Category Archives: Reformed Theology

The Obvious God

By | | , ,
Comments Off on The Obvious God

The Obvious God

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

When I was very young, in my early years of elementary school, my grandfather on my mother’s side took me to see New York City. Along with the Statue of Liberty and the famous subway, one of the things I wanted to see was the Empire State Building which I believe was then the tallest building in the world. We wandered around for a while looking for it. Finally we stopped a policeman on the street. When we asked where it was, he just pointed — we were right in front of it.

Sometimes we miss things not because we can’t see them, but because we just don’t recognize the obvious.

Our main duty here is to declare the glories of God.

Toward other believers in Christ, that means daily encouragement. We can help one another see and obey the revealed ways and truths we find in our Bibles. We can also remind one another about God’s amazing providence and the wonders of creation surrounding us.

However, when we declare his glory to the unbelieving world, there’s a problem. We need to remember that we are speaking to those still blinded by sin. It’s like declaring the colors of the rainbow in a society where everyone is totally blind. They have heard about colors, but have no conception of what they really are.

In their unbelief, in their blindness to the way things really are, they believe that God can be tested by their own set of rules, and measure up to their standards. They presume they are able to see things as they really are, and are able to rule out what they don’t want to believe is possible. All their theories, as improbable as they may be, are unquestionably accepted if they help them explain away the truly supernatural workings of an infinite God. It goes deeper than just their assumptions about science, philosophy, and theology. The real motive is to convince themselves that they aren’t accountable to the God who made them.

Here’s where the problem comes in. When they assume they can test God by their own man-made rules, they already presume that God isn’t what he is, and they aren’t what they are. By this circular reasoning, man puts himself, the creature, over the Creator. He makes up the test with the prejudice of his fallen heart. The test is designed with the expected outcome already in mind.

Paul shows how foolish this is in Romans 9:20, “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”

How do we urge the unbeliever to believe in God?

Our duty is quite simple. We are to tell the unbeliever what God has made known, even though we know he will at first deny them because of his blindness. We can do this with confidence because God isn’t a hidden secret. Everything God made declares him to everybody all the time.

In Psalm 19:1-2 it says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”

In Romans 1:18-21 Paul says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Even the human conscience, while fallen in sin, testifies to truths fallen men neither want to see, nor to admit.

In Romans 1:22-25 Paul goes on to say, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man —and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

It’s not that God’s word in nature and in our conscience is unclear. It’s that sin prejudices fallen humans so that they miss the obvious.

Not every believer in Christ has the knowledge to debate the philosopher, the evolutionist, the social liberal, the nihilist, or the post-modern theologian. But all have God’s truth in the Bible. Our job is to declare what’s already obvious, and to patiently pray leaving the results in the hands of God who alone can change the disposition of the heart.

We need to be careful so that the declaring of God’s truth is done well. We all have a duty to understand the Scriptures as well as we can. We need to take advantage of every opportunity to be taught well and systematically.

We need to be sure that the word is growing in our hearts, not just in our heads. If our lives contradict what we say, our message will be confused too. This doesn’t mean we need to be sinless. That attitude would directly conflict with Scripture. We need to admit our sins humbly. By example as well as by our words, we show what it is to trust Christ for forgiveness, and to be sincerely working to overcome our sins out of love for God.

This approach isn’t always going to bee well received. We shouldn’t expect it to be. Nobody likes to be told that he’s so prejudiced that he denies the obvious. What’s even worse to the unbeliever is to be told that aside from God’s grace he is unable to do anything about it. However, the facts stand out clearly on the pages of Scripture.

These ideas have been under attack for a long time. Not only from those outside the church, but also from those who manage to sneak in as wolves dressed as God’s sheep. It shouldn’t surprise us that Satan would infiltrate, promote his ideas, and battle us by trying to weaken us from within. This is what human enemies have done for ages.

In the early church there were all sorts of cults and mystical claims that attempted to distort what God had really said. The Middle Ages saw the invasion of rationalism into the church which tried to elevate man’s fallen nature so that it was only slightly damaged in the fall. The Bible says we are all dead in our trespasses and sins, not merely wounded.

As time distanced the church councils from the teachings of the Apostles, some adopted ideas that were not in the Bible. At times individuals claimed to receive visions on their own. Some have believed stories of miracles that attest to ideas completely contradictory to the Bible. In each case, information from outside the Scriptures creeps in to confuse God’s message.

When Liberalism came in, it tried to explain away all the supernatural elements in God’s word. Then came Post-Modernism that promotes the idea that it’s not even important to determine if there is real truth or not. It all becomes subjective and unimportant. Man becomes the test of what’s valuable subjectively, and God fades into being a nice but forgotten myth.

Through all this, God has kept his truth alive in his church.

A Biblical way to present God’s truth
is by what we call the Presuppositional Apologetic.

Presuppositional Apologetics is not a simple area of study, which is probably why they use those big words in it’s name. It would be impossible here to get into all the details of it. However, the basic idea is very simple.

The truth about the way things really are doesn’t begin with us and how we see things. It begins with the Creator who made everything, including us. The mistake people make is when they try to understand the world by assuming they can be neutral about everything, and can see without prejudice. The fallen heart dares to believe that it has all the information it needs to decide about what is right and real.

The lost “suppose” ahead of time, that their senses are reliable, that all they need is what their limited intellect and the findings of science tell them. The problem remains: their “supposes” are wrong. All truth has but one source, and that is God the Creator. We as creatures can only know what is true because God has told us. We can only submit to what he says when he changes us inwardly through the the Savior’s work of removing the barrier of guilt that separates us from our Maker.

All of creation declares God’s truth and glory all the time. He made us creatures with a conscience that condemns our sin and points us to God.

But there’s a problem: Sin has blinded us to truth as God presents it to us. The message is clear, but we are prejudiced against it because of sin’s effects. Since the fallen mind begins its thinking with the creature instead of the Creator, it’s bound to come up with a distorted view of everything. To the lost every beam of light, particle of matter, and wave of energy is stripped of it’s message. The truth is suppressed and the measurable facts are explained away as mere products of chance and evolution. In that blindness he believes he is capable of judging what it all means.

So when we talk about God and Creation, the world hears something different. The unredeemed think of God as a religious idea we came up with on our own. They think of him as a bigger, but not an infinite being since he couldn’t keep evil from happening. This makes God either an illusion, or mean, or incompetent, or powerless in moral matters. To the unredeemed who are religious, they think of God as great, but still in some ways limited. They believe God needs us to permit things to go his way. They imagine that the church and our permission control the redemption of individuals. This is why a humanistic or social gospel has taken the place of the message of grace and salvation in so many places.

So how can we deal with the atheist, the cynic,
the confused, and the religiously deceived?

We tell them the truth simply and honestly. We confidently assume that what God himself tells us is what really is. We don’t test the Bible by the inventions or imaginations of men. We test what we believe by the Bible since it was given to us by God himself. We pray as we tell them the truth because we know that only God can change people’s hearts by his grace.

All our evidences, arguments, proofs, and pleadings can’t change the lost heart, but all these can be effective tools when the power of Christ is at work.

Is there a God? You may as well ask if you had parents. Since we are here, we had parents. Their image is stamped all over us. It’s in our eye color, the color and texture of our hair, our bone structure and facial features, and in the skills we inherit and learn. Since the universe is here, there is a Creator – just like the one whose image is stamped all over it.

I like to say, the Bible is the sword of the Spirit. Don’t argue about how sharp it is. Stick them with it. God blesses his word and his faithful people’s use of it.

There is a God. What he’s told us about himself is there reliably in his word. We begin with him, not with ourselves making up tests for him to pass to satisfy us.

We should learn and declare by word and life what God has made known. We should encourage others to trust and obey those principles and promises. However we must remember that God alone can change the lost heart, so we pray and live in confidence of God’s power and wisdom.

Dr. Van Til wrote, “no one can see Scripture for what it is unless he is given the ability to do so by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.”

John Calvin saw this in the Bible too. Without a truly Sovereign God who changes us by grace alone, there is a different gospel that rests somehow more on the creature than the Creator.

Van Til said that for even those who don’t understand theology well. “in practice every evangelical who really loves his Lord is a Calvinist at heart. How could he really pray to God for help if he believed that there was a possibility that God could not help him?”

What could possibly be easier than to simply point out the obvious? We have the power of God and his promise, that everyone who hears our message, and those he intends to believe it, will without fail both believe and come in faith to Christ. Those who don’t come show that he hasn’t worked in them yet. In some he never will.

We are not to try to figure out who will believe or when to give up trying to deliver the truth to them. We are to keep on with the Good Message. If we obey — should the results go either way — we can’t possibly fail in our mission.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Brief Biography of John Calvin

By | | ,
Comments Off on Brief Biography of John Calvin

Brief Biography of John Calvin

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

This brief outline of the life of John Calvin gives a little perspective to the life of one of history’s most noted Christian scholars.

The Early Life of John Calvin

Gerard Calvin was a lawyer. He wanted his son John to seek a career in the church. Raised among the privileged, John was educated in good private schools, and finished his degree in the classical arts at the University of Paris. John excelled as a scholar and became proficient in Latin and philosophy. Just before he started his nine years of study for his theological degree, Gerard changed his mind and told John that he should study law.

John dutifully obeyed his father. He changed his plans and worked toward getting his degree in law. During his studies as a distinguished student he learned about the Evangelical faith. He took a serious interest in biblical studies which led him to the study of Greek, and Hebrew. John Calvin’s first book, a commentary on a Latin treatise by the philosopher Seneca, was published in 1532 when John was only 22 years old.

We don’t know when or exactly how John was converted to Christ. His own account shows that it produced a distinct change in his life. He became known as a “Lutheran” because he agreed with the basic principles of the Reformation which had become identified with Martin Luther.

John became a teacher in a college in Paris where many came to learn from him about the Scriptures. When persecution intensified against the Lutherans, Calvin had to leave the country. He took refuge in Basel.

In 1536 at Basel John published the first edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. It was intended to be an elementary manual for general readers. It attempted to answer the many questions being asked about the biblical foundation of the Reformed Faith.

John, his brother and sister, and some friends were traveling to the “free city” of Strasbourg when armies and battles forced them to detour through what we now call Switzerland. They stopped for the night at an inn in Geneva.

Word spread quickly that the writer of the famous “Institutes” was in town. The pastor of the city, William Farel, hurried to the inn and asked John to remain in Geneva to help him with the demanding work of the church. John refused. He was headed for Strasbourg the next day and simply was not available. Farel persisted. In his frustration he swore an oath that God would curse all of Calvin’s studies if he did not remain!

John began to sense that God had a different plan for him than he had thought. He later writes, “I felt as if God from heaven had laid his mighty hand upon me to stop me in my course”. John remained in Geneva.

William Farel had persuaded John Calvin to remain with him in Geneva to help the work of the reformed church. After only eighteen months changes in Geneva caused both Calvin and Farel to be banished.

John Calvin of Geneva

For three years Calvin worked hard for the Reformation in Strasbourg as pastor of a small church of French refugees. He met such greats as Martin Buber and Philip Melanchthon, but he never met Martin Luther. He began re-writing his Institutes to deal with the growing questions about the Reformed Faith. While there he also wrote musical versions of the Psalms to be used in worship.

When the situation changed again in Geneva, Calvin was invited back. The situation was different. Calvin had become a well known and respected theologian and reformer. He also had gotten married to his chosen wife, Idelette. On this basis Calvin was able to reorganize the structure of the church and the city of Geneva to conform to biblical orders (Pastors, Teachers, Elders and Deacons). He founded an Academy for training the children in 1559.

The work load became immense. His health began to fail. Calvin suffered migraines, lung hemorrhages, gout, and bladder stones. When he couldn’t walk to his pulpit and lectures he was carried.

As the gospel became known to the general public, opposition grew. The fallen human heart finds the teachings of Scripture to be offensive. He does not want to accept that God is really the Sovereign Lord over his creation, and that man is a fallen creature redeemed by grace through Christ alone. People would set their dogs on Calvin as he walked by. They would fire guns outside the church and shout to disturb his preaching. There were even anonymous threats against his life.

Calvin continued faithfully, but due to his serious disposition it was hard for friends to comfort him or to get his mind off the work and the persecutions. In his failing years he finished a final re-writing of the Institutes (1559), and published lengthy commentaries. He continued his teaching even from his death bed. Friends warned him to take it easy, but he replied, “What! Would you have the Lord find me idle when He comes?”

John Calvin died in Geneva on May 27, 1564 just a few weeks before his 55th birthday. He left behind a very complete study of almost every verse of Scripture, and a thorough analysis of the biblical foundation for all the basic beliefs of the Christian Faith. By his own request he was buried in a simple unmarked grave somewhere in Geneva.

The Valuable Bible – 2 Timothy 3:16

By | | , ,
Comments Off on The Valuable Bible – 2 Timothy 3:16

The Valuable Bible – 2 Timothy 3:16

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

2 Timothy 3:16

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

This is one of the Bible verses people commonly memorize and quote. It’s simple, straight forward, easy to learn, and not hard to understand. Yet it summarizes one of the great and most basic truths of the Christian Faith. It tells how the Bible came to be, and how useful it is.

It begins with a profound fact: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”

The original Greek word for “Scripture” is graphae (γραφη). In the verse just before this (3:15) Paul is talking about the same writings, but there he calls them “The Sacred Writings”, ta hiera grammata (τα ιερα γραμματα).

He doesn’t mean just any writings. He used expressions common in his day to refer to the books of the Old Testament. These were the writings that were known by Timothy growing up as a Jewish child. These terms were consistently used by the Rabbis then to refer to the whole Canon of the Hebrew Scriptures. Those words were used the same way we use the word “Bible” today.

The Bible didn’t come from some church council or a group of editors. It was given to us from God himself by the act called “inspiration“.

The word “inspiration” translates the Greek word theopneustos (θεοπνευστος) which literally means “God-Breathed”. More exactly the word means “to expire” or “to breathe out” since the sounds of speech are made by the expiration of air through the larynx. In English the word “expire” also describes something that is outdated. An expiration date tells when something has gone past its effective date like an expired driver’s license. Since God’s word never becomes ineffective with time, “expiration” would not have been a helpful translation. The amazing fact is that Scripture originated as if it was breathed out of the mouth of God himself. It is his word spoken to us who read it.

Some who refuse to accept everything in the Bible as being true have tried to change this verse to make it say something different. They translate it as, “Every scripture which is God inspired …” as if there are some parts of the Bible that are human words and are not “God-inspired”. Technically the difference in translation depends on how you understand the adjective. It may be taken as a predicate adjective or an attributive adjective. Both are grammatically possible. But it doesn’t change the meaning of the verse either way it’s translated. It’s always the context that shows how an adjective is to be understood. Clearly Paul was using well established terms referred to the books of the Old Testament. These are the books Timothy had studied from his youth, and that are profitable for all the things the Apostle lists here. It’s not consistent to assume that Paul was saying that some Scripture was not inspired and profitable. The debate over the two grammatical possibilities is overrated at best.

Since the Bible is God’s own word to us, it is fully authoritative and reliable. Scripture is said to be, “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”

The Bible is “profitable” [ophelimos (ωφελιμος)]. Literally this means that God’s word is helpful and gives an advantage. Then it lists the things that follow from this important fact:

The Bible teaches [didaskaliean (διδασκαλιεαν)] us what is right and true. We call teachings about what we believe “doctrine”. What the Bible teaches is absolutely true and reliable always. What the Bible doesn’t address is just theory. What contradicts the Bible is absolutely false and misleading.

The Bible “exposes” and condemns [elegmon (ελεγμον)] false beliefs and bad behaviors. The idea here is to give evidence that shows what is true and good so that by contrast it reveals what is not true and good.

The Bible “corrects” [epanorthosin (επανορθωσιν)] deviations from God’s path. It makes the crooked path straight again.

The Bible tells the “way of righteousness” [paideian taen en diaiosunae (παιδειαν την εν δικαιοσυνη)]. That’s how we know what pleases God. It points out what ways are good for us to follow. If we don’t learn the right ways, we are bound to go in the wrong ones.

This verse is God’s own word about his word. It’s very unwise, even dangerous, to neglect this good advice. God’s people must be a people of the Book. It is our connection with God’s truth that tethers us to the immovable rock. How sad when Christians neglect such an important tool and gift.

For more information about the inspiration of the Bible see Unit One of our Syllabus.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Love in the Bible

By | | , ,
1 Comment

Love in the Bible

by Bob Burridge ©2011

We hear the word “love” used in so many ways. It can be used in a casual way when we speak of how much we love pizza or a good movie. It is used of that special devotion and care that unites a man and woman in marriage. It can be used profoundly when we express our devotion to our God as Creator and Redeemer.

It’s popular to talk about God’s love and our love for one another without a good definition of what it means. To some God’s love means that he could not hold us accountable for our sins, or that he would not uphold justice in the eternal punishment of those of us who remain unredeemed by the work of our Savior. Some believe that loving your neighbor means being easy on law breakers, but shows a disregard for their victims.

1 Corinthians 13 contains familiar words, but it teaches a profoundly different kind of love than what the world understands.

In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus was asked what was the foremost of all the commandments. His answer, quoting the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, was this …

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

If Jesus said that love is a summary of all the law and prophets, then we need to know what it means to love, what love looks like when it is present, and how to develop love in our lives.

Some years ago I was challenged to piece together the main elements of love in the Bible. To summarize what I found, I put together this definition of love as it appears in God’s word:

“Love is a disposition implanted into needful human hearts by the prevailing grace of God whereby we are enabled joyfully to obey the revealed desires of our Creator; both toward the Lord himself, and toward others.”

As fallen creatures, the disposition of legitimate love is missing from our souls. It needs to be implanted in us by a work of God’s grace. As fallen people we are separated from God’s fellowship by our guilt. In this alienated condition love is replaced by selfish attitudes and behaviors. Until we’re changed by the work of Christ, we do things that offend God, harm ourselves, and take advantage of others.

Even passing civil laws can’t keep us from doing unloving things. Laws don’t stop law breakers. Crimes continue even though there are statutes against them. Laws can’t make us love, or stop us from being unloving. We need them to restrict lawlessness, punish crimes, and to protect victims, But laws haven’t ended racial bigotry, theft, lying, pornography or other vices. Laws and national policies don’t stop bad people from doing horrible things. It’s our fallen nature, alienated from God, that makes us do unloving things.

Biblical love begins when spiritual life is implanted in regeneration. The Bible says, “we love because He first loved us.” If God hadn’t first sent his Son to redeem us, love, as God reveals it, would be completely unknown in our world. The only thing that can change the way people behave is by a change of heart that impels them to do right rather than to do wrong.

Galatians 5:22 says that love is a fruit produced in believers by the Holy Spirit. In fact, love is the first item in the list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Only when the fallen creature is restored by grace through faith in Jesus Christ can anyone begin to realize love as the Creator intended it to be. Unless a person in born again, regenerated by grace, he can’t produce the fruit of the Spirit. What he calls love is a tragic imitation.

Even after the Spirit implants love into our redeemed hearts we need to nurture it the way God tells us so that the fruit grows. The same grace that implants love enables us to grow in our obedience to God’s word. This means that the redeemed have to know what God tells us is right. They need to act trusting in his promises as their only hope of success.

The Bible tells us that the disposition of love produces obedience. Obeying what God’s desires toward himself, and toward others involves a lot.

In one word, love summarizes the way the Bible says believers should live. We need to know how to be loving at home, at school, at work, at play, in worship, socially, while shopping, and when we’re fixing things … in every situation. It needs to become a part of what we are and what we do all the time.

The Bible directly defines love as doing what God has commanded:

John 14:21 Jesus said, “He who has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is who loves Me”
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”
John 15:14 “You are My friends, if you do what I command you”

So love isn’t just a feeling. It’s a disposition that compels us to real moral obedience.

1 John 5:2-3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.”

God’s word tells us specific things to work on to encourage love to grow in us. It defines what we do when we love God and our neighbors.

In the next section of this chapter, in verses 4-8, Paul mentions 16 qualities of love:

“Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; Love does not brag, and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; It does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things Love never fails.”

People who are loving in these ways are bearing Love’s fruit. They show that it has been implanted in their hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit.

In God’s covenant promise he tells us that when redeemed people obey, he will bless them richly with inward satisfaction and joy. The general form of his covenant promises is this: “Do and be blessed.”

It is this effect of love, the feeling, that the world craves but can only imitate. They want the feeling without first having a changed heart. So they expect that the feeling comes first, then the obedience. When they feel love, they decide to act lovingly toward a particular person.

But that’s backwards and self-centered. It confuses love with our normal sexual urges, with the emotion involved in romance, with the benefits a person gets from being with certain people. It’s no wonder then, that when the benefits fade away, and when challenges come, the feelings a person thought was love also disappear.

This kind of love only lasts as long as the person gets what he wants. When challenges come along, or when the companionship is disrupted, there’s no inner cause producing kindness and patience so it ends.

This is just an imitation of the love lost in the fall of Adam. It’s the artificial substitute that can be experienced in broken fellowship with God. Until that sin barrier is removed by trusting in Christ, a person is isolated from the source of real love, he’s separated from God.

So fallen man tries to replace the real thing by conjuring up feelings. He runs from church to church, from job to job, from marriage to marriage, community to community, club to club — looking for love, but finding only disappointment.

Outside of what God provides for his redeemed children, love is only an illusion, it’s not real. But this kind of love isn’t just artificial, it is a cruel costume for selfish evil.

Love isn’t just an added benefit believers in Christ hope to find in their lives. Jesus said in John 15:17, “This I command you, that you love one another”

It is a necessary obedience that either shows that a person is redeemed by grace, or the lack of it makes us doubt that our faith in Christ’s work is sincere. It is an essential evidence of regeneration Jesus spoke of in John 13:35 when he said, “by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves. He commands husbands to love their wives. He commands us all to love one another.

If love is implanted by the work of the Holy Spirit, it’s fruit can grow in us. This is good news! It means that for those who trust in Christ, they can grow in love.

The excuses used by the world fade into meaninglessness. You can’t say, “I just can’t love that person”. — Yes, you can. But you need to love them in the way the word love is used in the Bible.

Maybe you can’t accept some of their rude and sinful ways. Love doesn’t mean you have to approve of every imperfection you see in others. No one is perfect. But you can treat them in a way that honors God. You can understand the sin that holds them captive. You can discover the peace that God gives you when you obey him in how you treat others.

First the disposition of love needs to be implanted by grace through Christ. Then it needs to be prayerfully and diligently nurtured into obedience by the means God has given us, and enables in us. It can not be just an outward obedience. It needs to be one that comes from a changed heart. When we treat others so that they are helped to benefit from God’s promises, we also receive the blessing of inner joy that only a true and active love can bring.

There’s a moral crisis in our world today. It does not come from the music industry, or from the drug peddlers, or from pornographers. Those businesses wouldn’t be profitable if there was a change in the consumer’s hearts.

The real crisis underlying the moral crisis is a deficit of the real biblical kind of love. Without a love for God and a true love that does what pleases God toward our neighbors, there are no laws or political solutions that can stop the disease of immorality.

We have a gospel that can implant love and obedience into fallen souls. We who say we’re born again in Christ can stop that crisis at our own doors. If our love for God is genuine, we will be impelled to do something about it. If we don’t care, then we should first of all make our own salvation sure. We need to diligently work on nurturing the love Christ puts into us.

Note: The Bible quotations in this syllabus are from the New American Standard Bible (1988 edition) unless otherwise noted.

Answering With the Right Attitude

By | | ,
Comments Off on Answering With the Right Attitude

Answering With the Right Attitude

Reasoning With Unbelievers (Part 4)
Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

On Thursday night, January 27th, from 9 to 10 pm Eastern, our webchat time will focus on the topic, “Practical Reasoning with Unbelievers”.

[Continued from the previous blog entry, “Difficult Passages in the Bible”]

Just being accurate and correct are not our only obligations as representatives of the Gospel of Christ. As those changed by his work of grace, our attitude should demonstrate respect for the struggle the unbeliever faces.

1 Peter 3:14-15. “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

The fruit of the Spirit must be seen in us, or we are a living contradiction to the message we bring. The list of what should be seen in us is found in Galatians 5:22-23. It includes: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:16) “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Shining light on truth includes it’s production of good works in our own lives. A truth that does not transform is not the whole truth. Keep the focus on trying to clarify what God has said, not on showing that you are smarter or better educated. It’s the Hoy Spirit that changes the heart, not your flawless logic and command of the facts.

Many great scholars debated with Jesus and heard his lessons. Some were changed by what he said. Others plotted to discredit him and finally to have him killed. We certainly don’t fault Jesus with a poor presentation. You will not be able to satisfy the objections of every lost heart either. When you engage the unbeliever your prayer is that God will use the power of his word to bring life where there is blindness and spiritual death.

Those who continue to disbelieve merely confirm that their condemnation is just. They prove by their obstinance one of the basic facts they usually dispute: that aside from the work of grace no one will understand the truth of God’s word, and no one will want to admit to the True God as revealed in Scripture.

Romans 3:10-12, “as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one’; ‘There is none who understands’, ‘There is none who seeks for God’; ‘All have turned aside, together they have become useless’; ‘There is none who does good, There is not even one.’ “

When we show humble submission to the word of God and to the God revealed in Scripture, we do a better work of bearing testimony to the truth, than if we could merely out-argue the smartest of men.

Difficult Passages in the Bible

By | | , ,
Comments Off on Difficult Passages in the Bible

Difficult Passages in the Bible

Reasoning With Unbelievers (Part 3)
Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

On Thursday night, January 27th, from 9 to 10 pm Eastern, our webchat time will focus on the topic, “Practical Reasoning with Unbelievers”.

[Continued from the previous blog entry, “Objections from Unbelievers”]

There are two classes of questions about legitimate issues of understanding what the Bible is really saying:
1. statements in the Bible which seem internally inconsistent
There are doctrinal matters that don’t fit man’s preconceived notions. Many see tensions between grace and justice, between wrath and mercy, between forbidding murder and the demand for capitol punishment, between the importance of obeying the law and the fact that law cannot save, etc. These things are in no way contradictory if understood as the Bible presents them, but they sound conflicting if forced into the world’s understanding of them.

Time should be taken to carefully learn about and explain these unique teachings of biblical Christianity. There are many good Theological reference tools to help define the terms so commonly misunderstood.

Many hear about alleged conflicts of historical facts. People sometimes point out where one gospel account describes a part of the life of Christ differently than does another. Similarly there are times when one historical account gives details that are not the same as those given in another Biblical account.

These are not really conflicts. In some cases a similar but not the same event is being described. In other cases the differences are because the same event can be described in different ways from different observers. Each one is fully accurate in telling what was seen or remembered. It may take some study to find out what is actually said in the original language, what the expressions meant at the time, and how the statements might be harmonized. There is much written on such matters and most good reformed commentaries deal with them in great detail.

Some of these matters involve the use of different calendars in biblical times, different use of language in the various nations where events took place, different points of view of the observers of events, and different purposes in recording the events.

Among the works that deal with specific historical issues the following books are very helpful:
Allen A. MacRae “Biblical Archaeology”, Jack Finegan “Light from the Ancient Past”

2. Biblical statements that seem to be inconsistent with human observation or theory
First of all, human ideas come in two different parts: There are observed measurements of things, and there are the interpretations of the things observed.

The unbeliever will argue that he can see things neutrally and without prejudice therefore his observations are objective and absolutely reliable. The Bible doesn’t agree with that assumption. It says that even our observations are effected when we are lost in sin. The primary information that pours forth from creation declaring God’s Glory is distorted. Man suppresses it and replaces it with alternate ideas injected from his own corrupted heart.

Romans 1:20-23, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

The “God-declaring information” is stripped away leaving a false observation. The fallen mind interprets this distorted information to support its own theories of reality.

The unbeliever is suppressing the truth God is making known to him both in what he sees of nature (Rom 1:20), and in what he senses in his own conscience (Rom 2:15). Therefore, our duty is more of “reminding him”, “confronting him” with what he, on one level, knows to be true. Considering that the fault is within the observer rather than in the things he observes, God holds him to be without excuse. The problem is that his sin nature so seamlessly distorts what he observes and knows inwardly,that he is self-deceived quite effectively.

Given this distortion of the facts of God’s universe, there will be false arguments that confuse people. There are always facts from science, history, and archeology which can be abused to seem to conflict with the biblical record. However, the history of attacks on the Bible is filled with errors which later were corrected and the facts found to fit in with what the Scriptures said. It was the critics understanding of the facts that turned out to be wrong. Archaeological finds have often balanced upon subjective interpretations. Individual findings are often isolated from the bigger picture which may be very incomplete. To conclude that the Bible is inaccurate presumes that sufficient contradictory information is available and that no other interpretation of the findings is possible. This has never been the case.

Observations of natural science have never contradicted direct statements of the Bible when rightly understood. The problem occurs when human theories are assumed as fact. Arguments from philosophy and from psychology are purely theoretical and present no raw facts in and of themselves.

When answering the objections of unbelievers keep two points in mind:
1. The facts themselves are distorted by the unregenerate mind (Rom 1:20-23)
2. The objections made are based upon assumptions and interpretations

We should do our best to help the unbeliever get information about the questions they raise. We should not work under the assumption that by answering them they will be convinced to believe. People observed the great miracles in the Bible and not only rejected what they saw, they set out to silence those performing the miracles.

Our goal is that by answering the objections calmly, carefully, and with respect of the other person’s legitimate struggle, the real meaning of Scripture will be advanced, and, if the Spirit gives life to their hearts, the liberating truth will replace their distorted preconceptions. The key is to get the person into the word itself by which the Holy Spirit changes the heart.

Psalm 19:7-8, “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

>> To be continued in our next blog: Answering With the Right Attitude

Objections from Unbelievers

By | | ,
Comments Off on Objections from Unbelievers

Objections from Unbelievers

Reasoning With Unbelievers (Part 2)
Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

On Thursday night, January 27th, from 9 to 10 pm Eastern, our webchat time will focus on the topic, “Practical Reasoning with Unbelievers”.

[Continued from the previous blog entry, “Evasive Arguments from Unbelievers”]

When unbelievers present evasive arguments against biblical truth, we need to be prepared both to understand the question, and to give a fair and reasoned answer. We have a responsibility to prepare ourselves to explain the faith God has put into our hearts.

1 Peter 3:14-15. “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

This does not mean that we need to be experts in all the fields of science, psychology, and religion
that the world calls upon to make its objections. It means that we should always be ready to clarify and explain the grace that has made us confident in our salvation.

There are two basic classes of objections:
1. objections that are really excuses to reject the truth
The unconverted heart will not submit to the truth of God’s witness in nature or in his word. He will deny the truth in every way imaginable and will continue to invent new theories, and to improve upon old ones, to avoid his accountability to an offended Creator.

The inability of a fallen person to accept what God says is only overcome by the Holy Spirit. Our duty is to present the gospel by word and example, and to pray.

Remember that all who are converted to Christ begin as unbelievers. The work of the Spirit by means of the inspired word is the way God changes hearts. Once the heart is change by regenerating grace, it will not continue to look for excuses for rejecting the gospel. Even when brought to Christ a person should not expect to find easy answers to every question that comes to mind. There are some issues that are not easily resolved. This leads to the second class of objections.

2. objections that raise legitimate issues in trying to understand God’s truth
God’s word includes many more things than a single person can comprehend. Some of the ideas in it are very profound and take much study to appreciate. When a person is being introduced to the Bible, or approaches it with pre-conceived ideas, the complexity of it may confuse him and make him see conflicts that are not really there.

No one can be expert enough to answer all imaginable problems in all fields of study. God doesn’t call us to that. This is why the Lord provides his church with many gifted scholars. It is why we demand that pastors should well trained in the study of God’s word. Each question asked should be treated with respect and a good effort should be made to find answers.

But the job of the average Christian is to focus on the central issue of the gospel, and the clear demands of God’s law which convicts of sin. Understanding the more complex details is never the reason a person believes in Christ.

>> To be continued in our next blog: Difficult Passages in the Bible

Evasive Arguments from Unbelievers

By | | ,
Comments Off on Evasive Arguments from Unbelievers

Evasive Arguments from Unbelievers

Reasoning With Unbelievers (Part 1)
Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies
by Bob Burridge ©2011

When we confront unbelievers with the Gospel there are bound to be objections raised. The unbelieving mind cannot understand the things of the Spirit, he will miss the logic of it.

1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

What is very consistent thinking will seem to him to be irrational. He will work very hard to redefine reality and remove his accountability. He will attempt to redefine God to lower his authority and ultimate honor in all things, and he will elevate the standing of the creature over his Creator, particularly by denying man’s total depravity and accountability to a perfectly holy and just God.

Romans 1:25, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Fallen man uses all his God-given skills to try to explain away his Creator. To evade the issue, he develops ingenious and complex theories about himself, society, and the universe around him. The unbeliever contrives very creative alternatives to what God says is true.

The unbeliever inconsistently stands on the very ground created by God to argue that the one who made him, and who made the ground under him, does not exist as he must.

As C. S. Lewis said, “When you are arguing against Him, you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all.”

Or as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 9:20, “… who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it?”

Evolution Theory
In an attempt to eliminate the need for a Creator he makes untestable assumptions that support his theory of Macro-Evolution. Since he presumes that there must be an alternative to special creation he arranges the observed facts in such a way that to him suggests that chance determines all things.

He fails to admit that if chance determines things, then he can’t really affirm or deny anything as true or false. Yet he never fails to declare creation to be false, and evolution to be true. He sees order in the universe when it supports the scientific models that are consistent with his view, but insists upon chaos as underlying that order. The statistical average that produces what he perceives as order is by definition a mere artifact of his expectations.

We need to restrict our presentation about Creation to only what is demanded by Scripture. The danger is for the Christian to expand theories of his own which are no better founded upon fact than what the unbeliever presents as his arguments.

Self-esteem Psychology
The logical next step in evolution theory and humanism is to assume the view of modern self-esteem psychology. If man’s own view of himself is what gives him ultimate pleasure, then it becomes his most logical goal to build up his feeling of self-worth.

The problem is, that’s not the way God created things to work. God has created us to exalt him first and to see ourselves humbly as needy creatures who fall short. Only by humble living in repentance and dependence upon God, giving him the glory for all good, can man the creature attain real inner peace and contentment.

We are never told in the Bible that we don’t love ourselves enough. It repeatedly warns against loving ourselves too much. Sadly, many counselors who call their approach “Christian” have accepted this humanistic idea. It is the theory that best fits their idea of a God where the Creator depends on man’s permission to do anything. Those who pursue a better self-image tend to be among the most depressed. Such a deception and misdirection of glory to the creature rather than to the Creator actually undermines and weakens a persons inner peace.

Liberal Social Theory
Those who reject the absolute truth of the Scriptures, are left with the belief that human society alone can solve all its own problems. Social welfare, larger and more intrusive government, and agencies of so called experts are seen as the greatest hope for improving the world. The gospel and the true church are seen as a hindrance to progress. Yet the most socialized nations have become the most oppressive in history.

False religion
Not all unbelievers are against the idea of religion and belief in a god. Their prejudice is only directed against the God who is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. They don’t want a God to whom they must answer morally, or upon whom they must depend for their care, blessings, and eternal hope. By attempting to limit God in a way that makes him more acceptable to fallen man, they create a religion that doesn’t get in their way. It’s a source for getting things when they want them, and an escape from the realities they can’t face. God becomes a mere idea created in the mind of man, or is reduced to a limited God who can only do what man gives him permission to do.

In each case, the understanding of God is lowered from absolute Sovereign Creator, and some part of his creation is raised above its duty of exalting God first and depending upon him for all blessings.

When these devices are challenged by the gospel, tensions will result. There will be some hard questions to answer. Questions can be a wonderful opportunity for the believer to explain what God has done and made known to us. Though challenging, finding realistic and honest answers to sincerely raised questions should not discourage even the most uneducated Christian from being a faithful witness. There are answers we can all find and present. God’s truth cannot be stumped if we properly understand the question and the confusion which makes problems seem to appear.

>> To be continued in our next blog: “Objections from Unbeliever”

The Sabbath Lessons

By | | ,
Comments Off on The Sabbath Lessons

The Sabbath Lessons

by Bob Burridge © 2011

One of the most controversial issues that divides Christians today is their view of the Sabbath and how it fits into our present age.

Most fail to see how the Sabbath creation principle was used by God in the time of Moses in revealing important elements of his plan of redemption by the promised Messiah. Much of the confusion comes from not recognizing the way the Sabbath idea was used in that secondary sense and how the fulfillment of promises in Christ applies to the original principle and to the later one imposed only upon Israel.

What does the word “Sabbath” mean? Should Sabbath be on a different day than Sunday? Should we still obey that fourth Commandment? If so then how is the Sabbath to be kept today?

The lesson just added to our Syllabus attempts to look into these and other questions. Many of the biblical passages cited by those holding to opposing views are carefully studied to determine what they do say, and to caution us about what they don’t actually say.

Certainly this is not the final word on th subject. It is not intended to be. The Syllabus is designed to direct our study, and to call us to be critical of our assumptions as we examine God’s word which is our only true authority in all matters of faith and practice.

Lesson 5 – The Sabbath Day

The Elements of Regulated Worship

By | |
Comments Off on The Elements of Regulated Worship

The Elements of Regulated Worship

by Bob Burridge © 2011

Along with our continual worship of God personally, in our families, and in our communities, there is a special worship that is connected with the calling together of the body of believers under the oversight of Elders. The proper elements of this convocational worship are limited by God’s prescription.

Our own imaginations should never be our guide in approaching God. We must come into his special presence only as guided by his word. The Bible is not silent about what should be done when we gather as a church on the Lord’s Day. In parts one and two of lesson four our Syllabus reviews the principles and elements God tells us honor him.

Today the first part of lesson four has bee posted. Tomorrow we plan to post the second part. Together they cover the full scope of public worship following the summary in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Lessons 4a and 4b can be found under Unit 5 of our Syllabus.

The first part of this lesson sets the groundwork for regulating our worship. It then covers the following elements God has prescribed for his worship:

  • The Call to Worship
  • Prayer (including a discussion of praying for “unpardonable sin”)

The second part of this lesson covers the remaining elements God has prescribed for his worship:

  • The Reading and Preaching of God’s Word
  • The Singing of Psalms
  • Due Administration and Receiving of the Sacraments
  • Other Elements of Proper Worship
  • Religious Oaths and Vows
  • Confessions of Faith
  • Solemn Fastings and Thanksgivings
  • The Gathering of God’s Tithe and Our Offerings
  • Benedictions
  • The Places of Worship