my burg

Bible reading for July 1.  Joshua 3. "Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan." (Joshua 3:11)  CROSSING THE JORDAN. This chapter records a miracle like that of crossing the Red Sea. Most of the miracles in the Bible take place during these three periods: Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus and the Apostles. Miracles, even in the Bible, do not happen all the time.  "A miracle is an event in the external world that is wrought by the immediate power of God" (J. Gresham Machen).  They are meant to be believed, not deconstructed by science (as if). The inheritance and settling of the promised land will involve the use of ordinary means: marching, fighting, destroying idols, dividing the land, settling, planting, etc. But as they passed through the Jordan (at flood stage), just like passing through the Red Sea leaving Egypt, they were to realize that their redemption was an extraordinary...

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."  (Romans 1:18-20 ESV)  "Here [Paul] is saying that the universe and its form and the mannishness of man speak the same truth that the Bible gives in greater detail.  That this God exists and that he has not been silent but has spoken to people in the Bible and through Christ was the basis for the return to a more fully biblical Christianity in the days of the Reformers.  It was a message of the possibility that people could return to God on the basis of the death of Christ alone.  But with it came many other realiti...

I have been studying Romans 8:1-4 and thinking through the Apostle Paul's teaching on the spiritual life.  In the past, and now again, I have been helped by Francis Schaeffer's insights into the Christian life. B elow are some excerpts, first from True Spirituality , and then from his Letters ... "Justification is once for all. At one moment my guilt is declared gone forever, but this [ spiritual life ] is not once for all. This is a moment-by- moment thing—a moment-by-moment being dead to all else and alive to God, a moment-by-moment stepping back by faith into the present world as though we had been raised from the dead." "If we are to bring forth fruit in the Christian life, or rather, if Christ is to bring forth this fruit through us by the agency of the Holy Spirit, there must be a constant act of faith, of thinking, 'Upon the basis of your promises I am looking for you to fulfill them, O my Jesus Christ; bring forth your fruit through me into this...

"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin."  (Romans 6:6-7 ESV) Here's Francis Schaeffer on dying to self... We are to be willing to say no to ourselves, we are to be willing to say no to things, in order that the command to love God and men may have real meaning... We do not come to true spirituality or the true Christian life merely by keeping a list, but neither do we come to it merely by rejecting the list and then shrugging our shoulders and living a looser life… As I have said, Romans chapter 6 begins with many strong negatives, and though we may want to rush on to the second half of verse 4 ("As Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we may walk in newness of life"), actually we are in peril if we ignore the element of "dying." "Buried with him in baptism," ...

It appears the momentum for political decisions being made these days in the U.S. -- no matter what the social issue -- really seems to be the logical outcome of American humanism of the second half of the twentieth century.  Below is a quote from Francis Schaeffer, speaking in a lecture in 1982, over 30 years ago.  He saw then where this was all heading... [quote photo courtesy of Tony Felich ]

Here is Francis Schaeffer on the unity of what salvation is...  "[ Salvation ] is a single piece, and yet a flowing stream.  I became a Christian once for all upon the basis of the finished work of Christ through faith; that is justification.  The Christian life, sanctification, operates on the same basis, but moment by moment.  There is the same base (Christ's work) and the same instrument (faith); the only difference is that one is once for all and the other is moment by moment .  The whole unity of biblical teaching stands solid at this place.  If we try to live the Christian life in our own strength we will have sorrow, but if we live in this way, we will not only serve the Lord, but in place of sorrow, he will be our song.  That is the difference.  The 'how' of the Christian life is the power of the crucified and risen Lord, through the agency of the indwelling Holy Spirit, by faith moment by moment ."   (Italics in the original) (Fr...

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." (1 Peter 3:15 NIV) "Defense is proper and necessary because in every age historic Christianity will be under attack. Defense does not mean being on the defensive. One must not be embarrassed about the use of the word defense. The proponents of any position who are alive to their own generation must give a sufficient answer for it when questions are raised about it. Thus, the word defense is not used here in a negative sense, because in any conversation, in any communication which is really dialogue, answers must be given to objections raised. Such answers are necessary in the first place for myself as a Christian if I am going to maintain my intellectual integrity, and if I am to keep united my personal, devotional and intellectual life."   (Francis Schaeffer)

Francis Schaeffer, in The God Who Is There, shared a helpful diagram which illustrates the dignity and humility of humanity.   God is our Creator, infinite and self-existent.  We share with all other creatures our creatureliness and finite-ness.  There is a great chasm between us and God in this regards.  We will never be God, who alone is necessary and self-sufficient.  This is our humility. Yet on the side of personhood, we are very much like God.  We are made in his image (Gen. 1:26, 27).  We can think, reason abstractly, feel with complexity, plan and dream, and choose right or wrong. We can exercise dominion in the world and -- by God's grace -- create a human culture of truth, goodness and beauty.  The chasm then exists between the rest of the creatures and man.   It is important to remember both aspects of our make-up.

R. C. Sproul writes,  About thirty years ago, I shared a taxi cab in St. Louis with Francis Schaeffer. I had known Dr. Schaeffer for many years, and  he had been instrumental in helping us begin our ministry in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, in 1971. Since our time together in St.  Louis was during the twilight of Schaeffer’s career, I posed this question to him: “Dr. Schaeffer, what is your biggest  concern for the future of the church in America?” Without hesitation, Dr. Schaeffer turned to me and spoke one word:  “Statism.” Schaeffer’s biggest concern at that point in his life was that the citizens of the United States were beginning to  invest their country with supreme authority, such that the free nation of America would become one that would be dominated by  a philosophy of the supremacy of the state. (From "Statism" by R. C. Sproul, 2008) I think Dr. Schaeffer was prescient to see our path to statism.  When truth, and the quest for truth,...

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions , and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works ."  (Titus 2:11-14 ESV) "We are to be willing to say no to ourselves, we are to be willing to say no to things, in order that the command to love God and men may have real meaning...   "We do not come to true spirituality or the true Christian life merely by keeping a list, but neither do we come to it merely by rejecting the list and then shrugging our shoulders and living a looser life." (Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality )

I'm working may way through the letters of Francis Schaeffer .  The rich advice in these letters is given with such warm (and very human) concern. This volume is very helpful in bringing Schaeffer's spiritual life principles to bear upon real people with real problems.    In one letter he responds to a friend who placed a lot of emphasis on mystical feeling as an essential part of reality in the Christian life.  Scheaffer says,  "Reality does not just come as a mystical feeling.  It comes rather in the whole man knowing the objective truth of what is, [and knowing this] to be the existence of God and his character of holiness and love. Then, knowing that this is truth and having accepted Christ as Savior once for all, it is necessary to practice the meaning of the work of Christ as a present reality in our daily lives.  This means two things: first of all, claiming the work of Christ for forgiveness for those specific sins we know we have committe...

Reading again (and profiting again!) from Francis Schaeffer's True Spirituality .  Schaeffer, like Keller today, does such a great job integrating justification by faith with an active faith of sanctification.   Some recent highlights... Only one is self-sufficient in himself, and he is God. But now as Christians we are introduced to the great reality: our calling is to be creatures in this high, tremendous, and glorious way, not because we must be, but by choice.  ...the scriptural teaching [about faith] is not mere resignation. I am a creature, it is true, but I have a calling to be the creature glorified. I must be the creature, but I do not have to be the creature like the clod in the field, the cabbage that is rotting in the field as the snows melt. I am called to be a creature by choice, on the basis of Christ’s finished work, by faith: the creature glorified. Justification is once for all. At one moment my guilt is declared gone forever, but this [spir...

"What we must ask the Lord for is a work of the Spirit . . . to stand on a very thin line: in other words, to state intellectually (as well as understand, though not completely) the intellectual reality of that which God is and what God has revealed in the objectively inspired Bible; and then to live moment by moment in the reality of a restored relationship with the God who is there, and to act in faith upon what we believe in our daily lives." --Francis Schaeffer, Letters of Francis A. Schaeffer: Spiritual Reality in the Personal Christian Life .  

January 30, 2012 is the centennial of the birth of Francis A. Schaeffer, a Christian and apologist who made a profound influence on my Christian life and thought.  (And still does!) See more about him at the Francis Schaeffer Foundation and the L'Abri Fellowship websites. Crossway Books is offering a number of his titles, and books about him, available for Kindle at $3.99... The Finished Work of Christ: The Truth of Romans 1-8 No Little People Death in the City Pollution and the Death of Man Truth with Love: the Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life   (An excellent biography!)