Part I - The Sovereignty of God

I mentioned that I was going to begin a series of brief posts introducing various theological topics. I thought the best place to begin was with the attributes of God. I believe it will be more beneficial & helpful to view other theological issues to be discussed later in light of a clearer biblical understanding of God.

The sovereignty of God simply refers to the fact that all things are under His rule and control, and that nothing happens in this Universe without His direction or permission. He is a God Who works, not just some things, but all things after the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11). God's purpose is all- inclusive and is never thwarted (see Isa. 46:11). Nothing Takes Him by Surprise.

God is sovereign over the entire universe
God is sovereign over all of nature
God is sovereign over angels & Satan
God is sovereign over nations
God is sovereign over human beings
God is sovereign over animals
God is sovereign over "accidents"
God is sovereign over free acts of men
God is sovereign over sinful acts of men and Satan

A few key verses: Psalm 135:6; Proverbs 16:33; Job 12:23; Psalm 22:28; Psalm 139:16; Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 21:1; Philippians 2:13; Genesis 50:20; Acts 4:27.

Many volumes have been written on this subject, so this short post just scratches the surface. My only goal was to provide a VERY basic explanation along with biblical texts that clearly describe God's sovereignty. However, I would be happy to provide additional resources for anyone interested in learning more.

Believer's Baptism

Believer's Baptism from B&H has just been released and looks to be an excellent resource on this important subject. I flipped through it in the campus bookstore yesterday and am excited to pick up a copy when I can.

The book is edited by Dr. Thomas Schreiner and Dr. Shawn Wright, both professors here at Southern Seminary. They both also make excellent contributions to the text. (Dr. Schreiner was my NT prof last semester). Other contributors to this volume include: Dr. Andreas Köstenberger, Dr. Stephen Wellum (my Systematic Theology II prof for the upcoming semester), Dr. Mark Dever, and several other notable scholars.

According to the book description on Amazon.com, Believer's Baptism answers the following questions... Is believer's baptism the clear teaching of the New Testament Scriptures? What are the historical and theological challenges to believer's baptism? What are the practical applications for believer's baptism today? The description further states that the book "...begins with the belief that believer's baptism (as opposed to infant baptism or other faith proclaiming methods) is the clear teaching of the New Testament."

I encourage everyone to pick up a copy. I believe it will be an indispensable asset in providing a clear biblical understanding of believer's baptism. It's great to know the Bible teaches something, but it is even better to have a real understanding of what we believe as well as be able to "explain our answers" (as math teachers are prone to request) to anyone who asks.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

These infamous words spoken by Rodney King in the wake of the Los Angeles riots several years ago seem to have become the mantra in the popular Christian culture. In particular, many within mainstream Christianity make getting along, regardless of theological position, as a test for genuine love & faith.

Personally, I realize that we all won't agree on every little issue. I further realize and admit that differences on non-essential issues shouldn't keep us from working together to spread Gospel. However, I believe no where does Scripture tell us we must ignore the truths of the Bible in order to show love to our so-called "brothers and sisters" in Christ.

Case in point is a recent C3 2006 conference at Fellowship Church in Grapevine Texas (Southern Baptist), pastored by Ed Young, Jr. (whose father is a two-time former president of the SBC). It was at this conference that Mr. Young opened his pulpit up to Oneness Pentecostal leader Dr. T.D. Jakes from Dallas, TX.

Let me say that this should not be taken as an excuse to knock the SBC. Unfortunately, I have met too many people who believe the actions of any SBC church is indicative of the entire convention, so they are quick to throw the baby out with the proverbial bathwater. This knee jerk reaction is because they do not realize that SBC churches are independent, autonomous churches. Now, back to the issue at hand....

For those that do not know, and think it's not worth being concerned about, Oneness Pentecostalism denies the Trinity. This position, historically called modalism, teaches that there is one God who appears to us in three forms (or "modes"), thereby existing in one form at a time instead of God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit existing as God in three persons and each person being fully God at all times.

There may be a lot of things we Christians disagree about, but denying the biblical teaching of the Trinity is not something I'm willing to overlook for the sake of getting along. My prayer is that we all will stand for the truth even when it is unpopular. We shouldn't look for a fight but we shouldn't ignore our biblical convictions in an effort to avoid one.

Playing it Safe with the Gospel

Following is one of those quotes that speaks for itself. It is by David Fairchild of Kaleo Church in San Diego (emphases mine):

"If we are to preach Christ crucified, we must also preach a Christ that opponents would see as worthy of crucifixion. It is a dangerous thing to speak and teach an unfelt cross. If Christ is to be rejected in our day, let it be for those things He was rejected for in His day, and not because we’re trying to pacify an already hyper-sensitive, politically-correct culture which cries for truth but openly rejects it.

Are we to spend our days on this earth passively trying to avoid sin rather than attempting great and glorious things for the One who is in the process of redeeming all things for His glory? Let’s not sit passively and live cautious, careful, nice lives. Let’s not speak of Christ as if we’re in a library or sipping tea in a parlor with well dressed grandmothers who desire to speak of pleasant things that go well with their decaffeinated citrus blends. If we play it safe, we may find that we have spent the best years of our life doing absolutely nothing of merit as we wait for our light to turn green so that we can escape this frightening world. Sure, you might be thought of as a "nice" guy, but don’t assume this has anything to do with being conformed into the image of Christ."

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

I would like to recommend a very good book on the issue of God's sovereignty and how it relates to human suffering. The contributors to this book, all of whom have suffered some kind of suffering in their life, address different issues on this important subject.

According to the book, they address questions such as: In what ways is God sovereign over Satan's work? How can we be free and responsible if God ordains our choices? What is the ultimate reason suffering exists? How does suffering help advance the mission of the church? How does God's grace enter our sufferings? and several other needed considerations.

I have only read a few chapters so far and excerpts from others, but I would have to say this is one of the best books on this subject that I have seen. Contributors include John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Saint, and other notable Christian figures.

"When God Weeps" by Joni Eareckson Tada is still my favorite, but this one is helpful in its own right because it provides input from several unique perspectives and life-events. I would also recommend "Is God Really in Control?: Trusting God in a World of Hurt" by Jerry Bridges, and "The Invisible Hand: Do All Things Really Work for Good?" by R.C. Sproul to get a well-rounded biblical handling of this subject. By the way, none of the books mentioned in this blog are academic or technical so they would be beneficial to even the non-bookworm.

I focus a lot on this important issue for two primary reasons. First, I believe that a majority of Christians do not have even a basic grasp of the biblical concepts involved; myself included until the recent past. Second, many folks we minister to at the local church level will experience events in their lives that will require us to provide a deeper biblical response to their suffering than simply offering a couple Bible verses. Is a better reason necessary to prompt us to delve deeper?

Does it mean we'll have all the answers? No. Does it mean that doubt and depression won't enter their lives? or ours in the face of suffering? No. But, it is vitally important to have a biblical view of this issue so that our faith will ultimately be strengthened and God glorified in seasons of suffering.

Slavery & Abortion

Some great quotes from Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"How can the ‘Dream’ survive if we murder the children? Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. The mother decides his or her fate."

"Because I am a civil rights activist I have to fight for the rights of the unborn."

-Taken from Between Two Worlds blog by Justin Taylor



To add to these quotes, I thought I would add some awesome pictures from a 4D ultrasound... how anyone can even try to logically argue that this is not a "real person" is beyond me. May God grant them the grace to see the truth.

Google Maps as a Bible Atlas

Here is an awesome resource I just came across called BibleMap.org. It is a website that integrates Google Earth and the ESV or KJV text to create an interactive Bible atlas. Very cool!

Read the Bible Through This Year

Do you ever have trouble finding time to read the Bible daily? or, do you put it off altogether because of the busyness of life?

For the coming year I would like to recommend a daily Bible reading plan that even the busiest person in the world can follow. This plan will allow you to read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. What's even more exciting is that you can receive your daily passages via a RSS feed.

I use Firefox for my browser so I just subscribe to the RSS feed I want and it is now easily available each day at the top of my browser (you can access multiple feeds, such as entries to this blog, this way by the way). All I have to do is click the feed I want, in this case the ESV One-Year Bible Reading Plan based on the M'Cheyne reading system from Crossway Bible & Good News Publishers, and it is all there ready to read... you can't get any easier than that!

To make it even easier they have provided an option which allows you to listen to each passage as read Max McLean. He is the creator of The ESV Listener's Bible (also available in KJV & NIV) and he reads it just like you would imagine it to sound. Michelle gave me the entire ESV Bible in mp3 for Christmas and I love it!!!

Either of these ways would be s super way to easily access Scripture while also being able to read through the entire Bible in a year. Although the passages are easy to access and relatively short, I would encourage you to still read carefully with great attention given to each passage.

10 Important Questions

In my previous post I provided a great prayer we should share as we begin the new year. Now, below are 10 questions from Don Whitney's Biblical Spirituality website to ask at the beginning of the new year to help get our spiritual bearings in the months ahead:

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Looking forward to the New Year

As we say goodbye to 2006 and look ahead to 2007 I am reminded of the prayer found in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. May our hearts have the same desire in the year to come:

"O Lord, length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aides every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to your calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.

Give me grace to sanctify me,
thy comfort to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize,

May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy."

Christmas

Michelle and I returned home last night from a trip to Wallins Creek to spend time with family during Christmas. We had a wonderful time, albeit too short, and spent some quality time with our families.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The weeks leading up to Christmas Day are filled with anticipation and excitement. Not about the gifts I will receive, but because of all the activities such as Christmas plays and cantatas and family get togethers. I would have liked a little bit of snow though.

Also, it is nice to watch Christmas classics such as It's A Wonderful Life, or my personal favorite... A Charlie Brown Christmas. Who isn't filled with emotion as Linus tells Charlie and the rest of the gang, including us, what the true meaning of Christmas is? You ever notice that when Linus gets to "Fear not..." he drops his security blanket? Amazing!!!

It is the incarnation of Jesus, God in the form of man, that gives real meaning to this time of year. As great as the other traditions can be, I am humbled when I think that the perfect Son of God came as a lowly baby and would grow up to be crucified in my place. The one who knew no sin came to bare the wrath I justly deserved. That, to me, is the true miracle of Christmas.

New Look

Well, I updated to the 'new and improved' Blogger and am very happy with the changes! They have addressed/improved the editing & posting problems I shared in my previous post.

I have changed the look and title of my blog and will now begin using it often. Also, I'm sure you have noticed but I have increased the font size to make it easier to read. As the title suggests, I will be providing my biblically based thoughts on issues related to upholding sound doctrine in our churches and in our individual Christian lives.

Some of you may be visiting from www.mike-michelle.com so you'll no doubt read much of the same thoughts as you've seen in the past, and others may be visiting for the first time. Either way, I pray you will find my posts thought-provoking, edifying, & encouraging. There may also be times when you may not leave with a 'warm & fuzzy' feeling, but that is okay as long as I've been faithful to Scripture. The most important thing is that God be glorified in all that I write.

I look forward to your honest and respectful feedback!

Annoying!!!

I was experimenting with templates and lost all of my links I had to edit within the HTML when I first set up the blog. Is there a way to keep that from happening? and is there an easier way to add them to begin with?

I guess I'm just too used to using TypePad for my primary blog, which is much better than Blogger, so I guess I'm spoiled by their many user-friendly editing tools. It is VERY easy to use and extremely intuitive & flexible.

So, I'm thinking I'm going to be getting rid of this blog before too long if a better way can't be found. I spent more time than necessary to begin with to add those links and it totally stinks that I lost them!!!

SBTS and the Conservative Resurgence Revisted

I recently had a conversation with a graduate of SBTS from the mid-70's who claimed Southern never had liberal professors (I guess it depends on your definition) and made the troubling statements, "I wouldn't eat at the table with Mohler" and, "I would take my Southern over your Southern if I had to choose."

I find the comments troubling & offensive because I don't know if he considers Dr. Mohler to be a brother in Christ, or if it is just because Dr. Mohler helped bring SBTS back to its historic roots and to a position as a respected institution once again; a move that many from the 70's do not like because of the steps required to make it happen.

As a student of Southern Seminary I am generally proud of the institution and its leadership. Personally, I believe Dr. Mohler is man of integrity and is sincere in his desire to glorify God though his presidency of SBTS, even if it means taking an unpopular position on certain issues. Even for those that do not agree with him on certain non-essential issues, I would be real careful about making such negative comments about a brother or sister in Christ unless it's due to them holding a heretical doctrinal position.

To God be the Glory

God's greatness and love for us never ceases to amaze me. Our move to Louisville went smoothly and He provided for all of our needs.

However, I'm scheduled to begin my new job almost a month later than I had planned, so things were getting a little tight financially with some worries creeping in whether we'd be able to afford bills and my classes (shame on us).

He then reminded us how utterly reliant we are on Him for our very breath and that it's His grace alone and not our own self-sufficiency that our needs are met. Our home church learned of our need and has given generously to more than make up any financial deficiency.. Praise the Lord!

In the words of Spurgeon, "If hunger brings us to our knees it is more useful to us than feasting; if thirst drives us to the fountain it is better than the deepest draughts of worldly joy; and if fainting leads to crying it is better than the strength of the mighty."