Tag: Recommended

Bob’s Blog Finds: Tiger Woods, the Manhattan Declaration, Blogging Arrogance & More

~ Bob Hayton

In my blog finds I highlight some of the best articles I’ve found online recently. You can see all my blog finds in my sidebar, under the Bob’s Blog Finds & Bob’s on Twitter sections.

Tiger Woods Controversy

I don’t relish the media’s obsession with all the gory details of things like this. Thankfully, I’ve missed most of such coverage. I did come across a couple really good treatments of the issue from a Christian perspective and wanted to share them here for your benefit.

  • Albert Mohler: “The force of public outrage directed at Tiger Woods’s admission of marital infidelity indicates that the American public conscience remains more deeply rooted in its biblical origins than many secular observers would expect or appreciate…. For Christians, there is an even deeper concern. The current travail of Tiger Woods points far beyond his need for marital recovery, career consultation, or brand management. Tiger Woods needs a Savior. I am praying that this devastating experience, caused so classically by his own sin, will lead Tiger Woods to understand that he is not so self-sufficient as he thinks…. In the end, all this must remind Christians of the universal need for the Gospel. We must remember our own sin and our utter dependence upon the grace and mercy of God made ours in Jesus Christ. Without question, this is the most important lesson drawn from the travail of Tiger Woods.”
  • Curt Harding: “The truth is he’s no better or worse than you and me. You can talk yourself into believing you’re superior, but you’re not. There’s no leader board for sin and Tiger’s not at the top of it…. The good news for Tiger is that this can be done. Peace can be his again. God wants to put us all back together.”

The Manhattan Declaration

I’ve already blogged a little about this. But R.C. Sproul recently explained why he is not signing the declaration. I thought his post was really good and worth the read.

However, true reformation and revival within the church and the winning of our culture to Christ will come only through the power of the Holy Spirit and our clear, bold proclamation of the biblical gospel, not through joint ecumenical statements that equivocate on the most precious truths given to us. There is no other gospel than that which has already been given (Gal. 1:6–8).

The Manhattan Declaration puts evangelical Christians in a tight spot. I have dear friends in the ministry who have signed this document, and my soul plummeted when I saw their names. I think my friends were misled and that they made a mistake, and I want to carefully assert that I have spoken with some of them personally about their error and have expressed my hope that they will remove their signatures from this document. Nevertheless, I remain in fellowship with them at this time and believe they are men of integrity who affirm the biblical gospel and the biblical doctrines articulated in the Protestant Reformation.

Blogging Arrogance

Carl Trueman has some important words for those of us who engage in social media and blogging:

Let’s stop there a minute. This is madness. Is this where we have come to, with our Christian use of the web? Men who make careers in part out of bashing the complacency and arrogance of those with whose theology they disagree, yet who applaud themselves on blogs and twitters they have built solely for their own deification? Young men who are so humbled by flattering references that they just have to spread the word of their contribution all over the web like some dodgy rash they picked up in the tropics? And established writers who are so insecure that they feel the need to direct others to places where they are puffed and pushed as the next big thing? I repeat: this is madness, stark staring, conceited, smug, self-glorifying madness of the most pike-staffingly obvious and shameful variety.

“40 Loaves: Breaking Bread with Our Father Each Day” by C.D. Baker

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Author: C.D. Baker
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
Format: hardcover
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 162
ISBN: 9780307444905
Stars: 4 of 5

Devotional books abound these days. They remain popular since Christians continue to desire books which help them connect with God. Scriptural readings followed by devotional thoughts, a prayer or a poem — this is what one expects to encounter with books in this genre. One doesn’t expect to be given penetrating and even troubling questions.

40 Loaves does just that. C.D. Baker dares to ask and discuss the questions that find their way into our heart of hearts. Why do I so easily lose self-control? Why am I so uncomfortable with doubts? Why can’t I overcome sin in my life? Why am I so discontented? These questions (and more like them) aren’t addressed easily.

I knew that this book addressed such questions. I wasn’t prepared for how relevant the treatment of them would be. Baker uses such questions to probe deeply into our souls, and to ground us firmly in the gospel of God’s free grace. Throughout his devotional readings, he displays a gift in cutting to the heart of the problem.

Each reading begins with a story or example which draws us into the problem represented by the question covered in the reading. The stories are gleaned from Baker’s ministry and life experience, and they do much to keep the book interesting. The devotional then considers the question and finds the key issue or obstacle such a question reveals. The Scripture is briefly applied to the problem at hand, and some questions for further reflection are provided. The section ends with a brief prayer pertinent to the issue.

The readings are short, 4 small pages each. Yet their message is weighty. Don’t think the book is frighteningly sober or dreadfully serious. It is, but it isn’t. Baker manages to keep the readings eminently readable, interesting and above all, helpful.

As a once-upon-a-time-legalist, I found Baker’s emphasis on grace refreshing, and his exposure of their peril of performance-based Christianity convincing. Baker also quite often gives encouragement and reminds us that we are human after all. It would be wrong to assume that Baker just offers a cheery view of the world, however. He acknowledges and addresses the grittiness of the Christian struggle. And his thoughts are grounded in Scripture. I appreciated his emphasis on the centrality of the gospel and his encouragement to focus on Jesus.

This little volume will be a blessing to you. All the more if you find yourself voicing some disturbing questions. 40 Loaves will prove to be accessible to almost any reader, and offers a high return on any investment involved in the reading. This book has made me interested in picking up some of Baker’s other devotional books. I encourage you to pick up a copy of this book, you won’t be disappointed. Also, this would make an excellent gift book, this holiday season!

C. David Baker founded an award-winning business before redirecting his career to write full-time from his small farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He is the author of eight books, including six novels, one of which was nominated for a Christy Award. He has contributed articles to the Christian History Institute’s international publication Glimpses, and to Christian Singles magazine. Baker has a Master’s degree in theological studies from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

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

Confessionism: Abusing 1 John 1:9

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

I want to encourage my readers to take some time and read Jim Elliff’s recent blog post on a practice he calls “confessionism”. As a former independent fundamental Baptist, I still tend toward a legalism of sorts that stresses performance and action to a fault. And while I never reached the level of zeal and devotion Jim describes in his post, I can certainly relate to a confusion over how the requirement to confess relates with the Gospel’s free gift of salvation.

“Confessionism” takes 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” and turns it into a general maxim for Christian living. It goes like this: confession of every known sin is required for us to experience a relationship with God and to have growth in our sanctification. This can lead one into an endless cycle of continual introspection and a zeal to remember and confess each and every known sin. What’s missing is a realization of God’s grace. Jim discusses this in depth, and explains how the context of 1 John 1:9 actually stresses the complete forgiveness we have in Christ. It is a must-read post. Go, check it out.

Eucharistophobia, the Common Cup, and Moore on Communion

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

I recently came across some posts by Dr. Russell Moore (dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) on the subject of Communion. He has contributed to Understanding Four Views on the Lord’s Supper (a Zondervan Couterpoints book). From what I’ve seen in his post, and from the reviews at Amazon, Moore’s “Baptist” view is much more sacramental friendly then what is typical of Baptists. He prizes Communion in a way many Baptists don’t.

I’ve argued on my site for the Lord’s Supper being more than just a memorial, and also for it being more than just a thimble-sized drink with a mini-cracker. It seems Moore makes the same points.

I encourage you to take the time to check out a few posts by Dr. Moore. I’ll provide some excerpts below.

…many of our congregations come to the Table quarterly or even less often. If you ask (and I have), some of these pastors and church members will say it’s for fear of an overly ritualistic understanding of the Supper, or in order to keep the congregation from growing callous to the Supper out of repetition. But the repetition is kind of the point…..

The Lord’s Supper is proclamation, the Bible tells us: it speaks to us of the past crucifixion and the present kingdom of our Lord Christ (1 Cor. 11:26). And that’s just the point. We ignore the Supper because we don’t understand the role of gospel preaching for the believer. ~ from Why Is the Lord’s Supper So Rare?

A little bit ago, I wrote here about the scandal of the infrequency of the Lord’s Supper in so many American conservative Protestant churches. It’s a gospel issue, I believe. Our eucharistophobia atrophies gospel preaching in our churches more than I think than we realize. But imagine how you could reclaim the gospel focus of the Supper in your church….

The Lord’s Supper then should never be seen to be an afterthought, tagged on to the end of a service, perhaps after the final musical number of a visiting youth choir. This doesn’t mean the Supper needs to take a great deal of time. There’s no mandate to have a “special Lord’s Supper service,” …

The Supper should require though the same pattern as the Passover and Jesus’ institution of the Supper: explanation of God’s redemptive act followed by the enactment of it in the meal. Sinners shold be called to see in the bread and the wine their own crucifixion through the crucifixion of the Christ in whom they are hidden (Col. 3:3). It should be an opportunity to present to sinners the tangible evidence that their transgressions are forgiven. ~ from Getting the Gospel Back at the Lord’s Table

The Christian concept of the church as household necessarily entails a recovery of the Lord’s Table in our churches, especially in “low church” evangelical congregations who have, for too long, defined our vision of the Lord’s Supper too heavily on what we don’t mean.

Table fellowship is a sign of familial solidarity and of the messianic reign. This is why Jesus was so revolutionary when he announced, “Many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11 ESV), and that’s why Simon Peter was so reluctant to sit down with the uncircumcised.

So why do our evangelical Lord’s Supper services so often look like the clinical communal rinse-and-spit of fluoride at an elementary school rather than like a loving family gathered around a feast table?

Often I’ll preach in churches about the Lord’s Supper and will call on congregations to go back to using a common loaf and a common cup. I’ll challenge the churches to recover the sign of bread being torn, not daintily picked up in pre-fabricated bits. I’ll call the congregations to drink the wine, together, passing along a common cup.

I’m not offended by people disagreeing me on this. I’m just stunned by the reason they most often give for dismissing this ancient Christian practice: germs. ~ from Swine Flu and the Common Cup

Be sure to read the posts in their entirety (they aren’t very long). You can also listen to a message by Dr. Moore on Why the Lord’s Table Matters. Also feel free to see my posts on the Lord’s Supper, and also on something Moore mentions in relation to Communion: preaching the Gospel to believers.

Quotes to Note 12: Sailhamer on Interpretating the OT

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

I have been reading through the introduction to John Sailhamer’s new book The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation (IVP). The introduction is available for free online (click the sample pages link from Westminster’s Bookstore page or see the book’s page on IVP’s site).

Now that I’ve seen the intro, I know I want this book! And I wanted it before I saw John Piper’s high praise for the book.

This section, I thought was quite good and important for those of us who aim to interpret the Old Testament. Enjoy, then download the whole introduction, or better yet get the book (from Westminster Bookstore or Amazon.com).

The goal of a theological study of the Pentateuch is the biblical author’s intent as realized in the work itself. The (human and divine) authors’ intent is the “verbal meaning” of the book. The author’s intent is what his words say as part of the book.

When talking about the meaning of the words of the Pentateuch, one should be careful to distinguish this from the “things” that the words point to in the real world. The Pentateuch is about real historical events, that is, “things that have happened” (res gesta) in the real world. Words are not the things themselves. Words only point to things and tell us about things.

In speaking about historical events (things), one may easily confuse what an author says about these events with the events themselves. As important as history and archaeology are for understanding the “things” that the Bible points to and talks about, they sometimes get in the way of understanding the “words” of Scripture. The Pentateuch may be compared to a Rembrandt painting of real persons or events. We do not understand a Rembrandt painting by taking a photograph of the “thing” that Rembrandt painted and comparing it with the painting itself. That may help us understand the “thing” that Rembrandt painted, his subject matter, but it will not help us understand the painting itself. To understand Rembrandt’s painting, we must look at it and see its colors, shapes and textures. In the same way, to understand the Pentateuch, one must look at its colors, contours and textures. To understand Rembrandt’s painting, one must study the painting itself. To understand the Pentateuch, one must study the Pentateuch itself (pg. 19-20).