The Branch

John Piper sermon: Romans 13:11-14

To Him — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:58:47 +0000

Entertainment-saturated people who do not treasure Christ above all are like skydivers who think that the wind passing through their fingers at 120 miles an hour is the ultimate thrill of being alive when in fact they have no parachutes and the gravity that pulls them inexorably to the ground is the wrath of God. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” ( John 3:36 ).

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Who Made God?

Karl — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:57:00 +0000

I recently finished reading the book “Who Made God?: Searching for a Theory of Everything” by Edgar Andrews. Andrews, according to the bio on the inside cover, is “Emeritus Professor of Materials at the University of London and an international expert on the science of large molecules.” Not many people can make that claim!

Andrews’ book is one of the best that I’ve read on science and the existence of God; methodologically, anyway. Andrews’ approach is to use the scientific method (not science, per se). That is, he starts with a hypothesis and then seeks to test it, just as a scientist would do. The test of the hypothesis is how well it accords with reality and the power it has to describe the way the observable world works.

He uses quantum theory as an example. Quantum theory is pretty bizarre to say the least. It is counter-intuitive and it requires accepting somewhat paradoxical realities simultaneously (like that light acts as both a particle and a wave). Nevertheless, quantum theory has been shown experimentally to match the real world and to have a very real descriptive power (for example, in the prediction of various subatomic particles, possibly including the famed Higgs boson currently being searched for at the LHC). Andrews then moves from these “unseen” realities to the unseen realities of God and says, in effect, that we can use the scientific method to test the hypothesis of God as well. We can do that by starting with an hypothesis of God and then testing it against the observable world to see if it squares with reality.

The rest of the book then does two things. First it sets up the hypothesis to be tested; and then it tests that hypothesis against the observable world. The true genius of Andrews’ approach is that the hypothesis-testing method enables him to define from the start which God he’s talking about. That enables him to start with a hypothesis of the biblical God. That sounds like a sleight of hand or circular reasoning, but it isn’t; it is the scientific method, by definition. The proof of the hypothesis is not the hypothesis itself but how well it accords with reality. This method enables Andrews not just to demonstrate convincingly that a god exists but that the God of the Bible exists. That’s something that a lot of arguments for the existence of God cannot do (apart from the historical ones).

Andrews’ book is well worth reading if you get a chance. Don’t let the reference to quantum theory put you off. Andrews does a pretty good job of explaining hard things with the likes of yoghurt and toasters.

A Question for Spiritual Conversation

Karl — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:02:00 +0000

I’ve always found it hard to find the right question to ask how people are going. Take for instance the question, “How are you going spiritually?” It seems a little weak, open ended, ill-defined. It doesn’t really home in on anything. In fact, such a broad question can be really hard to answer.

Or take another favourite, “How are you going with reading the Bible and praying?” The problem with this question is that it has the danger of putting something other than Jesus at the centre. Fundamentally, our standing is entriely dependant on where we stand in relationship to Jesus. This question runs the risk of making reading the Bible and praying the barometer of spiritual life. And, of course, in some senses that’s true. But it also seems a little arbitrary. Why not, “How are you going with loving fellow Christians?”

So here’s my attempt at a better question: “How are you going at trusting and following Jesus?” What I like about this question is that it covers two really important bases. First, there’s trusting Jesus. If you’re not entrusting yourself to Jesus then there’s big issues. That part of the question asks people to reflect on what they are relying on. Are they relying on themselves, on their Bible reading and praying, or on Jesus. Second, there’s following Jesus. Lots of people who heard Jesus were attracted to his message of forgiveness and knowing God, but when it got too hard (like with the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30)) they piked. Jesus calls people not just to trust him, but to trust him so much that they follow him and do what he says.

Plus, not only is this a great question at finding out information, but it’s also great at teaching people what’s really important. It teaches them to assess their own spiritual condition. How do I assess my own spiritual condition? Well, by asking myself whether I’m trusting and following Jesus.

Another advantage of this question is that it gets you straight to the point. It gets you to Jesus, to the heart of the gospel, and how he factors into this person’s life. It doesn’t get distracted by loose terms like “spiritually” or by important, but not central, things like reading the Bible and praying.

Of course, there’s loads of questions that you can ask. And in many ways this question is still just a starter – you need to help people flesh out what it means to follow and trust Jesus. But what I like about this question is that it’s targeted on what’s really important. At the end of the day there’s not much more foundational than following and trusting Jesus.

Still, if there was one more thing I would add, I think it would be love? How are you going at loving Jesus? Loving Jesus is a massive theme in John 14-16. Maybe I need to add that in too.

The Christian’s motive

To Him — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:26:19 +0000

Matthew 6:5-8

5 “ And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “ And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

One phrase that stands out to me today in Matthew is “that they may be seen by others.” (v5) Christ has used the same term to pinpoint the motive of the hypocrites when they give money and support of the needy (v1). Indeed believers are called elsewhere in scripture to pray with others as this can bring great benefits to them, but the Master is saying here that what matters is whether we are in private or public settings, that our motive is for the love of God and for his Glory. In ‘wanting others to notice our actions’ we seek glory for ourselves. We want people to consider us as impressive, competent, cool or successful. As believers, let’s be watchful of why we do the things we do. I love the balance and rounded response that Calvin provides on this passage in his commentary:

It is a gross and shameful profanation of the name of God, when hypocritcs, in order to obtain glory from men, pray in public, or at least make a pretense of praying. But, as hypocrisy is always ambitious, we need not wonder that it is also blind. Christ, therefore, commands his disciples, if they wish to pray in a right manner, to enter into their closet. Some expositors, thinking that this has the appearance of absurdity, give it an allegorical turn, as referring to the inward recesses of the heart: but there is no necessity for such trifling. We are commanded, in many passages, to pray to God or to praise him, in the public assembly, amidst a crowd of men, and before all the people: and that for the purpose, not only of testifying our faith or gratitude, but also of exciting others, by our example, to do the like. Christ does not withdraw us from such an exercise, but only admonishes us to have God always before our eyes when we engage in prayer.

We must not literally interpret the words, enter into thy closet: as if he ordered us to avoid the presence of men, or declared that we do not pray aright, except when there are no witnesses. He speaks comparatively, and means, that we ought rather to seek retirement than desire a crowd of men to see us praying. It is advantageous, indeed, to believers, and contributes to their pouring out, with greater freedom, their prayers and groans before God, to withdraw from the gaze of men. Retirement is also useful for another reason, that our minds may be more free and disengaged from all distracting thoughts: and accordingly Christ himself frequently chose the concealment of some retired spot for the sake of prayer. But this is not the present subject, which is only to correct the desire of vain-glory. To express it in a few words, whether a man prays alone, or in the presence of others, he ought to have the same feelings, as if he were shut up in his closet, and had no other witness but God. When Christ says, thy Father shall reward thee, he declares plainly that all the reward, which is promised to us in any part of Scripture, is not paid as a debt, but is a free gift.

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The Birth of Jesus Christ

To Him — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:51:22 +0000

Matthew 1:18-23

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “ Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“ Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

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Really loving life

Daniel Chapman — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:32:49 +0000

I saw this billboard in Hobart yesterday and I have also seen it in Launceston. It’s slogan encapsulates the modern mind that has rejected God. “Love your life” seems wise; enjoy all the pleasures, wonder and items you can possess; “Feel good about yourself because you are worth it.” This wisdom stands in stark contrast to Jesus’s teaching:

“And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
John 12:23-26

We are all called to believe in Jesus and follow Him. He died and rose from the dead that all who entrust their lives will no perish but have eternal life (John 3:16.) If we continue to love our lives, seeking to protect ourselves from harm, loss or suffering; if we continue to build for ourselves a life of pleasure and self-wrought-contentment, we will in the end find it swept away in the deluge of God’s wrath. Jesus calls us to invest our life completely in him, for our own good and for His Father’s glory:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27

Have you fully entrusted your life to Jesus? Do you consider your life to not be your own, but rather belonging to God; purchased and redeemed by Jesus Christ the lamb of God? If you do, then rest in his love and obey him out of relationship. If, however, you see you are fully invested in making your life as good as you can; if you love your life then you desperately need to change direction. Christ offers eternal life to you and this starts when you surrender all to Him. Every Christian lives a new life in Christ and can say with the Apostle Paul:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

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Biblical Manhood

Karl — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:31:00 +0000

Thanks to people like Mark Driscoll there has been something of a resurgence among young men for pursuing “biblical manhood”. You only have to watch his series on the book of Ruth to find out that Driscoll is passionate about men taking up their God-given responsibilities. And yet, I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that the message often comes across as: “if you don’t wrestle wild pigs, play footy and leap tall buildings in a single bound then you’re not a real man.” Half of me has always agreed that Driscoll was on about something important, but half of me felt that he lacked clarity. And so in comes Kevin DeYoung with his article in the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (don’t let the title of the journal put you off, the article is not as dry as the name of the journal makes it sound). Kevin DeYoung has written a helpful (and relatively short!) article on which lends some much needed clarity to the important issues of men not trying to be women.

You can find the complete article here. It’s outstanding and well worth reading. But for those short on time, here’s his main points followed by my summary:

We must be aware which way the cultural winds are blowing
We need to understand the times, not so we can follow them, but so we can speak into them effectively.
We need to be careful we don’t equate our preferred type of masculinity with biblical manhood
Not all men have to wrestle wild pigs, play footy, and leap tall buildings in a single bound. But neither is it about rejecting that notion wholesale, as though chess and poetry are infinitely more respectable. Being a man in the Bible isn’t really about that kind of stuff.
Most importantly, Christians must affirm and teach and model that men and women are different—biologically, emotionally, relationally
As DeYoung says, “Men are not women, and when men seem like women it is off-putting and unnatural.” But working out the particulars of where to draw lines in some cases is clear, but in other cases takes some wisdom.

I guess at the end of the day the two main point are: it’s important that men try to be men and not women. And it’s important for men to think hard about what kind of man the Bible says God wants them to be rather than just facilely following the crowd.

Answering Questions about Suicide

Karl — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:17:00 +0000

I recently came across a blog post from CCEF (a Christian counselling group with a heap of excellent resources). This one was by Ed Welch on “Do people who commit suicide go to heaven?”. For those who don’t have time to read it, here’s the executive summary.

Welch says, there are only two right ways to answer that question: “Why do you ask?” and “It sounds like things are really hard for you tell me what is happening.” His point is that behind the original question there likely to be some hurt, and simply answering the theological question doesn’t address that concern.

Although Welch’s concern is for people who have had a friend or a family member commit suicide or attempt suicide the advice is equally good for a person who themselves might be thinking of suicide. Sometimes answering “Yes, people who commit suicide go to heaven if they believe in Jesus” may be the ticket that person is looking for to take their own life. Taking the time to get behind the question is usually much more effective than just answering it.

Answering Questions about Suicide

Karl — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:17:00 +0000

Tim Keller on Marriage

Karl — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Tim Keller and his wife have just published a new book on marriage called “The Meaning of Marriage”. John Starke has posted an interview with Keller about the book and marriage. The interview is worth reading even just for the reference to “good love economics”.

Keller’s strength in all his books so far has not just been almost unparalleled clarity, but it has been grounding life in the good news of Jesus Christ. I haven’t read this book yet but it looks like it will have the same strength.