Politics & Principles with RC Sproul Jr

Sphere Sovereignty


Are Bailouts Compassionate?


Tyranny of the Majority?


The Folly of Pragmatism


Inflation is Theft

Plato in the Pews

Both heaven and earth were created by God and He said "it is good." Both eternity and time were created by God and that also was, and is, a good thing. In Adam’s fall, sin came into the world, but it was sin, and not creation, that was bad. Creation is cursed because of sin, but creation is not inherently sinful. This is an either/or problem. We tend to think it is either heaven or earth. I do think we need to prioritize eternity over time and heaven over earth but I do not think we have to (or even should) choose either one or the other. Fallen man tends to always go to one extreme (so heavenly minded, no earthly good) or the other (so earthly minded, no heavenly good).

The problem we have in Christianity today is that so much Gnostic or platonic thinking has permeated the Church. Plato taught that the body and all things physical were a distraction and a disadvantage to reason and the other so-called "real" world of forms and essences. Death, according to him, was not an enemy (as the apostle Paul taught 1 Cor 15:26) but a friend that released you from your prison of flesh and earthliness. If the material world is inherently bad there is no reason for Christians to redeem it. This is why monasticism and a dangerous form of pietism entered the church. Many retreated and withdrew from this present physical world. They were not seeking to claim the material world for Christ the King. They were escapists rather than stewards of God’s world.

We see this today in Dispensationalism and the "Left Behind" phenomenon. Christians are supposed to rebuild, not retreat. We are redeemed for dominion, not desertion. One of the reasons or results of the first coming (incarnation) of Jesus was "that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us" (Luke 1:71). Jesus, the Head of the Church, is sitting at the right hand of God and He is ruling and reigning right now putting all enemies under His feet (1 Cor 15:25). Again, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (v. 26). The Christian Platonists are not seeking victory, they are seeking escape. Jesus did not tell us to pray "Our Father in heaven… your will be done in heaven when we get enough people saved and escape from earth" No, He told us to say "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, ON EARTH as it is in heaven." We should be more concerned about the Kingdom of God being "Left Behind" than ourselves being left behind. We must have a zealous passion for the advancement of God’s Kingdom in the earth and not just a fear of being left behind on earth

C. S. Lewis wisely wrote: "Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither." The problem is that many Christians wouldn’t know what to do with the earth after it was "thrown in." In the parable of the ten minas it is said: "Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities" (Luke 19:13). The problem is that many Christians, I fear, might reject the ten cities and say "oh no, this world is not my home; I’m just passing through. I can’t be involved with cities; I’m just waiting for the heavenly city." In the same parable it says "Engage in business until I come" (v. 13). Christ is coming back, but He has already gained the victory. It’s time for us to start acting like it. He is seated on the throne right now and "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." (Rev 11:15)

We, Christians, look forward to a new heaven and a new earth; not just heaven. The thing that gets us through the hard times is not just heaven, but resurrection. "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Phil 3:8-11). Platonic Christianity sees our hope in escape from all things physical. The Gospel of the Kingdom puts our hope in resurrection and restoration. "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom 8:19). Christians are not called to be mere survivors but more than conquerors.

The Gnostics hated the doctrine of resurrection. Some taught that Jesus only appeared to have a physical body. They could never believe that God would put on something as evil as human flesh. John warned about these Gnostics when he wrote, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist" (1 Jn 1:7). In eternity, we will not be disembodied spirits floating around heaven. We will inhabit our glorified, resurrected bodies as we enjoy the new heaven and the new earth. "The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man" (Ps 115:16). "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt 5:5). As N.T. Wright said, "Heaven is important, but it’s not the end of the world."

Looking Back - Revival vs. Reformation

"I dream of a new reformation - a reformation that is not simply a renewal of life but a new vision of life: a vision that yields new forms and structures in society and culture. As long as Christians restrict their Christianity to a religion, a faith that is compartmentalized and isolated from life, they can have revival but never, ever reformation. We need to hear and do the Word of God in all of our lives."

~ R.C. Sproul

The helpless and the harvest

Matthew 9:35-38

• "And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Watch this video in light of the above passage:

Looking Back - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"It would be easy to show that at our present rate of progress the kingdom of this world never could become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Indeed, many in the Church are giving up the idea of it except on the occasion of the advent of Christ, which, as it chimes in with our own idleness, is likely to be a popular doctrine. I myself believe that King Jesus will reign, and the idols be utterly abolished; but I expect the same power which turned the world upside down once will still continue to do it. The Holy Ghost would never suffer the imputation to rest upon His holy name that He was not able to convert the world."

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Quoted in David Chilton's Paradise Restored which can be read here)

Pilgrim or Soldier?

I was reading from Gary North's book today which you can download for free here entitled Backward Christian Soldiers. He was comparing the old Hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" to another hymn "Wayfaring Stranger." Although most people know the soldier hymn better, today they are more likely to have the stranger attitude. Since most Christians, at least in America, travel in style, comfortable and happy, they seem to prefer the pilgrim paradigm more than the soldier one.

North gives the example of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Christian, in the allegory, was basically just an unemployed drifter before conversion and an unemployed traveler after. He didn't seem to have any means of support or calling. Christian kind of just plods on through life. Bunyan, who was just a tinker in real life, at least contributed to the market and culture with a valuable service. Christian, in the story, seems to be more of a vagrant. I've always like Pilgrim's Progress but I think North brings up a good point here.

The pilgrim paradigm emphasizes internal and personal struggles over sin rather than external enemies. The soldier moves from boot camp and training into the battlefield where he knows he has real enemies to fight. The pilgrim is introspective and struggling constantly within himself. He is at war with his flesh but not with his external environment. All the allegorical characters of Pilgrim's Progress were external representations of internal enemies like vanity, doubt and despair. While the pilgrim is just passing through the soldier is more about conquering and dominion (overcoming evil by doing good).

Gary North gives another example from the seventeenth-century book by William Gurnall entitled The Christian in Complete Armor. North calls this book the most "detailed pilgrim manual." The book devotes over 2000 pages to every possible personal temptation imaginable except, unfortunately, the temptations of the battlefield. Gurnall didn't want to get involved with the great theological battles of his day. He insured his income as a State-certified pastor by signing the Act of Uniformity in 1662 while 2000 puritan pastors were thrown from their pulpits or thrown into jail for refusing to sign.

As North points out: "Gurnall preferred a life of irrelevance, warring with his own internal lusts, ignoring the external civil issues of his day. However harrowing his internal battles may have been, this pilgrim made his journey through his environment in comfort and relative safety." The battlefield is not safe. People get hurt and killed. They don't get paid much and they are always at risk.

We are, in one sense, pilgrims who are here today and will be gone tomorrow. But there is also a war going on between the Kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. We do have to fight against our internal temptations and struggles but that is for the purpose of making us better soldiers. "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier." (2 Tim 2:3-4) The struggle within is not an end in itself. It only prepares us to fight the real battle within the culture.

We shouldn't be content to just be pilgrim survivors who lost the earth and made it through to heaven and took a few with us on the way. We must pray that we can be used by God as soldiers of Christ to bring God's will and way to our culture on earth as it is in heaven. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Their is work to be done here and now. Christ is reigning and giving His faithful followers dominion in the earth.

Evil, Evil, Holiness Retrieval

EVIL?

What is evil? Is there evil? Does evil exist in our postmodern world? Do we need to worry about evil? Do we need to be ready to fight against evil? Is evil a problem? Is evil an allusion? What is the real source of evil? Is evil really evil? How do we relate to evil? When is the last time you called evil evil? How should we respond to evil?

Many of us are deluded into thinking that life as a Christian is all hunky dory. Evil only happens to those who are evil, right? Should we, Christians, be concerned about evil? Is the word "evil" even relevant to those who have been saved by grace through faith? Do evil things happen to "good" people? First, we need to realize and acknowledge that God is completely sovereign. "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." (Isa 45:7) So how do we respond to evil?

Expect

“Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). Evil should never surprise us and catch us off guard. God is going to test you. He loves you and He will cut and carve your character so as to make look more like Him. The cutting and the carving isn't fun but it is fulfilling to those who are faithful. Evil things are going to happen. Buckle up and be ready. Remember God is sovereign through it all.

Pray

Jesus taught us how to pray when He said, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13). The problem with many of us (not evil) is that we deliver ourselves into evil and then pray to be delivered from it. You can't drive yourself into a strip club (evil) and then pray to be delivered from evil. You can't pray "lead me not into temptation" when you really want and long to to be led there.

Hate

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:9). We are told to love and then to hate. If you don't hate than you don't really love. Love is not tolerance. If I love my own children then I wouldn’t tolerate those things that are destroying my children. As the Psalmist said, "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? (Ps 139) Is prayer and hatred contradictory? Of course not. When it comes to evil we are told to pray and to hate.

Expose

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). We have a tendency to enjoy and be entertained by evil rather than exposing it for what it is. We are children of light in a dark, evil world. We are here to expose and to shine. We are supposed to be a city on a hill. Christians who do not shine are "thrown out and trampled under people's feet" (Mt.5:13) Exposing is never popular to those who love the darkness. We should, though, be seeking after righteousness not popularity. Shine on!

Overcome

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Don't given in or give up when evil entices or attacks. Evil is there for us to conquer. We are "more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Rom 8:37) The narrow road less traveled is difficult and sometimes lonely but it is the only path that leads to life. We must overcome by doing good "so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Mt. 5:16) Is there evil around us? Then there is work ahead of us. It's time for us to overcome, have dominion and advance His Kingdom.

John Piper wrote: "Never doubt that God is totally for you in Christ. If you trust him with your life, you are in Christ. Never doubt that all the evil that befalls you—even if it takes your life—is God’s loving, purifying, saving, fatherly discipline. It is not an expression of his punishment in wrath. That fell on Jesus Christ our substitute. “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6)."

A lap down yet winning!

If we know and believe that Christ has already secured the victory for us in the world and that He will eventually put all things under His feet, our attitudes and actions will reflect that. If I watch a videotaped Nascar race and I already know my favorite driver won, I never get discouraged even if my guy is a lap down. Our Eschatology (belief about future events) will govern our actions right here and now. The Kingdom of God will fill the whole earth and Christ will come down for His bride the Church victorious. It might seem like the church is losing the battle or a lap down but she wins in the end. We will inherit the earth; we need to believe that and start living with the confidence in the victory that Christ already secured on the cross. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev 11:15) We, the church, don't lose the battle for the earth only to be raptured out of here. Christ is King and He wins the race!

(Thanks Troy for the idea for this post)

John Weaver - Good Preaching - Good History

John Weaver preaches on The Black-Robed Regiment, telling the stories of early American pastors who fought in the first war for American Independence.



John Weaver preaches on State's Rights, with many poignant illustrations from American history.

The Sabbath as a Feast

Too many people today see the Sabbath (or Lord's Day) as a fast instead of a feast. Lev 23:3 makes it clear that is is intended to be a feast. "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places."

We have completely lost the art of feasting and biblical celebration

• We’ve become to pious to party
• We have stripped devotion of any kind of celebration
  
• We have secularized festivity
  

Maybe just to shake up our fragile piety and our fanatical busyness God commands us to do something like this in the context of the Sabbath:

• "...then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you." (Duet 14:25-27)

Douglas Jones and Douglas Wilson, in their book “Angels in the Architecture” sarcastically commented on this verse: “Such unthriftiness. Such waste. Such gluttony. Such winebibbing. Such is a command of our holy God.”

They also wrote this:

• Celebration is worshiping God with our bodies, with the material creation He has set up around us. Celebrating – whether in feasts, ceremonies, holidays, formal worship, or lovemaking –are all part of obeying God’s command to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength” (Dt 6:5; Mk 12:30) We are to show our love for God not just with one portion of our being (the spiritual aspect); we are to love God with our whole body, heart and strength and legs and lips.
• Complaint is the flag of ingratitude, and it waives above the center of unbelieving hearts –“when they knew God, the glorified him not as God, neither were thankful” (Rom 1:21). Yet by grace, God’s redemption in creation ought to keep us in a perpetual state of thanks which bursts out in celebration at every opportunity. Again, we are celebrating God’s dominion

We need to restore the Lord's Day to the great celebration feast that it was intended to be. We have been given the victory in Christ. We shall inherit the earth. Christ is on the throne and He is in the process of placing all enemies under His feet. So lift up your glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon with me and let's toast to Christ the King and His Kingdom!

As R.J. Rushdoony says, "To deny the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was made for man to rest and enjoy his lordship in Christ, is to remove the future from man’s life. The Sabbath truly observed speaks of victories gained in the world to be conquered." He also said this, "Without that association of the Sabbath with work, salvation, and victory, it becomes a day of boredom and another step in a life without a significant future.”

Work to be done!

Here's a few good quotes reminding us of our need to stay busy. "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." (Matt 9:37)

John Henry Newman: "Fear not that your life shall come to an end, but rather that it shall never have a beginning."

Will Rogers: “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.”

Martin Luther, when once asked what his plans, for the following day were, answered: “Work, work, from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

Kingdom Victory or Sinking Ship?

The ascension of Jesus was not a vacation. Christ ascended up to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father far above all rule and authority and power and dominion (Eph 1:22). He must reign until all enemies are under His feet and the last enemy that will be destroyed is death (1 Cor 15:25-26). He is more than a Saviour on a cross. He is the resurrected King on a throne.

When He ascended into the clouds everyone was looking up into the sky for obvious reasons. But what I find very interesting is what happened when they were looking up… “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?” (Acts 1:10-11)

Even though, to us, that might sound like a stupid question, I think the two men in white wanted to make a point loud and clear. It was as if they were saying, “Men of Galilee, he’ll be back—but, in the meantime, don’t you have something to do? Didn't He tell you to DO something?" Didn't he give you an assignment? You saw the plane leave now get out of the airport and get busy. Jesus will come back but in the meantime “occupy” or “engage in business" till He comes. (Luke 19:13)

The problem with staring into the clouds and being worried about being “Left Behind” is that you can’t see what’s happening on earth. As the saying goes, “you’re so heavenly minded your no earthly good.” Some might object and say “this world is only getting worse… all we can do is look up and hope that Jesus might come to rescue us at any moment.” That’s just like the guy who said “You don’t polish brass on a sinking ship.” The problem with that phrase is that it assumes two faulty things. First, that the world is nothing more than a “sinking ship”; second, that “occupying” or “engaging in business” or rebuilding would be nothing more than “polishing brass.”

We should not inwardly rejoice when we see crime on the rise and wars abounding and the family unit collapsing. We should not see our world falling apart as progress. We should not have as our goal the complete collapse of civilization, a sign that Jesus might come to rescue us at any moment. We need to be about our Father’s business. We should be taking dominion and advancing His Kingdom in the earth. Why do you stand looking into heaven? Look around; make a difference; get busy! Christians are not called to be mere survivors but more than conquerors.

Conservative Humanism or Rebuild?

In a sermon on Psalm 11 titled “Restoring the Foundations,” Joe Morecraft III says: “If we are going to win America back for our children, we must analyze and confront the critical issues before us as Christians and not simply as conservatives. Conservatism is impotent. Conservative humanism is as devastating to this republic as Liberal humanism —it just takes longer.”

Referring to the bad advice given to David by his friends —- that he should flee and not fight —Morecraft says they were… “…short-sighted, cowardly and despondent regarding their dangerous situation. They were not malicious enemies; they were cowardly friends, whose perspective was one of unbelief. Cowardice is always dangerous and deadly; and any advice to desert a post of duty is unwise and wicked.”

Morecraft also said: “So then, if the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? What should he do? What must he do?” Rebuild the foundations! Give all his life, resources and energy to the restoring of those foundations with the help of God. And for us today, this work must go on regardless of the difficulties, threats and set-backs.”

Slackers and Lighthouses

Prov 18:9 says, “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.” Inactivity is equal to destruction. Inactivity is the evil twin brother of destruction. The problem, though, is that inactivity is hardly ever recognized as a sin because it is a sin of omission and there is no obvious evil act committed. Not working hard, according to Proverbs 18:9 is equal to sabotage and destructive behavior.

Many slackers spend all their time talking about how wicked the destroyers are. But, slackers are equal (twin brothers) to those destroyers. It is much easier to stand there or sit there and curse the darkness. It’s hard to actually build a lighthouse. Because building a lighthouse takes time, building a lighthouse takes commitment, building a lighthouse takes money, building a lighthouse takes dedication, building a lighthouse takes planning, building a lighthouse takes labor, building a lighthouse takes teamwork, building a lighthouse takes sweat, building a lighthouse takes frustration, building a lighthouse takes risk, building a lighthouse takes responsibility, building a lighthouse takes self-sacrifice. He who fails to build a lighthouse is equal to him who promotes the darkness.

Ecclesiastes 10:18 says, “If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.” America’s walls are sagging and leaking. We can sit there and curse the sagging and the leaking. We can sit there and complain about the sagging and the leaking. We can sit there and protest about the sagging and the leaking. BUT – the rafters are sagging and the house is leaking because of our laziness, because of our complacency, because of our passivity, because of our inactivity. Prov 1:32 – “For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them” This verse is just like the verse I started with (Prov. 18:0) about the twin brothers. The complacency of fools destroys them. Complacency brings destruction.“Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.” Doing nothing destroys just as much as doing something destructive.