The Southern Ohio Theological Society Upgrade

The Southern Ohio Theological Society has uprgaded their website with a new look and some cool forthcoming features. It looks pretty good. You can check it out here.

I am a representative with the Society and I love what they're doing ("recovering theology for the health of our churches). If you're in Southern Ohio and you love theology (whether your a pastor or a lay person) I'd encourage you to become a member. The perks may not seem like much but The Southern Ohio Journal of Theology is getting better with each issue, and there's free books and free conferences in the future.

Help for the Weary Reader

The Word of the Lord is the theme of Psalm 1, and the Psalmist has great affection for it. “Blessed is the man” who devotes himself to it day and night. “Blessed,” meaning he is happy. The Lord has given to Him the desires of His heart, which for those in the Word of God turns out to be God Himself. The reading of Scripture fulfills what it promises. The more we read the more we want to know God, the more we read the more we get to know God. That is “blessedness!”

The man who reads God’s Word is not the man who seeks wisdom from the wicked world, nor one who models the evil of others, nor one who sits in judgment on the Word of God. The “blessed” man is one who “delights” in the Word and treasures it. This man “hides” God’s Word in His heart, with the intent that He might not sin against God! The man of the Word is one who hates sinning against God, and though He may still fail to obey, he despises sin, repents of it, and turns again to the Word that God might restore unto Him the Joy of His Salvation. The Word is a delight to the “blessed” man, and, in fact, the man is “delighted” because of that very Word. For in the Word he receives what he most desires: God.

This “blessed man” is compared to a fruitful tree, with leaves that do no wither. It is a man whose spiritual life thrives and blossoms and never fails. The Word of God is like rich soil that we sink our roots into for life; it is like the stream in the analogy that continually supplies sustenance to our branches. We prosper because we obey the Word of God, for it is our delight!

It is amazing how the Word of God works, and yet we hesitate so frequently to pick it up and read it. Why? Do we not grasp these facts of the power and beauty of Scripture? Do we not understand the word of God in Hebrews:

For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the divisions of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

This is not a word assigned to some abstract notion of divine revelation, or some super-spiritual language, or even some divinely inspired meaning above the capabilities of language to grasp. These words are assigned to the canon of Scripture, the Holy Bible, to its very self. The Bible is the Word of God and through the Holy Spirit it is the means to growing our faith, correcting us, rebuking us, teaching us, and sanctifying us. So why, then, if we do know this, do we still experience a dislike of it?

The short answer is sin; it’s also the obvious one and the easiest one. The other answer is much harder to hear, and more specific. For me, in my own case, it is a simple answer of not loving Jesus enough. O, I am thankful that Jesus first loved me and gave Himself up for me that I might be a son of God. But my heart does not seem to daily long for my savior, my mind does not think on Him hourly, nor does my life reflect a dedication to His Word. Where is my love? On self, on things, on others, etc. John Calvin said that our hearts are idol factories, I know from experience, as I am sure he did, that is more true than I wish to affirm. So what is the solution?

We cannot merely diagnose problems and think that it is sufficient spiritual work. No, there must be a plan for change. The answer is simple, but not simplistic. There is a three-fold cord of spiritual growth that we all need: (1) The Bible; (2) Prayer; (3) Fellowship.

It is not as though I forgot what we are talking about (“Why don’t we read the Bible), but the answer, even in the face of this struggle, is still “read the Bible.” Especially when we don’t feel like it we should read! Read short, read long, read great passages, read small ones, read a book or a chapter, or a verse. Read a Psalm everyday of the week, read through the Gospel of Mark. The point is clear, however it is done, read the Bible. We must force ourselves to be in the Word as much as possible. This is not to suggest that if you don’t read it everyday you are sinning or falling away, rather it is to say we should read it as much as we can. The more we do, the more we will love it, and the more we will learn of God and love Him.

Prayer is crucial for ever Christian life and especially for those struggling to be in the Word. The Bible teaches us that God’s desire for us is our sanctification, our spiritual growth. Therefore call upon Him to aid you in this stubborn lack of desire for His Word. Pray that He would increase your affections for the Word, and open it up to you that you may grow and benefit from it. Pray for help from others to encourage you to be in the Bible regularly.

This brings us to the final element, fellowship. Lone-ranger Christians are not Biblical, nor are they successful. The church was established by Christ for our benefit. We need others to help us and especially when we are facing “spiritual depression.” We need the uplift of Godly brothers and sisters, we need their encouragement and prayers, we need their love and support, and perhaps even their firm loving words of rebuke. Fellowship not only holds us accountable to growth, but the more we talk about God’s Word with others the more we will want to be in it.

So if you are struggling with reading Scripture regularly then pray, surround yourself with Christ-like men or women, and insist upon reading the Bible as much as possible! Pray for it, get help with it, and do it! Trust me friends, we won’t regret it if we do…for the Word of God is a delight and God blesses the man who reads it.

Preparing for a New Series

As I am wrapping up my series on the imagination I have been planning for my next one. Recently I've been studying some different works on evangelism and thinking through different aspects of evangelism. What makes good evangelism? What should we do when we share the gospel? What should we expect? When should we do it? And Who should evangelize? These are all part of the focus of my next series. I post here a proposed outline for the upcoming study. It has been a fruitful endeavor for me and I hope it will benefit you all who read this blog. Look forward to this series after I finish the current one on The Imagination.

Evangelism:

I. Biblical Evangelism
(1) It’s More than Your Testimony
(2) It’s more than Apologetics
(3) Don’t Confuse the Event With the Results
(4) God-Centered vs. Man-Centered, Part 1
(5) God-Centered vs. Man-Centered, Part 2
II. What is Evangelism:
(1) The Essentials
III. Who Should Do Evangelism:
(1) Pastors
(2) Christians
(3) Missionaries
(4) Moms & Dads
(5) Churches
IV. How Do You Do Evangelism?
(1) Methodology Matters
(2) Conversation Evangelism
(3) The Dangers of Forced Evangelism
(4) Church Ministry & Revivals
V. Resources for Helping Our Evangelism:
(1) J.I. Packer
(2) Mark Dever
(3) Two Ways to Live

A Passion for the Pastorate

It's easy to get side-tracked, to redirect your life from time to time. It has particularly been easy for me as of late. I have been called to the pastorate, but because I am still a Seminary student waiting for the time when I will be faithfully serving in some eldership role week in and out, it can become easy for me to get excited about other things. I was challenged and encouraged yesterday to re-direct my life to the pastorate.

My pastor Aaron Menikof preached Sunday morning from the book of Titus and taught us about the great and important duty of pastor. He concluded his sermon by reminding us that those who aspire to the office of elder desire to do something good! How encouraging that God has granted me a desire to do something good with my life by glorifying and serving Him and His church in the pastorate! I pray he keeps my heart excited about future ministry in that role.

Then Aaron said something else I wasn't ready for, "We all need pastors." He urged the church to remember that they were not created to go about the Christian life alone or without leadership. And he pointed out that any good pastor "worth his salt" will point his people to the chief shepherd: Jesus Christ. He asked us to pray for our elders and remember their great responsibility.

It was a morning in which God called me to remember the dut he has called me to: the pastorate! A passion for hte pastorate was given afresh to me yesterday and I am thankful to my pastor for it!

Sermons for Sale

Here's a quick advertisement:

Are you a pastor? Are you tired of spending hours in the Word of God? Studying to make sure that what you present your people is Biblical and Christ-Centere? Do you find that preaching is just too much of a hassle? Well there is good news for you friend. One pastor has declared his sermons fit for everyone to preach and he is even offering them at a fair price to you.

In case you miss it, I am being sardonic here. I find this sort of promotion of laziness in the pastorate an afront to gospel ministry. Pastor, your job is to study the Word of God in depth for your people. It is not your job to build a mega-church, design and orchestrate new church programs, or expand your church campuses. Your people coming in on Sunday morning with heart-ache and bitterness, struggling with sin and guilt don't need the words of another man who has never met them and doesn't know how the present text needs to be applied to your and their contexts. They need their pastor to love them enough to dig into the text and help them understand how the gospel matters when they've been up all night with a screaming baby, or how the cross of Christ relates to their failing marriage.

Pastors, don't be lazy! Do your duty as a preacher of the Word of God, and spend time in the text yourself for the sake of your people and the glory of our Savior!Don't buy a sermon!

Theology in Southern Ohio

The website of The Southern Ohio Theological Society is up and running. I am very excited about this ministry and its goals. Evangelical Christians in Southern Ohio can be part of a ministry aimed at recovering the practical use and apprecation for theology.

Membership is open to all Evangelicals in Southern Ohio and is completely free. For mor info check out their website at www.southernohiotheologicalsociety.com

You Must Have Sin to Have Salvation

Our culture is so anti-sin that since the dawn of psychotherapy we have resorted to calling sin merely sickness. We remove the moral responsibility from sin and assure ourselves that it is not our fault. We shift the blame from ourselves to our biological makeup, to other people, or even to God himself. It's a habit as old as the existence of sin itself. Adam, in the Garden of Eden, placed blame on Eve, and God. This is not how God looks at it, however. He has not be seduced by psychology. Sin is still sin in His book.

But it was in a conversation with some co-workers over breakfast this last week that I saw first hand the other way we think about sin in our culture. While attempting to share the gospel with these two young men I was "informed" that we are not all born sinners. We're all actually born good. We learn sin and therefore sin, but this is merely a result of our society's stupidity.

The problems here are manifold. Of course we must concede that sin did not exist until Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden. But post-fall all men are born sinners. One of these young men argued that its clearly evident to see man's internal goodness when we look at a child. But I argue that looking at a sweet, beautiful child and watching them disobey, without years of observed sinfulness, is clear evidence that man is inherently sinful. Why do children learn to lie before they can even speak? Why do they squirm and resist getting their diapers changed? How did they learn to manipulate their mothers and fathers and grandparents with that innocent little looks and hugs after having disobeyed? They know because it is in them from birth to do so.

This does not mean that all people are as bad as they can be. But if all men are good why are they not able to resist the temptation to sin in even the smallest way (cheating on their taxes, speeding, selfishness, etc.)? We are all bad, and even the smallest sins count against us before God.

But there is hope. For when we are willing to admit we are sinful, and not just sick, then we are steps away from securing freedom from that sin. Christ came into the world as God's only Son and bore the wrath that we deserved for our sins, when He died upon the cross. And now all who confess they are sinners and beleive upon Jesus' death and resurrection on their behalf will be saved. Acceptance of your sin is necessary for salvation, friends. So own up to it, and step into freedom from bondage!