I Miss the Good Ole Days at TBN

More Book News! An Expanded Edition of A Case for Amillennialism Coming Soon

I am pleased to announce that Baker Books is releasing an "expanded edition" of my 2003 book, A Case for Amillennialism on the occasion of the ten-year anniversary of the book's release.  The expanded version will be released by August 15 (hopefully a bit earlier).

It includes a "Forward" from Michael Horton, two new chapters (one on the Antichrist, and another on signs of the end), it has indices (finally!) and a series of eschatology charts prepared by Mark VanderPol.

You can preorder both paperback and kindle editions here:  A Case for Amillennialism (Expanded)

"Jesus Is Lord" -- 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

The Twenty-First in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

First century Corinth was dominated by paganism.  The church to which Paul is writing his first Corinthian letter had been founded by Paul just a few years earlier, and most of the members of this church were new Christians, struggling to live the Christian life in the midst of a pagan culture.  From the things we have seen throughout our study of this letter, apparently the Corinthians understood the gospel–they were justified before God through the merits of Jesus Christ received through faith alone.  But the Corinthians were struggling with leaving behind those pagan ways of thinking and doing which saturated their culture and which characterized their lives before becoming Christians.  Their struggle and their culture were surprisingly very much like our own.  The Corinth of 55 A.D. was very much like contemporary Southern California.

We now turn to 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul addresses the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church and its members.  As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:11, certain members of Chloe’s family (who were members of the Corinthian church) had arrived in Ephesus, where Paul was staying when he wrote this letter.  Chloe’s family reported to Paul that a number of troubling things were going on back in Corinth.  Sadly, there were factions and divisions forming within the church.  Some were claiming, “I follow Paul.” Others, “I follow Peter.”  Others still, “I follow Apollos.”  There was even a group boasting, “I follow Jesus.” 

Paul condemns this behavior in no uncertain terms.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that he had proclaimed the gospel to them–in which the wisdom and power of God were clearly revealed.  The gospel exposed the so-called “wisdom” of Greco-Roman paganism for the foolishness that it was.  Paul explained that it was the Holy Spirit who brought the Corinthians to faith in Jesus Christ, and then formed these individual believers into the living temple of God in which the Holy Spirit dwells.  Because the church is the living temple of the Holy Spirit, no one should seek to divide it.  This means that the factions which had formed in Corinth were not the work of the Holy Spirit, but a manifestation of that sinful behavior the pagans considered to be “wisdom.”

To read the rest of this sermon: Click Here

This Week at Christ Reformed Church (May 27-June 2)

Note:  This photo (which I use occasionally) was taken during our first service in the Anaheim SDA church in 1999.

Sunday Morning (06/02/13):  We now move into John 9 and the sixth sign Jesus performed when he healed a man blind from birth.  Our text will be John 9:1-23.

Sunday Afternoon:   This Lord's Day we are continuing our series on the Canons of Dort.  We continue our look at the First Head of Doctrine and the Canons' teaching on God's eternal decree in election (Articles 6-7).  Our afternoon service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study 7:00 p.m. (05/29/13):  We are continuing our series "Studies in the Book of Revelation."  This week, we will go through the letter to the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13).

The Academy will resume in the Fall of 2013

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church

"Before Abraham Was" -- John 8:48-59

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon, the thirtieth in a series on the Gospel of John:

Click Here

This Week's White Horse Inn

A Place for Weakness

Many Christians today buy into the idea that, through Jesus, we can have our best life now. But what happens when we become ill, depressed, or bankrupt? Did we do something wrong? Has God abandoned us? Why does God allow so many of us to suffer in various ways? On this special edition of White Horse Inn recorded before a live audience at the Liberate Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the hosts discuss these questions and more as they focus on the place of suffering in the Christian life.

Click Here

Mike Horton on the Tornado in Moore, OK

Mike Horton's nephew stands in what is left of his home in Moore, OK.

To read Mike's very personal reflection on this tragedy, and for advice on how to help, Click Here

An Important New Book on the Canons of Dort

Matthew Barrett's new book on the Canons of Dort is now available.  You can order it here:  The Grace of Godliness

Here's the publisher's description:

When the pastors and theologians who comprised the Synod of Dort met in 1618 and 1619 to frame a response to the rise of Arminian theology in Dutch churches, they were concerned to provide not just theological argument but pastoral vision. They considered seriously the implications of right theology on both growth in grace and holiness and the spiritual comfort of believers. 

Keenly aware of this vital link between theology and practice, they drew up the Canons of Dort in a manner that astutely rebutted from Scripture the Arminian Remonstrants, point by point, arguing the veracity of the doctrines of predestination, particular atonement, total depravity, effectual grace and the perseverance of the saints—the five points that have come to be known as ‘‘the doctrines of grace.” 

Matthew Barrett opens a window on the synod’s deliberations with the Remonstrants and examines the main emphases of the canons, with special attention on their relationship to biblical piety and spirituality. For example, the doctrine of predestination is shown from Scripture to establish not just God’s electing grace but assurance of salvation—comforting believers that the God who saved them will preserve them to the very end. As Dr. Barrett examines the Canons of Dort it becomes clear why they are so important. Indeed, the piety and godliness that saturates these seventeenth-century canons shows they are as relevant for the church today as they were then.

Here are the endorsements:

By reducing the discussion of Calvinism and the doctrines of grace to the simplified acrostic T-U-L-I-P, I’m afraid we have generated far more heat than light. A book that looks deeply within, behind and around the five points of Calvinism is long overdue. Whether you find yourself saying “Yea” or “Nay” to the five points, we all need to say thank you to Dr. Barrett for his delightful, informative and light-generating book. 

Stephen J. Nichols, Research Professor of Christianity and Culture, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Wow! I really like this book. Matthew Barrett has given us history, theology, ministerial counsel and impetus to true piety in this treatment of the Synod and Canons of Dort. The brief but vibrant historical accounts are informative, his guidance in some thick theological discussion is expert, and his focus on piety leads us to the true purpose of all theology—the production of a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Dr. Barrett’s continual insistence on the necessity of monergism for a truly biblical grasp of the character of salvation from beginning to end is a much needed emphasis for contemporary evangelicalism. The appendices provide valuable source material. This is an excellent account of a vitally important subject. 

Tom J. Nettles, Professor of Historical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

Matthew Barrett offers a wonderfully simple and direct exposition of one of the more misunderstood confessions of faith. The Canons of Dort are often vilified, but under closer examination Barrett demonstrates that they are biblical and pastoral and a potent tonic for a flagging faith. Tolle et lege, take up and read!

J.V. Fesko, Academic Dean, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Westminster Seminary California

Matthew Barrett has given us a thoroughly enjoyable introduction to and review of the history and the source documents of the Calvinist-Arminian debate. And with that he has given us a vivid reminder that a right understanding of these doctrines—in themselves considered and in the minds of the framers of the Canons of Dort—is indispensable to Christian worship and devotion. Highly recommended.

Fred G. Zaspel, Pastor, Reformed Baptist Church; Professor of Systematic Theology, Calvary Baptist Seminary, Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Christians speak freely and often about the Canons of Dort and the international synod of 1618–1619 which produced them without really knowing much about either. Matthew Barnett’s The Grace of Godliness will do much to remedy this lamentable situation. In a very accessible manner, referring to a number of important background documents, Barrett provides the historical context of the Synod of Dort. He also makes a solid case that the Canons themselves are filled with careful biblical reflection, wise pastoral application and exhortations to a warm and genuine Christian piety. Dort’s stalwart defense of divine monergism in the salvation of sinners does not produce a fear of God, lack of assurance of one’s salvation or indifference to good works—as critics often charge. When read and understood, the Canons of Dort present the so-called doctrines of grace as the foundation for a believer’s confidence in God’s mercy and, as the consequence, the basis for a life of gratitude.

Kim Riddlebarger, Senior Pastor, Christ Reformed Church (URCNA), Anaheim, California; co-host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast

Matthew Barrett has produced an excellent and much-needed treatment of the intimate connection between the Canons of Dort and vibrant Christian piety. Whatever the readers’ attitude toward those canons, this book will reward them with greater understanding and appreciation of the spiritual richness and practical value of Reformed theology. I highly recommend it.

Steven B. Cowan, Associate Professor of Christian Studies, Louisiana College, Pineville, Louisiana

By breathing new life into historic events, documents and people, Matthew makes them speak to our culture, our churches and our hearts.

David P. Murray, Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan

From Hans Kung's Infallible? An Inquiry

I recently found these two gems in Hans Kung's Infallible:  An Inquiry (1970) which I thought were worth passing along to those interested in such things.

For a long time, too, Catholic theologians in their works on apologetics, in the service of the teaching office, were able very successfully to ward off any questioning of infallibility by the use of a basically simple recipe:  either it was not an error or--when at last and finally an error could no longer be denied, reinterpreted, rendered innocuous or belittled--it was not an infallible decision (32-33). 

Sound like the tactics of anyone we know?  Elsewhere Kung says,

And what is meant by "faithfully expounding" the deposit of revelation?  "The words `to be faithfully expounded' indicate briefly that there is a historical development of dogma itself, and not merely of theology."  On the basis of this second qualification the Roman teaching office seems to be permitted to explicate "authentically" and--as in the case of two new Marian dogmas--even to define infallibly all kinds of things on which not a word was said either in Scripture or in early tradition (74).

Ouch! 

"Let a Person Examine Himself" -- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34

The Twentieth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Our text contains a warning which should give us all a moment’s pause.  Paul warns that unless we examine ourselves before we come to table of the Lord, we risk coming under God’s judgment, and as a result, getting sick or even dying.  Now that I have your attention, we are a church which celebrates weekly communion, therefore this is a passage with which we need to wrestle and consider with great care.  But great care is not fear.  Since Jesus has died for our sins (taking the covenant curse which we deserve upon himself), we need not fear coming to the table of the Lord because we are sinners and are struggling with our sins.  But we do need to examine ourselves in the matter prescribed by Paul, and that is the theme of this sermon–how do we properly examine ourselves before we come to the table of the Lord?

We are making our way through 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, where Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for the way in which they were observing the Lord’s Supper.  As we saw when we tackled verses 17-26 of this same chapter, this is an important passage, because in it we find the oldest account of the Lord’s Supper anywhere in the New Testament, written by Paul about A.D. 54, a decade or so before any of the canonical gospels had been written.  Give this early date, this passage provides an invaluable window into how the apostolic church worshiped just twenty years after the life and ministry of Jesus.  Throughout this section of First Corinthians (chapters 11-14), it is clear that the early church focused upon the preaching of Christ crucified, followed by the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  No doubt, this was the ordinary Lord’s Day practice of the apostolic churches.

As we read through this chapter, it is readily apparent that Paul is fit to be tied with the Corinthians.  Just as with Jewish Passover, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper took place within the context of a fellowship meal after the worship service had been conducted.  But in Corinth, the church’s celebration of the Lord’s Supper had sadly degenerated into something like what went on in one of the city’s pagan temples or guild halls.  Some people were not waiting for others to be served and ate all the food which had been prepared, leaving the poor without anything to eat.  Others were drinking all the wine, getting drunk, and behaving in an unruly manner.  Paul is disgusted by this behavior and rebukes the congregation accordingly.  He has nothing good to say about this (“I do not commend you”) and is even worried that the Supper is actually doing more harm than good.  Things have gotten so bad, Paul can even say, “when you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat” (or at least as it was instituted by Christ and taught to the Corinthians by Paul).

To read the rest of this sermon:  Click Here