To Always be Reforming...

The recent cover article in Christianity Today highlighted the fact that theology of the reformed persuasion seems to be growing as a movement among young evangelicals. The article explains that due to the ministries of figures like John Piper and Mark Dever the younger generations of evangelicalism are seeking to break from the past in so far as there is a tendency among older evangelicals to be anti-doctrinal.

Collin Hansen explains that the reformed movement is probably more pervasive than the "emergent conversation" even though the later gets much more press and seems to appeal to a younger crowd. This is an encouragement me for two reasons. First, I really do not understand the emergent movement. And second, this type of movement (towards reformed theology) is not one that, in its most basic form, deals with new fads or recent trends.

There is a sense in which a movement of this type could really do some good in the church at large by having us examine areas where we are seriously out of step with Scripture like unbiblical church membership practices and shallow evangelism. The roots of this movement go very deep, and Scripture and Church History both attest to both the truthfulness and usefulness of the doctrines of grace. There is an inherent preserving power in these doctrines because of what they teach about who God is and what they teach about who we are.

There were a few really poignant things in the article worth mentioning. Piper states that a theology which glorifies God as both the initiator and finisher of our salvation should make our hearts sing! It is not a system that deadens faith and makes the heart cold, but at the realization of the enormous graciousness of the Almighty God your heart cries out in awe and thankfulness to Him.

Joshua Harris calls it "humble orthodoxy" because when you see grace for what it truly is you cannot help but be brought to your knees. We cry out to God, "Why us, why did you save us, we don't deserve it, we are worms," and then as the joy of Christ's great salvation overwhelms us we testify through the overflow in our hearts to the lost world around us! We cannot help but be humbled and we cannot help but share the glorious redemption we find in Christ Jesus.

Let this be a challenge to you as it was to me. If your pursuit of knowledge (even knowledge of the Scriptures) and doctrinal understanding has left you feeling cold and hard to the truth of the gospel then repent!! Repent and run to Christ! If at the end of your pursuit of this knowledge you find yourself far from the Savior turn from you hardness of heart and relish in the truth of the gospel! While we were yet sinners Christ died for us! Our knowledge of our salvation should serve as means by which we can love Jesus more richly, fully, and deeply.

So if you find yourself far from Jesus today, fall to your knees and cry out to God! Find your source of joy in God and marvel at just how amazing grace really is!!

Spurgeon lives!!!

Well, it really has been a while since I posted some of our dead friend, C. H. The time is right, I think, for a little bit of knowledge from tour big Baptist buddy!

"We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the Reformation, we were reformers before Luther or Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the very days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel under ground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of almost every sect, yet there has never existed a Government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor, do I believe, any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man. We have ever been ready to suffer, as our martyrologies will prove, but we are not ready to accept any help from the State to prostitute the purity of the Bride of Christ to any alliance with Government, and we will never make the Church, although the Queen, the despot over the consciences of men."

Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1861).
Volume 7, Page 225.

That deserves a hearty, viking-like, Amen!!

Are we robbing our children blind?

Back into the fray, let loose the dogs of war!!!

All this talk on Resolution number five has got me thinking.

First, I think that would the name of my beer, if I started brewing it myself. "Hey, you should really try my Resolution No. 5 Ale. It's got a really nice body, and it goes down really smooth." The tag line on the bottle would be this: "Resolved - to enjoy the good gifts of God!" I think that would be great. I'm sure some of you are rolling your eyes right now, and that's okay. I use that example merely to upset you, and now that you are surely steaming I will move on.

Second, I have been thinking about how Southern Baptists (and I'm one of them) have reacted to this resolution and all the controversy surrounding it.

Now, I want to make some connections here because I think we are dangerously close to losing sight of something that is really important. We are losing sight of the fact that God created the world and everything in it through the Word of His power. Not only that, but he created it for our enjoyment.

Let me be a little more specific. I think there is a trend among evangelical to focus more and more energy on separating themselves out of the world and creating a subculture where they are "protected" from the societal evils that exist today. Many cite their families, and specifically their children, as a major factor for this. Christian parents have a desire to protect their children from the world and its influences. But is this the model that is laid out for us in scripture? Is this really what it means to be in the world but not of it? I would say no, it is not.

There is a very real sense in which Christians should flee from all immorality and sinful behavior. However, we must understand that it is part of our call as believers to exercise our faith in the spheres where God has placed us. Regardless of whether we are in school or at work 8 hours a day it is still our responsibility to be salt and light.

I think one of the ways that we fulfill that call to be salt and light is by properly modeling to the world how to use and enjoy the good gifts that God has so richly blessed us with. As salt we should be preserving the intended purposes for those gifts as well as bringing light to where there is gross perversion of them. One example is in the area of sex. Instead of shying away from talking about it, which is typical of evangelicals, we should be teaching people how sex in marriage is one of the greatest gifts God has given to his people, and when we use that gift the way God intended it we will experience pleasure that we never thought possible.

Music is similar because the trend among evangelicals is to copy the latest fads in the world. Instead of teaching our children that all secular music is evil (which it is most certainly not) we should be teaching them that music was given to us by God for our good and His Glory, and that in using our creativity to make music we reflect the imago dei. We should be teaching them how to make music that honors Christ and speaks to issues that people face everyday. We should be teaching them to discern between what is good and true and beautiful and what is edifying and helpful. A Christian should be able to appreciate the inherent beauty in a song without being led astray by whatever error may be in the song.

As far as liberty of conscience goes, we must teach our children (especially as they grow older) that love is the boundary for all Christian freedom. When Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians he says that love is the foundation for all Christian liberty and that our love for the people of God must overrule any concern for personal freedom. That being said we also seek to be truthful about what is contained in the Scriptures concerning certain things. As someone who works with youth I find myself in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to this issue. But I will hearken back to what I've said before. We need to model for them what it looks like to properly handle the gifts of God like sex and alcohol. We need to show them that the Scriptures are sufficient for all matters of life and faith.

So I guess my question is, do we really believe in the inerrancy, infallibility, and sufficiency of Scripture, or do we believe it is better not to examine our lives and traditions in favor of keeping the boat steady? I think an examination of the way we teach our children and youth concerning these issues would show that we really don't know what it means to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We are merely passing along the same stale, leftover, prohibition moralism that was given to us.

This is no way to live, instead Christ came to give us life, abundant life that experiences and enjoys the goodness of God through the gifts he has given to us. Whoever has been set free by the Son is free indeed!!