Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Regeneration & Monergistic Grace



One of the issues debated in the Reformation and in the centuries since has been human action in regeneration. Regeneration, i.e. the new birth, occurs when God replaces a sinner’s stony heart with a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26), a heart sensitive to God’s will (John 10:26-27), receptive to God’s law (1Cor. 2:14), and capable of doing what pleases God (Rom. 8:8). No human being can enter the kingdom of God without the new birth (John 3:3-5). He cannot properly understand and will not accept God’s word (1Cor. 2:14). He is in bondage to sin (Rom. 3:9) and dead in transgressions (Eph. 2:1-3). The unregenerate man is unable to do anything that pleases God (Rom. 8:8). Unless we are born again, we remain under God’s wrath (John 3:18, 36) and will never do or desire what pleases Him.

Many Christians think the new birth happens when a person believes in Jesus. But if an unregenerate person is unable to understand, accept, or do what pleases God, how can that person believe (Rom. 14:23; Heb. 11:6)? Does believing in Jesus please the Father? Certainly it does. Then no one who is in the flesh and has not experienced the new birth is able to believe (Rom. 8:8).

This is why we understand the grace of regeneration to be monergistic rather than synergistic. Synergism involves two or more parties working in cooperation. God does His part, I do my part, and together we accomplish what neither could alone. Monergism, on the other hand, involves a single actor. God acts in choosing me and regenerating my sinful heart, thus enabling me to believe in His Son and be saved. I could not regenerate my own heart, but God changed my heart so that I could and would believe in Jesus.

There are two reasons people reject this view of regeneration. First, they do not believe the human condition is as bad as described above. They think sinners are disabled, but not dead. But the Bible clearly says otherwise. Second, they think this view removes human responsibility to believe, but it does not. I still choose to believe, but God’s grace enables me to make that choice. Soli Deo Gloria! -JME

Monday, December 29, 2014

2015 Reading Goals



I have always been an avid reader, but I have rarely organized or recorded my reading over an extended period of time. I began keeping a list of books I read in the summer of 2013, and I set specific targets for my reading in 2014, modest enough but sufficient to motivate me, and I easily surpassed those goals. Lately I have been thinking about 2015 and what I hope to read and accomplish in the New Year.

There are several factors that significantly affect the nature, content, and volume of my reading. These include my off-and-on involvement in seminary and graduate level studies, my workload with the church, and the amount of time I spend in language study or other disciplines. I have curtailed my online engagement and social media presence to allow more time for productive activity, such as meaningful reading, but my schedule since moving to Arizona provides far less opportunity for extended reading time than in years past.

The form and content of my yearly reading record is somewhat arbitrary. At least so far, I have chosen not to record everything I read. I do not log my Bible reading as part of my reading record, though it consumes a significant part of my reading time. I also do not record journal articles, essays, booklets, or individuals chapters or sections of books that I read in the course of study and research. I only log books, complete books, which I read during the course of the year. These books vary significantly in length. The longest one I read in 2014 was over 900 pages. The shortest may have been only 60-90 pages. What constitutes a book and what a booklet may be a bit subjective, and when I am uncertain, I generally do not record it. So my log is actually a very selective and incomplete list of what I read each year, perhaps as little as 30-40% of my total reading volume.

I decided my 2015 reading goals would be more focused on content and genre than total volumes. I have decided to read 100 books in 2015, more than most people read but much less than many passionate readers. The challenge will be in the nature of those 100 books. I have decided to divide the year’s reading according to specific categories. I intend to read a minimum of 12 classics, 12 books on history, 12 works of historical theology, 4 biographies, and to read the entire New Testament in two different languages (Koine Greek and Esperanto). This leaves 58 books as “open electives,” unrestricted as to content or category. This challenge will require me to read at least one classic, one history book, and one work of historical theology every month, plus one biography every quarter. This will be the most challenging aspect of my reading in 2015 since most of the volumes in those categories will be longer, denser, and more time-consuming than the average novel or work of non-fiction. But I am excited about the challenge, and I am looking forward to increasing the difficulty and reward involved in meeting my reading goals.

Posting goals like this one is not something I normally do. I generally prefer to keep my personal goals and daily disciplines off the public radar. But after seeing how keeping a simple reading log helped me over the last 17 months and how simple reading targets made me a more disciplined and effective reader, I hope posting these details about my 2015 plan might encourage and inspire readers to develop similar goals and strategies for themselves. Whether it is reading 100 books a year or only 1 book a month, reading more and better books in 2015 will be a blessing to the vast majority of people. What matters is not how many books you read but what you read, how you read, and what you take away from it. It is far better to read fewer books but to read them well than to read many books but learn nothing from them. Most of us will benefit from reading more, reading better books, and using better reading habits. Plan to do so in the New Year. -JME

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Eve Reflections: 2014



God’s Reassurance to Joseph
Text: Matthew 1:18-25

Introduction

            Do you realize how incredibly scandalous the Christmas story is? A betrothed but as yet unwed mother. A suspicious fiancée. A vision of an angel. Divine revelation in a dream. A baby conceived without a human father. A pregnancy initiated by God. A child described as the Son of God, one who would save His people from their sins. Who could believe it?

            We sanitize the event. No barn was ever as clean as the nativity scenes depict it. It stinks. It is dark and damp. There is no unearthly glow, no halo, no beatific vision. The reality was very different than the scene most of us have pictured in our minds or seen represented in various ways. It would have been gritty, cold, and frightening.

            We imagine the scene as serene and joyous. Joyous, certainly, but not at first. Nine months of questions and anxiety, apart from the physical and emotional stress and strain that is a part of every pregnancy. How did we get here? What is God doing? What lies ahead for us and for this child?

Discussion

The angel Gabriel’s announcement from heaven would certainly have been a mixed blessing. When Mary heard what he had to say, she was confused. “How can this be,” she asked, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) As confusing as the news was to Mary, it would have been even harder for Joseph. He was not with Mary when Gabriel appeared, so he received the information secondhand. The Scripture says he, understandably, assumed the worst. “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (Matt. 1:19). How could he do otherwise? What would you think? Your fiancée is pregnant but assures you, “This is a miracle, an act of God. I have been faithful to you.” Really? What man, even a man of great faith, could easily believe it? The Lord sent an angel to speak to Joseph in a dream and reassure him of his betrothed’s purity and of God’s plan for this child. If the Lord had not intervened to counteract Joseph’s original plan, Mary might have had to raise the Savior as a single mom.

Joseph wanted to do what was right. He was a righteous man. But the implications of this pregnancy were not insignificant. It would have serious repercussions in their family and social circles. They lived in a small community, and it would be impossible to hide. Undoubtedly they would have been viewed as sinners and shunned. When they traveled to Bethlehem for the census, they did not go back to Nazareth for several years. Why relocate to Bethlehem? Because it would have been hard to stay at home.

            The Lord’s will put a heavy burden on this godly couple. What a way to begin your marriage! How stressful must it have been? How difficult to be married to someone but not be allowed to touch them? That’s right. After being reassured by an angel of the Lord in a dream, Joseph “took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son” (Matt. 1:24b-25). They did not enjoy the conjugal benefits of marriage, but they certainly experienced all of its responsibilities, and more. If we think of Christmas solely in terms of the sweet, sanitized, serene portrayal of the Nativity scene, we do not have a biblical or realistic picture of it at all.

Interpretation

            The contents of Scripture can be broadly summarized as consisting of three categories: facts to believe, commands to obey, and promises to claim. This is simplistic, obviously, but it is sufficient for our present purpose. When we look at verses 20 and 21 of our text, we find two commands and three facts given. First command: “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife.” Now here is the fact which supports it: “for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Here is the next fact to believe: “She will bear a son.” No doubt about that. Even though she is a virgin, God has both given her conception and is in control of the outcome of the pregnancy. There will be no surprises. Mary will not miscarry, and she will not have a girl. Now the next command: “You shall call His name Jesus.” Not Joseph like His adopted father. Not Heli like his maternal grandfather (Luke 3:23). He was to be named Jesus, and it was Joseph’s responsibility to see to it. Now the final fact which supports the second command: “for He will save His people from their sins.” He will do what? Save people. Which people? His people. From what will He save them? Their sins. Not His sins. He will not partake of their depravity. But He will rescue them from the iniquity which has estranged them from God.

            Bible facts support and empower obedience to Bible commands. Divine revelation is the ground of our faith. Joseph did not take Mary as his wife because he trusted her or loved her, though undoubtedly both were true. He took Mary as his wife, despite her incomprehensible condition, because God revealed the pregnancy was from Him and because the Sovereign Lord commanded Joseph’s obedience. The facts of Scripture do more than just reveal information. They invite us to responsible, trusting commitment. They call us to participate in the spiritual reality that may be unseen or incomprehensible from a material or physical standpoint. They cast a divine light on what is real and drive away the shadows of our temporal experience and human reason. ‘What you think you see is not what is real, Joseph. What you think you know is not what is going on. You and Mary have been chosen, and this Child is from God. The Lord is coming to save you, and it is your responsibility to care for the woman who will bear Him.’

Application

            What do we learn here? The theological truths of Christmas are obvious and have been frequently explained and affirmed. But is there something else we should also take from this text, some way in which Joseph’s experience can inform and aid our own?

            First, do not fear to suffer and sacrifice. The Lord’s plan for Joseph and Mary’s life was costly and inconvenient. “Do not fear to take Mary” suggests there was something to fear, the rejection of family, the derision of community, the boycott of co-workers and customers. Serving God involves taking risks and paying a price. Following Jesus demands that we deny ourselves, take up the cross daily, and then follow Him (Luke 9:23). Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.[1]

Bonhoeffer knew something about the cost of following Jesus. But Joseph and Mary knew far more. They knew that obeying God meant embracing the scandal of God’s grace in their lives. It meant doing what was right, what God had commanded, even though few if any of their family or friends could understand it. It meant setting aside their plans, their hopes, their dreams to submit to God’s greater plan for the salvation of His people. They had a job to do, a role to play. It was grace that brought them to it, and it was grace that would bring them through it. The apostle Paul said, in words that could have easily been addressed to Joseph and Mary, “It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake” (Php. 1:29). Following Jesus is hard; never let anyone tell you otherwise. It will cost you and cause you periodic pain, loss, and dis-ease. If it does not, perhaps it is not the true God you are serving at all, but only a god made in your own image.

            Second, believe in the unseen God who is doing the impossible. Mary’s story was impossible to believe. That is why the Lord gave to Joseph the reassurance and faith he needed to believe it. It was not enough for Joseph to forgive his betrothed and marry her. He had to believe her. He had to believe the story. He had to believe the baby Jesus was really God’s Son. What was happening could not be understood on human or physical terms. It could only be grasped by divine revelation and the faith God provides.
           
Serving God requires us to see the unseen by faith. It is in trusting the unseen God as a living reality that we find strength to seek His will each day. The Hebrews writer said, “[Moses] considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:26-27). We have to trust that what God says is actually true. That is partly what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. We may not understand it. We may struggle to believe it. But we must embrace it. That is what Joseph did, and God supplied the faith and strength he needed. God is doing the impossible, just as He did in the Incarnation. Jesus died to save His people, and He is coming back again to claim them. Believe it, embrace it, and live in the light of it.
           
Third, embrace the scandal of living by God’s grace. Joseph had work to do and a role to play. He was to take care of Mary and give her and the Child a home. He was to name the baby Jesus. The Lord expected Joseph to take ownership of the situation, not sit idly on the sidelines. Serving God involves identifying with His word and work. It is not easy to be a Christian, but it is much easier than being Mary’s husband! We are called to boldly live out the confession of our faith, living transformed lives without regret or shame. The apostle Paul admonishes us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom. 12:2a). Peter speaks to the same thing when he says:

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1Pet. 2:11-12)

Participate in God’s plan. Be obedient. It will not be easy. People will talk. They will say things that are not true. They will mock you. They will hate you. Some will even try to hurt you. But do not be like them. Do not be afraid of them. Trust God, and take your stand with Him, even if it seems to bring shame. Grace empowers obedient living. We cannot remain spectators and expected to be counted among the people whom Jesus saves.

Fourth and finally, anticipate the greater work God has done and is doing. Why should Joseph get involved? Why should he ruin his life, damage his relationships, disrupt his career? Jesus would save people anyway. Let Mary deal with it alone. But that was not God’s plan, and, thank God, that was not the way Joseph thought about it. Joseph was to become part of something much greater than himself, much greater than his career or ambitions or wildest dreams. He was not to be the Savior. Joseph is not the hero of this story. Jesus is. But Joseph had the privilege of participating in the greatest story ever told. He became a part of God’s plan to redeem the world.

Christians, we are called to participate in the same plan. Not in the same way, of course, as Joseph and Mary did. But it is the same plan, nevertheless. Jesus came to save His people, and now we participate as we exalt Him as King and share the good news of salvation with others. I cannot save anyone, but Jesus can and has. I will not be the hero of this story, and neither will you. Jesus is the hero. But we can be faithful where we are, faithful in the responsibilities He has given us, faithful to serve and to share whenever, wherever, and however He has called us to. Are we showing the world the love and grace of Jesus Christ? Do they see God’s Son in us? Is He living and at work among us? Or are we too busy living our lives to be truly involved in His? When Jesus comes again, will He find us waiting, working, and watching?

Conclusion

The Christmas story is not as serene or sanitary as we often imagine it to be. But amid the gritty reality of fear, doubt, anxiety, and sacrifice lie lessons for every one of us who call Jesus our Savior and Lord. We too are called to faithfulness in the face of the truly Faithful One who was born and lived and died and rose to redeem and save His own people. May the Lord grant us such grace to believe His word, trust His promises, submit to His commands, suffer with the Son, and to see Him and be received by Him in His glory. O Lord, come!


[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Touchstone: New York, 1995), 44-45, emp. in original.

Back to the Future...Or, Our New Old Pulpit



You may have noticed something different last week: there is a new pulpit on-stage. Actually it is not a new pulpit at all. It is an old one, our old one, in fact. When it was replaced I do not know, but it has been out of service for many years. It was in a storage room in Building B when we decided to make a change. We brought it to the Worship Center, removed the wheels from the bottom, and set it in its place facing the auditorium seats.

The new pulpit is a little old. It is not as trendy as the glass one we had been using. It is simple and traditional. Its solid wood and straight lines resemble the rampart of a fort more than a stand for the speaker’s notes. It is the kind of pulpit you might have seen in 1915 or 1615 rather than 2015.

The new pulpit is a little beat up. There are some scratches and scrapes on it. It is a pulpit made to be used, not admired. It is a pulpit for preaching sermons, not telling stories. It is the kind of pulpit from which a preacher might contend and defend, and the scars are reminders of those Christ’s Church carries.

The new pulpit is solid, despite its age and blemishes. It is made of wood, not glass. It is strong, the kind of pulpit a preacher can smack with an open hand or fist to emphasize his point. It can support the preacher’s Bible and the significant doctrines it contains. It is the kind of pulpit for weighty preaching and can withstand use and abuse.

The new pulpit has been around awhile and is a little beat up, but it is solid, just like our congregation. We have seen difficult days, but we are still standing. In fact, we are stronger than ever. The pulpit is a symbol of who we are today, the changes that have been made, and the future that lies ahead. We seek an old way forward, an ancient way, the way announced by prophets, apostles, and preachers since the time of Abraham. The pulpit represents what we are building on: the preaching of God’s word. Scripture is primary, the teaching of it is central, and its place is permanent. The new pulpit does not have wheels, because preaching should not be pushed aside. This is who we are. This is what we do. And this is what we will continue to do, by God’s grace, so long as the Lord wills. Soli Deo Gloria! -JME