Pro-Life or just Anti-Abortion

As evangelicals we hear much about being “pro-life.”  I’ve struggled to understand exactly what that means.  Does it mean that we are simply anti-abortion, or does it mean something more?  Yes, I take a firm stand against abortion, but that cannot be the extent of holding the pro-life position.  Not only must we stand against abortion, we must stand for adoption.  My wife and I have talked much about adoption and pray that we will be able to, Lord willing, adopt a child in the future.  How can we as believers, especially Gentile Christians, not have a heart for adoption?  Need we be reminded of the fact that we who were once far off have now been brought near by the blood of Christ?  The Scriptures are replete with reminders that we have been adopted into the family of God (Romans 8,  Galatians 4:1-7, Ephesians 1:5).  Adoption is one of the many beautiful facets of the gospel.  Thus, the gospel is our motivation for adoption.  We see ourselves as the child without a father, having no hope.  That is who we once were and would still be, if not for the shed blood of Christ as He stood in our place for our sin.  With this understanding, along with clear commands to care for orphans (James 1:27), we must lead the way in adoption.  Only then can we claim the title of ”pro-life.”

 

I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but Russell Moore’s book, Adopted for Life, has gotten great reviews.

Also, check out the ministry, Together for Adoption, for more information on the subject.

Christ-Centered Preaching

I’m reading Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon by Bryan Chapell.  Here are two great quotes I read yesterday, one on a pastor’s prayer/intimacy with Christ and the other on preaching Christ from ALL of Scripture.

Public ministry true to God’s purposes requires devoted private prayer.  We should not expect our words to acquaint others with the power of the Spirit if we have not met with him.  Faithful preachers plead for God to work as well as for their own accuracy, integrity, and skill in proclaiming his Word.  Success in the pulpit can be the force that leads a preacher from prayerful dependence on the Spirit.  Congregational accolades for pulpit excellence may tempt one to put too much confidence in personal gifts, acquired skills, or a particular method of preaching.  Succumbing to such a temptation is evidenced not so much by a change in belief as by a change in practice.  Neglect of prayer signals serious deficiencies in a ministry even if other signs of success have not diminished.  We must always remember that popular acclaim is not necessarily the same as spiritual effectiveness.

Without a redemptive focus, we may believe we have exegeted Scripture when in fact we have simply translated its parts and parsed its pieces without reference to the role they have in God’s eternal plan.  John Calvin said, “God has ordained his Word as the instrument by which Jesus Christ, with all His graces, is dispensed to us.”  No such process occurs when passages of the Word are ripped from their redemptive context and are seen as mere moral examples and behavioral guidelines. (emphasis mine)

Every pastor and preacher of the Word should take these quotes to heart.  I was especially encouraged by the reminder that grace will not be dispensed to our listeners when we rip passages of the Word “from their redemptive context” and see them ”as mere moral examples and behavioral guidelines.”  Jesus is the key to all of Scripture.  It is a book about Him and His redemptive purposes.  Jesus himself knew this.  (Luke 24:25-27, 44-49)  When we treat the Bible like a “blueprint for living,” we are missing the point altogether.  Does Scripture instruct us how we ought to live?  Certainly.  But, if that is all we preach, we have not dispensed the grace of Christ to our listeners.  Preach the gospel!  (Even when you’re preaching from the Old Testament!!)

Here are two good books to help you preach Jesus from all of Scripture:

Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture- Graeme Goldsworthy

Preaching Christ in All of Scripture- Edmund P. Clowney

If you have iTunes, check out this lecture series from Tim Keller and Edmund Clowney.  It is well worth your time!  If you don’t have iTunes, go download it and then download the lecture series.

Interview with Mark Driscoll

I have many heros of the faith. Men such as John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, Tim Keller, Billy Graham, Danny Akin, and Jerry Bridges have impacted my life greatly through their preaching and writing ministries. Another man I admire is Mark Driscoll. There has been much recent debate about Driscoll in my demonimation. To that end, here’s a video interview between Mark Driscoll and Dr. David Nelson from SEBTS. Hopefully, this will show you Mark’s heart and the reason I deeply respect him as a pastor, church planter, theologian, husband, and father.  Click here to watch the interview.

Great Quote

I have greatly struggled how to apply New Testament principles to our current political system.  To that end, here is a great quote from Tim Keller’s Ministries of Mercies: The Call of the Jericho Road:

Love cannot be only expressed through talk, but through word and deed (1 John 3:17).  While accomplishing that task, Francis Schaeffer said, Christians may be at times, “cobelligerents” with the Left or the Right, but never allies.  “If there is social injustice, say there is social injustice.  If we need order, say we need order…But do not align yourself as though you are in either of these camps: You are an ally of neither.  The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is different from either-totally different.”

The ideology of the Left believes big government and social reform will solve social ills, while the Right believes big business and economic growth will do it.  The Left expects a citizen to be held legally accountable for the use of wealth, but totally autonomous in other areas, such as sexual morality.  The Right expects a citizen to be held legally accountable in areas of personal morality, but totally autonomous in the use of wealth.  The North American “idol” – radical individualism – lies beneath both ideologies.  A Christian sees either “solution” as fundamentally humanistic and simplistic.

The causes of our worsening social problems are far more complex than either the secularists of the Right or the Left understand.  We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities!  We have seen there is great social injustice – racial prejudice, greed, avarice – by those with the greatest wealth in the country (and sadly, within the evangelical church itself).  At the same time, there is a general breakdown of order – of the family and the morals of the nation.  There is more premarital sex (and thus there is more unwed mothers), more divorce, child neglect and abuse, more crime.  Neither a simple redistribution of wealth nor simple economic growth and prosperity can mend broken families; nor can they turn low-skilled mothers into engineers or technicians.

Only the ministry of the church of Jesus Christ, and the millions of “mini-churches” (Christian homes) throughout the country can attack the roots of social problems.  Only the church can minister to the whole person.  Only the gospel understands that sin has ruined us both individually and socially.  We cannot be viewed individualistically (as the capitalists do) or collectivistically (as the Communists do) but as related to God.  Only Christians, armed with the Word and Spirit, planning and working to spread the kingdom and righteousness of Christ, can transform a nation as well as a neighborhood as well as a broken heart.

Extended Memorization of Scripture

Last weekend, I attended the 20/20 Conference (go here for a blog re-cap of the conference) at SEBTS.  To be honest, this was probably the best $35 I’ve ever spent.  The conference was called “The Gospel comes to Life.”  Key note speakers included Mark Driscoll, C.J. Mahaney, Bill Brown (president of Cedarville University), and Danny Akin (president of SEBTS).  Not only were the large group sessions amazing, but the break-out sessions were well worth $35 in and of themselves.  One session was particularly beneficial: “The Bible Comes to Life: How Scripture Memory Transforms One’s Life,” led by Andy Davis, pastor of FBC Durham, NC.  The main point of the breakout: memorizing entire books of the Bible are better than memorizing individual verses.  Why you ask?  Memorizing individual verses tends to miss intervening verses that the individual does not feel are as significant.  Furthermore, most of Scripture is written to make a case.  There is a flow of argumentation that is missed if individual verses are memorized.  There is also a greater likelihood of taking verses out of context by focusing on individual verses.  I left this session convicted that I have not been meditating on and memorizing the Word as I ought.  I was also encouraged by the Spirit to begin to memorize entire books of Scripture.  I personally made the commitment before God to invest time in Scripture memorization by beginning to memorize the book of Ephesians.  Below is the process that I am using to accomplish this goal (taken from Dr. Andy Davis’ “An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture”)

Daily Procedures:

1. Priority of reviewing old verses: Always give priority in your mind to the retaining of old verses even over the learning of new ones.

2. Repetition over time: Saying a verse 100 times in one day is not as helpful as saying it for 100 days.

3. Memorizing the verse numbers: An important note is that it is well-worth the extra effort to memorize the verse numbers as if they were part of each verse.

4. Photographing the verses with your eyes: Memorization is partly visual.  Read each new verse ten times, covering each word as though photographing it with your eyes.

Sample Daily Procedure:

1. Day one: Read Ephesians 1:1 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes.  Be sure to include the verse number.  Then cover the page and recite it ten times.  You’re done for the day.

2. Day two: Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:1 ten times, being sure to include the verse number.  Now, do your new verse.  Read Ephesians 1:2 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes.  Be sure to include the verse number.  Then cover the page and recite it ten times.

3. Day three: Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:2 ten times, being sure to include the verse number.  Recite Ephesians 1:1-2 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers.  Now do your new verse.  Read Ephesians 1:3 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes.  Be sure to include the verse number.  Then cover the page and recite it ten times.

This cycle would continue through the entire book.  The “old verses together” stage will soon swell to take the most time of all.  The entire book of Ephesians can be read at a reasonable rate in less than fifteen minutes.  Therefore, the “old verses together” stage of your review should not take longer than that on any given day.  Do it with the Bible ready at hand, in case you draw a blank or get stuck.  There’s no shame in looking and it actually helps you nail down troublesome verses so they will never be trouble again.

Assuming you continue this procedure in Ephesians with no missed days (other than your one day off per week), you should be done with the whole book in 26 weeks.  When you have learned the whole book, you should stop to celebrate!  Get on your knees and give thanks to God for His goodness to you.  After your celebration is done, you should recite the entire book from memory for 100 consecutive days.

When I first heard Dr. Davis talk about this I was quite intimidated.  But after prayer, I felt so encouraged by the Spirit to jump right in.  I’ve started to memorize Ephesians.  I follow the above procedure six days a week, Mon-Sat.  Lord willing, I will finish the book of Ephesians on August 8, 2009.  My wife and I are planning a celebration when I finish.  Hopefully it will include her famous cheese enchiladas and some of her amazing oatmeal-raisin cookies.

I’ll leave you with a few verses that encouraged me when I made the commitment to memorize Ephesians.  I hope that some of you will take this challenge as well:

Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:9-11, John 15:7-8