Locusts and Wild Honey

This week I enjoyed reading Collin Hansen’s book, Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalists’ Journey with the New Calvinists.” As one of the editors at Christianity Today, Hanson chronicles the new movement among young evangelicals who recoil from the superficiality of the postmodern church and run to the depth of authentic theological grounding they find in the God-rich soil of reformation thought.

Hanson’s seven chapters cover the Passion Conference, John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, Southern Seminary and the SBC Founders, Sovereign Grace, the New Attitude Conference, and Mark Driscoll. He peppers in conversations with every-day guys influenced by the resurgence. He closes the work with:

For nearly two years, I traveled across the country and talked with the leading pastors and theologians of the growing Reformed movement. I sat’ in John Piper’s den, Al Mohler’s office, C. J. Mahaney’s church, and Jonathan Edwards’s college. But the backbone of the Reformed resurgence comprises ordinary churches like those I saw in South Dakota — churches used by God to do extraordinary things. Armed with God’s Word and transformed by the Holy Spirit, these churches’ leaders faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ week after week, through tragedy and triumph. Culture has conspired to give their message a wider audience. Desire for transcendence and tradition among young evangelicals has contributed to a Reformed resurgence.

Contrary to the rumors, I’m not quite as young as the focus group of the book, so I’ve never attended a Passion or New Attitude conference, but I resonate with the revival of the doctrines of grace in my own life. I read hints of my own autobiography in the book, but I’ll save my story for another day. If you are young, restless, or reformed, and particularly if you are all three, you will probably enjoy this book.

btw, Mike Corley interviewed Collin Hansen last week. Great show.

 

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A few weeks ago, I preached in Louisville KY and Stacy Morgan preached in my place at Lakeshore Baptist Church. He preached 1 Timothy 1:12-17. I wanted to share the sermon here.

 

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R. C. Sproul’s latest book, “The Truth of the Cross” provides an in depth overview of Christ’s atoning work for sinners. He explains, in his characteristic clarity, why the atonement is necessary for sinners, how Christ stands as the only suitable and sufficient substitute willing and able to take in the curse for guilty humans who lay estranged from a holy God.

I love the way Sproul can communicate rich and complex theological truths in unclouded and concise language that, as Bruce Walkie notes, even a seventh-grader can grasp. For example, consider his treatment of the sometimes confusing understanding of the ransom motif, that I posted yesterday.

“The Truth of the Cross” would serve as an excellent resource for believers at any level. For new believers, it gives a rich introduction to the core Christian doctrine of the atonement. For mature believers, it serves as a wonderful reminder of Christ accomplishment on their behalf. As I read it, I also caught myself thinking that the book would serve as an excellent evangelistic tool. Too often we relegate evangelism to small little snippet tracts that seek to present the gospel in the fewest number of words possible. While those resources prove helpful, we should also add to our arsenal fuller treatments of the gospel for individuals bombarded with anemic Christianity.

The gospel saturated “Truth of the Cross” provides a rich presentation of Christ’s work. At only 166 pages, its not too long to intimidate casual readers, but long enough to pack in a wealth of gospel content. buy and read a copy for yourself, and several more to pass along to friends - believers and unbelievers alike.

Tomorrow, I plan to post a review of an excelent book I read this morning by R. C. Sproul entitled “The Truth of the Cross.” Sproul possesses the gift of explaining complex theological truths in clear language that anyone can grasp. For example, consider his treatment of the sometimes confusing understanding of the ransom motif:

We must be careful here. One of the views of the atonement that has competed for acceptance throughout church history is known as “the ransom theory,” but this theory has been articulated in two different and often conflicting ways. The first holds that in the transaction on the cross, Jesus paid a ransom to Satan because Satan held fallen man under bondage. In other words, Satan was the kidnapper who had snatched us away from our Father’s house, and Christ came and paid a ransom to the Devil to set us free.

It’s easy to see how this theory could develop. After all, who usually sets a ransom? It is not established by some board of trade that comes in and figures out the going market rate. The price tag for the ransom is set initially by the kidnapper, the slaveholder, or the hostage taker. He determines the ransom price, and then it’s up to those who are trying to free the kidnapped person, the slave, or the prisoner of war to decide whether they attach enough value to the captive to justify the ransom. Because the New Testament speaks of fallen man being in bondage to sin, and because Satan is the enemy of God and the tempter, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that Satan held us in bondage and demanded a ransom from God.

The Bible clearly calls attention to the Christus Victor element of the atonement, which is that aspect of Christ’s work by which He achieved a cosmic victory over powers and principalities, conquering the Devil and ending his power over us. We see the conflict between Jesus and Satan from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Jesus withstood that temptation, but Luke tells us that when it was over the Devil departed from Him “until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13b). Satan went into retreat, but not a permanent retreat. It was what we would call a strategic withdrawal so that he could find a better place to launch another assault against Christ. This was a conflict that went on throughout the ministry of Jesus.

But Christ gained the victory over Satan at the cross. It happened just as God had declared it would in the earliest days of the human race. After Adam and Eve sinned, God came to them and pronounced curses on them, then turned to the Serpent and said, “‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel’” (Gen. 3:15). This was the proto-evangelium, the first gospel ever preached. The New Testament writers would interpret these words as finding fulfillment in Christ’s death, for on the cross Christ crushed the head of Satan, though in the process He suffered pain Himself, even the pain of death. But He was raised from the grave through the power of God, gaining absolute victory. “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15).

However, the truth of the struggle between Christ and the Devil does not mean that the ransom of which Christ spoke was paid to Satan. Think of it for a moment. If Christ paid a ransom to Satan to deliver us from Satan’s clutches, who is the victor? The kidnapper usually does not want permanent possession of his victim; rather, he wants the ransom he can get in exchange for his hostage’s release. If he can get the ransom, he wins. So if the ransom was paid to Satan, the Devil laughed all the way to the bank and there is no Christus Victor. It must be Satanus Victor.

I favor the other expression of the ransom theory, which holds that the ransom was paid not to Satan but to God, because God was the One Who had to be satisfied. When the Bible speaks of ransom, it speaks of that ransom being paid not to a criminal but to the One Who is owed the price for redemption, the One Who is the offended party in the whole complex of sin—the Father. Jesus didn’t negotiate with Satan for our salvation. Instead, He offered Himself in payment to the Father for us. By so offering Himself, He made redemption for His people, redeeming them from captivity.

(The Truth of the Cross - pp54-57)

Last week I received my signed hard copy of Vintage Jesus in the mail. I had preordered the book and received a pdf from Crossway, so I’ve already read it, but I wanted to spend a second today writing a quick review. Bottom line - I like Mark Driscoll. He has become one of my favorite preachers to listen to. I know that makes me a target for criticism, because Driscoll stirs up a bit of controversy whenever his name drops into a conversation. Whatever folks may say about his Seattle style, he holds to a rock solid theology, demonstrates a passion for the gospel, and possesses an ability to communicate it in grass roots gritty language that makes sense.

The book, Vintage Jesus, serves as a Christology 101 to an American Idol culture. Here is a taste from the opening pages:

Roughly two thousand years ago Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy. Jesus’ mom was a poor, unwed teenage girl who was mocked for claiming she conceived via the Holy Spirit. Most people thought she concocted a crazy story to cover the “fact” she was knocking boots with some guy in the backseat of a car at the prom. Jesus was adopted by a simple carpenter named Joseph and spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity, swinging a hammer with his dad.

Around the age of thirty, Jesus began a public ministry that included preaching, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and befriending social misfits such as perverts, drunks, and thieves. Jesus’ ministry spanned only three short years before he was put to death for declaring himself to be God. He died by shameful crucifixion like tens of thousands of people before and after him.

At first glance, Jesus’ resume is rather simple. He never traveled more than a few hundred miles from his home. He never held a political office, never wrote a book, never married, never had sex, never attended college, never visited a big city, and never won a poker tournament. He died both homeless and poor.

Nonetheless, Jesus is the most famous person in all of human history. More songs have been sung to him, artwork created of him, and books written about him than anyone who has ever lived. In fact, Jesus looms so large over human history that we actually measure time by him; our calendar is divided into the years before and after his birth, noted as B.C. (”before Christ”) and a.d. (anno Domini, meaning “in the year of the Lord”), respectively.

No army, nation, or person has changed human history to the degree that Jesus, the homeless man, has. Some two thousand years after he walked the earth, Jesus remains as hot as ever. In fact, as Paul promised in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, the opinions about Jesus are countless in seemingly every area of culture.

On television, Jesus often appears on the long-running animation hits The Simpsons and South Park. Jesus also appears in the comedic sketches of vulgar comic Carlos Mencia’s hit show Mind of Mencia, which explores everything from what it would have been like for Jesus to be married to his involvement in a royal religious wrestling rumble with the founders of other major world religions. Dog the Bounty Hunter, the famous Christian bail bondsman, prays to Jesus on almost every episode of his hit television show, gathering his wife in her clear heels and the rest of their chain-smoking, mace-shooting, criminal-pursuing, mullet-wearing posse to ask Jesus to bless each manhunt.

In the world of fashion, Jesus appears on numerous T-shirts, including the popular “Jesus is my homeboy” shirt, worn by everyone from Madonna to Ashton Kutcher, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, and Pamela Anderson.

Driscoll goes on from there walking through pop-culture and the various views of Jesus from the orthodox to the outlandish; but then he shifts gears to give a solid Biblical
picture of the person and work of Jesus. I did not do a comparative point by point analysis, but he covers pretty much everything you will find in chapters 26-29 of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. He outlines the work under a dozen questions:

1. Is Jesus the Only God?
2. How Human Was Jesus?
3. How Did People Know Jesus Was Coming?
4. Why Did Jesus Come to Earth?
5. Why Did Jesus’ Mom Need to Be a Virgin?
6. What Did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?
7. Did Jesus Rise from Death?
8. Where Is Jesus Today?
9. Why Should We Worship Jesus?
10. What Makes Jesus Superior to Other Saviors?
11. What Difference Has Jesus Made in History?
12. What Will Jesus Do upon His Return?

Driscoll hits these questions from a biblical perspective with loads of scripture references in his trade-mark edgy style. Easily offended Christians who believe the seven deadly sins include getting a tattoo, reading from a Bible translation other than the KJV, riding a motorcycle, laughing out loud, downloading classic rock to your ipod, or wearing blue jeans to church, will probably not enjoy this book. For everyone else, the book offers a fresh look at the biblical historical human divine real Jesus from an angle you may not have considered before. I’ve been recommending this book to many of my friends, especially those born during the Reagan administration.

Check out the Vintage Jesus web site for more info about the book and authors, desktop backgrounds, sound clips, endorsements, and to order your copy.