Here I Blog

Sunday Considerations: Memorial Day 2013

Mark — Sat, 25 May 2013 17:35:05 +0000

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend here in the United States. Memorial Day, originally named Decoration Day, is a day of rightful remembrance of all who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Many churches will pause Sunday morning to recognize those who have and who are currently serving in one of the branches of America’s Military.

I’ve struggled over the years of how much patriotism is implanted into some worship services this time of year. The church gathers to worship God not man’s achievements and service to each other. However, many Christians have served in this country’s Armed Forces. I have several veterans in my family including a great uncle who just turned 100 years old, a World War II veteran.

I have no problem recognizing our veterans on Sunday morning. That is, as long as the patriotism is not overdone where it outshines the purpose of the gathered church. But the fact is, serving in a branch of the military is a great service whether one is a Christian or not. Laying down one’s life for others, or even training and preparing to do so, is a great sacrifice.

I want to thank all veterans who have served this country. God has certainly used their sacrifices to make this country great. I want to especially remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

War is hell and that’s easy for me to say from a comfortable distance. With war comes death as Edith Cavell reminds us as she points to the One who brought good news by making the ultimate sacrifice to win the ultimate war with death and hell.

Edith Cavell, the British nurse killed by Germans in World War I, was captured. Just before the bandage was placed over her eyes for the firing squad, she said: “I am glad to die for my country. But I realize that patriotism is not enough.” Then she gave clear and definite testimony to her personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and assurance of salvation. She died under the firing squad in 1915. ¹

Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc. ↩

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What Was Awesome About Your Weekend?

Mark — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:35:05 +0000

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It was a normal Monday. A co-worker asked about my weekend though it could have been a friendly acquaintance, office neighbor, etc. Before I could get a word out my co-worker unloaded telling me about the “best movie of year” – Star Trek Into Darkness.

There never seems a shortage of new movies being released and Star Trek would have been among my top three guesses.

But Star Trek was his number one. He was excited to tell me about it. He talked faster than the Micro Machines Man. I felt like I watched all two hours of the movie in 10 minutes.

“I’ll have to check it out. Sounds awesome!” I said.

After catching his breath, he asks me, “So what about you? Did you do anything awesome this weekend?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” was my excited reply, “Let me tell you about it.”

“I woke up Sunday morning. Got the family ready, had some coffee, breakfast and more coffee before heading out. We had a good conversation in the car on the way preparing ourselves. Fifteen minutes later were we parked and soon meeting with a group of friends.”

“My wife and I got to hang out with a group of friends for an hour before the big event. We had a great time with our friends catching up for the week, sharing about life, laughing, crying, encouraging – you name it! The hour flew by in about five minutes. It was – all of a sudden – time for the big event.”

” We walked down a couple hallways with our friends. We arrived and found a seat greeting the nice people around us. The musicians began playing and singing. It was great; we got to sing right along with them! The singing ended after about 20 minutes.”

“After a few announcements we got to experience something life changing! We got to hear a message – a life changing message that lasted about 40 minutes. Then, we got to sing together once more before heading home. It was awesome!”

My co-worker gave me a funny look and asked with a half-smile, “What were you doing again?”

I replied with a smile, “We had an awesome time worshiping the Creator of the Universe gathering together on account of His resurrected Son, Jesus. We started in Sunday School fellow-shipping, praying and learning. Then, we moved into the sanctuary for formal worship were we sang praise songs and heard the Bible -the very word of God – preached.”

“We simply went to church and it was awesome!”

My co-worker and I chatted for a few more minutes planing to talk more later.

It was a normal Sunday. I was excited to share my awesome weekend worship with a co-worker.

So…what was awesome about your weekend?

Here I blog…

Mark

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Preaching Effectual Sermons by Andy Hynes

Mark — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:30:25 +0000

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Guest blogger Andy Hynes (@ABHYNES) is a PhD candidate at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Puritans understood the power of the sermon. Effectual sermons opened the door to the Father’s work. John Flavel supposed that hearing God’s Word regularly was necessary for Him to draw a man toward Himself. The Father consistently drew the elect to Himself through the Son. General revelation was insufficient to allow this to happen. When Paul wrote Ephesians 4:20-21 Flavel understood,

Of necessity of divine teaching, in order to believing, the apostle speaks, in Eph. iv. 20,21. “But ye have not so learned Christ; ‘if so be that you have heard him, and been taught by him, as ‘the truth is in Jesus;’ i.e. Your faith must needs be effectual, both to the reformation of your lives, and your perseverance in the ways of holiness, if it be such a faith as is begotten and introduced into your hearts by divine teachings.[1]

Without the delivery of special revelation, sinners would not hear nor understand their need for grace. The Puritan needed a conscience awareness of mediation upon that Word. The duty and necessity of mediation demanded that without meditation, the preached Word would fail to profit.[2]

The Word possessed the necessary component for preparation, the delivery of that Word stood high. The Puritans did not regard evangelistic sermons as a special class, but rather preached Christ from all the Scriptures, since His witness is in all the Word.[3] Preaching Gospel centered messages according to Packer, meant, “teaching the whole Christian system – the character of God, the Trinity, the plan of salvation, the entire work of grace. To preach Christ, they held, involved preaching all this.”[4]

The Puritan pulpit produced the golden age of evangelical preaching in England, by sound doctrine and thorough practical application.[5] As each Puritan pastor taught the Word, he became vessel that God used to promote the truths of the Gospel, truths necessary for forming Christ in a sinner. The sermon developed into the ultimate weapon for the Puritan as it offered guidance in the search for salvation unattainable in any other way.[6]

Preaching advanced to the chief glory of ministry. If a personal experience with the wrath and love of God was necessary for conversion, then His Word, both written and preached, was the primary method by which man’s confrontation took place.[7] John Downame said about preaching that, “God’s own ordinance which he hath instituted and ordained for the gathering of the saints, and building the body of his church, as appearth in Eph. 4:11,12.”[8] One can see the significance of preaching. The capability of God existed to accomplish anything He wished; He ordained the pulpit to be the place for the delivery of salvific principles. The Puritans took great pains in preaching and teaching. It involved wretched self-introspection on a consistent basis. They longed to be prepared for the delivery of God’s Holy Word, for it alone was the power unto salvation.

Flavel understood the power of the Word as the instrument unto the saving work of God. He embraced five effectual works of the Word through preaching. These acts were upon the souls of men.

First, It hath an awakening efficacy upon secure and sleepy sinners; It rouses the conscious, and brings a man to a sense and feeling apprehension, Eph. v. 13, 14. The first effectual touch of the word startles the drowsy conscious. . . . Secondly, the Law of God hath an enlightening efficacy upon the minds of men: It is the eye-salve to the blinded eye, Rev. iii. 18. . . . Thirdly, The Word of God hath a convincing efficacy: It sets sin in order before the soul, Psal. l. 21. . . . Fourthly, The law of God hath a soul-wounding, an heart-cutting efficacy: It pierces into the very soul and spirit of man, Acts ii. 37. . . . Fifthly, The word hath a heart-turning, as well as a convincing word, 1 Peter i. 23.[9]

While the sermon remained the instrument used, the pastor existed as the vessel to promote. Harry Stout talked about the New England Puritan pastors, but many of the same qualities and characteristics epitomized the English clergy during the seventeenth century. He said concerning the pastor in preparation for the sermon,

Ministers rarely talked about their own turmoil and uncertainties in their sermons; indeed the pronoun I hardly ever appears in their notes. . . . In fact ministers agonized over their sermons and recorded that agony in another staple of the Puritan literature, the diary. . . . From these it is clear that, along with the hours of biblical study and analysis, the ministers engaged in ceaseless self-examination and self-censure. Before calling the congregation to account to God for their lives, thoughts, and feelings, the minster first had to submit his own life to a withering divine scrutiny. Only then could he project that message outward and say to his congregation with the proper combination of humility and finality, “Thus saith the Lord.”[10]

Regular effectual preaching supplied a needed void according to William Perkins. He defined the business of preaching as, “It is to collect the church and to accomplish the number of the elect.”[11] Preaching sermons that taught the Law and grace provided the setting necessary for the Holy Spirit to do His work. God conducted perfect work through the preaching of His Word.

[1] John Flavel, The Methods of Grace in the Gospel-Redemption, Sermon XXII, The Teachings of God Opened, in Their Nature and Necessity, vol. II of The Works of John Flavel (1820; repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1997), 307.
[2] Joel Beeke, Puritan Reformed Spirituality (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2004), 79.
[3] Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, 165-6.
[4] Ibid., 169.
[5] Peter Lewis, The Genius of Puritanism (Hayward Heath Sussex: Carey Publications, 1979), 20.
[6] Harry Stout, The New England Soul (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), 32.
[7] Brauer, “The Nature of English Puritanism,” 101.
[8] Lewis, The Genius of Puritanism, 39.
[9] John Flavel, The Method of Grace, Sermon XXI, For I was Alive Without the Law once: But when the Commandment came, Sin Revived, and I Died, vol. II of The Works of John Flavel (1820; repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1997), 296-7.
[10] Stout, The New England Soul, 35.
[11] D. M. Lloyd-Jones, The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1987), 381.

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Here I Link

Mark — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:18:43 +0000

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Disaster Relief: If you’d like to donate to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief to help those affected in Oklahoma City click here to donate online or call 1-866-407-NAMB (6262).

Defending John Piper: Rachel Held Evans Denies the Cat.

John Piper Explained: Desiring God explains Those Deleted Tweets.

Legalism: Fourteen Characteristics of Theological Legalism.

On Preaching: 21 Skills of Great Preachers.

Dear Obama: Is There a Nathan in the Land? A Response to President Obama’s Morehouse College Speech (by Wm Dwight McKissic, Sr).

Free Books: R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions Series Free on Kindle.

Affections-Emotions: Affections and Emotions (again).

Suffering Job: Job’s Suffering and Ours.

The IRS: IRS also targeted religious groups.

“Gay Christianity”: James White and Justin Lee dialogue on the question, “Can you be a Christian homosexual?” MP3 (Details)

Tithing: Study: Christians Who Tithe Have Healthier Finances.

R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions Series Free on Kindle

Mark — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:23:53 +0000

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Ligonier Ministries has made R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions series eBooks free – forever!

Download the Kindle editions below.

What Is the Trinity?
Who Is Jesus?
Who Is the Holy Spirit?
What Is Faith?
Can I Be Sure I’m Saved?
Can I Have Joy in My Life?
Can I Know God’s Will?
Can I Trust the Bible?
Does God Control Everything?
Does Prayer Change Things?
How Should I Live in this World?
What Can I Do with My Guilt?
What Does It Mean to be Born Again?
What Is Baptism? (For my Presbyterian friends. )

These eBooks are also free on iTunes or you can get them through the Ligonier store.

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Ethics: Pastor Called to Church is on Third Marriage

Mark — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:35:04 +0000

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What would you do Wednesday!

There are differing views within Christianity on marriage, divorce, and re-marriage. Some are black and white on these issues while others take into account when the people involved became Christians. And there are those who question whether divorce and/or re-marriage is ever permissible for pastors.

That said, I thought this would be an interesting topic for today’s scenario.

The situation takes place in a Baptist church which uses a pastoral search committee. The committee has agreed upon a candidate who has accepted the nomination.

The next step is for the congregation to vote to invite the man to preach in view of being called as the new pastor. (Also known as preaching in view of a call.) The church votes in the affirmative. The man is set to preach in two weeks.

A week has passed and since this man will most likely be your new pastor, you go to his current church website to listen to some of his sermons. The first one you choose to listen to was from three months ago. At the beginning of his sermon he happens to mention that he just celebrated his fifth wedding anniversary.

Fifth? Pausing – you think through what you know about this man – he is 50 years old, has two grown kids, and graduated seminary 25 years ago. Knowing that this man will preach in view of a call in seven days, you call one of the pastoral search committee members concerned about potential divorce and re-marriage.

The committee member gets back with you the next day explaining that the potential new pastor is actually on his third marriage. Some how the three marriages flew under the radar. They never came up.

Since time is short with only six days before he preaches in view of a call and the committee was unable to immediately get details about the marriages, the pastoral candidate will preach Sunday.

What would you do?

Nothing, just let it go and trust all will be well.
Try to meet with all the pastoral committee members for counsel.
Approach the man Sunday morning encouraging him to speak to the issue from the pulpit.
Stand-up at just the right time in the sermon and reveal his secrets to everyone.
Or….

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Faith-Based FEMA

Mark — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:05:14 +0000

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Check out the short interview below in devastated Oklahoma where the tornado struck. Brian Williams, the reporter, mentions that “there’s FEMA and then there’s the faith-based FEMA.” The man being interviewed explains that we can’t wait on the government to help in this situation, but the Baptist men are going to “get it done tomorrow.”

If you’d like to donate to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief to help those affected in Oklahoma City click here to donate online or call 1-866-407-NAMB (6262).

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How to Make a Lot of Money Preaching

Mark — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:12:32 +0000

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Below is a clip from the 1972 documentary Marjoe. Marjoe was a fake evangelist which he admitted in the documentary explaining that he would manipulate people. His real name is Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner who may be recognized from past movie roles or from the 80′s TV series Falcon Crest.

The Internet Movie Database provides the follow quote from Marjoe. It is not clear from where and when Marjoe was quoted. I emphasized in bold what seems a key part of his approach. Apparently, he knew the kind of experience people wanted and could draw them and control them by giving them that experience.

When I was traveling (as a minister), I’d see someone who wanted to get saved in one of my meetings, and he was so open and bubbly in his desire to get the Holy Ghost. It was wonderful and very fresh, but four years later I’d return and that person might be a hard-nosed intolerant Christian because he had Christ. That’s when the danger comes in. People want an experience. They want to feel good, and their lives can be helped by it. But then as you start moving into the operation of the thing, you get into controlling people and power and money.

What is amazing (or scary) about the clip is how much Marjoe’s words and actions parallel some of what passes today for legitimate preaching.

Unfortunately, a lot of money can be made manipulating people preaching like Marjoe once did. There seems to be no shortage today of people doing the same. Hopefully, before someone starts or even continues down this path they heed Jesus’ words recorded in Mark 8:36 (ESV), “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

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Charles Spurgeon on God’s Judgment and Tragedies

Mark — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:27:50 +0000

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In the wake of the recent tragedies from the tornado in Oklahoma, I thought sharing a 150 year old sermon from the Prince of Preachers might be appropriate. The sermon below was delivered by Charles Spurgeon on Sunday, September 8, 1861 in light of two disasters that hit close to home for him.

In weeks prior to the sermon, two different train collisions happened weeks apart. The train wrecks took more than 38 lives and left hundreds injured. Some Christians replied that the lives taken in those wrecks were part of God’s judgment. In response, Spurgeon preached to refute the claims.¹ He appropriately titled the sermon “Accidents, Not Punishments.”

Accidents, Not Punishments

“There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem! I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”—Luke 13:1-5.

HE YEAR 1861 will have a notoriety among its fellows as the year of calamities. Just at that season when man goeth forth to reap the fruit of his labors, when the harvest of the earth is ripe, and the barns are beginning to burst with the new wheat, Death too, the mighty reaper, has come forth to out down his harvest; full sheaves have been gathered into his garner—the tomb, and terrible have been the wailings which compose the harvest hymn of death. In reading the newspapers during the last two weeks, even the most stolid must have been the subject of very painful feelings. Not only have there been catastrophes so alarming that the blood chills at their remembrance, but column after column of the paper has been devoted to calamities of a minor degree of horror, but which, when added together, are enough to astound the mind with the fearful amount of sudden death which has of late fallen on the sons of men. We have had not only one incident for every day in the week, but two or three; we have not simply been stunned with the alarming noise of one terrific clash, but another, and another, and another, have followed upon each other’s heels, like Job’s messengers, till we have needed Job’s patience and resignation to hear the dreadful tale of woes.

Now, men and brethren, such things as these have always happened in all ages of the world. Think not that this is a new thing; do not dream, as some do, that this is the produce of an overwrought civilization, or of that modern and most wonderful discovery of steam. If the steam engine had never been known, and if the railway had never been constructed, there would have been sudden deaths and terrible accidents, not withstanding. In taking up the old records in which our ancestors wrote down their accidents and calamities, we find that the old stage coach yielded quite as heavy a booty to death as does the swiftly-rushing train; there were gates to Hades then as many as there are now, and roads to death quite as steep and precipitous, and traveled by quite as vast a multitude as in our present time. Do you doubt that? Permit me to refer you to the chapter before you. Remember those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell. What if no collision crushed them; what if they were not destroyed by the ungovernable iron horse dragging them down from an embankment; yet some badly-built tower, or some wall beaten by the tempest could fall upon eighteen at a time, and they might perish. Or worse than that, a despotic ruler, having the lives of men at his girdle, like the keys of his palace, might fall upon worshippers in the temple itself, and mix their blood with the blood of the bullocks which they were just then sacrificing to the God of heaven. Do not think, then, that this is an age in which God is dealing more hardly with us than of old. Do not think that God’s providence has become more lax than it was, there always were sudden deaths, and there always will be. There always were seasons when death’s wolves hunted in hungry packs, and, probably, until the end of this dispensation, the last enemy will hold his periodic festivals, and glut the worms with the flesh of men. Be not, therefore, cast down with any sudden fear, neither be ye troubled by these calamities. Go about your business, and if your avocations should call you to cross the field of death itself, do it, and do it bravely. God has not thrown up the reins of the world, he has not taken off his hand from the helm of the great ship, still

“He everywhere hath sway,
And all things serve his might;
His every act pure blessing is,
His path unsullied light.”

Only learn to trust him, and thou shalt not be afraid of sudden fear; “thy soul shall dwell at ease, and thy seed shall inherit the earth.”

The particular subject of this morning, however, is this—the use which we ought to make of these fearful texts which God is writing in capital letters upon the history of the world. God hath spoken once, yea, twice, let it not be said that man regardeth it not. We have seen a glimmering of God’s power, we have beheld something of the readiness with which he can destroy our fellow-creatures. Let us “hear the rod and him that hath appointed it,” and in hearing it, let us do two things. First, let us not be so foolish as to draw the conclusion of superstitious and ignorant persons—that conclusions which is hinted at in the text, namely, that those who are thus destroyed by accident are sinners above all the sinners that be in the land. And, secondly, let us draw the right and proper inference, let us make practical use of all these events for our own personal improvement, let us hear the voice of the Savior saying, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

I. First, then, LET US TAKE HEED THAT WE DO NOT DRAW THE RASH AND HASTY CONCLUSION FROM TERRIBLE ACCIDENTS, THAT THOSE WHO SUFFER BY THEM SUFFER ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR SINS.

It has been most absurdly stated that those who travel on the first day of the week and meet with an accident, ought to regard that accident as being a judgment from God upon them on account of their violating the Christian’s day of worship. It has been stated even by godly ministers, that the late deplorable collision should be looked upon as an exceedingly wonderful and remarkable visitation of the wrath of God against those unhappy persons who happened to be in the Clayton tunnel. Now I enter my solemn protest against such an inference as that, not in my own name, but in the name of Him who is the Christian’s Master and the Christian’s Teacher. I say of those who were crushed in that tunnel, think ye that they were sinners above all the sinners “I tell you, all: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Or those who perished but last Monday, think ye that they were sinners above all the sinners that were in London? “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Now, mark, I would not deny but what there have sometimes been judgments of God upon particular persons for sin; sometimes, and I think but exceedingly rarely, such things have occurred. Some of us have heard in our own experience instances of men who have blasphemed God and defied Him to destroy them, who have suddenly fallen dead; and in such cases, the punishment has so quickly followed the blasphemy that one could not help perceiving the hand of God in it. The man had wantonly asked for the judgment of God, his prayer was heard and the judgment came.

And, beyond a doubt, there are what may be called natural judgments. You see a man ragged, poor, houseless; he has been profligate, he has been a drunkard, he has lost his character, and it is but the just judgment of God upon him that he should be starving, and that he should be an outcast among men. You see in the hospitals loathsome specimens of men and women foully diseased; God forbid that we should deny that in such a case—the punishment being the natural result of the sin—there is a judgment of God upon licentiousness and ungodly lusts. And the like may be said in many instances where there is so clear a link between the sin and the punishment that the blindest men may discern that God hath made Misery the child of Sin. But in cases of accident, such as that to which I refer, and in cases of sudden and instant death, again, I say, I enter my earnest protest against the foolish and ridiculous idea that those who thus perish are sinners above all the sinners who survive unharmed.

Let me just try to reason this matter out with Christian people, for there are some unenlightened Christian people who will feel horrified by what I have said. Those who are ready at perversions may even dream that I would apologise for the breach of the day of worship. Now I do no such thing. I do not extenuate the sin, I only testify and declare that accidents are not to be viewed as punishments for sin, for punishment belongs not to this world, but to the world to come. To all those who hastily look on every calamity as a judgment I would speak in the earnest hope of setting them right. Let me begin, then, by saying, my dear brethren, do not you see that what you say is not true? and that is the best of reasons why you should not say it. Does not your own experience and observation teach you that one event happeneth both to the righteous and to the wicked? It is true, the wicked man sometimes falls dead in the street; but has not the minister fallen dead in the pulpit? It is true that a pleasure-boat, in which men were seeking their own pleasure on the Sunday, has suddenly gone down; but is it not equally true that a ship which contained none but godly men, who were bound upon an excursion to preach the gospel, has gone down too? The visible providence of God has no respect of persons; and a storm may gather around the “John Williams” missionary ship, quite as well as around a vessel filled with riotous sinners. Why, do you not perceive that the providence of God has been, in fact, in its outward dealings, rather harder upon the good than upon the bad? For; did not Paul say, as he looked upon the miseries of the righteous in his day, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable?”

The path of righteousness has often conducted men to the rack, to the prison, to the gibbet, to the stake; while the road of sin has often led a man to empire, to dominion, and to high esteem among his fellows. It is not true that in this world God does punish men for sin, and reward them for their good deeds. For, did not David say, “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree?” and did not this perplex the Psalmist for a little season, until he went into the sanctuary of God, and then he understood their end? Although your faith assures you that the ultimate result of providence will work out only good to the people of God, yet your life, though it be but a brief part of the Divine drama of history, must have taught you that providence does not outwardly discriminate between the righteous and the wicked—that the righteous perish suddenly as well as the wicked—that the plague knows no difference between the sinner and the saint—and that the sword of war is alike pitiless to the sons of God and the sons of Belial. When God sendeth forth the scourge, it slayeth suddenly the innocent as well as the perverse and froward.

Now, my brethren, if your idea of an avenging and rewarding providence be not true, why should you talk as if it were? And why, if it be not correct as a general rule, should you suppose it to be true in this one particular instance? Get the idea out of your head, for the gospel of God never needs you to believe an untruth.

But, secondly, there is another reason. The idea that whenever an accident occurs we are to look upon it as a judgment from God would make the providence of God to be, instead of a great deep, a very shallow pool. Why, any child can understand the providence of God, if it be true that when there is a railway accident it is because people travel on a Sunday. I take any little child from the smallest infant-class form in the Sunday-school, and he will say, “Yes, I see that.” But then, if such a thing be providence, if it be a providence that can be understood, manifestly it is not the Scriptural idea of providence, for in the Scripture we are always taught that God’s providence is “a great deep;” and even Ezekiel, who had the wing of the cherubim and could fly aloft, when he saw the wheels which were the great picture of the providence of God, could only say the wheels were so high that they were terrible, and were full of eyes, so that he cried, “O wheel!” If—I repeat it to make it plain—if always a calamity were the result of some sin, providence would be as simple as that twice two made four; it would be one of the first lessons that a little child might learn. But Scripture teaches us that providence is a great depth in which the human intellect may swim and dive, but it can neither find a bottom nor a shore, and if you and I pretend that we can find out the reasons of providence, and twist the dispensations of God over our fingers, we only prove our folly, but we do not prove that we have begun to understand the ways of God. Why, look, sirs; suppose for a moment there were some great performance going on, and you should step in in the middle of it and see one actor upon the stage for a moment, and you should say, “Yes, I understand it,” what a simpleton you would be! Do you not know that the great transactions of providence began near six thousand years ago? and you have only stepped into this world for thirty or forty years, and seen one actor on the stage, and you say you understand it. Tush! you do not; you have only begun to know. Only He knoweth the end from the beginning, only He understands what are the great results, and what is the great reason for which the world was made, and for which He permits both good and evil to occur. Think not that you know the ways of God; it is to degrade providence, and to bring God down to the level of men, when you pretend that you can understand these calamities and find out the secret designs of wisdom.

But next, do you not perceive that such an idea as this would encourage Phariseeism? These people who were crushed to death, or scalded, or destroyed under the wheels of railway carriages, were worse sinners than we are. Very well, then what good people we must be; what excellent examples of virtue! We do not such things as they, and therefore God makes all things smooth for us. Inasmuch as we here traveled some of us every day in the week, and yet have never been smashed to pieces, we may on this supposition rank ourselves with the favourites of Deity. And then, do not you see, brethren, our safety would be an argument for our being Christians?—our having traveled on a railway safely would be an argument that we were regenerate persons, yet I have never read in the Scriptures, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we have traveled from London to Brighton safely twice a day.” I never found a verse which looked like this; and yet if it were true that the worst of sinners met with accidents, it would follow as a natural converse to that proposition, that those who do not meet with accidents must be very good people, and what Pharisaical notions we thus beget and foster. But I cannot indulge the folly for a moment. As I look for a moment upon the poor mangled bodies of those who have been so suddenly slain, my eyes find tears, but my heart does not boast, nor my lips accuse—far from me be the boastful cry, “God, I thank thee that I am not as these men are!” Nay, nay, nay, it is not the spirit of Christ, nor the spirit of Christianity. While we can thank God that we are preserved, yet we can say, “It is of thy mercy that we are not consumed,” and we must ascribe it to his grace, and to his grace alone. But we cannot suppose that there was any betterness in us, why we should be kept alive with death so near. It is only because he hath had mercy, and been very long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that we should perish, but that we should come to repentance, that he has thus preserved us from going down to the grave, and kept us alive from death.

And then, will you allow me to remark, that the supposition against which I am earnestly contending, is a very cruel and unkind one. For if this were the case, that all persons who thus meet with their death in an extraordinary and terrible manner were greater sinners than the rest, would it not be a crushing blow to bereaved survivors, and is it not ungenerous on our part to indulge the idea unless we are compelled by unanswerable reasons to accept it as an awful truth? Now, I defy you to whisper it in the widow’s ear. Go home to her and say, “Your husband was a worse sinner than the rest of men, therefore he died.” You have not brutality enough for that. A little unconscious infant, which had never sinned, though, doubtless, an inheritor of Adam’s fall, is found crushed amidst the debris of the accident. Now think for a moment, what would be the infamous consequence of the supposition, that those who perished were worse than others. You would have to make it out that this unconscious infant was a worse sinner than many in the dens of infamy whose lives are yet spared. Do you not perceive that the thing is radically false and I might perhaps show you the injustice of it best, by reminding you, that it may one day turn upon your own head. Let it be your own case that you should meet with sudden death in such a way are you willing to be adjudged to damnation on that account? Such an event may happen in the house of God. Let me recall to my own, and to your sorrowful recollection, what occurred when once we met together; I can say with a pure heart, we met for no object but to serve our God, and the minister had no aim in going to that place but that of gathering the many to hear who otherwise would not have listened to his voice and yet there were funerals as the result of a holy effort (for holy effort still we avow it to have been, and the aftersmile of God hath proved it so). There were deaths, and deaths among God’s people, I was about to say, I am glad it was with God’s people rather than with others. A fearful fright took hold upon the congregation, and they fled, and do you not see that if accidents are to be viewed as judgments, then it is a fair inference that we were sinning in being there—an insinuation which our consciences repudiate with scorn? However, if that logic were true, it is as true against us as it is against others, and inasmuch as you would repel with indignation the accusation that any were wounded or hurt on account of sin, in being there to worship God, what you repel for yourself repel for others, and be no party to the accusation which is brought against those who have been destroyed during the last fortnight, that they perished on account of any great sin.

Here I anticipate the outcries of prudent and zealous persons who tremble for the ark of God, and would touch it with Uzzah’s hand. “Well,” says one, “but we ought not to talk like this, for it is a very serviceable superstition, because there are many people who will be kept from travelling on a Sunday by the accident, and we ought to tell them, therefore, that those who perished, perished because they traveled on Sunday.” Brethren, I would not tell a lie to save a soul, and this would be telling lies, for it is not the fact I would do anything to stop Sunday labor and sin, but I would not forge a falsehood even to do that. They might have perished on a Monday as well as on a Sunday. God gives no special immunity any day of the week, and accidents may occur as well at one time as at another, and it is only a pious fraud when we seek thus to prey upon the superstition of men to make capital for Christ. The Roman Catholic priest might consistently use such an argument, but an honest Christian man, who believes that the religion of Christ can take care of itself without his telling falsehoods, scorns to do it. These men did not perish because they traveled on a Sunday. Witness the fact that others perished on the Monday when they were on an errand of mercy. I know not why or wherefore God sent the accident. God forbid that we should offer our own reason when God has not given us his reason, but we are not allowed to make the superstition of men an instrument for the advancing the glory of God. You know among Protestants there is a great deal of popery. I meet with people who uphold infant baptism on the plea, “Well, it is not doing any hurt, and there is a great deal of good meaning in it, and it may do good, and even confirmation may be blessed to some people, and therefore do not let us speak against it.” I have nothing to do with whether the thing does hurt or not, all I have to do with is whether it is right, whether it is scriptural, whether it is true, and if the truth does mischief, which is a supposition we can by no means allow, that mischief will not lie at our door. We have nothing to do but to speak the truth, even though the heavens should fall, I say again, that any advancement of the gospel which is owing to the superstition of men is a false advance, and it will by-and-bye recoil upon the people who use such an unhallowed weapon.

We have a religion which appeals to man’s judgment and common sense, and when we cannot get on with that, I scorn that we should proceed by any other means; and, brethren, if there be any person who should harden his heart and say, “Well, I am as safe on one day as another,” which is quite true, I must say to him, “The sin of your making such a use as this of a truth must lie at your own door, not at mine; but if I could keep you from violating the Christian’s day of rest by putting before you a superstitious hypothesis, I would not do it, because I feel that though I might keep you from that one sin a little time, you would by-and-bye grow too intelligent to be duped by me, and then you would come to look upon me as a priest who had played upon your fears instead of appealing to your judgment.” Oh! it is time for us to know that our Christianity is not a weak, shivering thing, that appeals to the petty superstitious fears of ignorant and darkened minds. It is a manly thing, loving the light, and needing no sanctified frauds for its defense. Yes, critic! turn thy lantern upon us, and let it glare into our very eyes; we are not afraid, truth is mighty and it can prevail, and if it cannot prevail in the daylight, we have no wish that the sun should set to give it an opportunity. I believe that very much infidelity has sprung from the very natural desire of some Christian people to make use of common mistakes. “Oh,” they have said, “this popular error is a very good one, it keeps people right; let us perpetuate the mistake, for it evidently does good.” And then, when the mistake has been found out, infidels here said, “Oh, you see now these Christian people are found out in their tricks.” Let us have no tricks, brethren; let us not talk to men as though they were little children, and could be frightened by tales of ghosts and witches. The fact is, that this is not the time of retribution, and it is worse than idle for us to teach that it is.

And now, lastly—and then I leave this point—do you not perceive that the un-Christian and un-Scriptural supposition that when men suddenly meet with death it is the result of sin, robs Christianity of one of its noblest arguments for the immortality of the soul? Brethren, we assert daily, with Scripture for our warrant, that God is just, and inasmuch as he is just, he must punish sin, and reward the righteous. Manifestly he does not do it in this world. I think I have plainly shown that in this world, one event happeneth to both; that the righteous man is poor as well as the wicked, and that he dies suddenly as well as the most graceless. Very well, then, the inference is natural and clear, that there most be a next world in which these things must be righted. If there be a God, he must be just; and if he be just, he must punish sin; and since he does not do it in this world, there therefore must be another state in which men shall receive the due reward of their works, and they that have sown to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, while they that have sown to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Make this world the reaping place, and you have taken the sting out of sin. “Oh,” says the sinner, “if the sorrows men endure here be all the punishment they will have, we will sin greedily.” Say to them, “No; this is not the world of punishment, but the world of probation; it is not the court of justice, but the land of mercy; it is not the prison of terror, but the house of long-suffering;” and you have opened before their eyes the gates of the future; you have set the judgment-throne before their eyes; you have reminded them of “Come, ye blessed,” and “Depart, ye cursed;” ye have a more reasonable, not to say a more Scriptural, ground of appeal to their consciences and to their hearts.

I have thus spoken with the view of putting down as much as I can the idea which is too current among the ungodly, that we as Christians hold every calamity to be a judgment. We do not; we do not believe that those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell were sinners above all the sinners that were in Jerusalem.

II. Now to our second point. WHAT USE, THEN, OUGHT WE TO MAKE OF THIS VOICE OF GOD AS HEARD AMIDST THE SHRIEKS AND GROANS OF DYING MEN? Two uses; first, inquiry, and secondly, warning.

The first inquiry we should put to ourselves is this: “Why may it not be my case that I may very soon and suddenly be cut off? Have I a lease of my life? Have I any special guardianship which ensures me that I shall not suddenly pass the portals of the tomb? Have I received a charter of longevity? Have I been covered with such a coat of armor that I am invulnerable to the arrows of death? Why am not I to die?” And the next question it should suggest is this: “Am not I as great a sinner as those who died? Are there not with me, even with me, sins against the Lord my God? If in outward sin others have exceeded me, are not the thoughts of my heart evil? Does not the same law which curses them curse me? I have not continued in all the things that are written in the book of the law to do them. It is as impossible that I should be saved by my works as that they should be. Am not I under the law as well as they by nature, and therefore am not I as well as they under the curse? That question should arise. Instead of thinking of their sins which would make me proud, I should think of my own which will make me humble. Instead of speculating upon their guilt, which is no business of mine, I should turn my eyes within and think upon my own transgression, for which I must personally answer before the Most High God.” Then the next question is, “Have I repented of my sin? I need not be inquiring whether they have or not: have I? Since I am liable to the same calamity, am I prepared to meet it? Have I felt, through the Holy Spirit’s convincing power, the blackness and depravity of my heart? Have I been led to confess before God that I deserve his wrath, and that his displeasure, if it light on me, will be my just due? Do I hate sin? Have I learned to abhor it? Have I, through the Holy Spirit, turned away from it as from a deadly poison, and do I seek now to honor Christ my Master? Am I washed in his blood? Do I bear his likeness? Do I reflect his character? Do I seek to live to his praise? For if not, I am in as great danger as they were, and may quite as suddenly be cut off, and then where am I? I will not ask where are they? And then, again, instead of prying into the future destiny of these unhappy men and women, how much better to inquire into our own destiny and our own state!

“What am I? my soul, awake,
And an impartial survey take.”

Am I prepared to die? If now the gates of hell should be opened, shall I enter there? If now beneath me the wide jaws of death should gape, am I prepared with confidence to walk through the midst of them, fearing no evil, because God is with me? This is the proper use to make of these accidents; this is the wisest way to apply the judgments of God to our own selves and to our own condition. O sirs, God has spoken to every man in London during these last two weeks; he has spoken to me, he has spoken to you, men, women, and children. God’s voice has rung out of the dark tunnel,—has spoken from the sunset and from the glaring bonfire round which lay the corpses of men and women, and he has said to you, “Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.” It is so spoken to you that I hope it may set you inquiring, “Am I prepared? am I ready? am I willing now to face my Judge, and hear the sentence pronounced upon my soul?”

When we have used it thus for inquiry, let me remind you that we ought to use it also for warning. “Ye shall all likewise perish.” “No,” says one, “not likewise. We shall not all be crushed, many of us will die in our beds. We shall not all be burned, many of us will tranquilly close our eyes.” Ay, but the text says, “Ye shall all likewise perish.” And let me remind you that some of you may perish in the same identical manner. You have no reason to believe that you may not also suddenly be cut off while walking the streets. You may fall dead while eating your meals—how many have perished with the staff of life in their hands! Ye shall be in your bed, and your bed shall suddenly be made your tomb. You shall be strong, hale, hearty, and in health, and either by an accident or by the stoppage of the circulation of your blood, you shall be suddenly hurried before your God. Oh! may sudden death to you be sudden glory!

But it may happen with some of us that in the same sudden manner as others have died, so shall we. But lately in America, a brother, while preaching the Word, laid down his body and his charge at once. You remember the death of Dr. Beaumont, who, while proclaiming the gospel of Christ, closed his eyes to earth. And I remember the death of a minister in this country, who had but just given out the verse—

“Father, I long, I faint to see
The place of thine abode;
I’d leave thine earthly courts and flee
Up to thy house, my God,”

when it pleased God to grant him the desire of his heart, and he appeared before the King in his beauty, then, may not such a sudden death as that happen to you and to me?

But it is quite certain that, let death come when it may, there are some few respects in which it will come to us in just the same manner as it has to those who have so lately been hurried away. First, it will come quite as surely. They could not, travel as fast as they would, escape from the pursuer. They could not journey where they may, from home or to home, escape the shaft when the time had come. And so shall we perish. Just as surely, as certainly as death has set his seal upon the corpses which are not covered with the sod, so certainly shall he set his seal on us (unless the Lord should come before), for “it is appointed unto all men once to die, and after death the judgment.” There is no discharge in this way; there is no escape for any individual by any bye-path, there is no bridge over this river; there is no ferry-boat by which we may cross this Jordan dryshod. Into thy chill depths, O river, each one of us must descend, in thy cold stream, our blood must be frozen; and beneath thy foaming billows our head must sink! We, too, must surely die. “Trite,” you say, “and commonplace” and death is commonplace, but it only happens once to us. God grant that that once dying may perpetually be in our minds, till we die daily, and find it not hard work to die at the last.

Well, then, as death comes both to them and to us surely, so will it come both to them and to us most potently and irresistibly. When death surprised them, then what help had they? A child’s card house was not more easily crushed than these ponderous carriages. What could they do to help one another? They are sitting talking side by side. The scream is heard, and ere a second cry can be uttered, they are crushed and mangled. The husband may seek to extricate his wife, but heavy timbers have covered her body, he can only find at last her poor head, and she is dead, and he takes his sorrowful seat by her side, and puts his hand upon her brow, until it is stone cold, and though he has seen one and another plucked with broken bones from the midst of the ruined mass, he has to leave her body there. Alas! his children are motherless, and himself robbed of the partner of his bosom. They could not resist; they might do what they would, but as soon as the moment came, on they went, and death or broken bones was the result. So with you and me, bribe the physician with the largest fee, but he could not put fresh blood into your veins; pay him in masses of gold, but he could not make the pulse give another throb. Death, irresistible conqueror of men, there is none that can stand against thee, thy word is law, thy will is destiny! So shall it come to us as it did to them; it shall come with power, and none of us can resist.

When it came to them, it came instantly, and would not brook delay. So will it come to us. We may have longer notice than they, but when the hour has struck there shall be no postponing it. Gather up thy feet in thy bed, O Patriarch, for thou must die and not live! Give the last kiss to thy wife, thou veteran soldier of the cross. Put thy hands upon thy children’s head, and give them the dying benediction, for all thy prayers cannot lengthen out thy life, and all thy tears cannot add a drop to the dry wellspring of thy being. Thou must go, the Master sendeth for thee, and he brooks no delay. Nay, though thy whole family should be ready to sacrifice their lives to buy thee but an hour of respite, it must not be. Though a nation should be a holocaust, a willing sacrifice, to give its sovereign another week in addition to his reign, yet it must not be. Though the whole flock should willingly consent to tread the dark vaults of the tomb, to let their pastor’s life be spared but for another year, it must not be. Death will have no delay; the time is up, the clock has struck, the sand has run out, and as certainly as they died when their time was come, in the field by sudden accident, so certainly must we.

And then, again, let us remember that death will come to us as it did to them, with terrors. Not with the crash of broken timbers, perhaps, not with the darkness of the tunnel, not with the smoke and with the steam, not with the shrieks of women and the groans of dying men, but yet with terrors. For meet death where we may, if we be not in Christ, and if the shepherd’s rod and staff do not comfort us, to die must be an awful and tremendous thing. Yes, in thy body, O sinner, with downy pillows beneath thy head, and a wife’s tender arm to bear thee up, and a tender hand to wipe thy clammy sweat, thou will find it awful work to face the monster and feel his sting, and enter into his dread dominion. It is awful work at any time, and at every time, under the best and most propitious circumstances, for a man to die unprepared.

And now I would send you away with this one thought abiding on your memories; we are dying creatures, not living creatures, and we shall soon be gone. Perhaps, as here I stand, and rudely talk of these mysterious things, soon shall this hand be stretched, and dumb the mouth that lisps the faltering strain, power supreme, O everlasting King, come when thou mayest, oh! mayest thou ne’er intrude upon an ill-spent hour; but find me wrapped in meditation high, hymning my great Creator; doing works of mercy to the poor and needy ones, or bearing in my arms the poor and weary of the flock, or solacing the disconsolate, or blowing the blast of the gospel trumpet in the ears of deaf and perishing souls! Then come when thou wilt, if thou art with me in life, I shall not fear to meet thee in death. But oh, let my soul be ready with her wedding-garment, with her lamp trimmed and her light burning, ready to see her Master and enter into the joy of her Lord! Souls, ye know the way of salvation, ye have heard it often, hear it yet again! “He that believeth on the Lord Jesus has everlasting life.” “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned.” “Believe thou with thy heart, and with thy mouth make confession.” May the Holy Ghost give the grace to do both, and this done, thou mayest say,

“Come, death, and some celestial band,
To bear my soul away!”

Win a Charles Spurgeon Sermon Manuscript Page!

Thanks to The Spurgeon Archive for the sermon and it’s background. ↩

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Theological Tribe Handbook

Mark — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:59:32 +0000

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Ironically, the more fervently we pursue theological uniformity, the more the Bible takes a back seat, even among people who pride themselves on having the Bible in the navigator’s seat. That’s because the lens of uniformity insists that everyone interpret difficult or controversial Scripture passages exactly the same way. There’s no room for differing opinions, blind spots, or simply being wrong. Those who don’t toe the company line are cast aside. The result is that every time a tough biblical question comes up, we have to consult the tribal manual for the “correct” answer. Instead of our answers and theology flowing out of the Bible, we end up with answers and theological systems superimposed upon the Bible and read back into it. Eventually the Bible becomes nothing more than a proof text for what our tribe already believes.¹

The above is a good word for all to be aware of as we live in our own theological worlds. At some time or another, all Christians proof-text, especially, around the like-minded. We will consult writings from others in our theological camp. There is nothing wrong with consulting those more studied on particular issues – that’s how we typically learn. For example, Paul taught Timothy and Titus the truths of the gospel and Christian life. Scripture instructs Christians not only to hold to sound doctrine, but to teach it and refute poor doctrine.

So how do Christians know when they’ve gone off-track by consulting their tribal manuals to find the right answer to read back into the Bible?

Osborne gives us something to think about.

Here I blog…

Mark

5 Essential Questions on Playing the Pharisee Card

Larry Osborne, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 146. ↩

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Sunday Considerations: The Only Message

Mark — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:30:31 +0000

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In Acts 1:10–11 we read: “Two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” If you think that Jesus finished when He died and was buried, listen to the message of Luke, listen to this treatise written to Theophilus—it is written to you. He will come again, even as He went. He will return, in bodily, visible fashion, riding the clouds of heaven, surrounded by the holy angels. And He will judge the world in righteousness and set up His glorious kingdom, to which there shall be no end.

That is the message of Christianity. That is what has made the church what it is. Do men and women need to be told about some kind of program that will give them better conditions? That is not our greatest need. Our greatest need is to know God. If we were all given a fortune, would that solve our problems? Would that solve our moral problem? Would that solve the problem of death? Would that solve the problem of eternity? Of course not. The message of Christianity is not about improving the world, but about changing people in spite of the world, preparing them for the glory that is yet to come. This Jesus is active and acting to that end, and He will go on until all the redeemed are gathered in, and then He will return, and the final judgment will take place, and His kingdom will stretch from shore to shore.

That is the message that turned the ancient world upside-down. It is the only message, and I want to ask you a simple question: What does this message mean to you? What is your idea of Christianity? What do you think the business of the church is? Do you say, “I don’t want your sermons, I don’t want your argumentation—I just want to feel that I’ve said my prayers and paid my respects, as it were, to God, before I go out and do what I like”? Is that it? Do you think Christianity is something that you can take up and use as a minimum, in the hope that it will somehow put you right? Or is it the most amazing and astounding thing that ever happened or ever will happen? Is it the thing by which you live, the thing that you long to know and to experience more and more? Do you realize that this Jesus came into the world to save you from hell, from the punishment that your sins and mine so richly deserve? Do you realize now that the essence of Christianity is not that it calls you to do something, but rather that it tells you what Jesus came into the world to do for you?¹

Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (2000). Vol. 1: Authentic Christianity (1st U.S. ed.). Studies in the Book of Acts (17–18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ↩

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Composition Fallacy: Theological Debate and Christian Blogging

Mark — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:23:30 +0000

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Lots of theological debate and assertion takes place in the Christian blogosphere. Lots! In fact, I wonder if 80% of Christian blogs would exist if the debating stopped. I can see an end to Christian blogging debates – that day the sun stops rising. So we’ll be here a while.

Christian debating is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be. We just have to get better at it. By better, I mean more Christ-like. Part of being more Christ-like is found in how we accuse one another which Scripture speaks to in more than one place, in more than one way.

A lesson from logic fallacies may also serve Christian blogging well. The one I have in mind is the fallacy of Composition. The Nizkor Project offers helpful insight into this fallacy.

The fallacy of Composition is committed when a conclusion is drawn about a whole based on the features of its constituents when, in fact, no justification provided for the inference. There are actually two types of this fallacy, both of which are known by the same name (because of the high degree of similarity).

The first type of fallacy of Composition arises when a person reasons from the characteristics of individual members of a class or group to a conclusion regarding the characteristics of the entire class or group (taken as a whole). More formally, the “reasoning” would look something like this.

Individual F things have characteristics A, B, C, etc.

Therefore, the (whole) class of F things has characteristics A, B, C, etc.

This line of reasoning is fallacious because the mere fact that individuals have certain characteristics does not, in itself, guarantee that the class (taken as a whole) has those characteristics.

The above definition of the first type of Composition fallacy will suffice. This fallacy is committed all the time in the Southern Baptist blogosphere usually among folks fighting over Calvinism.

For example:

Some individual Southern Baptist Calvinists do A, B, C, etc.
Therefore, all Southern Baptist Calvinists must do A, B, C, etc. (so they all must be dealt with).

This doesn’t just happen on Southern Baptist blogs. Some of the popular categories today are: Calvinism, Reformed, Arminian, non-Calvinist/non-Arminian, Complementarian, Egalitarian, Charismatic, Cessationist, Missional, and Fundamentalist.

There may be times when it is proper to address whole classes, but often one or two influential people within a class are singled out and criticism toward them is applied to all in the same class.

I think we can do better.

Here I blog….

Mark

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Here I Link

Mark — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:18:42 +0000

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Top Weekly Post – Duck Dynasty: Some Clarity on Baptism

Open theism – Dallas Willard and open theism.

SGM Lawsuit – Answering Some Objections I’ve Gotten About the SGM Lawsuit.

Southern Baptists – For the Propagation of the Gospel.

Thinking – Critical Thinking Versus Utopian Thinking.

Marketing – The Truth about “Secret Sauce” and Other Marketing Wonders.

Driscoll and Tribalism – Mark Driscoll, Tribalism, and the Church and Open Letter to Mark Driscoll (2013).

Grace Tipping – Steak ‘n Shake server receives an over 7000% tip.

Erotica & the Bible – What’s the Difference Between Erotica and Song of Solomon?

Radical Legalism – Radical Christianity: A Call to Legalism or a Cause to Live?

Allegory – Adam and Allegory.

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Free Live Stream Debate Tonight: Evolution Vs. Design

Mark — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:20:53 +0000

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Tonight, May 16, 2013, Bioloa University will host The Origin of Life: The Great God Debate II Evolution Vs. Design between Michael Ruse vs. Fuz Rana moderated by Craig Hazen.

The debate starts at 7 PM PDT/10 PM EDT. Click-> To watch live!

Follow on twitter with the hashtag #GODdebate.

The format which includes questions from the audience, twitter and text is as follows.

Opening Arguments: 20 minutes each
1st Cross-Examination: 6 minutes each side
Rebuttals: 10 minutes each
2nd Cross-Examination: 6 minutes each side
Concluding Arguments: 5 minutes each
Q &A: 40 minutes

The topic: “Are natural processes sufficient to explain the origin and the complexity of the cell?”

Dr. Michael Ruse will take the affirmative position; Dr. Fazale Rana, the negative.

For more information go to The Great God Debate.

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Who Are You In Christ?

Mark — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:13:15 +0000

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In his letter to the rambunctious church at Corinth Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). In Philippians we can find confidence with Paul that “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Our benefits in Christ are noted in the following chart.

Position (Standing) Condition (State)

In heaven
Spiritual
Life
New birth
New man
New nature
New creature
Justified
Forgiven
In Christ On earth
Physical
Death
First birth
Old man
Old nature
Old creature
Condemned
Guilty
In Adam

Over and over again the Scriptures remind us that we are no longer the same person that was born to our earthly parents. We have been made new spiritual creatures by the power of God. Yet we were all valuable to God even before we were in Christ by faith. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).

It is not our achievements and organizational successes that give us a lasting sense of worth-it is Jesus Christ. Though our leadership efforts do have value both now and in the future, they do not imbue us with value.¹

None

Gary L. McIntosh;Samuel D. Rima. Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures (p. 216). Kindle Edition. ↩

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Ethics: Pastor Ignores Matthew 18 Over Facebook Offense

Mark — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:19:07 +0000

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What would you do Wednesday!

Given the widespread use of social media the following scenario is bound to happen if it hasn’t happened all ready.

It’s a normal day on Facebook. Some people are sharing pictures of their kids and their food. Others complain about or praise something going on in their life. And many people share political and religious pictures and postcards – both funny and serious.

On your wall, you decide to post something expressing disagreement with a relatively well-known Christian speaker. While you did not necessary disagree doctrinally, the real issue was his crass approach to the topic. Your perspective was that this speaker should apologize for the crude way he addressed a particular religious ethnic group.

There was some banter back and forth amongst friends. Many agreed with you. A few disagreed, but no one seemed offended.

The next morning an email from your pastor is waiting on you. One of your Facebook friends who is a pastor took offense at your comment about the well-known speaker. However, this pastor never said anything publicly or privately. He avoided contacting you directly by following Matthew 18. Instead, he found your pastor via Facebook and sent a tattle-tale like email to your pastor expressing that he was offended by your comments.

The complaint was basically that one of your pastor’s church members – you – is sewing dissension on the internet and he was personally offended. And since the church’s name is linked to this person the offended pastor thought your pastor ought to know about our Facebook comments. Pastor to pastor, the offended pastor thought he needed to bring this to light explaining that he hopes attitude and approach portrayed in the Facebook comments in question are not what is being taught in your church.

How should the you respond? If you were the pastor, how would you respond? Should the tattle-tale pastor’s church be told?

What should be done?

Ignore the complaint.
Address the complaint telling the pastor he should have followed Matthew 18.
Get both parties to reconcile with each other.
Issue a public apology.
Continue ignoring Matthew 18 and directly call for discipline before the church.
Or….

Here I Blog…

Mark

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Duck Dynasty: Some Clarity on Baptism

Mark — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:11:55 +0000

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I wrote A Few More Things You Should Know About Duck Dynasty when I found out these fellows belonged to a Church of Christ – White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ. That post documents a ministry from White’s Ferry, that trains people in evangelism, explaining that people should be re-baptized for salvation who claim, “I am already saved; I was saved when I believed in Jesus” or “Were baptized to show [they] had already been saved.”

I have had several conversations – online and off – on this topic. Several of my fellow Southern Baptists have concerns since the Duck Dynasty folks are publicly partnering with some Southern Baptists. Oddly, there has also been a large silence about what these folks believe about baptism, but there have been inquiries.

So, in an effort to clarify what White’s Ferry believes about baptism, Elder Mike Kellett recently addressed the issue due to many of those inquiries. Also, note that Duck Commander Phil Robertson and his oldest son, Alan, are Kellett’s fellow elders.

To begin, I’d like to share a few resources on baptism before I share a link to Mr. Kellett’s sermon. The first two links are from Southern Baptists while the second two are from Presbyterians.

The Significance of Believer’s Baptism by LifeWay Staff.
Teach New Believers the Importance of Baptism.
Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? (~2 minute video) by Bryan Chapell.
A Critical Analysis of the Doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration By E. Calvin Beisner.

Also, the Southern Baptist confession of faith, Baptist Faith and Message, states the following about baptism.

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.

Now, to Mr. Kellett’s sermon. You can find White’s Ferry’s sermons on their sermons page. The recent sermon where Kellett addressed baptism is The Comeback of the Spirit Filled Life – Part IV (click to stream or download). I want to note that he denies holding to baptismal regeneration, but he does not directly answer the question of whether baptism is necessary for salvation. I’ve made a few notes below, some of which seem to indicate that baptism is necessary for salvation. However, please listen to the entire sermon.

Kellett begins talking about the Great Commission on Matthew 28. He then moves to Acts 2:38, Galatians 3:26, Colossians 2:11-12 and Romans 6. He makes some good points about baptism in the sermon.

What changes peoples’ hearts is the gospel. Baptism is not the gospel. The story of Jesus is the gospel.

Agreed. Kellett then explains that when people hear the gospel, their heart is touched and they respond by repenting and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins. He points out that baptism is not replacing the gospel or working for salvation. Baptism is passive and we are submit to it.

Baptism is more than doctrinal because it connects you to God’s greatest command and his greatest message. And the result is you’re alive again…Baptism is more also than a response to grace it’s an experience of grace. We are only saved by grace. There is nothing in the water.
—
The power to save someone, as we said earlier, is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And what He did is totally by grace. I do not deserve it. Never have. Never will. I’m saved by grace through faith. It’s a gift of God. So I’m responding to that grace as well as experiencing it in baptism. It’s the new birth (garbled). Because if receiving the Holy Spirit isn’t an experience…if it’s just an intellectual agreement…boy, am I ever going to have trouble trying to live (faded out).

Kellett then explains that sin, shame, brokenness, pride, etc. are dealt with in baptism because it’s an experience of God’s grace.
White’s Ferry also does not hold that one must be baptized to be a member because “baptism is not membership, but relationship.” If you have obeyed the gospel and have been baptized, you are a member of God’s family. He is not about inspecting baptisms. He is also not about having perfect belief at one’s baptism.

As I understand Kellett, his position is that baptism is obeying the gospel which is where one is born again by the grace of God. Below are a few more quotes that further explain baptism as it relates to the new birth.

Baptism is not the finish line, but the starting line. It’s new birth. You see, there’s a lot of growth that’s going to take place. Baptism is that new birth. The born again of the water and spirit. And so this happens by God’s grace and now we’re going to grow in that grace and we’re going to learn to become like Jesus.

Now look…if you think all of a sudden that you know my…and I realize I sinned, I messed up, I…I…I need to be baptized. I want to run down there because I want to be baptized. I know if I’m baptized everything in my life will get better.

Well, I got news for you. Look, it makes your…it makes eternal life in good shape. Your past is taken care of. Your going to have help for the present. You’ve got a future for you hopefully, but look. Look. Baptism cleanse you from your sin, but baptism doesn’t drown the devil. Got it?

For this Baptist, it is hard to get my mind around that someone must be baptized to experience the new birth in Christ. It is difficult to understand someone saying salvation is by grace through faith, but you must be baptized to be born again. A similar issue sometimes seemingly found in some Baptist circles would be telling someone they are saved by grace through faith, but they must say a sinner’s prayer to be saved.

At the moment, I’m very uncomfortable with the above issues. They trouble me and are clearly outside the lines of Southern Baptist doctrine which in includes justification by faith alone. Part of my issue is that I came out of RLDS (a sect of Mormonism for lack of a better term). So, adding anything to faith in response to the gospel pricks my heart.

I am not saying that the Church of Christ and/or Duck Dynasty folks cannot be Christians; that, I cannot ultimately know. I do have a difficult time reconciling what seems are two different paths to being born again. For example, in a typical Baptist church, whether Calvinistic, Arminian or other, the gospel is proclaimed for unbelievers present to repent and believe in Jesus. Upon that repentance and belief one is welcomed to the family of God. However, as I understand Mr. Kellett’s explanation, one must repent, believe and be baptized before being welcomed to the family of God.

A final question comes to mind as a Southern Baptist: Why should Southern Baptists partner with and promote the Christianity of the Duck Dynasty/Church of Christ folks?

Here I blog….

Mark

P.S. My observations are not condemnations. I’m open to discuss how these two theologies are reconcilable and/or how I am misunderstanding Kellett on baptism et al.

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Post tags: baptism, Church of Christ, Duck Commander, Duck Dynasty, Gospel, Mike Kellett, Phil Robertson, Robertson family, salvation, White's Ferry Road Church of Christ

Fallacy Journal II: Piers Morgan Edition

Mark — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:24:15 +0000

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I’ve got to do a fallacy journal (for a class) based on 15 informal logical fallacies.¹ The fallacies are to be pulled from every day mediums such as reading, TV, social media, etc.

I first shared some fallacy findings in Fallacy Journal I. I will share a few more findings in the same-sex marriage debate below featuring Ryan Anderson versus Piers Morgan and Suze Orman. And if anyone cares to explore these fallacies further here is an online fallacy list.

Division – argues without warrant what is true the group must be true of its parts.

Morgan uses this approach throughout and it seems to be the underlying premise for most of the debate. For example, since Americans like Anderson (even prisoners) can marry who they love, therefore Americans like Orman and all homosexuals should be able to marry whom they love too. This argument is built on a faulty premise of what marriage is which is what many miss or ignore in this debate.

Straw man – misrepresents the opposing position.

Note that Anderson’s book introduced first and is titled What Is Marriage?Man and Woman: A Defense which clearly deals with marriage being defined as between a man and a woman.

However, Morgan starts with a straw man which misrepresents Anderson’s position asking, “Ryan, why are you so opposed to gay people getting married?”

Fallacy of Complex Question – is loaded with assumption so the opponent is guilty no matter the answer.

Again, from the Anderson – Morgan debate. At about 2:40 Morgan begins asking Anderson about prisoners’ rights to marry asking, “You would rather defend a prisoner’s right to get married than you would Suze Orman’s right to get married to her partner?”

If Anderson simply answers “no” then it appears he is not in favor of prisoners marrying. If he simply says “yes” then Morgan has not only been allowed to re-define the topic again, but it seems as though Anderson wants greater rights for convicted criminals than for Orman and all homosexuals.

Appeal to Unreliable Authority (Ad Verecundiam) - when someone is appealed to who is not a legitimate authority on the topic in question.

At about the 3:20 mark, Morgan appeals to Suzie Orman as a reason to accept same-sex marriage. Morgan tries to reason from the position that because Orman is a “successful, American business icon” she should have the right to marry her girlfriend whom she’s been with in a 12 year relationship.

Appeal to Ignorance (Ad Ignorantiam) – since something has not been proven true (or false) it must be false (or true).

At about time 6:50, Morgan notes to Anderson that the Constitution does not state that same-sex couples cannot marry, Anderson is only assuming his position, therefore Anderson is wrong.

Appeal to the People (Ad Populum) – a claim should be accepted as true because of majority approval.

At about the 12:26, Suze Orman appeals to the audience present to disagree with Anderson’s point that marriage is not really about children. There is no indication that this anonymous audience is an authority - reliable or otherwise – in any way.

So what did I miss? What did I get wrong?

The 15 fallacies are taken from The Power of Logic by C. Stephen Layman. They are: Argument Against the Person (Ad Hominem), Straw Man, Appeal to Force (Ad Baculum), Appeal to the People (Ad Populum), Appeal to Pity (Ad Misericordiam), Appeal to Ignorance (Ad Ignorantiam), Equivocation, Amphiboly, Composition, Division, Begging the Question (Petitio Principii), False Dilemma, Appeal to Unreliable Authority (Ad Verecundiam), False Cause Fallacy, and Fallacy of Complex Question. ↩

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Post tags: CNN, gay marriage, Heritage Foundation, informal fallacies, logic, logical fallacies, marriage, Piers Morgan, same-sex marriage, Suze Orman

Sunday Considerations: Priority of the Gospel

Mark — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:19:37 +0000

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The gospel is the good news of how God reconciles his rebellious image-bearers to himself by the death and resurrection of his Son. This good news properly entails transformed living that touches all our horizontal relationships, but which is never reducible to horizontal relationships. The proclamation of this gospel that has freed us and prepared us to meet our Maker is our joyous privilege and solemn responsibility. When the discharge of this mission is met with God’s blessing, it produces men and women who are ready for both this life and the next.

Thus Christian mission can never be reduced to preparing people for this life. It can never be properly Christian if all that it aims to do, if all that it accomplishes, is to effect some reforms in government, or to improve social, moral, and economic standards. I cannot imagine a church profoundly shaped by Scripture that will not want to reform government and improve social, moral, and economic standards. But if that is all the church is trying to do, if it is all that individual Christians are trying to do, they have lost their moorings. There is a primacy to preparing people to meet God which, though its horizon is eternity, will also change how people live here and now. To put the matter another way, the notion of realized eschatology is ridiculous unless it is predicated on futurist eschatology. The ethics and values of the End cannot be brought back into the present if there is no End.

So we are driven back to proclamation, evangelism, mission. And that priority flies in the face of philosophical pluralism.¹

Carson, D. A. (2011). The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Fifteenth Edition) (434–435). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ↩

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Ministry Success: Being or Having?

Mark — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:32:32 +0000

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I found the following quote from Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership very interesting in today’s church environment. I don’t understand the authors to say that having a large congregation, facilities, et al. are bad or sinful. Rather, they are focused on the desire to have those things that is the problem – the state of being vs. having.

At the core of the problem is personal ambition and the insidious desire to have or possess something that is not able to be possessed-namely, success. We live in a culture obsessed with both having and success. And this desire has infiltrated the ranks of Christian leaders as it has every other strata of American culture. The problem arises from the fact that success is not something one can have or possess. True success is a state of being not having.

Unfortunately, many Christian leaders are driven manically to have success. In the church, having success is measured by how many people you have attending your service, the size of the facility you have, the number of staff members you have, how many user-friendly programs you have, and the size of the budget you have. As a result, leaders who need to have success to validate themselves are driven to acquire these things and are willing to pay virtually any price to do so. I have become convinced that the desire to have these things is not compatible with biblical concepts of church or even Christianity. As a result, even when these leaders succeed in creating a large congregation, a large facility, and all the other markers that measure success in the twenty-first-century church, they are no closer to actually having or possessing the inner feelings of success that they have been seeking through their manic activity. It is at this point that leaders often begin looking elsewhere in an effort to assuage their needs for personal validation and worth-needs they thought would be met by having a measure of success.

Moreover, this phenomenon is very often fueled by church leaders who are just as desperate to have success as the pastors and staff they seek to employ. Take for example this recent employment ad in Leadership Journal, placed by a church in New Jersey:

IF YOU BUILD IT, HE (OR SHE) WILL COME

We are looking for a Head of Staff who wants to build something big. We’re a Christ-centered congregation in Summit, New Jersey. We believe that God has called us to do great things. And so we want to build something big too. Are you one of the great heads of staff out there? Think about the opportunity we have here. It is going to be exciting’.’

Imagine the person who responds to such an ad. They must consider themselves as one of the “great heads of staff” and be driven to “build something big.” I don’t believe a better recipe for church or leadership failure could be written!

But sadly, as I mentioned in the preface, because ambition is easily disguised in Christian circles and couched in spiritual language (the need to fulfill the Great Commission and expand the church), the dysfunctions that drive Christian leaders often go undetected and unchallenged until it is too late. And so the church begins mopping up yet another messy and often public leadership failure.

I am convinced that reducing the potential for leadership failures must begin with challenging the current paradigm of measuring success in terms of having as opposed to being. Unfortunately, “the alternative of having versus being does not appeal to common sense,”2 as Erich Fromm wrote in his classic work To Have or to Be?

To have, so it would seem, is a normal function of our life: in order to live we must have things. Moreover, we must have things in order to enjoy them. In a culture in which the supreme goal is to have-and to have more and more-and in which one can speak of someone as “being worth a million dollars,” how can there be an alternative between having and being? On the contrary, it would seem that the very essence of being is having; that if one has nothing, one is nothing.’¹

If the authors are correct that true ministry success is being over having, what does being over having actually look like in ministry success?

Something to think about….

Field Trips and Work Detail

Gary L. McIntosh;Samuel D. Rima. Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures (p. 19-21). Kindle Edition ↩

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Post tags: ministry, success

Here I Link

Mark — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:03:41 +0000

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Homosexuality. Words from a Gay Student to his Classmates at Moody Bible Institute.

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Ethics: Traditionalist Baptist Seeks Pastorate of Calvinist Church

Mark — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:07:12 +0000

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What would you do Wednesday!

Today’s post is especially for Southern Baptists as we think through how to get along as Calvinists and non-Calvinists working together for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are some of us who believe Calvinists and non-Calvinists can serve together in a local church under the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. There are others who don’t believe such unity is, or should be, possible.

Let’s think about Southern Baptist unity in terms of today’s scenario.

You have a pastor friend who affirms the recent Southern Baptist Traditionalist Statement. This statement goes somewhat beyond the current Southern Baptist statement of faith – Baptist Faith & Message 2000 (BFM2K). Your friend has been a strong advocate that a Calvinist Baptist should not pastor a non-Calvinist Baptist church regardless of whether or not the church only holds to the BFM2K.

Recently, a pastorate came open upon the current pastor’s retirement after finishing his last 10 years at this particular church. This local Southern Baptist church holds only to the BFM2K, but its pastor was a known Calvinist. He was not a Calvinist that spoke against non-Calvinists; he cooperated with all Southern Baptists. From time to time he would have guest preachers, like Steve Lawson and others, who would be strong Calvinists.

Upon talking to your Traditionalist friend, he admits that this church has had a Calvinist pastor, staff, guest preachers et al. However, he still sought out the pastorate at this church giving them full-disclosure of his non-Calvinist, Traditionalist positions.

The church has called your friend back to preach in view of a call. He seems to be violating his own principle he has written against – that a Calvinist should not pastor a non-Calvinist church.

He asks your advice on being asked back to preach.

What would you advise him?

Take his own advice and decline.
Preach, encouraging him to stick with the BFM2K.
Preach, but write an apology to Calvinists explaining his change of heart.
Preach, take the pastorate and rid the church of all evil Calvinists firing staff if he must.
Or….

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Post tags: ethics, WWYDW

The Invisible Bible Verse on Judging Others

Mark — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:06:36 +0000

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I recently commented in a comment stream on that wonderful social medium of gracious exchange – Facebook! In the heat of the exchange that Bible verse from Matthew 7 used its powers of invisibility again.

The issue was on judging sin in others in light of the topic of loving the sinner and hating the sin. I’m not opposed to loving the sinner and hating the sin, but I wonder if this mindset makes it easier to excuse or overlook sin. I was then given the ole log in my eye challenge.

Let’s look at the verses in question, Matthew 7:1-6.

[7:1] “Judge not, that you be not judged. [2] For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. [3] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? [4] Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? [5] You hypocrite. [6] “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew 7:1-6 ESV)

Notice the missing part of any verses? It’s actually not invisible this time because I left it off. It seems the above quote is how most people read those verses. Some form of “judge not” may be heard over and over again in various dialogue. This seems especially so when unbelievers attempt to use these verses when they don’t want to hear what the Bible says about certain issues.

Christians omit the verse in question too though when they want to come across as more loving or – for some reason – act as if Jesus was soft on sin.

So what’s missing? This: [5] “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Jesus tells us to first remove the log (plank) from our own eye. He gives us permission to remove the speck from our brother’s eye as long as we deal with our own sins first. Of course, a log is much larger than a speck which shows the importance of addressing individual sin.

It has been argued that we can never truly remove the log from our eyes unless we are Jesus; and we’re not. Yet, Jesus allows – commands – us to remove the log to address the speck. If it is true that we can never remove the log from our own eye then it is equally true that we can never remove the speck.

What a dysfunctional fellowship of believers this attitude would lead to. See, Christians don’t do anything perfectly and totally absent of sin. Our faith is imperfect, as is our repentance, our thoughts, actions, motives, love, etc. And we can’t even pray rightly so the Holy Spirit must intercede for us (Rom. 8:26-27).

Instead, according to Jesus instruction, we can judge righteously. Therefore, we can spur one another toward love and good works (Heb. 10:24), exhort one another to keep from sinning (Heb. 3:13), restore those caught in sin (Gal. 6:1), directly address sin (Matt. 18) et al.

Christians don’t have to be afraid of helping other brothers and sisters remove sin from their lives. They just have to judge rightly by first seriously considering the sin in their own life.

Grace to you…

Mark

P.S. I wonder if those who are immediately offended by any talk of righteously judging according to Jesus’ words do so because they don’t want to deal with their own log.

None

Chapel Sermon by Aubrey Sequeira, Clyde T. Francisco Preaching Award Winner

Mark — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:56:46 +0000

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Aubrey Sequeira won the 2013 Clyde T. Francisco Preaching Award at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Baptist Press covered his story – Indian student wins SBTS preaching award. Sequeira preached the final chapel message at SBTS with his sermon entitled, “Following in the Footsteps of a foot-washing King – John 13:1-17.”

Russell Moore is quoted in the Baptist Press article about the sermon:

The best preachers in the world have preached in SBTS chapel. But I have never heard such a Gospel-powerful sermon as Aubrey Sequeira today.

Watch Sequeira preach the final chapel sermon below.

Congratulations to brother Aubrey Sequeira!

The Extent of the Atonement and Baptist Ecclesiology

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Sunday Considerations: On Hearing Sermons

Mark — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:07:25 +0000

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Christian, how will you listen to and receive this week’s sermon? Consider the last two paragraphs of John Newton’s letter “On Hearing Sermons” as you think of your answer.

Farther: I advise you, when you hear a Gospel sermon, and it is not in all respects to your satisfaction, be not too hasty to lay the whole blame upon the preacher. The Lord’s ministers have not much to say in their own behalf. They feel (it is to be hoped) their own weakness and defects, and the greatness and difficulty of their work. They are conscious that their warmest endeavours to proclaim the Saviour’s glory are too cold, and their most importunate addresses to the consciences of men are too faint: and sometimes they are burdened with such discouragements, that even their enemies would pity them if they knew their case. Indeed, they have much to be ashamed of; but it will be more useful for you, who are a hearer, to consider whether the fault may not possibly be in yourself. Perhaps you thought too highly of the man, and expected too much from him; or perhaps you thought too meanly of him, and expected too little. In the former case, the Lord justly disappointed you; in the latter, you received according to your faith. Perhaps you neglected to pray for him; and then, though he might be useful to others, it is not at all strange that he was not so to you. Or possibly you have indulged a trifling spirit, and brought a dearth and deadness upon your own soul; for which you had not been duly humbled, and the Lord chose that time to rebuke you.

Lastly: as a hearer, you have a right to try all doctrines by the word of God; and it is your duty so to do. Faithful ministers will remind you of this: they will not wish to hold you in an implicit and blind obedience to what they say, upon their own authority, nor desire that you should follow them farther than they have the Scripture for their warrant. They would not be lords over your conscience, but helpers of your joy. Prize this Gospel liberty, which sets you free from the doctrines and commandments of men; but do not abuse it to the purposes of pride and self. There are hearers who make themselves, and not the Scripture, the standard of their judgment. They attend not so much to be instructed, as to pass their sentence. To them, the pulpit is the bar at which the minister stands to take his trial before them; a bar at which few escape censure, from judges at once so severe and inconsistent. For, as these censors are not all of a mind, and perhaps agree in nothing so much as in the opinion they have of their own wisdom, it has often happened, that, in the course of one and the same sermon, the minister has been condemned as a Legalist and an Antinomian, as too high in his notions, and too low, as having too little action, and too much. Oh! this is a hateful spirit, that prompts hearers to pronounce ex cathedrâ as if they were infallible, breaks in upon the rights of private judgment, even in matters not essential, and makes a man an offender for a word. This spirit is one frequent unhappy evil, which springs from the corruption of the heart, when the Lord affords the means of grace in great abundance. How highly would some of the Lord’s hidden ones, who are destitute of the ordinances, prize the blessing of a preached Gospel, with which too many professors seem to be surfeited! I pray God to preserve you from such a spirit (which I fear is spreading, and infects us like the pestilence), and to guide you in all things.¹

Newton, J., & Richard Cecil. (1824). The works of the John Newton Volume 1 (224–225). London: Hamilton, Adams & Co. Logos Bible Software. ↩

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Post tags: Lord's Day, Sunday

Johnny Hunt Women’s Conference Day 2

Mark — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:34:14 +0000

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I had previously announced the upcoming Johnny Hunt Women’s Conference with the theme - What Makes a Godly Woman? Proverbs 31. Yesterday, I blogged day one and today is day two of the conference – the final day. I also want to mention that worship music was lead by Shelly Johnson.

Below is the second day’s recap of the conference – in rough draft.

First presentation: Andy Andrews

He begins talking about speaking and listening using kids as an example. We begin encouraging them when they are young and slowly slide away from encouragement as they age with humor mixed through out.

Andrews says he is a noticer. (Like his book The Noticer I reviewed.) This is is gift or talent. He would see and hear what everyone else sees and hears, but it meant something else to him. I.e. He jokingly states that you can’t poke your eye out, but you can poke it in.

His ADHD kicks in, but he gets back on track explaining how he spoke to Congress. As an Alabama congressman introduced him not long after Alabama’s championship. Someone heckled him with “Go Notre Dame.” He told the ma that in the South we have real football teams with real girlfriends.

Things would just seem different to him while growing up. Until 19, when he lost both parents. He lost his mother to cancer and father to a car accident. He became homeless for a time. He still lives in the same town as he did while he was homeless.

He says he met an old guy named Jones. Jones is the guy written about in The Noticer. He shares some stories about Jones. One story about when he was walking down around the beach one day where he lived under the pier. As they crossed this small bridge over a pool Jones pushed him in the water.

Why did Jones push him? Jones wasn’t always going to be around to help him. So, everyday for the rest of his life someone is going to push him into the pool and he needs to figure how he is going to react. One day, Andrews would look back on his life and everything good and bad will impact him depending on how he reacted.

Jones said to be careful with thinking because you can’t always trust what you think. When we bump against something we know we don’t really explore it any further, but move to something else. The way we think limits the potential God has given us.

We’ve all been wrong about something we were sure about. The possibility exists that we might be wrong about something we are sure about today, but we may not know what that might be.

He wants to give us something to help make our lives what God wants them to be. He asks, “Do you really believe in God? Really, really, really, believe?” Do you have a real, personal relationship with Jesus Christ? That God wants the best for you and your family? What do you consider the best?

People have a really, really tough time getting beyond what they manage to believe. Goals might be useless because people lie about them. I.e. sales people and such. (He speaks for a lot of corporations.) They often come up with a number just to please others. They might say 40 when their belief is really 30.

When asking people what the best house, for example, one can imagine they often limit their thoughts to within their own circumstances. But what about God’s imagination? How great is God’s imagination? Do you really believe that God wants the best for you? How does God’s imaganation stack up against His wanting the best for you?

Many times, Christians cast their eyes down and mumble “that’s just the way I am.” We need a will that is stronger than our emotions because God has created us this way. We can chose to act in a certain way. We will change in a moment the moment we answer the phone in the heat of an argument. This is willful changing for someone we don’t even know.

As a society, we have become obsessed about how people feel. He’s worked with companies who change policy for 10,000 people based on how 22 feel. He shares the story of how one public school rejected the cougar as a mascot.

The truth is that no one really cares how we feel. They care how we act. The economy is based on how we act not how we feel. It’s about how we act and what we do. As Christians, nothing makes him sadder when he sees how we act. This is why certain areas in the Bible are important to be followed when it tells us how to act.

The Bible is unbelievable if we challenge ourselves to act; to go beyond what we know. I.e. Proverbs 19 about disciplining a child. Our actions are important. When dealing with kids we must train them biblically on how to act.

Sometimes we don’t train our children well on how to think. We need to be more transparent and explain why we believe certain things. And admit when we don’t know why we believe certain things. Most children grow up without the ability to discipline themselves when we don’t explain why, for example, you don’t wear a hat or pants that way. Too many parents just want to pick their battles and leave certain cultural areas alone.

Then, what happens is that the kid does not know how the real world works when they get older. The kid goes out into the world with no idea why he can’t get a job. He then blames mom and dad.

He goes on talking about how he and his wife are different. When he asks Jones about the differences his answer is that if they were the same then only one of them would be necessary. His wife is a canary and he is a puppy dog (no idea what he means here). She needs someone to listen and he needs “good dog” affirmations. So they don’t always understand each other.

Johnny mentioned liking Andrew’s The Heart Mender book. He writes books that Christians can give to their non-Christian friends that will actually read them. This opens dialogue and most people come to faith through friends sharing. His books are about God’s principles. Gravity, for example, works whether you believe in God or not.

Every thing we do matters. Ever move we make or don’t make matters. He mentions the butterfly effect and the studies done on it. This effect works every time. He gives examples of the butterfly effect speaking a little about Henry Wallace and Norman Borlaug. Then, he goes back to George Washington Carver and his influence on Wallace. Andrews goes back in history explaining the influences on Carver on back.

The differences we may make in people’s lives are yet to be seen. What we do this afternoon matters. What we do tomorrow matters.

Second presentation: Pastor Johnny Hunt and Mrs. Janet Hunt

They try to dialogue daily. Janet normally travels with Johnny. They also try to date weekly. Being a man of intergrity is of most importance to him.

She is the only one speaking that is not a professional. Her job is behind the scenes helping Johnny. She is thankful she has a man of integrity.

Johnny shares a past story of when a professor came to hear him preach. He got praise from the professor even though he was very nervous. When he first got into the ministry he was told to be careful because women would be attracted to him. They would not be attracted because of his looks (knocking down his ego), but because he is a preacher.

Janet would speak to Johnny warning him to be careful around certain people. Janet has always been there to help and warn her husband. They prayed Eccl. 3, the threefold chord. A man can get in trouble by himself and can get much help with his wife at his side. Temptations can come at any time.

He mentions how some will say they say a moral failure coming when someone falls. He asks if they warned him because we are our brothers keeper. He depends on others praying for him. He studied how Adam and Eve fell. Jesus was tempted in the same way Adam and Eve were. He mentions areas of faith, hunger (and something I missed….)

Johnny grew up in poverty. When God began to bless him he had to put up guards. The only antecdote to materialism is generous giving. Janet grew up in a different kind of family. Their different environments were a challenge to Johnny as they grew in marriage.

Janet grew up in a stable, but non-Christian family. But her grandmother was a Christian who influenced her and brought her to church as a kid. This lead to her being active in her grandchildrens’ lives.

Johnny did not come to Christ until two years after marriage. They were in trouble during that time. They weren’t making it. Janet had a miscarriage and people told her it would not work. She was very unhappy and realized he was not the kind of man she wanted. She didn’t want to give up and have everyone tell her they told her so.

So, she started hounding him to go to church. They found a church were the gospel was preached and eventually the Lord saved Johnny. Johnny speaks on responsibility with having little. References Luke and explains that God will not bless with much someone who is not responsible and content with little.

They went through a rough time when Johnny was not resting but thought he was Superman referencing the S on his shirt. The S, he found, ultimately meant stupid. This was during the time when he was diagnosed with cancer. He felt he had no more to give. It greatly affected their marriage and they became very vulnerable.

They went through intense counseling for three months. It was so bad that they had quit Woodstock in their hearts. They felt they could not give anymore. They started the process of checking their retirement with the annuity board. It takes two to marry, but only one to divorce.

People often ask what Janet does and she does the big job of taking care of Johnny. She mentions that she washes his underwear.

In order to make the marriage work, Janet had to realize that God put them together. They had a role-reversal of sorts. Johnny grew up doing female type things like ironing while Janet was a handy-man type. Johnny liked to talk, but not listen well to Janet. He realized he needed to listen more while she needed to let him talk.

He has a deeper appreaciation of Janet after all they went through as she stood by him. They’ve been married 42 years. Tough times don’t have to destroy you. The valleys have been difficult, but they reveal the depth of commitment to each other. There are no hard feelings today, but more love and respect.

This tough time also helped develop boundaries. Now, every invitation Johnny gets goes through Janet, ministry assistant, and sr. staff. Janet has a hard time sharing Johnny with everyone. It was tough for a while when women would ask her to take a picture with her husband. Janet struggled with the public attention, but has gotten better.

Johnny has learned to love and support Janet in her hobbies. She loves racing; he doesn’t. But he goes with her and tries to be passionate about what she is passionate about.

They went on to share a few personal stories expressing how they really are in love. Though they are really in love temptations still come. Song of Solomon 8:7,”Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised” (ESV). When you love someone you work through it. You will say things you’re going to regret and do things you can’t undo. But we’ve got to understand God’s forgiveness or you will have some very difficult times.

Johnny explains that he got to meet his heros Billy Graham and James Dobson. Graham only wanted to show him one thing – Ruth’s bedroom. Graham explained what happened when she went to be with the Lord.

We can fail, but God’s love does not fail. Alone time with God is very important. He shares what he does with his prayer journal which first includes repentance of his own sins. The difficult times will show where your heart really is.

The love of God anticipates new joys. They can think about the future in their marriage. Love magnifies forgiveness. The more we are forgiven the more we forgive. God’s love enables us to enrich. It will help you to endure when all else fails.

Janet closes with a story of Johnny when he first started preaching. She started noted all teh grammatical mistakes he made. Finally, he challenged that she was not getting anything out of the sermons because she was so focused on his mistakes. To this day she does not take notes.

They are still very much in love because of God’s love despite all the ups and downs.

The conference closed with a hilarious parody song to “Under the Boardwalk” mentioning all of the words Johnny has made up over the years.

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Post tags: Andy Andrews, conference, First Baptist Woodstock, Janet Hunt, johnny hunt, Johnny Hunt Womens Conference, Shelly Johnson

Johnny Hunt Women’s Conference Day 1

Mark — Sat, 04 May 2013 00:47:56 +0000

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I had previously announced the upcoming Johnny Hunt Women’s Conference with the theme - What Makes a Godly Woman? Proverbs 31.

Below is the first day’s recap of the conference. The notes are in rough draft form.

First presentation: Pastor Johnny Hunt

Johnny starts talking women who win. We need men to be the prophets, priests, and kings in the home that God has called them to be. But often the women are an important part, foundational, of their leadership.

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint. (Proverbs 29:18a ESV)

It’s now how we start, but how we finish that will be remembered. Provision in Christ’s lordship. The best and easiest people to work with are those who remain teachable. He still believes that his best days are ahead of him. He read that 38,000 Americans took their life last year. You get bored. We didn’t marry someone because they were boring.

Paul presses toward the goal pursing Christ. It’s a live long pursuit that every single day he has an opportunity to be more like Christ. We learn to enjoy our past. We need to learn to endure some of our past. The NT teaches that suffering leads to glory.
We learn through the difficult times in our marriage and God uses it to grow commitment. These times drive us to each other and if they don’t then we were never really committed to each other. He has had difficult times with his wife in the past 42 years. Must continue to envision the future together.

Provision as it pertains to stewardship. He doesn’t have time for high maintenance relationships. Some of his best friends are busy and does not talk to for six months at a time. A pastor ought to be a servant and see how they can wash others’ feet.

Security is the woman’s greatest need. A man’s greatest need is respect. Many men are insecure, therefore the cannot provide security for whom they lead. Because you can give what you don’t have.

Johnny explains that he knows who he belongs to and who he answers to – Jesus Christ. His security is in Christ; not what others think of him. Secure people release others and allow them to go for it. Secure people empower and appreciate others. Insecurity keeps people from having an honest conversation.

What do you do with an insecure person? He gave an example of a self-proclaimed insecure multimillionaire showing that success does not lead to security.

1. Be vulnerable. He claims he is shy. Fear was never intended to paralyze you. You can’t wait until you get beyond your fears. He fly’s all over the world and he’s afraid of flying.
2. Be accountable. Tell someone some of the struggles in your life and give them permission to be honest with you. Ask your spouse how you’re doing.
3. Die daily. Allow God to change you. He doesn’t spend time asking God to change his wife, but to change him.
4. Find your security and identity in Christ as opposed to your position.
5. (I some how missed 5.)
6. Praise recognizable achievements in others. Let them know
7. Allow others to get the credit by giving it.
8. Admit fears and confusion.
9. Find a mentor. He still meets with an 80-something year old mentor.

Respect – man’s greatest need. Men need to be validated, but honest validation. Janet, his wife, believed in him before he did. She affirms him often.

Proverbs 5 meets 1 Cor. 13 – shows what lust will do vs. what love will do. He explains to the wives about their husbands that this world is full of temptation. He shares some pornography stats and that even women are struggling with it today.

Pride needs to meet humility. Pride is the most insidious sin in the Bible. Pride caused Lucifer to fall. When pride comes then comes shame.

Regardless of how much you grow God wants to keep you dependent. When prides meets humility it leads to a balanced life, a disciplined life, an obedient life, and a life of wisdom.

Covetousness needs to meet contentment. As a result of being satisfied Christ meets all of your needs.

Second presentation: Anita Renfroe

She starts off singing one of her parody songs with the hook, “I’m not high maintenance, I’m just low tolerance.”

She makes some jokes about sanitary toilet covers. She joked about how thin they are and that it was men to made them because had a woman invented them they would have removed the middle piece. She finished saying now we will remember her every time we use the bathroom.

She made a lot of great jokes including some on skinny jeans while talking to the younger women. She also sang a few parody songs.

In speaking of her husband, she dropped this great line: “I used to sleep with my pastor, now I sleep with my road manager.”

Third presentation: Francesca Battistelli

Of course, Battistelli is a Christian musician and there’s not really anything to blog about. I mean – there’s good music and all, but….

I’m just not good at typing out the music notes and am only proficient with the treble clef.

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Post tags: Anita Renfroe, conference, First Baptist Woodstock, Francesca Battistelli, johnny hunt, Johnny Hunt Womens Conference, Shelly Johnson

The Problem is Repentaphobia Not Homophobia

Mark — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:06:50 +0000

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Much debate as ensued in the current push to redefine marriage as accepting same-sex couples. This redefinition of marriage is touted as a “homosexual rights” issue. Within this current climate of said debate a new mile stone for homosexual rights activists has come to pass – the first active male professional athlete has come out admitting he is gay. That athlete would be, of course, NBA player Jason Collins.

OK, great! Now let’s play ball, right?

Not so fast because – for some reason – the conversation quickly turned to religion. It appears that Collins claims to be a homosexual Christian. In a TV interview, ESPN sports analyst Chris Broussard, a Christian, said it was the right time for Collins to come out. However, when asked about Collins profession of faith, Broussard also said he does not believe one can live an openly homosexual lifestyle and be considered a Christian.

Broussard recently defended his position well on a morning radio show. In his defense, Broussard explained the difference between professing Christians who sin and repent vs. those who are unrepentant and openly live in and seek out sin regardless of sexuality. He is right and points to the very important issue of repentance for those claiming the name of Christ.

Of course, Broussard has since been called homophobic. But I think the bigger issue may be called repentophobia. Repentophobia happens when theology is ultimately replaced with meology. That is, when God is replaced with self.

The love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ is often passed as the baton of acceptance. Yet, what is really happening is sin is passed over and repentance ignored. Repentance is an important part of this conversation no matter one’s sexual orientation. For example:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV)

This Scripture describes unrepentant people whose life reflects the listed sins including those who “practice homosexuality.” These sins are part of the identity and lifestyles of the people written about. Also note that there are some Christians who used to live the same way, but Jesus has washed them of that former way of life. Those Christians have repented, or turned away from, practicing those sins.

Some Christians may struggle with certain sins for a while or even most of their life. Yet, with struggle being the key word, they continuously repent and strive to find their identity in Jesus rather than in past sinful ways of life.

The issue for Christians (like Broussard) is not homophobia. We do not fear homosexuals; we fear God. The real issue is those who profess Christianity alongside homosexuality (like Collins) do not seem to fear God. They fear repenting of their sins so they may continue satisfying the flesh which is simply – repentaphobia.

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Post tags: Chris Broussard, gay marriage, homophobia, Jason Collins, repentaphobia, same-sex marriage

Chris Broussard Answers Questions on Homosexuality and Christianity

Mark — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:16:29 +0000

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Today, on Power 105.1 FM, Chris Broussard, Christian and sports analyst for ESPN, called into the Breakfast Club radio show. He began explaining that he is not perfect, but strives to be Christlike. He then explains the mark of a Christian in light of falling into sin, willful sinning, the repentant, and the unrepentant.

When challenged about the Bible condemning homosexuality, Broussard briefly explains where Christians stand in Christ today under the New Covenant vs. adhering to particular laws under the Old Covenant.

Broussard handled himself well and was a great witness for the Kingdom despite some of the crass comments thrown back at him. Surely, some of the comments were for shock value. Be sure to catch the cowardly comments after Broussard hung up the phone.

Praise God that Broussard stood on the truth of the gospel and did not back down.

Listen below.

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Post tags: Breakfast Club, Chris Broussard, homosexuality, Jason Collins

Ethics: Retired Pastor Pushing Advice on New Pastor

Mark — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:32:35 +0000

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What would you do Wednesday!

Today, dear reader, you get to be the confidant of a pastor. This pastor, who is a close friend, was recently called to a new church. This new church needed a new pastor because the former pastor retired after leading this particular congregation for 20 years.

The back story is that your friend was called away from the first church he led where he served for five years. He had not planned on leaving his previous church. However, a well-known pastor who served one church for the last 20 years was about to retire. This retiring pastor, from a bordering state, reached out to your friend a couple years ago. They built a pretty good relationship.

This relationship turned into the retiring pastor holding your friend in such high regard that he asked if he would take over his pastorate when he retired. After much prayer, consideration, and congregational approval, he took the job.

One year later, your friend comes to you as his confidant. He explains that the former pastor who served 20 years in your new church is still a member and plans on living out his days this particular local church.

The problem: the retired pastor visits your friend at least three times per month pushing unsolicited advice on him. He tells your friend what and how to do certain things including, for example, what sermons (topics, texts) he should preach. It feels, to your friend, that this man still wants to have a large say in many daily decisions in the church.

Your friend asks for your advice.

What would you do?

Be quiet and take the advice.
Be quiet and ignore his advice.
Say ‘thank you’ and graciously remind him who the pastor is now.
Say ‘thanks, but no thanks’ and explain that church discipline is around the corner if he doesn’t stop.
Or…

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Post tags: ethics, WWYDW

Position (Standing)	Condition (State)
In heaven Spiritual Life New birth New man New nature New creature Justified Forgiven In Christ	On earth Physical Death First birth Old man Old nature Old creature Condemned Guilty In Adam

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