Audio Book Review: Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung

This audio book review was made possible by the gracious generosity of the christianaudio.com reviewers program which supplied me with the copy for the review. Thanks guys!

This book is the key to knowing God's will for your life! Actually, the Bible is the key for knowing God's will for your life, but Kevin DeYoung displays the truth of this in this book quite well.

Apparently, there are many volumes published on the same subject, but as far as I'm concerned there doesn't need to be another. Seriously. How many times does it have to be demonstrated from God's word what God's straightforward desire for your life is? I mean, really? It seems quite clear that Pastor DeYoung has noticed the clarity with which God has addressed this topic, and I would recommend this book to anyone who has any doubts that it could be so simple.

From the outset, the narrator didn't seem to have enough variance in his voice to do DeYoung's writing style justice, but whether his voice grew on me or if the material itself was just compelling enough to shine through I ended up not in the least bit bothered by it. I think maybe the narrator was enjoying his job, and that may be why it progressively got better. Either way, I believe he did a good enough job to encourage me to listen to this again sometime in the future.

I also HIGHLY recommend this book to non-Calvinists and those who would call themselves Calvinists who don't take enough initiative on their own because of their persuasion that God is so sovereign that they don't really need to get involved in anything. Again, Kevin DeYoung does a superb job of dispelling the misconceptions held by both of these groups. I would be more clear as to how that is done, but that may discourage you from investing in this book and benefiting by it.

So, what are you waiting for? Don't just DO something--click the link and get listening:

CLICK ME!

An Important Read

Well, I'm sitting at home now, waiting to hear from my supervisor to let me know if we'll be doing any work today. While I'm waiting, I decided to read the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. I really can't tell you what caused me to decide to look this up and read it (besides the Holy Spirit); but I've heard many people tell me how important it is, and I now agree with them.

The unfortunate thing is that many Christians will never read this or ever consider what they actually believe (positive and negatively) about the Bible and how we got it and why it's important to consider these things. Fortunately for you, the reader of this post, you have the opportunity to read it by following this link:

http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/chicago.htm

Isn't it great that you have me looking out for your spiritual well being?

Well, my supervisor just gave me that call, so I gotta get off to work. Enjoy the edifying read!

Go check out the contrast...

I posted the first of these two videos on my Facebook page, but I'll settle for a link to the source where I first encountered them. THIS is a link to James White's blog where he has a powerfully preached sermon straight from the heart of the man who first preached it, and then he has another video by Joel Osteen which is obviously a much different message. It's worth the time to watch--especially the first video. I recommend both, though, because it's nice to exercise our minds in worship to God by being familiar with the false messages in order to keep a clear understanding of the power and clarity of the truth.

A Failure of Local Churches

I'm reading an amazing book called Dear Timothy. It's a clever concept written by a group of seasoned pastors as a series of letters to a young pastor who is just starting out in his first church. It has some great insights for anyone planning to go into the pastoral ministry, and I highly recommend it.

This post, however, is not meant to be a review.

I wanted to share a paragraph cited in the book from another book written by A.W. Pink. This is from Mark Dever's chapter entitled "Do the Work of an Evangelist" on page 163. Apparently, Pink was writing on a subject that is depressingly still relevant that was going on in Australia (his home?) in the 1920s. Allow me to share:

General religious conditions here are very similar to those which obtain in the USA. The vast majority of the churches are in a sorry state. Those that are out-and-out worldly are at their wits' end to invent new devices for drawing a crowd. Others which still preserve an outward form of godliness provide nothing substantial for the soul; there is little ministering of Christ to the heart and little preaching of "sound doctrine," without which souls cannot be built up and established in the faith. The great majority of the "pastors" summon to their aid some professional "evangelist," who, for two to four weeks, puts on a high-pressure campaign and secures sufficient new "converts" to take the place of those who have "lapsed" since he was last with them. What a farce it all is! What an acknowledgement of their own failure! Imagine C. H. Spurgeon needing some evangelist to preach the Gospel for him for a month each year! Why do not these well-paid "pastors" heed 2 Timothy 4:5 and themselves "do the work of an evangelist," and thus "make full proof of their ministry"?

That's quite a question. I thought nothing of the significance or the error behind the position of a full time evangelist who travels to many churches in order to preach revivals and what not until I was in Bible college. I noticed then that there really is no such office in the NT expressed in the way it is now, and I wondered about the validity of it.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who has pondered this, and I think that Pink may have been on to something.

I wonder what makes pastors think that they need to call on some professional "evangelist" when the pastor is to be the one doing the work of an evangelist and training his people to carry on that responsibility into their own lives (Eph 4:11-12). I know that the text in Ephesians names evangelists too, but not in the way that it is now expressed. Maybe it's due to the fact that it's been done for so long. Maybe it's because there are men training for this office and they need somebody to give em some work. I'm not really sure how it has come about, but I (and some godly men too) would like to know why.

I wonder if men leading churches today even care enough to start allowing God's Spirit to work through the faithful preaching of the word and attend to the responsibility of evangelizing people themselves. After all, it's not the visible results that your looking for--it's the faithful obedience that counts (or is it?).

The Benevolent Rich Man

I recently heard a great illustration that I wanted to pass along:

Suppose a rich man knew another extremely poor man who needed a series of surgeries in order to keep himself from dying from an otherwise terminal illness. The surgeries would cost the poor man a total of 10,000,000 dollars over time, but there would be no possibility of that ever happening for him. The rich man, being the benevolent man that he was, decided to offer the poor man the money needed for his surgery to be paid in full and applied at the right time in order to make the future surgeries a guarantee. The poor man realizes his need for the money and ecstatically accepts the money and is made well.

Now, suppose that the rich man not only offered the money to the one poor man in need, but he also offered the money to another poor man in the same financial situation, with the same disease. The only difference in this story is that while the first poor man accepts the gift from the benevolent rich man the second poor man declines the offer. Of course we know that the rich man is not lacking in any benevolence, but what can we say of the second poor man? What is the difference from the one to the other? They both need the money in order to survive, but only one recognizes that need while the other one doesn't. What is wrong with this picture? Is one completely stupid? Is he in denial? What makes the first poor man accept the offer over the other poor man? Is the first poor man smarter than the second? They're in the exact same situation with no advantage over the other, so what gives?

What do you suppose would be the answer?

Why "Roman Catholic" is Accurate, and Merely "Catholic" is Not by James White

I wanted to pass this along because I think it's helpful. We cannot and never should we relinquish the deserving title of "catholic" to the Roman church. This would be inaccurate and irresponsible; but as Dr. White is much better at articulation, see what he has to say:

CLICK ME...

...for Spiritual Growth and Understanding

For quite some time now I've been observing and engaging believers who are excited and motivated to do work for the Lord. I find it refreshing that these folks have gained a heart for the Lord and are anxious to see others come to know Him--as it should be. The thing that I find overwhelmingly disappointing, though, is the lack on the part of some to truly seek to mine the depths of the riches of the knowledge of God that He has approved of us having by giving them to us in the Scriptures. The reason for my disappointment is due to the fact that knowing God is the essence of eternal life (Jn 17:3), and if we don't pursue this knowledge then what on earth are we actually holding forth to the nations?!

I think I should be more precise...

There have been many times in which I have been speaking to friends about theological topics when they express some pious attitude about how they don't think they'll ever know the truth about some particular aspect of who God is or what He's done in this world and among His people. They claim that something is a "paradox" if it seems as though there is some tension between one thing that the Bible says and another thing. If these people are being sincere, then I understand their hesitation, but I would still encourage them not to give up there. If they call something a paradox because they don't want to be in disagreement with someone over something that has been disagreed on for a really long time, they are guilty of letting someone's feelings about them get in the way of their knowledge of God. They are allowing someone to get in the way of their eternal life. There are many explanations of why those apparent contradictions appear to be at odds with one another, and it doesn't have to mean that there is no resolution beside calling it a paradox.

I have an example:

Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
(Joh 20:17)

Now, any orthodox Christian would say that Jesus Christ is God, and that God is a triune being. Though this is true, how does this verse fit with that belief? I've had Jehovah's Witnesses confront me with this verse, and it would not do to simply say, "Well, that's what Christians have always believed." No, this, in their minds, is a contradiction to your belief in the Trinity. Is this verse merely a paradoxical one that we just have to accept on the authority of tradition, or is this a verse that fits harmoniously together with those other verses that affirm the fact that Christ is indeed God in the flesh and that demonstrate His preexistence to all creation? We need to be able to affirm things like these, not on the basis of tradition, but on the authority that we believe that the Scriptures have as the authority to equip us for every good work (II Tim. 3:16-17).

Supposing we don't let the doctrine of the Trinity rest on mere tradition, have we satisfied ourselves with a surface level understanding of this truth about God based on a few verses that seem to fit this together for us? Hopefully, we've spent time reading the Bible and putting these things together in a way that truly satisfies our understanding of God because we love Him because of who He is and what He's done in our lives. Hopefully, we've done these things because we value the relationship that we've been given with Him and are pursuing this eternal life.

I have an illustration...

Imagine Tony, a 17 year old boy who sees Tanya, a girl of the same age walking to school every day past his house. Tony likes what Tanya has to offer him in the looks department, so he goes to talk to her, asks her out on a date, and they begin to get more deeply involved with one another. Eventually, their relationship leads to marriage, and they begin their life together.

Do you suppose Tony knows nothing about his wife? Does he know that she looks great, takes great care of the house, and treats him really nice; but he has no idea what her interests or goals are? Doesn't it makes sense that Tony would know the most intimate details about who Tanya is and what makes Tanya Tanya? And why would he know these things? Or why would he have even cared enough to do the hard work it sometimes takes to find these things out? It's because he loves her and he values his relationship with her.

Do you suppose that anyone would believe Tony's claim of loving his wife if he didn't desire to really KNOW his wife (and I'm not talking about King James "know")? Would you believe anyone who said that they loved their wife while not knowing anything about the woman? "Yeah, she looks great and don't bother me too much." Do you think that's love? No one would.

The point I'm trying to make is: if eternal life is knowing God, how much do we value this eternal life that we've been given? If we truly value the privilege of knowing God, can we really be content saying, "I don't want to worry about all those details, I just want to tell people about Him so they can be saved." Why? Why would they want to be saved? So they don't have to go to hell? Is that the real reason they should want to be saved? Is that the end all be all? Why do you want to tell them about Him? What is so great about Him anyways? Is it the fact that He can do this great thing for you? So, it's about what you can get from Him instead of getting HIM?

Somebody help me out here! I know I'm rambling, and I think rightly so! I'm frustrated! How can we call ourselves Christians while neglecting to spend time getting to know this Lover of our souls as we would some beautiful young woman or good-looking young man (if you're a woman)? How insulting to the One who loved us enough to crush and slay His Son in order to bring us close to Him! We would do this with no shame for "the one," so what keeps us from some discomfort in plumbing the depths of the word and discussing these truths and reading things outside of the Bible in order to fully understand (as far as possible in this life) the magnificence of our God?!

As I write this, I can't deny that I fall short in this. I know fully the fact that I should be spending more time in the word desperately seeking to know Him more than I did yesterday. This is something none of us can escape. We need more of God, and we ALL need to take time to understand who He is as far as His word will take us. And we need to do all that we can to understand how He saved us and what He has done in the world and why and every other detail that He has revealed to us in His word; and we should try and try until we have been fully convinced from His word that He has finally answered, "This far and no farther." Don't give up and don't give in. This is the greatest treasure that we have in this life--to know GOD!

Don't end up like the adopted son who gives people a bad impression of his dad. Get to know your Dad in order to represent Him accurately and becomingly. If we work harder at knowing God more fully, we can make an impact in pushing back the tide of error that has marked American Christianity for so many years. We can truly inform people of His love that can be experienced and relished for the rest of this life and on into eternity.

A Practical Plea...

Imagine a young man of 17 being adopted by a man who owns a car dealership that specializes in buying clunkers in order to repair and resell them. Suppose this young man is excited to get down and dirty and work on those clunkers in order to add to his adopted father's success and notoriety. This young man has no earthly clue as to how you change oil, let alone how to replace an engine; but he is so anxious to make his father proud by getting these clunkers road worthy so they can serve his father's purpose.

Little does this adopted son realize, but his new father is more interested in doing business according to a particular method. His father has decided that he wants the best possible parts to be used by people that have been trained to do things according to the specific method that he has developed. The young man's father has arranged things in this way so that he will be regarded with honor and respect as the trustworthy architect of an upright business establishment.

However, the newly adopted son has realized the goodness of his gracious father and has decided to try to bring much more honor to his name by getting as many of his cars on the road as possible--no matter how shoddy the work ends up being in the process. Unfortunately, the son has missed the goal and the method of the father, and he has therefore allowed unworthy representative automobiles onto the road that have actually damaged his father's reputation...

At Long Last...

It has been quite some time since my last blog post, I know. The semester has been very trying, and I've been doing all that I could to keep my head above water without going out of my mind. The time for me to post is now, though.

I didn't have to write many papers this semester, but I did just finish with one. It's my eschatology position paper for my systematic theology class. I am unsure in a couple of areas; but as you read this, please lend me some advice as to where I may look to increase my understanding of what God's Word teaches concerning this subject. Well, without further ado, here's the goods:

I. Second Coming of Christ

I affirm that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Head of the Church, will one day return to this earth in order to judge the unbelievers of the past, now present and then future. This will happen at a time unknown to anyone but God Himself. At the time when Christ returns, He will gather His people (living and dead) to Himself before He unleashes His fury on the world.

a. Signs

Jesus, when asked by His disciples what the time was that He would return (Matt. 24 and Mk. 13), says that there will be numerous signs to look for before He actually returns.

i. Wars/rumors of wars (Matt. 24:6; Mk. 13:7)

ii. Famines (Matt. 24:7; Mk. 13:8)

iii. Earthquakes (Matt. 24:7; Mk. 13:8)

iv. Tribulation (Matt.24:9-29; Mk.13: 9-25

v. The Gospel will be preached to all nations (Matt. 24:14;13:10)

We can see the signs, and have been able to see them throughout the history of the Church. We cannot deny the fact that many wars have been fought between many nations, and famines and earthquakes have been common occurrences as well. Tribulations in areas where Jesus’ followers have been in the minority have been frequent, and in areas where they are considered to be the largest religious group they are receiving increasing levels of persecution. This has been accompanied by an increased desire by many people in the world to be able to do whatever they want to do without having consequences from the government, and part of that includes being given benefits exclusive to married couples without getting married. These two things display a desire for and pursuit of lawlessness and a loss of love for one another in that they don’t want to commit to a monogamous relationship. The last sign that we have to look for is the Gospel having been preached to all nations/people groups. It seems, at this point in history, that we are very near to this goal; therefore, we must be very near to the time which Christ will return.

b. Tribulation

When looking to the same passages as a guideline, we notice that Jesus told His disciples that there would be false Christs and wars and many of the other signs appearing which He calls “the beginning of the birth pains” (Matt. 24:8; Mk. 13:8 ESV). Directly following this statement in Matthew, He says “then.” This would indicate a chronological sequence directing us to find out what happens next by reading the next statement. So, the next thing He says is that there will be tribulation, and He gives many examples of how things will play out during this time including one very significant sign that I mentioned before: “The Gospel will be preached to all nations.” Then He seems to digress a bit in order to elaborate on the details of the tribulation period. He formerly mentioned that many will fall away, hate each other, and be led astray by false prophets. In elaborating on this, He mentions the abomination of desolation and the fact that the time will be a great tribulation in which many will be led astray. Finally, Jesus tells us that “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29 ESV; “after that tribulation” Mk. 13:24) they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds and sending out His angels with a loud trumpet call to gather in His elect.

At this point, I would say that Christ would most likely be wiping out those who are disobedient to the Gospel. The reason I would say this is because He uses the scenario with Noah as an illustration to describe what it will be like when He comes (Matt. 24:37-39).

c. Rapture

I believe that Christ will return to gather in His people “immediately after the tribulation” and before the final wrath which He will pour out upon the disobedient, unbelieving remainder of the human race. This doctrine, I believe, is taught in I Thessalonians 4:13-17 where Paul assures believers that the Lord will return for His people; and from this point we will forever be with Him.

I do not believe that this will happen until all of the previously mentioned signs are manifested, and the Antichrist (Man of Lawlessness) is revealed. It seems to me that Paul is correcting a mistaken view that the Thessalonian believers had by letting them know that this would be the order of things. In chapter 3 of II Thessalonians Paul corrects some who were under the impression that they didn’t need to be working. I’ve heard it said that those lazy ones seemed to be under the impression that they were going to be raptured out soon (imminently), and this seems to be plausible to me. If that is the case, Paul didn’t simply tell them to get to work until that happens; rather, he added a significant sign for them to look for before they would be gathered together to the Lord. He told them in II Thessalonians 2:1-4 that they would not be gathered together (raptured) to the Lord until the Man of Lawlessness came.

I understand that some people in the past history of the Church have believed that many political or religious leaders have been this Man of Lawlessness, but it seems more likely that he will be recognizable enough to all if Paul is pointing to him as the sign to look for to know that the Lord would be there soon.

d. Wrath

When the returns to inflict His wrath upon the earth and everyone left in it, He will destroy everything that’s left as the flood destroyed everything in Noah’s day. This time, though, He will destroy everything with fire (II Pet. 3:7).

II. Millennium

a. I honestly have not been able to determine my position on this one. I can say that I need to do much more study in the area of the last times, including the tribulation; but I believe that the Scriptural evidence is clear enough for me to point to the time which Christ will return in relation to the tribulation period. I cannot say the same thing for the millennium, though. I see passages like Revelation 20 that speak of a thousand year period, and I read passages that point to the New Covenant as being something very similar to what’s going on now with Jesus reigning in the world among His people. I have studied too little on this subject to this point to make any solid claims based on passages that seem to have so much symbolism surrounding them, but I assure you that I will keep studying.

III. The Eternal State

a. Hell

Without a doubt, those who deny the Son will end up in a literal place of separation from God and torment for eternity. “This is the second death” as the book of Revelation calls it (Rev. 20:14; 21:8). The passages in Revelation can be substantiated by the words of Jesus (Matt. 13:40-42; Lk. 16:19-31), so I think that there is something more to them than some vivid illustration of a time in the future when unbelievers will simply be annihilated or kept from the presence of God alone. No, this seems to me to be a literal place of torment inflicted upon those who spent their entire lives rebelling against their Creator and choosing themselves at every opportunity.

b. The New Heavens and New Earth

The renewing of God’s creation seems to be an inevitable event. When God created all things, He pronounced the good, and I believe that He is working all things together for the purpose of bringing it all back to a perfect existence again. I read passages like Romans 8:19-23 and Revelation 21:1-7 which seem to teach that the earth and the heavens (the whole creation) will be renewed upon the passing away of the corrupted creation. These two passages also indicate that the redeemed of the Lord will be the inhabitants of this renewed creation.

These final things, I believe are the culmination of the whole of history, and we will all see (believers and unbelievers alike) the magnificently intricate details that went into this timeline that we were a part of. These things will bring all things to an ultimate head wherein Christ will receive recognition as Lord before all, and God will get the most possible glory as He graciously escorts His people into an age of peace and joy while justly condemning those who rejected Him. These who He sends into condemnation will recognize the position that they have chosen as the one that they deserve, and God’s redeemed will glorify Him and humbly enjoy the gift that our Lord has bestowed upon us undeservedly for the rest of eternity.