Biblical Counseling Lessons // Real Freedom // The Right Side of History

"How great is [God's] goodness, and how great His beauty!" - Zechariah 9:17


David Powlison describes Jay Adams' foundational work in biblical counseling, and how the movement has grown since.  Excellent principles described well.  This is a free PDF download of the editorial for the Journal of Biblical Counseling - great resource.


I picked up an old First Things issue I had never gotten around to.  R.R. Reno is great on what freedom really is.


"In post-Obergefell America, Evangelicals and other orthodox Christians will be unable to outrun our freakishness.  That is no reason for panic.  Some will suggest that a Christian sexual ethic puts the churches on the 'wrong side of history.'  Well, we've been on the wrong side of history since A.D. 33.  The 'right side of history' was the Eternal City of Rome.  And then the right side of history was the French Revolution.  And then the right side of history was scientific naturalism and state socialism.  And yet, there stands Jesus still, on the wrong side of history but at the right hand of the Father."
Russell Moore, "Evangelicals Won't Cave," First Things, Oct 2015, pg 30.

Smite This Rock

“Good Friday,” Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)

Am I a stone and not a sheep 
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath thy cross, 
To number drop by drop Thy blood’s slow loss, 
And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved 
Who with exceeding grief lamented thee; 
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; 
Not so the thief was moved;

Not so the sun and moon 
Which hid their faces in a starless sky, 
A horror of great darkness at broad noon— 
I, only I.

Yet give not o’er, 
But seek thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock; 
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more 
And smite a rock.

From Leland Ryken's article at Gospel Coalition

Receiving the Word of God

1 Thessalonians 2:13

"For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe."

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes."

Notice the parallel between these two texts.  Paul tells the Thessalonians He thanks God that they received the Word of God as from God.  Paul explains to the Corinthians that he received from the Lord the explanation of this sacrament.  Receiving bread and wine, eating and drinking is a picture of receiving the Word of God.  Just as Scripture is God’s very words, so this communion is partaking of Christ’s very life.  His body remains in heaven, but by the Spirit, He is really present.  By faith God really brings us into fellowship and union with our Lord Jesus here.  His body was broken for you.  His blood is the blood of the covenant that saves you.  He bled and died at the cross, paying for your sins forever.

So come and welcome to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Take hold of Him.  Rely on Him alone as You receive His grace.

10/21/18

Lament Your Sin

Lamentations 1:5

Israel's "foes have become the head;
her enemies prosper,
because Yahweh has afflicted her 
for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
captives before the foe."

Jeremiah laments the fall of Jerusalem here, and says God did it because of Israel’s many sins.  

Imagine the horror this conquest must have been.  

The city besieged.  

Famine, disease, starvation.  

The temple ransacked and leveled.  

Murder and rape on a wide scale.  

The whole nation conquered politically and subjugated to foreign rule.

The point here isn’t to gawk at the sensational, uniquely awful event.  Like a traffic accident you see and think, “Glad that wasn’t me.”  The point is, this IS you: your sins deserve this, too.  God would be perfectly just in the light of our national sins, to have China invade, conquer and rule us for years, like happened to Israel.  What bothers you more, really, when you think about that: having to live under communist rule, or that you have sinned against the holy God you love?  Our sins do not bother us nearly enough.  God has many ways to train us to consider them more deeply, to hate our sin more thoroughly.  One tool He used was national conquest and exile, and that was not out of proportion with the magnitude of their sins.

Let us confess our sins to God.

10/21/18

Conditional Covenants // Obedience in Covenants // Hell

Third Millenium keeps putting out a great series of videos on Biblical covenants.
Here's one on if we should see covenants as conditional.
Only 2 minutes - very informative!


Another one:
Obedience brings blessing, but that doesn't mean our obedience earns our salvation.


Doug Wilson upholds the reality of Hell here.
"Everyone in the world is in the process of becoming someone. Salvation is the process of being increasingly conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ—becoming an actual someone, becoming a real human being. Damnation is the final descent into an inchoate, disintegrated agonistic whine—having insisted through long years that the self be simultaneously left alone and also promoted to the level of importance it deserves. That self finally receives the fruition of that demand, and achieves its ultimate deserved value, which is zero."

The Real Feast

"But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment....

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth....

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

John 16:5-8, 12-13a ; 17:20-24

At this table we see the cost of fellowship and a foretaste of fellowship.  The cost we know about the cross.  It is familiar but think again, in terms of fellowship.  The pain born at the cross was not mainly physical, but bearing the wrath of God against our sin.  One way we picture that is being forsaken.  Fellowship is broken.  The Father turns His face away from His Son.  We break the bread to show not just a broken body, but a broken relationship between Father and Son for a time, to pay for our sins.

Jesus speaks of going away to be with the Father.  He is looking ahead past the cross to restored fellowship.  We have the Spirit with us while we look ahead, too, to the thing Jesus wants: as He prays for us He says, "I desire that they whom You have given Me, may be with me where I am, and may behold My glory."

That will be the real feast.

Often the bride at the wedding barely notices the food, she is overjoyed to have a lifetime ahead of her of being with her husband.  Let that be Your communion with Your Lord Jesus Christ today.

So come and welcome to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Take hold of Him.  Rely on Him alone as You receive His grace.

10/14/18

We Have Sinned

Zephaniah 3:1-4

    1Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,

    To the oppressing city!

    2      She has not obeyed His voice,

    She has not received correction;

    She has not trusted in the LORD,

    She has not drawn near to her God.

    3      Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;

    Her judges are evening wolves

    That leave not a bone till morning.

    4      Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people;

    Her priests have polluted the sanctuary,

    They have done violence to the law."

We start with Zephaniah describing the wickedness of Jerusalem.  Three things quickly, here.  First, we have to be told that we are sinning, that we are sinners.  We forget this most of the time and act as if we are normal, that things are basically okay.  In Zephaniah and in all of Scripture, God describes our sin for us, He shows us our fault, or else we wouldn’t see it, or we would try to tell ourselves that it isn’t so bad.  That’s in verse 2, especially.  So first, God graciously tells us of our sinfulness.  

Second, this is corporate, national sin, addressing our princes and judges, prophets and priests.  Fox and CNN, Wall Street and main street, school boards and corporate boards, Hollywood, Congress, and the courts – these are our princes and prophets.  They aren’t trusting God, they are devouring and exploiting people.  We like to think of ourselves as trying to stand up to this corporate sin, but Scripture makes clear that they are doing what we want.  Congress in all its spineless bluster, departing from God’s laws, represents us well.

And that’s the third thing: when we go against God and His ways, we wind up doing the opposite of what we were made to do.  Rulers eat people instead of feed them.  We become beasts instead of men.  Priests pollute instead of cleanse.  We hurt each other instead of help and heal.

Let us confess our sins to God

10/14/18

Obligations in Covenant // Augustine to a Heretic // a Brakel

Third Millenium ministries reminds us of the obligatory aspect of each of God's covenants in the Bible.  So true!


Augustine to the heretic Donatus: last sentence of a long letter exhorting him to return to Christian orthodoxy:
"Restrain your perverse and rebellious spirit, that in the true Chruch of Christ you may find the feast of salvation."
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 1st Series, vol. 1, pg 547.


If you're a theology reader, you'll want to know the Dutch theologian, Wilhelmus a Brakel.  His 4-volume "Christian's Reasonable Service" is at this link in pdf format for free!!

A Quick Poltical Summary

1. The liberal believes people are basically decent and need a little help from the government to make life work.  Community and government are the primary saviors.
2. The secular conservative believes people are basically decent and don't need help from the government.  Their self-interested choices in a free market will make life work.  Free individual choice, work, and the market are the primary saviors.
3. The Christian liberal believes people are flawed, and need moral guidance from God through the church and the government.  Education is a primary savior.
4. The Christian conservative believes people are sinful and need saving from ourselves.  And often from the church and the government, too.  Jesus is the only real Savior.

Yes, I know this is simplistic.

Ben Shapiro, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Jordan Peterson are in the second category, even though they talk about God sometimes.  As Christians we can glean some common grace wisdom from them, but should be very careful not to shape our Gospel message to their message.  Sometimes they are compatible messages; often they are not.

Justification, Full Stop?

"We are not justified by our love....  We are justified only by faith in [Jesus Christ's] finished work.  But those who are justified by faith are given the glorious calling to live and love like Jesus..."

This was the conclusion of a stellar Tabletalk article on loving your neighbor.
(March 2018, "Christ and the Love of Neighbor," JR Vassar)

I wanted to emphasize one aspect in the quote above.  I sometimes hear those zealous for the doctrines of grace (a special class of them that I call TR's, the Truly Reformed in their own minds) say that we are justified by faith alone [JFA], full stop.  Don't say anything more, don't qualify that or you undermine it.

This is going too far.  See the quote above, again.  "We are justified only by faith in His finished work.  But..."  There IS more to say.  What comes next should never undercut or undo the essential assertion of JFA.  TR's have had plenty of experience with those seeking to do just that while paying lip service to JFA, so I don't fault their concern and motivation.  But if there wasn't more to say, Romans would have ended at chapter 5 or 11, Galatians somewhere in chapter 5, Ephesians at chapter 3.

We must consider our justification by faith alone - we have favor with God, apart from our striving to obey God.
We must also consider our "glorious calling to live and love like Jesus."

We are not justified by a faith that is alone.

Pastors suffer? // Needing Jesus // Your Sole Story Writer

Here's an outstanding panel discussion on handling suffering in the ministry.
Highlights:
13:00 - Ray Ortlund, Jr. on the Spirit helping us in our weakness
28:00 - Thick skin, soft heart...
34:00 - "The Lord is so faithful to straighten things out if we give Him time."
34:30 - Be okay with being misunderstood
40:00 - On 2 Timothy 2:24-26 - People don't get persuaded by contentious arguing.
Edwards: "The longer I live the more I respect gentleness."
Spurgeon: "Use hard arguments and soft words."
  Our public discourse today has soft arguments and hard words!


Augustine: "There is not one soul in the human family to whose salvation the one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, is not absolutely necessary" (Letters, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1, vol. 1, pg. 525).
Or as my wife might say, "All y'all need Jesus."


Paul Tripp, on God's sovereign writing of your story.  There are no competing script-writers of your life - it is ALL in His hands, so trust Him.

Covenant // Shopping // Glad Worship

What is a covenant in the Bible?
Third Millenium offers an excellent 90 second answer in this video.


2nd Vote tells me that Bath and Body Works, Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot all use their profits to advocate for abortion, homosexuality, and other left-wing causes.  Pretty sure Target is on that list, too.  I'll save discussion of this conscience issue for another time.


On serving the Lord with gladness:
"The thing that [worship] must never be is sullen, or surly or sulky - that's what it never is.  Who needs that kind of worship?... The Lord does not want us coming into His courts as though a long face were some kind of moral disinfectant."
Douglas Wilson, sermon on Psalm 100, Nov 26, 2018,

Giving to the Poor // Psalms as Prayer // Out of wedlock birth rate

How and when should we help the poor and needy? 

Kevin DeYoung gives a helpful answer.

Does your prayer life need renewing?

Don Whitney explains how to "pray the text," something I strongly encourage you to try.


"According to the 1938 Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, that year 11 percent of black children and 3 percent of white children were born to unwed mothers.  Today it's respectively 75 percent and 30 percent."
Walter Williams, African-American commentator, in Samaritan Ministries' August 2018 newsletter, pg 10.

Augustine quotes

I've come to the letters of Augustine in the Post-Nicene Fathers series.
Here are some favorite passages so far.


On conscience:
"There is nothing in all the dungeons of this world, nay, not even in hell itself, to surpass the dreadful doom of darkness to which a villain is consigned by remorse of conscience."  (pg 508)


On disagreeing with famous teachers:
"The reasonings of any men whatsoever, even though they be Catholics [orthodox in doctrine], and of high reputation, are not to be treated by us in the same way as the canonical Scriptures are treated.  We are at liberty, without doing any violence to the respect which these men deserve, to condemn and reject anything in their writings, if perchance we shall find that they have entertained opinions differing from that which others or we ourselves have, by the divine help, discovered to be the truth.  I deal thus with the writings of others, and I wish my intelligent readers to deal thus with mine."  He later mentions Ambrose, Jerome, Athansius and Gregory are examples he is talking about. (502)


Forced obedience isn't obedience:
"Who is found innocent in God's sight who is willing to do the sin which is forbidden if you only remove the punishment which is feared?... 
He then is an enemy to righteousness who refrains from sin only through fear of punishment....
Every one hates sin just in proportion as he loves righteousness; which he will be enabled to do not through the law putting him in fear by the letter of its prohibitions, but by the Spirit healing him by grace...
Let not the fear of punishment drive you to a life of righteousness; but let the pleasure found in righteousness and the love you bear to it draw you to practise it...." (496)


From the First Series, vol. 1

Preach to People // Lust // To a Church Losing Her Pastor

When preaching, study your people as well as the text.  Great short article.


Toby Sumpter has a unique take on lust as nothingness.


9 Marks offers important reminders for a church losing her pastor.

Quotes on Scripture and Joy

On Scripture - Augustine's letters
"Such is the depth of the Christian Scriptures, that even if I were attempting to study them and nothing else from early boyhood to decrepit old age, with the utmost leisure, the most unwearied zeal, and talents greater than I have, I would be still daily making progress in discovering their treasures."
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 1, page 474.


On Joy and Gratitude
"We don't get to pick what comes our way, but we do get to choose how we respond....  If you choose joy, there is literally no room for worry in your brain.  You've kicked it out!  So how do you choose joy?  By giving thanks.  By remembering all the good things that have happened, including the good things that have come out of the hard things.

"Cynicism will tempt you to think, 'That's shallow and fluffy.  I'm a realist, and life is hard.'

"Don't go there, okay?  Cynicism turns people into miserable curmudgeons.  Gratitude lifts our spirits and makes us a joy to be around.  It's contagious.  Plus, it's commanded in Scripture:

" 'Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)."

Susanne Maynes, Biblical counselor, quoted in Samaritan Ministries' Nov 2018 newsletter

Fallen Babylon

I'm preaching from Revelation 14 tomorrow on God's sovereignty.
Verse 8: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

Here are the words to the song in the video.

Hail the day so long expected,

Hail the year of full release.

Zion’s walls are now erected,

And her watchmen publish peace.

Through our Shiloh’s wide dominion,

Hear the trumpet loudly roar,

Babylon is fallen to rise no more.

Blow the trumpet in Mount Zion,

Christ shall come a second time;

Ruling with a rod of iron

All who now as foes combine.

Babel’s garments we’ve rejected,

And our fellowship is o’er,

Babylon is fallen to rise no more.

Destructive Culture War // Accepted apart from Obedience // Content in the Breaking

David Bahnsen mulls over how the culture war has changed after Kavanaugh.


Paul Tripp reminds us that being accepted by God and striving to obey Him are two very different things.


Toby Sumpter preaches an excellent sermon on contentment in the God who breaks and reshapes you.  It gets going at the 15 or 17 minute mark.

Lost in the Middle

Lost in the Middle: Mid-Life Crisis and the Grace of God by Paul David Tripp

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Paul Tripp is consistently on the mark in diagnosing the sinful condition of the heart, whatever stage of life or topic he addresses. Lost in the Middle does not disappoint. Tripp accurately describes the mid-life problem: a heart fixed on idols that have disappointed you leaves you dissatisfied with and disinterested in life if you don’t re-orient your heart away from the things you crave on earth and back to the Lord. We start excavating our past and are disappointed to find the career or relationship or identity we invested ourselves in for years has not satisfied as we had hoped.

Tripp takes a long time to say it, though. This is the only downside to the book. The stories are often useful for the reader to identify himself as “lost in the middle.” So I don’t begrudge the use or amount of stories. It’s an inherent part of the problem to not realize what is happening to you – that you are lost. So stories of real people suffering a mid-life crisis really help. But the book could have been much shorter and still gotten the point across, it seems. Still, the content of Tripp’s books involved necessary soul searching, which in turn requires slowing down and a meditative, ambling mood. So going over a theme a few times doesn’t hurt. “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you” (Philippians 3:1).

Highly recommended reading for anyone aged about 35-45.
I give this book a rare 5 stars, because it was immensely helpful to me, personally.



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Trouble sleeping? // Re-Orienting Prayer // Trump

Paul Tripp takes a common symptom of deeper trouble - insomnia - and goes deeper toward repentance and faith in the Lord.

Ben Merkle gave a great talk on prayer a bit ago to a post-college audience.  This is well worth the time to listen.


Doug Wilson distinguishes between the PR on Trump and what he is actually getting done, all while many on the right cry about it.

Savoring Scripture // Tell God's Story

I've been listening to the Kirker's Read podcast, connected to this Bible reading challenge.

Two episodes really grabbed me:

1. Francis Foucachon, a French church planter and chef, talks about reading the Bible in the context of cooking and eating.

2. Nate Wilson urges us to know God's story in the Bible so you can place yourself in it rightly.  This leads to faith, self-sacrifice, courage, rejecting passive fatherhood, manipulative relationships, etc.

Too Much for You

1 Kings 19:1-8

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

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

God sets this table of grace for us in the presence of our enemies.  Elijah had Jezebel to contend with.  We have plenty adversaries in the world, our flesh, and the devil to discourage us.  Elijah was discouraged to the point of asking God to take His life.  The journey is too much for you, the angel tells him.  God has designed our path such that we will need to rely on Him.  He teaches us plenty of lessons of working hard and self-discipline in life.  But He doesn’t want you learning to rely on those things to make it.  He gives us food and drink from Him, and we will die without it.  Jesus is the living bread come down from heaven to us.  He is living water – without Him you will die.  Come receive Jesus.  Let God feed you Jesus.  And go in the strength of that food further on your way, and to the mountain of God.

9/30/18

Give It Up

Exodus 32:1-8 - the Golden Calf

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.

Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ”

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

It’s been said, when you have gov’t of the people, by the people and for the people, it can be hard to avoid having religion, of the people, by the people, for the people.  This is what Aaron dealt with and caved in to, in making a golden calf.  They didn’t want to wait for Moses any longer.  They wanted a god they could see and touch and use to indulge their sensual appetites.  When it says they rose up to play in verse 7, that isn’t innocent playground time, it means messing around sexually.

Aaron gave them what they wanted and slapped God’s name on the whole blasphemous charade.

We need to confess: we try to keep our sinful desires and indulge them, all while wanting to worship God and name His name.  We don’t fight back against our desires for other gods – we give in and try to have it both ways.  On Mount Carmel, Elijah told Israel: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”  And do you remember what the people said?  Nothing. 

I plead with you today, from the Word of God, give up your sin.  It will keep you from God.

Let us confess our sins to God.

9/30/18

Bitterness // Church Turf Wars // God's Goal in Your Suffering

Nancy Guthrie has an excellent article on bitterness in an old Tabletalk magazine.


Pursuing greater influence among leadership in the church isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Doing it by way of gossip and flattery among elders definitely is.  Check out St. Anne's Pub for some edifying conversation on this topic.  The interviews are especially good, and the "Elder Gossip" track at the end.


A video from Paul Tripp about his recent suffering, and what God was doing in it.  It's a little overly dramatic cinematography, perhaps, but what he is saying is so good.  "If this is what it takes for God to produce that in me [really relying on His grace], then this has been worth it."  I'd also commend Calvin's Institutes, book 3, chapter 8, "Bearing the Cross," on this topic.

Seminary // Preaching // Counseling

Crossway has a great article up about seminary: what it is designed for, and what it isn't meant to achieve.


Paul Tripp writes for preachers to pursue excellence out of an awe of God.  This can easily apply to any vocation.


Ed Welch offers up 5 short myths that Christians and pastors should stop believing about counseling.

Classical Me, Classical Thee

Classical Me, Classical Thee: Squander Not Thine Education by Rebekah Merkle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A quick 100 pages written to classical school students to point out the benefits of such an education, and to call for appreciating and not squandering such a gift.

Merkle does a decent job speaking to a high school audience, with little gimmicks or patronizing, making the case for logic, rhetoric, Latin and more. I’m not sure 6-7 chapters were needed each on a different topic, but the basic point was a good one: you’ve been given a gift. Don’t squander it like the man given 1 talent who buried it in the ground.



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Augustine on church music; Tripp on midlife

Quotes from my reading:

"Midlife is a war between our dreams and reality, and too often, people, families, and churches are its casualties."
Lost in the Middle, Paul Tripp, pg 140.


About "ceremonies which are found different in different countires... we should not only refrain from finding fault with them, but even recommend them by our approval and imitation, unless restrained by fear of doing greater harm than good by this course....  as in the singing of hymns and psalms...  so useful for inducing a devotional frame of mind and inflaming the strength of love to God, there is diversity of usage."
Letters of Augustine, letter 55, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, page 314.

Orthdoxy

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A grand apologetic work in which Chesterton shows the madness of modern atheist thought, displays the wonder of the mundane world, and glories in the ancient novelty of orthodoxy.

Ancient novelty, you say? This is my own phrase for Chesterton’s self-described journey to faith. He came to orthodox Christianity thinking it was a brand new thing, only to discover it had been there all along. Like sailing the ocean, coming to land and thinking it’s a new discovery, only to find out you’ve hit Long Island.

Chesterton calls for a loyalty to the world as God made it. We need to reject the pessimistic hatred of life and suicide toward which modernity inevitably drags us. Do we critique things and people because we love them or because we love hurting them from a resentment inside?

Part of that loyalty is maintaining a wonder at it all. It isn’t some law of necessity that turns eggs into chickens – it is magical. God calls to the sun every morning: “Do it again!” We get tired of this because we are old and stale, while God remains full of vitality. This wonder leads us to respect creational boundaries God built in to it.

Chesterton’s literary knowledge and references are vast, and I hardly get half of them. His writing style is quite meandering and indirect. It isn’t for everyone, but his ideas are an essential and hearty tonic for the orthodox, and an effective antidote against the atheistic and materialistic thought that continues to prevail today.



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Reset

Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David P. Murray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An immensely helpful book specifically for burned out, middle-aged pastors, but kept general enough to be useful to anyone stressed out. There is a companion book for women, called Refresh.

Don’t be fooled by the gimmicky-appearing alliteration on the surface (10 chapters starting with “re”) – there is a great deal of wisdom here. The simple structure and shorter chapters is an essential format for the burned out, so there’s a method to Murray’s marketeering.

The foundation of grace at the beginning is key, and distinguishes this book from others addressing the same topic. The keynote is that grace provides space to slow down, take stock, and make wiser decisions about your priorities, health, time, etc.

And there are lots of zingers throughout:

“What I do instead of sleep shines a spotlight on my idols” (pg. 55).

[Muting phone notifications] “produces a totally different mindset and mind depth than the one that’s sub-consciously waiting for the next beep or ding” (93).

“It’s not ‘Rest when you have nothing to do,’ but ‘Rest because we will never be done.’” (101).

Murray tackles root issues, like letting your work or past failures be your identity, instead of Christ and His grace. And he does so in very practical ways, touching you where you live your life.

Highly recommended.



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The Doctrine of the Covenant

The Main Points of the Doctrine of the Covenant by Klaas Schilder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A speech by Klaas Schilder, 1944.
This was my first foray into Dutch theologian Klaas Schilder’s writings, and it will not be the last.

The author’s name has come up in recent theological controversies, and now I know why. Schilder emphasized the outward or objective covenant, which is formally marked by baptism. And his accent is on God speaking His promises and commands to everyone in that covenant, not just the elect whom we cannot know with certainty.

The setting is quite polemical. Schilder is obviously arguing against another side in a debate. The other side is saying that if we talk about conditions in the covenant of grace, we make it a legalistic, works-based thing, which Paul was talking about and rejecting in Galatians. Schilder rejects this:

“If it is true that we are letting the covenant become a preaching of laws or a theory of morals, then [their] allegation is entirely just. Both groups are hollowing out the covenant: those who preach the promise and shove the demand into the background, and those who because of the demand neglect the sweet music of the promise; both have slipped away from the covenant” (pg 10).

We must “let God speak in a conditional manner” (12).

Schilder asserts at the same time, the confessional doctrines of grace and election. “Any good that comes from me is God’s gift and is from Him alone! Yet we must speak of conditions: I will not receive it if I do not comply with the demand – faith is the first demand” (13).

This was only a short speech. I plan to tackle Christ and Culture next.

The only publishing information in the hard copy is as follows:
Printed in Canada.
Translated by T. vanLaar, 1992



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Thinking through Anxiety

Thinking Through Anxiety: A Brief Christian Look by J. Ryan Davidson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this short booklet, the author gives a solidly Biblical look at a neglected issue.
Davidson considers how the Gospel, the ordinary means of grace, Sabbath, and our thinking patterns affect our worries. I especially appreciated the "back-burner" idea, of how to handle unhelpful thoughts that will not go away.


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The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In this short, learned yet witty and entertaining story, Chesterton shows us the way of the happy warrior. He has the courage to stand and fight and die in the face of evil. But he also has the faith and optimism not to believe the world will be lost. Others may believe that the world is overrun, but not the man who was Thursday.

The story is about the transition from undercover darkness to the open sunlight. From a concern for a petty, paltry and harmless anarchist, to a focus on the Face larger than life that envelopes the world in His grace. In a word: things aren’t as bad as they look, or as we may dream them to be.

This is a book to savor. Don’t read just for the plot. Chesterton knew how to craft words. Read slowly enough to drink in all his hints, allusions, biblical references and so on.

The dreadful dream turns delightful in the end.



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Peace, Work, and a Glorious Dominion

A communion exhortation from Isaiah 26:12-13

   "LORD, You will establish peace for us,

    For You have also done all our works in us.

    13      O LORD our God, masters besides You

    Have had dominion over us;

    But by You only we make mention of Your name."

These are important gospel words from the middle of an ancient scroll of Isaiah the prophet.  God HAS established peace for us, at the cross of Jesus Christ.  We remember that act here.  When we urge ourselves to good works for the Lord, we remember that it is God who is at work in us to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).  We remember that we have had other masters we have served before our conversion, or that we have tried to serve in our sinful nature.  But their tables were not so fair, their wages cannot compare with the gift of grace we receive here.

No, we name the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord and King and Sovereign of the world, and of our hearts.  We proclaim His death, and His resurrection here at this table.  His dominion is glorious.  He rules your personal life perfectly; He reigns over the nations with ease; they are a drop in the bucket to Him.

So come and welcome to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Take hold of Him.  Rely on Him alone as You receive His grace.

8/20/18

Add to Your Faith

A call to confess our sins from 2 Peter 1:5-11.

"giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue....

be even more diligent to make your call and election sure."

As we will see in the message, there is a kind of knowledge of JC that is barren and unfruitful.  As James says, there is an empty and dead pseudo-faith that doesn’t save anyone.  True faith adds to itself, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness, and love.  True faith is diligent to repent, to act, to serve.  So work to make sure of your election. 

Many Calvinist Christians, zealous for the doctrines of grace, maintain a studied apathy to works and piety and any effort put forth in the Christian life.  That might imply we are trying to earn our salvation.  Well, it is easy to slip into that works righteousness mentality – we want to watch out for it, definitely.  But Scripture in many places urges us on to strive, to press on for the upward call.  Of course our calling and election are as sure as can be in heaven, in the book of life, from God’s decrees.  But we also have the call to work that out in our lives.

So let us confess times we have let down our guard, gotten lazy or casual about our purity, or our prayers or Scripture reading.  Times we have neglected to add virtue to our faith.

Let us confess our sins to God.

8/20/18

Murder Must Advertise

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my first Sayers mystery about Lord Peter Wimsey.
It was an unusual murder mystery that seems to change stylistically with every chapter. It seemed Sayers was trying out her literary skills at describing different scenes in this story.

A major emphasis was showing the indirect cunning of Lord Peter as a detective. Maybe this is characteristic of all her novels.

It was interesting that Wimsey and the police were resolved to pursue the criminals to the top of the drug chain, even though they know the ringleaders will just be replaced anyway.


[Spoiler alert]
That ending! Was it right of Wimsey to let Tallboy be killed by the drug ring? He sees them out his office window and lets Tallboy go, knowing they will kill him. (Tallboy is the middle man in the office dealing drugs between the suppliers and the street.)? It was poetic justice, letting the bad guys he profited from kill him off. Axnd there was mercy there in sparing his posthumous reputation with his family. This ending is the classic murder mystery conundrum of pursuing official justice, which will always be incomplete or unjust in some ways, OR allowing justice outside of the law to run its course, which is truer and more proportional to the crime.


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Through Gates of Splendor

Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Elisabeth Eliot’s first memoir of her foray into the mission field recounts her husband’s and 4 fellow missionaries’ death at the hands of the native tribe they were trying to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Written in 1956, within a year of the event, Eliot gives the background of each young couple feeling called to missions, heading to the field, learning the language, and much more. One was wondering if he was even called by God to be there in the first place.

The missionary zeal assumed by all was quite startling. Much has changed in the missions world in the last 60 years! Then it was a crusade to undertake for the Lord. Now we seem to worry more about paternalism and the side effects of Western interaction with isolated tribes than we do about their salvation. These missionaries had an innocent, clear goal to reach people for Christ. Yes, there were times a condescending attitude came through: those poor savages need the Lord. But they thought long and hard about why they viewed the tribes as savages, and it wasn’t because they didn’t have electricity. They considered carefully why they went to all the trouble they did. Was it the thrill of flying planes through the jungle? No, they truly sought to make contact and communicate so they could bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. Their excitement for the mission was evident, as was their single-minded focus on the mission.

And so much planning was needed! Eliot spends most of the book recounting preparations and plans. Half of that was the internal battle within each missionary, each wife, surrendering plans to the Lord, purifying motives, setting aside pride or haste. But the other half was the external logistics involved. Making a list of what to fly where, gathering supplies to get ready to clear a new landing strip, or build a new mission station. It reminded me of the coordinated effort that mission work requires. Several mission aviation ministries carry on this work today. While the random one-on-one evangelistic interaction has its place, most mission efforts involve a cultural exchange. The seeker comes into the church and observes a Christian culture different from his own. Or the missionary takes his technology and his Bible, things he’s gleaned from his own culture, and goes to learn a new language and live a new way.

Part of the story I didn’t know before was the 5 men’s decision to keep secret from their missions supervisors their efforts to contact the Aucas. When do you go it alone and when do you coordinate with supervisors? Perhaps their zeal took them too far in this case. We can certainly admire their courage to lay down their lives to reach others. Watch out for armchair, Monday morning quarterbacking, second guessing their decisions! But I’m sure there are important lessons missionaries are learning from Eliot and many others, too.

Elisabeth’s wife Jim wrote in his journal in college: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” This book is part of the testimony of these men’s willingness to risk all to bring Christ to the world. An important read for all believers in the Lord.



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Less Distraction

Turn off your phone's notifications!

I recently took a 2 week vacation, and thought to turn off my phone notifications.  This made a huge impact on me personally, and I’m not turning back.  Part of taking dominion of my time and schedule is not allowing my phone to distract me every few minutes with the latest email, Facebook notification, Instagram, messenger message, news item, or text.  Even when such social interaction is part of my work, I need to go to those messages on my time, so that I can maintain some rhythm in my study and writing, etc.

Tony Reinke has written on this: "12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You."
Check it out.

The City of God

City of God by Augustine of Hippo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Augustine’s wide-ranging apologetic work, The City of God, thoroughly refutes the Roman worldview and sets forth the Christian perspective as more reasonable and rewarding. As the city of Rome was sacked and the barbarians invaded, Augustine’s timely work propelled readers already questioning the invincibility of the Roman empire, to consider another option – the city of God.

The City of God is more detailed than I expected. He begins by tearing down the plausibility of the Roman gods. Piece by piece, he shows the contradictions in various myths and legends about them, using their own authorities as his sources. He does the same in the field of Philosophy. Augustine’s knowledge of Greek and Roman culture was vast. Modern apologists wondering how to “engage the culture” would do well to take Augustine as an example. He then lays out the Biblical story from Genesis to Revelation, emphasizing creation and the final judgment. He ends with a beautiful description of the beatific vision, contrasted with the punishment of the wicked.

Augustine is not without his flaws. He allows for the possibility of purgatory, and assumes that baptism automatically washes away original sin. It isn’t hard to see the trajectory toward the Roman Catholic sacramental system as a result. He also places too much emphasis on present day miracles as a reason to believe in the truth of Christianity. That one was a surprise to me – don’t hear that talked about much in connection with Augustine, but it’s right there in book 22, chapter 8. And he goes on for several pages about it.

He doesn’t come out and say this, but implied in Augustine’s overall structure is this thesis: the Christian story of God’s city is a better story than that of Rome. Besides being true where Rome’s story is full of holes and superstitions and outright lies, the city of God really will last forever. And the happiness that it brings far surpasses the happiness the Roman philosophers set before us for this world.



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Hillbilly Elegy

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

JD Vance gives a personal, insightful and shocking account of the lifestyle of the poor. He moved from the culture of dependence to the culture of the elite – from living among welfare queens to being a responsible provider himself. Bridging these two worlds, Vance has a unique vantage point from which to better see each culture.

A key theme: stable homes are crucial. When mom has a revolving door of boyfriends, the stress on the children is massive. Sister had to be his stand-in mom, and Grandma had to save him from that nightmare and give a sufficiently stable environment for him to even pass high school.

There’s a lot of strong language in the book, so I don’t recommend it for younger readers. There are also a couple of spots with intense adult themes. I can’t decide if these were gratuitous or necessary to depict the crazy life Vance lived. His greatest source of stability was also his main source of vulgarity, it seems. This exponentially ramped up the shock factor, for me.

It was interesting how the cultural dynamic crossed ethnic lines. Vance made passing reference to inner city lifestyles being similar to his hillbilly culture, and I also noticed some mafia themes. We police our own – hillbilly justice has its own flavor that doesn’t wait on local law enforcement.

The appeal of this book (New York times bestseller) seems to be in the author’s straddling of the political spectrum. He asserts both that the poor make bad choices that result in their poverty, and that they are disadvantaged by their environment – family history, upbringing, etc. This is not a contradiction, much less competing political interests, but just two factors piled on top of each other. It raises the old nature/nurture question. Could Vance have “made it” without Grandma giving him a stable environment? It appears not. He had to make different choices than his hillbilly family made, however fond he was of them. Vance calls himself a conservative, but there is a more liberal underpinning to his memoir: we cannot make good choices without the proper environment and structure to enable them.

Then again, I’m not sure this is exclusively liberal. It is the libertarian, secular conservative who asserts self-autonomy, not the social conservative. Where Hillary Clinton argued that “It Takes a Village,” Rick Santorum said “It Takes a Family.” Vance is somewhere in between, but it takes more than just you, for sure. Rush Limbaugh may argue that “It Takes Myself,” pulling me up by my bootstraps, but not many are buying that, I think. Maybe that’s the appeal of the book. Vance moderates each end of the political spectrum. Liberals need to face the dire consequences of awful personal choices. Conservatives need to face the real uphill climb of negative upbringing and the expectations that shape that reality.

The note of personal responsibility and pride in providing for others appealed to my conservative side. The revolution in his psyche when he came home as a Marine and could give his family things, instead of always need to take from them - that's key.

I don’t know that subjecting yourself to the repeated f-bombs and other junk that Vance deals out in spades is worth this book, to get the valuable lesson that we need to make unselfish choices in our work and family life. Read with caution.


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Recent Sermons Online

New sermons are online here.

Anger and Lust // Modern Martyr // Politics in the Pulpit // Faith and Obedience

Covenant Eyes has a good article out on the role anger plays in pornography.


World Magazine reports on a modern day martyr, just a month or two ago in France, who offered himself to save others.


Kevin DeYoung has good advice for pastors talking about politics.


Joel Beeke warns us not to "make void the law" (Romans 3:31).

DenHollander // Teamwork // Leavened Bread

Rachel DenHollander's speech at Harvard last week was excellent.
A must listen!


David Murray pointed me to this article on keys to a successful team.  Lots of "common grace," horse sense kind of wisdom in here.


Gregg Strawbridge explains why we use leavened bread for the Lord's Supper, though the Jews used Unleavened Bread for Passover.  The audio is of the whole worship service, but the homily is only 10 minutes, starting at 16:30.

Conflict // Femininity // Holding Hymnals // Empty Tomb

Jason Helopoulos reminds us to keep an eternal perspective in conflict.


Romans Road Media has an excellent article on femininity in CS Lewis' That Hideous Strength.


Tim Challies, on the benefits of hymnals.  I'm old school and disagree with his qualification that we should not go back to hymnals.


Stephen Nichols makes a point I plan to make in my Resurrection Day sermon:
The angels at the empty tomb remind us of the ark and the mercy seat, where propitiation was made.

Leftist Guilt // Close Elections

This is the kind of article that keeps me from going along with the radical two kingdom view these days.  Religious guilt and atonement (whether true or false) drive politics.
"Conservatives are not hated because they are suggesting different policy prescriptions for problems that we all acknowledge that we have. No. We are hated because we are not going along with the religion of guilt by leftist fiat."


Check out the insanely close special congressional election in Pennsylvania...

Sexual Sin in the Church // Billy Graham // Good Prayer Meetings

World Magazine has a thought-provoking article on how to handle sexual sin in the church.
Careful - not suitable for children in the first couple sentences...


Doug Wilson's take on Billy Graham is spot on.  I would only add or clarify that preaching for a decision is not an Arminian thing that Reformed preachers reject, unless they are over-reacting against Arminianism.  "Reformed Christians... should never be afraid to preach Christ and to call and invite sinners to Him, for that is the very means God normally uses to realize His electing grace" (Beeke/Slachter, Encouragement for Today's Pastors," pg. 57).


After leading corporate prayer weekly for years, Kevin DeYoung's advice on prayer meetings is really helpful.

Sermon shavings

A few quotes that didn't make the cut this week:

Calvin: "nothing which relates to God can be known aright but by faith."  

Commentary on John 17:6-11.

JC Ryle: "Our entrance into heaven will be entirely by grace, and not of works; but heaven itself would be no heaven to us if we entered it with an unsanctified character....  He who despises holiness, and neglects good works, under the vain pretence of giving honour to justification by faith, shows plainly that he has not the mind of Christ."  

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, v.4, pg 442.36

At Home in Mitford

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I finally got around to reading the first Mitford book by Jan Karon. A couple friends recommended it for pastors, though it’s more a feel-good, small-town experience kind of book.

Father Tim is blissfully unaware of his many needs, as he tries to meet the needs of his flock. God’s merciful provision in the midst of our lack of awareness of what we need is a main theme running throughout. Apart from our efforts, and sometimes in spite of them, God helps those around us, and helps us, too.

The writing style is way too sentimental and smarmy for me, and I actually had to put it down for a few weeks because of that. The conversation between Father Tim and his bishop toward the end was pretty good, though.




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Enneagram // Complementarian Conversation

The Enneagram - useful personality tool or therapeutic psychobabble?  Maybe a little of both.  Kevin DeYoung takes a look.


Should women teach in seminaries?  John Piper says no.
That's the question that led to this balanced take at 9 Marks on the differing perspectives within the complementarian camp.

“Many American Christians are tempted to accept the privatization of religion as long as they feel protected within their own ghetto.  Others – eager to champion a public vision for civic betterment – seem more intent on maintaining cultural influence than in exploring with the necessary depth the specific changes our influence might effect.”

Ken Myers

Advent 2017 letter

Mars Hill Audio Journal

Turpin // Shyness at Church // Precious Life

This thing with the Turpins in California is really sad.
The level of misguided, self-deceived wickedness and cruelty that parents can reach, in the name of strict parenting is truly awful.  I'm not sure if there is a religious aspect - were they doing this with the intent to raise their children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord? 
How easily the anger of a parent slips into cruel words and actions, into turning against the child instead of loving him and thus shepherding them away from their sin.


On shyness:
I've seen it in myself and in church members a lot.
The middle of the article on conference going got a bit tedious, but the last paragraph is a real thought provoker...


Kevin DeYoung on life being precious - good pro-life argument here.

Autopsy of a Deceased Church

Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive by Thom S. Rainer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A depressing book about churches so dysfunctional that they die.
A family member asked me to review it - I hadn't heard of it before.

The premise is not very attractive or marketable, but as a pastor of 13 years there is plenty of experiential truth in here.

Rainer’s main theme seems to be the need for the church to serve and to look like the community around it. The dying church serves its own members instead of those outside who need to hear the gospel for the first time.

An assumption made throughout: change or die. This one is tricky. If you take this in the modern evolutionary sense or in the Christian marketing world of Lifeway (the author is its president and CEO) it is false. Society is changing and the church has to change with the times to stay relevant. I detest this view.

But there is a theological sense in which this cliché is true. Change or die? John Owen said it best: “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” Churches like individual believers have sinful defects remaining that must be attacked with a holy warfare. Sanctification is the mortification of sin by the grace of God. We either kill the sinful parts of ourselves (or keep trying to) or we die spiritually.

We need to face this ugly fact, though perhaps not in the way Rainer gives it to us. Lifeway is a statistics machine, and Rainer seems to measure false versus true hope by the statistics, instead of by God’s ability to revive churches out of the blue. I appreciate the defibrillating jolt he gives dying churches with the premise of the book, but more on the solutions and hope side would have been better.



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The Calvinistic Concept of Culture

The Calvinistic Concept of Culture by Henry R. Van Til

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Writing in 1959, Van Til’s basic thesis is that culture is not some add-on to our Christianity. We will necessarily live out our faith somehow. Culture is not a high-brow, snobbish pursuit only for the upper classes in opera houses. All our work and recreation and customs and lifestyle expectations shape the culture we live in. “The church is weak in its approach to the problem of culture, often uncritically accepting the worldly pattern, because it does not appreciate the full implications of its creed for life in its fullness” (198).

Van Til avoids the Pollyanna cultural optimist approach and the pessimistic “hell-in-a-hand-basket” view, too. He brings some needed corrective even to Kuyper’s view of common grace without rejecting it. He does the same with Schilder, who I have not read. He is decidedly opposed to the radical two-kingdom approach: there is not one realm of life covered by common grace and another realm (the church) covered by saving grace. This “leads to a tolerant neutralism and makes men indifferent to the demands of the Christian warfare” (238). Anyone who advocates and emphasizes that view needs to deal with this book.

Minor weaknesses:
1. The chapters felt a bit disjointed at points
2. Van Til’s overview of Augustine and Calvin felt at times like he was reading his views of culture onto them.
3. The style of writing is often over the head of the typical layman – more abstract and academic than was necessary or profitable. A challenging and helpful read!



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