Stuff Christians Say

This is hilarious.

HT: Alex Medina

The Lure of Applause

In Matthew 6:1, Jesus instructs his hearers to “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (cf. Gal 1:10; 1 Thess 2:4; John 12:43; Prov 29:25; Is 2:22; Rom 12:3).

The praise of man is poison; the lure of applause is strong.

Paul Tripp has a piece here on the temptation of thinking you’ve “arrived.” I identify with these words more closely than I care to admit:

There are times when the congratulatory comments of a thankful hearer morphs into self-congratulation. There are times when I am defensive as someone presumes to question or confront me. There are times when I am too self-aware and not nearly as Christ-aware as I should be. I still struggle with latent self-righteousness, and the praise of others tends to confirm the praise for myself I still carry around in my heart. So I still cry out for help. I still need to be rescued from me. I still have but one hope: the transforming grace of Jesus Christ.

HT: Challies

Spectatoritis

I have mentioned that I occasionally read the blog The Art of Manliness. Once in a while, they post something instructive (e.g. how to carve a turkey), or even something insightful (e.g. the lack of well-spoken men today).

One of their posts, which could be categorized as the latter, addresses “spectatoritis,” which consists of spending  too much time passively spectating instead of doing. “Spectatoritis” has various manifestations in our culture: watching sports, movies, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Some even take a similarly passive approach to worship; they’re there merely to receive.

The problem isn’t that we occasionally watch a game or use the internet, the problem occurs when we devote excessive amounts of time to watching and reacting to other people instead of accomplishing anything ourselves. We try “to experience vicariously the virtues of others, without having to cultivate them ourselves.” We become viewers rather than doers. Passivity is an enemy, and we need to fight against it.

Read the whole blog here: Viewers vs. Doers: The Rise of Spectatoritis

(Disclaimer: I wrote this while watching football…)

The New Normal

Carl Trueman’s got a post at Reformation21 on the way today’s rapidly changing culture deems odd things as “normal,” and “normal” things as odd, particularly in the realm of sexual ethics. What this means is that anyone who plans to hold on to biblical standards in this cultural shift will most certainly be “odd.” Being both faithful and cool will be an impossibility. Here’s Trueman:

You really do kid only yourselves if you think you can be an orthodox Christian and be at the same time cool enough and hip enough to cut it in the wider world. Frankly, in a couple of years it will not matter how much urban ink you sport, how much fair trade coffee you drink, how many craft brews you can name, how much urban gibberish you spout, how many art house movies you can find that redeemer figure in, and how much money you divert from gospel preaching to social justice: maintaining biblical sexual ethics will be the equivalent in our culture of being a white supremacist.

(Emphasis mine.)

For the Seminarian

A couple of weeks ago I posted a list of my favorite classes at Southern Seminary, any of which I’d highly recommend. Here are six general recommendations for anyone attending or considering seminary. Nobody has asked me for advice, but it’s my blog, so I’m giving it anyway.

1. Get involved in a local church. Seminary is not a hiatus from the responsibility to make disciples and live out the “one another”s of the New Testament, both of which happen in and through the local church. So get your hands dirty and get involved: wash dishes, serve in the nursery, visit the elderly, pick people up for church. Whatever you do, remember that what’s gained in the classroom is for the church. I’d also recommend you find a church quickly. If you’re married and your wife is not a student, chances are she’ll be starving for friendship and fellowship while you meet people in class.
2. Read the Bible. Regardless of what you learn in the classroom or what books you read outside of it, there’s only one Word of God. Read it, memorize it, pray it, obey it, and love it. It will sustain you when nothing else can.
3. Learn the languages. You can grow in your theological understanding as you go.  You can grow in your ability to preach, counsel, etc. after you finish seminary. The chances are slim, however, that you will improve your language ability after you graduate, so make the most of the opportunity.
4. Study hard. This should be obvious, but your primary task in seminary is to prepare for ministry. You might never get the chance to devote yourself to study rigorously the things of God like you do in seminary.
5. Prioritize your marriage (if you’re married). The last thing you want is to leave seminary with a solid theological foundation and a shaky marriage to show for it. Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3 both list healthy home life as a qualification for eldership, so love your wife and sustain your ministry at home.
6. Exercise. You’ll be spending a good bit of time straining your mind while you sit on your tail, so be sure to get off your tail and burn some calories. It will often seem like a poor use of time, but it’s not. I was a better student when I exercised regularly.

The Whole Sweep of Scripture

N.T. Wright on reading Scripture.

HT: Ross Shannon/Patrick Schreiner

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!

My Favorite Classes at Southern Seminary

I graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in May. It’s hard to measure the impact of an experience like seminary so soon, so I’m not going to attempt that here. I just want to list my favorite classes from my 3 years at Southern. For any current or prospective students, perhaps this will be of help.

1. Greek Exegesis of Matthew – Dr. Pennington. I improved my Greek and learned a lot about the first Gospel, but I’m most grateful for walking away with a better grasp of how to read and appreciate the Gospels.
2. Systematic Theology I – Dr. Ware. I left this class with a higher view of God and a deeper love for Him and His word. Dr. Ware’s passion is infectious; there were times when all I could do after this class was find a place to pray and worship.
3. New Testament II (Acts-Revelation) – Dr. Schreiner. I know few people (any?) who know the Bible like Dr. Schreiner and who possess a unique ability to teach it with clarity. I also know few people who are as humble, approachable, and seemingly unaware of their own gifting as Dr. Schreiner.
4. Christian Ethics – Dr. Moore. This class helped me think about ethical issues more clearly. Dr. Moore is a sharp guy (check out his website), and watching him work through the important issues was impressive.
5. Hebrew Composition – Dr. Fuller. This class was a ton of work and really helped my Hebrew. Even though it demanded a lot of time, it was actually enjoyable and rewarding.
6. Advanced Greek Grammar – Dr. Gentry. I’m not sure if I’m including this because I really enjoyed the class or am simply glad that I completed it without serious injury. Regardless, this was the most demanding class I took at Southern, and I learned a ton.

Other noteworthy classes:
–Biblical Hermeneutics – Dr. Hamilton. He knows his Bible and this was a chance to see him model biblical theology through the semester. My lasting impression: I need to know the Bible better.
–Greek Exegesis of Romans – Dr. Schreiner. Romans is an important letter, and there is nobody from whom I’d rather learn it than Dr. Schreiner. He’s got a great commentary on it.
–Old Testament I (Genesis-2 Chronicles) – Dr. Gentry. These are the lectures that gave birth to this important book.

Gratitude & Humility: Well, You Did Build Something

What do you have that you did not receive?  An honest answer to that question will do much to cultivate genuine gratitude and humility.  There’s great value in recognizing that we’ve never deserved anything from God, our deeds have never merited a reward or forced God’s hand of blessing.  We have never earned anything.

Well, that’s not altogether true. Our deeds have merited some sort of recompense:

James 2:10 – if you don’t keep the whole law, you’re guilty for all of it.
John 3:36 – whoever does not believe in and obey the Son is under God’s wrath.
Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death.

We’ve all earned something:  God’s wrath and eternal punishment. That’s what we’ve built.

Want to boast of your worthiness? See the above verses and give it a shot. Want to find rest for your soul and a solution to your guilt? Humble yourself, confess your sins and trust in Christ. He lived the life we should have lived, and he died the death we should have died.  To trust in Him is to receive forgiveness and eternal life.

The New Testament places such an emphasis on gratitude because it’s simply a natural response to what God has done (see: Col 3:15-17; 1 Thess 5:18).

Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. – 1 Cor 1:31

 

Gratitude & Humility: You Didn’t Build That

What do you have that you did not receive?

I’ve had to ask myself that question over and over since I heard C.J. Mahaney preach a sermon on it awhile back.  He asked the question repeatedly, quoting it from 1 Corinthians 4:7.  He demanded that his hearers answer it for themselves.  I answered it, and its been a humbling reminder ever since.

What do you have that you did not receive?

Paul asked the question to undermine the Corinthians’ boastful tendencies, and its meant to do the same for us.  What do you have that you did not receive?  The answer is “nothing.”  Take a quick inventory of all the things for which you can be thankful (children, spouse, job, life, freedom, food, shelter, Bible, church, friends, safety), and ponder the ultimate source of all these things.  It’s not you, it’s not government, it’s God.

Even if there’s a mediating source, or if it’s something that you’ve legimately worked for and earned, it is always, in the final analysis, God who gave it to you.  He gives to all mankind life and breath and everything (Acts 17:25), and he is the one from whom all blessings flow (James 1:17).

So, while it may not be the finest political slogan, it is certainly true of life:  look around, you didn’t build that.

Teddy Roosevelt: So Much Else Other Than Self

I just finished David McCullough’s Mornings on Horseback, an excellent biography covering the first half of Theodore Roosevelt’s life.  I’ve read a few presidential biographies, and I can’t help but be impressed and inspired by the lives of these men, imperfect though they were.  The most striking thing about Roosevelt was his sheer energy and activity, resulting in immense productivity in various arenas during his life.

There were some great descriptions of Roosevelt throughout, but two of them highlighted this intensity of life that I found inspiring.  The first is from a lifelong friend of Roosevelt, and the second from McCullough in the last paragraph of the book’s afterword.

“…he was so alive at all points, and so gifted with the rare faculty of living intensely and entirely in every moment as it passed…” (368)

Roosevelt’s sister “never ceased to be amazed at her brother or to be inspirited by his power of curiosity, by that delight in so much else other than self…” (370, emphasis mine)