No Squishy Love

In Timothy George's current First Things article, he reflects on the decision by the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Committee on Congregational Song to exclude from their new hymnal the modern hymn, "In Christ Alone," by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. 

In his 1934 book, The Kingdom of God in America, H. Richard Niebuhr depicted the creed of liberal Protestant theology, which was called “modernism” in those days, in these famous words: "A God without wrath brought man without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross." Niebuhr was no fundamentalist, but he knew what he was talking about. So did Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he named the kind of mainline religion he encountered in 1930s America: Protestantismus ohne Reformation, “Protestantism without the Reformation.” 

Sin, judgment, cross, even Christ have become problematic terms in much contemporary theological discourse, but nothing so irritates and confounds as the idea of divine wrath. Recently, the wrath of God became a point of controversy in the decision of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song to exclude from its new hymnal the much-loved song "In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend.  The Committee wanted to include this song because it is being sung in many churches, Presbyterian and otherwise, but they could not abide this line from the third stanza: "Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied." For this they wanted to substitute: "…as Jesus died/the love of God was magnified." The authors of the hymn insisted on the original wording, and the Committee voted nine to six that "In Christ Alone" would not be among the eight hundred or so items in their new hymnal. 

Read the rest of the article here.

But Grace Has Set Me Free

Let Worldly Minds the World Pursue
John Newton, 1725-1807

Let worldly minds the world pursue,
It has no charms for me;
Once I admired its trifles too,
But grace has set me free.

Its pleasures now no longer please,
No more content afford;
Far from my heart be joys like these;
Now I have seen the Lord.

As by the light of opening day
The stars are all concealed;
So earthly pleasures fade away,
When Jesus is revealed.

Creatures no more divide my choice,
I bid them all depart;
His name, and love, and gracious voice,
Have fixed my roving heart.

Now, Lord, I would be Thine alone,
And wholly live to Thee;
But may I hope that Thou wilt own
A worthless worm, like me?

Yes! though of sinners I’m the worst,
I cannot doubt Thy will;
For if Thou hadst not loved me first,
I Thee had hated still.

Tools of Truth

From the "Quodlibet" section of the July/August issue of Touchstone:

One of the most frustrating things about being a Christian is that we are not allowed to fight the devil with his own tools. We cannot lie and cheat when we're up against liars and cheaters. We're obliged to give the devil his due, and go about the slow and so often apparently fruitless task of undoing the destruction his vandals have done so quickly and easily: analyzing, explaining, and placing the truth against lies in appeals to ears that so often are deaf - ears we at first thought wanted the truth, but in the end do not. No shortcuts, quick fixes, or sleights of hand are allowed here, no rhetorical tricks or playing to the gallery. This work requires patience and is a trial of faith, but it has a great temporal reward in the enjoyment of a conscience clear of the accusation that we have become what we hate.

--S.M. Hutchens

"Love for a Bible Not Read: A Call for Biblical Literacy"

Al Mohler calls for the church to wake up to the danger of biblical illiteracy in this Southern Seminary Magazine article, "Love for a Bible Not Read: A Call for Biblical Literacy."  It's fairly brief, so I've posted the entire article below:

While America’s evangelical Christians are rightly concerned about the secular worldview’s rejection of biblical Christianity, we ought to give some urgent attention to a problem much closer to home: biblical illiteracy in the church. This scandalous problem is our own, and it’s up to us to fix it.

Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: “Americans revere the Bible — but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.” Researchers tell us that it is worse than most could imagine.

Fewer than half of all adults can name the four Gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from one research group, 60 percent of Americans can’t name even five of the Ten Commandments. Americans may demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in the courthouse, but they seem unable to remember what exactly they are.

According to 82 percent of Americans, “God helps those who help themselves,” is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better — by one percent. A majority of adults think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one’s family.

One poll indicates that at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. Another survey of graduating high school seniors reveals that more than 50 percent thought Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham. We are in big trouble.

How can a generation be biblically shaped in its understanding of human sexuality when it believes Sodom and Gomorrah to be a married couple? Many who identify themselves as Christians are similarly confused about the gospel itself. An individual who believes that “God helps those who help themselves” will find salvation by grace and justification by faith to be alien concepts.

Christians who lack biblical knowledge are the products of churches that marginalize biblical knowledge. Bible teaching now often accounts for only a diminishing fraction of the local congregation’s time and attention. The move to small group ministry has certainly increased opportunities for fellowship, but many of these groups never get beyond superficial Bible study.

This really is our problem, and recovery starts at home. Parents are to be the first and most important educators of their own children, teaching them the Word of God. Parents cannot franchise out their responsibility to the congregation, no matter how faithful it may be.

Churches must recover the centrality and urgency of biblical teaching and preaching.

We will not believe more than we know, and we will not live higher than our beliefs. The many fronts of Christian compromise in this generation can be directly traced to biblical illiteracy in the pews and the absence of biblical preaching and teaching in our homes and churches.

This generation must get deadly serious about the problem of biblical illiteracy, or a frighteningly large number of Americans — many church members included — will go on thinking that Sodom and Gomorrah lived happily ever after.

How God Answers Prayers for Grace and Faith

These Inward Trials
John Newton, 1725-1807

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and ev'ry grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

'Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He I trust has answered prayer,
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He'd answer my request,
And by His love's constraining pow'r
Subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart,
And let the angry pow'rs of hell
Assault my soul in ev'ry part.

Yea more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Humbled my heart and laid me low.

"Lord, why is this," I, trembling, cried;
"Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death?"
"'Tis in this way," the Lord replied,
"I answer prayer for grace and faith."

"These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free,
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou may'st find thy all in Me."

Packer Asks, "Have You Yourself, I Wonder, Read It Yet?"

J. I. Packer offers many of us a gentle rebuke:

For two centuries Pilgrim’s Progress was the best-read book, after the Bible, in all Christendom, but sadly it is not so today. 

When I ask my classes of young and youngish evangelicals, as I often do, who has read Pilgrim’s Progress, not a quarter of the hands go up. 

Yet our rapport with fantasy writing, plus our lack of grip on the searching, humbling, edifying truths about spiritual life that the Puritans understood so well, surely mean that the time is ripe for us to dust off Pilgrim’s Progress and start reading it again. 

Certainly, it would be great gain for modern Christians if Bunyan’s masterpiece came back into its own in our day. 

Have you yourself, I wonder, read it yet?

Personally, I like the updated version of Pilgrim's Progress from Crossway, edited by C.J. Lovik.

HT: JT

Not Guilty. Now What?

Trillia Newbell's basic reaction to the verdict from the Zimmerman trial: we mourn and we pray.  We mourn with the Martin family over the loss of their son,  and we pray for Zimmerman, whose life will never be the same.

The verdict is in. George Zimmerman has been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The reactions have been strong and may only become more intense and polarizing as analysis of the case continues to roll in. Some believed justice has been done; others that injustice has been committed.

Regardless of the reaction, this remains certain: Trayvon Martin is dead, a mom and dad will never see their son again, and Zimmerman's life will never be the same.

Read her entire article here.

The Gettys on NPR

Some of you may have heard the interview with Keith and Kristyn Getty on NPR's "All Things Considered" a few days ago.  If not, you can listen to it or read it at the NPR website.  Here's a brief snippet: 

"Our goal is to write songs that teach the faith, where the congregation is the main thing, and everybody accompanies that," he says.

There's no definition for what's a hymn and not a praise song. But Keith Getty says it should be singable without a band and easy for anyone sitting in the pews to pick up. And it should say something bold. 

For the whole interview, click here.

Hymn Stories: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Tim Challies has a great series of posts on hymn stories, and the most recent one is on Luther's A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.  

It was … the Marseillaise of the Reformation. It was sung at Augsburg during the Diet, and in all the churches of Saxony, often against the protest of the priest. It was sung in the streets; and, so heard, comforted the hearts of Melanchthon, Jonas, and Cruciger, as they entered Weimar, when banished from Wittenberg in 1547. It was sung by poor Protestant emigrants on their way into exile, and by martyrs at their death. It is woven into the web of the history of Reformation times, and it became the true national hymn of Protestant Germany. (Louis Benson)

If you scroll down to the bottom of Challie's post, you will see links to the other hymn stories he has provided as well. 

Salvation to the Lamb

Whatever Prompts the Soul to Pride
Joseph Hart, 1712-1768

Whatever prompts the soul to pride,
Or gives us room to boast,
Except in Jesus crucified,
Is not the Holy Ghost.

That blessed Spirit omits to speak
Of what himself has done,
And bids the enlightened sinner seek
Salvation in the Son.

He never moves a man to say,
"Thank God, I'm made so good,"
But turns his eye another way,
To Jesus and His blood.

Great are the graces He confers,
But all in Jesus' name;
He gladly dictates, gladly hears,
"Salvation to the Lamb."

"Engage the South" One Day Conference

Engage the South is a one day conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, September 24. Sponsored by Acts 29 Network in partnership with Beeson Divinity School and The Gospel Coalition, Engage the South is a gathering of church leaders, those considering church leadership, and anyone who has a desire to be a part of church planting in the South, or the world. It will have a cultural framework for church planting in the South, but clearly God’s call is for the gospel to go local and global. Whether you have been in church leadership for many years or a young leader praying and thinking about church planting, this one day wave of truth, experience, and wisdom from godly, proven leaders will be an effective time for you and your team.

Speakers include Ray Ortlund, Bryan Loritts, Kevin Smith, Matt Chandler, and David Platt. 

To see the topics, schedule, and to register, click here. 

Wendell Berry and the Beauty of Membership

Frequent readers of this blog will not be surprised that I was very encouraged by the recent article at The Gospel Coalition site by Matt McCullough regarding Wendell Berry and the Beauty of Membership.  The article focuses primarily on my favorite Berry novel, Jayber Crow, drawing parallels from membership in the Port William community to membership in the church. 

...Berry's stories bring to life truths at the heart of the community we're aiming for when we emphasize church membership. A thriving, covenant-shaped local church requires precisely the sort of self-abnegation Berry celebrates and is opposed by the same self-exaltation he portrays in all its ugliness.

Too often we try on new churches like we try on new clothes and for much the same reason. We're looking for style and fit, for what meets our needs and makes the appropriate statement about who we are. We put our churches in service of our desire to be somebody, and our commitment doesn't outlast the better options of Elsewhere. But this posture—beside its offense to the cross—leads to self-absorption, restlessness, and isolation.

Read the entire article here.