Telling People the Truth

If you don't know the work of Kim Riddlebarger yet, then you're in for a treat. Kim is a pastor, professor, and talk-show speaker who communicates his thoughts in a clear, simple, down-to-earth way. On his church's website, he has posted a very helpful article on evangelism from a Reformed perspective.

What is Justification?

Have you ever heard a Christian mention the word 'justification' and wondered, in the context of the Christian faith, what was meant? Here is an excellent article on this all-important topic. Very thorough. But stick with it, it's worth reading to the end!

Getting in Christ's Way

Michael Horton, as host of the radio talk-show The White Horse Inn, has been dissecting Christless Christianity with his like-minded Reformed friends. Read his article of the same name here. His basic contentention is that in the post-modern era, Christians are tempted either to be like the Sadducees and prioritize the inside (reason, feelings, and imagination) over the outside (doctrine, historical facts, and the Bible) or to be like the Pharisees and prioritize the outside (law and the standard of righteousness established by the law) but in a smug, self-satisfying way.

Here's a quote from Horton on one way post-modern Christians distort the gospel:

Another way we distort the proclamation of Christ in the "Pharasaic" mode is by what has sometimes been called "the assumed gospel." This is often the first stage of taking our eyes off of Christ. Even where Christ is regarded as the answer to God's just wrath, this emphasis is regarded as a point that can be left behind in the Christian life. The idea is that people "get saved" and then "become disciples." The gospel for sinners is Christ's death and resurrection; the gospel for disciples, however, is, "Get busy!" But this assumes that disciples are not sinners, too. There is not a single biblical verse that calls us to "live the gospel." By definition, the gospel is not something that we can live. It is only something that we can hear and receive. It is good news, not good advice. The good news is that, "But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the Law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe," since sinners "are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, received through faith" (Rom. 3:21-25).

Christless Christianity

Since January, Michael Horton, who teaches apologetics and systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California, has been hosting a fascinating series with his Reformed-minded friends on the radio talk-show, The White Horse Inn. The series, Christless Christianity, ranges over a great deal of terrain--including the bizarre phenomenon of Crossless Christianity, the even more bizarre phenomenon of Joel Osteen, and the problem of entertainment in the worship service, among other things. It's a great series that sheds light on some murky issues with bright wit and the sobering analysis of Reformed thinking.

In his letter to a number of early churches, Jude mentioned how some people within the church were pushing Christ to one side. Apparently, our Lord was standing in the way of their ability to indulge their own desires. 'For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ' (Jude 4). The interlopers regarded Christ as a spoil-sport, who had taken up far too much of their precious time. He needed to go and the sooner the better. Some scholars date the letter of Jude to around A.D 65 to 67. So, within approximately three decades, the church that Christ founded was already experiencing ambivalence about his significance. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.

Jesus Christ is God

When it comes to the matter of the deity of Jesus Christ most people who are unfamiliar with the Bible think there is no evidence indicating that Jesus Christ was God; nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is we have an embarrassment of riches in the form of sound textual evidence. Let’s consider the evidence from Scripture.

(a) The witness of others. The apostle Peter testifies to being an eyewitness to the majesty of Christ (2 Peter 1.16). This isn’t definitive but it is still highly suggestive. Another apostle, Matthew, equates Jesus with God when he reports Jesus as having said, ‘baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit’ (Matthew 28.19). Three persons are mentioned but only one name. That is, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all share the same name. The apostle John declares that the Word (Jesus) is God (John 1.1) and the apostle Thomas, when he sees the Risen Christ, declares, ‘My Lord and my God!’ (John 20.28). Then there is Paul who didn’t know Jesus while he lived but who received special revelation from Jesus after the resurrection. The Risen Christ visited Paul directly (Galatians 1.11-12). Paul’s letters contain several wonderful attestations of the deity of Christ Jesus.

(b) The witness of the miracles. Jesus Christ performs many mighty deeds which attest to his deity. Who but God is able to perform miracles on the scale and variety of Jesus Christ? In fact, the Lord says that his deeds (miracles, signs and wonders) bear witness to who he is (that is, God). Who but God can heal the infirmed, give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, feed the multitudes, calm storms, walk on water, and raise the dead? The fact that the Lord performed all these mighty deeds tells us something about him that goes far beyond the idea that he was a great teacher or a prophet. His miracles and signs and wonders testify to his deity.

(c) The witness of Jesus Christ himself. The Lord says, ‘I and the Father are one’ (John 10.30). There isn’t a trace of subordination in his statement. In fact, he unequivocally claims oneness with God. Clearly, Jesus Christ was equating himself with God. But Christ Jesus goes one better by taking upon himself the name of God; he does so when he refers to himself as ‘I AM,’ the personal name of the Lord God Almighty. Jesus Christ is referring back to the theophany in Exodus, when God reveals himself to Moses on Mount Horeb. Moses asks God, “‘What is your name?’…God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3.13-14). In that episode, God discloses his name.

Now fast forward to the days of Jesus Christ, who says of himself, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’ In saying ‘I am,’ Jesus was ascribing the name of God to himself. This was not an isolated incident.

On several other occasions, Jesus used the name of God to describe himself. He said, ‘I AM the light of the world’ (John 9.5), ‘I AM the good shepherd’ (John 10.14), ‘I AM the resurrection and the life’ (John 11.25), ‘I AM the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14.6), ‘I AM the true vine (John 15.1). He was bearing witness to his deity by applying the name of God, ‘I AM,’ to himself.

(d) The witness of God the Father. On two occasions, the Father bears witness to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.

(i) At the baptism of Jesus, a voice from heaven declares that Jesus is the beloved son of God and states that God is well pleased with him (Matthew 3.17; Mark 1.11; Luke 3.22). In this way, the voice confirms that Christ is the Messianic king (Psalm 2.7).

(ii) At the Transfiguration, a voice from heaven declares the Jesus is the beloved son of God and charges those who are in earshot to listen to him (Matthew 17.5; Mark 9.7; Luke 9.35). Since Moses and Elijah are present at the moment and Peter is acting deferentially to all three of them, the voice from heaven makes the point of distinguishing Jesus as supreme over Moses and Elijah. ‘Listen to him’ rather than ‘listen to them.’ The glory of Christ shines forth from his clothes (Matthew , Mark, Luke ) and his face (Luke ). Of that moment, the author of Hebrews says, ‘He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…’ (1.3) while the Apostle Paul says that, ‘the light of the knowledge of God (shines) in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4.6).

As I’ve said, when it comes to proof that Jesus Christ is God, the Bible provides an embarrassment of riches in the form of sound textual evidence.

The Christian Walk

How do you gain maturity in your walk of faith?

The answer is complex.

(1) The essential agent is God. God, the Holy Spirit, is at work in believers sanctifying them so that they are able to produce the fruit of the Spirit. God gives them a new nature, one whose emotions, intellect, and will are inclined towards joyful obedience to God.

(2) As a result of the new nature, Christians co-operate with the Holy Spirit in the work of sanctification. Only the Holy Spirit can sanctify believers; yet, they still have their part to play. Believers co-operate in various ways.

(i) We co-operate, by studying the Word of God. So, for instance, one of my favourite verses in the Pastoral Letters counsels the Christian: ‘Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything’ (2 Timothy 2.7, NASB). The Lord Jesus Christ will give understanding, through the Holy Spirit, to every believer who considers what Scripture (in this case written by Paul’s hand) says.

(ii) We also co-operate by doing good works. Our doing good works is inextricably connected with the hearing the Word. ‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped to do every good work’ (2 Timothy 3.16-17). Notice two things about this passage:

First, Christians respond to the new life they have been given by allowing Scripture to shape and define them. This is a period of preparation.

Next, they do good works.

The passage from Second Timothy suggests that there is a definite sequence to the formation of a person who has been regenerated. There are two parts to the sequence.

In part one, the believer is taught by Scripture, rebuked by Scripture, corrected by Scripture, and trained in righteousness by Scripture. The activities—teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training—denote a season of cultivation of the new life that God has planted.

Part two, now that the believer has been cultivated, he or she is equipped to do the good work that all Christians were made to do. God regenerates believers, basically, so that they can do good works and, thus, give glory to God, who created them. In fact, the Bible teaches that good works is a fairly accurate indicator of whether or not a person is genuinely regenerated (Matthew 3.8, 10; 7.16-20; 12.33; 21.43, James 2.20).

This does not mean that good works save; they do not. Only the grace of God saves (Ephesians 2.8-9). We play no part in the gracious act of salvation. But, once we are saved, we have a purpose that was prepared for us long ago: to do good works. (Ephesians 2.10).

Also, it would be misleading to say these parts (preparation and doing) are clearly perceived as separate and distinct to our conscious mind. New believers may desire to do good works, but it is crucial they know from the counsel of Scripture why they are doing those good works. So many Christian do good works expecting a pat on the back. This shows a wrong motivation. The correct motivation is to glorify God. Our satisfaction comes from doing his will.

Becoming Christian

How does someone become a Christian?

Answer: by the act of regeneration that God alone can bring about in the core of a person. No one becomes a follower of Christ in any other way than through the new life that God grants to individuals. So, to such questions as, ‘At what age are you old enough to go to church, listen to a sermon, or study the Bible?' I would reply, when God grants you new life, that’s when you are old enough. Some receive the gift as a child (Henrietta Mears was 3 or 4); others receive it later in life (James Haldane knew a man who was converted while at the far end of his 90s). When God grants a person the new nature, that person is ready to sit under a Christian teacher and listen.

It should be noted that the wording of the question is deliberately ambiguous since I chose to speak in terms that people who aren't familiar with Christianity may understand. The truth is, no one becomes a Christian by his or her effort (a point that will become apparent in future comments). God converts us, we don't convert ourselves. So, we become Christian because God makes us so.