Faith and Repentance

Posted on August 4, 2009 by arator

In his Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem occasionally offers a personal comment relating to the current evangelical state in America. In his chapter on conversion, after showing from Scripture and logic that faith and repentance are inseparable, Grudem gives this analysis:

“When we realize that genuine saving faith must be accompanied by genuine repentance of sin, it helps us to understand why some preaching of the gospel has such inadequate results today. If there is no mention of the need of repentance, sometimes the gospel message becomes only, “Believe in Jesus Christ and be saved” without any mention of repentance at all. But this watered-down version of the gospel does not ask for a wholehearted commitment to Christ—commitment to Christ, if genuine, must include a commitment to turn from sin. Preaching the need for faith without repentance is preaching only half of the gospel. It will result in many people being deceived, thinking that they have heard the Christian gospel and tried it, but nothing has happened. They might even say something like, “I accepted Christ as Savior over and over again and it never worked.” Yet they never really did receive Christ as Their Savior, for he comes to us in his majesty and invites us to receive him as he is—the one who deserves to be, and demands to be, absolute Lord of our lives as well.”
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), pp. 716-717.

This also may help explain why only 8 million of our 16 million Southern Baptists can be found in church on any given Sunday, or why so many of our young people abandon church forever between their freshman and sophomore years in college.

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Lord’s Day 31

Posted on August 2, 2009 by arator

(Second Part: Of Man’s Redemption—Questions 12-85)

83. What is the Office of the Keys?

  • The Preaching of the Holy Gospel and Church Discipline; by which two things the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and shut against unbelievers.

84. How is the kingdom of heaven opened and shut by the Preaching of the Holy Gospel?

  • In this way: that according to the command of Christ, it is proclaimed and openly witnessed to believers, one and all, that as often as they accept with true faith the promise of the Gospel, all their sins are really forgiven them of God for the sake of Christ’s merits; and on the contrary, to all unbelievers and hypocrites, that the wrath of God and eternal condemnation abide on them, so long as they are not converted; according to which witness of the Gospel, will be the judgment of God both in this life and in that which is to come.

85. How is the kingdom of heaven shut and opened by Church Discipline?

  • In this way: that according to the command of Christ, if any under the Christian name show themselves unsound either in doctrine or life, and after repeated brotherly admonition refuse to turn from their errors of evil ways, they are complained of to the church or to its proper officers, and, if they neglect to hear them also, are by them excluded from the Holy Sacraments and the Christian communion, and by God Himself from the kingdom of Christ; and if they promise and show real amendment, they are again received as members of Christ and His Church.

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Surprise, Surprise

Posted on July 31, 2009 by arator

The

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surprise lily is just that; a surprise. The other day I was scratching around the front gate, trying to get a handle on some low-growing weeds near the Don Juan climbing roses. It was mostly spurge, Oxalis, and that low-growing—we hates it, Precious; nasty little…—well, whatever it’s called. Forgive me. I lost it for a bit there. I wouldn’t dignify the spurge with its Latin name except for the fact that it shares a genus with the Christmas poinsettia: Euphorbia. Where was I?

While scratching in the bit of bare ground—except for the afore-mentioned weeds—around the front gate, near the Don Juan climbing roses, it dawned on me just where I was scratching, and what time of year it was, and why that little spot was “bare.” Well, surprise, surprise, but what should I see the next day but a number of pale green bud-tipped shafts emerging from the very spot I was weeding the day before. You see, surprise lilies get their common name from the fact that the one-inch wide strap-like foliage appears in the spring, providing energy to the underground bulb, in order to enable it to produce some flowers. But no flower stalks emerge. After three or four weeks the foliage browns out and dies, and you say “Well, what a cheat.” A couple of months after you forget about it, Gomer Pyle comes around and says “Surprise, surprise.” The shafts emerge quickly and the buds open in just a couple of days to to gorgeous pale-pink trumpets that smell delightful. The scene is a bit surreal because the absence of foliage make the blooms look fake, like someone stabbed plastic flowers in the flower bed.

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Surprise lily is officially known as Lycoris squamigera. How dull can that be? The Latin is necessary in order to accurately identify and categorize, but the common names add color and reflect on culture and human nature. Surprise lily is also known as magic lily, resurrection lily, and—I’ve saved the best/worst for last—nekkid ladies or naked lily, to tone it down a bit. In our front yard we have another representation of the genus Lycoris in the spider lily; L. radiata, which follows a totally different calendar for bloom and foliage periods, not to mention size shape and color. I’ll leave you hanging there in suspense, saving the details until spider lilies come into bloom and make their debut on Friday Floral later this year. I’ll bet you’re biting your nails all ready.

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Surprise lily is easy to grow, with no cold hardiness issues here in Oklahoma. The bulbs are rather large, about the size of a baseball, and rarely need to be dug up and divided. Because they leave the ground bare a good bit of the year you might consider planting them near some other bulbs that bloom at a different time so they can have overlapping spaces. Most commonly, you will find these “pink flamingos” stabbed out in the suburban lawn, a practice I perfectly detest, but it is one solution. The bloom period is when you won’t be mowing much anyway, and when the show is over you can just mow it all down. No mess, no fuss. The only problem is in the spring when the mass of foliage emerges. You have to mow around it for weeks while it becomes a nest for all kinds of vermin. You choose; it’s your yard.

That’s it for this week. Go out and plant something, or scratch up some weeds—the nasties, we hates ’em. If you have a surplus in your garden, then share with neighbors. It makes a great ice breaker for sharing the gospel of Christ. That is, if you’re not trying to pawn off those overgrown baseball-bat zucchinis. See you in church on Sunday.

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Lord’s Day 30

Posted on July 26, 2009 by arator

(Second Part: Of Man’s Redemption—Questions 12-85)

80. What difference is there between the Lord’s Supper and the Popish Mass?

  • The Lord’s Supper testifies to us, that we have full forgiveness of all our sins by the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He Himself has once accomplished on the cross; and that by the Holy Ghost we are ingrafted into Christ, who with His true body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, and is to be there worshiped. But the Mass teaches, that the living and the dead have not forgiveness of sins through the sufferings of Christ, unless Christ is still daily offered for them by the priests; and that Christ is bodily under the form of bread and wine, and is therefore to be worshiped in them. And thus the Mass at bottom is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice and passion of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry.

81. Who are to come unto the table of the Lord?

  • Those who are displeased with themselves for their sins, yet trust that these are forgiven them, and that their remaining infirmity is covered by the passion and death of Christ; who also desire more and more to strengthen their faith and amend their life. But the impenitent and hypocrites eat and drink judgment to themselves.

82. Are they then also to be admitted to this Supper, who show themselves to be, by their confession and life, unbelieving and ungodly?

  • No: for by this the covenant of God is profaned, and His wrath provoked against the whole congregation; wherefore the Christian Church is bound, according to the order of Christ and His Apostles, by the office of the keys to exclude such persons, until they amend their life.

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Fun in the Desert

Posted on July 24, 2009 by arator

This summer has been anything but dry. Usually after the spring rains, summer showers in Oklahoma—even here in northeastern Oklahoma— are few and far between. This year has been different, with soaking rains about every ten days or so. Now I know that summer isn’t even half over, but the extended forecast looks good. Even if it turns off dry from this point, we’ve been blessed this summer. So, let’s talk about drought-tolerant plants.

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The desertwillow,  Chilopsis linearis, is a much overlooked small flowering tree. The reason may be that it is only hardy through zone 6b, roughly the Kansas-Oklahoma border; while the various species of dogwood are hardy to zone 4 or 5. Unlike dogwoods, the desert willow can take poor soil and moisture conditions and never blink an eye.  Desertwillow blooms at a time when hardly any other small tree is blooming, unless you consider crapemyrtle a tree, which you certainly may. Beginning in June, desertwillow blooms in successive flushes till fall. This pic was taken the 11th of June, and the tree is still covered with blossoms. The texture and form is unique, and fits well in a small backyard patio setting, providing a light shade with a wispy effect on a breezy day. Desertwillow rarely reaches more than fifteen feet at maturity, and requires some selective pruning to achieve the desired effect of a strong yet interesting specimen. The only problem is that they are difficult to find in the retail nursery trade, so you will probably have to resort to mail-order.

It looks like it is going to be a beautiful weekend. Enjoy it, and I hope to see you in church this Sunday.

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An Eighteen-point Calvinist?

Posted on July 20, 2009 by arator

Most folks here in Oklahoma probably don’t have a clue who Doug Baker is. You better get to know him, because come August 1 he will take over the reins of our state association’s paper, the Baptist Messenger. The Messenger announced the selection of their new executive editor this last week in two separate articles. I know of Doug Baker from a series of podcast episodes he produced for the North Carolina Baptists. In each of the episodes Baker interviewed a notable pastor or leader on the current SBC scene; men like Ed Stetzer, Johnny Hunt, Tullian Tchividjian, Nathan Finn, Danny Akin, and J. D. Greear. Baker has a clear, distinctive voice, and he knows how to ask the right questions. Go to the link above and check out the interviews. They are all informative and well worth the listen.

As long as I have been reading it, the Baptist Messenger has been a bit on the—how do you say it nicely—mushy side. You know, squishy theology with a generous helping of moralism/legalism, served on an SBC party-line platter. Hopefully that will change with Baker at the helm. Except for a few years as Huckabee’s speech writer, his credentials sure look impressive. Among the men he identifies as having the greatest influence on his life, four of the top five include David Dockery, Timothy George, Danny Akin, and Mark Dever. Does that make him an eighteen-point Calvinist? Needless to say, Baker admires some mighty respectable men.

It sure sounds like change is in the air here in Oklahoma with the arrival of Doug Baker, and I don’t mean just a technological modernization of the Messenger. I smell the real deal here. Maybe the “young and restless” in Oklahoma will have something worth reading before too long. Maybe we old and restless will have something to read too. Keep your fingers crossed. I mean, God willing.

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Lord’s Day 29

Posted on July 19, 2009 by arator

(Second Part: Of Man’s Redemption—Questions 12-85)

78. Do then the bread and wine become the real body and blood of Christ?

  • No: but as the water, in Baptism, is not changed into the blood of Christ, nor becomes the washing away of sins itself, being only the divine token and assurance thereof, so also, in the Lord’s Supper, the sacred bread does not become the body of Christ itself, though agreeably to the nature and usage of sacraments it is called the body of Christ.

79. Why then doth Christ call the bread His body, and the cup His blood, or the New Testament in His blood; and St. Paul, the communion of the body and blood of Christ?

  • Christ speaks thus not without great cause: namely, not only to teach us thereby, that, like as the bread and wine sustain this temporal life, so also His crucified body and shed blood are the true meat and drink of our souls unto life eternal; but much more, by this visible sign and pledge to assure us, that we are as really partakers of His true body and blood, through the working of the Holy Ghost, as we receive by the mouth of the body these holy tokens in remembrance of Him; and that all His sufferings and obedience are as certainly our own, as if we had ourselves suffered and done all in our own person.

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Crepes and Crape Myrtles

Posted on July 17, 2009 by arator

lagers-sonic
One meaning of crepe being defined as “a light, thin fabric with a wrinkled surface,” crape myrtle is aptly named. The petals of the blossom are anything but flat and/or thick, not that you can identify an individual petal of an individual blossom. The cumulative effect is what makes the beauty. The effect is akin to hundreds of colorful tissue papers stuffed through chicken wire holes—a parade float. Lagerstroemia indica is the main lineage of crape myrtles, although several other species have been bred into the commercial trade to produce a variety of desirable traits, dwarfing being one of them. The genus for this group of large shrubs/small trees honors a Swedish merchant Magnus von Lagerström, who first introduced specimens of this oriental beauty to the west.

The crape myrtle fills a work-horse role that cannot be replaced by any one plant material. Here in Oklahoma the bloom period lasts from July till frost. Nothing else can do that in the all too often moisture dearth of an Oklahoma summer. I like the tall ones, but pick any size; with modern breeding programs you can find the right size for your specific spot. Colors range from pure white to deep purple, and every shade in between. A couple of years ago we bought a red and white two-tone. The specimen pictured here has no certified pedigree. I snipped a few green slips at a local Sonic Drive-in of a plant growing in the outdoor eating area, so we dubbed it Sonic. Our specimen is about eighteen feet high, and is likely to eventually reach twenty-five or so.

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You may remember back in the spring the creamy-white flower clusters of arrowwod viburnum. Well, here is honey bees and other insects will make of such blossoms. This display won’t last long as summer progresses toward fall. The birds will begin to pick this shrub clean as other sources of food dries up and becomes more scarce.

It looks like we will be having a break from triple-digit temperatures this week end, so get out and work in your yard. Enjoy all that God has made, and give thanks. See you Sunday.

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Lord’s Day 28

Posted on July 12, 2009 by arator

(Second Part: Of Man’s Redemption—Questions 12-85)

75. How is it signified and sealed unto thee in the Holy Supper that thou dost partake of the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross and all His benefits?

  • Thus; that Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread, and to drink of this cup, and has joined therewith these promises: First, that His body was offered, and broken on the cross for me, and His blood shed for me, as certainly as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me, and the cup communicated to me; and further, that, with His crucified body and shed blood, He Himself feeds and nourishes my soul to everlasting life as certainly as I receive from the hand of the minister, and taste with my mouth, the bread and cup of the Lord, which are given me as certain tokens of the body and blood of Christ.

76. What is it to eat the crucified body and drink the shed blood of Christ?

  • It is not only to embrace with a believing heart all the suffering and death of Christ, and thereby to obtain the forgiveness of sins and eternal life; but moreover also, to be so united more and more to His sacred body by the Holy Ghost, who dwells both in Christ and in us, that although He is in heaven, and we on the earth, we are nevertheless flesh of His flesh and bone of His bones, and live and are governed for ever by one Spirit, as members of the same body are by one soul.

77. Where has Christ promised that He will thus feed and nourish believers with His body and blood, as certainly as they eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup?

  • In the institution of the Supper, which runs thus: The Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said: Take, eat, this is My body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when he had supped, saying: This cup is the New Testament in My blood: This do ye as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.
  • And this promise is repeated also by St. Paul, where he says: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread.

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Nip It in the Bud

Posted on July 10, 2009 by arator

No this is not a post about Barney Fife.

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Magnolia ‘Jane’ is a lovely small tree, one that fits well in the residential landscape. Topping out at around twenty-five feet it will not dwarf a single-story dwelling. The leaves are large and leathery, creating a solid shade. The bare gray scaffolds in winter create an interesting contrast with whatever else is near in the landscape. The blossoms are quite striking, measuring four or five inches across. Not only does it bloom in spring, around the time of its cousin, the star magnolia, but it will often produce a light bloom period later in the summer. For some reason this year most of the blossoms of this second flush have had blemished petals once fully open, so I have chosen to show this tight bud for my Friday Floral. Enjoy. (Remember to click on the thumbnail if you would like to see the pic a bit larger.)

Have a blessed weekend, and give God the glory for it, and everything. See you in his house this Lord’s day.

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