Providence

Eternal Security and Common Grace: Two Doctrinal Lessons from Acts 27

/ davidsschrock

boatWhen Paul was taken to Rome, Luke describes the harrowing sea journey to Italy in Acts 27. Embarking on a ship from Adramyttium, a seaport in Asia Minor (v. 2), Paul crossed the Mediterranean. From Myra (v. 5), Paul and his guard found passage on a ship of 276 men, complete with many other soldiers (v. 31) and prisoners (v. 42). While Paul doubted the safety of the journey, based on the time of year (vv. 9–10), the centurion and the majority of the crew decided to head out (vv. 11–12).

This perilous journey sets up the dramatic events at sea, the near drowning of the passengers, and the eventual sinking of the ship. Verse 13 begins with gentle breezes as the ship sets sail, but all turns stormy in verses 14. Verses 14–20 recount the evasive actions taken by the crew (e.g., turning the ship out of the wind, lowering the gear, jettisoning cargo), and verses 21–26 introduces Paul’s “I told you so” coupled with gracious promise from the Lord.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”

In these words, we find two doctrinal lessons—the first, an illustration of eternal security as Paul later tells the passengers they must remain on the boat to receive “salvation.” In Acts 27, salvation (defined as the preservation of life) is secured by means. Thus, it serves as handy illustration of how God provides eternal security through God-provided means. Or as Thomas Schreiner and Ardel Caneday explain in their book The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance, “Acts 27 illustrates well the fact that exhortations and warnings are a signficant means by which God moves humans to act so that his promises to them will be fulfilled” (212). This is the first illustration, well covered Schreiner and Caneday (pp. 209–212).

The second doctrinal lesson pertains to God’s common grace and the variety of ways grace is conveyed to unbelievers through the lives of Christians. I will consider this below. Continue reading →

Marveling at God’s Direction in Our Lives: An Update on the Schrocks

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

obcThe plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the LORD,
and your plans will be established. . . . 
The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps.
— Proverbs 16:1–3, 9 —

On Wednesday August 26, the elders of Occoquan Bible Church in Woodbridge, Virginia (20 miles south of Washington, D.C.) unanimously called me to be the pastor of preaching at their church. Since June I have been in conversation with them about this position. In July Wendy and I had a wonderful visit with the elders. Following that trip, the elders announced my candidacy for the position of teaching elder (pastor of preaching) and for the last 30 days we (the church family and our family) have been prayerfully considering this call.

During this season of prayer, our whole family visited OBC. We loved it. Our kids loved it. And we felt increasingly convinced that God was leading in this process.

In our visit, we were deeply encouraged by the way the Word of God and the gospel was made central in all aspects of the church. We loved meeting the families at OBC and hearing their passion for Christ and work of the ministry in and through the church. I preached twice (on membership and eldership) and got to sit in on a handful of activities during the week. Long story short, we left Northern Virginia on August 17 hopeful and prayerful that we would soon return.

Next week, we will do just that. After six months of seeking the Lord and watching him direct and redirect our steps, we will load up all our earthly belongings and join God’s people in Woodbridge, Virginia.

We are incredibly excited about this move. We praise God for his faithfulness and love and provision during these months of uncertainty (=unemployment). We give thanks to him for all of you who prayed with us, encouraged us, and ministered to us. And we marvel at how he led us to OBC. It’s that story I want to share here—that this marvelous works might be magnified and that you might be encouraged in your own earthly pilgrimage. Continue reading →

For Your Edification (4.30.12)

/ davidsschrock

For Your Edification is a weekly set of resources on the subjects of Bible, Theology, Ministry, and Family Life.  Let me know what you think or if you have other resources that growing Christians should be aware.  

BIBLE

The Case for Adam and Eve. In case you haven’t noticed, the historicity of Adam is once again under attack.  Groups like BioLogos and books like The Evolution of Adam (both of which are led or authored by Peter Enns) have recalled the question of Adam’s historical reality. Since evolution is still a topic promoted in schools and assumed in the media, this is an important discussion.  Thankfully, scholars like C. John Collins have given compelling evidence–biblical and otherwise–to help us see how Adam’s historicity is possible and why it matters.  In this interview, Professor Collins answers some important questions.  See also his recent book, Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?

The Whole Bible For Our Whole Lives. Our Presbyterian brother, Stephen Um interviews Richard Lints, asking him to discuss how biblical theology helps us read the Bible.  For me, reading Lints book,  The Fabric of Theology, was revolutionary.  He introduced me to the idea of reading each passage of Scripture in light of the textual, epochal, and canonical horizons.  In other words, he gave me terminology (which he got from Edmund Clowney) to describe how each text fits into the larger network of texts, chapters, books, and testaments known as the Bible. Every week, when I preach, I am looking to see the “micro-context” (trees) and the “macro-context” (the forest).  Why? Because men like Richard Lints showed me how to read the Bible as one unified story.  I encourage you to listen in on their six minute conversation.

THEOLOGY

The Old Testament and Providence. Kevin DeYoung provides a helpful overview of God’s purposeful providence in the history of Old Testament Israel.  It is a lengthy read, but one that is filled with strong biblical insights.

Jonathan Edwards of Typology. Douglas Wilson (pastor, theologian, author, and all-around literati) and Joe Rigney (Bethlehem College and Seminary) sit down to discuss Jonathan Edwards.  In this video they discuss his spiritual and sometimes speculative view of the two books of God–Scripture and Nature.

Take a look.

FAMILY, LIFE, & MINISTRY

Know Your Evangelicals. Joe Carter has begun to give short bios on evangelicals that every gospel-loving Christian should know.  In the first week, he has highlighted prison minister Charles Colson, cultural warrior Francis Schaeffer, and slave emancipator William Wilberforce.  Another, short book that provides similar information is Warren Wiersbe’s 50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Spiritual Giants of the Faith.

Speaking the Gospel in an Age of Intolerance.  Ron Brown, assistant football coach at Nebraska, has come under fire for his opposition to a recent ammendment to a local ordinance in Omaha, Nebraska.  As the city seeks to add a clause protecting homosexuals, Brown stood up and spoke against it.  He has received great criticism for his stance and may face censure by his employer.  His public witness is bold, but his rationale is what makes the story so important.  As a bondslave to Christ, he wants to be found faithful to his master, and more than seeing homosexuals become heterosexual; he wants unbelievers to trust in Christ. He states,

It is not all about seeing homosexuals become hetereosexuals. This is not the message of the gospel. The gospel is about all types of sinners (like me) who are unbelievers becoming believers. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not discriminatory, it is all inclusive: we are all sinners. I am pretty consistent in talking to all types of people about Christ. This is the thing that encourages me in this whole thing: the gospel of Christ is being presented. God will forgive people. He will give a clean-slate to all who turn from sin and trust in Jesus.

May we all be so bold.

Providence & Peace(making)

/ davidsschrock

Providence and peace go together.  Providence makes peace possible; and peace is the fruit of a genuine trust in God’s providence.  In truth, I would venture to say that an insufficient and/or underestimated view of God’s providence will in time undermine your peace.  Or to say it another way, your peace in the midst of conflict and adversity is proportionate to your view of God’s providence.  Peace that passes all understanding must take root in the bedrock of God’s exhaustive and meticulous providence–to borrow Bruce Ware’s terminology (God’s Greater Glory).

In his book on the subject, Ken Sande spends an entire chapter connecting the dots between God’s providence and our peace.  He shows from Scripture and from personal testimony, how Christians who have found peace in the greatest trials are the ones with the most unflappable assurance in God’s goodness and sovereignty.  This is what Sande writes,

God’s sovereignty is so complete that he exercises ultimate control even over painful and unjust events (Exod 4:10-12; Job 1:6-12; 42:11; Ps 71:20-22; Isa 45:5-7; Lam 3:37-38; Amos 3:6; 1 Peter 3:17). This is difficult for us to understand and accept, because we tend to judge God’s actions accoridng to our notions of what is right.  Whether consciously or subconsciously, we say to ouselves, “If I were God and could control everything in the world, I wouldn’t allow some one to suffer this way.”  Such thoughts show how little we understand and respect God…. Even when sinful and painful things are happening, God is somehow exercising ultimate control and working things out for his good purposes–[like in the case of Joseph, see Ps 105:16-25].  Moreover, at the right time God administers justice and rights all wrongs…Knowing that [God] has personally tailored the events of our lives and is looking out for us at every moment should dramatically affect the way we respond to conflict (Ken Sande, The Peacemaker, 61-62).

Understanding what the Bible teaches about God’s providence does not make us automatic peacemakers, but it is the first step.  We cannot make peace with others until we have made peace with God, or to put it more appropriately, more ‘Godwardly,’ until we have received his peace (cf. Eph 2:11-22).  Without this cornerstone of confidence–that is a settled belief that no sparrow falls to the ground apart from God’s supervision (Matt 10:29), that no step is taken apart from God’s oversight (Prov 16:4, 9), and that no sin is committed apart from God’s mysterious permission (Job 1-2; Isa 45:7; Lam 3:37-38)–lasting peace will always suffer from this nagging doubt: “it could have been different.”  However, as soon as Scripture weighs in on the matter and persuades you of God’s complete and faultless providence, the peace which passes understanding is shortly to follow.

For amazingly, providence and peace-making have been on the mind of God from before the foundation of the earth.  Consider Peter’s words in Acts 3:23-24, “this Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” God’s peacemaking strategy  hinged on his definite and preordained plan to allow lawless men to arrest, try, and crucify his son, but for the divine purpose of atoning for the sins of the world and reconciling himself to his people (cf Acts 4:26-27).  In the cross, we must take heart and learn that the greatest affliction and horrors in this world can be redeemed by a God who loves his children and controls all things (Rom. 8:28).  He promises his children that our lives can and will be marked by suffering but also with comfort (2 Cor 1).  Thus we can have confidence that everything we experience in life has passed the inscrutable (and unsearchable) hands of God, and thus we can have peace in the God who upholds us and loves us.  Thus in a word: His providence secures our peace, which leads to the ability to make peace with others, even those who are the source of our pain.

As our church studies the principles of peacemaking, I was reminded that the bedrock of that process of reconciliation is the God who upholds all things and who gave his son into the hands of wicked men in order to save people from all nations.  May such an amazing vision of God’s sovereignty and sacrifice press us to be peacemakers.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss