Gairney Bridge

Not to continue beating a dead horse (so to speak), but I read this quote today, and it reinforces my previous posts (here and here) on the necessity of preaching the cross of Jesus Christ. It is from Richard Phillips’ fine book, Jesus the Evangelist, which we are studying on Wednesday evenings:

This woman of Samaria [in John 4] had many problems. She needed help with her relationships, with the stress of being rejected by other women, and with the simple task of getting water from this well, along with many other difficulties. But her greatest need was to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. This is why we must preach the gospel. We are not called to give lifestyle tips or the self-help plumbing that today’s worldly men and women crave. The Bible says the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16b), so we must proclaim it.

This past Sunday evening, we began having occasional services (meaning we will not be meeting every week, but probably twice a month) at Midlane Park. I am framing these meetings around a study of our confessional standards (i.e., the Westminster Confession of Faith), so they serve as a sort of review of Reformed theology. The first meeting began with the study of the doctrine of revelation. I plan on placing the outlines of these lessons on this blog in the coming weeks, and I hope to also fill in details (such as supplemental commentary) as well, as time permits. I would also appreciate any helpful feedback in the comments. I hope to eventually compile the lessons into a booklet for use with new members and those interested in an introduction to the Reformed faith.

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Lesson 1: The Need for Revelation

• A major question for theology — Where do we begin?
  • John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion entitles Book One: “The Knowledge of God the Creator”
  • Westminster Confession of Faith entitles Chapter One: “Of the Holy Scripture”
    • A better question might be: Where do we get our knowledge of God?
    • “Thank you, Bill.” ~ Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church , p. 57 [Note: I’ll explain this in a later revision]
    • “A religious knowledge of God, wherever existing, comes by revelation; otherwise, we should be committed to the incredible position that a man can know God without His willing to be known.” ~ Hugh Ross Mackintosh
• Psalm 19
  • There are two types of revelation mentioned in this psalm (note the differences between vv. 1-6 and vv. 7-14 — the transitions from creation to word/law, as well as “God” to “LORD”)
    • General revelation – God reveals Himself through the creation (God as Creator)
      • Romans 1:18-20
    • Special revelation – God reveals Himself through His word (God as Redeemer)
      • “The idea of revelation implies more than imparting knowledge of God; it carries with it the idea of the self-disclosure of God.” ~ Alister McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, p. 202
      • “It is needful that another and better help be added to direct us aright to the very Creator of the universe. …Scripture clearly shows us the true God. … Not only does He teach the elect to look upon a god, but also shows Himself as the God upon whom they are to look.” ~ John Calvin, ICR , 1:6.1
      • 2 Timothy 3:16-17
      • 2 Peter 1:16-21

• General Revelation and Special Revelation are not at odds with one another (competitors), but work with one another (complementary).
  • “There are a number of Biblical passages which refer to the revelation of God through the things He has made. We may note in particular Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18-20; Acts 14:15-17. According to these passages the creation can teach us God’s glory and His handiwork (Ps. 19:1), His eternal power and deity (Rom. 1:20), and His goodness to His creatures (Acts 14:17). The obvious, yet overlooked, thing in all these passages is that general revelation is a revelation of God. What is popularly called science makes very little if any reference to God. … Since science, as we know it today, misses the main point of God’s revelation through the creation, it could hardly be said that it should be referred to as an authority by a Christian.” ~ Noel Weeks, The Sufficiency of Scripture, pp. 16-17

If you don’t believe me, take a look at the caption to this photo (skillfully pilfered from the desk calendar of one of the ladies in our church!):

The caption might be a little difficult to read in the photo. It says:

After a good cuddle or play session, most cats will wash themselves thoroughly, not simply to smooth ruffled fur, but also to remove the human scent and make sure that their own smell regains prominence.

I’m reminded of this passage in the Gospel of Mark:

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: `THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” ~ Mark 7:1-8

In explaining this passage, William Hendricksen comments:

The marketplace, a gathering center for many people, was naturally looked upon as being especially defiling. A Jew might brush up against a Gentile! Therefore, coming from such a place, these Jews did not dare to eat unless they had first of all complied with whatever it was that tradition demanded regarding hand rinsing. (New Testament Commentary, p. 273)

I can almost hear that cat purring right now: “Unclean! Unclean!”

This great quote, reminiscent of my comments yesterday about the importance of preaching Christ, come from J. Ligon Duncan:

The kind of preaching that has been advocated by those that viewed the seeker movement as the cutting edge of kingdom advancement — Scripture-anemic, superficially practical, therapeutic, man-centered, God-at-your-service, consumer-driven fireside chats — is death on the ears of legions of younger Bible-believing Christians today. They want the real stuff — no-holds-barred, high-octane, meaty exposition of God’s inspired word — applied until it hurts.

And with that, I’m off to finish this week’s sermon!

As I was poking around looking for articles today, I happened upon this recommendation by Derek Thomas. I really like Dr. Thomas; I ran into him a few years ago at a Ligonier Conference, and he sat down with me in a hotel lobby (not knowing me from a sack of salt, as we used to say down on the farm!) and we conversed for a few minutes. Anyway, Dr. Thomas actually gives a good recommendation to the adult Sunday School material used by the ARP Church:

If you are looking for adult Sunday School material, written from a “means of grace”, confessional point of view, I am enthusiastically suggesting that you take a look at the material being produced by the ARPs (Associate Reformed Presbyterian): The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Adult Quarterly, published quarterly under the editorship of Dr. Bill Evans (of Erskine College, SC). They come with a Teacher’s Guide that is second to none as far as I know.

That’s mighty high praise from a very godly man! If you are interested in these materials, go to the ARP’s Christian Education Ministries website, or click here to see a sample.

In the course of completing a project for a class I’m taking (the class is called “Innovative Educational Ministries” — a better course, though, might be “How to Be Innovative without Being Postmodern” as that, it seems, might be the real challenge in today’s culture), I was attempting to find some articles addressing the subject. I was looking in the archives at Modern Reformation, where I found the following quote in the introduction of by Michael Horton:

What would things look like if Satan actually took over a city? The first frames in our imaginative slide show probably depict mayhem on a massive scale: Widespread violence, deviant sexualities, pornography in every vending machine, churches closed down and worshipers dragged off to City Hall. Over a half-century ago, Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church, gave his CBS radio audience a different picture of what it would look like if Satan took control of a town in America. He said that all of the bars and pool halls would be closed, pornography banished, pristine streets and sidewalks would be occupied by tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The kids would answer “Yes, sir,” “No, ma’am,” and the churches would be full on Sunday … where Christ is not preached.

Even though I won’t be able to use this particular article, those were pretty staggering words. May all of the godly men our Lord has raised to the pulpit ministry be faithful in their preaching of the grace-filled salvation that is found in Jesus Christ and Him alone.

This sermon was preached at Midlane Park ARP Church on April 27, 2008.

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. ~ Galatians 5:13-15

Yes, we all know politicians like to quote the Bible from time to time, especially if it’s a political season. It seems that the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is no exception. See if you can guess where this passage, one of her favorite Biblical quotes, is found (hint: think of the prophets):

To minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us.

Have a guess? Give up? Pelosi says it’s found in the book of Isaiah. You won’t find it there, however. The problem, you see, is that the quote appears nowhere in the Bible. And Ms. Pelosi has quoted in on a number of occasions (often in defense of Earth Day, incidently). I hope this doesn’t mean we’re going to be hearing about a Quadra-Isaiah now.

I guess we all can make mistakes, though. How many of these gems have you heard people claim were in the Bible?

• God helps those who help themselves.
• Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach him to fish and he eats forever.
• Cleanliness is next to godliness.
• God works in mysterious ways.
• Spare the rod and spoil the child.
• The lion shall lie down with the lamb.
• Money is the root of all evil.
• This too shall pass.

In fact, none of them are (see these and more examples here).

I remember once when I was teaching a Wednesday night Bible study, and I used a topical example of a politician (I forget whom, but I believe the topic he was defending was homosexual marriage) who decided to quote the Bible. He referenced Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” I pointed out that this verse is often misused and quoted out of context (Jesus Himself teaches His followers to be discerning, to watch out for false prophets, etc., just a few verses later). One of the older gentlemen in attendance asked if I thought this kind of misquoting was “because of all the new Bible translations.” I pointed out to him that I thought that was precisely not the case, since the politician in question was quoting from the King James Version!

While my wife and I were on vacation at Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg a couple of weeks ago, we stopped into a Christian bookstore (actually a sort of clearance book warehouse), where I picked up a copy of the book Smart Faith: Loving Your God with All Your Mind, written by J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock. It is a fairly accessible book on apologetics/worldview, and even though Moreland writes from a different apologetical perspective than I (I tend toward presuppositionalism), I think his insights are generally useful and wise. For instance, the following discussion, on pp. 33-34, is good in helping clear up some mistaken notions that both Christians and non-Christians have about the God of the Bible:

God is a God of reason. We know this because of the character and actions of God described in the Bible. The Bible teaches, for example, that God’s unique attributes include omniscience: He is perfect in knowledge and knows everything (see 1 Samuel 23:11-13; Job 37:16; 1 John 3:20). The Bible also describes Him as the only ‘wise God’ (Romans 16:27), the God of truth who cannot lie (see Titus 1:2), and completely reliable (see Romans 3:4; Hebrews 6:18). God’s very word is true (see John 17:17), and His church — not the university — is the pillar and support of the truth (see 1 Timothy 3:15). Most amazing of all, the God of the Bible invites His creatures to come and reason with Him (see Isaiah 1:18) by bringing a legally reasoned case against His actions to which He will respond (see Ecclesiastes 6:10; Jeremiah 12:1; 20:12).

Compare this portrait of God with what we know of other gods. With Islam, we have a god who is so transcendent that he is beyond understanding. The Greek gods and the gods of other polytheistic (having many gods) religions such as Hinduism are fickle, are swayed by their emotions, and act inconsistently. The God of the Bible never changes (see James 1:17), requires teachers who diligently study His Word and handle it accurately (see 1 Timothy 4:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:15), and requires His evangelists to be able to give a rational justification for what they believe to all who ask (see 1 Peter 3:15).

With monistic (reality consisting of a single element) religions of the East, we are offered meditations — like the sound of one hand clapping — to escape logical thought. … The Buddhist is to leave her mind behind, but God asks that the Christian to be transformed by the renewing of her mind (see Romans 12:1-2).

No wonder Christians started the first universities and have planted schools and colleges wherever missionaries have gone. No wonder science began in Christian Europe — after all, the same rational God who made the rational human mind also created the rational world so the mind would be suited to figure out the world’s structure.

God created you to be a follower of Christ with your mind turned on and tuned in to the life He made for you. This does not mean God loves academics and scholars more than He loves other people. … But if virtues mirror our God of perfection, then ignorance is not a Christian virtue.

I have commented on the poor logic behind the attempt to equivocate the gods of false religions with the Christian God (even celestial teapots and flying spaghetti monsters) on this blog elsewhere (see here for an article explaining some of the problems with this weak analogy). Perhaps this citation from Moreland/Matlock will also clear up some of the misconceptions.

False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel. We may preach with all the fervour of a reformer and yet succeed only in winning a straggler here and there, if we permit the whole collective thought of the nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which, by the resistless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a harmless delusion. ~ J. Gresham Machen