The Total Sufficiency of the Person, Work and Word of God: Some Personal Thoughts

My house mate some months ago introduced me to a group of Roman Catholics, and to be honest, before that I did not really engage much with Roman Catholics and their primary sources. Sure, I am Reformed, sure I am a professing, confessional and systematic TULIP man, sure I am convinced of the Doctrines of Grace from the Bible primarily, sure the thing that gets me out of bed every day is the sheer holiness and omni transcendence of God but I never really engaged with primary Roman Catholic sources before that. Even though I was thoroughly convinced of my positions from holy Writ (with the exception of the “rock” passage of Mt 16; but God ordained it that I dealt with it in my exegesis at bible college), I never have dealt with their texts in the way I have done with Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, and the Muslims.

So, when Roman Catholicism was portrayed as this monolithic, age transcending Church, with billions of followers and an unbroken lineage/tradition to Jesus and Peter themselves, a novice like myself was actually quite intimidated. Because what Catholics have the tendency to do is just “fact dump” on you until you give up, or give in. Or what they do is so theologically load terms such as “tradition” or “Eucharist”, “real presence” that the Church Fathers use so that when we Protestants take to their writings are intimidated  by the Fathers because they are often portrayed as being proto-Catholic (and that, by implication, even us Protestants have this idea that the Reformation in 1517 was somewhat of an anarchist movement, rather than a return to historical Christianity- just read Calvin). What I ended up doing was stopping, thinking and considering the theological and historical landscape. And what I found after reading countless pages of catechisms, councils and Vatican sanctioned books was that the very core element of biblical Christianity was denied at every corner; the sufficiency of the Person and work of God for every aspect of the Christian’s life. 

Now, Catholics would deny this (and Catholic friends of mine do), They say that they believe the Bible is authoritative, but that’s not the question- the question is; is the Bible sufficient? Protestants say YES. But what I find even more awkward than that is they deny the Person and work of Christ. Catholics would again say that they don’t. But to respond to that, I am reminded of a quote “there are two ways to deny something; either by saying ‘I don’t believe it’, or by adding to it.” A person may profess they believe in marriage, but they don’t if they are going to brothels or just by glancing at other people lustfully. Even though they heartily profess soberly to marriage, they practically deny it by how they live. This is the case with the Catholics. They on one hand profess the person of Christ and His life, death, resurrection and post-resurrection ministry, but then they completely nullify it by adding to it with Mary, the Saints, priests, the Mass, infant baptism etc. If you’ve read any Catholic catechism, you see the contradictions quite blatantly. And it’s sad that they don’t even notice the contradictory statements from their mouths/catechisms.

So, yes, as a Protestant, at the end of the day- all I want is God. In fact, all I need is God. I will not settle for anything less, even though it is buttered up with tradition and incredible language. We could spend a while talking about epistemological methodology and axiomatic principles, but the heart of the matter is the heart, and as a sinful kid, my confession (as un-eloquant as it is) is that “I want God. God is enough. God will get me through. God is sufficient for ALL my needs”.  My sins are real, my temptations are real, my frailties are real and my fears are real. So, to have 24/7, no middle-people, Christ centred, cross based access to God the Father is the most glorious reality. I do not need Mary, I do not need a priest. I have Jesus.  

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”- Heb 4:14-16 (ESV)

And I can know God personally through His Word. I do not need the Magesterium, I do not need anything else the Roman “church” offers me. All I need is Scripture- where God has perfectly and sufficiently revealed the biggest realities to me; who He is, what He wants, what He has done and how much He loves His people.

And to be honest, after reading countless pages of Catholic literature, I have no hope from any of it, because I can get, and have direct access to the Sovereign God who listens through the one Priest (Jesus Christ) who sympathises with my weaknesses on the basis of His perfect, one off, sufficient death and resurrection for my sins. I have no need for anyone or anything else than the Person of God and His word. Because He is sufficient.

 

-Wilkins

Ps: A reliance on the sufficiency of God’s work and word is the practical application of God’s attribute of self sufficiency (aesity).

The Nicene-Postmodern Creed (A satricical rewrite of the classical Christian confession)

The Nicene Creed was written first in 325AD to combat two heresies; Arianism- the believe that Jesus was not deity and Sebellianism- the believe that God doesn’t exist in three equal persons at the same time (this is the short explanation of the heresies; if you want more resources- read a Christian history book). The gist of the confession is to make the confession that Christians believe in a Trinitarian Monotheism, the Virgin Birth, the crucifixion of Jesus under Pontius Pilate, Jesus’ bodily resurrection, his reign in heaven and his second coming, the church and the after-life.

However, we exist in a Postmodern society, and a confession of truth is considered narrow-minded. This attitude is well planted in the mindset of many (if not most) modern Christians. This attitude, combined with the myriads of heresies in the Church leads to problems.

This blog post is to show how this great confession would possibly be written, had it it been written in the 20th, 21st century Postmodern Christian church. I write this on the basis of what is written in much of the top books and media sold in Christian bookstores, and what is taught by many of the most popular preachers. This is to show how bad much of the situation in much of the Church (especially that of many confessing Evangelical churches).

 

 

We believe in one God,

The Father, the Almighty,

But the term “Father” was from a wicked, oppressive patristic society

Who really knows what gender God is.

We can’t really put God in a dogmatic box

The Father can be a woman, called “Papa”
Who had holes in her hands 

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only CHILD of God,

Can’t say “son”; that’s sexist

Eternally begotten of the Father/Mother, God from God,

Light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made,

But it doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. Mormons, JWs and Oneness Pentecostals are still family

Of one Being with the Father/Mother;

Through them possibly all things were made.

They could have used evolution for all we know

For us and for our asking Jesus into our hearts They came down from heaven,

Maybe incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human.

Whether he did, or had a father called ‘Larry’, bears no significance on our faith

For our sake they were maybe crucified under Pontius Pilate;

But Allah saved them from death he didn’t suffer death and wasn’t buried.

On the third day they may have rose again

The Scriptures aren’t so clear. It doesn’t really matter

They spiritually ascended into heaven

Not bodily; that’s a literalist interpretation

And is seated at the right/left hand of the Father/Mother.

Can’t say “right”, that may make Jesus a Republican

They will come again in glory to judge [but acknowledge Jesus says “don’t judge lest ye be judged]

The living and the dead, and their kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, who dwells in unbelievers also

Who proceeds from the Father/Mother who with the Father/Mother

And the Child is worshiped and glorified,

Who has spoken through the prophets, even today.

Including those of different religions.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

And children belonging to different faiths.

We acknowledge many baptisms for the forgiveness of sins.

Including the baptism for the dead, and the life of the world [which means now]. Amen and Awoman

 

I’d like to say that I believe in the original Nicene Creed, the Athenasian, the Apostle’s Creed, the Chalcedonian Definition, the Belgic, the Westminster Confession and the London 1689 Baptist Confession. A confessional and creedal church (particularly Reformed) is a good church. May the Church (especially the Protestant Church) get back to confessions and creeds, and stop proclaiming junk. Amen 🙂

Dawkins, Pell and the Christian Church in Australia

Prof. Richard Dawkins and Cardinal George Pell had a debate on popular ABC show “Q and A”. What was seen tonight on the show was a well-known Celebrity Atheist vs a Roman Catholic Cardinal, who represented the ‘Christian’ view.  This post is not to address the debate as a whole, but to bring two main points up for your consideration.

1) Secular Media Should Probably Promote Intelligent Christianity: What do I mean by this? It seems, apart from Dr. John Lennox last year, that secular TV seems to put on Christians that are not the most intelligent to represent the Christian faith. This of course, makes the Christian faith to be “blind” and “ignorant”, when in fact, there are many Christians that are actually quite intelligent, and yes, even professors and doctors in many fields of study; even biology, genetics, astrophysics etc. Moreover, I found it somewhat saddening that we had a Catholic Cardinal representing the Christian Church. As far as I can tell, Pell has an unbiblical view of anthropology and, well, to be blunt, the Gospel itself, denying the exclusivity of Jesus’ claims and religion (a cardinal sin. sorry, had to say it). This is done by a lack of urgency to need to know the Gospel and the Christian faith. Remember, this country apparently is equal opportunity and free-speech, so let there be a promotion of intelligent Christianity, in the media and in the public schooling system.

“Study constantly, never be obsolete, confident apologists without any apologies.”- Omri Miles (The Plumbline Collective)

2) The Australian Church Needs to Grow a Brain: This sounds a bit harsh, and yes, it is harsh. But why is it harsh? Because it hits too close to home? Let’s think about it for a second: If Cardinal Pell is a representitive for the Christian religion, then where are the intelligent Christians in prominent positions/roles? Where I sit, as a 22 year old Christian, the two generations of Christians above me by-and-large haven’t really promoted an intelligent faith, based on suppositions, figures, evidence, reason and study. So, today, and into the future, we’ll have a generation of Christians that knows more catch phrases and cliches than actual scriptures and facts. I’m dreading the day.

People who I know have said to me that I am one of the most intelligent Christians they know. As much as that is a nice compliment, I have to respond to them in grief. If I am a standard of Christian intelligence, then something is wrong with the Christian church in this country. If we want social reform and an intelligent Christianity promoted, then it’s up to the Christians to get on their knees before God, repent, pray ask for forgiveness for their mindlessness, get up, study the Bible and actually read some intelligent books by Christians and leave the self-help filth alone. We have to push it and force the issue by massive numbers of Christians who are intelligent and stop relying on pithy little catch phrases like Christianity is a relationship, not a religion and I have my faith, I don’t need science. Or what about the classic supposed head knowledge/heart knowledge dichotomy? And even the excuse that I’ve heard some Christians use I walk by faith, not by sight, as though Paul supports mindlessness! So, if we want the secular world to stop shooting us with accusations of stupidity and unintelligence, then lets stop supplying them with the ammunition that aids in our murder! Let’s as a Church, repent and study the scriptures and learn apologetics. More importantly, the Church should get back to the Gospel; our first love! Let’s get back to the Gospel of Sovereign Grace, where salvation is by God’s grace, through faith ALONE and repentance.

“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”- 1 Peter 3:15

By the response I saw by people on Facebook, they were disgusted with Pell and his responses, and I think this a good thing. Perhaps with such unchristian responses from Pell, atleast a section of the Church in this country may be provoked to study. I hope this is true.

Lord, do a work in the hearts of your people in this nation. Amen.

-Matt Wilkins

The Christ Hath Risen From the Grave!

“Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”- Matthew 28:1-6

In the last blog post, I said that Good Friday was the most important day of all human history. While that is true, it must be said that there is another day of equal and infinite importance. The Sunday after Good Friday was the day that Jesus physically rose from the grave. This event is of infinite importance for a number of reasons.

1) It vindicates Jesus: Jesus claimed a number of things before His death. One being that he is God in the flesh (Jn 8:58). Another claim that he made was that he was the temple (or the dwelling place of God), and he would be raise three days later (Jn 2:19). People mocked Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God (Mt 26:63). Jesus is vindicated by rising three days later, thus being the dwelling place of God. Jesus is God in the flesh! This is made clear by Thomas calling Jesus God in John 20:25-28. God the Father vindicated Christ by raising him from the dead. All of Jesus’ claims concerning himself, his work and relation to God the Father are all vindicated.

2) The Christian faith is vindicated: The death of Jesus has been well documented through many sources. However, the resurrection of Christ proves that Jesus did not merely die as a martyr for his opinion, but rather what he said about true religion (based on him and his death/resurrection) was right. Christianity has a risen, alive and a truly conqureing founder. Because Jesus has encountered literally aspect of the human experience and conqured it all. His religion is true. Islam has a dead founder. Buddhism has a dead founder. Every religion has a dead founder except Christianity. Infact, had Christ not been resurrected, the Christian faith would have never spread!

3) He is rightly able to be called King:  Because Jesus has suffered the worst fate and died and because Jesus has been in every domain of the human experience and has defeated all of it, he has the right to rule over it. He can make just and judge people, no matter whether they are dead or alive. As he has been in both realms and conqured both.

“For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living”. Romans 14:9

Moreover, Jesus Christ now reigns over all aspects of the universe. From the deepest reaches of space, to the lowest points of the ocean, to the sub-atomic level and over all humanity-yes, even those who deny him, and even overtly hate him. He reigns over them and will do justice concerning them. Because he has risen.

4) It proves that Jesus’ other claims are right: Jesus claimed that he was the Messiah (proven by his death and resurrection). He claimed to be the ransom for sinners and even the basis of all true religion. So, because he was right about his resurrection from the dead. It is reasonable to say that his claims of coming back are also right. He will come back one day, not to save sinners through his death and resurrection, but to judge the world. All those who have not repented (turned from sin) and submitted to Jesus as King in this life, out of the grace of God, will be obliged to do it on the day he comes back.

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”– Phil 2:8-11

If you are a non-Christian, I encourage you to repent of your sins and submit to the God of the Bible and believe in Jesus’ death for sinners as a substitute and resurrection before Jesus, the Lord of all Realms comes back.

 

Jesus Christ is Risen!

 

Why Good Friday is so good

I am writing this blog post the day before a very important day in the calender year- Good Friday. Which is a celebration of the most important day in all human history. Think about all the monumental days: D-Day, the day MLKJr spoke his famous I Have a Dream speech, Australia Day, July 4 and how important they all were. Multiply their importance by an infinity, and they don’t come close to as important as Good Friday.

What is Good Friday? Good Friday is the celebration of the day, where close to 2000 years ago, a man named Jesus of Nazareth died a death of a criminal (crucifixion) that was judged by Roman law. The details of crucifixion have been documented many times before. Many people were killed this way, but apparently Jesus’ death was different than the countless thousands before him. Why do we as Christians believe Jesus’ death was ultimately different? It was not any different than the torturous death that others died. But the importance of the death lies not in how he died, but who died and for what purpose.

See, the Christians confess that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. Fully divine, fully human in one person. We declare that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of Old Testament Judaism. Finally, we believe that while Jesus died a horrible death physically, that something else happened. According to Jewish law, anybody was hung on a cross was under the curse of God.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— Gal 3:10-13

Jesus, while hanging on the cross in physical agony, underwent the torture of being seperated by God the Father. The prophet Isaiah puts it like this

“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”- Isaiah 53:10

Jesus became accused on behalf of those who would believe in his death. The Bible says that Jesus became a substitute (or a ransom) for many on the cross. We who have sinned (that is everybody) deserved to be up on that cross, under the anger and hatred of God the Father because of our vile wickedness, rebellion and sin. But, this is the wonderful news, Jesus took the place of sinners! He was viewed by the Father as a sinner! Even though he was not a sinner. Think about it for a minute, the “worst” sins you can think of; genocide, rape, molestation, paedophilia, drug dealing etc. Now, think of the “lesser” sins; lying, cheating, stealing, watching pornography, speeding etc. Now, God the Father viewed Jesus as having done those sins, so that people who have comitted these sins (yes, even rapists and paedophiles) can be saved!

So forever will I tell:
In three hours, Christ suffered more than any sinner ever will in hell!
He who had infinite joy and pleasure
became a Man of Sorrows so we could join forever.

So that, whoever believes in Christ and his death on behalf of sinners, may not be viewed as a sinner, but shall be viewed righteous, because of Jesus’ death on their behalf. Otherwise, the curse and anger of God the Father shall be visited on them in Hell.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”- 2 Cor 5:21

Not only that, but Jesus’ death allows sinners to come to God and fellowship with him through Jesus. A religious order of priests and rituals is no longer needed. But come to God by Christ. On the basis of Jesus! If Jesus had not died, then all of the human race would have no hope in eternal life at all. Hell would be our only option. But that’s not all! Jesus rose again, and we’ll see what that meant in Sunday’s installment.

That is why Good Friday is good!

Some Thoughts on Revival

There is a common theme in Western Christianity to seek this thing called “revival”. We hear it in many songs, we see it spoken about on the internet, from the pulpit and people are called to pray for it. Many people desire to see it, and many people want it. There is what I call “massive revival talk”.  But the question remains; what is revival? Revival, historically is when, due to the preaching of the Gospel, God saves a massive amount of people in a short period of time. Typically, as a result of the “mass conversion” of souls, entire towns and cities become Christian and crime rates plummet and, towns clean up their acts.

Firstly, we see in Acts 2, where 3000 people got saved in a single day due to the preaching of the Gospel by Peter. The greatest religious movement in all history; the Protestant Reformation was born out of a recognition of the Gospel by Martin Luther, and quickly, his realisation of the Gospel of Grace spread rapidly throughout Europe. We see this with the preaching of the Gospel by John Calvin (possibly the greatest theologian since Paul) in Geneva, which turned it the entire city of Geneva from a drunken, debaucherous mess, to the place where democracy and free speech was incubated and essentially born. Furthermore, we the preaching of Arminian giant John Wesley, who rode 250,000 miles on horseback to preach the Gospel to the poor in Great Britain in the 18th century. We also see American Calvinist greats such as George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards, who combined, preached to thousands, if not millions of their countrymen. Finally, we see Charles “the prince of preachers” Spurgeon create a massive impact on the Protestant church in England in the 19th century. His ministry is still felt by many Christians 125 years later.

Having read these men and their biographies of these men, a few things are very evident of their ministries

• An open and bold proclamation of the Gospel with words including all of its components (sin, repentance, the cross, the resurrection and the coming judgment) 
• Constant prayer for their preaching and the souls of men, so that God may save sinners
• A promotion of sound doctrine
• A godly life: Devoted to prayer, personal study and devotion
• A desire to see God exalted, and not have Him offended, rather than stoop down to the opinions of people, even “good” church members.

It is also very interesting to note that guys like Whitfield and Wesley went out onto the streets and did street preaching. They saw God’s Gospel as important and vital for the salvation of people. Sinners were not coming into the church, so they had to go out. Do Christians in the West have this zeal and burden to see people saved? I’d be hesitant to actually think so. If Romans 10:14-15 is correct when it says

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

then why don’t we publically preach the Gospel in what context we’re in? Are we ashamed? Most likely. No, we’re not all called to be street evangelists. No, we’re not all meant to be preachers, pastors and authors (although these vocations should be supported). Is it possible that we actually don’t care about the souls of our unsaved workmates, friends and family? Or, we don’t actually understand the necessity of repentance and faith in Jesus? Or what about the urgency to repent? Do we pray for those around us who aren’t saved? Do we preach Christ and Him crucified to them, so that they can be saved?

I once listened to a sermon called A Call to Anguish by the late David Wilkerson (the only popular Pentecostal preacher I’ve ever had any respect for). He called this idea of revival talk as meaningless and useless rhetoric. Many people pray and ask God for revival and pray to see loved ones saved (and that’s noble), but don’t go out and preach to them so that they may repent. The irony being that many people who believe in man’s decision to “come to Christ” actually don’t give people the opportunity to make that “choice”. At worst, it’s a form of lovelessness, as you are keeping the greatest truth from them. It’s also a form of hypocrisy. Wanting revival, and not sewing the seeds to help bring it about. There is only one way in which a revival starts; by the preaching of the Gospel actively from the pulpit, in our social circles and from the streets and God’s pople living holy lives and lots of prayer.

So, if you’re a Christian who is praying for revival of your town and for the salvation of your loved ones and you aren’t preaching Christ crucified to them, you are saying, as David Wilkerson meaningless rhetoric. Let us as a Church stop the meaningless rhetoric, stop the hypocrisy and start preaching the Gospel so that God may use our labours and bring genuine Gospel revival to our nation.

Amen.

A new blog

Greetings internet.

Welcome to my new blog, where I plan on doing on some writing (go figure, aye? A blog site where you actually do writing). Going to do writing on things current affairs, the Christian religion (and all its different aspects, mainly church issues and theology), philosophical things and whatever life throws.

Hope you enjoy it, if not, that’s fine too. My desire is that Christ may be exalted in this.

Again, welcome!

Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory)

 

-Matt Wilkins