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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 11:56:10 GMT -5
THE POLITICS OF CHRISTMAS
12/04/2023 · BY TOBY
Advent Grab Bag #1
Opening Prayer: Our Father, our land has strayed far from You, and this is because we have rejected Your Christ. For too long, we have pretended that we can have freedom and justice without Your Son, and so we have wondered into a far off country and we have squandered Your inheritance. But we are gathered here this morning before Your Word, asking You to speak to us the Word of Truth, the Word of true liberation, so that our nation may come to its senses and return to You and all the nations of the world may know that You are the living God and there is no other. We are asking for a great revival and reformation in this land, and we are asking for it in the great name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Introduction
As is our custom in Advent, we began using the Definition of Chalcedon this morning for our Creed, which was adopted and published in 451 A.D. The purpose of the Definition was to further defend the full divinity and humanity of Christ from several heresies, while preserving the Creator-creature distinction.
All non-Christian societies are fundamentally what Peter Jones calls “oneist.” Oneism teaches that everything is essentially one, part of the same basic substance, and therefore oneism is pantheistic. Christianity is the lone religion in the world that teaches “twoism,” that there are fundamentally two different realities: God and everything else. This has profound implications for all of life, including how we think about politics and power.
The Texts: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:21-23).
“Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” (Ps. 102:25-27).
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
Summary of the Texts
The center of human rebellion is the refusal to acknowledge God as He truly is and that is “uncorruptible” and utterly unlike anything in creation, all of which is “corruptible,” and refusing to be thankful for this reality, people become foolish idolaters (Rom. 1:21-23). Likewise, Psalm 102 describes God as the Creator of all things in heaven and on earth, and the difference between the Creator and His creation is that creation perishes, wears out, and changes, but the Creator endures, remains the same, and has no end (Ps. 102:25-27). Finally, the Bible says there is only one God and one mediator between God and man: Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5).
The Councils & Heresies
Leading up to the Council of Nicaea in 325, a pastor named Arius taught that Jesus was not fully God, but rather was a man who was very much like God. Arius taught that there was “a time” (so to speak) when the Son was not. He said, the Son had a beginning. However, Athanasius and others argued that Christ was fully God and was therefore of the “same substance” with the Father (“homoousias”). The later Arians would say that Christ had a “similar substance” with the Father (“homoiousias”). This really is a watershed issue. If Jesus is merely the highest created being, the most exalted creature, right next to God, then the Creator-creature divide has collapsed in principle. Instead of the infinite chasm between God and His creation that the Bible teaches, there is a ladder, a hierarchy or gradation of “being” that may ascend to Godhead.
The Council of Nicaea concluded that Athanasius was correct and published the Nicene Creed which affirms that Christ is fully God and fully man, eternally begotten, “not made,” and of the same substance with the Father. The Council of Chalcedon came along in 451 and further nailed the coffin shut on Arianism (and other Christological heresies), insisting that the Divine and human natures come together in Christ “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.” While this might seem esoteric or pedantic, it really is glorious. It is saying that the Creator-creation distinction remains intact even in the one mediator between God and man. The divine and human natures do not blend or merge or mix even in the one mediator, Jesus Christ. There is no hierarchy of being ascending and merging into God. There is only God and everything else, and Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and everything else, and in His person, those two natures are united “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation, the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union.”
Chalcedonian Politics
The political ramifications for this are enormous. The tendency of all cultures dedicated to “oneism” is toward the Tower of Babel: consolidating global resources and power in an effort to ascend to Heaven, whether literally or simply by achieving heaven/utopia. This process always includes leaders claiming the authority of God/gods. In the ancient world, Pharaoh was the human representative of the sun god, Ra, and in Rome, Caesar was hailed as the divine “lord” and son of god (Jupiter). When the early Christians acclaimed Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of God,” this was in direct defiance of the emperor cult. Later, when the Roman Pope claimed to be the universal pontiff and “Vicar of Christ,” and exercised massive political power, it was somewhat based on the supposed authority to change bread and wine into the flesh and blood of God. The Creator-creature distinction was beginning to collapse even in the Church. Abusive political power has always been exercised under the guise of unlimited divine power. But the Biblical religion has always insisted that all authority comes from God and is therefore “under God” and limited by God and His Word. While modern governments have not yet had the audacity to openly claim this divinity, this hasn’t stopped them from acting like it in their totalitarian claims on our property, income, children, and healthcare.
Applications
What we are celebrating at Christmas is not only our eternal salvation but also freedom from every kind of tyranny, beginning with death itself, but also sin, the Devil, and all Satanic manipulation, oppression, and power grabs. The state is not God, nor is it the mediator between God and man. And no one can ascend to God or Heaven. The One born in Bethlehem, He is the eternal Son of God, the Lord and only mediator between God and Man. All earthly authorities answer to Him. Christmas means limited government.
And this is why the Kingdom goes forth as proclamation, baptism, communion, and worship — not coercion. There is nothing that we can do to ascend to God in Heaven or make heaven on earth by our own wisdom, power, or enlightenment. There is no way for us to cross that chasm, and our sin only makes the distance greater. Only God can come to us. Only God can cross the chasm. And so He has in Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man. This is why salvation is all grace.
Prayer: Almighty God, teach us to rest in this reality, this grace, and to build cultures of freedom and grace in our families, churches, and in our nation, because You have come for us. And so we pray, as Jesus taught us, singing…
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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 11:58:09 GMT -5
GETTING READY FOR THE KING
11/29/2016 · BY TOBY
Advent means coming or arrival, and it is the beginning of the Christian calendar. Historically, Advent begins by celebrating the fact that Jesus will one day come to judge the living and the dead. This is why we sing O Come O Come Emmanuel. We are not in the first instance reenacting what it was like for Israel to wait for the Messiah to be born (though we certainly remember that). No, we are actually pleading with God to send the Messiah again. Of course we cannot separate these two advents. It is the first Advent, His birth in Bethlehem that gives us confidence to pray for His second Advent. While some Christians have been so infatuated with the second coming of Jesus they have essentially checked out of being useful and helpful in this world the Bible makes it clear that the coming of Christ as our judge is reason for tireless preparation. Stay awake. Work hard. Learn more. Make beautiful things. Lift up the needy. So as you prepare for Christmas, think of all the decorations and food and gifts, as true signs and symbols of what your life is supposed to be constantly given to: preparing the world for the King. We are not pretending. That is exactly what we are doing every single day of our lives. To live for Christ is to live every single day getting everything ready for Him. We want our hearts ready for Him; we want our families ready for Him. We want our neighborhoods ready for Him; we want our cities and nations ready for Him. We want schools and hospitals and industrial plants and theaters and laboratories ready for Jesus. This means that all our activities ought to be done for Him, in obedience to Him, in excellence for Him, and for His praise and glory. Christ has come, and Christ will come again. This is the good news of Advent. It is our hope, our joy, our glory, our driving purpose in life. Christ has come; Christ is coming again.
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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 12:02:25 GMT -5
WHERE IS THE KINGDOM?
06/12/2017 · BY TOBY
Luke LIV: Lk. 17:20-37
Introduction
This text is about what the Kingdom of God is like and therefore how Christians are to go about seeking it and building it.
The Text: Having rebuked the Pharisees for prizing the wrong things (Lk. 16:15), the Pharisees ask Jesus when the kingdom of God will come (Lk. 17:20). To which Jesus replies that the kingdom is not coming in ways that can be observed (Lk. 17:20). Rather, the kingdom is already in their midst (Lk. 17:21). Jesus then turns to His disciples and tells them that the days are coming when they will desire to see the days of the Son of Man and will not see them (Lk. 17:22). Jesus says not to believe the reports when people say, Look, here it is! Rather, it's going to be like lightening that flashes across the sky (Lk. 17:23-24). But before that, the Son of Man will suffer many things and be rejected by this generation: it will be like the days of Noah and like the days of Lot, when the Son of Man is revealed (Lk. 17:25-30). On that day, everybody should run and not be like Lot's wife who looked back (Lk. 17:31-32). The followers of Jesus need to be willing to give up everything for Him, their own lives, friends, and family (Lk. 17:33-35). And when the disciples ask Jesus where this will happen, Jesus says cryptically, where the body is, there the vultures/eagles will gather (Lk. 17:37).
Now You See It; Now You Don't
This section plays with the language of seeing. Jesus says the kingdom doesn't come in ways that can be observed and tells His disciples not to listen to the claims that it has arrived here or there, but then He goes on to say that the day of the Son of Man will be like lightening stretching across the sky, like a flood, like fire falling from heaven, like a field full of corpses. And presumably, Jesus expects His disciples to see these signs in order to run when the time comes (Lk. 17:31ff). Clearly, Jesus means to equate the days of the Son of Man with the coming of the Kingdom. Daniel explicitly describes the ascension of the Son of Man to the Ancient of Days to receive a kingdom for all nations that will never be destroyed (Dan. 7:13-14). But at the center of this passage is the Son of Man suffering many things and being rejected (Lk. 17:25). This seems to be the interpretive key. If the disciples are looking for another Babylon or Greece or Rome, the kind of kingdom the Pharisees are looking for, they will not see it. It is not coming in ways that can be observed like that (Lk. 17:20). But the Son of Man is coming and His kingdom will be revealed, but He will be revealed in a storm, in a flood, in judgment and war. In other words, the kingdom will come in much the same way that its king has come.
The Faith of the Kingdom
This whole chapter is concerned with a particular kind of faith. When Jesus urged His disciples to be on guard against temptations, causing little ones to stumble, and confronting, repenting, and forgiving sin the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith (Lk. 17:5). But Jesus said the kind of faith they need is little like a mustard seed (Lk. 17:6) and humble like an obedient servant (Lk. 17:9). And all of this is pictured in the Samaritan leper seeing that Jesus has healed him and returning with shouts of joy to fall on his face at the feet of Jesus (Lk. 17:15). Jesus told that Samaritan leper: Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well. All of the lepers eventually saw that they were cleansed, but the Samaritan leper saw the most clearly what had happened. He saw most deeply, most truly. Faith believes and obeys and rejoices in the truth despite how the circumstances look (cf. Phil. 1:12-13). Jesus is challenging His disciples to see the kingdom coming like this.
The City of God
When Moses came to deliver Israel, and working conditions got worse, they were angry with Moses (Ex. 5:21). When Moses led Israel through the wilderness, the people complained that he had brought them out to die (Ex. 16:3). When Israel spied out the land of Canaan, the ten spies brought back a bad report of giants in the land, and the people once again complained and began making plans to go back to Egypt (Num. 14:1-4). Whether God takes away, whether God takes us through, or whether God leads us into something new, it has always been difficult to trust Him. The kingdom of God will be for all the nations of the world, and it will be a kingdom that will never be destroyed (Dan. 7:13-14) therefore it must be a unique kind of kingdom, taking all things into account. The tension that is often felt is between what theologians call the already of the kingdom and the not yet. We pray for God's kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, but it can sometimes be tempting to assume that what has already come is the final version and resent anything new or else be so focused on the not yet to miss what God is giving us in the gifts right in front of us. Jesus came eating and drinking with sinners and tax collectors and the Pharisees refused to join, but Jesus says that when the Son of Man is revealed, people will be eating, drinking, buying, selling, marrying, and building and miss Him (Lk. 17:27-28). People can put the wrong kind of hope in a spouse or a leader or a church or a job and miss Christ. It could have been a terrible blow when Stephen died and Saul began his persecution of the saints, but when the Christians fled from Jerusalem they went out with boldness and joy: Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word (Acts 8:4) Why? Because their faith was in Christ.
Conclusion: The Kingdom of the Son of Man
Jesus told the Pharisees that the kingdom was in their midst (Lk. 17:21) and then He went on to tell the disciples what to look for when the Son of Man is revealed (Lk. 17:22-30). Putting this together, we should say that the kingdom of God is wherever the Son of Man reigns. And the Son of Man began to reign when He was betrayed and condemned and lifted up to suffer on a Roman cross. So when the Roman legions with their eagle standards surrounded Jerusalem and burned it to the ground, the Christians did not look back like Lot's wife because they knew Jesus had done it. They knew the kingdom had come. They knew they were more than conquerors.
So how do we build a kingdom like this? Fix your eyes on Jesus. Put your complete trust in Him alone. Everyone else will let you down some time. But Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. And faith in Christ doesn't detach from the world because Jesus died for the love of this world. Confess your sins, forgive one another, and work hard unto the Lord, all with simple, joyful Samaritan-like faith in the Lord who is building His kingdom in our midst.
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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 12:04:09 GMT -5
BEAUTIFUL KINGDOM
11/14/2016 · BY TOBY
Luke XLV: Lk. 12:13-34
Introduction
Sin is not merely immoral. Sin is always a choice to embrace futility. But Jesus has come to interrupt this futility, and restore true, full, beautiful life in His Kingdom.
Beware of Covetousness
A man asks Jesus to decide a dispute over an inheritance, but He asks, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you? In other words, what does Jesus have to do with us? What does Jesus have to do with history or politics or economics or art? What does Jesus have to do with my life? Which is why Jesus immediately warns the man against covetousness. Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness (Lk. 12:15). What is covetousness? Covetousness is fundamentally a fear of not succeeding in life, not living life to the fullest. Covetousness is the belief that if we just have X, then our life will be full, complete, safe, happy. Maybe its the respect or the acceptance or friendship of other people. Maybe its money, cars, houses, possessions, a particular job, a particular salary, a spouse, sexual fulfillment, children. Covetousness says, If I could just have ____ , then I would be safe, complete, happy, fulfilled. But what Jesus says here parallels what he just finished saying about the leaven of the Pharisees: Beware (Lk. 12:15). The reason Jesus gives is that life doesnt consist in the abundance of things (Lk. 12:15). Covetousness says that life would be complete with some thing, person, status, etc. but Jesus: you dont understand what life is. You dont have a correct understanding of what life consists of. And Jesus tells a story to illustrate His point: A rich man finds himself embracing a very successful year (Lk. 12:16). The problem is: where will he store all the harvest? He says to himself: I will build bigger barns (Lk. 12:17-18). And the key moment in the story is the next line: The man imagines speaking to himself at that point with the newly rebuilt barns full: Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry (Lk. 12:19). That is covetousness in action. It is imagining that your life will be safe and full and complete with the arrival of some thing.
Rich Toward God
God calls the man a fool the same as Jesus called the Pharisees (Lk. 11:40, cf. 11:49). Jesus has just warned His disciples not to fear those who can only kill the body (people); fear rather the One who can also cast into Hell (Lk. 12:5). In this story, the mans ultimate fate is left open ended, but the point is that fearing only material or physical dangers is foolish. All that stuff in the barn cant prevent the guy from dying, and then whose will those things be (Lk. 12:20)? The antidote to this kind of folly is not asceticism, its not the renunciation of everything, but rather the answer is to be rich toward God instead of storing up treasure for yourself (Lk. 12:21). How do you do that? How can you be rich toward God?
The Fullness of Life
Jesus says in order to live well there are certain things in life you shouldnt give much thought to, like what you will eat, or what you will wear (Lk. 12:22). Why? Because life is more than food and clothing (Lk. 12:23). Notice, that He doesnt say it is less than food and clothing. He says its more. Think back to the way Jesus denounced the Pharisees for their bad eyes remember, they cant see clearly so they make bad judgments (Lk. 11:34-36). In the Bible, bad eyes are frequently connected to greed and covetousness (e.g. Mt. 6:22-24). Bad eyes make you think that food and clothing are the most important elements of your life. But Jesus says that food and clothing actually come rather naturally. Take the ravens for example: they dont have fancy farming methods; they dont build big barns; and God provides for them (Lk. 12:24). Notice that ravens do go out looking for food. Gods provision doesnt come magically, but Gods provision does come through fairly simple, natural means. The same thing goes for growing taller (Lk. 12:25). You cant force it, but it happens as you eat healthy and sleep at night. Jesus reasons that if you cant make yourself grow taller, why would you think that food and clothing is all up to you (Lk. 12:26)? Jesus gives another analogy: consider the lilies (Lk. 12:27). Theyre a lot more glorious than Solomon ever was, not because they take extra care for themselves but because God clothes them. God loves beauty, and Jesus says that He loves to beautify His people, even those of very little faith (Lk. 12:28).
Conclusions & Applications
The whole point of this passage is that human beings have a tendency to aim terribly low. To think that if we just had that one other thing then our life would be complete is a ridiculous folly because it sells life so short. Compared to the glory of God, the Kingdom of God coming in this world in history, everything else is pocket change. Covetousness is lowballing God, the universe, the gospel, and yourself. Covetousness is obsessing over pennies and nickels and maybe some really shiny quarters, when your Father in Heaven is the author and possessor of all the wealth in the universe.
This is why Jesus says not to worry about what you will eat or drink (Lk. 12:29). The nations of the world have to stress about those things because they dont know your Father. But your Father knows that you need all these things, and He's already made arrangements for all of them (Lk. 12:30). Rather than bothering with those little, petty details, He wants you to be concerned with the Kingdom of God (Lk. 12:31). Are you focused on the mission of God, the Kingdom of God? Are you seeking His Kingdom first? Or are you preoccupied with these other things?
What does that mean? It means that your goal is to see every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Your goal is to see every human being, every man, woman, and child made in the image of God living up to their full potential in Christ. Covetousness always collapses into a materialistic worldview because it says that life consists of things. But Jesus says this is foolish. And He says that this folly is rooted in fear. Jesus says, Fear not, little flock; for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Lk. 12:32). That's good news. And the good news of that Kingdom is found in Jesus. It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom because Jesus is His Son in whom He is well pleased. Jesus is the treasure of the Kingdom. And he who has the Son has the Life. This translates into radical generosity, moneybags that do not grow old, (Lk. 12:33) and the kind resources to build cultures of beauty.
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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 12:15:52 GMT -5
UNDER THE BLOOD
10/09/2020 · BY TOBY
It's no accident that it was at the Passover celebration that Jesus instituted this meal. The first Passover was in Egypt when Israel killed lambs and put the blood over the doorways of their homes, and they ate unleavened bread. That night the Angel of Death came through the land, striking down firstborn sons. Only those with blood over their doors were spared. And in this, God offered both mercy and justice. Surely by the tenth plague word got out and many of the Egyptians came to stay with Israelites or even imitated them and were spared the tenth plague. But Pharaoh had claimed Israel as his son, so God struck down Pharaoh's son, and set Israel free.
When Jesus says, “do this in remembrance of me,” we might just as easily translate it as, “do this as my memorial.” A memorial points back to some great historic moment like the rainbow, pointing back to the flood. But memorials are not just reminders for us (although they certainly are that). Memorials are also reminders to God. This isn't because God needs reminding; He promises to never forget His promises. But He also promises to always remember His own reminders.
This meal is the great memorial of the Greater Exodus, the Greater Passover, the Greater deliverance from every Egypt. The Angel of Death still deals out Gods judgments in this world. But all who are covered by the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, are safe in the household of Faith and have His blood over their doors. And as the judgements of God fall on the earth, every form of slavery is broken: political slavery, economic slavery, bondage to sin, addiction, fear, guilt, and shame. And what does it mean to be covered by the blood? It means all your sins are forgiven. You are completely clean. Do you believe? Then you are under the blood.
At the first Passover, the Israelites were dressed for travel, expecting deliverance. As it happens, we eat this meal at the end of our service, getting ready to go out from here as well. We are going out into our Canaan: our neighborhoods, cities, work places, schools, all land promised to Abraham, the inheritance of Christ. But as you go out, go out under the blood. The blood of Christ does not merely protect You in here. It is on you and in you and all around you. You are the baptized, the Spirit-filled, the forgiven. Go into all the world, and go under the blood.
So come and welcome, to Jesus Christ.
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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 12:18:25 GMT -5
A MARKET FOR TRUTH
10/02/2023 · BY TOBY
[This is a talk I gave at the 2023 CREC Council meeting in Moscow, Idaho.]
Introduction
Virgil asked me to talk about the growth of CrossPolitic and the Canon App, particularly in the COVID moment – how God has stirred up a great hunger for the truth and the enormous opportunity we have in the CREC to deliver the truth – there is a great market for truth.
So, since the goal is to charge the CREC to continue embracing the calling to be dealers of truth, I want to talk about the nature of truth and the necessity of continuing to hone a hermeneutic of truth, an exegesis of truth. If the CREC is to continue to become a great haven for truth-seekers, we, as its leaders, must be enthusiastic and committed truth-miners, truth-hunters. And this means that it is not enough for us to merely touch on some truths here and there. It is not enough for us camp out on our favorite truths or perhaps simply the types or symbols of truth. It is not enough for our congregations to have warm and positive associations with what is true. No, we must determine to serve up truth in its pure form. We must have the truth, particularly the entire truth of the entire word of God, and no sentimental substitutes.
The Ethics of Elfland
In G.K. Chesterton’s great work Orthodoxy, he sets up a striking contrast in the chapter on the Ethics of Elfland. He says that his fundamental philosophy of life he learned in the nursery, and he learned it through fairytales. And what he came to see is that the fairytales are entirely reasonable things. He says, “Fairyland is nothing but the sunny country of common sense” (Orthodoxy, 44). He writes: “It might be stated this way. There are certain sequences or developments (cases of one thing following another), which are, in the true sense of the word, reasonable. They are, in the true sense of the word, necessary… For instance, if the Ugly Sisters are older than Cinderella, it is (in an iron and awful sense) necessary that Cinderella is younger than the ugly sisters. There is no getting out of it… If Jack is the son of a miller, a miller is the father of Jack… that is true rationalism and fairyland is full of it.”
But Chesterton contrasts that fixed foundation of the real world of fairyland with the events that transpire in this real world of fairyland. He writes: “There is an enormous difference between the test of fairyland; which is the test of imagination. You cannot imagine two and one not making three. But you can easily imagine trees not growing fruit; you can imagine them growing golden candlesticks or tigers hanging on by the tail.” Chesterton says, “We have always in our fairy tales kept this sharp distinction between the science of mental relations, in which there really are laws, and the science of physical facts, in which there are no laws, but only weird repetitions. We believe in bodily miracles, but not in mental impossibilities.”
Chesterton calls these rationalistic scientists, who try to force the necessity of reason and logic into every area, sentimentalists. “He is a sentimentalist in this essential sense, that he is soaked and swept away by mere associations.” Chesterton: “As ideas, the egg and the chicken are further off from each than the bear and the prince; for no egg in itself suggests chicken, whereas some princes do suggest bears.”
The sentimentalist “has so often seen birds fly and lay eggs that he feels as if there must be some dreamy tender connection between the two ideas, whereas there is none… A sentimentalist might shed tears at the smell of apple-blossom, because by a dark association of his own, it reminded him of his boyhood. So the materialist professor (though he conceals his tears) is yet a sentimentalist, because, by a dark association of his own, the apple-blossoms remind him of apples.” Chesterton argues that instead of relegating these patterns to iron-clad laws of impersonal nature, we ought to see them as the personal habits of a youthful God, a God who never grows weary, but tells the sun to come up every morning, saying: do it again, do it again, bewitched by the Word that upholds all things: “A tree grows fruit because it is a magic tree. Water runs downhill because it is bewitched. The sun shines because it is bewitched.” Chesterton celebrates this wonder, and notes that it has a particular quality of praise. Let us call this a hermeneutic of wonder and praise versus a hermeneutic of scientific sentimentalism.
Now Chesterton is insisting on something very important with which we agree, but we do need to be careful here and make some additional distinctions because some of the threats to the truth have changed from his day to ours. For example, if we merely stop with the test of imagination, can you not imagine a woman turning into a man? Can you not imagine a pregnant man? What’s the difference? The difference is truth. The difference is the authority of God and His spoken word. We completely agree that this world is God’s personal spoken word, His song, His poem, upheld by the Word of His power. And water runs downhill because that is the true word that God has spoken, and on occasion when it doesn’t, when the water piles up in enormous mountains so that God’s people can pass over on dry ground, that is true because that is the Word that God is speaking. But we must not get it backwards. The test of imagination helps us recognize God’s creativity and praise His wonderful wisdom, bursting the narrow minds of sentimentalists, but it is not a freewheeling license to manhandle God’s truth.
So when someone asks: do you believe in interpretive maximalism, we should say, yes, if you mean getting every drop of truth from Scripture, scraping the barrel of creation for every scrap of truth. Yes, absolutely. But no, if you mean mere sentimental associations, if you mean: this reminds me of that. A bunch of people associate face masks with doctors and science and health and safety, and so despite all the scientific evidence to the contrary, millions in mass psychosis formations covered their faces with a bald-faced lie. Why? Because it reminded them of something healthy and safe. It reminded them of truth. As for the rest of us, we associated masks with thugs and outlaws and the oppression of Islamic burkas. But mere association is sentimentalism. It descends into subjectivism and relativism, because what you associate with something may not be what I associate with something. And to the point, it may not be true.
Exegetical Truth vs. Sentimental Hermeneutics
2020 was an historic year on many fronts: first, the COVID panic resulting in unprecedented government shut-downs, two weeks to flatten the curve turning into months and in some places, even years. Suddenly, there was talk of essential services and social distancing, and churches were ordered closed along with small businesses, while pot shops and abortion clinics and casinos were often allowed to remain open. Then came the mask mandates and eventually the warp-speed development of so-called vaccines and strong-arm tactics and mandates to participate in mass human trials.
Arguably, to put the best spin on so much of what happened, the driving force for much of it was fear: fear of death, fear of being the cause of death, fear of suffering, fear of mishandling crisis, fear of responsibility, fear of rejection, fear of being cancelled and hated by others, fear of a poor witness, fear of any and all risk. What drove so much of our response to COVID was the tyranny of a sentiment, tyranny of feelings, emotions, associations. Sentimentalism is not merely relativistic, it is ultimately tyrannical, coercive, and violent.
Then came George Floyd’s death in the midst of the shutdowns: churches were not meeting, social distancing was all the rage, and then suddenly there were “mostly peaceful” protests in the streets, church-like rallies, and marches. While many faithful churches remained open or quickly re-opened as the hypocrisy became clear, John MacArthur’s church was perhaps the most prominent. Initially complying with shutdown orders, the elders of Grace Community Church reversed course several weeks later and famously announced that they would resume in-person services in defiance of California orders, racking up fines and violations and vitriol.
Some in the Reformed orbit strongly cautioned against MacArthur’s decision, one of the more prominent warnings coming from Jonathan Leeman of 9Marks, and this coming shortly after his participation in a BLM-themed march and rally in Washington DC. Again, giving Leeman the benefit of the doubt, I would argue that the best gloss on this inconsistency would be certain sentiments. Feelings of compassion, sympathy, and pain seemed to trump the feelings of fear or insecurity regarding COVID or the fear or uncertainty of standing up to civil magistrates.
But many noticed. Feelings and sentiment are terrible at making careful distinctions. We naturally have stronger feelings for certain people, certain causes, certain issues; we have certain associations (good or bad) because of our stories, our experiences, but this is exactly what makes feelings and sentiment terrible judges. How do you measure feelings and sentiments? And they are particularly terrible judges because they demand justice, compassion, sympathy, action only until they don’t. But that is no objective standard. It’s a fickle muddle.
In some cases, this means that marching in a rally, giving an offering, masking up, going on a missions trip, or putting a sticker on your computer gives enough positive vibes to take away that guilt, but in many cases, nothing can take away that guilt, and so struggle sessions and study committees must continuously dissect feelings in a black hole of introspection and accusation. One time on CrossPolitic, we asked Dr. Sean Lucas of RTS how we might know when our repentance for racism was complete. And he said, white Christians need to just keep asking black Americans for forgiveness until they tell us it’s enough. When the feelings of the aggrieved are satiated, it will be enough. But like the grave and the barren womb, they never say, it is enough. Dr. Lucas seemed to be suggesting a hermeneutics of sentimentality rather than a hermeneutics of truth and wonder and praise.
Let me give you one more example: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold 3,000 copies on its first day of publication, and by the end of its first year (1852), had sold 300,000 copies. Within a few years, 1.5 million copies were in Britain alone, and by the end of the 19th century, it was considered the best-selling novel of the century, trailing only the Bible in popularity and sales. The wife and daughter of pastors, Stowe professed sincere faith in Christ, and her novel is loaded with Scriptural imagery, quotations, and symbolism. Uncle Tom clearly pictures a Christ-like endurance, sacrifice, and courage. Cassy, the broken and embittered maid of Simon Legree, comes to picture an image of Christian femininity, a virtuous and cunning woman, perhaps even a type of the new Eve, the Bride of Christ overcoming darkness. Is this a case of biblical symbolism and typology driving the truth of God into the heart of the world?
Well, no, the book was best-selling sentimental propaganda. Stowe wrote: “There is one thing that every individual can do – they can see to it that they feel right. An atmosphere of sympathetic influence encircles every human being; and the man or woman who feels strongly, healthily, and justly on the great interests of humanity, is a constant benefactor to the human race” (UTC, XLV, emphasis hers).
What was the central most fundamental thing Stowe wanted? For every human being to “feel right.” Why? Because an “atmosphere of sympathetic influence encircles every human being.” Not truth. Not biblical justice. No, that would have complicated everything: all those pesky verses about how slavery was to be conducted, slaves and masters were to honor and treat one another, not to mention the book of Philemon. Just feel right and you will be a constant benefactor to the human race, and 600,000 American lives later, maybe we should have reconsidered that claim. Despite all the Scriptural references and symbolism and allusions, it turns out that the ultimate authority for Stowe was a humanistic sentimentalism piled high with emotions associated with the Bible, but not the straight, pure truth of God’s Word.
Moscow & the Market for Truth
It was during the 2020 moment and what followed that CrossPolitic and the Canon Plus App and New St. Andrews College and many of our related ministries blew up. CrossPolitic hosted the first Fight Laugh Feast Conference just south of Nashville, TN in October 2020, perhaps the only conference of its kind with around a thousand people in an indoor soccer arena without a mask in sight. For many, it was the first time they had any taste of normalcy in months. It was completely legal, but police were called and stopped by to make sure we knew what we were doing was… completely legal. But I believe the real relief was the refreshing truth.
We’ve heard countless testimonies of folks during lockdown finding Pastor Wilson’s blog, Canon Plus, WhatHaveYou, CrossPolitic, and many of your youtube and podcast sermons, and piles of people getting CREC red-pilled. Of course, the vast majority of our CREC churches remained open or re-opened very quickly after the madness seemed abundantly clear, and Presiding Minister Virgil Hurt led the way releasing public statements on the essential nature of Lord’s Day Worship, the limited jurisdiction of civil magistrates, the economic impact on American businesses, and the Christian doctrine of liberty of conscience and the right of families to make their own personal healthcare decisions before God.
Most of our churches have grown significantly since 2020, some you were birthed during 2020 or since then, as a direct reaction to the COVID insanity. And the thing they have been drawn to is the truth. What we have found is that there is a significant market for truth.
Conclusion
So this is the point I want to leave you with: in this cultural moment of madness and chaos, everyone is hocking their wares. Everyone is selling something. Fundamentally, there is truth and lies, but we know that there is also plenty of room for propaganda and counterfeiting and all manner of debasing the value of truth. And there’s a particularly insidious strain of debasing the truth that Christians are susceptible to, and it is the debasing of sentimentality.
It is not enough to associate with the truth. It is not enough to describe biblical symbols and types in detail and then associate them with Biblical themes and truths. Our job is not to build with mere faithful sentiment, or biblical feelings or symbols or associations because ultimately, those can all be manipulated. Our job is to build with the precious metals of truth, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Of course, we have many God-given symbols and signs and types, but there should be a massive difference in our mind between what scripture reminds us of, and what God has actually said and intended to communicate and reveal. Do the actual exegesis, beginning with letting Scripture interpret Scripture, but do the hard work of exegeting the truth, not your feelings not your associations. Machen described what he saw in his day as the tendency to disparage the intellectual aspect of religious life, what he called an “indolent impressionism” particularly in biblical studies, a great reluctance to define terms, to memorize and master facts, and simply preach and teach them.
And the stakes are really high: when truth is watered down this will ultimately result in a reduction of wonder and from there a muting of praise. We are a communion of churches that have made a stand on the centrality of worship, the essential nature of face to face, in-person covenant renewal worship. But this is because God has spoken, and we know the truth. We do not worship according to our own whims, according to so-called pious and holy associations or sentiments. We worship according to Scripture. We worship in Spirit and in truth.
We really are living in a remarkable moment in history. God has significantly lowered the bar for success. Stay open, require no medical mandates, and tell the truth. Preach the whole truth, teach all of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. It is the truth, the facts, the knowledge, the understanding of what God has actually said – it is that which is refreshing. It is that our countries are starving for. Imagine a dry and barren land filled with water fountains, where the people are cursed with a complete rejection of water fountains. They are slowly dehydrating to death, but all they have to do is press a button and cool, clean water will come flowing out. We live in that world. A world starving for truth. We have the truth. It is our job to give it to them.
Photo by Ruben Sukatendel on Unsplash
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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 12:22:51 GMT -5
ALPHA & OMEGA
11/30/2023 · BY TOBY
In Rev. 1:17, Jesus says, “Fear not; I am the first and the last; I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”
Every week, you hear the words of institution, where Jesus said that this meal, and the wine in particular, is the new testament or new covenant in His blood. This means that every Lord’s Day we are renewing or reaffirming the new covenant. This is the promise of God not to hold our sins against us for the sake of the blood of Christ. Here is God’s solemn oath in the blood of His own Son: your sins are forgiven. As far as the east is from the west, He has removed your sins from you.
This means you can always start over.
This is also why Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the first and last. On the one hand, this is His Sovereign power to bring you through. He holds the beginning and the end, the beginning of your trials and trouble and the end of them all. When you go through challenges and difficulties, if you are in Christ, you are always going through them with Christ. If He is the beginning and the end, then He is there in the middle of every moment.
But He is there in a particular kind of way: He is with us as the beginning and the end. He is the end of all our sin, all our suffering, and He is the beginning of eternal life, endless glory, Heaven itself.
So when you come to Him, You come to Him as the One who is constantly making an end of those things which must end and constantly making a new beginning. And this means you are not stuck in a rut. You are not stuck in the past. You are not trapped in a moment. Your past does not define you. Your sin does not confine you. Your family, your history, your parents, your choices, any more than anything in the future – if you are in Christ, You have come the Lord of history, the Alpha and Omega, first and the last, the beginning and the end. So as Christ said to John, I say to you: fear not.
So come and welcome to Jesus Christ.
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Post by Admin on Dec 4, 2023 12:31:41 GMT -5
THE STRANGE IDOL OF BITTERNESS
09/11/2023 · BY TOBY
“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” (Heb. 12:15).
Bitterness is a sneaky sin because it usually masquerades under a veneer of piety, especially in the church. Bitterness can often sound like a concern for justice. It says, I’m not bitter, I just want justice to be done. Or, I’m not bitter, I just want them to stop sinning against me. Or, I’m not bitter, I just wish they would admit they were wrong and really change. And of course, there is a godly way to want any one of those things, but the difference is that the godly heart is at peace, full of joy, and is willing to think good things of those people.
But bitterness is marked by surging feelings of angst and pain, and there’s often a snarl in the tone of voice. Bitterness is often marked by the words “always” or “never” – they always do that, they never do this. Bitterness retells the story, often regularly, refusing to admit that there were any good times, any good things. Bitterness often requires a perfectionistic, all or nothing, repentance. If they don’t completely change, they haven’t changed at all. And often this is because bitterness is highly defensive. Bitterness says, I can’t ever let that happen to me again. And so bitterness refuses to have forgiveness because you’re afraid you’ll let your defenses down and you’ll be sinned against again.
In this way bitterness is a kind of strange idol. Defensive angst seems to protect you, seems to keep you safe, seems to see right and wrong very clearly. Except it doesn’t. And this is because the wrath of man does not work the justice of God. Bitterness is an attempt to grasp a kind of control over your life, or at least over your pain, but it still eats at you. It’s still troubling you and defiling many. Scripture says, Leave vengeance to the Lord. He will repay. Do you trust Him to protect you? If you do, then you can forgive your enemies, you can confess your bitterness and you can still be safe from all their sin.
BITTERNESS & PRIDE
02/24/2016 · BY TOBY
Hebrews says,See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled (Heb. 12:15). Bitterness is a root, which means it lives under the surface. You can look at a flower bed and only see dirt and flowers, and not realize that there's a thick root lurking just below the soil preparing to spring up. And when bitterness springs up it causes trouble and defiles many. There are many communities, families, churches where you can't quite put your finger on what's wrong. It's like a rat died behind the fridge and everything smells a little off.
This verse says that the antidote to bitterness is the grace of God: see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. Don't fail to receive God's grace. Don't fail to take it in. God's grace kills bitterness because it puts everything in perspective. Bitterness grows in the green house of pride. But grace makes people humble. Grace comes to the lowly, the poor, the hungry, the sick, the broken. But there's a way of being lowly and poor and broken that imagines that it deserves God's grace. Haven't I been sad long enough? Don't I deserve something good? That's pride, and that means you're not really broken at all. And God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
This table is spread for the hungry. It is not spread for the people who think they deserve to get some food because it's been a while. This table is spread for those who know they don't deserve God's grace. This table is a table of grace, a table where we eat a broken Savior and ask him to break our pride so that there will not be any bitterness inside.
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Post by Admin on Dec 11, 2023 15:05:37 GMT -5
THE MOST VULGAR SLUR YOU CAN THINK OF
12/11/2023 · BY TOBY
On the Necessity of Prophetic Naming
Introduction
This article is a follow up thought on Kevin DeYoung’s piece, but not so much a direct response but a further explanation and defense of at least one part of DeYoung’s objection and concern for the “Moscow Mood.” Likewise, this perhaps serves as a sort of tangential answer to Denny Burk’s recent Sunday School class on Doug Wilson’s use of coarse language.
The Bible insists that words are powerful. God created the heavens and the earth by the power of His Word, and He upholds all things by the power of that same Word, which is the Lord Jesus Christ (Gen. 1, Col. 1, Heb. 1). Because human beings are made in God’s image and likeness, we are verbal creatures, and our words imitate and mimic His words. We see this immediately in the Garden of Eden when God gave Adam the task of naming the animals (Gen. 2). This was not merely a matter of assigning relatively random or capricious titles to the animals (like “Fred” or “Fido”), but rather something far more scientific, something more profound, related to the taxonomy of creatures, and what they were for. This becomes clear as the result of that labor was concluding that a helper had not been found that was suitable for Adam.
All of this naming culminated in the creation of the first woman from Adam’s side, and when she was brought to the man, he sang a poem over her, and named her “woman” because she was taken from man. The word for “woman” is related to the Hebrew word for “fire,” and indicates that she was created to be the glory of man (cf. 1 Cor. 11). But naming is not merely descriptive; it is also prescriptive and therefore prophetic. After the Fall, Adam re-named his wife “Eve” because she would become the mother of all the living. And notice that Adam names her this in faith believing that they will live and despite the curse of sin, his wife will bear children, including the seed that will crush the seed of the serpent.
Battle of Words
All of this is why words are so powerful and potent. This why Scripture says that “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Prov. 16:24). Likewise, “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health” (Prov. 12:18). “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Prov. 18:21). Words and names give either life or death, sickness or health, and we are always in some sense eating our words and becoming what we say and hear. James famously says that the tongue is a flamethrower, a tiny flame that is able to set whole worlds on fire – even the fires of Hell itself (Js. 3:5-6). And therefore he warns God’s people to guard their words carefully. Our mouths must not be simultaneously full of cursing and blessing, like some kind of foul fountain (Js. 3:9-12). And yet, clearly James does not intend to forbid all cursing, since he also commends the Psalms to be sung (Js. 5:13).
Many Psalms include curses and imprecations: “Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man” (Ps. 10:15, cf. Ps. 58:6, 69:25). “As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones” (Ps. 109:17-18). And perhaps the most infamous: “Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones” (Ps. 137:9). Evidently, since God’s people are required to sing the Psalms, God’s people are to have these blessings and curses in their mouths so that the Word of Christ may dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16).
Elsewhere, Hosea prays that God will give “whoring” Ephraim “a miscarrying womb and dry breasts” so that they will be bereaved of their children (Hos. 9). And of course Paul warns the Galatians from turning away from the true gospel, saying that if anyone preaches another gospel, let him be anathema, that is, cursed or damned (Gal. 1:8). And if all the church ladies thought that was quite enough, Paul repeats himself in the very next verse: let anyone who preaches another gospel be damned (Gal. 1:9). And we ought to pay careful attention to this curse because it comes in the same letter in which Paul warns Christians about biting and devouring one another with their tongues (Gal. 5:15). Evidently, there is a kind of cursing that is full of love. There is a kind of cursing that is filled with the Holy Spirit, that has crucified the flesh and all of its lusts (Gal. 5:22-25).
God Himself models this for us: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). And the patriarchs take this same language upon their own lips and pass it down to their children (Gen. 27:19). God proclaims blessings and cursing to Israel, and the people affirm them and say, Amen (Dt. 30). So God speaks blessings and certain kinds of curses that His people are required to affirm and echo. And this imitation of God’s Word is part of our prophetic naming. We are not merely agreeing with God’s assessments, we are announcing in faith what will become of these things. This is an act of dominion and rule. By the authority of God’s Word, we are binding on earth as it is in heaven. God says that the adulterer is already cursed (Prov. 22:14). Homosexuality is not merely the kind of sin that will lead to cursing, death, and destruction, it is itself a terrible curse of suicidal madness (Rom. 1), as is the murder of one’s own children (Dt. 28:28, 53-57).
When the Church speaks officially in excommunication, it is formally pronouncing a curse: handing a hardened sinner over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (1 Cor. 5:4-5). While God forbids all cursing out of personal animosity and vengeance (Rom. 12:14), there is a kind of cursing that mimics God’s own cursing which foretells the Hellish destruction and agony that has already begun in certain actions. The Church and Christians in general must recover this authoritative naming – both blessing and cursing – speaking God’s words after Him, as acts of dominion and justice.
At the center of this theology of prophetic cursing is the Cross. But for far too many Christians, the Cross is merely a nice piece of jewelry, an ornate piece of wood in the sanctuary or on the roof of a church building. And it isn’t the God damning curse that Scripture says it is: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them’… Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:10, 13). We read these words and it is easy for them not to be the gut punch they ought to be. Perhaps we conjure up generally “bad” connotations, but not the foul stench of a curse, not the reflexive repulsion of a hateful obscenity. So let your imagination dwell on this for a moment: a man strung up naked, bleeding, defecating, suffocating, screaming in agony. Don’t look away.
And the thing we must not miss is that our God, the God of infinite blessing, also spoke this infinite curse. His Eternal Word became this vile curse. God spoke this revolting curse about our sin. It was a righteous and holy curse, but it was the most offensive obscenity, vulgarity, and blasphemous curse in the history of the world. And that curse has become the salvation of the world.
The distinctions between slurs, vulgarity, swearing, cursing, and obscenity are important and helpful distinctions, but they all come together in the Cross of Jesus Christ. There we have a blasphemous oath, the fiercest damnation of Hell itself, and the most vulgar obscenity and bigoted slur of the righteous God-man stripped naked and shamefully lynched as a spectacle for all to see. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.
Conclusions
So this is the center of all prophetic naming. Preachers of the gospel in particular are required by God to proclaim this curse: the filthy fact of our Lord Jesus with stakes driven through His hands and feet hanging from a Roman gibbet for the forgiveness of all our sins. The only One who didn’t deserve to be there, hanging like an animal ready for the butcher, like a stag to be gutted, stripped and shamed like a whore. The Righteous for the unrighteous.
Certainly words are powerful. And we must not overuse certain potent words and so water them down. And we do not speak curses with any sort of glee or lustful thrill. Some folly we are required to laugh at like our Father in Heaven (Ps. 2), and sometimes wisdom does answer a fool according to his folly (Prov. 26:5) or mock certain superstitious irrationality with a kind of juvenile sarcasm (1 Kgs. 18). But we do not chuckle about real curses. We do not rejoice in the death of the wicked, lest we bring God’s wrath upon ourselves (Job 31:29). But sometimes it is right and proper to name the evil, to pronounce the curse – not because we relish the filth but because more than anything, we want it die and rise again.
This is why church discipline and excommunication is sometimes the most loving thing: pronouncing the the destruction of the flesh “that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5). Some churches and elders do not love erring sinners enough to save them by this means. This is why the Cross is at the center of our prophetic cursing and naming. Whatever gets nailed to the Cross, whatever needs to die stays there and is buried in the tomb of our Lord, but whatever God wills to save will be raised to eternal, indestructible life. The prophetic task sometimes includes the naming of filth out loud in order for Jesus Christ to be evidently set forth as crucified (Gal. 3:1).
So when Pastor Wilson named what Nadia Bolz-Weber did with a bunch of purity rings, this was no junior high coarse jesting, which is clearly prohibited by Scripture (Eph. 5:4). It was rather a prophetic naming. The goal is for that kind of objectification and destruction of women made in the image of the living God – for that sin to be shamed, humiliated, and repudiated for the vulgar obscenity that it is, so that women everywhere may experience salvation, honor, and real love in Christ.
Another example occurs to me: Given how unborn babies are being mixed up in test tubes, frozen in labs, discarded down drains, bought and sold to the highest bidders, and wombs are being rented, before ripping children from their biological parents (if they somehow manage to escape being poisoned, beheaded, and dismembered in the middle passage of pregnancy), America has collectively said that human babies are nothing more than niggers.
And why would a Christian minister, knowing the offense of that word, dare name what we do to our children by the millions by that name? Certainly not for kicks. Not for some kind of cheap thrill, or even for the accolades of five belligerent white-supremacists. No, the only good reason would be in the real hope that maybe it would be the kind of truthful offense that would prick consciences and bring a righteous shame and anger on our land – so that all our hatred of the image of God would be crucified and all human life would be cherished and honored.
Rolling Stone magazine recently ran an article on the so-called empowerment of using the c-word, and it was interesting to note that some folks have apparently noticed that the increasing offense of vulgar obscenities (f-word, c-word, etc.) has roughly corresponded with an overall decrease in societal offense of profanity and blasphemy (e.g. using the Lord’s name in vain). And whatever the evidence they may cite to back up that assertion, the claim rings true: Christians have put up with the casual dishonor of the name of the Most High God, and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ in particular. But if you write or say certain sexual or ethnic slurs, you have committed the unforgiveable sin. But this tells us who we really fear. It tells us what we really worship. The deepest offense in our vocabulary is against man, against their skin, against their sexuality and dignity. But while men certainly can and do hate and abuse one another in truly despicable ways, our deepest offense is against our Maker, our Savior, the Triune God of Heaven.
Take all the bad words you can think of, the worst words in every human language, list them all out, with no blanks, no asterisks, now stand on a street corner and yell them with all the vitriol you can manage. And you still haven’t even come close to the obscenity and coarseness of our Lord Jesus Christ hanging on the Cross. And He hung there for the sins our land, for all the hate and vitriol, for all the murder and violence, for every lustful thought or glance, for our all bitterness and envy. He hung there so that by that curse, we might be set free and come under His blessing. So don’t look away. This too is central to the “Moscow Mood,” and this is how we win.
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Post by martinmarprelate on Dec 12, 2023 15:09:12 GMT -5
Before we indulge in profanity concerning the cross, let us remember who it was that sent the Lord Jesus to die there. 'Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.' And again, Herod and the rest came together to do, 'Whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.' The foul language that Mr Sumpter thinks so appropriate is actually being directed at the Lord.
Foul language is never to be used by God's people. 'But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness nor foolish talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks ....... Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them' (Eph. 4:3-7).
People who use foul language should be ignored and shunned. Christians have to be better than that.
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Post by Admin on Dec 12, 2023 20:28:45 GMT -5
BLESSED CONFUSION
12/12/2023 · BY TOBY
Psalm 128 is one of our community’s favorite psalms: “Blessed the man who fears Jehovah…” But do you stop and consider that opening line? Blessed is the man who fears Jehovah. It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10), and especially when it comes to worship, we are required to draw near with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-29).
When John saw Jesus, it says that he fell down at his feet like a dead man (Rev. 1:17). God is described in Scripture like a great and terrible storm of glory and majesty. “The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein” (Nah. 1:4). When Israel met with the Lord at Mt. Sinai, thick smoke and clouds descended on the mountain, full of lightning and thunder, and the whole mountain shook (Ex. 19:16-18). Think of standing in front of a volcano, a tornado, and tidal wave of glory as high as a mountain towering over you.
Even the presence of angels are described as terrifying. The first words out of the mouths of angels are almost always: “do not be afraid/fear not.” If the messengers of God make people tremble, how much more God Himself?
God is immense, majestic, and even in His goodness, there is awe and reverence, and the sense that we deserve to die. The fear of God shows us that we are next to nothing compared to Him – dust and ashes compared to Him. And then add to that our sins, and yes, even our forgiven sins, creates what John Bunyan called a “blessed confusion” – deep shame combined with profound relief.
This is the salt that is to season our entire lives: God’s immense greatness, our miniscule frailty, and His glorious goodness in the face of our filth and rebellion.
And it is to be particularly evident in our worship. The psalmist says, “rejoice with trembling.” As they sang on the banks of the Red Sea: “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11)
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Post by Admin on Dec 12, 2023 20:35:21 GMT -5
Before we indulge in profanity concerning the cross, let us remember who it was that sent the Lord Jesus to die there. 'Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.' And again, Herod and the rest came together to do, 'Whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.' The foul language that Mr Sumpter thinks so appropriate is actually being directed at the Lord.
Foul language is never to be used by God's people. 'But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness nor foolish talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks ....... Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them' (Eph. 4:3-7).
People who use foul language should be ignored and shunned. Christians have to be better than that. I do not think he was saying we should curse as he makes reference to Eph 5:4 in paragraph 15. I think he was responding to an article that mentions cursing. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 13, 2023 13:22:47 GMT -5
Toby J. Sumpter
4 hours ago
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Even in those (very) rare instances where a pregnancy directly threatens the life of a mother or a child has died or will die in utero or shortly after birth, there is still a massive moral difference between chopping the baby in pieces and vacuuming it out and removing the child respectfully when it has already died or when we do not yet have technology to save the life.
My third born had a twin sister who died around 20 weeks in utero, and we had doctors telling us that whatever killed the one was likely going to kill the other. Ultrasounds revealed anomalies that suggested Downs or some genetic disorder or cytomegalovirus. We were asked several times to consider abortion.
One “fetal specialist” looked at my wife like she was crazy when we said abortion wasn’t an option. “You mean to tell me that if this baby is born with all kinds of defects and disorders and likely to die, you still wouldn’t consider abortion?” We said no, and he shook his head at us in disbelief.
We named the child who had died Anastacia, which means “Resurrection.” My wife carried the baby who had died for another 11 weeks along with our living daughter. The doctors monitored my wife and daughter closely, as the baby who had died likely caused my wife to get pre-eclampsia and early toxemia, causing extremely high blood pressure.
We basically waited as long as we could, letting my wife get as sick as we could before it started affecting our daughter. In God’s providence, our daughter’s heart rate started dropping and she - and her sister who had died - were both born by c-section at 31 weeks on Easter Sunday.
My daughter was born at 2lbs 2oz and crying like a tiny kitten, but she had no genetic disorders and is a healthy, happy 15 year old today who has absolutely no use for Taylor Swift (which is to say she is fiercely independent and a loyal Christian fighter). Her sister Anastacia is buried in a cemetery in South Carolina.
All this to say: There is a massive moral difference between intentional murder and the inability to save a life. There is a massive moral difference between doing everything you can to save and preserve life and playing god and intentionally taking life. There is a massive moral difference between abortion and miscarriage or stillbirth.
There is always pain and heartache in losing a life — pain that Christ heals by His goodness and our assurance of the resurrection at the last day. But there is a completely different moral shame and guilt in intentionally taking a life, a tiny, defenseless life, even a very sick one — a shame and guilt that only the blood of Christ can heal.
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Post by Admin on Dec 14, 2023 13:20:07 GMT -5
GLORIFY GOD WITH YOUR BODY
12/14/2023 · BY TOBY
This was a talk I gave for a Logos School Assembly – Life Between the Sexes 2023
Introduction
This is a Christian school, which means that we seek to honor Christ and one another as we study and learn and grow up. This may seem obvious, but it bears stating that apart from knowing Christ, the ways we are trying to honor Christ and one another won’t make sense. So when we have these talks, one foundational question to ask yourself is: do these talks resonate with you? Do you generally want to listen and learn or do they seem like someone speaking a different language, or maybe worse, do they seem offensive or repulsive to you? It says in 2 Cor. 2:16 that the gospel smells like death to those who are dead, but it smells like life to those who are being saved.
The talk today is about life between the sexes, and I want to hit several practical recommendations, but I want to ground it all in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:18-20).
You could summarize the Christian teaching on life between the sexes as that first command from the Apostle Paul: Flee fornication. Flee sexual sin. Notice that he doesn’t say, avoid or keep an eye out for. He says “flee.” Flee means to run away, to rush, and generally the word means to run away from danger and to make haste toward a place of safety.
God Bought Your Body
I want to come back to this in a minute, but first the reasons for running away from the danger of sexual sin. There are two reasons: 1. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in You from God and 2. You are not your own because you were bought with a price. This is why I wanted to begin with the foundation for how we seek to pursue our life together as men and women, male and female.
Paul says that we must flee fornication because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and they do not belong to us because Christ bought them with His blood. It’s interesting that God bought our bodies. Often we talk about how God saved our souls. That’s certainly true, but this text says that God bought our bodies and fills our bodies with His Spirit. His Spirit is not just in our hearts, not just in our souls, not just in our minds, but also in our material, physical bodies.
But if the Holy Spirit is not in you, and if you don’t know if your body was bought with a price, then the command to flee fornication will seem strange, maybe even repulsive. The world is shouting at you all day long that your body belongs to you. You can do whatever you want with your body, and that if you don’t let your body and its passions rule you, you will be sad, hurt, and unfulfilled. That’s why you have do whatever “feels good.” And some Christians even partially give in to this by imagining that God really only cares about your heart or soul, but not so much about our bodies: why’d you get that tattoo, why’d you dye your hair blue? “I just like it.” Man looks at the appearance, but God looks at the heart, we say, misapplying the verse.
But God created our bodies. He created us body and soul to image Him, male and female in His image, to display His glory. And when we scorned Him, He sent His Son to pay the penalty for our rebellion and His Spirit to fill and sanctify our bodies, so that we can please Him and glorify Him with our bodies.
Part of the effects of the Fall is the awkwardness and shame we can feel in our bodies. Sometimes there are also various forms of ingratitude or resentment about our bodies and envy or covetousness of others. Rosaria Butterfield has pointed out that transgenderism is fundamentally a radical envy of a completely different body than the one God gave you. For Christians, not only did God give you your body and your neighbor their body, but He also sent His Son to redeem our bodies, to make them holy. This means that they can be used to glorify Him now through obedience (offering our bodies as living sacrifices), and in the resurrection, our bodies will glorify Him perfectly forever. Our obedience is our sacrifice of praise.
How To Flee Fornication
1. “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Heb. 13:4). The whole point of courtship is to find a spouse in a way that honors God, marriage, and one another. But treating courtship and the bodies God has given us and our interactions together casually is to dishonor the marriage bed and dishonor Christ. Imagine walking into the White House to meet the president in shorts and flipflops or showing up to a fancy dinner in your sweatpants and an old t-shirt. There’s a kind of thoughtlessness that simply is dishonoring. It’s the same with how you interact with one another. Be thoughtful. Hookup/dating culture is also practicing for fornication and adultery, not fleeing from it. If you’re just flirting, talking about who likes who, who has a crush on who, and serially giving yourself to various people (even just emotionally), you’re playing games with emotions that are meant to be ruled carefully until you’re ready to find a spouse. But revving up those emotions before you’re ready is a great way to practice infidelity. This includes the cheap emotional thrill of gossiping about other people or spreading rumors.
2. Treat one another as brothers and sisters. Of course there is a difference between your actual brothers and sisters and everyone else, but the point is to be kind, courteous, respectful, but not intimate. You shouldn’t be close with anyone of the opposite sex who isn’t actually family. And be really careful about pretending that you can (e.g. “They’re practically like family!”) It would be incredibly awkward and weird to have romantic thoughts about a brother or sister, and while you’re in junior high and high school, you aren’t ready to get married yet, so don’t pretend you are. Don’t day dream that you are. Don’t imagine that you are. Don’t talk like you are. Don’t spend a lot of time together, don’t privately message one another. Gents, hold doors, seat the ladies, look out for their needs; gals, thank the guys and cheer them on.
3. “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Eph. 5:4). Crude jokes about body parts or sexual functions are dishonoring to the marriage bed, dishonoring the way God made our bodies, and frequently tend toward being unguarded against sexual temptations. When you make light of the way God made us, instead of being thankful, you’re practicing to be thoughtless, rude, and lustful. Of course, God made our bodies and they are funny in some ways, but if you wouldn’t tell that joke in front of your mom, don’t tell it in front of your friends or on a text thread. This also means not listening to music or watching shows that are full of filthiness.
4. Lastly, flee fornication and honor the marriage bed by prepare for marriage and family. Work hard at your studies, grow in personal disciplines of holiness and self-control and purity. Read your Bible regularly. Pray regularly. Grow into a mature man or woman of God. Maturity means taking responsibility for yourself and then beginning to serve others. What can you do for yourself and how can you help others? Can you pick up a job? Can you volunteer? Do you see things that need to be done and do them without being told or do you only do those things that are asked of you? Seeing what needs to be done and doing it on your own is maturity, and maturity is thoughtfulness and shows honor and is preparing for marriage.
So flee fornication because Christ is worthy. He has purchased us with His blood and filled us with His Spirit, so that we may glorify God in our bodies.
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Post by Admin on Dec 22, 2023 10:17:54 GMT -5
ON BEHEADING SATANIC SHRINES & THE SLIP-N-SLIDE OF NEUTRALITY
12/18/2023 · BY TOBY
Introduction
So last Thursday, Michael Cassidy, a Christian brother and veteran from Mississippi found himself at the capitol building in Iowa where a satanic shrine was on display, apparently pieced together with foam noodles and bungee cords. Cassidy pulled its head off, which was appropriately stuffed with trash bags, and threw the image down. Being a law-abiding citizen, he immediately turned himself into the capitol security and received their citation. A GiveSendGo campaign was quickly opened for his legal defense, and as of the time of this writing around $74K had been raised in his support.
In the week leading up to this, a fairly significant outcry had issued over Iowa’s decision to permit such use of public space. Among those defending Iowa lawmakers was evangelical Christian and state representative Jon Dunwell, insisting that while he personally disagreed with what the statue intended to communicate, Christians must not prohibit such displays. In fact, Dunwell insisted that the Satanic shrine was necessary to defend for the sake of “freedom of religious expression.”
As it happened, I’ve been in the midst of an Advent-Christmas sermon series, and yesterday’s message was titled “Deck Your Idols.” And as I mentioned to my congregation yesterday, I had prepared the sermon before any of this stuff with Michael Cassidy had taken place. But God works in mysterious ways, and make of the timing of all this what you will. I preached from Micah 5 where the prophecy is given that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), and when the Messiah comes, He will save His people, gathering a remnant, and in and through them, God will destroy all witchcraft and idols. The birth of Christ in Bethlehem means the destruction of all idols.
But It’s Just Spiritual!
However, huffing on cans of secularism for the last century, many Christians have been quick to side with Rep. Dunwell, insisting that Christ only came to destroy idols metaphorically or spiritually deep, deep down in your heart (where?) down in your heart. One X commenter named “Aaroninwriting” wrote: “Smashing statues, no matter how evil and idolatrous they are, is not what the Christian is called to do. There’s a large swath of the church that’s embracing what is an Islamic ethos, because it’s dressed up in Christian garb and wrapped in a flag. The deception that’s currently afoot seems so reasonable, so righteous, but it’s going to end in the judgement of God. This emerging Militant Christian Zeitgeist is not of the Biblical Christ whatsoever.” This fellow was kind enough to label this tendency in his bio with the self-ascribed descriptor “anabaptist.” Which is exactly what this position is. This should be distinguished from regular old “baptists” who may or may not subscribe to this retreatism and Gnosticism.
I replied to Mr. Aaroninwriting thusly: “Um. Smashing idols is exactly what Christians are called to do. It’s the only thing we’re called to do. Somebody get this guy a Bible.” Followed by: “It’s the only thing we’re called to do —with regard to idols. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away…” (Col. 3:5-8). And a little later to at least one thread, arguing that my Colossians verse could not possibly apply to Mr. Cassidy, I wrote, “While I do not believe there is a direct correspondence between what Gideon did with the idol in his home town and our situation, there is an important lesson and analogy to be applied in our public square, and I think it’s a legitimate application of Colossians 3.”
Jenna Ellis, among others, also lent her voice to objecting to Mr. Cassidy’s actions, arguing that it was a mistake to see God’s commands to Israel to destroy idols applying to any Christian today. Ellis raised the question of whether those defending Mr. Cassidy would also defend someone who beheaded a statue of Allah. Thankfully, 69% answered her poll in the affirmative, and she seemed to think this was proof that “Christian Nationalism” is a subversive movement to undermine our constitutional order, replacing it with “a theocracy, including blasphemy laws and criminalizing other religions and their practice.” While Ellis says she hates such satanic shrines, she believes that Christians are not required to tear it down because the statue has no innate power, is not requiring Christians to disobey God, and because our war is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness.
From Israel to America
While it is true that Christ teaches that idols begin and must be uprooted primarily from the hearts of men and our personal lives, it is also true that He teaches that external and public actions must often be taken to eradicate them. Plucking out the eye that causes sin and cutting off the hand certainly begins with personal repentance, but does not necessarily end there. On what basis would Rep. Dunwell or Jenna Ellis prohibit a pornographic display at the Iowa State Capitol building? Remember, we are now at the point where the Sisters of Perpetual Perversion are insisting on their “religious right” to publicly display their private parts to little kids in the name of what David French calls the First Amendment.
While Ellis and Michael O’Fallon and others are insisting that this display and others like it are traps for conservative Christians, intending to get them to over-react in violence and so invoke a tyrannical response from the left, I do not think they see how the whole set-up of supposed constitutional neutrality is a trap. Let me grant the point: are there some on the left hoping that some right wing kook will blow up an abortion clinic or assassinate a prominent LGBTQ activist? Absolutely. And let me state clearly: we must not condone, support, or encourage any of those sorts of revolutionary tactics. But that does not mean that all external, public acts are thereby off the table. Calmly beheading a satanic shrine made out of trash bags and pool noodles is not joining the BLM mob, not joining Islamists, or turning our struggle into a “flesh and blood” war or somehow taking matters into our hands.
Was Moses taking matters into his own hands when he broke the golden calf down and ground it to powder? Was Gideon taking matters into his own hands when he tore down the altar in his home town? Was Samuel taking matters into his own hands when he hacked Agag to pieces before Saul and his anabaptist struggle session? The point is that Jesus and the apostles certainly teach that the training of Israel in holy war has its first and primary application in individual piety, familial faithfulness, and church discipline, but it does not and cannot end there. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ. Just wars, capital punishment of murderers, and yes, the suppression of false religions and blasphemy are the foundations of Western liberty. Just ask Augustine, King Alfred, John Calvin, or even George Washington.
As Joe Boot said to Jenna Ellis on X, “Madam, you need to read some history. The modern West has only recently repealed Christian blasphemy laws replaced by pagan ones. US states throughout the 20th century started repealing these laws. England in 2008 & Scotland only in 2020. All social orders limit some speech.” In other words, it is certainly true that the specific laws and instructions that God gave to Israel do not apply to modern Americans in a one-to-one way, but the moral principles of those laws and commands certainly do stand and have a public application. Christians have understood this for centuries.
The point is that there is no such thing as neutrality. This was a wet dream of the Enlightenment, and I mean that pretty much literally. Freud and Marquis De Sade were assisted by Darwin and Rousseau, Hobbes and Locke – in their own ways, to posit a neutral public square that would ultimately allow for freedom of orgasm, which is basically what the First Amendment means to modern Leftists and their deceived conservative acolytes. The problem with the Ellis-O’Fallon powerplay narrative is that it doesn’t go deep enough. Enlightenment secularism was wrong. And this is demonstrated easily by the simple question: by what standard? By what standard would Ellis or O’Fallon or Dunwell prohibit pornography or a sodomite shrine? And appeals to “common sense” or “basic human decency” are really meaningless at this point. Turns out “common sense” and “basic human decency” now require things that the founders of our nation would have never countenanced: from Drag Queens in our libraries to the Sisters of Perpetual Perversion in our baseball parks — sorry your so-called “neutrality” looks an awful lot like a baseball bat coming down on our head.
The Ellis-O’Fallon-Dunwell position pictures Leftists and Christians in a death struggle on the mountain of civic Justice. In their view, our job is to basically hold still as much as possible while the Leftists jerk and shake and convulse with their revolutionary lusts. In their view, if we respond with anything other than what the Supreme Court has handed down as the current law of the land, we will allow the Leftists to convulse even more and that will lead to loss of Christian freedom and inevitably a stumble further down the mountain of civic justice. The problem with this view is that it imagines that we are playing on relatively neutral ground, as though we both have our feet planted on something solid, even if the Leftists are apoplectic and epileptic. But the so-called “secular experiment” was always a set up. Turns out that the neutral public square is actually a slip-n-slide and just to keep things colorful it’s generously lubed with K-Y Jelly. In other words, the myth of neutrality is a lie, which means it’s immoral and therefore it never could produce true civil justice or religious equality. Ellis and Company think if we only hold still we can preserve some semblance of the “liberal order,” but we’ve been sliding down this mountainside for the last fifty years and no amount of compliance has slowed us down. The answer is to get off the slip-n-slide of neutrality, and start hiking back up the mountain of biblical law. That isn’t tyranny. That’s the only path to real freedom and justice.
Speaking of heads getting cracked, C.S. Lewis wrestled through this very point in the second volume of his Ransom Trilogy. In Perelandra, the hero Ransom experiences a sort of parallel universe version of the original Garden of Eden on the planet Venus with its very own Satanic-tempter, a demon-possessed scientist named Weston who has become the “Un-man.” After reasoning and arguing for many days, Ransom finally concludes that the only way to win this battle will be by literally killing the Un-man. “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, here goes—I mean Amen,’ said Ransom, and hurled the stone as hard as he could into the Un-man’s face.”
Of course, some will say that I’ve just condoned literal violence, and how can I praise this while saying I do not support vigilante violence? I would simply refer you to the founding of America. How were the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence, and the War for Independence justified? You cannot celebrate the founding of our nation and then condemn the very same spirit and principles that established our freedom. It was on thoroughly biblical and Christian principles that we refused to submit to tyrannical taxes and the breach of natural law and our covenants with the King of England. And this is because God’s Word always reigns supreme. God’s Word defines and defends true religious freedom, freedom of conscience, and separation of powers – including the separation of church and state. But by that same Biblical standard, there comes a time to topple statues, even the kind crafted out of flotation devices.
Conclusion
Jenna Ellis claims that civil disobedience is sometimes called for but only when the magistrate is requiring disobedience to God. Now to be clear: I have not claimed nor would I insist that every Christian has a moral duty to physically tear down every symbol of unbelief, like tearing down every pride flag next June – as though you are in sin if you walk by a rainbow flag and fail to deface it. However, I am claiming that what Michael Cassidy did appears to have been nothing but virtuous, and therefore something to be celebrated and emulated.
Presumably, Ellis and others would say that pornographic displays ought to be prohibited because they pose some kind of immediate threat in a way that a cheesy Halloween display does not. But I beg to differ. Ellis would be right that no one is seriously tempted to convert to “satanism” because of this shrine in Iowa. No, not hardly. But we have all witnessed another seduction taking place actively, and that is the ongoing seduction of secularism. I’m not worried about Iowans turning to the dark demons of the occult just yet (although that is certainly waiting in the wings), but what I am worried about right now is our lawmakers humping our modern goddess of neutrality. The satanic shrine is Enlightenment porn. It’s a Victoria’s Secret display for naïve lawmakers and journalists.
The Iowan shrine is just another kind of drag queen on display. The seduction isn’t an overtly sexual perversion yet. This is the secular foreplay, grooming our leaders and neighbors to snuggle up to the myth of neutrality and so-called religious equality. But after that comes the sodomy and the pedophilia and the cancel culture. It always does. You cannot celebrate immorality and then somehow preserve justice in the public square. You cannot pull justice out of the hat of neutrality. There is no true justice or equality under the law unless Christ is King. There can be no true religious freedom in human society apart from the Word of God.
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