This Week's White Horse Inn

Christianity and the New Liberalism

Is Christianity primarily about what God is doing in your life right now, or what he did one afternoon two-thousand years ago? Is the idea of Jesus “in your heart” more important than Jesus “in the manger” or “on the cross”? Do you value your own personal experience of faith more than what God accomplishes externally through the proclamation of the gospel? In the not-too-distant past, theological liberals were the ones answering yes to questions like these, but increasingly American evangelicals are moving in this direction. On this program, the hosts discuss this troubling trend and offer some challenges to this “new liberalism” of our time (originally broadcast March 23, 2008).

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"Through the Gospel" -- 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

The Eighth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

One of the vivid memories that many of us share from our collective childhoods is that of our exasperated mother telling us “wait till your father gets home.”  In our text we have the apostolic equivalent.  “Wait until your apostle returns.”  Paul is in Ephesus when he writes his first letter to the Corinthians.  Although in the providence of God, Paul never did return to Corinth, nevertheless he considers himself to be the father in the faith of the Corinthian church because of the gospel he has preached to them.  So Paul can admonishes the Corinthians to imitate him because Paul does not seek favor with men, but from Christ, who is Lord of his church.  As the spiritual father of this church, Paul hopes to return to Corinth to see his spiritual children.  When he returns, the apostle hopes that the immature who are acting arrogantly will have humbled themselves and that he will be able to come in a spirit of gentleness.

Having wrapped up Paul’s discussion of true versus false wisdom in the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians, we now turn to Paul’s discussion of the nature and authority of his apostolic office in chapter four.  Up until now, Paul has been speaking in rather general terms.  Now he gets very specific.  The pastoral gloves come off.  In the first five verses of chapter four, Paul confronts those who have been judging him using the standards of worldly wisdom discussed in previous chapters.  In verses 6-13, Paul addresses those in the church boasting about their own false perception of their own wisdom and stature.  Paul then speaks fondly as a father speaking to his children in verses 14-17, before closing out the chapter with a very stern warning to those who reject the authority of his apostolic office.

In this chapter we see a rare picture of Paul–the apostle is a bit sarcastic as he scolds the church in Corinth which he helped to found.  Paul has suffered greatly.  He has sacrificed much.  No question that he hates to see this congregation facing division and schism, fighting among themselves, solely because they have not been able to leave pagan wisdom and categories behind.  And so in this chapter, Paul sounds very much like an disappointed father getting word that his children are misbehaving, and then warning them that he is coming home after work, to either punish or commend them, depending upon how they behave.  Paul is clearly vexed and more than a little frustrated.

So, having wrapped up his discussion of true and false wisdom, and having told the Corinthians that the time has come for them to move on to maturity, Paul turns his focus to the way in which God vindicates Paul’s ministry.  He is a servant of Christ, not just another faction leader.

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This Week at Christ Reformed Church

Sunday Morning (10/9):  We are currently going through the Book of Hebrews.  On Sunday we'll be discussing the confidence and assurance we can draw from the cross of Christ (Hebrews 10:19-39).

For previous sermons in this series, go here:  Sermons on Hebrews

Sunday Afternoon:  We are continuing our discussion Lord's Day 23 of our catechism and Q & A 59-61 which deal with the doctrine of justification.  Our afternoon service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study:  We are continuing our series on the sacraments, and this week we'll be going through the basics of covenant theology as a foundation for understanding the sacraments.  Bible study begins at 7:00 p.m.

The Academy:  The Academy meets Friday night, October 7 @ 7:30 p.m., as we continue working our way through the the first chapter of Mike Horton's theology text, The Christian Faith.

Also Ken Samples is continuing his series on his forthcoming book, "CLEAR Pointers to God:  The Biblical God as the Best Explanation for the Meaningful Realities of Life."  Ken's class will meet concurrently with mine on October 7, 14, 21 November 4, 18, and December 2.  Ken's book will be released by Baker Books in the spring-summer of 2012. 

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

Ken Samples Academy Lecture

Here's the audio from Ken Samples' Academy lecture (Friday 9/30), "Clear Pointers to God."

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"By a Single Offering" -- Hebrews 10:1-18

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon, the thirteenth in a series of sermons on the Book of Hebrews.

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This Week's White Horse Inn

An Interview with Mark Galli

On this edition of White Horse Inn, Michael Horton talks with Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today magazine and author of God Wins: Heaven, Hell and Why the Good News is Better than Love Wins. Mike and Mark spend time discussing some of the troubling aspects of American evangelicalism in general and the theology of Rob Bell in particular. They also discuss Mark’s other new book, Chaos & Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit.

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