Mark Lauterbach on "Censorious Thoughts"

Please visit Mark Lauterbach's blog, "GospelDrivenLife". He has posted convicting and, dare I say, much-needed meditations on "Censorious Thoughts". So far, there are three parts: Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3.

I found these meditations a needed rebuke...and a sign of sonship from a loving heavenly Father who's committed to my sanctification (see Hebrews 12:5-11). So, please read. I think you'll be blessed if you do.

By the way, while you're at GospelDrivenLife, look around. Mark writes many thoughtful, cross-centered meditations that, I think, will bless your soul.

Grudem Interview Part 6: On the Atonement

Adrian Warnock's interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem turns in a slightly different direction today. Part 6 is about the departure of some evangelicals from a penal substitutionary understanding of the Atonement.

Of course, the Atonement is the heart of the gospel, for without the cross there is no salvation. Therefore, it is essential that we understand what happened when the Lord Jesus was crucified. Jesus didn't simply die on the cross; He bore the Father's wrath against sin, for the sake of the elect.

"I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:15).

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).

"For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18).

Still more on "Women in Ministry"

Adrian Warnock has posted part 5 of his interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem on the issue of evangelical feminism. Check it out. This is a growing issue/problem in the evangelical church. Dr. Grudem feels (and I happen to agree) that evangelical feminism is a path to theological liberalism. When one looks at the mainline denominations, one of the common denominators is the recognition of female clergy. I think if you can dismiss or creatively “interpret” Scripture to affirm female clergy, it’s only a matter of time before you relax Scriptural standards in other areas. I think the issue is fundamentally one of submission to God’s authority.

There is also the issue of contentment. Are we content with God’s order for the family and the church? Or do we think we know better than God how the family and the church ought to function? The apostle Paul wrote, “Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches” (1 Corinthians 7:17). He also wrote, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11). The problem is, some church women, influenced by the worldly feminism of our culture, are no longer content to be and function as God created them. It’s the curse playing itself out in the church: Rather than finding fulfillment as “a helper fit for [or “corresponding to”] him” (Genesis 2:18), these daughters of Eve strive and fight to prove they’re “just as capable as any man.” Isn’t this what God said would occur? “Your desire shall be for [or “against”] your husband…” (Genesis 3:16). Not only is there the sin of discontentment in this push for female pastors and teachers in the church, there is the sin of covetousness.

Anyway, be sure you read Part 5 of Adrian Warnock’s interview of Dr. Wayne Grudem. If you missed the other parts, you can read them here: Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4. Also, there is this response of Dr. Grudem to a critic.

Even more of what a good pastor is to do

Thabiti Anyabwile, over at Pure Church has now posted Part 4 and Part 5 of “What A Good Pastor Is To Do”. Pastors, especially (and, laity, also), should benefit from reading this series. Here are the other parts, if you missed them before: Part 1/Part 2/Part 3.

More of what a good pastor is to do

Thabiti Anyabwile has posted Part 2 and Part 3 of "What A Good Pastor Is To Do". It's good teaching, and good for the soul.

More on "Women in Ministry"

I would encourage you to check out the comments and my responses on my earlier post, "Women in Ministry and Evangelical Feminism". I think the discussion is helpful. Feel free to comment, if you'd like.

Women in Ministry and Evangelical Feminism

I am so grateful to God for His sovereign care of Christ’s sheep. As I’ve stated before, I grew up in an historically Black denomination. I would consider my former denomination “mainline”, since it is a member of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches (even though there is still a world of difference between a Black mainline church and a White mainline church). At any rate, I’m amazed that I’m saved at all, given my church background. For instance, I don’t remember the gospel ever being preached in any church I was a part of in this denomination (I mean, the true, biblical gospel), and it seems very few, if any, were ever converted through the ministry of the church (I know I wasn’t). There was no such thing as church discipline; pastors could sin scandalously, and with impunity. And I could go on and on and on...

The result of such a church environment is that I’ve had to learn a whole lot on my own, when it comes to Scripture and how the church is supposed to function. My views on quite a few things have changed drastically over the years, as I’ve grown in my understanding of what the Bible teaches. One such area in which I’ve changed my views is that of women in the pastoral ministry.

I grew up with the idea of female pastors being a given. My old denomination began ordaining women to the ministry something like 58 years ago. They began ordaining women for the pastorate about 42 years ago, if I remember correctly. By the time I came along (I’m 43), no one questioned anymore the idea of female pastors. For instance, when I was a child, we had a pastor whose wife was also an ordained minister, and she functioned as his assistant. And, everyone was okay with that.

After I entered the ministry, I got to know many female ministers and pastors. There are some female pastors that, to this day, I highly respect for their integrity and Christian example (You have to understand, I’ve known some real, bona fide scoundrels who were pastors. The fact that these women conducted themselves in a godly manner, kept themselves free from scandal and lovingly cared for their churches made them worthy of respect, as far as I was concerned.). However, as I read the Bible, it seemed to me that there was no biblical support for female pastors and elders. This presented a personal dilemma, for I trusted Scripture as the infallible Word of God, and yet, here I was, a minister in a denomination that supported women’s full inclusion in ministry (and that wasn’t going to change).

For a while, to resolve this growing personal conflict, I read and considered the arguments of Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE), since they put forward Scriptural reasons for supporting women in ministry. This worked until I came across the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), of which Dr. Wayne Grudem was one of the founders. I had (and still have) great respect for Dr. Grudem, having taken one of his classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and I always found his interpretations of Scripture to be well-reasoned and true to the text. So, his affiliation with CBMW automatically gave that organization credibility in my sight. Gradually, I came to view CBMW’s arguments as more sound and true to Scripture than those of CBE. In time I came to understanding that the practice of ordaining women to the pastorate and as elders was unbiblical.

This change in my views came about as God taught me His Word. Sometimes it was through a Bible teacher or preacher on the radio, sometimes it was through a Christian book or magazine (or the articles of organizations like CBMW), but, one way or another, God taught me, and He ultimately led me out of my former denomination. God takes care of His own, and I thank Him for that.

A change in my views occurred because I had a heart that was receptive to God’s Word. If I was shown that the Word clearly taught something contrary to what I believed, I was willing to change my beliefs in order to conform to God’s Word. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice…and they follow me” (John 10:27).

This is why I’m troubled by the growing influence of feminism in the evangelical church. It seems a growing number of people in “Bible-believing” churches are unwilling to change their beliefs even when those beliefs are contrary to God’s Word. Adrian Warnock has been posting an interview he conducted with Dr. Wayne Grudem, the author of the recently published book, Evangelical Feminism: A New Path to Liberalism.

You should read this interview. Adrian has posted it in parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Also read "Wayne Grudem Replies to a Critic".

I also recommend you get ahold of Dr. Grudem’s book.

The responsibility of a good pastor

Thabiti Anyabwile has another good (and needed) post at Pure Church. "What a Good Pastor Is To Do - Part 1" deals with the pastor's responsibility to protect his flock from false teachers. I confess that in one-on-one conversation I've been guilty of being "too polite" and not calling false teachers what the are for fear of offending those who admire them. The truth is, "I must not shy away from identifying falsehood and calling...people to avoid it", because souls are at stake. You can read Pastor Anyabwile's post here.

"Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love"

Jesus, thine all-victorious love
Shed in my heart abroad:
Then shall my feet no longer rove,
Rooted and fixed in God.

O that in me the sacred fire
Might now begin to glow;
Burn up the dross of base desire,
And make the mountains flow.

O that it now from heaven might fall,
And all my sins consume:
Come, Holy Ghost, for Thee I call;
Spirit of burning, come.

Refining fire, go through my heart;
Illuminate my soul;
Scatter Thy life through every part,
And sanctify the whole.

My steadfast soul, from falling free,
Shall then no longer move;
While Christ is all the world to me,
And all my heart is love.

—Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

From The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, Selected and with an Introduction and Notes by A.W. Tozer [1897-1963] (Camp Hiill, PA: Christian Publications, 1963, 1991), p. 47.

By the way, don't confuse Tozer's use of the word "mystical" in the title with Roman Catholicism. Tozer explained his use of the terms "mystic" and "mystical" (p. vi):

"The word "mystic" as it occurs in the title of this book refers to that personal spiritual experience common to the saints of Bible times and well known to multitudes of persons in the post-Biblical era. I refer to the evangelical mystic who has been brought by the gospel into intimate fellowship with the Godhead. His theology is no less and no more than is taught in the Christian Scriptures. He walks the high road of truth where walked of old prophets and apostles, and where down the centuries walked martyrs, reformers, Puritans, evangelists and missionaries of the cross. He differs from the ordinary orthodox Christian only because he experiences his faith down in the depths of his sentient being while the other does not. He exists in a world of spiritual reality. He is quietly, deeply, and sometimes almost ecstatically aware of the Presence of God in his own nature and in the world around him. His religious experience is something elemental, as old as time and the creation. It is immediate acquaintance with God by union with the Eternal Son. It is to know that which passes knowledge."

Doesn't every true child of God want this to be true of his life?

Refining fire, go through my heart;
Illuminate my soul;
Scatter Thy life through every part,
And sanctify the whole.

A prayer for the Spirit

O Lord God,

I pray not so much for graces as for
the Spirit himself,
because I feel his absence,
and act by my own spirit in everything.
Give me not weak desires but the power of
his presence,
for this is the surest way to have all his graces,
and when I have the seal I have the impression
also;
He can heal, help, quicken, humble suddenly
and easily,
can work grace and life effectually,
and being eternal he can give grace eternally.
Save me from great hindrances,
from being content with a little measure
of the Spirit,
from thinking thou wilt not give me more.
When I feel my lack of him, light up life and faith,
for when I lose thee I am either in the dark
and cannot see thee,
or Satan and my natural abilities content me
with a little light,
so that I seek no further for the Spirit of life.
Teach me then what to do.
Should I merely humble myself and not stir up
my heart?
Should I meditate and use all means to bring
him near,
not being contented by one means,
but trust him to give me a blessing by the use
of all,
depending only upon, and waiting always for,
thy light, by use of means?
Is it a duty or an error to pray
and look for the fullness of the Spirit in me?
Am I mistaken in feeling I am empty of the Spirit
because I do not sense his presence within,
when all the time I am most empty
and could be more full by faith in Christ?
Was the fullness of the Spirit in the apostles
chiefly a power,
giving the subsistence outside themselves
in Christ,
in whom was their life and joy?
Teach me to find and know fullness of the Spirit
only in Jesus.

Amen.

from The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur G. Bennett (Banner of Truth Trust).