BibleWorks 8 is the latest version of the BibleWorks software package, described on their website as “the premier original languages Bible software program for Biblical exegesis and research.” From the outset I must say that their description is not a marketing ploy, but a realistic assessment of their product which is affirmed by many other users.

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Win BibleWorks 8 @ Cal.vini.st

I don’t believe it is my place to throw rocks at him now that he is deceased, I didn’t throw rocks at him while he was living. But for the grace of God, there go I. I only wish that things could have been different so that our memories of his accomplishments could be unstained.

The bits and pieces of his life that I saw on television reminded me of my life before Christ. He seemed to be living in darkness and confusion, without contentment or satisfaction or peace. It was a perfect example that money and fame can’t provide us with what is most important. The saddest part is that so many believe that they could have done better. The deceitfulness of sin blinds us into believing that we can make success and riches work for us and that we could find peace and contentment if we were given the talents and opportunities of a Michael Jackson.

In the end we must all go and face the judgment. We must all go there by ourselves. We must all stand naked before a God who is a consuming fire and give an accounting for our lives. When this day comes the only salvation will be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Savior and his blood can make the foulest sinner clean.

Soli Deo Gloria

An Artistic Homage

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Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

This past Sunday I was asked to perform a simple ritual and I thought I would share the experience here.
A woman asked me if I would come and sit down by her. She had a walker, in the aisle, and it was obvious that she had some difficulties in getting around. She asked if I would anoint her with oil and pray for her healing. I told her that I didn’t think that doing so was my place. I didn’t believe I had the authority to do this. She replied, “Well, if you don’t believe in it….” I told her that this wasn’t the reason. James tells us to call upon the Elders of the church and “Let Them” do the anointing and praying. I told her that I wasn’t an Elder of the church and couldn’t be called upon for this duty but that I would certainly remember her in my prayers. I don’t know if this appeased her or not but she didn’t say anything further.
At the close of the service I learned that the eighty-seven year old man who plays the piano for the church is, in fact, not a member of the church. He is a member of the Assembly of God church and has been for many years but stopped going there because of a disagreement with their pastor. He referred to him as a “Dictator”. It is obvious that this man is respected and loved by the members of this Baptist Church and it is also obvious that he has had some influence among the congregation.

I believe there are two extremes that we see among churches in America.
One extreme is the misuse and abuse of authority. Pastors can become “Dictators” and abuse their positions. There are also situations in which other church members abuse their authority as deacons, teachers or simply members.
Another extreme is the total disregard for authority. Some churches have become so lax and indifferent that they have no regard for any authority. The pastor is simply a preacher. The membership can do as they please.

When I was first asked to come and preach for them I decided that I would preach the Five Solas. You can look across the top of my page and read them if you aren’t familiar with them. I began by preaching on the general topic in the morning service and pressing the emphasis of the “Sola” in the evening service. So, my first week there I preached from John 1 in the AM service and from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 in the PM service. Like most congregations they nodded their heads in approval but in practice it is obvious that they have little understanding of what “Scripture Alone” truly means.

The Bible Alone is our only authority for all matters of faith and practice. It is not our place to take liberties with the Word of God. It is a matter of authority and God, who is the Supreme Authority, has made it so.

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Authority

I will post my weekly chapter reviews here. Everyone is welcome to read along and post their comments.

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The Rare Jewel

I attended a baptist college and a baptist seminary where the predominant school of thought leaned toward dispensationalism and the pre-trib/pre-mill positions. I’ve spent my fair share of time scouring the Scofield study bible and the Ryrie study bible and Pentecost’s Things to Come and Larkin’s illustrations and Chafer’s Systematic Theology. I’ve listened to countless sermons on end-time events and post rapture speculation. Still, I never swallowed the hook. I’ve never found all of this fascinating. I found it confusing and contradictory but not fascinating.

I have just finished reading an excellent book entitled: Christ and the Future: The Bible’s Teaching About the Last Things by Cornelis P. Venema. I think he does a fair job describing all of the various Millennial positions. I thought I might share some of his thoughts on Amillennialism. The following block quotes are taken from his book.

Amillennialism… does not look for a golden-age millennium either before or after the return of Christ. Amillennialism regards the entire period of history between Christ’s first and second coming as the period of the millennium. (p.107)

Amillennialism has a long history of advocacy going back to the beginning of the Christian era. Since the fourth and fifth centuries, it has been the predominant position within the Christian church. (p.107)

Amillennialism regards the millennium of Revelation 20 to be a symbolical representation of the present reign of Christ with his saints…. The millennium is not a literal period of one thousand years, but represents the complete period during which God has granted Christ the authority to receive the nations as his inheritance. [Psalm 2; Matthew 28:16-20] (p.108)

The binding of Satan is a picture of the restraint God has placed upon Satan, preventing him from deceiving the nations, and of the certainty of the church’s success in discipling them. (p.109)

These are only a few of the quotes that I thought were worth repeating. The entire book is an excellent resource and I’m certain I will return to it again and again.

Christ and the Future

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Amillennialism

1. Sit comfortably in a straight back chair.
2. Extend your right leg straight out in front of you.
3. Begin to rotate your leg in a clockwise motion.
4. Hold your right hand out in front of your face. About 18 inches out and even with your eyes or nose.
5. Now, with your right leg circling in a clockwise motion, draw a large number six in the air in front of you.

It’s difficult to pay attention so as to keep your right foot moving clockwise while your right hand draws a six. Your leg wants to stop and turn counter-clockwise. This is similar to what it is like trying to back up a big truck. You have to turn the wheel left to make the trailer go right and vise versa while looking at a reverse image in the mirror.
One of my students once said this about backing up a truck: “You have to have your thinking done.” I asked him what he meant and he said it was something his father used to say to him. When he was a boy his father took him deer hunting. The hunting club they belonged to used dogs to chase the deer out of the thickets and into the open. They could hear the dogs coming and his father explained to him that the dogs were going to push the deer out into a shooting lane which is simply a narrow clearing cut through the woods to give a hunter a shot. His father told him that he had to get his rifle up and prepare for the shot before the deer hit the clearing because if you waited until he got there to think about the shot it would be too late. The deer will have already run through the shooting lane and back into the thicker woods where the shot would be lost. He said, “When the deer is in the opening you have to make your shot and you have to have your thinking done.”
My student was right. The same rule applies to backing up a big rig. If you wait until the trailer is in motion before you think about which way to turn the wheel it will be too late. The trailer will get away from you and you will miss the mark. You have to have your thinking done.

A few weeks ago I won Tim Challies Friday Giveaway. (I can no longer claim that I’ve never won anything in my life!) The prize was a book by Michael Horton, “Too Good to be True” (I haven’t started reading it yet), A subscription to Modern Reformation Magazine (My first issue was “Calvin at 500, Does He Still Matter” (which was really good) and a two disk, four-part lecture series by Michael Horton entitled: “Christless Christianity – The Alternative Gospel of the American Church”.
I’ve watched the series once and I’ll probably watch it again before the week is over. I thought it was superb. It really strengthened my Reformed Worldview and gave me a greater confidence that the doctrines represented by the Reformed Faith (Reformed Baptists in particular) are the best representation of New Testament Christianity.
While discussing the Alternative Gospel that is being preached in most of America and among the vast majority of Baptists, Mr. Horton made this statement: Christians have lost their desire to do the hard work of thinking. I believe He is right. It’s much easier to have a sentimental and emotional attachment to a false doctrine than it is to reason through the Scriptures to make certain that the doctrine you claim to believe is Biblical. It is much easier to twist a passage of Scripture out of context and make it agree with your preconceived idea than it is to examine a passage and arrive at the correct interpretation. It is much easier to talk about what we should be doing than it is to dwell on what Christ has done.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

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The Hard Work of Thinking

“Christ is not only the Substitute but the Surety of His people. The Gospel is founded on the fact Adam and Christ are covenant heads and representatives of their respective families. Hence, they are termed ‘the first man’ and ‘the second man’ (1Co 15:47), as if there had been none other but themselves, for the children of each were entirely dependent on their head. In Adam all die; in Christ all are made alive (1Co 15:22). The first ‘all’ includes every individual of mankind, the last ‘all’ is explained by the apostle to mean ‘they that are Christ’s’ (1Co 15:23).”

It was as the Head of His elect that God covenanted with Christ, so that, in a very real sense, that covenant was made with them. This it is that explains all those passages that speak of the saints’ oneness with Christ, as that, they were “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20), “died with Him” (Rom 6:8), were “buried with Him” as Scriptural baptism symbolizes (Rom 6:4), were “quickened” with Him (Col 2:12), “raised with Him” (Eph 2:6), and made to “sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). So they were legally one with Him and He with them in all that He did in rendering a full satisfaction to God. On this vitally important point, we cannot do better than give a synopsis of the last section from chapter two of Hugh Martin’s invaluable work:

“How are we to formulate and establish the relation subsisting14 between Christ and His, as Redeemer and redeemed, unless we fall back upon the doctrine of the Covenant? Some relation, it is evident, must be recognize the covenant oneness. The same reason that demands a relation remains unsatisfied until it meets with this
relation.”

It does not meet the necessities of the case to refer to the union between Christ and His people that is effected in their regeneration by the agency of the Holy Spirit and the instrumentality of the faith that is His gift. True, this is indispensable before any can enjoy any of the blessings of His purchase. But there must have been a relation between Christ and His people before He ransomed them. Nor are the necessities of the case met by a reference to the Incarnation. True, the Redeemer must take upon Him flesh and blood before He could redeem, yet there must be a bond of union more intimate than that which Christ holds alike to the saved and the unsaved. He took hold of “the seed of Abraham” (Heb 2:16), not the “seed of Adam”! Nor is it sufficient to say that the relation is that of suretyship and substitution; for the question still calls for answer, “What rendered it fit and righteous that the Son of God should suffer for others, the Holy One be made sin?” It is to this point the inquiry must be narrowed.

Christ was the Surety of His people because He was their Substitute. He acted on their behalf because He stood in their room. The relation of a substitute justifies the suretyship; but what shall justify the substitution? There is the hinge upon which everything turns. We heartily concur with Dr. Martin when he says, “We can obtain no satisfaction on this point, no sufficient answer to this question, and therefore no satisfactory conclusion to our whole
line of investigation, until the doctrine of the everlasting covenant oneness comes into view. That is the grand underlying relation. That is the grand primary conjunction between the Redeemer and the redeemed, which alone bears up and accounts for all else in respect of relation which can be predicated as true concerning them. ‘For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren’ (Heb 2:11)…He is substituted for us, because He is one with us—identified with us and we with Him.”

Promoted by infinite love, Christ as the God-man freely accepted the terms of the Everlasting Covenant that had been proposed to Him and voluntarily assumed all the legal responsibilities of His people. As their Head, He came down to this earth, lived, wrought, and died as their vicarious Representative. He obeyed and suffered as their
Substitute. By His obedience and sufferings, He discharged all their obligations. His sufferings remitted the penalty of the Law, and His obedience merited infinite blessings for them. Romans 5:12–19 explicitly affirms that the elect of God are legally “made righteous” on precisely the same principle by which they were first “made
sinners.” “Our union with Christ is of the same order and involves the same class of effects as our union with Adam. We call it a union both federal and vital. Others may call it what they please, but it will nevertheless remain certain that it is of such a nature as to involve an identity of legal relations and reciprocal19 obligations and rights.” “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom 5:19)—“made the right-eousness of God in him” (2Co 5:21).

More than a thousand years ago, Augustine remarked, “Such is the ineffable closeness of this transcendental union, that we hear the voice of the members suffering when they suffered in their Head and cried through the Head on the cross, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Mat 27:46). And, in like manner, we hear the
voice of the Head suffering when He suffered in His members and cried to the persecutor on the way to Damascus, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?’ (Act 9:4).”

The federal relation of Christ to His people was a real one, upon which the infallible God deemed it just to punish Christ for the sins of His people and to credit them with His righteousness, and thus completely satisfy all the demands of His Law upon them. As the result of that union, Christ was in all things “made like unto his
brethren” (Heb 2:17), being “numbered (reckoned one) with transgressors” (Isa 53:12). They in turn are “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (Eph 5:30). In consequence of this federal union, Christ is also made “a quickening Spirit” (1Co 15:45), so that, in due time, each of His people becomes a living and vital member of that spiritual body of which He is the Head (Eph 1:19–23).
The relation between Christ and those who benefit from His Atonement was therefore no vague, indefinite, haphazard one, but consisted of an actual covenant oneness, legal identity, and vital union. Suretyship presupposes it. Strict substitution demands it. Real imputation proceeds upon it. The penalty Christ endured could not otherwise have been inflicted. They for whom Satisfaction was made do, by inevitable necessity, share its benefits and receive what was purchased for them. This alone meets the objection of the injustice of the Innocent suffering for the guilty, as it alone explains the transfer of Christ’s sufferings and merits to the redeemed.

From Studies in the Scriptures, reprinted by Chapel Library.
_______________________
A.W. Pink (1886 1886-1952): Pastor

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Christ’s Federal Work

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Mary Anne Radmacher

Miro is an Internet TV application.

Contxts is a digital business card. It’s pretty cool.

Alerts is a site that will send you … Alerts! When and where you need them.

Dial2Do is a To Do list that is sent to your phone when you need it. Sounds like a good idea. I never remember what I went to the store to purchase.

Remember The Milk is an iPhone/iTouch ToDo list application.

Wordpress Optimization Bible is just what it claims to be. It’s pretty good too.

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Bits-N-Pieces (05-08-09)

However, I have noticed a continuing trend in a similar area.

This past week, one of my Truck Driving Students showed up with a Bible in hand. I didn’t have any problem with that until she began repeating verses that she claimed was God’s guarantee that she would be able to drive a Big Truck. You know the ones. “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” is an example.

The problem I have is this; the student who was claiming these problems has missed three and a half days of school out of the ten days that we’ve had. When she is there she does nothing but complain that she isn’t getting it and she isn’t making an effort to apply herself to learning. She’s simply waiting on some miracle that will transform her into a truck driver.

Sadly, this isn’t an uncommon situation. Many preachers, themselves, fall into this type of Voodoo Christianity. They fail to devote themselves to adequate study throughout the week and hope that some moving of the Spirit or other act of God will bail them out during delivery. I’ll confess that I’ve done this myself on occasion. It doesn’t work. We may fool ourselves into thinking that divine intervention took place because we managed to get through the task at hand but the truth is that we usually complete our tasks by the skin of our teeth and our lack of commitment and our inadequate preparation are apparent to all.

It’s interesting to me that I’ve never heard anyone quote, “Whatsoever thy hands find to do, do it with all thy might.”

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VooDoo Christianity