Growing Aslan

Posted on February 11, 2022 by RC

It is one of the many moments where CS Lewis presents a simple turn of a phrase, in the midst of a story, and it stops you dead in your tracks. “Safe, safe? Who said anything about safe? He’s not a tame lion” from Mr. Beaver is one of them. Another is, after they’d been apart for some time, how Aslan corrects Lucy’s mistake:

“Aslan” said Lucy “you’re bigger.”
“That is because you are older, little one” answered he.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

It is vital for us to never lose sight of how far we have to go in becoming what we will be. Our glorification is like arriving at a distant galaxy. Our sanctification along the way is like riding the elevator to get on the spaceship. Pride has no place in us as even our best works are tinged with what we once were.

On the other hand, it is likewise vital for us to never lose sight that we are in fact becoming more like what we will be. We mustn’t diminish the good work of the Holy Spirit in us. It’s easy to miss, in large part because of the opposite side of Aslan’s coin. That is, every year we grow better we will find ourselves smaller. Growing in grace means, in part, increasing our understanding of the scope of our sin. The better we get the more clearly we learn how awful we are.

Our Redeemer, however, has not left us orphans. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of power, supernatural power. We are in fact growing into what we will be. Which is reason to celebrate and to give thanks. It is not boastful to affirm that we see better now than we once did the glory of Jesus. It is not arrogant to praise Him for setting us free from this besetting sin or that. And it is not humble to grumble that our progress is going too slowly.

Are we almost there? Not on, or in, your life. Jesus remains busy washing His bride with the water of the Word. Each of us is being scrubbed and molded and shaped. Through the preaching of the Word. Through our prayers and the prayers of others for us. Through the encouragement of the saints. Through the purging fires of hardship. Even through our failures that He stewards so well. The ashes that He trades for beauty are often the remains of what we burned in our folly.

He has promised us that the good work He has begun in us He will complete. Part of the process is not just believing He will do it, but believing He is doing it. Aslan is not getting any bigger. He is, however, opening our eyes more fully that we might behold His glory. And we know that as we see Him as He is, we become like Him.

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Forever Friend, Israel Contreras; Racial Animosity and the Bible

Posted on February 11, 2022 by RC

Today’s Jesus Changes Everything Podcast

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The God of Space and Time

Posted on February 10, 2022 by RC


We are all by nature Pelagians. Like the heretical monk Pelagius, we like to think in our hearts, even should our lips profess otherwise, that we are basically good. Help in fighting this temptation is one of the great blessings that comes from embracing that biblical system of thought known as Reformed theology. Now we understand not only that we are in ourselves only evil, but that God is sovereign over all things.

However, this shift in our thinking, in itself another gift from God, doesn’t send the devil scurrying for cover. Embracing Reformed theology doesn’t make one immune to sin. Indeed, when we embrace sound, biblical thinking with respect to God’s sovereignty, we find ourselves walking a peculiar tightrope. On the one hand, it is rather a short, but dangerous step from, “God ordained whatsoever comes to pass” to “I know why God did this.” I once read a sermon from a Puritan that was a classic example of this error. It seems that the parson came into the meeting house one day and found there in the corner the tattered remains of the Book of Common Prayer, the very symbol of the Romish tendencies the Puritans wanted to purify out of the church. It seems a mouse had gotten to the book, and he chewed it to pieces. The pastor, rightly, expounded at great length on how God’s sovereignty descends down to such details. God, from all eternity, determined that that mouse would find that book on that day, and that the mouse would tear it to shreds. So far so good. Then the pastor went on to explain that God brought this to pass to show us how evil the Book of Common Prayer is. Had I been there that Sunday I would have loved to ask the pastor: “Isn’t it possible, pastor, that God had this happen so we might learn that even the mice are sensible enough to feed upon the wisdom in the Book of Common Prayer?” We need, when trying to interpret history, to remember the wisdom of Calvin who said, “When the Almighty has determined to close his holy lips, I will desist from inquiry.”

There is, however, an equal and opposite temptation. We rightly affirm that God not only controls all things, but that He planned whatsoever comes to pass from before the beginning of time. God’s celestial plan, down to the color of my socks, was down in stone before God even said, “Let there be light.” Again, so far so good. The error is when we take one small step from affirming that it’s all decided to affirming, at least in our hearts, if not with our lips, that God doesn’t act in history. Too many Reformed people are practical deists. We rightly believe that God is the ultimate cause of all things, and then wrongly believe that He is the proximate cause of no things. God did indeed write the grand screenplay that is history. But He likewise wrote a rather large role therein for Himself.

The history books of the Bible, thankfully, practice exactly the right balance here. God is not passively watching, while man determines the future, as the Pelagians would have us believe. Neither is He providing easy-to-read captions beneath each of His actions so that we might know what it means. And neither still is He passively watching because He did the hard work of setting up the dominoes long ago. God is actively bringing to pass that which He planned from the beginning. Sometimes He tells us how, and sometimes He doesn’t.

Not long ago Tonga was assaulted with a tsunami, something insurance adjusters wisely call “an act of God.” Why there? Why now? That He hasn’t told us. We ought to shy away from speaking for Him. We honor Him better as we confess we simply don’t know. What we know is this. God has three great goals as He acts in history. There are three certainties that have been planned from the beginning. First, He will gather a bride for His Son. There are precious few acts of God in space and time more precious than when He gives life to the living dead, when His Spirit quickens those chosen before all time. Second, He will destroy all His enemies. Psalm 110 tells us that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father until all His enemies are made a footstool. We serve a God of vengeance and destruction, to the praise of His name. He destroyed the Canaanites, and He still destroys His enemies. And third (of this we can be sure), He is about the business of purifying His bride. He acts in history so that history can reach its end, the marriage feast of the Lamb, when we will appear, without blot or blemish, and we, because we will see Him as He is, will be like Him.

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Ask RC- Are we God’s co-creators?

Posted on February 10, 2022 by RC

Today’s Jesus Changes Everything Podcast

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What about “gender neutral” Bible translations?

Posted on February 9, 2022 by RC

It is a holdover of our modernist past that we tend to see the work of translation as a science more than an art. We think we punch a word in from language a, and out pops the exact same word, except in language b. Not only do different languages not relate in that way, even one language, looked at from two different time periods, will have the same issues. The postmoderns are right also to note that language has a tendency to be used for power, rather than for clarity. On the other hand, words do in fact carry meaning. In the end, language is Trinitarian, a blending together of harmony and complexity.

Consider he. He, fifty years ago, was clearly understood to have two distinct but related meanings. One meaning was this- a male antecedent. That is, when we use the word he, we are referring to a male something that has already been referenced. The second meaning was this- an antecedent of unknown gender. “He just drove through that red light” could either mean, “That man just ran through that red light” or “That person, I don’t know if it was a man or a woman, just ran through that red light.” Over the past few decades women of both sexes have gotten their knickers in a twist over this common convention, a convention that long precedes the English language, and will, despite the efforts of some, outlast it. They seem to believe that the second use of the term is somehow a boon to male-kind, that it provides us with an unfair advantage. The first fruit of this silliness was the banishment of the use of he in the second sense in certain, mostly academic circles. Eventually it led us to the TNIV and other politically correct paraphrases of the Bible.

To be fair, one could argue that older translations which use he in the second sense can be misleading to readers in our day who use he only in the first sense. This position would suggest that because the meaning of he has changed, accuracy of translation, rather than ideological considerations, require the change. This does not, however, get to the heart of the issue, and begs the question of where the English language really is in our day.

First, the use of the singular masculine pronoun for antecedents of unknown gender is not at all unique to the English language. It is found, in fact, in both Greek and Hebrew. (Remember that when we are translating we have to understand both our own language and the language from which we are translating.) To put it more bluntly, God the Holy Spirit uses pronouns this way. We would be wiser to seek to be consistent with God than to be consistent with Gloria Steinem.

Second, every “gender neutral” English translation to date has gone well beyond seeking to avoid the use of he, when we do not know the antecedent’s gender. We have seen real distortions of the plain meaning of the text, driven by egalitarian sensibilities, rather than a passion for translating accuracy. We should not be surprised. The Committee on Bible Translation, the scholars who brought you the TNIV, have as one of their standards this notion, “The patriarchalism (like other social patterns) of the ancient cultures in which the Biblical books were composed is pervasively reflected in forms of expression that appear, in the modern context, to deny the common human dignity of all hearers and readers. For these forms, alternative modes of expression can and may be used, though care must be taken not to distort the intent of the original text.” At the root of this debate is different understandings not only of language and translation, but of Scripture, and inspiration. I strongly discourage folks from using the TNIV, or the current NIV. Even older versions of the NIV, while predating these kinds of gender changes, were put together by the same set of scholars. It is also, in my judgment, too close to a paraphrase.

Issues like this require wisdom. On the one hand, my friends on the other side of the aisle generally don’t see the trajectory of where they are headed. On the other hand, my friends on my side of the aisle tend to think those on the other side have already entered into the fullness of the folly they are flirting with. The former need to wake up and repent. The latter need to boldly confront the error, but accurately, and with neither pride nor hysterics. This is, in the end, scary stuff, grounded in more scary stuff, neo-evangelical feminism. At bottom, I fear it is all driven by a fear of the world. Wisdom, however, calls us to fear God.

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Atin-Lay, Dominus Providibit; Psalm 14

Posted on February 9, 2022 by RC

Today’s Jesus Changes Everything Podcast

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Assassination ABC’s

Posted on February 8, 2022 by RC

The Bible tells us not that we are what we eat, but that we are what we worship. We are like the idols that we construct (Psalm 115:8). One step removed from the idols, I think we might also be like the demons that we worship. We not only accuse others of all manner of evil intent, and then interpret their actions in light of the intent we have assigned, but we use our own evil intent as fodder. To put it even more succinctly, we accuse others of doing what we would do, were we in their position.

I see this particular phenomena most frequently in the netherworld of social media. There our worst behavior finds the light of day, particularly when our real name is shielded from the watching world. Hiding behind the idle idol of anonymity, we spew our venom on others. One of the most frequent applications of this diabolical principle I call the Hail Caesar assault. Here is how it works. Internet assassin A sees that public figure D had his salary rise by X percent in the previous year. He not only points out the objective reality of the increase in pay (with no context to speak of) but then argues, “Public figure D gave himself an X percent raise.” And the crowd boos the nefarious Public figure D. Nice, huh?

Here are some things A either does not know, or chooses to conceal. Perhaps public figure D, the previous year, took a pay cut to help balance the budget. Perhaps public figure D came up with a brilliant strategy that saved the organization, and sent income through the roof while increasing ministry effectiveness. Perhaps public figure D had been grossly underpaid for years.

And here is where the evil motive comes in. The president of any not-for-profit institution, for all the power he has been given, does not have the power to set his own salary. The only people on the planet with that kind of power are those who own their own businesses, and if they want to give themselves a raise, who are we to quibble? Internet Assassin A, however, would like us to believe that decisions are made by powerful people all on their own, that Public Figure D must run his organization the way Internet Assassin A would run it, were he in charge.

Having received the internet treatment myself from time to time, I’m familiar with all this. What troubles me far more, however, than the work of the assassins, is the accomplices they bring along, their readers. If I had a dime for every time I have been asked, “Why did you do Y?” when in fact I did no such thing, well, Internet Assassin A would be commenting on how high I live on the hog, speculating no doubt that I got all those dimes by selling indulgences.

Friends, I’m not suggesting no wrongs have been done by public figures, nor that we should all remain silent in the face of them. I am saying we should be on the lookout for this kind of dirty trick. Better yet, pay no attention to anonymous internet assassins. Why don’t we all try practicing a little love, which thinks no evil? And why don’t we get busy minding our own sanctification? Sit not in the seat of scoffers.

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Exorcism; Context, Context, Context

Posted on February 8, 2022 by RC

Today’s Jesus Changes Everything Podcast

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Meeting Jesus Continues Tonight

Posted on February 7, 2022 by RC

Dunamis Fellowship and Sovereign Grace Fellowship continue our weekly Bible study at 7 eastern. Tonight we continue, Meeting Jesus. All are welcome to attend. Come early (6:15) and we’ll feed you. You can also watch on Facebook Live, RC-Lisa Sproul. We hope you join us .

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Is it ever right for Christians to disobey the government?

Posted on February 7, 2022 by RC

As always, it is important to define our terms. It is not uncommon for government leaders to use their influence to seek to win over the people to a particular behavior. The government uses airtime on the radio telling us to eat our vegetables, to not smoke, to get vaccinated. One is not, however, disobeying the government if one is an unvaccinated smoker who thinks vegetables are great things to feed food, i.e. animals. Be careful not to allow anyone to condemn you for failing to heed their counsel.

Second, to disobey is not the same thing as fomenting rebellion. It is one thing for Christians to meet together for worship against the command of the government. It is altogether another thing to grab your pitchforks, torches and Molotov cocktails and storm the Bastille. The former is disobeying the government. The latter is seeking to overthrow it.

The apostle Paul not only makes a strong case on the necessity of obeying governing authorities, but does so in writing to the Romans, those under the most vicious regime that world had yet known. Just as we are too quick when disagreeing on this theological point or another to anoint ourselves the next Martin Luther so when government annoys us we are tempted to anoint ourselves the next Paul Revere. We are to bend over backwards to obey.

There are, however, limits. The government is owed our obedience in all things, even things that are truly not their concern, unless or until they command us to do what God clearly forbids, or forbid us to do what God clearly commands. We see this principle carried out by Peter in Acts 5. Having been commanded to no longer preach in the name of Jesus Peter and the apostles ask the Sanhedrin, “Should we obey you, or God?” They continued to preach in the name of Jesus.

Two things, however, they didn’t do. They didn’t seek the overthrow of the government. Nor did they resist the government’s punishment of their behavior. Even in their disobedience they were obedient. So ought we to be. If the situation is dire enough that we have to disobey, it must be dire enough that we are willing to be jailed, punished, fed to the lions.

This question is not one that only believers in Communist or Muslim countries must wrestle with. In our own day, in our own country, we’ve had governments telling believers they must forsake the gathering together of the saints. In Canada the government has done the same. Even apart from COVID Canada has commanded believers not to proclaim those parts of the Bible that condemn sexual perversity. In 20 states in this country it is illegal to seek to help someone escape the sin of sexual perversity. In short, answering this question is no longer an academic exercise. It is likely to only get worse.

Our calling as believers is to live with our unbelieving neighbors in peace with all men, as much as it is in our power (Romans 12: 18). Which means even when we must obey, we must do so with a spirit of meekness, just like our Lord.

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