Televangelist . . . Heal Thyself! And Other Interesting Stuff from Cyberspace

I noticed that our friend John Hagee underwent major open-heart surgery.  We should all wish Hagee well, and pray for his recovery.  But it might also be worth noting that Hagee's surgery raises a question or two about someone who practices "Divine healing" and who then tells people who are not healed that they either don't have enough faith, or that they have unconfessed sin their lives.  When Hagee discovers that he has heart disease, it is interesting that he doesn't rush to Oral Roberts or Benny Hinn, he goes to the hospital.  Hmmm . . .  Click here: Evangelist John Hagee recovers from heart surgery - CNN.com 

Speaking of televangelists and faith-healing, Time Magazine has an interesting article on how the "name it and claim it" theology, led many folk to "claim the American dream" in the name of Jesus, and then buy a house they could not afford, trusting that God would give them financial gain because they sowed a financial seed into someone's so-called ministry.  Click here: Maybe We Should Blame God for the Subprime Mess - TIME 

WorldNetDaily is at it again, pushing a video which tells us why we as Christians should be celebrating Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles, just as Jews do.  Sorry to break it to you, but Jesus has finished his redemptive work, fulfilling all of the Old Testament types and shadows.  It always amazes me that some dispensationalists get so caught up in typology they miss the obvious.  Oh, that same video also claims to reveal the day (but not the year) the Lord will return.   Click here: Find out why Feast of Tabernacles is not just for Jews

Having owned a Christian Bookstore, I know how tough this issue can be.  A Lifeway Christian bookstore carries the magazine GospelToday.  But when an issue featured a woman minister on the cover, the bookstore kept it under the counter.  Now some CNN columnist is blasting them for doing so.  Boy, I don't miss those days at all.  Virtually everything you sell in a Christian bookstore offends someone!  Let me just say, running a Christian bookstore for many years was great training to be a pastor!  Click here: Commentary: Christian bookstore's shameful actions - CNN.com 

Who Said That?

"One of the lessons I learned from the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is that our first ancestors chose to be human rather than to live forever.  They chose a sense of morality, a `knowledge of good and evil,' rather than immortality.  They spurned the Tree of Life, which would have given them eternal life, in favor of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which gave them a conscience.  As compensation, God gave humans, who now shared with Him the ability to know good from evil, the gift of His own divine power to create new life.  We cheat death, not by living forever, but by bearing, raising, and educating children to keep our souls, our values, and even our names alive.  One generation, scarred and often embittered by experience, gives way to another, born in innocence and hope.  Like the good shepherd He is, God shows His love for us by enabling us to create new life."

Leave your guess in the comments section below.  Please no google searches or cheating.  The whole point is to guess, not look up the answer!

Update on Friday, October 3, 2008 at 01:58PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This quote is taken from Rabbi Harold Kushner's book, The Lord Is My Shepherd, (p. 23).  Theological liberals sound pretty much alike, whether they be Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Jewish.

Academy Lecture Posted -- "Amillennialism 101"

 

Here's the link to this past Friday's Academy lecture, "These Things Were Foretold" (Part 2).  I'm continuing my series "Amillennialism 101."  In this lecture I deal with prophecies regarding the future restoration of Israel, and what is known as "prophetic perspective."

Here' the link.  http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/A20081003-Amillenialism.mp3

"It Boasts of Great Things" -- James 3:1-12

Here's the audio of the sixth sermon in my current series on the Book of James.

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20081005-James.mp3

Great Deals on Two Important New Books!

Here are links to great deals on these two very important books.

Get Michael Horton's Christless Christianity here for 50% off!

Click here: Christless Christianity by Michael Horton

Get Scott Clark's Recovering the Reformed Confession here only $15.00!

Click here: Deal of the Month « Heritage Booktalk     

The Academy @ Christ Reformed Church Resumes Tonight!

Tonight, Lord willing, I'll resume my Academy series, "Amillennialism 101."  My lecture will be entitled "The Basic Elements of New Testament Eschatology"

Just a reminder that Academy lectures are held at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, they begin @ 7:30 PM, are free of charge, and are followed by a time for questions and refreshments.  Come on out--it would be great to meet you!

For this series, I am utilizing my two books on eschatology, A Case for Amillennialism (Click here: Riddleblog - A Case for Amillennialism - Understanding the End), and The Man of Sin (Click here: Riddleblog - Man of Sin - Uncovering the Truth About Antichrist).

For more information, Click here: Christ Reformed Info - Format and Fees

The Canons of Dort, Second Head of Doctrine, Article Seven

Article 7: Faith God's Gift

But all who genuinely believe and are delivered and saved by Christ's death from their sins and from destruction receive this favor solely from God's grace--which he owes to no one--given to them in Christ from eternity.
___________________________________

Since we are fallen by nature, and can do nothing on our own to come to faith in Christ–indeed, we cannot even do anything to prepare ourselves to come to faith apart from a prior act of God on our behalf–the Canons again remind us that faith does not arise because fallen sinners have the power, desire, or the ability to believe the gospel when it is preached to them.

The Scriptures repeatedly tell us that faith is a gift from God.  In fact, faith only arises in the human heart when the Holy Spirit creates it in the human heart through the preaching of the gospel.  As Luther once pointed out, God creates faith in the heart, just like he created the world from nothing.  Unless and until God does this, we gladly remain unbelievers.

This very point is made several times in passages such as Ephesians 1:3-14 and Romans 10:9-17, where Paul states,

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  16  But they have not all obeyed the gospel.  For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ

As can be seen in these two representative passages, the Scriptures are crystal clear about the source of faith--it comes from God through the word.  Sadly, many of our contemporaries continue to stumble over these words, unable to shake their confidence in the fallen human will. 

Only those whom God has chosen from before the foundation of the world truly come to faith in Christ.  Inevitably, they do come to Christ because they are drawn to Christ and then enabled by God to trust the Savior.  When the gospel is preached to the elect, God creates faith in their hearts, and they respond to the proclamation of the gospel by trusting in Christ alone. 

The Scriptures teach, (as do the Canons, which summarize the biblical teaching), that faith itself is a gift from God.  This creation of faith is directly connected to the preaching of the gospel.  Hence, if we wish to see people come to faith in Christ, it is useless to entice them, manipulate them, or appeal to their so-called “felt needs.”  They cannot, and will not, come to Christ because they remain dead in sin. 

The biblical solution to the problem of human inability to trust Christ is a simple one.  If we wish to see people come to faith in Christ, then we preach Christ to them as clearly and as directly as we can, trusting that the blessed Holy Spirit will create faith in their hearts through the means of the gospel proclamation. 

Once again, we must keep in mind that the end (the salvation of God’s elect) is directly connected to the means (the preaching of the gospel).  Let us not divide what God has so carefully and wonderfully joined together.  Faith is a gift created in the heart by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel.

New Reformed Resources and Other Interesting Stuff from Around the Web

The recent release of Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics in English has produced a new appreciation for this great theologian.  Here's one new resource devoted to Bavinck studies.  Click here: Herman Bavinck

Paul Helm has a great piece on the relationship between natural law and biblical law.  It is well worth reading.  Click here: Helm's Deep: Natural Law and Biblical Law

Whenever I see "top ten" lists and "rankings" on the Internet, I'm always skeptical.  Here's why.  MSNBC's list of the fifteen healthiest restaurants includes Denny's. Good grief!  I'll bet even the water at Denny's is loaded with sodium and trans fats (I've got to watch such things--the curse of middle age).  Click here: Top 15 healthiest restaurants in America - Health - MSNBC.com 

Dutch "Christians" attending the Garden of Eden Church had to cancel their "au naturale" church service.  Interesting that the priest was clothed while everyone else was in the buff.  This must be the nudist equivalent of "every head bowed" and "every eye closed" while the minister gets to peek at those who raised their hands.  Click here: Dutch Christians cancel naked service - UPI.com  

"The LORD Raised Up Judges" -- Judges 2:16-23

The First in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

The Book of Judges is a fascinating but perplexing book.  The book covers that period of Israel’s history between the death of Joshua (the Conquest) and that time when David becomes Israel’s first king (the monarchy).  There are some very colorful and well-known biblical characters to be found here–Samson, Gideon and Deborah.  There is also a reoccurring pattern found throughout this book.  The people of God will turn their backs on YHWH, only to find that an unexpected enemy rises up against them, causing them to cry out to God for deliverance.  God responds by sending Israel a deliverer.  Throughout this sordid mess we will be a bit shocked that the people of God could actually do the things that they do.  This is a book filled with heros of questionable character, people who commit all kinds of sin and who make the most grievous errors in judgment.  We may be equally surprised by the ways in which God rescues his people from the brink of disaster.  All of this makes for a most interesting period in Israel’s history, but a difficult book from which to preach.  Throughout the Book of Judges, God’s covenant faithfulness repeatedly triumphs over the sinful foibles of his people.  Given this background, there will be much for us here by way of application.  The Book of Judges will force us to consider the dangers of doing what seems right in our own eyes, instead of doing that which God commands of us in his word.

As we begin a new series on the Book of Judges we need to keep in mind the fact that the material we find in this book is but one chapter in the larger drama of redemptive history–hence our series on the history of the covenants, “I Will Be Your God and You Will Be My people.”  If our study of Joshua and the Conquest found the Israelites living in obedience under a faithful leader–constituting the high water mark in redemptive history–the situation we find in Judges will be much different.  Not long after Joshua died things were so bad that we read in Judges 2:10:  “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers.  And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”  Indeed, this is a sad and heart-breaking commentary. 

Even as the dying Joshua warned Israel that the blessing-curse principle lies at the heart of the covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai, once the people of Israel settled in Canaan, they soon became complacent and unbelieving.  By the time the next generation comes to the fore, the people are have already started to turn away from YHWH so as to worship and serve other “gods.”  As a result, the people of Israel will face a whole series of judgments, most of them inflicted upon them by their pagan neighbors, who are, ironically, the very people of whom the Israelites were so envious, and who they were trying to emulate.

The fact that Israel fell into apostasy is not a really a surprise–or at least it shouldn’t be.  What is a surprise is the speed at which the people of Israel fell away from YHWH.  As we read in Judges 2:11-15, the spiritual condition of Israel was already in a sorry state not long after the death of Joshua.  “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.  And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt.  They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.  They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them.  And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.  Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them.  And they were in terrible distress.” 

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

Scott Clark's New Book "Recovering the Reformed Confession" Is Now Available!

Dr. Scott Clark's long-anticipated book, "Recovering the Reformed Confession" (P & R) is now available!

This is a must read!

Scott has the details and ordering information here:  Click here: It’s Out: Recovering the Reformed Confession « Heidelblog