Bye, Bye, Blogger

Well, I have finally taken the plunge. I enjoyed the free ride while it lasted but I grew tired of the inflexibility of Blogger (what do you expect when it is free) so I have begun the journey with Word Press - and so far I am rather pleased. My blog has moved to www.theologiaviatorum.com. Please update your bookmarks and follow me there. I still have a lot of work I want to do such as adding to the blogroll and sprucing up the sidebar so if you have any comments or suggests please feel free to drop a note. www.theologiaviatorum.com

What is Truth? # 4

Oughtness of Truth

Truth invokes response.[1] Since truth can be known it demands a response of those who come to know it.[2] Knowledge of God produces an obligation to obedience. In other words orthodoxy invokes orthopraxy. John’s Gospel highlights three particular elements of this response to truth.

First, a Christian is to live by the truth. Jesus told Nicodemus that “whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out by God.”[3] Christians therefore must do what is true; they must live by the truth. “Genuinely knowing divine reality will inevitably be reflected in the way disciples live; they will obey everything that Jesus has taught them.”[4] In other words, “God’s truth and faithfulness are to be reflected in his people’s lives.”[5]

A Christian must also worship in spirit and truth. The woman at the well was discussing worship locales with Jesus when he declared to her:

Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.[6]

What then does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? D. A. Carson offers some helpful thoughts on this difficult passage, which is worth quoting in length. Worship,

…must be in spirit and truth, i.e. essentially God-centered, made possible by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in personal knowledge of and conformity to God’s Word-made-flesh, the one who is God’s truth, the faithful exposition and fulfillment of God and his saving purposes. The worshippers whom God seeks worship him out of the fullness of the supernatural life they enjoy (‘in spirit’), and on the basis of God’s incarnate Self-Expression, Christ Jesus himself, through whom God’s person and will are finally and ultimately disclosed (‘in truth’); and these two characteristics form one matrix, indivisible.[7]

Christian worship is based on the truth of the gospel and worked out by the supernatural indwelling of the Spirit. Worship is thus an event based on the truth of God and the work of grace in the believer’s life. Grace and truth, which Christ is full of, is central to our worshipping in spirit and truth. Only those who trust in the God who is true and who have had that God revealed to them through his Word are able to worship in spirit and truth. It must be noted that worship is not just an event but encompasses all of life. There is both a broad way of worship, which is all of life and a narrow or corporate gathering of worship.[8]

Lastly, the Christian must be continually sanctified by the truth. Christ prayed to the Father on behalf of his people, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”[9] This high priestly pray of Jesus was for both his immediate disciples and for those who will believe in him through their word (vs. 20). Believers are to be sanctified through the true Word of God.

This sanctification by the Word of God is achieved through the working of the Spirit. Sproul writes, “The Spirit is not divorced from the Word in such a way as to reduce revelation to an exercise in subjectivism. The Spirit works with the Word (cum verbo) and through the Word (per verbum), not without or apart from the Word (sine verbo).”[10] Beeke and Lanning also argue that God transforms believers through a combination of these two great powers, namely the word and the Spirit. “Each indispensable to the other, and both inseparably joined together, so as to accomplish all God’s will upon his people.”[11]

Beeke and Lanning show by what methods the Spirit works through the Word to transform and sanctify the believer. First, there is the fusion of Spirit and Word in the reading of Scripture. Daily reading of the Word of God helps bring about a renewal of the mind. Secondly, the preaching of God’s Word helps convict of sin and bring comfort to the downtrodden. Thirdly, the hearing of God’s Word is often a healing balm to the soul. Lastly, the singing of God’s Word is a returning to God the praise due his name.[12]

God’s truth requires a response. The very foundation of all truth, God, has made himself known and he has granted this knowledge of the truth to those who hear his voice, his sheep. Being confronted with the truth causes an obligation on the part of the hearer to respond to that truth. Biblically the believer is to respond to the truth of God through living his truth, worshipping God in spirit and truth, and lastly by being sanctified or transformed by the truth.

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[1] See Frame, DKG, 43, 108-109

[2] Nicole has written, “The ethical is never far remote, and the distinction between dogmatics and ethics, while useful in the theological curriculum, is not to be pressed into a separation of doctrine and practice, which should always remain united.” In The Biblical Concept of Truth, 295.

[3] John 3:21

[4] Crump, “Truth.”

[5] Woodbridge, “Truth.” He continues, “Truth is an indispensable part of both Christian faith and Christian living, leading disciples to obey all that Jesus has taught them…Profession and practice must cohere, otherwise we do not live according to the truth.”

[6] John 4:21-24

[7] D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991. pp. 225-226

[8] See John M. Frame. Worship in Spirit and Truth: A Refreshing Study of the Principles and Practice of Biblical Worship. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1996 for a helpful fleshing out of these thoughts on worship.

[9] John 17:17

[10] Sproul, R. C. “The Internal Testimony of the Holy Spirit.” in Inerrancy. Norman L. Geisler. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1980. 337-384. p. 338

[11] Beeke, Joel R. and Ray Lanning. “The Transforming Power of Scripture.” in Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible. Don Kistler. ed. Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria, 1995. 221-276. p. 225

[12] Ibid, 234-262

Lydia Grace

For those of you who are keeping count and for those of you who have lost count – number four, Lydia Grace Turner arrived on Wednesday March 8, 2006 at 11:30 pm. She weighed 8 pounds and 1 oz; measuring 20 inches. I will post more pictures, etc. later. Right now it is almost three in the morning and I am tired, although very excited. Here she is!

Categorical Errors

Much Thanks to David Price - I am in the process of putting in categories into this blog. I have thought about leaving blogger many times mainly because I wanted the option to categorize but if this works I may prolong my stay. Obviously I have yet to work out all the kinks. My problem lies somewhere in Firefox - I cannot seem to get my quick edit link along with my del.icio.us link to work in order to correctly post the categories. It works on my laptop but not on my desktop. I have fiddled with (I believe) all my security and content setting but cannot find the discrepancy. Any ideas anyone?

What is Truth? # 3

Knowing the Truth

Having established the metaphysical foundation of truth as being rooted in the Godhead the question that immediately arises is whether or not this truth can be known. The Gospel of John provides the answer to this epistemological question. First, it begins by showing humanity’s bondage to falsehood. Jesus, the light of the world comes to the world which knows him not. They know him not because their eyes and minds have been blinded by their father the devil.

The interchange with Jesus and the Pharisees in John 8:39-47 is instructive of the human condition as being bound in sin and darkness. Jesus attributes their inability to know the truth about him being from the Father to their father being the devil. He says in verse 42: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”

The Pharisees could not bear to hear such words from Jesus. They could not understand because they are of their father the devil and their will is to do that which their father desires. The devil has nothing to do with the truth. In fact it is fair to say that he is antithetical to the truth. He is the ultimate liar, the father of lies. There is absolutely no truth in him and by deduction those who are his children are also without that truth. Therefore Jesus concludes in verse 45, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” Humanity’s father has blinded their eyes and they have fallen into lying, deceit, and falsehood. Therefore they do not know the truth. They are unable to see the light for they walk in darkness.[1]

However, God has chosen some out of humanity to the truth. Jesus states before Pilate in John 18, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus himself declares that there are those who are of the truth and that they will listen to his voice. The parallel with John 10 is significant. The sheep hear the shepherds voice and come to him: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”[2] God has given certain sheep to Jesus and Jesus came to earth to die for those sheep. Those sheep were chosen from the beginning of time to come to know the good shepherd; they were chosen to know the truth.[3]

While many are blinded to the truth God has called out some from this world who will hear the truth and listen to its voice. These are the true disciples of Christ. They are the ones who remain in the true vine, drink his blood and eat his body, and walk in the light. They are the ones who believe that Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life. They abide in his word and doing so they will know the truth and the truth will set them free.[4]

God has chosen a people to communicate his truth with. Therefore in this postmodern world, where truth is no longer to be found the Christian can stand out as heralding the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is true knowledge, true wisdom, this is the truth. By walking in the light Christians are able to steer others into the light. The Christian task after being converted from the bondage of darkness is to proclaim the light of the truth.

We can know God because he has revealed himself. This is at the heart of the gospel. This does not mean that God communicates all that he is and knows but he nonetheless has communicated some true elements[5]

Epistemologically the truth can be known. Truth being rooted in the Godhead is revealed to humanity through the Gospel. God, through Jesus Christ, breaks down the barriers of our sinful blind eyes and having chosen us reveals the truth, as it really is to us in the good news of his Son Jesus Christ. This revelation of Christ is at the heart of John’s usage of truth.

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[1] See Frame’s discussion in DKG about what unbelievers can and cannot know pp. 49-61

[2] John 10:14-16

[3] cf. John 6 with the emphasis of Jesus on those whom the Father has given him.

[4] John 8:31-38

[5] D. A. Carson writes, “Because he chooses to communicate with finite mortals in their languages, God cannot possibly communicate all that he is and knows, but I cannot see how that is a barrier to his communicating some true elements of what he is and knows. Of course, we will misunderstand the communication in all sorts of ways, owing both to our finiteness and to our sinfulness. But the content itself is objectively true, a subset of what Omniscience knows, and cast in culture-laden forms that demand of modern readers that we attempt to fuse the horizon of our own understandings with that of the culture and language in which the deposit was given.” In The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996 p. 130 (emphasis his).

Anti-smoking ban ushers in a new epoch in Turkey

Justice Commission approves a new anti-smoking law that, if passed by Parliament, will impose strict new rules on smoking, but there are doubts concerning how heavy smokers will be persuaded to abide by them

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News

Parliament's Justice Commission's decision to approve an anti-smoking law this week is expected to seriously change the way Turks live. Smoking is an ancestral tradition that goes back to the 17th century, when the "nargile" -- the hookah, or water pipe -- became a fixture in Ottoman coffee houses.

For about half the adult population of Turkey, smoking is an absolutely normal activity, the result being a permanent national health disaster with anti-smoking campaigns making barely a dent in the habit.

Health Ministry figures show about 110,000 Turks die of smoking-related illness each year. About 60 percent of men and 20 percent of women in the country of 71 million people are smokers, one of the highest rates in Europe.

Nicotine addiction has reached worrying levels even in schools, where 11.7 percent of schoolchildren smoke, according to ministry figures, despite a ban on the sale of tobacco products to minors.

Even among the justice commission members failed to agree on the extent of the ban, with smokers among them describing the bill as an execution order for smokers.

Justice and Development Party (AKP) Gümüşhane deputy Mahmut Durdu said every article of the anti-smoking bill was problematic, while Adıyaman deputy Hüsrev Kutlu argued that most diseases were due to stress, describing smoking as a way to combat stress.

The bill approved by the commission still needs to be passed by Parliament's General Assembly.

Turkish Anti-smoking Fighters Foundation (SSV), Ubeyd Korbey, has said that warning messages on cigarettes packets, in concert with a series of anti-smoking advertisements, has decreased the number of people addicted to smoking in Turkey over the past six years.

In a statement made to the Anatolia news agency, Korbey asserted that the effects of a more concerted fight against cigarettes in Turkey were beginning to be seen, and that a significant drop had been registered in the number of addicted smokers since 1999.

What is Truth? # 2

Trinitarian Nature of Truth

Truth is founded upon the Trinitarian God of Scripture in both his person and his revelation. In John 3:33, John the Baptist declares that God is truth. Geerhardus Vos notes that throughout the Gospel of John the concept of truth is associated with the heavenly.[1] In John the Baptist’s declaration of God as truth Vos’ argument seems justified. John ties truthfulness to God because he is from above and the testifier of the Father is also seen as true because he comes from heaven.[2]

In fact as Groothius notes, “each member of the Trinity is closely associated with truth in the New Testament.”[3] Jesus constantly makes mention that he is testifying to the one and only true God. In John 7:25ff Jesus is teaching in the temple even though his enemies are seeking to kill him. Some question that the authorities really may think he is the Christ. However, they know where Jesus came from and believe that they will not know where the Christ comes from. Jesus responded by declaring that you may know where I come from but I have not come on my own accord. Then he proceeds to say, “He who sent me is true, and him you do not know.” Jesus’ mission was to bear testimony to the Father and he does so by declaring that He is True.[4]

Elsewhere Jesus almost in passing makes reference to the Father being true.[5] The people did not understand that he was speaking of the Father, but Jesus exalts Him as being true, as being the truth. Lastly, the Father is declared as true in John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”[6] The only way to a life eternal is through God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Knowing God involves knowing him as the one and only true God.[7]

God the Son, Jesus Christ, is also the truth. He is both the messenger of truth and the message of truth.[8] Jesus’ mission as messenger was to reveal the Father who is truth.[9] The mission of Jesus is summed up well in John 1:9: “The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” Jesus’ mission was to be a lamp unto his chosen people’s feet. He was to lift their heads to the radiance and truthfulness of the Father. The true light of the world came to point those in darkness to the source of that light. He alone was able to be a faithful witness, a truthful messenger, and a just herald to the Gospel of his grace.

Indeed grace and truth can never be separated. Coming from the Father, Jesus was full of grace and truth.[10] “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus’ message was to bring not the law, which was given, through Moses, but grace and truth. This grace is made known because Christ reveals the Father who has never been revealed before. Jesus has this right because of his closeness to the Father.

Jesus also is the message of truth. Jesus is the “true light, which enlightens everyone.” He is the true bread and his body and blood are the true food and drink. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is also the true vine. To know the truth one must walk in the light, eat of his body and blood, come to the Father through him and abide in him.[11] Crump writes, “John presents Jesus as the final revelation of God, who is himself God; the one against whom all claims to meaning and reality are to be evaluated.”[12]

The Spirit is also truth. Crump notes three aspects to the Spirit being defined as truth. First, the Spirit who comes from the Father is also God and therefore truth. Secondly, the Spirit continues the mission of Jesus, which was the proclamation of truth. Thirdly, the Spirit will lead disciples into the truth. The Spirit has come in the world to be an “advocate of heavenly reality in this world, advancing God’s case, as it were, and exposing, or at least condemning, all counterfeit claims to truth.[13]

From the above texts it is clear that the Gospel of John sets forth the Trinity as Truth. Truth as “conformity to fact” and “completion” have their foundation in the Godhead.[14] Roger Nicole understates this by writing, “The truth is called God’s truth for he has a stake in it.”[15] Indeed God has a stake in the truth because he is the truth! Herman Bavinck sums up the doctrine of God as truth:

God is the ‘original truth,’ the source of all truth, the truth in all truth; the ground of all truth, and the true essence of all things, of their knowability and conceivability; the ideal and archetype of all truth, of all ethical reality, of all laws and regulations, the norm in accordance with which all things should be judged both as to their essence and as to their manner of manifestation; the source and fountain of all true knowledge in every sphere the only light in which we can see the light, the sun of spirits.[16]

It is therefore correct to see God as the metaphysical foundation for all truth.[17] He is truth, he is the standard of truth and he is all the final judge of truth and falsity. In other words God is the precondition for all truth since he is the Truth. God is the norm or criterion for all knowledge and truth.[18] Without God there would be no truth and truth would not be attainable by humanity. Truth is derivable and knowable because God is truth and he has revealed himself.

The Trinitarian nature of truth is founded upon the metaphysical aspect of the Godhead being truth. The Father is true, the Son is true and the Spirit is true. Therefore there exists a foundation in this postmodern world for truth. There is such a thing as objective truth!

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[1] Geerhardus Vos. “True’ and ‘Truth’ in the Johannine Writings.” in Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos. Richard B. Gaffin Jr. ed. Phillipsburg,NJ: P&R, 1980. 343-351.

[2] See John 3:31-32

[3] Truth Decay, 63

[4] cf. John 17:18 where the one who sent Christ is true and there is no falsehood in him.

[5] John 8:21-30 Pharisees are here questioning Jesus, they ask him who he is and where he is from. Jesus always goes back to his heavenly mission as one commissioned by the Father to proclaim the glory of the Father.

[6] to.n mo,non avlhqino.n qeo.n – The one true God, avlhqino.n stands in the attributive position in relation to qeo.n. Truth is attributed to God the Father.

[7] Crump writes, “As ultimate reality, God the Father is the only standard by which all truth or falsehood, light or darkness are measured in this world.” Crump, D. M. “Truth.” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall. eds. electronic ed., Pages 859-862. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997, c1992.

[8] Ibid.

[9] John 3:17; 4:34; 5:24, 30; 6:29; 8:25; 17:18; 20:21

[10] John 1:14, 17. John Frame writes, “Truth like knowledge and wisdom, comes by grace, by trinitarian communication, by Word and Spirit.” DKG, 49

[11] John 1:9; 6:32, 55; 14:6; 15:1 respectively

[12] Crump, “Truth.”

[13] Ibid. See John 14:16-17 for the Spirit as another helper, 15:26 to his testifying to Christ, 16:7-11 for his conviction of the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, 16:13 for guiding believers into the truth. See also P. D. Woodbridge. “Truth.” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. eds. electronic ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

[14] For truth being understood as conformity to fact and completion see Roger Nicole. “The Biblical Concept of Truth.” in Scripture and Truth. D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. eds. Grand Rapids,MI: Baker, 1983, 1992 287-302.

[15] Ibid, 294

[16] Bavinck, Herman. The Doctrine of God. William Hendriksen. trans. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1977, 202.

[17] John Frame writes, “In the lordship attribute of authority, he is the very standard of truth for his creatures…There is no higher standard than God against which his truth may be measured. So God’s metaphysical ultimacy implies that he is the standard of prepositional truth.” In The Doctrine of God. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2002, 477.

[18] Frame, DKG, 124

Filed in:

Filed in: Postmodernism

What is Truth? # 1

Toward a Biblical Understanding of Truth for Postmodern Times Truth is stranger than it used to be![1] Postmodernism has brought about a radicalization of the nature of truth. The truthfulness of truth has been dissected by the scalpel of postmodernism and little of anything has been left.[2] Many are found rejoicing that there is no longer any objectivity or absoluteness to truth and that it lays ravaged by postmodernism.[3] Others decry the postmodern decay of truth and seek to offer an alternative.[4] Where should Christians seeking to be Biblical stand on this matter? Must we agree with the postmoderns that truth is dead or should we fall back onto the foundationalism of modernism? More poignantly to paraphrase Pilate, “What is truth for this postmodern age?”

The following few posts will seek to answer that question. A course will be charted between the Scylla of modernism’s foundationalist truth and the Charybdis of postmodernism’s destruction of truth. Christianity offers an alternative paradigm on the nature of truth. The goal of this paper will be to examine the Biblical teaching of truth as found in the Gospel of John. First, it will be shown that the nature of truth is founded upon the Trinitarian God of Christianity and His Word. Secondly, it will be argued that the possibility of the knowledge of truth is founded on the nature of Scriptural truth. Thirdly, given the nature and knowability of truth there follows an oughtness of truth, which will be set forth. These three elements or perspectives on truth stand together as a construction of the biblical notion of truth.[5] Lastly a few applications to the postmodern situation will be set forth in seeking an alternate Christian paradigm.

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[1] J. Richard Middleton and Brian J. Walsh. Truth is Stranger That It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

[2] For a detailed examination of this shift see the following: D. A. Carson. The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996. David S. Dockery. Ed. The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1995. Millard J. Erickson. Truth or Consequences: The Promise and Perils of Postmodernism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001. Gene Edward Veith, Jr. Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994. Stanley J. Grenz. A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996. Also see any other works by Grenz.

[3] Philip D. Kenneson. “There’s No Such Thing as Objective Truth, and It’s a Good Thing, Too.” In Timothy R. Phillips and Dennis L. Okholm. Christian Apologetics in the Postmodern World. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. 155-172.

[4] Douglas Groothuis. Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

[5] My indebtedness to John Frame will be evident throughout this paper even when not directly cited. It is the hope of this paper to add some Biblical meat to his theological arguments. By this I mean adding more of an exegetical flavor to the argument through an understanding of truth as found in the Gospel of John. See his The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1987 for a thorough Biblical epistemology.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' death. He died March 1st, 1981 requesting of his family, "Don't pray for healing, don't try to hold me back from the glory." The medical doctor - turned preacher - had a Christ-centered ministry at Westminster Chapel in London for over 30 years. His legacy abides through his numerous books, audio sermons and lectures which can be found through the Martyn Lloyd Jones Recordings Trust. His sermons on spiritual depression have been a great encouragement to my own soul. He begins upon the rock of Christ's imputed righteousness found in justification through faith in Christ alone. This, Llyod-Jones argues is the only foundation proper for truly understanding and putting depression in its proper and biblical context. Building upon this foundation, ever the doctor, Lloyd-Jones, takes the scalpel to the layers of depression and peels away that which is caused by sin, personality, and other difficulties. Throughout this work his hand is firm, but always caring. While he recognizes that depressed Christians don't make good Christians he doesn't dismiss them but seeks to move them to Christ for restoration and hope. The glory of Lloyd-Jones is his continually leading people to behold the beauty of Christ the Savior and Lord. May his legacy not die out with him, but pass on for generations. (HT: Reformation 21)

Glorious Mystery of Revelation

God in the mystery of his providence has chosen to reveal himself to us. The God who is there has made himself known. He has boldly and loudly declared himself to deaf and dumb sinners. He has spoken that the deaf may hear and that the blind may see. He has opened plugged ears and closed eyes. What he has revealed is nothing else but himself.

He has revealed himself as holy, just and perfect in every way. There is no human standard which can fully and adequately be compared to God. He has shown through his Word that he cannot stand sin. It is abhorrent to him and those who are sinners (all of humanity) stand at enmity with him. There is a (seemingly) irreparable breach in the worship of God. His holiness demands justice and therefore all stand condemned as sinners before an angry God.

Yet, he has also revealed himself in love and mercy. He has revealed himself in the Word made flesh. God became man and tabernacled with us. The Word became flesh. Jesus was the climax of the revelation of God. His perfect life and death offer salvation to all of those who God draws. Those who come weary and thirsty to Christ will find eternal life. There is no way to discover Christ apart from his Word. Salvation comes through hearing, reading, believing and appropriating the Word of Life (Rom. 10). There is no other way of salvation except through the name of Jesus – through his person and work. Christ is the sinner’s hope and Christ is met within the Holy Scriptures. To know Scripture is to know Christ.[1]

[1] The way I use “know” here is how Packer uses the word in Knowing God. It is more than just mere knowledge apart from heart affection, but it is knowledge that engages the whole person to develop a deep and lasting commitment to Christ.

Quest for Godliness # 10

The Spirituality of John Owen

John Owen is primarily known more for his theological acumen and polemical prowess more than his affectionate spirituality. Yet, as Packer notes, we are worse off for not knowing and modeling the deep and intense spirituality of this giant of the faith. Owen’s intellectual ability was unsurpassed at the time, but his spiritual stature perfectly matched his theological learning. There was no dichotomy in his life between his knowledge and his piety. He was a man of great humility who also fully recognized the power of the gospel of God.

Puritans, including Owen, recognized that self-knowledge was a key concept in Christian spirituality. First, Owen recognized that the Christian is a man created for an end which is the rational and emotional worship and knowledge of God. Man was made to know his creator and redeemer. Second, man is a fallen creature subject to all the constraints and deceptions of sin. Sin has alienated man from both God and himself. The root of sin is enmity with God and a complete disaffection and antipathy toward their creator. Christian living must therefore be founded upon self-distrust and self-abhorrence. Third, the Christian is thus a redeemed man. Christ died for the sins of the Christian. Since redemption by Christ is at the heart of Christian doctrine a proper response to that redemption is at the heart of Christian devotion. Fourth, the Christian man is a regenerate man who has been made a new creature through union with Christ. A new life has been granted to him. Yet, it is the very nature of regeneration which makes the heart of man into a battlefield. War is no waged against the new man and the old man. The fight is a lifelong war.

Sanctification is the goal of Christ in the life of the Christian while on this earth. God’s desires man’s holiness which is first a gift of God promised and also man’s duty required. There are two aspects to achieve this state of sanctification. First, there is vivification which is the growing and maturing of the new man through being fed on the feeding of the Word and the fellowship of the saints. Second, is mortification which is the killing and destroying of the old man. The Christian will not rest until the old man is destroyed which will only come through glorification. Therefore the Christian life is a continual battle of vivification and mortification, of building up the new man and laying low the old man.

All of this has the goal of communion with God. For the Puritans, “communion between God and man is the end to which both creation and redemption are the means; it is the goal to which both theology and preaching must ever point; it is the essence of true religion; it is, indeed, the definition of Christianity” (202). Owen’s understanding of communion with God may fall under five heads. First, communion with God is a relationship between God and man which is marked by true reciprocal fellowship between one another. Second, communion with God is where the initiative lies solely with God. God acted first and because he first loved us therefore we are able to respond back in love. Yet, God always takes the initiative.

Third, communion with God is Trinitarian in that the believer receives love and fellowship with all members of the Trinity. Such communion with God involves the entirety of all persons within the Godhead. Fourth, communion with God is a relation of active, forward-looking friendship between God and man. “Communion with God means simply behaving as a friend of the God who has called you his friend” (208). Fifth, communion has its outworking in a special and spiritual way at the Lord’s Table. The communicant receives a unique and special grace in fellowshipping with the Lord Jesus Christ as they partake of the elements. It is here where Christ’s ultimate act of love is set in full force before the Christian to behold and adore.

In application three things must be recognized. First, the Puritans saw communion with God as a high and holy thing which today is seen as a small thing at best and an insignificant thing at worse. Christians today just do not see the absolute importance of communing in an intimate relationship with their creator and redeemer. Second, the piety of the Puritans was extremely God-centered in contrast to our artificial and boastful worship which carries on today. Third, the Puritans passion and integrity in worship has no equal in worship and spirituality today. They are unequalled in their spiritual passion and theological knowledge.

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Random Thoughts on Honoring Scripture

How do we honor the Word of God with the totality of our being? Of course, we often pay lip service, but that is not enough. We must exalt and honor Scripture with our whole person. One way to honor Scripture with our hearts is to memorize the Word of God thereby hiding it deep within our hearts. I think of two ways in which we can honor Scripture with our hands. First, having spent a significant time in a Muslim country I came to realize how flippantly we actually physically handle our Bibles. Muslims will not set the Qur’an on the floor nor would they cover it up with another book. They even make special book holders for the proper and respectful placement of the Qur’an in its rightful place. I often wonder if we should treat our Bible’s with a bit more respect, especially in the sight of unbelievers. Secondly, with our hands we honor the Word by obeying it and working it out in our lives. Obedience is the teeth of Scripture in the Christian life. It puts the Word into practice in our own life and the lives of others.

With our ears we must express rapt attention for the reading of the Word. Today, churches do not spend nearly enough time in the public reading of Scripture, but when it is read we often are more easily distracted than carefully listening. It is only through hearing the Word whereby we will grow in the Word so we therefore must give to it our utmost attention. We also don’t read out loud Scripture enough.[1] With our eyes we must give careful attention to the consistent and faithful reading of the Word. Every word is important and such careful study will most certainly bear its fruit. Lastly, as Paul notes we are transformed through the renewing of our minds. The only strong, powerful and true transforming power is the Spirit working through the perfect words of Scripture. It is through the reading, listening, preaching, meditating, and memorizing of Scripture where we will begin to have our minds shaped and renewed –

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, By His love and power controlling All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly In my heart from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph Only through His power.

We are to engage all the senses when it comes to the intake of God’s Word. The more senses we engage the better and higher our chances of retaining Scripture.

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[1] Was it not the young Augustine who remarked about the effect Ambrose’s reading of the Scriptures had on him in his Confessions?

Quest for Godliness # 9

The Witness of the Spirit in Puritan Thought

The main theme of this chapter is how the Spirit works in assuring believers of their salvation as secure in Christ. They defined assurance as “faith full grown and come of age” (180). So there can be faith without assurance, but assurance cannot be separate from faith for at its essence it is a work of faith to bring about such an assurance. Faith which results from illumination begins in the mind when there is a belief in the truth of the gospel message. The certainty of faith is rooted in coming into an awareness and contact with the thing known. Therefore, faith is only attainable and actualized through a personal encounter with the living God and a deep-seated expression of faith being placed in him. Such faith only springs outwardly from the inner working of the Spirit on an individual’s heart through the divine contact of the Word of God.

Assurance is a God-given conviction of one’s standing in grace (182); of having the gospel stamped on their mind and heart creating a strong faith which trusts in the goodness and truthfulness of God their redeemer. It is when the soul (or conscience) sees himself or herself as rightly standing before God and expressed a strong conviction of security and surety in the promise and work of Christ that salvation is true and valid in their own life. Then there is a reciprocal action where faith begets assurance and the realization of assurance leads to the further strengthening of faith.

Just what is assurance? It is when the Holy Spirit applies the truth of Scripture to hearts so powerfully and authoritatively that the believer has no doubt that God has spoken to them and that they have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. It is by no means a bare cognitive assent that one will go to heaven, but it is God explaining what heaven is and offering a foretaste of what is to come. In essence it is an experience of the realities of heaven while on earth. The Spirit works in such a way to take the thoughts of man off of himself and places them into higher realms.

Many Puritans such as Thomas Goodwin believed that the sealing of the Holy Spirit as explained in Ephesians 1:13 referred to the direct testimony of the Spirit offering this assurance to the believer. Such sealing was the work of the Spirit after salvation to impart an assurance of salvation and faith. Goodwin argues that Christ at his baptism was sealed by the Spirit thus being granted an assurance of mission. This parallels the assurance which believers have when they are sealed by the Spirit and are granted assurance of salvation. The moment of salvation is thus made a distinct and separate time from the actual moment of sealing which is seen as an assurance of faith flowing out of the act of baptism.

However, John Owen comes along and while agreeing in substance alters the exegesis to align more with a biblical teaching on the subject. Owen argues that it is persons who are sealed and not promises. The Spirit in sealing believers expresses within them a safe keeping. Thus assurance becomes a spin-off from the Spirit sealing believers instead of being the actual act of sealing itself. So Packer says, “Assurance may come with the gift, but it is not to be equated with it. The seal is not any particular operation of the Spirit, but the gift of the Spirit himself” (188). Therefore all who believe have the Spirit and are sealed by him.

The Ten Commandments in the New Testament

Robert Reymond has a very helpful section on the permanency of the moral law of God for all Christians.[1] The moral law (lex moralis) was given through special revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai. Its more common name is the Ten Commandments or the Ten Words. The moral law reflects the very moral character of God and therefore has a continual validity in the life of the Christian. Therefore, the usefulness of the law remains today. Jesus himself argued for the continuing validity of the law of God (particularly the Ten Commandments) in Matthew 5:17-19:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen; will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Reymond provides various references from the New Testament where the NT authors allude to or directly reference the Ten Commandments.[2]

FIRST THREE COMMANDMENTS: No Other Gods; Do not Make an Idol; Do not Take the Lord’s Name in Vain

Romans 1:21-30 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind; to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents

Romans 2:22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders.

Ephesians 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-- such a man is an idolater-- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.

Revelation 21:7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. FOURTH COMMANDMENT: Remember the Sabbath

Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.

1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

Revelation 1:10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Honor Your Parents

Romans 1:30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents.

Ephesians 6:2-3 “Honor your father and mother"-- which is the first commandment with a promise -- "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

1 Timothy 1:9 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers.

SIXTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Murder

Romans 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips.

1 Timothy 1:9-10 Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,¹ liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound² doctrine.

James 2:11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Commit Adultery

Romans 2:22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality.

Ephesians 5:3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.

1 Timothy 1:10 The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.

James 2:11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

EIGHT COMMANDMENT: Do not Steal

1 Corinthians 6:10 Or thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

1 Timothy 1:10 The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.

NINTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Bear False Witness

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self¹ with its practices.

1 Timothy 1:10 The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.

TENTH COMMANDMENT: Do not Covet

Romans 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips.

Romans 7:7-8 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead.

Galatians 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Ephesians 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Reymond concurs with the Westminster Confession which writes, “The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that, not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God, the Creator, who gave it. Neither doth Christ, in the Gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation” (19.5). So if Scripture seems clear that the moral law has abiding worth what then is its relationship to the Christian? How does the law of God relate to the believer? And an even more difficult question, how does the law relate to unbelievers? Well, until another time…

[1] Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 775.

[2] Ibid., 776.