Resources for Learning the Reformed Catechisms
February 25, 2010
As the Reformed catechisms regain popularity, there are some new books on catechesis coming out. My Christian Education professor at seminary, Gary Parrett, has partnered with J. I. Packer on a book to be released in April, Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old Fashioned Way. Kevin DeYoung has written a book due out in March on the Heidelberg Catechism, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism. Some brief comments by Kevin on the book can be found on his blog. A brief excerpt:
We must remember the truths that spark reformation, revival, and regeneration.
And because we want to remember all this, we must also remember—if we are fortunate enough to have ever heard of them in the first place—our creeds, confessions, and catechisms.
Your reaction to that last sentence probably falls in one of three categories. Some people, especially the young, believe it or not, will think, “Cool. Ancient faith. I’m into creeds and confessions.” Others will think, “Wait a minute, don’t Catholics have catechisms? Why do we need some manmade document to tell us what to think? I have no creed but the Bible, thank you very much. I thought catechisms were for Catholics.” And yet others—the hardest soil of all—want nothing more than to be done with all this catechism business. “Been there, done that. Bor-ing. I’ve seen people who knew their creeds backward and forward and didn’t make them missional, passionate, or even very nice.”
To all three groups I simply say, “Come and see.” Come and see what vintage faith is really all about. Come and see if the cool breeze from centuries gone by can awaken your lumbering faith. Come and see if your church was lame because of its confessions and catechisms or if your lame church made the confessions and catechisms lame all on its own. Whether you’ve grown up with confessions and catechisms or they sound like something from another spiritual planet, I say, “Come and see.”Come and see Christ in the unlikeliest of places—in a manger, in Nazareth, or even in Heidelberg.
Corporate Worship: God Addresses, Undresses, and Redresses His People
February 16, 2010
I am always glad to read thoughtful, biblical critiques of our corporate worship ideals, particularly when I personally need correction, and when that correction motivates and intensifies my desire for corporate worship. Jason Stellman does just that in his book, Dual Citizens: Worship and Life Between the Already and Not Yet (available in our church library).
Here’s an excerpt:
At the root of Western culture’s constant demand for new and improved worship experiences is not our unique inability to sit still for sixty minutes, but our fear of not being in control. Unlike “first-person shooter” games and surfing the Internet, corporate worship is an activity in which we are neither the initiators nor the primary actors. Instead, God addresses us with His gracious summons, undresses us with His holy law, and then redresses us in the righteous robes of His Son Jesus Christ. The entire affair culminates with a meal at His table of grace, where we are fed and nourished for our continued pilgrimage to glory. While God’s people do participate with responses of prayer and praise, these are just that – responses to God’s divine initiative rather than our own efforts to conjure up some feeling or experience to confirm what we already knew before we arrived (p. 6).
Two Kingdoms Podcast with Jack Kinneer
February 15, 2010
As always, our friends at the Ordinary Means podcast provide a variety of stimulating discussions. This month it is all about Two-Kingdom theology with special guest Jack Kinneer.
Listen here.
Sermon Leftovers
February 15, 2010
In my studies last week I came across a wonderful quote from Martin Luther on how Christ has turned the Law, sin, and death upside down.
Thus with the sweetest names Christ is called my Law, my sin, and my death, in opposition to the Law, sin, and death, even though in fact He is nothing but sheer liberty, righteousness, life, and eternal salvation. Therefore, He became Law to the Law, sin to sin, and death to death, in order that He might redeem me from the curse of the Law, justify me, and make me alive. And so Christ is both: While He is the Law, He is liberty; while He is sin, He is righteousness; and while He is death, He is life. For by the very fact that He permitted the Law to accuse Him, sin to damn Him, and death to devour Him He abrogated the Law, damned sin, destroyed death, and justified and saved me. Thus Christ is a poison against the Law, sin, and death, and simultaneously a remedy to regain liberty, righteousness, and eternal life.
Martin Luther, Luther’s Works
Out of Nothing, Something
February 4, 2010
INTRODUCTION
Many modern approaches to Genesis begin with the length of the days and the age of the earth as a foundational principle of interpretation or as the main interpretative point of the passage. In other words, the modern interpreter, using a scientific presupposition, declares that Genesis 1-2 is primarily a scientific text. However, the text of Genesis 1:1-2:3 does not particularly highlight issues regarding length of days or the age of the earth. Rather, the emphasis is on the Lord God as the Creator of all things visible and invisible. It is apparent on a cursory reading of the text that it emphasizes God the Creator who is distinct from creation. In addition, and beyond a cursory reading, the text acts as a polemic against scientism, pantheism, Gnosticism, eternal matter, and meaninglessness. God introduces and identifies Himself as the only Creator and the One to whom all glory, honor, and worship should be given. Thus, this chapter calls us to know the Lord in order to glorify and worship the Creator who made all things from nothing by the Word of His mouth. This type of praise is frequent through the Scriptures (e.g., Ps. 33:6-9; 148:5-6; Rev. 4:11). In the context of refuting St. Augustine’s instantaneous creation view, John Calvin, in his commentary on Genesis, writes, “We slightingly pass over the infinite glory of God, which here shines forth; whence arises this but from our excessive dulness [sic.] in considering his greatness? In the meantime, the vanity of our minds carries us away elsewhere” (Commentary Upon the Book of Genesis, 78).
God is the Primary Interest
To read Genesis 1:1-2:3 with a primary interest other than God is to misread this chapter. The term God (Hebrew, Elohim) is used thirty-five times, averaging about one time per verse. The literary pattern woven throughout also emphasizes God: And God said…and God made or called…and God saw. Since God was at the beginning, the reader must acknowledge that God existed prior to any created thing and that He is not part of the creation; He is the sovereign ruler over it. Although there is a debate as to the use of Elohim (a Hebrew plural noun), I believe it is safe to identify a veiled reference to the Triune God. It is apparent in the text that God the Father is acting in conjunction with God the Spirit (v.2); moreover, the New Testament is plain in identifying Jesus Christ as active in, even the instrument of, as well as the sustainer of creation (John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:15-17, and Hebrews 1:1-4).
Furthermore, God creates all invisible and visible things. In this account, two Hebrew words are used: asa, which is usually rendered ‘make’ and bara, which is usually rendered ‘create, especially from nothing by God’. In two of the Hebrew verb constructions (called stems, here Qal and Niphil), bara is usually used of God only in relation to His creation (e.g., Isa. 40:26, 28), where bara connotes either the creation of things (most instances) or situations (Isa. 45:7-8). First, God creates or makes all things visible: the earth and all things on or above it. Thus, God’s creative act rules out a pantheistic worldview since God is neither a part of the creation nor is creation an emanation of God. This distinctness between God and creation is important to make and keep as we will see in a future post.
Although it is not apparent in the text, the Bible is clear that God created all invisible things as well (Col. 1:15-17). A look at a few other Scripture passages indicates that the ‘heavens’ mentioned in Genesis 1:1 and 2:1 is the invisible realm where the angelic host reside. Nehemiah 9:5-6 (and Proverbs 8; 2 Chronicles 18:18; Psalm 103:20-21; 148:2) makes this distinction – “heaven of heavens, with their entire host and the earth.” That God made invisible and visible things, declaring them good (Gen. 1:31), strikes against Gnosticism which seeks for separation of spirit and matter and considers matter inherently evil.
Not only does this chapter call the reader to give praise, glory and honor to the Creator and Sovereign Lord of all things visible and invisible, but also it stands as a polemic against pagan philosophies. Paul tells the Colossians to not be captured by philosophy or empty deceit (Col. 2:8). Considering this chapter as scientific in nature, the reader misses the point the polemic against pagan philosophies. The chapter serves as polemic (an argument against something) against scientism (science can explain all phenomena), pantheism (god is all things or all things emanate from god), Gnosticism/dualism (matter is inherently evil while spirit is inherently good), and that matter is eternal. Both ancient and modern people hold to these philosophies which Genesis 1 seeks to refute.
Lastly, the Creator gives meaning to history and a consummation to the future. The passing of time and events has meaning for all of creation. Time and history are moving toward a consummation. Even non-believers seem to understand this as they often remark that everything has a purpose. Inherently, man understands that life has meaning. This movement with meaning is illustrated by the prophet Isaiah in the last part of his book (40-66). Isaiah moves the reader from God’s creative acts (46:10; 48:12) to His redemptive acts (e.g., 53) to the final re-creative acts of a new heavens and earth (65-66). Truly we can say of the Creator that He works all things together for our good.
Conclusion
Genesis 1:1-2:3 magnifies the Lord God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, of things visible and invisible. Glorify the Creator who has done this and confess with the Church, “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible (Nicene Creed, paragraph 1).
