Always Reforming

I was doing dishes this past Tuesday and, as is a prerequisite, I was listening to some music.  This particular evening I had surveyed my CD collection and selected Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park's groundbreaking album from '00.  Mind you, I hadn't listened to this album in its entirety for at least the better part of a decade, and, I assure you, the nostalgia was strong.  I have never been a huge Linkin Park fan, but I own a couple of their albums and I have always liked them.  I suppose they're one of those bands you don't quite realize just how many of their songs you know and love.  So when I heard that Chester Bennington had passed , I was saddened.  I was more than saddened; to my surprise, I was truly mournful.  Chester, as he was often simply known, had a unique voice, the type of voice that became synonymous with a musical era and formed the soundtrack to so many of our adolescent adventures. Moreover, he was still creating good music and touring ...

Please, I beg of you, read this post with your sense of humor in tact. As I read about the Reformers, I am struck by how dynamic they were.  They were the theological warriors of their day, doing battle against false doctrine and false shepherds.  As I think about the modern internet theological warrior, I realize how unlike the Reformers, whom they idolize, they are. We all, at least those of us who are Reformed and spend too much time on the Internet, all have "those" friends: in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, bearded, self-proclaimed intellectuals with noteworthy theological vocabularies who have taken it upon themselves to reform the Church one post/tweet/etc. at a time.  They see themselves as called to correct any and all theological errors being perpetuated on the worldwide web.  We all know the type.  Heck, some of us are/have been the type. However, I don't recall "Internet Theology Warrior" being one of the offices of the Church described in the...

Eschatology is one of the most controversial topics in Christian theology, and one of the most controversial issues within Eschatology is the identity of the "Man of Sin."  The phrase is taken from 2 Thessalonians 2, where Paul exhorts the Thessalonian Church to be fearless and to stand firm in the face of impending persecution and uncertainty.  Although they lack explicit warrant, it is not surprising that interpreters have often linked this figure to the Beast of Revelation and the Antichrist. Many view this Man of Sin as a future threat, while others identify him with a historical figure, such as Nero (my personal view).  I do not, however, want to discuss the identity of the Man of Sin, but, rather, I would like to take a look at how we can apply Paul's warning in our day, regardless of who this shadowy villain was or may prove to be. Paul tells the Thessalonians that the great rebellion cannot occur until the Man of Sin arises.  The word commonly translated...

Looking back over the last ten years, I can chart my own maturation by the way I interact with people on the Internet.  Though I have much room to grow, I find that I have made progress in the way that I respond to the meaningless insults and false accusations that get thrown around so carelessly in the world of social media.  Occasionally, however, I do, as my brother-in-law would say, resemble their remarks.  The other day I was accused of indoctrinating my children.  This enlightened individual couldn't believe that I would force my religion upon my child.  It is, you see, very en vogue to allow your children to be free of the restraints of their parents' traditions and beliefs.  We should let them grow up with no established belief system and let them decide what they believe is true when they're older.  I am backwards for not agreeing with this progressive concept.  At first I was offended by the accusation that I indoctrinate my children, bu...

I recently shared my thoughts on how pursuing personal holiness is not legalism.  It was my goal to emphasize our responsibility and the covenant motivation for pursuing holiness, but I don't want anyone to think that that is all there is to be said about pursuing holiness.  It is also important to remember that the Holy Spirit is absolutely vital to our pursuit of holiness.  Let's take a look at how the role of the Holy Spirit relates to our responsibility to pursue holiness. Good theology maintains balance.  This can be seen in nearly every field of theology, indeed, of life, but it is displayed most prominently in the discussion of salvation, which includes sanctification.  We must maintain a proper balance between man's responsibility and God's work.  We can truthfully say that man is called to live a holy life, but we can also, and must, truthfully say that he cannot do that without the equipping of the Holy Spirit.  Here is where we must remem...

The prevailing attitude towards the pursuit holiness in the modern Church is unfortunate and unbiblical.  Modern theology often touts freedom in Christ as a veil for license and labels as a legalist anyone who has a genuine desire to be holy.  We hear sermons about how we are weak and broken (nice words for sin), and that's pretty much where the discussion is left off.  We're basically told to admit that we can't earn salvation by works, so we shouldn't even try to be holy.  It reminds me of when Homer Simpson, responding to Lisa's consolation that admitting you have a problem is the first step to overcoming it, said, "Is it also the last step?" The New Testament attitude towards holiness is incredibly far-removed from the one espoused by modern evangelicalism.  The inspired authors of the New Covenant revelation conceive of no faith-based salvation that frees the believer from a life of pursuing holiness.  Far from removing the need for obedience, fai...

We Christians pray things like, "Teach me to rely on You," and "Help me to grow spiritually."  We talk about how hardships force us to develop graces like patience and endurance.  We quote Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28 and feel good about our outlook on life.  Boy, it's easy to say all that stuff when life is going well, but it's so much more difficult to be enthusiastic about hardship when your actually experiencing it!  Life has been throwing some pretty stressful things the way of the Spencer household the last few weeks.  It's so easy to freak out and to forget just how blessed we really are (spiritually and monetarily), but, as I continue to pray these things, I am beginning to realize that God is answering my prayers. The question, then, that we must ask ourselves is, "Do I really want to grow spiritually?"  Carnal disciplines (carnal meaning earthly or worldly, as opposed to spiritual) illustrate this idea for us.  I always loved to e...