Ethics and Worldview

In preperation for my sermon on Nov. 23, I have been meditating on ethics and worldview. My sermon text is Psalm 24, and it is an awesome pronouncement of worldview. I think these kinds of passages informed Paul when he penned his ethics, such as 1 Thessalonians 2:12. The fascinating thing is that the worldview statements of Psalm 24 and other OT passages are not primarily concerned with ethics. They are primarily concerned with God's glory. I think this is interesting because many Christians spend significant energy and time explicating a man-centered (anthropocentric) ethical system, when it seems in fact that the primary purpose of Scripture is to instill in us a proper valuation of God's worth and glory. The ethics seem to be a natural response to really "getting" this worldview. Patterson, Geisler, and even Mohler to an extent seem to expend all their energy on how we should live, when the Bible seems to put the disproportionate emphasis on who God is and what He is worth. This perspective also demonstrates why co-opting secular "common ground" on ethical issues is a fallacy. The ethics are not an end in themsleves. They are an expression of submission to an all-powerful God-as-Judge. What are your thoughts?

Issues, Etc.

How do we walk out our theology? This is the driving question behind my pursuit of God's will for my life. The truth is, our understanding of different issues reveals what we truly believe about them. I like the analogy of an Alaskan guide who tells his hiking group that there is a very real threat of being eaten by bears on their trip. What would we think if this guide did not carry a firearm? He either does not really believe in the possibility of death by bear or he does not believe death by bear to be an experience to avoid. The fact that he chooses not to carry a gun shows us that bear maulings are not really an issue to him.

I suppose the first Tuesday in November every fourth year is one of the greatest revealers of our personal theology. What is important to you? What do you worship? How will you vote? The truth is, for evangelical Christians, God will hold us accountable for how we exercise stewardship of our voting perogative. What issues will guide how your ballot is cast? The media in America has already cast thier ballot: not for any candidate per se, but for issues. The media is consumed with issues like the economy, war, and the environment. But what of issues like homosexuality, abortion, and criminal justice? Paul wrote that the governing authorities do not "bear the sword in vain", but are given by God to hinder evil and prosper righteousness. Ironically, even the most hardcore atheist views government as creating and enforcing ethics - rules for what is right and wrong.

The question for believers becomes the following: do the ethics proposed by any given candidate line up with the ethics of the Bible? Consider the following two issues: abortion and homosexual marriage.

There are many people and political candidates who believe that abortion is morally acceptable. Abortion is not morally acceptable. It is murder. "Thou shalt not kill" does not exclude tearing a helpless child limb from limb or sucking its brains out with a catheter. After using forceps to pull a first-trimester infant to pieces, the abortion doctor routinely reassemble the pieces to make sure all of the child was removed. We wouldn't want a stray arm to rot inside the mother. This is worse than gross murder. It is a rebellion against God. Has this issue taken a back seat to the gods of economy or safety? In Isaiah 1 God tells Judah, "When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood."

Consider homosexuality. It was for homosexuality that God rained fire on Sodom and Gamorrah. Later, in the New Testament, Paul would remind us that "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6:9-10)
God has clearly condemned this practice as sin. And yet, for some, homosexual marriage is non-discrimination and ultimately good! These people, however, are in the vast minority. Notice the following quote from Dr. Mohler's blog:

Same-sex marriage is, for now, legal in three of fifty states in the United States. Beyond our borders, it is legal in the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, South Africa, Canada and Norway. This represents a very small percentage of the world's population. Same-sex marriage is, by any measure, the exception rather than the rule. Even when legalized civil unions and domestic partnerships are thrown into the mix, the countries that consider same-sex unions and heterosexual marriages to be equal before the law represent a small percentage of the world's nations.

While this demonstrates how unnatural homosexuality is, it does not determine our perception of the issues. God has damned homosexuality. As Christians, will we agree with the Bible, or make up our own religion?

I am afraid that many professing Christians have ignored the clear commands and ethics in the Bible, and have re-created God in their own image. In our lustful, selfish idolatry we have chosen to put issues like finacial stability ahead of issues like murder by abortion or perverted sexuality. I urge us all to have our minds renewed by the power of the Word of God. Jesus asked God to make us holy through the truth - "Your word is truth". Have a right perspective this November.

Worship Matters Notes and Thoughts Ch 1-5

Here are my notes from chapters 1-5. Note on my notes: I didn't really get into the book until later chapters, so these are kind of random notes that may not be that important to the the real purpose of the book.

Chapter 2.
P. 22 on idols. Thought: Wanting life to be something other than what it is can also be a form of idolatry. This is certainly a subtle one because God has built us to desire more, more of him, more in our relationships, and in many other ways. But, what we have now is from God. We don't deserve better; we deserve worse. The good we receive is by the grace and mercy of God. Especially when we don't know by comparison what we deserve, we can make a different desired life an idol.

P. 25. I agree that we cannot earn God's approval and that it is offered as a gift through the gospel. Yet, in Christ, we have the opportunity to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. There are many verses that exhort us to live our lives in a manner pleasing to the Lord, such as in Paul's prayer for the Collosians (1:10) that he prays "that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

P. 26. My notes say: "Death and the cross are all around me: family, work, myself." I don't konw I had this thought from his list of questions about what are God is. I wrote this on vacation; maybe I was having a hard time that day :).

Chapter 3.
My favorite part from this chapter was the quote from Spurgeon: "He woul will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves he has no brains of his own." Two other thoughts about this.
1. Mark Dever said at the weekender that he makes it a point when he has a issue or question come up in pastoring or in sermon preparation that he answers the question first himself before he goes to to read the commentaries so that he can engage in the conversation. In other words, if he doesn't come up with his own answer first, when he reads others or talks to others, he has nothing upon which to engage it with.
2. This quote strongly rebukes me from where I have been for much of my Christian life. I was worried about being tainted with the thoughts of others, and I would read only the bible so that I wouldn't be prejudiced with the thoughts of other men. I now see this as proud. How much better it would have been for me to take the Mark Dever approach and Spurgeon approach and learning from others.

Chapter 4.
This is my favorite meat for the first five chapters. I like his analogy of the picture frame and the summary phrase from Piper, "undistracting excellence." Skill that aids people in being able to focus more on God and receive from Him is a goal worthy of discipline and hard work. I am especially needy in this area as I have been on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, believing preparation to be a hindrance to being spiritual. I repent.

And yet, we need to beware of making our preparation an idol as well. We are first to obey God, and if he wants to use us in a weak and pitiful, or unprepared spontaneous way, then let us do it cheerfully with no or few thoughts of how we look or that we are being a bad frame.

Chapter 5.
I thought this was an especially weak chapter, like maybe he needed more material and just threw this in. For example, he doesn't really give us any meat in the love section. How do we grow in love? He asks the question and then just answers it with two verses.

Thankfully, it gets better. Good book! I'm glad were reading it.

Roy Huddle

Next Meeting and Book Discussion

Brothers,

I hope that you've had a chance to look at Worship Matters, by Kauflin. I've enjoyed reading so far and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts as well. Here's the info for our next meeting and the time in between:

Reading: Our first reading assignment will be Chapters 1-5 in Worship Matters. I know that some of you have already read past that, but that will be our focus for discussion. I will try to post thoughts on these chapters this week and I'd love for you to do the same. At our next meeting (see below) we can discuss these chapters in person.

Next Meeting: In keeping with our every other week plan, we will try to meet on Monday, October 20th at the same time (6:30am) and place (Chick-fil-a on Westheimer and Kirkwood). If this meeting time does not work out for most everyone, let me know and we'll find something more convenient.

Interview: Don't forget about our interview with Tommy Dahn, pastor of Providence Baptist Church, on Sunday, October 26th at 7:00pm. As the date grows closer, we can discuss logistics. Incidentally, I will be testing out our interview equipment this Sunday with Erin V. and Clay C. as I try to get in on their perspectives from the recent Desiring God and Ligonier Conferences. You are welcome to join us!

Let me know if you have any questions.


Blessings!



Travis

Internship News: First Interview and Sermon/Service Review

I'm sorry that Hurricane Ike has postponed our getting moving on the internship program. I trust that you all are getting back to normal. I want to mention two important things to you regarding the internship.

First, Tommy Dahn, who pastors Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena has agreed to sit down with us for an interview sometime in the month of October. I need to get a confirmation from you guys as to when the best day would be. I know that not everyone will be able to attend, and so we will be recording this, Lord willing! Tommy is unavailable from Oct.16th through the 26th. And he is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. This will have to take place in the evening as everyone will be working during the day.

So, I'd like to put out a date and get your feedback. How does Friday October 11th sound? I'm not sure on the time yet, but I'm guessing around 7:00pm. The interview should be about an hour.

Second, I'd also like to schedule a time for us to get together for a sermon/service review as well as to hear a report on our brother's trip to Washington DC (Joe and Roy). So, if you are available, let's try to meet together on Monday morning, October 6th (next Monday) at this Chick-fil-A on Westheimer and Kirkwood (2606 S Kirkwood Rd, Houston, TX 77077)...at 6:45 am. Also, I hope to pass our Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin to you as well.

So, I need two things from you: first a yay or nay on our interview date and second, a head count for our first sermon service review.

Thanks!