Tim Keller 'Generous Justice'

Man, I'm out of date with updates on this blog. Need to get back up to speed.

 Just finished listening to Tim Keller's "Generous Justice" and, initial thought, I much prefer hearing Keller speak and share his ideas rather than someone else talking (the guy narrating the audio sounded to me like Steve Martin). The book was, as I expected, exceptional. Keller carefully lays out a case for the need for a greater outpouring, support and involvement with the poor and disadvantaged in society from a Christian perspective, citing among other places passages from patriarchs like Job and the compassion for the needy that was part of their life.

 The scope and detail of the book was comprehensive, but I would have liked to hear a little more about how compassion is shown to the orphan by means of adoption. I didn't catch much of that in the message, and think the cause of the fatherless has a natural connection to Scripture's frequent example of the theme of adoption (Abraham/Israel, Jesus, and even US!). Minor quarrel - the book was exceptional and heady enough in passages - namely dealing with the philosophical questions of the value of human life from a Scriptural perspective - that the book could almost use a second listen in places.

Genesis 22: 1-19

Some older sermon notes from Pastor Paul from last year, from his teaching on Genesis 22, on the sacrifice of Isaac:

The test put before Abraham is to sacrifice his only son, the ultimate test.  God never had a plan to have Isaac sacrificed:  rather, this was a testing of faith.  In this situation there is no mention of Sarah being told - likely she was not.  What happens here is that Abraham sets out resolutely to obey.

In Hebrews, the writer states that Abraham didn't have it all figured out, but he know God could raise Isaac from the dead.  The father is resolute to obey, and the son is submissive to the father.  The sacrifice took place on Mt. Moriah, the same place where David sacrificed for his people.  Moriah is later the site of Israel's temple in Jerusalem.

God's test here is about substitution.  "the angel of the Lord" (v. 15) is considered by some to be the pre-incarnate Christ.  In John 8:56, "Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day", a reference here to Genesis 22.  This chapter paints a picture of the sacrifice that God makes for use.  Christ's death is the pinnacle of our faith.  Trials in life are reminders of what Christ endured.  Abraham understood this, and we all deserve to be Isaacs on the altar because of our sin.

After the sacrifice is stopped, God reaffirms the covenant (v. 17).  The provisions are for blessing, increased descendants, and to possess the land of his enemies.  Abraham was willing to give up family for his walk with God.  Sometimes our relationships are separated by God's will, and obedience to Christ may lead us and our family ultimately to persecution and death.  Abraham knew of this, and his example is one of faithfulness to God in the most extreme situation of testing.

Genesis Chapter Summary

High level summary of every chapter of Genesis, from some recent notes I took. These are all in my own words, and not just lifted from the chapter titles in the Bible (although some are likely very similar)

Ch. 1 - Song of Creation
Ch. 2 - Adam and Eve and Marriage
Ch. 3 - The Fall and the Promise of Redemption
Ch. 4 - Cain kills Abel
Ch. 5 - Geneology of Adam to Noah
Ch. 6 - The Baptism of the earth
Ch. 7 - Flood
Ch. 8 - God's Covenant
Ch. 9 - God blessed Noah and his sons. Ham's sin
Ch.10 - Nations Descendant from Noah
Ch. 11 - Tower of Babel
Ch. 12 - Callof Abram. Abrahamic covenant (land, seed, blessing)
Ch. 13 - Abraham leaves Egypt with wealth and riches. Abram and Lot separate.
Ch. 14 - Abram rescues Lot. Melkizedek blessed Abram.
Ch. 15 - Covenant Restated. God passes between pieces of animals.
Ch. 16 - Sarah and Hagar. Hagar flees with Ishmael and encounters angel of the Lord
Ch. 17 - Covenant renewed. Isaac birth promised.
Ch. 18 - Three visitors. Abraham pleads for Sodom.
Ch. 19 - Destruction of Sodom. Lot's wife dies. Lots daughters beget Moabites and Ammonites.
Ch. 20 - Abimelech. Abraham lies about Sarah.
Ch. 21 - Birth of Isaac
Ch. 22 - Abraham tested
Ch. 23 - Sarah dies
Ch. 24 - Isaac and Rebecca.
Ch. 25 - Birth of Esau and Jacob.
Ch. 26 - Isaac and Abimilech
Ch. 27 - Jacob is blessed
Ch. 28 - Jacob works for Laban
Ch. 29 - Jacob marries Leah and Rachael
Ch. 30 - Jacob has children
Ch. 31 - Jacob flees Laban
Ch. 32 - Jacob's repentance
Ch. 33 - Jacob meets Esau again
Ch. 34 - Detour with Dinah and Shechemites
Ch. 35 - Jacob renamed
Ch. 36 - Esau's descendants
Ch. 37 - Joseph's dreams
Ch. 38 - Strange Judah/Tamar/Onan detour
Ch. 39 - Potiphar's wife causes problems for Joseph
Ch. 40 - Joseph interprets dreams of prisoners
Ch. 41 - Joseph interprets the Pharaoh's dream
Ch. 42 - Joseph's brothers head to Egypt
Ch. 43 - Joseph's brothers return home
Ch. 44 - Joseph tests his brothers
Ch. 45 - Joseph reveals his identity
Ch. 46 - Joseph's family goes to Egypt/Jacob and Joseph reunited
Ch. 47 - Jacob and family move to Egypt/famine
Ch. 48 - Jacob blesses Joseph's sons Ephriam and Manasseh
Ch. 49 - Jacob blesses his twelve sons/Jacob's death and burial
Ch. 50 - Joseph's death/Embalmed in Egypt/Buried in Shechem

Gen. 25:19-26

Some notes that I found recently on a Voddie sermon about Genesis 25:19-26. Voddie presenting a doctrinal overview of predestination in terms of the lives of Isaac, Esau and Jacob. The overview included a detailed look at Romans 9, as well a look at the London Baptist Confession.

Voddie mentioned how Genesis so far spoke tremendously about Abraham and his life, but we don't see much about Isaac. V. 20 gives a sneak peek of Laban, who will resurface later in the life of Jacob.
In terms of Isaac and Abraham, there are a number of parallels: Both dealt with issues of barrenness, in light of God's promise that they will be fathers of a prosperous nation. The distinction, however, is that Abraham, when told he would have a child at his old age, laughed at the promise. Abraham also turned to the sinful human option and had a child with Hagar, which was not God's plan. Isaac, on the other hand, when presented with a situation of a barren wife, fell on his face and prayed. Voddie specualted that, in light of his father's sin with Hagar, he directly witnessed the friction between his mother and Hagar and did not want to repeat this. Sounds completely logical to me.

Rebecca had two children, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was described in Hebrew as "akave" (going with the phonetic here) that means "heel-grabber", a reference to his character. The contention between the brothers is also reflective of contention between mother and father: Isaac was fond of Esau, particularly of the wild game that he caught, while Rebecca was fond of Jacob. Favoritism is never a good thing.

Romans 9 presents a doctrinal exposition of the life of Jacob and Esau. The issue of predestination can be a tricky, and difficult, one for me, but it is one that I find to be consistent with scripture. Voddie shared a series of passages from the London Baptist convention on the topic: those saved are chosen out of the good please of the will of God, while others are "left to act in their sin" and get what their sins deserve. It's not God's injustice that sends men to Hell, but man's want/bent to sin.

One of many challenges that arise is the question of, "If God has already predestined certain individuals, why share the gospel then?" The answer is because God told us to in His word, and because this is the means and process that God uses to call the elect. Voddie pointed out that an "arrogant Calvinist" should be a contradiction: "I'm saved and there's nothing in me God would have wanted to save." It's humbling.

Another question is, is this just? The answer is that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. Can what is made question the maker? God predestined us to adoption according to the council of His will:
John 5:21 - "The Son gives life to whom He will"
John 6:65 - "No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

Otherwise, the alternative is that there are people who are smart enough, or holy enough, to "figure it out" moreso than other people. This emphasises human effort and initiative, moreso than the grace of God, and it's God's grace alone that makes us alive in Christ.

Romans 8 - "those whom he foreknew he also predestined" - you can't separate predestination from salvation. According to Lorraine Boetner, foreordination is the work of a wise and merciful heavenful father, as opposed to the working of blind, physicial fate.

Voddie also spoke about the "prescient" view and the fallacy of this viewpoint, that God's predestination of individuals is based on seeing into the future, and knowing from future actions that someone will be good or bad. The fallacy here is that God is basically little more than a time-traveler, and this takes away from His sovereignty. The prescient view can't explain Roman's 9 and how God could love one and hate another.

As far as applications presented, we as believers should adore God for His grace and NOT for our own ability. The wrong view is one of, "God saw that I would someday choose him", and commend me for being "smarter" than others to find the path to salvation.

Another point is that success in sharing the gospel does not depend on us. God has guaranteed the salvation of His elect. We should avoid over-introspection of whether or not we are of the elect, but rather our focus should be on repentance and believing the gospel. The same situation with our children: we should not fuss over worrying if our children are "elect" or not, but rather focus on sharing the gospel with them.

Dr. Thomas Schreiner on Credobaptism

Here is an excellent mp3 message by Dr. Thomas Schreiner in defense of Credo baptism. Worth checking out, as it's an excellent defense packaged into a 30 minute time frame. Some notes I took from this message:

In the baptist view, believers are clothed with Christ at baptism. Peter's message at Pentecost was "Repent and be baptised". Numerous NT scripture references all cite baptism following belief. In the Presbyterian paedobaptist model, the baptism provides no benefit unless it's followed by later faith. Faith MAY occur later in life, or may never occur at all.

I Cor. 12:13 - All believers are baptised in the body of Christ in one spirit..." All believers drink of the spirit and are equal members at baptism. Have infants received the spirit at baptism? (baptismal regeneration).

Baptism is also described scriptually as a "washing". I Cor. 6:11 - makes it clear that washing of sin and justification take place at the same time, yet justification involves faith. Justification is for those who believe.

"Household baptisms" of scripture (Acts 16) does not support the notion that this included infants. The household is contextually limited to those who could understand and believe. Evidence for this is that the household is described as "rejoicing". This joy implies understanding the significance of what had happened. Those who had rejoiced were those who believed - no compelling evidence that this included infants.

Acts 18 - Belief of the household meaning mental understanding. Maybe children included. Acts 2:39 - Often used in defense of infant baptism. Peter states "The promise is for you and for your children..." A careful reading of this does not include infants. The groups are Peter's listeners, the children, and those far off (the gentiles). It's not all those listeners, but only for those from every group who believe in the Gospel. This is justified by the last clause in the verse, "that is everyone that the Lord has called to himself." How would baptized infants who turn from faith later in life apply to this group?

Baptism as covenental sign (col. 2:12) continuing circumcision. "In him you were circumcised..." The parallel, however, doesn't work for a number of reasons: it lumps the plans of God together. There is one plan of God from scripture, but there is no evidence from scripture that we have one covenant of grace. The Abrahamic covenant is clearly distinguished from the Mosaic covenant. It is also clear that the new covenant and the Abrahamic covenant are not the same. There are elements unique to the Abrahamic covenant. For instance, Ishmael receives the covenental sign of circumcision. There is a genealogical principle to the Abrahamic covenant that does not continue in the new covenant. There is continuity and discontinuity in both covenants. The old covenant was a nation and a church. This is no longer true in the new covenant - the new covenant is composed only of those who believe in Jesus Christ. There is no special chosen nation. Heb. 8-10 make it clear that all members of the new covenant are forgiven of their sin and filled with the Holy Spirit. People from every people group.

The new testament supports a credobaptist position.

Genesis 26: 34 - 27: 45

Missed worship last week, so there's a gap in the Genesis notes, but here's where it picks up again. Pastor Paul spoke more on the unraveling narrative of Issac, Jacob and Esau. He spent a lot of time more so on the topical side of things, addressing themes of God's election and various viewpoints of God's interaction with the world, then touched on the passages more specifically.

Genesis 26: 34 - 27: 45 talks about the stolen blessing. Isaac had planned to bypass God's will and just give Esau the blessing, but Rebbecca schemed to have Jacob get it instead. It's all a big mess, but as pastor said, God's will is accomplished in spite of us. God's election is at work here, and in Gen. 25 we God's election at work in the two nations in the womb, Jacob and Esau.

Pastor Paul went on to elaborate some of the misconceptions of God's role in the universe. Some of the worldviews that he pointed out and spoke about were:

• Deism - God created everything and left it all alone.
• Pantheism - God is in everything and not distinct from the creation.
• Everything just by chance (as opposed to providence)
• Impersonal faith - "Things just happen. That's just how the world is", etc.

So Pastor spoke about the errors of these various views, and identified how God's providence means that He is continually involved with all things. He also identified the idea of preservation, that God holds all things together. All things are created through Him and for Him. If it wasn't for this, the rules of the universe wouldn't be constant and things would just fall apart.

Another question addressed was that, if God in in control, then why is there evil? Pastor Paul pointed out that often bad things, or things that seem bad to us at the time, are there as part of God's direction leading to good. He pointed out the example of Joseph, who was taken from his family and brought into slavery. From this "bad" situation, Joseph, given the ability from God to interpret dreams, was able to rise in prominence to being second in command of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh, and from this position, he was able to not only save his family but also ultimately the people of Israel.

Gen. 25:1-18

For the beginning verses of Genesis 25, Pastor Voddie spoke about the life of Isaac and his somewhat minimal narrative in the Bible. With Isaac, his importance is defined in terms of who he's connected to in terms of God's covenantal promise.

(Voddie touched on the "controversy" around Gen. 25:1 and his other offspring, and what was the situation that empowered him to have more children. Was it his "rejuvenation", that allowed him to have Isaac, also something that allowed him to have other children as well? The issue with Keturah and whether she was a wife or concubine is interesting but ultimately not important. One interesting note is that Keturah bore Midian, and later on with will be the Midianites who took Joseph out of the well to sell to the Ishmaelites.)

The various promises that shape the life of Isaac include God's promise to provide offspring for barren Abraham, as well as the land of Caanan. We also see through God's promise that Ishmael would be a great nation an example of Abraham's unfaithfulness, and presents the account of another son who does not get to be the promised one. Abraham did not have to sin to fulfil the promise. Ishmael was set against Isaac, and this is still manifest to this day.

In terms of the messianic linage, through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc, we see that it wasn't from the goodness and sinlessness of these individuals that God called them to be of the chosen line. Rather, God used this lineage of sinful men to lead up to Christ, the one through whom forgiveness of sins would be offered.