It is good for a man to remain as he is? -Part 2

Yesterday, I started an idea about Biblical marriage and it's benefits. I began with Paul's... ummm... confusing views of celibacy. I don't think that I have much to comment on that other than what I wrote yesterday.

Today, however, I would like to look at a verse from Song of Solomon (a.k.a. Song of Songs, in some translations). Some people may shy away from this book of the Bible, and might think that it is not much more than an excuse for middle school boys to giggle excitedly over the thought of breasts as two grazing fawns. Others think that the book is not about marriage at all, but is rather a description of Christ, and His love for his Church (the popular worship song "His Banner Over Me" seems to take this stance).

I do indeed believe that it foreshadows the coming Messiah...

...but I also believe that it is about two lovers... and the joys of marriage and of... well... sex.

That's right: sex. I said it. So sue me. :o)

Anyway, the text I would like to look at here is from the fifth chapter, verse 1. These are the words of "The Beloved", the male lover:

I have come to my garden,
my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh
with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb
with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with
my milk.

(To His Friends)
Eat, O friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!

No one can read these words and deny that this man finds utter joy in his wife! He has drunk deeply and found that the well is absolutely blessed! And not only that... but he encourages his friends to seek after their own wells that they might find joy in drinking as well.

Now, I also mentioned yesterday that I believe that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are not somehow different in character, as it seems that some tend to think. Rather, I believe that God is never-changing, and manifests Himself in similar ways throughout the whole of the Scriptures... if we are willing to dig deep enough to see it. This is important, because it means that the God who lovingly blesses marriages today is the same unchanging God who inspired Solomon to write these words.

We can even see this if we go back to the beginning of the institution of marriage: the creation of man... and of woman. Every day of Creation, God said two things: "Let there be," and "It is good." The only time that God says that something is not good is when He sees man alone (Genesis 2:18). And note that the reason why this is not good is not because sin has somehow defiled the sanctity of man, because this is before the Fall of mankind, before sin has even entered the Garden of Eden. God looked at Adam, in his perfect, sinless state... and declared that it was not good for him to be alone. Marriage was God's idea. And it was a good idea.

So how is all of this compatible with the idea that marriage was established by God first, and foremost, for His own glory? Well, to answer that, I'm going to have to pull (yes... once again!) from the writings of a certain pastor Piper. John Piper gives a very interesting definition of God's love:

"The reason God seeks our praise is not because he won't be complete until he gets it. He is seeking our praise because we won't be happy until we give it. This is not arrogance. It is love."

The reason why Piper says this is because we were created to serve God and to give Him glory. When God glorifies Himself, it is not arrogance; it is, in fact, drawing us to the very thing which will give us true joy. To Piper, God's love for His children is an outpouring of the everlasting action of God declaring His own glory. When we experience this glory... we find our joy.

So it is with marriage, I believe. As I posted in October, I believe that God created the marriage union in order to give Himself glory, to declare the perfect worth of His Son. For those who enter into a Biblical representation of this union... they see this glory, and they bask in the joy that they find there!

I hope you can see now that my personal view of marriage is not a cold-hearted idea, devoid of emotion. But, rather, I believe that marriage can be a source of extreme joy, in that, being a representation of Christ's love for His spotless bride, it points man to the source of its joy: the very God who created it.

It is good for a man to remain as he is? -Part 1

Okay, I'm back.

And Washington was awesome... as always.

I've got a couple of ideas that I wanted to flesh out on here. This first one will be a bit shorter (2 posts), and the next one quite a bit longer, I imagine (it will probably take me a few days to get it all out and on here).

I wrote a post in October about a "radical" view of marriage. Basically, it was about the idea that God established the institute of marriage first, and foremost, for His Name's sake. I still agree with this view, but I'm afraid that, in reading the post, some of you might have had the idea that I'm a cold-hearted you-know-what... that I view marriage as something which God created only for His glory; that the proclamation of His Name is the only benefit of the marriage union.

Not true. I believe that it fulfills first, and foremost, this role. However, I also believe that God, by choosing to give glory to Himself in this way, also gives joy to His creation... which, in turn, also gives Him glory.

I've got a text from Song of Solomon that I want to meditate on for a bit tomorrow, but I think I'd like to first take a look at some excerpts from the seventh chapter of 1 Corinthians, which may seem at first to cause a bit of a problem for my view. It starts with verse 20:

Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.

Now, it seems that Paul talks here first of the futility of circumcision as a way of pleasing God (verse 19). However, he then extends his admonition to status of slaves, and then to marriage. Starting in verse 25, he says:

Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy.

I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress - that it is good for a man to remain as he is:

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

Paul says that his reasoning here is that those who are married split their energies between the Lord and their spouse (verses 32-33), and he adds that this counsel of his is given to the brethren not so that they may "have a leash put on them," but so that they may "serve the Lord without distraction" (verse 35).

Now, I have to admit something about my interactions with Paul's writings. Paul seems to have been one hard dude to get. I used to actually get mad when I would read his letters: I thought he was a pompous jerk. But, like many things that are found in Scripture, I started with a default position of acceptance, because I believe that, being in the Bible, they are the divinely inspired Word of the Lord Almighty. However, accepting Scripture and liking what Scripture has to say are often two very different things. But then, after more and more study... I began to find a source of immense joy in discovering their hidden truths. I'm now seeing that Paul's letters contain some of the most blessing-infused words I've ever read in Scripture. A detailed study of Paul's epistle to the church at Rome is rocking my world right now...

Anyway, I still agree with Peter when he says that some of Paul's writings are "hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16), and I would like to just say a couple of quick things before I move on to the Song of Solomon text (tomorrow).

Firstly, I think it is interesting that Paul goes to the trouble of specifically stating twice (verses 25 and 40) that this council is not a direct commandment from God, but rather a personal judgment. He even says back in verses 7-8 that he wishes that all men and women might remain single, as he is. However, he adds the words "But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that" (verse 7). It is clear that Paul recognizes that his personal calling for celibacy may not be the same for everyone.

Secondly, in anticipation of the next post, I would like to say that I would be tempted to disagree with the argument that says that what is written in Song of Solomon and what is written in 1 Corinthians are somehow at odds with one another, one book being from the Old Testament, the other being from the New Testament. I don't believe that there is any Scriptural support for the idea that God changes... that the God of the O.T. and the God of the N.T. are two different Beings in character and in deed. That being said, I would like anyone who is reading this post, and will read the post tomorrow, to share with me the mindset that the same God breathed the words found in both of these books.

I love this place!!

Back in Washington for a few days! It's nice to see water and mountains again!!!

The pic above is downtown Olympia, the capital of this gorgeous state, and my hometown. Gotta love it!! ;-)

Won't be posting much for a while, but I have a couple of thoughts ready for when I get back...

How to Stunt the Growth of the Soul

There is no ongoing spiritual life without this process of letting go. At the precise point where we refuse, growth stops. If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used, we stunt the growth of the soul.

It is easy to make a mistake here. “If God gave it to me,” we say, “it’s mine. I can do what I want with it.” No. The truth is that it is ours to thank Him for and ours to offer back to Him, ours to relinquish, ours to lose, ours to let go of – if we want to find our true selves, if we want real Life, if our hearts are set on glory.

-Elisabeth Elliot

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
-Psalm 34:8

I once heard a wonderful analogy that was an extension of this verse. It was a comparison of the knowledge of God's goodness to the tasting of a cake. If you have tasted a cake, and found that it is wonderfully sweet on your tongue, you may try to explain the experience to others. You may try to explain the taste using the most descriptive words that you can find; you may tell of all of the ingredients that are used to make the cake and that give it its taste; you may even write down the recipe so that someone might be able to understand how the cake is made. However, until another person actually tastes the cake for their self... it is impossible that they will fully understand how good the cake actually is.

God continually allows me to taste more and more of Himself as He grows my faith. He is most certainly good, I can assure of you that. But I can also assure you that He faithfully remains good... even when the particular piece of cake that you are about to eat may not look very appetizing...

The Essence of Humility

Casting your anxieties on God means trusting the promise that he cares for you and has the power and the wisdom to put that care to work in the most glorious way.

That trust is the opposite of pride. It's the essence of humility. It's the confidence that the mighty hand of God is not over you to crush you but to care for you just like the promise says. Don't be proud, but cast your anxieties on him because he will care for you.

Whenever your heart starts to be anxious about the future, preach to your heart and say, "Heart, who do you think you are to be afraid of the future and nullify the promise of God? No, heart, I will not exalt myself with anxiety. I will humble myself in peace and joy as I trust this precious and great promise of God—he cares for me."

-John Piper, "Are You Humble Enough to Be Care-Free?"

Take my life, Lord

I'm in a coffee shop right now, listening to the hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be", by Frances R. Havergal (1874), on repeat. The lyrics of this hymn are so incredibly powerful for me, because they are at the same time the prayer of the deepest desire of my heart, as well as the desire that I pray that God would give to me: at once, the desire of my heart and the desire for my heart...


Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

Hurry up and wait, already!

Bippity...

Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
-Psalm 27:14


boppity...

My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
-Psalm 62:5


boo.

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
-Lamentations 3:25


Bam! 'Nuff said.
Chris... best listen up now!

Overwhelmingly fantastic!!

Wow. When I moved here at the beginning of last year, the pastor of my church was in the middle of an exegesis of the book of Romans.

Well, I just read this sermon that he gave from the year before... and I'm now determined to hit the archives this summer and catch up on all of the pure gold that I missed!

Here are a couple of excerpts if you don't want to read the whole sermon (but I strongly suggest that you do!! It's not that long!):

The reason why people accuse the true gospel of being antinomian (licentious, lawless), is because they are ignorant of the power of the true gospel alone to transform lives. They think they need to add in some law to keep grace from leading people to run wild. But the truth is that preaching grace produces holiness and preaching law does not.
-Mike Shea

Wicked men will drown themselves in the rivers of truth as readily as in the pools of error…Many people think that they ought to guard the gospel, but it is never so safe as when it stands out in its own naked majesty. It needs no covering from us.
-Charles H. Spurgeon

Traversing the Storm

If you ever have experienced, or currently are experiencing, a spiritual storm, then you know how incredibly difficult, lonely, and disorienting it can be. It's as if everything you once knew to be true has somehow slipped into darkness, and away from your sight. What can we possibly do in the midst of times like these?

I would encourage you all to read this great post by one of the members of Desiring God Ministries. I wish I would have read this a few years ago!

Here's a snippet from the end:

If you or a loved one is flying in a storm and despairing, remember your own perceptions, as real as they feel, are not reliable. As one who has tested them in a number of storms I can say with confidence: fly by the instruments God has provided you. They will not prove faulty.

May God bless you all by incredible means... even in the midst of a storm.

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.
-Psalm 40:1-3

2:30 am

I slipped underneath my cold covers at about 12:30 tonight; not really that tired, but determined to get some sleep.

Two hours later, it's quite possible that I'm now even less tired... and that faithful determination is beginning to wear thin. The alarm is set for 7:15, and that's going to come awfully early.

I'm not entirely sure why, but my mind is racing a million miles a minute. It's in one of those misfortunately [sic] active stupors wherein it finds itself too tired to finish a thought before it recklessly storms on to the next one... and the next one... and the next one...

So here I blog now.
Weary as a dog now.

Whoops... there goes my mind again... off to a new thought.

I should probably go catch it before it gets itself into trouble.

Goodnight from Drowsy Town, Illinois. And may peace be with you.

The Reason for Graduate School

I had an epiphany today.

And it only took me a year and a half, fancy that!

What is the purpose of grad school? I used to think that it was to learn more about your field in order to make you more effective in the work that you do. That's what everyone told me, at least.

You know what? It's a bunch of lies!

No, let me reveal to you, from an insider's perspective, the real reason behind the machine known as "graduate studies"... population control.

That's right. It's a filtering process, weeding out some, while leaving others in the pan.

I see only three possible outcomes for someone who is insane enough to actually go through with the masochism of grad school:

1. They survive.
2. They quit.
3. They die... some mentally, others emotionally... most literally.

Those in the first category will get jobs, those in the last two will not. And there aren't that many jobs floating around, last time I checked.

See? Population control.

Okay, enough of that... I'm off to go get less sleep than 0 hours a night... ha!


P.S. Oh, and by the way... I love it!

Give Men Time

Wow, wow, wow... wow.

This blog post is great, and was really good for me to read, I think. I'd like to share it with you only because, even though it seems the author is referring to specific doctrines within the beliefs of Christianity, I think it has a direct extension to the whole of the Gospel, and our commandment to preach it to the world:

"It is easy to be frustrated with people for not being able to see and accept the truth instantly... Instead of those realities being seen for what they are (majestic and glorious) they are often seen through a vision that has been distorted by misrepresentations, and by expectations moulded by caricatures of the real thing."

It's funny that I read this today, because I was just having a discussion on this very topic with a friend last night. The Gospel itself is, in its very nature, offensive to the rebellious hearts of men. Until the scales fall from our shrouded eyes, we won't understand it, we can't understand it. What's more, the world sees misrepresentations of it all around. It would do us good to remember this.

We should remember that it is not our job to convert unbelievers, only to preach to them of the hope, glory, and joy of Christ's atoning sacrifice on a wooden cross. We cannot possibly know what kind of soil will catch the seeds that are planted by means of our proclamation of the Gospel: that is not our work, but the Spirit's. We need only plant, plant, plant, and not be impatient with people if we do not see immediate, direct evidence of the growth of those seeds.

The growth is God's business, not ours. We need but plant, be patient, and pray that God would give growth to the seed.

Preaching Quote Quiz - he said it!

I was hoping for some more responses, but thank you, Peter, for pitching in a guess!

Nope, not Piper... think a little further back in the Church's history...

...actually, to the beginning of the Protestant movement, not to give too big of a hint.

That's right, it was Martin Luther who put such a strong emphasis on the teaching and understanding of doctrines, especially the doctrine of justification by faith alone. It was at the very core of the Gospel for those who believed in a reformation of the merit-based religion of Rome.

But why teach these doctrines, you ask? Isn't that a bit cold? a bit calculating? a bit formulaic?

I don't believe so, no.

Learning, understanding, and preaching solid, Scripturally-sound doctrines is a way of knowing about God.

"But I love God! I don't need to know about Him!"

Hmmm... try that with your spouse or significant other:

"Honey, I love you... but I don't know your birthday, or the color of your eyes, or your favorite song. But I certainly love you, don't I?"

Anyway, I thought it was interesting when I heard it, so I thought I'd throw it up here. Now back to the grind for me...

Preaching Quote Quiz - who said it?

The following quote is from a well-known minister, and I'd like to see if anyone reading this can guess as to who said it. I will reserve commentary, because I don't wish to offend anyone who reads this, but I will say that it is my opinion that these words cut to the heart of the seemingly lax preaching of the Gospel in the hands of the modern American Church:

I gladly grant the honor to those who are preferred to me as eloquent preachers, and I don’t envy them. But they are praised because the common people admire them when they hear them tell clever stories and illustrations and play with words and allegories. They sleep and cough when we preach doctrines - especially the doctrine of justification - but prick up their ears at stories.

Now, no cheating! Just try to guess who might have said this about preaching in the Church... Post your guess as a comment, and I'll give the answer in a few days.

Oh, oh, oh!! Blessings!!

Yo.

Feeling like you're not doing much good for the Kingdom if you're not a pastor/missionary/etc. ? Feeling like you can't serve God or show the love of Christ to others unless you're behind a pulpit or off in another country?


Bzzzzzzzz... wrong.


You should all take some time to read this short sermon outline.

Besides... Douglas Wilson is a theological stud-muffin.


May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you!

Blood Diamond

I just finished watching the movie "Blood Diamond" for the second time. Many people think that this movie has been too "hollywoodized" to have any artistic value, but I think it is an important movie, and appreciated it even more the second time around.

(Warning: spoiler coming up. Don't read if you haven't yet seen the film, but plan on watching it!)

There is a scene toward the end of the film which is one of the more beautifully heartbreaking moments I have experienced in cinema: an African fisherman, searching for a large diamond in the hopes of using it to free his son, who has been kidnapped by members of the Revolutionary United Front, has found the diamond, and his son.

However, the son, who has been psychologically ravished by the evils that he has been forced to both witness and perform, has a gun trained on his own father, blinded by the horrors that he has experienced, ready to pull the trigger.

The father calls to him, and reminds him of who he truly is, despite what he has done. The nearly possessive manifest evil that has invaded the child melts away upon hearing whom his father declares him to be.

The parallel to the purging of our own evil that imprisons us, as our Father calls us from the dead, even as we look upon Him with hate in our eyes, is undeniable. His proclamation to us as being righteous and unconditionally loved, despite all that we have done, is all but explicitly asserted in this scene as the father affirms his son. Read this as a son or daughter of the Most High God, as He declares His love for you and your worth in Him:

"I am your father... who loves you... and is ready to take you back as my son again."

Predestined Pumpkins?

I hope she doesn't mind, but I snagged a quote from a post on my friend's new blog. I think it is a beautiful image of some ideas that she seems to be working through on the doctrines of grace.

I enjoy going out to the deep of the [pumpkin] patch, to the center where people have not traveled yet, and allowing my eyes to wander from pumpkin to pumpkin wondering which one will find a home with me. Is this an analogy for the Father? Does he wonder, or does he already know which of us pumpkins will find a home in Him? I believe that touches on some deeper Calivinistic tendencies that I don't have the time to dissect currently. But I like the idea of me on a vine, ripening, certainly not the perfect shaped or colored pumpkin, perhaps I'm still green. The Father comes to me and says, Yes, you are perfect for my home, and takes me back with him. That's peaceful. That's why I love the farm.

This is great. I believe, however, that the image that God has given us through Scripture is not so much one of Him already knowing which pumpkins He is going to choose when He arrives at the patch... but, rather, I believe that God has revealed to us that He, Himself, planted the entire patch of pumpkins, and had already chosen - even before tilling the soil - which ones He would take home with Him!

Beautiful, Jenn... simply beautiful. Thank you. And never stop searching for the immense joy to be found in the beauty of truth.

Parents rock...

I just got a package today from my mom for Thanksgiving. It's got a bunch of really cool stuff in it, including something that she knew I'd been looking for for awhile, but hadn't been able to find!

I can't wait until I have my own kids, and I get to send them boxes of stuff that I know they'll enjoy when they're away at grad school getting their butt kicked by work. It'll be fun to know that it's making them smile in the midst of all of their stress!

Yay for parents. Thanks, mom. ILY

The Gospel!

Let us not assume that we've ever fully understood the Gospel, and cease to teach it to ourselves and to other brethren regularly.

The Gospel Driven Blog has done a wonderful job of summing up the Gospel and its purpose with Scripture and references from books and catechisms. Read and be blessed.

Soli Deo gloria!

Justification AND assurance found in the resurrection of Christ!

Nope, still haven't finished the two-part post on God's glorification of Himself being His end goal of creation. I think that it will take a bit of time to put my thoughts together on that one... and I don't seem to have much of that lately. I mean time, by the way... not thoughts... although those seem to be quickly fading, as well.

But here's a quick one that should give blessings. It's about something that my pastor said last Sunday.

The sermon was on Romans 8:35-39, and was about the assurance we can have of our salvation. The theme of assurance is very evident in these passages, but may not be quite as evident in the text that I would like to look at now, 1 Corinthians 15:12-19:

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Recently, the Discovery Channel came out with a special in which they claimed to have found evidence of the lost tomb of Jesus... with His body inside. Aside from the GLARING holes in their "scientific" finding, this show raised a few eyebrows due to the reactions of some Christians to the very idea of the resurrection being a hoax. In response to the question, "What effect would this, if found to be true, have on your faith?", some Christians responded, "None. My faith is personal, and would not be changed if Jesus' body were to be found."

Hmmmm. Something's wrong with that. That's not at all what Paul believed!

Who can raise the dead? Only God. Who could have raised Christ from the dead, then? God the Father. The reason why Paul says that if Christ is not risen our faith is futile and we are still in our sins, is that if Christ did not, in reality, rise from the grave after His crucifixion... God the Father had not accepted His sacrifice for our sins!

As Christians, we need to be able to be at the point that we can accept that the basis for our beliefs can, theoretically, be proved wrong, and our whole religion shown to be a sham. It seems that there are many who are not comfortable with this, but it is this very characteristic - one which sets apart Christianity from other world religions - which gives even more strength to the Gospel! A thing can only be true if there is a possibility that it can be proven false! Our faith is rooted in an event, one which either happened or didn't happen, a fact which is either right or wrong. How can somebody disprove a mere belief? This is impossible: a mere belief cannot be disproved. I believe what I believe, and nobody can prove or disprove what is in my head. But the facts on which those beliefs are based, on the other hand, can most certainly be disproved!

But this should not be discouraging to us, but rather a great source of encouragement. Our faith is not something that we conjure up from within. No, our faith exists outside of us; it is a gift from God, and is rooted in an actual historical event. If my faith were based on my own emotions and thoughts, then it would change daily! But, thank the Lord, it is not. It is based on a truth which exists outside of my reaction to it. It is a truth which - if it is, in fact, true - is true whether or not I believe it to be true.

So if the resurrection is a true event, something which actually happened in the course of history, then we have great cause to rejoice in the assurance of our salvation, for not only is the holy life of Jesus Christ the basis for our justification, but the resurrection of that same Man is where we also can find evidence of our assurance of that justification, since the resurrection itself is proof that God was most surely, and completely, satisfied by the atoning sacrifice of His Son on the Cross.

Break Time

So, instead of finishing my post on Creation today, I'm going to... well... not finish it today.

I just met with my pastor this morning, and one of the things we talked about was everything that God has been teaching me lately: it has been very encouraging to learn, but a bit discouraging to share.

I've been learning a lot about God in the past year or so, and much of that learning has included understanding certain doctrines as they are laid out in Scripture. This has been a great source of blessing for me, and has led to much joy, because it helps me to focus on who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised that He will do. This causes me to worship Him more, and is a way for me to see more of His glory.

However, as I have shared what I have been learning with other brothers and sisters, I have sometimes been confronted with responses such as, "You're not approaching God with enough of your heart."

At first, I accepted this as being true, and tried to change how I approached God's Word. But the more I think about it, the more I'm not so sure that this is right. I can certainly understand the genuine concern that these people have shown, and I thank them for it. However, I believe that God has made me a certain way, and I believe that He wants to speak to me through these means. He has given me an academic mind, and He continues to give me great blessings as I study His Word as a student. And my heart, in turn, is filled with joy in response to what I learn about God and His acts of grace.

I can appreciate a beautiful sunset as much as the next guy, and I can recognize the creative majesty of God's glory displayed in that sunset. Creation is one of the evidences that we are given of God's existence, and I pray that I will never take any of it for granted. It seems, however, that I don't learn as much about God through these times as when I am searching His Word for truths, be they new and eye-opening, or previously-learned truths that continue to instill more and more joy the longer I contemplate on them.

But that does not mean that learning about God in ways like this (such as through meditation on Creation, for example) cannot happen. Nor does it mean that these ways are not as valid as how I learn about God. There are many people for whom God chooses to speak to them through these means who might not learn as well through approaching Scripture with an academic mind... and that is just fine.

I think what has happened is a mixture of two things. As I try to share the amazing blessings that God has given me, it is hard for me - having been created the way I am - to understand how others cannot have the same level of excitement for these truths as God has been gracious enough to give me, and it may be hard for others - having been created the way they are - to believe that I truly have received the blessings that I believe God has granted me through such academic means.

I think another thing that has happened is that God has recently brought me out of a long period of spiritual depression and darkness. Being brought out of that valley has given me such an intense excitement, that it may come across to others as unhealthy zeal. The truth is that I am just very grateful for what God has been doing, and I am trying to "soak up" as much as possible while I am at the top of the hill, that I might have solid truths of God's faithfulness to take with me when I enter the next valley, whenever that may be... and it is sure that it will be.

I pray that these truths may be an encouragement, rather than a discouragement, to others who may be being lead through their own valleys. And I pray that I would not forget that God is teaching others in different ways than He chooses to teach me, and that these very real testimonies should be encouragement for the rest of us academic types!

A Radical View of Creation, Pt. 1

(I first want to say that these kinds of ideas - as with many things that I have posted here - do not necessarily represent my solid and final conviction concerning these matters. These are simply ideas that I'm still mulling though, while searching Scripture for evidences. Feel free to disagree... and please comment if you disagree! I'm young, and the last one who would presume that I have found anything even resembling the only right answers!)


Yesterday, I discussed the idea that the institution of marriage was established by God for the purpose of glorifying Himself on this earth. I want to continue this train of thought now, and discuss a similar view of the role of the entirety of Creation itself.

In his book "The Pleasures of God", John Piper explains that God had no need to create this earth or any of its inhabitants, including mankind. There was nothing missing in God's "life" that caused Him to long for something else. It's not as if God was pining away for friends, and decided to make some playmates to hang out with Him. This same point has also been stressed by C.S. Lewis: "God, who needs nothing, loves in to existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them."

I might disagree with Lewis a slight bit here, however, or at least see a need to qualify his statement. What I read in his words is that God's ultimate purpose in the act of Creation was to give us something. If this were the case, then it would mean that the focus of the totality of Creation - from the beginning of time to the end of this world as we know it - is us. I don't think this is true. I believe the foundational center of all of Creation is God's own glory manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.

Why do I think this? Let's look at the first chapter of the gospel of John, verses 1-4:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Firstly, it is through Jesus that "all things were made", and "without Him nothing was made that was made." Jesus was central in the action of the creation of the worlds and all creatures. Matthew Henry comments on a valuable realization to be had in this truth: "This proves the excellency of the Christian religion, that the author and founder of it is the same that was the author and founder of the world." Jesus is not only the Redeemer of the souls of those whom He justifies, but also - being with God, in God, and divinely God Himself - the creator of all mankind. Our existence was created, and will be perfected, in Christ.

Secondly, Jesus was not only the giver of our life, but He is also the sustainer of it. Our life force - including all things which make Man uniquely Man, "the light of men" which allows us to bear the image of the Creator - finds its source in Christ Himself.

And Jesus, who is, with God the Father, the source of our life as well as the sustainer of our life, this same Jesus was also the perfectly righteous spotless Lamb on whom was poured all of the wrath of God for our sins. So how can it be that creatures who have been created, sustained, and redeemed by the very God whom they have sinned against be the focal point of, and reason for, their own creation?

(This post is getting long, and I'm getting tired, but I have more I want to say, so I'll finish later. Feel free to dialogue on this!)

A Radical View of Marriage

I was hanging out last night with a family from church, sitting around a campfire, roasting hot dogs, drinking hot chocolate, and talking about whatever we wanted. Fun times.

I forgot how we got on the subject, but we started talking about marriage, and its role in creation. I mentioned the sermon series that I listened to last year by Voddie Baucham entitled "Love & Marriage" (available to download here if you would like to listen to them!). Baucham mentioned something that I've never thought of before, but I think is very important to realize. He reminded his congregation that marriage was an institution that was created by God before the fall of mankind. This means that marriage is not a result of the Fall, not a byproduct of man's weakness, not a shameful enterprise left to be pursued by only the weakest of Christians. It is holy and good at its very foundation, and the desire for marriage is not a base and creaturely drive. If the want is there, it is probably God-given.

But then Adam (I'm referring to the man whom I was talking to last night... not the "one-man-through-whom-sin-entered-the-world" guy...) brought up the point that marriage is not an eternal institution: there will be no marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30). In light of this, many (including Voddie Baucham) have commented that marriage exists to fulfill two purposes. The first purpose is to serve as a means of procreation, that man might multiply the earth and raise up children in the fear and admonition of the LORD. The second purpose is that it might serve as an illustration for Christ's love for His Church (which is even referred to in Scripture as His spotless Bride).

So here is where things possibly start to get a bit philosophical (if you will)... but oh so amazing!

Both of these purposes of marriage are ultimately used to give God glory. Man filling the world with children who are brought up in the fear of the LORD is a way to proclaim His holy name in all the earth. And when husbands love their wives in ways that they are called to love them - namely, unconditionally and sacrificially, as Christ loved the Church - marriage serves as an illustration which God may use to turn witnesses of that marriage to the source of its love: His Son.

So, since marriage is God's idea, not some hare-brained scheme that Man came up with (being that it was established by God before sin entered the world), since its purposes are ultimately for God's glory, and since it will not exist in heaven, one view of marriage is reached by following these points out to their logical summary: God established the institution of marriage in order that He might glorify Himself on this earth.

Now let's go further with this tomorrow in looking at how this ties into an even more radical view of Creation itself... more blessings to be had here!

(I want to add that marriage also fulfills the role of giving joy to the members of its covenant, as does raising children, but I will discuss that idea more in the next post)

For God, the Just, is satisfied

Hey, fancy that... we sang a song about imputed righteousness during this morning's service. This is an excerpt from "Before the Throne of God Above":

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav'n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Oh, and Happy Reformation Sunday to you all! This Sunday we celebrate the 490th anniversary of Martin Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences to the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Hold up a pint for brother Luther this week!

The Flip Side of the Imputation Coin

Already had two posts on imputation... might as well continue, right? Right.

To fully understand the truth and beauty of imputed righteousness, we need to also understand the flip side of the coin:

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)

There was no need for an atoning sacrifice if there was nothing to atone for! Christ's righteousness was imputed to us only because something else was first imputed to us: sin. This is precisely what original sin is. "Original sin" does not mean that Adam committed the first sin, and that we simply follow in the same path that he did, being born righteous and then choosing unrighteousness. As evidenced here in Romans (and elsewhere), judgment - and through judgment condemnation - came to all men as a result of the offense of one man. This means that just as Christ's obedience was imputed to us, Adam's disobedience was first imputed to us!

And if this somehow seems unfair to us, we need to realize that Adam was a representative for the entire human race. It is presumptuous (and wrong) to assume that we would have done any better in his position! It's as if we were with Adam, in Adam, when he fell for himself, and for us.

I say that knowledge of original sin, imputed to the entire human race, is important for fully understanding imputed righteousness, because if we don't understand that we were dead in our sins when God breathed life into us, then we won't understand the fullness of the grace involved in the gift of imputed righteousness.

I'll end by quoting a session of The White Horse Inn, entitled "A Radical View of Grace", which stresses the importance of imputed sin in the gracious gift of imputed righteousness:

If any part of us is not contaminated by sin, then the grace of God is simply cooperating with that portion that remains uncorrupted, and therefore is not grace.

Doctrine of Amputation?

Quick on the heels of yesterday's post, here's some great encouragement in the form of a reminder from the Heidelberg Catechism (1562):

60.
Q: How are you righteous before God?

A: Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.1 Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them,2 and am still inclined to all evil,3 yet God, without any merit of my own,4 out of mere grace,5 imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.6 He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me,7 if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.8

1 Rom 3:21-28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8, 9; Phil 3:8-11. 2 Rom 3:9, 10. 3 Rom 7:23. 4 Deut 9:6; Ezek 36:22; Tit 3:4, 5. 5 Rom 3:24; Eph 2:8. 6 Rom 4:3-5; 2 Cor 5:17-19; 1 Jn 2:1, 2. 7 Rom 4:24, 25; 2 Cor 5:21. 8 Jn 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom 3:22.

This is the beauty of the one true gospel, that our righteousness is not our own, but is a gift from God. And beyond that, it does not claim - as, it seems, many tend to believe - that this gift gives us the ability to be righteous, our own selves working in conjunction with the sanctifying work of the Spirit to produce a semblance of righteousness, and upon these grounds we are declared innocent.

No!

This is again confusing justification with sanctification. Our justification is not given to us on the basis of our sanctification; rather it is, itself, the basis of our righteous standing with God. And this standing is not based on our own work, but on the perfect work of Christ, which has been imputed to us, and now belongs to us as part of the holy "transaction" which was purchased at the cross. The righteousness by which we are to be judged in the last day is truly not our own. It never was, is not now, and will never be had with any merit of our own!

And this, my brothers and sisters, is the unsurpassed JOY of the true gospel of Jesus Christ!

Lingering Death to the Law

The following excerpt is from a sermon by Ralph Erskine, 18th century Scottish clergyman, on the nature of being dead to the Law (Romans 7:4, Galatians 2:19, etc.):

It is a lingering death. It is not easy to get the law killed; something of a legal disposition remains even in the believer while he is in this world. Many a stroke does self and self- righteousness get, but still it revives again. If he were wholly dead to the law, he would be wholly dead to sin; but so far as the law lives, so far sin lives. They that think they know the gospel well enough, bewray (expose) their ignorance; no man can be too evangelical; it will take all his lifetime to get a legal temper destroyed. Though the believer be delivered from the law, in its commanding and condemning power and authority, or in its rightful power over all that are under it; yet he is not delivered wholly from its usurped power, which takes place many times upon him, while here, through remaining unbelief.

Christianity is sort of the odd child of the world religion family. It is the only one (that I know of) that calls people to do nothing. One of the hardest things for man to do is to do nothing for his own salvation. Passively receiving grace seems to go against something that is deeply entrenched in our "legal temper" as fallen beings.

The beauty of the doctrines of grace is that they emphasize the imputed righteousness of Christ. This means that all that we do, even in our most righteous moments, are but as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6), who demands perfection for those who are to be in His holy presence, because sin cannot exist in His presence. There is nothing that we can do to merit the mercy of God, because our hearts, tainted by sin, cannot possibly muster up any sort of righteousness which can please Him (Romans 8:8).

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25)

Graciously, it is the true (and only) righteousness of Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God the Father Almighty, which has been imputed - or ascribed - to His redeemed bride, and when God looks upon us, He no longer sees our filthy rags, but only, and ever, the righteousness of His Son.

What Erskine acknowledges in the above excerpt is that it is exceedingly difficult for us to completely, and continually, accept this imputation, to realize that the pardon for our sins has already been purchased, the price of our redemption already paid, our death already died in our place by Another.

But to forget, ignore, or deny this is to confuse our justification with our sanctification, to blend the two together. Our standing in God's sight is declared as righteous because of the justification that we receive - definitively, once and for all! - upon our salvation. However, this is also the beginning of our sanctification, of God's conforming us to the image of His Son. Unfortunately, since we still live in this world, our sanctification process will not be completed until the Beatific Vision, our perfected glory not fully realized until that magnificent day when we see Christ upon our death or His return.

If we ignore this fact, we may be tempted to become discouraged so greatly upon the recognition of our lingering sinfulness, that we confuse justification with sanctification: that we believe we are no longer seen as righteous in God's eyes if we fail to act righteously. But since it is not our righteousness that matters - our own righteousness being but filthy rags - we can boldly claim our justification by the blood of Christ, and therein find the assurance of our faith and salvation.

It is this aspect of dying to the Law that lingers in us, stressing the importance of proclaiming the gospel not only to the unbelieving masses, but also to ourselves and fellow believers, in a regular - even daily - manner. Don't assume that you've ever fully understood the gospel; instead, preach it to yourself always, dying to the Law, and basking in the beauty of the imputed righteousness of the spotless Lamb of God, ascribed to you by grace through faith.

The History of Religion

I saw this linked on a couple of blogs, so I thought I would share it as well.

Puts things in perspective a bit.




Note the boom of Christianity from missions.

Missions, missions, missions!

Handsome = Heretical ?

Oh THIS is hilarious!

This satirical article is very short, so be sure to read to the end!

"If you're visiting churches out there, or are perhaps unhappy with your current church situation I'd take a look at your pastor. If he's a handsome guy, I'd be careful."

Common grace?

So, I was working in a coffee shop tonight, and there was an acoustic band that was setting up, and I thought to myself, "Self, this isn't going to be good. You came here to work, and you're not going to be able to concentrate."

I'm sure glad that I stayed anyway, because I thought the band was spectacular! Two girls, keyboard, acoustic guitar, beautiful voices. I bought their CD, and told them both how wonderfully they played.

As I was going home, I thought again to myself, "Self, those girls have truly been given a wonderful gift. Praise God for that!"

But then I started thinking about the mystery of common grace. Now, I don't want to assume that these girls aren't Christians, because I don't know that. But I do know that there are many people out there who have great talents, but do not recognize where those talents have come from. People always say, "You have such a gift!" But a gift requires not only a recipient to receive the gift, but also a benefactor to give the gift. For those who do not believe in God, or at least some concept of a god, where do they think these "gifts" come from?

Does something like musical talent fall under the category of common grace? Is the goal of God's giving of this gift to glorify Himself, even through those who do not directly give Him glory? Were these gifts purchased at the Cross, as was saving grace? If so, then how and why are they distributed to those who are not His adopted sons and daughters? If not, then where do they come from, and why are they given?

Common grace has always been, and continues to be, a very difficult concept for me to grasp.

Thoughts?

The Greco-Roman Myth

I'm currently picking away at the literature portion of the reading list for my M.A. exams, and I'm reading Le Misanthrope tonight in a local café. I just came across something which reminded me of a sermon series that I listened to last year:

Comment pouvoir juger s’il est vrai qu’elle l’aime ?
Son cœur de ce qu’il sent n’est pas bien sûr lui-même ;
Il aime quelquefois sans qu’il le sache bien,
Et croit aimer aussi parfois qu’il n’en est rien.

(How can we judge whether it be true that she loves him?
Her own heart is not so very sure of what it feels.
It sometimes loves, without being quite aware of it,
And at other times thinks it does, without any grounds.)

The sermon series that I listened to is called "Love & Marriage" by Voddie Baucham, Pastor of Preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, TX (which can be downloaded here, if you want to listen to them; mind you, some of the files are split up in a weird way, so you'll have to play them through consecutively). I recommend them. Seriously. You know you want to. Go for it. Click.

Anyway, in one of the four parts of the series, Voddie confronts what he calls the "Greco-Roman myth" of romantic love. The myth wants us to believe things such as “This thing is bigger than both of us", “We don’t choose who we fall in love with", “The heart wants what it wants", and the ever-so-popular "Follow your heart."

Bull crap.

You know what the Bible says about the human heart? That it's wicked and not to be trusted! (Jeremiah 17:9)

Don't get me wrong: it's not that I believe that emotions aren't valid, or that they're not God-given. On the contrary, I believe that they are, and are, therefore, a wonderful gift. And I believe that they should play a very important part in romantic love. (I'm also not saying that we humans are as completely wicked as we could be without God's common grace on humanity, just to make that clear!) But I know a bit about my own heart, and I can at least speak for myself when I say that I would rather not make all of my decisions based on what that little untrustworthy idol factory is feeding my brain... especially not when hormones are involved.

I believe that Voddie is correct when he gives a biblical definition of love to counter this myth: "Biblical love is an act of the will, accompanied by emotion, which leads to action on behalf of its object."

Men, what Biblical model are we given for how we are to love our wives? That's right: our Lord and Redeemer Himself. We are called to love our wives as Christ loved His Church (Ephesians 5:25). Did Christ love the Church because she was physically attractive? Did Christ love the Church simply because His heart told Him to? Was His love for the Church - His spotless bride - an emotion that was beyond Him, bigger than Him, out of His control?

No. Christ chose to love His Church! Jesus chose to give Himself up for her! And He continues to choose to love her even when she doesn't act very love-worthy!

Let's stop buying into this myth that our culture is trying to feed us. Use your heart, but use first and foremost your will when you choose to love others, romantically or otherwise.

And if you don't feel like you love them anymore... stop it. Stop listening to your heart, and choose to love the object of your affection. The world will tell you to move on, to follow your heart, to trust in your emotions when things get sticky.

Boy... I'm sure glad that Jesus didn't buy into this lie when He chose to love me....

Oh, I have GOTS to find me a woman like this!

Dwayne and I were listening the other day to the latest installments of the online round table discussion group The White Horse Inn. They included in their discussion some views of modern evangelicals on the Five Solas by playing clips of answers that the producer had received when asking questions to attendees of a pastors' convention.

We heard these two answers from what seems to be the same girl, and were floored by her responses:


How important in your life is the doctrine of imputation?

To me personally? That’s very important! Because that’s the basis for my righteousness. There’s no other… I mean, my deeds, or anything that I do, doesn’t ever add up to anything!


Are you familiar with the doctrine of justification?

Justification is a legal term that essentially says that because God is a just god He requires absolute perfection and holiness. Because we failed that there was a need for punishment, and that punishment was brought upon Jesus Christ. And by embracing the Gospel - that He died for us, He lived the life we should have lived and died what we should have died - we now are justified, or we were declared innocent when we were once declared guilty, because all of the guilt was put upon Jesus. So, His innocence has been replaced with our guilt, and our guilt has been replaced with [His] innocence.


Whoa nelly! Be still, my beating heart! Lord, I have no clue what You have in store for my future, but if it includes marrying a girl like this... I'm fairly certain that You would hear no complaints from my end!

In Christ Alone

There are times during worship through music when I am brought to silence in contemplation of the words that I am singing, and how amazingly powerful their truths are. This morning was one of those times.

I would encourage you to read through the following lyrics, which you may have sung many times in the past, and carefully ponder over the meaning of each verse, each line, each word... and may the understanding you receive be a source of great joy for you.


In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I stand!
Here in the power of Christ I stand!


Surely, surely, brothers and sisters, in Christ alone our hope is found! May we stand in the love of this Cornerstone, and not lean on anything else.

Yesssss!!

Just got an email today from LSA (Linguistic Society of America) informing me that my research from last year has paid off: I've been accepted to speak at the annual conference in January with one of my professors, Zsuzsanna Fagyal (who is generously allowing me to give the presentation, as well as promote myself as first author, given the amount of work that I have put into the research)!

The presentation is on a study that I did which attempts to ascertain the domain of coarticulatory vocalic effects (a.k.a. "vowel harmony") in French.

Praise be to God for giving me the opportunity to speak at one of the largest and most renowned linguistic conferences in the world during my second year of grad school! Soli Deo gloria!

Conviction

Wow... today was a day of heavy conviction for me.

We had one of those fire-and-brimstone, "you're going straight to Hell because you listen to rock and roll music" preacher types come to our campus today. As I usually do, I joined the crowd, hoping to engage in discussion with those who were also there to listen.

In short time, a couple of people near me started talking to each other, and some dialogue broke out; I decided to join in as the group grew larger. At first, I stayed mostly silent, but interjected here and there. Soon, my points turned from being based in Scripture to being formed through logic. Soon after that, my arguments ceased altogether. The two other Christians who were in the group were able to answer objections in a reasonable manner, using much Scriptural support when appropriate; in short, they were "prepared to make a defense to anyone who ask[ed them] for a reason for the hope that is in [them]" (1 Peter 3:15). It quickly became evident to me (and perhaps, sadly, to others) that I could not do the same.

During this time, a friend of mine had called me, so afterwards, I returned her call, and told her about what had happened.

I told her, "I don't know. It just feels as if I've spent too much time... I don't know..."

To which she responded, "Preaching Calvinism, and not the Gospel?"


Ouch.


I say "ouch" not because I feel that this statement was unwarranted, but - on the contrary - because this has been weighing heavily on my heart lately. And I realized today that, if pressed, I would be able to give a more intelligible and convincing argument for the tenants of Reformed doctrine than for the basis of my own faith. This should not be so!!

This is not to say that God is "in need" of our help to defend His holy name, nor that apologetics is the only way to evangelize (certainly not!), nor even that we should have an answer for every question that is asked, but when we are told in Scripture to "always be prepared to make a defense"... shouldn't we be prepared with something?

Also, this is not to say that I believe that studying theology is wrong (again, certainly not!), but as I think back on my efforts spent in seeking out discussion of my faith recently, I am saddened that I have spent more time trying to reveal to other Christians the Scriptural and logical evidence for what I believe to be certain theological truths (as wonderful a blessing as they may be!) than pointing unbelievers toward the glory of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.

Thankfully, we serve a God of absolute grace, who is slow to anger and rich in love (Psalm 145:8). He is also generous enough to gently rebuke us when we err, compassionately revealing to us our sinfulness, that He might purify our hearts. Therefore, I do not cringe at this conviction, but rather embrace it, and thank God for it.

Please be praying for me, that God would be working His refining fire in me, cleansing my heart of all unloving and unrighteous grime that might be lining it. And pray that He would glorify Himself in my life!

A bit more help. Thanks, Mike.

Just read this tonight on my pastor's blog.

God's effectively-powerful sanctification process shown in Peter's denial of His Son. Why? Humility.

How fitting...

Why does the Lord let this happen? Why does he let us go our own way? If he gives us the grace to keep coming back in repentance, why doesn’t he give us the grace to never depart from him again? Because he wants to cure us of the folly of self-reliance. The arrogance of relying on willpower and neglecting prayer for strength to withstand temptation.

Soli Deo gloria.

More confusing ramblings. But less confusing, hopefully.

So... still thinking about this sanctification stuff and discussing the idea with various peeps.

The more I discuss it, though, the more confused I tend to get. Yuck.

Here's a few questions which may help clear things up:


When do we feel more like God is conforming us to the image of His Son? When we aren't struggling with open sins (mind you, the heart is an idol factory, and I'm not claiming that fallen humans can ever not struggle with sin!), or when we are struggling?

When do we feel that the Spirit is doing the most powerful work in our lives? During times of spiritual prosperity or spiritual dryness?

Does God ever purposefully ordain periods of spiritual dryness in our lives in order to make us realize that we are fully reliant upon His grace for everything that we do?

Does God ever do the same with our own sin?


Or should we even make the distinction?


Again, please forgive me if I am working too much off of philosophical nonsense right now. I haven't had the time yet to seriously tackle this question through Scripture, so I'm still at the beginning stages of mulling things over in my own teeny brain.

Thoughts? Is anyone even reading this stuff?

Confusing ramblings on sanctification

Yesterday's sermon was on Romans 8:28.

I'll give the text, so's we's all on the same page:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Pastor Mike asked a question that many ask in response to this verse: What about our sins?

We can see in the following verse (v. 29) that the main "good" that Paul is referring to here is sanctification: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son." So, that being the case, how can (no, does!) God work our own sin (a part of all things) for our sanctification?

The answer that Mike gave has had me thinking for the past 24 hours. He said that the primary good that God works through our own sin, which is evil, is humility. God providentially uses our sin to give us knowledge of that sin, so that we may be kept aware of our daily, continual reliance upon His effectively-working grace.

I know, and have known, that God uses our sin to sanctify us, but I wonder exactly how God uses something that is evil to slowly conform us into the image of Someone who is perfectly holy. I guess I always assumed that sin was just a part of the process: you have to first give into sin before God can give you the power to resist sin. Otherwise, what are we being conformed from? But is this really the only way in which a providential and sovereign God can use our evil for our good?

I think that there may be a danger here: in limiting the role of sin in our lives to those acts that we perform (or fail to perform) which are not evidence of our sanctification, we may be losing out on a great blessing... one which may even be one of the primary ways in which God sanctifies us by using that sin.


Okay, this may be getting confusing, so I'll try to simplify the randomness here:

1. What is sanctification?
-Sanctification is the act of God (slowly) conforming us "to the image of His Son".

2. In what ways do we not currently bear - and will not fully bear until the Beatific Vision - this image of the Son?
-Jesus never sinned because He was not a sinner. We choose to sin because we are sinners. God is working in all Christians to give them not only the desire, but the ability, to choose holiness over sin.

3. Is this the only way in which we sin? Is a sin merely an act that we choose to perform?
-When we sin, we are choosing to follow the lie that we are creatures who are not in need of their Creator. Even Jesus, God Himself, realized that He was fully reliant upon His Father (John 5:19), and obedient to His commands (Matt. 26:39, 42).


So, my question is this: what is the primary role of sanctification? Does God work in us primarily to conform us to His Son's ability to turn away from sinful acts? Or does He work in us primarily to reveal to us our complete dependence upon Him?

If we concentrate on this first definition of sanctification, we may ignore the second definition. However it seems that the second definition, which also implies the first, gives us a more complete picture of our creatureliness and of God's holiness. In essence, it moves us away from legalism (but not towards licentiousness!), whereas the first may move us toward it.

Okay, I'm getting into the realm of philosophy and logic, and away from Scripture, so I'm going to shut up now.

Is God's Demand for Worship Vain?

Well, I may not have much time lately to be writing posts, but at least I can regurgitate what I am reading! The following is a letter from John Piper in his book entitled "Life as a Vapor" (my current bathroom time-killer, if you must know....). It is an open letter to Michael Prowse. My prayer for all of you who read this is the same as Piper's for Prowse: that you will see and savor the beauty of your Maker and your Redeemer.

Dear Mr. Prowse,

It would be my great joy to persuade you that God's demand for worship is beautiful love, not ugly pride. On March 30, 2003 you wrote in the London Financial Times:

Worship is an aspect of religion that I always found difficult to understand. Suppose we postulate an omnipotent being who, for reasons inscrutable to us, decided to create something other than himself. Why should he . . . expect us to worship him? We didn't ask to be created. Our lives are often troubled. We know that human tyrants, puffed up with pride, crave adulation and homage. But a morally perfect God would surely have no character defects. So why are all those people on their knees every Sunday?

I don't understand why you assume that the only incentive for God to demand praise is that he is needy and defective. This is true for humans. But with God there is another possibility.

What if, as the atheist Ayn Rand once said, admiration is the rarest and best of pleasures? And what if, as I wish Ayn Rand could have seen, God really is the most admirable being in the universe? Would this not imply that God's summons for our praise is the summons for our highest joy? And if the success of that summons cost him the life of his Son, would that not be love (instead of arrogance)?

The reason the Bible gives why God should be greatly praised is that he is great. "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised" (Psalm 96:4). He is more admirable than anything he has made. That is what it means to be God.

Moreover, the Bible says that praise - overflowing, heartfelt admiration - is a pleasure. "Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant" (Psalm 147:1). And this pleasure is the best there is, and lasts forever. "In [God's] presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).

The upshot of this is that God's demand for supreme praise is his demand for our supreme happiness. Deep in our hearts we know that we are not made to be made much of. We are made to make much of something great. The best joys are when we forget ourselves, enthralled with greatness. The greatest greatness is God's. Every good that ever thrilled the heart of man is amplified ten thousand times in God. God is in a class by himself. He is the only being for whom self-exaltation is essential to love. If he "humbly" sent us away from his beauty, suggesting we find our joy in another, we would be ruined.

Great thinkers have said this long before I did. For example, Jonathan Edwards said:

It is easy to conceive how God should seek the good of the creature . . . even his happiness, from a supreme regard to himself; as his happiness arises from . . . the creature's exercising a supreme regard to God . . .in loving it, and rejoicing in it. . . . God's respect to the creature's good, and his respect to himself, is not a divided respect; but both are united in one, as the happiness of the creature aimed at is happiness in union with himself. (Jonathan Edwards, The End for Which God Created the World, in John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory, p. 248f.)

C. S. Lewis broke through to the beauty of God's self-exaltation (thinking at first that the Psalms sounded like an old woman craving compliments). He finally saw the obvious:

My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can't help doing, about everything else we value. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms [New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1958, pp. 93-95])

Both Edwards and Lewis saw that praising God is the consummation of joy in God. This joy flows from the infinite beauty and greatness of God. There is no one who surpasses him in any truly admirable trait. He is absolutely enjoyable. But we are sinners and do not see it, and do not want it. We want ourselves at the center. But Jesus Christ taught us to be human in another way, and then died for our sin, absorbed God's wrath against it, and opened the way to see and savor God. "Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

Therefore, the reason God seeks our praise is not because he won't be complete until he gets it. He is seeking our praise because we won't be happy until we give it. This is not arrogance. It is love.

I pray that you will see and savor the beauty of your Maker and your Redeemer.

John Piper

Common views of Christianity

So, hopefully nobody reading this takes Christianity so seriously that they can't find the humor in these videos. They are short clips (à la Mystery Science Theater 3000) that some church made in response to common misconceptions of Christianity.

I don't think these are blasphemous... but they are dang funny! Watch and laugh.

What?!?! Someone please help!!!

I started reading "The Pleasures of God", by John Piper, last night as I was travelling from Champaign to Chicago to Seattle. Good stuff, I have to say.

But then I stumbled upon something which caught me off guard. In trying to explain how God has been perfectly content and exuberantly happy with Himself and His own Godhead Trinity since before the creation of time and all worlds, Piper calls upon the writing of Jonathan Edwards ("An Essay on the Trinity") to help explain this point:

If a man could have an absolutely perfect idea of all that pass'd in his mind, all the series of ideas and exercies in every respect perfect as to order, degree, circumstance etc. for any particular space of time past, suppose the last hour, he would really, to all intents and purpose, be over again what he was that last hour. And if it were possible for a man by reflection perfectly to contemplate all that is in his own mind in a hour, as it is and at the same time that it is here, in its first and direct exitstence; if a man, that is, had a perfect reflex or contemplative idea of every exercise at and during the same time that that exercise was, and so through a whole hour, a man would really be two during that time, he would be indeed double, he would be twice at once. The idea he has of himself would be himself again.

Therfore as God with perfect clearness, fullness and strength, understands Himself, views his own essence (in which there is no distinction of substance and act but which is wholly substance and wholly act), that idea which God hath of Himself is absolutely Himself. This representation of the Divine nature and essence is the Divine nature and essence again: so that by God's thinking of the deity, [deity] must certainly be generated.

Hereby there is another person begotten, there is another infinite eternal almightly and most holy and the same God, the very same divine nature. And this person is the second person of the Trinity, the only begotten and dearly beloved Son of God; He is the eternal, neceessary, perfect, substantial and personal idea which God hath of Himself; and that it is so seems to me to be abundantly confirmed by the word of God.

What?!

Jesus is the essence of God's perfect understanding of Himself?! Can someone please help me understand how this is biblical and not just philosophical musings?!

It was just a footnote in Piper's book, so the biblical references (which so "abundantly confirm" Edwards's stance) are not given in support of this idea. Someone please help! I've never heard this idea put forth before, and would like to know more about it.

God's Irony

Well, one thing that I can't say about God is that He doesn't possess a sense of irony.

If you didn't already know this, I would encourage you to never try to put the Creator of the Universe in a box that you have made for Him... It's completely futile!

It's like trying to secure a bull with a length of dental floss, or trying to contain the fury of a tornado inside a paper bag. It will only break... and with power like you wouldn't believe!

And God's irony is often humbling. He thinks outside my boxes when I fall short of doing so. Praise be to our Lord and Creator, for He is sovereign! And He is good.

Utmost Importance

Well, today was my day for the blog fast... which does not mean that I fasted from blogging. It meant that I used today to fast, pray, and read Scripture, and am now blogging about it.

I wasn't completely aware that the point of this fast was to pray about a specific organization, so I went about the last couple of days trying to think about organizations that I feel strongly about that I could support through this experience. I kept coming back over and over in my thoughts to missionaries that I know from back in Washington, and various people I know who are seeking support so that they can fulfill the purpose that God has set apart for them to do.

"But that's silly," I thought. "There's nothing special about that. Every church has missionaries that it supports, or at least can get people in touch with missionaries if they want to support somebody!"

And that's when it hit me. The "organization" that I was seeking was right there: the global mission field.

I read through the first half of the book of Acts today, and was amazed once again with the fervor which which the early Church spread the good news of Jesus' resurrection and atonement for sin... as well as the recipients' intensity in hearing this news, and the utter joy that they expressed upon receiving the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of their justification.

But I was also struck, once again, by the generosity of the early Church. Everybody sold their possessions, and pooled together their resources, distributing wealth where need was felt. I believe that God enabling this abundant generosity was what made the missionaries' work possible.

If we believe that the Gospel is truly good news, and that the spreading of it is of utmost importance, we must not only do our part to obey Jesus' commission, but we must be willing to help support those who have made this end their life's work.

If you are reading this, I would encourage you to not only consider supporting a missionary, not only look at your check book to determine your capabilities, not only discuss the matter with your spouse (I say not only because these things are surely important!)... but to devote time in your daily prayers to intercede for these men and women, and to ask God if He would reveal to you your role in this matter of utmost importance.

And it starts...

If you haven't noticed (well, I guess those of you who still read this blog!), I haven't been writing much lately...

School's back soon, and so is the busy life that comes with it. This means that I will be writing much less often, unfortunately.

I will, however, be writing a new post tomorrow, as participation in the 40 day blog fast. No food for the stomach, but much food for the soul!

Stay tuned!

It may be my last one for a bit...

Some nighttime encouragement from the Maker of the stars

I am a thinker. I think a lot. Perhaps I think too much. Or perhaps I just think I think too much.

Regardless, last night I was thinking about my life and my future, as I often do. I have been troubled with this lately, and have been crying out to God for help. Last night was one of those times: I was on my knees, reading through, and praying through, the holy scriptures. It was a sweet time, even though I was troubled. God loves to hear His children's prayers, even if they come to Him out of distress.

When I finished reading and spending time speaking with my Father, I thought to myself, "I'm not done here. God has more for me."

So I did the same thing that I do from time to time after a long period in the Word and in prayer: I took a walk. I walked down to a nearby park, to sit on a bench. I wasn't sure what I was expecting out of this time; I was only sure that I wasn't done with God... or rather that He wasn't done with me.

I sat on a bench, and watched people talking in the distance for awhile. I examined cars driving by. I listened to the insects in the trees, and water splashing in the nearby fountain. Then I looked up into the sky, and saw a single, solitary star...

In an instant, upon seeing this star, my memories were brought back to a similar night from four or five years ago:

It was another night when I was thinking, perhaps too much, and filled with pain about a specific situation and the uncertainty of my future. I spent time hearing from God in His Word, as well as time crying out to Him in prayer. When I was done, I went for a walk. A long walk. I ended up down at the bay, at a local park, and I sat on a rock and watched the stars. I said to God, "Father, I do not want to test You; forgive me if I am. But I will stay here on this rock until I hear from You. Anything, Lord. Any word at all. I need to know that You are listening."

I do not recommend that you test the Lord in this way; for we are man, and He is God. He is the Potter, and we are His clay. However, God was most gracious in responding to me that night...

After sitting on that rock for about half an hour, late at night, in a park far from my house, my silence was broken by an audible voice which came from behind me. No, it was not the voice of God. It was the voice of friend who was in the Bible study that I was leading that year:

"Hey, it's our Corefa!"

This was the name given to the study leaders. He was with another friend from the study, as well as some other friends of mine. The two young men sat down near me, and were genuinely excited to come across their study leader out so late in this random park.

Immediately, I was filled with peace (which truly did surpass all of my own understanding!), and it was as if God was saying to me, "Chris, do not worry about tomorrow. For today, I have given you this work to do. Feed My sheep. Strengthen your brethren. The plans I have for you are plans to give you hope and a future. I am a most faithful God: lean on Me, and not on your own understanding."

It was such an amazing outpouring of grace in my life, and yet it took another walk to remember it. I am grateful to God for not only speaking into my life once to give me peace, but again years later to speak the same message. My faith is like shifting sand, but I serve a God who is a sure foundation, a strong cornerstone. He is perfectly loving, and is faithful to fulfill His promises... and He has promised to give me hope and a future. I will wait on Him in faith.