Clive Staples Lewis once noted the problem of chronological snobbery.  This is the temptation to think the lastest is greatest and that the newer is truer.  With Lewis I agree that one should read old books as well as new ones.  In fact, Lewis argued for reading more old books than new ones.  He said that the fresh, bracing sea-breezes of the ages blow through our minds when we read writers from other eras.  Lewis was not suggesting that older authors were infallible.  That would be a form of reverse chronological snobbery.  No, writers from other ages have their blind spots too.  The benefit of reading writers from previous generations is that they have different blind spots.  We can learn from them because we come from different eras with slightly different problems.

In the spirit of Jack Lewis, I want to recommend a book that I read over 12 years ago when it was first published by Inter Varsity Press.  I am very happy to see that it has been printed again.  What book am I referring to?  It is R. K. MacGregor Wright’s No Place for Sovereignty:  What’s Wrong with Free Will Theism.  This is one of those books that I thought to myself as I read it, “Self, I wish you had written this!”  It is an excellent critique of Open Theism and the ever changing, shape-shifting theology of Clark Pinnock.  I never liked Pinnock’s problematic theology when I was an Arminian and find it even less compelling today.  Wright writes with clarity and vigor.  You can find the book here.

Alexander Brown preached the following messages at Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Ga. Alex is presently an intern at Independent Pres. Alex is from Dundee, Scotland. He studied at the Free Church College in Edinburgh, Scotland:

The Hidden Reefs (Jude 5-16)

Press On (Jude 17-25)

A Deliberate Salvation (Ephesians 1:5-6)

The Lord is a Shield (Psalm 3:1-7)

Our ‘leap of faith’ here means that we have now jumped from mid-way of volume three (Sin and Salvation in Christ) into the beginning of volume four: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation in Bavinck’s magisterial Reformed Dogmatics. Some have suggested that faith is a ‘leap in the dark.’ In the movies, as in real life, this view of faith often comes down to the climatic moment that cuts the blue wire or dashes to the train station before she leaves forever. In Bavinck’s ongoing contest with modernism and the loss of objectivity, this idea of faith is pretty much disastrous for religion. There is great objective certainty in Deus dixit; God has spoken, revealing his glory in the message of the Gospel. But is it true for everyone? Bavinck’s reply has cause for alarm.

The one thing biblical theology is sure of is, “The Triune God produces all things in creation and new creation by his Word and Spirit.” The puzzler is how the call to faith has not achieved universal results. The outcome is in God’s hands, says Bavinck, which is not to say salvation is random or exclusivist. Far from it. The Gospel is delivered to sinners, not the ‘elect’ or ‘reprobate.’ When a person acknowledges the mystery of God’s will in salvation they gain insight into God’s glory. And like all spiritual knowledge, it must be given of God.

Soteriology has as many intellectual problems as the doctrines of the Trinity and two-natures of Christ. Regeneration proceeds faith is the correct explanation, but there are ethical considerations. For one, overemphasis on regeneration can lead people to feel uncertain about their faith. Infant baptism, for another, could be a presumption if personal faith takes priority. Arminian based views assuming that some grace is given to motivate the human will, or that the will can ascent to faith in God, ultimately deem the concept or regeneration unnecessary. This is a dangerous position in the modern era, says Bavinck, where concepts of moral empowerment gradually evolve from improved human character assume the meaning of ‘renewal’ and ‘rebirth.’ It sounds appealing, but it reduces God’s glory and sovereignty into the elephant in the room.

These theological problems are not intellectual fodder but go directly to faith as the principle of renewed life. For Bavinck, such theological assumptions affect the life of faith, and the quality of that life in direct, intimate communion with God in the Spirit. The mystery of God’s prerogative in salvation is as sticky as freedom, liberty and love. God’s grace is irresistible but is not coercive. It frees from the power of sin and it is created in love.

Westminster Theological Seminary has posted a video of Lane Tipton speaking about Calvin and the doctrine of union with Christ. He places an important emphasis on the person of Christ. As being united to this person the benefits are mediated to the believer. In Him we have our justification, sanctification and adoption.  “You first possess Christ and then in Christ you are justified.”

I am pleased to announce that a very close friend of mine, Matt Holst, has received a call to pastor Geneva OPC in Woodstock, Ga. Matt is presently a pastoral intern at Cambridge Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, England. Matt and I attended Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary together. I am thrilled to know that he will be following Dr. John Fesko as the minister of this particular congregation. After Matt finishes the ordination process he will be installed at Geneva sometime in the fall, Lord willing! If you live in the Woodstock area, or are visiting, you will want to visit Geneva OPC. You can listen to some of Matt’s recent sermons below.

John 2:1-11: The beginning of Jesus’ signs Mr. Matthew Holst 12/07/09

Genesis 22: The Gospel at Mt Moriah Mr. Matthew Holst 31/05/09

Genesis 22: The LORD will provide Mr. Matthew Holst 24/05/09

Genesis 21:1-21: A tale of two seeds Mr. Matthew Holst 03/05/09

John 11:17-44: I am the resurrection and the life Mr. Matthew Holst 12/04/09

Genesis 18:16-33: When judgment and mercy meet in God Mr. Matthew Holst 29/03/09

Genesis 16: The LORD’S blessings encountered in the way of obedience Mr. Matthew Holst 15/02/09

Acts 18:1-17: An encouragement and warning to the people of God Mr. Matthew Holst 15/02/09

Revelation 21:1-22:5: The dwelling place of God is with men Mr. Matthew Holst 01/02/09

1 Corinthians 15:35-58: The resurrection hope Mr. Matthew Holst 01/07/07

Matthew 5:1-16: You are the light of the world Mr. Matthew Holst 17/06/07

Psalm 100: The duty and practice of worship Mr. Matthew Holst 03/06/07

Genesis 22:1-19: The binding of Isaac Mr. Matthew Holst 27/05/07

Johan Huibers, a Dutch contractor by trade, built a full scale replica of Noah’s ark. Watch a video tour.

Other Links

• Just Genesis

Satan’s “Take and Eat:”

Genesis 3:4-5: But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Jesus’ “Take and Eat:”

Matthew 26:26: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Commenting on Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve and Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, Ligon Dunan said:

Do you know what Derek Kidner ways about that verse?  He says, “So simple an act, so hard its undoing.  God will taste poverty and death before ‘Take and eat’ become verbs of salvation.”  And do you see what Satan is doing here in the wilderness to Jesus?  ”Jesus, take!  Eat!  You need that bread!  Your Father’s not provided it for You.  He’s not good.  He’s not worth living for and dying for, because He’s not loving and He’s not generous and He’s not good.”

Do you understand, my friends, that every time we face the temptation to sin that is the temptation that we’re playing out over again?  Every time you look to take something that’s not yours, you’re saying that God hasn’t provided me what I need so I’m going to take it for myself.  Every time you’re tempted to take someone who is not yours, you’re saying God hasn’t provided me with the someone that I need, and so I’m going to take what I need.  You are playing out again the lie of the evil one who says that God is not good and that He doesn’t give what we need.

And here’s Jesus, and Jesus’ response to Satan is this:  ”I don’t live by bread alone.  I live by every word that proceeds from My Father’s mouth.”  And so Jesus resists the temptation of Satan – “Take and eat that bread, Jesus!  Take and eat that bread, Adam and Eve, because God’s not going to provide for you.  He’s not good.”  And Jesus says, “No.  I live by the words of My Father’s mouth.  I will not take and eat.”

But then Jesus turns to His people and He says, “Take, eat; this is My body which is given for you.  God has provided for you, My people, everything that you need, and it’s Me.  So here; take and eat freely, because your Father has in the goodness of His heart given you the most precious thing in this world.  Can you doubt His goodness and love?  He has given you Me.”  Jesus turns those words of temptation into words of salvation by His perfect obedience, by His resistance to temptation and by His dying the death on the cross in our place.

Oh, my friends!  When the temptation comes to you to take what Satan says that you need when it is what God says that you must not take, remember your Savior and live in the second Adam, not in the first.  And so be found raised to newness of life in the second Adam, instead of condemned to death in the first.

(http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/Luke/08a_Luke_4_1-13_Tempted_Tried_But_Never_Failing.htm)

James Dolezal discussed Calvin for the Craig Center at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Google Books and Internet Archive are amazing resources. 17th, 18th and 19th Century books that once took years to find, and that cost far too much for most seminarians and pastors, are now available in PDF format for free. Among the multitude of volumes you want to download (in addition to all the commentaries Spurgeon recommends in Commenting and Commentaries) are the following 19th Century gems:

Sermons of Moses Hoge (Hoge was one of the key influential figures on Archibald Alexander, first Professor at Princeton Seminary. This particular copy happened to be Samuel Miller’s. Miller was the second Professor at Princeton Seminary.)

Sermons and Essays by the Tennents (Sermons and Essays by various figures associated with the Log College)

Samuel Davies Sermons vol. 1 (Martin Lloyd-Jones once said that Davies was the greatest preacher in American history)
Samuel Davies Sermons vol. 2
Samuel Davies Sermons vol. 3

Lester Ruth, Associate Professor of Worship and Liturgy at Asbury Theological Seminary, in his article “Lex Amandi, Lex Orandi: The Trinity in the Most Used Contemporary Christian Worship Songs” offers a very impressive analysis of the presence of the Doctrine of the Trinity, or lack thereof, in modern praise and worship songs. You can read it here. Of course, this could be leveled against some older hymns as well.

HT: Bob McDowell

Recently we had the opportunity to have Dr. John Fesko, Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary California, back with us on Christ the Center. We were able to talk with Dr. Fesko about his newly released book on the Ten Commandments The Rule of Love: Broken, Fulfilled and Applied. You can listen to this episode here.

Proverbs 30:8-9 is one of the most frequently quoted portions of Scripture. A quick blog search will uncover a seemingly endless number of references to it. Yet, for all this, it is evident that the later part of the passage is emphasized with almost no thought to the first part of verse 8. Even the best commentaries in the history of the Christian Church (William Arnot, Charles Bridges, and Ralph Wardlaw) fail to make the connection.

In verse 7 Agur, son of Jakeh, prays, “Two things I ask of You deny me not before I die…” Agur then proceeds to make his two ultimate requests known to God. With the first, Agur asks the LORD to “remove far from me falsehood and lying.” With the second, “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me.” A reason is annexed to the second request in verse 9: “lest I be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?”  or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” Sadly, the first request and the reason for the first request is downplayed or largely ignored. Agur says in verses 5 and 6, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” These words form the basis of the first request. In the verses just prior to the statement about the truthfulness of God’s word and the warning not to pervert it, Agur asks, “Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!” The source of the answer is found in verses 5 and 6.

The series of questions that Agur asks in verse 3 and 4 are answered in the pure word of God mentioned in verse 5 and 6. It is only in the word of God that we come to know the Father and the Son. Therefore, to alter that word in anyway whatsoever would be tantamount to denying Him. To believe false things about the revelation of Christ would be to commit spiritual suicide. Therefore, Agur prays “deliver me from falsehood and lies.” The second petition, interestingly, is built on the first. In order to be full and “deny” the Lord you have to first know the Lord. In order to steal and “profane” the name of your God, you have to first know Him as your God. All of this is dependent on the first petition and on the right understanding of the revelation of the living God. The second petition has to do with contentment in our relationship with the God of Scripture. The second cannot be understood apart from the first.

The Holy Spirit writes:  ”The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” 1 Corinthians 15:56

In his new book focusing on this verse, Chris Vlachos writes:

“Now if the Eden account was indeed the source of the Apostle’s catalytic notion of the law, and he considered the law-problematic to be primeval, it would seem to follow that the fundamental problem which the law posed for Paul would not have been its ‘legalistic misuse;’ Eve was enticed to trangress the law, not fulfill it.  Nor would it have been its abuse as a Jewish ‘identity marker;’ the law problematic predated the Patriarchs.  Neither would the problematic be attributed to the ‘compromise of Judaism’s gracious framework;’ a law problematic existed long before the collapse.  Nor would Paul’s polemic against the law have been solely due to ‘human inability;’ the law’s catalytic operation was set in motion prior to the Fall and before humanity’s consequent plunge into depravity . . . Paul’s notion of the catalytic operation of the law did not debut in his corpus on a polemical stage but quietly emerged as a theological contruct amidst an edenic environment . . . Even in Paradise law did not promote life . . . .”  (emphasis his)

(From Chris A. Vlachos, The Law and the Knowledge of Good and Evil, The Edenic Background of the Catalytic Operation of the Law in Paul (Eugene:  Pickwick, 2009), 227-228, 231.)

I’m not sure I agree with all of this, but this I know!  Thankfully, Jesus obeyed the law and bore its horrible curse in our place! And because of His finished work, the law is now our delight!  (Psalm 119)

Today at 5 p.m. EST we will be interviewing Dr. Guy Richard (pronounced ‘Rishaard’) on Christ the Center. Guy is the senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Gulfport, MS. He is a very bright man with a real pastoral heart. Guy did his doctoral studies at New College, Edinburgh on the theology of Samuel Rutherford in regard to Rutherford’s Examen Arminianismi. You can find the published version here. You can read Ligon Duncan’s review here. Guy also has an interesting story behind the circumstances surrounding his call to First Presbyterian Church in Gulfport. Listen to the interview live this afternoon at 5 p.m. EST here. You can also sign into the chat room here.

Wilhelmus á Brakel’s (1635-1711) pastoral theology is warm and deserving of its title, The Christian’s Reasonable Service. Á Brakel’s understated style and manner of writing is thoughtful, practical, and highly adaptable for ministers looking to convey real truth without fancy tricks or bling. To prove it Reformation Heritage Books is having a special offer: Receive an additional $10 off the 4 volume set of Brakel’s Reasonable Service from now until August 15, 2009. Simply enter this coupon code Brakel2009 in the RHB shopping cart, or mention this post if ordering by phone. Á Brakel may be obscure to some readers today, but his devotional style and confident pastoral treatment of the Christian inner-life has an unbeatable shelf-life.

Down is Not Out

Self-denial is the Christian’s most active, most visible demonstration of faith. It comes more or less naturally, says á Brakel, from love to God and contentment in the knowledge and experience of His will. Perhaps there is no better interpretation of James 2:18, the thorniest verse in the NT, than a long steady life of self-denial. Self-denial is a grace given by God; it forms the will in the new life of the believer. God gives this grace according to sanctification. Self-denial is a high human virtue but it is not natural, that is to say, it is not necessarily a universal. There can be occasional acts of self-denial, but only the regenerate believer has this grace as a genuine disposition. Self-denial is not a random act of kindness that is able to outweigh a lifetime of selfishness.

Aesthetics or Ascetics?

Self-denial has a checkered past. Many early Christians took self-denial as an austere life in extreme conditions, though many famous Greek philosophers did similar things.* The believer, with a new love for God, finds something superior in the will of God above all else they could ever desire.** The objective is not simply to deprive one’s self of basic needs, or repress desire altogether; the object is God’s glory and the welfare of our neighbors. God’s glory, His real presence and communion in the renewed heart is simply incomparable with the beauties of the world. And putting the welfare of one’s neighbor first is golden link between Old and New Testament religion which can’t be beat. There are many benefits to self-denial ranging from debt-management to time management, allof which add to personal freedom. But there is nothing greater than experiencing real communion with God.

Above all, says á Brakel, God rewards such service to an infinite degree. “If we renounce our honor, He will give grace and glory (Psa. 84:12). If we deny possessions, the Lord will be our abundant gold… He will not permit all that we relinquish out of love for Him and for His Name to be unrequited. “He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:39).

___

* For example: Pythagoras lived in a cave for a year just to think about math.

** Á Brakel does not clearly elaborate on what he means by “the will of God” but he is referring to God’s holiness, justice (summarized in the Decalogue) providence, or ‘secret will’ and belief in Christ’s atoning sacrifice. See James Ussher’s Body of Divinity on God’s will as a possible source for á Brakel’s treatment.

I am pleased to announce that a long lost manuscript by the late Rev. Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen has been published by American Vision and Covenant Media Press.  It is entitled Presuppostional Apologetics:  Stated and Defended and can be obtained here.  This is a systematic treatment of the Van Tillian method of defending the faith and includes assessments of Gordon Clark, Edward J. Carnell, and Francis Schaeffer.  This volume provides a nice complement to this, this, and this.  Be on the lookout for a full review sometime in the near future.

J. I. Packer writes:

“Holiness is a matter of being Jesus’s disciple, of listening to His word and obeying His commands, of loving and adoring Him as one’s Redeemer, of seeking to please Him and honor Him as one’s Master, and so making ready for the day when we shall see Him and be with Him forever . . .

This Jesus-centeredness is the basic form of Christian holiness, and it is to this that the Spirit leads us all in His sanctifying work. The holiest Christians are not those most concerned about holiness as such, but those whose minds and hearts and goals and purposes and love and hope are most fully focused on our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(From: J.I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 134.)

HT: Tollelege

I have recently listed some 17th and 18th century antiquarian Puritan and Reformed titles on Ebay. All of them have been rebound in beautiful calf leather. There is only 1 day left to bid on most of them. The 1647 Jus Divinum has 3 days to go. You can see all of them here. I have set a very reasonable reserve price.

For some time now I have been interested  in the typology of Israel in relation to Christ and the NT church. Among the books I have found helpful are David E. Holwerda’s Jesus and Israel: One Covenant or Two, O. Palmer Robertson’s The Israel of God, Hans K. Larondelle’s Israel in Prophecy: Principles of Prophetic Interpretation, and Meredith Kline’s Kingdom Prologue. James Dennison also wrote a very helpful article that appeared in Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 171 – December 1977, pp. 6-11, 32. This particular article is titled “The Exodus and the People of God.” You can read it here. There are variations of this concept in the writings of N.T. Wright, James D.G. Dunn and Peter Leithart as well. The problem with the later authors is that they fail to see the fulfillment of the moral demands of the law in Jesus Christ. This is the beauty of the biblical teaching of Christ, as the true Israel, who obeyed the demands of the law in every way that Israel failed. I have written an article considering some of the typological structures of Israel in relation to Christ in the Gospel of Matthew. You can find that article here.

Readers of Feeding on Christ will know that I am a big fan of Shai Linne’s hip hop. The following song is powerful because it represents the seriousness of the call of the High Priest and the holiness of the work to which he was called:

As I have had the privilege of teaching a Sunday school class on the life of John Calvin I have come to see how important the worship of the one, true and Triune God was to him.  It was the contention of the Reformed wing of the Reformation that the true worship of God had been compromised in the decades and centuries leading up to the Reformation.  It was the restoration of true worship that was the goal of much of Calvin’s reforming efforts.  This has led me to consider what worship is.  It is ascribing to God the glory that is due to him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But one may wonder how to go about this.  How does a man or woman, boy or girl, go about worshipping God?  This is a deep and significant question and I am not in a position to delve into it with any kind of exhaustive treatment.  One basic way to think about it is to say that worship involves coming to the Father, through the mediation of the Son, and by the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

My concern, however, is to note that there are three kinds of worship with which the average Christian ought to be involved.  Christians really ought to want to worship our great and awesome God alone in personal worship or devotions, in family worship, and in the public, corporate worship of a congregation.  I like to think of these as mutually reinforcing, interlocking components of Christian worship.  At the center of these three forms of worship ought to be the Word of God.  At the end of the day, we must worship God in conformity to his Word and with sincerity of heart.  Conformity and sincerity are complementary.  Our Lord told the woman at the well in Samaria that “God is  Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

So in the end, worship God alone, with your family, and with your church family.  And worship him in spirit and in truth.  Conform to the Word in all your worship and worship the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with all sincerity.

This afternoon we are interviewing Thabiti Anybwile on Christ the Center. We will be speaking with him about his latest book May We Meet in the Heavenly World: The Piety of Lemuel Haynes The feed will be live here. You can also sign into the chat room here. Reformation Heritage Books will be giving away two copies randomly to those who are listening to the show at 4 p.m. EST.

K. Scott Oliphint discusses John Calvin’s influence upon apologetics.

Edwards wrote:

“We are as much saved by the death of Christ, as his yielding himself to die was an act of obedience, as we are, as it was a propitiation for our sins: for as it was not the only act of obedience that merited, he having performed meritorious acts of obedience through the whole course of his life; so neither was it the only suffering that was propitiatory; all his suffering through the whole course of his life being propitiatory, as well as every act of obedience meritorious . . . .”

Commenting on Edwards’ understanding of the infinite merit of Christ, Craig Biehl concludes:

“An accurate understanding of the Triune God depends upon an accurate understanding of the pre-temporal and earthly ministry of Christ in satisfying the positive and negative demands of God’s unchanging rule of righteousness, as revealed in Scripture.”

(From: Craig Biehl, The Infinite Merit of Christ, The Glory of Christ’s Obedience in the Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Jackson: Reformed Academic Press, 2009), 222-223, 250.)

I find it strange that much of the teaching of the New Perspective(s) on Paul has been received so favorably in the Protestant world since the principle argument (i.e. the hermeneutical starting point) is one and the same with the Roman Catholic old perspective on “works of the law.”Proponents of the New Perspective on Paul act as though their interpretation of “works of the law” is altogether new when in fact they have simply popularized what they have learned from the Roman Catholic scholars they read. Jonathan Edwards, 250 years prior to Krister Stendahl and George Howard, answered the argument that Paul is doing something other than combating Jewish legalism when he uses the phrase “works of the law” in contrast with “faith in Christ.” Edwards could answer this argument because he was familiar with the use of it in the writings of his Roman Catholic opponents. Edwards wrote:

The apostle doesn’t only say that we aren’t justified by works of the law, but that we are not justified by works, using a general term; as in our text it is said, “unto him that worketh not, but believeth on Him who justifieth ,” etc. and in the sixth verse, “God imputeth righteousness without works.” And in ch. 11, v. 6,” And if by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace: but if it is of works, then it is no more of grace; otherwise work is no more work.” So Eph. 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith,…not of works.” By which, there is no reason in the world to understand the apostle [to mean] any other than works in general, as correlates of a reward, or good works, or works of virtue and righteousness. When the Apostle says we are justified or saved not by works, without any such term annexed as “the law,” or any other addition to limit the expression, what warrant have any to confine it to works of a particular law, or institution, excluding others? Are not observances of other Divine laws works, as well as of that?…To say the Apostle means one thing when he says we haven’t been justified by works, another when he says we haven’t been justified by works of the law, when we find the expressions mixed, and used in the same discourse, and when the Apostle is evidently upon the same argument, is very unreasonable; it is to dodge, and fly from Scripture, rather than to open and yield ourselves to its teachings.1

A few hundred years before Edwards,  John Calvin, in his commentary on Galatians, explained the origin and deficiency of the view that “works of the law” where simply ceremonial boundary markers. Calvin wrote:

The first thing to be noticed is, that we must seek justification by the faith of Christ, because we cannot be justified by works. Now, the question is, what is meant by the works of the law ? The Papists, misled by Origen and Jerome, are of opinion, and lay it down as certain, that the dispute relates to shadows; and accordingly assert, that by “the works of the law” are meant ceremonies. As if Paul were not reasoning about the free justification which is bestowed on us by Christ. For they see no absurdity in maintaining that “no man is justified by the works of the law,” and yet that, by the merit of works, we are accounted righteous in the sight of God. In short, they hold that no mention is here made of the works of the moral law. But the context clearly proves that the moral law is also comprehended in these words; for almost everything which Paul afterwards advances belongs more properly to the moral than to the ceremonial law; and he is continually employed in contrasting the righteousness of the law with the free acceptance which God is pleased to bestow.2

[1] Jonathan Edwards The Works of Jonathan Edwards (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001) vol. 19 p. 170-171 .

[2] John Calvin Galatians and Ephesians http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom41.iii.iv.iii.html

It seems that the followers of N.T. Wright continue to suggest that he does not deny the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Beside the fact that he has made a career out of criticizing the Reformers on their doctrine of justification (specifically in regard to the sufficiency of the imputed righteousness of Christ), it is fair to say that Wright explicitly denies the imputed righteousness of Christ throughout many of his books and lectures. One very clear instance of this is found in his August 2003 Rutherford House lecture “New Perspectives on Paul.” In the course of that lectures Wright asserted:

What God’s righteousness never becomes, in the Jewish background which Paul is so richly summing up, is an attribute which is passed on to,
reckoned to, or imputed to, his people. Nor does Paul treat it in this way. What we find, rather, is that Paul is constantly (especially in Romans, where all but one of the occurrences of the phrase are found) dealing with the themes which from Isaiah to 4 Ezra cluster together with the question of God’s righteousness: how is God to be faithful to Israel, to Abraham, to the world? How will the covenant be fulfilled, and who will be discovered to be God’s covenant people when this happens? …1

Far from misunderstanding Wright, we see from this example that Wright affirms that the Bible does not teach, whether in the Old Testament or the New (at least in Paul) the idea of God imputing or reckoning righteousness to His people.

1. N.T. Wright “New Perspectives on Paul” from the 10th Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference: 25–28 August 2003. You can find this lecture here .

The panel of Christ the Center had the privilege to sit down with Dr. Richard Gamble to speak with him about his recently released The Whole Counsel of God . It was a really enjoyable interview! You can listen to it here .

Spurgeon said:

“I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little water, and lifting up her hands, she said, as a blessing, ‘What! all this, and Christ too?’”

(In Kerry James Allen, Exploring the Mind & Heart of the Prince of Preachers (Oswego: Fox River Press, 2005), 90.)

Here is a list of 10 books by professors of Old Princeton and Westminster Theological Seminary that I have greatly benefited from and wish that every pastor would read. The issues dealt with in these volumes are timeless. These men had an extraordinary depth to their understanding of Scripture. Some of these titles are not as well known as others which they authored. I would recommend almost everything that these men wrote, but these books have been particularly helpful single volumes. I am glad to see that some of them have been reprinted.

Warfield on Christology
Vos on Hebrews
Vos on OT Eschatology
Van Til on Modern Thought
Green on the Canon
Green on Genesis
Murray on Imputation
Murray on Ethics
Westminster Faculty on Scripture (e.g. Van Til’s  Nature and Scripture)
Westminster Faculty on Confessions

Ligonier ministries has decided to have several one-day-only offers until the end of the week. Starting today they are giving away a full years subscription to Tabletalk Magazine with a donation of any amount. You can find out about this particular offer (which is only offered until the end of today) here .

If trapped on a deserted island, Dr. Joel Beeke said of all the books he would take, next to the Bible, is á Brakel’s Christians Reasonable Service . Á Brakel is all pastoral. Why not Calvin’s Institiutes ? All too often Calvin’s analysis is interrupted by those ‘barking dogs’ and obscure heretics so that it’s difficult to be fully edified. And if Dr. Beeke, or yourself, were trapped on a deserted island you would definitely want to read what á Brakel has to say about divine contentment.

Satisfy my Soul

Contentment, says á Brakel, is not in the having of stuff; it comes from fulfilled desire. It has a wide and far reaching spectrum in experience and satisfaction. Some need to climb Everest while others are just as happy to golf. Yet contentment is rarely found in the fulfillment of long term or short term goals (there are always more). Conversely it’s not produced from restraint or refraining from desire –that’s merely suppression. Contentment is a disposition of the soul; the intellect, will, and affections together resting in quiet confidence, joyfully and with gratitude (in present circumstances), trusting that the Lord will cause the present and the future to turn out to their advantage.

Every Little Action

A believer’s desires should exclude evil, tend to those that are good and focuses enjoyment on the good itself. All too often original/actual sin clouds the judgment and pushes self-fulfillment beyond attainable means tending to depression. And believers have a unique emotional experience of this. In the course of sanctification, believers find contentment in the world difficult as their desires gravitate toward communion with God –something that can never be satisfied in this life.

Finding contentment is difficult but not impossible. Á Brakel’s recipe is to examine one’s circumstances either as good or something to be delivered from, looking to God for grace, mercy and peace. The foundation of contentment is God’s will, revealed in Jesus Christ which saves from the false idea of blind fate. This requires strong faith and prayer. Above all circumstances light and heavy, following after the perfect example of Christ (Matt. 26:39; John 6:38), “the love toward God’s good pleasure has the upper hand.”

June 2009 was another busy month at Reformed Forum. Here are the month’s top episodes for Christ the Center and the Reformed Media Review:

• Scripture and Doctrine in the Church
• Apologetics and Pastoral Ministry with David Robertson
• A Comparison of Rahnerian to Reformed Apologetics
• Calvin as a Servant of the Word of God with Glen Clary
• Books on Doctrine of God
• The Relationship of Philosophy to Theology
• A Life in the Preaching Ministry with Eric Alexander
• Why Johnny Can’t Preach with T. David Gordon
• Geerhardus Vos with Danny Olinger
• New Testament Textual Criticism in the 21st Century with Dan Wallace

I wonder if you know who Edward Donnelly is? He is the humble and passionate minster of the Gospel at Trinity Reformed Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland. He is also Principal and Professor of New Testament at the Reformed Theological College, Belfast . You can listen to his sermons here .

David Strain, Minister of Main Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus, MS, has a great post over at Letters From Mississippi, on the reason why the Westminster Divines believed images of Jesus are forbidden by Scripture. It is a really quite persuasive argument. You can read it here. I out attempt to honor Jesus by making images of Him we may be dishonoring Him by denying His Person.

J.I. Packer has a section in Knowing God dedicated to the same issue. You can read the section on images of Christ here .

HT: Alex Brown

Here are the top posts on Feeding on Christ for the month of June.

• Top 15 Books on the Cross
• Grabill on the Natural Law
• Calvin on Romans 2:13
• Dr. Benjamin Shaw on the Song of Songs
• Two Long-Awaited Books Finally Available
• The Calvin Conspiracy
• Ligon Duncan on Calvin and Piety
• James White on William Lane Craig and Christopher Hitchens
• The Puritans, Simplicity, and Culture Shift in American History?

Ben Mordecai, over at Founder and Perfecter, has a great chart mapping out the typical reaction of Emergent Church philosophy. I realize this is satirical generalization, but it is fairly accurate nonetheless! You can see the chart here.

Josh Walker, over at Bring the Books, has pointed out a new book, edited by Derek Thomas and John Tweeddale titled John Calvin: For a New Reformation. This looks like great complement volume to the Burk Parsons edited John Calvin: Devotion, Doctrine and Doxology. It is intended to give a full overview of the life, ministry and theology of Calvin. You can pre-order it here.

1.  The LORD makes people great in the eyes of the world as He chooses:

Genesis 12:1-2: Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.   And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

Genesis 39:2-3, 21, 23: The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.  His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands . . . But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison . . . The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

Exodus 7:1: And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh . . . .”

Joshua 3:7: The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. ”

Joshua 4:14: On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.

1 Samuel 2:6-8: The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.  The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.  He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.  For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.

2 Samuel 7:8-9: Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.  And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.”

Daniel 1:9: And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs . . . .

Psalm 75:6-7: For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

Philippians 2:5-11: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

2.  The LORD doesn’t need you:

Psalm 135:6: Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Isaiah 59:1: Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear

Acts 17:24-25: The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Matthew 3:9: God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

3.  The LORD grants all mercies, ministries, and positions in His Church as He sees fit:

Romans 9:15: I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.

1 Corinthians 4:7: For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

Romans 12:3: For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

2 Corinthians 4:1: Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

1 Corinthians 12:12, 18, 24, 28: For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ . . . But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose . . . But God has so composed the body . . . And God has appointed in the church . . . .

4.  The LORD delights in and lifts up the humble:

Psalm 147:6: The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

Isaiah 57:15: For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  ”I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

1 Peter 5:5: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Matthew 18:4: Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 23:11-12: The greatest among you shall be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Mark 9:35: If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.

5.  Therefore . . .

a.  Consider all other preachers (and people!) better than yourself:

Philippians 2:3: Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

b.  Seek the LORD to build your ministry or it is vanity:

Psalm 127:1: Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

c.  And forget about yourself and exult in the glory, beauty, and satisfaction of Christ alone!

Philippians 3:7-11: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

CHRIST IS ALL!

I, of all people, need to remember this! If we are overly critical of sermons, and too vocal in our criticisms, we may be injuring those who God wishes to benefit from whatever truth is being proclaimed.

A pious lady once left a church…in company with her husband, who was not [a believer]. She was a woman of unusual vivacity, with a keen perception of the ludicrous, and often playfully sarcastic. As they walked along toward home she began to make some amusing and spicy comments on the sermon, which a stranger, a man of very ordinary talents and awkward manner, had preached that morning in the absence of their pastor. After running on in…sportive criticism for some time, surprised at the profound silence of her husband, she turned and looked up in his face. He was in tears. That sermon had sent an arrow of conviction to his heart! What must have been the anguish of conscience-stricken wife, thus arrested in the act of ridiculing a discourse which had been the means of awakening the anxiety of her unconverted husband.1

1.Quoted from "The Central Presbyterian" in William James Hoge’s Blind Bartimaeus and His Great Physician (London: T. Woolmer, 1881) pp. 79-80

The audio from the discussion that Ligon Duncan and Tim Keller had at the 2009 PCA GA concerning the role of women and the deaconate can be found here and here. One of the most significant points in the discussion, in my opinion, was Ligon’s brief exposition of Acts 6. While there is some debate as to whether deacons are in view there or not, Duncan made the observation that men were ministering to women (i.e. the widows mentioned there). This is significant because many egalitarians insist that women need to be the ones ministering to women. Duncan followed up his observation with a strong pastoral note, calling men to care deeply for the needs of the women in the church. It is certainly true that Acts 6 is not prescriptive, but it is certainly descriptive. One cannot argue that there were women chosen from among the seven, but you can most certainly assert that men were. This only serves to strengthen ones understanding of the prescriptive passages.There were many other helpful observations from both Duncan and Keller in the discussion.  I’d love to know what  you think after you listen to it.

You should also look at the aritcles that these men submitted to By Faith Magazine on the subject.Tim Keller’s article “The Case for Comissioning (Not Ordaining) Deaconesses” can be found here. Ligon Duncan’s article “The Case for Our Current Policy on Women Deacons” can be found here.

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is holding their first deacons’ summit next year in Wheaton, IL June 3-5, 2010.  The OPC has a high view of church office – deacons included.  The OPC has even ordained deacons to send into the mission field so that the ministers are able to devote more time to prayer and ministry of the word (cf Acts 6:4).  Ronald E. Pearce writes:

The summit will be a time for deacons to learn better how to effectively minister, to give them an avenue to express their needs, to create networks for resources, and for men to be renewed with a vision of the biblical importance of this holy office. This summit will challenge the diaconal committees of presbyteries to refocus on their calling and role to serve the churches, and also to help them network with other presbyteries. The calling and needs of deacons will be addressed on the local and presbytery levels, in home congregations as well as foreign missions contexts. There will be time for instruction, as well as for open discussions and opportunities to learn from one another.

Read the full article

Russell Moore Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has a Scripture Index of the audio sermons he has preached recently on his website. You can find them here.