01.30.08
Posted in Bruce at 1:25 am by ebenezer
Femina (Nancy Wilson) wrote on 1-21-08 concerning her Bible reading schedule. Like her I too attempt to read at a regular schedule. A friend of mine (more like my spiritual father/mentor) encouraged me to read from both the OT & the NT daily. He was reading about 2 chapters each day from each testament. This sounded like a good idea and thought that I could incorportate it easily. However, over time I have found my self reading closer to 3 chapters daily from both the OT & NT. What this format does is allows me to read the OT about once a year and the NT over the same time period at three times a year. I start at Genesis and Matthew and read through each book respectfully thereafter. I have also taken up the challenge by Dr. David Jeremiah to read the Book of Proverbs each month. I look forward to this task. Happy reading!
Bruce
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01.25.08
Posted in Bruce at 12:02 pm by ebenezer
1. By conscience - man knows the difference between right/wrong
2. By religiousity - man needs to worship something greater than himself
3. By creation - just look and one knows that someone made all of this
4. By man’s soul - how wonderful the human body | man knows very well
5. By His Son - in these last days God has spoken to us by His Son
Are we listening? | Bruce
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01.23.08
Posted in Other Noteworthies at 11:17 am by ebenezer
A Legacy of Conviction and Courage
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 4:04 am ET
Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr. | www.AlbertMohler.com
The year was 1980 and the controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention was in full force. Adrian Rogers, pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis has been elected SBC President just the previous June — setting the stage for what became known as the Conservative Resurgence in the denomination.
The issue of biblical inerrancy was front and center. Harold Lindsell, former editor of Christianity Today, had diagnosed the crisis of biblical authority in his 1976 book, The Battle for the Bible. Lindsell had identified theological liberalism within the Southern Baptist Convention (and among others as well) and a great number of Southern Baptists were sufficiently concerned to sound the alarm and mount a movement to elect conservative leaders who would return the denomination and its institutions to an affirmation of biblical inerrancy.
Conservatives had committed leadership in men such as Paige Patterson, then President of the Criswell Center for Biblical Studies in Dallas, and Judge Paul Pressler of Houston. The movement had a powerful theological voice in Paige Patterson, an organizational expert in Paul Pressler, a statesman preacher in Adrian Rogers, and a host of concerned pastors and laypersons. What is lacked was a corps of supportive seminary professors and a book that would set the record straight.
Both were badly needed. The argument against biblical inerrancy was dominant in the Southern Baptist establishment, and revisionist historians had pushed the idea that inerrancy was an essentially modern argument. This theory had been popularized in a book that was an assigned text in many seminary classrooms — The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible: An Historical Approach, by Jack B. Rogers and Donald K. McKim, published in 1979. Later, Russell Dilday, President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, would make virtually the same argument in his 1982 SBC doctrine study, The Doctrine of Biblical Authority.
Southern Baptists had lacked a book that would document the fact that biblical inerrancy was not a new idea at all, but the explicit affirmation of faithful Baptists throughout the Baptist experience. That book appeared in 1980 as Baptists and the Bible by L. Russ Bush and Tom L. Nettles — both young professors at Southwestern Seminary. Bush, a philosopher and apologist, and Nettles, a historian, documented their case and set the record straight. Their book was timely, urgent, controversial, and filled with ample documentation. It changed history — quite literally.
As Bush and Nettles argued:
This particular doctrine, the inspiration of Scripture, deserves special historical attention because of its inherent importance. Moreover, present-day Baptists have inherited the churches, associations, societies, agencies, and boards that were founded by men who held a particular, definitive view of history. Present-day Baptists, if only for the sake of tradition and historical identity, are under obligation to understand the view of Scripture that bolstered the founding of their vigorous and active institutional life. What did the Baptist forefathers mean by “the sole authority of Scripture?” Once that is determined, extreme caution should characterize any movement away from the position that has produced the basic and successful institutions of Baptist life.
Yet, Bush and Nettles offered far more than an argument from history, necessary as that argument is. They pointed to the biblical, theological, and epistemological foundations of biblical authority and biblical inerrancy.
While Baptists and the Bible set the historical record straight, the controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention continued for well over a decade. The Conservative Resurgence in the SBC eventually led to a transformation of the denomination and its institutions. We can now see that Baptists and the Bible was a critical part of the movement that led to that transformation.
Bush and Nettles were courageous and deeply committed. They set themselves against a bad argument that was nonetheless ensconced within the academy as conventional wisdom. They brought controversy upon themselves and risked their academic careers. Neither could imagine back then where their careers might end. Both risked a premature end to promising ministries of scholarship and teaching.
But Baptists and the Bible was not the end. Nettles now serves as Professor of Historical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is widely known through his writings and teaching. He continues the work of historical research and writing that was demonstrated in Baptists and the Bible. Russ Bush went on to serve as Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Later, he would serve as Academic Vice President and as Director of the seminary’s Center for Faith and Culture.
Bush went to Southeastern Seminary when that school was in the early stages of a complete institutional transition. The Conservative Resurgence had reached Southeastern. Russ Bush served with distinction and courage. He continued his teaching and research and served with honor under three Southeastern presidents, Lewis Drummond, Paige Patterson, and Danny Akin.
Two years ago, Russ Bush was diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer. He fought bravely and provided for all a demonstration of how a Christian should face both disease and death. His faith in his Lord Jesus Christ was evident, even as his humility never faltered. He kept a brave face and refused to resign himself to a disease. He showed up at denominational meetings where healthy persons complained about boredom. He never complained.
He was seldom seen without his constant companion, Cynthia — his wife of almost 40 years. He was also seldom seen without a smile, as Cynthia cheered him and squeezed his arm.
Defining himself as a Baptist theologian, Bush had argued for a recovery of Baptist identity:
Who are the Baptists? We are a Bible-believing people who teach the New Birth, the priesthood of every believer, religious freedom, the gathered church, the sovereignty of God, salvation by Grace through Faith, the permanence of salvation, and the historicity and factual inerrancy of Holy Scripture. We baptize by immersion to symbolize the literal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. We share the Lord’s Supper in order to remind ourselves of His flesh and blood offered as a sacrifice for our sin; and we do all of this by Faith as we await His soon return. Who are the Baptists? They are God’s faithful band of saints who seek above all to present Christ to the world.
Russ Bush finished his race on January 22, 2008. His death leaves Southern Baptists without his keen mind and his singular influence. He died as he lived — as a faithful disciple, minister, and apologist of the Christian Gospel.
In 2006, President Danny Akin announced the establishment of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture. Russ Bush retired from his administrative responsibilities and assumed responsibility for the center. He kept reading, teaching, and writing.
Just a few months before his death, he published an essay on the challenge of New Age beliefs. “Things simply are not what or how they used to be,” he explained. “World population is exploding. Technology is changing our lives before our very eyes. In a fifteen-year time span the Internet literally changed the way we do business, entertainment, shopping, and socializing. What will be next? Even youth (under twenty) hardly recognize the world in which we live today compared to the world in which they lived as a child.”
His confidence? “In Christ all the wisdom of God dwells bodily. In Him alone we find the way, the truth, and the life.”
We will all miss Russ Bush, but his legacy continues in those he taught and in all those he influenced through his life and writings, including Baptists and the Bible. That legacy demands our attention — and summons equal conviction and courage.
___________________
Southeastern Seminary posted the following information:
Tuesday evening, January 22, 2008, Dr. L. Russ Bush, SEBTS’ Academic Vice President and Dean of the Faculty Emeritus, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Dr. Bush was loved by us all at SEBTS, and by many others. God used him in a mighty way during his years of service to the Kingdom. We will be forever indebted to him. Please keep his wife and children in your prayers.
We rejoice that now he sees his Savior face to face, and we cherish the time that we had to serve along side of him.
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01.22.08
Posted in Other Noteworthies at 1:42 pm by ebenezer
Eric Alenander
The excerpt is taken from Eric Alexander’s 1981 address to the Urbana Missions Conference.
TRUE WORSHIP AND TRUE MISSION: FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
Worship and mission are so bound together in the economy of God that you really cannot have one without the other. The reason for this is that true worship is rendering to God the glory which is due his holy name. And this is the great end and purpose for which all things exist. God created the world as a theater in which to display his glory. He created man and woman in order that they might reflect the image of his glory. He sent Jesus in order that the glory of God might be seen in the face of Jesus Christ. He redeemed sinners in order that they may be changed into the image of his glory. There is nothing beyond this for us: it is the terminus of everything in the universe. And that is why worship is the highest employment of our faculties: it focuses on the glory of God.
But when we come to know God, we discover that he is jealous for his glory. He will not give it to another, nor his praise to graven images. He desires his glory to be declared among the heathen (Psalm 96:3). Do you see the logical corollary which must be drawn from these premises? No Christian man or woman worshiping God and desiring his glory can be unmoved by the fact that there are areas of the world and nations where God is being robbed of his glory. That is why true worship and true mission always go together, and it is why the glory of God is the only ultimate missionary motive. There are, of course, others: compassion for the lost, obedience to the Great Commission and so on. But these are not the ultimate motive. The ultimate motive is the glory of God.
—– [Eric Alexander, from a message at the Urbana Missions Conference, 1981 (www.urbana.org/_articles.cfm?RecordId=510). Rev. Alexander was born in Glasgow, Scotland, where he was educated at the University of Glasgow, obtaining degrees in Theology, Philosophy, and History. He served for fifteen years as minister of a rural Church of Scotland parish in Ayrshire, and for twenty years as Senior Minister of St. Georges Parish Church in the center of Glasgow. He retired from St. Georges at the end of 1998. Since then, Rev. Alexander has had a wide ministry both in Europe and in the United States, teaching at a number of seminaries including Regent College, The Masters Seminary, Beeson Divinity School, and Westminster Theological Seminary. In addition, he has spoken at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformation Theology over the past twenty years. (wqotw-bounces@wqotw.org on behalf of Carl Stam (carlstam@aol.com)] —–
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01.17.08
Posted in Other Noteworthies at 10:50 am by ebenezer
Allen Raynor
Biblical Preaching Falling on Hard Times (Jan. 16, 2008)
araynorweblog@fbcbroomfield.org
For a period of about 3 years I worked as a shoe salesman
while serving bi-vocationally as a youth pastor and then in my first
pastorate. The store I worked at sold mainly work boots and work
shoes. Red Wing was the majority of our business with a few other
brands entering into the mix as well. Red Wing, headquartered in Red
Wing, Minnesota, has abided by one basic philosophy for nearly one
hundred years, that philosophy is to place quality above all else.
One pays more for their products but they stand behind what they sell.
When someone buys a pair of Red Wings they know they are getting a
quality product and if there is a problem the 1-800 number is stamped
all over the box. They have never claimed to be a discount shoe, nor
have they claimed to be the most comfortable shoe. They basically
have always relied on a belief that customers satisfied with the
quality and long-lasting durability of their product would come back
time and again.
Many of the shoes and boots they sold when I worked for
them had not changed, or changed very little, for years, even decades.
The 9335 and the 101 were black work shoes with full leather uppers
with urethane soles and had been in their line for many, many years.
The 9335, in the early 1990s, became the first casualty of a changing
marketplace. The 101 followed, being dropped from the line in the
late 1990s. Often customers would come into the store and inquire
about one of these shoes claiming they had worn that shoe for many
years. Often, it seemed, I was delivering the sad news that Red Wing
had discontinued the shoe to their disappointment. Often I would hear
how much they loved the shoe and how well that style had served them.
Red Wing, like any other business, is in business to make
money! If something becomes non-profitable they drop it, in spite of
the few loyal customers who have faithfully continued to support it
with their hard earned dollars.
When I think of Biblical preaching today I see a lot of
parallels with what happened to the 9335 and the 101. As a pastor, I
have had people time and time again tell me just how much they
appreciated the fact that I remained true and faithful to the word of
God in preaching only to shortly thereafter leave the church, going,
in many cases, to churches which were not true and faithful to the
Word of God. Many people, for whatever reason, tell me the Word of
God is the single most important thing of all, however they leave and
go to less Biblical, less grounded, program oriented churches.
What I often wanted to tell people at the Red Wing shoe
store is that if you would buy the product and get your friends to buy
the product Red Wing would gladly keep making the product! Today any
church remaining faithful to the Word of God is struggling and may
even cease to exist in the not too distant future. If and when that
does happen the biggest lamenters will likely be those who once left
the Bible preaching church in favor of one who had a better _______.
The New Testament is clear where pastors are concerned. We
are called to preach the word! If we have done everything else under
the sun with painstaking effort and precision yet neglected to preach
the word, then we have failed miserably. There will come a day when
pastors of some mega-churches are going to stand before God ashamed
with nothing but regret while some who pastored tiny little country
churches with 25 people are going to hear their Savior say ?Well done.?
Unfortunately, we live in a day and age where people change
churches for any one of a number of reasons. Equally unfortunate is
that they often do not choose a church for the right reason in the
first place. The criteria are superficial at best, but they are often
ashamed to admit to the real reason(s) they come or go. God, most
truly, knows what is in the heart. At the very core the question is
this: ?is it my greatest desire to serve or is it my greatest desire
to be served?? How you answer that question will determine where you
go to church. It also will, in the bigger and grander scheme of
things, determine the future of Biblical preaching. Biblical
preaching is fast going the way of the two old tired Red Wing styles
because, even though we lament its demise, we are still not buying it.
Ringling Brothers Circus bills itself as the greatest show on earth.
Never once have I heard them claim to be Biblical!
In Christ,
Pastor Allen Raynor
First Baptist Church, Broomfield, CO
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01.12.08
Posted in Other Noteworthies at 1:52 pm by ebenezer
John Calvin
1. The first rule of prayer is reverence | “be disposed in mind and heart as befits those who enter conversation with God.”
2. The second rule requires that we desire the things we seek from God | “A fault that seems less serious but is also not tolerable is that of others who, having been imbued with this one principle - that God must be appeased by devotions - mumble prayers without meditation. Now the godly must particularly beware of presenting themselves before God to request anything unless they yearn for it with sincere affection of heart, and at the same time desire to obtain it from him.”
3. The third rule warns us not to trust in our own resources to meet our needs, but to trust only in God | “anyone who stands before God to pray, in his humility giving glory completely to God, abandon all thought of his own glory, cast off all notion of his own worth, in fine, put away all self-assurance - lest if we claim for ourselves anything, even the least bit, we should become vainly puffed up, and perish at his presence.”
4. The fourth rule requires to believe that God does answer prayer | “[be] encouraged to pray by a sure hope that our prayer will be answered … [have] a firm assurance of God’s favor.”
—– [The Founders Journal, Issue 69, (Stephen Matteucci, A Strong Tower For Weary People: Calvin’s Teaching On Prayer), Summer 2007, p. 21-22 (adapted)] —–
Philippians 4:6-7
[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Bruce
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01.09.08
Posted in Quotes - Some Famous | Some Not So Famous at 3:24 pm by ebenezer
Matthew 7:12 | … whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them …
John MacArthur
The golden rule instructs us as to how we are to love other people … How we treat others is not to be determined by how we expect them to treat us or by how we think they should treat us, but by how we want them to treat us. Herein is the heart of the principle, an aspect of the general truth that is not found in similar expressions in other religions and philosophies.
—– [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-7, Chicago: Moody Press, 1985, p. 446] —–
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12.31.07
Posted in Bruce at 12:12 pm by ebenezer
Left for Louisiana Wednesday AM - Cold & Frosted windshield. Arrived PM - raining & cool. Thursday mild | Friday nice (70’s). Left Louisiana late Saturday AM - mild & sun shinning. Arrived that evening in Atlanta - cool & raining. Sunday morning - cool & pouring down rain. Church was dry - unfortunately Dr. Stanley was out of town. Left Atlanta - still cool & pouring rain. Finally in Tennessee rain stopped. Arrived Salem PM - cold & frost settling in on the windshields. Woke up this AM - cold & frosted windshield | full circle. All in all it was a great trip. God was gracious in all of our travels. Tomorrow is a new day and a new year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Bruce
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12.25.07
Posted in Bruce at 12:20 pm by ebenezer
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
HAPPY 2008!
Bruce & Cindy
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12.22.07
Posted in Bruce at 3:22 pm by ebenezer
What do you base your faith and practice upon? Is it upon men’s traditions or upon God’s infallible and inerrant absolute truth. In this post-modern world we live in we too often agree with them (just to avoid conflict): “you believe what you want and I will believe what I want” - w/o any regard for the truth. Do not allow yourself to do that. Examine what you believe and judge it in accordance to God’s Scripture. We are told in 2 Timothy 2:15 - Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. I would encourage you to do that daily not to prove your position but to see what the word actually says and then making application in your life accordingly. Engage in the Truth War - the battle is raging!
Bruce
John MacArthur writes:
The Truth War is, after all, war. Warfare is always serious … and therefore it requires of us the utmost diligence.
What we desperately need today are “shepherds according to [God’s] heart, who will feed [believers] with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15; Acts 20:28-31). But it is every believer’s solemn duty to resist every attack on the truth, to abhor the very thought of falsehood, and not to compromise in any with the enemy, who is above all a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
—– [The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007, p. xviii (adapted)] —–
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