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On March 30, 2023 By In Theology, Wisdom

Growing In Wisdom

“By me kings reign.” ~Wisdom

Proverbs 8.15

Wisdom is a gift of God that is developed by responding faithfully in the crucible of discipline. Wisdom does not come merely by reading books, listening to sermons, or receiving counsel. All of those things and more are necessary, but there is no substitute for experience, the place where your senses are exercised by habitual practice to discern good and evil (Heb 5.14). Discipline involves suffering; therefore, no discipline is pleasant but painful (Heb 12.11). However, it is only through discipline that we are trained in wisdom, and wisdom is necessary for us to grow up to be like God and to accomplish our mission of dominion in the world. To become kings, we need wisdom. To gain wisdom, we must endure suffering.

The pattern for gaining wisdom through suffering is established in the beginning, even before the fall. God’s son, Adam, was created as an individual man who was given the task of dominion. That task could not be completed alone. God declared that it was not good that man should be alone. God led his son to see that his condition was not good as he exercised his first act of dominion by naming the animals. Adam sees that they come in pairs, male and female. They correspond to one another. He doesn’t have a female who corresponds to him. So (using a bit of imagination here), he calls out to his Father, “All these animals come in pairs as male and female. I’m alone. This isn’t good. I need a female who will correspond to me.”

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On March 28, 2023 By In Theology

A.D. 70 or the Future: Which Passages Are Which?

Eschatology has been at the forefront of recent debates within the Reformed world. The debate is particularly between partial-preterists and full-preterists. A partial-preterist is someone who believes that many — but not all — of the apocalyptic prophecies in the New Testament were fulfilled in the first century, by the year A.D. 70. A full-preterist is someone who believes that all of the apocalyptic prophecies were fulfilled in the first century. For example, partial-preterists believe that a bodily return of Jesus, a final judgment, and a resurrection of the dead are in our future. Full-preterists deny that these things are in our future.

These views are in contrast to what we might call “full-futurism.” A full-futurist believes that all of the apocalyptic passages are yet to be fulfilled. This is the most popular position among Christians today. I was raised in a full-futurist home, but I have adhered to partial-preterism for nearly 20 years. I believe it is the most biblical and balanced position. Partial-preterism (and therefore partial-futurism) avoids the opposite extremes of full-futurism and full-preterism.

Having come from a full-futurist upbringing, I can attest to the excitement of learning deeper truths of scripture. There is perhaps no greater paradigm shift than an eschatological paradigm shift. Consequently, once you dive into the preterist perspective, you’ll find yourself asking, “Which passages are still future?” That’s the question this essay attempts to answer.

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On March 21, 2023 By In Theology

A Response to Gary DeMar and Full Preterism

The letter sent to Gary DeMar a few weeks ago carries immense repercussions for the life of the Church. Anyone who cherishes the ecclesia for whom Christ died must find refuge in the hope of the resurrection. To deviate from such hope is to lose hope.

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

In this episode, I offer a brief sketch of Satan’s progressive defeat in history, showing that such a final defeat could not have happened in the first century but is dependent on a longer historical model that accentuates the defeat of the devil and progressively builds on his humiliation.

Resources:

Letter to Gary DeMar

Ecclesiastical Dogma and Practice

Douglas Wilson on Preterism

What is Preterism?

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On March 16, 2023 By In Theology, Wisdom

Generosity

There is one who scatters and increases and one who withholds more than is right only to be in need.

~Proverbs 11.24

God is generous. God gives. That is who he is and what he does. Generosity is his character and the culture of the divine family. In the eternal relations of Father, Son, and Spirit, there is a constant giving, receiving, and giving back. Jesus, revealing his eternal relationship with the Father, tells the Jews that the Father has life in himself and has given to the Son to have life in himself (Jn 5.26). The Son, glorified by the Father, gives glory back to the Father (Jn 17.1). The Spirit is giving to the Father and the Son as the bond of love between them. Creation itself is a gift of each member of the Godhead to one another, and they continue to give generously.

All creation, with man as its apex, receives life from the Trinity, not only initially but continually, moment by moment. When creation fell under the curse of sin, God revealed the depth of his generosity by the Father giving the Son, the Son giving his life, and the Spirit being given to grant us life from the dead.

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On March 9, 2023 By In Counseling/Piety, Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom

Unlocking Potential

“An abundance of food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept away through injustice.”

~Proverbs 13.23

If I gave you a treasure map and told you, “X marks the spot. There is a 100% guarantee that the treasure is there. Go, find it, and it is yours.” You might ask what tools you will need to retrieve the treasure, but it is doubtful that you would turn down such an opportunity. The potential to be wealthy is a good motivator.

The truth is you are promised riches and a way to retrieve them. Not only that but you have also been told what tools you need. The only question is, How badly do you want to be wealthy?

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On March 6, 2023 By In Scribblings, Theology

Podcast: Gary Demar, the Second Coming, and the Gravity of the Matter

Andrew Sandlin and many others (myself included) sent an open letter to Gary Demar concerning his theological transitions. We posed a few straightforward questions for him to consider. Gary offered an initial podcast response today. 

In this episode, I address the gravity of the matter and whether this is simply a topic for dialogue or whether this trespasses historical boundaries. While Gary Demar has done much good in his public ministry, we hope that these exchanges with several of his friends and this season will draw him back to the biblical and historical position of the Church and happily seal his many years of good labor.

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Resources:

An Open Letter to Gary Demar

A Statement on Unorthodox Eschatology

Five Ways the Second Coming Motivates our Obedience

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On February 23, 2023 By In Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom

Sowing & Reaping

“The crown of the wise ones is wealth; the folly of fools is folly.”

~ Proverbs 14.24

Wealth is not always measured on a balance sheet. There are many forms of wealth, something that George Bailey learned in his odyssey in the movie It’s A Wonderful Life. Wisdom, righteousness, peace, integrity, children, grandchildren, and many other riches make a man wealthy. Wealth can be measured in possessions, but that is not the only form wealth takes. Whatever form wealth takes, one principle is consistent concerning the true wealth to which Solomon’s son must aspire: wealth is the crown of wisdom.

Crowns are conspicuous in Proverbs. Gray hair (16.31), a man’s excellent wife (12.4), and grandchildren (17.6) are all crowns. Crowns are mentioned many times throughout Scripture. We, with Paul, are striving for an imperishable crown (1Cor 9.25), the crown of life (Jms 1.12; Rev 2.10), which is a crown of righteousness that will be given to all who love the appearing of Christ Jesus (2Tm 4.8). Faithful elders in the church will be rewarded with an unfading crown of glory (1Pt 5.4).

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On February 22, 2023 By In Theology, Worship

Dust & Ashes: A Lenten Exhortation

On the sixth day of creation, God made man from the dust of the ground. The dust that was taken from the earth was formed, fashioned, and enlivened by God’s own breath, glorifying the dust through its transformation into the man. This glorification was intended to continue. Glory was man’s beginning. Glory was man’s destiny. In between, he was moving from glory to glory.

We are given a hint as to how man would be glorified on the same day of creation. When God declared that it was not good for man to be alone and brought the man to that recognition, God put the man to sleep, ripped open his side, and from his side made the woman. The woman is the glory of the man (1Cor 11.7). Man would become more than he was in the beginning. More humans would fill the earth and man would assume control over and shape more of the world. Creation would continue to multiply, blossom, and become ever more beautiful.

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On February 16, 2023 By In Church, Culture, Theology, Worship

Transfiguration & Asbury

Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him to the top of a mountain to pray (Lk 9.28). Mountain praying would not be something unusual to the disciples. Throughout history, God met with his people on mountaintops. History begins on a mountain in the land of Eden with a sanctuary at its heart. Abraham meets God on a mountaintop when he sacrifices Isaac. After being delivered from Egypt, the children of Israel worship at Mt Sinai, the same mountain where Moses met with God earlier in the burning bush. The temple is built on a mountain, and, according to Hebrews 12, we still ascend a mountain in our weekly worship. The three disciples had ascended mountains to worship throughout their lives, many times singing the Psalms of Ascent (Pss 120—134) as they went to worship festivals. But on this particular day, God pulled back the veil to reveal to them what happens on the top of the mountain every time they pray … even when they don’t see it.

God spectacularly revealed his glory. Though rare, this was not unique. The children of Israel experienced this at Sinai. Just as Jesus was transfigured before the eyes of the disciples, Moses was transfigured on the mountain. The children of Israel couldn’t look upon his face because of the brightness of glory (Ex 34.29-33). Some believe that this epiphany of Jesus was his divine nature bursting through the veil of his humanity. There is truth to that, but that is not the emphasis. Jesus speaks of himself in this context as the Son of Man. This reference gains layers of meaning throughout history, but its fundamental meaning is “Son of Adam,” the one to whom God gave the blessing and command to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion. God’s intention for Adam, in the beginning, was that he grow to share his glory. Adam fell short of the glory of God (Rom 3.23). Jesus is the second Adam, the Son of Man, who will obtain this kingly glory. God reveals Jesus’ destiny in his resurrection and ascension and, with that, the destiny of man united with him.

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On February 11, 2023 By In Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom, Women

Letters To Young Women: What is a Woman?

Dear Young Woman,

Once upon a time, there was an infant king. This man was created fully grown physically, but he was immature. His father, the Great King, gave him a realm to rule. It would take time for him to mature to the place where he could do all that his father wanted him to do. His father would be patient, giving him everything needed at each stage of maturity to accomplish his mission. When the infant king recognized he didn’t have all that he needed to move to the next stage of the mission, he would patiently wait for the father to give him the gifts he needed.

The first need was recognized within several hours of his creation. The infant king was alone. With the vastness of his domain and what was required of him to accomplish his father’s mission, the infant king couldn’t do this alone. The father knew that it was not good for his son to be alone, but he also wanted his son to recognize that it was not good. So, in one of his first tasks as an infant king—naming animals—he noticed how God made them in pairs, males and females. The fact that his father made the animals in these complementary pairs was his revelation that he always intended for his son to have another creature like him but different. His father hid it from him at first but made it easy for him to figure it out. And he did. Without any scientific studies, the man recognized that he was male and there was no corresponding female.

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