Discussion Notes and Future Topics
I had a great time with everyone on Friday night last week. We covered a lot of ground with I.D. (Intelligent Design) and talking about how we can drive a wedge into the current beliefs about God for the sake of the gospel. The important thing to remember is that all of these topics become meaningless if we don't speak them in conjunction with the gospel. What is helpful about an idea like I.D. is that is points people, objectively, to the reality of a Creator God. Once we see that there is a Creator God, we can move to talking about God's standards, His desires for His creatures, and what He demands in order to secure their eternal salvation.
I enjoyed our time singing together. Some of those songs really capture well the ideas of creation and all of God's works praising His Name. I particularly enjoyed Wonderful Maker and God of Wonders.
Our discussion centered around a few key ideas of I.D. as well as some of the flaws of Darwinian Evolution. You can read more about Irreducible Complexity in the previous post. We came down the basic conclusion that everything is so complex, right down to our tiny cells, that the chances that this all occurred randomly are too great to even be possible. I think the exact number was 1 in a trillion, trillion, trillion chance (1-1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) that even one cell could have formed correctly, much less multiple cells, and that only happens after life has begun on its own on earth, which still has yet to be proven or duplicated.
Praise God for giving us such a picture of the intricacy with which He created all things.
Next time, we'll be discussing the Bible and how we can know if it is what it says it is, without error and inspired by God. I would recommend reading Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology or Bible Doctrine book under the section of Bibliology. Happy reading and studying and I'll see you at the next Bonfire on May 30 at the Mission's House.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Key to I.D.
As Intelligent Design is thrown into the spotlight by our bonfire, I think it would be good for us to know what the key argument of Intelligent Design is. It's technical term is the Rule of Irreducible Complexity. In layman's terms, this basically means that organisms or machines need to have a certain number of working parts that work together for it to be considered an organism or machine. Michale Behe defines it as: "A single system that is composed of several interacting parts, where the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to cease functioning." He uses the example of a moustrap: "The mousetraps that my family uses consist of a number of parts. There are: (1) a flat wooden platform to act as a base; (2) a metal hammer, which does the actual job of crushing the little mouse; (3) a spring with extended ends to press against the platform and the hammer when the trap is charged; (4) a sensitive catch that releases when slight pressure is applied; (5) and a metal bar that connects to the catch an holds the hammer back when the trap is charged. Now, you can't catch a mouse with just a platform, add a spring and catch a few more mice, add a holding bar and catch a few more. All the pieces of the mousetrap have to be in place before you catch any mice. Therefore, the mousetrap is irreducibly complex."
What does this look like in nature? Consider the evolutionary explanation of how we got thumbs. An animal, several mutations away from a fully developed human, doesn't have any thumbs, only regular fingers, much like a dogs paw. Suddenly, there is a mutation, and the skin to hold a thumb appears on a hand. After that mutation, is passed on through the generations, a bone appears. After that mutation, cartilage, then knuckles, then tendons, etc. This process, although taking a long time, eventually leaves us with a fully functional opposable thumb. Now this sounds great, but there a lot of holes in the idea, some of them coming from Darwin himself.
Natural selection, the idea that the strong survive because they are more able to cope with their environment, makes mutation difficult. To look at the thumb example, the species begins to develop an opposable thumb will be hindered by its development until it is fully functional. They will be hindered in finding a mate, in gathering food, in defending themselves, etc. According to natural selection, this would classify the animal as injured or defective, and they would usually die off before they were even able to pass on this gene to another generation. Imagine if a worm were to begin to develop an eye. Each step in the process, whether it is having an eye socket, extra nerves run to the eye, developing the unique tissues that make up the eye, or even being able to actually see and process what you are seeing, would be a hindrance to the day to day activities of the worm. These changes, unless they all came at once, would cause the worms death rather than give it a better chance at life.
Now consider something infinitely more complex, the human body. There are so many pieces that make us what we are. What I.D. argues is that this could not have happened by coincidences strung together that happen to give us a cell, then more cells, than an organism, then animals, etc. The idea of irreducible complexity is that all of the pieces had to be there, fully functioning, at the same time in order for it to work and to be passed on to the next generation. This is an argument that Darwinian Evolution has no answer to.
I hope you find this information helpful as you prepare for our Bonfire on Friday night. See you there.
-Michael Behe: from "Signs of Intelligence- Darwin's Breakdown: Irreducible Complexity and Design at the Foundation of Life" pg. 93-94
As Intelligent Design is thrown into the spotlight by our bonfire, I think it would be good for us to know what the key argument of Intelligent Design is. It's technical term is the Rule of Irreducible Complexity. In layman's terms, this basically means that organisms or machines need to have a certain number of working parts that work together for it to be considered an organism or machine. Michale Behe defines it as: "A single system that is composed of several interacting parts, where the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to cease functioning." He uses the example of a moustrap: "The mousetraps that my family uses consist of a number of parts. There are: (1) a flat wooden platform to act as a base; (2) a metal hammer, which does the actual job of crushing the little mouse; (3) a spring with extended ends to press against the platform and the hammer when the trap is charged; (4) a sensitive catch that releases when slight pressure is applied; (5) and a metal bar that connects to the catch an holds the hammer back when the trap is charged. Now, you can't catch a mouse with just a platform, add a spring and catch a few more mice, add a holding bar and catch a few more. All the pieces of the mousetrap have to be in place before you catch any mice. Therefore, the mousetrap is irreducibly complex."
What does this look like in nature? Consider the evolutionary explanation of how we got thumbs. An animal, several mutations away from a fully developed human, doesn't have any thumbs, only regular fingers, much like a dogs paw. Suddenly, there is a mutation, and the skin to hold a thumb appears on a hand. After that mutation, is passed on through the generations, a bone appears. After that mutation, cartilage, then knuckles, then tendons, etc. This process, although taking a long time, eventually leaves us with a fully functional opposable thumb. Now this sounds great, but there a lot of holes in the idea, some of them coming from Darwin himself.
Natural selection, the idea that the strong survive because they are more able to cope with their environment, makes mutation difficult. To look at the thumb example, the species begins to develop an opposable thumb will be hindered by its development until it is fully functional. They will be hindered in finding a mate, in gathering food, in defending themselves, etc. According to natural selection, this would classify the animal as injured or defective, and they would usually die off before they were even able to pass on this gene to another generation. Imagine if a worm were to begin to develop an eye. Each step in the process, whether it is having an eye socket, extra nerves run to the eye, developing the unique tissues that make up the eye, or even being able to actually see and process what you are seeing, would be a hindrance to the day to day activities of the worm. These changes, unless they all came at once, would cause the worms death rather than give it a better chance at life.
Now consider something infinitely more complex, the human body. There are so many pieces that make us what we are. What I.D. argues is that this could not have happened by coincidences strung together that happen to give us a cell, then more cells, than an organism, then animals, etc. The idea of irreducible complexity is that all of the pieces had to be there, fully functioning, at the same time in order for it to work and to be passed on to the next generation. This is an argument that Darwinian Evolution has no answer to.
I hope you find this information helpful as you prepare for our Bonfire on Friday night. See you there.
-Michael Behe: from "Signs of Intelligence- Darwin's Breakdown: Irreducible Complexity and Design at the Foundation of Life" pg. 93-94
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Reflections on Friday Night
First of all, thank you to everyone who came and participated in a great evening together. As we thought through what Bonfires would be about, we wanted to focus on being together for a profitable time of singing, prayer, and discussion centered around God's Word. I believe we accomplished our goal. Here is what happened in case you missed it:
Singing:
I think the song that spoke to most of us was "In Christ Alone". This song has such a rich text that almost every line carries a theological weight, and a joy as well. Many students and leaders commented on various lines, referencing God's sovereignty, the freedom we have from sin, the finality of Christ's sacrifice, and the great joy we now have being chosen by God. I was very encouraged by our time singing together.
Discussion:
Our discussion centered around the issue of homosexuality and what the Bible has to say about it. At the beginning of our talk, we spoke about some key scripture verses that speak to the husband wife relationship and that speak against a homosexual relationship. I've already posted those passages in the previous post. Our time really got interesting when we began talking about how you would reason with someone who doesn't believe in the Bible. I played the devil's advocate and showed just how hard it is to reason with someone who won't listen to scripture or even to common sense. Things that are obvious to a believer, like looking at creation or even seeing the need for both genders in procreation, are overshadowed in a non-believers mind by their own sense of right and wrong which is still saturated in Christ-less sin.
We concluded that if you are in a discussion with someone who won't change their mind, no matter what you say, it is a fruitless discussion. This means that we need to sharpen our reasoning skills to understand when it is pointless to debate something. Also, even if we do with the debate about homosexuality or evolution or abortion, the person is still going to hell if they don't understand the gospel. That is why it is so important to not get side-tracked and to bring every conversation down to the level of "What is Truth". Here's what I mean.
To know what a person really believes, you have to first understand where they believe truth comes from. If they believe that the true standard of right and wrong comes from within themselves, then there really is no standard and we can do whatever we want. You can confront that person with a statement like, "Why is murder wrong? Perhaps it is wrong for you, but what about someone else who is okay with killing others? If truth lies within each of us, then everyone should be allowed to do whatever they want with no consequences." The absurdity of that statement should be apparent to anyone who is speaking reasonably with you.
Once you establish that there has to be some kind of truth outside of ourselves that gave us a sense of what is really right and wrong, you can move to talking about who or what gave us that truth. It must've come from somewhere. We know that that somewhere is God. Now you are talking about something that matters for eternity; the eternal God who loves us and sent His Son to die for sinners. Remember to move your conversations in that direction as much as possible.
I would love to read your feedback on our discussion. Feel free to ask more questions, make suggestions, or just leave a comment. See you at the next bonfire.
First of all, thank you to everyone who came and participated in a great evening together. As we thought through what Bonfires would be about, we wanted to focus on being together for a profitable time of singing, prayer, and discussion centered around God's Word. I believe we accomplished our goal. Here is what happened in case you missed it:
Singing:
I think the song that spoke to most of us was "In Christ Alone". This song has such a rich text that almost every line carries a theological weight, and a joy as well. Many students and leaders commented on various lines, referencing God's sovereignty, the freedom we have from sin, the finality of Christ's sacrifice, and the great joy we now have being chosen by God. I was very encouraged by our time singing together.
Discussion:
Our discussion centered around the issue of homosexuality and what the Bible has to say about it. At the beginning of our talk, we spoke about some key scripture verses that speak to the husband wife relationship and that speak against a homosexual relationship. I've already posted those passages in the previous post. Our time really got interesting when we began talking about how you would reason with someone who doesn't believe in the Bible. I played the devil's advocate and showed just how hard it is to reason with someone who won't listen to scripture or even to common sense. Things that are obvious to a believer, like looking at creation or even seeing the need for both genders in procreation, are overshadowed in a non-believers mind by their own sense of right and wrong which is still saturated in Christ-less sin.
We concluded that if you are in a discussion with someone who won't change their mind, no matter what you say, it is a fruitless discussion. This means that we need to sharpen our reasoning skills to understand when it is pointless to debate something. Also, even if we do with the debate about homosexuality or evolution or abortion, the person is still going to hell if they don't understand the gospel. That is why it is so important to not get side-tracked and to bring every conversation down to the level of "What is Truth". Here's what I mean.
To know what a person really believes, you have to first understand where they believe truth comes from. If they believe that the true standard of right and wrong comes from within themselves, then there really is no standard and we can do whatever we want. You can confront that person with a statement like, "Why is murder wrong? Perhaps it is wrong for you, but what about someone else who is okay with killing others? If truth lies within each of us, then everyone should be allowed to do whatever they want with no consequences." The absurdity of that statement should be apparent to anyone who is speaking reasonably with you.
Once you establish that there has to be some kind of truth outside of ourselves that gave us a sense of what is really right and wrong, you can move to talking about who or what gave us that truth. It must've come from somewhere. We know that that somewhere is God. Now you are talking about something that matters for eternity; the eternal God who loves us and sent His Son to die for sinners. Remember to move your conversations in that direction as much as possible.
I would love to read your feedback on our discussion. Feel free to ask more questions, make suggestions, or just leave a comment. See you at the next bonfire.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Before We Meet
Here are my scripture references for our discussion. I'll post the results of the evening over the weekend. I hope you find them helpful.
References opposing Homosexuality:
Lev 18:22; Lev 20:13; Romans 1:24-32; 1 Cor 6:9-11;1 Tim 1:8-11;
References supporting Heterosexuality:
Here are my scripture references for our discussion. I'll post the results of the evening over the weekend. I hope you find them helpful.
References opposing Homosexuality:
Lev 18:22; Lev 20:13; Romans 1:24-32; 1 Cor 6:9-11;1 Tim 1:8-11;
References supporting Heterosexuality:
Gen. 2:24; 1 Tim 3:2; Matt 19:4-6; Eph 5:22-33;
This is also modeled in how God created Adam and Eve (Not Adam and Steve)
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
The Bonfires Have Begun
Thank you to everyone who participated in our bonfire last Friday night. It was a real blessing to worship with all of you and to discuss some of the issues facing you in your lives. In case you weren't there, here's what you missed.
We began our time with singing and discussing some of the common songs we sing in Oasis. There was a lot of praise to God for His mercy as we sang songs like Come Thou Fount and Thy Mercy. I'm very grateful for the reminders I received from you about those particular songs. After that we discussed what we should address in our discussion times for future bonfires. I was interested to see what topics would be helpful to get a Biblical perspective on so you could better share the gospel with your friends if they were interested in these issues. Here is the list of questions and topics you were interested in:
-Homosexuality
-Living with your significant other
-Pre-marital sex
-Having a pure mind
-Swearing
-Praying and reading
-Partying
-The truth of the Bible
-Lying
-Mormonism & Jehovah's Witnesses
-Holiday's
-Being tolerant and objective of other views
-What really saves us
-What about the "innocents"
These are all great topics of discussion. Each week we'll tackle one of them and see what the Bible has to say about it and how we can springboard from this topic to what really matters, namely, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our next bonfire will be on March 28 and we'll be discussing the topic of Homosexuality. I would encourage you to explore the links on this page to find articles about this topic to prepare yourself for the discussion coming up. Feel free to comment on the upcoming topic, ideas for new topics, suggestions for new songs, or requests for prayer. I'll see you all later. Keep sowing the seed for the Kingdom.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our bonfire last Friday night. It was a real blessing to worship with all of you and to discuss some of the issues facing you in your lives. In case you weren't there, here's what you missed.
We began our time with singing and discussing some of the common songs we sing in Oasis. There was a lot of praise to God for His mercy as we sang songs like Come Thou Fount and Thy Mercy. I'm very grateful for the reminders I received from you about those particular songs. After that we discussed what we should address in our discussion times for future bonfires. I was interested to see what topics would be helpful to get a Biblical perspective on so you could better share the gospel with your friends if they were interested in these issues. Here is the list of questions and topics you were interested in:
-Homosexuality
-Living with your significant other
-Pre-marital sex
-Having a pure mind
-Swearing
-Praying and reading
-Partying
-The truth of the Bible
-Lying
-Mormonism & Jehovah's Witnesses
-Holiday's
-Being tolerant and objective of other views
-What really saves us
-What about the "innocents"
These are all great topics of discussion. Each week we'll tackle one of them and see what the Bible has to say about it and how we can springboard from this topic to what really matters, namely, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our next bonfire will be on March 28 and we'll be discussing the topic of Homosexuality. I would encourage you to explore the links on this page to find articles about this topic to prepare yourself for the discussion coming up. Feel free to comment on the upcoming topic, ideas for new topics, suggestions for new songs, or requests for prayer. I'll see you all later. Keep sowing the seed for the Kingdom.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A Meat Morning
Well, by popular demand, we'll be having a BBQ meat morning. To be more appropriate, we'll call it a steak and eggs breakfast. I'll provide the eggs if you all provide the meat. I'll have the grills ready. We'll be chewing the fat about Romans 4 as well as praying for Matt as he prepares to leave for Brazil next week, so read up and come ready to talk, pray, and eat. See you over in the downstairs kitchen at 9am sharp. Later...
Friday, February 22, 2008
Romans Review
Gentlemen of the round table, we're back on track. Due to the poor attendance at our last meeting, we'll still be discussing Romans 3:21-31 tomorrow morning at the house at 9am. I hope to see you all there. Hopefully you all have some good insights, even from camp this past weekend. Bring you bible's and commentaries and be ready for some hard discussions on the implications of this passage. See you there.
Gentlemen of the round table, we're back on track. Due to the poor attendance at our last meeting, we'll still be discussing Romans 3:21-31 tomorrow morning at the house at 9am. I hope to see you all there. Hopefully you all have some good insights, even from camp this past weekend. Bring you bible's and commentaries and be ready for some hard discussions on the implications of this passage. See you there.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Early Meeting Time
Gentlemen of the hopefully flexible table, I bring you Friday greetings. I hope you have all had a splendid week at school. Tomorrow brings us to one of the most important passages in all of the Bible. We're looking at Romans 3:21- the end of the chapter. Be sure to read up. In light of the upcoming Camp and a rehearsal for the band, we'll be meeting at 8:30 at the Mission's house until about 9:45ish. Afterwards, those of you participating in the band for camp are welcome to come over to the church for rehearsal. We'll be having lunch together after practice which you are all invited to come to. That'll be around 11:45 am. If you have questions, feel free to call. See you tomorrow at 8:30.
Gentlemen of the hopefully flexible table, I bring you Friday greetings. I hope you have all had a splendid week at school. Tomorrow brings us to one of the most important passages in all of the Bible. We're looking at Romans 3:21- the end of the chapter. Be sure to read up. In light of the upcoming Camp and a rehearsal for the band, we'll be meeting at 8:30 at the Mission's house until about 9:45ish. Afterwards, those of you participating in the band for camp are welcome to come over to the church for rehearsal. We'll be having lunch together after practice which you are all invited to come to. That'll be around 11:45 am. If you have questions, feel free to call. See you tomorrow at 8:30.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Early to Rise
Gentlemen, due to the sledding time at 10am tomorrow morning, we will be meeting a half hour early tomorrow morning (8:30 am) at the Mission's House. I hope all of you are ready to discuss after your week off. We'll be looking at Romans 2:17-29. Read up, pray up, and be ready to fill up on God's word. If you are planning on sledding, bring your stuff and we can leave right from Bible Study to get over to the hill by 10. See you tomorrow.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Away from Home Again
Gentlemen of the Alaskan Waffle, we are out and about again. Due to a sleep-over at my house, we will have to meet abroad. Here is the plan. We will be meeting at the Pancake House in South Elgin at 8:30 am tomorrow morning. I will plan on getting there at around 8:15ish to put our name down. Please get there on time so we can get a table ASAP. I know we just went out last week and money is short for some of you, so if you could just bring $5 to cover your meal, I'll take care of the rest. Consider it a late Christmas present. We'll be covering the Romans 2:1-16, so come ready to discuss. Call me if you have any questions. See you tomorrow morning.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Tomorrow is Here
Gentlemen, we meet at last. Tomorrow we will be continuing our study through the book of Romans. We'll be covering 2:1-16. Don't forget to read the surrounding context and come with questions, comments, and insights from your commentators/ pastors. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. See you tomorrow morning (1/5/2008) at 9am at the house.
Gentlemen, we meet at last. Tomorrow we will be continuing our study through the book of Romans. We'll be covering 2:1-16. Don't forget to read the surrounding context and come with questions, comments, and insights from your commentators/ pastors. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. See you tomorrow morning (1/5/2008) at 9am at the house.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Next week we're back to Romans
Gentlemen of the desolate and forgotten table, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And to our diverse friends, Merry Chrismaquanzadonukkah. Anyhoo, just thought I'd remind you all that we won't be meeting tomorrow morning (12-29), and that our study will resume next Saturday morning. As of now, we will be meeting at our regular time, but keep posted for a potential change to an indoor BBQ in the afternoon. Keep reading regularly. Remember, we're cover the first section of chapter 2. See you at the Lord's house.
Gentlemen of the desolate and forgotten table, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And to our diverse friends, Merry Chrismaquanzadonukkah. Anyhoo, just thought I'd remind you all that we won't be meeting tomorrow morning (12-29), and that our study will resume next Saturday morning. As of now, we will be meeting at our regular time, but keep posted for a potential change to an indoor BBQ in the afternoon. Keep reading regularly. Remember, we're cover the first section of chapter 2. See you at the Lord's house.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
The Heart of Romans
Gentlemen of the fallen, yet redeemed table, greetings. We will continue our study through Romans tomorrow morning at 9am at the Mission's House. Remember to read through Romans, especially 1:16-17, and listen or read your commentators on that passage. Our question is whether or not these verses are a call for evangelism or an encouragement to believers about future salvation in heaven. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. See you on the morrow.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Let Us Begin Right Merrily
Gentlemen of the vacant, but prepared table, we begin again. As requested by some of you, we will be out at the Pancake House for our inagural meeting through the book of Romans. I would like to meet at 8am instead of 9am so we miss the rush of people. I'll try to speak to each of you about that before Saturday. This week we'll be reading through Romans 1:1-15. Hopefully each of you have chosen a commentator/ pastor to guide you through your study. I will expect each of you to be very familiar with the passage as well as familiar with what your commentator has to say about it. I'm looking forward greatly to this study. If you haven't chosen a commentator, I've posted several new links in the links side of things to help you out. Just click on a name and it will take you to their material on Romans. Happy studying and see you on Saturday morning.
Gentlemen of the vacant, but prepared table, we begin again. As requested by some of you, we will be out at the Pancake House for our inagural meeting through the book of Romans. I would like to meet at 8am instead of 9am so we miss the rush of people. I'll try to speak to each of you about that before Saturday. This week we'll be reading through Romans 1:1-15. Hopefully each of you have chosen a commentator/ pastor to guide you through your study. I will expect each of you to be very familiar with the passage as well as familiar with what your commentator has to say about it. I'm looking forward greatly to this study. If you haven't chosen a commentator, I've posted several new links in the links side of things to help you out. Just click on a name and it will take you to their material on Romans. Happy studying and see you on Saturday morning.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Preemptive Strike
Gentlemen of the completed table, we will continue our study through the good Book this Saturday morning at 9 am at the Randall St. Pancake House behind the Outback in S. Elgin. Please read through the Cambridge Declaration on the 5 Solas for our discussion. Think through why these 5 issues are so important to the church today and how they have impacted your view of salvation and the scriptures. Here is the full text in case you don't have a copy:
THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION
of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
April 20, 1996
Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith.
In the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word "evangelical." In the past it served as a bond of unity between Christians from a wide diversity of church traditions. Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It embraced the essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a common heritage in the "solas" of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.
Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that the word "evangelical" has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning. We face the peril of losing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our commitment to the central truths of the Reformation and of historic evangelicalism. These truths we affirm not because of their role in our traditions, but because we believe that they are central to the Bible.
Sola Scriptura: The Erosion Of Authority
Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.
Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church's understanding, nurture and discipline.
Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliche's, promises. and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God's truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God's provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the preachers opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given.
The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God's grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.
Thesis One: Sola Scriptura
We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.
Solus Christus: The Erosion Of Christ-Centered Faith
As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.
Thesis Two: Solus Christus
We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.
We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.
Sola Gratia: The Erosion Of The Gospel
Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches.
God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.
Thesis Three: Sola Gratia
We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.
Sola Fide: The Erosion Of The Chief Article
Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ's imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gospel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.
Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing the distinction between the biblical Word and the world, robbing Christ's cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to secular corporations.
While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ's substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God's children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ's saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.
Thesis Four: Sola Fide
We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice.
We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.
Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion Of God-Centered Worship
Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's centrality in the life of today's church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.
God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God's kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.
Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.
Call To Repentance And Reformation
The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ's kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary zeal.
We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the "gospels" of our secular culture, which are no gospels. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure adequately to tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ.
We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed.
The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to implementing this Declaration in the church's worship, ministry, policies, life and evangelism. For Christ's sake. Amen.
ACE Council Members:
Dr. John Armstrong
Rev. Alistair Begg
Dr. James M. Boice
Dr. W. Robert Godfrey
Dr. John D. Hannah
Dr. Michael S. Horton
Mrs. Rosemary Jensen
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Dr. Robert M. Norris
Dr. R. C. Sproul
Dr. G. Edward Veith
Dr. David Wells
Dr. Luder Whitlock
Dr. J. A. O. Preus, II
http://www.reformed.org/documents/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/documents/cambridge.html
I hope you find the read instructive and informative. See you on Saturday.
Friday, October 19, 2007
The Quest is Completed
Gentlemen of the treasurious table, congratulations on finishing the quest. This Saturday will be our last study through our book. We'll read the last 3 chapters (12-15) for our discussion Saturday morning. We'll be taking the next three weeks off for various reasons, and we'll begin our study through the book of Romans on November 17 with perhaps another breakfast at the Randall St. Pancake house (yes, the King Kong may strike again). I look forward to our next meeting.
Friday, October 12, 2007
The BBQ Is HereGentlemen of the round, meaty table, the BBQ is finally upon us. Make sure to bring your own beef, chicken, lamb, venison, boar, pork, fish, or meat substitute for the grill. We'll be meeting at high noon at the Mission's House to discuss the next two chapters (11-12) as well as discuss where we are going with our study through Romans. I hope you all can make it. It's going to be a tasty time.
Friday, October 05, 2007
I Can Almost Smell the BBQ
Gentlemen of the questing table, where is everyone? I have to say that I miss you guys. It seems like forever since we've all met together. I hope more than three of you can make it this week, but if not, I trust that those who come have been directed there by God and that the rest of you have a good reason for missing. I hope Matt and Joe do great in their tourney tomorrow.
We will be meeting tomorrow morning at 9am to discuss chapters 9-10 in our book. The following week I would like to have our BBQ so we avoid having it when it is too cold. We'll discuss that tomorrow. Also, is there a better time for you all to meet? Just wondering. I hope you are all doing well. Talk at you tomorrow. Later...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Gentlemen of the vacant table, it is good to be back. How's it hangin' wich yu? The vaca was nice, and it was good to see Cali again and enjoy some nice In-n-Out, but there's nothing like sweet home Chicago.
I am curious about who will be coming this week to Bible Study. I've heard from Nick and Dwayne that they won't be able to make it. Depending on our number, we might have to cancel or meet at Caribou. Either way I'm planning on meeting the week after and having a little BBQ if you can make it. So, let me know your plans. I would really like to get back into a regular schedule of us meeting, especially since we took that past two weeks off. We'll be discussing the next two chapters (ch. 7-8), so be ready to discuss. Later...
Whazzup, Jewish Style
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