The Nature of Sin

James Montgomery Boice was the pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 to 2000.  Just recently I saw a quote of his in our church's weekly bulletin.  It read - 

"This is a paradox, of course, as Augustine, Luther, Edwards, Pascal, and others have pointed out.  When individuals rebel against God, they don't achieve freedom.  They fall into bondage, because rebellion is sin, and sin is a tyrant.  On the other hand, when men and women submit to God, becoming his slaves, they become truly free.  They achieve the ability fully to become the special, unique beings that God created them to be."

I believe this is exactly correct and it agrees with the Bible.  In the sixth chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul also describes slavery and freedom, compared to sin and righteousness.  He says in 6:15-17, 

"What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed."

Paul continues in Chapter 7 to describe his struggle with sin, and in Chapter 8 to describe his victory in the Holy Spirit.  And so, we must seek to be led by the Holy Spirit to become free from sin.  And then we will be free indeed.  God is calling us to live for Him, and be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that we would be free to be who He has created us to be.  

What Is Theology?

What is theology?  Is it a four-letter word?  Is it something that only churchmen need?  Is it something that we need sparingly, like a trip to the dentist?  Is it like an insurance policy that we need to cover ourselves for heaven?  

Theology is the study of God, it is the knowledge of God.  It is more than intellectual assent, but it is not less than that.  We need to have a cognitive understanding of who God is, and what He does, to understand our lives.  And then theology is the personal knowledge that can transform our lives to become Christ-like.  

Augustine penned these words in his classic Confessions, that explains his understanding of theology.  

"And even so humanity, which is but a part of your creation, longs to praise you.  You inspire us to take delight in praising you, for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

It is good theology to know that we have been created by God and for God, and our hearts will ultimately be restless until they find their rest in God.  We can find our purpose in God alone.  

Jesus also taught us that we can begin to experience eternal life in our knowledge of God in this life.  In John 17:3 we see, "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."  In Christ, we can know God, and Jesus describes this as eternal life. 

When we see that theology is the knowledge we need to have a personal relationship with God, we then seek to live for God in all of life.  The Godward life is the best life indeed.  

The Cultural Drift

Where are we?  And where are we going?  These two questions have come back to me recently as I review the cultural norms changing over and over again.  How have things changed in a decade or even two decades?  How has culture changed in a century?  Are we moving toward God and a more Christian society, or are we moving away from God?

In seeking to develop a "Veritas Fellowship" here in the 'mid-south' I realize that not many people speak in terms of truth, or even use the word 'veritas.'  Perhaps I'm being too idealistic.  Or perhaps the culture has moved away from God so much that we need a revival in the truth of God.  Do we even need the truth of God in our high-tech and secularistic culture?  

The Bible speaks of truth abundantly, and we cannot understand the Word of God without at least a basic understanding of objective truth.  And without truth the Bible is interpreted by the contemporary culture's norms, it is read from the everyday perspective of the people.  It becomes pragmatic to fit into our busy lives, between Saturday evening activities and Sunday afternoon sports.  

Probably the greatest shift within the church has been the emphasis on grace, and even "unlimited grace," as it has been described.  There is also the teaching of 'free grace' today.  And it's hard to question the doctrine of grace because we are so indebted to God in Christ through His grace.  But what is grace?  Is it a friendship (phileo) love between people?  Or is it the divine love (Agape) from Christ to his people?  Is grace free completely, or has grace cost Christ everything to come to earth with great humility and sacrifice?  Is grace something that can ever be separated from God himself?  Can we receive God's grace without first receiving Christ himself?  

The grace of Christ is enormous, and that's the truth.  But if it is not supernatural and life-transforming in our lives then we may not understand grace.  When we do see the grace and truth of God it changes everything in our lives, we bow before Him in holy reverence.  Christ is the eternal Light that leads us away from cultural darkness, brokenness, and emptiness.  We need a 'veritas fellowship' to bring people to the Light of Christ.  We should be moving toward God in Spiritual reformation so as to also seek the purity and peace of the church.  

The fellowship in the Light also has great blessings for our lives.  1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."  We can be set free from being culturally adrift by "the light" of the truth of Scripture.  

    

Snow Storms

This last week we had a couple of big snowstorms in the mid-south.  It's unusual to see a storm deliver six inches of snow here, and it's even more unusual to have two of these storms come within a few days of each other.  The temperatures were below freezing for almost a week, and sometimes down to single digits, even to 7*F, which is cold for us.  Here is a picture that captured the beauty of the snow when the sunshine finally broke out.    

 

It was an illustration of the glory of the sunlight and the blue sky, on the backdrop of fresh snow.  Jonathan Edwards once remarked that a brilliantly clear day was just a glimpse of the glory that we will see in heaven. This picture was especially glorious as the previous two days had been overcast and dreary.

 

Let's remember that the sun rises every day, and its light and glory are sometimes blocked by clouds and storms.  And just like the truth of God, we know the light is always there and that we must turn to Scripture for its light upon our lives.  This Light is Christ who can awaken us and inspire us to live in grace and truth for God.    

Revelation 21:23, "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb."

Another New Year!

Well, here we are in 2020, another new year.  Happy New Year!

So how many years has it been since Jesus was born in Bethlehem?  Most experts place Jesus' birth at approximately 4 B.C.  And if he died at approximately AD 30, and lived approximately 33 1/2 years, then he was born approximately 1987 years ago.  Approximately.  Let's say for discussion it was 2000 years ago.  And that's about as many years as it was between Jesus and Abraham as well.

The world has changed substantially in 2k years, not to mention in technology alone.  But the rise of humanism has been the great change, mankind is empowered with much more capabilities than we were either 2k or 4k years ago.  The trust in mankind has also increased exponentially.  But most of the changes in technology have happened in the last 100 years.

When we think of the difference from 2019 to 2020 we can see some changes in politics, business, technology, culture and morality.  Our world is changing at an incredible rate all towards a greater focus on mankind.  But if we look at the changes from one hundred years ago from much greater changes that come from relativism, and this has created a greater emphasis on socialism and egalitarianism.  The consensus is growing that the majority vote and community knows best.

We should celebrate a new year with a new resolution to see the eternal picture of God's truth and the unchanging character of God's Word.  And we should proclaim the importance of seeking Christ who does not change with the cultures of men.  He alone is the one who can save us and reconcile us with God.  Let's get caught up in the eternal glory and eternal life of Christ.  Amen!

Publish or Perish?

In the last few months I haven't posted anything on my blogs simply because I've been preoccupied with my new job at Ligonier.  It's been great to be busy and I've done a lot of new things in my new position.  Learning how to be an Advancement Officer has entailed learning the whole new computer system at Ligonier, and how to make contacts with Ligonier donors, then traveling to many places to meet donors and build relationships with them.  All in all it's been a whole new occupation with a new vocation.

But now I've decided to republish a blog from years ago entitled "The Truth Appeal."  This was first published in 2006 as "The Truth Of God" but I was going to use it for an M.A. thesis paper, so I took it down.  Now, after deciding not to do a seminary Master's degree, and after many attempts to convert this blog into a research paper/publishable book, I concede that I don't have it in me to do it.  It's too big.

So, I'm republishing it in a synopsis form, to at least describe an attempt to communicate my primary interest in Truth.  It is a huge topic and one that I cannot do justice to adequately.  But, truth be told, Truth exists because God exists, and we must put truth at the top of all our hermeneutics for the Word of God.  It also is the Word of Truth, and we must interpret it as the Author intended it.  We must not put man first or culture first in our priorities or in our hermeneutics.

I hope to republish The Truth Appeal on a separate blog if I can remember how to start a new blog.  Technology is a wonderful thing, when it works...

The Heart Of An Executive

I last posted about a great book on Christian manhood entitled, The Masculine Mandate, by Richard D. Phillips, a Presbyterian pastor from Greenville, SC.  When I recommended this book to a friend, he recognized the author and said he's also written a great book on leadership.  That book is entitled, "The Heart Of An Executive," and I too would say it is excellent.  Pastor Phillips speaks with wisdom and experience, for before he entered seminary he served in the U.S. Army as a tank commander, and has held numerous leadership roles.

In this book, Phillips reviews King David's life through several phases in the OT.  We see David from the days he was a shepherd boy, to his amazing defeat of Goliath, then through his turmoils and conflicts with King Saul, to his own ascension to the throne of Israel, his making of the capital city of Jerusalem, (the city of David); then to his pride and moral failure in adultery and murder, and also through internal family corruption, failure, and civil war.  Through God's grace, he was restored to the throne of Israel, and then successfully passed his throne to Solomon before he died.

Even though I've read these stories before I've never looked at them through the lens of Godly leadership.  Pastor Phillips brings keen insights from the world of executive leadership to describe the "principles and purposes" that David lived by.  In contrast to King Saul who lived primarily by the priorities of his own self-centered interests and advancement, David recognized the importance of living for God and his glory.  Perhaps from his youth tending sheep when he gazed into the heavens at night to see the stars, he realized the big picture of who God is.  His instincts of shepherding people were always guided by his realization that the God of heaven and earth should be honored always.  David was indeed "a man after God's own heart."

In the review of David's many achievements, Phillips remarks,

"Can any of us rise higher than David did in his act of mercy and faithfulness at the cave of Adullam?  Surely that was his greatest moment, the highest point his heart ever reached, higher even than the quick triumph of faith that slew Goliath.  For the heart of an executive shines brightest not when it reveals its own identity, but when others find theirs in it," p. 262.

Other people realized that David was dedicated to a higher calling, a higher set of values, and even to a higher vision of God.  This in turn led others to also be dedicated to this same vision and to live for the God of creation and glory, and not for our own glory or accomplishments.

David's life and leadership are most compelling and worthy of our admiration and following.  From him we find the hallmark of Christian leadership, to inspire people with a great vision of God and to serve Christ with whatever gifts they have, so as to build His kingdom.