Author Archives: lifespring

The Attraction of Reformed Theology

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The Attraction of Reformed Theology

Sitting around a table I was enjoying some post-dinner conversation with three theologically eclectic and charming people when I was startled by an unexpected question: “Kyle, what is the attraction of Reformed theology?” It was a sincere question and I was grateful for the sudden opportunity to give an answer. As all eyes turned to me I hesitated for a moment and then said the first four words I could think of: the glory of God.

Simply defined, Reformed theology is that stream of thought summarized in the great confessions of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches such as the Westminster Confession of Faith together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. These confessions are not minimalist bullet-point statements, but neither are they so exhaustive as to exclude a place for charitable disagreement. However, when taken as they are, they present a coherent and consistent system of belief in doctrine, worship, and piety that I am convinced is faithful to the Bible.

I wasn’t always convinced of that. I grew up far from some of the commitments of Reformed theology, and when I was first introduced to it (nearly twenty years ago) I adamantly resisted it. In time, I grew to appreciate many of its emphases. For instance, Reformed theology has an unwavering commitment to the necessity, authority, and sufficiency of the Bible. It is a theology that informs all of life, is intellectually satisfying, and exhibits a warm and experiential piety. It stresses the sovereignty of God and maximizes his grace in the salvation of sinners. It maintains a high view of the ordinary means of grace in preaching, sacraments, and prayer. But the real attraction of Reformed theology–the magnetic center–is that it gives a captivating and compelling vision of the glory of God. As B.B. Warfield once wrote: “It begins, it centers and it ends with the vision of God in His glory.”

I don’t remember where I first heard it but there’s a story about the famous Italian conductor, Arturo Toscanini. His orchestra had finished a perfect recital of one of Beethoven’s grand symphonies when Toscanini, pointing at the orchestra said, “Ladies and gentlemen, they are nothing and I am nothing; but Beethoven is everything.” That is what Reformed theology declares: you are nothing and I am nothing; but God is everything.

In saying that, I am not saying that other traditions don’t seek to promote the glory of God. After all, Soli Deo Gloria—glory to God alone—is a cherished Protestant principle. In that sense it is not unique to Reformed thought. But I am persuaded that it is in the theology of the Reformation where the glory of God works itself out most vividly, substantively, and with the greatest consistency. Why? Because in its doctrine, manner of worship, and piety, Reformed theology resists the tendency to make God man and man God. Rather, it esteems God to be who and what he is, and puts man (especially sinful man) in his rightful place.

I have long been convinced that every detail and nuance of our theology must terminate in God’s glory. That is, after all, the sum and substance of all of our knowledge: “For God, who said, ‘Let 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 Corinthians 4:6). If Reformed theology is worth knowing, keeping, defending, and living out, it must end here; it must give full validity to those few words: Soli Deo Gloria.

 

A Faithful Ministry

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This quote was sent to me from “A Quest for Godlinesss” by JI Packer on the ministry of Richard Greenham.  I read it a couple of times this week and found a short article from the Banner of Truth about him.  I hope it encourages all in rural Reformed settings.  I am thankful for fruit in Lifespring Church; yet I am constantly aware of the hard “fields” of sowing for Gospel work. (Pastor Eric) 

Richard Greenham And The Counselling Of Troubled Souls AUTHOR Thomas, Geoff December 27, 2001 (Banner of Truth)  

Greenham was a pastoral counsellor of uncommon skill The fifth lecture at the Westminster Conference 2001 was given by Stanley Jebb of Truro on “Richard Greenham and the Counselling of Troubled Souls.” We have learned about Greenham through J.I.Packer’s admiration for him. He has told us about him, and the facts were confirmed by Mr Jebb. Richard Greenham, a pastoral pioneer, was incumbent of Dry Drayton, seven miles from Cambridge, from 1570 to 1590. He worked extremely hard. He rose daily at four and each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday preached a sermon at daybreak, to catch his flock before they dispersed into the fields; then on Sunday he preached twice, and in; addition catechised the children of the parish each Sunday evening and Thursday morning. Mornings he studied, afternoons he visited the sick or walked out into the fields ‘to confer with his Neighbours as they were at Plough’. In his preaching, Henry Holland his biographer tells us, ‘he was so earnest, and took such extraordinary pains, that his shirt would usually be as wet with sweating, as if it had been drenched with water, so that he was forced, as soon as he came out of the Pulpit to shift himself…’ Greenham was a pastoral counsellor of uncommon skill. ‘Having great Experience and an excellent Faculty to relieve and comfort distressed Consciences,’ writes Holland, ‘he was sought to, far and near, by such as groaned under spiritual Afflictions and temptations… the fame of this spiritual Physician so spread abroad that he was sent for to very many, and the Lord was pleased so far to bless his labours that by his knowledge and experience many were restored to joy and comfort.’ His friends hoped he would write a book on the art of counselling, but he never did; nonetheless, he passed on a great deal of his lore to others by word of mouth. In a letter to his bishop he described his ministry as ‘preaching Christ crucified unto my selfe and Country people’, and the contents of his posthumously published Works (a small folio of over 800 pages) bear this out. Yet, for all his godliness, insight, evangelical message and hard work, his ministry was virtually fruitless.

Others outside his parish were blessed through him, but not his own people. ‘Greenham had pastures green, but flocks full lean’ was a little rhyme that went round among the godly. ‘I perceive noe good wrought by my ministry on any but one family’ was what, according to Holland, he said to his successor. In rural England in Greenham’s day, there was much fallow ground to be broken up; it was a time for sowing, but the reaping time was still in the future. (see J.I.Packer, Among God’s Giants, p.51). All that preaching, to so little effect was done with a fiery energy, so that his shirt was wet with perspiration at the end of a service. Auricular confession had been criminalised, and so Greenham encouraged his Anglican parishioners to come to him with their needs. He encouraged them to go to God, but he also gave them biblical counsel. He visited them in their homes and urged them to be gentle in their counsel with compassion for their brothers and sisters.

Stanley Jebb ended his message quoting this hymn of Fanny Crosby: Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus, the Mighty to save. Though they are slighting him still he is waiting, waiting the penitent child to receive. Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently; he will forgive if they only believe. Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, feelings lie burdened that grace can restore; Touched by a loving hand, wakened by kindness, chords that were broken will vibrate once more. Rescue the perishing, duty demands it; strength for thy labour the Lord will provide: Back to the narrow way patiently win them; tell the poor wanderer a Saviour has died. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save. 

An Illustration of Repentance

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An Illustration of Repentance

FROM  Oct 17, 2016 Category: Articles

The Westminster Shorter Catechism has an excellent definition of repentance in Question 87: “Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.”

In the heat of the Christian life, however, that definition may seem more theoretical than practical, not particularly helpful when seeking to live a life of repentance (See the first of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses: When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Mt 4:17), He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.) We recognize that repentance is a grace. That is, it is a gift from God. It is not something we work up for ourselves. It is not turning over a new leaf. It is a turning away from sin and a turning to God that is fueled, as it were, by the Spirit of God at work within us.

We all recognize that the first act of repentance is only the beginning. We recognize that sins must be mortified. We recognize that there is the problem of indwelling sin in the life of the believer. But I suspect that we don’t often attach repentance to these things. In part, this may be because we do not have a sense of what repentance look like when God is working repentance in us.

Perhaps an illustration will help. Imagine repentance as a man walking in one direction who suddenly realizes that he is walking in the opposite direction from which he should be walking. He stops. He turns around. Then he begins walking in the new direction. It is a quick and simple process. He realizes. He stops. He turns. But imagine someone on a bicycle realizing he is going the wrong direction. In one sense, it is still obvious. He stops. He turns around. He begins bicycling in the new direction. But it is a longer process. He has to come to a stop. Depending on his speed, that may take some time. The turning around also takes longer. And it takes longer to get up to full speed in the new direction. The process is the same for a man in a car. But it takes longer than for the man on the bike, and it may require going somewhat out of his way before he gets back on the right track. The process is the same for a man in a speed boat. He has to slow down, enter the turn, and come back. But the time and distance required to do so is much longer than what was required for the man walking. Now imagine that the man is piloting a supertanker. It takes him miles to slow the ship down enough to even begin to make the turn. The turn itself is immense, taking him quite a distance from his intended course. Then again it also takes a large amount of time to get up to full speed in the new direction.

Now apply the images to repentance. Some sins are small and easy. We stop and walk the other way. Some sins, like the bicycle, are a little more difficult. In God’s work in the believer, He takes a little time to bring the believer to an awareness that his course is actually a sinful one. Then there is the process of coming to a stop, the process of the turn itself, and the process of getting up to speed in faithfulness. But some sins are enormous. We may not be aware that they really are sins. Or they may be so deeply ingrained in us that we are not willing, at first, to recognize them as sins. God works patiently with us, carefully slowing us down, as the captain does with the ship, so that He can bring us through the turn and into the new direction, where He can bring us up to full speed.

There are two things that I find helpful about this illustration. First is the fact that God does not work repentance in us instantaneously, but over time. So the awareness of sin and the desire to change come gradually. God brings us, as it were, to a full stop slowly and carefully. So there are going to be many slips and falls on the way to that stopping point. The second thing has to do with the turning itself. In the image of the ship turning, there is a long time when the ship is neither on the old course, nor on the new course but, as it were, dead in the water. So it may well be in the life of the Christian. The sin has been admitted. The slips and falls have gotten fewer. But there seems to be little progress. We seem to be dead in the water. At that point, we are in the turn. Speed will pick up. Godliness will grow. But it will do so slowly, as God patiently works with us.

So if you have prayed for repentance for some particular sin, and there has been no instantaneous change, keep praying. God has promised to work, and He will. And you will be glad in the end that He did it slowly and carefully.

Benjamin Shawn is Associate Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Originally published at GPTS Rabbi.

Evil, suffering, the judgment of God and hope

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Evil, suffering, the Judgment of God and hope

This past week marked the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001, the day of the infamous terror attacks which took thousands of lives, initiated a war in the middle east and changed how we view our national security.

This week also brought another sad and sobering news story in Minnesota:  the end of the 27 year mystery of Jacob Wetterling’s disappearance.  This one hit me personally, because, growing up in small town Minnesota at the time, this was an event which our parents and teachers reconsidering how “safe” we were. As a 10 year old, this evil was one I could not avoid thinking about.  

Both of these were evil events.  Evil is rebellion against God which uses people made in God’s image to further it’s ends.  There are perpetrators and victims.

How does one make sense of these tragedies?  Where does one turn for Answers? 

We have only two Choices:  One, through humanity and efforts at collective wisdom to answer and anesthetize us to pain that is real and the justice we seek.

The other Choice is turning to the One True God. Ultimately the Bible doesn’t give immediate answers to each specific nuance and question of personal suffering and evil, but it points to God, who is Holy, who reigns and who does and will bring Judgment; who will make things right.

Psalm 2 says: why do the Nations rage against God?   In this we understand that the World is always at war; but it is ultimately against a foe (God) that the world can and will not defeat.  

According to Scripture I know that God will judge the nations and individuals; but for those who trust in him, they can avert the coming Judgment by King Jesus. 

Only trusting King Jesus will ultimately bring sense and peace to all the problems of sin and evil.

Only His sacrifice on the Roman cross 2000 years ago makes sense and gives hope to these situations: The sinfulness of sin was shown in its ugliness and penalty. The evil of sin was displayed in God’s punishment of His perfect Son;

And He did this for you; His blood was shed for your sin; His life traded for your rebellion. And He promises that there will be a place some day when there will be no more pain, not more suffering, no more evil.  Hope in God.  Turn to him. He won the crucial battle at the Cross—defeating the penalty of your Sin and the Power of the Devil…Redeeming Lost sinners

And because of the Cross—we can draw near to God—No more guilt and shame. He who loves us; invites us to draw near with our questions and burdens and sins.  Repent of your unbelief and turn to His loving arms.

My sin, oh the bliss of the glorious thought, my sin..not in part, but the whole.  Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.  It is well, It is well to my soul

(note: this article was one Pastor Eric wrote for the Brainerd Dispatch “Clergy View” section for the Week of September 11, 2016)

The Threefold use of The Law

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Note:  I have been greatly helped by the writings of my leaders who have gone before me.  To that end, Dr. Sproul’s material is immensively helpful.  I hope it is for you also….Pastor Eric 
 
THE THREEFOLD USE OF THE LAW
by R.C. Sproul
Every Christian wrestles with the question, how does the Old Testament law relate to my life? Is the Old Testament law irrelevant to Christians or is there some sense in which we are still bound by portions of it? As the heresy of antinomianism becomes ever more pervasive in our culture, the need to answer these questions grows increasingly urgent.

The Reformation was founded on grace and not upon law. Yet the law of God was not repudiated by the Reformers. John Calvin, for example, wrote what has become known as the “Threefold Use of the Law” in order to show the importance of the law for the Christian life.1

The first purpose of the lawis to be a mirror. On the one hand, the law of God reflects and mirrors the perfect righteousness of God. The law tells us much about who God is. Perhaps more important, the law illumines human sinfulness. Augustine wrote, “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace.”2 The law highlights our weakness so that we might seek the strength found in Christ. Here the law acts as a severe schoolmaster who drives us to Christ.

A second purpose for the law is the restraint of evil. The law, in and of itself, cannot change human hearts. It can, however, serve to protect the righteous from the unjust. Calvin says this purpose is “by means of its fearful denunciations and the consequent dread of punishment, to curb those who, unless forced, have no regard for rectitude and justice.”3 The law allows for a limited measure of justice on this earth, until the last judgment is realized.

The third purpose of the law is to reveal what is pleasing to God. As born-again children of God, the law enlightens us as to what is pleasing to our Father, whom we seek to serve. The Christian delights in the law as God Himself delights in it. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). This is the highest function of the law, to serve as an instrument for the people of God to give Him honor and glory.

By studying or meditating on the law of God, we attend the school of righteousness. We learn what pleases God and what offends Him. The moral law that God reveals in Scripture is always binding upon us. Our redemption is from the curse of God’s law, not from our duty to obey it. We are justified, not because of our obedience to the law, but in order that we may become obedient to God’s law. To love Christ is to keep His commandments. To love God is to obey His law.

Summary

1. The church today has been invaded by antinomianism, which weakens, rejects, or distorts the law of God.
2. The law of God is a mirror of God’s holiness and our unrighteousness. It serves to reveal to us our need of a savior.
3. The law of God is a restraint against sin.
4. The law of God reveals what is pleasing and what is offensive to God.
5. The Christian is to love the law of God and to obey the moral law of God.

Biblical passages for reflection:
Psalm 19:7-11
Psalm 119:9-16
Romans 7:7-25
Romans 8:3-4
1 Corinthians 7:19
Galatians 3:24
1. Calvin, Institutes, bk. II, 1:304-310.
2. Calvin, Institutes, bk. II, 1:306.
3. Calvin, Institutes, bk. II, 1:307.
Excerpt from Essential Truths Of The Christian Faith by R. C. Sproul © (Tyndale 1992)

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“Take Ten Looks at Christ” by Robert Murray M’Cheyne

  “Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief! Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in his beams. Feel his all-seeing eye settled on you, and repose in his almighty arms.” 

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 ”Mega Off-the-Charts Love” by John Piper

 ”God in eternity looked upon me foreseeing my fallenness, my pride, my sin and said “I want that man in my family. I will do anything to get him in my family.  I will pay for him to be in my family with my Son’s life.”  That’s love, folks. That is mega off-the-charts love.”