ResponsiveReiding

It’s OK to look, as long as we don’t touch – Right?

February 17th, 2009

In the final analysis, all sin can be traced to one thing: A defect in love. The sum of the Law Jesus teaches us is: “The most important is, ’Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The Holy Bible : English Standard Version., Mk 12:29-31 (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

When we fail to love God as we ought, we also fail to love our neighbors as we ought. And when we fail to love our neighbors as we ought, we fail to love God as we ought as well. The two are absolutely intertwined.

Today’s DAILY MAIL in the UK ran the following article demonstrating the scientific evidence that in our over-sexualized society, the viewing of scantily clad or nude women has the effect on men, of literally reducing those women to mere objects. Here’s the text of the article, and then I’ll have some closing remarks.

Scientist reveals what men REALLY think of when they look at a girlie calendar

By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 10:22 AM on 17th February 2009

Sexy calendars and pictures of topless models in tabloid newspapers really do lead men to think of women as objects, research shows.

When men are shown images of women in bikinis, the part of the brain they use when thinking about DIY tools and other objects lights up.

At the same time, the region they use to try to tune into another person’s thoughts and feelings tunes down, brain scans showed.

You don’t say: Sexy calendars in the workplace make it more likely that men look at women as objects

Researcher Susan Fiske said: ‘The only other time we have seen this is when people look at pictures of the homeless or of drug addicts because they really don’t want to think about what is going on in their minds.’

Her experiments also found, perhaps not surprisingly, that men remember the images of scantily-clad women better than those of fully-clothed women.

Overall, the experiments showed that sexy images lead men to think of women as ‘less than human’, the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference heard.

Professor Fiske, of Princeton University in the U.S., said the effect could spill over into the workplace, with girlie calendars leading men to sexualise their colleagues.

She said: ‘I am not saying there should be censorship but people need to know of the associations people have in their minds.’

Asked if women were likely to view half-dressed men in the same way, she said that women tended to rate age and bank balance over looks.

RAF: At this point, I will not speak to the counter sin of women having a tendency to think of men in terms of age & bank balance – but the clear testimony that Scripture has been right all along can’t be missed. You see, when people are depersonalized – love has ceased to be in the picture. Men have to remember that when we view such images and get pleasure from them, what we absolutely CANNOT be doing at the same time, is showing love toward this fallen creature who is selling her looks or body as though she were some mere – object. When we linger and lust, we are partaking of her sins. We are delighted that she is bound in her sin and shame so that we can get enjoyment from it. It is an act of hatred. It shows no compassion for her condition, that she would demean herself so cheaply – as one made in the image of God. And we then treat her like she is not worth anything – but to be gawked at, used for pleasure, thrown away and forgotten.

The World would say pornography is victimless. This is a lie. It promotes the celebration of the filthiest display of others bound in their sin. And then, we participate in their degradation – and take pleasure in it. How can that not be destructive to our own souls?

To love these people, would be to refuse to look at them in their nakedness. Our need, is to love as Christ has loved. And only such love can free us from the chains of sin that still seek to bind our own hearts and minds.
Recommended BLOG of the week: Zao Thanatoo

February 17th, 2009

ZAO THANATOO – is the blog of Ben Askins.

Ben is…well, Ben. He bills his blog as –

“this is the journal of an anti-hero, a man with two natures, a dead man and a living one, together looking into the shadows of reality as reflected on a dim mirror until the light returns, until we see face-to-face, until we know fully even as we are fully known. as much concrete as crystal, as much paradox as contradiction, this journal is about being sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”

That aside, he is a clear, insightful thinker, has a passion for Christ and His kingdom, and reads and absorbs at a frightening rate. Kinda freakish actually. But all with sound analysis and useful output. You will not find fluff here – although his seriously perverse sense of humor will poke through. Very cool.

I have to thank Ben (and his lovely wife Jana – expecting their first child as I write) for being faithful in his (their) ministry here at ECF as well as in Colorado and around. I never fail to be educated and edified from time spent with him – in person or in print. I am sure you’ll benefit too.

Another thing I need to thank Ben for is introducing me to the work of Dominic Bnonn Tennant. Ben just ran a 4 part series on Tennat’s work on the atonement – and it is spectacular. YOU CAN READ PART 1 HERE.
Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on Feb. 13, 2K9.

February 13th, 2009

1 – John 17:3 (ESV) ³And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

RAF: This, is the great question isn’t it? Do we know Him? Do YOU know Him? Not simply – do you know God is? – everyone knows that, even those who deny it (Rom. 1:18-23). And not – do you merely have some acquaintance with Him? Nicodemus, the Rich Young Ruler and a thousand others could claim that. Not – do you have some true relationship to Him? Jesus’ unbelieving brothers were no different. Not – do you consider yourself His disciple? Judas was truly a disciple and one of His chosen apostles. Not – do you know Christ and His divinity? For the devils themselves know that much. To KNOW God in that it is eternal life, is to know Him such that the wretchedness of this world’s and your own sin are shameful, rebellious and completely “other”, and that He is so perfect and infinitely lovely in every way, that your heart longs after Him and seeks Him and delights in Him. Do you love Him so as to love nothing else as much? Do you know Him so that He captivates your heart and mind? Do you love Him with a constant longing to love Him more and to have others see Him and love Him too? Do you love Him so as to want to make His glories known? Do you know His glories such that every glimpse makes you want more? Do you know Him so that Heaven is to be with Him and to know Him fully? Do you know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent – in mercy and grace to be the propitiation for your sins? Do you know Him?

2 – John 17:6 (ESV) ⁶“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

RAF: In this simple sentence, Jesus defines what it means to “glorify” God. And if we could grasp this, so much else in true religion would at once fall into its proper place. To glorify God, is to MANIFEST His name. In other words, to make Him known as He really is in His nature, character and disposition. Christ walked in perfect holiness. He made it plain for all to see what God’s holiness is, and what it is like to confront it and interact with it. How He hates lies, hypocrisy, greed, hatred, neglect of love, faithlessness, sin of all and every kind – and how He loves what is good, perfect, just, right, holy, sweet, kind, gentle, patient, upright, true, merciful, gracious and in accord with the God of light. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all – 1 John 1:5. NO darkness at ALL. No defect. No sin. No taint of any kind. Nothing even hinting at evil, injustice, corruption, selfishness, foolishness, failure or error. Nothing that is not absolutely perfect, laudable, glorious, true, holy and desirable. This is how Christ was, how He lived on this earth. This is what He made known to us. That His Father, though infinitely holy and absolutely just, nevertheless was also infinitely merciful and full of grace and forgiveness. That His Father loved the fallen sons of Adam. That His Father would move Heaven and earth to make a way of reconciliation between Himself and lost men. That His Father took no delight in the perishing of the wicked. That His Father would not lose the race He had created, but by sovereign grace would save some of them even though none would seek Him on their own. That His Father would see to it this message of reconciliation was commanded to be preached throughout the world, that through His ambassadors, He would plead with men to come to Him. That His Father would bestow upon all who will believe – not only the forgiveness of sins, but the highest glories of Heaven in adopting them as Sons. That He was the Son, the only begotten Son of such a Father as this, and that to clear His Father’s name from every misunderstanding, calumny, slur, slander and accusation – He would show the Father’s love and how that love draws out such a return of infinite love, that He would give His own life to purchase the forgiveness that alone could save a wretch like me. This dear one is how our Savior glorified the Father. He made Him known. And this then is our great instructive in the same occupation. This is how we glorify God – we make Him known, especially in His mercy and grace – in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 1 Pet. 2:9-10.
Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on Feb. 11, 2K9

February 11th, 2009

1. John 6:53-56 (ESV) ⁵³So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

RAF: Christ must be our all in all. He is not an add on to life – He must BE our life. If He is not what sustains us, if He is not as vital to our life as bread and water itself, the most basic and necessary of all things – then we do not really know Him.

2. John 7:16-17 (ESV) ¹⁶So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. ¹⁷If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

RAF: If you are undecided as to whether or not Jesus’ teaching is the truth of God – you can know this about yourself – your own will is still contrary to God’s. You need to be saved. You are standing in a dangerous place. And, if you seek to avoid that reality by quickly affirming that you do believe Christ’s teaching is God’s own – then why do you not obey Him? Why do you not forsake your sins and seek mercy in Christ? Why do you not own Him as Lord of your own life?

3. John 7:37-39 (ESV) ³⁷On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” ³⁹Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

RAF: Here, the Scripture reveals to us one of the greatest concepts joined together with the reality of Christ atoning death that simply must be grasped rightly: Only by Christ’s death, burial and resurrection does the promised Spirit belong to the Believer. Indeed, He (the Spirit) is the GREAT promise of the New Covenant (Acts 2:38-39). The Holy Spirit is the one who is charged with bestowing the gifts of God to His children (1 Cor. 12:1-12). The Spirit is the one who makes us to know the love of God as He causes that love to be “poured into our hearts” (Rom. 5;5) and He alone reveals to us the things freely given to us by God (1 Cor. 2:9-12). What the Father ordains, the Son procures and the Spirit bestows. Salvation is a Trinitarian matter from beginning to end. And so it is the Christian life cannot be lived aright unless we learn to live in conscious, constant, deliberate dependence upon the indwelling Spirit of God. this is the promise of Christ to all who believe – that we will become partakers of His Spirit. And so absolute is this connection, that Paul can remind us in Romans 8:9 that “anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” Heavenly Father, teach us to drink only at this Well, and to give to others freely from it. Let Christ be glorified in our satisfaction in Him by the Spirit.

4. John 9:24-34 (ESV) ²⁴So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” ²⁸And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. ³²Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

RAF: It is important for us to remember that men grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord. Sometimes, we can demand too much of young believers – that they posses a theological or doctrinal depth more fit with those older in Christ – before we receive their testimony. One can have quite imperfect ideas of the Savior at first. What they DO know, is that they can “see” and that it is Christ who has done it. As John Flavel once remarked, a baby in its crib, is no less a real child of its father because it cannot recognize his face or understand his words yet. Now what is also true is that as soon as the man in this account was met by Christ and given further truth – he took it readily and believed it. True children of Christ do grow – and do receive His Word, His teaching, and do not reject Him once they get to know more about Him. And as in this case, even if it means they will be rejected by others.
Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on Feb. 10, 2K9

February 10th, 2009

NOTE: I am making these entries a bit briefer for the purpose of letting a few central ideas stand out and be meditated upon, rather than giving too much to chew on without any real time to really take it in.

1. John 5:19-23 (ESV) ¹⁹So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. ²²The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

RAF: What is it that Jesus sees the Father doing that He is imitating here? Showing mercy. Just above, he had healed the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. And it is ALWAYS appropriate to be showing mercy. Not only that, instead of judging men for their sin now – God is showing mercy abundantly. The day of judgment will come. It is committed into the hands of the Son. But the day of mercy is here now. Hence His healings, and hence the giving of the Gospel to the world. The day of grace will end soon enough, but He works as the Father does in sustaining all life – even of His most wicked enemies while the Gospel is still being preached. He is a God of such mercy and grace.

Note: See vs. 22 & 23 in conjunction with 2 Cor. 5:18-19.

2. John 5:34 (ESV) ³⁴Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

RAF: This is a most intriguing statement. Notice that in this verse (34), Jesus tells the very ones who in v16 were seeking to persecute Him, and in v18 who were seeking to kill Him – that He was saying what He was saying to them, “so that you might be saved.” We must wrestle with the implications of such an announcement. Especially in light of the fact that these very same ones are then rebuked for refusing to come to Him that they might have life in v40. Here is the startling dynamic of Christ’s own statement of purpose – speaking in order that they might be saved, and yet they are not. And then, calling them into account because they refused to come to Him and have the life He declared to them. God is indeed sovereign. And man is indeed – truly responsible.

3. John 6:15 (ESV) ¹⁵Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

RAF: This occurs in the direct aftermath of the feeding of the 5,000. And it builds off of the words of Jesus in vss. 41-44 in the previous chapter. The lesson is this: When everyone is praising you, seek even more to be alone with God. It is one of the heaviest temptations of all to begin to love man’s praise more than God’s.

4. John 6:19-20 (ESV) ¹⁹When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. ²⁰But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

RAF: Jesus’ walking on the water wasn’t grandstanding. He doesn’t do it when there is a crowd around. He isn’t seeking gawkers. He comes to them by night, in the midst of the storm, to His own disciples, and then for the purpose of ministering to them. How contrary to the showmanship of the modern miracle workers. They want lights, camera and action. He wants to be of the most service He can in obeying the Father and rescuing His own from danger. That is where His glory is most seen – in rescuing us. He is a God of mercy and grace.
The Baruch Maoz Website

February 9th, 2009

I am trying to pass on excellent resources to y’all – and “TheMoazWeb” is the newest addition to my blogroll in that effort.

Baruch is a native born Israeli, and a decorated war veteran. He came to Christ through the witness of some faithful Christians in Israel – and he has pastored a Church there for many years. In fact, he just retired from the pastorate in order to devote even more time to writing.

Baruch’s book: “Judaism is not Jewish” – subtitled “A friendly critique of Messianic Judaism” is a must read. For those confused by and/or caught up in the strange world of the popular Messianic Judaism movement in the United States – it is a clear and forceful call to recover a truly Gospel centered Christianity for Jews and Gentiles alike. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The site is still being developed, but I have every confidence the forthcoming material will be Biblically sound, Christ centered, and spiritually healthy. Do visit often.

You can get there BY CLICKING HERE.
Universal Ineffectual Atonement vs Limited Effectual Atonement: An Argument for Limited Atonement

February 7th, 2009

The THEOLOGY ON LINE blog has an excellent entry today on the false either/or dilemma in the debate on the extent of Christ’s atonement. It quotes a particulalry pertinent section from Nathaniel Hardy’s Commentary on the Gospel of John – 1865.

those of us who embrace this point of view are often accused of inventing something “new.” Alas, ’tis not so. Nor is it Arminian nor even Amyraldian. Check out this short but excellent read. There is no reason that the discussion over the extend of the atonement has to remain deadlocked in an absolute either/or dichotomy, when we can have a perfectly plausible both/and construct which harmonizes ALL of the passages on the atonement. I want Hershey’s AND Reese’s!

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on Feb. 4, 2K9

February 4th, 2009

1 – The one-word theme of 2 Corinthians is: SUFFERING. Paul’s opponents sought to discredit his ministry by pointing to all of his suffering as though it meant God was dealing harshly with him. Paul instead shows how suffering is so important to the life of the Christian and our ministry one to another. We will not serve God one iota past what we are willing to suffer in serving Him. Those who want to serve Christ without suffering or who want to preach a Christianity devoid of suffering, distance themselves from the Lord who suffered for them. If suffering is automatically a sign of God’s displeasure or failure in the Christian life – then Jesus was the most miserable failure of all. This necessary theme is expanded upon by Peter in his first epistle.

2 – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

RAF: Christians are not as much repositories for God’s riches, as conduits. Many would like to be useful in ministering to others while at the same time failing to realize that God’s primary way of equipping us for that work – is in meeting OUR need SO that we can then meet another’s. If we are unwilling to need His comforts – the comforts which become ours in the midst and aftermath of suffering – then we need not be surprised if we have nothing to give to anyone else. His blessings pass to and thus through us to others. He does not give us what WE do not need to give to others – but binds us to others by means of the need and His supply in it. It is those who have been comforted in their grief, who are best enabled to minister Christ to the grief of others. Those who have found His supply in want, His support in trial, His peace in the storm and His presence in abandonment and lonliness – then have Him to share with others in the very same circumstances. It is amusing how we pray for faith, but then do not want any trials where we actually have to trust Him for anything. We will plead with Him for opportunities to minister to others, but are unwilling to have needs He has to meet in us first, so that we can truly minister Him and not ourselves to those in like need. It is when we’ve been comforted, that we can best bring Him as comfort to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We could add here that this then exposes the first foundation of any true Gospel ministry in evangelism as well. We are not equipped to call others to flee to Christ for salvation, if we have not known our own sinfulness, and fled to Him for mercy and grace ourselves. It is Heaven’s economy that those who call men to Christ, are those who first know their own desperate need of Him – and how He has met that need by His death at Calvary. Unregenerate preachers are an abomination. Like nurses with numb hands trying to be tender to burn victims in excruciating pain.

3 – 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (ESV) For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

RAF: There is a vast difference between despairing of life or of a situation ever changing for the better, and yielding up to despair altogether. Christians are not required to be unrealistic in their assessments – either for the good or the bad. It is not faithlessness to be in a position where you say – “this does not look like it will ever get any better.” In fact, our unwillingness to accept certain unchangeable realities can bring us to the utmost frustration and defeat. Faithlessness, is seeing the situation, and forgetting that “this” – here and now, is not THE end – imagining that there is NO future whatever. Faithlessness fails to insert the sure hope of the resurrection into the equation. It stops with the circumstances. Paul points to the impossible place he was in with his companions, and then demonstrates how in it, indeed by means of it – God was getting them to look beyond the immediate, and remember that the God who raises the dead is the One above it all. And that if nothing changes here and now – in THAT day, it will. We may be so utterly devoid of resources as to despair that we will even make it through the present circumstance alive. And if we do not – our God will raise us up on the last day. And that is where our hope rests.

4 – 2 Corinthians 1:12-14 (ESV) For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and acknowledge and I hope you will fully acknowledge— just as you did partially acknowledge us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.

RAF: Paul places no weight on enjoying great comforts or earthly, external trappings as somehow indicating God’s favor. What he prizes is how he has been enabled to live in all of life’s circumstances:

a. With a conscience right before God;

b. Having behaved – conducted himself – in simplicity: sticking to the necessary essentials;

c. and living in sincerity – plain, straightforward transparency, not needing to hide anything;

d. Not reasoning according to this world, but according to Heaven’s wisdom;

e. Living in the knowledge of being people who have received grace;

f. And thus living first and foremost in communicating that grace to others.

This is the the way he first came to them;

this is the way they accepted him at first;

this is the way it still is;

and this is how it is to be when Christ returns.

5 – 2 Corinthians 4:5 (ESV) For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

RAF: In our day, it is not unusual for many to think more about THEIR ministry, than THE ministry. In other words, some are about the business of building their ministry which they want to take on a certain form and by which they wish to identify themselves. It is not uncommon to hear it said: “I have such-and-such a ministry.” This mindset, which appears to be one Paul had to confront in some in the Corinthian Church is met most comprehensively in this text. Note:

a. The proclamation which Paul is about, is NOT about HIS ministry – it is about Christ Jesus. Paul is not as much concerned about having a church planting ministry or a counseling ministry or a healing ministry or a music ministry or anything else of that kind. What he is about, is proclaiming Christ. That may be done in thousands of different contexts – but as the central object, it never changes. The message is more important than the ministry. Whenever this gets reversed, monuments to men are not far behind.

b. The proclamation of Jesus is not simply or merely as Savior – but as Lord. Gospel preaching which does not in the end call men to come to Jesus as their God and King – as their Lord, fails to be Gospel ministry. His Lordship is inherent in the concept of the incarnation – He left His pre-existent glory to take on human flesh. It is inherent in His earthly ministry, displayed as Lord over disease, demons and even the Sabbath. It is inherent in His resurrection – where he is declared to be Lord of all! It is inherent in salvation where we are translated from the kingdom of darkness, into His kingdom – where we become His bond-slaves. We cannot truly preach Him apart from being Lord. This is what we are calling men to, to repent from self-government to Christ’s Lordship.

c. And how then does Paul classify his “ministry?” “Servants” – slaves, for Jesus’ sake. Slaves of Jesus, so that others might know Him.

6 – 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (ESV) But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

RAF: This portrait of the Christian life is so foreign to our Americanized Western Christianity. Here, the picture painted is of a people constantly or at least repeatedly brought to the end of themseves by circumstances of every kind, SO THAT, His supernatural sustaining power might be demonstrated through us – IN us. While we are alive in these bodies, we are always being given over to circumstances which would seem to destroy us – and by means of it – He brings others to life. It is beyond our comprehension. But Dear Saint, you who have been trested and tried and who have thought that it must mean God has abandoned you or is hanging you out to dry for some unknown reason – listen to this passage. Ease, success, plenty and no adversity are not the presupposed norms of the Christian life. It is just the opposite. And those who would tell you different, are not reliable. This reality remains unknown to them. You in Christ who are standing today in the midst of severe trial, and know full well that you are not doing it by means of even the smallest ability of your own – He is manifesting Himself to the rest of us in your mortal flesh.
Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on Feb. 3, 2K9

February 3rd, 2009

1 – Proverbs 3:3 (ESV) Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

RAF: Never let the wonder, the mystery, and glory, the reality of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness toward you ever escape your consciousness. When we imagine His love to be vacillating or indistinct – or when we doubt the absolute certainty of His commitment to see all of His promises to come to pass – faith suffers its most devastating blows. See our God as constitutionally incapable of the any of the defects of human love. In the darkest of hours, He cannot love you any more, nor can He love you any less. See Him as ontologically unable to fail to keep His word, or to break His promises. He does not merely carry out His promises faithfully, He IS faithful. This is the One with whom we have to do. This is our God. Loving and faithful beyond anything the human mind can imagine. This is the One in whom we place our trust.

2 – Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

RAF: Bring everything to Him, EVERYTHING. Do not fail to make every concern, ever twinge of anxiety or fear known. And do the same with every joy and thankgiving. Bring Him into every aspect and moment of life. Every experience. Live life IN Christ.

3 – Proverbs 3:11 (ESV) My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,

RAF: This need to refrain either from despising (treating lightly) or wearying of the Lord’s discipline is true whether you are the subject of such loving discipline, or if you are in leadership and must be an agent in carrying it out, or, if you are part of a Body which engages actively in such outward love.

All three applications must be made.

a. The sinner, treats the Father’s discipline as though it is a light thing. Either that God does not discipline at all and just leaves us to ourselves, or, that He does not take unrepentant sin in our lives very seriously. It is easy then too – if we DO live in the reality of His loving discipline, to grow weary of it, as though we can do NOTHING right and want to just get away from every manifestation of it. Such then is the need to be reminded this is love, and the product of His delight in us. To pay us the supreme compliment, that the Lord of the universe pays attention to the details of our lives.

b. Leadership can treat it lightly and thus neglect it. Or, being confronted with many needs to administer it in certain seasons, can grow exceedingly weary in the process. But we are to be agents of God’s love – NOT His wrath. We must keep this focus and not let it cross over into something heavy and odious. We too must remember how the Father is delighting in sons and daughters, and that we are there to manifest His love, care and concern in His active involvement in their lives.

c. So too a congregation can begin to wonder if Church discipline is really all that necessary. After all, it is painful and uncomfortable. We naturally dislike it. As a people we can grow weary and just say – “let’s let God handle it alone – why get ourselves all upset at people’s sins and involved in them?” Then again, we must take up the banner of love and be sure we do not neglect to love in the hard places. To do what is uncomfortable, when it is best for the ones we are loving in Christ’s name.

4 – Proverbs 3:13-14 (ESV) Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.

RAF: Three times in Scripture we are admonished that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; Prov. 9:10). Knowing God now, is the beginning of the treasures of eternity. How can we know what life is meant to be apart from understanding the purposes of the One who gave it to us and sustains us in it? And how can we understand His purposes fully, unless we come to know Him for Himself? In ancient courts of law, advocates for one accused did not so much provide evidence against the accusations themselves, as they did testify to the fact that the character of the one accused made it impossible that they could do what they were accused of. Nothing will make us more sure of God than getting to know Him. Nothing will make us happier in His providential appointments in our lives than grasping how fully and perfectly He loves us – and how flawlessly wise he is both in His direct actions and in His permissions. This truly is better than gain from silver or gold. These are lasting riches. These are eternal glories. You gain true, cosmic, eternal wisdom when you understand who and what God is, and stand in the right fear that being exposed to such awesome and incomprehensible realities engenders. And when at last you prize this above all other things – then you will know true contentment and satisfaction.

5 – Proverbs 3:19-20 (ESV) The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

RAF: Here is a call to keep always in view – that it is God who made this world in which we live – with purpose and wisdom, and that by His design it functions and exists. This is so we never cross over into existential despair. So we never fall into the fears of randomness. Never fail to see God is behind life itself, and that He remains sovereign and supreme as He moves all of history toward its final goal of all things summed up in Christ Jesus. The knowledge that human existence is on a trajectory toward an eternal goal is vital to our living in hope and reality. The damnable horror that has sprung from a Godless, evolutionary view of man that makes him nothing more than a cosmic accident plunges the souls of men into a bottomless despair. Only the light of the Gospel as it reveals the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ can rescue us from that wretched abyss.

6 – Proverbs 3:28 (ESV) Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

RAF: Give the Gospel at every opportunity. Do not listen to the deceptions of your own hear that argue you need to be in a better mood, or have your mind in a better place, or that it is inconvenient, or that you don’t have the time at that moment to do it well. You have the words of eternal life with you at all times. Seize the moment He has provided you. Don’t wait. Fulfill your ambassadorial role and tell them the good news. “Christ has come. He has died the death for sin at Calvary. Final judgement awaits us all – and might be here in a moment. Look to Christ and put your trust in Him as your sin-bearer. Today. Forsake your sin, repent and believe.” What an impact a moment can have on someone’s eternity.
New to my blogroll – Check it out.

January 31st, 2009

Real Clear Theology Blog

“We do theology for you . . . so you don’t hurt yourself”

The New Testament Research Ministries blog is the blog of Eric Svendsen. Dr. Svendsen is Director of New Testament Research Ministries, an adjunct professor of New Testament at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (Rocky Mountain campus, Denver CO), and a pastor of New Covenant Bible Church in Aspen Park, CO. He holds a M.A. in New Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Ph.D. in New Testament from North-West University.

His writing is clear, practical and insightful. Especially check out his “Dialogue on the Extent of the Atonement.” There is lots of good discussion there.