Category: Recommended

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The Glorious God behind the Story of Esther

~ fundyreformed ~ 1 Comment

The only book of the Bible to not mention God at all is Esther. This feature has led to some canonical questions concerning the book. Yet, perhaps no book so clearly shows the hand of God in the background of the story.

Nathan Pitchford in a recent post on Esther, points out the many things God did to prevent the destruction of His people so that He might still bring the Messiah, Jesus Christ into the world. Nathan makes many helpful observations and even presents a picture of Christ as seen from the book. One important point he makes is this: since God is at work behind the scenes (and only “behind the scenes”)  in accomplishing His purposes in the story of Esther, we can draw encouragement and trust that God is at work behind the scenes in our own lives to bring to completion that great work He has begun in us.

Beyond an excellent example of a redemptive, historical, hermeneutical approach to the book of Esther, Nathan gives us a feast for our souls. He takes the many intricacies of the story of Esther and paints a glorious and stunning picture of our great sovereign God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I encourage you all to read Nathan’s post, but I want to quote two paragraphs of it below, to whet your appetite.

We see the immutability of God’s purpose to accomplish the coming of Christ from the seed of the Jews in two circumstances: the first is how he sovereignly effects the minutest details of history to preserve the line from which he should come. Consider how many incidents he brings about for the preservation of the Messianic line: first, he causes King Ahasuerus, in whose pleasure resides the fate of the Jews (in an earthly sense), to become angry against his queen. Then he causes Esther, who is of Jewish seed (although unbeknownst to him) to find favor in his eyes. Then he provides for Esther the godly counsel she needs in the person of Mordecai, her cousin. Next, he reveals a plot against the king to this same Mordecai, and gives him the opportunity and desire to report the plot and deliver the king from the potential assassins. He causes Haman, the next in power to the king, to be angry with Mordecai, and with the Jews in general; he causes Haman, through the use of lots, to mark a certain day for the destruction of the Jews; he gives Esther the counsel and the courage to seek an audience with the king; he gives the king a favorable reception to this brazen request for an audience; he allows Esther such trepidation that she is unable to ask for her true request, and causes her instead to prepare a feast for Ahasuerus and Haman; he gives Haman the false sense of flattery, that he alone was invited to Queen Esther’s feast; and he does the same thing a second time, so that Haman is emboldened to construct a gallows for Mordecai; he causes the king, on the night before the second feast, to be smitten with insomnia, so that the chronicles of the kingdom should be read to him, so as to put him to sleep; he causes that very portion of the chronicles to be read which speak of Mordecai’s heroic saving of the king from the assassins; he leads the king to desire to honor him who saved his life; he causes him to seek counsel how to honor him from Haman; he stirs up Haman to think that the king wishes to honor himself; he instructs Haman of a method by which true honor might be shown to him who is worthy; he causes the king to command Haman himself to carry out this true honor for Mordecai, whom he hates; he gives Esther boldness, at the proper time, to declare to the king Haman’s wickedness; he causes Haman to fear, and to fall upon the bed of Esther in seeking her mercy; he causes the king to find him in this position; he stirs up anger in the king, at the false supposition that Haman is attempting to force Esther in the king’s own house; he gives Ahasuerus the heart to grant Esther’s request to overturn the intention of wicked Haman; he brings to the king’s attention the gallows of Haman, and gives him the desire to have Haman hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai; he gives the Jews a mighty victory out of what should have been their annihilation, from the counter decree of Ahasuerus. He brings to his people a feast of celebration out of the sorrow of defeat; and finally, he causes Haman’s own sons to be hanged upon the gallows of their father, while the Jews celebrate their victory. It is simply staggering to consider how many tiny details God worked together for the salvation of his people.

The second notable circumstance is how God accomplished this great orchestration, as it were, behind the scenes. In no place at all is the name of God mentioned in the book of Esther. And yet, even when he is not seen, God is sovereignly and mightily at work to effect his great plan. How comforting is this reality to all who are his! God truly does cause “all things to work together for good to them that love him” (Romans 8:28)! And more comforting yet is the reality that the purpose for which he is exercising this minute and staggering sovereignty is nothing other than to bring Christ into the world. Christ alone is the good that God has purposed to bring about for his children, through every circumstance. The effect of God’s great control over history is that “nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:39). Oh Christian, do you despair at the manifold trials which attend the insignificant details of your life? Rejoice, for God is at work, even when you cannot see him; and he is at work to bring to you Christ, your only hope of glory and eternal satisfaction! [Read the whole article here.]

John Calvin on Missions and Evangelism

~ fundyreformed ~ 3 Comments

Having recently read Gage Browning’s posts on the life of John Calvin, I was intrigued to see that Reformation 21‘s latest e-zine issue included an article on Calvin and Missions.

I don’t think you need me to tell you that non-Calvinists repeatedly claim that Calvinism is a danger to evangelism and soul-winning. Many see Calvinism as encouraging theology to the neglect of practical things like evangelism. And the claim is made that Calvin’s teaching concerning predestination encourages a fatalistic approach to missions. “Since God has elected and predestined some to salvation, He does not need me to preach the gospel” the reasoning goes. So it is no surprise that many assume that Calvin did not emphasize the importance of evangelism. Indeed Calvinists like Spurgeon are considered a bizarre exception to the rule that Calvinism downplays evangelism.

Contrary to such popular notions, Calvin did not belittle evangelism. He gave his life to it. Geneva became a missionary center for the spread of the Reformed faith (salvation by grace through faith) throughout Europe and beyond. They even sent missionaries to Brazil in 1555!

I plan to provide a few quotes from Calvin below which illustrate his views on missions and evangelism, but let me first recommend some other articles. The Ref 21 article mentioned above is a must read. And this article by the Founders Journal is perhaps even clearer in defending Calvin from these ill founded charges. For further research, consult the following two articles by Cork Free Presbyterian Church in Cork, Ireland: Calvin the SoulWinner – What he said, and – What he did. Now to the quotes:

If we have any humanity in us, seeing men going to perdition, …ought we not be moved by pity, to rescue the poor souls from hell, and teach them the way of salvation?(from sermon 196 on Deut. 33:18-19; taken from Ref 21 article)

…nothing could be more inconsistent with the nature of faith than that deadness which would lead a man to disregard his brethren, and to keep the light of knowledge choked up within his own breast. (from commentary on Is. 2:3; taken from Ref 21 article)

When we know God to be our Father, should we not desire that he be known as such by all? And if we do not have this passion, that all creatures do him homage, is it not a sign that his glory means little to us?(from sermon 196 on Deut. 33:18-19; taken from Ref 21 article)

Since we do not know who belongs to the number of the predestined and who does not, it befits us so to feel as to wish that all be saved. So it will come about that, whoever we come across, we shall study to make him a sharer of peace . . . even severe rebuke will be administered like medicine, lest they should perish or cause others to perish. But it will be for God to make it effective in those whom He foreknew and predestined. (from Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God; taken from the Founders Journal article)

…there is no people and no rank in the world that is excluded from salvation; because God wishes that the gospel should be proclaimed to all without exception….[the Christian’s duty is] to be solicitous and to do our endeavor for the salvation of all whom God includes in his calling….[those people insult God] who, by their opinion, shut out any person from the hope of salvation. (from commentary on 1 Tim. 2:4-5; taken from the Founders Journal article)

God invites all indiscriminately to salvation through the Gospel, but the ingratitude of the world is the reason why this grace, which is equally offered to all, is enjoyed by few. (from commentary on the Synoptic Gospels; taken from the Cork Free Presbyterian Church article)

It is no small consolation to godly teachers that, although the larger part of the world does not listen to Christ, He has His sheep whom He knows and by whom He is also known. They must do their utmost to bring the whole world into Christ’s fold, but when they do not succeed as they would wish, they must be satisfied with the single thought that those who are sheep will be collected together by their work. (from commentary on John 10:27; taken from Cork FPC article)

Thus we may see what St. Paul’s meaning is when he saith, God will have His grace made known to all the world, and His gospel preached to all creatures. Therefore, we must endeavour, as much as possible, to persuade those who are strangers to the faith, and seem to be utterly deprived of the goodness of God, to accept of salvation. Jesus Christ is not only a Saviour of few, but He offereth Himself to all. As often as the gospel is preached to us, we ought to consider that God calleth us to Him: and if we attend to this call, it shall not be in vain, neither shall it be lost labour…”Therefore, we may be so much the more assured that God taketh and holdeth us for His children, if we endeavour to bring those to Him who are afar off. Let us comfort ourselves, and take courage in this our calling: although there be at this day a great forlornness, though we seem to be miserable creatures, utterly cast away and condemned, yet we must labour as much as possible to draw those to salvation who seem to be afar off. And above all things, let us pray to God for them, waiting patiently till it please Him to show His good will toward them, as He hath shown it to us. (from sermon on 1 Timothy 2:3-5; taken from the Cork FPC article)

If the gospel be not preached, Jesus Christ is, as it were, buried.Therefore, let us stand as witnesses, and do Him this honour, when we see all the world so far out of the way; and remain steadfast in this wholesome doctrine…Let us here observe that St. Paul condemns our unthankfulness, if we be so unfaithful to God, as not to bear witness of His gospel; seeing He hath called us to it.” (from sermon on 2 Timothy 1:8-9; taken from the Cork FPC article)

It is enough for us to bear this only in mind, that the gospel does not fall like rain from the clouds, but is brought by the hands of men wherever it is sent from above… But hence we also learn how much ought all good men to desire, and how much they ought to value the preaching of the gospel, which is thus commended to us by the mouth of the Lord himself. (from commentary on Romans 10:14; taken from the Cork FPC article)

…we are called by the Lord on this condition, that every one should afterwards strive to lead others to the truth, to restore the wandering to the right way, to extend a helping hand to the fallen, to win over those who are without…. (from commentary on Hebrews 10:25; taken from the Cork FPC article)

…the principle thing we have to look to is to teach the ignorant and to show them the way of salvation. (from a sermon on Ephesians 4:29-30; taken from the Cork FPC article)

∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7

“Do Hard Things”: Challenging Words from a 16 Year Old

~ fundyreformed ~ 2 Comments

Should I ignorantly assume that the blessings I have received in way of gifting & talent, position & family, country & freedom, have been given blindly and without purpose? Should I, heedless of their potential, throw these things away for the sake of convenience? Will I take the road so often traveled and go with the flow rather than against the current? Will I choose the fate of the common man or that of the uncommon man?

Needless to say, a life of sin and sorrow is readily available to all, whereas a life of purity, honor, and virtue is only granted to a precious few. The gifts necessary to change the world are as rare as the man who tries it, while the ability to conform to the world is evident in all its abundance.

The path of the righteous man is overgrown and seldom used. It is a lonely road, often uphill and through deep valleys. The common way offers many amenities, it is a well-worn path, easily traveled and with plenty of company.

Righteousness is work comprised of fleeing from temptation, running to Christ, fighting the good fight, running the race, and wrestling with myself. Complacency, however, offers a road devoid of care. I give myself to the very things I should flee from and fight with. So much easier to choose, so much simpler, and just what we want””yet not what I want.

To change the world God has changed my heart. To fight the fight God has won the war. To run the race Christ has set me free. All this is mine through Christ Jesus my Lord, yet this is the road often missed, often forgotten, often ignored.

The harder road lies before those who choose life and godliness, yet the greater destination, a glorious paradise and a wonderful feast.

This is the path I have chosen, to follow God and to do His will””to change the world, to be a leader””to shine as a light in the darkness that I’ve been placed in….  

In what confidence, you ask, do I make such resolve? Not in my strength for it has failed. Not in my previous accomplishments for they are pale. Not in hope of willpower for it is weak and corrupt. Not in conscience for it is dull. Not in my head, or arms, or legs, or hands, or feet, or anything in me that could supply strength physically, mentally, or spiritually, for they have all failed. They have all fallen short. They have all broken promises they vowed to keep. They have never brought me true or lasting success. They never will. I have no hope in myself.

In what confidence, you ask, do I make such resolve? I make resolve in the strength of God, in the grace, mercy, and power of Jesus Christ. In the salvation I know I have through Him. From the righteousness I have received from Him, from the robes of white that cover my sin, from His blood that was spilt for me, for the love that I feel in His embrace, for everything that is not me and is Him””in this I trust and in this I rest my hope…. [read the  entire article]

These are challenging words, strong words. And from a 16 year old!  

I stumbled across these words of Brett Harris after finding his blog today (HT:  Justin Taylor). The blog is called The Rebelution and is run by Brett and his twin brother Alex (both now 17 years old). Their older brother is Joshua Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye fame. He is also the “Timothy” to CJ Mahaney, and now serves as the pastor of Covenant Life Church (home of Sovereign Grace Ministries)  in Gaithersburg, MD. So it is not too surprising to see how Biblically based and Gospel centered the Harris’ brothers blog is.

From looking at the blog, it appears to be having a far reaching influence. It has won awards, and will be launching a Rebelution Tour & Conference  in 2007. The blog is directed at teens and yet, young adults and others  can benefit from it as well. They even have discussion forums  now (as of their  redesigned site launch yesterday).

Just in case you were wondering, “The official definition of the ‘rebelution’ is ‘a teenage rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly culture’ (from this explanation)”.    “Do Hard Things” is the motto for the blog. And most praiseworthy is the express attempt to  encourage others to do  this  only through  relying on Christ and His enabling power.

I encourage you to check out this site, and send any teenagers you know there. Also, you may be encouraged  (as I was) from reading this testimony of the impact of this blog, from a teenage girl in the Phillippines. Let us encourage what God is doing through a redeemed use of the web and blogosophere.

∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7

The Lord’s Supper & Spiritual Participation in Christ’s Death

~ fundyreformed ~ 7 Comments

Last Sunday, our teaching pastor, John Piper, gave a message on the importance of the Lord’s Supper. We then partook of the supper together after his message. It was a very moving service and a great message; I encourage you to read or listen to it.

That sermon prompted me to post on at least two aspects concerning the Lord’s Supper. What follows will be part 1, with part 2 following later this week.

Spiritual Participation in Christ’s Death

What do we mean by spiritual participation? If any Baptists are reading this (as most surely there are), giant, bright, red-colored flags are popping up. “Remembrance“”we only remember Christ in the Lord’s Supper.” “Oh, he’s speaking of a mystical presence of Christ to be gained or sought in this act! Ugh!” It is a fact that transubstantiation, consubstantiation or even the view that communion is a “means of grace” are scorned in Baptist circles.

I can appreciate the reasons why Baptists so resolutely give a knee-jerk reaction to such talk. Clearly there are many errors surrounding communion, and many traditions make it into a supernatural religious ceremony with powers all its own. Yet the Baptist reaction to such errors is perhaps also a serious error in itself. Many Baptists approach the Lord’s table with no expectation of any spiritual participation.

Pastor Piper in his message last week pointed out that our church elder affirmation of faith states:

Those who eat and drink in a worthy manner partake of Christ’s body and blood, not physically, but spiritually, in that, by faith, they are nourished with the benefits He obtained through His death, and thus grow in grace.

“Where does the idea of ‘spiritually’ partaking of Christ’s body and blood ‘by faith’ come from?” you may ask. You could go read Piper’s sermon because he explains why. But I will be glad to tell you. It comes from this passage of Scripture:

1 Cor. 10:16-21 “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

Piper explains what “participation” (koinonia) means with the help of v. 18. Those who ate the sacrifices were participants in what happened on the altar. Let me quote Piper at this point, as he says this better than I could:

What does sharer/participant/partner in the altar mean? It means that they are sharing in or benefiting from what happened on the altar. They are enjoying, for example, forgiveness and restored fellowship with God.

So I take verse 16 and 17 to mean that when believers eat the bread and drink the cup physically we do another kind of eating and drinking spiritually. We eat and drink””that is, we take into our lives””what happened on the cross. By faith””by trusting in all that God is for us in Jesus””we nourish ourselves with the benefits that Jesus obtained for us when he bled and died on the cross.

Just as believing Israelites would joyfully bask in their restored fellowship with God on the basis of the shedding of blood, just as they would joyfully eat and rejoice in their hearts partaking spiritually in what was happening physically on the altar, we can joyfully participate in and experience spiritually all the benefits of Christ’s death on our behalf. His sacrifice is once for all, so our joy and fellowship is greater and fuller and more complete.

Wayne Grudem discusses this very thing in a helpful way as follows:

…Jesus promised to be present whenever believers worship: “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt.18:20). And if he is especially present when Christians gather to worship, then we would expect that he will be present in a special way in the Lord’s Supper: We meet him at his table, to which he comes to give himself to us. As we receive the elements of bread and wine in the presence of Christ, so we partake of him and his benefits. We “feed upon him in our hearts” with thanksgiving….Yet we must not say that Christ is present apart from our personal faith, but only meets and blesses us there in accordance with our faith in him….Certainly there is a symbolic presence of Christ, but it is also a genuine spiritual presence and there is a genuine spiritual blessing in this ceremony. [Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), pg. 995-996]

In his footnotes he addresses the view which denies such a spiritual presence with an insightful quote from Millard Erickson:

“Out of a zeal to avoid the conception that Jesus is present in some sort of magical way, certain Baptists among others have sometimes gone to such extremes as to give the impression that the one place where Jesus most assuredly is not to be found is the Lord’s supper. This is what one Baptist leader termed ‘the doctrine of the real absence’ of Jesus Christ” (Christian Theology, p. 1123). [Ibid, pg. 995]

One last angle on this aspect of the Lord’s Supper concerns the idea of fellowship with God around a meal. Wayne Grudem offers Ex. 24:9-11 and Deut. 14:23-26 as examples of a special fellowship with God surrounding a meal. This he describes is a restoration of the fellowship man had with God in Eden before the Fall. Yet he stresses:

The Old Testament sacrificial meals continually pointed to the fact that sins were not yet paid for, because the sacrifices in them were repeated year after year, and because they looked forward to the Messiah who was to come and take away sin (see Heb. 10:1-4). The Lord’s Supper, however, reminds us that Jesus’ payment for our sins has already been accomplished, so we now eat in the Lord’s presence with great rejoicing….Yet even the Lord’s Supper looks forward to a more wonderful fellowship meal in God’s presence in the future, when the fellowship of Eden will be restored and there will be even greater joy…. [Ibid, pg. 989]

Free Grace meet Faith & Practice

~ fundyreformed ~ 7 Comments

Faith and PracticeThis is a quick post to recommend two great articles on Free Grace Theology over at Faith and Practice. Matt Waymeyer has taken that system of theology to task in what I believe are two very important articles.

Never heard of Free Grace Theology? Think easy believism. Think “no repentance needed for salvation”. Think 1-2-3 repeat after me. Well, maybe not that last one, but the other lines adequately describe this theological system. It is the view that a bare faith alone saves, and when I say “bare” I mean “bare”. I blogged a little about this earlier in my post entitled: “Once Saved, Always Saved?!?!?” There I highlighted how proponents of this view literally believe that someone can renounce the faith moments after getting saved, walk away from Christianity never to return, become a leading atheist, and still get to heaven. To learn more of this system check out Grace Evangelical Society, their statement of faith, and this “answer” to the question “What do you mean by Free Grace Theology?”

This veiw of salvation seems to have some Scriptural support, and its proponents are masters at reinterpreting texts. I am sure there are many good people (and genuinely saved, born again people) who are confused by this system and hold to it with fervor. They are wrong and the system, I believe is very dangerous.

Before I go on endlessly with my opinions, let me refer you to these recent and excellent posts by Matt Waymeyer. First, he looked at Acts 17:30-31 and masterfully defused the free grace attempts to make this passage mean something else than its apparently obvious meaning. That post alone refutes the basic premise of the whole doctrinal system. Then, he followed it up with a good treatment of 1 Cor. 15:1-5 which points out something fairly basic about that passage which undermines key elements of free grace theology.

I just had to get in one other link. This is to a more in-depth and detailed discussion of free grace theology from someone with much experience with this teaching (as the author was himself in a church which taught this system). Reformation Theology posted a link to this guy’s (Phillip Simpson) paper, and I refer you to that post.

∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7