42 (and other answers without questions)

"Command These Things" (An exegesis of 1 Timothy 5)

2011-11-28T22:58:00.001-08:00

Gotta love 1 Timothy 5.

Paul spends the bulk of the chapter addressing problems that most churches wish they had.

Sure, the church in Ephesus did have issues. We know from the previous chapters that they had trouble keeping their doctrine straight and a lot of folks were leaving the faith because of it. But then, in chapter five, despite Paul's negative tone, we learn that the Ephesian Christians were actually doing quite a bit right, too! Take a minute to consider what must have been going on in order for Paul to write the things he did in this chapter. Here's what I read, between the lines:
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Mighty to Save (An exegesis of 1 Timothy 4)

2011-11-22T10:16:00.001-08:00

"Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness..." Paul writes to Timothy, and he identifies this mystery as the truth of the gospel: "[Christ] was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory." (1 Tim 3.16 *1)
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"Great Confidence" (An exegesis of 1 Timothy 3)

2011-11-14T11:47:00.001-08:00

Paul opened his letter to Timothy by discussing the importance of sound doctrine: the true Gospel. He went on in chapter 2 to describe the result of that Gospel taking root in a person's life. Now, in chapter 3, he begins to address Church structure, and he starts by addressing the leadership.

It's interesting that these instructions for proper leadership are right at the heart of his letter. If these were directed at Timothy alone, they'd be found at the closing, not right in the middle! But Paul needs the whole church to hear this. Why? Because we are one body, with Christ as our head. The office of overseer (*1) and deacon are held by members of the Body just like every position in the Church is held by a member with the appropriate gift. Whatever one member does affects the whole body. Therefore, choosing proper leadership is a community project (*2).

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New Season; New Venture

2011-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

On the drive home home last night my husband and I listened to this sermon by Matt Chandler. In it he urges the members of his church to set their minds to discovering their God-given gifts and find a way to use them for the Kingdom.

Sometimes it's easy for me to hide behind the busyness of motherhood or newlywed-ness or even behind this great platform of blogging, and avoid actually serving the body of Christ in whatever way I know how. For me, I've been told I have a knack for teaching (*1). Paul commands: "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..." (Ro 12.6) So upon considering this, I actually find myself in sin by not teaching (James 4.17).
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"For This I was Appointed" (An exegesis of 1 Timothy 2)

2011-10-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

There's a new biography out about the life of Steve Jobs. I haven't read it, but I assume that the author was truthful in portraying the details of Jobs' life. Just because he feels qualified to attest to who Jobs is, I am inclined to believe that he did his research, and not just research--I actually expect the author to have known Jobs personally.

What if I picked it up and found that the author praised Jobs, saying things like,

"Steve Jobs was one of the greatest inventors who ever lived. He was a genius and an artist. He changed the world by producing the world's most dearly-loved computer, which he called a 'PC.'"

"Strange Doctrine" (An exegesis of 1 Timothy 1)

2011-10-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

"...The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine." (1 Tim 1.9-10)

Did you know that out of 150 verses in Psalm 119, the focus of 149 of them is the Word of God? King David says over and over, in as many ways as he can think of, "God, I LOVE Your Truths! I can't live without Your Word! I need Scripture in my life every single day!"

Most of us don't think about doctrine being part of our daily lives. But it is. Doctrine (didaskalia) is simply the collection of received teachings by which we live. Everyone lives by a collection of doctrines. The atheist makes decisions out of a belief in self; the post-modernist acts a certain way out of confidence in the universe; and most Americans strive for corporate success because we affirm the doctrine of capitalism. The reasons we do those things is because we each cling to certain doctrines.
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Worldly Cessationists!

2011-10-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, Mark Driscoll called cessationism "worldiness" (*1). Very few people noticed or cared, but the few who did were pretty offended by it. And rightfully so.

Christians who believe the gifts have ceased are persuaded by the testimony of Scripture (Heb 1.1-2). Yeah, that's right--the same way continuationists reach their conclusions. It's pure Ad Hominem to call one party "worldly" just because their (ahem, identical) hermeneutics lead them to a different conclusion.

I almost jumped on the bandwagon and wrote Driscoll off like I'm prone to doing when people make irresponsible accusations. But I restrained myself on account of the significant impact Driscoll has had on my life over the years, and waited to hear what he would say next.

Then, a few weeks ago, Doug Wilson interviewed Driscoll, and the conversation that developed was phenomenal. I've listened to it a few times now as I continue to work out my understanding of continuiationism. Surprisingly, Driscoll is exceedingly gracious, to the point that I actually find myself agreeing with each of his points.

Their discussion is well worth 26 minutes of your time. I highly recommend taking a listen:

More thoughts on continuationism coming soon...

Footnotes:
*1 - Relevant portion of the session at the Resurgence conference here:

Ransomed

2011-10-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." - Romans 5.6-10

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." - Romans 12.1

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." - 1 Corinthians 6.19-20

Holy, Just Like Everybody Else

2011-09-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

In my last post I said that when God saves people, the Holy Spirit will begin to transform their lives. We call this "regeneration." The fruit of our salvation is that we begin to love His Word, embrace His statutes, and yearn for righteousness.

Why do you suppose He wants us to change? I believe His intention is to set His Bride apart from the rest of the world (1 Pet 2.9; Tit 2.14). In fact, that's basically what holiness means: to be "set apart" or consecrated for a single purpose (*1). Righteousness is the identifying mark of Christianity. We strive to obey the Ten Commandments because we love God and want to honor Him with our actions. We obey the Great Commission because our ransomed life belongs to Him.

But what of those who are not (yet) saved? Are they called to the same standards we are? Is it wrong for non-christians to cuss? To listen to secular music? To get drunk? To be attracted to the same sex? Given, I do believe God built into this world natural consequences to any lifestyle. But the ultimate consequence--eternal condemnation--is reserved for only one sin: Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
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Unforgivable

2011-09-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about regeneration lately, as I'm sure you've noticed in the themes of my last several posts. We've talked about faith being one fruit of regeneration, we discussed how saying the sinner's prayer is not evidence of regeneration, and we've considered that the church's mission is to steadfastly preach the Gospel (Mt 28.29).

Christianity isn't about making bad people good; it's about making dead people alive.
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Never the Same

2011-09-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

From the Holman Bible Dictionary:

REGENERATION

(ree' gehn uhr ay' shuhn) The radical spiritual change in which God brings an individual from a condition of spiritual defeat and death to a renewed condition of holiness and life. The biblical doctrine of regeneration emphasizes God's role in making this spiritual change possible.

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Seeds of a Vision

2011-09-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

I'm a dreamer.

Not so much in the John Lennon way, but as in I'm the dumb horse who always needs a carrot dangling in front of him to go anywhere. Over the years, I've had a lot of "carrots." Either someone puts one there for me or I come up with one to chase for myself. In fact, it's such a chronic condition that I've learned never to talk about about my "dream of the week" since they tend to come and go so frequently and I never see any of them through.

In my last post I made the point that God isn't so much concerned with helping us fulfill our dreams as helping us fulfill His. So as ideas pass in and out of my mind like cars through a busy San Diego intersection, I try to watch for the fingerprints of the Holy Spirit on each one. Would this idea advance the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 6.33)? Would it serve the Kingdom's citizens (Mt 25.40)? Could it raise up disciples worthy of the gospel (Php 1.27)?
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Holiness and the American Dream

2011-09-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

I sat down at the new church, flipped through the bulletin, and noticed their mission statement was to help people "realize their dream and begin to live in it." (*1)

In My Seat

2011-09-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is amazing.

Watch the whole thing.

It's Good to Feel Small

2011-09-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, as I was picking up my kindergartener from school, the entire city of San Diego lost power. (We eventually learned it was the whole SDG&E service area, which covers several SoCal counties--over 5 million people.) Everything shut down. No stores, no gas stations, no traffic lights, no air conditioning. Most people hung out in their yards, trying to stay cool on one of the hottest days SD has seen in a while. Families came together. The one parent who always watches TV and the kids who never turn off the Xbox all joined their families outside.

When was the last time this much conversation took place? I thought as we walked down our street to the park. I leaned over to my husband and asked, "Think we'll be able to see stars tonight?"
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A Battle for the Bible

2011-08-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

"Over the last several decades there has been a mighty battle with regard to the inspiration of scripture... A battle for the Bible! But there is only one problem. When you come to believe as a people that the Bible is inspired you have only fought half the battle because the question is not merely, "Is the Bible inspired?" The major question following that that must be answered: Is the Bible sufficient or do we have to bring in every so called social science and cultural study in order to know how to run a church? That is a major question." - Paul Washer

I heard Washer teach on this terrible departure from Scripture in his sermon, "Ten Indictments Against the Modern 'Church'" (*1). It resonated with what I've being seeing as I've talked with Christian brothers and sisters around the country (*2). Basically, it seems churches are tending more and more to "outsource" their teaching ministry. What I mean is: the Body of Christ is turning to the teachings of Freud, Plato, modern science and psychology before turning to the Bible (*3).
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Lucifer: The Angel of Light

2011-08-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

Confession time: I am the most absent-minded (abstract-minded?) blogger on the face of the planet.

Today I set out to write about the sufficiency of Scripture, and got to thinking about how Satan likes to play chameleon under the cover of religion, and how well "Christ-less Christianity" lends itself to his disguise... Well, that one verse in Isaiah came to mind, where Satan talks about his plan to "ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Is 14.14)
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Seeker Friendly

2011-08-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Is your church "Seeker-Friendly?" Does it look something like this?

Paul Washer makes the outstanding point in this sermon, "We ought to be 'seeker friendly,' but we must realize that there is only one Seeker, and He is God. If we are striving to make our church and our message accommodating, let us make them accommodating to Him.
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The Damning Gospel

2011-08-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

"If what we preach as 'Gospel' is not offensive, we’re doing it wrong. An inoffensive Gospel is a false Gospel, a damning Gospel" - Dan Phillips, The World-Tilting Gospel (*1)

You know the sermon is almost over because the preacher gets that "soft" tone in his voice. He speaks so gently and quietly he's almost whispering.

"Some of you are here today, and you know in your heart it's time to 'get right.' It will only take a minute, and you can have assurance that your soul will spend eternity with Jesus... If that's you, with every head bowed and every eye closed, I want you to repeat after me..."

Dear Church, salvation that costs one minute is not salvation (2 Cor 5.17). On the contrary, your salvation will cost you everything (1 Pet 4.2). Jesus promised two things to those who would follow Him: Eternal life, and a cross to die on (Jn 5.24, Mk 8.34, Lk 14.27).
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Paul Washer Defining "The Church"

2011-08-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

"They say the Church has turned its back on God... But I want you to know they're wrong. The Church in America is doing wonderfully--walking in holiness; walking in sanctity. And when it stumbles, it quickly repents and comes back with even greater devotion and joy toward God! You say, 'Brother Paul, what world are you living in? That is not the Church in America!' Yes it is! The only problem is: you're calling something 'The Church' that's not the Church." -Paul Washer

"Your Faith Has Saved You"

2011-08-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

In a previous post I set out to tackle the Calvinist doctrine of Total Depravity. Is it scriptural? Is it scriptural enough that this is what God intended us to believe concerning the state of our hearts? Through my studies I was met with a resounding "YES!" The scriptures are overwhelmingly clear that humanity is completely and entirely unable to reach for (or, as I suggested, "indifferent toward") their salvation.

The thing is, although I did feel the evidence was conclusive in favor of Total Depravity, I did not find (as I would've preferred) a lack of evidence to the contrary. So, in an effort to be intellectually honest, I'm taking a look at those "problem passages" I had set aside fo a while. These are the verses which allude to man having some autonomous wisdom (Imago Dei?) buried somewhere inside him after all.

God's Merciful, Gracious, Loving-Kindness (A חסד Word Study)

2011-07-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

There's a word that's been meeting me around every corner in Scripture lately. It's the Hebrew word, "chesed" (חֶסֶד) and while it has no exact English equivalent, it's the word used to refer to God's mercy, kindness, steadfast love and grace toward His people (*1).

There is a notion to chesed (*2) that is distinctly covenantal. That is to say, chesed isn't chesed if it only happens once. You can have arbitrary kindness, but you can't have arbitrary chesed. Chesed is a consistent, unwavering, relentless devotion to or for someone.
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The Bible is a Letter from God to Me

2011-07-27T13:21:00.001-07:00

Alright. Multiple choice time.

Who was the Bible written to?

A) Americans

B) Christians

C) ME!

D) Specific people in specific places at specific times in history

42 (The Ultimate Answer)

2011-07-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

For those who may not know this, the title of my blog comes from the book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. When I was young, my dad read the seven books of the "ever-increasingly misnamed 'trilogy'" to us at bedtime. In the story, a super-computer named "Deep Thought" spends seven and a half million years calculating the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything. Finally, Deep Thought announces that the answer is 42. He explains, "I checked it very thoroughly, and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you is that you've never actually known what the question was."

This type of misfortune has been a motif in my studies of God. I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection (Php 3.10) but more often than not, I don't know what the question is.
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The Absence of "Ye:" a Modern English Tragedy

2011-05-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about the Second Person Plural. What's wrong with the English language, anyway? Old English had "ye." In California we say "you guys" (even if we're talking to a group of ladies!) In the South it's "y'all." And I've even heard "all y'all" once or twice from those hailing from the deep south. My two year old simply says "yous."

If you're an English language guru like me, you know the correct plural of "you" is "you." No kidding. So I do my best to refrain from tacking on "guys" every time I address my two boys or any other group of people. But darn, this is confusing!
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