Christian Theology – Page 29

February 28, 2011February 28, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

David Alan Black on Philippians

This past Saturday we had the honor of spending time with Professor David Black from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in the book of Philippians. Dr. David Black is Professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern where he has been teaching for 13 years. He holds the D.Theol. in New Testament from the University of Basel (Switzerland) and has done additional studies in Germany and Israel. Dr. Black is considered a leading authority on linguistics and New Testament Interpretation. He has written over 100 articles and authored or edited over 20 books.

I have tried to pull together some articles and blogs on the book of Philippians that Dave has written over the years for supplement to the seminar and the articles we handed out.

Several people asked me where to find Dave’s Introductory Greek Textbook. Here is a link to Learn to Read New Testament Greek and the Workbook.

While Dave’s academic credentials are impressive, they are not where he finds his identity and security. It was quite clear this past Saturday that he finds his joy, identity, and security in Christ and in Christ alone. This is much more impressive, in the appropriate sense, than his intelligence. Dave’s love for God’s word and God’s people is contagious. It was an honor to host him here at Calvary! Here are a few more links:

February 28, 2011December 29, 2012 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Interview Series with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

I recently posted a five part interview with Dr. John S. Hammett on the importance of local church membership. I am thankful for Dr. Hammett’s service to the church for many reasons. While working on my master’s degree I had the privilege of sitting under Professor Hammett for several lecture courses and worked with him in one independent study course. His love for the local church was contagious and propelled me to see the importance of ecclesiology in a very deep way. John Hammett is a seasoned, humble, and respectable scholar who loves Christ’s church dearly.

Dr. Hammett earned degrees at Duke University (B.A), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div.), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (D. Min.), and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ph.D.). Dr. Hammett is currently serving as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Hammett’s book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches has been instrumental in the formation of my own ecclesiology, and naturally I highly recommend it. Hammett also wrote an excellent chapter on “The Doctrine of Humanity” in A Theology for the Church. Dr. Hammett has contributed too many other books, magazines, scholarly journals, and online resources on Theology, Ecclesiology, and Missiology. (Here are a few from 9Marks Ministries) Simply put, he has given much thought to the importance of the local church.

The interview series was organized under these five questions – which are links to the posts:

1. Is local church membership really that important, is it even biblical?
2. In your opinion, what are the requirements one must meet for local church membership?
3. What are the privileges of being a member of a local church?
4. What are the responsibilities of being a member of a local church?
5. What, if any, are valid reasons for parting ways with a local church?

Hammett notes that:

“Church membership is something that can be misunderstood. It’s not the same thing as the gospel, and certainly doesn’t guarantee someone’s place in heaven. But consider this – On a typical Sunday morning, of the more than 16 million members of Southern Baptist churches across the country, more than 10 million will not be present in a local church, that’s less than 40%. Where are they? Some are sick or on vacation, but many simply choose not to come, and have made that choice consistently for years. Somewhere along the line they joined a church, but their life shows no evidence that they know Christ. My fear is that they think somehow their church membership guarantees them access into heaven, but being a church member doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a genuine follower of Jesus. It should, but in many churches it doesn’t.

Not only can church membership be misunderstood, it can also become meaningless. Churches where more than 60% of the members never even come and whose lives shows no sign of Christ’s presence make membership a meaningless mockery and expose such churches to the charge that they are full of hypocrites. All you can say is, “you’re right.” Church membership doesn’t guarantee that someone will live a Christ-honoring life. So some churches have deemphasized church membership. It doesn’t save you, and doesn’t make someone a better person, so what’s the value? While I want to keep the main thing the main thing, there can also be secondary things that have significant value. I think church membership is one of those secondary things.”

Again, I strongly encourage you to check out Hammett’s book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology

February 25, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Part 5: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

This is question five in a interview series with Dr. John Hammett on the Importance of Church Membership. Dr. Hammett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) currently serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Previous posts in this series: Introduction , Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4

Dr. Hammett, what, if any, are valid reasons for parting ways with a local church?

1. When a geographical move makes immersion in the church body impossible. This is the most common reason people part ways with a local church.

2. When the church becomes spiritually toxic. Spiritual toxicity can make immersion unhealthy. While I regard the covenant commitment to a church as only slightly less binding than the covenant commitment of marriage, there will sadly arise occasions when doctrinal deviancy, unchecked sin, or spiritual apathy will make a church an unhealthy place. The key questions to ask are: Can I bring a non-believing friend here? Can I bring a new Christian here? If the answers are no, it is difficult to see how immersion can be healthy anymore.

3. Matters of personal conscience (I am not talking about personal desires or preference). Sometimes a church may engage in a new ministry, or change its approach in a significant way that is not necessarily sinful, but is something you cannot in good conscience support. I believe church members are called to unity. I believe church members are called to follow their leaders, but that following is never blind. If there is a matter of conscience (not personal preference), a peaceful separation may be the wise option to avoid animosity on either side.

Again, parting ways with a local church should never be easy. If you can leave a church family without feeling a sense of being severed you never truly joined that church.

February 24, 2011February 24, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Part 4: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

This is question four in a five part interview series with Dr. John Hammett on the Importance of Church Membership. Dr. Hammett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) currently serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Previous posts in this series: Introduction , Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3

Dr. Hammett, What are the responsibilities of being a member of a local church?

Along with all the privileges of church membership there also are some responsibilities. I’ll list two simple and general privileges, and specifiy within those categories.

1. Living out the Covenant Commitment

This is not so much a list as a lifestyle. I like to call it living the “one-another” life. Again, there are at least 31 different one-another commands in the New Testament. Love one another is the most frequent (17 times), but there are also commands to encourage, pray for, honor, build up, forgive, rejoice and weep with, be devoted to, and literally dozens more. It means saying to yourself, “These people matter to me,” and then living it out. In a church this large, that will probably only happen when you get into a small group and begin to share life.

2. Stewardship

In I Peter 4:10 we read,

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

We each have a certain amount of time, energy, abilities, resources. They are all God’s gifts to us and to our church family. Our calling is to “faithfully administer,” or manage them. Now how we live out our responsibilities of stewardship will look different than someone else. We are all managing different sets of assets. Right now, some have heavy responsibilities at home or work, or with loved ones. How God has gifted us will also direct us in different paths of ministry, but we should know (or be finding out) how God has gifted us and should be involved in using that gift, in large or small ways, depending on what responsible stewardship means for each of us. Some will be able to do more than others. But there are some basics I think are common responsibilities for all. Let me specifiy those basics.

a. Attending

I know there will always be times of sickness and when you’re out of town, but we are commanded to gather habitually.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

One of the greatest gifts of my childhood was never missing going to church. We had to be pretty near death’s door to miss church, and so when I went away to college I didn’t know you could do anything else on a Sunday morning. I never considered not going. That’s the habit to develop, not the habit of giving up gathering. That is the path to spiritual coldness and deadness.

b. Giving

This is financial stewardship. I know it’s tough in this economy, but as God gives us resources, we are called to manage them in a godly way.

c. Serving

In a church of any size, there are many things going on and no one should be completely unemployed. I’m sure your pastor could mention a dozen pressing needs.

But not just in the church, but in our neighborhoods. One of the best things I see happening in a number of churches is serious efforts to engage our communities and express Christ’s love in simple acts of service: having a local mission trip to do an extreme makeover on a local school, or doing routine maintenance on the homes of senior citizens, or buying backpacks and school supplies for underprivileged kids.

d. Caring

By this I mean allowing the health of the church to mean something to you. That will mean you pray for the ministries, for fellow members, for leaders. I know of one church that encourages members to pray through their membership directory, a page a day, even for those you don’t know. And it would mean that when there are decisions before the church, you pray and help the church use Godly wisdom.

Churches usually have very few business meetings during the year, but when they do, I would guess that the attendance is abysmal. On the one hand, it may be that the congregation trusts its leaders; on the other hand, it may say the people don’t care very much. I think God wants us to care; I think he wants the church he has called us to to matter to us; enough to move us to come and give, and serve and pray, and seek God’s face, and have a voice. And even accepting these responsibilities is itself another privilege, because the one we’re ultimately serving is the One to whom we owe everything, and serving him is true freedom and joy.

February 23, 2011February 24, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Part 3: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

This is question three in a five part interview series with Dr. John Hammett on the Importance of Church Membership. Dr. Hammett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) currently serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Previous posts in this series: Introduction , Part 1 , Part 2

Dr. Hammett, what are the privileges of being a member of a local church?

God loves to bless obedience and designs his plans for our good, we find Scripture teaches that membership has its privileges. In the interest of conciseness I will limit my response to four privileges.

1. Corporate Worship

Now I like to sing, and I read Scripture and pray at home, but it’s not the same as corporate worship. Jesus promises his presence among us in a special way when we gather in his name. (Matthew 18:20) Sometimes we sense his presence more than others, but that probably says more about our lack of preparation than it does about his faithfulness to keep his promise. But it’s not just his presence in our worship, it’s his power:

When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present . . . (I Corinthians 5:4)

Paul seems to be saying here that when a local body of believers gather in Jesus’ name, that his power is among them in a special way. It doesn’t mean that God can’t work anywhere else—on the workplace, in the home, or among Christians gathered informally. But I personally don’t know of a healthy and strong Christian who has grown to maturity apart from the blessings God has bestowed through his church. Theologians talk about what we call different means of grace; various avenues God uses to minister to us, to strengthen and nurture and sustain us. Many of them are associated with corporate worship—the preaching of God’s word, the prayer and praise of God’s people, the ordinances of the Supper and baptism—Jesus’ power to work among us is seen in how he uses these times when his church gathers. I think many of us have experienced times when praising God with others gives us strength and encouragement. Christ’s power is at work when we assemble, and I think the reason is clear. Jesus said,

I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18)

What has Jesus been doing since he arose and ascended? Completing what he began in the incarnation and crucifixion. Paul described it like this:

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Special things happen when churches gather, because they are special to Jesus. The church is what he is building, what he is making holy, radiant, and blameless. And when you join a church, and you gather with that church in corporate worship, you are in the place where God promises to work—his presence, his power. O that we will have ears to hear, and hearts to know him near! He is here and is at work among us—what a blessing! What a privilege! In addition to corporate praise, there is:

2. Corporate Ministry

Of course, the church is far more than just the time we gather on Sunday morning. If we have that type of covenant commitment we mentioned, we will be sharing life, and as we do so, other members of the body will minister to you in a host of ways.

From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16)

Look at that last phrase: as each part does its work. We need the ministry of the body to grow to maturity. We need encouragement, prayers, admonition, example, and teaching. For me, this happens in the church community. I hear words of support and prayers for me and my family; I receive emails and expressions of encouragement throughout the week. These things build me up, help me keep focused and going. I need that.

I’ve also seen the value of the ministry of the body in my family. My kids are healthier and more mature today spiritually because of the ministry of the local church. That’s one of the privileges of membership, and I say thank you to all of you for being part of that.

3. Corporate Confirmation of Personal Guidance

Let me mention one aspect of corporate ministry that I think we don’t often recognize or utilize. I call it corporate confirmation of personal guidance. Here’s the situation I have in mind. You have a decision to make, about a job, a relationship, your kids. You pray and seek God’s guidance and you think you understand what he wants you to do. But you know you are fallible. What do you do? I think God places us in the body and calls us to covenant commitment, to allow others into our lives, to get to know us, so that in moments like that, they can provide corporate confirmation of personal guidance. Often, they can see us and our situations more clearly than we can, because we’re too close. Consider this example from the life of Saul, who we know more as Paul.

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2)

How did these first two great missionaries receive their call? In the context of the life of the body. They may have thought God was calling them, but there were other brothers and sisters there, who knew them and knew the Lord, and could see and confirm God’s guidance for them. Now that type of blessing and advice perhaps could come from any good friend, but I think God places us in churches to supply us with such wise counselors.

4. Corporate Accountability

As a local body, we are Christ’s representatives to the world, and in many cases, churches aren’t doing that great a job. Nonbelievers routinely accuse churches of hypocrisy; that their members do not live any differently than they do. The divorce rate, alcohol abuse, spouse abuse, pornography use, drug use, not to mention greed, jealousy, anger, choices of entertainment, overall lifestyle—all too often there is little difference between the church and the world. As I mentioned earlier, in the average church, less than 40% even attend. Somehow, we have to recover the courage and care enough about each other to confront, when confrontation is called for. Jesus spoke of it:

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. (Matthew 18:15)

Paul gives such confrontation as especially the responsibility of those who claim to be mature:

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

One final example extends that responsibility to all of us.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:15)

Do you have someone who loves you enough to call you out when you go off track? Do you have someone so committed to your holiness that they will say a hard word when it needs saying? If so, you are a blessed person, and that’s what we’re called to do and be for each other; to give and receive accountability. And when a church gives its members that kind of accountability, it’s moving toward being that radiant church that Jesus died to create, that is far from perfect, but not open to the charge of hypocrisy either.

This is tough, especially as a church gets larger. It’s tragically possible to fall through the cracks. That’s why at my home church one of the questions we ask in the membership process is small group involvement; because that’s where the relationships develop that allow accountability. It’s hard to be accountable to strangers; it’s hard for a stranger to care enough to hold someone else accountable, but that’s what we’re seeking to develop– a culture, not of rigid expectations, but loving, caring accountability among those committed to following Christ together.

February 22, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Part 2: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

This is question two in a five part interview series with Dr. John Hammett on the Importance of Church Membership. Dr. Hammett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) currently serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Previous posts in this series: Introduction , Part 1

Dr. Hammett, what are the requirements one must meet for local church membership?

Well, I think there is something of a pattern or paradigm laid out in Acts 2:41-42, the account of the formation of the first church.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

We find in these verses three steps to church membership.

1. The first and by far the most important is faith in Christ.

The text says, “those who accepted the message” were the ones that were added to the church. When one comes and requests church membership, the first and most important question has to do with one’s faith in Christ. That involves the two key aspects of believing in Christ, knowledge and trust.

There is a knowledge aspect. Do you know the gospel—that your sins have made a barrier between you and God; that you need forgiveness for not loving God and not living your life for the purposes he designed it for; that Christ died to remove that barrier, to take the punishment your sin deserved; that new life begins when you turn in repentance from the path you have been following and turn in faith to Christ, asking him for strength to follow him more and more day by day? Do you know the gospel?

The second is not knowledge, but the trust aspect. Faith can be a slippery word, but the heart of it is who do you trust in, rely upon? If it is Christ, then it will show itself in who you follow. The simplest definition I know of a Christian is a follower of Christ. If you know the truth of the gospel, and trust the offer of the gospel, you will follow the Christ of the gospel—imperfectly, to be sure, but genuinely.

Unless and until you believe in Christ, membership is meaningless, because the blessings of membership are the blessings Christ gives and the responsibilities of membership are impossible apart from living empowered by Christ. This is the main thing in membership, but it’s not the only thing.

2. The second step in the early church was baptism, and so it is in Baptist churches as well.

Baptism is the second step, after faith in Christ. That is why we practice what is called believer’s baptism, and not infant baptism. It is the open and public declaration of the decision to trust that was internal and invisible. It’s with the heart that one believes; that is internal, invisible. But we declare the reality of that faith openly and visibly.

Earlier I compared church membership to a wedding, and it fits. You fall in love with Jesus and give your heart to him in faith. Baptism is where you say, “I do.” You literally take the plunge. If that comparison is appropriate, it should cause us to think a bit more seriously about baptism and the commitment it expresses. I’m not saying the age for baptism should be the age for marriage, but baptism is more than a nice little ceremony. It’s a time for a serious declaration of commitment. Baptism is not necessary for salvation; it doesn’t complete salvation, but it is a command of Christ. The first step in obeying the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations is by “baptizing them;” the way believers confessed faith throughout the New Testament was not by walking down as aisle or saying prayer, but by baptism. It is the appointed doorway into church membership.

3. The third step is not quite as concrete, but I think the devotion to the fellowship described in the text from Acts could be called covenant commitment.

To continue the analogy to marriage, here is where we say our vows to one another. In my own church the last three steps in the process of membership involve a membership class, a membership meeting, and the final step is when you come before this body and make some covenant commitments, and we as your brothers and sisters, accept some responsibilities for you.

I want to contrast this type of membership commitment with another type I see as common and very sad. I call it consumer commitment. This is commitment to getting my needs met. Some even use the phrase “church shopping.” I’m looking for the place with the best package; worship, small groups, programs I like. My commitment to the church extends as far as it takes to get my spiritual needs met. So I show up for worship, as long as I like the music and the messages, and I may even go to a small group, as long as I feel a little bit of a lift when I leave. But if things change or I become bored, or someone hurts my feelings, or they ask something of me, I can always shop elsewhere. The idea of allowing my life to get intertwined with the lives of others, to where they matter to me and I matter to them; the idea of giving of myself to care for others, to pray for God to guide and bless this body, to really invest myself; to accept some type of accountability; that’s foreign to consumer commitment, but that’s the heart of covenant commitment.

My wife and I have moved several times in our married life, and each time we have moved, it has taken us about a year to feel at home in a new church. Because when we left, we felt a sense of literally being severed from people to whom our hearts had become attached, and it took about a year for that hurt to heal and for new attachments to develop. By the way, if you can leave a church and not feel that sense of being severed, you never really joined.

Now I emphasize this call for covenant commitment because it needs to be held up along with the privileges of church membership, and, by God’s grace, he has ordained that membership in his body be a means of great blessing on our lives, but that’s not the reason we join. If you enter with the question, what’s in it for me?, I don’t think you’ll be in the right position to receive some of these blessings, because they come in the living out of our covenant commitment to each other.

February 21, 2011February 21, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Part 1: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

This is question one in a five part interview series with Dr. John Hammett on the Importance of Church Membership. Dr. Hammett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) currently serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and the Associate Dean of Theological Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Previous posts in this series: Introduction

Dr. Hammett, Is local church membership really that important, is it even biblical?

I think it is, and understand that some may see church membership somewhat negatively, as a worthless formality that reeks of institutionalism. One might think, “what matters is your heart relationship with Jesus. Love him, serve him, follow him, and don’t worry about formalities.” I would say you’re separating what God has joined together.

1. The call to come to Christ is also a call to be joined to his people.

Look at I Peter 2:4-5:

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Look at the order there. As you come to Christ he sticks you to other believers. God doesn’t call his people to be Lone Rangers, or even to casual association with other believers. You are to be like stones that are built together into a house. That means connection, mortar, being stuck together. Think of the people in your church family —these are the people you’re stuck to and stuck with. Now I can understand some hesitancy about that. There’s a saying that I think must have been written by a longtime church member:

“To live above with saints we love, O that will be glory! To live below with saints we know; well, that’s another story!”

It can be tough, but that’s part of the call. All those called to Jesus are called to join themselves to his people. You may say, okay, I’ll come, I’ll be involved with the body. But I’m just not a joiner. Surely, the New Testament churches didn’t have membership rolls and such. Do we have to get all formal and jump through hoops and sign on the dotted line?

2. The call to follow Christ is also a call to openly identify with a local church.

I’m not sure if they had a written list of members, but they did know who was part of their local body. In I Corinthians 5, Paul is instructing the church there about how they should handle the sad case of a man who was living in immorality. He told them they had to hold this man accountable. He specifically says that it is different than someone living that way who was outside the body.

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. (9-11)

They knew who their members were. They had to, because they were accountable; that’s one of the blessings of membership. They had some expectations for members in terms of living a life that would not bring reproach upon the cause of Christ and maybe one reason why some people hesitate to join is they don’t want to be identified and responsible and accountable. They’d rather be a free agent. But that’s not your calling as a follower of Christ; Christ calls you to membership in his body.

As to the importance of actually going through an open, public process, let me offer a comparison. If you are a father you may have a daughter who is falling in love with a young man. You approve of him, you see God’s hand in their relationship, and rejoice in it. But would you say, “Honey, what matters is that you and your young man love each other and are committed to each other, and see God’s leading you together. You can just privately make that commitment to love and stick with each other, and we can just skip this wedding thing. I mean the wedding dress and the reception and all that stuff costs a bundle and is not really necessary. It’s just a formality.” Do you think you could get away with that? No, the wedding is the public declaration and open commitment of two people. In the same way, all those who love Jesus should declare it openly by publicly and formally committing themselves to a local expression of Christ’s body.

Furthermore, I believe that commitment to a body of believers is a command, you can’t be fully faithful to Christ and not be a church member. Further, I don’t know how someone could live out the one-another commands of the NT (over 30) or use their spiritual gifts for the common good (I Corinthians 12:7), or grow to maturity (Ephesians 4:16) without the body.

The next question, what are the requirements one must meet for local church membership?

February 20, 2011February 24, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Introduction: Interview with Dr. John Hammett on ‘The Importance Membership in a Local Church’

Over the next week I will be posting a five part interview with Dr. John S. Hammett on the importance of local church membership. I am excited about this interview series not only because the topic is extremely important to the Church, but also because God has used Dr. Hammett notably in my own theological formation.

While working on my master’s degree I had the privilege of sitting under Professor Hammett for several lecture courses and worked with him in one independent study course. His love for the local church was contagious and propelled me to see the importance of ecclesiology in a very deep way. John Hammett is a seasoned, humble, and respectable scholar who loves Christ’s church dearly.

The interview series will be organized under five questions:

Is local church membership really that important, is it even biblical?
In your opinion, what are the requirements one must meet for local church membership?
What are the privileges of being a member of a local church?
What are the responsibilities of being a member of a local church?
What, if any, are valid reasons for parting ways with a local church?

Here are some introductory thoughts from Hammett:

I look forward to posting Dr. Hammett’s thoughts on the importance of church membership over the next few weeks.

February 14, 2011February 15, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Idolatry in “Christian Worship”?

Worship leader and author Bob Kauflin shares some good thoughts on the prevalent, yet pervasive, idols Christians sometimes bow to – even as we gather for musical worship on Sunday mornings. Have you ever thought about the potential idols that fight for our adoration even in Christian worship settings? Remember that “idolatry is attributing ultimate value, authority, or supremacy to any object other than God.” Give some thought to this eight part series:

Bob serves as the Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries.

February 10, 2011February 14, 2011 Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Faith and Repentance: Our Response to the Gospel

Introduction

When it comes to evangelism the aim of understanding the context (creation, rebellion, redemption, restoration) and content (1 Corinthians 15:1-5, etc.) of the Gospel is so that we can explain it to someone clearly, that they may see their need for Christ and be “drawn to the well.” People come to Christ when the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to see their need for Him. But once they see their need for Christ, they must do something, the must respond. Consider this observation about the nature of Jesus ministry[1] among the people who followed him.

In the first part of Jesus’ ministry he is training people so that they would know exactly who he is. Jesus does this through his teaching and miracles, his actions, and his ministry. During this time Jesus is showing them who he is. Now, in the narrative there is a sharp transition point for the people whom are following Him. Notice that there is an ‘outer circle’ of followers, seekers, who are learning from and about Jesus. But at some point, Jesus calls for a response, he calls for belief. It is here that Jesus asks them the ultimate question, “who do you say that I am?” When someone professes faith, they are brought into the ‘inner circle’ of Jesus’ followers, the Church![2]

See, in explaining the context and content of the Gospel to someone – you are explaining to them who Jesus actually is. These biblical truths, these realities, these contexts for understanding our world should draw people to Jesus, the living water. At this point a response is required. Once that person is confronted with the person of Jesus Christ and his loving grace, if God wills, they will cry out ‘what are we to do to have this salvation?’

According to the Bible, our response to the gospel involves turning to Christ, which entails turning away from sin. If we repent of our sin and place out faith in Christ, we will be saved! So faith and repentance is the proper response to the gospel. Listen to Jesus’ first words as recorded in Mark’s Gospel:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”[3]

Understand that at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he proclaimed that the time of fulfillment had come. As you know, prior to Jesus, John the Baptist had been preaching to Israel that her Messiah was coming and that Israel was to repent of her failure to keep God’s covenant.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the “good news” was simply that the kingdom was at hand. It was still unclear as to how exactly it would be established. However, the good news that the kingdom was beginning in Jesus’ own ministry was a promise that the kingdom would be established. And it was. Jesus established His kingdom through His death for sin and His resurrection. As proclaimed in the Gospel – the proper response to the coming of the kingdom was repentance and faith in this good news. This response exemplifies God’s people: faith and repentance as we trust him and his word.[4] But how are faith and repentance related?

Faith and Repentance are “Two Sides of One Coin”

“Protestants have long affirmed that it is only by faith in the Gospel that we are saved. The Protestant cry ‘Sola Fide’ (faith alone) summarizes our understanding of what the Bible teaches about how the benefits of the Gospel come to us personally. It stands in opposition to any doctrine, but particularly the Roman Catholic doctrine, that salvation comes through faith in the Gospel and our works of obedience. While Roman Catholics believe that faith plus works result in justification before God, we Protestants believe that faith results in justification and works.”[5]

With that said, it is easy to misunderstand the passages discussed above which all call for faith and repentance. As we will see below, faith and repentance are distinct, but they are inseparable. A person cannot trust in Jesus apart from turning from their sin. There are two sides to the coin of conversion, two distinct yet inseparable aspects: faith and repentance. As the reformer John Calvin put it, “from the tree of faith comes the fruit of repentance, the two are interdependent responses, each incomplete without the other.”[6] John Murray agrees, “it is impossible to disentangle faith from repentance. Saving faith is permeated with repentance and repentance is permeated with faith.”[7]

Faith

Faith is a word that has often been misused, even in Christian literature. For instance, if you were to ask someone on the street what they thought ‘faith’ was you might receive an answer similar to the one Greg Gilbert posits: “…while you might get some respectful sounding words, the heart of the matter will most likely be that faith is belief in the ridiculous against all evidence.”[8] A false understanding of faith “believes that faith is holding to some ridiculous idea against all evidence.”[9] Many Christians have subtly made this mistake and misunderstand the biblical idea faith altogether. This misunderstanding leads to two serious errors.

First, they wrongly believe that trusting in Christ is some sort of irrational commitment against reason, historical evidence, and even common sense. Many Christian’s find false safety in this understanding of ‘faith’ because they feel justified in not deal with any objections to Christianity. But this undermines the very historical nature of the Gospel.

Second, what many Christians don’t realize it that thinking of faith as “believing against all the evidence” places the focus on themselves rather than the object of their faith. Therefore one begins to focus on the degree of confidence and commitment they have to the faith rather than focusing on the object of that faith, namely, Christ himself. “This is what leads so many Christians to constantly struggle with doubting their salvation. When we constantly examine the strength of ‘our faith’ we will only end up despairing as we see how small our trust really is.”[10]

These two mistakes are incompatible with true gospel faith. Undermining these two mistakes are the same premises that all other religions are built on. When one examines all other religions, and the teachings of their founders, it becomes apparent that they teach a way to salvation. This is the major distinction between ‘religion’ and the gospel of Jesus Christ.[11] Religion is “salvation through human effort” while the Gospel is salvation through grace. When compared to religion, Jesus is the only one who actually claimed to be “the way of salvation himself.”[12] This is what the Apostle Paul is referring to when he proclaims that we are justified by faith.[13]

Other religions set up some type of law or ‘way’ that must be upheld as the means of salvation. The Christian realizes that they cannot fulfill the perfect law of God, and must understand that Christ did. Christ did what we could not do, and graciously offers us pardon. Faith is the means by which we receive salvation. Think about it, salvation by grace removes all boasting in ourselves. Allow me to re-word what British Theologian Richard Hooker penned in 1593:

“God saves the believing man, not for the worthiness of his faith, but because of the worthiness of Christ, who he believes in.”[14]

The Christian life is meant to be a life of constant examination of God’s goodness revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This good news compels us to trust God more and more because we see the sufficiency of Christ in comparison to our own sinfulness. So, foundational to saving faith is knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It also includes acknowledgement of the truths contained in the gospel.

But faith remains incomplete without trust; we need to entrust ourselves to Jesus.[15] Having faith in Christ, which seals our union with him through the Holy Spirit, is the means by which God accounts Christ’s righteousness as our own,[16] this is “salvation through faith in Christ.”[17] To demonstrate this truth the writers of Scripture often use two things to explain what faith is by way of contrast.

Faith is consistently contrasted with works. The Scriptures say that “for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”[18] We also read that “we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”[19] Notice that Paul contrasts faith and works in both of these passages. We are saved by faith because of God’s grace and not our works. We are saved, not as a result of our works, but through faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, we are justified apart from works of the law.

Faith is consistently contrasted with sight. Again, we read in the Bible that “we walk by faith, not by sight.”[20] We also know that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”[21] Paul explains that the Christian life is a walk of faith not sight. He does not mean, as we discussed above, that being a Christian means believing without evidence that God is real and Christ really did die and rise from the dead. He means that we trust God to do what he has promised to do. Throughout history, trust in the promises of God has always been how people have been saved.

Faith is total reliance on/in Jesus Christ – a real person. Faith as reliance should be understood as “a rock-solid, truth-grounded-promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from your sin.”[22] Notice who the faith is in, Jesus and not oneself.

Repentance

But remember, there are two sides to the coin of ‘gospel response’ – the two distinct yet inseparable aspects of faith and repentance. Throughout the Bible God calls people to turn/return to him in order to be saved from their own destruction and his own wrath.[23] In the pages of the New Testament we see Christ preach so that people would turn to God in repentance[24], we also see Paul summarize the objective of preaching as follows:

“That they [all peoples] should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance… testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ”[25]

In Biblical language ‘to repent” involves a total turn, a radical alteration within the core of ones being. And the turning that we are called to do in order to be saved is fundamentally a turning to Christ as our only hope. Turning to Christ requires real recognition of sin and a need for salvation, it’s a heart issue. To use the words of Anthony Hoekema:

“Repentance not only means a change of conduct but deals primarily with the springs of our action, and with the source of our motives.”[26]

Turning to God necessarily implies our turning away from sin. The whole Bible clearly teaches that to repent is to “acknowledge [God’s] name and turn from [our] sins.”[27] It is vitally important to note that repentance is a work of God in us. God enables humans to see their sin and repent. When we are saved by grace we are no longer enslaved to sin. Though we still struggle with it[28], God has given us the gift of repentance[29], and we have been freed from sin’s dominating power.

Repentance really has two levels. On the surface, repentance involves agreeing with God that we sin. This is the most obvious and common type of repentance. But, on another level, true repentance involves agreeing with God that even our good deeds are sinful because we attempt to save ourselves, or earn favor with God through them. True repentance agrees with God that our motives, actions, thoughts, and desires are sinful to their very core.

Derek Radney rightly notes that “many Christians have been taught that true repentance is turning from a sin and never going back. Therefore, many Christians end up concluding that they have never really repented sincerely since they continue to struggle in certain areas. Others conclude, and this is much more dangerous, that they were sincere and have not since sinned in any serious way. This notion of repentance is flawed because it makes the same mistake self-centered mistake that many people make concerning sin.” Again, this flawed understanding places the focus on the self and on our sincerity. We must remember that true repentance does not result in perfection in this life. True repentance is agreeing with God that we are sinful and utterly helpless, in need of and dependant on a savior. For the Christian this should result in a hatred for sin and also prevent us from living at peace with our sin.

Faith and Repentance throughout Life

When Paul asked his readers not to be conformed to the pattern of the world but be transformed by the renewing of their minds, he is holding before them a lifelong challenge.[30] There is indeed an initial faith and repentance that begins a Christian’s pilgrimage, but these elements should also characterize their entire journey. We never get beyond believing in and responding to the gospel. The gospel is not only for conversion. Sanctification is the continual application of the gospel to every area of our lives.

It is important that Christians make a practice of ‘faith and repentance’ as to keep from falling into the empty traps of religion and irreligion. See, religion stresses truth without grace; it says that we must obey to be saved. On the other hand, irreligion stresses grace without truth, it says that we are all accepted by God and we must decide what’s true for us. But the gospel of Jesus Christ is totally different. As Tim Keller has so aptly put it:

In the gospel we are free to see that we are more sinful than we ever dared to believe, while at the same time we are more accepted than we ever dared to hope.[31]

When Christ is seen as our only hope, and his free grace enables our forgiveness, we are propelled into a life of faith and repentance. When we sin, and all of us will – we don’t loose hope like the religious because our hope is in Christ. In contrast to the irreligious we don’t ignore our sin but are able to openly face it because Christ defeated it on the cross. This kind of ‘gospel mentality’ should draw people “to the well”, to Christ, because it resonates with the reality of the human heart.

Reflection Questions

1. I have often heard people say “I would share the gospel more if I could get my own life in order first.” What is the assumption behind that statement? How does the idea of a ‘life of faith and repentance’ defeat that claim?

2. What do most people around you place their faith in? Come up with a related scenario and walk us through how you might share the gospel with that person (who has placed their faith in something other than Christ)?

3. Do you think most people understand their need for repentance? If not, why? How can one be clearer when talking about sin and showing people their need for repentance and salvation?

Continue reading “Faith and Repentance: Our Response to the Gospel” →