Justin Taylor's Blog, page 22

The Last Battle: The Final Words of David Powlison’s Final Book

Shortly before his death on June 7, 2019, David Powlison completed writing his final book, which has just been published by New Growth Press: Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles.

Here are among his final written words.

Six months ago, I was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. As I write, I am facing the real possibility of my own death. By God’s grace I have been able to continue working, yet much of my work is bittersweet. I am handing off responsibilities and jobs to others. I am involved in making plans for the future that I am not likely to be a part of here on earth. Our family continues to grow with grandchildren. I wonder if I will be here to meet my next grandchild. Those I love are also in the midst of this battle with me—my wife, children, grandchildren, extended family, friends, friends at work. We are all confronted with the evil of death and illness. In the midst of this battle, the weapons Christ gives sustain and equip us to battle against the last enemy—death itself. . . .

Today I am called to fight this final battle with Jesus as my armor and his Spirit as my strength. . . . The world tells us that medicine is our only hope. We don’t want to get fixated on finding a cure. We want to be wise. So we pray. We armor ourselves with the truth that the Lord is near and will be our good Shepherd. We take up the sword of the Spirit and remember Jesus’s words that “sufficient for the day is its own trouble” and ask for help one day at a time (Matt. 6:34).

The temptation to slide off into various escapes is also present—television, sports, food.

My escapism takes an unusual turn: I am burying my nose in a long biography of Joseph Stalin. Nothing really wrong with reading! But the temptation to not engage is present. Yet I hear the voice of my good Shepherd. I remember Jesus on the cross, facing death, yet still fully engaged with life—caring for his mother, speaking words of life to the thief next to him—and I can stay engaged too. I can pray with and for my wife, Nan; my family; my friends; those I work with. I can trust their care to the great Shepherd of the sheep.

The temptation to listen to the lies of Satan is certainly still present.

I have devoted my life to helping people know how central and relevant Christ and his Word is to the real things they struggle with personally, interpersonally, and situationally. But I also know how many other voices are clamoring for people’s attention. Voices that shout, “We can explain your anxiety,” “We can solve your depression,” and “We can give you three tips that will improve your communication.” I know that it’s easy to listen to the voices of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. I know that our grasp of truth can be fragile. I am concerned that fidelity to the Scripture will be embodied, carried forward, and that we will step out and tackle the next set of challenges in a way that’s faithful to Jesus. When I worry, I turn to Christ. I gird myself with the belt of truth from the sword of the Spirit because it is Jesus who builds his church and the gates of hell cannot stand against it (Matt. 16:18).

As I reflect on this last battle, I can see that the Lord has been preparing me for this battle through my whole life. . . .

In the midst of my confusion, unbelief, and fear of death, God used Ezekiel 36:25–27 to bring me to faith. It was my first encounter with the belt of truth that Jesus gives his people. It was my first encounter with the sword of the Spirit that exposes and heals. At that moment, I knew the truth of what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). It was God who shone his light into my heart and awakened me from the slumber of sin and death.

Now more than four decades later, I am staring death in the face. Instead of my faith failing, the promise of a new heart holds true. God is still shining into the darkness of my heart to give me the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. The reality of death has made the truth of God’s Word come alive to me. I am now living out the end of 2 Corinthians 4:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (vv. 16–18)

At times I am tempted to lose heart. But my good Shepherd is leading me toward life, not death. One of my favorite hymns is “My Song Is Love Unknown,” written by Samuel Crossman in the 17th century. It begins, “Love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be.” And then goes on, “Oh my friend, my friend indeed, who at my need his life did spend.”

Since the first day the Lord invaded my heart with his mercy and grace, I have never lost that sense of the friendship of Jesus, that he showed love to the loveless to make them lovely, that he befriended the friendless, that he befriended the unfriendly who were self-absorbed and all about themselves. That is the gospel of peace. My feet are fitted for this battle with my final enemy. So I do not lose heart. As Nan and I pray together, we do not lose heart. And even if I did or she did, God’s mercy and grace would remain unchanging. We can always turn and ask for help in our time of need. He is always near.

This is what the whole Bible is about. It’s about life and death; it’s about what is going to happen to you when you die; it’s about right and wrong, true and false, hope and despair, obedience and recklessness, faith and idolatry. This is the drama that we and those we minister to are living in. And the miracle is that we are given a new heart, a heart of flesh, and a new spirit so that we can and will live forever.

What a privilege it has been for me to serve my faithful Savior these many years.

What a privilege it has been to walk with others in need.

And what a joy it will be to see him face to face.

Robert Alter on Why Modern Bible Translations Should Stay in the King James Stream

It’s hard to think of another biblical scholar on the planet quite like Robert Alter. He earned a doctorate in English literature from Harvard in 1962, but Hebrew language study was central to his Jewish identity, and he was fluent in Hebrew by the age of 20. In 1967 he went to UC Berkeley, where he has been ever since, serving as professor of Hebrew and comparative literature (now, at the age of 84, emeritus).

Until the 1980s, most of his work was on Western literary novels. But then, he explains, “I wrote a feisty piece complaining that Bible scholars spent all their time hunting down Akkadian loanwords hidden in the text, but they didn’t know how to read a story. They study all kinds of useful things. Historical facts, archaeology—they pick up a couple of ancient languages, Akkadian and Egyptian. But one thing that is never studied is style.”

In 1981, he wrote a revolutionary book entitled The Art of Biblical Narrative, bringing the tools of literary analysis he had honed working on literary novels to uncover the literary intentions and designs—the artistic genius—of the biblical text.

In 1996, Alter published a translation of the book of Genesis, with commentary. His translation work culminated in 2018 with the publication of his three-volume, magnum opus: The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary.

His most recent book is The Art of Bible Translation, in which he reflects on the his understanding of how to do translation well, including chapters on word play, rhythm, syntax, and the like.

One of his arguments is that modern translations have made a misstep by not remaining within the historic stream of the King James Bible tradition.

Here is his explanation of what he means.

The King James Bible . . . remains an imposing achievement, yet . . . it has its drawbacks.

But why have English translators in our age fallen so steeply from this grand precedent?

To begin with, I would note a pronounced tendency among them to throw out the beautiful baby with the bathwater. Those companies convened by King James, their modern successors assume, got it altogether wrong.

We must now

start from scratch,

swerve away sharply from all that they did,

treat biblical syntax in an informed way that can speak to modern readers,

represent biblical terms with what we understand to be philological precision according to their shifting contexts,

and

make things entirely clear for people who want to know what the Bible is really saying.

This impulse is misconceived on two grounds.

First, the Bible itself does not generally exhibit the clarity to which its modern translators aspire: the Hebrew writers reveled in

the proliferation of meanings,

the cultivation of ambiguities,

the playing of one sense of a term against another,

and this richness is erased in the deceptive antiseptic clarity of the modern versions.

The second issue is the historical momentum of the commanding precedent created by the King James Bible. It has been such a powerful presence for four centuries of English readers that a translation of the Bible that proceeds as though it simply didn’t exist becomes hard to read as a version of the Bible that has any literary standing.

3 Ways to Help a Friend with Depression

British pastor-theologian Mark Meynell’s When Darkness Seems My Closest Friend: Reflections on Life and Ministry with Depression (SPCK, 2018) is the most helpful thing I have read in understanding serious depression.

It also contains counsel on how friends can help their brothers and sisters with this affliction. In the book, he lays out three categories in particular: (1) be present, (2) persist, and (3) reassure.

Here is an edited excerpt from a section in the book.

1. Be Present

This is where Job’s friends got it right initially. They simply met with this overwhelmed, broken soul in companionable silence, on the very ash-heap where he sat scraping the dirt out of his aching sores. It was a pitiful scene. They wept with him and sat with him for a whole week (Job 2:8, 11–13). In contrast to so many, they moved towards another’s pain instead of recoiling from it. That takes guts by itself. It is a remarkable act, for which Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar deserve great credit, at least. It would have been emotionally exhausting and costly. What’s more, they resisted the urge to speak.

Silence is scarce in today’s world, but it is so precious. Its absence is one possible reason why it feels so threatening. Wherever we go, it seems that we must be accompanied by music, advertising, tannoy announcements, general chatter and hubbub. We can’t even escape being serenaded in public toilets. This makes it even harder for modern people to resist plugging every conversation gap with something else. It takes practice to hold back.

My problem is that I am all too aware of another’s awkwardness with silence. I can pick up on any anxieties about saying the wrong thing or feeling helpless. That can then be counterproductive, ironically making matters harder. So, even though being a good friend is not exactly a matter of skills to study, it is possible to invest in learning how this can be done better. We can do a lot worse than developing an ease and a contentedness with silence. Practice using the time to reflect on life, to pray and praise, to read, and ultimately just to ‘be’. That must be a beneficial exercise in our 24/7 culture anyway. I, for one, enjoy the companionship of being in a room with others while we all just read our books!

For I have found that I most want others ‘to be’ for me, rather than ‘to do’ for me. I long for them to have the confidence to know that their friendship in and of itself brings healing, that I don’t need their answers or action plans. If I did, I would ask for them—and sometimes I do. I wish they knew that feeling helpless is actually OK—at least it demonstrates an awareness of the affliction’s nature! And it is fair to say that sharing silence with a friend will never by itself do harm, and may well do great good. That seems counter-intuitive because of its apparent passivity. But I do believe that it is a profound act of love, simply because someone else’s time is such a precious gift. Especially these days. American novelist Margaret Runbeck captured the paradox well: ‘Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts.’

However, it is also true that physical presence may not literally be what is needed (which will come as a relief to those who have little time to spare). For someone in the cave, it is as good to know that a friend is constantly there. Solitude (which should not be confused with loneliness) can be helpful at times, especially for those who are more introverted. But, at those points, it is vital to be reminded that, even when I am out of sight, I am not out of mind. So a friend’s presence might simply amount to a regular text message to ‘check in’, to ask how the day is, for example. That’s not so difficult, surely. Some might worry that’s just a token gesture. But I would far rather have gestures than absence. Without gestures, my mind spins ever darker explanations from my own failures.

At its heart, this is a question of relationship quality and trust. This is why the next aspect is crucial. It is also the toughest.

2. Persist

It is vital to avoid the Job’s comforter syndrome, whereby one probes to get at the roots of the suffering so as to satisfy one’s own theological framework. Furthermore, asking questions is not an opportunity to road-test any psychotherapeutic ambitions or have a stab at amateur diagnosis on the back of a couple of interesting blogposts. It may be that the best help a friend can offer is to point the way to a professional therapist, if this is needed—and in my experience, it usually is. But a friend’s most important asset is the most obvious: simple, accepting friendship. Come what may.

The purpose of gentle enquiry is simple—to show interest in the cave-dweller, to seek understanding, to help him or her to feel heard. In fact, others’ attempted understanding (however imperfect) is what I have craved more than anything. Especially when I didn’t really understand what was happening myself. Throughout the cave experience, others’ attempts to understand has been the surest way of feeling valued.

So ask open-ended questions. Gently probe the person’s experience to find anything that connects. Even if you can’t find them, offer analogies as they occur to you, but move on quickly if they don’t resonate. Here are a few simple suggestions to give the general gist:

Can you say what makes it so hard right now?
Can you say more about what you said the other day?
What do you wish others understood?
Is it like trying to hear yourself think next to a traffic junction, or something else?
Are there times of day that are worse than others?
Have you met others with similar pain? Did that help a bit?
Have you tried to write some of this down?

Notice the focus here: it’s far more a matter of description than diagnosis. Attempting this surely lifts much of the pressure, because most of us don’t have anything like the skills be a good friend. If willing. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to encounter this. Writer and actor Stephen Fry was absolutely right:

If you know someone who’s depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn’t a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather.

Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they’re going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It’s hard to be a friend to someone who’s depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do.

It is worth saying that good friends need to decide in advance never to be shocked or thrown. This is not to suggest appearing unaffected or unmoved, nor to deny the possibility of shocking and difficult things being said. Indeed, these may well require some sort of action to be taken. But it is vital not to panic or show alarm during the conversation. For the only way to coax someone out of the cave is to offer space that is safe and secure.

Finally, despite everything so far, it may well be that there are actually things to do. Everyone is different, and nothing should be imposed, only offered. Talk about it!

This is a far from exhaustive list:

Pray! And perhaps send a text to say what you particularly prayed for. The cave’s deepest recesses
somehow make prayer impossible. That’s one of its cruelest hallmarks. Sometimes it was even unbearable
to hear someone praying for me—perverse and absurd though that sounds. Please don’t condemn that – but pray on regardless. Perhaps use the psalmist’s prayers for himself as a steer.
Share: it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so it is always a matter of knowing friends well. But sharing a song, a poem, a line, a verse—anything really—that you find helpful yourself can be wonderful. Don’t be didactic, though. Avoid things that ‘they jolly well ought to have realized by now’. And don’t be offended if what you share doesn’t connect.
Accompany: even though I have found therapy to be lifesaving at times, I still find myself descending as an appointment draws near. I have rarely needed someone to help me do this, but I know it can be so helpful. So offer to go along to an appointment, saying you’re happy just to sit in the waiting room. That speaks volumes. Or perhaps it is simply a matter of keeping an eye out in a crowd in case some protection is helpful, such as at coffee time after church or in the canteen at work.
Hospitality: to have friends share their home, while making clear it comes without expectations of being sparkling company, can be liberating. Just offering a ‘normal’ environment, while family chaos continues all around, is such a gift. Please don’t invite others along without agreeing on it, though, even with the best of motives.

Above all, whatever you do offer, don’t give up on doing it.

3. Reassure

One hallmark of friendship highlighted by the book of Proverbs is time spent in conversation. It may be a matter of sharing advice and experience:

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of a friend
springs from their heartfelt advice.
(Proverbs 27:9)

Yet even more significant perhaps is the willingness to say difficult or unpalatable things. In fact, such willingness should be regarded as definitive:

Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
(Proverbs 27:6)

It is precisely because friends are motivated by love that they should be trusted. A bogus sycophant is as worthless as a fairweather friend. But when it comes to supporting cave-dwellers, caution is crucial. A wounding, accusatory or challenging word, however well-intentioned or apparently necessary, merely twists the knife still further. It is not even a question of thinking twice before saying such things—I would strongly urge avoiding doing so altogether, unless circumstances really make it necessary. Otherwise, you will only compound the guilt and shame explored in earlier chapters. I have been on the receiving end of such words, and they have probably driven me closer to the edge than anything else.

Then, there are some lines that should be removed from your pastoral phrase book at all costs:

Why can’t you just snap out of it?
Just think positive—none of this negativity helps anyone.
Confess your sins, and this will all go away.
Take your pills, and it’ll be fine/you must stop your pills because they’re dragging you down.
He/she/I has/have been through far worse – what are you complaining about?
God won’t give you more than you can handle.
It’s sinful to be joyless/anxious/frightened/lose perspective.

Instead, a good friend takes note of the emotional temperature. I have always loved this proverb because it perfectly captures those who fail to do this (and it is surely worth bearing in mind if you plan church worship services):

Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
or like vinegar poured on a wound,
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
(Proverbs 25:20)

Think. Listen. Pray. Ask yourself, ‘What does this heavy heart most need from me right now?’ This is where words of reassurance come in. If the fog has descended, and reality has been distorted or entirely obscured, then a friend’s greatest gift is to be a counterbalance. To be a Katniss to a Peeta. To offer perspective where it is evaporating, to offer alternative interpretations where only the darkest appear to make sense.

Therapists helpfully refer to the problem of catastrophizing. This is a tendency to accept only the worst explanations for something, or to believe that the most terrible outcomes are possible, and even inevitable. It is especially common in those who have experienced trauma or tragedy. It makes sense because they have known catastrophe, and so, not unreasonably, fear its repetition. But it makes everything get out of proportion.

So one way to reassure is to open up the possibility of other interpretations, to talk us down from believing the worst. To be the person who can say ‘real’ or ‘not real’. It might be a matter of gently offering alternative explanations for not hearing from someone in a while, or simple reminders of the wonders of unshakeable gospel grace, or just a silent arm around the shoulder. Anything really.

You can buy the book here.

You should also know that in July of 2020, Crossway will be publishing two companion books by David Murray:

Why Am I Feeling Like This? A Teen’s Guide to Freedom from Anxiety and Depression
Why Is My Teenager Feeling Like This? A Guide for Helping Teens through Anxiety and Depression

Bavinck: No, Individualism and Autonomy Did Not Come from the Reformation

Herman Bavinck:

Rome charges the Reformation, day after day, of being the actual origin of subjectivism and individualism, of autonomy and anarchy, which now apply to all domains. And Immanuel Kant, who first formally articulated this autonomy, is therefore called the philosopher of Protestantism by Roman Catholics.

But this claim, although supported powerfully by the left, is nonetheless in direct conflict with history.

Every unbiased judge will recognize that the [act of] protesting in itself does not at all necessitate coming to a principle of autonomy.

The prophets lived in continual protest against their people.

Jesus protested in the name of the Law and the Prophets against the traditions of the elders, against human commandments.

Whoever would attribute all protest to autonomy and anarchy would give a carte blanche to lies and injustice and must condemn all reformation as a devilish work.

Everything comes to the question, In whose name and against what does the protest go forth?

And there is no doubt, then, that from the beginning the Reformation was a protest in the name of the word of Christ and his apostles against the deviations that had invaded the Roman church in the domain of life and doctrine. It was principally different from humanism, building a dam against the unbelief that continued to reach out further from Italy, and later, just as Rome [did], it protested against the Aufklärung [“Enlightenment”] itself. This Aufklärung, which is not stronger and which won no larger a following in Protestant countries than it did among Roman peoples, is not to be explained from the Reformation but rather from an abandonment of the principles of the Reformation.

Kant is, therefore, not to be mentioned in the same breath as Luther. They each moved in entirely different circles of thought. For Kant there is nearly nothing left of the great truths of Christianity, wherein Luther found his power and peace—as far as content, Kant’s faith consisted in the trilogy of rationalism. Kant was the philosopher not of the Protestantism of the Reformation but of the Aufklärung; he was a kindred spirit not of Luther but of Rousseau.

—Herman Bavinck, Christian Worldview, edited and translated by Nathaniel Gray Sutanto, James Eglinton, Cory C. Brock (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019).

[Note that Crossway is publishing this book in English for the first time. It is the key neo-Calvinist text on Christian worldview written by the premiere neo-Calvinist dogmatician, originally delivers as Bavinck’s 1904 rector’s address at the Free University of Amsterdam, responding to the challenges of modernity, including the loss of unity of the self, increasing political tension, the rise of scientism, the reduction of humanity to the merely physical, and more.]

A Biblical Theology of the Temple in Under 5 Minutes

The video above, from the Bible Project, admirably summarizes the biblical storyline of the temple theme. What a gift to have sophisticated biblical theology made so clear and accessible!

Here is how they start their summary overview article on the theme.

Temple

Israel’s temple in the Bible is described as the place where God’s space and humanity’s space are one. In fact, the whole biblical drama can be told as a story about God’s temple.

The temple is a place where heaven and earth meet.

The ancient Israelite temple was a gigantic symbol that visualized God’s desire to live together with his human creatures and rule the world through them.

If you were to ask any ancient Israelite to tell you the most important place on earth, you would get a clear and consistent answer: the temple in Jerusalem. It’s the place where heaven and earth meet, where the creator God has chosen to take up residence among his people. It’s a sacred place where Israel’s priestly representatives enter into God’s presence on their behalf to express thanks, confession, and praise. This building attracted Israelite pilgrims for centuries and was a cornerstone of their covenant relationship with God.

Was the temple just a building?

But this amazing building did even more. It told a story through its visual symbolism, a story that reaches back to the beginning of humanity’s story as told in Genesis chs. 1-3. There God appoints humanity as his royal and priestly representatives to rule the world on his behalf. And when the biblical authors start describing creation and the garden of Eden, any ancient Israelite reader would have understood these as temple images.

Read the rest here.

‘The Gospel Is Not for Sale’: Is Benny Hinn Abandoning the Prosperity Gospel?

Toufik Benedictus “Benny” Hinn, 66, is an Israeli televangelist and one of the most notorious proponents of a profoundly destructive theology known as the “prosperity gospel.”

He holds “Miracle Crusades” in stadiums around the world, later broadcasting them on his TV show, This Is Your Day.

A mainstay of his teaching is that if Christians have faith in Jesus and obey the Word of God (which usually involves donating substantial cash donations to his ministry), God promises good health, wealth, and happiness.

Built on the financial backs of his supporters, who are promised material blessing if they contribute to Hinn’s ministry, he has a notoriously lavish lifestyle, including two multi-million-dollar mansions, a personal chef, a fleet of Mercedes Benzs, and things like a $4,000 single-night hotel bill during a layover flight, tipping the concierge and the bellmen $2,000.

Recently, however, Hinn made a stunning reversal on the charismatic show Your Loveworld. Saying that today all you hear about is a “feel-good message” of “how to build the flesh,” which is all about “feel good, do good, make money,” he said, “I’m correcting my own theology, and you need to all know it.”

Noting that he saw the need to change a while ago, he explained that he has not yet gone public so as to avoid hurting friends who hold to this view. Now, however, he thinks “it’s an offense to the Holy Spirit to place a price on the gospel.”

“I’m done with it. I will never again ask you to give a thousand or whatever amount, because I think the Holy Ghost is just fed up with it. . . . . I think that hurts the gospel.”

He said he no longer cares what people think of him, and he recognizes he now won’t get invited places. “If I hear one more time, ‘Break the back of debt with a thousand dollars,’ I’m going to rebuke them. I think that’s buying the gospel. That’s buying the blessing. That’s grieving the Holy Spirit.”

Those who give should do so simply because they love Jesus, or they shouldn’t give at all.

“I think giving has become such a gimmick that it’s making me sick to my stomach.”

“I think it’s time we say it like it is: The gospel is not for sale. And the blessings of God are not for sale, and miracles are not for sale. And prosperity is not for sale.”

Costi Hinn, Benny Hinn’s nephew and the pastor of discipleship at Redeemer Bible Church in Gilbert, Arizona, is the author of the recent book, God, Greed and the Prosperity Gospel: How the Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies. (You can listen to his podcast interview with TGC or read his testimony over at Christianity Today.)

Christian News reached out to him for reaction, and he offered a cautiously optimistic perspective—filled with hope but not naïveté:

“I was encouraged by his blunt refutation of the prosperity gospel. I sincerely hope and pray that this is the beginning of repentance for him and a turnout in these later years in his life and ministry.” . . .

Hinn told Christian News that he hopes his uncle is genuinely repentant and not merely remorseful. He said that Hinn has expressed regret for statements and decisions in the past only to resume his unbiblical behavior.

“Genuine repentance in the Bible is always accompanied by actions that prove that it’s really repentance,” he stated, explaining that repentance would look similar to that of the account of Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree out of his eagerness to see Jesus.

“Jesus saves him and goes to his house that day, and is willing to eat a meal with him and show him love and grace in the midst of his past and his sin,” he recalled. “And Zacchaeus is jumping for joy, excited to pay people back, excited to do whatever it takes to follow Jesus and show his genuine repentance through his actions.”

Hinn noted that the Bible says love is to believe all things and hope all things (1 Cor. 13:7), and that Monday’s announcement should be treated accordingly. Time will tell, he said, whether or not the transformation is for real.

“My desire is that Uncle Benny’s statement is not merely public remorse to save face or protect his ministry from decline,” he stated, “but rather that it is genuine repentance and that he would be willing to forsake everything if it means gaining Christ and the full gospel.”

Amen.

In the following clip, John Piper explains why he abominates this teaching that is destroying faith around the world.

A recent documentary, American Gospel: Christ Alone, looked at these unloving and unbiblical teachings, which are really no gospel at all:

For what to read on why the prosperity gospel is so wrong, see these recommendations from Costi Hinn.

A Navy Seal Admiral on the One Thing You Can Do Each Day to Change the World

Why This Millennial Thinks You Should Quit Social Media Today

I try not to oversell. But this video—under 15 minutes—could actually change your life. I’m almost convinced myself.

Watch Cal Newport—a 37-year-old associate professor of computer science at Georgetown and the author of NYT bestselling books like Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016) and Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World (2019)—consider and refute the three arguments for why people should use social media.

Why Have a Church Covenant? (And a Sample You Can Use)

“The Bible does not say explicitly, ‘Thou shalt have a written church covenant,’ any more than it says, ‘Thou shalt have marriage licenses,’ or, ‘Thou shalt have wedding rings,'” John Piper explains. “One way to look at it is that a church without a covenant is like a marriage without vows. Marriage vows are not spelled out in the Bible just like church covenants aren’t. Both follow necessarily from the nature of the relationships.”

Our church covenant significantly borrowed from the church covenant by Redeemer Church of Dubai. It hangs in a frame in our church foyer, with the signatures of the original members. We recite it publicly together when we take in new members. Because the language is so Scripture-saturated, it is especially meaningful to confess this together.

Feel free to adopt it or adapt it for your own purposes if you are in need of a church covenant. I’ve reprinted it below, along with a few supporting texts.

Having been brought by God’s grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we now, depending upon the Holy Spirit, establish this covenant with one another.

In all we do, we will aim to glorify and enjoy the God of our salvation, from whom and through whom and to whom are all things: to Him be all glory forever! (1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 11:36)

We will eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace by walking together in love and in the Spirit and by putting away all bitterness, anger, and injurious speech. (Eph. 4:3; Gal. 5:16, 25; Eph. 4:29, 31)

With humility and gentleness, patience and love, we will be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us. (Eph. 4:1-2; Luke 17:3; Col. 3:13; 1 Thess. 5:11; 1 Pet. 1:22)

We will carry each other’s burdens, rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. (Gal. 6:2; Rom. 12:15)

We will train our children in the instruction of the Lord, seeking to walk in a way that adorns the gospel of Christ before our family, friends, and neighbors (Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:4; 1 Pet. 3:1).

We will strive to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, as we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Gal. 5:22-24; Titus 2:12; 1 Pet. 1:14)

We will not neglect to gather together, but will support and treasure the biblical preaching of the whole counsel of God, the faithful observance of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and the loving exercise of church discipline. (Heb. 10:25; 2 Tim. 4:2; Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 11:26; Matt 18:17; 1 Cor. 5:13)

We will contribute cheerfully and generously to the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the advancement of the gospel both to our neighbors and the nations. (Matt. 28:19; Luke 12:33; 2 Cor. 9:7)

We will, when we move from this place, unite as soon as possible with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

In all these things, we rely on our God who has made a new and everlasting covenant with us, saying:

“They shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. . . . I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good . . . with all my heart and all my soul.” (Jer. 32:38-41)

In and because of Jesus we pray,
Amen.

Which Has the Priority: General Revelation or Special Revelation? 6 Theses on Natural Law and Scripture

In an insightful article for Eikon: A Journal for Biblical Anthropology, Joe Rigney—assistant professor of theology and literature at Bethlehem College and Seminary and the author of The Things of Earth and Lewis on the Christian Life—has a helpful meditation on Scripture and natural law, special revelation and general revelation, the authority of God’s word and the authority of God’s world.

Using Psalm 19 as a guide, he explains that while

General revelation has a chronological (time), ontological (reality), and epistemological (knowledge) priority over Scripture,
Scripture has a linguistic (language) and redemptive (salvation) priority over general revelation.

They are sufficient for different things and are mutually interpreting.

1. General revelation is the first and foundational revelation upon which all subsequent revelation is built.

Special revelation is “special” because it presupposes the existence of general revelation.

2. General revelation has an ontological and epistemological priority over Scripture.

The existence of created reality and experiential knowledge of created reality are both necessary in order for Scripture to be intelligible.

For example, “the heavens declare the glory of God” is unintelligible apart from the existence of the heavens (ontological priority) and our knowledge of the nature and existence of heavens (epistemological priority).

Psalm 19, as special revelation, doesn’t mean anything unless the sun blazes up out of the east and moves across the sky, and we’ve seen it do so. [JT: This is a bit overstated. It still means something even if you’re blind and even if you have eyes to see but haven’t personally witnessed it, like God’s work in the depth of the sea. But the point is still taken.]

3. Special revelation has linguistic priority over general revelation (owing to our relative immaturity and creatureliness).

The Scriptures, because they use human words, are more direct and therefore more intelligible to us than the revelation of God in nature.

In saying that Scripture has a linguistic priority, we are not saying that nature is obscure or unclear. It is clear. The heavens clearly declare the glory of God. Paul tells us that “what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:19-20). The obscurity we may feel about what God is declaring in nature is owing first to the way that God reveals himself in nature.

God doesn’t issue direct, linguistic commands through nature. Instead, he creates a natural order that is designed, that has purposes, trends, trajectories. All of creation is governed by God’s fixed and established laws and principles.

Then, human beings, through the use of their minds, reflect on this fixed natural order and its trends and trajectories and draw conclusions which they express in human language.

So general revelation includes both the fixed natural order as well as human minds to discern and express the import and implications of that order. But that process takes time and effort and maturity, and therefore, Scripture, by giving us God’s revelation in human language, is more direct, even if both Scripture and nature are clear.

Let me illustrate through Jesus’ words about anxiety in Matthew 6. Jesus doesn’t want us to be anxious, so he exhorts us to “consider the birds of the air,” how God provides for their basic needs despite their lack of barns (Matt. 6:26-27). The birds of the air are crystal clear in their witness to God’s provision. But it takes time and effort and maturity to stop and think about the birds and how their needs are met, and how valuable we are relative to them, and to therefore, draw the conclusion that God will provide for us, and to therefore draw the conclusion that we ought not be anxious.

It’s all there in nature, in general revelation, but it remains obscure because of our immaturity and creatureliness.

4. Special revelation has a redemptive priority over general revelation (owing to our sinfulness).

Not only does Scripture have a linguistic priority over general revelation owing to our relative immaturity and creatureliness, it has a redemptive priority owing to our sinfulness.

The obscurity of general revelation which we experience is not only owing to the fact that it takes time, effort, and maturity to comprehend God’s revelation in nature; it’s also owing to the Fall. Because of our truth-suppressing rebellion, in our natural state we are deaf to God’s voice and blind to his beauty. Again, Romans 1: even though we know God (through nature), we suppress what we know and we refuse to honor God as God and give thanks to him (Rom. 1:21). The Holy Spirit restores man’s sight through the new birth by means of special revelation. Or, in the words of Psalm 19, it is the law of the Lord which revives the soul and enlightens the eye.

Thus, special revelation has both a linguistic priority and a redemptive priority in giving us knowledge of God.

5. Both general and special revelation are sufficient, but for different things (general revelation: condemnation; special revelation: salvation).

General revelation is sufficient to condemn us. The authority and clarity of general revelation leaves us without excuse. But it is not sufficient to save us.

Only special revelation is sufficient to save, since through it alone, God causes the new birth. He has caused us to be born again through the living and abiding Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23).

6. Thus, Scripture and nature are mutually interpreting for each other: mutually meaningless without each other and mutually fruitful with each other.

You can’t understand the Bible rightly without some general revelation.

You can’t understand nature rightly without the illumination of the Bible.

Again Psalm 19 illustrates this point. “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb” (Ps. 19:10). You can’t know the meaning of that verse unless gold and honey exist, and you’ve experienced a desire for gold and the sweetness of honey. And you can’t experientially make the connection between desiring the Word of God more than gold and honey unless God causes you to be born again through special revelation.

You can read the whole thing here.