With a Professor like this, is it any wonder my doctorate is going so slowly?

Exclusivity and Absolute Truth are hated by the world…go figure, the church itself is confused!

I have been called prideful, arrogant, an exclusivist along the way.  While I do not embrace them, they have all been true at times, but oddly enough usually NOT when I’m accused of them.  Usually (and it’s really not often, so I’m no martyr here) the claims / accusations come from either a pluralist who is simply a secular humanist or a pluralist who claims to be clergy.  I readily admit all of them, hating the first two, but not shying away from the “exclusivist” claim.

Recently, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a study that concludes 57% of Evangelicals and 70% of all religions claim it is either possible or likely that there is more than one way to heaven (other than Christ).  You can read the articles in TIME or at FoxNews.com.   

The more staggering percentage is the Evangelical number of 57%.  Over the years, the term “evangelical” has been under scrutiny and difficult to define.  Wikipedia.com (perhaps the largest online encyclopedia) defines Evangelicalism as “a theological perspective, most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the gospel. Although evangelicalism has been defined in a number of ways,^[1] most adherents consider belief in the need for personal conversion (or being “born again“), some expression of the gospel through evangelism, a high regard for Biblical authority, and an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus to be key characteristics.^[2].”

Others have made the definition even more broad by simply saying it is a theological perspective that holds to any claims of Christ, which makes it even more of a smorgasbord of beliefs, mainly because people have a tendency to say what they believe Jesus must have meant, rather than what He actually said or claimed.

This is why we must hold fast to the authority of Scripture.  It is scripture that holds the gospel and only scripture.  While you might see a general revelation of the Creator God while looking at a tree (Romans 1:20), NO ONE (Rom.3) will, without the revelation of the gospel in the scriptures, naturally look at a tree, envision a cross, be convicted of sin, assured of Christ’s atoning work and repent and be saved.  It is the propositional truth of scripture that will boldly move and resurrect the spiritually dead (Rom.1:16).

Now, we cannot really change other churches, but we can continue to boldly hold to absolute truth and the exclusive claims of Christ (John 14:6).  We must do so with gentleness and respect, but that does not mean a tolerance that leads to adherence to the “path” that others have chosen for salvation.  Remember, it is by grace you yourself have been saved (Eph.2:8,9).  There is no room for boasting, so our presentation of the gospel must be gentle and bold, aggressive and respectful.  Look, in our teaching we make it plain that God alone saves in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  We are just agents.  However, if we love the gospel, we will joyfully participate in that glorious proclamation, because when one comes to Christ, God is glorified.  But we will also know that even if we do NOT see one come to Christ, there is glory in the proclamation itself.

 

 

Looking Unto Jesus

“Looking unto Jesus.” 

— Hebrews 12:2

It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.”

Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee. 

“My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

Charles H. Spurgeon

Continued Assault on the Family

Two key reports came out last week that you need to be aware of and realize that the “cycle” of trends (whether fashion or politics) continues to flow from Western Europe to North America (via Canada, the “coasts” and then through the heartland eventually).  

First of all, the frightening report of a 12 year old girl who took her father to court because he grounded her from a school field trip because she abused her use of the internet.  You can read it HERE.  It seems fairly unprecedented for such a case to be heard and ruled on.  Of course, this is more than an affront to the autonomy of parents to decide for themselves.  It is, in anything, another occasion where the wise things of this world are foolishness to God and God will one day confound the wisdom of this world with the foolishness of the gospel:

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. - 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

Another dangerous report has come out of the London Times HERE.  Various types of testing have been used for years on the human fetus to ascertain any problems and deformities.  In recent years, it has been proven that many have performed abortions on these babies with potential defects.  In this report, the ease of testing (more definitively) for Down’s syndrome will fearfully lead to more abortions.  It will, most likely, be the case.  

We already live in a society that essentially hates the family.  In the best segments of our society are still families who manage the size of their households solely based on their finances (I’m not talking about extreme situations or finances be one of several prayer-filled considerations).  Let’s be honest, in the mainstream of middle to upper-middle-class America it seems that the decision to have one child, perhaps two, is based on the lifestyle the parents wish to maintain rather than truly a full-quiver for the purpose of populating the planet with God-glorifying little ones.  Now, I’m in-between on this subject.  I do not think that having dozens of kids alone equates to godliness, and there is some biblical merit to managing even the number in your household, but that is given with much biblical restraint.  My main point here is simply that prayer and scripture should be sought on every side of the decision to have children.  Most families (even church ones) do not pray and fast thoroughly over their children and the number of children they’ll have.  They just see the number of rooms in their house, seats in the SUVs, money in savings and then decide.   

Look, it’s ultimately between you and God, no doubt.  But remember to include God in that equation.  I’m no conscience for anyone, but we already live in a society that promotes abortion as a viable option for the inconvenience of having to raise a child with Down’s syndrome.  God help us when we can’t see His sovereign and gracious hand in the gift of children, regardless of their level of health.

A couple of additional thoughts:  

1) The birthrate in America is at an all-time low.  Consider that the French have one of the lowest birthrates in the world and that Muslims (among whom millions live in France) have one of the highest.  Where do you think that country will be in 20 years?

2) Essentially, this is a spiritual issue, but God has also been gracious to us socially.  Where would our country be had those who went through the Great Depression had the same thoughts of managing their number of children as we do?  One generation cares for the next.  The very generation that finds it inconvenient to have too many children now will only face an end of life that is inevitably very lonely.

 

How to be a biblical wife when your husband does not resemble the biblical husband…

John Piper gives some great insight into this all-too-common dilemma of a wife struggling to be biblical in her role while married to a man who just does not lead the home spiritually (for whatever reason).  Read the article HERE and remember to download the entire audio (linked on that page).

Simple…Gospel

SBC Resolution on Church Membership

Here is the full text of Resolution #6 adopted at the most recent Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis, IN:

6. On Regenerate Church Membership And Church Member Restoration
June 2008

WHEREAS, The ideal of a regenerate church membership has long been and remains a cherished Baptist principle, with Article VI of the Baptist Faith and Message describing the church as a “local congregation of baptized believers”; and

WHEREAS, A New Testament church is composed only of those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, the local church’s only Lord, by grace through faith (John 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9), which church practices believers’ only baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:16-20), and the Lord’s supper (Matthew 26:26-30); and

WHEREAS, Local associations, state conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention compile statistics reported by the churches to make decisions for the future; and

WHEREAS, The 2007 Southern Baptist Convention annual Church Profiles indicate that there are 16,266,920 members in Southern Baptist churches; and

WHEREAS, Those same profiles indicate that only 6,148,868 of those members attend a primary worship service of their church in a typical week; and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures admonish us to exercise church discipline as we seek to restore any professed brother or sister in Christ who has strayed from the truth and is in sin (Matthew 18:15-35; Galatians 6:1); and now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 10-11, 2008, urge churches to maintain a regenerate membership by acknowledging the necessity of spiritual regeneration and Christ’s lordship for all members; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we humbly urge our churches to maintain accurate membership rolls for the purpose of fostering ministry and accountability among all members of the congregation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention to repent of the failure among us to live up to our professed commitment to regenerate church membership and any failure to obey Jesus Christ in the practice of lovingly correcting wayward church members (Matthew 18:15-18); and be it further

RESOLVED, That we humbly encourage denominational servants to support and encourage churches that seek to recover and implement our Savior’s teachings on church discipline, even if such efforts result in the reduction in the number of members that are reported in those churches, and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we humbly urge the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention and their pastors to implement a plan to minister to, counsel, and restore wayward church members based upon the commands and principles given in Scripture (Matthew 18:15-35; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20).

Indianapolis, IN

What are your thoughts?  Those in UBC are increasingly understanding the gospel implications of this subject.  Now, a resolution is in no way binding on the autonomous local church, but they exist to bring critical issues to the attention of SBC churches.  What should our response, if any, be?

What is 9Marks?

This is a brief introduction to 9Marks ministry, which I have associated with for the past 4 years.  I thought it would be good once again to see some of my influences and to, again, be introduced to this ministry as it is our hope for a regional workshop next February.

Don’t Buy a Tie for Father’s Day…unless

If your dad is among the 6% in this country who wear ties, then you probably should buy him one.  For the other 94% of working men, they just don’t wear ties, this according to a new Wall Street Journal ARTICLE.  

Now, most of you know me well enough to know that I don’t beat a fashion drum, wanting people to dress the same, especially at church.  However, the level of formality of our dress is just not informed by scripture (except in the negative, actually, about adorning yourself that others either see your high standard or your lowly position while fasting).  Since it’s relatively silent in scripture then looking at culture can SOMEWHAT inform us.  We have to be careful here because the culture is wildly immodest.  But with a biblically informed modesty and dressing like you care that you’re at church, this should shape your clothing decisions appropriately enough.  

Now, many have their opinions of what one should wear and much of that comes from a tradition.  I respect that, because all of us are influenced by some kind of trend (traditional or otherwise).  For me, I think that clothing should be the least of our concerns on Sunday morning or any other day of the week.  I think we should draw as little attention to ourselves as possible.  So, I choose not to wear a tie, except on the occasions that are appropriate.  I also choose not to dress overly casual, even sloppy, because, again, I don’t want to draw attention to myself.  Hey, if I really wore what was comfortable I’d wear my favorite “holy” shorts and torn t-shirt.  You don’t want that for many reasons!

If you want a good rule and standard for Sunday morning attire, I can’t really give it to you except in principle.  Read Romans 14 and ask yourself as you put on your clothes, 1) Am I showing that I love the body of Christ (young and old alike) by dressing this way?, and 2) Am I trying to draw attention to myself in any way by wearing this?  From my estimation we have some who probably need to dress a little sharper (if they are able) and we have some who need to stop looking down on those who don’t dress as they do.  

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Romans 14:13-19

FYI: Why we need to stand against the lottery…

You all know that I rarely (if ever) discuss politics, and part of that is because it is unethical and immoral to be a pastor and promote partisanship.  However, we may talk about issues all day long.  When I lived in Memphis, I had a brief opportunity during a television interview to speak against the lottery based on the fact that it promoted distrust in God’s provision.  Now, that could be taken and used against gambling as well, but they are not that different, are they?  Well, the lottery most likely will come up again in Arkansas this fall and you need to be informed.  NoArkansasLottery is a great resource for you to have some objective stats that will help you see what a socially irresponsible thing the lottery is to virtually steal from the poor and poorer, so that the middle and upper-middle classes can gain more scholarships.  Just look at the information for yourself and I’ll leave it to you, but whether it’s a “right armed bandit” or “scratch and win” the end result is the same:  I don’t trust the God who sees, knows and cares for the sparrow and much more knows how to care for me.