Da’ Purple Soapbox
Exegesis: Building Blocks To Good Theology - Mon, 21 Jun 2010
I’ve come to understand recently that Christians often leave huge gaps in their belief systems. For example, one may hold to a certain set of beliefs that are harmoniously intertwined with each other that form a system (this system may be either orthodox or heretical). Then to support such a system, the Bible is usually taken to fit that system of beliefs and interpreted in light of the individual’s current circumstances, inclusive of their immediate religious environment, traditions, personal convictions and so forth.
Back In The Days
When I was a former Charismatic/Pentecostal (and a VERY devoted one at that) I was given a worldview, traditions (yes the Charismatic/Pentecostal Movement is filled with traditions, many of which are unquestionably pagan and blasphemous; creating traditions out of their “non-traditions”) and was taught that Scripture was the foundation for such. Any appeal to the correct use of my reason in regard to understanding matters of religion were often met with resistance, as if mindlessly believing something made one more spiritual.
When I finally made a clean break from the Charismatic/Pentecostal Movement, I was left in a state of theological dissonance with the feeling that the very ground I stood upon was sinking sand. Thankfully, God in His Providence used a series of unfortunate events to open my eyes to the many impieties of the Charismatic/Pentecostal Movement and helped me to understand my own depravity. Bit by bit the foundations of my faith chipped away until I had nothing solid to stand on.
However it was through these events (each and every one of them) that I learned to understand that there are both correct and incorrect uses for the Holy Scriptures. From the sanctioning of (blatant) adultery among prominent members of the church (who were very “active” members indeed) to experiencing devastating relational disappointment in regard to a former love interest (the old “God told me you are the one” story), to overcoming pastoral manipulation and compromise among the leadership, retrospectively, God would use all these events and more to bring me into a better understanding of God through Reformed Theology.
As such, as hard as it was, I humbly accepted the position that my worldview was severely flawed and heretical at worst. I was now in a position where I had to unlearn all the things I had for a number of years and now learn the things that were correct. It was quite a slow, thorough and painstaking process – however it was one of the best things that happened to me in my life. There is no value to knowing you have a full assurance of faith and that you have moved from the raging waters of uncertainty to the delivering ark of certainty – such is priceless. All the money in the world cannot give you true assurance of faith.
The Importance of Understanding the Bible
Of late, I have properly understood the dire importance of Exegetical Theology which is foundational to expositional preaching and properly defining and conforming to Historic Christian Orthodoxy. False doctrine does not help curb the depravity of man but rather encourages it – it is not the means of sanctification, it delivers no life-giving truth and most importantly the working of God’s grace does not follow that which He has not spoken.
On one hand, it’s easy to formulate a knowledge base and become devoted to it. However it is even more laborious (and in my opinion noble) to dig deeper to understand the foundation upon which a knowledge base rests. This is the importance of Exegetical Theology – getting to the root of the Biblical text and understanding what it means in its parts and as a whole.
Exegetical Theology is one sure way to combat Legalism and the temptation people have to major in theological minors, as it dispels many of the myths that people often authoritatively bind themselves to. It also causes us to see the unity of Scripture as we come face to face with the inspired text.
C.F.W. Walther’s third and fourth articles on his Law and Gospel Thesis insightfully highlights the importance of the proper exegesis of Scripture when he writes:
“Rightly distinguishing the Law and the Gospel is the most difficult and the highest art of Christians in general and of theologians in particular. It is taught only by the Holy Spirit in the school of experience”.
“The true knowledge of the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is not only a glorious light, affording the correct understanding of the entire Holy Scriptures, but without this knowledge Scripture is an remains a sealed book”.
The Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary to unshackle the depraved mind to the freedom of the Doctrines of Grace, however this is never done without proper means. Even when a sinner is converted through the Gospel, they are given the lifelong honor and responsibility to know the God of their conversion through His word. The Psalmist said:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules”. – Psalm 119:105-106
From this passage we may understand the importance of being committed to the Scriptures - and might I add it is important not just to commit to standards of Orthodoxy, but to commit to diligently knowing the Scriptures in its fullness.
A Simple Example
For instance, we may take the example of a flashlight. It produces light; however getting the most out of the flashlight requires some work on the part of the user – firstly turning it on. Second to that, the flashlight was made to be used in situations that are dim-lit or in total darkness. It requires the user to take the flashlight and shine it in dark areas.
The same can be said for the Scripture. A closed book is of no use to anyone unless it is opened and its contents accurately grasped and correctly applied. This means, the better we come to understand and grasp the content of Scripture according to its original intent, historical backdrop, grammatical distinctives and practical application we under-utilize Scripture and improperly use the light that God has given to us for all the things that pertain to life and godliness. Exegetical Theology refocuses our attention on the plenary inspiration of the Bible.
There is a pervading attitude in the modern church to use Scripture as a means of what I call “whats-in-it-for-me-ness”. The Bible is viewed as a book with man as its central figure and its message is all about how man can benefit and be glorified. It is this depraved attitude to self-centeredness that causes the heresy to spread like wildfire (2 Timothy 4:3). The anti-scholastic, anti-intellectual, antinomian, postmodern culture in which we live does not encourage expositional study of the Scriptures either. Mysticism flourishes when there are no binding and authoritative precepts or clearly established means of grace.
Every Christian Should Be A Good Exegete
Taking a look at the past, within the articles of the 1689 London Baptist and 1649 Westminster Confessions, we see the agreement on the importance of knowing Scripture as stated in the 7th and 9th articles of the First Chapter on the Holy Scriptures:
"All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear to all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain to a sufficient understanding of them".
"The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it may be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly".
I found it interesting to note the issue of usage of “ordinary means”. We don’t come to know God’s revealed will from techniques or people claiming to be apostles and prophets today. Ordinary means in this sense means the reading and careful study of the Scriptures – this is an intellectual exercise just as it is spiritual. The second quoted article indicates that it is necessary to do a bit of searching in the pages of the Holy text to understand it – and such is the essence of Exegetical Theology. Furthermore, it was practiced by the Bereans who were called noble (Acts 17:11).
I believe that knowing Scripture is one thing, however it is not buttressed by a correct system of beliefs or if it is known but understood and applied out of context, it can be more of a curse than a blessing, potentially bringing one into serious spiritual bondage or divine judgment. Being a lover of Philosophy and Systematic Theology, yet again I’ve come to a point in my own life where, I find it necessary to build again from the ground up – and I’m quite fine with that. It pays to build a good foundation.
Church Growth The Easy Way! - Fri, 28 May 2010
I've observed that when the churches are too lazy to engage in reaching the lost or are to “busy” fulfilling the “vision” God gave to their "leader", they either come up with lame excuses for it or invent quick-fix microwave-type church growth techniques and mistake it for reaching the lost. God does not (and will not) save anyone outside of His ordained means; if God did so, I could probably get someone saved by beating them a cocoyea broom.
In most instances, evangelistic techniques invented by the modern church, turn out to be rehashes Legalism, Antinomianism or Pelagianism. The first puts the focus on the works man must do to be saved or gain special favor from God, when man is not made right with God through good works (Romans 3:27-28; Galatians 2:16). The second minimizes the importance of (or completely eliminates) the Law of God (Romans 3:31; 1 Timothy 1:8-11), while the last promotes Decisionalism, which exalts the freewill of man and makes man decision the catalyst for God’s regenerative work, even though the non-Christian is in the flesh (Romans 8:7-8), dead in sin and trespasses (Ephesians 2:4-5), unable to come to God by himself (John 6:65) and does not seek God of his own volition (Romans 3:10-12).
Because of a low view of the Bible, many within the church today have a low view of Salvation, making light the fact that Jesus Christ paid and very high price for the sins of those ordained to salvation. Salvation is no cheap matter; and as the popular acronym does a good job of helping us understand salvation as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense (G.R.A.C.E.):
“…knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot”. – 1 Peter 1:18-19
Pop Christianity devotes so little time to sound doctrine – in fact their appetite and tolerance for it is so low it begs the question as to if much of the professing Christian world is truly regenerated. We can’t profess to love Christ and not want to know or hear about Him – in spirit and in truth. May we love Christ as the days grow closer to His coming...Lord let it start with me.
The "Covering" Pastor...You Sure You Want One? - Thu, 06 May 2010
I have yet to find a shred of Biblical evidence to support this teaching within the modern church, that there are "covering" Pastors, Bishops and in some cases even "Apostles'. It just seems like another attempt at Ecclesiastical Megalomania, where people pride themselves in lording over churches instead of serving the flock (1 Peter 5:1-6).
When I recall my own experience as an ex-charismatic, there was a former pastor who told me that he needed to be informed whenever wanted to go hangout with certain people from the church. I couldn't make much sense of it at first and thought that probably I wasn't "deep" enough or probably I didn't have his "leadership anointing" to understand the authoritarian garbage he was trying to pass off as Biblical truth. He told me at one point that I didn't understand "church politics", which made me wonder if he was the church's "Speaker of the House".
It makes me wonder if some church members need to get a "release" from their respective "coverings" to go to the bathroom for have a bowel movement. I've come to understand that people often fall for personalities rather than embrace truth.This unbiblical concept of "covering" is just another method used by false teachers within the modern church to manipulate and control the biblically illiterate.
Now I want to state emphatically, that I respect the Pastoral office and I believe that Christ Himself is the one that instituted it (Ephesians 4:7-13). One of the marks of a true church is clearly defined lines of leadership and submission to that leadership - someone's got to lead and someone's got to follow. The Church is not a free-for-all as some would think it to be, where they can do what they want and not be submitted or accountable to anyone. However it is the abuse of Christ's gifts that is particularly dangerous and evil.
To all you people out there that boast in how great your "covering" is - take some time and search the scriptures to see if there is such a thing. Jesus said that a we know a tree by its fruits - so please do away with taking Scripture out of context with the "touch not the Lord's anointed" stuff and "we shouldn't judge" or "we don't know someone's heart". Its high time that professing Christians become a lot more responsible for their beliefs and intellectually engaged in matters of faith, instead of being blown about by every wind of strange doctrine (Hebrews 13:9, Ephesians 14:4, Mark 12:30).
Jesus made it plain (Matthew 7:15-20) that we CAN have epistemological certainty when it comes to God's revealed truth - and even moreso, exposing false teachers for the wolves that they are. If you can't recognize people by their fruits - probably its because you don't want to or then again, you may need to start exercising your discernment muscles a bit more. As for me, the only "covering" that I have in my life right now, is my sleeping blanket - and that's good enough "covering" for me.
Will Your "Freewill" Get You To God? - Wed, 05 May 2010
Really now...if the heart of man is deceitful, desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9) and untrustworthy (Proverbs 28:26), can man really come to God on His own?
So much of today's sermons and so-called Christian music places so much emphasis on man and what he can do. Sadly, in many instances, this passes off as the Gospel. However man is only as free as his nature permits. The Gospel is NOT about what man can or did do - the Gospel is about what God did in Christ that we could not do for ourselves, through his perfect obedience to the Law, substitutionary atonement for sin and His triumphant resurrection. Anything that does not glorify the finished work of God in and through Christ is NOT the Gospel. Christianity is not about what you can do with your freewill.
Apart from the sovereign grace of God man is in bondage total sin and unable to come to God on his own accord or perfectly fulfill the requirements of God's righteous law. Man does not make a decision to be saved and man's decision does not activate the Holy Spirit's regenerative power (Titus 3:5-7). One passage of Scripture often taken out of context is John 1:12, which some use to exalt their own "freewill" in salvation, as if their sincerity in walking down an isle and saying the "Sinner's Prayer" (totally unbiblical) and "giving themselves away" in "unrestricted worship" is what got them saved. However John 1:13 totally destroys any idea of human freewill being the cause of salvation as it reads:
"...who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God".
Here we see from this passage (and one of many) that salvation is wholly a work of God. Man is not as free as he's like to think that he is; God's commandments are not given because man has the freewill to keep them. God's commandments are the revelation of His righteous will and character and the Law shows us that we CANNOT live up to God's standards.
So for those who spend time glorying in your mysticism, freewill, work-righteousness and the amount of "effort" you put into having a "relationship" with God - following that path will eventually lead you to God sure enough. However, when you meet him, He'll probably tell you: "I never knew you; depart from me, you worker of lawlessness". Sad it would be to realize that the God of your "freewill" you thought you knew turns out to be a stranger.
"So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.". - Romans 9:16
The Environmentally Responsible Christian - Mon, 03 May 2010
How should we as Christians view the environmental issues or concerns? It’s a question that comes up from time to time, with more and more people becoming conscious of the effects their actions have on the natural environment. Many organizations spend large sums of money advocating animal rights and environmental awareness with the aim of convincing the masses to preserve the environment for generations to come and foster good relations with "mother earth".
But apart from the ungodly pagan agenda fueling many of today’s Environmentalism advocates, Christians need to exercise wisdom and discernment on such an issue. There is no clearly defined Biblical mandate for Christians to go out and “save” the environment and it has never been the mandate of the Christ’s Church. Yet we can look at various implications and proper applications of the Scriptures and build a credible case for being a lot more environmentally responsible as Christians. It is wise for believer's to be a bit more thoughtful in every area of their lives.
In the Old Testament, God commanded Israel to have a Sabbath for the land (Leviticus 25:2-5) to ensure that the land was not abused, so it could continuously yield a good harvest. When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them care over the earth. They were to be good stewards of God’s creation and were responsible for honoring God through all He gave them to do. However, when sin entered the world, creation was corrupted and suffered progressive entropy.
We must avoid displacing the priority of environmental issues, placing more weight on the matter than we actually should. Romans 1:21-25 speaks of the idolatrous heart of the unbeliever, exalting the creation more than the Creator. Christians ought to guard against making environmental concerns a golden calf and adopting a pagan outlook on such matters.
Providentially, God is the one that ultimately preserves creation, but this does not negate human responsibility to make wise decisions in regard to environmental affairs. God's sovereignty never causes human responsibility it to become void. It must be said that humans will never be able to harm the environment to the point where the entire human race and all plant and wildlife becomes totally extinct.
Man's existence lies in accordance with God's decree and it is His eternal power which upholds the very fabric of existence. God Himself has appointed a day in which will destroy the very earth He created and replace it with a new one (2 Peter 3:7-13). Reason tells us that for every action there is always a consequence, either to a greater or lesser degree. The same reasoning can be applied to being cautious about how we interact with our natural environment as Christians.
We should not cultivate an uninformed and somewhat apathetic approach to the environment, believing that it is irrelevant to invest any attention to the subject at hand. Often we tend to forget that whatever we do affects others, just as whatever others do affect us. When people litter, burn garbage or excessively play loud music they fail to be mindful of the fact that the world we live in is constructed in a pattern of systems – and God made it so.
When the natural flow of the ecosystem is interrupted, it creates a degree of chaos in proportion to the initial action. When animal food chains are broken, soil become barren or acid rain falls; we would we foolish to think it has absolutely no effect on how we live. Carelessly abusing the environment shows a lack of concern for how others are affected by the environment, including the generations to come. It also shows no consideration for the beauty and proper use of God's creation as he saw it fit to bless us with.
While God grants us the breath of life for our brief time here on earth, our choices affect our living conditions. As such we should make wise and informed decisions about all that we do - and in all that we do honor God.
