Dueling Verses

Posted on June 1, 2023 by RC

The Bible is God’s Word. God’s Word tells us that God is one, “Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). Since God is one, of a piece, not divided against Himself, then we know that God’s Word is one, of a piece, not divided against itself. Despite this we often find ourselves in disputes with other believers about what the Bible truly teaches. There is actually something quite beautiful when two people share a conviction that whatever the Bible teaches must be true, even when they disagree about what it teaches. That said, there is something wildly off when two believers play “dueling verses.” This is what happens when each person in the debate seeks to clobber their opponent with Bible verses, while bravely, like Rocky taking a beating, being clobbered by Bible verses from their opponent. It is great when both sides recognize the Bible is the one effective weapon for the battle. It’s not so great when they both think the best way to answer one verse is quoting a different verse.

Paul’s teaching on justification, faith and works doesn’t trump James’ teaching on justification, faith and works. Nor the other way around. To discern what God’s Word says we must at least come to the place where our understanding of both texts are compatible. There may be more work yet to do. One thing we know, however, is that if our understanding of one text contradicts our understanding of another text, then we don’t rightly understand at least one of the texts. It is as certain as the Bible is true.

There are, beyond James and Paul, old and ancient battles we can study to see the futility of dueling verses. Those who believe God is sovereign over our salvation have their favorite proof texts. Those who believe men determine their own end, on the other hand, have their favorite proof texts. If my understanding of my text contradicts your understanding of your text, that doesn’t mean we cry “MYSTERY!” and move on. Instead we check our differing understanding of the differing texts and seek to both understand them in their own context and in the broader context of the other text. That God calls all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30), for instance, needs to be understood in a way that is consistent with the truth that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). The notion that Acts 17:30 teaches that men, in themselves have the capacity to come to repentance is a. not in the text b. unwarranted and c. not true, says the believer in God’s sovereignty. The Arminian, on the other hand, argues that God draws everyone.

Which solution is superior? The first one. First, it is grounded in simple grammar. It doesn’t alter the text but merely stops an unspoken assumption from sneaking past us. Second, if the Father draws all men, why bother mentioning it? “No one comes to Me unless the Father draws him. That said, He draws everyone” makes no sense in context.

My goal, however, is not to, in this brief piece, settle this old intramural debate. Rather it is to remind us of the rules of engagement. You don’t defeat one text with another. We instead integrate all texts together.

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Sacred Marriage, 4th Commandment; Babel II; Dear Gaulips

Posted on May 31, 2023 by RC

This week’s Jesus Changes Everything Podcast

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Check out Monday’s Study on Romans 5

Posted on May 30, 2023 by RC

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The Silence of the Lambs

Posted on May 30, 2023 by RC

The world, Paul tells us, knows what’s coming. He not only highlights the universal guilt of all men, but ironically defines that guilt as the denial of what we know. We know that there is a God, and that we fail to meet His standard. We know, in short, that we are in trouble. But, we seek to suppress that truth in unrighteousness. The lexical background of the Greek word “suppress” suggests something like a heavy, metal spring that we try to hold down as long as we can. I believe, however, that we get closer to the spirit of our sin if we see ourselves, as God is speaking to us, running about with our fingers in our ears shouting “LA LA LA LA LA I can’t hear you.”

Consider how unbelievers in the west tend to live their lives. They may not have their fingers in their ears, but they likely have their earbuds in their ears. We surround ourselves constantly with noise. At work we have talk radio on. In the car we play music. When we get home we turn on the television where we are distracted with our eyes as well as our ears. We hyper-schedule our days, moving from one thing that demands our attention to another, our smart phones buzzing and beeping our daily orders. We don’t, in the west, take the time to think, because we don’t want to face not just the hard lesson of life under the sun- life is short and then you die, but the much harder lesson of life lived under the Son- life is short, then you die, and hell lasts forever.

We who have, by His grace been redeemed, however, our lives are much different, aren’t they? We don’t need the constant noise of pop culture to drown out our own thoughts. We are busy speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We are meditating day and night on the glory, the richness, the beauty of the Word of God. We, who have already received the Pearl of Great Price, who have been promised eternal blessing and the drying of every tear want nothing more than opportunity for silence so that we can enter into the fullness of the gospel of our Lord. We want quiet that we might contemplate the peace. We seek out our prayer closets that we might give thanks.

Wait. Is that what we do? Is that how we live? Or are we instead mirror images of our neighbors? We might, if we are pious, order our pop culture from the PG side of the menu. We might carve out twenty minutes of quiet for prayer and contemplation. But we still are consumed with consuming pop culture, with surrounding ourselves with noise, and for much the same reason.

Now to be sure we know we will not suffer for all eternity. That is our neighbor’s fear, not our own. The fears that plague us are much more tame. We worry about our retirement accounts. We worry about our job security. We worry about the economy and the Middle East. We worry about our reputations, what people say and think about us. We worry so much that we worry about what we’ll worry about when we get to heaven.

The heathen know from creation itself that their Creator will bring judgment down on them. We on the other hand, have been given a book. This book tells us about His grace. It tells us about all that is ours in Christ, that everything that He brings into our lives is for our good and His glory. It tells us on every page that He loves us, by name, with an everlasting love, and that nothing can thwart His will. Which means we should be at peace. We should set aside our worries. We should remove our fingers from our ears that we might hear the music of the rolling spheres magnifying His name. We should no longer cry out LA LA LA LA I can’t hear you, but “Speak Lord, for Your servant hears.”

What we need, as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, is to be still, and know that He is God. We don’t need to turn up the volume of His revelation, but turn off the noise. We don’t need Him to make bigger promises. We need to have eyes to see what He has already promised. We don’t need better, cleaner noise than the heathen. We need silence.

When we stop, when we take a deep breath, when we rest, when we put to death our vain desires, vain imaginings, vain distractions, when in fact we not only quit the rat race, but finish the race He has set before us, when we draw our last breath, we will hear with perfect clarity what He has been saying to us from the moment we were reborn- This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. And then, heavenly choirs of angels promising, “And He shall reign forever and ever.” Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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Romans Study Tonight!

Posted on May 29, 2023 by RC

Tonight we continue our look at the monumental, towering book of Romans. All are welcome to our home at 7 est, or you may join us for dinner at 6:15. We will also stream the study at Facebook, RC-Lisa Sproul. We hope you’ll join us.

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What makes a person a hero?

Posted on May 29, 2023 by RC

I was blessed, over the years, to teach a number of the Great Works courses at Reformation Bible College. It is my contention that we ought to cover the great books of western civilization not so we can prepare our students to join in what some call the “great conversation” that back and forth over the centuries that seeks to answer the most foundational questions of our nature, purpose and end. Instead I want to prepare them for the “great confrontation.” I teach in light of the antithesis, the battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent that began in Eden and ends with the end of history. I want my students to understand the culture they are living in, the ideological water they are swimming in, so that they might both guard their hearts and press the crown rights of King Jesus.

One of the best shortcuts to understanding a given culture is to ask this question- in this culture, what does a person have to be or to do to be considered a hero? Such tells us a great deal. In ancient Greece you became a hero by courage and victory in battle. During the Renaissance you became a hero by dint of deep and wide study. In our day you become a hero by becoming the best in your field.

The high virtues of the Christian hero, by contrast, have precious little to do with accomplishment. Indeed I would argue that the first and highest standard of the Christian hero is a passion for repentance. The hero is the one who knows from top to bottom that he is not a hero. The hero moves through his days not only aware of his moral failures, but of his dependence on the grace of God in all its manifestations. He must know, increasingly, how weak and needy He is.

Second, the Christian, or the true hero is about the business not of making a name for himself, but of lifting others up and magnifying the name of Christ. Which is why real heroes are so hard to find.

Third, the Christian hero forgives. It is likely much less difficult to do a good deed for another than it is to forgive an evil deed done to us. The former flows easily from a high view of the self- I can do this giving thing for you, because I have so much to give.” The latter flows more from a low view of the self- “ I can forgive this wrong done to me because I know my need for forgiveness for the wrongs I’ve done to others.”

The temptation that began in the garden has not yet left us. We are always eager to become more than we are. The solution then and now is the same, to recognize our need for the work of the one true hero, Jesus. May we learn to imitate those who imitate Him.

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The Children’s Crusade

Posted on May 26, 2023 by RC

The Devil delights in false dichotomies. When he persuades us that our choices are between this foolishness and that weakness — heads, he wins; tails, the kingdom loses. When we are lukewarm in our commitment, when we think the kingdom of God is just some ethereal thing that no one can see, the Devil encourages us in just this direction. We see the kingdom as only future, and so we sit on our hands waiting. Such is not, of course, a passionate seeking of His kingdom or His righteousness.

The Devil is not afraid, however, of kingdom zealots. Those whose passion burns to make known the reign of Christ receive a whole different temptation from the Devil. These the Devil encourages to take up arms, to bear the sword. He seduces them into thinking they can make the kingdom come by force.The first option is a denial that we are at war. The second option is a denial that our weapons are not carnal. The biblical truth is that we are at war and that our armory is stocked with potent, spiritual weapons.

Consider first the reality of the war. God promised in Genesis 3 that He would put enmity between the Serpent and the woman, between their respective seeds. Thus, we have an identifiable enemy — all those who are yet outside the kingdom of God. This enemy is, of course, actively fighting its war against us and our King. Thus, we are at war. We are called to tear down strongholds, to destroy every lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We are commanded not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed.

We also have an objective. Our goal is to see the reign of our Captain made manifest the world over. We are seeking His kingdom, and His promise is that a day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Indeed, He will come from His throne, we are told, when all His enemies are made a footstool. The language of warfare fills the Word, from beginning to end, despite our crafty Enemy’s attempt to cry “peace, peace,” when there is no peace.

Our Enemy, we would be wise to remember, is under no self-constraint not to use carnal weapons. Indeed, everything about his warfare is carnal. It was he whose spear pierced the side of our Lord. It was he who hurled the stones at Stephen. He worked through sundry caesars, leading the early Christians to the Coliseum for sport, lining the Appian Way with hundreds of crucified disciples of our crucified Lord. He animated the lies of Islam, whose scimitar first seized Jerusalem and later reached even into Europe.

The Devil, however, rejoiced more over the counterattack on Jerusalem than he did the seizure of it. That is, the greater victory wasn’t the success of the sword on his side of the battle but the taking up of the sword on our side. He wins not by fighting with carnal weapons but by seducing us into fighting with carnal weapons. The Bible, of course, leaves room for legitimate use of force. The use of the sword in defense of our land or of our families is not only permissible but mandatory. But we do not build the kingdom with the sword. Our weapons are not carnal. The kingdom advanced far more potently through the humble martyrs’ deaths than it did through the fighting of the valiant soldiers of the Crusades. We don’t kill for the kingdom but die for it.

We, too, have barbarians at our gates. Our walls are crumbling, and it seems in the West that a new dark age has arrived. The evidence, however, is found less in the rhetoric of the radical left, the cultural degradation pouring from New York and Hollywood, and the sexually confused marching in our streets, and more in the church that has lost sight of its God-given weapons. We move from defeat to defeat because we fight with coalitions, with media campaigns, with slick marketing, with compromise. We have washed away all our saltiness because we have forgotten how the kingdom comes.

We seek His kingdom as we seek His righteousness. The world is preserved, and the visibility of the kingdom increases when we live as His children in simple, trusting obedience. The world is changed by changing diapers, by hugging wives, by doing chores diligently, and by singing joyfully. War is fought by peaceful countenances. Loyalty makes walls come tumbling down. We do not, as the crusaders did, leave our hearths and homes, our wives and children, cross land and sea, and hack and poke with sword and spear. We instead cross the room, pray blessing on our children, and dance with our wives. We sit at the table, eating the fat of the land, talking about the glory of His provision in all our days. We visit the orphan and the widow. We preach the Word in season and out. We break bread and we drink the cup. And the Serpent trembles in his bunker.

As little children, we know it is the little things that change everything. The Serpent’s kingdom is brought low when the servants of the King are lifted on high, in worship. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the gates of hell come tumbling down.

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Praising Her in the Gates

Posted on May 25, 2023 by RC

It is a sure sign of the tendency of men to be relational dolts that we don’t even see how destructive our doltiness is. Some time ago one of our sons was having a hard time. That hard time expressed itself in anger, harsh words, defiant behavior, and an outpouring of tears. It was like nothing I had ever scene, from him or any other child. I spoke with the boy, and I administered discipline to him. I hugged him, and reminded him that I love him, and always will, no matter what. Which is just where it would have ended, had it just been me.

But Lisa. My precious wife, the boy’s loving mother literally took our son by the hand, and led him out on a walk. She spoke to him tenderly. She helped him find voice to his frustrations, and led him to the wisdom of God’s Word. She assured him of her love for him, his secure position in our family, and of God’s love for him. She brought joy back to his face, and peace back to his heart.

None of which surprises me in the least. Because she has, time and again, done much the same thing for me, her husband. She, in fact, did much the same for me before I was her husband. As she did with our son, she saw into me; she discerned in me secrets I shared with no one. And instead of using that insight to beat me down, she used it to discern how to build me up. Better still, in both instances, with our son and with me, she brings her insights and requests before our loving Father in prayer.

Ladies, you will serve your families well, and the kingdom well, if you will do the same with your husband and your children. Men, you will serve your families well, and the kingdom well, if you will rejoice over your wife as she brings her giftings to bear on your family. Be a family. Do not let the challenges that come with life let you forget the calling of families, to stick together. Celebrate the grace of God in putting the perfect balance of ingredients together, and mixing until smooth.

Dear, your husband loves you. Your children love you. Let’s keep swimming against the current together, leading our little homeschool of fish. Let’s praise the One who redeems us, who brought us together, and who is leading us to the eternal land of rest, back to the garden. Worthy is the Lamb!

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Check out this week’s study on Romans

Posted on May 24, 2023 by RC

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Sacred Marriage; Shouting Down Dissent; Enemy Love & More

Posted on May 24, 2023 by RC

This week’s Jesus Changes Everything Podcast

Posted in 10 Commandments, abortion, apologetics, Biblical Doctrines, church, Devil's Arsenal, evangelism, Good News, Jesus Changes Everything, Lisa Sproul, Month of Sundays, persecution, RC Sproul JR, Sacred Marriage, sexual confusion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sacred Marriage; Shouting Down Dissent; Enemy Love & More