Monday, February 23, 2009
John
I am trying to keep up with some brand new Christians in going through the gospel according to John. Thes guys are eating up John like candy right now, and it's so sweet to see! I love it! Thanks be to God for His Word that is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. Pray for these new believers and for our chapter to gain more momentum after seeing some great fruit.
Monday, February 9, 2009
No replies to the last post! Maybe it was a bad topic. We can revisit it if there is interest later, i suppose.
Here is a question i have been pondering an awful lot lately.
If there are approximately 350 students attending evangelical Christian groups at UWSP, why on earth are there only approximately 110 UWSP students attending evangelical local churches? I realize that part of the deal is that we have a unique benefit of having a bunch of non-Christians around our organizations, but certainly NOT 75% of them! My main concern is that i know about 8o of those church-going students are involved in IV, my organization- and we are not the biggest Christian organization on campus by a long shot. How do we account for this? It is a travesty to not have Christian students in the most critical period of formation of their lives being educated and impacted by the local church. Over 90% of students who do not attend a local church during college are not attending a local church 5 years after graduation, whether they call themseleves Christian or not. Having no intergenerational Christian training and education forming people between ages 17 and 22 might be one of the weakest points in our congregations today, especially in towns with universities. What are we to do?
Here is a question i have been pondering an awful lot lately.
If there are approximately 350 students attending evangelical Christian groups at UWSP, why on earth are there only approximately 110 UWSP students attending evangelical local churches? I realize that part of the deal is that we have a unique benefit of having a bunch of non-Christians around our organizations, but certainly NOT 75% of them! My main concern is that i know about 8o of those church-going students are involved in IV, my organization- and we are not the biggest Christian organization on campus by a long shot. How do we account for this? It is a travesty to not have Christian students in the most critical period of formation of their lives being educated and impacted by the local church. Over 90% of students who do not attend a local church during college are not attending a local church 5 years after graduation, whether they call themseleves Christian or not. Having no intergenerational Christian training and education forming people between ages 17 and 22 might be one of the weakest points in our congregations today, especially in towns with universities. What are we to do?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Here it is.
I have to confess i lost the book i wanted to quote from and don't remember the whole of the question i sought to answer. I'll do my best to bring it out and see what happens.
Substitutionary atonement has to do with the idea that we are all guilty before God, but that Jesus suffered a horrible death and the wrath of God in our place. We deserved that punishment as retribution for our sin, but God provided atonement for OUR SIN (yours and mine) through the punishment of his son. So the question then is, was that substitutionary death sufficient for salvation? If Jesus truly did pay enough of a penalty for everyone's sin (which i tend to believe), we have to say that there is something else required for salvation besides this substitutionary atonement (since not everyone has salvation). It is atonement plus something for salvation.
Now John Murray would say that it is application of that redemption to us by the Spirit, and in that way Jesus is the surety or savior for his elect. Is this ok?
This will get us started, let us dive into scripture and discover what we can about this mystery about why i am saved.
Substitutionary atonement has to do with the idea that we are all guilty before God, but that Jesus suffered a horrible death and the wrath of God in our place. We deserved that punishment as retribution for our sin, but God provided atonement for OUR SIN (yours and mine) through the punishment of his son. So the question then is, was that substitutionary death sufficient for salvation? If Jesus truly did pay enough of a penalty for everyone's sin (which i tend to believe), we have to say that there is something else required for salvation besides this substitutionary atonement (since not everyone has salvation). It is atonement plus something for salvation.
Now John Murray would say that it is application of that redemption to us by the Spirit, and in that way Jesus is the surety or savior for his elect. Is this ok?
This will get us started, let us dive into scripture and discover what we can about this mystery about why i am saved.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
so is it unlimited, or limited?
Well, I have been busy getting ready for our area leadership retreat this weekend (i spent most of today just doing the food!). HOWEVER, i am eager to discuss something on this blog about the controversial L in TULIP- that's right, limited atonement. As a teaser, i like Mark Driscoll's "unlimited limited atonement" idea, and i think it makes sense scripturally and with regard to the Canons of Dordt.
BUT, i've been reading a little book called "In My Place, Condemned He Stood" by Packer and Dever. It talks about limited atonement and Christ's penal substitutionary atoning death. I've been thinking about this along with some other awesome works, namely "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ" and "Redemption; Accomplished and Applied." I wonder if Driscoll's unlimited limited view holds up. I'll write about it after the retreat!
BUT, i've been reading a little book called "In My Place, Condemned He Stood" by Packer and Dever. It talks about limited atonement and Christ's penal substitutionary atoning death. I've been thinking about this along with some other awesome works, namely "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ" and "Redemption; Accomplished and Applied." I wonder if Driscoll's unlimited limited view holds up. I'll write about it after the retreat!
Friday, January 16, 2009
back on the horse
I had to wash my hair, then the dog ate my computer, and i'm sure i have some other bad excuses for not posting in quite some time. Anyway, i'll start this back up slowly and try to keep up with stuff on this blog. My good friend Kyle Borg showed me this video. While i had the pleasure of visiting with him this week. This shouldn't be anything controversial, just Piper going after the heresy of prosperity gospel. I love it and want to share it. It stirred within me similar feelings of hatred toward the heresy. It ruins the true gospel of Jesus Christ and tears apart people's beliefs. Thanks again Dr. Piper for so fluently putting together words and emotions to make a God-exalting point!
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