Saturday 9 April 2011

We need to get rid of religion and start preaching and living the gospel!

          I am both thankful and challenged by the fact that the gospel is something entirely different from the religion we see in far too many of our churches today. I listened with Interest to a short video of Perry Noble, James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll. In it James was pointing out his concern with some of Perry's ministry choices in the church he pastors. While I personally totally agree with James in his concerns, I was more interested and rebuked by what Mark Driscoll said.
          He pointed out that at least Perry is trying, that at least Perry is telling people about hell and that they need to be saved and transformed by Christ.
          Mark went on to say that we rebuke the pastor who trys new things even progressive things that are right on the edge, but we never go after the guy who is the coward, not preaching, nor living out the transforming power of the gospel and the very real judgement that will befall those who reject Christ.
          What we need in our lives and in our pulpits and in our Churches is the living saving power of the gospel not more same old, same old religion. If we have not seen anyone come to Christ in the last number of weeks, months, years????!! Where is our passion, our urgency, our desperation to preach and pray and plead both with God and with people to hear the message, "Jesus Saves" and "Jesus is Judge".
           I read this post from Resurgence today and thought I would tag it on to these thoughts and may we all, do things according to Scripture, but might I say I would rather calm down a fanatic than resurrect a corpse when it comes to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. So Perry, I may not do what you did, but I applaud your passion for souls and will simply add my voice of caution with James. But I humbly tell you I am rebuked that I need to preach with greater fear of God than man and with deeper love and desperation for people than the status-quo.

"Because sin is not merely doing bad things but an even deeper problem of building our identity on someone or something other than God alone, the solution to idolatry is not to change our behavior but to have a complete reorientation of our nature at the deepest level of our being, or what Jesus called being born again."

You must be born again

In the third chapter of John’s Gospel, a man named Nicodemus came to meet with Jesus. Nicodemus was a devoutly religious man. As a Pharisee, he would have committed large sections of the Hebrew Old Testament to memory and been revered as morally upright, intelligent, and among the holiest of men. In John 3:3, Jesus said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This confused Nicodemus, so Jesus explained that there are two births. The first birth is our physical birth that occurs when our mother’s water breaks and we are brought into this world. By virtue of our first birth we are physically alive but spiritually dead. The second birth is our spiritual birth whereby God the Holy Spirit causes us to be born again so that we are both physically and spiritually alive. Nicodemus considered himself spiritually alive by virtue of his religion, spirituality, theology, and morality. But he was likely astounded when Jesus told him plainly, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).
Unlike religion, which is based on fear that forces people to do what they do not want to do, regeneration is based on love and God inviting new people to live new lives of worship.

We need life, not religion

In this way he was much like those today who know some theological truth, have been baptized, attend religious meetings, live a “moral” life, believe in God, devote time to serve others, and even give some of their income to spiritual causes and organizations as members, leaders, and pastors who need to be born again. Why? Because they are living out of their old nature solely by their will and effort rather than out of a new nature by the power of God the Holy Spirit. John Piper says in his book, Finally Alive: What Happens When We Are Born Again:
    What Nicodemus needs, and what you and I need, is not religion but life. The point of referring to new birth is that birth brings a new life into the world. In one sense, of course, Nicodemus is alive. He is breathing, thinking, feeling, acting. He is a human created in God’s image. But evidently, Jesus thinks he’s dead. There is no spiritual life in Nicodemus. Spiritually, he is unborn. He needs life, not more religious activities or more religious zeal. He has plenty of that.

Regeneration is being born again

Being born again is theologically summarized as the doctrine of regeneration, which is the biblical teaching that salvation includes both God’s work for us at the cross of Jesus and in us by the Holy Spirit. To say it another way, regeneration is not a separate work of the Holy Spirit added to the saving work of Jesus; rather, it is the subjective actualization of Jesus’ work.
While the word “regeneration” only appears twice in the Bible (Matthew 19:28, Titus 3:5), it is described in both the Old and New Testaments by a constellation of images. It is important to note that each signifies a permanent, unalterable change in someone at his or her deepest level.

The imagery of regeneration in Scripture

The Old Testament frequently speaks of regeneration in terms of deep work in the heart, our total inner self, so that a new life flows from a new heart empowered by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus (Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 24:7; 31:31–33; 32:39–40; Ezekiel 11:19–20; 36:26–27).
Like the Old Testament, the New Testament speaks of being born again on many occasions (John 1:13; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 5:1). Elsewhere in the New Testament, many other images are used to explain regeneration. These include “partakers of the divine nature," (2 Peter 1:4) “new creation,” (2 Corinthians 5:17) “new man,” (Ephesians 2:15; 4:24) “alive together with Christ,” (Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13) and “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10).

New Testament truths about regeneration

  1. Regeneration is done to ill-deserving, not just undeserving, sinners (Ephesians 2:1–5). Therefore, regeneration is a gift of grace, as Titus 3:5 says: “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” 
  2. Regeneration is something God the Holy Spirit does for us (John 3:5–8). Therefore, unless God accomplishes regeneration in a person, it is impossible for them to live as a worshiper of God. 
  3. Without regeneration there is no possibility of eternal life in God’s kingdom (John 3:3, 5; cf. 1 Corinthians 2:6–16). Therefore, regeneration is required for someone to be a true worshiper of God.

    What happens to a regenerated person?

    Accompanying the new birth are ten soul-transforming, life-changing, and eternity-altering occurrences (For further reading, see Question 4 of Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions).
    1. A regenerated person has the Trinitarian Creator God of the Bible as their new Lord, thereby displacing all other false and functional lords who had previously ruled over them (1 John 5:18).
    2. A regenerated person is a new creation so that they are transformed at the deepest levels of their existence to begin living a new life. People being renamed at their conversion, so that Saul becomes Paul and Cephas becomes Peter, illustrates that we are new people in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Gal. 6:15).
    3. A regenerated person has a new identity from which to live their new life because their old identity no longer defines them (Ephesians 4:22–24).
    4. A regenerated person has a new mind that enables them to enjoy Scripture and thus to begin to think God’s truthful thoughts after him (Romans 7:22; 1 Corinthians 2:14–16; 1 Peter 2:2).
    5. A regenerated person has new emotions so that they love God, fellow Christians, strangers, and even their enemies (1 John 4:7).
    6. A regenerated person has new desires for holiness and no longer is their deepest appetite for sin and folly (Psalm 37:4; Romans 7:4-6; Galatians 5:16–17).
    7. A regenerated person enjoys a new community and fellowship with other Christians as members of the church (1 John 1:3).
    8. A regenerated person lives by a new power to follow God by the Holy Spirit’s enabling (Romans 8:4–13).
    9. A regenerated person enjoys a new freedom to no longer tolerate, manage, excuse, or accept their sin but rather put it to death and live free from habitually besetting sin (Rom. 6:6; 7:6). 
    10. The culmination of the effects of regeneration is a new life of worship that is markedly different from how life would otherwise be (Galatians 5:19–23).

    New birth, new needs

    In some ways our new birth is like our birth. Upon birth someone cries, moves, hungers, trusts their father to protect and provide for them, enjoys human comfort, and begins to grow. Similarly, a newly born-again person cries out to God in prayer, moves out in new life, hungers for the Scriptures, trusts God as their Father, enjoys God’s family the church, and begins to grow spiritually, maturing in their imaging of God.
    G. K. Beale explains regeneration in terms of how Christians become restored into the image of God in his book, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry:
      It is in Christ that people, formerly conformed to the world’s image (Romans 1:18-32), begin to be transformed into God’s image (Romans 8:28-30; 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:4). . . . This process of transformation into the divine image will be completed at the end of history, when Christians will be resurrected and fully reflect God’s image in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45-54; Philippians 3:20-21). They will be resurrected by the Spirit-imparting power of the risen Christ. Since it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 1:4), so the Spirit of Christ will raise Christians from the dead at the end of the age. . . . The Spirit’s work in people will enable them to be restored and revere the Lord and resemble his image, so that God will be glorified in and through them. 

    Regeneration is an invitation to worship

    Therefore, it is only through the regenerating and ongoing empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit that we can worship, until one day in our glorified resurrected state we image God perfectly as unceasing worshipers. This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Commenting on this verse in his book John: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Andreas Köstenberger says:
      The terms “spirit” and “truth” are joined later in the expression “Spirit of truth,” referring to the Holy Spirit (see 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; cf. 1 John 4:6; 5:6; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13) . . . the present reference therefore seems to point John’s readers ultimately to worship in the Holy Spirit. Thus, true worship is not a matter of geographical location (worship in a church building), physical posture (kneeling or standing), or following a particular liturgy or external rituals (cf. Matthew 6:5–13); it is a matter of the heart and of the Spirit.”          

    A regenerated heart shares the desires of God

    Importantly, because of our new hearts, worshiping God by imaging him well through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is exactly what we want to do in our innermost depths. Speaking of the Spirit-empowered regenerated desires of the heart Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Practically, this means that as we enjoy and delight in who God is, what he has done, and what he will do for us, our regenerated hearts share in the same desires of God. Subsequently, unlike religion, which is based on fear that forces people to do what they do not want to do, regeneration is based on love and God inviting new people to live new lives of worship, which is exactly what their new hearts want to do at the deepest level. The result is ever-growing, never-ending, ever-worshiping, passionate joy!

    Adapted from Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears.

    Monday 4 April 2011

    Some Lessons Learned from Calvin’s Biography

    Kevin DeYoung has this great post today that I just had to share with those of you who check out my blog. John Calvin is one of my earthly heros. God saved and used him for His glory and I have and continue to learn so much. Read and enjoy...

    The title is all the introduction you need. Here we go. (All quotations are from Bruce Gordon’s Calvin.)

    1. If you want to make an impact beyond your little lifespan, teach people the Bible. “What made Calvin Calvin, and not another sixteenth-century writer was his brilliance as a thinker and writer, and, above all, his ability to interpret the Bible” (viii).
    2. The big public personalities are often privately awkward. “In the public arena Calvin walked and spoke with stunning confidence. In private he was, by his own admission, shy and awkward” (x).
    3. We read too much causality into our childhoods. “With his contemporaries, and much in contrast to our age, Calvin did not consider his childhood as psychologically formative: it was a brief and brutal preparation for adulthood associated primarily with ignorance, volatility and waywardness” (2).
    4. The best friendships are forged in fire. “All his life Calvin would define friendship in terms of a commitment to a common cause; it was within that framework that he was able to express fraternity and intimacy” (29).
    5. True strength is knowing your weakness. “However, one of his greatest strengths in his later career was an acute awareness that despite remarkable confidence in his calling and intellect he remained dangerously prone to moments of poor judgment on account of anger” (91).
    6. If you want to impact your city, be prepared to work hard and consistently. “And here was a formula that would serve Calvin well throughout his time in the city: extremely hard work on his part combined with the disorganization and failings of his opponents” (133).
    7. Beware the temptation to want to be proved right in everything. “From the pulpit, before the Consistory and Council, and from the printing press, issued forth a single-minded determination to have the last word and to be proved right. This was not simply for the sake of ego: he was absolutely certain that he was right” (145).
    8. Some contextualization is appropriate. “Like Luther with his first translation of the Bible into German, he understood that the Reformation stood or fell on the ability of the reformers to speak to the people in their own language” (148).
    9. Not every kind of accommodation is sinful people pleasing. Calvin wrote to the obstinate and fiery William Farel: “We only earnestly desire that insofar as your duty permits you will accommodate yourself more to the people. There are, as you know, two kinds of popularity: the one, when we seek favour from motives of ambition and the desire of pleasing; the other, when, by fairness and moderation, we gain their esteem so as to make them teachable by us” (151).
    10. The Church needs good deacons. “The deacons of the Genevan church did just about anything and everything. They purchased clothing and firewood, provided medical care, and not infrequently were present at births. They arranged guardians for the children of the sick. Essentially, they attempted to meet any need. Their task was thankless” (201).
    11. Endurance is a neglected virtue. “If one were to admire Calvin for nothing else, his ability to sustain the relentless onslaught of the 1550s is astonishing” (233).
    12. Preaching has always been difficult. “Far from the solemn quiet of modern churches, preaching in the sixteenth century was somewhat akin to speaking in a tavern. Preachers had to compete with barking dogs, crying babies, general chatter and constant movements, even fist-fights. They required presence to command respect and their most important tool was their voice” (291).
    13. Some traditions must change. “He argued for the freedom of the marriage contract and mutual consent of man and woman, a fundamental point he continually defended in his sermons. Consensual engagements were essential; children were not to be forced into unions by their parents” (295).
    14. Every hero (except for Jesus) is a divided hero. “This was Calvin’s divided self: the confidence in his calling as a prophet and apostle set against his ever present sense of unworthiness and dissatisfaction. . . .It was his acute sensitivity to the gap between what was and what should be that distressed him” (334-35).
    15. Biography is particularly strategic and can be used to build up the church or lead it astray. “Calvin’s friends had good reason for proceeding to publish [a biography] with haste. There were others who wanted to tell a very different story. Calvin’s nemesis Jerome Bolsec lived to have the last word, and penned two accounts ten years after the reformer’s death. Like many Catholics, he feared that the Protestant reformers were being accorded the status of saints, and he sought to destroy the reputation of Calvin and Geneva. In this, as Irena Backus has shown, he was extraordinarily successful” (338).
    16. Work hard, but don’t neglect the body. “Calvin’s punishing routine and recurring illnesses aged him and put him in an early grave” (339).
    17. Pray that your fruitfulness outlives you in expression of gratitude you will not see. “For a man who lived his life in exile, the most fitting memorial came from a land he never saw. In 1583 Geneva was under military threat from the Duke of Savoy, and Beza sent a delegation to England to seek financial assistance. Despite Elizabeth’s frostiness towards Calvin, the collection raised was extraordinarily generous, reflecting the gratitude of a nation for a city and a man that had once offered refuge and Christian teaching” (340).