Ancient Paths Blog

Evil - In the Heart or Out in the World?

Last week our family finally watched Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis's book by the same name.  It wasn't bad as a fantasy adventure type of movie. 

On the other hand, for those of us who are fanatics for textual faithfulness and as those who affirm the solid and intentionally Christian message of Lewis's Narnia books - the movie left a lot to be desired.

One thing my wife put her finger on right away was how the movie's script shifted the main plot line from the perils encountered while seeking Aslan's country to a journey filled with perils due to an external evil.

9/11 - Ten Years Later

For our Sunday service, September 11, I was asked to share some thoughts on the events of ten years ago and then lead our congregation in prayer.  Here's the gist of what I said:

As Christians we are forced to grapple with events such as these from a Biblical/theological angle.  We have only two choices - 1) That God had nothing to do with the events of September 11, 2001; or 2) That He had something do do with them.

I hope that none of us take the first option.  Why?  Well, the Bible does not portray a God uninvolved in the events of the world.  Actually, it is quite the contrary.  That God has nothing to do with the events of the world is essentially the view of atheists - which no Christian could adopt. 

A Marriage Homily to My Son and New Daughter-in-Law

What follows is the message I gave as the officiating pastor at my son's recent wedding.  I received so many positive comments on this short homily that I thought it'd be a good blog post.

Though our present culture denigrates and even at times despises the notion of human marriage, the Bible reveals to us that it is in fact part of the fabric of creation; that it is of the very essence of what it means to human; and is ultimately, and most gloriously, a representation of that relationship between Christ and His Church.

The book of  Genesis tells us that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” Gen.1:1, the account of which unfolds over the space of a week.  On the sixth day we read of God saying, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…’” Genesis 1:27-28.

Seated? How Shall the Antichrist Be Seated in God’s Temple?

Ok, so if Paul uniformly uses the word temple ναὸς (nay-oss) in the singular to refer to the Church… and by the way, we need to realize this is the New Testament understanding of the temple in contrast to the old testament one.  The old testament, the scripture tells us, was a dispensation of symbols and shadows awaiting future fulfillment, “the reality, however, is found in Christ,” Colossians 2:17 NIV. 

In other words, the Church as the temple is the real temple – the real dwelling place of God.  That it is a spiritual edifice causes many – perhaps unconsciously – to think of it as unreal.  This is in contrast to the tangible, stone and timber structure once in Jerusalem as the real thing.  But this is not so.

Now, if Paul uniformly uses the word temple in the singular to refer to the Church, for us to come to this text and insert a meaning totally at odds with this otherwise consistent usage demands a very good reason.  Where might we find this reason? 

The Essence of Worship

The following excerpt just came from the Desiring God ministries blog.  I wonder - how often does this figure into our (evangelicals') discussions on worship?  At best, not enough. 

I've just challenged our board members with this saying, "...we seem to be hung up on the issue of musical style and its effect upon one's feelings during the morning service.  Granted, music can be a help or hindrance to our ability to focus on the glory of God. 

However - and I think this is a significant point - we can have good feelings induced by music, because we like it, and totally lack what Piper brings out below."

What do you think?

"The essential, vital, indispensable, defining heart of worship is the experience of being satisfied with God. This satisfaction in God magnifies God in the heart. This explains why the apostle Paul makes so little distinction between worship as a congregational service and worship as a pattern of daily life. They have the same root – a passion for treasuring God as infinitely valuable. The impulse for singing a hymn and the impulse for visiting a prisoner is the same: a thirst for God – a desire to experience as much satisfaction in God as we can."  

John Piper, excerpted from Gravity and Gladness on Sunday Morning, part 1

John's Antichrist and Paul's Man of Sin, part 2

Besides the words Paul uses to describe the Man of Sin’s appearing (apokalupto and parousia) which demonstrate he will take the place of Christ– and so be antichrist - as a counterfeit; there are three other areas of evidence in his description of the Man of Sin that link him to the figure of the Antichrist.

First is the word describing his disposition.  Paul calls him “the one who opposes,” v.4 – this is more intriguing in the Greek: it is ho antikeimenos which is very similar to ho antichristos (“the Antichrist”) having the same prefix anti-

Thoughts on Art and the Glory of God

In an effort to broaden the horizons of our members our church held an art show last week.  This was in conjunction with our REFRESH! service (a contemporary prayer and worship service) in which I brought forth the following brief thoughts with a view to justifying such an event.

Some may wonder and question the reasoning for holding an art show at church.  "Isn’t that just a self-glorifying display of individual talent?"   "What does art have to do with God anyway?"

As for the first objection I suppose an art show could be the setting for a self-glorifying display of one's talent, but no more so than someone who sings or plays an instrument during a Sunday morning worship service.  It would depend on the state of one's heart.

What is the Apostasy of the End Times?

Paul has warned that two things must happen before Christ comes in glory.  The rebellion and the rise of antichrist.  We saw that this rebellion or apostasy is to have at one time embraced the truth but then to abandon it completely.  And so there will be an abandonment of the truth within the Church during the last days.

But anyone acquainted with the history of the Church knows that there have been instances of apostasy, by individuals and whole denominations, since the beginning.  Even John points out that in his day the antichrist false teachers among them had gone “out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” 1John 2:19 

So, what is this apostasy Paul warns about? 

Why False Teachers Are Difficult to Recognize and Oppose

In response to my last post regarding apostasy my senior pastor sent me this clip of John Piper speaking about the demeanor of false teachers from Romans 16:18.  His observations dovetail nicely with my closing comments on the subtlety of deception and deceivers. 

For more teaching resources by John Piper go to Desiring God ministries.

The Apostasy Must Come First

Paul has warned the Thessalonians not to be deceived by end times charlatans and gives them two signs to look for that must happen before the Day of the Lord comes.  He says first, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs…” 2Thess.2:3 NIV.