Fleshy Exegesis

The newest issue of Cradenda Agenda is out here. There is good reason that someone who has paid any attention to my blog should check out this issue, lest you think that I am just trying to promote Wilson's devious scheme of world conquest. The issue is entitled Stinkers in the Church and the first article is The Genesis of Church Split. Starting from James 4 Wilson discusses the causes of quarrels in churches.

I know most of you are thinking, "How could he handle the text any better than Isaac did (yeah right)?" What I found painfully clear when I preached at Concord at the beginning of the Summer is that there is a big difference between following an argument in a text and actually knowing what the real life manifestation of such things looks like. It's a difference between theory and flesh, between knowledge and wisdom, between Torah and incarnation. I feel disapointed whenever I hear a teacher who can follow the text's argument, but then they flesh it out in a way that is like hammering a square peg into a round hole. As I have learned over the years, if all else fails tell the congregation that they can fulfill the text by evangelizing more.

I found that when I preached from James 3 all my pontificating was worth very little until I had an example of the type of men who were violated James' commands. Wilson's experience and study have given him a very concrete understanding of the types of people who cause quarrels in the church. Recently in studying with Shawna we came across this chilling verse, "As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him (Titus 3:10)" It was clear to us that churches do not take divisive people seriously enough, and accept them as a healthy part of the church rather than a cancerous limb. "Well, that's just old lady Jenckins; she pretty much runs the church. She was the one to alert everyone that the last pastor's wife wanted to paint the women's lounge. It was good that we got rid of him."

I hope that everyone will read Wilson's article and take head. I found myself very convicted by what it says. I realized while reading it the secret motive of a sin that I had already sought forgiveness for. You too might find that this article knows you better than you know yourself.

I am Like a Rock, Steady and Unchanging

-----While driving home I was thinking upon the last five years since I began putting effort toward understanding God's Word. My theology must have gone through several thousand permutations during the last few years. I went from saying I was a Calvinist (but really not knowing what that meant and actually being very Arminian) to actually being one. I went from viewing this life from somewhat of a charismatic mindset (that is what happens when an immature Christian reads a book from the used book store because it is recommended by a member of the Newsboys) to being completely anti-charismatic to being a little softer in my stand. I went through various stages of legalism to having an appreciation for Christian freedom. I went from having a futurist eschatology to prescribing to partial-preterism. The list could go on and on, but my theology isn't really the point.

-----I realized that there were two things about me that managed to stay the same through all this. First, I have always been right (no matter what my position) and willing to think others were clueless for not thinking what I think. Second, I have always been awesome for being so smart (at least in my own mind). This was a disgusting realization. It would be nice to say any of this has changed, but it has not. I still cannot believe that people are dumb enough to hold views that I held two years ago. What a wretched man am I. “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance... I hate (Proverbs 8:13).”

I Been Lookin' A Lot Like Baal These Days

Time is a talent, or something like that, according to the quote by Jonathan Edwards (or was it Martin Luther?) that someone taped to the inside of the bathroom door earlier this semester. Whoever it was and whatever they said, their point was clear: time is something that we are given stewardship over. I for one am a wicked steward of this precious gift. God has given me, at this time in my life, enough time to comfortably do all I need to do in any given day. Despite this, however, I find myself often staying up late nights, which often leads to getting up early in the morning and pushing Bible reading and prayer to the evening.

None of this would happen if I was not continually wasting time on the Internet. (The Internet is such an amazing blessing. I cannot believe how media and information have become so streamlined and customizable and readily available these days. Have you seen Photosynth?) I cannot blame the Internet for my poor use of time, however. I am keenly aware that my attention span for work is disgustingly low. I simply do not want to work. I want to put it off just ten more minutes, and, once I have finally started, I feel like I have earned a break after ten minutes of work.

I think all of this is a sign that I need to be more satisfied in what God has given me to do. I should not look at work as an unfortunate thing, but as the grace of God. Imagine that I should be allowed to be creative and productive like my Father in heaven! I remember that He had a ration of 6 to 1 of work to rest. I definitely don't shine forth that character. Perhaps I worship Baal, the one who gets so distracted in his musings and content in his rest that, no matter how much I cut myself, he won't get off his lazy butt.

Only Sinners Have Bank Accounts

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?... Therefore do not be anxious.” So many people read this as though He had said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?... Therefore do not have barns.” Too many people confuse Jesus' statement of fact, “humans do not gather into barns,” with his command, “ do not. Clearly Christ is talking about being anxious, and the whole reason that He mentions barns is to help us see that humans, of all creatures, should not worry. The birds are taken care of and they are not greatly valued (relative to us) and they do not store for safekeeping. How is it that we worry when we are greatly valued and have so many graces like barns and banks? Therefore, keep the barn, keep the bank account, and lose the anxiety.

Perfection Hurts My Brain

Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect...

-----There are stunning implications to the truth that the Word of God is perfect. Everyone judges. Whatever our eyes fall upon we evaluate. This is fine and natural in almost every single instance because we almost never see perfect things. But this will not work when we come upon the only perfect thing we will see in our lifetimes: the Bible. When we look at it we can no longer evaluate what we are looking at, and yet there are things that are unpleasant to us, that seem completely wrong, and that are offensive. Since we know the Bible is perfect, however, we must attribute all the faults we see to ourselves instead of to it. This is one way I think the Bible is like a mirror. We cannot evaluate it but only ourselves as we look at it. For instance, when someone gets offended that God would command Israel to kill every living thing among the Canaanites, they should be ashamed that their mind is so twisted by sin that they cannot see God's right to command such a thing. Practically, when there is a command that contradicts our lives we must not try to change it, but we must seek for God to change us.