Tribulation is for Christians...

Christians in parts of Africa and the Arab world are going through great tribulation. In fact Christians are the most persecuted group of people on the planet. It's breathtaking. From Nigeria to Iraq to North Korea and China, Christians are being murdered, arrested, beaten, systematically impoverished, and driven from their homes. And yet many Christians in the west persist with the happy illusion that Christians will escape "The Tribulation."

Not only is a pre-tribulation rapture of the church a recent theological innovation which relies on tortured hermeneutics, it denies the clearly biblical teaching that tribulation is for Christians.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

"Therefore they are before the throne of God,
  and serve him day and night in his temple;
  and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

 "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
  the sun shall not strike them,
  nor any scorching heat.

 "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
  and he will guide them to springs of living water,
 and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
(Revelation 7:9-17)

UPDATE:
Just found this helpful post over at TGC - 9 Reasons We Can Be Confident Christians Won't be Raptured Before the Tribulation

Leadership Training?

It seems that a secret from my past I thought had been well buried has now come to light. To find out more listen in on the latest Mortification of Spin... 

Crisis! Todd's past comes back to bite him. This Promise Keepers-sweatshirt-wearing hooligan and the rest of the gang discuss a continually important pastoral subject: leadership. Much of what passes for "leadership training" in the evangelical church is profoundly unhelpful. It has more in common with secular leadership theory than it has with anything found in Scripture. This becomes especially troubling when it comes to pastoral leadership. What qualities should a good leader have? How can pastors improve their leadership capabilities to better serve their churches? Listen in!

Give and Get or Get Your Money Back!

The latest Mortification of Spin: Bully Pulpit is up and running.

"If you will agree to tithe your income for 90 days and you don't receive a blessing from God, you'll get your money back, guaranteed!" This sort of spiritual mumbo jumbo is, as Carl nicely sums up, bonkers. Those who propose these gimmicks are treating God as a pagan deity, and wrapping it all in vaguely orthodox theology. We can't stand by and accept this "prosperity gospel lite." Tune in to the latest Bully Pulpit and you'll receive a blessing or your wasted time back, guaranteed!

Taking God at His Word

When you get a chance, check out the videos from the Taking God at His Word conference that was hosted by WTSbooks.

The featured speaker was Kevin DeYoung. There were also panel discussions with Drs. Carl Trueman, Greg Beale, Scott Oliphint, David Powlison, and Jeff Jue.


Taking God at His Word: Panel 1 from Westminster Theological Seminary on Vimeo.

Taking God at His Word: Panel 2 from Westminster Theological Seminary on Vimeo.

Sunday's Sermon

On Sunday I preached part 6 in our series through Job. It is an overview of chapters 4-27 and is entitled "A True Believer". You can listen to download it HERE.

Credo on Whitefield

The new issue of Credo is dedicated to the life and ministry of George Whitefield.

Credo is one of my favorite places on the web. This most recent issue, like all issues of Credo, is well worth your time.

Mortification of Spin

The latest Mortification of Spin is up and running...

The MoS posse toss around ideas about the biblical concept of finding strength in the midst of weakness. As Christians, we must draw our strength from our brokenness, sinfulness, and weakness. How can pastors shepherd their flocks of weak, broken people as weak, broken people themselves?

It's a good idea to be Reformed

Over at First Things, our friend Carl has written an excellent apologetic for the Reformed faith. Specifically, Trueman asserts that the Reformed faith is uniquely suited (over general evangelicalism and Roman Catholicism) for exiles, or what the apostle Peter called "strangers and aliens."

It’s not surprising that Reformed Christianity equips us well for exile, because it was itself forged in a time of exile, often by men who were literal exiles. Indeed, the most famous Reformed theologian of them all, John Calvin, was a Frenchman who found fame and influence as a pastor outside his homeland, in the city of Geneva. The Pilgrim fathers of New England knew the realities of exile, and the conditions that it imposed upon the people, only too well. Winthrop’s famous comment about being a city on a hill was not a statement of messianic destiny but a reminder to the colonists of the fact that their lives as exiles were to be lived out in the glare of hostile scrutiny. Exile demanded they have a clear and godly identity.

The Reformed Church has its own baggage, but given the nature of its origins and our own moment, it is the right baggage: light when it needs to be light and heavy with the Gospel when it needs to be heavy. A marginal, minority interest in America for well over a century, she does not face the loss of social influence and political aspirations that now confront Evangelicalism and Roman Catholicism. We do not expect to be at the center of worldly affairs. We do not imagine ourselves to be running indispensable institutions. Lack of a major role in the public square will cause no crisis in self-understanding.

This does not arise from indifference or a lack of substance, but instead from clarity and focus. Doctrinally, the Reformed Church affirms the great truths that were defined in the early Church, to which she adds the Protestant doctrine of salvation by faith alone. She cultivates a practical simplicity: Church life centers on the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, prayer, and corporate praise. We do not draw our strength primarily from an institution, but instead from a simple, practical pedagogy of worship: the Bible, expounded week by week in the proclamation of the Word and taught from generation to generation by way of catechisms and devotions around the family dinner table.

It is an outstanding article. Read the whole thing HERE.

Can Campus Ministries Remain Christian?

The latest Mortification of Spin: Bully Pulpit is up and running:

Broadcasting from deep within the bowels of a college's frathouse, the wandering band of misfits address campus ministry. Bouncing off of an article published on First Things by Robert Gregory, the gang talks about campus ministry on secular colleges, some of which are making Christian groups hire non-Christian leaders. How should churches respond to this? Should they look toward starting their own on-campus ministries? How can they partner with solid, Bible-beliving, Reformed campus ministries already established?

Battered Pastors (5)

Over at Ref21 I have posted my final piece in the series on battered pastors.

Sunday's Sermon

On Sunday I preached part four in our current series through Job (2:11-3:26). It is entitled "Never Alone" and can be listened to HERE.

Mortification of Spin

The latest Mortification of Spin is up and running. On this edition we interview Trillia Newbell on the blessings and challenges of racial diversity within the church. We know that God is saving for himself a people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. However, achieving a glimpse of that reality this side of Heaven is easier said that done.

Quilting needles in hand (just listen, you'll get it), the Spin Team get to a controversial topic once again - this time discussing racial diversity with author Trillia Newbell. Trillia's perspective is a unique and helpful one, as she gets into issues not yet talked about on Mortification of Spin. Especially as Christians, we need to remember to treat other humans beings, created in the image of God, as brothers and sisters. What are practical steps that we can take to help create racially diverse churches? Can Aimee really quilt with nunchuck needles? What will  Mrs. Trueman think of Carl's "feminine side?"

Suffering and Sovereignty

I am currently preaching a series of sermons through the Book of Job. Not surprisingly the subject matter of Job--God's sovereignty in suffering--brings up heart-felt questions. I am going to try to deal with some of those questions here as I have opportunity to write. Of course, more significantly, I will be dealing with those questions as I preach through Job.

As a Teaching Elder in the PCA I hold to the confession of faith of my church: The Westminster Confession of Faith. Chapters Three, Five, and Six are particularly applicable to questions about God's sovereignty over suffering and evil.

If you would like to read more about the relationship between God's sovereignty, suffering, and human responsibility (and hope in the midst of it all!), the following books are quite helpful:

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God  edited by Piper & Taylor
Why Do I Suffer? by John Currid 
Is God Really In Control? by Jerry Bridges 
How Long O Lord? by D.A. Carson 
Big God by Orlando Saer 
Deserted By God? by Sinclair Ferguson
Holding On To Hope by Nancy Guthrie
Be Still My Soul by Nancy Guthrie
When God Weeps by Joni Earickson Tada & Steve Estes
A Place for Weakness by Michael Horton

Can we live without Adam and Eve?

Christianity.com recently posted my response to Dr. Karl Giberson who has written that while Christianity can afford lose Adam and Eve, it cannot lose it's theistic evolutionists. Strange reasoning to be sure.

Giberson does us quite a favor in the final words of his article which read: “Christianity can survive the loss of Adam and Eve. What is not so clear is whether evangelical Christianity can survive the loss of so many of its scholars.” This is a stunning admission. For Karl Giberson, the survival of evangelical Christianity rests upon the presence of scholars rather than the accuracy of the claims of Scripture. Whether he knows it or not Dr. Giberson has surfaced an issue upon which we agree: This is a matter of authority. Who will have the final authority? God’s divinely given Word or an ill-defined company of “scholars?” While Giberson is alarmed at the prospect of Christianity losing “many of its scholars” he’s rather sanguine about the possibility of losing the very metanarrative of God’s Word upon which rests the gospel itself.

Read the entire post HERE.

Sunday's Sermon

On Sunday I preached part 3 of our current series through Job (1:13-2:10). It is entitled "My Only Comfort" and can be listened to HERE.

The latest Mortification of Spin: Bully Pulpit is up and running:

Fatherhood is a weighty responsibility. Fathering daughters is especially challenging. Who makes the rules for a daughter's life, particularly when it comes to dating? What is the dad's responsibility in setting the rules? Fathers must hold fast and protect their daughters wholeheartedly. The Spin Squad tackles another touchy subject, so listen with caution!

And, we'll talk about what the problem is with this shirt...

Sunday's Sermon

On Sunday I preached the second message from our current series through Job. It is entitled "God Holds Court" (1:6-12) and can be listened to HERE.

A World of Difference

In this morning's sermon I mentioned Dr. Peter Jones' excellent book One Or Two: Seeing a World of Difference.

Walking around in a blur? Afraid to talk about Jesus? Not sure how Christians fit with other religions? One or Two will help you see a world of difference between the only two worldviews: the worship of the creation (what this book calls One-ism) or worship of the Creator (Two-ism). Using the apostle Paul’s structure in Romans 1, Peter Jones shows why your choice affects everything you think and do: how you think about God (theology), what you worship (spirituality) and how you live your sexuality. Seeing a world of difference and distinctions will help you make a world of difference.

Endorsements:

“Peter Jones has no peer in exposing the bankruptcy of the New Age and Neo Gnostic thinking.  This work is a tour de force.  I encourage Christians to read it and become aware of how this New Spiritualist thinking is negatively affecting our every day lives.”
— R. C. Sproul, Founder and Chairman of Ligonier Ministries

“Please read this book! The church in America is desperate for believers who understand our present battle and are equipped to respond.”
— Francis Chan, Pastor, Cornerstone Church, Simi Valley, CA

“One or Two offers a provocative, accessible, and urgent message that we ignore to our peril – and that of our non-Christian neighbors.”
— Michael Horton, Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary, CA

Also, I would encourage you to check out Dr. Jones' ministry TruthXchange.

You can find out more about Peter Jones HERE and HERE.

 "A scene in The Lord of the Rings, shows the band of heroes hopelessly surrounded by orcs in the Mines of Moriah. Then, miraculously, the ugly crowd, in a squealing frenzy, dissolves into the shadows. Relief registers on the travelers until... a far more fearsome enemy emerges from the depths of the earth: a Balrog, demon from the beginning of time. Christians were relieved when secular humanism, long-time enemy of biblical supernaturalism, scurried off into the shadows. Little did we realize that a demon from the beginning of time threatens our Fellowship of the King. That demon comes in disguise, offering spiritual help from the one place where it cannot be found: within the human soul."
- Peter Jones, from One or Two

Sunday's Sermon

On Sunday I began a series through the book of Job entitled "Out of the Storm." My goal is to preach through this amazing book in 9 sermons. We'll see relatively soon if I will be successful in this. The first message is entitled "A Well-Ordered World" and can be listened to HERE.

"Be Ye Nice"?

One of the things that characterize contemporary evangelicalism is the aesthetic of niceness. Evangelicals will tolerate charlatans and false teachers. What they will not tolerate is anyone who violates the canons of niceness.

In this episode of Mortification of Spin, we address the ill-defined but ruthlessly enforced rules of niceness with our guest Dan Phillips.

"Dispy Dan" Phillips drops by the West Virginian tavern the gang seems to find themselves in to talk bad about niceness. Is it wrong to be mean in conservative Evangelicalism? Is niceness the highest calling for a Christian? It's proposed as the end-all of Christian life, but is this really the case? Writing as a "pyro-maniac" for years, Dan has become something of an expert in Evangelical niceness. Listen to Dan and the crew make even more enemies and dig themselves even further in.