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The Ability to Obey

Obedience is the continuing testimony of the power of God. The illumination that produces regeneration and sanctification also produces obedience. Erickson notes that new birth produces “a new sensitivity to spiritual things, a new direction of life, and an increasing ability to obey God” (Christian Theology).

Luther understood that saving faith comes by the Holy Spirit working through the preached Word and becomes efficacious after the Holy Spirit works on the heart of the hearer. “Where the Word is, the Spirit inevitably follows” (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology). The Holy Spirit reveals with the Word and not apart from it and the subsequent result is empowered obedience. Hoekema observes the Holy Spirit’s work that “enables the hearer of the gospel call to respond to his summons with repentance faith, and obedience” (Saved by Grace).

An Expression of Redemption

The Holy Spirit illumines the understanding of Scripture. The obedience that follows is both in careful study of the Word, speech, and action. The obedience to Scripture, therefore, is an expression of redemption. Redemption is accomplished by Christ and applied to the believer by the Holy Spirit as testified in Scripture. John Frame has reportedly stated, “Scripture is only completely understood when obeyed.”

Illumination and empowered obedience are inseparable and are joined in the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration. New life and forgiveness are followed by fruit that gives evidence of the Word as God’s people are strengthened to obey.

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Jonathan Edwards On Mission: Click | View Series

Jonathan Edwards sought to promote vibrant Christian faith through teaching people what the “marks,” or signs, of godly living actually are. He did so not merely because he was really smart and liked categorizing things, but because he wanted Christians to experience the joy of true Christianity and then spread that joy to others. In short, he was a missional pastor before the vodcasts and fauxhawks.

1. You Love Jesus

In his 1741 text Distinguishing Marks of a True Work of the Spirit of God, Edwards laid out a number of negative and positive signs that distinguished a true work of God from a false one. Though Edwards focused in this text on revivals more broadly, his words apply to individuals seeking to discern whether they know the Lord.

The first of these signs was a “raised esteem” for Jesus Christ. The point of this first sign is that when the Spirit moves in a person’s heart and awakens them to faith and repentance, their view of Jesus changes. The nominal believer respects Jesus, but does not reverence or exalt him. The true Christian takes delight in Jesus, a delight that is often palpable and contagious. As we serve on mission for God by promoting the gospel, we should expect to see a “raised esteem” for Jesus Christ, the author of our redemption.

2. You Hate Sin

The second sign of a “true work” is an increased hatred for sin and defeat of sinful practices.

When the spirit that is at work operates against the interest of Satan's kingdom, which lies in encouraging and establishing sin, and cherishing men's worldly lusts; this is a sure sign that 'tis a true, and not a false spirit… So that we may safely determine, from what the Apostle says, that the spirit that is at work amongst a people… and convinces them of the dreadfulness of sin, the guilt that it brings, and the misery that it exposes to: I say, the spirit that operates after such a manner, must needs be the Spirit of God (Works 4, 250-51).

This point, like the others, is both profound and simple. One of the clear signs of a work of God is increased hatred for sin. Our eyes are suddenly opened to see the dreadfulness of one’s condition. Where before one had spotted weaknesses and flaws, but always had excuses at the ready to cover up those personal blemishes, now the Spirit shows the sinner just how degraded and evil he is.

3. You Love God’s Word

The third sign of a “true work” is a love for the Bible. Edwards tied this love for Scripture not to simple literary appreciation for its contents, but to a Spirit-given hunger and thirst for the Word of God:

That spirit that operates in such a manner, as to cause in men a greater regard to the Holy Scriptures, and establishes them more in their truth and divinity, is certainly the Spirit of God... The Devil never would go about to beget in persons a regard to that divine Word, which God hath given to be the great and standing rule for the direction of his church in all religious matters and concerns of their souls, in all ages. (Works 4, 250)

Many people respect the Bible. It is known as a “holy book,” a sacred text. But few people view it as the actual word of God that God himself “has appointed and inspired to deliver to his church its rule of faith and practice” as “the great and standing rule for the direction of his church.” Where a person’s heart flames with love and holy “regard” for the Scriptures, the Spirit has worked.

4. You Love Truth

The fourth sign that marked the presence of a “true work” was a heightened love for truth and the things of God.

An awareness and responsiveness to divine truth was a clear signal that the Lord had moved in human hearts. So where people came to see “that there is a God” and that he is “great” and “sin-hating,” and that they themselves have “immortal souls” and “must give account of themselves to God,” the Spirit was working true conversion.

Edwards rightly noted that the Spirit does not lead believers into error. Therefore, when we hear news of conversion, whether mass or individual, we need to listen for resonances of the truth in the testimony of the convert. Do they love the truth more? Do they love God more? Do they subscribe to sound doctrine, and root their faith in it? Missional Christians seek to hate sin and to lead others to do the same.

5. You Love Believers

The final positive sign in Edwards’s taxonomy of the Spirit’s “true work” was love for one’s fellow Christians.

Many people who profess Christ lose their footing on this final point. They may well appreciate fellow church members and contribute in some way to their well-being, but they have not been filled by the Lord with a holy love for fellow Christians, and thus they do not serve them. True conversion will cause stable couples to take in young Christians hungry for discipleship. It will lead Christians to give generously to missionaries and fellow believers (see 2 Corinthians 8). It will drive older believers to spend time mentoring younger ones (see Titus 2).

In the end, the way one cares for one’s fellow members says more about our testimony of conversion and our understanding of gospel mission than we might initially think. True Christians serve their fellow members out of love, as a response to the grace of Jesus.

(Adapted from Chapter Three of Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity from The Essential Edwards Collection)

Question: Which of these “marks” of true Christianity most stands out to you? Which do you need to cultivate in living a missional life as Edwards did? Tell us on our Facebook page.

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Ongoing Illumination

While initial illumination is involved in regeneration, ongoing illumination is involved in sanctification. “Although regeneration is instantaneously complete, it is not an end in itself. As a change of spiritual impulses, regeneration is the beginning of a process of growth that continues throughout one’s lifetime. This process of spiritual maturation is sanctification” (Christian Theology). Bavinck writes, “By sanctification is meant the continued transformation of moral and spiritual character so that the believer’s life actually comes to mirror the standing he or she already has in God’s sight.”

Sanctification is characterized by ongoing understanding of and application of the Scriptures. Bavinck notes the Holy Spirit communicates “in, with, and through our own spirit in faith” by which he “makes known all the things believers have received from God.”

Faith Depends on Scripture

Scripture testifies to both initial and ongoing illumination, both of which are closely tied closely to the Word. J. Van Genderen writes, “The work of the Holy Spirit is characterized by continuity. It is ongoing. Faith will always depend on it. Since the Spirit works through and with the Word, our faith depends permanently on Holy Scripture, and it is crucial to continually listen to what God has to say to us in his Word.”

Illumination is both the means and result of transformation and obedience gives evidence to this transformation.

To be continued.

5 Hard Truths for Planters

Acts 29 Pastor Dustin Neeley shares 5 challenging truths church planters will have to learn. View the series.

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Illumination

Illumination is the work of the Holy Spirit through Scripture. Millard Erickson states, “Illumination by the Holy Spirit helps the Scripture reader or hearer understand the Bible and creates the conviction that it is true and is the Word of God” (Christian Theology). John Frame writes, “The word written on our hearts is the same Word written in Scripture. Reformed theology has traditionally called this process illumination, a process in which we come to understand, believe, and apply the Bible” (Salvation Belongs to the Lord). Throughout Scripture, the Holy Spirit demonstrates “illuminating influence” (Ex. 28:3, 31:3, 35:30), “intellectual insight,” and revelation (2 Sam. 23:2, Neh. 9:30, Ez. 11:24, Zech. 7:12, 1 Kings 22:24, 1 Peter 1:11, 2 Peter 1:21).

While the inspiration of Scripture is the necessary starting point for understanding illumination and empowerment, the inspiration of Scripture is not enough to effect salvation and knowledge of God’s character. Illumination of the inspired Scripture is necessary. Therefore we must trust, obey, and apply Scripture. This affirms Calvin’s statement that “No man can hesitate to acknowledge that he is able to understand the mysteries of God, only insofar as illuminated by his grace” (Institutes of the Christian Religion).

Regeneration

Hoekema defines regeneration as “that work of the Holy Spirit whereby he initially brings us into a living union with Christ and changes our hearts so that we who were spiritually dead become spiritually alive.” This is the new birth Jesus speaks of in John’s Gospel as he teaches Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Simply, regeneration is “new life” that produces new obedience.

John Murray writes that Scripture confirms “this great truth that regeneration is such a radical, pervasive, and efficacious transformation that it immediately registers itself in the conscious activity of the person concerned in the exercises of faith and repentance and new obedience” (Saved by Grace).

The work of the Holy Spirit comes to full culmination in the regeneration of the believer. The inspired Scriptures illuminated by the Holy Spirit effect saving faith and empower obedient living.

To be continued.

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Has R.C. Sproul ever been on the internet? What is the biggest upcoming theological battle? Dr. Sproul answers questions like these in this special interview series.

This is the first of a short series of posts adapted from a new 5-volume book series entitled The Essential Edwards Collection.

A Man On Mission

What do you know about Jonathan Edwards (1703-58)? Maybe you remember him as the guy who stared grimly at you from your high school textbook, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” and all that. Maybe you like Edwards, have read some of his writing, and generally appreciate him.

Many of us haven’t had either the time or energy to delve deeply into his body of work, which totals 25 foreboding volumes in the Yale Works of Jonathan Edwards series. Edwards—or, as he is known in academic circles, “The Dude”—was a brilliant man, America’s greatest philosopher, and a longtime pastor in colonial Massachusetts. What we may not fully comprehend about the man was just how passionate he was for reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Long before our day, wearing killer knickers and a starchy white wig, Jonathan Edwards was passionately, relentlessly on mission for God.

Only By Faith

In 1734, the pastor preached offensively. He wished to clarify the substance of saving faith in Jesus Christ for his congregation so that they might find salvation. Edwards believed that certain members of his flock had either deceived themselves about their spirituality or had misunderstood the nature of saving faith and the new birth due to unbiblical teaching on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and he thus set out to win them to a vibrant understanding of this teaching that would nourish Christians and rescue unbelievers.

Edwards maintained that it is faith in Christ alone that “justifies, or gives an interest in Christ’s satisfaction and merits, and a right to the benefits procured thereby, viz., as it thus makes Christ and the believer one in the acceptance of the Supreme Judge. ‘Tis by faith that we have a title to eternal life, because ‘tis by faith that we have the Son of God, by whom life is” (Works 19, 158).

As articulated here, faith in Christ had the crucial effect of uniting Christ and the believer, once separated by a chasm of sin and unbelief. This was a crucial point. His sermons on justification helped, he thought, “to establish the judgments of many in this truth” and also “to engage their hearts in a more earnest pursuit of justification” (795).

To be continued.

(Adapted from Chapters Five and Six of Jonathan Edwards, Lover of God from The Essential Edwards Collection)

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From the recent sermon John the Baptizer, Part 2.

Let me explain to you what repentance is and is not. For some of you, this will be completely new, you’ve never heard this. For others of you, this will be information that you’ve got bits and pieces of throughout the course of your life. For some of you, this will be revisiting things that I’ve taught you before, but maybe you still need to do. And for the rest of you, maybe you do know and practice repentance, and this will help clarify your ability to counsel others. I want you to pay attention, this is really important stuff. If you don’t know what to do with sin, you’ll ruin your life, and destroy anyone who is connected to you. It’s that big of a deal.

1. Religious Repentance

So, true repentance is not religious repentance. Religious repentance is this: “I see your sin, not my own. I confess your sin, not my own. I’m really unhappy with your sin, but I’m not really troubled by my own.” It’s because religious people tend to think that they are self-righteous, and pious, and holy, and better than everyone else. The result is that they think they are good, and everyone else is bad. And religious people like to busybody, and gossip, and neatnik, and nitpick, and just be a perennial pain in the Levi’s. That’s what religious people do. And the way this works is they’re always glad to talk about all the things you’ve done wrong, but they never say things like, “It was my fault. I’m sorry. I was wrong.” Some of you are married to that person; I apologize.

Jesus gives a story of two people going into the temple, the Old Testament equivalent of the church, and one prays with haughty eyes and head held high, full of pride. “God, thank you that I’m not like other men. Thank you that I’m better than they are. Thank you that I don’t do all these horrible things.” He’s confessing someone else’s sin.

A second man in the story goes in, and he’s not filled with pride, he’s filled with grief. And he looks to the ground. He can’t even raise his eyes, and he simply declares, “God, have mercy on me. I’m a sinner.” He’s dealing with his own sin, not anyone else’s sin. He’s filled with humility and not pride. And Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, this man, and not the other, left justified, declared righteous in the sight of God.” Religious people are notorious for overlooking their own sin, and talking about everyone else’s, sometimes couching it in the form of a prayer request, so that it looks particularly holy when it’s not.

2. Pagan Repentance

Real repentance is not pagan repentance...
(Click to keep reading.)

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Breathed Out By God

The Holy Spirit works through the Word, therefore, understanding his work in the Word is the vital starting place for discussion. Since Scripture is the means of God’s revelation of his character and will, the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of Scripture is foundational to illumination and obedience.

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” This is the one occurrence of theopneustos (translated “breathed out by God,” “given by inspiration of God,” or “inspired of God”) in the New Testament. Erickson defines inspiration as “that supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers which rendered their writings an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God” (Christian Theology).

Inspiration is a supernatural influence on a few selected persons, the result being the divine product of God’s creative breath: Scripture. Grudem notes the metaphoric use of “inspiration,” since the word is referring to the writings, and prefers the rendering “God-breathed” for the authoritative Scriptures (Systematic Theology). The Holy Spirit’s influence on the authors thus makes the writings both trustworthy and authoritative since God himself is attributive authorship (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology).

Inspiration vs. Illumination

Inspiration differs from illumination in that inspiration was to a select group of divinely appointed authors whereas illumination applies to all believers (Systematic Theology Index). Both are works of the Holy Spirit, thus inspiration is foundational to illumination in that the Holy Spirit does not illumine the minds of believers apart from the Word. As Luther states, “We must…recognize the ‘God-breathed’ character of Scripture, and the ‘Spirit that makes alive.’ Only so will the Scripture be profitable.” Likewise, Calvin states, “…only when God shines in us by the light of his Spirit is there any profit from the Word” (Saved by Grace).

Since the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, the illumined understanding and empowered obedience can only come from him as well. As J.I. Packer notes, “Without the Holy Spirit there would be no gospel and no New Testament… there would be no faith and no new birth… without the Spirit there would not be a Christian in the world” (Knowing God).

The Holy Spirit’s work in Scripture is the vital starting point for his work through Scripture to the believer, what we know as “illumination.”

To be continued.

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Everything Is Illuminated

It has become commonplace in popular Christian culture for readers of Scripture to simultaneously neglect the doctrines of inspiration and illumination yet attempt to follow Scripture’s instruction for living. The result is often confused application of Scripture and quasi-religious living, devoid of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The issue at hand is the cultural minimizing of the role and power of Scripture in the life of a believer. The result is neglecting the doctrines of inspiration and illumination, yet striving for application of Scripture through obedient living.

While practical faith is of much importance, what is overlooked and neglected is the revelatory nature of Scripture: the inspired authority, illumined understanding, and empowered obedience that follows. The true purpose of Scripture is to see Christ. Neglecting inspiration and illumination results in a failure to see true mission and true good works: the missio Dei and the gospel work of Jesus Christ.

An Inseparable Connection

Although inseparable, it should be noted that good works follow the saving grace of the gospel. The evidence of this grace is the good works that result. The Holy Spirit applies the redeeming work of Christ to the believer. Scripture is the means by which this grace is understood as the gospel message is communicated through the Word.

The Holy Spirit works through Scripture both in inspiration and illumination. These two facets of his work are closely connected and inseparable. Each hinges on the other for efficacious application of Scripture, and the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work is the obedient living of believers. The Word and the Spirit are inseparable. The Scripture is authoritative because it is inspired. Scripture can only be understood by illumination. Illumination is effective in producing obedience.

Whether one is a preaching pastor or a new believer, the inseparable connection between the Word and the Spirit are vital. This series will explore some facets of this connection: the initial and ongoing work of the Spirit in and through the Word.

To be continued.

ESV Study Bible

The ESV Study Bible is our Bible of choice. To show how good the notes are, we’ve posted some free study notes on the Trinity. Read them here.

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The Historical Background

Sabellius, a third-century theologian and priest, was a proponent of modalism. Modalism is a non-Trinitarian heresy claiming that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are simply different modes of God and not distinct persons within the Godhead. Little is known about Sabellius, who was excommunicated in 220 AD, but the teaching attached to his name became infamous and is still with us today.

Sabellius’ View of God

The modalists were rightly concerned with maintaining the oneness of God as well as the full deity of Christ. However, this led them to the error of seeing any suggestion that the Son was a distinct person from the Father as creating a duality within the Godhead.

Early historian Hippolytus summarized the modalist position as one in which the names “Father,” “Son,” and “Holy Spirit” did not stand for real distinctions in the Godhead, but rather mere names that described the actions of the one God at different times in history. In other words, “Father,” “Son,” and “Spirit” are merely adjectives describing how the one divine Being acts and is perceived.

Sabellius used the analogy of the sun to explain his position. In the same way that the sun gives off both light and heat, so also the single divine being radiates in history in different fashions. In creation, the divine Being acts as Father; in redemption, as Son; in the lives of believers, as the Holy Spirit.

The Orthodox Response

The orthodox response to the heresy of Sabellius (and other modalists) came from Tertullian, the African theologian. In Against Praxeas, Tertullian argued that Scripture reveals that the Godhead is three who are at the same time one. He rightly considered this an essential doctrine of Christianity.

In the Sabellian modalist view, the three are not anything real, but rather just different manifestations of the one. Therefore, Tertullian proposed that we speak of the Godhead as “one substance (substantia) consisting in three persons (persona).” This terminology would serve as the basis for future Latin theology, and it is from Tertullian’s pen that the important Christian word “Trinity” (trinitas) was first inked.

Why Does All This Matter?

Sabellianism is one of the heresies in Christendom that keeps appearing again and again in different forms. Anyone who has sat in a Sunday School class and heard that God’s Tri-unity is like water in that it appears to us in three forms (liquid, steam, and ice) has been exposed to a contemporary variation of modalism. God is not one person that exists in three different forms at three different times, but three distinct persons concurrently sharing one common essence.

Modalism also reared its ugly head in the classic liberal theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher, and it is even seen today in the “Oneness” sect of Pentecostalism, which clearly denies the doctrine of the Trinity. What is at stake in the debate is not merely fancy theological terminology, but our understanding of God himself. For example, if Sabellian modalism were true, the intimate relationship that existed between the Father and the Son from all eternity (John 17) would be irrational.

Modalism undercuts the atoning work of Jesus Christ, as well. If there is only one God who works in different modes of being throughout history, one must question whether Jesus Christ was truly a man, or if he only appeared to be such, as the heresy of Docetism declares. If Jesus Christ is not fully God and fully man, then he cannot be the one mediator between God and man. It is for this reason that the heresy of Sabellian modalism must be rejected, and the biblical doctrine of the Trinity must be affirmed.

Scandalous

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You can download this article, with footnotes, as a PDF here.

According to numerous studies, most Americans consider themselves “spiritual, not religious.” In other words, they dabble in whatever beliefs and practices they find intuitively valid and useful for daily living, but they resist any threat to their individual autonomy. Consumers in the spiritual marketplace they are willing to be, but not disciples of Jesus Christ. In spite of all the evangelistic efforts over the last several decades, including sprawling megachurches catering to every niche market, there has been no growth in reported conversions. In fact, church attendance is on the decline. Most Christians cannot articulate what they believe, much less why they believe it, and these tragic statistics include evangelicals as well as Unitarians.

We do not lack impassioned pleas for being more “missional.” A plethora of programs for outreach, discipleship, and spiritual disciplines are available at any Christian bookstore and on countless websites. Yet what we need most is a renewed understanding of and commitment to the Great Commission. We assume that we already know the nature of this Commission. We assume that we know its message, although the statistics do not bear that out. We assume that we already know the appropriate methods, although our feverish activism seems to lack the power of previous missionary movements.

In this brief space I want to explore some of the radical aspects of the mandate that Jesus gave to his church before he ascended to the Father.

1. The Indicative: Jesus Has All Authority

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18).

Every new covenant command is grounded in the gospel... (Click here to keep reading)

You can download this article, with footnotes, as a PDF here.

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