Earlier this month I posted a link to Paul Helm’s first of three analyses prompted by John Piper’s The Future of Justification. He has recently posted the second analysis in which he draws nine comparisons between Richard Baxter’s account of justification and N.T Wright’s with special attention on double justification. I have linked Analysis 14 and 15 below.
Archive for May, 2008
31
May
08
You Might be a Calvinist if….
Funny stuff from Tominthebox. Check out the list here.
(HT: Z)
31
May
08
Free Audio Books
I don’t own any audio books nor have I ever been through any but I have actually started considering to go through some to try it out. One reason is that my eyes can sometimes easily tire after a lot of reading. Audio books have the potential to give your eyes a break while still satisfying your mind. Noel Piper has pointed out an incredible resource for audio books ranging anywhere from Kant to Plato. One great deal is that it is FREE. You can also volunteer to read if you’re interested. Click here to be directed to LibriVox.
LibriVox’s fundamental principles:
* Librivox is a non-commercial, non-profit and ad-free project
* Librivox donates its recordings to the public domain
* Librivox is powered by volunteers
* Librivox maintains a loose and open structure
* Librivox welcomes all volunteers from across the globe, in all languages
(HT: DG Blog)
31
May
08
Reynolds On Greed
Greed is not a popular topic in America but is rank with it from the prosperity gospel to sales exploits. John Mark Reynolds writes on the dangers of greed at Scriptorium Daily. Not surprisingly enough our hearts are tainted with it.
Greed is Hell’s parody of love. Like an email offer for Nigerian riches, it looks good at first, but is a dangerous fraud. Greed takes desire and worships it.
Desire is not love, but only a sign of love. It points to a lack, as Plato would put it to a poverty of spirit, but it is not the thing itself. Those that base their lives on greed are like children who become so fascinated with the sign into Disneyland that they miss the park. Worse, they become ill tempered when the sign disappoints them. A sign promises great things, but is not the great thing. Desire offers hope for happiness, but is not happiness.
The greedy man mistakes the sign for the thing promised and is bitter when the promise goes unfulfilled.
Because his desire is unfulfilled, the greedy man always wants “more.” Money keeps “score.” Possessions are a sign of “victory.” At first, he scarcely notices that the score is for a meaningless game or that his victory comes with a hideous cost. He will lash out when his god, some little idol of his ambition, fails.
He also writes:
In Sacred Scriptures, a frequent part of the prophet’s call was to rebuke the greedy. This rebuke was to the rich and the poor. It plays no favorites, because the destructive error of greed knows no class distinctions. The poor man who wastes his family’s wealth on lottery tickets out of greed for gain is no better personally and does as much harm to his soul as the rich woman who lies in order to “sell more product.” Since the societal harm is greater from the rich and the powerful is greater, and the temptation to be greedy for their praise greater, the Christian will often emphasize the misdeeds of the great. . . but the problem is not the greatness, but the greed.
31
May
08
“The Gospel in All Its Forms”
Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC has written an excellent article in the Leadership Journal’s Spring 2008 edition. In this article he discusses a couple criticisms of the traditional gospel template:
A generation ago evangelicals agreed on “the simple gospel”: (1) God made you and wants to have a relationship with you, (2) but your sin separates you from God. (3) Jesus took the punishment your sins deserved, (4) so if you repent from sins and trust in him for your salvation, you will be forgiven, justified, and accepted freely by grace, and indwelt with his Spirit until you die and go to heaven.
There are today at least two major criticisms of this simple formulation. Many say that it is too individualistic, that Christ’s salvation is not so much to bring individual happiness as to bring peace, justice, and a new creation. A second criticism is that there is no one “simple gospel” because “everything is contextual” and the Bible itself contains many gospel presentations that exist in tension with each other.
He later attempts to explain how to integrate the various forms of the gospel in your preaching. To see how he expounds on each of these read the whole article.
1. I don’t put all the gospel points into any one gospel presentation.
2. I use both a gospel for the “circumcised” and for the “uncircumcised.”
3. I use both a “kingdom” and an “eternal life” gospel.
4. I use them all and let each group overhear me preaching to the others.
(HT: Scott Hodge)
I know I haven’t posted much if anything on the Southern Baptist Convention or the presidency but the truth of the matter is I am very interested considering I do consider myself for the most part a Southern Baptist. Yes folks…there it is I said it.
After finding out that Al Mohler would not be running for presidency of the convention I was of course disappointed but am excited and have high hopes for the current candidates. I have to admit that I haven’t been able to keep up much with all that is going on in the convention lately due to more important and exciting things happening in my life right now such as…well…getting married and moving in just about a month.
To get to know our candidates better I have posted some links from Baptist Press on the current candidates. Questions were asked of each candidate ranging from what his primary message would be to Southern Baptists if elected president to the issue regenerate church membership. The questions were standardized with one individualized question for each person.
Frank Cox’s responses to questionnaire
Wiley Drake’s responses to questionnaire
Johnny Hunt’s responses to questionnaire
Les Puryear’s responses to questionnaire
Jim Hamilton writes:
Lee Irons has some good advice on Reading through the Greek New Testament year by year. He has even worked up a one year calendar for doing it. If anyone knows of similar resources for the Old Testament in Hebrew (and/or Greek), I would be grateful to know of them.
He is also putting together syntactical notes on the Greek New Testament, which you can get to by scrolling down this page until you see the heading “Greek New Testament.”
If you decide to read through the Greek New Testament, be careful. The things in that book got most of its authors killed, and when people have taken it seriously in the history of the church, crazy things like the reformation have happened and some folks even got themselves burned at the stake.
The Greek New Testament is decidedly unsafe. If you embrace it, you will be hated (see John 15:18-20). To paraphrase Lester De Koster: there it is, throbbing on your desk, the living word of God.
C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries has just completed a challenging and informative series on the father’s role during family vacations. Although I am currently not in this role this is definitely a resource I plan to keep close to in the future. I posted a little piece about it in an earlier post. Below is the outline.
Outline
1. A Servant Heart
2. A Tone-Setting Attitude
3. An Awareness of Indwelling Sin
4. Studying Your Family
5. Skillful Surprises
6. Intentionally Together
7. Gratefulness to God
30
May
08
Unreached Amazon Tribe in Brazil
During work I’ve setup some feeds from MSNBC on Outlook to keep me up to date on what’s going on in the world. I was amazed to see this article pop up. For most believers unreached typically means known groups that have not been reached with the Gospel. This brings unreached to a new level. This tribe is one of the few in the world who have been untouched by the civilized world. I haven’t thought about it too much but at this point I do agree with some that we should preserve their autonomy.
Who will take up the challenge? How would you contextualize the Gospel to them?
30
May
08
A Taste of New Attitude 2008
Josh Harris has posted a taste of the New Attitude Conference. I have posted the audio in an earlier post but just in case you missed it you can click here.
28
May
08
Bulletin for Biblical Research
One of the more recent adds to Southern Seminary’s already amazing faculty is Jim Hamilton. Dr. Hamilton has pointed out some of his favorite articles from BBR. I look forward to having him as a professor.
I am delighted to see that the Institute for Biblical Research has put back issues of the Bulletin for Biblical Research online for free. All the essays in BBR are peer reviewed, and they are all quality pieces of work. Among the articles published through 2005, the ones below are some of my favorites. Happy Reading!
JACOB NEUSNER, Mr. Sanders’s Pharisees and Mine Bulletin for Biblical Research 2 (1992) 143-169 [© 1992 Institute for Biblical Research]
E. EARLE ELLIS, Jesus’ Use of the Old Testament and the Genesis of New Testament Theology Bulletin for Biblical Research 3 (1993) 59-75 [© 1993 Institute for Biblical Research]
THOMAS R. SCHREINER, Did Paul Believe in Justification by Works? Another Look at Romans 2 Bulletin for Biblical Research 3 (1993) 131-158 [© 1993 Institute for Biblical Research]
D. A. CARSON Current Issues in Biblical Theology: A New Testament Perspective Bulletin for Biblical Research 5 (1995) 17-41 [© 1995 Institute for Biblical Research]
MARTIN HENGEL Tasks of New Testament Scholarship Bulletin for Biblical Research 6 (1996) 67-86 [© 1996 Institute for Biblical Research]
JOHN SAILHAMER Creation, Genesis 1-11, and the Canon Bulletin for Biblical Research 10.1 (2000) 89-106 [© 2000 Institute for Biblical Research]
JAY E. SMITH 1 Thessalonians 4:4: Breaking the Impasse Bulletin for Biblical Research 11.1 (2001) 65-105 [© 2001 Institute for Biblical Research]
V. PHILIPS LONG Renewing Conversations: Doing Scholarship in an Age of Skepticism, Accommodation, and Specialization Bulletin for Biblical Research 13.2 (2003) 227-249 [© 2003 Institute for Biblical Research]
(HT: In Light of the Gospel)
Acts 29 has posted the audio from this year’s recent Dwell Conference. Click here to check it out.
(HT: Reformissionary)
Al Mohler recently wrote on The Challenge of Attention in the Digital Age. We live in a world of increasing distractions. Unfortunately I have been affected in some measure by this issue.
Courtney Martin identifies the state of our distracted minds as the primary cause of intellectual neglect. The static and noise of everyday life and the information overload combine to rob the mind of the capacity for attentiveness — and attentiveness is something Martin rightly believes is necessary to a happy and wholesome life. Of course, the ability to focus the mind is an intellectual skill absolutely necessary for a good education. A distracted mind is not a mind ready for the most demanding intellectual challenges and tasks.
Another quote by Mohler:
People who cannot maintain mental attention cannot know the intimacy of prayer, and God does not maintain a Facebook page. Our ability to focus attention is not just about the mind, for it is also a reflection of the soul. Our Christian discipleship demands that we give attention to our attention.
27
May
08
A Short Defense on Imputation
Michael Patton gives an overview on the doctrine of Imputation and Original Sin. Below are a couple of interesting and helpful charts from his post. Click here to read the whole thing.
Proposed three types of sin:
Personal Sin: Sins committed by the individual. All people have personal sin (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:10)
Inherited Sin: The physical and spiritual corruption which produces a bent and inclination toward sin and a natural enmity toward God (Eph. 2:3; John 8:44; Jer. 13:23; Ps. 51:5). This sin is mediated (inherited) directly from our parents.
Imputed Sin: God’s immediate declaration of guilt to every individual for the sin of Adam. This sin is “imputed” (or credited) to all people as if they had committed the sin.
Three types of imputation
Looking to network, discuss theology, post your blog, and more. Check out Theologica.
(HT: Parchment and Pen)
Justin Buzzard has live blogged this years New Attitude Conference. Click here to be direct to the site.
- Ripping, Burning, Eating: A Right Response to God’s WordJosh Harris • Saturday, May 24
- The Authority of ScriptureMark Dever • Sunday, May 25
- Bible Q&AAl Mohler • Sunday, May 25
- The Troubled Soul: God’s Word and Our FeelingsC.J. Mahaney • Sunday, May 25
- What’s the Point?: Growing in Vision for Diligent StudyEric Simmons • Monday, May 26
- William Tyndale: A Life Transformed By God’s WordJohn Piper • Monday, May 26
- Fighting for Faith with God’s WordJohn Piper • Monday, May 26
- God as Father: Understanding the Doctrine of Adoption in God’s WordC.J. Mahaney • Tuesday, May 27
24
May
08
Greek Grammer Review Resource
I’m sorry to say this but my Greek and Hebrew have gone down the drain since I’ve been out of seminary. Something I always told myself that I would never let happen. I’m starting back up in the Fall (08 ) again and although I’ve finished my language requirements for my degree I have considered taking an exegesis class or two as like most people this stuff is a little difficult to teach yourself when you are out of school. I ran across this site that I thought my be helpful for me and thought I’d share it with you guys who might be a little rusty.
By contrast this site is directed primarily toward those who have a prior knowledge of Greek and are seeking to refresh their skills for further study of the Greek language or the text of the NT. For example, college or seminary students who have already taken basic Greek may need to brush up before taking a competency exam, enrolling in an intermediate or advanced level Greek course, or taking exegesis courses based on the Greek rather than English text of the NT.
Furthermore, for these students, practice with the language rather than simply reviewing grammatical rules is necessary for recovery of vocabulary and polishing the skills of parsing, translation and grammatical analysis. The rules can come back quickly, but recognizing and applying those rules to particular texts does not always come back so easily. In other words, students often need more than a textbook, they need someone to explain structures and functions in context. Therefore, this site also includes interactive drilling in Greek vocabulary, practice in parsing, drilling in recognition of syntactical structures, and sentences for translation with full grammatical explanations for the syntax and function of every word in the sentence. This approach focuses on practice with the language rather than information acquisition and provides detailed explanations for all the practice sentences from the NT text.
24
May
08
Resurgence 2008 Interview Series
On March 25-27, 2008 Resurgence held our 2008 National Conference titled Text & Context at Mars Hill Church’s Ballard Campus. Mars Hill’s worship pastor Tim Smith had the chance to sit down with Bob Kauflin, who is the Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries. In between sessions, we had the opportunity to take advantage of our studio and record some interviews. Please watch and enjoy this interview with Matt, as Pastor Tim asks him about his life and his church.
You can see all of the interviews here as they become available.
With Summer soon approaching and it is the season of vacations for most families. C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries provides some wisdom and a challenge for fathers in this short series he just started on the Sovereign Grace Blog. Click here to read the whole post.
Family vacations provide a unique opportunity each year for fathers to create memories their children will never forget. Memories that will last a lifetime. Memories that will be recreated by your children with your grandchildren. Memories that will outlive a father. But in order to create these memories, a father must be diligent to serve and lead during a vacation. How a father views his role on a vacation will make all the difference in the vacation.
So in this season where family vacations are being carefully planned and eagerly anticipated, I thought it might be helpful if I passed along seven lessons I’ve learned over the years, in hopes that your family vacation will be a God-glorifying, grace-filled, relationship-building, memory-making time together.
Below is the outline:
Outline
1. A Servant Heart
2. A Tone-Setting Attitude
3. An Awareness of Indwelling Sin
4. Studying Your Family
5. Skillful Surprises
6. Intentionally Together
7. Gratefulness to God
Below is an excerpt from #2 “A Tone-Setting Attitude”:
Vacations provide unhurried periods of time where in the shadow of the cross a husband/father realizes afresh that he is doing much better than he deserves. Instead of wrath and hell God has been merciful and kind, pouring out his wrath on his Son so that sinners like you and me could experience forgiveness, justification, redemption, reconciliation, and adoption.
And because of the cross, evidences of grace abound in our lives, beginning in our families. We should be specifically grateful to God for each member of our family and express this gratefulness to them. Vacations are opportunities to discern and celebrate these unique gifts from God that we don’t deserve.
23
May
08
Whiteboard Session Interviews
Ed Stetzer has pointed out that the interviews from the Whiteboard Sessions are available on video at YouTube. He will be posting the interviews on his blog with more commentary in the near future.
The Whiteboard Sessions is about the power of an idea in its raw, most conceptual form. One simple idea could forever change your life and ministry. We’ve invited 8 of the most inspiring leaders in ministry to share one compelling idea in just 30 minutes each. They come from different ministry circles and use a variety of methods, but they all have one thing in common: a love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a desire to see lost people reached. You will be stretched by their thinking and challenged by their insights. The very idea you resist could be the key to God’s future for you. Who knows, you might even find confirmation for the dream God’s already revealed to you. But whatever the reaction, one thing is certain: you will never be the same.
23
May
08
ReThink Conference Audio
Here are the audio sessions from the ReThink Conference:
Session Five – Dr. Randy Stinson
(HT: Alex Chediak)
John Piper writes about four upcoming books from his writing leave:
Thank you for praying for me on my four week writing leave. It’s over today. It was more productive than I thought it would be. Hence my heartfelt thanks. Four projects were more or less completed.
This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence – A book on marriage that exults mainly in its meaning not its emotion. But I do hope it helps people keep their covenant and be happier and make much of Christ. There is no marriage in the resurrection, hence “This Momentary Marriage.” And marriage mainly means: Christ keeps covenant with his church, hence “The Parable of Permanence.”
Finally Alive: What Happens When We are Born Again – A book about the miracle of sovereign, regenerating grace, and how God makes the gospel of Christ the means of raising the spiritually dead. I hope that showing that the new birth is not in our control helps make pastors and other Christians desperate for the supernatural in their ministries.
Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ: The Cost of Bringing Christ to the Nations in the Lives of William Tyndale, John Paton, and Adoniram Judson. (This will be the 5th book in the Swans Are Not Silent series.) I was sobered again by the price of proclaiming Christ to the nations. To finish what Christ has given us to do will require martyrdom. There are about 3,000 peoples where the church is not self-sustainingly planted. Most of these do not want us to come. Since even so-called evangelicals today have lost their nerve, it will be a work of white hot allegiance to Jesus, not public opinion, that listens to love and takes the gospel where it is not wanted.
Velvet Steel: The Joy of Being Married to You, a little gift book to supplement the marriage book. This Momentary Marriage is hard on romance and high on covenant-keeping. So to dispel the notion that I might not believe in romance, and to awaken affections in no-nonsense spouses, I thought I should perhaps publish some overflow from forty years of love poems. We’ll see.
Those were the main outcomes of the leave. So thanks again for your prayers. I am very eager to be back behind the pastoral plow this weekend.
Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday evening after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.
Maria, one of the Christian singer’s six children, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.
The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.
“It appears to be a terrible accident,’’ McPherson said.
The Chapman’s founded the Shaohannah’s Hope in 2000. Below is there mission statement:
To care for orphans by engaging the church and helping Christian families reduce the financial barrier to adoption.
We are dedicated to helping prospective adoptive parents overcome the financial barriers associated with adoption. We accomplish this by awarding financial grants to qualified families already in the process of adopting. The size of the grant awarded is determined by several factors, the most important being need.
To donate to Shaohanah’s Hope click here. There is also a site in memory of Maria. Click here to be directed.
22
May
08
Warnock and Piper (Part 4)
Piper on preachers he listens to, how he became pastor, and the stability of church ministry.
21
May
08
U.S. Gas Temperature Map
Worried about gas prices. Be thankful you’re not in the red. If you are I’m sorry… Click here for more information on the map.
21
May
08
In View of God’s Mercy…
Recent Comments