Nod

Nodding off—happens to the best of us. LOL!(click on pic to enlarge)

WTS 2013 Charge to the Graduates by Dr. K. Scott Oliphint:

A Union with Christ Launch Pad

For those desiring to learn more about the Reformed doctrine of union with Christ, this post by Justin Taylor will prove helpful: Union with Christ: A Crash Course

The links to Richard Gaffin and Sinclar Ferguson's lectures alone make paying the link a visit worthwhile, not to mention the link to Phil Gons' website which contains a wealth of bibliographical information!

Jared Oliphint opines that Dr. Gaffin's upcoming book, By Faith, Not By Sight, will be released in Kindle format and I am certainly looking forward to that. In the meantime, I got myself Marcus Peter Johnson's One with Christ: An Evangelical Theology of Salvation.

Sinclair Ferguson's "A Preacher's Decalogue"

I've been teaching in my church's Saturday theology and Sunday School classes for about a month now and I still can't shake off the feeling of inadequacy. Perhaps this is actually a good thing, as it keeps me begging for fresh supplies of God's grace and enablement every time I wear the teacher's moccasins. I am greatly encouraged (and surprised!) that my pastor is very supportive and has told me that the congregation actually enjoys my Sunday School classes—surprised because I can't see why. I feel that my oral communication sorely needs improvement (I have a stutter), and to hear that the people of my church profit from my blunderings is a great consolation.

Dr. R. Scott Clark told me the following, after I asked for advice following a Sunday School class wherein I particularly felt that I did a poor job: "Teaching requires practice & trust in the Lord's mercy. Real teaching is a dying to self." Needless to say, this was just what the doctor ordered. I realized that teaching is a giving of oneself to the student, done in the spirit of service, with his edification in heart and mind. From then on, I resolved to approach teaching mindful of the fact that I am serving my Lord and tending to His sheep, and performance anxiety introspection is best countered by assuming the humble posture of a servant.

The following article by Sinclair Ferguson, from Themelios (Vol. 36, Issue 2, Aug 2011), although about the preacher and preaching, I believe has wisdom to impart even to the mere teacher:

No Pastor, No Sanctification

Thabiti Anyabwile makes a laudable case, based on statistical data, for the predicament that afflicts many pastors. He states:

"Work long hours in a job with too many demands for too little pay. Many have the wrong skills and the wrong expectations. Families being pressured and battered. Pastors are discouraged and depressed. No friends, serious conflict once a month, and people who will not follow. Is it no wonder so many quit so soon?"

PCUSA's Ordained Queergy

The news is out of the closet: PCUSA has now broken down the "wall of hostility" against the ordination of gays to official positions in the church. They are now open to having a body of ordained queergy rule the Body of Christ.

What this means is that this denomination accepts those whom Scripture deems as outside the covenant (excommunicated by virtue of living in unrepentant sin) as meeting the qualifications set forth by Paul in 1 Tim. 3:1-7. Paul also says:

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-10).

Those who will not inherit the kingdom of God can lead the present visible representation of the kingdom of God on earth?! NOT!

Calvin, in his commentary on the passage above, notes:

"By effeminate persons I understand those who, although they do not openly abandon themselves to impurity, discover, nevertheless, their unchastity by blandishments of speech, by lightness of gesture and apparel, and other allurements. The fourth description of crime is the most abominable of all — that monstrous pollution which was but too prevalent in Greece."

If I understand Calvin correctly, even the limp-wristed falls under the charge of homosexuality; and isn't it the case that the gay mannerism is universal, manifesting itself consistently across national and racial boundaries?

"Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town" (Matt 10:15). I wonder if it would be more bearable for PCUSA as well.

The Call of the Conduit

Notwithstanding the sad state of the pastoral ministry, both here in the Philippines and abroad, the call to preach and teach the oracles of God has never lost its gravity and importance. God, in His gracious condescension, has seen it fit to course His faith-building blessings through jars of clay, and the determination of whether one is among those chosen to be conduits of His speech must be taken very seriously.

On a subjective, personal level, determination can be commenced by asking oneself, "Do I love to study the Word of God?" "Do I endeavor to obey the Word of God?" "Do I have a desire to teach the Word of God to others?" This is in keeping with what the priest Ezra was described as being and doing, "For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel" (Ezra 7:10).

On a more objective note, the estimation of the elders of the church play the most important role in this determination. The exercise of one's gifts in the church context gives the elders the data that they would need in ascertaining (with prayerful consideration) whether the love of God's Word, the life of God's Word, and the teaching of God's Word are apparent in the individual. This process of submitting to the authority of the Church simply recognizes the Christ-representative function of the eldership and the Lord's able use of ordinary means.

Dr. Dennis Johnson has more: "Discerning One’s Call to the Ministry" and "Confirming One’s Call to the Ministry"

What Is the Priesthood of All Believers?

"From the riches of his perfect ministry Christ gives every grace to his people. The 'universal priesthood of believers' is not a religious application of democracy. Every Christian has access to the heavenly holy place only because Christ is there among the lampstands, his priestly garment girded with royal gold (Rev. 1:13). The believer has no rights as prophet, priest, or king in his own name, but in Christ's calling his rights exceed those of every prophet, priest, or king of the Old Testament. There was no greater prophet than John the Baptist, but he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he: greater, that is, not in obedience or service, but in position, in calling (Matt. 11:9-11). After Christ's outpouring of his Spirit at Pentecost all the people of God are as prophets, sharing with Simon Peter in that confession of faith which is revealed not by flesh and blood, but by the Father in heaven (Matt. 16:18). In that same Spirit they are sanctified, offer themselves as living sacrifices, praise God, and make intercession for men as a kingdom of priests (I Pet. 2:9). Through the power of the risen Christ they have dominion over the hosts of darkness and will rule with Christ at his appearing (I Cor. 4:8; 6:2, 2; Rom. 16:20)" (Edmund P. Clowney, Called to the Ministry (New Jersey: P & R, 1964), 42, 43).

The Primacy of Preaching

I had this well-meaning and sincere, though misguided, individual tell me one time that the "praise and worship" part of the service was the most important one since it was the part that ushered the people into God's presence. Of course, such a notion is more in keeping with revivalism's modus operandi of stroking man's fleshly appetite for excitement and immediate experience than it is grounded on biblical doctrine—and the only thing that it really ushers people into is an adrenaline rush!

This mentality acutely reflects the sad state of modern Evangelicalism in how it has completely missed the fact of the dialogical nature of the worship service: God speaks; we listen and respond in worship, humility, and gratitude, and are sanctified by the spoken Word. What you have in most Evangelical Sunday services is a pop-rock concert in the beginning, a self-help, pseudo-psychological talk in the middle, and an encore of the previous "music ministry" performance in the end. God's Word in Scripture, if ever used at all, come in sporadic bursts of verses here and there that are forced to concur with the speaker's agenda, thereby stripping the text of its intended meaning, stifling the work of the Spirit in His sacramental function of quickening the Word, and robbing the people of blessing.

It is the preacher's job and mandate to be a scholar of Scripture for God speaks to His people through the preached Word. This is the most important part of the worship service. Let no one delude you into thinking otherwise.

"God thinks preaching is much more important than most people do. For God, it is not just verbal 'filler' in a Sunday worship service. Neither is it the sharing of
one’s experiences designed to inspire and stimulate those of others. Nor is it a nicely organized talk, complete with PowerPoint slides, intending to inform people of '10 ways to become more spiritual.' (I never found a text in Scripture that contained 10 practical ways to do anything!) Rather, the words of the preacher are to echo the words of his text, and, when faithful to that text of Scripture, contain 'the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.' As Paul writes elsewhere:

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to
preach the gospel….For the message of the
cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of
God (1 Cor. 1:17-18).

You’ll need to contend with that whether or not you are called to preach. If you are, tremble! What you will declare with your lips is the redeeming energy of God Himself. If you are not called to preach, assigned instead to join God’s people as they hear faithful preaching and give it fleshly form in their obedience, take that task seriously too. God’s Word brings life or death. Remember the sobering words of the apostle, admonishing preacher and hearer alike:

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among
those who are being saved and those who are
perishing. To the one we are the smell of death;
to the other the fragrance of life. And who is
equal to such a task? (2 Cor. 2:15-16).

Who indeed?"

— Dr. John R. Sittema, 'Called to Preach', 15—16

The Holy Spirit Makes Men

I left a "seeker-sensitive" megachurch where it seems that men are chosen to the position of elder by virtue of clout, influence, charisma, and personality. Going by the kind of preaching and teaching these men put out, it is apparent that it was never a prerequisite that they be gifted in matters of doctrine—having the ability to teach and rule—and be advanced in sanctification. If they could put on a good "show", they were given the pulpit as the stage for their theatrics.

Now, I don't doubt or question the sincerity of these men in their desire to serve the Lord. However, it is a matter of biblical fact that not all men are gifted and chosen by the Spirit for the eldership, and Scripture has laid down strict and exclusive principles in the determination of those thus chosen. Needless to say, the "showbiz" factor is not one of them.

"The Holy Spirit makes men bishops. He makes bishops of those whom he first makes men. He makes men bishops by giving them gifts for teaching and rule. He makes men ready for this service by maturing them in their gifts and by the work of sanctification in their lives. Chronological age is not the primary rule; but we do need to beware of making bishops of men whom the Lord has not yet made elders in widsom, discernment, and spiritual graces. To ordain a novice is only to minister confusion to the flock of Christ."

— Lawrence R.Eyres, 'The Elders of the Church', ch. 9, p. 51.

The Gifts Make the Man

"Recently I heard a sermon in which the preacher spoke of ministers and others who were over-zealous that their particular gifts be recognized and given place in the church. The preacher said that there was no need to worry about that; if anyone has gifts, and uses his opportunities to exercise these gifts, in due time the church will recognize them. The man need not make a place for his gifts to be employed; rather, the gifts themselves will make a place for him!

How true is this! A correct attitude for all who serve our sovereign Lord is just this: What I am is really not very important. What is important is that whatever Christ has given me I will make available to him to use where and when and how he chooses. Then I will have all the satisfaction I need, and more honor than I can safely cope with. This is especially true for those whom Christ has gifted and given 'for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of the ministry, unto the edifying of the body of Christ'" (emphasis mine).

— Lawrence R. Eyres, The Elders of the Church, ch. 2, p. 13.