Shepherding a Child’s Heart (5)

How do you define success? How would your child complete this sentence? “What Mom and Dad want for me is...” Chapter five is entitled “Examining Your Goals.”

We are bombarded with the cultural push toward ultimate goals for our children that are unbiblical. Sports, self-esteem, good behavior, participation in family worship, getting the child to pray the “sinner’s prayer,” or the American Holy Grail of a good education are worthy pursuits. However, they are not worthy end goals for parenting, ultimately.

Parents want children to be successful so they can “do well” and live happy, comfortable lives...We want them to have adult lives filled with opportunity and unfettered by problems. However we define success, we wish it for our children.

Tripp addresses many of the main goals in American parenting. Consider the following and see if you see your goals.

In hustling children to baseball, football, soccer, swimming, piano and dance classes, is the measure of success the number of skills developed? Will involvement in these activities have biblical content? Will true success depend on the skills which these activities teach?

What about the promise of children with strong self-esteem?

Books and magazines pander to these parents. They promote the latest pop psychology - all tailored to insecure moms and dads...Have you noticed that no books promise to help produce children who esteem others?

Is this biblical? How does esteem for self function in God’s kingdom where it is the servant who leads?

What about the preoccupation with “getting your child saved”? Many Baptists, who do not believe in infant baptism, will teach their children to put their trust in a “decision” they made when they rushed down the aisle at four years old after a week of Vacation Bible School. They forget that Scripture instructs us to “examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.”

There will be many who cling to a false faith, crying “Lord, Lord!” Does this not innoculate our kids from earnestly “work[ing] out [their] own salvation with “fear and trembling,” by looking for growth that proves “it is God who works in you to will and to work according to His good pleasure?”

What about the goal of having “well-behaved children”? There are such things as social grace, making the guests feel comfortable, poise, easy conversation, and all of the other skills we know are necessary for success in our world.

[H]aving well-behaved children is not a worthy goal. It is a great secondary benefit of biblical childrearing, but an unworthy goal in itself. You cannot respond to your children to please someone else...Every parent has faced the pressure to correct a son or daughter because others deemed it appropriate...If you acquiesce, you parenting focus becomes behavior. This obscures dealing biblically with Junior’s heart. The burning issue then becomes what others think rather than what God thinks...If your goal is well-behaved kids, you are open to hundreds of temptations to expediency.

Tripp further considers the outcome when mastery of all of the social graces is severed from biblical servanthood. The child is then able to engage in classy manipulation of others and harbors disdain for those with less polish. Others rebel against the sham of the form over substance and reject the hypocrisy of the cultural conventions. These become brash and crass in their rejection.

Tripp lists other misplaced goals as well. But, the list above is sufficient to get us thinking about these things. All of these cultural goals are insufficient ends for the Christian parent. “It is one thing to be painfully aware of unbiblical objectives...it is another thing to embrace biblical objectives.” The chief end of our lives and the training of our children, is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever,” as the old catechism states. If we rely on cultural goals to train our children, we fail in the chief end in that teaching them to rely on their own abilities apart from Christ will turn them from glorifying God and garner self-reliance instead.

How do we do this? We pander to their desires and wishes. We teach them to find their soul’s delight in going places and doing things. We attempt to satisfy their lust for excitement. We fill their young lives with distractions from God. We give them material things and take delight in their delight in possessions. Then we hope that somewhere down the line they will see that a life worth living is found only in knowing and serving God.

By doing this, we ignore the chief end to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Our objective in every context must be to set a biblical world view before our children. The next chapter addresses how to restructure our goals to a biblical world view.

The Gospel vs. Religion

In an article on evangelizing our post-modern culture, Tim Keller makes the following observation concerning the nature of the Gospel vs. Religion.

The gospel is “I am accepted through Christ, therefore I obey” while every other religion operates on the principle of “I obey, therefore I am accepted.” Martin Luther’s fundamental insight was that this latter principle, the principle of ‘religion’ is the deep default mode of the human heart. The heart continues to work in that way even after conversion to Christ. Though we recognize and embrace the principle of the gospel, our hearts will always be trying to return to the mode of self-salvation, which leads to spiritual deadness, pride and strife and ministry ineffectiveness.

For example, ministers derive more of their joy and a sense of personal significance from the success of their ministries than from the fact they are loved by God in Christ. Why? Their hearts are still operating on the principle--“if I do and accomplish all these things--then I will be accepted.” (cf. Harold Abrahams in Chariots of Fire- “I have 10 seconds to justify my existence.”) In other words, on one level, we believe the gospel but on another level we don’t believe.

So why do we over-work in ministry and burn out? Yes, we are not practicing the Sabbath principle, but the deeper cause is unbelief in the gospel! Why are we so devastated by criticism? The person whose self-worth is mainly in his or her ministry performance will be devastated by criticism of the ministry record because that record is our very self and identity. The fundamental problem is unbelief in the gospel.

At the root, then, of all Christian failures to live right--i.e. not give their money generously, not tell the truth, not care for the poor, not handle worry and anxiety--is the sin under all sins, the sin of unbelief, of not rejoicing deeply in God’s grace in Christ, not living out of our new identity in Christ. This means that every week in a different way the minister must apply the gospel of salvation by grace through faith through Christ’s work. Thus every week the non-Christians get exposed to the gospel, and in its most practical and varied forms not just in a repetitious “Four Spiritual Laws’ way. That’s what pragmatic post-moderns need.

I cannot tell you how much this hits home with me. It may with you as well. What is the measure of our success? God’s acceptance, or our own accomplishments? The trust that the Holy Spirit is working in our church, or the head count on Sunday morning? We must consistently fight the default measuring stick of our fallen hearts and trust the Gospel, remembering that a sign of true faith is that we are fighting at all. Those who have yet to be born again don’t fight their sin.

Shepherding a Child’s Heart (4)

Chapter four is entitled “You’re in Charge.” The core issue in this chapter is encapsulated by the following statement from Tripp:

As a father or mother, you do not exercise rule over your jurisdiction, but over God’s...You discharge a duty that He has given. You may not try to shape the lives of your children as pleases you, but as pleases Him.

Two things are important about this statement. First, parental authority is derived authority from God. The calling to be in charge is a great calling from God. As with all of God’s commands, to do it properly is beyond our ability, knowledge and desire. Once again, we need a Savior. Second, parental authority is not to be exercised for our convenience or because of the pressure of others. The concept of shepherding children is foreign to our modern culture. We hate authority. As a result, parents are tentative about exercising their God-given authority over their children. “If you are unsure about the nature and extent of your authority,” says Tripp, “your children will suffer greatly. They will never know what to expect from you because the ground rules will be constantly changing.” Additionally, the child will have no understanding of the absolutes and principles of God’s Word. Parental authority, therefore, is both a gift and a duty.

God has an objective in parental authority. Namely, the divine goal is the succession of one generation after another leading obedient lives in reverential fear of the Lord. In this way, the parent and the child are in the same boat. Both are under the authority of God. A parent’s right to discipline a child is solely tied to what God has called the parent to do, not their own agenda.

A parent does not demand obedience for his own purposes. The parent “comes with the corrections of discipline that are the way to life.” On page 31, Tripp gives a sample dialogue of how to explain appropriate discipline to a child. Tripp advocates emphasizing to the child that you are not spanking him because you are mean, but because God has called you to a task you cannot shirk. You are requiring obedience because God says you must. Here is the sample dialogue.

FATHER: You didn’t obey Daddy, did you?
CHILD: No.
FATHER: Do you remember what God says Daddy must do if you disobey?
CHILD: Spank me?
FATHER: That’s right. I must spank you. If I don’t, then I would be disobeying God. You and I would both be wrong. That would not be good for you or for me, would it?
CHILD: No. [a reluctant reply]

This gives parents a confidence to act in that they have freedom to discipline. It is a duty to perform from God and is not dependent on the approval of the child. We must engage our children because to do so is obedient to the duty God has given us. This is in direct opposition to the cultural norm of parenting, which reduces the role of mom and dad to merely providing care. American culture discharges the parental duty by providing food, clothes, a bed, some “quality time,” and a PS3. In contrast to this deflated and weak view, God has called parents to a more profound task.

To fulfill the task requires clear objectives and humility. I was convicted especially on this point. Have you thought about goals and strategies to strengthen a child’s weaknesses and encourage their strengths? I must confess, I have not. Further, the realization that we are God’s ambassadors to our children is a humbling thing.

We are called to show the child his sin nature and his need for a Savior. It is an awesome task. It requires me to be humble enough to tell my kids that I am sorry when I have failed and disciplined them out of unholy anger. There is no place for unholy anger. It confuses the derivative nature of parental authority.

You only muddy the waters when the bottom line in discipline is your displeasure over their behavior, rather than God’s displeasure with rebellion against His ordained authority.

Children learn the fear of man, not the fear of God, when unholy anger is used as a manipulative ploy to secure obedience. Such false techniques are unbiblical.

If correction orbits around the parent who has been offended, then the focus will be venting anger, or perhaps, taking vengeance. The function is punitive. If, however, correction orbits around God as the one offended, then the focus is restoration. The function is remedial. It is designed to move a child who has disobeyed God back to the path of obedience. It is corrective.

Alright, true confessions time. To date, this has been the most convicting chapter I have read...it is only the fourth. Too often, I chastise or discipline my children out of a motive of convenience, or irritiation, rather than with a goal or purpose in mind to strengthen weaknesses or encourage strengths. It is not as though my kids do not need to be corrected. It is the motive in which I attend to their much needed correction. Right actions with wrong motives are still sin before God. God give us temperate demeanors, patient hearts, and grace for pure motives in discharging this sacred trust of parenting...

Shepherding a Child’s Heart (3)

Continuing to lay the background for whys of biblical parenting, Pastor Tripp moves away from the shaping influences of childhood to the core issue - what Tripp calls “Godward Orientation.” Proverbs 9:7-10 states the following:

7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

According to Tripp, whatever the shaping influences of life may be, it is the “Godward Orientation” of the child that determines his response to those shaping influences. What finally determines whether a child responds as a mocker or a wise man? It is the fear of the Lord that makes one wise and it is that wisdom that determines how he responds to the correction.

Contrary to the pop psychology of the day, children are never morally neutral. Tripp argues that everyone is essentially religious: they either worship God or they worship idols. Remember Romans 1:18-19?

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

According to Paul, your children either respond to God by faith or they suppress the truth for their own sin.

If they respond to God by faith, they find fulfillment in knowing and serving God. If they suppress the truth in unrighteousness, they will ultimately worship and serve the creation rather than the Creator.

Tripp notes that a young child may not be conscious of his religious commitment, but he is never neutral. Because all mankind is made in the image of God, children are designed with a worship orientation. They are either worshipping God or idols. It is important to realize that all of us, including our own children, are born wayward and sinful. One justification for spanking children is the nature of their hearts. “The remedy is not solely changing the structure of the home; it is addressing the heart.” The practical implications of this truth are that parents can never assume that selfishness is just a result of immaturity. Rebellion is not outgrown.

It is this biblical assumption that directs parental discipline and training of the children. “In all of this you must pray that God will work in and around your efforts and the responses of your children to make them people who know and honor God.”

Shepherding a Child’s Heart (2)

Chapters two and three entitled, “Your Child’s Development: Shaping Influences” and “Your Child’s Development: Godward Orientation,” respectively, are a general background of what a parent has to work with. The core issue in both of these chapters is that although parents should work to facilitate biblical shaping influences in the lives of their children, it is ultimately their Godward orientation that determines how they respond to those shaping influences.

What is a shaping influence? Tripp defines shaping influences as those events and circumstances in a child’s developmental years that prove to be catalysts for making him the person he is. However, the shaping is not automatic. A child’s response to these events and circumstances determine the effect they have on him. There is biblical warrant for the idea that childhood experiences have profound implications for our lives. All of the major passages dealing with the family presuppose these lifelong implications of the early childhood experience. Deuteronomy 6, Ephesians 6, and Colossians 3. It is important to realize that a child is not merely acted upon by circumstances, but he reacts to them. The child responds to what Tripp calls the “Godward orientation of his heart.” Tripp identifies at least six shaping influences.

Structure of Family Life

Tripp asks several questions concerning the nature of a family’s structure. Is the family a traditional nuclear family? How many parents is the child exposed to? How are the parenting roles structured?

Family Values

The questions asked under this section include: What is important to the parents? What is worth a fuss and what passes without notice? What gets your kids into more trouble, a broken vase or disobedience to a clear parental directive? Are the values of the home based upon human tradition and the basic principles of this world or Christ? What about boundaries and where the secrets are kept and where are they told? Are there secrets from Dad between Mom and the kids? Are there secrets from Mom between Dad and the kids? “ Every family has established family boundaries. They may not be spoken or thought through, but they exists.”

Family Roles

What are the different roles that each family member plays within the family? “Some fathers are involved in every aspect of family life. Others are busy and distanced from family activities. Subtle things like who pays the bills or who makes family appointments say much about family roles.”

Family Conflict Resolution

Our children are influenced by how we resolve conflict in the family. Are they resolved or do members simply walk away? Are problems solved biblically or by power? Pastor Tripp looks to Proverbs and makes the point that a child is trained to be a fool or a prudent, wise man by the shaping influences of his home.

Family Responses to Failure

Another influence is how the family deals with a child’s failures. Are they made to feel foolish or mocked for these failures? Or do the parents see these failed attempts as an opportunity to find praise for the child?

Whether the child has known credible commendation or carping criticism or the mix of those things will be a powerful shaping influence in his life.

Family History

Finally, the family history is also a shaping influence. Marriage and divorce; money or no money; sickness or health; births and deaths; each have their own shaping power in a child’s life.

Of course, Tripp recognizes that this is not an exhaustive list. Nevertheless, it does show the types of circumstances that impact and shape our lives. However, as parents we must be aware of believing that our control of shaping influences determines how the child will behave as an adult. Pastor Tripp has the following to say about that mistaken view of shaping influences.

You make a grave mistake if you conclude that childrearing is nothing more than prividing the best possible shaping influences for your children. Many Christian parents adopt this “Christian determinism.” They figure that if they can protect and shelter him well enough, if they can always be positive with him, if they can send him to Christian schools or if they can home school, if they can provide the best possible childhood experience, then their child will turn out okay.

These parents are sure that a proper environment will produce a proper child. They respond almost as if the child were inert. Such a posture is simply determinism dressed in Christian clothes...Determinism makes parents conclude that good shaping influences will automatically produce good children. This often bears bitter fruit later in life. Parents who have an unruly and troublesome teenager or young adult conclude that the problem is the shaping influences they provided...They forget that the child is never determined solely by the shaping influences of life. Remember that Proverbs 4:23 instructs you that the heart is the fountain from which life flows. Your child’s heart determines how he responds to your parenting...The child is not inert during childhood. Your children interact with life. This leads us to our next chapter...

Shepherding a Child’s Heart (1)

The first chapter is entitled “Getting to the Heart of Behavior” and hits the core problem of modern methods of parenting straight on.

What your children say and do is a reflection of what is in their hearts. Luke 6:45

My son, Nathaniel, is 11 weeks old at the time of this post. He is cute and will snuggle very sweetly as I hold him on my chest. However, our previous history with his two older sisters has been a great teacher to Tammy and I. One day that sweet baby will stomp his foot and yell, “No!” at me over some issue he wants his way when I have told him to do otherwise. He will rebel against me, as his sisters have done and do on occassion, because that is his nature. They all inherited it from me and Tammy. We inherited it from our parents and they from theirs, etc. Scripture tells us that we are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners, from the heart.

Pastor Tripp warns that parents get sidetracked trying to curb behavior and neglect the deeper and more profound problem: the behavior reflects the status of the heart.

A change in behavior that does not stem from a change in heart is not commendable; it is condemnable. Is it not the hypocrisy that Jesus condemned in the Pharisees? Matthew 15

But, parents tend to be more concerned about stopping the annoying or disruptive behavior than helping the child understand how his heart produced the wrong behavior. I found Tripp’s analysis of this common scenario (daily at my house) very instructive.

Let’s take a familiar example from any home where there are two or more children. The children are playing and a fight breaks out over a particular toy. The classic response is “Who had it first?” This reponse misses the heart issues. “Who had it first?” is an issue of justice. Justice operates in favor of the child who was the quicker draw in getting the toy to begin with. If we look at this situation in terms of the heart, the issues change.

Now you have two offenders. Both children are displaying a hardness of heart toward the other. Both are being selfish. Both are saying, “I don’t care about you or your happiness. I am only concerned about myself. I want this toy. My happiness depends on possessing it. I will have it and be happy regardless of what that means to you.”

In terms of issues of the heart, you have two sinning children. Two children are preferring themselves before the other. Two children are breaking God’s law. Sure the circumstances are different. One is taking the toy the other has. The other is keeping the advantage. The circumstances are different, but the heart issues are the same - “I want my happiness, even at your expense.”

In this way, Tripp shows how the heart directs the behavior. Therefore, the area that needs to be confronted is the heart, beyond the behavior. We need to unmask for our children the fallen nature of their own hearts, using their behavior as a demonstration of their need for a Savior. This leads to the cross of Christ. Addressing issues of the heart “provides opportunities to show the glories of God, who sent His Son to change hearts and free people enslaved to sin.”

The following chapters address the child’s relationship to two broad sets of issues that affect him:

1. The child and his relationship to the shaping influences of life.
2. The child and his relationship to God.

We will address the shaping influences in the next post.

Shepherding a Child’s Heart (0)

Through the years, many people have recommended to me that I read “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” by Tedd Tripp. Emma is now five and I still have not read the book. I have owned it for a while. Sometimes it is easier to ponder theology and not the nuts and bolts of its application.

So, I have started reading the book. I thought it might be beneficial if I blogged as I read it. Well, not AS I read it. After I read a chapter, I will bang out some thoughts and quotes from the book. Feel free to comment as I do this.

If we don’t disciple our kids, others will...

I read an article recently written by Al Mohler on “The New Atheism.” It is a movement among intellectual elites which seeks to make belief in God socially “embarrassing.” What most struck me are the comments on how these new elites view our duty to train up our children in the way of the Lord. Now, more than ever, we must know what we believe and pass it on to our children. As a side note, if we shirk this responsibility, Elton John is apparently more than...happy...to take up where we leave off...

Christmas Party at the Rose’s

Mark your calendars to be at the Rose’s on December 1st for our class Christmas Party. Child care will be provided. Please contact Robyn or Jill with any questions.

Phil Johnson on Discipling your children

I ran across this article on discipling children. Hope it is helpful.

The Witness of Tipping

I hope that none of us fall into this stereotype. Freely you have received, freely give. However, there is nothing wrong with putting a nice tip inside of a tract...

Memorizing Scripture

Here is a guide to memorizing large portions of Scripture. Hope it is helpful.

Family Research Council Voter Scorecard

This post links to a Baptist Press article on the voter scorecard produced by Focus on the Family.

Amanda Banks, a spokeswoman for Focus on the Family Action, told Family News in Focus that the scorecard is one of the clearest explanations of voting records available to constituents. “They can use this, I think, in a variety of ways,” Banks said. “Of course, prior to the elections they can look and see how their members have been voting and use that information as they prepare to go to the polls.”

The PDF version of the scorecard can be downloaded here or here.

Dr. Mohler on the Secular view of Manliness

I found this article on Biblical Manhood v. Secular Manhood interesting. Click the title of this post to get there. There is also a link to the radio program Dr. Mohler did on this topic. You can listen online if you are so inclined.

King Pyro on Lordship-Salvation

Justin Taylor, of Between Two Worlds bloggage fame, has put together an indexed list of Phil Johnson’s series of articles on his personal experience with the “Lordship-Salvation” debate. Go to Taylor’s links and you can read the Pyromaniac’s posts in order.

After our discussion on how we don’t get the weight of our sin, I thought this would be good reading. I am still reading through them myself. I think this issue is where the rubber meets the road in our race to the Throne. If we can’t live under the Lordship of Christ, there’s some serious questioning that needs to take place about the status of our faith. Again, none of us will be perfect this side of Heaven, but if we are not growing in the fruits of the spirit, we need to take a hard look at the status of the tree.

ESV - Truth Bible Memory Verse

This week’s ESV Bible Memory Verse is on the Return of Christ:

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

Job's Sin, God's grace, with additional thoughts...

This week we discussed Job’s response to God’s monologue in chapters 38-41. But first, we began the class with a hypothetical I read earlier this month.

What About Bob?

There’s a guy, let’s call him Bob. He’s a nice guy. He has a sweet family. He has a good job. He works very hard. He obeys the traffic laws. He pays his taxes. He goes to church. An offering plate never passes by that he doesn’t put something in it. Is he a good guy? Sure.

Oh, there’s one other thing: when he gets the urge, Bob likes to molest little children. Or, Bob likes to blow up Federal buildings and commit mass murder. Pick your one heinous crime. Is Bob still a good guy?

Of course not. With that one piece of information, all of the “good” things Bob does are nullified by that one horrible act. In fact, many of you are thinking, “There’s a lot of undeveloped land in East Texas where we could hide the body of a guy like that.”

But, what about all this other good stuff Bob does? Well, I think it is safe to assert that we value children more than traffic laws, don’t we? Or the lives of everyday people over Bob putting something in the offering plate.

The Greatest Commandment

So why do we, Christian or non-Christian, so regularly commit an even worse error in our evaluation of what is good and evil? What is the greatest moral responsibility? (Mark 12:28-31). We are appalled at the horrible crimes of Bob, but why don’t we realize that if we don’t love God with everything within us, we have committed the worst crime of all. We usually judge the rightness or wrongness of an act based on our opinion. It is an extremely rare occasion when we judge the rightness or wrongness of a matter by its offensiveness to God.

Sin Unplugged

How do we define sin? I’ve tended to define it as selfishness, but is that a proper definition? In his very readable and well-written Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem points out that (1) the Bible does not define sin this way, (2) much self-interest is good and approved by Scripture (for example, when Jesus exhorts us to “lay up for yourself treasures in Heaven” or God’s appeal to the sinful, “Turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ez. 33:11) (3) What about selfless devotion to a false religion? (a Muslim suicide bomber is doing a selfless act, right?) (4) What about God, since God’s highest goal is to seek His own glory (Isa. 42:8; 43:7, 21; Eph 1:12) ?

Grudem defines sin as any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature. I have also heard John Piper define sin as “Trading the glory of God for other things.”

Scripture certainly defines sin in relation to God and His moral law. (1 John 3:4; Rom 2:15, 17-29) All people sin due to their lack of conformity to the moral law of God.

Well, what is the moral law? Exodus 20 – the Ten Commandments. Have you examined your life in light of these ten simple commands? Where do you stand? Have you examined your life in light of Jesus’ illumination of the commandments in Matthew 5? He says the commandments go beyond the external actions, but also focus on the internal attitudes. We further see in James 2:8-11, that to violate one commandment is to violate all of the commandments. That’s a pretty hard pill to swallow. How can violation of just one commandment be the same as violation of all?

James tells us that it is because of Who we are offending by our breaking of the law. The law is not just a piece of divine legislation, it is a revelation of the very infinitely worthy character of God Himself. Any violation is an affront to Him, and He takes it personally, as well He should.

Job, Isaiah and the state of being “undone”

What in the world does all of this have to do with Job? We have seen that Job’s suffering had two purposes. At the beginning it was to demonstrate God’s value and glory. But later, God permitted the suffering of Job to continue in order to fulfill the ongoing purpose of refining Job’s righteousness.

A thunderstorm gathers at the end of Elihu’s speech. Somehow, out of the whirlwind, the voice of God speaks to Job. It’s a pretty ominous beginning.

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”

We know that God is talking about Job, because Job knows God is talking about Job…(42:3, Job quotes the question and answers it by stating that he is putting his hand over his mouth.) God interrogates Job with questions that show God’s infinite greatness compared to Job’s finite and flawed understanding of the reality of things. God focuses on things above the earth, on the earth and under the earth. The point is that Job is ignorant and helpless. He doesn’t know where these things come from, how to make them work, and is utterly surrounded by mysteries.

“Behold, I am Vile.”

At Chapter 40, God gives Job a breather to respond, and we see that Job is starting to get it. What is his response in the face of the infinite and holy God? “Behold, I am vile.”

This is one of the few times that I prefer the KJV rendition. The Hebrew word “Qalal” can mean “of small account” or “insignificant” or other similar expressions. However, I think “vile” captures the contrast between the previous attempts of Job to justify himself and his attitude when faced with the holiness of God. This is also consistent with other accounts of saints being in the presence of God. See Isaiah 6.

Faced with God’s majesty, Job is surprised at his own sin: “Behold!”

It’s the word, “behold” that tips us off to Job’s astonishment at his own sin and finitude. The discovery was unexpected. He’s spent the entire book extolling his own righteousness and the great case he was going to make to God about how he has been mistreated. But, in the presence of a holy and all-powerful God, the realities come crashing in on him. Consider this quote by Charles Spurgeon.

“I believe we generally find out most of our failings when we have the greatest access to God. Job never had such a discovery of God as he had at this time. God spoke to him in the whirlwind, and then Job said, ‘I am vile.’”

We don’t get our sin

Doesn’t this show us how much we just don’t get the vileness of our own sin? Christian and unbeliever alike. Both the Christian and non-Christian have this in common: there is a nature that is in rebellion to God. The difference is that the true Christian realizes it because of the eye-opening power of the Holy Spirit and is compelled to make war against it out of a God-given desire to want to be pleasing to God by reflecting as much of His character in his life as he is able. (Of course, I use the masculine pronoun for the Christian in a non-gender specific way, ladies)

Sin, it’s so natural

It is important to realize that there are acts that people who have not trusted Christ do which we would consider good in relation to those around us. There are actually Muslims who do not murder. There are Buddhists who do acts of benevolence such as feed the poor. A group of atheists can pull together and repair houses after a hurricane. But, Scripture tells us that whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23) The issue is - what moral and spiritual character does that act have in relation to God?

John Piper posits the analogy that if a king teaches his subjects to fight well and those subjects rebel against their king using the very skill he taught them to resist him, then even those skills are evil. Since all people are in total rebellion, everything they do is the product of the rebellion and cannot glorify God. It only further condemns them for their rebellion. With such darkened minds and corrupt hearts, how could we ever change? Consider the testimony of Scripture.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Ro 8:7-8)

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. (Eph 4:17-19)

(God lets us freely do what we most love to do).

To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. (Tit 1:15)

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 Co 2:14)

What kind of freedom of choice does Scripture say the unbelievers whom you know actually have? Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, does Scripture say whether or not they will change their fundamental rebellion against God?

Self-mutilation for the Kingdom of God? (The call of Christ to gouge the eyes and cut off hands)

As believers, we know that through the power of the Holy Spirit we have been born again. The nature that once reigned over us has been stripped of its dominion. We are no longer slaves to sin. However, we still sin. As Christians, we are given some stern warnings about our own sin. 1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21. Consider the warnings of Jesus concerning how radical we are to deal with sin in our lives.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Mt 5:29-30) (see also Mark 9:43)

Of course, He also says that sin comes from the heart, so it is clear that He does not mean literally cut off your hand or gouge your eye. But, who talks like this? Jesus talks like this. Those who see the vileness of sin talk like this. The vast majority of us do not talk like this. We don’t take our sin seriously. If this does not seem obvious to you – that sanctification is worth any pain on this earth – it is probably because you don’t abhor sin and prize holiness the way God does and the way we all should.

As believers, we are to make war against our sin nature. This sin that so easily besets us is a traitor to us. We are to be radical in our hate of the nature that rebels against the God Who has given us so much grace.

We will not be perfect as Christ is perfect this side of eternity. Romans 7:13-25. Sanctification is a life-long process. But, as you look back over the last few years of your Christian life, can you see a pattern of definite growth in the fruits of the Spirit? Are you more righteous today than you were a few years ago? If we are not, we should test ourselves to see if our faith is genuine.
Philippians 2:12-13; 3:12-16; 2 Cor. 13:5

God acted with purpose, not arbitrarily, in sanctifying Job. He acts with purpose in sanctifying us.

Job’s response should be ours

We see three acts of submission by Job on chapter 42:1-6

v. 1-2 – He submits to God’s absolute sovereignty: that He can do whatever He pleases, and is not constrained by anything outside of Himself.

v. 3 – He quotes God and then gives his response. He submits to God’s infinitely greater wisdom and knowledge: Job recognizes that he has spoken about things of which he is very ignorant.

v. 4-6 – He again quotes God and gives his response. He repents.

Getting a realistic picture of our sin and God’s holiness only serves to magnify His grace towards us. It also magnifies our great dependence upon Him for the very ability to not sin.

“Grant us the will to do as You command. Then command us to do as You will,” Saint Augustine prayed.

I can’t remember where this quote came from, but I remember it was from an old saint on his deathbed. I think he was asked what he had learned in the many years he had lived as a Christian. His response was classic, “I have learned that I am a great sinner, and that I have a Great Savior.”

Let us remember that the writer of Hebrews admonishes us, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…” (Heb. 10:24-25)

Bible Reading Plan

There are probably as many Daily Bible Reading plans as there are those with a Bible and a calendar. However, I found an interesting one you may find helpful to keep you motivated in reading your Bible consistently.

Each day of the week, you read anywhere from one to six chapters out of a different part of the Bible. Each week, you cover one or more chapters out of each major area of the Bible: The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy, Gospels, and Epistles. But, by switching areas daily, the thought is you don't get bogged down several days or weeks on an area that I might not currently find as interesting.

Some people lose it at Leviticus. I don't get that personally...but some do. Here's a way to keep moving and sample different types of Biblical literature each day. There's also a nifty little one-page chart you can print out and check off each day as you progress.

Blessed Assurance

Every week the ESV website puts out a memory verse through one of their RSS feeds. (See yesterday's post) This week is on Assurance and the verse is John 10:27-28 in which Jesus promises:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

What confidence we can have in the hands of the Savior!

Geek info

I have stumbled upon something I am sure many of you already know about...site feed readers. These are programs that pull all the blogs, news sites, etc., that you normally have to go from page to page on your browser into one place (soooo tedious...). The program lets you know when the site is updated and you can check it out right then rather than wait for email notification.

Here's the link. It's free. It downloaded pretty fast and with little effort on my part. To add this blog, just copy the web address and paste it into the window after you click "New". Hit OK and it should find the site feed address on its own. You can pick the "RSS" or "Atom" feed, it really doesn't matter.

Just another tip from your friendly neighborhood tech geek. God bless and hopefully see you Wednesday. The Men's Ministry lesson this week is on "Broken Relationships" and is being taught by Scott Ritchison. After reading the chapter in the book, we should have a good discussion on priorities.

Some thoughts from last week's lesson...

Although there were several good points from the lesson last week on Job's Testimony, one point Scott made has stuck with me the most. I have written in my notes, "1) Temptation to give up on God."

Tonight, I was updating the prayer list and saw so many circumstances that just break my heart. I think of the situation with Mimi (not Youngblood) and the loss of that baby after carrying her nine weeks. I think of Troy's family and the loss of a father and a husband and the sense of abandonment with which they must be wrestling. I think of little Noah facing heart surgery at seven years old. I am reminded of the ongoing struggle with the health of Jill's dad. Then also, my heart goes out to Robyn and Christi and the inner struggles they must be going through having mothers with cancer. I am sure there are many others unspoken or outside of our class for which we have no clue.

What is the temptation for each of these? The temptation is to assault God with the accusation of being unfair and unjust. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Do we trust the testimony of Scripture that God is absolutely sovereign and absolutely good when our hearts are pulling apart, when we are fatigued of facing the pain and the problem day after day?

"Why did You let this happen?"

"How could a loving God allow such things to go on?"

"Don't You care?"

"Am I on my own with this?"

"What's the use of being a Christian if You won't or can't protect me from this pain and suffering?"

And the questions go on and on...As Scott said, Scripture shows us that our Father welcomes honest questions. We should take our concerns to God directly. Through Christ, Hebrews tells us that we can boldly (ESV says "confidently") come to the throne of grace. I heard an old pastor say once that we enter boldly, but not brazenly. There is a difference in an honest question and a disrespectful accusation.

I must confess up front that my own times of testing have shown me that I have so much to learn about relying on the Lord and being confident in His goodness and power to work all things together for the good. I am praying for those who are in these circumstances to be much wiser about recognizing their need for Him to sustain them than I was.

Nevertheless, I throw this out for your comment. What have you learned from Job to help deal with these types of situations? What have you learned about God so that you are equipped to overcome the temptation that is so prominent in a crisis? If you are in a crisis circumstance, where is Christ in the middle of it?

This blog is meant to be an interractive tool for us to discuss what we are studying throughout the week. Use the comment button at the bottom of this post to respond. With so many Job-like situations present just in our class, how does the study of God's sovereignty in the suffering of the righteous effect your hearts in these trials? Does the study of Job cause you to handle these things differently than you would have otherwise?

Does God Want Us to Be Rich? TIME Looks at Prosperity Theology

Time Magazine, of all things, has taken on the prosperity theology so prevalent in the Western Church today. This article is timely with our study of Job. Take a look at Al Mohler's comment on Time's coverage of "preachers" like Osteen, Jakes, etc.

There is the issue of priorities. For what do we as a church strive? Do we strive for the theater seats for the main service to comfortably watch the show? Or would we be content with those hard fold-out metal chairs as long as the Lord's Table is spread before us and we can feast on the pure Word of God? Do we seek numbers? Or do we seek fellowship with and the making of true brothers and sisters in Christ who are growing in grace and who bear the marks of true faith: Love for Christ and a love for all the saints? Do we seek position: to be known by others as the "best church in Tyler"? Or do we seek the servants' faithfulness to His Word that oftentimes goes unnoticed by the masses?

When I read about these kinds of situations in the Church, it is tempting for me to feel that my church is much more holy and more Christian than the mega-churches. But, if we really examine our own hearts, even though we may profess to not believe in the doctrines of personal prosperity and pragmatic church growth, I wonder if our actions sometimes betray differently. Do we truly trust Christ alone for the health and growth of this body we call Calvary? Or do we sometimes try to take that growth into our own hands forgetting that it is Christ Who will build His church?

He builds His church when He grants us faithful hearts to His Word. He builds it when He grants us sincere love for one another. He builds it when He grants us those precious opportunities to share the gospel of His grace with the lost. He builds it in a thousand thousands of other ways that we do not even see. He builds it when He grants us the wisdom to use our finances in ways that exhibit our Christ-centeredness rather than to build for ourselves a name. Some gifts are shortly realized. Others have been in the works for years. His gifts to us, for His glory and our good.

Help needed for Mother of three

I got a call from Fred earlier today. There is a young mother of three in our church who has had her transmission go out on her car. It has been a tough time for her and she needs some help. Fred asked if I knew of anyone with an extra car she could borrow while her transmission was getting fixed. If you have an extra car to loan that would accommodate three children, please contact Fred or Mary at 903-939-3200.

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

What on earth is a Daysman?

In class Sunday, we were studying Job's recognition of his need for an "umpire" between him and God. In looking at the KJV of the passage, the word "daysman" is used instead of mediator, or arbiter, or someother similar phrase. Scott asked me if I knew what a "daysman" was, and, although I was confident it was another word for mediator, I had to admit I was unfamiliar with the origin of the word. As you can imagine, it was a difficult time for me. I have yet to recover from my shame. Nevertheless, I looked into it when I got home that afternoon. Here is what I found.

Consider the different translations of Job 9:33, part of our text in Sunday school last week.

Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. (KJV)

If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, (NIV)

There is no umpire between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both. (NASB)

There is no (or would that there were an) arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both. (ESV)

There is no one to judge between us, to lay his hand on both of us. (HCSB)

Daysman is an old English word formed from the Latin diem dicere, i.e., to fix a day for hearing a cause. Diem means "day" (we talk of per diem reimbursements). Dicere means "to judge". A Daysman is empowered by mutual consent to decide the cause, and to "lay his hand", i.e., to impose his authority, on both parties, and enforce his sentence. We use the term arbiter today.

It is important to understand that in the Greek of the New Testament there two major terms for "time." One, chronos, emphasizes the passage of time without any stress on the significance of events in the period; the other, kairos, stresses the special or revelatory significance of time. All life happens between chronos and kairos, so to speak. Or, to put it differently, chronos is one thing after another; kairos is one significant event.

Our word "day" is a word that captures in its various definitions both of the biblical meanings of time. On the one hand is the "chronological" meaning of "day"-- "the time of sunlight," as it is defined in the dictionary. On the other hand we know that "day" can signify a "great day" or an important day. The theological concept of the Judgment Day or "the Day of the Lord", stresses this meaning.

Pushing the research further, "Day" had a rich significance in law that has been lost to our day, and this usage relates to day as a verb. "To day" means "To appoint a day to anyone" or "to cite or summon for an appointed day," such as in the 15th century sentence, "he should be sente fore and dayed ernestly agayn, for to abyde such jugement."

But the second usage of "day" as a verb is "to submit (a matter) to, or decide by, arbitration." We know that the use of "day" in this manner was already obsolete in the 18th century, but an Oxford English Dictionary example from the 16th century is "They have him enforced when all their money was...spent, to have their matter dayed, and ended by arbitrement."

This use of "day" seems to have spawned two nouns, "dayment" and "daysman." "Dayment" is simply defined as "arbitration," such as in the sentence "to spende all..that money and put it to dayment at last." A "daysman" is an "umpire or arbitrator; a mediator" in its archaic usage, according to the OED. From a 16th century legal source we have, "If neighbors were at variance, they ran not straight to law: Daysmen took up the matter, and cost them not a straw." Or, in another case, "They had some common arbitrators, or dayesmen, in every towne, that made a friendly composition between man and man."

The sense from the quotation just given is that arbitration, or dayment, was not only a cheaper procedure than a court trial, but was the principal method to reconcile parties and deliver quicker justice than might be attainable through the King's Bench or Common Pleas or Exchequer. In his magisterial history of English law in the 16th century, Baker points to the popularity of arbitration at any stage of the legal proceedings in this period, even though the surviving records of arbitrations are much more scanty than purely judicial proceedings (Oxford History of the Laws of England, 333-34). Thus daysmen were important in that period, even though the word has long disappeared from our vocabulary.

Yet even though the word is no longer used, its 16th-17th century usage is preserved in a most unlikely place: the Book of Job in the King James translation of the Bible (1611). When Job is expressing his frustration with not being able to know how to approach God in his distress, he expresses a contrary to fact wish (Job 9:33) which the KJV translated as follows: "Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both." It is interesting that the KJV translators were following the 1535 English translation of the Bible by Miles Coverdale, who rendered 9:33 as follows: "Nether is there eny dayes man to reprove both the partes, or to laye his honde betwixte us."

A leading commentator on the Book of Job, David Clines, comments on this passage that the author isn't specific as to whether what is in view is a person who has the power to make decisions or just to try to reconcile the parties (Job 1-20, p. 243). He actually translates the Hebrew word (Mochia) as "mediator," which seems to be precisely wrong. What is in view in Job 9:33-34 is an umpire-like figure who can "lay his hand upon us both."

The phrase "lay his hand" only appears in the Hebrew Bible in one other place, Ps. 139 (verse 5). In that context the words "lay his hand upon" suggests the authority of God to make something happen in the Psalmist's life. In law the person who can make decisions by "laying his hand" on both parties is the arbitrator, not the mediator.

A mediator in American law is a person who can get parties together and make suggestions (and even some warnings/threats), but s/he has no authority to force a decision on the parties. Thus, I think the KJV has it right after all--what Job is longing for is not simply a mediator, but an arbitrator, a daysman with all his power. Further, Job might consider a human judge as capable of acting as an umpire upon his own claims, but no man was worthy to question the purposes of Yahweh, or metaphorically, to "lay his hands upon" Him. To that end, I think the English Standard Version is the most correct in that it uses the term "arbiter", which is consistent with the context, rather than "mediator."

Commentator Arthur Walwyn Evans, notes that in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 4:3, anthropine, hemera) "man's judgment" is literally, "man's day," in the sense of a day fixed for the trial of a case. Both Tyndale and Coverdale so translate. See also 1 Timothy 2:5, where the Saviour is termed the "one mediator .... between God and men." Here the word connotes a pleader, an advocate or lawyer before an umpire, rather than the adjudicator himself (see Job 19:25-27).

Nathaniel update...

Yes, we are home...Thank, God. Thanks for all your prayers, visits and calls. Tammy is doing well, but still recovering. Nathaniel is also doing well, but learning the fine art of sleeping...I am committed to his advanced studies on that topic.

We've got pictures, if you're interested. Here and here.

Remember, tonight is the "Reconnect" social over at the Rose's. More details in the sidebar and Scott's letter here. Hope to see you there.

Thirst is a Liar

Did you know that thirst is a liar? You can't always trust your sense of thirst to keep your water intake above the minimum required for good health. An hour of hard work or athletic competition that involves heavy sweating, for example, can dehydrate the body far beyond what a person would ordinarily feel like drinking. Similarly, people who are sick or elderly often have a dulled sense of thirst. In instances like these, it's better to trust objective guidelines than your own feeling of satiety.

In the same way, we don't drink long enough or deep enough from the Word of God on a regular basis. If we trust our "felt need" for Scripture, we would be spiritually dehydrated, indeed. Many times when we are spiritually "sick" through unrepentant sin, for example, or some lengthy trial, we don't even realize our desparate need for the Word of God to nourish our souls. I have found that an objective reading schedule is very helpful. There is no right schedule. Just pick something that is consistent and gets you deeper into study than the casual reading of the newspaper.

Here's one I like for a good overview:

Old Testament

1. Genesis (History of Creation, Fall, and Covenant in Patriarchal History)


2. Exodus (History of Israel’s liberation and formation as people of God)


3. Joshua (History of military conquest of promised land)


4. Judges (History of transition from tribal federation to monarch)


5. 1 & 2 Samuel (History of emerging monarchy with Samuel, Saul, and David; the golden age of Israel)


6. 1 & 2 Kings (History of Solomon and the division of the kingdom; the fall of Israel and the beginning of the age of the prophets)


7. Ezra/Nehemiah (History of return from exile; restoration of Jerusalem)


8. Amos and Hosea (Examples of Minor Prophets)


9. Jeremiah (Example of Major Prophets)


10. Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon (Examples of Wisdom Literature)


11. Psalms and Proverbs (Examples of Hebrew poetry)

This gives an Old Testament overview to which you can fill in the gaps later on.

New Testament

1. Luke (Life and teaching of Jesus)


2. Acts (History of early church)


3. Ephesians (Introduction to teaching of Paul)


4. 1 Corinthians (Teaching in the life of the Church)


5. 1 Peter (Introduction to Peter)


6. 1 Timothy (Introduction to Pastoral Epistles)


7. Hebrews (Theology of Christ)


8. Romans (Paul’s theology)

After this is finished, go back and fill in the gaps. This gives an overview of the component parts of the New Testament.

I read an article once where a teacher suggested starting in three different places: Genesis, Job, and Matthew. Apparently, that's almost the Bible in thirds. The idea is that it breaks up the reading so that you get several types at once. I’ve also heard that 3 chapters on the weekdays and 5 chapters each on Saturday and Sunday will get you through the Bible in a year. That would certainly get us through the New Testament several times a year. However, that pace is not the best for "study". But after reading the Bible through a few times, you'd be amazed at how you remember other passages and statements that shed light on what you are currently reading. I guess the point is: start somewhere and read it systematically.

I've also included 10 Rules for interpreting Scripture, just in case you find that helpful.

Rule 1: Read it like any other book. In other words, read poetry like poetry, narratives like narratives, and doctrinal treatises (i.e., Romans) like, well, doctrinal treatises.

Rule 2: Get under the skin of the characters. Get into the context of why the book was written and under what circumstances.

Rule 3: Historical narratives are to be interpreted by passages that teach or explain. Don't look to the life of David as a complete pattern for living. Look to the books that teach those principles. It may be that a story of David's life was included to show what not to do, for example.

Rule 4: What is implied should be interpreted by what is expressly stated.

Rule 5: Determine carefully the meaning of words

Rule 6: Note the Presence of Parallelisms in the Bible

Rule 7: Don’t make a Proverb into a Law…and vice versa

Rule 8: Note the difference between the Spirit and the Letter of the Law

Rule 9: Be Careful with Parables

Rule 10: Be Careful with Prophecy

Please note that we shouldn't ignore parables or prophecy and just accept what those with credentials would tell us. Study parables and prophecy, but study them carefully in light of the rest of Scripture. Scripture interprets Scripture.

Job - With Friends Like These...

Two Sundays ago, Scott taught on what we learn NOT to do from Job's three friends.

Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar teach us:

I. THE WRONG WAY TO HELP A FRIEND WHO IS HURTING

1. Don't make FALSE assumptions about why (they're hurting)
2. Don't make FAULTY conclusions about God's will

II. THE RIGHT WAY TO HELP A FRIEND WHO IS HURTING

1. BE THERE for them
2. CRY with them
3. LISTEN more TALK less
4. ATTEND to their physical needs
5. PRAY with them

III. HOW YOU SHOULD RESPOND WHEN FRIENDS FAIL YOU

1. Don't DENY your disappointment
2. Don't let them make you BITTER – Job 12: 2-3
3. PRAY for them – Job 42:10

When the Church Gives Birth to Ichabod

A few weeks ago, Scott preached a sermon on Sunday night called, "When the Church Gives Birth to Ichabod." The text was 1 Samuel 4. I do not have the transcript, but wanted to post the outline. It was a good sermon and, I thought, very applicable to the Western church. Here is the outline.

Ichabod is born in the church when:

I. GOD’S PEOPLE PLAY GAMES

The Ark of the Covenant contained three items that represent the things people in the church play games with (Hebrews 9:4):

1. TABLETS of God (1 Kings 8:21)

It is not the word of God that is your protection; it is the God of the word who is your protection

[The Word of God is not any less glorious than God Himself. It is "God-breathed". Nevertheless, God's Word is not a book of magic spells. It is revealed truth that is God-centered, not man-centered, and should be treated as such]

2. BOWL of Manna (Exodus 16:33-34)

God is faithful to provide

3. Aaron’s ROD that Budded (Numbers 17:8-10)

Stop murmuring and grumbling

II. GOD’S POWER IS SUBSTITUED FOR

1. Faith is in the SYSTEM and not the SAVIOR

2. Focus is on MAINTAINING not MINISTERING

III. GOD’S LEADERS LACK INTEGRITY

1. Hophni and Phinehas

Superstition = FAITHLESSNESS

2. Eli

Permissiveness = LAZINESS

What should we do?

To the hurting – Get your HEAD up!
The King of Glory will come in! (Psalm 24:7)

…and then you’ll run and not grow weary,
You’ll walk and not grow faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Baby Nathaniel

Just wanted to update everyone on the baby status. Nathaniel Judson Rhyne was born at 7:43 a.m. this morning, weighing in at 7lbs 13oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. For those of you who are baby stat die hards, his head and chest are 13 3/4 in. each. Those are the only stats I know. He's got a lot of hair...I'm not bitter. I've already taught him how to burp.

Tammy is doing well and seems to be handling things very well. We anticipate getting her up to walk later this afternoon. Please keep her in your prayers. The girls cannot wait to meet their new baby brother!

Thank you all for your prayers, calls, visits, meal planning, etc. It is a blessing to our family to have such wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ.

Baptist Faith and Message Comparison Chart

To complete the tour of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, I thought it would be good to compare the latest version with the previous versions of this particular confession. It is important to note that Baptist confessionalism did not begin with the 1925 confession. Baptists have always been confessional as opposed to creedal.

Probably the best known early Baptist confession is the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession. It was essentially a copy of the great 1647 Westminster Confession of faith from the English Reformation era. In colonial America, the 1689 London Baptist Confession was adopted wholesale by the Philadelphia Association as the "Philadelphia Confession" in 1742. In 1833, Baptists in the United States agreed upon a confession of faith, the so called "New Hampshire Confession", around which they could organize a missionary society under the Triennial Convention. Those proposing the New Hampshire Confession claimed that it held to the former confessions, but stated them in "milder" form. The Triennial Convention was the forerunner of the Southern Baptist Convention. The committee for the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message used the New Hampshire Confession as its model.

Confessions are, of course, not infallible. However, they are an excellent litmus test on the doctrinal purity of a body of believers.

Baptist Faith and Message (18)

The eighteenth section concerns marriage, the family, the compatability of roles between men and women, the gift of children and the sanctity of human life. This section is relatively new and was added in 1998. This is the last section of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

XVIII. The Family

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.

Baptist Faith and Message (17)

Section seventeen concerns the fallacy of legalism and how God alone is the Lord of the conscience, not the dictates of mere men. That being the case, we should be avid students of the Word of God so that we may bind our consciences and save ourselves from corrupt imaginations that results from the weakness of our flesh.

XVII. Religious Liberty

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.

Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 6:6-7,24; 16:26; 22:21; John 8:36; Acts 4:19-20; Romans 6:1-2; 13:1-7; Galatians 5:1,13; Philippians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; James 4:12; 1 Peter 2:12-17; 3:11-17; 4:12-19.

Abstract of Principles

Liberty of Conscience

God alone is Lord of the conscience; and He hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in anything contrary to His word, or not contained in it. Civil magistrates being ordained of God, subjection in all lawful things commanded by them ought to be yielded by us in the Lord, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

Baptist Faith and Message (16)

Section sixteen concerns the Christian's attitude toward war. Scripture does not instruct us to convert others by the sword. Therefore, the concept of a Christian terrorist is an oxymoron, whereas such practices would be consistent with false worldviews such as Islam.

XVI. Peace and War

It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war.

The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love. Christian people throughout the world should pray for the reign of the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 5:9,38-48; 6:33; 26:52; Luke 22:36,38; Romans 12:18-19; 13:1-7; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; James 4:1-2.

Baptist Faith and Message (15)

Section fifteen concerns the relationship of the Christian to the culture in which he or she resides.

XV. The Christian and the Social Order

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

Exodus 20:3-17; Leviticus 6:2-5; Deuteronomy 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 8:16; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3ff.; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Romans 12–14; 1Corinthians 5:9-10; 6:1-7; 7:20-24; 10:23-11:1; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8.

Baptist Faith and Message (14)

Section fourteen concerns the cooperation with other churches and Christians from other denominations for the furtherance of Christ's Kingdom.

XIV. Cooperation

Christ's people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ's Kingdom.

Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christ's people. Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New Testament.

Exodus 17:12; 18:17ff.; Judges 7:21; Ezra 1:3-4; 2:68-69; 5:14-15; Nehemiah 4; 8:1-5; Matthew 10:5-15; 20:1-16; 22:1-10; 28:19-20; Mark 2:3; Luke 10:1ff.; Acts 1:13-14; 2:1ff.; 4:31-37; 13:2-3; 15:1-35; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:5-15; 12; 2 Corinthians 8-9; Galatians 1:6-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Philippians 1:15-18.

Baptist Faith and Message (13)

Section thirteen concerns the proper understanding of our duty to God with the resources with which He has blessed us. They are not ours. They are His. As such, we should seek to honor Him with good and proper stewardship out of thankfulness for the incomprehensible worth of the blood of Christ applied to us as a payment for our infinite debt of sin owed to God.

XIII. Stewardship

God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth.

Genesis 14:20; Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 8:18; Malachi 3:8-12; Matthew 6:1-4,19-21; 19:21; 23:23; 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21,42; 16:1-13; Acts 2:44-47; 5:1-11; 17:24-25; 20:35; Romans 6:6-22; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 6:19-20; 12; 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8-9; 12:15; Philippians 4:10-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19.

Baptist Faith and Message (12)

Section twelve concerns education from a Christian perspective and the duty of every believer to worship God with our minds. It further highlights the necessity of doctrinal education for the maturity of every believer in addition to the general studies that attempt to discover the way creation operates.

Christianity is a reasonable faith. The new birth in Christ creates a hunger to learn more about God and His mighty works. "Wisdom is first pure." (James 3:17) To the extent that we have an impure understanding of God and His work, we delve into foolish speculations and emotional falsehood. As believers, we should be passionate about "rightly handling the Word of Truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) "Reformed, yet always reforming," as Luther and the other Reformers put it.

XII. Education

Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is, therefore, a part of our Christian heritage. The new birth opens all human faculties and creates a thirst for knowledge. Moreover, the cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ's people.

In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always limited and never absolute. The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.

Deuteronomy 4:1,5,9,14; 6:1-10; 31:12-13; Nehemiah 8:1-8; Job 28:28; Psalms 19:7ff.; 119:11; Proverbs 3:13ff.; 4:1-10; 8:1-7,11; 15:14; Ecclesiastes 7:19; Matthew 5:2; 7:24ff.; 28:19-20; Luke 2:40; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 2:3,8-9; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17; Hebrews 5:12-6:3; James 1:5; 3:17.