Category: Recommended

yep, I recommend this link, article or whatever it is

If God Merely Allows Suffering and Pain, How Is He Not Responsible?

~ fundyreformed ~ 36 Comments

People sometimes instinctively blame God for pain and suffering. Evangelical Christians for the most part grimace at this.

Open Theists counter that God didn’t cause it, and couldn’t prevent it–but He loves you anyway. Arminians respond that God merely allows evil, he is not responsible directly for your pain.

Calvinists, however, claim that God ordains and ultimately causes all things, even pain and suffering. He does so generally as a judgment of the wickedness of evil in this world. All are evil, and the world is cursed from sin. Any joy and blessing is a gift from a loving God, and pain reminds us we are fallen and we need salvation.

Without getting into the specific Biblical proofs claimed for each view, let me share a brilliant argument I found recently against the Arminian viewpoint. To use my title, if as Arminians assert, God is merely allowing suffering, how does he ultimately avoid responsibility?

Imagine the following situation: I’m out for an evening stroll when I smell something burning. I look around and notice flames in one of the second floor windows of a neighbor’s house. In the other window, I can see a little girl pounding on the glass and can hear her cries for help. I do nothing. I don’t even use my cell phone to call 911. I just stand there watching until the entire house is engulfed in flames and the little girls dies. Now, since I was perfectly capable of saving her, but chose not to, how could anyone with a conscience say that I was not responsible for her death?

From a basic human perspective, there wouldn’t be any doubt. By standing there and doing nothing as that little girl burned to death, I would be just as culpable as if I had started the fire in the first place. And that’s really what we humans care about, isn’t it, deciding who’s to blame in tragic situations?

So, here’s the question I have for you Arminians: If a sovereign, loving, all-powerful God neither ordains nor causes bad things to happen, but simply stands by and allows them to happen, then how does he escape responsibility for the pain and suffering of those involved? (Keep in mind that the “bad things” being talked about here can refer to everything from the stubbing of one’s toe to the eternal damnation of one’s soul.)

I submit that you cannot answer that question without betraying your own Arminian worldview. You cannot answer it without resorting to the same theological gymnastics you accuse Calvinists of performing. And you certainly cannot answer it if you have a problem conceiving of a truly sovereign God who works all things for his ultimate glory.

excerpted from “A Burning Question for Arminians” by The Contemporary Calvinist [HT: Worlds Apart]

Quadrupling Contributions for Huckabee

~ fundyreformed ~ 5 Comments

Everyone knows money is key in today’s politics. If you can’t raise the Almighty Dollar, you’ll never be in a position to influence it.

For Mike Huckabee, money is the only thing keeping him from being a truly viable, top-tier Republican candidate. Since his strong 2nd place finish in the Iowa straw poll, Huckabee’s campaign has vaulted ahead—gaining ground in state polls around the country, and more importantly gaining name recognition and media attention.

Contributions have increased as well, but all the Huckabee lovers out there are still holding their breath. Will Huckabee have raised enough money to make a strong enough statement?

Every contribution counts, especially now. That’s why I’m so thrilled about a great new opportunity for Huckabee donors.

If any of you can afford to give just $20, you can effectively quadruple your contribution. K Street Mole for Huckabee is offering to donate $50 bucks to Huckabee for everyone who joins Team Huckabee with their $20.08 donation. Kevin Tracy also has an offer of matching all Huckabee contributions in the third quarter by 50%. That’s $10.04 more for a grand total of $80.12!

There is a slight catch, however. K Street requires you to also 1) prominently display a Huckabee sign or sticker [I’m sure a virtual sign/blog banner might count too], and 2) write a letter to “a well-known pundit or media source to give Huckabee top-tier coverage” [I’m sure writing your local newspaper editor might count too]. And then you need to read all the details for how to document that you’ve met the requirements. You’ll also need to leave a comment anywhere on Kevin Tracy’s blog specifying that your donation was AFTER visiting his blog, and request his match.

This is your chance. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, getting excited about Huckabee’s campaign, step out and make your contribution now. You can stick with the $20.08 donation, or give more. Remember Kevin Tracy’s 50% match is in effect for the rest of this month only.

And if you’re worried about writing that letter, I’m sure that K Street Mole could provide guidance/help, or I could even offer some assistance. Band together with me and rally for our candidate to be heard. Let’s not let the media and the powers that be exclude Huckabee just because he’s not a millionaire businessman or a popular actor (think Romney and Thompson).

Don’t forget to follow my new tumble blog for the latest on Huckabee’s campaign!

Podcasting for Pastors

~ fundyreformed ~ 4 Comments

Most of my readers are aware of the myriad of helpful resources that the web offers. For Christian pastors and lay leaders this means classic Christian books and commentaries, whole Bibles with concordance/verse look up tools, Greek & Hebrew lexical helps, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and myriads of helpful Christian articles, not to mention the plethora of thoughtful and helpful blogs. [See my online study tools page, and recommended links.]

There are probably still some people out there, however, who have not yet realized the abundance of audio files available online. There are literally hundreds of thousands of sermons available for free download, with more and more each day.

And then there is the Ipod. I don’t have one yet, but I know how much this has revolutionized audio on the web. Largely due to the Ipod and other digital media devices which rely completely on digital files (i.e. they don’t play CDs or tapes, instead they play digital files you can get online), audio messages now come in podcasts which you can subscribe to. Much like subscribing to your favorite blogs, you subscribe to podcasts and receive the latest audio messages from various preachers, churches or groups.

So for pastors this means…

You have all kinds of access to great preaching which can help improve your own. And with an Ipod or just with your computer, you can easily subscribe to your favorite sources for good preaching. AND, you can create your own podcast! You can spread the influence of your church and your messages via the web. And Christian Podder is one site which will help you upload your own mp3 (audio) files and both host them and create a podcast for you—all for free.

Christian Podder also lets people easily manage subscriptions and synchronize their online list of messages they have favorited, with their computer’s software for easy access. So for pastors, this one site could host your own podcast and help you keep track of other great messages.

And what works for pastors can work for bloggers too of course. If you want to record some audio occasionally, you can then create a podcast to go with your blog. I’m sure there are other sites that do this for free, but Jason Skipper, a blogging friend of mine, recently pointed this particular site out to me.

For those looking for more info on podcasting, check out this helpful explanation from Christian Podder. And you can click here to learn how they can help you create your own podcast.

Recommended Sermon Audio

Before I go I should list some of the great sermons out there you can get for free. For a more complete (and long!) list of recommended online audio sermons and lectures check out the sidebar of Mathew Sims’ blog.

Legacy of Sovereign Joy, cont.

~ Bob Hayton ~ 11 Comments

This is the second part of a review of John Piper’s The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God’s Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin. Piper’s book is less a detailed biography and more a pastoral treatment of the lives of great saints. Augustine, Luther and Calvin—great men indeed in the history of the Church—yet each is human, and Piper shows us how they ticked, and why their lives shined for Christ.

Each of these men had flaws. We looked briefly at Augustine’s in part 1, and we cannot escape Luther’s. But God’s grace met these flawed men in such a way as to transform the world through them. With God still moving today, we can look to the lives of these men and find hope that God may stoop to use us, frail and human though we be.

Luther

Luther was a passionate and very emotional man. He lived in a harsh world, and was hounded on all sides as he helped lead one of the world’s true and great reformations. Perhaps this explains Luther’s harsh tongue. At times crude and almost vulgar, Luther knew how to use his tongue, and how to put his words down on paper. Piper does not try to explain away Luther’s tendency to be mean with his opponents, and he rightly calls “Luther’s sometimes malicious anti-Semitism” as “an inexcusable contradiction of the Gospel he preached” (Legacy, pg. 31).

Yet for all of Luther’s faults, he singlehandedly gave us the Reformation. And central to the Reformation stands the authority of the Bible, unfettered by church tradition. Luther in many ways recovered the true Scripture, which had been lost and obscured through Roman tradition and general neglect.

Luther prized Scripture since “the Holy Spirit himself and God…is the Author of this book” (quoted in Legacy, pg.78). He further said, “The Word of God is the greatest, most necessary, and most important thing in Christendom” (quoted in Legacy, pg. 79). The following comments on Psalm 119 show why Luther felt this way:

In this psalm David always says that he will speak, think, talk, hear, read, day and night and constantly—but about nothing else than God’s Word and Commandments. For God wants to give you His Spirit only through the external Word. (quoted in Legacy, pg. 78)

Piper draws from Luther’s emphasis on the Word, as well as his example of rigorous study of the Word, and encourages pastors to be students of Scripture:

The Word of God that saves and sanctifies, from generation to generation, is preserved in a book. And therefore at the heart of every pastor’s work is bookwork. Call it reading, meditation, reflection, cogitation, study, exegesis, or whatever you will—a large and central part of our work is to wrestle God’s meaning from a book, and then to proclaim it in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Piper in Legacy, pg. 79).

As one who preached often 2 or more times a day, Luther has much to say to today’s pastor. And Piper distills six primary lessons for the Pastor and his study from Luther’s life.

  1. Luther came to elevate the biblical text itself far above the teachings of commentators or church fathers.
  2. This radical focus on the text of Scripture itself with secondary literature in secondary place leads Luther to an intense and serious grappling with the very words of Paul and the other biblical writers.
  3. The power and preciousness of what Luther saw when he “beat importunately” upon Paul’s language convinced him forever that reading Greek and Hebrew was one of the greatest privileges and responsibilities of the Reformation preacher.
  4. Luther employed extraordinary diligence in spite of tremendous obstacles.
  5. For Luther, trials make a theologian. Temptation and affliction are the hermeneutical touchstones.
  6. Key to Luther are prayer and reverent dependence on the all-sufficiency of God. And here the theology and methodology of Luther become almost identical.

This last point is key. For all the emphasis on mental rigors and study, Luther remains like Augustine, dependent on a Sovereign God. Christian, faithful pastors study hard, but are often on their knees. I close with a final quote from Luther, let it encourage all of us to use this study method more often.

You should completely despair of your own sense and reason, for by these you will not attain the goal…. Rather kneel down in your private little room and with sincere humility and earnestness pray God, through His dear Son, graciously to grant you His Holy Spirit to enlighten and guide you and give you understanding. (quoted in Legacy, pg. 108)

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Amazon.com or direct from Crossway.

Daily Devotions with Octavius Winslow

~ Bob Hayton

Most of you have heard of Morning & Evening by Charles Spurgeon. It is a compilation of devotional readings for morning and evening reading by the prince of preachers. While Spurgeon’s readings are excellent [I recommend the revised edition edited by Alistair Begg recently published by Crossway], he wasn’t the first to come up with the idea of a book of morning and evening devotional thoughts. Octavius Winslow (1808-1878), an English Baptist pastor, likewise published Morning Thoughts and Evening Thoughts.

Winslow (read this brief biographical sketch about him) has a gift for writing powerful, and spiritually moving devotional literature. His morning and evening thoughts are as good as Spurgeon’s if not better.

Like Spurgeon’s, Winslow’s devotions are also available for free online. You can click here for a list of all his books available online, or click these links for the specific devotional: Morning Thoughts, Evening Thoughts. For a sampling of Winslow’s writing, browse through the devotional thoughts above or click here for a collection of his best quotes.

I would encourage you to take the time to read one of Winslow’s devotional thoughts each day, even as you blog and do other things on line. I am going to try to do that, to make sure I’m feeding my soul, not just my brain. You may also find this article about Winslow and his works from The Shepherd’s Scrapbook helpful.

Let me leave you with a selection from earlier this week that I thought was especially good.

SEPTEMBER 1.

“He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:3

THE first point we would look at is the love of the Lord Jesus in restoring a wandering believer. Nothing but infinite, tender, unchanging love could prompt Him to such an act. There is so much of black ingratitude, so much of deep turpitude, in the sin of a believer’s departure from the Lord, that, but for the nature of Christ’s love, there could be no possible hope of His return. Now this costly love of Christ is principally seen in His taking the first step in the restoring of the soul: the first advance is on the part of the Lord. There is no more self-recovery after, than there is before, conversion; it is entirely the Lord’s work. The same state of mind, the same principle, that led to the first step in declension from God, leads on to each successive one; until, but for restraining and restoring grace, the soul would take an everlasting farewell of God. But mark the expression of David”””He restores my soul.” Who? He of whom he speaks in the first verse as his Shepherd”””The Lord is my Shepherd.” It is the Shepherd that takes the first step in the recovery of the wandering sheep. If there is one aspect in the view of this subject more touching than another, it is this””that such should be the tender, unchanging love of Jesus towards His wandering child, He should take the first step in restoring him. Shall an offended, insulted Sovereign make the first move towards conciliating a rebellious people?””that Sovereign is Jesus: shall an outraged Father seek His wandering child, and restore him to His affections and His house?””that Father is God. Oh, what love is that which leads Jesus in search of His wandering child! love that will not let him quite depart; love that yearns after him, and seeks after him, and follows after him through all his devious way, his intricate wanderings, and far-off departures; love that no unkindness has been able to cool, no forgetfulness has been able to weaken, no distance has been able to destroy!

Not less conspicuous is the power of Jesus in the restoring of the soul. “He restores my soul,”””He, the omnipotent Shepherd. We want omnipotence to bring us back when we have wandered; nothing less can accomplish it. We want the same power that converted to re-convert; the power that created, to re-create us: this power Jesus possesses. It was essential to the full salvation of His Church that He should have it; therefore, when praying to His Father, He says, “As You have given Him power over all flesh,”””why this power?”””that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.” It was necessary that He should have power over all flesh, yes, over all the powers leagued against the Church, that He should bring to glory all that were given to Him in the covenant of grace.

Now this power is gloriously exerted in the restoring of the soul. Jesus works in the believer, in order to his recovery. He breaks down the hard heart, arrests the soul in its onward progress of departure, places upon it some powerful check, lays it low, humbles, abases it, and then draws from it the blessed acknowledgment, “Behold, I am vile; but he restores my soul.”