Biblical Theology and the Sexuality Crisis

Western society is currently experiencing what can only be described as a moral revolution. Our society’s moral code and collective ethical evaluation on a particular issue has undergone not small adjustments but a complete reversal. That which was once condemned is now celebrated, and the refusal to celebrate is now condemned.

What makes the current moral and sexual revolution so different from previous moral revolutions is that it is taking place at an utterly unprecedented velocity. Previous generations experienced moral revolutions over decades, even centuries. This current revolution is happening at warp speed.

As the church responds to this revolution, we must remember that current debates on sexuality present to the church a crisis that is irreducibly and inescapably theological. This crisis is tantamount to the type of theological crisis that Gnosticism presented to the early church or that Pelagianism presented to the church in the time of Augustine. In other words, the crisis of sexuality challenges the church’s understanding of the gospel, sin, salvation, and sanctification. Advocates of the new sexuality demand a complete rewriting of Scripture’s metanarrative, a complete reordering of theology, and a fundamental change to how we think about the church’s ministry.   Continue at 9Marks

What Does It Mean to Know Nothing except Christ and Him Crucified?

One of the most important subdivisions of theology is Christology, which is the study of the person and work of Christ. Within that field of study, when we want to get at the aspect that is most crucial, the aspect that we may call the “crux” of the matter of Jesus’ person and work, we go immediately to the cross. The words crucial and crux both have their root in the Latin word for “cross,” crux, and they have come into the English language with their current meanings because the concept of the cross is at the very center and core of biblical Christianity. In a very real sense, the cross crystallizes the essence of the ministry of Jesus.

This was the view of the apostle Paul. In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul made an astonishing statement about the importance of the cross to the entirety of the Christian faith: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2). Paul was a man who had the equivalent of two Ph.D.s in theology by the time he was 21 years of age, a man who wrote with great insight on the whole scope of theology. Nevertheless, he said that the focal point of his teaching, preaching, and ministry among the Corinthians was simply “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.    Continue at R. C. Sproul

The Prosperity Gospel and Biblical Theology

Psalm 23 is the most loved passage in the Bible and therefore perhaps the most cherished piece of writing of all time. Its promises and encouragements are so clear that it hardly needs interpretation. At most, Bible teachers have had to remind believers that the shepherd Lord spoken of by the psalm is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus laid down his life for his sheep and makes it possible for the psalm’s promises to be fulfilled.

However, in the hands of those who teach the Bible for selfish gain, the opening verse promises that no believer should ever want for anything at all: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

On their interpretation, believers have access to the treasures of God, freeing them to have whatever they want. So name it and claim it!

TO GET, GIVE…ESPECIALLY TO THE TEACHER

But these teachers go further. Again misinterpreting Scripture, they explain that this promised abundance requires certain conditions to be realized. God’s abundant sharing is based on the person’s own generous giving, usually to the teacher! And here Scripture after Scripture is used:

Give generously to him [the poor in the land] and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. (Deut. 15:10)

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Prov. 3:9-10)   Continue at

Amusing Our Youth to Spiritual Death?

I've spent considerable time thinking about the church's responsibility to teenagers in the last couple of years. As I look over the youth ministry landscape, the view is disheartening: a myriad of events meant to entertain rather than educate. Ravi Zacharias, speaking of youth in Tabletalk, said it well, "Building their faith is not a prime strength in our churches today. We seem to think that we need to entertain them into the church. But what you win them with is often what you win them to."   

Today's active youth group seems more focused on fellowship and service than discipleship. Instead of breeding future theologians (even of the ordinary type), we are producing young adults who are prone to leave the church when it's no longer a source of entertainment. Today's youth ministry culture could be a chapter straight out of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. I've already pontificated about how detrimental busyness can be to a family, which is why I'm saddened to see that youth ministry in many churches follows the trend of quantity rather than quality. It's a mentality that seeks to keep us so busy that we don't notice what we - and, more importantly, our children - are missing.

 
At the beginning of this year, my family began looking for a new church home. As we visited other churches, youth education was one of the criteria we considered in our search. My husband and I understand that parents cannot rely on the youth group as the sole source of our teen's spiritual nourishment; we must be actively involved in - no, in charge of - our daughter's theological education. Within that purview, we wanted to make certain that she will be discipled in church, as well as at home.    Continue at Melissa

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Counseled by the Puritans on Providence

Slowly working my way through A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life; I was recently blown away by the tenth chapter, which is entitled “The Puritans on Providence.” I was already tired enough to go to bed, when I decided to read another chapter in this massive volume, so I wondered if there was any practical wisdom in my decision to open any book. However; I found myself being renewed in strength after reading just a few pages, which propelled me to finish the chapter. It was exactly what I needed.

In today’s post, I will attempt to summarize 15 pages of theology into 1500 words.

Puritan Definitions and Teaching on Providence

Puritan Arthur Dent (1553-1607) wrote, ‘For every one of us, when we do confess God to be almighty, do acknowledge that he by his providence rules everything.’

The Heidelberg Catechism asks to what advantage it is to know that God rules and upholds all things and then answers this way: “That we may be patient in adversity; thankful in prosperity; and that in all things, which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father, that nothing shall separate us from His love; since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move.”

William Ames (1576-1633) deduced the following lessons from Romans 11:36, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.”    Continue at Paul Tautges

Beware the Writings of Watchman Nee

Watchman Nee was a Chinese pastor, theologian, and author. He was born in 1903, and was martyred for his faith at the age of 69. Communists arrested Nee in 1952, and he spent the next twenty years imprisoned in a Chinese Labor Camp. Although offered release if he promised to leave the country, Nee refused and died in prison in 1972. Some accounts say he died after authorities had cut out his tongue in an attempt to stop his preaching.

 

Watchman was not his birth name, but was what he called himself after his ordination to pastoral ministry. His grandfather was a pastor, and Nee saw himself as a guardian of the truth of the Chinese church, which he primarily did through his teaching and writing.

Nee’s name is attached to at least forty different books. Ranging from daily devotionals to complex theology, he was certainly a prolific writer. Yet it is very difficult to know with confidence what he actually penned. One can read his works and legitimately conclude that they were penned by different authors—not only did Nee rarely have an unexpressed thought, but it is said that many of his books were actually pieced together by his disciples from his oral teaching.

As with much of his life, it is very difficult to distinguish fact from fiction with Nee. After his death, stories began to circulate describing how Communist authorities had chopped off his hands to stop his writing effort. But their tactics proved futile. Nee supposedly penned book-after-book from behind bars and in the face of intense physical persecution.

Are the stories true? That depends on who you ask. One thing is certain: they add to the mystery and intrigue surrounding his life and elevate interest in his teachings.    Continue at Tommy Clayton

The Ancient Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future

 

Is it fact or fiction? That is the question everyone asks when they first encounter Jonathan Cahn’s book The Harbinger. The answer is both, I guess—a little from column a and a little from column b. How about this: The Harbinger is meant to be fact presented in the form of a novel; in reality it is an unfortunate mixture of truth and error presented in the form of a script. Still with me?

What is demonstrably factual is that The Harbinger is a phenomenon. It has held steady for forty weeks on the New York Times list of bestsellers, selling over 700,000 copies through fifteen reprints. At the time I write this, Amazon ranks it #2 on their list of Christian fiction and #7 on their list of Christian theology. The book had largely escaped my view until the past few weeks when I received a series of emails from people wondering what it was all about. I finally caved and read it. Consider this more of an explanation of what it is than a thorough review.

I will get to the content in a moment, but first a word about the form. Though described as a novel, the book is actually far closer to a script (a script that would make an exceptionally tedious play or film). There is very little action, only the barest semblance of a plot, and no development at all of the three characters. Instead, the book is composed of amateurish dialog that proceeds at a plodding pace. The writing is repetitive to the point that it could easily have been boiled down to a third or a half of its current length. The book is a chore to read and, speaking personally, the end simply could not come too soon.    Continue at Tim Challies

The Soul of the Solas

It puzzles me deeply that so few are puzzled deeply by the paradox. We are so used to the befuddling language that we miss its befuddling nature. It ought to stop us in our tracks and arrest our attention, like those signs I see for Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Bank I could understand. Third Bank I could understand. I could understand them merging to become Fourth Bank. But Fifth Third Bank? What does that even mean?

In like manner, how is it that when our spiritual ancestors, our theological heroes, set out to tell us one thing, they ended up telling us five things? Suppose I had lived in a cave for the last five hundred years and then met someone who wanted to get me up to speed on the Reformation and what I should believe. What if they said: “There are five things. The first one is sola…”? Would I not have to say: “Stop right there. If there are five, how can even one of them be called sola?”

It does, of course, in the end make perfect sense. The alones are not alone because they are talking, in a manner of speaking, on different wavelengths. An infinite line is really infinite, but it doesn’t cover everything. An infinite plane is, in a manner of speaking, even more infinite than an infinite line, but it doesn’t cover everything. What sola Scriptura is seeking to keep out isn’t grace, faith, Christ, or God’s glory. It’s trying to keep out unbiblical tradition. Grace alone doesn’t exclude the Bible, faith, Christ, or the glory of God.

In a very real sense, though they spin on different axes, these five are one. The Bible alone is God’s infallible revelation of His glory, which reveals His grace in Christ, which becomes ours through the gift of faith. God’s grace is uniquely revealed in His Word, which reveals the work of Christ, which becomes ours by faith, all redounding to His glory. The solas are precise and potent affirmations of this truth—it’s all about God. They remind us not just how we might have peace with God but that peace with God is not the full and final end of all things. They remind us that the story of the Bible isn’t simply how we who are in dire straits can make it to safety and how nice God is to play such an important role in making that happen. Instead, they remind us that He is the end, and we are the means. The story is about Him and His glory more than us and our comfort.  Continue at R. C. Sproul Jr.

Five Features of Preaching in the Book of Acts

In his book on Acts, Alan Thompson notes five characteristics of apostolic evangelistic preaching (90-99). These five features serve as good models for all types of preaching, both then and now.

1. God-centered. The sermons in Acts begin with God. They announce the good news of what God has promised, what God has done, and what God will do. The preaching is not centered around the felt-needs of the audience, but around the mighty acts of God in history. The emphasis is on God’s initiative and how we are accountable to him.

2. Audience-conscious. While the preaching begins with God, it is not ignorant of those to whom the sermon is delivered. We see throughout Acts evidence of audience adaptation and sensitivity to what the audience already knows or doesn’t know. The sermons do not unfold as canned messages with a series of doctrinal propositions. The preaching is deeply theological, but not at the expense of be careful to communicate that theology in a way that is understandable. The core content stays the same, but the starting point and type of final appeal may change.   Continue at Kevin DeYoung

Archibald Alexander Publications Online

Of the plethora of American theologians almost none are as interesting to study about as the Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander. Alexander was the first professor at Princeton Seminary and a powerful evangelist and preacher. In addition to his multi-variegated ministry, he was a prolific theological writer. A fairly comprehensive list of his published works were listed in his biography, The Life of Archibald Alexander D.D. first professor in the Theological Seminary, at Princeton, New Jersey.  Many of Archibald Alexander’s publications were published together here. You can buy a collection of many of his works from Logos here. Below you will find the list from the biography and links to as many of these works as are available for free at Google Books and Internet Archive:

A Sermon at the opening of the General Assembly. Philadelphia, 1808.

A Discourse occasioned by the burning of the Theatre in the City of Kichmond, Va., on the 26th of December, 1811. p. 129.

“An Inaugural Discourse delivered at Princeton.” New York, 1812.

A Missionary Sermon before the General Assembly p. 149

A Brief Outline of the Evidences of the Christian Religion. Princeton, 1825. 12mo.  Continue at Nicholas T. Batzig

Rome Sweet Home?

In recent years, a trickle of members — even ministers — in confessional Reformed and Presbyterian as well as Lutheran churches have converted to Roman Catholicism. Graduates of solid seminaries, they nevertheless wrestled with the Reformation for a while only to conclude that Rome is “home.” Reviewing recently the testimonies on a parachurch website that seeks to draw evangelicals and confessional Protestants to Rome, the recurring response of fellow travelers was “welcome home.”

Having engaged recently in conversations with two friends who have been drawn to Rome, I have wrestled myself with the question, Why? What’s up?

I know there are some who have a superficial knowledge of (and concern for) theological issues. They may be attracted to the cultural resources: a long and deeply thought-out moral theology that at least in its official positions is pro-life in a fuller sense than single-issue politics. They’re tired of bandwagons and bellicose leaders who appoint themselves spokespersons for the whole church. Thoughtful, if untheological, many younger Christians are drawn to the more mature character of Roman Catholic reflection on these issues. With cultural refinement and upward mobility, the evangelical churches of their youth can seem, well, tacky or at least shallow in comparison with the tradition in which Dante, Michelangelo, and Raphael were shaped.

But why would people who seriously embraced Reformation theology be drawn to Rome? It’s uncharitable and unwise to presume to know all of the factors in any case, much less to make that a rule for all the others. However, I have a few speculations.  Continue at Michael Horton

A Call and Agenda for Pastor-Theologians

There have never been this many Christians around the world, yet few know much about God, the actual contents of the Bible, or the ways in which God's people have interpreted and applied the Bible historically. Many Americans, at least, still go to church and read the Bible--as their social lives permit. Even more in the Global South do so with fervency and zeal. Still, despite our apparent esteem for the Bible's status and authority, few believers know as much about its contents as they do about Hollywood movies, popular music, or athletics.

Indeed, as anyone who teaches in our churches can attest, few today know the Ten Commandments (I mean all ten, in proper order), the twelve apostles, the letters of Paul, or even the titles of the books included within the biblical canon. A basic grasp of Bible doctrine is also hard to find today. How many Christians do you know who can articulate what Scripture teaches about our Lord's two natures, the ministry of the Spirit, or the nature of the church? Even first-year seminarians have trouble with these things.

The church wants education and needs theological leaders. In this day when many pastors lead non-theologically, and academics work in a way that is lost on the people of God, we need pastor-theologians who can minister the Word in ways that edify the saints and offer a winsome public witness to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the Lord and his will for us.

The time is ripe for dialogue, even charitable debate, regarding the best way forward. So I offer the following theses in the hope that they will incite a large number of church leaders--in congregations and divinity schools--to think together with me about how we can serve God's people more effectively as preachers, teachers, and Christian educators.

1. Our churches and our world desperately need pastors to lead and teach theologically.    Continue at Douglas A. Sweeney

The Emmaus Sessions – Jesus: True Israel

Last week I met with a group of zealous, young Christian men in the Savannah, GA area for a series of talks on biblical theology. For lack of a planned title for our meetings, I have simple called the talks “The Emmaus Sessions.” At the first meeting we met to discuss the extremely important–yet often overlooked–subject of Jesus as true Israel. You can find the video from the session below. The substance of our talk comes from a post I wrote in 2010. You can find it here. For a more detailed development, see this post. You can also listen to an exposition of the True Israel’s temptation in the wilderness here. James Dennison’s article on this subject is also extremely useful.  Continue at Nicholas T. Batzig

Why and How to Read Calvin’s Institutes

If you haven’t yet read C. S. Lewis’s introduction to Athanasius’s On the Incarnation, I’d highly recommend it.

He wants to refute the “strange idea” “that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books.”

Lewis finds the impulse humble and understandable: the layman looks at the class author and “feels himself inadequate and thinks he will not understand him.”

“But,” Lewis explains, “if he only knew, the great man, just because of his greatness, is much more intelligible than his modern commentator.”

Lewis therefore made it a goal to convince students that “firsthand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than secondhand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire.”

I suspect this holds true with respect to evangelical Calvinists and Calvin’s Institutes. Are we in danger of being a generation of secondhanders?

Let me forestall the “I don’t have time” objection. If you have 15 minutes a day and a bit of self-discipline, you can get through the whole of the Institutes faster than you think. Listen to John Piper: Keep Reading >>>

Whither YRR?

Tis the end of the year, the time to reflect on what has been and what may be. For several months I’ve been pondering a post on this thing that’s been called Young, Restless, and Reformed. What’s good? What’s bad? What needs to be celebrated? What needs to addressed?

For starters, it may be time to retire the name. As you may know, “Young, Restless, Reformed” was the title Collin Hansen gave to his Christianity Today article on the first Together for the Gospel conference in 2006. Subsequently, Collin penned a fine book with the same title. I stole the title for my blog (because “DeYoung” fit so nicely into his phrase). To this day I meet people who swear that I wrote the book Young, Restless, and Reformed. Even when I promise them I didn’t, they insist that I must have. Sorry Collin.

I think the phrase was quite clever. It had alliteration. It played off of pop culture (The Young and the Restless). And it captured a mood: young Christians eager to embrace this new found wonder of deep theology about a big, sovereign God. But, over time, people have wondered whether the young are getting older, whether the restless should settle down, and whether Calvinist soteriology is the same as Reformed. So the name doesn’t work for everyone.  Keep Reading >>>

See also: The New Calvinism Considered

Why I Am A Calvinist

Rapture Theology: The Arrogance of the West

Ladies: Do Not Shy Away from Theology

Guest post by Jessica Thompson, co-author of Give Them Grace

 

When I say the word “theology” what scary picture rushes into your mind? A thin man with a long white beard, and a monotone voice droning on and on about words you can’t understand? Or a group of people arguing seemingly about nothing but semantics? Or a book that you know you probably should read, but every attempt results in narcolepsy?

Let me paint a different picture for you: A woman sitting at the feet of her Rescuer, discovering the greatest love of her life; His likes and dislikes; pushing herself into who He is, relishing every aspect of His beautiful, amazing character. This, my sisters, is what theology is. Theology contemplates God, discovers the God you have pledged yourself to. As women, we study and want intimate knowledge of those we love, of those we are in relationship with. Why would we shy away from or snub knowing the One that knows us most fully?

Theology isn’t just a scary word. Theology, knowing God, is what will keep you when the trials come. If you have a false idea about God, you won’t be able to understand why He would allow suffering or hurt to come into your life.

Here’s an example where I was sustained by the theology I had already learned: When my oldest son was 7, he was admitted into Children’s Hospital for a very high fever and a strange lump on his neck. He looked like he had pushed an orange through his ear and it was lodged inside the side of his throat. We spent days and nights with doctors running tests and trying to figure out what was happening to my sweet baby. The only hope I had during that time of uncertainty, was that I knew my God. I knew He was loving, and powerful, and sovereign. I knew that He wouldn’t allow anything to come into my life unless it was for my family’s good and for His glory. I didn’t know how my circumstances would work out, I didn’t know if my son would be okay, but I was absolutely positive about the character of my God.  Keep Reading >>>

The F Word

I'm a fundamentalist born and bred. I grew up in independent fundamental baptist churches from the time I can remember up until I graduated from college. Then I left. My departure from Fundamentalism had a lot to do with my own study of Scripture:

• My growing belief that reformed theology was really biblical theology (you're average IFB pastor is not gonna be very reformed friendly)
• My experience that separation was not being practiced biblically (Fundamentalism has often lobbed not-so-friendly fire at other Christians).
• My disillusionment with personality driven churches, institutions, camps, and the like.
• My disdain for the underhanded tactics when soul-winning.

Now these are my experience and therefore do not mean all fundamentalist do these things. Truly, I've found some churches that don't. I gladly attend Geneva Reformed Seminary which is part of the Free Presbyterian denomination. The Free Pres are in Fundamentalism and they do a great job of avoiding a lot of the pit falls mentioned above. Initially, on my departure from the movement at large I harbored a lot of ill will towards Fundamentalism. Now not so much. I'm grateful for the family, foundation, and, yes even for Fundamentalism. All I can say is God works in mysterious ways!

One thing I appreciate about Fundamentalism is that they practice separation at all. A lot of time they are hyper-separationist but they see the command to keep the Gospel pure and they take it seriously. You'd never find someone who doesn't believe in the trinity, atonement, or the exclusivity of Jesus teaching in their church (although you might find some KVO people who aren't strong on Bibliogoly, that's entirely different subject). On the other hand, the reformed evangelicals get grace, doctrine, and the lot right but some of them don't know what do when a heretic walks in the room if he's wearing a wool jacket. We need a return to Scripture so that we faithfully defend the bride of Christ from false teachers while not shriveling the body down to haggard old man like Fundamentalism tends to do. John MacArthur's lot seem to balance the two well. He's strongly biblical, fiercely protective over the gospel, and boldly defends the body against false teachers. Now I don't agree with every thing John MacArthur says but we could do for more MacArthurs.   Keep Reading >>>

Calvinists Aflame for God

Some say Calvinism tends toward a cold, cerebral piety that is devoid of compassion. They claim Reformed theological convictions produce ineffective or just downright annoying Christians. In some cases this has undeniably been true. You can probably think of examples. 

Great. Point conceded.
 
On the other hand, many of the most zealous servants of Christ have been Calvinists. Some of the most pioneering, devoted, self-sacrificing missionaries in the history of the Church have been Calvinists. Many of the martyrs who have testified passionately and died for Christ's cause have been Calvinists. Many of the greatest devotional works - the ones that point to the glories of Christ and call us to love-inspired labors - were written by Calvinists. Newton, Bunyan, Spurgeon, Baxter, Whitefield and Watson come to mind.
 

How is it that some Calvinists have demonstrated such intense devotion, while others have gone flat? It's a good question, and an important one. Below are a few thoughts about how we Calvinists can stay aflame for God, speaking Truth in love and maintaining the simplicity of devotion to Christ, even as we wrestle Calvin-style with the hard doctrines of Scripture and refuse to back away from any of their philosophical implications.

• Never think about the doctrine of Total Depravity without considering your own sins. Especially your recent sins. Let the desperate plight of fallen humanity inspire a fresh compassion for the lost people around you.
• Never think about the doctrine of Unconditional Election without reminding yourself that nothing in you influenced God's choice. That's what unconditional means. Know that it was purely of His mercy that He took pity on you and saved you.   Keep Reading ...