Kept in Perfect Peace

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3 AV).

"For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it" (Isaiah 28:20 AV).

"There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked" (Isaiah 48:22 AV).

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (Isaiah 57:21 AV).

How does a person experience peace in his life? How does he have peace of mind and heart? How does he have peace in his family? How does he reach a point where he feels content with what he has, how he earns his bread, and who he knows?

There are many people looking for peace. They will read self-help books, try yoga or Eastern meditation, do drugs or alcohol. Some believe they will have peace if only they can find the right husband or wife (after they divorce the old one), get the right job, earn the right degree, or move to the right location.

I love the picture of discontent that the prophet Isaiah paints in Isaiah 28:20. He desctibes a man trying to rest on a bed that is too short while he tries to wrap himself up in a blanket that is too small. Worldly attempts to gain peace are the short bed and the narrow blanket. Jude compares the man without the Lord as like "raging waves of the sea" and "wandering stars" (v. 13).

The Scriptures provide a solution. One finds peace (the Hebrew word is shalom) only by having your mind stayed upon the Lord. He grants perfect peace to him who trusts wholly in the Lord. We are not at peace in life till we are at peace with God. We are not at peace with God till we are at peace with Christ. As Paul said, "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Once in Christ we have contentment despite external circumstances. So, Paul can write from prison, "for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11). May we find such peace in Christ alone.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article May 26, 2008.

Guidelines for the Prayer Meeting

Texts: Mark 9:28-29; John 15:7; Acts 2:42; 4:23-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:17

We have our prayer meetings at JPBC during Sunday evening worship. Last Sunday, I offered a few practical suggestions for prayer meetings. Here are my abbreviated notes:

1. Be prepared.

The Coast Guard motto is semper paratus, always prepared. This should be our attitude when we know we are going to a prayer meeting. We should give some thought ahead of time as to what would be worthy and appropriate to pray about.

2. Be bold.

Be ready to plunge into the fray at the first opportunity. Do not succumb to the false notion, "I need not bother, because someone else will do it."

Remember that prayer is not going on merely when you speak. You are listening to the prayers of your brothers and sisters. You are praying alongside them. In quiet moments, you are silently praying.

3. Be Biblical.

Prayer is not just making requests. Remember the acrostic ACTS in prayer:

A-Adoration
C-Confession
T-Thanksgiving
S-Supplication

Be brief and specific (see Matt 6:5-8).

Be personal and natural. We should not take on an affected voice. Use your natural speaking voice. The tone, however, should reflect reverence.

Avoid rote phrases and jargon (e.g., "God bless all the missionaries"). We can learn to pray by reading the prayers of the Bible, including especially the psalms.

It is good to salt our prayers with Scripture, but we should also remember that prayer is not Scripture memory recitation. Use the reservoir of God’s word that you have hidden in your heart to season your prayer conversation.

We should also remember that prayers are not times for preaching or doctrinal teaching. We are speaking primarily to God and not to man.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article, 5/21/08

More Challenges to the ESV

The English Standard Version appears to be overtaking the New International Version as the translation of choice among Reformed evangelicals. I made previous reference to Theodore Letis' critique of the ESV (here).

Some other critiques are popping up on sermonaudio:

Bob Brown of the Reformed Baptist Church of Lousiville offers a review of ESV literary stylist Leland Ryken's book The Word of God in English and the ESV here.

John Thackway has a thoughtful critique of the ESV on the Trinitarian Bible Society site here.

"Christian Agrarian" Howard King has a more acerbic critique of the ESV here and a better talk on "Why We Need a Standard English Version" here.

The Trinitarian Bible Society also has a nice pdf article on "What Every Christian Needs to Know About the ESV" here.

Grace and peace, JTR

M'Cheyne Reflections

From Andrew Bonar’s biography of M’Cheyne (Banner of Truth, [1844] 1960):

"He used to rise at six on the Sabbath mornin’, and go to bed at twelve at night, for he said he (liked) to have the whole day alone with God."

When asked if he was afraid of "running short of sermons" he replied, "No; I am just an interpreter of Scripture in my sermons; and when the Bible runs dry, then I shall."

"At Kelso, some will long remember his remarks in visiting a little girl, to whom he said, ‘Christ gives last knocks. When your heart becomes hard and careless, then fear lest Christ may have given a last knock.’"

"He used to say, ‘Ministers are but the pole; it is to the brazen serpent you are to look."

"In his letters are expressions such as these: ‘I often pray, Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made.’"

"He used himself to say, ‘Live so as to be missed;’ and none saw the tears that were shed over his death would have doubted that his own life had been what he recommended to others. He had not completed more than twenty-nine years when God took him."

JTR

The Sound Your Hear...

A friend who is a Yale grad sent me this article about the new "master" (resident faculty advisor) at the Yale college named after Jonathan Edwards. The sound you hear is Edwards turning over in his grave.

A Promise to Tempted Saints

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13 AV).

This verse has provided much comfort to believers suffering trials and temptations down through the ages. Here are a few points to ponder:

1. Temptations, trials, and suffering are not exceptional in the experience of believers. If you are struggling with a besetting sin, with doubt, with despair, you should not think that yours is some exceptional case that no one has ever faced before. Your struggle may not be as unique as you might think. The things that come upon us are "common to man."

2. Just because we are in Christ, this does not mean that we will never face serious hardships. Faith in Christ is not a "Get out of Temptation Free" card. In fact, we may face trials precisely because we are in Christ.

3. Our ability to persevere in the midst of trials is not dependent on our inner composure or strength of character but on God Himself. Meditate on the phrase, "but God is faithful."

4. Sometimes this verse is misinterpreted as saying, "God will not put more on us than we can handle." In fact, this is not exactly correct. A terminal illness, for example, is, in reality, more than we can handle. The promise is that we will not be tempted above what we are able, without also being provided "a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it." He does not offer us immunity from difficulties beyond our ability to cope, but he offers us the resources to persevere. What are those resources, the ways of escape? At the top of the list, naturally, would be our faith in Christ. Among our resources to stand up under trials are prayer, the encouragement of Scripture, and a church body that suffers and rejoices with us (1 Corinthians 12:26). Even in the face of death, a believer still has hope. Not hope in himself, but hope in the God who raised Jesus from the dead.

I heard a Pastor friend of mine say recently that a big reason we gather as the church in worship, prayer, and Bible Study is for the purpose of preparation. We are making ourselves spiritually ready to stand up under trials when they come. Not "if" they come but "when" they come. I might not be facing cancer, or death, or depression at the moment, but at some point I likely will.

Let us cling to this promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 and be encouraged by it as so many saints before us have been.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article 5/15/08

Exposition of Jude: Part 9 of 25

This occasional, verse by verse exposition of Jude began last year. You can read previous posts under the label "Jude Exposition" below.

Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9 NKJV).

This is one of the most disputed verses in the book of Jude. The author is continuing the theme of warning against false teachers. He is presenting an example for the faithful to follow in contending with these evil men.

The verse is noteworthy for the mention of Michael (the name in Hebrew means, "Who is like God?"). He is an "archangel." This implies that there is some ordering of the angels. Michael is mentioned in the book of Daniel as "one of the chief princes" (see Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1). In Revelation 12:7 there is a description of "war in heaven" between "Michael and his angels" and "the dragon and his angels." Jude 1:6 mentions rebellious angels "who did not keep their proper domain." Michael is apparently numbered with those who gladly accept their domain and faithfully serve the Lord. We get some limited insights here into the created order of angels, but we should be careful not to speculate or go "beyond what is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6). Our focus is on the Lord and not angels (cf. Revelation 19:10; 22:9).

This verse is also noteworthy for its allusion to an event that has no explicit description in Scripture. The reference is to some dispute in the spiritual realm between Michael (God’s messenger) and the devil after the death of Moses (i. e., "when he disputed about the body of Moses"). There is a reference to such a conflict in an extra-Biblical Jewish work titled The Assumption of Moses.

This is where dispute over this verse arises. Some have attacked Jude’s place in the canon for this reference. This is misguided. The Biblical writers often make use of references and illustrations from books outside the Bible. In Acts 17:28 and Titus 1:12, for example, Paul quotes the pagan poet Epimenides. In making use of uninspired writings the Biblical authors are not vouching for the validity of those works. They are simply using them to make their inspired points.

Jude’s desire is to illustrate the proper attitude of the faithful in responding to false teachers. Even Michael when confronting as diabolical a figure as the devil himself, did not denounce him in his own power. Instead, he made his appeal to a sovereign God, saying, "The Lord rebuke you!" When we face false teachers, we should trust the Lord of all the earth to do right in the end. He will rebuke those who oppose him.

Application:

• How is Michael an example for the church in dealing with false teachers?


• Why would it be unfruitful for believers to spend too much time focusing on the doctrine of angels?


• Explain why Jude and other inspired books of Scripture are able to make use of uninspired writings without compromising their integrity.


• Do you trust that God will, in the end, sovereignly judge evil doers (cf. Romans 12:9)?

JTR

2008 Evangel Forum Speakers Announced

I am pleased to announce that we have secured our speakers for the 2008 Evangelical Forum which will be held Friday-Saturday, September 26-27, 2008 at JPBC.

Our two plenary speakers will be:

Dr. Joseph Pipa, Jr., President and Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina (picture left).

Dr. Bruce Ware, Professor of Christian Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky (picture right).

The theme this year will focus on the Doctrine of God, as presented in article two of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), "Of God and Of the Holy Trinity."

As you might very well imagine, we are thrilled to be able to have two men of the caliber of Dr. Pipa and Dr. Ware address our Forum. Make plans now to attend.

JTR

He casts all our sins into the depths of the sea

"… and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19 AV).

At the close of the book of Micah, the prophet asks the Lord, "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgressions of the remnant of his heritage?" (7:18a). He proceeds to say that God does not retain "his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy" (v. 18b). Someone has said that "grace" is when we do get what we do not deserve, while "mercy" is when we do not get what we do deserve.

Next, the prophet makes another statement about God: "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities…" (v. 19a).

Finally, Micah begins not to speak merely about God but to address God directly: "and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" (v. 19b). This metaphor captures the complete expurgation of sin that occurs when God in his mercy fully pardons sinners. Our sins are dropped like a stone to the bottom of the sea. In Psalm 103:12 David sings, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

Now, admittedly, we need the analogy of faith (the full and consistent witness to right doctrine as revealed in all of Scripture) fully to understand how God gives so great a forgiveness. He does not merely "wipe the slate clean" or "forget about our sin." No, he has a means for the removal of sin from his holy sight. That means in the cross work of Christ. "Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4a).

We should know this. The Christian stands in a completely different place than the man who does not confess faith in Christ. You may struggle with sin still, but in the most ultimate sense you have already received forgiveness. Do not let the accuser of the brethren antagonize you with the memory of all the ways you have fallen short of God’s glory. If you stand in Christ, He has cast yours sins into the depths of the sea!

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article 4/29/08

Recent Finds of NT Texts in Albania

Image: Comparison of microfilm and digital photos of Luke 18:43-19:8 in codex 2813

An online article in Christianity Today reports the recent find of 47 NT manuscripts in Albania (read here). A team from Daniel Wallace's Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts went to Tirana to photograph the texts (read the Center's longer article on the find here). They were expecting to see only 13 documents but were shown 47 (only two of which had been previously recorded on microfilm)! This is a huge find in the field of textual criticism which normally discovers only a handful of such documents (and those usually mere fragments) each year. This only adds to the fact that the NT is the best attested of any ancient text.

The CT article includes an interview with Wallace in which he notes that three of these newly discovered documents did not include the so-called Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11) [hereafter PA] and one had it added at the end of the Gospel. One text had the missing passage "stitched" onto the page. Wallace notes, "It's my favorite passage that's not in the Bible." In the longer article he adds this:

The vast majority of the nearly 1700 manuscripts that have John’s gospel in them also have this story wedged between John 7.52 and 8.12. Although they represent the majority, almost all of these manuscripts are late. Relatively speaking, there are very few manuscripts that do not have the passage at all, and an even smaller number that have it but place it at the end of the four gospels. The manuscripts that lack it number about 250; of this number, 111 are manuscripts without commentaries. To this number can now be added one more manuscript, Albanian National Archive (ANA) 15, an eleventh to twelfth century minuscule manuscript that contains the four gospels. At John 7.52, the scribe simply continued on to write John 8.12. A later scribe, incensed at what he thought was an oversight, took a piece of paper and carelessly stitched it into the front of the next parchment leaf (using only five stitches!) and scribbled the passage on it!

Wallace's bias for the current eclectic, modern critical Greek text, over against the traditional (Byzantine or Majority) text of Scripture is evident in his description of the PA being "wedged between John 7:52 and 8:12." Would it not be equally possible to say that the PA was "ripped out" of the true text?

Sounds like the Albanian find will do little to alter the current modern critical Greek text which has long knew of the disputed transmission of the PA.

Modern translations based on the modern eclectic text already make note of this interpretive difficulty. The ESV, for example, inserts this note in brackets after John 7:52: "The earliest manuscripts do not include John 7:53-8:11." A footnote then adds this further information: "Some manuscripts do not include 7:53-8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text."

Translations based on the traditional text (like the Authorized Version), however, simply include the PA, following the vast majority of NT witnesses. The NKJV also includes the text and adds this maginal note at 7:53: "NU [modern critical Greek text] brackets 7:53 through 8:11 as not in the original text They are present in over 900 mss. of John."

Points to ponder:

1. On what grounds can Wallace say that the PA is "his favorite passage that's not in the Bible"? He does so on the assumption that the minority texts that omit the PA are earlier and more authentic. He sees the traditional text as the corruption. The question is whether or not such as assumption is justified. The other possibility (and one held until only recent times) was that the minority texts which omit the PA were a corruption of the traditional text. I lean in the direction of the second assumption. The PA is in the Bible!

2. Are statements like Wallace's and notes like that in the ESV that explain textual omissions and transpositions helpful in building up the faith of God's people in the authority of God's Word as they read it? Here we might even call into question the notes in the NKJV though it defends the traditional text. In Alfred Level's little booklet The Old is Better (Gospel Standard, 1994) he offers this critique of the NKJV notes: "These footnotes are of interest to scholars, but for the humble believer, they can be trouble. Constantly to see 'NU text omits...' or 'NU text reads...' at the bottom of many pages can sow seeds of doubt, or perplexity, especially in younger minds, as to what is the true text. All these notes would have been better left out" (p. 38).

3. This discovery points to a theological and ecclesiological problem for those who have abandoned the venerable traditional text. This find seems fairly inconsequential, but what if scholars discover texts in the future in some formerly closed country that are very early in date but feature major omissions, transpositions, or even additions? What if (like the ending of Mark in some texts) they omit, for example, the ending of Matthew or Luke or John? Or, they omit the ending of Romans or transpose passages, etc. Will all the modern translations then alter their renderings to reflect the later finds? For those who have abandoned the traditional text, there is a situation of utter instability. What does this do for the sense of certainty for understanding and preaching the Word of God?

JTR

Report on SBC decline: A cause for rejoicing?

A recent LifeWay study (see the BP article) is creating a buzz in SBC circles. It reports a third straight year of decline in SBC baptism statistics:

The BP article reports:

The number of people baptized in Southern Baptist churches fell for the third straight year in 2007 to the convention's lowest level since 1987.

Although the SBC added 473 new churches and gave more than $1.3 billion to support mission activities around the world, Thom S. Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, said there's no escaping the fact that Southern Baptists are not reaching as many people for Christ as they once did. LifeWay gathers the year-to-year information on the convention's behalf.

According to LifeWay's Annual Church Profile (ACP), baptisms in 2007 dropped nearly 5.5 percent to 345,941, compared to 364,826 in 2006. (Baptism is a public act administered by the local church in which new followers of Christ are immersed in water. Baptism symbolizes believers' identification with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection; signifies their new life in Christ; and anticipates the day on which Christ will raise them from the dead, demonstrating His victory over sin and death. Therefore, the number of baptisms is a key measurement of the SBC's effectiveness in evangelism.)

"This report is truly disheartening," Rainer said. "Total membership showed a slight decline. Baptisms have now declined for three consecutive years and for seven of the last eight years, and are at their lowest level since 1987. Indeed, the total baptisms are among the lowest reported since 1970. We are a denomination that, for the most part, has lost its evangelistic passion."Membership in SBC churches, 16,266,920, fell from 2006's total of 16,306,246, or .24 percent. It is the second drop in membership experienced by the SBC in the last decade. In 1998, membership fell 1.02 percent but increased the next year and recovered to a positive trend in 2000. Prior to that, the last drop in membership was 1926.

Southeastern Seminary archivist, Nathan Finn, offers a good analysis in a blog post titled, "Does the SBC Have a Future?" I especially like his comments on inflated baptism statistics:

As I have been saying for four years, don’t buy the statistics that claim we baptize 350,000 people a year. Those stats are bloated because of toddler baptisms, “rebaptisms” of tender-conscienced souls who are casualties of a tacky revivalism, and the immersion of new church members who have come to our churches from other types of churches that do not share our baptismal convictions. If we annually baptize 75,000 lost people over the age of 12 who are not already attending our churches’ activities, I would be shocked. We are far less evangelistic than you think we are, but too proud (and pragmatic) to admit it.

Why might this report be a cause for rejoicing?

1. It strikes at the heart of SBC hubris.

2. Fewer baptisms might mean fewer incidents of false assurance given to baptized non-believers.

3. It might encourage more thoughtful evangelism and more disciplined understandings of church membership.

JTR

The Angel of Marye's Heights

On our Spring Break trip to Mount Vernon, we stopped off in Fredericksburg at the site of the Civil War battle that took place there in December 1862. A short walk down the "sunken road" is this monument to Richard Rowland Kirkland of South Carolina, who left the Confederate wall to give water to wounded enemy soldiers caught between the lines. For this he gained the title, "The Angel of Marye's Heights." Kirkland himself would later fall in battle.

I was struck by the memorial to this young man and the reminder that even in war there can be acts of civility, mercy, and kindness. One might also draw a dim analogy to the one who gave up himself to rescue his enemies.

JTR

Falling down seven times and getting up again

"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief" (Proverbs 24:16 AV).

Do you struggle with some besetting sin? Have you tried with all your might to kill it, but then it surfaces again like a noxious weed that will not die? Do you face a spiritual obstacle in your personal life? In your family? Have you failed in something you greatly desired to achieve? Is there a fractured relationship that will not heal?

This verse holds forward a great promise. The just man falls down seven times, but he rises again.

Who is the just or righteous man? "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). All our righteous deeds are as "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). We are only just in God’s eyes to the degree that we share in the righteous life of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). The just man is the justified man. The one who believes in Jesus Christ falls down seven times, but he rises again.

Why seven times? Does he fail to rise the eighth time he falls? No. Seven is a fullness of times. Peter asked Jesus if he had to forgive his brother seven times, and Jesus answered not seven times, "but, until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22). Though a Christian man falls a multitude of times, even seven times or more, yet, by God’s grace, he will rise up again.

Now, this is not to excuse our stumbling. If I repeatedly trip over the same object, perhaps I would do well to remove the object or alter my steps. This proverb is not meant to embolden brazen sinners but to comfort those who sorrow deeply over their sin.

The promise here is of perseverance in the faith. Are you struggling? Have you fallen over and over again? If you are truly saved, then do not despair. Your fall is not like that of the wicked man, who stumbles and does not rise again. God will not leave you on the ground. By the grace of God, get up and begin your walk anew and afresh.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

One More Broadway Update

We've been following the controversy at moderate former SBC Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. News came last week that the embattled Pastor, Brett Younger, who stood for including homosexual couples in the church directory has resigned in order to take a post teaching preaching at moderate, CBF-related McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. Read the ABP article here and the Baptist Press article here.

JTR

Links to 2008 "Together for the Gospel"

JPBC's Marcus Deel is back from attending the 2008 "Together for the Gospel" Conference in Louisville. You can listen to or download the sermons from this year and from 2006 at monergism.com (here). I am planning to listen through them this week. They also have the book giveaway list posted.

JTR

The Rebelution "Do Hard Things Tour" 2008: A Review and Critique

The Rebelution "Do Hard Things Tour" 2008: A Review and Critique

I attended the first stop of Alex and Brett Harris’ "The Rebelution 2008 Tour" Youth Conference on April 5, 2008 in Hickory, NC. I went with a group of parents and teens from my church. My 14 year old daughter was also one of the participants. When our youth parents met last year to look for upcoming events or conferences we might attend, a desire was expressed to attend an event that was not of the typical evangelical youth camp variety. We thought we had found a winner in the Rebelution Conference and went to the event looking forward to hearing the challenge to "Do Hard Things."

The following is a review and critique of the event.

First, some general information. The conference was held on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne College. There were about 1,500 youth and adults present, completely filling the meeting auditorium. The conference met from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and consisted of four plenary sessions. Session 1 was led by Alex Harris; session 2 by Brett Harris; session 3 by Gregg Harris; and session 4 featured brief presentations by all three plenary speakers. Alex and Brett Harris have gained notoriety through their therebelution.com website and blog. They are home-schooled 19 years old twins and the younger brothers of Joshua Harris, author of the popular evangelical book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. They advocate "a teenage rebellion against low expectations" typified in their motto, "Do Hard Things." The Harris brothers have a new book titled (naturally) Do Hard Things which is being released this month (April 2008) by Multnomah. Their father, Gregg, is a pastor and leads Noble Ministries. Another older brother, Joel Harris, served as the music worship leader for the meeting. The conference was also noteworthy for making use of interactive technology. Youth were given keypads to use and could respond to various questions and surveys during the conference while the results were displayed in mere moments.

Second, some affirmations. The first two session led by Alex and Brett were informative and challenging. They did a good job of critiquing "the myth of adolescence," pointing out how the concept of teen culture is a relatively new phenomenon (e.g., the word "teenager" was apparently first used in a Reader’s Digest article in the 1940s!). Previous generations expected young people to act in a mature manner and to behave responsibly. The historical examples given were effective. George Washington was a surveyor at age 17 and was the head of Virginia’s militia at 23. David Farragut was a sea captain at age 12. Clara Barton was serving as a nurse at age 11 and went on to found the Red Cross. The twins did a good job of challenging the youth to see their teen years not as a time to coast but as a launching pad for their futures. They reminded the youth that acting responsibly and learning valuable skills (like simply being able to carry on a meaningful and respectful conversation with adults) would require practice and endurance before being securely mastered.

Third, some critiques. I have to say that there also some disappointments in the conference that make me hesitant to give it full endorsement. In reflection on the event, the foundational critique can be summed up in the idea of "mixed messages." What were the mixed messages?

Here are a few:

1. In music.
On one hand, the children (and adults) were being encouraged to live in a way that is separate and distinct from the world. The worship music in the conference, however, was rock based contemporary praise music. Joel Harris led with a strong voice on guitar accompanied by a youth praise band. Before the conference I had anticipated that the worship would not be traditional, but I did not know how loud and driving the music would be. Here is where the problem of a mixed message arises. The rock musical style includes a non-verbal level of communication, even when the lyrics are "Christian." It communicates sensuality and an anti-authoritarianism, precisely the opposite messages that stressed purity and submission (to God). For more reading on this, see Dan Lucarini’s Why I Left Contemporary Christian Music (Evangelical Press, 2002), and the book he co-wrote with Don Blanchard, Can We Rock the Gospel? Rock Music’s Impact on Worship and Evangelism (Evangelical Press, 2006).

2. In promotion of "celebrity."
This is a difficult issue for any Christian whose ministry achieves notoriety. Alex and Brett were presented as teen heartthrobs. At each break, teens (primarily girls) mobbed them seeking autographs. Again, there is a mixed message. How do we tell Christian children to resist the "Teen Beat" style worship of celebrity when we seem to be creating an eerie "Christian" alternative?

3. In marketing.
Again, on one hand the twins presented criticism of the jaded culture’s marketing to teenagers as consumers. On the other hand, there was an overemphasis on promotion of t-shirts and books. Every break between sessions featured extended give-aways of one or two items that were available at book tables in the auditorium lobby. Sometimes these book promotions seemed longer than the plenary sessions themselves. Granted, it was fun to see a room full of children jumping up and down hoping to "win" a copy of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology! Still, the book promotion undercut the sincerity of the event. Though there was an offer of a pay-what-you-can policy on the books for those who could not afford them, it seemed unlikely that many (if any) in the auditorium would take them up on the offer.

One problem with this sort of thing is the line between a business and a ministry. On one hand, this is a ministry. But on the other hand, this is their livelihood. This seems to be an especial problem in the homeschool community where an entrepreneurial spirit and family micro-businesses are promoted. The problem is that the intended objects of ministry can come to feel more like customers than congregation, and the ministers more like salesmen than servants.

4. In evangelism.
This was the most troubling part of the meeting and one I had not anticipated. In the third session, Gregg Harris preached a gospel message. Though it started slow, by the end Harris was giving an engaging presentation of the gospel. He spoke clearly about sin, God’s wrath, Christ’s cross, grace, and faith. The trouble came at the end when Harris offered an altar call that raised ethical and spiritual questions. He asked the students to respond to a series of interactive questions with responses displayed on the screen. It concluded by recording that c. 200 of the students present were either not believers or were uncertain of their beliefs. He first urged those students to believe in Christ. Next he asked those who had done so to stand. When a few scattered individuals stood, he poured on the guilt telling them that if they could not stand in a room full of people who would applause their actions, how could they stand for Christ in the world. With substantially more standing he then invited them all to come to the front of the auditorium. Several hundred youth walked forward. The speakers gave a book from the book table to each (not a Bible as one of the parents in our group pointed out!) and sent them back to their seats.

Why was this a mixed message? The Christian life had been presented as a matter of "doing hard things" for Christ. The altar call made it all a matter of standing up and walking forward. On one hand, Gregg Harris has decried superficiality and nominalism among evangelicals quoting SBC statistic that over 80% of those involved in church youth groups eventually drop out of church. On the other hand, the method of evangelism he employed is precisely the cause of so much nominalism. One parent in our group asked, "How many of those who went forward were truly saved and how many may have been given a false assurance of salvation, because they ‘walked forward.’"

The Harris brothers are great fans of reading. I would suggest two books that might lead them to remove the high-pressure altar call and, thereby, greatly strengthen the Rebelution Conference experience. Those books would be Walter Chantry’s Today’s Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic? (Banner of Truth, 1970) and Iain Murray’s Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of Modern Evangelicalism 1750-1858 (Banner of Truth, 1994).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the conference had many notable and laudable aspects. It has provided plenty of material and opportunity for fruitful conversation with my daughter, who generally enjoyed the event. If only the messages had not been so mixed.

JTR

Note: I am also sending a copy of this review and critique to the Harris family.

Sermon of the Week: Joel Beeke on "Temptations Men Face"

I commend three messages from Joel Beeke on "Temptations Men Face." The first message deals with temptation to lust (here), the second with temptation to power (here), and the third with temptation to money (here). All are brimming with excellent admonitions for men.

JTR

Restoring the years the locust has eaten

"And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten…." (Joel 2:25 AV).

Do you ever live with regrets? Maybe you regret the way you lived before you became a believer in Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are plagued by recalling things from your past that were displeasing to the Lord. Maybe you are suffering with some of the real consequences of past sin.

Maybe you regret things that you have said or done, even after you became a believer. You were not home enough with your children as they grew up. You have uttered harsh words in anger. You neglected to cherish and appreciate your wife. You did not offer proper honor to your parents. You have not invested proper amounts of time in developing the spiritual disciplines of prayer, scripture reading, and meditation.

If this is your state of mind, consider the word of the Lord to Israel recorded in Joel 2:25. The Lord promises to restore the years that the locust has eaten. You cannot change the past. You cannot go back and do things over again. But from this moment forward you can give over to God your anxieties about the past and trust Him to restore what has been lost. You can learn from sin in your past and resolve to live fully for Christ from this day forward. Someone said that the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time in now. The Lord promised Israel that after a time of famine and blight, he would fill them. This is his promise to you as well.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article for 4/15/08.

Cairns on Baptist Follies

I sometimes listen to the "Let the Bible Speak" radio program of Faith Free Presbyterian Church with Alan Cairns. The program features a commentary on some "hot topic" and a sermon excerpt. Of late, Cairns has given a Free Presbyterian take on some recent Baptist follies, like the homosexuals in the church directory controversy at Broadway BC (here) and the New Baptist Covenant (here).

JTR

BTSR Budget Woes

The Associated Baptist Press had an article last week on budget shortfalls at BTSR. The moderate Richmond seminary was founded as an alternative to conservative SBC seminaries. They are apparently facing the same problem as the mainline churches they have made their pattern. Namely, they are a liberal school faced with declining enrollment, bloated faculty, and declining (aging) support base.

The school is 6 million dollars in debt and running severely behind in its annual budget. For a mere 160 students (and who knows how many of those are actual resident students and not mere occassional "online" course takers), the school has 31 full time professors and administrators, not to mention 14 adjunct professors.

New President Ron Crawford's comments are not exactly encouraging: "I continue to say, ‘The future of BTSR is very bright, the short-term is worrisome ... BTSR will survive and, eventually, thrive. We fully anticipate going through a few very lean years.'"

The Biblical Recorder of NC ran the article by Robert Dilday. It will be interesting to see if the Religious Herald will do the same, given their tendency to keep on the sunny side with regard to all things moderate.

JTR

Austen on Education

I also read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice last week. I was completely hooked by Masterpiece Theater's recent run of "The Complete Jane Austen." There I've said it. I know what some of you (primarily SB are thinking). First, the quilting post and now this. "This blog is becoming more about Martha Stewart than John Calvin," I hear you murmuring. But rest assured dear readers, Jane Austen is for real men.

Anyhow, here is one great quote on education. Setting: The pompous Lady de Bourgh needles Elizabeth Bennet about her modest family's lack of a governess to assist in their education:

"No governess! How is that possible? Five daughters brought up at home without a governess! I never heard of such a thing. Your mother must have been quite a slave to your education."

Elizabeth could hardly help smiling, as she assured her that had not been the case.

"Then, who taught you? Who attended to you? Without a governess you must have been negelcted?"

"Compared with some families, I believe we were; but such of us as wished to learn never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary. Those who chose to be idle certainly might."

What is great about this passage? First, there is Austen's wit. She makes the reader smile, as Elizabeth does, at idea of the selfish Mrs. Bennet being a slave to her daughters' education and at the lampooning of Lady de Bourgh as self-appointed expert in all things, including education. It is also quite a plug for homeschooling. Try substituting the word "school" for "governess." It also points to the reading of great books as the cornerstone for education. Add to this the idea of personal responsibility in education. How did Elizabeth become so wise, while her sister Lydia remained so silly?

JTR

Back from Vacation

Back from Spring Break vacation. We usually take a week at Topsail Island, NC, but this year we stayed home and worked around the house. My main work was digging and tilling our garden, putting up some fencing around it, getting a load of horse and sheep manure from the Dutnell farm, paiting a bird house, and cleaning my basement. We also took a day trip to Fredericksburg and Mt. Vernon on Thursday.

JTR

New Book Reviews Posted

JPBC Webmaster Brian Davis has newly added 11 new book reviews on my Pastor's page at the JPBC website (here).

They include reviews of the following:

John Blanchard and Dan Lucarini, Can We Rock the Gospel? (Evangelical Press, 2006);

Mark J. Fox, Family-Integrated Church (Xulon, 2006);

Wayne Grudem, Evangelical Feminism (Crossway, 2006);

Michael Haykin, Defence of the Truth (Evangelical Press, 2004);

____, Jonathan Edwards: The Holy Spirit in Revival (Evangelical Press, 2005);

R. T. Kendall, In Pursuit of His Glory (Charisma House, 2004);

Andreas Kostenberger, God, Marriage, and Family (Crossway, 2004);

John MacArthur, Because the Time is Near (Moody, 2007);

Alister McGrath, Dawkins' God (Blackwell, 2005);

Samuel Waldron, Baptist Roots in America (Simpson, 1991);

____, To Be Continued (Calvary Press, 2005).

JTR

Winter 2008 "Evangelical Forum Newsletter" Online

The print edition of the Winter 2008 EFN went in the mail earlier this week. JPBC Webmaster Brian Davis has now posted the online version here.

This issue features the following articles:

"The Doctrines of Grace: An Introduction" by Jeffrey T. Riddle

"Review of Mark Driscoll: Commendations and Cautions" by Jeffrey T. Riddle

And book reviews:

Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, eds, Believer's Baptism (B & H, 206) reviewed by Marcus Deel.

Craig R. Brown, The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism (Ligionier, 2007) reviewed by Steve Hills.

Steve West, ed., Ministry of Grace: Essays in Honor of John G. Reisinger (New Covenant Media, 2007) reviewed by Howard Anderson.

Not to mention:

A reprint of Andrew Fuller's classic sermon, "Christian Churches Fellow Helpers With Their Pastors To The Truth."

JTR

Quilting

Photo: Chinese culture quilt.

Check out the blog of a quilting expert and new JPBC member. Guess I'm getting in touch with my feminine side!

JTR

No dogma, no fruits!

Here's another snippet from J. C. Ryle's sermon "Wants of the Times" in Holiness in which he encourages believers to hold boldly to doctrinal convictions:

For your own soul’s sake dare to make up your mind what you believe, and dare to have positive distinct views of truth and error. Never, never be afraid to hold decided doctrinal opinions; and let no fear of man and no morbid dread of being thought party–spirited, narrow or controversial, make you rest contented with a bloodless, boneless, tasteless, colorless, lukewarm, undogmatic Christianity.

Mark what I say. If you want to do good in these times, you must throw aside indecision, and take up a distinct, sharply cut, doctrinal religion. If you believe little, those to whom you try to do good will believe nothing. The victories of Christianity, wherever they have been won, have been won by distinct doctrinal theology, by telling men roundly of Christ’s vicarious death and sacrifice, by showing them Christ’s substitution on the cross and His precious blood, by teaching them justification by faith and bidding them believe on a crucified Savior, by preaching ruin by sin, redemption by Christ, regeneration by the Spirit, by lifting up the bronze serpent, by telling men to look and live, to believe, repent and be converted. This, this is the only teaching which for eighteen centuries God has honored with success, and is honoring at the present day both at home and abroad. Let the clever advocates of a broad and undogmatic theology—the preachers of the gospel of earnestness and sincerity and cold morality—let them, I say, show us at this day any English village or parish or city or town or district, which has been evangelized without "dogma," by their principles. They cannot do it, and they never will. Christianity without distinct doctrine is a powerless thing. It may be beautiful to some minds, but it is childless and barren. There is no getting over facts. The good that is done in the earth may be comparatively small. Evil may abound and ignorant impatience may murmur, and cry out that Christianity has failed. But, depend on it, if we want to "do good" and shake the world, we must fight with the old apostolic weapons, and stick to "dogma". No dogma, no fruits! No positive evangelical doctrine, no evangelization!

JTR

Three Great Facts

In the sermon "Needs of the Times" printed in his spiritual classic Holiness, J. C. Ryle addresses the "three great facts" that will always confound the skeptic and encourage the believer:

When skeptics and infidels have said all they can, we must not forget that there are three great broad facts which they have never explained away, and I am convinced they never can, and never will. Let me tell you briefly what they are. They are very simple facts, and any plain man can understand them.

a. The first fact is Jesus Christ Himself. If Christianity is a mere invention of man, and the Bible is not from God, how can infidels explain Jesus Christ? His existence in history they cannot deny. How is it that without force or bribery, without arms or money, He has made such an immensely deep mark on the world as He certainly has? Who was He? What was He? Where did He come from? How is it that there never has been one like Him, neither before nor after, since the beginning of historical times? They cannot explain it. Nothing can explain it but the great foundation principle of revealed religion, that Jesus Christ is God, and His gospel is all true.

b. The second fact is the Bible itself. If Christianity is a mere invention of man, and the Bible is of no more authority than any other uninspired volume, how is it that the book is what it is? How is it that a book written by a few Jews in a remote corner of the earth, written at distant periods without consort or collusion among the writers; written by members of a nation which, compared to Greeks and Romans, did nothing for literature—how is it that this book stands entirely alone, and there is nothing that even approaches it, for high views of God, for true views of man, for solemnity of thought, for grandeur of doctrine, and for purity of morality? What account can the infidel give of this book, so deep, so simple, so wise, so free from defects? He cannot explain its existence and nature on his principles. We only can do that who hold that the book is supernatural and of God.

c. The third fact is the effect which Christianity has produced on the world. If Christianity is a mere invention of man, and not a supernatural, divine revelation, how is it that it has wrought such a complete alteration in the state of man kind? Any well–read man knows that the moral difference between the condition of the world before Christianity was planted and since Christianity took root is the difference between night and day, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of the devil.

Whenever you are tempted to be alarmed at the progress of infidelity, look at the three facts I have just mentioned, and cast your fears away. Take up your position boldly behind the ramparts of these three facts, and you may safely defy the utmost efforts of modern skeptics. They may often ask you a hundred questions you cannot answer, and start ingenious problems about various readings, or inspiration, or geology, or the origin of man, or the age of the world, which you cannot solve. They may vex and irritate you with wild speculations and theories, of which at the time you cannot prove the fallacy, though you feel it. But be calm and fear not. Remember the three great facts I have named, and boldly challenge skeptics to explain them away. The difficulties of Christianity no doubt are great; but, depend on it, they are nothing compared to the difficulties of infidelity.

JTR

The Rock Creek 30?

Steve Hills sent me this link to a "cutting edge" seeker church in Arkansas that has managed to get their services down to a 30 minute package. Too bad Ezra didn't have this format when he read from the Book of the Law "from morning to midday" (Nehemiah 8:3) or Paul when he preached till midnight in Troas (Acts 20:7). Worship is just what we need to "jumpstart" our week.

JTR

Exposition of Jude: Part 8 of 25

Photo: A pensive Calvin.

This series is an occasional, verse by verse, exposition of the book of Jude. An archive of past articles are available at the "Jude Exposition" label below.

Jude 1:8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

In this verse Jude continues his attack on the false teachers, "ungodly men" (v. 4) who have crept into the church. They are the objects of God’s wrath and their doom is certain (see vv. 5-7). Jude 1:8 continues the description of their depravity in three specific areas:

First, they "defile the flesh." Jude refers to them as "dreamers." The Greek participle here comes from the verb enypniazomai, which is also the root for the English verb "to hypnotize." These men apparently claimed to have ecstatic visions or dreams in which they said that God communicated directly with them. They relied on dramatic spiritual experiences rather than sober judgement. Jude accuses these dreamers of defiling the flesh. Perhaps this meant sexual immorality (see v. 7). These dreamers were likely antinomian (law rejecters), claming that what they did in the body did not matter.

Second, they "reject authority." The AV renders the phrase, "despise dominion." These men would not submit to the authority of God, to the authority of Scripture, and to the authority of the apostles. Perhaps they were also unwilling to submit to the authority of the elders in the local churches. They did not want anyone telling them how to believe or how to live. They would not accept correction or discipline. The result was disorder and chaos.

Third, they "speak evil of dignitaries." This is admittedly difficult to interpret. The noun "dignitaries" is the plural of the Greek word for "glory" (doxa). The verb "speak evil" is usually translated "blaspheme" (blasphemeo). So, it might be translated, "they blaspheme glories." What are the "glories"? Some take it to mean "glorious beings" and so "celestial beings" (NIV) or "angelic majesties" (NASB). They are in rebellion at every level, rejecting God, men, and angels.

Jude is bold in this denunciation of these false teachers. Even as a father is willing to fight against an intruder who threatens his family, or a shepherd is willing to attack a wolf who threatens his flock, Jude is zealous to defend his people from error. He is zealous "to contend earnestly for the faith" (v. 3).

Application:

• What does this verse tell us about the dangers of false teaching?
• Why should our faith be based on Scripture and not merely on spiritual experiences?
• Why would Jude associate false teaching with an anti-authoritarian spirit?

JTR

The Work of One Who Lives

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (1 Corinthians 15:17).

How do we know that Jesus is truly risen from the dead? In his treatise "On the Incarnation," the Christian apologist Athanasius (c. 296-373 A. D.) argued that we know Christ is risen because we see his ongoing activity in the lives of men and women whom he changes:

Dead men cannot take effective action; their power of influence on others lasts only till the grave. Deeds and actions that energize others belong only to the living. Well, then, look at the facts in this case. The Savior is working mightily among men, every day He is invisibly persuading numbers of people all over the world … to accept His faith and be obedient to His teaching. Can anyone, in the face of this, still doubt that He has risen and lives, or rather that He is Himself the Life? Does a dead man prick the consciences of men, so that they throw all the traditions of their fathers to the winds and bow down before the teachings of Christ? If He is no longer active in the world, as He must needs be if He is dead, how is it that He makes the living cease from their activities, the adulterer from his adultery, the murderer from murdering, the unjust from avarice, while the profane and godless man becomes religious? If He did not rise, but is still dead, how is it that He routs and persecutes false gods, whom unbelievers think to be alive, and the evil spirits whom they worship? For where Christ is named idolatry is destroyed and the fraud of evil spirits is exposed; indeed, no such spirit can endure that Name but takes to flight on the sound of it. This is the work of One Who lives, not of one dead; and, more than that, it is the work of God.

In the name of the risen Lord, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article 3/19/08.

"Of course God will forgive me; that's his job."

Of course God will forgive me; that's his job.

The above quote is attributed to German poet and journalist Heinriche Heine (1797-1856). He supposedly gave this answer when a priest asked him on his deathbed if he thought God would forgive him for his sin.

There is a modern ring to the defiant quote. Most, it seems, view it as God's job, God's obligation even to forgive. We want a God of grace, but not a God of wrath. A God of mercy, but not of justice. A God of heaven, but not of hell.

The Christian concept of forgiveness of sins is not merely wiping the slate clean. It is not mere expiation but propitiation. It involves God's wrath being satisfied in the death of Christ on the cross.

"Yet is pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief" (Isaiah 53:10a).

"He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11a).

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).

JTR

"O Cross most welcomed and longed for!"

In the classic work of the Protestant Reformation in England, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, one finds Jerome’s account of the death of the apostle Andrew for his faith. He records that as Andrew was led to the place where he would be crucified for Christ, he said:

O cross, most welcomed and long looked for! With a willing mind, joyfully and desirously, I come to thee, being the scholar of Him which did hang on thee: because I have always been thy lover, and have coveted to embrace thee.

JTR

The Gospel in Isaiah 53

Yesterday morning's message at JPBC was on the "Suffering Servant" of Isaiah 53.

I noted that some call this passage the fifth Gospel, or the fifth passion narrative to lay alongside the New Testament Gospels. Here are a few quotes on the gospel in Isaiah 53:

Polycarp called this passage, "the golden passional of the Old Testament Evangelist."

Matthew Henry: "This chapter is so replenished with the unsearchable riches of Christ that it may be called the rather the gospel of the evangelist Isaiah than the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah."

Another said, "Here we seem to enter the holy of holies of the Old Testament prophecy, that sacred chamber wherein are pictured and foretold the suffering of Christ and the glory that should follow" (as in B. H. Carroll, Interpretation, Vol. VII, p. 221).

Texas Baptist giant B. H. Carroll: "This section contains the very heart of the gospel and the preacher who leaves it out of his preaching is a preacher of ‘airy nothings.’ The success or failure of the preacher is determined as he relates his preaching to the truth of this great passage" (Ibid.).

JTR

Who first took the gospel to China?

My daughter Hannah is working on a report on China and she asked me, "Who was the first missionary to China?" When she had looked up the question in secular electronic encylopedias she had found the names of Roman Catholic missionaries, but she wanted to know who was the first to bring the faith of the Reformation to China. I did not know the answer offhand, so we did a little sleuthing together and the name of Robert Morrison (1782-1834) emerged.

According to The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Morrison was the "first Protestant Missionary in China." A Presbyterian, he went to Canton in 1807. As with most pioneer missionaries, his first task was Bible translation. He completed the NT in 1814 and the OT in 1818. He also completed a six volume Chinese Dictionary in 1821 that was the standard such work for many years. According to S. M. Houghton's Sketches From Church History, Morrison labored seven years before he saw his first Chinese convert to Christ.

Remembering a man like Morrison puts our life's work and goals in proper perspective. Will we also live for Christ?

JTR

Jesus on Prayer

In last Sunday morning’s message, we spent some time meditating on Mark 6:46: "And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray."

In this meditation I shared a few quotes on prayer (mostly drawn from Joel Beeke’s book, Overcoming the World):

Matthew Henry: "A good man is never less alone than when he is alone with God."

Joel Beeke: "Part of our problem is that we view prayer as an appendix to our work rather than as the first major part of our work. If we are to live godly lives, we must pray. If we would learn the art of sacred wrestling and holy argument with God, we must pray. Prayer is the only way to lay hold of God."

John Owen: "To preach the Word and not follow it with constant prayer for its success is to disbelieve its use, to neglect its end, and to cast away the seed of the gospel at random."

Hudson Taylor: "Do not be so busy with the work of Christ that you have no strength left for prayer."

The great Reformer Martin Luther committed three hours each day to prayer and he once said to his colleague Melanchthon, "I must rise an hour early tomorrow, for, given all that I need to do, I must spend more time in prayer."

It is said that John Welsh, the son-in-law of Scottish reformer John Knox prayed seven hours a day. He kept a robe by his bedside each night so that he would not catch cold when he rose to commune with God. He said, "I wonder how a Christian could lie in his bed all night, and not rise to pray."

May the example of Christ and the words of these fellow believers prod us on to greater faithfulness in prayer.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article for 3/11/08.

Broadway Again

Baptist Press has two more articles on conflict at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth where the Pastor survived a vote for dismissal (read them here and here). I cite this not to revel in their troubles (though it is interesting how the moderate Baptist Press so often enjoys reporting on trouble in conservative churches). I am intrigued by the fact that even an arch-moderate, post-SBC church like this one still has members who wince at the uncritical acceptance of homosexual practice among its members. It also illustrates the confusion that comes with moderate-liberal stress on "freedom" over "purity."

JTR

Social gospel on display at U-Hall

The liberal social gospel is alive and well in C-ville.

Last night the group called "IMPACT" got c. 1,900 people into University Hall in a rally for "social justice." See the Daily Progress article here. The gathering supposedly represented 28 congregations, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim. It included Catholics, Unitarians, and Baptists.

Why wasn't JPBC there? Because the social gospel is a false gospel. How do we do people the most good? By preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified for sinners.

As Indian evangelist K. P. Johannan put it: "It is a crime against lost humanity to go in the name of Christ and missions just to do social work yet neglect calling men to repent--to give up their idols and rebellion--and follow Christ with all their hearts" (Revolution in World Missions, p. 112).

JTR

Sermon of the Week: Joel Beeke on Commitment to the Local Church

Sermon of the Week: Joel Beeke, "Commitment to the Local Church."

I listened to this message the other day from Joel Beeke and was struck by many things he had to say. Sounds like he was addressing the young people of the church or Christian school associated with his church. Beeke hits things that few in our individual-centered culture stress today like the concept of loyalty to the local church and its ministers. He takes on the problem of "church-hopping" in America, apparently a particularly acute problem in a city like Grand Rapids. Listen and be challenged!

JTR

Fuller on the study of Revelation

I started my Wednesday evening expositions of Revelation at JPBC last night. Among other things, I have been reading Andrew Fuller's discourses on Revelation. I share Fuller's thoughts on this task as he wrote in his introduction c. 1809:

I have lately expressed a wish to enter upon this difficult part of the Holy Scriptures; not because I conceive myself at present equal to the undertaking, but because I think I understand something of it, and hope, by going through it in the way of exposition, to understand more. I enter upon it with fear; but as I shall not attempt to explain that which appears to me to be of doubtful import, I hope it may not be presumptuous, but a profitable undertaking.

JTR

What Spurgeon Really Said

Steve Hills tipped me off to the latest work of N. T. Wright. Read about it here.

JTR

A Faith to Confess

Note: We started a new Sunday evening series last Sunday on "A Faith to Confess" using the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) as a guide to looking at basic Christian doctrines. Here are the notes from the series introduction:

Why do we need a confession of faith? A confession of faith is a guardian of orthodoxy. It is an explicit testimony as to how a body of believers interprets the Scriptures. It is not equal in authority to Scripture and may be changed to conform more closely to Scripture. A confession of faith holds the church’s teachers accountable to doctrinal fidelity.

Esteemed Baptist Pastor and theologian Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) wrote:

The man who has no creed has no belief; which is the same thing as being an unbeliever; and he whose belief is not formed into a system has only a few loose, unconnected thoughts, without entering into the harmony and glory of the gospel. Every well-informed and consistent believer, therefore, must have a creed—a system which he supposes to contain the leading principles of Divine Revelation.

In considering this matter, we should be careful of "restorationists" who claim to take only the Bible as their confession. These may piously pronounce that they have "no creed but Christ" and claim to desire only to reconstitute "primitive" Christianity. Such, however, merely have an unstated and unwritten creed. This is dangerous because their unstated creed cannot be plainly read, studied, and scrutinized. It might also be changed without notice.

Think of the Mormons who are adamantly non-creedal. Their "prophets" can change doctrinal direction at any time. This is typical of Christian cults and fringe groups that wander into doctrinal error.

The practice of doctrinal confessions is, in fact, a Biblical practice. The earliest Christian creed was the simple statement: "Jesus is Lord" (see Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 12:3; Phil 2:11). See also Paul’s clear statement of the basic facts of the gospel including the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. This also is an early, Biblical confession of faith being used as a test of orthodoxy. To confess a doctrinal standard is, in fact, to follow a Biblical pattern and example.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: Evangel article 3/4/08.

The uncertainty of feelings

In Jesus is Victor, Corrie Ten Boom offers this brief verse:

Feelings come and feelings go
And feelings are deceiving.
My warrant is the Word of G0d,
None else is worth believing.

JTR

"JPBC Blues"

Note: Ben Parziale "sang" this song about his JPBC internship at the Valentine's Banquet (to the tune Folsom Prison Blues).

I hear the Mr. Jeff a comin'

He’s rolling round the bend

And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,

I'm stuck in JPBC, and time keeps draggin' on

And that’s because I’ve been here since the break of dawn

When I was just a baby my mama told me Son,

Always be a good boy, don't ever be an intern.

But I thought I’d like to do it, just to give it a try.

When I hear his voice a’calling, I hang my head and cry.

Well I know that Mr. Jeff likes that ole Richard Baxter

He’s probably drinkin’ coffee and readin’ Reformed Pastor.

Well I know I had it coming, when I read Homemaking.

Because I’m a pastoral intern, And that's what’s torturing...

Well if they freed me from JPBC,

And if that Rainbow House was mine

I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line

Far from Jeffrey Riddle, that's where I want to stay

And I'd let that lonesome white van drive all my blues away.....

JTR

Book Review: Alister McGrath's "Dawkins' God"

Alister McGrath, Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005): 202 pp.

This book is an examination and critique of Oxford "Professor of the Public Understanding of Science" Richard Dawkins and his crusading efforts to promote Darwinian atheism. McGrath had been a committed atheist as a young man but later converted to Christian faith. He also has training both in the natural sciences (biochemistry) and in theology. This makes him more than adequately prepared for presenting this critique of Dawkins’ views.

One of McGrath’s chief criticisms is aimed at Dawkins’ contention that science might somehow disprove the existence of God. Science cannot answer the God question: "The scientific method is incapable of delivering a decisive adjudication of the God question. Those who believe that it proves or disproves the existence of God press that method beyond its legitimate limits, and runs the risk of abusing or discrediting it" (p. 53). McGrath is keen to downplay the assumption of an inherent contradiction between Christian faith and science, including evolution. Though expressing admiration for Dawkins’ critique of William Paley in The Blind Watchmaker, McGrath notes that Christian theologians, including Cardinal John Henry Newman, also rejected Paley’s views as inadequate on theological grounds. On the other hand, he notes that many Christians did not see incompatibility between embracing both Christian faith and the theory of evolution. McGrath observes, "As a matter of historical fact, Darwinism was not perceived to entail atheism by the best informed judges of the time" (p. 77). He points to Darwinian scientists like Ronald A. Fisher, Charles D. Walcott, and Theodosius Dobzhansky who were also professed Christians. McGrath contends that although evolution might lead one to adopt an agnostic position (a term coined by Darwinian advocate T. H. Huxley) on the God question, it by no means necessarily leads to atheism.

McGrath also takes Dawkins to task for his characterization of all religious belief as mere "blind trust." Dawkins mistakenly assumes that belief in God is equivalent to believing in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. McGrath responds:

This is a school boy argument that has accidentally found its way into a grown-up discussion. It is as amateurish as it is unconvincing. There is no serious empirical evidence that people regard God, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy as being in the same category. I stopped believing in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy when I was about six years old. After being an atheist for some years, I discovered God when I was eighteen, and have never regarded this as some kind of infantile regression…. I have yet to meet anyone who came to believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy late in life (p. 87).

In his "anti-religious rhetoric" Dawkins comes to a definition of faith that "bears no resemblance to what Christians believe" (p. 89). McGrath also turns Dawkins’ argument around and asks how this contemporary popular interpreter of science can be so sure that atheism is true. McGrath asks, "Is atheism itself a faith?" and "Is science a religion?" (see pp. 91-96). Along these lines, McGrath points to the problem of "radical theory change" in the sciences (p. 102). Beliefs that are held to be the assured results of scientific method in one generation are overturned in the next. "Scientific theorizing is thus provisional" (p. 104). Dawkins’ anti-religion rhetoric is over-reaching, while his "faith" in science is uncritical.

McGrath also takes Dawkins to task for his attempt to apply Darwinian theory to human culture and his argument for the existence of "memes" or "cultural replicators" (see Dawkins’ book The Selfish Gene). He insists that Dawkins’ analogy between the biological gene and the cultural meme is fundamentally flawed. Taking special exception to Dawkins’notion of theism as "a virus of the mind" that has infected humanity, McGrath ponders:

So just what is the experimental evidence that God is bad for you? Dawkins assumes that it is publicly accepted within the scientific community that religion debilitates people, reducing their potential for survival and health. Yet recent empirical research points to a generally positive interaction of religion and health….

Dawkins appears to assume that his readers will rather uncritically share his own subjective views on the malignancy of religion, and thus accept his grandiose conclusions without demur (p. 136).

Contrary to Dawkins’ rhetoric, McGrath suggests that science and religion need not be antithetical. He points to an emerging synthesis, "a new convergence," between science and faith. The "popular notion of a war between science and faith" is largely "Victorian propaganda" (p. 139). Contrary to Dawkins, religion does not present an "aesthetically deficient" view of the world (p. 146). Futhermore, McGrath contends that, "Christian theology does not in any way detract from a natural appreciation of the beauty and wonder of the world; if anything, it adds to it" (p. 151). The Christian concepts of "mystery" and "awe" do not necessarily mean "irrational."

This book is a helpful popular treatment of complicated scientific and theological concepts. McGrath is clear in his critique but never petty nor acerbic. Some evangelicals, however, will not be pleased with the author’s apparent comfort with the theistic evolution position. In the end, McGrath succeeds in exposing the shaky historical, logical, philosophical, rhetorical, and, even, scientific foundations on which Richard Dawkins’ zealous advocacy for atheism vis-a-vis theism (and Christianity, in particular) is based. This work is recommended to the believer to equip him for apologetic engagement with the "new-atheism" represented by Dawkins.

Jeffrey T. Riddle, Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903

Update on Broadway Directory Flap

Conflict continues at moderate-liberal Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas over the inclusion of homosexual couples in the church directory. Apparently the Pastor thought the church was both welcoming and affirming while many of the older (Cecil Sherman type SBC moderates) were welcoming (as long as you keep it to yourself) but not affirming. See the soft treatment in Associated Baptist Press here (which focuses on the fact that the controversy is spurred on by the internet) and a more honest blogger report here.

This is yet another warning of where things go once you jettison confessional boundaries and focus on 'soul freedom.'

JTR

And on the day called Sunday

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1 AV).

Here is a description of early Christian worship from Justin Martyr, writing about the middle of the second century A. D. :

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities of in the country gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as before said, when our prayers is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgiving, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen (as quoted in John Stott, Between Two Worlds [Eerdmans, 1982]: p. 19).

It is striking to note how that has time has passed the same primal elements still constitute the basics of Christian worship on the Lord’s Day. We gather together in one place, read the Scriptures, listen to the word preached, pray, and break bread. Corporate worship is our primary act of service as God’s people.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Note: From Evangel article, 2/28/08