Last night, Friday October 10, 2008, I was blessed the awesome opportunity to preach the gospel to between 80 and 100 men at the Milwaukee rescue mission. Some friends of mine have a service there once a month and they will occasionally ask me to preach.

I was very blessed to be considered and humbled by the charge. I did an exposition out of Luke 18:18-30, on the rich young ruler. Praise the Lord; I was able to make the paradoxical distinction between the rich young ruler and the poor homeless people at the rescue mission. "What are you holding onto that you would say, "for this I sell my soul?" or "For this I will give up heaven and venture hell." I read two statements from George Whitfield which eloquently spoke as to what the scriptures intent was.

Many men came up at the conclusion of the service for prayer and a couple who seemed moved. I thank God for this awesome opportunity. The normal procedure at the mission is to have an alter call but I do not find alter calls in anyway biblical. I trust the Word will not return void. That God will call whom He wills and that the message will therefore have its intended effectiveness.

All glory to God in the highest.

The seasons are changing and what a strange year it has been. Between the vocational changes and ministry start ups and everything in between it can leave you spinning. The year, looking back, indeed has the fingerprints of God all over it. He uses any and all means by which to bring about His will. I know I have been in His scope for some time now and I am just praising Him for it.

Walking with God can bring us seasons of hope and joy mixed with the miry clay of this fallen world. It can be difficult for a depraved man to always view circumstances through his Christian lenses however God uses those circumstances to increase our(my) faith. So here we are, entering October and as for the evangelism outreaches it comes to the point of indecision and uncertainty. I know beyond any doubt that God will provide witnessing encounters for us all and I pray we are all faithful in our approach to them.

How do we continue corporately to evangelize in the dark and cold of winter? This question is always before us year after year in our hemisphere. You will not find large congregating groups of people in the cold nights of December, January, February and March. So where do we go and what do we do? Perhaps a training program is one resource that could be useful. At this time many of the men are involved in various theological studies and I pray these will act to enhance the discipline of evangelism. We know we can trust the Lord to provide opportunities to witness to His elect.

Let us all be praying diligently and always without ceasing. Let us all be searching for the knowledge of God`s will for us in the heart of the upcoming winter. In these times it becomes so important to continue marching on in His grace and for His glory.

A Puritan Prayer:

A disciples renewal

O my savior, help me.

I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb;

I am in the foothills when I should be on the heights;

I am pained by my graceless heart, my prayerless days, my poverty of love, my sloth in the heavenly race, my sullied conscience, my wasted hours, my unspent opportunities.

I am blind while light shines around me:

Take the scales from my eyes, grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.

Make it my chiefest joy to study Thee, meditate on Thee, gaze on Thee, sit like Mary at Thy feet, lean like John on Thy breast, appeal like Peter to Thy love, count like Paul all things dung.

Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be more decisions in my character, more vigor in my purposes, more elevation in my life, more fervor in my devotion, more constancy in my zeal.

As I have a position in the world, keep me from making the world my position;

May I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the creator;

Let not faith cease from seeking Thee until it vanishes into sight.

Ride forth in me, thou King of kings and Lord of lords, that I might live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.

Theological Foundations

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A recap to our course roundtable, Lesson 2. It was a remarkable evening in the realm of theological studies. It can be intimidating as a leader knowing full well that you cannot possibly be equipped with the data to answer all questions. The men of this group are dedicated students to the word and historical framework of Christianity.

The night began at 7PM and we kicked off with the topic of Reformed Theology, an introduction. It is essential to discuss the theological distinctives and in this case there was much to digest. This taken from the lecture on the introduction.

1. The authority of scripture
   
2. The sovereignty of God
   
   1. Foreordination
      
   2. Providence
      
   3. Redemption
      
3. The majesty of God
   
4. The invincibility of grace
   
5. The Christian life
   
6. The 3^rd use of the law, The law as a rule of life to encourage our obedience
   
7. The relationship between the kingdom of God and the world
   
8. The distinctive place of the church and to the place of preaching.
   

The conversation was very insightful concerning these points and led us into a more systematic approach to the heart of the doctrine of God. We moved into the omnipotence, omniscience and immutability of God. It was quite fascinating to me to see the development of God`s sovereignty within these attributes.

In God`s immutability we also discovered His immutability in His decrees. We looked at the Westminster confession, chapter 3, on Gods eternal decrees to find, and I quote, "God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass…" It was noted that these elements of Gods attributes were under the umbrella of Gods sovereignty. If you really desire to understand reformed theology you must learn of the sovereignty of God.

Next session will continue down the path on the doctrine of God with the development of the doctrine of man. We will start to see the historical development in the reformation with Martin Luther and Erasmus. This will help us into the introduction to Calvinism. There is simply so much data in this study that it is truly a challenge not to venture to swiftly and miss vital information.

I praise God for the study and pray God is glorified in it. May He be high and lifted up as we grow in the knowledge of God through scripture and history.

 

 

 

The Atonement

The atonement is the work Christ did in His life and death to earn our salvation

1. The cause of the Atonement
   
   1. The scripture points to love and justice
      
   2. Scripture proof for love: John 3:16
      
   3. Scripture proof for justice: Romans 3:25
      
2. The necessity of the Atonement
   
   1. Was there any other way for God to save human beings than by sending His Son to die in our place?
      

      Note: The atonement was not absolutely necessary in the sense that God was not obligated to save anyone (2 Peter 2:4)
      

   2. As a consequence of Gods decision to save some human beings, the atonement was absolutely necessary. Called "consequent absolute necessity"
      

      Summary: There was no other way to save us than for Christ to die in our place
      

3. The nature of the Atonement
   

   The atonement is viewed as objective, that is, something that has primary influence directly on God Himself, only secondarily does it have application to us and only because there was a definite event in the relationship between God the Father and God the Son that secured our salvation.
   

   1. Christ`s obedience for us (Active Obedience)
      
      1. If Christ, (by His death on the cross), had only earned forgiveness of sins for us, then we would not merit heaven. Our guilt would have been removed but we would only have returned to the state of Adam and Eve before they had done anything good or bad and before they had passed a time of probation successfully.
         
      2. Christ had to live a life of perfect obedience for us in order to earn righteousness for us (Philippians 3:9)
         
      3. Not just a moral neutrality but a positive moral righteousness
         
      4. Christ our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 5:19)
         
      5. To fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15)
         
   2. Christ's sufferings for us (Passive obedience)
      
      1. In addition to obeying the law perfectly for His whole life on our behalf, Christ also took on Himself the sufferings necessary to pay the penalty for our sins
         
      2. He suffered His whole life
         
      3. He suffered the pain on the cross
         
   3. The meaning of the blood of Christ
      
      1. The clear outward evidence that His life blood was poured out when he died a sacrificial death to pay for our redemption. "The blood of Christ" means His death in its saving aspects.
         
      2. Its shedding was very clear evidence that His life was being given in judicial execution.
         
      3. Clear connection between Christ`s death and the many sacrifices in the Old Testament. These sacrifices all pointed forward to and prefigured the death of Christ.
         
   4. Penal Substitution
      
      1. He bore a penalty when He died
         
      2. His death was a substitution in that He was a substitute for us when He died.
         
      3. Christ`s death was vicarious because He stood in our place and represented us. As our representative, He took the penalty we deserved
         

         The biblical framework for penal substitution
         

• Exodus 12 (The Passover)
  
• Leviticus 16 (The day of atonement) (The scapegoat)
  
• Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (The suffering Servant)
  
• The gospel of Mark (Mark 10:45; Mark 15:33,34)
  
• The gospel of John (John 3:14-18) from Numbers 21:4-9(John 11:47-52) Caiaphas prophecy
  
• The book of Romans (Romans 3:21-26) Christ was set forth as a propitiation. (Romans 4:25) Christ was handed over for our sins (Romans 5:8-10) God condemned sin in Christ`s flesh (Romans 8:1-30
  
• Galatians 3:10-13
  
• 1 Peter 2:21-25 and 3:18 Christ bore our sins in His body
  

The four terms show how Christ`s death met the four needs that we have as sinners

1. We deserve to die as a penalty for our sin
   
2. We deserve to bear God`s wrath against sin
   
3. We are separated from God by our sins
   
4. We are in bondage to sin and to the kingdom of Satan
   

 

These four needs are met by Christ`s death in the following ways:

 

1. Sacrifice: Hebrews 9:26 – To pay the penalty of death that we deserved because of our sins, Christ died as a sacrifice for us
   
2. Propitiation: 1 John 4:10- To remove us from the wrath of God that we deserved, Christ died as a propitiation for our sins.
   
3. Reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19- To overcome our separation from God, we needed someone to provide reconciliation and thereby bring us back into fellowship with God.
   
4. Redemption: Because we as sinners are in bondage to sin and to Satan, we need someone to provide redemption and thereby redeem us out of that bondage. (Ransom) Mark 10:45
   

 

 

1. The extent of the Atonement
   

   When Christ died on the cross, Did He pay for the sins of the entire human race or only for the sins of those who He knew would ultimately be saved?
   

   
    

   1. Scripture to support the reformed view:
      

      Christ died for His people. John 10:11,15; Acts 20:28; Romans 8:32- Paul clearly limits the application of who will be saved in the next verse 8:33 and in the next verse mentions Christ death as a reason why no one shall bring a charge against the elect-8:34; Ephesians 5:25; John 6:37-39; 17:9, 20; Romans 5:10 speaks of reconciliation while we were still enemies to God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 He says for "our" sake. Galatians 3:13 says God redeemed "us."
      

   2. General redemption or Unlimited Atonement
      

• John 1:29 says, "takes away the sin of the world
  
• John 3:16 says, "world" and "whoever"
  
• John 6:51 says, "life of the world"
  
• 2 Corinthians 5;19 says, Reconciling the "world."
  
• 1 John 2:2 says, "sins of the whole world."
  
• 1 Timothy 2:6 says, "a ransom for all."
  
• Hebrews 2:9 says, "taste death for everyone."
  

1. Points agreed upon
   

 

The pursuit of truth within the quest for the sovereignty of God and the free will of man as defined within the 5^th century theological battlefront.

 

1. Pelagius Morgan
   

"If I ought, I can." This is the favorite maxim of Pelagius.

Pelagius was a British monk although he belonged to no monastic order, who lived during the approximate dates of 370-435 AD. He was a teacher in Rome. While in Rome, Pelagius first heard of Augustine through his reading of a prayer from Augustine's Confessions: "Give what Thou commandest and command that Thou wilt." To Pelagius, the philosophy expressed in this prayer sounded like the total abandonment of human responsibility and a denial of the ethical dimensions of the Christian faith. If all moral action, thought Pelagius, depends solely on God - both the commanding as well as the ability to obey- God is either an arbitrary tyrant or else man is a creature deprived of free will. Pelagius conducted his teaching along these lines while he was in Rome, and it was to this teaching that an able lawyer, Caelestius, responded, leaving his profession of advocacy and becoming Pelagius's disciple, companion, and the popularizer of his views.

 

He denied that God would command something that was not in the ability of man to do. He blamed the lax moral climate of the Roman Christians on teachings of grace such as this.
His teachings were identified as:

1. Denial of original sin (i.e. depravity or corruption) inherited from Adam. Each person is born as a new, free agent with the same powers of choice and responsibilities as Adam.
   
2. Denial of original guilt received from Adam's sin. Among other things, this called into question the necessity of infant baptism, since there was nothing an infant needed to be baptized for. However, Pelagius himself held that infant baptism was good and should continue, though not for the remission of infant sins.
   
3. Affirmation of the ability of men to be free from sin. Consequently, the denial of the necessity of God's working in order to accomplish freedom from sin. The power is in us, even if God helps.
   

In Summary, Pelagius was in pursuit of right living and the subsequent result of his pursuits became the advent of a works based salvation. In his defense, he likely was a very godly man who sought to be pleasing to God. Nonetheless, his teaching on free will and mans moral neutrality kicked off a fire storm of opposition leading to various councils upon which his theology was rightly branded heretical.

…To be continued

 

 

 

SALT

The term salt is used 8 times in the New Testament as pertaining to the Greek word “Halas.” My mind was sparked this morning while reading Luke 14:34-35. I prayed over the text and still felt a lack of understanding in the text, giving me drive to dig deeper.
A bit of historical context is needed here. I continue to pray for Gods sanctifying work to be done in me as I struggle to walk uprightly. I long to be purified in my flesh and continue to run the race but sin and darkness are not quick to give up the fight. Praise God for His Omnipotence. He is mighty to save and sovereign over all His creation. Even the powers of darkness are subject to Him, yet we battle the flesh within us. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness and now sins stain affects us in such a way as to cause us to confess and repent. All that to say as I was reading this morning the context of this scripture and the cross references to it caused me to take a deeper look into myself, I pray to the glory of God.

The context of Luke 14:34-35 comes on the heels of the cost of discipleship. Jesus in the previous text states that anyone who wants to come after Him must count the cost. He says in Luke 14:27, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Also in verse 33 He says, “So therefore, anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” This sets the tone for the subsequent text. In this, Jesus speaks of salt losing its taste and if it loses its taste, how can it be restored. Many things come to mind in handling this initial statement. Is Jesus referring to His disciples or to His hearers or both? In asking this question it becomes imperative to look at other examples of the word.

Matthew 5:13, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is speaking to His listeners and after giving the beatitudes says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” The commentaries here state that the primary value to salt was not as a flavoring but as a preservative. Disciples are to hinder the world’s corruption. (Reformation Study Bible Notes) This begins to take on a sobering note to it. I see in the Christian community many who walk in this world and make themselves indistinguishable from unbelievers. This is a very concerning dichotomy. We cannot serve two masters Jesus and anything else. I believe this to be the subtle attack of the evil one. Understanding that God gives ordination so that we may be sifted and shown to be faithful. So if salt loses its flavor…speaks to those who claim to follow Jesus but have not counted the cost. In the subsequent trials and tribulation they fall away from Him and return to darkness. Not having passed through the sufferings and unwilling to themselves take up they’re cross, they fall away. Thus salt has not preserved they’re faithfulness.

Mark 9:49-50 comes directly after Jesus exhortation to “pluck out your eye if causes you to sin.” Etc… The text states, in verse 49, “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” What does it mean that “everyone will be salted with fire”? It is to suffer persecution. Verse 49, taken in its context reaches back to the fires of gehenna( V. 48) and forward to the self discipline of V. 50. Wuests word studies in the Greek New Testament
We must be preserved and we must rely upon the Spirits working and our obedience for that perseverance.

I don’t expect this exposition brought any new information to the table but it was fascinating and worth posting as the Spirit has revealed to me my dependency upon Him for the power by which I may walk in obedience

Evangelism Outreach 8/21/2008

Thursday night had come upon us again and there is a bit of a shift taking place. After a couple of Thursday night outings at Frame Park in Waukesha, Bob and I thought it wise to do follow up. I have not had the opportunity to talk to the team in Oconomowoc as to the outcomes of their evening. Bob and I on the other hand spent a good while walking the park and tracting the community.

We had a good deal of one to ones, albeit brief encounters, there seemed to be a relaxed mood this evening and many sat and listened. We spoke to a group of three along the riverside and as it turned out the girl with the group attends New Tribes. Praise God for creating a witness and may she be inspired by what she is seeing the Lord do. The people with her listened graciously and took our literature. One the track we walk, there is a little fishing hole were many gather to fish and as usual we found many to engage with in this spot. Bob talked to a couple and walked them through the “good person” test. We handed out much more literature. To God be all the glory in the proclaiming of His word. We are but unworthy servants to be included in the great banquet and as such are compelled to tell of what we have seen the Lord do.

It is my prayer, that the Lord would give me boldness to open air at the park the next few weeks. That He would provide the words to proclaim and not I creating crafty ways by which to get men to listen. In the gospel is power and I must decrease and let it do its work.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Summary

Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man in one person, and will be so forever.

( A study from Wayne Grudems Systematic Theology )

A. The humanity of Christ

1. Virgin Birth

i. It shows that salvation ultimately must come from the Lord (Gal. 4:4-5)

ii. It made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person

iii. It also makes possible Christs true humanity

iv. The child was to be called holy Luke 1:35)

B. Human weakness and limitation

1. Jesus had a human body

i. He was born (Luke 2:7)

ii. He grew (Luke 2:40)

iii. He became tired (John 4:6)

iv. He became thirsty (John 19:28)

v. He was hungry (Mat 4:2)

vi. He became physically weak (Mat 4:11) (Luke 23:46)

vii. His resurrected body (Luke 24:39, 42, John 20:17, 20, 27, 21:9, 13)

viii. Bodily ascension (John 16:28)

2. Jesus had a human mind

i. Increased in wisdom

3. Jesus had a soul and human emotions

i. His soul was troubled (John 12:27)

ii. His spirit was troubled (John 13:21)

iii. His soul was sorrowful (Matthew 26:38)

iv. He marveled (Matthew 8:10)

v. He wept (John 11:35)

vi. He prayed emotionally (Hebrews 5:7)

vii. He learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8-9)

4. People near Jesus saw Him only as a man

i. The carpenters son (Matt 13:55)

ii. The carpenter ( Mark 6:3)

C. Sinlessness

1. He had no sin (Note: Human beings are now in an abnormal state. God did not create us as sinful, but holy and righteous.

i. Early in His life ( Luke 2:40)

ii. Satan was unable to tempt ( Luke 4:13 )

iii. No evidence of wrong doing ( John 8:46 )

iv. Light of the world ( John 8:12 )

v. Obedience to His father ( John 8:29 )

vi. He was tempted as we are ( Hebrews 4:15-16 )

D. Could Jesus have sinned?

1. 3 facts stated in scripture

i. Scripture affirms Christ’s sinlessness

ii. It also clearly affirms He was tempted ( Hebrews 4:15-16 )

iii. It also affirms, “God cannot be tempted with evil.” ( James 1:13 )

E. Jesus two natures. Why was Jesus full humanity necessary?

1. For representative obedience

i. Jesus was our representative and obeyed for us where Adam had failed and disobeyed

· “The last Adam” ( 1 Corinthians 15:45 )

· Adam the “first man” and Christ “second man” ( 1 Corinthians 15:47 )

2. To be a substitute sacrifice

i. If Jesus had not been a man, He could not have died in our place and paid the penalty that was due to us. ( Hebrews 2:16-17 0

ii. …unless Christ was fully man, He could not have died to pay the penalty for man`s sins. ( A substitute sacrifice )

3. To be the one mediator between God and man

i. Jesus had to be fully man and fully God to fulfill this role of mediator ( 1 Timothy 2:5)

4. To fulfill God`s original purpose for man to rule over creation

i. When Jesus came as a man, He was able to obey God and thereby have the right to rule over creation as a man, thus fulfilling Gods original purpose in putting man on the earth ( 1 Corinthians 6:3 )

5. To be our example and pattern in life

i. “walk in the same way in which He walked” ( 1 John 2:6 )

ii. Jesus had to become a man like us in order to live as our example and pattern in life

6. To be the pattern for our redeemed bodies

i. Imperishable ( 1 Corinthians 15: 42-44 )

ii. The first fruits ( 1 Corinthians 15:23 )

iii. “ first born from the dead” ( Colossians 1:18 ), the pattern for the bodies that we would later have

7. To sympathize as High Priest

i. If Jesus had not been a man, He would not have been able to know by experience what we go through in our temptations and struggles in this life ( Hebrews 2:18; cf. 4:15-16 )

8. Jesus will be man forever

i. John 20:25-27, Luke 24:39, Luke 24:41-42, Acts 1:11, Acts 7:56, Acts 9:5, 1 Cor. 9:1, 15:8, Rev. 1:13-17, Matt. 26:29, Rev. 19:9. All of these texts indicate that Jesus did not temporarily become man, but that His divine nature was permanently united to His human nature, and He lives forever not just as the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, but also as Jesus… (Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology)

ii. Jesus will remain fully God and fully man, yet one person, forever

Jesus Deity

A. Direct Spiritual claims

1. The word God (Theos) used of Christ

i. Though it is commonly used for God the Father, there are several passages where it is also used for Jesus. John 1:1, 1:18, 20:28, Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8 and 2 Peter 1:1. Old Testament example: Isaiah 9:6

2. The word Lord (Kyrios) used of Christ

i. Used in the Old Testament (Septuagint) as a translation for the Hebrew yhwh. Used 6814 times in the Greek Old Testament.

ii. Many instances in the New Testament that the word is used for Christ. Luke 2:11; 2:18; 1:43; Matthew 3:3 (Isaiah 40:3);

iii. Jesus also identifies Himself as the sovereign Lord of the Old Testament. Psalm 110:1; (Matthew 22:44)

iv. Jesus “I am” statements.

v. Alpha and Omega Revelation 22:13

vi. Logos (Word)

vii. The Son of Man. Origin in Daniel 7:13-14

viii. Son of God

B. Evidence that Jesus possessed attributes of deity.

1. Omnipotence

i. Calming the storm (Matthew 8: 26-27)

ii. Multiplied the loaves and fish (Matthew 14:19)

iii. Changed water to wine (John 2: 1-11)

iv. Knowing peoples thoughts (Mark 2:8; John 1:48; John 6:64; John 21:17)

2. Omniscience

i. Knowing peoples thoughts (Mark 2:8; John 1:48; John 6:64; John 21:17)

3. Omnipresence – Note: Not directly affirmed to be true of Jesus during His earthly ministry

i. Looking forward to the time that the church would be established. (Matthew 18:20; Matthew 28:20)

4. Divine Sovereignty

i. He could forgive sins (Mark 2:5-7)

ii. Rather than “thus says the Lord,” He could preface His statements with, “but I say to you.” An amazing claim to His own authority

iii. He could speak with the authority of God himself because He was fully God.

5. Immortality

i. “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

ii. Jesus has an active role in His own resurrection.

iii. The power to lay down His life and take it up again. (John 10:17-18)

iv. An indestructible life (Hebrews 7:16)

v. The one who alone has immortality (1 Timothy 6:16)

6. Worthy to be worshipped

i. Scripture speaks of Christ, “God has highly exalted Him 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.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

ii. God commands the angels to worship Christ. (Hebrews 1:6)

C. Did Jesus give up some of His Divine attributes while on earth? (The kenosis theory)

1. Kenosis Theory

i. The text: “Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5-7)

ii. German Theologians 1860-1880 and English Theologians 1890-1910 advocated the view of kenotic theology

iii. According to the theory, Christ emptied Himself of some of His divine attributes such as omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence, while He was on earth as a man.

iv. Prior to this theory no recognized teacher in the first 1,800 years of church history thought that “emptied Himself” meant that the Son of God gave up some of His divine attributes.

v. We must recognize that the text does not say that Christ emptied Himself of divine attributes or of divine powers

vi. The text describes the meaning to be “taking the form of a servant.”

vii. The context itself interprets this emptying as equivalent to humbling Himself.

viii. Paul uses this for the purpose of instructing the Philippians to be imitators of Christ. It is not saying the Philippians should empty themselves of their own attributes, yet humble themselves as Christ has.

ix. Lastly, the scripture must be interpreted in light of other scripture and its doctrinal teachings.

x. Therefore the teaching must be rejected.

D. Conclusion: Christ is fully Divine

1. The New Testament affirms the full and absolute deity of Jesus Christ

i. In light of all the scripture references that have been viewed we conclude that not only is Jesus fully man, but that He is fully God as well.

The Incarnation: Deity and Humanity in the one person of Christ

A. Three inadequate views of the Person of Christ

1. Apollinarianism

i. Bishop in Laodicea in A.D. 361 taught that the one person of Christ had a human body but not a human mind or spirit.. He taught that the mind and spirit of Christ were from the divine nature of the Son of God.

ii. The views were rejected by the leaders of the church at that time which recognized that it was not just our human bodies that needed to to be redeemed by Christ but our minds and spirits as well.

iii. The Council of Alexandria in A.D. 362 and the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381 rejected this teaching.

2. Nestorianism

i. The doctrine that there are two separate persons in Christ.

ii. Nestorius was a preacher from Antioch in A.D. 428 and was Bishop of Constantinople. The heresy of this teaching was probably never taught by Nestorius but goes by his name and were condemned.

iii. Scripture nowhere teaches that Christ’s human nature ever did anything contrary to His divine nature.

iv. The scriptures affirm a single person acting in unity and in wholeness.

3. Monophysitism (Eutychianism)

i. The view that Christ had one nature only

ii. Eutyches, the leader of a monastery in Constanstinople

iii. Taught that the human and divine natures morphed into one new nature

iv. By this doctrine Christ was neither fully God nor fully man

B. The solution to the controversy: The Chalcedonian definition of A.D. 451

1. The standard orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ.

The Statement:

Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D)

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

The chaos in my life never seems to be more chaotic than on nights in which we plan to go witnessing. Last night was no exception.
It was a really good day at work and the Lord blessed myself and the company with many fruits of our labor, if you will. However the last “fruit” came late in the day. My customer asked me to come at 6PM to sign a contract. I showed up early so that I might still get with the team by 6:30 -6:45 and be able to head out together and pray with one another. A long story shortened, my meeting ran very late and it was nearly 7PM when I finished up. Praise Jesus for the blessings of that meeting. The unfortunate part, if you will, was that I missed the team, outside of Bob Wickland, who was waiting for me so that He and I could witness together. I picked up Bob and we went down to frame park in Waukesha. We arrive nearly at the entrance of the park and lo and behold a train is there and we must sit and wait that out. While in the truck, the sun was certainly setting and I was battling anxiety and frustration. The train finally passes and we enter and park. Bob prayed in the truck for us as we waited.
The Night:
We began to walk the track in the park and although it was getting late there were many people still there, as it was a glorious evening weather wise. We were tracting in bunches and having brief conversations and I believe the gospel was really hitting its mark as it always will with the Word of God. As for me, I was struggling in my flesh. Bob was having a conversation with a gentleman and during this I felt compelled to pray. I prayed for forgiveness of my sin and prayed God would relieve me of the terror of speaking that I was feeling. I attributed this fear to unbelief within me. “Lord increase my faith and forgive my unbelief. Give me a boldness to proclaim your Word.” That was the gist of the prayer.
We continued around the track and found many fishermen and women who were very receptive to the gospel. One older lady was a gentle and gracious and praising Jesus as I could have ever hoped for. May God bless her and continue to shine through her.
We were handing out many “million dollar bills.” As we were coming closer to the end of our journey, a man we had given a tract to earlier approached us and came to a stop. He asked if I thought that using money as a way to trick people was an effective way to bring people to God. He explained that he worked with violent crime and that money was the reason behind many of the crimes. He spoke of being somewhat offended by our ploy. I say this, yet, he seemed very gentle and conversational and not at all aggressive or combative. The Lord had His way with Bob and I in this conversation. All glory and honor and praise be to Jesus. We had a long conversation, whereby we were able to open the gospel up to this man, his name was Michael. He was objectionable to Jesus claim to being the only way. He claimed to be a reformed catholic, but was trying to figure things out. Bob and I could both see God working in a mighty way through this man. We shared the whole gospel with him. We shared mans problem and Gods grace. We shared the glory of God in Christ. I could go on and on in the details but I will just say this, it was none of us and all of Jesus. Pray for Michael as it would seem God is drawing him.
I thank God for calling us to go and proclaim His holy word. He is worthy of all our praise. To Him be all the glory.
Soli Deo Gloria

Watch this awesome video. It is worth your time!!

I have, for some time, been feeling the tug of higher learning. I desire to grow in my knowledge of Christ and my love for Him and the saints. I`m not sure of the path chosen for me in ministry but am compelled to pursue Jesus with all my mind. Would you pray for me in these pursuits? Will you intercede and pray that the Holy Spirit is directing my path and that I be dying to self daily so that I might not sin against our holy and sovereign Lord.

At this time, I am trying to figure our where to begin. I am reforming in my theology and as such want to find a reforming, (reformed) university. In the comments section below, if you have any undergraduate advice, would you post that. I welcome your replies.

Theology has a hold on me as I learn day by day of the awesome power and work of my Sovereign. I hunger and thirst to know Him and serve Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. I pray we all give Jesus the glory due His name day by day. Let His praises ring from our lips and His song fill our hearts with the joy of His essence.

Soli Deo Gloria