Creation, Election, and Worship

Working on a paper on a biblical theology of worship, I was struct by the link between Genesis 1:26-27, the analogy of the potter and clay in the prophets and Romans 9, and the praise of the elders in Revelation 4:11.

"In creation, God is seen to be a God of action and initiative. Passivity is not found in the opening account. He acts. He takes initiative. God leads in the creation of the world—and of man. Revelation 4:11, at the end of the story, provides explicit teaching regarding an implicit consequence of God as creator—namely God is to be praise. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Note the reason God is to be praised. God created all things. The Creator-God thus owns and rules over all things. Isaiah and Jeremiah and then Paul in Romans 9 each build on this reality, using the examples of the potter and clay to teach on the electing rule of God. The clay is rightly shown to be dependent, given purpose and design by the potter. The potter has free will to do with the clay as he chooses—like Rev. 4:11 which ends “by your will they exist and were created. Genesis 1:26-27 is the initial establishment of this reality of ownership and rule on the part of God (the potter) over man (the clay)."

The Confused Rollings of Second Causes

"It is impossible to be submissive and religiously patient if ye stay your thoughts down among the confused rollings and wheels of second causes, as O the place! O the time! O if this had been, this had not followed! O the linking of this accident with this time and place! Look up to the master motion and the first wheel."

--Samuel Rutherford in The Loveliness of Christ

Creed and Conduct

"Mere orthodoxy is not enough; Christians must live out their creed. The gospel of the crucified Messiah must transform not only our beliefs but our behavior."

"Faithful Christian leaders must make the connections between creed and conduct, between the cross and how to live. And they must exemplify this union in their own lives."

--D.A. Carson, Chapter 4 of The Cross and Christian Ministry

Balance

"Paul tells us that if Christ is not the whole of our message, then we are not balanced at all."

--Fred G. Zaspel in 'An Analysis of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5'

Forget About Wallets: 'What's in your ship?'

I find myself returning to this quote more than my life of ease might suggest is necessary. May we be diligently doing the hard work of filling our ships with weighty ballast while the seas of life are calm!

"Pain and loss are bitter providences. Who has lived long in this world of woe without weeping, sometimes until the head throbs and there are no more tears to lubricate the convulsing of our amputated love? But O, the folly of trying to lighten the ship of suffering by throwing God's governance overboard. The very thing the tilting ship needs in the storm is the ballast of God's good sovereignty, not the unburdening of deep and precious truth. What makes the crush of calamity sufferable is not that God shares our shock, but that his bitter providences are laden with the bounty of love."

--John Piper

Evangelism--A Convicting Thought

"There shouldn't be people you know who don't know the gospel."

I am challenged in my verbal witness every time I think of this.

Seeing Christ As Compensation For All These Days of Suspense

"Only pray for strength to be given to me from within and from without, that I may not only speak, but also may be willing, and that I may not merely be called a Christian, but also may be found to be one." --IGNATIUS.

"Eighty-and-six years have I served Him and He never did me any wrong ; how then can I blaspheme my King, my Saviour." --POLYCARP.

"My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake ; why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one ? --JOHN HUSS.

"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." --LATIMER.

"The pain will soon be over, and oh the sweetness of the welcome above! I cannot imagine the Saviour's welcome. Oh, that will compensate for all these days of suspense!" --LIZZIE ATAVATER.

"We rejoice that we are made partakers of the sufferings of Christ, that when His glory shall be revealed, we may rejoice also with exceeding joy." --W. G. PEAT.

"Many will say, Why did she go ? wasted life. Darling, No.
Trust God does His very best and never makes mistakes." --MAY NATHAN.

--from the opening page of the first chapter in Lost Letters and Further Records of Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 26.

Universalism, Inclusivism, and Exclusivism

Universalism -- all saved

Inclusivism -- all who will be saved will be saved through Christ--whether they know Christ or not

Exclusivism -- all who will be saved will be saved by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Christ alone

As an aside, am I right to say C.S. Lewis held the middle position? Michael Ward, a Lewis expert, explained him this way--if I understood him correctly.

II Corinthians 1:1-7

Here is the conclusion of a paper I wrote for Dr. Pennington on II Cor. 1:1-7 . . . an encouraging passage.

The theological significance of this passage is that Christians should praise God for the comfort they have experienced through Christ in the midst of affliction, particularly affliction for the sake of Christ. They should then also recognize that their role as a loving neighbor may encompass their being used as a means for God’s comfort of others—for God’s extending of comfort which they themselves have received from God outward towards others. This can only be done by Christians as this is only done through Christ. Therefore, the church of Christ should be uniquely marked by loving relationships of comfort in the midst of affliction—which is the result of boldly associating with Christ. Truly, God is to be praised for the comfort he supplies through Christ--by means of those who have been afflicted (and comforted!)--to any saint who is afflicted.

The Regulative Principle

A helpful reminder:

In the history of the church, the regulative principle was viewed as freeing.

Do you view it as such? Is it even within your view?

God Says It

"God says it; that settles it." Not "God says it; I believe it; that settles it."

--Brian Vickers

The Music Guy

The music minister should be an elder. That is, an elder should also serve in part as the music minister (in oversight more than action). The key is 'in part.' He should be doing other things.

When you have a 'music guy' whose sole role is such, there are likely consequences, namely,

(1) he has a sense of entitlement,

(2) he has to do more and more to feel he is doing something,

(3) because this is how he demonstrates his own faithfulness

(4) which can cause a skewed view of duty and service, and

(5) his role creates a place for complaints.

Learning About Early English Baptists

"It is noteworthy that the first half of the eighteenth century had been devoted more to consolidation and organization than to evangelism. This was typical of English dissenters generally. Their preoccupation with theological problems, chiefly Christological and ethical, together with the development of a censorious spirit, did not produce a warm evangelistic ministry. The spiritual awakening so desperately needed by the country came, not from dissenters, but from Anglicans like Whitefield and the Wesleys, beginning about 1738."

This summarizes well both the General and Particular Baptists in England in the 18th century.

--Torbet, A History of the Baptists, p. 71.

Ministry and Politics

It has been observed that . . .

politics -- less of a draw close up, but attractive from afar

ministry -- more of a draw close up, but unattractive from afar

. . . and I've found this so true (particularly concerning ministry).

Darwin and Rome

The Vatican is hosting a conference on Darwin--a man whose works they never condemned. BBC News has a short article on this. It ends with the following quote.

"The design of organisms is not what would be expected from an intelligent engineer, but imperfect and worse," [Prof Francisco Ayala] said. "Defects, dysfunctions, oddities, waste and cruelty pervade the living world".

Prof Francisco Ayala, what about a worldview with creation and sin?

Preaching and the Invitation

The invitation was originally just a call to response, often at the end of sermons. It has become associated with walking the isle, etc.--a tradition many have grown to dislike for its regular abuse. However, even if I don’t like ‘the invitation,’ I must invite sinners to Christ. A call to response is a must and it should be passionate and powerful. We lie about the gospel when we don't.

Unexplainable . . . apart from God?

Is Gamaliel's logic solid in Acts 5? Is a Christianity that does not fail in the face of persecution unexplainable apart from God? I think he is right that if it is from God, none can overthrow it. But is it clearly from God for this reason? Can the Roman Catholic Church (admittedly within Christianity) or Islam or Hinduism or any other ancient religion also claim being 'of God' by reason of its survival through hard times?

What makes true Christianity's survival in the face of persecution unique among religions? How does it magnify God in this?


Just some questions that arose in my mind after reading in Acts this afternoon. I will continue reading for answers.