The Prophetic Character of the Feast of Tabernacles
Numerous sacrifices were offered in the Temple - bullocks, rams and goats - for a sin-offering. The first day of the Feast thirteen bullocks were offered, twelve the next day, eleven the third, diminishing every day until seven bullocks were offered on the seventh day, making a total of seventy.
The Rabbis explain that this number of seventy bullocks was a sacrifice on behalf of the seventy nations of the world, looking toward their conversion to the God of Israel and their gathering under the Shekinah glory.
The Feast of Tabernacles, like the other feasts of Israel, focuses the attention of God's people both on the past, on what God has done, and on the future, on what God will do. The prophetic message of the Feast of Tabernacles is that there is shelter in the Tabernacle of God under the wings of the Shekinah glory, for the Jew first, and also the Gentile nations.
Wells of Salvation
There were two outstanding features which characterised the Temple service of the Feast of Tabernacles. (1) The pouring of water in the Temple. (2) The brilliant illumination of the Temple.
A specially appointed priest was sent to the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher to bring water from the Pool. This was poured by the high priest into a basin at the foot of the altar. From another pitcher wine was poured into the same basin. These mingled together and flowed through special pipes back to the Brook of Kidron again.
The significance of the pouring of water was twofold. First, it was a symbolic and ritual prayer for abundant rain. Summer was at an end. Winter and the rainy season was about to begin. Upon abundant rain Israel then depended as now for her daily bread. Hence the prayers for the gates of Heaven to open and for abundant rain. Even today in the synagogue much prayer for rain is offered at this time. The pouring of water was a visual interpretation of God's grace in sending rain.
Secondly, the ritual of water libation went beyond the merely physical; it was prophetic and Messianic in its hope, looking toward the outpouring of the Holy Spirit not only upon Israel, but also the believers of all the nations under the reign of Messiah King.
The Day of the Great Hosanna
The ritual of water pouring lasted six days, climaxing on the seventh day, which concluded the Feast of Tabernacles. This day was called Hoshana Rabba, The Day of the Great Hosanna. It has a special messianic significance. The pouring of the water from the golden pitcher took place amidst the blasting of the trumpets by the priests and the singing of sacred music by the Levites, while the people, waving their lulavs, or palm branches, chanted the Hallel, Psalms 113-118.
The closing words of Psalm 118 are these:
"Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.
God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee."
From the words "Save Now" (in Hebrew "Hoshana"), this day was known as the "Great Hosanna". It was peculiarly Messianic in nature, a prayer for the speedy salvation through the Messiah. This is why our Saviour was greeted on another occasion with the waving of palm branches and the words, "Hosanna to the son of David," meaning, "Save us Son of David." This is important for the understanding of what happened when the Lord attended the Temple service on the day of the "Great Hosanna".
It was while all this was going on, the pouring of the water from the Pool of Siloam into the altar basin, the blasting of the trumpets by the priests, the singing of the Psalms by the Levites, and the prayers of the people, "Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord," when the Messianic fervour was at the highest pitch, that the Lord Jesus stood in the Temple crying:
"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" - John 7:38. What our Saviour said by implication was: "I am the answer to your prayers."
The Messianic claim of our Saviour was clearly understood by all. It must have come like a bolt from the blue. Here was the One claiming to be the answer to the fervent hope and prayer of long centuries and many generations. Could He, the carpenter's son of Nazareth, be the long expected Messiah?
Temple Lights and the Light of the World
Another central feature of the Feast of Tabernacles was the illumination of the Temple in Jerusalem. The festive pilgrims came to the Temple bearing lights and torches, while in the Temple itself the golden candlesticks were lighted, transforming the Temple into one brilliant focus of light which illuminated most of Jerusalem and surroundings. What an eloquent symbol of the Sanctuary of God which was to be a light of the world!
Amidst all this splendour and the brilliant lights of the Temple, our Saviour stood proclaiming: "I am the light of the world."
Without true knowledge of the rites and symbols of the Feast of Tabernacles, we miss the profound significance of our Lord's pronouncements in the Temple.
- Victor Buksbazen, The Gospel in the Feasts of Israel
The Interpretation of Signs
In S. John's Gospel we find also that Christ states the interpretation of His signs. Signs are treated in an exactly parallel manner to the parables, or rather to the parables that are strictly symbolic, such as the Sower and the Tares. The Feeding of the Five Thousand is interpreted, "I am the Bread of Life"; the recovery of sight to the Blind Man is interpreted, "I am the Light of the World"; the Raising of Lazarus is interpreted, "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
Some of the interpretations are peculiarly significant. The great declaration, "I am the Light of the World," is repeated before the healing of the blind man in a special form - "I am the Light of (or to) the World," as if this sign were a particular illustration of the principle before enunciated. The Walking on the Sea is interpreted, "I am; be not afraid," meaning that there is no impossibility of His presence, but that He ever comes to the help of those who believe in Him.
It is worth repeating here that each of these interpretations begins with the words "I am," recalling the ancient name of Jehovah, and in themselves constituting a claim to divinity.
- A. Allen Brockington, Old Testament Miracles in the Light of the Gospel
Wednesday 31 March 2010
Tuesday 30 March 2010
The Greatest Enemy of Hunger for God
God's Greatest Adversaries are His Gifts
The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20).
The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognisable, and almost incurable...
Why Did God Create Bread and Hunger?
One of the reasons food has this amazing power is that it is so basic to our existence. Why is this? I mean, why did God create bread and design human beings to need it for life? He could have created life that has no need of food. He is God. He could have done it any way he pleased. Why bread? And why hunger and thirst?
My answer is very simple: He created bread so that we would have some idea of what the Son of God is like when he says, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). And he created the rhythm of thirst and satisfaction so that we would have some idea of what faith in Christ is like when Jesus said, "He who believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). God did not have to create beings who need food and water and who have capacities for pleasant tastes.
But man is not the centre of the universe, God is. And everything, as Paul says, is "from him and through him and to him" (Romans 11:36). "To him" means everything exists to call attention to him and to bring admiration to him. In Colossians 1:16, Paul says more specifically that "all things were created by [Christ] and for [Christ]." Therefore bread was created for the glory of Christ. Hunger and thirst were created for the glory of Christ. And fasting was created for the glory of Christ.
Which means that bread magnifies Christ in two ways: by being eaten with gratitude for his goodness, and by being forfeited out of hunger for God himself. When we eat, we taste the emblem of our heavenly food - the Bread of Life. And when we fast we say, "I love the Reality above the emblem."
In the heart of the saint both eating and fasting are worship. Both magnify Christ. Both send the heart - grateful and yearning - to the Giver. Each has its appointed place, and each has its danger. The danger of eating is that we fall in love with the gift; the danger of fasting is that we belittle the gift and glory in our willpower.
- John Piper, A Hunger for God
True Fasting
"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
"Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Isaiah 58 (NIV)
Link: A Hunger for God (2 Mar 10)
The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20).
The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognisable, and almost incurable...
Why Did God Create Bread and Hunger?
One of the reasons food has this amazing power is that it is so basic to our existence. Why is this? I mean, why did God create bread and design human beings to need it for life? He could have created life that has no need of food. He is God. He could have done it any way he pleased. Why bread? And why hunger and thirst?
My answer is very simple: He created bread so that we would have some idea of what the Son of God is like when he says, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). And he created the rhythm of thirst and satisfaction so that we would have some idea of what faith in Christ is like when Jesus said, "He who believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). God did not have to create beings who need food and water and who have capacities for pleasant tastes.
But man is not the centre of the universe, God is. And everything, as Paul says, is "from him and through him and to him" (Romans 11:36). "To him" means everything exists to call attention to him and to bring admiration to him. In Colossians 1:16, Paul says more specifically that "all things were created by [Christ] and for [Christ]." Therefore bread was created for the glory of Christ. Hunger and thirst were created for the glory of Christ. And fasting was created for the glory of Christ.
Which means that bread magnifies Christ in two ways: by being eaten with gratitude for his goodness, and by being forfeited out of hunger for God himself. When we eat, we taste the emblem of our heavenly food - the Bread of Life. And when we fast we say, "I love the Reality above the emblem."
In the heart of the saint both eating and fasting are worship. Both magnify Christ. Both send the heart - grateful and yearning - to the Giver. Each has its appointed place, and each has its danger. The danger of eating is that we fall in love with the gift; the danger of fasting is that we belittle the gift and glory in our willpower.
- John Piper, A Hunger for God
True Fasting
"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
"Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Isaiah 58 (NIV)
Link: A Hunger for God (2 Mar 10)
Monday 29 March 2010
Book Aid London
I visited some friends in Cambridge last week. I originally planned to come back to York on Fri morning, but since it was my friends' last week in the UK on exchange, I made a short detour and brought them to Book Aid London on Fri afternoon, before coming back to York on Fri night.
Of course, visiting Book Aid London was one of the things which I had at the back of my mind from the time I visited Book Aid Ranskill. I wonder if I'll be able to visit all the Book Aid bookshops in the UK before returning to Singapore for good this Jul...
The building
The bookshop
The bounty (not as many books as before)
Incidentally, Book Aid London does not usually open on Fri. However, the lady who works there was extremely accommodating when I called on Thu and mentioned that it was my friends' last week in the UK on exchange.
If we ask, we might or might not receive what we ask for. If we don't ask, we will definitely not receive what we don't ask for.
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
If we receive what we ask for even on a worldly level, how much more will we receive what we ask for in Jesus' name! Furthermore, if God gives us good gifts even when we don't ask, how much more will He give us good gifts when we do ask!
Links: The SKS of the UK (19 Mar 10), Book Aid Warrington (13 Jul 10)
Of course, visiting Book Aid London was one of the things which I had at the back of my mind from the time I visited Book Aid Ranskill. I wonder if I'll be able to visit all the Book Aid bookshops in the UK before returning to Singapore for good this Jul...
The building
The bookshop
The bounty (not as many books as before)Incidentally, Book Aid London does not usually open on Fri. However, the lady who works there was extremely accommodating when I called on Thu and mentioned that it was my friends' last week in the UK on exchange.
If we ask, we might or might not receive what we ask for. If we don't ask, we will definitely not receive what we don't ask for.
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
If we receive what we ask for even on a worldly level, how much more will we receive what we ask for in Jesus' name! Furthermore, if God gives us good gifts even when we don't ask, how much more will He give us good gifts when we do ask!
Links: The SKS of the UK (19 Mar 10), Book Aid Warrington (13 Jul 10)
Sunday 28 March 2010
The Nature of Faith
The faith that changes the life and connects to God is best conveyed by the word 'trust'. Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall. Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff. It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight.
How can it save you? If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don't actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If your mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why?
It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.
- Tim Keller, The Reason for God
Link: I am weak but He is strong (20 Dec 09)
How can it save you? If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don't actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If your mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why?
It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.
- Tim Keller, The Reason for God
Link: I am weak but He is strong (20 Dec 09)
Saturday 27 March 2010
Duty and Delight
A friend of C. S. Lewis' was once asked, 'Is it easy to love God?' and he replied, 'It is easy to those who do it.' That is not as paradoxical as it sounds.
When you fall deeply in love, you want to please the beloved. You don't wait for the person to ask you to do something for her. You eagerly research and learn every little thing that brings her pleasure. Then you get it for her, even if it costs you money or great inconvenience. 'Your wish is my command,' you feel - and it doesn't feel oppressive at all. From the outside, bemused friends may think, 'She's leading him around by the nose,' but from the inside it feels like heaven.
For a Christian, it's the same with Jesus. The love of Christ constrains. Once you realise how Jesus changed for you and gave himself for you, you aren't afraid of giving up your freedom and therefore finding your freedom in him.
- Tim Keller, The Reason for God
When you fall deeply in love, you want to please the beloved. You don't wait for the person to ask you to do something for her. You eagerly research and learn every little thing that brings her pleasure. Then you get it for her, even if it costs you money or great inconvenience. 'Your wish is my command,' you feel - and it doesn't feel oppressive at all. From the outside, bemused friends may think, 'She's leading him around by the nose,' but from the inside it feels like heaven.
For a Christian, it's the same with Jesus. The love of Christ constrains. Once you realise how Jesus changed for you and gave himself for you, you aren't afraid of giving up your freedom and therefore finding your freedom in him.
- Tim Keller, The Reason for God
Friday 26 March 2010
After After Virtue
Each of us being a main character in his own drama plays subordinate parts in the dramas of others, and each drama constrains the others...
Like characters in a fictional narrative we do not know what will happen next, but nonetheless our lives have a certain form which projects itself towards our future...
The good life for man is the life spent in seeking for the good life for man, and the virtues necessary for the seeking are those which will enable us to understand what more and what else the good life for man is.
- Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue
It's time now to look at... the two main theories for how we might think about what to do: either you obey rules imposed from the outside, or you discover the deepest longings of your own heart and try to go with them. Most of us wobble about between the two, obeying at least some of the rules either because we think God wants us to or because of social convention, but going back to following our own dreams, our own fulfillment, when given the chance...
But what we notice in Mark 10 is something which seems to operate in a different dimension. For a start, it is a call, not to specific acts of behaviour, but to a type of character. For another thing, it is a call to see oneself as having a role to play within a story - and a story where, to join up with the first point, there is one supreme Character whose life is to be followed. And that Character seems to have his eye on a goal, and to be shaping his own life, and those of his followers, in relation to that goal.
All of this suggests that Mark's gospel, with Jesus himself as the great Character who stands behind it, is inviting us to something not so much like rule-keeping on the one hand or following our own dreams on the other, but a way of being human to which philosophers ancient and modern have given a particular name.
My contention in this book is that the New Testament invites its readers to learn how to be human in this particular way, which will both inform our moral judgments and form our characters so that we can live by their guidance. The name for this way of being human, this kind of transformation of character, is virtue. And when the early Christians, following Jesus himself, developed this notion, they did so in a way which transformed not only their characters but the notion of virtue itself. Hence the title of this book: Virtue Reborn.
- Tom Wright, Virtue Reborn
Sin and evil are self-centredness and pride that lead to oppression against others, but there are two forms of this. One form is being very bad and breaking all the rules, and the other form is being very good and keeping all the rules and becoming self-righteous.
There are two ways to be your own Saviour and Lord. The first is by saying, 'I am going to live my life the way I want.' The second is described by Flannery O'Connor, who wrote about one of her characters, Hazel Motes, that 'he knew that the best way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin'. If you are avoiding sin and living morally so that God will have to bless and save you, then ironically, you may be looking to Jesus as a teacher, model and helper but you are avoiding him as Saviour. You are trusting in your own goodness rather than in Jesus for your standing with God. You are trying to save yourself by following Jesus. That, ironically, is a rejection of the gospel of Jesus. It is a Christianised form of religion. It is possible to avoid Jesus as Saviour as much by keeping all the biblical rules as by breaking them.
Both religion (in which you build your identity on your moral achievements) and irreligion (in which you build your identity on some other secular pursuit or relationship) are, ultimately, spiritually identical courses to take. Both are 'sin'. Self-salvation through good works may produce a great deal of moral behaviour in your life, but inside you are filled with self-righteousness, cruelty and bigotry, and you are miserable. You are always comparing yourself to other people, and you are never sure you are being good enough. You cannot, therefore, deal with your hideousness and self-absorption through the moral law, by trying to be a good person through an act of the will. You need a complete transformation of the very motives of your heart.
The devil, if anything, prefers Pharisees - men and women who try to save themselves. They are more unhappy than either mature Christians or irreligious people, and they do a lot more spiritual damage.
- Tim Keller, The Reason for God
Link: Virtue Reborn (7 Jan 10)
Like characters in a fictional narrative we do not know what will happen next, but nonetheless our lives have a certain form which projects itself towards our future...
The good life for man is the life spent in seeking for the good life for man, and the virtues necessary for the seeking are those which will enable us to understand what more and what else the good life for man is.
- Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue
It's time now to look at... the two main theories for how we might think about what to do: either you obey rules imposed from the outside, or you discover the deepest longings of your own heart and try to go with them. Most of us wobble about between the two, obeying at least some of the rules either because we think God wants us to or because of social convention, but going back to following our own dreams, our own fulfillment, when given the chance...
But what we notice in Mark 10 is something which seems to operate in a different dimension. For a start, it is a call, not to specific acts of behaviour, but to a type of character. For another thing, it is a call to see oneself as having a role to play within a story - and a story where, to join up with the first point, there is one supreme Character whose life is to be followed. And that Character seems to have his eye on a goal, and to be shaping his own life, and those of his followers, in relation to that goal.
All of this suggests that Mark's gospel, with Jesus himself as the great Character who stands behind it, is inviting us to something not so much like rule-keeping on the one hand or following our own dreams on the other, but a way of being human to which philosophers ancient and modern have given a particular name.
My contention in this book is that the New Testament invites its readers to learn how to be human in this particular way, which will both inform our moral judgments and form our characters so that we can live by their guidance. The name for this way of being human, this kind of transformation of character, is virtue. And when the early Christians, following Jesus himself, developed this notion, they did so in a way which transformed not only their characters but the notion of virtue itself. Hence the title of this book: Virtue Reborn.
- Tom Wright, Virtue Reborn
Sin and evil are self-centredness and pride that lead to oppression against others, but there are two forms of this. One form is being very bad and breaking all the rules, and the other form is being very good and keeping all the rules and becoming self-righteous.
There are two ways to be your own Saviour and Lord. The first is by saying, 'I am going to live my life the way I want.' The second is described by Flannery O'Connor, who wrote about one of her characters, Hazel Motes, that 'he knew that the best way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin'. If you are avoiding sin and living morally so that God will have to bless and save you, then ironically, you may be looking to Jesus as a teacher, model and helper but you are avoiding him as Saviour. You are trusting in your own goodness rather than in Jesus for your standing with God. You are trying to save yourself by following Jesus. That, ironically, is a rejection of the gospel of Jesus. It is a Christianised form of religion. It is possible to avoid Jesus as Saviour as much by keeping all the biblical rules as by breaking them.
Both religion (in which you build your identity on your moral achievements) and irreligion (in which you build your identity on some other secular pursuit or relationship) are, ultimately, spiritually identical courses to take. Both are 'sin'. Self-salvation through good works may produce a great deal of moral behaviour in your life, but inside you are filled with self-righteousness, cruelty and bigotry, and you are miserable. You are always comparing yourself to other people, and you are never sure you are being good enough. You cannot, therefore, deal with your hideousness and self-absorption through the moral law, by trying to be a good person through an act of the will. You need a complete transformation of the very motives of your heart.
The devil, if anything, prefers Pharisees - men and women who try to save themselves. They are more unhappy than either mature Christians or irreligious people, and they do a lot more spiritual damage.
- Tim Keller, The Reason for God
Link: Virtue Reborn (7 Jan 10)
Thursday 25 March 2010
Another Anti-Calvinist Argument
(1) God commands all to repent only if He makes it possible for all to repent.
(2) God commands all to repent.
(3) Therefore, God makes it possible for all to repent.
(4) God makes it possible for all to repent only if Jesus died for all.
(5) God makes it possible for all to repent - from (3).
(6) Therefore, Jesus died for all.
(7) Limited Atonement is true only if Jesus did not die for all.
(8) Jesus died for all - from (6).
(9) Therefore, Limited Atonement is not true.
(10) 5-point Calvinism is true only if Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the Saints are true.
(11) Limited Atonement is not true - from (9).
(12) Therefore, 5-point Calvinism is not true.
Link: An Anti-Calvinist Argument (13 Feb 10)
(2) God commands all to repent.
(3) Therefore, God makes it possible for all to repent.
(4) God makes it possible for all to repent only if Jesus died for all.
(5) God makes it possible for all to repent - from (3).
(6) Therefore, Jesus died for all.
(7) Limited Atonement is true only if Jesus did not die for all.
(8) Jesus died for all - from (6).
(9) Therefore, Limited Atonement is not true.
(10) 5-point Calvinism is true only if Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the Saints are true.
(11) Limited Atonement is not true - from (9).
(12) Therefore, 5-point Calvinism is not true.
Link: An Anti-Calvinist Argument (13 Feb 10)
Wednesday 24 March 2010
Life Through the Spirit
"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Then [Jesus] said to [His disciples]: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."" - Luke 9:23-26 (NIV)
We talk all the time about relying on God. But what do we really mean when we say that?
To rely on God is not to rely on God to give us what we desire; to rely on God is to put our desires to death and rely on God to raise them from the dead!
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." - Romans 8:9-11 (NIV)
The only way to know that we are relying on God, that we have been crucified with Christ, that we are living by the Spirit, is to put our desires to death and see whether we are still living for anything after that.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
Either it is God's will or it is not God's will. If it is God's will, God will make a way. If it is not God's will, why do you want to make your own way?
If our desires are of God, God will raise them from the dead, in which case we will know that they are of God and not of ourselves. But we have to put them to death first.
Of course, God might not raise our desires from the dead, in which case we will find out that they are not of God in the first place. But in that case, they are not worth living for anyway.
"Then [Jesus] said to [His disciples]: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."" - Luke 9:23-26 (NIV)
We talk all the time about relying on God. But what do we really mean when we say that?
To rely on God is not to rely on God to give us what we desire; to rely on God is to put our desires to death and rely on God to raise them from the dead!
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." - Romans 8:9-11 (NIV)
The only way to know that we are relying on God, that we have been crucified with Christ, that we are living by the Spirit, is to put our desires to death and see whether we are still living for anything after that.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
Either it is God's will or it is not God's will. If it is God's will, God will make a way. If it is not God's will, why do you want to make your own way?
If our desires are of God, God will raise them from the dead, in which case we will know that they are of God and not of ourselves. But we have to put them to death first.
Of course, God might not raise our desires from the dead, in which case we will find out that they are not of God in the first place. But in that case, they are not worth living for anyway.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 3)
If Molinism were simply the overlaying of a philosophical grid on top of Scripture, then it would be a very bad idea and should not be done. Rather, Molinism is a precise philosophical system that arose out of a commitment to certain principles clearly taught in the Bible: (1) God can and has created beings with significant and genuine creaturely freedom; (2) God can and does exhaustively know what free creatures would do in every possible scenario; and (3) God can and does sovereignly and meticulously accomplish His will through His omniscience - namely that aspect of His knowledge we call middle knowledge.
The Bible teaches a high view of divine sovereignty: God has exhaustive knowledge of all things, meticulous control over all things, sovereign freedom above all things, and yet at the same time He is perfectly free from the sin and evil of this world. Scripture also declares a robust view of human freedom, choice, and agency: there are contingent events; certain contingent events are conditioned by our decisions; and God uses His counterfactual knowledge of our free decisions to accomplish His will. Molinism - and its advocacy of the concept of middle knowledge - is the one view of providence that holds to a consistent view of both biblical teachings.
- Kenneth Keathley, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach
Links: ROSES vs TULIP (19 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 1) (20 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 2) (21 Mar 10)
The Bible teaches a high view of divine sovereignty: God has exhaustive knowledge of all things, meticulous control over all things, sovereign freedom above all things, and yet at the same time He is perfectly free from the sin and evil of this world. Scripture also declares a robust view of human freedom, choice, and agency: there are contingent events; certain contingent events are conditioned by our decisions; and God uses His counterfactual knowledge of our free decisions to accomplish His will. Molinism - and its advocacy of the concept of middle knowledge - is the one view of providence that holds to a consistent view of both biblical teachings.
- Kenneth Keathley, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach
Links: ROSES vs TULIP (19 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 1) (20 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 2) (21 Mar 10)
Monday 22 March 2010
Mar 15 to 21
Mar 15: "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." - Psalm 34:8-10 (NIV)
Mar 16: "The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Mar 17: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
Mar 18: "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." - Luke 2:40 (NIV)
Mar 19: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men." - Luke 2:52 (NIV)
Mar 20: "At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses." - Numbers 9:23 (NIV)
Mar 21: "The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."" - Numbers 11:23 (NIV)
Mar 16: "The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Mar 17: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
Mar 18: "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him." - Luke 2:40 (NIV)
Mar 19: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men." - Luke 2:52 (NIV)
Mar 20: "At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses." - Numbers 9:23 (NIV)
Mar 21: "The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."" - Numbers 11:23 (NIV)
Sunday 21 March 2010
Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 2)
So why do I embrace Molinism? Because, like the Calvinist, I am convinced the Bible teaches that (1) God is sovereign and His control is meticulous; (2) man is incapable of contributing to his salvation or of even desiring to be saved; (3) God through Christ is Author, Accomplisher, and Completer of salvation (i.e. salvation is a work of grace from beginning to end); (4) individual election is unconditional; and (5) the believer is secure in Christ.
However, like the Arminian, I am also convinced the Bible teaches that (6) God is not the Author, Origin, or Cause of sin (and to say that He is, is not just hyper-Calvinism but blasphemy); (7) God genuinely desires the salvation of all humanity; (8) Christ genuinely died for all people; (9) God's grace is resistible (this means that regeneration does not precede conversion); and (10) humans genuinely choose, are causal agents, and are responsible for the sin of rejecting Christ (this means that the alternative of accepting salvation was genuinely available to the unbeliever). As we will see, there is only one position that coherently holds to all ten affirmations, and that is Molinism.
- Kenneth Keathley, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach
Links: ROSES vs TULIP (19 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 1) (20 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 3) (23 Mar 10)
However, like the Arminian, I am also convinced the Bible teaches that (6) God is not the Author, Origin, or Cause of sin (and to say that He is, is not just hyper-Calvinism but blasphemy); (7) God genuinely desires the salvation of all humanity; (8) Christ genuinely died for all people; (9) God's grace is resistible (this means that regeneration does not precede conversion); and (10) humans genuinely choose, are causal agents, and are responsible for the sin of rejecting Christ (this means that the alternative of accepting salvation was genuinely available to the unbeliever). As we will see, there is only one position that coherently holds to all ten affirmations, and that is Molinism.
- Kenneth Keathley, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach
Links: ROSES vs TULIP (19 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 1) (20 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 3) (23 Mar 10)
Saturday 20 March 2010
Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 1)
Calvinism has at least three dilemmas: (1) reconciling God's sovereign election of individuals with his genuine desire for the salvation of all; (2) adhering to a deterministic view of sovereignty without blaming God for the fall of Adam; and (3) adhering to limited atonement and irresistible grace while also affirming that the gospel is genuinely offered to everyone. There is an alternative to Calvinism - called Molinism - which provides answers to these three quandaries that are both biblical and logically consistent.
Most Christians have heard about Calvinism, but not as many are familiar with Molinism. I suspect some who embrace Calvinism do so because they recognise the Bible teaches that God is sovereign and Calvinism is the only theological system of which they are aware that attempts to do justice to God's sovereignty. Calvinism often wins by default, especially when Arminianism is understood to be the alternative. Simply put, Molinism argues that God perfectly accomplishes His will in free creatures through the use of His omniscience. It reconciles two crucial biblical truths: (1) God exercises sovereign control over all His creation, and (2) human beings make free choices and decisions for which they must give account.
So what is Molinism? Named after its first proponent, Luis Molina (1535-1600), a sixteenth-century Jesuit priest, Molinism holds to a strong notion of God's control and an equally firm affirmation of human freedom. In other words Molinism simultaneously holds to a Calvinistic view of a comprehensive divine sovereignty and to a version of free will (called libertarianism) generally associated with Arminianism. As Doug Geivett argues, the fact that Molinism is the one proposal that tries to hold simultaneously to both is a point in its favour, since both "are prima facie true".
Molinism teaches that God exercises His sovereignty primarily through His omniscience, and that He infallibly knows what free creatures would do in any given situation. In this way God sovereignly controls all things, while humans are also genuinely free. God is able to accomplish His will through the use of what Molinists label His middle knowledge...
So Molinism formulates a radical "compatibilism" - a Calvinist view of divine sovereignty and an Arminian view of human freedom - and for this reason is often attacked from both sides of the aisle. Calvinists such as Bruce Ware and Richard Muller consider Molinism to be a type of Arminianism, while Roger Olsen and Robert Picirilli (both card-carrying Arminians) reject Molinism for being too Calvinistic. However, Molinism is attractive to many leading Christian philosophers of our day, such as Alvin Plantinga, Thomas Flint, and William Lane Craig. One of the main reasons is that it demonstrates it is logically possible to affirm divine sovereignty and human freedom in a consistent manner. Even open theist William Hasker, who is no friend to Molinism, admits, "If you are committed to a 'strong' view of providence, according to which, down to the smallest detail, 'things are as they are because God knowingly decided to create such a world', and yet you also wish to maintain a libertarian conception of free will - if this is what you want, then Molinism is the only game in town."
As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I want because I believe Molinism is faithful to the biblical witness. The Molinist model is the only game in town for anyone who wishes to affirm a high view of God's sovereignty while holding to a genuine definition of human choice, freedom, and responsibility. William Lane Craig goes so far as to describe the Molinist notion of middle knowledge as "the single most fruitful theological concept I have ever encountered". As we apply Molinism to the vexing questions of predestination and election, the reasons for his enthusiasm will become evident.
- Kenneth Keathley, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach
Links: ROSES vs TULIP (19 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 2) (21 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 3) (23 Mar 10)
Most Christians have heard about Calvinism, but not as many are familiar with Molinism. I suspect some who embrace Calvinism do so because they recognise the Bible teaches that God is sovereign and Calvinism is the only theological system of which they are aware that attempts to do justice to God's sovereignty. Calvinism often wins by default, especially when Arminianism is understood to be the alternative. Simply put, Molinism argues that God perfectly accomplishes His will in free creatures through the use of His omniscience. It reconciles two crucial biblical truths: (1) God exercises sovereign control over all His creation, and (2) human beings make free choices and decisions for which they must give account.
So what is Molinism? Named after its first proponent, Luis Molina (1535-1600), a sixteenth-century Jesuit priest, Molinism holds to a strong notion of God's control and an equally firm affirmation of human freedom. In other words Molinism simultaneously holds to a Calvinistic view of a comprehensive divine sovereignty and to a version of free will (called libertarianism) generally associated with Arminianism. As Doug Geivett argues, the fact that Molinism is the one proposal that tries to hold simultaneously to both is a point in its favour, since both "are prima facie true".
Molinism teaches that God exercises His sovereignty primarily through His omniscience, and that He infallibly knows what free creatures would do in any given situation. In this way God sovereignly controls all things, while humans are also genuinely free. God is able to accomplish His will through the use of what Molinists label His middle knowledge...
So Molinism formulates a radical "compatibilism" - a Calvinist view of divine sovereignty and an Arminian view of human freedom - and for this reason is often attacked from both sides of the aisle. Calvinists such as Bruce Ware and Richard Muller consider Molinism to be a type of Arminianism, while Roger Olsen and Robert Picirilli (both card-carrying Arminians) reject Molinism for being too Calvinistic. However, Molinism is attractive to many leading Christian philosophers of our day, such as Alvin Plantinga, Thomas Flint, and William Lane Craig. One of the main reasons is that it demonstrates it is logically possible to affirm divine sovereignty and human freedom in a consistent manner. Even open theist William Hasker, who is no friend to Molinism, admits, "If you are committed to a 'strong' view of providence, according to which, down to the smallest detail, 'things are as they are because God knowingly decided to create such a world', and yet you also wish to maintain a libertarian conception of free will - if this is what you want, then Molinism is the only game in town."
As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I want because I believe Molinism is faithful to the biblical witness. The Molinist model is the only game in town for anyone who wishes to affirm a high view of God's sovereignty while holding to a genuine definition of human choice, freedom, and responsibility. William Lane Craig goes so far as to describe the Molinist notion of middle knowledge as "the single most fruitful theological concept I have ever encountered". As we apply Molinism to the vexing questions of predestination and election, the reasons for his enthusiasm will become evident.
- Kenneth Keathley, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach
Links: ROSES vs TULIP (19 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 2) (21 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 3) (23 Mar 10)
Friday 19 March 2010
The SKS of the UK
Yesterday, I visited Book Aid Ranskill in Doncaster and bought 31 new/second-hand books for £34.05, effectively doubling the number of Christian books I have in York. I spent over 3 hours browsing and didn't even cover half the place!
What's more, all proceeds from the sale of books at Book Aid go towards providing Christian literature to less-privileged locations around the world. Soli Deo Gloria!
The SKS of the UK (SKS is a Christian book warehouse in Singapore)
Boxes of books
A pallet of KJV Bibles
The answer is 42
The office
Shelves of books
More shelves of books
Even more shelves of books
Bibles
Commentaries
Dave and Jonny, my fellow backbookpackers
The bounty
Links: Book Aid London (29 Mar 10), Book Aid Warrington (13 Jul 10)
What's more, all proceeds from the sale of books at Book Aid go towards providing Christian literature to less-privileged locations around the world. Soli Deo Gloria!
The SKS of the UK (SKS is a Christian book warehouse in Singapore)
Boxes of books
A pallet of KJV Bibles
The answer is 42
The office
Shelves of books
More shelves of books
Even more shelves of books
Bibles
Commentaries
Dave and Jonny, my fellow 
The bountyLinks: Book Aid London (29 Mar 10), Book Aid Warrington (13 Jul 10)
Thursday 18 March 2010
ROSES vs TULIP
While I was doing research for my Philosophical Theology essay, I came across the book I've been waiting for (without knowing it) - Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (published in 2010) by Kenneth Keathley, Professor of Theology and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
I also discovered that Keathley gave a presentation on 'A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian' at the Building Bridges: Southern Baptists and Calvinism Conference in Nov 07. In fact, I think it was Caleb who mentioned this conference to me a while back.
In Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach, Keathley argues for a ROSES [as opposed to TULIP] model of salvation, seen through the lens of Molinism. ROSES is an acronym that stands for Radical Depravity, Overcoming Grace, Sovereign Election, Eternal Life and Singular Redemption. Molinism, simply put, argues that God is able to perfectly accomplish His sovereign will through genuinely free creatures by means of His omniscience.
Incidentally, Keathley suggests that ROSES could be called "three-point Calvinism" (T, U and P), because it rejects limited atonement and irresistible grace. This is essentially the position I hold, two/three-point Calvinism (depending on how you define 'unconditional election'). Again, I would describe myself as a two-point Calvinist (if there is such a thing):
Total Depravity - Yes
Unconditional Election - No*
Limited Atonement - No
Irresistible Grace - No
Perseverance of the Saints - Yes
*More precisely, 'election is unconditional for God and conditional for man' (Geisler), the sole condition being faith in Christ alone. Keathley affirms that 'election is unconditional but reprobation is conditional. God actively ordains the salvation of the elect, but he only permits the damnation of the reprobate'.
Ironically, I don't think I'll refer to this book in my Philosophical Theology essay after all. But I'll definitely read it 'for my soul' - as my philosophy tutor, David Efird, likes to say.
*****
Molinism places mystery where it should be located, i.e. in God's infinite attributes rather than in his character. Critics of Molinism, particularly open theists, contend that the Molinist fails to give an adequate explanation of how it is that God infallibly knows what choices free creatures are going to make. This is generally known as "the grounding objection", because it questions whether Molinism provides any grounds or basis for God's middle knowledge.
Molinists generally reply by arguing that God innately knows all things by virtue of his omniscience, and that it is simply in the nature of God to have infallible knowledge of all things. The Molinist advocate affirms, but may not be able to explain to everyone's satisfaction, that God has exhaustive foreknowledge of what creatures with libertarian freedom will do.
If Molinists have to appeal to mystery at this point, it is doing so at a better and more reasonable point. I'd rather have the Molinist difficulty of not being able to explain how God's omniscience operates, instead of the Calvinist difficulty of making God appear to be the author of sin. In other words, Molinism's difficulties are with God's infinite attributes rather than his holy and righteous nature.
Implicit in the grounding objection is the denial that God has the ability to create creatures with libertarian freedom (of the morally significant kind). This places a surprising constraint on the scope of God's sovereignty. The Molinist embraces a richer conception of God's sovereignty, since God exercises meticulous providence despite the existence of free creatures!
One of the things we understand the least about God is how his infinite attributes operate - his omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. So why place the mystery of reprobation in God's character? Molinists do not claim to know God's purposes exhaustively, but one of the things most clearly revealed about God is his holiness, righteousness and goodness. Would we not rather place the mystery within the transcendent, infinite, inexhaustible omniscience of God rather than the revealed character and purposes of God?
- Kenneth Keathley, A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian
Links: Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 1) (20 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 2) (21 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 3) (23 Mar 10)
I also discovered that Keathley gave a presentation on 'A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian' at the Building Bridges: Southern Baptists and Calvinism Conference in Nov 07. In fact, I think it was Caleb who mentioned this conference to me a while back.
In Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach, Keathley argues for a ROSES [as opposed to TULIP] model of salvation, seen through the lens of Molinism. ROSES is an acronym that stands for Radical Depravity, Overcoming Grace, Sovereign Election, Eternal Life and Singular Redemption. Molinism, simply put, argues that God is able to perfectly accomplish His sovereign will through genuinely free creatures by means of His omniscience.
Incidentally, Keathley suggests that ROSES could be called "three-point Calvinism" (T, U and P), because it rejects limited atonement and irresistible grace. This is essentially the position I hold, two/three-point Calvinism (depending on how you define 'unconditional election'). Again, I would describe myself as a two-point Calvinist (if there is such a thing):
Total Depravity - Yes
Unconditional Election - No*
Limited Atonement - No
Irresistible Grace - No
Perseverance of the Saints - Yes
*More precisely, 'election is unconditional for God and conditional for man' (Geisler), the sole condition being faith in Christ alone. Keathley affirms that 'election is unconditional but reprobation is conditional. God actively ordains the salvation of the elect, but he only permits the damnation of the reprobate'.
Ironically, I don't think I'll refer to this book in my Philosophical Theology essay after all. But I'll definitely read it 'for my soul' - as my philosophy tutor, David Efird, likes to say.
*****
Molinism places mystery where it should be located, i.e. in God's infinite attributes rather than in his character. Critics of Molinism, particularly open theists, contend that the Molinist fails to give an adequate explanation of how it is that God infallibly knows what choices free creatures are going to make. This is generally known as "the grounding objection", because it questions whether Molinism provides any grounds or basis for God's middle knowledge.
Molinists generally reply by arguing that God innately knows all things by virtue of his omniscience, and that it is simply in the nature of God to have infallible knowledge of all things. The Molinist advocate affirms, but may not be able to explain to everyone's satisfaction, that God has exhaustive foreknowledge of what creatures with libertarian freedom will do.
If Molinists have to appeal to mystery at this point, it is doing so at a better and more reasonable point. I'd rather have the Molinist difficulty of not being able to explain how God's omniscience operates, instead of the Calvinist difficulty of making God appear to be the author of sin. In other words, Molinism's difficulties are with God's infinite attributes rather than his holy and righteous nature.
Implicit in the grounding objection is the denial that God has the ability to create creatures with libertarian freedom (of the morally significant kind). This places a surprising constraint on the scope of God's sovereignty. The Molinist embraces a richer conception of God's sovereignty, since God exercises meticulous providence despite the existence of free creatures!
One of the things we understand the least about God is how his infinite attributes operate - his omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. So why place the mystery of reprobation in God's character? Molinists do not claim to know God's purposes exhaustively, but one of the things most clearly revealed about God is his holiness, righteousness and goodness. Would we not rather place the mystery within the transcendent, infinite, inexhaustible omniscience of God rather than the revealed character and purposes of God?
- Kenneth Keathley, A Molinist View of Election or How to be a Consistent Infralapsarian
Links: Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 1) (20 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 2) (21 Mar 10), Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach (Part 3) (23 Mar 10)
Wednesday 17 March 2010
A Prayer
Lord, teach me to be generous,
Teach me to serve you as you deserve:
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To toil and not to seek for rest,
To labour and to ask for no reward,
Save that of knowing that I do your will.
- St. Ignatius of Loyola
Teach me to serve you as you deserve:
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To toil and not to seek for rest,
To labour and to ask for no reward,
Save that of knowing that I do your will.
- St. Ignatius of Loyola
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Patience and Perseverance in Prayer
Jesus' Teaching on Prayer
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'"
Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
- Luke 11:1-13 (NIV)
'How long do I have to go on praying about it?' I asked my spiritual director. I was faced with a peculiarly intractable problem and there seemed no obvious way out. I had prayed about it already for quite some time and there seemed to be no change.
'You can never tell,' he replied with a gentle smile. 'Perhaps every day for a month or two. Or it might be a year or two. The timing isn't our business; that's up to God. Our task is to go on praying and trust that God will do what he will do in his own time.'
That was really frustrating advice, but it turned out to be right. It was two or three more months before anything happened, but when it did it was like a dam bursting. I have no idea why God answers on the 1000th time a prayer he seems to have ignored for the previous 999 times. One might imagine that it would work more steadily and gradually. But no: from our point of view at least, prayer is like chopping at a tree. For 99 strokes of the axe, the main trunk seems to stand firm. Then, on the 100th stroke, suddenly it keels over.
Of course, we know that the previous strokes of the axe were weakening the trunk, even though we couldn't see it. And that's what prayer is like - not that God needs 'weakening' but that, for all sorts of other reasons that we can't see, things have to take the time they have to take. And that leads us to the shape of the prayer Jesus gave his disciples. However you pray it, the Lord's Prayer starts precisely with the note that says, 'God's way and God's time is best.'
To say the Lord's Prayer demands that you pay primary attention to God himself. It is his name and his kingdom that we care about above all, not our particular problems. But, having said that, the three requests that follow - for bread, forgiveness, and safety from being tested to destruction - all place our concerns within that name and kingdom. That's the clue.
To pray the Lord's Prayer, then, requires an odd combination: complete humility and complete boldness. Once we get the first right, the second can follow cheerfully. Once God's name and kingdom are the framework of all we do and think, we are free to knock on his door as late at night as we want.
- Tom Wright, Lent for Everyone: Luke Year C
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'"
Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
- Luke 11:1-13 (NIV)
'How long do I have to go on praying about it?' I asked my spiritual director. I was faced with a peculiarly intractable problem and there seemed no obvious way out. I had prayed about it already for quite some time and there seemed to be no change.
'You can never tell,' he replied with a gentle smile. 'Perhaps every day for a month or two. Or it might be a year or two. The timing isn't our business; that's up to God. Our task is to go on praying and trust that God will do what he will do in his own time.'
That was really frustrating advice, but it turned out to be right. It was two or three more months before anything happened, but when it did it was like a dam bursting. I have no idea why God answers on the 1000th time a prayer he seems to have ignored for the previous 999 times. One might imagine that it would work more steadily and gradually. But no: from our point of view at least, prayer is like chopping at a tree. For 99 strokes of the axe, the main trunk seems to stand firm. Then, on the 100th stroke, suddenly it keels over.
Of course, we know that the previous strokes of the axe were weakening the trunk, even though we couldn't see it. And that's what prayer is like - not that God needs 'weakening' but that, for all sorts of other reasons that we can't see, things have to take the time they have to take. And that leads us to the shape of the prayer Jesus gave his disciples. However you pray it, the Lord's Prayer starts precisely with the note that says, 'God's way and God's time is best.'
To say the Lord's Prayer demands that you pay primary attention to God himself. It is his name and his kingdom that we care about above all, not our particular problems. But, having said that, the three requests that follow - for bread, forgiveness, and safety from being tested to destruction - all place our concerns within that name and kingdom. That's the clue.
To pray the Lord's Prayer, then, requires an odd combination: complete humility and complete boldness. Once we get the first right, the second can follow cheerfully. Once God's name and kingdom are the framework of all we do and think, we are free to knock on his door as late at night as we want.
- Tom Wright, Lent for Everyone: Luke Year C
Monday 15 March 2010
Mar 8 to 14
Mar 8: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." - Mark 14:38 (NIV)
Mar 9: "Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy." - Leviticus 20:7-8 (NIV)
Mar 10: "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you." - Psalm 31:19 (NIV)
Mar 11: "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" - and you forgave the guilt of my sin." - Psalm 32:3-5 (NIV)
Mar 12: "The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." - Psalm 33:10-11 (NIV)
Mar 13: "Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye." - Proverbs 7:2 (NIV)
Mar 14: "For nothing is impossible with God." - Luke 1:37 (NIV)
Mar 9: "Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy." - Leviticus 20:7-8 (NIV)
Mar 10: "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you." - Psalm 31:19 (NIV)
Mar 11: "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" - and you forgave the guilt of my sin." - Psalm 32:3-5 (NIV)
Mar 12: "The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." - Psalm 33:10-11 (NIV)
Mar 13: "Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye." - Proverbs 7:2 (NIV)
Mar 14: "For nothing is impossible with God." - Luke 1:37 (NIV)
Sunday 14 March 2010
Blessed are the Peacemakers
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." - Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
"The way of the peacemaker begins by first making peace with God. No one who is not of the kingdom can be a peacemaker because the peace we bring is a peace that the world cannot give, we bring to the world the peace of God that surpasses all understanding." - Pastor Andrew Goh, Sermon on Matthew 5:9
"The way of the peacemaker begins by first making peace with God. No one who is not of the kingdom can be a peacemaker because the peace we bring is a peace that the world cannot give, we bring to the world the peace of God that surpasses all understanding." - Pastor Andrew Goh, Sermon on Matthew 5:9
Saturday 13 March 2010
Prevenient Grace
Consider the woman who throws a rope to a drowning man. Suppose that no further activity on her part determines either that he grasp or that he reject the rope. Should he grasp it, we might well say that his doing so was a free action. But it would be preposterous to say that the process of his being saved from drowning began with his grasping the rope. Clearly, it began with her offering him the rope in the first place.
- Thomas P. Flint, Divine Providence: The Molinist Account
- Thomas P. Flint, Divine Providence: The Molinist Account
Friday 12 March 2010
The Philosophy and Theology of Eternal Punishment
In my last Philosophy of the Criminal Law lecture this week, my lecturer mentioned that J. S. Mill - perhaps somewhat surprisingly for a political liberal - was actually in favour of capital punishment (at least for certain offences).
In 1868, Mill argued in the British Parliament that life imprisonment was 'less severe indeed in appearance, and therefore less efficacious, but far more cruel in reality' than capital punishment. This got me thinking about the philosophy and theology of eternal punishment.
Without going into the philosophical arguments for and against capital punishment (a kind of eternal punishment), and without going into the theological arguments for and against annihilationism (another kind of eternal punishment - eternal death, not eternal torment), it's interesting to consider how our moral intuitions regarding capital punishment and annihilationism might be related.
For the record, I believe that capital punishment is philosophically defensible. I also believe that annihilationism is theologically defensible. Indeed, I believe that capital punishment is philosophically defensible precisely because I believe that annihilationism is theologically defensible.
To be sure, I'm not saying that we should necessarily support the case for capital punishment. I'm also not saying that we should necessarily support the case for annihilationism.
However, it seems to me that if capital punishment is more consistent with the sanctity of life than life imprisonment, then annihilationism is more consistent with the sanctity of life (and hence the nature of God) than eternal torment. Conversely, if eternal torment is more consistent with the sanctity of life (and hence the nature of God) than annihilationism, then life imprisonment is more consistent with the sanctity of life than capital punishment.
In other words, if we support the case for capital punishment, then we should reject the case for eternal torment. On the other hand, if we support the case for eternal torment, then we should reject the case for capital punishment.
Links: The Case for Annihilationism (31 Aug 10), Tetelestai (10 Sep 10), Life, Death and Destiny (22 Jan 11)
In 1868, Mill argued in the British Parliament that life imprisonment was 'less severe indeed in appearance, and therefore less efficacious, but far more cruel in reality' than capital punishment. This got me thinking about the philosophy and theology of eternal punishment.
Without going into the philosophical arguments for and against capital punishment (a kind of eternal punishment), and without going into the theological arguments for and against annihilationism (another kind of eternal punishment - eternal death, not eternal torment), it's interesting to consider how our moral intuitions regarding capital punishment and annihilationism might be related.
For the record, I believe that capital punishment is philosophically defensible. I also believe that annihilationism is theologically defensible. Indeed, I believe that capital punishment is philosophically defensible precisely because I believe that annihilationism is theologically defensible.
To be sure, I'm not saying that we should necessarily support the case for capital punishment. I'm also not saying that we should necessarily support the case for annihilationism.
However, it seems to me that if capital punishment is more consistent with the sanctity of life than life imprisonment, then annihilationism is more consistent with the sanctity of life (and hence the nature of God) than eternal torment. Conversely, if eternal torment is more consistent with the sanctity of life (and hence the nature of God) than annihilationism, then life imprisonment is more consistent with the sanctity of life than capital punishment.
In other words, if we support the case for capital punishment, then we should reject the case for eternal torment. On the other hand, if we support the case for eternal torment, then we should reject the case for capital punishment.
Links: The Case for Annihilationism (31 Aug 10), Tetelestai (10 Sep 10), Life, Death and Destiny (22 Jan 11)
Thursday 11 March 2010
Divine Providence: The Molinist Account
If you are committed to a "strong" view of providence, according to which, down to the smallest detail, "things are as they are because God knowingly decided to create such a world", and yet you also wish to maintain a libertarian conception of free will - if this is what you want, then Molinism is the only game in town.
- William Hasker, Response to Thomas Flint
The Only Game in Town?
One can uphold the traditional notion of providence only if one acknowledges that there are true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom that guide God's creative decisions. Diminish or dismiss this knowledge and one diminishes or dismisses the robust providential control over his world which the tradition proclaims. So, to be a genuine traditionalist, the libertarian traditionalist has no choice but to grant that there are true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom.
But to be a genuine libertarian, she can hardly view such counterfactuals as under divine control, for if God were to determine the truth or falsity of such conditionals, they could not rank as conditionals of freedom, at least not of the sort of freedom that libertarians cherish. The libertarian traditionalist, then, is committed to believing that there are true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom whose truth value is prevolitional, not a result of divine determination.
But to embrace the prevolitional status of these counterfactual truths is to embrace Molinism. For the consistent libertarian traditionalist, then, the path to Molinism is inescapable. It is indeed the only game in town.
A Very Fine Game Indeed
Belief in a strong, robust notion of providence has long been dominant among orthodox Christians. Adherence to a libertarian account of freedom, though not so widespread, has also been common within this community. As we have seen, the inevitable offspring of this coupling is Molinism. But the inevitability here is of a sort well known to philosophers.
Many orthodox Christians who would, if informed of the options and asked their preferences, unhesitatingly embrace both the traditional notion of providence and the libertarian account of freedom have given precious few of their waking hours to extensive ruminations concerning either providence or freedom; their traditionalism (with respect to providence), like their libertarianism (with respect to freedom), is more dispositional than occurrent. And what holds for traditionalism and libertarianism holds even more, it seems to me, for Molinism.
Few Christians would even know what the term "Molinism" stands for, let alone label themselves Molinists. But fewer still, upon encountering the theory of middle knowledge, find the position at first glance outlandish or patently unacceptable (unless, of course, they are among those benighted believers who find any explicit philosophical reflection upon their religious commitments outlandish or unacceptable). Far more common, at least in my experience, is the reaction that Molinism is but an elaboration of a view which they have held implicitly all along.
- Thomas P. Flint, Divine Providence: The Molinist Account
- William Hasker, Response to Thomas Flint
The Only Game in Town?
One can uphold the traditional notion of providence only if one acknowledges that there are true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom that guide God's creative decisions. Diminish or dismiss this knowledge and one diminishes or dismisses the robust providential control over his world which the tradition proclaims. So, to be a genuine traditionalist, the libertarian traditionalist has no choice but to grant that there are true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom.
But to be a genuine libertarian, she can hardly view such counterfactuals as under divine control, for if God were to determine the truth or falsity of such conditionals, they could not rank as conditionals of freedom, at least not of the sort of freedom that libertarians cherish. The libertarian traditionalist, then, is committed to believing that there are true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom whose truth value is prevolitional, not a result of divine determination.
But to embrace the prevolitional status of these counterfactual truths is to embrace Molinism. For the consistent libertarian traditionalist, then, the path to Molinism is inescapable. It is indeed the only game in town.
A Very Fine Game Indeed
Belief in a strong, robust notion of providence has long been dominant among orthodox Christians. Adherence to a libertarian account of freedom, though not so widespread, has also been common within this community. As we have seen, the inevitable offspring of this coupling is Molinism. But the inevitability here is of a sort well known to philosophers.
Many orthodox Christians who would, if informed of the options and asked their preferences, unhesitatingly embrace both the traditional notion of providence and the libertarian account of freedom have given precious few of their waking hours to extensive ruminations concerning either providence or freedom; their traditionalism (with respect to providence), like their libertarianism (with respect to freedom), is more dispositional than occurrent. And what holds for traditionalism and libertarianism holds even more, it seems to me, for Molinism.
Few Christians would even know what the term "Molinism" stands for, let alone label themselves Molinists. But fewer still, upon encountering the theory of middle knowledge, find the position at first glance outlandish or patently unacceptable (unless, of course, they are among those benighted believers who find any explicit philosophical reflection upon their religious commitments outlandish or unacceptable). Far more common, at least in my experience, is the reaction that Molinism is but an elaboration of a view which they have held implicitly all along.
- Thomas P. Flint, Divine Providence: The Molinist Account
Wednesday 10 March 2010
More on Discerning God's Will
In a previous post, Discerning God's Will, I wrote that we discern God's will by delighting in His presence, following His precepts, understanding His plans, acknowledging His purposes, relying on His protection, trusting in His promises, recognising His providence, seeking His perspective, prayer and petition and experiencing His peace.
A few days later, I added that we discern God's will by waiting patiently. At just the right time, God will reveal His will to us - and His will is exactly what we would desire if we knew all the facts.
Then when I was writing the post before this, Affairs of the Heart, I realised that I had left out Romans 12:1-2, one of the key passages of Scripture on discerning God's will. To this end, I might add again that we discern God's will by striving to please Him.
"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)
Living for Jesus a life that is true
Striving to please Him in all that I do
Yielding allegiance, gladhearted and free
This is the pathway of blessing for me
O Jesus, Lord and Saviour, I give myself to Thee
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone
Links: Discerning God's Will (9 Feb 10), Patience (16 Feb 10)
A few days later, I added that we discern God's will by waiting patiently. At just the right time, God will reveal His will to us - and His will is exactly what we would desire if we knew all the facts.
Then when I was writing the post before this, Affairs of the Heart, I realised that I had left out Romans 12:1-2, one of the key passages of Scripture on discerning God's will. To this end, I might add again that we discern God's will by striving to please Him.
"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)
Living for Jesus a life that is true
Striving to please Him in all that I do
Yielding allegiance, gladhearted and free
This is the pathway of blessing for me
O Jesus, Lord and Saviour, I give myself to Thee
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone
Links: Discerning God's Will (9 Feb 10), Patience (16 Feb 10)
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Affairs of the Heart
Back in December last year, world number one golfer Tiger Woods made the news for repeatedly cheating on his wife.
Over the past few weeks in the UK, the sexual shenanigans of Chelsea and England defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole have been splashed across British tabloids.
Now Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo's 2-year affair with a 22-year old freelance model has been picked up by the local media.
But before we start throwing stones at them, let us examine ourselves first. It's instructive to observe how Jesus restored a woman caught in adultery.
A Woman Caught in Adultery
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
- John 8:1-11 (NIV)
The heart of the affair...
"Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?" - Proverbs 20:9 (NIV)
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" - Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV)
...is the affair of the heart
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl." - Job 31:1 (NIV)
"Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." - Psalm 24:3-4 (NIV)
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." - Psalm 119:9-11 (NIV)
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." - Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians
"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." - Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 (NIV)
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)
"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)
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry." - 1 Corinthians 10:13-14 (NIV)
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)
Over the past few weeks in the UK, the sexual shenanigans of Chelsea and England defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole have been splashed across British tabloids.
Now Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo's 2-year affair with a 22-year old freelance model has been picked up by the local media.
But before we start throwing stones at them, let us examine ourselves first. It's instructive to observe how Jesus restored a woman caught in adultery.
A Woman Caught in Adultery
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
- John 8:1-11 (NIV)
The heart of the affair...
"Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?" - Proverbs 20:9 (NIV)
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" - Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV)
...is the affair of the heart
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl." - Job 31:1 (NIV)
"Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false." - Psalm 24:3-4 (NIV)
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." - Psalm 119:9-11 (NIV)
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." - Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians
"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." - Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 (NIV)
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)
"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)
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry." - 1 Corinthians 10:13-14 (NIV)
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)
Monday 8 March 2010
Mar 1 to 7
Mar 1: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:45 (NIV)
Mar 2: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." - Psalm 28:7 (NIV)
Mar 3: "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." - Psalm 29:11 (NIV)
Mar 4: "I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy." - Leviticus 11:45 (NIV)
Mar 5: "To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." - Mark 12:33 (NIV)
Mar 6: "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks for ever." - Psalm 30:11-12 (NIV)
Mar 7: "In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness." - Psalm 31:1 (NIV)
Mar 2: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." - Psalm 28:7 (NIV)
Mar 3: "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." - Psalm 29:11 (NIV)
Mar 4: "I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy." - Leviticus 11:45 (NIV)
Mar 5: "To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." - Mark 12:33 (NIV)
Mar 6: "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks for ever." - Psalm 30:11-12 (NIV)
Mar 7: "In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness." - Psalm 31:1 (NIV)
Sunday 7 March 2010
Better is one day in Your courts
Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Look upon our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Better is One Day
How lovely is Your dwelling place
O Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied
Within Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
Than thousands elsewhere
One thing I ask and I would seek
To see Your beauty
To find You in the place Your glory dwells
My heart and flesh cry out
For You the living God
Your Spirit's water for my soul
I've tasted and I've seen
Come once again to me
I will draw near to You
I will draw near to You
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Look upon our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Better is One Day
How lovely is Your dwelling place
O Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied
Within Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
Than thousands elsewhere
One thing I ask and I would seek
To see Your beauty
To find You in the place Your glory dwells
My heart and flesh cry out
For You the living God
Your Spirit's water for my soul
I've tasted and I've seen
Come once again to me
I will draw near to You
I will draw near to You
Saturday 6 March 2010
All things come of Thee
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17 (NIV)
Praise to Thee, O Lord, for all creation
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of Thee
Praise to Thee, O Lord, for all creation
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of Thee
Friday 5 March 2010
Christ and Culture (Revisited)
It is important to recognise that all of Scripture is culturally bound. For a start, it is given in human languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek), and languages are a cultural phenomenon. Nor are the words God speaks to be thought of as, say, generic Greek. Rather, they belong to the Greek of the Hellenistic period (it isn't Homeric Greek or Attic Greek or modern Greek). Indeed, this Greek changes somewhat from writer to writer (Paul does not always use words the same way that Matthew does) and from genre to genre (apocalyptic does not sound exactly like an epistle).
None of this should frighten us. It is part of the glory of our great God that he has accommodated himself to human speech, which is necessarily time-bound and therefore changing. Despite some postmodern philosophers, this does not jeopardise God's capacity for speaking truth. It does mean that we finite human beings shall never know truth exhaustively (that would require omniscience), but there is no reason why we cannot know some truth truly.
Nevertheless, all such truth as God discloses to us in words comes dressed in cultural forms. Careful and godly interpretation does not mean stripping away such forms to find absolute truth beneath, for that is not possible: we can never escape our finiteness. It does mean understanding those cultural forms, and by God's grace discovering the truth that God has disclosed through them.
- D. A. Carson, Must I Learn How to Interpret the Bible?
None of this should frighten us. It is part of the glory of our great God that he has accommodated himself to human speech, which is necessarily time-bound and therefore changing. Despite some postmodern philosophers, this does not jeopardise God's capacity for speaking truth. It does mean that we finite human beings shall never know truth exhaustively (that would require omniscience), but there is no reason why we cannot know some truth truly.
Nevertheless, all such truth as God discloses to us in words comes dressed in cultural forms. Careful and godly interpretation does not mean stripping away such forms to find absolute truth beneath, for that is not possible: we can never escape our finiteness. It does mean understanding those cultural forms, and by God's grace discovering the truth that God has disclosed through them.
- D. A. Carson, Must I Learn How to Interpret the Bible?
Thursday 4 March 2010
The Cloud Above the Tabernacle
"On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
"When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
"At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses." - Numbers 9:15-23 (NIV)
Using this story as a guide, I want to share with you four lessons from the cloud and the fire that explain to us something about how God guides his people.
Lesson #1: God's guidance is revealed to us one step at a time
Numbers 9 makes this very clear. The cloud would lift, and they would go. As long as the cloud kept moving, they would follow. When it stopped, they would stop. Sometimes it would stop for a night and go on the next morning. Then it would stop for a few days, and they would stop for a few days. The Israelites never knew from moment to moment or day to day what the cloud was going to do next.
Many Christians trip over this very point because they want to see ten steps ahead before they will take the first step. But life doesn't work that way. God rarely shows you ten steps in advance. He normally leads you one step at a time. He will lead you a step, then he'll lead you another step, and then he'll lead you another step. After he's led you ten steps, you look back and say, "How did I get from there to here?" Then you realise it was just step by step by step.
Lesson #2: God's guidance demands our obedience whether it makes sense to us or not
One day the cloud would just stop in the middle of the desert; so that's where the people of Israel set up camp. Ten days later it would suddenly begin to move again. Why? Why not ten weeks? Or ten months? Or why not just keep moving? No one - not even Moses - knew the answers to those questions. Many days it didn't make any sense at all.
God's guidance is often like that. Sometimes God keeps you moving when you would rather stop... The other side is also true. Sometimes the Lord says, "Stay" when we would rather be moving...
Let this lesson soak into your soul: God's guidance demands our obedience, even when it makes no sense to us. Sometimes God moves when we want to stay. Sometimes God says, "Stay" when we would rather move on and get our life going again.
Lesson #3: God's guidance changes its character according to the need of the moment
During the day when the Israelites needed to see a cloud, God provided a cloud; but at night when the cloud would be invisible, the cloud looked like fire. God had one way of showing himself to them during the day and another way of showing himself at night.
That leads me to this conclusion: God's guidance is always there, but his various means of guiding us change from moment to moment. Consider the implications of that statement. God is not obligated to lead you in the same way he leads somebody else. God is not obligated to deal with you today in the same way he dealt with you yesterday or the way he is going to deal with you tomorrow...
How does God guide his people? A thousand different ways. But no matter what form the guidance may take, it will always be 100 percent consistent with the Word of God, because God does not contradict himself.
God's moment-by-moment leading comes through a variety of means. Sometimes through the advice of good Christian friends. Sometimes through prayer. Sometimes by listening to a sermon. Sometimes by an inner conviction that God has spoken to us. Sometimes by a deep sense of inner peace. Sometimes God will guide us through a particular passage of Scripture. Sometimes all of the circumstances of life clearly point in one direction. Sometimes he simply gives us the wisdom to make the right decision. Sometimes he "speaks" to us. Sometimes he guides us by his silence. Very often it is a combination of all of these things put together.
God is committed to guiding his children on their journey from earth to heaven. And though his methods may change, and though sometimes they may be difficult to understand, God is committed to seeing that you ultimately reach your final destination.
Lesson #4: God's guidance is revealed as we stay close to him
The Old Testament tells us that the cloud and the pillar represented the very presence of God. They weren't just symbols of some heavenly truth; they represented God's presence with his people. We are told in the Old Testament that the Lord spoke from the cloud. So when they saw the cloud, they understood that the Lord himself was leading them.
Do you know what that means? If the cloud went north and you went south, you were soon going to get into trouble. If the cloud started moving and your family didn't follow, you would be separated from the presence of God. And to correct the situation, you would have to turn around and start following the cloud again.
That leads us to a very important conclusion: God's will is a relationship, not a location. It is not a question of where you should go or what you should do. Knowing the will of God is not primarily about who you should marry or when you should get married. It's not about taking this job or that job, or how many kids you should have, or where you should go to school, or whether you should be a missionary or not. Those are secondary questions.
The primary question is this: Are you willing to stay close to God and follow wherever he leads you? It's a spiritual question. When we say to God, "Show me what to do," the Lord says, "Stay close to me." We cry out to the heavens, "I'm scared." God says, "Follow me." We say, "O God, give me some answers." And God says, "Give me your heart." That's why Numbers 9:23 says, "At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out." If you will do the same thing, God will guide you. If the LORD says stop, you stop. If the Lord says go, you go. He will guide you.
The only way to hear God's voice is to stay close to him. This is a moral and spiritual issue. Are you willing to go when he says go, and are you willing to stop when he says stop? If the answer is yes, you can rest assured that God will guide you exactly where he wants you to go. The secret of knowing God's will is the secret of knowing God; and as you get to know God better, he will reveal his will to you.
What does that mean for our decision-making? I think it means, when you need to know, you will know. If God is God, and if you are committed to knowing him, staying close to him, and doing his will, then the ultimate responsibility rests on him to make his will clear to you. The issue is not mystical superstition. The issue is, are you ready to follow God? If the answer is yes, you may be certain that all your questions about guidance will eventually be answered.
- Ray Pritchard, Discovering God's Will for Your Life
"When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
"At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses." - Numbers 9:15-23 (NIV)
Using this story as a guide, I want to share with you four lessons from the cloud and the fire that explain to us something about how God guides his people.
Lesson #1: God's guidance is revealed to us one step at a time
Numbers 9 makes this very clear. The cloud would lift, and they would go. As long as the cloud kept moving, they would follow. When it stopped, they would stop. Sometimes it would stop for a night and go on the next morning. Then it would stop for a few days, and they would stop for a few days. The Israelites never knew from moment to moment or day to day what the cloud was going to do next.
Many Christians trip over this very point because they want to see ten steps ahead before they will take the first step. But life doesn't work that way. God rarely shows you ten steps in advance. He normally leads you one step at a time. He will lead you a step, then he'll lead you another step, and then he'll lead you another step. After he's led you ten steps, you look back and say, "How did I get from there to here?" Then you realise it was just step by step by step.
Lesson #2: God's guidance demands our obedience whether it makes sense to us or not
One day the cloud would just stop in the middle of the desert; so that's where the people of Israel set up camp. Ten days later it would suddenly begin to move again. Why? Why not ten weeks? Or ten months? Or why not just keep moving? No one - not even Moses - knew the answers to those questions. Many days it didn't make any sense at all.
God's guidance is often like that. Sometimes God keeps you moving when you would rather stop... The other side is also true. Sometimes the Lord says, "Stay" when we would rather be moving...
Let this lesson soak into your soul: God's guidance demands our obedience, even when it makes no sense to us. Sometimes God moves when we want to stay. Sometimes God says, "Stay" when we would rather move on and get our life going again.
Lesson #3: God's guidance changes its character according to the need of the moment
During the day when the Israelites needed to see a cloud, God provided a cloud; but at night when the cloud would be invisible, the cloud looked like fire. God had one way of showing himself to them during the day and another way of showing himself at night.
That leads me to this conclusion: God's guidance is always there, but his various means of guiding us change from moment to moment. Consider the implications of that statement. God is not obligated to lead you in the same way he leads somebody else. God is not obligated to deal with you today in the same way he dealt with you yesterday or the way he is going to deal with you tomorrow...
How does God guide his people? A thousand different ways. But no matter what form the guidance may take, it will always be 100 percent consistent with the Word of God, because God does not contradict himself.
God's moment-by-moment leading comes through a variety of means. Sometimes through the advice of good Christian friends. Sometimes through prayer. Sometimes by listening to a sermon. Sometimes by an inner conviction that God has spoken to us. Sometimes by a deep sense of inner peace. Sometimes God will guide us through a particular passage of Scripture. Sometimes all of the circumstances of life clearly point in one direction. Sometimes he simply gives us the wisdom to make the right decision. Sometimes he "speaks" to us. Sometimes he guides us by his silence. Very often it is a combination of all of these things put together.
God is committed to guiding his children on their journey from earth to heaven. And though his methods may change, and though sometimes they may be difficult to understand, God is committed to seeing that you ultimately reach your final destination.
Lesson #4: God's guidance is revealed as we stay close to him
The Old Testament tells us that the cloud and the pillar represented the very presence of God. They weren't just symbols of some heavenly truth; they represented God's presence with his people. We are told in the Old Testament that the Lord spoke from the cloud. So when they saw the cloud, they understood that the Lord himself was leading them.
Do you know what that means? If the cloud went north and you went south, you were soon going to get into trouble. If the cloud started moving and your family didn't follow, you would be separated from the presence of God. And to correct the situation, you would have to turn around and start following the cloud again.
That leads us to a very important conclusion: God's will is a relationship, not a location. It is not a question of where you should go or what you should do. Knowing the will of God is not primarily about who you should marry or when you should get married. It's not about taking this job or that job, or how many kids you should have, or where you should go to school, or whether you should be a missionary or not. Those are secondary questions.
The primary question is this: Are you willing to stay close to God and follow wherever he leads you? It's a spiritual question. When we say to God, "Show me what to do," the Lord says, "Stay close to me." We cry out to the heavens, "I'm scared." God says, "Follow me." We say, "O God, give me some answers." And God says, "Give me your heart." That's why Numbers 9:23 says, "At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out." If you will do the same thing, God will guide you. If the LORD says stop, you stop. If the Lord says go, you go. He will guide you.
The only way to hear God's voice is to stay close to him. This is a moral and spiritual issue. Are you willing to go when he says go, and are you willing to stop when he says stop? If the answer is yes, you can rest assured that God will guide you exactly where he wants you to go. The secret of knowing God's will is the secret of knowing God; and as you get to know God better, he will reveal his will to you.
What does that mean for our decision-making? I think it means, when you need to know, you will know. If God is God, and if you are committed to knowing him, staying close to him, and doing his will, then the ultimate responsibility rests on him to make his will clear to you. The issue is not mystical superstition. The issue is, are you ready to follow God? If the answer is yes, you may be certain that all your questions about guidance will eventually be answered.
- Ray Pritchard, Discovering God's Will for Your Life
Wednesday 3 March 2010
Caleb's Thoughts on Founder's Day
On this 124th Founder's Day, it's appropriate not just to give thanks for God's faithfulness and provision, but also to remember our roots. And by roots, I don't just mean the school's long history, but our own indebtedness to our alma mater - without ACS I certainly wouldn't be who I am today, and for that I owe her everything!
Read the rest of Caleb's thoughts here. Incidentally, today (3 Mar) is Caleb's birthday. Happy birthday Caleb!
On my part, to celebrate Founder's Day I booked a music room on campus, and spent an hour or so playing the piano and singing the hymns which we always sing in ACS on Founder's Day (To God be the Glory, O God Our Help in Ages Past, Great is Thy Faithfulness and Be Thou My Vision). Founder's Day or not, they are among my favourite hymns!
The Best Is Yet To Be
First Stanza:
Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be!
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand who saith, "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!
Last Stanza:
So take and use Thy work: amend what flaws may lurk
What strain o' the stuff, what warpings past the aim!
My times be in Thy hand! Perfect the cup as planned!
Let age approve of youth, and death complete the same!
- Robert Browning, Rabbi Ben Ezra
"But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands." - Psalm 31:14-15a (NIV)
Read the rest of Caleb's thoughts here. Incidentally, today (3 Mar) is Caleb's birthday. Happy birthday Caleb!
On my part, to celebrate Founder's Day I booked a music room on campus, and spent an hour or so playing the piano and singing the hymns which we always sing in ACS on Founder's Day (To God be the Glory, O God Our Help in Ages Past, Great is Thy Faithfulness and Be Thou My Vision). Founder's Day or not, they are among my favourite hymns!
The Best Is Yet To Be
First Stanza:
Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be!
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand who saith, "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!
Last Stanza:
So take and use Thy work: amend what flaws may lurk
What strain o' the stuff, what warpings past the aim!
My times be in Thy hand! Perfect the cup as planned!
Let age approve of youth, and death complete the same!
- Robert Browning, Rabbi Ben Ezra
"But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands." - Psalm 31:14-15a (NIV)
Tuesday 2 March 2010
A Hunger for God
When you are training soldiers in manoeuvres, you practice in blank ammunition because you would like them to have practices before meeting the real enemy. So we must practice in abstaining from pleasures which are not in themselves wicked. If you don't abstain from pleasure, you won't be good when the time comes along. It is purely a matter of practice.
- C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock
An Offering of Emptiness to Show Where Fullness Can Be Found
Prayer is explicitly appointed for this purpose: "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). God responds to prayer because when we look away from ourselves to Christ as our only hope, that gives the Father an occasion to magnify the glory of his grace in the all-providing work of his Son.
Similarly, fasting is peculiarly suited to glorify God in this way. It is fundamentally an offering of emptiness to God in hope. It is a sacrifice of need and hunger. It says, by its very nature, "Father, I am empty, but you are full. I am hungry, but you are the Bread of Heaven. I am thirsty, but you are the Fountain of Life. I am weak, but you are strong. I am poor, but you are rich. I am foolish, but you are wise. I am broken, but you are whole. I am dying, but your steadfast love is better than life (Psalm 63:3)."
When God sees this confession of need and this expression of trust, he acts, because the glory of his all-sufficient grace is at stake. The final answer is that God rewards fasting because fasting expresses the cry of the heart that nothing on the earth can satisfy our souls besides God. God must reward this cry because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
- John Piper, A Hunger for God
Link: The Greatest Enemy of Hunger for God (30 Mar 10)
- C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock
An Offering of Emptiness to Show Where Fullness Can Be Found
Prayer is explicitly appointed for this purpose: "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). God responds to prayer because when we look away from ourselves to Christ as our only hope, that gives the Father an occasion to magnify the glory of his grace in the all-providing work of his Son.
Similarly, fasting is peculiarly suited to glorify God in this way. It is fundamentally an offering of emptiness to God in hope. It is a sacrifice of need and hunger. It says, by its very nature, "Father, I am empty, but you are full. I am hungry, but you are the Bread of Heaven. I am thirsty, but you are the Fountain of Life. I am weak, but you are strong. I am poor, but you are rich. I am foolish, but you are wise. I am broken, but you are whole. I am dying, but your steadfast love is better than life (Psalm 63:3)."
When God sees this confession of need and this expression of trust, he acts, because the glory of his all-sufficient grace is at stake. The final answer is that God rewards fasting because fasting expresses the cry of the heart that nothing on the earth can satisfy our souls besides God. God must reward this cry because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
- John Piper, A Hunger for God
Link: The Greatest Enemy of Hunger for God (30 Mar 10)
Monday 1 March 2010
Feb 22 to 28
Feb 22: "Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long." - Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)
Feb 23: "The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."" - Exodus 33:14 (NIV)
Feb 24: "So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded." - Exodus 36:1 (NIV)
Feb 25: "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." - Proverbs 6:6-8 (NIV)
Feb 26: "He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."" - Mark 9:29 (NIV)
Feb 27: "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." - Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
Feb 28: "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." - Psalm 27:14 (NIV)
Feb 23: "The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."" - Exodus 33:14 (NIV)
Feb 24: "So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded." - Exodus 36:1 (NIV)
Feb 25: "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." - Proverbs 6:6-8 (NIV)
Feb 26: "He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."" - Mark 9:29 (NIV)
Feb 27: "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." - Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
Feb 28: "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." - Psalm 27:14 (NIV)
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