Author: fundyreformed

Satan's Two Lies

~ fundyreformed ~ 2 Comments

This week I am  quite busy with training for a new position at my job. But let me do a brief post and encourage you all to read, listen to, or watch my pastor’s (John Piper) latest sermon. It is on the importance of having God’s Word abide in us. In the sermon, Piper gave a very helpful summation of Satan’s tempting work. I reproduce the section it is from below. May God use this simple word to encourage and help us in our fight against sin.

And temptation is of every sort imaginable. Don’t just think of immoral behaviors. Think of cancer and his temptation to destroy your faith that way. Think of unbearable pain.

Think of the loss of loved ones, and the sickness of your children, and financial hardship, and marriage tensions, and political strife, and natural disasters, and threatening crime, and mob violence. The word for temptation in Greek (peirasmos) is the same for both testing and tempting. The reason is that all temptation tests your faith, and all testing of your faith is a temptation to forsake the faith.

So when 1 John 2:14b says, “You are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one,” it includes: You have overcome the temptation to live in sin, and you have passed the test that might have destroyed your faith.

How does the word of God help us do that? I will put it in a very few sentences. Satan tempts and tests in only one way: He lies. And in all his lying, it boils down to two lies. In every test, his lie is: God is bad. And in every temptation his lie is: Sin is better. God is bad and sin is better. He has one tune to play, and he plays it in a thousand ways.

[read it all]

The Best of Bob's Blog: A Year in Review (2006)

~ fundyreformed ~ 6 Comments

As I pondered the start of a new year, I thought it would be fun to highlight my best posts from this past year. I also thought it would be nice to review some of the milestones and hallmarks of my blog from throughout 2006. To some of you this might be a trip down memory lane. But many of you  only started reading my blog in the last few months. And  surely most of you have not kept up on all the sometimes long-winded posts around here.

Before we begin, let me stress that unlike some other bloggers, I am happy to open up old discussions and interact with comments on old posts. But like most bloggers, it can be hard to keep up with absolutely every comment, so there may be a few comments that are as yet unanswered around here.

Now this could just be a simple “top 10” list of posts. But if you are familiar with me at all, you know that I rarely ever finish a post with a simple paragraph. Hey, I am a preacher’s kid whose dad is also a preacher’s kid, and so I am blessed (cursed?) with a double portion of the “long-winded spirit”. So, don’t be surprised if I try to sneak in at least 10 other posts after the “top 10” list!

So without further ado, here are my top 10 posts from 2006 in reverse order.

Storms, Sleepers, and Substitutes—Jonah As a Type of Christ
This is one of my favorite devotional posts. It also illustrates redemptive historical hermeneutics.

The Role of the Church in KJV Onlyism
This is probably my best post on KJV Onlyism to date. It deals with several misconceptions and false assumptions on the part of KJV Onlyists.

1 Thessalonians and Churches’ Greatest Need
The point I make in this post is very important. Too often in the modern church we neglect the commands to “do church” as it were.

The Rise of the Modern Hymn Movement
This post reflects my desire to see more churches make use of the best of modern worship music. Many songs I highlight can/should be used by traditional-music-only churches.

Charles Finney and the Altar Call
The issue addressed in this post is important whether or not you are Calvinist. Modern evangelicalism needs to be aware of how much they have inherited from the heterodox Finney.

“Wine to Gladden the Heart of Man”: Thoughts on God’s Good Gift of Wine          While this post sure opened a can of worms (one of many opened around here!), I hope it causes some to seriously evaluate what Scripture says on this topic.

Calvinism and Evangelism
I hope this post helps people who are predisposed against Calvinism to be able to understand, appreciate, and even affirm Calvinism’s view of evangelism.

Regeneration, Reception, and Faith
Similarly, this post attempts to explain what Calvinists mean by regeneration preceding faith. Again, please hear us out on the issue before condemning us!

Once Saved, Always Saved?!?!
This attack on a “get-out-of-jail-free” view of salvation delves into the Biblical teaching of both eternal security and the perseverance of true believers.

The Rising of the Sun of Righteousness
Hands down, this is my best (and favorite) post. It is a devotional look at redemptive historical hermeneutics and the typology of all of life.

Alright, I have mentioned the cream of the crop and I plan on giving some more posts  honorable mention, but first let me chronicle some of the blog’s hallmark events from the year 2006.

I started the year on January 9th  with a truly  foundational post for my blog: “Beyond Blogging“, which focuses on my overarching goals. January 16 saw  my second post  focusing on  a modern worship song and really set the stage for many (15+) future  posts devoted to highlighting the lyrics of great modern worship songs. On January 29  I published the  first  of (now 14) my  “Bobspotted Blogrolls”. March  (3rd) began with me interacting with Phil Johnson’s (of Pyromaniacs)  second assessment of fundamentalism. That post actually earned me  my one and only  link from Sharper Iron.

March 25 marked my launch of a new motto: “Striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God”. And I celebrated the motto with a new banner (which adorned my old blogger blog). Then on April 21st, I publicized my KJV Only Debate Resource Center  (by the way, I have much work left to do over there). On May 8, I posted a memorable post on the Together for the Gospel conference. Besides linking to many conference resources, I also  gave one of my best calls for unity and criticisms of fundamentalist separation.  

July 17, 2006 was the day I launched Fundamentally Reformed 2.0. And let me tell you, I wouldn’t trade WordPress for anything.   It is such a great improvement over Blogger. Then on August 13th, I began my attempt at creating an aggregator of Fundamental Reformers. And finally,  on August 25th, I came out with my “new and improved about-this-blog-post” which is most of what you will read when you click on the “about” tab at the top.    The last hallmark, I guess,  would be the start of my longest series ever: “The Demands of Jesus“.

Okay, we’ve given you a top 10 and chronicled the hallmark events of the year. All that’s left is to hand out some awards and give honorable mention for some posts in various categories. So in no particular order, let’s begin:

  • My  best book review of the year had to be my 2 part series on C.J. Mahaney’s Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God. [part 1, part 2]
  • The best resources I pointed out would be a tie between BibleCentre.Net highlighted here, and 2 Ways to Live, an online interactive gospel presentation.
  • The funniest post of the year was undoubtedly “The Seven Dwarfs –An IFBx  Sermon!“
  • The saddest post of the year (which discussed the saddest comment of the year) was Hyper Fundamentalism and the Family.
  • The best illustration of the year was highlighted in “The Goodness of God in Election.” (Every non Calvinist needs to read it!)
  • The biggest flop of the year was my much hyped and long overdue participatory worship post. (I still have not unveiled part 2, but when I do, I hope to do it right this time!)
  • The most timely (and appropriate) post of the year had to be my post dealing with the Ted Haggard scandal.
  • My most controversial post was probably my first post on the wine debate (#5 above).    It, like my two posts on wine several months later, generated lots of comments (32) but the controversy runs deeper than merely numbers of comments [BTW my 2nd post on wine is my 2nd most commented post–49]. Most people assume ex-IFBx people will be into modern music, but something about wine makes it seem that such people have jumped off the deep end into rampant worldliness. I know some of my readers think this of me, so please, please, go read my posts on the issue and see that I really am motivated by God’s Word in this whole issue.
  • The post that generated the biggest debate, however, was my post on the John Piper and Christian Rap controversy. That post has the most comments of any on this blog (51) and several of the longest comments you will find anywhere! The article and comments print off a whopping 45 pages! (My extremely long “my story post” with its 48 comments prints off only 38 pages!)
  • The most disappointing debate was the recent one on limited atonement. The debate went well enough (on the other blog and then on mine), but 1 hour and 12 minutes before I finished a reply I was working on, my chief opponent quit the debate. That reply showed how he was double-speaking on a key passage. (See the beginning of comment #16….) So just when I tried to be very clear in exposing his error, the debate was over!
  • Choosing my favorite song (that I blogged on this past  year) is very difficult! So I will let the award end in a 3-way tie: “Knowing You“, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us“, and “Before the Throne of God Above“.
  • I happened to blog about my favorite new CD  of the  year (it came out the end of last year, but I got it in 2006): Lifesong by Casting Crowns.
  • And lastly, I had to create a category for best new song of the year and again I couldn’t just go with one, so this past year’s award goes to both “Gospel Song” by Drew Jones (music by Bob Kauflin) and “Receive the Glory” by Bob Kauflin  [both songs are produced and promoted by Sovereign Grace Ministries, highlighted in this post (#7 above)].

So ends my most self-serving post ever! But hey, this is my blog, and I enjoyed it. So, do you have any of your own favorites that I didn’t mention? Oh, and don’t bother telling me that 45 pages of comments is ridiculous. Yeah, I know.

Merry Christmas Everybody

~ fundyreformed ~ 2 Comments

Well, I need to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas before I head out of town for a few days. I hope you all can spend Christmas with family. Let us remember to pray for those we know who have unsaved relatives that they’ll be seeing at this time. But most of all, let us remember that Jesus is the One who should light up our Christmas. He is who we should be remembering, celebrating, and worshipping.

Before I go, let me offer you a chance to read our Christmas letter. This marks the second year that I have posted it before it will arrive at anyone’s door—this gives my blog readers first dibs. And for those of you who I have grown to know only through the world wide web, this year. Please read our letter, and accept our Christmas blessings.

Thoughts on Educational Choices

~ fundyreformed

Originally, I was going to post a Bobspotted blogroll  post early this week. Well things got hectic with my sister visiting, and then  with almost all of us  getting sick. So here I am about to embark on a Christmas road trip, and I haven’t posted in a while. So I wanted to at least link to these articles by Tim Challies.

Tim Challies discusses the reasons why he sends his children to public school in the following articles: “Why I Do Not Homeschool Part 1“, and “Part 2” [HT: Justin Taylor]. Having been educated strictly in Christian or home schools, I have an inbred prejudice against public schools. But as a parent, I am realizing that deciding between the options for educating my children is really a difficult decision. And this article does a great job of explaining the issue of “to homeschool or not to homeschool”, as well as providing some good reasons why some Christians can legitimately send their kids to public school. I hope the following excerpt will encourage you to go read these posts.

God has placed us in this culture, among these people, and He expects us to reach out to them and to let the gospel go forth….I believe [my children] can best heed this call by being in the culture in which God has seen fit to place them. I want them to be with kids who are not Christians, to be friends with them and to love them, to learn what separates them from their friends, and to begin to understand how their convictions make them different from others. I want them to see and know and understand and believe in the superiority of Christianity to any other religion or way of life. I want them to see what the world has to offer and to see that it quickly loses its lustre….I find it difficult and painful to imagine a public school system devoid of Christians. Imagine, if you will, that every Christian pulls their children from the public schools. There will be no more Christian clubs in junior high schools; there will be no more prayer meetings or Bible studies at high schools; there will be no witnessing, no conversions. Christians will have removed the best indigenous missionaries from their natural mission field. I want my children to learn how to witness to their friends and want them to do it.

Calvinism & Evangelism

~ fundyreformed ~ 20 Comments

Perhaps you are familiar with this parable concerning the difficulties of affirming both man’s free will and God’s all-encompassing sovereignty.

A sign above the door to Heaven boldly proclaims “Whosoever will may come!” However, once through Heaven’s gates, an astute observer will notice that the flip side of the sign says, “Only those predestined before the foundation of the world may enter.”

There is more than a little truth to this parable. The first sign deals with salvation from man’s perspective. To the awakened sinner, the first sign gives hope that if he will but look, he will live. Calvinism pulls the curtain back on the awakened sinner’s soul and sees God’s Spirit at work in regenerating the sinner, and granting him repentance and faith, due to the second sign.

As I see it, Calvinism deals mostly with what goes on behind the scenes, so to speak, in respect to salvation. But let me stress that Calvinism is not prying into secret areas of God’s will. No, Calvinism responds to numerous Scripture texts. While they don’t claim to understand everything, Calvinists are bound to believe the five points due to their regard for Scripture. This is not something they enjoy “making up from thin air” so to speak.

A proper understanding of man’s part and God’s part in salvation will do much to help us sort through the sticky issues surrounding Calvinism and evangelism. Historically, some Calvinists (hyper Calvinists, actually) have claimed that we have no responsibility to evangelize since God will irresistibly draw His elect with or without our help. Furthermore, they have claimed that we cannot confidently tell anyone necessarily that if they will but believe and come, that they will be saved. Such hyper Calvinists, then, denied the first sign.

So it is due to extremists from within their own theological system, that Calvinists face such intense suspicion at times. Many people sincerely doubt that Calvinists believe in evangelism. And many go beyond doubt and actually claim that Calvinism will negatively impact evangelism.

But such claims are so utterly wrong! Historically, some of the greatest evangelists and missionaries, some of the most evangelical of pastors have been 5 point Calvinists. Names like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Spurgeon, William Carey, Adoniram Judson and many, many more could be given. In fact many missionary movements and revivals have been started in large part due to the work of Calvinists.

History aside, if one understands that Calvinism addresses the “behind the scenes” actions of God (God’s part), he will not see any contradiction between Calvinists rushing to do man’s part (evangelism). For Calvinists believe that every sinner who would be saved, must actually believe, and he must do this himself. Furthermore, we understand Scripture to clearly teach that no one gets saved apart from the gospel, and almost always people must be involved in spreading that gospel.

So for Calvinists, evangelism is about obeying God. And yet it is more. It is about joining God in His mission. It is about spreading God’s glory among the nations for His sake. Calvinists are encouraged that God is the one ultimately responsible for results. This gives us hope to minister in many contexts that might not provide immediate results, from man’s perspective.

There is one other point to stress here. Calvinists tend to understand salvation as a “work in progress”. It is that “work” which God has started in us and promises to complete. And so for the Calvinist, mere human decisions are not the goal of evangelism. Numbers of noses, and baptism tallies mean little. Calvinists see discipleship and spiritual growth as the goal of evangelism. [This is not to say that all non-Calvinists disagree with us here, by the way.] I say this because when numbers are expected, many a Calvinist might fail the test. But to a Calvinist, numbers aren’t the most important thing.

I hope what I have said makes sense and helps work toward an understanding of where Calvinists stand in relation to evangelism. And if it doesn’t I have several articles here from the last few weeks, which will help you really understand this issue. I provide them, because it was partly by coming across these that I was motivated to write this post.