Tag: Providence Reformed Church

Do You Want What You Think You Want?

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Humans are amazing creatures. Consider the things that we say we want. Consider what we show that we really want. Consider how they are not the same thing.

People want happiness, fulfillment, or prosperity. I think that is true for nearly every human being. I have never met anyone who told me that the last thing they want is to be satisfied with life. (Of course, I have known some sour people who seem to find satisfaction in a frown, but I digress.)

Here is what I found interesting in the Psalms recently. In Psalm 81, God speaks to his people and makes the most prosperity-theology-looking sorts of promises [disclaimer: I fully reject prosperity theology]. He promises the people success, victory, physical comforts. It is a no-brainer that the people should jump at. But, what the Lord shows us in his word is that the people specifically do not do what God says.

Psalm 81:8-16

8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9 There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

10 I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

to follow their own counsels.

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

14 I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.

15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever.

16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

There is a lot in that section, but just think with me about the prosperity the people say they want. I think all of Israel would say that they wanted the success God mentioned here. They want the favor and the blessing. But there is something that keeps them from it. What is that? And do we have the same problem?

I would argue that the text above shows us something of great significance about the human heart. We want success, comfort, and satisfaction. But, our lives show us that we somehow get so disordered that we value something else above actual joy and satisfaction. That something shows us the very heart of our sin nature, and we need to get it.

In the Psalm, the people show that they want their autonomy even more than they want joy. They, by their actions, show that they will reject the joy that satisfies a soul and makes a life easy if they do not get to have that joy in their own way, under their own control, by their own standards.

This is human nature at its clearest. It was the problem in the garden. Adam and Eve had everything they could ever need. All comforts and joys were present. They had food, beauty, marriage, intimacy, comforts, long-life, fellowship with God. But the rebellion that they gave into said that all those things were worth rejecting if they could not be the masters of it all. If they could not have things their way, being at the top of the organizational chart, they would turn from all comforts and embrace death.

And this is our nature today. Humans naturally reject the rewards of God in order to magnify our own freedoms and autonomy. It is true in little things and in big things. It is true in my life and in yours. And a major part of living as a Christian is learning that soul-satisfaction is found in submission to the Lord, not in my own autonomy.

Look at your own life. Are you willing to walk away from God rather than submit to him? Do you want to be the one in charge of yourself, even if being in charge takes from you the joy you desire? Many are. Often, I am—that is what happens when I sin. When I sin, I say to God that I will give up the joy he can give because I refuse to bow to him. I say to God that I would rather hurt in life than yield to his authority. And the only way for me to find joy and peace in life is to learn—like a horse in a bridle—that there is a greater joy for me, the joy and even the freedom I desire, to be found only when I submit to Jesus as God created me to do.

You Do Not Know Your Heart

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Don’t you hate to think you know something, just be sure of it, and then turn to find yourself mistaken? Isn’t it frustrating to find out that you were dead wrong on what you assumed with conviction? Everybody hates this, at least I would assume we all do.

What is worse is when we think we know something about ourselves only to realize that we are not what we thought we were. Reality TV shows like American Idol have made a mint by laughing at people who think they can sing and who are utterly shocked and horrified when they are told that they cannot. The casino industry here in Vegas makes a fortune on people who think they are smart enough to beat the house, but they are not.

Even worse than all that, however, is the state of the person who believes that he or she has a solid understanding of his or her own heart. The truth is, we very often assume false things about ourselves. We assume that our intensions are good. WE assume that our motives are pure. We assume that our ways of doing things must please the Lord, because, after all, he must see things the way that we see them.

But consider a few words to us from the Lord.

1 Kings 8:39 – then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),

God is the only one who has a true grasp of what is in your heart. You do not know your own heart, only God knows the hearts of men.

Jeremiah 17:9-10

9 The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart

and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Our heart is more deceitful than anything else we encounter. We are particularly blind to our own failing, our own shortcomings. We assume we know, and we just flat do not grasp the truth of our own motives and internal messiness.

It is possible, by the way, if you are given to self-pity, that you think you know your heart because you so often feel bad about who you are. But, even then, the one who pities himself or herself is quite often feeling sorrow based on false beliefs and unmet desires that have nothing to do with the Lord. The truth is, whether you are overconfident or self-pitying, you do not see your heart and motives as the Lord sees them. You lack the wisdom and holiness of God to assess yourself with the accuracy of the Lord who is perfect, who sees all, and who knows all.

What then do we do? We must come to the Lord in humility and ask him to help us to know the hearts we cannot know on our own. We must open the word of God and let it, like a mirror, show us who we are and how deeply we need the grace of the Lord. We must allow others in the local church to speak truth into our lives so that we begin to grasp the little chinks in our armor that we cannot see. We must have the help of the Lord, his word, and his people to work on shaping hearts that would trick us if we view them on our own.

Respect Your Pastor Enough to Talk with Him

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The word of God is clear that the role and duties of elders in a local church is a tough role. Elders are charged by God with faithfully handling his word, with shepherding the flock, and with caring for souls. Pastors (elders are the same as pastors) are called to pray for the church, to correct the doctrine of those who stray, to call people back from sin, to comfort the hurting, and so very much more. And all of that is while regularly preaching and studying—and perhaps even writing on a regular basis in the modern world.

I would not give away my job for anything. I love the role to which God has called me, even though it can surely be hard. I love to teach the word of God and care for the people of God. And I pray that, by the grace of God, I might do this work well.

With the pastor’s job in mind, let me share with you an issue that pastors face that I think could be something all church members need to hear about. I have come across something that is necessary in the church, but which I think many Christians shrug off. If you need a prooftext verse for what I’m going to suggest, try this one from Hebrews:

Hebrews 13:17 – Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

This verse of Scripture calls for church members to do their best to make shepherding them easy for pastors. This is by no means a verse that allows pastors to lord authority over people in the body. It is not the Bible saying that, if the pastor wants you to fund a new building, you whip out the checkbook without hesitation. It is simply a reminder that, because your pastors keep watch over your soul, you should help them do their jobs well, with as little pain as possible.

So, what do you do when your pastor holds to a doctrine with which you are struggling or with which you disagree? I would like to suggest, as a pastor and as a student of the Bible, that you have the respect for and love for your pastor to actually talk with him about your struggle. It is wise for church members who are trying to work out their beliefs, or who are even struggling with what the pastor teaches, to actually sit down with the pastor, hear his rationale for his argument, and see what can be done. It is possible that this discussion will sharpen or even change one or both of the people in the discussion.

I have seen a church member call up his pastor, ask for time, and then sit down to talk through a challenging and often-debated doctrinal issue. The young man came with his argument ready, but he also came with grace and humility. The conversation did not end with anyone’s mind totally changed, but the conversation certainly ended in fellowship, in love, and with both sides understanding each other better. This was good.

On the other hand, there are those in churches who disagree with their pastor doctrinally who simply make the decision that they will figure out the issue on their own without ever sitting down with their pastor to talk it through. As a pastor, let me simply say that this is a discouraging decision at the least. Pastors are surely not better than anyone else in the church. But pastors have, by the grace of God, often been given the privilege of years of study in which to wrestle through tough doctrines. To simply refuse to talk with your pastor about a doctrine may communicate to your pastor that his years of study mean nothing to you, and that you, in a few months on your own, will do a better job of figuring out a thorny theological problem. It can come across as a person saying that they will trust an author or a speaker from the Internet more than they will trust the wisdom of one who is in their own church.

The sad thing is, we will sometimes see that church members who do not talk doctrine through with a pastor may bring about division in the body because of their conclusions. They may leave the church. Or they may bring about a major conflict in the church. And often, these conflicts bring great sorrow to the body. All the while, had the person chosen to sit down with their leadership, the pastors the members said they would submit to, they could have avoided a great deal of the pain of the process.

Of course, I do not believe that every church member will agree with his or her pastor on every issue. In truth, I need to be challenged and corrected, and so do all other pastors. Which is why, for a church member to decide that nothing would change from a conversation is counterproductive in the body. Perhaps the pastor will learn something. Perhaps the church member who has his or her mind made up might actually find out that the pastor can lovingly present a truth to them that they had not yet understood. But to not give your pastor the opportunity for this, that is certainly not helping him to keep watch over your soul.

As always, thinking an issue like this through requires wisdom. I am not asking that one brings every petty preference issue to the pastor’s study for a four-hour discussion. There are surely doctrines that are of lesser importance, doctrines that will not demand division or policy changes in the church. Such doctrines do not always have to be addressed. But, then again, why not at least have a single conversation with your leaders about such issues if you are noticing them. No, do not become a thorn in your pastor’s side. But neither disrespect your leadership by assuming that they are wrong and they can say nothing that might influence you.

Also, we understand that not every person leaves a church over doctrine. People may desire to worship in a different setting or to serve a body they find fits them better. There are surely good and godly reasons to leave a church that do not require a doctrinal division.

Hebrews 13:17 commands us to help our shepherds shepherd our souls. Think along those lines as you think about tough doctrines you struggle with or doctrinal disagreements you have with your church. Perhaps thinking this way will help you to love your shepherds enough to talk with them about your struggles. Such conversations, if handled with love and grace, would glorify God and be good for all the souls involved.

What do you do, then, if you have a pastor who is not interested in doctrinal conversation? I have been in such a church in the past, and it was a really hard place to be. When you find out that your pastor is not interested in theology, or that he will not have a conversation about theology, then you may well need to consider another place to serve the Lord. But give the pastor the chance first. Respect him enough to speak with him. Make sure he knows what you are thinking and why you think it is important. Then, if you need to move on, if you have heard his thoughts on your doctrinal issue, you can go with a clear conscience, knowing that you have tried to be led by the shepherd the Lord placed over you.

A Perfect Example of Context Really Mattering

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If you know me, you will know that I often preach to people how important context is in interpreting a biblical text. If we remove context from our study of a passage, we will miss, often badly, the meaning of the text. And if you think that this is not the case, I want you to read the following words with no context. They are Scripture. What would happen if all you heard was that these are the words of God?

“attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.”

Now, if those words are left to themselves, if they were seen as Scriptural commands, what would you become? It would be a real problem. And I did not do anything to those words. They appear above as they appear in Scripture. But, look at the context, and see how the meaning becomes clear.

2 Samuel 5:6-8 – 6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”

When David was planning to take the city of Jerusalem, the Jebusites said that David was so weak that the blind and the lame could ward him off. So, when David sent men to take the city, he sarcastically used the words of the arrogant Jebusites as part of his command. David does not hate blind and lame people. God does not command us to attack the disabled. Instead, we see here that David threw the boasts of the arrogant back into their teeth.

Friends, when you read the Bible, please, for the love of God (literally), handle the text in its context. Do not take a verse alone as a unit of thought. Ask what the verse is saying in the light of the paragraph, the unit of thought around it. Ask what book the verse is in and what that book is trying to communicate. Ask what timely and social constructs influence how that verse would have been understood by those who read it. Remember, context really matters.

Andy Crouch – The Tech-Wise Family — A Review

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Andy Crouch. The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2017. 224 pp. $11.00.

Modern families who care about their children must consider how technology impacts their lives. Andy Crouch recognizes this truth, and shares with us some strategies that he and his family have tried to implement in order to manage the challenges of 21st century living.

I read this book upon my wife’s recommendation. She had heard Any Crouch on a podcast, and she thought that his book could offer our family some well-needed guidance. We have 3 little ones in our home, all of whom love their devices. How can we help to keep our house from becoming one of those places where a family communicates more through texts than through conversation?

Crouch offers some lovely and lively looks into his family and their decision-making process regarding technology. Perhaps the greatest benefit of this book is that Crouch suggests a God-centered approach to keeping all of the parts of life in their place. It is wise for a family to determine how, when, and where they wish to use technology. Once those decisions are made, it is helpful for a family to structure their home, even in its shape, so as to make this strategy more possible to pull off.

One example is that the Crouch family has made parts of their home sort of tech-free zones. In those places, the family makes sure to have other things available to occupy minds. Musical instruments, art supplies, and books to read help make certain parts of a home places where a child may not feel the immediate pull of a device on his or her young mind.

Another beauty of this book is that it is not a couple hundred pages of horror stories. Yes, there is a chapter on the dangers of sexually explicit content on the Internet. But even that chapter does a great job of pointing out that the heart behind being careful here is a heart of godliness.

The weakness in this book is a weakness that I find almost unavoidable in such a work. Crouch, as he shares his family’s standards, can tend toward a tone of legalism. For example, the book demonstrates a Sabbatarian shape, and the rules that he promotes regarding tech and the Sabbath are surely not for everybody. At the same time, as a non-Sabbatarian, I find Crouch’s handling of that theological topic unconvincing.

Other categories of Crouch family rules could be made legalistic if readers are not discerning. The author tells us of their family standard of 1 hour per day, 1 day per week, and 1 week per year when technology is put away. This is a good practice, but readers will need to be careful not to receive it as a universal rule. Similarly, the Crouch family tries to avoid tech while in the car. Again, this is a good rule, but it may not work for every family.

If you can read this book without receiving recommendations as rules, The Tech-Wise Family will be of great help. The ideas are creative. The concept of having everything in its place is wise. And, for sure, Christian families need to do some very real thinking about how to manage their technology instead of letting their technology manage them.

Perseverance of the Saints: Better than Once Saved Always Saved

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I grew up knowing that a genuine Christian could not lose his or her salvation. Though I could not explain the doctrine, I had it taught to me time and time again. A real believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, a truly forgiven sinner, could not turn from the Lord so as to fall again under God’s condemnation. And I often heard that doctrine expressed as the security of the believer or in the colloquial, “Once saved always saved.”

In truth, I believe still that any person who is a genuine believer is once saved and always saved. But I think that expression is misleading. The idea that a person is saved through the simple response to an invitation after a sermon and the praying of a prayer leads to the abuse of the biblical doctrine that tells us that the genuinely saved remain in Christ. It is maligned by those who disagree with the doctrine as being licentious, permitting a person to pray a prayer and then live however they want.

The problem with an overly simplified doctrine of security is that we lose the language and thought of the Scripture as we speak of it. We get pithy in our claims, and we begin to say things that are true, or tru-ish, but which do not contain the full counsel of God on the issue.

Consider the words of Paul in Philippians 3. I believe wholeheartedly that Paul knew that he was saved. Paul knew that he could not be eternally lost. Christ had made him alive, forgiven his sins, and granted him a place with Christ for eternity. Paul had no doubt about his salvation. But Paul did not speak of his salvation with a casual line like once saved always saved.

Philippians 3:12-16 – 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

In this section of Scripture, Paul has been talking about his wonderful religious pedigree in Judaism. If anybody could have earned salvation through obedience to the law, by being born into the right family and performing the right rituals, Paul could have done so. But Paul knew this would not save him. He knew that all he thought had been gain for his life before Christ was really garbage when it came to earning salvation. So, as Paul says in this passage, he forgets what is behind him and looks forward.

Twice in this section, Paul describes his Christian life as pressing on. Paul strains toward the Lord. But we know that Paul has nothing to do with a self-earned, works righteousness. His letter to the Galatians is proof enough of that. Yet, the same apostle who says in Ephesians that we are saved by grace through faith here says that he strains toward the goal, pressing on to win the prize.

This language is a help to us to show that the better way to talk about our security in Christ as Christians is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. You see, the biblical wording is never such that you get saved, and then you let go of any thought of repentance or effort. No, your efforts will never contribute to your salvation. Neither will your efforts contribute to your being kept by God. But, a truly saved person will, through the course of his or her life, put forth effort to honor the Lord. True Christians persevere, striving toward Christ.

This doctrine makes sense when you consider what truly happens in our salvation. When we were lost, our hearts opposed the Lord and the things of God. We were saved when God transformed those dead hearts to living hearts, causing us to be born again and to respond to him in faith. Suddenly, hearts that were against God now desire God. And so, genuine Christians press toward God, because our new hearts now have a gracious, God-given desire to know and to please God. We persevere in the faith because of the supernatural transformation that takes place at salvation.

Of course, this is not always a steady process. True Christians can go through seasons of doubt or rebellion. But a person with a truly changed heart by God will eventually return to the Lord. True believers will persevere, being kept by God, kept in faith, for a salvation that is unbreakable.

Some who talk of this doctrine also use the term, the preservation of the saints. That too is biblical language, as God is the one who truly, sovereignly keeps us. He loses none of his own, but raises them up on the last day.

Thus, what we see about our salvation is a beautiful, two-sided truth. We press on, straining toward the Lord, and persevere in our faith. Paul says mature believers all think like this. We also rejoice in the promise that God guards our salvation (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5). Thus, we know that “once saved always saved” is true, but it is a scant description of a bigger and better doctrine, the perseverance of the saints.

A misinterpreted Proverb We Need to Reclaim

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Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.

I have often heard the first have of this verse ripped out of context in a dangerous way. It is usually quoted from the King James, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Then the one quoting it will use it as a tool to preach a sort of visionary leadership. Perhaps the person will be charismatic, and will be leading the people to listen to his own personal visions. Or perhaps the person is a pastor who wants to control his congregation by claiming that he is the visionary they must follow or perish.

The problem is that we are not letting the verse do what proverbs are supposed to do. This is a great example of an antithetical parallel. The verse has two halves that are intended to contrast. This is nothing new. A great many proverbs say to us, If A then something bad, but if B, then something good. A and B in that example are contrary positions that lead to very different outcomes.

Keep the antithetical parallelism in mind with this verse. When there is no prophetic vision, something bad is coming. What is the opposite? Is the biblically given opposite a call for charismatic giftings or visionary leadership? The verse says in the second half, “but blessed is he who keeps the law.” The good side of the parallel is that the blessing of God is on the one, not who has a vision, not who has a visionary leader, but on the one who keeps the law of God. Stop, think that through, and then move on.

The proverb is not telling us to seek out new prophets or find visionary leadership. The proverb is telling us that if we do not want to perish, we must be people who cling to and obey the word of God. The word of God rightly taught and applied is the prophetic vision that prevents the people from perishing. Wise people who want to spiritually live love the word of God and keep it. That is the point of this proverb.

So, please, dear friends, if you hear someone use this proverb out of context, be ready to help. It does not take a lot of exegetical heavy lifting to get it right. Just draw out the parallels and show that the issue here is that people perish when the pastor turns from Scripture, not when he lacks charismatic gifts or modern, visionary leadership skills.

How We Look Like Fools Today

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Are you a fool? Do not think that a funny question. When the Bible calls you a fool, it is a very big deal. Fools oppose God. Fools are destined for destruction. And, in the book of Proverbs, we see things that show that our current culture is producing fools at an alarming rate.

Proverbs 29:11 – A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

Just consider the above verse in the light of modern discourse. A wise person keeps his or her emotions in check. A fool gives full vent to his or her emotions, thoughts, frustrations, etc. Think about that comparison, and ask yourself if you more often look like a wise person or a fool.

Our society seems built today on people lashing out screaming and shouting, and spilling every emotion that we feel. Universities have developed safe spaces for students to cry and snuggle teddy bears if they hear any thought with which they disagree. Those same universities allow those same students to scream at, curse at, physically threaten, and shout down speakers who present an opposing worldview.

And we could look at a hundred other arenas. Look at the Internet and social media. Who is not venting their spirit? Look at political debate and show me a man or woman behaving with decorum. Show me any form of modern entertainment that does not make its money on people spouting off whatever they feel at the time.

We have become, as a nation, a society of fools. We have lost decorum. WE have relinquished self-control. We have stopped calling for people to control their emotions and consider their words before they speak them or write them.

But, thanks be to God, there is still godly wisdom. Christians, may we learn to uphold it. May we be wise, obedient to the word of God, following the commands of Scripture and the example of Christ. May we be people who learn to speak with thought before emotion. May we be people who learn to behave with a decorum that pleases the Lord. May we be a people who refuse to sink to the level of the world around us.

And, Christian, test yourself. Have you given into the world’s thinking on your venting of your spirit? Have you bought into the lie that, if you feel something strongly, you have to let it out? The word of God never gives us the pressure-cooker-model of emotions. Instead, the word of God calls us to tame our feelings, to think before we speak, and to control our expression. If you are one who regularly blows up at your family, at your friends, or at strangers, you are acting a fool. Plead with the Lord to help you live out Christlike wisdom.

Saul and a Ghost

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On the eve of King Saul’s final battle, he found himself in a bad place. The Philistines had outmaneuvered him and his forces. The battle ground would not be to Israel’s advantage. And, worst of all, God was no longer on Saul’s side.

The king was in a pickle. The prophet, Samuel, was dead. The Lord was not speaking to Saul through other means. And so what would he do?

King Saul went and sought out a medium, a woman who claimed to be able to communicate with the dead. Saul figured that if God was not talking, he would try to get the woman to communicate with the spirit of Samuel so the dead prophet could tell him what to do.

Of course, God says that the practice of trying to communicate with the dead, tell fortunes, and all the rest is evil (cf. Leviticus 19:31). So it is a little odd that Saul, wanting to hear from God, would pick a particular plan that offends the Lord from the start.

What is even more interesting is that God does something rather odd here. God actually allows something to happen when the medium tries to call out the spirit of Samuel. We cannot say for sure whether this was really Samuel’s spirit, or perhaps a spirit allowed to simulate Samuel, but either way, something supernatural happened. This was clearly a surprise, as the woman, the medium, was totally stunned and afraid when the spirit showed up. She apparently was used to duping people with parlor tricks. When a real “ghost” came into the room, it shocked her.

But if the medium was afraid, think of how Saul must have felt after the response he got.

1 Samuel 28:15-19 – 15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

This is all crazy, of course, but the one thing that just bounces around my brain here is the fact that Saul knew he was in trouble with God. Saul knew that God was not answering him. And, yet, when Saul knew all this, he did not repent. Nor did he seek mercy from God. Instead, he ran to a medium, an abomination in the land of Israel, to try to force Samuel’s ghost to tell him how he might succeed.

So, all of that just adds to the weight of human hubris we see in Saul, and the sad weight of hubris we see in ourselves. It is human nature, when we do not get what we want from God, to attempt to manipulate God. It is human nature to try to turn to false religion and superstition when we want to learn a tip from God for facing the future. It is part of our sinful core to ignore the commands of God and take matters into our own sinful hands. WE do that stuff instead of doing what God’s word says: repent, submit to God, obey his commands, fall on his mercy.

Before you and I judge Saul harshly, let’s remember that we have the same nature. When our churches are not as big as we want, what worldly things will we turn to rather than simply trusting the Lord and his word? When we are caught in a sin, how many of us would double-down and lie about it rather than confess and seek forgiveness? When you treat your spouse wrongly, how often do you offend the Lord more by looking for an excuse for your sinful behavior instead of seeking biblical reconciliation?

OK, maybe you do not try to conjure up a ghost for advice—I hope you don’t. But, if you and I turn to sinful comforts and sinful practices when we are not getting what we want from God, I wonder how different we are from the foolish king who sought out a medium for a powwow with a poltergeist rather than simply repenting and refusing to move anywhere other than where the word of God commands?

Schreiner – Run to Win the Prize — A Review

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Thomas R. Schreiner. Run to Win the Prize: Perseverance in the New Testament. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 128 pp. $10.61.

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is an important teaching in the word of God. At the same time, this doctrine is often misunderstood or caricatured to the detriment of those who misunderstand it. Thomas Schreiner, author and seminary professor, attempts to clarify this doctrine in a simple and accessible way in Run to Win the Prize.

Run to Win the Prize is a condensed and simplified version of a larger work entitled The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance by Schreiner and Caneday. At the same time, Run to Win the Prize is an attempt by Schreiner to respond to some misconceptions about the conclusions of the larger and more exhaustive work on the topic. But readers need not fear that this shorter version is unhelpful. Schreiner uses the smaller book size to great effect as he helps readers to consider some very important perspectives on perseverance.

First, Schreiner insists that the New Testament does teach perseverance. He argues that a person genuinely saved by God will remain saved. At no point does Schreiner allow for a view that holds that we keep ourselves saved by good works—a form of legalistic works righteousness. Nor does Schreiner ever offer a view that Christians who are genuine Christians can ever end up ultimately lost.

Sometimes, when people hear a strong message of eternal security for the saved, they will respond with a twisting caricature of the doctrine. Opponents will claim that a person can pray a prayer, be saved, and then live however sinfully they want without consequence. Schreiner’s work speaks boldly against this view by arguing that the warning passages in Scripture are very real, very serious, and intended for believers.

Many Christians interpret passages such as the opening verses of Hebrews 6 as passages intended for people considering Christianity, but who are not yet converted. They, if they turn from grace, will be lost. Others suggest that the warning texts teach that someone can lose their salvation by intentionally walking away. Schreiner offers a third option.

Schreiner suggests that the warning passages are genuinely for Christians. He argues that the passages say exactly what they want to say, warning that a believer who intentionally turns from Christ and walks away will be lost. But Schreiner adds the biblical perspective that no genuine believer actually will make such a turn against the Lord. Schreiner argues that the warnings, genuine warnings, are means that the Lord uses to keep genuine believers. Like warnings on bottles of poison that declare to a person, “If you drink this you will die,” the warnings in Scripture, Schreiner argues, tell believers that if they turn from Jesus they will die. And, Schreiner argues, just as you and I would never drink the poison because of the warning, neither will genuine Christians ever turn against Christ so as to fall away eternally.

Schreiner also addresses briefly the misconception that an understanding of the doctrine of perseverance of the saints leads to a Wesleyan doctrine of perfectionism. The author is clear that he is not in any way teaching any form of sinless perfection among saints before the eschaton. Instead, he argues that believers are warned by God and kept by God. Believers will grow and be sanctified. But Believers will not be perfected until they leave this life.

I found Run to Win the Prize to be thoughtful, encouraging, and helpful. Personally, I am not certain that I agree with Dr. Schreiner regarding the audience for all of the warning passages. I believe it is possible that some of the passages are for those who have been exposed to Christianity, are considering it, are understanding its truth, but who are tempted to reject Jesus and walk to the Jewish temple religion (obviously pre AD 70). But, even if I disagree there, I must be humble enough to allow Dr. Schreiner to cause me to think my conclusions through thoroughly.

For sure, this book is a great help for believers in showing us that a true understanding of eternal security, perseverance of the saints, does not do away with our call to obedience and sanctification. Schreiner’s book sounds a clear call for all saints to recognize that God warns us sternly to remain in the faith, and God works in us, even using those warnings, to keep us in the faith.