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On January 9, 2016 By In Books

Book Review: Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal

Lovelace, Richard. Dynamics of Spiritual Life, An Evangelical Theology of Renewal, IVP Academic, 1979

Lovelace’s book “is a manual of spiritual theology (11).” The book is a historical and a sociological overview of major renewal movements in the last few hundred years. Not only does Lovelace offer a rewarding analysis of each movement, but he also theologizes expertly in each of them giving even the most ardent critic an appreciation for the author’s labors.

Lovelace offers us a way towards revival, but also alerts the reader to the consequences of spiritual decline, what he calls “a destructive enculturation (184).” Gleaning from an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the ecclesiastical landscape, the author surveys different renewal movements and provides the good, the bad, and the ugly of each.

Most salient, it seems, is his critique of pastoral elitism (225). He concludes that the “elimination of pastoral elitism is…the principal reason for the growth of Pentecostalism…in the third world (225).” The democratization of the laity is an incentive to carry on the kingdom’s work without the over-dependence on a sole authority figure, he argues. The activism of the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches and their propensity to lead by prayer rather than by organization is what makes these movements a force in the revivalistic tradition.

Lovelace is not guilty of false prophecy since he spoke as a man of his time writing in the 1970’s. However, he would have been shocked to see the level of stardom attributed to modern day leaders in the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements of the 21st century. These churches, in this reviewer’s estimation, no longer thrive via the decentralization of congregations, but through the forceful and “charismatic” personalities of its leaders who have used the naivete of their laity to bring in millions of dollars through ungodly methods.

While this critique is unfair, since the author has not (to my knowledge) addressed this matter, it is perhaps a form of cyclical inevitability that decentralized congregations eventually fall under some hierarchical structure for good or ill.

This reviewer is inclined to see Lovelace’s analysis of cycles in various renewal movements as a way of reading current movements in the Church and perhaps offering some prophetic pronouncements to an age that has abandoned the work of the Spirit in exchange for a few crumbs under the intellectual table of pagans. The book offers a way forward, but the reader will have to digest the profound insights and biblical answers for a modern revitalization of the church of our Lord.

The author’s constant exhortation to pursue prayer as a means of bringing about change offers all of us, especially in pastoral ministry, a fresh account of the need to seek God in times of plenty or want.

Best Quote:

“History teaches us the danger and futility of fighting and separating over the ceremony that is supposed to unite us instead of living the reality it embodies.” (170)

 

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On January 8, 2016 By In Theology

The Upside-Downness of the Gospel: A Look at the Beatitudes, Part VII

Part VI, Part V, Part IV, Part III, Part II, Part I

We celebrate today the Epiphany of our Lord. The Epiphany refers to the visit of the magi to the Christ child, which is the appearance, epiphany of Christ to the Gentiles. Christ’s introduction to the Gentile world does not come as a teenager, but as a little babe; a stage of purity, and so it is appropriate that we meditate briefly on this portion of the Beatitudes.

Jesus says: [8] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

The source of purity, according to Jesus, is not what goes into the mouth, but what is impure is what comes out of the mouth. Biblically, what defiles a person comes from the heart. To be pure in heart is very much connected with hungering and thirsting after righteousness, as our Lord has taught us. To pursue righteousness is to reflect the purity of God because God desires His image-bearers to be his reflections on earth. When impurity proceeds from our mouths, we are betraying our very image as those created in God’s image. (more…)

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On January 5, 2016 By In Theology

12 Days of Christmas Carols- Here We Come A-wassailing

Guest Post by Steven Wedgeworth

The Christmas season concludes with Twelfth Night.  Associated with merrymaking and even mischief, Twelfth Night serves as a bridge between Christmas and Epiphany.  It seems appropriate then to finish up our survey of Christmas Carols with a wassailing song.  Wassailing was a practice that, in some ways, goes back to pre-Christian Europe, but took on most of its popularity in the middle ages.  It involved door-to-door caroling and, of course, the drinking of wassail.  “Wassail” is actually an expression, of Anglo-Saxon and possibly older Norse origins, which means “be hale” or “be healthy.”  The name was transferred to the drink, typically a hot mulled cider, over the years as people would offer “Wassail” as a toast.  And so the tradition of wassailing was that of door-to-door caroling with the drinking of wassail and the wishing of God’s blessing upon the residents of the house, and it was typically done on Twelfth Night.

Of course, wassailing also took on some other associations.  Much like certain later Halloween customs, the wassailers began asking for gifts and treats in return for their well-wishing.  They wanted more wassail, some beer, and even that famous “figgy pudding.”  The gift was a sort of reward for the singing, but it also became an incentive and attracted more and more children from about the town.  And you can imagine, as the night went on and the wassail drunk more and more, the carolers could become a bit rowdy.  Indeed, they might start demanding more and more treats, threatening violence and proclaiming, “We won’t go until we get some, so bring it right here!”  This led to a moderate amount of social unrest, and it gave the end of the Christmas season and Twelfth Night a rather sordid reputation. (more…)

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On January 2, 2016 By In Scribblings

Bible Reading Plan, 2016

For those of you still looking for a Bible reading plan, it is not too late to catch up. A friend of KC, Pastor Brian Nolder, has put together a terrific reading plan for the year. He writes:

This is a one-year program, with some unique features you won’t find in most reading programs:
 1. Only weekday reading (you can catch up on the weekends)
2. Read each day from the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, and the New Testament (there will often be interesting overlaps)
3. Read through OT books in the order they are in the Hebrew Bible

So, if you missed yesterday, you can use today to catch up on yesterday’s readings and begin Monday right with the program.

Bible Reading 2016

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On December 24, 2015 By In Theology

The Upside-Downness of the Gospel: A Look at the Beatitudes, Part VI

Part V, Part IV, Part III, Part II, Part I

G.K. Chesterton does a splendid job in demolishing the rationale of unbelievers. His great work entitled Orthodoxy is an apologetic for the Christian faith. Orthodoxy, which means “true and right thinking,” has fallen on hard times in our day. Thinking and living the Orthodox faith, the true biblical faith given to us once and for all, [1] is seen as hard, burdensome; “Why can’t we simply experience and privatize the faith?” But what we believe should influence the way we live. Chesterton understood this, and he understood that far from heavy and tedious, orthodoxy was “perilous and exciting at the same time.”[2] To be Orthodox for Chesterton was the sanest thing a human being could be.[3]

At Providence, we confess weekly the great Nicene Creed. By confessing the creed, we are confessing to one another that we are orthodox; that we believe what every Christian should believe. But more than that, we are also stating that we are willing to live out this creed, even if it means the mockery and verbal assaults of the world.

As we continue our short study on the Beatitudes, we need to be aware that living as Jesus called us to live is also our creed; it’s our way of life. You cannot affirm the incarnation of Jesus without living incarnational lives.

As we come to the second part of this poem, Jesus is building upon each beatitude.

Jesus says in verse 7:  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Exodus 34 says:

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”[4]

Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh. He embodies all mercy, because he became a merciful and faithful high priest,[5] so that He might become our substitute; the one who took our place and restored us. Yahweh is the embodiment/enfleshment of mercy. He was merciful in creation by giving Eden to Adam and Eve, and He was merciful when He gave the world to Abraham’s heirs.[6]

Of course, we need to cultivate mercy. But we don’t cultivate mercy to be merciful to ourselves, rather be merciful to others, just as God was and is merciful to us. To be merciful is an act of compassion; an understanding that there are those around us who are in need. And the way mercy looks like is by taking action on behalf of others.[7]

All of us here have felt the intense sting of our sins at one time or another. Our sins have left us paralyzed and broken. They have caused chaos. But in that dark night of the soul, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you find through repentance the forgiveness of sins and the ever-present mercy of God for you. When no one was forgiving, when no one was reaching out to you, God extended His right arm and pulled you out of your distress and depression and restored you. Why are we to extend mercy to others? Because God, in Jesus Christ, understood our plight and when others were merciless, He showed mercy.[8] You were broken in sin and in God’s mercy, He re-made you. But don’t be mistaken: your scars will remain, but they will not remain so you can grieve over a past sin, rather, so you can remember God’s mercy toward you in the present.

And it is this mercy that causes you not to be introspective, but extraspective[9] towards God and your neighbor; to look outside yourself. (Pause) People of God, how are you showing mercy to those who most need it? Showing mercy means to act on behalf of your neighbor; to alleviate a little of the pain, angst, and guilt.

Our hope is found in a God who continually showers us with deepest care and love. We may not receive the gratitude from the world nor from those we show mercy, but the pleasure of God should be sufficient for us. In his incarnation he has shown the world what mercy looks like; to show compassion to people that would show him little; to love and to live mercifully to a merciless world.
[1] Jude 3.
[2] Taken from the kindle edition of Orthodox.
[3] Ibid.
[4] English Standard Version
[5] Hebrews 2:17.
[6] Romans 4:13
[7] Peter Leithart, lecture on Matthew 5.
[8] Some of these ideas come from David Powlison’s excellent article I am making all things new http://www.ccef.org/i-am-making-all-things-new-0
[9] Powlison’s language.

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On December 17, 2015 By In Politics

Wheaton’s Shema Problem

Wheaton College has a PR problem. It’s the kind of problem that is basic. It’s a Shema problem! The ancient words of the Torah declared with authority: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”1 The Shema, a central prayer in the Jewish tradition, has a special place in the Christian faith. It is not merely the declaration of a monotheistic God. For the Christian, it provides the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity.

While there is excellent scholarship suggesting that the Trinity reveals itself in the early pages of the Old Testament, the New Testament makes it abundantly clear. The Father is identified as God (John 6:27; Gal. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:17; Jude 1) as is the Son (see John 1:1; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Tit. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1) and the Holy Spirit (see Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 2:10-11; John 3:5-7 with 1 John 3:9). While the Shema establishes the oneness of the Christian God that oneness needs to be understood in light of all the biblical data (see references above). The Christian understanding of God is unique because God is not only defined as One but also as Three. And in light of this Unity and Diversity, the Christian God ceases to bear any resemblance to the god of Judaism or Islam—both religions vehemently deny the Trinity.

The Nicene Creed, the ancient creed of the Christian Church, begins by acknowledging the Oneness of God:

We believe in one God.

However, what makes this Creed universally accepted as a definition of Christian orthodoxy is its definition of who God is. The One God is the Father Almighty, Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life. This elaboration excludes any religion that denies the plurality of the Godhead. (more…)

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On December 10, 2015 By In Interviews, Theology

Interview with Gary DeMar on his latest work: “A Beginner’s Guide to Interpreting Prophecy”

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bgtibp_Page_1_largeIn this interview, Uri Brito speaks with Gary DeMar, author of A Beginner’s Guide to Interpreting Prophecy. 

For many Christians, interpreting Bible prophecy is a complicated task. As a result, they often turn to so-called Bible experts and complicated charts that include gaps in time, outrageous literal interpretations, and numerous claims that current events are prime indicators that the end is near. Many Christians are unaware that the same Bible passages have been used in nearly every generation as “proof” that the end or some aspect of the end (the “rapture”) would take place in their generation.

They’ve all had one thing in common: They’ve all been wrong.

(more…)

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On December 3, 2015 By In Interviews, Theology

Following up on Following Bell: An Interview with Dustin Messer

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (10.8MB)

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dobsonIn this interview, Uri Brito talks with Dustin Messer, author of the article, Following Rob Bell: The Edges of Faith and the Center of the Zeitgeist at Kuyperian Commentary. The article has drawn over 60,000 views and continues to be discussed on social media. In this brief interview, Messer adds a follow up to the diverse response he has had since the article’s publication.

Listen now:

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On December 2, 2015 By In Theology

The Upside-Downness of the Gospel: A Look at the Beatitudes, Part V

[5] “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

There is a tendency to view meekness as weakness.2 The meek is not someone who capitulates over the face of threats. He doesn’t retreat and act as if it is all a lost cause. We need to re-orient our minds to how the Bible views these characteristics. Remember that the kingdom of God is upside down to those in the world; and in one sense, the way the people of God live is upside down in comparison to how the rest of the world lives. R.J. Rushdoony once wrote that meekness is strength that is tamed. The meek know that their strength comes from Yahweh; he trusts and places his trust in Yahweh to make the world right; he sees Jesus as the ultimate restorer of Israel and the world. The meek has been united to the kingdom of heaven and has a new Lord and Master. He is being built up in the strength and maturity of Christ, the King, but yet this strength is balanced by self-control. The meek does not use his strength to lord it over people or to belittle others inside or outside the kingdom, but he uses his strength as a means to reveal the power of God and his kingdom. Consider Moses. The Bible says he was the meekest man in all the earth (Num. 12:3). Moses was known for his strength. He led an army and shepherded a nation. And when he was accused by others he didn’t say: “Look at me; the all-powerful Moses; the rescuer of Israel, the destroyer of Egyptian forces.” No. Moses restrained his strength and humbled himself before God praying that God would vindicate him in light of his enemies. Are you beginning to see the picture?

The way God honors this controlled strength is by giving the heirs of the kingdom, the earth!

But why would God give us the earth? We are the heirs of the Abrahamic promise. In Romans 4, Paul says that the promise is that we will be the heirs of the world. This earth, this system, this land, this air, everything is given to us; to inherit and to embrace. This is our world, not the devil’s, it is our world given to us by the ruler of the world, Jesus Christ. And the way we begin to claim it and adorn it and fashion it according to the kingdom of heaven is by being meek.

Practically, this means controlling your strength. How often are we guilty of using our strength or our position of authority to deride or to put down another? How often have we used our strength or our position in life to abuse our authority? How do we as parents conquer our children and their hearts? Do we assert our authority or do we win them with the way of meekness? How we assert our authority without abusing our strength is precisely what it means to be meek. And if we are going to rule the earth as God’s army we need to begin by being meek.

Our Lord Jesus did precisely that. He could have come to earth and obliterated all those Pharisees who disagreed with Him. He could have used His angels to bring about perfect justice, but this is not the Christ we know. The Christ we know is the one who became meek for our sakes and because He inherited the earth in His death and resurrection, we too are called to follow in His steps. (more…)

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On October 17, 2015 By In Theology

The Upside-Downness of the Gospel: A Look at the Beatitudes, Part IV

Martin Luther once said:

`Twas a strange thing the world should be offended at him who raised the dead, made the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, etc. They who would deem such a man a devil, what kind of a God would they have? But here it is. Christ would give to the world the kingdom of heaven, but they will have the kingdom of the earth…”a

A short review will help as we discuss the next beatitude.

The world perceives the kingdom of heaven to be a threat to their kingdoms. As the atheists of the first century acknowledged, these Christians turned the world upside down with their message and their lives. The kingdom is God’s world coming to earth. This new world is a world that manifests itself in an entirely different fashion than the present kingdoms. It is upside down; it is foolish to those whore are perishing.

In short, the beatitudes are instructions for how we are to live in this world; but beyond that, it is also how we turn the world upside down. The beatitudes reveal how the actions of Christians will transform the world from an ethic of shame to an ethic of honor. They are value statements. When you read them do not limit the word blessed as simply happy, but look at it as honorable.  In other words, to live this Beatitude/Beatific life is an honor. Jesus is saying that if you live in this way you will be honored and exalted in due time. Again, this is the paradox of the Christian message: that when you are poor in spirit you are honored in the kingdom of heaven.

The beatitudes serve as a poem divided into two sections; each section contains 36 words. In this poem, Jesus is not telling us that if we live this way we will enter the kingdom of heaven, rather Jesus is saying that this is how kingdom-disciples live; those who have been transformed by the grace of the gospel are now called to transform the world.

We established the first beatitude “poor in spirit” as a foundational beatitude to understanding the other seven. To be poor in spirit is to depend on the infinite riches of God in Christ Jesus; it is to reject the self-sufficient way that so many live in our day, and instead embrace a life of supreme dependence upon God’s word. Our look at the beatitudes continues in verse 4:

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

[2] And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

[3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[4] “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The beatitudes are about Jesus coming as the restorer of His people. Israel has been an outcast and now Jesus comes to restore her; but he is coming to restore a particular type of people– a people who mourn. How honorable it is for those who mourn, for they shall be comforted! This is a fulfillment of Isaiah 61, which says that Yahweh will comfort those who mourn.What is Jesus not saying in this Beatitude? Jesus is not saying that those who are constantly in a state of self-pity and shame, those who are looking inwardly for sins, and those who cry over their transgressions will be comforted. There is a sense in which we mourn over our sins, but this is not what mourning means in the context of the beatitudes. In this context, those who mourn are those who grieve over the condition of this present world. Those who mourn are those who hope that the world will be made right. Those who mourn have a biblical sense that something is not right in this world and this leads to marvelous expectation for the work of the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn will be comforted because they know that the kingdom of heaven is the only hope for the world. They believe that the gospel will transform lives and form a new humanity. N.T. Wright says:

But the whole point of the Gospels is that the coming of God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven is precisely not the imposition of an alien and dehumanizing tyranny, but rather the confrontation of alien and dehumanizing tyrannies with the news of a God—the God recognized in Jesus—who is radically different from them all, and whose in-breaking justice aims at rescuing and restoring genuine humanness…b

N.T. Wright summarizes well this beatitude. Those who mourn are those who seek the shalom of the city; they are the ones who desire to see the present world reconciled to Jesus Christ and who desire the kingdom of heaven to be the ultimate and true kingdom of all the world. Those who mourn wish to see that tyrants will be confronted by the good news of God’s kingdom and be humbled and bow down to King Jesus. This beatitude is a parallel to the prophetic word of the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 9. In that chapter, Yahweh is going to destroy the city, but He will protect and mark one particular group of people: those who mourn over the abominations of the city. These are the ones who will be comforted. This background shapes how we understand this beatitude. The ones mourning are the ones who grieve over the atrocities and the many sins committed against Yahweh and His anointed one. The people in the kingdom of heaven don’t live their lives expecting to escape this  they live their lives hoping to see this world transformed. This is why we are called to mourn, and in our mourning we will find that Yahweh will comfort us with a vision of a transformed world.

Practically, we cannot mourn something we do not understand. We cannot understand the depths of this broken world unless we see this broken world. We are called to act in our mourning. Crying over the lost condition of the world is not enough. We mourn by participating in restoration. We lament the state of things and we know that there is destruction and doom for those who do not turn to the kingdom of heaven in repentance, but we also become active participants in restoring this broken world. The vision is global, but it begins locally. We begin by looking to our own city; to our own neighborhoods and our own families. Is there enough brokenness around us to keep us longing and mourning for God’s kingdom? How honorable are those who mourn; who understand the true significance of how the world has been wrecked by sin, but also how the world will be restored by Jesus Christ. They who mourn will be comforted.

  1. Martin Luther, http://www.reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/documents/Table_talk/table_talk.html  (back)
  2. http://godspace.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/nt-wright-the-kingdom-of-god-and-the-need-for-social-justice/  (back)

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