The Christian Faith as Public Truth

LESSLIE NEWBIGIN
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

The faith is held with universal intent. It is held not as "my personal opinion," but as the truth which is true for all. It must therefore be publicly affirmed, and opened to public interrogation and debate. Specifically, as the command of Jesus tells us, it is to be made known to all the nations, to all human communities of whatever race or creed or culture. It is public truth. We commend it to all people in the hope that, by the witness of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of others, it will come to be seen by them for themselves as the truth.

Our Corrupt Minds

Genesis 6:5

The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. (NIV)

John N. Oswalt

What the Hebrew says is that the very way we go about forming images in our minds is wholly corrupt... We do not automatically focus upon what is noble, good and true, as Paul urged us to do (Phil. 4:8). Rather our imaginations drift to the pornographic, the horrible, the perverse, and the corrupt.

~ Called to Be Holy

pages 40-41

Cory's Broken Promise

"Cory and I met at the house of my son, David in our Mandaluyong compound. She announced that she had changed her mind. She was now willing to run under UNIDO! She reiterated her previous offer that I would be her Prime Minister, that she would step down in two years, that I would name 30 percent of the Cabinet, that she would appoint the remaining 70 percent after close consultations with me. I said I would have to think it over and decide before the deadline that night."

from the diary of former Vice President Salvador "Doy" Laurel

December 11, 1985

Should a Woman Marry a Man Who Has a Problem with Pornography? (by Heath Lambert)

This is what Proverbs 6:32–33 says:

He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.
He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

This passage in Proverbs 6 does not mention the word pornography. Neither does any other verse in the Bible. When you let Jesus explain, however, that adultery is about desiring a woman to whom you are not married (Matt 5:27–28) then you see that modern men who ogle air-brushed women are serial adulterers. When you grasp that fact you understand that this passage in Proverbs is an incredible condemnation of the man you want to marry who has a problem with porn. He is a man who lacks sense. He destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor. His disgrace will not be wiped away. How could you consider marrying into a situation like this?

I have talked with many women who try to make an argument for pursuing marriage with their boyfriend who has an ongoing porn struggle. They often point out that there are tons of good things about him, and that his porn problem is only one slice of his life. I have no doubt that is true. Very few of us are defined entirely by our vices and exclusively devoid of virtue. Beyond this fact, many of these women express great confidence in the power of Christ to change men and set them free from this problem. That is certainly true, as well. As true as those realities are, you will say “I do” to the man who shows up on your wedding day, not the man you hope he will become afterwards. I’m sure your boyfriend has many wonderful things about him! I know Jesus can change him! The greater part of wisdom, however, is to wait and allow Jesus to do some of that work before you marry.
-----------------------------------------------

page 16, Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Fall 2013 – Volume XVIII, Issue 2)
Read the whole article HERE

When There is a Conflict Between Our Interpretation of Scripture and Natural Theology (Gordon Lewis)

Gordon R. Lewis

"Given the best efforts at adhering faithfully to sound scientific, historical, epistemological, and hermeneutical principles, we may nevertheless be confronted with contradictory assertions from nature and Scripture. When this happens, the view that is drawn from sound exegesis of Scripture and confirmed by people of varied cultural perspectives throughout the creedal history of the church is the least likely to be the one in error. Even apart from the supernatural inspiration of Scripture, linguistic statements permit greater precision in communication than nonverbal types of communication. We are less likely to misinterpret language on a subject than mere objects or events."

Integrative Theology (Volume 1, p.81)

Anti-Intellectualism is Inconsistent with Evangelicalism (J. I. Packer)

"The Evangelical is not afraid of facts, for he knows that all facts are God's facts; nor is he afraid of thinking, for he knows that all truth is God's truth, and right reason cannot endanger sound faith. He is called to love God with all his mind; and part of what this means is that, when confronted by those who, on professedly rational grounds, take exception to historic Christianity, he must set himself not merely to deplore or denounce them, but to out-think them. It is not his business to argue men into faith, for that cannot be done; but it is his business to demonstrate the intellectual adequacy of the biblical faith and the comparative inadequacy of its rivals, and to show the invalidity of the criticisms that are brought against it. This he seeks to do, not from any motive of intellectual self-justification, but for the glory of God and of His gospel. A confident intellectualism expressive of robust faith in God, whose Word is truth, is part of the historic evangelical tradition. If present-day Evangelicals fall short of this, they are false to their own principles and heritage."

~J.I. Packer
  Fundamentalism and the Word of God

The "Free Will" of Israel's Neighbors and the Sovereignty of God

 " ... no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God." (Exo. 34:24 NIV)

 "All the men of Israel were to go up to appear before the Lord. But how could this be, when Israel was surrounded by enemies? If the pagan neighbors across the river saw the men leaving, would they not swoop down and take advantage of the situation? God promised that if Israel would be faithful in keeping His law, no one would even covet their land while they were gone. Surely this means that God has the power to stop even the internal sinful desire of covetousness. So why does God not stop all coveting, since it is obviously in His power to do so? The only answer is that He has a purpose in what He allows. And surely one must immediately ask the obvious question: What about the "free will" of the pagans that had been coveting the land, but stopped coveting it when the faithful Israelites left to go appear before the Lord? Was this not a "violation" of their "free will"? Such passages force us to recognize the difference between the biblical concept of man's creaturely will and the philosophical concept of autonomy that is held in the majority of man's religions, in Roman Catholicism, and in most non-Reformed Protestant theologies."

~ James R. White 

Tweets and Footnotes in Academic Papers

The Modern Language Association (MLA) has released a standard format for citing tweets in academic papers.

Sampol:

Piper, John (JohnPiper). “Farewell Rob Bell. http://dsr.gd/fZqmd8.” February 26, 2011, 3:09pm. Tweet.

http://edudemic.com/2012/03/how-to-cite-a-tweet-in-academic-papers/

A Weaned Child (Psalm 131:2)

"Our hearts are desirous for worldly things, cry for them, and are fond of them; but, by the grace of God, a soul made holy is weaned from these things. The child is cross and fretful while in the weaning; but in a day or two it cares no longer for the milk, and it can bear solid food. Thus does a converted soul quiet itself under the loss of what it loved, disappointments in what it hoped for, and is easy whatever happens. When our condition is not to our mind, we must bring our mind to our condition; then we are easy to ourselves and all about us; then our souls are as a weaned child. And thus the psalmist recommends confidence in God, to all the Israel of God, from his own experience. It is good to hope, and quietly for the salvation of the Lord under every trial."

Matthew Henry

copied from Sheryll's FB note

*******************************

AKO: Antoy taun na ugaw ya patsuen? (What is the age of the child to be weaned?)
NANAY:  duway  taon (2 years old)


AKO: Panun yun pinatso iray anak yu? (How did you weaned your children?)
NANAY: Pespesay bulong na palya (pinipigaan ng dahon ng ampalaya... she's refering to the nipple)


AKO: Pigaran agew antis ya napatso? (How long does the weaning process take?)
NANAY: Sakey simba (one week)


AKO: Antoy gawaen na ugaw ed satay sakey simba ey? (What will the child do for the whole week?)
NANAY: Mantaul-taul (This word I don't know how to translate; Gagamitin ng bata ang lahat ng enerhiya niya sa pag-iyak na may kasamang body language mula ulo hanggang talampakan :D)

*******************************

"Like a weaned child, no longer wanting his mother’s milk, he was content without that which used to seem indispensable. A mature believer leaves the clamor of proud ambition and rests in the Lord."

~ Allen P. Ross 

The Bible Knowledge Commentary

*******************************

"To the weaned child his mother is his comfort though she has denied him comfort. It is a blessed mark of growth out of spiritual infancy when we can forego the joys which once appeared to be essential, and can find our solace in him who denies them to us: then we behave manfully, and every childish complaint is hushed. If the Lord removes our dearest delight we bow to his will without a murmuring thought; in fact, we find a delight in giving up our delight. This is no spontaneous fruit of nature, but a well-tended product of divine grace: it grows out of humility and lowliness..."

~ Charles H. Spurgeon 

Treasury of David

Roman Catholics and Protestants Alike Have Become Respecters of Persons

"If I just quote Mother Teresa to bible-believing Christians or Catholics who tend to be conservative or traditional, and I don't tell them it's Mother Teresa, normally they will say 'Oh that's just terrible doctrine. Who taught that?.' And as soon as I say it's Mother Teresa, then all of a sudden it becomes good, true and beautiful"

Mark Michael Zima

Iron Sharpens Iron (September 30, 2008)

Tagalog and English Proficiency (1960s-1970s)

"In 1960, 44.5 percent of the population spoke Filipino while 39.5 percent spoke English and 2 percent spoke Spanish. In 1970 the Philippine census reported that 55.2 percent of the population spoke Filipino and 44.7 percent spoke English. Code-switching between these two languages was already prevalent. Various forms of bilingualism were also commonplace between regional languages and either Filipino or English, according to class."

Pangasinan—An Endangered Language?

Victoria B. Anderson & James N. Anderson

Reading is Hardwork

"The most direct sign that you have done the work of reading is fatigue. Reading that is reading entails the most intense mental activity. It you are not tired out, you probably have not been doing the work... I often cannot read more than a few hours at a time, and I seldom read much in that time. I usually find it hard work and slow work. There may be people who can read quickly and well, but I am not one of them. The point about speed is irrelevant. What is relevant is activity."

~ Mortimer Adler

How to Read a Book

New Year's Resolutions Must Be Built Upon Biblical Convictions

"True biblical conviction is always lived out. Conviction that is not lived, that does not rule my everyday life, is not really conviction. if my heart knows, understands, acknowledges and has submitted to what is right, it will difinitely show in the decision I make daily."

"A person who does not have biblical convictions does not have an internal restraint system. This person will do right when under a watchful eye, or when under external pressure. However, when these external motivators are removed, this person will behave very differently."

Paul David Tripp

Age of Opportunity, p.133

The poor man's mouth

 Photo Credit: Avi Katz

Matt. 5:3

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

"There is no sadder commentary on our lack of this spiritual poverty than the readiness so many of us have to let others know what we think. But the man who is poor in spirit is the man who has been silenced by God, and seek only to speak what he has learned in humility from him."
 

Sinclair Ferguson
Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Living in a Fallen World
page 17

Evangelical Statesman: "True Love Confronts"

John Ankerberg "Dr. Kennedy, all through the years that I have known you, you've had the reputation among evangelical leaders of being the statesman, the one that constantly wants to bring us together, you don't want any splits. And even in this situation we met in your office. But what's at stake is that the cry for tolerance today and love between Roman Catholics and evangelical Protestants is very, very strong. And when we make some of these statements, people say, "Don't you have any love for Roman Catholics? Are you guys so harsh?" Talk about love and tolerance and the priority that truth has over that...and that when we stand for the truth that does not necessarily mean that we don't love people. In fact, when we stand for the truth it means that we actually love them more."

D. James Kennedy: "Absolutely, John. If we believe as Christians the truth of the Scripture, if we believe what Christ said that He is THE way, THE truth and THE life, if we believe as Peter said that there is none other name under heaven given unto men whereby they must be saved, if there is no other way than through justification by faith in Christ alone, if we are willing for the sake of some temporal earthly peace and tolerance to ignore proclaiming that truth to people, then we are not demonstrating to them love, we are actually demonstrating hate because we are allowing those people to go to the judgment of God without ever telling them the one way by which they can be justified in the eyes of a just and holy God. And that is a false love. True love confronts. And it should do it with grace and with kindness but nevertheless firmly."

Irreconcilable Differences:

Catholics, Evangelicals, and the New Quest for Unity

Birds are Wiser than Greedy People

When a bird sees a trap being set, it stays away. But not these people! They set an ambush for themselves; they booby-trap their own lives! Such is the fate of all who are greedy for gain. It ends up robbing them of life. 
(Proverbs 1:17-19 NLT)

"The sight of danger leads to the avoidance of danger. Instinct directs the bird, reason the man. Yet man is so infatuated with sin that in his pride he will not do what the bird does by instinct. She flies away from the net that she has been being spread, but man rushes into it."

~ Charles Bridges

Is Faith a Meritorious Work?

"I may say also that Scott doesn't even discuss the point that some Protestants infelicitously express justification in a way that makes it sound as if the justification comes on the merit of  faith. Again, I have been saying for at least 50 years that it is incorrect to say the Bible and reformed theology teach that justification is based upon the merits of the believer's faith. Protestants are not saying that one act of Protestant faith can do what all the works of the Roman Catholic cannot do. Now if faith were viewed as a work, it would be teaching the same thing Rome is teaching, only in a form so diminished that it is more atrocious than the Roman Catholic doctrine could ever be. This would mean that one act of ours is so meritorious that it redeems us from sin and entitles us to heaven forever. When we talk about justification by faith alone as the Bible talks about it, we refer to faith alone as coming to Jesus, resting in Jesus, and being identified with Jesus. Because we are one with Jesus, all that Jesus has done for us is ours in the experience. Nothing in our hands we bring. Simply to His cross we cling. But clinging to Him does not save us. Coming to Him does not save us. Trusting in Him does not save us. He ALONE saves us."

According to the Reformed faith (again, the historical Protestant faith) Christ even produces in us the spirit of faith, which we exercise non-meritoriously... I stressed the fact that so far from faith being a meritorious work, it is itself a gift of God..."

-- JOHN GERSTNER

an Appendix titled Rome NOT Home (A Response to Rome Sweet Home, by Scott and Kimberly Hahn)

in Justification by Faith Alone

Peace or War: what do we deserve?

From a Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon

Preached at the onset of The Second World War

now included in the book Why Does God Allow War? (pages 93-94)

"What right have we to peace?
Why do we desire peace?

How often, I wonder, have we faced this question? Has not the tendency been to take it for granted that we have a right to a state and condition of peace? Do we stop to ask what is the real value and purpose and function of peace?

This question, surely, should engage our attention. There are two passages, at least, in scripture which show very clearly why we should desire peace. The first is in Acts 9:31:

Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

That is a description of what happened in the churches after a terrible period of persecution and unrest. We should desire peace in order that what is described there may happen amongst us also.

The other passage is in 1 Timothy 2:1-2:

exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

There we have the same emphasis again. It is not enough that we should desire peace merely that we may avoid the horror and the suffering of war, and all the dislocations and hardships and interference with ordinary life that are consequent upon it. Our real desire for peace should be based upon the further desire to have the fullest opportunity to live the godly and the holy life, and to have the maximum amount of time in which to build ourselves up in the faith.

Man's chief business in life is to serve and to glorify God. That is why the gift of life has been given to him. That is why we are here on earth; all other things are subservient to this — all the gifts and the pleasures which God gives us so freely. That is the chief end and object of man's life; and consequently he should desire peace because it enables him to do that more freely and fully than he can during a state of war.

But is that our reason for desiring peace?
Is that the real motive in our prayers for peace?

It is not for me to judge, but one cannot be blind to facts. Far too often, I fear, the motive has been purely selfish — merely the avoidance of the consequences of war. Indeed, it has frequently failed to rise even to that level, and one has felt that many have desired peace merely in order to avoid a disturbance of the kind of life which they were living and enjoying so heartily. What kind of life was that? In a word, it was almost the exact opposite of that described in our two passages of scripture.

Under the blessing of peace, men and women, in constantly increasing numbers, have forsaken God and religion and have settled down to a life which is essentially materialistic and sinful."

In Shocking Moments, Be Calm and Logical

Judges 13:23-23

"And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these." (KJV)

"Seeing and observing her husband's collapse, his fear and his whimpering, and listening to his foreboding of evil and his dark prophecies and his doubtings of the goodness of God, she doesn't cry or shout, she doesn't give way to hysteria and finally collapse in a state of unconsciousness, she doesn't ask irreverent questions or utter complaints against God-- she thinks, she reasons, she ponders the matter, and with a magnificent logic she arrives at the only conclusion that is really valid."

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Why Does God Allow War?

pages 48-49

Justification and Nature Change

"Justification in the narrow sense refers strictly to God's forensic declaration. But the complex of justification in the wider sense involves other elements. This is important lest we fall into the antinomian error of assuming that God justifies people who are and remained unchanged. All who are justified possess faith. Faith abides as a necessary condition for justification. All who have faith are regenerate. Reformed theology sees regeneration as a necessary condition for faith. All who are regenerated are changed in their natures.

It is not the change in our nature wrought by regeneration or our faith that flows from it that is the ground of our justification. That remains solely the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. But that righteousness is not imputed to unbelieving or unregenerate persons. The change from the state of unregenerate to regenerate is a real and vital change in the nature of the person. The change from unbelief to belief is a result of a crucial change in the believer."

R.C. Sproul

The Forensic Nature of Justification,

in Justification by Faith ALONE, pp. 44-45

SDG Publications 1995