I preached this sermon at Ryker’s Ridge Baptist Church on the morning of November, 13 2011. In this message, I speak of Paul’s gracious calling as an apostle, his gracious welcome to the churches at Galatia, and his gracious warning to those who are believing and teaching a false gospel. Grace is something that characterizes Paul’s ministry, and it should ours as well.

I sincerely hope you benefit from this message!

SERMON: Grace to You and Peace – Galatians 1:1-10

Here is a sermon I preached at Ryker’s Ridge Baptist Church on October 9, 2011. In this message, I try to explain the significance of the New Covenant for believers today. In doing so, I provide a bit of context for the listener by showing where the New Covenant fits into the overall metanarrative of Scripture. I then examine what Ezekiel has to say about the the New Covenant believer. Finally, I show the direction New Covenant believers are headed.

I hope you enjoy the message!

SERMON: Where Are We? Who Are We? Where Are We Going?: The Position, Essence, and Trajectory of the New Covenant People of God – Ezekiel 36:22-38

As a relatively new pastor, I have come to realize to a greater degree the pervasiveness of sin–the tight grip it has on the world and even its influence over Christians. Quickly, I am coming to recognize the essentiality of being skilled in biblical counseling. Sin, with all of its evil, continues to give rise to one of the most common subject matter for counseling–broken or damaged relationships. It sincerely breaks my heart as a pastor, and especially as a fellow-Christian, to see disunity among Christians. This is particularly and pronouncedly true when it comes to broken and damaged marriages.

Why are broken marriages so painful for me to observe? Honestly, it has to do with the fact that “Christians” have lost their fear of God. Consequently, when a man and woman exchange vows on their wedding day, the promise or covenant that that they make with each other, with God, and with the observing congregation becomes nothing more than a formality for many. When people make the decision to get a divorce, they act as functional atheists as they disregard this covenant and promise and spurn the authority of God. Neither is God the foundation of the relationship, nor does He prove to be the Lord or Master of the individuals involved in the relationship. Covenant and promise have sadly lost their significance in this functionally atheistic and pseudo-Christian church culture.

I have recently been encouraged by two videos–one, a conversation between pastors and theologians, and a second, a music video. In these videos, what is made central and foundational to a marriage relationship is not health, comfort, sex, money, romance, chemistry, or anything material or physical; it IS covenant and promise. Marriage relationships will always be wrought with difficulties and challenges, but as Andrew Peterson says, “That’s what the promise is for.” If marriage can be founded on this promise and covenant, then (and only then) will they be able to experience the true joy that the marriage relationship can bring as they seek to live out the Christ-church marital dynamic for the glory of God and their joy. For those of you who might be struggling with your marriage, don’t give up. And look to Christ who has given himself for us, instituting an unbreakable covenant with us in order to save us from our sin. Covenants and promises are not made to be broken. God will never break his. Neither should we.

In Genesis 1:26-27, God said, “‘Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, over the cattle in all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” What does it mean for God to make man in his image? This question has been asked by many throughout the age of the Church. Many and varying positions have been proposed. This post serves simply to survey these positions.

Structural Perspective

Three major positions have been typically held by the major figures throughout the history of the Church: the structural, relational, and functional perspectives. The structural position has been the most widely accepted position. This view suggests that there is something about our structure–that is, our physical makeup or formation–that constitutes man’s being made in the image of God. In line with Aristotle, the early church focused its teaching concerning the image of God on human reason and free will. Augustine emphasized the structural elements of human memory, intellect, and volition and spoke of them as a reflection of the Triune God. During the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas made a distinction between the image and the likeness of God; he associated the immaterial aspects of the human with the divine image and the material aspects to the likeness of God. Thus, he positioned the image of God in man’s reason. These structural capacities were thought to be what separated man from animals and what enabled them to have a relationship with God.

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As the end of the summer draws near, many of you will have to face the (perhaps) dreaded reality of going back to school. With this comes the reality of heightened responsibility, a busier schedule, and greater demand on your life. In my days of school, the magic word has always been “balance”. That is, how is one to strike a balance between all of the responsibilities that vie for our time? I am not sure that anyone knows how to answer this question sufficiently. Almost without fail, when life gets busy, something important takes the back seat. And for many of us who are students, that thing in the back seat is sleep. How are we as Christians to think of this thing called sleep? I simply want to offer three main thoughts for you to consider as you approach the upcoming semester of school and the blessing of sleep.

Sleep and Health

Students who deal with the character flaw (i.e., sin) of perfectionism may struggle with making time in their busy schedules for sleep. They are oftentimes overly meticulous with their school work and are willing to sacrifice just about anything (including sleep) in order to make the grade. “All-nighters”–those 24+ hour marathon study sessions that require several pots of coffee to get one through the night–are a common practice for these types of students. In effect, they are functioning as practical gnostics as they focus on the immaterial to the neglect of the material; that is, they give attention to the development of their minds while failing to maintain the health of their bodies. While Paul places greater emphasis on the cultivation of our souls, he also emphasizes the value of training and maintaining the health of our bodies (1 Tim 4:8). Friends, while studying is certainly important, don’t neglect your bodies by neglecting your duty and privilege to sleep. [...]

This post stands as the final installment to my five part series, which has dealt with the doctrine of justification and the differences that exist between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism concerning this doctrine. In my first post, I introduced the debate, explaining what is at stake and gave some context to the issue (read it here). In the second post, I attempted to define and articulate the Roman Catholic teaching on justification—righteousness infused through the sacraments (read it here). In the third post, I sought to define and explain the Protestant doctrine of justification—imputed righteousness (read it here). In the last post, I intended to present a critique of the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification (read it here). In this final post, my goal is to respond to some of the most common objections that Rome has raised against the Protestant doctrine of justification.

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Are single men disqualified from the pastorate? Does the phrase “husband of one wife” in 1 Timothy 3:2 require pastors to be married? Are single pastors at a disadvantage when it comes to practical matters of ministry? Some interpreters answer each of these questions in the affirmative. Others reject this conclusion as unbiblical. I side with those of the latter persuasion and seek to provide reasons why in this article.

Practical Advantages of Single Pastors

Single pastors are not only qualified for pastoral ministry but are in some ways better suited for it than pastors who are married. Steve DeWitt, in his article “That’s Odd: On Bias Against Single Pastors,” points out that married pastors are commonly thought to be better suited for the pastoral ministry, since they have a wife (and perhaps a family) and are thus able to relate to their congregations as married people. Certainly, married pastors have first hand experience when it comes to marriage and parenting, but it should not be concluded that single pastors are unqualified to talk about marriage, raising children, or sex. They certainly cannot speak from firsthand experience in these areas, but they can speak authoritatively, practically, and helpfully if they speak about these matters from the authority of Scripture. If this notion is denied, then the sufficiency of Scripture is also denied. Moreover, single pastors can share what they have learned from reading secondary literature. Of course, they can also impart to their congregations what they have gained from observing the lives of those who are doing marriage and parenting well. [...]

Roman Catholics and Protestants have many doctrinal commonalities. However, they differ, and differ tragically, when it comes to their soteriology and their views of justification. In the first entry to this series, I introduced the discussion, explaining what is at stake and gave some context to the issue (see this post here). In the second entry, I sought to define and articulate the Roman Catholic teaching on justification—righteousness infused through the sacraments (read it here). Last time, I attempted to define and explain the Protestant doctrine of justification—imputed righteousness (read it here). In this post, I intend to present a critique of the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification.

The grave and historical error made by Rome is that they have failed to understand and believe the true message of the gospel: that man is saved by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. The damning flaw in Rome’s doctrine lies in its denial of this great truth. Since the Reformation, the most important criticisms of the Catholic view of justification have had to do with its inclusion of and need for meritorious works. While Rome seeks to emphasize that its views on merit should be understood in concert with God’s grace, it neglects the scriptural teaching that grace and meritorious works are mutually exclusive. The faulty Catholic doctrine of justification has much to do with the many problems in their teachings on merit.

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As with many topics in theology, a discussion of homosexuality must take into account the historical redemptive metanarrative of the Bible. In this scheme, Christians begin by pondering the nature of the world as it was in the perfect and harmonious state of creation. The first two chapters of Genesis explain that God created everything that exists, and everything that he created he deemed to be good. But, this creation was never meant to be an end in itself. Instead, God intended it to bring about his worship.

The metanarrative progresses and the story unfortunately gets worse. As the third chapter of Genesis rolls around, we see that things go very wrong. Adam and Eve rebel against God’s law, and everything in the world is thrown into confusion. What was originally beautiful and harmonious becomes ugly and dreadful. The whole world is thrown out of rhythm. The hearts, minds, emotions, wills, and bodies of men are corrupted by sin. Relationships are disrupted, and everything in existence is contaminated. God would have been just in killing Adam and Eve. After all, the wages of sin is death. They deserved to die. However, God decided to show them mercy. He provided clothes for them to cover them in their shame. He cast them out of the Garden to keep them away from the tree of life, thus protecting them from an existence of eternal dying. God could have demonstrated his wrath on Adam and Eve. Yet he chose to show mercy.

As the storyline of the Bible continues, we see men and women sinning over and over again. Obviously, something is wrong with us. The good news is that God’s plan of redemption provides a remedy for the problem. As the metanarrative continues, we see glimpses of God’s plan to restore creation through the person and work of the Messiah who would come, Jesus Christ.

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Does this video remind you of your church or small group? I hope not. Unfortunately, though, I think the attitudes described here are all too common in our churches.