text: Once again, Paul Helm offers some sterling reflection on "The Classical Calvinist Concept of God." If you are unfamiliar with the history of this discussion, you may find this article tough sledding mentally. But there is one point he makes that is very important to understand.
  Many men have accused Calvinists of holding to a rationalistic conception of God, especially in his works of predestination and election. But in reality, as Helm clearly shows, it is the alternative views which impose a philosophical a priori assumption upon the Bible. The Pelagian, Semi-pelagian, Arminian, Molinist, and Open Theist views all assume a form of libertarian freedom nowhere taught in the Bible. They then struggle to make this assumption fit with the biblical revelation of God, which forces them to deny or reinterpret many passages of Scripture. This is true rationalism.
  1000 years ago Anselm of Canterbury stated well the proper relation between reason and revelation: "I do not seek to understand so that I may believe; but I believe so that I may understand. For I believe this also, that 'unless I believe, I shall not understand'." This epistemological attitude of the heart will keep us from reasoning away what the Bible clearly teaches.
  For you theologs out there, I would recommend that you check out Paul Helm's blog. Helm has consistently practiced solid Christian philosophy, and his writings will challenge you to scale the heights of truth in ways you may not have done before.
  His post entitled B. B. Warfield on Divine Passion will reward the mental effort it requires with a greater appreciation of who God is and who we are. Here is an extended quote I found stimulating.
  As we come to the close of the year of our Lord 2006, I would encourage you to take time to take two simple but very effective spiritual steps.
  Moses told the Israelites, "And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not" (Deut 8:2). Your life this past year has not been an accident. It has been the outworking of the gentle sovereignty of God in your life, and you must not forget what he has done, whether in blessing or in chastisement, for in all he does he seeks to impart himself to us. Remembering, then, is an act of worship. It is acknowledging and submitting to God's good providence. As King David wrote in one of his inspired songs, "Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.... Remember his covenant forever" (1 Chron 16:12, 15).
  To help you get started, here are some things you and your family can remember. I'm sure you can add more to this list.
  How did the Lord direct my life and provide physically in 2006? Where did I travel? How did the Lord keep me safe? What significant household projects did I complete this year? How did God provide financially for me? What did I do to improve my body for the Lord's service? Did God deliver me from sickness?
  What significant family events happened this year? Did the Lord grant us a child? Did a loved one pass on to glory?
  What important books did I read or sermons did I hear that helped me to think more biblically? What Scriptures did I memorize? How did my life change as a result?
  What special friendships were made this year, and how did those friends make an impact for good in my life?
  What were my greatest failures and sins in 2006? How did the Lord correct and teach me through these? Am I bringing any unresolved issues into the new year?
  What were my most significant spiritual victories this year? How did God enable me to serve him? How has he enabled me to pursue and proclaim Christ?
  What did God do in my church in 2006? How did God train and purify us as his children? In what ways did he enable us to carry out the Great Commission?
  In the song of David already mentioned, he began by saying, "Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually" (1 Chron 16:8-11)! As you worship God by remembering what he has done, let this flow naturally into praising him. Give your heart to adoration in light of how God has manifested his steadfast love and faithfulness in 2006.
  What better way to end this year than to unite our hearts as a worshipping community before the throne of God! To him be the glory forever. Amen.
  Good Christmas hymns combine a depth of truth with the power of joy to give us a wonderful vehicle for expressing our praise to God. One of the classics is Hark! the Herald Angels Sing by Charles Wesley. Before coming to our corporate worship this Sunday, I would encourage you to spend some time just reading the words of this hymn, and letting its truth wash over your soul.
  Is it biblical to indulge in some humor??? You may think my sense of humor needs improvement, but I happen to think that this commercial is funny.
  Being biblical requires that we expose ourselves continuously to the Scripture. The ESV blog lists and compares several Bible reading plans for going through the Bible in a year. If you are not already doing something like this, you need to.
  "It must be evident that the final and perfect union of church and state in the coming Kingdom will also put an end to what we call 'freedom of religion.' The American policy of complete separation of church and state, which most sensible men fully approve under present conditions, is not however the ideal policy. It is rather a policy of precaution in a sinful world, where political and ecclesiastical power too often get into the wrong hands, and the result is intolerable oppression. But under the personal rule of the Messianic King the union of church and state will not only be safe; it will also be the highest possible good. For, if religion is of any essential value in human life, and if there is some one true religion, and if there is coming a time when both political and religious authority will be exercised by a wise and loving God acting supernaturally in human affairs - it follows logically that in that day what we call 'religious freedom' must come to an end" (Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom, pp. 244-5).
  Don Whitney gives 10 questions to ask at a Christmas gathering. Let's be aware of the opportunities God gives us to give out the good news of Jesus Christ.
  I don't always agree with the conclusions pollster George Barna draws from his research, but here is something he says that is right on. Barna says, "People do not have an accurate view of themselves when it comes to spirituality. American Christians are not as devoted to their faith as they like to believe. They have positive feelings about the importance of faith, but their faith is rarely the focal point of their life or a critical factor in their decision-making. The fact that few people take the time to evaluate their spiritual journey, or to develop benchmarks or indicators of their spiritual health, facilitates a distorted view of the prominence and purity of faith in their life."
  This is why we need to be relentlessly biblical. "Positive feelings" about "faith" do not a Christian make.
  In our series of messages through Philippians we have clearly seen that living for Christ and the gospel necessarily means that we must live in a manner worthy of the gospel. We must exercise discernment (1:9) and work out what it means to live as a follower of Christ in our day (2:12-13).
  In his most recent blog entry, Dr. Albert Mohler provides a good example of this in relation to the toys we buy our children at Christmas. The toys we buy our children at Christmas? Yes, the toys we buy our children at Christmas. Every facet of our lives must conform to pursuing and proclaiming Christ, and this means we must exercise discernment in the toys our children play with. Mohler specifically deals with the toy phenoms Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls, which, as he clearly shows, both embody ungodly cultural ideals. How sadly ironic that many people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by giving gifts to their children which embody the exact opposite of what Christ came for (Titus 2:11-14).
  So at this Christmas season, let us continue to work out our salvation and show to the world the pure and holy joy that comes from pursuing Christ!
  Matt Freidman thinks about what pastors are doing to encourage a high view of marriage. He concludes, "For in the end, by adopting a low view of the Church, of the institution of marriage and of the pastoral office, we haven't really blessed but most assuredly have cursed the people we intended to help."
  Michael A. G. Haykin's excellent church history blog Historia Ecclesiastica features a brief biographical sketch of Christina Rossetti, author of the well-known Christmas carol In the Bleak Mid-Winter. He includes a selection of her work written near the end of her life as she suffered from painful breast cancer. It is the cry of a soul hanging on to Christ alone, and I am sure all Christ-loving hearts will find it inspiring.
  "What the world needs, as the prophets saw clearly, is not primarily a better philosophy of government or a more perfect system of legislation, but a Person who has the character, wisdom, and power needed to rule for God among men" (Alva J. McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom, p. 161).
  The current world political scene, as well as all of human history, should make us put our trust in the One who is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
  To me, the hard-headed quest for embryonic stem cell therapies, despite all the moral problems involved, reveals what happens when we put our trust in man and not God. It not only makes us ethically blind, it makes us empirically blind as well. The emperor still has no clothes.
  Once again, we see that nothing blinds to the obvious like sin does. Our compassion for these people should motivate us to tell the truth - the truth of the gospel.
  Last night I greatly enjoyed the fellowship of some brothers in the faith. Our conversation turned toward the Bible - its inspiration, preservation, and importance in our lives. I praise the Lord for men who take the Word of God seriously.
  Here is an important exhortation along those lines, penned about 50 years ago by E. J. Young, which is still as relevant today as when it was written.
  "The majority of professing Christendom does not take seriously the Word of God. He, however, who has fled to Christ for refuge from the accusing finger of God's law must take that Word seriously. It may be a very unpopular thing today to base one's life upon such an authority as the Bible. But if it is unpopular, it surely is a very blessed thing. To know that the words of Scripture are not merely the words of men, but that in them a Divine authority resides, is indeed strengthening to one's faith...."
  "A return to the Bible is the greatest need of the day. Unless the Church turns to this authoritative Word of the sovereign God as - let us say it boldly - an external authority; unless the Church is willing to hear the Word of God in the one place where that Word may be heard, she will soon cease to be the Church of the living God. When, however, in humble submission to the gracious, loving Word of her glorious King, she bows to His will, she may courageously challenge all opponents. Far and wide, with majestic boldness, she may proclaim the truth: I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it was given me of Him who is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. He tells me that this Book is His, and this Book tells me about Him. Come, then, ye wise of this world, ye doubters, ye disputers of the age. Come with your whisperings of doubt, your mockeries of uncertainty. I take my stand upon the solid, unchanging rock of His eternal truth, and in the everlasting Name of Him who brought into being the fair fields of earth and the blue heaven above, I command you,
  A couple weeks ago I picked up a second-hand copy of Complete Poems of Robert Frost in beautiful condition. Ever since then I have meandered through its lanes, here and there selecting a bit of poetic fruit to taste. I may comment on some of his poems in the future. But here I would like to share with you a different poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, his justly famous "Ozymandias." I was reminded of it last week. While reading from Frost before bed, my wife and I began reminiscing on poems we had learned as children. She has learned many more than I, and even to this day a bit of Shakespeare will slip off of her tongue now and then. As we talked, she remembered Ozymandias. It is a poem whose simple power came home to us even as children, and whose lesson we should not easily forget.
  I am sorry to say that I still have not been able to post Sunday mornings sermon to the church website. We are having some technical difficulties uploading the sermon. I will let you know when we get this resolved.
  A popular phrase these days among Christians is that we must "engage the culture." I'm not really sure why this is so popular. Of course we must engage the culture, if we believe in the Great Commission. This is just another way of saying that we are to give out the gospel.
  Unfortunately, however, this is not what many people mean when they use this terminology. I actually get a little bit nervous when I hear the phrase, "engage the culture," because in my experience this amounts to code for "copy our degraded and ungodly culture." This is actually antithetical to the gospel. If we are to advance the gospel, we must live lives that are worthy of the gospel, which always means that we will not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds.
  Let's engage the culture with holiness, truth, and love. Then the world will see Jesus, not a bad imitation of themselves.
  In our recent Sunday morning messages we have been learning from Philippians 2:5-11. I recently came across a powerful application of this passage. This week I read a moving article by Cari Kilcup entitled "When Expectations Go Unmet, God is There: My Stillbirth Story." Mrs. Kilcup opened by writing:
  "Death is not supposed to precede birth, is it? We certainly do not expect it to. Sometimes expectations go unmet. When they are, God is there offering His strong, loving arms to carry us through.
  "This past April I was 'expecting.' It's interesting that we use that word to describe a pregnant woman, because that's what I was doing. I was expecting to experience ... that in a few weeks I would meet the precious little one whom God had placed in my womb."
  She went on to relate the story of how the baby in her womb, a little girl, had died from a knotted umbilical cord. She told of the difficult process of delivering her dead child, saying, "We left the hospital...with an empty womb, empty arms, and broken hearts, but our Lord was with us...." But she also told of how the Lord taught her through the Scriptures in this trial.
  "Sometime later God showed me something about expectations. I realized that my expectations are things that I feel I have a right to. Philippians 2:7 tells us that Jesus gave up His rights as God, and took the humble position of a slave, even submitting Himself obediently to death! If my Jesus, the one Who holds the rights to everything, gave up those rights for me, I must be willing to let go of my rights, my expectations. I need to place them in the gentle hands of the One who has a better plan for me. I have had to do that again this year - in September another baby was born to heaven through miscarriage.
  "We all have expectations, and many are realized. When they are not, God is still there, offering His love, support and comfort and He guides us down the path He has laid out for us. When we die to our expectations, we find new life in Christ...."
  This is what it means to have the mindset of Christ. It was the reason the apostle Paul's joy oozes between every line of the letter to the Philippians. For him, to live was Christ and to die was gain. He gave up everything (including his expectations) for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus the Lord. Oh that all of us would give our expectations to God, and know the surpassing joy of knowing Christ!
  As a post script to this, I will share with you a poem written by one of my seminary friends, Will Pareja, whose child died in the womb.
  Given to them across the Big River. [Forgive the intrusion here. Their first son was born in Mexico, on the other side of the "Rio Grande." JP]
  Last week I posted an excerpt from Tocqueville's Democracy in America about the roles of men and women in 1830's America. My goal in doing so was not to make you wish we could replicate the society of a previous era (if you are a conservative) or to make you fume about the backwardness of earlier America (if you are a liberal). It was simply to make us reflect on how to apply the biblical teachings on men and women to our day. Sometimes a look at a different time period or culture opens our eyes to assumptions and practices in our present culture which we need to scrutinize on biblical grounds. That is why I asked you to think about the portrait Tocqueville painted in biblical terms. Was America as he described it a good example of a biblical view of the roles of men and women?
  It is critical that we learn to think in biblical terms about these issues, because when challenges come to our "traditional" gender roles, we have a very weak position if we can only answer, "That's the way we've always done it." For example, I sometimes hear social conservatives argue against homosexual legal unions with things like "This has never been done before in the history of Western society." True enough. But why should this carry any moral authority with homosexuals? History can only carry the moral authority of example when it is properly interpreted, and the proper interpretation of history must come from God as he has revealed it to us in the Bible. It is the Bible that is our source of faith and practice.
  I would now like to present some words from a modern admirer of Tocqueville who thinks that Tocqueville's vision of gender roles has been rendered nostalgic and unworkable in our modern society. In his recent work, Manliness, Harvey C. Mansfield writes:
  "How can we employ manliness usefully in our gender-neutral society? One thing we cannot do is to go back to a society in which women are kept in the home and men are free to leave it. Women restrained, men free; this is how that traditional arrangement looks to us now. One could say, with a nod to Rousseau, that women were more in charge than they appeared to be, and men less. Some conservatives, women and men, may be inclined to go back in this direction, and to see whether this reactionary change might be possible let us look briefly again at Tocqueville. Tocqueville paints a beautiful picture, too beautiful to be true, of how men and women lived separate but equal in America in his day.
  "Tocqueville congratulates American women for willingly accepting the confines of the household, the 'yoke' of marriage, in view of natural differences between the two sexes. American women, he says, tolerate this condition 'courageously' because they have chosen it; they often display a 'manly reason and a wholly virile energy.' So if you were to ask Tocqueville (he imagines) to what he attributes the prosperity and force of the American people, he would answer that 'it is to the superiority of its women.' Although American women cannot escape the domestic circle, they are never forced to leave it; so they retain 'a very delicate appearance and always remain women in their manners.' Women with the best of manliness who yet remain women, and democratic, too!
  "Tocqueville's solution to the problem of democratic despotism is to encourage manliness, and part of that is to attribute manliness to American women. ... It's a very complimentary statement, a nice try from a gallant and attractive man; but today, in a late stage of the democratic revolution that Tocqueville described so well, our democracy has placed the idea of separate but equal status for women firmly in the past....
  "Having firmly set aside the reactionary solution of separate roles, man in public and woman in private, an arrangement 'traditional' to be sure - if you mean by that common to all human history - we abandon nostalgia and return to the gender-neutral society...."
  What do you think of Mansfield's argument? How would you answer it biblically? Is it simply passe to speak of separate roles for men and women?
  Michael Farris and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) have been spearheading efforts to defend parental rights both here and abroad. You would do well to be aware of their work. Pray 1 Timothy 2:1-3 in this regard.
  Last Sunday we spent a fair amount of time talking about who Christ is. Here is an article dealing with an important theological topic of our day called "the new perspective on Paul." The article does a good job of giving the basic gist of the "new perspective," and it also lays out biblically why this new perspective is wrong. But I also want you to notice how closely understanding the true teaching about salvation is connected with understanding the true picture of Christ. This will increase your worship of our glorious Savior.
  When a city can pass a law banning all trans fats (click on title above), while society allows all kinds of moral perversions to pass unrestricted, it is a sure sign that somebody is worshipping false gods. False gods will make you insane (Romans 1:21-22).
  The Lord has blessed our church with many ladies who have an earnest desire to please him. (And I want to say as pastor how much I appreciate their talent and industry in Christ's service!) Several of our ladies have been going through the very profitable volume entitled The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. From what I hear, it has been a challenging and encouraging read. However, last Friday at the ladies Bible study some ladies raised questions about the propriety of the way Mrs. Peace described a wife's role in relationship to her husband. I appreciate the careful reading and the effort to "test everything" and to "hold fast what is good." In that spirit, I want to offer the following thoughts in order to help us all grow in our ability to live out the rich relationship that is godly, covenant marriage.
  Before I begin, let me post here the relevant quotes from the book which raised questions. You will understand these best if you have read the entire chapter, so if you haven't done that, please take time to do so. These are all taken from chapter six, "A Wife's Understanding of Her Role."
  "The Apostle Paul is making reference [in 1 Cor 11:7-9] to God's original intent. Man is to glorify God and woman is to glorify the man" (p. 49).
  "So, just as Christ glorified the Father by doing the Father's 'work,' you are to glorify your husband by doing the husband's 'work.' Your role is to glorify your husband. You were created for him" (p. 51).
  "[T]he wife's role is a model of the church's relationship to Christ. Therefore, you should submit to your husband's authority and use your energies to glorify him" (p. 53).
  "Christ/the husband cherishes, sacrifices for, nourishes, and loves the church/wife. On the other hand, the church/wife is to submit to and glorify her Christ/husband" (p. 53).
  "Basically, we have said that the wife's role is to glorify and submit to her husband. She was created to fulfill her role as 'helper' for her husband" (p. 54).
  Now, I must hasten to add that the ladies were not questioning that this teaching was essentially correct. Some simply wondered if it was appropriate to speak of "glorifying" one's husband. Is this giving to a man what should be reserved for God alone?
  First of all, I want to note that the ladies are on to something important here. God is unique and is not to be confused in any way with his creation. He is worthy of glory in an absolute and ultimate way, and no human being can share in his glory (Isa 42:8). Yet I would maintain that Mrs. Peace is correct in her use of the term "glorify" because she is using it in a biblical way.
  Note the definition of the terms "glory" and "glorify" in the New Testament. They refer to magnificence, greatness, enhancing someone's reputation, praising them, honoring them, etc., and they are used of people as well as of God (Luke 14:10; Rom 2:10; 9:4; 1 Cor 11:7; 1 Thess 2:20). Of course, we recognize that the glory of humans is like grass (1 Peter 1:24); it is not equal to God's either in quantity or quality. It is only a reflection of God's glory. Yet, although we do not normally speak this way in everyday conversation, there is nothing inherently wrong with "glorifying" another human being. Every time we praise our children for doing something right, we are glorifying them. Every time we hold a rally for troops returning from Iraq, we are glorifying them. Every time we clap our hands for the USAFA football team, we are glorifying them. We all recognize that we are not "deifying" our children, soldiers, or football players. We are simply responding to something they have accomplished with a recognition of honor and praise.
  This response is actually a profoundly important aspect of our lives as Christians. In John 17, Jesus Christ's high priestly prayer incorporates a "theology" of glory in relationships. He prayed that the Father would glorify him so that he could glorify the Father (17:2). He speaks of how he glorified the Father by accomplishing the work that the Father gave him to do (17:4) and asks the Father to glorify him in his own presence with the glory he had before the world existed (17:5). He goes on to say that he is glorified in those people who are his (17:10), and he prays in vv. 21-23 "that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them that they may be one even as we are one, I im them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me" (ESV).
  As we mirror the relationships modelled for us in the Trinity, we will glorify one another. Just as Jesus and the Father glorify one another, and even share that glory with us as we are united to them (v. 22), so we should glorify one another in our relationships. Theologian John Frame says it this way, "...the concept of mutual glorification suggests an important way in which Christians can be like the members of the Trinity: we, too, are called to defer to one another in this way, to glorify one another, to be disposable to one anther's purposes - that is, to love one another as God loved us."
  If this is true in all of our relationships in the body of Christ, how much more is it true in our husband-wife relationships. Mrs. Peace has done an excellent job of presenting the biblical evidence for why a wife should glorify her husband. Though this language may sound strange to our ears, it actually points us to our participation in the life of the Triune God, exemplified in our marriage relationships.
  This morning we gloried in who Christ Jesus is - his divine-human person. You can listen to the sermon by clicking on the title above and post comments or questions here.
  Here are some great quotes from the Puritan pastor John Owen relating to Jesus Christ as the God-man.
  "This is a glory whose beams are so wonderful that the blind world cannot see their beauty and so many deny the incarnation of God. Nevertheless, this is the glory of our religion, the glory of the church, the only rock on which it was built, the only source of present grace and future glory" (The Glory of Christ).
  "Let us get it fixed in our minds that this glory of Christ in his divine-human person, is the best, the most noble and beneficial truth that we can think about or set our hearts on. It is the neglect of meditation that keeps so many Christians in a feeble state, regardless of their privileges. They hear of these things and assent to the truth of them or at least they do not quesiton them. But they never solemnly meditate on them. But they never solemnly meditate on them" (ibid.).
  Spend time this week meditating on and adoring the Person of Christ. I would appreciate you sharing anything you learn as you do that, and may we all behold the glory of our Lord!
  In light of this hurtful and immoral trend, I would encourage us to do more than shout at the darkness. Those of us who embrace Christ must model what a vibrant, godly, covenant marriage is, where husbands love their wives like Christ loves the church, and where wives submit to their husbands (Eph 5). Many people will scorn us for this vision, but they will not be able to deny its powerful beauty.
  Dr. Kevin Bauder, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, gives a helpful basic introduction to how we discern those with whom we can have Christian fellowship and those with whom we cannot. Very important message for our day.