An Unfinished Ecclesiological Primer

This is something I started writing for a specific situation a few years ago, but never completed or used. I thought I would put it here in its unfinished form, just for kicks. Comments are welcome.

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1.) There are three basics institutions in the world that were established by God. They are the church, the family, and the civil government. Because of the reality of living in a sinful world, these three institutions will often find themselves at odds with one another, and discerning how to reconcile them will often be difficult. All other institutions are secondary and derived, whether rightly or wrongly, from these three. Since God didn't establish these other institutions, their necessity and propriety is from the outset questionable. This isn't to say secondary institutions aren't necessary. But it is to say the burden of proving a particular institution's necessity is on the one who insists it is necessary, not on the one who questions it. Also, these secondary institutions are to be understood as temporary within the context of history, and for the purpose of addressing a specific problem. The only permanent institutions (that is, permanent until Christ's second coming) are the ones God Himself established. Secondary institutions exist because those in authority in the primary institutions are failing in the task God has assigned to them. Just because "things have always been done" thus and such a way, whether for the past ten years or the past one thousand, that doesn't mean they should be. If that were the case, then we should all be Roman Catholics and under the Divine Rule of the Queen of England.

2.) When God created the church, He intended it to follow a certain pattern. A church isn't just whatever we want to make it, and just because an organization bears the name "church" doesn't mean it is one, or that it is rightly ordered. Just like other issues in the Christian life, Scripture isn't always as clear on this as we would like it to be. God often speaks in veiled ways to us about these things, and it is our duty to find them out through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to the best of our ability. And then, when we approach Scripture, we tend to take our own cultural baggage with us, which clouds our vision. Nonetheless, I believe certain things can be determined about church life, through study and reflection, which cannot ultimately be refuted. These would include the following.

A.) Church independency is unbiblical. There are no examples in Scripture of little pockets of believers starting up meetings that they call "church", who then remain structurally disconnected from all other local meetings. From the get-go in Acts, believers are saved, not in the fives and tens, but in the thousands. That means that there was never just one small parish church in each town in the early church, but lots of little churches that then composed one large church. This was true of Jerusalem, and that is why we are told that they broke bread house to house (Acts 2:46). To break bread means to celebrate the Lord's Supper together, which means worship. Where city churches are established in the New Testament, it is natural for us to think that meant one local congregation. But I would suggest that the word "church" in those contexts mean "a collection of individual parishes, all under one centralized authority", and all the historical and archaeological evidence points to that conclusion. In addition to this, the churches were started by and overseen by the Apostles and their authorized delegates, and so church unity existed under their authority.

All of this is not to say that those who start up a local church that is disconnected from all other churches are not saved, or that they are intentionally being disobedient. But it is to say that they are not following the pattern of Scripture, and a failure to follow Scripture always has negative results. Groups of people who are in unusual situations and who start churches (say, those living under a Communist regime who are consequently disconnected from the rest of the world) are to align themselves with other church bodies as God provides them the opportunity. And so, where church independency exists, it can only exist as a necessary evil.

This also means that denominationalism exists as a necessary evil as well. There should be structural unity between all true Christians throughout the world, but sin has created division. Whereas some Christians will break fellowship with you because you looked at them funny, others will unite with you no matter what you believe. Unity is the goal, but not at the expense of truth, though we might add that certain truths are more central than others.

B.) There are certain men to whom God has assigned the task of instructing other believers within the context of the church. They are referred to by different titles by different Christian denominations, but for simplicity's sake we will refer to them as the pastors of the church. Their office was established by the Apostles, and they were entrusted with the Gospel in a way that sets them apart from the laity of the church. This isn't to say that all believers aren't entrusted with the Gospel. But there is a sense in which the leaders of the church were entrusted with the Gospel in an authoritative way, distinct from the average Christian.

There are two lay offices in the church, that of the elders and deacons. They are to be able to teach, but their teaching is in addition to the teaching of the pastors, and is not essential to the church in the same way as that of the pastors.

There are opportunities for laypeople to teach, particularly within the family. Fathers are to teach their families; both fathers and mothers are to teach their children. We are to speak the truth, all of us, to one another, and you could call that, in a sense, teaching, though no authority is involved in such a situation, except insofar as the words spoke correspond to Scripture. But the task of teaching, within the authorized meetings of the church, is specifically assigned to the pastors. Any other teaching that takes place is extraordinary, and is generally, but not always, a result of a failure on the part of the pastorate.

If there are no pastors in the meeting of a group that it considers itself a church, then the group in question isn't a church. It may be filled with people who are truly saved, but their organization isn't a church, as Scripture speaks of it.

C.) The main meeting of the church is the Sunday worship service of the church. It is held on Sunday because Sunday is the New Testament Sabbath. It is also appropriate that it is held in the morning, in order to correspond roughly with the time of Jesus' resurrection, though this particular matter isn't absolutely necessary. The worship service is comprised of a few necessary elements: Singing Scripture-based songs, reading Scripture, preaching, prayer, Baptism (only when there is one present who needs to be baptized), and the Lord's Supper. These elements take different forms. For instance, the corporate confession of sin in worship is one form of prayer, and the declaration of pardon is one form of preaching. Without these elements, there is no Biblical worship service. That isn't to say that there isn't a sort of worship service happening when one or more of these elements is missing, or that the people involved aren't worshipping God. But the service they are participating in isn't structured after the Biblical pattern, and therefore isn't a Biblically constituted worship service.

This means that testimonies by laypeople, skits or any other form of drama, puppet shows, dance performances, or any other such activity that is common in Evangelical worship today, is unbiblical. This isn't to say that there isn't a place for such things elsewhere, but they have no place in corporate worship. These things have emerged in the church for a couple of reasons. Laypeople haven't carefully examined what Scripture says about worship. The ministers of the church have failed to teach on the subject. There has been a general antipathy toward the historic practice of the church in general, particularly with regard to worship. And popular culture (which may be better called commercial culture) has infiltrated the church and has so come to order our lives that we allow it to dictate everything we do.

There may be other worship services throughout the week, or additional services for prayer at other times. But the only service of the church that is binding upon the Christian is the once a week Sunday worship service.

Some Recent Typological Thoughts

Just a few things, mostly related to Revelation 11, which my Bible study group is currently in.

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In Luke 3, John the Baptist tells the people that whereas he was baptizing with water, one (Jesus) would come after him and baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (vs. 16). Peter follows the same pattern in 2 Peter 3 in distinguishing between the destruction of the ancient world and the destruction of "the heavens and the earth that now exist" (vs. 7). John the Baptist was a New Noah, leading the... repentant to safety through the flood waters, and bringing judgment on the unrepentant (1 Peter 3:18-22). Jesus would come to do the same, only this time with fire. As such, this seems to be the general pattern of the Old Testament (water) and the New Testament (fire), but also the pattern of the Christian life. Water is the means of Christian initiation, and fire the means of the Christian's sanctification (1 Peter 4:12).

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The parallel between the Flood and the destruction of Jericho had never occurred to me before until this morning. Noah and his family entered the Ark, and in it was the only safety from the Flood. Likewise, the two spies told Rahab to bring her Father's family into the house. Outside of its doors none would be safe, but inside its doors none would be harmed by the flood of the Israelite army. It is reasonable then to see in both the Church, which is in Christ. All who are in Him are safe from destruction.

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The two spies that Joshua sends to Jericho remain strangely unnamed in the text. But it is obvious that they are intended to point back to those faithful spies Joshua and Caleb, who first spied out the land, with ten others who also were unnamed, and were the only ones who believed God's promise. In a similar vein, we see in Revelation 11 the two unnamed witnesses, testifying against Jerusalem (...vs. 8). The typology tells us they are intended to point back to Moses and Elijah (vs. 6). Like Moses they came in the spirit of the Law, and like Elijah they came in the spirit of the Prophets (Rom. 3:21), testifying against those who would not believe in Jesus, the one who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, and through whom God would fulfill His promises. The same type of destruction that came upon Jericho would come upon Jerusalem as well.

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Absalom was killed while hanging from an oak tree, having been caught in the branches. And so he was a type of Christ. "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13)

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The two witnesses of Revelation 11 also point back to the two angels/men that Yahweh sent to examine Sodom after His conversation with Abraham (Genesis 18 & 19). It is the pattern of Scripture that judgment is made upon the testimony (witness) of two or three persons (Deut. 17:6, 19:15; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28). And God, fulfilling His own Law, sent two angels, that they might exami...ne the state of Sodom and Gomorrah, to determine whether it was worthy of destruction (Gen. 18:20-21). As Yahweh sent fire down upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24), so also fire would come from the mouths of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 as a judgment upon Jerusalem (Rev. 11:5). And lest we miss the parallel, we are told that this city was "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified" (Rev. 11:8). Jerusalem had become Sodom as well as Jericho; the Jews had become pagan Gentiles, persecuting the Messiah and His True People, the Church, and were receiving the judgment of God for it.

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God had told His people Israel that if they did not obey the words of His covenant, he would bring the plagues that he put upon Egypt upon Israel themselves, and even take them back in captivity to Egypt (Deut. 28:60, 68). This was partly fulfilled in the days of the reigns of Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Jeroboam brought Egypt and its false worship to Israel, by setting up golden calves in Israel (1 ...Kings 12:28-29). Just as Israel herself in the Exodus had failed to learn from Lot's wife (Lk. 17:32) and looked back to the food and worship of Egypt, so Jeroboam sought to turn Israel spiritually from Yahweh and back to Egypt. And in accordance with God's promise of judgment, Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:25-26). As the Israelites had once plundered the Egyptians as a blessing from God upon their leaving Egypt (Ex. 12:35-36), so now they were plundered by the Egyptians, who even took vessels from the Temple and the king's palace, some of which had been made from the very materials that Israel had originally taken from Egypt. Though God at first intended to bring the full judgment of slavery He had promised, Rehoboam humbled himself and God relented from His anger (2 Chron. 12:7-8).

But in Revelation 11, we see the plagues of Egypt that God had promised finally brought in full upon Israel. Like Moses and Aaron coming with signs and wonders, bringing plagues upon the Egyptians and calling them to cease their persecution of His people, so the two witnesses would come with signs and wonders, bring those same plagues upon Israel, and deliver His Church from her.

Hello, Old Friends

I'm finally catching up on your comments. I apologize for my absence. It's been a hard year, as my mother has had two strokes since December, leaving me as something of a caretaker. Lord willing, I will continue to blog, mostly on things that have little to no connection with Jonathan Sperry. If you are a Jonathan Sperry idolater, you may do well to look elsewhere. Otherwise, I invite you to visit me here often. But whatever your case may be, God bless you, and thanks for stopping by. Here's hoping you'll make a habit of it.

Thoughts on the Stoning of Disobedient Children in the Mosaic Law (Deut. 21:18-21)

As is evident, my blog posts are few and far between these days, largely due simply to life's circumstances. I do, however, find time for interaction with friends and acquaintances on Facebook, occasionally to some profit. Few of these are of a nature that can be easily turned into blog posts. But every once in awhile one ends up readily transferable to this page, and I had one such conversation this past week. The question began with a link to this article, and was followed by a friend bringing up the matter of the supposed stoning of disobedient children under the Mosaic Law, as is often brought up by atheists wanting to refute Holy Scripture. What follows is my response to the question. My response is a bit exploratory, and I will readily admit that I have never heard anyone approach the passage the way I have below. Nonetheless, I do so anyway, but not without some caution, and the awareness that I could be completely wrong.

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Well, my reason for pointing to a situation like this isn't necessarily to say whether or not capital punishment is wrong, even capital punishment of disobedient children. The point is to dispel the myths that modernist Muslims tell regard...ing what "true Islam" is. They claim it is peaceful, meaning that this is something real Muslims don't do, and that people like this are "extremists". But the heaping up of situation after situation like this proves that, if these are extremists, they sure are a common lot. And the Koran would confirm this as well.

The fact, too, that we're talking about Islam, a false religion, is another issue here. It is wrong for a Christian to marry a non-Christian. But for a non-Christian to marry another non-Christian is a matter of indifference to me, and not only to me, to Scripture. The true law of Scripture trumps all its competitors.

Now, does the Old Testament injunction still apply today? This isn't something I've studied in detail, but I'll take a preliminary crack at it. A couple of things are obvious in the passage (Deut. 21:18-21). First, the son (notice it says "son" specifically, not "daughter", or "child") is of some age of discretion. You don't have five year olds that are drunkards. And yet, this son is not fully an adult, because issues of obedience and discipline are in play. So we're talking about an older child or teenager, prior to independence.

Also, this is clearly not a case of one-off disobedience. This is a case of extreme, prolonged rebellion, that manifests itself in many ways, and is societally disruptive. And not only is the result that the son is doing things he shouldn't be doing; he also wouldn't be doing things he is supposed to be doing. He isn't assuming the role in home and society that he is required to assume. He is failing to be productive in an extreme way, and is not only counterproductive, but downright destructive.

Then there is the issue of who carries out the capital punishment. Notice that it isn't carried out by the parents in the home. The situation has to reach the point that the parents (both of them together, not just one of them) are willing to take the child to the elders for judgment. However brief, there is a trial, with the testimony of the parents, and then execution, by the men (women aren't mentioned) of the city.

And how many parents, no matter how bad things got, would be willing to take that step? It would be pretty rare, to say the least. The parent would always be praying for the child's repentance, and only when things had gotten bad beyond imagining would a parent drag their child off to their death - unless, of course, the parents themselves were just extremely wicked, a rarity among God's people. And one would expect the elders of the city, if they were wise and godly men, to be hesitant to carry out the action, without some discussion - which the text does not exclude the possibility of occurring.

All taken into account, the situation here is a far cry from the way the Old Testament is often portrayed, and a far cry from Islam, which is a religion of violence at its heart.

And having considered all of these things, I would make some suggestions of my own about how the text is to be considered (once again, the scholars probably have a better take on this). The larger issue involved isn't one of mere rebellion, but one of maturing and taking one's role as a man and therefore a leader in society. The law doesn't apply to daughters, only sons, and only sons beginning to reach an age in which they are taking on responsibilities and becoming rulers in the family, the church, and the larger community.

The point is heading off future trouble. Every man fails in his own ways. But this is a case of not only a few failures, but behaviour that is all-around destructive. This individual, if allowed to live, will lead people away from the truth of God, and cause unspeakable trouble. He isn't just a well-meaning person who makes a few mistakes; he lives to sin and to destroy people's lives. The fact that leadership is the core issue here is also pointed out by the fact that it is specifically the men of the city who carry out the execution, I would suggest.

Some would seek to take these civil laws and apply them in the New Covenant to the church - the parents in the New Covenant should take the son to the elders of the church, and he will be subject to church discipline. But while I think it should go without saying that that should occur, I don't see Scripture giving any reason to eliminate it from the civil realm today. I don't see the Intrusion Ethic of Meredith Kline as being a legitimate reading of the Mosaic Covenant, and while I can see some adjusting of Old Testament law for the New Covenant situation (Scripture itself does that), Kline's idea that the civil penalties applied to Old Covenant Israel only doesn't hold water with me. I can't say for sure that allowing for capital punishment in this situation today is appropriate, but I would lean that direction.

Like I said, this is just exploratory on my part, and subject to some measure of correction, I don't doubt. But based on this analysis, I would say that it doesn't apply to daughters; it doesn't apply to someone who has just committed one sin, however major (there are other laws for major sins); it isn't an "honor killing", and isn't conducted for vengeance; and is carried out by the civil courts. And Islam is a false religion, so how we approach them is entirely different.

So I see application for today, in a Christian society, in the civil realm. That won't satisfy your atheist friends, of course.

It should be pointed out that the occasion of such an event was to cause all Israel to hear and fear (Deut. 21:21). It was to warn Israel that spiritual declension was in its midst, that it might rectify its ways, and not become what that son was. It typologically pointed to Israel himself as the son of God who was to fail God through such rebellion, and to point to Christ, who was to take the punishment of rebellious son(s).

Hardware Mispronunciations, pt. 4

Some time ago I had posted three lists of mispronounced terms and words overheard at a hardware store I used to work for. After much delay, here are the last of those mispronunciations. Those who are interested in the rest may go here:

http://hymnusdeo.blogspot.com/2007/10/hardware-mispronunciations-pt-1.html

http://hymnusdeo.blogspot.com/2007/10/hardware-mispronunciations-pt-2.html

http://hymnusdeo.blogspot.com/2008/03/hardware-mispronunciations-pt-3.html

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Jig jag blades - jig saw blades

Inchulation - insulation

Eproxy - epoxy

Limber - lumber

Almanacre - almanac

Ben Gay Roach Spray - Bengal (the brand of roach spray)

Java rocks - lava rocks

Butane tanks - propane tanks

Helium tanks - again, propane tanks

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, on the Differences Between the Heresies of Men and the Heresies of Women

From the book The Invisible War, by the late Donald Grey Barnhouse, former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Dr. Barnhouse was writing in the early twentieth century, and so his times were slightly different than our own. As since his time American culture has found itself more confounded in its understanding of gender distinctions, the differences he notes aren't as sharp as they used to be. Nonetheless, he is addressing matters that are derived originally from the creational difference between men and women, and as such, the distinctions will always be largely correct, until the effects of the Fall are completely eradicated from the world.

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"(I)t is enlightening to note the familiar pattern of difference which runs through those false religions which have come from women teachers as opposed to those which come from men. The religion put out by an Annie Besant, a Mrs. White [Ellen G. White}, a Mrs. Eddy [Mary Baker Eddy] or their imitators, is much more subtle than what might be called a masculine heresy. For Theosophy, Seventh-day Adventism, Christian Science, New Thought, Unity and other religions which have come from women, stress the love of God, without His hatred for sin, and with fair words deceive. They offer a "key" to the Bible which says that the Book is true, and then denies its truth. Men are different in their heresies. Boldly they affirm that the Word of God is not true. Modernism strikes at the first chapters of Genesis as folklore and legend, and declares the birth of our Lord to be a biological impossibility. He was mistaken, they say, when He declared Moses to be the author of the Pentateuch, and so on throughout the account. There is a brazen characteristic in most of the heresies put forth by men which is not found in the women's heresies, and there was this same difference in the sin of the garden as seen in Eve and in Adam." (pg. 90-91)

On Mark 1:40-45

It is significant that Jesus, in healing the leprous man, chose to touch him. Such an act would have made Jesus ceremonially unclean, and unable himself to enter the Temple or to participate in Israel's cultic life. By touching the man, Jesus showed himself to be greater than the Temple system (Mt. 12:6), that his work was bringing it and the Old Testament order to an end. As Jesus' work was not complete and the old order still in effect, Jesus did command the man to act in obedience to the commands of Moses. Yet the man in his actions showed that the old order was becoming obsolete by Jesus' coming. Rather than proclaiming the law of Moses by his works, he proclaimed Jesus with his mouth. And this, in spite of the fact that we are told that "Jesus sternly charged him" (vs. 43). How could the man have ignored such a command? Though the man may not have known it, he had already shown himself to the Heavenly High Priest, Jesus, and whereas the earthly high priest could only declare him clean, Jesus the true High Priest could make him clean. We also see in this act that Jesus symbolically took the man's uncleanness upon himself, and gave the man His own cleanness, which he would later do definitively upon the cross. Jesus was shut out of Israel's religious life, and therefore shut out from God, on our behalf. The diseases that Jesus went around healing were exactly the diseases that made people unable to participate ceremonially in the life of Israel. He was opening the way into the Temple for those who had previously been excluded. Yet a new Temple had arrived, Jesus himself, and it was into himself that he was ultimately calling all men.

Two on Baptism

1 Peter 3:18-22 tells us that in the event of Noah's ark and the flood we should see baptism. As the ark passed through the flood, so we pass through the waters of baptism. But it also points to the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17). The dove that Noah sent out first returned to rest at the ark, finding no land. Being sent out a second time, she returned with an olive leaf. And being sent out a third time, she found a resting place elsewhere, and did not return to the ark. The fact that she was sent out every seven days, seeking a Sabbath rest, in essence, should not be overlooked. This occurred as the waters receded, and the ark came up out of the waters, as it were. In Jesus baptism, the Spirit descended as a dove and rested immediately upon Jesus as he came out of the waters of the Jordan. Jesus is our ark of deliverance from the waters of God's judgment.

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In Matthew 3:11-12, John the Baptist tells of the coming of Jesus, who he says will baptize "with the Holy Spirit and fire". The baptism with water by John precedes the baptism with fire by Jesus. Baptism is a sort of judgment. For the righteous, it is purifying and saving. For the wicked, it is destructive. We then see in vss. 13-17 the arrival of Jesus and His own baptism with water. To accomplish is mission of baptizing with fire, He Himself must first pass through the baptism with water. This is echoed in Peter's treatment of the coming judgment in 2 Peter 3. The judgment on the ancient creation came first by water (vss. 5-6), speaking of the flood. But the judgment to come would be by fire (vss. 7-12). Jesus himself spoke of this judgment by fire in connection with baptism (Luke 12:48-49). He would first pass through His baptism by fire, only later to bring the fire of judgment upon the earth Himself. I will leave aside, for now, questions of the fulfillment of 2 Peter 3. It is worth noting, however, that Jesus Himself never passed through a judgment of literal fire.

Both Hodge and Podge

So while I haven't been blogging regularly, I do spend a fair bit of time on Facebook, where I make my own attempts at wit and wisdom rather frequently. Since I haven't found the space to do any serious writing recently, I thought I would post what Facebook comments I thought were worth repeating here. They're largely in reverse chronological order, going backwards to sometime last Spring. As the reader will see, there's no rhyme or reason to them otherwise. Hopefully they will prove interesting to others, and not merely an exercise of narcissism on my part.

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The recent rise of the local 24 hour news channel is an interesting phenomenon. It tells me that in spite of all the ideas of a global culture that are promoted, people have a inescapable longing for local culture. A person can't be more than one place at a time, and the longing for a place called "home" is natural and normal, even for those who try to live their lives hopping from place to place across the globe.

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Genesis 9:18-27 parallels Gen.3. In both, the partaking of fruit results in nakedness, or the realization of nakedness, which is subsequently covered. The result is the proclamation of curses upon the descendents of the parties involved, though in the case of Noah, righteous men are found, to whom are proclaimed blessings. Noah acts in imitation of God in proclaiming blessings and curses. Noah's sons act righteously in imitation of him (Gen. 6:9) just as he acts in imitation of God. When taking Gen. 6-9 as a whole, as over against Gen. 1-3, one sees that the flood and the covenant with Noah are a re-creation, a redoing (of sorts) of the original creation - a New Creation. Peter shows this to be linked to the death and resurrection of Christ, therefore also to our death and resurrection, that is, our salvation, including our baptism (1 Peter 3:18-22).

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Cross references for Hebrews 1:10-12, which quotes Ps. 102:25-27, points out the parallel with Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same...". The Book of Hebrews is bracketed on either end by the proclamation of the eternality of the Second Person of the Trinity, only He is transformed by the end of the book, having been incarnated in the hypostatic union, eternally now both God and man. Heb. 1:1-4 summarizes the Book of Hebrews, and therefore the work of Christ.

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Jesus has been the head of the Church since its founding. He then appointed the apostles, who appointed other Church leaders. The fact, therefore, is that the true Church has always been an organized body with a structured leadership, not just an invisible entity with no governing body.

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The Christian life is one of ongoing repentance. We recognize our sins, confess, and repent. This is the reality of sanctification in our lives. Where there is no ongoing repentance, there is no sanctification, which means there is no justification. And if there is no justification, the person was never born again to begin with.

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Dispelling myths: It's perfectly possible to be an Evangelical, Bible-believing Christian and not believe in a Pre-trib rapture. The notion of a Pre-trib rapture didn't appear until the early 19th century, and it has nothing to do with the Gospel.

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1 Cor. 15:23-24: There is no break in time between Christ's Second Advent/the resurrection of the dead, and the end of all things when Christ's earthly reign ends. This means that the end of the Millennium coincides with the end of the current age, and there is no Millennium yet to begin after Christ's return.

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Romans 6: If you think the Gospel means you can now live however you want, you've misunderstood the Gospel. If you live the same way you've always lived, you don't have resurrection life, but are still dead in sin. And if you are still a slave to sin, you were never enslaved to Christ to begin with.

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Psalm 39: Your time in this life is short, and therefore so is your opportunity to speak for the glory of the Lord and for the good of his people while in this life. Reflect on life's brevity, and don't waste it with silence.

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If children were included among God's people in the Old Covenant, and they are now excluded in the New Covenant, how can the New Covenant be a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6)?

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A person is saved, neither by going forward during an altar call, nor by praying the "sinner's prayer", but by trusting in Jesus Christ alone. Those who are truly saved will persevere in faith to the end, and that means a pursuit of holiness and spiritual growth are inevitable. There is such a thing as false conversions.

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The sudden interest in the latest cause celebre, opposition to bullying, is a good thing, though a few decades too late. A big problem remains, though, in that the relativists running the schools have no moral basis on which to oppose bullying. On Darwin's thesis, which still reigns in the government schools, bullying is just survival of the fittest.

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Nondenominational churches are just denominations in denial. When you have declared denominations, at least it's clear what your church believes. In nondenominationalism, one is left with a large amount of confusion and guesswork. Perhaps this is why people are so quick to latch on to heretical dogmatism from New Age gurus and televangelists.

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Adventures in language: the English word "scholar" is derived from the Greek word "schole", which means "leisure".

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Any doctrine not worth defending isn't worth believing.

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Pop/rock music is designed to enslave the listener to the temporal. What's new is what's best. Radio stations play the same songs over and over again, causing the listener, who at first is interested in the new song, to grow sick and ready for the next new thing. The songs are short and catchy, and require little thought or depth of engagement. This is a radical contrast with the worldview of Scripture, which instructs us to seek wisdom, to love God with all our minds, to honor the past, and to think in terms of a thousand generations.

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"You live in a world in which a spontaneous worship service has to prove nothing...and in which a formal worship service has to prove that it isn't dead...I would suggest that is an unbiblical state of affairs." - Douglas Wilson. Putting on a show or stirring up emotions aren't necessarily signs of spiritual vitality. It's perfectly possible that groups of people in such settings are dead as a three day old corpse.

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Wandering around Barnes & Noble this evening, I was surprised to find they have a section of books entitled "Teen Paranormal Romance". It was a sheer accident that I ran across it, though. I was looking for the "English Gardening How-To Books Written by Guys with the Middle Name 'Jed'" section. I never found it.

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Parents: do you want your children to remain faithful to God, and to be sustained through the difficult times of life when they get older? Then teach them theologically-rich songs when they are young. It is those songs that God will use to communicate His word to them when they need it most throughout their lives.

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The influence of pop culture: growing up in Fundamentalism, I didn't hear the word "holy" used as an adjective very often (such as "Holy Scripture", "Holy Trinity", "Holy Christian Church", etc.). Consequently, when I hear those phrases now, I always am tempted to follow them with the word "Batman".

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Watching "Chariots of Fire" for the first time in a long time. Interesting to see Eric Liddell pushed to run on the Sabbath in the name of love of his country, taking precedent over his love of God. He made the right choice. Which leaves a question - are you an American first, or a Christian first? Earthly nations come and go, but the Kingdom of Christ abides forever.

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In all my years of working with elderly folks, probably the most repeated statement I've heard from them is "I'm old, so I can say anything I want." But that isn't the way of Scripture. Grey hair should be a sign of mature wisdom and godliness, not foolishness, selfishness, or a loose tongue.

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A man goes to see his doctor and the doctor tells him he's going to die if he doesn't change his lifestyle. "Doc, don't tell me I have to give up wine, women, and song," the man says. "I'm not," says the doctor. "You can sing all you want."

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"Now listen, brothers and sisters. Now listen. Now listen." But I was listening, Charles Stanley...

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Today is the anniversary of the first sustained flight by a manned aircraft, performed by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright at Kitty Hawk, N. C., in 1903. The flight almost never took place, however, as Orville refused to either pass through the body scanner or to let Wilbur pat him down before boarding the plane.

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When I've spoken to defenders of Contemporary worship music and raised the complaint of copyrighted worship music, the response I've usually received has been that copyrighting protects the songwriter from someone abusing his song. And yet someone can take an old hymn, tack on three or four new lines, and make a bundle of money through CCLI, as if it were a new song. "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)". Who's going to protect the old hymns? Does a songwriter cease to matter once he's dead?

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Good theology is like a cathedral. We all enjoy its beauty, but few of us really understand the time and effort it took in building it.

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I've gotten to the point that I don't want to read any contemporary Evangelical literature, just because I'm sick of seeing the word "broken" - which I'm pretty sure, according to its current usage, doesn't really have a definition.

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It is often assumed that in order to have a genuine Christian society everyone in that society must be converted. But that isn't the case. When the Church is believing and behaving as it should, it becomes the leader in the society it's in, by virtue of the positive effects of God's Law. And then even the unregenerate begin to act like Christians, because of the fear of man and the weight of tradition.

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I consider it one of the supreme ironies in life that those who talk the most usually have the least interesting things to say.

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Jim Caviezel is my co-pilot.

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You know, if I found myself in a desert on a horse with no name, I think one of the ways I might entertain myself would be coming up with a name for that horse.

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Classic metal group Black Sabbath has announced they are planning a reunion in the near future. Commenting recently on the upcoming tour, lead singer Ozzy Osbourne said, "uhwa bluba puh buba fuba duh, uh pwa tuh fuh puhduh uhh."

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In the news: Prince William proposes to long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton - British citizens rejoice to have something to live for again

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Difficulties in life are inevitable, and are God's means of saving His people, of shaping them into what they are to be. The choice is whether one will try in vain to avoid the trouble, or accept it with gratitude as a gift from God, and allow Him to show how to rightly deal with it.

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Harry Potter. By the time these kids graduate from Hogwarts, they'll be able to draw Social Security.

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When I worked for a counseling ministry a number of years ago, a counselee I worked with ran across 2 Samuel 1:26, where David said that his love for Jonathan was greater than that of women, and the fellow mentioned the passage to me. He couldn't get past the idea that Jonathan and David must have been gay, and no amount of my trying to explain the passage in light of male friendship got through to him. He was just another victim of our society's sinful perversity. An over-sexualized society, and especially the prevalence of homosexuality in our society, destroys male friendships.

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Notice: This evening's Procrastinators Anonymous meeting has been postponed until Monday evening.

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In a day in which selfishness and self-righteousness are often confused with love and justice, much clarity could be found simply through repeated watchings of Tombstone.

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It is interesting that the two sacraments Christ gave His Church to celebrate are symbolic of death - Baptism, of burial, and the Lord's Supper, of flesh and blood given over to crucifixion.

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Fairy tales are a display of beauty, goodness, and truth, and set before us those things that, though we see them now only in glimpses, we will see fully one day in the resurrection of the dead and the eternal kingdom.

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Nine out of ten people agree that the tenth guy will always disagree with them, because he's just difficult like that.

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If Train A is heading west from Raleigh at 55 miles per hour, and Train B is heading east from Greensboro at 50 miles per hour, what flavor of ice cream is the eight year old boy in the third car back on Train A eating?

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There are three social strata of adults in American society - "Jeopardy", "Wheel of Fortune", and "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader".

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Ah, teas. Just like skin color, black tea isn't black, white tea isn't white, and green tea isn't green. This was pointed out to me by a green friend of mine.

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The word "priest" is actually a Latinized, and then Anglicized, form of the Greek word "presbyteros", which is typically translated today as "elder".

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I have a feeling that future generations, looking back on our culture, will think the "f-bomb" was a real bomb.

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I've been doing a fair bit of thinking on the theology of the cross vs. the theology of glory, as per Luther, born out of study of Rev. 4 & 5. And watching the Beatification of Cardinal Newman on EWTN. As I watch, I am struck by the bittersweet nature of the traditional liturgy of the Church, though laden in beauty, and how it contrasts with the theology of glory as found in the contemporary church.

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I'm atching Raiders of the Lost Ark, which I haven't seen in a long time. What a great movie. It just struck me that there is a common theme throughout the Indiana Jones series - there is such a thing as knowledge forbidden to man, certain things that God has made off limits to us. True "success" in God's world only comes through acknowledging and honoring mystery. This can seem ironic in a movie series about finding out ancient secrets, and yet rightly understood, it is essential to finding all truth. Unless one understands one's limitations - both inherent and given by authority - one cannot become greater than he is.

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Christian cliche #3245: "Jesus Christ - 'H' isn't His middle initial." For some people, I know this is a sincere attempt to address blasphemy. But it's about as effective as the Southern Baptist Convention's boycott of Disney a few years back. Cliches like this trivialize Jesus' name, reducing it to a hollow slogan, and they merely give pagans more occasion to mock and blaspheme.

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I noticed that a local church was holding a ADHD support group, and I'm trying to imagine how that would work out. If nobody has the attention span to listen to you as you complain about your problem, and they're interrupting you the whole time, wouldn't that sort of work counter to the purpose of a support group?

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Christian cliche #3246: "God couldn't be everywhere at the same time - that's why He made grandmothers." Saw this one on a throw pillow in a neighbor's house a couple of years ago. A good example of how sentimentalism is a fertile seedbed for heresy. As a guest in their house, I didn't feel that pointing out the heresy was the most appropriate thing to do.

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Books of the Bible that we would not immediately think of as directly connected, other than the fact that they are God's Word, are often more related to each other than we might realize. The Book of Proverbs, for instance, features the contrast between the Adulterous Woman and Lady Wisdom. Likewise, the Book of Revelation contrasts two women, the Harlot Babylon and the Bride of Christ, the Church. Adultery and harlotry are regular Biblical images for idolatry. To live unwisely is to worship false gods. In contrast, to be part of Christ's Church is to live wisely and purely. All sin is idolatry, but to worship the true God and to be united to Him is to live in accordance with His Law.

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It is often regarded as impolite to discuss religion and politics in social settings. The funny thing is that Jesus went around discussing both, and he did so in social settings, where everyone could hear Him, and could be offended.

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How the word "religion" can to be regarded as a bad thing, or at least redefined such that it came to be regarded as a bad thing, is a bit baffling. But the idea that a religion is a scheme of self-salvation, or man's attempt to get to God by his own doings, and therefore contrary to Christianity, is false. Christianity is a religion, the only true religion, and is about one's relationship with God.

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Tradition is not only inevitable, but is also necessary and good. The question is whether or not your tradition is shaped by a Biblical worldview, and whether or not you're willing to let it go when it becomes an idol.

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Everybody knows generalizations are bad.

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Christian cliche #3247: "You'll never find the perfect church." Absolutely true. But I think people have the right to expect a church that doesn't use that as an excuse for not doing what it should.

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Dispensationalism's self-fulfilled prophecy:

1.) Declare that the world is getting worse
2.) Sit back and do nothing to prevent the world from getting worse
3.) Watch as the world gets worse
4.) Point out that the world - at least within ten miles of your house - is getting worse, just like you said

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The loss of modesty has broader effects than we might initially think. The attack on modesty is in effect an attack on mystery, and therefore an attempt at supplanting God. And one outworking in our society is that we find it hard to believe that there may actually be some things that are none of our business. This is especially manifest in the celebrity gossip subculture. Holiness honors the hiddenness of God, even as it exists in His image, which is man. This is simply another example of loving the Lord your God and loving your neighbor as yourself.

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Contrary to the commonly held view today, not all sins are equal in terms of their wickedness, and some sins are actually worse than others. If that weren't the case, then there wouldn't have been varying degrees of punishment in the Mosaic Law. When Jesus said, "He who hates his brother has already committed murder in his heart," he wasn't saying that murder is equal to hate, but rather that sin is more than action, it is also attitude, from which sin acts arise.

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It was no mere coincidence that a crown of thorns was placed upon Christ's brow in his suffering. God told Adam that due to his sin, man would tend the ground by the sweat of his brow, and that the earth would brings forth thorns. Christ took Adam's curse, the curse of the ground, upon himself. Man is from the dirt, and the redemption of the earth is inseparable from the redemption of man.

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In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet comes to Jerusalem to confront King David with his sin by means of a parable. In so doing, David pronounces his own judgment upon himself. Likewise, in Matthew 21 Jesus comes to Jerusalem and confronts the chief priests and the Pharisees by means of a parable with their failure to rightly shepherd the people of Israel. Like David, they pronounce their judgment upon themselves.

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Dante's "Inferno" - was it the fourth or the fifth ring of Hell that contained telemarketers and time share salesmen?

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Genesis 2:18-25: It is interesting that God brought the animals to Adam to name them (in connection with the creation of and naming of Eve), but we find no specific statement of God directing Adam to name other parts of the creation, such as the plants. This is not to say it isn't proper to "name" plants. And yet we see from this that not all living things are equal. In other words, tree hugging isn't allowed.

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New Student Orientation: the term "orient" derives from medieval church architecture, and is to point the direction of the eastern wall in a church, where the altar is, and where Christ was believed to reside in the Sacrament. True education can only come in conjunction with a proper looking toward Christ.

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Do the earthly promises of the fifth commandment still apply in the New Covenant? Scripture seems very clearly to say so: "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit......" (1 Peter 3:8 and following for the context). This life is short, and man is but a vapor in it. And yet we are called to love life, even in its fallen state, and not just the lives of others, but our own life as well. This is a reality that transcends the unique characters of the Old and New Covenants.

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True spirituality: Just use the word "broken" alot. "Struggle", "feeble", "real", and "heart" are good ones too. And talk about falling down on your knees. The key is to make sure everyone knows you're being self-deprecating. Hey, what's that in my navel?

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One of the glories of the Westminster Divines and the catechism questions they composed is that they understood that the commandments had a broader application than what is explicitly stated in the commandment. This comes out clearly in the fifth commandment (WSC 64). The command to honor father and mother has at its heart the issue of obedience to God-ordained authority, and therefore has application in areas beyond the parent-child relationship.

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If the eternal God, He who never slumbers nor sleeps, who never grows tired such that He needs to rest, still rested on the seventh day, is it not appropriate that we, subject to the weakness of flesh and the effects of the fall, by walking after His example, should also rest on the seventh day?

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On Matthew 7:1-5: I always find it funny that those who are quick to quote verse one couldn't tell you what the other four verses say. In fact, I find such people not only ignore the fact that Jesus is passing judgment in this statement, but He does so in ...all that he says elsewhere, as do the prophets and apostles throughout Scripture, by the sanction of God. So this passage obviously doesn't mean what some people want to make it mean. In addition, those who say "judge not" usually manage to do so simply when you say something they don't like, mostly on an issue about which they are thinking more like the ungodly culture around them rather than in accordance with what Scripture says about the matter. And all of this, summed up in the fact that those who tell someone "judge not" are themselves judging, and proving themselves hypocrites. Judgment is inevitable; what God calls us to do is to make a righteous judgment.

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In His prophecy spoken through Jeremiah, God said that He had given the "beasts of the field" to serve King Nebuchanezzar (Jer. 27:6). This is obviously reminiscent of and a continuation of Adam's reign (Gen. 1). But it was the very "beasts of the field" that Nebuchadnezzar was driven out among when God judged him (Daniel 4:32). He lost his rule over them and became like them. Note also that Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of his palace when his vanity overtook him (Daniel 4:30), just as David was walking on the roof of his palace when he saw Bathsheba bathing (2 Samuel 11:2). They were both guilty of the... same vanity and pride, that which those who are in positions of power and authority are so prone toward - that of failing to remember that their power and authority are not their own, and that they answer to a greater King.

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Jesus came as the beginning, or the genesis, of a New Creation. Just as the Spirit of God hovered over the deep in the conception of the Old Creation (Genesis 1:2), so the Spirit overshadowed Mary in the conception of the New Creation (Luke 1:35). And so anyone now who is united to Christ is himself a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

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Blended worship is like being a little bit pregnant.

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Mark 1:40-45. The significance of Jesus touching the leper as he healed him is easily overlooked. But the point is that in healing him by touching him, Jesus took the man's uncleanness upon himself, becoming unclean in the man's place. This is why Mark adds that Jesus was then forced to walk in desolate places (Mark 1:45, Leviticus 13:46). To be unclean is to be shut out from the Temple, thus from God, as well.

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It would be nice if the minsters of the church were to return to wearing distinctive clothes that symbolized their office, especially in worship. Everything we do, including how we dress, is a symbol, and communicates something about ourselves and how we view God and the world around us. In a unique way, how our ministers dress, especially when they are functioning in their office, points to the God they serve. This is true of all God's people, but particularly for minsters, as their vocation is uniquely to the full-time ministry.

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There is no Christian who has "no creed but Christ". It's just that some write it down on paper, while others merely hold it in their heads.

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"My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers: There was a time in my early twenties when I practically lived on every word in this book. I read it over and over again, and tried desperately to live out what it taught. I have since come to the conclusion that this book was one of the biggest sources of spiritual distress in my life. Chambers' focus in the book is on the surrend...er of all of one's life to God, as if that were possible in this life. Those who are serious about God will confess all of their sins and surrender fully to God, Chambers says. This is the Carnal Christian - Spiritual Christian doctrine, and it is a false doctrine that has probably done more damage in the church than we will ever know. There is only one kind of Christian - justified in Christ and striving toward holiness, but constantly faced with his failures as a Christian. He rests in the grace of God, knowing that forgiveness is his, in spite of the fact that he could never remember all his sins to confess them. Lutheran pastor Rod Rosenbladt once said that Oswald Chambers should have stuck with painting rather than becoming a pastor. That might be calling it a little harsh, but if this book is any example of Chambers' teaching, Rosenbladt's statement isn't far from the truth.

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When couples who appeared in eHarmony commercials go through a rough spot in their marriages, do they think to themselves, "we can't get divorced. We laughed together in slow-motion on an eHarmony commercial"?

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So if the race for the office of governor is called a gubernatorial race, is the winner the biggest guber?

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It is true that being in a church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than being in a garage makes you a car. Still, there are certain places where one expects to find cars, and the ninth hole on a sunny Sunday morning isn't one of them.

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I'm regularly struck by the fact that Evangelicals tend to be obsessed with images, sometimes using them as a substitute for the Word. And yet the images they use are from pop culture, rather than folk or high art. What a shame. If you're going to do art, at least do it right.

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I'm regularly intrigued at the things we have children participate in, that have nothing to do with preparing them for adulthood. This year, rather than sending your child to summer camp, why not stick him in a cubicle for a week?

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Dr. Jeremiah: the text says that the mark of the beast is "on" the hand or the forehead, not "in". Computer chips don't qualify.

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This morning on David Jeremiah's radio show he noted the similarities between Adam and Eve, and Job and his wife. Just as Satan used Eve to get at Adam, so Satan used Job's wife to get at Job. I had never made the connection before. Even a Dispensationalist finds some typology every once in a while, I guess.

So...

...I've reverted back to the old template for now. I hope to make more changes in the future. The circumstances of life have prevented me from doing much blogging as of late, let alone any site alterations. Hopefully that will change soon. In the meantime, thanks for visiting.

O Magnum Mysterium

Many Mansions

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." -- John 14:1-3

One passage of Scripture that has often been pulled out of context in contemporary Christianity is John 14:1-3. Regularly used as a passage of comfort, Jesus describes to His disciples His leaving them to "prepare a place" for them, attaching the promise that they would someday be where He will also be.

One can hardly quarrel with the idea of using this passage to provide comfort to others, especially to those struggling with a life-threatening illness, or those trying to cope with the recent loss of a loved one. After all, the promises in the Gospel include the desire of every true believer, that of being with the Holy Trinity forever.

Yet a mistranslation of a key word in verse 2 in the most commonly used version of the Bible over the past four hundred years, the King James Version, has caused some measure of distraction from the typological significance of the passage. The mistake comes in the translation of the word for "rooms", as most modern translations have it. For reasons that are beyond the scope of my knowledge, however, the translator of John for the KJV saw fit to translate this as "mansions", an entirely incorrect rendering.

This mistake has had no small effect on popular Christianity. Anyone familiar with hymnody over the past couple hundred years is aware of the theme of "mansions" in heaven, a theme also popularized in the Gospel music from the early twentieth century up until today.

For those living through some of the poorer conditions occasionally found in twentieth century America, it is easy to see how the vision of receiving a mansion upon death could be entrancing. Yet Scripture tells us "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Cor. 2:9). And so to reduce heavenly glory to a mere mansion seems to show, as C. S. Lewis said in his sermon "The Weight of Glory", that our desires are way too small.

The bigger issue, however, is what the text in question actually says, and that leaves us with the reality that mansions in no way figure into this passage. We are left instead to consider the Father's house with its rooms.

What "house", though, is Jesus talking about? This is where comparing Scripture with Scripture shows itself to be the place to begin in Biblical interpretation. Bible scholars often make much of context, and the broader context of the Gospel of John gives us our answer. In John 2:12-25, we are presented with the occasion of Jesus cleansing the Temple. Furious at the use of the temple as a place of making a profit, Jesus drives out those profiteers, and in the process accuses them of turning His "Father's house" into a market. The Father's house, then, according to Jesus, is the Temple. That the Tabernacle, and then later the Temple, were considered dwelling places for God, albeit symbolically, is confirmed several times in the Old Testament (see 2 Sam. 7:5-17 and 1 Kings 8:27-30, for example).

When we look at the arrangement of the Temple, as originally constructed under Solomon, the reference to "rooms" makes more sense. Constructed on the pattern of the Tabernacle given to Moses, the Temple had two foundational rooms: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. And yet Solomon's Temple was a more detailed structure, having numerous external chambers as well (1 Kings 6:5). It is to these rooms that Jesus seems to be referring.

Whereas the side chambers of the earthly Temple were used for storage, however, Jesus seems to suggest that these rooms would now be used as dwelling places. In the vision describing the restored Temple, Ezekiel sees rooms for the priests within a few feet of the Temple (Ezekiel 42:1-10). Yet in the heavenly Temple, of which Jesus speaks, the priests rooms have merged with the side chambers. The priests now dwell in God's house with Him.

And so, having looked at the typology, the basic thrust is the same as that of popular Christianity: God has a house, and His children will dwell with him in that house forever. But to miss the typology is to miss larger implications of the passage. Not only has the Church taken the place of Israel, God has brought Her into the priesthood itself. Any future restoration of the Temple that excludes Gentiles from any of the promises of Israel is unscriptural. In fact, the Temple of which we are a part is in the heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 3:12), which is already coming down out of heaven, to reach its culmination in the end of time. And in this Jerusalem, there is neither Jew nor Greek (Gal. 3:28).

A Brief Defense of Postmillennialism

The following is something I cobbled together in response to a friend on Facebook. It seemed good enough to warrant posting here.

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When Jesus ascended into heaven, He proclaimed that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to Him - Matthew 28:18. In other words, since the first century, Jesus has been King, not just of heaven, but of earth also. On this basis, He then told His disciples to go make disciples of all the nations. He gave no hint of this being a failing mission. Quite the contrary, the fact that He gave them the order the way He did implied success.

If Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth now, then that means there is no future authority to add to Him. And if this is true, then that means the thousand years referred to in Revelation 20:1-6 doesn't refer to a period later in history, it refers to right now. It began in the first century AD. The number 1000 is used symbolically throughout Scripture (God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, etc.), and in this case, it is symbolic of Christ's entire reign from His ascension into heaven until His second coming.

Eventhough Christ is reigning now, there is still evil in the world. There are those who are still His enemies. Christ will reign until the time comes when all His enemies will have been put under His feet (Hebrews 10:13; 1 Corinthians 15:25), that is, until they are finally all conquered. That will be the end of the world, the end of history (1 Corinthians 15:23-28). We are to participate with Him in the conquering of the world, through weapons not of flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:10-20). One might more properly say that He is conquering the world through us. Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18). That is not the image of a weak, defeated Church, but one that is strong and conquering. The Church is not on the defensive, but is on the offensive, storming as it were the very gates of Hell, which can't prevent it. Christ is reigning, and will conquer all His enemies (Psalm 2, Psalm 110). And every knee will bow to Him, whether it wants to or not (Phil. 2:9-11). Those who submit to Christ will be part of the many nations God promised Abraham he would be a father of (Gen. 17:4-8). They will receive the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant, which is fulfilled in Christ (Romans 4:9-13). God promised He would bless all the families of the earth through Abraham, He has done that through Christ (Gen. 12:3). All who have faith in Christ are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7-9), and inherit not just the land of Israel, or even just the planet earth, but the entire universe (Romans 4:13 - the word usually translated "world" is actually "kosmos" in the Greek, or "cosmos", which means exactly what it says - it means "universe").

The kingdom then, is something that will come into its fullness gradually. It began with Jesus ascension and will continue to grow until He returns. Jesus spoke of this in the Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven (Matthew 13:31-33). Just like the sanctification of an individual Christian, so it is with the sanctification of the whole world, if you will. If you stare at it at any one point and time, you can't necessarily see it. But it's still happening, just very slowly. You can stare at the mustard seed in the ground right after you've planted it, and it looks like nothing is happening. But something is happening - it's just invisible to you. Only a few months later will you see its progress. The coming of the kingdom is not something that can be observed (Luke 17:20). If it were an immediate, catastrophic event, that wouldn't be true. Jesus speaks the same way in the Parable of the man who sowed seed (Mark 4:26-28).

The Kingdom promised is to more than just Israel - it is to all the nations (Isaiah 2:2-4; Is. 27:6; Is. 56:3-8). There will be cultural ramifications of the spreading of the Gospel, such as in a growth of peace (Is. 2:4; Is. 11:6-9). Physical and material blessings will accompany the spiritual blessings that flow to the nations (Is. 35:1-10; Is. 41:17-20). We are given images of these things in Scripture, but the exact shape they will take only time will tell. It is common for people to go to these passages in Isaiah, and assume that because they don't see them fulfilled right now, that they won't be fulfilled during this age. But, as we've said, the kingdom comes gradually. And since the kingdom comes gradually, so do the blessings that are a part of it. Will there ever be a time during this age in which the things mentioned in Isaiah 11:6-8 literally take place? Or are they merely symbols? The latter may be true, but I see no reason why the God of the universe couldn't make them literally take place in this age.

Peter Leithart, on the Importance of the Shape of the Text of Scripture

The following is a great quote from Peter Leithart's book Deep Exegesis (pg. 55), which I have been reading as of late. I'll resist the urge to comment on it any at this time, other than to say I highly recommend it for anyone whose task it is to study and teach Scripture. Here, Dr. Leithart has been discussing how texts are like music, and are, in fact, musical. He then comments on our own tendencies in approaching a text:

We are often impatient with music, and we are impatient with texts. A writer lingers, and we want to grab him by the throat and say, "Get to the point, man!" Evangelicals would reverently refrain from throttling an apostle, but the demand for practical Bible teaching often has this threatening subtext. "Don't give me all these names, lists, genealogies, stories. Tell me what to do. Tell me about Jesus."

God in his infinite wisdom decided to give us a book, a very long book, and not a portrait or an aphorism. God reveals himself in his image, Jesus, but we come to know that image by reading, and that takes time. God wants to transform us into the image of his image, and one of the key ways he does that is by leading us through the text. If we short-circuit that process by getting to the practical application, we are not going to be transformed in the ways God wants us to be transformed. "Get to the point" will not do because part of the point is to lead us through the labyrinth of the text itself. There is treasure at the center of the labyrinth, but with texts, the journey really is as important as the destination. "Get to the point, man" is the slogan of the liberal theologian; it is a demand for the kernel without the annoying distraction of the husky twists and turns of the text itself.

The fact that this is a foreign notion to most Evangelicals strikes me as odd. If, after all, we proclaim belief in the plenary inspiration of Scripture as a key tenet of our faith, how can anything other than what Dr. Leithart has said above be true?

Summer Movies 2010

Summer is nearly officially over, yet we continue to have ninety degree weather here in North Carolina. The leaves are gradually falling, and yet it seems to be more from the lack of rain than anything, said lack being visible in the brown grass that surrounds my house. And with all this dryness and heat, who can think of Fall and all that it brings? For that reason, if no other excuse will work, a Summer movie recap seems in order.

My movie pickings were slim this Summer, in spite of all the offerings. Lack of time and money are always a motivator, of course. I opted not to attend some of the famed remakes (A-Team, Karate Kid), for no other reason than they didn't appeal to me. And I have already reviewed a couple of others (Toy Story 3 and Prince of Persia). I did take the time to catch a couple of films after that, though, so let me make a few comments about them.

The first one was "Despicable Me". This one, interestingly enough, is still in a few theaters around here, in spite of having come out over two months ago. It got rave reviews, which would sort of explain it. From my perspective, however, it is hardly worth the praise it's received. I had found myself intrigued with the trailer for the movie, so I made time on my day off to slip out to the theater to see it. Thankfully, the movie was only about an hour and a half long, because I found it to be an utter waste of time. As is often the case, all the good jokes and gags (which were few) appeared in the trailers for the film, leaving nothing left of interest in the film. The dialogue was flat and boring, and the characters were uninteresting. (Come to think of it, the characters were uninteresting because the dialogue was flat and boring. But I digress.) There were some good themes to the film: a measure of reflection on how bad parenting makes children into bad adults, how approval from a parent is a fundamental human desire, and how love can conquer evil, to give a few examples. Yet while it was clear what the filmmakers were attempting to communicate, the setting and presentation were such as to keep the viewer from actually taking these things all that seriously, and left him with the sense that the filmmakers didn't take them seriously either. There was little depth of feeling to the film, no gravity to give the viewer the sense that these are as weighty themes as they in reality are. The evil characters weren't all that evil - when the main character, Gru, goes from attempting to be the world's most evil villain, to being the loving adoptive parent of three little girls, the only thing the viewer is surprised about is that any adoption agency would be so poorly run as to allow such a situation to transpire. No regeneration was necessary for this pseudo-villain.

In addition, I was particularly bugged by the dialogue from the three "little girls". Their dialogue, as well as the delivery of it, carried a sophistication that seemed way disproportionate with the characters' visual depiction. Perhaps next time the filmmakers should choose less precocious children to play such roles. I found it hard to take those characters seriously as a result.

Some of the music of the film was okay, but it was generally poor as well. The presence of more pop styles of music, especially disco and R&B, neither of which I care for, nor that I would want my children to hear if I were a parent, were frequent in the film. This comes to a head in the last scene of the film, when a ballet recital by the three girls turns into a disco party. This is a common enough occurrence in movies, but the implications are rarely understood. The movement from the one to the other implies that a sort of maturity takes place, carried out in the styles of music. Ballet, and the classical style of music that accompanies it, is treated as the more immature style of music. It's something that is fine for children. But true maturity, it seems, comes in popular music, particularly disco, in this case. In reality, the opposite is true. The cultural setting of disco is no accident, a further proof that musical styles, and aesthetic styles more broadly, aren't neutral. Disco has always carried with it many elements of immature and immoral behavior. Lack of responsibility toward one's actions, manifested in many ways, though most recognizable in things like drug and alcohol addiction, plus sexual promiscuity, is a part of the worldview of which disco is a part. In contrast, ballet and classical music communicate order and self-control, key Biblical virtues (Galatians 5:22-24). True maturity isn't the autonomous freedom of disco, but living within the bounds that God has created in the universe and given to His creatures.

All in all, this movie was simply bad, and it was bad enough that I'm baffled that millions of Americans missed that it was bad. Come to think of it, no, I take that back. I know Americans. This doesn't surprise me at all. It is just more proof that ten thousand Frenchmen can be wrong after all, and, believe it or not, it has nothing to do with the fact that they're French. It turns out I'm not the only person to give "Despicable Me" a bad review anyway, as noted on the Wikipedia page for the movie. But the majority apparently disagreed. Oh well. People liked this movie, they think Lady Gaga is interesting, and they elected Barack Obama to the White House. There's no accounting for taste. And so we move on.

The next movie I went to see was "Salt", featuring Angelina Jolie. I don't see alot of action-thriller types of movies, largely because of the "R" ratings they generally garner. So the fact that this one was "PG-13" was a bit of a draw for me. I thought the trailer was intriguing, and I have found Jolie to be a convincing and interesting actress, especially in action films, though this is often clouded over by an overuse of her sex appeal. Still, I felt comfortable that this wouldn't be something to worry about here, given the rating of the film, so I gave it a go.

It turned out to be a good choice. It wasn't what you would call high art - it is, plain and simple, a shoot 'em up, fast paced spy thriller. And yet there was a beauty to it that kept me interested (no, I'm not referring to Jolie). Jolie's character is accused of being a Russian spy, part of an organization seeking to recover the days of Communist occupation, and the viewer gradually learns whether or not the accusation is false. That suspense in itself is enough to maintain interest. But the film was well done all the way around anyway. Great acting, good soundtrack, visually stimulating - just great.

It is a violent film, of course, appropriate to its rating. Beyond this, there is little for a Christian to quibble with. Jolie does appear in little clothing near the beginning of the film - but with all the appropriate parts covered - in a scene in which she is being held captive in a foreign prison. Consequent to the context, there is nothing sexual about the scene (quite the opposite), and Jolie's sexuality is not exploited at all in the film.

I won't say any more, so as not to give anything away. It's still in the theaters, so if this is the type of film you generally like, you should check it out.

I was then prompted by a friend to go see "Inception". I knew it had received high praise, but as this often means little (see above comments on "Despicable Me"), I wasn't in any hurry. But I finally took the time to check it out.

Before I saw it, one friend commented that everybody she talked to either loved or hated "Inception". I hate to be the one exception here, but I sort of stand in the middle of the road on it. The basic concept of the film is that certain people have the ability to enter a person's mind while they're in a dream state, and to implant ideas in that person's mind. The viewer is then taken on a trippy ride of visual effects for two and a half hours as said mind manipulation is explored. Wrapped up in this is the struggle of the lead character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, as he deals with his own dream-associated demons of the past.

There is a lot to be said for "Inception". The concept of the film was clever. The struggles of the lead character were interesting. And the visual effects were stunning. But that said, the movie just didn't do anything for me overall. Part of that, I must confess, has to do with my own view of Leonardo DiCaprio. One reason I was in no hurry to see the film was that I find him utterly unconvincing as an actor. I can't really say why that is. Some actors have the ability to convince me that what is happening on the screen is real, and others do not. For whatever reason, DiCaprio falls into the latter category. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one in this film for whom this was true. Both of the other lead actors failed on that account for me. Even Ellen Page, who I have thought was excellent in other things I've seen her in, just didn't do it here. Perhaps it was the directing, I don't know. Whatever the case may be, it kept me from being fully engaged in the plot.

In addition, the ending, I felt, was fairly predictable. A long, drawn out ending (like DiCaprio's "Titanic", incidentally) resulted in success, with everyone surviving. Perhaps it would have been more interesting if Jack had died - oops, mixing up my films there. At any rate, I found the whole thing fairly boring.

Lastly, and wrapped up with the previous matter of the acting, was the discussions of how dreams work, and how this matter of "inception" took place. And once again, where the blame lies here, I don't know. But the talk about "inception" just came across to me as pretentious and artificial. As I said before, the movie just didn't sell me.

So all in all, it was an okay film. I don't think it nearly deserves the high ratings it has received. But I can't say it was a terrible film. I give it a solid "eh".

A couple of weeks after "Inception", I was scanning the movie offerings online when I ran across a documentary called "Winnebago Man". For whatever reason, my interest was piqued, and I went to see it. The movie was about a twenty year old viral video of outtakes from a Winnebago sales training video, in which the trainer, who is the star of the video, regularly loses his cool and curses up a storm. The documentary follows the filmmaker as he tracks down the "Winnebago Man", whose name is Jack Rebney, to find out what became of him after making the video.

I had never seen the video, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the movie. It was a quite interesting consideration of viral videos, and what causes people to be drawn to them. Rebney's video turns out to be a cult favorite, passed from person to person across the country, long before the invention of the internet. In addition to being a source of humor, it proves to be therapeutic for many, the sort of thing they turn to after having a bad day. Somehow watching someone else in misery is cathartic, allowing people to let go of their own problems.

The main thing that struck me about the video, and how it was used by those who watched it, was how impersonal the whole thing was. The film features all sorts of fans of the Rebney film, their comments on their love of the video, and so on. The end of the film even shows Jack meeting some of his fans at a film festival, and their responses to him. Yet while they express their appreciation, he is clearly only an object to them. His disproportionate anger, his lack of self-control, his own troubles, which go clearly deeper than his immediate circumstances - they are all merely means of the viewer's enjoyment. Take a coliseum, add a gladiator and a couple of tigers, and you have a show. Unlike the fans of the Rebney video, I couldn't get past the fact that this was a man with deep spiritual problems, and the fact that nobody involved in the film seemed to care.

The ending was somewhat moving. This man, wrapped up in his own personal concerns, suddenly found he was a minor celebrity to people he had never met. That he was moved by this fact was noticeable, and that itself was moving to me. And yet here was this man, a spiritual cesspool, without the real solution to his problems. I don't normally react this way to movies, but in this case, I was watching a real man, without Christ. It soured the ending for me, though it provided a place for prayer. Mr. Rebney, the film showed, was a man who had spent much time studying the history of religion. May the true God use his studies to reveal Himself to him.

That is pretty much the summary of my recent movie experiences, with the exception of "What If...", which I will reserve for a separate review. But I close with a question for you, the reader. Is there some movie you have seen recently that you would recommend? If so, let me know. I'll even write a review on request. Just mention it in the comments section, and I'll check it out as I have opportunity.

Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 88

Q. 88. What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?

A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.

A great division exists between modern Evangelicalism and what would rightly be called Historic Christianity, and that division has to do with the question of how God gives salvation to His people. In modern Evangelicalism, individualism is... the operating philosophy. Salvation is about "me & Jesus". The institutional Church, while an okay idea, is secondary, if not a hindrance to spiritual growth. And the main way that a Christian's faith is nourished is through his "quiet time". With such a philosophy, the constant wandering of sheep from fold to fold should surprise no one.

Historic Christianity, on the other hand, sees the individual's salvation as normally connected to the institutional Church. While one's personal time of Bible reading and prayer is a good and normal practice, and while God uses all things in a Christian's life to save him (Romans 8:28), God's primary and normal means of saving a person and nourishing his faith is through the public worship of the Church. The Means of Grace given to the Church by God are public and external to the individual, neither private nor merely internal, though they then work salvation internally for the Christian. Contrary to Evangelicalism, Baptism and the Lord's Supper are not mere acts of devotion and obedience on the part of a Christian, but means by which God delivers the salvation procured by Christ to His people. The public reading and preaching of the Word of God, along with corporate prayer, are salvific, and are central to the life of the Christian in a way that one's personal devotions cannot substitute.

If there is a section of the Catechism that the modern Christian needs to hear, it is the next few questions. Jesus Christ didn't die to save lots of disconnected individuals, but to save a group of people, His Church. There are no Lone Ranger Christians.

Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 89

This, as well as the previous post, is something I posted on Facebook. I have been posting the questions and answers from the Westminster Shorter Catechism on a regular basis, and occasionally offering some commentary on them, which is what you see here. Whether or not I write commentary on any of the other questions is yet to be seen, though I imagine I will.

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Q. 89. How is the Word made effectual to salvation?

A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching,
of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners,
and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto
salvation.

The pastors and theologians at the Westminster Assembly, who composed the Catechism, had a very different view of the Word of God than we tend to have today. With the Church havin...g recently come out of a time in history in which the preaching of the Word was left out of the corporate worship service entirely, they understood how central preaching is to the life of the Church, and how necessary it is for the spiritual nourishment of believers. In the late middle ages, the Latin Mass was the form of worship of the Church in Europe. Latin had long been a language no longer spoken by the common people, and so worshipers who bothered to attend Mass never understood a word spoken by the priests in worship. The common Christian was left to obey the rules of the Church, whether Biblical or unbiblical, with no way of examining Scripture to see if those rules were of God, and with no way of actually learning what Scripture has to say on any matter. In addition, literacy rates with regard to the common language were low. Most people were common laborers, with no need to read, it was thought, and certainly no ability to do so. The Church told people what to believe, and any questioning of the Church was held in the same regard as questioning God Himself.

So when the Reformation of the Church began, a great emphasis on education, as well as a reformation of the corporate worship service, began to take hold. Along with the Reformation came a push toward educating the laity, especially the fathers, that they might be able to instruct their own families in the word of God. The corporate worship service ceased to be carried out in Latin, and was carried out in the local language, so that all could understand and learn, worshiping God with their own minds as well as their lips.

(As a brief aside, let me make an important modern application. Contrary to what some professing believers think today, knowledge is not contrary to true faith. The anti-intellectualism of Revivalism and Fundamentalism is an enemy of Biblical Christianity, and has more in common with late medieval Romanism than with Protestant Christianity.)

Yet to the modern Christian today, this might all seem strange. Why the need for preaching then? We live in a time in which the majority of the population can read for themselves. Can I not read and understand the Bible for myself? Why do I need some preacher telling me what it says?

But contrary to the apparent wisdom of this response, our time does not provide as good an argument against preaching as it might seem. While most can read, it is still true that not all can. Today we see the government schools graduating students who can't read at all. And of those who can read, we see a decrease of comprehension when reading a text. Reading has become a pragmatic activity. We seek to do as little work as possible, for the purpose of gaining as little as it takes to get by in life.

In addition, in our time we are especially lacking when it comes to a proper understanding of legitimate authority. We consider it liberating to not need others telling us what to believe. Yet this is also counter to the teaching of Scripture. From the beginning of the New Testament Church, there have been God ordained teachers, set apart to communicate God's Word to those who would hear. Even Christ Himself set apart the first ministers of the Church, the twelve Apostles, and the Church ever since has done the same, based upon the example of Christ. The ministers of the Church are to be especially educated for the purpose of teaching the laity the Word of God. These ministers are not infallible, or above being questioned. And yet, based on their gifting, education, and calling of God through the Church, they are to be regarded with respect. Once having fulfilled the Church's requirements for ministry, and having been lawfully called by the Church, their call is to be considered of God, and their authority to be from Him. And because they are believed to be called by God, when they preach the Word of God, their words are held to be the Word of God itself, insofar as it conforms to the actual teaching of Scripture.

While there are those today who are abandoning the Church for do-it-yourself religion (or "spirituality", as some prefer to call it), we see churches setting aside the Word, especially the Word preached, for drama presentations, testimonies from lay people, and other such things. Aside from the fact that none of these appear in Scripture within the context of corporate worship, one can't help but wonder what would make a church think they are a sufficient substitute for the means of communicating truth that God has given, that being the preaching of God's Word. Whatever the answer to that might be, a simple looking to the decreasing Biblical knowledge of professing Christians should reveal that perhaps these trends aren't the wisest. In conjunction with this is the trend toward the use of video and images in worship. And yet God spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1). Words in Scripture precede images in the order of creation, and as Scripture bears throughout, in the order of priority. To give up words - that is, the Word - is to give up the means of converting power inherent in the world. Images serve no use apart from the Word. They are empty symbols, and can at best give the illusion of salvation. And even with words, those words must contain the Word of God in substance.

While testimonies can encourage people, they are often given by those lacking in substantial Biblical knowledge. We, after all, tend to assign people to that task when they are young, immature Christians, and we do so based on their excitedness. Yet not only do new Christians have a severe deficit of informational knowledge when it comes to the Bible, they are lacking in the appropriate maturity by which to understand it, and by which to instruct others. The result is a case of the blind leading the blind, leaving large portions of congregations merely lying in ditches.

With all this before us, our best hope is to return to the God-chosen means of godly, mature, educated men, reading and preaching Holy Scripture to us. We should rightly ask this question: is the failure to be strengthened by the Word to be found in the Word, or in us (Mark 6:5-6)?

Reflections on Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 90

Q. 90. How is the Word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?

A. That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.

Too often today, our approach to the worship of the God of the universe is more than a bit casual. But this would make sense. After all, if the worship of the church is carried out in a flippant manner, it should be no wonder that the congregation would approach it flippantly. We cruise into church, coffee in hand, and schmooze for a few minutes until given the signal by the band or some "worship leader" that it is time to settle down and remember why we're there. And any notion of preparation for worship is out of the realm of thought.

Yet traditionally, the sacred nature of worship has been better understood, and has led those attending corporate worship to approach it with greater care than the contemporary church tends to exhibit today. Preparation for worship has begun at home, even during the week prior to coming to worship on the Sabbath. There is no activity comparable to the corporate worship of God, it has been understood, and while He is with me wherever I may be, and I may worship Him in all that I do, there is something unique and special about gathering with His saints to lift our voices up jointly in praise and adoration of Him. I live my life always before Him - and yet the culmination of all that living before Him is in union with His people. And so I am ever conscious, no matter what day it is or what I am doing, that that day is coming, the day to gather with His Church.

Once coming to worship, the minutes before the beginning of service has been used as a time of silent prayer and meditation. Our God is a Holy God. He is high and exalted, and there is none other like Him. And this reality has shaped the whole atmosphere of the worship service, even the time just before it.

This preparation has special bearing on how we approach the reading and the preaching of the Word of God. We all own Bibles, and by the grace of God we still live in a society where we remain largely free to read it as we wish. And so we grow accustomed to it, like an old friend that we take for granted will always be there, no matter how much we neglect him. Yet this casualness is a failure of our own, not of God's Word. It is a sin to be confessed and repented of.

The reading and the preaching of God's word holds a central place in corporate worship. Without the Word of God, after all, nothing in the universe would exist, let alone corporate worship. He creates by His Word, and He sustains the universe by His Word (Hebrews 1:3). It is by His Word that he raises the dead, both spiritually and, as He will when Christ returns, physically. And it is by His Word that He upholds and strengthens His Church during our sojourn now. We hear God's chosen minister reading the text of Scripture to us, and as God's representative, we hear him explain and apply the text so that we might better live in obedience to God. We are to prepare; we are to listen with diligence; we are to obey it. And so hearing the reading and preaching of the Word is an act of worship. We are not to be passive with regard to the Word. We are not an audience, as at a concert. God calls us to be mentally engaged when His Word is presented to us. And while it is always presented in authority and power, it is especially so when presented by an ordained minister of God, during the time He has set apart for that purpose. We then leave, having heard from the King's emissary, and go out as servants of the King, to do His bidding alone.

As the Catechism question states, the effectiveness of the Word of God in our lives relies upon our approaching it properly. In a time when the Evangelical church drifts further and further morally from the standards of Holy Scripture, perhaps we should consider whether it is not because we do not duly approach His Word, particularly when we present it and receive it in corporate worship. If we truly want to see people saved, and we want to redeem society for Christ, we would do well to consider this matter with care.