Here are four books for suggested reading. They have blessed me and often the summer is a time of the year when people are able to find some extra time for personal and devotional reading.
Book One: Recovering the Reformed Confession by R. Scott Clark
This book was one of my favourite books in 2009. The author is incisive in pinpointing a contemporary church illness; the neglect of reformed confessions. Challenging and stimulating, but it needs concentration.
Book Two: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes
This book is intensely pastoral and it may help those who have been bruised or for those who are helping those Christians who are bruised. Richard Sibbes 'never wastes the student's time' wrote C. H. Spurgeon, 'he scatters pearls and diamonds with both hands'.
Book Three: The Worship of God: Reformed Concepts of Worship (published by Christian Focus)
This book was another one of my favourite books in 2009. It has a range of contributors who each explain different facets of the regulative principle of worship. Some authors do not agree with each other on every point but this makes the book all the more stimulating. It will help many, but especially those who need a clearer vision of biblical worship.
Book Four: The Westminster Assembly by Robert Letham
This book combines church history, British history and theology magnificently. Maybe I am biased because Dr Letham was my supervisor for my MTh dissertation and my PhD. None the less this book is valuable and it uncovers the richness of the much neglected Westminster theology of the Westminster divines from the seventeenth century.
Happy summer reading!
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Some Advice When Going to Bible College
Recently a young man who I know from Germany contacted me. He wanted some advice because he is going to Bible school in Germany in September to prepare for the pastorate. His questions are helpful and my answers to him may benefit some who are already studying theology or those will be in the future.
Question 1: What general advice on going to Bible college can you give me?
Never forget that it is the Holy spirit who ultimately unlocks the treasures of the gospel, therefore critically assess all you read and hear but with a teachable spirit. Pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:17f) throughout your whole studies and indeed your whole life. Psalm 25:14, 'the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant'.
A further comment is that you should take the biblical languages seriously. Give Hebrew and Greek 100% of your effort and see this as an investment for the years ahead!
Question 2: What are some dangers I should be aware of? How can I deal with them?
You must never forget that pride is perhaps the number one danger in ministry and what is worse is not being aware of the danger of pride. Theological knowledge can be dangerous so pray for a humble mind. The apostle Paul reminds us when he wrote 'knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1)'.
Question 3: How can I practically connect academic and spiritual life?
I think by asking your pastor to take you under care throughout the whole process and to be asked for opportunities to grow in practical theology during your training. This should include not just preaching but all aspects of Christian ministry. Many people overlook the importance of inter-personal skills in Christian ministry. Consider how you could get feedback in this area of your life during the Bible college training also.
Question 4; What are some good study habits you can suggest?
Firstly get to know yourself. Are you a morning or evening person? It is difficult for me to fully answer this without superimposing onto you what works for me. However the art of good time management is crucial and therefore constantly evaluate your use of time critically; daily, weekly and monthly.
Question 5: In what areas did you feel that Bible College did not educate you where it was needed? As a pastor?
Perhaps three areas come to mind. As I have already mentioned inter-personal skills are often over-looked. Also practical theology can be neglected and this is where you need your pastor to mentor you. Perhaps the significance of the office of pastor and ecclesiology in general is often downplayed but maybe this is just my personal experience.
Question 6: What books, authors would you suggest for this time? Who are the really valuable, deep, long-lasting authors?
Without a doubt you should study the Westminster Standards; that is the Westminster Confession, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. I recommend that you memorise the 107 questions and answers in the Shorter Catechism. As regards theologians and authors there is none better than Calvin, especially his commentaries. Read Calvin much, in fact very much. You will be blessed and instructed but what is more you will become a better minister of the gospel.
Question 1: What general advice on going to Bible college can you give me?
Never forget that it is the Holy spirit who ultimately unlocks the treasures of the gospel, therefore critically assess all you read and hear but with a teachable spirit. Pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:17f) throughout your whole studies and indeed your whole life. Psalm 25:14, 'the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant'.
A further comment is that you should take the biblical languages seriously. Give Hebrew and Greek 100% of your effort and see this as an investment for the years ahead!
Question 2: What are some dangers I should be aware of? How can I deal with them?
You must never forget that pride is perhaps the number one danger in ministry and what is worse is not being aware of the danger of pride. Theological knowledge can be dangerous so pray for a humble mind. The apostle Paul reminds us when he wrote 'knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1)'.
Question 3: How can I practically connect academic and spiritual life?
I think by asking your pastor to take you under care throughout the whole process and to be asked for opportunities to grow in practical theology during your training. This should include not just preaching but all aspects of Christian ministry. Many people overlook the importance of inter-personal skills in Christian ministry. Consider how you could get feedback in this area of your life during the Bible college training also.
Question 4; What are some good study habits you can suggest?
Firstly get to know yourself. Are you a morning or evening person? It is difficult for me to fully answer this without superimposing onto you what works for me. However the art of good time management is crucial and therefore constantly evaluate your use of time critically; daily, weekly and monthly.
Question 5: In what areas did you feel that Bible College did not educate you where it was needed? As a pastor?
Perhaps three areas come to mind. As I have already mentioned inter-personal skills are often over-looked. Also practical theology can be neglected and this is where you need your pastor to mentor you. Perhaps the significance of the office of pastor and ecclesiology in general is often downplayed but maybe this is just my personal experience.
Question 6: What books, authors would you suggest for this time? Who are the really valuable, deep, long-lasting authors?
Without a doubt you should study the Westminster Standards; that is the Westminster Confession, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. I recommend that you memorise the 107 questions and answers in the Shorter Catechism. As regards theologians and authors there is none better than Calvin, especially his commentaries. Read Calvin much, in fact very much. You will be blessed and instructed but what is more you will become a better minister of the gospel.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Sheffield Presbyterian Church
We are delighted to announce that from Sunday September 19th, 2010, that public worship services will commence. A church planting Bible study has been meeting in our home where we continue to discuss the Scriptures especially in the light of the Westminster Standards (the confession, the larger and shorter catechisms).
The Meeting Times:
10.00am Sunday School
The Larger Catechism for Adults
The Child's and Shorter Catechism for the instruction of children
11.00am Lord's Day morning worship
4.00pm Lord's Day evening worship
The Meeting Place:
The Source at Meadowhall, Sheffield (rooms 15 and 16) and the website for directions is http://www.thesource.meadowhall.co.uk/
This new church plant is part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales (http://www.epcew.org.uk/). We are currently building our website which should be ready, Lord willing, toward the end of the summer and the address is: www.sheffieldpres.org.uk
Dr Kevin Bidwell
Church Planter with EPCEW
The Meeting Times:
10.00am Sunday School
The Larger Catechism for Adults
The Child's and Shorter Catechism for the instruction of children
11.00am Lord's Day morning worship
4.00pm Lord's Day evening worship
The Meeting Place:
The Source at Meadowhall, Sheffield (rooms 15 and 16) and the website for directions is http://www.thesource.meadowhall.co.uk/
This new church plant is part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales (http://www.epcew.org.uk/). We are currently building our website which should be ready, Lord willing, toward the end of the summer and the address is: www.sheffieldpres.org.uk
Dr Kevin Bidwell
Church Planter with EPCEW
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
The New Covenant Commission
Read Matthew 28:16-20
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator of the covenant of grace and in this passage we read of the commission that he gives to his eleven men. These men he had trained, discipled and equipped to continue the work of the gospel, as shepherds under the chief Shepherd. This appointed meeting took place in Galilee, sometime between the resurrection and the ascension. It is worth noting that this appointed commissioning meeting is one that is collegial not individual, with collective responsibility for what Christ is about to tell them.
From this passage we want to focus on three things;
Firstly that our Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church;
Secondly by looking at the commands that are at the heart of this commission.
And thirdly to conclude with some final encouragement.
Hopefully we will all receive pastoral encouragement from this passage in order that we may leave today with a renewed vision for this great task of gospel ministry.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church
Christ had executed his earthly ministry as prophet, priest and king.
As prophet he had revealed the ‘whole will of God’ concerning salvation.
As our merciful and faithful high priest he had made propitiation for the sins of his people (Heb. 2:17). This included his perfect, active obedience of the law of God and he had taken the guilt, shame and punishment of law-breaking in his own body on the tree. Through his triumphant bodily resurrection from the dead, he was declared to be the ‘Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4)’.
Christ executes the office of king ‘by subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining his and our enemies’ but also by ‘powerfully ordering all things for his own glory’ (WLC, Q 45).
In verse 16 we read that the eleven disciples went to the mountain in Galilee that ‘Jesus had directed them’ to. The Lord Jesus as the head of the church, models the principle of doing ‘all things decently and in order’. He had already told them in advance before his crucifixion in Matthew 26: 32, 'But after I am raised up I will go before you to Galileee'.
Also in the midst of the emotional turmoil of the events surrounding his crucifixion, an angel of the Lord at the empty tomb, graciously reminded the two Mary’s to tell the disciples and he said: ‘Behold he is going before you to Galilee, there you will see him’ (Matt 28:7). The risen Christ then appeared to the women as they were running to tell the disciples and Christ said to them: ‘Do not be afraid: go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me’ (Matt 28:10).
This meeting in Galilee between Christ and his disciples was no ordinary meeting.
In verse 17, Matthew records that when the Eleven did see him ‘they worshipped him, but some doubted’. There are different views on this passage but it records the fact of the situation and it provides pastoral encouragement to us all. How often our own worship is tarnished by doubts and how we can all relate to the man in the gospel’s, the father of the boy who was being convulsed, who then cried; “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
Jesus did not rebuke them but he came to them and gave words of great comfort.
In verse 18 Christ declares: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’. This was not a new revelation because the Eleven had witnessed first hand that he had power over the ‘wind and waves’, the laws of gravity, sickness and demons, and now with his resurrection even death itself. In Matthew 11: 27 Christ had taught them that ‘all things have been handed over to me by my father’; he had proclaimed that he would ‘build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it’; and in the Garden of Gethsemane at his arrest he had explained that ‘more than twelve legions of angels could be sent at once by his Father (Matt 26:53)’.
Let us stop, pause and meditate on the extent, the magnitude and the majesty of the authority of our head of the church; none other than the Lord Jesus Christ! This is most likely related to the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision in Chapter Seven;
I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him (7:14).
The commission that Christ now gives to his disciples flows from the finished work of the exalted Christ and Psalm 110:1 especially comes to mind: The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool’.
The New Covenant Commission (or Great Commission)
What are the instructions given in this great commission or ‘new covenant commission’? There are four main directions given by Christ to his men and these are ‘going’; ‘making disciples of all nations’; ‘baptising’; and ‘teaching’.
A. Going
This is connected to the ‘making of disciples’ of all nations. They were not expected to stay on this mountain in Galilee for quiet devotion but they were commanded to go even to the ‘ends of the earth’. These instructions were not passive but they required an obedience that is outward-moving, dynamic and extending to all nations. This is no static commission; and truly it takes faith to obey Christ.
Today in the UK in 2010 we have ‘all nations’ on our doorstep and irrespective of their apparent resistance to the gospel, we are lovingly to pray for a harvest among them so that our churches can represent the cities where we live.
B. Making Disciples
While it is true that the main imperatival force lies in ‘making disciples’ this task is interwoven into everything else that Christ requires of his apostles. The context of the passage means that these four key activities are inseparable; and this also reminds us of the central themes of Christian ministry.
What is a disciple? A disciple is a learner and a follower. Disciples of Christ joyfully take ‘his yoke upon them’, they are to ‘learn from Christ’, they ‘find rest for their souls’ (Matt. 11:28-30) and in their following him, their aim is to be like him (Matt 10:24).
Christ has given himself as a ‘ransom’ and he has purchased the church with his own blood, therefore those who engage in this honorable task of ‘making disciples’ need encouragement and but also a reminder of the gravity and soberness of this ongoing work.
Making disciples involves the application of truth for the whole of life and all of a disciples life.
C. Baptising
The sacraments are at the heart of this commission. Our Lord had instituted the Lord’s Supper in Matthew 26 and now the second sacrament of the new covenant is to be seen as integral to the churches responsibility, namely baptism. While the Lord’s Supper particularly celebrates our ‘union and communion with Christ’, our baptism declares our ‘ingrafting into Christ’, our partaking in the benefits of the covenant of grace and our engagement to to be the Lord’s.
Note that the Triune God is an unbreakable thread in every stage of redemption, not least the ongoing ministry of Christ, through the church. It is the singular name and the three persons each have the definite article; the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our God is unique and distinct from all other gods. One God, Three persons, of the same substance, equal in power and glory. Our leading of disciples to worship the Triune God publicly, in the mediation of Christ alone, is something vital to the making of disciples in the church of God.
D. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you
This teaching is not to be theoretical but it must lead to practical holiness; ‘Obeying all I have commanded you’.
Teaching ‘all I have commanded you’: Other phrases are used elsewhere in the NT to lay stress on the importance of not leaving out vital aspects of biblical teaching. In Acts Chapter Two the Jerusalem Church devoted themselves to ‘the apostles’ doctrine’ (Acts 2:42); Paul spoke of not shunning to declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ to the Ephesian Church elders (Acts 20: 27). This is why the Westminster Standards are so valuable to us and it does not pay us to neglect their clarity of expression. Also we can study the standards to examine ourselves that we are not missing out vital aspects of gospel doctrine. For example we may read the Standards afresh and realise that it has been a long time since the doctrine of adoption has come through in a sermon.
Calvin in writing his dedicatory epistle to his commentary on the book of Acts maintains this aspect of the Great Commission and he asserts that ‘purity of doctrine is the soul of the church ... discipline ... the sinews (Acts I: xxi).
3. Final Encouragement
The apostle Paul asks the rhetorical question: ‘Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Cor. 2:16)’. I certainly feel my great inadequacy as I write this article. We all go through different seasons in life and ministry, faithfully plodding on ‘in season and out of season’. However let us remind ourselves today of this mighty covenant promise or rather covenant certainty: ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age’. These words would no doubt have been ringing in the disciples’ ears that night, as they put their heads on the pillow to try to sleep. ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’.
No matter what circumstances you are in today in your church this covenant promise is heart-warming. If you need wisdom for a new building due to recent growth, Christ says ‘I am with you always’ and he will guide you. Perhaps you face a different situation and you are fed up with persistent pastoral problems, a lack of converts and on top of that constant financial pressure, be reminded Christ is with you always! In all of our feelings of weakness, inadequacy and insufficiency the apostle Paul also adds that ‘our sufficiency is from God (2 Cor. 3:5)’.
Finally, no matter what ministerial pressure or discouragement you face, our ‘slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17)’. This promise is eternal ‘even to the end of the age’ and therefore it points us to the new heaven and the new earth.
As you finish reading this article today, I hope that you will mediate on this promise ‘I am with you always even to the end of the age’. Christ is our Immanuel in the church today, in our continuation of Christ’s ministry on earth, but also for all eternity, he will never leave us or forsake us.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator of the covenant of grace and in this passage we read of the commission that he gives to his eleven men. These men he had trained, discipled and equipped to continue the work of the gospel, as shepherds under the chief Shepherd. This appointed meeting took place in Galilee, sometime between the resurrection and the ascension. It is worth noting that this appointed commissioning meeting is one that is collegial not individual, with collective responsibility for what Christ is about to tell them.
From this passage we want to focus on three things;
Firstly that our Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church;
Secondly by looking at the commands that are at the heart of this commission.
And thirdly to conclude with some final encouragement.
Hopefully we will all receive pastoral encouragement from this passage in order that we may leave today with a renewed vision for this great task of gospel ministry.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church
Christ had executed his earthly ministry as prophet, priest and king.
As prophet he had revealed the ‘whole will of God’ concerning salvation.
As our merciful and faithful high priest he had made propitiation for the sins of his people (Heb. 2:17). This included his perfect, active obedience of the law of God and he had taken the guilt, shame and punishment of law-breaking in his own body on the tree. Through his triumphant bodily resurrection from the dead, he was declared to be the ‘Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4)’.
Christ executes the office of king ‘by subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining his and our enemies’ but also by ‘powerfully ordering all things for his own glory’ (WLC, Q 45).
In verse 16 we read that the eleven disciples went to the mountain in Galilee that ‘Jesus had directed them’ to. The Lord Jesus as the head of the church, models the principle of doing ‘all things decently and in order’. He had already told them in advance before his crucifixion in Matthew 26: 32, 'But after I am raised up I will go before you to Galileee'.
Also in the midst of the emotional turmoil of the events surrounding his crucifixion, an angel of the Lord at the empty tomb, graciously reminded the two Mary’s to tell the disciples and he said: ‘Behold he is going before you to Galilee, there you will see him’ (Matt 28:7). The risen Christ then appeared to the women as they were running to tell the disciples and Christ said to them: ‘Do not be afraid: go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me’ (Matt 28:10).
This meeting in Galilee between Christ and his disciples was no ordinary meeting.
In verse 17, Matthew records that when the Eleven did see him ‘they worshipped him, but some doubted’. There are different views on this passage but it records the fact of the situation and it provides pastoral encouragement to us all. How often our own worship is tarnished by doubts and how we can all relate to the man in the gospel’s, the father of the boy who was being convulsed, who then cried; “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
Jesus did not rebuke them but he came to them and gave words of great comfort.
In verse 18 Christ declares: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’. This was not a new revelation because the Eleven had witnessed first hand that he had power over the ‘wind and waves’, the laws of gravity, sickness and demons, and now with his resurrection even death itself. In Matthew 11: 27 Christ had taught them that ‘all things have been handed over to me by my father’; he had proclaimed that he would ‘build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it’; and in the Garden of Gethsemane at his arrest he had explained that ‘more than twelve legions of angels could be sent at once by his Father (Matt 26:53)’.
Let us stop, pause and meditate on the extent, the magnitude and the majesty of the authority of our head of the church; none other than the Lord Jesus Christ! This is most likely related to the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision in Chapter Seven;
I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him (7:14).
The commission that Christ now gives to his disciples flows from the finished work of the exalted Christ and Psalm 110:1 especially comes to mind: The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool’.
The New Covenant Commission (or Great Commission)
What are the instructions given in this great commission or ‘new covenant commission’? There are four main directions given by Christ to his men and these are ‘going’; ‘making disciples of all nations’; ‘baptising’; and ‘teaching’.
A. Going
This is connected to the ‘making of disciples’ of all nations. They were not expected to stay on this mountain in Galilee for quiet devotion but they were commanded to go even to the ‘ends of the earth’. These instructions were not passive but they required an obedience that is outward-moving, dynamic and extending to all nations. This is no static commission; and truly it takes faith to obey Christ.
Today in the UK in 2010 we have ‘all nations’ on our doorstep and irrespective of their apparent resistance to the gospel, we are lovingly to pray for a harvest among them so that our churches can represent the cities where we live.
B. Making Disciples
While it is true that the main imperatival force lies in ‘making disciples’ this task is interwoven into everything else that Christ requires of his apostles. The context of the passage means that these four key activities are inseparable; and this also reminds us of the central themes of Christian ministry.
What is a disciple? A disciple is a learner and a follower. Disciples of Christ joyfully take ‘his yoke upon them’, they are to ‘learn from Christ’, they ‘find rest for their souls’ (Matt. 11:28-30) and in their following him, their aim is to be like him (Matt 10:24).
Christ has given himself as a ‘ransom’ and he has purchased the church with his own blood, therefore those who engage in this honorable task of ‘making disciples’ need encouragement and but also a reminder of the gravity and soberness of this ongoing work.
Making disciples involves the application of truth for the whole of life and all of a disciples life.
C. Baptising
The sacraments are at the heart of this commission. Our Lord had instituted the Lord’s Supper in Matthew 26 and now the second sacrament of the new covenant is to be seen as integral to the churches responsibility, namely baptism. While the Lord’s Supper particularly celebrates our ‘union and communion with Christ’, our baptism declares our ‘ingrafting into Christ’, our partaking in the benefits of the covenant of grace and our engagement to to be the Lord’s.
Note that the Triune God is an unbreakable thread in every stage of redemption, not least the ongoing ministry of Christ, through the church. It is the singular name and the three persons each have the definite article; the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our God is unique and distinct from all other gods. One God, Three persons, of the same substance, equal in power and glory. Our leading of disciples to worship the Triune God publicly, in the mediation of Christ alone, is something vital to the making of disciples in the church of God.
D. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you
This teaching is not to be theoretical but it must lead to practical holiness; ‘Obeying all I have commanded you’.
Teaching ‘all I have commanded you’: Other phrases are used elsewhere in the NT to lay stress on the importance of not leaving out vital aspects of biblical teaching. In Acts Chapter Two the Jerusalem Church devoted themselves to ‘the apostles’ doctrine’ (Acts 2:42); Paul spoke of not shunning to declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ to the Ephesian Church elders (Acts 20: 27). This is why the Westminster Standards are so valuable to us and it does not pay us to neglect their clarity of expression. Also we can study the standards to examine ourselves that we are not missing out vital aspects of gospel doctrine. For example we may read the Standards afresh and realise that it has been a long time since the doctrine of adoption has come through in a sermon.
Calvin in writing his dedicatory epistle to his commentary on the book of Acts maintains this aspect of the Great Commission and he asserts that ‘purity of doctrine is the soul of the church ... discipline ... the sinews (Acts I: xxi).
3. Final Encouragement
The apostle Paul asks the rhetorical question: ‘Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Cor. 2:16)’. I certainly feel my great inadequacy as I write this article. We all go through different seasons in life and ministry, faithfully plodding on ‘in season and out of season’. However let us remind ourselves today of this mighty covenant promise or rather covenant certainty: ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age’. These words would no doubt have been ringing in the disciples’ ears that night, as they put their heads on the pillow to try to sleep. ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’.
No matter what circumstances you are in today in your church this covenant promise is heart-warming. If you need wisdom for a new building due to recent growth, Christ says ‘I am with you always’ and he will guide you. Perhaps you face a different situation and you are fed up with persistent pastoral problems, a lack of converts and on top of that constant financial pressure, be reminded Christ is with you always! In all of our feelings of weakness, inadequacy and insufficiency the apostle Paul also adds that ‘our sufficiency is from God (2 Cor. 3:5)’.
Finally, no matter what ministerial pressure or discouragement you face, our ‘slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17)’. This promise is eternal ‘even to the end of the age’ and therefore it points us to the new heaven and the new earth.
As you finish reading this article today, I hope that you will mediate on this promise ‘I am with you always even to the end of the age’. Christ is our Immanuel in the church today, in our continuation of Christ’s ministry on earth, but also for all eternity, he will never leave us or forsake us.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Book Review: 'Against the Tide' by Miroslav Volf
Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities
Miroslav Volf
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 2010,
211pp, paperback,
ISBN: 978 0 8028 6506 9
Miroslav Volf is a distinguished scholar. He is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School and he is the director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture. His theological trajectory includes being the son of a Pentecostal pastor in Novi Sad (former Yugoslavia) during the communist regime of Marshall Tito; he gained a BA at the Evangelical–Theological Faculty in Zagreb, Croatia; an MA at Fuller Theological Seminary; and Dr Theol., at the University of Tübingen, Germany.
It is well known that he is a close friend to his mentor and research supervisor, Professor Jürgen Moltmann. Arguably, Moltmann provides one of the most significant influences upon Volf’s thinking and two theological impulses that run through his writings are the themes of liberation and the Trinity. These themes are particularly expressed in Volf’s books Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (1996), winner of the 2002 Grawemeyer Award; and After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity (1998), winner of the Christianity Today award. Additionally, Volf’s Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (2005) attains the esteem of being the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official, 2006 Lenten book.
Against the Tide reads as a collection of loosely tied, short (two to three pages) devotional essays, which are systematised into nine broad categories. As a Yale scholar, Volf leads a ‘less than ordinary life’ and these essays are peppered with stories from around the globe. Illustration material is drawn from skiing trips, visits to Jerusalem, India, Jordan and the Balkans, a research sabbatical in Tübingen, and inter-faith dialogue meetings. Volf states that his overall aim in this book is what he calls ‘project love’ (x–xii), where he seeks to expound on this single divine attribute, so that Christians can ‘reflect’ in their ‘lives, the love that God is’ (xi).
‘God and the Self’ (1–20) is the first heading. In the six discourses that follow, Volf attempts to magnify the attribute of love at the exclusion of other divine characteristics such as mercy, righteousness, wrath, truth and grace, none of which are adequately handled. (Volf does mention God’s wrath later in the book and he expounds; ‘God’s wrath is nothing but God’s stance of active opposition to evil’ (30). This re-interpreted notion deserves further critical scrutiny.) It is immediately evident that Volf is well-read and he refers to Søren Kierkegaard (5), Antonio Salieri (6), Martin Luther (9), and Friedrich Nietzsche (12). The last essay of this sub-section is entitled ‘Dancing for God’; this metaphor deserves further comment because it appears to be gaining ground in some circles. For example Timothy Keller writes of ‘The Dance of God’ in The Reason for God (Hodder & Stoughton, 2008, 213–26).
The theological origin of this ‘dancing for God’ metaphor is not revealed in this book but it actually derives from feminist re-envisioning of God. Patricia Wilson-Kastner proposes that the ‘Greek word—perichoresis—signifies a dance around; and at the root of the theological term perichoresis is the image of dancing together’. Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel affirms this idea: She states that Wilson- Kastner ‘sees in the Trinitarian conception of perichoresis (dance, intermingling) of persons in the image of dance a confirmation of feminist conceptions of relationships and mutuality in the most beautiful way’. Volf endorses the need to highlight the femininity of the Holy Spirit (Exclusion and Embrace, 169) in his egalitarian Trinity; one that downplays monotheism and squeezes his Trinitarian paradigm into the all-controlling concept, for him, of perichoresis (After Our Likeness, 208–20).
An early warning needs to be sounded. In this first section it becomes evident that Volf’s methodology lacks biblical exegesis and this style continues throughout this monograph. Theology without thoroughgoing biblical exegesis moves the church into hazardous waters.
A second set of nine articles are gathered under the umbrella ‘The Reality of Evil and the Possibility of Hope’ (21–49). In many ways this kind of theme is a real strength, both in this book and in a range of Volf’s other writings. His personal experience of hate and ethnic cleansing in his native Balkans has prepared him so that he can adequately proclaim this important message of forgiveness in the face of impossible hostility. He persistently calls for reconciliation and forgiveness, something which inevitably involves ‘loving the evildoer’ (28). He also critiques the potential selfishness that can often hide behind the ‘all-American dream’ and he states that such dreams, ‘without God’, are ‘nothing but self-contradictory and unrealizable’ (43). He calls Americans back to God and he writes that ‘Augustine and [Jonathan] Edwards believed that if the world is to be enjoyed, it must be enjoyed in God’ (43).
In the following section on ‘Family Matters’ (51–76), Volf make his unashamed claim for egalitarianism which he anticipates for marriage. While many may beg to differ with his conclusions on biblical and exegetical grounds (Eph. 5:21–33; Col. 3:18–22), Volf inserts the significant clause that ‘egalitarianism in and of itself will not make a marriage thrive’ (53). These articles continue to display a style which protests against much in Western or rather American culture, and the call ‘rings out’ for Christians to swim ‘against the tide’ of inherent selfishness. However, each essay, though rich in devotional thought, lacks argumentation that is undergirded with sound exegetical evidence. Most Christians who stress a high value on the authority of scripture will therefore, legitimately, find this book troubling.
Two sections follow on from this line of thought, ones that deal with the ‘Church’ (77–102)’ and ‘Mission and Other Faiths’ (103–28). Here we begin to see Volf’s current line of theological emphasis come to the surface; namely inter-faith dialogue (113, 123). He mourns the ‘loss of biblical literacy in the West’ (81) while simultaneously writing a book that lacks biblical engagement. Volf promotes the notion of women’s ordination (85–88) without qualification and he reminds readers of his unchanging vision that he maps out in his own book (After Our Likeness). This ideal seeks to develop a Trinitarian, non-hierarchical understanding of the church (98), within an ecumenical context (100–102).
The remaining chapter headings are: ‘Culture and Politics’ (129–63); ‘Giving and Forgiving (165-80)’; ‘Hope and Reconciliation’ (181–206); and ‘Perspective’ (207–11). In these essays he makes a number of valid critiques concerning the direction that Western civilisation is generally heading and many of them will resonate with readers who hold a Christian worldview.
Unfortunately though, Volf’s pursuit of inter-faith dialogue has led him to re-think fundamental doctrines and this causes him to propose bewildering assertions. He declares ‘God is the Holy Trinity, but also … the God whom Muslims worship as Allah’; and he asserts that ‘to speak in a Christian voice’ is not to make ‘exclusively Christian claims in distinction from all other religions’ (124–5). While he may gain an audience within politically correct circles that are trying to grapple with religious pluralism, one wonders how the son of a Pentecostal minister has arrived at his current position. The Lord Jesus Christ is clearly at odds with Volf when he states: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me’ (Jn 14:6).
Volf’s newly released book comprises sixty-five essays (including the introduction) and it will give the reader a window into politically correct academic theology that is currently being spawned at the highest level in the United States. The Yale Divinity School may be able to court the favour of politicians, such as the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who teaches for them (http://www.yale.edu/divinity/notes/080401/blair.shtml), or they may attempt to find ‘A Common Word’ between the three monotheistic world religions, (http://www.yale.edu/faith/acw/acw.htm) but Volf will find the task of convincing Christians who earnestly and regularly read their Bibles more difficult. If you set out to read this book, perhaps you would do well to read the Gospel of John first and see how Christ is presented in His uniqueness, majesty and glory, as the ‘Saviour of the World’ (4:42), the ‘Bread of life’ (6:48), and the only hope for sinners who remain under the righteous judgment of God.
Kevin J. Bidwell has completed a PhD, in 2010, at the University of Wales (Lampeter) and the dissertation title is: ‘The Church as the Image of the Trinity’: A Critical Evaluation of Miroslav Volf’s Ecclesial Model. He is commissioned as a church planter to the city of Sheffield by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales. He is married to his Dutch wife Maria and they have two daughters, Melody and Rivka.
Miroslav Volf
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 2010,
211pp, paperback,
ISBN: 978 0 8028 6506 9
Miroslav Volf is a distinguished scholar. He is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School and he is the director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture. His theological trajectory includes being the son of a Pentecostal pastor in Novi Sad (former Yugoslavia) during the communist regime of Marshall Tito; he gained a BA at the Evangelical–Theological Faculty in Zagreb, Croatia; an MA at Fuller Theological Seminary; and Dr Theol., at the University of Tübingen, Germany.
It is well known that he is a close friend to his mentor and research supervisor, Professor Jürgen Moltmann. Arguably, Moltmann provides one of the most significant influences upon Volf’s thinking and two theological impulses that run through his writings are the themes of liberation and the Trinity. These themes are particularly expressed in Volf’s books Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (1996), winner of the 2002 Grawemeyer Award; and After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity (1998), winner of the Christianity Today award. Additionally, Volf’s Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (2005) attains the esteem of being the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official, 2006 Lenten book.
Against the Tide reads as a collection of loosely tied, short (two to three pages) devotional essays, which are systematised into nine broad categories. As a Yale scholar, Volf leads a ‘less than ordinary life’ and these essays are peppered with stories from around the globe. Illustration material is drawn from skiing trips, visits to Jerusalem, India, Jordan and the Balkans, a research sabbatical in Tübingen, and inter-faith dialogue meetings. Volf states that his overall aim in this book is what he calls ‘project love’ (x–xii), where he seeks to expound on this single divine attribute, so that Christians can ‘reflect’ in their ‘lives, the love that God is’ (xi).
‘God and the Self’ (1–20) is the first heading. In the six discourses that follow, Volf attempts to magnify the attribute of love at the exclusion of other divine characteristics such as mercy, righteousness, wrath, truth and grace, none of which are adequately handled. (Volf does mention God’s wrath later in the book and he expounds; ‘God’s wrath is nothing but God’s stance of active opposition to evil’ (30). This re-interpreted notion deserves further critical scrutiny.) It is immediately evident that Volf is well-read and he refers to Søren Kierkegaard (5), Antonio Salieri (6), Martin Luther (9), and Friedrich Nietzsche (12). The last essay of this sub-section is entitled ‘Dancing for God’; this metaphor deserves further comment because it appears to be gaining ground in some circles. For example Timothy Keller writes of ‘The Dance of God’ in The Reason for God (Hodder & Stoughton, 2008, 213–26).
The theological origin of this ‘dancing for God’ metaphor is not revealed in this book but it actually derives from feminist re-envisioning of God. Patricia Wilson-Kastner proposes that the ‘Greek word—perichoresis—signifies a dance around; and at the root of the theological term perichoresis is the image of dancing together’. Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel affirms this idea: She states that Wilson- Kastner ‘sees in the Trinitarian conception of perichoresis (dance, intermingling) of persons in the image of dance a confirmation of feminist conceptions of relationships and mutuality in the most beautiful way’. Volf endorses the need to highlight the femininity of the Holy Spirit (Exclusion and Embrace, 169) in his egalitarian Trinity; one that downplays monotheism and squeezes his Trinitarian paradigm into the all-controlling concept, for him, of perichoresis (After Our Likeness, 208–20).
An early warning needs to be sounded. In this first section it becomes evident that Volf’s methodology lacks biblical exegesis and this style continues throughout this monograph. Theology without thoroughgoing biblical exegesis moves the church into hazardous waters.
A second set of nine articles are gathered under the umbrella ‘The Reality of Evil and the Possibility of Hope’ (21–49). In many ways this kind of theme is a real strength, both in this book and in a range of Volf’s other writings. His personal experience of hate and ethnic cleansing in his native Balkans has prepared him so that he can adequately proclaim this important message of forgiveness in the face of impossible hostility. He persistently calls for reconciliation and forgiveness, something which inevitably involves ‘loving the evildoer’ (28). He also critiques the potential selfishness that can often hide behind the ‘all-American dream’ and he states that such dreams, ‘without God’, are ‘nothing but self-contradictory and unrealizable’ (43). He calls Americans back to God and he writes that ‘Augustine and [Jonathan] Edwards believed that if the world is to be enjoyed, it must be enjoyed in God’ (43).
In the following section on ‘Family Matters’ (51–76), Volf make his unashamed claim for egalitarianism which he anticipates for marriage. While many may beg to differ with his conclusions on biblical and exegetical grounds (Eph. 5:21–33; Col. 3:18–22), Volf inserts the significant clause that ‘egalitarianism in and of itself will not make a marriage thrive’ (53). These articles continue to display a style which protests against much in Western or rather American culture, and the call ‘rings out’ for Christians to swim ‘against the tide’ of inherent selfishness. However, each essay, though rich in devotional thought, lacks argumentation that is undergirded with sound exegetical evidence. Most Christians who stress a high value on the authority of scripture will therefore, legitimately, find this book troubling.
Two sections follow on from this line of thought, ones that deal with the ‘Church’ (77–102)’ and ‘Mission and Other Faiths’ (103–28). Here we begin to see Volf’s current line of theological emphasis come to the surface; namely inter-faith dialogue (113, 123). He mourns the ‘loss of biblical literacy in the West’ (81) while simultaneously writing a book that lacks biblical engagement. Volf promotes the notion of women’s ordination (85–88) without qualification and he reminds readers of his unchanging vision that he maps out in his own book (After Our Likeness). This ideal seeks to develop a Trinitarian, non-hierarchical understanding of the church (98), within an ecumenical context (100–102).
The remaining chapter headings are: ‘Culture and Politics’ (129–63); ‘Giving and Forgiving (165-80)’; ‘Hope and Reconciliation’ (181–206); and ‘Perspective’ (207–11). In these essays he makes a number of valid critiques concerning the direction that Western civilisation is generally heading and many of them will resonate with readers who hold a Christian worldview.
Unfortunately though, Volf’s pursuit of inter-faith dialogue has led him to re-think fundamental doctrines and this causes him to propose bewildering assertions. He declares ‘God is the Holy Trinity, but also … the God whom Muslims worship as Allah’; and he asserts that ‘to speak in a Christian voice’ is not to make ‘exclusively Christian claims in distinction from all other religions’ (124–5). While he may gain an audience within politically correct circles that are trying to grapple with religious pluralism, one wonders how the son of a Pentecostal minister has arrived at his current position. The Lord Jesus Christ is clearly at odds with Volf when he states: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me’ (Jn 14:6).
Volf’s newly released book comprises sixty-five essays (including the introduction) and it will give the reader a window into politically correct academic theology that is currently being spawned at the highest level in the United States. The Yale Divinity School may be able to court the favour of politicians, such as the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who teaches for them (http://www.yale.edu/divinity/notes/080401/blair.shtml), or they may attempt to find ‘A Common Word’ between the three monotheistic world religions, (http://www.yale.edu/faith/acw/acw.htm) but Volf will find the task of convincing Christians who earnestly and regularly read their Bibles more difficult. If you set out to read this book, perhaps you would do well to read the Gospel of John first and see how Christ is presented in His uniqueness, majesty and glory, as the ‘Saviour of the World’ (4:42), the ‘Bread of life’ (6:48), and the only hope for sinners who remain under the righteous judgment of God.
Kevin J. Bidwell has completed a PhD, in 2010, at the University of Wales (Lampeter) and the dissertation title is: ‘The Church as the Image of the Trinity’: A Critical Evaluation of Miroslav Volf’s Ecclesial Model. He is commissioned as a church planter to the city of Sheffield by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales. He is married to his Dutch wife Maria and they have two daughters, Melody and Rivka.
Friday, 4 June 2010
Is the Local Church Important to You?
Quite often on this blog, I ask questions and I think that this may be connected to the value that I place on Reformed catechisms. The Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms use a 'question and answer' teaching method and this is every effective! Asking the right questions can often lead people to seek for truth.
In many circles today the value that is placed on the local church is undermined. Through various means, probably not always intentional, the church is not always seen as the mainstream of God's plan in the world. Missions for example is commonly seen as belonging to a missions agency and people forget that the local church is itself mission.
Through sustained criticism of the state of the church in the UK, some people withdraw from fellowship, preferring to feed themselves through internet sermons and they become a kind of 'self-feeding' Christian. However in a New Testament and biblical sense, Christian's are always committed to the local church. So, are you?
One of my desires in this blog is the recovery of Reformed doctrine and practice; something that should be thoroughly biblical. For this to happen there has to be a recovery of many things. This includes the recovery of the importance of the local church in our lives. May we cry out to the Lord of the harvest to thrust out godly pastors in England so that a host of godly congregations can be seen where the preaching is pure, the worship is God-centred (Is there any other kind of worship?) and the lost are evangelised. Let us listen to Jesus, the head of the church:
Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He [Jesus] felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."
Let us pray for a fresh commitment to the church by Christians and for the raising up of godly shepherds who are sent forth by the Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In many circles today the value that is placed on the local church is undermined. Through various means, probably not always intentional, the church is not always seen as the mainstream of God's plan in the world. Missions for example is commonly seen as belonging to a missions agency and people forget that the local church is itself mission.
Through sustained criticism of the state of the church in the UK, some people withdraw from fellowship, preferring to feed themselves through internet sermons and they become a kind of 'self-feeding' Christian. However in a New Testament and biblical sense, Christian's are always committed to the local church. So, are you?
One of my desires in this blog is the recovery of Reformed doctrine and practice; something that should be thoroughly biblical. For this to happen there has to be a recovery of many things. This includes the recovery of the importance of the local church in our lives. May we cry out to the Lord of the harvest to thrust out godly pastors in England so that a host of godly congregations can be seen where the preaching is pure, the worship is God-centred (Is there any other kind of worship?) and the lost are evangelised. Let us listen to Jesus, the head of the church:
Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He [Jesus] felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."
Let us pray for a fresh commitment to the church by Christians and for the raising up of godly shepherds who are sent forth by the Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Is the Church a Wax Nose?
This may seem like a strange question. However, I have to say that wherever I go there seems to be much confusion not only in Protestantism but in evangelicalism as to the purpose and plan of the church. For many, the church is treated like a 'wax nose'; something to be moulded into whatever shape people desire.
For some, this means the church is to be shaped around all-out evangelism, for others the church becomes a centre of social activity, while some leaders openly treat the church as a platform to fulfil their lustful desires for success, wealth or even fame.
My last article on this blog focussed on the three marks of the church. A friend of mine asked me to give more information recently and so I would like to direct the readers to a number of books to explore this matter of the church further.
These are;
John Calvin,The Institutes,Book IV, Chapters 1-3.
Edmund Clowney, The Church
R. B. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ
May the importance of the church awaken in our hearts and minds. There is a clear apostolic plan laid down in the Scriptures for the doctrine, public worship, government and order of the Church of God. Therefore, the church should not be treated as a 'wax nose' to be shaped according to man's personal preferences. Note it is the 'church of God', not the 'church of man's organisation'; we must be cautious lest we face the judgement of God for treating the Church of Christ as ours.
May we all cry to the Lord, in all humility for a mighty awakening in the church, so that we comprehend the importance of the church to God, and his plan of redemption in the world. Here are a few key Bible verses in conclusion.
Matthew 16:17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it".
Colossians 1:18 And He [Christ] is the head of the body.
1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth.
For some, this means the church is to be shaped around all-out evangelism, for others the church becomes a centre of social activity, while some leaders openly treat the church as a platform to fulfil their lustful desires for success, wealth or even fame.
My last article on this blog focussed on the three marks of the church. A friend of mine asked me to give more information recently and so I would like to direct the readers to a number of books to explore this matter of the church further.
These are;
John Calvin,The Institutes,Book IV, Chapters 1-3.
Edmund Clowney, The Church
R. B. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ
May the importance of the church awaken in our hearts and minds. There is a clear apostolic plan laid down in the Scriptures for the doctrine, public worship, government and order of the Church of God. Therefore, the church should not be treated as a 'wax nose' to be shaped according to man's personal preferences. Note it is the 'church of God', not the 'church of man's organisation'; we must be cautious lest we face the judgement of God for treating the Church of Christ as ours.
May we all cry to the Lord, in all humility for a mighty awakening in the church, so that we comprehend the importance of the church to God, and his plan of redemption in the world. Here are a few key Bible verses in conclusion.
Matthew 16:17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it".
Colossians 1:18 And He [Christ] is the head of the body.
1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth.
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