Salvation is exclusively through Jesus, but...

"I am not saying that unbelievers are punished because they did not put faith in a Jesus they never heard of... 
Those who never hear the gospel are not punished for not knowing Jesus. Not knowing Jesus results in punishment, but sin is the grounds for punishment. Those who do not put faith in Christ are punished for being sinners. They are punished in the next life for turning the truth of general revelation into a lie (Rom. 1:18-25). They have broken God’s law, and anyone guilty of even one violation is accountable for the whole law (James 2:10). Those with no knowledge of Christ will be judged less severely because they had less light, though that judgment will still be far from painless (Matt. 11:20-24). Our only hope in life and in death is that we are not our own but belong body and soul to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ." 
- Kevin DeYoung from clarifying-inclusivism-and-exclusivism

Jonathan Edwards' Portrait of the Pastor

Some guiding thoughts as I consider the idea of the calling of eldership from the Concluding Remarks from themelios article -The Ministerial Ideal in the Ordination Sermons of Jonathan Edwards.
Edwards’s reflections on the Christian ministry may seem like alien advice to our modern ears. The reason for this may be that our contemporary ideals of pastoral ministry are too saturated with images drawn from the world rather than from the other-worldly wisdom of Scripture....
First, the portrait of a minister “marrying” his congregation may have kept Edwards from viewing the ministry as a stepping stone to personal fulfillment and success. Those familiar with his personal writings, especially in his youth, know that Edwards struggled with pride. His intellectual gifts were uncommon and he knew it. Yet he did not use these gifts merely to pursue a path of upward mobility in his denominational world. The image of a minister marrying his congregation may have prevented him from easily entertaining ideas of leaving his congregation when ministry got difficult...
Second, the portrait of a minister as a burning and shining light no doubt led Edwards to preach rich, sound biblical doctrine. Edwards was convinced that the primary pathway to Christian transformation was through teaching the great truths of Christianity. Only when the mind is sufficiently informed with biblical theology can heart and life be transformed by the gospel. As a shining light, he devoted long hours to studying the Scriptures so that his congregation could benefit from his rich meditations on biblical doctrine. Yet preaching biblical doctrine was not enough. The minister must know God and his ways through prayer, the mortification of sin, and the pursuit of communion with Christ. In short, he must burn as well as shine, for heat and light necessarily go together.
Third, the portrait of the minister suffering on behalf of his people may have sustained Edwards through years of ministerial turmoil. Toward the end of his Northampton years, Edwards knew the bitterness of having a church turn on him. At Stockbridge he experienced the hardships associated with intense opposition by powerful community leaders. Surely the image of Christ’s sufferings sustained him in pressing forward in his duties during such times. In the end, Edwards moved on from both of these places (for different reasons). He did so with much reserve after seeking the wisdom of friends and family, not merely because there was suffering associated with the job. As Edwards understood it, suffering was a fundamental part of ministering the gospel.
Lastly, the portrait of the minister and his congregation before the judgment of God may have propelled Edwards to pursue justice in his pastoral duties. Ministers likewise can zealously pursue righteousness in their congregations. In the midst of this pursuit they will experience defeat and be taken advantage of. Yet faithful ministers can take courage in the fact that justice shall be done to them in the sight of all at the end of this age.

Marriage, Mission, Discipleship

Francis and Lisa Chan - Two People With One Mission
I'll sum it up: seek first the kingdom of heaven, and everything else will fall into place.
This is worth a listen.

Why I need to read the Bible daily

• It creates the necessary posture of dependence, saying, “Lord, without you I am nothing.”
• It directs the soul and mind toward the things that are above, saying, “Give me life according to your Word.”

What Should Motivate Us?

Should the truth of the existence of hell drive us?
or the truth of the hope of salvation?
Two quotes from Matt Chandler's Explicit Gospel:

“This avoidance of the difficult things of Scripture — of sinfulness and hell and God’s notable severity — is idolatrous and cowardly. If a man or a woman who teaches the Scriptures is afraid to explain to you the severity of God, they have betrayed you, and they love their ego more than they love you.” (41)

“Heaven is not a place for those who are afraid of hell; it’s a place for those who love God. You can scare people into coming to your church, you can scare people into trying to be good, you can scare people into giving money, you can even scare them into walking down an aisle and praying a certain prayer, but you cannot scare people into loving God. You just can’t do it.” (49)

So let's not avoid hell (which I think I have), but let's fully seek the love of Christ (which I think I have not).

Repent to Worship

Repent to Worship

I was asked what I do when I’m in that spot where you know what is true and what is good (praying to God, reading the scriptures, not being a bum), but there just isn’t an ounce of vitality in your soul or body that wants to do that.  Well I mumbled off some long winded reply, but I continued to think about it later.

And I think it can be summed up as “repent to worship”.

In the past few years God has shown me how both of these are so fundamental to the life of the believer, but, as often life goes, I forget the things I am taught, and wander around drifting in and out of the truths I know. 

Repentance is part of the rhythm of life. I used to think it was unimportant, and then I thought it was merely a part of conversion, but then it became clear that turning from sin and turning to Christ must be our moment by moment submission to God’s will for our lives.

let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus (Heb 12:1b-2a)

And worship, what God taught me mainly through John Piper, is at the very center of our life. It is the recognition that God is God, most highly to be sought after.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

And… I can’t even say necessarily that these things have been paired together logically in my mind until I looked back and analyzed where God had been moving my spirit.

He made my need for him clear, so that I would cry out in surrender.

What did this look like?

Well, it looked like driving in the car to go to a movie date, but feeling kinda sad and joyless. Not because of anything in particular, but because there wasn’t anything in particular that I had my mind fixed upon (and I don’t usually notice these things until I get alone by myself, without any tasks to distract me from the state of my soul).

So, I turned off the music and let out my plea for help. And I repented off the ways that I had not put God first, and thanked him for the good that he brought me in my day, sustaining me in my labors, providing for my needs. And then, for a cause that cannot be found in myself, I began to proclaim and sing who God was: king of kings, the one God, the Holy Trinity, the omnipotent Lord, my Savior, Redeemer.

Worship is most assuredly more than praise with our lips, but “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”.

One last note on the need for repentance to join with worship

The evil in my heart/mind is often great.

As Calvin says, “the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols,” or also ”every one of us is, even from his mother’s womb, expert in inventing idols.”

And at the center is an idolatry of myself. I, myself, am my idol. And that is why to truly repent of this, I must replace this self-idolatry with worship of God.Thus my worship becomes repentance. And so we return to the Lord’s Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name...
forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

I would be depressed if it weren't for the resurrection. Seriously.

"When a saint dies, he has no cause at all to grieve because he leaves his friends and relations whom he dearly loves; for he doth not properly leave them, he enjoys them still in Christ, because every thing that he loves in them, and loves them for, is in Christ in an infinite degree, whether it be in nearness of relation, or any perfection and good received, or love in us, or a likeness in disposition, or whatever is a rational ground of love." -Jonathan Edwards

For eternity, I will be able to enjoy and love my brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t have to worry about the little time on earth that I get with them.

Ministries vs Minstry

As I was clearing out my emails, I read a few of the ministry updates that also ask for money. Some of these emails are from legit missions organizations, and I am all about that. (Really, I would love to convince you to give your money away for missions.) And the other organizations I get emails from (Ligonier, White Horse Inn, etc.) are legit too (otherwise I wouldn’t let them email me). But the amount of these ministries seems to get overwhelming.
So, I’m not against any ministry; they are good and God uses them. But I wonder if we have let these para-church ministries become so predominant in our thinking that it detracts from the life of the church. This is a gut-feeling post, not an analytical fact-based post.
I feel I know lots of people (or maybe this is all just me in my head) that want to make ministries that do this and that cool thing for the Lord, for the Gospel. Great, let’s spread the Gospel and do these great things. As the number of ministries go up, so do the number of financial needs, the need for monthly donors. So yeah, maybe I just wish that I could somehow support all these legit ministries (in addition to the missions organizations and missionaries) myself every month, but I think there is something more.
What would happen if many of these full-time support-raising entrepreneurial ministry-minded people devoted their time to working a job that makes money, and then they gave their life and limb and soul to the people in their local church. Instead of trying to reach thousands, they invested themselves into a few (Jesus picked 12, with a focus on 3). #discipleship
Are these mutually exclusive? Obviously not.
But let’s get personal. I’m just using this to preach to myself. I would love to do full time ministry!!! I would love to devote my time to my church or to being part of a Christian organization/college. Any of these would be super exciting! I would love to drop my mundane engineering lab reports and go plan events to minister to people, and spend time listening and loving others, and lead people deeper into God’s word.
Instead, I have a pre-lab due tomorrow.
Is either option better? I hope not. I believe God has gifted me to be an engineer. And I pray God does great things through the money that will come through my hours of laboring down the road. Will I vocationally be only an engineer for the rest of my life? Only God knows. But for now, that is where he is working and it is good. And being an engineer does not mean that I have to opt-out of the Great Commission! In fact, I have a unique area of God’s creation to handle, and in this I can still be a part of “teaching them to observe all that [Jesus has] commanded.”
I want to see more people who are die-hard for ministering to the church, building it up (read Ephesians), and are fully committed blue and white collar workers. [And I have hardly even brought up the role of these occupations have in the kingdom of God, but that is for another time #culturalmandate.]
Instead of thinking about what kind of ministry you can be a part of, consider how you can best build up your brothers and sisters around you, who can disciple you, who you can disciple, who needs to know the love of Jesus. All these things that we are called to can (AND OUGHT) to be done in all vocational varieties. We are all called to lives full of ministry even if you are not called to full-time ministry.
Just to make it clear, there are not two types of people: ministry-people (missionaries, pastors, etc) and the lay-people. We are all part of the same body, and we all have different functions. But NONE of those functions is to work a job, give away all your money for ministry/missions, and then to sit around. We are all called to ministry (being a member of the body of Christ), we are all called to disciple-making (fulfilling the Great Commission).

Imitating God in Christ

Link: Imitating God in Christ

Dr. Jason B. Hood speaks about the imitation of Christ, based on the biblical theology. The teaching of imitation is sometimes clouded by a “gospel-centered” focus on justification that loses sight of the importance of sanctification in salvation. Dr. Hood clears away these misconceptions to show how the indicative of Christ’s person and work is consistent with the imperative of imitation of Christ, tracing it back to the image of God.

God designed us in his image so that we may be like him. It started in Genesis and it will continue for eternity. Even creation is waiting for humans to rule rightly as God designed! “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19

Salvation and Christ-centered moral-living are not separate. As Christians, we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. By God’s grace, that starts upon initial repentance and faith in Christ.

Antinomianism and Reformed Theology

Link: Antinomianism and Reformed Theology

Antinomian (against all laws) thinking is rooted in a weak view of the person of Christ and leads to reducing sanctification to justification. Dr. Jones addresses Martin Luther’s relationship to antinomianism, the relationship between theology and practice, and the necessity of good works for salvation. …

This is such a good listen! Antinomianism has slipped into the gospel community, and this provides the right direction to understand faith, good works and the good sanctifying grace of Jesus.

Blessed

Oh how humbling that God would use a poor wretch like me, use me to be a vessel of mercy. That my life might be something good, but it isn’t because of me, but because God is gracious and has a plan for those who love him. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Romans 8:29

"Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? " Romans 8:34-35

Home is where the heart aches?

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us...

…cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. - 2 Cor. 7:1

And what exactly are these promises, these sweet promises that are yes and amen in Jesus?!

For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)

Jimmy Needham

Link: Jimmy Needham

Wow! Such a diversity of style, yet all so solid. Check him out.

Is there a place for joking about sin among the people of God?

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2, ESV)

 

Lord, I know I must be a hypocrite as I bring this up, but clear my vision so I may see Jesus and delight in the way of righteousness, the way that is perfectly founded in the faithfulness of Jesus, the righteous son.

At what point do we just say,

"This isn’t redeemable, and we can better spend our time not filling our minds with perversion."

How do we get someone to understand that “friendship with the world is enmity with God.”

When will I just get down on my knees and say, “God, renew me, renew us all, set our minds on the things that are above, where Christ is seated.”

The Gospel cannot be Assumed

Britt Nicole’s Gold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9PjrtcHJPo
Katy Perry’s Firework: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw

The songs are nearly identical in message/theme, even as you watch the videos. Britt Nicole cannot make such “encouraging” statements without rooting them in God’s word, in the Gospel of Christ. It is not pointing people to Christ, but only to themselves and this American culture.

Ordo Salutis and Union with Christ | Covenant of Love

Link: Ordo Salutis and Union with Christ | Covenant of Love

Theology matters. Union with Christ precedes logical systematics.

Day to day, what is my life about?

Am I stewarding what I have been given?

Bonhoeffer?!!

I have no idea whether I should read Eric Metaxas’ book on him because there have been scathing reviews by historians who say he just doesn’t understand the real Bonhoeffer, but rather it is catered to Evangelical thought. I own it, but should I read it?!!?! Arg.

We Are All Sent and Empowered

Link: We Are All Sent and Empowered

A refocusing article for the purposeless or weak.

Repentance+Forgiveness = bye bye death

and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46-47 ESV)

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:19-21 ESV)

Repentance = turning away from darkness towards light, away from evil deeds towards works carried out in God.

A salvation that works, by grace alone.

Grace Driven Effort

Link: Grace Driven Effort

And that is exactly how meeting old friends ought to go.

What if the body of Christ was full of people, full of people who were able to share what is really going on, the joys and struggles. Now granted, not all times of authentic sharing would be a fountain of joy, because authentically sometimes life is really difficult and painful. But then we could get together, cry, and worship God together. But one the whole, this type of community would produce a lot more joy, and a lot more focus. Because you begin talking about life, and then you talk about what your learning because of what God is doing, and then you remember how Jesus is just central in everything. And then the Holy Spirit reminds you of how grand the story of redemption is, and how you are part of it.

I don’t know how much of that made sense, and I am too tired to read it over. But I love building relationships with my brothers and sisters, and am also looking forward to building up the body of Christ. If you love Jesus, you ought to love his body and obey him. So fulfill the great commission, and start discipling people. All you need is the Gospel. If you can’t express the Gospel, you need to sit down for a few hours with your Bible and pray to know God, to know his great love shown in the cross and why that matters to you.

I wonder what eternity will be like… it’ll be beautiful. Much more beautiful than this messy post.