Friday, August 28, 2009

Long Time No Write

I know I haven't written much in the past few weeks. A lot of things are about to change here soon. Stay tuned for more details...

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Monday, August 17, 2009

God's Loving Providence

"He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32

"If God has given His Son to die for us, let us beware of doubting His kindness and love in any painful providence of our daily life. Let us never allow ourselves to think hard thoughts of God. Let us never suppose that He can give us anything that is not really for our good." -J.C. Ryle

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Friend or Foe? FOE!

Yesterday I wrote on the topic of creation and how one's view of creation is directly related to their understanding of the gospel (though there are many who are simply inconsistent in their views). Today I want to touch on the idea a little bit more.

If we understand Genesis 1-2 as being merely a literary explanation of God's use of evolution in order to create the world we are simultaneously affirming that God used the same thing to create man, namely death, that He would later seek to save man from.

In 1 Corinthians 15 we see Paul arguing for that which is at the very heart of the gospel message, resurrection. He touches on Christ's resurrection as well as the resurrection that we will one day experience. This is such an important part of the gospel that he says, "...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (15:17). In other words, if Christ has not been raised the gospel is not true.

For our purposes in this post I want to focus on the ideas expressed in 15:20-28 which begins, "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." In other words, because Christ has, in fact, been raised we know that we too will be raised because of our union with him. But this fact is contingent on the following argument that Paul makes in the next verses.

"For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead." (15:21) This clearly goes back to the garden. According to Paul's gospel life was abundant in the creation accounts of Genesis 1-2 and death entered the world in Genesis 3. If Paul is wrong in his order of events concerning death and sin the next clause must be wrong as well.

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." (15:22) The previous verse shows us that the reality of death entered the world through Adam and the reality of resurrection and eternal life comes through Christ. Now on a personal level we see that all (that is all persons) who are in Adam are subject to this death. All who are in Christ are rescued from death and are now subject to life.

The final portion of the paragraph that relates to this is 15:25-26, "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Here we see in clearest terms that God sees death as an enemy that will be destroyed. That is not the way one would expect a tool for creation to be described. The reason death is an enemy is because God did not use death and evolution to bring history to this point. He created the world by His own power and for His own purpose. He created a world of life that was then corrupted by death.

Now some might charge that I am being inconsistent, considering my view on the Fall (see these posts: 1, 2, 3, 4). I am not saying that God did not decree that death would exist in order for Him to defeat it. I am saying that God did not create a world that was already subject to death and use it as a device for bringing about man. Though death is an enemy which God has planned to defeat since before creation, it is still not a friend to Him which He used to create His image bearers.

Stay strong and believe the gospel!

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

It's About the Gospel

"...just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..." (Romans 5:12)
It is no surprise how well received brave men like Ben Stein have become recently in the pop-Christian subculture. His 2008 documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed exposed a clear bias (to use a week term) in secular science.

There is no question that the immediate ripple effect of this movie is a new bold resurgence in what is often called the intelligent design movement. I wonder, however, just how good this movement is for Christians.

In a Christian sub-culture that has whole-heartedly embraced such creative spoofs as the "Abreadcrumb & Fish" t-shirts and beauty pageant runner up who has the same view of so-called "homosexual marriage" as the President, it appears as if Christians are making a bad decision once again. In other words, I know that we expect Jesus to simply touch every thing cool and relevant in the world (through the best marketing majors the church has to offer) and make it all cool AND holy (like testamints) but, in this case especially, it seems as if we are just taking a gospel destroying idea and saying "you're right about everything except we think God is the cause of evolution." It really is no wonder people like Hitchens and Dawkins don't take us seriously.

So what is the point I am making? I think the verse at the beginning of this post and the argument in which it sits (Romans 5) says more than I can to this subject. If you believe that death existed before the Fall of Genesis 3 (regardless of the approach you take) you either have the wrong gospel or your gospel and your creation accounts are inconsistant.

I'm glad that Ben Stein has stepped up against the forces of secular science. I hope that God will save him and those who have been emboldened by this movement will stay faithful to the clear teaching of Scripture; even Genesis 1-2.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Monday, August 10, 2009

O Worship The King

O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;
Established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love!
While angels delight to worship Thee above,
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall all sing Thy praise.

-Robert Grant

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Bible Study: Romans 10:14-17. "How will they...?"

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
"They cannot preach except they be sent, except they be both commissioned and in some measure qualified for their preaching work. How shall a man act as an ambassador, unless he have both his credentials and his instructions from the prince that sends him? This proves that to the regular ministry there must be a regular mission and ordination. It is God’s prerogative to send ministers; he is the Lord of the harvest, and therefore to him we must pray that he would send forth labourers, Mt. 9:38. He only can qualify men for, and incline them to, the work of the ministry." -Matthew Henry

Thursday, August 6, 2009

James White on Romans 9

My attempt to write a new post on unconditional election in time to post today was hindered by technical difficulties. So today I will simply point you to James White's concise lecture on Romans 9. It's quality Bible study for free. Check it out.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Albert Mohler Videos

A video of Albert Mohler speaking on the gospel and Catholicism.




This one is just a little humor from Dr. Mohler.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Becoming the Message Part 3

This is the third and final part of a series on how Paul demonstrated the message of the gospel in his life. Click here for parts 1 and 2.

6. In laying down his rights.

Though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.AG)"> I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Cor. 9:19-23)
Some people think of the gospel as a moralistic system that is meant to keep people in line. Others think of it as the license to do whatever we want to do in the name of freedom in Christ. However, the gospel does not fit either of those categories. That is what Paul sought to demonstrate as he looked to remove the hindrance of religious presuppositions when evangelizing different groups. To the Jews he set aside his freedoms. To the gentiles he shows his freedom as one who is no longer under the law in the Jewish sense.

7. In his changed life.

the Holy Spirit,
We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way... by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; withT)"> the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left... (2 Cor. 6:3-5a, 6-7)
Surely if there is power in the gospel to save people from their sins, its work in an individual is a great testimony. In this text Paul points to some genuine fruit that comes from salvation as part of his commendation of the gospel.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Monday, August 3, 2009

My Song is Love Unknown

My song is love unknown,
My Savior’s love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take, frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne
Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed for Christ would know:
But O! my Friend, my Friend indeed,
Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their King:
Then “Crucify!” is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these
Themselves displease, and ’gainst Him rise.

They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they saved,
The Prince of life they slay,
Yet cheerful He to suffering goes,
That He His foes from thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friendly tomb
But what a stranger gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
But mine the tomb wherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King!
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

-Samuel Crossman


Grace and Peace,
Stephen