Rethinking Church and Mission | True Worldview Ep. 67
More on Prophecy: Piper, MacArthur, and 1 Cor 13 | True Worldview Ep. 66
The word of God, inscripturated, is our authority on all things, including the word of God, or prophecy, which is a word from God, or direct revelation from God. In Part 1, we looked at a couple of unbiblical views of prophecy. We turn here to two more.
The Reformed-Charismatic View
A number of persons who hold loosely to Reformed Theology have adopted a quasi-Charismatic view of prophecy. They would say that prophecy is a primary means of encouraging one another in the church. God might impress a message upon you that is meant for someone else. You have a general idea of what the message is, but you might not get all the details right. In fact, you might be completely wrong. You might misunderstand the message. Nevertheless, you are to give the message to build up another even if ultimately the message is not from God at all. This view is similar to Matt Chandler’s view outlined in Part 1, but without some of the more bizarre elements. The proponents of this view cite Agabus in Acts 21 who predicts Paul will be bound by the Jews and turned over to the Roman authorities. They say it didn’t happen the way Agabus prophesied, though it generally came to pass. In other words, his prophecy had errors in it, though the gist of it was true.
As with the first two views highlighted in Part 1, this view does not line up with the biblical definition of prophecy. The biblical gift is a direct, accurate, and infallible word from God. There are no errors or misunderstandings when someone has the genuine gift of prophecy. The Reformed-Charismatic view is built on a stretched interpretation of the Agabus prophecy in Acts 21. It is clear in that account that the Jews are responsible for Paul being bound and turned over to the Roman authorities. There is nothing in error or inaccurate about the prophecy. Here is a case when otherwise careful exegetes are grasping at interpretive straws to support their preconceived notion of what prophecy is. We don’t impose our view of prophecy on the text of Scripture. Rather, we extract it from Scripture.
The Evangelical View
Then there’s the view that prophecy today is not direct revelation from God, but powerful preaching. That preaching might be against sin, or the state, or those in sin. It’s preaching that seemingly carries a weight of authority by virtue of the boldness of the preacher and the message he delivers. But even here, one has no right to redefine the biblical gift of prophecy. If it doesn’t fit the biblical definition, it might be powerful preaching, it might be a wonderful exposition of Scripture, but it’s not the biblical gift of prophecy.
Miracles & Revelation in Redemptive History
There were three primary periods in redemptive history when miracles occurred: the time of Moses and Aaron, representing the law; the time of Elijah and Elisha, representing the prophets; and the days of Jesus and the Apostles, pointing to the establishment of the New Covenant era. The miracles served to authenticate the claims of those who spoke for God as well as Jesus’ Messiahship. Along with healing, the gifts of prophecy, the word of knowledge, and tongues were sign gifts. We’ve also alluded to the fact that they were revelatory gifts. They were given in the first century that God’s New Covenant community might have a revelation by which to live under that covenant, just as Old Covenant Israel had received the Old Covenant revelation to guide their lives in that context. While we’re merely scratching the surface here, 1 Corinthians is instructive, as it not only tells us what purpose the revelatory gifts served, but also the fact that they would cease at some point during the church age.
The Corinthian Church
The Corinthian church had a lot of problems, to say the least. One of those problems concerned those who had revelatory gifts. They were prideful, called themselves “spirituals,” and asserted their gifts were superior than those with ordinary gifts. Paul corrects them by saying that every gift is a manifestation of the Spirit at work in them, for He is the actual gift. He also tells them the Spirit’s work in them in particular ways is all of grace.
Prophecy Ceased
As 1 Corinthians 13 unfolds, Paul says that love of the brethren is more important than the revelatory gifts (vv 1-2). Love will never cease, says Paul, but the revelatory gifts will (vv. 8-10). They will cease when the “perfect” comes. He’s not referring to the second coming of Christ. Keep in mind the context. Paul’s not talking about the coming of Christ. He’s talking about revelation from God, the unveiling of the “mystery.” That’s what he’s referring to in v. 2 when he refers to understanding all mysteries. The word mystery is a technical term in the New Testament that refers to something given in seminal form in the Old Testament, but now fully revealed in the New Testament. So the coming of the perfect is not the second of Christ, but the completion of the New Covenant revelation. The word translated “perfect” refers to the goal, realization, maturity, or completion of something. We have these gifts in part, that is, we receive God’s revelation piecemeal, but when the completed revelation comes, the revelatory gifts will be done away. They will no longer be necessary.
Paul gives a couple of illustrations to drive home the point he’s talking about the completed revelation of God. The revelation is brought to maturity, just as a human being is. Having the full picture of God’s word is like seeing someone face to face as opposed to looking at a face in a mirror. The mirrors of Paul’s day were more akin to tarnished silver. Again, Paul is not talking about seeing Jesus face to face. That is to read Jesus into the text. It’s an illustration. Paul is saying that he will know God’s word fully just as you can look at him and know him fully.
Finally, in the very last verse of the chapter, Paul says, in contrast to the revelatory gifts that will vanish away, certain things will remain: namely faith, hope, and love. The contrast here is enlightening. Faith and hope won’t remain once Jesus comes, for those things are not necessary once we see him (Rom. 8:24; Heb. 11:1). But Paul says those things do remain. He means they remain now in the church age until Jesus comes. By way of contrast, the revelatory gifts will cease; they won’t remain until Jesus comes. As we’ve seen, they ceased with the completion of the New Covenant revelation. Hence, those gifts are not in operation today.
No doubt some will want to know how then we encourage one another? We do so with the word that God has already given us.
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What About the Gift of Prophecy? | True Worldview Ep. 65
I hear more and more talk about the gift of prophecy and how it serves a major function in authentic church life. We’re told that we’ll experience life in the Spirit in a greater way, and the church will more effectively build itself up in love. If that’s true, then that’s what I want. Yet, I wonder if Christians aren’t satisfied with biblical life in the Spirit consisting of heartfelt worship regardless of our emotional state, dealing with sin at the heart level, and engaging in plain ole encouragement of one another, among other things. I wonder if Christians are conditioned to want something more -- to seek the experience. We’re trained that way, especially in America, and we’re taught that way by an increasing number of pastors and pseudo church leaders.
What is the Gift of Prophecy?
What is the gift of prophecy? Biblically, prophecy is direct revelation from God. That’s it’s main feature. The bible is filled with prophets declaring, “Thus saith the Lord.” They had a word from God, and it was one-hundred percent accurate. And yes, while prophecy may be primarily described as forth-telling the word they had from God, it often had an element of foretelling the future. If the prophet declared anything contrary to Scripture already given, or made a prediction that did not come true, he was to be put to death (Deut. 13; 18).
The Charismatic View
Today, there are other views of prophecy. Of course, if they contradict the Scriptures, they’re false views. Broadly speaking, there’s the Charismatic view. Those holding this position assert they receive direct revelation from God, yet often that revelation contradicts Scripture. They might predict a financial windfall for someone, or a healing, but more often than not these things fail to come to pass. Many predict that Christ is coming again in a particular time-frame, something the bible clearly tells us no one knows. Further, they redefine the gift of tongues, a gift that also involves direct revelation from God. Tongues is just an old King James era word for known languages as defined in Acts 2. Charismatics claim the gift of tongues is an unintelligible heavenly language. When spoken to others it is prophetic. They also claim tongues is a private prayer language. Neither of these claims is biblical. The notion the gift of tongues refers to a heavenly or private prayer language flows from misinterpretations of certain verses in 1 Corinthians 13 and 14.
Matt Chandler’s View
Another view that’s gaining popularity is that put forth by Matt Chandler and others. It really falls into the Charismatic view, but has slight differences. He illustrated on one occasion by asking an audience to imagine he had a dream. By way of summary, in this dream he saw a pirate ship; it had a number of canons that were firing; a shark was chasing it; and a number of other things happened. He then asked the audience to imagine that this dream was a word from God that he was to give to a friend. Chandler said you don’t really know what the dream means, you might get some of it wrong, but nevertheless, you must go to your friend, and tell him about the dream. You don’t try to interpret it by surmising that Jesus is the shark for example. You simply go in obedience with the prophetic word. You might ask, “Does that mean anything to you?” It might not, he said. Even so, you'll be experiencing more of the Spirit, and those who engage this way will be edifying one another.
The major problem with this view is two-fold. First, prophecy is not defined in the bible this way. If you don’t know whether the word came from God, whether you got it right, or even what it means, then it’s not biblical prophecy. Second, we’re not told in the bible to use the gift this way: taking dreams or impressions that make no sense to anyone and dispensing them to others. Christianity is not built upon random, nonsensical notions that pass through our heads. It’s built on truth. That’s one reason Paul says God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33).
The Gift of Exhortation
The church edifies itself in love by speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 3). Why not merely engage in the simple practice of encouraging one another with the Scriptures? For some, apparently, it’s not exciting enough.
Of course, there are other views of prophecy. And, there is the main question: is the gift of prophecy in operation today? We’ll turn to those issues in Part 2.
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How Are The Children Doing? Coronavirus and Kids at Home | True Worldview Ep. 55
According to Gallup
Interesting: “Children may be benefiting from the stay-at-home orders many states have in place during the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. According to a Gallup poll, a large majority of children report ‘enjoyment” and “happiness’ while spending their days with their families.” On the one hand, it’s surprising we’d hear positive news concerning the benefits of homeschooling. On the other hand, its fits into the “go home and stay home, we’re all in this together” Orwellian narrative.
Massive Benefits
Of course, there are very real benefits to homeschooling. You fulfill your responsibility to train your own children; you wrest their minds from control of the State; you foster and maintain a better relationship with your children; you can spur creativity; you can teach them to think independently; you can take time to develop latent educational interests and aspirations that might not have been brought to the fore; and so much more. More importantly, you can teach them a biblical worldview in every aspect of their education and thereby demonstrate its comprehensive nature. You make them far more useful for the kingdom. And of utmost significance, while God is sovereign in the salvation of your children, your efforts are the most likely thing God will use to bring them to Himself. Statistically, 70% to 90% of children raised in church and public/private school walk away from Christ when they hit college. It’s also true that the same percentage of Christian homeschoolers do not. In fact, close to 90% of millennial graduates say they are very strong in terms of their faith commitment to Christ.
A Change is Gonna Come
An educational sea-change is coming in the aftermath of COVID-19. Many students at the university level will opt for online education which will drive tuition rates down and force numerous schools to scale back and as many others to close completely. At the primary level, an increasing number of non-Christian families have already opted for homeschooling. Some are driven by academic considerations while others are fearful in the aftermath of school shootings. The fear-factor of COVID-19 will drive many more to pull out of government as well as private schools.
Whenever governments manipulate crises there are always unintended consequences. The vast majority of those are negative and harmful to the people. In this case, it may be that more and more people learn to think independent of the State’s curriculum. When that happens, the population is harder to control. The willingness of the vast majority of Americans to accept the State’s Coronavirus narrative and the trampling of the hard-won and God-given freedoms we have is owing to government education. We can only pray that escape from that subtle tyranny is part of what God is doing in His grace. Not only will it be a boon for human flourishing, it may be a prelude to revival. That’s something for which we can pray as well.
Biblical Wisdom
There’s a reason God gives this instruction: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 6:6-9). It’s the underlying assumption of the proverbial truism: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). Neither of these texts is talking about Sunday School.
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Coronavirus and Revival | True Worldview Ep. 54
People are troubled. Some are fearful of the virus; others are fearful of their financial future; some are grieving over loved ones who have died; and others are grieving over the loss of liberty and some things that will never be the same. In times like this, Christians must keep their perspective: Christ is ultimate. They must think about what God could be doing. They must see the opportunity for gospel advance as they serve others in the name of Christ. And, among other things, they must think about and pray for revival.
What is Revival?
Revival begins in the churches. It’s the movement of God in the sanctification of believers and the conversion of false professors within her pale. It’s the strengthening of churches. Further, as the church is revived, they have an increasing influence in the larger culture. They get serious about evangelism, and unbelievers are saved. As believers spread the gospel, do their work as unto the Lord, engage in ethics, art, entertainment, and so many other cultural dynamics, a Christian worldview begins to take hold again. That’s the kind of revival we read about in the Great Awakenings. In the Welsh Revival of 1902 for example, judges wore white gloves to signify they had no more cases for the day.
How Does Revival Come?
Revival is a sovereign work of God. Jonathan Edwards wrote about the Surprising Work of God during the days of the “First Great Awakening.” The Lord Jesus’ told Nicodemus you can’t tell where the wind comes from or where it’s going; so it is with the Spirit of God (John 3). God is the one who withholds or brings revival. It doesn’t come through “the right use of means,” a phrase Charles Finney coined during the “Second Great Awakening.” He manipulated people into false decisions and changed the trajectory of evangelicalism from that time until this day. How many false professions have there been through the method of revivalism that in general made those professors twice as much the sons of Hell as before (Matt. 23:15), weakened God’s churches, and generally brought much division and misery to those same churches? No, revival is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9).
Prep for Revival
That doesn’t mean we have no need to do the work of preparation. There is little hope for harvest when there is no toiling in the garden. The soil of our culture is hard right now. Not only is hatred for Christ at an all time high, but the majority of people don’t even have a biblical understanding of God. There was a time in our nation when even unbelieves knew what you were talking about when you talked about God. Not so today. Americans have adopted their own eclectic brand of spirituality. Much work must be done to even have an intelligent conversation with many, particularly about God or ultimate things. God is sovereign, and indeed the fields are white unto harvest if He so ordains (Jn. 4:35). But we have to spread the gospel and couch everything in terms of a biblical worldview. We must engage our culture winsomely, create beneficial cultural goods in the Name of Christ, and defend the faith in different ways whether presenting evidence or dismantling the inconsistencies within a worldview opposed to Christ.
Coronavirus - Catalyst for Revival?
One wonders if God would use the Coronavirus imbroglio to bring about revival. When people are confronted with their own mortality; when things seem hopeless; when they feel helpless; when it actually dawns on them that things will never be the same; when they sense there should be something more; when they’re confronted with their sin; they’re prepared to hear the gospel. Even then, only God can open their hearts. Only God can bring revival, and He can do so without a prepared soil if He so chooses. And He may not choose to do so when the soil is prepared. But He may. And that’s what we long for.
So, is there anything we can do while we’re longing for revival? The answer is an unequivocal yes. We must pray. There is no revival apart from precipitous prayer. We can talk about it. And we can labor for it. Let’s make revival the topic on our hearts in these troubling days and beyond.
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How to Share Christ with Your Friends | True Worldview Ep. 35
How to Share Christ with Your Friends
Telling your friends about Christ isn’t always easy. Maybe you know they don’t want to hear about your faith, or they consider themselves to be saved, though they don’t act like they are. It could be you’ve made a new friend, and they don’t yet know you’re a Christian, and they’re lifestyle suggests they’re not interested. For your part, maybe you don’t want to come across as judgmental or narrow-minded, or maybe you don’t want to offend anyone or risk losing a friend. For whatever the reason, you find it hard to share Christ.
Pray and Keep on Praying
The first thing you need to do is pray. That gets God in on what you’re trying to do. Prayer is too often the last resort. It should be our first resort. We can’t do anything apart from God. He’s the one who must open blind eyes and soften hardened hearts. You shouldn’t expect much success without prayer. But when you pray, make sure you pray in faith, and watch the openings God gives you. When it comes to sharing Christ with your friends, pray, and keep on praying.
Take Advantage of Easy Opportunities
It’s a little easier if someone is asking questions about the bible, religion, or ultimate issues. You have an open invitation to give them real answers connected to the gospel. Don’t hesitate. Don’t compromise. Don’t beat around the bush. Go ahead and give them what they need.
Look for Doors to Gently Push On
But what if they seem content? What if they have no questions? Sometimes things seem to be going well for certain individuals, and they’ve got it all together. The fact is that we live in a fallen world and no one’s life is perfect. Sometimes you have to look for doors to push on.
What kind of doors? Let’s say your friend says she’s having a hard time with her boyfriend or husband. There’s a door. Don’t kick it in, but push on it gently. Find a way to give her some biblical wisdom, and cut a path to her greatest need: Christ and the gospel. Maybe your roommate tells you he’s done something he regrets. There’s a door. Perhaps someone has lost a loved one, or even a distant relative. That’s a natural moment to talk about eternal things. Any number of situations can be turned to opportunities. Someone’s had a bad date; another is frustrated at his failure in some regard; one is stressed about work; one is worried about the rent. You get the idea.
Be a Sage
Whether in your place of work, your community, your coffee-shop group, or wherever, become known as the one who has solid advice and counsel. I’m not talking about being a know-it-all, talking too much, or being arrogant. I’m saying be the one to give a word fitly spoken (Prov. 25:11): saying the right thing at the right time. Know your bible, and know how practical it is. Know that it speaks to every life situation, not just the truncated gospel that we sometimes see in tracts. Take a course on biblical counseling. Take a course in theology. And then be ready. Be the one person that others know they can come to when they have a problem. If they know you love them, and if they know you have wisdom, they’ll come to you. And that makes it easier.
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Practical Help for Bad Feelings | True Worldview Ep. 28
Practical Help for Bad Feelings
No one wants to be depressed or anxious or fearful or worried or even angry. The good news is that we don’t have to be. And yet, how not to be often eludes us. How can we overcome such feelings? Is there practical help for bad feelings?
Know That Faith is Active – So Act
Here’s something to chew on: our faith is not passive but active. When plagued with bad feelings, too often we think a little prayer will do the trick. We think God will snap His fingers, or whatever He does, and our anger, or fear, or lust will be gone. When that doesn’t happen, we wonder about God and even ourselves. The truth is that God is the one who gives us the power to do something about bad feelings and sinful thoughts or attitudes, but there’s something we have to do as well. God works it in but we have to work it out (Phil. 2:13). We have to fight. We have to actively flee sinful thoughts (1 Tim. 6:11), fight the fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), and put on the battel armor of God (Eph. 6:11). The language of Scripture is active. It goes on offense. It’s not passive.
Know You’re in a War – So Fight
Think about what Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:4-5: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Note first the language of battle: “weapons of our warfare.” Note second the active nature of what we must do: cast “down arguments.” Further, bring “every thought into captivity.” That’s not only an active phrase but a wartime phrase. We are to take enemy thoughts captive like enemy combatants. And then note thirdly that “every” thought is to be taken captive. God gives very real power to deal with whatever thoughts, feelings, emotions, or attitudes that assault us.
Know You Need Some Intel – So Analyze
So, what’s the practical help for bad feelings? How do I fight? Well, here’s an ABCD guide. Think about what’s going on in these terms: Affections (feelings), Behavior (actions), Cognition (thinking), and Desire (wants). And remember two things here. First, desire is the root cause. It’s what’s in your heart that drives the affections, behavior, and thinking. Second, be brutally honest with yourself; your heart is ugly.
Now, think in terms of putting off the sinful ABCD’s and replacing them with God-glorifying ABCD’s. If I’m feeling (affections) anxious, angry, or worried, I need to fight to replace those affections (feelings) with peace, love, or rest. If my behaving badly in the form of laziness, cursing, or yelling, I need to replace those behaviors with diligence, edifying words, and gentle speech. If I’m thinking how could he do this to me, or I hate her, or I’m worthless, I need to think instead that I can be forgiving, I can love, and God loves me. If I crave control, attention, or things I don’t have, I need to replace those desires with a desire to consider others better than myself, a desire to exalt God and not me, and a contentment in God’s providence for my life.
Practical help for bad feelings comes in the form of taking the word of God and analyzing what’s going on. What are my ABCD’s here? What should my ABCD’s here be? Then I actively seek to take every thought captive. I pray, make a decision, memorize Scripture, work on it, fight it, and seek to glorify God in all things. I set my mind on things above. I refuse to allow myself to wallow in these sinful and debilitating thoughts and feelings. When my sin punches me in the face, I punch back, only harder. I kill the deeds of the flesh, and when I do that, God gives me love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal. 5:16-26).
Dealing with Heart Issues | True Worldview Ep. 27
Dealing with Heart Issues
There’s one thing we have to get right if we’re going to deal with heart issues. More on that momentarily.
Learn to Think Biblically
We face a variety of temptations every day and all day. It’s easy to ignore what we might call little sins like impatience, anger, frustration, pride, gossip, etc. But even the little sins are still sin, and they plague us.
At the same time, so often we think or act like certain sins are mere feelings, that they just happen, and that we have no control over them. I might feel unhappy, angry, or anxious, and I might feel as though I can’t help it. I might feel depressed, and I feel I can’t help it.
We think this way because the world thinks this way. The world tells us that depression is a psychological problem to be coped with in one way or another. Some will say you need some non-directive counsel in the form of understanding and affirmation. You might be given some coping techniques that may or may not make you feel better. Others will say you have a chemical imbalance in the brain and what you need is medication. You may have a chemical imbalance, you may not. They don’t know. But they do know that psychotropic medication doesn’t relieve depression symptoms in as many cases as it does, or that in countless instances it makes persons feel worse and is often a catalyst for suicide. Of course, if you’re on medication, don’t stop taking it without your doctor’s supervision. That could be deadly as well. Regardless, there’s something spiritual going on if you’re depressed.
Christ is the Answer
The truth is that we have two kinds of problems: spiritual or physiological. There is no third set of problems the world calls psychological. In fact, we get the word psychology from two Greek words put together. It literally means a word about the soul, or the study of the soul. Who better to deal with the soul than God? Psychological problems are spiritual problems and in the Scriptures we have everything we need to deal with those problems (2 Pet. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16). And it’s that reality we have to get right if we’re going to deal with heart issues.
Understand the Real Problem
But what about overlap? Aren’t there things that affect our mood like hormones for example? Yes indeed. A woman’s hormones are out of balance after she’s given birth. A person with diabetes will have sugar and insulin issues. These are physiological dynamics that often affect the spiritual dynamic. We think of mood swings in postpartum mothers and diabetics. However, the anxiety or anger these individuals may experience are not caused by the hormonal issues. The anxiety or anger is already in their hearts. Postpartum conditions and diabetes are like a barking dog outside your window when you’re trying to sleep or a person screaming in your face. They don’t cause your irritation but only stir up the issues already in your heart. Remember, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).
Now, here’s the point. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 Jn. 4:4). The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22). Your postpartum state, your diabetes, or whatever you face cannot keep the Holy Spirit from bearing His fruit in you. The truth is that depression and anger are rooted in faulty thinking: sinful thinking. But the good news is that Christ came to deliver us from our sin. He came to enable us to overcome our sin. In Christ we can have peace and joy (Phil. 4:4; Jn. 16:33).
Fight the Real Battle
You can deal with heart issues. It may not be easy. It may take time. It will take time. It will take effort. You’re in a spiritual battle, and the battlefield is your mind. You have to recognize that, and then you have to decide to fight the battle – long term. You have to constantly make a decision to stop thinking sinful thoughts and replace them with godly thoughts. You do that through the renewing of your mind (Col. 3:8-17). You meditate on God’s word, memorize it, and call it to mind when you are tempted in one way or another. You fight your flesh with God’s word. You fight your sinful inclinations with truth. Let me say it one more time; if you want to deal with heart issues you have to fight. And fight some more. But remember, the battle is the Lord’s and He will give victory (Eph. 6:10-20).
Helpful Chart for Dealing with Heart Issues
Easily make your own chart by remembering ABCD. Start on the left side and make your way to the bottom. Ask yourself what am I feeling, and write them in box A. Be brutally honest because the heart is messy. Next, examine your behaviors or actions, then your thinking, then your desires or wants. Once you’ve identified your root desires, move over to the right side and start at the bottom and write how you will replace your wrong desires with proper, biblical, godly desires. Then work your way back up to your affections or feelings.
