All the World's a Stage--For God!

I'm taking two classes this Spring with Dr. James Hamilton. This excerpt is taken from one of his books which he has assigned.

"The created realm (creation) is a spectacular theater that serves as the cosmic matrix in which God’s saving and judging glory can be revealed. God’s glory is so grand that no less a stage than the universe—all that is or was and will be, across space and through time—is necessary for the unfolding of this all-encompassing drama. The psalmist sings, “The heavens are recounting the glory of God, and the skies are proclaiming the work of his hands” (Ps. 19:1). Similarly, Paul exclaims, “From him and through him and to him are all things; to him be the glory forever! Amen” (Rom. 11:36). Creation is for the glory of God."

--James Hamilton, God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology

More on Local Church Membership

OK. I'm quoting a lot of Leeman because I'm reading it for a class. Plus it's just a good book. More on the necessity of church membership:

"A man who claims to be righteous in Christ and yet makes not effort to pursue a life of righteousness is, at best, self-deceived. Likewise, a woman who claims to love all Christians everywhere but does not love her Christian sister is likewise self-deceived. Both are hypocrites. They are nominal Christians--Christians in name only--because their profession does not translate into action or reality...So too with one who claims to belong to the church without belonging to a church. I fear that he looks very much like a nominal Christian and a hypocrite. The apostolic church on earth was given the authority to bind and loose. What else can we conclude about someone who professes to belong to the church but will not submit to an apostolic church on earth? As the apostle John puts it, 'He who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20).'"

--Jonathan Leeman, The Church and the Surprising Offense of God's Love 

Not Joining a Local Church is Not an Option

"Christians do comprise "the church," but Paul and Jesus both speak as if it's the gathering that constitutes us as a church, just like a basketball team must gather in order to be considered " a team." This formal gathering has an existence and an authority that none of us has separately. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, because Christ has given the whole an organizational charter. Nineteenth century Congregationalist pastor John Angell James put it like this: 'A church member is something more than a Christian, just as a citizen is something more than a man. Each has duties arising from the relationship--to state or to church.'

The church on earth is located in the local church. If Christ calls us to submit to him by submitting to the apostolic church, he intends for us to do this through the local church. To refuse his lordship by refusing to submit to a true local church, if one exists where on geographically abides, calls into question whether we have been truly converted. It's true that we must choose to join, and it's true--in some places in this world--that we have to choose which church to join. But not joining, if a local church exists, is not really an option. Membership in the local church is voluntary, and it's not voluntary."

--Jonathan Leeman, The Church and the Surprising Offense of God's Love 

 

The Desire for Absolute Certainty

This excerpt deals with the danger of embaricing falsehood out of a desire for closure and absolute certainty.

"The quest for certainty is not the same as a quest for truth. There is a subtle but important distinction between the two. Truth is objective reality; certainty is the level of subjective apprehension of something perceived to be true. But in the recognition that truth is objective reality, it is easy to confuse the fact of this reality with how one knows what it is. Frequently the most black-and-white, dogmatic method of arriving at truth is perceived to be truth itself. Indeed, people with deep religious convictions are very often quite certain about an untruth. For example, cultists often hold to their positions quite dogmatically and with a fideistic fervor that shames evangelicals; first-year Greek students want to speak of the aorist tense as meaning "once-and-for-all" action; and almost everyone wants simple answers to the complex questions of life. At the bottom of this quest for certainty, though often masquerading as a legitimate epistemological inquiry, is really a presuppositional stance, rooted in a psychological insecurity.

--Daniel Wallace, quoted in Roy E. Beacham. One Bible Only?: Examining Exclusive Claims for the King James Bible 

Christian Principles for Realistic Politics

Wise counsel (in my judgment) about politics from Kevin DeYoung. I can hear the influence of Thomas Sowell's A Conflict of Visions in his talk about trade-offs and the origins of war.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/01/03/christian-principles-for-realistic-politics/

Update from Louisville

Brothers and Sisters,

I don't have a lot of time tonight, but I wanted to let you know that though it was snowy on the drive up today, God was merciful, and I am safe and sound in Louisville. I am in a second floor dorm room for the next three weeks during this January term, after which I will need to move all my stuff to a dorm about 500 feet to my right. :-) Class starts at 9:00 in the morning. I have just finished a nutritious dinner of Beanee Weenee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I will share more in the next few days about what classes I am taking. Hopefully, I can learn how to use this camera so that I can post some pictures.

I love all of you.

Justin

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