To be honest, I find this doctrine hard to disagree with. And even if it was suspect, why would I disagree with a doctrine that affirms my evilness and sinfulness of which I know to be the case? I take this verse from Ephesians at face value. Dead means dead. Why fight it?

The controversy heightens though, when considering whether the dead have something in them that allows a response to God’s offer of salvation. For, aren’t we saved through faith in Christ? How do we take verses like Acts 16:31 that implore a sinner to “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”. Or possibly the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16 that says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Can a dead person have faith or as some would argue, does the process of regeneration come first?

All questioning aside, I feel that the issue comes back to not whether a spiritually dead person can respond, but whether a dead person can hear, let alone respond. I believe that the dead can hear and it is a work of God. Let’s look at the key verse of John 5:25:

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

The voice of the Son of God can speak to the dead and the dead will hear! The very spoken word of Jesus is the very power that allows a dead person to hear and respond to the gospel. For the power of God (Romans 1:16) is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news proclaimed and lived out by the very word, Jesus Christ (John 1). You see, the word of God is powerful. Powerful enough to condemn, powerful enough to save, and powerful enough to speak directly to the dead so that they can hear.

God speaking is essential throughout Scripture. God creates with his word, he sends prophets that call down fire through voice, Jesus speaks and demons flee, the sick are healed, and the power of the father given to the son through the Holy Spirit comes through voice. God’s word brings out his plan of salvation for all who repent and believe in his son. We have faith, by hearing the word of God and through the calling of the Holy Spirit, we are able to respond and trust.

As Christians we must declare God’s word with authority, for by it the dead will hear and be saved. Boldly we claim the words of God in Isaiah 55:10-11:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

    and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

    it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

"What's the son of a duck? It's a duck. If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck and it can raise the dead like a duck, it's a duck."

When asked how he knew what to say to each person in every situation and how he understood the thoughts and feelings of people, Spencer replied, “I have only one rule on that subject… I aim to conspire with the Holy Spirit.” Spencer goes on to explain how he aims to make truth impressions deeper, because it is of the Holy Spirit, and to remove any error, because it is of sin.

Spencer firmly believed in letting the Holy Spirit do his work and to not interfere. He often left people rather abruptly to let the Holy Spirit do his work of conviction. One example is when he was conversing with a young woman and explained to her how she must do nothing, but let Christ save her. Upon saying this, he left abruptly, without letting the woman even reply to his statement. Spencer had a remarkable gift of discernment to know when to speak, to know when to remain silent and to know when to leave the situation all together.

This book is an amazing resource for anyone wanting insight on how to share the Gospel with unbelievers. If you have the time, I strongly recommend you checking it out.

One of the reasons I haven't blogged lately is because it has been that heated time within the semester when all the mid-term exams and papers come up as being due. Another reason is that I've spent some of my free time developing a new website:

This evening I launched a brand new website at aaronboeving.com to showcase my web design portfolio. So, if it interests you, take a gander and let me know what you think.

So, that's it for now. Just a short post to tell you about the website. I do have some other blog entry ideas in the works so stay tuned for more of those as well.

Thanks to everyone who reads my blog.

"Therefore I left my relations, and became what I am today, a Baptist, so-called, but I hope a great deal more a Christian than a Baptist...

If I thought it wrong to be a Baptist, I should give it up, and become what I believed to be right. The particular doctrine adhered to by the Baptists is that they acknowledge no authority unless it comes form the Word of God. They attach no importance to the authority of the Fathers,--they care not for the authority of the mothers,--if what they say does not agree with the teaching of the Evangelists, Apostles, and Prophets, and, most of all, with the teaching of the Lord Himself."

--Charles H. Spurgeon
An excerpt from Autobiography by Charles H. Spurgeon.

When reading this, the first thought I had was what Christians should do in the matter and whether, or what kind of, civil disobedience is required. These are obviously serious issues we’re dealing with and a time for action is necessary. In saying this, I am directly speaking to myself (and for the latter part of this blog entry). To help determine the answer to this question of what should be required and when civil disobedience should be implemented, I turned to Francis Schaeffer’s book, A Christian Manifesto in which one aspect of his discussion involves the use of civil disobedience (chapters 7-9). In this blog entry, I will briefly summarize Schaeffer’s points on civil disobedience, and then add one bit of commentary and challenge related to the matter.

Francis Schaeffer’s View on Civil Disobedience

"The bottom line is that at a certain point there is not only the right, but the duty, to disobey the state.”
--Francis Schaeffer

First, it is obvious within scripture that we must obey the government that is set up and that we are under. It is clear from Romans 13 that all authority is established by God. However, God and Caesar (government) are not equal, for God is above Caesar and if a government is contrary to the word of God, then that government is not to be obeyed. Stated simply, God’s word is the final authority, not any form of government. Schaeffer states, “The bottom line is that at a certain point there is not only the right, but the duty, to disobey the state.” Schaeffer goes on to provide solid proof that in all cases where the Reformation had success, some form of civil disobedience was in place. Perhaps the most convincing example is in the case of Samuel Rutherford, author of Lex Rex which translated means “the law is King”. Schaeffer summarizes his thesis by saying, “that citizens have a moral obligation to resist unjust and tyrannical government.” Tyranny is ruling without God’s sanction.

If some sort of disobedience or resistance is necessary in the setting of tyrannical government, then what does that look like? Schaeffer summarizes Rutherford’s levels of resistance as: “First, he must defend himself by protest… second, he must flee it if at all possible; and, third, he may use force, if necessary, to defend himself.” Schaeffer then argues that protest is the most viable option at this time (or at least at the time of his writing) and focuses his concern on the issue of federal funding going towards abortion. Schaeffer rightly challenges us with the statement that, “At some point protest could lead some Christians to refuse to pay some portion of their tax money.”

What is our bottom line?

While some could argue that there are other issues that should be focussed on in addition to the issue of abortion, I have chosen to focus the rest of the blog entry on the the issue of abortion. Above, I summarized Schaeffer’s argument that civil disobedience is necessary in a tyrannical government. My question is, have we reached that point in America’s current state? I honestly think that if Francis Schaeffer was alive today, he would be shocked by the state of America in the 25 years since his death. I do not want to put words into his mouth, but I wonder if his decision to put protest as the most viable option would be replaced by the force defined by Rutherford.

We must acknowledge that federal funding is going towards abortion. President Obama has already reversed the “Mexico City Policy” and in doing so has allowed federal funds to be given to non-governmental organizations that perform abortions. Also, as I have already addressed above, federal funds are now going towards the destruction of human embryos. If the floodgate has been truly opened as Dr. Mohler states, then what can we expect next? If the bottom line is not federal funding of abortion clinics and destruction of human embryos, then what is? What will be your level of civil disobedience? Will it be nothing, or will we rightly obey God’s word rather than the edicts of man.

The following is a brief summary of my spiritual journey over the years. Some of this may be old news to some of you and others might learn a few things about me. If you have a blog and are a believer, I encourage you to post your testimony as well.

My Testimony

Growing up in Memphis, TN and attending Bellevue Baptist Church, I was surrounded by godly parents, friends, mentors, and teaching under Adrian Rogers. Looking back now, I feel truly blessed. God has blessed me in more ways than I could say and more than I even know. At the young age of 5 or 6 I walked down the aisle of Bellevue and made a “profession of faith”. Although it’s hard to remember that many years ago, I now believe that decision was based upon a desire to fit in and to even mimic the same decisions my friends were making. Only God knows whether that decision was genuine, but nonetheless through God’s grace I became more and more involved in the church and youth group at Bellevue. God used this time to teach me much about Himself and the Christian life, even if that point it was only a head knowledge. During my sophomore year in high school at a Disciple Now church event, I believe that I truly received God’s gifts of repentance and faith and became a born again believer. God began to work in my life and teach me to love and obey His word. Additionally God put godly men in my life that encouraged and trained me in knowing God. I learned that in order to obey God, I must love him, and the only way I would love Him is by knowing Him and His love for me. And God’s love is made apparent through His word and the time spent daily with it and Him in prayer.

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”.

– Colossians 3:3-4 (NIV)

My senior year in high school, God showed me these scriptures which confirmed a calling to full-time Christian service. The four simple words “who is your life” fell heavy on my heart and made it clear that my life was meant for service to God. Although I’ve never felt a firm calling to something specific like the missionary field or a pastorate, I’ve always felt a tug to be a part of a full-time ministry. I’m excited to find out what God has planned.

God is there and He is in control.

Through the writings of Francis Schaeffer, God began to put on my heart the desire for the post-modern culture and the need for community in the church—something that I felt was lacking in a lot of today’s churches. During my time in college, God led me to take off one semester and spend time at the L’Abri fellowship in Greatham, England. My experience there was not unique, but through doing simple acts such as making dinner, polishing the hardwood floors, and discussing life, the Bible and more, God showed me how a community can function. I distinctly remember on my last day at the mansion, one of the workers asked, “So, I hear you might be attending seminary?”, to which I replied, “Yes, possibly. Who knows?”. The worker’s response was simple and true: “God knows” he said, as he walked out the door and went on with his day. This response was a perfect summary of my time at L’Abri. God knows and is involved in every part of life. Whether I was polishing the floors or studying God’s Word, God is there and He is in control. My experience at L’Abri led me to begin a “Fellowship of Believers” during college that was made up of a small group of believers that met over God’s word, fellowship and prayer, much like the first church did in Acts 2:42. This time was by no means revolutionary, but was nonetheless meaningful to the people involved. One of these persons was a beautiful girl named Laurin who ended up becoming my wife. Married on June 8th, 2002, it’s been 6 wonderful years where God has blessed our marriage and our family with the arrival of Savannah Grace in March of 2007 and Aubrey Melanie in June of last year.

Since my time in college, God has continued to be gracious and patient with me even when I wasn’t as near to him as I should have been. I found myself being complacent in church and simply going through the motions. We stayed “connected” in our church, but the passion and desire to follow Christ wholeheartedly definitely faded. About a year and a half ago, my wife and I felt God leading us to leave Bellevue and search for another church in the Memphis area. Through this time, God taught us to seek him more and we began to study and cherish God’s word more in our lives. We joined a new church and learned more about God’s grace to us in salvation and gained a better understanding of a God-centered salvation. At the beginning of last year, God pressed upon our hearts to attend seminary and He led us to attend Southern Seminary. God has been truly gracious to me and my family, and I look forward to the future knowing that his graces will continue to abound in easy and hard times.

What exactly will we be doing in Heaven? I completely understand and agree that our primary purpose in Heaven will be to bring God glory. But what does that look like?

I’ll be the first to admit that while I enjoy praise and worship in its traditional sense in most evangelical churches, I can also emphatically state that I almost have a feeling of dread if that is all we will be doing in Heaven. That being said, I realize our praise in heaven will be perfect and our praise and worship here on earth is not. If we were to only sing in Heaven, then that will be to the fullest of God’s joy and our own as well. Selfishly, and possibly even sinfully, I want something different.

In Heaven, we will create.

I recently read a book entitled Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview by Albert M. Wolters. While reading the book, a somewhat insignificant idea (at least in the book) became obvious to me as to what Heaven will entail. The context of this book is about all of creation being redeemed in that there is no separation of the “sacred” from the “secular”. While I don’t want to put words into the mouth of Wolters, something hit me in his text about Heaven. The book states, that “We are called to participate in the ongoing creational work of God, to be God’s helper in executing to the end the blueprint of his masterpiece.”

In Heaven, we will create. We will be finite creators as God intended when He created the world “in the beginning.” We will create worship towards God in various ways such as music, art, architecture, culture and even entertainment. Yes, even entertainment. I can only imagine the types of board games we will invent in Heaven, the new sporting events that we will attend, and the wonderful dramas we will appreciate, all bringing God glory. Wolters also points out that “the Bible begins with a garden and ends with a city.” Would it not be right to assume in the city of Heaven, that we will be free to live and create as God originally intended and as citizens of a city do?

Perhaps the most solid argument I can bring to this claim is from Genesis 1:27 that states we are created in God’s own image. In the image of God (the creator of the universe and everything in it) we are created. God is the ultimate creator, and through his creation he receives glory and praise. As his created beings, will we not create perfectly once we are glorified in Heaven?

“The Disciple is one who, intent upon becoming Christlike and so dwelling in his ‘faith and practice,’ systematically and progressively rearranges his affairs to that end.”

— Dallas Willard

I was struck by this quote because too often I find myself thinking (or at least acting like) the Christian life takes no effort. If I want to become more obedient to Christ, I must systematically make and complete steps in order to do so. If I want to become a better witness for Christ, I must rearrange my affairs to actually meet and befriend unbelievers.

While I think many things comes naturally for a growing Christian, we must never assume a passive role. Our intent should be on becoming more Christlike, and that takes work.

Although I don't consider myself much of a writer, I have the desire to be a better communicator. As you can learn from my bio, I am a student at Southern Seminary here in Louisville, KY. I'm attending seminary because I feel called to be in full-time ministry, and something common to most ministerial occupations is to be able to communicate clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to become better at this and writing a blog might be a small way to encourage this.

The blog's primary purpose is to be an outlet for the ever expanding knowledge that I am blessed to be receiving in seminary.

This blog is not going to be related to personal stuff, as my wife has that pretty well taken care of. Instead, its primary purpose is to be an outlet for the ever expanding knowledge that I am blessed to be receiving in seminary. It is my desire to share, discuss and develop that knowledge further through this blog. Because of this, the blog's primary topics will be Christianity, Theology and the like. Because I am a web designer, there may be an occasional entry on something related to the web, and there is always a chance something personal will be thrown in.

It is my intention to keep the content pretty informal. I don't envision writing some well thought out essay with the blog, simply because that is not the nature of the blogging medium. I will try to keep it simple and to the point, and I encourage your input in the comments section of each entry.

About the Design

That night several weeks ago when I decided to start a blog, the idea for the design was not too far behind. The design is simple, with a twist. You'll notice that the header is what some have called "a boeving green". It's true. I really like green, but I have designed the site in a way that will allow me to alter the color scheme for each entry. The design gives me enough rigidness to keep it easy to update, but enough flexibility with the color scheme to keep it fresh.

For the curious web geeks out there, I've designed the site using the 960.gs grid. You can see the grid structure in the following image.

Additionally, the site is built on the Reflect CMS which I have had a part creating over the past couple of years. I am of course bias, but I could not imagine using any other CMS.

Grab the RSS Feed

For those of you that don't know what RSS is, here are a couple of good resources. I strongly encourage you to find a RSS reader you like and grab this site's RSS feed. I hope to keep the site updated frequently, but I know as times get busy, updates might become random. Subscribing to the RSS feed will ensure you knowing that the blog has been updated.

So, here goes nothing!