BibleDriven

“Christ Jesus the Lord, is the sum and centre of all divine revealed truth; neither is any thing to be preached unto men, as an object of their faith, or necessary element of their salvation, which does not, in some way or other, either meet in him, or refer unto him. All truths, especially divine, are of a noble and precious nature; and, therefore, whatsoever mysteries of his counsel God has been pleased in his Word to reveal, the church is bound in her ministry to declare unto men. And St. Paul professes his faithfulness therein, ‘I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God’ (Acts 20.27): but yet all this counsel (which elsewhere he calls the testimony of God) he gathers together into one conclusion, ‘I determined not to know any thing amongst you’ (1 Corinthians 2.1-2), that is, in my preaching unto you to make discovery of any other knowledge, as matter of consequence or faith, but only of Jesus Christ and him crucified (2 Corinthians 4.5). And therefore preaching of the Word, is called preaching of Christ,—and ministers of the Word, ministers of Christ (1 Corinthians 4.1-2; 2 Corinthians 3.6, 14),—and learning of the Word, learning of Christ (Ephesians 4.20); because our faith, our works, and our worship (which are the three essential elements of a Christian, the whole duty of man, the whole will of God,) have all their foundation, growth, end, and virtue, only in and from Christ crucified.”

—Edward Reynolds (1599-1676)
An Explication of the Hundred and Tenth Psalm

Michael Spencer (1956-2010), a.k.a. the Internet Monk (and my friend), passed from here (at his home in Oneida, KY) into the presence of the Lord yesterday (Monday, 05 April), with his family at his side.

I first got to know Michael when I was at Southern Seminary, and always enjoyed stimulating conversations with him over some good coffee in the Founders Cafe. We may not always have seen eye to eye on every theological jot and tittle, but Michael was articulate, insightful, always charitable even when challenging, and not so much opinionated as having strong convictions. He had studied hard. He knew what he believed and why he believed it. And he was passionate for truth.

Here’s a bit from his bio:

Michael started Internet Monk right after the November 2000 elections, and has been blogging ever since. Internet Monk is consistently rated in the top twenty Christian blogs in the world. It was recently voted the number 6 blog at ChurchRelevance.com and is rated the #11 blog in the Christian blogosphere. His work has been noted on blogs around the world and published in newspapers and magazines, such as The Christian Science Monitor and Modern Reformation. He was featured in the September 21, 2006 edition of Time Magazine for his blogging on Joel Osteen and was chosen as a featured blogger by the Dallas Morning News. He has been cited and linked by The Drudge Report, CNN, Glenn Beck, CBN, GetReligion, Out of Ur, Christianity Today, BBC Africa, Yahoo News, Andrew Sullivan, Daily Kos, Rod Dreher, National Review Online and Real Clear Politics, among many others. His analysis of evangelicalism has made him a frequent guest on podcasts and radio programs such as The God Whisperers, Truth Talk and Frank Pastore.

In 2008 Michael was awarded a sabbatical grant from the Louisville Institute to pursue his interest in “Contemplation and Balance in Life and Ministry.” He has been a seminar presenter and panel moderator at Cornerstone ‘08 and ‘09. He is a regular guest at Steve Brown, etc. and has appeared at The Frank Pastore Show and The Catholic Guy Radio program. He has been interviewed on numerous radio programs and magazines. He also podcasts the popular Internet Monk Radio podcast.

Michael’s first book, still untitled, will be published by Waterbrook Press in the fall of 2010. [I think the working title now is Mere Churchianity.]

Yesterday, Michael left here, and we mourn with his dear family and ponder our loss. The Lord’s ways aren’t our ways, but his ways are perfect. Today, Michael is alive and well, because Christ the Lord—in whom he trusted and whom he loved—died for our sins, and was buried, and was raised on the third day and lives forevermore and is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. Sweet shall be your memory, my brother, till we meet again.

The 2010 Recommended Reading List is now posted on the “Reading Lists” page. The theme this year revolves around “the fellowship of the gospel” in the context of “life together” in the local church. Happy reading!

This is from a post I did some time ago over on “Let My People Read.”

One of the books through which I’ve been reading (and working) recently is Susan Bauer’s The Well-Educated Mind. It’s a practical and encouraging guide to a classical self-education through reading the great books of literature. Near the beginning, in a chapter on “The Act of Reading,” she responds to a common objection that often serves as a rationale (however unjustifiable) for not even attempting to read serious books. The objection is: But I read so slowly; it will take me forever to get through those lists of Great Books! Her answer is “spot on”:

Reading is a life-long process. There’s no hurry, no semester schedule, no end-of-term panic, no final exam. The idea that fast reading is good reading is a twentieth-century weed, springing out of the stony farmland cultivated by the computer manufacturers. As Kirkpatrick Sale has eloquently pointed out, every technology has its own internal ethical system. Steam technology made size a virtue. In the computerized world, faster is better, and speed is the highest virtue of all. When there is a flood of knowledge to be assimilated. the conduits had better flow fast.

But the pursuit of knowledge is centered around a different ethic. The serious reader is not attempting to assimilate a huge quantity of information as quickly as possible, but to understand a few many-sided and elusive ideas. The speed ethic shouldn’t be transplanted into an endeavor that is governed by very different ideals.

I say again, “Amen to that!” So why not start today to nourish the life of the mind for the love of God?

“I call you my brothers, and count it my privilege and joy to serve with you. And to you and this common cause in which we stand I give my life. I will go anywhere with you, and face anything, to the end of finishing the mission we’ve been given—faithfully, fully, courageously, and honorably, so help me God.”

As I listened to these words—from my Platoon Sergeant to her soldiers—I longed for them to be the words and the heart found in our churches. Alas, that it’s so rare.

Let’s commit ourselves altogether again to “walk in a manner worthy of [fitting, proper, of comparable value to] the calling” to which we’ve been called (Ephesians 4.1).

“The culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. Above all keep your love for one another fervent, because love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without complaining. Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God. Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever serves, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4.7-11, NET).

I was just on the way from the church over to my little “reserved” table at Starbucks for an afternoon of java and jotting some notes on the history of Christian thought when I noticed, on the car in front of me, this remarkable “thought”—Jesus is coming … look busy!

Aaauuugghhhhhh!! Now, if I’m not completely mistaken, that’s a quote from George Carlin—not really the best source of theological reflection, you know. And I don’t know if the little lady driving this car was a Carlin fan (if so, I would never have guessed it), or whether perhaps she thought that this “thought” had some merit, but its message is fundamentally unbiblical and the attitude behind it dismissive and dangerous.

Here’s what I mean. Jesus is coming … that’s absolutely true. God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness” by this man whom he’s appointed, and of this he has “provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17.31). The appeal that flows from that truth, though, is not “Look busy!” but “Repent!” The Judge of all the earth will not be fooled by “looks.” Oh no! “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ …” (2 Corinthians 5.10), and the word Paul uses there for “appear” is actually passive voice, and means “be made known, be revealed, be brought to light, be seen through,” i.e. for who we really are. “Looking busy” when Jesus comes won’t make any difference. What’s the hope of the hypocrite—the one who pretends to be other than what he or she is—when Jesus comes? None!

Jesus is coming! Repent! Be faithful unto death! Hold fast to our confession and to the hope set before us! Don’t grow weary in doing good! “We must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12.1-2).

But what we must not do is just try to “look busy”!

Biographies—good biographies (or perhaps I should say biographies of good people)—are always heartening, motivating, and edifying. I’ve recently been reading (slowly, for effect) Alan Jacobs’s good work entitled The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis. It’s one of those books … a page or two (sometimes a paragraph or two) and then lots to think about.

This morning I read where Owen Barfield was introduced into Jack Lewis’s life. World War I had just ended and both were back at Oxford, where they met through a common friend (Leo Baker), when each was about twenty-one years old. Owen Barfield “would become one of the most important people in Jack’s life” (90). In fact, Jacobs concludes, “it is Barfield, and Barfield alone, without whom we could not imagine C. S. Lewis as we now know him” (91).

That set me to thinking. We’ve all known some one or two or so folks like this in our own lives—life-shapers for good! I can think of, oh, maybe a handful of friends, some formal and some informal teachers, who have had a life-shaping impact on me for good. My shortcomings and failures are no reflection on them, but much of what is good in my life has some direct connections to their having been in my life. Friends like these are great mercies of God. Think a little today of those who’ve had such an impact in your own life, and thank the Father of every good and perfect gift for their faithful and fruitful friendship.

For those of you interested in matters related to ancient manuscripts of the New Testament (including digital photos of many manuscripts), check out The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. I have the privilege right now of helping the Center to index a number of manuscripts that have recently been photographed (which is sharpening my Greek some but also straining my little eyes). This project as a whole should prove a tremendous boost to New Testament manuscript study around the world. Kudos to Dr. Daniel Wallace, et al. for undertaking this important work.

Carson began the devotional with this true observation: “When people know little about the God who has actually disclosed himself, it is terribly easy for them to sink into some perverted view of this God, until the image held of him has very little to do with the reality.”

He concluded with this troubling illustration: “Yesterday I received in the mail a letter from one of America’s premier television preachers, inviting me to send money and offering me in return a Christmas tree ornament of an ‘angel’ with a trumpet, to remind me that God had commanded the angel looking after me to blow a trumpet to celebrate me. What kind of pared-down and domesticated image of God do such leaders hold that they should utter such nonsense?” (D. A. Carson, from the August 14 Devotional, For the Love of God)

Indeed!

Please read the article entitled “The day the circus came to church” written by Pastor Don Hattaway (Tabernacle Baptist Church, Cartersville) and appearing in The Christian Index (July 30, 2009). In case there’s not a copy of The Christian Index at hand, the article can be read online HERE. More and more voices are beginning to cry in this ecclesiastical wilderness, and my hope is that the Lord is about to do great and mighty things for his church in our place and time. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts …” (Hebrews 3:15; 4:7).