Monday, June 27, 2011

"The Effective Invitation" by R. Alan Streett. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of R. Alan Streett's "The Effective Invitation: A Practical Guide For The Pastor" is called "The Public Invitation--Is It Biblical?"  Streett points out that the early Church, when it evangelized, always issued an invitation to repent and believe. But this was not all; the Church's invitation also exhorted new converts to witness to their new found faith through the public act of baptism.  Streett provides a biblical case that to be in right relationship with God one must acknowledge in public their alligience to God.  After Adam and Eve sinned, in order that God could clothe them in animal skins indicating their righteousness through blood sacrifice, Adam and Eve had to come out of hiding.  When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai and discovered that Israel had made and worshipped the Golden Calf, he stood in the entrance of the camp and said, "Who is on the Lord's side?" All the sons of Levi then gathered themselves around Moses (Ex. 32: 26).  In Joshua 24, Joshua declared, "...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:15)  The people responded that they would serve the Lord.  Joshua wrote their words in the Law of God and memoralized the event by setting a large stone under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.  This stone was to be a witness against the people if they denied God (Josh. 24: 26-27).  When Elijah proved that the Lord is God, the people publicly proclaimed that the Lord is God and obeyed Elijah by executing all the prophets of Baal. The people obeyed despite the fact that Jezebel was a Baal worshiper (1Kings 18).  According to Streett, the greatest Old Testament example is the public repentance of Nineveh in response to Jonah's preaching.  New Testament examples include the public responses to Jesus by Zacchaeus, the woman with the blood disease, the sinner's confession in Jesus' parable of the publican and the sinner and the Philippian jailor in Acts 16.  The Great Commision includes the public act of Baptism.

Streett points to the gift of exhortation (Rom. 12:8) as evidence of scriptural support for giving a public invitation.  The word "exhort" comes from the Greek word "parakaleo."  "Para" means to the side; "kaleo" means to call.  This word, meaning to call to one's side, to call for, to summon, appears 108 times in the New Testament.  Rom. 10: 9 states, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  The word confess comes from the Greek word "homologeo," meaning to say the same thing, agree with, assent to a thing.  In relation to salvation, the mouth confesses what God's Word says about the subject.  It is presupposed that the truth has already been embraced by the heart. As we confess to the Lordship of Christ (Mt. 10: 32-33, Mk. 8:38), Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our profession (homologeo, Heb. 3:1) confesses to the Father that we are indeed beleivers.

Chapters 4 and 5 will be considered together.
All scripture quotations from the NKJV.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Back In The Saddle Again

Its been about 3 months since I have posted here.  The reason is that I had a deadline looming: I wanted to finish reading for my ordination process and write the required papers before a scheduled meeting with the Credentials Committee.  I found that I could not meet that goal and blog on what I read (I am a slow typist).  I have now completed all the reading and writing.  The scheduled meeting, however, was cancelled and has not been rescheduled.  I no longer teach at my Church on Wednesday evenings; I teach seniors on Monday morning.  I have been posting old articles on my main blog for a couple of months and will continue to do so until I finish long delayed projects on Wesley.  But starting next week, I begin regular posts here on this blog.  I will continue reviewing "The Effective Invitation," finish the last two volumes of Thomas Oden's "Classical Pastoral Care," and begin again to read articles concerning the origins of scripture and inerrency. 

Monday, February 7, 2011

The Revelation Of God In The Old Testament

Last Saturday I finished Adam Miller's Introduction to the Old Testament. I enjoyed it tremedously, though the scholarship is a bit dated and I don't agree with Miller's agreement with certain aspects of the JEDP theory.  The book is a survey of all the Old Testament books with an overall theme of God's revelation of Himself throughout the Old Testament period.  Here is a summary of that revelation as outlined by Miller:

Gen. 11: 10- 50:26- The preparation of a chosen family set apart from the pagan world and eventually to bring salvation to that world. The selection of Abraham to start unfolding God's purpose of redemption.  God promises Abraham that he would possess a land, would become a great nation and he would be a blessing to all peoples.  The beginning of a new kind of history, sacred history.

Exodus- God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt.  The emergence of God's chosen people as a redemptive people, chosen as a people to bring redemption to the whole world. God reveals Himself to them; they in turn communicate this knowledge to other peoples. Shows how God established Israel as a community, placed them under the Mosaic covenant and set up religious institutions and regulations. Moses and Israel were to discover the meaning of God by what God does. The attributes of Yahweh were discovered by Yahweh's actions.

Leviticus- In Exodus, the Israelites were called a kingdom of priests, Ex. 19:6.  This kingdom of priests were to communicate to the world God's historical manifestation- Lev. 11:44, 19:2, 20:7, 26, 22: 31-33.

Numbers- Further social organization of God's people.  Further revelation of God through continued acts of deliverance of Israel and His preserving them as a community. Also, God's presence is manifested by the Tent of Meeting which contained the ark of the Covenant.  God dwells in heaven and, without any limitation upon His sovereignty, dwells in the midst of His people, leading them.

Deuteronomy- Commentary or explanation of Israel's laws and history from the standpoint of the law of Love,  Dt. 6:5.  The study of God's Word is to define the nation of Israel. The Word is to be the central part of the people's life. Dt. 6:5-9.  God's unity revealed. Ethical monotheism.  Actions always in harmony with highest attributes and ethics.  No place for heathen practices.  As God is one, there is only one central location where He is to be worshipped, the sanctuary.  The worship of the one true God leads to social righteousness, or social holiness.  Dt. 12-26.  See Dt. 15:1-18, 16:18:20, 13:1-18, 22:13-25.

Joshua- God fulfills one of His covenant promises.  It was God and God alone who brought Israel into Caanan.  God reveals Himself, His power and faithfulness, in mighty deeds. Israel's conquest of Caanan accomplished only because God was present with Israel, God actively participated in the struggle on Israel's behalf.  This sense of God's presence molded Israel into a unified fighting force full of zeal.

Judges- God is revealed as a God who is displeased with sin and punishes His people for their sins to lead them to repentance and restoration. God was recognized as the ruler of His people.

1 and 2Samuel- David set the standard for a godly king, yet fell short of that standard himself so that human rule was revealed as inadequate.  None of the other kings lived up to David's standard and the people began to look elsewhere for the one through whom Israel would fulfill God's purposes for them.  God's forgiveness of David reveals God's willingness to forgive repentant sinners. The planning of a permanent Temple to provide a central location of worship and bring stability to the nation.

1 and 2Kings- Repeats the lessons of 1,2Sam. concerning human rule. Kings became less and less divine in receiving their office and the charasmatic, God annointed leadership was invested in the prophets.

Prophecy- Though there are prophets in other religions, none but the prophets of the Old Testament linked the prophetic impulse to spiritual religion. They made Israel's religion a permanent force in the world and a preparation for the Gospel. They communicated God's mind and will for His people to His people. Their messages had a great deal to do with the political events of the day as God is the God of history.  The prophets originally operated in bands, but later God seperated out from the bands individuals, beginning with Elijah and Elisha.  These prophets were charasmatic, under the annointing of the Holy Spirit. They did not originate a new religion, but called Israel back to a covenant relationship with God. Judgement is not God's final word as there is always a remnant of those who do not forsake the true worship of God. The writing of prophecy begins with Amos and Hosea.

Amos- God is no respecter of persons.  The moral standards by which he judges other nations apply to His people.  Israel's rejection of God's standards signals her doom. Ritual purity is no substitute for moral purity.

Hosea- God's relationship of love for His people revealed by the analogy of marriage.  This relationship is defined by the word "hesed" which means loving kindness and mercy.  This love is also seen as long suffering.  One's knowledge of and relationship to God is to be inward.

Isaiah- In no other prophet do we get a sense of the "otherness" of God. God is "other" in sovereignty and holiness which when we come in contact with Him makes us realize our sinfulness. The divine-human encounter is the foundation of God's call to serve Him. Faith is the foundation of true religion and Israel is not to rely on alliances with other nations. God will judge His people, but He will preserve for Himself a remnant.  Isaiah gathered around himself a spiritual community.  This was the first time true worship of God in Israel was disassociated from national forms, maintained without ritual services and bound together by faith in God's word alone.  This was the beginning the conception of the Church, the first emancipation of spiritual religion from political life. The rule of God will be realized in the Messiah who will rule in the hearts and lives of men.  The Messiah is seen as the suffering servant.

Micah- "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly before your God?" Micah 6:8.  Israel's religion was no more than ritual with pagan practices added. Micah declared that morality and justice were inseperable from true religion. Israel had forgotten the social holiness of the 10 commandments and the Law.

Nahum- God is a God of love, but He is also a God of justice who stands within history ready to punish the cruel, rebellious nations of the earth.

Jeremiah- The reforms undertaken by Josiah did not penetrate to the hearts of the people.  The Temple had become nothing more than a fetish.  Jeremiah realized that no reformation could be affected through legal means.  He proclaimed that the Temple would be destroyed and true religious life would go on without it.  Those already in exile need not accept institutional worship in place of real worship.  True worship must move beyond a central locality, the realization that God is one and the moral law as embodied in the covenant. True worship must affect a man's soul. In Lamenations, Jeremiah reveals that the God of history was using Israel's exile as punishment leading to repentance.

Ezekiel- In exile, Israel formed a new way to worship that was the beginning of the synogogue: they met in homes to learn from God's Word and to worship informally.  They discovered that God was just as present with them in Babylon as He was in Jerusalem, that God was God of the whole earth.  Israel was not God's favorite, but chosen to be Yahweh's suffering servant used to regenerate the whole world. This is the birth of personal religion.  Also, while innocents suffer for the sins of others, God punishes individuals for their own sins. Awareness of individual responsibility brought with it the awareness of individual repentance and God's concern for the individual.  Redeemed individuals rightly relating to each other in a redeemed community replaces the idea of a holy nation.  Steps to forgiveness in Ez. 36:25-27- forgiveness and renewal with the aid of the Holy Spirit.

Malachi- Temple worship had been so corrupted that it was better that the Temple were shut down than for worship to continue.  In its place, God promises a universal sacrifice for all nations.

Psalms- There is too much to comment on here, so the briefest of summaries will have to suffise.  To Psalms speak of God's existance, His nature and character, the nature of His self revelation, Man's relationship to Him and the future.

Wisdom literature- As the prophets were God-enabled to interpret God's will to the people by explaining God's actions, the writers of wisdom literature were enabled to explain life's meaning and human existance in light of what the Law and the Prophets taught. Miller assumes here that Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job were written later than traditionally maintained.

Now I move on to Miller's Introduction to the New Testament.

Smith's View of Revelation

I have read F.G. Smith's view of prophecy in What The Bible Teaches.  Smith's view represents the view of the Christian movement of which I am affiliated with. How much of it it is still adhered to today I am not sure.  I don't identify that affiliation simply because I have made it a policy not to do so. There has been at least one attempt to ascertain my location because of what I have written, so I try to make it as difficult as I can to be traced. This view of prophecy is certainly not what I have been taught in the past, but I find it intriguing, especially the representation of the Protestant religious system, as opposed to the Reformation itself.

Old Testament references to pristine, early Christianity: Dan. 2: 34,44, Is. 60:2-3, Mal. 4:2. This light will be ushered into by John the Baptist: Jn. 1:7.

The woman in Rev. 12: 1-2 stands for the pure Church. War on the pure Church is made by the dragon and she flees. Rev. 12: 3-6.  Symbols drawn from human life refer to ecclesiastical affairs, those drawn from nature refer to civil or political affairs.  The dragon. The dragon in Rev. 12 and the beast of Rev. 13 and 17 refer to the Roman empire, first under the pagan form and the second under the papal form.  The 7 heads stand for the 7 distinct forms of government that ruled sucesively in the empire. 5 had already fallen when John wrote: the regal, the consular, the decemvirate, the military tribunes and the triumvirate. The 6th is imperial. The 7th will be identified later. The 10 horns, or kingdoms, which had not yet arisen were the 10 minor kingdoms that grew out of the western Roman empire during its decline and fall: the Ostrogoths, Visogoths, Surevi, Vandals, Franks, Burgundians, Heruli, Anglo-Saxons, Huns and Lombards. The tail of the dragon "drew the 3rd part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to earth." Not symbolic. The stars- Christian ministers refered to in Rev. 1:20. 

The child born of the woman in Rev. 12 is not Christ but the Church as there is still a remnant of the woman's seed is left on the earth.  The woman is not Mary, but the Church; the woman and the child of the same substance. The child perpetuates the race.  The woman brought forth "children" (Is.66: 7-8). 

The Holy War- Rev. 12: 7-11- not a literal conflict fought in heaven, but symbolic of persecution of early Church by paganism.  They overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. Christians lost their lives, Rev. 12:11.  The dragon employed civil power to persecute Church. 

Apostasy in early Church prophesied: 2Pet. 2: 1-2, Mt. 24: 4-5, 11-12, 2Thess. 2:3-4. Apostasy mentioned as already occurred: Rev. 2:4, 14-15, 20-23, 3:1,15-16. The man of sin in 2Thess. 3-4,7- the papacy. Woman in Rev 12 flees during period of apostasy.  The papacy as the beast arising, the papacy taking power of the Roman empire, persecute the Church- Rev. 13: 1-8.  The 7th fallen head- Holy Roman Empire.  The healed head was the tranformation of Civil power into papal.  Rev 17:3-6. The beast represents civil power, the woman riding the beast is ecclesiastical power which makes war on the saints. The civil-ecclesiastical power is worshipped as God-Rev 13: 3-4.  The "blasphemies" and "great things" in Rev. 13:5- perogatives and rights belonging to God alone claimed by the apostate church.  Old Testament prophecy- Dan. 7:7-8, 19-25.  The time of the papal apostacy: Dan. 4:25, Rev. 12: 14.  1,260 days, each day a year.  Latter part of 3rd century till 1530, 1st Protestant creed- The Augsburg Confession.   

Protestantism in prophesy- organized sectarianism, a political and religious system.  It is the beast of Rev. 13: 11-18, 16:14. Rev 17:16- the 10 horns, civil power, persecuting power (persecuting the saints) which rebels and overcomes the papacy.  The false prophet- the beast- a religious system- Rev. 16:13, 19:20, 20:10. Human organizations with human doctrines worshipped instead of God.  The mark of the beast- religious worship of these organizations.  Those that refuse are persecuted. 

The two witnesses: the Word and the Spirit.  Rev. 11:1-4.  Refer to Zech. 4:6. See Jn. 5:49, Mt. 24:14, Heb. 10:15, Rom. 8:16, 1Jn. 5:6.

This of course is not a full restatement of the nearly 100 page treatment Smith gives.  This is posting is mainly for my own reference.  I have never been a student of prophecy.  After my ordination readings are over, I will make a deeper study of all the major views of the book of Revelation.      

Friday, January 28, 2011

Teaching On True Christian Unity

Two Wednesdays ago I taught on Christian unity. Later I published a devotional piece based on what I taught.  See here.  I made use of F.G. Smith's "What The Bible Teaches" and Arlo Newell's "The Church of God as Revealed in Scripture."

I am still reading Smith as well as Adam Miller's "An Introduction to the Old Testament."

Last Wednesday snow prevented the Church from meeting, so I did not teach.

Baptism

Scripture references from F.G. Smith's "What The Bible Teaches."

The observance of Baptism and other ordinances rests upon the Great Commision. (Mt. 28: 19-20, Mk. 16: 15-16). Ordinances were not done away with at Christ's death.  Misapplication of Col. 2:4. What was abolished were the ordinances of Mosaic law (Col. 2: 16-17, Heb. 9:10).  

Baptism is for believers- Mk. 16:15-16 limits baptism to those who are capable of hearing and believing. See Acts 8:12. No mention of children. Only believers- Acts 10, 16: 31-34.  Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God (1Pet. 3:21).

Baptism conditioned on repentance- Mt. 3: 1-8, Lk. 7:30, Acts 2:38, 8: 21.

Baptism is a burial- The English word for baptizo is immerse.  Believer dies to sin, is crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20), buried with Christ in baptism, rise with Christ through faith (Col. 2:11-12). An outward sign of an inward work. Rom. 6: 1-4. Jesus went into the water at His baptism in the Gospel accounts.  See Acts 8: 36-39.

Baptism a purifying ordinance- Jews considered it a purifying ordinance (Link Lev. 14: 2-7[a double cleansing, ceremonial and actual] and Mt. 8: 1-4, see also Jn. 3: 23-25).   See Acts 2: 38, 22:16. Baptism does not actually cleanse us from sin but is a testimony.  Figurative nature of baptismal cleansing- 1Pet. 3: 20-21- the answer of a good conscience toward God.  How is this good conscience obtained? Christ's blood cleanses us: Heb. 9:14, 1Jn. 1:7, Rev. 1:5.     

Single Immersion- Acts 2:38, 10:48, 8:16, 19:5.

Women In Ministry (And A Definition of Prophecy)

Scripture references from F.G. Smith's "What The Bible Teaches."

Equality of Men and Women In The Church: In Old Testament, some women rose to prominence, such as Deborah (Judges 4). Christ delivered one of his greatest sermons to one woman (Jn. 4).  A woman was the first messenger of the resurrection.  Paul recognized equality of men and women (Gal. 3:28).

Women in official positions: As deaconess (Rom. 16:1). This position was a public position; those who held it were ordained by the laying on of the Apostles' hands (1Tim 3: 8-13 with Acts 6: 1-6).
As Ministers- Priscilla and Aquilla (Acts 18:26). Anna preached the first sermon concerning Christ (Lk. 2: 36-38). The Samaritan woman proclaimed Christ so that Samaritans beleived (Jn. 4:39).  The Holy Spirit was poured out on men and women at Pentecost and they all prophesied (Acts 2).  Philip's daughters prophesied (Acts 21: 8-9). What is prophesy? To speak forth, to tell out the message or the mysteries of God.  The gift of prophecy is to understand all mysteries, all knowledge (1Cor. 13:2) of God. These are spiritually discerned (1Cor. 2: 7-14) To preach the Gospel under the Spirit's inspiration is to proclaim the hidden wisdom, or the mysteries of God-to prophesy (1Cor. 14:3).  Prophecy is the public proclamation of the Gospel (1Cor. 14: 23-25) when the Church is in one place (verses 23-24). Joel prophesied the pouring out of the Spirit on men and women (Joel 2: 28-29) and Peter declared that at Pentecost this prophecy was fulfilled (Acts 1: 14-15, 2: 4, 14-18). Paul spoke of women as "fellow laborers," laborers together on the same plane and the same work (Phil. 4:3).  The words of Tertullian: "Together they pray, together prostrate themselves, together perform their fasts; mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually sustaining. Equal are they both found in the Church of God." Part IV, Book II, Chap. 8.

Exceptions based on the reality of cross-cultural ministry (1Cor. 9: 20-23).  In pagan areas, women were considered inferior, so in that situation women were to keep silent in Church (1Cor. 14: 34).

1Tim 2: 11-15 does not cover women's official positions in the Church but the relationship between a wife and her husband.  In domestic matters the husband is the head of the wife (Eph. 5:23). The husband is not the head of the wife in spiritual matters, but Christ is the head of both (Eph. 5: 23-24). Wives ought to obey God rather than men.  Sapphira was accountable directly to God, not to her husband, in a matter which concerned the Church.      

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Teaching On Sin And Infirmities

Two Wednesdays ago, I taught on discerning the difference between sins (deliberate acts in violation of God's known will) and infirmities (limitations present in fallen man as the result of the Fall which are not sins but can lead to sin). I based my teaching on "Holiness and Human Nature" by Leon and Mildred Chambers.  I wrote a review of the book on my main blog where you can read much of what I taught. Snow forced the cancellation of Church last Wednesday.

Reading For Ordination

I have read more of F.G. Smith's "What The Bible Teaches."  I quote a passage from my reading in the previous article.  I am half way through Dr. Adam Miller's "Introduction To The Old Testament."  I have finished Dr. Arlo F. Newell's "The Church of God as Revealed In Scripture." I will do some teaching from this book on Wed. evenings at Church.

Does Romans 7 Demonstrate That Paul Was In A State Of Sin

The following is taken from F.G. Smith's "What The Bible Teaches: A Systematic Presentation of the Fundamental Principles of Truth Contained In the Holy Scriptures":

"That the sin experience described in Romans 7 was not the experience of Paul the Christian at the time he was writing this chapter, is shown also by other facts.  This Epistle was written about the year A.D. 60.  Six years before this time, or in A.D. 54, he was living a much better life than that; for he declared to the Thessalonian bretheren, 'Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe' (1Thess. 2:10).  Was he a backslider at the time he wrote the Roman Epistle?  No; for about the same year, A.D. 60, he testified before a council, 'I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day' (Acts 23:1.  And a few days later he said, 'Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men' (Acts 24:16).  Neither did he dishonor God and his cause by departing into sin after this time, for in his dying testimony, given about six years later, he said: 'The time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith' (2Tim. 4:7)"