Idolatry in Christian Ministry

In my continuing study of Philippians, I have been working my way through Markus Bockmuehl's, The Epistle to the Philippians in the Black's New Testament Commentary. In speaking about some of his Christian brothers in Rome who were preaching Christ more boldly because of Paul's imprisonment, Paul writes In Philippians 1:17

"the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment." (NASB)

Sometimes one finds a one-liner that captures the essence of what the biblical text says. I found that statement in Bockmuehl's commentary when he writes:

"The robe of 'Christian ministry' cloaks many a shameless idolatry" (p. 80).

In this concise one-liner Bockmuehl identifies one of the most acceptable forms of idolatry in evangelicalism: ministry. In the name of serving the Lord far too many pastors, missionaries, professors and lay people are in fact furthering their own agendas for personal fulfillment and success. In a word, that is idolatry. It is placing ministry ahead of God himself, and it is so dangerous because on the outside it looks good.

Here in the context of Philippians 1:12-26 Paul provides the necessary corrective: to have as our highest aim the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So the question for each of us involved in ministry is this: do you care who gets the credit? Are you fine with others being recognized for their faithful gospel ministry while your own proclaiming of Christ remains under appreciated or recognized? What happens in your heart when someone else receives credit for something YOU did? Can you be content with rejoicing in the progress of the gospel rather than nursing resentment that you did not receive the recognition.

May we take seriously the admonition with which John closes his first letter:

Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21)

 

 

 

The Gospel Coalition Conference

The folks at The Gospel Coalition have extended their early-bird registration discount ($200 instead of $250) until January 31. They also have a special rate for students ($100).

You can find out more about the conference here and register here. Here is a description of the Plenary Sessions:

The Plenary Sessions -- led by John Piper, Phil Ryken, Mark Driscoll, K. Edward Copeland, Bryan Chapell, and Ligon Duncan -- will expound the book of Second Timothy. It is through these expositions that we hope to model the sort of preaching through Scripture of which the church is in need, while teaching the glories of this gospel of the blessed God that has been entrusted to the care of the church. Tim Keller and Don Carson will each give addresses that seek to situate gospel-faithful ministry in the currents of the twenty-first century, and Ajith Fernando will discuss the global challenges and priorities of gospel-faithful mission for the next Christendom.

In addition to the main sessions there are two sessions of seminars that offer a wide variety of interesting topics from solid folks.

Also worth noting is a special event on the Thursday night immediately after the conference entitled "The Pastor as Scholar, and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry with John Piper and D.A. Carson." See the link for more details.

Like the Together for the Gospel Conference, this gathering is a great opportunity for pastors, students, and scholars to gather in unity around the richness of the gospel and its application to life and ministry.

RBL Goes RSS

The Review of Biblical Literature (RBL) is a publication of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), the largest "professional" guild for Biblical Studies. RBL publishes numerous book reviews that are an excellent source for getting a quick sense of a book and its contribution. They have recently begun a blog that announces the publication of these reviews that you can subscribe to through an RSS feed. It is now even easier to see what book reviews are available.

 

HT: Denny Burk

Top 100 Theology Blogs

ChristianColleges.com has released their list of the Top 100 Theology Blogs. They have broken down the list into the following categories: General Theology, Criticism, Politics, History, Academic, Clergy, Society and Culture, Writings. Admittedly some of the blogs mentioned span several of these categories. No doubt some will quibble with certain ones being included (such as this one!) while others were omitted, but overall the list looks very helpful.

Recent Paternoster Releases

My friend James Spinti at Eisenbrauns alerted me to three new releases from Paternoster of interest to me.

Congregational Evangelism in Philippians
The Centrality of an Appeal for Gospel Proclamation to the Fabric of Philippian
Paternoster Biblical Monographs-PBM
by Mark J. Keown
Paternoster Press, 2008
xxi + 360 pages, English
Paper, 6 x 9
ISBN: 9781842275108
List Price: $44.99
Your Price: $39.59
www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~KEOCONGRE

Imputation and Impartation
Union with Christ in American reformed Theology
Studies in Christian History and Thought - SCHT
by William B Evans
Paternoster Press, 2008
xiv + 296 pages, English
Paper, 6 x 9
ISBN: 9781842274361
List Price: $39.99
Your Price: $35.19
www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~EVAIMPUTA

Enabling Fidelity to God:
Perseverence in Hebrews in Light of Reciprocity Systems in the Ancient Mediterranean World
Paternoster Biblical Monographs-PBM
by Jason A. Whitlark
Paternoster Press, 2008
xvii + 225 pages, English
Paper, 6 x 9
ISBN: 9781842275733
List Price: $33.99
Your Price: $29.91
www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~WHIENABLI

Tyndale Bulletin Available Online

Tyndale Bulletin is one of the premier evangelical scholarly journals. They have now made all of their issues available online through 2005; check out the listing of issues here.

HT: Justin Taylor

Atheist Believes Africa Needs God

In today's Times on Line, an avowed atheist provides a unique perspective on the difference the gospel is making in the lives of Africans. Particularly striking is this quote:

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

For this committed atheist it was the transformation the gospel brings that has forced him to admit that his own worldview cannot account for what he is observing. Would that the gospel do the same in our hearts so that those around us cannot deny the transformation even if it does not fit their worldview!

C.J. Mahaney on the Disturbing Nature of Christmas

While taking a brief break from preparing the Christmas Eve message for tomorrow night's service, I came across this helpful blogpost on the Disturbing Nature of Christmas. I commend the entire post, but to whet your appetite here is a juicy quote:

During this time of year, it may be easy to forget that the bigger purpose behind Bethlehem was Calvary. But the purpose of the manger was realized in the horrors of the cross. The purpose of his birth was his death.

Or to put it more personally: Christmas is necessary because I am a sinner. The incarnation reminds us of our desperate condition before a holy God.

This is a helpful reminder that if we preach the birth of Jesus without reference to his death and resurrection for our sins we are actually presenting a distorted picture of what Christmas is actually about.

May we all grow in our awe and wonder that God would take on flesh and be born in a filthy stable/cave to save sinners from the fury of his wrath that we deserve for our rebellion against him.

All Things are Better in Koine

For those of you who love both geek and Greek humor, this is a must see video. You will want to watch a few times over to catch all of the humor. And even if you do not know Greek, I think you can still appreciate some of the humor.





HT: Jim Hamilton

Announcing Bibleworks 8.0

Recently Bibleworks announced the release of their latest version, 8.0. The weblink provides further details on what is new in this release. Perhaps even more helpful are the series of posts at the Bibleworks Blog where Michael Hanel has been reviewing different feautures of the new version. I personally am looking forward to now having the OT Pseudepigrapha in Greek fully tagged and searchable, as well as the two new features called the Phrase Matching Tool and the Related Verse Tool. From everything I can tell, it looks like another major improvement. They have even included as standard now the grammars by Wallace, Waltke/O'Connor, and Juon Muraoka. Unbelievable! There are other fine Bible software programs out there, but NONE of them can match the bang for your buck that you get from Bibleworks.

As best I understand, they will not begin shipping for another two weeks or so. But you can place your order now. The amazing thing is that the cost for the package remains an unbeatable $349. And upgrade prices are also available: from 6.0 is $175 while from 7.0 it is $150. TOTALLY WORTH IT.

"Son of Man, Can this Blog Live?"

With all due apologies to Ezekiel 37:3, the remnant of you who have continued to check this blog may have begun to wonder something similar. This current semester that is now in its last days has been the most challenging of my young academic life, and in the midst of it all the blog has sort of fallen to the periphery. Here's just a taste of some of the things that have been keeping me busy:

A Full Academic Teaching Load. While I have taught a full load before, in light of some of the changes made here at Grace I have begun teaching some undergrad classes as well. In light of this the total number of students I have in my classes this semester has quadrupled. I have also been developing and overseeing a new class in our General Education Core called Exploring the Bible, which is an overview of the biblical metanarrative. While I have enjoyed these responsibilities, it has consumed much more time than in past semesters.

A Full Ministry Teaching Load. By this distinction I am not indicating that my academic teaching load is not ministry, of course. But outside of those responsibilities I have been busy teaching in the church context as well. I taught a 12 week Sunday School class on the Minor Prophets, which I greatly enjoyed. As part of our church's IMPACT Leadership Training Program I taught a 10 week course entitled "The Gospel-Centered Life." And every Monday night during the semester I led a mentoring group of Grace Seminary students through 1 Timothy. I have enjoyed each one of these opportunities to refine my thinking on these areas.

A Full Writing Load. In the midst of this I have been chipping away at my commentary on Philippians that I am writing for the Mentor series. I look forward to my time in Philippians, but things have been so busy that I have not made as much progress as I would have liked. I have a couple of other writing projects in the works at different stages as well.

A Full Family Load. This fall Kate began teaching English at a Christian Junior High / High School. She has enjoyed it a lot, but this change has resulted in some alterations to our family routine. Also, our oldest son played PeeWee football and our youngest is now playing basketball. And somebody has to play with Luther, our 20 month old Boston Terrier.

With all of that said, I do plan to resume regular posting. My intention is to take snippets of some of the things I have been working on this past semester and post them here. In particular, I would like to work through some of the material I used for the Gospel-Centered Life class.

Interesting Artifact Found

This article in the Israeli newspaper HAARETZ ("The Land") announces the discovery of a sarcophagus cover with the inscription "Son of the High Priest." Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority believe the artifact dates from 30–70 A.D., the formative years for early Christianity.

 

HT: Evangelical Textual Criticism

Envisioning the Temple

Justin Taylor has written a very helpful article on the Temple based on the resources that will be available in the forthcoming ESV Study Bible. What I especially appreciate is the fact that Justin does not stop with a description of the temple itself but identifies what the temple was pointing to all along: the true temple Jesus Christ.

Who is the Worst Sinner You Know?

    Paul never lost the wonder of the gospel of God's grace to him. Even after 30+ years of walking with Christ and serving as the lead apostle among the Gentiles, he remained blown away by the fact that God had saved him. In 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Paul recounts his testimony of how the grace of God transformed his life. Before Christ stopped him on the road to Damascus he "was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor" (1:13). But the grace of God was more than sufficient to save him, since "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1:15).

    At this point Paul makes a surprising statement. We might expect Paul to continue his thought by saying "among whom I WAS the foremost." Given his life before Christ, who could argue? He was a persecutor of the church and a blasphemer! But instead Paul says "among whom I AM the foremost" (1:15). In other words, Paul thinks of himself currently as the "foremost of sinners." It is not merely a description of his former life, but a statement of his current experience.

    So how could Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, think of himself as the foremost of sinners after 30+ years of walking with Christ? I believe the answer rests in his self-understanding and his God-understanding. Paul knew the mixture of his motives, the impurity of his desires, the extent of his failure to love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. As he grew in his understanding of God he progressively saw the depths of his sin in ways he never appreciated. Combined with his growing understanding of the perfections of God in Christ his sin became increasingly odious to him.

    Who came to mind when you saw the title of this post? Did you think of a mass murderer? A child molestor? Osama bin Laden? Hitler? I am becoming convinced that the biblical answer to that question for every single person is "me." Sure, I haven't committed the outward acts that would lead others to call me the worst sinner they know. But when we recall Jesus' exposition of the Law in Matthew 5–6, I reach a different conclusion. I am guilty in my heart of the very sins that Jesus describes. Even my best actions are tainted by sinful motivations, many of which I do not even fully recognize or appreciate.

    I am convinced that one of the marks of growth in holiness is paradoxically a growing awareness of the depth and extent of our sinfulness. As the Spirit continues his work in our lives, he exposes the idolatry in our lives in all its various forms. But he does this to cause us to abandon those idols and instead cling to Christ. And that is why we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily.

    So, who is the worst sinner you know?

“Assumed Evangelicalism” by David Gibson

    One of the best biblical theology websites out there is http://beginnningwithmoses.org. Today a new article was posted by David Gibson, one of the editors. It is entitled "Assumed Evangelicalism: Some Reflections en route to denying the Gospel." After briefly describing the general pattern of movements as proclaiming the gospel, assuming the gospel, and eventually denying the gospel, he sets out to describe evangelicalism as it appears to be following this pattern. Assumed evangelicalism:

"believes and signs up to the gospel. It certainly does not deny the gospel. But in terms of priorities, focus, and direction, assumed evangelicalism begins to give gradually increasing energy to concerns other than the gospel and key evangelical distinctives, to gradually elevate secondary issues to a primary level, to be increasingly worried about how it is perceived by others and to allow itself to be increasingly influenced both in content and method by the prevailing culture of the day."

    From there he goes on to ask two questions to enable us to identify which phase (proclaimed, assumed, denied) best describes ourselves and our ministries:

1. To what extent does the gospel dictate our priorities in life, and the visions and strategies of our churches, movements and institutions?
   
2. To what extent do the key features of evangelicalism dictate our priorities in life, and the visions and strategies of our churches, movements and institutions?
   

Gibson has helpfully and concisely summarized many of the concerns that I have had as I have watched certain trends in evangelicalism. I strongly encourage you to read the whole thing.

What does Ray Ortlund Jr. take into the Pulpit with Him?

Part Four in Josh Harris's series on the sermon notes of several prominent preachers has now been posted here. The latest installment is Ray Ortlund Jr.

What does C.J. Mahaney take into the Pulpit with him?

Part Three in Josh Harris's series on the sermon notes of several prominent preachers has now been posted here. The latest addition is that of C.J. Mahaney.

A Website You Must See

One of the most common questions I am asked is "what's the best commentary on _________?" Answering that question is far more complicated than many people realize, as the answer depends on what one is looking to get from the commentary (technical information, solid application, close exegesis of the Greek or Hebrew, etc.).

This morning I learned of a fabulous new website that provides a treasury of information about seemingly every commentary out there, both OT and NT. It incorporates the volumes by Tremper Longman and D.A. Carson on commentaries, as well as many other resources. Commentaries are described and ranked. Not that I (or anyone else for that matter) will agree with every assessment of every commentary, but what a fantastic place to start when trying to answer the question "what are the best commentaries on ________"

Also nice from the curiousity end of things is the "forthcoming" section where future commentaries are listed by author, series, book of the bible, etc.

This is a must view site!

HT: Justin Taylor

What Does Mike Bullmore take into the Pulpit with Him?

Continuing the series that began earlier in the week, Josh Harris has now posted the notes of Mike Bullmore here. Although Bullmore is far less well-known than Mark Dever, he is every bit his equal in the pulpit. You can read more about him and his church here.

The sermon notes posted are from a message preached in February 2008 on Zephaniah. You can listen to the audio of the sermon here. One thing you will immediately notice is that Bullmore writes out his notes by hand, and that his handwriting is, shall we say, less than easily deciphered by those with untrained eyes.

On a personal note, I owe a great deal to Bullmore. He was my preaching instructor for all three of my courses at TEDS, and I consider that one of the highlights of my seminary education. No one person has had a greater influence on how I conceptualize and practice the task of preaching than him. If you would like a taste of his thoughts on preaching, here are three lectures that are available for free download:

Five Convictions about Preaching without which One Should not Preach

Things I've Learned About Preaching After Having Taught It for 15 Years

Watch Your Preaching: Effective Sermon Preparation

HT: Justin Taylor

What Does Mark Dever take into the Pulpit with Him?

It always fascinates me to see what various preachers take into the pulpit by way of notes. Some take nothing at all, having committed the entire sermon (or at least an outline) to memory. Others take word for word manuscripts. Most preachers are somewhere in between. While I do not think there is one right answer for everyone, I think some options are better than others.

Over at his blog Josh Harris has begun a series in which he is posting the sermon notes of some well-known preachers. In other words, he has taken the exact notes that the given preacher takes into the pulpit with him. I think this is a fascinating way to see a diversity of approaches.

The first entry is about Mark Dever, who clearly falls on the manuscript end of things. I think it is instructive in the PDF file that is posted to see the handwritten tweaks made, perhaps that very morning. Note also his notes in the margin at the conclusion where he reminds himself to slow down in delivery to make the words sink in more deeply.


HT: Justin Taylor