How Should Baptism Weekends Affect Our Lives and Ministries?

This weekend, our worship service ended with the testimonies of some believers in our church who had decided to follow Jesus in obedience by getting baptized. That is, because they had repented of their sins and they had been given a new life in Christ, they wanted to continue in obedience by sharing  in front of their entire church family how they came to understand and have faith in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They would do this through being baptized as an outward declaration of what had happened in their souls (Acts 2:38, Acts 8:12).
 

Baptism, as described and taught in the New Testament, is the outward declaration of an inner reality. This inner reality is the reality of a life that has been crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20), has been buried with Christ (Rom 6:4), and has been raised in Christ as a new creation (Col 2:12, 2 Cor 5:17). These three realities describe what happens at salvation when a person surrenders his or her life by repenting of their sins and chooses to receive the forgiveness purchased by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

There were, however, numerous Christians in our church who came to worship this weekend who had not been baptized yet as believers and had no intention of doing so. Through the Word of God and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, dozens of people spontaneously decided that this weekend was the weekend to get baptized. As a result, this weekend we heard the stories of 105 people who had committed their lives to obeying the Lord and who finally submitted to His desire for them to declare it publicly through baptism.

 

So, what do you and I do as a lovers and disciples of Jesus Christ after witnessing the miracle of spiritual regeneration as proclaimed in baptism testimonies? What are we to think when we see dozens of children, youth, adults, and elderly people stand up front of hundreds of people, many of them in tears, sharing from their hearts the wonderful things the Lord has done in their lives starting with the new life they received through faith? What should your heart and my heart feel after seeing the salvation of God yet again? How should a baptism weekend like this one change our lives and the way we do ministry?

 

First of all, we need to remember that baptisms are only exciting, because salvation is exciting. Believer's baptism is so much more exciting and thrilling than infant baptism because salvation precedes believer's baptism. There is something real and awesome that has occurred that can be celebrated in believers' baptisms. So, as we look to celebrate this weekend, what we are really celebrating is the mercy of God that results in the salvation of those who give their lives up for the sake of following Jesus.

 

Baptisms should change our lives and ministries because baptisms represent the fulfilling of our mission as Christians, as the universal Church. Our success in life is measured by the depth and authenticity of our love for God and for other people. This love is demonstrated as we lay down our agendas, desires, and lives for the sake of our God and His people. Jesus instructed his disciples to love their God and love His people by going and making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything he commanded them (Matt 28:18-20).

Going to the nations, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey the commandments of God are the delight of Christians who are seeking to live an obedient and God glorifying lives. Witnessing the testimonies of those being baptized should first of all fill our hearts with great joy. There is joy in seeing people who have been rescued from drugs, alcohol, self-hate, misery, depression, pride, lust, and ultimately, death (Acts 15:3). There is also gratitude expressed through smiles, tears, and applause to our merciful, faithful and AWESOME God.

This joy and gratitude changes our lives by giving us strength and encouragement as we run the race of the Christian life. Joy in salvation is the fruit of our labour that fuels us and allows us to persevere through our sacrificial gospel-centered, mission-focused walk. Joy in seeing the work of God helps to strengthen the hope that we have in the promises of God (Rom 15:13) and allows us to delight not only in what the Lord has done or is doing, but also in what He will do. The baptisms we witness should also act as a great mirror into the inner realities that took place in our souls as Christians. For many of us, our death, burial, and resurrection took place many years ago, and we tend to forget what that was like - we forget the enslavement of sin, we forget the overwhelming joy of finally seeing Jesus Christ, we forget the humility that is natural when we look at the cross. Baptisms help us to reflect and remember the joy of the miracle of our own salvation.

Baptism weekends should also impact our ministries. Our ministry is the glory of God in the spreading of the good news of the gospel. The joy we feel from hearing the testimonies of salvation should increase our urgency and zeal for our mission (Acts 12:14). This joy also serves to counter-balance the weight of our afflictions and struggles in the mission for world evangelism. For me, the joy in seeing one life saved and transformed is enough to get me through the fear and anxiety of reflecting the light of the gospel to ten others around me.

The people who were baptized this weekend were someone's parents, someone's neighbours, someone's friends, someone's coworkers, someone's brothers. This baptism service helped to encourage me to live in such a way that I would one day see my neighbours, my friends, my coworkers, my brothers declaring the glory of God - perhaps at our next baptism service.

The Pain and Evil of Jesus' Rejection (John 1:10-11)

"He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him" - John 1:10-11

Our ability to remember events in our lives and to recognize people is foundational to forming and maintaining relationships. Under some situations, though, our brains can lose their ability to make connections between the things we once knew and the things we now see and experience. There is something deeply painful and exceptionally difficult about not being able to remember events or suddenly losing the ability to recognize people that are the closest and dearest to us and with whom we have the deepest of intimate relationships. I have only heard stories about the devastation that dementia or brain damage can cause to families, but there is something very painful and disturbing in the stories of people waking up in the hospital after an accident having no recollection of who their spouses or children are. None of these stories, however, is as painful to hear and read as the story of the Jews, who did not recognize their own Messiah when he finally came for them.

The Father, who had a perfect relationship with the Son, also had a deep and unique relationship with His people, the Jews. Jesus himself created this people, Jesus himself formed them in their mother's wombs and provided for them the breath to sustain their delicate lives. For centuries, Jesus himself had specifically guided, protected, and saved the Jewish people from the enemies who sought to wipe them out. Jesus had been quiet for 400 years, and now, the unimaginable was going to happen. Jesus, the creator of the earth and the people of the earth (John 1:3) was coming to the earth as a man, to walk with his people, and eat with his people - to save his people. Yet John tells us that his own people did not receive him, in fact, they outright rejected him.

John summarizes the encounter between Jesus and the Jewish people who had been waiting for his arrival for centuries in these few verses, and he says that although Jesus had now entered the world he had created, the world did not know who he was. More than that, John says that "his own people" did not receive him and goes on to say later that they rejected him and condemned him to death. The reality of Jesus' rejection had been predicted in the Old Testament (Ps 118:22-23), but it did not diminish the very real pain, sorrow, and loneliness experienced by the man Jesus Christ. Jesus was rejected, mocked, stricken, and betrayed by his friends, his family (including his half-brother James), and many of the priests and scribes. All these people had read the prophecies, they knew what to expect, they knew the signs, but when the light finally came into the world (John 1:9), they turned away. From the moment of his birth in a manger, to his last breath on a cross, Jesus lived his life being despised and rejected, alone and unrecognized (Isa 53:3).

The Jewish people did not suffer any brain damage that prevented them from recognizing the Messiah as described in the Scriptures when they finally met him face to face. Their problem was not in their brain, but in their heart. The sin in their hearts was a worse disease than Alzheimer's, with far more devastating consequences. Their evil hearts made it impossible for them to "make straight the way of the Lord" as was cried out by John the Baptist (John 1:23). The people were expecting a political king, but instead were given a homeless teacher. They were expecting a ruthless conqueror, but instead were given a merciful saviour. They were expecting to be honoured and exalted, but instead were rebuked and humbled. The light had come, and it had come into the darkeness, but the darkness could not remain dark in the light and so the darkness rejected the light (John 3:19). In the same way, the Jews rejected Jesus because turning to Jesus would mean turning away from darkness, from who they were. Turning away from our own sin is the single greatest obstacle for every human being, and it involves receiving the true light that is so contrary to all we know ourselves to be.

Reformatting the Blog

I've spent quite a bit of time over the past couple of days learning more about HTML and the different things that Blogger allows you to do on my blog. For those of you who have blogs, or enjoy reading blogs, you know that having a good template and format is important. I admit that I am still a big newb to me and I still have a lot to learn about blogging (right now, I'm thinking that length of posts is something I need to work on...) but I've taken some time and tried to work on the blog itself, which is why I haven't been posting anything recently.

 

So what is it I've been working on? If you can't tell, that's a good thing. The biggest thing I've been working on is the combination of the blogs. I had been working with multiple blogs that were all interconnected - when you clicked on "DAILY WALK" or "SEMINARY" on the tabs, it would actually take you to an entirely different blog not connected to the previous one at all. My biggest problem with that was the inability for the blogger archive to display posts from all 5 blogs, and the inability for followers to be able to follow all the categories in all 5 blogs by just following once.

In order to get all the pages I wanted on the same blog, I had to somehow link pages that would contain categorized blogs without going to a completely different blog altogether. This was not something that Blogger allowed you to do too easily and required me to learn a little bit about the HTML coding that dictates the template of the blog itself.

I have also added the Bible-verse display feature when hovering over a reference. There were times when I wanted the verse to be visible but in an attempt to work on reducing the length of my posts, I didn't feel like including the entire verse. This little gadget allowed me to have my cake and eat it too in terms of having the verses I wanted without taking up room on the post.

I'll still be looking for ways to continually improve the appearance of the blog as well as improve the quality (and length...) of the posts. If you are blogging on Blogger (or are thinking about starting), I'd like to hear from you about your blog formatting frustrations, solutions, tips, or questions. Thanks again for reading (and following...)!

The Doctrine of Sin

Last weekend Robbie taught the 9th sermon on the "Glorious Doctrine" series on the doctrine of sin. If you want to watch the video sermon, you can watch it by clicking here. The sermon focused on explaining the true meaning and implication of sin for all humanity. I didn't expect to hear too many things that were new and was just hoping that the truth would continue to transform and sanctify my heart and my affections for the Lord. I was wrong about the content, there was a lot of great content and important doctrine with which I've been wrestling and seeking to understand more clearly. 

THE WORD RENEWING MY MIND 

1. THE DOCTRINE OF SIN - LAWLESSNESS

"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness" - 1 John 3:4

The first point in understanding the doctrine of sin, is what sin is. John defines it as lawlessness - anything contrary to the law. This law is the perfect, moral decree, as outlined by God, which defines righteous living. We learned this working definition of sin:

SIN - anything (whether in act, attitude, or nature) that does not express or conform to the holy character of God as expressed in his moral law.  

Because sin ultimately misrepresents the holy and perfect character of God as our creator, all sin ultimately is committed against God. A wrongful thought (even one that nobody else ever finds out about), a hateful comment, and an evil deed are all sins that are ultimately personal attacks on God. God as the creator and sustainer of the universe is also the law giver of the universe. As such, any rebellion to this law is a direct rebellion against the law giver Himself. 

2. THE UNDERSTANDING OF SIN - THREE ASPECTS

Robbie spent most of the time explaining and expositing the three aspects of sin outlined in the Bible: Inherited Sin, Sinful Nature, and Sins of Commission & Omission

a) INHERITED SIN / ORIGINAL GUILT - Rom 5:12-14 

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" - Rom 5:12

  The doctrine of Inherited Sin (also referred to as Original or Inherited Guilt) refers to the guilt of sin inherited from Adam by all human beings. Romans teaches that through the sin of Adam sin came into the world, death came through sin, and at that moment, spread to all men because all sinned. Adam acted as a "Federal Head" and the guilt and consequence of sin (death - Rom 6:23) was imputed to all humanity at that time. The easiest way for me to understand this is that Adam's soul died in that moment, and although he himself remained alive, his soul had been separated from God. In procreation, Adam and Even passed on this "dead soul" to their offspring, as such we are all born with this inherited sin (Ps 51:5)

b) SINFUL NATURE - Rom 7:15-20

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do" - Gal 5:16-17

The "nature" part of our sin has to do with the effects of our inherited sin in our day-to-day lives. The sin we inherited from Adam manifests itself in us by the tendency to sin. Our "default" mode is not to do good, but to do evil. Our sinful nature renders us completely unable to do any spiritual good towards God. The sinful nature in us is sometimes referred to as "the desires of the flesh" - these evil tendencies are linked and tied to our physical bodies. Our "flesh" has urges, desires, tendencies - these are often thoughts or desires that seek to invoke a behaviour out of us and make a decision to walk in sin.

c) COMMITTED & OMITTED SINS - 1 John 1:8-9

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " - 1 John 1:8-9 

The most well understood part of the doctrine of sin is this third aspect. Any evil deed, thought, or attitude we have is a sin of commission, where we commit an act that is contradictory to the character of God that He created us with and dishonours and offends Him. This third aspect also includes any good that is left undone - the sins that are committed by failing to do something right. We are commanded to love God with all our mind, soul, and strength. Failing to do this perfectly at all times is an example of failing to do what we are required to do.

3. THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN - DEVASTATING - Rom 3:9-13 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Rom 3:23

There is no greater disaster than falling short of the glory of God. Because we fall short, because we don't measure up to God's standards due to the continuous and relentless evil in us, we are cursed and deserving of the most devastating punishment. Our sin, this attack on the character and perfection of God as the ruler of the universe, rightfully condemns us and renders us culpable and guilty, deserving death.

THE WORD TRANSFORMING MY HEART

The biggest take away for my heart in this sermon, is the light that this doctrine shines on my dark and unhealthy heart. This doctrine reveals what is behind all the evil that exists in the entire world and all the evil that I am responsible for. Our actions and our decisions are only the fruit and the result of an inherently tainted and dark nature. I believe that if you could put all of my thoughts, my desires, my words, my attitudes, my decisions, and my priorities on a screen for all the world to see, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that I am not inherently a good person, but rather a very imperfect and downright sinful person. This, according to the Bible, is the reality of all of our hearts and is the reason our souls are in such desperate need of new life and of a Saviour. Jesus Christ is the one that has given me new life and made me a new creation, my sinful nature no longer has free reign in me but now wars with the Spirit of God within me. I am saved, I have been freed from the futility of my natural being, and can rejoice in the hope of the promised eternal life.

THE WORD FORMING MY BEHAVIOUR

My behaviour and my decisions can reflect one of two realities – they can reflect the presence of the tendency within me to rebel against God, or they can reflect the miracle of new birth through the Holy Spirit of God. Whereas before I was a Christian I couldn’t help but act in accordance to the sin within me, now with the Spirit in me I have the promise that it is the Spirit that will bear fruit in my life (Gal 5:22) in the form of good works for which I was prepared for (Eph 2:10). My job is to allow the Spirit to lead every area of my life and to submit to the Lord.

CLICK TO WATCH THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON THIS SERMON

John the Witness (John 1:6-7)

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.” – John 1:6-7

Courtney and I watched “The Life of Pi” (spoiler alert) a few days ago. I really enjoyed the movie-partly because I am fascinated with animals and partly because it was simply an intriguing story. The movie consists of a man (Pi) who tells the story of how he survived a shipwreck as a boy and remained alive at sea for 277 days. The story includes a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, a strange island with a colony of unusual meerkats, and most importantly, Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger. Once Pi is finally rescued, he is asked by two investigators to share his testimony of what happened to him, the ship, and all of its passengers. The testmony Pi tells the investigators describes the unusual circumstances that allowed him to survive with only a raft and its contents for the nearly a year in the Pacific Ocean. His audience, though, is not satisfied with his witness acount and they press him to tell them the "real" story, namely, one that is easy to believe. Grudgingly, Pi tells the investigators a different story, which includes no wild animals or strange islands. Neither story gives an explanation of why the ship sank, but both of them explained how he survived. Pi, the only witness to the tragedy, has told two stories and it is up to the investigators to decide which one they prefer.

John the Baptist found himself in a very similar predicament to Pi. His testimony did not have to do with a disastrous shipwreck or survival at sea, but it had to do with the tragedy of human sin, and the only way to life. God had been silent for over 400 years and the people of Judea were losing hope, wondering if the promised Messiah would ever come to deliver them. John the Baptist's testimony was that the King was indeed coming, and he urged the people to prepare themselves for his arrival. John proclaimed the arrival of Jesus, God in the flesh (John 1:14), the Lord (John 1:23) who would be the Saviour of the world (Luke 3:3). Much like Pi's interrogators, however, the Jews had a hard time with the story and the explanation of this witness. If the Jews were going to believe John, it would require them to recognize their own darkness and their need to be rescued by the light. It would require them to realize that their biggest problem was not the Roman occupation over the Jewish people, but it was their own sin. In other words, they would need to understand that Jesus was not going to deliver them from a Gentile ruler, but from an inherited predisposition-their own sinfulness.

Pi changed his original testimony after seeing the investigators' dissatisfaction with his account. John the Baptist held firm to his testimony and did not offer an alternative version of reality despite the frustration and eventual anger of the people around him. He was not interested in changing his account because he knew that the eternal life of his hearers depended on whether or not they believed his testimony about who Jesus was.

An important difference between Pi and John as witnesses is that Pi was the only reliable witness that could explain the tragedy in the Pacific. John, on the other hand, was only one of hundreds of first-account, reliable, coherent witnesses of the man Jesus Christ. While the investigators in the movie had one and only one strange testimony go on, the Jews in John's day and all of us today have hundreds of first-person, reliable, and coherent accounts to help us understand and believe in the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.  

ON SELLING OUR CAR

A few weeks ago, Courtney's parents asked us if we would had considered getting a new car. The one we had at the time was great and we were very happy with it, but the reality was that it probably wasn't going to get us through our years pounding up and down the interstate to Kentucky. We told them we hadn't really thought about it and it wasn't really in our budget to get a new car at the time. They then told us that they were willing to gift us their current car for whatever we were able to sell ours for! It was a huge gesture of generosity and love. We put up our car up for sale at the beginning of the month with the hope of selling it quick. So off we went with Kijiji and Autotrader!

Neither of us had ever sold a car before, and unsurprisingly, there were quite a few things we learned in terms of processes, legalities, sales, and how to honour the Lord through it all - in the end, it was a good (though trying) learning experience. Here’s some of the lessons I took away:
 

It pays (literally) to take good care of your car - get on it!

I’m not big on cars. My father-in-law, brother-in-law and I enjoy going to the International Car Show in Toronto each year, but aside from that and trying to take care of my own car, I don’t have much interest in cars. I can definitely appreciate a nice car when I see one, but I don’t dream of big engines or low fuel economy. Along with that, I also don’t know very much about cars and aside from a basic understanding of what to do in a few emergency situations, I am pretty useless. (If anyone has read “Humility” by CJ. Mahaney, you might remember one of the opening chapters describing the extent of his mechanic skills – I can sort of identify).

My father-in-law, on the other hand, really knows how to take care of his vehicles. He's one of those Q-tip cleaners, where the dashboard of his vehicle would be a perfectly usable eating surface and should you have to dig beneath a seat to find a dropped item, your hand would emerge dust, crumb, and odour free. Since he was the original owner of the car that we just sold, and the owner of the one we just received, we have GREATLY benefited from the way he takes care of his vehicles. The good stewardship of our old car helped us sell it for much more than other cars of the same age and model. It was very encouraging to see just how far non-lazy, intentional, preventative car maintenance went!

It can be tempting to freak out - fight it!

There are so many things that can go wrong with driving, owning, and selling a car. Every scrape and squeal that can cause you to make a trip to the mechanic can end up costing a whole lot of money. We were very fortunate that we never had to do anything to our old car other than fill up on gas and change the oil, and patch a few tires. As soon as we put it up for sale, though, our problems started. We quickly became good friends (out of necessity) with our trusted mechanic as we ended up spending almost $1000 on the car the week we put it up for sale. This very sudden hike in the "car maintenance" part of our budget took us both by surprise. Since we only own one car, simple tasks like getting to work suddenly became complicated (my parents really helped with that though!). We also grappled with the question of "what is the right thing to do - get this fixed, or just cross our fingers that the buyer won't ask about it"? It all seems so silly now (as it often does...). The Lord blesses faith, and continues to provide us with our daily bread. We hope to hold more firm to the promised goodness of the statues of the Lord and be less swayed by stress the next time around!

It can be tempting to lie - don't!

There are so many opportunities to lie in the sale of a car - it is so easy to omit information, be deceitful, and to right out lie. It's easy to answer questions like "does the car have any accident history?", or "have you had the breaks replaced recently?". But when you get asked questions like "how long do you think these tires will last?", do you admit that they're pretty much done and that they probably won't last through the summer? Maybe the hardest question of all to be asked is, "is there anything else I should know about that I am not asking?". Two of the things the Lord hates are a lying tongue and a false witness that breathes out lies (Proverbs 6:16-19). It's in situations like these that our integrity, our honesty, and our willingness to reflect to purity and the integrity of the Lord is put to the test. By God's grace, we had the money and the integrity to pay for the tweaks our car needed to be in tip-top shape, and the courage to answer the buyer's questions honestly.

Two things I found helpful in maintaining integrity are:

1. Maintain a clear conscience - Knowing that there was nothing wrong with the car and having a clean conscience that we were selling a car we would otherwise have been very happy buying ourselves, protected us from the temptation to be deceitful. Even if there had been some problems with the car, the Lord calls us to complete honesty and transparency.
2. Fear the Lord  - If the fear of man (who can choose to buy or not buy) becomes greater than the fear of God, we will compromise our integrity over a few bucks or over avoiding an honest (and likely awkward) conversation.

It can be an opportunity to give (TAKE IT)

In the end, we found a buyer who was very happy to pay what we were looking for for the car despite the specks of rust, the low tire tread, and the faint break squeaks (all of which he quickly noticed and commented on). The man was very honest and open, but very knowledgeable and keen, which is why we were amazed that he was still willing to pay what we wanted for the car. For us, this was a confirmation of God's faithfulness when we choose to live in His ways.

When closing the deal, the buyer mentioned that he lived about an hour away and was wondering if we would be willing to drive the car to his place as part of the deal. We told him it would be hard for us to do that (being that we only have one vehicle and commitments nearly every night of the week) so he finally agreed to pick up the car. A few days later, he called back to see if there was any chance we would reconsider and drop it off at his house, as that would be a huge help to him and his family. This was not part of the deal we had made though, and Courtney and I were under no compulsion or pressure to take a few hours out of our evening to do this to save him a few bucks. We decided (semi-reluctantly, but with a clear conscience) to do him this favour, and "give" to him in this way. It wouldn't have been wrong for us to stay put on the original deal, but it was a blessing to him for us to do this and he drove us home afterwards. We ended up having a meaningful conversation with this near stranger and did not regret our decision. It is very hard to do favours and to "give", especially in business deals when it costs us something. As Christians though, if we are to count others as more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3), and if we are going to love our neighbours as ourselves (Matt 22:39), we will find ways to be selfless and to give of ourselves to others.

Course Selection Day!

I already mentioned how much I had been waiting to receive that phone call from Southern to see whether Courtney and I were going to be accepted as students for the Fall semester (yes, part of me always thought that there were many, many reasons why they would not accept us...). Since that call, the next day that I have been looking forward to in this seminary journey - that is today, Course Selection Day!

Nothing special about today, really. After all, I had already spent hours looking into the course requirements for my degree and already had my entire degree planned out. I already knew which cores and which professors I wanted to pick and the order in which I wanted to take my courses. After I was finished with mine, since there were still a few days until course selection day, I decided to do the same thing for Courtney's program and try to help her out with her courses. (How kind of me!) Once I was done that, I decided to do that for one of the programs that Courtney is still considering (not very strongly... but still a possibility) as well.

Then finally today came, and I got to log in and spend all of 60 seconds clicking and dragging the courses I wanted to take for the fall semester. Now I'm all registered! (it was a little anticlimactic really...). Again, it reminded me very much of my course selection for my undergrad, except a lot less stressful, and there was no need to click "sign in" right at 12:00AM to try to reduce the chances that you were going to be locked out of the system for 20 minutes until someone else logged out. So here is the product of the 60 seconds of excitement right after breakfast this morning:

MDiv. (Biblical and Theological Studies)

(Fall 2013)

• Elementary Greek (Dr. Plummer) --> (yes I'll do some Greek again...)
• Leadership and Family Ministry (Dr. Stinson)
• Introduction to Church History I (Dr. Haykin)
• Theology of the New Testament (Dr. Schreiner)
• Introduction to Missiology (Rev. Pratt)

I get to take Leadership and Family Ministry as well as Introduction to Missiology with Courtney, so I am really looking forward to that! Doing school together sure will be interesting, and very different from what we're used to now!

The Doctrine of Mankind

Robbie taught last week on the doctrine of mankind, the 8th sermon on the "Glorious Doctrine" series. If you want to watch the video sermon, you can watch it by clicking here. This sermon focused on bringing an awareness and a holy reminder to our minds of who we are so that our hearts would be better informed and more accurately lead to worship our Creator, for the glory of God.

THE WORD RENEWING MY MIND

1. THE STARTING POINT - As Creator God is Worthy of My Worship

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” – Rev 4:11

God my Creator is worthy of my worship. "The doctrine of mankind must begin with the source of mankind - not to mention the source of all creation". This is indeed the starting point in understanding the doctrine of man – the deepest, purest, and truest understanding of who we are as human beings. Everything that it means to be human, every purpose for humanity, and every source of identity as a human race is found in the fact that we are creatures – we are not just beings, we are intentionally and purposefully created by God.

2. THE FOCAL POINT - I've Been Made in the Image of God

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” - Gen 1:27

Human beings are the pinnacle of God's creation. Men and women have been created in the likeness of God and they are more "like" God than anything else in all creation. We were created to represent the character and nature of God. Our worth is not autonomous, our worth is not separated from God. We have no value apart from our Creator. Sin, even though it distorts God's image in us, it does not remove God's image from us. God created and continues to create every human being in his own image. We bear God’s image in 5 different ways:

Spiritually:

We are spiritual beings – we have a soul. No other created thing biological creature has a soul that will live eternally whether in heaven or in hell. We have the ability to interact in the spiritual realm - we can understand and see the spiritual things in this world, we can pray, we can worship.

Morally:

We are moral beings – we have consciences that weigh down on us when making decisions. We were created to make moral decisions and with a sense of “right” and “wrong” that is not inherent to any other creatures.

Mentally:

We have a mind that is unparalleled in all creation – we are the most intelligent creatures in the universe (maybe not the smartest all the time…) but the things our mind is capable of are not seen anywhere else in the universe. The hundreds of languages, all the arts, the sciences, the mathematics… Our minds are created in the image of the Lord

Relationally:

We are relational creatures, in the image of God. God has always existed in the perfect and holy community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He has created with a need, dependence, and desire for relationships. We can have a deep relationship with God, unlike any other creature.

Physically: (this one I found a little tricky to understand)

This does not in any way imply that God is a physical being. We are created in the image of God, and that means physically too. While God does not have any physical attributes to Himself, He created us with physical bodies unlike anything else in all creation. These physical bodies were perfectly designed to reflect the glory of God and to reflect His “image”. Our fingers and thumbs allow us to work the ground like no other creature, our brains allow us a level of understanding and communication necessary to communicate and understand the truths of God. 
 

3. THE TURNING POINT - I Have Been Created for God's Glory

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” - Col 3:17

Fundamental to understanding the doctrine of mankind is understanding the purpose of mankind. The purpose of mankind is to live seeking to give God the glory and honour He is due. God created us with the purpose of being honoured, that is the reason we were created and exist. When man seeks glory, we are seeking something that is not ours and we rob God of the glory that is His. When God seeks glory for Himself, he does not rob anyone of anything they deserve, and therefore He can be justly, and perfectly good to demand all His creation for honour, reverence, and worship.

THE WORD TRANSFORMING MY HEART 

These truths have lead my heart to rejoice and worship God for the intentional way in which I have been created. I have also been reminded that God is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him. My daily pursuit of living in a way that accurately and purely reflects the character and the nature is really a pursuit of living joyfully. I am pursuing the highest level of satisfaction by pursuing this! There is nothing more fulfilling as a human being created in the image of God than to live our purpose out. 

THE WORD FORMING MY BEHAVIOUR

These affections for my Creator will advise and determine my day to day life. I will seek to love others, with the mind that all people bear the image of God and have an infinite value because of that. I will seek to "think God's thoughts" and walk in His ways. If I am to be a mirror to reflect who He is, my decisions, thoughts, and attitudes should all reflect His character and what has been revealed about Him. Lastly, I will long for continued growth in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Sin has distorted God's image in me, but through daily battle with the sin nature within me, sanctification will daily transform me to conform more and more to the image of Christ. I do all this with the hope that one day in glory, my glorified "me" will perfectly reflect the glory of my God in heaven, forever.

CLICK TO WATCH THE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON THIS SERMON

Harvest, My Home

I decided to add a whole section to my blog that focuses on my local church and how it influences my life week to week. I’m thinking most of these posts will have to do specifically with the sermon preached during the weekend worship service but because there is so much more that goes on at church and so many other ways in which it impacts me, there will be some non-sermon related posts as well. Before getting into any of these posts, I thought I would take this first post and introduce my church.

My church home is Harvest Bible Chapel Oakville. It has been the community of people with whom I worship for the past 4 years, where some of my dearest and closest friendships have begun and developed, where Courtney and I got married, and where we joyfully serve. I started attending Harvest in my first year of University (2007) occasionally with some friends from school. This was during a time when I was feeling growingly dissatisfied and almost bitter with the church I was attending at the time. This church had taught me many important things in my walk with the Lord – how to deeply and genuinely worship, the importance of a Christian community, it had given me opportunity to invite friends to church, it had given me a church family to encourage me, and teach me, and love me. But slowly my heart began to grow dissatisfied with some crucial aspects of this church and I knew I had to start looking for a different church to serve in and worship. It was during this time that I started visiting and attending Harvest’s weekend worship services and young adult meetings. This new church was similar to my old church in many ways (which made the transition quite easy) but there was one aspect in specific that caught my attention and attracted my thirsty and hungry heart to this church – the faithful, transformative, exposition of the Word of God.

Harvest Bible Chapel Oakville is a plant out of the Harvest Bible Fellowship. It was one of the first churches in the fellowship planted in Canada, back in 2003.

"A Bible study began in the summer of 2003 in response to the demand from people who were passionate about this church plant. The first Bible study met in a local office space. When those quarters became too tight, the Bible study was moved to a church basement in Mississauga. By the grace of God this core group continued to grow and develop and attract high quality disciples of Christ. It was in the early fall of 2003 that God clearly led the leadership from HBC Oakville to be connected with the leadership from Calvary Baptist Church in Oakville. In what can only be described as miraculous, God arranged for Calvary Baptist Church to become Harvest Bible Chapel Oakville which included giving Harvest their church building, property and most importantly their people”.

As a Harvest Bible Chapel plant, HBC Oakville exists to “Glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) in the spirit of the Great Commandment” (Matthew 22:37). With Jesus Christ as our foundation, the four pillars on which Harvest stands are:

1. Proclaiming the authority of God’s Word without apology (2 Tim 4:2)
2. Lifting high the name of Jesus through worship (Jn 4:24)

3. Believing firmly in the power of prayer (Eph 6:18)

4. Sharing the good news of Jesus with boldness (Eph 6:19-20)

Since first coming to Harvest, I've had the opportunity to serve in the worship ministry (playing violin) a couple of times a year. Playing with the worship band at Harvest has been and continues to be a HUGE blessing. I love worshiping God through music and the talents and abilities He has given me. Courtney and I have also been serving with the youth ministry by leading Gr.9 boys (myself) and Gr.9 girls (Courtney). We've had great opportunities to lead, teach, and mentor the youth in our church. We've had the great opportunity to listen to and befriend the youth in our church through our weekly meetings, camping trips and retreats. We've also helped out and served in the library and bookstore (I love books!). It's amazing the excitement that helping people find books and CD's can bring! It is a joy to see how the Holy Spirit uses authors, pastors, and artists to encourage and build up His Church, and we got the chance to serve in this area. We are currently serving in the Discipleship 101 ministry, getting to know people who are wanting to look more into Christianity, who are learning about what church is all about, and who are learning what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We love, Love, LOVE are church, and we are infinitely grateful for this faithful, imperfect, blessed group of people that the Lord has given us as a community for our sanctification and edification and for the glory of His name.

Why Holding to Traditional Marriage is Not Like Being Angry at Someone For Eating A Donut Simply Because You Are on a Diet

A little while ago, one of my friends on Facebook posted a picture up of someone holding a sign that read, “Claiming that someone else’s marriage is against your religion is like being angry at someone for eating a donut because you’re on a diet”. (If this was you, and you happen to be reading this, then thank you for posting it, getting me to think, and for inspiring this post! :D). Needless to say that I found the picture/sign intriguing and I was thinking about it for quite some time. Here are some of my thoughts:
 

Analogies like these are helpful in understanding and communicating one’s personal views and personal understandings of important issues such as marriage and religion. However, it is important to rightly interpret these catchy phrases, as well as their implications. The reason there is such a “punch” in a quote like this is because it takes something as relevant and debated in North America today, namely how one understands marriage on the basis of religion, and brings it down to the a level of a reaction that is silly and possibly pathetic. Being angry at someone who is enjoying something (a donut), presumably because of your own self-imposed restrictions (a diet) is silly and selfish. A parallel is drawn in the quote between the silliness and irrationality of the donut-luster and the disagreement that many faith-based (and non-faith based) people have to the marriage of same-sex couples.

I think that this is an unfair and severely broken comparison, however, and I want to explore three  of these problems in this post. 

1. The difference in reaction:

Notice first of all the difference in what is being compared – a “claim” to “being angry”. The quote suggests that simply claiming that an idea is contrary to one’s religious beliefs is equivalent to being irrationally angry. While it is true that some people get angry when they are confronted with ideas or circumstances that are contrary to their beliefs, it is untrue to say that having an opinion on a matter is the same as being angry - a person can certainly defend his or her opinion in an angry or inappropriate manner, but the opinion itself cannot and should not be equated with anger. If all opinions and the dispensation of opinions were equated with anger, we would have to approach every radio show, newspaper, website, and conversation with fists raised. The reality is that many people are angered when confronted by ideologies contrary to their own and this is not unique to marriage, religion, or to Christians for that matter. From a Christian point of view, just because the Bible teaches that homosexual activity is sinful, that does not automatically make every Christian angry, by default, towards homosexuals. A more accurate analogy (though still faulty in at least two ways) would be, “claiming that someone else’s marriage is against your religion is like claiming that eating a donut is bad for your diet” – this statement begins to lose some “punch” because it is now fairly comparing two different opinions.

2. The difference in definition:

The second way in which the donut analogy breaks down is in the casual way that the word “marriage” is used. Marriage, like every other word, has a definition. Marriage was first defined in Genesis as the union by God of Adam and Eve. Even without that biblical definition, a Google search or a dictionary definition of marriage will read something like this: “the formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife”. The donut analogy breaks down because it implies an alternative definition and meaning to marriage (assuming that the implication is about same-sex marriage) that simply has not been the traditional understanding of marriage. While some may argue that definitions change, which is true, the majority of secular societies around the world and in North America still define marriage as the exclusive union between one man and one woman. In other words, one of the things defenders of traditional marriage are doing is simply echoing the restriction of marriage inherent in its definition.  In speaking of same-sex marriage then, a more reasonable analogy would be “claiming that two same-sex people should not get married is like claiming that vegetarians should not eat fish”. It's really not a very ludicrous statement at all.

3. The difference in morality  

The third reason this analogy breaks down is because the morality and ethics of marriage are eliminated and ignored by being compared to the neutral choice of eating a donut. Marriage is an institution that is deeply moral. Subjects such as adultery and polygamy are so deeply ethical and so profoundly attached to marriage, that we are forced to deal with the reality of the moral issues surrounding marriage. Once again, speaking from a Christian worldview, committing adultery, being involved in any sexual activity outside of marriage, and having sexual relations with people or a person of the same gender all fall under sexual immorality, as they are contrary to the natural and the perfect plan of the God who created them. The Bible of course doesn't say anything about marrying someone of the same gender because that wouldn't be marriage as defined by God.
 

Now, at this point someone (maybe quite irritated) might say something like, "who are you to decide or make any claims to who people can and can't marry and what they can and can't do with their bodies and sexuality?". To this I would answer that I am not in fact deciding or making any new claims on who one can and can't marry and what they can and can't do with their bodies and sexuality. The burden of defence does not fall with those who hold to a traditional vew of marriage but it falls on those who, only on the grounds of their own opinion and desire, are fighting to change the morality of homosexuality and are fighting to change the definition of marriage. In other words, people who are irritated when they hear that Christians are opposed to same-sex marriage (or homosexuality in general), are guilty of the same thing they are falsely accusing Christians of - namely, making their own opinion a universal and definite claim on a moral issue. Christians themselves don't make any decisions on what is moral or not moral based on their own opinion, but rather they follow an objective, unchanging set of standards. Homosexuality always has been, and always will be immoral, and that standard will never change for Christians.
 

Anyone who argues for the morality of same-sex marriage has to wrestle with the fact that they themselves are the ones that are seeking to make a revolutionary moral claim based on personal opinion and nothing else. The reality is that the argument that "two people who love each other should be able to get married" simply does not hold any water as an argument to legalize or moralize same-sex marriage. After all, should a 9 year old and a 30 year old who love each other, a 40 year old mother and her 16 year old son who love each other, and a 20 year old and three or four other 20 year olds who all love each other... should they all morally and legally be permitted to be married if they want? Why not?! The moral implications of two people getting married simply cannot be tossed aside and reduced to the level of a pastry consumption choice. Christianity has an objective and unchanging moral standard while secular society will continue to reform, change, disagree, and be inconsistent in moral issues because their claims don't have a unchanging and objective foundation. In reality then, claiming to hold to traditional marriage, is as normal, rational, and respectable as claiming to value and defend all human life, including unborn infants - but that'll be for another post!

The Southern (Wake Up) Call

There are very few phone calls that I remember receiving that were as eagerly awaited and as exciting as the call I got on the evening of February 12th, 2012 from Louisville, Kentucky. That was the call I had dreamed of receiving for years, when I would finally hear "we are happy to inform you that you have been accepted to study at Southern Seminary". I had already started dreaming and thinking about what life in seminary would be like, what it would be like to meet and study under great professors and scholars such as Dr. Albert Mohler Jr., Dr. Russell Moore and Dr. Thomas Schreiner. August couldn't come fast enough! I was on my way to teach some violin lessons and, needless to say, my mind was not really focused on music or my students very well. 



The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

In a sense, this call made me feel a lot like how receiving an acceptance letter from McMaster University made me feel just a few years ago - that feeling of relief, and dreams coming true, and something so great finally being so close, is probably something we can all relate to. Maybe it wasn't a phone call or a letter that has made you feel unusually and uniquely overjoyed, but chances are that you can relate to the feeling I'm trying to explain. For you, likely, it wasn't seminary and you might be thinking that this excitement about seminary sounds  a little obsessive. If you are, you are not too far off from the truth.

I think part of me has been obsessed with seminary for a few years. I've always enjoyed school and reminisce about studyig and learning at least once a week (even though I really enjoy the working life). People I know who feel called to go to ministry and decide to go to seminary are some of my present-day spiritual heros. The combination of going back to school and being prepared and equipped by the Holy Spirit through pastors and professors to serve the Lord in full time ministry is that one season of life I often can't wait for.

My wife often says to me, "don't wish away your present" - often in a very 'be careful', wise, and gentle way. God has really used her in my life to help me see this very temptation in my life with regards to school in seminary. Throughout the past year I have gotten a few wake-up calls and warnings in this area of my life. I have realized more and more and been able to apply to my life more and more the idea that ministry preparation does not begin nor end with seminary. The purpose of the seminary is the glory of God through preparation for the service of God. Seminary will only be as beneficial as I can see past the seminary to the call of the Lord in my life. It would be foolish and downright pathetic if one of the tools God wanted to use to refine me became an idol in my life. Let us not wish we had what we don't and were where we aren't. Let us not wish away, in discontentment and envy, our present blessing from God for the hope and assumed joy in something future the Lord doesn't have for us (yet, and might never). .