theandrewbass

[theandrewbass]

“At the Diet of Worms, Luther did not say, ‘My conscience is held captive by my contemporary culture, by the latest Gallup poll, and by the latest survey that describes what everybody else is doing.” He did not say, “My conscience is influenced by the Word of God.” In essence, he said, “I am in captivity to the Word of God. That is why I cannot recant.’” Great words from Dr. RC Sproul. 

I have heard far too many “Christian” arguments critiquing the authority of the New Testament. Statements such as “Well Paul was affected by his culture when he wrote this” generally lead their discussion. 

The most ironic aspect of this argument is not the obvious disregard for scripture, but the assumption that comes with that statement. 

It is easy for us to argue that Paul and the other authors of the New Testament were affected in their writing by the culture around them, but never could we be experiencing that issue!

No, we are far too smart and developed as a society to ever have our minds impacted by the cultural norms of the day. Who cares if those guys were walking and talking in real time with the living God-man while he was on earth? We’re so smart now that we know Paul more than he knew himself!

Obviously this is not true. 

The authors of the New Testament were definitely human. They had imperfections and false opinions that were the result of their culture, just like us. But we can not assume that those imperfect opinions made their way into scripture.

Here is why: the Apostle Paul, and the author authors of scripture, their opinions were human-inspired, while the scripture they wrote was God-inspired. 

The authors of scripture were the vessel for God’s Word arriving to us. Paul’s letters are not his best attempt to convey what he learned from Jesus, they are the direct truth of God inspired by God Himself, transferred through the pen of the Apostle Paul. 

Without affirming this truth, scripture becomes anything we want it to be. Even worse, it becomes anything our culture says it is. 

When you sacrifice the principle of inerrancy, you sacrifice the timeless authority of scripture. And the only standard for deciding what parts of scripture are worth keeping is left up to the influence of a depraved culture who is in opposition to God. 

This goes for our conscience as well, and the root of RC Sproul’s argument. 

We must be clinging to truth lest our conscience’s be dulled and our opinions be influenced by a God-hating culture. We must, like Luther at the Diet of Worms, be in captivity to the Word of God.

Sola Scriptura

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No thoughts on this one. Good article, regardless. 

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My father called me yesterday and, as usual, our conversation inevitably led to our favorite topic: baseball and theology.

After trading jabs with each other over our opening day prospects (him a lifelong Braves fan and me a Mets) he began to tell me the story of Thomas Cranmer. 

The life and death of Thomas Cranmer, as the author points out, shows us just how complicated our heroes of the faith can be. 

Even further, however, it shows just how flawed we are as humans while highlighting how powerful we are in Christ. 

On his own will, Cranmer is a coward: a man fearing man more than God. But with the help of the spirit, in repentance and empowered by the blood of our savior, Cranmer is a martyr. A martyr ready to see his savior. A martyr who sticks the hand that caused him to sin in the fire before entering himself, singing “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. . . . I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God”, until he left earth to meet his savior. 

Solus Christus!

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Praying for What?

“Prayers are for the prayer to think they have control. Nothing more”. I read these words from a troll commenting on a Christian news site post this morning. 

He went on to argue that even for Christians, prayer is “meaningless” because God already has a plan. Clearly our lost friend hasn’t brushed the dust off his Bible in a long time. His comment does, however, raise an honest question.

Why do we pray to a sovereign God? If your answer is anything related to forging your own will on Him to change His plan, you are no less mistaken than our troll friend in the comment section on a Christian news site. 

First, and foremost, we pray because God, and the Bible, tells us to. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing”. Again he tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus himself gives us the perfect model for prayer, since we don’t actually know how to pray as we ought (Romans 8:26). Matthew 6:9-13 says “Pray then like this: 

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come, your will be done,    on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread,  and forgive us our debts,    as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation,    but deliver us from evil.”’

This brings us to the second point about prayer. Notice what Christ tells us to pray about. 1. Praise God, 2. Pray for the will of God to be done, 3. Pray for God’s provision, 4. Pray for forgiveness of sins, 5. Pray that we forgive our enemies and reject sin

Not one time does Christ come to the Father as a child asking Santa Clause to give him that bike he really wants. No, Christ himself, God incarnate, came to the Father humbly, asking for His will and His guidance. 

We, as Christians, do not come to the Father in prayer to try and become the Father ourselves, but to know Him better. Prayer is how we communicate with God. So does this mean it is sinful or wrong to pray for healing of a loved one, or for the nation? By no means! So long as the desire for that healing or change is not taking precedence over our aching prayer “Thy will be done”. 

We are not God, so we cannot fully know God’s will. However, prayer helps us get closer to God and to aligning with His will. Going back to Romans 8:26, Paul tells us that although we don’t know how to pray, “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”. Likewise, Jesus tells us in John 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”.

These words from scripture bring us to the final point of why we pray to a sovereign God. Yes, it is relational. Yes, we do pray for God’s will. And finally, as we continue in prayer and growth, our own will begins to align with that of the Father’s. The words of scripture “ask and it shall be given to you” are very possibly the most grossly misinterpreted in all of scripture, and likely the contradiction our troll friend was trying to “zing” his audience with. 

However, there is no contradiction. What we see from the scriptures is that the Spirit helps us pray. As we grow in understanding, the Spirit continues to sanctify us, aligning our will with the Father’s. This is how Jesus’ words can be true. When we are abiding in Christ, and praying through the foundation that Christ gave us, and our will is aligned with God’s, then we will ask rightly for the will of the Father- and it will be given to us. 

Unlike the popular misconception, praying for things is not an attempt by Christians to control God’s sovereign will, but rather to reject our own. 

We don’t pray to change God’s mind, we pray to transform our hearts.

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Pray for our brothers and sisters in China. 

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This is a good read. No need to share the original CT article, as I'm sure it's been read by all at this point.

Some significant quotes from this:

On Galli's article;

"First, I’m glad that Galli spoke his mind as an evangelical leader on behalf of CT. Surely, he echoes the sentiments of many others, and the Church and world need to hear this perspective too."

On evangelical support for Trump;

"We can support the president for the very real good he does do, much of it on behalf of causes that are of great importance to evangelicals. Religious liberty really does matter. Protecting babies in the womb really does matter. Helping the poor get better jobs really does matter. These, too, are issues of justice and righteousness."

Leading into his conclusion;

"That is where we must put our emphasis: living as Jesus would have us live, with politics an important and yet much more distant priority for most of us."

Read the article. Love Christ, as well as your brothers and sisters.

Listen intently, discuss honestly, and go serve your King!

[theandrewbass]

Check out this article from my good friend Sam Still.  

Some terrific insight into the misunderstandings (or misuse) of scripture by many, as well as a reminder of the simplicity and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Some hot takes from the article: 

“The word of God often has become instrumental in the life of the individual believer and the wider church. This means that we, as those who live under the word of God, mis-explain or explain away certain inescapable portions of the biblical message in order to prop up our individual—and many times collective—purposes or preferences.“

“Paul’s message to the Corinthians has a single subject: “Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” His message was not meant to be a display of wisdom but was meant to demonstrate the Spirit and power of God and the transforming work in the lives of its hearers “

“Too often today, the church trusts in human agency alone to effect cultural or individual change. But human progress is a myth. Humans are not bad, they are dead (Ephesians 2, Colossians 2:12-13).“

While reading Sam’s article, I was reminded of Paul’s striking, yet simple, proclamation in Colossians 3:11; “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us” (NLV).

Christ is everything. Let that be our starting point.

Now, go serve your King!

[theandrewbass]

Ah, the infamous name in another headline. Love it or hate it, I’m sure you will. 

Interesting read on the push for religious freedom (And movements towards?) in the United States and other nations. 

If nothing more let’s use this as a reminder from the comfort of our American homes that persecution of Christians is very much a problem today. 

Pray for our brothers and sisters experiencing persecution, as well as the continued efforts of governments and powerful authorities to continue fighting for all to practice their faith freely. 

Pray that God continues to bless the United States as a safe-haven for religious tolerance, but fear not for what the government of any nation will do to you.

Remember the words of James; “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness”. (James 2: 2-4).

Also remember that despite the seeming power held by world governments and authorities, Christ is the one true King.

Go and serve your King!

[theandrewbass]

As a big fan of both J.D. Greear and the SBC (you’d be amazed how hard it is to admit that at Baylor University), I am delighted to read about this “Go2″ challenge. Apparently this is something J.D. has been doing for quite some time (They are about to send their 1000th college student from Summit to one of these missions, and this article was written last year). 

What an opportunity to serve the Church, especially for the majority of Christians who aren’t “called into ministry” and have trouble learning how, and finding places, to serve. 

Click here for the link the the North American Mission Board’s “Go2″ resource, where you can request information and get all set up. 

This is certainly something I’ll need to be prayerfully considering as I get closer to the home stretch of my undergraduate career,

[theandrewbass]

CALLING ALL EVANGELICALS (if that is something you still call yourself)

Here is Dr. Thomas Kidd, of Baylor University (I have the honor of being in a class led by him this semester), on the Christianity Today podcast discussing evangelicalism. What it means today compared to in the past, the power in its identification, even questioning the need to continue promoting the term. All joining the excitement of his new book “Who is an Evangelical? A History of a Movement in Crisis.

Check out the book. Don’t pray to plants. And serve your King!

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Young Christian college students read this! Especially if you’re a freshman. Getting plugged into the local church in your college town will do wonders for the community, your spiritual growth, and even your social life. Even if you’re not a college student, but a young adult who’s just moved to a new area, there is still a wealth of good advice in this article. God bless!

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Great article about the apologetics camp I was able to be a part of during my internship at Camp Cale this summer!

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Here’s a sermon I did a couple of years ago on Philippians 4: 1-9. 

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God is so much greater. 

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Great, and convicting, short article of suggestions we can start today! 

Love until they ask why!

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Let Us as the Church learn from these experiences and our naivety. Let us be concerned solely with being image bearers of Jesus, selling nothing but the gospel.

Father, guide us in truth, deliver us from evil.

[theandrewbass]

“You have eternal life, not conditional life!” Good stuff!

Josh Harris kissed NOTHING goodbye.