Headline Highlights: 2012, July 31st

Newspaper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I link these articles here because I believe the issues are important for Christians to be mindful of and to carefully weigh out.  Some articles are of a controversial nature, and their inclusion here does not necessarily express my agreement with either the political or theological views of the source.  I simply find these articles worth discussing and bringing to the attention of my fellow believers (or worth reminding about).

Only one topic today…  Not that there wasn’t much going on in the world, just that I have limited time to write.

Media Research Center: JFK and Mitt: The Media’s Double Standard on Faith:  The last couple of Highlights posts have had a lot to do with Religious Liberty vs. Separation of Church and State (at least in the civic dimension).  So when I found this article today I found it very interesting, because it extends the discussion of Religious Liberty to the Presidential office.  Of our two main Presidential candidates this year, one claims the Mormon faith, and the other claims the Christian faith (though the practice and preaching of his “home church” seems more Unitarian to me).  While religion and faith are certainly factors that should be considered when we choose our leaders, I don’t think that Christians succeed as ambassadors of Christ in the political realm when a candidate’s faith is the only issue they consider.  Fortunately, most of the Christians whom I personally know do not make faith their single swaying issue.  But if you happen to run in to the sort of Christian who does think that way, regardless of which way they vote, here is a worthy point of discussion: Morality comes from nearly any faith, but salvation only comes from one.  Since we’re not the judges of people’s salvation, it is of questionable use to vote for one person over another only because we think their faith is authentic.  With regard to civic leaders, we should be more concerned with their morality than their salvation.  On the other hand, if we’re voting for religious leaders (say, confirming a new pastor, or electing elders/deacons, etc.), we should know if what they teach is the Gospel that brings salvation, or just moral mush that we could get from any other faith (in fact, here is one pastor’s tool for self grading on this topic).

Near the beginning of the primary campaigns, Christianity Today published a brief history on Faith and the American Presidency*, as well as a small book on How to Pick a President*.  I haven’t read either of these yet, but I expect that in CT’s usual manner, they’ve given a reasonably ecumenical handling of the topic (the broadest Christian doctrines without being Unitarian).  I can also comfortably wager that some readers will be surprised by the particular theologies held by some of our past Presidents (Thomas Jefferson’s Deism, for example).

*NOTE:  The above linked books are Kindle versions, but you do not necessarily need to purchase a Kindle to read them, because Amazon offers a Free Kindle App.

Sola Scriptura

These are my preparatory notes for a sermon given at Parkside Church on April 15th, 2012.  The audio for this message can be found here, and I welcome any constructive criticism.

Main Scripture: II Timothy 3:16 ESV 

¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Today I have the privilege of introducing Parkside’s next teaching series:  “This We Believe: Pillars of Parkside’s Practice.”   The rough outline for this series is the list of core beliefs that you can find on our website or in our brochures on the information counter.  With the exception that the first message is on God’s word, and then the rest will be in more or less the same order as the various points in our core beliefs.   The reason for that is that all of the other points are based on scripture, so it is fitting to address our belief about scripture first.

So why teach a series like this?  Aren’t doctrinal debates divisive and destructive?  They certainly can be if they are not handled carefully.  However, if they are handled well they can be very unifying.  When Paul wrote to Titus, he said of any man who would qualify to be an elder: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”  (Titus 1:9).  Then when he spoke specifically to Titus, the pastor, Paul said “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:1).  Whether we like it or not, our beliefs influence our thoughts, our thoughts influence our attitudes, and our attitudes influence our behavior and our treatment of others.  If we are to ensure Godly behavior and treatment of others, Godly attitudes, and Godly thoughts, then we have to have beliefs founded on sound doctrine.  Just for example, consider the question of whether you can lose your salvation or if once you are saved, you are always saved.  One way that folks in the eternally insecure camp can go wrong is to become legalistic, and to fail to reflect Christ in the way that they treat others; but we in the secure salvation camp can go just as wrong is to become lawless, and fail to reflect Christ in our behavior.  Of course, there is a way to balance those problems and still come down strongly on one side, but I’m going to cop-out and leave that to Darryl; because to handle that issue in a helpful manner requires enough preaching skill to wield a verbal scalpel, and I am still figuring out how to handle a verbal sledgehammer…

Please don’t forget that no matter who is up here preaching, for any message or series, whether it be Pastor Darryl, Dr. Ellerby, me, or Tyler, that there is nothing we can do to take away the need for some kind of leap of faith.  We can tell you what the Bible says, we can tell you what we understand that to mean, but there will always be a gap that faith has to cross.  By God’s grace, we can endeavor to make that leap smaller, but only God can instill the necessary faith in you to actually make the final leap.

There are certainly some pitfalls in doing a series like this, so we want to keep a few of those issues in mind in order to avoid slipping into one of them.  This comic has an effective satirical address to a couple of major pitfalls.

Because we do not want to be destructively dogmatic in our discussions with other believers or with non-believers, we need to remember Saint Augustine’s line “In the essentials, unity.  In the nonessentials, liberty.  In all things, charity.”  Even more so, we should be mindful of Paul’s words in Romans 12:18: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”  As well as Peter’s instructions in I Peter 3:15: “…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” We can and should have God glorifying friendship and fellowship with those who believe differently than us, but always be trying to win them to Christ, and to gently convince them of sound, scriptural doctrine.

Speaking of always being “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you,” if we take that verse together with our main verse from II Timothy 3, it should be pretty clear that we cannot hope to give such a defense or answer without being scripturally literate.  Therefore, concerning the Bible, Parkside’s statement of faith says, “We believe the Bible is God’s word, the supreme source of truth.  It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.”  If you will bear with me for a moment and allow me to be technical, we believe in Non-mechanical Verbal Plenary Inspiration.  What that means is that God did not simply dictate the specific words of scripture to its writers, as an executive does with a secretary for an important memo.  Instead, God so significantly influenced the minds and hearts of the scriptural authors that every last word of scripture in its original language exposes and describes to our finite minds the infinite personality and mind and heart of God.   Look back at II Timothy 3:16 – “ALL scripture is God breathed…”  Additionally, because scripture is the very word of God, it is perfectly consistent and there are no errors.  If God’s word were imperfect, then God would be fallible, and therefore not worthy of being called “God.”

Critics of the Bible often point to difficulties in translation or canonization as enough to discredit all of scripture. However, an important point to remember is that if God superintends the writing of scripture, then he will take a similar role superintending both the translation, and compilation of scripture.  For translation, the flaws that they point out are not significant to the basic points of the Christian faith.  Additionally collaborative nature of the translation process – with many respectable scholars having contributed to the most commonly accepted translations – minimizes risk of errant translation.  When we consider the existing translations and manuscripts of other ancient writings, such as Homer’s Iliad, the translation of scripture actually comes up as much more authentic than other books.  The earliest existing copy of Homer’s Iliad was written 400 years after the original, and there are only 643 manuscripts total[i].  However, the earliest copy of the Greek New Testament was written only 50 years after the original, and there are 5,700 surviving Greek Manuscripts[ii].  When you add in New Testament manuscripts in languages other than Greek, there are over 24,000 copies, and the earliest copy was written only 25 years after the original[iii].  No other ancient document matches the archeological credibility and linguistic purity of the Bible.

Criticisms of the canonization process point out that since the Bible is actually a small library of 66 small books, and there are other writings from the same eras as the biblical authors that are not canonized, there is no way to  know that the right books were canonized.  However, the canonization criteria eliminate this problem as well.

The New Testament books were canonized because[iv]:

1. They were either written or endorsed by an apostle (a firsthand witness, chosen by Christ).
2. They had been received as authoritative in the early church.
3. They were consistent with, and not contrary to, the books about which there was no doubt.

The Old Testament books are canonized because[v]^,[vi]:

1. They were canonized first by the Jews.
2. They appear in all manuscripts of the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was the common scripture in Jesus’ day.
3. They are cited by the Apocryphal books (non-canonical books found in some manuscripts of the Septuagint).

The canon of scripture is now also closed, because the messiah promised in the Old Testament has come, the New Testament tells us about him, and the only thing left unfulfilled in God’s plan is Christ’s return and judgment day.

Another common objection to the Bible is that it is over 2,000 years old and is therefore no longer relevant to modern life.  I really like Pastor Charles Swindoll’s handling of that issue.  He says:

Let’s imagine that you and I are exploring the jungles of Africa.  We get into a deep, dense area of the jungle, so thick it’s almost dark.  It isn’t long before we have lost our way.  If our lives depended on it, we couldn’t tell if we were going north or south.  There is no sun, no stars, and no trail or river to follow.  (Let’s throw in a few nasty mosquitoes for good measure.)  Got the picture?  We are hopelessly lost.  Suddenly, a twig snaps behind us… and we hear footsteps approaching.  But we’re relieved when someone calls our names and walks into the clearing.  “I’m glad I found you,” he says.  “I have a map and a compass I thought you might need.  Would you like them?”  Now, pause for a moment.  How many of us would answer, “Are you kidding?  That map of Africa is really old.  I’m not sure I can trust it.  I mean, look how wrinkled and worn it is!  And that compass… it may or may not be pointing north… how can I know for sure?  No thanks; I think we’ll stay on our own.”  We would be thickheaded if we said that! (And we would die in the jungle).[vii] 

Probably the best way to think of that character who shows up out of nowhere with a map and compass is that he is Jesus Christ.  However, since it is just an analogy, we are probably safe to take a little bit of liberty with it and imagine that character as a pastor as well.  And, while it is true that one role of pastors is to equip us to live God glorifying, Christ centered lives, that fact does not absolve us regular folks of our responsibility to study scripture.  It will not do us any good at all if our pastors teach us how to read the map and use the compass, and we respond by not using those tools to get out of the jungle.  Tragically, it seems very probable in the modern church that “Christians invest more of their mental energy in cultural literacy than in biblical literacy.”[viii]  There is significant evidence that postmodern philosophies and ideals have crept into the church and have caused Christians to take less interest in either scripture or doctrine[ix]^,[x].  This means that despite having that map and compass, we as a culture are minimally interested in using them – we would rather stay lost in the jungle.  Paul said in Romans 15:4, “… whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” He was speaking of the Old Testament, parts of which were over 1,000 years old even in Paul’s day.

This is not the first time in the church’s history that Christians’ interests in scripture have dwindled.  During the Protestant Reformation, the leaders of the movement came up with the phrase “sola scriptura” – meaning scripture alone.  This statement stood against two issues.  The first was that the Roman Catholic Church was teaching that scripture and tradition were the final authorities on the Christian life; the second was the Anabaptist movement who held the belief that the Holy Spirit spoke directly to its leaders, and so they did not need scripture[xi].  Both of these heresies caused the clergy to devalue scripture, and the laity to take a “leave it to the experts” approach to scripture.  That was not what Christ intended for his followers, because it gave “the experts” undue authority that was often abused, and because the laity had no way to know if they were being sold a bill of goods.  We know that is not the way we are supposed to conduct ourselves because in Acts 17:11 we read about the Jews in a town called Berea being praised for how they responded to Paul and Silas preaching the gospel. “…these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”  They did not leave it to the experts; they took it upon themselves to be the experts.  Take note that the scriptures that they were examining were the books of the Old Testament, because the New Testament had not yet been written.  There are those who claim that the Old Testament is not useful or relevant to New Testament age Christians.  They have not read the New Testament.  The words “scripture” or “scriptures” occur 52 times in the New Testament, variants of the phrase “Moses and the prophets” occur seven times, and the phrase “the Law and the Prophets” occurs five times.

Speaking of the laity’s responsibility to be scripturally literate, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often called the “Prince of Preachers,” said this: “I beg you carefully to judge every preacher, not by his gifts, not by his elocutionary powers, not by his status in society, not by the respectability of his congregation, not by the prettiness of his church, but by this – does he preach the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation?”[xii]  If there ever was an expert on scripture, I think it is safe to consider the Prince of Preachers as such an expert, but even he advocated not leaving the understanding of scripture to the experts.

For some reason, Christians today have reverted to that “leave it to the experts” approach to scripture, because apparently reading the Bible has become intellectually intimidating.  Postmodernists also consider scripture narrow-minded.  Scripture is indeed narrow on some issues, because it boldly proclaims Christ as the only way to the Father, and that God is sovereign in salvation.  On most other issues it is actually scripturally illiterate Christians who are narrow-minded, remember the eternally insecure legalists I mentioned earlier.  Over the last century or so, the Christian community as a whole has not spoken up loudly enough to rebut those legalists and their underlying theology.  In that failure, the Church has further failed to be credible ambassadors of Christ, living by grace.  However, that is a rather long rabbit-trail, and what I am more concerned with in this message is that question of why scripture has become intellectually intimidating.  I would be utterly dishonest to claim that I have even a marginal understanding of scripture or theology, but it would be just as deceitful for anyone to tell you that only an educated clergyman should bother reading scripture.  Seriously! I am a schmuck who took eight years to finish community college, and even I get the basics.  When I first met Dr. Ellerby, he said, “Scripture is shallow enough for a child to wade in, but deep enough for a theologian to drown in.” David Wells, speaking about this very paradox as it relates to the health of the modern Church, says:

In its biblical setting… the gospel does not give us a choice between its simplicity and its profundity.  It is both.  It is both so simple that everyone can understand it and so profound that none can fully plumb its depths.  It is this matchless combination of simplicity and profundity that has to be preserved if Christian faith in its biblical fullness is to be preserved.  Those evangelicals who took its simplicity and abandoned its profundity are now finding that Christian faith itself is beginning to crumble in their hands.”[xiii] 

Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”  Likewise, Psalm 119:130 “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” I John 2:26-27 says, “²⁶ I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him”   John was writing to all believers of his day, telling them specifically to take responsibility for their own biblical literacy, and to let the Holy Spirit enlighten their hearts as they endeavored to study God’s Word.  Do not misunderstand this!  Understanding scripture requires both our personal effort, and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.  We will not get it just by reading it, and the Holy Spirit will not bring understanding where we have not studied.  God, through the apostle John, did something beautiful to balance out the paradox of scripture being both simple and profound.  Once we are reading and studying scripture on our own, we do not need clergy to help us understand the simple parts.  However, we do need the Holy Spirit’s help to understand the profound parts – and He will often use clergy for that part, as well as to motivate us to either start or continue our study of scripture.

We know from scripture that the Church is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5; Revelation 19, 21).  For this reason, the Bible has often been called God’s love letter to the Church.  Much like a bachelor romances a woman through love letters, so God romances the church through the Bible.  Scripture is our chief and primary way to know of God, and it is our only way to know of Christ as the risen Messiah.  If we, the Church, fail to study scripture, then it is as if we are a bride married to a stranger.  If we study scripture but fail to treasure it, then it is as if the bride knows her husband but thinks him dispensable.  Read the love letter!  Treasure it!

I hope that this encourages you to start studying scripture; and if you are already doing that, to do more of it, and to do it more intensely.  As Darryl says it: “Be Bereans.”  When you hear a message or a sermon, or someone claims, “The bible says…” CHECK IT! Examine the scriptures daily to see if those things are so.  If you are not already studying scripture on a regular basis, and even if you are, here are some tools to help that study be as productive as possible.

Martin Luther used the term Sensus literalis – or literary sense, to describe how we should interpret scripture.  Because the Bible is made of 66 books, of several different genres, we need to interpret each book according to its literary type.  Interpret history as history: the stories in the Bible actually happened.  We can read the stories about all the biblical heroes and heroines and recognize the sin, fault, and failure that caused separation and punishment from God.  We can also read stories about when the biblical icons were so fully overpowered and indwelt by the Holy Spirit that God used them to conquer seemingly insurmountable challenges to the benefit of God’s people, and to God’s own glory.  We can know that that same God is our God and that he is just as sovereign in our lives today as he was in their lives.  We can sympathize with the anguish and the worship expressed in the books of poetry and gain not only an academic knowledge of God, but also an incredibly vivid emotional experience of God.

There is also the lex parsimonious, or the law of the simple, also known as Occam’s razor, or the KISS Method – Keep It Simple, Silly.  Essentially, it means that the simplest interpretation is the best interpretation.  When we read the prophetical books, like Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Revelation, it gets very easy to get distracted by all of the various supernatural phenomena that those books talk about.  Instead, we need to realize that a large portion of that phenomenological language is not there to be the point; it is there to accent the point.  It might be debatable as to how much of that language is the point or how much of it is accenting the point, but when you are just starting out, do not get distracted or discouraged by that.  The fifth grader who is learning long division does not need to worry right now about multi-dimensional partial differential equations, but he might eventually get there, depending on his course of study.  When one scripture speaks plainly on a topic, and another scripture speaks vaguely on the same topic, use the clear scripture to shed light on the vague one.  Always use the explicit to interpret the implicit, and never the reverse.  If you are stuck with different interpretations of a passage that seem equally valid, remember that the Christian life is lived to the glory of God alone – Soli Dei Gloria – choose the interpretation of scripture that glorifies God the most, and elevates humanity the least.

“Exegesis” is one of those scary seminary words that should not be so scary, it means to study and read scripture in order to pull out and make understanding possible.  It is to read and study scripture to understand how to relate to God and to people.  Stuart Olyott, in his book Preaching, Pure and Simple, said, “Where there is no Christo-centricity, there is no exegetical accuracy.”  Charles Spurgeon said that he would take whatever piece of biblical text he was preaching from, and then “make a beeline to the cross.”[xiv]  Accurate understanding of scripture requires recognizing that all of scripture works together to form a story where Jesus Christ is the main character and hero.

1. The Old Testament is the preface and prelude.
2. The Gospels are the main act and climax.
3. The apostolic letters and prophecies are the conclusion and epilog.

The purpose of all of scripture is to point us to Jesus Christ who then leads us to the Father.  There is no scripture without Christ at its core! Because there is no Gospel without Christ at its core!  Nursery rhymes and fairy tales were once used to teach simple life lessons to children.  However, scripture is a story full of real lessons about the real God and how he really saved real people through the real death and resurrection of His Son.  Those real lessons are timely and relevant for real people living during any time in History.

Eisegesis is another scary seminary word… it means to use logic or other rhetorical or mental tools to project our understanding of scripture onto our daily lives – application.  However, accurate application absolutely depends on a solid understanding.  A professional football player cannot perform in his sport if he does not know the rules – he cannot apply them if he does not understand them.  It is a tragedy Christians will say they love God on one hand, but then on the other hand think they can live a fruitful, authentic, credible, God glorifying lives without knowing and understanding scripture.  Psalm 119:9-16

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
¹¹ I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
¹² Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
¹³ With my lips I declare
all the rules^[c] of your mouth.
¹⁴ In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
¹⁵ I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
¹⁶ I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

Where we as Christians so often go wrong in this area is to read the Bible by our life rather than living our life by the Bible.  We enjoy doing things that the Bible tells us not to, and so we ignore the sections of the Bible that tell us not to do those things.  Likewise, we enjoy not doing things that the Bible tells us to do, and so we ignore the sections of scripture that tell us to do those things.  This would be like that football player saying he only wants to play by page four of the rule book because it is the only page he likes, but he does not like the rest of the rulebook so it does not apply to him.  Remember again, II Timothy 3:16 “ALL of scripture is God breathed…”

Also, do not be afraid to ask questions of the pastor or elders.  We are very privileged here at Parkside to have five elders, for a church our size that is a high number.  Ask any one of them what they think about a passage in the bible if you do not understand it or if you see something in the news and want to know what the bible has to say about that issue.  Our elders are all great men, and they love to get questions like that, so do not be afraid to ask.

So remember this: Read it in its literary sense, interpret it simply, connect it to Jesus Christ, apply it all to your life, and ask questions.

 

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For the sake of this blog, and this post in particular, I want to add a couple of thoughts about the  sufficiency of scripture.  If, as Christians, we hold that the Bible is indeed God’s word (which I do), then every time we read scripture we are effectively listening to God speaking to us – we are engaging in a one sided conversation where God is the speaker and we are the listener.  I will not deny that God might speak specifically to us as individuals at times, but we on the listening side have to make sure that what we are “hearing” is actually from God, and we do that by making sure that it is consistent with scripture.  Everything that God might tell us personally will be in agreement with scripture, which means that if we are not studying the word, we won’t have the discernment to tell when Satan is appearing to us disguised as an angel of light.  If we also hold that God is a personal, loving God who cares about his children (which I do), then God must speak to us, and we must listen, in the middle of even the most hellish of life’s circumstances.  If we reject God’s word and say that it isn’t relevant to us because it doesn’t speak to life today, or by saying that it doesn’t speak to whatever issue we’re dealing with, then our actions and behavior will convey to God that we do not trust Him, because we do not trust His word.

For Further Study:

1. The 1689 London Baptist Confession, specifically chapter 1 “Of the Holy Scriptures”
2. Allison, Gregg. “Theology of Scripture.” The Resurgence. Seattle. 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. <http://theresurgence.com/2012/02/20/theology-of-scripture>.

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[i] Muncaster, Ralph O. Examine the Evidence. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2004. 199. Print.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] McDowell, Josh. Evidence That Demands a Verdict. San Bernadino, California: Here’s Life Publishers, 1979. 43. Print.

[iv] Sproul, Robert C.  Essential Truths of the Christian Faith. N.p.: Tyndale, 1992. 23. Print.

[v] “Canon Of The Old Testament.” I. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 1992. 680-702. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Def.show/RTD/isbe/ID/1835/Canon-Of-Old-Testament-I.htm>.

[vi] Canon Of The Old Testament.” II. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 1992. 680-702. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Def.show/RTD/isbe/ID/1836/Canon-Of-Old-Testament-Ii.htm>

[vii] Swindoll, Charles R. The Church Awakening – An Urgent Call for Renewal.  New York, New York: Hachette Book Group, 2010. 202. Print.

[viii] “Major Christian Leaders Are Widely Unknown.” Barna Group. Barna Group, Nov. 2006. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/17-leadership/142-major-christian-leaders-are-widely-unknown-?q=literacy>.

[ix] “Six Megathemes Emerge from Barna Group Research in 2010.” Barna Group. Barna Group, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.barna.org/culture-articles/462-six-megathemes-emerge-from-2010?q=literacy>.

[x] Swindoll, Charles R. The Church Awakening – An Urgent Call for Renewal. New York, New York: Hachette Book Group, 2010. Print.

[xi] Horton, Michael. “Reformation Essentials – Five Pillars of the Reformation .” Monergism. Monergism, Mar. 1994. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/essentials.html>.

[xii] Lawson, Steven J. The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon. Orlando, Florida: Reformation Trust Publishers, 2012. 34. Print.

[xiii] Swindoll, Charles R. The Church Awakening – An Urgent Call for Renewal.  New York, New York: Hachette Book Group, 2010. 189. Print.

[xiv] Lawson, Steven J. The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon. Orlando, Florida: Reformation Trust Publishers, 2012. 2. Print.

All of the above references are provided for study purposes only.  If any of the referenced titles are purchased, no compensation or commission is received by Parkside Church, the pastor, or the speaker who delivered this message.

Headline Highlights: 2012, July 30th

Newspaper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I link these articles here because I believe the issues are important for Christians to be mindful of and to carefully weigh out.  Some articles are of a controversial nature, and their inclusion here does not necessarily express my agreement with either the political or theological views of the source.  I simply find these articles worth discussing and bringing to the attention of my fellow believers (or worth reminding about).

Desiring God: Why Read the Bible?  If you follow any link from this post, follow this one.  I sincerely wish to inspire this sort of study (more with my other posts than the Highlights).  I also wish that I had come to this sort of attitude towards Bible study much sooner than I did.

The Gospel Coalition: 60 Second Summary: Defining Religious Liberty Down

The Foundry: Business Owners Battle Obamacare for Religious Freedom and Chick-fil-A Latest Example of How Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Religious Freedom

CNS News: DOJ to Colorado Family: Give Up Your Religion or Your Business

The practice of faith in and through business – actually, anywhere outside the home and the physical church – is being attacked on two fronts right now.  First, through healthcare “reform” rules; second, gay marriage vs. traditional family values.  There is undoubtedly both a spiritual and a political battle going on here, religious freedom is an absolutely critical issue – both to religious practitioners (of any faith), and to a moral society.  Some Christians may not realize the significance of this – that government might try to restrict us to exercising our faith only within the walls of our homes and churches, for them, I recommend this article from the Resurgence.  I strongly believe that the worst thing a Christian can do is take a head-in-the-sand attitude towards this issue in its current form.  The next worst thing is to limit his or her response to “I’ll pray for my leaders and trust God.”  While it is certainly necessary to pray for our leaders and to trust God, if we stop there, we are either adopting an attitude of pride towards the issue (it’s not worth my time to deal with that), or complacence (showing by our actions that we don’t really care about the outcome).  If you are honest enough to acknowledge your stake in this issue, here is what I suggest:  pray, pray, and pray some more.  Then talk to your pastor, other church leaders, and fellow congregants about what is going on – make people who agree with you aware of the issue, then pray corporately over the issue.  Talk about it when you’re in public, and invite bystanders to join the conversation – maybe next time you’re getting coffee with a Christian friend, ask the person at the next table what they think.  Don’t be shy, but also don’t be rude or confrontational if you find out that they disagree.  If they do disagree, then it’s a golden gospel sharing opportunity, and you can raise the questions about first amendment and religious freedoms as sort of an appologetics technique.  Beyond that, if you can do so in a God-honoring manor, contact your elected representatives (Congress, Senate), as well as your local media, and call on them to report on the issue in an honest way.

Fox: Black Wedding Banned by Baptist Church:  Racism still exists, even within the Church, and it is utterly wrong! I don’t know if lack of spine in this sense is a sin that should disqualify a pastor from ministry, but it would not bother me if the local First Baptist affiliation revoked their endorsement of that church and pastor.  If you are a Christian living an a multi-ethnic community, seek to build a multi-ethnic church; if you are a part of a mono-ethnic congregation in a multi-ethnic  community, seek to change that, and seek to build ministry and outreach partnerships with other congregations of different ethnicities (yes, you might also have to work across denominational lines).

Desiring God: How to Watch the Olympic Games and How Does Physical Exercise Relate to Sanctification?:  I don’t have any particular comments here, I just found these topics interesting, what do you think?

My Statement of Faith

This statement of faith is adapted from the Core Beliefs page of Parkside Church in Camas, WA, where I am a member and occasional teacher.  I reserve the right (or, more correctly, I acknowledge my obligation) to revise or clarify my position on these issues as my studies and Christian life continue.

God:  I believe in one God, Creator of all things, who is personal, perfect, and eternally existing in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  From these traits, under the guidance of scripture, we can learn many (not all) of God’s other traits.  Matthew 28:19-20.

Jesus Christ:  I believe that by the miracle of the virgin birth, Jesus Christ, eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God. He came to reveal God and restore man to God by dying on the cross for our sin. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven and will return again someday to earth to reign as King and Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

The Holy Spirit:  I believe that the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17.

The Bible:  I believe the Bible is God’s word, the supreme source of truth. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.  I also believe that the Bible is fully sufficient to guide God’s elect to a lifestyle that glorifies Him above all others and that is spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy and productive.  2 Timothy 3:16; Also listen the sermon, Sola Scriptura. See also: Desiring God: All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God, Continue in It.

Mankind:  I believe people were created in the image of God to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin.” This attitude separates us from God and causes many problems in life. Genesis 1:27; Isaiah 53:6a, 59:1; Romans 3:23.  Regarding secular studies, I also believe that Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology are useful but incompletely informed until they account for the existence and character of God; while there is some use in studying the crown jewel of creation in a scientific manner, this study is incomplete without the inclusion of theology.

Salvation:  Salvation is God’s free gift to His elect, who can do nothing but accept this gift. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be rescued from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are made whole. Eternal life with Christ begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.  John 10:28, 17:3; Romans 8:1, 10:9-10.

Eternal Security:  Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure for eternity. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us eternal security, not our self effort. A true Christian will not take advantage of God’s favor, but will practice genuine humility and attempt to live according to God’s standards.  John 10:29, 2 Timothy 1:12, 1 Peter 1:3-5.

The Christian Lifestyle:  I believe that a Christian is to walk within scriptural boundaries but also has freedom within those boundaries. We trust people to be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God. Romans 14:1-6; Galatians 5:22-23.

Church:  I believe the universal church consisting of all those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. We believe in the local church where Christians live out their faith through corporate worship, work and fellowship. We believe God has given the individual members of the local church the primary task of telling others about the good news of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20.

Baptism:  I believe Baptism is one of the ordinances Christ left the church. Baptism is not salvific (it does not save or bring about salvation); rather, it is an outward sign of an inward reality demonstrating one’s faith in God the Father, one’s acceptance of Jesus Christ the Son, and one’s recognition of the living presence of the Holy Spirit in them. Baptism means to dip or immerse; therefore, my preferred mode of Baptism is immersion.  While I do not understand infant baptism to be an ordinance instituted by Christ, I believe that it was practiced by early believers and that its practice can be beneficial, but it is not a saving baptism, nor is it indicative of God’s election of the child to salvation.  Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38-41.

Communion:  I believe that Jesus told us to remember Him through sharing the bread (representing His body given for us) and the cup (representing His shed blood). It is an outward symbol pointing to our present healthy relationship with Christ.   At my home church, we choose to take communion once a month. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24.

Headline Highlights: 2012, July 28th

I link these articles here because I believe the issues are important for Christians to be mindful of and to carefully weigh out.  Some articles are of a controversial nature, and their inclusion here does not necessarily express my agreement with either the political or theological views of the source.  I simply find these articles worth discussing and bringing to the attention of my fellow believers (or worth reminding about).

Washington Times: Chick-fil-A versus Chicago Values:  I love hyperbole.  Apparently tongues run faster than brains in Chicago.  Among other things, this article points out the inconsistency and incoherence of “tolerance” as defined by modern liberals.  Tolerance from the Christian perspective is well put in the Christian cliche, “love the sinner, hate the sin.”  No sinful behavior from anyone lets us off the hook from our obligation to love, evangelize, and forgive.  But loving, evangelizing, and forgiving do not amount to tolerance for continued sinning so that grace may abound (Romans 6:1-14).  In the case of homosexuality and other sexual sins, they run so deep that people become nearly defined by them, the solution is not simple, no matter how much heterosexual and sexually pure Christians might want it to be.  See also: Highlights 201207027 and Right of Refusal vs Loving Your Neighbor.

Life News: First Plaintiff Beats Obama HHS-Abortion Mandate in Court:  Take note of the common thread between this and the Chick-fil-A issue, political opposition against Christian views expressed and exercised outside the Church and home.  In the case of the contraceptive mandate, it is past the point  of oppositional rhetoric, and has reached the point of law.  To me, this thread is a write-your-representative level issue, because the First Amendment promises that the government will not restrict the exercise of religion.  But Evangelical Christendom demands action and a God-glorifying lifestyle outside the home.  A law like this is exactly what the First Amendment protects religious practices against.  Attitudes like those in Chicago (and elsewhere) towards Chick-fil-A are also the type of attitudes that bring laws like this into fruition.  See also: The Foundry: Religious Freedom Is Not Just for Churches.

The Foundry: Louisiana Teachers Union Threatens to Sue Voucher Schools:  Soap box warning.  Call me paranoid, but I know I am not the only one who thinks this way…  There are several different political and moral worldviews that hold values utterly contradictory to those of traditionally evangelical Christians, and those political and moral worldviews account for a probable majority among public school teachers.  The result is that Johnny and Suzy go to Sunday School once a week and learn that God made the world, deserves to be obeyed, and loves them; then they go to public school five days a week and learn that the world just spontaneously showed up, there are no rules because there is no god, and if there was a god who made rules then he wouldn’t be loving.  Christian private schools open up the opportunity to change that balance, and charter schools and voucher schools open that same opportunity to less economically endowed Christian families.  But because of an over-literal understanding of Separation of Church and State, anti-evangelical and anti-capitalist thinking demands that charter or voucher schools cease to exist.  Ironically, and hypocritically, they demand a state monopoly on education and curriculum.  How should carefully thoughtful Christians respond?  There are three basic responses:  homeschooling, where (usually) the child is insulated and “protected” from all non-christian thinking, and probably from important social development; private Christian schooling, where the child learns better social skills, but is again insulated and “protected” against non-christian thinking; or heavily parent involved public schooling, where the child learns from a young age how to be in the world but not of it, and experiences “normal” social development.  Admittedly, I have presented the choices in such a way to make it clear where I come down on this issue, but I’ll also mention that my own educational experience was a mix of these three options, depending on which academic year we’re talking about.  I’ll also say that I learned more about the world outside the Church when I joined the Marine Corps, and that I was probably not as prepared for it as I could have been if my educational experience had been different.  I would liken that experience to being dropped in the middle of a river at flood-stage without knowing how to swim.  Fortunately, in my case, there were spiritual and moral lifeguards present.

Anyway, as it pertains to school choice, and method of education, I don’t see any glaring reasons for Christians to take one position or another.  Economically, educational choice is a critical issue that needs to be moved forward.  But for Christians, those who come down hard and dogmatically on one educational choice are probably not making that choice in a carefully thoughtful manner.

Related articles

• Nation of Islam can open a restaurant in Chicago, but not Chick-fil-A? (legalinsurrection.com)
• Evangelist Billy Graham defends Chick-fil-A (religion.blogs.cnn.com)

About me and Think Rhema

I am Dan Stephens.  Man of faith.  Husband of Skylar.  Father of Keaton (actually, she’s due in October).  Son of Joe and Sheryl.  Brother of Benjamin, Jon, Isaac, Bethany, and Brianna.  Christian thinker in the lineage of Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and Edwards.  Former Marine Reservist.  Alum of Clark College and Washington State University (Vancouver Campus).  Soon to be a working on my Master of Arts in Counselling at Western Seminary.

Rhema simply means “written word.”  So in brief, this blog is sort of a reading journal (consequently, early posts will “jump in” because I don’t want to go back to the start in books that I’m already reading ).  It’s also sort of a Christian literary review.  But hopefully it develops into more than that – what specifically, God will direct.  Has this been done before?  Yes.  I am neither the first, nor the only person to undertake such a project.  But God has brought me here, and it is not for me to question, but to obey.  If the only people that ever read this are friends, family, and mentors, that is fine with me.  If God blesses this endeavor to become a fruitful ministry, it will be an immense blessing.

There are several aims of this blog, and only by God’s grace will I be successful in any of them.  The first and most important aim is that God be glorified in every last word that I write; that believers be encouraged in their faith and incited to fruit-bearing study and lifestyle; and that unbelievers be pointed to Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.  The second aim is to demonstrate through my studies, informal reading, and writing, that Christian Scripture is fully sufficient to guide us through modern life, has always been sufficient, and will always be sufficient.  Because I believe that scripture is sufficient, I believe that thorough teaching and meditation on scripture is an effective address to emotional and spiritual burdens – in any age in history.  The third aim is to show by example that all that is required for a deep and thorough knowledge of scripture is the choice to invest the necessary time and energy, and not necessarily higher formal education.  Though I will eventually be formally educated in theology and interpretation of scripture, a lay person can (and should) do the work to understand and apply scripture by meditating (thinking thoroughly) on it.  As a practical matter, not everyone in the Church can be a theologian or pastor, even in Old Testament Israel there was only one tribe assigned to ecclesiastical duties, and the other eleven were essentially the laity; even so, the laity are encouraged to think on and study scripture – rhema theos – the written word of God.  In fact, the Jews in Berea were praised for their study of scripture, because when they received the Gospel, they back-checked scripture to be sure that the apostles were not selling a bill of goods (Acts 17:10-11).  Think Rhema aims to encourage lay people to similar endeavors in scriptural study and discernment.

And [God] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.  (Ephesians 4:11-16)

In addition to scripture, God has given gifted teachers to the Church, and we are poor stewards of this gift if we fail to study the teaching and writing of these teachers in the light of scripture.  This blog will serve as a venue to consider the gifts of current authors with scriptural scrutiny.  Valid teaching will be in agreement with scripture, equip believers for the work of ministry (on the entire range from relational ministry to vocational ministry), edify the Church, enable unity of mind and heart, and facilitate maturity.  All of that will be accomplished so that nonbelievers will be pointed to Christ, and so that believers will be encouraged in Christ, enabled to exercise discernment, and to grow to better reflect Christ.

Headline Highlights: 2012, July 27

I link these articles here because I believe the issues are important for Christians to be mindful of and to carefully weigh out.  Some articles are of a controversial nature, and their inclusion here does not necessarily express my agreement with either the political or theological views of the source.  I simply find these articles worth discussing and bringing to the attention of my fellow believers (or worth reminding about).

The Foundry: The Dad Divide in Child Welfare:  Here are current stats on the absence of fathers.  The Church, and thoughtful Christians have a role in addressing this issue.  Part of that role is in protecting the sanctity of marriage (see below), but it is also in mentoring and building Godly men and fathers.

Christianity Today: Why Gay Marriage is More Than a Legal Issue:  It is very accurate to liken McCarthyism with the modern liberal attitude towards traditional Christian Family Values – and anyone espousing such values.  As I have mentioned before, Christians should make careful distinctions between the civic and evangelistic dimensions of this issue.  As a citizen, I will ardently oppose any legislation condoning gay marriage.  But as a Christian, homosexuals are no more sinful than any other person guilty of sexual sin, and  I will minister and relate to homosexuals in the same way as I would to a person who was a porn addict, adulterer, or promiscuous.  Any other approach is either theologically inconsistent or incoherent – either to speak on God’s behalf and say that he holds a different attitude towards homosexuality than sexual sin in general, or to allow contradictions within scripture by utterly mutilating the intent of any biblical passage addressing sexual sin or homosexuality.

The Gospel Coalition: Do You See the Suffering:  While immigration is undoubtedly a hot-button political issue in the US.  How should the Church respond?  Admittedly, my faith and my politics are in conflict here.  But I remember (thanks to either Spurgeon or Lawson) that politics is not the God ordained venue for world change, but the Gospel.  If we see the suffering of the impoverished, many of whom immigrate illegally to the United States, we will be better equipped to bring the Gospel to them.  But if we merely criminalize their immigration and lump them in with the genuine criminals who also immigrate illegally, we reduce the issue to race, and fail as ambassadors of Christ.  This article is also very much in line with Stearns’ Hole in Our Gospel.

Right of Refusal vs. Loving Your Neighbor

Before you read my thoughts, here’s the source article from Desiring God: Some Foreseen Effects of Legalizing So-Called Same Sex Marriage.

When a Christian business makes a business decision based on their religion, shouldn’t that be protected by the First Amendment? To Christians doing business, I don’t know the case law or constitutional issues around a “right to refuse service,” but you would be well advised to follow this issue, or to somehow include in your marketing materials that you are a faith based business.  However if you see your work as “Business as Mission,” then how are you going to reach people if you refuse to accept them as clients based on their unbeliever’s decision to live outside of a believer’s moral standard?  If it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict the heart and induce repentance, then we should exercise discernment and be open to allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us in that person’s life.

Hopefully it is at least somewhat clear that I see both a civic and an evangelistic dimension in this issue.  From the civic dimension I believe that the court was utterly wrong to infringe on what appears to me to be the First Amendment rights of a business (we know from the Citizens United decision that the First Amendment applies to businesses).  From the evangelistic dimension (which Pastor Piper didn’t mention in his post, but I assume he would agree) Christians still have a duty to love and evangelize homosexuals (under the Great Commission and Greatest Commandment).  As this is a particularly delicate area of evangelism, great care should be taken when deciding the nature of even a business-as-mission interaction with a client living in overt sin.  Not every Christian, and certainly not every Christian business is equipped to minister effectively to homosexuals; and even if they are effectively equipped for such work, the business relationship with that particular client or prospect may not be conducive to evangelism.

If you are a Christian doing business, are you personally equipped for ministry to homosexuals (or addicts, or xyz overt sinner)?  If you are, might the typical business-client relationship in your field open doors to do such ministry?  If not (which I believe was most likely the case for Elane Photography), then you are probably correct not to do business with that client in a way which might be perceived to condone their sin – and any American court which chides you for exercising such right of refusal is infringing upon your First Amendment right to practice your religion without interference from the government.