction to the topic of church membership. It has a surprising breadth of content which it delivers through compellingly concise writing which is bolstered and beautified through powerful illustrations. Church Membership is a book worth reading, and it leaves one desiring the other book in this series; Leeman’s ‘little red book’ entitled Church Discipline.

An embarrassment of riches

 In comparison with the remaining manuscripts of any other Greek or Latin literature, the New Testament suffers from an embarrassment of riches. It is almost incomprehensible to think about the disparity. When it comes to quantity of copies, the New Testament has no peer. More than 5,700 Greek New Testament manuscripts are still in existence, ranging in date from the early second century to the sixteenth century. To be sure, the earliest ones (i.e., through the third century) are all fragmentary, but they cover a substantial amount of the New Testament. And Greek manuscripts do not tell the whole story. The New Testament was translated early on into a variety of languages, including Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Gothic, and Arabic. All told, there are between twenty thousand and twenty-five thousand handwritten copies of the New Testament in various languages. Yet, if all of these were destroyed, the New Testament text could be reproduced almost in its entirety by quotations of it in sermons, tracts, and commentaries written by ancient teachers of the church (known as church fathers or Patristic writers). To date, over a million quotations from the New Testament by the church fathers have been cataloged.

(Grudem, Wayne A., C. John Collins, and Thomas R. Schreiner. Understanding Scripture: An Overview of the Bible's Origin, Reliability, and Meaning. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print. 112-3)

Leon Morris on God being reconciled

Thus we may speak of God being reconciled. It may be necessary, indeed it is necessary, to use the term carefully, when we apply it to God. But then does not this happen with all our language? We must face the position that whenever we talk about God we must do so in a language devised to describe man, and accordingly there must always be a certain reserve. This applies to reconciliation as well as other terms. When we say that God is reconciled to man, this does not mean that, with various imperfections, He completely alters His attitude to man. Rather it is our groping way of expressing the conviction that, the He reacts in the strongest possible way against sin in every shape and form so that man comes under His condemnation, yet when reconciliation is effected, when peace is made between man and God, than that condemnation is removed. God now looks on man no longer as the object of His holy and righteous wrath, but as the object of His love and blessing.

(Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965. Print. 247)

The proper use of reason

In his book entitled Reasons [for Faith]: Philosophy in the Service of Theology, author K. Scott
Oliphint discusses the proper use of reason asking "What, then, is the proper use of reason in reference to faith, that is, to the truth given in Christianity?" (22).

His tripartite answer is as follows:

1. Reason has the task of judging the consistency and coherence of biblical truth. It is also to function as a judge of what is contradictory and also what is not. However, this "does not mean that reason is the final arbiter of what is possible and what is impossible" (22). It also assumes that reason only functions in this capacity when it is renewed and restored by the grace of God.
2. Reason is always a servant to theology and never a master. "Its proper place with respect to theology is to provide whatever tools might be helpful for theology to carry out its own task. It also means that the law of contradiction, and the use of that law, can never finally determine whether or not a particular doctrine is true. That determination is left to revelation." (23)
3. Finally, "the law of contradiction's service to theology is not in matters of interpretation per se, but rather in the organization and articulation of our interpretations." (24) As per the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura, interpretation of Scripture is brought by way of other Scriptures.

Oliphint summarizes by reiterating that reason is to judge the consistency of doctrine, that reason is never in a magisterial role over theology, and that reason is to help articulate and organize our interpretations of Scripture. (24)


 Oliphint, K. Scott. Reasons [for Faith]: Philosophy in the Service of Theology. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Pub., 2006. Print.

Tough teaching on sovereign grace

Therefore, while we all labour naturally under the same disease, those only recover health to whom the Lord is pleased to put forth his healing hand. The others whom, in just judgement, he passes over, pine and rot away till they are consumed. And this is the only reason why some persevere to the end, and others, after beginning their course, fall away. Perseverance is the gift of God, which he does not lavish promiscuously on all, but imparts to whom he pleases. If it is asked how the difference arises - why some steadily persevere, and others prove deficient in steadfastness, we can give no other reason than that the Lord, by his mighty power, strengthens and sustains the former, so that they perish not, while he does not furnish the same assistance to the latter, but leaves them to be monuments of instability. (Institutes 2.5.3)

These are some tough words by Calvin. I still cringe when I read words in the same vein as this teaching. Two things help me when I contemplate God's sovereignty in our salvation.

The first is that I only have one answer to the question "Do you believe that God is meticulously sovereign over all?" and that answer is a resounding YES. So be it.

Secondly, I remind myself that God's sovereignty does not negate human responsibility; all who  reject God's love in Christ do so willingly and culpably.

That leaves me with a sense of the amazing mercy and grace of God in my life.

Dale and Chandler on the severity and kindness of God

Over a hundred years; that is the lapse in time between when R. W. Dale wrote his classic on atonement and Matt Chandler wrote his recently released book called Explicit Gospel. And yet, because they are both concerned with the great themes of Biblical Christianity, there are similar threads that run through both of these tapestries.

This morning in my reading one thread came into focus; the kindness and severity of God. Consider the Scripture passage below and the passages from these two works. And pause and reflect-because it is necessary for both evangelization and exaltation- on the wonderful and praiseworthy attributes of our God who is both just and merciful.

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. (Romans 11:22 ESV)

In this hour — not of peril, but of fierce struggle — the Church must use all her varied and boundless resources — her science, her learning, her logic, her eloquence — and must use them with a patience, a courage, and an energy corresponding to the great issues of the strife.

But our true strength lies in those moral and spiritual forces by which, in all ages, the victories of the kingdom of heaven have been won. We must not be satisfied with an attempt to demonstrate the authority of the Christian Faith ; we must so preach it that, even apart from demonstration, its authority shall be confessed. The consciences of men must be made to apprehend the reality of sin, and their hearts must be filled with dread and with hope by the anger and the mercy of the living God.  (Dale, R. W. The Atonement. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1878. Print. 31. emphasis mine)

We have to feel the weight of God's severity, because without feeling the weight of his severity, we won't know the weight of his kindness, and we won't be able to worship him and him alone.
(Chandler, Matt, and Jared C. Wilson. The Explicit Gospel. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. Print. 51)

T-Shirt Tempest

Some intelligent ideas shared in The Chronicle Herald Post:

T-shirt tolerance

May 6, 2012 - 4:03am THE CHRONICLE HERALD | EDITORIAL

The South Shore regional school board suspended a student for wearing this t-shirt, but after a public outcry, decided he could wear it to school. Now, the board says it will consult a human rights expert to determine if the message was disrespectful.

A BIT of life and some precious goodwill are wasted whenever we fail to apply common sense and tolerance in reacting to an opinion.

Now there’s a T-shirt slogan we’d like to see printed up (it might need a very long shirt) and distributed to the South Shore regional school board and its staff.

For until it came to its senses on Friday, the board had been living proof of that message — to a tee.
It had spent an absurd effort over the past few weeks trying to browbeat 19-year-old William Swinimer into not wearing his evangelist T-shirt to school. Only after a public outcry greeted this officious overreaction to complaints about the shirt's printed message did the board relent and say Mr. Swinimer can wear his “Life is wasted without Jesus” tee when he returns to school on Monday.

In the meantime, the Grade 12 student has been subjected to a five-day suspension, a 12-day in-school suspension and a lot of woolly advice on how to edit his shirt so that it won't be offensive to others of different beliefs. The board had also said it would consult a human rights expert to determine if the message was disrespectful, which was a funny way to respect Mr. Swinimer's right to due process. Punishing first and determining wrongdoing later gets the process backwards.

Now the board is doing what it should have done in the first place. It will get students together to talk about the issues raised here and how to deal maturely with differences of opinion and expression.

The board was certainly not a model of this when it argued that the message on the shirt offends some students by telling them their beliefs are wrong and that Mr. Swinimer could not be permitted to impose his views on others.

This shirt, of course, has no power to do any such thing. Nor is it reasonable to twist a statement of the student’s own belief into an attack on anyone else’s. That belligerence is simply not in the language itself.
What our schools should be teaching in such cases is tolerance: that no one is hurt, or needs to take offence, in simply being exposed to an expression of faith or an idea he or she doesn’t agree with. Students will encounter such ideas their whole lives — as they surely have already. Their school years would be an excellent time to teach them that it’s not a big deal.

You can listen, consider, debate or not debate, and modify or not modify your own views. What you can’t expect is that some authority is going to show up and remove all views but yours from your world. Hopefully this is the sort of discussion that will come out of an otherwise great waste of time and energy.

If you have not heard about this story, take a look here:  CBC, National Post

What We Read

The social media website Squidoo has produced an info-graph about the most read books in the past fifty years. Who knows whether it’s better that more copies of Dan Brown were sold than copies of the Twilight Saga, but it’s encouraging to know that the Bible beat out the rest by over 3 billion copies:

HT: First Things

Theology Breakfast

Began something today I have been thinking about for a few years. Some friends and I have been mulling over the idea of getting together with some like-minded men (like-minded meaning Christians who love theology) from different generations and varied denominations.

This morning those ideas and conversations came to fruition. We had our first Theology Breakfast this morning. There were 13 men in attendance representing every 10 year age bracket from 20 years old to 70 years old. There were 7 different churches represented. It was wonderful.

I'm very grateful for these men and grateful for what God has done and will do among us.

Jim Hamilton on God's glory, salvation, and judgment

 What is the Glory of God? I would suggest that the glory of God is the weight of the majestic goodness of who God is, and the resulting name, or reputation, that he gains from his revelation of himself as Creator, Sustainer, Judge, and Redeemer, perfect in justice and mercy, loving kindness and truth ...

Salvation always comes through judgment. Salvation for the nation of Israel at the Exodus came through the judgment of Egypt, and this pattern is repeated throughout the Old Testament, becoming paradigmatic even in the New. When God saves his people, he delivers them by bringing judgment on their enemies. This is not limited to Old Testament enemies such as the Philistines. At the cross, the ruler of this world was cast out (John 12:31). At the consummation, Jesus will come to afflict those who afflict his people (2 Thess. 1:6, cf. 6-10) ...

Everyone who gets saved is saved through judgment. All who flee to Christ and confess that he is Lord and that God raised him from the dead (Rom.10:9) do so because they realize their need for a Savior. They realize their need for a Savior because they have been convinced that God is holy, that they are sinful, and that God will judge. In a sense, they feel the force of God's condemning justice. They sense the weight of the wrath that remains upon them (John 3:36), and they recognize that Jesus is their only hope. Thus, historically (in Christ on the cross) and existentially (in their own experience of the wrath of God that makes them feel their need for Christ), believers are saved through judgment.

(Hamilton, James M. God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010. Print. 56-58)

Fred Sanders on Athanasius

From the patheos website:

 Athanasius: Battle on Ten Fronts

May 2, 2009 By fredsanders

Athanasius of Alexandria (born around 293, died on this day, May 2, 373) stands out from the great crowd of witnesses that make up the early history of the church. If you’d like to begin reading the church fathers but don’t know where to start, consider starting with Athanasius.

Anybody who understands the work of Athanasius in its context understands the most important things that happened in the early patristic period (that is, from about the passing of the apostles to the arrival of Augustine of Hippo). He was involved in all of the most decisive conflicts of the age, and he shaped Christianity in numerous ways. Here are ten battles Athanasius fought and won:

1. He defended Christianity against paganism. One of his earliest books is Against the Pagans, which is a classic piece of patristic apologetics. He begins by asserting that it is not irrational to follow Christ, and then turns the tables by saying that since Christ is the Logos, the reason of God, those who do not believe in him are the ones who are a-logos, without reason, irrational. He backs this up with a damning account of idolatry, tracing its descent from worshiping great things (stars, the sky, mountains) to worshiping small things (men) to worshiping imaginary things (gods in the form of crocodile-headed men). Christianity was still a sometimes-persecuted religion when Athanasius was young, so marshaling an intellectual apologetic against paganism was a crucial task.

What to read: Contra Gentes (Against the Pagans), which is, by the way, the seldom-read first half of the much-read On the Incarnation.

2. He refuted the Arian heresy. This is his main accomplishment, for which he will always be remembered. Arianism taught that Christ was the greatest of all creatures, through whom all other creatures were made. Athanasius countered: Our problem is that we are estranged from God himself, and no created mediator is capable of reconciling us. Only God can bring us back to God. Therefore if the gospel is true, Jesus is God. Through endless biblical argumentation, Athanasius pursued the errors of Arianism and pressed the logic of salvation.

What to read: Almost anything by Athanasius will have a strong anti-Arian component to it, but the Four Books Against the Arians contain are the motherlode.

3. He defended his predecessors and the Council of Nicaea. The first Arians (including Arius himself) appealed to earlier theologians and church officials in support of their views. Any time a thinker like Ireneaus or Origen said something that could be interpreted to detract from the full deity of Christ, the Arians would claim to be the true conservators of Christian tradition. Athanasius did the careful historical work of citing the earlier church fathers in context, and showing that even if they occasionally slipped, the only reasonable way to read them was as proponents of the full, eternal Godhood of the Son. Throughout, he maintained a calm confidence in the essential correctness of his predecessors, and he even avoided insulting wild characters like Origen (who really did say some indefensible things here and there) when he could help it. Athanasius was a young man at the time of Nicaea, and he had several decades of productivity and influence. He out-lived and out-argued most of his key opponents.

What to read: Defence of the Nicene Definition (De Decretis) is the best short piece showing Athanasius in defense of his tradition and Nicaea in particular.

4. He trained the church in how to interpret the Bible. The fight against Arianism was mostly a Bible-fight, and Athanasius took the lead in showing how to marshal biblical evidence to prove the most important points. He had an uncanny grasp of the main things in Scripture, and could argue them in detail. And when the detailed arguments were met by Arian quibbling, he could back out of the trees and see the whole forest, even using new terminology not found in Scripture to specify what Scripture meant. Patristics scholar Charles Kannengiesser said “he was the inventor of what one can call the ‘dogmatic exegesis’ which became one of the principal forms of biblical interpretation throughout the great controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries.”

What to read: The Four Books Against the Arians are the most copious, but for a quick look at his exegetical technique, see On Luke 10:22 (In Illud Omnia).

5. He defended the deity of the Spirit. After working out his anti-Arian theology, Athanasius extended his arguments to the deity of the Spirit, which some people began denying in the fourth century. Athanasius’ presentation of the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit is a classic statement of this topic, though in the next generation Basil of Caesarea would write a more influential and definitive work on the subject.

What to read: Though it’s out of print and I don’t think it’s available online anywhere, the collection Letters of Athanasius to Serapion on the Holy Spirit is the book to read.

6. He articulated the full doctrine of the Trinity. When Athanasius extended his anti-Arian arguments to include the Spirit, he didn’t just add another character to the pantheon. He rounded out the complete doctrine of the Trinity, and that pushed Christian thought to a new level of clarity and biblical power. “For the holy and blessed Triad is indivisible and one in itself. When mention is made of the Father, there is included also his Word, and the Spirit who is in the Son. If the Son is named, the Father is in the Son, and the Spirit is not outside the Word. For there is from the Father one grace which is fulfilled through the Son in the Holy Spirit; and there is one divine nature, and one God ‘who is over all and through all and in all.’”

What to read: Again, the Letters to Serapion are the best, though some parts of the Four Books Against the Arians are also rich in trinitarian theology. Also, you can pick up Athanasius’ direct influence on the next generation (especially the Cappadocians, and most especially Gregory of Nazianzus) with its increasingly potent trinitarianism.

7. He helped launch monasticism as a protest against worldliness. For a church coming out from under mortal persecution and marginalization, the blessings of imperial recognition were great. But overnight, it became possible to be a Christian just by being a Roman citizen, and in some places there were even political and social advantages to being a church member. The result was a creeping worldliness in the church, a dumbing-down of discipleship, and a lowering of expectations for what the Christian life could be. One of the the reactions against that was the first great wave of monasticism. Athanasius was a great supporter of the monastic movement, and wrote the biography of Antony of Egypt.

What to read: The Life of Antony, a must read of early Christian biography.

8. He pastored (as bishop/overseer) an important church. It’s easy to think of theologians as floating heads with big ideas about God in them, but in the early church the leading theologians were usually bishops: overseers of churches. Athanasius gave pastoral oversight to the churches of Alexandria in Egypt, a huge and influential metropolis. Athanasius had an unusually close relationship with his congregations, and enjoyed widespread popular support from them.

What to read: The Festal Letters, which he sent to his congregations before Easter each year, are the best place to catch a glimpse of Athanasius the pastor.

9. He took a stand against imperial control of church and doctrine. Modern conspiracy theorists think the church jumped into Constantine’s lap and obeyed the political powers, but consider the career of Athanasius: Five different times he was sent into exile by the emperors, and this gave him a unique perspective on how much the Christian church could count on political support.

What to read: Athanasius rarely writes about this subject, so it is best seen in accounts of his life. For an ancient source, see the Historia Acephala.

10. He was first to document the New Testament canon. It’s not as if the church had been clueless about the canon before Athanasius: after all, the one thing the Arians and the Nicenes agreed about was which books counted for making arguments about the deity of Christ. But if the question is, “Who wrote down the first surviving list of the 27 books of the New Testament, excluding none and adding no extras?” then the answer is Athanasius.

What to read: The Festal Letter for the year 367.

Less sizzle, but quietly significant - Powlison on personal Bible application

David Powlison, in his contribution to the book Understanding Scripture edited by Grudem, Collins, and Schreiner, discusses the problems and pitfalls associated with personal application of bible passages where one is not addressed directly. This advice is very helpful.

Most of the Bible does not speak directly and personally to you. How do you "apply" the stories in Genesis? What about genealogies and census data? Leviticus? The life stories of Esther, Job, Samson, or Paul? The distribution of land and villages in Joshua? The history of Israel's decline through 1 and 2 Kings? The prophetic woes scorching Moab, Philistia, Egypt, and Babylon fulfilled so long ago? The ruminations of Ecclesiastes? The Gospel stories showing Jesus in action? The New Testament's frequent preoccupation with Jew-Gentile relations? The apocalyptic images in the Revelation?

The Bible's stories, histories, and prophecies-even many of the commands, teachings, promises, and prayers-take thoughtful work in order to reapply with current relevance. If you receive them directly-as if they speak directly to you, about you, with your issues i view-you will misunderstand and misapply Scripture ... Those who attempt to take the entire Bible as if it directly applies today end up distorting the Bible. It becomes an omnirelevant magic book teeming with private messages and meanings. God does not intend that his words function in that way.

These passages do apply. But most of the Bible applies differently from the passages tilted toward immediate relevance. What you read applies by extension and analogy, not directly. Less sizzle, but quietly significant. In one sense, such passages apply exactly because they are not about you. Understood rightly, such passages give a changed perspective. They locate you on a bigger stage. They teach you to notice God and other people in their own right. They call you to understand yourself within a story-many stories-bigger than your personal history and immediate concerns. They locate you within a community far wider than your immediate network of relationships. And the remind you that you are always in God's presence, under his eye, and part of his program.

Leon Morris on the God of peace and peace with God

So completely is the idea accepted that peace comes from God that He can be referred to as 'the God of peace', an expression which implies that the bringing about of peace is a characteristic feature of His activity. A particularly instructive example is Romans 16:20, 'And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly'. In the very sentence in which He is designated 'God of peace' that same God is pictured in warlike activity of bruising Satan. Nothing could more graphically illustrate the fact that peace in the New Testament is not simply the absence of war. It is a much more positive concept, and one which, as here, may be compatible with struggle. It stands for spiritual well-being at the highest level, a prosperity of soul resulting from being in right relationship with God ... Christ, by His atoning death, has done away with enmity. He has brought about a comprehensive peace, one which includes complete wholeness spiritually, and right relations with God issuing in right relations with man ... The New testament does not regard man in his natural condition as at peace with God. Rather, so long as he is outside Christ, he is at enmity with God ... In the Person of Jesus Christ He intervened and brought about a new state of affairs and it is this which is called 'peace'.

(Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965. Print. 241-3)

Prosperity Gospel in Ghana

From The Works of God blog:

 Let us stand like this man

April 29, 2012 by John Knight

I had the pleasure of joining a group of people on Friday that included a Christian man from Ghana.  He loves Jesus and he holds tightly to the promises of God in ways that are beautiful and humbling.  He has been evangelizing, mentoring and teaching for years in Western Africa, including in some very dangerous places.
Last year he lost his daughter to an illness of some kind, a beautiful 21-year-old young woman about to finish college.  He and his wife suffered greatly.  The response from some of the Christian ‘leaders’ he knows made me sick: ‘confess your sins to me and she will be made well’ or ‘I have received a prophetic word that God has heard your prayers and she will leave the hospital.’  So little compassion, so much presumption, and so little Bible.

Yet, he knows that God is sovereign and good.

In fact, he spent most of the time talking about the dangerous advance of the health, wealth and prosperity gospel.  Too many ‘pastors’ are selling God as little more than a robot programmed to respond to certain actions: if you need money, give the church more money and it will be returned to you in blessing; if you experience sickness, it is your fault because you don’t have enough faith, or you have unconfessed sin, or you have not been generous enough with your church.

No talk of the suffering Jesus told us to expect.  No talk of Jesus being of greater treasure than all earthly goods.  No mention of seeking God above all things.  No hope in future grace.

We spoke a bit about disability and the news was the same: it is presented as God’s curse and families are given a terrible, hopeless picture of God.  There is no talk among the prosperity preachers about disability serving a greater purpose for the glory of God and the benefit of his church. There is no trusting in the Word where God takes full responsibility for disability in this present age.

Yet, this man stands on promises and clings to Jesus and talks of God’s mercy and grace and peace even in the hardest of circumstances, like the death of his much-loved daughter.  I want to be like him.

And I want the cruel, inhumane, unbiblical, Satanic prosperity gospel to go away, forever.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Grudem has a website

One of my favourite theologians, and one of the most influential in my life, has recently started a website. Wayne Grudem, pofessor and author, has been instrumental in the formation of my beliefs. The site cane be found at www.waynegrudem.com and I encourage you to visit the site and avail yourself of the many resources.

The home page is as follows:

On this site you will find an extensive (and growing) collection of articles, books, audio and video messages, and answers to questions by Wayne Grudem.
Wayne Grudem is Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary, Phoenix, Arizona. He has published twenty books, including his newest book, Politics – According to the Bible, which was published in September, 2010. He was also the General Editor for the ESV Study Bible (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Book of the Year, 2009).
Read more about Wayne Grudem.


On the site you will find articles, videos, audio dowloads, questions and answers, and much more.

James Denney on what the atonement is

What, then, is the Atonement, as it is presented to us in the Scriptures, and vindicates for itself in our minds the character of truth, and indeed, as I have said already, the character of the ultimate truth of God?


The simplest expression that can be given to it in words is : Christ died for our sins. Taken by itself, this is too brief to be intelligible ; it implies many things which need to be made explicit both about Christ's relation to us and about the relation of sin and death. But the important thing, to begin with, is not to define these relations, but to look through the words to the broad reality which is interpreted in them. What they tell us, and tell us on the basis of an incontrovertible experience, is that the forgiveness of sins is for the Christian mediated through the death of Christ.

(Denney, James. The Atonement and the Modern Mind. New York: A.C. Armstrong & Son, 1903. Print.)

Piper on communion with God

Communion refers to God's communication and presentation of himself to us, together with our proper response to him with joy. We say "with joy" because it would not be communion if God revealed himself in total wrath and we were simply terrified. That would be true revelation and a proper response, but it would not be communion.


Communion assumes that God comes to us in love and that we respond joyfully to the beauty of his perfections and the offer of his fellowship.He may sometimes come with a rod of discipline. But even in our tears we can rejoice in our Father's loving discipline (Heb. 12:6-11). Communion with God may lay us in ashes or make us leap. But it never destroys our joy. It is our joy (Ps. 43:4).

 (Grudem, Wayne A., C. John Collins, and Thomas R. Schreiner. Understanding Scripture: An Overview of the Bible's Origin, Reliability, and Meaning. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print.)

From The Desiring God blog:

Desperate, Breathless, Dependent Parenting

by Rachel Pieh Jones

Some people tell me it is brave to raise my kids in Africa. They could get malaria or be bitten by a poisonous snake. They don’t have a Sunday School class. They can’t eat gluten-free foods. Their friends are Muslims. They live far away from cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.


My initial reaction is to be tempted to say, “Well, I think it is brave to raise kids in America.” I know my heart, my soul-shriveling tendency to love the world. I know my kids, how quickly they could be sucked into the idolatry of a nation whose church is the shopping mall and whose God is the latest iPhone.


But this kneejerk reaction is wrong because it assumes brave is the right word to use to describe parenting, whether in Africa or in the United States.


Brave is the wrong word.

Life As Fasting

Living overseas is a form of fasting. Fasting from the comforts of a would-be heaven on earth where there are hot showers, dishwashers and clothes dryers, fully-stocked grocery stores and someone else to teach piano lessons. Living overseas is fasting that says, “this much, O God, this much, I want to know you.” And, “this much, O God, this much, I want you to be known” (Michael Oh).


I want to know God deeply and I want him to be known so much that I will risk scary diseases, fast from my beloved family and worldly comforts, and teach my children to engage with neighbors of differing faiths. But to live and fast like that, to raise my children like that, isn’t brave.


When I think about mothering my three children who love this steamy, desert nation, I don’t feel brave. I feel dependent. Helplessly, desperately, breathlessly, clingingly dependent.

Dependent

Any mother, anywhere in the world, could receive a phone call in the next five minutes about a car accident. A child could decide Jesus is an imaginary friend and reject truth. Another could fall into immoral living.


There is nothing brave about loving little people who will grow up and could choose to abandon the things of God. But for dependency on the promises and character of God, there is terror and anxiety.


Being dependent isn’t just for mothers living in Africa. The only way to parent is with faith that God is able to keep and hold our children. The only way to parent is to be dependent on his sovereign plan and tender care for them. Dependent on the strength of the everlasting arms to hold us, to hold our children, and to keep us in perfect peace with our minds stayed on Him.


No, brave is not the right word for parents.


Dependent is.

Oliphint on persuasive arguments

The concise book called The Battle Belongs to the Lord is an excellent introductory text on apologetics. It has been very helpful to read and blog through this work by Scott Oliphint. In this excerpt, Oliphint discusses the persuasive argument.

We should understand that a persuasive argument  does not throw out the rules of a valid or sound argument. Its design, however, is to entice the other person. It is meant to carry an appeal that neither a valid nor a sound argument is able to carry. It is meant to bring the opponent into our arena of concern.

I an apologetic context, persuasion is essential. A persuasive apologetic takes something that the non-Christian has already claimed to be true, and uses it to the advantage of the Christian defense. What separates a persuasive argument from other kinds of arguments is that, wherever possible and permissible, it incorporates the opponent's beliefs to its own advantage. This "brings the opponent in" to the discussion automatically, by affirming what he himself has said.

(Oliphint, K. Scott. The Battle Belongs to the Lord: The Power of Scripture for Defending Our Faith. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2003. Print.151

Victory never comes cheaply

Royce Gordon Gruenler, in his contributed chapter to the book The Glory of the Atonement entitled Atonement in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, admonishes the reader in his concluding remarks with this:

It is a striking fact that while the fundamental atoning work of Christ was accomplished once for all in his faithful keeping of the law, both moral and sacrificial, he has nonetheless called us to partnership in fulfilling what is lacking in his atoning work ... Christ's atoning work continues in the world through evangelism and mission proclamation as the Holy Spirit continues to apply it to repentant sinners and to struggling and growing churches. It is fitting, therefore, to end our study by noting that the book of Acts ends with Paul faithfully proclaiming Christ and the kingdom in Rome (28:30-31), as a prisoner who continued to suffer as a witness to Christ until his execution under Nero. This reminds us that victory over apparent defeat never comes cheaply-not for the Son of God in his atoning ministry, not for us in our responsibility to proclaim the gospel of atonement in his name.

This is an encouragement to me to proclaim the gospel and to persevere irrespective of what trials our tribulations God may allow us to encounter. Take heart today.

Book Review - Am I Called? by Dave Harvey

To blaze a trail is to spot or mark made a tree by painting or notching or by chipping away a piece of the bark to indicate a trail or boundary. A trail blazer, thus, is a person who marks a trail through a wilderness area for the benefit of others. This method of navigation is no Global Positioning System. Think more along the lines of Hansel and Gretel. In the writing of Am I Called? The Summons to Pastoral Ministry, author Dave Harvey has blazed a trail for those on the journey of determining if they have been called to pastoral ministry. Harvey begins by discussing the journey. He follows this by marking a trail to the desired destination. And as discussed, this is not a pinpoint precision process. Harvey uses ‘blazes’ to help travelers to find their way through the wilderness which is embodied in the question, Am I called? The signposts the author leaves for pilgrims to find a path are presented as questions: Are you Godly?; How’s your home?; Can you preach?; Can you shepherd?; Do you love the lost?; and Who agrees? Finally, Harvey finishes with some help for those who determine that indeed they are called but will be waiting a while before they see this summons come to fruition.

The Journey

Harvey begins by describing the journey by connecting the call to ministry with one’s identity is Christ. The author states that the call to ministry always follows the call to Christ writing “the call for our salvation precedes and grounds all other callings” (36). Therefore, we must occupy ourselves with the Caller and with the gospel.  He follows this with a discussion of the context of this call; the local church. “Let’s face it. If you’re called to pastoral ministry, you’re being called to the local church.” (57)

The Blazes

Harvey has marked out the journey with markings in the form of questions. These questions are to aid with self-evaluation as well as prepare one for the evaluation of others. These questions are developed by the author from 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

1. Are you Godly? “Among all the biblical requirements for the called man, gospel-empowered character seems to be most prominent.” (81)
2. How’s your home? “One of the most striking things about the biblical qualifications for pastors is Scripture’s assumptions that the home reveals and validates the leader.” (92)
3. Can you preach? “The man divinely called is graced by God to lead through the amazing ministry of preaching.” (115)
4. Can you shepherd? “The shepherd is a guardian with boots on the ground, ready to be used by the Chief Shepherd to guide and protect his flock.” (135)
5. Do you love the lost? “The gospel is for everyone, which means the summons to be a pastor doesn’t stop with the saved.” (150)
6. Who agrees? “Find some way to get people close enough to you to be part of the adventure of external confirmation.” (178)

The Waiting

Harvey gives the prospective pastor-in-waiting several preparatory actions while waiting under the summons. He encourages those who confirm their calling to evaluate their desires, start serving, pursue a vocation, pursue counsel, study, mature, get one’s house in order, and patiently persevere.

This book, like Harvey’s other titles, is full of self-effacing humour and enlightening anecdotes. It is interspersed with biographical insights into well-known pastors from the church’s history. It is easy to read and, as is hopefully clear from the above, it is very practical. I think this would be an excellent book for those considering the pastoral ministry or those who think some insight into this process would be beneficial. I was educated and edified in the reading of this book.

Oliphint says God changes his mind

I am nearing the end of blogging through tis perspective-altering work by K. Scott Oliphint called God With Us. This process-I call it blogging through a book-has reinforced the value of this volume. This may be my last post on it, and I'd encourage everyone to get their hands on this book and read it.

This excerpt states plainly the mystery and apparent contradiction that one encounters when considering the condescending God.

So, God does "authentically respond" to us, he is "affected by us," he does test in order to discover something, and he does change his mind. But none of this requires, nor does it in any way entail, as we have seen, that God does not control all things by the counsel of his own will, or that he did not decree "whatsoever comes to pass." (274)

How does that sit with you? Can you hold those two biblical truths at the same time? Oliphint continues,

The problem, again, centers on the relationship of necessity to contingency. For free-will theists, only that which is in no way necessarily caused or controlled can be free. But this construal fails to do justice to the dual mode of God's character. As one who is altogether necessary, he is, nevertheless, free. As we have seen, that freedom relates to that which God determines ad extra. It is not a freedom which overrides or undermines his necessity. Thus, for example, God necessarily wills himself; to will himself freely would be to import contingency into his essential character. (274)

This is mysterious granted, but it is a heart-enriching, Biblically-supported, affection-enlarging mystery. Spend some time today contemplating our infinitely distant and strikingly close God.

Jared Wilson on dating his daughter

I can't help but post this piece of humour and seriousness by Jared Wilson. As a father of four daughters, you know it resonates with me. Enjoy.

So You Want to Date My Daughter?

1. You must love Jesus. I don't care if you're a "good Christian boy." I was one of those too. So I know the tricks. I'm going to ask you specific, heart-testing questions about your spiritual affections, your daily devotional life, your idols, your disciplines, and the like. I'll cut you a little bit of slack because you're young and hormonal and your pre-frontal lobe isn't fully developed yet, but I'll be watching you like a hawk. I know you. I was you. You will think you can fool me, and you likely have fooled many other dads who didn't pay much attention to their daughters' suitors, but I will be on you like Bourne on that guy whose neck he broke. Which guy was that? Every guy. So love Jesus more than my daughter or go home.

2. You will install X3Watch or Covenant Eyes on your computer and mobile devices and have your regular reports sent to me.

3. I will talk to your dad and tell him I will hold him responsible if you don't treat my daughter like a lady. If he thinks I'm a crazy person, you fail the test and won't get to date her. If he understands what I'm saying, that bodes well for you.

4. You will pay for everything. Oh, sure, every now and then my daughter can buy you a Coke or something and a gift on your birthday and at Christmas. But you pay for meals, movies, outings, whatever else. Don't have a job? I'm sorry, why I am talking to you again?

5. You will accept my Facebook friend request.

6. If it looks like you need a belt to hold your pants up, I will assume you don't have a job. See #4.

7. Young people dating are putting their best face forward, so if you appear impatient, ill-tempered, or ill-mannered, I know you will gradually become more so over time. I will have no jerks dating my daughters.

8. If I am not your pastor, I will talk to the man who is. If your pastor is a woman, why I am talking to you, again?

9. You don't love my daughter. You have no idea what love is. You like her and you might love her someday. That's an okay start with me, so put the seatbelt on the mushy gushy stuff. Don't profess your undying love, quote stupid love song lyrics to her, tell her you'd die for her, or feed her any other boneheaded lines that are way out of your depth as a horny little idiot. A lady's heart is a fragile thing. If you play with hers, I will show you yours.

10. If you ever find yourself alone with my daughter, don't panic. Just correct the situation immediately. If I ever catch you trying to get alone with my daughter, that would be the time to panic.

11. It may sound like I'm joking in threatening you harm, and while I might not physically hurt you if you offend my daughter or violate her honor, when I am addressing the issue with you, you will not be laughing.

12. You may think all this sounds very legalistic. That's fine. You can be one of the many antinomians not dating my daughter.

The original post can be found here.

Jesus' relation to preaching according to James Durham

According to James Durham, in his Spurgeon-acclaimed work Christ Crucified: The Marrow of the Gospel in 72 Sermons on Isaiah 53, Jesus stands in fourfold relation to preaching.

First, all preaching is to explain him. If it does not explain him, it falls short and "that preaching, which stands not in relation to him, is beside the text and mark." (74)

Second, he is the foundation of all preaching and "preaching without him lacks a foundation, and is the building, as it were, of a castle in the air" (74).

Third, he is the great end of preaching. Durham states that hearers must "have him known in their judgments" and "have him high in their hearts and affections" (75).

Fourth and final, he stands in relation to preaching as its life and power. Without him, says Durham, "no preaching can be effectual, no soul can be captivated and brought to him." (75)

I am using this excellent book, borrowed from good friend Pastor Tim Kerr and recommended here by Tony Reinke, as a daily devotional. With 72 sermons it should take me two months to work through it. But it has been enjedifying (enjoyable and edifying) from the first sentence.

(Durham, James. Christ Crucified: The Marrow of the Gospel in 72 Sermons on Isaiah 53. Dallas: Napthali Press, 2007. Print.)

Oliphint on the grotesque exchange

    For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:18-23 ESV)

Those who profess to have wisdom often turn out to be, for the most part, foolish ...

But it is how this foolishness arises that is of interest to us. It is not because they profess to be wise that they are fools. Professing wisdom may be boastful, but it does not automatically make one foolish. No, Paul says that foolishness comes about because of an exchange.

We some times speak of "the great exchange" of the gospel: Christ became what he was not,so that we might become what we are not. He became sin, so that we might become righteous in him. This is the glory of the gospel.

The exchange that Paul speaks about here is not glorious or great, but grotesque. It is the quintessential perversion. Those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness "exchange the glory of the immortal God for images" (v. 23). Suppression of the truth reveals itself as idolatry.

(Oliphint, K. Scott. The Battle Belongs to the Lord: The Power of Scripture for Defending Our Faith. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2003. Print. 134-5)

Though, by the grace of God, I have received the great exchange of the gospel, I still participate, at times, in the grotesque exchange of Romans 1.

I can be one who suppresses the truth of God while elevating myself, or some idol, in his place. Whenever I suppress the truth of the great and glorious gospel of God for the lies of sin, Satan, and this world I in fact exchange "the glorious exchange" for "the grotesque exchange".

And so I must continue to fight to behold the glory of God in the face of Christ that I might unmask this grotesque suppression of truth and lean into the glorious gospel and my great God.

Some English Literature

As an English teacher, I must pass on this post from Justin Taylor:

Reading the Classics with the Christian English Professor You Never Had

Collin Hansen:

This week The Gospel Coalition welcomes you to join us in an exciting new series called Commending the Classics. We’re thrilled to welcome Wheaton College professor Leland Ryken as a sort of literature scholar in residence to guide us as we read classic books together. Every week he’ll lend us his decades of learning to help us understand why these works have come to be regarded as timeless treasures. Have you ever thought, I’ve heard that book is great, but I’m intimidated to read it myself without any help? Then we’ve designed this series precisely with you in mind. You get the benefits of a reading community who will help you along and a gifted professor who will answer your questions.

We’ve conceived the series with sensitivity for your busy schedule, so we’re focusing on shorter works you can finish in a matter of weeks or months. Keep on reading God’s Word along with good theology and history and let Commending the Classics whet your appetite for thought-provoking fiction. We’ll start with the much-discussed mid-century classic The Stranger by Albert Camus. Grab a copy and join us in an adventure that promises to challenge, confound, and ultimately cultivate our understanding of and compassion for the world. We’ve lined up a number of Christian leaders to convince you this is a worthwhile endeavor, but for now let Dr. Ryken explain why Christians should read Camus.

Calvin on sin's bondage

Because of the bondage of sin by which the will is held bound, it cannot move toward good, much less apply itself thereto; for a movement of this sort is the beginning of conversion to God, which in Scripture is ascribed entirely to God's grace. 

(Institutes 2.3.5)

The Divine community in the redemptive mission

The divine Community unites in one accord in the redemptive mission. The Father expresses love for the Son and is well pleased with him, signifying that up to this point Jesus has faithfully lived a righteous life that is worthy of approval for the redemptive task that lays ahead. The Spirit adds to the Father's vocal approval a visual anointing of divine dove-descent upon the Son. The mission of invasion-redemption is therefore social in the highest archetypal sense because it is initiated by the triune Society of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit acting as one-the Father and Spirit honoring the Son as spokesman and redemptive agent on their behalf, and the Son honoring the Father and the Spirit as their faithful servant. 

(Nicole, Roger R., Charles E. Hill, and Frank A. James. The Glory of the Atonement: Biblical, Historical & Practical Perspectives : Essays in Honor of Roger Nicole. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004. Print. 99)

Leon Morris on reconciliation

Thus it is clear that certain ideas run through the passages where the reconciliation words are used in the New Testament. Common to all are the thoughts that it is the sin of man which represents the barrier to communion with God, and that this must be dealt with if reconciliation is to take place. It is this which gives point to the idea that God can be said to be reconciled to man, for it is manifestly impossible for God to regard man in quite the same way before the barrier is removed as He does after that takes place. At the same time the reconciliation is always God's work, and in several ways we have the truth stressed that it is the love of God that is the dominant factor in bringing reconciliation about. 

(Morris, Leon. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965. Print. 236)

Packer on reading the Bible theologically

J. I Packer wrote the following on theological Bible reading in his contributed chapter to the enjoyable and edifying little volume published by Crossway and edited by Grudem, Schreiner, and Collins:

The goal of theological Bible reading is not just to know truth about God (though one's quest for godliness must start here) but to know God personally in a relationship that honors him-which means serving Jesus Christ, the Father's son, the world's real though unrecognized Lord, who came to earth, died, rose, and ascended for his people, and has given them the Holy Spirit. To have him fill believers' horizons and rule their lives in his Father's name is the authentic form-the foundation, blueprint, scaffolding, and construction-of Christian godliness, to which theological Bible reading is a God-intended means. (Grudem, Wayne A., C. John Collins, and Thomas R. Schreiner. Understanding Scripture: An Overview of the Bible's Origin, Reliability, and Meaning. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print. 35)

Packer finishes off his chapter on reading the Bible theologically by offering three questions which should govern readers as they interact with the inspired Word:

1. In the passage being read, what is shown about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
2. In the passage being read, what is shown about the bewildering, benighted world with all its beautiful and beneficial aspects alongside those that are corrupt and corrupting?
3. In the passage being read, what is shown to guide one's living, this day and every day?

Inspiration in poetry for reading books

In one of the English classes I teach we have been working through a unit on poetry. Yesterday we looked at a poem by Pablo Neruda.

Ode to My Socks

Mara Mori brought me
a pair of socks
which she knitted herself
with her sheepherder's hands,
two socks as soft as rabbits.
I slipped my feet into them
as if they were two cases
knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin,
Violent socks,
my feet were two fish made of wool,
two long sharks
sea blue, shot through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,
my feet were honored in this way
by these heavenly socks.
They were so handsome for the first time
my feet seemed to me unacceptable
like two decrepit firemen,
firemen unworthy of that woven fire,
of those glowing socks.


Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere as schoolboys
keep fireflies,
as learned men collect
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to put them
in a golden cage and each day give them
birdseed and pieces of pink melon.
Like explorers in the jungle
who hand over the very rare green deer
to the spit and eat it with remorse,
I stretched out my feet and pulled on
the magnificent socks and then my shoes.


The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool in winter.

Pablo Neruda

One section that jumped out at me as we analyzed it in class was:

Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere as schoolboys
keep fireflies,
as learned men collect
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to put them
in a golden cage and each day give them
birdseed and pieces of pink melon.

 Neruda refuses to save the socks he has been given for a later time. He realizes the beauty in the socks is largely found in the wearing of them. What struck me was his comparison of stashing the socks to that of learned men and their books. This analogy reminded me of an essential truth in reading. The beauty of a book is not in the owning of it, but in the reading and interacting with it. It was a strange time and place to find inspiration for reading books, but it renewed my desire to continue to be a life-long reader and for that I am grateful.

Oliphint summarizes God With Us

The following is a good summary of God With Us by K. Scott Oliphint. Throughout the book Oliphint attempts, and in my opinion succeeds, to explain and elucidate the character of God in light of some apparent inconsistencies described in the Bible which relate to God's attributes and characteristics. Oliphint deals with these troublesome ideas with a study of God's condescension and uses our understanding of Christ's condescension as the foundation for that discussion. Consider,

So, God takes on covenant characteristics that are consistent with his essential character. But he also takes on covenant characteristics that seem to us to be inconsistent with that character. As with Christ, however, these inconsistencies are not such that we must explain them away or twist the texts to make them say the opposite of what they say. They appear as inconsistencies precisely because of God's condescension, and that condescension has the gospel as its central focus and Christ as its substance. So, the explanation of those inconsistencies is to be found in God's free act of mercy and grace, his stooping down to be "one of us" as he providentially works out his meticulously sovereign plan in history. This way of understanding these tensions has its focus in what God has freely done, and what he has sacrificed, in order to relate himself to us and conquer the sin that has taken his creation captive. (Oliphint, K. Scott. God with Us: Divine Condescension and the Attributes of God. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. Print. 228)

The greatest act in the universe

George Smeaton, in his classic work on the atonement entitled The Apostles' Doctrines of the Atonement, addresses a passage of Scripture where Paul curses any who would come against the gospel either by changing it or denying it. The verse in question is found in Galatians. Chapter1 and verse 8 reads, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed."


Smeaton acknowledges the gravity of the issue writing,

Were the atonement not the principal matter of the gospel, and the highest exhibition of the united wisdom, love, and faithfulness of God, — in a word, the greatest act of God in the universe, — that terrible anathema on its subverters would seem to us something inexplicable, if not intolerable. But the doom is justified by the nature of Christ's death, and by the great fact of the atonement.

 The gospel-the life,death, and resurrection of Jesus-is of the greatest import and we need to come to terms with this even as Paul did.

That's My King

This will likely get posted every Easter on this blog. Love it!

Michael Coren on Easter

I had a post planned this morning which, in light of reading Michael Coren's post on Easter, I have opted to postpone until later.

This column ran in all Sun newspapers across Canada. Here is the entire post:

The meaning of Easter
The belief that life without suffering is possible if we behave in a certain way is a lie

I remember when my mother had her most serious stroke. She’d suffered numerous smaller attacks in the past, but these had affected her mind and not her body. I fed her, put her to bed and played the role of parent that mum played so beautifully to me.

It was extraordinarily painful because my father had died three years earlier, but mum, already seriously ill, was largely unaware of what was going on. We couldn’t share the grief with her and this made the experience all the more biting.

Dad died alone, something for which I have been unable to forgive myself. I arrived too late and I am convinced that he was holding on to see me. He was such a strong man, and I am so very weak. My indecision was dreadful and my father deserved better.

I say all of this because it is Easter, the epicentre of the Christian calendar. The agony and death of Jesus followed by his resurrection.

We live in an age when the government and the culture tell us that life without suffering might be possible if we behave in a certain way. It’s a cumbersome lie. Bad things happen.

We all die, and many in discomfort. Jesus died in absolute agony. Then rose again in absolute perfection. The same is offered us, and we commemorate his sacrifice and that offer on Easter weekend.

As a direct consequence of this, those of us who are believers are asked why bad things happen to good people, as if this is some threatening dent in the Christian faith. Our reply should be to ask, why on earth would bad things not happen to good people? Christ didn’t promise a good life but a perfect eternity.

Indeed in some ways the Bible predicts earthly suffering more than it does earthly triumph. Which is one of the reasons why alleged Christians who promise instant solutions are not to be believed.

Miracles do occur, but they are no more proof of God than failures to heal are proof of his non-existence. Many are the saints who spent their lives in physically broken bodies or in mental struggle.

This is vital to understand if we are to understand Easter. Modern cults offer a grand variety of solutions to life’s problems and promise avenues to happiness. They don’t last, just as none of the other cults lasted. The New Age is merely a redecorated old age. The most glamorous of them all, hedonism, always hurts the most when it fails to produce. We obsess about materialism, sexuality, physical beauty and ambition. Then find the guarantee of satisfaction was hellishly fraudulent. The pain is not pointless. It has purpose and meaning. Nor is it without end.

Mum and dad, and so many others, will be complete in the glory of heaven, where we shall celebrate the rising of Jesus in a diamond-like and never-ending Easter Sunday.

For all of you, and in many ways especially the mockers, the ones who pretend to laugh when in fact they are rather frightened, those who disguise their fear and insecurity behind anger, I pray the same.

Have not a happy but a meaningful Easter.

I also strongly encourage you to watch this video of similar material from Michael: The meaning of Easter.