We met again last night, eight of us this time (five men, three women). We all prayed. We looked first at Romans 8:1-11. Always good to be in Romans 8.
A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Midweek Meeting January 30 2025
We met again last night, eight of us this time (five men, three women). We all prayed. We looked first at Romans 8:1-11. Always good to be in Romans 8.
Day Off Week 5 2025
Proper day off today. Dressed for it in t shirt and trainers, I headed off for a walk on the Heath quite early and had an early cuppa too, reading David Copperfield. Read quite a bit of that through the day (it's brilliant, of course) but also found time to watch the latest University Challenge, do some blogging and write a letter for someone, etc. Got some cheese in Waitrose to write up on my cheese blog. Near the end of the day I had bottle of pear cider that I bought from Marks and Spencer. Very nice.Reading Dickens description of Copperfield and the waiter brought back a memory of school days and acting out the scene in class (Year 8?). I was the waiter and sought to extract as much comedy from it as I could.
Engaging With Thomas Aquinas
On Monday we met at the Pastors Academy in Finchley once again for our reading group. Our subject was Leonardo De Chirco's book on engaging with Aquinas. I was leading so I'll reproduce the questions I prepared below. About ten of us met. We were all quite favourable towards the book which we found helpful though not essential. We decided next time to look at a couple of C S Lewis books.
Questions
How much did you know about Aquinas before reading the book? Have you
read any of his work? What did you think of de Chirico's book? Who
would benefit best from it?
Introduction 1-11 Are you aware of the evangelical love story with Thomas? (5) How would you answer the five questions on page 6? (“What should we make of this entire discussion? … ie sifting what is good and rejecting what is deviant?”) Also a sixth question as we move on to page 7?
1 The life and work of Thomas Aquinas 12-31 How do you tend to think of the Middle Ages? Is your ultimate goal to see God or to love him? Which is most important - the true or the good? (18) Why is Thomas better remembered than Bonaventure? (19-21) What do you make of Thomas's 1273 mystical experience? (25) How impressive is 8 million words? (26) [Dickens – 4.6m, Shakespeare – 884,000, Bible – 780,000]
2 Sources and synthesis of Thomas Aquinas's thought 32-67 Does a good theologian need a good knowledge of science? (33) Was Thomas's use of Aristotle a theologically compromised use of the Christian faith? (34) Is Aristotle of any use to us? Are some truths of faith accessible to reason? (38) What do you think of Thomas's five attitudes to the Word? (42) Have the inspired apostles and prophets ever said anything contrary to the dictates of natural reason? (44) Did Thomas understand justification by faith? Did he understand total depravity? Is the exitus-reditus motif of any use? (55-57) How do we relate nature and revelation? (59) What do you make of Thomas's five arguments for God? (62) Was Thomas too optimistic? (65-67)
3 Roman Catholic appropriations: from veneration to magisterial affirmation 68-93 Should the accrued venerations of medieval spirituality towards Thomas affect our attitude to him? Is there a Protestant equivalent to Thomas ie someone accepted as the standard representation of Protestantism? How important is the difference between Thomas and Thomism? What is the significance of the legend of the Summa and the Bible? (76) Is Thomas useful to Protestants in proving the incompatibility of Rome and the Reformation? (78) What is wrong with John of St Thomas's approach to Thomas? (80) Why did Thomistic trends from Trent onwards provide the best apologetics for the Roman status quo intellectually and symbolically? (81) What can you learn from Rome's opposition to modernism? (84) What is the significance of Pope Pius XI's 1923 encyclical? (85) “The irony was… neo-Thomism... built a… system that, to fight against the Enlightenment, ended up assimilating the rationalistic outlook of its plausibility structures.” Discuss. (86) What about Thomas's “theological guide” status? (89) Is de Chirico right to note the lack of reference to Protestant theologians in FR? (91) Is the reference to Thomas's Mariolatry significant? (92, 93)
4 Protestant readings of Thomas: circling around evangelical eclecticism 94-124 What are the implications of Schaff's statement? (94) Which approach to Thomas is best – that of Luther (95-100) Calvin (101) Zanchi, Dorsche (102, 103) Bucer, Vermigli (105ff) Melanchthon, etc (109) Turretin and Owen (110ff)?? What about Kuyper's approach? (114) and Bavinck (116ff) and Van Til and Schaeffer (119ff)? How about A Vos and Geisler (121ff)? Can and should evangelicals learn a great deal from Thomas? (123) Was Thomas a Proto-Reformer? (123)
5 Legacy and critical issues… contours... trajectories of Thomas's architectural thought 125-158 Are people naturally open to God? (125ff) Does grace scrap nature or bring it to perfection? (128) How important is it to distinguish common and special grace? (131, 135) How important is what is said about the development of the understanding of nature and grace by Rome? Where does general revelation sit in your theology?Any remarks on what is said about Vatican II? (145-149) Does Christianity need Greek philosophy? Is Bavinck's comment helpful? (150-153) “Updating without changing” – how well does that seem to sum up Romanism? (157)
6 Thomas Aquinas for evangelicals today 159-172 What colour hat for Thomas? (159) Can an evangelical be a Thomist? (160) Thomas on the doctrine of God: Frame or Trueman? (161-164) Can de Chirico's principles be improved, modified, increased? (165-172) Have you been avoiding conversation with Thomas? What is the significance of his having an integrated system? (169) Did you expect more reference to Sproul and apologetics? (171) Are you being mature about this?
Lord's Day January 26 2025
We had fairly good congregations last Lord's Day morning and evening. Lots of people are ill again, however, and so there were plenty missing. Some do arrive incredibly late too. Decent number of cildren. Also, a new Ghanaian mother and daughter came for the first time. I hope we see them again. Great sermon subjects - the classic Ephesians 2:8-10 and a chapter I'd really missed, to be honest, 2 Chronicles 13.
10 Works of Fiction That Sustained Young David Copperfield
Before being sent off to school David used to love to read these in a room next to his bedroom, books left by his father. I confess I have only read two or three of these.
- Roderick Random (Tobias Smollet|)
- Peregrine Pickle (Tobias Smollet|)
- Humphrey Clinker (Tobias Smollett)
- Tom Jones (Henry Fielding)
- The Vicar of Wakefield (Oliver Goldsmith)
- Don Quixote (Miguel Cervantes trans Tobias Smollett)
- Gil Blas (Alain-René Lesage trans Tobias Smollett)
- Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)
- The Arabian Nights
- The Tales of the Genii (James Ridley)
10 Differences between the NIVUK (2011) and the NIV (2011)
- Genesis 10:19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon towards/toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then towards/toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
- Genesis 15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking brazier/firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
- Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some ears of corn/heads of grain and eat them.
- Matthew 26:34 This very night, before the cock/rooster crows, you will disown me three times
- Luke 17:35 Two women will be grinding corn/grain together; one will be taken and the other left.
- John 9:6 After saying this, he spat/spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
- Acts 17:9 Then they put Jason and the others on bail/made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
- Acts 27:27 They took soundings and found that the water was forty metres/a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was thirty metres/ninety feet deep.
- 1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives among you/dwells in your midst?
- Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy/empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.
Midweek Meeting January 22 2025
I missed reporting on this last week so I've put it in retrosectively. Nine of us gathered to hear Eddie on Lamentations 4 and then we all prayed. We finished a little late, perhaps but not too bad.
Day Off Week 4 2025
As last week, this was a slightly truncated day off. This time I had to be at a zppm meeting wth regard to a trust I serve. I managed to get some walking done later. I also went shopping - for cheese (see my cheese blog), reading glasses and a copy of David Copperfield, bought with some Christmas money. I have now started to read the Dickens and am enjoying. I also did some drawing in a 642 London book (also a Christmas present) and later watched an episode of an ITV drama.
Article in February Banner Mag
I have an article in the February Banner Mag that you might like to check out. It's called "The causes of salvation in Reformed thinking". Plenty of other interesting things there too.
Lord's Day January 19 2025
It was good to be preaching this last Lord's Day once again. We carried on in Ephesians and 2 Chronicles and had vommunion in the evening. I am almost in despair with regard to attendance, however. It is not so much those who are away and we know why but others who are away and we do not really know why. Perhaos thisis not really new. It was good to have a number of people around in the afternoon, including a new person in the congregation who I hope will stick with us.
10 Popular Songs with Monday in the Title
- Monday Monday, Mamas and the Papas
- Monday morning, Fleetwood Mac
- Monday, The Jam
- Monday, Imagine Dragons
- Manic Monday, The Bangles
- Blue Monday, New Order
- Stormy Monday, Allman Brothers
- Stormy Monday Blues, B B KIng or Vlatko Stefanovski Trio, etc
- Rainy days and Mondays, Carpenters
- I don't like Mondays, Boom Town Rats
Complete Unknown
We went last night to see the new biopic about the legendary Bob Dylan. The film is very interesting and worth watching. At one point we see Dylan in a church leafing through a Bible but this is not about the period when he professed faith and scandalised everyone with his evangelical fervour but about those early days from his arrival in New York as a complete unknown to his famous appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 when, horrors, he played an electric set to the bewildered audience. It is in this wonderful closing scene that we get into the area of poetic licence. We have someone in the film calling Dylan a Judas but that I'm sure didn't happen until a year or so later in Manchester. We also have Johnny Cash backstage urging Dylan back on for a final acoustic number. Cash was in Newport in 1964 but not 1965. How can film makers justify playing fast and loose with the truth? The broader truth is that Dylan was considered a Judas and Johnny Cash was a great encourager of the new electric phase. In a brief and passing media like film sometimes such things need to be done. It also provides nerds with something to talk about. Bob Dylan is an enigmatic character and this film does nothing to dispel that enigma but it does give you some material to work with.
10 musical biopics of recent years
- 2021 Respect, Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson [older] Skye Dakota Turner [young])
- The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Billie Holiday (Andra Day)
- Elvis, Elvis Presley (Austin Butler)
- 2022 Wanna dance with somebody, Whitney Houston (Naomi Ackie)
- George & Tammy, Tammy Wynette (Jessica Chastain) George Jones (Michael Shannon)
- 2023 Maestro, Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan)
- 2024 Maria, Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie [older] Angelina Papadopoulou [young])
- One Love, Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir)
- Back to Black, Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela)
- A Complete Unknown, Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet)
I have only seen four of these but would be happy to watch them all.
Midweek Meeting January 15 2025
We were back to Romans last Wednesday, the final part of Romans 7. About seven of us gathered, five men and two women. We had a good time of prayer.
A Tidy Faith
While at the Carey Conference I took opportunity to buy the new systematic theology by Jonathan Bayes. I was aware of the book and checked with Jonathan whether he was aware that the word tidy has different connotations in South Wales. He wasn't. So inadvertently he has entitled his book orderly faith and brilliant faith. No problem there. Any systematic theology by a Baptist is a rare treat (Gill, Dagg, Erickson, Grudem is about it). This one is 648 pages long and works to a system where we get exegesis first then a systematic formulation of the doctrine with reference to the 20 or so confessions or catechims he has consulted plus other non-western documents. Thirdly, a bit of history and then, finally, practical application. There are 16 chapters and a bibliography. Jonathan is a regular Baptist in Derbyshire but this work has grown our of his overseas lecturing, chiefly in the far east. I notice it is available from Amazon in hardback, paperback and (very cheaply) kindle format.
Byatt Matisse Stories
A S Byatt or Dame Antonia Susan Duffy (née Drabble; she's Margaret's sister) 1936-2023 was an English critic, novelist, poet and short-story writer, popular in the nineties. Raised a Quaker she herself lived as an agnostic. I'd never read anything by her but attracted by the lovely cover of this hardback book I bought it somewhere some years ago (it came out in 1993) and I have recently read the three stories it contains. It's proper literature in that it not only tells a story but makes you think about life. There is humour in each story - enough to make you smile not to belly laugh. She clearly was a very skilled writer and perhaps merits more investigation.
Day Off Week 3 2025
More of a traditional day off this week after holidays and Carey in the first two weeks. It was unsual in that I have agreed to lead a discussion at the Pastors Academy on January 27 so I needed to finish the book and draw uo a set of questions which took up my morning. The book is by Leonardo de Chirico and is an introduction to Thomas Aquinas for evangelicals. This meant I had to postpone my walk on the Heath until the afternoon but I managed to get it done by sundown. Bumped into George Platt pastor of neighbouring Highgate Road Chapel with his new baby, Teddy. In the evening we watched the first two Silent Witnesses of the new season. It's an odd programme, quite pro-life in its own way.
Lord's Day January 12 2025
It was the usual unusual in Childs Hill again last Lord's Day as we started again on our series - in Ephesians and 2 Chronicles. There was, of course, a new ranian who we might or might not see again. There was an Italian lady and her brother with Downs Syndrome visiting. Again many were ill and others were away for other reasons. Some we haven't seen for a little while were back. Three or four lots of babies and parents were in the creche. Good to see it being used. There were five children too. I spoke to them for the last time this time round from the Christmas catechism. Plenty to encourage then and some things to discourage, I guess.
Grandchild Number Nine
On January 10 our ninth grandchild safely arrived. Gwen Grace is our third grand daughter, so the girls are catching up perhaps. God is good.Gwen means fair or blessed. Growing up the lady next door was a Gwen.
2025, on day number ten
Here comes a baby by the name of Gwen.
She weighed in at six ounces and eight pounds
She's bound to fill the place with lovely sounds.
Gwen Grace Brady - she'll be a fine lady
Here's to Gwen Grace - she's gonna rock the place!
A sister for Daisy and Gruff to love
Look after her kids, don't push her or shove.
Your sister Gwen, she's looking up to you,
Show her how to behave and what to do
And remember also that you're now three
So you'll need sometimes to just let it be.
10 Fuels Used in Vehicles Today
- Petrol
- Diesel
- Biodiesel
- Battery Electric
- Hybrid (Electric/Petrol)
- Plug in Hybrid (Petrol/Electric)
- Hydrogen
- LPG (liquid petroleum gas)
- CNG (compressed natural gas)
- HVO (Hydro-treated vegetable oil)
10 Welsh words now in the OED
- Calennig, n. A New Year's gift. Also: the practice or custom observed on the morning of New Year's Day, usually by children, of going from door to door making a request (traditionally in the form of a song) for food, money, or other gifts
- cawl, n.2 Soup
- iechyd da, int. Cheers (lit good health)
- mamgu, n. Grandmother (South Wales)
- Senedd, n. (The Welsh) Parliament
- sglods, n. Chips
- tadcu, n. Grandfather (South Wales)
- taid, n. Grandfather (North Wales)
- twp, adj. (and n.) Stupid
- ych a fi, int. Expressing disgust or disdain
Carey Conference 2025 Day 3
People often ask me: “Is such and such a good idea in missions?” The reason for this question is that there are thousands of different things going on in the missions world today. It makes sense why pastors are at a loss in sorting through the good and bad. How do we know w
hat amounts to “good” missions?
hat amounts to “good” missions?
Several friends and I are presently working on a series of books on church-centered missions. In that series, we define missions as church planting across significant barriers, barriers that are usually linguistic, geographic, and cultural, or some combination thereof.
Yet contained within that big picture are four different channels we can view as “missions.” Before I explain all four, which is the goal of this article, we should remember that not every strategic missions effort is an “ends of the earth” effort. This is where John Piper helps us in distinguishing between Timothaine and Pauline missions. [Chapter 5, Let the Nations be Glad] is quite helpful on this topic. Timothy and Titus left their homeland and went to places where churches already existed in order to strengthen and build them up. Timothaine missions, therefore, are when you leave your homeland, culture, language, etc. to strengthen existing churches and establish more churches in areas where the gospel has gone but maybe has not yet prospered.
Paul, on the other hand, had a different objective. While Paul loved all churches and worked to strengthen those he planted, he also pressed into places where no church yet existed. Paul actually left areas where there were healthy churches, though they may be few in number, in order to go to those places where Christ had not been named (Rom. 15:19-20). [Paul’s statement in Romans 15 of “having no more work to do in these regions” is shocking, especially since most church historians agree that less than 20 percent of the population had been exposed to the gospel. Yet Paul presses on. His metric for a “reached” area was, did they have a healthy church? If they did he pressed on.] This is the heart of Pauline missions - to go where the gospel hasn’t yet gone.
The reality is that both Timothaine and Pauline missions are important in fulfilling the Great Commission. Without Timothaine missions, many churches would fail to prosper and may even falter. In such cases, there would be fewer Pauline efforts because the churches that nurture and produce the “Pauls” would not mature to the point of raising them up. Something similar needs to be said about the necessity of Pauline missions. If Pauline missions doesn’t exist, then the ends of the earth will never be reached, entire language groups will remain without any gospel witness, and the Great Commission will not be accomplished. [This is not meant to be read in Matthew 24:14 eschatologically over-stretched manner. No man, missions agency, or tool of this world will bring about the King’s return. However, the King will return someday . . . and missions will be over. We long for that day that only the Father knows.] Both Timothaine and Pauline missions, therefore, are necessary.
With this spectrum in mind, below are four categories, or lanes, which encompass the primary thrusts of good missions today.
1. Training of National Pastors
National pastors are those who pastor outside the English-speaking world, speak a national or minority language, and often understand English at an intermediate-high level. [The ACTFL levels of language acquisition are a good resource for churches to evaluate if their missionaries are fluent. Advanced-High is what a missionary should be in order to translate or teach, but Intermediate-high is enough to listen and understand mid-level content. Teachers that do this type of training need to be careful that those who attend these types of training can actually comprehend at an Intermediate-high level. Often that is not the case.]
Strengthening these men and their churches clearly counts as “Timothaine.” This type of missions strengthens impoverished pastors and helps them distinguish good doctrine from bad.
An example of where such missions is crucial is what is now called the “Global South.” Christianity in the Global South bears a number of strengths, but it also has some clear weaknesses. For instance, these pastors and churches would benefit from more teaching and training against the health and wealth gospel. Churches should grow in a robust historic faith that does not falter at lesser substitutes.
There are a variety of factors that boost and diminish the value of these training programs for national pastors. Depth of teaching, length, regularity, who teaches, goals, cultural awareness, and network of pastors associated in and out of the country are the big factors. Again, such work does not quite count as church planting, but it is nonetheless a critical part of developing healthy churches; and it merits its own category in good missions. Those that do this particularly well are our brothers among the conservative Presbyterians, HeartCry Missionary Society, Training Leaders International (TLI), The Masters Academy International (TMAI), and a variety of seminaries.
2. English Speaking Churches in Cross-Cultural Contexts
Planting healthy English-speaking churches in cross-cultural contexts is a recent trend in missions, historically speaking. Nonetheless, there are countless examples which prove this kind of missions to be a fruitful effort. English-speaking churches preaching the gospel serve to disciple missionaries and other English speaking-expats living abroad. Additionally, they can strengthen national churches, plant new churches in the local language, and generally serve as an in-country platform for further evangelistic and missions activity.
Unfortunately, there are many instances of unhealthy English-speaking churches overseas. These churches regularly fail to respect the culture they exist in. Worse, they fail to recognize and partner with the national churches already established. Sadly, this leads to ineffective evangelism and discipling, suspicion and animosity drawn from locals, and troubled relationships with other churches.
Ministries such as 9Marks, Redeemer City to City, and Acts29 have all partnered with English-speaking churches in international contexts with varying levels of success. Additionally, various sending agencies have begun to employ this strategy.
3. The Planting of Churches in National or Majority Languages
Language is one of the clearest biblical ways for breaking down the remaining task of the Great Commission. [This subject could consume an entire article but the quick version is; Genesis 11 shows how God separated the world, by language, Genesis 12 - all families (families is not nuclear like we think of today, more like a clan or tribe . . . separated by language) of the earth will be blessed through Abrahams seed (singular). Acts 2—the mark that the King has come and the beginnings of the reversal of Babel—men from all gathered nations hear the glory of God being expressed . . . in their own language. Who will the represented Bride be in Revelation 7:9 and 5:9, every tribe, language, people and nation. Is language the only metric of the Great Commission, no. Is it a primary and often forgotten metric in our day, yes.In fact, language often provides the best view of where the church is strong, weak, or non-existent.]
Planting churches among national or majority languages involves the church going where there simply aren’t enough churches. The country of India offers a great example of a country where the national languages remain in dire need of more good churches. It is the most populous country in the world with six national languages (Hindi, Telugu, Kashmiri, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati), all in great need of more churches. Many other countries and languages (Bahasa, Tajik, Arabic, Mandarin, Urdu, Swahili, etc.) also merit much attention from the missions world due to how little gospel influence there is there.
It is especially important to know what methodology a missions agency ascribes to in this category because movement/multiplication methods are most prevalent here. Reaching and Teaching, ABWE, and HeartCry have historically done excellent work in church planting in national languages. Additionally, there are pockets within the International Missions Board, Pioneers, Send International, Africa Inland Mission, Frontiers and others that have not bought into the movement/multiplication methodology and are doing good work among majority languages around the world.
4. The Planting of Churches in Minority Languages
There are many languages in the world where there is no gospel witness and, consequently, no church among them. The missionary task has always included planting churches among those who have never had access to the gospel. Church planting among these language groups is distinctly “Pauline” missions as it aims to go where no foundation has been laid. There are roughly 3,100 language groups who still have yet to hear the name of Christ.
Church-planting in this category is often slow hard work due to the lack of translated materials, the need for language acquisition, harsh living circumstances, and governments hostile to Christianity.
Good organizations that work exclusively in this category include Global Serve International, Ethnos360, FinisTerre Range, and Beyond the Reef. Many other organizations work in a mix of this category and one of the three others. Reaching and Teaching, HeartCry, and a handful of others are growing their footprint in this category.
Other areas of ministry in missions include aviation ministry, medical missions, mercy ministries, Bible and literature distribution, etc. These are good works to encourage and be encouraged by. However, in order for these kinds of missions to be most effective, they need to connect directly or indirectly to church planting. Seeing mature churches established is the goal of the Great Commission, nothing less.
Snow in Aber
We hear from family in Aberystwyth that there has been a dusting of snow. My grandsons are very happy as snow is fairly rare in Aber itself (as opposed to the hills around).
John Owen Quotation
Tonight we had this excellent quote from John Owen
... Multitudes of these invitations and calls are recorded in the Scripture, and they are all of them filled up with those blessed encouragements which divine wisdom knows to be suited unto lost, convinced sinners, in their present state and condition. It were a blessed contemplation, to dwell on the consideration of the infinite condescension, grace, and love of Christ, in his invitations to sinners to come unto him that they may be saved, – of that mixture of wisdom and persuasive grace that is in them, – of the force and efficacy of the pleading and argument that they are accompanied withal, as they are recorded in the Scripture; but that belongs not to my present design. This I shall only say, that in the declaration and preaching of them, Jesus Christ yet stands before sinners, calling, inviting, encouraging them to come unto him.
This is somewhat of the word which he now speaks unto you: Why will ye die? why will ye perish? why will you not have compassion on your own souls? Can your hearts endure, or can your hands be strong, in the day of wrath that is approaching? It is but a little while before all your hopes, your reliefs, and presumptions will forsake you, and leave you eternally miserable. Look unto me, and be saved; – come unto me, and I will ease you of all sins, sorrows, fears, burdens, and give rest unto your souls. Come, I entreat you; – lay aside all procrastinations, all delays; – put me off no more; – eternity lies at the door. Cast out all cursed, self-deceiving reserves; – do not so hate me as that you will rather perish than accept of deliverance by me.
These and the like things does the Lord Christ continually declare, proclaim, plead, and urge on the souls of sinners; as it is fully declared, Prov. 1: 20-33. He does it in the preaching of the word, as if he were present with you, stood amongst you, and spake personally to every one of you. And because this would not suit his present state of glory, he has appointed the ministers of the gospel to appear before you, and to deal with you in his stead, avowing as his own the invitations that are given you in his name, 2 Cor. 5:19,20.
(Meditations on the glory of Christ)
Carey Conference 2025 Day 2
We had a good full day at the conference today. We began with a prayer meeting and then after breakfast we had another session helpful session on mission with Brooks Buser. After coffee we split into a men's and women's stream. The men's stream was quite demanding as Enoch Adekoya sought to distill parts of his PhD, speaking on Christian nationalism.
In the afternoon a number of us made the short journey to Carey Baptiist Chruch in Moulton, where we were shown a number of items in connection with the missionary William Carey. An interesting time.
Back at the centre we had the prayer and share session and then the second more wide ranging evening session with Austin Walker on particular redemption. There was also a brief exposition of Chapter 7 of the 1689 Confession from Fabio Silva.
Austin Walker
... Certain dangers arise if the Church does not confess and preach particular redemption. If it is not clearly defined, then few will really know what the Bible teaches. If the objection is raised that we are being overly precise and creating unnecessary division among Christians it is because doctrinal precision is not to be eschewed in favour of vagueness and open-endedness. Either Christ died for all men or he died for his people whom he deliberately intended to save. It is not adequate simply to say that salvation is all of grace. The fact is that universal redemption is unbiblical. Follow out its implications and it destroys God’s gospel. Alec Motyer has a fine chapter in a recent book, From Heaven He Came and Sought Her. He expounds the atoning work of the suffering servant found in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. He concludes that the death of the servant was complete and efficacious for his innumerable elect from every nation. In keeping with the rest of the Scripture, Isaiah’s language is such that particular redemption is the only conclusion that can be drawn. At the same time Motyer affirms that redemption in no way inhibits the universal proclamation of the good news and the invitation to God’s salvation. ...
What difference does it make whether we believe in particular redemption? There are several considerations for us in our witness-bearing and preaching. First, we should be full of confidence in the preaching of the gospel as God’s chosen means to save sinners. The preacher should be directly evangelistic and address sinners with warmth and genuine concern for their salvation. Believing in particular redemption should add to his confidence, urgency and intensity as he pleads and invites sinners to come to Christ. Second, and closely related to the first, the preacher should have the utmost confidence in the all-sufficiency of Christ, of his death on the cross and his power actually to save sinners. That will also, thirdly, affect the way that the preacher freely offers Christ, salvation and the forgiveness of sins to all kinds of guilty sinners. There should be no hesitation or reservation in freely offering Jesus Christ to all. He is offering them not the possibility of salvation but the certainty of salvation because as Christ’s ambassador he is offering them the person of the Saviour in all his capacity to save sinners.
However, simply preaching particular redemption, (Calvinistic orthodoxy, if you will), is not enough. We also believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. When Paul went to Thessalonica the gospel came to them ‘not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance’ (1 Thess 1:5). That should become the constant prayer, the longing and expectation of the church of Christ, in every generation. The preacher is totally dependent on God for success in preaching Christ. In his sovereignty, God takes preachers with mistaken views about redemption and the work of Christ and uses them to advance his kingdom in this world.
However, that should not make us think that after all it does not really matter what we believe and preach, that we can be Calvinistic or Arminian. The key question is always, what do the Scriptures teach and how is God to be glorified? In every generation the church of the Lord Jesus Christ needs to be clear in its understanding of the gospel and of the way in which God saves sinners.
My personal conviction is that relegating such matters as particular redemption to the place of non-essential, secondary truth actually undermines the maintaining of the biblical gospel. Brief statements of faith which are not specific about the matters discussed above will do nothing either to promote and maintain the biblical gospel. In fact, they unwittingly encourage a spirit of indifference towards matters of doctrine. Our forefathers drew up confessions of faith for a good reason. They wanted to set out their convictions about the specific teaching of the Bible in as full and clear a way as possible. It has always been a puzzle to me that today’s generation of Christians seems happy to confess less truth than our forefathers. To do that jeopardises the faithfulness and well-being of the church and is in grave danger of detracting from the glory that belongs to God and of providing a platform for the entry of error and heresy.
C H Spurgeon (as quoted by AW)
There is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless we preach what is nowadays called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel … unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of his elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the Cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called.
C H Spurgeon’s Autobiography, 4 vols. (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1899), I:172.
10 Pairs of Jobs with similar beginning letters
I started thinking about this when I read the beginning of a short story by G K Chesterton
- Architect and archaeologist
- Bus driver and busker
- Barber and Barrister
- Carpenter and cartographer
- Doctor and documentary film maker
- Food critic and footballer
- Music Teacher and Museum Curator
- Palaeontologist and Palmreader
- Soldier and solicitor
- Teacher and Tea taster
Carey Conference 2025 Day 1
We are in Northampton this time round, a little unusual. It suits me as it only took an hour and a quarter to get here. My assistant Eddie came with me in the car. We had three sessions today. First, Lewis Allen on the Council of Nicaea, 325. which wa a very helpful overview. Then it was our American visitor, Brooks Buser, giving a mainly biograhical introduction to the theme of mission. Brooks was a pioneer missionary in Paua New Guinea so very interesting. The final session of the day was Austin Walker preaching from Isaiah 53 on particular redemption. Such a great day.
Lord's Day January 5 2025
It was nice to have the PA and piano and zoom back on the first Sunday of the new year. We began with a fairly well attended communion (13 I think plus three observers). Numbers were generally down as people still have sickness or are not back from their travels, etc. People came with good news and bad about their situations. I preached a new year text – Hebrews 10:24, 25 – and then in the evening, on John 1:17. Lots of help on that from Alexander Maclaren – not a common go to for me but great on that text. Two young women were there in the evening who had not been able to be there in the morning. Encouraging.
New Year 2024/2025
10 Differences Between Ezra and Nehemiah
1. Ezra was a Hebrew priest and scribe. Nehemiah was a Jewish leader, a cup bearer in the Persian court.
2. Ezra's work was re-establishing the Temple. Nehemiah's work was rebuilding the city walls.
3. When Ezra travelled from exile to Jerusalem he did not ask for guards, while Nehemiah specifically did and was given them.
4. Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the seventh year of king Artaxerxes. Nehemiah arrived in the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes.
5. In leadership style, Ezra was perhaps more passive and Nehemiah more active in approach.
6. When Ezra formed a leadership committee, it consisted of two priests and two Levites but Nehemiah's was made up of a priest, a scribe, a Levite, and a layman.
7. Ezra pulled out his own hair. Nehemiah pulled out the hair of other people.
8. Ezra's list of names was compiled in Babylon before the people actually left. Nehemiah's list is from a later time.
9. When the two choirs marched on the walls when they were dedicated, Ezra was at the front of one and Nehemiah was at the back of the other.
10. Both prayed. Ezra's recorded prayer is longer than that of Nehemiah.
Lord's Day December 29 2024
Last Sunday was a bit different in that we had no PA and no accompaniment. In the evening we retreated to the parlour as we were few and it meant less demand on my voice. Lots are sick and many are away at present so numbers were down a little. I decided to preach two one offs - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 in the morning and Psalm 145:14 in the evening. My eldest son and his family added to the numbers as there are six of them. In the evening it was just the family at first but then four Iranians joined us as they had done last week and then three more showed up, soon making 16 in all and par for the course. The sining wa s alittle hit and miss bith times. This was a rather in between Sunday but I felt I had preached the right messages adn it was good to get back to some sanity in the midst of the long holiday.
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