Reformation Day

Reformation Day‎

495 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, unwittingly sparking the Protestant Reformation. Here's his story of he came to grasp the gospel as he pondered Paul's Letter to the Romans:


"I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, ‘the justice of God,’ [Rom. 1:17] because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him.

Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant. Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that ‘the just shall live by his faith’ [Rom. 1:17]. Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas the ‘justice of God’ had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressively sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate of heaven."

Fall Back Time Change

It's that time of year....

Remember to put your clocks back one hour

on Sunday, Nov. 4,  at 2:00 a.m.

Fall Back!

Ladies Retreat, 2012

Ladies Retreat

Oct. 12 & 13, 2012

at Bonnymill Inn in Chesaning, MI

Family of God

Trust

Thinking Like Jesus

 

 

Thinking Like Jesus

 

 

Several years ago, I was asked to give a convocation address at a major theological seminary in America. In that address, I spoke about the critical role of logic in biblical interpretation, and I pleaded for seminaries to include courses on logic in their required curricula. In almost any seminary course of study, students are required to learn something of the original biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek. They are taught to look at the historical background of the text, and they learn basic principles of interpretation. These are all important and valuable skills for being good stewards of the Word of God. However, the main reason why errors in biblical interpretation occur is not because the reader lacks a knowledge of Hebrew or of the situation in which the biblical book was written. The number one cause for misunderstanding the Scriptures is making illegitimate inferences from the text. It is my firm belief that these faulty inferences would be less likely if biblical interpreters were more skilled in basic principles of logic.

 

Let me give an example of the kind of faulty inferences I have in mind. I doubt I have ever had a discussion on the question of God's sovereign election without someone quoting John 3:16 and saying, "But doesn't the Bible say that 'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life'"? I immediately agree that the Bible says that. If we were to translate that truth into logical propositions, we would say that all who believe will have eternal life, and no  one who has eternal life will perish, because perishing and eternal life are polar opposites in terms of the consequences of belief. However, this text says absolutely nothing about human ability to believe in Jesus Christ. It tells us nothing about who will believe.  Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). Here we have a universal negative that describes ability. No person has the ability to come to Jesus unless a particular condition is met by God. Yet this is forgotten in light of John 3:16, which says nothing about a prerequisite for faith. So, John 3:16, one of the most famous texts in all of the Bible, is routinely, regularly, and systematically butchered with faulty inferences and implications.

 

Why do such illegitimate inferences happen? Classical Christian theology, particularly Reformed theology, talks about the noetic effects of sin. The English word noetic derives from the Greek word nous, which is often translated as "mind". So, the noetic effects of sin are those consequences of the fall of man on the human intellect. The entire human person, including all of our faculties, was ravaged by the corruption of human nature. Our bodies die because of sin. The human will is in a state of moral bondage, in captivity to the evil desires and impulses of the heart. Our minds, likewise, are fallen, and our very ability to think has been severely weakened by the fall. I would guess that Adam's IQ before the fall was off the charts. I doubt that he was given to making illegitimate inferences in his time of tending the garden. Rather, his mind was sharp and acute. But he lost that when he fell, and we lost it with him.

 

However, the fact that we are fallen does not mean that we no longer have the ability to think. We are all prone to error, but we also can learn to reason in an orderly, logical, and cogent fashion. It is my desire to see Christians think with the utmost cogency and clarity. So, as a matter of discipline, it is much to our benefit to study and master the elementary principles of reasoning so that we can, by the help of God the Holy Spirit, overcome to a certain degree the ravages of sin upon our thinking.

 

I do not think for a moment that any of us, as long as sin is in us, will ever become perfect in our reasoning. Sin prejudices us against the law of God for as long as we live, and we have to fight to overcome these basic distortions of the truth of God. But if we love God, not only with all of our hearts, our souls, and our strength, but also with our minds (Mark 12:30), we will be rigorous in our attempts to train our minds.

 

Yes, Adam had a keen mind before the fall. But I believe the world has never experienced such sound thinking as was manifested in the mind of Christ. I think that part of the perfect humanity of our Lord was that He never made an illegitimate inference. He never jumped to a conclusion that was unwarranted by the premises. His thinking was crystal clear and coherent.

 

We are called to imitate our Lord in all things, including His thinking. Therefore, make it a matter of chief and earnest business in your life to love Him with all your mind.

 

Dr. R.C. Sproul

Article taken from Tabletalk Magazine, Oct. 2012

Corrie Ten Boom

“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away

the ticket and jump off.

You sit still and trust the engineer.”

~Corrie Ten Boom

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

~Prov. 3:5-6

Beautiful Creation

What a beautiful creation!

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of

heaven and earth..."

 ~Acts 17:24~

What if....

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God

of all flesh; is there any thing too hard for me?"

(Jeremiah 32:27)

Can a Christian Vote for a Non-Christian Candidate?

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness".

– 1Timothy 2:1-2


It is clear from the Apostle Paul’s writing that we are to pray for all leaders in government, including those who may not be Christians. But can we vote for them?

Theologian Wayne Grudem writes in Politics According to the Bible, “Christians should support the candidates who best represent moral and political values consistent with biblical teaching, no matter what his or her religious background or convictions.”

There are many biblical examples of God bringing non-believers to work alongside His people to further His purpose:

- Genesis 41:37-57 - God used Pharaoh to establish Joseph in a position of authority in Egypt.

- 1 Kings 5:1-12 – Hiram, King of Tyre helped Solomon build the Temple.

• Daniel 2:46-49 - Nebuchadnezzar placed Daniel and his Jewish friends in positions of high authority in Babylon.

- Isaiah 45:16 – Cyrus, King of Persia, restored the Jewish exiles to Israel.

- Isaiah 45:16 – Cyrus, King of Persia, restored the Jewish exiles to Israel.


This working together with non-believers is called co-belligerence. Christian apologist Francis Schaeffer writes, “A co-belligerent is a person with whom I do not agree on all sorts of vital issues, but who, for whatever reasons of their own, is on the same side in a fight for some specific issue of public justice.”

There are many other examples of co-belligerence. William Wilberforce joined with non-believers to abolish the slave trade in England. Our country’s Christian Founding Fathers joined with their non- Christian counterparts, men like Jefferson and Franklin, to establish the foundations of a new nation.

There will be times that God calls us to engage in co-belligerence for the furtherance of His Kingdom. We may be required to vote for a non-Christian to help us accomplish God’s design for our time.

Al Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary writes: “We must be honest and acknowledge that there are non-Christians or non-evangelicals who share far more of our worldview and policy concerns than some others who identify as Christians. The stewardship of our vote demands that we support those candidates who most clearly and consistently share our worldview and combine these commitments with the competence to serve both faithfully and well.”

Theologian Dr. John Frame writes in Doctrine of the Christine Life: “…in some cultures (like the ancient Roman, in which the New Testament was written) there is not much that Christians can do, other than pray, to influence political structures and policies. But when they can influence them, they should. In modern democracies, all citizens are ‘lesser magistrates’ by virtue of the ballot box. Christians have an obligation to vote according to God’s standards. And, as they are gifted and called, they should influence others to vote in the same way.”

Christians need to vote responsibly. We have an obligation to be informed about issues and candidates, and then vote for those whose stances most closely align with biblical principles. As voters, we share the responsibility of government and thus share accountability to God for what takes place in our nation. And yes, this may mean that at times we need to vote for a non-Christian, whether it’s a national, state or local race.

There are many Christian brothers and sisters who feel anxiety about whether or not they should support Mitt Romney given that he is a Mormon. While I share their belief that Mormonism is not a Christian faith, biblical teachings reveal that I am to be civically responsible, and in America, that includes voting. Regular readers of my column know that Governor Romney was not my first choice for president. But the fact is, one of only two men will be the next President of the United States: Barak Obama or Mitt Romney. Obama’s own record as a senator and now president reveals a man who believes in doctrines that are decidedly antithetical to Christianity and basic conservative morality. And a new documentary, 2016: Obama’s America (which I have recently seen and am now helping to promote) makes it crystal clear that Obama is also working to remake America into something very different than what our Framers designed when they wrote the Constitution. Romney, while far from perfect, has got to win this election if we are going to have any hope of preserving biblical morality or the American dream. I never look for the best Christian to be President – I look for the one who best reflects a strong moral character, and who is most likely to preserve my rights as a Christian and freedom-loving American.

Written by Rebecca Hagelin

www.Townhall.com

Psalm 105:4

Until He Will

“Until He Will”

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise".
Hebrews 10:35-36 KJV

I recently drove to the airport to pick up a friend. I left the house allowing enough time to get to the airport by 12:30 in the afternoon. I arrived on time and so did the plane. I could have gone to the airport at 9:00 AM but I would have been early. I could have gone to the airport at 3:00 PM but I would have been late. My trip was dependent upon the time the airline had scheduled the plane’s arrival, not upon when I wanted to go to the airport.

As we obey God and do His will, it does not mean that things will go according to our timetable. God has His own timetable and He is never late. He does not set His clock according to our schedule; He does not make His plans according to our counsel; He does not fulfill His promises according to our understanding.

Years ago, my dad was anxious to see God open a specific door of ministry for him. Often, as a matter of prayer, he would petition God to answer the desire of his heart. The answer didn’t come as quickly as my dad had hoped and he began to fret about the matter. One day, while in his quiet time, he heard the Lord speak these words, “Until I will, be still.” Immediately, God’s loving assurance quieted his fretting heart. These words made such an impact upon him that he wrote them down and tacked them up on his office wall. For many years this note was as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His promises and to God’s timetable in my dad’s life.

The lasting fruit of “Until I will, be still,” became evident to me many years later when my dad came to visit us in Arkansas. We had a great time together, and my dad had many opportunities to minister to many of God’s people who lived in our area.

When the day came for my dad to return to Los Angeles, we drove him to the airport. Upon arriving at the gate, we discovered that the flight he was scheduled to take had been canceled. I will never forget his response. There was no complaint, no sigh of disgust, no murmuring, no protest. Quietly and calmly he turned to me and said, “That’s okay, God must still have some ministry for me before I leave.” It was evident that my dad had fully learned to rest in God’s timetable, and it turned out that God did have one more ministry opportunity for my dad before returning home.

Are you waiting on God to fulfill a dream or to bring about a promise? Joseph had a divine dream that his brothers would bow down to him, but it took 20 years before Joseph saw that dream fulfilled; Abraham was given God’s covenant promise that through his heir all the families of the earth would be blessed, but it took 25 years before Isaac, the child of promise, was born. Both Joseph and Abraham saw God’s answer in God’s appointed time.

What do you do while you are waiting upon God’s answer? Here are a few things not to do—don’t be discouraged, don’t lose hope, don’t cast away your confidence, and don’t set out on your own to try and make things happen.

Here are a few things you can do— continue to do God’s will, continue in your appointed place, continue to be faithful, continue to trust and be thankful, and continue to rest in His unfailing promises. “Until He will, be still.”

Written by Roy Lessin

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