Bill Smith, Author at Kuyperian Commentary

On June 16, 2019 By Bill Smith In Theology Like

God In The Ordinary

Ordinary. That’s a boring word, isn’t it? Monotonous. Monochrome. Bland. Everyone around is always trying to get us to break free from the ordinary. Everything must be extraordinary all the time. Of course, when everything is extraordinary, nothing is. Consequently, there is a constant longing and search for the next great thing. This is a fool’s errand that leads to discontent frustration. The person who is joyful is the person who can learn to be content in the ordinary.

The Church Year has two seasons that help train us to live in the ordinary. They are called, oddly enough, “Ordinary Time.” The origin of the word is not what we understand as “ordinary,” by which we mean mundane. Ordinary time is named thus because it is marked by ordinal numbers: first, second, third, etc. These are the Sundays after Epiphany and the Sundays after Pentecost (or Trinity).

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On June 9, 2019 By Bill Smith In Theology 1

Water Vs. Spirit?

John the Baptizer proclaimed, “I baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matt 3.11) In his ascension, Jesus received the gift of the Spirit beyond measure and did, indeed, baptize his church with the Holy Spirit and fire.

It is tempting to tease out John’s prophecy into a contrast between water and Spirit, wet versus dry baptism. There was no water involved when the Spirit was poured out on those one hundred twenty disciples in the upper room. There was the sound of a mighty rushing wind and cloven tongues of fire, but there was no water to be found. For this reason, some in the church have played “Spirit baptism” against “water baptism.” Water baptism is understood as ritual obedience to the command of Jesus while Spirit baptism is the real baptism, the point at which a person genuinely receives the Holy Spirit. Water versus Spirit baptism is a mere external ritual versus invisible reality.

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On June 5, 2019 By Bill Smith In Culture Like

Dear Christians in Illinois

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ living in Illinois,

The past few months have been disheartening, haven’t they? Illinois has a long history of government corruption and mismanagement, but lately, it seems as if they have put their immoral, oppressive agendas in overdrive. With the election of Governor Pritzker and the dominance of Democrats in the General Assembly, not only are taxes going up, but we also have one of the most, if not the most, horrific abortion laws of any state.

You are angry. You should be. Anyone who isn’t angry at this sanctioning of murder and economic oppression doesn’t have a godly moral compass. Anger is a righteous response.

But you are wondering what you should do. You want to respond. But what should you do? Should you join with many thousands and exodus the state, or should you stay and continue to fight? For some it seems that there is an easy answer to this: leave. Pull up roots and head out of the state. There are plenty of states that seem to be going in the right direction on the abortion issue and economically. It is a no-brainer, right?

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On May 26, 2019 By Bill Smith In Theology, Worship Like

Something Old, Something New

With an accusatory tone, the people surrounding Jesus at Levi’s house queried, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink” (Lk 5.33). They demand an explanation for all of this feasting when it is obvious to them that it is supposed to be a time for fasting.

Jesus doesn’t give the inquisitors a nine-point explanation concerning the necessity of feasting in messianic eschatology. Instead, he talks about a wedding, garments, and wine. Their questions are being answered, but they are answered with rich biblical imagery, which leads the listeners to conclusions about who Jesus is and what he came to do.

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On May 22, 2019 By Bill Smith In Theology 1

The Dragon-ness of God

Whenever we study theology, especially theology proper (that is, the study of God himself), theologians tend to talk of God’s “omnipotence,” “omnipresence,” “aseity,” and such the like. Rarely if ever do we hear of the “Rock-ness” of God, or “Tower-ness of God,” or “Warrior-ness of God” as attributes of God. Yet these are descriptions Scripture uses to describe God.

I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with using these extra-biblical words to speak of God. Omnipotence, omnipresence, aseity, and all of the other twenty-five cent words do accurately describe God. But have you ever wondered why God used these other words to describe himself instead of many of the words we find in our theology books?

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On May 19, 2019 By Bill Smith In Politics 1

Disciple-Making Hospitality

He was an unlikely convert. Hated by the Jews as a traitor who extorted his own people, tolerated and backed by Rome to collect taxes, Levi (or Matthew) was in a special class of wicked in the eyes of society. He was an outcast; a rich outcast, but an outcast nonetheless. He didn’t fit in with any group among his people, especially those who were eagerly anticipating and preparing themselves for the kingdom of God. Luke tells us how he became a disciple of Christ (Lk 5.27-32).

Jesus obviously didn’t understand social dynamics when he called him to be a disciple. This guy’s tax booth was on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, close to where Simon, James’, and John’s fishing businesses were located. They had probably been extorted by this guy. What a band of disciples this would make!

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On May 5, 2019 By Bill Smith In Politics 1

Saved By Others’ Faith

The scene must have been somewhat frightening at first and then somewhat comical as it unfolded. Several determined men wanted to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They learned he was at a house on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, so they picked up their friend on the bed on which he was lying and took him to the house. When they arrived, the place was packed. There was no room for four men carrying a paralyzed man on a bed to squeeze through the crowd. But they were not deterred. They took the steps up to the roof, began removing the tiles, and lowered their friend right in front of Jesus.

The whole scene points to the seemingly hopeless situation of the man. Luke depicts the paralyzed man as a dead man. His body is lifeless, laying on a bed which might as well been a bier. His friends are digging through the earth—clay tiles—in order to lower this man down. There is a symbolic burial occurring. But they are lowering this man into the grave where Jesus is. As Luke makes clear at the end of his Gospel, Jesus turns the grave into a place of life; a place through which we are healed in resurrection.

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On May 1, 2019 By Bill Smith In Politics 1

Look To Your Baptism

If you had to talk to another Christian about some sin in his life and the fact that he is presuming upon God’s grace, where would you begin the discussion? Go ahead, think about it. I’ll give you a minute….

Some might begin by questioning the salvation of the person. The question might be, “Has there ever been a time in your life when you prayed the sinner’s prayer and asked Jesus into your heart?” Others might not go that far but may appeal to the person on the basis that he knows this isn’t the right thing to do. In our Protestant, evangelical world (which is the world in which I live) we will, normally, appeal to almost anything except what the apostle Paul appeals to in Romans 6: baptism.

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On April 28, 2019 By Bill Smith In Counseling/Piety, Theology Like

Who Am I?

Who are you? Whether you realize it or not, whether for good or for ill, you have been told who you are all of your life, and you have grown up into that identity. Being given an identity, defined by others, is not evil in itself. It is part of being a creature. We are made in the image of God, and, from the beginning, we have been told who we are. As image-bearing creatures and procreators, we define the lives of our children, and we have been defined as children by our parents. We have been taught our identity, and we have grown up into it.

Sin sees an opportunity with this created order and seizes upon it. Sin knows that if it can determine the answer to the question, “Who are you?” then it can control your life. If sin can damage you through abuse as a child, it will. Furthermore, sin will take those horrible instances and tell you for the rest of your life that you are a victim, you can never have a good relationship with anyone, you must always protect yourself from being hurt again, and you must look for love in all the wrong ways. You answer the question, “Who am I?” with “the victim of abuse,” and from that point on, you relate to everyone around you in terms of your victimhood.

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On April 21, 2019 By Bill Smith In Theology, Worship 4

The Glory Has Departed

Jesus came to tear down the old temple and raise it up as a new, transformed temple (Jn 2.19ff.). In order to do this, he had to ascend through the temple fulfilling all of its types and shadows. The completion of this work was his glorification in the Holy of Holies, which, as it turns out involved the cross and the tomb. The glory of the only begotten was veiled behind a stone that enclosed him in a tomb.

On Sunday morning, the glory departed.

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