Discipling Through Romans (2a) November 25, 2008

Romans 2:1-11

Keep this in context:  Remember Paul is writing to Christians (both Jews and Gentiles) at the church in Rome.
Study Tip:  Any time you see the word “therefore” it is connecting the current passage with something previously said so look and find what it is “there for.”

Verses 1-6    It would be easy for the church to read Chapter 1 with the “world” in mind.  So in Chapter 2 Paul brings the concept closer to home for them.  Church-going people often develop an air of superiority to the “God-hating world”.  Paul corrects this erroneous view.  The thing to grasp is all flesh (and I do mean all) suffers from the same sickness—sin.  All flesh suffers from the same condition—our sin separates us from fellowship with our Creator.  All flesh is traveling to the same destination—eternal torment.

Do you know this about your flesh?  That it is sick with sin; that sin keeps you separated from a Holy God; and God is completely justified in throwing you into the pit of fire?

Verse 4    Paul asks a very important question.  Have you ever wished God would just zap someone for his or her foolishness?  God does not operate that way.  Our God is long suffering.  God explains this part of his personality when He passes by Moses on Mt. Sinai in Exodus 34:6-7.  Look it up.
We must realize the purpose behind God’s long suffering—“to bring others toward repentance.”  This is great news for our sin sick selves.  A God that is completely justified in blotting us out of existence does not, to lead us toward repentance!

Verses 7-11    Paul continues showing the reward due to those who receive righteousness and pursue God’s glory and the punishment due those who are self-seeking and about their own glory.

Whose Glory are you interested in?  Whose service do you busy yourself with?  Do you concern yourself with things that will gain favor with man, self, or God?

For my friend November 20, 2008

By Dr. John Piper

…American culture does not belong to Christians, neither in reality nor in biblical theology. It never has. The present tailspin toward Sodom is not a fall from Christian ownership. “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). It has since the fall, and it will till Christ comes in open triumph. God’s rightful ownership will be manifest in due time. The Lordship of Christ over all Creation is being manifest in stages, first the age of groaning, then the age of glory. “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). The exiles are groaning with the whole Creation. We are waiting.
But Christian exiles are not passive. We do not smirk at the misery or the merrymaking of immoral culture. We weep. Or we should. This is my main point: Being exiles does not mean being cynical. It does not mean being indifferent or uninvolved. The salt of the earth does not mock rotting meat. Where it can, it saves and seasons. And where it can’t, it weeps. And the light of the world does not withdraw, saying “good riddance” to the godless darkness. It labors to illuminate. But not dominate.
Being Christian exiles in American culture does not end our influence; it takes the swagger out of it. We don’t whine about the triumphs of evil. We are not hardened with anger. We understand. This is not new. This was the way it was in the beginning—Antioch, Corinth, Athens, Rome. The Empire was not just degenerate, it was deadly. For three explosive centuries Christians paid for their Christ-exalting joy with blood. Many still do. More will.
It never occurred to those early exiles that they should rant about the ubiquity of secular humanism. The Imperial words were still ringing in their ears: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). This was a time for indomitable joy and unwavering ministries of mercy.
Yes, it was a time for influence—as it is now. But not with huffing and puffing as if to reclaim our lost laws. Rather with tears and persuasion and perseverance, knowing that the folly of racism, and the exploitation of the poor, and the de-God-ing of education, and the horror of abortion, and the collapse of heterosexual marriage are the tragic death-tremors of joy, not the victory of the left or the right.
The greatness of Christian exiles is not success but service. Whether we win or lose, we witness to the way of truth and beauty and joy. We don’t own culture, and we don’t rule it. We serve it with brokenhearted joy and long-suffering mercy, for the good of man and the glory of Jesus Christ.

Piper, John. Life as a Vapor. Sisters, OR: Multonomah Publishers, 2004.

Discipling Through Romans (Chapter 1b) November 14, 2008

Romans 1:18-32

Paul begins to explain the Gospel. This will be similar to a “geometric proof” (remember those ☺), as one doctrine will logically lead to another. Webster’s Dictionary defines doctrine as (1) a principle, position or policy taught or advocated; (2) a body or system of teachings relating to a particular subject. We study doctrine because the Bible affirms certain pillars of truth that build the Christian faith. Without these pillars the whole house falls—and man cannot understand the work Christ did. The gospel and doctrine are inseparable. Without proper instruction man cannot fully receive Christ and understand what he has been given in this gift. Also remember the gospel means “good news.”

I. Doctrine of Separation: Paul takes great pains to explain why and how a Holy God separates himself from a sinful creation. This doctrine will be developed from Rom 1:18-3:20. Does it seem odd that an explanation of the gospel does not start with Jesus? The gospel always begins with God! His holiness cannot be joined with our sin and his righteous wrath is the due penalty of our sin. Until we recognize how holy God is… and how separated by sin we are… we cannot truly know the good news of Jesus.

II. Doctrine of General Revelation: Another amazing concept Paul chooses to weave into his announcement of the good news is the doctrine of general revelation. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, Solomon writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: God has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done. God has revealed his eternal power and divine nature to every man. We know there is a supreme being; yet we disobey in our lack of faith. Paul says we are without excuse and deserve the righteous judgment or wrath of God.

III. Darkened hearts; Depraved minds; Deserving death: Paul begins to layout the progressive nature of man’s thoughts and actions when he rejects God. This downward spiral starts by refusing to glorify God with thanksgiving for being our Creator. (v. 21) The rejection of God leads to a darkened heart and foolish actions. As man continues to base his philosophy (or belief system) on things that are made…he continues to do what we were made to do…worship. Oh that we would understand this point; we are all worshipers of something. It is either the worship of the One who created all things or the worship of all things created. What do you worship? Where do you spend your self, your resources? Look in the mirror…your god may be yourself.
Paul shows where the mind that rejects God eventually ends up…totally depraved…given to every lust, worshiping the body of man, rampant perversion and homosexuality. Does this sound familiar in a culture that can be characterized as “God-haters?”
Romans 1:32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Discipling Through Romans (Chapter 1a) November 13, 2008

Romans Chapter 1:1-17 Please think about the Questions in Section VI

I. Romans 1:1
Entering Credentials
a. Name
b. Job Description
c. Expertise/Training

II. Romans 1:2-4
Paul’s Christology—His Doctrine of Christ
Paul tells the church in Rome whose team he is on…which propositions or facts of Christ he affirms as true.
a. Prophesy is fulfilled in Christ
b. Physical lineage of Christ—his humanity
c. Proved to be Son of God through the Resurrection—his divinity

III. Romans 1:5
By Christ and for him Paul lived out his calling to bring the obedience of faith to all Gentiles.
***Rather than teaching Christ as something that would make their lives better…Paul taught that our faith in the gospel is an obedience issue. When we hear the gospel we make a decision either to obey through faith in Christ or disobey by rejecting Christ and having no faith.

IV. Romans 1:7(b)
The grace of faith always precedes the peace given to God’s chosen people. (This is a greeting we read Paul use repeatedly in his epistles.)

V. Romans 1:8-13
Paul is telling the church in Rome his desire to visit them so that:
a. They can be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith,
b. To have a harvest of believers, and
c. To preach the gospel to Greeks and to non-Greeks in Rome

VI. Romans 1:16-17
Paul’s Mission Statement: There is no shame in preaching the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew then for the Gentile.

The Gospel gives:
a. A righteousness revealed—Through Whom?
b. Righteousness provided by God—Why is this needed? How does God make this provision?
c. Beginning and ending in faith—How do I receive the righteousness God provided?
d. “The righteous will live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:4

Paul’s intent for the entire book of Romans is summed up in his lengthy greeting. He will spend the last half of chapter one through chapter eight explaining the gospel. Then in chapters nine through eleven he goes to great pains to address God’s purpose in redemptive history. From chapter twelve through the first half of fifteen he applies what he has taught in very practical ways to help the church live in a Christ-like manner. His closing thoughts and final doxology are included in the last half of chapter fifteen and chapter sixteen.

Worldview. Everyone has one, what is yours? November 11, 2008

“As our eyes are opened wide and on you, grant us the privilege of your worldview and may your kingdom be what wakes us up and lays us down” Toby Mac

Notes from R.C. Sproul’s Worldview series:

Biblical Worldview: Sees God as both transcendent and immanent. He is both superior in form and knowledge to His creation (transcendent) and intricately involved in its existence (immanence). Immanence comes to final reality in the person of Christ who comes as a man and dwells among us.

Secularism: Elevated view of the “now.” Secular-derivative of the latin word seculum which means “this world” or “now.” Ism- elevates the view of “this world” to a philosophy of thought or worldview. This is the broadest worldview existing in our time. From the trunk of Secularism comes other various forms or branches of philosophy i.e. Humanism, Existentialism, Pragmatism, etc. Though each have various points of contradiction, they come from the same origin of Secularism.

Our culture is not pagan, this is a pre-Christian condition, we have been given enough of the “message of Christ” to inoculate us from being confronted with the offense of the cross and responding in obedience to its requirements. So in this post-Christian culture, we are secularists…not pagans.

The Secularist believes the now counts for now. He denies the transcendent and eternal God, which lead to the Death of God movement and ultimately results in the despair and death of man.

My comments follow:
3 Implications this awareness brings to the believer:
1. Pray for God to cleanse the church of its love affair with Secularism by repenting of our sin, learning what this system of thought is and how it skews the believer’s view of Jehovah God. When our theology is tainted with ideas hostile to God, we end up worshipping a god of our own creation and not the God of the Word. The biggest offense to God is not that the lost think and behave like “lost people” but that His Bride is being seduced with ideas that do not honor him.
2. Pray that God will restore the repentant believer to a God-centered view of the world. This view understands we serve a transcendent and eternal God who is sovereign in His involvement with the “now.” This idea MUST be reapplied to the hearts of believers: Now counts for eternity!
3. Pray for understanding the world we live in and the lost we serve. Learn the worldview the world embraces and how to battle it with the gospel. Unless we are understanding the lens through which a person is seeing we will never gain a point of entry in appealing to them for Christ.
I truly think this is the “in the world” Jesus refers to…that we not become so disinterested in the lost that we have no means of appeal. His life is the perfect example of this tense concept. He came to the world but did not become worldly. Rather he impacted his “now” by challenging all their notions of truth. When we engage in this world… in this way—and worldview’s are challenged—we can expect to be outnumbered, persecuted and even killed (He was). If doing so, however, produces one convert…one person saved from the pit of fire… it would be worth my life being poured out like a drink offering over and over.

Religion is a Red Herring November 6, 2008

After watching Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Ben Stein Documentary) I really got inspired to jot down some Ideas.

Background: I was a Biology major at MTSU. I was presented Darwinism at every turn and on all fronts. I was crazy enough to say in a Lab with all my peers: “I do not believe in evolution…” It was like someone died with the silence and hysteria that ensued after my passing comment. Then, in an effort to clarify, I said, “Don’t get me wrong, I think every being has a God-given ability to adapt over time.” Wow, talk about being labeled a heretic.

Expelled: I Love This Film! Being entrenched in the closed-system of Darwinism I have a deep appreciation for the “REBELS” in this documentary. The paradox of conservatives filling the role of “bra-burning radical,” screaming for freedom—really makes me laugh!!!

In a nutshell, this film sets out to highlight the suppression of freedom that the field of science has encountered and the high-jacking of research and education that has been in the wake of Darwin’s tsunami.

During the film, Stein interviews several scientists, to include, directors of the Discovery Institute (an institution devoted to the true, free, unabashed study of scientific concepts) the following comments were extracted during the interviews:
• Religion is a red herring. Christ has never been in the science classroom and this is not what we are attempting to accomplish. We simply want a debate on the evidence.
• From a Polish geneticist: America is much more restricted in its freedom of study in this area than Poland. (My comment: What, America is not free to weigh, evaluate, debate and instruct on scientific evidence…What, we are less free in this area than….POLAND???!!!!)
• Professor from Biola University: I have never received $ from Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. The questions that are presented with Darwinism never go away. They get loaded down with sorts of political baggage, but in a relaxed setting with scientists who embrace Darwin’s Theories (after a few beers) they admit there are major problems with his work. Any fundamentalist will agree to evolution as “change over time,” but that is not the same as Darwin’s Evolution which is defined as: “common descent of all life on earth from a single ancestor via undirected mutation and natural selection” and with this there are serious questions. So the alternative: Study of patterns of nature that are best described by Intelligence. This is not microwaved creationism but a MINIMAL commitment to a possibility of intelligence.***
• Super-smart professor in France: (I assume he moved there to have the freedom to teach whatever he wanted in the field of science) The question is not: “Is Darwinism correct?” The question is: “Is it clear enough?” That thing is a mess!

In possibly the most fascinating parts of the entire flick, Stein gets an interview with the self-proclaimed Atheist Richard Dawkins. A staunch Darwin supporter. Dawkins rejects the idea of Intelligence insomuch as it could possibly lead to any type of deity but would concede the possibility of life being “seeded” on earth through an alien force. Yes, that’s correct, no God but Aliens.

Finally, Stein is able to present through history those leaders and societies that have embraced Darwin’s Theories as fact, and the ultimate impact those ideas had sociologically. The list of characters sold out to preaching Darwin’s gospel through ideological and sociological manipulation includes: Hitler, Stalin, Margaret Sanger, and Dawkins.

Hitler: Although Darwinism was not a sufficient cause of Nazism, it was a necessary one. In Darwinism, if there is no purpose for any “unfit” life form, and if through the propagation of government we have supported the infirmed and imbiciled (who under Darwin’s model would not have been fit enough to survive) then the radical extermination of these “drains” would then allow for the “survival of the fittest,” accomplishing Hitler’s goal of an Utopian Germany society.

Stalin: Attempted to skew “evolution” to de-evolve man back to his “superhuman” strength whereby allowing for his political advantage through the Ape-Man. ( I am not kidding!)

Margaret Sanger: Founder of Planned Parenthood: she was a major proponent of a Darwinistic worldview and from her, Eugenics was birthed in the US. This is the means by which a society controls the population growth through various means of abortion and birth control. From this Darwinist’s vantage point, if we came from nothing and are going to nothing then life has no intrinsic “Quality.” There are no inalienable rights endowed to us from any “Creator” and it would be senseless to preserve the rights of an individual at the expense of another.

Dawkins: (this part of the film actually brought me to tears) I am praying for the soul of this blind man. The god of this world has him so blinded to any glimpse of truth it is very scary to me. Even scarier that his book, The God Delusion, has sold millions of copies. In the last blaze of glory for the film Stein asks Dawkins: What if you are wrong? What if you die and meet God and He says: Richard, Why? I gave you everything…millions of dollars…why could you not acknowledge me? And here Dawkins says: I would answer (he actually pulls a quote from another atheist) Why did you go to such pains to hide yourself???

Amazing…and as Stein closes the film he makes a very compelling statement, maybe science is key to seeing how many pains God has gone to in order to REVEAL himself? Could this be the reason for all the hostility and agenda? Good Question.
See this film. I would give it 2 Genetically Mutated Ape Thumbs Up! ☺

The Word of God Endures Forever! August 7, 2008

I heard this poem from the late Dr. D. James Kennedy (coralridge.org). God was faithful in putting this in my path. I have been exposed to some of the most recent attacks on the Word of God. Currently I am reading and trying to respond to a book that has been embraced by some “evangelical” circles. (Marcus Borg’s Reading the Bible Again) The claims made in the book are not new but they do have a new face and a new stronghold on the minds of even some believers. This poem helped me further realize that no human effort could endure the onslaught of hatred. People have been burned at the stake for refusing to renounce the God that this Divine Book tells about. God has preserved His Word and our praise is due!

Hammer away ye hostile hands; Your hammers break, God’s Anvil Stands

Centuries follow Centuries but there it stands;

Dynasty succeeds Dynasty but there it stands;

Kings are crowned and overthrown but there it stands;

Despised and torn to pieces there it stands;

Storms of hate swirl about it but there it stands

Agnostics smile cynically but there it stands

Thunderbolts of wrath are hurled against it but there it stands

The flames are kindled under it but there it stands

The arrows of hate are discharged upon it but there it stands

The tooth of time gnaws and makes no dent and there it stands

An Anvil upon which have been broken a million hammers:

HAMMER AWAY YE HOSTILE HANDS; YOUR HAMMERS BREAK, GOD’S ANVIL STANDS!

THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURETH FOREVER!

Fourth of July Pics August 7, 2008

Holy Conviction or Satan’s Bondservant July 7, 2008

I am sometimes amazed at Satan’s ability to play just the right tune to keep me in bondage for days. He is the master fisherman (KVD style–shout out to Kelley) and knows the exact lure to use on me. I respond so well to guilt and shame. If he can accuse me and make me feel guilty, it automatically transforms into shame. And I mean…it can get so overwhelming I can hardly lift my eyes to God and pray. Usually when this happens I must medicate with truth from God’s word. I generally begin in Romans Chapter 5 and revisit the doctrine of Justification by grace through faith alone. I continue through to Chapter 7 and read about Paul’s ongoing struggle with missing the mark of perfection. This is the climax of the Book; ending in the beautiful statement of Chapter 8 of “There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Jesus Christ.” I praise God for Romans 8:1. Without it there is no telling how long Satan could keep me in bondage to shame.

So now the question comes…when is it Satan guilt-ing me and when is it the Holy Spirit convicting me? Should I repent or should I ask God to protect me from the enemy. I always want to be responsive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and his counseling me onward toward holiness…but I don’t want to be in bondage to some moralistic idea that God is no part of. (I am not talking about things that are outright abominations of God…rather things that are not found specifically in the Bible… i.e. Spending time with your children. Should they be my only priority or should I be sharing life in ministry to others? That kind of question) I suppose discernment is key here. Praying that God will make his conviction so heavy on my heart that I will not get off my face until I repent. Also that he will shield me from the enemy, his accusations and allow me to feel Jesus’ covering of righteousness. Either way that the guilt will be abundantly clear…it is from God or it is Satan mastering me with guilt and shame once again!!!

My sweet friend Carrie (check out her amazing blog on my blogroll) is so amazingly sure of God’s grace. She totally gets the “if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.” I love her for this. She and I can read the exact same passage of Scripture and I will be on my face afraid to look up and she will be gloriously freed by it. God is continually teaching me about His love, His Grace and His favor to me!

You might be emergent if… July 1, 2008

I recently finished the book Why We’re Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be. (Authors: Kluck and DeYoung) Fascinating Read. To begin they explain that there is no good definition of Emergent…rather they give a very amusing Jeff Foxworthy style test. “You might be emergent if: you listen to U2, Moby and Johnny Cash’s Hurt (in church), use sermon illustrations from the Sopranos, drink lattes in the afternoon and Guinness in the evenings…your reading list consists primarily of Henri Nouwen, N.T. Wright, Stan Grenz, David Bosch, John Howard Yoder, Wendell Berry, John Franke, (Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, etc)…if your idea of quintessential Christian discipleship is Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela…If you don’t like institutions, big business or capitalism…if your political concerns are poverty, AIDS, war-mongering, CEO salaries, global warming and not so much abortion and gay marriage;…if you love the Bible as a beautiful, inspiring collection of works that lead us into the mystery of God but is not inerrant; if you search for truth but aren’t sure it can be found; if you’ve ever gone to a church with candles, Play-Doh, or beanbags (youth group excluded); if you grew up in a very conservative Christian home that in retrospect seems legalistic, naïve, and rigid; if you believe salvation has little to do with atoning for guilt and a lot to do with bringing the whole creation back into shalom with its Maker; if you believe following Jesus is not believing the right things but living the right way; …you might be emergent.”

Emergents are not only attempting new things stylistically but also theologically. The chapters address such topics as the Knowability of God, Inerrancy of Scripture, Embracing Doubt as the new form of humility, Rejecting the propositions of Christ for the person of Christ, and moving close-handed doctrines (derived specifically from scripture) to the open-hand of liberalism: i.e. Hell, Virgin Birth, etc. Most of those involved in the movement reject calling it a movement at all. They are merely asking questions and allowing conversation. (See Gen 3 “Did God Say…) Paraphrasing Mark Driscoll (pastor of Mars Hill church in Seattle) The chief end of Scripture is not conversation or dialogue, but obedience. Emergents also wear the label “heretic” as a badge of honor.

My conviction is that some churches are totally oblivious to the play the enemy is making. They are not outright “emergent” and may not even know what that is all about. But they are also not interested in holding-fast to statements of faith or propositions of doctrine. (for fear that some may be excluded on that basis) They do not realize the necessity in contending God’s word is without error as well as inspired, and authoritative. Also it is epidemic in our culture to remove authority from anything that is outside of personal experience. Truth does exist regardless of our belief in it. There is such thing as objective certainty. My favorite section of this book is a quote from J.I. Packer:

Once I too avoided the word inerrancy as much as I could, partly because of the tendencies mentioned, and partly because the word has a negative form and I like to sound positive. But I find that nowadays I need the word. Verbal currency, as we know, can be devalued. Any word may have some of its meaning rubbed off, and this has happened to all my preferred terms for stating my belief about the Bible. I hear folk declare Scripture inspired and in the next breath say that it misleads from time to time. I hear them call it infallible and authoritative, and find they mean only that its impact on us and the commitment to which it leads us will keep us in God’s grace, not that it is all true. This is not enough for me. I want to safeguard the historic evangelical meaning of these three words…So I assert inerrancy after all. I think this is a clarifying thing to do, since it shows what I mean when I call Scripture inspired, infallible and authoritative. In an era of linguistic devaluation and double-talk we owe this kind of honesty to one another.
J.I. Packer, Truth and Power

I am joining Packer in this effort. This is my heart on this subject. Satan has reverted to his oldest trick in the book and is making a fresh attempt at confusing and distorting God’s word.
IMO (in my opinion) this is simply a fad. The new sexy. It is no longer sexy to be heterosexual, self-assessing, Bible Thumping, repentant, monogamous and not compete for the “most screwed up in the group” award. Just another notch in the belt of “this world is all about me.”