If You Are A Baseball Fan, You'll Love This!

Bernie Williams was one of my all-time favorite Yankees.  If you didn't know, he's now embarked on a new musical career and is quite the guitar player.  This video is from Bernie's new album and was released in conjunction with the opening of the new Yankee Stadium (while filmed after the closing of the old).  Very cool.  If you love baseball, you gotta watch this!

A Tribute to Dad Rod

Gene Veith has posted on his blog a tribute of sorts to our beloved White Horse Inn co-host and compatriot, Dr. Rod Rosenbladt. Click here: Christianity, Culture, Vocation — Cranach: The Blog of Veith

Dr. Veith is asking for testimonials, so be sure to go there and leave one!  FYI--Rod is not retiring until next year (2010).

One of my favorite "Dad Rod" moments was when J. I. Packer once said to him:  "Rod, you not only have Luther's theology, you embody the very man himself."  I couldn't agree more.

Dr. Rosenbladt acquired the nickname "dad" one night long ago when we were at Mike Horton's house in Anaheim watching TBN late on a Sunday night after a live program in Hollywood (for the first ten years or so, the White Horse Inn was broadcast live out of KKLA in Glendale/Hollywood).  We always relaxed with lengthy theological discussion and debate, pizza, a few cigars, and some adult beverages.  It was great fun!  Jan Crouch was cooing about "Daddy Hagin."  I don't recall if it was Shane or Mike, but one of them quipped "well if Jan can have her daddy Hagin, we can have a dad Rod."  Anyway, the nickname stuck.

The Canons of Dort, Third/Fourth Head of Doctrine, Article Fifteen

Article 15: Responses to God's Grace

God does not owe this grace to anyone. For what could God owe to one who has nothing to give that can be paid back? Indeed, what could God owe to one who has nothing of his own to give but sin and falsehood? Therefore the person who receives this grace owes and gives eternal thanks to God alone; the person who does not receive it either does not care at all about these spiritual things and is satisfied with himself in his condition, or else in self-assurance foolishly boasts about having something which he lacks. Furthermore, following the example of the apostles, we are to think and to speak in the most favorable way about those who outwardly profess their faith and better their lives, for the inner chambers of the heart are unknown to us. But for others who have not yet been called, we are to pray to the God who calls things that do not exist as though they did. In no way, however, are we to pride ourselves as better than they, as though we had distinguished ourselves from them.
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Article fifteen deals with the attitude that we as Christian are to have about our salvation from sin and its consequences.  Given the fact that it is God alone who saves (because human sinfulness renders us incapable of saving ourselves), salvation originates not in an act of the sinful human will, but in the gracious decree of God who loved the fallen world so much that he sent Jesus Christ to die for those very same unworthy sinners that he has graciously decreed to save (cf. John 3:16).

The point the canons make here is that grace is not truly gracious if we define grace in such a way that it is owed to us by God because of something we have done which places God under obligation to respond to wicked and sinful creatures who have collectively rebelled against his majesty and holiness (cf. Romans 4:16).  This is why we must be very careful not to discuss theology with the presuppositions of American democracy, which teaches us that we are all equal and able, and that those who act righteously get what they deserve in the end—a reward.

As we have seen repeatedly, the bible does not begin to discuss redemption from the perspective of human worth, ability, or equality, as the Arminians would like us to believe. Instead, the Bible begins with the fall of the human race into sin.  This includes universal human sinfulness, inability, and guilt.  The Reformed have always charged that in the Arminian system, grace cannot be truly gracious, because we supposedly have it in our power to act, and when we act in faith, God must respond by granting us eternal life.

At this point the Canons raise what is truly the salient question.  How on earth can we as sinful creatures, who are justly under God’s righteous condemnation, ever pay off our debt to God (namely, our offence to God’s infinite majesty and holiness because of our sin)? What can we do to make things right before a Holy God?  To sin but a single time against the Holy God is to accrue an infinite debt, a debt which we can never pay, and a debt which only increases every day. 

The canons remind us that all we have to offer God in an attempt to assuage his anger is sin and falsehood.  Rather, our attitude should be that of the apostle Paul, who when contemplating these matters in Romans 8:31-39, declared,

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Arminian system cannot account for such spontaneous doxological theology, since, according to the Arminian, we are more than conquerors because we took advantage of prevenient grace and saved ourselves.  How can someone who believes such a thing ascribe all praise, glory and honor to God?  They cannot.  God is for us, the Arminians say, because, we were for him first!

Article fifteen also addresses the fact that people who do not respond to the gospel are those who have not been crushed by the righteous demands of God’s law. They refuse to see their need of the merits of the Savior, since, as self-deceived, they are confident of their own righteousness.  As the Canons put it, "Therefore the person who receives this grace owes and gives eternal thanks to God alone; the person who does not receive it either does not care at all about these spiritual things and is satisfied with himself in his condition, or else in self-assurance foolishly boasts about having something which he lacks."  This is why the self-righteousness of unbelief is nothing but so much folly.  To be satisfied with our own righteousness, is to be headed for eternal judgement.

This article also reminds us that many times we do not truly know the identity of God’s elect.  We can only go upon a person's profession of faith and (with great caution) the outward conduct of people’s lives.  There will indeed be tares growing among the wheat, and goats mixed among the sheep.  But God knows those who are his, and separating the wheat from the tare is his business, not ours.

Since our confidence is to be placed in his grace and mercy, not in the human will or in human merit, this also teaches us that there are many more apparent wolves out there waiting to be converted into sheep, and even shepherds.  Consider that at one time the Apostle Paul, was known as Saul of Tarsus, and cheered on the crowd who were stoning Stephen to death.  This is the same man whom God chose to be the apostle to the Gentiles!  As Calvin once put it, God turned a wolf into a sheep.

Therefore, the biblical focus upon the grace of God means that we cannot boast about our own faith, spiritual accomplishments, or godliness, since the only reason we believe in the first place is because God has called us to faith when we were “dead in our sins.”  Those who trust in Christ must never forget that it is God who chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27-31).  This is why Arminianism is seriously flawed.  It robs God of the glory and honor due him, and attributes our salvation to an act of the sinful human will.

Dogs in Church Redux

One of the latest trends in church outreach is to allow pet owners to bring their critters to church.  "Parishioners request prayers for homeless animals and homeless people.  One man requests prayers for a deceased pet who `went over the rainbow.'  There are prayer requests for people, as well.  When the offering plate is passed, people place their gifts inside and take squares of cheese for the dogs. `You feel good when you leave,' says Pam Weiss, with Baxter, a Pomeranian mix."  Sorry, Andy.  You are staying home!  Click here: Church services put paws in the pews - USATODAY.com#Close#Close

Dogs in church isn't a new idea. The Dutch Reformed allowed dogs in church back in the 1600s.  They even had church wardens to exhort owners to clean-up after fido.  Click here: Riddleblog - The Latest Post - Preaching to theDogs?

Cub's fans can rejoice.  Not only is there a good chance your team will be in the World Series this year (if you can beat the Dodgers), but now there's a Cubs-themed cemetery complete with an ivy-colored brick wall.  Not even the Yankees can boast of that.  Click here: Cubs-Inspired Cemetery Opens Wednesday - Sports Biz with Darren Rovell - CNBC.com

Speaking of baseball, Joel Osteen will profane the New Yankee Stadium this Saturday. According to Osteen, "My message is not about doctrine. I don't have to get 50 references from Scripture in a sermon for it to be a good sermon.  Churches that are helping people live out a Christian life are growing and flourishing."  As for preaching in Yankee Stadium, "When I first came to the Garden [in New York], I thought, 'I'm a preacher with a Southern drawl from the Bible Belt. How will they receive us?' he said. `But I got a greater reception here than anywhere in the world. People are so open, they stop me on the street.'"  Click here: Televangelist promises hope, positivity | lohud.com | The Journal News.   I wonder if any of the "bleacher creatures" will show up on Saturday?  Not likely.

The Attack of the Wookies

These are Iranian snipers in ghille suits.  They just look like wookies.   Replace the AK-47's with a bowcaster and they are ready for the next Spielberg movie.

Caption, anyone?  You can leave it in the comments section below.

"Ask in Faith" -- James 1:1-18

The Second in a Series of Sermons on the Epistle of James

I wish I could stand here and promise you that God will not call you to suffer. I wish that I could tell you that living the Christian life is a very easy thing. But I can’t do that. The reason is simple. Neither of these things are true. As many of you know first-hand, God does indeed call us to suffer–some of us much more than others. And all of us who place our trust in Jesus know full-well that the Christian life often includes difficult trials designed to test our faith. Suffering, trials, temptations, and the testing of our faith, are all realities of the Christian life. And all of these difficult issues are raised in the opening chapter of the Book of James, a letter written to persecuted Christians living during the most trying of times.

This morning, we’ll jump right in and make our way through the first eighteen verses of the opening chapter of James. Last time, we spent a great deal of time on introductory matters–which are very important when it comes to interpreting this book correctly. In the introductory sermon, I attempted to make my case that we can best interpret this epistle by looking carefully at James’ role in apostolic history, which, I think, serves to eliminate many of the difficulties which are often raised by those who seek to pit James against Paul, and who see this book as nothing more than Jewish legalism. So, if you were not here last time, I strongly encourage you pick up a copy of last week’s sermon in the bookstore, because much of what we’ll be doing in the coming weeks grows directly out of the historical context which I labored to establish in the opening sermon.

To briefly recap, if the Book of James was written before the Jerusalem Council in A.D. 48 as recounted in Acts 15, this means that James is writing before the controversy between Jewish and Gentile Christians over justification broke out in the Galatian churches. An early date for the Book of James is an important key to resolving the supposed controversy between James and Paul over the doctrine of justification. James’ Epistle was very likely written before any of the gospels were written, and during that time in the mid-40's when Christianity was rapidly spreading throughout Jerusalem, Palestine, and Syria. This time frame helps us to identify James’ original audience (persecuted Jewish Christians), as well as the purpose for which this epistle was written–to exhort these persecuted Christians, to put their faith in Christ into action. James does not contradict Paul. Paul is dealing with a controversy between Jewish and Gentile Christians over the doctrine of justification, while James is writing to exhort struggling Jewish Christians not to be satisfied with being mere hearers of the word only. James is exhorting his reader to be a doer of the word, which is important counsel to persecuted Christians.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

The "Real" John Calvin?

 

 

Poor John Calvin.  He had the great misfortune of living before the invention of the camera. 

As someone quipped in a previous post, if you are writing a book on Calvin, which portrait do you use?  Here's a sampling of just a few of the familiar images of Calvin. 

I guess the image you pick will largely depend upon your view of Calvin.   If your take on Calvin is favorable, you use one of the more youthful portraits.  If your take on Calvin is more negative, the temptation would be great to use one of the portraits where Calvin looks like he just passed a kidney stone (which was just one of his many physical maladies).

Luther left behind a plaster death mask.  I've seen it, and its rather creepy because Luther was so swollen at death.  But we know what Luther actually looked like.  My assumption has always been that the best (most accurate) likeness of Calvin is the drawing with his name in Latin (picture one, row one, and picture two, row two).   

As he ages, Calvin appears increasingly gaunt and haggard in most of the paintings, no doubt indicative of his declining health.  But his familiar cap, Z.Z. Top beard, and fur collar are consistent throughout.

I'd want someone to paint my portrait when I was about thirty, had hair, and was still in somewhat decent shape.  I'll bet Calvin would prefer the first portrait in row five.  But that's sure not how most people think of him.

The Rings of Saturn

This is just one of the amazing photos that NASA's Cassini spacecraft took of Saturn.  That is one of Saturn's moons highlighted against one of Saturn's rings.

This picture can be found here @ one of my favorite websites: Click here: The Big Picture - Boston.com

Some of the photo essays @ the Big Picture are absolutely amazing.  I would suggest the recent photo essay documenting the return of American war dead.  Get the kleenex ready. It is very moving.  It is one thing to see the names of our soldiers who died mentioned in the news.  It is quite another thing to see how they are brought home for burial.

The Cassini essay is amazing and provoked several gasps at both the beauty and immensity of space.  The heavens do indeed declare the glory of God!

Home Runs and the New Yankee Stadium

The New Yankee Stadium opened this past week to mostly positive reviews. The complaints have to do with the loud public address system, and the cave below the restaurant in center where Monument Park now resides.  But this kind of stuff is to be expected for the grand-opening of any massive facility like this.  They'll get it sorted out.  They have to, they have a Joel Osteen event coming up!

If you listen to the media hype (especially from the ESPN clowns--thankfully, we now have the MLB network and don't have to listen to Kruk et al), the real shocker is that the new stadium is some sort of launching pad.  The home run count has made countless sports headlines of late, even among the saner types like Buster Olney.  Here's the supposed evidence.

* In the recent four game Yankee-Indians series, there were a combined 20 home runs.

* The Elias Sports Bureau reports that the 17 homers (during the first three games) are the most ever hit over the first three games for any stadium, passing the previous mark of 13 hit at Cashman Field in Las Vegas in 1996 (the A’s played their first six games there because of construction delays at the Oakland Coliseum).

Lets put this in perspective.  There were 20 home runs hit at the old Stadium from July 31-Aug. 3, 2007 during a Yankees-White Sox series.  There were also four-game, 20-HR binges during the 2000, 2003 and 2004 seasons.  Also according to the Elias Sports Bureau, there were eight four-games spans of 20 or more homers at the old Yankee Stadium.

This says more about the quality of pitching in baseball than it does about the new stadium, or even PEDs.  I read somewhere that home run numbers are way up so far this year, all over baseball.  This time its not the rhoids . . .

Meanwhile, there's poor Chien-Ming Wang, a very solid pitcher who has twice won nineteen games in a season. Suddenly, he cannot get anyone out.  He's given up 23 earned runs in six innings over three starts.  He's not hurt--the coaches say it is in his head.  How a seasoned, veteran athlete can just lose it is a very strange thing.

I know a minister, who after years of preaching, suddenly developed "stage fright" and could hardly bring himself to preach.  He was just terrified to get in the pulpit.  The human psyche is a mysterious and fragile thing.

Get Out That Debit Card! Its Book Buyin' Time Again!

Bob Godfrey's long-awaited book on John Calvin is almost out.  Take from me, this will be one of those "must reads."  Dr. Godfrey is the much-beloved president of Westminster Seminary California and this is the book he's talked about writing for years.  It should be released within a few days.

Here's the publisher's "blurb."

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An introduction to the essential life and thought of one of history’s most influential theologians, who considered himself first and foremost a pilgrim and a pastor.

July 10, 2009, marks the five-hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. As controversial as he was influential, his critics have named a judgmental and joyless attitude after him, while his admirers celebrate him as the principal theologian of Reformed Christianity. Yet his impact is unmistakable—a primary developer of western civilization whose life and work have deeply affected five centuries’ worth of pastors, scholars, and individuals.

What will surprise the readers of this book, however, is that Calvin did not live primarily to influence future generations. Rather, he considered himself first and foremost a spiritual pilgrim and a minister of the Word in the church of his day. It was from that “essential” Calvin that all his influence flowed.

Here is an introduction to Calvin’s life and thought and essence: a man who moved people not through the power of personality but through passion for the Word, a man who sought to serve the gospel in the most humble of roles.

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So, get it over with, take out that debit card and order it today.  I've made it easy for you--here are the links to your favorite bookstores.

Click here: John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor :: Coming Soon :: Monergism Books :: Reformed Books and Resources for Christians

Click here: Westminster Bookstore - Reformed Books - Low Prices - Flat Fee UPS Shipping - W. Robert Godfrey John Calvin: Pilgr

Click here: Amazon.com: John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor: W. Robert Godfrey: Books

Click here: The Bookstore at WSC: John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor by Godfrey, W. Robert

Update on Monday, April 20, 2009 at 03:01PM by Kim Riddlebarger

According to Scott Clark, it is already in the seminary bookstore.  Now there's no excuse!