| Feb 25 |
Archive for February, 2007The Emphasis…Luke 10:27-28
As we talked about yesterday, sometimes our emphases are own the wrong things. This is another classic example in the book of Luke of Christ having redirect folks’ attentions to the heart of the gospel, and away from emphasizing things that can become a stumbling block. Here, Jesus has been casting out a demon, we see. Then there are those who wish to catch Him in a lie, or in some way which seeks to diminish His claims of the Gospel. They’re so livid at Christ that they sputter out inonsistent and foolish nonsense. They claim Christ has cast out a demon, by a demonic spirit Himself. Then, of course, Christ shows them their foolishness by exposing the absurdity of their assertion. Keeping that in mind, there is a woman who has been listening and watching. Surely she sees the authority with which Christ preaches. She recognizes the power He has over evil spirits. She sees the firmness in His response to the naysayers. Upon accounting for all this, she sees the uniqueness of the Savior and cries out, “Blessed is the womb that bore you…” She is thinking from a motherly perspective. ”Oh”, she thinks, “how proud His mother must be of Him, He speaks with much power, thought, and authority.” She is putting to much emphasis on the specialness of Mary. Roman ism has this tendency, as well. In fact, many strains of Romanism see Mary as being a co-redemptrix of sorts, in sharing the pain and suffering of Christ’s passion. It’s ridiculous, I know, from Scripture, but has made in roads to the Church. People tend to focus on all the things which make them not think so badly about man’s condition. ”Well, here’s Mary”, some think, “a human, yet obviously specially chosen by God. And if she’s chosen by God, there must be something good about her.” This is, of course, error, as we know ”there is none righteous…no, not even one.” Christ quickly gives a passive rebuke to the woman’s comment by showing that Mary is no more “blessed” in an eternal sense, than anyone else. He says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” So what does He mean? Exactly this: Blessed are those who have been regenerated and are saved by hearing the word of God and grow in grace and knowledge and obedience thereunto. Once again, don’t get caught up…look to Christ alone by faith alone, and don’t get caught up in the hype. |
| Feb 24 |
Archive for February, 2007Don’t Get Caught Up in the HypeWe live in a world where folks are constantly seeking extravagant signs and wonders. We read and hear about UFO sightings, alien abductions, haunted houses, mysterious apparitions, and the like. Not only this, we have men following after and worshipping men, who’re merely men proclaiming to be God. Why is this? They’re attracted to the “charisma” of these individuals. They’re attracted to that which is sensational. By sensational I mean that which stronly appeals to the senses, and is typically perceived as beyond the ordinary. And this is mainly done by the folks who couldn’t care any less about the Christian faith and its demands upon those who profess to uphold it. “Forget the Scriptures”, they imply, “they’re dull, overrated, and irrelevant. Give us signs, miracles, ecstatic experiences…” They want what they percieve to be as “tangible”. It’s very easy to get caught up in this hype as well. The typical evangelical (I use the term evangelical very loosely)Christian is bombarded with ideas that the Lord leads His children, not merely by Scripture, but by promptings, feelings, and emotions brought on by the Spirit of God. Folks, this is pervasive even amongst very “non-charismatic” denominations. “Do what the Lord’s leading you to do”, Pastors tell their congregation, without even appealing to the commands in Scripture. “You need to pray about it, and listen to what the Lord says”, says the under shepherd, without saying that God speaks through His Spirit via the principle of Sola Scriptura. This is all very dangerous breeding ground for false knowledge, pride, and even great error. Consider this: Luke 10:17-20
There are several interesting components we may gather from Jesus’ comments here. First, notice the primary source of the sevent-two’s joy: No, it was not the response, or the lack thereof, to the Gospel; rather, it was the authority which they held sway over demons. Sadly enough, this was not the thrust of Christ’s intention in their commission.The Gospel was primary. That of repentance. I very much think a rebuke is set in order here by Christ. After listening to them express such joy over the power to cast out demons, he cautions them by reminding of an angel who once had great power, and let it get to his head. He says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven“, as if to remind these men that “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov 16:18) Moreover, He reminds them from whence this power they held over the enemy comes. “Behold”, Christ says, as if to say, “Don’t get it twisted, let it be known…I have given you authority…You didn’t derive it in and of yourself. You didn’t earn it. You can’t purchase it. It’s mine alone to give, give freely, to whom I want, however I want, and in whatever measure I so see fit and desire. Don’t be like Satan, you fools, for God Himself cast that prideful devil down to earth quick like lightning. You hold no power, authority, not even salvation, unless it has been given to you, granted you, bestowed upon you by Me, the Almighty.” Christ then proceeds to tell them in what they should establish as priority and worthy of rejoicing. I can hear Him telling them, “Look, be careful that you not be prideful in what you’re doing. It’s all a gift from me. Furthermore, since it’s a gift that I have given you freely, don’t rejoice in the petty things like casting out demons, healing sickness, etc., because those are merely instruments which bring people either to the faith, or to further condemnation. No, I tell you, rejoice that YOU, you men, have been written in My book of Life. My seal has been set on You, by the mere good pleasure of My will. This, then, is in what you should rejoice: That I, God Almighty, know and love you.” So, then, brothers and sisters, let us not seek the sensational, nor let us pursue what the world considers profound, nor try to match the miraculous. Let us recognize our salvation in light of our once unredeemed, undeserving circumstance, and let us rejoice in that!
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| Feb 21 |
Archive for February, 2007The Children of IsraelExodus 3:10
Notice that the whole of God’s people was that of Jacob’s Children (Children of Israel). At the end of chapter 2 we read, “…and God remembered his covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” We know that Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Thus, we conclude, according to the precedent set so far in Scripture, that God is dealing with the Hebrew people covenantally. It is interesting to note that God doesn’t make a distinction bewteen the righteous children of Jacob and the unrighteous children. Rather, he refers to all of Jacob’s descendants. This, no doubt would include both believers and unbelievers, and yet God calls them all his people. This has been historically understood in different ways. We will look at 3 such ways, and I will offer a dissenting opinion concerning the first (Dispensational). The remaining two (Reformed Paedobaptist and Reformed Baptist) are very much alike, with some differing views concerning the inclusion of infants in the Covenant (amongst others). Because debates between these two tend to polarize I will avoid critiques of them, because I simply want this to be an informative post and not one of polemics. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for such debate, but not here and not now. 1) Dispensational Understanding-Just as there are multipe shades and stripes of Baptists, Presbyterians, etc., there are multiple types of dispensationalists. Some are referred to as classical, some as progressive, and at least one I know refers to himself as a leaky dispensationalist (the last not being an official class of dispensationalism, but I would describe it as dispensational only in the context of eschatology). The Dispensationalist would tend to recognize this as merely a physical identification of God’s people, because, according to them, the covenant is merely that of a land promise, etc. The Dispensational hermeneutic would say that there is little to no continuity between how God worked with Israel and how He works with the Church, resulting in an erroneous “two peoples of God” theology. Though most would say that the Hebrews were saved through justification by faith alone just like any other Christian, this would cause them to downplay, in my humble opinion, the role of God’s covenantal dealings with the nation. God’s covenant made with Abraham is more than just a land promise, and is called an everlasting covenant. 2) Reformed Paedobaptist Understanding-There are multiple denominations which represent this view. Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Dutch Reformed, Anglican Reformed, etc. There may be varying distinction in degree of emphasis, but are all very similar in regard to covenant. The Reformed Paedobaptist would say that God’s covenantal dealings with Israel, as based on the Abrahamic covenant, have both eternal and temporary aspects. They would recognize a more strict continuity between God’s dealings in the Old Covenant and His dealings in the New Covenant. In fact, the Reformed Paedobaptist would make the case that the New Covenant is much more expansive than the Old Covenant, in that not only are believers and their children in covenant with God from the Hebrew nation, but there is a more thorough inception of Gentile believers and their children equated into the mix as well. This is where the Reformed Paedobaptist would distinguish between what has been called the “visible” church, and the “invisible” church (Along these same lines is the idea of the external/internal aspects of the covenant). From their perspective, those adults who repent and believe are baptized, they and their children, and then are all a part of the visible church. However, no man can know a person’s heart, thus they can’t know beyond a doubt that a man is or is not a part of the invisible church. That being said, this means that the invisible church are those who have been elected by God, before the foundation of the world, and who have been irresistibly drawn, effectually called, justified, and are being sanctified until glory. This is how, they say, God could call the whole of Israel his people, yet knowing that many of them ultimately broke covenant. They would say that, likewise, in the New Covenant, there will be those who profess Christ, but do not possess him. These are those to whom the warning passages are directed (Hebrews 6, 10, elsewhere), and many of whom are rooted out by means of church discipline, etc. (The warning passages are also directed to genuine Christians who are in need of repentance) 3) Reformed Baptist Understanding-There are also various shades of Baptists in this camp. Some would be Covenantal, some New Covenant Theologians, and still others may be a cross between, maybe more associated with the Continental Reformed concerning things such as the Sabbath, etc. I will be presenting the thoughts of the Covenantal Baptist camp. The Reformed Baptist would say, along with the Reformed Paedobaptist, that God’s covenantal dealings with Israel, as based on His covenant made with Abraham, have both eternal and temporary aspects. They would, however, stop short of the strict continuity that Reformed Paedobaptists see between the Old and New Covenants. The contention of the Reformed Baptists is that the term “New” in the “New Covenant” means “brand new”. Alluding to passages such as Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8, the Reformed Baptist says in the New Covenant, all will know God, from the greatest to the least of them, whereas the Reformed Paedobaptist will see an “already/not yet” aspect to the aforementioned passages. Thus, to the Reformed Baptist, the status quo is no longer believers and their children being in covenant with God, but to the individual man, woman, boy, or girl who is confronted with the gospel to believe, repent, and be baptized. According to the Reformed Baptist, a man should only be baptized after having professed faith in Christ. The Reformed Baptist, though not using terminology like “visible/invisible” church (although the 1689 does make mention of invisible church consisting of visible saints), has an underlying doctrine which basically states essentially the same idea as the Reformed Paedobaptist. In other words, Reformed Baptists understand a distinction between those who merely profess Christ and those who actually possess Christ. A baptism is performed on those who give a “credible profession of faith”, and in time this profession is shown to be true for a person who follows the Scripture and bears the fruit of the Spirit. For the man who does not live a godly life, yet professes Christ, he is subject to church discipline. The Reformed Baptist will follow the various stages of Discipline (Matt 18, etc) in hopes that the professing believer will repent and be restored to the fellowship of Christians. If such a professor fails to do so, then he will be considered and treated as an unbeliever, and according to 1 John 3, his actions are showing him as having never having been truly saved in the first place. Thus, the various warning passages in Scripture (Heb 6, 10, etc.) are directed to such a person for the purpose of having them “examine themselves to see whether [they] be in the faith.” The preceding descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive, nor are they the only views out there. However, I think they are the prominent views. If I have misrepresented any positions, please let me know so that I may make necessary amends.
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| Feb 19 |
Archive for February, 2007And God Rememembered His CovenantExodus 2:24:
If this doesn’t speak volumes of the multitudes of mercies God has shown men, what does? If you belong to Christ, remember, God has not covenanted with His elect in vain. He remembers His promises and He keeps them. One of my favorite verses (out of the multitudes) is John 14:
Praise God for His infinite love. Amen. |
| Feb 19 |
Archive for February, 2007Praise God, I Repent!
I praise God for being ever so faithful to me, even in my faithlessness. I’m so thankful that His covenant promise is steadfast, even when I am not.
You know, I’m aware of the dangers many Christians in other countries face when they’re made known to the public. I’ve heard the stories of Christians who are only able to get a piece of the Scriptures, sometimes with just a few verses, and how they’re endangering themselves by having just that. I think about those who have Bibles hidden away so that they’re not imprisoned, killed, etc., yet they do not shy away from feasting on the Word of God. I must say, I know these things…and I repent. I repent for taking God’s Holy Word for granted. I repent for ever reading through it with such perceived familiarity that I forget to read through it recognizing it for what it is: God’s Word. I repent for taking it lightly, treating it flippantly, and neglecting its immense necessity in my own life for guidance and sanctification. I repent of not consuming it with a great hunger and zeal, every time it’s read. I repent for not conforming to its statutes when I’m challenged. I am wrong for these things, and of them I do repent. I praise God for His Word! What a privilege it is to be able to freely read His Word whenever I want. What a sobering thought it is that there are many Christians who must do so secretly, for fear of punishment and death…and yet, they’re more faithful than I in their pursuit of God’s Word. May I forever be faithful in reading, meditating upon, and obeying God’s Word, all the while cherishing it for the gift that it is, bestowed on me by God’s grace. Blessed be His Name! |
