faith for faith

The true light, which enlightens all men, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:9-13).

In the opening verses to his Gospel, the apostle John gives us some of the most well-known verses in Scripture. And though they are well-known by themselves, they point to a text that is even more well-known, namely the first verses of the Scriptures found in Genesis 1. And what I believe the apostle is doing in writing these verses is that he is giving us a commentary upon the Genesis 1 account of the Creation in light of the revealed Person of Jesus Christ. And I say commentary and not revelation, because what the apostle is saying is not something that is new, but it is something that is seen more clearly in Jesus Christ.

To explain what I mean, let’s consider the first verses of the Genesis account in light of John 1. In Genesis 1, Moses writes, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). One thing I love about this text is the way by which the Holy Spirit had revealed it to Moses. For the phrase, “In the beginning” (which has been argued by non-Christian Jewish scholars before and after the coming of Christ), is a purposely ambiguous phrase in the Hebrew. For while it does convey the meaning of “In the beginning,” the same words are used later in the book of Genesis to refer to Jacob’s firstborn son, Reuben. These Jewish scholars, ironically, have shown that these first words in Genesis can be alternately rendered, “Through the Firstborn, God created the heavens and the earth.” Now, granting that is true and granting what the apostle Paul has written elsewhere concerning Jesus Christ, namely that he is the Firstborn of all creation, we have in the Genesis account precisely what the apostle John is saying in his Gospel, namely, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

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For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake (Phil. 1:29).

The phrase, "faith for faith," is taken directly from the translation of Rm. 1:17 by the English Standard Version, expressly, "For in it [that is, the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith." I say, "translation," but I mean more "interpretation" for, though the literal interpretation of the passage is "faith to faith," I am thinking (though I am unsure of this) that the translators of the ESV are picking up on part of what the apostle is doing with this phrase, namely using it as an inclusio to bracket with Rm. 3:21, 22 the section of the epistle from Rm. 1:18-3:20. [An "inclusio," is a literary device used to set apart a particular section of literature, bracketing it with common phrases.]
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To those who know me, it is scarcely a secret that I have been in a valley of sorts, spiritually speaking. And lest it be misunderstood as of what I am speaking, my communion with God has been lacking, my desire for the things of the God has been quelled, and my life has been consumed with things that are passing instead of with things that are everlasting. And there is little mystery behind why these things have been so (namely arising from and perpetuated by a lack of beholding Christ in his Word and communing with his people), and yet I have done little to remedy my state. I have been till recently content to feed myself with the fleeting things of this age instead of feasting upon riches of God and his glory in his Son.

Yet to be honest, content is much too strong a word. For I have found little contentment in the those things which deterred me from beholding Christ, and I have found no rest for my soul in those fleeting things. And despite this, the Adversary had convinced me that the things of God were laborious and that there was little reward for chasing after them. And so he (being the slick devil that he is) convinced me, figuratively speaking, again and again, meal after meal, that it was better for me to drive across the street to eat off the Wendy’s value menu than to drive a few miles down the road to dine at the Ruth’s Chris.

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Being from North Carolina, it is difficult not to love the sight of snow. It is a sight that is seldom seen, and when it sticks it transforms everything on which it falls. Regardless of where the snow lands, be it on the lawns of the wealthy or on the trash heaps of the landfills, everything is made beautiful. It is, in some ways, a perfect picture of the Gospel. For the Gospel, like the snow on divers landscapes, is not a respecter of social class, race, nationality, or political position, and it falls upon God’s dispersed elect and covers them beautifully with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. God’s people, called forth from every tongue and every tribe, from paupers to kings, who are as muddy and filthy as the natural landscape, find themselves fully blanketed with the whiteness of Jesus Christ and, when the clouds give way to clear skies, reflect with blinding radiance the glory of their Father. They who were once dirty are now clean; they who were once dull are now radiant–not by any merit of their own, but because God came near and gave to them his cleanness and his radiance and thereby made them beautiful.

I am a blogger, and as such, when I write I do not write as one does when he writes a book–formally and systematically–but my posts are seemingly sporadic and generally reflect certain topics that are raised from day to day from diverse places. Also, when I write, sometimes I address particular audiences, e.g. teachers, leaders, Christians, etc, and attempt to make it clear which audience I am addressing in the post. However, it is most often the case that many different audiences read the posts that I write, and, despite my best efforts, certain audiences that were not intended to be addressed feel as though they were and make conclusions about the post based upon that feeling. And sometimes when I address certain audiences, I use particular terminology that would be familiar to one audience and unfamiliar to another, and oftentimes an audience which is unfamiliar with the jargon specific to another audience is engaged with it, and they react negatively toward it though it may be truth.

In this post I am going to explain some of the jargon that is used by those with theological training and attempt to bridge the gap and clarify some misunderstandings. This language is often used by those who are trained in seminaries, and, to be frank, I detest that it is this way. Personally, I am not in favor of the existence of seminaries, because they divide God’s church into priests and laypersons, and, because of this divide, there flows from it a sort of arrogance and superiority that is not healthy to the church. I believe wholeheartedly that the church, not seminaries, should be the instructor of doctrine, and it has come to the point where many who have come from seminaries do not believe doctrine is beneficial to the church and therefore do not teach it. This however is an entirely false notion, and in this post I am seeking to share the doctrines commonly labeled by theologians as “Calvinism” to all of God’s people for their understanding and edification. I have addressed certain frequently asked questions in this post, and I may add more as they come to mind or are asked of me. I pray that you will find this of benefit and will share it with others who may have similar questions. To God alone be the glory. Amen.

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At my new job site with the security company for which I work, I have the privilege of working with a brother of Christ who comes from a Church of God denominational background, and who is presently pursuing a Master of Divinity in Christian Counseling. We have had some wonderful conversations the past two days (and will likely have many more in the future, Lord willing), and I have little reason not to believe that this man is a child of God. He loves the Lord and his Word, and he strives for holiness and likely shares Christianity with more unbelievers than I do.

However, despite these admirable and godly traits, this brother is a full-fledged Arminian and believes the very doctrines that the Synod of Dordt denounced. And while I am convinced that the Spirit of God dwells in this man, I have felt it my duty to share with him at least some differing views on his beliefs since this man aspires to one day be a full-time minister to God’s flock. Here are a few of my thoughts that I have shared with him.

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There is little that can be said about how far we fall short as made clear by these videos:

Many times (if not most times) when I speak to someone who is shopping around for a church, when I ask him his opinion of a particular church, his first impressions revolve around the type of music of the church. Seldom do I hear about the Christ-centeredness of the service or the disposition of the members or their desire to reach their community and the Nations with the Gospel. And if that person shows any inclination to visiting a church a second time, it is oftentimes contingent on whether or not he was entertained by that church the first time around.

While it is of little surprise that American Christians are more concerned about worshipping themselves than God by the churches they attend, it is saddening nonetheless. For it is clear that we have been deceived into thinking that true joy rests in self-satisfaction, and we rob ourselves of our Joy by seeking it in entertainment rather than in Christ and him glorified.

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I know that what I am addressing is a very sensitive issue and an extremely weighty one. For the great atrocity of our day which is called abortion is nothing less that sanitized murder for sake of selfishness and convenience, and it is no less atrocious than the acts of the heathens who sacrifice their children for the sake of worship to their false gods. For abortion is essentially the same practice, except, instead of being practiced on an altar for worship of an idol, it is done on an surgeon’s table for the worship of one’s self. For we are a self-worshipping generation, and we have demonstrated that no sacrifice is too great to be placed upon the altar of our self-worship.

The vast majority of Christians view abortion in this way, and rightly condemn its practice. And among many Christians, abortion is their greatest worldly concern, and they therefore align themselves in the political arena with those politicians who claim to be against abortion in order that, by God’s grace, the practice of abortion might be made illegal. However, the issue of abortion has made many Christians adopt an “ends justifies the means” philosophy so that they are willing to throw their unabashed support behind any political candidate who stands against abortion though that person might otherwise be morally reprehensible.

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Having attended a Southern Baptist college and seminary for the better part of a decade, I have what is commonly called, “The Great Commission,” imprinted on my brain. At Southeastern Baptist Seminary, it was / is not uncommon to hear multiple messages preached on the Great Commission every semester and to see in its buildings (Jacqumin-Simmons in particular) the passage from Matthew 28 spelled out in golden letters:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Mt. 28:19, 20).

Now the desire to fulfill the final command given by our Lord to his apostles is a great one indeed, and being that it was the final instructions given by Christ, the Great Commission should have a profound impact on how we operate as a Church. And I do not make the case of some, who argue that this command was issued to the disciples alone, but that it is effective till “the end of the age,” when Christ returns as our Champion, and all things are made new.

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