tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47250245542098414532024-02-18T23:30:41.097-08:00There once were these two CRVs...One was named Alex, and the other was named TeresaTeresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608842667124412721noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-26592926166036097852012-03-23T19:22:00.012-07:002012-03-23T19:33:20.635-07:00Helping Relatoinships - part 6: Scripture Comes Alive<span style="font-size:medium;">This blog post will wrap up the “Helping Relationships” counseling course we took last year. In previous posts, I've discussed the nature of the Christian life- loving God and loving people. It's a reality we must do together as the body of Christ. The New Testament has no concept of lone-ranger Christians. Our union and connection to Christ, who is the Head of the church and the life-giving vine, connects us to other Christians. That's why our love for our brothers and sisters is so important- it's the evidence that we have been loved and changed by Jesus Christ. When Christ commands us to love one another, it's not optional. When scripture tells us to speak truth in love, we must obey.<br /><br />This course has given us some practical ways to speak truth in love: moving towards others, asking one more question, learning to say “we”, and praying the promises of God.<br /><br />The final topic in this series will talk about how to bring scripture to life in tough situations. Basically: How do you say hard things to a peer? Maybe your friend knows as much (or more) scripture than you do. How do you share scripture without sounding like you pulled some pre-packaged theological truth off the shelf?<br /><br />The answers pull us back to asking questions and learning to say “we.” Before we teach scripture, we must first be taught by scripture. At some level, scripture should be settled into the very fiber of our being because it is our living hope: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1Pe 1:23). If scripture is our living hope, it won't sound trite or cliché.<br /><br /><b>WHEN SCRIPTURE COMES ALIVE</b><br /><br />What are some ways to tap into our living hope?<br /><br /><b>Single verses, concordance style</b> – In this method, we look up verses on a topic (e.g. anger, pride, etc...) This is helpful but limited- the Bible is much more than a “How-to” manual. If we only pick up verses here and there, we may miss the big picture.<br /><br /><b>Themes</b> – some images and stories are carried through all of scripture. We can use these themes and apply them directly to ourselves and others. The beauty of scripture is that it comes alive as we identify with it. Retelling stories from the perspective of scripture is powerful. Here are some examples given by Dr. Welch in our class:<br /><ul><li><b>Alienation</b> - People new to American culture often feel like they're on the outside. The Bible is filled with outcasts, starting with Adam and Eve. Like them, we are people who are cast out. Yet, God pursues outcasts and even becomes an outcast Himself by dying on the cross in ridicule and shame <br /><br /><li><b>Temptation</b> – Temptations come when something promises life but is really death. They don't take 'no' for an answer. The Bible is filled with people who are battling desires- people who feel like they will die if they don't get what they want. Have you ever been in a place where saying 'no' makes you feel like you're going to die? <br /><br /><li><b>Wilderness</b> - The wilderness is frightening and dangerous. Suffering is living in the wilderness. The LORD rescues His people from slavery in Egypt, but He tests them in the wilderness. Yet He is with His people. His presence is more obvious in the wilderness than any other place. He gives us grace for today but not for tomorrow. It's understandable if we're afraid of tomorrow because He hasn't given us grace for tomorrow. In those moments Egypt can sound awfully good.<br /><br /><li><b>Shepherd (Gen. 48:15, Psalms, etc...)</b> – God is the shepherd for His people. He moves towards us, feeds us, and leads us. Most of all, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd has laid down His life for His sheep. </ul><br />Here are some other thought-provoking patterns that make scripture come alive:<br /><br /><b>2D or 3D world?</b> - The Israelites complain to Moses and want to go back to Egypt. They forget about God and live like it's a 2D world- it's only them and Moses. In a 2D world, God doesn't exist or doesn't care. But God makes it 3D when He says, “Why do people hold me in contempt?” (Num. 14:11). We often forget that the world is really 3D. The scriptures change our 2D world into a 3D one. We always live in the presence of God, and we ultimately answer to Him.<br /><br /><b>The Psalm Sandwich</b>– The Psalms often have a Praise-Complaint-Praise sandwich. The Psalmist praises God, voices his good complaints, and then ends with praise. In prayer, we have the privilege of bringing our complains before the God who hears. And by ending with worship, we recognize that God is God and we are not.<br /><br /><b>Cry out to the Lord</b> – When trouble comes, we often have two options before us. We can cry on our bed or cry to the Lord.<br /><br /><b>What's Done vs. What we do</b> - What we do to obey God should always be rooted in what God has already done. Otherwise, we fall into legalism or some kind of works-based righteousness. Before God goes into the 10 Commandments, He tells His people: “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The commands of scripture sit in the context of redemption. We belong to God. As citizens of the kingdom, how do we live in response to His redemption? We have been bought with a price, so we are not our own. <br /><br /><b>Warnings and Comforts Go Hand-in-Hand</b> – In the prophetic books such as Isaiah, we can't read the warnings too long until we see a beautiful picture of the gospel. In the midst of horrific rebellion, God keeps calling Israel to return: “Come now, let us reason together....” (Is. 1:18).<br /><br /><b>Connect everything to THE story (1 Cor.2:2, Phil.2:6-11) of the cross and the BIG story of the Kingdom. </b> - The cross of Christ is now the hinge-point of law and history. Paul, has determined to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified. Christ lowered Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. How can we not serve others after Christ has served us? Christ died for sins – how does that guide my decisions today?<br /><br /><b>Tell THE story in 101 ways</b> - Scripture is not dependent on one single metaphor. The people who have been redeemed are freed prisoners, adopted children, prodigal sons, forgiven and cleansed felons, restored adulterers, not-my-people who have become my-people . . . <br /><br /><b>Start from the end</b> - In class, we were constantly bombarded with examples of tragedy: people who lost loved ones or a woman who has been sexually abused. How could a good Father let this happen? But, what if we start at the end? In the end, you and I will know our Father, God, and King face-to-face (1 Jn 3:1-3). There will be no more shame or tears. We will be glorious as we reflect His glory (Isaiah 54). There will only be peace and safety. This doesn't answer all the questions, but this is where we are going and what is pulling us along. Knowing this glorious end and having that pull us along is sanctifying.<br /><br /><br />And there are many more ways scripture comes to life! Scripture is our life-giving truth from our infinite God. We will never exhaust its depths. This list barely scratches the surface. If you are a Christian, you will spend a lifetime exploring the depths of God's word and never get bored. You will spend an eternity in the presence of God and all the people of God and never cease to be amazed at the greatness of our God.<br /><br /><b> FINAL NOTE </b><br /><br />Reflecting on this course has been such an enriching experience for me. By the grace of God, I hope it has served you in some way as you seek to speak the truth in love.<br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-36625879250062799912012-02-26T19:16:00.016-08:002012-02-27T16:11:06.693-08:00Helping Relatoinships - part 5: Praying<span style="font-size:medium;">This is part 5 in a series of blog posts on the “Helping Relationships” counseling class that Teresa and I took at Westminster. To love someone well, we ultimately want them to drink from the Living Water, Jesus Christ (John 4:11, 7:38). Nothing else in this world or this life can ultimately satisfy. The last post talked about learning to say “we.” The struggles of the heart are universal. Knowing that, we proceed with humility and keep asking one more question. When we can say “we”, that means we see our struggle in their life. We have entered their world, see their need, and our common need for the Savior.<br /><br />By the time we can say “we”, we have some idea where to take them to Christ because we have experienced the life-giving Living Water ourselves. And if we're in a big mess as well, Christ meets us where we are. Together, we can call out to God for help.<br /><br /><b>PRAYER</b><br /><br />So how can we pray? Whenever we see our sin, we pray for help so we can repent and turn to Christ. We pray because we are powerless to overcome sin on our own. The Holy Spirit must intervene! And that's how we can pray in a meaningful way for someone. In the midst struggles, we pray that they would experience the goodness of God and turn away from false gods. Of course, when someone is suffering, we pray for God to relive that suffering. There's nothing wrong with praying that God will provide a spouse, a job, better health, etc...<br /><br />But, if we only focus on the suffering and don't address the desires of the heart, we may be missing something important. God uses suffering to discipline us: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11). God uses the trials of our life (James 1:2-4) to show us that we often love something more than we love God. The struggles show us that we need the gospel of grace even now. Christ died for our sins, and we need His grace in the day-to-day struggles. In short, we pray that others may love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength- a reality that all Christians desire.<br /><br /><b>PRAYER IN REAL LIFE</b><br /><br />How can this work in real life? It might be helpful for me to include snapshots from a conversation I've had with a friend. I've changed some of the details, but hopefully you get the idea.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b> What's been going on with you lately? <b><i>[I'm trying to move towards my friend and go deeper] </i></b><br /><br /><b>Friend: </b> I just got laid off from my job. I'm thankful for the severance package, and I'll have unemployment benefits for awhile. But life's hard, and I'm feeling depressed.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b> What's been hard about getting laid off? What worries you the most? <b><i>[Asking one more question....]</i></b><br /><br /><b>Friend: </b>I'm not really worried about the bills. What bothers me is that I look around at my other friends, and all of them have jobs. I feel like God has forgotten about me.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b>Why do you think God has forgotten about you? <b><i>[I keep asking one more question until I can say, “we”]</i></b><br /><br /><b>Friend: </b>I feel like other people have jobs, but I'm getting singled out. Why does this have to happen to me?<br /><br /><b>Me: </b> Disappointment in life is something I've had to struggle with at times. As someone who wants to be a preacher, it can be discouraging to see other people who are more gifted or get better grades in seminary. I have desires in my heart to excel and do well. Those desires aren't wrong. But, when those desires begin to lead and control our life more than God, we know that we've crossed the line. <b><i> [at this point, I see a similar struggle in my own heart....I'm able to say “we”!]</i></b><br /><br /><b>Friend: </b>It's hard to believe that God loves me.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b>How have you experienced God love?<br /><br /><b>Friend: </b>I know He gave Jesus to die for me- I believe it. I know He has been faithful to me in the past. God gave me this job before, and He has provided all my needs in the past.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b>How can I pray for you?<br /><br /><b>Friend: </b>Pray that God would provide a new job.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b>I will pray for that. How can I pray for your relationship with God?<br /><br /><b>Friend: </b> I need prayer for my struggle and my doubts.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b>I will pray that God gives you eyes to see what He is doing and helps you to trust Him. He has a plan for you, brother. I don't know what it is, but He does. He's been faithful to you before, and He's shown you His love in Christ. Can I pray for you now?<br /><br /><b>Friend: </b> Sure.<br /><br /><b>Me: </b>Father, I pray that you would give my brother a new job. I thank you that you have given us a great Savior, Jesus Christ, who has rescued us from our biggest problem, the problem of our sin and our eternal punishment. I thank you for providing for my brother in the past. I pray that He would look to You and that he would call out to you for help with his doubts. I pray that He would see that you are good, loving, and faithful. Amen.<br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-70495340519729972142012-02-20T09:58:00.000-08:002012-02-20T10:13:57.906-08:00Helping Relatoinships - part 4: Learning to say "We"<span style="font-size:medium;">This is part 4 in a series of posts on the “Helping Relationships” counseling class. In previous posts, we've looked at a number of different topics: the pervasiveness of counseling (it happens whether we like it or not), the call to love one another, and the continual need to put off sin and take hold of Christ. We love others with our words by moving towards them, asking questions, and entering their world. This gives us the foundation for speaking truth in love and for praying the promises of God into someone's life. In short, the Christian walk is not just me loving Jesus, but helping one other love Jesus.<br /><br />I want to pick up this post by continuing the topic of “moving towards.” This is a key part of walking alongside others so you can know them well and love them well. Knowing and loving go hand in hand- you can't love someone you don't know. But, often when we know someone, it makes us want to run away because life is messy!<br /><br />How do you get to that level of knowing someone well? Or, if you do know someone well, how do you love them? It's often easy to judge another person and lack compassion when we feel self-righteous. It's easy to think, “How could they do that! (or be like that!)”<br /><br />One problem is that maybe we don't know the full story and need to ask one more question. Another problem is that we might have elevated ourselves above the other person, forgetting that we share the same struggles and desires. We forget that all of us are made in God's image and that we share the same types of struggles. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” (1 Cor. 10:13). At the root of any struggle is a battle within the heart to love God more than something else (see <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2012/02/helping-relatoinships-part-2.html">part 2</a>).<br /><br /><b>LEARNING TO SAY “WE” </b><br /><br />Learning to walk alongside someone means understanding their world and their struggle to the point that you can say, “we”. It is no longer their struggle but something you can identify with. No matter how bizarre or abnormal someone may be, there is an aspect of their sin that is shared by all of us. Take for example, a struggle with sexual purity. Someone may struggle with pornography or even adultery or homosexuality. But someone may say, “How can I identify with that? I don't struggle with that- those are serious sins!” But, Jesus said whoever looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28). So, our lust is on the same level as adultery- we are really no different!<br /><br />Though it may be unlikely, someone may again say, “I still can't identify with that. I don't have issues with lust- I keep my eyes pure.” Then, we continue to take another step back. Lust and desire are not just limited to sexual impulses, but they are connected to the broader category of idolatry. Even if I don't struggle with these, I have struggled with envy, coveting, and wanting something (or anything) more than God. What could that be? We have to ask, “What are the things in my heart that I treasure and love more than God Himself?”<br /><br />That could be the desire<br /><ul><li>for preserving life at any costs (think about how often we get upset when my “god” of comfort and convenience get threatened)</li><li>for money or financial security</li><li>for approval and acceptance in our relationships</li><li> for power and control</li><li> for accomplishments (think about how often our joy is disturbed if we feel like we're not getting much out of work)</li><li>for purpose (think about how often we get discouraged if we feel like life doesn't have the purpose we think it should have).</li></ul><br />This list covers pretty much everything! It shows how our human hearts are idol-factories that churn out an endless supply of desires that take us away from God. At one point in time or another, we've been ruled by these desires. How do we know? We know this because when God takes some of them away (either permanently or temporarily), we get upset!<br /><br />When we can recognize these desires at work in us, we see that we are all alike under sin- that we have all gone astray, that no one is righteous, understands or seeks for God (Rom. 3:10-11). Christians are forgiven people, but there are still on-going struggles as we learn to follow Jesus. Therefore, even if we don't struggle with lust or sexual immorality, we still have a heart problem. We still follow our own desires sometimes. And this means we are able to walk alongside with someone. We have the ability to identify with their struggles, to enter their world, and to say “we.” I may not struggle in exactly the same way as another person, but I still struggle. And therefore, we are the same.<br /><br />And the good news is that the gospel comes to heal us, not just when we were converted, but here and now. Christ died for those idols in my heart! I need the gospel just as much as my struggling brother or sister in Christ. And because we both need the gospel to bring healing and forgiveness, we are the same. I can say “we”.<br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-91722480305601579272012-02-13T13:20:00.000-08:002012-02-13T13:39:51.046-08:00Helping Relatoinships - part 3<span style="font-size:medium;"> This is part 3 in a series of blog posts on the “Helping Relationships” counseling class that Teresa and I took at Westminster. Counseling can sound like a fancy and professional activity. Yet, counseling happens everyday whether we realize it or not. The 5 minute conversation after church service or the phone call late at night from a distressed friend are all examples of ministering to others through our words. Previous posts discussed why good counseling can build a healthy church while bad counseling weakens it.<br /><br />The last post ended with 3 different aspects of Biblical counseling:<br /><ul><li>how you are doing</li><li>how God and His promises are infinitely better than all other false gods, and</li><li>how to pray the promises of God into your life.<br /></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KNOWING ANOTHER PERSON – HOW ARE YOU DOING?</span><br /><br />Scripture calls us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15). The heart of counseling is being personal. What is our view of people? The right answer is that people have infinite worth as image-bearers of God. But truth be told, more often than not, people can be viewed as an inconvenience or hassle. We have to remember that on our own, we can't love people. I often forget that when I mess up. Thanks be to God for the Holy Spirit, who bears the fruits of love, joy, peace, etc... in our lives. We need the Spirit moment by moment if we want any hope of walking faithfully in Christ.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FOLLOW UP</span><br /><br />One indication of our love for people is whether we follow up with them. If they share a struggle or prayer request, and we tell them that we'll pray for them, do we do it? Sometimes we forget! But, if we carry someone in our heart and they matter to us, we will remember to pray and even ask them about it later on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />MOVING TOWARDS</span><br /><br />Another aspect of loving people is learning to move towards another person. What is moving towards? Have you ever experienced a personal connection with someone to the point where you could say, “He understands me!” It could be as simple as having the same interests or hobby or liking the same sports team. Because of that shared value or experience, there is a bond- you know them, and they know you.<br /><br />To grow in loving others, we have to grow in our ability to know people. There's certainly nothing wrong with talking about the Philadelphia Eagles (or any other sports team). But, if that's all we ever talk about, we haven't gone deeper. We must learn to move one more step. For example, we can ask, “Why do you love the Eagles so much?”<br /><br />Emotions get us down to who or what we really love. What moves you? What are you into? How are you feeling? What are you learning? These are the types of questions that move us towards another person so we can apply scripture into our lives and then serve them by asking, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">“How can I pray for you?”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK ONE MORE QUESTION</span><br /><br />When moving towards another person, having humility is critical. We don't know all the answers and we haven't figured out everything. Humility should move us to ask questions to clarify and understand, avoiding the problem of jumping to conclusions. How often have we formed an opinion or a judgment, only to realize later that we were missing a critical piece of information?<br /><br />Our professor shared a story in his own life about his daughter always studied in the noisiest part of the house. It was exact opposite for what he (and many other people) would do. He was tempted to judge her and look down on her, until he asked one more question: “Why do you study in the nosiest part of the house?” For her, silence was distracting, and she needed the noise to concentrate. Our temptation is to think of moral categories of right and wrong without asking one more question.<br /><br />This is definitely not easy! In fact, it is impossible without God's help. If our only boast is Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10:17 and many other places), our sinful nature would rather boast in ourselves.<br /><br />In future posts, I'll go into how this process of "moving towards" and "asking one more question" leads us into entering the world of another person. And when we're walking alongside with someone (as a fellow-traveler who also needs God's grace), we're in a position to make meaningful connections between our lives and scripture.<br /><br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-78017665314042801982012-02-08T14:00:00.000-08:002012-02-08T19:13:36.682-08:00Helping Relatoinships - part 2<span style="font-size:medium;"> This series of blog posts is my attempt to capture some highlights from the “Helping Relationships” counseling class at Westminster. The class equips Christians to grow in our ability to love one another through our words. Why is this important?<br /><br />In any given week, people have problems and will seek out either advice that will be either good or bad. People will pass that onto others. That advice could be life-giving medicine to the body of Christ, or corrupt the body like deadly cancer. How do we ensure the multiplication of healthy life-giving advice? In addition, we are called by Christ to love one another, which is one of the most basic commands that Christ gave us (see John 13 and John 15).<br /><br />Before going into the “how-to”s of Biblical counseling, I want to lay a good foundation. Without understanding some key concepts, the principles of Biblical counseling won't make much sense.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THE GREATEST COMMAND</span><br /><br />In the midst of people and their problems, we love others by seeking what is best for them. All of us were created for one purpose, which is to know God and enjoy Him forever. At its very core, sin is the failure to do that. God has commanded us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:36-40). The root of our problems are traced to sin, which entered the world when man first rebelled against God. Sin is our failure to love and obey God.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">AFTER THE FALL: SIN AND SUFFERING</span><br /><br />But our problems don't just come from our sin and rebellion. Our problems also come from suffering, which were the byproducts of man's fall. When sin entered the world, so did suffering- things like thorns in the ground and things like disease, disasters, and death.<br /><br />Sin and suffering have plagued the human race ever since Adam and Eve's rebellion against God. And they cause lots of problems! Thankfully, God has successfully engineered a rescue mission to restore sinful humanity and broken creation (see 2 Cor. 5:17-21 and Rom. 8:18-24).<br /><br />But, Christians who are forgiven and have eternal life in Christ still struggle with temptation. Paul has almost an entire chapter of Romans (see Romans 7) detailing his struggle against his old sinful nature. As a Christian, Paul has a new nature and wants to love and obey God, but his old sinful nature wages war against his new nature. We will continue to have this struggle until we are given sinless, glorified bodies in Heaven one day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HUMAN HEART = IDOL FACTORY</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The sinful heart gravitates towards idols. John Calvin has said that the human heart is an “idol factory” Our sinful hearts run to anything and everything that isn't God. It could be obvious things like money, power, and prestige. Or, it could be more subtle things like control, comfort, and convenience. Whatever the case, our hearts don't naturally love and obey God on its own. We need a lot of help!<br /><br />In the meantime, we have to engage in serious spiritual warfare against the idols of the heart. One evidence that someone is spiritually alive is that he kicks and fights against sinful idols by the power of the Holy Spirit:<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom. 8:13). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PUTTING SIN TO DEATH</span><br /><br />The Holy Spirit does this when He reveals sin in our lives, convicts us of it, and gives us the desire to repent from it. The process may not be fun- we have to call sin what it is and confess it to God and others. But, the resulting clear conscience is something we wouldn't trade for anything in this world. That process of killing our sin requires brutal honesty. We have to stop the excuses and even call ourselves out on it. Without that brutal honesty, we're simply deceiving ourselves and even covering things up: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Pro 28:13) As we continue this process, we grow in our love for God and obedience to His commands.<br /><br />But, does that kind of brutal honesty work with others? How can we love others by helping them love God more? Does this mean we should call people out on their sin? Brutal honesty is needed for our sin, so isn't it needed for the sins of others?<br /><br />Sin is often blinding and leads to self-deception. We often don't know that we are sinning, and our defenses often go on high-alert when someone wants to confront us. Biblical counseling gives us the tools for helping others. Often an "idol-hunt" doesn't work- we can't simply look at someone's problem, tell them they're sinning by serving a 'false god', and then tell them to start serving the true God. We often can't speak to others like we speak to ourselves. The brutal honesty we use on ourselves to confront our own sin and put it to death often doesn't work on others. That brutal honesty will just turn people away and even get us accused of being self-righteous and judgmental.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DILEMMA</span><br /><br />This presents a real dilemma. In cases where sin needs to be exposed, how do we do it without being dismissed as insensitive or self-righteous? How do you call out sin without coming off as judgmental? How do you help someone with their idols in a way that is loving and sensitive? Jesus calls us to pull the log out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to pull the speck out of the eyes of others (Matt. 7:3-5).<br /><br />Biblical counseling seeks to walk alongside another person. By walking alongside, we aim to find out:<br /><ul><li>how they are doing</li><li>how God and His promises are infinitely better than all other false gods, and</li><li>how to pray the promises of God into their life.</li></ul><p>In future posts, I'll build on this foundation and describe some of the ways we apply this knowledge in our relationships within the body.</p><p><br /></p><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-44771702410726704352012-01-17T15:08:00.000-08:002012-01-17T12:08:52.667-08:00Helping Relationships- part 1<span style="font-size:medium;"> In this next series of blog posts, I'll be writing about the first counseling class I took at Westminster. My wife and I took a class taught by Ed Welch called “Helping Relationships.” My wife Teresa is a counseling major, so it was a way for us to take a class together. The class was also a great way for me (an aspiring pastor and preacher) to get my feet wet by taking a course in Biblical counseling.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IS COUNSELING REALLY NEEDED?</span><br /><br />All the professors at Westminster have to sign something which says that they agree with the Westminster Confession of Faith, a pretty comprehensive summary of the Christian faith. This means that all faculty agree on the nature of scripture as our highest and final authority (see <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-must-start-with-god-to-end-with-god.html">post</a>), and they also agree on how to interpret it (see <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/search/label/redemptive-historical">post</a>).<br /><br />But, there are differences in how to apply scripture. The different departments at Westminster have different opinions on Biblical counseling. And they can be quite vocal about it. One professor told our class (which included both counseling and non-counseling students) to put down the counseling books and pick up a book on God. His point was that if we have a clear vision of our infinite, eternal, all-powerful, and all-knowing God, our problems would be seen as infinitely small and insignificant. He would argue for the centrality of Biblical preaching, which helps us comprehend and know God. That's one viewpoint. At the other end of the spectrum are those who argue for the centrality of 1-on-1 Biblical counseling. Preaching is important, but it tends to be too broad (like a shotgun), while 1-on-1 Biblical counseling can dig much deeper and be much more specific.<br /><br />In both cases, there is an emphasis on changing us to be like Christ. The preaching guys focus on the word to change hearts. The counseling guys focus on personal relationships to change hearts.<br /><br />Which one is right? In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. I believe a healthy church needs both preaching and counseling. When Paul passes the baton to Timothy, he tells him to preach the word and be ready in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2). But, in the same verse, he also tells him to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” This could refer to 1-on-1 counseling. Elsewhere, Paul talks about teaching in public and from house to house on the necessity of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21). Teaching house-to-house may be a good example of something like 1-on-1 Biblical counseling.<br /><br />So, we see that scripture gives us examples of both public and private ministry of the word in public preaching and in house-to-house ministry.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY IS BIBLICAL COUNSELING IMPORTANT?</span><br /><br />Though there are probably dozens of reasons why Biblical counseling is important for churches, I will give two reasons here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Advice spreads like multiplying rabbits.</span><br /><br />This is a reason I picked up from Tim Lane, director of the counseling program at Westminster. In any given week, people have problems, such as sin, temptation, or suffering. People seek help from friends and other people they know. Here's the kicker- whatever help they receive, they will use it to help others. What kind of advice are they getting? Is it Biblical and Christ-centered? Or, does it follow the pattern of this world? It won't take long for advice (either good or bad) to spread and multiply throughout the church, much like multiplying rabbits. Good advice can reinforce a pastor's biblical preaching and strengthen faith in the life of the church. But bad advice can undermine preaching and even undo a pastor's work. How people relate to one another in times of trial and crisis can either lead to a healthy church or to a weaker church.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. We are called to speak truth in love (Eph. 4:15).</span><br /><br />All Christians are called by Christ to speak truth in love to one another. This is not a command given to pastors or teachers, but to everyone who is part of the body of Christ. All too often, our best attempts to help a struggling brother or sister sounds too much like the counselor in the Bob Newhart skit (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE</a>). His advice to his client is to “Stop it!” When his client looks astonished, he simply repeats by saying, "Stop it!" In other words, our advice can sound like telling someone to "just stop sinning!"<br /><br />For example, if someone in your church is struggling with anger, looking up all the Bible verses on anger may not fix the problem. There's a good chance they've thought about it and have already looked up those verses. Anger may not be the main issue but simply the byproduct of some deeper issue. So, telling them to simply “stop it!” may not fix the problem. If we want to bring the truth of scripture and the hope of Christ into their lives, we will need a different method. If we want to grow in our love for one another, we should grow in our skill in speaking truth in love.<br /><br />In future posts, I'll get into some of the nitty-gritty details on how the class taught us to do these two things- ensuring the multiplication of good advice and speaking the truth in love.<br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-41576616719360061362011-12-12T10:40:00.000-08:002011-12-12T10:49:46.121-08:00Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 6: What do the Critics Say?<span style="font-size:medium;"><br />This will be the last post in a series of posts on the Old Testament Intro class I took at Westminster. Today, I'll give a summary on what modern scholars say about the OT, how we can respond, and why we shouldn't just ignore their views.<br /><br />How do modern scholars view the OT? For most of them, the Bible is like any other human book and should be rejected as myth. In the 21st century, readers might find stories of a talking donkey (Numbers 22) or a talking snake (Genesis 3) a bit strange and out of date.<br /><br />In the 19th century, parts of the culture invaded the Biblical studies department in many universities. The Enlightenment was in full-swing in Europe, and it exalted the human mind as the final standard and source of truth. Before the 19th century, most Christian seminaries and universities accepted God's word as truthful, authoritative, and final. With the Enlightenment, many scholars began to think that human beings could investigate the world without God. God was told to get out and stay out. This shouldn't be too surprising. In the Garden of Eden, mankind decided to play umpire between what God said and what Satan said. Rather than trusting God and His word, man decided to think and act apart from his Creator. Falling to the oldest trap in the book, Biblical scholars rejected God's word and began to view all religious (including Christianity) as man-made products of culture and experience. The Bible was rejected as a book of myths.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DEUTERONOMY: BRIDGE BETWEEN LAW AND PROPHETS</span><br /><br />How did all of this happen? The book of Deuteronomy is a key battleground. You can think of Deuteronomy like purple states in the US Presidential Election. Certain states are consistently red (Republican) or blue (Democratic). However, some states are purple, and they are the key swing states. If a candidate can capture these, they will likely win the White House. Our understanding of Christ and God's redemptive history hinges on how we understand and interpret Deuteronomy.<br /><br />Why is Deuteronomy so important? Deuteronomy is the lynchpin of the Old testament, and it's a critical link between the Law (1st 5 books of the OT) and the Prophets. Written by Moses, the Law is the foundation for the rest of the OT because it contains important things such as: God's redemption (Exodus), the moral law (10 Commandments), the sacrificial system, and God's covenant promises. The prophets consistently refer to the Law when the Israelites disobey God. The prophets are God's messengers who accuse Israel of breaking God's covenant and failing to return the love and loyalty that God had first shown to Israel.<br /><br />Modern scholars have rejected Deuteronomy as a “pious fraud”. They reject Moses as the author of Deuteronomy, and have proposed alternate theories that tear the Law and the Prophets apart. They believe that somebody much later than Moses wrote Deuteronomy. They believe that the Law was written after the Prophets and wasn't originally part of Judaism. In short, they reject the Law and take the Prophets.<br /><br />By rejecting the Law, these scholars redefine the OT by saying that God didn't give us the law and sacrificial system. God just wants you to be a good person. Their proof-text would be something like Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Christianity doesn't deny the need to do these things, but we deny that we can do these apart from the person and work of Christ.<br /><br />Are there any good arguments for rejecting Deuteronomy? There are some difficult questions, and we shouldn't bury our heads in the sand. Here are a few examples:<br />Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as the most humble man on earth. Hmmm, this doesn't seem to humble. Perhaps somebody else wrote the Law?<br />If Moses was the author, why did he refer to himself in the 3rd person? Deuteronomy 1:1 gives us a narrator's perspective.<br />If Moses was the author of Deuteronomy, how could he write about his own death in Deuteronomy 34?<br /><br />However, we can address these questions without giving up our key assumptions. We can still view God's word as trustworthy and true, and that we are dependent on the Holy Spirit to teach us about Christ and His word. One scholar (E. J. Young) has said that we can make a case that Moses was essentially the author of the 1st 5 books of the OT, but the actual writing could have been done by others, just like Jesus is the author of the Sermon on the Mount, but He didn't actually write it down.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY DOES IT MATTER?</span><br /><br />What is at stake? Does it matter if Moses wrote the Law or if we even have the Law? We might be tempted to think this is all a bunch of pointy-headed stuff for people locked up in ivory towers. But, if the OT is the foundation for understanding the NT, then we have to wrestle with these issues.<br /><br />Our God claims to work through history to redeem a people for Himself. The Exodus from Egypt is a pattern of God's work that comes to completion in our deliverance from sin. Moses is a go-between for God and God's people (Deut. 5:22, Ex. 20:18-21), another pattern that comes to completion in Christ, our perfect Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). The Law of God and the sacrifices are essential for us to understand Christ and His sacrifice, which rescues us from the law of sin and death. At stake is the heart of Christianity! Modern scholars can say, “Just follow the good example of Jesus and be a nice guy like Him” because they have thrown out the Law and redefined Christianity. Many of the more liberal denominations in America take this view today. They may call themselves Christians, but they have side-lined the word of Christ given to us in the Law and the Prophets.<br /><br />Jude calls us to contend for the faith (Jude 3). As we study the OT scriptures, we are fighting for God and the gospel, the things that this culture and its scholars have rejected. Yet, fighting for the faith must be done in humility. We recognize that these truths are a gift of God and an act of His grace. Without the grace of God, we would not see Christ and the beauty of OT.<br /><br />With this post, I'm wrapping up this series on the Old Testament Intro class. I hope it's been as fun and informative for you as it has been for me.<br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-60783075044138055392011-11-20T19:04:00.000-08:002011-12-12T10:50:17.211-08:00Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 5b: What OT Books are In/Out?<span style="font-size:medium;">In the previous post, we looked at the relationship between salvation and scripture. When God saves, He speaks. He tells us what He does so we know how to respond with love, obedience, and worship. We see this pattern when God rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt and when He brought them into the Promised Land. We see this pattern continue until the coming of Christ, the ultimate act of salvation.<br /><br />When we talk about the Old Testament (OT) canon, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT recognized by Jesus and the people of God?” What did Jesus recognize as scripture and what was rejected? Was the Apocrypha (extra books in the Catholic OT) recognized?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JESUS AND THE PHARISEES</span><br /><br />Remember that Jesus often clashed with the Jewish leaders. Though Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed on the meaning of scripture, both sides searched, quoted, and read the same scripture, though they came to different conclusions. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because they refused to come to Him as Savior and Lord:<br /><br />“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39)<br /><br />When Jesus was defending himself against the accusation that He was breaking the Sabbath, Jesus cites a somewhat obscure passage (Psalm 82) and asserts that “scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Again, both the Jewish religious leaders and Jesus are using the same Hebrew OT as their Bible.<br /><br />What was the Hebrew OT at that time? It is the OT that the Protestants have today. Neither Jesus nor the Jewish leaders recognized the Apocrypha. After the resurrection, when Jesus walks with 2 disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Jesus opens up God's word to show them that He fulfills all the OT prophecies for the coming Messiah. Jesus actually provides the 3 broad categories for scripture, and they don't include the Apocrypha.<br /><br />"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:44-47).<br /><br />Is there evidence that the Protestant OT is right? For evidence, we can look at the OT used by the different groups in Judaism during the time of Jesus. The groups included the Pharisees and Sadducees. But they also included a group called the Essenes (the ones who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls). The Essences quoted the Hebrew OT in their writings. The Essences never cited the books in the Apocrypha as God's word. They only recognized the books of the Hebrew OT. The same can be said about the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Samaritans. None of these groups ever recognized the extra books as scripture. And most of all, Jesus never recognized these extra books either.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JEROME'S HEBREW PRINCIPLE</span><br /><br />In the 4th century, St. Jerome was asked by the Pope to make a new Latin translation of the Bible. His completed work was called the Latin Vulgate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Vulgate). When he worked on his translation, he had to determine which books to include and which ones to leave out.<br /><br />For Jerome, the Hebrew Bible should be the OT for Christians. The books from the Apocrypha were put in the back of the Bible in a separate category. Jerome left them in because he thought they could be helpful. His decision to separate what was God's word and what wasn't is known as “Jerome's Hebrew Principle.” The Protestant Reformation followed Jerome, and their conclusion was this: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Jesus' canon is our canon too</span>. But, they went a step further by taking them out. This would eliminate any confusion on what was God's word. The reformers wanted to be absolutely clear that the Bible is true and must be obeyed, while nothing else, including the Apocrypha, has no such authority. Unfortunately, the Catholic church reversed Jerome's Hebrew Principle and added the Apocrypha into their Bible.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TAKEAWAY</span><br /><br />What does this mean for us? We need to receive God's word as it is. Scripture warns us against adding or taking away from God's word:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you" (</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:medium;" >Deu 4:2)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:medium;" ><br />"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:medium;" >Rev 22:18-19)</span><br /><span style="font-size:medium;"><br />To change God's word by adding or removing things is nothing short of lying- those who do it claim that God has said something when He hasn't:<br /><br />“Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30: 6)<br /><br />The issue of the OT canon isn't something we can just brush aside as a minor point of doctrine.<br /><br />On the flip side, the OT canon is a source of comfort for Christians. It is our duty and delight to meditate on God's Word day and night, that we may be careful to obey everything written in it. And, we have freedom to take or leave any other human writings because they aren't God's Word. We have clarity on our final standard of truth for our faith, a standard that we can use to evaluate everything else in this world. We do this with humility towards God and others, yet with confidence. God has spoken, and His Word is trustworthy and true!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” (Pro 30:5).</span><br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-20279158259197825912011-11-13T15:29:00.001-08:002011-12-12T10:50:54.947-08:00Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 5a: What OT Books are In/Out?<span style="font-size:medium;">This is installment number 5 in a series of posts that have hit some of the highlights from the Old Testament Intro. class I took at Westminster. Today I'll start tackling an issue that has been debated quite a bit between Roman Catholics and Protestants. The issue is the Old Testament (OT) Canon. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The OT canon is the official list of books that should be included in the Old Testament.</span> </span> In the table of contents in your Bible, the canon is the list of books you'll see. Anything that's not there is not part of God's word. Protestants have 39 books in the OT, while Catholics have added a few extras. These extras are called the Apocrypha, and they include books such as the Maccabees, the Book of Enoch, Additions to Daniel and the Psalms, etc...)<br /><br />So, who has the right list? Should Protestants include the Apocrypha? But more importantly, why does this matter?<br /><br />The OT is the foundation for our faith. The canon matters because it's God's word. Something written by a human author may have interesting or useful ideas, but we can take it or leave it without eternal consequences. However, rejecting the word of God is rejecting God's message of salvation:<br /><ul><li>“You have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:15).</li><li>”You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pet 1:23)<br /></li></ul>We need some way to draw a line so we can say what is God's word and what isn't. John Frame put it well when he said this: “It is God's intention to speak personal words to us, words that have more authority than any other. These words govern our use of all other words and all other knowledge. They must be distinguished from all other words for us to know that these are God's words and not man's.”<br /><br />We assume two important things when we talk about the canon:<br /><ol><li>God has spoken (See this <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-must-start-with-god-to-end-with-god.html">post </a>on the authority of God's word)<br /></li><li>The Holy Spirit enables God's people to recognize God's word (1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Thess. 2:13).<br /></li></ol>Because God has spoken, His word is final. The authority of God's word doesn't depend on pastors, scholars, or even the church. We can be wrong! Pastors can't choose what they like and throw out what they don't like. Catholics believe that people (the church) have the final say in defining the canon. Protestants believe the reverse: no one (not even the church) is in a position to approve or disapprove God's word. There is a huge difference! Catholicism believes that God's word submits to the church. But Protestantism believes that the church submits to God's word.<br /><br />This reminds us that God is the all-powerful Creator, and we are dependent creatures. When God speaks, we should humbly submit to Him and worship Him as our supreme ruler, even if we don't have all the answers. All too often, we expect God to answer to us, when we must answer to God. Humility before God means that we receive His word as truthful and trustworthy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CANON AND REDEMPTIVE HISTORY</span><br /><br />God's word has always come to God's people when God saves them. After God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt, Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible to record God's history and law: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me......” (Exodus 20:2-3)<br /><br />At each point in redemptive history, God gives His people everything they need to know until the next act of salvation:<br /><ul><li>"These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">He added no more.</span> And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.” (Deut. 5:22)</li><li>"Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">You shall not add to it or take from it</span>. “ (Deut. 12:32 )<br /></li></ul>The OT doesn't stop at Deuteronomy. God continued to work among His people. After God had saved Israel from her enemies and given them the land of Canaan, Joshua did something important: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> “Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God.” (Jos. 24:26) </span><br />Joshua added to the first 5 books of the Bible so that God's people would remember what God did and why He did it.<br /><br />So, we begin to see a pattern in scripture. Whenever God saves His people, He also gives them His Word so they will understand and respond in the right way. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">When God saves, God speaks.</span><br /><br />Notice something very important. When Joshua wrote new scripture, it was added to what was already written by Moses. The first 5 books weren't thrown away- God added new words to His old ones. Scripture builds on itself.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN THESE LAST DAYS.....</span><br /><br />Fast forward a few thousand years from the book of Joshua to the New Testament. When Jesus Christ came, God performed the ultimate act of salvation. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Fully God and fully man, Jesus is the only mediator who can bridge the gap between man and God, the one we were created to love, serve, and obey. In this greatest act of salvation, shouldn't we expect God to bring additional revelation? He does!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1-2)</span><br /><br />In the past, God spoke through prophets like Moses and Joshua. In these last days, Jesus Christ speaks as God Himself. And since all scripture builds on itself, Jesus Christ isn't going to throw away the OT. He didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17).<br /><br />If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. We have seen up to this point that when God saves His people, He speaks to them. And as He continues to work, He adds to His word. This process keeps moving forward until the ultimate act of salvation found in Jesus.<br /><br />The history of God's salvation should lead us to humble worship. He is not only the all-powerful Creator, but in Jesus Christ, He is our loving Savior. God stooped down to save us and then speak to us so that we could know His salvation. The canon isn't some dry, boring topic for scholars to debate. The canon is what God has provided to His people so that we may know Him and worship Him. How kind and gracious of God to do that!<br /><br />So, if we want to know what should be included in the OT, we should ask ourselves, “What was the OT that Jesus had?” What was recognized by God's Son and God's people as the official word of God? Did the Jesus's Bible contain the Apocrypha? To answer this question, stay tuned to my next post....<br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-68810411857549030012011-11-01T20:26:00.000-07:002011-12-12T12:29:21.152-08:00Hey Jude<div style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">This weekend, I heard a sermon at our church on Jude from CJ Mahaney. The sermon really opened up my eyes to something that I had been struggling with. For some reason, I couldn't shake the fact that I had failed so many times the past week, be it by not getting the grade that I wanted, or for getting repeatedly distracted while trying to work on assignments. Why couldn't I see the riches of God's grace on me? Why did it matter so much what other people said about me, or how I felt I had fallen short of what I should be? </span></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">In his sermon, CJ preached on Jude 1b, "To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ." It was the second point, "beloved in God the Father" that stirred my heart. We often have hard thoughts about God. We think that He is merely tolerating us but really is disappointed in us. We think that we are chosen, but without much enthusiasm, like the last kids to get chosen for a sports team. We need this assurance that we are much loved. Not only that we are much loved, but specifically that we are enthusiastically and with much affection loved by God because He IS love.</span></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">Because we don't believe that God would love someone who is completely unlovable, we look inside ourselves for some reason that God would want to love us. It's almost as if we had to repay God for His unconditional love by earning it back. It dawned on me that I was trying to pay God back for His love. I wouldn't just take it at face value but felt that I had to prove my worth. I always knew that I was justified, but for me that was only enough to bring me back to "0" in terms of my debt. My justification, lived out in my life, only meant that I wasn't subject to God's wrath, but it didn't mean that I was loved with the infinite affection and joy of a loving God. </span></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">CJ said that often people will say, "Why would God love me?" and he has to answer, "I haven't got a clue." If we look for a reason that God would love us that is inside of us, there is none. Be amazed at God's grace and not in a false hope in ourselves. We are only worthy of wrath. Let's not look within from our pride. Piper says, "Our biggest challenge is to feel love since we are so unworthy." We will </span><span style=" text-decoration: underline;font-size:small;" >always</span><span style="font-size:small;"> be unworthy but we will always be loved by God. Something that was mentioned in our prayer group was that if we only realized that God really loved us, we would be totally changed, and I would heartily agree. I thank God for showing me this truth, and for casting some much needed light into this hidden dark area in my life.</span></div>Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608842667124412721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-85013824751737265972011-09-26T14:30:00.000-07:002011-12-12T10:44:55.216-08:00Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 4: Are OT Manuscripts Reliable?<span style="font-size:medium;">If you've been reading along, you know that I've been posting articles about the Old Testament Intro class I took at Westminster. In previous posts, I've tried to answer the questions: “<a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/08/old-testament-intro-oti-part-2.html">Why study the Old Testament?</a>” and “<a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/09/old-testament-intro-oti-part-3.html">Why study the geography and history of the OT?</a>”<br /><br />This post will be about manuscript reliability. The Bible translations we have today- be it NIV, ESV, NLT, etc... are based on manuscripts that were edited 1000s of years ago and then transmitted over time. None of us have the original copies written down by Moses, David, or Jeremiah. And there are known differences and changes that have crept up over time. For example, the Greek translation of the book of Jeremiah is about 15% shorter and has a different chapter sequence. So, it seems like the Greek version was originally based on a different Hebrew text and <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">not </span>the Hebrew text we have today.<br /><br />Even though the scribes were very careful, they could not avoid making the occasional mistake. Often they were unintentional and due to human error. Physical damage by accident and decay would leave holes in the text or a scribe might leave something out or hear something incorrectly while the text was being dictated.<br /><br />And yet, our faith hinges on what the Bible says. Without the Bible, we would have no knowledge of God, creation, or His redemptive work that reaches its climax in Christ.<br /><br />This begs the question: Can we trust the Bible? Or, is the Bible a corrupted version of God's word- maybe only a faint witness to the original, which is now lost? A lot is at stake here. If the Bible is only partially trustworthy, then the foundation of our faith isn't completely reliable. If that's the case, we have no basis for claiming that Yahweh is the only true God and that Christ is the only way to Him. Thus, who can say that Christ is the only path to God when many other faiths proclaim many other ways?<br /><br />Before we can answer this question, we need to set the boundaries of our discussion. As we examine the history and manuscripts to see if the Bible is trustworthy, we must remember our position of faith: God is active and in control of all things. Roman Catholic teaching says we should look for someone or something (church authority) to tell us the final answer. Skeptics say that we should look to human reason and our own understanding as the final standard. But, the final standard of truth is found in God Himself, and not some standard that is outside of Him. There are difficulties, and we may never find an intellectually satisfying answer to all of them. So, is our trust in our ability to reconstruct the text perfectly or in God?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CAUTIOUS CONSERVATISM</span><br /><br />As Christians, we can take a path of cautious conservatism- God's word in its original form exists in the various manuscripts, but we may have to do some work to find it.<br /><br />As mentioned earlier, a manuscript may have errors, but it is very unlikely for all manuscripts to have the same error. Bible scholars see how the different manuscripts compare/contrast. They decide which is the most reliable one as many of them usually agree while a few have differences. If most manuscripts say one thing, and only a few have a difference, scholars often go with the one with more copies. </span><span style="font-size:medium;"> In other words, majority wins!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:medium;">The work of researching the different manuscripts to get the original is called “Textual Criticism.” Scholars have been working on Textual Criticism for centuries, so its nothing new. </span>Think of it as a kind of Bible CSI- investigative teams have to sift through the evidence to construct the original story.<br /><span style="font-size:medium;"><br />The different options for the original text are placed in the footnotes or margins of the Bible if enough manuscripts have that difference. For example, in 2 Samuel 12:21, the ESV says this: "When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry." The context is that David's firstborn son Amnon had just raped his half-sister Tamar. David is upset, but that's about all that David does. There's no mention of any punishment for Amnon. The footnote for this verse says, "Dead Sea Scroll, Septuigent add "But he would not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, since he was his firstborn." Interesting. Two other manuscript families give us a little more insight into why David seemed unwilling to do anything after this incident.<br /><br />So, should we be concerned that there are multiple options? Before we start to panic, realize that the Bible is the most well attested ancient document that exists. Thousands of manuscripts are available to piece together the original text. Only a very small part of the text is in question. And the vast majority of those variations make no difference in how we understand and apply scripture. </span><span style="font-size:medium;">This means that no major theological point depends on whether or not scholars "got it right." Therefore, passages like Jeremiah 31 that describe and foretell the coming of Christ and the New Covenant are rock-solid:<br /><br />“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers.....For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).<br /><br />The prophecies about Christ, the new covenant, and the forgiveness of sins are unmistakably clear and reliable. Here are two quotes from scholars who have spent decades going through the OT in the ancient text:<br /><br />“Textual criticism has established beyond reasonable doubt that no significant teaching of scripture is called into question” (Silva)<br /><br />“Even if we adopted every single alternative reading, we'd largely have the same Bible” (Walke)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DEAD SEA SCROLLS</span><br /><br />Textual criticism was given a huge boost in the 1940s with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls</a>). The scrolls are dated to around 400 BC and include references to every single book of the OT except for one (Esther). Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest known copies of the OT were from the 10th century A.D. Before this find, it would be impossible to demonstrate that the OT prophecies about Christ as a suffering servant (e.g. Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22) were true, or if they were made up after the fact.<br /><br />The Dead Sea Scrolls is a huge piece of evidence testifying to the trustworthiness of the OT. If we compare the Dead Sea scrolls with versions from the 10th century AD, they are virtually the same. This means that for over 1000 years, the OT was faithfully transmitted.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD</span><br /><br />As mentioned earlier, we don't ultimately base our confidence on man's carefulness. Our confidence rests in God, who has spoken and graciously preserved His word for us today. This means that pastors, scholars, and all Christians can trust in God and His Word. Having some awareness of our manuscripts and their reliability helps us appreciate the roots of our faith. We don't need to fear when skeptics question the reliability of the Bible. Rather, we can be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have.<br /><br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-85869457149067635642011-09-03T10:02:00.001-07:002011-12-12T10:47:21.302-08:00Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 3: What's the Payoff In Studying the OT Background?<span style="font-size:medium;">In this series of blog posts, I've been sharing highlights from the Old Testament Intro. class at Westminster. The <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/08/old-testament-intro-oti-part-1.html">first</a> post was a summary of questions that the course sought to answer, and the <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/08/old-testament-intro-oti-part-2.html">second</a> tried to answer the question: “Why study the Old Testament?” The OT isn't a bunch of boring history. The struggles against idolatry, fear of man, love of money, living for the here-and-now are given to us in the OT and apply to us today.<br /><br />Today, I'll expand these thoughts a little further. The OT gives us important insight into the NT so we can more fully understand Christ and His work. We have much more in common with the NT authors than the OT authors (e.g. the same gospel call, Great Commission, and the call to stay faithful until Christ returns). But, the OT audience was quite different (e. g. they had temples, priests, daily sacrifices, and tons of rules on what to eat, drink, and wear).<br /><br />So, it seems like we'll have to do some more legwork to understand the time, people, and place of the OT. It's not so easy to take the OT and just run with it, like we can for the NT. If we want to appreciate the 70% of God's word that showcases the person and work of Christ, we must study the OT, including its geography and history. If we don't have some understanding of history and geography, we are bound to get lost.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY STUDY THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF THE OT?</span><br /><br />God gave us His word throughout the course of human history. The OT didn't drop out of the sky. It was written in a particular time to a particular people. Slowly over time, God gave more of His revelation, which reached its fullness in Christ. God took thousands of years of human history to work from Adam to Moses, and then from David to Jesus (with many other folks in-between!).<br /><br />“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:4-5)<br /><br />God tell us that Christ came when “the fullness of time had come.” Though it seemed like a long time to us, God wasn't late. This period of time is like the first 10 chapters of a book that lead up to the grand climax. Even if the best part of a book starts at chapter 10, nobody picks up a novel and starts at that point. If Christ is the grand climax of God's redemptive plan, then if we want to get the full story of His work, we need the background of what God was doing before Christ came.<br /><br />Our modern age isn't the only age that ever existed. We have to think beyond ourselves and understand scripture as the original audience would have understood it. As a result, little details which might seem insignificant to us are actually quite significant and purposeful. The background, setting, and geography of the OT matters!<br /><br />To give you a few examples:<br /><ul><br /><li> <span style="font-weight: bold;">LAND</span><br /><br />We know that Israel was drawn to the gods that were worshiped by her neighbors. Why? Why was it better to worship Baal and not Yahweh (the LORD)? Baal is a storm god and a fertility god. The land of Israel, unlike Egypt, didn't have the flooding of the Nile to provide water for crops. The land of Israel is dependent on rainfall so that their crops are watered:<br /><br />“But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” (Deut 11:11-12).<br /><br />Knowing this, we now see that the choice of who to worship (Baal or Yahweh) is also test of faith. Would Israel trust God to provide rain? Or, would Israel worship the storm god to make sure their crops are watered? The implications for us are huge- where do we ultimately place our hope? Throughout history, God requires faith from His people. His work and His Word are to be trusted. God expects the same for those who draw near to Christ to be saved.<br /><br /><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">LOCATION</span><br /><br />In the Ancient Near East, Israel is in a strategic location. Israel is the “land between” (Jim Monson). Egypt is to the south, and the rest of the world powers are to the north. Those who want to go from one end to the other must pass through Israel. The surrounding nations want to control that land,while Israel fights to hold onto it. There are temptations for Israel to enter into alliances to secure the land. But, we know that God commands His people not to enter into alliances with the pagan nations:<br /><br />“When the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.” (Deut. 7:2-4)<br /><br />Those who draw near to Christ face the same temptations to love the world and the things of this world. The OT continually warns us of Israel's temptations to compromise and become entangled, and the disastrous consequences that happen when small compromises lead to great sin against the LORD. God's people are always tested to see if they will be covenant-keepers or covenant-breakers (Heb. 10:26-30). I often have to stop and examine my own life. What motivates me? What do I trust? Do we rely on our education, money, or experience? Who or what is my trust?<br /><br /></li><li> <span style="font-weight: bold;">HISTORY</span><br /><br />One thing we keep hearing at Westminster that “scripture is a product of history.” The writers of scripture spoke to a particular audience in a particular place. For instance, we would never pick up the “Gettysburg Address” given by Abraham Lincoln and completely ignore Civil War history. In fact, Civil War history(what happened before, during, and after the Gettysburg address) gives the context we need to understand what Lincoln spoke.<br /><br />God's work in history gives us the context to understand what God spoke. God's redemptive acts (e.g. the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the history of the judges and kings etc....) is our context and setting. If we don't understand that historical context and setting, we won't understand what God is doing.<br /><br />The nice thing about studying this history is that God has already given us the cliff-notes version! The Bible is not a comprehensive textbook on human history. It is selective (though sufficient, reliable, and true). The Bible's selectivity becomes its strength. God has already edited things so that we have the most important events recorded for us.<br /><br />Obviously, much more can be said about history, but this is already getting quite long. Here's an example that might be helpful.<br /><br />For instance, knowing that the Egyptians worshiped the sun and the Nile river as gods helps you understand the nature of the 10 plagues. The plagues against Egypt included blocking out the sun and turning the Nile river to blood. God's power was directed against the false gods of Egypt. God tells Pharaoh and Egypt the purpose of the plagues: “That you may know that there is none like me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14).<br /></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RESOURCES</span><br /><br />If you made it this far, I feel honored for your time! Don't feel overwhelmed. The study of scripture takes a lifetime, and even then, we will never exhaust the depths of our God. The faithful pursuit of God little-by-little over a long time is well worth it.<br /><br />If you want to learn more, there are great resources out there! The best starting point to learn all of this is a good study Bible. There are tons that are available: NIV, Reformation, and MacArthur study Bibles. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ESV-Study-Bible-Crossway-Bibles/dp/1433502410">ESV study Bible</a>. Like many others, this study Bible has an introduction to every book and gives background information on the author, setting, and history. It also gives a big picture on how a particular book relates with the rest of the Bible (e.g. what role does Deuteronomy play in the OT law and how does it relate to the NT?). Since it's not written for scholars, its quite readable, and yet has enough depth for those who are serve in teaching and preaching.<br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-13357231554613313942011-08-28T16:58:00.000-07:002011-12-12T10:47:51.958-08:00Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 2: Why study the OT?<span style="font-size:medium;">In this series of posts, I'm sharing some of what I learned from the Old Testament Intro. class at Westminster. The previous post introduced some important questions the course tried to answer. Many of them were very fascinating (e.g. Where did the OT come from, and how trustworthy is it?)<br /><br />Before you get some high hopes that the course completely answered every question that anyone might ask about the OT, I need to clarify some expectations. One of the main takeaways from the course is summed up in this quote by John Frame:<br /><br />“The strength of our positions is that we can say, 'We don't know', but we know the One who does" (John Frame).<br /><br />God is the author of scripture, and He has graciously chosen to reveal Himself to a sinful and fallen people. Like Job, we may want all of our questions answered before we feel satisfied. Job earnestly sought an audience with God so he could plead his case and find out why he had to endure such terrible suffering. But God doesn't give him answers. God simply raises more questions such as: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). And, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?” (Job 40:2). Basically, God was telling Job that He is God and Job is not.<br /><br />And Job's response is one we can learn from: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).<br /><br />Today, I'll try to discuss why a Christian should study the Old Testament.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />WHY STUDY THE OT?</span><br /><br />The Old Testament (OT) is essential in light of the New Testament (NT) because it helps us more fully understand the work of Christ. It is the frame of reference without which we cannot understand the work of Christ.<br /><br />Christ said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5:17). If we want to understand why Christ came and how He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, we will need some understanding of the Law of Moses and the Prophets.<br /><br />Christ said this to the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).<br /><br />When Jesus was ministering, there was no NT yet. So, when He argues with the Pharisees on how to interpret scripture, both parties are referring to only the OT. Jesus is clear: the Scriptures (or just the OT) is about Him!<br /><br />Augustin said that the NT is in the OT concealed. How? Our professor Chris Fantuzzo said, “The OT is good news of Christ who will come, but NT is the good news of Christ who has come.”<br /><br />Thus, both the OT and NT serve as witnesses to Christ and His resurrection. God's word centers on the person and work of Christ. If we are ignorant of the OT (which makes up 70% of the Bible), this means we are ignorant of 70% of what God has to say about our redemption!<br /><br />What does this look like? The OT is filled with images and symbols that point us to Christ.<br /><br />For example, we see the image of shepherd all over the place. Jacob and David were both shepherds. God refers to the leaders of Israel as shepherds in Ezekiel 34. Unfortunately, they were corrupt and self-serving. Psalm 23 gives us the image of the LORD as our shepherd. All these images are introduced to shine a spotlight on Jesus Christ, who is the good shepherd and the one who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10).<br /><br />We could say the same about the image of the sacrificial lamb, which is the centerpiece of the Passover in Exodus 12.<br /><br />“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (Exodus 12:12-13)<br /><br />Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). If His blood covers you, then on the final Day of Judgment, God's judgment and anger against us because of our sin will be passed over (Revelation 20:11-15). No destruction will touch us, even though the rest of sinful humanity is cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.<br /><br />There are countless symbols and images (e.g. the tabernacle, temple, covenants, sacrifices, prophets, priests, kings, etc...). All were introduced in the OT, but come to fulfillment in the NT.<br /><br />How is this possible?<br /><br />There is one God which means there is one God of redemptive history. Though He used different people and ways to reveal Himself, in these last days, He speaks through Christ. The God who spoke in the OT is the same God who spoke in the NT: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Both the OT and NT serve as a single, unified witness to Christ.</span><br /><br />“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1)<br /><br />We live in the last days- a very unique time in human history. Many looked forward to the coming Messiah, but we live at a time when the Messiah has already come.<br /><br />"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:16-18).<br /><br />With this privileged position comes the responsibility of knowing the whole counsel of God- all the scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation.<br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-4433280149119632792011-08-24T19:42:00.000-07:002011-08-28T16:59:49.906-07:00Old Testament Intro. (OTI) - part 1<span style="font-size:medium;">In the next couple of posts I'll be sharing some highlights from the “Old Testament Intro” class I took during at Westminster Theological Seminary. The class was very broad. The advantage is that we were exposed to lots of interesting topics. This included asking questions like these:
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OT vs. NT: </span>Why study the Old Testament? Isn't the New Testament more important than the Old?
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY:</span> The Old Testament didn't drop out of the sky from heaven in its current form. How did all its various parts (Law of Moses, Prophets, and Psalms) come together? Christians are students of scripture, not history or archeology. Why study the history and geography of the Old Testament?
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MANUSCRIPT RELIABILITY: </span>No one has any of the original manuscripts written by Moses, David, or any other author. Manuscripts we have today contain known transmission errors. How reliable are the manuscripts that we have? Is our Bible trustworthy?
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CANON</span>: The Old Testament canon (list of books) is different for Catholics and Protestants. The Catholic canon has several extra books. Who has the right one? Who decides whether a book of the Bible should be included or excluded in the canon? Does it really matter?
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MYTH AND MODERN SCHOLARS:</span> What do scholars today have to say about the Old Testament? Are the Old Testament stories (which include a talking snake and a talking donkey and the parting of the Red Sea) just a bunch of myths? Does the latest research in history and archeology confirm or deny the truthfulness of the Old Testament?
<br />
<br />This is quite a list! And this is just a sampling of the topics. Because the course was so broad, it was hard to go in-depth into any one of these areas. This led to some challenges (including professors feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to teach this!)
<br />
<br />To some, these topics might seem dry and boring. Some might argue that we should have a childlike faith and accept God's word as truthful without worrying too much about it. Besides, the Holy Spirit has to reveal God and His truth to a person before he will accept it. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). I agree. Jesus did say, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." (Lk. 18:17). We must approach God and His Word with humility, for that is what God requires. He has exalted above all things His name and His word (Ps. 138:2).
<br />
<br />But, on the other hand, God calls us to be ready at all times to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet 3:15). Family members, co-workers, and others will ask us why we believe in God and in His Word. Are we ready to provide a reason for why we put our life into the hands of the God of the Bible (and not Allah, Buddha, or some other person)? Eternity is a long time to make a mistake here! Does our God reveal Himself in scripture? If so, can this scripture be trusted?
<br />
<br />I can't promise that I'll fully answer all the questions posed above, but I'll try to take a serious look at some of the more interesting ones in upcoming posts.
<br />
<br />“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15).
<br />
<br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-47581538948705737162011-08-21T15:39:00.000-07:002011-08-29T19:57:53.296-07:00Picking a New Church in a New City (part 5)<span style="font-size:medium;">During the last several weeks, we've written about the journey that eventually led Teresa and I to join Covenant Fellowship church. This will be the final post in this series. Our desire has been to share how God has impacted us as we sought a new church in a new city. Our desire has not been to glorify our church or to paint a picture of a perfect church. The church, its leadership, and all its members are made up of sinful people (including us!). But, by God's grace, God changes us in such a way that we now have the power to love Him and other people.
<br />
<br />God brought us to Philadelphia so we could attend seminary. We've learned a lot in seminary through books, lectures, and assignments. Being in seminary has felt like drinking out of a firehouse and getting flooded with lots of great theology. But, no one learns to do ministry by only sitting in a classroom. You don't learn to play golf by watching videos, reading books, or hearing lectures. You learn by getting your feet on the ground and taking swings.
<br />
<br />If you've been reading our posts on picking a new church in a new city, you may see that Teresa and I have been challenged and grown from our church, just as we have grown through seminary. This last post will focus on the culture of humility that the pastors have developed, which includes working together as a team.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HUMILITY AS A CULTURE: PARKING TEAM?</span>
<br />
<br />During a membership classes, one of the teachers shared about an early experience he had with the church many years ago. He was fresh out of college and had served as a leader in campus ministry. He came to one of the pastors and offered to serve in a teaching or preaching role. The pastor said that the church needed people to serve on the parking team or in childern's ministry.
<br />
<br />But he replied, “I don't think you understand. I have gifts and experience in preaching and teaching. You could use a guy like me.” The pastor calmly repeated what he had said earlier. Somewhat discouraged, the teacher shared about his hesitation to join the parking team. He was expecting to be up-front in a high-profile speaking role. Instead, he was in the church parking lot directing traffic!
<br />
<br />Yet, the teacher told us that what he learned on the parking team completely changed his perspective on what it means to serve. He saw that service was about meeting the needs of others in a posture of humility, rather than advancing his own agenda. He learned the reality of Mark 10:42-45:
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HUMILITY AS A CULTURE: PICKING A NEW SENIOR PASTOR</span>
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:medium;">Another place where we've seen God work out humility in the lives of the leadership is in the area of ambition. We were encouraged by how our church chose their new senior pastor a few years ago when their previous senior pastor (Dave Harvey) changed his role from serving as the senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship church to serving other pastors at other churches in Sovereign Grace Ministries. Our current senior pastor Jared is in his early 30's, which is unusual; typically in churches, whoever has been around for the longest gets promoted to that role. However, during that transition, several of the pastors who had been around for 20+ years went to the senior pastor and said, "I think Jared (who had only gone to the pastor's college a few years earlier) is the one who has been gifted the best by God to lead our church as senior pastor." They recognized that the church would be best served if that role was filled by someone other than themselves, and were willing to give up their rights and ambitions so that the church would be built up.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">HUMILITY AS A CULTURE: RAISING UP THE NEXT GENERATION</span></span>
<br /><span style="font-size:medium;">
<br />Another example we were encouraged with was how the more-experienced pastors mentor the less-experienced pastors. The ones with more experience are willing to give the younger ones their best sermon illustrations so that the younger men may be raised up in the church and thought well of, so that the church would benefit and grow in maturity. Even though no one would know that the illustration really came from the mentor pastor, they were willing to invest in the mentee pastor because they knew it would benefit the church. In our own lives, we recently wrote a script for a play for children's ministry, and our mentor Marty was more than willing to give us tips and feedback that really made the skit better, though no one would know about it.</span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:medium;">Alex (who has only finished one year of seminary) has also been encouraged by how Marty (20+ years of experience as pastor) asks him for feedback on his childern's sermons. Wherever the Lord leads us to do serve, we want to have the humility to seek feedback and grow from all people at all levels of maturity in the body of Christ.
<br /><span style="font-size:medium;">
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TEAMWORK MENTALITY</span>
<br />
<br />Another major thing we've really been amazed at is the idea of the body of Christ working together as a team for the good of the church. We've been encouraged at how this type of culture is seen not only in the pastoral team, but also in children's ministry, where we are currently serving. For every child that is enrolled in children's ministry, it is expected that one of their parents will serve in children's ministry. As a result, each Sunday, a whole army of parents and other volunteers comes together and shares the load of the ministry.
<br />
<br />There are multiple rotations of multiple teams who cover a variety of different functions. There are coordinators for the different ages who make sure the lessons are carried out consistently from team to team. The coordinators also rotate every other week. That way, no one gets burned out and people get to be a part of ministry with their kids. Not one person does the lion's share of the work, and every person is dependent on the other team members in order to succeed. No matter what your experience level, there is a place where you can serve and be a vital part of the ministry, because every person is vital.
<br />
<br />Alex and I were challenged at how that would translate into how we live our own lives. Are we willing to help another classmate with something they were struggling in so that they get a better grade? Can we realize that others' gifts and talents are a great fit for a coveted internship instead of our own? Do we recognize how God has created us all differently with strengths and weaknesses, and be content in that and not in fulfilling our own desires and aspirations of glory? On our own, we are helpless, but with God's help and the Spirit's work in our lives, I pray that He would continue to work in our lives more and more in this area.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RESOURCES</span>
<br />
<br />Finally, we've learned a lot from others who have thought long and hard about what the Bible teaches about the local church.
<br />
<br />One book we highly recommend is “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Marks-Healthy-Church-Dever/dp/158134631X">9 Marks of a Healthy Church</a>” by Mark Dever. If you're curious about the content, my friend Geoff Prewett has written a very good summary and review of it <a href="http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/%7Eprewett/writings/BookReviews/NineMarksOfAHealthyChurch.html">here</a>. This isn't a comprehensive list of 9 things that your church must have. According to Dever, it is a list of traits (taken from scripture) that have grown rare in the American church.
<br />
<br />Teresa helped revamp the membership class at Austin Chinese Church when she was working as an administrative assistant. The course now uses a book called “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Healthy-Church-Member-Marks/dp/1433502127">What is a Healthy Church Member?</a>” by Thabiti Anyabwile.
<br />
<br />Alex also read a book called "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shepherd-Leader-Achieving-Effective-Shepherding/dp/1596381310">The Shepherd Leader</a>" by Tim Witmer, a professor at Westminster. It is an excellent scriptural and historical look at how God calls pastors to be shepherds (and not managers) and will hold them accountable for this. Witmer describes for pastors and elders what this shepherding responsibility looks like in the trenches of the local church.
<br />
<br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-15556689879325628502011-07-16T15:16:00.001-07:002011-08-21T15:39:43.908-07:00Picking a New Church in a New City (part 4b)<blockquote></blockquote><span style="font-size:medium;">In this series of posts, Teresa and I have tried to capture the process which God led us to become members of <a href="http://www.covfel.org/">Covenant Fellowship church</a>. Past topics included the <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/06/picking-new-church-in-new-city-part-3.html">preaching </a>and <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/06/picking-new-church-in-new-city-part-2.html">worship </a>at Covenant. The <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/07/picking-new-church-in-new-city-part-4a.html">previous </a>post introduced the topic of church membership: what are the responsibilities and privileges of joining a church. I ended with a description of the “Explore” class, which gave us lots of insight into the church.
<br />
<br />Church membership, though, is much more than a class. There has to be some way for the pastors to know who is part of the church and who isn't. The purpose isn't to exclude people, but to have clarity on who is included. The leaders have to know who is part of the church if they are to be responsible for them on the Day of Judgment:
<br />
<br />“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">as those who will have to give an account</span>” (Heb. 13:14).
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SPIRITUAL CARE OF MEMBERS</span>
<br />
<br />Spiritual care and oversight looks different at different churches, and there isn't a one-size-fits-all. At <a href="http://www.covfel.org/">Covenant Fellowship</a>, each person who wants to be a member has to join a Community Group. This includes those in other Bible studies (i.e. campus ministry). A typical Community Group is 15-25 people and meets twice a month. It is a time of fellowship, encouragement, accountability, and prayer.
<br />
<br />The community group also provides a way for the pastors to track attendance. This way, when someone begins to wander off, the leader or pastor can provide spiritual care. All too often, someone who is disillusioned with their church stops attending, but nobody notices until its too late. By then, they have either joined a different church, or worse, hardened their heart or turned their back on God. In America, countless people jump from one church to another or have completely left the church. What a sobering thought that many careless shepherds did little or nothing to care for wandering sheep and will be held accountable by God one day.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MEMBERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES</span>
<br />
<br />Being part of a community group is the primary avenue for the members of Covenant Fellowship to love one another and show genuine love for our Lord (John 13:34-35). In addition, through the preaching and discipleship ministries, church members are urged to serve the body, serve those outside the church, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
<br />
<br />There are two aspects of church membership that were new and somewhat surprising, though in a good way.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LAWSUITS AMONG BELIEVERS</span>
<br />
<br />The first was a commitment that no member of the church would ever sue another member. This is based on 1 Corinthians 6:
<br />
<br />“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to the law before the unrighteous instead of he saints?....So, if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I saw this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? (1 Cor. 6:1-6)
<br />
<br />Paul rebuked the Corinthian church because Christians were suing other Christians and tarnishing their witness for Christ. I've read this passage before, but I never thought that members of a church could make a commitment to one another not to sue but agree to an alternative ahead of time.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CHURCH DISCIPLINE</span>
<br />
<br />The other expectation was an agreement to submit to church discipline. This runs completely counter to our culture, which tells us to “Question authority.” Why would anyone submit themselves to yet another form of authority? Aren't bosses and the government intrusive enough?
<br />
<br />But, if we dig a little deeper into scripture, church discipline is both necessary and good. A loving father doesn't let his children do whatever they want. My pastor at home has said, “Love does not mean let.” Just as fathers discipline their children, our Heavenly Father disciplines His children, that they might share in His holiness and be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. In the same way, when a church member falls into sin, the most loving thing a pastor can do is to bring him to repentance and faith. Not doing anything would be very unloving.
<br />
<br />In most cases, church discipline is done positively, through the preaching of God's word, as the implanting of the word is able to save our souls (James 1:21). And fellow brothers and sisters have the responsibility to sharpen one another, as iron sharpens iron. But, in certain cases a pastor may need to confront someone who is living in sin (e.g. adultery). And in extreme cases where a church member continues in sin, he would need to be removed from church membership. Someone who openly lives in rebellion against God but still calls himself a “Christian” brings disgrace upon Christ and the church. Yet, discipline is for the good of the sinning church member, the purity of the church, and ultimately the glory of God.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PS - </span>
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.covfel.org/">Covenant Fellowship</a> is part of a family of churches called “Sovereign Grace Ministries” (SGM). It's not a denomination, but there are similarities. The past few weeks have brought news of accusations of pride and poor leadership among the leaders of SGM (<a href="http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blogs/cj-mahaney/post/Why-Im-taking-a-leave-of-absence.aspx">see here</a>). The news is a sobering reminder that churches are imperfect as they are made up of imperfect people.
<br />
<br />My goal in these posts is not to glorify Covenant Fellowship or SGM but to highlight what we have found encouraging and Biblical. The news reminds me that I myself am a sinner constantly and daily in need of the grace of God. The church is not for perfect people or good people, but for sick and sinful people. Our sickness reveals the glory of our Savior, who died so that sinful people could be forgiven and made righteous (2 Cor. 5:21).
<br />
<br />
<br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-49006206677505887282011-07-04T18:42:00.000-07:002011-07-21T13:14:54.042-07:00Picking a New Church in a New City (part 4a)<span style="font-size:medium;">“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).<br /><br />In his final meeting with the pastors of Ephesus, Paul reminds them that the Holy Spirit has set them apart to care for the church of God, which God obtained with His own blood. We were ransomed from sin and eternal punishment not with perishable things such as silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19), something of infinite value!<br /><br />Pastors are entrusted with something of infinite value in God's eyes. Not surprisingly, the writer of Hebrews encourages all believers to obey their leaders because leaders are accountable to God:<br /><br />“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:14).<br /><br />What does this mean for the local church? What are the implications for church leaders?<br /><br />We cannot think about spiritual care and responsibility apart from church membership. Church membership is often viewed as outdated. People move every few years and don't like being tied down to a particular place or employer.<br /><br />It's not unusual to hear that someone goes to the worship service of one church but goes to a small group at another church. Or, someone may go to one church because of its fellowship, worship, etc... but go to another church (or a para-church ministry) for outreach or Bible study.<br /><br />There's certainly nothing wrong with supplementing our knowledge or building relationships beyond the walls of the church. But, complications arise because those involved in multiple places have multiple spiritual leaders. How does a pastor provide spiritual care for people when it is unclear who is the spiritual authority? Which pastor or staff worker is responsible for their souls? Are leaders restricted to their spheres of influence (e.g. worship, small group, Bible study, etc...)?<br /><br />The confusion for leaders extends to the church body. Who is allowed to vote or make decisions? Who is allowed to teach Sunday School or serve on the worship team? Basically, who will represent Christ within the church and outside its walls?<br /><br />In this post and the next one, I'll walk through the process for how the pastors at our church bring in new members in order to provide spiritual care and oversight for them. This will include commitments and responsibilities for new members as well.<br /><br />MEMBERSHIP CLASS<br /><br />When Teresa and I were looking for a new church in a new city, we were planning to attend a membership class to learn about the church's beliefs and leaders.<br /><br />Before we joined <a href="http://www.covfel.org/">Covenant Fellowship</a>, we attended a 10-week class called “<a href="http://www.covfel.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=50781">Explore</a>.” It was a class for us to explore whether we would commit ourselves to the church. A pastor taught for the first 30 minutes, and the second 30-minutes was a small-group discussion led by a pastor.<br /><br />Initially, 10 weeks seemed like a big commitment. Who has time for that? We liked the free food (coffee, yogurt, bagels, donuts, fruit, and more!). We also liked the approach. The pastors weren't trying to build their empire by increasing numbers. Their primary concern was that we would join a Bible-believing church where God's word is preached and practiced. They even offered to recommend other good churches in the area.<br /><br />We started going to “<a href="http://www.covfel.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=50781">Explore</a>” to get our feet wet. As the class progressed, we learned a lot. We understood Covenant Fellowship's view of<br /><ul><br /><li><b>SCRIPTURE</b> - Is scripture one voice among many or do all other voices take a back seat to it?</li><li><b>THE GOSPEL</b>- Is the gospel primarily about making the world a better place or reconciling sinners to a holy God?</li><li><b>SPIRITUAL GIFTS</b> – Which gifts are practiced today?</li><li><b>CHURCH LEADERSHIP</b> – Who are the leaders, what are their qualifications, is there accountability, etc...</li><li><b>CHURCH GOVERNMENT</b> – Are decisions made by all members or only the pastors?</li><li><b>CHURCH MEMBERSHIP</b> – What are the responsibilities for church members?</li></ul><br />There were other topics, but these are some highlights. The 10-week class served everyone well. There was plenty of time to understand the church and for the pastors to learn about the people wanting to join.<br /><br />Any disagreements between a potential new member and the pastors could be discussed openly. Some topics are non-negotiable (e.g. the gospel of Jesus Christ). A person wouldn't be allowed to join if they had incorrect understanding of the gospel. So, church membership is also the way to make sure all incoming members are actually Christians who know and embrace the gospel, not just those who are religious or spiritual.<br /><br />The class showed us that Covenant Fellowship takes church membership seriously- the pastors invest significant amount of time and energy into “<a href="http://www.covfel.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=50781">Explore</a>” (and so do all the participants!).<br /><br />Church membership, though is more than attending a class. In the next post, I'll go through the responsibilities of membership. Rather than scare us away with requirements not expected at most other churches, it was encouraging to see scripture's teaching on the church taken very seriously.<br /><br /></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-47114923015491175512011-06-26T19:01:00.001-07:002011-07-21T13:14:00.118-07:00Picking a New Church in a New City (part 3)<span style="font-size:medium;">“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word.” (2 Tim. 4:1-2)<br /><br />Nearing the end of his life and ministry, the Apostle Paul passes his baton to his protege Timothy. The first thing he commands his disciple to do is “preach the word.” Why is preaching so important? Many people outside the church think of preaching as dry, boring, and out of date. Yet, Christians are people who have knowledge of God because God has first spoken and revealed Himself to us. Apart from the light of revelation, we would be blind men groping around in the dark, with no knowledge of God or His saving power.<br /><br />Paul makes this very clear in Romans 10. There is no belief in Christ without hearing about Christ:<br /><br />“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Rom. 10:14)<br /><br />Preaching is central to our faith. The preacher's role is to speak what God has already spoken, that God's people might feast on the bread of life. This quote from Donald Coggan is quite good:<br /><br />“Here is the miracle of the divine economy, that between the forgiveness of God and the sin of man stands- the preacher!... That between the truth of God and the quest of man stands- the preacher! It is his task to link human sin to forgiveness, human need to divine omnipotence, human search to divine revelation” (Coggan)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CHRIST-CENTERED PREACHING</span><br /><br />When Teresa and I were picking a new church in a new city, one non-negotiable criteria was the preaching. Specifically, we were looking for Christ-centered preaching that would turn our gaze away from our sin, ourselves, and our circumstances and onto Jesus Christ.<br /><br />A common objection to Christ-centered preaching is that not all of the scriptures can be interpreted that way. How about the Old Testament? The Mosiac Law? The Prophets?<br /><br />Yet, Jesus tells the Pharisees (who only had the Old Testament) how to interpret scripture correctly:<br /><br />“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 6:39).<br /><br />So Jesus tells His opponents that all the scriptures clearly point to Him This means that whenever we pick up an Old Testament passage, God is revealing Christ in some fashion.<br /><br />For example, the Old Testament priests foreshadowed the coming of Jesus Christ, the perfect and final High Priest. The earthly priests under the Mosiac law were “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things (Heb 8:5). A copy and a shadow implies the presence of the real deal who is from heaven, Jesus Christ.<br /><br />Sermons on the Old Testament put this principle of Christ-centered preaching to the test. Too often we are called to follow some kind of example without being given the power or ability to do it. A preacher may call us to “go be a David (and slay the Goliaths in your life)” or “go be a Daniel (and be brave if you're thrown in the lion's den)”. There's some truth in that. However, the Bible was not written primarily as a “how-to” book for improving your morals or condition in life. The Bible was written to reveal our need for a Savior from sin and God's righteous anger. If this is the case, then the story of David and Goliath teaches us that we need a David in our life to rescue us (think Jesus Christ) rather than teaches us to be better (stronger, braver, etc...)<br /><br />The difference is subtle, but important. Is Jesus primarily a good moral example to follow? Or is Jesus primarily a Savior we need and Lord we submit to? Of course, He is a good moral example, but before He is that, He is much more than that. A Christ-centered sermon shouldn't leave you inspired at your own potential. It should leave you inspired at the person and work of Christ.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">CHRIST-CENTERED PREACHING AT COVENANT FELLOWSHIP</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:medium;"><br />Our church <a href="http://www.covfel.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=154002">Covenant Fellowship</a> is currently doing a sermon series on Leviticus. The messages have enlarged and challenged my understanding of sin and the presence of sin in my life. A scary thought is that we may sin unintentionally and not even realize it:<br /><br />“if anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them....” (Leviticus 4:2).<br /><br />If you read on, you'll see that even unintentional sins require a sacrifice before God. Innocence because of ignorance simply doesn't exist! Unintentionally breaking God's commands is serious sin before God. But sin isn't just avoiding evil. In the message, our pastor also reminded us that failing to do what God requires is also sin. For example, God commands us to give thanks, to love one another, to meditate upon His Word, etc... Failure to do what God requires (because of forgetfulness, laziness, or any other reason) is also sin. This means that not complaining may fall short of God's glory if I fail to give thanks!<br /><br />An expanded view of sin can lead to despair or great zeal to fulfill the law by our own flesh (e.g. like the Pharisees). Or, we can come with a humble and contrite heart to a Savior who laid down His life for the forgiveness of all of our sins and for the filling of the Holy Spirit who enables us to put sin to death (Rom. 8:13, Gal. 5:16).<br /><br />God has used the preaching at Covenant Fellowship to remind us of our weak and sinful state and the glories of Christ, who is more than enough for our pressing need.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PREACHING AND WORSHIP</span><br /><br />The Spirit-Filled worship was one factor that led us to choose Covenant Fellowship (see <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/06/picking-new-church-in-new-city-part-2.html">this post </a>for details). Teresa also wrote a <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/06/sin-and-grace.html">blog entry</a> which mentioned how God used the worship at Covenant to expand her vision of God's glory. Good preaching leads to good worship. The Christ-Centered preaching that has fed our souls has also driven the Spirit-Filled worship.<br /><br />I'll end with this quote from John Stott that explains this quite well:<br /><br />"Our worship is poor because our knowledge of God is poor, and our knowledge of God is poor because our preaching is poor. But when the Word of God is expounded in its fullness, and the congregation begins to glimpse the glory of the living God, they bow down in solemn awe and joyful wonder before His throne. It is preaching which accomplishes this, the proclamation of the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God. That is why preaching is unique and irreplaceable." (John Stott)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-46611874939755484312011-06-21T14:43:00.000-07:002011-06-26T19:04:45.960-07:00Sin and Grace<div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>This is part II in my struggle with insomnia during the Fall semester of 2010. Our second major paper was to examine the role of our own sin and God's grace in our lives. Not all of us did the same topic as our suffering and refuge paper, but it happened to work out that way for me. Through His perfect timing, God used our Dynamics of Biblical Change class to show me that the original cause of my insomnia was my fear of man and pride. Below are some glimpses of my life during that time. </i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><br /></div><div style=";font-family:";"><i><span style="font-size:small;">About the first week of November my insomnia began to happen during nights that I didn’t have a Greek test the next day. I became increasingly nervous about bedtime, and was very anxious about whether I would even fall asleep each night.</span></i><span style="font-size:small;"><i> At first, I was the one who tried to cure myself of my own insomnia. I tried to make my body tired so that my chances of sleeping would increase, but the insomnia continued. I even bought some sleeping pills but they wore off and were no match for my insomnia. :P </i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><br /></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>God had patience with me and was the one who ultimately delivered me by opening my eyes to my own sin and bringing me to repentance over it.</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><br /></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Thursday night Dynamics class (11/4/10)</b></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">I had cried out to God for deliverance from the symptoms of anxiety and sleeplessness, but it wasn't until Dynamics class that week that God began to deliver me. Through that class, God showed me that I cried out not for His sake, but to bring comfort to myself. I wanted the pain to go away, but I didn't desire heart change. I wanted relief from my symptoms, but didn’t understand my heart. </span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><u><b>The Lusts of the Flesh</b></u></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">When Dr. Powlison was describing the desires of the heart, he described the lusts of the flesh in Romans 13:</span></div><ul><li><span style="font-size:small;"><i>Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.</i></span></li></ul><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">The lusts of the flesh, he explained, are more than just sexual sins and coveting. They overflow to good things in life as well. It wasn't bad that I wanted to do well or that I wanted sleep, but I wanted to do well too much. I was fighting for sleep because my desire had become my master. My performance became a monster that was infecting more and more parts of my life. I found myself constantly stressed and my insomnia was becoming more frequent. The worse it got, the more I tried to gain control, which made my anxiety even worse.</span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><u><b>The Real Cause</b></u></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">Through that Dynamics lecture, the Holy Spirit showed me and convicted me that I was worshipping myself. It finally clicked that that I had lost the proper perspective of who God was. God had become very small and helpless to me. He was only a helper to me when I was in trouble, and he could only bring relief to my symptoms. I realized that I had stopped worshipping Him and that I had started worshipping my own abilities and talents. My pride had mastered me. </span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">“<i>Any fear or anxiety is ultimately a worship of ourselves</i>”- This phrase really spoke a lot of me. It had never crossed my mind that I could become a slave to serving myself and my own self esteem. In trying to do so, I had become a wreck, and nothing was good enough. I had forgotten that all of this was for God’s glory, and to deepen my relationship with Him. Instead, God had become long forgotten and I had worshipped my feelings and my grades. Of course, I didn’t want to serve and worship myself. No one says to himself, “I have decided to worship myself today”. Sin creeps its way into our hearts unnoticed. I was completely blind to the fact that I was even doing so in the first place.</span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><u><b>Real Deliverance</b></u></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">My response was sorrow and repentance over my idolatry. At the same time, God brought a sense of relief and joy because my eyes were finally opened to my sin. When God convicted me of my sin, it became an “a-ha!” moment, and was truly liberating. I experienced the joys that came with repentance; the process is not only a turning away from your sins, but a freeing from sin that comes when you begin to see your own actions through God’s eyes. </span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">That class period was a turning point for me in my deliverance from insomnia. I wanted to cry for almost the whole three hours of class that night, but they weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of joy, finally knowing what my problem was, and gladness that God had helped me to see who I was worshipping. I was so grateful that God had provided this deliverance from bondage to my sin by opening my eyes, speaking to me by the Holy Spirit, and giving me a true repentant heart once I saw clearly. God brought me through that time, carried me and gave me strength during my suffering, and finally delivered me in His perfect timing through His power. He changed my perspective and where I put my trust. I could now truly relinquish control. I believed in this solution. When God provides deliverance it is really deliverance. It is not just a solution that I think I can will myself to believe, but genuine liberating heart change.</span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">That night, I slept soundly. God had turned the switch from “blind” to “see” and my heart was truly changed. </span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Put to the test (11/7/10)</b></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">Three days after that, on Sunday morning, we were driving to church and the idea crept into my mind that we had a Greek test the next day (Monday). We had been studying for it all weekend, and I had had peace about it. Suddenly, though, it was again the day before the big test and the same situation was looking me in the face. I slowly felt my body tensing up. “Oh no! Is this happening again?” I thought. “What about all that I’ve learned?” I was strangely quiet in the car, and Alex asked me if I was sleepy. What I didn’t tell him at the time was that I was nervous about not being able to sleep. I knew the right answer, but in that moment, I didn’t know it as clearly anymore. I resolved that the only thing I could do was ask God to help me, and I prayed some in the car quietly to myself before we arrived at church.</span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><u><b>Tears of Joy</b></u></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">We arrived at church 10 minutes late, and the worship band was starting a new song. As soon as I heard the song, I knew that it was for me. I wanted so much to worship God with all my heart but lacked the strength to do so. God gave me this song so that I would have words to worship Him in the midst of my struggle. The words of the song expressed perfectly the cry of my heart and I started crying, both physically and in my heart crying out to God to save me once again."Yes, Lord! This is exactly what I want to be saying to you right now!"</span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>I will glory in my Redeemer</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>Whose priceless blood has ransomed me</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>And hung Him on that judgment tree</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>I will glory in my Redeemer</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>Who crushed the power of sin and death</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>My only Savior before the Holy Judge</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>The Lamb Who is my righteousness</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>The Lamb Who is my righteousness</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>I will glory in my Redeemer</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>My life He bought, my love He owns</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>I have no longings for another</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>I’m satisfied in Him alone</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>I will glory in my Redeemer</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>His faithfulness my standing place</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>Though foes are mighty and rush upon me</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>My feet are firm, held by His grace</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><i>My feet are firm, held by His grace</i></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style=";font-family:";"><span style="font-size:small;">Nothing in my own knowledge would save me, not even my remembrance of all of the lessons that He had taught me. <b>Only God could deliver me from this.</b> He knew that I needed to sing this song, and He brought us to church at just the right time so that I would worship Him with it. As soon as I began to worship Christ and sing the Gospel through this song, there was such joy because my soul was fed with the truth of who God was as my Savior. He turned my sights from looking at myself and my circumstances to looking at Him. </span></div><div face=""" style=""><br /></div><div face=""" style=""><span style="font-size:small;">God reminded me that I am held firm by His grace, and though trials may seem to possess such power, He is mighty to save. He delivered me (from myself!) once again, not of my own knowledge or strength, but through His provision and grace. I received comfort from God that was real and lasting. I didn’t have to tell myself not to stress. God gave me peace which transcended all understanding.</span></div><div face=""" style=""><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div face=""" style=""><span style="font-size:large;"><b>Epilogue</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">I know that these trials will continue to come because there is still sin in my life that I have not dealt with. My life is certainly not anxiety-free, and I do still get nervous about tests and grades. However, my reaction to trials has been changed by this whole experience. I’ve learned that God goes through my trials with me. He is my ever-present help in times of need. He is mighty to save His children and will deliver me. He has a purpose to suffering, and He, as the creator of the universe, is the one true being in all the earth that is worthy of worship. He has patience with me in my sin and is my deliverer. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">Even though this suffering is tough while it is happening, God always ordains it for a purpose. He will continue to be faithful, though I will still struggle to trust Him, but He will deliver me in His time. Paul says, in Philippians, that “He who began a good work will bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. Our salvation and God’s work in our lives is His work, and He will finish it. Praise God that I got about six hours of sleep that Sunday after church. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:small;">However, although there are times where I do still get anxious, I know that progress will continue to be little steps of faith of crying out to Him and learning to trust Him. I am very much looking forward to that day where all these sufferings will end and there will be a day where we sin no more. All things will be made right. Praise be to God that that will indeed happen one day and in Christ there is true hope and deliverance!</span></div>Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608842667124412721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-76394189065442848832011-06-17T11:07:00.000-07:002011-07-21T13:12:57.329-07:00Picking a New Church in a New City (part 2)<span style="font-size:medium;">“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:4-5).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UNITED TO THE BODY</span><br /><br />The church is the body of Christ. Thus, to be a Christian is to be united with other Christians under the Lordship of Christ.<br /><br />So, when Teresa and I were choosing a new church in a new city, we were choosing to unite ourselves with a particular group of Christians. In America, we are currently blessed with the luxury of choices. Though not all churches are good, there are many good ones that preach and practice what the Bible gives us.<br /><br />If you've been reading along, Teresa and I are describing our journey in becoming members of <a href="http://www.covfel.org/">Covenant Fellowship Church</a>. The <a href="http://twocrvs.blogspot.com/2011/06/picking-new-church-in-new-city-part-1.html">previous entry</a> was about our desire to commit ourselves to a single church for the entire duration of our time in seminary. This also meant doing our mentored ministry at this church.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP</span><br /><br />One factor that led us to <a href="http://www.covfel.org/">Covenant Fellowship</a> was the Spirit-filled worship. One worship leader said that the goal of worship is to let the word of Christ fill our minds and hearts. We should be moved to praise, adoration, and thanksgiving by the reality of Christ and what He has done.<br /><br />“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16)<br /><br />Since worship should affect the entire person, we should worship with our emotions. However, some songs seem to appeal only to our emotions and say very little (or nothing) about God. For instance, if you can take a worship song and sing it to another human being, then it is probably missing some specific details about what makes our God so great and glorious. Though we can worship God with any song, our hearts long for deeper and more intimate knowledge of God.<br /><br />Christ tells us that worship is done in "Spirit and truth" (John 4:24). Worship should be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God. We don't serve a God who is unreachable or vague. He is near us, His Spirit dwells in every believer, and He has made His power and glory clear to us.<br /><br />We have found the worship at Covenant Fellowship to be Spirit-filled. The music has helped Teresa and I set our sights upon the crucified and risen Savior, the only hope that we have in this life and the life to come. The worship team is intentional about linking the blessings and promises of God to Christ and His work on the cross.<br /><br />God reminds us every week of the sacrifice of Christ, which makes it possible for us to approach a holy God. Just as the Israelites had to slaughter animals before they could present themselves before God at the tabernacle, we have access to God only because He provided a sacrifice in Christ. If you go to church every week, you know that it can be easy to start taking the sacrifice of Christ for granted. We begin to assume that we can approach God at anytime on any terms. We can begin to assume that God owes us certain things, like life, health, or financial security.<br /><br />When we go to church, we ought to be reminded that we owe God praise and thanksgiving. He doesn't owe us anything. God reminded Job of this reality: “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine” (Job. 41:10)<br /><br />It has been humbling and refreshing to sing phrases like:<br /><br /></span><ul><li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:medium;">"Till on that cross as Jesus died,</span> The wrath of God was satisfied" (From “In Christ Alone”)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Because a sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free" (From "Before the Throne of God Above")</span><br /></li></ul><span style="font-size:medium;">There isn't much in lyrics like these that make me feel good, worthy, or confident. The worship music reminds me of my sin and God's wrath. And those things move me to praise God for Christ, who died to save sinners like me. I have come away renewed and awed by how good God is, how worthy Christ is, and what confidence I have in Christ to approach a holy God. I feel that my soul is fed and filled as I'm reminding myself of the gospel- the reality of God's grace, love, and forgiveness in Christ.<br /><br />What a joy and privilege to be joined with other people who see their sinfulness and the great love of our Savior. What a privilege to celebrate the one hope we have because of the one faith in the one Lord and be united to His one body!<br /></span><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-46928856888807219122011-06-10T15:21:00.000-07:002011-06-10T15:42:37.859-07:00Picking a New Church in a New City (part 1)<span style="font-size:medium;">When we moved to Philadelphia a year ago, Teresa and I had to pick a new church. Neither of us have had to do that in the last ten years, but it's probably not a bad thing.<br /><br />When Christ died for the sins of God's people and rose on the 3rd day, He created the church of God. If we want to know the value of the church in God's eyes, we only need to look to the price He paid for it. Acts 20:28 says that the church of God was something Jesus “obtained with his own blood.” The infinite blood of Christ was used to secure the redemption of the church! Therefore, we ought to esteem the church as God esteems her. God doesn't take church membership lightly, and neither should we. At the get-go, we wanted to find a church where we could fully commit ourselves for the next few years while we're in seminary.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MENTORED MINISTRY</span><br /><br />One factor that we had to consider was where we would be mentored. Westminster has a Mentored Ministry requirement. This means I have to do 400 hours of service (either paid or unpaid) under the supervision of a pastor. This could be done all at once (e.g. a summer internship or a mission trip) and it doesn't have to be done in your home church. For instance, we knew someone who attended one church Sunday morning but then served as a paid pastor at another church during the afternoon.<br /><br />If possible, Teresa and I wanted to be members of a church where we could also do our Mentored Ministry. We felt the Lord leading us to go “all-in” with one church. This would be the church where we would worship God, hear God's Word preached, love our fellow brothers and sisters, serve others, and also be mentored.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FULL COMMITMENT</span><br /><br />Spurgeon said, “The day we find the perfect church, it becomes imperfect the moment we join it.” Nobody claims to look for the perfect church, but when the rubber meets the road, things can be quite different. It's not uncommon to hear of seminary students who change churches every year or two and never become fully committed.<br /><br />This can be all too common among churches in America. At our church back in Texas, we knew people who transferred to different churches for different reasons. Sometimes there are good reasons to leave a church. Yet in other cases, folks headed for the exits rather than staying committed to the body when things got tough. </span><span style="font-size:medium;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:medium;"><br />If possible, Teresa and I wanted to commit ourselves to one church for the entire duration of our time in seminary. We wanted to pick a church for the long-haul. We didn't want to try out a church for a season and then switch to a different one. This required doing as much legwork up-front: researching options, reading about beliefs and ministries, talking to people, and listening to sermons on-line. Of course, despite all our advance in modern technology, we would still need to visit churches in person.<br /><br />At the end of a 4-month process (which included a 10-week membership class), we committed ourselves as members of Covenant Fellowship Church located in a Philadelphia suburb. In the upcoming blog posts, I'll go into more detail on how God led us to Covenant Fellowship.<br /></span><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-12863667431130528142011-05-09T11:49:00.000-07:002011-05-09T11:49:28.514-07:00A new type of love song<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I was younger, I loved broadway musicals more than anything. The first show I ever saw was in 7th grade and it was Miss Saigon. I just fell in love with the way you could mix music, which was big in my life, with a story about true love, faithfulness, and sometimes a teary-eyed sad ending. In these shows, my favorite parts would always be the big love song between the two lead characters where they declared their love for each other and you knew that they would always be together (<i>All I ask of you</i> from Phantom and <i>Too Much In Love To Care </i>from Sunset Boulevard come to mind as good examples of these). There was just so much emotion and love expressed in the words, and to boot they were set to a great melody that enhanced the experience and made you feel all tingly inside. In a way, you got to live vicariously through the characters and experience love and emotions my teenage self only dreamed of. In a way, though, I always felt I could never be a part of that love song, one, because I can't sing very well, and two because I was never sure that I could have that kind of love for anyone else, and furthermore that they could ever love me in that way. But listening to these songs and swooning with emotion gave me an outlet of beauty and a place where I could pretend that I was loved just as these characters loved each other. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
In the past few years, I've seen God change that desire for love inside my heart. He has shown me that any kind of human love is a pointer to His perfect unfailing love. Any grace and mercy in love between two people is a picture of the infinite mercies that He shows us every morning, not because we deserve it, but because He chooses to have grace on us. Even more so, God has also changed my view of what a love song is. I used to think the perfect love song was between two people, but now I see that it is between a human and their God. Usually, in these musicals, something happens where they cannot be together, albeit a misunderstanding or some catastrophic event. But God promises that nothing can separate us from His perfect love.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I never thought I could ever sing a love song like those in my favorite broadway musicals, but God showed me that I <b>can</b> be a part of this magnificent love duet, not because I am a good singer (indeed, I'm glad that I'll never have to sing a solo in public), but because I am a partaker in God's love and grace. Christ saw me as the foremost of sinners, yet He chose to have mercy on me! Also, He knew that I could never love Him on my own, so He gathered me to Him and opened my eyes and brought me to sorrow over my sins. What greater example of love could there be? He gives us these wonderful songs to sing to Him that are richer and more beautiful than any love ballad between two people because they point to God's perfect love. He points our eyes heaven-ward, from the human love relationships to our love relationship with Him. God has so graciously blessed us with songs that can so powerfully express how great God is and how wonderful His love is to us; this is richer and more beautiful than any love story could be because it is THE love story of all time. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are a lot of good songs out there. This one is the one that has always reminded me of His infinite glory and love towards us.<br />
<br />
<b>How Deep</b><br />
You were broken that I might be healed<br />
You were cast off that I might draw near<br />
You were thirsty that I might come drink<br />
Cried out in anguish that I might sing<br />
<br />
How deep is Your love<br />
How high and how wide is Your mercy<br />
How deep is Your grace<br />
Our hearts overflow with praise to You<br />
<br />
You knew darkness that I might know light<br />
Wept great tears that mine might be dried<br />
Stripped of glory that I might be clothed<br />
Crushed by Your Father to call me Your own <br />
<br />
Based on The Valley of Vision prayer “Love Lustres at Calvary”<br />
Words and Music by Stephen Altrogge</span> </div>Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608842667124412721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-1341681889744090412011-04-19T20:27:00.001-07:002011-12-17T09:27:12.230-08:00Is there Value in Learing Biblical Hebrew? (part 2)<span style="font-size:medium;">In the last post, I posed the question, "Is there value in learning the original languages of the Bible?" Sure, there are Bible translators and scholars who might need them. But how about us and the rest of the church?<br /><br />Our Hebrew teacher at Westminster (Libbie Groves) made a very compelling case, and I want to flesh this out a bit more here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. AMBIGUITY IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT</span><br /><br />God and His plan of salvation are very clearly explained in Scripture. No one needs to consult the Greek or Hebrew text to know that God requires all men to repent and place their trust in Christ because He has fixed a day of judgment for all. Yet, there are many places in scripture where there is </span><span style="font-size:medium;">some ambiguity. Words and phrases could have more than one meaning. In those situations, Bible translators have to make a decision on how to translate something with the knowledge that there are multiple options. When we were translating the verse Judges 3:23, we ran into such a case.<br /><br />The ESV translates it this way: "Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them." (Judges 3:23)<br /><br />Ehud was a judge of Israel who killed Eglon, the king of Moab, and freed Israel from foreign oppression. Judges 3 has a fascinating story of how Ehud gets into the evil king's private chambers with a concealed weapon, kills him, and then escapes by going out the porch. When we looked up the Hebrew word that is translated as "porch" in the ESV, we found this entry: "uncertain: vestibule, latrine, air-hole".<br /><br />According to Hebrew scholars, the word has an uncertain meaning. It could mean "vestibule" (or "hall"), "latrine", or "air-hole". So, Ehud could have escaped out the porch, hall, or even sewage pipe. Maybe Ehud pulled a "Shawshank Redemption" type of escape (Andy Dufresne crawled his way to freedom through sewer pipe filled with human waste).<br /><br />At any rate, we don't know for sure. In these ambiguous cases, we ought to tread lightly. For instance, it would be unwise (or even a mistake) for a preacher to base the main point of a sermon on something that's ambiguous. Someone who knows the original language would be able to avoid this kind of mistake and detect those who make it. The Bible warns us that there are plenty of false prophets and teachers out there. When there is uncertainty in the original text, a translation becomes an interpretation. And these interpretations should be treated with care. A pastor is more equipped to shepherd his flock and protect them if he has the tools to see where someone is drawing conclusions from passages that are ambiguous.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. LOST IN TRANSLATION</span><br /><br />We've all heard of the phrase "lost in translation". The Bible isn't immune from this. The authors of scripture often use grammar to highlight something. Using Hebrew grammar to make a point about something may not work in English because English has a different grammatical structure. WARNING - this point may seem quite dry, so feel free to skip ahead!<br /><br />For example, Judges 1:21 says: "But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites...." . In this verse fragment, the noun is "the people of Benjamin", the verb is "did not drive out", and the direct object is the "Jebusites".<br /><br />Typical English order: Noun -> Verb -> Direct Object. Hebrew sentences typically start with the verb instead of the noun.<br />Typical Hebrew order: Verb -> Noun -> Direct Object.<br /><br />Typically, we expect: [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin] -> [Jebusties].<br />Instead, the text has: [Jebusites] -> [did not drive out] -> [people of Benjamin].<br /><br />The direct object (Jebusites) is placed first. This is not expected. It seems like the author is drawing to our attention the presence of the Jebusties, which should have been driven out of the land of Canaan. If you have read the book of Judges, you will know that the nation of Israel failed to obey God in driving out the inhabitants of Canaan and failed to worship God whole-heartedly. The presence of "Jebusties" at the beginning of the sentence is lost in translation. Not the end of the world, yet something the author wanted to say is lost.<br /><br />Judges 3:6 was another example we looked at. The typical word ordering is changed when a verb and direct object are swapped. As a result, the reader cannot tell which nouns go with which verbs. This intermingling of words reflects the intermingling between the Israelites and Cannanites. Rather than being separate as God's people, Israel mixes with her pagan culture:<br />"And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods." This unexpected word order even crashed some Bible software when it was trying to process Judges for the first time!<br /><br />Examples like these show how the Hebrew grammar may tell be telling us something that is lost in translation. Without knowing the original language, these important (yet subtle) points may be lost.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. THE SUPREMACY AND PRIORITY OF GOD'S WORD</span><br /><br />Some may argue, "So what? We might lose a few things here and there, but our translations give us all the important stuff." Yet, scripture itself always challenges us to take a higher (and never a lower) view of itself:<br /><br />"For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)<br /><br />"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Matthew 24:35).<br /><br />God cares about all the little details in Scripture and they are there for a reason. Even the most seemingly insignificant dots in the Hebrew text are important to God and not to be treated lightly. Scripture was written by God through human authors in such a way that its ultimate source is God Himself and it is therefore completely trustworthy and authoritative.<br /><br />"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:16-17).<br /><br />All of scripture is divine, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must give careful and thoughtful attention to its details.<br /><br />I'm certainly no Hebrew scholar, yet I am beginning to see (in new ways) that preaching and teaching God's word carries great responsibilities. Those who are given a call to do these things should strive to be properly equipped.</span><span style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-3312866459246176662011-04-16T17:24:00.001-07:002011-12-12T12:27:57.249-08:00Is there value in learning Biblical Hebrew? (part 1)<span style="font-size:130%;">The spring term has been super busy, so we've been delinquent in keeping up our blog. I've been wanting to blog about a 4-week intensive Hebrew class at Westminster Seminary during January. So after much delay, here it is!<br /><br />13 weeks were compressed into 4. Winter Hebrew was no joke. We were expected the clear the decks (of any work or ministry commitments) to focus on the class. The mid-term for the course has been described as the most difficult test at Westminster. Winter Hebrew is like full-time job where your employer expects you to work nights and weekends to meet a deadline because your project and your job depended on it.<br /><br />Our professor told us a story about a guy who was a student during the Vietnam war. Full-time students were exempt from the military draft. Mid-way through the course, though, the student decided that he had enough. He dropped the class, enlisted, and then shipped off Vietnam. Apparently he thought the jungles of Vietnam were more bearable than Winter Hebrew.<br /><br />It's kind of a funny story- well funny now that we're actually done. But it does raise some questions. Why would anyone subject themselves to 4 weeks of pain? Or to ask a slightly different question, "Why go through the trouble of learning Biblical Hebrew (or Greek)?" Aren't English translations good enough?<br /><br />It is true that our Bible translations are sufficient for us to know God and His plan of salvation. The Westminster Confession captures this thought rather well:<br /><br />Everything God wants you to know for His own glory, your salvation, faith and life, is either given directly or indirectly by Scripture....those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly given in scripture that no special training is needed to know what they are (paraphrased from Chapter 1, "Of The Holy Scripture")<br /><br />I'm not advocating that everyone in the church must to devote years of their life learning Greek (the original language of the New Testament) or Hebrew (the original language of the Old Testament). Yet, I want to present a few reasons why studying the original languages is valuable and important for the body of Christ. I want to try and make a case for why there should be at least one person in your church (probably the pastor) who should know Greek and Hebrew.<br /><br />Here are 3 reasons I'm going to give :<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. AMBIGUITY IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT</span>. For instance, if you pick up the NIV and ESV (which are both faithful translations of the text), you'll notice some differences. As we've discovered, doing a translation means doing an interpretation. Different translations exist for different reasons. Some translations like the NIV do larger chunks of scripture at a time ("ideas") and aim for readability. Others like the NASB try to do smaller chunks ("word-for-word") and try to remain closer to the original text. Others like the ESV try to do something in between. These are broad generalizations, but you get the idea.<br /><br />One is not necessary "better" or "worse" than another. By attempting a word-for-word translation, NASB or ESV has to do some awkward gymnastics to stick to its goal. Therefore, it's often less readable or clear than the NIV, which does more paraphrasing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. LOST IN TRANSLATION.</span> Because languages are not identical to one another, things are lost in translation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. SUPREMACY AND PRIORITY OF GOD'S WORD.</span> Imagine that you were given an important document- maybe a treaty between two countries, a crucial business contract, or a letter from a dear friend. But, it's written in a different language. Depending on how important it is and how much precision you need, you may not be content with a translation. In the same way, the words of eternal life found in God's eternal word may place a burden of responsibility upon some people to learn the original Biblical languages.<br /><br />In my next post, I'll try to flesh out these reasons some more by going into some more technical details </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span></span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09798073126006473152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4725024554209841453.post-22102344514624192192011-02-02T19:24:00.000-08:002011-02-03T19:08:07.062-08:00Suffering and Refuge<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Alex has shared a lot about Apologetics here at Westminster. Spring classes start tomorrow, and I've been assigned to talk a little bit about how being here at seminary has changed me. </i></span> </div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>I've benefited so much from just being here at Westminster for one semester. This fall, I took a counseling course called Dynamics of Biblical Change taught by David Powlison; it has been a blessing to me in so many ways, and the Holy Spirit has mercifully changed me in ways that I don't deserve. This past two years or so God has been giving me an interest in counseling that I never thought I had, and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be changed so much by it. But God gives gifts to His children that are so much better than anything we could ever ask for or imagine. Praise Him for that!</i></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Since I'm not much of a writer, I thought I'd share some papers (essays, really) that I've written this semester in counseling class. The first one (this entry) is about Suffering and Refuge, and the second one (to come at a later time) will be about Sin and Grace.</i></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>This is an excerpt from a project that I did about mid-October 2010. Our task was to examine a period of significant suffering in our lives and to seek God as our refuge in the midst of suffering. The trial that I examined was my sleeplessness due to Greek tests during the summer and fall semesters. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i> </i></span> </div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Summer Greek </b></span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">This summer I began to have sleepless nights before each of our Summer Greek exams. If you know me, you'd know that I can fall asleep anywhere, anytime. I had never had any issues with sleeping before, and it was a huge shock when I began staying awake for hours on end. Each day before the test, I studied all day and felt fine about the test. However, when I went to bed, I laid in bed for hours and could not fall asleep.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">At first, I told myself to calm down and that sleep would eventually come. Eventually the hours rolled by and I continued to stay awake. I told myself that this shouldn’t be happening to me. I repeated to myself that I needed to let it go, to surrender it to God, and that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Slowly as the hours passed one by one, I became increasingly frustrated. I tried a number of things to help me relax. Still no sleep. I wondered what was wrong with me that I couldn’t sleep as well, and thought perhaps that I had had too much caffeine. I also was jealous of Alex and Beni who were happily asleep and blissfully unaware of my angst.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The second time this happened, I tried my hardest to eliminate many of the contributors to insomnia that I thought I could control. I had no caffeine that day, bought curtains to keep out the light and the noise, wore earplugs, and retired early, all to give myself the best chance of falling asleep. Still, the result was the same. I got under two hours of sleep that night. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">In desperation, I started thinking of how I could escape from the situation that was causing this suffering. I thought about dropping out of seminary so I wouldn’t have to take any more tests, and retiring to the “easy life” of starting a family. Anything, I thought, would be better than not getting sleep.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I NEED 8 Hours!</b> </span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">In my mind, I feel that I absolutely need to get eight hours of sleep or I won’t be adequately prepared for the exam. I get debilitating migraine headaches from time to time, and I really fear getting those because I can't function at all for the whole day. In my mind, if something happens to my sleep, it will lead to me getting a migraine, not being able to take the test, having to withdraw the course, and dropping out of seminary, which would separate me from Alex, who would excel and continue to take classes while I could not. My mind turns one small thing into a great potential disaster looming around the corner, ready to strike. I think that the right circumstances have to be in place in order for me to be successful.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I am doing something that I have previously been good at in another context, I expect a certain level of perfection when doing that same thing in another context. As a result I get nervous even though in the first context I was calm and confident. In this case, my dilemma is partially, “Can I be a good student again after all this time out of school?” and also partially, “Am I as good as these other students in my classes? Am I smart enough for seminary?”</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.17in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the semester progressed, I became fearful about sleep in general, that I wouldn’t be able to sleep the next night or during the following nights. Actually, I still dread going to sleep the day before an exam. Through this sleeplessness, God took away, for a time, one of the things that I’d always counted on as a guarantee. I could always trust in the fact that I could sleep, and suddenly I couldn’t do something I’d never had any trouble with my entire life. It was earth-shattering. I felt helpless and like my body didn’t work anymore. I had to spend much of the next day recovering and was not as productive as I would have liked to be.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Who is God in all of this?</b> </span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"> God promises He is in control. He has ordained every sleepless night for a reason. He is the creator of all things, including my body, Greek participles, and sleep. He promises to work everything to the good of those who love Him, even something that takes away the ability for me to function and think properly. He promises to be there when I walk through the long corridor of sleeplessness, and to lead my steps. </span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">He gives me strength, not necessarily to happily pretend that nothing is wrong, but to persevere and trust Him through these trials. He both hears my cry and gives me strength to have peace during a troubling night of sleeplessness, and to persevere in my studies and be faithful to the task that he has called me to. He is worthy of praise because His character doesn’t change dependent on my circumstance. He is infinite, outside of time, and knows every single second of my life. He is infinite; the situation is not. He is all powerful; the situation is not. </span><br />
<br />
<u><b><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">More Greek Lessons </span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Through all trials, God is shaping us and showing us things in our lives that we need to change. First of all, the Lord has been challenging me to not run away from suffering. This sleepless has continued into the Fall semester. During the weeks leading up to the first test this semester, I thought a lot about the concept of sleep. I was challenged by the article we read on Psalm 119 where Dr. Powlison shared about his struggles with insomnia and how he learned to look forward to that time as a time to meet with and be in the presence of God. It really challenged me to think about my beliefs about who God was in the midst of suffering. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">I slowly began to realize that God is with me when I cannot sleep. He is unchanging, so that means that He is still sovereign and still good even when I can’t sleep. God is by my side in my suffering. He is present, sustaining me, giving me strength to carry on when all human reason screamed to give up and go home. Most of all, He is my help, my refuge in times of need. I can cry out to Him, tell Him how I’m feeling, and He hears and gives me strength to persevere. Even if I don’t get to fall asleep, His hand is still completely sovereign over my entire life. I can trust in Him to have some purpose to my suffering, and to be the one who gives and takes it away. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The words of Psalm 62 have really become the cries of my heart during those moments of sleeplessness:</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><sup>1</sup>For God alone my soul waits in silence;<br />
from him comes my salvation.<br />
<sup>2</sup> He only is my rock and my salvation,<br />
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">In those nights, God is the one who my soul waits for. He has saved me from my sins, and He will save me from this sleeplessness when it is time. He ONLY, not my grades or knowledge, is my rock and salvation, and I can cry out to Him and He will keep me from being greatly shaken. I may be slightly shaken from the insomnia, but my world is not the disaster that it once was in response to this suffering.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Secondly, I’m beginning to see that the issue I’m facing is more than wanting to get a good night’s sleep. Rather, it is an issue of surrender. Before seminary I had successfully completed a college degree, and was competent to handle engineering classes. I started class with unconscious pressures to achieve at a certain level. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’m learning that I trust in my own performance. If I don’t do well, I believe that I have failed. I put my identity in my achievements. I’m not really taking the test for God, but to prove my own goodness and ability. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Slowly, I’ve begun to learn to say to myself, “This is the amount of time that you have been given to study, and this is the grade that God has given you. These are blessings from God, and not works of your own hands.” My focus in seminary is beginning to shift from having to prove myself to realizing this time is a gift and a blessing to study and to know God better.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Finally, sleep?</b> </span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">During the night before this past Greek test (about two weeks ago), I once again could not sleep. However, my reaction to the time dramatically changed. Instead of feeling utter despair, I was able to genuinely cry out to God and surrender my circumstances to Him. I found that the times that I was on my knees asking Him desperately to help me trust in Him were the times that I had the most joy that night, because it was in those times where I didn’t have to be in control. I didn’t have to will myself to relax. I admitted my inability to do anything on my own to God, and cried out to God as my protector and refuge. I knew my God was right alongside me, and that I wasn’t alone. I was able to ask Him for help in addressing these performance issues, and for asking Him to take my life and transform it for His glory. I asked Him to use these results not for my praise but for His.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Although I didn’t sleep normally that night, I did end up falling asleep for five hours, which was a huge difference from sleeping only 1-2 hours the nights before our previous two tests. I praise God that He has changed my heart about anticipating these times of insomnia as a time to cry out and surrender to God, to thank Him for loving me and for taking care of me, and for understanding and meeting with me during my time of suffering.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> </div>Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608842667124412721noreply@blogger.com1