As many of you know, we are currently in the process of adoption. You can visit Laura’s blog to keep updated on the process. This morning I saw that Russell Moore posted a new video on his blog. He writes;
“We encourage you to watch this video, produced by our friends at Together for Adoption. Dr. Moore will be speaking at the Together for Adoption conference in October. Registration for the conference is now open.”
Human freedom, or “free will” is a subject that we need to discuss with clarity and precision. In these discussions it is important to determine the nature and extent of human freedom. When most people talk about “free will” they have in mind the idea of uninfluenced, absolutely unaffected choices. No one has this type of freedom, no one.
For an absurd example, if I decided I wanted to fly, I could not. Flying is not part of my essential nature. A moral example, God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). God is always perfectly true and cannot be less than God, and therefore cannot lie.
The idea of “absolute freedom” is a myth and absolutely impossible.
“Free Will”- Philosophical and Theological Considerations
Philosophically speaking, if humans had the absolute power to the contrary, we could thwart the plans of God, and we cannot (Job 42:2). Therefore, we need to be precise when we talk about human “freedom.”
“Free will” is a philosophical term (not a biblical term), and affirming the idea of absolute “free will” in humanity is very difficult to defend. The term “free will” is often unnecessarily confusing and requires too many qualifications. Human freedom, in the absolute sense, must entail that human choices are entirely free from divine constraint or influence. This is problematic on many levels.
We are free, in a certain sense, but not absolutely. Any notion of freedom that we adopt must include the idea that our decisions are based on underlying reasons, and I think most of us would affirm that they are.
We are, as Wayne Grudem states, free to “make willing choices, choices that have real effects.” But this should not be confused with absolute freedom. As Christians we affirm that God ordains all things- everything. See Isaiah 46, “I will accomplish all my purpose.”
John Frame provides some good discussion boundaries in his article “Determinism, Chance, and Freedom.”
Basic human intuition reveals that we choose among various alternatives, but it never reveals to us that any of our choices are absolutely uncaused. In fact, Scripture contradicts this notion of “absolute freedom”, by ascribing divine backing to human decisions (Exod. 34:24, Is. 44:28, Dan. 1:9, John 19:24, Acts 13:48, 16:14), even when humans make sinful choices, God is not surprised (Gen. 45:5-8, Ps. 105:24, Luke 22:22, Acts 2:23-24, 3:18, 4:27-28, Rom. 9:17). But, this does not eliminate human responsibility.
Also, Scripture also contradicts “absolute freedom” by teaching that human decisions come from ones inner desires (Luke 6:45), and by teaching that the human heart is not free from God’s influence (Ps. 33:15, Prov. 21:1).
Finally, In Scripture, the basis of human responsibility is not absolute freedom, but God’s sovereign right to evaluate the conduct of his creatures (Rom. 9:19-21), and the knowledge (Luke 12:47-48, Rom. 1:18-32) and resources (Matt. 25:14-29) God has given to each person shows that in Scripture there is an important relation between responsibility and ability, but the abilities in view here do not include the absolute ability to choose opposite courses of action.
I agree with Martin Luther here; “I wish the word “free will” had never been invented. It is not in the Scriptures, and it were better to call it “self-will” [In my opinion, human volition, or human responsibility, anything other than free will].
“Freedom”- Towards Clarity
I think Don Carson makes some important points to affirm when talking about human freedom.
First, “human freedom cannot involve absolute power to the contrary; that is, it cannot include such liberal power that God himself becomes contingent.” To affirm absolute freedom one must also agree that God is always reacting to the actions of humans in order to fulfill his purposes. Even more so, it means that God cannot know in advance what free choices human beings would make. This is heretical.
Secondly, human freedom must be discussed in relation to the fall of mankind. Our wills are not truly free because they are enslaved by sin (John 8:34). Therefore, true freedom is only found in perfect obedience to God. Perfect obedience is not possible by sinful humanity, yet was accomplished by Christ. This is why we believe true freedom is found in Christ, and in Christ alone. Anthony Hoekema put it like this;
“Man’s true freedom, which he lost in the Fall, is restored in the process of redemption. [I take this to mean that total freedom, to be obedient to God, will ultimately be restored in the resurrection body] When the Holy Spirit regenerates a person, renews the image of God in him or her, and begins in him or her the work of sanctification, that person is enabled to turn to God in repentance and faith, and to do what is truly pleasing in God’s sight…Redemption therefore means deliverance from the bondage of the will; the regenerated person is no longer a slave to sin.”
For more, here is an excellent post on “Free Will” by John Piper.
Here are a few good resources on engaging the “new atheist” movement that I have bookmarked over the last year or so;
1. Tim Keller– “New Atheists: How should Christians Respond” (Video)
2. John Piper– “Making Room for Atheism” (Article), and sermon clip “Atheist Worldview” (the whole sermon is titled “In Him was Life”)
3. Albert Mohler– Lectures on New Atheism (Video)
Lecture 1: The New Atheism and the Endgame of Secularism
Lecture 2: The New Atheism and the Assault on Theism
Lecture 3: The New Atheism and the Defense of Theism
Lecture 4: The New Atheism and the Future of Christianity
These lectures were later published as a book titled, “Atheism Remix.”
4. Gary Habermas- The Plight of the New Atheism: A Critique (Journal Article)
5. William Lane Craig- God is Not Dead Yet (Magazine Article)
Speak the truth in love…
I recently finished studying the book of Galatians in a small group. We used a workbook on Galatians developed by Redeemer Presbyterian Church titled; “Galatians: Living in line with the truth of the gospel.”
I wanted to share a quote from the introduction of this study on the implications of the gospel;
“The gospel is not just the “A-B-C” but the “A-to-Z” of the Christian life. The gospel is not just the way to enter the kingdom, but is the way to address every problem and is the way to grow at every step. If we believe we can find our own worth and meaning through performance, then we will become either proud and disdainful of others (if we reach our goals), or else discouraged and self-loathing (if we fail our goals). But the gospel creates an entirely new self-image.
First, it tells us that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than you ever dared to hope—at the same time.
In fact, if the gospel is true, the more you see your sin, the more certain you are that you were saved by sheer grace and the more precious and electrifying that grace is to you. So the gospel gives us enormous power to admit our flaws.
Then secondly, the knowledge of our acceptance in Christ makes (for the first time) the law of God a beauty instead of a burden. We come to use it to delight the One who has enriched us so mightily—instead of using it to get his attention or win his favor. The first way makes the moral and sacrificial life a joy; the second way makes it a burden.
Therefore the gospel changes everything. It brings down racial barriers by melting away racial pride OR inferiority. It brings down psychological problems by melting away selfinflation OR self-hatred. It brings down personal facades, for we are free to admit who we are. It effects the way we do everything—how we motivate people, how we help them work through counseling problems, how we worship, how we take criticism.”
Very clear, very powerful thought.
I would highly recommend this study to anyone looking for good supplement to Galatians, along with commentaries written by John Stott and Timothy George.
As a young pastor I am not as experienced in teaching as others. Over the last year or so I have had the opportunity to teach in some of the larger gatherings of our congregation, which is something that I really enjoy doing.
The one thing that I find most troubling about preaching (in general) is the demeanor, emotion, and “delivery” of a preacher while preaching. I have found myself asking, what does my manner of preaching communicate to the people?
This is something all Bible teachers must consider. This is what Aristotle referred to as a speaker’s “pathos”- to put his thought into a question, has the demeanor of a speaker projected that he, himself, was gripped and transformed by what he communicated?
It’s an odd thing to think about. It’s odd because the “delivery” of a message is very closely connected to the message that is being delivered. To put it another way, the delivery of a message is a message in and of itself.
Therefore, you never want the importance of your message to be drowned out by the monotony of your manner. Since I am writing to those of you who teach God’s word I am making the assumption that you believe that each message your deliver is of utmost importance, since, the communication of the gospel message is of eternal significance.
Preachers and bible teachers need to let this truth explode in their delivery.
As John Piper once wrote;
“O brothers, do not lie about the value of the gospel by the dullness of your demeanor. Exposition of the most glorious reality is a glorious reality.”
Or take it from Haddon Robinson;
“Since the vast amount of preaching involves attitudes that either reinforce or contradict what our words proclaim, a preacher dare not ignore delivery.”
Now, it’s obvious that you can take your approach to delivery too far. This is where many preachers come off as plastic and “cartoony” (Is that a word?). Many could serve as illustrations for sociologist Hal Himmelstein– who wrote that the modern preacher has become “culture’s most peculiar and most provocative version of the entertainer-celebrity.”
This is where Bryan Chapell makes a few good points. He argues that the real challenge of pulpit excellence…is not to add something to our delivery that is atypical of us but to reclaim the naturalness that is most true to us.”
The point is this, “showing genuine enthusiasm for what you deeply believe is the only unbreakable rule of great delivery.” Our delivery is nothing but a “tool for presenting the message rather than a stage for displaying skills.” And it’s a tool we need to use wisely. The gospel message is weighty.
For pastors, what make’s the delivery of a message so weighty is not just the hundreds or thousands of people that you stand before (even though that adds to it). It’s not the fact that we, as teachers, are often being recorded, video taped, and even live-streamed.
But that proclaiming the gospel is literally a life or death affair, because eternity hangs in the balance. This is what puritan pastor Richard Baxter was trying to communicate when he remarked, “I preach as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.”
Here are a few questions offered by Al Mohler that I think every pastor should have in mind when he opens God’s word to teach;
“Do we really believe that the world needs to hear the message of the gospel? Do we really believe that the gospel saves? Do we really believe that faith comes by hearing the Word of God?” I would hope that the answer is yes! He continues, “If so, then our minds should be filled with no more urgent desire than to preach.”
I pray that we would have this one desire. To preach in faith- with conviction and urgency- that God would open the eyes of the blind to see the riches of the gospel.
In closing let me say one thing. Ultimately we should have more concern with our faithfulness to deliver the good news of Jesus Christ, rather than our manner of delivery. But let our delivery be used as a tool to help project the urgency of the message being preached.
Below I have gathered some helpful links related to the Southern Baptist Convention. I found these to be helpful in summarizing the “big issues” that will be on the minds of the attendees of the National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky over the next few days.
1. Interview with David Dockery on the Identity and Future of the Southern Baptist Convention.
2. Don Dunavant on “GM and the SBC.”
3. Steven McKinion’s three part series on “Third Generation Conservatives in the Southern Baptist Convention”: Part 1- “Distinctives” – Part 2- “Implications” – Part 3- “Misconceptions”
4. J.D. Greear on “The New, Young, Southern Baptist: Orthodox, Connected, Unconventional.”
5. Ed Stetzer on “The Southern Baptist Convention: A Denomination Continuing in its Decline” and “The End of the Beginning.”
6. The Great Commission Resurgence document.
7. Nathan Finn’s six part series on “The Great Commission Resurgence” document: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6.
Also, Finn on “A Commitment to a More Effective Convention Structure.”
8. Four part interview with Daniel Akin on “The Great Commission Resurgence”: A Vision for Missionary Theologians, Turning around the SBC, Great Commission Resurgence, SBC Calvinism and Evangelical Cooperation.
Also, I posted my “Hard Questions for the Southern Baptist Convention” a while back.
If you have any other links or suggestions send them to me and I will check them out!
I am currently finishing a book called “Jesus, Made in America.” In this book Stephen J. Nichols traces Jesus in American culture. He shows how Jesus has been shaped by our cultural sensibilities throughout American history. It is a fascinating read.
I am not going to regurgitate the book for you, but I do want to expound on one key point. Nichols points out that the evangelical church champions personal pietism. What is pietism?
Simply put, this strand of pietism places all emphasis on personal experience, champions devotion, focuses on practice- and often times ignores doctrine.
When doctrine is ignored pietism is extremely dangerous. Actually, in my opinion pietism by itself- is anti-gospel.
Nichols writes;
“Pietism leads us to say that imitating Christ is far better than having a right set of beliefs about who Christ is. Pietism leads to viewing Christ primarily from the lens of personal experience rather than the lenses of Gospel pericopies or of theological formulations.”
This is almost humorous. I don’t know how someone can even imitate Christ unless they have a right set of beliefs of who He actually is? Plus, the main aim of the Christian life is not to imitate Christ, but to trust in Christ. My fear is that too many Christians trust in themselves, and even attempt to justify themselves by their “imitation of Christ.”
The gospel is at stake.
The sad thing is that many contemporary Evangelical Christians lean more on their devotion to Christ, rather than Christ Himself. Catch the subtle nuance here- it’s huge.
Leaning on your “devotion to Christ” tells you that your Christian identity and self-worth are based on how hard you work, or how moral you are. This is not the Gospel. This is when personal pietism becomes a deadly idol.
Here is a good post to help you think through this issue in your own life. “The Gospel vs. Religion”– (via Nathan Finn)
Laura and I have decided to begin the adoption process- hoping to adopt a baby from Ethiopia. If you would like, you can follow our journey here. We are very excited!
I truly believe that God has worked in our hearts and lives, individually and together, in showing us the joy and priority of adoption.
For me, the journey began in college. I will never forget when I visited an orphanage in Guatemala City, Guatemala almost 6 years ago. In this specific orphanage there were hundreds of children who had been abandoned by their parents for various reasons.
At one point during the day we were taken into a room lined with cribs, a small room where the workers attempted to care for 20-30 infants. This was a powerful moment that has been seared into my mind. I will never forget it.
I walked through the room with tears streaming down my face- wondering “who will care for these children?” “Who will hold them and let them know that they are loved?” “Who will nurture these children as they grow older?” I can see, and feel it, like it was yesterday. What I did not understand at the time was how God would use this moment later.
Looking back at that experience as a college student in the Guatemalan orphanage, I remembered that I was not only weeping over the abandoned children, but over the fact that there was very little I could do.
The words of Jesus are so powerful here- I wish I could have whispered them to each one of those precious children;
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
The raw emotion that adoption stirs in my heart has only grown as I have studied the theology of adoption. Adoption one of the metaphors Paul uses in the New Testament to express the multifaceted grace of God shown to us in salvation. (See here)
The very word translated adoption in your New Testament is a compound of two words, “son” and “placing.” Adoption in the New Testament is a term that denotes the legal act of transfer into a new family- “the placing of a son.”
With this transfer come all of the attending privileges and responsibilities of being part of the family. Adoption is a powerful image because the adoptee is taken out of his previous state and placed in a new relationship…thus, the adoptee starts a new life as part of his new family. The new family embraces their adopted son or daughter as their own. (Great resource here)
For the Christian- images of salvation should be so blatant and obvious here because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
When Christians are adopted into the family of God- it is through, and only through Jesus Christ. There is no ‘natural tie’ between sinners and a Holy God. Our spiritual adoption is a decision of God. God adopts us, orphans, out of His free love. We are given the rights of sons and daughters- as heirs!
For me, this truth has illuminated the biblical mandate and given me a solid foundation to accompany the emotion I felt six years ago in the Guatemalan orphanage.
I am in total agreement with Russell Moore when he writes;
“The Gospel of Jesus Christ means our families and churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans…as we become more attuned to the gospel, we’ll have more of a burden for orphans.” (Adopted for Life, 18)
Pray for us as we begin our adoption journey. Ultimately, pray that we trust in Christ- because he is the one who blazed this trail.
People are constantly stressing over “God’s will for their lives.” I hear it all the time. It’s the false idea that “we need some clear miraculous sign before we make any decision.” I read a great book last night that deals with this faulty mindset…
The book is Kevin DeYoung’s – “Just Do Something.” I love the subtitle, which is “How to make a decision without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random Bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc.”
I also love the purpose of the book. He writes, “I’d like us to consider that maybe we have difficulty discovering God’s wonderful plans for our lives because, it truth be told, He doesn’t really intend to tell us what it is. And maybe we’re wrong to expect Him to.”
DeYoung is simply attacking this idea that “God’s will” is some mystical majestic purpose that God has for you, and if you don’t find it your life will be a failure. While must of us don’t use these exact words- we prove his point in our lives. The point is simple, “stop thinking about God’s will like a corn maze, a tightrope, or a bulls-eye.”
He writes, “God is not a magic 8-ball that we shake up and peer into whenever we have a decision to make. He is a good God who gives us brains, shows us the way of obedience, and invites us to take risks for Him. We know God has a plan for our lives…The problem is we think He’s going to tell us the wonderful plan before it unfolds.”
This book is written clearly with biblical grounding, sharp analysis, and wit. Without revealing the whole of the book I will simply say that DeYoung effectively shows us that God’s will is simple- that we would be sanctified. More than that, when it comes to hard decisions we should use biblically informed, spirit filled wisdom rather than waiting for “a sign.”
Too many people worry so much about finding God’s perfect will for their lives that they end up in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision. But DeYoung provides a good biblical grid to rethink what we actually mean when we talk about God’s will.
I highly recommend this book. – “JUST DO SOMETHING.”
Also- See this post.
Also- See this lesson written by Derek Radney.
A curmudgeon is a “crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man.” In my opinion this is a funny word to use in reference to critically thinking about worship music in the church today. Funny because,
1. That’s the way we view most complaints against the particulars of church life in the first place- as coming from the church curmudgeon.
2. What makes this title even funnier, in my opinion, is that Dr. Nelson knows that he will be charged as a curmudgeon for being honest. So, I guess I get the irony here…
Either way, I think these are good thoughts on trajectory of most worship music used in American churches today.
David P. Nelson is senior vice president for academic administration and dean of the faculty at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses in systematic theology and worship. Dr. Nelson has contributed to a book on this topic titled Authentic Worship, his chapter is on “the use of music in worship.” I am not sure how many more entries he will post?
A Curmudgeon Weighs in On Evangelical Worship
A Curmudgeon Weighs in On Evangelical Worship, Part 2
A Curmudgeon Weighs in on Evangelical Worship, Part 3
The Return of the Curmudgeon: Disney-World Worship (Part 2): Musical Disproportionality
Matt Capps 