I Told You It Was a Good Book!

Mike Horton's People and Place (my personal pick for the best book of 2008) won the 2009 Christianity Today book award for the best theology/ethics text.

Click here: 2009 Christianity Today Book Awards | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Congrats Michael!

Don't Forget Tonight's Academy Lecture!

Ken Samples continues his lecture series, "Jesus and the Other Religious Faces in the Crowd.”  Ken's lecture tonight will be entitled: "Confucius & Lao-Tzu"

Here's the course Synopsis again: This lecture series will compare and contrast the historic Christian portrait of Jesus Christ with the world’s great religious leaders, including Gautama (Buddha), Confucius, Krishna, Lao-Tzu, Mahavira, Muhammad, Nanak, Baha’ullah, and Zoroaster. The series will explore the religious leader’s distinct status, mission, and legacy in comparison with Christ.

Textbooks: Neighboring Faiths by Winfried Corduan, Without a Doubt by Kenneth Samples

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

Article 4: The Inadequacy of the Light of Nature

There is, to be sure, a certain light of nature remaining in man after the fall, by virtue of which he retains some notions about God, natural things, and the difference between what is moral and immoral, and demonstrates a certain eagerness for virtue and for good outward behavior. But this light of nature is far from enabling man to come to a saving knowledge of God and conversion to him--so far, in fact, that man does not use it rightly even in matters of nature and society. Instead, in various ways he completely distorts this light, whatever its precise character, and suppresses it in unrighteousness. In doing so he renders himself without excuse before God.
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The Reformed understanding of total depravity and total inability raises the nagging question about what happens to those who live apart from the light of Holy Scripture and who may have never heard the gospel.  “What happens to the `innocent person’ in distant lands who has never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ?’

Arminians have historically charged that it is not fair for God to hold people accountable for Adam’s act of rebellion in Eden, therefore it is certainly not fair for God to hold those accountable for not believing in Christ who have never even heard the gospel.  Recall that the Arminian has argued that prevenient grace is universal, so there must be some divine provision for those outside of Christ.  

Therefore, the authors of the Canons now turn to the subject of the purpose and consequences of natural revelation, or the “light of nature.”

In light of the fact of total depravity, what does the Scripture say about natural revelation, or what is more commonly spoken of as general revelation?  This is best done by contrasting the purpose of general revelation (“the light of nature”) and special revelation (Holy Scripture). Then we are in a position to ask “what do fallen men and women do with the knowledge of God they that derive from “general revelation”?  Does general revelation lead men and women to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?

First, according to general revelation, God’s power [δυναμις] and divinity [Θειοτης], are “made known” to all of Adam’s descendants universally, regardless of race, culture and geographical locale.  According to Paul’s account of this from Romans 1:18-32, God is indeed known by all of Adam’s fallen race, without exception.  General revelation is universal.  But when we contrast this with special revelation, it is clear that the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ is only “made known” to his people, who are are given understanding of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit and effectually called to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel.

Special revelation, then, is not universal, it is particular in a sense. While the gospel is to be taken to all nations—the evangelistic task of the church—only God’s people are granted faith in Christ and come to a saving understanding of God’s word.

Second, general revelation is given exclusively through the means of natural phenomena, or as Paul puts it in Romans 1:20, “through that which has been made.”  That is, God makes himself known to all men and women through his creation and the natural order itself.  This species of revelation is called “general” or “natural” revelation, for this very reason.  Through this general revelation, all men and women do, in fact, know that God exists from the fact that all of creation itself testifies to God’s very existence and pushes all of humanity to acknowledge the creator.

Special revelation is, however, by way of contrast, distinctly supernatural and culminates in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Special revelation is directly connected to God’s redemptive acts and to the explanation of those redemptive acts in Holy Scripture, which—it is important to point out—itself is a distinctly redemptive act.  Redemptive act and redemptive word are linked together in special revelation.

Third, according to Paul’s account in Romans 1, general revelation is given continuously—“for since the creation of the world . . .”  Special revelation, on the other hand, is given exclusively in and through redemptive history and God’s mighty acts of redemption on behalf of Adam’s fallen race.  As general revelation is perpetually given through exclusively natural means, special revelation is given through exclusively supernatural means and is, therefore, limited to Holy Scripture.  This is why the Reformed argue not only for the infallibility of Scripture, but also for its sufficiency.

Fourth, general revelation is given to humanity as God’s creatures.  That is, general revelation supplies all men and women with the knowledge that God exists, that he is their heavenly father, and that they owe their very life and breath to him since he is their creator.  General revelation demonstrates to us that “God is,” and that all of his creatures owe him homage and obedience to his will.

Special revelation, on the other hand, is given to humanity as sinners, and is intended by God to supply men and women with a redemptive knowledge of God—specifically the law and the gospel—a knowledge which is not, and indeed cannot, be derived from general revelation.  Thus no one can be redeemed on the basis of general revelation alone, since the gospel is not revealed in the natural order!  While a pagan might come to know that God exists by watching a sunset or contemplating earth’s beauty, they cannot deduce from that the contents of the gospel!

Fifth, according to Scripture, general revelation was given specifically for the purpose of rendering the fallen children of Adam without excuse as Paul puts it quite plainly in Romans 1— “so that men are without excuse.”  This was God’s intended purpose in revealing himself in nature and through the created order, because in doing so, God thereby renders all of Adam’s fallen children guilty and without any excuse whatsoever!  This means that there is no one who will be able to stand before God in the judgement on the last day, and say “I didn’t know that I was a sinner who needed a savior.”

Thus the express purpose of general revelation is to leave all men and women without excuse. It was given not to save those apart from the gospel, but to condemn those who know that God is, but who, because of inherited sinfulness will inevitably suppress the truth in unrighteousness.  It is equally clear that special revelation points the sinner to salvation in Jesus Christ.  God—the creator and judge—is known through natural revelation, but Jesus Christ—God the savior—is only known through special revelation.

This, then, is the background needed to understand the Reformed conception of natural revelation in contrast to that of the Arminians.  As the Canons state: “There is, to be sure, a certain light of nature remaining in man after the fall, by virtue of which he retains some notions about God, natural things, and the difference between what is moral and immoral, and demonstrates a certain eagerness for virtue and for good outward behavior.”  Natural revelation grants unto Adam’s fallen race a knowledge of God which explains the fact that such virtues as love, justice and so on exist in virtually all cultures, even those not yet reached by the gospel.

The fact that this natural knowledge of God is sinfully suppressed, also explains the phenomena of humanity’s universal religious nature.  Suppressed knowledge of God, inevitably manifests itself in idolatry.  Rather than provide a means of salvation, as the Arminians have often argued, natural revelation only condemns.  Thus, as the Canons point out, “this light of nature is far from enabling man to come to a saving knowledge of God and conversion to him—so far, in fact, that man does not use it rightly even in matters of nature and society. Instead, in various ways he completely distorts this light, whatever its precise character, and suppresses it in unrighteousness.  In doing so he renders himself without excuse before God.”

"Hear, O King" -- Judges 5:1-31

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

Wherever the people of God witness his mighty power, their hearts are inevitably stirred to sing God’s praises. A number of “songs” composed by the key participants at critical moments in redemptive history are found throughout Scripture in the form of inspired verse. Whenever these “songs” are found in Scripture, it is important to notice that these songs recount the great things God has done for his people. The songs are composed as a form of praise, and they serve as a means of stirring faith in the hearts of his people throughout the subsequent generations. In other words, these songs teach God’s people about God’s faithfulness. In them, we see the heart of God’s people at a given moment in redemptive history, as they give God praise because he has rescued from captivity and/or a crisis. At the same time, the people of God are offering up a song which, in turn, becomes a kind of prayer, as God’s people are seeking his continued deliverance from their enemies. Therefore, these songs tell us a great deal about how God is to be worshiped and they remind us that God is greater than all our enemies–even sin and death. Although God may allow us to be chastened by our foes, he will indeed redeem his people in the end.

We are continuing our series on Judges and we now come to the Song of Deborah and Barak, which is recorded in Judges chapter 5. Before we proceed to work our way the details of the song, we need to consider two things which will help us understand the details of this particular song. First, while this song is unique in the Book of Judges, such a “song” is not unique in the Old Testament. There are the famous Songs of Moses found in Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32. There is the Song of Jonah (in Jonah 2) and the song of Hezekiah’s Son from Isaiah 38. No doubt, the song of Deborah and Barak is ancient. It comes from the time of Deborah, more than a century after the time of Joshua and the Conquest. This song was widely known throughout Israel and it was eventually incorporated into the Book of Judges by the unknown author. That leads to a second important point.

You cannot understand the Song of Deborah and Barak without some knowledge of the events recorded in the previous section of Judges (3:31-4:24). This particular song was composed during that period in Israel’s history when God raised up Deborah as a prophetess, and to serve as “judge” (or deliverer) in Israel when Israel was chastened by God for the fourth time through a neighboring enemy. As we saw last time, it was during the era of Deborah that God revealed his plan to deliver Israel through her, because Israel’s priests (the Levities) had become faithless and had failed to instruct the people of Israel in the ways of the Lord. By speaking through Deborah, God is, in effect, shaming the Levites, and providing his people with the good news of future deliverance from their current oppressor–the king of the Canaanites, Jabin.

To read the rest of this sermon click here

Rick Warren to the Rescue

Someone sent me the latest press release from Rick Warren's purpose-driven empire.  Warren's sure not one to let the current economic downturn be anything but a marketing opportunity for his "purpose-driven" materials.

The press release reads in part "with the collapse of our economy, the tools, resources and experiences we’ve bundled into the Purpose Driven Connection are arriving at the exact moment when Americans need them most."

It goes on to say, “The hollow hope of materialism has left us disappointed, empty and worried, and the economic collapse has created a hunger for a deeper spiritual connection to God and to each other."  Of course, Warren would never do anything to contribute to the hollow hope of materialism like recommend that we all buy his stuff to see us through the difficult times.

“We certainly didn’t anticipate our national crisis when we began designing these tools, but we can now see how the Purpose Driven Connection is going to provide urgent and essential spiritual support and encouragement for millions of people in the difficult days ahead. . . . God’s timing is always perfect.”

Pretty shameless.

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Well, if Rick Warren can hawk his wares, so can I.

Here's my very own Riddleblog blogosphere release.

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Anaheim, CA, January 27, 2009

"In these days of economic uncertainty, a proper view of the end-times is a must.  To help you navigate these perilous times the Riddleblog reminds you of the two books written by its proprietor.  If these uncertain times have you worrying about your job, retirement savings, and 401K, you need to buy both my books (multiple copies to give to all your friends and family) which will help you know what is going on, and will also ensure that I don't have to worry about these things.  That will leave me free to warn people about the proper view of end times (Reformed amillennialism, of course).  

What is God's purpose in all of this?  Is this economic distress setting the stage for the rise of the Antichrist?  What is the secret purpose behind the election of Obama?  Was John McCain's purpose in rushing through the economic stimulus package to prepare the way for the real Man of Sin?  Some dispensationalists might even think the author fills the bill.

Whatever end times view you hold, Kim Riddlebarger's Man of Sin is must reading.  Collect all three editions, each one tailor-made to fit your own end-times predictions!

And don't forget A Case for Amillennialism, which is your sure guide to living above the fear and uncertainty of the end times.  If you want to know God's purpose for the last days and how this impacts you, you need to read this book!  In fact, might we suggest buying a case of A Case for Amillennialism (that is, a case of 30 of them).  That will certainly help me prevent any future personal economic crisis. 

Isn't that the true Purpose behind these "press releases" in the first place?

A Field Trip to Saddleback

A member of the Oceanside URC (and a student at Westminster Seminary California) made a recent field trip to Warren's Saddleback and describes what he saw (h.t. Scott Clark).  About what I would have expected.  Click here: Saturday Night - Live at Saddleback « Geneva Redux

Yes, Zrim, there is a Newman (that's Seinfeld lingo for those of you who don't know).  Click here: FOXNews.com - Michigan Postal Worker Hoarded Thousands of Pieces of Mail Instead of Delivering Them - Local News

I guess one bad law deserves another. Click here: CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: Polygamists' defense cites gay marriage

Should Christians apologize for beating the stuffing out of their opponent?  This game later cost the coach his job.  Click here: Rivals High - School seeks to forfeit 100-0 win

"Antichrist Is Coming" -- 1 John 2:18-27

Here's the audio from Sunday's sermon--the fifth in a series on the Epistles of John.

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20090125-1John.mp3

Audio from Friday's Academy Posted

Here's the audio from Ken Samples' Academy lecture (01/23/09) "Krishna & Mahavira: Jesus and Other Faces in the Crowd"

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/A20090123-OtherFaces.mp3

Who Said That?

"What then is obedience?"

"Under the Gospel it is this, that after being adopted by God for his sons, and endued with a filial spirit, we conduct ourselves as becomes obedient children, doing with our whole heart and with all our strength those things which we know that our heavenly Father requires us to perform, and giving all heed not to offend him in any thing.  That is, that we put off the old man with his works, and desist from all our former sins; that we walk not after the flesh, but by the spirit mortify the deeds of the body. In short, that we continue in the habitual practice of no sin, but be endued with every Christian virtue; so that, if a fault occur in our pious course, it may proceed not from any evil disposition or design, from any habit or custom, but from some weakness of human nature or from ignorance: all which indeed the Scripture is wont to comprise under the name of penitence: and as such an obedience is not servile, but filial and voluntary."

Update on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 02:19PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This comes from chapter nine of the Racovian Catechism.  The catechism is Socinian and anti-Trinitarian in its theology.  Faustus Socinus and followers of Michael Servetus produced the document in Poland in 1580.

"Do Not Love the World" -- 1 John 2:12-17

Here's the audio from the Sunday morning sermon from January 18, 2009.

http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/KR20090118-1John.mp3