The New Covenant is For the Jews and the Old Covenant, and Has Always Been on Hearts
It’s truly amazing to look at all of the theological assumptions drawn from the fact that there is a New Covenant and an Old one as well, especially in regard to the law. Just because we don’t understand every law issued by Moses in the Old Testament and its purpose, complex systems supposedly need to be developed in an attempt to make it all fit together in logical fashion; then the theological conclusions become doctrine. Buyer beware. All of the latest rage is “New Covenant Theology,” which would have been rejected out-of-hand two decades ago by evangelicals at large for one reason and one reason only: it’s new. But in our brave new church era, new is good, and new doctrines are rivaled only by the latest diet fads. I think, maybe somebody should do a survey on that.
So, I have an idea; let’s go to the Scriptures and read where the New Covenant was first introduced. That would be the book of Jeremiah, chapter 31:
31 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the LORD.
We note three things here about the new covenant. First, it is to all of Israel; both northern and southern kingdoms. Secondly, at least at the time Jeremiah is writing, it’s a future covenant. Thirdly, the major difference between the two covenants is that the first one was broken, and the second one won’t be. At this point, God is merely predicting that the covenant will not be broken, he doesn’t say why. God further clarifies in verse 33:
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD [What’s you first clue that this defines the new covenant?]. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
First, theologians go wild and have written gazillions of books in regard to “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” This does seem to be a marked difference between the covenants. However, keep in mind that Old Testament believers could have the law of God written on their hearts:
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:1-3). Theologians can make all the hay they want to in regard to the law of God being written on tablets of stone rather than hearts etc. It is obvious that stone, parchment, and hearts could all contain the law of God in the Old Testament:
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
The only difference seems to be who is doing the writing. It is not a *different law* that has *never before been written on the heart.*
Jeremiah now goes on to explain when this New Covenant will be executed in verse 34:
“No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
It is obvious that this time has not yet arrived. It is a time when all of mankind, from the least to the greatest, will know the Lord. Therefore, the full consummation of the New Covenant that God made with Israel is yet future. Get over it. Yes, yes, yes, I can hear the cat-cries right now: there are some Scriptures that speak of a “new” and “better” covenant. So what? Christ came offering a better kingdom, but it’s obvious that the kingdom is not in it’s final form. Jeremiah makes it clear when the New Covenant will take full effect, and it obviously is not today. God has taken a time-out to let a bunch of Gentiles in who are experiencing the blessings of this covenant (Romans 11:11,12); and are supposed to be aiding in the furtherance of the kingdom, rather than spending valuable time boasting against Israel (Romans 11:17-21).
But didn’t Israel forfeit the New Covenant by sinning? No, Jeremiah continues in verses 35-37:
“This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the LORD, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me.”This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,” declares the LORD.
The solar system is still working fine and I have not heard of anybody who can measure the heavens yet. Therefore, Israel is still under the New Covenant. Not only that, there is a strong sense in which the New Covenant solidifies the old:
“ 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him [The New Covenant]. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath” (Deuteronomy 4:30-31).
This is an extraordinary verse of Scripture. God will not only remember Israel, He will not forget the covenant he made with Israels forefathers. What covenant was that? The answer is in 4:13,14:
“He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
Ouch! He’s talking about the so-called Mosaic Covenant. When the New Covenant is fully consummated, He will not “forget” the old one either. That messes up a bunch of systematic theology. One might also note that Paul said the following in Romans 9:3-5;
3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
Note that Paul presents all of the above blessings in the present tense, including the covenants, and this also in plural form. The covenants belong to Israel, all of them, and God will not forget them. Israel or His covenants.
paul
When Sarcasm Becomes Reality: Horton’s Call for Potted Plants to Report to the Grow Center
I have written many times on the new easy believism sweeping through reformed groups. The *gospel* is now a mystical narrative that we merely sit under in all its various forms at any given time; we are then automatically transformed from “glory to glory,” a “beholding as a way of becoming.” Oh, and by the way, every verse in the Bible is about the gospel. Yes indeed, it is like the grow-lamp that me and my bros formally used to make our pot grow. You are the plant, and the Bible is the light; groovy dude. But what about those commands God talks about that don’t seem to include gospel subject matter? Well, that’s supposedly due to the fact that “God is the Gospel.” Amen, pass the bong dude, and somebody turn out that hall light, it’s taking away from the strobes and the lava lights.
Here is how I sarcastically stated it in another post: “You can also greatly enhance change in your life by showing up at the “glory center” every time the doors are open and thereby putting yourself under the glorious light of the gospel that passively effects your life like sunlight causes flowers to grow.” Well, here we go again, sarcasm becomes reality as the *gospel driven life* movement becomes wackier with each passing day. The Gospel Four: Horton, Tripp, Powlison, and Piper, are always busy with the next concoction that will save God’s people from the former days of wilderness wondering under the heavy hand of the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). Micheal Horton’s latest book, “Christless Christianity,” puts forth the whole grow-light idea in regard to corporate worship on pages 189-191:
“ God gathers his people together in a covenantal event to judge and to justify, to kill and to make alive. The emphasis is on God’s work for us – the Father’s gracious plan, the Son’s saving life, death, and resurrection, and the Spirit’s work of bringing life to the valley of dry bones through the proclamation of Christ. The preaching focuses on God’s work in the history of redemption from Genesis through Revelation, and sinners are swept into this unfolding drama. Trained and ordained to mine the riches of Scripture for the benefit of God’s people, ministers try to push their own agendas, opinions, and personalities to the background so that God’s Word will be clearly proclaimed. In this preaching the people once again are simply receivers – recipients of grace. Similarly, in baptism, they do not baptize themselves; they are baptized. In the Lord’s Supper, they do not prepare and cook the meal; they do not contribute to the fare; but they are guests who simply enjoy the bread of heaven. As this gospel creates, deepens, and inflames faith, a profound sense of praise and thanksgiving fills hearts, leading to good works among the saints and in the world throughout the week. Having been served by God in the public assembly, the people are then servants of each other and their neighbors in the world.”
We see five elements of the wacky world of *gospel sanctification * in this excerpt. First, this whole concept of born again Christians still being dead, and in need of daily salvation via the gospel that saved us: “The emphasis is on God’s work for us – the Father’s gracious plan, the Son’s saving life, death, and resurrection, and the Spirit’s work of bringing life to the valley of dry bones through the proclamation of Christ.” Christians today have come to like this whole idea that we are still spiritually dead. Why? Well, “when you are dead, you can do nothing.” Translation: we don’t have to do anything but gaze upon the gospel narrative; after that, whatever happens, happens. If we do something good, the Spirit did it, not us. And if we sin, hey, what do you expect from dead people? Sweet, no fault Christianity, if Christ didn’t make me do it, it’s not my fault.
Secondly, the sole purpose of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is to sweep “sinners” into the “unfolding drama”: “The preaching focuses on God’s work in the history of redemption from Genesis through Revelation, and sinners are swept into this unfolding drama.“ Forget about the Scriptures being profitable for “reproof, instruction, correction,” etc., Horton’s view of Scripture is here evident.
Thirdly, like Catholicism, interpretation of the Scriptures is best left to the experts and not the laity. Finding and making every verse in the Bible a “gospel narrative” is deep business indeed. So the news gets even better; you don’t have to labor in the word on your own: “Trained and ordained to mine the riches of Scripture for the benefit of God’s people, ministers try to push their own agendas, opinions, and personalities to the background so that God’s Word will be clearly proclaimed. In this preaching the people once again are simply receivers – recipients of grace.” In other words, real preaching is 100% vertical and has no instruction. It is totally grace oriented, and we are “simply receivers.” Anything that is more than the *gospel* alone in preaching is someones “agenda.”
Fourthly, our role in the corporate assembly is strictly passive. We are there to be served by God via the gospel alone: “As this gospel creates, deepens, and inflames faith, a profound sense of praise and thanksgiving fills hearts, leading to good works among the saints and in the world throughout the week. Having been served by God in the public assembly, the people are then servants of each other and their neighbors in the world.”
Lastly, We are also passive participants in the church ordinances, which also impart grace to the passive participant. This actually smacks of a transubstantiation like view of the ordinances: “Similarly, in baptism, they do not baptize themselves; they are baptized. In the Lord’s Supper, they do not prepare and cook the meal; they do not contribute to the fare; but they are guests who simply enjoy the bread of heaven.”
Furthermore, Horton then gives a contrast to the above concerning corporate worship:
“In this scenario, the people assume that they come to church primarily to do something. The emphasis is on their work for God. The preaching concentrates on principles and steps to living a better life, with a constant stream of exhortations: Be more committed. Read your Bible more. Pray more. Witness more. Give more. Get involved in this cause or that movement to save the world… Many of us were raised in conservative evangelical contexts in which preaching was chiefly an exhortation to do more, baptism was our act of commitment rather than God’s, the Lord’s Supper was a means of our remembering rather than a means of God’s grace, and many of the songs were expressions of our piety more than a recounting of God’s marvelous mercies in the history of redemption. The expectation that God was actually visiting his people to apply the benefits of Christ’s victory to sinners – both believers and unbelievers – was less obvious than the sense that we were primarily regrouping to get our marching orders.”
In closing, I am not going to address Horton’s exaggerations and numerous straw man arguments in his second scenario. But note how he makes no distinction between the lost and saved: “God was actually visiting his people to apply the benefits of Christ’s victory to sinners – both believers and unbelievers – was less obvious than the sense that we were primarily regrouping to get our marching orders.” His glaring contradictions to the plain sense of Scripture should be abundantly obvious. The book of James, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, and Hebrews, are replete with instructions concerning corporate gathering and worship. Horton chides believers for doing the very thing that Christ commands us to do in regard to the Lord’s table: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Furthermore, anyone who thinks that we gather together to “encourage each other unto good works” should apparently know better than to try personal interpretation of the Bible at home.
paul
Hope is on the Calender
The mind – we can’t do anything without it, though some argue that many do. But certainly, it can be our greatest ally or our worst enemy. Another certainty is the following: the mind functions very poorly without hope. Hopelessness always leads to an ill-fated end, even if accompanied by joy; “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Many truths in the Bible give us hope across a wide spectrum of life full of things that trigger our thoughts and emotions. As I am preparing to plan a trip to PR to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, I was nagged by something that I loath in life, goodbyes; and then after that, flying, another object of my disdain second only to goodbyes. However, I praise God for something that He has given me in life, and has probably given to you as well; when I am confronted with thoughts that bring about bad feelings, my mind starts scanning for truth that that will lift my spirits or at least prevent bad feelings from becoming unreasonable, or even sinful. Oddly, Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 came to mind:
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.
God is completely sovereign, all wise, all knowing, and completely holy and good in everything he preordains. Though the times of life bring about different emotional responses; as we say in the modern vernacular, “it’s all good.” Because God is in control, hope is always on the calender, and it’s there everyday:
“22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:22-26).
God’s compassion is new every morning (some translations: “mercies”). We see this in His creation; the solar days, every day is a new day and God’s compassions are also new. I have a motto that I have adapted in my life, “no matter how dark today looks, wait for tomorrow.” Dark Day seems to have a favorite lie: “Today is forever.” He also gleefully gloats as each day becomes darker as his lie is believed, “hope is not on your calender,” he says. But it surely is. Several years ago, I taught a children’s Sunday school class. One lesson was on James, chapter one. There was a nine year-old girl in that class who was going through a dark time in her life. Later, her father came to me and said his daughter came to him after the class, joyfully proclaiming, “Dad! We learned that trials always have an end! Why was that such a surprise?; hopelessness is a lier, that’s why.
I like to write and recently learned that one should look for successful authors and read their works to become a better writer. One such author that caught my attention was Iris Chang, the young journalist who wrote “The Rape of Nanking,” which was on the New York Times Best Seller list for ten weeks. A hefty feat for someone 29 years of age. I read through portions of the book and found her to be a worthy mentor indeed. I also did some research to learn more about her and discovered that she committed suicide in 2004, seven years after the writing of TRON. She had left three suicide notes dated November 8, of that year. I quote from the one of the notes:
“I had considered running away, but I will never be able to escape from myself and my thoughts. I am doing this because I am too weak to withstand the years of pain and agony ahead.”
How did she know that her suffering would be for years? She didn’t. Who lied to her? Hopelessness did. What she didn’t know was that hope is on the calender every day. She also wrote:
“When you believe you have a future, you think in terms of generations and years. When you do not, you live not just by the day — but by the minute.”
But we always have a future, God’s mercies are new every day. Didn’t anybody tell her? You know, somebody like you. If you are a Christian who reads at a sixth grade level and is armed with the word of God, you are a hope expert. Everywhere you go, you are rubbing shoulders with people who need hope. This is a quote from Wikipedia concerning Iris Chang:
“At the time of her death she had been taking the medications Depakote and Risperdal to stabilize her mood.“
Which means that she was under the care of a Psychiatrist. But she obviously needed more than a Psychiatrist, for by the writing of her own hand, she said she had no hope. What she needed was someone like you, a hope expert. The world does not need more “experts” and reformed Christian philosophers, it needs everyday hope givers like you armed with the word of God. I became privy just today in regard to a new local church in Beavercreek, Ohio. They got the whole thing that’s workin’ for church growth these days; the contemporary building, the Starbucks coffee booth, the praise band, the padded chairs instead of pews, etc., etc., add nausea. The website even had a video of the pastor presenting an introduction about the church, Starbucks cup in-hand, I kidd you not. Well, the pastor can drink Caffe Mocha Dolce Lattes with a shot of Expresso, but can he give hope? I doubt it, because the website also indicated that they farm-out all of their counseling to a local organization of “expert” counselors, probably like the ones who got a hold of my would-be mentor.
Well, after my discovery, I wanted one of the many variations of hope that the Lord offers. I wanted hope that maybe I would get to see Iris in the kingdom because she had sought the ultimate hope in Jesus Christ. But my findings were bleak. Iris wrote the following in the same note:
“I know that my actions will transfer some of this pain to others, indeed those who love me the most. Please forgive me. Forgive me because I cannot forgive myself.”
I listened to a pastor give a presentation at the job bank today. He talked about the need to “love ourselves.” You see, if we don’t love ourselves, obviously, we won’t forgive ourselves either. But we don’t need self-forgiveness, we need forgiveness from God by trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Besides, when would we ever love ourselves enough? Good luck with that one! It’s just more proof that the everyday Christian bumpkins need to get to the hopeless before the pastors do.
Well, what should I do now? Should I read the book? Can I still look to Iris as a mentor? I think I will, because the suicide notes were written a day before her death. Who knows what happened the day after? Only God and her were in that car. I guess God’s world is so full of hope, that at times we can take hope in what we don’t know for certain.
paul
Tiger and Amnon: What Every Teenager Should Know
Here we go again. I will now have to be tortured for the next several weeks with a constant flow of secular ignorance and Christian cliches. In fact, as the years go by, the verbiage from both is sounding the same: “We shouldn’t judge.” “But for the grace of God, there go I.” “What was he thinking? I guess he wasn’t.” None of that is the point. Tiger Woods is just another innumerable participant in human history who has fallen prey to the big L, lust. First of all, I don’t know if Tiger is saved or not, but if he isn’t; he was, and still is, powerless against the big L. Lust will have such a person for lunch at a time of its choosing, one way or the other. Likewise, Christians who are ignorant of the big L will not fair much better. When Christians are stuck down by lust, it’s because of ignorance or laziness in applying God’s word to their life-there are no exceptions to this fact.
In the Old Testament, we have a historical case study on lust in action. King David had several children in a mixed family situation. He had a son named Absalom and a daughter named Tamar. They had a stepbrother named Amnon. This is a story that every teenager should take note of. It is a documentary produced for them, compliments of the Holy Spirit. Here is how the narrative begins in 2Samuel 13:
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
Stop right there. This opening sentence introduces the major players and the major elements of the disaster to follow. The players are Amnon, Absalom,Tamara, and Lust. Here, and throughout, the Holy Spirit refers to Lust as “love,” as an antithetical teaching tool, and for reasons we will see later. Also, the Spirit mentions the fact that Tamar was beautiful. There is a reason for this as well, beauty is a more viable prey for Lust, but also remember that Lust is an equal opportunity destroyerl. Lust is a feeling that talks to us. Right then, the day that Lust made a statement to Amnon, disguised as love, Amnon did not know that he had a choice. Lust was saying the following to Amnon: “Wow, look how beautiful she is!” Then, the feelings become more intense, and Lust spoke further: “And she’s a virgin. How delightful it would be to have her!” Now, as Amnon listens to Lust without preaching back to him with the mind of Christ, the feeling becomes more intense and makes its final close: “Feel how strong I am. You cannot resist. This is a need you have; it must be fulfilled, I will not let you rest till you get what we deserve, what is rightfully ours!” Here is what Amnon didn’t do; he didn’t do what Christ did in the wilderness. In the wilderness temptation, Satan by-passed lust and handled the situation on his own, probably because lust was not a viable ally in regard to Christ. The account is there in Scripture for everyone to observe. Christ answered every temptation spoken to him with the word of God, and we must answer Lust the same way whenever it speaks to us.
Sin makes its appeal to us through the emotions [James 1:14], and is a stalker within us that we must constantly fight against [Genesis 4:7]. What Amnon didn’t know, was the beginning of his downfall. This is what the Spirit is alluding to by calling Amnon’s lust, “love.” Here is how Amnon could have answered and stopped this tragedy dead in its tracks: [Please allow me to use New Testament illustrations] “Um, excuse me, but where did you get that disguise? Love is not a feeling, it is an action. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that he GAVE his only Son. My feelings for her must only be an exhilaration from her beauty, because I have done no worthy act towards her in thought or deed that warrants the true feelings of love that follow [Philippians 4:9 James 1:25]. However, Lust will rarely stop there: “Ah, very true my friend, but Christ will forgive you. Enjoy this sin for a season, after all, God loves you. Sure, he will be a little disappointed in you, but what can separate you from the love of Christ? Enough already! Forget all of that, and gaze once again on her beauty, and what it would be like to have her!” To which Amnon could have replied: “I don’t think that’s a good idea because of what happened to other saints who bought into that lie. Besides, James said that every act of sin brings about some form of death, that doesn’t sound good to me. Also, Christ suffered on the cross to put your deeds to death through me, not to further give life to what nailed my Lord to the cross.” James said to resist the Devil and he will flee from us. Likewise, when we resist Lust with all the Spiritual weapons at our disposal, Lust will flee as well. God’s wisdom was no less available to Amnon in that day than it is to us.
The documentary continues:
2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
Yep. When Lust is in the drivers seat, it begins to reek havoc from the inside out. Lust entices us with “good” feelings, and then beats upon us with ill feelings until we succumb to its demand to partake in death. Physical signs can, and do follow [ Genesis 4:6,7]. But now we must move on and speak to the fact that Lust has a friend among teenagers, peer pressure:
3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
Again, we don’t think the Holy Spirit uses the term “friend” as a matter of fact. In the same discourse, we have Amnon reiterating his “love” for Tamar. It’s barley short of a double-dose of sarcasm. The advice of worldly wisdom will always throw gasoline on the fire of lust. Amnon is now in the third stage of completed sin, and the death that follows. Jonadab hatches a plot to put Amnon in a position to force himself on Tamar. This brings us to the utter insanity of the latter stages of lust. Take note: during the first stage, Amnon would not have dreamed of taking this insane counsel from Jonadab. When lust has brought us to this point, what the world calls insanity has set in. Also, take note: Absalom’s love for his sister and his reputation as a warrior would have been well known. These facts, and Tamar’s impressive argument, illustrate the insanity of full-blown lust in its latter stages:
12 “Don’t, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
Beside the fact that revenge from Tamar’s brother was certain, here is a paraphrase of Tamar’s plea: “It will ruin me; ‘What about me?’ It will ruin you; ‘You will be a fool in Israel,’ and besides, if you can control your lust for one week, the King will give you to me.” Fat chance. Lust doesn’t wait for anything or anybody, like the food lines with the elderly at the back of the line, and that at your local Baptist pot-luck dinner. Lust does not always conceive in the high drama of life, it can conceive in any realm concerning the milieu of life, but I digress.
We now observe the aftermath and the lessons it teaches:
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”
Now enter Tiger Woods. What was he thinking? Once again, the question is beside the point. He was being controlled by lust and was defenseless against it. Also, one of his mistresses testified that after their first act of adultery, he sent her away because “He prefers to sleep alone.” Uh, not so, that’s called “Amnon Syndrome,” and teenage girls can be sure of this: Every high school boy not filled with the Holy Spirit of God, is possessed by this syndrome, as well as those who are [filled], but ignorant of how to master lust with biblical weapons. Believe it or not, I was in high school once. I knew of a situation where a boy and a girl, who were dating for some time, found themselves alone early in the evening of a coveted Saturday night. After the act took place for the first time, the boy canceled their date, took her home, and went to find his friends. Oh, that I had half a penny for every time that was played out in high schools across this country! Did you hear about Sarah Palins daughter and all of that drama? That boy, that girl, Tiger Woods, Amnon, Tamar, it’s all there folks, it shouldn’t surprise us one bit.
There is no room here for exposition on all of the Spiritual weapons we have to fight lust. But let me give the young girls a hint. On the first date, take note of what movie the young man wants to take you to see. You see, the Apostle Paul said that we are to “Give no PROVISION to the flesh.” The “flesh” is where sin resides in us and utilizes “lust,” through the emotions, to bring about sin. A “provision,” gives nourishment and strength. In this case, to the flesh. One of the primary goals of Christian dating should be mutual accountability and to do all things to the glory of God. If he lacks knowledge in Spiritual weaponry and leadership, kick him to the curb, lest you end up like Tamar or Bristol Palin.
There is nothing new here. Tiger Woods will soon be the fool in Israel that Tamar said he would be.
paul
With All Due Respect, Your Buddy “Joe” Piper Doesn’t Know Either
Here are three bits of information to start: I can’t say enough good things about Grace Community Church, and I can’t say enough negative things about Joel Olsteen; but with that said, I don’t like hypocrisy either. One of these days, I hope to make it to a Shepherds conference held annually at John MacArthurs church (Grace Community). Once again, my efforts fell short this year. One of the speakers at the 2009 conference was Pastor Steve Lawson of Mobile, Alabama. He brought the house down with a rendition of Joel Olsteen’s appearance on the Larry King show. Basically, Larry King asked Olsteen if non-Christian faiths were wrong about salvation because they didn’t believe in Christ. Olsteen said he didn’t know, which was bad enough, but Lawson was able to put a hilarious spin on the discourse because of the way Olsteen stuttered and stammered while answering. As I watched the video excerpt of Lawson‘s performance, I found myself somewhat offended. Why? Two reasons: I think everybody was having a little bit too much fun with it at the expense of one who is also created in God’s image. Secondly, they (Lawson, MacArthur, Mohler, et al.) seem to have a favorite buddy these days, John Piper. Lawson and MacArthur spoke with him at the Resolve conference this year. Like my grandmother use to say: “Birds of the feather flock together.” So, let me get this straight, Piper is less confused than Olsteen? Oh really? Consider the following outrageous statements he makes in his book, “Desiring God”:
“Unless a man be born again into a Christian Hedonist he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John Piper, Desiring God, page 55)
“The pursuit of joy in God is not optional. It is not an ‘extra’ that a person might grow into after he comes to faith. Until your heart has hit upon this pursuit, your ‘faith’ cannot please God. It is not saving faith.”
(John Piper, Desiring God, page 69)
“Not everybody is saved from God’s wrath just because Christ died for sinners. There is a condition we must meet in order to be saved. I want to try to show that the condition…is nothing less than the creation of a Christian Hedonist.” (John Piper, Desiring God, page 61)
“We are converted when Christ becomes for us a Treasure Chest of holy joy.” (John Piper, Desiring God, page 66)
“Something has happened in our hearts before the act of faith. It implies that beneath and behind the act of faith which pleases God, a new taste has been created. A taste for the glory of God and the beauty of Christ. Behold, a joy has been born!” (page 67)
“Before the decision comes delight. Before trust comes the discovery of treasure.” (page 68)
So what’s the big dif? That’s what Olsteen emphasizes, a hedonistic joy now; not only that, Olsteen is not the only one of the two that “doesn’t know.” Here is what Piper says on page 55 of the same book:
“Could it be that today the most straightforward biblical command for conversion is not, ‘Believe in the Lord,’ but, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord’?” (John Piper, Desiring God, page 55)
“Could it be!?” What does he mean, “could it be?” Doesn’t he know? He’s talking about the gospel! So, why is it ok for Piper not to know, but not Olsteen? Oh, that’s easy. Piper is “reformed” and Olsteen isn’t. If you carry the reformed label these days, you have the Joe Biden thing working for you. You know, “Ahhhh, that’s just Joe.” Yes, what an anomaly Joe Biden is; he can say anything he wants and “Ahhhh, that’s just Joe.” Truly, John Piper has to be the Joe Biden of modern evangelicalism.
Recently, I read an endorsement for a reformed book posted on Facebook. Later, my daughter informed me that the author was a Charismatic. In fact, many who hold to Charismatic doctrine are now widely accepted in reformed circles because they have the “gospel” right. Such is the environment we find ourselves in. If you are “reformed,” you can toy with God’s word anyway you see fit, even in regard to how we are sanctified. Just believe in monergistic justification, and you are now free to play with God’s word anyway you want to.
Let me finish by saying something good about Joel Olsteen. At least he doesn’t pretend to be orthodox. The guy has plainly said: “I’m not a theologian.” That’s called honesty. Something could be learned from him in regard to that.
paul
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