Justin Peters. Click image to enlarge.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “²¹ Test everything. Hold on to the good.”

That’s easy to believe, a little harder to do. The Christian church over many years has failed to sharpen our swords and as a result finds ourselves hardpressed in the battle to defend our faith. Justin not only opens the window, letting in light, on many of the false teachings – and the false teachers – of our day, he also brings Scripture to bear, equipping the church to rally under the banner of Christ and fight the good fight.

John MacArthur says, “The dangers of the Word of Faith Movement are as real as they are pervasive. The message from thousands of pulpits is that God wants you to be happy, healthy, and rich. But this is not biblical Christianity, as Justin Peters so adequately demonstrates in his exceptional presentation. With clarity and credibility, Peters exposes the Word of Faith Movement for what it really is—a farce. Local churches will benefit greatly from his personal experience and vast research on this important topic.”

Having watched Justin’s video presentation I am keenly looking forward to hearing him in person and encourage you to join me.

ENTRANCE IS FREE

Table sourced from For the Live of His Truth.

The three main contenders for “What happens when I die?” is the Evangelical Intermediary State, the Seventh Day Adventist’s Soul Sleep, and the Popish heresy of Purgatory. Image titled Dante’s Purgatorio by Gustave Doré. Click image to enlarge.

Nanny Ogg once declared, “The wages of sin is death, but so is the salary of virtue.” I guess that’s a tongue in cheek concession to the fact that death happens… to all and sundry. Big question is “What happens when I die”; I believe the Bible has one or two things to say.

You will die, will be raised and will face judgment (Hebrews 9:27; John 5:24 – 30). As the resurrection has not yet occurred (1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 18) the natural question is “What will happen to my soul in-between?”

The Old Testament teaches after death one’s soul rests in a state of conscious existence, Sheol (Isaiah 14:9 – 10; Ezekiel 32:17 – 32; Genesis 37:35). The New Testament clarifies, describing two realms separated by a great gulf: a place of comfort, Abraham’s bosom or paradise; and a place of torment, Hades (Luke 16:19 – 31).

It was to this place of comfort that Jesus promised the thief on the cross, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). And to this place of torment that He descended after His death and made proclamation to the spirits held prisoner there (Ephesians 4:9, 1 Peter 3:19).

When Believers fall asleep, a euphemism for death (Luke 8:52; 1 Corinthians 15:6), they look forward to being “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6 – 9). Unbelievers descend to Hades and are later cast into Hell. As such all men are warned, “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). This gracious offer will soon pass away.

More questions? Speak to Mark.

You can download the original document here.

Reblogged from Crystal Park Baptist Church:

Latest, greatest, most up-to-date news regarding the Penrith's and the church revitalisation in Crystal Park.

Origen Adamantius, I don’t quiet know how to value the beauty of one icon over another; but Macrina Walker assures me this is a step up from the previous two I posted. Click image to enlarge.

“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” (2 Jn 1:9).

Origen’s impact on the early church, even extending to present day evangelical thinking, cannot be understated. As discussed above many of his contributions where of great value and laid a firm foundation for others to subsequently build upon.

It is now to his doctrinal views which went beyond the apostolic teaching that we turn. This paper does not have scope to deal with every theologically errant view however I will evaluate those I feel are most relevant and demonstrate how his doctrinal influence reaches beyond the early church – even to the present day.

3.1. Mystical Mystifications

Clement reigned as bishop of Alexander until 202 AD when he was forced to flee due to persecution. He was formally training in philosophy and actively “sought to reconcile two worlds, to persuade Christians of the wisdom of Greek philosophy, and to persuade philosophers of the truth of Christianity… …Clement read Scripture as more allegorical than literal” (Roy 13:2012).

Under Clement’s oversight the Catechetical School in Alexander had “become famous for its use of the allegorical method in biblical interpretation” (Pillay 16:1999) “An allegory is a symbolic representation… …and is usually resorted to when the literal sense seems unacceptable to the interpretator” (Ryrie 125:1999).

It was this school of thought which birthed the mind of Origen and his more fanciful (heretical by another name) doctrines spring out of his use of allegory.

3.2. Erroneous Eschatology

The Last Judgment is a canonical fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. Click image to enlarge.

Up until Origen the early church had stressed a literal hermeneutic. As such the Fathers were premillennialists (they expected Christ’s imminent return followed by a literal 1000 year reign). According to Ryrie Origen was the first to spiritualise the future kingdom, understanding “it to be the present Church age from Adam on. This amillennial eschatology was popularised by Augustine” (Ryrie 520:1999).

All Covenantalists, who apply an allegorical interpretation to unfulfilled prophecy as it applies to the nation of Israel, can therefore trace Origen as their theological forbearer.

3.3. Anti-Accepted Atonement

In his wonderful book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (which ironically is an allegory), in chapter 14, titled The Triumph of the Witch, C.S. Lewis depicts Aslan, the lion, suffering young Edmund’s penalty by paying the price for him to the White Witch (Lewis 150 – 161:2005).

Origen held that in “the cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil, Satan established control over man…. …Satan now is the governing power in the world.” The ransom therefore “must have been paid to the evil one, for it was he who held us captive until the ransom, namely, the soul of Jesus, was paid” (Erickson 793:1988).

The Biblical view, called The Satisfaction Theory is that the atonement was as compensation to the Father. The key verse being, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:23). The concept has been articulated so beautifully in the hymn In Christ Alone (Getty 2001) as:

Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

3.4. Sacrilegious Souls

What got Origen branded as a heretic was his views on the pre-existence of the human soul. He taught God created spiritual intelligences before the foundation of the world. At first devoted to their creator over time these created beings’ first love waned. Those whose love diminished most became demons, those whose love diminished less became human and those whose love diminished least became angels.

The charge against him was comprehensive and spanned numerous councils and anathemas however the key indictment reads, “IF anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema” (IMSB 2012).

3.5. Unorthodox Universalism

baaaaaa, baaaaaa, bleated the wolf (picture is of Rob Bell). Click image to enlarge.

William Barclay, the prominent Church of Scotland theologian, boldly declared, “I am a convinced universalist” (Barclay 65 – 67:1977). By this he expressed belief “that in the end all men will be gathered into the love of God.” In the same paragraph he writes “Origen was the great name connected with universalism… …Origen did not eliminate hell; he believed that some people would have to go to heaven via hell.”

Origen’s influence and legacy continues to this day. Rob Bell, in his New York Times Bestseller Love Wins (Bell 2011), writes, “Whatever objections a person may have of [the Universal Reconciliation view], and there are many, one has to admit that it is fitting, proper, and Christian to long for it.”

4. Conclusion

Origen towers in history as an academic giant and dedicated scholar. He should be remembered for the contributions that he made to textual criticism, exegesis, systematics and other practical theologies.

Negatively, his desire to be relevant to the society around him (specifically the Hellenistic Greek academics) meant he sacrificed the apostolic tradition. His method of approach to Scripture, allegory, resulted in many heresies spilling off his pen.

Origen’s was a massively influential figure in the early church and his impact can be felt even today as the church continues to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Origen Adamantius, was one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. Click image to enlarge.

In yesterday’s post I tried to impress the enormous contribution Origen made to scholarly pursuit, in the early church, but impacting us even to the present day. Macrina Walker in the comments of yesterday’s post said I should have said something of the piety of the man; and I agree, that was oversight on my part.

Today’s post is short, a brief comment regarding the cultural context Origen found himself in, a context he spoke to, and an evaluation of the discussion he engaged in. It lays the foundation for tomorrow’s post which tucks into some of Origen’s more wayward doctrine.

2. In the World not of the World

“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (Jn 15:19).

2.1. Christian Hellenism vs Hellenised Christianity

Whilst Christianity rejected the Graeco-Roman religion they adopted the Greek language to communicate the Gospel to the educated Greek-speaking world. There was also a degree of adaption of Greek philosophical concepts.

At times during the formation of the early church, whilst the state of doctrine was still in flux (one could argue that this has never adequately stabilised) this adaption of Greek philosophical concepts certainly bordered on synchronistic; “Concurrence of two or more events in time” (Webster 1463:1913).

Pillay and Hofmeyr (18:1991) write, “At times, Christianity was Hellenised rather than Hellenism becoming Christianised… …It was Origen who carried this integration of platonism into Christian theology so far that the Church later condemned some of his main ideas and doctrines.”

The post-modern emergent church today ought to be warned. Origen, desiring to proclaim the Gospel to the Greek intellectuals of his day, in their language and on their terms, sacrificed the apostolic tradition for a platonic deviation. His desire to have a relevant method of reaching his generation impinged on the pure message he’d been tasked to proclaim.

Origen, church father. Click image to enlarge.

This guy has been dead for almost 2000 years yet his legacy still has a voice today. I’m sure you’ve heard of him? (if not your nerdy pastor probably has) Over the next three posts I take a look at the good (this post) the bad (next post) and the ugly (last post) of the Church Father called Origen.

1. Knowing God

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God” (Jn 17:3).

Origen’s contribution to the church was profound. He excelled “in multiple branches of theological scholarship, including textual criticism, biblical interpretation, philosophical theology, preaching, and spirituality” (Wikipedia 2012) and as such is regarded as one of the Church Fathers. Pillay and Hofmeyr affirm that he “did provide the Church with theological language and categories of thought which were to gain a permanent place in the eastern theological tradition” (18:1991).

Origen eagerly desired to know God; and this pursuit of knowledge was his greatest legacy. According to Epiphanius (277) Origen wrote about 6000 works. His literary efforts fall into four classes: 1) Textual Criticism; 2) Exegesis; 3) Systematic, Practical and Apologetic Theology; and 4) Letters.

1.1. Textual Criticism

Of the Fathers Origen was second only to Jerome in eminence regarding textual criticism. Although he never wrote definitively on the subject he made frequent references to manuscript difficulties and variant readings in his other writings.
His magnum opus was the Hexapla (which translated means ‘Six-fold’). Much like a modern parallel Bible it placed side by side the Old Testament Hebrew text and five Greek translations.

1.2. Exegesis

Origin wrote scholia, homilies and commentaries on nearly every book of the Bible. A scholia is a brief note, a commentary is “a book of explanations or expositions on the whole or a part of the Scriptures” (Webster 284:1913) and a homily is a “discourse or sermon read or pronounced to an audience; a serious discourse” (Webster 701:1913). 197 of Origen’s homilies have been preserved; 158 on Old Testament Books and 39 on Luke’s Gospel (Wikipedia 2012).

1.3. Systematic, Practical and Apologetic Theology

Origen’s attempt at systematising the theology of the early church was compiled into four volumes called On First Principles. The primary content of each volume was: 1) God, the Logos, the Holy Ghost, reason and the angels; 2) the world and man; 3) the doctrine of sin and redemption; and 4) the Scriptures (New Advent 2012). His practical writings included the works On Prayer and On Martyrdom. He wrote an eight book refutation titled Against Celsus in reply to the pagan philosopher.

1.4. Letters

It is said that Eusebius had 100 letters written by Origen and Jerome had several epistles; yet, save a few fragments, all are lost.

In my view his written work stands as Origen’s greatest redeeming quality. For all the wayward ideas he sprouted his pursuit of God must be remembered as an endearing quality worthy of commendation.

Macrina and Steve; I did think of you as I pushed enter. I would value you input… the content is more solicitory in the posts that follow.