Reclaiming Genesis
Melvin Tinker
Monarch Books 2010
Reclaiming Genesis is more an exposition than a commentary dealing with the first twelve foundational chapters of Genesis. These chapters are foundational, not just for the rest of Genesis and the Pentateuch, but for the whole Bible.
The book consists of ten chapters, each basically dealing with one chapter of Genesis, except for Genesis 7 (part of Noah's story on the ark) and 10 (a genealogy from Noah's sons).
Tinker takes a literary approach to the early chapters of Genesis and sees the primary meaning of these chapters in theological and polemical terms. He also argues that there is no need to accept a Young Earth Creationist (YEC) standpoint and even accepts that theistic evolution would be a compatible view with Genesis, so long as we only accept evolution as a mechanism under God's control. It is evolutionism - the naturalistic view that the life in the universe came about and continues without God - that the Christian view of creation cannot accept.
Rather than on the 'how" of creation, Tinker's chapter on Genesis One focuses on the chapters polemics against paganism, and a functional view of creation whereby God fits the universe to be "the theatre of his glory" (Calvin) and fills it with creatures.
A similar viewpoint carries us through the other chapters through to God's calling Abram in Genesis 12.
Tinker himself claims that much of what he writes would be agreed by Christians, no matter what view of creation we accept. In other words, much of what he says Genesis One teaches would not be denied by YECs. I'm sure he is correct in this. Even so, I think many would have problems with Tinker's acceptance that Genesis One does not rule of the biological evolution of life, even the descent of human beings from other primates.
This book is of value to all Christians, even those who cannot accept anything other than a YEC interpretation of Genesis. As someone who also takes a literary-theological approach to Genesis One (albeit a slightly different one), I found that a lot of what Tinker says made sense. I think he shows that the main points of these chapters of Genesis is not arguing over science, but seeing God as he really is and human beings as we really are.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Monday, 1 August 2011
Trevin Wax on Piper on Wright
Enjoyed this series by Trevin Wax reviewing John's Piper's book on N T Wright: http://ow.ly/5RZNE
Friday, 8 July 2011
From Orphans to Heirs
From Orphans to Heirs
Mark Stibbe
The Bible Reading Fellowship 1998, 2005
Three quarters or more of this book is an excellent and heart-warming treatment of the doctrine of adoption. This is the important, but often neglected biblical teaching, that when we become Christians we enter into a family relationship with God, we are adopted as God's sons and daughters, and we then have Jesus as our elder brother and all other believers as our brothers and sisters.
The fact that Stibbe was himself adopted as a child gives an edge to the book as he warms to his subject and understands it at both a head and heart level in a deeper way than perhaps many others have.
It is interesting that Stibbe sees adoption as absolutely central to the Christian faith and life alongside justification. So much so, that he almost sees adoption as the overarching theme of salvation as we move from slavery to sonship, from sin to salvation. He then goes through various aspects of adoption and views its relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
As I said, most of the book is brilliant and I found it both inspirational and heart-warming. The only significant problem is that Stibbe is a Charismatic with a capital C. This extends to his acceptance and even praise of the so-called Toronto Blessing some years ago. Peppered throughout the "good stuff" are charismatic views that this reviewer certainly does not share. The charismatic views get in the way rather than support the main thrust of teaching on adoption.
As long as the reader knows that this is part of Stibbe's theological make-up, and can filter out the parts that it is not necessary to accept in order to accept the parts on adoption, then this book could be a breath of fresh air for many Christians and many churches.
Mark Stibbe
The Bible Reading Fellowship 1998, 2005
Three quarters or more of this book is an excellent and heart-warming treatment of the doctrine of adoption. This is the important, but often neglected biblical teaching, that when we become Christians we enter into a family relationship with God, we are adopted as God's sons and daughters, and we then have Jesus as our elder brother and all other believers as our brothers and sisters.
The fact that Stibbe was himself adopted as a child gives an edge to the book as he warms to his subject and understands it at both a head and heart level in a deeper way than perhaps many others have.
It is interesting that Stibbe sees adoption as absolutely central to the Christian faith and life alongside justification. So much so, that he almost sees adoption as the overarching theme of salvation as we move from slavery to sonship, from sin to salvation. He then goes through various aspects of adoption and views its relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
As I said, most of the book is brilliant and I found it both inspirational and heart-warming. The only significant problem is that Stibbe is a Charismatic with a capital C. This extends to his acceptance and even praise of the so-called Toronto Blessing some years ago. Peppered throughout the "good stuff" are charismatic views that this reviewer certainly does not share. The charismatic views get in the way rather than support the main thrust of teaching on adoption.
As long as the reader knows that this is part of Stibbe's theological make-up, and can filter out the parts that it is not necessary to accept in order to accept the parts on adoption, then this book could be a breath of fresh air for many Christians and many churches.
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
Eugene Peterson
Eerdmans/Hodder & Stoughton 2005
Eugene Peterson's book is difficult to categorise, but I found it very interesting, challenging and thought-provoking.
The book's subtitle is "A Conversation in Spiritual Theology" which captures some of the strengths and weaknesses of the book. It is a conversation. It meanders through its subjects and is light in places where more weight was needed in argument. In other places it sparkles and glints with biblical truth.
The title comes from one of the remarkable poems by the English Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins: "Christ plays in ten thousand places / Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his / To the Father through the features of men's faces." I take this to mean that through and in our union with Christ as Christians, he acts through us and we act in him in all we do, so that when the Father looks on us, he sees Christ.
This sums up what I think Peterson was trying to achieve in this book. He wants us to realise that Christ is Lord of every part of life and as Christians living in union with him, all of life is transformed and made special. As we realise this, so our lives are energised, beautified and sanctified.
Eugene Peterson
Eerdmans/Hodder & Stoughton 2005
Eugene Peterson's book is difficult to categorise, but I found it very interesting, challenging and thought-provoking.
The book's subtitle is "A Conversation in Spiritual Theology" which captures some of the strengths and weaknesses of the book. It is a conversation. It meanders through its subjects and is light in places where more weight was needed in argument. In other places it sparkles and glints with biblical truth.
The title comes from one of the remarkable poems by the English Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins: "Christ plays in ten thousand places / Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his / To the Father through the features of men's faces." I take this to mean that through and in our union with Christ as Christians, he acts through us and we act in him in all we do, so that when the Father looks on us, he sees Christ.
This sums up what I think Peterson was trying to achieve in this book. He wants us to realise that Christ is Lord of every part of life and as Christians living in union with him, all of life is transformed and made special. As we realise this, so our lives are energised, beautified and sanctified.
The main part of the books consists of three sections entitled: "Christ plays in Creation," "Christ plays in History" and "Christ plays in Community." In them, Peterson deals with creation, salvation and the resurrection and the church respectively.
The book follows an unusual method, and contains some aspects that could be disputed or rejected by many evangelical Christians, but there is much more that is profitable. Overall, the book is well worth reading.
Sunday, 12 June 2011
The Cross of Christ
The Cross of Christ
John Stott
Inter-Varsity Press 1986
I first read this book on many aspects of the Cross of Jesus Christ by John Stott about 20 years ago, not that long after he wrote it in the mid-1980s. It was in the first handful of serious Christian books I read as an earnest young Christian in my late teens and as such it had a big impact on my views then. Re-reading it now with a lot more theological and biblical reading under my belt, I still felt this is one of the best books on the meaning and implications of the Cross available and it well-deserves the epithet "classic".
The book teaches the penal substitutionary view of the atonement though there are chapters that deal with the truths in the Christus Victor and Moral Influence theories as well. One of the strengths of the book is that as well as the theoretical side of things, Stott devotes a section to "life under the cross" and this section is really excellent.
Stott is brilliant in his expositions of Scripture and how careful he is when outlining the fact that Christ's death is both substitutionary and a satisfaction. It struck me how close some of what Stott writes is similar to what Steve Chalke got into so much trouble for saying in his book The Lost Message of Jesus. Stott equally will have no truck with crude versions of penal substitution that envisage a cruel father venting his anger on his innocent son. He points out that the atonement starts not with an angry God but with a God who so loved the world. He points out that on the cross God the Father suffered and the atonement involved God substituting himself on the cross and in a sense punishing himself in Christ.
This book deserves a place on the bookshelf of every Christian and can be read with much profit wherever you are on your Christian pilgrimage.
John Stott
Inter-Varsity Press 1986
I first read this book on many aspects of the Cross of Jesus Christ by John Stott about 20 years ago, not that long after he wrote it in the mid-1980s. It was in the first handful of serious Christian books I read as an earnest young Christian in my late teens and as such it had a big impact on my views then. Re-reading it now with a lot more theological and biblical reading under my belt, I still felt this is one of the best books on the meaning and implications of the Cross available and it well-deserves the epithet "classic".
The book teaches the penal substitutionary view of the atonement though there are chapters that deal with the truths in the Christus Victor and Moral Influence theories as well. One of the strengths of the book is that as well as the theoretical side of things, Stott devotes a section to "life under the cross" and this section is really excellent.
Stott is brilliant in his expositions of Scripture and how careful he is when outlining the fact that Christ's death is both substitutionary and a satisfaction. It struck me how close some of what Stott writes is similar to what Steve Chalke got into so much trouble for saying in his book The Lost Message of Jesus. Stott equally will have no truck with crude versions of penal substitution that envisage a cruel father venting his anger on his innocent son. He points out that the atonement starts not with an angry God but with a God who so loved the world. He points out that on the cross God the Father suffered and the atonement involved God substituting himself on the cross and in a sense punishing himself in Christ.
This book deserves a place on the bookshelf of every Christian and can be read with much profit wherever you are on your Christian pilgrimage.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
The Free Church on Marriage and Divorce
Here's an interesting report from the Free Church of Scotland on marriage and divorce: http://ow.ly/53twO
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Christian Giving According to Paul
Adapted from a Bible Study on 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Background and Reasons for the Collection in Corinth
At the beginning of chapter 8 it is clear that Paul changes subject from what he’s been talking about before and now begins to talk about one of the main reasons for writing 2 Corinthians. It has to do with a collection of money the Corinthians were supposed to gather for the relief of poor Christians in Judea, especially the city of Jerusalem. We know this because the collection is mentioned in Paul’s earlier correspondence in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3.
This collection that Paul was involved in organising seems to have been designed with three purposes in mind.
Firstly, it was to help relieve the suffering of fellow Christians. And that’s a worthy end in itself. It doesn’t need any other reason than that. As God’s people we need to show love and care for each other, not just in words, but in actions, including how we use our money, and even how we give our money directly or indirectly to one another.
But secondly, it was also in Paul’s mind an example of how all barriers of race and class are broken down when people enter into union with Jesus Christ. Those in need were the Jewish Christians in and around Jerusalem. The home church of the whole Christian movement – the church in Jerusalem where it all started was a poor and a persecuted church at this time. And Paul’s collection was being gathered from the predominantly Gentile churches of Asia Minor and Europe. For Paul the collection was a practical manifestation of the fact that the enmity between Jew and Gentile had been destroyed in Christ as he discusses fully in Ephesians 2.
Thirdly, for Paul it is clear that how the churches use their money is a kind of spiritual barometer for where they are at in their walk with God. Paul uses the Corinthian attitude to the collection as a way of seeing where the Corinthian church is at spiritually.
Eight Principles of Christian Giving
The problem that has prompted Paul to write 2 Corinthians 8-9 is that although the Corinthians were keen at the beginning to get involved in this collection, they have since reneged on their promises and seem to have stopped collecting money. As Paul writes to remind them about it and encourage them to carry on and complete the collection, he touches on a number of principles for Christian giving that remain very relevant for Christians today. In fact, I think I’ve found eight principles of Christian giving in this passage. Our time is short here tonight so we’ll speed through these principles quite quickly, but to get a rounded picture of Paul’s teaching on Christian giving, we need to keep all of these principles together and in some cases in balance with each other.
The first principle we find is the passage is that Christian giving is Generous Giving. In verses 1 to 3, it is obvious that Paul commends the giving of the Macedonian churches to the Corinthians. Being generous is a good thing. That much is very clear. Just in passing, if you’re wondering who these Macedonian churches were that Paul mentions, they would include Thessalonian and Philippian congregations that three of Paul’s other New Testament letters were addressed to. But Paul is clear that the Macedonians were very generous in their giving and Paul holds this generosity up as an example and an encouragement to the much wealthier Corinthians. He says of the Macedonians that their joy and their extreme poverty “welled up in rich generosity”. One commentator calls this strange mix of joy and poverty producing generosity as being like an acid and an alkali being mixed – two opposites – coming together in a chemical reaction to produce a new thing – salt. So our giving should be generous.
The second principle we find is that Christian giving is Sacrificial Giving. Again this is covered in the first four or five verses in the passage. Paul commends not only the generous spirit of the Macedonians, but a generosity that was sacrificial in nature. “Out of the most severe trial” they gave Paul says. Out of not just poverty, but out of “extreme poverty” they gave. They gave as much as they were able and beyond their ability. The Macedonians didn’t put what was easy money into the collection, they put money in that cost them a lot. They couldn’t afford it, but they did it anyway. That’s the kind of sacrificial giving Paul commends here.
How can Christians give in this generous and sacrificial way? The third principle begins to fill in the full-orbed picture Paul is painting here. Christian giving is Faithful Giving – it flows out of living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The kind of giving that the Macedonian churches had achieved was only possible because of their relationship with Christ. Paul’s clear about that in verse 5. “They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us” Paul writes. They had their priorities right. They were dedicated to the Lord’s service. And the fruit of this was their amazing giving to the Lord’s work.
The fourth principle is that Christian giving is Committed Giving. In verse 6, Paul is really only reminding the Corinthians to be committed to what they had already promised they were going to do. He points out to them that a year previously they were the first to get involved. And so calls on them to continue in that commitment. You’ve started well so “Now finish the work” he exhorts them in verse 11. It’s no accident that many charities encourage us to give a small amount every month rather than one-off donations. That’s because regular, committed giving that the charities can plan ahead with is more useful than not knowing if there’s going to funds there tomorrow or not, depending on ad hoc donations. Commitment in our giving to the Lord’s work is a sign of our commitment to the Lord.
The fifth principle is that Christian giving is Enthusiastic Giving. God wants everything we do for him to be done enthusiastically. As Paul writes in the next chapter – “God loves a cheerful giver”. Look at the attitude of the Macedonians that Paul mentions. In verse 4, their enthusiasm is evident. They “urgently pleaded” to get involved in giving to the collection. They counted giving not as a duty but as a privilege! They regarded it as a grace and not a burden to help their fellow Christians. When we give enthusiastically, not only does this give us a lift knowing we’re helping others, but it must give the recipients a lift too, knowing that what they received is not begrudged or given half-heartedly, but is a genuine love token.
The sixth principle is that Christian giving is to be Free and Loving Giving. Paul makes it very clear that he is not ordering the Corinthians to give, although he had apostolic authority to do that if he had felt that was the right thing to do. But he doesn’t do that. He says it plainly in verse 8 – “I am not commanding you.” Christian giving is not a new law that we have to obey out of fear of punishment. How could it be? There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, as Romans 8:1 says. We are not saved by our good works. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, but as Ephesians 2:10 says we are saved for good works. Our works, including our acts of generous giving, flow out of the solid salvation we have in Christ. So instead Paul encourages them to give freely, because they want to, not because they have to. There is no “must” but there should be a thankful “want to”. He encourages them to act not out of duty but out of love. In his great chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul wrote: “Love is patient, love is kind...Love never fails.” Now here in verse 8 Paul regards giving as an obvious manifestation of love: “I want to test the sincerity of your love,” Paul says. Of course that doesn’t mean Paul won’t point out that they should want to do the right thing as Christians, but he leaves it up to them to make the right choice freely and in love.
The seventh principle is that Christian giving is Thankful and Christ-like Giving. Some of the other principles are about the attitude we might seek to have in our giving but this one is about the motivation for our giving. According to Paul we are to give to Christ and to others out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us. In verse 9, Paul says “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Christ gave up everything for our benefit, by coming to earth and accepting his mission as God’s Messiah to save the world, a mission of obedience all the way to death on the cross for sinners. Paul’s saying to the Corinthians, since Christ has done so much for us, this should spur us on to do what by comparison is so little for our brothers and sisters in need. It’s also worth mentioning in passing here that this verse is a clear statement – among the clearest in Paul’s letters – that Paul regarded Jesus Christ as no less than God become a human being, God incarnate. There’s no other meaning for the phrase that Christ “became poor” that makes sense. When did Christ become poor in this life? He was born in a stable and lived as an ordinary working man his whole life. He was never rich from Bethlehem to Calvary. So Paul’s statement must mean that Christ has pre-existence before his birth. It must mean Christ is God. As the Christmas carol puts it: “He came down to earth from heaven, who is God and Lord of all.”
The eighth and final principle is that Christian giving is to be Practical and Fair Giving. Paul makes it clear in verse 13 to 15 that he doesn’t expect the Corinthians to do the impossible or to act unwisely. And so although our giving is to be generous, sacrificial and enthusiastic, it is not to cross over the line and become foolish giving. It is not to be at the expense of being wise, realistic and proportionate giving. Our giving is to be proportionate, in line with what we have, but also with awareness of what others can also give. In verse 12, they are to give according to what they have and not according to what they don’t have. And in verse 13 Paul makes the point that the idea is not that the Corinthians give so much that they end up themselves in need from other people, or even that those they are helping end up better off than them. Instead, the ideal is equality between churches. They have to be wise about their giving in other words, so that everyone’s needs are met by each other.
Application
This passage surely challenges all of us. Each of us can look at his or her own attitude to giving and the principles shown in this passage and see where we stand in comparison to Paul’s picture of Christian giving. Ask yourself: Am I giving generously, sacrificially, out of my faith in Christ? Am I giving with commitment and enthusiasm, freely because I want to, and out of love for those my giving will help? Am I giving out of a thankful spirit for what Christ has done for me? And am I being practical and wise in my giving? Am I making sure that I’m not being so generous that I’m putting myself in debt or putting my family in need? Only each of us can answer these questions for ourselves. If the answer to each of these questions is “yes” then our giving will be a powerful witness and a useful tool as we work to advance God’s kingdom. And we will be able to say in the words of the hymn:
Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
May it be so. Amen.
Background and Reasons for the Collection in Corinth
At the beginning of chapter 8 it is clear that Paul changes subject from what he’s been talking about before and now begins to talk about one of the main reasons for writing 2 Corinthians. It has to do with a collection of money the Corinthians were supposed to gather for the relief of poor Christians in Judea, especially the city of Jerusalem. We know this because the collection is mentioned in Paul’s earlier correspondence in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3.
This collection that Paul was involved in organising seems to have been designed with three purposes in mind.
Firstly, it was to help relieve the suffering of fellow Christians. And that’s a worthy end in itself. It doesn’t need any other reason than that. As God’s people we need to show love and care for each other, not just in words, but in actions, including how we use our money, and even how we give our money directly or indirectly to one another.
But secondly, it was also in Paul’s mind an example of how all barriers of race and class are broken down when people enter into union with Jesus Christ. Those in need were the Jewish Christians in and around Jerusalem. The home church of the whole Christian movement – the church in Jerusalem where it all started was a poor and a persecuted church at this time. And Paul’s collection was being gathered from the predominantly Gentile churches of Asia Minor and Europe. For Paul the collection was a practical manifestation of the fact that the enmity between Jew and Gentile had been destroyed in Christ as he discusses fully in Ephesians 2.
Thirdly, for Paul it is clear that how the churches use their money is a kind of spiritual barometer for where they are at in their walk with God. Paul uses the Corinthian attitude to the collection as a way of seeing where the Corinthian church is at spiritually.
Eight Principles of Christian Giving
The problem that has prompted Paul to write 2 Corinthians 8-9 is that although the Corinthians were keen at the beginning to get involved in this collection, they have since reneged on their promises and seem to have stopped collecting money. As Paul writes to remind them about it and encourage them to carry on and complete the collection, he touches on a number of principles for Christian giving that remain very relevant for Christians today. In fact, I think I’ve found eight principles of Christian giving in this passage. Our time is short here tonight so we’ll speed through these principles quite quickly, but to get a rounded picture of Paul’s teaching on Christian giving, we need to keep all of these principles together and in some cases in balance with each other.
The first principle we find is the passage is that Christian giving is Generous Giving. In verses 1 to 3, it is obvious that Paul commends the giving of the Macedonian churches to the Corinthians. Being generous is a good thing. That much is very clear. Just in passing, if you’re wondering who these Macedonian churches were that Paul mentions, they would include Thessalonian and Philippian congregations that three of Paul’s other New Testament letters were addressed to. But Paul is clear that the Macedonians were very generous in their giving and Paul holds this generosity up as an example and an encouragement to the much wealthier Corinthians. He says of the Macedonians that their joy and their extreme poverty “welled up in rich generosity”. One commentator calls this strange mix of joy and poverty producing generosity as being like an acid and an alkali being mixed – two opposites – coming together in a chemical reaction to produce a new thing – salt. So our giving should be generous.
The second principle we find is that Christian giving is Sacrificial Giving. Again this is covered in the first four or five verses in the passage. Paul commends not only the generous spirit of the Macedonians, but a generosity that was sacrificial in nature. “Out of the most severe trial” they gave Paul says. Out of not just poverty, but out of “extreme poverty” they gave. They gave as much as they were able and beyond their ability. The Macedonians didn’t put what was easy money into the collection, they put money in that cost them a lot. They couldn’t afford it, but they did it anyway. That’s the kind of sacrificial giving Paul commends here.
How can Christians give in this generous and sacrificial way? The third principle begins to fill in the full-orbed picture Paul is painting here. Christian giving is Faithful Giving – it flows out of living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The kind of giving that the Macedonian churches had achieved was only possible because of their relationship with Christ. Paul’s clear about that in verse 5. “They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us” Paul writes. They had their priorities right. They were dedicated to the Lord’s service. And the fruit of this was their amazing giving to the Lord’s work.
The fourth principle is that Christian giving is Committed Giving. In verse 6, Paul is really only reminding the Corinthians to be committed to what they had already promised they were going to do. He points out to them that a year previously they were the first to get involved. And so calls on them to continue in that commitment. You’ve started well so “Now finish the work” he exhorts them in verse 11. It’s no accident that many charities encourage us to give a small amount every month rather than one-off donations. That’s because regular, committed giving that the charities can plan ahead with is more useful than not knowing if there’s going to funds there tomorrow or not, depending on ad hoc donations. Commitment in our giving to the Lord’s work is a sign of our commitment to the Lord.
The fifth principle is that Christian giving is Enthusiastic Giving. God wants everything we do for him to be done enthusiastically. As Paul writes in the next chapter – “God loves a cheerful giver”. Look at the attitude of the Macedonians that Paul mentions. In verse 4, their enthusiasm is evident. They “urgently pleaded” to get involved in giving to the collection. They counted giving not as a duty but as a privilege! They regarded it as a grace and not a burden to help their fellow Christians. When we give enthusiastically, not only does this give us a lift knowing we’re helping others, but it must give the recipients a lift too, knowing that what they received is not begrudged or given half-heartedly, but is a genuine love token.
The sixth principle is that Christian giving is to be Free and Loving Giving. Paul makes it very clear that he is not ordering the Corinthians to give, although he had apostolic authority to do that if he had felt that was the right thing to do. But he doesn’t do that. He says it plainly in verse 8 – “I am not commanding you.” Christian giving is not a new law that we have to obey out of fear of punishment. How could it be? There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, as Romans 8:1 says. We are not saved by our good works. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, but as Ephesians 2:10 says we are saved for good works. Our works, including our acts of generous giving, flow out of the solid salvation we have in Christ. So instead Paul encourages them to give freely, because they want to, not because they have to. There is no “must” but there should be a thankful “want to”. He encourages them to act not out of duty but out of love. In his great chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul wrote: “Love is patient, love is kind...Love never fails.” Now here in verse 8 Paul regards giving as an obvious manifestation of love: “I want to test the sincerity of your love,” Paul says. Of course that doesn’t mean Paul won’t point out that they should want to do the right thing as Christians, but he leaves it up to them to make the right choice freely and in love.
The seventh principle is that Christian giving is Thankful and Christ-like Giving. Some of the other principles are about the attitude we might seek to have in our giving but this one is about the motivation for our giving. According to Paul we are to give to Christ and to others out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us. In verse 9, Paul says “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Christ gave up everything for our benefit, by coming to earth and accepting his mission as God’s Messiah to save the world, a mission of obedience all the way to death on the cross for sinners. Paul’s saying to the Corinthians, since Christ has done so much for us, this should spur us on to do what by comparison is so little for our brothers and sisters in need. It’s also worth mentioning in passing here that this verse is a clear statement – among the clearest in Paul’s letters – that Paul regarded Jesus Christ as no less than God become a human being, God incarnate. There’s no other meaning for the phrase that Christ “became poor” that makes sense. When did Christ become poor in this life? He was born in a stable and lived as an ordinary working man his whole life. He was never rich from Bethlehem to Calvary. So Paul’s statement must mean that Christ has pre-existence before his birth. It must mean Christ is God. As the Christmas carol puts it: “He came down to earth from heaven, who is God and Lord of all.”
The eighth and final principle is that Christian giving is to be Practical and Fair Giving. Paul makes it clear in verse 13 to 15 that he doesn’t expect the Corinthians to do the impossible or to act unwisely. And so although our giving is to be generous, sacrificial and enthusiastic, it is not to cross over the line and become foolish giving. It is not to be at the expense of being wise, realistic and proportionate giving. Our giving is to be proportionate, in line with what we have, but also with awareness of what others can also give. In verse 12, they are to give according to what they have and not according to what they don’t have. And in verse 13 Paul makes the point that the idea is not that the Corinthians give so much that they end up themselves in need from other people, or even that those they are helping end up better off than them. Instead, the ideal is equality between churches. They have to be wise about their giving in other words, so that everyone’s needs are met by each other.
Application
This passage surely challenges all of us. Each of us can look at his or her own attitude to giving and the principles shown in this passage and see where we stand in comparison to Paul’s picture of Christian giving. Ask yourself: Am I giving generously, sacrificially, out of my faith in Christ? Am I giving with commitment and enthusiasm, freely because I want to, and out of love for those my giving will help? Am I giving out of a thankful spirit for what Christ has done for me? And am I being practical and wise in my giving? Am I making sure that I’m not being so generous that I’m putting myself in debt or putting my family in need? Only each of us can answer these questions for ourselves. If the answer to each of these questions is “yes” then our giving will be a powerful witness and a useful tool as we work to advance God’s kingdom. And we will be able to say in the words of the hymn:
Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
May it be so. Amen.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
The Principles and Prejudices of Christian Worship
I recently been reading three very different books about Christian worship that have in their own way been beneficial and challenging to me. To two of them I am happy to give very positive reviews; the third has some good material, but is also problematic. The three books in question are the following:
Worship by the Book
Edited by D. A. Carson
Zondervan 2002
Worship Matters
By Bob Kauflin
Crossway 2008
The Lord's Service
By Jeffrey J. Meyers
Canon Press 2003
Worship by the Book is a collection of four essays on worship, each one is of some value. They are 'Worship Under the Word' by Carson himself, 'Following in Cranmer's Footsteps' by Mark Ashton, 'Free Church Worship: The Challenge of Freedom' by R. Kent Hughes and 'Reformed Worship in the Global City' by Timothy Keller.
Carson's essay is a masterful overview of a theology of worship and is worth the price of the book by itself. Ashton's essay is basically a call to pay heed to the liturgical tradition handed down from Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer in particular and will appeal to those of a traditional bent in worship matters. Hughes's essay says much that is helpful for all forms of Christian worship. Keller's essay attempts to deal with the tension between Reformed worship and dealing with today's postmodern people in big cities like New York.
The book is also useful because it contains a number of liturgies or orders of service for actual services in the congregations of each of these pastors (except Carson I think). Overall, it is a very useful book on worship with a balance between the theoretical and the practical.
Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Ministries is an excellent book. In some respects it is a more specialist book as it is aimed at 'worship leaders' or music leaders, yet it is actually an excellent primer on worship and even theology generally. Kauflin offers a working definition of what a good worship leader is and does:
A faithful worship leader
magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit
by skilfully combining God's Word with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the gospel,
to cherish God's presence,
and to live for God's glory.
He then spends a chapter dealing with each line of this definition. The second half of the book is a series of practical chapters of guidance to worship leaders in the churches. This book is thoroughly recommended.
The Lord's Service by Jeffrey J. Meyers is a call to a very traditional, high church form of worship, which the author calls 'covenant renewal worship'. While Meyers makes some good points about the importance of not disregarding tradition - I liked his quoting of Chesterton that tradition is 'the democracy of the dead' - ultimately the book failed to convince. There are countless times where Meyers pleads that high church worship should not be rejected just because it resembles Rome or Canterbury. This may be fair enough, but he largely fails to show why it should be accepted either. Time and again he appeals to Old Testament passages to do with Temple worship to support his case. However, as the likes of Carson would point out, we are not under that covenant. Meyers also thinks that only the ordained pastor should lead worship or preach (and certainly administer the sacraments). He keeps saying that the minister represents Christ or God to the congregation, but he fails to give any solid exegetical evidence for this, and this seems to set up an 'us and them' of clergy and laity or 'priest and people' that the New Testament, it seems to me, knows little of.
In the end, Meyers sounds more like a Roman Catholic or High Anglican than he does a Presbyterian. It would certainly be useful for many churches to take some of the more traditional liturgy elements into modern worship services without throwing out the strengths of modern worship (which Meyers simply cannot see).
It should also be pointed out that Meyers is part of the Federal Vision movement and it seems to me this fits with his worship views, which are to be frank, very unusual for a Presbyterian minister, and much closer to Canterbury than they are to Edinburgh or Geneva.
Worship by the Book
Edited by D. A. Carson
Zondervan 2002
Worship Matters
By Bob Kauflin
Crossway 2008
The Lord's Service
By Jeffrey J. Meyers
Canon Press 2003
Worship by the Book is a collection of four essays on worship, each one is of some value. They are 'Worship Under the Word' by Carson himself, 'Following in Cranmer's Footsteps' by Mark Ashton, 'Free Church Worship: The Challenge of Freedom' by R. Kent Hughes and 'Reformed Worship in the Global City' by Timothy Keller.
Carson's essay is a masterful overview of a theology of worship and is worth the price of the book by itself. Ashton's essay is basically a call to pay heed to the liturgical tradition handed down from Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer in particular and will appeal to those of a traditional bent in worship matters. Hughes's essay says much that is helpful for all forms of Christian worship. Keller's essay attempts to deal with the tension between Reformed worship and dealing with today's postmodern people in big cities like New York.
The book is also useful because it contains a number of liturgies or orders of service for actual services in the congregations of each of these pastors (except Carson I think). Overall, it is a very useful book on worship with a balance between the theoretical and the practical.
Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Ministries is an excellent book. In some respects it is a more specialist book as it is aimed at 'worship leaders' or music leaders, yet it is actually an excellent primer on worship and even theology generally. Kauflin offers a working definition of what a good worship leader is and does:
A faithful worship leader
magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit
by skilfully combining God's Word with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the gospel,
to cherish God's presence,
and to live for God's glory.
He then spends a chapter dealing with each line of this definition. The second half of the book is a series of practical chapters of guidance to worship leaders in the churches. This book is thoroughly recommended.
The Lord's Service by Jeffrey J. Meyers is a call to a very traditional, high church form of worship, which the author calls 'covenant renewal worship'. While Meyers makes some good points about the importance of not disregarding tradition - I liked his quoting of Chesterton that tradition is 'the democracy of the dead' - ultimately the book failed to convince. There are countless times where Meyers pleads that high church worship should not be rejected just because it resembles Rome or Canterbury. This may be fair enough, but he largely fails to show why it should be accepted either. Time and again he appeals to Old Testament passages to do with Temple worship to support his case. However, as the likes of Carson would point out, we are not under that covenant. Meyers also thinks that only the ordained pastor should lead worship or preach (and certainly administer the sacraments). He keeps saying that the minister represents Christ or God to the congregation, but he fails to give any solid exegetical evidence for this, and this seems to set up an 'us and them' of clergy and laity or 'priest and people' that the New Testament, it seems to me, knows little of.
In the end, Meyers sounds more like a Roman Catholic or High Anglican than he does a Presbyterian. It would certainly be useful for many churches to take some of the more traditional liturgy elements into modern worship services without throwing out the strengths of modern worship (which Meyers simply cannot see).
It should also be pointed out that Meyers is part of the Federal Vision movement and it seems to me this fits with his worship views, which are to be frank, very unusual for a Presbyterian minister, and much closer to Canterbury than they are to Edinburgh or Geneva.
Monday, 16 May 2011
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen
Bethany House Publishers 1991
I found this profoundly pastoral and thought-provoking book a very useful and emotional read. It is a book filled with the spirit of grace - true New Testament grace - and though I have never experienced the kind of spiritual abuse outlined in the book by many people, I found it of benefit in many ways. Reading it, I was saddened and angered that some so-called Christian leaders could act towards those in their care in such ways and justify the abuse through some kind of warped view that because they are in church leadership they are somehow above criticism for their actions.
In the course of the book, the authors deal with a number of problems that are all too real in many churches. Some of these are things like pressure to obey the leadership, not because it is biblical teaching, but because it is what the leaders say is to be done. Or the subtle message that to be a "good Christian" you must do A, B and C (which might be good things but not necessarily biblical commandments) or avoid doing X, Y and Z (which are nowhere forbidden in the Bible), thereby going beyond the Bible's requirements and ending up like clumsy pharisees. Or that to question the leadership is to question God. Such things rob the people of God who live under such leadership of their joy and turn Christian service into guilt-ridden chores. Let us not pretend that any church can face such dangers unless the leadership is on its guard and open to the correction of God's Word and the Holy Spirit themselves.
As I said, I have not experienced the kinds of excesses described in the book from my own pastors and elders, who have often been models of good leadership, but there must be few churches where some of the things described here exist from time to time at some kind of low grade level. Mostly it occurs as unintentional and well-meaning behaviour that is thoughtless, but no less difficult to deal with for those on the receiving end. It is when such behaviour becomes a pattern that it becomes serious enough to be called abuse that must be rooted out of the body of Christ like a cancer.
This book is highly recommended for Christians and ex-Christians who have left the church because of how they have been treated. It would also be read with profit by anyone in a leadership role within the church.
David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen
Bethany House Publishers 1991
I found this profoundly pastoral and thought-provoking book a very useful and emotional read. It is a book filled with the spirit of grace - true New Testament grace - and though I have never experienced the kind of spiritual abuse outlined in the book by many people, I found it of benefit in many ways. Reading it, I was saddened and angered that some so-called Christian leaders could act towards those in their care in such ways and justify the abuse through some kind of warped view that because they are in church leadership they are somehow above criticism for their actions.
In the course of the book, the authors deal with a number of problems that are all too real in many churches. Some of these are things like pressure to obey the leadership, not because it is biblical teaching, but because it is what the leaders say is to be done. Or the subtle message that to be a "good Christian" you must do A, B and C (which might be good things but not necessarily biblical commandments) or avoid doing X, Y and Z (which are nowhere forbidden in the Bible), thereby going beyond the Bible's requirements and ending up like clumsy pharisees. Or that to question the leadership is to question God. Such things rob the people of God who live under such leadership of their joy and turn Christian service into guilt-ridden chores. Let us not pretend that any church can face such dangers unless the leadership is on its guard and open to the correction of God's Word and the Holy Spirit themselves.
As I said, I have not experienced the kinds of excesses described in the book from my own pastors and elders, who have often been models of good leadership, but there must be few churches where some of the things described here exist from time to time at some kind of low grade level. Mostly it occurs as unintentional and well-meaning behaviour that is thoughtless, but no less difficult to deal with for those on the receiving end. It is when such behaviour becomes a pattern that it becomes serious enough to be called abuse that must be rooted out of the body of Christ like a cancer.
This book is highly recommended for Christians and ex-Christians who have left the church because of how they have been treated. It would also be read with profit by anyone in a leadership role within the church.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
The Beliefs of Christian Reformed Church
The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) seems to me to be the kind of body in theology and practice that most evangelicals in the Church of Scotland would like our own church to be.
This page is a summary of their beliefs and it sounds about right to me. http://ow.ly/4Ptm0
This page is a summary of their beliefs and it sounds about right to me. http://ow.ly/4Ptm0
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