Words of Wisdom

"Wherefore, good children, labor with all diligence and study, that, when Christ shall come again to judge the world, He may find you holy and obedient."

--Thomas Cranmer

A Video Reading of Horatius Bonar's Book, The Everlasting Righteousness

Dear Friends, This is a work in progress but I would like to give you a sample of what has been completed. May God be glorified in this. The remaining chapters will be published in the coming weeks as they are completed.

Psalm 145: Great is the Lord

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The God Who Is

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From the Archives: Book Review: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

Relationships, Roles, and Relevance

Bruce Ware authored a book on the Trinity, published through Crossway Books in 2005 titled Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. It is a focused examination of certain aspects of the Trinity. The subtitle reveals the focal points: "Relationships, Roles, & Relevance". In other words, Ware is going to explore the interactions of the persons of the Trinity, the roles they play in several areas, and the relevance the doctrine has for us today. The work is unique in both its content and length. Doctrinal works on the Trinity are relatively rare. Given the academic air that Ware breathes one could easily expect a voluminous treatment. This book is a short read. Not a quick read. Short.

Dr. Ware is briefly biographed on the back cover as the Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Christian Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I have read a couple of his other works and listened to some of his lectures responding to the Open Theism heresy. His has been helpful in understanding the issues with Open Theism from a conservative evangelical point of view. So, how about this book? It has proven to be a mixed bag. Some good, some bad. Let's look at the good first.

The Good

Wonder

Ware reflects with amazement that the Father involves us in his kingdom work. I identify with the author when he roots his amazement in his own personality flaw of perfectionism. It is very hard for a perfectionist to let go of the reigns and allow someone else to do the work. I had to nod my head in agreement with Ware. The Father's generosity of opportunity in labor that is everlasting in its fruits (namely sharing the gospel in many forms) is truly wonderful and can rightly bring wonder to our hearts as part of our vocabulary of worship.


True Fatherhood

Ware asserts that we can learn what true fatherhood is by looking to God the Father as our great exemplar. He raises distinct but complementary aspects for our consideration:

"God as Father insists on our respect and obedience."

"God fathers us by being lavish, generous, even extravagant in his care, love, provision, and protection for his children."

I love the way Ware builds both our awareness of God's care and our worship vocabulary simultaneously. He has hit the true mark of theology - this is theology that issues forth in doxology, theology that leads to worship. It is not an easy mark to hit


Radical Feminism

Ware spends a full paragraph defending God's self-revelation as Father and strongly denouncing the radical feminist pursuit to eradicate masculine language of God in Scripture. Given the heart-commitment that some have to the feminist viewpoint, it is unlikely (humanly speaking) that the arguments presented will sway their thinking. Their ears are stuffed full with zeal. Even so, I thought Ware wrote with appropriate strength about the unbiblical nature of the feminist view. If we are to take the Scriptures as God-breathed we must make sense of them as they stand, not by tinkering with the wording to make it more palatable to modern tastes (so much for my poker-face in gender-neutral translations and the egalitarian debate).


Reciprocal Honor

Ware highlights the need for reciprocal honor of those in authority and those under authority. He asserts that the inter-relationships of the Trinity are the model and basis for this mutual honor. He does not demand one-way honor directed towards authority. He calls for reciprocal honor, all based on observed relationships within the Trinity. There is a healthy balance that is all too easily thrown off-kilter by our lusts and love of idolatry (especially when we are the idol).


One clarification could be raised here. Ware designates the inter-relationships of the Trinity as the model for reciprocal honor between the one in authority and the one under authority and he intends us to apply it on our plane of human inter-relationships. That is where the reciprocal honor applies. Honor does not apply reciprocally between God and us. Perhaps I am naive in thinking this way, but I do not presume to expect God to honor me mutually in my relationship with Him. I may pray for His blessing, but honor flows one direction in this relationship... from me to Him.


Jesus and the Spirit

Ware examines an aspect of Jesus' human life that I've rarely seen explored. He makes the case that Jesus' sinless human life is grounded in his submission to the Spirit rather than his divine nature. In doing so, Ware is exerting himself to bring Jesus' humanity to the forefront in the single most challenging area of the Christian faith - our daily walk. How many times have you felt disconnected from the perfection of Jesus' life because of the easy excuse, "He was God in the flesh. What do you expect of me?" This life of submission to and reliance upon the Holy Spirit is a good point that needs to be explored more widely in modern evangelical circles. Holiness continues to be a challenge to the modern soul, at times disappearing from mention concerning the daily walk of the Christian. This is one of the points that Ware makes which could benefit from much more treatment. He cannot explore it adequately in the brevity of this work.


Real Humanity - Interconnected and Interdependent
Ware notes our American cultural autonomy and its appeal to the power of the individual. In contrast, he places Trinitarian inter-relationships as the pattern for real, authentic humanity - interconnected and interdependent. Anticipating potential reactions to what I've written here, I want to highlight that Ware is speaking of the influence of our cultural autonomy. Ware is not proposing a socialist political identity or some other nonsense as a corrective to our cultural autonomy.


Relationships and Essential Being Within the Trinity

Ware correctly attributes simultaneous worship of the Father and Son. He discusses equality of the essential nature of the persons of the Trinity (the ontological trinity, theologically speaking). He emphasizes and re-emphasizes the authority structure of the functional relationships of the Trinity (the economic Trinity).


Counsel for Christian Husbands
Ware writes forcefully and pointedly of the example set before Christian husbands in the care of their wives. His thought is founded upon the demonstrated interplay between the persons of the Trinity. I appreciate him including this section of the book. The way he presents the material is helpful and will make a difference in the way I care for my own dear wife.

Having noted all of the above points as good and profitable portions of Ware's book, let's move on to a couple of problematic propositions.






The Bad


I was surprised to find what Ware has written concerning Christian prayer and Christian worship as it relates to the Trinity. Prayer and worship sit squarely in the practice of the daily Christian walk. Several other areas Ware explores in the book are experiential, but none of them have the kind of deep impact that prayer and worship have in the life of the believer.




Prayer

Ware is deeply committed to the form of prayer prescribed by Jesus for the disciples in Matt 6/Luke 11. He emphasizes this form early in the work and repeats it often throughout the book. The repetition makes it obvious that this is a strong current in Ware's theology. In a nutshell, Ware believes Christian prayer is directed to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. Period.

Ware recognizes the radical nature of his position, identifying it as such in his first mention on page 18. Even though this is his initial presentation, it is phrased in very strong language. He exerts himself to bring home the controversial nature of his position. He writes the following:

"The Christian's life of prayer must rightly acknowledge the roles of the Father, Son, and Spirit as we pray to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. ... May I suggest something both clear and radical? If Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, then we ought to do this. ... So prayer rightly understood - Christian prayer - is prayer to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. To pray aright, we need a deep appreciation for the doctrine of the Trinity." p.18

I agree with Ware on two points. His position is both clear and radical. In the face of such radical clarity, should we adapt our devotional life to fit Ware's definition of Christian prayer? After all, he is an established Christian scholar and seminary professor. It is obvious that he possesses the training and credentials to form a powerful case for his position. Nonetheless, in my years of research and observation of pseudo-Christian cults, I have constantly encountered hundreds of clear, radical beliefs. We clearly must ask the question, "Is this biblical?" Clear? Yes. Radical? Absolutely. Biblical? (spoiler alert) Absolutely not.
Ware understands well enough that he is setting himself in opposition to the devotional instruction and example that many (probably most) evangelicals have received. He writes, "We may encourage our children, especially, to open their prayers with, 'Dear Jesus,' despite the fact that Jesus said to pray 'Our Father in heaven . . .'". Let's be clear about this. Ware isn't suggesting a slight modification to the prayer life of the evangelical Christian, where we address the Father or the Son. He rejects prayer to Christ as Christian prayer; as praying aright; and as meaningful, biblical prayer. He explicitly states that addressing our prayers to the Father alone is to pray aright. If adherence to this position is to pray aright, then stepping outside of it is to pray awrong. Ware indicts modern evangelical piety head-on. In doing so, has he indicted biblical prayer as well?


Stephen - The First Christian Martyr

And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And having said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:59-60, NASB)

The Disciples When Replacing Judas Iscariot

And they prayed, and said, "Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship
from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place. " (Acts 1:24-25, NASB)

Saul's Thorn in the Flesh

Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9, NASB)

Christ Answers Prayer Directed to Him

"And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14, NASB)

Paul Entreats Jesus

Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you; (1 Thessalonians 3:11-12, NASB)

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, NASB)

The Last Prayer in the Bible

He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20, NASB)

A Biblical View

The above is a sample of the examples. They provide ample biblical evidence that Christian prayer may be directed to Christ and not solely to the Father in Christ's name. Ware's view is clear, radical, and unbiblical. There is a sense in which Ware's rebuke of evangelical practice is proper. By and large, evangelical Christians appear to function as 'Jesus only' unitarians. We overemphasize Jesus and hold the Father at arms' length. As a corrective to this imbalanced piety, Ware is on target that a faulty understanding of the Trinity drives us away from the Father in our devotional life. It would be a much easier pill to swallow if Ware did not employ such stark language contrasting typical practice with his radical suggestion. If his goal was to encourage us to return to addressing the Father in concert with the Son, there was no need for the extreme contrast. Due to the fact he uses such contrast, this was obviously not his simple goal. He is intentional enough in what he has said to make it clear he is proposing a complete reformation of evangelical prayer.

James White addresses the evangelical 'Jesus only' prayer life in his book The Forgotten Trinity with as much clarity as Ware but without adopting the radical position Ware has taken up. I heartily recommend White's book on the Trinity as a fine starting point to understanding the Trinity and its necessary impact on all aspects of our life, faith, piety, and practice. It is a fuller treatment of the Trinity than Ware's book. Granted, Ware is focusing on specific aspects of the Trinity, which again indicates that his book is not the place for the committed reader to begin studying the Trinity.

The Normal Pattern
When you survey the pattern of prayer demonstrated in the New Testament, you will find that most prayers are directed to the Father. Ware pushes us towards this biblical model of prayer, but he does so too forcefully. We would all benefit from cultivating our devotional relationship with the Father but this does not justify making a case appear stronger than it is. If only Ware would have approached this imbalance in a balanced manner, he may have had a much more positive and wide ranging impact. Imbalance is not corrected by another imbalance.

Concerning Worship
Ware states:

"Hence, Christian worship must be worship of the Son, by the power of the Spirit, to the ultimate glory of the Father. Worship is deeply satisfying and correctly expressed to the glory of this triune God only as it is exercised within this trinitarian framework" (p.155)

In approaching the topic of worship, Ware again falls into language that is too strong and imbalanced. "Christian worship must be worship of the Son"? I believe Ware is less than coherent on this point. Jesus gave explicit instruction in Luke 4:8 concerning worship of God that is unreconcilable with his instruction to the woman at the well in John 4:21-24 if we adopt Ware's position. It feels as if Ware has made a similar error in thinking as he made with prayer. In offering a corrective to an imbalance in current practice, he goes too far and ends up out on a theological limb.

Worship and prayer are related. Many theologians consider prayer to be an act of worship. If Christian prayer (a form of worship) is to be directed to the Father alone and Christian worship (which would include prayer) is to be directed to the Son alone, we are stuck in a theological conundrum. Can we do either in a Christian fashion in the construct Ware has built? This is not theology that leads to doxology. It is theology that leads to paralysis. Other sections of the book do bring us to live as we should. The intermingled doctrines of prayer and worship as presented do not lead us to the same destination.



Not only have I been surprised at Ware's position on prayer/worship, I am perplexed at the unqualified recommendations that internet reviewers have given the book. Brothers and sisters, are you reading carefully? While I agree that Ware has many profitable things to say, they pale in comparison to the potential damage caused by his unbalanced and contradictory positions on prayer and worship. This error is the kind of minefield that could blow apart a local church. Has anyone become convinced by Ware's argument that prayer must be offered to the Father alone through Christ? If so, a balanced biblically-based worship service would be akin to scraping your forehead with a cheese grater. If the church has been protected wholesale by God's grace from falling into this error, I am thankful for His outpoured mercy.


So what is my overall opinion of the book? Although Ware presents several helpful points which will make a difference in my life, the deep impact of his position on prayer/worship gives me great concern.



For Further Study Concerning Prayer to Christ
Millard Erickson
God in Three Persons
The Word Became Flesh


H. R. Mackintosh
The Doctrine of the Person of Jesus Christ

Robert Morey
The Trinity: Evidence and Issues


Simon Kistemaker
New Testament Commentary - Acts, I Corinthians


Gordon Fee
New International Commentary on the New Testament, I Corinthians


John Calvin
Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles


Robert Reymond
A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith


B. B. Warfield
The Lord of Glory


John Owen
Christologia


Wayne Grudem
Systematic Theology


Charles Hodge
Systematic Theology, vol II


Bruce Milne
Know the Truth


Robert Dabney
Lectures in Systematic Theology


Leon Morris
Reflections on the Gospel of John
Jesus is the Christ


Jerome Smith
The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Acts 7:58-59

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A Reluctant Yet Hopeful Conclusion

"And now it is once more with some feeling of reluctance that I lay down my pen. I cannot but fear lest the great truth I have sought to unfold should suffer in the estimation of some, through being divorced from practical exhortations to a holy life. But I take comfort from the hope that thoughtful minds will in no way share the prejudice. Valuable though exhortation be, truth has a power independently of the appeals we base upon it; and, therefore, no teaching that is truly doctrinal, can fail to be likewise practical. In dealing with this subject I have already gone somewhat beyond the due limits of my theme, which is the gospel, and not the Christian life, but I have struggled in vain to keep within them. The unusual interest which the doctrine of holiness now excites, combined with the fact that the great truth of sanctification by blood is absolutely unknown to our creeds, and little noticed in our religious literature, has not only made my task important, but vastly increased my difficulties in the effort to fulfill it. I now dismiss it with a parting word. Even by those who own it, this truth is sometimes spoken of as though it were a fiction or a theory. But with the Israelite his sanctification was one of the most true and solemn facts of his existence. Upon it depended, not alone his citizenship in the commonwealth, but his life itself. And shall it be deemed less real in this dispensation, when shadows have given way to substance, types to their fulfilment? If the sanctification of the Jew was a great and practical reality, how much more, the sanctification of the believer now. "If the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

-- Sir Robert Anderson; The Gospel and Its Ministry

Updated - DeYoung's Taking God At His Word: Resources

God's Word is Sufficient, Clear, Authoritative, and Necessary

You can get Kevin DeYoung's new book, Taking God at His Word for $1.99 on Kindle. I'm currently reading through this book with my pastor.  It's a heartwarming and encouraging call to faithfulness.

As well, there are lecture & sermon resources available.

DeYoung @ T4G - 2014

Kevin DeYoung preaching on the Doctrine of Scripture, May-July 2012

From Pastor DeYoung's own church, you can listen to or watch the sermons which fed this book. For convenience I'm linking the videos directly here.

• How to Think and Feel about the Word of God (Psalm 119:1-176)
• Something More Sure ( II Peter 1:16-21)
• How Can We Be Sure Which Books Are In The Bible?
• Waiting to Exhale (II Timothy 3:14-17)
• God's Word is Final (Acts 17:1-15)
• How Can We Understand the Bible When Everyone Has a Different Interpretation?
• God's Word is Understandable (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
• The Necessity of Scripture (I Corinthians 2:6-13)
• God's Word is Enough (Hebrews 1:1-4)
• How Do We Know the Record of Jesus in the Gospels is Reliable?
• Christ's Unbreakable Bible (John 10:35)

Taking God At His Word Conference - 2014

Westminster Seminary has some videos from a conference which may also be of interest.

Carried Along by the Holy Spirit: The Inspiration of Scripture as an Inspiration for your Ministry from Westminster Theological Seminary on Vimeo.

Two Q and A Panel video albums with Kevin DeYoung, Carl Trueman, and Greg Beale:

• Taking God at His Word  - Panel Discussion 1 
• Taking God at His Word - Panel Discussion 2

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A Teacher and Author You Need To Know

Don Whitney has a new website and a revised book.



Biblical Spirituality is his new blog. He has revised and expanded his classic work, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. There are books you must read, and there are books you must read because they change your life. Don's book falls into the second category. I have read this book multiple times, as well as using it in my Adult Bible Fellowship class.




Don has distilled gems of wisdom into a unique collection of bulletin inserts.

Words of Wisdom

"Mix your pleasures with the remembrance of Christ's bitter passion."
 - Latimer (1480-1555)

Words of Wisdom

"...  Christ's prison is better than the world's paradise"
-- Joseph Alleine, writing from prison

One More Thought on Evening Services

Recently, Tim Challies and Thom Rainer have weighed in on reasons behind the demise of the evening service, particularly the Sunday evening service. The reasons are complex (and possibly not all bad if the local church has been able to develop a vibrant small-group setting).

From my reading of their thoughts, one piece of the puzzle is missing - divorce. Specifically, the practical reality of weekend parenting usually reserved for dads. There is a double-impact here: divorced dads with young kids are also in their prime of life and would tend to be major contributors to and supporters of the Sunday evening service. We not only lose their energy needed to sustain a viable Sunday evening service, we also lose both them and their families to windshield time or a scheduled hand-off on Sunday nights.

I'm not exactly sure how this escaped the notice of Tim and Thom. Perhaps their local church does not struggle with attendees or divorce, but for the majority of churches, a relatively small flock thinned by even a couple of families will leave a noticeable void in the Sunday service.

This is not an issue that can be resolved through piling on guilt. If you think it's a lack of spiritual hunger on the part of the dads, consider this. When was the last time you spent 50% of your time with your children in church? As well, there are the additional factors needing consideration, such as the distance traveled to return them home, decompression time for kids to adjust between households, and allowing a reasonable bedtime for school the following morning.

There are many more complexities to the question of the demise of Sunday evening services. I sincerely want to make sure this hurdle did not go unrecognized.

Redeem Your Commute

If you have a regular drive and would like to redeem that time, I recommend listening to an audio Bible like the one available from Crossway. For the last few months, I have been listening to a single chapter of John repeatedly as I prepare to teach on it to our youth group. Hearing the text in another voice adds depth to the Scriptures. I have repeatedly found myself thinking, "I don't remember reading that." It is wise to redeem our hours/days/weeks/years here and an audio Bible is one modern-day option that you should consider.

Words of Wisdom

"And let us commit the fame and credit of what we are or do to God. He will take care of that. Let us take care to be and to do as we should, and then for noise and report, let it be good or ill as God will send it. We know ofttimes it falls out that that which is precious in man's eye is abominable in God's. If we seek to be in the mouths of men, to dwell in the talk and speech of men, God will abhor us, and at the hour of death it will not comfort us what men speak or know of us, but sound comfort must be from our own conscience and the judgment of God. Therefore, let us labour to be good in secret. Christians should be as minerals, rich in the depth of the earth. That which is least seen is his riches. We should have our treasure deep. For the disclosure of it we should be ready when we are called to it, and for all other accidental things, let them fall out as God in his wisdom sees good. So let us look through good report and bad report to heaven; let us do the duties that are pleasing to God and our own conscience, and God will be careful enough to get us applause. Was it not sufficient for Abel, that though there was no great notice taken what faith he had, and how good a man he was, yet that God knew it and revealed it? God sees our sincerity and the truth of our hearts, and the graces of our inward man, he sees all these, and he values us by these, as he did Abel. As for outward things there may be a great deal of deceit in them, and the more a man grows in grace, the less he cares for them. As much reputation as is fit for a man will follow him in being and doing what he should. God will look to that. Therefore we should not set up sails to our own meditations, that unless we be carried with the wind of applause, to be becalmed and not go a whit forward; but we should be carried with the Spirit of God and with a holy desire to serve God, and our brethren, and to do all the good we can, and never care for the speeches of the world, as St Paul says of himself: 'I care not what ye judge of me, I care not what the world judgeth, I care not for man's judgment,' I Cor. 4:3. This is man's day. We should, from the example of Christ, labour to subdue this infirmity which we are sick of naturally. Christ concealed himself till he saw a fitter time. We shall have glory enough, and be known enough to devils, to angels, and men ere long. Therefore, as Christ lived a hidden life, that is, he was not known what he was, that so he might work our salvation, so let us be content to be hidden men. A true Christian is hidden to the world till the time of manifestation comes. When the time came, Christ then gloriously revealed what he was; so it shall be revealed what we are. In the mean time, let us be careful to do our duty that may please the Spirit of God, and satisfy our own conscience, and leave all the rest to God. Let us meditate, in the fear of God, upon these directions for the guidance of our lives in this particular."

--Sibbes, Richard. A Description of Christ (Kindle Locations 465-484). 

The Hands, Feet, and Fish of the Gospel

I have a guest post today on Mathew Sims' blog, one part of his collected series of devotionals on the resurrection.  You can read it here.

CRandE Video Book: The Everlasting Righteousness

Friends,
I'm currently working through the chapters of Horatius Bonar's little book on justification called The Everlasting Righteousness. These readings are being posted on Vimeo. You can watch them by clicking on the video montage below. I've hosted the text for this book for years on my website. Several years ago, I started audio recordings of the chapters, but the quality was not publicly presentable so I dropped those recordings. The time has come for a fresh attempt.

Enjoy!

Rob Bowman In Discussions with former Mormon Shawn McCraney

Dear Friends of CRandE and Rob Bowman:  Please be in prayer today for Rob and Shawn McCraney. Rob has shared the following update earlier today. The livestream of the program starts at 8pm MST tonight.

From Rob Bowman on his facebook page: 'Tonight (2/25/14), I will be a guest on the TV program "Heart of the Matter," hosted by Shawn McCraney. Shawn is a former Mormon who became a born-again Christian and now leads an informal church in Salt Lake City. Shawn recently did a couple of programs disparaging the doctrine of the Trinity, in response to which I flew out to Salt Lake City yesterday to meet with him. We talked for four hours yesterday and are planning a similar meeting tomorrow. Tonight I am expecting to answer some questions about the doctrine of the Trinity on his live streaming broadcast: http://hotm.tv/. The situation with Shawn is complicated and difficult for a number of reasons. I would appreciate the prayers of my Christian friends for the program tonight and also my personal conversations with Shawn.'

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Jonathan Edwards on the Good Life explores the dimensions of life as God desires. Using Edwards as a guide, Strachan and Sweeney engage such topics as God's original design for mankind, the effects of sin, the transformation of conversion and more.

What is Justification? Robert Traill (1642-1716)

Galatians 2:21

"What is justification? We read much of it in our Bible, and the doctrine of it is reckoned one of the fundamental points of the true Christian religion, and so indeed it is. This grand doctrine, the fountain of our peace, and comfort, and salvation, was wonderfully darkened in the Popish kingdom; and the first light of the reformation, that God was pleased to break up in our forefathers' days, was mainly about this great doctrine. 

Justification is not barely the pardon of sin; it is indeed always inseparable from it, the pardon of sin is a fruit of it, or a part of it. Justification is God's acquitting a man, and freeing him from all attainder; it is God's taking off the attainder that the broken law of God lays upon every sinner. Who is he that shall condemn? It is God that justifies, Rom. 8:33. 

Justification and condemnation are opposites; every one is under condemnation that is not justified; and every justified man is freed from condemnation. Justification is not sanctification; it is an old Popish error, sown in the heads of a great many Protestants to think that justification and sanctification are the same. Justification and sanctification are as far different as these two:—There is a man condemned for high treason against the king by the judge; and the same man is sick of a mortal disease and if he dies not by the hands of the hangman today, he may die of his disease tomorrow: it is the work of the physician to cure the disease, but it is an act of mercy from the king that must save him from the attainder. 

Justification is the acquitting and repealing the law-sentence of condemnation; sanctification is the healing of the disease of sin, that will be our bane except Christ be our physician."

--From a sermon by Robert Traill (1642-1716) on Galatians 2:21

From the Archives: The Atonement, Its Meaning and Significance by Leon Morris

Originally published in 2009:

I've spent several hours this month with the late Leon Morris. It has been time well spent. You will typically find high recommendations for his scholarly work The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. For all of the glowing and deserved recommendations, it is written targeting an education level that most of the church never reaches. Like climbing Everest, you need to bring along theological oxygen bottles to survive the rarefied atmosphere. Recognizing the limiting nature of that work for evangelicals in general, Morris set out to bring the hay down out of the loft so we all might ruminate and benefit from his work. He succeeded.

The Atonement, Its Meaning and Significance is a book about the cross for the rest of us. Morris throws biblical light on the death of Messiah using the lamps of covenant, sacrifice, the Day of Atonement, Passover, redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, and justification. Each lamp has a different hue, emphasizing its own aspect of the atonement. Morris is unapologetic about using a broad palette. Only by using a wide range of biblical language can he paint a rich portrait to help us understand and appreciate the length, breadth, and depth of God's solution to mankind's evil and rebellion.

One chapter stands out for me, not for devotional value, but for the devotion Morris shows in pursuing important concepts. I'm thinking specifically of his chapter on propitiation. C.H. Dodd's efforts to empty the New Testament of God's personal wrath has had a deep impact on the church today. Morris brings the scholarly material to bear in a simplified manner and contributes several helpful insights. In doing so, he contemplates the differing semantics of propitiation v. expiation. Morris makes a strong case that our understanding of the atonement is meaningfully diminished if we omit God's righteous indignation. This one chapter is enough to display the profound insights that Morris developed over years of interaction with Dodd's work.

Morris combines a clear writing style with delightful little glimpses of his own personality. I could almost see him shake his head or chuckle a little under his breath. A couple of times his wry sense of humor rises to mock our foolishness. The book is about 200 pages long. It's helpful. I recommend it for your consideration. Following are some morsels served up to whet your appetite.

"The cross is central to Christianity."




"The witness (to a covenant) was not an independent figure who could speak up and testify to the fact and terms of the covenant. The witness was rather something that served to remind the participants of what they had done."




"Every Christian enters the covenant by faith, and here the references to the covenant with Abraham as of continuing force are important. Abraham is the classic example of faith for the New Testament writers and to be involved in the covenant with Abraham means to live by faith as that patriarch did. Not all the descendants of Abraham were caught up in his covenant with God, and Paul specifically makes the point that in the sense that matters Abraham's children are those who believe, whether they are his physical descendants or not, whether they are circumcised or not. And, of course, a consideration of the place of faith in the covenant calls us to consider the reality of our faith. Without faith, there is no membership in the covenant."




"Ancients like me remember that during the years of the Second World War we were frequently called upon to make sacrifices to assist our country. That meant forgoing comfort and pay rises and it involved making do with inferior substitutes instead of insisting on the superior article; on occasion it meant going without something altogether."




"The worshipper laid his hand on the head of the (sacrificial) animal. The Hebrew verb means something like leaning on the animal. It was a firm contact, not a casual touch. The meaning of this is disputed. Some hold that it meant that the worshipper was identifying himself with the offering. If this is the way of it, the action said, 'This is my sacrifice. This is the animal I am offering.' It certainly did this at least. But others think that the action was a symbolic transferral of the sins of the worshipper to the animal, so that when it died it was taking the punishment due to the worshipper for his sins. It was being treated as the sins it bore deserved. They hold that this is the obvious symbolism and that it is supported by the fact that in later times at least there are passages which tell us that, as the worshipper laid his hands on the animal, he confessed his sins. It is not easy to see what the laying on of hands means if there is no symbolic transfer to the animal which was to die of the sins being confessed."




"Nobody who came thoughtfully to God by the way of sacrifice could be in any doubt but that sin was a serious matter. It could not be put aside by a light-hearted wave of the hand but required the shedding of blood."




"The term (redemption) as used in the all-pervasive Greek culture of antiquity had its origin in the practices of warfare. When people went to war in ancient times they lacked the refinements of our modern civilization. They had no atom bombs, no poison gas, no germ warfare. But in their own humble way they did what they could to make life uncomfortable for one another. One of the happy little customs was that, when battle was over, the victors sometimes rode around the battlefield rounding up as many of the vanquished as they could. Then they took them off as slaves. It meant a tidy profit and an increase in the spoils of war, though I guess the new slaves did not like it much."




"The two concepts (propitiation and expiation) are really very different. Propitiation means the turning away of anger; expiation is rather the making amends for a wrong. Propitiation is a personal word; one propitiates a person. Expiation is an impersonal word; one expiates a sin or a crime."




"An important idea in the New Testament is that righteousness may be imputed. There are grounds for imputation in an Old Testament passage, that in which we read, 'Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness'. This presents a problem to some modern people, because we so firmly believe that righteousness is an ethical quality. It is 'being good'. In that sense, it is nonsense to talk about righteousness being imputed. Everyone who aspires to this kind of righteousness must merit it for himself, by right living. It cannot be 'credited' or 'reckoned' or 'imputed' to him other than in some fictitious and fanciful sense. But when we see righteousness as basically legal, as 'right-standing', it is another matter. A standing or status can be conferred. The narrative says that God conferred this status on Abraham because of his faith. Paul uses this as his classic example of justification by faith. Abraham received his 'right-standing' not on account of any meritorious action but simply because he trusted God."

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Don Whitney, $5.

A classic book on prayer, Bible study, and other exercises for the health of your soul, only $5 at CBD. Whitney is a favorite author. This is great material for a book study, discipleship group, or adult Bible fellowship.

Jesus the Evangelist by Richard D. Philips only $1.99

Hardcover on sale at CBD.

Mounce's Compact Guide to Biblical Greek $4.99

On sale at CBD.  This is a super-handy little booklet.

The Pregnancy of Biblical Theology, or Biblical Theology's Children

Biblical Theology* is hot these days. Yes, it has always been present in the shadows of the academy, a specialized discipline with ardent devotees, but rarely glimpsed outside the seminaries except in polemic upheavals of Reformed and Dispensational "dialogue", perhaps more aptly named "mud-slinging" in some cases (in more polite company, "speaking past one another"). However, those previous earthquakes appear to have released at least some of the pent-up pressure on theological tectonic plates, allowing a realignment with much less, shall we say, stress, between the camps.

We are now seeing (in the past twenty years or so) exercise of the discipline of Biblical Theology across a broad range of Evangelicalism. What was a trickle of readily available publications openly engaging in Biblical Theology has become a wide river as books flow from the presses with the subtitle "a Biblical Theology". To be fair, "Gospel Centered" owns the titular heavyweight belt for now, but "Biblical Theology" is hungry and training hard to The Eye of the Tiger.


The energy invested by Christian scholars is beginning to pay off, as we now see popular-level books which quite capably introduce the discipline to a much broader audience, such as What is Biblical Theology by Jim Hamilton and According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy. Should this pregnant moment continue, it will result in birthing new resources for Bible study unlike many current offerings. These new studies, like the lay-level introductions noted here, will impact everyday believers who would never imagine picking up a thousand-page tome on Biblical Theology proper. And yet, in due time, Biblical Theology will have its day in the sun for every believer in the Son.

A few words about a lot of words

The Bible uses a lot of words. Important words. Words which demand real investment of energy to understand. Today we have ready resources at hand which enable deep study of Biblical words. But words alone, or should I say, words considered alone apart from their context, are insufficient to fully understand what is being said. ["Context, context, context" says the voice inside your head.] Beyond individual words, reading and studying words in their context is absolutely essential to understanding what is meant.

Context must be considered on at least three levels: immediate, epochal, and canonical.  For this article, we will focus solely on the first level, immediate, and demonstrate how to remove some present-day hurdles which obscure this context.  Immediate context itself is also at least a three-level discipline, consisting of how a word is used in its sentence, paragraph, and the entire book (as in the single book of the Bible you are reading). For the modern reader, paragraphs are the fundamental context that simply must be kept in view to avoid skewing or misunderstanding a word within a passage. As more and more books in the evangelical sphere introduce, develop, and expand the practice of Biblical Theology, broader concepts of context will gain traction and eventually take hold.

When sand gets in your eye

What gets in the way for you, dear reader,potentially obscuring context as you read your Bible?  [Sidebar: I assume that you do read your Bible. It's kind of a big deal - pretty much the necessary ingredient of this whole exercise.] Answer: verse numbers. Yup, verse numbers. The verse divisions in your Bible are not inspired. While incredibly useful and necessary for group navigation of the Bible, verse numbers can have a subtle, nearly imperceptible impact on your thinking as you read. If I could draw a word picture (using a picture as well), it would sound (and look) something like this. You begin reading chapter 1, verse 1. All is well with the world. We have subject and verb clauses. Everything is clicking along without a hitch. You reach the end of the verse, and your mind goes...

... so you clamber over the fence and begin playing in this wildly different, other-worldly place called "verse 2".

Ok, a bit of hyperbole, I know. But versification does enable us to consider, write about, discuss, study, and claim all sorts of things based on very tiny segments of What God Has Said. When you take a vacation to enjoy the beach, does that mean you enjoy the beach one single grain of sand at a time? Of course not. Yet, through habit and example, versification has given us permission and even goaded us into picking up each grain of biblical sand in the scenic beachfront panorama painted across the entire Bible.

A Small Eye-Wash Station to Clear Your Vision

What can you do today to supplement your regular daily Bible reading which could help you see context in a larger sense? I'm suggesting, for those of you with smartphones and tablet computers, that you setup a Bible reading program with specific settings which remove the numbering of versification. I use and recommend Olive Tree, and have made the following setup changes for the main window text. Basically, set the background and everything not text to match (in this example - Black).

Which will result in the following appearance. Chapter numbers and added subheadings are still visible, but it will give you a cleaner, more continuous text to read, without the need to climb over verse numbers as the words flow on.

Feedback, Please

Give these settings a try for a few weeks, starting with one of the shorter books in the New Testament. I would love to hear back from you, whether the experience is good or bad. Throw your comments onto this post, or email me.

==========

*Biblical Theology - Not a matter of extracting theology from the Bible (all Christian theologies do this), but rather the practice of looking for the over-arching themes of Scripture and unifying the Bible's message across its various historical contexts.

Book Sale: Only One Way for less than a buck

Richard Philips edited collection, Only One Way? Reaffirming the Exclusive Truth Claims of Christianity is available @ CBD for $.99.

"Only One Way? guides us unerringly through the contemporary world of religious pluralism and points us to Jesus Christ alone as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Grasping the central truth that the Christian gospel is unintelligible apart from the uniqueness of Christ, these pages expound it in a variety of insightful ways. Here are six scholars and pastors boldly upholding the only kind of Christianity worthy of the name."
—Sinclair B. Ferguson, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina

"Although religious pluralism is often treated as a 'postmodern' phenomenon, it has always been the world's most fundamental challenge to the gospel. The authors of this thoughtful work press us, as the apostles did, to stand against the world for the world's sake. Only one way? At a time when many evangelicals don't seem so sure, these writers help us to confidently answer yes!"
—Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

"There is a battle raging in the world today-it is a battle for truth. And in a day when the god of relativism governs hearts and minds throughout the world, Christians cannot be silent. This timely book calls God's people to action. I am thankful the Lord has raised up faithful men to stand firm and proclaim boldly the truth about God's truth."
—Burk Parsons, Copastor, Saint Andrew’s Chapel, Sanford, Florida; Editor, Tabletalk magazine

Fred Sanders on the Trinity

 Fred Sanders, Associate Professor, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University and author of The Deep Things of God, presented several sessions for the EFCA 2014 Theology conference, focusing primarily on the Trinity. The audio and outlines are linked below. 

• Approaching the Doctrine of the Trinity, pre-conference session (Audio) (Notebook outline)
• God According to the Gospel, pre-conference session (Audio) (Notebook outline)
• Tacit Trinitarianism and Q & A, pre-conference session (Audio) (Notebook outline)
• The Truth and Reality of the Trinity Affects Everything, pre-conference breakout session (Audio)
• Understanding the Times and Understanding the Places: Theological Localism (Audio) (Notebook outline)

Carl Trueman: A Brief History of Trinitarian Thought - John Owen

In my apologetics studies, the Trinity continually surfaces as a critical doctrine, impacting belief and practice in every aspect. Studying the historical background of Christian thought on the Trinity will help you grow in your sense of wonder at the profound nature of the God of Scripture.  Here is an opportunity to be exposed to some of this historical background.

John Owen

John Owen is a very important theologian in the history of the church. In the following link, Historical Theology Prof Carl Trueman explains the impact that Owen has had on understanding the nature of our Triune God. 

Click here to listen to Reformed Forum - Christ the Center

Carl Trueman

Trueman specifically highlights the contribution of Owen to Trinitarian theology and practice with his emphasis on the believer’s communion with each person of the Godhead and Owen’s understanding of the Holy Spirit as the bond of communion and communication between the divine and human natures of the one person of Jesus Christ. Listeners will go away from this episode with a renewed appreciation for the importance of understanding the God of Scripture as Triune.

Words of Wisdom

"At every moment, sin is wired to destroy. ...  sin can be far more subtle in its destructive intentions than a slashing claw or crushing jaws. Sin regularly assaults us, though we often fail to notice. Sin knows us well and quietly gnaws away at our faith and affections. We can therefore never be tolerant or open-minded about our sin. We are called to aggressively hate our sin—to despise it, reject it, deplore it, starve it, and make every effort to kill it."

--Hedges, Brian G.; Christ Formed in You (p. 132).

A Southern Baptist Hot-Topic Has Become a Boil Fit for Lancing

You can usually count on SBCers to rattle sabers with one another fairly regularly. When it comes to Ergun Caner, the rattle has become a din that is spilling out into the Baptist and Evangelical streets.  See this open

letter by an unaffiliated Baptist pastor calling for the issue to be publicly and openly investigated, reported, and dealt with appropriately considering the actions of both sides of the issue. Most importantly, this controversy extends beyond Brewton-Parker College, the SBC, and even Evangelicalism broadly. This is a matter of the reputation of the church of Christ and thus of Christ Himself.

An Open Letter to SBC Friends

From The Archives: Of Evangelicals, Bibles, and Blogs

Originally published here in 2008.

"Do you still read your Bible?"

Brothers and Sisters,
Do you? Why would I ask such a question? There are so many influences that impact our daily habits. We can't and won't explore all of them in this small space, but there is one that we can touch on today.

For the last five years there has been an explosion of blogs on the net. While most are personal in nature and intended for family and friends, their use continues to evolve. Blogs are not simply about the summer trip to the Spam Museum anymore. Blogging is increasingly used as a publishing means for social and religious commentary, shared in relatively brief snippets. Twenty years ago, there was no means for 'everyman' to publish their thoughts to a worldwide audience. Not so now. Blogs give a platform to every opinion and viewpoint under the sun.

Certainly this mish-mash of hoi polloi writing has its low points, inane ramblings, and downright nastiness. If you watch where you step and exercise a little discrimination in your reading, you can find hundreds of helpful weblogs. But you already know this. In fact, I'm willing to bet you watch numerous blogs which you find interesting, informative, or challenging.

What does this have to do with reading your Bible? Well... do you? You know... actually read your Bible anymore? Or have Christian blogs taken the place of regular Bible reading in your everyday life?

Oh, I know. It's not like you deliberately set out to abandon daily, regular, habitual feeding on God's Word. And after all, you're spending that time reading Christian blogs that talk about, explore, and apply the Bible; right? I'm sure it was never your intent to let your Bible gather dust. There is so much good information, teaching, instruction, and reflection out there. It's all so interesting. But at what cost, dear friends? Are we using wisdom when we pour our lives into endless reading of commentary on the Bible instead of reading the Bible itself and learning directly from the Master?

"Do you still read your Bible?"

Are you convicted by the question? If you are, here are a few suggestions that might help.

• We must realize that, while God does call pastors, teachers, and theologians to serve the church, there is no command that we must read everything that every good and godly writer has to say. In fact, it is impossible to do so.
• We must realize that blog posts take inordinantly more time to read than we account for. This is akin to the old timewarp phrase resulting in multiple hours spent at your computer, "I just need to check my email." Yeah, right. Like we just need to throw away a year of our life.
• We must realize that the internet and blogs are a relatively recent development and we are not conscious of the invasive and dominating impact they are having on our lives. There has not yet been a broad and intentional development of good and right use of them in everyday life. There are indications that more people are starting to acknowledge these personal challenges raised by the new media.
• Pare down your blog 'watch list' to a handful. Stop trying to be omniscient or Solomon in the breadth of your knowledge. You can't be, and you're not.
• Finally, put down the mouse and go read your Bible today.

ESV Audio Bible Free Download for January 2014

Justin Taylor has pointed to Christian Audio's free offer for January 2014. The entire ESV on MP3 audio for download. Now go get it.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2014/01/01/download-the-entire-esv-bible-on-mp3-free-in-january/