Calvin: Why He Still Matters

W. Robert Godfrey, author of the new biography of John Calvin entitled John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor, wrote an inspiring article on Calvin’s significance to ministers today.  Here is an excerpt:

Calvin exemplified in his life and work a determination to seek to bring every thought captive to Christ. That was his passion, such was his confidence in the Word of God. That is also what he wanted to teach others. To quote Calvin, “Whoever, therefore, would desire to persevere in uprightness and in integrity of life, let them learn to exercise themselves daily in the study of the word of God; for, whenever a man despises or neglects instruction, he easily falls into carelessness and stupidity, and all fear of God vanishes from his mind” (Commentary on the Psalms, on Ps. 18:22). Calvin was certain that many people tended very naturally to carelessness and stupidity. That is surely a lesson that does not need to be taught from Scripture; it is a lesson that pastors learn by experience! Calvin recognized, and we should recognize because it is even truer today, that we are surrounded by voices that are blaring lies. The only way to sort that out is to be sure that the Bible is constantly speaking to us, that the Bible is in our hearts and in our ears and in our mind so that that authority of the Word of God is a living and vital authority for us. The Bible must constantly challenge the way we look at the world, the way we look at our fellow men and women, the way we think about God and his world.

Clowning around in the Pulpit…literally.

Clowns in the Pulpit

A recent column by Josh Rottenberg in Entertainment Weekely sighted the awkward and many times blasphemous crossroads where Hollywood and faith have met.   In it, he discusses the failure of Christians to attend movies primarily for religious reasons.  Attempts to make Christian-targeted films resulting in massive box-office smashes have failed.  This was Hollywood’s pragmatic attempt to use the pulpit to find a market for its movies.

“‘After The Passion, there was a gold rush,’ says Phil Vischer, a co-creator of the Christian-themed cartoon franchise VeggieTales.  ’Hollwood thought, ‘This is great! We can market movies to pastors and they will get up on Sunday and tell their whole congregation to go see them! It’s a new button we can push, and money will fall from the sky! It was doomed from the get-go.”

As a result, though somewhat successful, Christian-themed movies (however blasphemous or vague)  like The Chronicles of Narnia, Evan Almighty, The Da Vinci Code, The Golden Compass, and The Nativity Story, have largely fell short of expectations in this theory. Instead, the Christian community has found identification with the Edenic-themed WALL-E, the amoral The Dark Knight and the strangely pro-life comedy Juno.  Why can’t Hollywood capture Christian audiences when it means to?

“Hollywood still hasn’t quite figured out how to crack the Christian code. ‘With a snap of his fingers, [mega-church pastor] Rick Warren could deliver hundreds of thousands of people to a movie,’ says Matthew Crouch, producer of the 1999 Christian film The Omega Code, ‘Hollywood is trying to figure out how to reach them.  But how do you get Rick Warren to sign on to a script? That’s the six-million dollar question Hollywood’s trying to answer.  But they don’t know how easy it is to offend that faith. You have to realize you’re playing with fire.”

Could I suggest something?  The reason Hollywood cannot reach the Christian community is the reason that Rick Warren can reach so many people.  Nominal Christians want the gospel and _________. Hollywood fails to understand the power of the gospel.  That though they classify us as a “faith,” our faith is real because it has an object–the person and work of Jesus Christ, the only name given under heaven whereby men may be saved.  Rick Warren does not understand this, hence EW ’s citation of his success. Rick Warren wants a faith-based program ministry that forgets that we are a people who are not of this world.  Though we want to help alleviate the ailments of this world, we understand that the most important ailment is sin, and its only remedy is the gospel of God.  Rick Warren does not get this.  Hollywood does not get this.  We are not of this world. We are passing through; the gospel is not. God has a purpose for the gospel in this world–to save sinners for himself and therefter to hear the praises of his glory in his Son.

What we have here in this article is a sad realization of the modern liberalism that has crept so pervasively into our churches–a watered-down version of Christianity that defines itself merely on a works-based mantra-”follower of Christ.” Any attempts to “reach people” are found in sweeping them through a gospel doorway right onward to an unoffensive life of service.  Before I continue, let me be clear: I believe that we are called to a life of service to mankind.  I do not believe that we are called to this life of service apart from a clear and uncompromising proclamation of the gospel.  This is our purpose: to lift up the Son for all to turn to and so be saved. Christians are the only people in the world who have a reason to do service–namely, to testify to the power of God to save sinners because of the person and work of Christ.

I have made quite certain that I am at odds with Rick Warren.  His gospel is watered-down, empty, and cursorily.  He has “bigger fish to fry,” namely, the PEACE plan. A acronym that basically stands for the gospel + good works.  We note the way he popishly declares people saved who read his book if they said that prayer at the end of his book.  “Welcome to the Family of God!”  He then ushers them on to service as if to say, “Now that you considered the gospel (a very thin one at that), you need to move on to bigger things, like service to mankind.” Foolishness…

There is no experience of weight under the law of God, there is no sense of shame for sin before a holy God, there is no mediating advocate through the finished and complete work of Christ, there is no repentance, there is no faith.  The gospel of Rick Warren is dead because it is natural.  It not the supernatural faith once for all delivered to the saints. It is pragmatic and cursorily.

I find in this interesting article from EW an indication that many clergy are reaping what they have sowed.  By ignoring the supernatural power of God’s purpose in the gospel, we have turned to all manner of natural elements to reach the carnal mind.  We will even dress up like clowns to entertain it. Note the interesting testimony Rottenberg uses to begin his article:

“It’s one thing for some nerdy fanboy who lives in his parents’ basement to show his enthusiasm for The Dark Knight by dressing up as the Joker. But for a pastor to stand before his congregation in full Joker regalia, complete with ratty wig and gruesome makeup, and deliver a sermon on good and evil–that’s something else altogether.  Last summer, in a radical attempt to engage his young congregants at the Christ Chapel Mountaintop Church in Manassas, Va., pastor Rob Seagears did exactly that.  Each Sunday, Seagears dressed up as a character from that weekend’s top-grossing film and used the movie–no matter how vulgar, violent, or ungodly it seemed–as the basis for a discussion of Christian morality.”

Reading this with as much charity as possible, I acknowledge that I don’t know this pastor’s heart and intention.  I also don’t know the content of his message (or even if there was one).  He might have had a clear presentation of the gospel in his message, but based on this information, it was probably what it said-”a discussion of Christian morality.” 

This is not the gospel.  This man, literally, was clowning around in the pulpit.  This is not the charge of the pastor.  The pastor is called to preach the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2:15; 4:1-2).  Paul himself refused to turn from it in the name of “contextualization.” 

As Mark Dever once so wisely proposed:  “Here’s a good measure to see if your contextualization is a good contextualization that honors God.  Does it make the offense of the gospel clearer or does it disguise it?”

For the Corinthians, Paul refused to talk to them in the style of some Greek orator and so titillate their carnal intellectualism.  For the Galatians, he refused to have them think the gospel must be added to circumcision and other Judiaic laws and so massage their carnal desire to be self-righteous.  For the Colossians, he refused to allow them to think that wisdom, knowledge and spiritual experience was found anywhere but in Christ–not in the worship of angels, mysticism, or aceticism–and so “transcend” to the upper realms of spirituality.  Paul wanted to know nothing among his people but Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).  Indeed, this was of first importance to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:1-3).

My first reaction to the story given of this pastor is to call him a false teacher who is disqualified from the ministry, but after I calm down, I remember this quotation he gave to EW:

“Pop culture is the language they speak…This was about meeting them where they are and trying to build a bridge back to God.”

I will trust what he said and take it to mean that he truly wants to reach people.  But what does it mean when we say “reach people”? Does it mean that we want to help them live their best life now and so ignore their need for Christ’s righteousness? Does it mean we want them to have a purpose-driven life and so forget the cross in the dust of our service projects?  Or does it mean that we want to reconcile them to God through faith in Christ by an open and pleading proclamation of the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)?

My purpose here is not to attack cultural engagement.  My purpose here is not to attack this pastor (though I still will contend that he requires church discipline for mocking the pulpit).  My purpose here is to call pastors back to their charge in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus: Preach the Word! (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

This man wants to discuss Christian morality by dressing up like a clown, or by dressing up like Indiana Jones, or by driving up to the pulpit in a motorcycle dressed up like Batman.  What foolishness, what a shame, what a mockery to that sacred desk…

Paul wants to know nothing among his people but Christ’s death and resurrection.  Don’t ever assume that your people know the gospel.  Unpack all of its glorious facets for the rest of your preaching ministry.  This is your charge.  People will respond to the gospel because this is where God has placed his power.  Either they will respond to it with derision or they will respond to it in faith.  This is what we have been promised from the beginning (2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6).

Hollywood can’t reach the carnal mind for Christ–the gospel can. The Men of God, however, must guard that good deposit entrusted to them (1 Timothy 6:20).  Don’t make a mockery of that good deposit.  We are not clowns; we are preachers. Let Hollywood mock the Cross, but we will stand by it until our Master returns.

Working with you for the gospel,

Vince R.

Youth, Discipleship, and the Centrality of the Home

Several articles in the April 6 issue of the Southern Baptist Texan impacted my affections as I read them.  They exhibit a major passion of mine: the centrality of the family in discipling children.

Tammie Reed Ledbetter addresses the research related to youth who prefer expository preaching. Even though this article is not directly related to the centrality of the home, it does relate to the importance of good doctrine and the sufficiency of Scripture in discipling young people.

One Texas church is turning toward a more family-integrated approach.  This article relates the major success of that church.

The newsjournal also included a post  from Eric Bridges, an IMB correspondent, who discussed the rise of formerly evangelical young people who now claim to have no religious affliation.  He examines the idea that this tragedy lies at the feet of parental failure to disciple their children.

I am greatly affected by these articles because they go the heart of my calling toward biblical manhood.  They strike the alarming chord reminding me of my call to prepare to disciple my children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  It is not the youth pastor’s job to teach my kids.  That lies at my feet.  May we all tremble at the responsibility and weight the Lord calls on Fathers, and may we awaken to God’s intended purpose for the family.

Working with you for the Family and for our children,

Vince R.

He Became a Curse!

Dr. R.C. Sproul delivered this message at Together for the Gospel 2008.  This powerful excerpt really captures the dymanic impact it had during his session.  The first time I heard it, I broke down in tears.

Sorrowful Love: When You Can’t Love the Sinner, Weep for Him.

It has been in my experience that when I am most sorrowful for the sinner, I love him the most, and I am moved to plead for him before the throne of the Most High Judge. We are often uncomfortable around the carnal man.  His words offend our sensibilities.  His ideas counter our convictions.  As he converses, obliviously and ignorantly, we begin to see his heart.  As a man speaks, so he is.  Why do our hearts sometimes despise him?  Do we hate him? Why does he anger us? It is here that we see our hearts.  It is easy to see the sins of others; it is more difficult to see our own.  Hatred, jealousy, bitterness, wrath, backbiting, slander, and gossip are carnal works.  They proceed from an unloving, wicked, and impure heart.  If one wishes to break this heart, he must know the love of God in the gospel.  Consider the following passages of Scripture:

Elisha looks at the messenger Hazael and begins to weep.  He experiences great sorrow for the sinner:

And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept.  And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” But the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. (2 Kings 8:11-15)

Elisha wept because he knew the great sins that Hazael would committ.  What sorrow the man of God will experience! He weeps because he loves.

Note, next, the way in which Jeremiah weeps for the wicked Israelites who recieved the just recompense for their unbelief:

Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! (Jeremiah 9:1)

Note next the way in which Paul spoke to the Philippians about the enemies of the cross:

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. (Philippians 4:18-9)

He speaks of the enemies of the cross with tears! Do we?!

Note next the way Lot related to the sinners around him in 2 Peter 2:7-8:

and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard)

Lot was greatly distressed by the conduct of the wicked; his soul was tormented by what he saw and heard. Do our souls feel a tormenting weight and sorrow for a lost world?

Note next the language of the Pslamist in 119:136, 158:

“My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.”

“I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.”

The Psalmist has a great zeal for the Lord’s law.  Tears fill his eyes when it is broken.  Do we share in his heart?

Indeed, there is a real hatred for sin in the Christian’s soul, even as his hatred is tempered by love for the sinner’s soul.  It is not some fuzzy love stripped of all justice and righteousness.  It is a perfect love, the kind of love that comes from God (1 John 4:7-8).  No Christian can say he loves God if he does not love the wretched sinner. For so was the Christian in times past! (Ephesians 2:1-7; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Application:

The key to loving the sinner and hating the sin is to know the heart of God.  Do you know his heart? Perhaps, you just know his mind.  Perhaps, you just know his truth but walk ignorantly of his person.  The man who has not the heart of God will become a Pharisee with his doctrine.  Meditate, therefore, heavily upon the love of God in the gospel.  Love is from God, and thusly, he sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).  You were not looking for God, but he was looking for you.  You were not loving God, but he was loving you.  He demonstrates his love for you in the gospel, even when you were still a sinner.  You who have been enlightened by the gospel: Walk with grief-stricken joy, and love the heathen around you.  He knows not what he does.

Whoever . . . has tasted of the love Christ, and has known, by his own experience, the need and the worth of redemption, is enabled, Yea, he is constrained, to love his fellow creatures. He loves them at first sight; and, if the providence of God commits a dispensation of the gospel, and care of souls to him, he will feel the warmest emotions of friendship and tenderness, while he beseeches them by the tender mercies of God, and even while he warns them by his terrors.

As to your opponent, I wish, that, before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord’s teaching and blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to love and pity him; and such a disposition will have a good influence upon every page you write. . . . [If he is a believer,] in a little while you will meet in heaven; he will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts. . . . [If he is an unconverted person,] he is a more proper object of your compassion than your anger. Alas! “He knows not what he does.” But you know who has made you to differ.

-John Newton

Working with you for sorrowful love,

Vince R.

The Goodness of God and the Pure in Heart: Meditations on Psalm 73:1

For the past week, I have been meditating on Psalm 73:1.  It is my spiritual goal to meditate on one verse of this Psalm each week until I finish it.  I want to share some of my meditations with you.

Psalm 73:1 “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.”

There is a longing in us that wants to believe in a benevolent God.  We want to believe that God is good–all the time.  Even when we hear the age old question: If God is so good, why does he let evil happen?, we still cling to the promise the Scripture gives of God’s omnibenevolence.

But why is it so hard to believe sometimes?

Asaph wrote Psalm 73.  He doubted God’s goodness.  This desperate poem and song to God truly meditates on the real experience of doubting God’s goodness.  Verse one openly proclaims the truth that Asaph has come to doubt.  It also answers the question I just proposed.  Why is God’s goodness hard to believe? Because our hearts are not pure. I see two things that this verse communicates, both explicitly and implicitly.

1.)  God is good, specifically in the person and work of Christ.

There is no doubt that the scriptures declare his goodness uniformly and specifically.  Psalm 136 is the text of the congregational song of Israel.  It repeats this phrase in its first verse:  “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” It is the phrase that the people of God sing to him when they meditate on his wonderous deeds.  Psalm 118 describes this as well.  The Psalmist who wrote the longest chapter in the Bible declared it completely:  “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes” (119:68).  When Moses pleaded to God to show him his glory, this is how the LORD answered him:

“I will make my all my goodness pass before you  and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.” And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:19).

In the New Testament, Jesus chastizes one man for calling him “good teacher.”

“Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

It is the apostle John, however, who ties the encouter that Moses had with God with Jesus.  He makes it clear that Jesus was not denying his own deity in Mark 10:18, but he was rather pointing out the heart of the man who approached him, for this man cared little about the goodness of God.  Though Moses couldn’t see God (Ex. 33:20), Jesus is described as the only one who seen God and can perfectly reflect him.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…And from his fulness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:14, 16-8).

John doesn’t so much emphasize the Mosaic law (condeming man) and Jesus (liberating man) as he is emphasizing God’s glory being made known perfectly in the person of Jesus Christ.  “He has made him known.”  It is here that we are given the undeniable truth that Jesus is the good God spoken of in the Old Testament.

Indeed, Christ’s miracles manifested his glory (Jn. 2:11), but most specifically, God’s glory in Christ is made known when evil men do not believe in him.

“Though he had done so may signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ [Isa. 53:1] Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them’ [Isa. 6:10]. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.  Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess, so they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43).

It was that frightening vision of God’ s glory in Isaiah 6 that changed, justified, and atoned for Isaiah.  It is here that John makes it clear: Isaiah saw Jesus Christ.  “He is the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 4:3). “…the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4, 6).  Every bit of God’s glorious nature is found in Christ.  Most especially, God’s goodness is found in Christ.  If we look at 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, we see that the glory of God is found in his gospel.

This is the way the writer of Hebrews describes God’s good for his people-

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11-12).

It is because of God’s goodness in the giving of the Son that we have “an eternal redemption” paid for “by means of his own blood.”  This is the ultimate way God is good to his people.  He gives us his Son so he can bring us to himself.  He wants his goodness to be known to his people, so he provides the way for them to experience it. Notice how Jeremiah prophecies of this giving of the Son as the means by which God will finally dwell with his people:

“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.  I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them.  And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and soul” (Jeremiah 32:38-41).

God is good to his people-with all his heart and soul. This is amazing!  But notice this passage’s emphasis on the heart. “I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good…”  He even speaks of giving his people “one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever.”  It is in this sense, then, that we see what God’s goodness does to our hearts.

2.) God’s goodness makes us pure in heart.

If God has nothing but good for his people, and this is most specifically manifested in the gospel, we must consider what the gospel does to us.  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God“  The way in which we draw near to God (and this is the climax of Psalm 73) is through the gospel.  The gospel  purifies our hearts and thusly allows us to see God the clearest.  Matthew 5:8 says it this way: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  There is a direct tie between purity of heart and seeing God for who he is.  Note how the apostle John puts it:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

The very appearance of God (as he is) and the fervent meditation of God (as he is) inevitably leads to purity.  Being near to God thus equals purity of heart.  The apostle James says this:

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded” (James 4:8).

Conclusion:

Thusly, I think we see from Scripture that God’s goodness both demands purity and supplies what it demands.  This is grace so amazing!  By being close to God and considering him for who he is, the heart is purified.

Application:

If in those times of doubt, when you speculate and intellectualize over the goodness of God with a heart of unbelief, you are committing grievous sin.  God’s goodness is not subject to your belief.  Your belief is subject to his goodness!  God is good to his people. Though evil surrounds you and doubt fills your minds, the goodness of God is not compromised.  Your purity is compromised!  Hoping in him as he says he is will result in a pure heart.

This has tremendous implications for our holiness because anytime we sin we demonstrate that we are 1.) impure in heart, 2.) far from the true and revealed God, 3.) doubtful of whether or not God is good.  Anytime we sin we demonstrate that we doubt if God’s way (of holiness, godliness, honor, integrity, blamelessness, pleasure) is good.  It is a heart of unbelief.

God says he is good, and though you cannot now see every way in which his goodness is made known to you, you must hope in him as he says he is.  But behold the manifold ways he has revealed his goodness!  Have you forgotten the wonderous deeds of the Lord in your life?  Have you spurned his blessing of life? Have you begrudged his blessing of family, friends, food, home, and other providences?  There is always a reason to give thanks.  But if, by some wise and gloriously good plan of God, you have nothing but loneliness, hunger, homelessness, persecutions, and sword, have you spurned God’s ultimate good blessing?  Have you forgotten the gospel?  He gave his Son! Is that not enough for you? If you, like Asaph, wonder if God is truly good to Israel, you must examine your heart, for it is not God who has ceased to be good, it is your heart that has ceased to be pure.

Fly to the gospel and thusly purify your hearts.  What love the Father has made known to you in Him!  His goodness and glory washes you from all uncleanliness and unbelief.  Purify yourself, and wash your hands by drawing near to God, meditating on who he says he is.

I leave you with four truths from St. Augustine that have helped me:

1.) God always enables that which he commands.

 “Lord command what you will, and will what you command.”

If he says to believe him, he will create that in your heart.  Plead with him until he makes his goodness pass before you!

2.) Our hearts will never rest until they rest in God as he has reavealed himself to be.

“Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

You will have a wayward, tossed, double-minded way about you until you rest finally in the truth of God’s goodness.

3.) Our love for God is compromised when we love anything apart from him.

“He loves thee too little who loves anything besides thee which he loves not for thee.”

God goodness wants you to enjoy his blessings.  God’s goodness also wants you enjoy them for him.  His goodness will thus take that from you which will result in your losing sight of his goodness.  He gives! But he will take away, and this is his goodness, kindness, and mercy.  Remember, however, that there is one thing God cannot take away: His promises in the gospel. Find your love for God in this love he has for you.

4.) To truly experience the goodness of God, we require one thing: Humility.

“If I should be asked what is the first thing in religion. I would say that the first, second and third thing therein is humility.”

Doubt and speculation are not admirable.  Humble and contrite hearts that tremble at his word is what God looks to. Carnal speculation and fleshly intellectualism do not impress God.  He does not command your theodicy; he commands your humility.

Working with you for purity,

Vince R.

How to Love One Another when there are Differences Among You

John Piper’s recent “Taste & See” article truly captures the kind of humility it takes to be around those who differ from you.  I am greatly thankful for this helpful articulation; and I am very humbled by God’ s grace, even as he continues to rescue my sinful heart by teaching me these principles in application.  This side of glory, I will never be finished learning them, and neither will you.

Working with you for Love,

Vince R.

Regeneration vs. the Idolatry of Decisional Evangelism

It was about the time I heard this sermon that I was only 90% sure how I felt about the “sinner’s prayer.”  After this sermon, I was 100% sure.  I put the “sinner’s prayer” in the ground, buried it, and put up a tombstone that said “anathema.” Our evangelism is weak, unbiblical, and it is eternally destroying some.  What are we preaching? See for yourself, and examine yourself. What are you preaching?

The New Atheism and the Endgame of Secularism

Dr. Mohler’s lecture last year at Dallas Theological Seminary.  I plan on quoting it in my final paper for the class entitled  The Victorian Period.  He speaks of “the Victorian Loss of Faith.”  My working title is: “The Ebb of Faith’s Sea: Doubt and Modernism in Tennyson and Arnold.”

“The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.” -From Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold

Embryonic Stem-Cell Research History: Just in Case You Missed it…Like I did.

I haven’t been living under a rock or anything, but on many issues, my cultural engagement is pretty weak.  Embryonic Stem-Cell Research has been thrown around near my ears, but only over the past year or so have I given myself to trying to stay informed.  Here’s an article summarizing the history and controversy of Embryonic Stem-Cell Research since the first invitro fertilization baby was born in 1981.  It is very helpful for people like me who need a little bit of help understanding the basic facts of the issue.  This is a much needed review in light of President Barack Obama’s woeful decision on Monday March 9, 2009 to repeal President George W. Bush’s 2001 ban on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research.

Here is an exhortation for the Church:

We are called to stay informed.  We are the people who know the dignity of human life from conception until natural death.  We are the people whose love for the glory of God in all things must stay engaged in this issue in which the glory of God in the Imago Dei is being destroyed and dishonored.  We are the people who are called to love our neighbor by warning them of lies and deceit while working to think through the same concerns that even the lost world cares for.  We must work to provide biblical and honest answers while not straying or compromising from the integrity and truth of God in his word.   This is a time for God’s people and his scientists to rise up and provide, for the glory of God, an honest alternative.  Pray for the scientists, pray for those whose hurts and afflictions have called for these questions, pray for the families who just wanted to have children but did not think through the reprecutions of this issue, and most of all, pray for the lives that will be intentionally destroyed in the name of human progress and human glory.

I’m still praying for you Mr. President.  God have mercy on you.

Working with you for life,

Vince R.