The Closing Blessing's (Benediction's) ancient purpose

Regarding Israel's worship, during the Old Testament period:

A part of every gathering of the community was the blessing with which they were dismissed. This should not be thought of as merely a solemn concluding ceremony; the entire service of worship was concerned with blessing. When the priest at the conclusion pronounces Yahweh's blessing on the community, he does it so that all those who are scattering to their own homes may take with them the blessing of God that has characterized the entire sacred service. The psalms of blessing show this clearly.

- Claus Westermann,  Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church, pg 37.

  As I have studied, the biblical theology of blessing, Claus Westermann and James McKeown have been the two authors who have been most helpful to me in their various writings. This excerpt seemed particularly relevant and clear beyond it's context within the book.

Intervening in God's Judgment - Psalm 106

  Psalm 106 is a recital of the LORD's dealing with His covenant people, and it is a celebration of His steadfast covenant love towards them.  Part of the relationship between the LORD and His people is the actions of the people.  Psalm 106 explores this relationship in depth, starting with the blessedness of living as a righteous person who does justice (vs 3).  Yet by verse 6, the Psalmist acknowledges that the Lord's chosen ones have sinned and committed iniquity and wickedness. As he goes on to recount some of the rebellion of God's chosen ones, he also recounts different ways in which this rebellion was dealt with.

  The LORD's first response comes in verse 8 where He saves the people He chose from their rebellion by the sea 'for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power.'

  In verse 15, the LORD's second response is to send the people the thing they were begging for in their disregard for Him and to unleash judgment on them. Judgment follows again in verses 17-18.

 But in verse 23, after the people's most egregious breach of faith, the LORD speaks of destroying His own people, yet in response to Moses' pleading for the people, His judgment is turned away. This happens again in verse 30, where Phineas intervenes, and God spares the people further judgment. (Verse 31 notes that this was counted to Phineas as righteousness, just like Abraham!)

 In verses 32-33, an account is mentioned where Moses failed to intercede for the people because he himself was angered in sin.

 The final verses list accounts both of deliverance and judgment, specially focusing on God's steadfast love and His remembrance of His covenant.

 The thing that draws my attention here is the subplot, the part a couple individuals played in the grand narrative of God's mercy to an imperfect people. Moses and Phineas are allowed by God to act as true priests, standing between the great God and a sinful, rebellious people and pleading with God to have mercy on them. About Moses this is described as standing in the gap to turn away the Lord's wrath from destroying them. About Phineas, it is described as standing up and intervening. Strikingly, in verse 47, we find the psalmist himself begging for the LORD God's mercy on His people, too.

  This subtheme in the psalm is reminiscent of other passages where the righteous, but imperfect, believers act as priests for those living unrighteously. Abraham priests for Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah.  Ezekiel speaks of similar roles for the godly; in 22:30, he speaks of 'standing in the breach' like Psalm 106, as well as in 14:14, 20 where he speaks of the mercy which was extended to others through the priestly activities of Noah, Daniel, and Job. Notably, this priestly activity was not always for 'people of God,' at times it was for the unrighteous who did not acknowledge God as LORD.  

  PSALM 106

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times! Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; he gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them. Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD. Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands. Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever. They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds. Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage; he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power. Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD! (ESV)

- Previous post on the topic

Scatter together - thoughts on multiplication, image bearing and witness

  A series of connections arcing across the narrative of Scripture have caught my attention recently as I again read Genesis. In Genesis 1, God the Creator makes man and woman in His own image and charges them to 'be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth...' The idea being that God's image as reflected in the woman and man would be multiplied and magnified all across the creation. Obviously this purpose is not fulfilled by the couple who violate God's Law and are sent away from their specially-prepared home. At this point though, they do begin to multiply, but now it is a disfigured image which is spread.  And indeed, the corruption grows till the earth is 'filled with violence' (instead of with God's image). So God eradicates all but a single family whom He saves; they too are are tainted, however, they also look to His grace and promises of deliverance. (ch. 6)  After destroying the accumulated humanity, God commands this family to 'be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth' - again.  The point? Last time it was filled with the wrong thing - not people reflecting their Creator. 

  This pattern can be seen repeatedly through Scripture in small cycles and large; and indeed, we can see it continuing today in ways and with names both expected and unexpected. Because essentially this is the same task that Jesus Christ left to those who loved and followed Him when He left - 'Go everywhere, make more people who follow in my ways from every type of people there is...' And this command, like the original, is a communal command: no one goes everywhere or fills the earth by his or her self.  But a seeming paradox lies at the heart of this command - 'scatter as a community!'

Scatter together!

 Actually, we see this problem in the succeeding story in Genesis: after the great destroying flood and the re-creation, humanity decides to build a city and a tower to improve their own image and to prevent their being 'dispersed over the face of the whole earth.' (ch. 11) In other words, they were working aginst the very things they had been designed and commanded to do. As humans, we'd rather cluster and try to look good ourselves. And as God intervened this time, He used their word disperse instead of His word fill when He spread them on the earth. 

 Jesus' followers still have the same tendency towards anti-dispersal, collective-image-improving clustering instead of the communal, divine-image-reflecting earth-filling to which we have been called.

  If we are to carry out the original task, we must become like Abram who was told that he would become a 'great nation.' (Gen 12) This wasn't all that odd at the time (age 75), since his father had fathered at least one son at age 70. (Gen 11:26)  Yet as time went on, Abram's body and his wife's passed from possibility to impossibility; and while Abraham noticed, his faith in the promise not only didn't weaken, it grew, 'as he gave glory to God.' (Romans 4:18-21) If we would continue in this original work of filling the earth with image bearers, we will often have to look beyond what we see, like Abraham. We will have to look to the God who promised that it would be so someday, and we will have to trust that He can raise up image bearers from stony hearts - children to Abraham, 'the father of all who believe without being circumcised' and 'the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.' (Rom 4:11-12)

  May we together live the united, earth-filling life of reflecting the Creator's image, following His sent Savior. 

Self-swindlers & Daily needs

  I didn't mention one of the books, Dangerous Calling (by Paul Tripp) that I am reading, when I wrote my list of recommended books from last year.  I am about a third of the way through it, and it has been incredibly helpful. Convicting and encouraging and challenging..

 Here's a series of quotes regarding Hebrews 3:12-13 that I thought would be helpful. ("Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.")

Every person still living with sin inside is a very skilled self-swindler. I think we do this way more often than we are aware. 

...

But spiritually blind people are not only blind; they are blind to their own blindness. They are blind, but they think that they see well. So the spiritually blind person walks around with the delusion that no one has a more accurate view of him than he does. 

...

The blinding ability of sin is so powerful and persuasive that you and I literally need daily intervention. What the writer of Hebrews is crushing with this warning and call is any allegiance we might have to an isolated, individualized, “Jesus and me” Christianity. He is arguing for the essentiality of the ministry of others in the life of every believer. 

...

The author argues here that personal spiritual insight is the product of community. It’s very difficult to get it by yourself. 

...

This self-righteous blindness also means that they will not deal very well with opposition and accusation. They will not see these things as tools of uncomfortable grace sent by a God who is continuing his work in them. Because they are content with who they are, they will wonder why God has singled them out for this particular difficulty, in moments giving way to questioning the goodness and wisdom of God. 

Broken Hoses and Broken Pots - a personal update

  Occasionally, God providentially arranges life's events to provide clarity in what He is teaching.  It's not that we ever get to know the full spectrum of His work, but sometimes He makes clear that 'this' is the lesson of the moment.  Two weeks ago, I began reading a short devotional book called God's Glory in Clay Pots by Les Ollila and Sam Horn (audio here).  I virtually never read devotionals, and I don't even know how I came across this one, but it immediately began feeding my soul with the truths of the great Potter's loving care which brings difficulty for the preparing and shaping and beautifying of the pot, while displaying the glory of the Potter.

 Then, last Sunday our pastor preached on Job and how every difficulty Job faced were designed to teach him more of God and how to worship Him for who He is in, not simply for what He gives.  Friday morning, I finished the book in thankfulness for a Potter who would dirty His hands with clay.  We live where most people cannot imagine a Lord who would stoop in humility to become clay like us.  Friday night, probably about 5AM a hose burst under the kitchen sink; and close to 6, we found that out, by stepping in water as we got out of bed.  So, yesterday was scrambled.  Many tokens of love were evident throughout the day, both divine and human - neighbors and friends who served us far beyond our expectation.

 And then, tonight, I was reading in John 11... Lazarus is sick, and it says that when Jesus knew that He stayed away because He loved them.  This is right after He has commented that this sickness is for God's glory.  And, these themes run through the chapter: God's glory and God's love call for the same (in)action here - Jesus stays away!  And immediately the burst hose and the extra pressures that that brings come to mind: it's not like we didn't talk about those shaping, pressuring Divine Hands yesterday, but a point is pressed home - our pipes only burst under loving pressure.  That wasn't simply rubber breaking - another lump in the clay is being worked out, or maybe lots of lumps in lots of pieces of clay, but certainly in this one.

 And the reason?  So, that the Treasure that's hidden inside will be able to be revealed.  The pottery is not that impressive; the Treasure inside... awesome! incredible! And amazingly, the pottery will become more beautiful at the same time it glorifies the Potter better!  God's love for us and His seeking His own glory are incredibly displayed together in the image of the Potter.  (I highly recommend the book because it weaves together the many Potter-vessel images in Scripture so beautifully.)

 The truths of the song rang sweetly again today as we sang them... "Blessed be your name in a land that is plentiful... when the world's all as it should be... when I walk in the desert place... when the darkness closes in... Blessed be your name!"

Delaying Baptism

 As a Protestant who values both the declaration of 'sola Scriptura' and the wisdom accumulated by the church and often remembered through traditions, the usual delaying of baptism for those who confess faith in Jesus Christ has confused me for a long time.  As I'm reading through Acts again, I'm reminded of that confusion.

 For instance, in Acts 8, many Samarians believe and are baptized, and Simon (a former magician) was part of that, though later Peter seems to indicate that he was not really regenerate. In this place, no time between believing and being baptized is specifically indicated; they are described together without detail.  However, as far as I can find there are no clear examples in the Bible of delayed baptism. There's no let's-see-if-it's-real period. I'll list several possible ones at the end, and I'll freely acknowledge that churches stopped practicing immediate baptism very early in church history. Thus, the conundrum.

Here's the examples of baptism with a timeframe that I could find:

• Acts 2:37-41 - that day
• "So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls."
• Acts 8:12-14 - unspecified, but rapid
• They believed and were baptized, before the apostles heard and arrived.
• Acts 8:34-39 - immediately on profession of faith
• The request for baptism was his profession of faith.
• Acts 9:18; 22:12-16 - immediately
• Paul was baptized immediately, before even breaking his three-day fast.
• Acts 10:44-48 - immediately
• As soon as the gathering of Gentiles receives the Holy Spirit, Peter proclaims their right to baptism and then commands them to be baptized.  Then, they stayed together for further instruction for some days.
• Acts 16:14-15 - unspecified, but short time
• No timeframe is recorded for the gap between Lydia's profession and baptism; but it all most of happened within the 'some days' that Paul was at Philippi.
• Acts 16:30-34 - at once, that night
• The jailer took them from jail, washed their wounds, got baptized, then served food - all before morning.
• Acts 18:8, 11, 18 - unspecified
• The text here says 'believed and were baptized'; there is no clear gap between them. However, the time is unstated. (From 1 Corinthians 1, we know that Paul baptized some of the believers during the 18 months he was there. We can assume the rest were while Paul was there also; if it wasn't, surely the wording would be different.)
• Acts 19:3-4 - on hearing the Gospel of Jesus
• Former disciples of John who had been baptized into his baptism were baptized into Christ as soon as they accepted the full gospel.

 Below are the potential instances of delay, but none of them actually state a delay.  Why is church tradition and practice so radically different from the Scriptural examples?  Also, I would be interested to hear my strongly Reformed friends' views, since the reasons given for infant baptism should be consistent with my thoughts, I think.

Possible, but unclear, instances of delay:

Matthew 3:7-9 - John the Baptizer calls for the Pharisees and Sadducees to bring forth fruit demonstrating repentance instead of coming to be baptized.

Luke 3:3-16 - John says something similar to the crowds, but here he seems to be simply describing what true repentance leading to baptism should look like.

In Acts, there are stories of people believing whose baptism is not referenced or its timeframe is completely unreferenced.

1 Corinthians 1:14-17 - In this passage the time-relationship between the Corinthians belief and baptism are unstated.

Jesus was not baptized till the beginning of his public ministry, but that is a different matter entirely.

Good Gold/Bad Gold?

  The entire rhythm of life changes pretty drastically in Istanbul for the summer months of July and August; this, of course, effects not only our individual lives but also our gathering as Christ-followers. When most of our fellowship that is still here gathered yesterday, we discussed the creation of the world.  We were again struck by the awesome weight and privilege of being made in God's image; how would it change our lives if we lived out the truth that we are (redeemed) image-bearers - it would destroy depression, pride and a multitude of other sins.

  But, we were also impacted by the goodness of God's nurture for His people - seven times declaring that He had made a good world in chapter 1, then, making sure that Adam had the perfect companion because it was 'not good' for him to be alone.  In between these points, two aspects of God's overflowing provision for His people are mentioned: God had every kind of beautiful tree with good fruit grow in the Garden of Eden, and in verses 11-12 while describing the area's geography,

"...Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good..." 

 I haven't heard of gold that humans didn't think was good, but this gold was good.  The point of this odd little statement seems to be highlighting the magnificence of God's provision, the wonder of what He gave (and gives) to His people to care for, the greatness of His care for His own.  Just as the trees and the stars praise Him, gold also declares His goodness and glory to us.  May we have gracious understanding and response.

Eternal Life: The River and the Banks

  At our church gathering yesterday, the 'sharing,' as it is called, was from the book of John, particularly 17:3 and chapter 4, What is Eternal Life?  Eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.  In the last week, a couple of things have caused us to consider again the basic-ness of the call to Christ in exclusion to everything else.

  The main sermon illustration went something like this (originally in Turkish): Eternal Life is a river with two banks.  One bank is the things that Christians may do; the other bank is things Christians may not do.  These commands and 'forbiddens' are not part of eternal life though they are related to it. If there were no banks, the River would be harder to notice, but it certainly wouldn't disappear.

  This Life is Jesus and relationship with Him and the Father; this is why the Gospel of John tells us that we can have eternal life now. Yet so often, we confuse the (important, but) muddy banks for the (all-important) River.   Thus, this week we watched as our Facebook newsfeed exploded with people on both sides of a discussion (yelling, about music) again.  I wouldn't suggest that music is unimportant, and I certainly have an opinion on the issue, but there seemed to be some level of forgetting that we should all be in the River together, even when we disagree.  See, the fascinating thing about being in the River is that the River is most important.  Meanwhile, the key issue for anyone on the Bank of Doing or the Bank of Not Doing is 'my opinion,' 'my holiness,' or 'my rightness.'  And the frightening thing about this is that I can know it, write about it, and still sit on a Bank, not living my life in the River.

Niagara Falls - Fall 2012

   Two more pointed conversations also happened last week; in both of them I got asked if I were a Muslim. As I talked to a taxi driver and he wondered why we moved to Istanbul, he asked, "Did you convert?" Well, no, I'm a Christian. From there we continued to talk and share. A couple days later, in an English class discussion, I was asked if I drank alcohol or smoked. When I said no, the next question was, "Are you a Muslim?"  Again, the conversation continued. If things like my location or what I ingest are the core of my religion, I am in desperate need of the River of Eternal Life.

  But it's not quite this simple.  A couple years ago,  I learned something with abrupt force when I read The Mystics of Islam. The mystical Sufi denomination of Islam has some of the most 'Bible' ideas of any  group I've ever studied, yet they lack Christ.  I was struck as I read Sufi writings how much they sounded like A. W. Tozer and other great Christian writers of the past.  They believe in deep, loving relationship with God; they have a passionate pursuit of knowing Him, but Jesus is absent (except as a great prophet.)  How?

  More importantly, how is my religion different?  Is my 'religion' of such a sort that I can be holy enough, love God enough, pursue the knowledge of His greatness deeply or long enough?  Or, am I desperately thirsty for the River?  Certainly those who drink of the River stay between the banks. However, the banks do not define them; the River does!  May I be graced and galvanized to live only in the River, staying off the banks!

Cottica River - 2011

Grace in Witnessing

Non-christians will always automatically hear gospel presentations as just appeals to become moral and religious--unless in your preaching you use the good news of grace against legalism.  ~ Tim Keller (from his 'Preaching Syllabus')

the incredibly important interests of pagans

   According to Philippians 2:3-8, Jesus looked out for the interests of His pagan enemies more than His own interests as the Creator-Prince of Heaven and Earth!  Do I count the unbeliever's (and believer's) interests as more significant than my own and live accordingly?

    Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:1-8 ESV) 

(These thoughts were spawned from yesterday's sermon on Humility by Ben Toomer.)

God's work in the Bible

“If one looks at the mission of God in the Bible, God wants the whole world to know him as the living God, to come into blessing of knowing him as Creator and Savior. So if the greatest possible blessing for humanity is to know the living God then the greatest possible obstacle for that is to be worshiping false gods."
- Dr. Chris Wright on this video which is really good

Disciple-making versus a typical model of Discipleship

Disciple-making is spiritual pregnancy and trainer-hood.  "Making disciples" is not simply helping people with spiritual growth; it is teaching people to be Jesus-followers, that is, bringing them to vigorous, new spiritual life.  Making disciples is the intentional process of moving people more deeply into relationship with Jesus Christ through the gospel.  This will involve showing them (by teaching and example) where they are unlike Jesus and how to become like Him, both before and after they have repented and believed in Jesus.  Thus, we are constantly to call everyone around us to be devoted followers of Jesus regardless of their current posture toward the Gospel.

Look at Matthew 28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make [devoted followers] of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"

Here we see that what Jesus gives as the central command, "making disciples of all nations" will involve going under His authority, baptizing those who become His followers, and teaching them to come into complete submission to all that Jesus commanded.  So, true disciple-making will extend from before salvation to the point of full obedience to Christ.

(These thoughts were spawned by our time at Soma School and honed during conversation with friends.

"Have we taken the Great Commission and placed it above the Great Command?" - Ted Travis, speaking on Kingdom Living this past Sunday at PBC

"The Gospel is inherently and irreducibly confrontational." - Mark Dever, The Deliberate Church, pg 55.

Theological perspective on immigration - with a link

"We must never deny that illegal immigrants are breaking the law. Yet these immigrants’ law-breaking is no reason for the church to remain uninvolved in North America’s largest mission field today consisting of fifteen to eighteen million people, many of whom tremble in the shadows of our society. Civil law is written on soft paper and constantly evolves. God’s law was chiseled on stone tablets and has remained unchanged." - Alejandro Mandes in "Thinking Theologically About Immigration"

Christians at the Borders, Literal and Metaphorical

   A couple of friends have already blogged about this, but I thought I'd add a few thoughts to the immigration discussion.

 Tonight, I finished Dr. Danny Carroll's book Christians at the Border, which I think can best be described as a quietly reasoned plea for Christians of all origins in the United States to base their thinking on the volatile topic of immigration on the Word of God, not their political, economic, or social backgrounds.

The purpose of the book is not to solve the myriad of real problems found in the immigration discussion; it is to re-orient believers to what the Word says.  Personally, I have long felt instinctively that there was a Gospel way of approaching this topic which was being completely ignored; this book helped throw some light on why I sensed this: the Bible is a book that is completely relevant to the discussion, starting from Genesis 1, not just from Romans 13. 
I would highly recommend the book to anyone seeking to consider this issue as a Christian.

   Finally, I will add a few of my own thoughts on the topic.  Is it ok to break the laws of a nation where you are not a citizen?  If so, why are we concerned about the illegality of Central American citizens crossing into our country?  If not, is it right to smuggle Bibles into countries where that is illegal, or to witness there?  You will say that those are things commanded in the Bible, but I would ask whether it is not commanded in the Bible to feed and protect your family.  Does it not say that the one who does not provide for his own family is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8)?  You will quibble, and I certainly have not made an exact comparison, but maybe you should pause and reconsider.  Are the laws you defend just?  Does God call for you to defend all of the laws of this (or any) country?  As one Latino brother in Christ said, "Do they think we LIKE running across the desert?!" Nay, it is of necessity.  Do not "shut up" your "bowels of compassion" before you have had the opportunity to interact and feel the need and pain of your brothers and sisters!  And especially remember that many of these immigrants are in Christ together with you and me; do not judge rashly for they stand before the same Judge and call Him Father and Savior and Lord!  Search the Scriptures, my friends; and if you desire some aid, read Dr. Carroll's book.

   Incidentally, my previous post concerning The Good Mexican was spawned by a comment Dr. Carroll made in a sermon at Providence Bible Church.

on Financing the Gospel minister: thoughts from a far day and a far place

From The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter:

"Brethen, if the saving of souls be your end, you will certainly intend it out of the pulpit as well as in it! If it be your end, you will live for it, and contribute all your endeavors to attain it. You will ask concerning the money in your purse, as well as concerning the word of your mouth, ‘In what way shall I lay it out for the greatest good, especially to men’s souls?’ Oh that this were your daily study, how to use your wealth, your friends, and all you have for God, as well as your tongues! Then should we see that fruit of your labors, which is never else like to be seen. ... Spare not for any cost, if it may promote your Master’s work. ... There are no virtues wherein your example will do more, at least to abate men’s prejudice, than humility and meekness and self-denial. ... Stretch your purse to the utmost, and do all the good you can. Think not of being rich; seek not great things for yourselves or your posterity. What if you do impoverish yourselves to do a greater good; will this be loss or gain? ... You lose no great advantage for heaven, by becoming poor: ‘In pursuing one’s way, the lighter one travels the better.'"

 "O what abundance of good might ministers do, if they would but live in contempt of the world, and the riches and glory thereof, and expend all they have in their Master’s service, and pinch their flesh, that they may have wherewith to do good! This would unlock more hearts to the reception of their doctrine, than all their oratory; and, without this, singularity in religion will seem but hypocrisy; and it is likely that it is so." 

(emphases mine)

Related to this are some outstanding thoughts by Conrad Mbewe:

"The common understanding of those who are seriously considering the call to the work of missions is that you need to secure an extra source of income and your retirement package before you commence working for God—otherwise you will bring untold suffering upon your family. The church will only pay you enough to stop you from starving to death. So, issues of clothing and educating your family, and finally having a roof over your head and food in your stomach after retirement must be your own problem to solve.

Thus there are many individuals among us who ought to have been in the mission field aeons ago were it not for these feelings of insecurity. They cannot do so until they have built themselves their retirement homes, which would also bring in that little extra money from rentals. This perception is really worrying. It is disconcerting because, to me, it is a form of practical atheism. It suggests that God may call people into his service but fail to provide for them and their children. Perish the thought!"

"I find this most unfortunate because when Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth, the Bible tells us that he “tabernacle” among us (John 1:14). He did not need to be born in a cow shed. He did not need to get tired and dusty because of travelling on foot in the dusty paths of Palestine. He could have jetted down from heaven on angel wings and continued gliding over everyone’s heads at supersonic speed as he went from town to town preaching the gospel. However, he lived exactly the way in which the people of his day lived—the people among whom he had come to minister. Judas needed to kiss Jesus in order to differentiate him from his disciples when he brought soldiers to arrest him. That was how much Jesus fitted in with the people among whom he ministered!" 

(emphases mine) 

Good works / Social action

Since I've been giving some thought to the Bible's emphasis on the believer and good works, or what we might call social action in this day, I found this quote by Claus Westermann in Creation to be quite interesting. 

"...the Church in her understanding of sin had directed herself too narrowly towards Genesis ch. 3, and had neglected, or at least not considered sufficiently, the social responsibility which is the concern of ch. 4.  This can be seen quite clearly in the influence exercised by the biblical figures.  Adam and Eve walk through the whole history of western thought and art right up to the song hits and jokes of today.  Cain and Abel have always remained shadowy figures." (20)

That By All Means I Might Win Some

This message by D. A. Carson is outstanding.  I have listened to it once and am almost through listening to it a second time.  It was recommended to me by Pastor Phillips and has been well worth the time and thought.  It deals with the context and application of what it means to be flexible in sharing the Gospel.  It is a very direct confrontation of some aspects of post-modernism but also helpful in thinking through the Gospel more generally. 
Highly recommend!

The Biblical Gospel

I'd never heard of Paris Reidhead before, but apparently he is quite well known.  He even has a spot on Wikipedia.  Anyways, I came across one of his sermons recently and ended up listening to it.  It is called "Ten Shekels and a Shirt" and sounds to me like a clear call for a Biblical Gospel.  It can be found on SermonAudio.

The next sermon I listened to was called "The Gospel According to Romans" by my grandfather.  It sounded like exactly the same message from a different perspective.  These two are fresh reminders that are causing me to again ponder the Biblical Gospel, not the one that calls for no change in a person's life.

Luke 9:23-25 - And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 

appropriate contextualization - thoughts from recent reading

from 9Marks ejournal:

 "The point of contextualization is not comfort, but clarity.  The gospel will never be completely comfortable in any fallen society or to any sinful human being.  Our goal is to make sure that we do not put any obstacles in the way of the gospel, and that the only stumbling block is the stumbling block of the cross itself."