In a day of so many ridiculous and false “gospels”, this is the biblical one. Do you preach it? Do you bank your life on it?
“Some think of the gospel as so slender it does nothing more than get us into the kingdom. After that the real work of transformation begins. But a biblically-faithful understanding of the gospel shows that gospel to be rich, powerful, the wisdom of God and the power of God, all we need in Christ. It is the gospel that saves us, transforms us, conforms us to Christ, prepares us for the new heaven and the new earth, establishes our relations with fellow-believers, teaches us how to work and serve so as to bring glory to God, calls forth and edifies the church, and so forth. This gospel saves — and ’salvation’ means more than just ‘getting in,’ but transformed wholeness.” D. A. Carson
“Proverbs, and the wisdom literature in general, counter the idea that being spiritual means handing all decisions over to the leading of the Lord. The opposite is true. Proverbs reveals that God does not make all people’s decisions for them, but rather expects them to use his gift of reason to interpret the circumstances and events of life within the framework of revelation that he has given. Yet when they have exercised their responsibility in decision-making, they can look back and see that the sovereign God has guided” (emphasis mine).
—Graeme Goldsworthy, in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (IVP 2000), p. 210.
HT: spurgeon.wordpress.com
“It’s no wonder that self-help books top the charts in Christian publishing and that counseling offices are overwhelmed. Our pride and our neglect of the gospel force us to run from seminar to seminar, book to book, counselor to counselor, always seeking but never finding some secret to holy living.
Most of us have never really understood that Christianity is not a self-help religion meant to enable moral people to become more moral. We don’t need a self-help book; we need a Savior. We don’t need to get our collective act together; we need death and resurrection and the life-transforming truths of the gospel. And we don’t need them just once, at the beginning of our Christian life; we need them every moment of every day.”
- Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel from the Cross (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2009), 30.
HT: firstimportance.org
Interesting short article on Twitter here: http://www.cnbc.com/id/33909318
There’s a parable in here somewhere about humans and our inability to do long-term things. Twitter, while useful in some respects, is just the latest thing to expose us for our shallowness and lack of depth.
“The Holy Spirit is the living guide to Jesus.
It is He who says, with power, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’
It is He who convinces of sin, who wounds, and probes the wound, and lays open the evil of our nature—causing us to know that we are corrupt within and without.
But He not only thus discovers the malady—He also applies the remedy. He abases the sinner; and exalts the Savior. He gives the deep sense of sin–that the great salvation may be more appreciated and enjoyed.”
—Ruth Bryan, “The Living Guide to Jesus”
HT: firstimportance.org
It’s douceur: a conciliatory gift
Usage: “While waiting for Mark’s decision on the company’s contract offer, the CEO sent him two tickets to an OSU football game as a douceur.”
[Editor's note: I'm not sure that's much of a gift, but that's the correct usage of the word!] 
These were, of course, one of Jesus’ favorite methods for communicated Truth. I was helped as a child with this definition of a parable: “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” But now I’m not a child anymore and after dozens of times reading through the Gospel, I can tell there is much, much more going on here whenever Jesus spoke in a parable.
Andy Naselli gives this great summation of Don A. Carson’s sermon in chapel at TEDS on the parables and may it help you as much as it is helping me.
D. A. Carson preached on “The Purpose of the Parables” from Matthew 13:10-17, 34-35 in chapel at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School on October 29, 2009. Here are his notes:
Why did Jesus tell stories and use parables? Three answers are common.
- Jesus told stories because he used them as illustrations. But that doesn’t make a lot of sense of Matthew 13:11–12.
- Jesus told stories because he favored the enigmatic, thought-provoking, and open-ended rather than truths, propositions, and narrow-minded, modernist, foundationalist stuff like that. But it doesn’t take much reading of the Gospels to realize how many different genres Jesus actually preached in. For example, he preached using wisdom literature, apocalyptic, laments, exposition of OT texts, extended discourses, proverbs, beatitudes, one-liners, non-narratival extended metaphors, dialogue, and provocative questions. Further, Matthew 13:34–35 suggests that Jesus is trying to disclose something to them.
- Jesus used parables in order to hide things from the non-elect, to mask the truth. Yes, there is an element of that, but Matthew 13:34–35 suggests that Jesus is trying to disclose something to them.
So why did Jesus use parables? The text suggests two reasons.
- Jesus tells parables because in line with Scripture his message blinds, deafens, and hardens (Matthew 13:11–15). Matthew 13:14–15 quotes Isaiah 6:9–10 because Isaiah’s commission points forward and finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus himself. There are some audiences to whom you preach where the preaching of the word guarantees that they will not hear. Cf. John 8:45: “Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!” Sometimes the truth itself elicits unbelief because people are so corrupt that the truth is repulsive. Cf. Acts 5:41. When people insult you, don’t get defensive. Don’t get angry. Don’t get even. Rejoice! You’re in! You’re in this long line, this trajectory, that culminates in Jesus himself. There are some people who will not believe, and if you speak the truth, you will cause them not to believe.
- Jesus tells parables because in line with Scripture his message reveals things hidden in Scripture (Matthew 13:34–35). Matthew 13:35 quotes Psalm 78:2. The Jews of Jesus’ day did not have a category for a crucified Messiah, but those categories are in the OT. Jesus refers to “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11). A “mystery” in the NT does not refer to a “Whodunit?” It occurs 27 or 28 times in the NT and almost always is bound up with things hidden in the past in Scripture but now disclosed in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. “They’re there, but I’m going to reveal to you what has been hidden. The pieces are already there.” Hence, Matthew 13:16–17, 52.
Three Pastoral Reflections
- We should gain wonder in worship where there is a fresh grasp of how God has put the Bible together. The Bible is not a collection of arbitrary proof-texts. The more you dig into it, the more you unpack its simplicity and profundity.
- We should gain gratitude and humility for the gift of seeing the truth about Jesus and his gospel. We are just as perverse as others. We should never tire of being overwhelmed by the sheer privilege of grace in our lives.
- We should gain discretion in witness where there is a hostile environment.
HT: Andy Naselli at The Gospel Coalition: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2009/11/10/carson-on-the-purpose-of-the-parables/
For those who have not heard, Dr. James Dobson will soon be heading in a new direction with his life:
May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!
(Psalm 104:31-35, HCSB)
Not your usual answer . . . and I like it.
(In case your computer is blank here, the URL is http://www.vimeo.com/7415635)
The man who believes will obey; failure to obey is convincing proof that there is not true faith present.
A. W. Tozer, Man: The Dwelling Place of God, p. 33.
The world is losing weight.
Now you might not see this point if you are a fan of “The Biggest Loser”. Despite the heroic efforts of the individuals involved and the trainers who help them to shed, at times, over 100 pounds, NBC has thus far not failed to find a new group of people each season to exploit (er, I mean highlight/help).
I have friends who are or have lost weight. It’s quite a war for most and I admire them for taking on the challenge. In all likelihood, their current and future states of health will benefit. Certainly, the new character developed (perseverance, self-control) is quite beneficial. Again, my hat is off to all who do this. But that’s not my concern here.
If I am interpreting the United Nation’s data correctly, this world’s population is projected to be 7.8 billion in 2020. It was 4.4 billion when I entered college in 1980. Certainly in this sense, the world is heavier. But I am speaking, of course, not of this type of weightiness.
So much of our world, and of our lives, is light. It is frivolous. It is superficial, content to stay at surface-level. We are without much substance. We are featherweights of knowledge compared to those who lived at the time of the founding of this country. Many children routinely were learning a foreign language by the age 5 or 6 then.
We trifle with life while we “tweet” almost non-stop. And before you begin to think I’m against the newer technologies, I realize I’m doing this on a laptop so no, I’m not against these things. I am extremely concerned about their mis-use and over-usage. It seems fairly easy enough to say which is master and which is slave in many people’s lives when it comes to their use of the computer, iPod, Twitter, iPhone, Blackberry, cell phone, etc.
Think I’m being too extreme? Ok, then, ask this question: when was the last time I took a 24-hour break from one or all of them? I thought so.
How about the last time any of us actually tried to think for an extended period of time without using a modern-day device as our crutch? And if you just happen to have done so, when was the last time before that (six months to a year, maybe?).
When was the last time you wrote something to someone that was at least a notebook page long?
Dr. Albert Mohler on his blog last week wrote:
How does this digital revolution affect the souls of young people who quite literally sleep with cellphones on the pillow, lest they miss a text message in the night? What space is left for the development of flesh-and-blood friendships? How are they related to people who do not have access to text messages? Is their communicative ability now limited to 140 characters in a burst?Among young Christians, what space is left for the development of a devotional life? Do their lives contain any space for extended quiet and reflection, for prayer, or for reading anything longer than a text message?
We can write very cute and clever one-liners about our love for Jesus–tweet, text or Facebook them–but then we miss for many weeks being part of the Church that He laid down His life for. Something’s not right. We’re becoming way too light.
Finally, it’s been a great curiosity to me since I learned that one of the Hebrew words used for the “glory” of the God of the Bible literally conveys the notion of “heaviness, weightiness.” Such a God should inspire awe and trembling, not merely thankful love and cute sayings about Him, one would think. Jesus may be your “buddy,” but when Peter, James and John got to see a glimpse of His glory, the language of being his “bud” doesn’t seem to be conveyed by the text:
While he [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.
So what am I saying? To throw overboard your Blackberry or the computer or whatever else? Not at all.
What I am trying to say is this: don’t be squeezed into the world’s current mold (Romans 12:2). Use the technologies man has created. But also keep plenty of time to use the mind God created within you to be much more than a mere lightweight.
Hopefully, I haven’t lost too many of you in my absence. I caught some type of virus early last week and went down for the count. Feeling now like God has me on the mend.
Few men better at holding before us the holiness of God than R. C. Sproul:
From the best member from Indiana in the United States House of Representatives:
HT: redstate.com
Technology may yet be used by God to combat the abortion industry. For evidence see the following video at http://www.breitbart.tv/planned-parenthood-leader-resigns-after-watching-ultrasound-of-abortion-procedure/
It’s time to comment a bit on the “world” since that’s what my sub-title says I’ll do here from time-to-time. I only ask this: please keep in mind that I have done very little posting (if any) on politics before you react either verbally or inwardly.
So then, here’s where I’ll start: not with a bit of commentary, but with a quote and see who is the first one to correctly identify its author:
“They are the most professional network of any I have dealt with,” he said. “If you are a Democrat who wants to deliver mindless talking points on Fox, it’s probably best to go to MSNBC and hope you get a chance to recite them. I think Fox encourages critical views of all sides, asks different kinds of questions and wants to have diversity of view.”
Okay, one hint: it ain’t a Republican.
Alright, another hint: it isn’t a FoxNews employee either.
Guesses?
We live in an age of much sound and noise. iPod, TV, mp3 player, stereo, you name it. Can we live without noise?
Maybe we’d better considering these words from the German martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
We are silent at the beginning of the day because God should have the first word, and we are silent before going to bed because the last word also belongs to God.
“It is such a comfort to drop the tangles of life into God’s hands and leave them there.”
“If God sends us stony paths, He will provide us with strong shoes.”
This summation of the “Promoting the Gospel” conference that I attended earlier this week focuses more on pastors and elders. However, every believer can benefit from the insights given by Paul Tripp about our 21st-century “pastoral culture,” so here they are:
1) There is an over-emphasis upon the seminary/education side of the pastorate. This is to say that seminaries generally over-do the knowledge thing to the detriment of the relational thing with God. I can’t recall how this next quote fit into this first point, but I think you’ll understand it anyway: “Quit giving your people ingredients; cook them a meal.”
2) The over-emphasis on the pastor’s function to the detriment of his personal walk with God.
3) The separation of the pastor from the “processes” of the Body of Christ (because, after all, the shepherd is still himself, a sheep).
4) Be very aware of the seductiveness of the Fall yet today. Its two fundamental lies still claim many lives:
1) The lie of autonomy/independence
2) The lie of self-sufficiency
5) God’s grace can be violent, if that’s what it takes to form Christ-in-me: “Let the bones you (GOD) have broken rejoice” (Psalm 51:8). Bless God for his violent grace.
6) God prepares/qualifies people for minsitry to others through suffering ( 2 Corinthians 1:3-11). This is uncomfortable grace (to say the least!).
We want the grace of release. At many points, however, God gives instead the grace of refinement.
7) Be very realistic about pastoral ministry (1 Peter 5:6-10):
1) Know your place (v. 6)
2) Rest in God’s care (v. 7)
3) Take ministry seriously—it is the true spiritual warfare that is going on today, v. 8
4) Resist, no matter what, the lie that says, “my situation is unique” (v . 9)
5) Trust God’s sanctifying grace to do a complete work in you (v. 10)
One final great quote:
Maybe what I’m working on is not what God is working on.
