Kevin DeYoung's Blog, page 126

Monday Morning Humor

Now you know the rest of the story.

You’ll notice Gandalf sounds more like Sean Connery in the first video. And be sure to watch the second one to the end.

URC Fall Festival

Despite the soggy weekend, the fall festival is still on for this afternoon from 4:00-6:00.

Our church is hosting a celebration with food, free pies, and bounce houses for the kids. Hope to see some of you at our new building (841 Timberlane). I’m praying the rain stays away and the neighbors come out.

Behold the Marching Band

I’m not a big Buckeye fan, but you have to give credit where credit is due. This is from last week’s home game against Nebraska.

Video games never looked so inspiring.

 

Is Your Church a Learning Community?

David Wells reflects on the fact that apostolic Christianity was shaped into a set of clear teachings and doctrines:

Christianity, in these and texts like them, is described as the faith, the truth, the pattern of sound words, the traditions, the sound doctrine, and what was delivered in the beginning. This is what the apostles taught, it is what they believed, it is what they “delivered” to the church, it is what is “entrusted” to the church. Christians are those who “believe” this teaching, who “know” it, who “have” it, who “stand” in it, and who are “established” in it. The New Testament letters were written to remind believers about their responsibilities in relation to this teaching, this faith that has been delivered to the church in its final and completed form. The apostles, we read, write to “remind” them of it, urge them to “pay close attention” to it, to “stand firm” in it, to “follow” it, to “hold” onto it, to “guard” it as one might a precious jewel, and to contend earnestly for this truth.

Can we see the most basic point here? It is that the church in its earliest days was a learning community. What it was learning was the ways of God, his character, his acts, through the truth he had given and was giving them. This they knew was indispensable for a life of obedience in this world.

By contrast, all of this is conspicuous by its absence in much of the contemporary evangelical church. Knowledge of the Bible ranks low in how the born-again judge themselves. And the preaching of the Bible’s truth has all but disappeared from many churches. We are today walking away from what we see modeled for us in the book of Acts as God’s will for the church. (The Courage to Be Protestant, 84-85)

Unlikely Debate Lines

In anticipation of tonight’s Vice-Presidential debate, and the two Presidential debates to come, I’ve been thinking of some lines I’d like to hear, but probably won’t:

“I’m glad you brought that up, because I shouldn’t have said what I did. It was a mistake and here’s why.”


“There’s a simple explanation for the inconsistency: I changed my mind. I think a good leader changes his mind sometimes. Let me tell you why I’ve changed mine.”


“I’m not going to promise that because, frankly, there are a lot of things I can’t control. But I’ll do my best.”


“I know this is an unpopular position, but let me explain why I hold it.”


“There are many problems government can’t fix and many problems politicians shouldn’t try to fix. That doesn’t mean we don’t care. It means we’re not gods and you shouldn’t expect us to be.”


“You raise a really tough issue. There’s no clear cut answer. I can see why my opponent thinks the way he does, but let me try to explain the tradeoffs and why my position makes more sense.”


“It’s possible for me to disagree with their decisions, their ideas, and even their religion without despising them. Just because I don’t think everyone is doing what is best doesn’t mean I don’t want what is best for everyone.”


“I’m not smart enough or virtuous enough to figure out everyone’s fair share.”


“I don’t pretend to understand the needs of every American or feel every hurt.”


“I may not be able to find a job for everyone, but I will do my best to defend this country, defend the constitution, defend your liberty, and defend the rights granted to us by God.”


“There is no reason a President needs to give his opinion on that or even have an opinion on that.”


“I don’t know.”

The irony is, despite all the potential “gaffes” in these statements, I think most voters would find this candor refreshing and appealing.

The Importance of Repentance

The following is an excerpt from a recent sermon I preached on Acts 2:37-41. The prose has been slightly edited for ease of reading, but I’ve tried to retain the sermonic, spoken feel as much as possible.

*****

More often than not when I find people who know of Christ and are not interested in Christ, it’s simply because they do not want to change. They are not interested in someone telling them who to be or how to think or how to live, even if that someone is God.

Repentance is the stumbling block for so many. It is one thing to say, “believe in Jesus.” And in fact, many churches, I think, produce many false Christians and false conversions because all they say to people is “believe in Jesus.” They never say “repent.” And the two must always go together.

What you have so often from the pulpit or in Christian books or on radio is a message that says, “Come to Jesus and he’ll give you a better marriage.” “Come to Jesus, he’ll give you purpose in your life.” “Come to Jesus, he’ll help you with your unruly children.” Or in some contexts, “Come to Jesus and you’ll get rich. You’ll have success.” In the best cases, you’ll hear, “Come to Jesus, he’ll forgive your sins.” That’s true–wonderfully true. But we have not given the whole gospel call unless we are adjoining to that message and that invitation and that call to Christ, also a call to die and to repent.

It is very easy to get people excited about Christianity: “Here’s what Jesus will do! Here’s what he’ll do! Here’s what he’ll do!” And he will do many amazing things for us. But we need to turn to him. And that means repentance— a change of mind and a turn of direction. We must renounce ourselves and bid farewell to the world.

In repentance there is confession of sin, there is contrition for sin, and there is consecration to a new way of life.

The importance of repentance cannot be overestimated for true biblical religion. There is no gospel, there is no heaven, and there is no Christianity without the call to repent.

You can listen to the entire sermon and watch the whole thing here.

University Reformed Church: A New Video

Curious About URC? from URC Web on Vimeo.

Many thanks to Barry Peterson for his vision and work on this video. Thanks also to his gifted friends from Sovereign Hope Church in Missoula, Montana: Daniel Bourassa, Luke Regan, and Tyler Velin. You guys did a great job capturing the spirit of URC and the real people of our church.

Toward a Theology of Church Unity

If there are any aspiring doctoral students out there looking for a profitable subject for research and writing, may I suggest to you the subject of church unity. For the past hundred years, church unity has largely been a liberal concern. At times the concern has been an admirable reminder, or a necessary rebuke, that our unity cannot be merely “spiritual.”  At other times, unity has been a blunt instrument with which to bludgeon conservatives who don’t share the same doctrinal latitudinarianism and ecumenical pipe dreams. “Unity” has become a byword among evangelicals, especially those in mixed denominations who can be shamed into silence by the mere whisper of the word.

But no matter the abuse, we must conclude from Scripture that the union and happy communion of the saints are precious to God.

Just as importantly, it’s easy to see how problems of “unity,” even among Bible-believing  Christians, continue to baffle and confuse. Can Baptists partner with Presbyterians? Can we associate with those who associate with those we wouldn’t associate with? What is the role for denominations? What is the role for broad parachurch ministries or organizations? How should we understand confessional identity? If we are to have unity in essentials, what are those essentials? Where should Christians agree to disagree? Where should churches agree to disagree? What are the right doctrinal boundaries for churches, for denominations, for movements, for institutions, for friends?

I have a lot of questions racing through my mind about church unity. I started writing a book on the topic once, but it seemed too difficult and required a level of scholarship I wouldn’t have time for. The issues are complicated and tremendously important. Thinking through church unity is not a luxury, but required theological homework for any pastor, especially those belonging to imperfect denominations (all of them!) and working with various networks and broader coalitions.

So in an effort to get going on some of that homework, let me offer several points that can be drawn from Ephesians 4:1-16. This is the classic text on church unity (along with John 17) and the most practical for day to day church life. Make sure you read the sixteen verses before reading the following points I glean from the text:

1. Unity is a relational good we are called to maintain where true spiritual unity is already present. Having just finished explaining how the mystery of the gospel brings together Jews and Gentiles, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (v. 3). The assumption is that the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus already share the most important things in common. The goal now is to be patient with each other and bear with one another in love (v. 2). The call to unity is the summons to show in relational practice what is already true in spiritual reality.

2. The spiritual reality on which relational unity is based is described in seven parts: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Paul wants the Jews and Gentile Christians in Ephesus to get along because, despite their historic, ethnic, and cultural differences, they have these deep spiritual realities in common.

3. Presumably, then, Paul is not exhorting everyone willy-nilly to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Indeed, there is no unity of the Spirit to maintain without, for example, a shared allegiance to our one Lord Jesus Christ and a shared commitment to our one faith. That Paul is thinking of an objective standard of faith in verse 5 (ala Jude 3) is confirmed by his use of “faith” in verse 13. This is an absolutely critical point. Church unity is dependent upon a common set of doctrinal beliefs. If we do not share “one faith” with Mormons or liberals or Unitarians, then we have no unity to maintain. Of course, this begs the question: what core doctrines constitute “the faith”? The ecumenical creeds are a start. A shared understanding of Scripture, justification, the resurrection, the atonement, basic Christian morality, the Trinity, and the person of Christ are certainly some of the non-negotiables. But however “the faith” is defined, the important point from Ephesians 4 is that it can be defined and circumscribes our shared unity.

4. Paul celebrates diversity in the midst of this unity, but the diversity is not theological. He expects an ethnic diversity (Jew-Gentile) and a diverse array of gifts and offices all working toward the same end (vv. 7-13)

5. Unity is something we have; something we maintain; and something we grow into (v. 13). While Paul expects there to be a common faith, he also allows that we will have to mature and grow into this unity of faith.

I believe the previous five points suggest a few other points by way of application.

1. There is no command to have unity with those who do not share the same basic elements of our faith.

2. If the command to “maintain the Spirit of unity in the bond of peace” is mainly a call to relational oneness in view of spiritual oneness, there is nothing in Ephesians 4 to suggest that Baptists and Presbyterians (for example) must necessarily be in breach of this command because they do not belong to the same ecclesiastical institution.

3. The “not yet” of verse 13 may, in fact, be our allowance (though not our desire) for some difference of opinion here on earth. Hopefully as we love and listen to those who are truly are brothers and sisters, we can increase in our knowledge of the faith and some of our disagreements can be minimized, even if we don’t completely attain the unity of the faith.

Like I said at the beginning, we need some of our best pastors, theologians, and historians to help the church understand what it means (and doesn’t mean) to be one. I’m only sketching a few bullet points. There are too many important issues at stake, and too many opportunities to bring God glory (or bring him dishonor), to ignore the biblical command to maintain the unity of the Spirit.

John Piper in East Lansing Next Week

John Piper will be speaking in East Lansing on October 17-18.

The event on the 17th is for college students and is already full. Sorry.

But we will be hosting a separate event on October 18 for ministry leaders. The event will be very low-key (i.e., no cost, no registration, no snacks, just show up) and will be held at our new building (841 Timberlane, East Lansing) from 10:00-11:30 on Thursday morning. I will be interviewing Pastor John on issues related to church ministry, preaching, and what he’s learned about being a pastor. There will also be a time for Q/A from the floor. I hope to see some of you there.

Monday Morning Humor