Saturday, October 28, 2017
Faith For ALL of Life
A Christian's worldly vocation is to be pursued with spiritual and moral fervor in order to realize the Kingdom of God on earth. The world is to be regarded not as the inevitable expression of God's will, to be passively accepted in pious submission, but rather as the arena in which man's urgent religious duty is to fulfill God's will through questioning, and changing every aspect of life, every social and cultural institution, in order to help bring about that realization of God's Kingdom and a Christian Commonwealth.
It is a serious mistake to see theology as an academic exercise. The word theology means God's word; it begins with the presupposition that Scripture is the word of God, and the duty of the theologian is to understand it and to apply it to every area of life and thought. Theology belongs in the pulpit, the school, the work-place, the family, and everywhere. Society as a whole is weakened when theology is neglected. Without a systematic application of theology, too often people approach the Bible with a smorgasbord mentality, picking and choosing that which pleases them. Theology means the total mandate of God through His word for every area of life. --Chris Ortiz
The Lord’s promises don’t excuse inaction. They motivate action. Rather: Because the Lord has spoken, “this is the thing which you shall do.” Trusting in his promise, doesn’t make for complacency and passivity. There's no room for, “Well, if God wants it done, He’ll do it.” -HT: Peter Leithart
It is a serious mistake to see theology as an academic exercise. The word theology means God's word; it begins with the presupposition that Scripture is the word of God, and the duty of the theologian is to understand it and to apply it to every area of life and thought. Theology belongs in the pulpit, the school, the work-place, the family, and everywhere. Society as a whole is weakened when theology is neglected. Without a systematic application of theology, too often people approach the Bible with a smorgasbord mentality, picking and choosing that which pleases them. Theology means the total mandate of God through His word for every area of life. --Chris Ortiz
The Lord’s promises don’t excuse inaction. They motivate action. Rather: Because the Lord has spoken, “this is the thing which you shall do.” Trusting in his promise, doesn’t make for complacency and passivity. There's no room for, “Well, if God wants it done, He’ll do it.” -HT: Peter Leithart
One of the principle fruits
of the Reformation was the restoration of dignity to the work of the ordinary
man and woman. A waitress is just as called to her vocation as a minister is to
his. We are not divided into a two-tier system—where the clerics are holy, and
a grubby laity pay the bills. A gospel that reaches down to every person has
the effect of lifting up every person. And this is why we are enabled to live
out every aspect of our lives coram Deo, before God. --Doug Wilson
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
How Should Christians Think About Halloween?
https://christchurchlakeland.com/how-should-christians-think-about-halloween/
In all of this, of course, we should keep things in perspective. Don’t try to make any of it fanciful and sacred. It’s not. It’s just permissible fun and a good opportunity for teaching and edification. Make the most of the opportunity, and whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.
In all of this, of course, we should keep things in perspective. Don’t try to make any of it fanciful and sacred. It’s not. It’s just permissible fun and a good opportunity for teaching and edification. Make the most of the opportunity, and whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Repetition is inescapable
Repetition is inescapable, and many who object to weekly
commemoration of the Lord’s sacrifice for us have no problem whatever
with comparable repetitions in other settings.
Christians who would object (loudly) to our recitation of the Apostles’ Creed weekly—because it makes the words “meaningless”—have no problem founding Christian schools where the students recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. Is that meaningless too?
When you ask a co-worker if he would like to go out for lunch together, do you expect to hear that he doesn’t like to eat really, because he doesn’t want it ever to become “routine.” Asked how often he eats, he says that he likes to take a meal once a quarter, so that it will remain “special.”
In the grip of such thinking, the absence of the Lord’s Supper is repeated also. Week after week, the Table is consistently not there. Does that become part of a routine?
The answer to faithless routine is not to abandon the routine, but rather to embrace faith. To abandon routine is simply to establish another routine, and if faith has not been exercised, it too will become an idol. We are Christians; this is the Table of the Lord. We are to put away our idols.
--Doug Wilson
Christians who would object (loudly) to our recitation of the Apostles’ Creed weekly—because it makes the words “meaningless”—have no problem founding Christian schools where the students recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. Is that meaningless too?
When you ask a co-worker if he would like to go out for lunch together, do you expect to hear that he doesn’t like to eat really, because he doesn’t want it ever to become “routine.” Asked how often he eats, he says that he likes to take a meal once a quarter, so that it will remain “special.”
In the grip of such thinking, the absence of the Lord’s Supper is repeated also. Week after week, the Table is consistently not there. Does that become part of a routine?
The answer to faithless routine is not to abandon the routine, but rather to embrace faith. To abandon routine is simply to establish another routine, and if faith has not been exercised, it too will become an idol. We are Christians; this is the Table of the Lord. We are to put away our idols.
--Doug Wilson
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