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What a wonderful providence of God that Kevin DeYoung's newest book, " Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough and What That Means for You and Me " would be published right now. With the attempt to redefine what marriage is, what sex is and for whom, God's Word and our understanding of it (and Him) seems to be up for grabs, culturally speaking. Not too long ago my alma mater was in the midst of controversy over the nature of God's Word. This too provided the opportunity for the publication of a wonderful resource. (Find my very brief thoughts on the controversy and links to the resource here .) Rev. DeYoung is a gifted writer. I've enjoyed reading most of what he has written. (I've never liked referring to author's by their last name only. It sounds almost disrespectful to my Texas-born ears. I will refer to Rev. DeYoung as Rev. DeYoung a day this is especially appropriate given the subject matter. He is a mini...

Our last brief post  was on the subject of God's Word; the Bible. This, Dr. Gaffin makes clear, is our only reliable and true source of Truth. Do you believe God's Word is trustworthy? Complete? Authoritative? Compelling?  Where you stand on these questions will have everything  to do with where you stand on the work of Jesus on your behalf; His ongoing work in you by His Spirit, His final work of consummation and everything in between. I just finished reading  Kevin DeYoung's recently published book " Taking God at His Word " and I have also written a review of it which I will post later today or tomorrow.. That will be our next order of business. (Just so you'll know I plan on strongly encouraging you to buy the book   in the next post). But in the meantime and just to whet the whistle, read this . Kevin DeYoung's book is very relevant to our discussion of "By Faith, Not By Sight" which we will take up again after the next post/review.

This is the seventh post in a series on the book,  "By Faith, Not By Sight"  by Dr. Richard Gaffin. The links to the previous posts are here:   #1    #2    #3    #4    #5   #6 This may be the most important thing for us to remember as we think about all that is before us; this is God's Word. As is already clear, we are focusing on the Apostle Paul's words found in the Bible.  But we do so understanding that Paul is an apostle; "...that is, as he is an instrument of God's revelation, authorized by the exalted Christ, for attesting and interpreting salvation manifested in Christ." (BFNBS, pg 7) There are at least two crucial implications we can draw from this. First, this is not some isolated academic or practical study we are about. When dealing with God's very Word we are dealing with God Himself as speaker. We are responsible to Him for how we understand Paul. Care must be taken. Second, these letters of Pau...

This is the sixth (semi-) post in a series on the book, " By Faith, Not By Sight " by Dr. Richard Gaffin. The previous posts can be found at the following links: #1   #2   #3   #4   #5 We need to make sure we understand, at least in a cursory way, what gave rise to Dr. Gaffin's lectures of 2004 that became "By Faith, Not By Sight" that will occupy our time. So we at least skimmed over the top of the weeds a little bit. But don't let these first few posts trip you up. As we continue, this rich theology will bear much practical fruit. So we will keep going, just like these guys... ( HT )

This is the fifth post in a series going through the book, " By Faith, Not By Sight ." Find previous posts at the links below: #1 (Intro)   #2   #3   #4 Have you ever thought about salvation, the work of Jesus as being accomplished and being applied? Another wordy way of putting it; all of what Jesus did in history; being born of a virgin, living a sinless, perfect life in complete obedience to His Father, being crucified, dying and receiving the Father's wrath earned by taking into Himself the sin saved sinners, being raised from the dead and ascending to the right hand of His Father in heaven; all of that actually happening on the timeline of history and it being applied to you at the moment of conversion; salvation accomplished by Jesus and applied to you. This is referred to in Dr. Gaffin's book in a nifty shorthand way as historia salutis (salvation accomplished in history ) and ordo salutis (salvation applied to the believer). If you haven't heard of t...

This is the fourth post in a series where we are making our way through Dr. Richard Gaffin's book, "By Faith, Not By Sight" . You can find  the first three linked here: First Post Intro Second Post Third Post The last post ended with the question, "How are we made right with God?".  It is your answer to this question that will help you make sense (or not) of the rest of our posts. Men like N.T. Wright, E.P. Sanders and J.D.G. Dunn may argue that this is the wrong question to ask. (A helpful bibliography of some of these men's work is available in the book "By Faith, Not By Sight" .) So it is necessary to dip our toe in these waters, in the most shallowest of ends, so that we can move forward a bit more prepared. We are only dipping our toes in because I don't think I have the theological chops to understand all of the complexities involved. But some familiarity is necessary. In order to hyper-metaphor you, we will do our best to avoid t...

Post 3 in a series on the book " By Faith, Not By Sight " The introduction to this series is here . First post is here .  How are we made right with God?  The Bible is clear that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. No one is righteous, not even one. We are dead in our trespasses and sin . What has to happen for sinners to be received by God? (The issue of b eing made right with God is captured in the the doctrine of Justification.)  The Apostle Paul teaches us that sinners must be justified; their sin must be punished and the sinner must be found "not guilty", in order to be received by God.  So the next question should be; how is one justified?   The background for the lectures Dr. Gaffin gave in 2004 was a somewhat fragmented and complex body of work regarding Paul's view of justification. This body of work is generally referred to as the New Perspective on Paul (NPP).  One of the claims that is made by some of the NPP proponents is...

Post 2 in a series on the book "By Faith, Not By Sight" This is the first post of a series I introduced here . "...the purpose of the lectures [is] to highlight matters which...pastors and other teachers...need to be clear on..." ( Preface, BFNBS ) This book was born out of lectures Dr. Gaffin presented in 2004. The lectures had a purpose, as does the book, captured in the abbreviated quote from the preface above; to offer clarity in Paul's theology. Clarity is needed as things have become muddled with the New Perspective on Paul, the intramural debates regarding justification and sanctification, the distinction between Law and gospel, etc. How you appropriate Paul's theology will necessarily put you somewhere on the continuum in any or all of these debates. And  it will effect your understanding of, not just Paul's letters (13 of them!), but of all of Scripture. And that will inform how you preach, how you counsel, how and from what you repen...

On March 19th I tweeted this tweet . It was a pretty bold claim, I admit.  So I am going to take the opportunity to back it up through a series of blog posts. Get yours today! I claim that the book, By Faith, Not By Sight   may be the best theological-pastoral-practical-pastoral counseling  book I have ever read. I am saying this book and its subject matter has implications in all of these facets in ways I have not found (or can't remember) in any other book I've read.  To be sure, there may be better theological books out there, better pastoral books, better books that are more accessible practically, etc. But Dr. Gaffin's work is multi-faceted in its implications for all of these areas in ways I haven't seen before. My goal in this series of blog posts is to make my way through the book and highlight these implications. But first, maybe some definitions would help. Theological- This is a study of the Apostle Paul's view of the theology of salvation, or h...

They imagine they see their faces. They wonder about the sounds of their voices. They see a smile and wish they could turn the clock back. Church nurseries hurt. Baby showers bring a knot to their stomach. High chairs can make them turn away. Avoiding the baby food aisle can be a singular goal with every trip to the grocery store. Women (and men) carry the shame and guilt and grief of past abortions.  This past decision carry with it painful, personal and often silent incriminations.   We all coo and ahh at the pictures of newborns.  We celebrate the news of newly expectant mothers and rejoice with the families. Women (and men) whose past includes the abortion of their baby share these experiences, but the experiences are always tinged with something else; something hard for us to understand...at least experience..."what might have been", "what have I done", "how old would he/she have been" and on and on and on. So often these e...

She had become kind of haggard. Stuff wasn't staying put like it used to. I got tired of trying to make it work; taking her places and making sure she was put together. I imagined how nice a new, fresh one would be; it would smell good, it would be bound well so everything would stay the right place. It didn't take me long to find another one I thought would be better. The picture spurred me on even more. I was so excited when I got the new one. Everything started off fine. It was exciting and new. Eventually though, I started feeling funny, it started feeling strange.  Something wasn't right.  After 6 months I was done with the new one. It was a bad fit.  It wasn't her, it was me. I needed the other one back.  She knew me. I knew her. We had been to so many hospitals together too. We had been in a lot of living rooms together. One of the most cherished times we had was at a dear woman's house as the body of her husband lay back in the bedroom, entering g...

When I decided to start blogging, almost two years ago, I had one primary purpose; to have a place where I recorded my thoughts on the stuff I was reading .  I wanted to focus on books on preaching (you can read the post with a list of those books here ). I did read about 75% of those books listed and I am still working my way through them.  I have added to the list too: Saving Eutychus , (a wonderful book you should purchase and read if you are a preacher), Preaching? , Preaching Like Paul  (recommended by Kevin DeYoung and one I am looking forward to reading), and One Year to Better Preaching , a book I plan to crack open and use beginning November 18, 2013. I found, however, that these kinds of books didn't induce reflective thoughts (or maybe it is this kind of reader...I don't know). I have benefited greatly from reading these books, but I only blogged part way through the first one.   I still intend for this to be a neglected blog, but I think I will drop ...

I am very grateful for the seminary where I sought training for pastoral ministry; Westminster Theological Seminary . I graduated in 1999 as green as any new minister would be. I could find my way around the Bible in the original languages, had a better than average grasp of church history, could hold my own apologetically and had been run through the ringer in my preaching classes. I graduated loving both systematic theology and biblical theology. Upon graduating I didn't leave WTS but joined the administration for a short time as the Director of Admissions.  I got to be a cheerleader for what I still believe is the best seminary in the world where one can be trained for pastoral ministry.  I also got to serve incoming students in their first year of study. These years of my direct connection with WTS, roughly 1995-2000, years as a student, an administrator and a friend to new students; there were things bubbling under the surface.  A controversy was brewin...

John Calvin writes concerning the sufficiency and trustworthiness of God's Word towards the beginning of Book One of his Institutes.  In 1.9.2 (Book One, Chapter 9, paragraph 2) he writes how "The Holy Spirit is recognized in his agreement with Scripture": "...we ought zealously to apply ourselves both to read and to hearken to Scripture if indeed we want to receive any gain and benefit from the Spirit of God--even as Peter praises the zeal of those who were attentive to the prophetic teaching, which nevertheless could be seen to have given up its place after the light of the gospel dawned [ II Peter 1:19 ]. But on the contrary, if any spirit, passing over the the wisdom of God's Word, foists another doctrine upon us, he justly deserves to be suspected of vanity and lying [ Gal. 1:6-9 ]. What then? Since 'Satan disguises himself as an angel of light' [ II Cor. 11:14 ], what authority will the Spirit have among us, unless he be discerned by a most ce...

"David's statement that ungodly men and fools feel in their hearts that there is no God [ Psalm 14:1 ; 53:1 ] must first...be limited to those who, by extinguishing the light of nature, deliberately befuddle themselves. Accordingly, we see that many, after they have become hardened in insolent and habitual sinning, furiously repel all remembrance of God, although this is freely suggested to them inwardly from the feeding of nature.  But to render their madness more detestable, David represents them as flatly denying God's existence; not that they deprive him of his being, but because, in despoiling him of his judgment and providence, they shut him up idle in heaven. Now there is nothing less in accord with God's nature than for him to cast off all government of the universe and abandon it to fortune, and to be blind to the wicked deeds of men, so that they may lust unpunished. Accordingly, whoever heedlessly indulges himself, his fear of heavenly judgment exti...

Why do the nations rage? Why do the peoples plot in vain?  These questions posed in Psalm 2:1 echo the questions many of us have been asking...often through tears. Why? Why did so many die at Sandy Hook Elementary?  Why did so many die in Aurora? Why did so many die at Virginia Tech? Why did so many die in Manhattan, in Washing DC and in the field in Pennsylvania? Why did so many die at Columbine High School? Why did so many die in Oklahoma City?  Why did so many die at Auschwitz? Why do so many die in what is supposed to be the protective and nurturing safety of the womb?  Why do the nations rage?  Why do the peoples plot in vain? The psalmist rivets to our hearts the reality we live in. Sinners rage and plot against the purposes of God. He has created the universe and determined to sprinkle throughout His world image-bearers. These image-bearers proclaim, by their very existence, that there is a King who rules all that is and He is YHWH. ( Roman...

I read it from Justin Taylor, Tim Challies, all the uber-bloggers; blog about things that interest you.  I began this silly thing as a personal resource for me.  I read and comment on books especially having to do with the public ministry of God's Word. If others stumbled on it and found something helpful, fine.  But this was started with only selfish intent; I was writing for myself about something that interested me and that I hoped could be useful for the ministry God called me to. We are in a very busy season of ministry at GCPC. As a dad and husband, things are going ninety-to-nothing at home too.  Life is happening at a dizzying pace... BUT, I am also undisciplined, and this the crux of the issue as to why I haven't posted since January. I have continued to read, I am tackling the books I listed on a previous post, I just haven't recorded my thoughts here.  And this is to my detriment. I am about to begin a ridiculous travel schedule (ridiculous for...

John Newton ( Works , 6:271): When I feel my own poverty, my heart wandering, my head confused, graces languid, gifts apparently dormant; when I thus stand up with half a loaf, or less, before a multitude, and see the bread multiply in the breaking, and that, however it may be at the time with myself, as to my own feelings, the hungry, the thirsty, the mourners in Zion, are not wholly disappointed; when I find that some, in the depth of their outward afflictions, can rejoice in me, as the messenger by whom the Lord is pleased to send them a word in season, balm for their wounds, and cordials for their cases; then indeed I magnify mine office. (HT:Tony Reinke)

Just way too much going on right now to read chapter 4 and update.  Will resume soon...

The briefest of all chapters so far, Boice serves up a wonderful contribution. The pastor must maintain his pursuit of scholarship in order to enable him to preach and teach the whole counsel of God more ably.   The autobiographical section was especially enjoyable.  I learned things about Boice I had never known.  Learned and a graduate of Harvard and Princeton Seminary and then the University of Basel in Switzerland (Ph.D.), it makes perfect sense why he was asked to write on this subject.  He believed that a man is a faithful steward of his scholarship in the pastoral ministry God gives him, as opposed to being a teacher or professor.  This was Boice's life's calling and this brief chapter commends the same to future pastors. Very helpful recommended guidelines are laid out for those who are training for pastoral ministry on how to pursue scholarship that will benefit the pulpit ministry of the preacher.  To those young men who are pursuing ...