Kevin DeYoung's Blog, page 131

A Paedobaptist Reasons from Paul

Romans 4:11 – “He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.”

If circumcision was for Abraham a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith, then we cannot say the cutting away of the flesh was simply an ethnic identity marker or a sign of mere physical import. Circumcision was a seal of the deepest spiritual realities, a visible sign of the forgiveness of sins and justification by faith. Just like baptism would be centuries later.

And if this spiritual sign—a seal of the righteousness that comes by faith—was administered to Abraham and his infant sons, then we cannot say that the thing signified must always be present before the sign is administered. Isaac was circumcised, and so was Ishmael—both being given the seal of justification by faith before the exercise of faith. Just like infant baptism.

So whether infant baptism makes sense to you or not—and I deeply respect my non-paedo friends in my church and in the broader church—shouldn’t we at least agree that the basic spiritual import of circumcision and baptism is the same and that there is biblical precedence for administering a spiritual sign without the immediate presence of the thing signified?

Makes sense to me.

Five Features of Preaching in the Book of Acts

In his book on Acts, Alan Thompson notes five characteristics of apostolic evangelistic preaching (90-99). These five features serve as good models for all types of preaching, both then and now.

1. God-centered. The sermons in Acts begin with God. They announce the good news of what God has promised, what God has done, and what God will do. The preaching is not centered around the felt-needs of the audience, but around the mighty acts of God in history. The emphasis is on God’s initiative and how we are accountable to him.

2. Audience-conscious. While the preaching begins with God, it is not ignorant of those to whom the sermon is delivered. We see throughout Acts evidence of audience adaptation and sensitivity to what the audience already knows or doesn’t know. The sermons do not unfold as canned messages with a series of doctrinal propositions. The preaching is deeply theological, but not at the expense of be careful to communicate that theology in a way that is understandable. The core content stays the same, but the starting point and type of final appeal may change.

3. Christ-focused. Though God is often portrayed at the main actor in history, the preaching in Acts is relentlessly focused on Christ. The sermons highlight the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. They also explain the theological significance of these events. Christ is proclaimed as the climax of redemptive history and the good news for today’s sinners.

4. Response-oriented. The preaching in Acts is not response-driven. That is, we never see messages crafted or delivered in such a way as to manipulate a desired response. But the preaching always called for a response. This is often the difference between faithful teaching and anointed preaching. The apostles not only taught about God and Christ, they peppered their preaching with promises and warnings. Specifically, they called people to faith in Christ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

5. Boldness. The noun form of “boldness” is used five times in Acts and the verb form is used seven times (out of a total of nine in the NT). If there was one distinctive homiletical trademark of apostolic preaching it was boldness. In the context of much hostility, the apostles were often granted a unique freedom to preach Christ with exceptional clarity. In an age like ours with increasing opposition to Christianity and Christian claims, it is imperative that preachers reclaim this mantle of boldness. Preachers should not be obnoxious or obtuse, but we must question our approach to preaching if we are not willing “to be clear in the face of fear” (97).

Book Briefs

Alan J. Thompson, The Acts of the Risen Lord: Luke’s Account of God’s Unfolding Plan (IVP 2011). Under the editorial hand of D.A. Carson, this series continues to produce informative monographs on important topics of biblical theology. This new work on Acts is no exception. The strengths of Thompson’s work are many: he takes Acts on its own terms, his theological themes are well articulated, and he effectively shows the connections between Luke and Acts. I made a point to read this book before venturing on a long sermon series on Acts this fall. I’m sure I’ll refer to it often in the months ahead.

Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (Random House 2011). Want advice on how to change apart from the gospel or belief in God? Then this is the book for you. Duhigg, a reporter for the New York Times, is a good writer with a knack for telling a story. Each chapter is a creative look at forming habits through the lens of advertising, scientific research, social movements, or the business world. Most Christians will enjoy reading this intriguing, entertaining tome, and many will find a few nuggets of good advice. But considering Duhigg goes out of his way to minimize the role of God in changing habits, evangelicals won’t find a lot of help here. Even when Duhigg can’t deny the power of religious belief in changing people, he concludes that the important piece is just believing in something, especially in ourselves. You’ll find the chapters on Pepsodent, Starbucks, and Target fascinating, but the power to transform your life lies elsewhere.

Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity (Simon and Schuster 2012). Having read their book on Billy Graham and the presidents, I was eager to read another Gibbs/Duffy book on the highest office in the land. They avoid covering the same ground as many other presidential books by looking at the post-WWII presidents as they have related to each other. This unique angle makes for unique history. You’ll find out who was better than you thought (Hoover), which president went rogue (Carter), and which two are surprisingly good friends (Bush 41 and Clinton). This is popular history at its best—accessible, interesting, and with a knack for the untold story.

A Review of Richard Mouw’s Talking With Mormons

Richard Mouw, Talking With Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals (Eerdmans 2012).

This short book is difficult to review. In fewer than a 100 pages Mouw manages to say some incredibly helpful things, and, well, some other things too. In the former category, Mouw reminds evangelicals that loving our neighbor means we try to understand his beliefs and describe them accurately. His burden is “to invite us to nurture friendlier relations with the Mormon community” (43). To that end, he rightly notes that evangelicals have not always dealt patiently or charitably with Mormons. Throughout his ministry, Mouw has called evangelicals to greater civility and understanding with “outsiders.” Those who are eager to defend the faith and rebuke doctrinal error should not quickly dismiss Mouw’s concerns. He provides a needed warning for a certain type of evangelical.

On the other hand, Mouw’s approach to Mormonism is not without problems. For starters, his eagerness to build bridges leads him to attempt bridging the sometimes unbridgeable. Mouw does not personally reject any evangelical doctrines. In fact, he explicitly affirms them in numerous places. He understands where the differences between evangelicalism and Mormonism lie. But at every major difference he looks hard (and creatively) for a way to bring the two sides closer together. This basic impulse, while commendable to a degree, encourages methodological confusion. For example, Mouw routinely softens official Mormon teaching by quoting from progressive authors or citing new (potential) trends in Mormon theology (e.g., p. 59). I admit to being suspicious of these “trends,” just like an outside observer might be suspicious to think evangelicals were leaving their conservative politics behind just because of a few quotes from Brian MacLaren or N.T. Wright.

There are other problems with Mouw’s approach. Perhaps it’s the nature of the book, but I found he would only hint at some major differences with Mormonism, while proceeding for most of a chapter to find common ground. At other times, Mouw makes assumptions without any corroborating evidence, like they claim that in the future “Mormon leadership will add nothing new without being sure that what is accepted as new is continuous with the doctrine of faith, as set forth in Scripture” (71). No reasons were given for this optimism except Mouw’s sense that Mormonism seems to be changing.

At the most basic level, Mouw wants evangelicals to approach Mormons in a whole new way. While I think he rightly critiques one approach; his new approach is not the answer.

Mouw criticizes the sort of approach that starts with an assumption that Mormons are some combination of stupid, evil, imposters, and charlatans and then offers the usual anti-Mormon talking points (God doesn’t have a body, Jesus and Lucifer were not brothers, Joseph Smith was nuts, early Mormons were polygamists, etc.). He is right to call evangelicals to a better way.

But Mouw’s way is not it. He works from the experiential conclusion that Mormons have the presence of Jesus in their lives, even if they fall short of theological orthodoxy (99). From that starting point, Mouw tries to bridge the vast doctrinal divide by a combination of the following arguments: Mormonism is changing, Mormonism was trying to correct legitimate Christian abuses, we can find God-given truth in Mormonism, Mormons have been out of touch with the rest of Christianity so we should cut them some slack, Mormons have proved to be personally warm and trustworthy so we should not doubt their commitment to Jesus. The end result is that no doctrinal differences are actually resolved, but we’ve been encouraged to ask questions, look for shared “space,” and keep the conversation going.

If that were the only end result, Mouw’s project would be more benign. But I fear the other end result is that evangelicals will see orthodox theology as officially important but practically negligible. I know Mouw doesn’t think that, but that is the taste left in my mouth after finishing the book. On issue after issue, my take away was: no matter how serious the theological error, there will always be a way to make heterodoxy more sanguine. It’s hard to see a connection between right belief and regeneration in Mouw’s “invitation.” He certainly believes in the importance of truth, but it is largely something we work on to make our relationship with Jesus stronger, not something indispensable for the relationship in the first place. Mouw describes his faith as the experience of Jesus “as a loving Savior who offers me his warm embrace.” With that definition it’s easy to see how one can assume that Mormons are already in the fold, but it’s a far cry from the Heidelberg Catechism’s understanding of faith (Q/A 21-23).

I haven’t met Rich Mouw before, but he strikes me as an eminently likeable guy whose impulse is to find common ground. There are worse things that can be said about a person. Many Christians would do well to have more of that impulse. But the impulse to clarify and correct significant–sometimes eternally significant–disagreements is also admirable. Mouw does correction well when it comes to evangelicals, but seems less probing when it comes of Mormons. This book would be more helpful if the careful rebuke of our mistakes were matched by an equally trenchant correction of their views. I’d like to see a straight forward, deeply evangelical follow-up book entitled, “Talking to Mormons: An Invitation to Historic Christianity.”

Monday Morning Humor

Reformed Resources in Poland

I recently received an email gently encouraging me (and a few others) to consider doing what we could to support the work of Tolle Lege. I’m happy to do so.

Tolle Lege is a ministry which translates Reformed works into Polish. The man behind the operation, Dariusz Bryko, is a friend of mine from my days at Gordon-Conwell. Dariusz is very bright (a Ph.D. from Calvin under Richard Muller) and an entrepreneur with a heart for his native Poland. I encourage you to check out the ministry of Tolle Lege. It is a strategic work at an opportune time for gospel resurgence in Poland. They are currently raising funds for a Polish translation of Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism.

Some Advice for Youth Ministers

Guest Blogger: Dave Hinkley (Director of Children and Youth Ministry)

I don’t like to read youth ministry books. I love my work with young people at University Reformed Church, and I want to do it well, and I even hunger for the encouragement and sharpening of brethren who have faithfully done this work before me. But with very few exceptions what I have read of this rather large sub-genre has been discouraging. There is a lot of talk about best methods, a lot of talk about cool style, and lots more critique of those same methods and style. There is precious little about actually blowing on the embers of a young person’s faith. I’m thankful for (although I haven’t read yet) Brian Cosby’s Giving Up Gimmicks, I hope it’s the start of a trend.

Given the dearth of helpful resources, I thought it might be nice to compile a few observations from my own ministry that may be helpful to you in yours. I hope they are edifying.

1.  Relationships matter much more than coolness.

I hope your church is past the myth that the best ministers are young and hip. The best ministers are those who love the gospel of grace and are eager for young people to love it, too. The ‘type’ of person who does that really doesn’t matter. My most effective volunteers have been old ladies, young moms and awkward post college sci-fi nerds. All cool in their own way no doubt, but none of them shop at Hot Topic. Young people’s hearts are spoken to through trust and not through coolness, so make trustworthiness your goal above “relevance”.

2.  Gaining the trust of parents is one of the most important parts of the job.

This is for two very practical reasons: one, they aren’t going to send their kids to anything you do if they don’t trust you and two, the closer you can get to leading a ministry that is actually conducted by the parents for the kids and their friends, the better.

You may be a very godly and theological person, even very experienced in ministry, but if the parents in the congregation feel weird about you, your ministry to young people will never get off the ground. Don’t expect trust to just happen because of your qualifications, and don’t resent parents when they don’t give it. Just get to work earning it.

Good parents are very concerned with:

The guarding of their children’s hearts,
The faithfulness of what is being taught to their kids, and
That their own authority and role in their child’s life is honored.

Do whatever you have to do to honor these concerns. Show deference to parents regarding what topics are discussed. Make opportunities beforehand to introduce parents to what will be covered in your Bible studies or talks. Think about the social climate of your group? Are kids mean to each other? How is that handled by the adults? Let the parents you work with know that you want to do whatever you can to help them foster faith in Christ in their children. (Emphasis on the words help them.)

3.  Center your ministry on the word of God.

If we aren’t gathering these kids together to deepen their understanding of and trust in God’s word then we really shouldn’t bother. I’m not saying don’t do fun activities or fellowship in other ways; I am saying if your fellowship is not a means to greater discipleship to God and His Word, then you’re doing it wrong.

Don’t be afraid to go deep. With a little work on your part to translate, kids can understand pretty much any doctrine you want to talk about with them. What is more, they respond very well to being treated like they have a valued opinion on eternal matters. If you challenge kids to think deeply about the essential truths of our faith, they can and will grow.

Bottom line: if we are not presenting to them the glory and worthiness of Christ as He is presented to us in God’s inspired Word, we are wasting everyone’s time with mere activity. We want our kids to lift their eyes and hearts to Him in worship and experience the joy and freedom of the gospel. This isn’t going to happen if we spend an hour and 50 minutes seeing how many marshmallows can possibly go into their mouths and then 10 minutes on how God wants us to be good people.

4.  Give more thought and attention to the above things than to your youth ministry model.

We waste a lot of time fretting over structure and procedure. The main problem with your youth ministry is not that it is not fun enough. Your church can have a valuable youth ministry to the 4 or 400 students you have if the ministry is about going deep into the word of God in the context of trust and relationships. Outreach-centered or family-centered, catechism class or youth group; be about getting at the gospel and the transforming Word of God, and love the kids God has put in your church.

Fighting Boredom with God

Guest Blogger: Jon Saunders (Campus Director)

Michigan is a great state to live in, except for the month of March. The promise of summer is still a ways off and the reminder of a cold winter is still present. The snow is gray and slushy. The grass and flowers are dead. Everything feels dull. In March I long for the summer months when the cold and grey is replaced by warmth and vibrancy. Often it’s easy to become bored with God and see him like a slushy March day in Michigan. Here are a few things I try and remind myself of to keep me from the dangerous sin of being bored with God.

Pay Attention

In every second of life God is doing a million amazing things that, when thought about, should make our jaw drop. Stars still hang in the sky, romance with my wife is still wonderful, ants still march in lines and fish still swim on the bottom of the ocean with light bulbs hanging off their heads (technically these are called Angler Fish but that ruins the fun). If life is boring it is because we aren’t paying attention to all that God is doing.

These two quotes from Chesterton help me to pay attention.

It is one thing to describe an interview with a gorgon or a griffin, a creature who does not exist. It is another thing to discover that the rhinoceros does exist and then take pleasure in the fact that he looks as if he didn’t. One searches for truth, but it may be that one pursues instinctively the more extraordinary truths.

When I’m daydreaming I can drift into thoughts of living in Narnia. Wouldn’t it be fun to meet Mr. Tumnus? But then I come back to reality and realize I have something better than meeting Mr. Tumnus. God has made a rhino instead. Lewis had to borrow from God’s imagination to come up with his creatures. God invented real creatures without borrowing from anyone.

And here is the other quote from Chesterton:

It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.

This gets me every time. I have 3 kids and I honestly wish I could be more like them. Kids notice simple things and simple things make them incredibly excited. The older I get the less excited I get and I hate that part of me. Lord, keep me from being a boring grown-up. How I long for heaven when I’ll be childish in all the right ways and I’ll sit and stare at the sun in wonderful amazement knowing that God speaks a happy command and the sun hangs in the sky.

See Worldly Enjoyment as a Category for Greater Enjoyment in God

I often tell my friends that Reformed theology has caused me to love to eat. They usually think I’m joking but I’m not. In fact, Reformed theology has not just increased my love for food but also for sports, sex, friendship, nature and a hundred others things. What Reformed theology does is help us to see the world as God’s wonderful gift to draw us to him. Using the language of Colossians 2:16 every part of this world is a shadow that is intended to draw us to the substance of Christ. The command then is that we maximize the shadows so that we would feel the substance even more.

If you eat food and are bored by it then you will see God as boring. When I eat I try and pay attention to each specific flavor on my tongue because the more I eat and enjoy that taste the more I will long for God. If shrimp and grits taste this good in a fallen world then I can’t believe how good it’s going to be to live in an eternal covenantal relationship with the God who imagined and created the taste of shrimp and grits! It is clearly a sin to worship the worldly gifts of God, but is also a sin to not enjoy what God has given as a way of longing for him more.

God does not intend boring lives for us. Atheists live in the gray because the end of their lives is nothing but for us we live in color because God is sovereign and happy. He is working millions of amazing miracles each second, the greatest of them being I’m still a Christian. Lord, keep me from the sin of boredom with you.

Sustaining the Saints in Suffering

Guest Blogger: Pat Quinn (Director of Counseling Ministries)

I recently preached on Hebrews 12: 1-11 about understanding and enduring suffering as the Father’s painful loving discipline. The writer says in verse 11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.” Pain is always hard to endure, but we compound and intensify the pain if we either don’t know what God is doing or, worse, actually think he’s turned against us. Now he doesn’t promise to tell us why we will experience this pain, though it may be long and intense. But he does tell us what he’s up to is for our encouragement and endurance in verse 7: “It is for discipline that you have to endure.” (see also Deut 8: 5, 16—”Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you…that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end“). Here are a couple of truths from this passage to remember in order to better understand and endure suffering in a way that promotes God-glorifying holiness and ultimate happiness:

God’s discipline is an expression of his fatherly love for our sanctification: Verses 7 and 10 say, “For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?…He disciplines us…that we may share his holiness.” This is so important to remember and so hard to trust when life is chaotic and painful. When my daughter was little she used to get ear infections and I remember taking her to her pediatrician one time. He wasn’t able to see into her ear due to wax so he got out a sharp pointy instrument to pick the wax out. My daughter got very scared and I had to hold her down while the doctor poked around. Because of her thrashing he cut her ear, which just made her more terrified. Although I wanted to punch the doctor, I had to hold her down while he “hurt” her—for her good. When we left, I don’t remember her saying, “Thanks, Dad, I really needed you to hold me down.” She was probably thinking, “Why did my Dad help this man hurt me?!” Sometimes God has to hold us down and make us bleed too. We don’t understand, we’re scared, but he knows what he’s doing. Jesus was held down and made to bleed by his Father too; but it was for his ultimate glory and for our salvation.

God’s discipline is assurance that you are indeed a born again beloved child of God.  Assurance of salvation is a precious thing—a strong tower in all kinds of trouble. Some struggle deeply as they seek it and it seems to elude them. Verses 7-8 tells us one significant way God assures us we are his beloved child. “God is treating you as sons…If you are left without discipline…then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” Painful discipline in your life is God’s assurance that you are the real deal—a true child of God! When my son was small I had to spank him on occasion. One time, after getting spanked, he said to his sister, “It didn’t hurt!”  I heard him, brought him back for one more “spank,” and then assured him of my love for him. As he walked away the second time he knew two things for sure: “My bottom really hurts!” and “That’s my Dad.” The spanking was in the context of a loving relationship and was for the sake of the relationship.

Let us remember and help others understand God’s loving purposes in his painful discipline.

Lessons Learned in College Ministry

Guest Blogger: Jackie Knapp (Associate Campus Director)

Seeing as this page is not often influenced by the feminine side, I toyed with writing “Decorating on a Dime” or “Fabulous French Market Recipes.” But, realizing these exhilarating topics aren’t quite the reason most of you visit this blog, I decided to save that for the next time around (and now I’ve just worked my way out of a next time)!

Instead, I wanted to share a few thoughts about my time in college ministry. During the last seven years, I have spent much of my life with undergrad students. Five of those actually living with them, in a dorm somewhere very west of here, and the last two in East Lansing as an almost-Spartan at Michigan State. (While I have respect for the Spartans, they can’t convince me to leave my Illini roots.)

Although the cumulation of these years with students may mean I am a few inches closer to losing my sanity, it also means that the richness of relationships that I have gained is something I would never trade in for the hours of sleep lost, the hair I sacrificed to dye for a costume, or the “normal” life I could have been living. These are not times I would give back, no matter how many one-sided conversations I’ve endured with awkward freshmen who aren’t quite sure why you are trying to be their friend, and perhaps wonder if you are the creepy stalker their mothers warned them to stay far away from.

Now that the newness of this ministry has worn off and I don’t feel quite as much like I have been hit by a train by the time Labor Day rolls around, it is tempting to look for an easier way to do this thing. Life would be a lot simpler if I could find the answer that is going to draw thousands of students, transform their lives, and magically help them walk with God for the next fifty years. Being part of the microwave, drive-thru, instagram generation, I would like a shortcut for developing college students who passionately love God and their neighbors. In reality, I want a way to do it without having to give my life away.

Instead of discovering the quick fix, I am slowly learning how Jesus lived and loved as He lead his motley crew of disciples should be the heartbeat behind my ministry, and that there is not some hidden secret I am going to find. “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). This is the way He calls us to live, with whoever is in our lives. In my particular context, there aren’t flashy programs or easy substitutes for the time, energy and love it takes to build relationships with students starting with a foundation of friendship.

I definitely believe there is a place for training and innovative ideas, and I realize this call to love does not easily determine how exactly to live it out on campus. But it does clarify my main purpose and approach to how I spend my days. I want to use my time to pursue students, genuinely care and ask questions, put in the hours and energy to know each person well, and learn to speak honest truth, not because I am the “professional” Christian in full-time ministry, but because I actually love these people.

Unfortunately I don’t always like this answer, because it involves hard work and demands much of me, not something I normally sign up for. When I first started on campus, I didn’t have any grasp that the self-sacrifice it takes to try to emulate Jesus really would cost me something. I jumped into full-time ministry thinking it would be really fun; I would help a few people, learn how to counsel, and that I really didn’t want to be stuck in a cubicle for my job. While those things have been true, this life has been much more challenging and demanded much more sacrifice than I could have imagined.

It doesn’t take too many weeks to see that loving wisely and caring for dozens of students at the same time is not as easy as it appears and that it is only sustained long-term by the grace of God. Nor does it take too many encounters with students to realize that some will be apathetic, some very hard to connect with, and some will actively turn away from God, despite the amount of love or care you pour into their lives.

But it also doesn’t take too long to see that you get to play a role, however small, in a crucial stage of life, helping point them to Christ, witnessing God powerfully pulling souls from darkness into light. And, that in many unexpected ways, those awkward freshmen do transform before your eyes to become true friends who will love you even better than you have tried to love them.

So while I may pick up new books, brainstorm events, and alter the ways we try to reach and lead people, how I most want to prepare for the school year is to pray that I would love well and sacrificially, that our students and staff would live this calling, and that we would be willing to put in the time to lay down our lives, in big or small ways, for one another.