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by on 6.6.08

ye must be born again

I am not going to link to outside commentaries on this one, though references abound, particularly in some quarters. My subject is the negative rap placed on ‘revivalism’ and ‘decisionism’ by some. And of course, I’d like to take a contrarian position.

First, let me acknowledge that I oppose the “I prayed a prayer” approach to assurance. A great deal of damage has been done by giving people the misconception that if they say the right words to God, they will magically be born again.

Salvation isn’t a matter of getting the words right in your prayer!

Salvation isn’t a matter of getting the words right in your prayer! It isn’t a matter of crying the appropriate number of tears, walking an aisle, being baptized, or any other such matter of external activity.

Salvation is a matter of living faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Now, is salvation a one-time decision, or not? What does it mean to be born again? And is it right for Christian ministers to call for a decision for Christ?

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Filed Under: Pastoral Theology, Preaching, Revival, Spiritual Life
by on 6.6.08

the importance of the Old Testament

My brother returned from a family vacation to Italy and the British Isles with a book for me. In exchange, I took care of his alleged dog. The book made it worth it!

The book he brought home for me is Adolph Saphir’s Christ & The Scriptures. In the first chapter, I find this eloquent quote:

From the Jewish Scriptures we must learn what is meant by his being the Son of David and the Son of Abraham; what the words ‘Son of Man’ imply, and the word ‘Anointed,’ ‘Messiah,’of whom Moses and the prophets spake. For the history of Jesus does not begin with his birth in Bethlehem. The first verse of Matthew sums up the Old Testament history; nor can the sequel of the Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse be understood without it. His goings forth are from of old. He who understands not the election of Abram, the exodus of Israel, the Angel of Jehovah, the types of the Tabernacle, the High Priest, and the Sacrifice, the meaning of the shepherd-king, the son of Jesse, and of the sure mercies of David, must find insuperable difficulties in the life of Christ. All attempts to understand Jesus Christ, separate from the Old Testament, are most unphilosophical, and can tend to no satisfactory result. For Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of Moses and the prophets. He is not the Christ of history, but of a special history – the divine history of Israel. True, He is the Light of the World, He is the Desire of all Nations, He is the Centre and Life of Humanity; but He is all this because He is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, for salvation is of the Jews. The Gospel narrative is like a high table land, but we cannot be spared the ascent from Genesis to Malachi.

How much value do you put on the Old Testament? If you are a preacher, how much of the Old Testament have you taught?

I would encourage you to make understanding the Old Testament with its promises, figures, and prophecies a matter of deepest concern. As Saphir says, ‘All attempts to understand Jesus Christ, separate from the Old Testament, are most unphilosophical, and can tend to no satisfactory result.’

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Filed Under: Quotables
by on 6.1.08

6.1.08 gbcvic sermons

Here is another round of messages from our pulpit. It is a great joy to be able to teach and preach God’s word. We had a young lady visit today for the first time, we are hopeful she will return. She actually stayed for the whole day. Several of our younger folks were able to spend a little time visiting with her which is a help, I am sure.

Here are the summaries:

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The Suppression of Natural Religion (Rm 1.19-20)

As we continue in Romans, we discuss the almost pathological effort of men to suppress the truth about God plainly seen everywhere around us. In our city, we have a beautiful and world-famous garden, the Butchart Gardens. When you look at the gardens there, you see on display evidence of a master gardener. But what do you see when you look at a rose, for instance? Evidence of someone far greater than any master gardener – you see the wisdom, intelligence, power, creativity, and transcendance of God. And you are without any excuse before Him.

The Organization of Angels (1)

In which we begin a consideration of the number and rank of angels. We caution against reading too much into the references about angel hierarchy, but are pulling out a few threads of the Biblical tapestry to see what we can know from the Bible about God’s order among the angels.

The Priest’s Part (2) (Lev 7.11-36)

We continue in Leviticus for our monthly communion service. Our passage today is a continuation of the repetition of the five main sacrifices (Lev 6-7) where Moses emphasizes particular matters of concern to the priests. In this message, we make several applications to our own lives and worship, but close with a comparison of the fellowship between priest and people in the ‘peace’ or ‘fellowship’ offering and the fellowship between saint and Saviour in our communion service. What a precious blessing our fellowship with Christ is!

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Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
by on 6.1.08

so if they’re ‘talks’ what does a sermon sound like

Have you noticed the mini-trend to call sermons ‘talks’? I am noticing this within a certain segment of Christianity, seemingly conservative. Isn’t the term a little disconcerting?

Does it matter?

It seems to me that it does, but then…

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Filed Under: Preaching
by on 5.27.08

interesting…

The Leading Fundamentalist Blog … is still behind the times? We are now close to 48 hours from the first notice of the Dever-Minnick interview and still nothing. Only three hits come up in Google with the terms “Dever Minnick” and all of them are old news. So are they really “number one”?

Just wondering

UPDATE: I guess there is one link. Greg Linscott posted a forum note on it. Zero discussion so far. I realize that it was Memorial Day yesterday, but it is interesting that there has been no commentary. Perhaps the leading fundamentalist blog is not what it once was… or perhaps the blogosphere itself is old news. Have the yfs moved on?

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Filed Under: Blogosphere, General Interest
by on 5.25.08

when you wish more was said…

Frank Sansone alerts us that the 9Marks interview with Mark Minnick by Mark Dever is now available. I stayed up late to listen to it because, as you know, this is my main topic.

Frank heard about it from Andy Naselli and I see that Greg Linscott is linking to it as well over at his site. I expect this to immediately be the topic du jour in the fundamentalist blogosphere.

Why would that be? Because as Minnick points out very well in the interview: “Associations matter.”

This interview matters because associations matter. I think I understand what Pastor Minnick is trying to do in having communication with Pastor Dever, but even this low-level public association matters (though it is certainly not the same thing as sitting on a platform in a cooperative effort or appearing on the platform of Capital Hill BC, for example).

This interview, I predict will be the buzz this next week because associations matter.

But, oh, how I wish a little more had been said!

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Filed Under: Dever, Fundamentalism, Issues, Minnick, New Evangelicalism, Personalities, Separation
by on 5.25.08

gbcvic sermons – 5.25.08

God is Against Sin (Rm 1.18)

As we begin to look into detail at Paul’s exposition of man’s problem we come to his proposition, Rm 1.18. I sum it up in our title, ‘God is Against Sin’. God is completely against sin, God is against all sin, God is against sin whether sinners accept it or not. The significance of this truth is that God is against sin, but not sinners. Since man’s condition is so desperate, only righteousness from God can solve it.

The Nature of Angels (2)

In which we conclude our discussion of the nature of angels as spiritual beings, immortal, higher than men [but lower than God], and originally holy.

Rory Johnson: Willing to follow His Will (Ac 16)

My son Rory returned home from after his sophomore year at BJU. He is training for the ministry so we often give him preaching opportunities when he is home. This summer he will be leading a teen/college age Sunday School class for us.

In preparation for his class surveying the book of Philippians, Rory prepared a message on Acts 16, the record of the founding of the Philippian church. The theme of the message is submission to the Lord’s will, as seen in Paul’s life in this chapter.

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Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
by on 5.23.08

so what to make of all this?

Today’s church is a mix of all kinds of groups, some of them seemingly far removed from traditional norms. Many of the ‘contemporary’ and ’emerging’ groups look at more traditional churches and say things like “If the 50s ever come back, your church is ready.” (That would be which fruit of the Spirit?)

Yesterday, an event was held in Reston, VA called ‘the Whiteboard Sessions‘. Here is the description of the event:

The Whiteboard Sessions is about the power of an idea in its raw, most conceptual form. One simple idea could forever change your life and ministry.  We’ve invited 8 of the most inspiring leaders in ministry to share one compelling idea in just 30 minutes each. They come from different ministry circles and use a variety of methods, but they all have one thing in common: a love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a desire to see lost people reached. You will be stretched by their thinking and challenged by their insights. The very idea you resist could be the key to God’s future for you. Who knows, you might even find confirmation for the dream God’s already revealed to you. But whatever the reaction, one thing is certain: you will never be the same.

The speakers were described by some of those involved as coming from the Reformed tradition, the Contemporary Church world, or from the Emerging Church – the ‘right wing’ of the Emerging church, that is (i.e., the allegedly ‘good’ side).

Here are the speakers, most of whom I do not know:

  • John Burke, Gateway Community Church, Austin, TX
  • Darrin Patrick, the Journey, St Lous, MO (Vice President of Acts 29 Church Planting Network – Mark Driscoll’s group)
  • Vince Antonucci, Forefront Church, Virginia Beach, VA
  • Mark Batterson, National Community Church, Washington, DC
  • Tim Stevens, Granger Community Church
  • Perry Noble, NewSpring Church, Anderson, SC
  • Ed Stetzer, Director of Lifeway Research and Lifeway’s Missiologist in Residence.
  • Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC

The group is very … eclectic … shall we say?

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Filed Under: Dever, Issues, Personalities, Separation
by on 5.22.08

who is your God?

To address this question today, I’d like to link to two quite widely divergent internet resources. One is a local paper from the interior of BC and the other is my online friend, Scott Aniol.

First, consider this lifestyles article from the lakecountrycalendar.com, Keepers of the sacred. The article discusses the decline in Canadian church attendance, among other things. The article comes to no real conclusion, certainly to no conclusion satisfying to me, but it does contain a telling observation concerning the focus of affection in Canadian hearts:

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Filed Under: Charismatism, Issues, Music, Separation, Worship
by on 5.21.08

heard everything?

One of my Canadian news aggregator sites led me to this story:

“European Court agrees to hear chimp’s plea for human rights“

I am not sure what is more bizarre… the fact that someone is actually attempting to make a case like this or the fact that the European Court of Human Rights has agreed to take the case.

The case involves a chimp in an animal sanctuary facing bankruptcy. A young woman wants to become his legal guardian to care for him if the sanctuary is forced to shut down. In order to be a ‘guardian’, the chimp has to be a person, hence this case.

Some of this young woman’s rationale:

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Filed Under: Environmentalism, Fun and games, General Interest, Issues, Politics
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