One good thing about Post-Modernity

I'm quite glad that in Asia Post-Modernity is not really something that has innundated churches

since most Asians are far too 'pragmatic' to bother about being post-modern
i think we're still one philosophical age behind.... and we still are very much modern in thinking although hybridised with a weird sense of everything put together

anyway,
there is one good thing that has come out of the relativistic post-modern age

and that is relativism

theology and religion for too long has been taught as an imaginary absolute,
possibly coming from the strange form of transcendancy of God that makes Him semi-integrated with the universe - i.e. coming up with weird notions like natural law (and if I may be bold - later on an inherent moral law)

i.e. a law inbuilt into the system - much more what I think a philosophical kind of universal governance rather than a Sovereign Father
(pS: read this incredible post on the necessity for the abolition of the non-Christ centered 'eternal decrees')

Post-Modernity has made us think that all standards and truths are based on points of view

And so that is the Truth... there is no universal standard of morality, no generic spirituality, no common sense or intellegence...
there is only the Father, Son & Spirit

Truth is Christ, and if you know Him, you know Truth
Good is the Father, and if you are like Him, you are good
Spirituality is the communion with the Spirit, if you have it, you are spiritual

everything IS relative - so WHO are you related to is the most important question in the universe....

Son of Perdition

2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

The phrase "Man of lawlessness" is actually "son of perdition" in KJV
same phrase Jesus supposedly uses of Judas in John 17:12

suggesting an a-millennial view - cf the Revelation paper i wrote

then the coming of the 2nd advent is much like the Cross
where the forces of darkness gain strength
there is a 'handing over hour'
there is much confusion - not sure about the false miracles - but i'm sure that's somehow connected to Exodus plagues linking up to the cross

Judas then is the lawless man that is the 'antiChrist' (cf 1 John 2's definition of antichrist - people from within the church) who is revealed at the appointed time

so continuing with the Revelation theology - what then is Judas? it must be Mammon within the church - the Prostitute will be revealed on the last day... how will it be exposed?

maybe: Luke 2:35 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

the Sword now from the Lord's mouth that will open up the hearts to find Satan within - possessing them just like he did Judas

or something like that...

How to have constant Joy

From here:

God knows that complaining is an expression of our pride, and not only pride in general, but more specifically, arrogance against God Himself. Think with me. We Christians believe that God is sovereign: i.e., that in some way He controls our lives. Therefore, since we believe He either causes or allows everything that happens in our lives, complaining about what happens is an expression of our doubting His wisdom.

Puritan Thomas Watson, in a sermon on contentment preached in 1653, said, “Murmuring is no better than mutiny in the heart; it is a rising up against God. . . . The murmurer chargeth God with folly. This is the language, or rather blasphemy of a murmuring spirit: ‘God might have been a wiser and better God’ . . . Our murmuring is the devil's music.”

Do you see the subtle rebellion against God that Watson describes? Complaining is nothing less than demanding from God an explanation that suits our convenience and comfort. It is calling God to account for my expectations of how I think He ought to be and what I think He ought to do. St. Paul hinted at the danger of such an attitude when he wrote, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” (Romans 9:20).

A century before Watson, John Calvin wrote, “As soon as God does not send what we have desired, we dispute against Him . . . but from what spirit is this pronounced? From a poisoned heart, as if we said, ‘The thing should have been otherwise.’ . . . It is as if we accused God of being a tyrant or a harebrain.”

Complaining is sin because it disputes the goodness of God and thus maligns His character.

St. Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).You will be a more joyful Christian if you learn the secret of being free from complaining. “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I will say it: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

What is Spirituality

Here is my current definition:

It is to open your heart completely to another...
and another, and another and another

such that 2 hearts are utterly joined to one another

therefore it is those who open their hearts utterly to God's open and poured out (Spirit-ed) heart, who can be called spiritual and are the best people to deal with 'sinners' (cf Gal 6:1) - who are the best people who have had their planks removed to handle the specks in others

Rich Young Ruler

A sermon by our senior pastor:

http://zionbpc.org.sg/resources/audio/2010/180410%20Ps%20David%20Wong.wma

what i was fascinated by is how unbiased he is on either side - about giving up all and indeed inheriting all...even in this life

what do you think?

Talk about Genesis!

Rich Owen (cf Glen's blog)does an incredible one...

i advise you to play this sentence by sentence - especially the first 8 minutes!

Listen now, and again and again and again...

Spirituality

Quote by Prof James Houston, Regents College:

"Christian spirituality is Christian 'individuals' becoming persons in Christ"

"individualism to personalism"

"no longer the lonely 'I' but the glorious 'We'"

"I am never more myself when I am most in Christ"

"He gives us a form of hypostasis"

"The true theologians were great saints"

"The true test of theology was the life of sainthood"

"To pray and to do theology are the same thing"

Come to me, then Go to the world

A fantastic heart-warmer from Mr Blackham Senior....
my favourite living Christian...

"I come to Jesus by believing what He says is true..."



http://www.farmfellowship.com/wp/?p=828

Bribery & Corruption

There's a new book in Asia by the Methodist Bishop of Malaysia..

Bribery & Corruption in the Marketplace

in Asia, where corruption is 'unhidden' - as compared to the West where it is all dressed up and nice - what does a Christian in the workplace do?

2 things he says to avoid:
1. withdrawing from the world
2. dualism of church vs marketplace

he proposes an incarnational ministry - where we identify with the world, remain in the world, be distinct from the world for the sake of transforming the world

he distinguishes between active corruption - which every Christian must avoid
and passive acceptance of corruption - where we must try to avoid

using examples like Jesus/John did not ask tax collectors and soldiers to resign but rather act differently

any views on this ?


my thoughts are this:
1. what or WHO are you working for - i.e. what is the purpose of your work
2. what do others see when they see you at work?
- someone like everyone else?
- a good person?
- Christ in you
the 3rd option is the goal... and is far harder than merely being 'hardworking and moral'...

The Basics (2)

An attempt at summarizing 'salvation' in 1 hr

http://www.mediafire.com/?zn5oyndymma

More Hebrew

The word for compassion comes from the root word which means womb

there is another word for womb that is like belly
but sometimes this word which can also be translated mercy is used

so what is the relation between compassion and womb?

for example:

here - Genesis 30:22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

and here - Genesis 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

is the word for compassion/womb

but here - Genesis 25:24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.

and here - Genesis 30:2 Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

is the word for belly/womb

John - any help?

The Resurrection

Brittain keeps going:

http://www.farmfellowship.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/rff100404.mp3

"the first positive earthquake in history.... "
the only one that people were made alive instead of killed!!

Blogging Through Exodus

If you haven't read this series of meditations...

here is a compilation PDF:

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0ByH-45su4eeRYzk3MzQxMWQtZjcxZC00ZmVkLWFjZDMtMjk4OGQ5ZGU4NDlh&hl=en

Ask Seek and Knock

Michael Brittain has now become one of my favorite preachers of all time..

he's only got 2 sermons on the web...
but they are some of the warmest, richest, most encouraging, yet challenging and insightful things i have ever heard...

listen to this one on Matt 7:
http://www.farmfellowship.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/matthews02e07.mp3

pls petition farm fellowship to have him record many more!

The Basics

Catechism class recording on 'the cross'

http://www.mediafire.com/?13nmnttmmwj

Angel vs Devil

John 6:70 70 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil."

Angel - means messenger of God - i.e. one who like the Sent One, communicates everything who the Father is and what He says to others

Devil - means slanderer - one who warps the nature of God to others, that he may be worshipped

check out this attempt on the 'Slander of Judas':
http://www.goingtojesus.com/topic_satan.html?tname=tfe02-16

- click on "Judas the Slanderer" parts 3-6

Adam the failed priest-gardener

check out this post:

http://greenbaggins.wordpress.com/2006/03/13/adam-the-priest-of-the-garden-temple-2/

except for that little comment about the covenant of works =)

The generated soul

Dichotomy - soul/spirit plus body ( 1 cor 7:34, James 2:26, etc)

or

Trichotomy - spirit plus soul plus body (1 Thess 5:23)


what about:

Input = spirit / breathed-in / wind / inner being

Output = flesh / body / members / outer being

Input animates output: James 2:26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Spirit always controls flesh

but how about interaction between spirit & flesh = soul/heart/mind/neck

a Living and Holy spirit - generates an eternal and holy being

the original spirit blown into Adam then - is the Holy Spirit
but like in Stephen's speech - Adam rejected this Spirit
and listened instead to other spirits

the interaction between the flesh and spirit then produces Adam's character - a sinful puppet - controlled by an external spirit

salvation then comes with a 'renewed Spirit' - which unlocks the decayed and hardened deadwood, and allows the life-blood to now flow in and animate the flesh and release it from its puppet-life

the man is now a new man - a real man, animated flesh in submissive listening to the Counsellor

this then renews the soul - creates a new life

one that will continuously be renewed for all eternity - become a 'personality' identical to that of Christ

no wonder the necessity to separate soul from spirit and even flesh from bone by the Word of God (cf Heb 4)

still fiddling with this... let me know your thoughts

Playing on the heart-strings

Ever heard this?



I used to love the song

but actually here's an interesting point..
what Satan does in both the garden of Eden & the wilderness which Christ entered
is he's playing on the affections of the Man

He knows the Man loves the woman...
his temptations are to corrupt the woman, and via the woman, control the Man

He knows the woman is the 'weaker vessel' and easy to become a 'vessel of corruption'

but his goal is the Head-Man
and he will play on His affections for His helper-opposite
He sings to Man a twisted love song for the woman...

Christ then has to judge between His love for His Father and His love for His Bride
Satan makes it seem that there must be a choice - He can only love one, and it seems that He must lose or 'leave' the other

Christ's love for His bride then must be monumentally strong if this is even a real temptation - even after seeing 'the heart of men' for a number of decades
At Gethsemane - He longs for their to be another way... not for an opt-out clause... He really must have His Bride

Yet the Spirit continuously reminds Him that He will get His Bride if He listens to His Father - His Father also longs for them to come into a heavenly home that He has ordained and prepared for them both

The vocal chords of Satan are cut at the cross, and his fiddle goes silent... right now all he plays is some horrendous heavy-metal sounds by smashing the remainder of his wrecked stage - making lots of noise to those who think that sounds like 'music'

The harmony of the orchestra of God is continuously enriched with more and more musical instruments as each 'living stone' is added to the eternal symphony, supported by angelic back up...

Church Dogmatics by Karl Barth for < $100

For those interested....

http://blogs.christianbook.com/blogs/academic/2010/03/19/karl-barths-church-dogmatics-14-vols-ed-bromiley-torrance/

The Lord will be Seen

Genesis 22:14 wayyiqrä´ ´abrähäm šë|m-hammäqôm hahû´ yhwh(´ädönäy) yir´è ´ášer yë´ämër hayyôm Bühar yhwh(´ädönäy) yërä´è

Literally - Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord will see"; that they might say to-day, On the mount the Lord will be seen

what do you think?

Repentance requires atonement

The whole idea of repentance very often trickles into a works-based mindset

'Father forgive me, i've done something wrong'
'Go my son and don't do it again'

and i keep doing this each time i have sinned, to pay my own price for the wrong

but actually this form of repentance could only work on a completely UNJUST God.. who does not care two-bits about anything

"Dad I'm sorry I stabbed my brother" - "No problem son, don't do it again"

It is completely heartless...

The true repentance coupled with faith is based on the fact that the wrongdoing is already paid for in full at the cross.

That the guilt of the sin is paid for already, and repentance/faith is a pleading for the healing blood to cover and to wash away the source of sin

'Father forgive me, i've done something wrong'
'Son, here is your Brother's body and His blood, paid in advance for your wrongdoing, eat and drink and be healed'

Blind Spots of Discipleship - Part 1

A sermon given last Sunday - on Mark 9:30-50:

http://zionbpc.org.sg/resources/audio/2010/140310%20Dr%20Dev%20Menon.wma

meanwhile - just led a team of 6 young adults to Kolkata for a mission trip
great work being done here:
SAMARITANS HELPS of INDIA
(you won't find anything about them on the internet - but here's one article:
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/learning_from_children/)

they need plenty of support - especially with people willing to actually go there

i got plenty out of it
including what i suspect is viral meningitis from the 10,000 mosquito bites

Swallowing

Death is portrayed as a hungry monster... always wanting to swallow up or consume the Living

Numbers 16:34 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up!"


Jonah and the fish are an appropriate picture - death swallows up the One who gives up His Spirit - yet death cannot hold Him

but in this case.. if the story of Jonah were to continue like that...

Jonah now would sit down and eat the entire fish for breakfast:
Isaiah 25:8 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.

or perhaps
from inside the fish... Jonah would begin to eat it whole.... ?

something like this:

Wisdom

Leithart on the wisdom books:

What is wisdom? Follow the canonical progression of wisdom books.

Proverbs: There are two women. Choose Lady Wisdom and reject Lady Folly.

Ecclesiastes: All is hebel. Death looms. Therefore, eat, drink, rejoice in the wife of your youth. Joy in your wife is the way to Lady Wisdom.

Song of Songs: A man rejoices in his bride, eating and drinking a feast of love.

So:

Wisdom is about sex: Proverbs says, Choose the right woman; Ecclesiastes says, Cling to her in defiance of decay; the Song says, Love brings you back to the garden.

Or: Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. Joy in defiance of death is wisdom coming to maturity. Fulfilled wisdom is knowing that love is as strong as death.

Or: Proverbs is priestly wisdom, distinguishing wisdom and folly. Ecclesiastes is kingly wisdom, rendering judgments in the midst of darkness. The Song is prophetic wisdom, the hope of future harmony.

Or: Proverbs is past; Ecclesiastes is present; the Song is future.

Or: Proverbs is the Father; Ecclesiastes the Son; the Song is the Song of the Spirit.

Wife verses Mother

Genesis 24:67 67 Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

The mother of Christ dies... and now Christ is comforted by His Bride - in His mother's tent... all made into a new family home

Bible

A rather dull talk by me on the Bible

http://www.mediafire.com/?dak1jno0z2j

for catechism class

Daniel in the Lion's Den

Mark 1:12-13 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

See to it Yourself

Matthew 27:3-5 3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.

The legalistic view of the law, embodied here by the Pharisees, can never deliver

it can convict one of sin - cf. Rom 7
and then when one comes to it as a sinner
it replies: "So what? You deal with it"

and that's exactly what Judas does - he deals with it himself

this is all the morality and legality of the world can do (the Christless view of God's shadows)
it leads to self-death

Exodus 5

Glen's blogging through Exodus for lent - here's Exodus 5:

And so Moses and Aaron, fearing the weakening of the modern family, the slow but steady erosion of Israelite values in public life and their worsening working conditions decided to do the only thing upstanding, God-fearing folk can do – they formed a political pressure group. They called it CHANGE: Campaigning Hebrews for A Nicer Gentler Egypt.

They got the best legal advice, produced petitions by the armful and exploited every political contact they knew. In time they broadened their support base and went ‘co-belligerent’ with several other non-Israelite lobbies. Out of this was birthed the Campaigning Religious Interest-groups for a Nicer Gentler Egypt.

Some claimed that this rainbow coalition weakened their position but others insisted that CRINGE struck exactly the right note for the multicultural sensibilities of modern Egypt.

The combination of Moses’ wisdom, his knowledge of Egyptian philosophy, his family connections and his brother’s gift of the gab, make for a considerable force in Egyptian politics. Maybe this way Egypt will be straightened out a little and God’s people will not suffer so much.

But no...

Read the rest here

Merchant-Shepherds

Peter Leithart on Zechariah 11:

The best I can make, at this point, of Matthew’s strange conflated quotation of Jeremiah 18-19/Zechariah 11 in Matthew 27:9-10.

Judas took thirty pieces of silver from the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus. Reading this in the light of Zechariah 11, we know that this expresses the contempt of the Jews for Jesus’ labors as the shepherd who seeks to raise up those who are thrown down (9:36). Also in the light of Zechariah 11, there is the ironic hint that Judas functions as the true shepherd of Israel, the shepherd who is shepherding them toward destruction.

Judas throws the money back in the temple, where it comes before the face of God. Innocent blood is “thrown” in the form of money into the presence of God. God will arise and scatter His enemies, and destroy the house defiled with innocent blood.

The Jews know this, and rapidly remove the defilement from the temple by purchasing a field belonging to a potter. This fulfills the thrust of Zechariah 11, which says that the contemptuous wages are thrown into the house of Yahweh “for the potter.” Perhaps “potter” alludes to Yahweh as potter, the “fashioner” of Adam (Genesis 2:7-8) and, more importantly, the potter who formed Israel for Himself (Isaiah 64:8). Potters or “fashioners” are also linked to idolatry in the Old Testament (Isaiah 44, repeatedly).

That allusion to idolatry brings Jeremiah 18-19 into play, which Matthew alludes to by his mention of Jeremiah as the source of the prophecy. According to 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6 and Jeremiah 7:31-32, the valley of Ben-hinnom, also known as Topheth, was a place where innocent blood was shed, where children passed through the fire to Molech. High places were set up for idolatrous worship. It was a “field of the potter” because there idols “fashioned” by craftsmen were worshiped; it was a field of blood because it was the place where human sacrifices were offered. Matthew connects the field purchased by the Jewish leaders with this field of idolatry and the shedding of innocent blood.

The valley of Ben-hinnom, Topheth, Jeremiah says, will become a place of burial. So many will be slaughtered in the coming invasion from Babylon that there will be no place else to bury the dead. The “sacred” grove of Topheth will be defiled by corpses. Matthew also mentions burial, but in Matthew 27, the burial seems to be more a charitable cause.

In the valley of Ben-hinnom, Jeremiah breaks a clay pot, shatters pottery, as a sign of what Yahweh, the Great Potter of Israel, is going to do with the ruined pot of His people. They have filled the land with the blood of the innocent, and so they are going to be shattered. They have behaved like the kings of the earth, resisting the Lord and His anointed, and they will be smashed like pottery (Psalm 2). Matthew issues the same warning to the first-century Jews. They too are a pot destined for destruction.

Finally, Jeremiah 32 might also play a role. There, Jeremiah purchases a piece of land, which is a pledge of Israel’s return from exile, a pledge of their eventual re-possession of the land. Abraham made a similar purchase, importantly a purchase of a burial plot for Sarah, which served as the first bit of land that he owned. Jesus blood, transformed to money, purchases an Abraham-like burial plot in a land that is not His. But it is a pledge of a later inheritance. Jesus’ blood buys the land, and the world.

_________

Jesus’ condemnation of the temple as a “den of brigands” is drawn from Jeremiah’s temple speech. Because of the idolatries, injustices, and bloodthirstiness of the temple authorities, the temple is going to be destroyed.

But the text might also hold a fainter allusion to Zechariah 11. Matthew conflates Zechariah and Jeremiah in chapter 27, and his explicit quotations from Zechariah (your king is coming; strike the Shepherd; thirty pieces of silver) are interspersed throughout the Passion narrative not only with references to Psalms (22; 69) but also to Lamentations and Jeremiah (on Lamentation allusions, see David Moffitt’s 2006 article in JBL).

In his narrative of the shepherd in chapter 11, Zechariah condemns the shepherds of Israel who enrich themselves by selling off the flock. Jesus’ interruption of the buying and selling in the temple is, as NT Wright says, an interruption of the sacrificial procedures. It is also, in the light of Zechariah 11, a symbolic condemnation of the practice of the priests, who enrich themselves on the people, whose perverse priestly work involves slaughtering not flock-animals but the flock of Israel.

Zechariah says that the priests have no more pity for the people than they do for a sacrificial animal (cf. Marvin Sweeney’s Berit Olam commentary on Zechariah). ”No pity” is the demand of herem warfare; making holy war against substitutionary animals is what priests do. They are not to carry out a war of utter destruction against the people. They are not to treat Israel as Canaanites. In response, Yahweh threatens an eye-for-eye punishment. The shepherds have no pity, Yahweh will have no pity. Herem for herem.

Zechariah 11 fits the temple scene in Matthew very neatly. The priests of Jesus’ day are as corrupt as the priests of Jeremiah’s and Zechariah’s day. They make war on the people without pity, “selling” them into slavery (including the slave yoke of oral traditioned Torah) and enriching themselves as a result (much as Eli and his sons made themselves fat by abusing the flock/flock). Jesus’ enacts Yahweh’s coming herem against Jerusalem and Herod’s temple.

____________________

A gloss on my comments on Matthew 27 earlier today: Judas is indeed an ironic version shepherd of Zechariah 11. He is hired by the merchant-shepherds for thirty pieces of silver (drawing again on Sweeney on Zechariah). Judas delivers up a lamb, the Lamb, to the priests to slaughter. He is the instrument of the oppressive priests in carrying out holy war against the flock, a mercenary shepherd, and not only the instrument but the exemplar: Judas makes explicit what the priests are generally doing, which is slaughtering the flock of Yahweh to enrich themselves.

He is also the shepherd of Zechariah 11 in renouncing his role. He refuses to be shepherd leading the Lamb to slaughter, and throws his wages back into the temple treasury.

___________________

Zechariah ends with “In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts.”

How’d we get Canaanites in the house of the Lord to begin with? Sweeney points out that the LXX of Zechariah 11:7 assumes a different vowel-pointing than the MT, and thus has “the Canaanites of the sheep” rather than the “poor of the sheep.” He notes that “Canaanite” can mean “merchant,” which fits the context of Zechariah 11 with its reference to commerce in human sheep. Zechariah ends by promising that the house of the Lord will be cleansed of sheep-merchants who serve only for their own gain. Like Ezekiel 34, Zechariah promises true shepherds for the people of God, shepherds led by and following the example of the divine Shepherd.

The Contact Point (2)

Added quote from "Know the Truth - Bruce Milne"

"According to Scripture man is already aware of God but has rejected this witness. The Christian's task is to confront the non-Christian with the God of whom he is already aware, not to consider his (sinful)presupposition that God might not exist"

Pastoral Calling

Matthew 9:36 - 10:1 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Refer:
http://youarethechrist.blogspot.com/2009/08/reap-harvest-of-righteousness.html

The calling is for shepherds - the call of the harvest is a pastoral calling - where are the shepherds?

John 4:35 35 Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

The calling is not for evangelists - the Samaritan woman has sown the seeds - now He needs harvesters - pastor/teachers - to grow and collect the righteousness

Here's a really silly question...

I may be really blind...

but can I ask .. is there anywhere in the OT that states that a willful (or purposeful) sin is paid for by a sacrifice?

as in... someone sins, committing X, therefore the 'antidote' is sacrifice Y?

as far as I see.. there are regular sacrifices, and sacrifices for unintentional (or by mistake) sins

i'm sure i'm wrong - so someone please correct me...

What is Truth? (2)

The problem with most of us is we see sin as the absence of what is good

wherelse in the garden of Eden,
we see Satan not coming as one who is devoid of good,
but one who was perfect, purposefully corrupting what is good

Sin, like darkness, is not the absence of light,
but the corruption of light - therefore darkness in Scripture is something tangible rather than the absence of something

Matthew 6:23 If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

The Light becomes darkness, because of the willful suppression of the Truth - the squinty eye allows only a polarized view of light to enter - so this then is darkness

Lies are half-truths and false-truths

So when we look at individuals, or teachings, or philosophies
we cannot say 'oh, there is something good in there'
but rather - they are willful corruptions of truth
biblically - they are ANTI-Christ
the worst kind of evil (rather the only kind of evil)
Twisting the truth is far more deadly

therefore sin is not a foreign concept
it stems also from Who Christ is
Sin is simply our purposeful corruption of Him - like Satan did in the wilderness

Corrupt light is no longer useful for anything
it must be treated as blindness,
the cure for corrupt light is not to re-polarise
it is impossible
the cure - is to shine True Light into the darkness
then the 'light within us which is darkness' cannot overcome it

The Holy Spirit is not a Western-Counsellor

Psalm 37:4 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Cf this post on Glen's blog: http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/god-is-a-haggler/

Lately I've asked someone to give me some training on Biblical counseling,
he made an interesting observation:

"We in Asia don't act the same way as Western counselors
when people come to us with a problem - they actually want a solution"

Actually I've realised that when I come to spend time with God,
I have "gotten past" the - 'here is my shopping list God' stage
and into the more 'spiritual' stage of 'just-listening'
but i wonder if i was actually listening,
actually now i think i've come to God simply just to feel better

The Spirit is there to counsel, meaning to intercede
to search my heart and take my desires to my Father,
and compare them with His heart, and respond with an answer

He is meant to grant me my desires - if they match His
So does He deal with Christ - and gives Him the desires of His heart - which are also the desires of His Father's heart

therefore my position in prayer is one of pleading, either for myself or for others
Jeremiah 27:18 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, then let them intercede with the LORD of hosts,

My other position in prayer therefore is wrestling
- i.e. Gethsemane
From reading His Word i realise that my desires do not match His desires, and I must wrestle with Him until I submit and accept His will
only then is there peace and even future joy

Therefore I do not just come to 'feel good'
but to petition and to wrestle with my flesh
The Spirit will probe and poke me and guide me until I am matching Christ's mind
thus the more I spend with Him - the more He counsels

Perhaps something like that?

The Doctrines of Scripture

Authority, Inspiration, Inerrancy, Infallibility, Preservation... etc..
there are dozens of books on each of those doctrines

What i've come to note is that many of them although in theory talk about the Holy Spirit, still are very mechanical in understanding rather than Personal, Relational and Trinitarian

for example, authority
what makes the Bible authoritative?
it has been 'delegated' (their word) authority by God - therefore it is authoritative
God is authoritative because of who He is - i.e. Powerful, and what He does, i.e. Creator, etc

unlike certain other 'holy books' the Bible is not an eternal thing and has no authority in itself per se

But perhaps a better understanding of authority would be this
The Scripture is God-breathed, i.e. It comes out of the mouth of the Father - it is God-Spirited

What gives the Father authority? is it not the Son? The Son declares to the world that my Father is worth listening to... and I'll prove it

Therefore as Romans 8 says - the conviction of the Spirit is not so much the conviction of the authority or inspiration or inerrancy, etc of Scripture - but the conviction of sonship

We now know He is our Father - therefore we listen to Him - and we learn to listen to Him from His Son, and we listen to Him via His Spirit and all that His Spirit has done - whether in history, creation, or Scripture, or within the lives of other Spirit-filled individuals
(hence Paul's claim is sufficient to be authoritative: 1 Corinthians 7:40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. )

When we are attuned to our Father's voice, we know how to deal with Scripture - we believe in it in the way it's meant to be, and we can read it the way it's meant to be read - all through Christ as shown by Christ

these 'mechanical doctrines' (of course some better versions are written in the above manner) may have some use in technical and academic debate
but are they of any use to faith? if not, then by definition they are use-less
and if you follow these 'robotic' doctrines - it inevitably undermines faith, as was very evident from the discussions people are having

Listen to the words of Christ, and He will point you to the Father through the Spirited-Word of God - then you will be able to see the true inspiration of Scripture, recognise its authority rightly, and interpret it in increasing measure - all of benefit to a true and dynamic faith

because you are now convicted that He has said, You are my Son - today I have begotten you - and then you respond - Abba, Father

The Returning Word

Here's a thought experiment into some Barthian theology of Scripture..
not even sure what I make of it myself

Barth, if I understand, explains that the Scriptures 'become' the Word of God through 'personal encounter' with Jesus, via the Spirit

I wonder then if we can continue - is then the written Word a temporary thing, like the old covenant, designed to pass away?

The Word must go out, and it is not designed to stay out, but to return, and so the written Word is temporary, and must fade - it must enter the hearts and minds of men, and continue it's outgoing, creative work

Then once accomplished, it will return to the Source, the Father, where it performs its incoming, restive work... bringing the lives of those it has made with it

so then the actual book.. unlike certain other religious theologies.. is hardly eternal, but inherently old...

what do you think?
just a flight of fancy..

The Grave Can Have Children

Colossians 1:18 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Christ is the firstborn 'from the dead' - the barren grave can now have children
- David Field

The dust returns to dust
That which was made from the old darkness, returns to darkness
animated briefly by the echo of the Word of God

Christ then infuses with the dust
making it permanently alive
then He plunges down into the barren grave
and ignites it, bringing Life and Light to all who would remain

Then He pulls out His children, also infused with the Word that remained in them,
clinging on as a branch to the true 'Jack and the Beanstalk Vine'
The Vine that reached down into the depths,
and raised us up into the heavens

Scripture

The only context of Scripture... is Christ

Falling off the horse

Jesus is not 'the middle way' from 2 extremes,

we are walking along a narrow ridge, to fall to the left or the right means to have our foot slip

He is the narrow path and either way is death

when our foot slips, we catch on again to Jesus - or we die

Mixed Martial Christians

"The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries — and into the image of Jesus — in the hope of making Christianity more appealing. “Compassion and love — we agree with all that stuff, too,” said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. “But what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter.”
The outreach is part of a larger and more longstanding effort on the part of some ministers who fear that their churches have become too feminized, promoting kindness and compassion at the expense of strength and responsibility. "

Read more here.

Thoughts?

The Faithful 'Bride'

Numbers 5 starts out with a summary of uncleanness - and its consequence being a casting of those individuals outside the camp

then follows on to the sacrifice of atonement by the ram for confession of sins and a restitution of the sins

then comes to this very weird bit on the unfaithful wife:
- if she hides her adultery, she is judged, and cursed

Numbers 5:12-14 12 "Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself,

This is possibly the reference that James is taking here:
James 4:4-6 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

The Spirit of God yearns jealously over His Bride
the adultery of the bride angers the groom fiercely
If she does not admit to the groom and come back to him, but holds on to her iniquity
her thigh (indication of faithfulness) will waste away - and she will bear no children

so then with the children of God that our Groom years jealously over

but then in Numbers 6 - comes the 'true Bride'
the one with long hair
who will not drink of another spirit (also cf. 1 Tim 3:8)
- the one utterly dedicated/consecrated to the one He follows and submits to

He then will cause this:
Numbers 6:23-27 23 "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, 24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 27 "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

His name will be put upon the unfaithful bride of Israel, and they will be blessed in Him, the Lord will shine the in the face of Jesus, His marvelous grace

So then knowing this salvation, let us no longer grieve the Spirit of jealousy who dwells within us, since the atoning sacrifice has been made, restitution has been given 120% - and we are all pronounced 'clean' and invited into the camp

The Scaffolding of The City Of God

Eden was never God's plan...

It was a taster for us..

God is a city-builder - His goal is the heavenly Jerusalem on Mount Zion

In preparation for His City
He builds the scaffolding (the tent) of the current creation

The scaffolding is necessary - it shadows the design, it gives some semblance of the product
Yet the scaffolding is like a mere seed compared with an oak tree - it pales in comparison

The scaffolding is flimsy and temporary
(much like the OT law & covenant)
The finished city is eternal and powerful
(think CS Lewis on the strength of the blade of grass in the new creation that can pierce through the old body's feet)

This creation is the scaffolding for the new creation
The flesh is built to be the vessel for the Spirit

However in having efficient construction - the scaffolding is consumed in the creation
The Flesh is infused with the Spirit (cf Irenaeus)

Jesus came and was built in the scaffolding of the flesh
then filled the flesh with the substance of the Spirit
(man shall not live by bread alone...)

The Spirit then infuses the flesh
and now needs the final process - the kiln/furnace - the fires of judgement

the testing that completely fuses flesh with Spirit - to create a spiritual body
the dross or the remnant of the scaffolding is then burned away

leaving the new creation
Here then in Christ in His eternal resurrection form
Here is our destiny - now we are still being infused, some are waiting for the permanent fusing
All creation will follow suit

Then is Zion built in glory, and the Father joins in His Creative work finished

The Contact Point

The whole issue of general revelation and natural theology concluded it's application in the manner of evangelism...

(http://youarethechrist.blogspot.com/2010/01/idolatrous-creation.html)

In fact most major outreaches are based on this form of theology

the basis is I start with a common ground of understanding about God or the Divine with non-Christians and from there I sort of guide it to the 'full revelation' of the Living God

Whether or not certain evangelicals believe in natural theology, their evangelism based on general revelation is exactly the same in methodology - just perhaps less obvious

So then, if there is no such thing as 'idolatrous revelation' - which I shall rename it such - and all revelation is Christological (there is the corrupted reception of that revelation in man), is there a contact point?

Well I think there is:

In all Biblical evangelism - the contact point is the pointing out of the absence of the knowledge of the True & Living God:

Acts 14/17 - that Paul points out you don't know Who He is, you can't see Him in His creation

Even if we do some tracing throughout the Bible i think this is also true
people's words and actions reveal that they know something that pagans do not know

From Daniel & Joseph interpreting dreams,
Jeremiah buying a piece of 'useless' land,
The prophets saying 'thus says the Lord'
etc...

This may initially look like some form of 'gnosticism' (i.e. the secret knowledge)
So what is the difference?
The difference is the gnostics used knowledge to raise themselves above others - which basically is the same as any form of intellectualism today (and most other types of self-exaltation)

The knowledge of Christ on the other hand - translates into service, into an entering or incarnating into the World, to shine this Gnosis, this Logos for all things into the World - showing the world that they live in darkness - they are unknown by the Living God neither do they know Him

Thus the labour of Christians is not in evangelistic method,
but in the knowledge of Christ (Eph 1:17), in becoming more of His likeness (holiness), etc

this then will cause us to live in a manner that declares our Gnosis to the world, and that they do not know Him at all - this is the manner of letting our light shine before men and not hiding it under a bushel

Then the Light will illuminate the darkness, and it shall not comprehend - then the choice will be clear, run away and hate the light, or remain in the Light to have fellowship with the Light, that the darkness may be overcome by the Light


http://youarethechrist.blogspot.com/2008/09/simple-theology-of-evangelism.html

So then, what is our evangelism strategy? Labour in the knowledge of Christ, Labour in holiness, Let your light shine before men - that they may realise they are in darkness, and come into the Light to glorify the unknown True and Living God

The contact point is Light Shining in the Darkness

The Grace of Communion

You MUST listen to this talk!

Go Rich Owen!

http://www.cecleeds.co.uk/download.php?file=downloads/sermons/1%20Corinthians/20100117am_Rich%2BOwen_1%2BCorinthians%2B11%253A17-34_C18%2BThe%2Bdivided%2Bchurch.mp3

The Idolatrous Creation?

Been hearing lectures on General Revelation and irked by them

if general revelation (the supposed generic and universal revelation of God in creation, providence and conscience), is supposed to give a non-salvific view of God - then surely creation is idolatrous!

creation proclaims Christ.

http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/creations-voice-proclaims-what/

Acts 14:15-17 15 "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."

What does this mean? that men understood this?
No it implies you've been looking at the Word of God in the rain and the Bread of Heaven being witnessed to in creation and you haven't seen anything!
Those Zeus guys and Hermes - they're vain things - there is a Creator God you don't know!

Acts 17:23-24 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

Again, what about this... ?
It implies that YOU DON'T KNOW this God - HE is UNKNOWN to you. Thus I, Paul, am explaining and REVEALING Him to you....
you are without excuse.... look at that statue...

Creation proclaims Christ.

We cannot see Christ because we are sinful.
The fact that we cannot understand God by looking at creation reveals that we do not know God... it works the same way as how people don't understand Jesus' parables

because the Word of God is the same everywhere..
the Scriptures, Creation, Providence, etc... all point to Christ
and all work in the same way

in Christ, you understand
outside of Christ, you realise you are condemned and you don't know Him.

Surely you cannot know half of God!
the God of Creation is the God of redemption - all solely revealed in Christ
it is very weird if creation and providence reveal only the toenails of Christ... which is basically what this theology is saying

i'm not even going to get into human conscience... surely if anything this one creates the MOST idols!

The Haiti Disaster

Glen posts an explanation for the disasters like Haiti:

http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/more-than-a-million-dead/

The non-Christian can hope for nothing greater than ’safer’ buildings on the same old fault line. And as they labour admirably for this, many will ask why God does not seem to be cooperating with their desire to pretty up the demolition site. They plan to build some lovely houses on this sand and they imagine God to be standing in the way of their saving purposes. Of course it’s the other way around...

The Lord has a salvation so audacious He can call earthquakes ‘birth-pains’. (As can Paul – Rom 8:22).

I believe in God

"If we believe in God, we musts expect that our old ways of thinking and living will be continually shaken to the foundations. If we believe in God, we will have to become seekers, pilgrims, pioneers with no permanent residence. We will no longer be satisfied with the unexamined beliefs and practices of our everyday personal and social world. If we believe in God we will necessarily question the gods of power, wealth, nationality, and race that clamor for our allegiance. Christian faith is thinking faith.

...

Theology is a strenuous inquiry, a process of seeking, contending, wrestling, like Jacob with the angel until dawn, wanting to be blessed and limping away from the struggle."

- Daniel L. Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding

What is Truth?

John 18:37-38 Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. 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." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Truth is often seen as something philosophical
but yet even in our society - we have felt the effects of truth and lies
it is indeed something very tangible

Truth is something reliable, it is rock-solid, it is there when everything else fails you - it is something to hold on to

A lie is something that is changing, it is a nothing, it does not exist, and it brings only doubt and fear and depression

Our society has come to a point that there is no truth (not that we have just come to it - as it seems Pontius Pilate was already postmodern!!) - therefore it means that there is nothing that we can rely on... the only truth is that life has no truth
- perhaps the only truth that we can hold on to - is death - therefore it is not truth - since we cannot grasp death

So when Jesus comes to show us that He is the Truth - He points us that there is only one Faithful One, One Rock, One Steadfast Being - the Truth is Christ, the Truth is the unchanging nature of God - that He is love

That Truth will indeed set people free

As we stand on the Rock of this Truth, we are then grounded
we are no longer on sinking or shaky ground

we are then built up to be free to love, to serve, to give

no one standing on shaky ground can give of himself, they must take, they must grasp, they must hold onto every strand of 'reality' that comes along

The one on the Rock is free... to pour himself out - even till death - because the Truth continues even after death is long gone

Come to Christ you who are shaky and weary of stepping on loose foundations - He will set your feet on solid ground - your foot will not slip

Which is easier?

Mark 2:9 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'?

Been having a few of these discussions with people

most people seem to think these 2 things are equally difficult, or maybe the sin-forgiving thing is just a bit harder...

Let me ask it in another way:

If I was a carpenter.... and I decided to build my house, I'd do 2 things:

first, I'd build a house (i.e. a building) with my own hands
then, I'd build a household (i.e. a family), with my own being

If then a storm arose within both house and household,
the house building would be in pieces and the wood and brick scattered all round
and the household would be in pieces from the mistrust, dissension, anger, envy, etc...

If then I were to fix both,
for the house, I'd simply get more material, or use what is existing and rebuild,
it would take some time and have some cost

For the household.... a lifetime, my entire bank account, all my faculties, my blood sweat and tears may not be enough

The price of reconciliation is my entire being..
the cost is infinite

Which then is harder?

One comes with a snap of the Finger of God
The other, with the Blood of God

The Eternal Word

In some versions of the Nicene Creed
"only-begotten" is translated "eternally begotten"

I think this is right - as in Christ is the Eternal Son of God

Meaning He is the Eternal Word of God
always coming out from from the Father

In this sense - He is always being begotten
or rather, every day He is born

for this to happen, it also means - He is always born-again
He is ever new, ever out of the Father, coming back 'into' the Father

"Out of the heart, the mouth speaks"

Jesus comes out of the Father, being the Father's heart
He then returns into the Father to the Father's heart
to be refreshed in and by the Father, always coming forth

so also we too as Christians learn this intimacy
and come into the heart of the Father by being in Christ

The Son was cut-off from the Father so that He can be reformed with us included
bringing us into this cycle of always being born-again

There is no pain in this eternal child-birth
since pain and not childbirth is the consequence of sin
and the true childbirth (as we know from having spiritual children)
is always one of great joy

Thus Christ is always re-created by the Father
He is always His ever-new-ever-fresh Word from His heart

so then the distinction between us and God is not begotten vs created
(i know I'm going pretty heretical here)
but - Luke 3 - Adam begotten of God

The distinction is the presence of the Spirit of God
which we reject and therefore are dead and separate

once we are filled and indwelt by the Spirit of God
we are sent straight into the Father's heart in Christ
equipped, empowered, and sent back out
and so we enter the eternal begottenness cycle...
for countless ages it can only get more glorious =)

The Other Woman

Luke 16:18 18 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Notice that this verse seems to be in the middle of nowhere...
all the whole passage is talking about money .. or rather Mammon (what I possess)

Spiritual adultery therefore is being united to the other woman... her name is Mammon, she is Babylon, Folly, Wickedness - the scarlet woman

The only reason anyone serves other gods is for Mammon's sake
Even the gods and Satan serve her...

Therefore the choice in this age is very simple... God or Mammon, Wisdom or Folly
there is no other woman

The Complete Vindication of Jesus

Why is there the complete destruction of the wicked?
is it because of sins...

yes - but in the sense that it is because of the sins against Christ on the cross

Jesus was vindicated in His resurrection...
but His total vindication is the destruction of His accusers

and so the church shares in His vindication - since we are His body

Daniel 6:6-9 6 Then these presidents and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked." 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

Daniel 6:23-24 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions- they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

thus the complete (or eternal) destruction of the wicked - is based on the Cross of Christ... it is and must be for all eternity - so that He is completely proved righteous

check out this amazing sermon from farm fellowship - by Ian Foulds:
http://www.farmfellowship.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/daniel06.mp3

The Two Non-Sons

In the parable of the prodigal Son..

it is a most curious thing... since the 2 preceeding parables are about a lost coin and sheep... but then those remaining with the 'owner' are those 'who have no need of repentance'

I suggest that in the prodigal son - neither son is a son
the prodigal refuses his sonship, rejects his inheritance and goes to become an orphan
the remaining son, denies his sonship, and insists on being treated like a servant - "where are my wages, boss"

Thus in the parallel - the tax collectors and prostitutes are the lost son, and the pharisees and scribes the son-servant

in another parallel - the Gentiles are those pigs lost to their own pleasures, and the Jews the servants (Gal 4) who refuse the adoption as sons

Therefore to be a true son, born by natural birth, but born by adoption - spiritual birth, but must be received into sonship - in either way - one must come into the loving arms of the Father that dearly cares for both...

New Creation Ex Nihilo

Referring to several previous posts...

I am still in the dilemma what it means to be a new creation
both in the individual and in the cosmic sense

i have learned a few things:
1. New - means renewed and constantly so (like eternally begotten)
2. The fires of judgment are like those of a refinery - burning the dross and refining the gold and silver
3. The tree is burned - but the stump remains (see 2 posts down)

So then what was my original idea?
a new creation must be something completely new from nothing
but then I have realised that is as bad as the idea that the first creation came from nothing - ex nihilo

but this is not true - since the first creation came from the cutting off of Christ - the chopping down of the True Tree

So then the new creation must also be the same
it is not ex nihilo - but similarly out of the death of the incarnate body of Christ
- this is bad latin: ex Sacralogos nex

a most peculiar thing that a realm of darkness must be created before a Seed can be planted into it...

we see it everyday in birth - that a dark, watery, womb is nececssary for a baby
and a broken earth - dark, yet with plenty of moisture - for a seed

thus the Cut-Off Christ becomes the very soil/womb for the Renewed Christ - utterly united God-Man

this is a most strange thing - which i do not know how to describe

so then within our decaying bodies, a New Seed is planted (from the Death of the First Seed) - that will swallow up our old selves - to make a new self
death is swallowed up in victory
mortal is swallowed up by immortality

does any of the old remain? no - not one speck of dust
the Spirit grows within the flesh, then swallows up the flesh

I still can't quite get a handle on this....

The non-gospel Christian

The Galatian non-gospel Christian:

http://thebluefish.org/2010/01/when-im-non-gospel-christian-as-if-such.html

The Changing of The Tree

Daniel 4:11-16 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. 13 "I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He proclaimed aloud and said thus: 'Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him.

Isaiah 6:9-13 9 And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "' Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." 11 Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

So.. is the first tree the first humanity based on Christ, who then from the burned humanity grows a new tree?

the analogies seem to be about the sprig in Ezekiel 17

Is it well with your soul

Here's a simple but effective sermon from my Senior Pastor for the end of the year..

http://zionbpc.org.sg/resources/audio/2009/271209%20Ps%20David%20Wong.wma

Especially if you want to find out how a mango, a tic tac and your soul are related =)
(it was an all age service)

Reeves on Christmas

http://theologynetwork.org/christian-beliefs/jesus-christ/starting-out/smothering-baby-jesus.htm

Church Dynamics

After reading Glen's post here:
http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/dont-trust-the-supralapsarian-youth-leader/
(of which I've had a similar experience)

and listening to his sermon here:
http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=christthetruth.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.christthetruth.org.uk%2FJohn%25201.mp3

Thinking again on how the church should be in the world...

I've come to the current conclusion of the dynamic relationship:

That is... the church or Christian home needs to be a place of pure godliness, without compromise - i.e. full of love, and no selfishness
i.e. a place of Sabbath rest

The world will always be the world - and we are not asked to change the world, but instead, bring people into the church

Thus the dynamics of the people is a constant back and forth from the "Sabbath-rest of the church" i.e. sinless Christian fellowship - to the "toilsome work of the world"
- constant progression back and forth between these 2 - especially on daily basis
is the best way of witness
- it is the dynamics of the Father and the Son
- it is also our own dynamics of our relationship with Him

Therefore - do not compromise the church, and do not make it a place of 'toilsome work'
Therefore also do not try to change the world - but go there as someone part of the church to bring people back with you

we are to 'Catch up' people into the fellowship of the church, which itself is 'caught up' into the fellowship of the Living God

So then what about Romans 7

Romans 7 has always been a problem...
each time i read it i have to rethink the whole thing again

on one hand there is the so-called 'Christian cop-out'
in the sense that chapter 7 describes the 'normal christian life'
i really want to live a great life for God - but I can't - oh well...

then there are the others who say this is Paul recounting his preconversion experience
that's all well and good up till verse 13
but then everything switches to present tense
and if that were the case
Romans 7:25 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
the bold part of the last verse would not be included

Now if I look through this again I think maybe it begins to make a bit of sense

So in Chapter 6 - Paul has said you must no longer serve sin, and if you do, you are a slave to sin - bringing about death

Similarly in Chapter 8 - if you walk according to the flesh = death

So then the Christian life cannot be a constant failing - and this would be inconsistent with anything Jesus has to say - i.e. 'you must be perfect' etc..

Chapter 6 shows us how the gospel deals with the flesh
Chapter 7 into 8 shows us how the gospel deals with the law

The Law can only convict of sin
So Paul once acknowledging the law - died
but then he had a connundrum - inside he was sorrowful and agreed with God, but in the flesh he could not do what God wanted
- this does not necessarily imply him being a Christian
- for example Judas would agree that what he did was wrong, and thus would agree with God of his sin - and even agree what a wretched man he is
- but conviction of sin is not = repentance - but merely worldy sorrow

then comes the goal of the law - it points to Christ
it then says - thanks be to God for Jesus, and Jesus fulfilled what the law demanded of me - but my flesh could not do

so what Chapter 7 is saying is - if i walk according to the flesh, the law will condemn me and show me that it is impossible - present tense
so what is the solution? I need to turn to Christ (present continuous) and walk according to the Spirit - the flesh needs to be constantly not trusted in and handed over to death
So then if I walk according to grace, or the Spirit, He working in and through me will overcome the flesh and allow my dead-flesh to accomplish great things for God - similarly to what Christ did on the cross

So the present life of a Christian is to never trust in the flesh and do things according to the flesh - otherwise the law will point out that I am failing God, and not pleasing Him

So what do I do? I walk according to the Spirit - which then will allow God to use my weak flesh for great purposes - in its weakness

Thus the most important thing is 'setting my mind' on the Spirit - and 'consider' my flesh dead and gone - not merely on despairing about sin - and then I will be born again - Rom 8 - the testimony of the Spirit - not merely sorrowful

The Message

I'm really starting to enjoy Eugene Peterson's Message translation these days

check out his understanding of Romans 7-8
Romans 7
Torn Between One Way and Another
1-3 You shouldn't have any trouble understanding this, friends, for you know all the ins and outs of the law—how it works and how its power touches only the living. For instance, a wife is legally tied to her husband while he lives, but if he dies, she's free. If she lives with another man while her husband is living, she's obviously an adulteress. But if he dies, she is quite free to marry another man in good conscience, with no one's disapproval.

4-6So, my friends, this is something like what has taken place with you. When Christ died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb, leaving you free to "marry" a resurrection life and bear "offspring" of faith for God. For as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away with, sin was calling most of the shots as the old law code hemmed us in. And this made us all the more rebellious. In the end, all we had to show for it was miscarriages and stillbirths. But now that we're no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we're free to live a new life in the freedom of God.

7But I can hear you say, "If the law code was as bad as all that, it's no better than sin itself." That's certainly not true. The law code had a perfectly legitimate function. Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior would be mostly guesswork. Apart from the succinct, surgical command, "You shall not covet," I could have dressed covetousness up to look like a virtue and ruined my life with it.

8-12Don't you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of "forbidden fruit" out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me. Without all the paraphernalia of the law code, sin looked pretty dull and lifeless, and I went along without paying much attention to it. But once sin got its hands on the law code and decked itself out in all that finery, I was fooled, and fell for it. The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong. So sin was plenty alive, and I was stone dead. But the law code itself is God's good and common sense, each command sane and holy counsel.

13I can already hear your next question: "Does that mean I can't even trust what is good [that is, the law]? Is good just as dangerous as evil?" No again! Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God's good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own.

14-16I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

21-23It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

24I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

25The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Romans 8
The Solution Is Life on God's Terms
1-2With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

3-4God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.

The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.

5-8Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored.

9-11But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!

12-14So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

15-17This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.

Biblical Work

Prof Paul Stevens - Dean of Regents College Vancouver

defines 'kingdom work' as something like this:

Activity that creates new wealth, alleviates poverty, embellishes and improves human life, creates well being in nature, seek's to bring in God's shalom, welcomes Go's life-giving rule in the world and in people

what is wrong with this ?

and how would you define it?

A Global View of the Earth is Karma-tic?

According to karma, what goes round comes round and you can never escape from what you have done. Isn't that awful? Because it means that we can never escape from our sin nor the consequences of our sins. It comes back to bite us! But thanks be to God for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It good news that in Christ, our sin and the consequences of our sin is taken away - never again shall the two (the Christian and sin) meet. Especially as we celebrate the incarnation (strictly speaking, the birth rather than the incarnation which happened 40 weeks earlier) with Christmas approaching it is a reminder of how Jesus takes on flesh to destroy it completely, to leave the deathclothes of humanity behind forever, before rebuilding a new humanity in His resurrection. Yes, the glorious and comforting gospel of Jesus declares that "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Ps. 103:12).

Yet, as glorious as this is, perhaps our view of the world is not conducive to such assurance of sin removed forever. A global view of the earth is one where east meets west, where what goes round comes around. It's a view of creation in which sin can never ever be gotten rid off. It's a view in which what goes round comes round - sin that is removed faraway to the east finally arrives back at where it came from. In such a global earth, can sin actually be removed from us? Perhaps we need to think and picture a creation where east and west cannot ever meet, and when we do then we can rejoice not just metaphorically but really in how the Lord has created a place where what goes east can never ever appear in the west so that he can really remove our sins infinitely away from us; indeed, so that we will trust in and depend on Jesus alone to bring us West.

The Strength of Sin

My wife pointed this out to me recently:

James 4:4-5 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?

James is pretty strong when he calls some of his church members - enemies of God - i.e. those who wish to murder God

it is no wonder that some of the church fathers called sin - Deicidium - or God-murder
sin seeks to ungod-God

yet - the sin is not defined so much by our rebellion/transgression or disobedience - but much more - "by His jealous Spirit"

It is the strength of the love of God that makes sin so serious
if you had a lousy relationship with your wife, then she couldn't care less if you flirted around with another
but if your wife loved you with a jealous and passionate love, then every little tiny glance of another is tantamount to the adultery - every thought (as Jesus says) - is equivalent to sleeping with another

therefore He yearns jealously over us, and yet is constantly able to wipe the slate clean, time after time though we constantly stab Him in His heart..

It is no wonder then the Spirit so constantly grieves ..
and when we flee the youthful passions (think Ruth & Boaz) - He is prepared to use us so mightily

Passing through the fire (2)

In relation to the previous post

why is it that after passing through the fires of judgment,
there needs to be a time of rest - before the new life

Note Jesus' body after the cross, resting in the grave

Note the 70 years after the burning of Israel - till the return

Note the subsiding of flood waters in Noah's time

Note the lag time between a 'seed dying' and the germination of a new plant

The next age is said to be the Age of Rest - the Sabbath age(s)
where there is no 'ordinary work'

or perhaps the theology is not quite right
as in the Sabbath is the time of restoration - a time of comfort
proceeded then by the time of New Life, New Age, New Activity
so Sabbath then becomes the underlying value of the New Creation?

We died with Him, so we also will rest with Him, then raised with Him, ascended with Him, seated with Him, judging with Him, and then - life eternal with Him, ruling with Him

More takers?

Church Membership

An extra from catechism class

what does church membership involve?
http://www.mediafire.com/?zznmltwxzwm

Trinitarian Church Dynamics

From "The Other Six Days - Paul Stevens"

A fully trinitarian approach is needed, since the identity and ministry of the laos are shaped by the God whose people we are. God has called out “a laos for himself” (Acts 15:14) or as the King James Version puts it, “a people for his name.” If the identity of the laos comes from the Trinity, the vocation of the laos also comes from the triune God. In this way both the being and the doing, both the identity and the vocation, of the laos will be considered.

Trinitarian Ministry

The ministry of the laos is not generated exclusively by the people, whether from duty or gratitude. All ministry is God’s ministry. God’s ministry continues through his people. This ministry begins not when we join the church to help do God’s work but when we join God (John 1:12) and have “fellowship . . . with the Father and with his Son” (1 John 1:3). Laos ministry is participation in the ingoing ministry of God (Father, Son and Spirit) and simultaneously participation in the outgoing (sending) ministry of God. “As you sent me into the world,” said Jesus, “I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). On the first (the ingoing), God is “lover, the beloved and the love itself,” as Jürgen Moltmann puts it (p. 32). On the second, God is sender, sent and the sending.

_____________________

To this rich understanding of peoplehood and ministry each of the three persons of the Godhead contributes. The Father creates, providentially sustains and forms a covenantal framework for all existence. The Son incarnates, transfigures and redeems. The Spirit empowers and fills with God’s own presence. But each shares-coinheres interpenetrates, cooperates-in the others so that it is theologically inappropriate to stereotype the ministry of any one. But that is exactly what happens.

Christians tend to “play favorites” when it comes to describing peoplehood and ministry. For order, providence and sustaining the structures of society we appeal to the Father. The Son is associated with redemption and winning the lost. The Holy Spirit is the focus of those seeking renewal, empowering charisms and direct religious experience. Churches and denominations tend to form around one of the three: Father denominations emphasize reverent worship and stewardship. Son denominations stress discipleship and evangelism, thus furthering the work of the kingdom of God. Spirit denominations promote spiritual gifts and graces.

A rich and full doctrine of the Trinity avoids such stereotyping. God is more than the sum of the Three. God is not God apart from the way the Father, Son and Holy Spirit give and receive from each other what they essentially are. “One God”-the primary confession of Islam-is ironically the Christian’s deepest praise. We affirm that God is more One because God is Three. The laos too does not have a “mashed potato” unity, as is sometimes alleged, but a rich social unity in which each member becomes more himself or herself through experiencing an out-of-oneself (ek-static) community life. Unity is not the means to the end-a practical necessity to get the church’s work done. Unity is the end, the goal, the ministry itself (John 17:22; Ephes. 1:10; Ephes. 4:13). To be laos then is not merely to be a bouquet of Christians or a cluster of saints. To be laos means to be simultaneously communal and personal. In the long history of trinitarian reflection, this supreme idea of the personal and interpersonal within God forms the true basis for the identity and vocation of the God-imaging people.

Implications for Laypeople

The implications of this for peoplehood are substantial. Being laos means that members of Christ coinhere, interanimate and pour life into one another without coalescence or merger. The Greek church fathers spoke of this as pericho4re4sis, mutual indwelling within God as a model for mutuality in the people of God. It means belonging communally without being communistic or being a collective. Moreover, and pertinent to the clergy-lay dilemma, being a perichoretic people means being a community without hierarchy. The community of Father, Son and Spirit finds its earthly reflection “not in the autocracy of a single ruler but in the democratic community of free people, not in the lordship of man over the woman but in their equal mutuality, not in an ecclesiastical hierarchy but in a fellowship church” (Moltmann, p. viii). Such a community can have leadership and diversity without hierarchy; it can be a community without superiors and subordinates; it can be a church without laity or clergy-in the usual sense of these terms. Three conclusions may be drawn from this.

First, there is no such thing as an individual layperson. If, as I have proposed above, we live out the Christian life interdependently, the individual Christian is an oxymoron. Consistent with the Old Testament, the saints in Paul’s letters are really a unit. The saints are the church, which is the body of Christ. Believers are held together in what can be conceived as a corporate, inclusive personality. It is biblically inconceivable for a person to be a believer in Christ and not be a member of this community. John Wesley once observed that the Bible knows nothing of solitary religion. The believer’s identity is corporate as well as individual. In Christ we can say, “I am us!” Whereas the basic unit of the church is the individual member, for Paul the basic uniqueness of the individual arises from his or her membership in the church.

Second, there is no hierarchy of ministries. In his seminal work on the theology of the laity Hendrik Kraemer says, “All members of the ecclesia have in principle the same calling, responsibility and dignity, have their part in the apostolic and ministerial nature and calling of the church” (p. 160). Incarnating our loving submission to Christ’s lordship in every arena of life precludes saying that certain tasks are in themselves holy and others are sacred. Laos theology is concerned not only about the work of the ministry but also about the ministry of work. William Tyndale, the English Reformer, was considered heretical and executed for teaching, among other things, that “there is no work better than another to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a souter [cobbler], or an apostle, all are one, as touching the deed, to please God” (p. 98).

Third, supported Christian ministry is not the vocation of vocations but merely one way of responding to the single call that comes to all (Ephes. 4:1). Most expositions about ministry are magnetically attracted to the supreme place of the ordained professional as the minister-par-excellence. It is small wonder that laypersons aspiring to ministry attempt to become amateur clergypersons or paraclergy. There is some reason for this. Work in the church is strategic because the church is the prototype community and the outcropping of the kingdom of God, but work in the church is important only in view of what its members will be and do in society. Church leadership must be evaluated not in terms of its priestly character but by whether the saints are equipped for the work of the ministry seven days a week (Ephes. 4:11-12).

Passing through the fire

It was just pointed out to me that:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:10

Does not give the image of total destruction
but rather of the entire universe passing through a refinery furnace

i.e. some things will be destroyed (the dross) - others will be refined

so assuming this will all happen like Christ on the cross,

His body, now riddled with sin
is passed through the fires of His Father's judgment
what is left however is a spiritual body - fully seen in Rev 1
the difference is that every part of Him is a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor 15)
as opposed to an animated piece of meat

So then... here's a question

Is it that something that was created in the first run - remains after passing through the fire?

Or is it that it is really something brand new?

Or is it something totally different all together
I have a feeling the phrase 'swallowed up' has something to do with it

(this topic is now brought up a lot by current theologians in a big way because of all this 'creation preservation' stuff)

Any takers?

Cat Class - the Church

Last session I did for the membership class
this one is on the Church

http://www.mediafire.com/?hly5zjcod5m

next week we get to talk about Bible-Presbyterian distinctives
lol... the joy...

Irenaeus and the OT

Finally Leon's essay:

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASH-45su4eeRZGZiYzRkNmJfNjQ4Y3dxNjl6Zng&hl=en

You are what you eat

30 minutes on the 2nd half of Mark 7

http://www.zionbpc.org.sg/resources/audio/2009/081109%20Dev%20Menon.wma

How to build an ideal family for eternity

Strange question?

Think about it..

One of the Father's goals
to build a family with many children

problem - if I have more children... they will fight amongst each other
they will prove which one is better
they will try to earn my love by works
(or rather - try to 'buy my love')

solution..
do something that will nullify their works
then they will see that they are all equal
no son better than another

It is by grace you have been saved and this through faith, and this not of your own doing - it is the gift of God. Not through works IN CASE any man should boast
Eph 2:8-9

Method:
Ask Firstborn Son to do all the work

Condition:
Firstborn Son must not be proud either - otherwise He too will exalt Himself
then all will have inferiority complex

Solution:
Make Test for firstborn son - to prove to others He is not proud
In fact - show that He is the most humble of all men
That He will go 'lower' than anyone

Result:
One big happy family - for all eternity
Everyone the Same...

Grace first, Grace Last

The gospel timeline is like this in Scripture
(especially reading Romans & Galatians)


-----Gospel-----|--Gospel+Law--|----Gospel------
------------------|-------------------|-------------------

So in the church it should be this:

-----Grace------|---Grace+Law---|-----Grace-------
------------------|-------------------|-------------------

Why then is law added?
"Because of sins"

When then is the law used?
1 Timothy 1:8-11 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 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, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.


Thus it is NOT - preach the law to convict of sin, then preach Grace
NO - PREACH GRACE, then preach the law to the disobedient if they are still unrepentant, then preach grace again!

The Glory of The Cross

A Line from the hymn "Alas! Did my Saviour Bleed"

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his (the sun) glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.