Liveblogging: Georgia Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference

Hebron Baptist Church: Dacula, GA.

Initial observations: awesome, God-glorifying time of worship in song from various choirs/ praise and worship teams.
I'm sitting between my Dad and James H. Cook, Jr., two of my favorite men on the planet.

Johnny Hunt: Revelation 3:7-13.

3 commendations to the church of Philadelphia:

1. That they have little power;
2. That they have kept Christ's word;
3. That they have not denied Christ's name.

When addressing the churches, Jesus would begin with His "resume'," in this case: 1. "He who is holy (separate from sin);" 2. "He who is true" (separate from falsehood). Jesus is right in character and conduct. 3. "He who holds the key of David:" He determines who will enter the Davidic kingdom; this speaks to the exclusivity of Christ. This implies the necessity of sharing the gospel.

Jesus moves from His "resume'" to "revelation." Jesus reveals that He has opened a door for the church in Philadelphia. 1 Corinthians 16:9, "most of us want an open door without a comma," in other words we want an open door without adversity. Colossians 4:3, an open door is not about us (our own betterment or position), but about an opportunity to preach the gospel.

[Dr. Hunt paused to talk about the open door before the Southern Baptist Convention, and to promote the Lottie Moon offering, which may seem to be a rabbit trail, but I would argue was entirely appropriate in context.]

We will be held accountable for what we have done with our time.

3 commendations, further notes:
1. Notice that He commends their feebleness: not their strength, but their weakness (2 Cor 12:10). It is not about how many show up to your church, but Who shows up. "Little is much/ when God is in it." Notice that He rebukes the church that says their rich.
2. When a pastor asks, "What should I do when I go to a new church?" The correct answer is, "Preach the word!"
3. We have examples today (particularly in the Middle East) of preachers who refuse to deny Jesus' name, even in the face of torture or death. We don't have enough troubles in America: remember the short-lived influx of church attenders following 9/11. More people come to faith in Christ in areas of great poverty or great persecution: think of the reports of what is happening in places like China or Cuba.

Romans 2:28. What is said about the false Jews in Rev 3:9 may be applied to false Christians.

"Let no man steal your crown:" stay faithful to Me; I'll stay faithful to you.

Kevin Miller: 2 Chronicles 14-16.

During a time of general repentance, Asa had to defend his kingdom, and he called out to God in trust due to desperation. Then, in a time of peace, Asa once again had to defend his kingdom, and he tried to defend his kingdom without calling out to God.

We may reduce our Christianity to a routine, without crying out to God in desperation, and our relationship to God will suffer. We have to trust Him: don't think that you can live life on your own, because you can't. We must remember who we are in Christ.

Depend on God: fully commit to Him again. Only the fully committed persevere in the commission we have been given.

Recognition of the Georgia Citizen Action Project: time of prayer for Ray Newman, who is suffering from grave illness.

David Mills: Mark 11:7-11.

Who was responsible for the death of Jesus?

I. Provocation: Jesus shifted strategy to active engagement with religious authorities, so as to provoke their sensitivities, though in godly way. He provokes them through His:

A. Actions
1. Triumphal Entry: shifting attention from the religious authorities
2. Cursing the Fig Tree: symbolically condemning apostate Israel
3. Cleansing the Temple

B. Answers
1. Instruction About Prayer: as God had instructed Israel about prayer
2. Refusal to Answer
3. Controversial Teaching on Taxes
4. Assertion That the Religious Leaders Did Not Know Scripture or God's Power
5. Teaching About the Greatest Commandment Undermined the Scribal System

C. Teaching
1. His Death
2. His Deity
3. "Beware of the Scribes"
4. His Teaching About Giving
5. His Teaching About the Temple
6. His Teaching About the Day of the Lord

II. Permission

A. Permission to Judas
1. Jesus knows who will betray Him.
2. What would have happened if Jesus had identified Judas? (Remember: Peter had a sword.)

B. Permission to Those Who Arrest Him and Bring Him to Trial
1. Jesus does not assert His rights during His trials.
2. The one time Jesus speaks, He gives His accusers incriminating evidence (from their point of view).
3. Jesus does not assert His rights even when He is repeatedly declared, "Not guilty," by Pilate.

John 10:18; Acts 4:27-28.

As Jesus accepted a cross for us, we are to accept a cross for us.

We do not have to make a cross for ourselves: as we follow Christ, God will find crosses for us, such as:
A. The Cross of Culture:
1. Our cultural model is not any present culture;
2. Our cultural model is one in which Christ is the absolute center.
B. The Cross of Missions: we must sacrificially give.
C. The Cross of Government: government gets its proper boundaries wrong.
D. The Cross of Theology: the Bible is sufficient.
E. The Cross of Evangelism: we cannot wait for the "perfect opportunity" to witness.

C.S. Lewis, "If you're looking for a comfortable religion, I don't suggest the Christian faith."

We must be faithful unto death to Him who will give you the crown of life.
"If everyone likes you, and if everyone agrees with you, it may be because you're NOT following Jesus."

Don Wilton: John 2:13-25.

3 fundamentally critical issues in the Southern Baptist Convention today:
1. Absolute Truth;
2. Personal Conviction;
3. Personal Preference.
These must be kept in right order in our lives and in our Convention.

Our churches in America are in a state of crisis.

To whom should we go as an authority on the Church?
Should we go to the Pope? To Billy Graham? To denominational leaders?

Surely, if we had lived in Jesus' day, we would have went to Nicodemus as an expert on spiritual matters.

We must go to Absolute Truth rather than to the opinions of men.

3 things Jesus rejects in His Church:
1. Business; we must not come to God with our own agenda, but receive our agenda through Him;
2. Sacrifices (outside of the shed blood of the Lamb); salvation is by grace alone through faith alone:
3. Tradition
[It seems that Dr. Wilton specifically intended to focus on traditions based on personal preferences, which keep people from God.]

3 things Jesus wants in His Church:
1. Discipline;
2. Cross-centeredness;
3. Scripture.

Some Notes from the End of Today's AOMIN Live Webcast

Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries, responding to "A Statement of Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation."


According to the document, election is not personal, but refers to a general plan.


However, according to Ephesians 1:4ff., election is clearly personal.


"Sovereignty" is affirmed, but undefined in this document. What is the basis for God's knowledge? Does He passively 'look down through the corridors of time'?


The document defines "actual free-will" as "the ability to choose between two options." What does the view of 'free-will' expressed in this document say about being dead in sin or enslaved to sin?


"God does not believe in Himself for me... the 'gift of faith'" means that God in His mercy has remade my heart; my renewed heart [now] naturally responds in faith to God.


The document denies an effectual call. The "call" found in Romans 8:28-30 is clearly effectual.


The document denies "even the possibility of apostasy." The New Testament speaks of apostasy. If all faith is humanly derived, then there can be no possibility of a "false faith."

Live-blogging D.A. Carson at Liberty University

[I'm not at Liberty, just listening to Dr. Carson on live-stream. The live-stream is available HERE. The live-stream is a bit glitchy, probably because so many people are watching this.]

TITLE: "One Focus of the Gospel" (John 3:1-21)

Introductory question: "What is the gospel?" The gospel is, first of all, good news. What is it news about. Some people have said, preach the gospel, if it's necessary use words. But this is a bit like telling the newscaster on the evening newscast, 'Give the news, if necessary, use words.'

What God has done in Christ Jesus, primarily through the Cross and Resurrection, to reconcile sinners to Himself.

Legal dimension: how can guilty people be declared just before God?

We cannot understand the good news until we know what the bad news is.

Relational component: whereas the gospel itself is what GOD does, through the gospel God reconciles us to one another.

Eschatalogical component: we will have new bodies in a new Heaven and a new Earth on the last day.

I. What Jesus said about being born again (vv. 1-10)

A. Nicodemus
1. Pharisees would have been seen as theologically correct and upright.
2. Those on the ruling council would have been tremendously powerful.
3. Nicodemus was apparently known as the Teacher of Israel.
4. Nicodemus' coming at night, as recorded by John, was also indicative of his spiritual darkness.
5. Nicodemus' use of "we" comes across as slightly pompous.
6. Nicodemus recognized Jesus as coming from God.
7. Nicodemus claimed to see something important, but Jesus informed him that he could not see at all.

B. The Impossibility of Going Back in Time to Right Past Wrongs

C. Born of Water and the Spirit
1. The context must be considered.
2. Ezekiel 36:25-26.
3. "Born of water and the Spirit" = cleansing and transformation.

D. Wind: we can see the effects, even if we cannot explain the mechanics.

E. "You must be born again, if you are to see and enter the kingdom of God."

II. Why Jesus Could Speak So Authoritatively About Being Born Again (vv. 11-13)

A. "We"
1. Jesus uses "we," playing off of Nicodemus' earlier use of "we."
2. This is demonstrated in the fact that Jesus immediately switches back to the first person singular.

B. Jesus' Authority Rests In Who He Is
1. Our authority is not based on rationalism. (We cannot reason ourselves to God.)
2. Our authority is not based on mysticism. (We cannot feel ourselves to God.)
3. Our authority is based on revelation. (God reveals himself to us.)

III. How We Experience The New Birth (vv. 14-15)

A. Numbers 21:4-8.

B. "Whining is idolatry."


C. "We are sinful people... and we stand under God's curse."

D. The Good News
1. The Good News is bound up in what God has done on the Cross in Christ Jesus.
2. We experience the new birth as we cast ourselves on Jesus.

IV. Why Jesus Was Sent to Bring About This New Birth (v. 16)


A. "In John's Gospel, the world is a damned place."


B. God loves the world despite the fact that the world has made itself unlovely.

Live-blogging the "Dividing Line" webcast re: T.D. Jakes

[Notes of highlights from 11:06-12:30.]

I turned on the webcast late, and the first thing that I heard was Dr. White saying, "How can you be angry with a squirrel?!"

I'm still not quite sure what prompted that question. :)

Dr. White: "There needs to be an explanation [from T.D. Jakes] about what he has said in the past."

Dr. White played an audio clip of T.D. Jakes "preaching" from John 14, misquoting the text as saying, "I am the Father."

Another audio clip from Jakes, 1 Tim 3:16: "God was manifest in the flesh" (KJV).

A final clip from Jakes, casting aspersion upon the term "Trinity," emphasizing the oneness of God, and defining Father, Son, and Spirit in terms of God's activity. (Father in creation, Son in redemption, Holy Spirit in regeneration.)

Dr. White: The attitude expressed by Mark Driscoll would have us to conclude that Athanasius was a fool, who was sinful in his defense of the Trinity.

Audio clip from the "Elephant Room" meeting of "evangelicals:" Jakes claims to have been converted to Christ in a Oneness church. [All subsequent quotes from T.D. Jakes are from the "Elephant Room."]

Dr. White: the "Elephant Room" is a "Downgrade Controversy."

Dr. White: previous generations were willing to give up their lives in defense of the truth of the Trinity.

Dr. White: Driscoll will "go off" on Justin Brierly re: complementarianism vs. egalitarianism, but will not scrutinize Jakes on the Trinity? Though complementarianism is important, this is symptomatic of doctrinal imbalance.

Jakes: "[Oneness] is really not the best description of how I now understand the godhead."

Dr. White: "Anybody who believes in objective truth should find this to be offensive." We should reconcile in regard to personal sin, but not compromise in regards to Truth.

Dr. White: Oneness teaching and Trinitarianism are "night and day."

Jakes: [quotes several Trinitarian proof-texts] "made me re-think some of my ideas... there are some things that can be said about the Father that cannot be said about the Son," etc.

Dr. White: every Oneness advocate can and does use this kind of language.

Jakes: "There is very little difference in what I believe and what you believe."

Dr. White: Paul wrote about "false Jesus'." The issue is whether Scripture is clear enough to decide an issue like the Trinity.

Driscoll [from "Elephant Room," question directed to Jakes]: is one God manifested in three ways "successively," or is He three "simultaneously."

Dr. White: Driscoll's question is good as far as it goes, but in the following discussion, note that Oneness literature stresses the distinction between "manifestations" and "persons."

Jakes: "Neither of them totally get it for me... I'm not crazy about the word persons" (citation of 1 Tim 3:16). "So God was manifest in the flesh."

Dr. White: the belief statement of Jakes' congregation is neither clearly Trinitarian or Oneness (it uses the term "manifestations"), and it is insufficient for a defense of the biblical faith.

[A point that Dr. White mentioned previously is that "manifest" is a verb in 1 Tim 3:16, rather than a noun, as Jakes and Oneness advocates use the term.]

Dr. White: we can see when the secular world is being intolerant, while claiming tolerance (for example, in regard to gay marriage), but when those who claim Christ claim tolerance while sacrificing truth, we sometimes fail to see what is going on.

Dr. White [in response to a question re: how we can determine what properly constitutes "heresy"]: we must rely on the consistent testimony of Scripture (the "analogy of faith"). Many passages may be interpreted the wrong way based merely upon the grammar or even in the immediate context of the passage, but we must interpret each passage in light of the entire canon. Orthodoxy is not a matter of "majority wins." For example: "Paul's teaching on grace" will always be a minority opinion. Athanasius was, for a time, in the minority in regard to the Trinity.

Manuel (a Oneness caller) confirmed that he would consider Jakes heretical for his being "comfortable" with Trinitarian language. Manuel (if I understood him correctly) made the point that it seemed like Jakes seemed to be compromising his Oneness beliefs in order to be accepted into a certain "club" [of "evangelicals"].

John Coleman (an African-American caller, who does apologetic ministry, much of which takes place within the African-American community) made the point that Jakes does not ONLY have a problem with the Trinity, but also with "subjectivism" in his preaching. John says that Jakes is adept at accurately using a dialect in order to achieve his own ends; with the economy sliding and people giving less, Jakes is now suddenly orthodox!? "The drastic change, so-called, that has come about is just another dialectical ploy."

Dr. White: I would not want to "crush the bruised reed... I have, obviously, worked with" people who have come out from under Oneness teaching, but Jakes' language is not the language of repentance.

Dr. White: a lot of people do not understand why the Trinity is important in the first place.

Liveblog: "Did God create the universe?" on the Discovery Channel

Tonight on the Discovery Channel from 8PM-9PM on the premier of the show "Curiosity," Stephen Hawking will address the question, "Did God create the universe?"

Liveblog:I finally found Discovery Channel (Channel 25 in Louisville); thank you to my friend John Mark in the Legacy Center!

So far all I've heard is that the earliest scientists deduced natural laws from their observations on nature.

Hawking: For centuries it was believed that disabled people like me were suffering under the curse of God; while it is possible that I've made somebody up there upset, I believe that things like this are better explained by the laws of nature.

[This illustrates one of the major objections I have to this show; for the question of whether God created the universe, it might make sense to ask the question to people who have spent their distinguished careers studying the universe-- like Hawking-- but shouldn't the Discovery Channel also ask someone who has spent a distinguished career studying God: a theologian, such as Albert Mohler?]

Hawking: If you accept, as I do, that the laws of nature are fixed, then you must soon question what role is left for God.

Narrator: (Describes a Pope who questioned the laws of nature, and then the roof of a cathedral fell on his head.) The Church came to explain that God had created the laws of nature. (The narrator introduces Galileo, whom he calls the "father of modern science.) [It seems that Hawking and the narrator are going to use Galileo to set the stage for another supposed conflict between science and the Church.] Galileo's discoveries would eventually loosen the grip of religion over science. (The narrator then describes how the Church forced Galileo to recant. The narrator then describes other discoveries of science, and asserts that with each new discovery the need for God diminished.]

Hawking: Science does not deny religion, it just offers a simpler explanation. [Did I hear this correctly, or did Hawking say, "religion does not deny science," etc.?]

Narrator: I attended a conference on science at the Vatican, where we were told that we should not ask about the origin of the universe, because that is a question for religion.

Hawking: I am glad to say that I did not follow that advice; I cannot simply turn off my curiosity when it comes to that question.

Narrator: To make the universe, you need only three ingredients: 1. matter, 2. energy, 3. space. Where did all the matter, energy, and space in the universe come from? We had no idea until the 20th century, with the work of Albert Einstein; Einstein realized that matter and energy are basically the same thing, reducing the number of ingredients in the universe to 2. Where did space and energy come from? They were spontaneously created in the moment of the Big Bang! Science tells a different story than the idea, "it was God."

[I've just realized that the Narrator seems to be reading from Hawking's writings: I suppose to ease communication, since Hawking has some difficulty with speaking, and to avoid monotony.]

Hawking: We were taught you never get something for nothing, but now, after a lifetime of work, I believe you can get a whole universe for free!

Narrator: When you build a hill, you must make a hole-- a negative hill-- so that it balances out; when the Big Bang produced a positive amount of energy, it must also have created an equal amount of negative energy: this negative energy is what we know as "space." This means that everything adds up to zero.

Hawking: If the positive and negative energy adds up to nothing, then nothing is needed to create It.

[A weakness is shown by the illustration of a man building a hill; for the positive hill and the negative hole-- rather than the neutral level ground-- to exist, then someone must do something: someone must create. Hawking still has not explained why any "Bang" should have happened. Hawking next seeks to answer this objection.]

Narrator: What could trigger the spontaneous appearance of the Universe? At the subatomic level, conjuring something out of nothing is possible, at least for a short while, as we learn from quantum mechanics. The universe was once smaller than a proton, and so the universe could have just popped into existence without violating the known laws of nature (the quantum laws). But did God create these quantum laws?

Hawking: Science has a more compelling explanation than a divine Creator.

Narrator: We think in terms of cause and effect, but when we think of the universe as a whole the cause is the Big Bang itself, and it is possible that nothing caused the Big Bang; as we know from Einstein, time and space are intertwined: time began at the Big Bang as well.

Hawking: The role played by time at the beginning of the universe is the key to removing the need for a Creator.

Narrator: At its origin, the universe was a infinitely small, infinitely dense black hole; as in a black hole, time itself ceases to exist. The was no cause for the Big Bang, because nothing existed before the Big Bang: there was no time in which a Creator could exist. The Big Bang had no cause. Time didn't exist before the Big Bang, so there was no time for a Creator to make the Universe: it is like asking directions for the edge of the world.

Hawking: We are each free to believe what we want, but the simplest explanation is that there is no need for a Creator. This leads me to believe that there is also no Heaven or Hell.
"We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the Universe, and for that, I am extremely grateful."

[I hope to give some thoughts on the above presentation in a blogpost tomorrow, focusing on the final quote from Hawking, but here I will only note that the only philosophy that would make sense if one embraced Hawking's views is existential nihilism.]

Liveblog of Family Radio's "Open Forum"

As I type the following, I'm listening to Harold Camping's explanation of the failed May 21, 2011 prediction, which is as follows:

In September 7th 1994 God began to again evangelize outside the churches. We have been looking at the Bible in too physical a way. We were convinced on May 21 that God would return here in a very physical way. When we look at it spiritually, we find that He did come.

On October 21, 2011 the great earthquake will occur.

God is too merciful to allow a Hell on earth for 5 months between May 21st and October 21st.

The doctrine of Hell was used by churches as a "club" to try to bully people into joining them in order to escape everlasting judgment.

No church believes that every word of the Bible comes from God.

On May 21, 1988 Christ left the churches and installed Satan there. God actually enlisted Satan, who is the enemy of God, as the head over the churches.

On September 7, 1994 there was judgment in a terrible way and salvation in a wonderful way; between May 21, 1988 and September 7, 1994 literally no one was saved, but on September 7, 1994 people could again become saved, only outside the churches.

On May 21, 2011 we didn't feel any difference, but we know from the Bible that God has brought Judgment Day to the world. The world is under judgment.

We won't be changing a date at all; we're just learning that we have to look at this a bit more spiritual, but it won't be spiritual on October 21.

In the next section, Camping begins taking questions from gathered reporters.

Question: Will you give away all your possessions before the October 21 date?

Answer: I'm not interested in that kind of question. I will need my possessions until October 21st and there will be no one left to take them after October 21.

Question: What will you do about people who have sold their possessions due to the May 21 date?

Answer: I've never told people how to spend their money; I've always told people their money is between them and God.

Question: You were very sure about the details about the May 21 date, and now you say you've learned a lot about the Bible; how can you say that October 21 will not come and go, and you will thereafter learn a lot about the Bible?

Answer: We have not changed the time-line, we simply didn't understand the spiritual nature of the May 21 date.

Question: Do you feel any personal responsibility for those who have put their hope and trust in you?

Answer: I am not the authority, the Bible is the authority, I simply show you where to look in the Bible to see this or see that.

Question: You have no recognition that you might make still another mistake and still mislead other folks?

Answer: We have not made a mistake concerning the time-line, we just misunderstood the spiritual nature of the judgment.

Question: Previous to the 21st of May, people asked you about the possibility of a spiritual judgment... {question interrupted}

Question: How much money had Family Radio invested previous to May 21?

Answer: I don't keep up with that, I just have made sure we have enough to keep the lights on. We have a certified personal accountant who goes over the books. I'm a volunteer, God is the CEO.

Question: Previously people had asked you about the possibility of a spiritual earthquake and you said there was no chance of a spiritual earthquake rather than a physical earthquake; how do you reconcile this with your statements tonight?

Answer: {Camping rambles about how hard the Bible is to interpret, challenging the questioner to try and interpret Jeremiah.}

Question: Are you saying that we as mere humans are not really capable of understanding the Bible?

Answer: You are correct. {Camping rambles about the Apostle Paul's conversion.} We not only have to study the Bible comparing Scripture to Scripture, but we have to pray and ask God to open our spiritual eyes.

Question: How do you feel about the woman who attempted to take her own life and her daughters' lives?

Answer: If there's going to be death, leave it to God.

Question: Do you take any responsibility for that though?

Answer: I'm simply teaching the Bible, I don't have spiritual rule over anybody except my wife.

Question: How can you now guarantee that October 21 will be physical, when you previously guaranteed that May 21 would be physical?

Answer: I've never claimed to be infallible.

Question: Are you willing to publicly apologize for your mistake?

Answer: If people want me to apologize... then may I say, yes, I was wrong, it was to be understood spiritually rather than physically, yet there is a big difference in the world spiritually after May 21, 2011.

Question: Why do you think you have gotten so much international media attention?

Answer: From one standpoint I thank God for the media, because of what you have done and what we have done, the world really knows we are there. Man was made in the image of God and we all know that there is such a thing as sin. {Camping begins rambling about evolution, etc.}

Question: How much radio has been donated to Family Radio in regard to May 21 and do you intend to return it?

Answer: We're not out of business! Why would we return it?

Question: Will you return in after October 21?

Answer: The money is for the gospel!

Question: Will you dissolve Family Radio after October 21?

Answer: If its the end of the world, God will dissolve it! I'm not the CEO, God is! {Camping begins rambling about all the radio stations run by Family Radio, claiming that money is used for the stations to get the gospel out.} You don't see greed in Family Radio at all.

Question: What kind of Christians do you believe will ascend in the rapture, and what will happen to people of other religions?

Answer: Regardless of religion, if God has saved them, they will be caught up. The Bible says the last will be first and the first will be last. All people have to know is that God has spoken, and they have to say, 'God have mercy on me!' {Camping makes reference to knowledge of the May 21 date as prompting the call for mercy, and begins rambling about the different denominations.}

Question: What advise do you give your followers who took you very literally, sold everything they have, and now must live until October 21?

Answer: We don't advise anyone what to do with their money, we're not in the business of giving financial advise. We just had a great recession, we had lots of people who lost their jobs and houses, yet somehow they all survived. People cope.

Question: Does it worry you that you have made a mockery of religion?

Answer: Most pastors will not admit they have made a mistake. All I can do is go to the Bible. This just shows us we have feet of clay, and that we're not perfect. God says again and again that he resists the proud.

Question: Then why not stop predicting the end?

Answer: I'm sorry, we're at the end. I thank you that you have not asked me any questions that I have found embarrassing at all. If you could please just report what I have said honestly.

[It is important for an understanding of the above that one know Harold Camping is an annihilationist, denying an everlasting Hell.]

[Camping spends much of this program reading letters from readers that basically agreed with his framework, and are offering new interpretations of the May 21st date.]

[Camping asserts that September 7, 1994 was "The Feast of the Memorial of the Jubilee" and the beginning of the final in-gathering of believers.]

[Camping reasserts that the church-age has ended.]

[Camping directly asserts a "dictation" theory of inspiration.]

Chapel notes, 3/19/09.

[Read the official chapel live-blog at Towers Online. Hear spring semester chapel sermons of Southern Seminary HERE.]

Paul's Ministry Manifesto. Dr. Dan Dumas.

1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, 2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. 3 For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. 5 For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed--God is witness-- 6 nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.

7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; 11 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, 12 so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 NASB)

Background of Paul's ministry in Thessalonica: Acts 17:1-9.
Nature of critic's attacks on Paul, as reconstructed from Paul's arguments: That Paul and fellows in ministry were cowards, greedy, and deceitful.
4 gospel ministry necessities:
1. A tenacity for the advancement of the gospel in the face of opposition (1 Thess 2:1-2)
a. That Paul's ministry was genuine was demonstrated in the experience of the Thessalonians, that their lives were genuinely changed.
b. That Paul's ministry was genuine was demonstrated in the experience of Paul and his fellow ministers, in their suffering for the gospel.
2. A commitment to integrity and authenticity in the proclamation of the gospel (1 Thess 2:3-4)
a. Paul exercised integrity in never distorting the gospel message.
b. Paul exercised authenticity in having no self-serving motive in preaching the gospel.
3. A devotion to gentle and sacrificial care to others (1 Thess 2:5-8)
a. Paul and his fellow ministers were undemanding as far as personal rights or privileges.
b. Paul and his fellow ministers spent themselves in ministry to others.
4. A zeal for fatiguing and exemplary exhortation (1 Thess 2:9-12)
a. This section should not be used as a proof text that bi-vocational ministry is necessary, but should remind us of the need for self-sacrifice in ministry.
b. Paul was not only loving and tender as a mother to the Thessalonians, but a strong and exemplary father.

Chapel notes, 2/26/09

[Read the official chapel live-blog at Towers Online. Hear spring semester chapel sermons of Southern Seminary HERE.]

Dr. Hershael York, Professor of Preaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It," 1 Corinthians 10:1-13.

1 For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (ESV)

I. Intro. In Southern Baptist life, we have often misstated the doctrine of eternal security. It is true that a person once regenerated cannot be un-regenerated. But just because a person prays a prayer or their name is on a church roll somewhere, that does not necessarily mean he or she is a Christian.
II. Historical context. The Israelites had the right:
A. Experiences
B. Ceremonies
C. Nourishment
->But the majority of the Israelites were not eternally secure. Their desires were yet for evil.
III. Manifestations of the Israelites' desires for evil:
A. Idolatry. Evangelicalism today also tends toward idolatry, downplaying God's wrath.
B. Adultery. "An aberrant view of God leads to an aberrant view of self and sexuality."
C. Tempting Christ. This term refers to living according to our pleasures and expecting God to bless. All God's commandments are for our good.
D. Grumbling.
IV. God provides the believer a way of escape from every temptation:
A. So we need not grumble.
B. We need not chafe under God's commandments.
C. Christians are free from adultery.
D. We can rejoice in the true God and flee idolatry.

Chapel notes, 2/24/09

[Read the official chapel live-blog at Towers Online. Hear spring semester chapel sermons of Southern Seminary HERE.]

Dr. Timothy Beougher, Professor of Evangelism at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “Compelled to Share,” 1 Corinthians 9:6-23.

1. We commit to share the gospel. (“Woe is me if I do not share the gospel.”)
2. We commit to share the gospel with all types of people.
a. To the Jews, not creating any unnecessary stumbling blocks.
b. To the Gentiles, not imposing any unnecessary ceremonies.
c. To the weak.
d. Becoming all things to all men.
i. This does not mean, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” in the sense of compromising one’s character.
ii. This does not mean compromising morals, for Paul was under the law of Christ.
iii. This means having patience and compassion for the non-Christians with whom we share.
iv. This means laying aside our supposed rights to have things our way when we share the gospel; we do not have the privilege of demanding our rights as Christians. We do not have the right to only associate with people like us, to be comfortable, to use our resources selfishly, or not to be bothered by bothersome people.
3. We share the gospel with a view to a response.
a. Paul did not shrink back from speaking about “winning” people for Christ.
b. Paul had not forgotten the doctrine of God’s sovereignty.
c. Paul had a right view of means.
d. Paul was not content with just imparting information, but he wanted to see life transformation.
4. We must have a passion for sharing the gospel.
a. Paul wrote that he did all things for the sake of the gospel.
b. Paul had not forgotten that we do all things for the glory of God.
c. It is easier to speak of living for the glory of God than to actually live for the glory of God.
d. God is supremely glorified in the salvation of sinners.

Chapel notes, 2/19/09

[Read the official chapel live-blog at Towers Online. Hear spring semester chapel sermons of Southern Seminary HERE.]

Dr. Mark Dever. 1 Thessalonians 3:10-13,

10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?
11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. (NKJV)

3 goods Paul prayed for the Thessalonians:
1. That he might be present with them to supply what is lacking in their faith.
"Even those who outdistance others are still a long way from their goal."-John Calvin
a. Paul is not hesitant to publicly mention the lack in the Thessalonians' faith.
b. Paul's prayer demonstrates and depends on the sovereignty of God.
c. Paul's prayer demonstrates and depends on the deity of Christ.
2. That the Thessalonians' love would be increased.
a. The prayer is that the Thessalonians would increase in love without reference to a change in those who are loved, which demonstrates that the love is not dependent on the worthiness of the one loved.
b. Paul set the example of love to the Thessalonians, and we must set the example of love for those to whom God has called us to minister.
"God does not consider what we can do, but demands of us what is beyond our capacity, so we may learn to ask of Him..."-John Calvin
3. That the Thessalonians would be accepted by God.
a. The love Paul desires for the Thessalonians is intended to make them persevere in godliness and character.
b. Our claims to love by God are mocked if we do not love others.
c. The "blamelessness in holiness" is a manifestation that God has done a saving work in the heart.

Notice what Paul does not pray for- sheer numbers of attendees- instead, he focuses on spiritual growth. This is the kind of church growth we must be passionate about in ministry.

Chapel notes, 2/17/09

[Read the official chapel live-blog at Towers Online. Hear spring semester chapel sermons of Southern Seminary HERE.]

"Gospel Clarity and the Call to Suffer." Matthew 16:13-28. Dr. Denny Burk, dean of Boyce College.

We live in a culture that is in opposition to Jesus Christ. This problem is often within our own congregation.

Dr. Burk talked about treating the "sinner's prayer" as a magical incantation, confessing that he had done this in his younger days.

1. Gospel confession (vv. 13-20)
a. Jesus' question to the disciples (v.13)
b. The crowd's consensus that Jesus was some kind of prophet (v.14)
i. This consensus shows that the crowd was either too ignorant or too belligerent to acknowledge Christ for who He is.
ii. To say a whole lot of good things about Jesus without saying the main things about Him is unfaithfulness and disrespect on our part.
c. Peter's confession of Christ (vv. 15-16)
i. "Christ," as explained through OT prophesies of the Messiah, refers to Israel's deliverer.
ii. "Son of God," as explained through OT prophesies of the descendant of David called "the Son of God," refers to the true, everlasting king of the world.
d. God's causing this confession (vv. 17-20)
i. God's power reveals the gospel.
ii. [Cross-reference to John 6...]
iii. This means that we must not try to gloss over difficult parts of the gospel to "sell" it.

2. Gospel clarification (vv. 21-23)
a. Jesus gospel work explained (v.21)
b. Peter's rebuke of Jesus (v.22)
c. Jesus' opposition to the temptation coming through Peter (v.23)

3. Gospel call (vv. 24-28)
a. As Jesus had to die, His disciples must die as well; death is the way of discipleship (v.24)
b. Jesus presents a paradox, based on different senses of the word "life" (v.25-28)
i. Death is not a net loss, but a net gain, for disciples of Jesus.
ii. Disciples of Jesus can face death without fear due to the gospel promises.
iii. The Great Commission, according to the way Jesus defines His terms, means that we go throughout the world teaching people to be willing to die for Jesus.
iv. The gospel will not go throughout the world without martyrs.

Discussion of Reinhold Niebuhr on "Speaking of Faith"

On Speaking of Faith this week (broadcast in Louisville at 6AM this morning), an discussion was aired between host Krista Tippett, conservative columnist David Brooks, and liberal columnist E.J. Dionne about the current significance of twentieth century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. The broadcast of this discussion was titled "Obama's Theologian," since President Obama has cited Niebuhr as a major influence, but in the last half of the program (the half I heard) President Obama was barely mentioned, with the focus placed on other aspects of Niebuhr's legacy.

As I am not very familiar with Niebuhr, I can offer little here in the way of critique or comment, except to say that from the little that I know of Niebuhr, it seems like he had a more realistic view of the effects of sin on society, and therefore the impossibility of bringing about the kingdom of God through sheer human effort, than the "Yes We Can!" position of the current administration.

The conversation on the broadcast was very interesting, and I encourage readers to listen to it HERE.

Chapel notes, 2/12/09.

[Read the official chapel live-blog at Towers Online. Hear spring semester chapel sermons of Southern Seminary HERE.]

Gene Mims, senior pastor, Judson Baptist Church, Nashville, TN. “You as God’s Workmanship.”

Ephesians 2:8-10:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (NASB)

We are God’s workmanship:

I. Grace
A. In spite of our sinful condition
B. From before the foundation of the world
II. Saved
A. In the state of having been saved
B. In spite of the fact that we still struggle with sin
III. Faith
A. Salvation comes through faith throughout redemption history
B. Like grace and salvation, this faith is a work of God

Our theology and how our theology works out in our lives should be changed by the above and by the extension of these truths in verse 10. That we are God’s workmanship should transform our self-understanding, so that we are not satisfied with a mediocre existence. That we are God’s workmanship speaks to the corporate nature of God’s work in this world, and guards us against a self-centered existence.

We are not to focus on our ministries on merely “helping people through the tough times,” on addressing the economy, or environmental issues, but we are to focus on the truths of God’s amazing grace.

Discussion of Charles Darwin on "Speaking of Faith"

On the radio broadcast Speaking of Faith broadcast in Louisville this morning, Krista Tippett discusses Charles Darwin with Darwin scholar James Moore [hear the broadcast HERE].

Tippett's agenda in this interview seems to be threefold:

1. To demonstrate that Darwin was not himself an atheist.
2. To assert that faith is not incompatible with Darwinistic evolution.
3. To deny a literal reading of Scripture.

According to Tippett, Darwin takes particular exception to the idea of God's extensive sovereignty in predestination. Tippett speaks of Darwin liberating God from the responsibility for suffering; Darwin apparently taught that God initiated certain natural processes and that these processes, apart from God's direct control, are responsible for the violence seen in nature.

In relation to this last point, I would direct readers' attention to John Piper's article, "Is God Less Glorious Because He Ordained that Evil Be?"

An interesting and foundational point is made at one point in the interview by Tippett when she contrasts the idea of interpreting Scripture in light of scientific observation vs. interpreting scientific observation in light of Scripture. I would question what kind of God one would discover using scientific observation as a starting point, especially in light of Richard Dawkin's objections to theism based on scientific observations. From Scripture, we know that this world is captive to sin, and that there are many aspects of this world that directly contradict God's goodness, rather than the violence of this world proving that God is evil. From Scripture, we know that this world needs a Redeemer.

Blogging John 3:16 Conference for Challies.com

I will not be posting here the next couple of days because I have the privilege of covering the John 3:16 Conference for the World's Most Famous Christian Blogger [note: he does not refer to himself this way], Tim Challies.

A couple of days ago, many of you reading this blog were watching election coverage; now at Challies.com, you will be able to read anti-election coverage! [A couple of readers may get that joke.]

You can follow Conference coverage HERE.

Liveblogging Pastor John Piper at Southern Seminary Chapel 2

II Cor. 3:18-4:7

A Question to consider throughout: “How can the burden of Christ be light when the burden is a cross?” (cf. Matt 11:30; Matt. 16:24)

[Recap of Tues. message: The joy of faith is the joy of Jesus as supremely valuable. Paul’s ambition was to so live and so speak that others would apprehend Christ in joy.]

As we battle for the gospel truths we are constantly in danger of losing the good of the Gospel.

4 Foundational Truths Concerning the Good of the Gospel:

1. The event: I Cor. 15:1-3
2. The accomplishment on our behalf: Rms. 8:3; Gal. 3:13
3. The offer to everyone on the basis of faith alone: Eph. 2:8
4. The application of Christ’s accomplishment through faith.

These must point to the glory of Christ revealed in the Gospel for your everlasting enjoyment or we have fallen short of true Gospel proclamation.

• The Gospel. II Cor. 4:4,6– “The gospel of the glory of Christ” as the end to which doctrine is proper means. When you preach the Gospel, people should see the face of Christ: “We see with our ears when the Gospel is preached.”
• Lostness. II Cor. 4:3-4– “Lostness is blindness to glory.” We see this when people are disinterested in the Gospel.
• Conversion. II Cor. 4:6– God says, “See!” And Jesus is no longer boring, but rather we recognize Jesus for who He is.
• Application. II Cor. 4:4-5,7. You are indispensable to this saving work (cf. Acts 26:17-18). You are called to do what only God can do. God will not save apart from His appointed means. An additional point of application comes from a cross-reference to II Tim. 2:24-26, so that we may see how to be means of God granting repentance to churches who disagree– it is essential that we must have the attitude of patience and gentleness the Apostle described. We must lift up a glorious, sufficient, satisfying God and humble ourselves, making ourselves low as His servants.

Liveblogging Pastor John Piper at Southern Seminary Chapel

The service began with President Mohler reading from Hebrews 1, introducing John Piper, then welcoming special guests to the seminary for today’s chapel service, which included Pastors C.J. Mahaney, Mark Dever, John MacArthur, and Ligon Duncan. (So every speaker from the Together for the Gospel conference was present, R.C. Sproul excepting.)

Piper’s text was II Cor. 1:24-2:4 with focus on 1:24, the point of which he summarized as, “I am working with the churches for their joy.” Piper pointed out that the Apostle’s passion for the Church’s joy was not cheap, indicating Paul’s suffering recorded in the second half of II Cor. 11, and concluding his thought on this, saying, “He suffered to advance the joy of the churches.”

“He is not talking about generic joy– joy in just anything.” He is talking about a joy that takes the new birth– that takes the Cross.

Piper cross-referenced Philippians 1:25– another text in which the Apostle links faith and joy.

“I’m coming with a message that could cost you your life– I’m here to make you happy.” If we are truly enraptured with Jesus, we don’t need to be alive. In preaching joy, we are not pampering our people, we are preparing them to suffer. We are not on the path of luxury, but the path of suffering. For an illustration of joy in suffering, Piper referred to II Cor. 8:1-2, which he proclaimed, “The opposite of the prosperity gospel.”

How will this happen?

1. You will fight with all your might for personal joy in Christ (especially in times of comfort, which can wrongfully divert our joy).
2. Every time you speak to the congregation (or portion of the congregation), display God in Christ as supremely valuable.
3. You will sustain your people by grounding them in the truth of God’s sovereignty in suffering.
4. You will be there with your people in their suffering the way Christ is always there for you.

At the close of the service, President Mohler had us pray for the salvation of the members of Soul Force- a homosexual activist group that showed up at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary yesterday and (apparently) had to be escorted of campus by the police so that classes would not be disrupted.

Live-blogging "The Lost Tomb of Jesus"

Introduction: The following is, as the title indicates, "live-blogging," so I am simply typing out a few thoughts as I watch the Discovery Channel special, The Lost Tomb of Jesus. Due to the highly informal nature of this type of blog-post, I won't have any "bells and whistles" I usually try to put in my articles (pictures, video, hyperlinks, etc.); I may even have a few typos.

Live-blogging: Near the beginning of the show the gospel account from Matthew is referenced in which the quote is given, 'His disciples came during the night and stole [the body of Jesus Christ] away while we were asleep' (cf. Matt. 28:13b, NIV). The narrator admits that this claim is portrayed by Matthew as a cover-up for Jesus Christ's physical resurrection, but the show fails to mention that Matthew and the other Apostles were killed as a witness to the resurrected Christ. In other words, they either saw Jesus Christ arisen from the grave, or they knowingly died for a lie.

The show claims that the corpse of Jesus Christ would have certainly been placed in an ossuary, such as the one archaeologists have found, “Following Jewish burial practices of the time.” But again, these burial practices would have only been followed assuming that He was not risen from the dead, something that this film must prove (contrary to eyewitness testimony) rather than take for granted.

Trying to down-play the extent to which this show is an attack on the Christian faith, the film-makers constantly make assertions such as, "In theory, this ascension [of Jesus Christ] could have been spiritual." [Thus, they wish to say, we could find the body of Jesus Christ and not undermine the Christian belief in the resurrection and assention.] But though they say, "In theory," they need to answer the question, "In theory of whom?" Certainly the New Testament presents Jesus Christ as physically resurrected and ascended to heaven and first century Jewish thought knew nothing of a merely spiritual resurrection.

Jacobovici, concerning the names found in the supposed "Jesus Tomb," exclaimed, "There isn’t a single name that does not fit!" But he ignores the fact that some of the names they found in the supposed family tomb of Jesus do not fit at all. There is no "Mariamne" in the New Testament, Matthew is not supposed to be a family member of Jesus Christ, and there is certainly no "Judah son of Jesus" ever before mentioned in relation to any Christian tradition. So when he exclaimed, "There isn’t a single name that does not fit!" he only meant, "There isn’t a single name that does not fit my baseless theories!"

Concerning how the creators of this show got their statistics to prove this must be the family tomb of Jesus Christ, they figured probabilities for, “Jesus with a father named Joseph, a mother named Mary, and a brother named Jose…” But this is simply begging the question! They have not proven these family relations for the actual physical remnants they found!

They did have Dr. Tabor say: "Those who take a strictly historical approach to the gospels would expect to find the body in his family’s tomb." "If you’re going to be historical about it, realistic about it..." Well, that is exactly what serious Christians are trying to be. Faithful, yes- but not blindly so. We want realistic, historical grounding for our beliefs, so that when theories that are based on little more than idle speculation are set forth as an attack on our faith- especially when these theories are packaged in a slick, pseudo-scientific fashion, which is liable to influence many people to be prejudiced against belief in the risen Lord Jesus Christ- it is indeed very frustrating.

The film (again) speculates that if in the early Christian tradition, Mary Magdalene was an apostle, then the inscription Mara found on the ossuary could point to something extraordinary. But the makers of this film are not even hinting that there's any speculative nature to identifying Mariamne as Mary Magdalene. They just keep saying that the Acts of Phillip talk about Mary Magdalene and her brother Phillip, or saying that Mariamne and Mary Magdalene are the same person. But this connection is never made in the Acts of Philip (which is a highly questionable document anyway) itself!

The creators of this special clearly assert that the DNA testing proves that there were “No familial ties…” between "Jesus son of Joseph" and "Mariamne." But this is, in fact, false, as the test only proves that they are not related through the mother. They could very well have been related on the father's side of the family exclusively, as half brother and sister, cousins, uncle and niece, aunt and son, or "Jesus son of Joseph" may have even been Mariamne's father. We simple do not know. To this end, the actual biotechnical researcher in charge of the DNA evidence merely said, 'If they are not related, they are most likely husband and wife,' but Simcha Jacobovici and his crew strengthen this, saying. DNA results of Talpiot suggest that they were married.

What this show leaves us with is a chain of improbable IFs that all must be answered in a certain way to reach the conclusion Simcha Jacobovici is promoting: IF James and Jesus Christ were the only two James and Jesus' with a father named Joseph buried in Jerusalem, IF Jesus Christ had ever been said to have a child named Judah, IF any document ever made a connection between Mariamne and Mary Magdalene, IF Mary had been referred to by a Latin form of her name in biblical times, IF Jose is also the son of Joseph, IF there is any reason to find a Matthew in Jesus' family tomb, IF Mariamne is not paternally related to Jesus son of Joseph, etc.

But all of this can be answered by a series of very probable (certain, really) series of IFs, namely: IF the Bible is true, IF Jesus died on the Cross for sinners, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to Scriptures, IF the risen Lord Jesus appeared to the apostles and about 500 others at one time, IF Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, IF He remains at the right hand of God the Father offering eternal life through the Holy Spirit to all who repent and place their trust in Him, IF He has been radically changing lives for thousands of years,
-then believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have nothing to worry about.

Maranatha!