Deutero Q

One of the dangers of our busy age is that we can easily become too preoccupied with life to think much about God. On the other hand, when we do think about God there is always the temptation to disregard His self-revelation in Scripture and fashion a god of our own making, a deity who often looks and acts suspiciously like ourselves.

In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin said there exists in all persons an innate awareness of God, a "seed of religion." This sensus divinitatis leads to either piety or idolatry. Calvin defined piety as "that reverence for God which the knowledge of his benefits induces." As for idolatry, Calvin likened the human mind to a labyrinth, believing that "just as waters boil up from a vast, full spring, so does an immense crowd of gods flow forth from the human mind, while each one, in wandering about with too much license, wrongly invents this or that about God himself."

In a time when "an immense crowd of gods" flow from human minds (both within the church and without), how critically important it is, when thinking about God, to be informed by His self-revelation in Scripture.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

I have been camping out in John 15 lately, reflecting on the words of Jesus to remain in Him (John 15:5). Similarly, I am reminded of the apostle Paul's frequent use of the phrase "in Christ" to describe the Christian's union with the Lord. What a wonderful truth! We are in Christ and Christ is in us. How important it is that we nurture our relationship with Him. He has already done His part. Our part is to abide and grow in intimacy with our Lord. Even as I say that, I think of a statement from Oswald Sanders. In one his books, he makes the statement that Christians are, at any given moment, as close to the Lord as they choose to be. What a powerful statement. And what a privilege and responsibility we have to abide in the Lord Jesus and to draw our life from Him.

• First: 'The Mother of God'--otherwise the Virgin Mary
• Second: The Deity
• Third: Peter
• Fourth: Some twelve or fifteen canonized popes and martyrs
• Fifth: Jesus Christ the Saviour (but always as an infant in arms)"

I don't know about Rome (I've never been there), but I do know a little about life on the Texas/Mexico border. Down here, Mary receives a lot of attention. I mean a whole lot of attention. Purported Marian apparitions are commonplace. But even more commonplace is the amount of prominence and reverence she is given ... often even more than Her Son. And that is downright unbiblical and just plain wrong.

#6. Little God Theology--Though not as prevalent today, there was a belief going around a while back in some Pentecostal and charismatic circles that went something like this: just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods. This dumb and heretical doctrine is clearly more indebted to aberrant Mormon theology than to the Bible. Where the Bible is cited, "little god" adherents totally mishandle Psalm 82:6 and other similar verses. We do well to keep in mind Isaiah 46:9: "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."

#5. King James Onlyism--The belief that the King James Version of the Bible (1611) is the only true Bible. (Did someone actually once say, "If the King James Version was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me"?!) While personally fond of the King James Version, I also recognize that we do not live in 17th-century England. Indeed, many 17th-century English words are now archaic or obsolete. Furthermore, Bible translators have available today many manuscripts that earlier translators did not have. We can be thankful for the many excellent and faithful translations available to us in our time. The New International Version (NIV) and the New American Standard Bible (NASB) are two that come to mind. Would that we actually read our Bibles--whether KJV, NIV, NASB, etc!

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will...."

In our worship service this morning, there was an occasion for people to vocalize their thanksgivings to the Lord. As I thought about the many things for which I am thankful (God's grace, my family, church, etc.), it occurred to me to thank God for the dangerously exciting times in which I/we live. Think about it: none of us had any choice in determining who our parents would be or even where or when we would be born. It was God's will that we would live at this time in history (Acts 17:26). Moreover, Ephesians 1:11 says God works out everything in conformity to the purpose of His will. Everything means everything! God has a plan for this world and He will carry it out.

As I write these things, I can't help but wonder if too many of us (myself included) have been looking at God through the wrong end of the telescope for far too long. Our thoughts about God have been too small. It is time to turn the telescope around and magnify God! He is a great, omnipotent God whose plans will come to pass because He is working out everything in conformity with the purpose ofHis will. And this great God (the only God, I would add) is exceedingly worthy of our praise and worship!

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being...."

What a glorious truth! And what a glorious Savior! Jesus Christ is God; indeed, He is God of God, Light of Light, and Very God of Very God, in the words of the great Nicene Creed. Let God's people trumpet the truth of Christ's deity ... even as we seek to know Christ ever more personally.

I have found myself dwelling on this verse lately. In an era of superficial, fad-driven Christianity, the ancient paths are looking better and better all the time.

"Cattle" -- by Berta Hart Nance

Other states were carved or born;
Texas grew from hide and horn.

Other states are long or wide;
Texas is a shaggy hide.

Dripping blood and crumpled hair,
Some gory giant flung it there,

Laid the head where valleys drain,
Stretched its rump along the plain.

Other soil is full of stones;
Texans plow up cattle bones.

Herds are buried on the trail,
Underneath the powdered shale,

Herds that stiffened like the snow,
Where the icy northers go.

Other states have built their halls,
Humming tunes along the walls;

Texans watched the mortar stirred,
While they kept the lowing herd.

Stamped on Texan wall and roof
Gleams the sharp and crescent hoof.

High above the hum and stir,
Jingle bridle-rein and spur.

Other states were made or born;
Texas grew from hide and horn.

Check out Phillip Johnson's July 16 article (see the link below) on the sorry state of evangelicalism. Ouch--truth hurts!

http://phillipjohnson.blogspot.com/

I have been preparing a Bible study on the topic of God's two wills and have benefited greatly from John Piper's work on this subject. (See the link at the end of this article.) On the one hand, there are places in Scripture that refer to the universal saving will of God. First Timothy 2:4, for example, speaks of God wanting all men to be saved.

On the other hand, Scripture also teaches the limited nature of God's saving will. The Bible describes Jesus as: justifying many rather than all (Isaiah 53:11); dying for His sheep (John 10:15); and dying for His church (Ephesians 5:25). In this regard, consider the words of Reformed theologian Charles Hodge: "When mankind is divided into two classes, the Church and the world, the friends and the enemies of God, the sheep and the goats, whatever is affirmed distinctively of the one class is implicitly denied of the other.... Every assertion that Christ died for a people is a denial of the doctrine that He died equally for all men."

Theologians have used different terms to describe the two wills of God, including: decretive will and preceptive will; secret will and revealed will; sovereign will and moral will; efficient will and permissive will; etc.

Does the Bible contradict itself? In a word, no. The words of I. Howard Marshall, a New Testament scholar in the Arminian tradition, can help us here: "We must certainly distinguish between what God would like to see happen and what he actually does will to happen, and both of these things can be spoken of as God's will."

The Bible says in Ezekiel 18:23 that God does not delight in the death of the wicked. Conversely, we read in Deuteronomy 28:63 and 1 Samuel 2:25 that it was God's will to destroy and even put people to death.

To be sure, God is not schizophrenic and the Bible is not a book of contradictions. Rather, Scripture teaches that there are two wills of God. The death of Christ at the hands of sinful men gives further evidence of this: "This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross" (Acts 2:23). That Judas betrayed Jesus was clearly a morally evil act. And yet God used the evil deeds of Judas and others to fulfill the divine plan (Acts 4:27-28).

It seems to me that when we look at Scripture (and all of history, too) against the backdrop of divine sovereignty, much of what seems to be unclear comes into clearer focus. After all, the Bible testifies that God is working "...out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will" (Ephesians 1:11).

--Deutero Q

The John Piper article link: www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/doctrines_grace/2wills.html

Okay, this is sure to generate some discussion (and perhaps even elevate the blood pressure). I have decided to compile a top ten list of dumb (i.e., unbiblical) church doctrines. But I need your help! Send your list of dumb doctrines to the comments link below this paragraph. In a few days, I will post what I consider to be the top ten list. I plan to include dumb doctrines from across the denominational and non-denominational spectrum. No church tradition is exempt-including mine! Feel free to e-mail me at DeuteroQ@aol.com, or just click on the comment link below.

OTTAWA — The Rapture occurred March 31, 2005, at 9:43 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time and took both people on the planet whose theology was exactly correct. Dan Wilson of Ottawa, Canada, was snatched away while sleeping. "He spent years refining his eschatological scheme," says his wife. "Just last week he told me he had it all right, but I still disagreed with him on a minor point. I regret that now." Rejna Thanawalla of New Delhi, India, also experienced the Rapture, say friends. "She knew exactly what the books of Revelation and Daniel meant," they say. "Sadly, none of us listened to her." In a surprise, Tim LaHaye says he was "slightly wrong on the subject of the Beast," and was left behind. Other prophecy experts say they, too, botched minor points in their end times charts. "Looks like we'll have to stay and wait this out," said one disappointed pastor." (from www.Larknews.com)

When reading the Bible, it is important to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, remembering that God is the Author behind the human authors of Scripture. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is God-breathed (theopneustos). And in Second Peter 1:20-21 we read, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

It is also important to allow biblical texts to speak on their own terms, being careful not to impose our personal prejudices or theological biases. Coming to terms with the Bible as it is must be of primary importance in the area of interpretation. Furthermore, it is important to let Scripture interpret Scripture, particularly when dealing with difficult passages. We should interpret the difficult passages in light of the clearer passages and not vice versa, keeping in mind what the Bible says in its entirety. Like a mosaic, the Bible is best viewed and understood as a unified whole.

While keeping in mind that the Bible is the living Word of God that speaks to us today, we must also remember that books of the Bible were written to specific people. Understanding context is of great importance as we seek to discover what an author intended his original audience to understand.

For example, consider the oft-quoted verse, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). That verse is often cited as proof that God will meet needs in Christians' lives. And of course God certainly does meet our needs. But if we look at the surrounding context of the passage, we see that it has to do with Paul thanking the Philippians for their generosity. They gave generously to Paul in his time of need--and it is against this backdrop of giving that Paul said God would meet their needs. Perhaps we should examine our lives to see if we are a giving people the next time we quote that verse in a personal context!

Another example of quoting a verse out of context is the way Revelation 3:20 is often used evangelistically to call sinners to faith in Christ. Yet the words "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" were directed to the church at Laodicea. In this passage, Jesus was not calling unsaved sinners to faith, He was saying to the community of believers that He wanted them to let Him be part of their church life!

Once again, responsible interpretation of the Bible involves careful consideration of context. That is not to say that the Bible does not speak to our situations today--it very much does, for the Bible is living and active (Hebrews 4:12)--but that we must be careful about divorcing interpretation from context.

--Deutero Q

The July issue of Christianity Today has a great article about Pastor Jack Hayford of Church on the Way in Los Angeles. Hayford is a a man of integrity who embodies ardor and order, zeal and knowledge. I admire him greatly. Anyway, the article mentions Hayford's practice as a young pastor of praying for churches as he drove by them. Regardless of denomination, he would feel an overflow of love for the Body of Christ and felt prompted by the Lord to love and pray for churches in his city. What a great idea! We Christians may not agree with one another on every point, but we can certainly pray for each other. Imagine what might happen if pastors and church members began to regularly pray for and bless other churches in their city. I'm ready to follow Pastor Hayford's example. Will you commit to do the same?!

FRESNO — Step in, stoop and you'll see a scaled-down sanctuary with miniaturized pulpit and pews, a baptistery the size of a kitchen sink, little Bibles, small guitars, offering plates the size of doll's china — these accoutrements suit the only known Dwarf Church in America. The tiny complex, situated in a residential neighborhood, looks like an assembly of children's playhouses. Members say the church is necessary because standard churches tend to overlook dwarf believers.

"I've been stepped on, carried to the altar, passed over for prayer, even forced to play the boy Jesus in the Easter play," says Daniel, 38, who stands less than four feet tall. "And during worship time — forget it. I couldn't see anything." Others found their faith suffering because of the size differences, so they sojourn here for Sunday morning service. Many have found a life-changing community of similarly-sized believers. "I wouldn't go to church if it wasn't for this place," says Nicholas, a 47-inch-tall, biker-looking man who rides his miniature, and very speedy, Harley-Davidson motorcycle to church.

The slate of heroes reads a little different here. They draw inspiration from the Apostle Paul, whom they believe was a midget (see article). They are devoted to Francis Schaeffer's book No Little People. And hardly a sermon goes by without reference to Zaccheus, the "wee little man" in whom many modern dwarfs find the embodiment of their theology. "Like many of us, he was bitter to begin with," says the pastor one Sunday. "But he was not ashamed to climb that tree." "Amen," says the congregation. "And when that day was done, he stood taller than anyone there," the pastor says. The congregation applauds and whistles. After service, they step into the pint-sized fellowship hall for Dixie cups of juice and donut holes. There is laughter, shared stories and camaraderie. For once, they don't have to think about their abnormality. "In God's sight, everybody is the same size," says Daniel.

In one of his poems, the English poet William Blake described two readers of the Bible:

To move this into the sphere of biblical interpretation, how is it that two people can arrive at different understandings of the same scriptural passage? One answer is that we all bring presuppositions to bear on biblical interpretation. Consider baptism, for example. Why is it that Presbyterians baptize babies while Baptists do not?

What about the many different theories regarding the end times and return of Christ? Godly Christians from one tradition are convinced that Jesus Christ will return to the earth at the end of history, while equally godly Christians from another tradition believe that prior to His return Christ will first remove Christians from the earth (in an event called the rapture), whereupon there will follow seven literal years of worldwide tribulation. Could it be that we interpret Scripture through the lenses of our religious traditions and/or personal prejudices? Sure we do; we all do. Even those folks who don't admit to doing so!

In my own case, I think of the position I once held on the end times and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Early on in my Christian experience, I read books and listened to teachings from a particular theological orientation (dispensationalism). This colored my reading of Scripture (though I would not have said so at the time). I did not so much study the issue myself, but spent more time listening to the views of Christians from a particular point of view, studying their detailed timelines and charts.

These views on the endtimes (which I readily and uncritically accepted) affected the way I read and interpreted the Bible. I have since adopted a different eschatological hermeneutic (say that phrase three times fast!) and have come to see that presuppositions profoundly affect our interpretation of the Bible.

--Deutero Q

Magnificent Creatures

The words below are from The Imitation of Christ, the classic work by Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471).

"Of what use is it discourse learnedly on the Trinity, if you lack humility and therefore displease the Trinity?"

"I would far rather feel contrition than be able to define it."

"A humble countryman who serves God is more pleasing to Him than a conceited intellectual who knows the course of the stars, but neglects his own soul."

"Whatever trust you place in men rather than in Jesus is almost wholly wasted."

The Bible clearly reveals the love of God, as evident in the frequent refrain of Psalm 136: "His love endures forever." And of course the greatest example of love is seen in what God has done for humanity through Jesus Christ: the Father sent the Son into the world to suffer, bleed and die upon a cross as the atoning sacrifice for sinners. In the oft-quoted words of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

In some Christian settings, one hears very little about the love of God, hearing much instead about His wrath and judgment. Many people perceive of God as an angry Deity who sits in heaven with a scowl on His face and a hammer in His hand ready to angrily strike down sinners.

On the other hand, there are Christians who emphasize God's love and compassion while saying little or nothing about God's wrath against sin. How crucial it is to remember that "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16), while also keeping in mind that holiness--and not mere sentimentality--characterizes God's love. I find helpful these words of theologian Donald Bloesch:

"The love of God is generous, sacrificial, self-giving. It is the love that issues in forgiveness, but it is a costly forgiveness resulting in the death of God's own Son. It is also costly for the Christian, since it calls him to a life of discipleship under the cross. The love that comes from God accepts the sinner as he is, in his sin, but because it is also a holy love, it demands that the sinner change his ways."

God is love. What a wonderful declaration! God is holy. That, too, is a wonderful declaration! How important it is that we hold these two biblical truths in balance.

--Deutero Q

Let us also consider the colors of our flag: red, white and blue. Red stands for courage. I think of the courage of the men and women serving in our country's armed forces. Many of them are in harm's way at this moment. Let us pray for them and allow their courage to be an example to us. The white of our flag stands for purity. In the midst of much cultural decay, let us pray for moral and spiritual purity to characterize our nation. Blue stands for justice. Our Pledge of Allegiance concludes with the words, "with liberty and justice for all." May those be more than words. May they be ideals that we live out daily.

As we consider the colors of our flag, may we look beyond the flag to the One who is the Sovereign of nations: the Lord God Almighty. By no means do I want to wrap the Lord in the American flag, but as I look at our flag's colors, the color red reminds me of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. White reminds me of the way He cleanses from sin. Blue reminds me of the Lord's faithfulness. God is faithful to His Word and promises. He will forgive all who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

As we celebrate our nation's birthday, let us thank God for the land of the free and the home of the brave. And let us also thank and praise the Sovereign of nations, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wow, this book has really opened my eyes: The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, by Philip Jenkins. In a nutshell, Jenkins demonstrates that Christianity is "going South." Geneva, Rome, London, New York, etc., are giving way to Kinshasa, Buenos Aires, Manila, Addis Ababa, etc., as the centers of Christendom. In fact, by the year 2050 only about one in five of the world's Christians will be non-Hispanic Whites. Jenkins says, "Soon the phrase 'a White Christian' may sound like a curious oxymoron, as mildly surprising as 'a Swedish Buddhist.'"

The Christian world's center of gravity is clearly shifting to the Southern Hemisphere. A quotation by Philip Yancey (included in Jenkins' book) is quite revealing: "As I travel, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God 'moving' geographically from the Middle East, to Europe to North America to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where he's wanted."

Texas-sized catfish (646 pounds) recently caught in Thailand! 

One of the terms often used to refer to the Bible's uniqueness is "inspiration," a word meaning "to breathe into" and used by many Bible translations in 2 Timothy 3:16. A more accurate translation, however, is found in the New International Version's rendering of 2 Tim. 3:16, where we read, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...."

The term "God-breathed" comes from the Greek word theopneustos and refers not so much to a breathing into as it does to a breathing out by God. That is a difference very much worth noting! In other words, 2 Tim. 3:16 tells us that Scripture is the product of God's creative breath. The Bible scholar B.B. Warfield described it this way: "When Paul declares, then, that 'every scripture,' or 'all scripture' is the product of the Divine breath, 'is God breathed,' he asserts with as much energy as he could employ that Scripture is the product of a specifically Divine operation." To put it another way, the Author behind the Bible's human authors is God Himself.

On the other hand, God obviously used individual people to write the Bible. The biblical writers were not mechanical robots; rather, their distinct personalities clearly come through in their writings. That is why the prophetic writings of Isaiah and Ezekiel are very different from the letters of Peter the fisherman and Dr. Luke the physician. But of this we can be sure: God superintended the process of giving us Holy Scripture. He is the Author behind the human authors.

--Deutero Q

Here kitty, kitty, kitty.... 

One big cat! 

The 10ft Liger who's still growing...

He looks like something from a prehistoric age or a fantastic

creation from Hollywood. But Hercules is very much living flesh and blood -

as he proves every time he opens his gigantic mouth to roar. Part lion, part

tiger, he is not just a big cat but a huge one,standing 10ft tall on his

back legs. Called a liger, in reference to his crossbreed parentage, he is

the largest of all the cat species.

On a typical day he will devour 20lb of meat, usually beef or

chicken, and is capable of eating 100lb at a single setting. At just three

years old, Hercules already weighs half a ton

 

This one is from Abraham Kuyper, a great theologian and prime minister of the Netherlands during the early 20th century:


And from one of the sonnets of the great 17th-century poet and preacher John Donne:

One of my pet peeves as a mission-minded, micro-church (as opposed to mega-church) pastor is the question I often hear from fellow Christians: "How big is your church?" The question irks me because it reveals a worldly mindset that evaluates Kingdom matters by worldly standards.

Rather than, "How many of your members are involved in mission work?" or "How many of your church members are giving themselves away in service to Jesus and others?" we pastors too often hear ridiculous questions such as "How big is your church?" or "How many are you running?" The idea behind these questions is that bigger is better (a viewpoint that is scripturally suspect).

In this regard, I heard a preacher on television yesterday take to task the church in America for its preoccupation with numbers and "Madison Avenue" marketing techniques. He correctly pointed out that when Jesus evaluated seven churches in Asia Minor (see Revelation 2-3), He said nothing about numbers! Instead, the Lord was concerned about false teaching, lack of love, sexual immorality and spiritual lukewarmness.

Sadly, much of the American church shares none of the concern of Jesus, but is focused instead on glitz and glamour, personalities and numbers, gimmicks and fads. Surely the saying is true: the church in our time is a mile wide but only an inch deep.

I include below some more wonderful words of my favorite poet of late, John Donne (1572-1631).



The following words would make a great Christian epitaph. Hmm, I may use them someday!

I recently came across this observation by R.C. Sproul concerning the seeker sensitive phenomenon. "If worship were to be tailored for seekers," Sproul says, "it would be directed exclusively to believers, for no one except believers ever seeks God."

That is a great point. After all, Scripture declares that there is no one who seeks God (Romans 3:11). This of course raises the whole question of the effect of sin. Are human beings truly dead in sin or merely sick, with the ability to seek after God? The biblical diagnosis is clear: we are spiritually dead by nature (Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13). And of course only God can bring life from spiritual death.

Speaking of seeker sensitivity, yesterday I drove by a thriving seeker sensitive church in my city and noticed that their church sign had all the service times listed. But instead of using the word "worship," the sign referred to "celebration times." Although I certainly believe in the joyful and celebratory nature of worship, substituting the word "celebration" for "worship" did not sit right with me.

I guess what I find so troubling about the seeker sensitive movement (although I commend said movement's desire to reach people for Jesus Christ) is its cultural accommodation. To reach "seekers," many in the SSM seem to be adopting worldly methods. This brings to mind the unbiblical mantra of the World Council of Churches in the 1960s: "the world sets the agenda for the church." There seems to me to be a striking parallel between seeker sensitivity and much of mainline Protestantism on this point; both seem marked by an accommodation to prevailing culture.

How much better to do God's work God's way, not downplaying or ignoring the important biblical themes of sin, repentance, holiness, judgment, etc. And how much better to let God and His Word set the agenda for the church, rather than adjusting/accommodating to a sin-darkened world.

I defer to Sproul once again: "In our day we have witnessed the eclipse of the Gospel. That dark shadow that obscures the light of the Gospel is not limited to Rome or liberal Protestantism; it looms heavily with the Evangelical community."

See the following link for more information on the Seeker Sensitive Movement:

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/seeker.html

During a recent visit to Minnesota, I noticed a guy wearing a shirt that said PETA. Those letters usualy bring to mind People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. However, a closer look at the guy's shirt revealed these words underneath the PETA acronym: People Enjoy Tasty Animals. Too funny, especially considering some of PETA's nutty pronouncements (such as their call for a ban on sport fishing)!

While in Minnesota I also noticed a front page headline in one of the big newspapers there. It seems that Minnesota (the "land of ten thousand lakes") does not contain more lakes than any other state. Texas holds that honor. Surprise, surprise. In fact, Oklahoma and Florida have more lakes than Minnesota, according to a researcher at a Ohio university. It seems that a lake can be any body of water at least 100 feet across. Consequently, the researcher was counting all the stock tanks and ranch ponds that dot the Lone Star State. So Texas is now the land of ten thousand lakes? Uff da!

By the way, I came away from Minnesota very impressed with its natural beauty. Lots and lots of water and and lots and lots of trees. What a special part of the country.