Blessed is the man.

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

-----We have to ask ourselves why this even needs to be stated?

-----Our temptation is to say, “Look how happy they are; they are always so carefree and jovial. They don't withhold anything from themselves. If they want sex, have sex. If they want to lie, they lie. If they want to be lazy and abandon their responsibilities to find fulfillment, they do. They linger over hard drinks and spend the night in revelry. They don't give any thought to there actions if its good or bad. They have money and power. And when they don't they can just get high and forget about it.”

-----The rest of the Psalm is devoted to defending the thesis that we must depart from such people for happiness' sake.

Call to Ministry

-----During my senior year of high school I went to my first youth conference. God used the speaker at that retreat to put the desire to preach in my heart. During the four times I heard him speak I only remembered him reading from the Bible once. He rejected the doctrine of original sin, and he said nothing of the gospel. His concern was that we would no longer eat at Taco Bell or buy clothes from any corporation that didn’t pay its foreign workers an amount he considered fair.

-----I was dismayed that anyone would pay this man to speak to thousands of youth and was sure that the students left the conference more ignorant of the scriptures than when they arrived. In the days that followed I asked myself, “Where are the teachers that are going to undo what this man has just done?” I decided that I could be such a teacher. Except for a period of about a month when I neglected the Word, I have consistently felt confident that I should dedicate my life to teaching God’s people.

-----My goal ultimately is to spend my life teaching the scriptures. I want to follow in the path of the great expositors who have come before me. I want to faithfully nurture a body of believers. I believe that what the church in America needs more than ever are men who will preach the whole council of God, not men who are blown like leaves to whatever topic strikes them as appropriate. I hope that Southern Seminary will give me the tools I need to faithfully proclaim the Word.

"Of Course It Does Nothin'; It's Only A Symbol!"

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

-Romans 6:3-

What he intimated in the last verse -- that Christ destroys sin in his people, he proves here by mentioning the effect of baptism, by which we are initiated into his faith; for it is beyond any question, that we put on Christ in baptism, and that we are baptized for this end -- that we may be one with him.

-John Calvin-

I do not think it stretches the words beyond ordinary use to say that Romans 6:3-4 describes the symbol of dying with Christ rather than the instrument of dying with Christ.... Now here's the analogy I would suggest to show that this language can be the language of symbol, not instrument: "All of us who have put on the ring of marriage have, by putting on this ring, forsaken all others to cleave only to our wives. Therefore by this ring I am united to my wife alone and dead to all others."... In that analogy, the vows stand for faith in Christ, and the ring stands for baptism. And the point is that we often talk this way. We often speak of the symbol as though it brings about what it only signifies.

-John Piper, October 1, 2000-

What is baptism's effect? Does baptism do anything? Many Evangelicals would say, “Absolutely not, baptism does nothing.” Piper echoes this sentiment. He and many of us, when we hear someone say something like, “Baptism now saves you (1Peter 3:21),” can only hear, “You are justified through the act of baptism.” This is clearly the mindset that Piper was arguing against when he spoke the words above. It is a good thing to argue against, because there are some that reject justification by grace, through faith and say that the act of baptism produces saving grace (ex opere operantis ).

But does baptism do nothing? Calvin clearly didn't think so. He had no problem saying that baptism initiates us into Christ's faith and that it joins us to Him. Does this mean that he rejected Sola Fide (justification through faith alone)? Possibly, but he did say that it initiates us “into His faith.” Plus, I am not about to start accusing Calvin of such things.

I personally do not know what baptism does; although, I have heard some very right-sounding suggestions. I am really only writing to point out the logical fallacy in Piper's argument. When he compares the act of baptism to a wedding ring he is begging the question in a very subtle way. He argues that baptism is only a symbol for the faith by which one is covenanted to God, and to do this he uses the symbol of another covenant. Clearly his argument can only be accepted if you already believe that baptism is only a symbol.

What would happen if we tweaked Piper's argument? What if we replaced the wedding ring with the wedding ceremony (after all baptism is more ceremonial than it is ring-like)? In that case, we must say that even if two people claim to have the devotion that the wedding ceremony corresponds to, they are not united until the ceremony. And if a man convinced a woman to have sex with him because “a marriage ceremony is only a symbol for the devotion that I already have toward you,” she will soon find his devotion fleeting. Perhaps we are united to Christ through Baptism and that ceremony obliges us to be devoted to Christ. Perhaps when a baptized person stops trusting Christ he is being unfaithful to the union he entered through baptism. And perhaps all this can be said without undermining Sola Fide. Of course, that's just a possibility.