On Reconstructing Antinomianism

An Accusation and a Response

Over at the "gospel" coalition, Tullian Tchividjian has written an article called "Deconstructing Moralism." It is the latest salvo in a series of attacks that basically communicate that those who preach the law just don't get grace. This is an astounding accusation, and you can read my comment on that blog post to see my response to it.

Confusing Rhetoric, with Real-Life Consequences

Having responded there to that accusation, I hope to borrow your eyes and mind for a few moments to consider the danger of the theology behind the accusation. I know of at least two truly converted believers who came under such preaching and learned to call themselves "legalists" and tried to "repent" of loving God's law, thinking much about it, or trying hard to keep it. One of them has escaped. The other continues under that preaching and is sadly confused. This is one of the reasons why the Bible pronounces woe upon them who say that what is good is really evil.

A Question of Trusting God

May the Lord grant to us to trust that His law is good, just as is His gospel, and that He uses both.

The law cannot save, and it cannot power sanctification. But it is a false pragmatism to say that since it can do neither of these things, we should be careful not to give it much place in our preaching. God certainly gives it much place in His Word!

Demonstrating that Trusting Our Own Wisdom Doesn't Work

A little reflection will demonstrate that it is pragmatically suicidal to try to preach only gospel and not law:

One of the main problems with the new antinomianism is that genuinely converted Christians don't to know what to do with themselves under such preaching. They hear from the pulpit that thinking upon the law is useless or even dangerous, and that we should just trust that thinking upon the gospel will accomplish everything by itself.

But they find that it is true that it is no longer they who live but Christ who lives in them, and that this Christ, who now lives in them, loves the law--loves to keep it. He loves to exert Himself (and to exert ourselves as His own body) in keeping it. He loves to meditate upon it. He wrote Psalm 119, and He meant it. And now He has written it on believers' hearts.

And of course, the truly unconverted person cannot repent and believe for salvation, if he knows not from what he is repenting, or from what to be saved by believing.

The Conclusion: May God Grant to His Servants to Trust Him and to Preach His Whole Word

So, neither the truly unconverted person nor the truly converted person is really served well by law-less preaching. God's law is marvelously designed to address both. Without the gospel, it can serve neither very well.

But without the law, neither can the gospel.

Let us trust God, when He says that the law is good (night just right, but good).

O for grace to trust Him more!

Sola Scriptura: Do We Live Like We Believe This Doctrine?

In the Cambridge Declaration, which is a declaration by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the first thesis states the following on Sola Scriptura:

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura
We affirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

This is a pretty good representation of the Reformation doctrine of Sola Scriptura. But the question that we need to ask is, "Do we really live according to this doctrine?"  Doctrine should always lead to practice or practical living.  For example, the grace and love of Christ that we see in Scripture demands that we live in a certain way.  In Romans, chapters 1-11 are usually looked as the doctrine portion of the book and how does chapter 12 begin?  With how should we now live in view of these doctrines?

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." 

So do we really live in accordance with the Scripture's doctrine of Sola Scriptura?  Let me just pose some thoughts and let you answer this question yourself.  When you discipline your children, I would hope you tell them what they have done wrong, teaching them with correction.  But when they have done wrong, do you communicate to your children that they have done wrong based on your authority or Scripture's authority?  In other words, do you communicate to them what God says about what they have done or do you communicate to them what you think they have done wrong?  When you discipline them do you communicate that God commands you to discipline them or do you communicate to them that you have to discipline them because you have to?  Do you see the difference?  One way of disciplining is based on Scripture and God alone being Lord of the conscience, whereas the other way of disciplining is based on individuals or something outside of Scripture binding the conscience.

I really want to investigate this, look what it says in the thesis above.  No creed, council, or individual may bind the conscience.  You can't bind another's conscience, you can't bind your own conscience, only the Lord can bind the conscience.  So where do you attempt to bind another's conscience, where do you try to bind your own conscience by your logic or by your experience?  It can't be this way, the sole source that can bind the conscience is the Lord and He does so through the Scriptures.  If we are going to preach the Word as Pastors, we have to preach Scripture.  If we are going to evangelize, you can try all your fancy methods of evangelism, but only the Word can bind the conscience.  Are you living in accordance with this doctrine?

Watch What Pastors Say

Reading this morning from Deuteronomy 13, "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk So you shall purge the evil from among you." 

Now we are all smart enough to know that Pastors are not dreamers of dreams and/or prophets in the specific sense, but they are used as a mouthpiece for God communicating His message to a people.  When a Pastor preaches He preaches the very Word of God, it is Jesus Christ speaking, when it is in accordance with the Scriptures.  This is easy to understand since the Bible is God's Word.  2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God..." and 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."  But what if the Pastor preaches something contrary to the Word?  This is where Deuteronomy 13 applies, "You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

We see a great example in the book of Acts, chapter 17, "The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."  As the men of Berea heard the Word, they were comparing the things they heard with the Scriptures.  They were asking, "Is what Paul saying true?"  They were asking if what the Apostle was saying was true.  Now if they were doing so with an Apostle, shouldn't you do that with your Pastor?  Yes, absolutely.  We must be daily searching the Scriptures discerning what is good and what is bad, what is true and what is false in all of life.  This is God testing you, "Do you really love Me or are you just playing games?  Do you really love me, do you love My Word or on a whim will you depart from me to seek something that you believe to more pleasing?"  Now most of the time, the typical Pastor isn't going to lead you into idolatry, but he will make mistakes.  And a godly minister will seek the Lord's forgiveness for speaking wrongly.  You will hear in preaching the wrong name spoken, wrong town, wrong chapter and verse quoted.  Just be discerning, such things are slight mistakes.  But be very cautious when a Pastor begins making bold statements that are no where found in Scripture, at least to your knowledge.  Talk to your elders about it, search the Scriptures to see if what was said was true.  If it is true, then follow Jesus and be healed of your sins.

Pastors, here we have the warning, that warning of which magnifies more how we will all be held responsible for the things we say, "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk So you shall purge the evil from among you."  It is a frightful thing to enter a pulpit and preach, it should rightly instill the fear of the Lord in your heart.  If it does not, there is a problem.  Preaching should cause us to humble ourselves and cling to Him all the more for we can't speak one iota of truth apart from Him.  Praise God for Jesus Christ who shows us the mercy and gives us the grace through Him.  "Watch you life and doctrine closely, persevere in them because if you do you will save both your life and your hearers."

Preaching With Spiritual Vigour (Book Review)

This is the best book I have ever read on the subject of preaching, hands down!  There now you know how I feel about Preaching with Spiritual Vigour: Including Lessons from the Life and Practice of Richard Baxter by Murray A. Capill.  Why is this the best read on preaching?  It is because he approaches the subject from a Biblical perspective.  The life of a preacher is more a part of his preaching than the actual preparation and delivery for even Paul tells Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely to save his hearers.  For Capill, preaching is not only about getting into the original languages, doing exegesis, and coming up with a good outline, but it is about the life, spirituality, and the heart of the Pastor.

One main point that Capill makes is that preaching today is commonly cold and mechanical.  Yes, even in the seeker-sensitive churches.  What is needed is spiritual fervor and depth. The common solution is to run to another conference, seminar, read another book, or watch a new video series. "The one thing most necessary - a revitalized communion with the Lord - is the thing most easily neglected. Anything else, however, is but a short-term remedy."

Throughout most of the book, Capill looks at the life and ministry of Richard Baxter, the Puritan who was the author of the famous book The Reformed Pastor, for insight into one's preaching ministry.  To every Pastor, seasoned or young like me, I would highly recommend this book.  This is a book that goes beyond all others for it does not just investigate different varieties of sermons and the methods of constructing a sermon.  "Capill is really writing about the pastoral ministry of Richard Baxter, but it doesn't come across as a biography; nor does he imply that Baxter did everything perfectly. He has taken some of the best from the life of a great pastor and tried to make it useful to preachers of this age."  If you are a Pastor or think you might be called to be one, this book is for you!

Table of Contents

1. A Model for Preachers
2. Preaching to Yourself
3. Shepherding Souls
4. Preaching Purposefully
5. Speaking to the Heart
6. Driving the Message Home
7. Passion and Power
8. The Reformed Preacher
9. Appendix: Baxter's Farewell Sermon

Want to see more book reviews?  Go here.

Pastor's Conference (Al Martin and Ted Donnelly: Audio)

Here is the audio from the 2010 Second Presbyterian Church (Yazoo City, MS) Pastors and Seminary Students Conference.  

 

Al Martin preached on The Call To The Gospel Ministry.

Ted Donnelly preached on the topic 'Preach the Word (Part 1) and (Part 2).

Al Martin On Application In Preaching

I found tape recordings of Al Martin at a conference where he in three sessions lectures/preaches on the topic "Application in Preaching."

I hope you find these beneficial. Also, since these were recorded on tapes there is a gap in each recording where the recording had to be stopped to flip the tape over to the other side. 

Application in Preaching (Part 1)

Application in Preaching (Part 2)

Application in Preaching (Part 3)

Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching (Review)

Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching is a must read for every Pastor and those aspiring to the office.  

There is not that much to say about this book because of its makeup, except to say that it is split up into eleven different chapters with a different author for each chapter. To understand what a goldmine there is here, just check out the Table of Contents:

1. The Primacy of Preaching (R. Albert Mohler Jr.)

2. The Foolishness of Preaching (James Montgomery Boice)

3. Expository Preaching (Derek W. H. Thomas)

4. Experiential Preaching (Joel R. Beeke)

5. The Teaching Preacher (R.C. Sproul)

6. Preaching to the Mind (R.C. Sproul Jr.)

7. Preaching to the Heart (Sinclair Ferguson)

8. Preaching with Authority (Don Kistler)

9. Evangelistic Preaching (Eric Alexander)

10. Preaching to Suffering People (John Piper)

11. A Reminder to Shepherds (John MacArthur)

Enjoy!