Bible Memory Program

Robert Parmelee, who runs the online site, www.BibleMemory.us, recently added Bethlehem Baptist Church's Fighter Verses (all five sets) to his program.

The program is free and its easy to sign up. You can see a quick online demo here.

HT: Justin Taylor

Enjoying time together in the kitchen.

David, Wes, and Pastor Lou having a friendly theological discussion.

Reformed Confessions Harmonized

I finally picked up a copy of the “Reformed Confessions Harmonized” - Joel R. Beeke and Sinclair B. Ferguson (Authors). Monergismbooks has it currently listed for $16.99, which is a great price and the best price I could find it at.

Description: Despite the acknowledged importance of confessional statements throughout church history, the most significant of these documents have never before been published in a single volume. Now Drs. Beeke and Ferguson have harmonized seven important Reformed confessions into a convenient parallel arrangement. The seven confessions were produced by three different strands among the European churches. From the Dutch-German reformers came the Belgic Confession of Faith (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and the Canons of Dort (1618-19). The Swiss churches contributed the Second Helvetic Confession (1566). And the Scottish-English tradition was set down in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646-47) and the Larger and Shorter Westminster Catechisms (1647).

The unique feature of this volume is the editors arrangement of the various confessions in parallel columns under the traditional subject headings of systematic theology. Readers can compare the formulations on particular points of doctrine, such as the trinity, justification, Christian liberty, and baptism. While elaborating the differences that existed between the various national churches, the comparisons also underscore the fundamental unity regarding the basic tenets of the faith.

This confessional harmony is further enhanced by the editors historical introduction to the subject. They also provide an extensive annotated bibliography of Reformed theological writings that will serve as a useful guide for readers who desire to undertake further study. In all, this is an important resource for students and pastors interested in the historical foundations of the Reformed tradition.

Scott

The Truth War

Tim Goerz

Here’s another super article. It’s actually a quote from McArthur’s new book “The Truth War”. A treatise on postmodernism. An excellent book we all need to read.

Postmodernism is not just a cultural issue, it has crept into mainstream evangelicalism. As we talk to folks about Weatherford Presbyterian and what makes it different, we are assured to encounter this philosophy.

To get us started, let's consider this notion that certainty about anything is inherently arrogant.

That view is wildly popular today. The belief that no one can really know anything for certain is emerging as virtually the one dogma postmodernists will tolerate. Uncertainty is the new truth. Doubt and skepticism have been canonized as a form of humility. Right and wrong have been redefined in terms of subjective feelings and personal perspectives.

Those views are infiltrating the church, too. In some circles within the visible church, cynicism is now virtually regarded as the most splendid of all virtues. We began the introduction to this book with a prime example of that [i.e., a reference to the Christianity Today feature on the Emergent movement, which article contained Kristin Bell's confession that she has no idea what the Bible means; Brian McLaren's belief that no one has the gospel right yet; and several other statements characterizing biblical truth as too hazy or too slippery to lay hold of and proclaim confidently]. A relentless tone of postmodern angst about too much certainty pervades that whole movement. . . .

The central propositions and bedrock convictions of biblical Christianity—such as firm belief in the inspiration and authority of Scripture, a sound understanding of the true gospel, full assurance of salvation, settled confidence in the lordship of Christ, and the narrow exclusivity of Christ as the only way of salvation—do not reconcile well with postmodernism's contempt for clear, authoritative truth-claims. The medium of postmodern "dialogue" thereby instantly and automatically changes the message. And the rhetoric of the Emerging Church movement itself reflects that.

Listen, for example, to how Brian McLaren sums up his views on orthodoxy, certainty, and the question of whether the truths of Christianity are sound and reliable in the first place:

How ironic that I am writing about orthodoxy, which implies to many a final capturing of the truth about God, which is the glory of God. Sit down here next to me in this little restaurant and ask me if Christianity (my version of it, yours, the Pope's, whoever's) is orthodox, meaning true, and here's my honest answer: a little, but not yet. Assuming by Christianity you mean the Christian understanding of the world and God, Christian opinions on soul, text, and culture . . . I'd have to say that we probably have a couple of things right, but a lot of things wrong. [A Generous Orthodoxy, 293.]

McLaren suggests that clarity itself is of dubious value. He clearly prefers ambiguity and equivocation, and his books are therefore full of deliberate double-speak. In his introduction to A Generous Orthodoxy, he admits, "I have gone out of my way to be provocative, mischievous, and unclear, reflecting my belief that clarity is sometimes overrated, and that shock, obscurity, playfulness, and intrigue (carefully articulated) often stimulate more thought than clarity." [Ibid., 23.] A common theme that runs throughout most of McLaren's writings is the idea that "there is great danger in the quest to be right."]

. . . . . . . . .

[The argument seems to be] that if we cannot know everything perfectly, we cannot really know anything with any degree of certainty. That's an appealing argument to the postmodern mind, but it is entirely at odds with what Scripture teaches: "We have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16).

That's not to suggest, of course, that we have exhaustive knowledge. But we do have infallible knowledge of what Scripture reveals, as the Spirit of God teaches us through the Word of God: "We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God" (1 Corinthians 2:12). The fact that our knowledge grows fuller and deeper—and we all therefore change our minds about some things as we gain more and more light—doesn't mean that everything we know is uncertain, or outdated, or in need of an overhaul every few years. The words of 1 John 2:20-21 apply in their true sense to every believer: "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth."

The message coming from postmodernized evangelicals is exactly the opposite: Certainty is overrated. Assurance is arrogant. Better to keep changing your mind and keep your theology in a constant state of flux.

By such means, the ages-old war against truth has moved right into the Christian community, and the church itself has already become a battleground—and ominously, precious few in the church today are prepared for the fight.

Common Compromise

Tim Goerz adds:

In these current times, with the US about to go into the 5^th year of the Iraq war and the still very real threat of Muslim militancy, there are a lot of us that are hoping for peace. Not just to bring peace to Iraq and Afghanistan but peace with the Muslim fundamentalists. We ask ourselves and each other “can’t we just find some common ground with these people, to live and let live”?

Noble thoughts and a very sincere desire, no? But is this a Biblical thought process?

Consider the thoughts in the following recent article from Pulpit Magazine.

Common Compromise

December 13th, 2007

(By Nathan Busenitz)

For many of you, this will be old news. But due to several projects I’ve been focused on the last couple months, I’m just now having an opportunity to respond. Please bear with me.

(First a little background. . . )

This last October, a group of 138 Muslim scholars and clerics produced an open letter to Christians entitled, “A Common Word between Us and You.” The letter was an attempt to bridge the differences between Islam and Christianity, to promote amicable relations, open dialogue, and even cooperation between the two faiths. Part of the letter read as follows:

So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill.

On November 18, just a month ago, several Christian scholars from Yale Divinity School responded with a full-page spread in The New York Times. Their response (which was endorsed by over 100 Christian leaders, including Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, and Robert Schuller) expressed delight in the invitation offered by these Muslims. Here is part of that response:

It is rather a deep insight and courage with which they have identified the common ground between the Muslim and Christian religious communities. . . . That so much common ground exists—common ground in some of the fundamentals of faith—gives hope that undeniable differences and even the very real external pressures that bear down upon us can not overshadow the common ground upon which we stand together.

(Now a few thoughts. . . )

Do Christians actually have “common ground upon which we stand together” with the leaders of a false religion? Is this the type of conciliatory attitude we should have toward those who actively promote Islam? Should we simply overlook our differences and embrace each other in a spirit of ecumenical tolerance?

Obviously not.

Certainly, the New Testament commands us to love other people. But the love of the Bible is not a free-styled, all-embracing, blind acceptance of every wind of doctrine for the sake of dialogue. It is, in fact, just the opposite. It is a love that speaks the truth (or as Paul said, “rejoices with the truth”), not a love that promotes tolerance at the expense of sound doctrine.

Just listen to how Jesus and the apostles responded to false teachers and those who embraced them:

Jesus said: Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Paul said: If any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

Peter said: It has happened to them [false teachers] according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

John said: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

Jude said: Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. . . . [They are] clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

The interchange between Muslims and evangelical Christians is just the latest example of the ecumenical compromise that has plagued American Christianity since the rise of 19th-century theological liberalism. In recent decades, the contemporary church has exchanged expository preaching for seeker-driven programs; doctrinal accuracy for postmodern ambiguity; and biblical precision for cultural popularity. Mainstream evangelicals started by abandoning the inerrancy and authority of Scripture, and along with it, an accurate understanding of the Gospel. Since then, they have capitulated on just about everything else.

It is a sad day in evangelicalism when the most shocking thing about this latest “interfaith dialogue” is that it really isn’t that shocking. In reality, Muslims and Christians have nothing in common. As Paul told the Corinthians:

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be there God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore, “come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean.”

Over 100 “Christian” scholars may have affirmed this latest interfaith group hug. But Paul never would have. And neither would Jesus or the other apostles. As those following in their footsteps, that should make the issue pretty clear for us.

Great deals on ESV Bibles at Westminster Bookstore

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Westminster Bookstore is pleased to announce that its entire line of English Standard Version (ESV) Bibles is now regularly priced at 45% off list–our lowest price ever! We see it as part of our mission to make it as easy as possible for people to have an excellent version of the Word of God in English. Westminster (wtsbooks.com) carries every ESV Bible published by Crossway/Good New Publishing.

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Read why Westminster Theological Seminary professor Vern Poythress endorses the ESV translation.

From the Westminster Bookstore Blog

The Golden Compass

Al Mohler's thoughts on the movie and the books.

Thanks to Tim Goerz for the information!

Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!

Today during the morning Christian Education time, Pastor Lou reminded us again of the quote from William Carey: "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God".

And from St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary use words."

We discussed Ephesians 4: 20-21:
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Today is the First Sunday of Advent.

Also, as the first Sunday of the month we observed the Lord's Supper.

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q. 96. What is the Lord’s Supper?
A. The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ’s appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace.

Q. 97. What is required for the worthy receiving of the Lord’s Supper?
A. It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body, of their faith to feed upon him, of their repentance, love, and new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.

David Williams - outside after church on a beautiful Sunday.











Jenny Akins enjoying her time with Vianne.

On November 18th, Vianne Rebecca Dennis was baptized.

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q. 94. What is baptism?
A. Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and
partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.

Q. 95. To whom is Baptism to be administered?
A. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church, till they
profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to him; but the infants of such as are members
of the visible church are to be baptized.

Pastor Lou preached from Romans 3:21-31 - "Sola Fide". You can listen to it here