Reformed Thoughts

Spare The Rod, Spoil The Church

2009-06-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I recently finished Dr. Al Mohler's newest book, The Disappearance of God. It was a great book on the state of the Church today. Dr. Mohler spent a good amount of time in this book dealing with Church Discipline and where it has gone over the years.

When I say Church Discipline I'm sure that many people much like myself when I first heard those words had no idea what that is. Church Discipline in my way of understanding is the process laid out in scripture for the believing Church to keep itself pure by removing false believers from its ranks. Church Discipline is clearly laid out in scripture, but much like the Trinity is never given a name.

The Doctrine of Church Discipline is most clearly seen in Matthew 18:15-20. In short, this is where Christ teaches that if your brother sins against you go to him privately. If he does not repent take one or two with you. If he still refuses to repent take him to the church with his sin. If he does not repent Christ teaches, "let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector." This is not the only place where Discipline is mentioned. We seen in 1 Corinthians 5 an example of Church Discipline.

Many critics of Church Discipline say what is the point, or lets not embarrass people. To this I say your wrong! The point of Church Discipline is to keep the Bride of Christ, his church clean and pure before him. Would we rather embarrass one unrepentant sinner or let that one unrepentant person embarass the Church?

The Great Reformers had three marks of what a true church is, they were Expository Preaching, the Ordinances, and Church Discipline. By these standards most churches in America would not be counted as a Church. Not merely because they do not practice Church Discipline, but also due to a lack of Expository Preaching.

However, before we decide to discipline someone, we have to examine our selves. We must be sure to remove the plank in our eyes before we try to remove the speck in our brothers or sisters eye.

Christian Beauty

2009-05-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend after spending what seemed like an eternity in Circle K with my parents picking out a couch that was dark enough to match the new tables we stopped in at my favorite store, LifeWay Christian Resources. Its always a dangerous thing when I go into LifeWay because I always seem to stimulate the economy. This trip my wonderful mother bought for my bride to be and myself John Piper's new book, This Momentary Marriage. I figured since she was buying that it would only be right for me to buy a book for myself. I began to scour the shelves and finally had to decide between two. The book I finally chose was Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.'s newest book The Disappearance of God (Review forth coming).

In his book Mohler gives the proposal for several things ranging from theology to Church Discipline. I'm about half way through and the chapter I just finished he brought to my attention a thought I had never pondered. This thought was: "What does Christian beauty look like?" At first glance I thought beauty is beauty, whether saved or not, beauty is beauty. However, Mohler once again has changed my mind.

Christian beauty is truth. This has several implications: a true doctrine should be beautiful to a Child of God. A good sermon should be beautiful to a saved person. The one that hit me the hardest though had to do with the physical and within that the human body in particular.

As humans we are all made in the image of God. Whether black, white, yellow, or red. Whether your like me with frekles everywhere the sunshines, or like my beautiful fiance with a chin with its own zip code (more for me to kiss!), or like others with a big nose. We are all pictures of the mighty God! Why then are we so quick to point out our flaws? As my dad has often reminded me, "God don't make no junk!"

If this is true why is our culture, Christians included, so quick to want to change our appearances? We have plastic surgeons to tuck, lift, enlarge, or shrink anything you want. We can get shots to do away with wrinkles, die to hide our graying hair, and make up to hide what we really look like. Women are faulted a lot, but men are just as guilty. We as men want to be as the Governator would say, "Pumped Up!" Due to this many of us stop at nothing to get the results we want. Whether it be natural supplements or illeagal substances, it doesn't matter.

If we are made in the wonderful, beautiful, TRUE image of God why do we desire to change? I realize more as I get older that I am who I am. God made James Ethan Crowder to look, talk, walk, and be James Ethan Crowder. We have no reason to change! We are made in the image of the most Beautiful and Glorious being to ever live, the God of Creation!

Please do not hear me say that being healthy is not necessary or that all plastic surgery is wrong. In many instances, plastic surgery is necessary. However, let us remember that our bad flaws are results of the fall and our other flaws are what make us, us!

Side Note:
I listened to John Piper preach on John 3:16 this morning...WOW! He nailed it. Its a two part sermon and I finished the second today. He closed it with a quote from D.L. Moody which said in paraphrase: When we walk into heaven the outhside of the gates will read "Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord" and after we pass through we will look back and read "Chosen before the foundations of the Earth" This is humbling.

Contemporary Christian Music

2009-05-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

As of late I've been trying to "clean up," for lack of a better phrase, my musical preferences. Sadly, I have yet to come across anything that strikes me as good other than what my old music choices allow. When saying "clean up" I mean that I am trying to listen to less Country and more God honoring.

Notice above that I said God honoring and not Christian or non-secular. It seems to me that much of the Contemporary Christian Music of today is nothing short of feel good music. There is nothing wrong with that. Please do not hear me say that. However, I'm looking for something that places more emphasis on God's glory and mans sinfulness.

As I'm writing this it occurs to me how odd that sounds. I want to hear something that makes me feel like dirt. However, that's not what I mean. I mean more of something that shows how sinful we are, how perfect God is, and the mercy and grace that he has lavished upon us.

Also when looking for music I would like something that teaches me. Music is one of the best ways that we learn. Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY has an entire ministry that is devoted to nothing but writing new songs with great Biblical truths found in them. They also take older hymns and rearrange them to a more contemporary setting.

If anyone has any suggestions on music that I might like or other comments please let me know. For now I will stick to my sermons I guess. I've been listening to a lot of John Piper lately. I'm about to move on to Dr. Danny Akins' Axioms Of A Great Commission Resurgence. I hear its good!

Here is a link to one of my personal favorite songs. This is an Issac Watts Hymn rearranged by Sojourn. This is what I'm looking for:
http://www.sojournmusic.com/2007/08/06/before-the-throne/#more-34 (The song is In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross, it is at the very bottom, second song from last. Enjoy!)

PS Mrs. Pam, I can't figure twitter out, I need a Twitter for Dummies lesson!
PSS I've been begging Anna to sing this song at church for quite some time!

Due To Recent Events I'm Back

2009-05-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Due to some things I've been reading and some conversations I've been apart of with several different people, I have decided to return to the blogging world. The break I took was only due to my own Laziness, so here it goes. Try #2!

Honeymoon

2008-12-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

It's official, I am engaged to Anna Marie Darty. We were engaged on Friday. She's thrilled and has a sore finger. I'm thrilled and have a thin wallet. The wedding plans have already begun and I'm already a little tired of them. As of now, the tentative date is June 6, 2009. The day after my birthday!

I Think I Agree With Everything He Says

2008-12-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my recent lack in Blogging. Since coming home I haven't had much of a chance to sit and blog.

On another note, I found this article on Grace To You, the media ministry of Dr. John MacArthur. John MacArthur is Past of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. He is also the author of numerous books and articles. He most notably is the author of the MacArthur Study Bible and Commentary series. Here is an article that he wrote on Gods role in Salvation. Enjoy!

What does the Bible teach about election?
Election is the act of God whereby in eternity past He chose those who will be saved. Election is unconditional, because it does not depend on anything outside of God, such as good works or foreseen faith (Romans 9:16). This doctrine is repeatedly taught in the Bible, and is also demanded by our knowledge of God. To begin with, let's look at the biblical evidence.
The Bible says prior to salvation, all people are dead in sin--spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). In this state of death, the sinner is utterly unable to respond to any spiritual stimulus and therefore unable to love God, obey Him, or please Him in any way. Scripture says the mind of every unbeliever "is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7-8, emphasis added). That describes a state of total hopelessness: spiritual death.
The effect of all this is that no sinner can ever make the first move in the salvation process. This is what Jesus meant in John 6:44, when He said, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him."
This is also why the Bible repeatedly stresses that salvation is wholly God's work. Consider these passages:
In Acts 13:48 we read, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed."
Acts 16:14 tells us that Lydia was saved when, "... the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul."
Romans 8:29-30 states, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
Ephesians 1:4-5,11 reads, "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will ... also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will."
Ephesians 2:8 says even our faith is a gift from God.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle Paul tells his readers, "God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation."
Second Timothy 1:9 informs us that God "has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity."
Occasionally someone will suggest that God's election is based on His foreknowledge of certain events. This argument suggests that God simply looks into the future to see who will believe, and He chooses those whom He sees choosing Him. Notice that 1 Peter 1:2 says the elect are chosen "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father," and Romans 8:29 says, "whom He foreknew, He also predestined." And if divine foreknowledge simply means God's knowledge of what will happen in advance, then these arguments may appear to have some weight behind them.
But that is not the biblical meaning of "foreknowledge." When the Bible speaks of God's foreknowledge, it refers to God's establishment of a love relationship with that person. The word know, in both the Old and New Testament, refers to much more than mere cognitive knowledge of a person. Such passages as Hosea 13:4-5; Amos 3:2 (KJV); and Romans 11:2 clearly indicate this. For example, 1 Peter 1:20 says Christ was "foreknown before the foundation of the world." Surely this means more than that God the Father looked into the future to behold Christ! It means He had an eternal, loving relationship with Him. The same is true of the elect, whom we are told God "foreknew" (Romans 8:29). That means He knew them--he loved them--before the foundation of the world.
If God's choice of the elect is unconditional, does this rule out human responsibility? Paul asks and answers that very question in Romans 9:19-20. He says God's choice of the elect is an act of mercy. Left to themselves, even the elect would persist in sin and be lost, because they are taken from the same fallen lump of clay as the rest of humanity. God alone is responsible for their salvation, but that does not eradicate the responsibility of those who persist in sin and are lost--because they do it willfully, and not under compulsion. They are responsible for their sin, not God.
The Bible affirms human responsibility right alongside the doctrine of divine sovereignty. Moreover, the offer of mercy in the gospel is extended to all alike. Isaiah 55:1 and Revelation 22:17 call "whosoever will" to be saved. Isaiah 45:22 and Acts 17:30 command all men to turn to God, repent and be saved. First Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 tell us that God is not willing that any should perish, but desires that all should be saved. Finally, the Lord Jesus said that, "the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37).
In summary, we can say that God has had a special love relationship with the elect from all eternity, and on the basis of that love relationship chosen them for salvation. The ultimate question of why God chose some for salvation and left others in their sinful state is one that we, with our finite knowledge, cannot answer. We do know that God's attributes always are in perfect harmony with each other, so that God's sovereignty will always operate in perfect harmony with His goodness, love, wisdom, and justice.

Home For The Weekend

2008-11-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had the awesome chance to fly home for my beautiful Sister's wedding. She was beautiful, the wedding was beautiful, and the weather was beautiful. Shannon married Thad Tisdale on Saturday night and forever became Mrs. Shannon Tisdale. When I recieved the phone call that she was engaged, my heart sank. It was after a Wednesday night service and I along with Anna, one of the other thirds of the Trifecta Sam, and his girlfirend Megan were all on our way to see the second installment of The Chronicles of Narnia. I remeber my heart sinking and tears filling my eyes. I was not quite sure why at first, but then it hit me. Nothing would ever be the same.

Over the last several months this has continued to be true in my life. When I arrived home on Friday, I was greeted by my sister's small white dog. This would not have been strange other than the fact that it was inside. My dad is notorious for not wanting animals inside the house. He doesn't even like Shannnon to come inside unless she's had a shower and taken her flea medicine! (I'm just playing of course!) After being greeted by an inside dog, I proceeded to my bedroom that now has a different entertainment center and has things hung on the wall. I then walk across the hall to find my sister's room painted Disney Yellow and see Disney characters staring at me from all angles. So my next thought was....Mama could not have changed my sanctuary, my office, my study.....MY BATHROOM!!! To my surprise, sure enough, there are girly sayings hung on the walls and my usual reading material has been moved to who knows where.

However, after all of the visible changes, nothing else has changed. My parents are still the same, my friends haven't changed, and Belmore/Keystone Heights/Green Cove Springs, Florida is still where I call home!

God Is Sovereign

2008-11-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

Last night this may have well been the resounding sound heard through the halls of Boyce College and the many statuses on Facebook. Yes, God truly is sovereign in all things. Whether Presidential elections or tragedies, God rules overall.

This phrase is often times thrown around. People say that God is Sovereign in every aspect of life, however their Theology does not reflect this view.

I write this post out of frustration and the hope of changing some people's views on this subject. Before I begin please know that I do not believe that this is something that should divide people. You are open to form your own theology. Many of my dearest friends will disagree, many great pastors and theologians disagree on me with this, however I still respect and love them.

We say God is Sovereign over all aspects of life, but do you really think he is? In particular, is God Sovereign in salvation? I believe that he is. I am also quite convinced that you would say He is to.

My view of God's Sovereignty falls in line with that of Reformed Theology or... the big bad word Calvinism. I do not like to refer to it as Calvinism because I feel like I'm in a cult when I say this.

Reformed Theology is made up of five points (or seven if you follow John Piper). These five points are shown in the acrostic TULIP.

T- Total Depravity. This means that as sinners we are not free to choose to be saved.

U- Unconditional Election. God from eternity past, chooses from his own pleasure whom will be saved.

L- Limited Atonement (or particular redemption). This teaches that Christ death was for the elect. Here I would also add that his death was SUFFICIENT for all, but EFFICIENT for some or the elect.

I- Irresistible Grace. This means that people can resist God's grace. However, God will overcome that resistance for whom he has Chosen.

P- Perseverance Of The Saints. This means that God's elect will not fall away from the faith.

I know that this is a hard pill to swallow. Quite frankly, it is not a nice doctrine. It is not fun. However, if God would Choose Israel out of all of the other nations to go out and Kill and conquer other nations, then why is it so hard to believe that the same God would choose some for salvation?

I'll keep addressing this subject, but this is as far as I'll go for now.

Essentially Literal Translations

2008-11-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

My last post was a question that I wanted people to think about. Do Bible translations really matter? Recently I have been doing some reading for my Hermeneutics class on Bible translations. I have increasingly been persuaded that Essentially Literal Translations are the way to go.

Essentially Literal Translations are Bible translations that strive to remain as close to the original writings of the biblical authors. I think this is necessary for a number of reasons. The first is that this type of translation leaves no room for the interpretation of the translator. As with the NIV which is a Dynamic Equivalence translation there are certain passages that, of course not on purpose, are interspersed with the translators own beliefs. Another reason for Essentially Literal Translations is that they remain as close to what God inspired and intended as possible.

There are other reasons, but for the sake of time I won't go into them. The next obvious question is what are Essentially Literal Translations? These include the KJV (kind of), NKJV, NASB, ESV (my personal favorite), HCSB (sometimes referred to as the Hardcore Southern Baptist Bible), and the RSV.

This is not to say that if you use the a Dynamic Equivalence such as the NIV you are not a good Christian. However, I am convinced that if you use an Essentially Literal Translation you will see things in the scriptures never seen before.

Does It Matter?

2008-10-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

Do Bible translations matter?

Gen. Colin Powell endorses Obama

2008-10-19T11:05:00.001-07:00

Today on Meet the Press General Colin Powell gave his endorsement to Senator Barak Obama. This is what I believe to be the last straw for the Republicans. As much as it troubles me to say it, November 5 Barak Obama will most likely be the President-elect of the United States of America.

Pray For Cody

2008-10-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my recent lack in blogging. I've been a bit frustrated with the blogging world lately.

My little cousin, who is now taller than me, Cody gave us all a good scare today. Over the past few months he has passed out twice after running. The Doctor said it was normal and not to worry about it.

Tody he passed out once more however, this time his pupils stayed dialted and he was unresponsive. The EMT's hooked him up to an EKG and his heart beat was irregular. We've always said that Cody marches to a different beat, but we never thought his heart would. After some test and other things he is doing better. He has an appointment tommorow with a Cardiologist so please be in prayer for my LITTLE cousin Cody!

Derek Webb From Cademon's Call

2008-10-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

This is Derek Webb from Cademon's Call. I think this song says it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p00ASxejlE

Why I'm at Boyce

2008-09-30T19:44:00.001-07:00

As you may know Boyce College is a school of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. One of the many reason's I am at Boyce is because of its Conservative Biblical Theology. In this clip from ABC News, they show how our Theology overlaps with our politics. I hope you enjoy it!
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5905951

A Heart For Souls Or A Heart For Christ

2008-09-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

I was struck with a thought tonight that really made me think. Should I have a heart for lost souls or a heart for Christ? I feel like too often in our lives we have a heart for lost souls. This is great, but this heart is not really for the soul rather it is for the number.

A heart for lost souls sounds great, it sounds like what every good Christian should have. I am convinced that this is totally wrong! Our hearts should not be tuned to the lost, but rather tuned to the Glory of Christ! Too often it seems as if we glorify the lost in our churches rather than glorify God. I believe that when we begin to glorify God and bask in his goodness, we will want to win souls for His Glory, not for our numbers.

An example of Glorifying the lost in our churches today would be to change our songs to more seeker friendly songs or to preach on how to live a good life and John 3:16 every time we meet for worship. The Church was not established for the sake of winning souls, but for Glorifying God and edifying believers. It is not the Preacher's job to preach salvation every time he enters the pulpit. It is the members jobs to evangelize outside of the Church.

When all we as believers hear are salvation sermons, we never grow past our salvation. We will never uncover deeper biblical truths. I believe that the Gospel should be pointed to in every sermon through a proper Biblical Theology, but I do not think that it is all that should be preached.

If we truly desire deep devoted Christians, we must get away from "worshiping the lost" and instead truly worship the One Who Saves. Our hearts must be tuned to God's Glory rather than just lost souls. I think that this is a deadly trend in the Church today and it must be stopped or we will soon be in Europe's shoes.

When tuned to His Glory we will then have a desire to Reach The Nations!

Hermeneutics

2008-09-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

"Herman who?" "Why are you neutering Herman?" These were some of the responses I got when I would tell people I was taking Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics has nothing to do with a man named Herman! Hermeneutics, as defined by Robert H. Stein in his book A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules, is "the practice or discipline of interpretation." In the context I have been studying it, it directly refers to the interpretation of the Bible.

I've only had three classes and we have not yet started learning Hermeneutics Proper, but I have been doing a lot of required reading for the class. I am reading three different books on the subject for this one class. Though this is required reading I am actually enjoying it! I am beginning to understand an appreciate the time and effort great men of God have poured into this discipline. I believe that this is not just a discipline for pastors and theologians, but a discipline for any Christian who desires to grown in their walk with Christ.

If we truly desire to grow in our faith, then we cannot simply be content with reading our Bibles (if we do at all) and praying that the Holy Spirit would illuminate our minds with what the Biblical authors were saying. Yes, this is an important part of the process, but I do not believe that this should be sufficient.

Too often, we wonder what the Scripture saying to us. I have sat in countless Bible studies and have been asked "What does this passage say to you?" These are the totally wrong things to be asking. The Bible is not saying anything to you! It was not written to you! The Bible was written to Jewish people 4,ooo years ago and to the early Church 2,000 years ago! It was written long before Internet pornography, television, and shopping malls.

So, we should not read our Bibles at all right....wrong. I believe that we should read our Bibles fervently. However, we should seek to find out what the Bible is saying to us. We should be seeking to find out what the author was saying to the original audience and then figure out how we can apply that to our own lives. There is one right interpretation to the Scriptures, but there are many applications.

Now, what does Hermeneutics have to do with this? Without a proper Hermeneutical Study, we cannot see the right interpretation to lead us to the right application. I know many people who do not use commentaries in their quiet times. Why not? If you can understand every passage you read and interpret it correctly, then by all means do not. However, if you come across a problem passage do not just skip it, get some help with it. John MacArthur has a wonderful, accurate commentary on the whole Bible and a more indepth series on the New Testament, check it out!

PS: Beware of the RIGHT APPLICATION from the WRONG INTERPRETATION!

"Only God can do the work of God."

2008-09-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

The title of this post, "Only God can do the work of God", is a quote from the great Pastor-Theologian Jonathan Edwards. I heard this quote for the first time today during our Chapel. We have Chapel twice a week however, this week is different. This week is the Great Commission Emphasis week and we have the great joy of hearing one of the most gifted Preachers of God's word I have ever heard. This is Preacher is Dr. David Platt. Dr. Platt is a 29 year old PhD. Not only does he have his PhD at 29, but he also has two bachelor's degrees, a M.Div., and a Th.M. These are all incredible feats in such a short amount of time. Dr. Platt has already served as Dean of the Chapel and Assistant Professor of Expository Preaching and Apologetics at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He currently serves a Senior Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Mobile, Alabama. All this in just 29 short years.

All of these accomplishments are fine and dandy but, they mean nothing if they weren't done for the Glory of Jesus Christ. I believe with all of my heart that Dr. Platt did just this. Today he preached on The Power of Christ in the Great Commission. Tomorrow he is speaking on the Person of Christ in the Great Commission and Thursday he is speaking on the Authority of Christ in the Great Commission.

Dr. Platt preached on our lack of dependence on God in Evangelism and Church Growth. A recent trend among many, if not most Evangelical churches is the rise of Publicising churches. This is done through commercials, radio advertisements, bilboards, etc. He raised the question of why? Why do we need all of these. These are all good things, however how much time is spent on our knees before our Soveriegn Lord pleading for the lost? How much time is spent digging in God's Word to hear his plan for evangelism? We as a Church, as the Body of Christ, have lost our dependence on Christ! This is like our bodies not using our hearts or our brains! I pray that Christ Church, myself included(!) will rediscover our need for His Power and His Grace and His Mercy!

Pray for the Lost! Pray for His Power! Pray for Revival!

Practical Theology

2008-09-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Lately I have felt like I've been blogging and thinking about Academic issues that don't really matter in the long run. As I ponder this I was trying to figure out a way to apply these truth's to things that matter.

One way that I realized that I could do this was through evangelism. I recently blogged about Dr. Moore's sermon on the Doctrine of Election and Dr. John Piper's article on Predestination and Evangelism. However, what good is it if I'm not doing my part in sharing the Gospel with the people in hopes of leading God's chosen to a relationship with him. A dangerous part of Reformed Theology and often a point that opponents throw in its face, is that its easy to become unevangelistic. Many times this is what happens, however, many times this isn't what happens. For example, Dr. Mohler, a known Calvinist, created the Billy Grahm School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth as one of his first acts as President here at Southern. I pray that I can have as much of a zeal for the lost as Dr. Mohler does.

Another way that I can live out what I learn is right here. I've been critical of the Church lately in that we have lost Doctrinal preaching and teaching. It is my prayer that through this blog I can share with the readers things that I am learning. I in NO way am claiming to be a Theological Genius or Bible Expert, but I do realize that God has blessed me with an oppurtunity that most people never get. I hope that what I write isn't just thrown to the wayside, but that it causes people to think and to learn.

I hope that this conveys my feelings in a clear way. Please pray that I don't get trapped in the "Seminary Bubble", but that I would apply the truths that I am learning to help spread the Gospel to the nations.

On a more personal not my big sister Shannon now has a blog. Go read it, Go love it, Go love on her! www.shannon-faye.blogspot.com

Hymns

2008-08-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my recent lack in blogging. I've been pretty busy with school, friends, and church. My life will continue to get more busy since I was just hired at Chick-Fil-A. Please pray for me!

Recently at our weekly dorm meeting, I was hit with how powerful Hymns are. Also, just how much my generation and I love hymns. In fact, we love them enough that the majority of the songs that we sing at dorm meeting are hymns. Granted, we do not sing them the traditional way. Our songs are not accompanied by a piano and organ. When we sing Hymns, we are sing along with an acoustic guitar, drums, and a keyboard.

After I realized just how much we like hymns, my mind started turning. I said to myself, "Why?" Why do we like hymns so much. The conclusion that I have come to is that our generation likes meat. Hymns are full of theological meat. Think about in the great Hymn Come Thou Fount. In it we sing:
"Prone to wonder, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart Lord take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above."
We do not hear this in our songs of today. To take it a step further we don't hear this in our preaching today. Our preachers today preach on having your best life now and being purpose driven. This isn't what our generation wants to hear. Frankly, I don't believe that this is what God wants to hear. We want to be challenged by preaching.

This mornings chapel is a perfect example of the preaching that should be preached not only for today, but what should have been preached yesterday and what should be preached tomorrow. Dr. Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology here at Southern preached on the Doctrine of Election. It was fully of theological meat. Not only was it full of meat and not only did I learn from it, but I was also challenged by it. Dr. Moore said at one point in the service that if we are not more evangelistic now than before we understood the Doctrine of Election, then we have never really understood the Doctrine of Election. This is what Churches and Christians of today need to be hearing. Doctrine with application!

During the Second Great Awakening Charles Finney preached shallow sermons that played on emotions, much like the preaching of today. The result were two of the most well known cults of our time, the Mormons and the Jehova's Witnesses. People were lead astray by men like Joseph Smith and Charles Taze Russell because they couldn't discern truth. The preaching of doctrine helps discern truth!

It is my prayer that we would see a revival of expository, doctrinal preaching. To here Dr. Moore's sermon go here: http://www.sbts.edu/resources/Audio_Resources/Chapel_Messages/Fall_2008.aspx

Predestination and Evangelism

2008-08-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

Being the Bible believing Calvinist that I am, I am often asked the question "If God predestines people to salvation what am I here for?" I personally have never struggled with this question, I find a little shallow personally. However, it is a logical question. Obviously, since God does predestine people to salvation, he predestines a point where someone shares the Gospel with them. I ran across this article tonight and thought that it would be a good read for people who struggle with this question or who are just curious as to how a Calvinist would respond. This is taken from DesiringGod.org, the ministry of John Piper. Enjoy!

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From the topic: Evangelism

By John Piper June 17, 1997

Some things don’t happen because other things don’t happen. The nail doesn’t go into the board because I don’t hit it with a hammer. The arrow doesn’t fly because I don’t pull the string. The car doesn’t start because I don’t turn the key. And so on. It seems obvious. But there is something weighty being said here concerning the relationship between God’s decrees and human causality, and particularly among prayer, evangelism and conversions.
James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” So some things don’t happen because we don’t pray for them to happen. This means that at least some of these things would have happened if we had prayed for them as we ought.
Now, what about God’s decrees? What about predestination? If we say that something didn’t happen because we didn’t pray for it, does that mean that predestined things do not happen? No, that would be self-contradictory. If it doesn’t happen, it was not predestined by God. So if an event doesn’t happen and the reason given why it does not happen is that we did not pray for it to happen, then the absence of the predestination and the absence of the prayer always coincide.
James 4:15 says, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that.” So prayer sometimes is the reason something happens, and “the will of God” is always the reason things happen. Which means that sometimes when God wills to do something, he not only predestines the thing, but also the prayer for it.
This is not essentially different from saying that when God predestines that a nail penetrate a board by the pounding of a hammer, he also predestines for the hammer to pound. And it is right to say the nail did not go in because the hammer did not pound. It is also right to say, the nail did not go in because God did not predestine for it to go in. When he predestines the effect, he usually predestines the human cause.
Therefore it is not contradictory to the sovereignty of God to say: a person who perished might have been saved, if I had prayed for them. Or: a person who perished without Christ in Saudi Arabia might have been saved if someone had reached them with the gospel. Predestination cannot be used as an escape from responsibility for the salvation of lost people—by prayer and by preaching. To say that someone who perished might have been saved if we had reached them with the gospel is not a contradiction of predestination, any more than to say the nail might have pierced the board if I had hit it squarely.
Why do people think the biblical doctrine of predestination is compromised by saying, “The lost might have been saved if we had reached them”? It’s a failure to realize that as soon as we recreate a “might-have-been situation,” by asking, “What if I had prayed?” or “What if I had witnessed?” we are also recreating God’s decrees that shaped the “might-have-been situation.” If we recreate God’s decrees in half the situation we can’t assume the other decrees that are related to the recreated ones remain the same. So if we are going to imagine God decreeing a different prayer and preaching, we must also imagine the possibility of God decreeing a different outcome of that praying and preaching, namely, salvation instead of destruction.
Learning to pray and evangelize as though eternity hangs on it (which it does),
Pastor John

By Whose Authority? Elders In Baptist Life

2008-08-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

By Whose Authority? Elders In Baptsist Life is a great resource that my wonderful girlfriend Anna purchased for me recently. It is a short book, almost a pamphlet by Dr. Mark Dever. Dr. Dever is Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. and Executive Director of 9Marks. 9Marks is a ministry that desires to help churches build biblical visions.

I think that many times when we hear "elder" we automatically have a bad connotation. This is probably due to the fact that Mormons are "elder" lead and other cults as well. However, these are inaccurate views of eldership.

By Whose Authority? Elders In Baptist Life is written mainly to Souther Baptist but, is applicable across denominational lines. Dr. Dever shows how Elder lead churches are the biblical model for Christ church. However, through history our churches have lost this model of chturch leadership. Much like many of our Southern Baptist churches have lost the biblical truths found in Reformed Theology (also known as Calvinism or the Doctrines of Grace).

Though I am not finished with the book I have already seen ways that our denomination has moved away from its biblical and historical roots of Elder lead churches. For example, in Basil Manly Jr.'s 1859 Abstract of Principles which ever professor here at Southern and Boyce are required to sign reads, "The regular officers of a church are Bishops or Elders, and Deacons." (Article 14) The 1925 Baptist Faith and Message reads, "Is Scriptural officers are bishops or elders and deacons."(Article 12) Elder was used to describe a Church Leadership position within the Southern Baptist Convention until 1963. In Article 6 of the 1963 and 2000 revisions of the Baptist Faith and Message reads, "Its Scriptural officers are pastors and deacons." They did not change the wording because they thought that elders were unbiblical. To the contrary, Herschel Hobbs, chairman of the comittee wrote in his 1964 book What Baptist Believe wrote, "Pastor-this is one of three titles referring to the same office. The other two are bishop and elder."

I do not think that it is any of our denominational or local church leaderships fault that we have fallen away from this model of biblical leadership. I do believe that we need to reexamine our churches and go back to this biblical model for church leadership. I hope that one day as a future pastor in Southern Baptist life I can work to change this. There are already many SBC churches that have changed to this model and there are those who never changed away from elder lead.

First Day of Classes

2008-08-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

Today was overall a good day. I started classes as an official College/Boyce student today. I had Contemporary Mathematics (church math) and Worldviews I. Both of my professors are awesome. I had never started a math class with prayer lead by the teacher. (I've started many math classes with private prayer so that I might pass a test!) It was awesome!

Worldviews was also an awesome class. We started with prayer and then discussed the things that we would be learning this semester. Some of these topics include aesthetics, epistemology, and the Problem of Evil. As Professor Kerns put it philosophers make up big words to make themselves sound smarter than they really are.

Not only did I have fun in class today, but I also made myself look like a Moron. As I sat with Anna and Kristin (a girl from Alethia) on the Seminary Lawn two men walked up from behind. Hearing the footsteps and voices I turned to see one man whom I had never seen before and another who looked familiar. By the time I had turned my head back around I realized that the man I recognized was Dr. Russell Moore, the Dean of The School of Theology. I quickly did a double take to which he noticed and made eye contact with me. I felt like, as previously stated, a moron!

We also had our first dorm meeting tonight. We were greeted by none other than Dr. R. Alber Mohler Jr. President of Southern and Boyce. As usual, Dr. Mohler was quick on his feet to say "Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, welcome to Boyce College!" (direct quote) He welcomed everyone back and informed us that Dr. Jimmy Scroggins (former Dean) would be back later this fall to provide some closure for his quick departure. After this he went on to introduce our new Dean Dr. Burk and then called Dr. Moore up (yes, the same Dr. Moore) to pray over him.

Dr. Burk once agian delivered a powerful message in which he challenged us to have a Passion for the Christian Word, the Christian Worldview, and the Christian Witness. One thing that I like about Dr. Burk is that he always challenges us to live a quiet life and point our lives towards Christ and His Glory.

So, just as I was challenged tonight, I hope that you to will have a Passion for the Christian Word, the Christian Worldview, and the Christian Witness. Also, always point towards Christ and His Glory!

Isaiah 6:3 "And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.'"

Suffering Center

2008-08-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Last night while listening to the new dean here at Boyce, I was reminded of a statement that I heard Ravi Zacharias say while listening to him read his autobiography on CD. It was that while Christ was being tourtured, hanging on the cross and dieing a death he didn't deserve, he was in the exact center of his father's will.

Then, Ravi went on to raise the point that perhaps when we are suffering, we are in the exact center of God's will as well. That is if we can even count these trials as suffering. Here is where Dr. Burk comes in.

Dr. Burk connected this in my life when he began preaching on the sufferings of this world. He used the example that if we were to place the sufferings of this world on one side of the scale it would look like they were extremely heavy. Then, we put God's glory that will be revealed to us on the other side, it would greatly out weigh the sufferings of this world.

I can personally apply this to my life now in that I feel like I'm suffering having to be 13 hours away from friends and family. However, I know that this is exactly where God would have me to train to proclaim His Gospel, for His glory.

Blog-World Here I Come!

2008-08-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is my first post since starting my blog. I decided to do this so that family and friends can keep up with my happenings here at Boyce. This was partyl enduced by my beautiful sister Shannon and my wonderful girlfriend Anna. So, without further adue, HERE I COME!