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On June 14, 2020 By In Church, Culture, History, Politics, Theology, Worship

Kingdom Revolution

We are in the midst of a revolution. Societal structures are being overturned and a new order of government is taking over. Old symbols of tyranny are being toppled. The way we live in relationship with one another is being redefined. Our understandings of what constitutes justice and peace are being reshaped. Language itself is being transformed. Logic and rationality are being turned upside down so that not just what we think but how we think are being radically transformed.

This is what happens in revolution because a revolution is the overturning of one culture and the creation of another.

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On June 10, 2020 By In Art, Books, Theology

Book Review: All That God Cares About by Richard Mouw

Richard Mouw is a big name in Kuyperian circles. He regularly writes about neo-Calvinism and Kuyper’s vision of Common Grace. His latest book, All that God Cares About (available June 16, 2020), continues that work. I will admit that this is my first look at Mouw’s work so I am behind in the conversation but I think it is worth jumping in here since Mouw says that this book is an update on his previous work on common grace. 

For those new to the discussion, common grace is the term theologians use to describe the work that God does in restraining unregenerate men from doing evil continually and instead enables them to do limited good in the world. This teaching comes from key passages in the Bible as well as John Calvin and other reformers. It is closely related to the doctrine of total depravity: fallen man is dead in his sin and is incapable of redemption apart from God quickening him. In teaching total depravity, Calvin and others acknowledge the Bible’s teaching that unregenerate Man is not absolutely evil in all actions but in fact often does real positive good in the world. 

In considering common grace, the primary question Mouw considers is how God can both bless non-Christians with artistic skills and also allow them to go to Hell. At one point, Mouw points to ancient Chinese pottery and asks: “What does God think of those pots and vases? I don’t think the production of these works of art is explainable simply in terms of the providential restraint of sin. My sense is that the Lord took delight in the talents of the artists themselves in crafting this pottery and wants us to delight in them as well” (Kindle Location 905). In this example, Mouw is pushing back on the frequent description of common grace as merely a restraint on evildoers and instead Mouw suggests that in some way God actually delights in these gifts that he gives to non-Christians. 

I appreciate much of Mouw’s discussion in this book and it was edifying to read about other theologians who have talked about this issue: Cornelius VanTil, Klaas Schilder, and Herman Hoeksema. I do have some concerns about this book but I will discuss one key appreciation first. 

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On June 4, 2020 By In Culture, Theology

Race and the Two Israels: A Primer

We all share a common lineage. Our first earthly father, Adam, thought too highly of his status and overlooked his neighbor, Eve. He neglected the one he was called to love when he failed to protect her. Adam chose selfish ambition over his beloved, and biblical history followed that trajectory closely.

After Babel, God scattered the peoples and gave us tribes and tongues with its cultural norms and values. But this scattered humanity, composed of various expressions, did not have intrinsic goodness in them; therefore, they were not entitled to receive special blessings because they are distinct or superior or unique in any way. Every tribe and tongue must submit to the One who speaks a thousand tongues and for whom the nations sing with a thousand tongues.

A Tale of Two Israels

In the end, the descendants of such cultural milieu must ultimately come under the covenant with Old Israel or the New Israel. Old Israel is filled with ethnic superiority by priding themselves in their lineage as Adam prided himself in his status. They cherished their special relationship with Abraham, and the history of such hubris is the perpetuation of a continual wall of hostility. The religious leaders of the first century chose to be with old Israel because old Israel offered security and heritage and glory. It was familiar and common. But we, like the first-century Jews, can also be comfortable with our familiarity and our ways that we end up despising our brother or sister for whom Christ died who may be from another tribe or tongue.

We can be grateful for where we came from, but once pride becomes the central motif of our heritage, we are no better than the Pharisees. We will tend to belittle or bemoan other tribes and tongues. When we make our central identity our skin color, we fall into the adamic pride which bears no godly fruit. It will cause us to end up looking upon our brother like Cain viewed Abel, angrily and greedily.

It is essential that we then acknowledge that we are part of a new Israel, not the old one with its titles and prizes for the best teacher and most outstanding representative of the Abrahamic religion. In the New Israel, we are all formed into one people, and every tribe and tongue enter into the one narrow gate that leads to Father Abraham and the One to whom Abraham sought, Jesus Christ (Jn. 8). He is the mediator of the New Covenant, and highly exalted as the Alpha and Omega of our faith. Every time we look down on another tribe or tongue, we are behaving as citizens of the Old Creation.

In our day, some parade their heritage—on all sides of the debate, by the way– by lording over others, committing violence upon others, and mistreating others with their speech. The solution to this prideful way of life, which mimics the ethics of the Old Creation, is not to borrow the logic of pagans who offer us diversity classes in gender studies. Diversity, according to unbelieving thought, means we forget all our religious commitment and sing kumbaya to whatever tune those in power demand of us. But the New Creation does not function like that. Diversity for the Christian is not open-handedly accepting every cultural nuance and norm but challenging every philosophy that dare disobey the authority of King Jesus.

The Way Forward

We do not make our communities a better place by accepting the demands of Hollywood Instagram stars; we make our communities a better place when we seek the peace of the city, correcting someone who speaks poorly of another, and not tolerating anger towards another tribe to prevail.

Let’s be honest: we all fail at some time in this respect. We all view ourselves much too highly like the Pharisees of old. We are in an identity crisis in this country because we treasure too much tribal identities and put too little interest in our New Covenant identity. If the Spirit abides with New Covenant believers, then any form of ethnic pride needs to die because in the New Covenant every knee shall bow and every tongue must confess that He is Lord to the glory of the Father, and we can be certain that earthly strategies to reconcile humanity will all fail unless they look first to the second Adam, the new and righteous human who broke down the walls of partition and grafted us into a new creation.

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On June 2, 2020 By In Politics, Pro-Life, Theology

The First Principle of Warfare

There is a fundamental principle for understanding a war, and that is to ask, “who” is proposing what and how? I wish to focus only on the conveyor of the message for this post. The “who” is to receive attention before the “what” and “how.” Why? because we can be easily deceived into accepting ideologies of the “who” on the basis of emotional connection to particular causes. We are, after all, humans. But it is essential, nay, necessary, nay, crucial and essential and necessary put together, that we grasp what the underlying agenda of the “who” is. Of course, I am not suggesting we outright reject all ideas coming from the unbelieving mind but anytime a celebrated “who” of our culture or D.C. proposes only two options to solve gigantic matters, we ought to be looking for third.

Abraham Kuyper proposed a solution based on the Gospels called “common grace” which offers a dose of reality to unbelievers on a sunny day and occasionally on a rainy one. Sometimes unbelievers get electrified with common grace from their daily dispensary. I will be that guy in the corner cheering him on when his compatriots turn against him.

But we are poor interpreters of culture when we assume that some sexy Instagram star with 5 trillion followers who daily exposes her body to the virtual vultures is not trying to use her platform to propagate an agenda of dishonesty and disrepute. I am no longer amused by God-haters in Hollywood or in the woods of social media. As far as I can tell, they are all lost looking for meaning in nihilism and trying to find hope where hope is never to be found.

Again, there is truth to be found in all places, but it is fairly clear that even if a little ounce of truth is found in these simpatico characters from my favorite TV shows, by the time I get done with my analysis there will be little meat left in that ideological bone.

In more ways than one, we are imbibers of cultural norms. “We don’t want to be in the world,” we declare; but the first great cause propagated by our beloved artista seems good when it first meets the eye. So, we pour our wholehearted congratulations and kudos into their bucket, thus legitimizing their claim and clause. But, it’s the “who” that matters. The guy who says he loves life can also be the same guy who says you can kill a baby right to the point before he enters the world. The “who” matters, and we better be very confident that before we engage the “what” and “how” we consider from whence comes the “who.”

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On May 31, 2020 By In Theology, Worship

One Spirit. One Harvest.

Pentecost, while unique, does not stand alone. The work of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost is a continuation of the work he began in Christ Jesus himself. Luke alludes to this union created by the Spirit between Christ Jesus and his body, the church, when he opens up his second volume, Acts: “In the first book [Luke’s Gospel], O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach….” (Ac 1.1) The work of Jesus continues through the Spirit in the church.

The union becomes clearer when Luke sets the historical context for the pouring out of the Spirit. He tells us that the Spirit is poured out when “the day of Pentecost had fully come.” (Ac 2.1) Pentecost itself was nothing new to the Jews. The Feast of Pentecost was one of the three major feasts at which all the males of Israel were to appear before the Lord each year (Ex 23.10-19; Lev 23; Dt 16.1-17). Pentecost was feast dependent upon Passover/Unleavened Bread. The name itself, Pentecost or Feast of Weeks, tells us this. The day of the Feast of Pentecost was measured by an event that happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The day after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the first day of the week, a firstfruits sheaf of grain was presented to the Lord. This was the beginning of the wheat harvest. From that day seven Sabbaths were counted. On the day after the seventh Sabbath, the first day of the week and fifty days from the presentation of the sheaf of firstfruits, was the Feast of Pentecost. (Pentecost means “fifty.”) Pentecost marked the end of the wheat harvest. The wheat harvest that began during the Feast of Unleavened Bread came to its completion and was presented at Pentecost. One harvest from start to finish. (Paul makes a big deal about this in 1Corinthians 15 when talking about Jesus’ resurrection and ours.)

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On May 17, 2020 By In Church, Theology

This World Is On Fire

Jesus’ words in Luke 12.49 might come as a shock to some of our ears: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!” Jesus wants to set the world ablaze. This shouldn’t shock us. John the Baptizer prepared us earlier for this. John told us that he came baptizing with water, but the one coming after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Lk 3.15-17). Jesus is the fire-baptizer.

The contrast between John and Jesus’ baptisms helps us to understand the nature of the fire that Jesus is talking about. John the Baptizer, son of Zechariah the priest, was born among the priestly sons of Aaron. Though his baptism is not at the Temple in Jerusalem, it is an Old Covenant washing nonetheless. The priests in the Old Covenant baptized with water when they prepared the animals to be placed in the fire on the bronze altar in the court of the Temple. Animals entered the fire as man’s representative to ascend and being incorporated into God’s own glory cloud. Through the mediation of animals, the worshiper drew near to God.

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On May 10, 2020 By In Theology, Worship

We Gather Together

Jewish Christians were facing difficult times and, consequently, difficult decisions. Between thirty and thirty-five years before, Jesus told them that Jerusalem and her temple were going to be destroyed within a generation. When armies surrounded Jerusalem, Jesus’ disciples were to flee the city (Lk 21.5ff.; cf. also Matt 24; Mk 13). But this was their home. They were Jews. Their families would pressure them to be patriotic and stand with them against the invading Roman armies. If they didn’t stand with their countrymen, then they deserved to be persecuted in severe ways.

The time had come when all that Jesus said was coming to pass. Either just before the invasion began or at the beginning of Rome’s campaign against Jerusalem, the epistle to the Hebrews was written. Jewish Christians were warned against apostasy, being encouraged to persevere through these dangerous times. One of the signs of their perseverance in the faith was their continuing to assemble as the church for worship. They are commanded in Hebrews 10.24-25, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

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On May 3, 2020 By In Theology

Judgment

Popular caricatures of God’s judgment picture him as a cosmic bully who arbitrarily throws down fire, floods the world, breaks things, and sends people to an everlasting hell just because he can. Because he has all the might, he is right. We are to be frightened and do what he says because he might throw a tantrum and destroy us if we challenge his power. If you stroke his ego, he might give you a place in heaven one day.

The only thing that this caricature gets right is that God is a God of judgment. The Scripture is quite clear on this fact. From the opening words of history in Genesis 1, God is discerning or judging, declaring his creation “good.” Throughout history God distinguishes between good and evil, rewarding and delighting in the good while punishing and hating evil. In the end, we will all stand before God as our judge. “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment… (Heb 9.27; cf. also e.g., Eccl 12.13-14; 2Cor 5.10; Rev 20). God judges. Judgment is coming.

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On May 1, 2020 By In Family and Children, Theology

Safe Is the New Saved

Guest Post by Rob Hadding

As a young father, I considered keeping my family safe my chief duty. Reflecting on my track record a few years ago, I noted that in our family there had been no hospitalizations, no broken bones, not even stitches. Among my proudest paternal memories was the time my oldest daughter chided one of her siblings, “That’s not safe!” Not only had I done my job, but I had also adequately catechized my children in the Western Confession of Safe.

“What is the chief end of man,” the first catechism question of the Shorter Catechism of this WCS reads. The answer? “The chief end of man is to glorify man and live as comfortably as possible for as long as possible.” Every other question serves only to support and magnify this one. And it seems that those trained in it are legion.

The virus known as COVID-19 has revealed our cultural and global obsession with safety. Fear has gripped an already-anxious society, and the only reasonable response to the existential threat (see question one of the WCSSC) is to take every imaginable precaution to stay safe. Our personal safety, and ostensibly the safety of others, is the new righteousness. Safe is the new saved. We are justified by safe alone. And we have quickly codified our new religion.

And, as is the case with all religions, rites, symbols, and language are indispensable in affirming and communicating the tenets of the faith. These, of course, all attained ubiquity in a matter of weeks. I’m not necessarily referring to masks and gloves, although some go the second mile by masking up while driving alone or are out for a walk through the neighborhood alone. I’m talking about the quick acceptance of accepting digital meetings as a reasonable substitute for in-person interactions, “smiling with your eyes” over your homemade mask, and exchanging the new benediction, “Stay safe!”

But the truth is that we are not safe. We have never been safe. The ratio of individuals to deaths is a solid 1:1. Some lives are very short; others are long. No matter how much we try as persons or as societies, the end of every human life is the same. And the day of your death is fixed by the One who created heaven and earth. He keeps you alive every day except one. This assertion is not an argument for carelessness or for being cavalier. Providence is no excuse for imprudence. Safety is an illusion, and an overwrought concern for safety is to misplace your faith. Do not fear COVID-19 that can destroy your body but cannot destroy your soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

To be human – truly human – is to live a life of risk. The world is a dangerous place. But we were made to take dominion over the dangerous world – not to make it safe, but to make it more glorious. The much-cited quotation from John A. Shedd is appropriate: “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” May my children benefit from my repentance, and live well. 

Rob Hadding is the pastor of Christ Church in Pace, Florida. He and his wife, Marty, have five increasingly dangerous children. 

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On April 29, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Theology

A Song for the Day of Trouble (part 2)

The same Spirit hovering over the waters at creation breathing life into the world a is the same Spirit who will at times trouble the waters of our soul so that we continually seek the Living Water. “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” b  The same Spirit bringing the Word of Life into our hearts c is the same Spirit by which we can cry out, “Abba, Father!” in our hour of need. d As we move into the second part of the psalm, we are going to see what it is we really need when trouble comes and how the Lord provides.

Troubled times lead us to seek a particular salvation.

“In the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.”

Psalm 77:2-3

When we think of nighttime, the picture we often get is one of resting from the labors and activities of the day. We think of laying our head down on our soft pillow and slipping off into sleep like the sun slowly settling beneath the horizon. Night should be a time of peace and rest. But it is not so for Asaph.

In the midst of troubles, the night brings him neither rest nor comfort. You can lay down at night with a weary body but a soul at rest and enjoy good sleep. But to go to bed with a weary soul often results in a restlessness of body. Here, either the troubles Asaph is experiencing make it impossible to sleep or he will not allow his body rest until his soul is also at rest. His soul is weary and worn, so his hand stretches out in help to God and he will not let it fall until he finds it. His body will not be at peace until his soul is at peace. He is not concerned about having sleepless nights. If this was his problem, then any sleep trick will do. Anyone who has experienced those first few weeks or months with a newborn baby knows to what lengths one will go to get some sleep. Asaph is concerned with knowing real peace and his soul refuses to be satisfied with anything less. 

This is the deficiency of our therapeutic age. Even if we correctly diagnose the problem, we are far too easily satisfied with the cure. We settle for numbing the pain rather than healing the wound. We mask the symptoms so we can hide the disease. We trade a birthright tomorrow for a bowl of stew today. e  

But Asaph isn’t trying to escape the presence of trouble and all that comes with it; he is seeking to find comfort in the presence of the Almighty. He knows what St. Augustine would come to understand and pray centuries later, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

We often seek comfort by forgetting. We try to find peace by escaping reality, not contemplating it. Think of all the things we do to check out of life for a little while. Whether it’s alcohol or binge watching or working out, we can all very easily fall into the trap of self-medicating in order to forget the worries and cares. Asaph does not seek comfort in distraction but meditation. He intentionally directs his thoughts to God. But, surprisingly, when Asaph contemplates God, that meditation initially brings more sorrow and weakness to his heart and soul. 

Why would meditating on God cause his spirit to faint? Doesn’t Scripture promise that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”? f He grieves in his spirit because the greatest delight and comfort of the Christian is to have the favor of God. For the child of God, the greatness of our salvation is not what we have been redeemed from but the Father we have been saved to. What sweeter blessing can we receive than that the Lord make His face to shine upon us, lift up His countenance to us, and give us peace? g

But days of trouble can set a cloud over that glory. We do not sense his favor. We do not feel the warmth of his presence. “Darkness hides his lovely face,” as the hymn puts it. h Remembering the goodness and favor and blessing of God in the past makes the present darkness all the more dark. Only those who have been to the summit of Everest can fully appreciate standing at the base of that mountain looking up into the clouds to a peak that cannot even be seen. But those are also the people who will not settle for anything less. Which means they must face the struggle; they must not shut their eyes, but look through the trouble until they see clearly once again.  

“You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, ‘Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.’ Then my spirit made a diligent search:”

Psalm 77:4-9

It is the Lord’s gracious hand that keeps Asaph’s eyes open and brings him to this point. The psalmist who cries out to the Lord in verse 1 now has no more words to speak. He moves from crying out in the day of trouble to now considering the days of old. His eyes gaze from the present to the past. First he looks up then he looks back. And in looking back he begins to rise above the waves that would threaten to drown him in despair.

Thus far in this song, Asaph has been the reference point. There are plenty of personal pronouns in the first two stanzas. Some commentators are critical of this. They see the psalmist self-absorbed in his trouble. That could be the case. If not true for Asaph, then at least true in my own experience. 

But I think Asaph starts where he does because this is a song for real people in the midst of real struggles learning to navigate real life.  The Apostle Paul exhorts us to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. i That hope is not a gnostic experience. It is often forged in the fires of particular trouble and polished in the daily rub of relationships. Personal pronouns matter a great deal.

So, from crying out to the Lord to discouraged moans about the Lord to exhausted silence, Asaph finally speaks to himself. Refusing superficial sleep, he directs his mind and heart to remember his song. We will consider this song in the third and final part.

  1. Genesis 1:2  (back)
  2. Isaiah 58:11  (back)
  3. Deuteronomy 8:3; Hebrews 10:16  (back)
  4. Romans 8:15  (back)
  5. Genesis 25  (back)
  6. Isaiah 40:31  (back)
  7. Numbers 6:24-26  (back)
  8. Mote, Edward (1834). My Hope is Built on Nothing Less  (back)
  9. 1 Peter 3:15  (back)

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