More thoughts on Prophecy

I was thinking about the composition of what passes for prophecy today and the desire for people to be specifically guided in their decisions by God. They go to the Bible and see people being shown where to live or who to marry and they expect that kind of detailed direction for their own lives. Of course since demand often creates a ready supply, there is no lack of "prophets" that will provide such a "word" from God on these matters. I think something critical gets overlooked in assuming that the type of guidance we read about in the Old and New testaments is to be expected by us today. It is the idea of a historically unfolding plan of redemption.

Let's face it; the Bible is not an exhaustive history of God's people. In fact, were told it is not even a complete account of the ministry of Jesus Christ. What was written was provided for our instruction. Why? So that we can use it as a benchmark of what to expect in our own lives? To be sure, the Bible has many places that serve to provide a paradigm of for our own lives in terms of God's prescriptive will (His commands). But that is not the primary purpose of the various narratives and prophetic utterances we read about. Take this passage of Scripture as a key interpretive marker...

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;John 5:39

The whole point of the Bible is to point us to the person and work of Christ! If we understand that, then it is not hard to see that some things are a integral part of God's process of accomplishing the redemption of a people for Christ. When Isaac is prophetically guided to whom he must marry, we know in hindsight that this is the line of people that Christ will be born from. The same is true with all of the prophetic direction we read about. They are specific because they either are a part of the history of redemption leading to the birth and work of Christ, or they are part of the foundational establishing of the New Covenant church of God.

So why then is it different for us today? We are not part of either of those two historical periods. Even in the Old Testament, we do not see an uninterrupted string of detailed prophecies for every Israelite do we? I think not. The Bible does not tell me that God specifically told the ancient equivalent of John Doe whether to work as a farmer or a herdsman, or whether to live on the plain or near the river. These things are absent from the everyday life of the average OT worshiper, and they should be absent from ours as well.

Does this mean we are inferior? By no means! Listen to these words...

So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.2 Peter 1:19-21

We have a more certain prophetic word in the pages of the Scripture, and we'd find instruction for our lives in the form of godly wisdom if we'd just apply ourselves to the study and meditation of the Bible. My friends, do not search high and low for someone to tell you "God told me you are supposed to do such and such", but diligently study to show yourselves approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. This is where wisdom is to be found and tha wisdom will be sufficient for your life's decisions.

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Sign Gifts and the History of Redemption

For some time now, I have been a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). I will not spend time here explaining the OPC, but those who wish to learn more about it can visit the OPC Web Site . I did not start out in the OPC, but for the formative years in my Christian life (perhaps equal to adolescence), I was a member of an Assemblies of God church (for equal access you can visit the AOG Web Site as well). It would be an understatement to say that these denominations are at very different places in the spectrum of Christian theology. One area that is discernibly different is the way the church today is seen in the context of church history. The reason for this is, I believe, the underlying paradigm that the Bible is understood within. The OPC would take what is called a covenant theology view, while the AOG would adopt a mostly dispensational view. A particular manifestation of the differences between these two views can be seen in the way the "sign gifts" are understood and whether or not they are viewed as being functional in the church today. It is this specific issue I want to look briefly at, while trying to stay focused on the idea of the history of redemption.

Let me first say that, at the present time, I hold to a cessationist view of the sign gifts. What this means is that I believe that the sign gifts are not a functional part of the Christian church today. What it does not mean is that God, in His sovereignty, cannot manifest these sign gifts as part of His special purposes. I hope I do not alienate my brothers and sisters who are convinced differently. I know that this issue can become very personal and debates on the subject are often emotionally charged. I would simply ask that my friends who disagree read my views carefully and stay open to the possibility of my argument being correct. Either way, there are no higher or lower classes of Christians based on their position on sign gifts, we are still one in Christ.

For the sake of the rest of this article, I will be limiting my comments to the normal operation of the church today. My position on this issue has shifted over the years as I have studied more and more. My change is not due to observed abuses in churches or even a my own personal experience, since I spoke in tongues while a member of the AOG church and did so sincerely.

My change of conviction on this subject is based on a recognition that there is a progression in the history of redemption and that God does not necessarily act the exact same way in one epoch as He does in another. I fully resonate with the desire to do and to experience all that God would have for us in our present time. I share in that desire. The question however is "what does God have for us?", which cannot be answered through our own personal experiences but through a careful study of the Word of God. The first objection that is usually raised to this view is that "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever" (from Hebrews 13:8), which means that what God did for the first century church He must surely do for us. But is that what the writer of Hebrews means? I would suggest to the reader that the point the author is trying to convey is to exhort his audience to godly conduct by pointing them to the conduct of those who they had received the gospel from.

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. (Heb 13:7)

The exhortation is grounded in the fact that Christ is the same throughout all ages and the standard of godly conduct that they had learned is also the same.

Let's consider the following... was Christ incarnated once or do we have the second person of the Trinity taking on human flesh again with each successive generation? Was Christ's sacrifice on the cross a once-for-all-time event or is He daily finding Himself upon the cross? Did Christ really bodily rise from the dead 2000 years ago outside of Jerusalem or is the resurrection just a "spiritual resurrection" that happens again and again in our hearts? I hope that the fair minded reader will admit that there are a number of things that took place in God's redemptive plan that are not taking place in our day. So then it falls to us to understand which things are perpetual for the church and which are bound to history.

To use an analogy from my current profession, when you build a house, you first lay the foundation and then proceed to build the rest of the house upon it. You don't build the foundation over and over again, as that would be counter productive toward the goal of building a complete house. So what is required to build the foundation of a house? Concrete and a masonry contractor. The masonry contractor sets up the foundation and uses concrete to form the foundation. Once the foundation is finished, there is no further work required for the masonry contractor. From that point on an number of other workers are required, yet none does the same thing or uses the same tools that the contractor used in laying the foundation. Concrete is not needed to build the rest of the house. It would be rather odd if the roofing contractor arrived on the job site with a cement truck and declared that he was ready to put the roof on! So how does this analogy relate to our topic? The Bible uses the idea of foundation laying to explain the building up of the church.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Eph 2:19-22)

So the foundation of the church (the church is composed of those who are united to Christ by faith) is built on the Apostles and Prophets, which Jesus Himself being the corner stone, or the beginning point or source of the rest of the foundation. So what do the Apostles have to do with the question of sign gifts? The signs and wonders that we read about in the Bible that took place in the early church were tied directly to the Apostles and served to validate their apostolic authority and the message they proclaimed.

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. (Heb 2:1-4)

Here we have the writer of Hebrews warning his readers of not carefully paying heed to the preached word because it was the very word of those who heard our Lord and their message was testified to by God Himself with signs and wonders. But what about Paul, who had much to say about sign gifts, what did he say about this idea of signs and wonders being linked to the apostolic preaching of the gospel?

For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. (Rom 15:18-19)

The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. (2Co 12:12)

Paul as well, it seems, understand signs and wonders to be part of his calling as an Apostle of Christ. So then I would argue that the sign gifts were were exercised in the early church were part of the apostolic signs and wonders that served to provide affirmation and validation of both the apolostic ministry and message to and within the first century church. We see that in the pastoral epistles, which teach about how the church elders and leaders are supposed to govern the church, no mention is made of how to deal with prophecy and tongues. We see Paul talk about widows and other pastoral guidance. Given the problem the sign gifts had become in Corinth, it seems implausible that direction would not be given to the successors to the Apostles in how to deal with the issue in their own ministries.

The objection may be raised at this point that there are still Apostles today and so signs and wonders and sign gifts are a valid part of their ministry. If there are modern day Apostles they they must meet the same criteria for the first century Apostles. Can it be demonstrated that those criteria cannot be met today? I believe that this is exactly what the Bible teaches us.

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? (1Co 9:1)

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. (1Co 15:3-8)

For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (1Ti 2:7)

Here Paul lays out for us a number of things regarding the Apostles. We learn that one quality of an Apostle is that he had seen the Lord either in His earthly ministry or between the resurrection and ascension. Next we learn that Paul was the last one to have seen Jesus in that way, and his was unlike even the other Apostles. Lastly we learn that being an Apostle is through appointment, and that by Christ. From this we can see that the ministry of the Apostles was limited to the first century church, which is why we have Scripture in the first place. The apostolic teaching is preserved for us in the Bible so that we are not lacking anything needed in the church. Paul makes this clear in his letter to Timothy...

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2Ti 3:16-17)

If the Scriptures are sufficient and if the Scripture we have is complete, then it stands to reason that those things which were needed prior to the preservation of the apostolic teaching in the Bible are not needed in our time. This does not mean that everything that was needed in the early church is not needed today, but those things which were related to the identifying of a teaching as truly apostolic through signs and wonders are simply not needed in our day.

I am sure that more exhaustive studies can and have been done on this subject, but given my own background and current disposition, I felt impressed upon to share my own thoughts. I hope they will be taken in the sense and attitude they were intended. God bless.

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Doctrine is not a Dirty Word...

I plan to start a series of posts addressing this topic and my perspective is that of a person coming from an initial Christian experience that placed a lower value on doctrine and emphasized experience, to what I now feel is a more balanced approach where doctrine informs and fences in how we understand our experiences.

The first question that should be answered is of course, "What is doctrine?”, which Noah Webster in his 1828 dictionary answers by defining it as...

DOCTRINE, n. [L., to teach.]

1. In a general sense, whatever is taught. Hence, a principle or position in any science; whatever is laid down as true by an instructor or master. The doctrines of the gospel are the principles or truths taught by Christ and his apostles. The doctrines of Plato are the principles which he taught. Hence a doctrine may be true or false; it may be a mere tenet or opinion.


2. The act of teaching. He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in his doctrine. Mark 4.


3. Learning; knowledge. Whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Isa 28.


4. The truths of the gospel in general. That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Titus 2.


5. Instruction/confirmation in the truths of the gospel. 2 Tim 3.

I would summarize the meaning of doctrine then as simply "teaching". Any time we learn something new, it can be defined as doctrine. We have many doctrines that touch all of our life's experiences. We have doctrines of ourselves, our society, and of course God. It is the latter that must be chief among all other doctrines and will in fact be the filter through which all other doctrines (and experience) are derived. So the question is not whether or not we have any doctrines, but whether the doctrines that we hold to are true. For the sake of this article, I am presupposing a Christian world view and the ultimate authority of the Bible.

So, what does the Bible tell us about doctrine? Let's quickly look at a few verses. These come from the pastoral epistles of Paul, which are intended to provide instructions for church leadership. The content of these letters should serve as a paradigm for understanding the role and purpose of leaders in the church.

1 Timothy 4:6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.

1 Timothy 6:1 All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against

1 Timothy 6:3-4 If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing;

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching (translated in KJV as doctrine), for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires

Titus 1:9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Titus 2:1 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.

Titus 2:7-10 In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge bond-slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.

We can make a few observations from the text above. First, we are commanded to follow sound doctrine and avoid all that doctrine to both exhort us and refute (correct) us. Secondly, sound doctrine is tied to faith in Christ. Thirdly, sound doctrine is that which the Apostles taught and which has been preserved for us in the Bible. Lastly, sound doctrine is "adorned" by our actions and lives. It is this last point that I want to spend the rest of my post on, and to examine some common positions in light of.

Let me first make an assertion. Doctrine and life's experiences are not mutually exclusive of each other and do not stand as an either-or choice. Let me be clear... there is no experience that is not understood in the light of doctrine and no true follower of sound doctrine can fail to experience the reality that their doctrine points to.

When someone tells me they don't follow doctrine but just follow Jesus, I know one of two things; they either do not understand what doctrine is or they do not understand how the Bible defines following Jesus as. Let me put it another way, it is also said that Christianity is not knowing things about Jesus, but rather knowing Jesus personally. While that sound very noble and sanctified on the surface, it miss one very important thing... it is impossible to "know" somebody without FIRST knowing some true things about them. The problem is that simply knowing things about someone does not mean that one knows them relationally. This is the important thing that often gets missed or confused and leads to extreme views seeking to protect against either wild fanaticism or dead orthodoxy. Christianity is not JUST a matter of knowing things about Jesus, but goes beyond that to actually knowing Him and (perhaps most importantly) being savingly known by Him.

When we come to faith in Christ and enter into vital union with Him, it is based on the proclamation of the gospel through the inward drawing on the Holy Spirit. It is not through some new age mysticism that lets us make Jesus into merely a personal thing who has no objective reality. The true gospel tells us that Jesus is the second person of the triune God who humbled Himself by taking on the form of a human and fulfilling the entire law of God before dying on a Roman cross for the sins of His people. He victoriously rose from the dead and now ever lives to intercede before God the Father, pleading His finished work of redemption on our behalf.

That is a powerful doctrine! It should cause us to experience everything in this life in a new and fresh way. We should be radically and permanently changed! It is this doctrine that comes first and is made a part of us though faith in Christ. It brings life from death, faith from unbelief, love from hate and godliness from unrighteousness. This is no dead abstract doctrine, but living and active in the lives of those who truly believe it. There are of course other doctrines that shape and define us as Christians, and I will probably look at some of them in the future, but the point I want to make is that there is no Christianity without BOTH true doctrine and experience. If we are trusting in a Jesus other than the one the Bible teaches about, we are lost. If all we have is facts about Jesus without knowing Him and being known by Him, we are lost.

To say that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship is a half-truth and I hope we can see now why that is so. I pray that we will all come to recognize the importance of allowing our lives to be shaped by sound, Biblical doctrine and to not be afraid when that doctrine causes powerful emotions to rise up within us. There is much more to say, but I shall let this be the end of my initial thoughts. God bless.

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John 10 Teaching

I find it hard to believe the responses when I ask someone to explain how the following verses can mean ANYTHING other than the fact that there is a causal relationship between being a sheep and believing/not believing. Don't jump to John 3:16 or 2 Peter 3:9 or anything else that is not the immediate context.

John 10:24-28 (NASB95)

24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.

26 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The context is specifically salvation and belief versus non-belief. Jews want Christ to tell them plainly whether He is the messiah. Jesus says that He did tell them because the works He performed show that He is the messiah. Then Jesus says the problem is not that they lack a clear statement by Christ but that, despite seeing the works they do not believe. He then says specifically WHY they don't believe.... because they are not of His sheep. The Jesus contrasts their unbelief with the characteristics of the sheep. He tells us six things about the sheep.

1. they hear Christ's voice
2. they follow Him
3. He knows them (keep in mind that the people who think they did things in Jesus' name but were false professors Jesus said He never knew)
4. they are given eternal life
5. they NEVER perish
6. no one can snatch them out of Christ's hand

So, this is very simple and plain if we allow the text to speak rather than importing some other concept into the text. Being a sheep is the cause of and NOT the effect of believing. The sheep WILL believe and WILL receive eternal life (aka be saved). Besides an assertion that the sheep somehow became sheep by going through Christ when the text SPECIFICALLY that they are already sheep when they hear His voice in the first place, nobody has even tried to show how these verses do not teach what us reformed folk say it does.

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