Bible

A Theological Introduction to Ecclesiastes (Pt. 1): Authorship, Authority, and Intertextuality

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[This post starts a three-part series aimed to introduce Ecclesiastes and draw a few theological implications from its overview].

Ecclesiastes 1

To get a handle on the book of Ecclesiastes it is imperative to understand who the human author is (or in this case, who is the most likely candidate). Likewise, since Ecclesiastes is part of the biblical canon, it behooves us to see how the New Testament cites Ecclesiastes. Last, since Ecclesiastes is one of many wisdom books, and one of three in Solomon’s corpus (Proverbs and Song of Songs being the other two), we will consider how Proverbs and Ecclesiastes relate to the life of Solomon and how a structural comparison with Proverbs helps us better understand this enigmatic book.  Continue reading →

The Doctrine of the Trinity: Three Distinct Persons

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Trinity_3Over the weekend I presented the first part of a ‘bare-bones’ outline of the Trinity. In short order, I argued that the doctrine can be sub-divided into two basic assertions, which each require a healthy dose of explaining.  The first proposition is God is one God. The second proposition is God is three Persons. Under those headings I added the following points.

God is One God

  1. The Father is God.
  2. The Son is God.
  3. The Holy Spirit is God.
  4. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are Uncreated, Co-Eternal, Inseparable, and Perfectly Equal in Essence.

God is Three Persons

  1. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  2. The Father Sends the Son and the Spirit.
  3. The Son is Sent by the Father, and Sends the Spirit.
  4. The Spirit is One Sent by Father and Son.
  5. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit works together to create the cosmos, sustain life, and redeem the church.
  6. God’s visible actions in history reveals his invisible triune nature.

Because of the difference in classification (God and persons) there is no logical inconsistency between saying God is ‘one’ and God is ‘three.’ Still, there is natural difficulty (not too mention the effect of sin on our thinking) in trying to understand how God is one and three. On the one hand, natural man cannot grasp an infinite God—even with God’s inspired word. On the other hand, God’s revelation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit guides Christians to a true but incomplete knowledge of him.

Keeping our creatureliness and Godward-dependence in mind as we approach this doctrine, this outline aims to help us put some of the pieces together.  Since, I’ve already laid out a defense of God as one God, the  next step is to pick up the second proposition—God is three persons—and  consider the first four points. Continue reading →

Noonday Light: Christians and Poverty

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“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
– Colossians 3:2 –

New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam

Last week,   asked the question: Are Churches Are Making America Poor?  She reported in Newsweek that a group of atheists in Washington D. C. want to crack down on churches with ‘crooked’ books.  Troubling as this report may be, it is worth considering how churches might relate to the poor. Here a few articles on the matter.

What the Poor Need Most. Joe Carter gives a personal testimony to the riches of his poverty and Christians’ responsibility to care for the poor. (Acton Blog)

The Poverty of the Nations. Greg Forster reviews Wayne Grudem and Barry Asmus’s new book economics and policy-making that brings about human flourishing. (The Gospel Coalition)

Economics 101: Productivity Starts at Home. Here’s a more constructive piece by Greg Forster. (The Gospel Coalition)

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Sermon Audio: God’s Design for Marriage and Sex

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Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother
and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

— Genesis 2:24 —

Do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God?
You are not your own,
for you were bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body.

— 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 —

From the intricate arrangements of the cell to the massive construction of stars in the Milky Way, the God who made the heavens and the earth and everything in them is—to put it plainly—a Designer.

On earth, God has made mankind in his image. Male and female he created the human race. And on the day when he fashioned the man from the ground and made woman from his side (see Genesis 2:4-25), God also designed the institution of marriage and gave to Adam and Eve the gift of sex so they could partner in covenant union, procreate children who bear God’s image and likeness. At the same time, God made sex pleasurable as a good gift to his married couples.

Tragically, when sin crippled the human race (Gen 3), men and women made to honor God with their sexuality began to abuse and misuse his gift. In just a few generations, Lamech had married two women and by Genesis 19, homosexual desires had overcome the men in Sodom and Gomorrah. Today, sex is manipulated and marketed with dizzying speed.

Christians need to learn how to think about these things and we must come to the Bible to get our bearings. These two messages, preached over the last two Sundays, are my attempt to help our church think about God’s designs for marriage and sex.

I pray they may help you understand what God’s word says about this blessed gift, and how the power of God’s gospel can help you walk in holiness.

Glorify God with Your Body (1 Corinthians 6:9-20)
 

God’s Design for Marriage (Genesis 2:24)

For the rest of the sermons in this series (‘God’s Design for Marriage and Sex’), go to Sermon Audio.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

 

A Sunday Prayer: Purification (Valley of Vision)

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Tomorrow my sermon will expound 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, a passage that calls believers to glorify God with their bodies. With that in mind, I could think of no better prayer to meditate on than the one recorded in Arthur Bennett’s Valley of Vision. 

May God be pleased to purify his bride as we meditate on Paul’s inspired words to flee sexual immorality and pursue God’s glory with our bodies.

LORD JESUS,

I sin— Grant that I may

never cease grieving because of it,
never be content with myself,
never think I can reach a point of perfection.

Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self.
Give me grace

to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable,
to live for thee and not for self,
to copy thy words, acts, spirit,
to be transformed into thy likness,
to be consecrated wholly to thee,
to live entirely to thy glory.

Deliver me

from attachment to things unclean,
from wrong associations,
from the predominance of evil passions,
from the sugar of sin as well as its gall,

that with self-loathing, deep contrition, earnest heart searching,
I may come to thee, cast myself on thee, trust in thee, cry to thee, be delivered by thee.

O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that

all things are shadows, but thou art substance,
all things are quicksands, but thou art mountain,
all things are shifting, but thou art anchor,
all things are ignorance, but thou art wisdom.

If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat, so be it,

but do thou sit at the furnace mouth
to watch the ore that nothing be lost.

If I sin willfully, grievously, tormentedly, in grace

take away my mourning and give me music;
remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty;
still my sighs and fill my mouth with song,
then give me summer weather as a Christian.

Amen. May this washed, sanctified, and justified sinner proclaim a message of God’s gospel that purifies all who hear it.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

 

Noonday Light: Reformation Day

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Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
– Colossians 3:2 –

Luther

Yesterday, most of America (and beyond) celebrated Halloween. But for Bible-toting, Bible-quoting Protestants, there was another more significant ‘holiday’: Reformation Day.

On this day (October 31) in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg Castle Door. In lieu of that great day, here are a handful of links to spur on your love for God’s word and to give thanks to God for the ‘monk with a mallet.’

October 31, 1517. Here’s a synopsis of what happened on the day now called “Reformation Day” 496 years ago. (History Channel)

Luther’s 95 Theses. Here are Martin Luther’s ninety-theses condemning the errors of the Roman Catholic Church. (Spurgeon.com)

An Interview with Carl Trueman on Luther’s 95 Theses.  Carl Trueman answers a number key questions about Martin Luther, the 95 Theses, indulgences, and the Protestant Reformation. (Justin Taylor)

Finally, here is a scene from the movie Luther which depicts Luther’s bold stand against Rome. It captures Luther’s famous line stand:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

From Eden to Zion: A Temple Story

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What is the best way to describe the Bible?

Is it a collection of verses that supply promises and warnings for the Christian life?  Is it a collection of books that each point to Jesus Christ?  Or is it an epic story of Paradise Created, Paradise Lost, Paradise Promised, and Paradise Made New in Christ?

Perhaps, the best answer is all the above.  While each of these three answers are correct, I think the last is the most difficult to see in Scripture.  In the last month, we have given attention on Sunday mornings to the tabernacle in Exodus and how it fits into God’s plan of redemption.  Because of that, I want to give you a biblical roadmap that traces God’s “tabernacles,” I think by seeing this line of dwelling places, it will give you greater ground for hope in God.  Let’s see. Continue reading →

Noonday Light: Reflections on Halloween

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“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
– Colossians 3:2 –

pumpkin

Halloween is America’s  second largest consumer holiday, one that is too easily rejected or embraced, without careful thought or biblical reflection. Therefore, on the eve of this dark night, take time to consider how a Christian should think about Halloween’s casual promotion of evil, death, and the grave.

Where Did the ‘-een’ come from in Halloween? Let the wordsmiths at Dictionary.com give you a brief etymology of the word Halloween. (Dictionary.com)

Christianity and Dark Side–What about Halloween? Albert Mohler points to a number of the concerns Christians should have with Halloween. (Albert Mohler)

Halloween and Evangelical Identities. Russell Moore provides a humorous and accurate ‘Rorschach test‘ to discern what various approaches to Halloween say about our evangelical identity. I guess I’m a conservative evangelical.

The Body of Jesus and Halloween. Patrick Schreiner helps us think about the ‘horrors’ of this life and how Christ’s death and resurrection are incompatible with Halloween’s glorification of evil (Ad Fontes)

Halloween: Mocking the Darkness. You can thank Tony Reinke for pointing to this excellent ‘spoken word’ video from “10 of those,” a Christian resources ministry from across the pond.  Watch it. And then watch it again. (Spurgeon.com)

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

1 John 1:1-4: We See Because He First Showed Himself

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In John’s first letter, he introduces his audience to the Christ who he and the disciples had heard, seen, and touched. While it is apparent John’s tactile verbs—‘we have heard’ and ‘we have seen’—are meant to stress the flesh and blood reality of Jesus Christ, a closer look at the structure of 1 John 1:1-4, shows John stressing the antecedent work of God to manifest himself in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

You can see this is in the complex chiasmus which organizes 1 John 1:1-4. Continue reading →

Noonday Light: Christians and the Public Square

/ davidsschrock

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
– Colossians 3:2 –

New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam

While many stumble in the light of noonday, God offers light to those who look up to him. These links are given to help you walk in the light as a growing disciple of Jesus Christ.

From Moral Majority to ‘Prophetic Minority’: An Interview with Russell Moore. ERLC President, Russell Moore, explains how evangelicals must stand in post-Bible Belt America. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Russell Moore on Evangelicals and Politics (video). Here’s the follow up interview on Moore’s Wall Street Journal article. (C-Span)

How to Change the World. Josh Moody gives a few examples from church history that encourage us to be salt and light in the world. (The Gospel Coalition)

Soli Deo Gloria, dss