More of the Same

...let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near (Heb 10:24-25)

Why does the Church do what it does on the Lord's Day gathering (i.e., Sunday morning corporate worship)? Because that's what it has always done. Just ask Justin...

On the day called Sunday there is a gathering together in the same place of all who live in a given city or rural district. The memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits. Then when the reader ceases, the president [pastor] in a discourse admonishes and urges the imitation of these good things. Next we all rise together and send up prayers.

When we cease from our prayer, bread is presented and wine and water. The president in the same manner sends up prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people sing out their assent, saying the 'Amen.' A distribution and participation of the elements for which thanks have been given is made to each person, and to those who are not present they are sent by the deacons.

Those who have means and are willing, each according to his own choice, gives what he wills, and what is collected is deposited with the president. He provides for the orphans and widows, those who are in need on account of sickness or some other cause, those who are in bonds, strangers who are sojourning, and in a word he becomes the protector of all who are in need.

But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.

For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

- First Apology, 67.

HT: Pulpit Mag

So, as we look toward the next Lord's Day, we hope, not for ingenuity or creativity, but more of the same.

What Not to Do with Theological Truth

Your testimonies are righteous forever;
Give me understanding that I may live (Ps 119:144)

The old Baptist theologian, J.L. Dagg, begins his Manual of Theology by setting out the purpose of theological synthesis and study:

The study of religious truth ought to be undertaken and prosecuted from a sense of duty, and with a view to the improvement of the heart. When learned, it ought not to be laid on the shelf, as an object of speculation; but it should be deposited deep in the heart, where its sanctifying power ought to be felt. To study theology, for the purpose of gratifying curiosity, or preparing for a profession, is an abuse and profanation of what ought to be regarded as most holy.

Today, Lee Irons has helpfully identified the deceitful and antithetical tendency in many Christians and ministers, who pursue theological perfection, as opposed to maturity in Christ. Irons has noted that pursuit of theological perfection:

• Gives us the feeling that we are addressing spiritual realities, when we are really just analyzing them.
  
  
• Causes us to think that our life is dependent upon intellectual synthesis rather than walking in His grace.
  
  
• Promotes spiritual pride, rather than the awe of a worm before His glorious God (cf. Rom 11:33-36)
  
  
• Causes disunity and division, rather than unity centered upon the Gospel.
  
  The Problems of Theological Perfectionism
  
  HT: JT

Understanding is for life.

Get a Bible with all the Words!

He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD (Deut 8:3).

If it is the Word of God, then every word matters! Since learning Hebrew (and Aramaic) and Greek is unrealistic for everyone, it is imperative that one studies the most accurately rendered translation. Here is some helpful and provocative counsel on Bible translations from our friend, John Piper... get one with all the words!



HT: DG

While we at TPC would commend the NASB for its textual basis and its consistent application of formal equivalence in translation, the ESV and NKJV are also helpful translations.

For a helpful survey and review of the plethora of English translations, see the accessible and thorough treatment by Dr. Thomas, How to Choose a Bible Version.

For a good critique and overview of the current debates on dynamic equivalence and reader-response theories in Bible translation see Leland Ryken's The Word of God in English.

The Minister's Greatest Sin

True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts (Mal 2:6-7).

It is acknowledged that we are not particularly proficient at continuing an actual series here at TPC. We trust it is in the interest of other necessary studies, counsel, and prayer.

We have been recently pierced two-fold by Malachi and Charles Hodge, who were not contemporaries, but probably would like each other. Malachi's rebuke of the priests in post-exilic Judah is as incisive and profound as it is simple... the main and singular task of God's priests is to hold forth true instruction that men, seeking it as from the Lord, would turn aside from sin.

Hodge's article, "Suggestions to Theological Students," captures the essence of the exhortation from Malachi:

Let him remember that truth is essential to holiness and salvation; that it has always been repulsive to the majority of men; and, therefore, difficult to maintain and uphold; that the responsibility of thus maintaining and transmitting it, rests mainly with the ministry; and that the fate of many generations may depend on their fidelity...

When we properly appreciate the necessity of truth to piety, the dreadful and long-continued consequences of its neglect, we shall feel that to be indifferent to its interests is one of the greatest sins of which a minister can be guilty; give heed, therefore, to your doctrines; hold fast the form of sound words; contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.

- The Princeton Review 5/1 (1833).

The greatest dereliction of duty amongst ministers of Christ is not failing to be entertaining nor to proficiently administer the church's host of programs, it is to approach God's Word with an apathetic or trivial bent. How a host of ministers today have fallen into this great depravity!

May God turn back His ministers to fill their mouths with true instruction that His Church be repaired and His glory known among men. May He illuminate future generations so as to not depend upon the balance of today's ministers, but return to the truth, forsake the idols of their fathers, and forgive the infidelity of our age. May He graciously preserve this servant of Christ so that it would never be said that the word of Christ was too light a thing for him.

Media and Our Capacity for Humility

A fool does not delight in understanding,
But only in revealing his own mind (Prov 18:2)

In the previous post regarding holiness and modern media, I contended that we hinder our walk with Christ if we use modern media uncritically and naively. In the posts to follow, I hope to demonstrate how capacities inherent to faithful Christian discipleship are endangered by an unthinking embrace of media. We want to follow this by examining Ephesians 5:15-17 and its application to the media world, and finally conclude with a few practical suggestions on how Christians might use modern media with wisdom and discernment.

The first capacity endangered by media, particularly that of the published and communication variety, is a properly humble self-awareness. The Christian is called to "all humility" (Eph 4:2), in view of God's sovereign grace (cf. Eph 2:8-10), and to remember "he is nothing," so that he is not hindered in the need to "bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2-3). Yet, cultivating humility is certainly not the focus of media.

Via such venues as blogs (go ahead, chuckle at the apparent hypocrisy!), texts, Facebook, and Twitter, we have the historically unprecedented ability to instantly update and broadcast our perceptions, criticisms, and experiences to a mass audience. Though this potential may come with a price... foolishly believing that sharing our own mind is really that important.

William Deresiewicz, in his article, "The End of Solitude," made a similar observation:

The goal now, it seems, is simply to become known, to turn oneself into a sort of miniature celebrity. How many friends do I have on Facebook? How many people are reading my blog? How many Google hits does my name generate? Visibility secures our self-esteem, becoming a substitute, twice removed, for genuine connection.

Nicholas Carr, addressing Twitter in particular, is even more direct:

Twitter is the telegraph of Narcissus. Not only are you the star of the show, but everything that happens to you, no matter how trifling, is a headline, a media event, a stop-the-presses bulletin.

Reflecting universal and total depravity, narcissism is unavoidable as a cultural phenomenon. But for Christians it is inexcusable, because it unsettles the foundation of the Gospel itself:

...the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,so that, just as it is written, 'LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD' (1 Cor 1:28-31)

The reality, however painful it may be to admit, is that our thoughts and experiences are terribly unimportant (Take a minute and let that one soak in... I know it stings a bit). If His Word is inestimable (e.g., Ps 119:127) and our words are negligible at best, which should be the focus of our contemplation and communication?

Pray for Iran

Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body (Heb 13:3).

Another post on media is forthcoming later today, DV, but for an example of media used wisely watch this CBN report on Iranian Christians with Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton.



*We're not big fans of the 700 Club, but this report was a good reminder that Christ would have us pray beyond ourselves and our immediate fellowship.

Holiness and Modern Media: Introduction

Therefore be careful how you walk... (Eph 5:15)

We're going to interrupt the previously attempted restart in order to post on my recent foray toward a Biblical understanding of Christian holiness in a media-drenched world. A sufficient number of requests have prompted us to post the audio of Sunday's class, "A Wise People: Holiness and Modern Media," on the website, but its Socratic nature may make a blog series more helpful.

Our way forward in holiness amidst modern media, will not be through Christian obscurantism, which would condemn every technological advance since 1611 and directly connect every modern medium to the coming of the Beast. After all, if we accept Merriam-Webster's definition, that media denotes "a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression," we must conclude that media was God's idea.

Condescending to communicate to His creatures, God has written a book, which is, in fact, a medium! There was even a book before the foundation of the world (cf. Rev 13:8). God, in His mercy, is a revealing, communicating, transcribing God, so to condemn the use of media in toto would be short-sighted. Needless to say, media has undergone a bit of development since God finished His book sometime in the late first century.

We live in an age of prolific media opportunities and intrusions, where the means of communication and expression develop at a speed unseen by previous eras of humanity. We may organize the media onslaught in three general categories:

• Published Media, which is disseminating information for public viewing and would include books, periodicals, websites, and blogs.
  
  
• Broadcast Media, which is the transmission of information to a mass audience via audio and/or video signals and would therefore include radio, television, movies,Mp3 players, etc.
  
  
• Communication Media, which is the transmission of content between two or more individuals and encompasses cell phones, texting, social networking, etc.

Yet, while the efficiency and immediacy of these forms of communication receive great attention, we have not always given the same care to critically consider the media we use, especially as Christians. Have we even thought to ask whether our use of media may have trade-offs or draw-backs? The truth is we often assume that because something is new it must be better and if it is new and fast... well, then, what imbecile would stand in the way of such apparent progress? And as we are swept along, we may be failing as followers of Christ, holy and set apart by His blood, to ask the most important question: how is this medium affecting my life before my Savior and my God?

So, in the few posts that follow, we'll be seeking to uncover some of the capacities that may be endangered if we do not consider such questions as

• What values are inherent in my use of media?
  
  
• How does media impact my thought, my worship, and my relationships?
  
  
• Are the patterns and habits cultivated by media helpful or harmful in my walk with Christ?

All of which is essentially to ask, how carefully do I walk?