2 Timothy 3:12a: Where is My Persecution?

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted... (2 Timothy 3:12a).

If persecution is missing, then a desire to live godly is also missing.

Marks of the Messenger

Today, I decided to take a break from some of my summer "project reading," and read one of the books I received at Together for the Gospel (2010). For whatever reason, I choose Mack Stiles' Marks of the Messenger, a book written as somewhat of a follow up to his Speaking of Jesus. Marks of the Messenger defines "basic ideas that make up healthy evangelism before we ever share our faith" (112). In so doing, Stiles gives us an highly approachable, brief book (122 pages plus notes), so its well oriented to almost any Christian (perhaps a middle school reading level and up). Below are some of the quotes I found most helpful as I worked through Marks of the Messenger this afternoon and evening. These quotes are good, and I hope they inspire you to read the book, but be reminded that these quotes are only as effective as intended (many times more effective than in isolation) when read in their full contexts.

On meeting both spiritual and physical needs (a false dichotomy?): So, is caring for others 'the gospel'? Is that evangelism? No, not without the spoken message of the gospel of Jesus. The gospel message is the message that produces salvation. So we should never confuse meeting physical needs with sharing the gospel. Caring for others represents the gospel, it upholds the gospel, it points to the gospel, it's an implication of the gospel, but it is not the gospel, and it is not equal to the gospel (68-69).

On boldness in presenting the gospel: Boldness is not a lack of fear. It is faith in something bigger than our fears so that we appear fearless (82).

On the church living the gospel through loving for each other: For all the work that is put into evangelistic outreach and all the training that goes into personal evangelism and the method of evangelism, for all the books that are written about apologetics, Jesus commissions genuine believers to exhibit Godlike unity so that the world may believe that God sent Jesus [John 13 and 17] (105).

The last chapter of the book offers a Manifesto for Healthy Evangelism which basically restates and summarizes the whole book into a couple pages. You can read the manifesto, and a little more, at Google Books; I strongly recommend doing so.

Semper Reformanda

Covenant and Eschatology

I recently finished a first reading of Michael Horton's Covenant and Eschatology. I enjoyed the book, and I look forward to rereading this work more methodically in the future. I might post a blog-appropriate review soon. Until then, here is a portion of the introduction to a review I wrote a couple days ago:

Michael Horton’s Covenant and Eschatology: the Divine Drama (2002 Westminster John Knox Press) seeks to present, or perhaps re-present a theological method deeply rooted in theology itself. This presentation stands in contrast to prolegomena rooted in an extra-biblical system (i.e. modernity). Horton’s central argument is that theology should be “done” in a redemptive-historical method, following an analogical mode, with a dramatic (characters, plot, etc.) model, all centered in a covenantal context (5-19). The author pursues this thesis by looking at divine communication, both acting and speaking. He spends a decent amount of time examining the literature leading up to Covenant and Eschatology’s proposal, though Horton mostly draws negative conclusions from said literature. After arriving at his desired end, Horton briefly applies his new prolegomena to both the Christian personally and the church. The scope of this work appeals most clearly to the academic community (exampled in both the language and general tone), however, the author surprisingly concludes this work with a distinct scent of pastoral care—concern for and provision made for the local church.

Reformers' Exposition of Justification

J.I. Packer offers a summery of the Reformers' teaching on Justification. He "boils down" his summary into seven points (cited from A Quest for Godliness, pp 152):

1. Every man faces the judgement [sic] seat of God, and must answer to God for himself. The church cannot shield him from this.
2. Every man is a sinner by nature and practice, a nonconformist so far as God's law is concerned, and therefore can only expect God's wrath and rejection.
3. Justification is God's judicial act of pardoning the guilty sinner, accepting him as righteous, and receiving him as a son.
4. The source of justification is grace, not human effort or initiative.
5. The ground of justification is Christ's vicarious righteousness and blood-shedding, not our own merit.
6. The means of justification, here and now, is faith in Jesus Christ.
7. The fruit of faith, the evidence of its reality, is a manifested repentance and a life of good works.

The Spirit's Working

I just finished up (re)working through Vaughn Roberts' God's Big Picture. In chapter 7, Roberts offers a concise and helpful passage on the Spirit's work in salvation.

The Bible uses three tenses to speak of our salvation.... If we trust in Christ, we have already been saved, in the past, from the penalty of sin by the death of Christ: 'By grace you have been saved' (Ephesians 2:8). We shall have nothing to fear on judgment day because Christ has already faced our punishment in our place. But sin, sadly, is very much a reality in our lives. It is only in the future, after Christ returns, that we shall be saved from the presence of sin. So the Bible sometimes speaks of our salvation as something that is still to come. We shall receive its full blessings only in the future (e.g. I Corinthians 3:15; I Timothy 2:15). That just leaves the present tense (e.g. I Corinthians 1:18; 15:2). We are being saved, in the present, from the power of sin. Although we shall never be sinless this side of heaven, God is at work within us by his Spirit to help us fight sin in our lives and become more like Jesus. We must certainly play our part and work hard to resist evil, but we are not left to do so on our own. It is 'by the Spirit' that we are to 'put to death the misdeeds of the body' (Romans 8:13).

In addition to many helpful sections (such as the one above), Roberts' books provides a quality outline of Scripture's main themes (particularly Christocentrism). God's Big Picture (for those unfamiliar with its content) will prove to be an invaluable tool for interpreting Scripture. For anyone who hasn't read this brief, quite approachable book, I highly recommend it.

Semper Reformanda

Calvin On Worship

John Calvin offers a prolific commentary on freedom in worship:

God did not will in outward discipline and ceremonies to prescribe in detail what we ought to do (because he foresaw that this depended on the state of the times, and he did not deem one form suitable for all ages).... Because he has taught nothing specifically, and because these things are not necessary to salvation, and for the upbuilding of the church ought to be variously accommodated to the customs of each nation and age, it will be fitting (as the advantage of the church will require) to change and abrogate traditional practices and to establish new ones. Indeed, I admit that we ought not to change into innovation rashly, suddenly, for insufficient cause. But love will best judge what may hurt or edify; and if we let love be our guide, all will be safe (quoted in John Piper's Let the Nations Be Glad!).

A Trinitarian Interpretation of Luke 7

I've been considering the interpretation of Christian Scripture lately. John Frame asserts that because truth emanates from God, truth, by nature, is trinitarian. From this, Tim Keller and Ed Clowney explain (I'm sure along with many others) that (all?) Scripture can be interpreted in three ways, directly corollary to truth's trinitarian nature. We interpret Scripture doctrinally (Father), pietistically (Son), and as restoring culture (Spirit).

I'm going to attempt applying this truth to Luke 7.

Faith—one of the significant themes in Luke, and probably the most significant, is faith. For our purposes, we will consider faith in Christ as the peak of Luke’s narrative. Luke’s seventh chapter pictures Jesus in the midst of his teaching ministry (4:14-21:38). The author gives us four events:
The Faith of the Centurion 1-10 (see 2 Kings 5)
Jesus Raises a Widow's Son 11-17 (see 1 Kings 17)
Jesus and John the Baptist 18-35 (see Isaiah 35: 5-6)
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman 19-51
We must consider these four narratives in Luke 7 holistically (this approach is especially necessary, yet somewhat difficult, when attempting to study a single chapter). We need to understand how each story’s message fits this particular section of Luke, asking “what it the common thread weaving through Luke 7?”

Faith—it's not difficult discerning Luke’s theme and message of faith in Christ in Luke 7. Undoubtedly, the centurion (1-10) shows great faith in Jesus. But where is faith found in healing the woman’s son (11-16)? The woman apparently does not know that Jesus is even to attempt raising her son, so it seems a stretch to suggest that she has faith that he can. John the Baptist surely demonstrates faith (18-35), but this story suggests empirical belief more than faith. Much like the first scene, the story of the sinful woman (36-50) indeed presents faith. So this chapter bookends with stories of strong faith, and fits well into Luke's broader message. We can also see three themes specific to this chapter (though obviously not exclusive). But which one is correct?

Jesus’ authority—the four stories presented coalesce around the reality of Jesus authority, in both the spiritual and physical realms, pointing to God’s glory in salvation. Jesus shows authority over sin, sickness, and even death. Thus this chapter strongly testifies to Christ’s deity through his authority.

Jesus’ compassion—rooted in his sinlessness, Jesus' compassion for the centurion’s servant, the mother’s loss, all who are healed (and saved!) in 18-35, and for the sinful woman provides a quintessential example for the church.

Jesus’ restoring culture—this view is least comfortable in our context (conservative evangelicalism), but nonetheless, we see Jesus reaching out to the poor and oppressed with a message that all have equal worth in Christ; “the good news is preached to the poor” (22). We see Jesus accept and even commend the sinful woman, a societal outcast. In this way, we indeed see Jesus correcting a culture saturated with Pharisaism.

All three interpretations are fully correct. I summit the matrix below, arguing for a trinitarian interpretation of the passage as one meaning:
Father: the doctrine of Jesus' authority
Son: Jesus’ compassion gives an example for the pious Christian to follow
Spirit: correcting injustices and promoting equality (he promotes that all are equally unable) pictures Jesus restoring culture (source)

The Gospel Coalition provides some helpful material on this passage (here). I particularly benefited from sermons by Alistair Begg, Mark Dever, and Kent Hughes.

Semper Reformanda