Mark Dever answered questions at the Whiteboard sessions on current hot topics.
A Louisville Schrein
Louisville, KY—Arrived in town this morning for the New Attitude conference. It’s my first Na and anticipate the firsthand experience I’ve heard for years from my friends. I’m especially jazzed to hear Devon Kauflin (Bob Kauflin’s son) lead worship after his excellent new album, Looked Upon. I believe the album is released publicly at the conference. I highly recommend it, having listened to it 20+ times. You can download a free copy of one of the songs here: What A Savior.
Today between the airport and hotel, we (Dr Dever and CJ) stopped at the SBTS bookstore, another first for me. In the entrance stands this nice display of Dr Tom Schreiner’s new book, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Baker, 2008). I’ve read bits of the 1,000 page tome that is getting nice reviews around the blogosphere. Well, here’s an iPhone pic of the SBTS bookstore display:
And here is a pic of CJ’s recommended Summer reading that sits off to the side in the SBTS bookstore:
That’s all I got. I’m off somewhere in Louisville to enjoy the beautiful afternoon and my very first taste of Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.2). It’ll be a day of many firsts.
Thanks for reading.
Tony
Machen: Christianity + Culture
If you tune into the volume of books, articles, and cross-country speaking tours you may get the idea that the church just opened her eyes to see that she lives within a culture and needs to do something to understand and engage that culture. Some may say the church is still sleeping through the present culture, unaware of what’s happening around her in the arts, literature, worldview shifts, etc.
Which is why I find myself consistently amazed when I read evidence of how long, how deeply, and how carefully the Reformed tradition has sought to wed theological precision to cultural engagement for the sake of saving the lost.
Take Baltimorian J. Gresham Machen for example (1881-1937). On September 20, 1912, Machen opened the fall semester at Princeton Theological Seminary with an address titled, “Christianity and Culture.”
Listen carefully to Machen as he balances the primacy of the gospel, reformed theology, and cultural engagement. He said:
“… Are then Christianity and culture in a conflict that is to be settled only by the destruction of one or the other of the contending forces? A third solution, fortunately, is possible—namely, consecration. Instead of destroying the arts and sciences or being indifferent to them, let us cultivate them with all the enthusiasm of the veriest humanist, but at the same time consecrate them to the service of our God. Instead of stifling the pleasures afforded by the acquisition of knowledge or by the appreciation of what is beautiful, let us accept these pleasures as the gifts of a heavenly Father. Instead of obliterating the distinction between the kingdom and the world, or on the other hand withdrawing from the world into a sort of modernized intellectual monasticism, let us go forth joyfully, enthusiastically to make the world subject to God. …
There are two objections to our solution of the problem. If you bring culture and Christianity thus into close union—in the first place, will not Christianity destroy culture? Must not art and science be independent in order to flourish? We answer that it all depends upon the nature of their dependence. Subjection to any external authority or even to any human authority would be fatal to art and science. But subjection to God is entirely different. Dedication of human powers to God is found, as a matter of fact, not to destroy but to heighten them. God gave those powers. He understands them well enough not bunglingly to destroy his own gifts. In the second place, will not culture destroy Christianity? Is it not far easier to be an earnest Christian if you confine your attention to the Bible and do not risk being led astray by the thought of the world? We answer that of course it is easier. Shut yourself up in an intellectual monastery, do not disturb yourself with the thoughts of unregenerate men, and of course you will find it easier to be a Christian, just as it is easier to be a good soldier in comfortable winter quarters than it is on the field of battle. You save your own soul—but the Lord’s enemies remain in possession of the field. …
I do not mean that the removal of intellectual objections will make a man a Christian. No conversion was ever wrought simply by argument. A change of heart is also necessary. And that can be wrought only by the immediate exercise of the power of God. But because intellectual labor is insufficient, it does not follow, as is so often assumed, that it is unnecessary. God may, it is true, overcome all intellectual obstacles by an immediate exercise of his regenerative power. Sometimes he does. But he does so very seldom. Usually he exerts his power in connection with certain conditions of the human mind. Usually he does not bring into the kingdom, entirely without preparation, those whose mind and fancy are completely dominated by ideas which make the acceptance of the gospel logically impossible. …
Modern culture is a tremendous force. It affects all classes of society. It affects the ignorant as well as the learned. What is to be done about it? In the first place, the church may simply withdraw from the conflict. She may simply allow the mighty stream of modern thought to flow by unheeded and do her work merely in the back-eddies of the current. There are still some men in the world who have been unaffected by modern culture. They may still be won for Christ without intellectual labor. And they must be won. It is useful, it is necessary work. If the church is satisfied with that alone, let her give up the scientific education of her ministry. …
The church is puzzled by the world’s indifference. She is trying to overcome it by adapting her message to the fashions of the day. But if, instead, before the conflict, she would descend into the secret place of meditation, if by the clear light of the gospel she would seek an answer not merely to the questions of the hour but, first of all, to the eternal problems of the spiritual world, then perhaps, by God’s grace, through his good Spirit, in his good time, she might issue forth once more with power, and an age of doubt might be followed by the dawn of an era of faith.”
[Quote taken from D. G. Hart’s, J. Gresham Machen: Selected Shorter Writings (P&R, 2004) 399-410.]
Bavinck on Kingdom Building
Herman Bavinck on building the kingdom:
“The history of the world which intervenes between Jesus’ ascension and return is a continuous coming of Christ, a progressive gathering of His church on earth, a continuing subjection of His enemies. Often we do not see it, we do not understand it, but Christ is in very fact the Lord of times, the king of the ages; He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last (Rev. 22:13). Because the Father has loved the Son, He created the world in Him, He elected the church, and all those who are given Him, to behold His glory with Him (John 17:24).
The completion of the kingdom of God is therefore not the result of a gradual development of nature, nor a product of human effort. For, even though the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, like a leaven, and like a grain of corn, it nevertheless grows without the knowledge and contribution of men (Mark 4:27). Paul may plant and Apollos may water, but it is God alone who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6). Scripture knows nothing of a self-sufficient nature and an autonomous man; always it is God who keeps the world in force and who makes history. And especially as the end approaches, He will in an extraordinary way intervene in history and by the appearance of Christ cause it to stand still and to have time pass over into eternity. That will be an awful event when Christ, sent by the Father (Acts 3:20 and 1 Tim. 6:15) will appear on the clouds of heaven. Just as on His leaving the earth He was taken up into heaven, so upon His return will He come back from heaven to earth (Phil. 3:20). At His ascension a cloud removed Him from the sight of His disciples; and on the clouds of heaven, spreading themselves out as a great chariot of victory underneath Him He will return to the earth (Matt. 24:30 and Rev. 1:7). It was in the form of a servant that He appeared on the earth the first time, but the second time He will come with great power and glory (Matt. 24:30), as a King of kings and as a Lord of lords…”
–Our Reasonable Faith: A Survey of Christian Doctrine (Baker, 1956), 559.
New: Guide to Calvin’s Institutes
Next year the church will celebrate the 500th birthday of John Calvin. Be prepared to see a glut of books on the man for the next year. This newest volume, out soon from P&R, looks great.
A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis (Hardcover)
Read inside (PDFs): Sample Pages
Publisher: P&R Publishing Company
Author: Hall, David W., Lillback, Peter
ISBN-13: 9781596380912
Binding: Hardcover
List Price: $25.99 $35.99
Westminster Bookstore: $16.89 $23.39
Expected arrival: June 2008
—————-
CONTENTS
Foreword ix
J.I. Packer
1. The Historical Context of the Institutes as a Work in Theology 1
William S. Barker
2. A Primal and Simple Knowledge (1.1–5) 16
K. Scott Oliphint
3. Calvin’s Doctrine of Holy Scripture (1.6–10) 44
Robert L. Reymond
4. The True and Triune God: Calvin’s Doctrine of the Holy Trinity (1.11–13) 65
Douglas F. Kelly
5. Election and Predestination: The Sovereign Expressions of God (3.21–24) 90
R. Scott Clark
6. Creation and Providence (1.14, 16–18 ) 123
Joseph A. Pipa Jr.
7. A Shattered Vase: The Tragedy of Sin in Calvin’s Thought (1.15; 2.1–4) 151
Michael S. Horton
8. Calvin’s Interpretation of the History of Salvation: The Continuity and Discontinuity of the Covenant (2.10–11) 168
Peter A. Lillback
9. The Mediator of the Covenant (2.12–15) 205
Derek W. H. Thomas
10. Calvin on Christ’s Saving Work (2.16–17) 226
Robert A. Peterson
11. Justification and Union with Christ (3.11–18 ) 248
Richard B. Gaffin Jr.
12. Appropriating Salvation: The Spirit, Faith and Assurance, and Repentance (3.1–3, 6–10) 270
Joel R. Beeke
13. The Law and the Spirit of Christ (2.6–9) 301
David Clyde Jones
14. Ethics: The Christian Life and Good Works according to Calvin (3.6–10, 17–19) 320
William Edgar
15. Prayer: “The Chief Exercise of Faith” (3.20) 347
David B. Calhoun
16. Calvin, Worship, and the Sacraments (4.13–19) 368
W. Robert Godfrey
17. John Calvin’s View of Church Government (4.3–9) 390
Joseph H. Hall
18. Calvin on Human Government and the State (4.20) 411
David W. Hall
19. Calvin’s Doctrine of the Last Things: The Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting (3.25 et al.) 441
Cornelis P. Venema
20. Essential Calvin Bibliography 468
Richard C. Gamble and Zachary John Kail
Index of Scripture 481
Index of Subjects and Names 489
Tozer in Prayer
In the past I’ve been exhorted in my prayer life by the writings of A.W. Tozer. But in reading A Passion For God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer by Lyle Dorsett (Chicago, IL; Moody, 2008 ) I’ve now been exhorted by Tozer’s practice of prayer.
Late in the book, Dorsett recounts a fairly famous account of Tozer’s writing of his classic The Pursuit of God. Here is that account—written by Tozer himself (a man not given to self-promotion).
He was invited to speak at McAllen, Texas, and he thought on the long ride down there that he would write on this book. He boarded the train—the old Pullman train—at LaSalle Street Station in Chicago—the days when you would pull the curtain on the roomette and he would be all alone. Well he asked for a little writing table which the porter brought him and he started to write. Along about nine o’clock the porter knocked on the side of the door and said, “Friend, this is the last call for dinner—would you want something to eat?” And he said, “Bring me some toast and some tea” which he did. [Tozer] kept on writing, all night long, this thing coming as fast to his heart as he could write, and when they pulled into the station, about 7:30 the next morning, at McAllen, Texas, that book was finished and all he had in front of him was just the Bible.
Dorsett follows with these exhortive descriptions.
The Pursuit of God is one of the most striking manifestations of the truth that if a man will concern himself with the depth of his ministry, the Holy Spirit will take care of the breadth. Zwemer was correct about the book’s origin. This powerful little book that has had such a profound impact on the souls of hungry Christians who crave a deeper knowledge of God was impregnated and nurtured in Tozers soul. And the gestation happened in long hours of adoration and awe of God. Although the author never boasted about his devotional habits, those few who knew him well knew that the angular man with little formal schooling learned much about his Lord and his God in the secret place.
Tozer spent incalculable hours in prayer. Most of his prolonged prayer time—with his Bible and hymnals as his only companions—took place in his church office on the back side of the second floor. He would carefully hang up his suit trousers and don his sweater and raggedy old “prayer pants” and sit for a while on his ancient office couch. After a time his spirit would drift into another realm. In time, he would abandon the couch, get on his knees, and eventually lie facedown on the floor, singing praises to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
No one presumed to interrupt these times of intimacy between A. W. Tozer and the Lover of his soul. But occasionally one of the men closest to him would climb the steps to his office and chance to see him on the couch or floor—totally oblivious to the world. Francis Chase, Harry Verploegh, and Tozer’s assistant pastor, Ray McAfee, all saw him at one time or another in one of these postures. And more than one of them mentioned that Tozer was weeping or moaning facedown in the old carpet.
-Lyle Dorsett, A Passion For God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer (Chicago, IL; Moody, 2008 ), pp. 121-122.
Tony Reinke 