Thursday, August 13, 2009

Contend earnestly for the faith

"If we must needs pass in review the erring thoughts and words of men, let us be sure that our final object is not a criticism of error but the clearer apprehension and possession of truth. They who believe may, by reason of the very loyalty and fervor of their devotion, so anxiously and eagerly watch the fleeting, earth-born mists which for a moment have threatened to veil the face of the Sun of Righteousness as to forget that the true weal [well-being] and safety of the soul is only assured while her eye is persistently fixed on His imperishable glory."H. P. Liddon, The Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, pages 43-44. (Posted by Ray Ortlund, http://christisdeeperstill.blogspot.com/

God never gives us discernment in order that we may (merely) criticize, but that we may intercede. - Oswald Chambers

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

With whom we are dealing

From Vance Havner -- written back in the 50s

Some today are trying to follow a Galilean Teacher, but a lot has happened since Jesus walked on earth in the days of His flesh. Cavlary has taken place and the resurrection and Pentecost. We are not dealing now with only a meek and lowly Jesus going about doing good, with nowhere to lay His head, and upon whose breast John laid his head. That chapter is past. We are dealing now with a crucified, risen, ascended, glorified and coming Lord with His countenance as the sun, His eyes like fire and His voice like the sound of many waters, and before whom John fell as dead.

2 Cor. 5:16 - Therefore, from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.

Monday, August 10, 2009

How to live as a postmodern

What time is it? Sociologists and historians answer: Age of Enlightenment. Industrial age. Age of Aquarius. Modern. Postmodern.

Apostle Paul: Last days
In these last days difficult times will come. . . You however continue on in the things you have learned. . . You have the sacred writings able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. . . All Scripture is God-breathed and still profitable. . . Preaching the Word is still done in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus. . . . At some point you will probably want your ears tickled rather than hear sound doctrine. Stick with the sound doctrine.
II Timothy 3:1-4:8

-- TWM

Ticket to Ride or Priceless Jewel?

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFBrHB70RF8&feature=PlayList&p=295BFC789E3F2EC2&index=14&playnext=3&playnext_from=PL

Dogmatic Thoughts from 1923, 2009

Jesus said to His disciples, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up" (Matthew 20:18,19)

J. Gresham Machen wrote the following in 1923:

'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' The Gospel which Jesus proclaimed in Galilee consisted in the proclamation of a coming Kingdom. [By doing so He was not merely declaring] general and permanent principles of religion, [but rather] made the message depend upon something that happened. . . Jesus was certainly not a mere enunciator of permanent truths, like the modern liberal preacher; on the contrary He was conscious of standing at the turning-point of the ages, when what had never been was now to come to be.

[Therefore] when He gave an account of the meaning of the event, no matter how brief that account may have been, He was overstepping the line that separates an undogmatic religion, or even a dogmatic religion that teaches only eternal principles, from one that is rooted in the signficance of definite historical facts; He was placing a great gulf between Himself and the philosophic modern liberalism which today incorrectly bears His name. (Christianity and Liberalsim, pages 31-33)

My observation:
The same Bible that tells us to turn the other cheek and judge not lest ye be judged also records Jesus telling His disciples He was going up to Jerusalem to die. According to an eye witness's intepretation, going up to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected was a demonstration of the love of God by being the propitiation for our sins through His death on a cross (I John 4). Another eyewitness of Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection called what He saw as being the root of a living hope and an act of grace (I Peter 1).

These Christian teachings (dogmas) about love, hope and grace are directly tied to a unique and particular historic event. And yes, while the Bible does tell us to be kind, patient when wronged, etc. those characteristics are not necessarily unique to Christianity. That is not meant to demean the importance of generosity or kindness, or helping blue-haired ladies across the street, but rather to recognize the message of God's grace is rooted in the unique and particular death of Jesus. The living hope of which Peter writes is explicitly tied to the bodily resurrection of Christ. The love of Christ, the grace of God, the hope we can have are not based in esoteric, generic, universial niceties but rather in Jesus Christ being a particular person and doing a particular thing in time and space.

Consider, if John Newton had read the Scriptures in a non-dogmatic way and allowed Jesus to be merely another human demonstrating a higher god-consciousness: Newton wouldn't have penned those dogmatic and demeaning words, "Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me."

We preached Christ crucified. . . foolishness and stumbling block. . . that no man should boast before God (I Corithians 1).

-- TWMathis

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Nevertheless He saved them

Psalm 106:6-8 - We have sinned like our fathers, We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Thy wonders; They did not remember Thine abundant kindnesses, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known.

Romans 5:10 - while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son

Eph. 1:6 - to the praise of the glory of His grace.

-- TWM

Creative, yes, but, man of God more

As you can see by it being almost a month since my last post, I'm not real good at this. No doubt the multitudes have been anxiously awaiting the next blog.

Just saw this at www.desiringgod.org

What Kind of Men Are You Looking For?August 8, 2009 By: Lukas Naugle Category: Commentary
"Seeking creative-types who want to reach out to a culturally diverse and post-denominational world."
I read this advertisement today from a seminary. I asked myself, "If I was a seminary recruiter what kind of man would I be looking to train to teach and lead the church of the future?"
Does the church need self-labeled creative-types in leadership? What is a creative-type?
Do they have a mac? Do they have messy hair? Do they not tuck their shirt in? Do they create something? Are they the ones who appreciate all kinds of art? Are they entrepreneurial? Do they have a reputation for bucking the establishment?
If we were to look to God's Word about this, especially 1 Timothy 3:1-8 and 2 Timothy 2:2, we would find descriptors like:
above reproach
husband of one wife
sober-minded
self-controlled
respectable
hospitable
able to teach
not a drunkard
not violent but gentle
not quarrelsome
not a lover of money
manage his household well
not a recent convert
well thought of by outsiders
dignified
not double-tongued
faithful
Whether we think of ourselves as a creative-type or not, my hope is that all men who aspire to leadership in the church would desire the label of man of God (1 Tim. 6:11), workers for your joy (2 Cor. 1:24), servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1), men of sincerity (2 Cor. 2:17).


A provoking quote about how we approach our study of Scripture and how we think about its proclamation: "The thrust of true theology is gratitude not novelty. So memory is more important than innovation." - Jim Houston

A question to ponder: If God's love is unconditional was it so for the people of Ai?