R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 591

Resources for Study this Holy Week

This is not just any week—it is the week which commemorates the most important event in all of history. R.C. Sproul explains:

One of the sweetest statements from the lips of Jesus in the New Testament is this: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34b). There is a plan of God designed for your salvation. It is not an afterthought or an attempt to correct a mistake. Rather, from all eternity, God determined that He would redeem for Himself a people, and that which He determined to do was, in fact, accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ, His atonement on the cross. Your salvation has been accomplished by a Savior Who is not merely a potential Savior but an actual Savior, One Who did for you what the Father determined He should do. He is your Surety, your Mediator, your Substitute, your Redeemer. He atoned for your sins on the cross.

J.C. Ryle stated, "The longer I dwell on the cross in my thoughts, the more I am satisfied that there is more to be learned at the foot of the cross than anywhere else in the world."

We pray that the following resources will encourage you in your continued study of the Gospel, the cross, and the gift of salvation.

Articles

The Bearer of Iniquity by Joseph Pipa, Jr.
Biblical Scholasticism by R.C. Sproul
The Blood of the Lamb by Gordon Wenham
Cur Deus Homo by R.C. Sproul
For God So Loved the World by Tom Ascol
For God So Loved the World by R. Scott Clark
God's Holy Love by Albert Mohler
It Is Finished by Burk Parsons
The Lamb of God by Derek Thomas
Lift High the Cross by Michael Beates

Streaming Media Resources

The Atonement by R.C. Sproul
Blessing or Curse? by Albert Mohler
Christ Our Ransom by Derek Thomas
The Cross of Christ by R.C. Sproul
The Curse Motif of the Atonement by R.C. Sproul
Exalted to the Right Hand of God: The Resurrection and the Ascension by Michael Horton
He Is Not Here: The Significance of the Empty Tomb by Alistair Begg
Imputation by R.C. Sproul
Meaning of the Gospel by R.C. Sproul
The Perfect Sacrifice by R.C. Sproul
The Resurrection of Christ by R.C. Sproul
The Substitutionary Atonement of Christ by Sinclair Ferguson
The Suffering Servant by R.C. Sproul
The Symbol of the Cross by R.C. Sproul
What Is the Gospel? by R.C. Sproul
Why the God-Man? by Sinclair Ferguson

Store Resources

The Atonement of Jesus teaching series by R.C. Sproul
Comforts from the Cross book by Elyse Fitzpatrick
Counted Righteous in Christ book by John Piper
The Cross of Christ teaching series by R.C. Sproul
The Cross of Christ: 2006 Fall Conferences
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ book by John Owen
Is There Life After Death?: 2009 West Coast Conference
The Life of Jesus teaching series by R.C. Sproul
The Priest With Dirty Clothes book by R.C. Sproul
The Prince's Poison Cup book by R.C. Sproul
Redemption Accomplished and Applied book by John Murray
The Truth of the Cross book by R.C. Sproul
Understanding the Gospel teaching series by R.C. Sproul
What Did Jesus Do?: Understanding the Work of Christ teaching series by R.C. Sproul
What Is the Atonement? booklet by Richard Phillips

R.C. Sproul, "Clothed in Righteousness"

A Primer on Inerrancy (pt. 7)

In this excerpt from John Gerstner’s Primitive Theology, Dr. Gerstner looks at the issue of inerrancy and seeks briefly and non-technically to present a case for Bible Inerrancy that a serious-minded layman can follow and evaluate. Though by no means an exhaustive treatment, it is one that is sound and faithful to the Scriptures. This is the sixth part of the series. Dr. Gerstner has looked at four unsound bases for sound doctrine and is now in the midst of a discussion of a sound basis for sound doctrine.

Continued from Part 6

6. The Testimony of Divinely Commissioned Messengers as the Basis for Bible Inerrancy(continued)

(B) The Argument from Inspired Bible to Inerrant Bible.

So far we have shown the inspiration of the Bible. But some will say, “You are supposed to show more than that: namely, the inerrancy of the Bible.” They seem to think that it is possible to have an inspired Bible which is yet an errant Bible. Or, to put it another way, they suppose that it is possible to have a partially-inspired Bible. If this were so we would readily grant that we have not proved our point. If the Bible is partially inspired and partially not inspired, there can be no denying the possibility of error in the uninspired part of the Scriptures. So let us attempt to show the movement from inspired to inerrant Bible.

1. An inspired Bible means an inerrant Bible. They are one and the same thing. To put it another way, an inspired Bible is a completely inspired Bible. If it is completely inspired it is, as we have shown above, a completely inerrant Bible, because God cannot err or lie.

Why do we say that for the Bible to be inspired is to be completely inspired? The question should be the other way around. That is, if a message is said to be inspired, why does anyone say that it is only partly inspired? We have said above that God commissioned these Bible writers and that they wrote under His commission. If this is so, why would we not assume that all that they wrote rather than certain parts of it were inspired? We admit that if they said that their message was only partly inspired that would prove that such was the case. But then for those parts they would not be speaking as the divinely commissioned writers, but on their own, as it were. In other words, the burden of proof is on partial inspirationists and not total inspirationists. They must show that these writers who claimed inspiration for the Bible exempted certain parts of it from their claim.

Some have accepted this burden of proof. Let us examine one of the very few texts to which they appeal to show the merely human writing of certain parts of the Bible. Here are Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7:10: “And unto the married, I command, yet not I, but the Lord . . . .” First, we note that this proves far more than our friends want to prove or can admit. If these words were intended by Paul as this interpretation would have it, then he is uninspired unless he specifically claims to be inspired within the contexts of his writings. “Not I, but the Lord,” according to this view, means that it was Paul alone who had been speaking, but at this particular juncture the Lord Himself speaks. That this is not the meaning we have already shown by proving that the Bible writers claimed the authority of Christ in writing. They were commissioned by God to give His message. On the view being considered, Paul would be going back on that and rarely, on occasions such as this one, actually claims inspiration for himself. According to this, then, only a tiny fragment of the Bible is the Word of God. Second, another construction of these words is possible which would fit with Paul’s over-all doctrine and appears, therefore, to be his meaning. He may, according to the words themselves, be here distinguishing his particular revelations on the subject of marriage from that which came from the teaching of Jesus Himself. (Jesus, in fact, did teach in Matthew 5:32 that infidelity was a just basis for divorce by the innocent party, but said nothing about separation, which Paul here reveals as another just ground for divorce.)

Paul is also thought to contradict total inspiration doctrine when in 1 Corinthians 1:16 he says he is unable to remember whether he had baptized any others. But how this in any way, directly or indirectly, denies his inspiration at that moment is never shown. It is merely insinuated. The insinuation seems to be that God could not inspire forgetfulness. But God’s inspiration guarantees only inerrancy, not necessarily total recall. If Paul remembered wrongly we would have an uninspired Paul; but a Paul who does not remember is a Paul who is inspired to record that very fact for our instruction (presumably, concerning the nature of inspiration, what it does and does not include, what it does and does not exclude) .

There are not merely implicit, but also explicit statements that the Bible is completely and not merely partially inspired. The classic text is 2 Timothy 3:16. We cannot in a small work go into a detailed exposition, but can merely say here, as is generally granted, that the correct translation of this text is: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (RSV) . “Not one jot or one tittle” (the slightest detail, that is) of the law shall pass away until all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18; cf. also 1 Corinthians 2:13). This could never be said of any partially fallible law. Christ and Paul could not make their arguments rest on single words (John 10:35; Galatians 3:16) if inspiration did not extend to the individual words.
If the Bible were merely partially inspired, we would be worse off than if it were totally uninspired, for we would then have the excruciating task of distinguishing the Word of God in the Bible with no means for so doing. No one who has ever advocated the partial-inspiration view has provided us with a means of separating the inspired and uninspired parts. Some think that Luther, for example, used the doctrine of justification by faith alone as the touchstone of inspiration. We do not think that is an accurate understanding of Luther; but, for the moment, let us suppose it is. How could Luther or anyone else know that justification by faith is true, if not on the ground that it is taught by the Word of God? If the Bible is the Word of God because it teaches justification rather than justification being the truth of God because it is taught in the Bible by what means do we know this? We have shown how we know that the Bible is the Word of God, and how from this we could know that justification is true, but how can anyone prove that justification is true and able to serve as the touchstone to the Word of God? This is a basal fallacy of the “Confession of 1967” (cf. appendix) which virtually makes “Reconciliation” as the mark of the Word of God.

If we pushed this matter to fundamentals we would find ourselves back on one of the wrong bases for the right doctrine which we considered in Part I. This is no doubt the reason that adherents of this view prefer merely to advocate it rather than argue for it, that is, to assume that one can know what part of the Bible is inspired and what part is not (but neglect to tell us how to do this little thing).

We said above that the partial-inspiration doctrine is actually worse than no doctrine of inspiration. With no doctrine of inspiration you would be most unfortunate; however, you would not be doomed to searching for it where it could not be found. On this present view one would have to search without ever knowing whether he had found. By comparison, searching for a needle in a haystack would be child’s play, for you know there is the needle and, given sufficient effort and time, it can be found. But on the partial-inspiration theory you know that a great and invaluable mine of divine truth is there, but you also know that, while you must seek for such a treasure, it is impossible that you would ever find it. You could never know that you found it even when you had it in your hands, as it were. You could hold the precious gold of God’s Word in your hand and not be sure that it was not human slime, while, on the other hand, you could hold human slime and not be sure that it was not God’s precious truth. You must ever be searching, and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.

Thus, we believe that we have shown that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired and inerrant. Not everything that God says, He says in the Bible. We have indicated that He revealed Himself to us before He revealed Himself further and savingly in sacred Scripture. But everything that the Bible says, God says.

To be continued...

Excerpted from Primitive Theology by John H. Gerstner.

Lady Gaga: A Psalmist's Perspective

Written by Hanna Luong, Christian Renewal magazine

Not many 24 year olds can say that they are in the top ten of Forbes magazine’s list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Or that their Facebook page has 30,962,180 likes and counting. Or that their face and their fashion are internationally recognizable. Or that they make millions.

But Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, best known as Lady Gaga, can. How does she do it? She who endorses what scripture condemns. She who works tirelessly to develop the glory of her own image, claiming that “[artists] are nothing without [it].” Lady Gaga is one remarkable example of what has been a trend for thousands of years: the seeming prosperity and success of those who do not find their help in God.

Consider Psalm 73. Asaph perceived that there were no pangs in the death of the wicked, that their strength was firm, that they were not in trouble or plagued as other men, but that they had “more than heart could wish,” while he, a follower of God, was plagued all day long and chastened every morning. Doesn’t it often seem unfair that in spite of our prayers and our practice of daily faithfulness that we are often left job hunting while our fellow graduates have good jobs, or that we never “get ahead” financially while our friends seem to have “more than heart could wish,” as the psalmist puts it.

In light of what we read here, and what we see in our own experience, how do we read verses of scripture that claim that every circumstance is orchestrated to bring the greatest good to those who love God (Romans 8:28)?

For Ann Voskamp, it all comes down to perspective. In her book A Thousand Gifts she explores the innumerable ways that she experiences God’s blessings and grace, from the “morning shadows across old floors” (gift #1) to “resurrection bloom, an amaryllis, a gift in the year coming” (gift #1000). But in her exploration of what it means to be thankful in all things, under every circumstance, Ann finds herself forced to address those things that we do not naturally thank God for. Having experienced the death of her younger sister at a very young age, the anxiety attacks of agoraphobia in her 20s and her mother’s admittance into a mental health facility later in her life, Ann’s life has not been all morning light and amaryllis blooms.

She concludes that we do not believe in “a God of sporadic, random, splattering goodness”, but in a God that ordains all things – even the disaster of a city (Amos 3:6) or personal ruin (Job) or joblessness, financial struggles, sickness, phobias, and all of the things in our lives that we would not tend to put on a list of 1000 gifts of God. From the perspective of faith in a God that is always good, all of these things, every thing, is for our benefit. Sometimes we’re given grace to ascertain this in the moment, other times it will require hindsight to see God’s face in all the moments of our lives and many times we aren’t privy to God’s purposes (His thoughts and ways are higher than ours).

Consider Psalm 73 again. Asaph sees that he was “foolish and ignorant...like a beast” before God. His perspective was unclear until he entered into the presence of God (“went into the sanctuary”). Then he saw that those who do not worship God have no help, “they are set...in slippery places” and cast “down to destruction.” He saw that those who trust in God are continually with Him, even being held by the hand and guided by His counsel.

So if you never make it onto a Forbes list, or if you always struggle financially, or if you don’t have 30,962,180 “friends” on Facebook or even one close friend, or if “your flesh and your heart fail,” know this: God is your strength and your portion forever. And what else, in heaven or earth, do we desire besides Him?

Posted by permission of Christian Renewal magazine, Volume 29, #11 April 6, 2011

The Victory Parade We Don't Deserve

"Though I didn’t think such was possible, my esteem for both my father and the Bible took a rather sudden spike. I was blessed to be sitting in a seminary class, while he stood, teaching. He mentioned, almost in passing, this notion that rocked my world. 'Some scholars,' he said (and by the way he said it I had a strong suspicion that he was one of those scholars), 'believe that the ‘man’ Joshua met outside the wall of Jericho was a pre-incarnate manifestation of the second person of the Trinity, a christophany.' I was blown away as he went on to make the case. He encouraged us to remember that Joshua bowed and worshiped. Had he been with an angel from God, the angel would have forbidden such worship. That the being received the worship made the case."

That is how R.C. Sproul Jr begins his contribution to this month's edition of Tabletalk. You will have to keep reading to see how he gets from that introduction to the title The Victory Parade We Don't Deserve.

The End of the World According to Harold Camping (Part 1)

If you were to drive the freeways of southern California, you would see from time to time billboards proclaiming the Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 and declaring that the Bible guarantees it. Presumably these billboards may be seen in many other parts of the country as well. Who is responsible for these signs and what do they really mean theologically?

The signs have been placed by Harold Camping and his followers to warn people that the end is at hand. To understand these signs we must know something of the history as well as the theology of Harold Camping. I am in a somewhat distinctive position to write on this subject since I first met Camping in the late 1950s. I learned a great deal from him then, and so I find what follows a very sad story. I pray for him that the Lord will deliver him from the serious errors into which he has fallen.

Christian Reformed

While a high school student in Alameda, California, I began to attend the Alameda Christian Reformed Church. It was there that I was converted through the influence of a number of people in the congregation, including Harold Camping. At that time he was an elder in the congregation and taught the Bible lessons for the high school youth group. He was a conservative, traditional adherent of the Christian Reformed Church and would remain so for many years.

In those days the Christian Reformed Church was a strongly ethnic denomination and the congregation in Alameda was almost entirely Dutch in background. The CRC was also still strictly Reformed, interpreting the Bible in light of the church’s confessional standards: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort. Camping strongly embraced and taught the doctrine and piety of the CRC in which he had been raised.

The Christian Reformed Church, like all Presbyterian and Reformed churches, also stressed the importance of a carefully and thoroughly educated ministry. The church certainly taught the Reformation doctrine that the Scripture is clear in its teaching of the message of salvation. At the same time it also recognized that the Lord had given his church pastors to open the Word of God and preserve the church in the truth (Ephesians 4:4-14). The faithful preaching of these pastors was a means of grace by which the saints were built up. For this vital calling, ministers were educated to read the Bible in Greek and Hebrew, to understand how to read the various genres in the Bible, and how to interpret each part of the Bible in light of the whole. The best handling of the Scriptures required excellent education.

Engineer

Camping was a bright and studious man who had been educated as an engineer. In the 1950s he owned a very successful construction company which built churches as well as other significant buildings. This educational background is critical to understanding Camping. His education was not in the liberal arts or theology. He had not been prepared to read literature or ancient texts. He knew no Greek or Hebrew. He was not formally introduced to the study of theology. His reading of the Bible, as it evolved over the decades, reflected his training in engineering. He reads the Bible like a mathematical or scientific textbook.

Entrepreneur

Camping developed, as a good businessman, his construction company and then sold it. With the money he began to build the Christian radio network called Family Radio. This network was very much his own property and his skill developed Family Radio into a group of stations spread throughout the country. Family Radio appealed to many Christians through its programming of Christian music, Bible reading, Bible lessons and messages from various pastors and conference speakers. The teaching was basically Reformed and Camping sought to have as many recordings of Reformed speakers as possible.

Camping himself had a regular program of his own called “Open Forum.” During this program he invited people to call in with questions about the Bible and theology. He promoted a Reformed approach to the Bible and especially confronted and refuted dispensational, Pentecostal, and Arminian theologies. He had a broad and detailed knowledge of the Bible which he used to very good effect in answering questions. He was at one time a most effective and influential promoter of Reformed theology and won many listeners to the Reformed cause.

Autodidact

After Camping began to work full-time with Family Radio, he spent much time studying the Bible. His knowledge of Bible verses is impressive indeed. But his study of the Bible was undertaken in isolation from other Christians and theologians. He adopted a proud individualism. He did not really learn from Bible scholars. He studied the Bible in isolation from the church and the consensus of the faithful. As a result his understanding of the Bible became more and more idiosyncratic. No one could help, direct, or restrain him. He was really an autodidact, that is, someone who teaches himself. He never really submitted his ideas to be challenged and improved by others. He was truly his only teacher. He has repeatedly said that he would be glad to change his views if he is shown that he is wrong from the Bible. But this humble statement covers a very arrogant attitude, because no one can ever show him that he is wrong. He alone really understands the Bible.

Originally posted on the Westminster Seminary California Blog.

Suggested Resource: Should We Leave Our Churches?: A Biblical Response to Harold Camping by Ligon Duncan & Mark Talbot

Adopted for Life

I didn’t see any particular reason to read Russell Moore’s Adopted for Life. I have no intention of adopting anyone at my age. I won’t tell you exactly what age that is, but my youngest child just turned 30. While visiting in the home of that same youngest child, however, I saw a copy of the book. My son and his wife were finishing up the process of becoming certified to foster parent with a view to adoption. Wanting to be supportive of them, I asked if I could borrow Adopted for Life.

Moore’s book was not at all what I expected! It does encourage Christian parents to intentionally choose adoption, as a ministry, and not just if they’re unable to produce biological children. That much I anticipated from the subtitle:  The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches. What took me by surprise was how much more there was to the book than just reasons for and how-to’s of adoption.

Russell Moore begins by telling us why there’s more to his book than what I was expecting.  “Whenever I told people I was working on a book on adoption,” he writes, “they’d often say something along the lines of, ‘Great. So, is the book about the doctrine of adoption or, you know, real adoption?’  That’s a hard question to answer because you can’t talk about the one without talking about the other…Adoption is, on the one hand, gospel. In this, adoption tells us who we are as children of the Father…Adoption is also defined as mission. In this, adoption tells us our purpose in this age as the people of Christ” (17-18).

The chapter “Are They Brothers?” begins to unpack what adoption should mean for each one of us who has been adopted into the household of God.  As I read, I couldn’t remember any sermons I’d heard or books I’d read on the doctrine of adoption.  Justification is frequently expounded and emphasized—as it should be. The next step seems to be to explain sanctification. Somehow, in the process, adoption gets pushed into the background.  Moore corrects that with a gripping description of what it means for us to be adopted as children of God. He reminds us of what a radical thing it was for Paul, the Israelite of Israelites, the Pharisee, to address as “brothers” foreigners, aliens, the uncircumcised—Gentiles. He reminds us that even though, in our own sinful natures, we’re like the evil child no family would be willing to receive, in Christ, we have, not just a foster home, but sonship. We belong to the household of God. The inheritance that the first-born Son receives is our inheritance. Moore’s discussion of the New Testament’s teaching on adoption is thorough and moving, interlaced with apt illuminations from his experience of adopting his own two sons from a Russian orphanage.  Having read that chapter, I, for one, will never be able to pass quite so quickly over words like “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ…” (Eph. 1:4-5), but will instead be flooded by a wave of gratitude.

Chapter 3, “Joseph vs. Planned Parenthood,” is written as vividly as a page-turner of a novel. Moore takes time to demonstrate that the warfare between “the seed of the woman” and “the seed of the serpent” has raged throughout history, destroying children. Pharaoh in Exodus and Herod in Matthew destroy babies. Wars caused by sinful desires destroy babies. The greed of those in the abortion business and the desires of expectant parents for something other than what’s best for unborn children destroy babies. Moore demonstrates that the people of God are to believe God’s evaluation of children as “blessings,” resist the selfish anti-child bent of a sinful world, and care for orphans. He cites Joseph, Jesus’ adoptive father, as an example for us all. Joseph set aside things he would have desired in order to be faithful to the call to be a father to Jesus. He gave up his reputation by taking a pregnant woman for his wife. He gave up his livelihood by fleeing to Egypt to protect the child. Moore reminds us that this spirit of seeking God’s kingdom first is what we’re all called to—as James, Joseph’s “real” son, a witness to his father’s adopting care of Jesus, tells us when he says that “pure and undefiled religion is visiting widows and orphans in their affliction.”

Having so thoroughly grounded the adoption process in God’s care for us, who were not his people but who now are called “sons of the living God,” Moore goes on to discuss practical issues dealing with the specifics of adoption (chapters 4-6). Even here, though, he constantly moves back and forth from practical questions to the “big picture” teaching of Scripture. Moore gives “voice of experience” advice for parents who have not been able to have children and for those who support and counsel them, for parents who have children and are considering adoption, and for relatives of adopting parents. He discusses paperwork, finances, international and domestic adoption, open or closed adoption, and the choices regarding age, race, and special needs that adopting parents face.

Adopted for Life is not intended solely for parents considering adoption. Woven throughout are suggestions for how non-adopting believers and entire congregations can—and should—support and encourage parents who choose to adopt. The seventh chapter, “It Takes a Village to Adopt a Child:  How Churches Can Encourage Adoption,” deals specifically with this subject, showing not only how a local church can help, but also how it will be helped in carrying out its mission, through helping parents who adopt.

Chapter 8, “Adopted is a Past Tense Verb,” deals with ongoing realities for adoptive parents: making adjustments, learning to discipline, bonding. This chapter points out the importance of how we speak about our adopted children, as we introduce them to others and as we discuss “where they came from” with the children themselves.

Adopted for Life is an excellent read. Don’t make the mistake I almost made of not reading this book because you don’t plan to adopt any children. It will refresh your understanding of the blessings of the gospel, reignite your enthusiasm for the church, the household of God, and get you thinking about the part you could have in bringing God’s concern for needy children and God’s life-changing good news to our broken world.

Starr Meade has served as a director of children’s ministries, has taught in a Christian school, and currently teaches classes for home school students. She is the author of seven books, including Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism.

Adopted for Life

I didn’t see any particular reason to read Russell Moore’s Adopted for Life. I have no intention of adopting anyone at my age. I won’t tell you exactly what age that is, but my youngest child just turned 30. While visiting in the home of that same youngest child, however, I saw a copy of the book. My son and his wife were finishing up the process of becoming certified to foster parent with a view to adoption. Wanting to be supportive of them, I asked if I could borrow Adopted for Life.

Moore’s book was not at all what I expected! It does encourage Christian parents to intentionally choose adoption, as a ministry, and not just if they’re unable to produce biological children. That much I anticipated from the subtitle:  The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches. What took me by surprise was how much more there was to the book than just reasons for and how-to’s of adoption.

Russell Moore begins by telling us why there’s more to his book than what I was expecting.  “Whenever I told people I was working on a book on adoption,” he writes, “they’d often say something along the lines of, ‘Great. So, is the book about the doctrine of adoption or, you know, real adoption?’  That’s a hard question to answer because you can’t talk about the one without talking about the other…Adoption is, on the one hand, gospel. In this, adoption tells us who we are as children of the Father…Adoption is also defined as mission. In this, adoption tells us our purpose in this age as the people of Christ” (17-18).

The chapter “Are They Brothers?” begins to unpack what adoption should mean for each one of us who has been adopted into the household of God.  As I read, I couldn’t remember any sermons I’d heard or books I’d read on the doctrine of adoption.  Justification is frequently expounded and emphasized—as it should be. The next step seems to be to explain sanctification. Somehow, in the process, adoption gets pushed into the background.  Moore corrects that with a gripping description of what it means for us to be adopted as children of God. He reminds us of what a radical thing it was for Paul, the Israelite of Israelites, the Pharisee, to address as “brothers” foreigners, aliens, the uncircumcised—Gentiles. He reminds us that even though, in our own sinful natures, we’re like the evil child no family would be willing to receive, in Christ, we have, not just a foster home, but sonship. We belong to the household of God. The inheritance that the first-born Son receives is our inheritance. Moore’s discussion of the New Testament’s teaching on adoption is thorough and moving, interlaced with apt illuminations from his experience of adopting his own two sons from a Russian orphanage.  Having read that chapter, I, for one, will never be able to pass quite so quickly over words like “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ…” (Eph. 1:4-5), but will instead be flooded by a wave of gratitude.

Chapter 3, “Joseph vs. Planned Parenthood,” is written as vividly as a page-turner of a novel. Moore takes time to demonstrate that the warfare between “the seed of the woman” and “the seed of the serpent” has raged throughout history, destroying children. Pharaoh in Exodus and Herod in Matthew destroy babies. Wars caused by sinful desires destroy babies. The greed of those in the abortion business and the desires of expectant parents for something other than what’s best for unborn children destroy babies. Moore demonstrates that the people of God are to believe God’s evaluation of children as “blessings,” resist the selfish anti-child bent of a sinful world, and care for orphans. He cites Joseph, Jesus’ adoptive father, as an example for us all. Joseph set aside things he would have desired in order to be faithful to the call to be a father to Jesus. He gave up his reputation by taking a pregnant woman for his wife. He gave up his livelihood by fleeing to Egypt to protect the child. Moore reminds us that this spirit of seeking God’s kingdom first is what we’re all called to—as James, Joseph’s “real” son, a witness to his father’s adopting care of Jesus, tells us when he says that “pure and undefiled religion is visiting widows and orphans in their affliction.”

Having so thoroughly grounded the adoption process in God’s care for us, who were not his people but who now are called “sons of the living God,” Moore goes on to discuss practical issues dealing with the specifics of adoption (chapters 4-6). Even here, though, he constantly moves back and forth from practical questions to the “big picture” teaching of Scripture. Moore gives “voice of experience” advice for parents who have not been able to have children and for those who support and counsel them, for parents who have children and are considering adoption, and for relatives of adopting parents. He discusses paperwork, finances, international and domestic adoption, open or closed adoption, and the choices regarding age, race, and special needs that adopting parents face.

Adopted for Life is not intended solely for parents considering adoption. Woven throughout are suggestions for how non-adopting believers and entire congregations can—and should—support and encourage parents who choose to adopt. The seventh chapter, “It Takes a Village to Adopt a Child:  How Churches Can Encourage Adoption,” deals specifically with this subject, showing not only how a local church can help, but also how it will be helped in carrying out its mission, through helping parents who adopt.

Chapter 8, “Adopted is a Past Tense Verb,” deals with ongoing realities for adoptive parents: making adjustments, learning to discipline, bonding. This chapter points out the importance of how we speak about our adopted children, as we introduce them to others and as we discuss “where they came from” with the children themselves.

Adopted for Life is an excellent read. Don’t make the mistake I almost made of not reading this book because you don’t plan to adopt any children. It will refresh your understanding of the blessings of the gospel, reignite your enthusiasm for the church, the household of God, and get you thinking about the part you could have in bringing God’s concern for needy children and God’s life-changing good news to our broken world.

Starr Meade has served as a director of children’s ministries, has taught in a Christian school, and currently teaches classes for home school students. She is the author of seven books, including Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism.

Twitter Highlights (4/17/11)

Here are some highlights from the various Ligonier Twitter feeds over the past week.

Ligonier The first act of redemption was God stooping to cover the shame of his creatures. -RC Sproul



Reformation Trust Luther came to realize that salvation was a gift for the guilty, not a reward for the righteous. -Steven Lawson



Ligonier You can know about Jesus & not have a personal relationship with Jesus. -R.C. Sproul



Tabletalk Magazine "If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be be better than they are in the world" (John Owen).



Reformation Trust God loves you because He loves you. So stop trying to add, "Yes, but the real reason He loves me is because of my good works." -Derek Thomas



Ligonier Academy "A liberal Protestant, a liberal Catholic, and a liberal Jew can agree on almost everything, because they believe almost nothing. "-unknown



Ligonier When God writes our names in the 'Lamb's Book of Life' He doesn't do it with an eraser handy. He does it for eternity. - R.C. Sproul

You can also find our various ministries on Facebook:
Ligonier Ministries | Ligonier Academy | Reformation Trust | Tabletalk Magazine

Twitter Highlights (4/17/11)

Here are some highlights from the various Ligonier Twitter feeds over the past week.

Ligonier The first act of redemption was God stooping to cover the shame of his creatures. -RC Sproul



Reformation Trust Luther came to realize that salvation was a gift for the guilty, not a reward for the righteous. -Steven Lawson



Ligonier You can know about Jesus & not have a personal relationship with Jesus. -R.C. Sproul



Tabletalk Magazine "If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be be better than they are in the world" (John Owen).



Reformation Trust God loves you because He loves you. So stop trying to add, "Yes, but the real reason He loves me is because of my good works." -Derek Thomas



Ligonier Academy "A liberal Protestant, a liberal Catholic, and a liberal Jew can agree on almost everything, because they believe almost nothing. "-unknown



Ligonier When God writes our names in the 'Lamb's Book of Life' He doesn't do it with an eraser handy. He does it for eternity. - R.C. Sproul

You can also find our various ministries on Facebook:
Ligonier Ministries | Ligonier Academy | Reformation Trust | Tabletalk Magazine

Self-Kingdom-Mindedness

Many evenings, as my daughters go to bed, I tell them a fairytale about a legendary princess who lived long ago. Every fairytale begins the same way: “Once upon a time in a land far, far away, in a great big castle, in the middle of the forest, there lived a princess, and her name was princess Bella. She was very humble and very kind. She loved her father, the king, and her mother, the queen. One day….”

For many years we have experienced the adventures, struggles, joys, and magical encounters of princess Bella. Every legendary tale contains a theme that is found on every page of Bella’s life, namely, kingdom-mindedness. Sinful but forgiven, Bella is a God-fearing teenage girl whose character is shaped by her father and mother, the King and Queen of Midland, whose just and gracious rule is known by people in all the land.

Princess Bella isn’t perfect by any means, yet she’s a young lady who possesses many of the characteristics that I do not. Her humility, kindness, and kingdom-mindedness are among the many qualities Bella possesses that I earnestly desire my daughters to possess, albeit only by the regenerating and sustaining grace of God. The concept of kingdom is one of the primary meta-narratives in Bella’s story. Bella’s father has taught her well, and she understands, as we must understand, that by nature, everyone is kingdom-minded. The question, however, is whether we’re kingdom-of-God-minded people or kingdom-of-self-minded people. Bella understands that while there are many people in her father’s God-honoring kingdom who wear the garb of professed kingdom-of-God-mindedness, some have shown themselves to be kingdom-of-self-minded people.

Amid the story of our own lives, this one particular dilemma enters every scene: What kind of characters are we in God’s grand story? Are we kingdom-of-God-minded people or kingdom-of-self-minded people? By nature we are self-kingdom-minded. We are consumed with self, and we pay homage only to those who pay homage to us, serving only those who love us, and loving only so that others will serve and love us in return. With scepters in hand and appointed, flattering court jesters at our sides, we establish our fiefdoms, and with self-serving, monarchical control, we demand worship from all our subjects, whether real, manufactured, or imaginary.

Genuine, kingdom-of-God-mindedness is a natural consequence of being, but it is by no means natural to our fallen being. Rather, only by the self-kingdom-invading means of the Holy Spirit, it is a supernatural condition of the re-born, restored, and mind-renewed child of our supreme King, Jesus Christ, whose self-kingdom-mindedness and God-kingdom-mindedness are one and the same.

Kingdom-of-God-mindedness is simple but never easy. It’s simple in that it consists in two foundational principles that govern everything we are and, thus, everything we do: Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). Being kingdom-minded is simple in that what we do is a spiritually organic manifestation of who we are in Christ.

It’s simple in that being God-kingdom-minded is often just the opposite of being self-kingdom-minded, constantly reckoning that the way down is the way up and that the way of the kingdom is the way of the Cross. Herein is found the abundant life of liberty our Lord spoke of: Abiding in his word—existing as his disciples—knowing his truth—being liberated by his truth (John 8:31–32). For it is only when we become bond-slaves of Christ that we are truly liberated to be, think, and go beyond our own, self-serving kingdoms to God’s glorious kingdom of which we are humble princes who delight in seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.

Nevertheless, being kingdom-of-God-minded isn’t easy because, as C.S. Lewis’ pupil Harry Blamires writes in his classic The Christian Mind, “We deceive ourselves with our own conjuring trick.” We deceive ourselves by thinking that the way up is the way up; that the way of the kingdom is the way of compromise; that the way of success is the way of impressive numbers and money; that the way of spiritual growth is the way of looking busy; that the way of ecclesiastical fame is the way of opportunism; that the way of influence is the way of doctrinal appeasement; that the way of knowing God is simply knowing and talking theologically intelligently about God. In all these ways, we are kingdom-of-self-minded creatures who have made idols of our self-minded intellects. But God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love for us has poured out his love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whose kingdom is not in talk but in power and joy in himself, to the end that he renews our minds as he transforms us daily in the school of Christ to whom belongs the kingdom. Let us then live as becomes humble sons of the king with minds devoted to and delighted by the kingdom of God, for our own enjoyment and his glory, forever.