1 Million Martyrs in the Last 10 Years

Over at First Things, George Weigel reports on the latest findings of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research.

Some of the statistics are provocative, particularly those related to the number of martyrs:

"The provocation in the 2011 report involves martyrdom. For purposes of research, the report defines “martyrs” as “believers in Christ who have lost their lives, prematurely, in situations of witness, as a result of human hostility.” The report estimates that there were, on average, 270 new Christian martyrs every 24 hours over the past decade, such that “the number of martyrs [in the period 2000-2010] was approximately 1 million.” Compare this to an estimated 34,000 Christian martyrs in 1900."

This is stunning and seems unbelievable, and one wonders how well we (western Christians) really are mourning with those who mourn. Are we really bearing the burdens of our brothers and sisters suffering for the sake of the gospel? How can we stand with them?

Meanwhile, we continue to splinter: Weigel writes, "As for the quest for Christian unity: There were 1,600 Christian denominations in 1900; there were 18,800 in 1970; and there are 42,000 today."

But as God frequently does, for all the dividing there is growth. The report suggests an overall, worldwide growth in Christianity, but the growth of Christianity in Africa is the most astonishing:

"Africa has been the most stunning area of Christian growth over the past century. There were 8.7 million African Christians in 1900 (primarily in Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa); there are 475 million African Christians today and their numbers are projected to reach 670 million by 2025."

You can read the whole article here.

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Reformission Rev. Review Pt. 3

I really appreciated Driscoll's take on spiritual gifts, particularly those that seem a bit more unusual or more miraculous than others. Driscoll notes that in the early days of the church, there were at least a few occasions where he believes demons were attacking the church plant. He recounts a few close calls in church where he had to do some fast thinking and preaching on his feet to deal with people apparently sent from the enemy or possessed by one of his spirits. Likewise, Driscoll talks about a number of strangely vivid dreams that were apparently prophetic in nature, and on at least one occasion the Spirit leading him to a woman whom he had never met before who was being abused by her boyfriend.

There were several things impressive and refreshing about Driscoll's take on this stuff. First, he isn't sensational at all. He comes off as the first skeptic, and because he's skeptical of his own take on this kind of stuff, he readily gets advice, feedback and accountability from his fellow elders, pastors, and wife. Secondly, he says he grew up in the Roman Catholic church and was converted in college, and has never really been a "pentecostal" sort. He wasn't out looking for something weird or supernatural, but in the last analysis concludes that these gifts are given by God to various people at various times in His Church and they should be received and used. So obviously, as he notes, he isn't a "cessationist" although he is clear that he believes that the Bible is the final authority on everything, the canon is closed, and that these gifts should be exercised within and under the accountability of godly elders and friends.

When I was ordained and when I was interviewed for pastoral ministry at Trinity, I registered my stance on "cessationism" as strongly qualified. While I recognized that certain manifestations of miraculous gifts were unique to the first generation of apostles (writing the New Testament, for example, and perhaps some of the healing and prophetic gifts to confirm their authority to do so), I nevertheless was and continue to be uncomfortable insisting that all miraculous gifts have ceased from the Church. Church history is just too plum full of odd stories and miraculous interventions. Just read a missionary biography for instance. Lastly, this isn't a central theme of the book by any stretch, but just as it assumes a subtle but authentic role in Driscoll's story, it apparently remains a subtle but significant part of life at Mars Hill. And there's something about that subtlety that seems, again, refreshing and biblical. The error of the "pentecostals" is to make these sign gifts the center of Christian life and experience, but the error of cessationists is to reject them entirely and pretend they don't exist. We need a biblical balance between these two extremes.

People have and do abuse and misuse the gifts of the Spirit, and others lie and oppress and divide the body through gimmicks and shows. But this doesn't mean that God isn't free to do what He wants. He isn't bound by our tidy little theological boxes. But the standard is always love, and this means that love sees the dangers and potential challenges of strange and miraculous interventions and love sees how and when to receive the gifts of God for the blessing of His Church. And because the love of Christ is always manifested in love for His Bride, authentic spiritual gifts will always delight in real accountability and submission to pastors and elders and the communion of the saints. People who view miraculous gifts as a license to disregard godly elders have already proven their gifts to be a sham.

You can read parts 1 and 2 here and here.

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Birth and Rebirth

People are always born. People always have mothers. There is always blood and water.

Likewise, if people are to be re-born, they must have a new mother, and there must be blood and water.

Without a mother, without blood and water, there is no rebirth.

Or, outside the Church there is no salvation.

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Sixth Sunday in Easter: The Unity of the Spirit

Introduction
Unity is a challenging thing, and it is challenging because it always implies difference. Similarity is familiar and seems safe, but difference is unfamiliar and can seem threatening. The wisdom of this world prefers parties, clubs, and highly defined uniformity. But the wisdom of God is the foolishness of men. The wisdom of God builds the new temple of God in the power of the Spirit.

The text: 1 Cor. 3:1-23: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ…”

Carnal and Spiritual
Paul laments that the Corinthians are not yet ready for “solid food” because they are still babes in Christ (3:1-2). Paul wishes he could speak to them as “spiritual people” – as people who have begun to search the deep things of God through the Holy Spirit (2:10-16). The milk of the gospel is unity in Christ, but they are still full of envy, strife, and divisions (3:3). They are still acting like “mere men.” This carnal wisdom is specifically evidenced in their denominational rivalry (3:4). Paul says that he and Apollos played roles in the gospel coming to Corinth, but he emphasizes that it was what the “Lord gave” (3:5), “God gave the increase” (3:6), and “God who gives the increase” (3:7). This doesn’t mean that the labors and gifts of people are irrelevant (3:8), but he insists that ministers are “fellow workers” of God in His field, in His building (3:9).

Wise Master Builder
Paul says that he was given grace to be a wise “master builder” (3:10). This is the Greek root for the English word “architect” and the same word used in the Septuagint to describe the work of Bezalel and Aholiab (Ex. 31:4, 35:32, 35:35, 37:21). Paul implies that he is like Bezalel and Apollos is like Aholiab. They have both been given the same Spirit to build the temple of God. But as Bezalel and Aholiab witnessed after the completion of the tabernacle, God’s Spirit comes to dwell in His house (Ex. 40:34-38). But Paul knows that this doesn’t mean that everything every pastor or teacher does or says will prove to be valuable (3:10-12). Each one’s work will be tested with fire (3:13-14). The reason some people’s work will be destroyed while they themselves are saved “through fire” is because the Spirit of God is the fire of God (3:16, cf. Acts 2). The Spirit tests, the Spirit destroys, the Spirit holds the temple together, whose temple you are (3:17).

No Boast in Men
This is why Paul insists that it is silly to think we’ve figured out how this whole thing works (3:18). The church is built and held together by the wisdom of God not the wisdom of men (3:19-20). God’s people do not hold the Spirit; the Spirit holds God’s people (3:21). This is why we have nothing of ourselves and absolutely everything in Christ (3:21). In the Spirit, we are called to know Christ, to search the deep things of God, to be taught by the Spirit (2:10-16) until we are absolutely certain that mere men are powerless, but the power of God holds us and all things together (3:22-23).

Applications & Conclusions
Unity requires difference. But there is significant difference between difference and deviance. After confessing that this is all the power of God and the working of the Spirit, Paul will charge up the hill and begin attacking the sins in the church of Corinth (ch. 5-11). Tumors must be removed from the body of Christ. But after condemning those sins, Paul anticipates a reaction to the deviance which is an overcorrection toward uniformity which is not at all the style of the Spirit (ch. 12-15).

The Spirit holds the Church together. This is why Paul jumps up and down on the power of God and the Spirit of God (1:17-18, 24-25, 2:4-5). The kingdom of God is not in word but in power (4:20). This means that we should have moments when we feel the impossibility of the church. People who should not ordinarily get along are getting along. And if we don’t have those feelings, we should wonder if the Spirit is with us. But when the wheels leave the ground, and we know we can’t fly, then we know that it is the Spirit who holds us.

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Jesus, Paul, and the People of God

I just listened to Kevin Vanhoozer's talk from the recent Wheaton conference, a dialog with N.T. Wright, and I recommend it to you. If you have the slightest interest in N.T. Wright and the conversation/controversy surrounding his reformulation of the doctrine of justification and how that should be received and evaluated by those of us in the confessionally reformed tradition, this lecture is a great place to jump in. Vanhoozer is particularly helpful and winsome for his sense of humor, but he very succinctly summarizes Wright's concerns, the concerns of his critics, and charitably offers his own take and makes suggestions for moving the conversation forward. So go give it a listen.

I also listened to Wright's chapel message given during the conference, and it is a typically encouraging and challenging word from the book of Ephesians. Listen or watch here.

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10 Reasons Why College Students Should Spend Time with the Elderly

CRF Talk: 10 Reasons Why College Students Should Spend Time with the Elderly

1. You don’t have better things to do. College students are selfish and lazy. “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.” (Pr. 26:16) Young people are characteristically self-assured, conceited, proud, and the biblical name for this is “sluggard.” Wisdom and greatness are tied together and they come through serving and loving (Mt. 23:11).

2. Because you have lots of energy and time. “The glory of young men is their strength.” (Pr. 20:29) Embracing the glory that God bestows upon “youth” means proving your freedom in sacrificial ways like spending time in ways you don’t *have* to.

3. This is one way to get wisdom. The “simple” – ie. the immature, the young – need to get wisdom. Reading Proverbs is the beginning of wisdom, and it is the words of a father to a son (Pr. 1:1, 1:8, and 8:5). But the glory of old men is their gray hair (ie. their wisdom) (Pr. 20:29). The young should seek wisdom from the old. Spending time with the elderly is the pursuit of wisdom.

4. It teaches us to fear the Lord. “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:32). Taking time to talk to them, sing with them, pray for them, know them, love them, and serve them are all ways of honoring the “face of an old man.” This passage ties honoring the elderly to fearing God. Our honor of the old is a measurement of our fear of God, our determination that the Lord is God.

5. It's obedience to the fifth commandment. Obviously your own grandparents/great-grandparents is a good place to start. This is an extension of the fifth commandment to honor your father and mother. Likewise, other friends of your father: “Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend…” (Pr. 27:10)

6. It teaches us how to be the Church. The elderly are your parents and you are their children. “So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life." (Lk. 18:29-30) While the family is a real institution, it is relativized to the Church, the household of faith, the family of God. Every baptism is the proclamation that the Church is your family. And if true and undefiled religion is caring for orphans and widows in their distress and many of the elderly have been abandoned and are effectively orphans and widows, then we are called to be family to them.

7. It fulfills the promises of God and enacts the Kingdom of God. Spending time with the elderly is a way of fulfilling the promises of God to turn the hearts of the children to the hearts of their fathers (Mal. 4:6). This is a way to proclaim the Kingdom of God in word and deed. Jesus is come, and the generations are being gathered together and reconciled. This includes our own parents and grandparents but must expand to include all that we come in contact with.

8. It reminds you of where you’re going (Eccl. 12:1ff). It teaches humility and sobriety. “Better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart o the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” (Eccl. 7:2-4). Spending time with the elderly discourages vanity. We can’t be that proud of our bodies and accomplishments when we remember what we’ll look like in 50-60 years. It also teaches us deep thankfulness for the health and strength we enjoy now.

9. It teaches you to hate sin. Growing old is part of the curse of sin, and seeing it in front you is one of the best educations. Hating sin in the deformed body of an old woman in front of you teaches you to hate sin in your heart, in your words, in your thoughts and actions. Hearing about a life that was poorly lived, full of regret, is a severe warning to us to repent of sin now and to live at peace with all men as far as it depends upon us.

10. It teaches us to long for the resurrection and consummation of all things. As postmillennialists and reformed, we might be rightly criticized for not longing for the final return of Christ. Sin and hell, sickness and death should be good motivators for evangelism and mercy ministry. Likewise, if the resurrection and the life to come really are as grand as the Scriptures promise, we should want to hasten them. The sooner the better, and we have to recognize our place in that program.

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Greschat on Bucer

I'm still working on my Bucer paper, so here's another quote on Bucer's view of the relationship between the church and the state:

Further, as the Kingdom of Christ subjects itself to the kingdoms and powers of this world, so in turn every true kingdom of the world (I say kingdom, not tyranny) subjects itself to the Kingdom of Christ, and the kings themselves are among the first to do this, for they are eager to develop piety not for themselves alone, but they also seek to lead their subjects to it.

Again, on the role of the state with regard to families:

Thus, because the authorities are a father, they must truly and even zealously ward off every trouble from their community, just as a particularly conscientious father is duty bound to keep all trouble away from his house, because the authorities are subject to a higher command and in a wider sense are fathers of the fatherland. They should therefore take responsibility for what individual fathers neglect or are unable to accomplish by way of Christian discipline and urgings toward piety.

Both of these are cited by Martin Greschat in his chapter on 'Church and Civil Community' in D.F. Wright's book on Bucer.

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