Calvin’s high view of scripture

February 11, 2008 Stephen Jones Leave a comment

I have recently been reading through a short book called The Expository Genius of John Calvin, by Steven Lawson. Here are a couple quotes I’ve appreciated on Calvin’s high view of Scripture, why Christians should always remain students of the Bible, and why pastors should devote themselves continually to the ministry of the Word.

“We owe to the Scripture the same reverence which we owe to God because it has proceeded from Him alone, and has nothing of man mixed with it.”

“Wherever the gospel is preached, it is as if God Himself came into the midst of us. It is certain that if we come to church we shall not hear only a mortal man speaking, but we shall feel (even by His secret power) that God is speaking to our souls that He is the teacher. He so touches us that the human voice enters into us and so profits us that we are refreshed and nourished by it. God calls us to Him as if He had His mouth open and we saw Him there in person.”

These words remind me of Paul when he commended the Thessalonians: “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).

What a privilege to have this precious book, where God Himself speaks! May our souls pant for it day after day, as a deer pants after the water brooks.

Culture

Defining marriage, part 1

February 8, 2008 Stephen Jones Leave a comment

The San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that our California Supreme Court is preparing to discuss whether it is “legal” to prohibit homosexual marriage.

Since 1977, California law has specified marriage as between one man and one woman. This traditional definition was strongly affirmed by the public in 2000, when Proposition 22 was passed. Also known as “The California Defense of Marriage Act,” Prop. 22 simply stated, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.“

However, both California law and Prop. 22 came under attack in 2004, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the county clerk to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. These licenses were quickly overturned by the California Supreme Court, but it became obvious that this issue was not going to go away. In 2005, the San Francisco Superior Court Judge ruled Prop. 22 unconstitutional, but one year later, the First Disctrict Court of Appeal overturned this ruling.

The debate over the definition of marriage has been gradually building up steam since that time. In December 2006, the California Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, and now it seems that a court date of March 4, 2008, has finally been set. It is expected that if the Supreme Court overturns the 1977 Law and Prop. 22, the California legislature will quickly pass a new law defining marriage as being between “two persons.”

Next week, I will discuss why this issue has profound significance for a California pastor like myself, and what we should do to preserve the traditional definition of marriage. Let me say at the very outset that I am not attacking homosexuals as persons. I affirm their rights as citizens of the United States, and men and women created in the image of God. I have been personal friends with a number of homosexuals, and have always sought to treat them with great courtesy, dignity, and love.

Nevertheless, as both a Christian and a pastor, I am called by God and compelled by conscience to honor the clear teaching of Scripture and lovingly declare homosexual behavior as sinful and dishonoring to the Lord. Furthermore, I believe that expanding the definition of marriage to include same sex couples would have a deleterious effect on society. But more on that next week.

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Why I’m encouraged after Super Tuesday

February 6, 2008 Stephen Jones Leave a comment

I’m encouraged today. Not because my preferred candidate picked up a lot of delegates yesterday (he didn’t); and not because Reagan conservatism achieved a great victory yesterday (it didn’t); and not because our next President will be a highly qualified person of character and experience (they might not be). Rather, I’m encouraged today because this world is not my home. My citizenship is in heaven, and my Lord Jesus Christ is a perfectly righteous King, seated firmly today upon His throne! What’s more, my King is coming again soon!

In the midst of political turmoil and uncertainty, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 gives me four reasons to be encouraged:

I am encouraged by the coming return of Christ. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God” (4:16). Oh, how I long to hear those three triumphant sounds – the shout, the voice, and the trumpet! I keep my ears and eyes open, because those sounds mark the arrival of my Lord. Arthur Whiting says, “The Savior is the One for whom the saints long, and He alone can meet their heart-hunger.”

I am encouraged by the coming resurrection of the dead. “And the dead in Christ will rise first” (4:16). The resurrection of the dead is certain, because Christ’s resurrection is accomplished. We may not know yet exactly what our resurrected bodies will be like, but this much we know, “that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). What a glorious day that will be! But something else will immediately follow…

I am encouraged by the coming rapture of the living. “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (4:17). One moment, we will be walking on this earth, and the next moment, we will be suddenly “snatched up” or “seized” faster than a special forces rescue operation. This is a mystery previously unrevealed to the church (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

I am encouraged by the coming reunion of all believers. We “will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord” (4:17). We will be united together with other believers, once and for all, with loved ones past and present who have trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Finally, I will be able to spend unhurried time with spiritual heroes like my Grandpa and Grandma Goodrich, Hal Kemper, John Bunyan, and so many others.

For all of these reasons, I am greatly encouraged, even after Super Tuesday. Yet as long as Christ has me on this earth, there is still work here to be done. Many more must hear the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, and prepare for the coming of the King!

…We wait for the Lord, our Beloved,
Our Comforter, Master, and Friend,
The substance of all that we hope for,
Beginning of faith and its end;
We watch for our Savior and Bridegroom,
Who loved us and made us His own;
For Him we are looking and longing—
For JESUS, and JESUS ALONE.
(Annie Johnson Flint)

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So that no man may boast

February 4, 2008 Stephen Jones 1 Comment

While studying for my sermon last week in John 6, I was struck afresh by just how foolish and offensive it must seem to believe in a broken, bloodied, crucified Messiah. Yet that is precisely what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23: “But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness.” Just a few verses later, Paul declares,

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

As I read these verses last Saturday night, it occurred to me they really do summarize my salvation, and explain God’s whole redemptive history recorded in the Bible.

Why did God set His favor on an obscure Chaldean named Abram? Why did God choose a lowly, young shepherd boy named David to become king of Israel? Why did he use a harlot named Rahab? Why did Jesus minister in the rural region of Capernaum? Why did He choose lowly fishermen for disciples? Why did the Messiah arrive in a manger, and why did He die on a cross? Because again, and again, and again in the Scriptures, God chose the foolish, and the weak, and the base, so that no man may boast. God alone deserves the praise and glory for my salvation. His redemptive story, from beginning to end, is an exciting drama of mystery and grace!

Shepherding

Is church membership necessary?

February 1, 2008 Stephen Jones 1 Comment

Have you ever wondered why some churches emphasize membership? Here are nine reasons I believe church membership is important:

The early church kept track of its members (Ac. 2:41; 5:14)
Church leaders need to know who the members are (Acts 20:28, 31; John 10:14)
Members need to know who their fellow members are (Rom. 12:4-8; Heb. 10:24-25)
The community needs to know who the members are (Ac. 5:13)
It protects the concept of a regenerate church membership (2 Cor. 6:14)
It provides clear boundaries and consistent requirements for all members
It makes church discipline possible (Mt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:12-13)
It has historical precedent. By the beginning of the second century, churches required new believers to become “catechumens” before they could be baptized and become full members. During this time, they were taught doctrine and Christian living. This period lasted up to three years!
It just makes good sense (compare any business, hobby club, or any other organization which keeps track of its members).

As Mark Dever explains, “A recovered practice of careful church membership will have many benefits. It will make our witness to non-Christians more clear. It will make it more difficult for weaker sheep to go straying from the fold, while still considering themselves sheep. It will help to give shape and focus to the discipleship of more mature Christians. It will aid our church leaders in knowing exactly who they are responsible for. In all of this, God will be glorified” (Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 38)

Pinch Of Clay