New Game From Rhema Ministries
Here is a new game released by Rhema Ministries for kids. We have to get those "rhema" words in them at some point I guess.
8.20.2008
8.19.2008
Why Water Down Baptism?
To me it seems obvious from the New Testament that the Church is to make disciples and baptise them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). It seems to me that baptism clearly plays an important role in being a disciple of Jesus (John 4:1-2) and that Jesus commanded His disciples to baptise those who believe (Mark 16:15-16). The book of Acts further makes it clear to me that baptism played an important role in being the place where disciples confessed Jesus as Lord before men (Acts 2:38-39, 41; 8:12-13, 36-38; 9:17-18; 10:44-48; 16:14-15, 30-34; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16). Baptism also played an important role in Paul's theology as being a living example of being baptised into Jesus' death and raised with Jesus' resurrection (Romans 6:1-4; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 4:4; Colossians 2:12) and Peter used baptism as the same antitype (1 Peter 3:21-22).
So why do we often water down the importance of baptism? In many nations being baptised is not only illegal but a crime punishable by death. In many Middle Eastern nations baptism is illegal. Baptism in many nations demonstrates clearly that a person is no longer a disciple of the world, the flesh, or false religions and false gods but is now a disciple of Jesus Christ. Baptism is quite serious and therefore baptism is often delayed in many nations until the person demonstrates that they truly are a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 3:8; James 2:14-26).
Baptism is often where I disagree with Arminius. James Arminius followed the Reformed understanding of baptism inherited from Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox traditions. Martin Luther taught that baptism was essential for the forgiveness of sins and that infants must be baptised in order to protect them from the guilt of Adam (total depravity). John Calvin and Theodore Beza both taught infant baptism into the new covenant community. While neither Calvin nor Beza believed that baptism guaranteed salvation for babies, it was held that baptism (much like Catholic theology) imparts grace to the elect babies. James Arminius rejected the Anabaptist teachings of believer's baptism and taught infant baptism as well. Arminius likewise followed Beza (his mentor and teacher) and accepted that God imparts grace to infants being baptised. Luther, Calvin, Beza, and Arminius all followed Catholic tradition and sprinkled rather than immerse.
Arminius, to his credit, did not believe in persecuting the Anabaptist as Luther, Calvin, and Beza taught. Calvin viewed the Anabaptist as heretics (over baptism!) and encouraged their persecution. Arminius tried to reach out to Anabaptist in order to win them over to his theology and specifically infant baptism. The Anabaptist rejected Arminius but Arminius never once declared them heretical nor did he feel they should be arrested and tried for heresy as many Calvinist of his day did.
Baptism has long been a hot topic of debate. But I often fear that men have blindly accepted their theological positions without careful analysis. I accept many aspects of Arminius' theology but reject Arminius on his position of baptism. I believe the Anabaptist were right to reject infant baptism and were correct in their understanding that baptism is for disciples only. Much of the debate would be settled with simply a plain reading of the New Testament where we see that baptism pops up everywhere but not once does it mention infant baptism.
Why do we water down baptism? Convenience. Pride. The "pharisee" in us that sees our theology as absolutely correct while others is wrong without looking at the Scriptures. We want to believe that the "sinner's prayer" is in the Bible but we struggle when we can't find anyone praying to become a Christian in the entire New Testament. We water down baptism because we fear that people will think we believe in "works salvation" when faith is something that we do (Acts 16:30-31; Hebrews 11:1,6) and baptism is simply an act of faith in Jesus (Acts 8:36-38).
Baptism is worthless if we are not focusing on Jesus. That is not biblical baptism but a bath! True baptisms focus all on Jesus and His grace. True baptisms realise that we are identifying with Jesus (1 Corinthians 10:1-8). True baptisms focus all on Jesus (1 Peter 3:21-22) and not on our flesh or our "goodness" (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7). May we not water down baptism.
8.16.2008
I Don't Mind Not Being Evangelical
It seems that every four years the American press goes crazy trying to figure out who evangelicals are going to vote for and what issues matter to them. Those running for whatever office will use the correct language to attract evangelical voters. This has been the case for many years now and I suppose will be the case for many years to come. America is quite a religious culture and has more evangelicals than any other nation on earth. The "Christian" vote now matters when it comes to politicians.
Yet many evangelicals see a change taking place in the voting tendencies of evangelicals. In fact, many evangelicals are now endorsing Democratic nominee Barak Obama for President. But why? By this I am not favoring John McCain but simply asking the question how is that evangelicals could embrace Obama and vote for him?
Consider this:
Obama has the most liberal voting record of the US Senate.
Obama is the most pro-abortion/pro-murder candidate in American history.
Obama offers the word "change" but with no substance of what this change means other than raising taxes and seeking to end the war in Iraq.
Now rest assured my readers that I do not have high regards for John McCain either. In fact, I believe that the evangelical church has placed too much emphasis (at times) on the offices of power rather than looking to the one true God of power. The power to transform a society doesn't begin with who is in the White House or who holds control of Congress but it begins with our faith in a sovereign and righteous God.
Yet if evangelicals are changing and the issues are becoming broader for evangelicals what does this mean? One news reporter stated that evangelicals are much more open to debating issues they once held as sin such as homosexuality, abortion on demand, or family and what that entails. Jim Wallis, for example, is a "liberal evangelical" who supports Obama and who believes that the issues for evangelicals should be: global warming, ending war, eradicating poverty, and forgiving third world debts. He is joined by emergents Brian McClaren and Tony Jones on that. Rick Warren, who is hosting McCain and Obama together at a unity conference that is dealing with voting issues, believes that compassion and fighting AIDS should top the agenda.
Yet none of these people speak for me. In fact, if the evangelical church is about fighting global warming, ending wars, eradicating poverty, forgiving third world debts, support for more human rights, etc. then count me out. It's not that I don't believe in some aspects of these things since obviously Jesus fills our hearts with compassion, grace, mercy, and love yet for me the greatest issue for the evangelical church is this: preach the gospel! In fact, let me write this in bold letters: THE CHURCH SHOULD BE PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL!
The evangelical Church should be seeking to obey Jesus' words to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and to obey our Lord's command to go (Matthew 28:19-20). We need to embrace the biblical truth that all men must repent (Acts 17:30) and that there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:1-7). We need to understand that the way to transform a culture is by regeneration (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5-7) and that only comes through the gospel (Romans 10:9-17).
So if being evangelical means politics and politicians trying to capture my heart with their lofty promises then count me out. I want to be about my Father's business just as Jesus was and that is not simply to be counter-culture but to be a citizen of another culture (John 18:36; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 John 2:15-17; Revelation 1:5-6). You want to be involved with politics than so be it but make sure that you first and foremost priority is loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:29-31) and to be an ambassador not for any one nation or one political cause but for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). May the Church do all for the glory of our awesome God (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:16-17).
8.15.2008
Pardon the Interruption
I wanted to apologise for the slow down in posts. I have been working quite a bit (today I worked 15 hours and starting at 2 AM). Tonight I go to work at 1 AM so my time is very limited. From time to time this happens to me. I am earnestly praying for a new job and yet I want to do the will of God completely (1 John 5:14-15). I know that God's ways are not my own and that He has a plan for my life and I simply must submit to Him. I do this by His grace.
Please continue to seek God and pray for me that God will direct my steps. I do hope to pick up my posts in the next few weeks and I will blog as time permits. I enjoy studying God's Word and I enjoy posting my thoughts but lately this has been tough with my sleep pattern being off.
8.14.2008
Objections to Calvinism As It Is
Here is an excellent series of articles taken from the Society of Evangelical Arminians website written by the late Randolph Foster. While written in the 19th century, the articles still are quality reformation Arminainism on objections to Calvinism.
You can find the link to the articles here.
8.13.2008
Foundations for Open Theism: Introduction
We will now turn in our study of Open Theism toward their theological foundations. I will examine four aspects of open theism foundations. Those four will be:
The Hellenized View of God - Open theist maintain that the traditional understanding of God and His sovereignty come not from the pages of Scripture but Greek philosophy mainly that of Platonism. Libertarian Free Will - Human beings have complete free will in respect to both outward and inward choices. Reformation Arminianism is similar in this aspect with open theology teaching libertarian free will but differing with our understanding of God's knowledge of our free choices. Biblical Metaphors - For example, when the Bible says that God changed His mind the traditional view says that this a metaphor and not a reality since God is perfect and unchanging. Open theism believes that this is a revelation of the nature of God's relationship with His creation. These are not metaphors but express truths. Understanding the Future - The traditional view is that since God is timeless then He already sees the future as a present. Open theist believe that God sees the future like we do, open until it arrives. While there are certain things that are fixed such as Jesus' Second Coming, no one knows the day nor the hour until it happens (even God). It will come to pass but the future is open to when it will occur.
Along the way of studying these four points I will try to present the open view as accurately as possible. This, of course, is not always easy to do when you are not of that opinion. I will then conclude this series on open theism by presenting a brief Arminian understanding of open theism and where we differ.
Several have asked what books do I believe are best in studying open theism. From an open viewpoint I would recommend Greg Boyd's God of the Possible and Clark Pinnock's The Openness of God. Both of these books are well written and informative on the open view. From a critical view I would recommend the works of Bruce Ware on the subject. I did enjoy John Piper's Beyond the Bounds however many of the arguments Piper and others in the book used were not only against open theism but against Arminianism in general. Both Ware and Piper are Calvinist and write a defense against both open theism and libertarian free will. However, I did think that Ware did a good job of trying to get Arminians over to his side in the fight against open theism. John Frame's No Other God was a good read but was very Calvinistic in its tone and very much deterministic in its understanding of God's sovereignty.
I will save my personal thoughts on open theism until the last post.
8.10.2008
Best Books on Evangelism
The Holy Spirit has put it in my heart today to pray for the lost. I have been so burdened by China that the Spirit has been praying through me for the nations (Romans 8:26-27). I have been standing upon the promises of God that His heart is for the lost (Matthew 9:37-38) and that He desires that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9). I have been praying from 1 Timothy 2:1-7 that all people would come to the knowledge of the truth. I have been praying from Romans 15:19-21 that God would exalt His name through signs and wonders and that Christ would be preached where His name has yet to be preached. I have been praying Psalm 2:8 asking the Father for the nations for His Son. I have been rejoicing from Revelation 5:9-10 that God has promised to redeem people from "every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth" (ESV). 
There are several good books I would recommend for both praying for the lost and for evangelism in general. If you can recommend any other books just drop a comment to me. Obviously the list is my own and you perhaps have other books that you have read and be touched by that I have not listed.
1. Operation World by Patrick Johnstone. An excellent book for praying for the nations. It contains information on the nations pertaining to their religious, economic, and political culture. It has information on missionaries to the nation as well as the number of Christians in the nations. It contains useful prayer points for both praise to God and concerns.
2. The Way of the Master by Ray Comfort. I would recommend almost any of Comfort's books. His book Hell's Best Kept Secret is very helpful in getting a passion for the lost. This book follows along the same lines as Comfort shows you how to use the Law to bring about conviction of sin (1 Timothy 1:8-10) and true repentance (Luke 24:47).
3. The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman. While somewhat dated now, the book is a very insightful study of how Jesus did evangelism by discipling His twelve and they in turn would disciple others (2 Timothy 2:2). The book is a great New Testament study on evangelism although the gospel is not laid out as clearly as in Ray Comfort's books.
4. Tell the Truth by Will Metzger. While Metzger comes from a Reformed theology background, I truly enjoyed this book. Metzger's point is that Jesus is the gospel! We don't need to make anyone believe but simply tell the truth. How practical is that and even more so it's biblical. The gospel is not a set of points to becoming a Christian but is about the Lord Jesus Christ and our sinfulness in light of His absolute holiness.
5. Evangelism & The Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. Packer writes clearly from a Calvinist perspective on evangelism but he shuns the idea that a true Calvinist should not share their faith. Packer shows that the motivation for evangelism is directly linked to belief in the sovereignty of God. I agree. While I don't agree with some aspects of Packer's Calvinistic theology, I do think that he is right on that salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9) and that evangelism is not coercion to get people to believe but is simply proclaiming the gospel and then leaving the results up to God (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). Packer and I would disagree over unconditional election but we would both agree that the gospel must be proclaimed (John 14:6) and that God alone is our Savior (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
6. The School of Biblical Evangelism by Ray Comfort. This book is quite useful in small groups. It teaches everything from what the gospel is to using the Law in evangelism going through each of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-21) as you confront a person with the Law (Romans 3:19-20). It also covers short chapters on cults and other false teachings you might encounter when sharing the gospel. Very resourceful book.
7. Prayer Evangelism by Ed Silvoso. While I had some problems with this book (for instance Silvoso teaches that certain territory spirits rule over certain regions and we must pray against them; cf. Daniel 10:12-13), I think Silvoso's challenge to pray for the lost is clearly biblical. Evangelism is a supernatural work of God just as regeneration is as well and we must pray for God to exalt His name in the earth. Jesus taught us to pray for the lost (Luke 10:2) and we should follow His and Paul's example as well (Romans 10:1).
8. Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohannan. This book is a challenge to Western Christians to abandon the mindset of sending people in place of simply supporting native missionaries already in a given nation. For example, instead of sending a $50,000 a year missionary from the United States why not just send the $50,000 to support native missionaries already in a nation. In India, $50,000 would support over 100 native missionaries versus sending one American. Very good book on missions.
9. The Road to Reality by K.P. Yohannan. One of the most convicting books you will ever read on missions. Yohannan shows how wasteful the Western Church is while millions of people have yet to hear the gospel. He shows how we spend millions of dollars on things that will not last into eternity but ignore the cries of the lost in nations all around the world. You might not eat at McDonald's again after you read this book and see how you waste God's money for things that are not true reality (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
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