Sunday Evening Musings: Of Voltaire, Luby’s Cafeteria, and Oral Roberts

August 9, 2020 at 6:37 PM (Doctrine, Sovereignty of God, The Glory of God, The Holy Scriptures)

 

voltairelubysoral

Rumor has it that Voltaire once said, “In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.” Now, I would never to look to Voltaire for theological advice, but in this case he at least has his finger on the pulse of how man thinks. I’m not sure that my six hours of Psychology classes at Lamar University qualify me as an expert, but my sixty-five years of life and ministry should count for something.

Our (mankind’s in general) views of God are typically what we want Him to be. We see that “God is love” in the Scriptures, and we like that, but then we read, “For the Lord God, He is most Terrible, He is the great king over all the earth…” and we say, “No, thank you.” We tend to put our God together in our minds like a trip through the cafeteria line at Luby’s, “No salad for me today, but I would like that chicken fried steak with lots of gravy, and no vegetables; I’ll have macaroni and cheese instead. Oh, and a piece of that chocolate cake, too.” Our view of God may make us comfortable, but it is not reality.

The Westminster Confession of Faith says it well in question number three:

“Q. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.”

It is in God’s Word where we see “what we are to believe about God.” It may not make us comfortable, but I have learned that reality is a much better road to travel down. What do the Scriptures teach us about God? The Larger Catechism gives us a pretty good summary from the Scriptures, “God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Probing the depths of that description should keep us busy until the ushering in of “the new heavens and the new earth.”

Oral Roberts once claimed that he had had a vision of a 900 foot tall Jesus, but one pastor allegedly responded, and I think, correctly, “Not big enough, brother. Not nearly big enough.”

I said all of that, to say this: Just make sure that your idea of God is the same as the God of the Scriptures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Things May Change, But the Gospel Stays the Same

July 29, 2020 at 9:47 AM (Doctrine, Law and Gospel, Ordinary Means of Grace, The Church)

Jordan tombstone

There is an old saying that to the British 500 miles is a long way, and to the Americans 500 years is a long time. I can’t vouch for that statement from the British perspective, but it sure seems to be true on “this side of the pond.” To us, the nineteenth century seems like it took place light years ago. Yet, yesterday as I was on my walk, I glanced at my grandfather’s tombstone, and I noticed that he was born in 1881. This was someone that I personally knew (granted he died when I was six, but I have personal memories of him) and he was an adult when Teddy Roosevelt became President. Wow!

When I returned to the house I glanced at my Ancestry program and saw that his Dad, George Boardman Jordan, was born in 1848 (that’s before the Civil War for those of you who slept during history class). There have been many changes between the time of my great grandfather and the 65th year of my life. In the year before George Boardman Jordan was born, information could only travel as fast as the fastest horse, train, or ship. Then, in 1844 the telegraph came along, and, what Tom Standage called the “Victorian Internet” was born. Now, with the computer, we know information about current events happening on the other side of the world as they happen.

Travel has progressed from a horse and wagon, to a train, to an automobile, to a jet airliner, and who knows, “The Jetsons’” flying cars may arrive before our Lord ushers in the “new heavens and the new earth.” Medicine has been revolutionized by the discovery of antibiotics, the heart-lung machine, gene therapy, high tech surgeries, and the list goes on and on. The world has changed immeasurably in those four generations of Jordans, but there is one thing that hasn’t changed; and that is the Gospel.

We are still sinners (and, honestly, with the tools at our disposal we are even more efficient in our sinning); we are still incapable of changing ourselves (“can a leopard change his spots?”); and, because of this, we need a Savior. That is why, when we gather on the Lord’s Day, we don’t need to hear a pep talk, therapeutic advice, or have our ears tickled with clever words; we need to hear how Jesus came to earth, took on human flesh, kept God’s Law, died for sinners, and how if we rest in His grace, and not in our own selves, we can have eternal life; totally by His grace. That is truly Gospel (Good News). As Jesus said, “I am the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow” (and his Gospel is, too).

P.S.—I am grateful that I have a pastor that keeps the Gospel front and center.

 

 

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Tuesday Hymns: “Jesus Shall Reign”

July 27, 2020 at 7:01 PM (Church History, Doctrine, Eschatology, Hymns, Psalms, Uncategorized)

watts

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was an English non-conformist pastor who wrote a gazillion hymns in his lifetime (over 750 hymns anyway) and came to be known as “the Father of English Hymnody.” Our Tuesday Hymn of the Week is his paraphrase of the second half of the 72nd Psalm. It is interesting to me that he begins his paraphrase of this Old Testament passage with the phrase, “Jesus shall reign…” To Watts, this was more than just a prayer of David for his son, Solomon; but a text that pointed to Christ as the “Eternal Son of David.” It speaks of His eternality, His worthiness to be worshiped, His love, His blessings, His power over death, and His sovereignty. It was published in Watt’s “The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament,” in the year 1719.

It is a hymn that can put one’s feet on solid ground when all that he knows is being shaken. It is a reminder to us that “in Him the tribes of Adam boast more blessings than their father lost.” In our world presidents come and go, nations rise and fall, but Christ will reign “til moons shall wax and wane no more.” It is normally sung to the tune, “DUKE STREET”.

Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
To Him shall endless prayer be made.
And princes throng to crown His head,
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.
Blessings abound where’er He reigns:
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blest.
Where He displays His healing power
Death and the curse are known no more;
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud Amen.

 

 

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“Wiser than God?”–Heidelberg Catechism

April 2, 2018 at 3:28 PM (Church History, Doctrine, Gospel Worship, Law and Gospel)

goldfish

We live in a culture that has been called a “visual culture.” People my age and younger grew up watching television and it is said that everyone’s attention span is shorter than it used to be. And, now with IPhones and such, one study has shown that a goldfish has a longer attention span than a human (yeah, I know; can such a study really be trusted?). Modern churchmen have latched on to that thought and have postulated that if we are going to teach people about God, we are going to need pictures. The problem with that kind of thinking is that the second of the Ten Commandments states very clearly that “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Any image that we would make to portray God could never capture His worth and glory, and thus pictures of the Godhead must be placed in the category of idolatry.

The idea of using pictures of God to teach is not exactly a new thing. The writer of the Heidelberg Catechism, Zacharias Ursinus, felt that it was needful to discuss it several hundred years ago. I love the way he handled the subject:

“Q. May we then not make any image at all?
A. God cannot and may not be visibly portrayed in any way. Creatures may be portrayed, but God forbids us to make or have any images of them in order to worship them or to serve God through them.

Q. But may images not be tolerated in the churches as ‘books for the laity’?
A. No, for we should not be wiser than God. He wants His people to be taught not by means of dumb images but by the living preaching of His Word.”

Yesterday, as we were about to share the Lord’s Supper, our pastor said something that bears repeating. He mentioned that although we do not have “pictures” in the place where we worship God to be an aid to worship, God has declared that we, as the church, may use two images to our benefit: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Each of them is a “sensible sign” that points us to the truth of the Gospel. They are reminders that Christ took on human flesh, kept God’s Law (something that we could never do) on our behalf, died as a sacrifice for our sins, and if we rest in Him, our sins will be cleansed through His sacrifice.

I think that I will meditate upon what Ursinus said and not try to be “wiser than God.” No matter how short my attention span  is.

 

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What about the Poor?

July 14, 2017 at 11:29 AM (Doctrine, ecclesiology, Grace, Ordinary Means of Grace)

what about the poor
It was over a decade ago. After being a Southern Baptist pastor for approximately twenty-five years, I was becoming a Presbyterian; not a mainline, liberal Presbyterian, but a conservative, Bible-believing, Westminster Standards confessing Presbyterian. For my ordination to be accepted I had to pass written tests over the English Bible, Church history, the Sacraments, Theology, and the Book of Church Order. I then went before the Candidates and Credential Committee to be examined and was eventually questioned before the entire Presbytery.

There were several things that to me were interesting through that process. The first surprise came when I said that I had no exceptions to the Westminster Standards; the chairmen looked at me with some surprise and said, “None?” I responded by saying, “None.” He, with a funny look on his face said, “Oh.” The second surprise came when I answered the question, “What view did the Westminster Assembly take on the time of the Creation?” I responded by saying, “six, twenty-four hour days.” The chairman smiled and patiently explained that there were several views of Creation that were acceptable in the Presbyterian Church in America, and I smiled back and said, “But the question was, ‘What view did the Westminster Assembly take on the time of Creation?’” And, yes, I happened to agree with them.

There was a question that caught me off guard when I stood before the entire Presbytery, also. Someone called out, “What about the poor?” I said, “Pardon?” “What about the poor?” I think I responded with a rather long comment about how we should always be ready to care for the physical needs of the poor, etc. While I believe that there was some truth in what I said; looking back, I believe I would have answered differently.

What do the poor need from the church? They need the same thing that the rich, the middle class, and every other strata of society needs from the church: The Gospel. The church’s primary responsibility is, as Paul said, to proclaim that “the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30) We are to call upon people to turn from trusting in themselves, and to put their trust in what Jesus Christ has done on their behalf; no matter the size of their bank account. Jesus told the messengers that John the Baptist had sent to him that one of the evidences that He was the Messiah was that the “poor have the good news preached to them.” (Matt. 11:5)

So, while it is important to remember Paul’s admonition to the Galatians, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith,” (Gal. 6:10) the most important thing we can do, as Christ’s Church, is to point men to Christ through Word, prayer, and sacraments, that they might discover the abundant grace that God has poured out upon all who believe the Gospel.

What about the poor? The poor need the Gospel.

 

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Tuesday Hymns: “Alas, And Did My Saviour Bleed”

June 26, 2017 at 11:18 AM (Doctrine, Gospel Worship, Hymns)

watts isaac

In Isaac Watt’s later years he once complained, “To see the dull indifference, the negligent and thoughtless air that sits upon the faces of a whole assembly, while the psalm is upon their lips, might even tempt a charitable observer to suspect the fervency of their inward religion.” Even in complaining about church members’ attitudes, Watt’s words flowed like a mountain stream. He has been called the “Father of English Hymnody” for good reason and his published hymns would be exhibit numbers 1-800. Our Tuesday Hymn of the Week, “Alas, And Did My Saviour Bleed,” is a good example of his inborn talent and his excellent theology. His understanding of the depth of man’s sin and the abundance of God’s mercy and grace is found in every verse.

As one who grew up in a tradition that sang, “At the Cross,” (which took the words of Watts, added a refrain, and sang it to a tune that sounded like it originated in a circus calliope…sorry, I just feel that way) I was thrilled to discover his words connected to a more appropriate tune in The Trinity Hymnal.

Alas! and did my Saviour bleed,
And did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I!

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree!
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While his dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes in tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
‘Tis all that I can do.

PS—And, just for the record, I have no issue at all with the phrase, “For such a worm as I.”
;^)

 

 

 

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Tuesday Hymns: “Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended”

March 13, 2017 at 9:39 PM (Church History, Doctrine, Grace, Hymns, Sin)

When Johann Heermann (1585-1647) was a little boy he contracted a serious illness and his mother promised God that if He spared the boy’s life, she would educate him to become a pastor. She was true to her word, and after his ordination he taught at the university, then became a deacon, and eventually a Lutheran pastor in Silesia. His ministry was hampered by poor health and the Thirty Years’ War, but he faithfully ministered, and found time to write numerous hymns, including our Tuesday Hymn, “Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended.”

The hymn pictures for us the holiness and innocence of Christ, and the depth of our sin. It reminds us that our salvation comes to us entirely through the grace of God. It is not something that we can earn or repay, but it is a merciful gift that becomes ours by what Christ did through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of the Father. It is sung to several tunes, but the haunting “Iste Confessor” (https://www.opc.org/hymn.html?hymn_id=11) is my favorite.

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
That man to judge thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty? who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee:
I crucified thee.

Lo, the good Shepherd for the sheep is offered:
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered:
For man’s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

For me, kind Jesus, was thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation:
Thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee
Think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.

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Preach the Word! (and love the people)

September 30, 2016 at 10:18 AM (Doctrine, ecclesiology, Personal, The Church, Uncategorized)

preach-the-word

Six months ago I quit running every morning because I had gotten tired of my knees and ankles hurting 24 hours a day, seven days a week (they didn’t even stop hurting on the Lord’s Day). So for exercise I began riding a recumbent bicycle in my study. I still get my 30 minutes of cardio a day, and at least I don’t have to run in the heat, the cold, or the dark (during Daylight Savings Time); and, I don’t hurt all the time.

As I listen to my IPod (I am so 1990s) to keep my mind off of my heavy breathing, I look around my study and take in the portraits, photographs, and books. Today while doing that, my eyes fell on my Ordination Certificate. I looked at the date (August, 1981), the church (Morgan Mill Baptist Church), and the names of the ordination council. Names like Adams, Quarles, Nachtigall (Ted, but not Richard; Richard must have been playing hooky), Mayberry, and at the top of the list, Dr. A. J. Quinn. Dr. Quinn preached my ordination sermon, and it consisted of him quoting the first eight verses of 2 Timothy 4 by heart. I could not have been given better advice and direction for the years of ministry that lay before me:

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Being a pastor is really a somewhat simple task. Preach the Word, and love the people. Yes, there are still difficult issues, troublesome people, long days, and long nights, but if one does those two things he will “fulfill his ministry” in the Lord.

 

 

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Don’t Fear the Reaper, Christian!

January 9, 2015 at 9:28 PM (Doctrine, Grace)

Well, it happened again: Another friend that I graduated with from high school died this week. Of course, when one reaches the age of 60 it should be expected, but it seems as if our class has had more than its share of tragedy lately.

While there are those whose lives are so filled with pain that death is looked upon as an escape, actually, death is not a friend; it is an enemy. Apart from Adam’s sin, death would not even be a part of this world; but since that day in the garden it has filled our lives with tears, loss, and heart break. It is something to be hated and despised.

However, for the Christian, it is the last enemy that we will ever face. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, Christ must “reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet,” and “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (15:25-26) As a matter of fact, that victory will be so complete that the Psalmist was inspired to write, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.”

Our hope is to be found in Christ’s promise that He made to Martha by the graveside of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

So my plans are to live every day that the Lord gives me as full as I possibly can for His glory, and when my appointment with death comes, whether it be sooner or later, I will know that my only comfort in life and death is “that I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.” (Heidelberg Catechism)

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Tuesday Hymns: “Psalm 139” (The Trinity Psalter)

September 24, 2013 at 11:08 AM (Doctrine, Hymns, Psalms)

I have mentioned before how much that I enjoy singing the Psalms in corporate worship. For the last two Sunday nights we have been singing the 139th Psalm from The Trinity Psalter. Of course, the Psalm itself tells so much about the glory of the Lord we worship: we are told of His omniscience in verses 1-6, His omnipresence in verses 7-12, His omnipotence in verses 13-18, and of His justice and mercy in verses 19-22, and 24. Along with the theological depth of the Psalm, we hear the literary beauty of this particular metrical version. For example,

Where shall I from Thy Spirit flee,
Or from Thy presence hidden be?
In heav’n Thou art, if there I fly,
In death’s abode, if there I lie.

We sang the Psalm to the tune of New Winchester, and the Psalter listed Maryton as the tune of choice. Both are easily sung, and are appropriate to describe the transcendence and immanence of our holy and loving Lord.

Our Tuesday Hymn of the week: Psalm 139 from The Trinity Psalter.

LORD, Thou hast searched me; Thou hast known
My rising and my sitting down;
And from afar Thou knowest well
The very thoughts that in me dwell.

Thou knowest all the ways I plan,
My path and lying down dost scan;
For in my tongue no word can be,
But, lo, O LORD, ‘tis known to Thee.

Behind, before me, Thou dost stand
And lay on me Thy mighty hand;
Such knowledge is for me too strange
And high beyond my utmost range.

Where shall I from Thy Spirit flee,
Or from Thy presence hidden be?
In heav’n Thou art, if there I fly,
In death’s abode, if there I lie.

If I the wings of morning take
And utmost sea my dwelling make,
Ev’n there Thy hand shall guide my way
And Thy right hand shall be my stay.

If I say, “Darkness covers me,”
The darkness hideth not from Thee.
To Thee both night and day are bright;
The darkness shineth as the light.

My inward parts were formed by Thee;
Within the womb, Thou fashioned me;
And I Thy praises will proclaim,
For strange and wondrous is my frame.

Thy wondrous works I surely know;
When as in depths of earth below
My frame in secret first was made,
‘Twas all before Thine eyes displayed.

Mine unformed substance Thou didst see;
The days that were ordained to me
Were written in Thy book each one,
When as of them there yet was none.

Thy thoughts, O God, to me are dear;
How great their sum! They more appear
In number than the sand to me.
When I awake, I’m still with Thee.

The wicked Thou wilt slay, O God;
Depart from me, ye men of blood,
They speak of Thee in words profane,
The foes who take Thy name in vain.

Do not I hate Thy foes, O LORD?
And Thine assailants hold abhorred?
I truly hate all foes of Thine;
I count them enemies of mine.

Search me, O God; my heart discern;
And try me, every thought to learn,
And see if any sin holds sway.
Lead in the everlasting way.

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