New Blog
September 13, 2009
Faith & Life is up and running. The tagline is Reformed theology, politics, family and whatever else comes to mind.
This blog will continue to be updated automatically with my posts from Faith & Life. If you would like to comment, please go to the Faith & Life blog.
Bavinck on the Omnipresence of Christ
February 8, 2010
If Christ, according to the testimony of the apostles, occupies so high a place, it is no wonder that all kinds of Divine attributes and works are ascribed to Him, and that even the Divine nature is recognized in Him.
The figure we encounter in the person of Christ on the pages of Scripture is a unique figure. On the one hand, He is very man. He became flesh and came into the flesh (John 1:14 and 1 John 4:2-3). He bore the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. 8:3). He came of the fathers, according to the flesh (Rom. 9:5), of Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:16), of Judah’s line (Heb. 7:14), and of David’s generation (Rom 1:3). He was born of a woman (Gal. 4:4), partook of our flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14), possessed a spirit (Matt. 27:50), a soul (Matt. 26:38), and a body (1 Peter 2:24), and was human in the full, true sense. As a child He grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:40 and 52). He was hungry and thirsty, sorrowful and joyful, was moved by emotion and stirred to anger.14 He placed Himself under the law and was obedient to it until death.15 He suffered, died on the cross, and was buried in a garden. He was without form or comeliness. When we looked upon Him there was no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised, and unworthy of esteem, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa. 53:2-3).
Nevertheless this same man was distinguished from all men and raised high above them. Not only was He according to His human nature conceived by the Holy Spirit; not only was He throughout His life, despite all temptation, free from sin; and not only was He after His death raised up again and taken into heaven; but the same subject, the same person, the same I who humiliated Himself so deeply that He assumed the form of a servant and became obedient unto the death of the cross, already existed in a different form of existence long before His incarnation and humiliation. He existed then in the form of God and thought it no robbery to be equal with God (Phil. 2:6). At His resurrection and ascension He simply received again the glory which He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5). He is eternal as God Himself, having been with Him already in the beginning (John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1). He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Rev. 22:13); He is omnipresent, so that, though walking about on the face of the earth, He is simultaneously in the bosom of the Father in heaven (John 1:18 and 3:13) ; and after His glorification He remains with His church and fulfills all in all;16 He is unchangeable and faithful and is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8); He is omniscient, so that He hears prayers;17 He is the One who knows all men’s hearts (Acts 1 :24; unless the reference here is to the Father); He is omnipotent so that all things are subjected unto Him and all power is given to Him in heaven and on earth, and is the chief of all kings.18
The Divine and Human Nature of Christ
16: Matt. 28:20; Eph. 1:23; and 4:10
Happy Abortion Day from your government
February 8, 2010
Have a beer! Good for your bones.
February 8, 2010
…a new analysis of 100 commercial beers shows the hoppy beverage is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for bone health.
[...]
The take-home message for the casual drinker: "Choose the beer you enjoy. Drink it in moderation," lead researcher Charles Bamforth of the University of California, Davis, told LiveScience. "It is contributing silicon (and more) to your good health."
Cheers!
Machen on the gospel and God’s Law
February 8, 2010
Tim Tebow: Violence against women? Are you kidding?
February 8, 2010
The 30-second "Celebrate family, celebrate life" ad starring Heisman winner Tim Tebow ended with a surprise — Tim Tebow tackling his mother after she says she nearly lost him during her pregnancy. The pair jokes that they have to be "tough" with all the family has been through. (bold added)
The Women's Media Center, which had objected to Focus on the Family advertising in the Super Bowl, said it was expecting a "benign" ad but not the humor. But the group's president, Jehmu Greene, said the tackle showed an undercurrent of violence against women. (bold added)
Saints win, by 4.
February 7, 2010
Ligonier’s new site, resources on justification
February 7, 2010
Ronald Reagan. Happy birthday!
February 6, 2010
Top ten books on sex
February 6, 2010
Which way diid he go?
February 6, 2010
If you have typed in the URL to get here and are looking for the blog, sorry ’bout that. I gave it a new URL to remove my name. The Faith & Life blog is now at faithandlife.posterous.com. Please visit and bookmark it. Also, if you have linked to here and/or have subscribed through a reader such as Google Reader, you may need to update that. Other subscribers by email and Posterous subscribers should be fine.
Thanks for your patience,
The Management
What heresy opposes the doctrine of election?
February 6, 2010
The Arminian's notion [of election] (is) that it is conditional, upon the foresight of faith, works or perseverance. (Christopher Ness)
Police Squad. Friday funny.
February 5, 2010
Baptist Communion (admit a Paedobaptist?), The New Evangelical Left
February 5, 2010
While open communion welcomes all believers, and closed communion restricts the table to those members of a local congregation, “close” communion, as generally described by Baptists, welcomes to the Table all believers baptized by immersion, but is closed to other believers. That is, if you are baptized by immersion, you would be welcome to the Table, even if you are not a member of a particular local congregation, but those not so baptized would be asked to abstain. So, close communion is more open than closed communion, but more closed than open communion.
I don’t hold to close communion – I prefer open communion. My rationale is as follows.
The Table is for the body of Christ – those who trust Jesus alone for their salvation and who, having called upon the Lord for mercy, are by the Spirit placed into union with the triune God and with His church (1 Cor 12:13). On that basis I would welcome all believers to the Lord’s Table (I have done so as a pastor). The Table is His, not mine; it is His, not some denomination’s; it is His, given to the Church under His Lordship. It is only our Table inasmuch as by the grace of Christ we are invited to come.
I agree and welcome his view that Paedobaptists would be welcome to The Lord's Table at his church.
Rattlesnake6 (don't you just love a guy with an internet name like that?) writes about The New Evangelical Left,
My problem, however, is not with the White House—well, maybe a little—but rather with the Christian celebs that signed the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. That sounds so officious, doesn’t it? Who would not listen to an intergovernmental panel? The short answer is: someone with a modicum of common sense.
In a world filled with sound bytes and “gotcha” politics, we’ve come to accept the premise that if it’s on TV or in print, it must be true. Well, no, not necessarily. You see, I’ve been trying to get Christian celebs like Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Bill Hybels, Dan Kimball (an old Facebook friend. Yes, it’s true. Dan and I are Facebook buds, but it appears that Dan is too busy doing cutting edge things to remove his name from the IPCC resolution.), and Richard Mouw, of Fuller Seminary to get in touch with me and explain why they refuse to take their names off the IPCC signatories. Actually, they don’t even have to get in touch with me. No, they can merely go public and tell all their avid followers that they made a mistake in signing the IPCC document. It’s really not all that painful to say.
I’ll even give them a head start. They could say or write or both something like this: “At the time I signed the IPCC document I genuinely believed that the planet was overheating and that man was the problem and that CO2 was a pollutant. I didn’t do well in high school science and slept through the class on photosynthesis. Please forgive me for signing such a bogus, political document and leading so many of you astray. It was not my intention. It was an honest mistake.” My bold added.
Amen and amen!
How should we pray for the President? To succeed or fail?
February 4, 2010
Seeing reports earlier today about President Obama speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast got me thinking. Prayer and the president. How should we pray for the president, and all civil leaders for that matter? 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says,
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
So it is without dispute that we should pray for the president. But how? That he would have good success? That he would be safe from some sort of attack?
Rush Limbaugh is famous for saying many things. In particular he was criticized last year when he said he hoped the president fails. He went on to say that if President Obama succeeds in his agenda the country loses. So, he hopes that President Obama fails in his pursuit of his agenda.
I think it is important to distinguish between prayers for President Obama’s safety (that he would enjoy good health and safety) and prayers for his success in pursuing his agenda. Just to name a few things that are part of his agenda:
- Expanding access to abortions
- Universal health care for all
- Expanded government spending/debt/deficits
- Support full civil unions for homosexuals
- Oppose constitutional ban on same-sex marriages
- Affording legal rights for apprehended terrorists
- Push for Cap and Trade
I could go on. But on each of these agenda items, I don’t believe that any thinking Christian can disagree that the these policy pursuits violate scriptural teaching.
So, back to my original question: How should we pray for the president? Should we pray for him to succeed?
The answer is clearly no! The verses above tell us what the prayers are to be for, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” When the civil leaders pursue an unbiblical and ungodly agenda, we should pray for their failure!
Rush was right. We should hope (and pray) that the president fails. To the degree that his agenda is unfulfilled, the country wins.
Obama mispronounces “Corpsman” twice at National Prayer Breakfast
February 4, 2010
Baptists to flood Texas with Bible CDs
February 4, 2010
It's part of a three-pronged campaign dubbed Texas Hope 2010 to convey what "we really believe; that there's hope in Christ," said Randel Everett, the Baptist group's executive director.
A "new" way to get the message of Christ out. Way to go Texas Baptists!
Reformed Perspectives Magazine, Feb. 7-13. Now available! ((Tags: Reformed Theology, ThirdMill)
February 4, 2010
Reformed Perspectives Magazine Volume 12, Number 06 (February 7 to February 13 , 2010), is now available. The following articles are featured in this issue:
The Doctrine of the Word of God
Scripture’s Authority, its Content and its Purpose
By: John M. Frame
Webpage PDF Word
Night of the Talking Dead
Apologetics Dialogue
By: Donald Dewitt
Webpage PDF Word
The Pleasure of God in Justifying the Wicked
An Article
By: Matt Perman
Webpage PDF Word
An Earnest Ministry the Need of the Times
An Article
By: John Angell James
Webpage PDF Word
Joy in Heaven Over Repenting Sinners
An Article
By: Edward Payson
Webpage PDF Word
The Necessity of Word & Spirit in Conversion
An Article
By: John Calvin
Webpage PDF Word
The Bondage of the Will
ERASMUS’ SCEPTICISM, Part V
By: Martin Luther
Webpage PDF Word
WORLD Magazine on the radio
February 3, 2010
If you live in an area served by a Bott Radio Network station, you can now hear daily news reports and interviews featuring WORLD Magazine’s editors, writers, and reporters.Hosted by WORLD’s Nick Eicher, This Is News airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET, 10 a.m. CT. You can also listen to these reports here on WORLDmag.com, or subscribe to the free podcast (coming soon to the iTunes store).
Ideology: Three Deep South States Are the Most Conservative
February 3, 2010
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are the most conservative states, with just under half of the residents in each identifying as politically conservative.
Makes me even more proud to call Alabama my home state.
Taxpayers Fund Abortions But Not School Vouchers
February 3, 2010
Remember, elections have consequences. Shame be upon the so-called Christians who supported Obama. From the article:
““Here’s what it comes down to,” summed up Donohue. Poor pregnant women living in Washington, D.C. “will be told that if they decide to abort their baby, the government will pay for it. But if they persist in bringing their baby to term, the government will not help them to avoid the same lousy public schools that Barack and Michelle shunned for Sasha and Malia.” Donohue denounced the action as “cruel.””
