Art and God...

One June 30th Crossway will release Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life. This (which I'm very excited about) and a recent post by Matt Johnson on the Doxologist Blog, has sparked my thinking in regards to art (specifically music) and God.

I went through a brief legalistic phase in high school, throwing away my secular CDs and refusing to watch R rated movies... then I read my Bible. I realized an important truth that Schaeffer points out so eloquently... when creativity is expressed, it is God's creativity. When an unbeliever paints a beautiful landscape he/she is expressing the goodness of God's creation. Of course, these creative expressions are damaged by sin... but that does not mean that God cannot be seen or heard in them.

I think many Christians miss out on the beauty of God's creation because so much of it is not under the label: "CHRISTIAN"

Colossians 1:16-17 "For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

Don't misread. I am fully aware of the fact that much of the music and art in the world is blatantly dishonoring to God. Christians have to be discerning. But to limit your CD selection to only what they sell at Lifeway is to ignore the fact that the sovereign God of the universe is revealing himself in soooo many other ways!

With a discerning spirit, let us acknowledge the One True Creative Being in all things... music, paintings, poetry, novels, etc.

Random thoughts from T-Rex on legalism (fits the discussion)

How do we Really View Worship?

In church, I have always been the guy with the guitar. Worship Leading came about when Student Pastor forced me to lead at summer camp. Now that I am an 'official' Worship Leader (whatever that means!) I have been studying what it means to truly worship God. The following is from a little document for the Worship Ministry at our church. This is what the Bible says. Does it sound like this is how most churches and Christians view worship?


Worship Is…
Definition: “Worship is the extravagant, open enjoyment of God as the fountain of life. And therefore it is a public declaration that God is more to be desired than all the pleasures of this world.”


1.Life

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 the Apostles Paul gives the goal of the Christian life: So, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We are not to merely glorify God when we sing songs to Him on Sunday mornings. We are not merely to glorify God when we pray or read His word. We are to glorify God in ALL things. When we are driving to work, when we are jogging in the morning, when we are eating dinner, when we are putting the kids to bed, when we are doing homework, when we are giving our tithes and offerings, when we are hearing the word expounded… we are to glorify God.
Isaiah 43:6-7 says, “I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, Whom I formed and made.” When the believer is living a lifestyle of worship to the living God he/she is fulfilling the purpose of life.


2.Corporate

While the New Testament rarely discuss corporate worship in the way we imagine it, the scriptures very clearly point out the importance of gathering regularly to fellowship and lift high the name of Jesus:

1 Corinthians 14:23 speaks of “the whole church gathering together.”

Acts 2:46 speaks of the early church “attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.”

Hebrews 10:25 speaks of “not neglecting to meet together.”

While corporate worship is important, the believer must never forget that the deciding factor of true worship is one’s inward condition.

Ephesians 5:18-20: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.


3.Fuel For Evangelism and Missions

One of the greatest pictures of worship in the Bible is found in Revelation:

Revelation 7:9-12 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Since God’s goal is His glory, He longs for the people of all nations to praise His name. With this in mind, worship should not simply be a personal thing. It should stand as the goal of our evangelism and missionary efforts. We should stand before God as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6. After peeking into a heavenly worship session, he responds as every believer should:

Isaiah 6:8 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”

Fortunately, we don’t have to sit around and wonder what God wants is to do. Jesus made it very clear:

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In his book Let the Nations be Glad, John Piper points out:

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man… Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God… But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching… Missions begins and ends in worship.”

Also, see Bob Kauflin's blog for some great resources and thoughts on worship.

Learning Limited Atonement... From Hip-Hop

Shai Linne's Mission Accomplished


Here’s a controversial subject that tends to divide
For years it’s had Christians lining up on both sides
By God’s grace, I’ll address this without pride
The question concerns those for whom Christ died
Was He trying to save everybody worldwide?
Was He trying to make the entire world His Bride?
Does man’s unbelief keep the Savior’s hands tied?
Biblically, each of these must be denied
It’s true, Jesus gave up His life for His Bride
But His Bride is the elect, to whom His death is applied
If on judgment day, you see that you can’t hide
And because of your sin, God’s wrath on you abides
And hell is the place you eternally reside
That means your wrath from God hasn’t been satisfied
But we believe His mission was accomplished when He died
But how the cross relates to those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

Lord knows He tried (8x)

Father, Son and Spirit: three and yet one
Working as a unit to get things done
Our salvation began in eternity past
God certainly has to bring all His purpose to pass
A triune, eternal bond no one could ever sever
When it comes to the church, peep how they work together
The Father foreknew first, the Son came to earth
To die- the Holy Spirit gives the new birth
The Father elects them, the Son pays their debt and protects them
The Spirit is the One who resurrects them
The Father chooses them, the Son gets bruised for them
The Spirit renews them and produces fruit in them
Everybody’s not elect, the Father decides
And it’s only the elect in whom the Spirit resides
The Father and the Spirit- completely unified
But when it comes to Christ and those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

Lord knows He tried (8x)

My third and final verse- here’s the situation
Just a couple more things for your consideration
If saving everybody was why Christ came in history
With so many in hell, we’d have to say He failed miserably
So many think He only came to make it possible
Let’s follow this solution to a conclusion that’s logical
What about those who were already in the grave?
The Old Testament wicked- condemned as depraved
Did He die for them? C’mon, behave
But worst of all, you’re saying the cross by itself doesn’t save
That we must do something to give the cross its power
That means, at the end of the day, the glory’s ours
That man-centered thinking is not recommended
The cross will save all for whom it was intended
Because for the elect, God’s wrath was satisfied
But still, when it comes to those in hell
Well, they be saying:

Lord knows He tried


More on Shai Linne and Lampmode Recordings

Something Worth Hating

It Makes me Sick

In Acts chapter 20 Paul explains to the Ephesian elders that "wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." While Paul is speaking directly to the elders of the church in Ephesus, the same is true with many churches today.

The leader of this pack of wolves? The Seeker-friendly and Emergent movements. According to these movements anyone is allowed into the flock. The churches goal is to gather as many lost people as possible in one big, cool, expensive building. Sounds good, right? I want to hug someone right now. There's only one problem IT'S UN-BIBLICAL! It strays far from the biblical view of the church: A gathering of believers who glorify God become equipped for works of service. These seeker friendly churches water down the gospel, sugar coat its message, and re-package it as if it's not enough. These "Christians" feel that there is no need to minister outside of church. "Just bring 'em here! Get as many in the door so we can count 'em and make the cover of whatever Christian Magazine as the most successful church of 2007." Successful? Thousands of spiritually immature churchgoers who think that they are giving it up by committing to a one-hour "church service" once a week? Is that what Jesus considers a successful ministry?

The only difference between these services and a U2 concert is that the services are half as long and Bono might actually use the name of Jesus... maybe.

It makes me sick

Do You Really Like Spurgeon?

"Calvinism is the Gospel."

Mortify Sin

Mortify sin.
This is the command of God’s word that has been on my heart so heavily lately. The importance of mortification has been echoed in the lives of two close friends who feel the same conviction regarding the subject.
It all started at the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference in February. R.C. Sproul listed several books that have had a great impact on his life. One of the titles interested me. The Mortification of Sin by John Owen was highly recommended by Dr. Sproul. The bookstore at the conference had the book in stock so I picked it up after the session. I also picked up a copy of the January edition of Table Talk (Dr. Sproul’s monthly publication). The topic for that month was, unbeknownst to be, The Mortification of Sin. It’s funny to see how God uses little things to pound ideas into my little head.
This morning I listened to a lecture by Dr. John Piper on John Owen from a conference in 1994. All this to stay that God has been moving me to the important command that Owen, Sproul, Piper, and many other Christ exalting theologians consider so important. This command is found clearly Colossians 3:5-6:

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”

In an article entitled The Practice of Mortification Sinclair B. Ferguson points out that we need to

“learn to admit sin for what it really is. Call a spade a spade- call it ‘sexual immorality,’ not ‘I’m being tempted a little’; call it ‘impurity’ not ‘I’m struggling with my thought life’; call it ‘evil desire, which is idolatry,’ not ‘I think I need to order my priorities a bit better.’”

All too often we voice our sin as less violating than it actually is. How are we to mortify it if we are denial of its severity? Paul meant what he said in verse 6: On account of these the wrath of God is coming. We are new men in Christ (Col.3:9). We should seek to destroy the deceitful pleasures of our flesh! A constant killing of sin and the flesh provides an entry way for the true joy that is found in obedience to Christ! Why should we dance around the truth of our sin in order to save face and keep our pride intact? Why shouldn’t we run to the promises of Christ and put of our old self for the joys of the new? It is my hope and prayer that Christians everywhere will seek to master this concept as the move upward in the process of sanctification.

PS- Reading ANYTHING by John Owen is stinking hard!!

Seeking to Mortify,
Kevin

The Blood

Enjoying the artistic side of life, I have just decided to start a musical project. Such discussion is rare on this blog but I'm just that kind of guy... edgy (I don't know what that means).

Anyways, God has been really driving home the central truth of substitutionary atonement. The project will consist of a series of songs addressing different aspects of Christ's death on the cross. I'm not sure that it will be anything worth listening to but I can say that I look forward to spending time in deep thought, prayer, and worship during this project.

Also, I am looking forward to reading a brand new book on the subject entitled Pierced for Our Transgressions. Check it out.

Pierced for Our Transgression

More Info on the Subject...
Theopedia

Antinomy?

Piper disagrees with Packer's Antinomy View:

A Response to J.I. Packer on the So Called Antinomy Between the Sovereignty of God and Human Responsibility

Itching Ears

I have been recently studying a growing theological trend entitled Openness Theology (Open Theism). After writing an 11 page paper on the subject I felt the need to blog.

A simple definition of Open Theism is the belief that God DOES NOT know the events of the future. Major proponents of this idea include Clark Pinnock, John Sanders and Boyd among others. In reading the opinions and views of these 'theologians' it seems that their beliefs are based out of misconceptions of man's relation to God. For example, in his book The God Who Risks John Sanders states:

"Thus God does not have a specific divine purpose for each and every occurrence of evil. The 'greater good' of establishing the conditions of fellowship between God and creatures does not mean that gratuitous evil has a point. Rather, the possibility of gratuitous evil has a point but its actuality does not. ... When a two-month-old child contracts a painful, incurable bone cancer that means suffering and death, it is pointless evil. The Holocaust is pointless evil. God does not have a specific purpose in mind of these occurrences."

There are many problems with this statement. I see two main inconsistencies with Sanders' statement in light of scripture.
The first is that of Sanders' un-biblical view that mankind does not deserve death or suffering. Paul quotes Psalm 14 in Romans 3 when he says, "None is righteous, no, not one..." Because of our unrighteousness we are deserving of death. The idea in Sanders' statement is that if God knew the future He would never let a two-month-old contract an incurable cancer. This assumes that a small child deserves life from God. Sanders fails to recognize that everything that mankind does, without being completely and utterly destroyed, is made possible by the grace of God. James 1:15 says, "Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings for death." Because of the fall all are sinners, and all are deserving of death. Another example of this is seen in Luke 13:1-5. A group of people ask Jesus to explain why a group of people were murdered by Pilate. They seemed to expect an apology or a logical explanation for the unfortunate event. Instead, Jesus turns the question around on them and tells them that they will likewise perish unless they repent. He also reminded them of another disaster where a tower fell and killed eighteen people. Jesus tells them that they were just as guilty and deserving. Why would Jesus say something like that? Isn't that harsh? NO!! It's true! Sinners deserves death and we are all sinners.

The second inconsistency with scripture is Sanders assumption that his two examples (the two-month-old and the Holocaust) can not be used for God's glory. The story of Joseph in Genesis is an example of a life of unfortunate events that would never appear to be used for God's glory. A faithful servant, Joseph, was beaten and sold by his brothers, sent to a foreign land as a slave, falsely accused of adultery, and separated from his loving father. At the end of Genesis Joseph speaks of his trials: "But Joseph said to them, 'do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant good" Genesis 50:19-20 (ESV). This is just one of many biblical examples in which God uses something that appears to be evil as a part of his foreordained plan to glorify Himself.

2 Timothy 4:3 is a reminder that many will not endure sound doctrine but will instead hold to what their itching ears want to hear. It's important for us to hold strong to sound doctrine and refute the heretical beliefs that seem to solve the "problems" of scripture.

Holding Fast to the Truth of God's Word
Kevin

Predestination Gives Hope for Evangelism

When I get into discussions with others about predestination and election the topic of evangelism always comes up. I firmly believe that God is sovereign in election so I'm often accused of rejecting evangelism. In actuallity, predestination gives me hope. Why? Because I know that God has ordained many to be saved. I have hope that my efforts to spread the Gospel won't be useless because God WILL save.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 Paul states, "But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first-fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (ESV)
Paul expressed his thankfulness to God for using him to fulfill His plan for the elect in Thessalonica. In the writings of Paul we see a great reverance for the sovereignty of God in election as well as a strong and zealous commitment to evangelism.

That should be our prayer... That the God of the universe will gracefully use us to spread the truth of the Gospel as He gathers His elect into His Kingdom.