Genesis Series

I have completed my 42nd sermon from the book of Genesis. It will nearly take a year to finish this series. It has truly been informative and edifying as I have learned much from my study and sermon preparation. Here are my notes from Genesis 45:16-47:26.

Review

The broken family of Jacob torn apart by favoritism, rivalry, and polygamy has found partial redemption through the most unlikely of circumstances.

God gives the favored son of Joseph dreams when interpreted predict a day when his entire family will bow down to him. Joseph’s sharing of this dream with his family coupled with the tension that already existed led his angry and jealous brothers to sell him into slavery.

Joseph ends up in the nation of Egypt in the care of Potiphar, the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. Despite the desperate plot that Joseph found himself in, separated from his family, in servitude, in a foreign country, God was still with him.

God blessed Joseph to the extent that Potiphar made him head of his household. Additionally, when Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison, God blessed him there too, and he was made overseer of the prisoners.

Threw providential circumstances, Joseph was bale to correctly interpret the dreams of two men who were extremely close to Pharaoh. Years later when Pharaoh himself had two dreams that could not be interpreted by the wise men of Egypt, Joseph was remembered and was brought before Pharaoh where he satisfactorily interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams.

Joseph says that Egypt will face 7 years of plenty and 7 years of great famine. He suggests that Egypt prepare in the first seven years to sustain the country in the second seven years. At his suggestion, Pharaoh appoints Joseph to second in command with the goal of preserving the nation.

The famine reaches Canaan where Joseph’s family resides. And his brothers come to purchase food for the family. Through a series of tests by Joseph, the brothers confess their sin towards Joseph, they demonstrate the health of Joseph’s blood brother Benjamin, and Judah demonstrates his own personal redemption when he offers to trade his life for Benjamin.

Last week, as we surveyed, the first half of chapter 45, we witnessed the partial reunification of the family of promise. We witnessed the reconciliation of a family were bitterly divided and full of jealousy. Now we have 12 brothers who are once again one; they are a family again.

The Invitation of Pharaoh (Genesis 45:16-28)

The healing process is only partially complete for Joseph has been reunited with his brothers including Benjamin, but he has yet to be reunited with his father, Jacob.

Pharaoh, who has been a hidden figure in this developing situation enters into the narrative again and commands Joseph’s family to return to Canaan taking abundant provisions for their entire family to make a pilgrimage back to Egypt and live in the healthiest part of the kingdom.

The Pharaoh’s generosity to the family of Jacob is further evidence of God’s fulfillment of his promises. God’s covenant to Abraham included the promise to bless those who bless him. This promise extends to each generation of the sons of promise. Pharaoh’s kindness to Joseph was rewarded by God’s salvation of Egypt through the severe famine. This generosity continues from Pharaoh to Joseph’s family as he invites them to live in his land.

The family returns to Canaan, and after some prompting, Jacob believes in the report that his long dead son is alive. The family makes preparations to move to Egypt.

God’s Promise & Jacob’s Family

The importance of God’s encounter with Jacob in a dream is significant for this reason. The land of Canaan is the land of promise. Canaan is the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His departure from the land of promise might be interpreted as a sign of faithlessness.

However, since God specifically told him to not be afraid to go into Egypt, this sojourn is deemed appropriate.

The author then proceeds to tell us about the vast number of family members who made the journey. The author emphasizes the number 70. Seventy was a Hebrew number which symbolized completeness.

Lamech (seventy times seven) Genesis 4

Days of mourning for Jacob (seventy) Genesis 50

70 nations descended from Noah Genesis 10

Technically speaking there were more than seventy people who were brought into Egypt. For example verse 7 says that all of his son’s daughters came, but none are listed. Additionally in verse 5 it says that his sons’ wives came, but they are not listed. His servants are not listed either. It seems the only ones counted as descendants are sons, grandsons, one daughter, and one granddaughter. A further evidence that the number seventy is more symbolic than technical is that Joseph’s two sons are counted as part of the seventy, but they never came from Canaan. They were born and raised entirely in Egypt.

The main idea expressed here is his entire family was spared and saved in Egypt. Furthermore, the number seventy expresses the idea that the family of promise was rapidly growing as God had said it would. God’s promises do not always come to pass in the timing we think it should, nevertheless they do not fail and always come to pass.

Joseph and Jacob reunite (Genesis 46:28-30)

The family is one again

Joseph’s instructions (Genesis 46:31-47:12)

Joseph gives a crash course to his family on proper conduct before Pharaoh so that all may go well with them. The family passes test.

Joseph secures all Egypt’s Gold and Land for Pharaoh (Genesis 47:13-26)

The famine was so severe the people of Egypt sold everything to Pharaoh so that they might survive.

Important Phrases, Observations, & Applications:

1. Genesis 45:26, “And they told him, “Joseph is alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them.”

There are so many happenings in this large narrative that remind us of the story of Jesus.

Turn with me to Luke 24:1-12

A son was dead, but now he is alive. Indeed it was hard to believe in both situations. Joseph is Lord of Egypt. Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings.

Joseph was “dead”, but was raised by God to bring deliverance and salvation to Egypt and the family of promise. Joseph was used by God to bring about family reconciliation even through sins and trials.

Likewise Jesus was literally dead, but was raised by God from the dead. In his resurrection, Jesus was declared the Son of God in power (Roman 1:4). Jesus was used by God to bring deliverance and salvation to the entire world. His work set in motion and laid the foundation (Matt 21:42; Acts 4:11) for the redemption of the cursed earth, and forgiveness of sins to all who will believe in his name.

Through Jesus, God brings reconciliation between the families of the earth and God and between the peoples of the earth.

2. Genesis 46:3-4, “The he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt…”

God’s presence brought greater confidence for Jacob as he sojourned in a foreign land that God would continue to work to fulfill all his covenant promises.

The same is true for all God’s covenant partners, especially to those who are covenanted with him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave us similar words in Matthew 28:20, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” So with the Hebrews author we can say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me (Heb. 13:6)?”

We can with certainty cling to hope in Jesus Christ no matter what context of life we may find ourselves in. God’s words never fail. Jesus said, “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matt 24:35).” “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

3. Genesis 46:34, “you shall say, your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers, in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

The power that Pharaoh accumulates and the utter distaste the Egyptians normally hold to the Hebrews who are pastoral shepherds foreshadows the future hostility the family of Jacob will face in Egypt.

When the current Pharaoh dies and the famine is history, a new Pharaoh will turn on the Israelites. God’s abundant blessings to turn a family of seventy into a nation of thousands leads to their freedom being turned into slavery, which in turn would to the great display of the mighty hand of God in power over the Egyptians in the Exodus.

BF&M: Evangelism and Missions

Here are my notes on a recent exposition of article 11 of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Great Commission Churches

Historically, the great cause around which Southern Baptists have cooperated and united together are Evangelism and Missions. In fact the Southern Baptist Convention itself was organized in part for the purpose of sending out missionaries.

Southern Baptists have rightly identified evangelism and missions as part of the central tasks of the local church. We believe the Great Commission command to make disciples goes to the very core of what it means to follow Jesus. As Jesus made disciples, so too does Jesus command us to follow in his steps and make disciples as well. And discipleship does not happen apart from evangelism.

Evangelism

Evangelism is a word that means to proclaim the good news concerning the work of God through Jesus Christ. Evangelism is a word transliterated into the English language from the Greek language much like Baptism. Euaggelion (the gospel, good news) and euaggelizw (to proclaim the gospel or good news) were terms often used by the gospel writers to explain the ministry of Jesus. Jesus came to preach and proclaim the goods news of the Kingdom of God. God ushers in his reign and rule through Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins is offered and reconciliation with God is attainable.

The first line of Article 11, in the BF&M states, “It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations.” Southern Baptists affirm the necessity of every believer to participate in the work of spreading the goods news about Jesus Christ.

The responsibility of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is not only for pastors, good communicators, evangelists, or deacons. The command to share the good news about Jesus Christ is given to every follower of our Lord.

Often times we seem to make evangelism much harder than it really is, however evangelism is the proclamation of a handful of truths to sinners.

Mark Dever writes concerning what evangelism is not:

Evangelism is not an imposition of our ideas upon others. It is not merely personal testimony. It is not merely social action. It may not involve apologetics, and it is not the same thing as the results of evangelism. Evangelism is telling the wonderful truth about God, the great news about Jesus Christ. When we understand this, then obedience to the call to evangelize can become certain and joyful. Understanding this increases evangelism as it moves from being a guilt-driven burden to a joyful privilege.

Evangelism is not merely our involvement in good deeds. Social action is surely a part of obedience to Christ, but apart from the proclamation that in Jesus Christ sinners can be forgiven of sins and find peace with God, it cannot be categorized as evangelism.

Testimonials, which are wonderful and common in Southern Baptist life, can even fall short of evangelism if they do not include the call for sinners to believe in Jesus Christ and to repent of their sins.

Evangelism becomes more of a privilege for us rather than mere duty when we understand that defending the faith or answering every critic’s questions or objections about our faith is not necessary for evangelism to be accomplished. As Dever again correctly points out, “We do not fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not subsequently converted; we fail only if we do not faithfully tell the gospel at all.”

One result arising from our own conversions is our growing love for others. As 1 John 4:20 emphasizes, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” Thus the BF&M article states concerning evangelism, “The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others.” If we cannot love our brothers and neighbors, then the love of Jesus is not within us.

Let us look at the next sentence in the article. It reads, “Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ.”

One cannot faithfully carry out the task of making disciples and proclaiming the saving gospel of Jesus Christ without first having been born again from above by the Spirit. Apart from the life giving Spirit, we remain in the bondage to our sins and we remain unconcerned for the mission of God to redeem the lost world.

Additionally, evangelism and missions is not a periphery issue to Jesus. Both go to the core of why Jesus came. It is through the evangelistic proclamation of the good news concerning Jesus that men and women gain entrance into God’s unshakable Kingdom. And it is through mission activity that the world is partially redeemed. Mission activity also brings glory our Father in heaven and leads to his glorification by his creation (Matt 5:16). Through faithful mission activities, men and women are drawn to the love of Christ as often it provides the context by which Christians gain a hearing with unbelievers.

Here I am defining evangelism and missions differently. Evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Missions is any Christian activity done with the aim to glorify God and participate in redeeming this fallen world and making right of any wrong.

Mission activity should always try to include evangelism, however mission activity can often be the bridge by which we get the chance to evangelize, but we must be patient and refrain from turning people off to the gospel by being overly pushy.

Mission activity includes (not exhaustive) the following:

--NAMB emergency aid relief in major crises.
--Building projects
--Donations of food, water, clothes to those deprived of basic needs.
--Payment of bills which cannot be paid
--Cleaning projects in our communities
--Medical relief for the sick

The objects of evangelism and missions are the entire world population. As the Article states, “The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations.” God’s desire is to see every man, woman, and child repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (1 Tim 2:3-4). The gospel of Jesus Christ is a universal message. It is intended to draw men, women, and children from every tribe, tongue, and people.

The message is universal because there is only one exclusive savior for mankind (1 Cor 15:22).

It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

The drive to evangelize must be one in which we are consistent. The need of lost sinners to find Jesus is of the utmost concern. It should be central to our personal lives, the life of our local church. It is the central task to which Jesus called us.

But our lives should not only consist of the gospel proclamation. We should also undergird our gospel witness with a faithful and holy lifestyle so not to compromise the integrity of our message. Hypocrisy is one of the chief obstacles for sinners when viewing our message and weighing its worth. We must strive to live a life in harmony with the gospel and in harmony with the life of Jesus Christ. Our lives should be full of both love and truth, not just one or the other.

While our lives cannot express the gospel completely, words are needed, nevertheless the entirety of our witness can have positive or negative effects upon those whom we are trying to reach.

Lastly, the methods we use in order to reach men and women with the gospel of Jesus Christ need to be commensurate with the spirit and teaching found in Scripture. In other words, we are not free to use any method in order to reach people for Christ. We do not believe that the ends justify the means. We believe the entire pursuit of seeing men and women come to saving faith in Jesus must be god-honoring.

For example some churches entice youth to come to events by promising to give out playstations and large sums of money in order that they get kids to come and then they tell them the gospel.

The question we always should ask is: Are our methods revealing to others the true power in the Spirit of God and his ability to change hearts or are we confident that our tactics will reap success?

Conclusion/Questions

How is LRBC doing with evangelism?
How is LRBC doing in Missions?
How can we get better?
How can we fix our problems?

Dr. Albert Mohler for SBC President

The Southern Baptist Texan is reporting that Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas will nominate Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, for President at the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis in June.

If elected, Mohler would become only the fourth active Seminary President to serve simultaneously as Convention President and Seminary President according to the article, joining Paige Patterson, W. W. Hamilton, and L. R. Scarborough.

It will be interesting to see how it unfolds given that Mohler is a confessed Calvinist. However, I believe with all the negativity (mostly undue) surrounding Calvinism in Southern Baptist life, I believe Dr. Mohler is one Calvinist among a few who is electable.

There are many who believe it will be difficult for him to win given his theology. However remember that Dr. Mark Dever, in Greensboro 06, was only narrowly defeated by Jackson for one of the Vice President positions. And Mohler is significantly more well known than Dever.

Nevertheless, I am confident that whoever is elected President whether it is Dr. Mohler or not will be very capable of providing the necessary leadership the SBC needs at this hour. This is my prayer, anyway.

Indelible Grace

I remember the first time I was introduced to the music of Indelible Grace. I was a student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and was taking a class called the Worshipping Church led by Chip Stam. He played a few songs by the group. In particular, I remember Poor Sinner Dejected by Fear from their album titled Pilgrim Days.

The song had an immediate impact. The lyrics were theologically rich and compelling. Verse 2 says:

Come just as thou art, with thy woe. Fall down at the feet of the
Lamb. He will not, he cannot say, go, but surely will take out thy
stain. A fountain is opened for sin, and thousands its virtues have
proved. He’ll take thee and plunge thee therein, and wash thee from filth in his blood.

I knew I had to investigate more of this music by Indelible Grace. What I found was a group of talented artists, talented singers, talented musicians, and talented authors who have collaborated in many projects with the goal of making old hymns more assessable for a new generation.

The goal of the musicians who put out the Indelible CD’s is to set theologically rich old hymns to new music hoping that the hymns will be reclaimed by a generation who have in many respects neglected old treasures.

This fall, Indelible Grace released its 6th album (counting Your King Has Come), titled Wake Thy Slumbering Children, and it is a success along with the previous albums. My current favorites on the latest release are: O, Help My Unbelief, Abide in Me, Beneath the Cross of Jesus, Give Reviving, and All Must Be Well.

Many of the albums have hymns which you have heard and sung before, provided you have spent some seasons in a local church that still uses the hymns. For example, on Indelible Grace I you find songs like And Can It Be and I Need Thee Every Hour, and on the album Pilgrim Days you find How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds and On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand. But you will also find hymns that you have never heard before like Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul and Sometimes A Light Surprises.

The familiarity of the hymns will surely be conditioned upon your denominational background, my own is a mixture of Methodist and Baptist. I find that many of the recorded hymns by Indelible Grace are hymns still present in the Baptist Hymnal, but are typically the songs not sung anymore in Baptist Churches, even the traditional one in which I am a member. For example, I was not even aware of hymns like Jesus I My Cross I Have Taken, Jesus I Come, For All the Saints, and Come Ye Disconsolate.

I find though in the later albums that most, if not all, of the hymns were unfamiliar to me previously. I had never heard any of the songs recorded on Wake Thy Slumbering Children and only two on Beams of Heaven. Nevertheless both albums are exceptional in quality and devotion. You certainly do not have to be familiar with them to be blessed by them.

You can order Indelible Grace CD’s online, located at igracemusic.com. In addition to purchasing wonderful CD’s, you can buy a hymn book that includes many of the songs recorded on the albums plus many more. The site includes many articles about hymn writers and the importance of hymns to the church.

Some of the musicians that make up Indelible Grace travel around the country. They play in different venues. They play at Seminaries, Conferences, Churches, and even in homes. You can find their schedule here.

Check them out and pass their work around. Invite them to your church. They are truly a blessing.

Building Bridges: Southern Baptists & Calvinism

The Building Bridges Conference was recently held at Ridgecrest November 26-28. Here were the speakers and topics:

Session - Calvinism and SBC Leadership: Key Findings and Evangelistic Implications; Nov. 26, 2007 By Ed Stetzer

Session - The Historical Record; Nov. 26, 2007 By David Dockery & Tom Nettles

Session - Calvinism: A Cause for Rejoicing, A Cause for Concern; Nov. 27, 2007 by Malcolm Yarnell & Jeff Noblit

Session - The Atonement: Its Design, Nature and Extent; Nov. 27, 2007 by Sam Waldron & David Nelson

Session - Theological Stereotypes: Let's Be Fair and Honest with Each Other; Nov. 27, 2007 by
Chuck Lawless & Nathan Finn

Session - Election and Calling: A Biblical/Theological Study; Nov. 27, 2007 by Ken Keathley & Greg Wealty

Worship Sessions - James Merritt, Albert Mohler, J.D. Greear, Steven Wade, Donald Whitney

Panel Part 1 (Akin, Finn, Yarnell, Ascol, Nelson, Keathley, & Welty)

Panel Part 2 (Akin, Finn, Yarnell, Ascol, Nelson, Keathley, & Welty)

Session - Working Together to Make Christ Known; Nov. 28, 2007 by Daniel Akin & Tom Ascol

The first speaker in the session is a non-Calvinist Southern Baptist and the second speaker is a Calvinist Southern Baptist. You can find the audio of this conference at three places. You can find it at Lifeway (with the exception of James Merritt, Albert Mohler, J.D. Greear, Steven Wade, and Donald Whitney messages). You can also find them at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Chapel Webpage (just scroll down). You also can find them on ITunes under Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, messages 47-67.

Karis Noel

Our baby doctor showing Naomi and I Karis just as she was delivered by C-Section.

A joyous daddy holding Karis for the first time in the operating room.

Grandma holding Karis while two sisters curiously look on.

We are just about to take baby Karis home from the hospital.

Baby Karis in the hospital.

Thanksgiving

I thank God for my beautiful family. The Morrison family expanded by another daughter. This past Monday, my wife gave birth to Karis Noel. Both are doing extremely well, and we are so thankful. Our other daughters, Lydia and Chloe are also adjusting well. We would like to thank all of you who were praying for our family during the pregnancy. God has answered so many prayers.

Mommy and Karis

Lydia and Karis

Daddy and Karis

Chloe and Karis

Good Armed Forces Stories

Please check out these two stories (one is lengthy & one is brief) from men who serve in the U.S. military. They are both emotionally moving. The first is of a soldier, John Gebhardt, who comforts a young Iraqi girl whose entire family was executed. The second is of a Marine Captain, Richard Stinnett, who honored the memory of a slain Marine soldier who gave his life in Iraq.

Continue to lift these men and women who serve in military and their families up in prayer.

A Few Pictures

A Good Day of Worship

This past Lord's Day was particularly sweet. I preached on "The Woman Who Fears the Lord," from Proverbs 31:10-31 as a part of a larger series titled, "Biblical Manhood, Biblical Womanhood, and the Family." We had a great crowd of people in attendance, and I had the great honor of baptizing a young man named Caleb. I pray for more gatherings like this one.

The Laying on of Hands

On Fifth Sunday evenings, I take questions from the congregation concerning Biblical issues, Christian theology, Christian history, and ethics.

One of the questions I received concerned the laying on of hands. Here was the question: Why do we not have laying on of hands when a person is saved? Is this not a commandment that goes along with Baptism?

I admit that I have not given the laying on of hands issue the attention it deserves. I do not recall much being said about the issue in my seminary training. And my only experience with the laying on of hands has been deacon ordination, my own ordination into pastoral ministry, and for healing in exceptional cases.

So in preparation for answering this question, I solidified my thinking on this issue, although a few questions remain.

In the New Testament there appears to be five major uses of the laying on of hands.

1. To heal the sick/lame
Both Jesus and the Apostles practiced the laying on of hands for this purpose. In Mark 6:5, Jesus was said to have laid his hands on some of the sick residents of Nazareth and they were healed. In Luke 13:13, Jesus lays his hands on a deformed woman, and her body was straightened. And in Acts 28:8, we find the apostle Paul laying his hands on one named Publius who was sick, and he too was healed. Paul himself was the recipient of the laying on of hands by Ananias in order to have his vision restored (Acts 9).

2. To bless children
In Matthew 19:15, we find Jesus laying his hands on children who were brought to him. It appears, although it is not explicit, that the parents wanted Jesus' blessing on the children. It does not seem to be a sickness issue here.

3. To set apart specific Christians for a special task.
In Acts 6, the Hellenists widows were being neglected in the distribution. So the Apostles suggested that the church select seven men full of wisdom and of the Spirit to fulfill this task. The church accepted the suggestion, and after the seven were selected, the Apostles laid their hands on them and prayed for them.

We also have another example found in Acts 13:1-4 where the Holy Spirit directed the church at Antioch to appoint Paul and Barnabas for a specific work. The work is not named, but it becomes evident that the work was gospel ministry for they depart and begin to share the gospel in various cities.

4. To receive a specific gift from the Holy Spirit
From texts like 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6 we can see incidents where elders laid their hands on a Christian in order to receive a gift(s). Timothy is reminded not to neglect his gift which was given to him after prophecy and the laying on of hands.

5. To receive the Holy Spirit
In at least two events the laying on of hands resulted in believers receiving the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:14-17, we are told that Samaria had received the word of God. So Peter and John were dispatched to the region. Peter and John found believers there who had been baptized, but they had not received the Holy Spirit so they laid their hands on them and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 19, Paul finds some disciples (of Christ?). Upon his investigation he learns that none of them have received the Holy Spirit and they have only received the baptism of John. They were baptized into Jesus' baptism and Paul laid his hands on them and prayed for them. After this they received the Holy Spirit.

This last category is the most perplexing. Why did the Samaritans not receive the Holy Spirit at conversion? The second act could be interpreted that these individuals were disciples of John and not Jesus. Perhaps the answer to the Samaritan question was that God wanted the Apostles to see the the advance of the gospel firsthand and see the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon them firsthand considering the strained relations these people groups had.

Then there is the question: why was it visibly apparent in Apostolic times when someone received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 19)? The answer of many charismatic groups that it is still apparent through the speaking of tongues at the second blessing is surely false because Scripture makes clear that everyone does not receive tongues (1 Cor 12). The answer here will again only be speculation.

Going back to the original question...

Upon investigation the answer is: we do not lay hands on someone when he or she is saved with regularity because it is not commanded in Scripture. Baptism is commanded. Communion is commanded. The Laying on of hands is not commanded.

The only specific instruction that I could find given in Scripture concerning the laying on of hands is given to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:22) when Paul instructs him not to hastily lay hands on others.

My investigation leads me to believe that God permits freedom for churches to practice this in diverse ways. Since Jesus, the Apostles, elders, and churches practiced the laying on of hands, surely churches today should as well. Leaning upon the examples we have in the Bible, churches should institute this practice with more regularity where appropriate.

Mohler interviews Page

On September 18, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary interviewed Dr. Frank Page, Pastor of 1st Baptist Church, Taylors, South Carolina and President of the Southern Baptist Convention on his weekday radio program.

During the interview, Mohler asked Page the following question (basically word for word):

Pastoring in South Carolina, how do you deal with the culture and gospel issue?

In his answer, Page made the following remark, "South Carolina is the capital of cultural Christianity which has led many people straight to hell."

Dr. Page was addressing the real problem that exists in many parts of the South (as Mohler remarked) where most people view themselves as being saved by virtue of many reasons except for the biblical one, namely ongoing repentance of sins and faith in Jesus Christ.

Serving in South Carolina, I find this comment to be true indeed. In too many conversations, people tell me that they were saved 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago, and for 8, 13, 18, 22 years they have been living like they have no relationship with Jesus, like the presence of the Holy Spirit is not in them, they have forsaken the people of God, and they have an obvious love affair with the world.

And it is so hard for individuals like this to come to an understanding that they might very well not be saved because some pastor or church has convinced them falsely.

One of the ways I try to battle this cultural trend in my own preaching is repeatedly reminding the congregation that our assurance of salvation is that:

we repented of our sins last night,
we trust Jesus today,
we pray to him regularly,
the fruits of the Holy Spirit are evident in our own lives
we hate sin
we love Jesus, and so on.

My prayer is that we will not produce another generation of deceived men and women.

A Selective Hermeneutic

Living in the South, especially South Carolina, one encounters both explicit and implicit racism particularly towards Black Americans.

One of the most common ways it is lightly expressed is when someone is telling you a story, and they always make sure that if one of the participants in the story is black, they make it clear to you.

Some of it is innocent (I am in no way dismissing it), but they sincerely do not mean anything by it. However, often times they do.

Race relations have a long way to go in the south.

From time to time I will apply some Scriptural point to race relations. For example when I addressed marriage from 2 Corinthians 6.14 I make the point that the only prohibition made when considering a spouse is that a believer should not marry an unbeliever. I will go on to make the point that interracial marriages are not forbidden.

I have been challenged to my face on this particular issue. Often the person will say, Jason you have two daughters, would you be pleased if they married two black men? My response is usually twofold. First, I say that if the young black man loves Jesus and is following after him, then I have no objections. Second, I say that hypothetically if I did have a problem, it would be my issue and not my daughter's or the young man's.

The usual arguments given by those against interracial marriages goes as following:

1. Some will say it will be too difficult because both partners will feel the stress of bringing two different cultures together. Furthermore, it is argued that you are placing a burden on the children of a mixed marriage.

More and more the stresses of the children are not legitimate in cities where children of all different racial and ethnic backgrounds are growing up together, and the issue is really a non-issue. However in rural areas and small towns, the problem is not the children born from mixed marriages but the racist attitudes in children who come from racist homes.

2. Less frequently is the so called biblical argument that races should not mix. This arises from texts where Israel was prohibited from marrying Canaanites (Deut 7:3).

It is generally agreed though that the biblical prohibition put upon Israel against marrying foreigners has nothing to do with their skin color or ethnicity, but has everything to do with the God they worshipped (see Deut 7:4). This principle clearly comes out in the New Testament as well as I have already referenced above.

Nevertheless, there are some in the church who will still make this argument from the Old Testament.

What really frustrates me is when some of these very ones who argue from the OT against interracial marriage will argue that the standard for tithing is the NT. While I agree that we should look to the NT's teaching concerning tithing, the OT should not be neglected in the pursuit of finding God's will on the issue.

I find it convenient when people in the church use this kind of selective hermeneutic to get from the Bible exactly what they want.

Baptism, Communion, & Local Church Membership

A debate has been circling the blogs regarding the relationship between Baptism, Communion, and Local Church Membership. It began as far as I can tell when John Piper responded through the Desiring God Blog to the change made in Wayne Grudem's systematic theology textbook concerning baptism. Previously, Grudem wrote in favor of allowing both credobaptistic and paedobaptistic views to be allowed within a single denomination and its local churches. However, he has personally changed his view. The compromise within a local church to allow both seems to be too great for the credo-baptist.

The meat of Piper's response comes when he says:

When I weigh the kind of imperfection involved in tolerating an invalid baptism because some of our members are deeply persuaded that it is biblically valid, over against the kind of imperfection involved in saying to a son or daughter of the living God, “You are excluded from the local church,” my biblical sense is that the latter is more unthinkable than the former. The local church is a visible expression of the invisible, universal, body of Christ. To exclude from it is virtually the same as excommunication. And no serious church takes excommunication as an invitation to attend the church down the street.

You can find Grudem's response to Piper's here. It was both humorous and humble when Grudem said that his own wife found Piper's argument more persuasive. For a more comprehensive and detailed report of Piper's own understanding on this issue you can research these resources.

Since this foray, others have weighed in on the discussion. Over at 9 Marks Blog, you can find two entries by Mark Dever here and here. You can also find two good posts regarding this issue from a historical perspective written by Aaron Menikoff (Part 1 & Part 2).

In Menikoff's articles he references John Bunyan, author of of the famed Pilgrim's Progress, who made significant arguments why paedo-baptists should not be barred from the membership or communion of a local baptist church titled, Differences in Water Baptism No Bar to Communion (1673).

Sam Storms has weighed in with an article asking how these men (Piper, Dever, Mohler, Duncan) can really be Together for the Gospel if Dever and Mohler would not permit Duncan to receive communion at their church (because they do not believe infant baptism constitutes a real baptism and one must receive believer's baptism before one receives communion). Meanwhile, Ligon Duncan has stated that his response will be forthcoming.

My own view is fairly traditional within modern baptist circles. The church I pastor requires baptism by immersion after the evidence of genuine faith in Jesus Christ in order to become a member of the church and to participate in communion. However, we do not police the elements in such a way that a visiting Presbyterian could not participate although I would make it clear from the beginning before the elements are passed out what our church's view is.

Like Grudem's wife though, I find Piper and Bunyan's arguments to be weighty and biblical. I also find it contradictory to prohibit a Presbyterian from communion at the church I pastor, but would allow him to preach at the church I pastor, which I have done. This past summer I invited both a Presbyterian and Methodist to preach while I was out of town.

My hope is that this current debate will spark much fruit from future and current Ph.D students who will try to tackle these issues afresh in our day. Until then, I will be examining the more thorough writings that have been offered by Christians past.

Update: Ligon Duncan has begun his post series on why he, Piper, Mohler, and Dever can be Together for the Gospel but not together on various other doctrines.

SBC Witness Interviews Dr. Rainer

Over at SBC Witness, Nathan Akin interviews Dr. Rainer, President of Lifeway Christian Resources. In the first installment of this interview, Dr. Rainer answers questions about upcoming projects from B&H Publishing, ongoing research on alcohol, calvinism, and church polity which will be released in future studies, and how his past has helped him for his present job.

In the second installment, Dr. Rainer will answer questions dealing SBC issues and will give advice for young pastors.

Reasons for the Resurgence of Reformed Doctrine

Dr. Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, has just finished his series titled, "Where'd All These Calvinists Come From?" Dever lists ten reasons for the present day resurgence in Reformed Doctrines among evangelicals. The following are his 10 reasons for Calvinistic growth:

Charles Spurgeon, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Banner of Truth Trust, Evangelism Explosion by D. James Kennedy, Southern Baptist Convention Inerrancy Controversy, Presbyterian Church in America, J.I. Packer's book, "Knowing God," R.C. Sproul & John MacArthur, John Piper, the rise of secularism and decline of Christian nominalism.

You can find the entire series here. Over the past seven years my theology has drifted toward reformed doctrine. When I began my studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in January 2001, I believed in the sinfulness of man and the eternal security of a Christian believer. I came from a Southern Baptist Church, with a very faithful and biblical preacher, who is not reformed in his soteriology. So terms like unconditional election, irresistible grace, and limited atonement were not preached either for or against (to my knowledge).

So my first introduction to reformed doctrines was at Southern Seminary through the teaching of particular teachers, teacher recommendations of books, and student conversations. It was at that point that I learned of Dr. John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Since my introduction to the preaching and books by Piper, my drift toward the reformed doctrines has grown significantly. My understanding of man's sinfulness has grown. I have moved from believing in the sinfulness of all men, to the total depravity of mankind. I have moved from using phrases like "once saved, always saved" to "but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved (Mark 13:13)." I have come to believe in doctrines like unconditional election and irresistible grace as articulated by John Piper in particular.

I am still laboring over the doctrine of definite or limited atonement in all its preciseness. But in conclusion, I would fit into Dever's list under the categories of John Piper and the SBC Inerrancy Controversy due to its push to focus Baptists on the true and faithful teachings of the Bible and its fruits that are evident now at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Why are College Men and Women Having Sex?

A recent survey conducted by researchers from the University of Texas questioned college aged students about their motivations for having sex. The top five responses men gave were:

1. I was attracted to the person.
2. It feels good.
3. I wanted to experience physical pleasure.
4. Its fun.
5. I wanted to show my affection to the person.

The top five responses given by women were:

1. I was attracted to the person.
2. I wanted to experience physical pleasure.
3. It feels good.
4. I wanted to show my affection to the person.
5. I wanted to express my love for the person.

The answers given by both men and women are not all that surprising given the shape our society is in and given our society's perversion of almost everything sexual. Perhaps the only surprising aspect of this study is the answers given by women, which seem to refute the commonly held notions that men are generally seeking self-pleasure and women are seeking love. The survey suggests that both men and women are primarily seeking to satisfy their personal physical desires.

The top four reasons for men and the top three for women were self-serving motivations.

Intimacy with the sexual partner was rated at 12 for women and 14 for men.

Not surprising though was how far down on the list that pregnancy was listed as the motivation, given that the overwhelming number of those surveyed were sexually active single men and women who were in college.

Perhaps what was most interesting for me were the statistics regarding the number of men and women (average age 19) who testified to having a history of sexual intercourse. Less than half of the men surveyed had in their past participated in sexual intercourse (233 out of 503). 110 of the men surveyed affirmed sexual activity, but had not gone so far as sexual intercourse.

More than half of the women surveyed had experienced sexual intercourse (664 out of 1046). 246 of the women surveyed had in their past been involved in various sexual activities but had not had sexual intercourse.

I was surprised by how much more sexually active the women were as opposed to the men in this survey. In all of those surveyed, 88 percent had gone as far in their sexual experience to participate in oral sex.

Now here is the most depressing stat: 65 percent of those surveyed reported themselves to be Christians. With the amount of information given, it is impossible to determine if the Christian men and women surveyed were more or less likely to have participated in sexual activity outside of marriage, but with the high percentages (88%) of those who had at least gone as far as oral sex, it seems likely that many of the Christians surveyed fall into this percentage.

Gluttony and Southern Baptists

The issue of gluttony in Southern Baptist circles has been discussed by some of late. There has even been a resolution or two sent to the resolutions committee of the Southern Baptist Convention in the past two years addressing this particular issue. However, the resolutions have failed to make it to the floor of the Convention by recommendation of the committee.

Baptist Press released an article yesterday titled Prof tries to help Baptists improve health, touching upon the issue of gluttony and its severe prevalence among Southern Baptist pastors. Jim Florence, Professor of Public Health at East Tennessee State University (my alma mater), and member of Calvary Baptist Church, Erwin, is aware of the growing trend of growing waistlines of Southern Baptist pastors and is currently working in his own local association to educate and assist pastors with this issue. One of Florence's own motivations for going into public health was the death of his brother by heart attack at 37.

The article also reports that a Purdue University study released in 2006 found that Southern Baptists are 30 times more likely to be obese than non-Christians, and are more obese than any other Christian denomination.

For some helpful information about your personal health, the following websites may be referenced (these are listed through the Tennessee Baptist Convention):
www.michigan.gov/surgeongeneral
www.bariatricedge.com/dtcf/pages/bmi_calculator.htm?pgn=8

How though does a pastor address the issue of gluttony from the pulpit? When was the last time you heard a preacher address this issue on Sunday morning from a Southern Baptist church? Certainly much care needs to be used, but simply avoiding the issue because it will hurt peoples' feelings is not the proper choice either.

I recently listened to two messages on gluttony preached by Paul Matthies at The Village Church. You can find these two sermons in IPod by selecting Podcasts, Religion & Spirituality, The Village Church. They are sermons 37 and 38, Defeating Gluttony and Defining Gluttony. These sermons provide some clear thinking on gluttony, and may help you to think about the issue more comprehensively.

San Antonio Convention in Review Part 6

The most controversial aspect of this year's Convention was the debate and vote concerning the motion made by Rick Garner concerning the BF&M 2000. The motion reads:

I move that this convention adopts the statement of the Executive Committee issued in February of this year, and included in the Executive's report found in the 2007 Book of Reports, page 17, which reads 'The Baptist Faith and Message is neither a creed, nor a complete statement of our faith, nor final and infallible; nevertheless, we further acknowledge that it is the only consensus statement of doctrinal beliefs approved by the Southern Baptist Convention and such is sufficient in its current form to guide trustees in their establishment of policies and practices of entities of the Convention.'

The intent behind the motion was to prohibit trustees serving on SBC agencies from requiring additional theological agreements beyond those published and adopted in the BF&M 2000. The incident which started this protest/movement was first the adopting of two additional theological policies by the trustees of the International Mission Board (IMB).

The two additional policies prohibited from missionary service through the IMB anyone who practiced a Private Prayer Language, and anyone who did not meet four requirements concerning Baptism. Any potential IMB missionary had to meet the following criteria:

1. Baptism is for a believer.
2. Baptism is by immersion only.
3. Baptism is not regenerative.
4. Must have been baptized in a church which believes in eternal security.

The first three points are nearly universally agreed upon by all Southern Baptists today. However, the fourth point drew considerable protest.

In order for a Baptism to be legitimate does a local church have to be perfect in its theological views? If only on certain theological points, then who gets to decide which ones are necessary and which ones are not?

A considerable protest movement started due in no small part to one trustee of the IMB who protested the adoption of these policies. Skipping over a lot of incidents, the debate has turned into whether or not trustees ought to add additional theological positions which must be met and believed that go beyond the BF&M 2000 in order for a Southern Baptist to serve in any of the Southern Baptist Agencies?

There was not much time for debate on the motion due mostly to the way Convention politics and schedules work. So many people who wanted to speak to this motion were not able to be heard and a motion to extend the time of debate was defeated.

The motion passed with 2137 (57.7%) votes for and 1565 (42.2%) against. I voted against the motion for mainly one reason. I did not think this was the best way to correct the policies adopted by the IMB or guard against future policies which further restrict who can serve in our agencies.

As a few of the Presidents of our Seminaries pointed out, the BF&M 2000 is not a sufficient document in and of itself to govern exhaustively the process of hiring a potential professor. There are abundant issues which should be asked of potential teachers on issues of theology and ethics which are not addressed in the BF&M 2000. So in my interpretation of the motion made by Rick Garner, I believed we would have been putting the trustees in a impossible situation of hiring the best teachers without the necessary tools because we would be limiting what must be agreed upon by a potential employee to such an extent that it certainly would endanger them because of a higher risk of selecting someone who may disagree with most Baptists on ethical issues not addressed specifically in the BF&M 2000.

My thinking is this: The best way to combat particular policies is to address them each specifically. If one does not agree with the IMB policy prohibiting a Southern Baptist from serving through the IMB if he or she has a PPL then, put that issue alone to a Convention vote.
IF one does not like the baptism/eternal security issue, then change it by bringin it for a vote at the Convention.

Had each issue (PPL and Baptism/eternal security) been addressed specifically, then I would have been more inclined to vote against the IMB policies.

In light of the adoption of the motion, the leading figure in the protest has made it clear that his view is if Seminaries want to ask for further agreement on other issues when hiring new professors then let the Seminaries bring it before the Convention. However, this seems unfeasible to me. The Convention was not designed so that Seminaries could bring every potential hire before it and get permission for every single issue not addressed in the BF&M 2000.

However, some have pointed out that the motion could be interpreted in at least two ways. The protest movement inteprets the motion to say that the BF&M 2000 alone should be the trustees' guide, but others have pointed out that the motion does not state say the BF&M 2000 is the only guide for trustees.

So what now? What will come of this motion? I do not think anything really has changed. It seems clear from the messages of some of the presidents of the seminaries that they are going to continue to ask questions on more theological issues than just contained in the BF&M 2000, and will be looking for some type of agreement on those questions, which to some would be a violation of the motion adopted in San Antonio, but to others would be completely in harmony with the same motion adopted in San Antonio.

Online Book Sale

This Wednesday and Thursday all of John Piper's books will be on sale for 5 dollars a piece. Advertised on a Desiring God blog post. There is no limit to how many books you can purchase.