on church

i have been going to kay poh road baptist church (kprbc) since i was a kid, even before i became a christian. i was baptised in kprbc in april 2006 and have been a member of kprbc since then.

when i did my ucas applications towards the end of 2005, i looked at academic rankings, cost of living, support for international students etc - everything but how my choices would shape my relationship with God. in fact, i am not sure that i even was in a relationship with God back then.

in spite of this, God has really blessed me in york with neverending opportunities to grow in the grace and knowledge of Him, through the university of york christian union, york baptist church and events such as new word alive.

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)


i have been going to york baptist church since i came to york, apart from a few weeks visiting different churches in york and the weeks when i have been out of york.

i did not set out to be a regular worshipper at york baptist church when i first came to york. i went to york evangelical church on my first two sundays in york last year, and also considered going to another church when i got back to york this year (a pull, rather than a push factor - my three housemates all go to calvary chapel york). but after seeking God's guidance, i believe that york baptist church is where i belong in york.

[on a side note, i am no more a baptist because i go to baptist churches in both singapore and york, than i am a methodist because i went to acps, acs(i) and acjc for ten years. nevertheless, i agree with certain baptist distinctives such as believer's baptism.]

your relationship with your church is probably the third most important relationship in your life, after your relationship with God and your relationship with your family. after all, your church is your family in Christ.

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:10 (NIV)

graded absolutism

Suppose you're a teller in a bank. A robber grabs a customer, holds a gun to the customer's head, and says, "Unless you give me all the money in your drawer, I'll blow his brains out." What should you do?

A. Give the robber the money, thereby playing an active part in a robbery.
B. Don't give the robber the money, thereby playing a passive part in a murder.

Answer: A

Giving the robber the money has the effect of enabling him to commit robbery, but that's not your intention. You're not trying to help him do wrong, either as a goal or as a means to some other goal. Your intention is merely to keep him from committing the even graver wrong of murder.

- Adapted from J. Budziszewski, Ballot Box Blues

Jim finds himself in the central square of a small South American town. Tied up against the wall are a row of twenty Indians, most terrified, a few defiant, in front of them several armed men in uniform. A heavy man in a sweat-stained khaki shirt turns out to be the captain in charge and, after a good deal of questioning of Jim which establishes that he got there by accident while on a botanical expedition, explains that the Indians are a random group of the inhabitants who, after recent acts of protest against the government, are just about to be killed to remind other possible protestors of the advantages of not protesting.

However, since Jim is an honoured visitor from another land, the captain is happy to offer him a guest's privilege of killing one of the Indians himself. If Jim accepts, then as a special mark of the occasion, the other Indians will be let off. Of course, if Jim refuses, then there is no special occasion, and Pedro here will do what he was about to do when Jim arrived, and kill them all.

Jim, with some desperate recollection of schoolboy fiction, wonders whether if he got hold of a gun, he could hold the captain, Pedro and the rest of the soldiers to threat, but it is quite clear from the set-up that nothing of that kind is going to work: any attempt at that sort of thing will mean that all the Indians will be killed, and himself. The men against the wall, and the other villagers, understand the situation, and are obviously begging him to accept. What should he do?

A. Accept the captain's offer, thereby playing an active part in a murder.
B. Refuse the captain's offer, thereby playing a passive part in 20 murders.

- Adapted from J.J.C. Smart and B. Williams, Utilitarianism: For and Against

if the answer to the first example is A (which seems right), then the answer to the second example must be A as well (which does not seem right).

*****

what if we apply graded absolutism?

A. Accept the captain's offer, thereby playing an active part in a murder.
B. Refuse the captain's offer, thereby playing a passive part in 20 murders.

A. Accept the captain's offer, thereby saving 19 lives.
B. Refuse the captain's offer, thereby not saving any lives.

in accepting the captain's offer, Jim is materially cooperating with the captain. however, Jim is innocent because while he is materially cooperating with the captain, he is not formally cooperating with the captain.

in other words, Jim is innocent because while he is materially committing a murder, he is not formally committing a murder (he is formally saving 19 lives).

classical calvinism vs moderate calvinism

classical calvinism

1. God created the world.
2. in the world, 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus' (Romans 3:23-24, NIV).
3. if not for God's transforming grace, all are condemned.
4. God's transforming grace is limited.
5. God's transforming grace is irresistible.
6. those whom God shows transforming grace to are transformed. consequently, they freely believe as a result of being shown God's transforming grace.
7. those whom God does not show transforming grace to are not transformed. consequently, they freely do not believe as a result of not being shown God's transforming grace.

God is sovereign in the sense that God shows transforming grace to some but not others.

man is compatibilistically free in the sense that man freely believes (or freely does not believe) as a result of being shown (or not being shown) God's transforming grace.

moderate calvinism

1. God created the best possible world (from His perspective).
2. in the best possible world, 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus' (Romans 3:23-24, NIV).
3. if not for God's transforming grace, all are condemned.
4. God's transforming grace is unlimited.
5. God's transforming grace is resistible.
6. those who accept God's transforming grace are transformed. consequently, they freely believe as a result of accepting God's transforming grace.
7. those who reject God's transforming grace are not transformed. consequently, they freely do not believe as a result of rejecting God's transforming grace.

God is sovereign in the sense that God created the best possible world (from His perspective).

man is compatibilistically free in the sense that God occasions (not causes) man to freely accept (or freely reject) His transforming grace.

link: more on classical calvinism vs moderate calvinism (20 nov 08)

personal identity

i learnt during a bioethics lecture today that a 'person' may either be a 'human being' or a 'philosophical concept' (or both).

the Holy Spirit is not a 'person' in the sense that the Holy Spirit is not a 'human being', while the Holy Spirit is a 'person' in the sense that the Holy Spirit is a 'philosophical concept'.

that God is one being in three 'persons' does not mean that God is one being who has revealed Himself in three 'human beings'. rather, that God is one being in three 'persons' means that God is one being who has revealed Himself in three 'philosophical concepts', one of whom further 'became flesh and made his dwelling among us' (John 1:14, NIV).

one day at a time

Often people approach knowing and doing God's will this way: They ask, "Lord, what do You want me to do? When do You want me to do it? How shall I do it? Where shall I do it? What will the outcome be?"

Isn't this response most typical of us? We are always asking God for a detailed "road map". We say, "Lord, if You could just tell me where I am heading, then I will be able to set my course and go."

He says, "You don't need to. What you need to do is follow Me one day at a time." We need to come to the place where our response to God will be: "Lord, just tell me what to do one step at a time, and I will do it."

Who is the one who really knows the way for you to fulfill God's purpose for your life? God is! Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6, NIV).

- He did not say, "I will show you the way."
- He did not say, "I will give you a road map."
- He did not say, "I will tell you which direction to head."
- He said, "I am the way." Jesus knows the way; He is your way.

If you were to do everything that Jesus tells you one day at a time, you always would be right in the centre of where God wants you to be. Can you trust God to guide you that way? You might say, "No, Jesus does not really know God's will for my life." But He does! Jesus is God. You might say, "No, Jesus might mislead me and take me the wrong way." But He won't. You might think that Jesus would rather you wait until He tells you all the details before you start to follow Him. But that is not the pattern we see in His life or in the Scriptures.

God would be more interested in your responding to Him this way: "Yes, if I follow Jesus one day at a time, I will be right in the centre of Your will for my life." When you get to the place where you trust Jesus to guide you one step at a time, you experience a new freedom. If you don't trust Jesus to guide you this way, what happens if you don't know the way you are to go? You worry every time you must make a turn. You often freeze up and cannot make a decision. This is not the way God intends for you to live your life.

I have found in my own life that I can release the way to Him. Then I take care of everything He tells me one day at a time. He gives me plenty to do to fill each day with meaning and purpose. If I do everything He says, I will be in the centre of His will when He wants to use me for a special assignment.

Abram (God later changed his name to Abraham) is a good example of this principle at work in a Bible character. He walked by faith and not by sight. In the following Scripture, read about the call of Abram to do God's will. Watch to see how much detail he was given before he was asked to follow.

"The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there." - Genesis 12:1-5 (NIV)

God said, "Get out of your country." How specific was God? He gave Abram this much detail: "to the land I will show you". That is all God asked Abram to do. God promised to do the rest. Would you be willing to follow God's directions for your life with that little detail?

- Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King, Experiencing God

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." - Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)

"Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."" - John 14:5-6 (NIV)

the disciples - like Abraham - did not know where they were going, but they knew the way!

*****

"Give us today our daily bread." - Matthew 6:11 (NIV)

"Give us each day our daily bread." - Luke 11:3 (NIV)

The Greek is tricky, but Matthew's [version] seems to mean 'give us today our bread for tomorrow'; while Luke understands it as 'give us each day our daily bread'. They both probably reflect different aspects of what Jesus intended. Matthew, in line with Jesus' whole agenda, means 'give us, here and now, the bread of life which is promised for the great Tomorrow'. Give us, in other words, the blessings of the coming Kingdom - right now. Matthew, writing his gospel, saw this prayer partially answered in the feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand; more fully in the Last Supper; and, most fully of all, in Jesus' death and resurrection.

But Luke's version is not to be sneezed at as merely one-dimensional, just praying for boring old bread. The whole point of the Kingdom, as we saw in the previous chapter [Thy Kingdom Come], is that it isn't about shifting our wants and desires on to a non-physical level, moving away from the earthly to the supposedly 'spiritual'. It is about God's dimension coming to birth within ours, which is after all what Advent and Christmas are anticipating and celebrating. The Kingdom is to come on earth as it is in heaven. Daily needs and desires point beyond themselves, to God's promise of the kingdom in which death and sorrow will be no more. But that means, too, that the promise of the Kingdom includes those needs, and doesn't look down on them sneeringly as somehow second-rate.

- N.T. Wright, The Lord and His Prayer

"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." - Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (NIV)

All the way my Saviour leads me
What have I to ask beside
Can I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my guide

Heavenly peace, divinest comfort
Here by faith in Him to dwell
For I know whate'er befall me
Jesus doeth all things well
For I know whate'er befall me
Jesus doeth all things well

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)

by faith

By faith, not appearance; God never wants us to look at our feelings. Self may want us to; and Satan may want us to. But God wants us to face facts, not feelings; the facts of Christ and of His finished and perfect work for us.

When we face these precious facts and believe them because God says they are facts, God will take care of our feelings.

God never gives feeling to enable us to trust Him; God never gives feeling to encourage us to trust Him; God never gives feeling to show that we have already and utterly trusted Him.

God gives feeling only when He sees that we trust Him apart from all feeling, resting on His own Word and on His own faithfulness to His promise.

Never until then can the feeling (which is from God) possibly come; and God will give the feeling in such a measure and at such a time as His love sees best for the individual case.

We must choose between facing toward our feelings and facing toward God's facts. Our feelings may be as uncertain as the sea or the shifting sands. God's facts are as certain as the Rock of Ages, even Christ Himself, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

- Streams in the Desert, September 26

going mysteriously forward

In the nature of the case, the recognition of providence is retrospective rather than prospective. You only see a pattern begin to emerge over time with the benefit of hindsight. It's like climbing a wooded hill. You can't see where you're going until you reach the summit and look back. From the summit you can see the trail. See the countryside.

In some ways, the walk of faith is like walking at night. God takes you by the hand. When the new day dawns, you can look back over your shoulder and observe how treacherous the journey was - like a narrow, winding trail, hugging the hillside. One misstep and you would plummet to your death.

Ironically, you wouldn't have the nerve to make the journey in daylight. But under cover of darkness, God guides your every step.

One of the nice things about aging in the faith is that I can take the long view of things. I can see God's providence in my life and in the lives of those who went before me. It's a pity I haven't kept a journal over the years.

Life is a winnowing process. Some people start out strong, with a head start and a good steed - only to drop out of the race on the backstretch.

Others make a late start, must overcome many obstacles, yet pick up speed as they progress and make a strong finish. They may falter and fall, but they get back up, while others never recover from a tumble.

Many folks fail to perceive the presence of God in their lives because they have a misconception of what to find and where to look. If you're looking for the wrong thing, you'll be looking in the wrong place.

It's like giving someone the wrong directions. He may accidentally stumble across his destination, and yet he walks right by it because it wasn't what he was expecting to find. He is lost in plain sight of his destination.

A man may die of starvation if he believes the orchard is poisonous. He's surrounded by nutritious food, but in his mind's eye, a single bite is fatal.

God is in the little things as well as the big things. His hand is in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary. In seedtime and harvest as well as portents and prodigies. In a child's laughter and a mother's love.

Some folks never see the light because they were searching for a candle at noonday. Sunshine doesn't count. Unless the light takes the form of a comet or solar eclipse, then all is darkness and night. Never expecting to find the Lord in their own backyard, they end up overlooking God as they stumble over God every step of the way.

This is not to deny that God can be present in more miraculous ways - I can testify to that in my own observation. But we miss the day of visitation when we wait for the grand entrance while a child is born in a manger.

- Steve Hays, Love the Lord with Heart and Mind

wisdom in a troubled time

You don’t need me to tell you that we meet at an extraordinary time. Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago how I was, and I heard myself say, ‘Well, my parents live in Morpeth, which has just flooded; my brother works for Lehman’s Bank; my wife and I are booked on an Al Italia flight next month; and don’t even ask me about Newcastle United.’

- N.T. Wright, Wisdom in a Troubled Time

"Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future." - Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 (NIV)

"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NIV)

God is in control of everything, even Newcastle United. and if God is in control of Newcastle United, how much more is God in control of things that are much more important than Newcastle United!

the perseverance of relationships

while i am not an extreme calvinist, i believe in the perseverance of the saints.

'once saved, always saved' is true by definition. however, 'once saved, always saved' does not mean that we are saved as long as we have committed to God before. getting saved only happens once, but being saved is an ongoing process.

'once saved, always saved' means that if we are truly saved, then we will persevere until the end. if we do not persevere until the end, then we are not truly saved in the first place.

"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." - 1 John 2:19 (NIV)

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'yes' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'yes' again, then it shows that you truly believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'yes' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'no', then it shows that you think you believe, but actually do not truly believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'no' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'yes', then it shows that you think you do not believe, but actually truly believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'no' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'no' again, then it shows that you truly do not believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'yes', then you could either have said 'yes' or 'no' if i had asked you earlier on.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'no', then you could only have said 'no' if i had asked you earlier on. you could not have said 'yes' if i had asked you earlier on, for if you had said 'yes' if i had asked you earlier on, then you would say 'yes' if i ask you now.

as i believe in the perseverance of the saints, so do i believe in the perseverance of relationships. after all, relationships are founded on the profound mystery of God and Israel, of Christ and the church, of biblical complementarianism in the Lord.

"The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

"So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.

"For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days." - Hosea 3 (NIV)

'once together, always together' is true by definition. however, 'once together, always together' does not mean that two people are together as long as they have committed to each other before. getting together only happens once, but being together is an ongoing process.

'once together, always together' means that if two people are truly together, then they will persevere until the end. if they do not persevere until the end, then they are not truly together in the first place.

sovereign grace

"But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" Why not say - as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say - "Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved." - Romans 3:5-8 (NIV)

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." - Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)

"Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!" - Romans 11:11-12 (NIV)

knowing that 'in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28, NIV) should not lead us to sit back and relax, but sit up and renew our minds.

if God is able to work through our lack of faith (ie. sin), how much more will He be able to work through our faith!

calvinism and middle knowledge

*to professor terrance tiessen*

in one of my previous posts, calvinism vs middle knowledge, i held that:

both calvinism (which i disagree with) and middle knowledge (which i agree with) affirm that God sovereignly predestines all choices.

the key difference is that according to calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are made; according to middle knowledge, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are actualised.

after reading tiessen's article on "Why Calvinists Should Believe in Divine Middle Knowledge Although They Reject Molinism", i would like to revise my position. i now hold that:

extreme calvinism, classical "non-middle knowledge" calvinism (which i both disagree with) and moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism (which i agree with) affirm that God sovereignly predestines all choices.

the key difference is that according to extreme calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are mechanistically made; according to classical "non-middle knowledge" calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are compatibilistically made; according to moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are compatibilistically actualised.

four five views on divine sovereignty and human responsibility

1. extreme calvinism - God is sovereign, man is mechanistically free (philosophically sound - hard determinism, theologically unsound)

2. moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism - God is sovereign, man is compatibilistically free (philosophically sound - soft determinism, theologically sound)

2. classical "non-middle knowledge" calvinism - God is sovereign, man is compatibilistically free (philosophically sound - soft determinism, theologically unsound)

3. moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism - God is sovereign, man is compatibilistically free (philosophically sound - soft determinism, theologically sound)

4. molinism - God is sovereign, man is libertarianly free (philosophically unsound, theologically unsound)

5. open theism - God is not sovereign, man is libertarianly free (philosophically sound - libertarianism, theologically unsound)

(on a side note, what is philosophically sound may or may not be theologically sound, but what is theologically sound must be philosophically sound. at the same time, what is theologically unsound may or may not be philosophically unsound, but what philosophically unsound must be theologically unsound.

to put it in philosophical terms, philosophical soundness is a necessary but not a sufficient condition of theological soundness.)

moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism

Perhaps we should think of God's regulating the factors of a situation, then, as 'occasioning' a particular choice to be made, rather than as 'causing' a particular choice to be made. Because God knows the natures of each person perfectly, he knows how those natures will respond to particular sets of factors presented to them. Thus, without causing a person to do evil, he nonetheless controls the evil they do. He controls whether evil is done, what evil is done, and in any and every case he could prevent the evil from being done. But in no case does he cause the evil to be done. In this way, God maintains meticulous control over evil while his moral creatures alone are the agents who do evil, and they alone bear moral responsibility for the evil they freely do.

- Bruce Ware, God's Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith in Terrance Tiessen, Why Calvinists Should Believe in Divine Middle Knowledge Although They Reject Molinism

Thus, in my middle knowledge Calvinist model, before God decides what He will do by way of creating a world and ordering its history, God knows how particular creatures would act if they found themselves in particular sets of circumstances. This knowledge enables God to choose a world whose history is exactly the history that He wisely purposes but to bring about that history through a combination of the morally responsible actions of rational creatures and God's own actions. God does this in such a way that all glory for everything good must be attributed to God but all culpability for evil done by creatures justly lies in the will of those creatures. God is able to choose a great number of people to salvation, but then to bring about their salvation in such a way that all who are saved by grace contribute nothing to their salvation which would give them ground for boasting, and no one is condemned who does not freely choose to reject God's grace.

- Terrance Tiessen, Why Calvinists Should Believe in Divine Middle Knowledge Although They Reject Molinism

*****

in one sense, God's decree is based on His knowledge. in another sense, God's knowledge is based on His decree. however, both cannot be true in the same respect and at the same time.

God's decree is based on His knowledge. however, it is not that God's decree is based on His knowledge of what we WILL do. rather, it is that God's decree is based on His knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do.

God's knowledge is based on His decree. however, it is not that God's knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do is based on His decree. rather, it is that God's knowledge of what we WILL do is based on His decree.

therefore, God's decree is based on His knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do, and God's knowledge of what we WILL do is based on His decree. God has middle knowledge in between His knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do and His knowledge of what we WILL do (ie. God has middle knowledge in His decree).

in other words, God's sovereign choice to create THIS particular world is based on His knowledge of ALL possible worlds, and God's knowledge of THIS particular world is based on His sovereign choice to create THIS particular world. God has middle knowledge in between His knowledge of ALL possible worlds and His knowledge of THIS particular world (ie. God has middle knowledge in His sovereign choice to create THIS particular world).

if God's sovereign choice to create this particular world is not based on His knowledge of all possible worlds, then there could be other possible worlds (outside of God's knowledge) which reflect His glory more than this particular world. however, there are no other possible worlds (outside of God's knowledge) which reflect His glory more than this particular world. therefore, God's sovereign choice to create this particular world is based on His knowledge of all possible worlds.

if God's knowledge of this particular world is not based on His sovereign choice to create this particular world, then there could be events in this particular world which are not part of God's decretive will. however, there are no events in this particular world which are not part of God's decretive will. therefore, God's knowledge of this particular world is based on His sovereign choice to create this particular world.

one very important pastoral implication of this is that there is no place for regret in moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism. there are no other possible worlds which could have been brought about, only one particular world which has been (freely) brought about. there are no "what ifs", only "what is".

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)

*edited on 14 oct 08, with input from professor terrance tiessen*

links: more on calvinism and middle knowledge (7 jun 09), even more on calvinism and middle knowledge (28 jun 09)

sharing the Father's welcome

Americans have taken to hanging up yellow ribbons along with the red, white, and blue. It all began at the outset of Ronald Reagan's presidency, when the hostages were released from Iran. They were welcomed with yellow ribbons fluttering from trees and utility poles in Washington, D.C., and on Main Street USA. The image came from a popular ballad about a wife signalling a welcome to her husband, just released from jail, by tying a yellow ribbon "'round the old oak tree". The song has mercifully faded, but the symbol has caught on. The yellow ribbon has become our sign of a joyful welcome home.

One of the stories that Jesus told gives us the picture of a yellow ribbon tied across the open gate of heaven. Jesus described the joy of heaven in welcoming home a penitent sinner. The familiar story is often called the parable of the prodigal son. Some have said it might better be called the parable of the elder brother, since it ends with his reaction to his brother's homecoming. But the central figure in the story is the father, who would welcome both sons to his feast. Jesus tells the story so that we might understand the welcome of his heavenly Father and join in its joy.

- Edmund Clowney, Sharing the Father's Welcome

back in york

i have spent most of the past week unpacking and settling into my new house. living off campus is a big move in many ways, but God has really blessed me with great housemates and a great house.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

i have also been involved with cu international team events over the past week, it being pre-sessional orientation for new international students (albeit run by the university, not the cu) and thus a short window of opportunity to reach out to new international students on campus before the rest of this year's freshers arrive over the weekend.

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (NIV)

next week is freshers week and the start of the 2008/9 academic year. where it all begins, again.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." - Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

is theology poetry?

I was taught at school, when I had done a sum, to "prove my answer". The proof or verification of my Christian answer to the cosmic sum is this. When I accept Theology I may find difficulties, at this point or that, in harmonising it with some particular truths which are imbedded in the mythical cosmology derived from science. But I can get in, or allow for, science as a whole.

Granted that Reason is prior to matter and that the light of that primal Reason illuminates finite minds, I can understand how men should come, by observation and inference, to know a lot about the universe they live. If, on the other hand, I swallow the scientific cosmology as a whole, then not only can I not fit in Christianity, but I cannot even fit in science. If minds are wholly dependent on brains, and brains on biochemistry, and biochemistry (in the long run) on the meaningless flux of the atoms, I cannot understand how the thought of those minds should have any more significance than the sound of the wind in the trees.

And this is to me the final test. This is how I distinguish dreaming and waking. When I am awake I can, in some degree, account for and study my dream. The dragon that pursued me last night can be fitted into my waking world. I know that there are such things as dreams; I know that I had eaten an indigestible dinner; I know that a man of my reading might be expected to dream of dragons. But while in the nightmare I could not have fitted in my waking experience.

The waking world is judged more real because it can thus contain the dreaming world; the dreaming world is judged less real because it cannot contain the waking one. For the same reason I am certain that in passing from the scientific points of view to the theological, I have passed from dream to waking. Christian theology can fit in science, art, morality, and the sub-Christian religions. The scientific point of view cannot fit in any of these things, not even science itself.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

- C.S. Lewis, Is Theology Poetry? in The Weight of Glory

hearing God's voice

Joseph learned you shouldn't draw conclusions about God's will for your life until the last chapter is written. He endured years of suffering at the hands of his brothers, his Egyptian masters, and his jailers until finally he was made a powerful leader in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. He was influential in saving the lives of thousands of people. Only then could he fully see God's divine plan and realise he had been in the centre of God's will all the time.

- Henry and Richard Blackaby, Hearing God's Voice

And suddenly you begin to see that this [Genesis 39] is not merely a morality play, again it's part of a deeply Christological reading of the whole Bible. It's bringing you to Jesus, how God in His own purposes, through the foibles and weaknesses and through the strengths and faithfulness of individual believers across redemptive history, has - in the fullness of time - brought forth His Son, the Redeemer, through Whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

And there is no text in Genesis 39 that says, "Now listen, pay attention folks, this is heading to the great Christological centre." It's not saying that. It's the narrative that conveys it, the narrative of Genesis 39 in the context of the book of Genesis, Genesis in the context of the Pentateuch, the Pentateuch in the context of the whole Bible, do you see?

- D. A. Carson, The Living Word 2008

the 'author and perfecter of our faith' (Hebrews 12:2, NIV) is also the author and perfecter of the faith of our forefathers, as well as future generations. in fact, 'these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect' (Hebrews 11:39-40, NIV).

above all, God's will for our lives is to fulfill His covenant to rehab, renew and restart creation to reflect His glory. to quote caleb quoting mark dever, "If I know that God’s plan in the Bible is to glorify Himself through the gospel of Jesus Christ, what is my role in this process?" Another way of asking this question is probably, "What is my personal involvement in the master plan of history, and God’s blueprint for His eternal kingdom - where do I find my spot, and place to contribute?"

saved to serve

in one sense, God does not need us to serve Him.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." - Acts 17:24-25 (NIV)

in another sense, God needs us to serve Him.

"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" - Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)

however, God cannot both not need us to serve Him and need us to serve Him in the same respect and at the same time.

God does not need us to serve Him in the sense that...

God does not need us to serve Him in the sense that whether or not we serve Him (preceptively), we are already serving Him (decretively). in other words, whether or not we do His will (preceptively), we are already doing His will (decretively). this is founded on the premise that there is one will in two senses.

"When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"" - Esther 4:12-14 (NIV)

God did not need Esther to serve Him. Esther needed God to enable her to serve Him.

1. we all serve God.
2. we either serve God like Judas or like John.
3. if we do not serve God like Judas, then we serve God like John.
4. if we do not serve God like John, then we serve God like Judas.

"For you will certainly carry out God's purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John." - C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

God needs us to serve Him in the sense that...

God needs us to serve Him in the sense that He has enabled us to serve Him, and to not serve Him would be to 'grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom [we] were sealed for the day of redemption' (Ephesians 4:30, NIV). like Esther, we need God to enable us to serve Him.

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." - 1 Peter 4:7-11 (NIV)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 1:3-11 (NIV)

1. we are all elected for service.
2. we are either elected for service and salvation or service but not salvation.
3. if we choose to accept Jesus' universal offer of salvation, then we are elected for service and salvation (like John).
4. if we choose not to accept Jesus' universal offer of salvation, then we are elected for service but not salvation (like Judas).

of course, just as faith leads to works (even as works do not lead to faith), so does salvation lead to service (even as service does not lead to salvation). we are saved to serve!

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

faith, hope and love

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." - Romans 8:24-25 (NIV)

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (NIV)

in holy matrimony

i attended roger and e-vonne's wedding this morning, the first wedding i have attended in kprbc as far as i can remember. as i witnessed the wedding ceremony, i was reminded that there is something magical about marriage, and it is not about the wedding ceremony itself.

if marriage between man and woman - in the first heaven and the first earth - is glorious, how much more glorious will marriage between Christ and the church - in the new heaven and the new earth - be!

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)

the best is yet to be!