The EFCA Statement of Faith has it goin' on!

Just got back from a very long, very difficult church meeting. We will be needing guidance from God on some key issues over the next few months, so please pray for our elders and for the rest of our congregation.

I was very encouraged tonight by our ratification of the CEFC church Constitution as per the recent changes to the Evangelical Free Church of America's statement of faith. I am constantly blessed and encouraged that I attend a church which is so biblical in its teaching, and believes whole-heartedly and openly, among other things, the following (taken from the EFCA Statement of Faith):

4.101 God: We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

4.103 The Human Condition: We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God's saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

4.105 The Work of Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

Amen, EFCA. Amen, CEFC. Amen!

Are We Still The Body Of Christ Without The Full Armor of God?

Here's a very good read over at the Sacred Sandwich. A small excerpt:

It is time, therefore, to make no more apologies to the world for Christ and His Gospel and start acting like the Church… the Body of Christ, that Jesus promised would not be overcome by the gates of Hades. We must gladly display our spiritual armor and be prepared to be vilified by the world just as Christ was vilified, and to suffer just as He suffered. Remember, the world is not really directing their attacks against us, they are directing their attacks against Jesus, their Stumbling Stone and Rock of Offense.

Be blessed on this Lord's Day, brethren, fellow members of the Body of Christ. Let us gladly display our spiritual armor, not only individually, but corporally, on this day and all others to come.

An addition to Jesus?

Please read this thoughtful and convicting post that my pastor linked in his blog.

Brothers and sisters, it's hard for me to know what is in my own heart. I know that, at this very moment, there is stuff lurking in there that, if I could get even a dim glimpse of it, I would cringe with horror. The closer I draw to Christ, the more I want to cry out with Isaiah, "Woe to me! I am ruined!" The more I understand and grow to love Jesus, the more I understand that what He truly did for me once and for all was something that I could never do for myself.

I believe in the Doctrines of Grace, and I follow the doctrinal convictions that Martin Luther confessed during the reformation of the Church. It is in this sense that I am what may be unfortunately labeled as a "Reformed Christian". But I want to confess to you that what pastor Ortlund is talking about in his post has lurked in my heart from time to time in the past... and may lurk there still. I am sorry, and I would ask for your forgiveness if I have treated you in a way that is not glorifying to Christ, or have made you feel that I have placed a barrier between you and myself because of doctrine.

This is why I no longer discuss doctrine with many. But the times when I cease to put into words how I feel may be the most dangerous, for even if my heart no longer makes itself be heard, it may still grow in silent ways away from a faith that places Christ completely in the center, where only He should be. If my heart is still harboring these thoughts without my knowledge, I am sorry, and I ask that God would graciously continue to refine my heart.

But Christ truly is deeper still, and it is the work and glory of Christ that is at the center of my faith, just as He was at the center of Brother Martin's faith and his reformed view of the Church.

Christ... and nothing else. Amen.

Luther's Free Beer, Part 1: "Man has no righteousness of his own"

Okay, let's start this...

At the heart of the dividing line between the Protestant and Catholic belief systems is the question of how man is made righteous before God. Both sides recognize that we, as human beings, are sinful, and that our sin needs to be atoned for in order for us to be justified in God's sight; however, they differ greatly in their views of precisely how this justification is obtained.

It seems that Bob Dylan might be a Protestant:

You can't get to glory by the raising and the lowering of no flag.
Put your goodness next to God's and it comes out like a filthy rag.
In a city of darkness there's no need of the sun
And there ain't no man righteous, no not one.
-"Ain't No Man Righteous (No Not One)"

Why do I say that I think Dylan is a Protestant based on these lyrics? Well, he's alluding to Isaiah 64:6 when he compares our goodness and God's goodness ("We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment."), and to Psalm 14:1-3 and Romans 3:10-12 when he declares that no man is righteous ("As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.' ").

But don't both Catholics and Protestants believe this? What's the problem, then? Well, to understand the full effects of the truths of these verses, we need to understand how the Bible presents the concepts of original sin, justification, and sanctification.

The term "original sin" means that, since the fall of mankind to sin, we humans - as descendants of Adam - are no longer born holy, righteous, without sin. More than that, we are not even born morally neutral! Rather, we are born in a state of sin (Psalm 51:5) and, as an entire race, are condemned and justifiably under God's holy wrath. Paul states clearly this condition of our inevitable condemnation in Romans 5:18-19. However, in the same breath, intertwined in those very same sentences, he gives a hope for us condemned sinners, the righteous life of Christ:

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.

The importance of recognizing the truth of original sin for the full understanding our own justification is found in the fact that, as the Bible teaches the hopelessness of man's condition (if left to himself!), it shows us that man can do nothing to bring himself to righteousness, to justify himself in God's sight. God requires perfect holiness - not just our best effort! - in order to proclaim a human being as righteous. I will say it again: God requires perfect holiness, not a single drop of sin, to proclaim a person to be righteous. If we are born in sin, condemned by the fall of Adam, we cannot, absolutely cannot have this righteousness on our own! Therefore, if we cannot justify ourselves, then it must be God who justifies (Romans 8:33), and He must justify on the basis of something outside of us, since He requires an absolutely perfect holiness for the atonement of sin, and such a holiness cannot be found in any one of us.

A couple more verses to ponder over:

Do not enter into judgment
with your servant,
For in Your sight no one
living is righteous.
-Psalm 143:2

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good – except God alone."
-Luke 18:19

Relevant to the discussion of original sin and justification is sanctification. This term refers to the very real life transformation that every Christian begins experiencing from the very moment that they believe upon the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sins. This is an ongoing process of conforming us to "the image of the Son" (Romans 8:29) that enables us to turn from sin and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, begin living a life that glorifies Christ. However, this process is not perfect: sanctification does not make us perfect like Christ is perfect. Rather, it is a word (which means, literally, "to set apart") given for the very gradual process by which we are given the power to choose holiness over sinfulness... but it will not be perfected in this life. We cannot become perfect beings who never commit sin while we are still living on this earth, in these bodies.

I stress this point of understanding the Biblical definition of sanctification (Paul makes his stance on this matter very clear in his epistle to the Romans, if you would like to know more) because there are many who seem to confuse sanctification with justification, or will even collapse the two categories into one. The latter is the stance that the Roman Catholic church takes, which I do not believe is Biblically sound. Justification and sanctification are two very different things that happen in the Christian life! Rome would have us believe that we are justified not only by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, but also by a life-long process of sanctification. I believe that this is simply not true, and that it is not supported in the Bible*. Our sanctification is the fruit of our justification, it is not the basis for our justification! Justification will inevitably lead to sanctification, but sanctification can absolutely never lead to justification.

If we are to believe that the Bible teaches that no man is righteous, that God demands an entire life of perfect living in order to justify, and that what semblance of righteousness that man might have within himself is as filthy rags in the sight of God, then we must concede that man cannot be justified on the basis of something that God might see inside of him. This point leads me to the Biblical teaching that our righteousness is not based on works, which I will discuss in the next part.

*There are some texts which have been used to support the idea of justification based on human works, but I will discuss this later.

"Why I am not Catholic" (or "Why I am going to buy brother Martin a beer when I get to heaven")

If you’ve ever read any of my blog posts before, it is most likely completely obvious to you that I am a Protestant Christian - even an Evangelical Christian if you will… but that I am certainly not of the Catholic persuasion.

If pressed to answer the question, “Why are you Protestant?” I might respond with a simple, “Because I’m not Catholic.” And to a prodding, “Why, then, are you not Catholic?” I would probably retort with a resounding, “Uhh…”

Needless to say, this is not exactly in the Berean spirit. When Paul and Silas brought to the Bereans the good news of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for the sins of those who would believe in him through faith, the book of Acts tells us that the Bereans “examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Ah, so that’s what that big Book is for!

So, when a friend recently asked me why I am of the Protestant faith, and determinedly not of the Catholic faith, I decided to become a Berean on this matter. And let me tell you… it has been a very eye-opening experience for me, to say the least! Not only has my belief in the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to my eternal being been strengthened, but I had no clue how much our God has revealed to us in His Scriptures concerning this matter!

What will follow in the next couple of weeks is a six-part blogging session on “Why I am not a Catholic” (alternative title: "Why I am going to buy brother Martin a beer when I get to heaven"). I will attempt to look at many Scripture references, but these are only the ones that I was able to find in a single night of searching. After compiling six whole pages of texts, I finally decided to give up, figuring that what I have found might be sufficient to “give a defense for the hope that is within me” (1 Peter 3:15). But trust me: there is much more to be found!

The six parts will be “Man has no righteousness of his own”, “Righteousness is not obtained through works”, “Righteousness is obtained through faith”, “Faith is a gift”, “Christ’s righteousness justifies, not man’s”, and “Perseverance of faith”.

I invite anyone who might be reading this (do I hear crickets?) to dialog with me as I present what I believe to be God's plan for salvation, as it is revealed in the Scriptures to be the righteousness of Christ's active obedience to the law, imputed to us by grace, through faith.

I’ll leave you with the following verse to chew on before tackling these topics in the coming weeks:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

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.