Covenant

God is the Master and Creator of the Universe. He is the Divine Head, the Lord of creation, and as Lord he self-discloses himself to man “by way [mode] of covenant” (Westminster Confession of Faith, VII.I).

God is distinct from and sovereign over all of creation. This means that there is a permanent-and-ontological difference at back the relationship between God and the creation. Thus, we can say that there are two ontological realities in this world:

     1) the eternal and infinite Triune-God.

     2) the temporal and finite creation.

What are the implications?

For starters, this means that creation is ontologically and metaphysically dependent upon God. In John 1:3, God revealed that through the Word, Jesus Christ, all things were created: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Therefore, Jesus Christ is the “source of all activity and life” (Marcus Dods, The Gospel of John, vol. 1, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, reprint 1983), 684).

Since man is temporal and finite and distinct from the eternal and infinite Triune-Creator, there must be some way that God relates-to and relationships-with Creation. According to Scripture, God freely chose to reveal and relate to creation by way of covenant, that is, covenantally (Genesis 2:17, 6:18, 9:11; Exodus 6:4, Deuteronomy 5:3, Psalm 25:14, 89:3; Luke 1:72; Romans 10:5-20, 11:27; Hebrews 12:24, 13:20). The milieu of God’s covenant with man is God’s law. “The law of God expresses God’s holy nature to man (Greg Bahnsen, Theonomy in Christian Ethics, (Nacogdoches: Covenant Media Press, 3rd ed.), 141). Therefore, God's law is the axiomatic system of the covenant.

God expresses his holy nature to all of creation; God relates covenantally with all of creation, but since man was specifically created in God’s image, and as such is a representative of God to the rest of creation, this implies that man has a moral and an ethical obligation to obey the stipulations of God’s law. Since man has this ethical obligation to keep the law of God, there are conditions and promises tied to God’s covenant with man. The covenantal conditions and promises are sanctioned by God’s authoritative declaration: on the one hand, blessings and life will be rewarded for covenantal faithfulness and obedience, while on the other hand, curses and punishment unto death will be rewarded for covenantal unfaithfulness and disobedience (see Deuteronomy 27-30).

We see in Scripture that God has made two covenants with man: the first was a “covenant of works” made with Adam, the first federal head of humanity; the second was a “covenant of grace” made with Jesus Christ, the second Adam, the federal head of restored humanity.

Adam failed to keep the ethical obligations of the “covenant of works” that God made with him, and as the federal head of humanity sanctioned curses and judgment unto death for himself as well as all of his descendants. Thus, ever since Adam’s fall mankind has attempted to make himself the measure of all things: sinful man’s aim is to be absolute, sinful man’s aim is to be autonomous. By this vain attempt, sinful man attempts to usurp God the glory for which He alone is due. Because of sin, the relationship (covenant) is broken that exits between man and the Divine. Secondarily, it is also important to note that man’s relationship with the entire created-universe is broken.

Cornelius Van Til noted, when God created Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden, Adam was supposed to be “a prophet, priest, and king under God in this created world” (Christian Apologetics, ed. William Edgar (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2nd edition, 2003), 41). God intended for Adam to “interpret,” “dedicate,” and “rule” the world, not for the sake of himself, but for God. That is, for God’s glory! Sinful man, however, does not execute the offices of prophet, priest, and king for God’s glory, rather he twists that ingrained-innate-calling as he attempts to be absolute and autonomous.

Thus, sinful man is always trying to do prophetic, priestly, and kingly things in this world, but he does them while in a broken relationship (covenant) with God. So, what proceeds is this: false interpretation, perverted dedication, and corrupted rule and judgment – these things are not of God but are of man, thus, the prophetic, priestly, and kingly things that fallen men accomplishes are after the “tradition of men” and “not after Christ.” (cf. Colossians 2:8: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Paul is saying you need to fashion knowledge and belief after (the knowledge and belief in) Christ, that is, after the Creator, not after knowledge and belief of the traditions purported by sinful men and a fallen created-universe.)

However, God freely chose to make a “covenant of grace” with Jesus Christ, the second Adam, the obedient prophet, priest, and king. Jesus Christ was obedient, he had covenantal faithfulness and entirely fulfilled the ethical obligations of God’s law as prophet, priest, and king. Jesus Christ, therefore, faithfully interprets, dedicates, and rules the world for the glory of God!

So, what we know about God by way of the covenant is that God is not only the Lord who created the universe, but that he is also the Lord who mercifully restores sinful men and renews creation. God does that by adopting sinners through propitiation, that is, through the obedient and atoning prophetic, priestly, and kingly work of Jesus Christ, with whom God made a “covenant of grace” – wherein God “offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved” (Westminster Confession of Faith, VII.III).

Necessity of Preaching

"Preaching is necessary not because it's a magic but because God has ordained it for the justification and sanctification of sinners" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 39).

Prayer

Good insight on prayer by Pastor Mark Driscoll from Ephesians sermon series.



"God is your Father. If you understand that God is your Father, prayer makes a lot of sense and prayer becomes very easy. If you don’t understand that God is your Father, prayer becomes complicated and difficult."

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg

I recently read James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, a satirical jab at antinomian Calvinism, originally published anonymous in 1824. It was a disturbing read but beneficial.

The Confessions discloses a morbid story in three parts: an "Editor's Narrative" bookends the protagonists' "Memoirs" -- together they provide objective and subjective accounts of the corruption unto evil-and-the-demonic of young Robert Wringhim, a boy born and raised as a strict-Calvinist in eighteenth-century Scotland. The Confessions is part gothic-novel and although it may be somewhat anachronistic to say so, it is replete with dark humor/black comedy. Here's a zinger:

The dame [the mother of the protagonist] thanked him [Rev. Mr. Wringhim] most cordially, lauding his friendly zeal and powerful eloquence; and then the two again set keenly to the splitting of hairs, and making distinctions in religion where none existed (16).

The Confessions is insightful because of, not in spite of, its jab at Calvinism, performing the excellent service of illustrating the horrors of antinomian Calvinism, as well as providing a window into the psychology of the demonic -- similar to C. S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters.

Biblically speaking, the only sure marks of Divine Election are those provided by the inner-testimony of the Holy Spirit and the good works of Sanctification, which are the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  In contrast, the protagonist of the Confessions is a gloomy character who hangs his eternal assurance of Divine Election upon the mystical-illumination decreed by his adoptive father, the Rev. Mr. Wringhim, who is a crack-pot Calvinistic preacher. (You know the variety: the mildew-Calvinist, the "high-as-a-kite-and-jacked-up-on-presumption"-Calvinist.) Rather than cling to the Biblical marks of Divine Election, Young Wringhim clings to the "oracles" of his quasi-father (the book insinuates that Robert may be the illegitimate son of Rev. Wringhim), which only greases the rails for absolutely horrific acts executed by the protagonist, e.g., assault, evil plotting, usurpation, murder(s).

This book truly is a horror novel, portraying both the power and acts of evil. The book is as sobering as it is terrifying, and that is what makes it a good read.

Preaching: God's Talk

"Preaching is not merely the minister's talk about God but God's talk -- and not just any talk. It's the kind of talk that produces new people" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 38).

George Herbert, Again

The following excerpt from George Herbert's The Temple - The Church-Porch, Perirrhanterium (the 15th stanza):

Art thou a magistrate? then be severe:

If studious; copy fair, what time hath blurred;

Redeem truth from his jaws: if soldier,

Chase brave employments with a naked sword

     Throughout the world. Fool not: for all may have,

     If they dare try, a glorious life, or grave.

 

Mysticism

"Mysticism is esoteric atheism. But atheism still carries the banners and laurels of the work of liberation which is their common purpose" (Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, vol. I.2, 322).

Christ's Righteousness: Type of Righteousness Needed by Sinners

"Now, what righteousness is equal to the justification of sinners? The only righteousness conceivable that will meet the requirements of our situation as sinners and meet the requirements of a full and irrevocable justification is the righteousness of Christ. This implies his obedience and therefore his incarnation, death, and resurrection. In a word, the necessity of the atonement is inherent and essential to justification. A salvation from sin divorced from justification is an impossibility and justification of sinners without the God-righteousness of the Redeemer is unthinkable" (John Murray, Redemption--Accomplished and Applied, 16-17).

High-View of Scripture in a Nutshell

An illustration from one of C. H. Spurgeon's sermons: a high-view of Scripture in a nutshell.

"I believe in the Bible," said one. 

"How can you do that?" sneered another. 

"Because I know the Author," was the fit reply.

Christ: Unto Us Righteousness and Sanctification

"He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people, has yet much to learn. Whether he knows it or not, he is dishonouring our blessed Lord, and making Him only a half Saviour. The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people's souls require; not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them, but also to sanctify them. He is, thus, not only their "righteousness," but their "sanctification" (1 Cor. 1:30)" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 16).

Faith and Sanctification

"The union with Christ which produces no effect on heart and life is a mere formal union, which is worthless before God. The faith which is not a sanctifying influence on the character is no better than the faith of devils. It is a "dead faith, because it is alone." It is not the gift of God. It is not the faith of God's elect. In short, where there is no sanctification of life, there is no real faith in Christ" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, 17).

Enjoying Doctrine

Spurgeon describing how "wise men deal with the great doctrines of the gospel" -- "they will not make them the themes of angry controversy, but of profitable use. To fight over a doctrine is sorry waste of time, but to live in the quiet enjoyment of it is the truest wisdom" (Ed. David Otis Fuller, Spurgeon's Sermon Illustrations, 32).

Unchurched America

The book cited below was originally published in 2001. I don't know whether or not the statistics have remained the same. I have read that 9-11 temporarily bumped-up these type of statistics. My hunch is that in the past handful of years that throttling has subsided. However, either way, the statistics cited below are disconcerting.

Only 41 percent of Americans attend church services on a typical weekend [Barna Research Online, 1999]. Each new generation becomes increasingly unchurched. . . . Our recent research on the younger generation, the bridgers (born 1977 to 1994), indicates that only 4 percent of the teenagers understand the gospel and have accepted Christ, even if they attend church. Of the entire bridger generation, less than 30 percent attend church. America is clearly becoming less Christian, less evangelized, and less churched. Yet too many of those in our churches seem oblivious to this reality. . . . The percentage of adults attending church on a given weekend in 1999 was the same level it was in 1986.

Despite a plethora of resources on reaching those who do not attend church, the population of the unchurched in America continues to increase. Noted one Christian researcher, "At the same time that in America a multitude of new churches are being launched, and the mass media continues to report on the impact of megachurches, the number of unchurched adults is also on the rise." . . . And as noted earlier, only one person is reached for Christ for every 85 church members in America" (Thom S. Rainer, Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them, 33-35).

 The implications are disturbing for said statistics. The "unchurched adults" of the "bridger generation" are a growing, rising, and flourishing segment of contemporary entrepreneurs, lawyers, politicians, medical physicians, day laborers, musicians, and artists, and when they marry or cohabit they form second generation unchurched-families.

Faith and God's Word

In a section examining Martin Luther's Lectures on Hebrews (April 1517), Thomas J. Davis discusses how Luther began to mature theologically by working "extensively through the concepts of personal faith and the word of testament (the promise) and how the two are related in such a way as to portend his mature beliefs." To that point, Davis observes:

Faith is a clinging to the Word of God for Luther. It is the only work of the Gospel, and it is internal. In a telling passage, Luther declared, "Without faith it is impossible for God to be with us." Why is this so? Because God "does everything through the word." For that Word to bear fruit for the believer, there must be faith. One can ties this arrangement to the incarnation. If Christ is God incarnate, as Luther certainly affirmed, the way one possesses that incarnate Word is through faith. The union of believers with the incarnate Word, a union so real that Luther speaks of Christ as the Christian's substance, is achieved only through faith. If the Sacrament is a visible word, as Augustine of hippo taught and Luther accepted, then the Word itself is an audible body, Christ's substance, possessed through the hearing and believing of it--through faith" (Thomas J. Davis, This is My Body: The Presence of Christ in Reformation Thought, 33).

Doctrine of Scripture: God Himself is a Sufficient Witness to Himself

"Only God himself is a sufficient witness to himself. The Word of God finds no acceptance until it is sealed by the inward witness of the Spirit, and the heart finds its rest in Scripture only through this inward teaching. Scripture is not subject to human argumentation and proof, and Scripture's own assuring power is higher and stronger than all human judgment. No matter how large a role the church may play in the genetic process [Footnote: "Obviously, this genetic aspect, this coming to certainty, cannot be separated from the question regarding the foundation of faith, but the differentiation does not therefore lose its significance.] of ascertaining, ultimately no one can accept Scripture because the church testifies that it is God's Word. The moving of the church as praedicatrix evangelii [The "herald" or "preaching of the Gospel," Berkouwer is quoting Kuyper.] is not the ultimate explanation of faith in Scripture. This conviction is also expressed in other Reformed confessions, which always speak of the convincing power of the Holy Spirit in connection with belief in Scripture" (G. C. Berkouwer, Studies in Dogmatics: Holy Scripture, 41-42).

Praising and Trusting the Word of God

"When Abraham Kuyper came to grips with the criticism of Scripture in his day, he sharply formulated this existential character of the problem. He attacked the criticism of his day "in its questionable effect upon the church of the living God." It is obvious that Kuyper had in mind all forms of radical criticism, for he used terms like "critical vandalism," "Scripture anatomists," "recklessness and vivisection." These radical critics of Scripture create distrust and doubt by denying what formerly applied as the standard of faith: "When Scripture has spoken, all contradiction ceases; when it has testified, the last remnant of doubt vanishes." But even though Kuyper is referring particularly to radical criticism, it is clear that the contrast between criticism and authority occupies his mind. The logic of criticism is contrasted with a non-critical, receptive listening to the voice of God, like Samuel's "Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears" (I Sam. 3:10). Behind his considerations is a recollection of the relationship between God's Word and the indubitable certainty and place us for time and eternity on an immovable foundation. Much strife and opposition in the church must be viewed in this light, as must the emphasis on the judging but unjudgeable Word of God. The Word must be praised and trusted (see Ps. 56:10-11), as Scripture informs us with its unique divinity and self-authentication" (G. C. Berkouwer, Studies in Dogmatics: Holy Scripture, 14-15).

The Ordinary Means of Grace

"This chapter launches the thesis that will run throughout the rest of the book. That thesis is this: God has promised to save and keep his people through the means he has appointed and through no others; the ordinary means of grace are limited to the preached Word and the administered sacraments; God's rationale for these means is made explicit in Scripture [emphasis original]. There are many other things that are essential for Christian growth: prayer, Bible study, service to others. However, these are not, properly speaking, means of grace but means of discipleship" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 29).

Christian Presence

"In the fourth century, with the conversion of the emperor Constantine to Christianity and the steady growth of the church, the relation of Christianity to the society underwent a gradual but momentous transformation. Constantine introduced laws that made Sunday a day of rest, thereby creating a new calendar and reordering the life of society to make space for Christian worship. He advanced legislation that discouraged the exposure of infants by indigent parents and saw to it that the public fisc would provide food and clothing to rear abandoned children. He built churches, not only in the new Christian city of Constantinople and the old capital, Rome, but also in Jerusalem, a city that would acquire potent symbolic significance in the public consciousness. As these new buildings displaced the temples built by former emperors the plan of cities began to reflect the presence of Christianity in the life of the empire. The most prominent public building became the church, and to this day one will find a church on the central public square of European cities" (Robert Louis Wilken, The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God, 199-200).

George Herbert

Following excerpt from George Herbert's The Temple - The Church-Porch, Perirrhanterium (the 9th stanza):

Yet, if thou sin in wine or wantonness,

Boast not thereof; nor make thy shame thy glory.

Frailty gets pardon by submissiveness;

But he that boasts, shuts that out of his story.

     He makes flat war with God, and doth defy

     With his poor clod of earth the spacious sky.

Revelation, Again

More from Berkouwer on the relationship between general and special revelation:

We have in mind only that, in the most profound sense, no true knowledge of the revelation of God in the works of his hands is obtainable without faith in Christ. Calvin's reference to the glasses (of faith) as the only means whereby we can know God in this book of "nature," is of decisive significance for all reflection on general revelation. This is not a question of our knowledge of nature as such, but rather of our knowledge of God's self-revelation. Stated otherwise, in Dogmatics general revelation is not to be regarded (in isolation) as an independent object of study. Reflection on dogmas is in principle different from activity in the natural sciences. . . .  

The relationship between general and special revelation is not a competitive one; but in special revelation our attention is focused on the universality of God's actions in relation to (the plan of) salvation and the Kingdom of God. It is precisely this salvation of the Lord which calls forth a song of praise about the works of God's hands, indeed, this hymn of praise is a part of that salvation. When we speak of the general revelation of God, then we are concerned with this universality of God's actions in created reality" (G. C. Berkouwer, General Revelation, 285-286).

Revelation

"We may, and must, emphatically protest against any two-sources-theory, which places Scripture and tradition, or Scripture and nature, or Scripture and history, on one line, as sources of knowledge of equal import [emphasis original]. Any such equalization has always resulted in a devaluation of Holy Scripture. But also every attempt to prove, on the basis of fallen mankind's blinded eyes, that God has revealed himself only by his Word, and not already in the works of his hands, must be rejected" (G. C. Berkouwer, General Revelation, 280).  

Dialogical Worship

"The triumphant indicative concerning God's action in Christ establishes a safe foundation on which to stand as we seek to obey the divine imperatives. That's why worship is dialogical: God speaks and we respond" (Michael A. Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 26).

Sanctification: Spiritual Discipline - Spiritual Exercises

In a similar vein of thought to quote posted yesterday from James K. A. Smith's Imagining the Kingdom, Donald S. Whitney, reflecting on the narratives of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, and tax collector, Zacchaeus, from Luke 18 and 19, encourages his readers to:

Think of the Spiritual Disciplines as spiritual exercises. . . .

There are two Bible stories that illustrate another way of thinking of the role of Spiritual Disciplines. Luke 18:35-43 tells the story of a blind beggar named Bartimaeus and his encounter with Jesus. . . . The second Bible story is in the very next paragraph of Scripture, Luke 19:1-10. It's the famous account of the conversion of the tax collector, Zacchaeus. . . .

Think of the Spiritual Disciplines as ways we can place ourselves in the path of God's grace and seek Him much as Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus placed themselves in Jesus' path and sought Him (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 18-19).

For the sanctification of the Christian it cuts both way: God marshals our embodiment (as James K. A. Smith notes) for our sanctification, and we marshal our own embodiment (as  Donald S. Whitney notes) for our sanctification. Justification, however, is a different matter. Justification is a monergistic work of God.

LOL: Carl Trueman on Barthianism

Read this hilarious quote at William B. Evan's personal blog and just had to share it.

“Look, if I wanted a pretentious and incomprehensibly abstract theology with an impeccable record of emptying churches, I’d convert to Barthianism, wouldn’t I?” (Carl Trueman)

Trinitarian Communion: Archetype of Organic Unity and Individual Freedom

The organic unity of church and society depend, at least in part, upon our perception of the whole and its relation to the parts. To the degree that we regard ourselves primarily as individuals, or even groups (placing the part before the whole), our ecclesiastical and political structures will never rise above the level of a voluntary association. Here, unity and organic wholeness are nothing more than nominalistic abstractions. Only the individual is real and enduring. The organization is, by comparison, an arbitrary convention. This inherently unstable structure will, in the end, give way to self-interest, chaos, and secession.

 Historically, however, the tendency toward democracy, voluntarism, and decentralization in our society is a legitimate reaction against top-heavy organic structures (political and ecclesiastical) that have become too powerful and bureaucratic. It is essential, therefore, that the rights and freedoms of the individual be preserved while, at the same time, avoiding the error of radical individualism and balkanization. In [John W.] Nevin's view such a balance cannot be achieved simply by legislation, reorganization, or even education -- though these are necessary. Rather, these external arrangements must be the spontaneous outgrowth of a deeper sentiment which originates not in politics or business, but in the transforming and leavening power of religion in society. 

Unity and freedom begin with the love of God. Not, however, by way of natural religion or even individual Christianity (these are dim and fragmentary at best), but through the mediatorial life of Christ supernaturally present in the church and its ministry. "The soul," says [John W.] Nevin, "takes its quality and complexion always from the objects with which it is accustomed most intimately and habitually to converse." Participation in this spiritual world of powers leads to a kind of apotheosis [the climax of a development], so that by beholding the glory of Christ the inner person is changed into His likeness. "This spiritual vision imparts a heavenly complexion to his soul, answerable to its own object." In the end, it is only as we are taken up into the transcendental reality of this Trinitarian communion, through the ministry of the word and sacrament, that we come to realize the archetype of organic unity and individual freedom. This realization is the only passage that leads finally from "all" to the "whole" (William DiPuccio, The Interior Sense of Scripture: The Sacred Hermeneutic of John W. Nevin, 193-194).

Marshaled Embodiment

In Desiring the Kingdom and Imagining the Kingdom, James K. A. Smith argues that Christians need to pay special attention to liturgies because they shape what we love, which is incredibly important because "we are what we love." In the latter work, Smith says, "The [Holy] Spirit marshals our embodiment in order to rehabituate us to the kingdom of God. The material practices of Christian worship are not exercises in spiritual self-management but rather the creational means that our gracious God deigns to inhabit for our sanctification" (15).

Covenant Renewal and Worship: Foretaste of Everlasting Sabbath at Marriage Supper of the Lamb

"We gather each Lord's Day not merely out of habit, social custom, or felt needs but because God has chosen this weekly festival as a foretaste of the everlasting Sabbath day that will be enjoyed fully at the marriage supper of the Lamb. God has called us out of the world and into his marvelous: That is why we gather" (Michael Horton, A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship, 24).

The Pagan Core of Natural Law Theory

Debates on Natural Law seem to be the rage these days: David Bentley Hart set off a chain reaction after sharing his thoughts on Natural Law at First Things . . . replies on the Internets came from far and near, e.g.,  Edward Feser, Alan Jacobs, Peter Leithart, Peter Escalante . . . and Hart even circled back around to share his additional thoughts.

So, here is my contribution to the Natural Law noise on the Internets: it is an extended excerpt from Ray Sutton's magnificent That You May Prosper: Dominion by Covenant:

Let us not be misled: natural law theory rests on a self-conscious belief in the possibility of judicial neutrality. Civil law must be neutral-ethically, politically, and religiously. Civil law must permit equal time for Satan. There are Christians who believe in neutrality; they send their children to public schools that rest legally on a doctrine of educational neutrality. There are also Christians who think abortion should be legal. This belief rests on the belief that killing a baby and not killing a baby are morally equivalent acts; God is neutral regarding the killing of babies. That such Christians should also adopt a theory of judicial and political neutrality is understandable. But what is not easily understandable is that Christians who recognize the absurdity of the myth of neutrality in education and abortion cling to just this doctrine in the area of civil law and politics. This is a form of what Rushdoony calls intellectual schizophrenia. 

It is only the Christian who has the law of God itself written in his heart, what the author of Hebrews calls a new covenant- the internalization of the old covenant (Heb. 8:7-13). For a Christian to appeal to a hypothetical universally shared reason with fallen humanity is to argue that the Fall of man did not radically affect man's mind, including his logic. It is to argue that this unaffected common logic can overcome the effects of sin. Anyone who believes this needs to read the works of Cornelius Van Til and R. J. Rushdoony. 

The appeal to natural law theory is pagan to the core. It is in some cases a self-conscious revival of pagan Greek philosophy. Natural law theory is totally opposed to God's law. Sadly, we find throughout Western history that compromised though well-intentioned Christian philosophers have appealed to this Stoic concept of natural law in support of some "neutral" system of social and political order. Thomas Aquinas is the most famous of these scholars, but the same mistake is common today. Roger Williams appealed to natural law as the basis of the creation of a supposedly religiously neutral civil government in the 1630s in New England. This is the appeal of just about every Christian who refuses to accept Biblical law as the legal foundation of political order and civil righteousness. The only alternative to "one law" - whether "natural" or Biblical- is judicial pluralism, a constant shifting from principle to principle, the rule of expediency. It is the political theory of polytheism (184-185).

John Piper on Justification and Prodigal Children

John Piper's thoughtful reflection on Justification and prodigal children: the former shall always be a refuge of hope for the parents of the latter.

". . . I mentioned in the first sentence of this chapter, "a personal concern for wayward children." I do not believe that even perfect parenting could prevent all wilderness wanderings of our children. Mainly because of what God said in Isaiah 1:2: "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: 'Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me'" (ESV). But how do you survive and press on when a child has left the fold of God? What truth keeps you on your face in hope-full prayers and on your way to minister to others with needs as great as your own? No truth other than "the justification of the ungodly" gives as much hope for parents of a prodigal. Not only because our son or daughter may yet awaken to the hope that Christ is willing to be his or her righteousness -- no matter what he or she has done -- but also because the viperous guilt of failed parenting is defanged by the justification of the ungodly. Dad and Mom find a way to press on because their perfection is [CCS, emphasis added] Christ (Counted Righteous in Christ, 31).

Theology Reduced

The late venerable and godly Dr. Archibald Alexander, of Princeton, United States, had been a preacher of Christ for sixty years, and a professor of divinity for forty. He died on 22nd of October, 1851. On his death-bed, he was heard to say to a friend, "All my theology is reduced to this narrow compass -- Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners" (Ed. David Otis Fuller, Spurgeon's Sermon Illustrations, 21).

Conflict: Van Til & Barth at Logos.com

Logos (the Bible software company) recently posted an article on Cornelius Van Til and Karl Barth; the article commemorates their birthdays and highlights the theological conflict that existed between the two of them. Also, there are coupon codes for Van Til's and Barth's works.

The following is an excerpt from the short article:

It remains an open question whether the evangelicalism of Van Til and Barth have room for friendship or will remain foes, especially within the various branches of the Reformed tradition within the United States. Despite this, we can still be diligent in our efforts to understand the thinking of each man on his own terms by going back to the sources. Finally, we should be encouraged by Barth’s gesture to Van Til in 1962. Previously, Barth had been rude toward Van Til. However, he took a step towards reconciliation when he was visiting Princeton to give a series of lectures. Van Til used the opportunity to write to Barth: “When you came to Princeton I called up the Seminary and asked whether I could see you but was discouraged from doing so. When I looked for an opportunity to shake hands with you after your Princeton lectures [the Warfield lectures] you were hurried away. When at last I did come near to you in the hallway and somebody called your attention to my presence and you graciously shook hands with me, saying: ‘You said some bad things about me but I forgive you, I forgive you,’ I was too overwhelmed to reply.”

Pursue Holiness

Although God will grant Christlikeness to us when Jesus returns, until then He intends for us to grow toward that Christlikeness. We aren't merely to wait for holiness, we're to pursue it. "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy," we're commanded in Hebrews 12:14, for "without holiness no one will see the Lord."

Which leads us to ask what every Christian should ask, "How then shall we pursue holiness? How can we be like Jesus Christ, the Son of God?"

We find a clear answer in 1 Timothy 4:7: "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness" (Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 16). 

 

 

  

Not Casting a Snare

"The faithful ministers of Christ ought to be very cautious and tender in giving their advice, or laying down rules about the ordering of the circumstances of family worship, and conform themselves to that excellent pattern which the apostle has laid before them in 1 Corinthians 7:35: "This I speak for your own profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you, but that which is comely, that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction"(George Hamond, The Case for Family Worship, 16-17)."

Discipline

"Discipline without direction is drudgery" (Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 15).

Sanctification: A Warfare

"A holy violence, a conflict, a warfare, a fight, a soldier's life, a wrestling, are spoken of as characteristics of the true Christian" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, xvi).
...
"[T]he plain truth is, that men will persist in confounding two things that differ -- that is, justification and sanctification. In justification the word to be addressed to man is believe -- only believe; in sanctification the word must be "watch, pray, and fight." What God has divided let us not mingle and confuse" (xvii).

Theological Words (Work in Progress)

I am reading through Gerald O'Collins and Edward G. Farrugia's original edition (1991) of A Concise Dictionary of Theology, so this post will be a work in progress--as I encounter theological words, central meanings, etc., that are of interest to me, I will append to this post.

Anakephalaiosis (Gr. [Greek] "recapitulation" or "summing up"). A term which in its verbal form refers to Christ bringing into unity everything in the universe (Eph. 1:10). Along these lines, such church fathers as St. Irenaeus (ca. 130-ca. 200) presented Christ as the head of the Church who fulfills God's design in creation and redemptive history (CDT, 9).

Ars Moriendi (Lat. "art of dying"). Late medieval teaching on the way Christians ought to face death. Books on this topic, e.g., the work of Jean Gerson (1363-1429), enjoyed great popularity and influenced the portrayal of death in art (CDT, 19). 

### Reflection - May 3, 2013 ###

This dictionary was designed particularly for Roman Catholics. I knew that when I began reading it.

Reading a Romish theological dictionary, however, has been illuminating. For one thing, it has further solidified my conviction that Roman Catholicism has institutionalized the theological inventions of man, that is, they have theologized at points a worldly and secular spirit. All one needs to do, in order to be convinced of the legalistic and ecclesiastical-fanaticism of Roman Catholicism, is read a few pages from a Romish dictionary. The best critiques of these inventions, that I have read, are John Calvin's The Necessity of Reforming the Church (A.D. 1544), John Knox's A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry (A.D. 1550), and William Cunningham's Historical Theology (A.D. 1862).

The great distinguishing fact of the Reformation was the revival and restoration of sound doctrine, of true principles taught in the sacred Scriptures in regard to the worship of God and the way of a sinner's salvation.... 

Protestants have usually received, as scriptural and orthodox the doctrinal decisions of the first four general councils, and even of the fifth and sixth; though in all of them increasingly, -- and especially in the last two, -- many deviations from scriptural primitive practice with respect to the government and worship of the church were countenanced, and too much evidence was given of the growing influence of a worldly and secular spirit in the administration of ecclesiastical affairs (Historical Theology, pp. 461, 465). 

 All of that having been said, personally I am very optimistic about the Roman Catholic Church. Why? Because Jesus is Lord and Scripture is true. Peter J. Leithart wrote an article a number of years ago titled "Why Protestants Still Protest," and his concluding words have provided great comfort (and optimistic anticipation). He said,

If the Reformers were wrong about sola Scriptura, they were wrong too about the source of errors in the Catholic Church. For myself, I stand with Calvin, who, I am certain, would be as heartened as I to hear the recent calls from Roman Catholic leaders to reaffirm the centrality of the gospel, Jesus Christ, and Scripture. Given even a modest open door, the Word of God can take care of itself; it never, Scripture says, returns void. Though Protestants believe that Roman Catholic teaching continues to veil the Christ of the gospel, we know that God has a habit of rending veils.

 

Two Great Divisions of Mankind

"The Word of God always speaks of two great divisions of mankind, and two only. It speaks of the living and the dead in sin -- the believer and the unbeliever -- the converted and the unconverted -- the travelers in the narrow way and the travelers in the broad -- the wise and the foolish -- the children of God and the children of the devil" (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, xv).