Bible

Speaking of the Trinity

/ davidsschrock

Keith Johnson, in his insightful new book, Rethinking the Trinity and Religious Pluralism, provides a concise survey of Augustine’s trinitarian theology.  He marks four traits about Augustine that are often obscured or slanted (52-55):

(1) Key to Augustine’s understanding of the trinity was the “inseparable operation” of the divine persons, meaning that in creation and salvation all members of the trinity were at work together–the Father as the Father, the Son as the Son, the Spirit as the Spirit.

(2) Augustine’s massive volume on the trinity is grounded in Scripture.  In fact, the first seven chapters are pure exegesis, and in hiw whole work he cites 6,800 biblical citations and allusions!  Despite contrary opinion, he is not a speculative theologian.  He cites from every book in the New Testament, minus Philemon, and twenty-seven Old Testament books as he makes a biblical, theological argument for the Trinity in chapters 1-7 and then as he considers how we might make sense of the Trinity in chapters 8-15 of the De Trinitate.

(3) “Despite popular claims to the contrary,” Johnson states, “Augustine’s teaching does not stand in sharp contrast to the trinitarian theology of the Cappadocians” (54).  Cf. Lewis Ayre’s, Augustine and the Trinity.

(4) Augustine’s doctrine progresses over time.  Since his classic work took two decades to produce (AD 400-420), there is development in his understanding.  Johnson cites Ayres, “Augustine moves ‘towards a sophisticated account of the divine communion as resulting from the eternal intra-divine acts of the divine three” (Augustine and the Trinity, 3).

Two Rules By Which Augustine Interpreted Trinitarian Texts.

After presenting these basics, Johnson outlines three material ways that Augustine approached difficult texts about the Son.  He provides a handful of hermeneutical “rules” that serve current interpreters well as they come to the difficulty of reconciling passages that say things about God that seem to be in tension.

Combining these two rules, New Testament references to Christ can be grouped into three categories: (1) texts that refer to Son in the ‘form of God,’ in which he is equal to the Father (e.g., Jn 10:30; Phil 2:6); (2) texts that refer to the Son in the ‘form of a servant,’ in which he is ‘less’ than the Father (e.g., Jn 14:28); and (3) texts that suggest the Son is from the Father (e.g., Jn 5:19, 26)” (De Trinitate, 2.3, 98) (Keith Johnson, Rethinking the Trinity and Religious Pluralism, 62).

Keith Johnson summarizes a hermeneutical rule that Augustine employed to discern different way in which Scripture spoke about the two natures of Christ:

In the form of God, Christ created all things (Jn 1:3), while in the form of a servant he was born of a woman (Gal 4:4).  In the form of God, Christ is equal to the Father (Jn 10:30), while in the form of a servant he obeys the Father (Jn 6:38). In the form of God, Christ is ‘true God’ (1 Jn 5:20), while in the form of a servant he is obedient to the point of death (Phil 2:8).  These two ‘forms’ exist in one person–the Son of God (De Trinitate, 1.28, 86) (Keith Johnson, Rethinking the Trinity and Religious Pluralism, 60).

Last, Johnson points out another ‘rule’ that Augustine used to handle texts that speak of the Father sending the Son, or texts which speak of the Son coming from the Father.  Commenting on John 5:19, 26, Augustine observes,

So the reason for these statements can only be that the life of the Son is unchanging like the Father’s, and yet is from the Father [v. 26]; and that the work of the Father and Son is indivisible, and yet the Son’s working is from the Father just as he himself is from the Father [v. 19]; and the way in which the Son sees the Father is simply by being the Son (De Trinitate, 2.3, 99; quoted by Keith Johnson, Rethinking the Trinity and Religious Pluralism, 62).

In general, these ‘rules’ while not commanded in Scripture, come from someone who is saturated with the Bible, and who models well an approach to understanding the Trinity from the text of the Bible.  Next time you read 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Philippians 2:5-11, or John 5, 8, or 10 consider how these rules might serve your understanding of the glorious relationship between Father and Son.

And if you have never read, Augustine’s De Trinitate, it is worth the effort.  The first half is Bible-rich, while the second half engages in epistemic reflection on how we might best understand the Trinity through the use of analogies.  For Augustine, these analogies are not paradigmatic or authoritative, so much as they are ministerial.  They help him and put in words an  understanding of the three-in-one, even while each of the proposal ultimately fails.

May we have eyes to see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as we read the Bible, not as blind monotheists, but as worshipers of the Triune God.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Babylon: A Typology

/ davidsschrock

Babylon functions as a negative type in the biblical storyline, one that is important to notice and understand as you read through Scripture.

In Genesis 11, the secular spirit of Babylon is introduced; it continues through the Old Testament, as the nation-state of Babylon arises and opposes God’s people; and finally in the New Testament, Babylon’s reach extends beyond the Fertile Crescent to engulf Rome and all those nations who oppose the City of God.  According to Revelation 18, the Babylonian harlot seduces men and women to drink her intoxicating liquor.  The final result is destruction of Babylon, but today that great spiritual city continues to proliferate.

In his book, The Progress of Redemption, Willem Van Gemeren gives a helpful synopsis of the negative type of Babylon.

“Babel/Babylon becomes in the Bible a symbol of self-restraint, imperialistic secularism: control without accountability to the Creator.  The spirit of secularism can coexist with religions and deities, but not with the absolutism of the Creator-God.  Humanism and secularism are bound to run counter to theism.  Isaiah saw this spirit in the imperial ambitions of Assyria and Babylon (10:7-11; 14:4-6; 47:5-7, 10).  John the apostle symbolically speaks of the Roman Empire and all kingdoms to follow as Babylon the Great. Babylon, the seducer of nations, kings, and merchants will fall (Rev. 18)” (Van Gemeren, The Progress of Redemption, 90).

Thankfully, Christ has defeated every work of the devil (1 John 3:8), and has successfully delivered the death blow to the serpent and his city.  Yet, until Christ returns the spirit of Babel will plague society, inviting human ingenuity and progress to appear more powerful and appealing than the wisdom of a crucified Jew.  Yet, God’s wisdom will prove true in the end.

Trust that Christ is preparing his city, and on that final day, he will return to sweep aside Babylon and establish the New Jerusalem.  Which city are you looking forward to?

May we turn away from Babel and all it offers, and turn towards the city whose architect and builder is God.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

 

A Covenant with Creation: Isaiah’s Reading of Genesis 1 and 2

/ davidsschrock

Yesterday, I cited Willem Van Gemeren’s reading of Jeremiah 31 and 33 to argue for a covenantal reading of Genesis 1-2.  Today, I will cite his observations on Isaiah.  Van Gemeren writes,

Isaiah’s language of God’s covenantal commitment is a most important commentary on Genesis 1 and 2.  he uses words for creation (‘form,’ ‘make,’ ‘create’) not only to refer to God’s creative activities in forming the world but also to signify God’s election, grace, love, and loyalty to Israel.  The words for creation are, therefore, also covenantal terms” (Van Gemeren, The Progress of Redemption, 63).

Van Gemeren seems to be picking up in the prophets (Jeremiah and Isaiah) the sense in which these biblical writers are understanding God’s role in creation as initiating a covenantal relationship.  In fact, in the same paragraph as the previous quotation, Van Gemeren observes, “An individual’s life in the presence of God is an expression of covenant (the technical term defining relationship between two or more parties)” (63).

For me, Jeremiah and Isaiah are two lines of evidence that I had not previously considered about reading a covenant in creation.  I think they are helpful, and show how Genesis 1-2 does include a covenant, something that the OT prophets (Hos 6:7) and NT apostles (cf. Rom 5:12ff) developed to help explain God’s relationship with the world.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

A Message of Hope in the Aftermath of the Storm

/ davidsschrock

Last year, when the storms ripped through Joplin, I felt helpless to do anything, so I prayed and wrote.  This year, when the storms came a little closer, our church was able to help and will continue to help our neighbors. Today, in the face of destruction, it was a great sight to see many local churches, Southern Seminary students, and others pitching in to help.

Keep Henryville, Indiana in prayer.  Pray for Toby Jenkins and his church (First Baptist Henryville), for their ministry to the community, for the gospel to go forward, and for many whose lives have been broken to be put back together by the only power that gives life–the resurrecting message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In light of the storms that passed through Henryville, Indiana yesterday — a town located just thirty miles south of Seymour — I thought a re-post of my article reflecting on the tornadoes in Joplin last year would be appropriate: “The Words of Christ and Midwest Storms.” 

The Words of Christ and Midwest Storms

When the winds raged and the waves threatened, the disciples awoke Jesus with fear in their hearts. Jesus arose, stood on the storm-tossed boat and spoke three simple words, “Peace!  Be still!” The winds ceased and the storm ended faster than it came (Mark 4:39).

In that moment, the terrified fishermen were more frightened by the man in their presence with the power to subdue nature than they were of drowning under the heavy waves. God’s Son in human form had just displayed his divine power, and that with a word.  On that lakeside journey, Jesus stopped the storm with a sentence. On May 22, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri and again on March 2, 2012 in Henryville, Indiana, he didn’t.

For the disciples, Jesus stopped the storm and it led to a question of his identity: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (4:41). For the survivors in Joplin, the question is different. For them and for anyone staggering from a recent world-halting tragedy, the question is closer to that of the Psalmist, “How long oh Lord? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Ps 13:1). Because Jesus word did not stop the storm before it hit last week, there is now the need for Jesus word to come speak “Peace. Be Still.”

With such a need in mind, let me suggest four words from God’s Word that I pray may bring a biblical perspective to those bruised and broken by the storm, and to those ministering to them.

An Unspoken, Tear-Filled Word
In the face of raw tragedy, we have at least one example where words were not spoken. When Jesus came to Mary and Martha at the death of Lazarus, he came to some of his closest friends. Jesus loved Lazarus, and yet the Bible actually suggests that when Jesus learned of his illness, he intentionally waited so that Lazarus might die (John 11:5-6). When Jesus arrived, Martha came to meet him, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (11:21)—surely a similar sentiment arises from Joplin.

Yet, Jesus response to Martha and Mary did not express detached stoicism or impatience with broken people. To the contrary, he grieved with these sisters, with perfect understanding. When Jesus encountered the death of Lazarus, he wept (John 11:35). While he knew that his own death and resurrection would one day restore this man to eternal life, tears were the most appropriate response. For those left speechless by the horrorific damage—personal and material—Jesus sees. Jesus knows. Jesus understands.

A Word of Resurrection Life
Jesus weeping is not hopeless, but hopeful. In the face of death, Jesus does not chain himself to the grave. He, instead, points people to the resurrection. John 11:23-26 records the dialogue that Jesus had with Martha, where he spoke of Lazarus’ impending resurrection: “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

Staring into the eyes of someone whose heart was overwhelmed with unspeakable loss, Jesus spoke the only words that can defeat the sting of death. He promised life from the grave. In fact, Jesus intention of permitting Lazarus death was to show the world that he had the power to raise the dead. While calming the storm with a word demonstrated great power; reconstituting life and raising the dead revealed more.

So it will be at the end of the age. All those who have died in Christ will be raised in Christ (Rom 6:3-4). Jesus’ own resurrection confirms that he is the first-fruit of those who will be raised to life. While this does not immediately remove the pain and anguish of death, it does not allow death to have the last word. Instead, Jesus can say: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:54-55).

A Word of Sadness and Sober Judgment
Of course, there were other victims of the storm who did not know the Lord. For them and for those who knew them, Jesus words to Martha will not comfort. Instead for them, and this word is perhaps the most bitter of all, the Lord’s judgment is swift. While trusting in themselves and in their future plans, their life was immediately extinguished (Luke 12:20). Jonathan Edwards’s captured this dreadful reality in his sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” when he expounded Deuteronomy 32:35, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’

For some in the storm who had rejected the gospel, this was their appointed day of judgment. While this does not necessarily bring sentimental comfort, it brings repose in the fact that the “stormy winds fulfill[ed] his word” (Ps 148:8). Thus, in the particular providence of God, the same wind that brought some into eternal rest brought others into eternal torment. Indeed, all things work according to his sovereign will.

At the same time, it must not be forgotten that the death of the unconverted simultaneously grieves God, just as it does man. Ezekiel 18 records that the Lord “[has] no pleasure in the death of anyone” even the wicked (v. 23, 31).  In this complex but complementary way, the God who delights in the judgment of evil-doers is yet grieved by their deaths.

A Word of Repentance to the Rest
This leads to the most pressing word that Jesus has for us who read this today.  In Luke 13, when some of Jesus followers bring up the subject of human tragedy, Jesus response is surprisingly harsh. Responding to the slaughter of some from Galilee, Jesus brings up the death of eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them. He says, “Do you think that [these dead] were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (v. 4-5).

Jesus rebukes anyone who says that the tragedy in Jerusalem or Joplin happened because they deserved it more than me.  Jesus tells us who live to see these deaths as a divine lesson: Death is the judgment of God that is coming upon all men.  It is appointed for all men to die because all men have sinned against God.  While some die “peacefully” in their sleep, others die under twisted rubble.  The typological lesson from Joplin and every other cataclysmic tragedy is that there is coming a day when all men will be caught up in the whirlwind, and unless they have turned from sin and to Christ, they will face a greater danger than an F-5 tornado.

Knowing When to Speak and When Not To
Today, Jesus of Nazareth cannot be found walking the shores of Galilee.  He is enthroned in heaven, where he governs his church and intercedes for his saints.  Consequently, it is not Jesus who speaks an audible word today; it is his church.  You and I who comprise the body of Christ are his hands, his feet, and his mouthpieces.  Thus, it is not enough to speculate what Jesus would say.  By the leading of his Spirit, we must speak.

In our immediate context, one week removed from the tragedy in Joplin, Jesus’ words in Luke 13, do not yet seem appropriate.  In cases of tragedy, timing matters.  Jesus knew this.  When he arrived at Lazarus’ grave, he wept and then offered gospel hope.  Yet, when he was confronted with a wrongful understanding of theodicy, he proffered a more robust theological answer.  In the first case he knew to stress mercy; in the second to teach about God’s judgment.

Pastors and parishioners need to understand both of these responses and when to employ them.  As Ecclesiastes teaches, there is a time for everything—a time to cry and a time to catechize; a time to speak and a time to refrain from speaking.

Indeed, for those facing this tragedy firsthand, sorrow and prayers of silence are appropriate.  Words get in the way of feelings that are best expressed with groans and cries.  Yet, there will come a day when words need to fill the gap, and when they do, the only comforting Word will come from the one who said, “Peace.  Be still.”

Until that Resurrection Day, we all groan and wait with anguish.  Tragedies like the one in Joplin serve to remind us that the world still quakes under the curse of God.  It awakens us from our comfortable slumber.  And it calls each of us to repent of our sluggishness and sin and to prepare to meet our God, because none of us know when the master will return or when the whirlwind will strike.

May God be pleased to comfort the people of Joplin in the wake of this tragedy, and may those who know the Lord know how and when to speak words of comfort and hope into the lives of those suffering in the storm.

Skip Bayless Goes Biblical on ESPN

/ davidsschrock

It is not everyday that the Bible is quoted on ESPN.  And it is even more rare that if the Bible is quoted it is handled correctly.

This week, both of those things happened.  In reacting to the controversy set off by Brady Quinn’s comments about Tim Tebow’s faith–which seem to have been reconciled— Skip Bayless does a good job quoting Matthew 6 and explaining how evangelical followers of Christ are to be Christians in private and in public.

Against the cultural sentiment that Christ should be kept out of the public square, Skip Bayless does a good job explaining why Tim Tebow and other true followers of Christ cannot simply keep their faith private.  As Bayless points out, Christianity is a public faith. Check it out:

And just in case you are wondering, Skip Bayless is a professing Christian.  You can see his comments here: “Skip Bayless reflects on God, sports, and LeBron James.”

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Via Emmaus: A Christ-Centered Walk Through the Bible

/ davidsschrock

Yesterday, The Gospel Coalition ran an article on how to teach through the whole counsel of Scripture in a year.  It was something that I wrote based on the things I learned when our church walked through the Bible together in 2010.  For those who are interested in what those lessons looked like, here are the lessons I shared with our people each week.

Introduction: An Overview of the Bible

Pentateuch
Genesis 1-11: The Beginning of It All
Genesis 12-50: Four Families Under the Faithfulness of God
Exodus 1-15: Salvation Through Substitution & Conquest
Exodus 16-40: Moving Into the Presence of God 
Leviticus: Sinners in the Presence of a Holy God
Numbers: In the Wilderness
Deuteronomy: God’s Royal Covenant with Israel

History
Joshua: Into the Land
Judges: A People in Need of a King
Ruth: A Painful & Pleasant Providence
1 Samuel: The Good, The Bad, and the Ruddy
2 Samuel: The Rise and Fall of King David
1 Kings: Redemptive History is a Royal Mess–Part 1
2 Kings: Redemptive History is a Royal Mess–Part 2
Ezra: Return, Rebuild, Renew, Repent
Nehemiah: Rebuilding God’s City and Reforming God’s People 
Esther: Seed Warfare

Wisdom
Job: Knowing God In The Crucible Of Satanic Suffering
Psalms: Redemption in the Key of D(avid)
Proverbs: Wisdom is the Way to the Obedient Son
Ecclesiastes: To Work Wisely is Futile, To Fear Faithfully is Wise
Song of Songs: More Than Just an Old Fashioned Love Song

Prophets
The Prophets (1): Hearing the Spirit of Christ in the Days of Elijah
The Prophets (2): Putting the Prophets in their Place: Before the Exile
The Prophets (3): Putting the Prophets in their Place: During and After the Exile
Isaiah: The Servant-King Will Lead His People Into a New Creation
Jeremiah: A New Heart For An Idolatrous People
Ezekiel: That You Might Know the Lord
Daniel: Keep the Faith! The Sovereign LORD Reigns In History
The Twelve: Judgment and Salvation is a Major Theme in the Minor Prophets

Gospels-Acts
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom
Mark: Seeing the Christ of the Cross
Luke: The Messiah Must Go To Mount Zion
Acts: Taking the Gospel From Zion to Zimbabwe
John: Jesus, The Son of God, The Messiah of Israel, and The Savior of the World

The Letters and Revelation
Paul (1): The Apostle to the Gentiles
Paul (2): The Prison Epistles and Philemon
Hebrews: Believe and Draw Near, For Jesus Christ is Greater Still
General Epistles: James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude
Revelation: The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Seven Habits to Becoming a Highly Effective Bible Reader

/ davidsschrock / 3 Comments

Each December, many scrupulous Christians gear up for the new year by thinking about how they will spend time in God’s word in the coming year.  For many, myself included, this is a time of self-doubt and disappointment.  Thinking back on the previous year, it becomes apparent that our goal for reading the Bible all the way through crashed on the rocks of 1 Chronicles 1-9 or petered out in Acts 11.

Yet, with a new year comes a renewed sense of hope and the prospect that this year we will finish the course.  Thus, there are many extensive plans out there.  And truly, there are many good and biblical reasons to adopt one of them–just ask John Piper.  Yet, with such an admonition comes a perilous danger–the promotion of self-sustained discipline that puffs up the strong and deflates the weak.

Thus, in what follows, I want to give seven ‘balanced’ principles for reading your Bible this year.  They are meant to give clear principles for reading your Bible well, and they are meant to give you sure promises that should be remembered if reading does not go as planned.  With tongue in cheek, you might call them “Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Bible Reader.”

Seven Bible Reading Habits 

1. Find a good translation.  Choose a translation of the Bible that is faithful to the text and accessible to you.  The New International Version is a good place to start if you have never read the Bible before. Although, beware, if you have the new updated version of the NIV, you have an edition with some gender neutral translations–see Denny Burk’s CBMW article for more information. Likewise, beware of paraphrases like the Message.  They are more like a commentary on the Bible than Scripture itself.  Still, the revised New Living Translation is paraphrase that does correspond with the original Greek and Hebrew.  For me, I have been sold on the English Standard Version since Wayne Grudem handed out a free copy in class (circa 2003). Seriously, it is a readable translation that translates the original languages word for word.   See Kevin DeYoung‘s little book for why your church should adopt this translation.

2. Use a Bible reading plan. There is no right way to read the Bible–provided you read it to behold the beauty of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Some people do better reading Morning and Evening.  Others once a day.  For some younger believers a single chapter a day would be growth in grace; for seasoned saints one chapter is not enough; and for seminarians it may be that a few verses slowly digested offset the lengthy reading required in class.  Whatever the case, find a plan and stick to it.  We never drift into spiritual disciplines.  Discipline yourself to read your Bible by finding a good plan sticking with it.

(This year, I am going to follow the “Bible Eater” by Trent Hunter.  The name makes me think of a mythopoetic monster and may seem a little silly, but the language flows straight from Scripture (Ezek 2:8ff; Matt 4:4).  This plan includes 2 OT chapters and 1 NT chapter a day, plus 6 “extended reading days,” with plenty of catch up days each month. Justin Taylor has also provided a number of helpful Bible reading plans).

3. Write in your Bible.  When I first read the Bible, I NEVER wrote in it.  I venerated my manufactured copy as much as the stones Moses inscribed and put in the tabernacle.  Somewhere in that first year though, I acquired a gold-colored pen.  It was the perfect gilded ink to underline in my Bible.  Since then, I have marked up innumerable Bible’s.  Cross-references, sermon notes, key verses and words, all get marked in the margins.  What I failed to understand at the beginning of my Bible reading was that the purpose of my Bible is not for me to look spiritual carrying down the church hall, or to feel good that I have multiple versions; the purpose of Bible reading is to get God’s printed word into my heart (cf Ps 119:9, 11).  Thus, pick up your Bible and your pen.  You will be a much more attentive reader and the notes will help you later understand God’s word better.

4. Know where to go when you don’t know.  Inevitably, you will find passages, chapters, and even books of the Bible that make little sense. In those instances, what will you do?  You can take on the belief that a time of devotion should only touch the heart and not inform the mind; or you can have a plan for finding an answer.  Picking up a one-volume Bible commentary would be a good place to begin.  Using a Study Bible, like the ESV Study Bible or the HCSB Study Bible, is another option.  With the advent of technology, you might be able to download a couple Bible references works to your phone, iPad, or computer.  Or, you could simply shoot email, text, or call a friend or pastor about it.  Few things delight a pastor’s heart more than an earnest question about Gog and Magog or the other people raised to life at Jesus’ crucifixion–plus, it will make them do some research, too.

5. Preach the gospel to yourself on days you fail to read.  The goal of reading your Bible daily is not reading your Bible daily; it is meeting with the living God as you hear his voice in the pages of Scripture.  Thus, if you miss a day, do not feel that you have missed God. In my life, God’s grace has been most evident on days I have “failed” to have a “quiet time,” because it has forced me to trust in God’s unmerited grace, and not my religious consistency.  God has called us to experience him in all of life, not just in Bible study.  Thus you should not feel guilty for missing; instead you should feel desirous for the next time you spend with him.

6. Congregate.  Don’t be a “Bible and me” Christian.  You and your Bible are not enough. Your Bible reading should be part of a lifestyle that orbits around the life of a local body of believers.  If you are weak at reading the Bible regularly, you need to be around the teaching of God’s word and the accountability and fellowship of other believers.  If you are strong at Bible reading, you need to share what you have learned with others, and then invite others to read with you.

7. Pray for God’s mercy.  Becoming a faithful reader of Scripture does not come by following these or any other seven steps.  You must have an appetite for the Word of God and eyes that behold Jesus as beautiful and not boring.  And the truth is, you cannot give yourself either.  If you have a hunger and thirst for God’s word, if you have understanding into its riches, if you love hearing, singing, and conversing about it; it is attributed to the grace of God alone.  To paraphrase 1 John 4:10, “If you love God’s word, God’s Word first loved you and died on the cross to give you such love!”

Thus, in the exact same way, if you struggle to read the Bible because you don’t see its relevance and place in your life, if you would rather workout, watch TV, or twitter away on Facebook, then pray to God to have mercy on you!  It may be that such a distaste for God’s word is evidence of your spiritual separation from God; but it also could be the corrosive effects of the world on your heart.  Go to God in prayer, asking him to give you an unquenchable desire for God’s word.  He does not turn away such requests!

Feast on the Bread, No Matter How Long It Takes

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  These words of Moses (Deut 8:3) quoted by Jesus (Matt 4:4) are a good reminder that the abundance of our living in 2012 is not measured by our physical well-being, our financial gains, or even our ability to read the Bible.  The abundance of our living depends solely on Christ.  Reading the Bible is an essential part of abiding in him, and one that is both the fuel (we live on God’s word) and the goal (we live to know God’s Word) of our Christian living.

Therefore, as you read God’s word in 2012, may our gracious God confirm the work of your hands.  As you clutch his life-giving word and strive to read from cover to cover, may you be reminded that the goal is not just to master the book, but to be mastered by the Author of the book.  To that end we labor together, with the strength that He supplies.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss


Between Darkness and Light: The Lord Who Ordained the Darkness

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

On Monday, we observed seven ways in which the setting for Christ’s birth was full of darkness.  Today, we will continue to look at the birth of Christ, but now from the angle that it was the Lord who creates light and darkness (Isa 45:7) that brought about the darkness so that the light of Christ might be ever more brilliant. Notice how in each of these instances, God is the sovereign author behind the darkness.

1. God is the only free person in the universe.  Our free will is limited and confined by innumerable factors; location, money, knowledge, and most importantly spiritual life effect our freedom. Not so God, nothing inhibits him.  He is in heaven and he does as he pleases (Ps 115:3).  Since Malachi, he chose to be silent.  No one muffled his voice. Conversely, God is never forced to speak, and so the spiritual darkness of the Intertestamental Period is a result of God’s free choice.

There is a lesson in this. God does not create darkness, so much as he pulls back the light.  In this case, the spiritual darkness is not something God speaks into existence; it is his intentional lack of speech.  This is often how God controls calamity and evil.  He never does evil, but he will permit evil men or evil spirits freedom to act according to their natures.  This is different from every aspect of goodness in the world—in that God is the active speaker.

2. God put Israel under Roman rule.  Israel’s captivity was in God’s full control.  As the one who raises exalts and humbles nations (cf. Ps 33:10-11; Isa 40:15, 17, 22-23), God placed Israel in the darkest period of their history.  This was in part due to his judgment upon their idolatry; this was in part to prepare the way for Jesus; and this was in part preparing the way for the gospel to travel along the Roman roads. Israel could not see it at the time.  Neither could the Roman Emperors.  But one major reason why Rome flourished as it did was because God himself was building the infrastructure necessary for the message of the gospel to travel.

I wonder if we think like that?  Do we think that giftedness of men like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates was only for their Silicon Valley companies? No, even though men like them may deny the Lord, God gifts them so that their innovations and productivity can be used for the advancement of the gospel.  This is how God works in history.  One way that advances in technology are being picked up and used for the gospel ministry is found in the ministry of Mark Overstreet and T4 Global ministries.

3. Even in the case of the false religions in Israel, it was God who permitted it.  His spiritual absence, created a vacuum where all kinds of Jewish religions rose up.  Many in Israel, instead of simply trusting God’s word—like Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon—came up with all kinds of contrived ways to gain God’s favor—Pharisees, Saducees, Essenes, Zealots were all human solutions to the spiritual and political problems of the day.

4. It was God’s eternal intention to bring Jesus into the world through a virgin.  In order for God to take on flesh, a natural union could not take place.  The virgin birth is necessary, because without it Jesus could in no way be divine and human.  So from Isaiah 7:14 on (maybe even before if you read Genesis 3:15 as promising a virgin birth), God’s word predicted that a virgin would give birth to a child.  Isaiah 9 explains the kind of child this would be—one born in darkness who would bring light, one that would bring peace, the kind that would never be taken away.  Thus, the near divorce of Mary, the isolation from her family, the insults from strangers, and the lifelong accusations that Jesus mother incurred was God’s doing!  God blessed Mary by afflicting Mary with this child.  He does the same in our lives, too (2 Cor 1:3-7).

5. In order to fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies, God moved Mary and Joseph by way of Caesar’s census.  There is great irony in God’s redemptive story.  In this case, it is a king who takes count of his kingdom, all the while the king of kings comes with no accounting from the world (John 1:9-11).  In Caesar’s census, this mighty king thought that he was proving his power to the world.  But really, he was taking a census because God wanted to move two people from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  The prophecy in Micah 5:2 needed to be fulfilled, and God used the mightiest man and the world as a pawn, in order to bring his scepter-wielding Son into the world in the right place.

There are so many lessons in this.  For one thing, what we think is important in our lives, may be the most meaningless thing that we do.  Likewise, what the world deems as important may not be.  The way God works in history should free us from the approval of men, and should recalibrate our lives to live for his purposes. After all history is His Story, and the only lasting part we have is what comes from him.

6. Mary and Joseph’s poverty was ordained by God, so that it would accentuate the gift of the wise men. Matthew 2:10-11 records the exceeding joy of the wise men, and how when they found the babe, they offered gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  But these are not just gifts like we give on Christmas morning, they are sacrifices of praise. Matthew records that these travelers came from a far to worship the king of kings.

And the gifts they give are significant.  For one, it is likely that the gifts would finance the travels that Jesus’ family would make to Egypt in the coming months.  But even more significant, they fulfill prophecy.  In Isaiah 60, the great prophet gives an oracle describing the nations coming to worship at God’s dwelling place, and it just so happens that Isaiah develops the them of light coming into the darkness–darkness ordained by God, so the light of the world would be perceived by all nations.  Listen to what Isaiah says in verses 1-6

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, young camels of Midian & Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold & frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.

The picture of light dawning on God’s Holy Dwelling Place includes men (and women) coming from the nations, bowing down before the Lord, and offering gifts.

7. Finally, even the killing of the infants was part of God’s plan.  Oh, don’t misunderstand.  God is not the cause of such evil.  He is never tempted to do evil, nor does he ever do evil.  However, that is to say that in his blameless holiness, he has not ordained evil to be done.  Just think of the murder of Jesus on the cross, Acts 2:23 and 4:27-28 records that this was God’s plan and purpose.  So, according to God’s inspired word, do we find that God blamelessly ordains the slaughter of infants, such that all that Herod does is according to the  Script that was given to him.

To say it another way: Herod is not acting outside of God’s jurisdiction.  Oh yes, he is breaking God’s commandment—thou shall not kill.  But in another way, he is fulfilling the will of God. Like Satan in the book of Job, Herod only does what God permits him to do. He is on God’s leash, and cannot extend his hand any further than God allows. Like the lying spirit in 1 Kings 22, the one that God sent out to deceive Ahab, king of Israel—God does not lie, but apparently he does send out lying spirits.  In the same way, Herod does what is in his nature to do—to deceive, manipulate, and kill.

Still unsure?  Consider the fact that Matthew shows us that Herod’s fanatical attack on the children in Bethlehem actually fulfills Scripture, and thus at the same time that Herod is breaking God’s will, he is in another sense fulfilling God’s unfailing Word. Matthew 2:16-18 records,

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

In the end, the fulfillment of this prophecy shows how dark the period was.  Israel’s sin brought God’s judgment, and thus they lived in gloomy darkness.  Yet, in his covenant love, he had not abandoned his elect people.  Rather, he was quietly working behind the scenes to bring his Son into the world.  The birth narrative of Jesus shows us this, and as we will see in our next installment how God’s light shines brightest when it is contrasted with the darkness.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Beware of False Worship (Sermon Notes)

/ davidsschrock

Exodus 32 is a tremendous vision of all that God hates about false worship.  If we pay careful attention, the problem is not absence of worship, but absence of divine sanction. In other words, the problem is not rejection of religion or indifference to worship. The problem is that worship derives its origin from some place other than God himself. This is not too different from the church today.

In an age of creative ventures in worship, the Golden Calf incident is worth our attention, because it provides a powerful counter-example to false forms of Christian worship. And what is most shocking and indicting is the fact that in Exodus 32 we find that false worship looks a lot like true worship, and that only in the light of divine revelation, can we tell the difference.

False Worship Looks A Lot Like True Worship

False religion is so dangerous because of how closely it apes true religion.  It doesn’t come with a surgeon generals warning on it.  In fact, if you use Christianbook.com as a resource for getting “good, Christian resources,” beware.  There is no warning for the likes of Osteen, Boyd, Eldredge, Meyer, or Jakes.  Today, too many Christian booksellers make a killing selling false doctrine.

In Exodus 32, we see a number of ways that ancient Israel apes true religion, and how Satan deceives God’s son.

First, while the need for leadership is real, the request is wrong.  Moses has been gone for weeks, and Israel feels its need. So they come to Aaron earnestly; unfortunately, their worry is premature.  The pillar of cloud is still on Mount Sinai.  There is no evidence that it has departed.  They were told that when Moses ascended, he would return and lead Israel to dwell with YHWH.  But like in the garden, Satan plays on the emotions of Israel, and they fall for his temptation.

Second, the worship that Israel offers looks sacrificial.  Here Aaron, failing to guard Israel, like Adam failed to guard his wife, calls for gold to fashion an idol.  And the people give.  They give liberally! It is a major act of spirituality–false spirituality.  Sadly, they miss God’s mark.  Part of God’s plan is for Israel to gather gold, silver, fabrics, etc (Exod 25, 35), thus, what Aaron calls for seems very natural. Sadly, his construction will distance Israel from God, it will not bring them near.  Access to God requires God’s revelation.

We learn something very important here: Sacrifice does not equal spirituality.  Spirituality calls for sacrifice. David says of Araunah’s threshing floor in 1 Sam 2:24, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing”  True spirituality will cost you  (cf. Luke 14:25-33), but just because you offer costly service, does not mean your spirituality is pleasing to God.

Third, the materials Israel offers for worship are essentially the same. The people of God build an altar, offer burnt offerings and peace offerings, and feast with the Lord (v. 5-6).  Yet, while in name these offerings and elements of worship are the same, they are different because they are invented by men and not God.  Aaron is not responding to God’s revelation, he is building the altar and offering the sacrifices according to all that he had seen in Egypt.

At this point in the narrative, Moses alone had God’s instructions.  He is still on the Mountain.  Israel does not yet have Exodus 25-31.  We do.  They don’t.  Worse: Because of the sexual promiscuity often associated with temple worship in the ancient world, the “playing” in Exodus 32:6 is likely to have a sexually perverse element.  Overall, the offering is an abomination, because it fails to do what God’s word says; it offers worship according to the vain imagination of fallen men.

Here is the application, via negative example, for us: It is natural and easy for the worship of God’s people to reflect more of the culture than of the court of heaven.  False worship is indeed what will happen whenever God’s word is minimized.  Unless we employ a regulative principle that allows Scripture to define and delimit our worship, we run the risk of offending God with the very thing with which we intend to please him.

Worship Without the Word Invokes God’s Wrath

The reaction of God is evident to all.  YHWH was incensed.  Verse 7 describes the distance that now existed between God and Israel.  He calls Israel “Moses’ people,” and he tells Moses that he brought them up from Egypt.  YHWH wants to have nothing to do with Israel.  In verse 8, he condemns them legally for breaking the part of the law that they had.  Remember, more than once, Israel swore that they would do all the words the Lord had spoken (Exod 25:3).  They knew that failure to obey meant death.  And so, God was fully within his rights, to say in 32:10, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them & I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you’

The people of God worshiped YHWH (v. 5), but not according to the way YHWH designed.  Thus, they invoked his wrath.  How many churches today do the same?  As they creatively invite the presence of the Spirit through smells, bells, dramas, and personal interviews, they may actually distance themselves from the Christ they name.  For churches and their leaders, it is worth asking: What biblical sanction is there for such activity in corporate worship?  Failure to think through these things, invites God not to write his name on our churches, but rather the word “Ichabod.”

May God protect us from false worship, and may we pursue true worship as we look to the Word of God and worship according to all that he has revealed and prescribed in his sufficient revelation.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss


Read the Bible with the Church: A Wise Word from Charles Hodge

/ davidsschrock

Protestant Christians have always believed in Sola Scriptura, but they have also read the Bible with the Church.  Until recently (since the American Revolution and the Enlightenment), the idea of “Me and My Bible” Christianity, or Solo Scriptura, has not been advocated.  Like the Jews who plugged their ears and stoned Stephen, when we read the Bible without listening to the men who have gone before us, we endanger ourselves of committing many errors and foolishly rehashing untold biblical-theological arguments.

In this vein–reading the Bible with the light of Church History–is helpfully represented by American theologian, Charles Hodge.

Protestants admit that as there has been an uninterrupted tradition of truth from the protevangelium [Genesis 3:15] to the close of the Apocalypse [Revelation 21-22], so there has been a stream of traditionary teaching flowing through the Christian Church from the day of Pentecost to the present time. This tradition is so far a rule of faith that nothing contrary to it can be true. Christians do not stand isolated, each holding his own creed. They constitute one body, having one common creed. Rejecting that creed, or any of its parts, is the rejection of the fellowship of Christians, incompatible with the communion of saints, or membership in the body of Christ. In other words, Protestants admit that there is a common faith of the Church, which no man is at liberty to reject, and which no man can reject and be a Christian (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, 1:113–14).

To learn more about the value of Charles Hodge for today, read my review of  Paul Gutjahr’s recent biography, Charles Hodge: Guardian of American Orthodoxy.  Another fresh biography on Charles Hodge is Andrew Hoffecker’s Charles Hodge: The Pride of Princeton. 

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

(HT: J.T. English)