Disclaimer: In posting these thoughts, questions, and ramblings I feel it wise to give a disclaimer. There are many people that are far more knowledgeable and gifted in expositing the Word of God than I. These thoughts are not intended to be in-depth analysis of the text. They are thoughts. They are questions. They are ramblings. It will be a display of what God is teaching me through His Word. In depth study will be done at a different time. It is also good to know the author's goal. 1) To be accountable in reading through Scripture. 2) To share these thoughts with others. Possibly for someone else's edification; possibly for my own. 3) To glorify God through His Word. 4) To spur one another on in taking up Scripture and reading! So without further ado, here are today's readings:

Genesis 12:

"Go to a land I will show you". How often is it that God calls us to do things with only a few details. Truly, the only detail that we should need is this: "Follow me".

Is this the first time that Abram has "called upon the name of the Lord"?

What would Abram's calling Sarai his sister entail? Would they take her captive? Would they seduce her? Is her being "taken into Pharaoh's house" a not so subtle way of saying that he "made her his"? It seems that since he "took her for [his] wife" that this is exactly what happened. This is horrible that Abram out of fear would let his own wife be given to Pharaoh. Meanwhile he gets all of these gifts. Horrible. I am sure that the culture was much different then, but still. So, this makes me wonder...have I ever dealt in such a horrible way to my wife? Have I ever been so selfish or afraid of man that I honored them or my own security over her? Never to this extent, but I am sure I have. Lord, forgive me of this and make my heart more faithful to my wife.

Genesis 13:

Now that we are told of Abram's great wealth it helps us to see even more the depth of his "sacrifice" in leaving his country.

This "town isn't big enough for both of us"...literally in the case of Abram and Lot.

I am sure there is some significance (dare I say allegorical) in the separation of Lot and Abram.

Verse 14-15. I'm really glad that God doesn't give such a promise to me when I have my contacts out or glasses off; I would be trapped in a small space. I know it is only metaphor but it is amazing how many people in Abram's offspring are being promised. Certainly this is not only the Jewish people. Certainly this is speaking of those who will be in Jesus Christ. Certainly, I am one of those specks of dust that cannot be counted.

Genesis 14:

I wonder if there are any extra-biblical sources that speak of these battles.

I think this is the first time Abram is called a Hebrew.

Had Abram already built up an army? Is that what the "trained men" is a reference to?

I never think of Abram as a military guy, but it sounds like he was a pretty good war strategist. Certainly he was outnumbered.

Melchizedek is familiar from Hebrews. He's a priest, and here even before the Levites. I wish I knew more about ancient cultures and their history.

Abram would take nothing so that the King of Sodom could not take glory. Either Abram was prideful and wanted the glory for himself or he wanted it all to be given to God.

Genesis 15:

I cannot help but sympathize with Abram in his "doubting". By the looks of things everything that he had been blessed with would certainly go to a member of his household. How could an old man have an heir?

Verse 6 is extremely important in NT theology. Was Abram considered righteous up until this point? Was this the moment of his salvation? Is this when God imputed to his account righteousness?

Even after Abram "believed the Lord" we still see doubts and questions. He is still looking for a sign to show him that this will be so.

Why did God have Abram bring this sacrifice? What is the significance of Abram driving away the birds of prey?

Is the darkness here spoken of the "depression" of knowing what his offspring will have to face? Or is this something else?

"The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete". What a mighty God that we serve that even restrains and knows the amount of evil that a nation will accomplish. Lord, speed your coming in justice and doing away with all evil...even mine.

What is the smoking fire pot and flaming torch?

Genesis 16:

I can't believe that Sarai suggested this. Even more I can not believe Abram took her up on the offer.

This is such a confusing exchange. Why is Sarai mad at Abram? Is not this what she was wanting to happen? Why is she mad at Abram now? Certainly this is what a mess we make when we try to come through on God's promises by our own defiled means. Sin on top of sin.

I have always felt bad for Hagar in this story. It is nice seeing the angel of the Lord comforting her. (Is this a reference to Jesus?)

There is a lesson to be learned here about staying with those even when they are harsh with you. Submission to authority (this would include presidents and other leaders) is even to take place when they "deal harshly" with us. This principle must be used with much wisdom and discernment though. I am sure it is not a cookie-cutter doctrine.

verse 12 certainly does sound like the Islamic peoples. They seem to have their hand against everyone and everyone's hand against them.

How comforting it must have been to know that the Lord looked after them. He looks after the mother of the peoples that have massacred countless Christians. What a gracious God that we have.

There is one big difference I have found between Jeremiah Burroughs and Richard Sibbes. Burroughs makes a weighty statement then expounds upon it in a neat, concise, outlined form. Sibbes just says it, and seems to let the reader do the organizing. This is great for quotes and daggers that strike the heart; but difficult if you are trying to outline and summarize.

Quick Outline:

• The Least Spark of Grace is Precious
• Support the Weak

Summary:

Sibbes begins by giving us two reasons that Christ does not quench the smoking flax. 1) It is his own. 2) it tends to the glory of his powerful grace. After this Sibbes expounds upon the truth that the least spark of gracious. He again gives numerous evidences from Scripture that this is so. From Emmaus to Peter to the bleeding woman, Sibbes gives numerous examples of Christ taking the least spark of grace and treating it as precious.

We are then entreated to do the same. Christ, who will not quench the smoking flax, is compared with man that will. Yet, Christ "cherishes even the least beginnings". We are urged then by Sibbes to do the like. He encourages us to deal tenderly with new believers and to sometimes overlook their defects. As we are helping these new believers, or even sometimes weak believers, to grow up in the Lord we must be careful with our liberties. We must labor to not cause an offense nor to take offense. Along the same lines we must be careful not to despise the gifts and grace of God in others. We see in this the great work of Christ that he uses men in their weakness and refuses to lift up those in their strengths.

We are then encouraged to deal with secure sinners sometimes with a rod. Yet, in Sibbes mind, this seems to be the exception. Mostly, our weaker brothers should be dealt with gently. Always we must remember that the refining of Christ is not complete this side of glory.

Discussion:

Of all the chapters thus far this is probably my least favorite, though it is probably the most pastoral. Perhaps none of this struck me as deeply because this is something that the life of John Newton has been teaching me for a few months now. This chapter simply confirmed that which I had already been learning. It does have a few sections that carry significant weight and adds arsenal in my fight with being ill-tempered with doctrine. What I mean by that is that this chapter will help us to deal graciously with "weaker" believers.

My favorite statement from this chapter is this one: "When blindness and boldness, ignorance and arrogance, weakness and wilfulness, meet together in men, it renders them odious to God, burdensome in society, dangerous in their counsels, disturbers of better purposes, intractable and incapable of better direction, misreable in the issue". I fear that I have often been the fool described here. I am thankful for the Lord's grace in tempering my arrogance and wilfulness, while at the same time rescuing me from blindness, ignorance, and weakness.

This chapter also encourages us to sometimes bear the rod. It is sound advice that Sibbes gives in this chapter. It seems that our default with sinners should be gentleness. But at times Scripture encourages us to pull men out of the fire. As Sibbes says, "A sharp reproof sometimes is a precious pearl and a sweet balm". It has been my experience that Christian's are either truthful jerks or candy-coated pansies. I've been both in varying extremes. Sibbes is encouraging us here to sometimes speak the truth in love without sparing the rod, and to sometimes speak the truth in love with much gentleness. We need counsel like this in our day.

Pearls and Diamonds:

"It would be a good contest amongst Christians, one to labour to give no offence, and the other to labour to take none." (p.23)

"When blindness and boldness, ignorance and arrogance, weakness and wilfulness, meet together in men, it renders them odious to God, burdensome in society, dangerous in their counsels, disturbers of better purposes, intractable and incapable of better direction, misreable in the issue" (p. 23)

"The scope of true love is to make the party better, which concealment oftentimes hinders." (p. 24)

"The wounds of secure sinners will not be healed with sweet words." (p. 24)

Author: Jonathan Aitken

Publisher: Crossway

Pages: 400 pages

Price: 21.99 USD

Genre: Biography


Quick Summary:

It is somewhat difficult to write a review on a biography when it is the first one on the subject that you have read. My exposure to Newton has been somewhat limited. I know him as the man that wrote Amazing Grace. I have heard of his conversion. Recently I have been exposed to some of his letters and a brief biography by John Piper. All of this created a stirring in me to know more about this man that said, “I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior”. Would Aitken's biography serve to fittingly tell the life of John Newton?

Aitken does a marvelous job of outlining the life of John Newton. He begins his biography not on the open sea but at Newton’s mother’s side. Sadly, Newton’s time at his mother’s side was cut short; as she was taken by tuberculosis at a young age. This left young John solely in his father’s care, and by the age of 10 Newton was off to sea. It seems that seafaring began Newton’s downward spiral into debauchery. Aitken follows the life of Newton for some 8 chapters into debauchery. The only bright spot in Newton’s story was his unrelenting love for his later-to- become wife Polly. Even after his conversion Newton continued the deplorable practice of slave trading. It is here that we are exposed to some of Newton’s most vile sinning, for now it appears he is doing so in light of the gospel. At this point in the book I remember commenting to my wife that I was growing to greatly dislike John Newton.

But my dislike for Newton would soon change. It seems as soon as Newton’s seafaring career ended his spiritual journey became stronger. At this point in the biography the life of Newton shifts gears. For the rest of the biography we follow Newton in his pursuit of ordination, his ministry at Olney, his creativity, his contribution to the corpus of Christian literature and hymns, his involvement in the abolition movement, and his ministry at London. These Aitken follows quite well until Newton’s demise and death.

Also, weaved throughout this story is Newton’s love for his wife Polly. Thus this biography becomes an exciting sea tale, a spiritual journey, a pastoral guide, and a romance all in one.

What I Enjoyed:

Aitken does a wonderful job of putting together the life of Newton into a beautifully weaved story. One of the literary features that makes this work shine is the inclusion of Newton’s letters. Sometimes it feels as if Newton is writing his own biography. One of the temptations in writing a biography is to portray the subject without many flaws and often times almost above human status. Part of the beauty of Newton’s story is that he was such a great sinner. The more that we can see Newton as a great sinner the more it points to Christ as a great Savior. Aitken keeps Newton human.

What I Disliked:

In as much as Aitken shines on displaying Newton as a great sinner, I felt that in expressing latter half of Newton’s statement (“…Christ is a great Savior”) Aitken dropped the ball. Newton would be disappointed to find that a biography on himself did not have at its center the magnificent work of Jesus Christ. One standard I apply in reading biographies is this: after reading the biography, do I want to learn more about the man or am I driven to know Christ more. After reading this, I want to know more about John Newton. That is not altogether bad but a very important part of the story played a flat role. Newton was the main character when it should have been Jesus. Because of this we miss discovering what it was that made Newton tick.

Should You But It:

Nonetheless, it is a great work on John Newton and will serve the reader well. My hope is that it only introduces the reader to Newton and inspires you to pursue more of his work, because therein one might see and savor Jesus Christ. Should you buy it? Yes. Should it be the only Newton book in your collection? No.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Apparently TULIP's have thorns. At least that seems to be the conclusion reached by many in the "old-guard" of the SBC. Recently 15 Evangelists (why this is BP News I'm not sure) met to discuss the growing movement of Calvinism in the SBC. Apparently its costing them jobs. Tom Ascol responds here. Also, a Christianity Today article was written on the rise of Calvinism within the SBC. Within that article Frank Page (resisting the urge to add an adjective here) commented: "The totality of history shows the vast majority of Baptists have not been [Calvinists], so why go back to the founders?" Page said. "I think we need to go back to the Bible." Timmy Brister responds here. (HT: JT)

Challies Blog Tour reaches Day 10. Today he is interviewed by Jonathan Leeman from Church Matters (the 9Marks blog). He asked these two questions: Tim, from your perspective as a layperson, what steps would you like to see more pastors taking to grow in discernment? And, Are there specific areas of church life and pastoring in which you find yourself wishing pastors would exercise greater discernment? Answers here.

Challies also writes a very good article on considering non-Christians "the enemy". Why do some churches rarely see baptisms? Challies belief is that, "...the real problem in these churches was in their attitude towards the unbeliever. The person next door was the enemy, a person to be feared for what he might do to the family, and the children in particular, and thus someone to be regarded with distrust and suspicion rather than with love."

The Wall Street Journal has ran a very interesting and quite ridiculous article on church discipline. It is, thankfully, making a "comeback" in many churches. It should not come as a surprise that it will start getting attacked by the world and less biblically minded believers. (HT: Denny Burk)

David Heim has a good article on Children's Sermons. (HT: Transforming Sermons)

Phil Johnson, from Pyromaniacs, continues his series on Total Depravity. Here is a snippet: "We are born into this world as thoroughgoing sinners, not merely tainted a little bit by sin, but completely, hopelessly in bondage to it. Every aspect of our being mind, emotions, desires, and even our physical constitution,is corrupted, controlled, and disfigured by sin and its effects. No one escapes from that verdict. We are totally depraved."