Monthly Archives: March 2009

The Freedom of That Fetter

Posted on by

Disciplines and constraints, then, liberate us only when they fit with the reality of our nature and capacities. A fish, because it absorbs oxygen from water rather than air, is only free if it is restricted and limited to water. If we put it out on the grass, its freedom to move and even live is not enhanced, but destroyed. The fish dies if we do not honor the reality of its nature.

In many areas of life, freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions as finding the right ones, the liberating restrictions. Those that fit with the reality of our nature and the world produce greater power and scope for our abilities and a deeper joy and fulfillment.

Tim Keller, Reason for God, 46.

So it is, the freest people in the world are those who are the most satisfied. There is no burden in the fetter that binds our hearts to that which fills our deepest longings. Father, bind me to this freedom and let me never be loosed for another.

Four Things From the Bible I Didn’t Hear Growing Up in the Church

Posted on by

By the marvelous grace of God, I learned many wondrous things growing up in the church. My gratitude for that is inexpressible. The point here is just that sometimes we can empathize with Copernicus…

1. Romans 9:18-23 

“So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—”

2. 1Timothy 4:4-5 

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

3. Ephesians 2:1-3

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sinsin which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

4. Revelation 5:9-10

“And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.””

 

I Didn’t Wear Green But I Like Patrick: A Concise Thought on Why a Reformed Baptist from the American South Should Appreciate Today

Posted on by

 

If you are a European descendant and you are a Christian, then it would be safe to link the human agent of your evangelization back to St. Patrick. Beyond the green and pinching and beer, today we commemorate a witness for Christ who changed the world. I call him a brother from generations past and I am grateful for his story.

May this prayer of his become our own…

 

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation

Let the Bible Speak: God on Himself and His Absolute Supremacy Over All Things

Posted on by

Why do you want a vision of God different from the one He Himself gives us in the Scriptures? Listen to Him…

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

(Genesis 50:20 ESV)

“And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.”

(Deuteronomy 29:2-4 ESV)

“The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble… The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps… The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”

(Proverbs 16:4, 9, 33 ESV)

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”

(Proverbs 19:21 ESV)

“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”

(Proverbs 21:1 ESV)

“remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”

(Isaiah 46:9-10 ESV)

“O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.”

(Isaiah 63:17 ESV)

“I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.”

(Jeremiah 10:23 ESV)

“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.”

(Jeremiah 32:40 ESV)

“Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?”

(Lamentations 3:37-38 ESV)

“this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men… 

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place…

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”

(Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; 13:48; 16:14 ESV)

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

(Romans 8:28 ESV)

“What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills… 

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—”

(Romans 9:14-23 ESV)

“For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. 

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers:a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 

As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

(Romans 11:24-36 ESV)

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

(Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

(2Timothy 2:24-26 ESV)

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

(Hebrews 13:20-21 ESV)

“for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.”

(Revelation 17:17 ESV)

The Blood-soaked, Flesh-shredded Glory of a Curse

Posted on by

“his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance” (Deuteronomy 21:23).

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—”   (Galatians 3:13)

I am a free man–the blessed recipient of God’s victory in Jesus Christ. My Redeemer is a raised conqueror and He reigns over His coming kingdom. But let me not bypass the glory of my King in battle to view Him seated on His throne. There is a proper order. Let me see Him in the midst of the fight, during the rage. My Savior is not a shiny prince of upmost nobility, dressed in finest fabrics, adorned in decorations. He is a blood-soaked carpenter, a radical rabbi who taught with authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees. He is a man mocked and hated, despised and ridiculed. He was cursed. He was a crucified man, hanged on a tree. He was cursed. Yes, cursed for me. And He is my God.

A Poor Man With Groceries, Karl Marx, and the Entirely-Supreme, All-Satisfying God

Posted on by

For labor, life activity, and productive life appear to man at first only as a means to satisfy a need, the need to maintain physical existence. Productive life, however, is species-life. It is life begetting life. In the mode of life activity lies the entire character of a species, its species-character; and free conscious activity is the species-character of man. Life itself appears only as a means of life.

Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts, 63

Yesterday I saw a man pushing a cart down the road. It carried was a bag of Aldi groceries that he had securely placed as he slowly tread through the melting snow. That was his food, he eats it to survive.  Labor, paid, buy, eat, labor, paid, buy, eat… He made me think about Marx.

Marx struck a nerve, you know. Alienate man from his labor, abort any sense of production, make him only a creature living to survive, eradicate all leisure, and take away the reality of God–how can the outcome be anything but absolute sabotage?

And most people live there. Leisure numbs us to this truth. But take away leisure and people just do what they do to survive. There lives are small and pitiful. One fleeting pleasure substitute after another. But there is something glorious all around them… here is the infinitely great, all-satisfying, supremely valuable God who through the death of His Son reconciles to Himself all who believe.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:25-26

Where Love and Money Meet: Thinking About Jesus Forever and America Right Now

Posted on by

Where men are not men, the view on marriage is shabby, and the economy reeks… Jesus Christ has something to say.

There is an event tonight–The Gurus of Love and Money, featuring Sam Crabtree and Matt Perman.

The idea’s author, Mike Tong, is on to something to see the connection here. 

Russell Moore has more to say on this in the newest Touchstone Journal, his article is titled Love, Sex, & Mammon.

Give Me Gospel

Posted on by

The gospel is the message about Jesus Christ; about his life, death, and resurrection for us and our salvation. It is an historic thing in that Christ redeemed us by what he was and did nearly two thousand years ago in Palestine. While the effects of the gospel events stretch both backwards and forwards in time, those effects are not themselves the gospel which we believe for our salvation. It is important that we distinguish the effects or fruits of the gospel from the gospel itself. Regeneration, faith and sanctification in the Christian are fruits of the gospel… The gospel… is a perfect and a complete work which took place in the very person of Jesus of Nazareth, and therefore not in us. It, and it alone, is the basis of our acceptance with God.

Graeme Goldsworthy, The Gospel in Revelation, 170.