Yes. Stole this from Joe Thorn's blog...
Pure Foolishness |
The Gospel is Foolishness to the World |
Noah preached for 100 years.
In the end, 8 people were saved.
All of the church members were his family.
Who hired this clearly irrelevant, non-charismatic, ineffective, pastor whose only claim to fame is having been a blue-collar, lay pastor?!?
Oh... yeah... the same guy who hired me.
Danny Hyde handles this well in his work Welcome to a Reformed Church.
Somehow life was easier before I became convinced of what my God was going to do through me. He has shown me what to do, given me the life & power to do it, and now He will do WITH, IN, and THROUGH me what He wills.
Mic. 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Ezek. 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
My friend, Ruling Elder, and godly example, Don Reed, had triple bypass surgery yesterday afternoon. He found out he needed it yesterday morning. Well, he really found out a week ago Wednesday on the treadmill: eight minutes of pain down both arms and feeling like he'd been shot in the chest with a cannonball.
He needed a new heart. And a physician to give it to him.
Don's story is like unto the work of the Holy Spirit in the gospel. He gives us signs, sometimes quite drastically, that we need a new heart. In the end, though, we need the great physician to give it to us. And, like Don was told, not asked, if he would like it, so, we, too, are told, "You will be receiving a new heart. You need it to live. And I want you to live." Done.
How deep the Father's love for us.!
Everyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, when he fully understands what is here meant, must delight in the contemplation of the high glory to which God the Father has exalted Him, who is all our salvation, and all our desire. – James R. Willson
Wednesday I'm lecturing (will be trying to create conversation) on the religious background of the 4 gospels. It is interesting, as we are using Craig Blomberg's "Jesus & the Gospels" text, how many ancient pagan religions, as described by Blomberg's sources, have taken over quadrants of Christianity. The most interesting to me was the mystery religions... having an erie similarity to modern secret societies... and evangelical christianity... Have you ever heard something like this? "[Our goal is] not to learn something, but to experience something." That was the goal of these ancient mystery religions.
The danger here is in putting experience above biblically, spiritual data (i.e. truth). In other words, Scripture must drive our understanding of experience. It must interpret it, categorize it, and evaluate it. Have you ever heard a distinction between "head knowledge" and "heart knowledge." Anyone out there prefer to drone on in worship, not even considering what one is singing, until euphoria is reached? I've been guilty.
The fact is, pure religion, religion unstained by the world, involves outward action for the benefit of others. It utilizes knowledge to drive our experience... and our action. It's not just what I know (head), or what I experience/believe (heart), but it also works itself out of me, into the lives of others (hands). Head, heart, hands. Seems like that phrase is popping up more and more lately.
Head. Heart. Hands. Is your goal to simply experience something? Sign up for an ancient mystery religion. Is your goal to change the world, through understanding better what God tells us in His Word? Sign up for Pure Foolishness... the Gospel, that is.
Today I signed a contract to teach "Jesus" to upper level undergraduates at Sterling College. Frankly, a dream come true. I so loved my undergraduate experience, that I've dreamed for years to impact young people in the same way. As I step into this new roll, I'm trying to keep a few things in mind:
1. Scholarship and humility do not often go hand in hand... neither do youth and humility. I want to have a peaceful, yet challenging learning environment, not a firefight!
2. This opportunity IS ministry... note a resume builder.
3. This semester long class has eternal implications.
I want to do more than teach them Jesus. I want to give them Jesus. May his name be praised!
Q. What is personal covenanting? A. It is the distinct exercise of a person in giving himself to the Lord as his God in Christ, and engaging to. walk in his ways, upon the ground of the free promise of the covenant of grace, while he is pouring out his heart in prayer, having set apart some time expressly for that purpose. (A CATECHISM, SETTING FORTH THE PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC COVENANTING. BY John Anderson D. D.)
In discussing Wesley & Whitefield, along with Edwards and the Great Awakening today at our Tapestry of Grace Co-op, I was asked to share some pastoral/biblical counsel on manifestations of the Spirit in connection with conversion along with what the ongoing work of the Spirit looks like. I couldn't resist... had to take these young people to RPT 2.8:
> 8. The special work of the Holy Spirit is to apply to the elect the redeem- ing benefits of Christ’s atonement. The outward and ordinary means through which He communicates the knowledge of redemption is the written Word, in which is infallibly recorded the will of God for man’s salvation. He prepares for the reception of the Word and accompanies it with His persuasive power. He regenerates the elect by His grace, convicts them of sin, moves them to repentance and persuades and enables them to embrace Christ through faith. In re- generation He works secretly, super- naturally and effectually. This work is in itself so distinct and necessary, that without it, no evidence of the truth of the Gospel, no power of argument, no persuasion of love or of terror, no human eloquence, no combination of the most favorable circumstances, can be effectual in producing salvation. John 3:1-8; Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 12:3; 2 Pet. 1:21; 2 Sam. 23:2; John 7:39; John 16: 13; Titus 3:5; Ezek. 36:27; 1 John 4:2; Gal. 4:6; 2 Thess. 2:13.
Ah... beauty. You can check out the entire harmony of the WCF and the RPT here: www.reformedpresbyterian.org
Christian
Husband to E.
Father to E, J, E, J, & E.
Pastor to Sterling RPC.
