Ark of the Covenant revealed?

Treasure hunters and archaeologists are always looking for a great new find. With the announcement by the leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church that he was going to reveal the Ark of the Covenant (AotC) to the world on Friday, 26 June, the whole world was in a buzz!

Then, Friday came and went, and the unveiling of the AotC never happened!

In my opinion, there is no AotC! Even if there was, how would we know that it is the real thing? We have no idea what the real thing looks like, so there would be no way to differentiate between a fake and the real thing. What will we compare against?

Anyway, it would be just another idol to worship! The AotC is redundant!

This is what you get when you turn the church into the latest entertainment hall!

HT: Dan Phillips

WOW! and they're still alive?!

HT: Dan Phillips

Peter Masters puts the cart before the horse

Commentary on the church of Jesus Christ can be found all over the internet. Sometimes they are really good, and well, sometimes not so good. The one thing however, that a commentator must remember, is that when such commentary is made, that it has to be driven by Biblical exegesis. When personal feelings and ideas drive such commentary without it being based on actual Scripture, it might as well be written on the beach at high tide.

Of course, it is a given that no commentator on church issues always keeps to Biblical commentary of such issues. We are sometimes influenced by our backgrounds, and sometimes culture plays a bigger part than we would like to admit! This is where I believe Peter Masters fits in.

Well, here goes! Stepping on toes! Some holy toes! Oops... was that the sacred cow?

In his critique of the so-called new-Calvinism in his article The Merger of Calvinism with Worldliness, Peter Masters starts with:

"When I was a youngster and newly saved, it seemed as if the chief goal of all zealous Christians, whether Calvinistic or Arminian, was consecration. Sermons, books and conferences stressed this in the spirit of Romans 12.1-2, where the beseeching apostle calls believers to present their bodies a living sacrifice, and not to be conformed to this world. The heart was challenged and stirred. Christ was to be Lord of one’s life, and self must be surrendered on the altar of service for him.

"But now, it appears, there is a new Calvinism, with new Calvinists, which has swept the old objectives aside. A recent book, Young, Restless, Reformed, by Collin Hansen tells the story of how a so-called Calvinistic resurgence has captured the imaginations of thousands of young people in the USA, and this book has been reviewed with great enthusiasm in well-known magazines in the UK, such as Banner of Truth, Evangelical Times, and Reformation Today.

"This writer, however, was very deeply saddened to read it, because it describes a seriously distorted Calvinism falling far, far short of an authentic life of obedience to a sovereign God. If this kind of Calvinism prospers, then genuine biblical piety will be under attack as never before."

This is about as much substance in his critique as you will get, except for a thing here or there. Masters' critique is against the "syncretism of worldly, sensation-stirring, high-decibel, rhythmic music, [] mixed with Calvinistic doctrine." What is it with legalists that always want everybody else to keep to non-Biblical laws? BTW, how do you define worldly music? One beat to many? Drums? Perhaps too loud?

What is worldly worship? Perhaps it is when we sing a U2 song in church! (This should never happen!) The Bible does not give us any indication of the style or sound of Biblical music! To make claims this way or that way is to make extra-Biblical claims. What does worship sound like? Has anybody ever heard it?

Maybe I am a bit facetious right now, but c'mon! Are we really supposed to only use music that was written four centuries ago? Shouldn't we also only use instruments that were made back then? Should we sing hymns and psalms as they were written by a bygone era only? How far back should we go? To the 19th, 18th, 17th or 16th centuries? Perhaps their music was not good enough? So, let's skip the Dark Ages altogether and go back to the time of Augustine. No? Ok, what about all the way to the time of Jesus? Can you see how frivolous it can become?

In my opinion, Peter Masters is using a cultural norm (his own) as a litmus test to differentiate between old- and new-Calvinists. Does he really believe that a style of music can make you do immoral stuff? Maybe it'll make you use drugs or lust after lewd women? This is truly preposterous! An evolutionist, or perhaps a quacky psychiatrist, can believe that, since to many of them humans are but the sum of their chemicals. But, as a human being, made in the image of God, and able to think and make choices in life, I believe that I do things because I can think and make choices, not because a style of music makes me do things!

Music is a medium, and it is up to us what we do with that medium! It is like saying television is evil, so, all Christian programming by extension must also be evil.

What we can say with absolute confidence, is that worship has content! Biblical content! We can say that if music, any music, has content in it that is not true to the Bible, it would be worldly music, or at leat non-Christian. IMHO, when someone claims that a certain style of music is unbiblical or worldly, their knowledge of that fact was acquired by the thumb-sucking method. The fact is, that as much as people try to build laws for worship music styles, those laws are man made. They are not the laws of God. May we worship loudly? With lots of decibels? Can I use rhythmic music? Yes on all counts! When reading through the Psalms, you will notice that all classes of musical instruments were in use to worship God.

What is also amazing is that Peter Masters even attacks John Piper for "proclaiming Calvinistic sentiments" during the Passion conference in Atlanta in 2007. "Calvinistic sentiments?" John Piper is one of the clearest preachers on Calvinistic doctrine. Must he expound each and every Calvinistic doctrine to its fullest extent each and very time he preaches at a conference? That is simply unreasonable!

Of course, I do not disagree with Masters on every point. Such as Mark Driscoll's "'edgy' language and gravely improper humour." I agree with Masters' commentary on this. But you see, Scripture clearly tells us that dirty language and such is wrong! However, on musical style and lighting the Bible says nothing!

Peter Masters writes of the Puritans a lot in his critique. He clearly admires them, which is a good thing! The Puritans taught Christianity a lot. However, the Christian community is not called to emulate the Puritans! We are called to follow the Scriptures! "You cannot have Puritan soteriology without Puritan sanctification." That is true, but once again, we are not to seek Puritan sanctification! We seek Biblical sanctification. As far as the Puritans are in line with Biblical teaching fine, but we must depart where they differ from the Bible.

Masters makes an attack on several men of God, such as John Piper, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C.J. Mahaney, John MacArthur, etc. Some of these attacks are made indirectly, such as through Together for the Gospel.

This attack critique by Masters give us no definitions to work from. He claims that these Calvinists are leading people to worldly lifestyles, worldly worship, and basically for not being properly sanctified. What is a worldly lifestyle, in the opinion of Peter Masters? From his article, it seems to me to have a lot to do with his own cultural preference and very little to do with actual Biblical decree!

In conclusion, Masters wants everybody to live like he does, with his cultural norms. He has not shown me at all from a clear Biblical standpoint, why different music genres/styles could not be used in worship. He simply is not convincing at all in his criticisms on the men and ministries mentioned in his article, except for Mark Driscoll.

Is Peter Masters letting his cultural likes and dislikes be the guide to his Biblical ideas on this issue? Our cultural norms should be informed by the Bible, not the other way round.

Update:
After writing this post I was busy reading through some new blog posts that Google Reader picked up for me, and I found Dan Phillips' blog post on this issue with links to other commenters on Peter Masters' article. Here is more.

New issue of New Covenant Journal

The new issue of the New Covenant Journal is now available! The main articles deal with the glory of the New Covenant in Christ.

Do you need good Biblical training, for free?

If you are like me, you constantly want to expand your Biblical knowledge, but (and this is a big BUT), you would like to know that your knowledge of the Bible is growing in the right direction and that you are interpreting the Bible incorrectly. This is where solid Biblical training is very important. There simply are too many Christians, and I am sad to say pastors too, who have never studied the Scriptures in a structured format (or they very rarely do).

This is where Biblical Training comes in. BiblicalTraining.org is a service to the Christian community which endeavours to bring Biblical training up to the seminary level, to the ordinary Christian, FOR FREE!

BiblicalTraining.org has three levels of training available.

1. Foundations
Here the brand new Christian is helped to take his first steps in His journey with Christ. Subjects like the following are taught:
The Story of Jesus by Dr. Robert Mounce
Now that I Believe. Your First Steps with God by Dr. William Mounce

2. LAMP
This level of training is for those interested in being educated laypersons or lay-leaders in the church. Some of the classes available are:
New Testament Survey by Dr. Craig Blomberg
Systematic Theology by Dr. Bruce Ware
Church History by Dr. Gordon Isaac
How to Study Your Bible by Dr. Mark Strauss
History of Philosophy and Christian Thought by Dr. Ronald Nash

3. Advanced Studies
Most of the LAMP classes have a seminary-level counterpart in the Advanced Studies level. Some of the courses available are:
Old Testament Theology by Dr. Paul House
New Testament Theology by Dr. Frank Thielman
Biblical Greek by Dr. William Mounce
Christian Apologetics by Dr. Ronald Nash
Advanced Worldview Analysis by Dr. Ronald Nash

What is so great about these classes is that they can either be listened to online or they can be downloaded in MP3 format. Many classes come with outlines, transcripts, etc. If extra reading is necessary, you will be informed which books are necessary (these you have to purchase yourself).

Some of the lecturers are of the best on the planet. Men such as: Dr. John Piper, Dr. Bruce Ware, Dr. Craig Blomberg, Dr. William Mounce, Dr. Ronald Nash, and many others.

You will not get better Biblical training than this, and on top of it all, it is FREE!

So, don't delay! Visit BiblicalTraining.org NOW!

Bigger government, less in church?

Anthony Gill and Erik Lundsgaarde seem to have done an interesting study, "State Welfare Spending and Religiosity." Chuck Colson wrote a commentary on this study called: "BIG GOVERNMENT: An 'Inverse' Relationship."

The premise of the study by Gill and Lundsgaarde is that the bigger the government gets, the fewer people attend church. In essence, they found an "inverse relationship between religious observance and welfare spending." I have not read this study myself, but Colson writes: "Put more simply, the more a government spends on welfare, the fewer people go to church."

My question would be whether the study indeed proved such a causality and how they did it! It is one thing to prove a link between the amount that government spends on welfare, and the number of people attending church, yet it is something completely different proving that government spending is the cause of fewer people attending church. At least, that is how I read Colson's commentary on the study.

Can the causality in a post-Christian west, not be the opposite? When there are fewer and fewer Christians being involved in Church and community projects, would that not cause the growth of government and welfare states? For centuries there have been a delicate balance between church and state. The strength of the church in the past precluded the state from overpowering its citizens and from becoming a nanny state.

With fewer people attending church, and even fewer being able to discern between right and wrong (just look at how many so-called Christians voted for Obama, who stands for anti-Christian beliefs and ideas), it is clear that a vacuum has formed. A vacuum being filled by growing governments in the west. When the church no longer knows the difference between right and wrong, why should anyone attend church? A church unable to stand on what is right before a holy God will not be able to do what is right when the government does not stay within its Godly given mandate.

So, again, what did the Gill and Lundsgaarde study really prove? Did it not just prove the obvious, to which they perhaps added a causality slant? I don't know...

The preaching of the gospel demands that we please God

(3) For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, (4) but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. (5) For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed--God is witness. (6) Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.
1Th 2:3-6

Christians have been entrusted with the gospel. Since the gospel is the gospel of God and not our own gospel, the preaching of the gospel demands that we please God, and not man.

The problem with many preachers is that they preach to fill seats and not to save souls. This leads to all kinds of preaching that is not gospel driven, but rather aimed at flattering people. What so many preachers have forgotten is that a filled seat does not translate automatically to a saved heart.

If our preaching of the gospel is not the preaching of the true gospel of God, we simply will not see the salvation of people but rather the alteration of people. This is accomplished by all kinds of programmes. People are altered, like suits are altered, all the time. Programmes like Alcoholics Anonymous, and even other religions do this all the time! We do not preach a self-help programme!

However, only the true preaching of the gospel can truly bring the message of salvation to people. People driven preaching brings more people, but it saves no one! It usually means that the natural offensiveness of the gospel is watered down to make the message palatable to the world, ending up with a gospel that does not save, but rather strokes the ego of men.

We do not preach the gospel to make people feel better, i.e. pleasing them, but we preach the gospel so that mankind can understand their "lostness" without Christ, and how they fall short of the holy standards of God. We tell people they deserve hell, however, in Christ there is a Saviour, One that has paid the penalty of sin, One that made propitiation by His blood before a holy God. We tell them that without Christ they are lost, and they will not see the face of God after death.

We do not pander to the philosophies of this life, nor the psychological drivel sold to us daily in magazines and newspapers. Neither do we follow the latest church-growth fad to fill our pews.

No, we preach the gospel to please God, and God alone!

Preaching and the Sermon Builder

Preaching is a hot topic among some, but come on! You either do it right or get out! That is how strong I feel about preaching.

Most of what goes for preaching these days are motivational speeches. Take this sermon motivational speech, for instance. If ever I heard an empty sermon, this is it! There is just no exposition of the text.

Remember, using texts from Scripture in a speech does not a sermon make. That isn't what qualifies the speech as Biblical preaching! Biblical preaching must be the exposition of the text at hand. For an example of my favourite Biblical preacher, John Piper, read, listen or watch his sermon, "This Is the Judgment: Light Has Come into the World."

If someone's preaching is shallow, with no exposition of the text, and full of platitudes, then that person is doing a disservice to the Lord he claims to serve. He obviously does not understand the gravity of Biblical preaching!

Remember, preaching is the proclamation of the very Word of God, the only message that carries the truth God wanted to share with us! It is the only message that carries the way to God, and that, dear reader, makes it the most important message in heaven and on earth! Are you willing to mess with that? I hope not!

The Shepherd's Fellowship has created a Sermon Builder. Here is a blurb concerning their sermon tool:

"Welcome to the Sermon Builder – a step-by-step guide for expository sermon preparation. While the Sermon Builder will not write someone's sermon for them, it is intended to lead pastors and Bible teachers through the basic steps of exegesis and exposition. It is our desire that even the experienced expositor, as he works his way through the Sermon Builder, will be refreshed and reminded of helpful principles and truths."

This is a tool that many pastors should be using to not only improve their sermons, but to guide them towards being Biblical in their preaching. Please start using this tool ASAP!

Here are also some other posts I wrote on preaching:

Reading on preaching
MUST Bible teachers be trained in the Biblical languages?
The "bumper sticker" gospel
Good sermon
Reading the 'non-existent' into the text

Who are your favourite living Bible teachers/preachers?

We all make lists of things, from our favourite sports teams, to food, to movies and more. Steve Camp posed this question, "Who are your favourite living Bible teachers/preachers?", and I would like to put down my top ten:

1. John Piper
2. John MacArthur
3. Al Mohler
4. James R. White
5. D.A. Carson
6. John Reisinger
7. R.C. Sproul
8. Phil Johnson (the original PyroManiac)
9. Alistair Begg
10. Martin Holdt

Who are your favourite living Bible teachers/preachers?

Hymns: Don't you sometimes feel like this?

Might Men Conference and change

I think that most people like a good conference every now and again. And, in the world of conferences there are conferences that suit almost everyone. Well, perhaps not in South Africa, but when I look at the North American conference scene, there really are conferences to suit almost anyone!

When it comes to Christian conferences, each conference has its own aim.

Looking at the Mighty Men Conference (MMC), run by Angus Buchan of Shalom Ministries, I couldn't find a clear statement of purpose for these conferences. It seems to be that the aim is to get men to take up their leadership and "priestly" roles in their families, and to be the spiritual leaders that God requires of them.

There is a real excitement about these conferences among Christians in South Africa. Last year, the first MMC attracted about 60,000 men to Angus Buchan's farm. This year, there were in excess of 170,000 men that attended this weekend conference.

Somehow this conference with so many men should result in a change in communities all across the country where all these men come from. Just as a comparison, there were more men at this conference than the amount of people that voted for the ACDP in the national elections of 22 April 2009.

Now, here is the challenge! The Biblical Christian Network, which was only recently formed, organizes anti-abortion demonstrations called LIFECHAINS. It further will be organizing anti-pornography demonstrations at strategic locations such as at the headquarters of e.TV. We will organize such Christian action events at various times.

So, what is the challenge? Those Mighty Men that attended the MMC, should show their willingness to change their communities and this country. Be involved in preaching the gospel, and attend demonstrations as mentioned above. Watch the BCN website or join the BCN group on Facebook to be notified of such events.

If the MMC conference does not result in changed families, communities and country, the question must be asked whether the MMC is worth it.

So, MMC conferees, show that you have been sufficiently challenged, not just to have attended the MMC, but to want to make a difference in this nation.

Don't remain undercover agents for Christ, but stand up in the face of adversity for the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the fight for justice for widows, orphans and the weak.

My Christian Blogs Site

A new site has been launched to include links to Christian blogs, an aggregator if you will. It is called My Christian Blogs. Here you will find links to major Christian bloggers such as the PyroManiacs, Justin Taylor and Dr. Al Mohler.

You can also have yourself added to this list in the Friends program.

Visit right now and see for yourself.

God's Sovereignty in Elections

The South African elections of 2009 are almost at its end. Citizens voted on 22 April, and the IEC has announced that the final results will be made available at 17:00 today.

What has so far transpired is surprising and at the same time not surprising. What is surprising is that the ANC almost got the ⅔ majority it was hoping for. By late yesterday, the ANC had around 66.8%. However, with more voting districts reporting in, the ANC has now slipped by a fraction down to 65.9%. This is according to the results from the Independent Electoral Commission at 15:32 today. These results most likely are the final results.

What has surprised many Christians, especially those involved with Christian political parties such as the ACDP and the CDA, is the absolute dismal performance of these parties in these elections. The ACDP, at this point, has only 0.81% of the national vote. That is half, percentage wise (1.6%), of what they had in 2004 at the last national elections. In physical votes, the ACDP is still 108,000 votes short of the 250,272 they made in 2004.

If we look at the 1.6% of 2004, and we extrapolate to the number of voters this year (so far counted) at more than 2,000,000 more, then the ACDP should have had 281,794 votes in these elections if they simply held their ground. Which of course means that the ACDP is 139,136 votes from breaking even. But, I suppose, this can be expected when party leaders make statements way before the elections to the effect that the ANC would not get 50% of the vote! How did he think he knew that? When Christian politicians make baseless statements like that, how can the electorate take their political parties seriously?

The ACDP and the CDA for that matter, must be very saddened by the results of these elections. The reasons for this result must be myriad, but I am more and more convinced that of the millions so-called Christians in this country, a majority are Christians in name only! The ballot papers don't lie! "They speak with forked tongue!" On the one hand they say that this and that and the next thing are morally wrong, and then promptly vote for parties that stand exactly for those moral sins. But, this must be left for another post.

One thing that is forgotten by Christians in times like these is that God is sovereign over this earth and his plans and decrees will stand. Not voters, nor the ANC, run this country! God remains on His throne, and He still is the ultimately sovereign ruler over all the earth!

Did these election results catch God off guard? Not in the least! God "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. (Ac 17:26)" The ANC, and indeed the nation of South Africa will exist only as long as God determined. God "makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. (Job 12:23)"

"(10) The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. (11) The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. (Psa 33:10-11)"

We must not forget, God used a donkey to speak to Balaam. He also used the evil king Cyrus to release the Israelites from their bondage. Surely, if the Lord used a donkey and the evil king Cyrus, He could still use Jacob Zuma to accomplish His purposes? Whether the ANC believes it will rule forever or not, at the appointed time, God will bring the ANC and its evil to a very abrupt end. Only God's counsel will stand!

All of this makes me think of when Moses went to speak to Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Who will dispute that God was sovereign during the saga of the exodus from Egypt? During the rounds of Moses' "negotiations" with Pharaoh, this Egyptian did not want the Israelites to go. Hey, that would cause economic collapse, and what do you know, the Egyptians would then have to do all their work themselves!

Now, why is it that Pharaoh did not want to let the Israelites go? God hardened Pharaoh's heart! Several times the Bible tells us that God hardened Pharaoh's or the Egyptians' hearts (Ex 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:20; 14:4, 17). It is quite startling that God accomplished His work by hardening the heart of the Egyptians.

God was sovereign then, and He is sovereign now. We must not think for one moment that God is no longer on His throne. Evil may not be ultimately destroyed today, or even tomorrow, but in the end there can only be one, and that is Jesus Christ!

We must not think for a moment that an election in which so many people, some professing to be Christians, would vote for evil, can derail God and that He no longer cares. In God's eternal decree, He is busy working out His plans that will lead to the end of time and this world as we know it!

We must NOT rely on politics and be amazed when politics fail! Only Jesus Christ stands true, and His rule has no end!

"(11) Then I saw heaven opened, and behold,
a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and
True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. (12) His
eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems,
and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. (13) He is
clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called
is The Word of God. (14) And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine
linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. (15)
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down
the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will
tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the
Almighty. (16) On his robe and on his thigh he has a
name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
(Rev 19:11-16)"

 

Wazzat? - 2009-04-20

Wazzat? will become a journey of the weird, amazing and sometimes unexplained. It will contain humour, serious bits, and well, all kinds of bits.

• Friends don't always do nice. Sometimes they can cause excruciating pain, like this guy!
• God made us male and female, and when one male and one female got married they were to become one. But I don't think God meant it this way!
• Apparently protesters are only allowed to be anti-Bush, pro-abortion demonstrators.
• Sheep in wolves clothing get a new meaning. Being like the Jones' will just lead you astray!
• Tax the stuff that causes the non-existent global warming! That way we can control the woooorrlldd! This new tax bill will allow anyone to sue the government if such complainant feels he is a global warming victim! Strange but true!
• When theology worships Elvis!
• Did you know God's will was lost? Many people are still trying to find it!
• Since when is exposing bad treatment of the elderly bad? Apparently, in Britain, evil is good and good evil!
• Sometimes the weird and odd looking can truly surprise us!