The second day of the conference began with our second main speaker Bruce Ware. Like speakers at the conference in previous years Dr Ware lectures at Southern Baptist, Kentucky. Bearded and with an unpronounced southern burr, he was quite lively. His subject was the exclusivity of Christ as the only Saviour. Acknowledging he was ‘preaching to the choir’ he nevertheless helped us improve our singing by first setting the scene. We live in a time when the questions ‘Is Jesus the only Saviour?’ and ‘Is faith in him necessary?’ are answered by some (pluralists like John Hick) want to say 'no' to both and others (inclusivists like Clark Pinnock) want to say ‘no’ to the second question. Dr Ware argued passionately for a firm ‘yes’ to both by asking ‘Is there any other possible Saviour?’ The answer to that must be ‘no’ when we take into account Christ’s virgin conception, historical incarnation, sinless life, substitutionary death and triumphant resurrection plus Scriptures such as John 3:16, 18, 36, 14:6 and Acts 4:10-12. It was good to be reminded of these central truths with some power and a good awareness of the way such truths are so often under attack. Rewards for faithful service do not always come immediately in this life but it was gratifying at the conclusion of the meeting to hear that Dr & Mrs Ware’s missing luggage had finally arrived after being lost when they flew from the US last Sunday.
The second half of the morning was a ‘split class’ as the women went with Ann Benton for their own study (on Leviticus) and we men remained in the capable hands of Pastor Ray Evans,
originally from Devon but long based in Bunyan’s Bedfordshire. His task was to remind us of the Great Commission, which he did well. Using Tim Keller’s analysis of the conversions in Acts 16, he spoke of ‘Go and tell’, ‘Come and see’ and ‘Serve and care’ approaches. Some would feel that the point about avoiding religious language and seeking to communicate with outsiders in ways they understand has been overplayed to some extent. His later points, however, about fear, the comfort of God’s presence and his call to join Messiah’s mission were perhaps better judged. I liked the words of a janitor at NASA he quoted – ‘I’m part of a team that put a man on the moon’. We are part of a team endeavouring to bring men to heaven through the grace of God.
I had a nice little walk in the afternoon but was back in time for the prayer and share session reported in a separate post. In the evening, Bob Letham stood up again with just his Greek Testament in hand and sought to expound Rom 8:10, 11 in a practical and Trinitarian way. Since Christ indwells the Christian he is dead to sin. The Spirit so pervades him that he is able to be holy. Rather than the NIV’s your spirit is alive he argued convincingly for the Spirit is alive. It is the life of the Spirit in believers that makes the difference. This Spirit is the Spirit who raised Christ and who will one day raise our bodies. Mention was made of a theorem of Einstein (developed by John Bell?) that suggests that if a sub-atomic particle was split in two and the two parts removed to opposite ends of this ever-expanding universe then the two halves would still affect each other. In a similar way our union with Christ means that our resurrection is inextricably linked to his. A helpful and wide ranging discussion followed on translating the text, the resurrection, the extent of the Spirit’s work in us, the cross, etc.
The second half of the morning was a ‘split class’ as the women went with Ann Benton for their own study (on Leviticus) and we men remained in the capable hands of Pastor Ray Evans,
originally from Devon but long based in Bunyan’s Bedfordshire. His task was to remind us of the Great Commission, which he did well. Using Tim Keller’s analysis of the conversions in Acts 16, he spoke of ‘Go and tell’, ‘Come and see’ and ‘Serve and care’ approaches. Some would feel that the point about avoiding religious language and seeking to communicate with outsiders in ways they understand has been overplayed to some extent. His later points, however, about fear, the comfort of God’s presence and his call to join Messiah’s mission were perhaps better judged. I liked the words of a janitor at NASA he quoted – ‘I’m part of a team that put a man on the moon’. We are part of a team endeavouring to bring men to heaven through the grace of God.I had a nice little walk in the afternoon but was back in time for the prayer and share session reported in a separate post. In the evening, Bob Letham stood up again with just his Greek Testament in hand and sought to expound Rom 8:10, 11 in a practical and Trinitarian way. Since Christ indwells the Christian he is dead to sin. The Spirit so pervades him that he is able to be holy. Rather than the NIV’s your spirit is alive he argued convincingly for the Spirit is alive. It is the life of the Spirit in believers that makes the difference. This Spirit is the Spirit who raised Christ and who will one day raise our bodies. Mention was made of a theorem of Einstein (developed by John Bell?) that suggests that if a sub-atomic particle was split in two and the two parts removed to opposite ends of this ever-expanding universe then the two halves would still affect each other. In a similar way our union with Christ means that our resurrection is inextricably linked to his. A helpful and wide ranging discussion followed on translating the text, the resurrection, the extent of the Spirit’s work in us, the cross, etc.
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