THE OLOGIES

 THE OLOGIES

This Sunday I conclude the BECAUSE HE IS series. Each of the six instalments of this series has dealt with a truth about God. My hope throughout the series so far has been that I might introduce those unfamiliar or less acquainted with God to experience a richer, deeper and more intimate knowledge of Him. My motive for doing this has been to lead someone who had never loved God to come to gladly love Him — and for those who were in like of God to become besotted with their love for God. I have repeatedly said throughout this series so far that I have not wanted this to be merely a series of lectures or just interesting information for your fancy. (Added to this, I have confessed that Kim has forbidden me from lecturing this series!) But now, as I prepare to conclude this series this Sunday, I want to give you some of the theological background behind what I consider to be one of the most important series of sermons I have delivered. There was a time when theology (the study of God) was considered the “the Queen of the sciences” from which all knowledge flowed making every other ’ology a subset of Theology.

Therefore you are great, O LORD God.
For there is none like You,
and there is no God besides You,
according to all that we have heard with our ears.
Second Samuel 7:22

ONTOLOGY

The first part of this series was simply called Because He Is. If I was to have lectured on this topic it would have been on the topic of ‘ontology’ – a philosophical-theological lecture. Ontology comes from two Greek words, ontos – which means “being, person, is”; and logos – which means “reason” from which we get the English suffix –ology (‘the study of’). Ontology is therefore the study of (the ultimate) reality. When Thomas Aquinas, a Medieval theologian, developed a set of proofs for the existence of God, he began with ontology. He reasoned that because anything was it must have had a being behind it. Since we can all verify that this world is, we can verify what Aquinas stated – that there must be a Being behind it. We can also verify that this world is operates on certain principles such as fixed chemical reactions, gravity, decay, objective moral laws, planetary order. We refer to something that is obviously true or factual as “ontologically true”. Therefore, for Aquinas, the answer to the philosophical question, “How do we prove God exists?” was, “We know God exists because He is.”

And Asa cried to the LORD his God,
“O LORD, there is none like You to help, between the mighty and the weak.
Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your Name
we have come against this multitude.
O LORD, You are our God;
let not man prevail against You.”
Second Chronicles 14:11

 

THEOLOGY PROPER

The study of who God is, His nature, His unique attributes, His unique acts, His character, and His essence, is known as Theology Proper. I have spent the best part of the last four decades focusing on the study of this academic discipline, and yet, I still have much more to learn. The preeminent quality of God from which each of His afore mentioned aspects flows out of, is holiness. God is holy. Before we think of God as love, almighty, just, or wise, we must appreciate that He is holy — not like the human attribution inappropriately given to cities or landmarks or so-called shrines or false religious leaders — God’s holiness is almost incomprehensibly unique. God is holy means that He is: distinct, sacred, special, impeccably pure, infinitely uncommon, perfectly good.

“Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify Your Name?
For You alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship You,
for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Revelation 15:4 

 

ECCLESIOLOGY

When French theologian and lawyer, John Calvin, sought to correct the flagrant misrepresentations of  his day about God and His deeds, he based his research on the Apostles’ Creed, the Scriptures in their original languages, and the works of several ancient Church Fathers, especially Augustine of Hippo. The result of his research was a mammoth four-volume work known in English as The Institutes of The Christian Religion. He divided his work into four sections: (i) About God The Father as Creator and Redeemer; (ii) About God The Son as Saviour and Revealer of the Father; (iii) About God The Holy Spirit as the Agent of Redemption through raising Christ from the dead, and regenerating the redeemed; and, (iv) About the Church as the Spirit-empowered community of the redeemed. To understand God necessarily leads to understanding that He is the Redeemer by whom we can only be, and must be, saved from our sin, reconciled to God, and be eternally pardoned. To accept God’s offer of rescue is to be delivered from the darkness of our alienation into the light of our adoption and fellowship with God and the community of the redeemed. This community is known as the Ecclesia – the Church. The theological study of God’s redemption plan is known as ecclesiology.

Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:4-7, 22-23

 

DOXOLOGY

God is the Source of all goodness and blessing and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise. The Greek word for glory is doxa. In some church worship services they will close by pronouncing the doxology which literally means “words of praise”. For the one who comes to know God there is a reflex to want to worship God with praise and adoration. Human beings are created by the All-Glorious God to worship Him. Sin distorts this uniquely human characteristic by deceiving people into worshiping the created rather than the Creator.

For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. ¶ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Romans 1:21-25

The closing book of the Bible paints a picture of the culmination of redemption where the redeemed give God glory by attributing to Him every blessing they have received, by singing – 

Saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and
under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Revelation 5:12-13

 

EPISTEMOLOGY

One of the Greek words for knowledge is ‘episteme’ from which we get the term epistemology which is the study of how we come to know. In the realm of theology, although episteme does not occur in the Bible, epistemology pertains to how we know the truth about God. The Bible declares that God is the true God and that He is the Source of truth. This truth can be known by: (i) reliable testimony; (ii) verifiable accounts, particularly found in the Scriptures; (iii) direct encounters; (iv) direct revelation including hearing the voice of God or divine dreams; (v) philosophical contemplation such as considering creation needing a Creator (and similar to what Aquinas did); and, (vi) otherwise inexplicable answers to secret prayers to God. 

And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6 

The Christian claims about God are true — not a different kind of ‘true’ to what a reasonable person would consider true, but the kind of true that is, as Francis Schaeffer described as — true truth! Therefore, Christianity’s historical truth claims can be verified. Christianity’s philosophical truth claims can be reasoned. Christianity’s subjective truth claims can be experienced. Christianity’s scientific truth claims can be tested.

 

SOTERIOLOGY

This Sunday I conclude the Because He Is series with Because He Is Life. Soteriology comes from the Greek word soterios which is translated into English as ‘salvation’, thus, soteriology is the study of salvation.

With each of the messages in this series there has been a “so what” element. When I map a sermon series out, often months before I preach it, I always ask the “So what?” question as I sketch it out. As you can see from the picture of my sticky-note in my Bible, next to the start of First Peter, for this series I actually began with the “so what” elements of each instalment. These “so whats” are the implications of each of these ‘ologies’ in the Because He Is series. Because He is holy, the Apostle Peter tells us we should be holy.

But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written,
“You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
First Peter 1:15-16

This Sunday, perhaps one of the greatest “So what?” moments that any church could hope for will be publicly demonstrated as baptise people who have accepted God’s offer of forgiveness and redemption. You will also notice that I have mined just one passage from First Peter to draw out each of these ‘ologies’. It is my hope that as you hear my heart to convey the richness of the treasure of knowing God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your confidence in the God of the Bible will be buttressed not just by good theology grounded in Scripture, but in the fact that you have come to know Him in truth for yourself. This Sunday will not be a lecture, and perhaps by now you can see why, and we may all humbly say along with Job – 

I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees You; therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job 42:5-6

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

Trifling Is Not Trifling

HAVE WE LOST OUR SENSE OF THE SACRED?

In the West, unlike the East, we suffer the enormous disadvantage of living in a culture largely unfamiliar with the sacred. Added to this, there has arisen an understanding among contemporary Christians that there is no warrant for making any distinction between ‘the holy’ and ‘secular’. But rather than regarding everything as holy it has tended to mean that everything which was once holy is now regarded as ordinary (‘secular’). This then leads to certain sacred rituals of Christianity being trifled with (treated as less important than they are).  When this happens, the Christ-instituted rituals of Christianity are misrepresented and therefore misunderstood, which in turn, diminishes people’s vision of God’s glory. Let’s rethink rituals.

¶ And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.
Zechariah 14:20-21

RITUALS OR SACRAMENTS OR ORDINANCES?

Rituals can be lifeless. Especially when they are not understood. All of the rituals of Christianity are opulently rich in meaning. Some traditions of the Church refer to these rituals as sacraments. The word ‘sacrament’ comes from the Latin word for mystery, “sacer”. It has generally come to mean the outward expression of an inner grace. That is, by performing the ritual, God’s grace is mediated to its participants. The traditions of the Church which have regarded certain Christian rituals as sacraments have necessarily required that those who minister them are consecrated to do so. These people are known as priests. The belief that some people can be consecrated as priests and then minister the sacraments is known as sacerdotalism. 

The Reformers, beginning with Martin Luther (1483-1546) in 1517, began to raise objections to the idea of sacerdotalism. Initially, these Reformers merely de-classified some of the 7 sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony) down to just 4 (Baptism, Communion, Holy Orders, and Matrimony). Then these 4 were reduced to 3 (Baptism, Communion, and Matrimony), and ultimately to just two (Baptism, and, Matrimony). From this point, Communion became regarded as as Ordinance rather than as a Sacrament by most Protestants. 

It was the Swiss Reformer, Ulrich Zwingli, who first challenged the notion of Communion (“the Eucharist“) as a sacrament. He argued that it was not a sacrament because the elements were merely representationsof the Lord’s body and blood. This was different to the Roman Catholic position which taught that the elements (which they call accidents) are mystically transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ. This view is known as Transubstantiation. It also disagreed with Martin Luther’s modified position about Communion. Luther also disagreed with the Roman Catholic position but taught that Christ was with the elements of Communion. This Lutheran view is known as Consubstantiation. John Calvin disagreed with Zwingli and argued that the Communion elements were more than mere representation of Christ’s body and blood, but he too disagreed with the Roman Catholic and views. He coined the expression Ordinanceand taught that the Communion should only be administered by an authorised  (‘ordained’) minister.

Many Protestants now hold to a Neo-Zwinglian view of Communion. They regard the elements of Communion as typifying the body and blood of Christ but having deep significance for all who partake. While not considering it to be a ‘Sacrament’ (which in itself imparts some grace to the participant) they do consider it to be mysterious. They argue that the emblems (or “elements”) of the Holy Communion were consecrated by Christ. The act of sharing and then consuming these elements was also consecrated by Christ. The  significance of both the nature of the elements (unleavened bread typifying the sinless body of Christ, and the unfermented wine typifying the uncorrupted life of Christ) and how they are shared and consumed (the pieces of bread being broken from one unleavened loaf typifying that the participants are one in Christ, and the wine coming from one source typifying that there is only one Saviour). The mystery of this rite (or, ritual) is that if it is done in an unappreciative manner, there can be grave consequences (note the Apostle’s reminder to the Corinthians about this in First Corinthians 11). The celebration of Holy Communion is therefore a sacred moment.

¶ Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.
First Corinthians 11:2

The word ‘sacred’ means set apart from the ordinary. It is distinct from ‘secular’ which means ordinary, common (even though most understand ‘secular’ to mean irreligious or non-religious). In this sense, Holy Communion is sacred. Its occasion, its elements, its means of sharing together, and what it typifies, are not to be trifled with. Dr. Sproul’s rebuke to his young theological student was therefore not the rankings of some out-of-touch theological dinosaur. The mystery 0f Holy Communion transcends time and culture. When Jesus said, “take eat” He was intersecting the present. When He said “in remembrance of Me” He was intersecting the past. Then when He said, “until I come”, He was intersecting the future. Thus, the practice of Holy Communion has past, present, and future implications. It speaks of what the Lord Jesus has done (by saving us), is doing among us (by knitting us together into a body of believers who experience supernatural unity in Christ with our fellow brothers and sisters, which requires “discerning” each time we partake, refer to 1Cor. 11:27) and will do when we all experience the fullness of our salvation in the eternal state which the Book of Revelation described as a glorious ‘supper’ together in Heaven. This is why it is extremely inappropriate for non-believers or non-covenantal-believers (those who believe in Christ and the Gospel, but have not sealed their covenantal relationship with Christ through the waters of believers’ baptism). This is why none of my children were permitted to partake in Holy Communion until they had entered into the covenantal waters of baptism. It’s also the reason we take Holy Communion out of our monthly Guest Service.

 ¶ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
First Corinthians 11:23-26

Water Baptism or Holy Communion does not save its participants from eternal damnation. But both of them typify aspects of the work of Christ with great precision. This is why neither should be trivialized or trifled with. Time prevents me from elaborating on the third of ordinances, Holy Matrimony, and discussing its rich typifying of what it means to follow Christ and become one with Him.  But if more believers did understand this, they might appreciate why the Enemy is so keen to undermine it in the eyes of the world.

Pastor Andrew Corbett

Living On The Edge Is Not Life In The Middle

THE EDGE

I'm not a danger man. I generally play (everything) safe. Of course, what I call "safe", Kim calls "boring". But 'safe' doesn't have to be boring - although I can understand why some prefer to live on the "edge" because it brings an element of excitement, a different perspective, and a surge of adrenaline. When it comes to spiritual things, I'm not sure the 'edge' is the place we are most effective...

Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few..

Maybe when it comes to outdoor adventure, going up to the edge is an expected part of the experience. But the gravitationally consequential cliff-top edges usually have fences near their edges for a good reason. Jesus gave an "edgey" picture in His Sermon on the Mount (the Beattitudes) when He said that the way to (eternal) life was narrow and hard. For me, it's not too hard to imagine a not-too-far-away scene of a high mountain trail bounded by a steep cliff where many an impetuous traverser had met an untimely end. Christ's words would have painted a very graphic depiction of what spiritual peril looked like.

The old King James Version translation of this verse uses the word "strait" for the modern word "narrow". For us Tasmanians, we are very familiar with what a strait is (as distinct from something that is "straight"). It carries the idea that there is a narrow way through bounded by barriers. Jesus said that eternal life was like this. As we walk with God the path is bounded by two great barriers: 1. Love for God, and 2. Love for others. Upon closer investigation we discover that both barriers bear both barrier markings. God has bounded the path of those who follow Him with these two great safety barricades. Step over either one and the follower of Christ is no longer loving God or people. Keep as close to the middle of the strait and you can only love God and others. So who would want to live on the edge of the strait knowing that the closer to the edge you get the further away from fellowship with God you get at the same time? But is it wrong to go up to the edge? I actually think this is perfectly the wrong question. The one who wants to love God, live for Him, walk closely with Him, does not ask how close to the edge they are allowed to get before it's "wrong".

1Thess. 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.

There are lots of things that are 'permissible' for a Christian that are also not beneficial or the best way to love God and others. Over-eating, alcohol consumption, gambling, or swearing, might be included in any such considerations.

1Cor. 10:23 ¶ "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up.

Avoiding such things might invite the charge of "Legalist" (which is an ironic charge if you think about it). Legalism is not merely avoiding certain things and neither is "freedom" partaking of such edgey things.

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Outcries may come. "Grace!" they cry, "Grace allows me to live on the edge of the path of Life. Your condemnation of my edgey lifestyle is mere legalism!" But "grace" is not permission to live however you want - rather, grace is the power to live as you should (1Cor. 15:10b).

The Master Christian Essayist, F.W. Boreham, writing in 1914 about "Escapes- Not Hairbreadth" (Mountains In The Mist), makes some observations about risky up-to-the-edge living. Boreham eloquently draws on other great writers and even the recent sinking of the Titanic to set up his pastoral comments about risky-up-to-the-edge living.

"Every minister knows that there are no questions more frequently presented to him that those relating to the questionable pastimes or amusements. 'Is there any harm in this?' 'May I play at such and such a game?' "Is it right to go to such and such a place?' 'Is it wrong to take part in this, or that, or the other?' It all arises from our insensate craving for hairbreadth escapes. Even children love to walk on the edge of the kerb, to creep near the brink of a precipice, and  to lean far out of a high window." [Page 240] 

F.W. Boreham goes on to draw an analogy between risky living and spiritual indifference toward God. The man who lives with careless indifference towards the commands and heart of God and then self-confidently assumes he can escape the consequences of such living may be in for an eternal surprise. "On a memorable occasion", continues Rev. Boreham, "the late General Booth was stepping from his carriage to enter a well-known public building. As he did so a drunken man staggered stupidly towards him, and in scarcely intelligible accents exclaimed, 'Say, General, what are ye going to do with the like o' me?' The crowd gathered quickly round to hear the General's answer. The General laid his hand on the drunkard's shoulder, and replied, 'My friend, we can't do much for you; but we're after your boy !' That is a piece of very sage philosophy which I commend to all parents and teachers." (page 242)

If you're on the edge, it's not too late to come back. If you've crossed over the edge and felt the peril of it, then God's grace can also bring you back. If you're pastor pleading with edgey people, call to your people from the middle of God's strait and narrow path, not near the edge.

Father, please help me to pastor by grace to bring Your people into the fullness of Your grace for their lives. Give me the pastoral wisdom to know how I am to live in the middle of the path of Life. Please Lord, empower me with Your grace to draw more people into the middle of  Your will - not merely the edge of it. And Lord I pray that this will result in Christ being seen in us and many coming to know Him.  Amen.

Eph. 3:21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ps. Andrew