07 Wednesday Jul 2010
Yesterday, one of the folks I interact with on Twitter re-tweeted a statement that I found intriguing.
RT CrystalLewis Someday, we will realize that it’s more productive to serve God than to debate doctrinal positions about Him.
Knowing that the guy who RT’ed it meant people of any religion, period, but not knowing what Crystal meant, I asked her. She responded, Continue reading
06 Tuesday Jul 2010
Posted in Book Discussion, Theology
Part 3 of a series discussing C. F. W. Walther’s important treatise Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible.
So what’s the difference? Law or Gospel, it’s all God’s word, right? Isn’t it hard enough to find pastors who will just preach the WORD?
Yes, it certainly is all God’s Word. And it is tough to find pastors who will open a text and preach it instead of their own opinions. It’s even tougher to find pastors who can tell the difference between the text and their opinions to start with! Law and Gospel are, however, fundamentally different in terms of their content. Says Walther:
The Law tells us what to do. No such instruction is contained in the Gospel. Rather, the Gospel reveals to us only what God is doing. The Law speaks about our works, whereas the Gospel speaks about the great works of God. In the Law we hear the ten-fold summons [that is, the Ten Commandments]: “You shall.” Beyond that, the Law has nothing to say to us. The Gospel, on the other hand, makes no demands whatsoever. (pg. 14)
05 Monday Jul 2010
Posted in Book Discussion, Theology
Part 2 in a series considering Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible by C. F. W. Walther.
The law of God is written on the hearts of all mankind. It was created along with us. It is what God demands of us as people. When the Law is preached to even ungodly people, their conscience will tell them that what they’re hearing is true.
The Law is Written On Their Hearts
03 Saturday Jul 2010
Posted in Book Discussion, Theology
I just picked up C. F. W. Walther’s Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible in the new Reader’s Edition. It’s a great read and extremely friendly to the modern reader. I’d like to pass along a couple of things I’ve been pondering…in no particular order.
15 Tuesday Jun 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
The words of the title still echo in my ears. I’d been called to my previous pastor’s office over the contents of my December 1st blog post, simply because a couple of people had forwarded the post to him. These individuals hadn’t understood fully what I meant in my post and were not, according to my pastor, seeking to accuse me of any sin.
12 Saturday Jun 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
Great Creator, we thank You
for the gift and mystery of our bodies.
We thank You for the gift of loving sexual intimacy.
Forgive us the misuse and abuse of that gift:
For taking it too early, with the wrong person,
for replacing love with lust,
for separating concern from self-fulfillment.
Make us pure in love, discerning in passion.
Make us choose commitment over possession.
Christ Jesus, who came to reconcile and restore all relationships,
heal and restore our fragile or broken marriages.
In your name, Lord, we pray, Amen.
07 Monday Jun 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
I began seminary today with summer Greek. I’m not completely freaked out, but I’m sufficiently motivated. I’ve been studying flash cards I’ve made with vocabulary and the Greek alphabet, so I figured I’d take a few moments to look at a Jonathan Edwards dissertation concerning The End for which God Created the World. It was recommended to me by a fellow Greek student, so I thought I’d give it a look. I’m reading out of the 1860 printing of the 1834 edition. It’s a rewarding experience to read a classic in an older edition, but for the sake of my notes, I’ll be paraphrasing most of what I read. Continue reading
31 Monday May 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
A great many comments have come about, some through posts and some in person, whenever I speak of the law and gospel being related but separate entities. I hope, in the coming weeks and months, to address some of this material.
To begin with, however, I would like to direct you to Tullian Tchividjian‘s blog for the transcript of a recent interview with Justin Taylor, of the Between Two Worlds blog.
27 Thursday May 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
In Paul’s letter to Titus, Paul lays out some protocol for those in Titus’ pastoral care. In verses 1 & 2 of chapter 3, Paul exhorts Titus to “remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” As an evangelical who edges closer to confessional Christianity each passing day, I affirm the authority of Scripture to determine faith and practice. So let’s look at the context in which this exhortation is given.
23 Sunday May 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
experience, Gospel, homosexuality, music, Scripture, theology, witnessing, worship
Many folks in evangelicalism who routinely ‘share their faith,’ go about telling their story. They talk about how Jesus has saved them from this or that sinful behavior or thought pattern. Some folks’ sin of choice involves alcohol, some are sidelined by homosexual behavior, others by drugs, anger, or nicotine. Whatever they wrestled with before, they have the victory over now…all thanks to Jesus.
Here’s the problem: even if we are to grant that God has wrought such life-change through sanctification, this is still not the Gospel. Such life-change is potentially a fruit of the Gospel, but the Gospel and its fruit must never be confounded. Someone recently asked me to summarize the Gospel. Here’s what I answered:
That Christ, acting outside of me, apart from my will, died for me in history and that he rose again, giving me his righteousness which covers me like a robe would. His righteousness is always and always will be alien to (outside of) me.
Gay and Evangelical 
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