Hip-Hop against Heresy

I am not a fan of hip-hop, however this captured my attention.

Forgiveness and Whoredom

Jesus comes to eat at the house of Simon, a Pharisee.  Only one sinner leaves forgiven (Luke 7:36-50).

Glory!: The Holy Spirit's Work

This nine-minute video from Worldview Everlasting examines in a stimulating manner how the Holy Spirit works to glorify Christ.  The text is John 16:12-15.

Working for a Living: Can You Earn Your Keep?

The law was given after after the redemption from Egypt had been accomplished, and the people had already entered upon the enjoyment of many blessings of the berith.¹  Particularly their taking possession of the promised land could not have been made dependent on previous observance of the law, for during their journey in the wilderness many of its prescripts could not be observed.  It is plain, then, that law-keeping did not figure at that juncture as the meritorious ground of life-inheritance.  The latter is based on grace alone, no less emphatically than Paul himself places salvation on that ground.  But while this is so, it might still be objected, that law-observance, if not the ground for receiving, is yet made the ground for retention of the privileges inherited.  Here it can not, of course, be denied that a real connection exists.  But the Judaizers went wrong in inferring that the connection must be meritorious, that, if Israel keeps the cherished gifts of Jehovah through observance of His law, this must be so, because in strict justice they had earned them.  The connection is of a totally different kind.  It belongs not to the legal sphere of merit, but to the symbolico-typical sphere of appropriateness of expression....Although the demands of the law were at various times imperfectly complied with, nevertheless for a long time Israel remained in possession of the favor of God.  And even when the people as a whole become apostate, and go into exile, Jehovah does not on that account suffer the berith to fail.  After due chastisement and repentance He takes Israel back into favor.  This is the most convincing  proof that law-observance is not the meritorious ground of blessedness.  God in such cases simply repeats what He did at the beginning, viz., receive Israel into favor on the principle of free grace.

Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments, 142-144

¹ "Covenant" here and following.

Modern Worship without a Praise Band?

One of the brothers at Fine Tuning (the blog for Liturgy Solutions) has posted the first portion of an interesting topic on shaping modern worship without a praise band.  The blog and post are distinctively Lutheran, however, I found that by substituting "Lutheran" with "doctrinally sound" in the text, I could agree almost 100%.  I am looking forward to the follow-up piece.

Free Resources on Biblical Interpretation and NT Theology

I would like to direct everyone's attention to a post at Boston Bible Geeks notifying all about two free resources (with appropriate links):

      1.  Pneuma Foundation has posted Craig Keener's notes on biblical interpretation as given for a class in Africa.
            Available as zip or PDF.

      2.  Biblical Training has posted I. Howard Marshall's book, Pocket Guide to New Testament Theology.

Both of these are worth the price.  (Was that a groan?)

God's Lyrics: Rediscovering Worship through Old Testament Songs, Douglas Sean O'Donnell - Book Review

Have you noticed that some biblical themes are largely absent from modern hymns and choruses?  Do you feel pumped yet somehow empty after singing praise and worship choruses?  There is a reason for both of these and other phenomena within the realm of worship music.  The evangelical church has lost its biblical moorings in hymnody.

Douglas O'Donnell has given the church a needful, scathing analysis of what is being sung and passed off as worship. He does this by analyzing six lesser-used songs in the OT canon in order to build the case that themes common to these are found throughout scripture—Genesis through Revelation.  Those songs are:¹

The Song of Moses: Te Deum of Triumph (Exod 15:1-18) The Song of Yahweh: An Exodus from Israel's Apostasy [Deut 32:1-43] The Song of Deborah: A Punctured Temple, a Pouring Out of Joy [Judges 5:1-31] The Songs in Samuel: The Barren Woman and the Fertile King [1 Sam 2:1-10; 2 Sam 22:1-51] The Song of Habbukkuk: A Time to Wait—for Wrath [Hab 3:1-19]

The author concludes with his four commonalities, each of which form a chapter in the second section of the book dealing with application. The common themes are:

1. The Lord is at the center; that is, our God is addressed, adored, and "enlarged."
2. His mighty acts in salvation history are recounted.
3. His acts of judgment are rejoiced in.
4. His ways of living (practical wisdom) are encouraged.²

Next, O'Donnell compares 25 classic hymns (CH) with 50 contemporary Christian choruses (CCC) with the idea of comparing them to the four themes above.  His song-selection criteria is somewhat subjective, which he freely admits, but the balance of those songs omitted bore no significant difference.

The first theme is common enough in Christian circles.  Almost every song gives praise to God, Jesus, or Trinity in some form.  The glaring lack is in the last three.  To be sure the themes are present in some small measure but are sorely lacking.  This is a travesty in view of the emphasis the Holy Spirit has taken to ensure they are present in holy writ.  Admittedly, the theme that took me most off guard was joy in judgment.  The author pointed out that this was clearly visible in the Psalms and Revelation but almost completely absent in our hymnbooks.  Christian sensibilities have become so skewed that the Lord's righteous acts have been systematically edited out, and CCC have almost no mention of wrath or judgment.

I have noticed that Christian music is going to the dogs and recommend this book highly as a resource to see the truth and right the course.

¹ I use the actual chapter headings adding the appropriate reference.
² Douglas Sean O'Donnell, God's Lyrics: Rediscovering Worship through Old Testament Songs, (Phillipsburg: P&R, 2010), 113.


An interview with the author

Brethren or Building: Which Has Financial Priority?

Let's play a game of "What if?"  Assume your local church has in excess of $25,000 in savings.  What would you do in each true-life scenario?

Scenario 1 – The current building does not suit the current needs.  The facility does not accommodate physically disabled individuals and Sunday School area is tight.

Scenario 2 – The current building is bursting at the seams because of numerical growth.  Soon people may need to be turned away.  Nursery and Sunday School areas are tight.  Adding onto the current building is impossible because of local ordinances.

You are probably thinking to yourself that plans need to be started to move into a new facility in order to allow unfettered growth and ministry.  The main question now is whether to expand and upgrade, or simply build new.  Difficult decisions must be made.  And there is one bit of information common to both churches that may have a bearing on the final decision: they have individuals and families that are financially strapped because of job loss or reduction.  Does that bear weight on the outcome?  Should it?

Let me begin by saying that if you did not consider the financial state of the congregants, you are typical.  When faced with the dilemma of space issues, most would expand the facilities or build new without consideration of the poor among them.  That is simply the state of evangelicalism.  Is it proper?  I contend it is not.  Why does the church spend money on a building and not ease life for any who fellowship in their midst?  Why give money freely to full-time workers and ministries, yet build roadblocks for helping the needy?  Why is there a large budget for children and youth programs, yet a mere pittance for benevolence?  A survey of scripture yields multiple occurrences of commands, encouragements, and admonitions to care for those who deserve it because of their circumstances.  The treatment of widows and orphans especially was used by the Lord as justification for holy, righteous retribution.  My concern is for those who are currently under- or unemployed.  Should not the local church care for its own?  It was certainly true of Israel as Moses delivers the Lord's instructions.

The first command dealt with a triennial occurrence of the tithe (Deut 14:22-29). This tithe was maintained in the local city (rather than traveling to the tabernacle/temple) to assist "the Levite...and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow." While the Levites also received of the annual tithe, the others did not but relied on individuals for daily assistance (Lev 19:9-10).  All that came would be filled and blessed—both giver and recipient.

The second found culmination in the sabbath year (Deut 15:1-11).  Any loans between brethren were considered paid in full in the seventh year.  Americans might look at this of a prime way to use the system to advantage by obtaining a loan and deliberately defaulting. While that is possible, one must remember that Israel was not a credit-driven economy.  It was cash- or goods-driven.  The stigma of debt was great, because no Israelite should suffer as long as he or she was obedient to the Lord's commands (Deut 15:4-5).  Conversely, if the creditor sought to take advantage by not loaning because the sabbath year, Moses explains that such hardening of heart should not be, since the Lord has promised to bless abundantly.  The defaulted loan will be recouped.

The last deals with someone who has sold himself to a fellow Israelite (Deut 15:12-18).  Most likely this indentured servitude would be an arrangement to pay a large debt.  Again, at the end of the seventh year, he or she was not only released from the original debt, but was to be lavished upon by the master presumably to start afresh and not return to poverty or debt.  In the likelihood that the servant loves the master enough to stay permanently, a permanent mark of a pierced ear was given.  The point here being that the servant had necessary care and sustenance.

But what about the church building?
What about it?  Why have it in the first place?  Stop and think for a moment.  Every year, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent building edifices in order to make a name for themselves, lest they be dispersed.¹  Maintenance reaches into the thousands per year.  Why incur the expense?  The normal response is something like, "The church needs to meet somewhere.  And how do we accommodate Sunday School and other programs without the space?  Where do we put the praise band for worship?"  All of these questions address a problem, but not the one expected.  The real problem is that the church has moved away from scripture in its practice, to the point that real estate takes precedence over real people.

That just isn't practical.  Every church needs a building.  You need to be out of the elements.  Besides, nobody will come if you don't.
I agree that people need to have some measure of comfort in order to gather together and worship.  What is not required is an extra building being used a small percentage of the week and draining finances.  And this is eminently practical.  Howard Snyder once asked the question, "What would a denomination do that really wanted to become a church with New Testament dynamic?"²  He answered his own question this way:

First, all church buildings are sold.  The money is given (literally) to the poor.  All congregations of more than two hundred members are divided in two.  Store fronts, garages, or small halls are rented as needed. Sunday School promotion and most publicity is dropped.…There is no attempt to attract unbelievers to church services; these are primarily for believers, and perhaps are held at some other time than Sunday morning.³

This quote involved more than was necessary to make the point, but it drives home the uncomfortable reality that 21^st-century believers are too comfortable in their church life.  Somebody needs to rattle the cage we call "doing church" to see what pops out.  It might bite back, but some of us need to be bit.  The early church did not have their own buildings for the first 250-300 years of existence, yet they turned the world upside-down.  Today, churches have buildings and they are upside-down.

Let us pray that the local church once again gets its priorities in correct order.



¹ If that picture seems familiar, you are correct.  Read Genesis 11:1-9 for a full account of what the Lord thought of those plans.
² Howard A. Snyder, The Problem of Wineskins: Church Structure in a Technological Age, (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 1975), 23.
³ Ibid., 23-24.

Explanation, Found It!

This was passed along to me by a friend.  It is too good not to post.

I have often wondered why it is that the conservatives are called the “right” and the liberals are called the “left.”  By chance stumbled upon this verse in the Bible:

Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)
The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.

Yep, that's it!

Critiquing Beth Moore's Teaching

Beth Moore is quite popular but has come under fire for her allegorization and scripture-misuse.  In the August 18^th broadcast of Issues, Etc., Todd Wilken interviewed Ellie Corrow of Concordia Theological Seminary-Ft. Wayne, IN concerning this popular Bible teacher.  The segment runs approximately 30 minutes.