Tuesday Miscellanies - 1/15/2008

Locally, I have added two resource pages – links on the KJV Only Controversy and Advice for Bloggers and Blog Readers.

Some other things of note around the web and blogworld:

Thad Noyes has some good advice for you if you are "Already Behind in Your Bible Reading" for this year.

Dustin Benge pleads with pastors to mentor.

Phil Johnson has some thoughts on preaching from 1 Corinthians 1:21-22.

David Prince preached a challenging message in chapel at Southern Seminary on November 15, 2007, entitled, “When the Glory of God Becomes and Idol: Ministry in the Kingdom of Christ” (.mp3 format) and argues that those truly committed to the glory of God will do more than just talk about it with their buddies – they will talk to the kind of people Jesus talked to and be fervent in evangelism. Highly recommended listening!

Thabiti Anyabwile posts a list for reading on evangelism in 2008.

Tom Ascol supplies an excellent quote from John Newton on “zeal blended with benevolence and humility.”

Kevin Bauder is writing a series on “Fundamentalism and Scholarship.” Read: Part 1 - Part 2

Jason Button helpfully interacts with John Piper’s chapter, “Brothers, Bitzer Was a Banker,” (click here for the chapter from the book and here for the original article it was based on) from Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. This resource calls us to be diligent students of the Scriptures, encouraging original language study.

Tim Challies has started a series on the inerrancy of the Bible (see here, here, and here).

Phil Johnson and Dr. Bob McCabe (here, here, and here) have been posting on total depravity.

John MacArthur reminds us that spreading the gospel, not politics, should be our primary concern.

Allen Mickle issues a call for more scholarship in the realm of Baptist history and gives a good example.

Dr. Albert Mohler talks about a change of pronouns in speaking of abortion

Said at Southern has posted an audio message of Martin Luther King speaking at Southern Seminary in 1961.

Owen Strachan shares some reflections on his last day working in the office of Dr. Albert Mohler.

Books

Albert Mohler has a new feature on his blog – “The Reading List” – and one of his earliest posts is a brief but worthwhile review of Mark Dever’s The Gospel and Personal Evangelism.

Trevin Wax gives a brief review of an excellent resource, J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Although close to a century old, it is still quite relevant. In it he shows that liberalism and Christianity are two completely different things. This book would be especially helpful for those in nominally Christian colleges and seminaries to read.

Douglas Brown gives a helpful review of Bruce Waltke’s commentary on Genesis.

Is the recently published Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (edited by Carson/Beale) worth getting? (I certainly hope so, as I just ordered it the other day!) Here are some opinions:

• Paleoevangelical
• TheoSource

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Tomorrow, look for the conclusion of Dr. Jim Hamilton's article on "Spiritual Formation and the New Media: Making Good Use of the Mammon of Unrighteousness" (Part 1 and Part 2). Have a great day!

Tuesday Miscellanies - 1/8/2008

My plan this year is to post miscellaneous links and/or resource pages on Tuesdays. Today I have posted two resource pages in addition to the list of miscellaneous links below. The resource pages are on Pro-Life links and Bible overview sermons (highlighting Mark Dever's 69 sermons, covering the whole Bible, the OT, the NT, and each individual book of the 66).

I have recently found the following links to be helpfully thought-provoking and/or spiritually edifying.

Ryan Townsend highlights a resource from Don Whitney to "Consider Your Ways."

Pastor Mike Belcher issues a call for self-examination in his post, "Fig Tree Religion" and suggests starting out the year meditating on Jonathan Edwards' resolutions (Part 1; Part 2).

Jason Button reviews the ESV Literary Study Bible (posted at SharperIron and TheoSource). In addition, he has some links for profitable reading in 2008 and gives biographical posts about Machen and Zwingli.

Timmy Brister has issued the "Join the 2008 Puritan Reading Challenge"

In "Whose Outline?", Mike Osborne provokes preachers to think about how to derive their sermon outlines - and suggests the Scriptures themselves as the best source!

I'm not presently a Southern Baptist, but I found this Statement from Highview Baptist Church intriguing. It gives one Southern Baptist Church's reasons for giving directly to the SBC instead of going through their state convention. Why? To be a better steward by making sure more of their money goes to missions. If they were to funnel it through the state convention, about 64% would not get to their goal.

"Help! Cinematic Counter-Evangelism" by Bob Bixby exposes the folly of Christians placing their hope in Hollywood.

On endorsing political candidates: Nate Busenitz, Bob Bixby, and Ben Wright (here, here, and here) don't think it's a proper activity for a minister of the gospel (I have to agree).

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Tomorrow: Part 2 of 3 by Dr. Jim Hamilton on "Spiritual Formation and the New Media"

The Pragmatism of Party Politics

Lately, there has been a bit of hullabaloo about the endorsement of presidential candidates by major Christian leaders. Related to this is a meeting of Mitt Romney with various faculty, staff, and alumni of Bob Jones University . My point here is not to criticize one particular decision but to think out loud about the mindset that we're locked into a two-party system where we seemingly always have to choose between the lesser of two evils. It seems to me that this is symptomatic of an overly pragmatic mindset.

Pragmatism is nothing new. From Machiavelli to much of the modern church growth movement, people have defended questionable choices by "the end justifies the means" or "never criticize what God is blessing." Of course, doing what works is not bad in and of itself. The problem is when we do "what works" to accomplish our goals in a way that violates biblical principles. To adapt one illustration I've heard, of course it's right to feed your family, but if you kill a man to rob him of his money so you can go buy food, you've obviously crossed a line.

Certainly, when we survey the landscape of the candidates, there is not much that appeals to those of us who are Christians. For many, a worst case scenario would be if we were left with Rudy and Hillary as the final candidates for the two major parties. If this happens, will many of the Christians who have assumed or defended voting either Republican or Democrat still do so? Will they still cast a vote for someone who supports abortion just because that candidate is considered the lesser of two evils?

Pragmatism may often utilize questionable methods to obtain a good goal. But I must wonder if many of us have the right goal. For many, the goal is to "beat Hillary" [unspoken implication, at least for some: at any cost]. But, why not vote with principle for a good reason? Why should we even consider compromise on a basic issue like abortion? Why not see the goal of our voting not as to beat Hillary but to honor the Lord? I have not done enough research to tentatively know who I will likely vote for in 2008. But one way I have tried to vote with principle is by voting for a third party in the last two presidential elections. I was not sufficiently satisfied with certain stands taken by the candidate many Christians voted for, but I was satisfied with the platform advanced by the Constitution Party (their website details some serious concerns about this upcoming election's major candidates). Did I think this would result in a win for them? No. Did I realize this might increase Al Gore's chances? Yes. But I could not cast my vote on those considerations alone. I had to ask myself if I could go to sleep with a clear conscience, believing I had pleased God with my vote. I had to be willing to lose to make the decision I thought would best honor Christ, who God has set up as the true King of all (Psalm 2:6).

While many of us have no desire to see Hillary in office, we must remember, that even if this happens, Christ still reigns. I do not pretend to have all these things figured out in how everyone should cast their vote. But, I think this much is clear: in our thinking about who holds the executive office of this country, let us submit in all things to the One God has set up as Lawgiver, Judge, and King. And that submission may mean forsaking pragmatism and being willing to lose an election in 2008 for the sake of acting as citizens of a heavenly kingdom.

HT: Ben Wright