How does one get into a relationship with Jesus?

Very few tapes have we enjoyed together as a family as much as this one. It’s called Irreconcilable Differences, that features host John Ankerberg and a panel comprising John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, and James Kennedy.

The issue discussed is a document that sets out with the noble aim of bringing Roman Catholics and Evangelicals together, but falls short because it overlooks and glosses over vital differences in the doctrines of salvation of both communions, resulting in implicitly compromising the five solas, so precious to us.

• Sola scriptura (”by Scripture alone”)
• Sola fide (”by faith alone”)
• Sola gratia (”by grace alone”)
• Solus Christus (”Christ alone”)
• Soli Deo gloria (”glory to God alone”)

I have many close Roman Catholic friends; how wonderful it would be to fellowship together. But I now know that it is not as simple as saying: Let’s forget our differences and get together. Coming together is going to have to involve much study of the Bible, church history and other material, much prayer, courage, and brutal honesty.

Reformed and Brethren?

I have often looked back at the Brethren influences in my spiritual life and felt sad that I have been led to a spiritual place that is doctrinally far away from Brethren churches. Browsing the net today, I found churches, movements, and blogs that bring the ideas of ‘Reformed’ and ‘Brethren’ together.

• A church in Davis, California, called Grace Valley Christian Centre: Their home page says “We believe in the “solas” of the Reformed tradition (sola gratia, sola fide, solo Christo, and sola Scriptura) and are in fellowship with Christian Brethren assemblies throughout the world.” This church has a statement of faith written by Rev P.G. Matthew using, as his sources, Westminster Confession of Faith, 1647, Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689, Dr. John Owen, 1654, 16 Articles as listed in The Puritans by D. M. Lloyd-Jones (P. 235), and a document prepared by the churches own elders in 1993.
• The Brethren Reformed Church, formed near Dayton, Ohio, in 2007. Their website provides details about their worship timings and so on, but some vital pages are still under construction. However, Wikipedia describes their doctrine thus: “It bases its doctrine of salvation on the Biblical expression that God has sovereignly called people to Himself and, had He not done so, no man would ever be disposed to seek God. Accordingly, the church teaches that the Father alone graciously elected to provide salvation; that salvation is made available through Jesus Christ alone; and that salvation is appropriated through faith alone bestowed by the Holy Spirit alone. According to the theology taught by the Brethren Reformed Church, no man can be reconciled to God by his own works, merit, or effort.”
• Shawn McGrath’s blog: You can also read his earlier posts at The Brethren Calvinist. About himself he writes: “The term “Brethren Calvinist” comes from my association with the so-called “Plymouth Brethren” and the open assemblies. The difference between myself and the general consensus among the assemblies is that I would hold to the doctrines of Grace . . . much like the original Brethren in Plymouth and elsewhere, while they would hold to a watered down version of this belief.”

Maybe I am sticking my head out again to be chopped off, but I do not feel inclined to worry about what groups of God’s people call themselves. It is God who is working among us, and though we strive to help people come to a ‘more accurate’ understanding of the scriptures, obviously, we can overstep the boundaries and bind on others what are but the traditions of man. Thank God, His purposes are bigger than what we can comprehend. Let each of us carry out our little roles now. We will see the big picture soon.

The devil and revivals

I remember in 1971 when my father was born again. I was five. It was a life-transforming change. The whole direction of his life changed. He immediately got down to informing his family of nine siblings and their families, as well as my mother’s family, all third, fourth, and fifth generation Christians, by many letters, reasoning with them about the need for repentance and salvation, as well as pointing out some of the problems with the Lutheran church in South India that had strayed far away from the scriptures and become very liberal. His rebirth and subsequent plea to “come out of her” drew a divisive line through the group, where a small number showed interest in what he had discovered by the grace of God, and a much larger section regarded the turn as a tragic end for a man who had hitherto showed so much promise. Much to my father’s sorrow, his father, a well known Lutheran pastor, did not openly support him. Nevertheless, my grandfather’s thoughtful silence was loud enough.

Within a decade, the same people, while still remaining in the old church, were speaking this new evangelical jargon. As various good movements moved into university campuses and churches, and Christian book stores filled with good Christian literature, everyone spoke of being born again. Phrases like “accepting Jesus as one’s personal Saviour” became commonplace.

Although one cannot say for sure, it looked as if the same proportion of unregenerated people still filled the pews in the same old churches, the only difference being that the jargon had changed, the songs had changed, the style of praying had changed, and so on.

Easter Conference 2008 in Hamilton

We were in Hamilton on Good Friday and Easter Saturday for the Easter conference organised by three Reformed/Reformed Baptist churches in Hamilton. The speaker was Dr. Don Carson who serves as Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield Illinois.

Philip and I left home at about 9:15 a.m. on Friday morning with Pastor Alfie Orr and Dave and Glenda Aiken.

Our drive down to Hamilton included a stop at Pokeno for an icecream. At Hamilton, we checked into a motel, had a quick pizza lunch, and reached the conference venue by 1:00 p.m.

Dr. Carson’s addresses on Friday were:

• 1.00 pm A Passion for the Promises and the People of God (Nehemiah 1-2)
• 3.30 pm Never, Never, Never Give Up (Nehemiah 3:1-6:14)
• 7.00 pm A Protected and Spiritually Nourished Pilgrim People (Nehemiah 7-8 )

A cross as a pendant on a chain

Whether a girl can wear a cross as a pendant, whether a church can have a Christmas service, whether a person can do shopping on a Sunday after church, or whether a woman can pray aloud during a church service, are not matters that can be resolved with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. It is possible for godly people to answer either way in any of these matters, depending on the circumstances. What is important is that people understand the issues involved. My sincere opinion is that we would spare ourselves of much pain if we could only stop short of laying down rules and strictures and set forth good principles instead, to be followed in a spirit of forebearance.

Case 1: A cross-shaped pendant

Recently, a brother in Christ was concerned that another sister, he had just been introduced to, was wearing a chain with a cross as a pendant and felt that this underscored the fact that she needed to be taught the very basics of Christianity because she was breaking the second commandment of the Ten Commandments. He believed that Christians must never ever use the symbol of the cross. Much as I wonder about the appropriateness of a cross being worn as a casual piece of jewelry, I do not quite see things in black and white like this. He was also opposed to the use of this symbol on Bible covers or in illustrations and so on.

Pope Benedict XVI authorises special indulgences

Philip’s article, Remembering Reformation Day, described how indulgences played a big role in triggering the Protestant Reformation. Apparently, indulgences are still part and parcel of the Roman Catholic faith.

Last week, the Pope announced special indulgences to mark the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Virgin Mary in Lourdes. (BBC: Pope approves Lourdes indulgences)

According to this announcement, to earn this indulgence one must:

• Visit the shrine at Lourdes between 8 December 2007 and 8 December 2008 or
• Worship at any place of worship dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes during the period 2-11 February 2008

If you earn the indulgence, it is believed, you will reduce your time in purgatory. Incidentally, the Bible does not support the concept of purgatory.

Remembering Reformation Day

(The following article was written by Philip and illustrated by our daughter Priscilla and published in the monthly newsletter of the New Zealand Tamil Christian Fellowship)

If you look at your calendar you will find October 31st marked as Halloween. Most calendars do not mention that this day is also celebrated as Reformation day. Reformation day is one of the most important events in all of history although it has been largely forgotten. Is it a coincidence that Halloween and Reformation fall on the same day? No, they fall on the same day because an Augustinian monk planned it that way. On this day in 1517 this monk by name Martin Luther nailed his famous ninety-five theses onto the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg as a protest primarily against the system of indulgences, which was practiced by the church of his day, the Roman Catholic Church.

Father GB’s song: Sabaiyum Peruganum

Song composed by Gnana Bhaktamitran.

[My father, feeling that Tamil hymns and lyrics, generally, do not have the depth that English hymns have, has for his church hymnal, identified some good hymns, translated many hymns and choruses from English, and composed some lyrics. He has recorded the accompaniment for all the songs in the hymnal, and these are available in MP3 format. I will try to showcase some of them in this blog from time to time. All recordings have been done at home using very simple equipment. These songs may not be copied without permission.]

Here is a recording of the song Sabaiyum Peruganum sung by Prathiba Surendar and Amala George (members of EBA in Madurai) and accompanied by GB himself.

Agnosticism, a call to intellectual honesty

Agnosticism is a call to intellectual honesty. I was of the impression that agnostics were atheists. I now appreciate the difference between these two words. An agnostic believes that it is wrong to claim something as truth if you cannot prove it by providing evidence that logically justifies it. While an atheist does not believe in God, an agnostic believes that it is not possible to prove or disprove the existence of God. I like agnostics. I believe that to be an agnostic is more honest than being what the majority of people who call themselves Christians are.

I am a Christian because I believe that a strong case exists for the fact that the Bible is the word of God as also for the fact that Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. I have looked into that matter enough to be satisfied. Having done that, I would stake everything, even my life and my family and everything that I own, if need be, for this fact. When the stakes are that high for a person, it would be foolish to be dishonest; it would be foolish to be careless; it would be foolish to be foolish.

Most so-called Christians are what they are because of their upbringing, for the same reason that Muslims are Muslims or Hindus are Hindus. Usually they are what they are because they have not bothered to look at religion objectively.

Christmas–to celebrate or not

A young brother from EBA, the independent church that my father GB pastors, was taken aback when he realised that John Piper celebrates Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas. I wish to answer him in such a way that he is encouraged and God is glorified.

I have so much to say on this matter, and my mind is jammed up like a typewriter when you press several keys all at once. Let me start by stating the bad news and the good news.

The bad news is that:

• the devil, let’s give him his due, has succeeded in bringing in the most convolutely interwoven confusions into the kingdom of God on earth, and
• over the ages, we Christians have messed up every single doctrine that was ours to preach or practice, every single one.

The good news is that

• God has done everything right to save those whom He has set apart for Himself, and
• Satan cannot thwart the purposes of God; the gates of Hades will not prevail over the true church of God.

So we can approach any subject of difficulty with boldness and joy.

The world celebrates Christmas as a holiday to spend with family. It is a time of much commercial activity. Christmas balls, alcohol, gifts, family, Santa clause, Christmas trees, decorations, snow, carols, music, laughter, feasts, mistletoe, heartache, nostalgia, excitement, and Christmas cards; some of these things are good. In south India, the list must include late-night carol singing, achu-muruku, Kanchipuram silk, kal-kals, plum cake, lighted cardboard stars hanging outside houses and on trees, and biriyani. From what I remember of Christmas in Delhi, Chrysanthemums play a big part. In Auckland, Christmas in The Park is a big event, and Christmas parades on the streets are not uncommon. Somewhere in all this commotion, some remember that Jesus, the God of the Christians, was born in Bethlehem in a stable and laid in a manger.

Christians deal with Christmas in one of the following ways:

a. Participating in worldly x-mas celebrations in every way like their non Christian counterparts, attending balls and enjoying drinks with their mates and so on.

b. Very devoutly, for the most part, remembering the nativity part of the redemption story– how God came to live among us and died to redeem us.

c. Celebrating it as a cultural occasion to spend with family. Christmas brings with it many family traditions, memories, feelings of nostalgia, etc.

d. Lamenting the terrible affront the celebration of Christmas has become to the name of Christ. Sometimes using this as an occasion to shake traditional people to take a look at their commitment to the Lord.

e. Realising the great potential this season affords for evangelisation and sharing the gospel with non Christian friends.

Godly people have taken positions b, c, d, or e or a combination of these.

Below are the views of my father GB, John MacArthur, and John Piper. All these men think differently and they all want to do what brings glory to the Lord.