Theologically Sound Politics

In light of the upcoming election and the fact that I've kinda struggled over whether or not I felt right about voting at all, I wanted to go ahead and post a thought that I had after reading an old Baptist confession from 1644.

Keep in mind that the men who wrote this confession didn't have the privilege that we in America have to take part in the process by which our leaders are appointed. They also had much more to lose than we do if the wrong person came to power; they had to worry about their lives while we worry about much more self centered things. This being said, they still had a Biblical attitude and outlook on the situation no matter who got in the office.

My questions when sharing this are:
1. Do we have the same attitude?
2. Do we believe that God is totally sovereign in the whole process?
3. Will we be content with whatever God brings about in this election?
4. Do we trust God with the outcome?
5. Will we submit to the authority (when it doesn't compromise our obedience to our God)?
6. Will we pray for the salvation of our leaders and our safety when they get there?

Well, here's the section of the confession that inspired me to write this. I really pray that we can have the same mind that they did on Wednesday morning no matter what God gives us...

XLVIII.

That a civil Magistracy is an ordinance of God set up by God for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well; and that in all lawful things commanded by them, subjection ought to be given by us in the Lord: and that we are to make supplication and prayer for Kings, and all that are in authority, that under them we may live a peaceable and quiet life in all godliness and honesty.

XLIX.

The supreme Magistracy of this Kingdom we believe to be the King and Parliament freely chosen by the Kingdom, and that in all those civil Laws which have been acted by them, or for the present is or shall be ordained, we are bound to yield subjection and obedience unto in the Lord, as conceiving ourselves bound to defend both the persons of those thus chosen, and all civil Laws made by them, with our persons, liberties, and estates, with all that is called ours, although we should suffer never so much from them in not actively submitting to some Ecclesiastical Laws, which might be conceived by them to be their duties to establish which we for the present could not see, nor our consciences could submit unto; yet are we bound to yield our persons to their pleasures.

L.

And if God should provide such a mercy for us, as to incline the Magistrates' hearts so far to tender our consciences, as that we might be protected by them from wrong, injury, oppression and molestation, which long we formerly have groaned under by the tyranny and oppression of the Prelatical Hierarchy, which God through mercy hath made this present King and Parliament wonderful honorable, as an instrument in his hand, to throw down; and we thereby have had some breathing time, we shall, we hope, look at it as a mercy beyond our expectation, and conceive ourselves further engaged forever to bless God for it.

LI.

But if God withhold the Magistrates' allowance and furtherance herein; yet we must notwithstanding proceed together in Christian communion, not daring to give place to suspend our practice, but to walk in obedience to Christ in the profession and holding forth this faith before mentioned, even in the midst of all trials and afflictions, not accounting our goods, lands, wives, children, fathers, mothers, brethren, sisters, yea, and our own lives dear unto us, so we may finish our course with joy: remembering always we ought to obey God rather than men, and grounding upon the commandment, commission and promise of our Lord and master Jesus Christ, who as he hath all power in heaven and earth, so also hath promised, if we keep his commandments which he hath given us, to be with us to the end of the world: and when we have finished our course, and kept the faith, to give us the crown of righteousness, which is laid up for all that love his appearing, and to whom we must give an account of all our actions, no man being able to discharge us of the same.

LII.

And likewise unto all men is to be given whatsoever is their due; tributes, customs, and all such lawful duties, ought willingly to be by us paid and performed, our lands, goods, and bodies, to submit to the Magistrate in the Lord and the Magistrate every way to be acknowledged, reverenced, and obeyed, according to godliness; not because of wrath only but for conscience sake. And finally, all men so to be esteemed and regarded, as is due and meet for their place, age, estate and condition.

LII. [sic]

And thus we desire to give unto God that which is God's, and to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to all men that which belongeth unto them, endeavoring ourselves to have always a clear conscience void of offence towards God, and towards man.

...and thanks to Phil Johnson for having this confession readily available on his blessing of a website, http://www.spurgeon.org/. Go check it out!

Lookin for Great Resources?

Ya know, I'm not sure why I haven't mentioned it before, but while I was perusing through The Forgotten Trinity by James White I noticed that he had written about the fact that Jesus was shown to be Jehovah Almighty in John 12 long before I had come across this and pointed it out to the JDubs or written it on my blog. This caused me to wonder why I haven't recommended James White's resources already.


I have benefited from James White's ministry since before I got saved, and I think that I should at least recommend all his stuff to you all. I do mean all his stuff, by the way. Whether you will be in contact with Mormons or JDubs or Roman Catholics or Muslims you can learn much more about them and how to answer their false claims by checking out Dr. White's blog, mp3s, books, or whatever else he has to offer. Believe me, I'm not the only one that thinks so. I bought 3 books from his website, and I loaned The King James Only Controversy to someone and never got it back, and I have been asked to lend The Potter's Freedom out to someone, but I let my dad borrow that one first.


Anyways, I know that many of you that take the time to look at my blog are planning to go into some type of full time vocational ministry, so you're gonna need to not only be able to teach sound doctrine but also rebuke those who contradict it (Tit. 1:9). You can be sharpened in each of these areas by Dr. White's resources, and since we all would agree that we want to have the best resources for our itty bitty bankrolls we should add his stuff to our libraries.

And, by the way, Dr. White has some important debates planned for the next year that involves traveling around the US and overseas, and he is in need of support from those who do benefit from his ministry. I say this because I know the desire to get the best deals for your books by going to Amazon or some place else online, but consider supporting Alpha and Omega Ministries (Dr. White's ministry) in their continued efforts to equip the body by buying the books and mp3s (which I have the most of) directly from his website. It really doesn't help the cause of Christ or a relatively small ministry for us to buy these things from a large un-Christian company like Amazon, so consider going through AOMin.org. As a matter of fact, get on over there right now by clicking HERE!

A Pre-Review

Not Peer-Review, Pre-review. It could in no way be a peer review since I am in no way man enough to be considered a peer of the one to be reviewed. On the other hand, I want to give a review of a book that I haven't finished reading yet. As a matter of fact, I'm not completely finished with the introduction. The reason that I felt the need to give a review now is because of the quality of the book thus far and the importance of the material being presented in the book. I'm actually reading the first volume of three in the set, and after reading the first few pages I'm quite anxious to get to the rest of the material. If it weren't for this stupid schoolwork!.

The Set is called Holy Scripture: The Ground and Pillar of Our Faith, and I've been desiring this set for quite some time now. Just recently, the Lord used someone who I had not previously been acquainted with to supply me with this treasure. This person shall remain nameless due to the fact that I want to keep him safe from someone else attempting to mooch. Even still, thank you very much, sir, for your generosity. I pray that the Lord will produce fruit in and through me as a result of the knowledge that I gain from your (and your co-author's) contribution AND that he will continue to use you to bless others as you have been a blessing to me.

Now, let me bless you readers with a tidbit from the first volume…

From the start, the author (David King) shares a quote from a man who was a Protestant who converted to Roman Catholicism and back to Protestantism that was edifying. This quote had some insightful observations that I'm surprised others who are close to Roman Catholic (RC) teaching haven't been able to admit. It just goes to show you that the light must come from God. This man basically said that the RC Church had such a history of contradiction that anyone would have to be crazy to trust them as an authority for truth. He contrasted the absurdity of Rome with the unshakable reliability of the Scriptures. Can I get a Amen?!

Well, I only want to share one last thing to entice you to add this one to your library. The introduction recounts a tale of when John Calvin was attending a debate that his friends were having with some RC officials. His friend urged him to get involved, but Calvin declined because he knew that his friends had the other guys handled. Calvin apparently changed his mind when one of the RCs accused the reformers of mishandling the Church Fathers, and he quickly stood up and put them in their place by rightfully turning the accusation back at the rightful offenders. The most edifying quote from one of the accusing RC friars follows:

"It seems to me that the sin against the Spirit which the Scriptures speak of is the stubbornness which rebels against manifest truth. In accordance with that which I have heard, I confess to be guilty, because of ignorance I have lived in error and I have spread the wrong teaching. I ask God's pardon for everything I have said and done against His honor; and ask the pardon of all you people for the offenses which I gave with my preaching up until now. I defrock myself henceforth to follow Christ and His pure doctrine alone…"

I wrote in the margin next to this quote "!!!God is A-mazing!" I think that this one is a no-brainer for the personal library, and the best price I've found is for the whole set on James White's website. Here's the link: Click me! Go buy it now and thank me later.

 

“Eternal Security” part 2 (intermingled with Roman Catholicism part 2)

The reason I entitled this post thusly is because I was dialoguing with a Roman Catholic following my first post on Roman Catholicism, and he mentioned a text that I cover in this post. I hope that he reads this; and I hope to have some good interaction on this; and I hope this is helpful and edifying to those who can be delighted by it. And so I continue…

Some point out the warning passages as evidence that someone can actually walk away from the faith and ultimately end up in hell, but this is simply not so. An examination of the contexts of these passages will once again vindicate my claim. The only thing that you can gather from the warning passages is that if someone walks away from the faith then they were never actually saved to begin with.

Take I John 2:19: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us."

The warning passages were written to those whom the authors were actually quite hopeful about. They were warning their recipients, but they were sure that those reading were not of the sort who would "fall away." The writer to the Hebrews made sure to mention the fact that he didn't expect his readers to "fall away." He said, "Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things--things that belong to salvation. (Heb. 6:9)" So, the writer apparently didn't believe that "falling away" was something that "belonged to salvation." In other words, if you had true salvation that was brought about by God, you wouldn't "fall away."

Another passage that is frequently twisted by Roman Catholics is Philippians chapter 2, verse 12:

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," (Php 2:12 ESV)

A Roman Catholic will attempt to utilize this verse in teaching to have a fear of losing your salvation, but by simply reading and contemplating the very next verse, this erroneous perspective falls apart:

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
(Php 2:13 ESV)

I actually commented on this passage once before elsewhere, so I'll just post it here instead of writing it all over again:

"Paul tells believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Why? According to the RC understanding, it is because we need to be worried about maintaining our standing in God's favor. This seems like a feasible understanding of the text, too. Never mind if Paul informs believers in verses such as Romans 5:1 or Philippians 1:6 that we are at peace with God and that He will bring us through this life in a good standing with Him. That is, it seems feasible unless Paul indicates another meaning behind it.
So what does Paul say within the context of Philippians 2:12? Well, how bout we read it with the next verse?

Php 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, (13) for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

So, it seems as if Paul is telling believers to "work out [their] salvation" in this way "FOR (or because, or for this reason) it is GOD" doing these things in them-- not themselves. God forbid we should get the false assumption that we have anything to do with our salvation. GOD has done, is doing, and WILL DO all of it. We are simply recipients of His grace who have the privilege of being used by Him to bring Himself glory and praise. How sweet the sound of that grace!"

And here's something for further reflection: Paul points out the fact that God gives the will AND the work in verse 13. First of all, what do you think this means? It seems to me that Paul is saying that God is actually performing the works through us that bring Him pleasure. In other words, believers are instruments in God's hands that are used to accomplish the things that He likes to see. I realize that others have a slightly different understanding of this, but I think that this is the most legitimate reading. The main point, though, is that if God is the one performing the actual works that believers do, how can we fall short of the promised reward? This is the point of Paul's warning; if we don't have the desire or the works, we should be very afraid to the point of following the exhortation in II Corinthians 13:5--Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Each of us should reflect upon both of these passages and respond to the Spirit's leading, whether that means falling on our faces before God in humble repentance or singing to God the praise in our hearts for the great work of salvation He has, is and will perform in us. He is worthy of all our praise!

An Epiphany!

Lately, I've been struggling with finding enjoyment in my relationship with God. I honestly have not been able to experience the enjoyment in my prayer life and daily fellowship with God as I once had. I'm not really sure why (though I have a few clues), but I have been content to endure through this valley until my Savior will refresh me in His perfect time.

Well, I realized as I was listening to the message at church last Sunday that this is a preposterous way of handling the situation. I don't remember what exactly the Lord used to bring this to my attention, but an illustration I heard when listening to Desiring God shined a whole new light on the situation. The illustration basically says that a man's wife would not be honored by her husband bringing her a dozen long-stemmed roses if, when she expressed her gratitude, her husband says, "Don't mention it; it's my duty." This illustration, I'm ashamed to say, sums up my recent relationship with the God Who plucked me out of my sinfully destructive lifestyle and placed me into His heavenly family. He has saved me from eternal torment and given me not only eternal life, but He has given me abundant life on this earth; and I should be fighting to experience that joyfully abundant life. Me not doing this is nothing less than sin.

Lately, though, I have been reading and listening to some more devotional material such as Desiring God, Pursuit of God and Augustine's Confessions; and God has been pleased to reveal Himself in a deeper way to me through the insights of these much appreciated saints. I have been encouraged to not seek to enjoy God by saying, "Boy, these sure are great gifts that God has given," but rather by saying, "God is my most valued treasure, and I have nothing that I desire but You, oh Lord!" These, by far, are what I most need to recognize and to strive after.

The only problem I've had with these encouragements has been the fact that I have nothing tangible to focus my attention on because God is Spirit. How do you focus you praise and adoration on an abstract being? Many people that have gone before me have made this same error; and this, of course, is a sure way to lead to idolatrous worship. Though, by God's grace, I've been enabled to grasp one aspect of this beholding of and worshiping of God for Him rather than His gifts…

Lately, I have been pondering certain things about the nature of God and how Christ upholds the universe. In Colossians 1:17 Paul informs us that all things are held together in Christ. How does this work? Does Jesus consciously direct each and every blood vessel and muscle fiber in my body, or has He simply determined the laws by which those things operate, set them in motion and then hold those laws within a certain parameter? Adding to my curiosity is Ephesians 1:11 which says that God "works ALL things according to the counsel of his will." Really? All things? For some, this topic might not hold any appeal; for me, though, the topic has consumed much of my thinking lately.

But the real significance of this train of thought is the fact that as I was pondering this the other day, I began to wonder what it will be like when I sit in the presence of God Himself. Will He reveal these things to me? I'm sure that He will reveal more than what I now know. I can picture myself sitting, listening as Jesus explains the complexities of all of history. Why did he allow those gruesome acts to take place? After all, God not only knows what has happened in history, but He knows why it happened. He determined that it would happen. And I will one day sit in His presence. The mere fact that He may enlighten my understanding of the past is not good enough, though. The mere fact that I will be in His presence is the thing that brings me joy. I will one day be in the presence of God, and anything I can imagine that experience to be will not do it justice.

Actually, I am in God's presence now. He Who is everywhere and nowhere at once. He is right here with me now. He sees all that I do. He causes my heart to groan after Him. I love Him for all these things. I pray that I will realize these things more frequently and that I will be aware of anything that will take this awareness and joy away before I allow myself to plunge into unnecessary misery again.

I Need a Subscription to WORLD magazine…

Well, I got my new issue of TIME magazine today, and guess whose mug is plastered across the front of it? None other than Rick Warren. Apparently, "America's most powerful religious leader," as TIME titles him, is doing some incredibly charitable acts in nearly every corner of the globe. It seems that he has a good start, as well; but he has also encountered some roadblocks. TIME has the complete story (what they've covered of it, anyhow) here: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1830147,00.html.

As I skeptically began reading this article, I expected to find more ecumenically condemning snippets than I did, but I must say that I have finished more disappointed than anything. The disappointment, maybe to your surprise, is not what you may have guessed. The article relates Warren's plans of setting up (Purpose Driven) churches in every country in order to meet the needs of the…needy. I heard previously that Warren was teaming with many different non-Christian religious leaders in order to accomplish this aspiration of his, but I didn't hear much about that in this article. Rather, Warren seems to be gaining popularity with political leaders.

Athough Warren is rubbing elbows with the likes of Barack Obama and the president of some African country, he maintains his allegiance to his pastoral role. On the other hand, Warren has invited America's two presidential candidates to discuss the issues at hand on August 16^th in his church. I really don't see anything wrong with this; as a matter of fact, this is normal historically. The topics are what concerns me: according to TIME, Warren plans to shy away from "'sin issues'—like abortion and gay marriage" in order to focus on "questions that he feels are 'uniting,' such as 'poverty, HIV/AIDS, climate change and human rights…'"

To sum up, the reason why I have come away from this article in disappointment is not because Warren is accomplishing these kind acts for mankind all over the world. I do, however, believe that he is being rather political in his approach in order to be successful, and he probably is enlisting the aid of non-Christians to accomplish his goal. I just don't condone this unification with unbelievers from someone who calls himself a preacher of the Gospel. But the disappointment I feel is that someone like Warren has initiated this movement to reach the world in order to meet their physical needs when someone who would be more likely to have a focus on meeting their spiritual needs is not.

All in all, I think it's nice that someone is taking the initiative to gets these things done, and I pray that—no matter how flawed Warren's methods—God will use those associated with this movement to reach those others for whom Christ died. Brings to mind the thought of God raising up rocks to bring Him glory...

A Worth-while Pondering

I originally posted this as a note on my Facebook, but I realized that some of the people that see this blog don't necessarily see my Facebook. I think that this is worthy of the blog since this is a very practical theological pondering. Please take a moment to ponder these words and meditate on them and how they may be applied to your own walk with the Lord. If you don't see the validity of them, or if you can't see yourself mustering up the affections necessary for such a pursuit--get on your knees.

Enjoyment is something that we all seek. If we're seeking it in something other than God, we are denying God the rightful place in our lives.

This paragraph is from one of CS. Lewis's sermons entitled "The Weight of Gory." I came across it when listening to the first chapter of Desiring God. I believe that it's an accurate assessment of most people's flawed understanding of what our motives ought to be when seeking to serve God and others. Take a look, and lemme know what you think...

"If you asked twenty good men today what they thought highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order to follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half- hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Now, before you deny this as being applicable to you, seriously consider your true motives when seeking to serve others...do you simply deny yourself something and take pleasure in your own piety? Do you exalt yourself in your own mind? Do you rob yourself of your heavenly reward? There is a fine line between seeking joy in serving others and seeking self satisfaction in your own pride. This is truly something to think about. Please prayerfully consider these things, and aim (as I have been seeking to do) toward the pure goal of satisfaction and joy in bringing joy to others and glorifying God in the process.