A Testimony to the Grace of Jesus Christ

My Testimony
My parents faithfully took our family to our local church gatherings most Sunday mornings (United Methodist Church). I spent my pre-teen and most of my teenage years thinking that Christianity was essentially a moral code that I obeyed to love God and be admitted to heaven when I died. I was pretty good at keeping the rules that people would measure to see if I was a “good Christian.” I was even admired among my peers in high school because of my good religious behavior. But, in hindsight I was just a Pharisee with no desire for the glory of God, no real grasp of the gospel.

I entered Mercer University in 1997 to study engineering. I had other desires as well as I went into college, evil desires to throw off the moral chains that had been holding me. I was ready to experience the lusts of the world. Thankfully, God had other plans for my life. Because of my love for playing the guitar, I was asked by a classmate from high school who was involved with the BSU worship team to play with their band. This put me under some good teaching once a week. With eclectic atmosphere at Mercer, I was hearing differing beliefs from Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists, and I did not know where I stood. God was very gentle to me as He changed the direction of my life. What started happening was that I had a burden to go deeper with God. I actually interested in the things of God, in studying the Bible and knowing Jesus. I started a study of Romans with a friend and began understanding the gospel. At that time I also met the wonderful lady who is now my wife. She taught me how to pray and have personal devotions (something I had never done before!). I started going to her church gatherings, Mabel White, and was shocked at the spiritual life in the corporate gatherings. That too was something I had never experienced.

My Understanding of The Gospel
Even in the four years, my understanding of the gospel has grown much. I am realizing how deep my religious “rule-keeping-for-righteousness” roots go. My pastor, Keith Watson, has committed to having the gospel of Jesus be central to every sermon, believing that the gospel is not only something we believe for justification, but that which also sustains us as believers until we are at last glorified. This weekly saturation in the gospel has helped to give me a much better understanding of the gospel.

I understand the gospel to be that God has come in the flesh as Jesus, who lived a sinless and perfectly righteous life, yet was crucified and died, but was raised to life having born the curse for the sin of man, and will give his righteousness to our account simply because of our believing and trusting in Him, and will bring us to dwell with God for eternity. This gospel is to be proclaimed to the whole world and disciples are to be made for the glory of God. I also believe that as we call people to believe in this gospel, we are to call them chiefly to the enjoyment of God for eternity.

The Gospel's Affect
The most notable change in me since my conversion to the gospel has been in my desires. Whereas before my conversion I did good things, it was not done joyfully, but rather under compulsion to be admired by my peers and to earn God’s favor. Now, however, I see God at work in me, giving me His desires and a love for His glory and renown. More broadly, the gospel is affecting every area of my being: how I am a husband and a father, an employee, a neighbor, a steward, and a citizen.

My Calling
After college, I had occasional opportunities to teach adult Sunday school classes. I really began to enjoy teaching in 2006. I credit this enjoyment to a better understanding of the supremacy of Christ in all things and understanding of expositional preaching/teaching, which I have gained mostly through John Piper’s ministry. So, through this teaching I sense God’s call to teach and preach.

As I have had opportunity to preach at the Macon Rescue Mission, God has further clarified my calling to teach and preach. Through my seminary experience, especially in a course called "Pastoral Counseling," I have had an increased desire to shepherd the flock of God, spurring us on toward treasuring the gospel of Christ.

Good Friday & a Prophecy Fulfilled - For my Jehovah's Witness (Watchtower) readers

Jehovah speaks in Zechariah 12 about bringing salvation to the house of Judah and bringing judgment upon their enemies. In 12:10 Jehovah says this: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn."

Then in John 19:37 we are told by the inspired author that this prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 is fulfilled. Here is the verse in context:

John 19:31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

So the crucifixion of Jesus, the piercing of his side rather than the breaking of His bones, fulfills what Jehovah spoke of Himself in Zechariah 12:10. The only way I see for this to be possible is if Jesus is Jehovah. This is a plain and simple look at a prophecy and its fulfillment. May God grant us all eyes to see and humbly submit to His word.

The good news is that Jesus has done what we could not do - he lived perfectly, satisfied God's wrath and hatred toward sin by his death on the cross (Galatians 3:13), and he has been raised in a glorified body. This is for our good! It brings us great joy, to have fellowship with God through the Spirit now, and enables us to enjoy God for eternity, all by trusting Jesus to be righteousness for us, gifting righteousness to us by his free gift (Romans 5:1-11). This is good news! Hallelujah!

The 567 Cafe - An Interview with Keith Watson

In an effort to give our Missional Community group a better understanding of what is going on with our church's cafe, "The 567 Cafe," I am posting the first half of a report I wrote last semester for a class. The aim of the report was to first report on an attempt at cultural engagement, and to follow that up with an analysis of the attempt. So, what follows is the report, which is based largely on an interview I conducted with Pastor Keith. Enjoy!



New City Church downtown (NCCd), of which I am a member, states that “we exist to see the gospel transform everything within our reach… ourselves, our church, our city, and the world.” In April of 2008, the 567 Café became a very public expression of this mission. Located at 567 Cherry St., Macon, Georgia, the café provides a venue for musicians and artists to present their work on Friday and Saturday nights while providing coffee and other refreshments to the patrons.

In an interview on August 1, 2009, Keith Watson, pastor of NCCd said to me the following when asked what the goal of the 567 Café is.

The ultimate goal of the 567 is the same as the mission of our church: to see the gospel transform everything within our reach. The 567 is a tool that, primarily through the relationships we develop there, the gospel can go forward. Our goal primarily is gospel-transformation in people who work, live, or play in downtown Macon.

Another benefit that has been observed by the church in having the 567 Café is that the members can form new relationships with people whom they would not contact otherwise. The setting is an easy place to have conversations that lead to discussing the church, the gospel, and Jesus. Secular artists, musicians, and patrons often ask questions about why a church would provide such a venue in the downtown area. In short, the café serves to help people live missional lives.

New City Church downtown is committed to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. NCCd also holds that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. The church is a theologically conservative evangelical church which believes in the authority, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture. A more complete list of theological beliefs can be found at the church’s website: www.newcitydowntown.org/about_new_city.

Part of the reason NCCd gathers in downtown Macon (and thus the 567 Café is in downtown Macon) is that other churches have left the area, and most of the churches who are still there are not engaging the culture with the gospel. Thus, the 567 Café seeks to be for the good of the city, and the advancement of the kingdom and the gospel.

In addition, downtown Macon has a fairly rich music history and a music scene that seems to be reviving. Keith expounded on how the 567 Café took on its current form.

As a part of the revitalization efforts of downtown, NCCd wanted to involve the visual arts and music. In talking with musicians and others who were downtown, NCCd found that the only places to listen to music were bars. There were no listening rooms. It was just loud bars filled with smoke. We could meet a need in that musicians are looking for a place to play. Macon needed its own residents to see good things happening downtown. The space just fit all of that. It fit our needs and the
needs of the city. That’s contextualizing what we do.

I asked Pastor Keith how he sees the 567 serving to establish a counter-culture rather than a sub-culture. Here is how he answered:

Our hope and goal is to celebrate good things that God has created. God created us to be creative people like he is creative. I believe that’s a part of being created in his image. So we celebrate the creativity of the people in our city. We do so in an environment that is generally clean and safe for family and where we can come with our wife and children. It’s an environment that is good for the musicians as well.

What we do at the 567 is counter-cultural in two ways. It’s counter-cultural in the secular world because we’re a place that celebrates the artists and their creativity. This is very counter-cultural because in the other venues that those artists play, it’s not about the artists or their art; [rather] it’s about them bringing money to the facility. So we’re counter-cultural there in that we truly celebrate them and the gifts that God’s
given to them.

The 567 is also counter-cultural in church culture because we’re not running from our community and our culture. We’re engaging it and celebrating what is good.

When asked to share some of the things that have shown him that God’s hand is really involved in this ministry, Keith shared the following.

Many people have been skeptical of the church being downtown and us doing this cafe thing for music. There have been a number of people who have been sitting back and watching to see whether we were real and genuine. I had a conversation at Bragg Jam last week with a female musician whose lyrics indicates that she’s got Christian background, but you can also hear in her lyrics that something has happened that really hurt her. She walked away from the church several years ago. Well she’s played at the 567 Cafe several times. We have developed a relationship through talking with her about her music and about her playing at the cafe and through serving her while she’s at the Cafe (by helping her get set up and torn down). That developed that relationship so that when we were at Bragg Jam, she and I sat down while one of the musicians was playing and had a thirty minute conversation about religion, church, and the gospel. We’re supposed to meet again for coffee just to talk more. But she was obviously very excited. She said she has not found anyone in the last several years who she felt that she could talk openly and honestly to about her hurts in the church and
religion. So there’s one.

This was I think the tenth year of the Bragg Jam music festival. This was our [the 567’s] second year as a venue and this year we were the only non-alcohol-serving venue at Bragg Jam. We had rave reviews from a lot of the people who played there and who visited there for music. After Bragg Jam, because of the 567 and because our people serve at Bragg Jam, there were some conversations as they were planning for next year’s Bragg Jam. [We talked about NCCd] providing help to them, create a couple
of more venues that were family-friendly, and even having Christian music. One of the ideas was to maybe do some gospel music to bring black and white together-maybe even to bring a couple of the church choirs together as one of the acts. So all of that, to me, is a hint of redemption that is coming through Bragg Jam, which was a pub crawl only two years ago. The only way that that conversation was taking place was because of the 567 and our people serving in the city. So that is a huge success.

City Watch [a Neighborhood Watch for a sixteen block area surrounding the 567 Café] is a result of the 567 because people saw that we were serious about our city and loved our city and wanted to be a part of revitalizing our city. That led to conversations about what we could do about security and other issues downtown. That led to City Watch, which pays a part of Patrick’s monthly income. So that was a big thing directly connected to the 567.

There have been tons of gospel conversations with unbelievers… and on and on.

New City’s efforts have been met with some skepticism from those outside the body. The common misunderstanding was that it would be a “church café” for “church people” with “church bands.” It was thought that the 567 Café would simply be against the things that go on in the city.” The Church in downtown Macon has not generally celebrated with the culture. It has been completely isolated in its own world, following more of Niebuhr’s “Christ Against Culture” model. So, the apprehension was brought about because people expected the 567 Café to be the same.

Ambition - To Preach the Gospel Where Christ is not Known

This is shaping up to be a great conference. It will be put on by Acts 29 in Louisville, KY November 10-11. It serves as one of their "boot camps" for those who want to be church planters within their network, but is also open to the public.

From the website:

Simply knowing how to plant and lead a church is not enough. Knowledge
must come hand-in-hand with God-given ambition. The Apostle Paul responded
to God’s call to make the gospel known among the Gentiles with zealous
determination. Paul, empowered by the Holy Spirit, made it his ambition to
take the gospel to those who did not have it even if it cost him
everything. He proclaimed the gospel, gathered believers into churches,
established elders, and discipled believers; and he did all this with zeal and
passion. In the hope of this type of ambition overflowing in the Church,
we would like to invite you to the Acts 29 Network Ambition Boot Camp,
November 10-11, 2009, which will focus on planting and leading churches with
God-given ambition.

Get more info on speakers, breakout sessions, cost, etc. here.

The Lord seems to have been showing me two things to seek lately: humility and joy. The call to humility has come primarily through reading C.J.Mahaney’s book Humility: True Greatness. This book is a great quick read that I highly recommend. If you prefer an audio version (as I do), he preached a two sermons at a conference around 2000 that are available at the Sovereign Grace Ministries website. These audio files were the basis for the book. In the back of the book, C.J. Mahaney gives a list of suggestions on how to fight pride and cultivate humility.

The call to seek joy came as a friend, Jonathan Rowe, noted how recent parenting struggles have been robbing me of joy. He was exactly right, and I hadn’t even noted it really. So, I picked up Piper’s book Desiring God, flipped to the back where he has an appendix titled “How then shall we fight for joy?” This also is a list of sorts, with numerous Scriptures given showing the basis for his suggestions.

So, one thing I noticed in comparing the two lists is some real overlap. Much of the guidance for cultivating humility has to do with seeing God in the Scripture, and that is also the chief means of finding joy in Christ. And it makes sense, doesn’t it, that as God humbles us, we have necessarily seen true greatness in the person and work of Christ, and in that seeing of the gospel we have great joy!

Here are a few things that stick out:
· (Mahaney) “Practice the spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible study, worship)
· (Mahaney) “Seize your commute time to memorize & meditate on Scripture”
· (Piper) “Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see God for who He is.”
· (Piper) “Meditate on the Word of God day and night.”
· (Piper) “Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself.”

And a quote found in Desiring God from George Muller of Bristol:

I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished… I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditate on it.

Finally, note that Piper’s whole book is expanding on why the following are true:
· The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever
· God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him

Contextualizing the Gospel

In his chapter titled "Contextualization: True and False," Lesslie Newbigin discusses the following:

• The need for contextualization


• Historic struggles with contextualization


• Culture is in missionaries and in the Bible


• The church re-contextualizes the gospel in new cultures


• When cultural demands are placed on newly-evangelized cultures by missionaries


• Evidence that the gospel is embraced by a newly evangelized people


• Overcontextualization (false contextualization)


• True contextualization

Here is one of my favorite portions, which is under the "True contextualization" heading as I have outlined the chapter above:

I am saying that authentic Christian thought and action begin not by attending to the aspirations of the people, not by answering the questions they are asking in their terms, not by offering solutions to the problems as the world sees them. It must begin and continue by attending to what God has done in the story of Israel and supremely in the story of Jesus Christ. It must continue by indwelling the story so that it is our story, the way we understand the real story. And then, and this is the vital point to attend with open hearts and minds to the real needs of the people in the way that Jesus attended to them, knowing that the real need is that which can only be satisfied by everything that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). As we share in the life, and worship of the Church, through fellowship, word, and sacrament, we indwell the story and from within that story we seek to be the voice and the hands of Jesus for our time and place. [Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p. 151].

He continues shortly thereafter on p.152, showing how we might fail.

I am thus again stressing the priority of the gospel as the message, embodied in an actual story of what God has in fact done, is doing, and will do. Christian theology is a form of rational discourse developed within the community which accepts the primacy of this story and seeks actively to live in the world in accordance with the story. It can fail by failing to understand and take seriously the world in which it is set so that the gospel is not heard but remains incomprehensible because the Church has sought security in its own past instead of risking its life in a deep involvement with the world. It can fail, on the other hand, by allowing the world to dictate the issues and the terms of the meeting. The result then is that the world is not challenged at its depth but rather absorbs and domesticates the gospel and uses it to sacralize its own purposes. ... True contextualization accords to the gospel its rightful primacy, its power to penetrate every culture and to speak within each culture, in its own speech and symbol, the word which is both No and Yes, both judgment and grace. And that happens when the word is not a disembodied word, but comes from a community which embodies the true story, God's story, in a style of life which communicates both the grace and the judgment. In order that it may do this, it must be both truly local and truly ecumenical. Truly local in that it embodies God's particular word of grace and judgment for that people. Truly ecumenical in being open to the witness of churches in all other places, and thus saved from absorption into the culture of that place and enabled to represent to that place the universality, the catholicity of God's purpose of grace and judgment for all humanity. [Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p. 152].

A culturally diverse community of believers serves to ensure we don't make God in our own image

I think you will agree with me that it is a real danger for us to start thinking we have the not only the truest understanding of who Jesus is, but also that our understanding is complete. Though we are justified and counted as righteous as Christ in the Father's eyes, we are fallible. So, how is our understanding of who Christ is to be protected from leading us off down the wrong path? I think God provides at least three graces to keep us (or move us back) on the right path: 1) the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Scripture; 2) people of long past cultures speak to us through their writings; and 3) people of contemporary cultures for community with us, so that we and they alike can be mutually edified in our pursuit of faithful living.

It is this third means that Lesslie Newbigin addresses as follows:

The way in which any Christian perceives God's revelation in Christ and in the whole biblical story will be shaped tby the culture through which that individual was formed. It is a simple fact that Jesus has been and is portrayed in an amazing variety of portraits from the Byzantine Pantocrator through the medieval crucifix and the Jesus of the sacred heart to the blue-eyed blond of American protestantism and the Che Guevara freedom fighter of liberation theology. For some writers it seems obvious that Jesus can be portrayed in any guise that is (as they would say) "meaningful" for them and their contemporaries. But "Jesus" is not a name to which we can attach any character we like to imagine. Jesus is the name of a man of whom we have information in the books of New Testament interpreted (as they must be) in the light of the books which were Jesus' own scriptures. The Jesus of whom the New Testament writers bear witness is not an inaccessible figure. Our varying perceptions of him - and of course they will vary because we are culturally different people - have to be checked in some way that all our claims to perceive reality have to be checked. we have to share them with others who perceive Jesus with the different lenses furnished by their different cultures. [Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, pg. 192-193].

So, a culturally diverse community of believers serves to ensure we don't make God in our own image.

How diverse is your community? Mine isn't great, but I will say that it is getting more diverse. God's mission is aimed at a VERY diverse world, and as we become more missional, our community is likely to become more diverse. Lord, help us be a part of transforming everything within our reach - ourselves, our church, our CITY, and the WORLD!

Cultural / Societal Transformation by the Gospel - Newbigin

From Lesslie Newbigin's book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society on pgs. 232-233.

If the gospel is to challenge the public life of our society, if Christians are to occupy the "high ground" which they vacated in the noontime of "modernity," it will not be by forming a Christian political party, or by aggressive propaganda campaigns. Once again it has to be said that there can be no going back to the "Constantinian" era. It will only be by movements that begin with the local congreation in which the reality of the new creation is present, known, and experienced, and from which men an women will go into every sector of public life to claim it for Christ, to unmask the illusions which have remained hidden and to expose all areas of public life to the illumination of the gospel. But that will only happen as and when local congregations renounce an introverted concern for their own life and recognize that they exist for the sake of those who are not members, as sign, instrument, and foretaste of God's redeeming grace for the whole life of society.

My Belly-Button Window

If you're like me, you probably never think much about your belly-button... until this week.

The Bible shows us in Romans 5 that we are born under the curse of sin, passed down to every person in every generation since Adam. We don't choose to be born under this curse, it just is what it is, because God designed the universe in such a way that the sin of parents would be passed on to their children. The curse means that we will surely be dead spiritually ("for in the day that you eat [the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil], you will surely die"). Adams sin made us all sinners. We have no choice in the matter - WE ARE BORN DEAD.

Until recently, I had never thought of belly-buttons as a scar. But, this shows us a very important thing: being human means we are certainly going to be scarred. We must have oxygen to live in the womb, and the only way for us to get this is via the umbilical cord. And the umbilical cord does us no good once we are born - it must be cut, clamped off, and fall off. And that means there will have to be a scar.

This illustrates original sin for us: we are scarred before we even know who our parents are. And we are destined to be scarred be the very fact that we are human.

NEVERTHELESS!!!

"Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s gdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous." (Ro 5:18-19, ESV)

All the healing we need for our scars, to redeem us out of the curse and bring us the greatest happiness we could ever have has been accomplished through the one man's righteousness. We have perfect righteousness gifted to us simply by faith in that one man - Jesus.

I never thought my belly-button would be my teacher...

Gospel Parenting - Questions from an almost Four year old

I read the creation account in The Jesus Storybook Bible (Sally Lloyd-Jones) last night with Elijah. The boy had his thinking cap on again.

Me: "Before God made anything, there wasn't anything except God, and He had a plan to send Jesus."
Elijah: “Dad, who made God?”
Me: “Nobody bubba, God has always existed.”

Later on after the creation of the animals, leading up to Adam and Eve:
Elijah: “Daddy, why did God make Adam first, not Eve?”
Me: “I think God wanted to establish an order bubba, that men would be leaders [in the family].”

And I’m not sure where this last one came from…
Elijah: “Why did God make Satan?”
Me: “Well,… because God wanted to show his wrath against evil and sin I think.”

I didn’t expect to have to think that hard that late in the day!

Immensity and Omnipresence vs. Pantheism and Panantheism

Since the Bible teaches that God is omnipresent, are we to then take a pantheistic view of God, or a panantheistic view of God?

To frame this post, let’s start with some definitions. In his book Systematic Theology, Louis Berkhof defines immensity as follows: "That perfection of the Divine Being by which He transcends all spatial limitations and yet is present in every point of space with His whole Being. It has a negative and a positive side, denying all limitations of space to the Divine Being, and asserting that God is above space and fills every part of it with His whole Being. The last words are added in order to ward off the idea that God is diffused through space, so that one part of His Being is present in one place, and another part some other place." [p.60-61].

He goes on to say that omnipresence and immensity can be regarded as synonyms, but that whereas immensity emphasizes God's transcendence, omnipresence emphasizes His immanence ("denotes that He nevertheless fills every part of space with His entire Being" [p.61]).

Pantheism denies the transcendence of God, saying that the essence of the universe is the very being of God [p.61]. Panantheism is defined at wiki.answers.com as follows:

It is the belief that God's physical body is the universe and everything in it,
and that God also transcends this universe. Existence is a part of God, but God
is larger than existence. It is similar but different to pantheism, which says
that the universe IS God in totality. It is also a belief in a genderless God,
and God as the creator.

Now for the analysis. Though there are some common elements, God’s immanence/omnipresence should not be confused with pantheism or panantheism. Immensity and omnipresence hold that God is both transcendent and present in creation at every point with His whole Being. Pantheism holds that all of creation is all of God, and thus God is “spread out” throughout the universe as matter is spread out. Pantheism says that there is no more to God than the universe, so He does not transcend the universe. Omnipresence does not conflict with the transcendence of God; that is, omnipresence holds that God is not bound by space and time. Solomon, after building the temple of the LORD, said the following in 1 King 8:27:

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven
cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”

Pantheism is thus forced to say that God is always becoming, always changing as the creation takes on chang. However, in the Bible, God reveals Himself as never changing (Exodus 3:14; Hebrews 1:11,12; James 1:17).

So, what about panantheism? Those who believe in panantheism will at least have the transcendent attribute of God. However, they throw in the belief that the universe is God’s body. This cannot be reconciled with the Bible, for it clearly states in the second commandment that the Israelites were not to make any carved images of Him. If the image they made was (part of) Him, there would be no reason for God to make such a demand. Similarly, God would not have opposed those who “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles” (Romans 1:23).

This is not to mention the fact that the Bible never speaks of God having the universe as His body. The Bible is the supreme revelation God has given us about Himself. Yes, the creation does tell us something of God, of His invisible attributes (eternal power and divine nature) can be seen in what has been created, but the problem is that we cannot rightly understand what it is telling us because of the sin nature in us. So, this means that we are utterly reliant upon the revelation God gives us of Himself in the Scripture. So, since the Scripture never says anything about God having the universe as His body, such a view has no authoritative basis.

On Prayer and the Sovereignty of God

I find myself in the midst of a crisis which calls for MUCH prayer. It reminds me of events not too long ago when we were pleading to God for the lives of our boys on three different occasions. In all three of those situations, we were powerless to do anything, and God was all we needed and could ask for.

So, this is a similar situation for some friends of ours - I know what they are feeling right now - desperation for God to do a good work and thereby glorifying Himself. There are a number of people praying for them. Why? Because we all believe that God listens to the prayers of His saints and may act upon them.

Does this sound strange for the Almighty Sovereign God to act upon the prayers of His saints? It is not. Do not forget, Greg Wood, that God could have ordained your prayers to be that which God would act upon, thus bringing about His good plan. God ordains the end and the means to get to that end. Do not forget that your prayers show your dependency upon God. Do not forget that prayer is great blessing, the blessing of communion with your joyful heavenly Father. God has not put the universe in motion, given natural laws, stepped back, and said "Good luck!" No, He is involved in every aspect of the creation, but especially that of His moral creatures. We are not alone, we are not hopeless.

This truth of the Sovereignty of God gives me faith in Him, reverence for Him, and love for Him - and I hope that it does for you too. He gets the credit for every good in this world, and I can know that everything is done for the good of His saints (Rom. 8:28). Nothing is meaningless. Further, when God ordains a prayer as His means of acting - that prayer will be effective and nothing can stop Him.

Now come Lord Jesus, strengthen your children and their little child. Let your glory be seen and loved. Let your name be exalted. Defeat the RSV. To you, the only wise God, be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen!

Is Church Membership Biblical? Part 1

A couple of Sundays ago, the band came over to our house for lunch after the morning service. The topic of church membership came up in conversation. We asked the question, "What is church membership?" A great conversation followed, which showed that people have real concerns about "membership" and what that might communicate to people.

Here I would like to ask the question, "When the Bible speaks of the church, does it ever put forward anything that resembles church membership?" Or restated: "Does God guide His flock in ways that make local church membership a useful means of grace?"

Observation #1
Our church is moving forward in establishing/growing its leadership. We will have our second elder soon, and I am sure there are more to follow. One of the charges given to elders is that they are to pay careful attention to themselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers, and to care for the church of God (Acts 20:28). So, it seems that a reasonable question for an elder is, "Who is the flock for which I am an overseer?" Obviosly, the elders in Ephesus were expected to understand Paul when he made this statement, and Paul spoke of a particular duty to protect some group of people called a "flock." But, how are these people identified?

So, my observation here is this: The elders are to guard a certain set of people, and by having those people make a commitment to that particular church family, agreeing to come under that elder leadership, this role is fulfilled. You can call that church membership if you want to, but what is needed is knowledge of the flock that is to be guarded. Note that this doesn't give us any indication as to how formal this was (written versus verbal).

Would elders be responsible for everyone who ever darkened the door of one of the church's gatherings? I cannot imagine the answer being yes. Wouldn't they be responsible though for those who wanted their godly shepherding? But you may say, "there was just 'the church' in those days, each city with a set of believers, and so the elders were responsible for all of them. But, would elders in our day be responsible for all of the believers in their city, though they may never come to the elders' particular gathering of believers? I think it is reasonable to say "no." So this seems to indicate that people need to commit to being members of one another, in the sense that we have members of our physical body. People need to come under the leadership of the elders, and entrust to them the right to hold them spiritually accountable.

More reasons for us to be committed to a local church are to come...

Who is at the Center of God's Universe?

Premise 1: Righteousness is defined as esteeming (through emotions, thoughts, and actions) that which is infinitely worthy of being esteemed.

Premise 2: God is righteous.

Conclusion: God's righteousness means that He esteems Himself most highly in the universe. In other words, God is the center of His own universe. He is the most God-centered being there is, and there is no unrighteousness (e.g. selfishness) in His doing so.

Credits: John Piper gave this definition of righteousness in a sermon on Romans 9. I am sure that Jonathan Edwards said or influenced the conclusion.

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 5

Here's the next quote I'd like to share that stood out as having great applicability for me...



"The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel." - John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.47.



The point here is that our goal in embracing the gospel is not relief from the pain of this world, or to obtain a new body that won't be blind, or to live in harmony with creation, or to reach our full potential as humans, or to avoid hell. All that is secondary at best to being in the presence and enjoying the presence of God in the fullest sense possible.

There are implications for all of us as we interact with those outside of the church as well. When we proclaim the gospel, we must not reduce it to a tool that will give people something trivial they want. We must see deeper into the hearts of unbelievers - below the surface. Their (and our) longings for most things are often just symptoms of a deeper need, and that is what we must help them see. All of our longings and desires are fulfilled ultimately in having communion with Christ. We must help ourselves and outsiders to see that Jesus iswho/what will bring meaning to our life as will exist to glorify the greatness of His Being.

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 4

In Chapter 2 of "God is the Gospel," John Piper seeks to lay out the biblical scope of what the gospel is. He shows where the following are mentioned as useful in getting a biblical definition of the gospel:

• There is a living God (Acts 14:15)



• The arrival of God's imperial authority (Mark 1:14, Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15)



• Jesus: a savior who is Christ the Lord (Acts 8:12, Romans 1:1-3, Luke 2:10-11)



• Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures (Mark 10:45, Jeremiah 31:34, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3)



• Jesus risen from the dead as preached in my gospel (1 Cor. 15:1, 3-4, 17, 2 Tim 2:8)



• The gospel is not good news without the promise of the Spirit (Luke 3:16,18,



• The promise of salvation for all who believe (Eph 1:13, Rom 1:16)



• What the cross purchased makes the cross good news (Mark 4:23, Luke 4:18)



• The good news of peace with God and each other (Acts 10:36, Ephesians 2:14-18)



• The good news promises eternal life (2 Tim 1:10)



• "In you shall all the nations be blessed" (Gal. 3:8, 16, Eph 3:6



• "The gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24, Eph 1:4, 6)



• Jesus' death makes God's gospel grace just (2 Cor 8:9, Heb 2:9, Rom 3:25-26)



• The grace of the gospel is the ground of every good promise (2 Tim 1:9, Eph 2:8, Acts 18:27, etc.)

-John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.26-36

The chapter then climaxes when Piper concludes the chapter with this:

"If you embrace everything that I have mentioned in this chapter about the facets of the gospel, but do it in a way that does not make the glory of God in Christ your supreme treasure, then you have not embraced the gospel. Until the gospel events of Good Friday and Easter and the gospel promises of justification and eternal life lead you to behold and embrace God himself as your highest joy, you have not embraced the gospel of God. You have embraced some of his gifts . You have rejoiced over some of his rewards. You have marveled at some of his miracles. But you have not yet been awakened to why the gifts, the rewards, and the miracles have come. They have come for one great reason: that you might behold forever the glory of God in Christ, and by beholding become the kind of person who delights in God above all things, and by delighting display his supreme beauty and worth with ever-increasing brightness and bliss forever."

- John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.37-38

One of the things I appreciate so much from any writer or speaker is when they put things in context of the big picture. And one of the things about Piper is that he talks so much about that big picture - that at the center is Jesus, displayed in His gospel, always glorious, always gracious.

Oh that my city, which is steeped in religion, with many people embracing the gifts of God without embracing God Himself - oh that we would see hearts truly transformed by them beholding the true beauty of God in giving the ultimate gift to us - Himself! God, grant us this sight that we so desperately need! Open my eyes to see you more clearly and enable me to rightly treasure you. Amen!

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 3

At a time when I was asking what the relationship was between the gospel (the central message of the Bible) and the other doctrines I also love, I read this:

"Gospel doctrine matters becasue the good news is so full and rich and wonderful that it must be opened like a treasure chest and all its treasures brought out for the enjoyment of the world. Doctrine is the description of these treasures.

... The gospel is not mainly about being explained. Explanation is necessary, but it is not primary.A love letter must be intelligible, but grammar nad logic are not the point. Love is the point. The gospel is good news. Doctrine serves that. It serves the one whose feet are bruised (and beautiful!) from walking to the unreached places with news: "Come, listen to the news of God! Listen to what God has done! Listen! Understand! Bow! Believe!"

- John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.22

In the chapter titled "The Gospel - Proclamation and Explanation"

So, this explanation helps to reinforce a proper understanding of how we are to rightly interpret the Scripture. It is all about explaining the gospel. That is the true beauty of a teaching of the Scripture - it's explanation of the main message of the Bible. For instance, the beauty of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is seen when that doctrine shows how the Holy Spirit and His gifts serve the make the gospel seen by God's children in conversion, sanctification, and glorification. The true beauty of our ecclesiology is seen when the church is the redeemed bride of Christ - redeemed by his blood, by the GOSPEL. The gospel truly does make every doctrine beautiful. But if we go off on tangents with our doctrine, removing the centrality of the gospel it is meant to explain, we cause that doctrine to lose its life-giving source.

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 2

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—
is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the
friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and
all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties
you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no
human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with
heaven, if Christ were not there?

And the question for Christian leaders is: Do we preach and
teach and lead in such a way that people are prepared to hear that
question and answer with a resounding No?

- John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.15

Quotes from "God is the Gospel" by John Piper - Part 1

Have you ever had the experience where you thought you understood a thing until something happened that caused clarity to burst on the scene like never before? It's like you were sitting there trying to read by the dim light of the moon in the middle of the night and all of a sudden the sun is at full noon.

Well, that is the experience I've had with just about every John Piper book I've picked up, and God is the Gospel is no exception. I like the book so much, I'd like to post some quotes from it for your edification. The main thrust of the book will come out in the quotes, and the complete book is available to read for free online here and can be downloaded as a pdf. You can of course purchase a hardcopy there as well.

The gospel is the good news of our final and full enjoyment of the glory of God in the face of Christ. That this enjoyment had to be purchased for sinners at the cost of Christ’s life makes his glory shine all the more brightly. And that this enjoyment is a free and unmerited gift makes it shine more brightly still. But the price Jesus paid for the gift and the unmerited freedom of the gift are not the gift. The gift is Christ himself as the glorious image of God—seen and savored with everlasting joy. [John Piper, God is the Gospel, Crossway, 2005; p.14]

More to follow...

"Brands" of the Gospel?

Oohh... for those with weak stomachs - BEWARE!

I read an article on Joel Osteen and how his prosperity message is fairing in an economic downturn. Surprising really.

So, here is a brief excerpt, the part you may not want to read...

"... there is no denying that his message, and his marketing of that message, is getting out to the world while so many other pastors are preaching to empty pews. Osteen dismisses the notion that he has watered down the Scriptures to win over worshippers. “It’s who we are,” he says. “The accessibility of my message doesn’t bother me a bit. Look, we deal with people who are fighting cancer, fighting to save their marriages, dealing with the death of loved ones. I don’t think they need to be beaten down. And I think the success of the message in the marketplace is because we are optimistic, encouraging.” Phil Cooke, a longtime colleague and the author of Branding Faith, says, “Oprah has a brand, Nike has a brand, and Joel Osteen has a brand. Joel has made his brand the inspiration brand.”

Pardon me, but since when did we get to own the gospel of Jesus Christ and profit from our "brand?" "But didn't Paul call it his own gospel" you say. Let's see it in context:

Romans 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

So, in both occurances of "my gospel" (the closest thing I can find to a "brand" of the gospel), Paul mentions preaching. This is significant because what it shows us is that Paul is describing what he personally preached - the good news (gospel). Never is it used in such a way as to be distinct from other (true) gospels (as if there were any other gospel, Gal 1).

Further, Paul was in fact one of the first to carry the gospel message to the non-Jews. Ephesians 3 talks about how the good news was entrusted by God to Paul to take to the Gentiles - a fairly novel idea at the time. So in a sense, he did have something unique, but unique in who he delivered it to, not in content.

Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant [2] of Christ.

Why do some "Christians" feel the need to follow another gospel? Maybe they've never heard the true gospel - that Jesus emptied himself of all of His glory as God to take on humble human flesh, that He died a horrible death on the Cross to be a substitute in our place because of the idolatry we do, and that He is going to fully restore all things in this creation to a glorious state.

Or, maybe they just don't like that Gospel.

Your thoughts? Any Rev. Feel Good fans want to chime in?