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Want to Know More About Reformed Theology?

By on March 4, 2011 in Announcement

The book After Darkness, Light was one I picked up some years ago and it has been a tremendous help in understanding the doctrines of grace and reformed theology. The book is a collection of essays in honor of R. C. Sproul, edited by his son R. C. Sproul Jr. The publisher describes the book as:

After Darkness, Light celebrates Dr. R.C. Sproul’s four decades of ministry. The motto of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers was, “After darkness, light.” As a Reformer in the church today, Dr. Sproul has helped spark a resurgence of Reformed theology.

Proclaiming the Biblical truths of Reformed theology, this book examines the five solas of the Reformation and the five points of Calvinism, the cornerstones upon which Dr. Sproul’s ministry has been founded. Contributors include Jay E. Adams, Sinclair Ferguson, W. Robert Godfrey, Michael Horton, John MacArthur, Keith A. Mathison, Martin Murphy, O. Palmer Robertson, R.C. Sproul Jr., and Douglas Wilson.

Today, and today only, you can pick up this book directly from Ligonier in their $5 sale. So head on over to their site and grab this book with a few others and support their ministry and feed your soul.

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Church Discipline: Going Further

By on February 27, 2011 in Sunday School

For the benefit of my Sunday School class I am posting some follow up things to think about. These are the three points I ended the church disciple section on.

Read John 5:27-30. To whom has the Father granted authority to judge?  Now read Matthew 18:15-17. To whom has Jesus delegated the authority to judge in this world?  Has the church faithfully administered this charge that our Lord has given us?

Read 1Corinthians 5:1-2. What action does Paul say the Corinthian church should have taken regarding this sinful church member? Now read verses 3-5.  By whose authority (in whose name) is the church to act? What is the ultimate hope of such action? Do you think Paul thought of church discipline as a heartless and cruel action, or a loving action that would benefit a person’s soul?

Read Romans 14:1-4. What are some ways that church discipline could be open to abuse? Spend some time thinking about how your church could faithfully and carefully fulfill our Lord’s charge in Matthew 18:15-17 while guarding against abuses.

*Material used from IX Marks website

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To Hell with Hell—Does Love Win?

By on February 26, 2011 in Book Review, Eschatology, Video

If you are not familiar with Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI, I don’t know you need to go out of your way to get familiar with him. (By virtue that he pastor’s a church called Mars Hill does not mean he is in anyway connected to the ministry of Mark Driscoll). Undoubtedly though, his books may very well show up in front of you from time to time. He is the author of Velvet Elvis and a new book coming out at the end of March called Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and teh Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. According to the publisher:

Rob Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing, would a loving God send people to eternal torment forever…? With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly hopeful—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.

Love Wins? This is univeralism 101!

Kevin DeYoung, pastor of University Reformed Church in Lansing, MI has a great post regarding this book and has some points on why “we must remember why God’s wrath is necessary to make sense of the Bible, the cross, and our growth in godliness.” I like his seventh point the best:

Sixth, we need God’s wrath in order to grasp how wonderful heaven will be. Jonathan Edwards is famous (or infamous) for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It’s still read in American Literature classes, usually as a caricature of the puritanical spirit of colonial New England. But few people realize that Edwards also preached sermons like “Heaven is a World of Love.” Unlike most of us, Edwards saw in vivid colors the terror of hell and the beauty of heaven. We can’t get a striking picture of one without the other. That’s why the depiction of the heavenly New Jerusalem also contains a warning to the cowardly, unbelieving, vile, immoral, idolaters, and liars whose place is in “the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (Rev. 21:8). It’s unlikely we will long for our final salvation if we don’t know what we are saved from.

I plan on getting Bell’s book once it is out. I think it is important to see what he is saying, however, only reading it as discerning as possible. That would be my advice to any reader…remember to read discerningly and know who the guy is you are reading and what presuppositions he brings with his book.

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How Can I Not Love…

By on February 21, 2011 in Video

Being from Michigan how could I not love this new commercial from Chrysler? I am unashamed to say I get goosebumps when watching this!

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An Evening of Eschatology

By on February 19, 2011 in Eschatology, Video

Eschatology (the study of last things) is one of those subjects people either love or love to ignore. It is very easy to get caught up in the details of how we expect God to do something and to be working, especially when we see so much unrest in the Middle East and surrounding Israel. Some people are “signs of the times” people who see every move made in and through Israel as just one step closer to the rapture.

Well, I’ve historically been one of these guys that likes to ignore eschatology—that is until a few years ago. I’ve certainly become no “signs of the times” kind of guy, but I think it is important to understand what God says in His Word about the last days. Many people tend to think we are living in the last days right now—I tend to agree.

Last night I had a group of ten or so guys down to the house and we watched a discussion panel that was called “An Evening of Eschatology.” It was filmed in coordination of Bethlehem College and Seminary and consisted of John Piper moderating a panel of three men, each of which represented a different view on the millennium. The entire presentation was just over two hours, but with the lively discussion and occasional humor of Doug Wilson the time passed quickly.

The three men that were in the discussion were:

Listening to these men was very refreshing in light of a lot of “left behind” theories and mentalities of eschatology that have crept into our society and thinking. I would encourage anyone to listen to these men on this panel. Then when you are done and want to go deeper go over to the Bethlehem College and Seminary website and read through some of the books listed there. Be sure you start with Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond.

The video we watched can be found by clicking here.

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IX Marks of a Healthy Church

By on February 15, 2011 in Sunday School, Video

Since September, my Sunday school class has been systematically working our way through the 9 marks that make up a healthy church. So far the study has been good for me and hopefully encouraging to my church. I frequently mention the name Mark Dever connected to much of my material because it is his material I am largely drawing from. I wanted to share a brief video of Mark Dever talking about the 9 marks of a healthy church. This is an introduction video to the 9 marks, but there are a bunch more that relate as well that you can view at this link.

I would also encourage you to check out the 9 Marks website. It is filled with content that edifies the church and brings glory to God.

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“God in America” PBS Video Series

By on February 14, 2011 in Church History, Video

I recently started watching the “God in America” video series that PBS did last year. So far it is pretty good and quite fascinating. There are only six episodes so it is pretty easy to get through. PBS’s website summarizes the series:

For the first time on television, God in America explores the tumultuous 400-year history of the intersection of religion and public life in America, from the first European settlements to the 2008 presidential election. A co-production of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and FRONTLINE, this six-hour series examines how religious dissidents helped shape the American concept of religious liberty and the controversial evolution of that ideal in the nation’s courts and political arena; how religious freedom and waves of new immigrants and religious revivals fueled competition in the religious marketplace; how movements for social reform — from abolition to civil rights — galvanized men and women to put their faith into political action; and how religious faith influenced conflicts from the American Revolution to the Cold War.

I have not watched the whole series yet but so far I am enjoying it and continue to be intrigued. You can watch the series online at PBS’s website, buy the DVD’s from the website, or download them through iTunes.

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R.C. Sproul on Creation

By on February 11, 2011 in Creation, Culture

I’m encouraged to see even some of the “big gun” theologian/scholars taking a stand on biblical creation. I’ve talked in the not to distant past about Al Mohler’s stand on creation and his ping pong of essays with BioLogos and now R. C. Sproul has posted an except from Truths We Confess: A Layman’s Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith: Volume 1: The Triune God that dogmatically tells you where Sproul is at on the issue. If you are unfamiliar with Sproul then you need to get familiar with him. He is a pastor/scholar/theologian and is a gift from God for the church. He founded Ligonier Ministries which produces a lot of great content for the church as well. Here is what Sproul says about creation;

I now hold to a literal six-day creation. . . Genesis says that God created the universe and everything in it in six twenty-four-hour periods. According to the Reformation hermeneutic, the first option is to follow the plain sense of the text. One must do a great deal of hermeneutical gymnastics to escape the plain meaning of Genesis 1-2. The confession makes it a point of faith that God created the world in the space of six days.

I’m thankful for the stand men like Mohler and Sproul are taking when many of their colleagues are undermining the authority of the Bible by reading the Bible through the lens of science. Science must be read through the lens of the Bible for it is our ultimate authority for our life.

If you have a moment be sure to duck over to Sproul’s blog to read the article in it’s entirety—it will be an encouragement to your soul.

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Is the Garden of Eden the Same Place as the Promised Land?

By on February 10, 2011 in Creation, Old Testament

I’ve been reading very slowing the past week or so a book called Genesis Unbound by John Sailhamer. Sailhamer is an Old Testament scholar that has written extensively on the Pentateuch and is a current professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

I’ve been reading this book because I have chosen to write a paper for the biblical creation course I took in January on it. In essence Sailhamer has a peculiar view of creation and I am looking at it to see if he has a leg to stand on. As I come to more conclusions I will write more about it, but for now I am trying to answer the question, “Is the garden to Eden the same place as the promised land?” By asking this question I am specifically talking about the physical location. Sailhamer writes:

Can the borders of the garden of Eden given in Genesis 2 be identified with any other specific area within the subsequent Genesis narratives? I believe the answer is yes; the author of these narratives had a specific place in mind when he spoke of the garden of Eden. That place is the promised land. (pg. 70-71)

Part of his rationale in drawing this parallel is when the reader gets to Gen 15 the land that is promised to Abraham, noted in the text as the “promised land,” is described with the markings of the two same rivers that are also named to mark of the garden of Eden. Multiple parallels are drawn between the two described pieces of land and ultimately Sailhamer describes how these two pieces of land are actually one in the same.

Some people I have read have drawn close parallels with the garden to the tabernacle to the temple (Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, 66-75), but so far I have not found anyone else specifically saying that physically the location of the garden in Eden is the same place as the promised land (Canaan). So, is the garden of Eden the same place as the promised land? I don’t know! Hopefully I will understand more in the days to come.

What do you think?

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Book Review: “Introducing the New Testament” by Carson, Moo & Edited by Naselli

By on February 7, 2011 in Book Review, New Testament

Carson, D. A. and Douglas J. Moo. Introducing the New Testament: A Short Guide to its History and Message. Edited by Andrew D. Naselli. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.

I love when I come across sources that serve the church well. This short guide to the New Testament that Andy Naselli has edited is one such source!

In short what Naselli has done is taken Carson and Moo’s larger work, An Introduction to the New Testament (784 pages) and summarize it down to 163 pages. He has taken some very in depth content targeted towards the seminary student or pastor and made it accessible for the average church member in the  pew.

The work is setup to deal with each book of the New Testament, and in some cases a group of books (i.e. 1, 2, 3 John all appear in one chapter), at a very overview level. It is not setup so much as a book one would sit down to read cover to cover, though some would, but more as a quick reference guide looking at each book of the New Testament. Each chapter seeks to answer eight questions:

  1. Content: What is the book about?
  2. Author: Who wrote the book?
  3. Genre: What style of literature is used?
  4. Date: When was the book written?
  5. Place: Where was the book written?
  6. Audience: To whom was the book written?
  7. Purpose: Why was the book written?
  8. Contributions: What does the book contribute to our understanding of the faith?

The other thing that I find extremely helpful is that each chapter ends with a set of questions that will help the reader process the information of the chapter. Following the questions the reader will find a list of sources where they can go for more information.

On the whole, Andy Naselli has served the church well by making this material more accessible to the average person in the church and I would wholehearted encourage anyone wanting a fuller understanding of their New Testament to pick up this book.

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