Theology

The Gospel: Not Man’s Invention

/ Marcus Glover / Leave a comment

jonathan-edwards-preaching
Christianity is nothing more than a man-made religion created to assert some men’s supposed moral or intellectual superiority over others.

This statement, or some version of it, is an oft-repeated objection to Christian doctrine, and it is a postmodern idea that can be traced to the so-called “Age of Enlightenment” beginning in 18th century Europe and extending to other continents, including North America. For thoughtful Christians, however, this seemingly astute critique of evangelical Christianity rings hollow. Christianity, we understand, is not some man-made philosophical, social, or political movement. Rather, the faith we proclaim is from God.

As a pastor in mid-eighteenth century New England, Jonathan Edwards came face-to-face with this Enlightenment claim of the supposed man-centeredness of the Christian gospel. For Edwards, the claim was not merely an idle cheap shot at institutional Christianity. At stake was the very trustworthiness of the gospel message that Edwards and other Christians were aggressively spreading throughout the American colonies.

This perhaps at least partially explains Edwards’ sustained preoccupation with the nature of human salvation as an unequivocal work of the Holy Spirit, and not due to mankind’s moral or intellectual capabilities. Edwards understood the challenge presented by the emotionally ecstatic revivals of the Great Awakening that swept through New England. His answer to Enlightenment objections was both distinctly theological and deeply philosophical:

The Christian gospel is morally and intellectually superior to anything that human could ever invent.

In a 1733 compilation of sermons called The Wisdom of God, Displayed in the Way of Salvation, Edwards carefully unpacks the suppositions of the Christian doctrine of salvation and takes great pains to demonstrate how this is too lofty a philosophical worldview for man to have concocted himself. The only logical conclusion, explains Edwards, is that God himself is the author of the Christian worldview.

Here is what Edwards writes in one section:

The contrivance of salvation is of such a nature that no one can rationally conclude that man had any hand in it. The nature of the contrivance is such, so out of the way of all human thoughts, so different from all human inventions; so much more sublime, excellent, and worthy, that it does not savour at all of the craft or subtlety of man; it savours of God only. [1]

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[1] Jonathan Edwards. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson); p. 154

Who Sets the Agenda in Your Church?

/ Marcus Glover / 1 Comment

I’m not a pastor, but I hope the Lord calls me to serve in that role someday. As I think about what kind of pastor I aim to be, there are plenty of things that come to mind. But perhaps most important is this: I want every aspect of my ministry to be consistently shaped by God’s Word, not my own innovative ideas.

Yes, I know this might seem obvious. After all, the Bible is as basic to Christianity as wheels are to a bicycle. Anyone who is engaged in the work of the church should on the Bible as his main tool. It just makes sense, right?

Sadly, many pastors today do not share this philosophy. I am often seeing examples of churches whose worship, discipleship, and outreach are built on everything but the Word of God. Growth plans, snappy mission statements, cultural engagement, great music, nice facilities, etc. Though none of these are bad in and of themselves, they have too often been elevated to become the very engine which is supposed to power the church’s effectiveness and growth.

Oftentimes, the result is a sickly church that is not the clear gospel witness God has intended it to be. Either it’s an underachieving church that preaches the gospel yet never reaches its full disciple-making potential, or it’s an apostate church that fails to preach the gospel at all. Though it may well have begun as a well-meaning effort to be creative and practical, it foolishly neglects the greatest tool we have at our disposal—the Word of God.

How can we avoid, or even reverse, this trajectory of neglecting God’s Word? Ultimately, it is the whole church’s responsibility. But it starts with the leadership. The elders must set a clear tone of relying on the Bible to provide wisdom and direction in every aspect of the church’s life. Most fundamentally, the elders set this tone through teaching.

Along these lines, the most practical, foundational means by which elders can cultivate such a reliance on God’s Word is through expositional preaching—that is, preaching that plainly exposes the main point of God’s Word and makes that the main point of the sermon.

Who Sets the Agenda?

In expositional preaching, we aim to let the Bible speak for itself. This stands in contrast to a method of preaching in which we begin with our own presuppositions and then point to biblical passages that validate those presuppositions.

In some cases, the preacher routinely teaches on a series of topics, rather than preaching straight through books or sections of Scripture. Depending on the content of the sermons, this is not always the worst thing in the world. However, to do this habitually sets a precedent in which the preacher (perhaps in consultation with the elders) decides for himself what topics he thinks the flock needs to hear about.

Instead of plainly delivering to the people what God would have them hear, this preacher uses the Word as a platform for his own theological hobby horses. The result is that the congregation’s theological knowledge and interests only rise to the level of the preacher’s theological knowledge and interests.

By doing so, however, the preacher fails in his God-given responsibility to “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Why? Simply put, the preacher who primarily preaches topically is setting the agenda, rather than allowing God himself to determine what his people need to hear.

Getting the Vision Right

Furthermore, the pastor who only preaches topically runs the risk of building a church that is self-consciously united around a vision that is good but not ultimate. If you ask Christians today what their church is all about, many will say their church is most fundamentally about grace or justice or stewardship or love or community. These are all essential aspects of the church’s mandate, but not one of them on its own constitutes the entirety of what the local church is called to be.

However, churches that rely solely on topical sermon series tend to be more susceptible to the mistake of adopting a vision that is too narrow or theologically off-center. It is all to common for a topical-preaching church to be adamantly defined by a single theological concept while remaining weak in other essential biblical concepts.  Again, this points back to the topical preacher’s tendency to teach his congregation only those things that he is most passionate or knowledgeable about.

A congregation that only hears sermons about God’s grace, for example, may not receive much robust, biblical teaching on God’s justice. Thus, grace becomes central to the church’s vision while justice is, at best, a peripheral concern. On the contrary, the congregation that regularly hears expositional sermons covering a variety of topics is much more likely to articulate a more comprehensive vision rooted in the worship of God Almighty and proclaiming his glory through the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

A church that is confused in its vision is likely to be confused in its theological understanding. The best way to prevent or correct such a problem is by offering the church a regular, well-rounded diet of perspective on all of Scripture, including the more difficult or lesser-known parts.

Is Expositional Preaching the Only Way?

Expositional preaching is predicated on the assumption that the Word of God should set the preaching agenda. So instead of a preacher presenting a sermon series on stewardship, he might just decide to preach a series straight through the book of Galatians and see what topics come up. Invariably, both the congregation and the preacher will encounter topics they might never have considered otherwise. As a result, the sermon becomes a tool to challenge and instruct the church in surprising ways.

To be clear, faithfulness does not necessarily demand book-by-book expositional preaching 100% of the time. In fact, it often does make sense to occasionally preach sermons or series that are more topical in nature. At times, the elders might use topical preaching to address particular challenges, circumstances, or questions facing the church.

Still, this should not be viewed as a replacement for a straightforward expositional approach. The main preaching diet a congregation is receiving should be expositional sermons. In order for a church to be all that it is called to be, there must be a firm commitment to understanding, obeying, and proclaiming “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20: 27). As with many things in the life of the local church, this begins in the pulpit.

 

Why Do We Seek God’s Glory?

/ Marcus Glover / Leave a comment

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

-Westminster Shorter Catechism

Throughout history, Christians everywhere have largely understood their mission in terms of the all-encompassing motto Solo Deo Gloria (To God alone be the glory). Indeed, not only do we see this idea expressed in the creeds nd faith statements, but it is also a foundational concept in Scripture:

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

-1 Corinthians 10:31

God’s glory is central to the Christian life. All of our theological study and our ministry efforts find their ultimate purpose in the discovery and proclamation of the supreme greatness of God. If we miss this, we miss everything. If life is a highway, God’s glory is always the destination.

Yet, if you’re like me, you might be asking a crucial question: Why? That is, why is God’s supreme greatness the centerpiece of the Christian life? Why is the aim of everything we do ultimately to point away from ourselves in order to point to God?

The answer is simple and yet profound: The reason we should do everything for God’s glory is that God himself does everything for his own glory.

God’s concern for his own glory is evident throughout the entire Bible. But let’s briefly turn to two passages where it is clear.[1]

In Throughout the Bible, we see a vision for living with God’s glory as the central motivation for everything we do. In everything we think, feel, and do, we must aim to reflect the supreme greatness of God. To focus our attention or efforts on anything other than this is to miss the point of why we were born, why we were saved, and why we do anything in life.[2]

Our passion for proclaiming God’s supremacy in all things is meant to mirror God’s own passion for that very same aim. As those created in his image, we exist to make much of God. That’s why we live. That’s why we were saved. That’s why we suffer. That’s why we prosper. That’s why we do ministry. God’s purpose in every part of our lives is that we use it to demonstrate God’s absolute sovereignty, goodness, wisdom, and power.

The Glory of I AM

What we see in Exodus 3:12-15 is revealing. While God is in the midst of declaring to Moses what he is about do for his people Israel—namely, rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt and planting them in a better land of their own—God focuses the attention on his own name: I AM. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (cf. Ex. 3:14-15)

Within this name, we learn a lot about who God is and what he intends. The name “I AM” points to God’s eternal nature. There is no force that created God or causes him to continue living. He has no beginning and no end. He just is. He always was and he always will be. Period.

God goes a step further by indicating that he is “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Not only does this give historical context to God’s self-designation as the eternal “I AM,” but it also points to God’s redemptive plan across the ages. God had previously made a promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:2-3) that he would give Abraham offspring and make him into a great nation through which all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Throughout the book of Genesis, we see God re-affirming and fulfilling this promise through Abraham’s son and grandson Isaac and Jacob.

So, when God connects himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he is making a statement as to why he intends to save his people out of Israel. Namely, we see that God plans to save his people in order to display his own matchless power and promise-keeping faithfulness. God saves his people to show off his supreme greatness.

Pleasing the Lord

In Colossians 1:9-10, we see another example of God’s glory as the aim of his redemptive work. Here, the apostle Paul commends the Colossian church for their faith in Christ, and he articulates his prayerful desire that they would “be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

But Paul doesn’t stop there. He points out that the aim of this spiritual wisdom is “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (v. 10) In other words, Paul envisions that the ultimate aim of Christians joy and wisdom is to be directed toward living lives which reflect God’s holy character and give him pleasure.

God has saved us in Christ not merely for the sake of giving us joy and peace, but more importantly for the sake of our ability to display his supremacy through our total submission.

How Do We Miss It?

I am struck by how easy it is for me to forget this foundational truth that everything in my life must be for the glory of God. On the one hand, there is the gross tendency of my heart to live for my own glory. As much as I might outwardly deflect attention and praise, inwardly I crave it. When I serve in my church or in my home, I often do so with a deep-seated desire to be recognized and rewarded. And very often, this desire stands in direct opposition to any desire in my heart to make much of God.

When I err in this way, it is flagrant and overtly idolatrous. Instead of humbly submitting to God’s rule, I am seeking to oust God from his throne and rule in his place. Instead of encouraging others to adore God, I demand that others adore me.

On the other hand, there is another more subtle way that I sometimes fall short of living with God’s glory as my greatest aim. Sometimes I turn from God’s glory to focus on good, lesser things as ultimate. Salvation. Spiritual gifts. Relationships. Peace. Reconciliation. Hope. These are all wonderful things, and it is right for us to desire them and enjoy them. But they are not ultimate. All of these things come from God himself, and he gives them to us that we should recognize and declare his profound, unmatched greatness.

When God saves, he does so in order to display his perfect justice and mercy. When God gives us gifts, talents, and opportunities, he does so in order to equip us for drawing attention to his own supremacy in all things. When God calls us to deny put our sin to death and instead live holy lives, he does so in order to present us as a reflection of his own holiness. The whole point of Christian discipleship is that we always grasp the “in order to” in everything.

God’s passion for his own glory is what animates our passion for his glory. God will not settle for anything less than the greatest display of his glory. That is why he is so steadfast and unwavering in his justice. And it is also why he is so generous and relentless in his love for us.

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[1]For a thorough, compelling argument for the centrality of God’s glory throughout the Bible, see James Hamilton, God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment: A Biblical Theology (Crossway, 2010).

[2] For some helpful thoughts on the study and application of God’s glory, see John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah, 1886).