Tim Keller has a good piece on “The Importance of Hell”. Read it here.
Archive for the 'Theology' Category
Tim Keller on Fox News -”What is the True Word of Jesus”
Published 23/02/2011 Theology , Timothy Keller Leave a Comment
Click on the photo to watch the interview.
Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Matt Chandler on Desiring God
Published 22/02/2011 John Piper , Mark Driscoll , Matt Chandler , Theology , Timothy Keller Leave a Comment
Talbot School of Theology (my alma mater) recently launched a faculty team blog called The Good Book Blog. Check it out and enjoy the riches their reflections over the Good Book.
Christ Church is starting a new sermon series this Sunday through the letter to the Romans. Come and enjoy sitting on the Word of God being taught in community.
More info at www.christ-church.org.au
he Four Holy Gospels is an exquisitely designed and produced edition of the four canonical Gospels in the English Standard Version, published in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version (KJV) Bible in 1611.
“We, today, have a language to celebrate waywardness, but we do not have a cultural language to bring people back home.”
– Makoto Fujimura –
“I’m so grateful for a new illuminated bible… According to Christian theology, the Illuminator is the Holy Spirit, and therefore I believe from what I can see that the Illuminator has illumined the illuminator of the illuminated bible, and will continue to illuminate through both the images and the words.”
– Tim Keller (Listen to the full introduction)
More at www.bifrostarts.com
Christianity Explored Coming to the Gold Coast (again)
Published 28/01/2011 Christ Church , Theology Leave a Comment
These 6 weeks will be great way for non-Christians and Christians alike to explore the basics of Christianity, specifically the person of Jesus Christ. The Boatshed restaurant is also a great and relaxing venue to enjoy the company of friends over delicious desserts and drinks.
For more information on Christ Church, visit us HERE.
Collision (the movie) trailer, reviews, and sneak peek
Published 27/01/2011 Christ Church , Theology Leave a CommentOn 3 February, the film Collision will be screened for FREE at Fradgley Hall in Burleigh Heads by Christ Church Presbyterian. Click HERE for more details. Below is the trailer, 2 reviews of the film by Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens, and a 13 minute sneak peek into the film. Enjoy, and I hope to see you in Burleigh Heads on 3 February at 7pm.
Official trailer:
Douglas Wilson’s review:
Christopher Hitchen’s review:
13 minute sneak peek:
Here is a first look of Tim Keller’s new book King’s Cross, which is due out 22 February.
“It is a look at the life of Jesus through the Gospel of Mark. The Table of Contents and first few pages of King’s Cross are now up for viewing here. Author Tim Keller writes in the introduction: “My purpose here is to try to show, through his words and actions, how beautifully his life makes sense of ours.”
via Fred Sanders
What’s so great about the Heidelberg Catechism? Here are ten characteristics for you:
It’s Personal. “What is YOUR only comfort in life and death?” It also contains the great objective truths of Christian revelation, things that are true whether you believe them or not. But as a Reformation document written in interrogative form, it puts the question to you: What about you?
It’s Devotional. It is designed not simply to instruct you or exhort you, but to set you before the face of God, confessing to him who you are, what you need, who he is, and what he has promised.
It’s Biblical. The Heidelberg Catechism draws together biblical truth in very helpful summaries. Get an edition with the original scripture references in the margin, or if possible, get an edition that prints the text of those references at the bottom of the page for you.
It’s Ecumenical. Let me qualify that claim: Within the house of the Reformation, it was intended to be a document that Calvinists and Lutherans would both agree on. That “big tent” strategy really pays off throughout. As a sixteenth-century text, it certainly was not written to emphasize what Catholics and Protestants have in common; rather it was written to equip people to withstand the errors of Roman Catholicism. But most of the 129 questions cover the solid ground of “mere Christianity,” the great common central truths. I’m a free church, John Wesley kind of guy, so I have to demur from a few of the judgments of the Catechism, most notably in the sacraments section. But it remains a solid and usable piece of work.
It’s Irenic. As opposed to polemical: Lovey, not fighty. Zacky Bear and C.O. … I mean, Zacharius Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus were not out to pick a fight. They want the calm, strong light of Christian truth more than the flame of controversy, whenever possible.
It’s Pastoral. Of course every Christian needs a real pastor in a real church, but this book provides the kind of counsel that is directly pastoral.
It’s Didactic. It is so well structured and carefully composed that it can teach you some serious theology. It would be hard to find a better theological education experience than simply working your way through these 129 questions intelligently, memorizing the key answers.
It’s Confident. Have you ever been asked a direct question about Christianity by an alert, inquisitive person, and found yourself drowning in a torrent of your own “ummms” and “uhhhhhs,” making weak and tentative statements hedged around with “like” and “sort of” on all sides? The voice of the Heidelberg Catechism is solid stuff. It knows things and says them confidently, giving clear and distinct answers to the questions: what is true comfort, what is faith, what do you believe, how do you know this, why do you say this?
It’s Dense. That makes it worth your time to memorize. Ursinus and Olevianus packed a lot of truth into a few words.
It’s Free. Public domain. Help yourself by helping yourself to it.
The Heidelberg Catechism has 129 question-and-answer exchanges. In my opinion, about two-thirds of them are astonishingly good, but none are better than the very first answer:
Q: What is your only comfort in life and death?
A: That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.
via Dan Ortlund
That’s what I recently asked a handful of thoughtful scholars and pastors. Answers below.
The OT storyline appears best to be summarized as: the historical story of God who progressively reestablishes his new creational kingdom out of chaos over a sinful people by his word and Spirit through promise, covenant, and redemption, resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend that new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the unfaithful (defeat and exile), all of which issues into his glory; the NT storyline can be summarized as: Jesus’ life of covenantal obedience, trials, judgmental death for sinners, and especially resurrection by the Spirit has launched the fulfillment of the eschatological already-and-not-yet promised new creation reign, bestowed by grace through faith and resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend this new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the unfaithful, unto God’s glory.
God was so covenantally committed to the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him may have eternal life!
God is in the process of recreating the universe which has been corrupted by sin and has made it possible for all those and only those who follow Jesus to be a part of the magnificent, eternal community that will result.
The Bible tells how the loving Creator God restored a lost humanity and cosmos through reestablishing his rule through Jesus Christ and the provision of life to His honor.
God has made promises to bring His people to Himself and He is fulfilling them all through Christ.
A holy God sends his righteous Son to die for unrighteous sinners so we can be holy and live happily with God forever.
God glorifies himself in the redemption of sinners.
The Triune God is the beginning, middle, and end of everything, ‘for from him (as Creator) and through him (as Sustainer and Redeemer) and to him (as Judge) are all things’ (Rom 11:36).
Jesus is the promised Savior-King.
The movement in history from creation to new creation through the redemptive work of Father, Son, and Spirit who saves and changes corrupted people and places for his glory and their good.
The message of the Bible in one sentence is that genuine truth, unlike every human philosophy, is far too luxuriant, too enthralling, too personal, too all-encompassing, too sovereign, and too life-changing to be reducible to one sentence (or, as Einstein once put it, the challenge is to ‘make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler’).
God is redeeming his creation by bringing it under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
‘God so loved the world that the gave his one and only Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16).
God, who made us and everything else, loves us and gave himself for us that we might live forever with him as new creatures in a new creation—the news is good!
The message of the Bible is the transforming grace of God displayed preeminently in Jesus Christ.
The Lover of our souls won’t let the romance die, but is rekindling it forever.
God created mankind in order to love them, but we all rejected his love, so God sent His Son to bear our sins on the cross in order that by believing in His sacrificial atonement, we might have life.
The Bible is the record of God’s promise of and deliverance through Jesus Christ.
The message of the Bible is twofold: to show how people can be saved from their sins through faith in Christ’s atonement AND how to live all of life as a follower of God.
God reigns over all things for his glory, but we will only enjoy his saving reign in the new heavens and the new earth if we repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the crucified and risen Lord and who gave himself on the cross for our salvation.
Verbum caro factum est.
The first sentence that comes to mind is that of my colleague Michael D. Williams, who describes the Bible’s story about the world as follows: God made it, we broke it, Jesus fixes it!
The main message of the Bible is that the one true God is displaying his glory primarily in redeeming and restoring his fallen creation by fulfilling his covenant promises and commands through the glorious person and atoning work of Christ.
Scripture tells us the story of how a Garden is transformed into a Garden City, but only after a dragon had turned that Garden into a howling wilderness, a haunt of owls and jackals, which lasted until an appointed warrior came to slay the dragon, giving up his life in the process, but with his blood effecting the transformation of the wilderness into the Garden City.
He—God in Christ—shall reign forever and ever; so today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart but believing the good news take up your cross and follow Jesus.
Get Involved in Adoption and Orphan Care in 2011
Published 11/01/2011 Adoption and Orphan Care , Theology Leave a Comment10 Ways You and Your Church Can Be Involved in Adoption and Orphan Care in 2011
from David Wooten via Ligonier
“Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:27
There are more than 163 million orphans in the world today. Even in the United States there are almost half a million orphans in the foster care system. Most of these have been abused, neglected or abandoned. These are the ones the Bible speaks of when it mentions the “fatherless.” The Scriptures are clear that the task of caring for these little ones belongs to His people. Christians can not only show the compassion of Christ in caring for orphans, but also display a picture of the gospel.
The question for any believer is not whether to be involved in the ministry of orphan care, but how. Below are ten suggestions to get you thinking about how you might participate in a ministry that can change the lives of children and families.
1. PRAY
Pray for orphans and children in foster care who will go to bed tonight wondering if there is any place they belong. Ask God to meet their needs and provide a forever family for them. Pray for prospective adoptive families who are waiting for children and children who are waiting for families. Seek how the Lord would have you be involved in the work of orphan care. Pray that your church would effectively engage in the global orphan crisis. Thank God for the work of His Spirit in calling out His children to visit orphans in their distress.
2. LEARN
There is much to learn about the needs, resources, and issues concerning adoption and orphan care. Study God’s Word to see what the Bible says about the fatherless. Learn about children in your local foster care system and what needs they have. Discover the plight of orphans in distant lands. Recognize your responsibility to care in practical ways for vulnerable orphaned children locally and globally.
3. WELCOME
God has opened His heart to the fatherless and wants us to open our hearts as well. Create a climate in your home among your family and cultivate a culture in your church that receives the little and the least. Give them a sense that they are welcomed, loved and that they belong.
4. ENCOURAGE
The life of a foster or adoptive family can have its challenges. Show appreciation for what they are doing in providing a loving family to these children. Your encouraging words may be just the thing they need to persevere through a difficult time. You can support these families by providing respite care to give them a night out, some time away, help running errands, or bring over meals. Be creative and have fun finding ways to be a wrap-around family supporting them in caring for orphans.
5. GIVE
The cost of private or international adoption and the price of ministering to the fatherless can be high. Your financial support can go a long way to help orphans as you give to ministries and organizations who serve the needs of these children. Many of these ministries depend on the faithful, sacrificial gifts of folks like you. Helping cover the high cost of adoption can help make adoption affordable and accessible for a family that otherwise might not be able to adopt.
6. GO
God commands us to “visit orphans in their affliction.” This word “visit” means “to show care and provision for.” You can do this by participating in a mission trip through your church to an orphanage showing compassion to these children and helping them to understand the special place they have in God’s heart. Become a regular visitor to a local orphanage or group home where children in foster care live.
7. VOLUNTEER
Give your time to an organization or family who cares for orphans or is involved in adoption. You might mentor or tutor a young person in foster care. You might volunteer at an adoption agency by helping with a special event, assisting in their fundraising efforts or using your talents in a way that benefits their ministry. You might help one of the 20,000 teens aging our of the foster care system this year by including them into your family’s activities. Become a Guardian ad Litem for a child giving a voice to the neglected and abused.
8. ADOPT OR FOSTER
While not everyone is called to foster or adopt, some are. Perhaps God is calling you to open your home to a child who needs a family. You may adopt from foster care or an orphan from overseas. Through adoption your family will display the gospel in a unique and dynamic way. Adopting a child from America’s foster care system carries little or no cost at all. Many would step up to adopt if they only knew that.
9. MOBILIZE
Launch a ministry in your church that will impact the global orphan crisis. With the permission and direction of your church’s leaders, you can be a catalyst that can meet the needs of children and families in your church, community and around the world. Your ministry might address foster care, adoption or orphans. Doubtless there are others in your congregation who will want to join you in reaching out through this ministry.
10. ADVOCATE
There are many ways in which the current foster care system needs to be revised to be more family friendly. You can be an advocate to speak out for the best interests of children who have been neglected, abused or abandoned. By learning what the current issues are, you will be better able to speak out on their behalf. Let your voice be heard when you can influence legislation or policy change that will benefit children and families and help improve the foster care system.
The Bible says that “true and undefiled religion in the eyes of God the Father is to care for orphans and widows in their distress” There is no clearer picture of the gospel that that of adoption. God took us when we were slaves to sin and brought us into His forever family to become His children. When you become involved in the ministry of adoption and orphan care, you are displaying the glorious gospel for the world to see. Regardless of how you are involved, by engaging in caring for orphans in their distress, you are practicing true and undefiled religion. Yours can be an investment that can impact many lives and will last a lifetime and beyond.
David Wooten is Director of Operations and Development at Embraced by Grace Inc. Adoption Agency
via Peter Leithart
“We serve wine at the Lord’s table, not grape juice. That’s because this is a table for lovers, a table for a Bride drunk with joy, inebriated with the Spirit, consumed by desire for our Lover. At this table, our Lover Jesus pours out the wine of His blood for us, so that we can be swept up in the passion of His Spirit.
‘Eat, friends; drink and drink deeply, O lovers.’”
Being on Mission Together with Jeff Vandersteldt
Published 04/01/2011 Jeff Vandersteldt , Theology Leave a Commentvia The Resurgence
In this 8 minute video, Jeff Vandersteldt sat down with Acts 29 President Scott Thomas to talk about how living on mission in his own life is bringing others to the Gospel.
Francis Schaeffer Lectures on the Westminster Confession of Faith
Published 29/12/2010 Francis Schaeffer , Theology Leave a Commentvia Justin Taylor
Enjoy listening to Francis Schaeffer lecture through the Westminster Confession of Faith at Wheaton College.
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 01 – Historical Christianity
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 02 – Historical Christianity (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 03 – God and Scripture
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 04 – God & Scripture (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 05 – The Trinity in the Old Testament
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 06 – The Trinity in the Old Testament (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 07 – The Persons of the Trinity
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 08 – The Persons of the Trinity (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 09 – Creation
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 10 – Creation (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 11 – The Significance of Creation for History
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 12 – The Significance of Creation for History (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 13 – God’s Sovereignty & Man’s Significance
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 14 – God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Significance (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 15 – The Creation of Man
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 16 – The Creation of Man (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 17 – The Fall
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 18 – The Fall (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 19 – Results of The Fall
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 20 – Results of The Fall (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 21 – Covenant of Grace
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 22 – Covenant of Grace (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 23 – Covenant with Abraham
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 24 – Covenant with Abraham (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 25 – The Unity of The Covenant of Grace
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 26 – The Unity of The Covenant of Grace (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 27 – Prophecies of Chris
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 28 – Prophecies of Christ (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 29 – Christ The Mediator
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 30 – Christ The Mediator (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 31 – Christ As Prophet
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 32 – Christ As Prophet (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 33 – Christ As Priest
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 34 – Christ As Priest (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 35 – Passive & Active Obedience of Christ
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 36 – Christ As King
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 37 – Christ As King (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 38 – Christ’s Humiliation & Exaltation
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 39 – Christ’s Humiliation & Exaltation (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 40 – Salvation
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 41 – Salvation (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 42 – Justification
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 43 – Justification (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 44 – Faith
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 45 – Faith (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 46 – Relationship with Christ
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 47 – Relationship with Christ (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 48 – Brotherhood of Believers
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 49 – Brotherhood of Believers (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 50 – Discipline in the Church
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 51 – Discipline In The Church (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 52 – Assurance
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 53 – Assurance (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 54 – Repentance
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 55 – Repentance (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 56 – Sanctification
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 57 – Sanctification (continued)
Biblical Doctrine Series: Westminster Confession, part 58 – Life After Death
via Peter Leithart
The fullness of the earth is God’s glory: God clothes Himself with creation.
Mike Bull writes to remind me that this also fits into Isaiah 6. The woman is the glory of man: Therefore, creation as God’s glory is also God’s bride.
The triune God has freely determined that He will not be God except as Husband of His Bride, that He will not be God without His Brid=al Glory. (Plug in everything you’ve learned from Barth and Jenson here.)
But this also throws light back on the triple seraphic declaration of the Lord’s holiness.
“Holy” is often taken as an attribute of separation and transcendence. God is “high and lifted up,” and far from identical with His creation. The cry of the seraphim suggests, however, that His holiness consists less in His separation than in His dwelling-in.
Adonai is holy insofar as He as Creator puts on the robe of His creation, insofar as He as Husband joins to His Bride. This manifests the holiness of His triune life: He is eternally and in Himself holy because the Father is in the Son through the Spirit and the Son in the Father by the Spirit of Holiness.
And Happy Advent again, since the incarnation, far from being a strange contradiction of God’s holiness, is the demonstration and fulfillment of it.
Last week on holidays I finally picked up a copy of Blaise Pascal’s ‘Pensees’. He may be known as a famous French mathematician and physicist, but was also a brilliant theologian. Here one of Pascal’s Pensees (thoughts) that I read this morning:
“384 – Wretchedness provokes despair.
Pride provokes presumption.
The Incarnation shows man the greatness of his wretchedness through the greatness of the remedy which was required.”
Read more here.
James K.A. Smith Interview at Desiring God
Published 03/12/2010 Desiring God , James K.A. Smith , Theology Leave a Commentvia forsclavigera.blogspot.com
As I note in Letters to a Young Calvinist, reading John Piper’s Desiring God in college was part of my pilgrimage to the Reformed tradition–even if my pilgrimage continued in different directions. So it was a treat when, a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the offices of Desiring God Ministries in Minneapolis for an interview about my new book. They’ve now posted the video from that interview at the Desiring God blog.
via The Resurgence
The Art of Listening might well be the most the important skill a Christian must develop, because Christianity is at its essence all about the Word of God. In fact, God himself is the Word (John 1:1) and the Word became flesh (John 1:2)—safe to say that if God is the Word then how we use our ears is pretty important. Furthermore, you can only come to faith through hearing (Rom. 10:14) and then you grow mature through hearing (Matt. 13:23).
The Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord (1 Sam 3:21).
Do you get it? Seeing God happens through hearing. Our vision is through our ears. My friend, if you have either not yet come to Christ, or you have but are frustrated, confused, and not really growing, then I would bet big money that your problem revolves around not listening as you should. Here are some tips on listening well to a preacher, or to the Word of God in any context:
1. Get in range regularly
The reason Zacchaeus collided with Jesus was because he climbed the tree. If the soil is not in range of the sower then it isn’t going to receive any seed. This first point isn’t rocket science: you need to be regularly exposed to God’s word. Try to do a few minutes of personal time each day with the Bible, and obviously ensure you are at church each Sunday. Get in range.
2. Be expectant to receive
The good news is that the Word of God is supernatural stuff. It is living and active and burrows right inside us, doing us good (Heb. 4:12) and it will always achieve its purpose (Isa. 55:11). So listen expectantly. If it is a topic or preacher that you are not too excited about, then pull yourself together and get excited—the issue is the pizza, not the delivery boy or the box it comes in.
3. Understand it
The Parable of the Soil (Matt. 13:23) stresses the importance of not just hearing but understanding. Take notes, listen again to the download, discuss it at small group, go over the Scriptures again. One way or another, check you that you ‘get it’.
4. Mix with faith
Hebrews 4:1-3 speaks about two groups of people who heard the same message. One group benefited big time. The others thought the message was useless. What was the difference? Only one group mixed the incoming word with faith. As you listen, be assured that God has your best at heart, and set yourself to receive the word and to obey it with joy and conviction. Not because you ‘have to’ but because you ‘get to.’ God isn’t looking for blind, begrudging obedience. He is looking for faith!
5. Actually do it
The difference between the foolish and wise builders in Matthew 7 was that one put the word into practice and one didn’t. If you don’t actually obey the word then your life and faith will be built on sand. You will continuously be unsure that ‘Christianity really works.’ So, if you hear a message on forgiveness but do not forgive, then your house may fall flat. James says that you will be a like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he looks like—you will be insecure in who you are and in who God is. Obey. Put it into practice. Then you’ll grow.
I want to make a sticker that says, “Vote the Environment. Vote Jesus.”
Don’t vote Green, Labor, Liberal, Republican, or Democrat, vote Jesus.
John Piper on Evangelism and Social Justice
Published 24/10/2010 John Piper , Theology Leave a CommentOn the Importance of Gospel-Shaped Friendships
Published 20/10/2010 James K.A. Smith , Theology Leave a Commentvia Justin Taylor
From James K.A. Smith’s wise and delightful new book, Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition (Brazos, 2010), pp. 12-13:
In these voices from Old Princeton [Warfield, Hodges, Shedd] I found a rigor, depth, and even philosophical orientation that thrilled my soul and seemed to scratch itches I didn’t even know I had before. I began to spend countless hours in the library drinking from these deep new wells. But it was as if the books stacking up around me functioned as walls of isolation, creating a fortress of solitude that was also a bastion of pride. How strange it is that we can become prideful about gifts and can seize possession of what’s given as if it was somehow our accomplishment.
If my own experience suggests anything, it’s that pride can swell in isolation, though it can also have its own mob mentality too. So I’ll be praying that God will bring alongside you the kinds of friends who will be co-pilgrims with you. In fact, I must tell you that in the past couple years I’ve become convinced that perhaps nothing is so important for your walk with the Lord as good friends. I think God gives us good friends as sacraments—means of grace given to us as indices of God’s presence and conduits for our sanctification. While “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24), that same Friend send us friends to help make his presence tangible and concrete. Nothing continues the incarnation like Christian friendship.
Don Carson recently ministered for a few weeks in Australia:
Sermons on Five Psalms
Workshops on Preaching and Biblical, Systematic, Historical, and Pastoral Theology
Cross-Cultural Training
Christ-expo: How Can We Believe?
Five evangelistic sermons on the Gospel of John (each followed by Q&A)
- How Can We See God? (John 1:1–18)
- How Can We Start over Again? (John 3:1–21)
- How Can God Have a Son? (John 5:16–30)
- How to Get the Best Bread in the World (John 6:25–59)
- How Can I Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead? (John 20:24–31)
Sermon at St. Alfred’s
Abortion: a rational look at an emotional issue
In this book, Dr. R.C. Sproul employs his unique perspective as a highly experienced pastor-theologian and a trained philosopher to provide well-considered and compassionate answers to the difficult questions that attend termination of pregnancy. Dr. Sproul strives for a factual, well-reasoned approach informed by careful biblical scholarship. He considers both sides of this issue in terms of biblical teaching, civil law, and natural law. This edition includes a new foreword by Dr. George Grant and has been updated to reflect developments in the issue. Appendixes provide further background on the issue of when life begins and list sources for pro-life resources.
