As you can tell from my blog, I’m of the opinion that Christians undervalue the importance of celebration, feasting and holidays – not the least of which is Christian holidays (formerly thought of as holy-days). Along with the proper concern and criticism of “commercialism,” Christians need to embrace the good that in Christian Christmas celebrations, including the purchasing and giving of gifts.

Stev Wilkins has written a delightful piece on Christmas giving that I am pleased to pass on: Shopping and the true meaning of Christmas

Doug Wilson posted his recent sermon on the subject of the Theology of Christmas Gifts, and I have included the video and the text (for those that do not have the time or patience to watch or listen to it, although there is more material in the actual sermon).

Doug Wilson’s INTRODUCTION:
One of the most obvious features of our Christmas celebrations is the gift-giving. How are we to understand this as Christians? What are the pitfalls? Are all the pitfalls obvious? Because our lives are to be lives of grace, and because charis means grace or gift, this is something we have to understand throughout the course of our lives, and not just at Christmas. But it has to be said that the machinery of our consumer racket does throw the question into high relief for us at this time of year.

THE TEXT:
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Mt 2:11).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT:
The first Christmas gifts were given by the magi to the young child Jesus. This happened sometime within the Lord’s first two years of life. Because three kinds of treasures are mentioned—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—it is often inferred that there were three wise men. There may have been, but we don’t know. What we do know is that the gifts were very costly. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Christmas, Doug Wilson, Gifts

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 12 (Oct 23): The Kingdom of God, The Church and the World/Society

 The Church ought to be understood in terms of its many different biblical descriptions. She is the Bride of Christ, His body in the world and for the world. It is the assembly of the saints from all ages; the “called out” (ekklesia) ones. It is the new thing that began at Pentecost, but is as old as the world, corresponding to God’s covenant people throughout history. It is the true worshipping community; it is known historically and will be fully manifested on the last day. The church is the chosen people of God; and it is an institution with an orderly life. The church is a family, and is made up of families.

What does the Bible mean when it talks about the Kingdom?

The Kingdom

God has always been King over the world, and most especially His people (Ps. 10:16; 22:27-31; Dan. 2:44; Heb. 1:8-13). God always intended His rule to be, at least in part, administered by men. Adam was commanded to rule and have dominion over all the creation. Not even sin changed this. Men would take dominion, either in obedience or disobedience to God. The kingdom in Israel (1 Sam. was an early manifestation of how God would rule through His people, and promised the Davidic Messianic King to sit on the throne forever.

²⁷All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. ²⁸For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations. ²⁹All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. ³⁰A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, ³¹They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this. Psalm 22:27–31 (NKJV)

⁴⁴And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 2:44 (NKJV)

⁸But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. ⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” ¹⁰And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. ¹¹They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; ¹²Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” ¹³But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Hebrews 1:8–13 (NKJV)

With the coming of Jesus, there was something new that was good news that need to be proclaimed. John & Jesus both said the Kingdom was “at hand” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17, 23). Our prayer is that God’s Kingdom would come, and His will would be done “on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), and the disciples were sent to preach the coming of the Kingdom (Matt. 10:7). The miracles of Jesus (and the disciples) were evidence that the kingdom was coming. The new thing is that God will rule through the man Jesus – forever.

Kingdom of God…Christ…heaven – the same thing.

In what sense was it coming?

²⁰Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; ²¹nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20–21 (NKJV

³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:36–37 (NKJV)

 When did it come? (Matt 16:28; Mk. 9:1; Lk. 21:10, 31 – His Ascension & 70 AD)

 ¹⁰Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  ³¹So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Luke 21:10, 31 (NKJV)

The Kingdom can be defined as: “The new world order that Christ established in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension; a new order of things that will be fully revealed and established on at Christ’s return.” (Peter Leithart, The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church)

Jesus is King and rules from His throne at the right hand of the Father (Eph. 1:19-23; 2:6; Rev. 11:15); it is a real throne and it is actual (not just future) rule – now. He is not being thwarted in His rule; He cannot be defeated; and His will is being realized in time and history. The Kingdom is an existing reality, since the coming of Christ. Revelation 11:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Are the Church and the Kingdom the same thing? No. We pray and work to see the Kingdom come and God’s will done throughout the world, not just in the church.

The Church is the first form of the Kingdom of God. She forms the pattern for all other manifestations of the Kingdom: The word (law), government, and sacraments (defining who is in, and ongoing peaceful relationships). These are what the world needs. It is a pattern, example and leader for the rest of the Kingdom’s manifestations.

Kingdom manifested progressively through history (It is a present reality, but not fully manifest until the second coming of Christ: “Already and not yet” character of the Kingdom)

Conflict, holy war with the kingdoms of this world. How does the kingdom progress? What is the conflict?

Is everything conflict between us and the world? No. Often we are beneficiaries of contributions made by unbelievers to our wellbeing. We can cooperate together for the common good of all.

Interactions between the world/society and the Church – Common Grace (what it is and isn’t).

Tags: bible study, Church, Kingdom, society, Sunday School

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 10 (Oct 9): Christian Baptism – Why It Matters

The Sunday School Class was recorded and can be heard here: Christian Baptism – Why It Matters

What is Baptism? Why do we baptize?

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Tags: Baptism, Bible Classes, Covenant, Infant Baptism, Paedo-baptism, Paedofaith, RCC, Reformation Covenant Church, Sunday School, The Westminster Confession of Faith

The Church: People or Building?

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 9 (Oct 2): The Church – Why It Matters

 The Sunday School Class was recorded and can be heard here: The Church – Why It Matters

What is the “Church”? Building? People?

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Tags: Bible Classes, Church, Ecclesiology, RCC, Sunday School

Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 8 (Sept 25): The Sovereignty of God & Responsibility of Man – Why It Matters

The Sunday School Class was recorded and can be heard here: The Sovereignty of God & Responsibility of Man

For most Christians today – the very idea that God is sovereign in anything (salvation, or in the world generally) is not something that would get a “Like”  for – more probably a “Dislike.” Do you agree? Why do you think that is? I bring up the question of “liking” the sovereignty of God because I’ve had many people tell me that they don’t – and they don’t want to believe in that kind of God. It is quite understandable that people have struggled with this for 1000’s of years – and it is good for us to feel the weight of it.

Let take a few minutes to reason together from the scriptures.

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Tags: Bible Classes, Free Will, Reformation Covenant Church, Salvation, Sovereignty of God, Sunday School