A Few Example Posts:

  • "The End of Faith: A Short Response to Sam Harris"
  • See also:
  • "A Long Response to Sam Harris' The End of Faith, by Neil Shenvi"

  • "Is John Piper the Best Answer to Emergence and Postmodernism?"

  • "Captured"

  • "The Storm is Over"

  • "If Golfing Were the Pursuit of Moral Perfection"

  • 9.29.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 10

    (See Ultimate Discussions 1, below, for Introductory Material)



    The Ultimate Happiness: Heaven


    One of the Old Testament songs contains these lyrics:

    Thou wilt show me the path of life:
    In thy presence is fullness of joy
    At thy right hand there are pleasures
    For evermore.1


    C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”2 If I could describe heaven in one word, it would be life. Hell is the exact opposite, death. In fact, it is called the second death in Scripture. The ultimate result of man’s rejection of life. In heaven, God banishes everything that corrupts and tends toward death. The following passage of Scripture describes heaven.

    And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
    And there shall be no more death,
    Neither sorrow,
    Nor crying.
    Neither shall there be any more pain.

    For the former things are passed away.3


    Heaven is not the stereotypical fairy tale told to children at funerals to comfort them in their immaturity. To understand heaven requires a good deal of thought. Heaven is the reversal of the curse that came upon man and creation due to sin. It is the restoration of the order. It is the result of Christ’s victory on the cross when death was conquered. Christians must be resurrected with new bodies just be able to withstand and partake of heaven’s joy, its “serious business.” Heaven is the eternal exploration of the infinite horizon that God is. Heaven is eternal celebration. (That is why singing and music are so often mention in heaven.) Heaven is where man and God meet without any mediation. All distances are removed. And heaven, life, can be experienced a bit even now. Christians get a down-payment on heaven when they receive Christ. But only Christians can understand what that is.

    Thank you for listening to these short discussions. My desire in writing, recording, and copying all these things is to share with you how to know God and go to heaven. The last chapter in the Bible contains a simple invitation. It says:

    And let him that is athirst come.
    And whosoever will,
    Let him take the water of life
    Freely.4


    I encourage you to respond to that invitation by acknowledging your sins, laying down your arms, and placing your faith in Christ and receiving the gift of a right relationship with God.

    It is absolutely free.
    --------------
    1 Psalm 16:11
    2 C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer (New York, Harcourt Brace & World, 1964), 93.
    3 Revelation 21:4
    4 Revelation 22:17

    9.28.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 9

    Please see Ultimate Discussion 1 for introductory material



    The Ultimate Choice: Salvation

    The chasm between God and man is as wide and deep as eternity. Yet Christ closed the gap by becoming, Himself, the way across. The bridge spans the depths, and at its foot, the sinful person stands, on this side, the far side of the chasm.

    His side is overcast and desolate, blasted, rank, and lifeless. It flashes with neon light and spinning whirligigs in the distance but holds no real life--just a market place of broken promises and deadly consequences. Although ugly, it’s comfortable and sometimes fun. The sinner knows its nooks and crannies--and even still has a heart for it, man’s side of the chasm.

    Here everyone is his or her own boss. But the boss of what? There really is nothing here. Just passing fancies that dissolve like cotton candy in the rain.

    Now he looks across the bridge over to the other side. On the far side, the clouds pull back revealing a blue sky that creates a shimmering, vivid contrast with a grassy, green horizon. An assortment of white towers, walls, gates, and strongholds stand together punctuating the skyline with a sense of the eternal. And the trees--huge, timeless, and deep-rooted, provide fruit and shade from a gentle sun. This is God’s kingdom. Over there is life eternal and abundant. But there is only one boss, one king. To go over there means to become a subject. The sinner asks himself, “Should I cross the bridge and become a subject to that King?”

    Becoming a Christian strikes at the pride in man’s heart. To cross the bridge means to repudiate what is on man’s side: sin. Man does not become a Christian by saying, “I could have done better.” Or by saying, “It was not my fault.” Or by saying, “I am not that bad, I just need to adjust my thinking here.” He must simply and honestly say, “I was wrong.” C.S. Lewis said, “Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms [emphasis added].”1

    The sinner may say, “I don’t know if I can? I want Christ. I trust Christ. I receive Christ. I want to be cleansed from my sin. I want to come to the other side. I am willing, yet still so sinful.” The wonderful truth is that such a heart has already taken the first and last step across the bridge. The bridge is not a system. He’s a person. The bridge is not a long journey. He’s a person. The bridge is not a rule book; again, He’s a person. Actually, a better word-picture than a bridge would be a door: A door from man’s side to God’s side. Not a process, not a journey, but a step of the heart. Here is what the Scriptures say:

    “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith which we are preaching--that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”2

    Faith in Christ saves the soul from eternal death and gives him eternal life. Will you call upon Christ now? One man simply prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”3

    And he crossed over.
    ----------------------------
    1 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (New York, Collier Books MacMillan Publishing, 1943), 59.
    2 Romans 10:8-13 NASB<
    3 Luke 18:13 KJV

    9.27.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 8


    The Ultimate Sacrifice: The Crucifixion
    Please see Ultimate Discussion 1 below for Introductory Material



    When they came to the place of the Skull, there they crucified him...”1 That is a pretty simple, straightforward sentence, yet it contains a lifetime of study. When we consider Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection three days later, we are getting to the climax of history, the heart of the issue, and the power of God for your life. It is the Good News we need to hear after seeing God’s holy nature and man’s sinful heart. At the cross, God’s anger was satisfied, and His love was expressed--all at the same time.

    For centuries, the Jewish people were under the command to bring sacrifices to the priest to pay for sins. No sin could be cleansed without the shedding of blood. Sometimes our sophistication makes us think that such a system is barbaric, and I can understand that. The priests of God did butcher thousands of spotless and innocent lambs over the centuries. But why? Why was that? It was not just barbarism of an ancient time. The sacrifices of the Old Testament were to teach all of us several truths through a graphic and bloody lesson.

    We see just how much God hates sin. His justice and rightness react violently against it! To slash an animal to bits and burn it over a fire shows us God’s holy and right response to sin.

    We learn that sin results in death. Obviously, the sacrifices never lived through the process.

    We understand that sacrificial lambs were substitutes. God, in His mercy, allowed the animals to dies in the place of people who actually committed the sins.

    We discover a picture of what the ultimate sacrifice was all about. A violent, bloody, substitution.

    We celebrate God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice in His bodily resurrection.

    The author of the New Testament book called Hebrews argues that the blood of animals never really removed the sins of man. What we need is an ultimate sacrifice. Since it was man who sinned, a Man must be sacrificed. So God provided His own Son as the final and effective sacrifice for man. John the Baptist rightly called Jesus Christ the “Lamb of God.”

    Jesus Christ: The Creator, the Second person of the Trinity, the Virgin-born Son of God lived a sinless life for 33 years. He never worshipped a false god. He never misused God’s name. He never broke the Sabbath day. He never dishonored His parents in thought or attitude. He never killed or hated anyone. He never committed adultery or had the desire to do so. He never stole anything. He never, ever lied. He never coveted anything that was not His. In every point where we are sinful, He was sinless--making him the perfect substitute. Absolute goodness walked the face of the earth, and we couldn’t stand it.

    So we killed Him.

    But ultimately, it was God who killed Him. God the Father sent God the Son to be the sacrifice for man and the receiver of God’s wrath against sin. In this act, God expresses His love for man: “For God did not send his Son not the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”2

    So Jesus Christ died on the cross where God’s hatred for sin and His love for man were expressed.

    He bridged the gap.

    And He did all this for you.
    ------------------------
    1 Luke 23:32
    2 John 3:17

    9.26.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 7


    The Ultimate Rebellion: SIN
    See Ultimate Discussion 1 below for introductory material



    When I lived in Idaho a few years ago, I went to the local animal shelter to find a dog. The people there let a pack of assorted canines wander loose in the building. A large black dog stepped out of the pack and came right up to me. His name was Zeke. And we became good friends from that moment. He trusted me, and I enjoyed him. Sometimes we would drive my Jeep into the Sawtooth National Recreation Area to go exploring in the Rockies. With the Sawtooth Mountains rising above us, I’d open the back of the Jeep and release Zeke into the wild, and he’d run off into the sage brush.

    One day I watched Zeke run into the distance and disappear all of a sudden. Then I noticed all four paws flailing away just above the sage, and I figured he had found something putrid to roll in: usually some filth that the elk had left behind. I knew it was going to be bad. He soon returned to me--proud of himself that he’d collected a store of slime on his collar and shoulders. Then he jumped up and wanted me to pet him. The words rank and rancid only begin to describe the stench. I had no way of cleaning him up out there--so it was a long forty minute drive home.

    I’ve often wondered why dogs love to roll in filth. One time, I saw Zeke roll on a dead fish that washed up on the shore of a lake. Why is that? I can only conclude that dogs and men have different natures. What appeals to canines repulses humans.

    So it is when it comes comes to men and God. What appeals to men is repulsive to God. Just as I did not want to get close to Zeke until I cleaned him up, God cannot get close to man until man is cleaned up. Man must be purged of his sin.

    In our last discussion, we mentioned the distance, between a holy God and sinful man. That distance came about when the head of the human race rebelled against God.

    On day six of the Creation week, God made Man and Woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden. This garden was lush and full of trees that had all kinds of fruit. Traditionally, people assume that God commanded them not to eat from an apple tree. The Bible does not say what kind of tree was forbidden to the first couple, but God was clear in saying, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”1

    Genesis chapter 3 introduces the person of Satan who tempted our first parents, Adam and Eve, to sin. I thought James Montgomery Boice described well what Adam’s response could have sounded like: “I don’t care if I am allowed to eat of all the trees north of here, east of here, south of here, and west of here. So long as that one tree stands in the garden as a symbol of my creaturehood, so long as it is there to remind me that I am not God, that I am not perfectly autonomous--so long as it is there, I hate it! So I will eat of it and die, whatever that means.”2

    Adam rebelled against a holy God, and sin entered into the human race.

    Theologians debate exactly how Adam’s sin was transmitted to you and to me, but the Apostle Paul is clear: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”3 The Scriptures teach, (and we all know) that every man is sinful. And this sin separates us from God, for time and eternity. He cannot get close to us--nor we to him.

    Thankfully, God is willing to deal with the sin of man. He said, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”4 How God cleanses sinners--and closed the distance between us--is the topic of our next discussion.


    ------------------------
    1 Genesis 2:16-17
    2 James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith, (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1986), 195-196.
    3 Romans 5:12
    4 Isaiah 1:18

    9.24.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 6

    The Ultimate Perfection: God's Holiness

    See Ultimate Discussions 1 for introductory material




    If you have ever studied a foreign language, you know that it can be tough work. When I was in high school, I studied German for a semester and then Spanish for two years. Spanish seemed a lot easier to learn than German. German, for me, was a little too “foreign.” When I got to college, I started studying Greek. Now that was a challenge. But it began to open up for me, and I enjoyed delving into it. Finally, as an upperclassman, I took a semester of Hebrew. Talk about a foreign language! The letters were completely different--and the writing went from right to left instead of the good ol’ western method of left to right. I have to admit to you that I still know nothing about Hebrew. At best I think I remember most of its alphabet.

    When we consider the holiness of God, we are approaching the foreign, the hard-to-comprehend, and the truly alien.

    What does the world holy actually mean? In his book The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul helps us by writing that the “primary meaning of holy is separate. It comes from an ancient word that means ‘to cut’ or ‘to separate.’ To translate this basic meaning into contemporary language would be to use the phrase ‘a cut apart.’ Perhaps even more accurate would be the phrase ‘a cut above something.’”1
    It means that God transcends everything. He is above all.

    Henry Thiessen says that holiness “denotes the perfection of God in all that he is.”2

    Putting these two thoughts together, we can see that God is unique and totally separate from us in His perfection. Everything about God is completely other. He is a category all by Himself. God told the prophet Isaiah, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place.”3

    So God’s very name is holy. Holiness is God’s primary attribute. I like to say that holiness is the dye that colors everything God is: His justice is perfect justice. His love is perfect love. His purity is perfect purity.

    Isaiah saw a glimpse of God in a special vision. He saw the blinding white purity of God’s character. He also saw angels flying above the throne of God crying out “Holy! Holy! Holy!” Isaiah got a close-up view of God’s holy purity. He could only respond by saying, “Woe is me!” when he saw his sinfulness in contrast to God’s holiness. If we can see a glimpse of God’s holiness, we too will respond in a holy fear. Our knees will tremble a bit, and we’ll become very sober-minded because holiness elevates our thinking and subdues our flippant attitudes. A.W. Tozer put it in poetic terms: “Before the uncreated fire of God’s holiness, angels veil their faces.”4

    R.C. Sproul continues: “I am convinced that [holiness] is one of the most important ideas that a Christian can ever grapple with. It is basic to our whole understanding of God and Christianity.”5

    Understanding holiness means that we see the chasm between God and man. Another Old Testament prophet said to God, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”6 Man’s pride in his own goodness collapses at the sight of God’s holiness. How can a sinful man bridge the chasm to get to God? We’ll talk about that. But in our next discussion, we must study the chasm just a little bit more.


    --------------------------------------------
    1 R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God, (Minneapolis, Grason Publishers, 1985), 54.
    2 Henry C. Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Eerdman’s, 1949), 84.
    3 Isaiah 57:15
    4 A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (San Francisco, Harper and Rowe Publishers, 1961), 177.
    5 Sproul, 24.
    6 Habakkuk 1:13

    9.23.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 5

    The Ultimate Presence: God's Omnipresence
    Please see Ultimate Discussions 1 below for Introductory Material




    About a thousand years before Jesus Christ was born, Israel’s King Solomon built a temple and dedicated it to God. In his dedication prayer, Solomon recognized that God does not need a building to dwell in. He said, “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”1 Solomon understood that God is beyond the universe we live in. And yet he also knew that God fills the universe we live in.

    Imagine with me an empty Coke bottle sitting open in a parking lot. Obviously, we know that the bottle is filled with air. Part of the earth’s atmosphere is inside the bottle. Now imagine that the bottle is shattered and scattered away. Has the earth’s atmosphere been lost? Of course not. Nothing in the atmosphere is changed. In a similar way, God fills our universe. But if He were to destroy the universe, nothing in God is changed.

    In this discussion, we are trying to get a hold of the idea of God’s omnipresence. Omni means “all.” Put it with the word presence, and we meant that God is everywhere present at once. Our illustration of the Coke bottle is a little misleading, though, by making us think that only part of God fills the universe like part of the atmosphere filled the bottle. The truth is that all of God is present everywhere within and outside the universe. He is above the universe and separate from it; and yet, he is in and throughout it. Kind of makes you dizzy, doesn’t it?

    Solomon’s father, King David, wrote a song along these lines:

    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    Too lofty for me to attain.
    Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
    If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
    If I make my bed in the depths, you are there...
    If I rise on the wings of the dawn...
    Even there your hand will guide me...2

    Lofty and wonderful describe it well. William Evans points out that God is our nearest environment.3

    This truth about God will subdue and comfort us at the same time. If God is everywhere, He sees the evil and the good. Makes us think twice to know a just God is everywhere. And it also comforts us to know that a loving God knows where we are.

    Do you have a relationship with God, your closest environment?
    -----------------------------
    1 1 Kings 8:27
    2 Psalm 139:6-10
    3 William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible (Chicago, Moody Press, 1912), 34.

    9.22.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 4

    The Ultimate Knowledge: God's Omniscience
    Please see Ultimate Discussions 1 below for introductory material.



    Saturday morning, February 1, 2003, I picked up my one year old son. While holding him in my arms, I grabbed the remote control and clicked on the television. The screen showed a clear blue day with a bright streak of light careening across the sky. It was the space shuttle Columbia breaking apart right before our nation’s eyes. Later that day, President Bush made a radio address at 2:04 EST. I had driven to Oak Ridge, Tennessee by that time to run an errand. I listened to his speech just before stepping out of the car. His comments were short, but I will never forget how he closed them.

    He said, “In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these. He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.’ The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today.”

    Those comforting words were based on Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 26. Isaiah was a major prophet of the Old Testament. The passage teaches us that God knows the names of each and every star. Just two verses after, Isaiah goes on to write, “Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding.

    God’s knowledge is infinite and complete. We use the word omniscience to describe God’s knowledge. A.W. Tozer put it this way: “To say that God is omniscient is to say that He possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn. But it is more: it is to say that God has never learned and cannot learn.”1 That’s a powerful statement, but it makes sense. Since God has all knowledge, He does not need to learn anything. One of the New Testament writers put it plainly, “...He knows everything.”2 Jesus told us that God knows the number of the hairs on our head.3

    Obviously, this means that God is not like we are. We feel the limitations of our knowledge and assume that God may be like us. But, just as God’s power is displayed without effort, God knows all things at once without effort. If there were one shred of knowledge that God did not know, He would not be God at all. But He knows everything at once and forever. This is a divine characteristic. We are nowhere close to being in His league. Nobody is. He’s God!
    Now, what does this mean for you and me? It means several things at once:


    1. God’s judgment is based on complete knowledge. He will be just.
    2. God’s love is unconditional. He knows everything about us--that means everything. And He still loves us.
    3. God’s care is perfect. He knows everything we need before we ask Him.
    4. God is worthy of worship. Who else is like Him?
    5. God cannot be fooled. Why should we even try?


    Let me close by going back to A.W. Tozer. He said, “In the divine omniscience we see set forth against each other the terror and the fascination of the Godhead.”4 That’s well stated. Anyone who knows all the stars by name--and all the humans that would like to explore them--deserves our awe-stricken respect.

    ------------------------------
    1 A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (San Francisco, Harper and Rowe Publishers, 1961), 90.
    2 1 John 3:20
    3 Matthew 10:30
    4 Tozer, 93.

    9.21.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 3

    See Ultimate Discussions 1 for Introductory Material



    As a boy of seven or eight years, I was intrigued with the life of Steve Austin--the bionic man. He was faster and stronger than anyone else. I loved the way he could lift cars, beams, or people with that strong right arm of his. Children and adults enjoy these stories about people with extraordinary powers. Comic book heroes like Superman, Batman, and Spiderman live large in our pop culture. Movies such as Harry Potter, the Matrix, and X-Men have swept away the imaginations of millions of Americans.

    What makes us so vulnerable to such fantasies? First I would say that people have always been vulnerable to a well crafted story. Yet there is another reason. I think people are always intrigued by the thought of having more power than reality gives them. We have to imagine heroes with special powers because we humans are really weak creatures in many ways. Charles Hodge wrote, “Power in man is confined within very narrow limits. We can change the current of our thoughts, or fix our attention on a particular object, and we can move the voluntary muscles of our body. Beyond this our direct power does not extend.... We cannot will a book, a picture, or a house into existence. The production of such effects requires the protracted labor and the use of diverse appliances.”1 In other words, we have to make machines to do the heavy work.

    God is not like that. He is not limited to quirky comic book powers or to machines and tools to do His will. He has all power. A better way to put it is that he is omnipotent--and it is no fantasy. Only an omnipotent God could create such a universe as we live in. Hodge goes on to describe this omnipotence: “God can do whatever He wills.... With God means are unnecessary. He wills, and it is done. He said, ‘Let there be light; and there was light’.... This simple idea of the omnipotence of God, that He can do without effort, and by a volition, whatever He wills, is the highest conceivable idea of power, and is that which is clearly presented in the Scriptures.”2

    An Old Testament prophet named Jeremiah accurately told God in a prayer, “Ah Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”3

    Jesus told His followers, “With God, all things are possible.”4 When an angel came to Mary, the mother of Jesus, he told her, “For nothing is impossible with God.”5 And the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament book of Romans that the father of the nation of Israel, Abraham, was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”6

    Of course, God only promises and does things according to His personality or nature. He cannot tell a fib or do anything absurd or illogical like making a round rectangle or annihilating Himself. All these things are against His perfect nature.


    So, God is omnipotent. He can do whatever He wants according to His nature and with no effort. He wills, and it is done. Talk about power!
    ----------------------
    1 Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, reprinted 1997), 406-407.
    2 Hodge, 407.
    3 Jeremiah 32:17
    4 Mark 10:27
    5 Luke 1:37
    6 Romans 4:21

    9.20.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 2

    Creation: The Ultimate Foundation, by John Rush (see Ultimate Discussions 1 post for intro material)




    Bang. Bang. You’re alive. The Big Bang Theory says something blew up a long time ago, and now you’re stuck in traffic. That is an unfair way to put it, but it illustrates the heart of the issue. Everything came from nothing

    But is that how it really happened? Absolute nothing fluctuated at the quantum level, created a dense ball of matter that blew up; the residue turned into gas which turned into stars which spun out the planets that had goo on them. The goo on earth turned into single-celled organisms that evolved into animals--and now we humans are in charge? Can it be?

    Obviously, many people think that evolution is a fact. Just watch TV. We are led to believe that the issue is a slam dunk. No question about it.

    Actually the debate between creation and evolution is alive and well. And, contrary to stereotype, there are plenty of intelligent people who are on the creation side. People have good reason to be skeptical about evolution. I like what John MacArthur said in his book The Battle for the Beginning: “It’s hard to imagine anything more absurd than [evolution’s] formula for the origin of the universe: Nobody times Nothing equals Everything. There is no creator, there is no design or purpose. Everything we see simply emerged and evolved by pure chance from a total void.”1 I think he was right to use the word absurd.

    Arthur C. Custance also found evolution hard to swallow. He had his Ph.D. in Anthropology, was a member of the Canadian Physiological Society, a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. He wrote, “If evolutionary theory was strictly scientific, it should have been abandoned long ago. But because it is more philosophy than science, it is not susceptible to the self-correcting mechanisms that govern all other branches of scientific enquiry.”2 So the debate goes on.

    In the middle of all the debate, the Scriptures unwaveringly say: “In the beginning God created....” Creation here means that by the power of God’s word, He caused the universe to spring into existence out of nothing--but God was the cause of it all. Genesis chapter one teaches the Six Days of Creation:

    Day One: God created the heavens and the earth and light.
    Day Two: God created the atmosphere.
    Day Three: God brought the dry land out of the waters and clothed it with all the plants.
    Day Four: God created the Sun, Moon, and Stars continue the light that was made on day one.
    Day Five: God created the creatures of the sea and sky.
    Day Six: God created the land animals, and then He made Man.
    Day Seven: He ceased from His creative activities.

    And He called each step of His creation “good.”

    From this creation we see that God is an architect designing mind-blowing complexity into the universe. We also see that God is an artist abounding in creative power and scope. We see that God is a person with mind, emotions, and will--evidenced in human-kind, because we are made in His image with our own minds, emotions, and wills.

    Creation is foundational to Christianity. The God we worship is the Creator of all.

    One final thought: Scriptures reveal that God is not distant and unreachable. The great teacher of Christianity, the Apostle Paul, spoke of creation and said, “God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each of us. For in him we live and move and have our being...we are his offspring.”3

    I would encourage you to seek God and reach out and find him. He is not far from you.


    ---------------------------

    1 John MacArthur, The Battle for the Beginning: Creation, Evolution, and the Bible (W. Publishing Group, 2001), 31.



    2 John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Ready With an Answer (Eugene, Oregon; Harvest House Publishers, 1997), 150-151, quoting Arthur Custance, “Evolution: An Irrational Faith” in Evolution or Creation? vol. 4--The Doorway Papers (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1976), 173-174.



    3 Acts 17:27-28

    9.19.2005

    Ultimate Discussions 1



    Ultimate Discussions and The Ultimate Topic by John Rush

    The following posts (about 10 of them) over the next few days will contain the scripts of an audio recording I made a couple of years ago. I wanted to make a CD that I could give to people as a way of telling the Gospel to people. It is a personal evangelism project. These CD’s have gone out to many places I know not of. My prayer is that the Lord will use the audio recordings to bring people to Himself. My brother-in-law provided the transition music between each track--classical guitar.

    The CD’s are low-key and a one-to-one conversational style. Here is the Introduction Script and the first Ultimate Discussion: The Ultimate Topic: God.
    -----------------------

    Introduction:

    This CD is entitled “Ultimate Discussions.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines ultimate as “representing the farthest possible extent of analysis.” Well, that definition obviously does not apply here. I cannot cram the farthest extent of Christian analysis into these discussions for two reasons: First, I’m not smart enough to know that kind of analysis. And secondly, even I were, it would not fit on one CD. So I have purposefully gone the exact opposite direction--keeping each track between 3 and 5 minutes.

    The dictionary does give another meaning of ultimate defining it as “fundamental; or elemental.” I think that best describes these talks. I want to talk about only some of the basic and elemental understandings of Christianity with the hope of encouraging you to consider the claims of Christ and the Bible even further--on your own.

    Thanks to Steve Nichols for the musical backgrounds and transitions to help keep the content of this CD moving and interesting. Let’s get started...

    The Ultimate Topic: God

    Thousands of books have been written over thousands of years about the ultimate topic: God. You can pile up whole forests worth of paper arguing for and against His existence. Even people who claim not to believe in God still have to think about Him long enough to make their arguments. When the topic comes up, I doubt you will ever find anyone respond with a blank stare and tilted head saying, “God? I’ve never heard of the concept.” I have seen people obsessed with disproving His existence. The impression I get is that they protest too much and exhaust themselves in the process.

    It is an old, but true, argument that nature itself tells us of God’s existence. According to one of the New Testament writers, “...since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made (Romans 1:20, NIV).” We can see the design that makes up creation and intuitively know that there is a Grand Designer.

    Nature is not the only proclaimer of God’s existence. Somewhere in the deepest core of ourselves, we humans know that God--whatever He is like--is out there. We hear a small, whispering, sometimes wordless voice when we pillow our heads at night: this is conscience. It says, “What about God?” Some listen and try to answer the question. Others of us simply try to turn it off. And we have all kinds of duct tape to slap on that voice to shut it up. Some have shut that voice up for years, but if they would reflect for a moment, they could easily remember what it sounded like. Augustus Strong wrote, “The existence of God is a first truth; in other words, the knowledge of God’s existence is a rational intuition.”1 I think he is right. The awareness of God is not just an emotional twinge that tugs at us. Our minds know that God is there.

    Because creation and conscience declare the existence of God, the Bible does not actually try to prove the point. William Evans wrote, “It does not seem to have occurred to any of the writers of either the Old or the New Testaments to attempt to prove or to argue for the existence of God. Everywhere and at all times it is a fact taken for granted.”2

    This is the point of my discussion: The question of God’s existence is important enough to move us to make an exerted study. And I want to encourage you to think about it, read about it. One book that is easily found in most bookstores is called Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Lewis was an atheist who became a Christian by thinking through the issues. Of course, the best book you could read is the Bible itself. But that is another discussion...

    ------------
    1. Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology: 3 volumes in 1 (Valley Forge, PA; Judson Press, 1907), 52.

    2. William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible (Chicago, Moody Press, 1912), 13.


    9.16.2005

    Women's Role in the Church 1 Tim. 2:9-15



    Sermon Notes. Delivered Sunday, May 15, 2005.
    1 Timothy 2:9-15

    OPENING QUIZ:

    1. Is the doctrine of the Trinity important?
    2. Is the doctrine of the Father important?
    3. Is the doctrine of Christ important?
    4. Is God the Father Superior to God the Son?
    5. Is Christ inferior to God the Father?
    6. Did Christ ever become the Son of God?
    7. Is Christ of different substance than God the Father?
    8. Is Christ a created being?
    9. Is God the Head of Christ?
    10. Does conflict reside in the Godhead?

    How did you do? (Answers at Bottom)

    TODAY’S TEXT: 1 Timothy 2:9-15 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

    KEY FOUNDATIONS

    1. Headship and Submission is found in the God-head.

    1 Corinthians 11:3 The head of Christ is God.

    “When did the idea of headship and submission begin then? The idea of headship and submission never began! It has always existed in the eternal nature of God Himself. And in this most basic of all authority relationships, authority is not based on gifts or ability (for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in attributes and perfections). It is just there. Authority belongs to the Father, not because He is wiser or because He is a more skillful leader, but just because He is the Father....They don’t differ in any attributes, but only in how they relate to each other. And that relationship is one of leadership and authority on the one hand and voluntary, willing, joyful submission to that authority on the other hand.” - Wayne Grudem

    CHRIST’S SUBMISSION HAS BROUGHT ABOUT YOUR ETERNAL REDEMPTION!

    2. Men and Women Are Equal in the Eyes of God:

    A. Both in the Image of God: Gen 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

    B. Both important in receiving the Holy Spirit: Acts 2:17-18 “...I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...”

    C. Both important in Baptism: “They were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 8:12

    D. Both stand equally before God: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither MALE NOR FEMALE, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28.

    3. 1 Timothy is talking in the context of the assembled Church:

    3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

    A. Priscilla taught Apollos the Way more perfectly.
    B. Women can make great theologians and author books.
    C. Women can teach other women.
    D. Women can share the gospel with men.
    E. Other areas of contribution... Personal testimonies, singing,


    KEY WORDS

    ADORN: Κοσμεω: “To arrange, to put in order, to make ready.”

    MODEST: κοσμιος: well-arranged; well-ordered, moderate: “The word here rendered modest, κοσμιος, properly relates to ornament or decoration, and means that which is well-ordered, decorous, becoming. It does not, properly, mean modest, in the sense of being opposed to that which is immodest, or which tends to excite improper passions and desires, but that which is becoming or appropriate....The word here used, κοσμιος shows that there should be due attention that it may be truly neat, fit, decorous.” - Barnes

    SHAMEFACEDNESS: αιδος “Modesty: The word connotes feminine reserve in matters of sex. In the word is involved an innate moral repugnance to the doing of the dishonorable. It is “shamefastness” which shrinks from transgressing the limits of womanly reserve and modesty...” - Rogers/Rogers. p. 490

    SOBRIETY: σοφροσυνη Self-control. “It stands basically for perfect self-mastery in the physical qualities; as applied to women it too had a definitely sexual nuance. It is that habitual inner self-government, with its constant reign on all the passions and desires.” Roger/Rogers. p. 491.

    1 Peter 3:3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

    “A woman should examine her motives and goals for the way she dresses. Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of womanhood? Is it to show her love and devotion to her husband and his goodness to her? Is it to reveal a humble heart devoted to worshiping God? Or is it to call attention to herself, and flaunt her wealth and beauty? Or worse, to attempt to allure men sexually? A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider how she is dressed, because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance.” - J. MacArthur.



    Andree Seu wrote an article entitled “Beauty at Any Price” (World Mag, May 7, 2005). "When Jehu rides his chariot to come kill Jezebel, “she coolly makes her way to the vanity table, calmly...regards her visage in the looking glass, and paints her eyes in antimony....In the remaining half hour of her life, looking square in the maw of death, when her options are whittled down to futile resistance or repentance, the woman is concerned that she look “hot.” Summer is upon us, and men have no idea what women in this far-flung land go through...We have mainstreamed the magic formerly affordable only to the stars--taking out a line of credit to tuck, tighten, suction, implant, and inject poison, all a devil’s bargain for a few weeks of looking like Gwyneth Paltrow (if Gwyneth Paltrow even looks like Gwynethsa Paltrow.) I have a cure, ladies. Here it is. It’s seeing life from The Other Side...Much of what we crave we would not crave; much of what we fear we would not fear. And looming summer days would hold no terror to our souls.”


    LEARN: μανθανω God does want women to be educated. Ephesus and Education. Grudem vs. Rogers

    SUBJECTION: υποταγη Submission. Yielded.

    SUFFER NOT OR ALLOW: PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE: Continual action and abiding attitude toward the subject.

    TO TEACH: To be a teacher. A DISTINCTIVE ROLE OF AN ELDER IN A CHURCH.

    USURP AUTHORITY: αυθεντεω: Simple idea of exercising authority. Period. It's not allowed.

    KEY CONCLUSIONS

    I. Problems come from the reversal of the roles between men and women in church life.

    I do not see anything in this passage that shows that women are more gullible than men. This seems to me to an unnecessary and hurtful stereotype. Paul is reminding us that tragic consequences arise when there is a role-reversal in the matters of spiritual leadership. By reminding us of Creation and the following sin in Eden he establishes several things:

    A. The roles of men and women are based on Creation. The differing roles are not influenced by divers and changing cultures. He did not say, “Women should be in subjection because of your unique culture in Ephesus.” He says that women should be in subjection because Adam was created first and Eve was created second. -Grudem

    B. Even in Sin, we see the created order: Eve allowed herself to be deceived and stepped out of her God-given role of submission. Adam openly rebelled by reliquishing his role of God-given leadership. Eve rose. Adam caved. They both sinned in different ways; BUT the human race was not plunged into darkness by Eve’s sin. It was plunged into darkness by Adam’s sin. Why? Because he was the leader! Even in sin, he was the leader!

    C. Life now is not made right by continuing the role-reversal. Eve’s sin was one of merely being deceived. She was more innocent. Nor can we say, "Adam should not have rebelled; therefore, his sin was worse. Because Eve was more innocent, and Adam was more guilty, Eve, and her daughters, should take on the role of spiritual leadership."

    D. Life now is made right by pursuing our God-given roles: Eve’s daughters should step back into their role of submission. Adam’s sons should step back into their role of leadership. This restores the power of their God-given influences. Women, have you believed the lie that influence is to be found solely in the leadership roles of family and church? You have been deceived by Satan.

    E. SAVED: Means Preserved. By seeking to restore themselves to their original role of being keepers at home, loving their husbands and loving their children--and having children--women will be preserved in their dignity and influence in raising up a godly seed.

    “In a coming day, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, it is faithfulness that will count, and this is something which can be exhibited in the home as well as in the pulpit.” - W. MacDonald.

    “Men are to be the leaders in the church and the family. Women are kept from any accusation of inferiority through the godly influence they have in the lives of their precious children. For the church to depart from this divine order is to perpetuate the disaster of the Fall.” - J. MacArthur

    II. MASCULINE AND FEMININE MUST BE PRESERVED IN THIS WORLD:

    A. If something of God’s image is revealed in the authority of the man and the submission of the woman, then that vision of God is lost in this world if we refuse the masculine and feminine.

    1. This affects society.
    2. This affects children who gain impressions of God from parents.
    3. This affects the power of Christ’s church in the world.

    “...When we begin to dislike the very idea of authority and submission--not distortions and abuses, but the very idea--we are tampering with something very deep. We are beginning to dislike God Himself.” - Wayne Grudem

    B. Women, if you refuse to accept that women and men are equal under God’s arrangement, you may as well say that Christ is not equal to God the Father.

    C. Women, if you disregard the value of your God-given role, you will miss out on what God could do with power in your life.

    D. If you truly believe and yield to the word of God in this issue, you will be different from the society around you:

    DIFFERENT: NOT IN AN EXTREME, EXTERNAL AND SHALLOW WAY BUT IN A SPIRITUAL, PROFOUND, AND POWERFUL WAY.

    You will never know the extent of your influence, but it’s repurcussions will be felt in eternity.

    E. Husbands should not believe that wives are inferior just as they should not believe Christ is inferior to God. By doing so you live a lie, dishonor God, and hurt your family and church.

    F. Wives should not usurp authority any more than Christ would usurp the Father’s leadership.

    G. We should find Joy in the way God made us, not give up the ideal because of abuses:

    “A given man may make a very bad husband; you cannot mend matters by trying to reverse the roles. He may make a bad male partner in a dance. The cure for that is that men should more diligently attend dancing classes; not that the ballroom should henceforward ignore distinctions of sex and treat all dancers as neuter. That would, of course be eminently sensible, civilized, and enlightened, but...not near so much like a Ball.” - C.S.Lewis.
    ___________________
    QUIZ ANSWERS: (1-3 is YES; 4-8 is NO; 9 is YES; 10 is NO)

    Interesting Note: I know this link is old news, however, this is another example of how one can be reviled for preaching the Bible. Click Here

    9.14.2005

    Honor Widows Indeed: 1 Timothy 5:3-16

    Text: 1 Timothy 5:3-16
    3 Honour widows that are widows indeed. 4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. 5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. 6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. 7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. 8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, 10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. 11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; 12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. 13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. 14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 15 For some are already turned aside after Satan. 16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

    * Aid Widows Indeed
    * Employ Older Widows
    * Exhort Younger Widows

    Theme: God Cares for Widows. The Church Should Too.

    Exposition:

    I. Aid Widows Indeed: Verses 3-8

    A. Honor Widows that are Widows Indeed: (vv. 3, 5)

    3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
    5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

    B. Remind Families of their Godly Responsibilities: (vv. 4, 8, 16)

    v. 4 Piety = Reverence to one’s responsibilities. It is the same root for the word “godliness.”
    v. 4 Nephews = Grandchildren
    v. 4 Parents = Parents/Grandparents

    C. Discern the Godly Widows from the Ungodly Widows: (vv. 6-7)

    v. 6: Living in Pleasure. The selfish pursuits of one’s own way are a way of death.
    v. 7: Charge them to live blameless lives.

    II. Employ Older Widows: Verses 9-10

    A. Enroll them on the list. v. 9. καταλεγεσθω: “It is a technical term for being placed on a recognized list or catalogue.” - J.N.D. Kelly. A Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles. Black’s New Testament Commentaries. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1972.

    B. Examine their Qualifications. v.9-10.

    1. Faithful in Marriage: One Man Woman. Similar to the requirement for elder/deacon.

    2. Faithful in Ministry: She is Well-Reported: Others can witness to her character.

    a. Since she has brought of children.
    b. Since she has lodged strangers
    c. Since she has served the saints: washed feet.
    d. Since she has been diligent to good works.

    III. Exhort Younger Widows:

    A. Refuse them for the list. v.11-12. Being put on the list may put them in a difficult situation:

    1. They may be tempted to remarry: “Wax Wanton” = From a root word that has been used to describe an animal trying to get out of its yoke.

    It also speaks of the impulse of desire.

    2. They may cast off their “first faith” or pledge: v. 12

    This pledge apparently was to not remarry and to devote themselves entirely to an active ministry during the later years of their life.

    3. They may be tempted to idleness: v. 13 As Paul Speaks, think about these temptations that may appear in our own lives now...

    a. They learn to be idle: Their full time work, of which they made a study, was to be idle. Not working.

    b. Wandering about from house to house: Misusing opportunities of service and ministry (Guthrie)

    c. Tattlers: “Gossipy loose talkers; i.e., babbling out whatever might come into their mind (Fairbairn). A “bubbling out.”

    d. Busybodies: “The word marks a meddling habit, a perverted activity that will not content itself with minding its own concerns, but must busy itself about with those of others (Ellicot; s. 2 Thess. 3:11) Overly concerned about insignificant or inappropriate matters.

    e. Speaking Unnecessary Things: “It takes serious-minded, mature, godly women to minister in homes to women and families. The secrets and problems of those families would be safe with them. For those reasons, as well as the danger that they will abandon their commitments to Christ, Paul forbids younger women to be put on the list.” - J. MacArthur, p. 212.

    B. Encourage them to remarry: v. 14

    1. Bear Children:

    2. Guide the House: Administrate their duties. Rule the house

    3. Live Above Reproach. No occasion to the adversary; some have turned aside after Satan.

    Speaking of False Teachers: 2 Timothy 3:6 "For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts..."

    False teachers were apparently taking advantage of these widows who had made themselves vulnerable to an ungodly lifestyle.

    Paul recognizes that the schemer who wants to destroy these useful people is Satan.

    Note: The List was of qualified widows who would dedicate themselves to the service of God for the remainder of their days. This dedication, or pledge, was reserved for those who could keep that commitment. Younger women are protected from making a commitment they may regret later, when they really should have remarried in the first place. Each widow, young and old, is different; however, these general principles serve as guide posts to help them order their lives.

    Lessons to Learn: Here are some General Principles from Today’s Message:

    1. God expects the church to help and guide the vulnerable in her midst.

    2. The Church is not required to give long-term support to unqualified people. This is not a government program guided by the rules and expectations of the modern welfare state. We are called to discern and discriminate the moral track record of these widows.

    3. God has moral expectations for the lives of his people. The fulfilling or denying of these expectations has consequences.

    4. If God does not want older folks to fall into the temptations we’ve listed today, He does not want younger people to fall into them either. I remember what one of my college professors said in class: “You are what you have been becoming.”

    5. Pray for your elders. Recognize the responsibilities of the elders and deacons who will be discerning these issues.

    6. Not all widows will need financial support. But all widows need honor and care. We must weave this into the life of our church.

    7. God does not expect anyone to retire from His service. The later years are really a time of great usefulness to God.

    “It has been my experience in three different pastorates that godly widows are a ‘spiritual powerhouse’ in the church. They are the backbone of the prayer meetings. They give themselves to visitation, and they swell the ranks of teachers in the Sunday School. It has been my experience that, if a widow is not godly, she can be a great problem to the church. She will demand attention, complain about what the younger people do, and often ‘hang on the telephone’ and gossip.” -Warren Wiersbe.

    8. Children and Grandchildren: If you do not think ahead, plan, and make provision for your parents or grandparents, You have denied the faith. You are worse than an unbeliever in your actions. You may not be able to personally provide for all medical care, but you have got to be a part of the planning and foresight of your family's care. You are to be involved. You are first line of defense. And you are to learn how to take this responsibility on.



    John’s Thoughts on the Issue of Widows in 1 Timothy 5:3-16
    -------------------------------------
    * Wife of One Husband = One-man-woman (Faithfulness.) This phrase cannot mean “marital status.” It must mean “personal character” of people legitimately married. The Bible does not hold a second marriage of a widow as less valuable. (Romans 7, 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Timothy 5:14.) If Paul wills that the younger widows marry again, then the second marriage is honorable. The second marriage, if lived well, also becomes the basis for being accepted as a ministering widow in the future should her second husband die.
    If we hold to the understanding of “one marriage only,” then, widows who married, legitimately, the second time would be deemed unworthy of ministering as a widow when she is older and widowed again by her second husband--after having been encouraged by the Holy Spirit to marry the second time. Does God disqualify a person from future ministry because she obeyed at an earlier point in her life?

    --------------------------------------
    Considerations on the Category of “Ministering Widows" as a separate group from "Aided Widows:"

    * There must have been a “category” of ministering widows. The Greek word speaks of enrolling into a category, marking down. Later in the text, there seems to be a pledge that the women 60 years and older would make. This pledge would include singular devotion to Christ in His church, and an expectation not to marry. According to MacArthur, the early church did function in this way.

    * Women Under Sixty, who are μεμονωμενη, would continue to be desolate. In light of other Scripture texts? Is this God’s meaning? i.e. James 1:27; Galatians 6:10, and others.

    * Women over Sixty who wished to Marry Again someday would also be excluded from aid. The pledge in this regard would precede aid given by the church.

    9.13.2005

    10 Reasons Why I Like Fall



    1. Dry Air. After having lived in high desert country in the Rockies, I found the humidity in East Tennessee to be a real challenge!

    2. Fires. I like the smell of burning leaves, camp fires, and wood stoves. I like to stand by a good fire and look at the sky at night.

    3. Cool Air. Just something about it.

    4. Fewer Bugs. I hate bugs.

    5. Harvest Theme. East Tennessee knows how to decorate for fall like I’ve never seen. The pumpkins, corn stalks, squash, bails of hay. My wife is good at putting these together.

    6. Thanksgiving. Call me “out of step,” but I’m stupid enough to love my country--and I’m thankful for her heritage.

    7. Waiting in the Woods. I like seeing the black starry sky turning grey, yellow light coming up gradually over a green field in the distance. Blue sky, white clouds. Good stuff.

    8. Muzzleloader Season. I enjoy the process of hunting with black powder.

    9. Rifle Season. I enjoy the high powered report of the rifle.

    10. The Surprise Appearance. Deer have a way in the woods. Sometimes you can see or hear them coming, but often they just appear. A terrific animal.

    9.08.2005

    Amorphous Thoughts on the Emergent Church





    Sometimes I’m a late arrival to the party. Believe it or not, my parents understood the scope of the blogosphere before I did. My dad has been known to say, “Better never late.” I agree with him as long as I can be on the cutting edge. But since I seem to arrive just when the cheese dip runs out, I still have to fall back on “Better late than never.”

    This week, I made my first fly-over of the Emerging Church landscape. This means I’ve taken in a broad view that leaves the particulars fuzzy--but a picture is emerging (pardon the word play here.) One thing comes to mind: I will probably not fit into the Emerging Church for one reason: I’ve never been cool. Not in elementary, junior high, or high school. Never made it into the inner ring there, and I will probably never make into the inner ring of hip, up-to-date, current, and cool cultural understanding and sensitivity. (Where is an evangelical clod to go?)

    However, I have some sympathy for the phenomenon of “emergence.” I like to think of myself as having emerged from “fundamentalism” to a more mature understanding of the Christian life. [Please, no insult implied. I’m talking about me.]
    I know the process of:

    seeking,
    finding,
    enchantment,
    commitment,
    settledness,
    doubting,
    unsettledness,
    disenchantment,
    and seeking again

    The final stage of “seeking again” seems to be the equivalent of “Emergence” in this context. The movement claims to be coming out of a variety of things only to wonder: “Where do we go from here?”

    Let me add my two cents to the “conversation.” Some folks on the Emergent side claim that they have not abandoned truth or the concept of truth. I’m glad to hear them say that. The existentialism (and nihilism) that undergirds our current “postmodern” culture has despaired of coming to truth. I fear for people in the church who may not understand the powers of despair. It seems that the Emergent Movement wants to have its cake--and its ice cream too. It wants to have truth here and postmodern angst there. Be careful that the angst doesn’t take over in the end! Especially at a time when epistemological angst is “cool.” It may be cool but can also be deadly.

    If you want to swim the postmodern waters, beware the undertows. I would offer several ropes to land:


    1. Certainty does not Equal Pride. Take the Lord Jesus Christ for example. He knew with certainty:

    Who He was.
    Where He came from.
    Why He was here.
    Where He was going.

    God is the most humble person in the universe. (John 13)

    2. Uncertainty does not Equal Virtue. Take Pontius Pilate for example. He questioned, “What is truth?” The skepticism and cynicism in his question are pretty clear to me. Yet he is responsible for a horrendous role in human history. He washed his hands but could not remove the “damned spot” of injustice and culpability (regardless of God’s sovereign plan).

    3. Equivocation is Maddening. People who have a studied ambiguity--hoping to avoid a clear cut position--are going to lose effectiveness in the long-run. Remember the profound and life-changing country song... “You’ve got to stand for something...” It is preferable to stand on truth.

    4. The Gospel can be Known. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

    Simple. But not too simple. (No, its not.) Children can receive the Gospel. In fact, Christ encouraged us to be as such.

    Questioning everything that can be questioned will have to end sometime. You will have to land somewhere. Deconstruction can only go so far. That is why some think that the Emergent Church Movement will be short lived. Once you’ve “emerged” where are you? You will have to answer that question sometime. Right now you are in-between. The “In-Between Lands”--in my experience--are transitional, short-term places. I would pity the person who is always in-between.

    Wouldn’t it be good to admit what we really know?

    Truth is available.
    We can know it.

    The Spirit is powerful, and He can help us. Will He not convict us of sin, righteousness, and judgment? If He is the great trans-cultural communicator, He is the great trans-subcultural communicator as well.

    5. The Faith is Not Evolving. Jude 3: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

    The Faith is complete. “Once” means “once for all.” The Faith is complete, sufficient, unchanging, eternal, and straight from the heart of God.

    The Faith has been delivered to the saints.

    We have it.
    It is here.
    We can know it.

    The Bible is not a Rubic’s Cube without the Cheat Sheet. (Does this date me?)

    Our understanding of the Faith is always being refined, but the understanding we have is real. And it can be sufficient regarding the core issues of truth.

    I guess we can quibble over the “packaging” of ministry, but the content had better be the real thing. And it is the content that counts in the end.

    6. God is a God of Order. How many Scriptural examples are there? Let me count the ways.... The Old Testament system, although replaced, came from God. He is not against order. Even the New Testament admonition against bedlam in the church can have a secondary application here: “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:40) The pastoral epistles give qualifications, and even policies, for church functions and church life. Let’s not despise them.

    7. Authenticity is a Heart Issue. We humans have a natural bent for hypocrisy. Although changing one form or style in ministry for another may be helpful, it is not the cure.

    Hypocrisy can seep into anything. King David knew that God wants truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). And the “Leaven of the Pharisees” is insidious. Are the non-Emergent people trapped in a world of dead ministry, twice plucked up by the roots? I think common sense would say that authentic and hypocritical people are found in all church movements.

    8. New is not Always Better. Excuse me one generalization: It appears that the eastern cultures tend to think that former generations were “better.” Hence, people in those cultures revere their ancestors more than we Westerners do. Various pitfalls accompany the Eastern view. Conversely, Western cultures seem to be permeated with the great myth that new is always better. The rebels of the 60’s were sure they were better than their fathers. (The jury is still way out on that one.) Surely my generation of the 80’s improved on the Dark Age of Fashion known as the 70’s!

    We humans tend to think that the new kids on the block have the world on a chain--and other pertinent clichés I cannot think of right now.... But does anyone between the ages of 18-22 have a right to an opinion on anything that really matters? Really? (Grain of salt. Grain of salt!)

    I do struggle with labels of “new” and “old”--as if every form of worship has a shelf-life like a gallon of milk or a bag of Cheetos.

    I am very sympathetic to the pursuit of authenticity. I have seen a lot of shenanigans in ministry and in myself. This is a needed topic of conversation! Remember, authenticity is a matter of the heart and will be judged at the end of the age, ultimately.

    9. Individuals of Different Cultures Can Communicate: This communication will take various levels of effort depending on the cultures. However, people do have a common ground from which to work: All People Bear the Image of God even as Sinners in the World.

    If culture is our philosophical starting point, won’t we simply be consumed by chasing the ever elusive “key” to unlocking the ever changing culture? I see a form of madness on the horizon.

    I agree that culture cannot be disregarded. I like some of what I hear in “missional church” thinking.

    However, I also like what James MacDonald said along these lines, especially for the American church:


    "Cultures don’t come to Christ, individuals do and the fields are more ripe for harvest than ever before. Our endless discussion of culture has become just an elitist substitute for rolling up our sleeves and getting the Good News to the people who are hurting right now! Baby Boomer, GenX, Postmodern, blah, blah, blah. The discussion itself is modernistic and we’re just talking to ourselves. How about a more compassionate extension of our own life in Christ and please . . . a lot less perpetual babbling about culture, which even when rightly observed is not the answer, duh—Jesus is!"


    10. Christianity Transcends Culture. In Acts 2, the various subcultures within the Jewish people heard the wonderful works of God in their native tongues. They asked, “What meaneth this?” They assumed a MEANING to the apparent madness. And they all got the same answer in Peters great sermon.

    In Acts 10-11, the Gentiles were seeking MEANING, not cultural affirmation. They got the same answer. Granted, cultural sensitivity was involved in Peter’s trip to Cornelius.

    I’m trying to underscore that Jews and Gentiles (and all the subcultural groups of the Jews) got the same message. This message was not riddled with postmodern angst!

    Anyway....

    Some of the Emergent Church is asking some good questions. I hope that we can all pursue the true answers with confidence.

    ----------------
    Note: If the Emerging Church is amorphous, please pardon my amorphous thoughts about it. Meanwhile, this Evangelical Clod will simply do his best in ministry.

    9.06.2005

    Did God Send Katrina?




    Sermon Notes from John Rush. Delivered September 4, 2005

    Text: Psalm 29

    Introduction: I grew up in Kansas where you can see a thunderstorm coming miles away. You can see the clear blue sky above the thunderhead. You can see the entire thunderhead, and then the blue sky underneath it. You can see lightning strike from the clear blue above, through the thunderhead, and to the sky below--and then it hits the ground. I enjoyed watching these thunderstorms brew. One of the most beautiful thunderstorms I saw was just outside Austin, Texas. The clouds filled the sky, and the clouds themselves were filled with lightning flashing from one side to the other. Right now, I know that storms, or a A STORM, has been on everyone’s mind. It fills the media pipelines with nothing but the aftermath of destruction. Yesterday, I was listening to the radio as I drove and heard President Bush say that Hurricane Katrina left a disaster area the size of Great Britain. This morning, I want to talk to you about the Bible’s description of a storm and show you the truth that God is Glorious.

    Theme: God is Glorious

    Exposition:

    God on the Wings of the Storm

    I. God is Glorious in the Midst of Heaven: verses 1 -2:

    A. “Mighty Ones”: Refers to Angelic Hosts

    - Revelation 5 :11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands

    -Isaiah 6:2-4 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

    Even the sinless angels cannot look directly upon God and their continual cry of worship is Holy! Holy! Holy!

    B. Magnify God:

    1. Ascribe Him Glory v.1
    2. Ascribe Him Strength v.1
    3. Bend your Knees in Worship: The beauty of holiness: Heaven is a place of beauty, transcendence, and purity.


    “This is a very significant psalm for it mentions the Lord eighteen times. If we add to that the use of pronouns and the mention of God and King we have God mentioned no less than twenty-five times in eleven short verses.” 1 - John Philips


    “Neither men nor angels can confer anything upon Jehovah, but they should recognize his glory and might, and ascribe it to him in their songs and and their hearts.” 2 -CHS

    Transition: The Glory of God in Heaven is Reflected in Earth: The Whole Earth is Full of His Glory. Now we see this Glory in the Course of Nature:


    II. God is Glorious in the Course of Nature: verses 3 - 9

    A. The Storm forms over the Mediterranean. vv. 3-4

    The concept of a brewing storm: The voice of God thunders increasingly in a cannonade of pealing claps of roaring, crashing, rumbling thunder!

    B. The Storm slams into the Mountains of Lebanon vv. 5-7

    1. The Cedars Snap
    2. The Mountains Skip: “Rough Motion, accompanied with noise” 3

    Illust: Recent earthquake at Hot Springs, NC. Registered 3.8.

    3. The lightning Strikes: Illust: John Deer 8650, 30 foot disk. I saw the rain and lightning coming.

    C. The Storm shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh vv. 8-9a.

    1. The hinds calve. The deer are so agitated by the storm, they birth their fawns.
    2. The leaves flee. The leaves flee from the face of the wind and leave the trees to stand alone.

    D. The Storm Demands a Response from Man. v. 9b.

    1. The Temple is a Place of Worship. Temple = Creation or Temple in Jerusalem
    2. The Worshippers acknowledge the Glory of God. People gathered in the porticoes of the Temple to watch the storm and attribute glory to Jehovah God.

    “In His temple doth everyone speak of His Glory.” As people point, “ooh”, and “ahh” at a massive fireworks show on the 4th of July, God’s people watch the storm in wonder and awe and attribute glory to God.


    III. God is Glorious in the Heart of Man v. 10-11

    A. God is a God of Judgment v. 10

    1. “Flood” here is a direct reference to Noah’s flood. The powerful God that makes the thunderstorm, hurricane, tornado, rain, thunder, lightning, and wind is the God who destroyed the world in judgment. Genesis 6.

    2. He used the waters to wipe man from the face of the earth for the land was filled violence.

    3. He has the right and the authority to judge since He is the Sovereign One. 10b


    B. God is a God of Mercy v. 11

    1. God delivered the righteous from the Worldwide Flood. (Noah)
    2. God delivered his people Israel from her enemies.
    3. God delivers his Church out of the coming storm of judgment.


    Lessons from the Storm:

    1. God has all Power. Earthly storms are but dim reflections of God’s powerful hand. We cannot move or stay the hand of God. We did not cause Katrina. We could not stop Katrina.

    2. God is involved with His Creation: The Voice of God was upon the Waters. Scientific laws are but man’s descriptions of how God rules the created order. He uses Patterns in Providence. (Don’t be a Deist.)

    · God is God over the Seas
    · God is God over the Mountains
    · God is God over the Flat Lands
    · God is God over the Plants (Trees)
    · God is God over the Animals (Hinds do calve)
    · God is God over the People
    · God is God over the Angels

    3. God rules over the Unseen Lands: Where man is not, God is. He is sovereign over the animals that have never seen the face of man.

    4. God has the Prerogative to Create and to Destroy: Did Katrina come from God? Yes.

    Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” Evil does not mean moral evil. It means calamity.

    Why did God send Katrina? I don’t know. Was it judgment? If it were, how would we know? No prophet has come to say, “God will send a storm to the U.S. as judgment!”

    The best way, I think, to look at it is this:

    God has the right to take an individual life.

    He has the right to take multiple lives.

    If he has that right, he has the right to destroy material possessions.

    Just as an individual death causes us to reflect and recognize our own dependence and mortality, a great calamity should cause us to reflect and recognize our dependence upon God.

    Any reflection that leads to repentance is, in the end, a blessing. But I cannot speak as a prophet of God over a particular event. I cannot say the storm was God’s judgment.

    The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike--in blessing or calamity.

    5. God desires to Give His People Peace:

    Illustration: The famous artist commissioned by his town to paint a picture depicting peace to be unveiled at the town's bicentennial.

    When the painting was unveiled it was a picture of a storm and the artist had to explain the peace of the bird in the cleft of a rock asleep during the storm. And he said... And I say...
    "Peace is not the absence of a storm. It is the ability to rest in the midst of the storm!

    God is at work in the storms of your life to cause your life to glorify God!

    Check Out this Site: (Copy and Paste the URL)

    http://www.albertmohler.com/blog.php

    LOOK FOR:

    "BAD THEOLOGY WATCH."

    ------------------
    1. John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms vol. 1 (Neptune, NJ; Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 217.

    2. Spurgeon, Treasury of David.
    3. Spurgeon, Treasury of David.

    9.02.2005

    Star Wars and Perelandra





    Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength comprise a science fiction space trilogy written by C.S. Lewis. (New York, Scribner, copyright 1944, renewed 1972.)

    I read them years ago but now am reading them again. George Lucas used his Star Wars trilogy to convey most definitely a non-Christian worldview. Lewis uses the same genre, ahead of Lucas, to convey a Christian one. (And he does a masterful job, if you are willing to dig for it.)

    I have placed Lewis and Lucas next to each other for a purpose, assuming the reader is familiar with the phenomenon that is Star Wars. Notice the copyrights on Lewis’s space stories: 1944 and 1972.

    My last post was about Larry King and Intelligent Design. One of the persons interviewed was Deepak Chopra. I do not know anything about Chopra except from what he said in the interview. Although he may claim some distinctions from Lucas’s philosophy, Lucas and Chopra appear to be philosophical kin.

    When I read again the following excerpt, I could not help but think of Lucas, Chopra, --and how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

    Below is an excerpt from Perelandra [abridged for the purposes of blogging]. You do not need to know the story to appreciate the piece. Keep in mind that Ransom is the protagonist and Weston the antagonist. These two had a previous adventure in the world of Malacandra (in Out of the Silent Planet ). They are now entering into a battle for the pure world of Perelandra. Study their initial conversation on this strange planet. The battle that is just beginning.

    -----------
    Weston speaks
    “The rigours of our return journey from Malacandra led to a serious breakdown in my health--”

    “Mine too,” said Ransom.

    Weston looked somewhat taken aback at the interruption and went on. “During my convalescence I had that leisure for reflection which I had denied myself for many years. In particular I reflected on the objections you had felt to that liquidation of the non-human inhabitants of Malacandra which was, of course, the necessary preliminary to its occupation by our own species. The traditional and, if I may say so, the humanitarian form in which you advanced these objections had till then concealed from me their true strength. That strength I now began to perceive. I began to see that my own exclusive devotion to human utility was really based on an unconscious dualism.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “I mean that all my life I had been making a wholly unscientific dichotomy or antithesis between Man and Nature--had conceived myself fighting for Man against his non-human environment. During my illness, I plunged into Biology, and particularly into what may be called biological philosophy. Hitherto, as a physicist, I had been content to regard Life as a subject outside my scope. The conflicting views of those who drew a sharp line between the organic and the inorganic and those who held that what we call Life was inherent in matter from the very beginning had not interested me. Now it did. I saw almost at once that I could admit no break, no discontinuity, in the unfolding of the cosmic process. I became a convinced believer in emergent evolution. All in one. The stuff of mind, the unconsciously purposive dynamism, is present from the very beginning.”

    Here he paused. Ransom had heard this sort of thing pretty often before and wondered when his companion was coming to the point. When Weston resumed it was with an even deeper solemnity of tone.

    “The majestic spectacle of this blind, inarticulate purposiveness thrusting its way upward and ever upward in an endless unity of differentiated achievements towards an ever-increasing complexity of organisation, towards spontaneity and spirituality, swept away all my old conception of a duty to Man as such. Man in himself is nothing. The forward movement of Life--the growing spirituality--is everything. I say to you quite freely, Ransom, that I should have been wrong in liquidating the Malacandrians. It was a mere prejudice that made me prefer our own race to theirs. To spread spirituality, not to spread the human race, is henceforth my mission. This sets the coping-stone on my career. I worked first for myself; then for science; then for humanity; but now at the last for Spirit itself--I might say, borrowing language which will be more familiar to you, the Holy Spirit.”

    “Now what exactly do you mean by that?” asked Ransom.

    “I mean,” said Weston, “that nothing now divides you and me except a few outworn theological technicalities with which organised religion has unhappily allowed itself to be incrusted. But I have penetrated the crust. The Meaning beneath it is as true and living as ever. If you will excuse me for putting it that way, the essential truth of the religious view of life finds a remarkable witness in the fact that it enabled you, on Malacandra, to grasp, in your own mythical and imaginative fashion, a truth which was hidden from me.”

    “I don’t know much about what people call the religious view of life,” said Ransom, wrinkling his brow. “You see, I’m a Christian. And what we mean by the Holy Ghost is not a blind, inarticulate purposiveness...”

    “My dear Ransom,” said Weston, “I understand you perfectly. I have no doubt that my phraseology will seem strange to you, and perhaps even shocking....Call it it a Force. A great, inscrutable Force, pouring up into us from the dark bases of being....”

    “Look here, “ said Ransom, “one wants to be careful about this sort of thing. There are spirits and spirits you know.”
    “Eh?” said Weston. “What are you talking about?”

    “I mean a thing might be a spirit and not good for you.”

    “But I thought you agreed that Spirit was the good--then end of the whole process? I thought you religious people were all out for spirituality? What is the point of asceticism--fasts and celibacy and all that? Didn’t we agree that God is a spirit? Don’t you worship Him because He is pure spirit?”

    “Good heavens, no!” We worship Him because He is wise and good. There’s nothing specially fine about simply being a spirit. The Devil is a spirit.”

    “Now your mentioning the Devil is very interesting,” said Weston.... “It is a most interesting thing in popular religion, this tendency... to breed pairs of opposites: heaven and hell, God and Devil..... The doublets are really portraits of Spirit, of cosmic energy--self-portraits, indeed, for it is the Life-Force itself which has deposited them in our brains.”

    “What on earth do you mean?” said Ransom. As he spoke he rose to his feet and began pacing to and fro. A quite appalling weariness and malaise had descended upon him.

    “Your Devil and your God,” said Weston, “are both pictures of the same Force...”

    There was another long pause.

    “Look here,” said Ransom, “it’s easy to misunderstand one another on a point like this. What you are saying sounds to me like the most horrible mistake a man could fall into.”

    ----------------------
    And the battle is engaged.

    Do you see what I see?