By Greg Gibson
Calvinist Pharisees
(GG: Beware of sanctification by theology alone.) “Here’s the first reason I’m a Pharisee and Calvinist, or, one reason why those two things happen together far more often than they should. The Pharisee and the Calvinist are both exacting persons. They care about precision, about ‘getting things right.’ They care about the letter because each believes getting the letter correct is important. And it is. So, there is this ‘bent’ toward intellectual things. There is this tendency to live in our heads. And when that meets with a theological tradition as rich and robust as the Reformed tradition, sparks fly–in our heads. Add to that a pinch of argumentative spirit and out comes the Pharisee. But you know what’s lost? The spirit, or the Spirit…But here’s the bottom line: As long as my inclination toward detail ends with “getting it right” and not with getting more of Jesus, I’m going to be a Pharisee. Our theology doesn’t keep us humble. Jesus keeps us humble. I think there are a lot of Calvinist Pharisees out there, like me, who push deeper into the theology trusting the next truth to abase them before God. But we keep getting “puffed up” instead. Why? We settle for knowing more rather than knowing Jesus. We don’t stop to sit at Christ’s feet, to adore Him, to commune with God the Spirit. Far too often, that’s not the goal we have in mind…Here’s the second reason I’m a Pharisee and Calvinist, or, another reason why those two things happen together far more often than they should. The Pharisee and the Calvinist are both suspicious. Now I’m suspicious of a lot of things, but I’ll just mention one. I’m suspicious of joy. Yep. Now, not my joy. That’s another problem. No. Like a good Pharisee, other people’s joy makes me nervous. Not all people. Just those people who don’t express their joy the precise way I think they should. You see, without the ‘appropriate bounds’ their joy just may make them careless, lead them to error, hurt the church and cause of Christ. Their joy is combustible; it’s dangerous. It’s enthusiasm and flights of fancy that need to ballast of sobriety and sound theology.” Calvinist Confessions 1 and Calvinist Confessions 2 by Thabite Anyabwile
The Top 10 Theology Stories of 2009
“Counting down the events, debates, and books that shaped evangelical theology over the past year.” My Top Ten Theology Stories of 2009 by Colin Hansen (HT: JT)
Which Doctrinal Truths Would You Die For?
“I often tell people that there are some things that I believe that I would die for; there are some things that I believe that I would lose an arm for; there are some things that I believe that I would lose a finger for; and then there are some things that I believe that I would not even get a manicure for….
1. Essential for salvation
2. Essential for historic Christian orthodoxy
3. Essential for traditional orthodoxy
4. Essential for denominational orthodoxy
5. Important but not essential
6. Not Important
7. Pure speculation”
Essentials and Non-Essentials by C. Michael Patton
Sanctification by Psychiatric Drugs Alone?
“Pretty soon, we are going to have a pill that will take care of every disorder and sin…Wow! Complete sanctification, from beginning to end, in a bottle…Is it possible that depression is often something that accomplishes the will of God more than being ‘happy’? Is it possible that anxiety is a tool God uses to help us recognize our need for him. Is it possible that giving kids meds to control their attention could be sterilizing their giftedness…Is it possible that these mind altering drugs are causing much more harm than good?” (GG: If you struggle with depression or other mental-emotional “disorders,” consider natural, nutritional supplements like 5-HTP, lithium orotate, Sam-e, St. John’s Wort, etc. Thousands of former-psychiatric drug users have testified that natural solutions work better, with far less side-effects.) “Let’s Make Mommy Happy” or Martin Luther on Zoloft by C. Michael Patton
Gospel Pictures in the Old Testament
The Abrahamic Covenant, Old Covenant and Law of Moses, Ten Commandments, Circumcision and Baptism, and the Sabbath Gospel Pictures by Mike Adams
Promises to Israel Fulfilled by Christ and Believers in Him
“Those who have faith in Christ are the children of Abraham (i.e. Israel) (Gal 3.7)” Church and Israel by Blake White
Greg Beale Articles and Audio
“Beale’s work in the area of biblical theology is very helpful, especially in relation to the way in which in New Testament uses the Old Testament.” Gregory K. Beale Resources by James Grant
Harmonizing Jesus’ Genealogies in Matthew and Luke
“So why are the genealogical trees in Matthew and Luke so different? Matthew begins his Gospel with Jesus’ genealogy, while Luke places it, strangely, between Jesus’ baptism and temptation. Matthew has an ascending list, moving from Abraham up to Jesus, while Luke has a descending list, moving from Jesus down to Adam. Matthew’s list is partial; Luke’s is complete. And most significantly, while the two lists are virtually identical from Abraham to David, they diverge greatly from David to Jesus…Are there difficulties in reconciling the genealogies? Can they be harmonized? The answer in both cases is yes. Matthew’s and Luke’s lists stem largely from Old Testament genealogies (see Gen. 10-11 and 1 Chron. 1-3) and Jewish sources, and the differences between the names occur largely because each evangelist was selective in whom he included.” Who Was Jesus’ Grandfather? by Grant Osborne
100% of Men Have Seen Porn
“’We started our research seeking men in their 20s who had never consumed pornography,’ said Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse. ‘We couldn’t find any.’” How to overcome temptations to porn: 9 articles and 3 books. Porndemic by Justin Taylor
Child Abuse Recovery by Psalms Counseling
“David Powlison’s booklet is being posted online in two parts. As he talks through the issues of recovering from abuse, he suggests turning to Psalms 55, 56, and 57, using four different colored markers to mark four different strands. Here’s an excerpt:” Recovering from Child Abuse: Help and Healing for Victims by Justin Taylor
MacArthur Cremates Oral Roberts and TBN
“Oral Roberts was certainly the 20th century’s leading advocate of that idea. His prosperity doctrine laid the foundation for an enormous media-based religious system, and Oral Roberts was indeed its chief architect…One leading charismatic figure this week stated that without Oral Roberts’ influence, “the entire charismatic movement might not have occurred.” That may well be true…One thing all the obituaries agree on is that Oral Roberts paved the way for all the charismatic televangelists and faith-healers who dominate religious television today…The channel lineup I receive includes at least seven other channels whose schedules are filled with false teachers and charlatans. There’s The Church Channel, Daystar, GodTV, World Harvest Television (LeSEA), Total Christian Television, and several others…Like Tetzel on steroids, the Crouches and virtually all the key broadcasters on TBN live in garish opulence, while constantly begging their needy viewers for more money.” Measuing Oral Roberts Influence and Unholy Trinity by John MacArthur
Edited 1/2/10
Tags: calvinists, israel church, jesus genealogies, new covenant theology, oral roberts, psychiatric drugs, theology
