Heart Soul and Might

Great thoughts on singleness here by Andreas Kostenberger at Biblical Foundations. Here is an excerpt:

“30 and Single? It’s Your Own Fault”—at least according to a recent controversial book, Getting Serious About Getting Married: Rethinking the Gift of Singleness, by Debbie Maken. The author got serious about getting married at age 28, signed up with a Christian web agency, and shortly thereafter entered marital bliss. Maken’s contention, however, that women who are in their late 20s or in their 30s and still unmarried have got only themselves to blame for lack of effort has created quite a stir among those very women who plead “not guilty” and question Maken’s categorical stance (everyone should do what she did, with the same results), not to mention her theology of singleness.

What does the Bible say about singleness? In my book God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation, published by the same publisher as Maken’s book, I devote an entire chapter, Chapter 9 entitled “Undivided Devotion to the Lord: The Divine Gift of Singleness,” to this question. The first part of the chapter features a biblical theology of singleness in the Old Testament and New Testament plus a treatment of singleness in the early church. This is followed by a discussion of issues related to singleness, such as singleness and ministry, cohabitation and premarital sex, courtship and dating, and biblical teaching on singleness addressed to particular groups.

HT: Biblical Foundations

I listen to a lot of Mark Driscoll sermons. Mark is the Senior Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and he accompanies me on many of my morning runs (he shares my iPod podcast rotation with John Piper during my runs). I would have to say Mark is one of the most interesting and engaging speakers (preachers) I’ve listened to. I don’t always agree with everything he says or even his approach sometimes, but it is obvious he is a man of God who holds strongly to conservative evangelical theology and orthodoxy and is very funny to boot. I laugh out loud a LOT when I’m running and listening to Mark.

He posts here on the Resurgence on how he prepares for sermons, and whether you’re a preacher or not, it is intriguing to read his approach and his method of preparation. We may not all be public speakers, but we should all take the Word of God, prayer, repentance and the Holy Spirit as seriously as Mark does as he prepares to preach. Read this post and be inspired. In addition, go to the iTunes Music Store and subscribe to the free Mars Hill podcast - you won’t be sorry. I can’t wait to listen to my next Driscoll message. He’s currently going through 1 Corinthians - Christians Gone Wild. It’s highly worth your time.

My next door neighbor, John, holds a PhD in Biblical Languages from Harvard and when he found out the reading focus for my sabbatical was Church History, he slipped his copy of Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther - in the back of my car just before we left. Following Athanasius and Augustine, my intent was to fast forward past the Reformation to next read the biography on Jonathan Edwards I picked up from amazon.com. But holding the biography of he who started the Reformation, it makes more sense to read Luther before Edwards, so I’m going for it. Thanks, John. This book is incredible. He told me its the definitive work on Luther, and I can see why.

It’s interesting to see how Luther never intended to be the Father of the Reformation… In fact, he didn’t intend any fanfare on posting his 95 Theses… his intent was to spur some spirited intellectual debate… until someone combined his paper with the printing press and started distributing copies! One thing led to another and he found himself debating truth to save his life.

The timing of his strong and principled beliefs, eloquent writing and speaking styles and growing widespread frustration with abuses within the Catholic Church were the ingredients necessary for a Reformation. There were many teachings he had a problem with, not the least of which were the infallibility of the Pope, the infallibility of the Catholic Church, indulgences, and most importantly, placing the word of the Church and Pope over and above Scripture. The bottom line is he saw that the Church was professing a false gospel, and he was fed up. His writings were getting him in trouble (obviously) with the powers that be, and he was being asked to recant his protests when he boldly said the following:

You are not a bad Christian if you deny the decretal [of the Pope]. But if you deny the gospel, you are a heretic. I damn and detest this decretal. The Apostolic Legate opposed me with the thunder of his majesty and told me to recant. I told him the pope abused Scripture. I will honor the sanctity of the Pope, but I will adore the sanctity of Christ and the truth. I do not deny this new monarchy of the Roman Church which has arisen in our generation, but I deny that you cannot be a Christian without being subject to the decrees of the Roman pontiff. As for the decretal, I deny that the merits of Christ are a treasure of indulgences because his merits convey grace apart from the pope. The merits of Christ take away sins and increase merits. Indulgences take away merits and leave sins. These adulators put the pope above Scripture and say that he cannot err. In that case, Scripture perishes, and nothing is left in the Church save the word of man. I resist those who in the name of the Roman Church wish to institute Babylon.

Roland Bainton, Here I Stand, p. 75.

What I most admire about Luther, as exemplified in this quote, is that he doggedly held to what he believed to be true even in the face of serious and damaging consequences - in his case, excommunication and possibly even death. He was going up against the most powerful people in both Church and government during this time. But he held his ground. He held to his convictions concerning the authority of Scripture. It wasn’t popular to oppose the pope, but he did - in the name of truth and the gospel. Yes, he was uncouth at times, and later came to regret some things he said (haven’t we all?), but he stood for principle. He stood for truth. He stood for Scripture. He stood for the gospel.

Father, may I have the same boldness and confidence in the face of persecution for the sake of the gospel and for Your glory.

Andreas Kostenberger writes:

“Whatever happened to truth?” Look at him there, standing in front of Pilate, bearing witness to the truth, calmly stating that his kingdom is not of this world. “Behold, the man!” Here is the Truth, beaten and bruised for our sins, hung on a tree-look at him now, crucified.

Who would have thought? Truth is a person. What is more, truth is a crucified person, Jesus the Messiah, the one-of-a-kind, sent Son from the Father. Three days later, that Truth rose from the grave. Death could not keep him. He showed himself to many and is now exalted with God.

“Whatever happened to truth?” In one sense, the answer is, “The truth is just fine, thank you.” Jesus, the Word, continues to speak to those with ears to hear in his word, the Scriptures. He has returned to his glory with the Father and awaits his return from there at the Father’s appointed time.

In another sense, however, truth is languishing in a state of crisis in our day. In much of contemporary culture, truth has been supplanted by a kind of paranoia that is so skeptical toward any finality of knowing that it is prone to believe conspiracy theories, no matter how far-fetched (witness the Da Vinci Code pehnomenon). All of this contributes to a sense of uncertainty that holds that all knowledge is provisional and subject to constant revision as new facts surface that need to be considered. In this context, can truth, “true truth,” to quote Francis Schaeffer once again, long survive? Or is it time to declare the death of truth just as some declared (prematurely, one might add) the death of God in a previous generation?

The preceding selection is excerpted from the epilogue of Whatever Happened to Truth? (Crossway, 2005). You are encouraged to read the excellent contributions by Albert Mohler, J. P. Moreland, and Kevin Vanhoozer in this volume.

HT:  Biblical Foundations

Al Mohler writes a great commentary on this crucial issue in today’s Church given the cultural landscape in which we live. Read the whole transcript here. I highly recommend reading the whole thing. Below is an excerpt:

Confronted by the biblical evidence, we must make a vitally important interpretive decision. We must choose between two unavoidable options: either the Bible is affirmed as the inerrant and infallible Word of God, and thus presents a comprehensive vision of true humanity in both unity and diversity, or we must claim that the Bible is, to one extent or another, compromised and warped by a patriarchal and male-dominated bias that must be overcome in the name of humanity.

For biblical traditionalists the choice is clear. We understand the Bible to present a beautiful portrait of complementarity between the sexes, with both men and women charged to reflect God’s glory in a distinct way. Thus, there are very real distinctions that mark the difference between masculinity and femininity, male and female. Standing on biblical authority, we must critique both the present and the past when the biblical pattern has been compromised or denied. Likewise, we must point ourselves, our churches, and our children to the future, affirming that God’s glory is at stake in our response of obedience or disobedience to His design.

For too long, those who hold to the biblical pattern of gender distinctions have allowed themselves to be silenced, marginalized, and embarrassed when confronted by new gender theorists. Now is the time to recapture the momentum, force the questions, and show this generation God’s design in the biblical concept of manhood and womanhood. God’s glory is shown to the world in the complementarity of men and women. This crucial challenge is a summons to Christian boldness in the present hour.

Adrian Warnock posts an excerpt (and a few thoughts) from a message of John Piper’s entitled “Building Our Lives on the Bible.”

In [this sermon] Piper stresses the vital place of building our lives on the Bible - it seemed appropriate to share this quote with you as we have been looking at the place of doctrine and Scripture, thanks to the T4G statement challenge.

“We are a people of the Book. We know God through the Book. We meet Christ in the Book. We see the cross in the Book. Our faith and love are kindled by the glorious truths of the Book. We have tasted the divine majesty of the Word and are persuaded that the Book is God’s inspired and infallible written revelation. Therefore, what the Book teaches matters . . .

That is God’s word to us as we launch into EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION. Bethlehem, “Continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of . . . the sacred writings” - the Word of God, the Bible. Don’t advance. Don’t go forward. Don’t proceed from this. Continue in this. Stay in this. Remain in this. This kind of conservatism will make you the most radical, counter-cultural, risk-taking, free people possible in Christ. If you leave the Word, you will, in the end, just conform to the world - to the spirit of this age. This may feel freeing for a moment. But it will make you the slave of every passing fashion - and they are passing faster and faster.

So God’s word to us in this vision of EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION is: Continue in your absolute allegiance to the unchanging truth of God’s Word, the Bible. Stay here. Abide here. Build children’s ministries on it. Build youth ministries on it. Build adult ministries on it. Build church planting strategies on it. Build marriages and families on it. Lead elder meetings with it. And whatever else you do, John Piper, don’t preach anything but the Word of God, the Bible.”

That was the question he asked.

It launched us into a very interesting 15 minute discussion of truth, life, faith, scripture, Jesus, moral absolutes, God, relativism… and then we got off the plane and I’ll never see him again. But, hopefully he won’t soon forget our conversation.

I flew with my two boys up to Chicago to drop them off with their grandparents (my parents) as Heidi and I embark on a little adventure this next week to JH Ranch in northern California. Cheap flights on Southwest make this kind of thing possible. I passed them off to my parents and got on the next flight back to Nashville… (they are awesome by the way!)

But on the flight to Chicago, I sat by a nice, distinguished looking older man (we’ll call him “Joe”) who endured the short flight next to me and the two active little rascals (ages 3.5 and 2) I had with me. They kept me busy the entire flight as you can imagine, and so aside from our brief introduction, Joe and I didn’t talk much. I was juggling sippy cups, complimentary bags of dry roasted peanuts and one red-headed two-year old who would much rather have been in the cockpit with all the knobs and buttons.

With 15 minutes left in the flight, Joe asked me what I do and I told him I’m a pastor in a church. I asked him the same question, and he told me he’s in the wine retail business. His next question was “So, what do you think about The Da Vinci Code?” I guess the pastor part gave him the open door…and I took it. I told him I enjoyed the book and with the exception of the terrible historical inaccuracies and heretical blasphemies on God, it was an engaging and intriguing book. But I did tell him I thought the movie was greatly disappointing. (I didn’t yet know his perspective…)

He disagreed on the inaccuracies and blasphemies, questioning how we can know what is true or not, and told me he believed many of the “facts” presented in The Da Vinci Code. This launched us into a pretty honest discussion on our views of truth, the Bible and who Jesus is. I asked him if he believed what the Bible said, and he said “a lot of it.” My response was that he needed to believe either The Da Vinci Code or the Bible - because they hold to two completely opposing sets of truth… And you can’t believe both the Jesus of The Da Vinci Code and the Jesus of the Bible. They’re diametrically opposed.

The reason for this post is to encourage us to be prepared for conversations like these. The only way I could engage him in this conversation was because I had both read the book and seen the movie, read Exploring the Da Vinci Code, and researched the answers to the questions the book and movie raise. 1 Timothy 4:1-5 asks us to be ready and preach the Word… I was able to eventually bring it to the most important point of Joe’s eternal security and the fact that his decision as to which truth to follow would determine what happens to him for eternity. I didn’t get the impression that he got the big picture, but the seeds were planted and the Holy Spirit can now do His work.

We need to engage culture. We need to be prepared. This book and movie are opening up conversations all over the globe and the opportunities to share the true Gospel are everywhere. One of the most important questions we need to be ready to answer is: “What do you think about The Da Vinci Code?”

I went by myself to our local theatre last night to see The Da Vinci Code and see for myself if it really lived up to all of its terrible ratings, and… in that respect I was not disappointed. It was pretty bad. I thought the book was very engaging and with all of the twists and turns with anagrams, codes and things to decipher, it kept my attention. Of course, I was offended by the outrageously heretical and blasphemous claims of Jesus having a relationship with Mary Magdalene and fathering her daughter, the historical revisions concerning Constantine and the development of the Biblical canon… but as far as murder mystery books go, I knew it had all the makings of a blockbuster when I read it a few years ago. Click here for my post on the Da Vinci Code’s “perfect storm.”

But the movie was nothing like the book. There was little character development, hardly any intrigue and I thought some pretty poor directing choices - not to mention nothing really spectacular of any of the acting… even our beloved Tom Hanks.

To do the book justice, Ron Howard really needed to make about a 5-hour movie… which of course, you can’t get away with no matter the content. But Ron didn’t really even do all he could have with the 2 hours and 29 minutes I graciously gave him.

And that’s why I was pleasantly pleased when I left the theatre. I came away from reading the book thinking… this could do some damage to some people’s faith because of it’s claim to fact and truth. I came away from the movie thinking… this isn’t going to do much damage to Christianity because it is so obviously FICTION, and not really good fiction at that. In fact, the opportunities the producers have to really inflict damage on Christianity really fall miserably short. So short, that I think they look pretty foolish. They even took the obvious pot-shots at the Catholic polity in the Vatican and didn’t create anywhere near the controversy that the book did.

All that to say… as fan of good films, I was sorely disappointed. But as a lover of God and truth, I was elated. Yes, this film will raise questions in many people… But if someone’s faith is weak enough to be swayed by this poor piece of art, their faith was on thin ice to begin with. This poor excuse for a blockbuster film was a snoozer. And the only damage it did to me was steal $8.50 from my wallet I could have used at Starbucks this week.

As we near the release of The Da Vinci Code movie, I’ll be posting a few more of the more agregious errors, fabrications and fallacies in the book authored by Dan Brown.

One of the most blatant errors involves the clandestine organization Priory of Sion, supposedly existing since the 11th century, charged with guarding the secret about the descendents of Jesus. Much of the intrigue in The Da Vinci Code involves the operation of this secret organization as it protects the information around the bloodline of Christ purported to be carried forward following his relationship with Mary Magdalene. Dan Brown begins his novel by stating that information concerning the Priory of Sion is FACT. However, the following is a conversation between Lee Strobel, author of Exploring the Da Vinci Code, and well-respected historian and professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, Dr. Paul Meier.

“The book makes the claim that this information about the Priory is contained in secret documents that were discovered in the National French Library,” I [Strobel] said. “Would you not concede that those documents do exist?”

Clearly I had struck a nerve. “The documents exist - but they are all fraudulent!” Maier exclaimed. “On the first page of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown lists two items as ‘FACT’: Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion. Now, this is his method. He will offer a little truth - maybe 15 to 20 percent - and the rest is falsehood. But people will think it’s all true because they know that part of it is true. The claim in The Da Vinci Code is that the Priory was founded in 1099 AD in Jerusalem. Well, the fact of the matter is that it was founded in 1956, in Paris, by a crook and forger named Pierre Plantard, who planted secret documents in the Bibiotheque Nationale in Paris.”

Exploring the Da Vinci Code, Lee Strobel and Gary Poole, pp. 18-19.

So… the documents are real… but they’re PHONY! There goes the intrigue. The central premise on which The Da Vinci Code is written is false. I wonder if Dan Brown ever dreamed that his theory and his book would receive this much attention… Because his attention to detail certainly doesn’t match. His fiction is based on FICTION, not fact. And from a historian’s perspective, it’s laughable.

Adrian Warnock is giving away free copies of John Piper’s book God is the Gospel at his blog. Bloggers or blog-readers who join in the discussion around the Together for the Gospel statement are eligible to receive the free copy of Piper’s book published by Crossway. You can read the Together for the Gospel statement from my previous post here. It is a wonderful statement of truth and the gospel.

In the coming weeks, we will all have opportunities to enter discussions about Jesus based on questions surrounding The Da Vinci Code, both book and movie. Mark D. Roberts has some valuable resources on his blog here…

I just read a great book called Exploring the Da Vinci Code by Lee Strobel and Garry Poole - a very short book and easy read - and they methodically and clearly take apart the many errors found in this piece of fiction that claims to be historically accurate.

One of the many claims of the book is this one, coming from one of the characters, Sir Leigh Teabing:

“Many scholars claim that the early church literally stole Jesus from His original followers, hijacking his human message, shrouding it in an inpenetrable cloak of divinity, and using it to expand their own power.”

Strobel and Poole interviewed many scholars in preparation for this book, and for a response to the book’s questions of Jesus’ deity, they talked with renowned New Testament scholar Dr. Mark Strauss, a professor at Bethel Theological Seminary in San Diego for over 12 years. He has numerous degrees and many publications to his credit. His response to this quote from Teabing is this:

“That’s an extraordinary statement of revisionist history… In fact, when I was reading The Da Vinci Code, I was quite enjoying it as a fascinating murder mystery. Each chapter leaves you hanging and you can’t put it down. But when I got to the chapter on Jesus’ deity, suddenly it spoiled the whole book for me. Because what we have in that chapter is two supposed historical experts suddenly spouting absolute historical nonsense - stuff that any historian could tell you is pure gibberish…

…the idea that Constantine at the Council of Nicea made Jesus into a deity from a mere mortal prophet is ridiculous. The church had been declaring Jesus’ deity for more than two hundred and fifty years. In fact, to determine when the church is speaking about Jesus’ deity, simply go to the New Testament. More than two hundred and fifty years earlier, we get statement after statement that, in fact, affirm Jesus’ deity in the New Testament documents themselves.”

Lee Strobel and Gary Poole, Exploring the Da Vinci Code , pp. 80-81.

There are many errant claims and historical mistakes in this book, but re-writing history to fit the author’s agenda regarding Christ is one of the most agregious. To refute Dan Brown’s claims, here are some highly respected people from history who considered Jesus to be divine long before the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325.

• Ignatius: “God Himself was manifested in human form.” (AD 105)
• Clement: “It is fitting that you should think of Jesus Christ as of God” (AD 150)
• Justing Martyr: “Being the first-begotten Word of God, is even God”; “Both God and Lord of hosts”; “The Father of the universe has a Son. And He… is even God” (AD 160)
• Irenaeus: “Our LOrd, and God, and Savior, and King”; “He is God, for the name Emmanuel indicates this” (AD 180)
• Origen: “No one should be offended that the Savior is also God” (AD 225)

James Garlow and Peter Jones in Cracking Da Vinci’s Code

Grace Full Words: has the following quotes and more!

R.C. Sproul
“The Church stands or falls on sola fide.”
“According to Rome (the Catholic church) faith is a necessary condition of justification. According to protestants faith is a sufficient condition for justification”
“We are not justified by understanding the doctrine of justification. We are justified by Christ!”

John Piper
“Our preaching should be dominated by the greatness, the majesty and the holiness of God.- leaving the hearers with a spiritual sense of shock.”
“There is a weight to this office as pastor!”
“God planned for His Son to be crucified and for hell to be terrible.”
“God’s ultimate allegiance is to God and then to share that with you.”
“You do not honor fully what you do not enjoy!”
“2 Cor. 3:18 is God’s way of transforming people. Our job is to make Him seen. It’s the only way to change people.”
“2 Cor. 4:4 - you see with your ears.”
2 Sam. 3:21.”There is a famine of seeing and savoring the glory of God.”
“Forgiveness without the restoration of a relationship is not the gospel.”

C.J. Mahaney
“Our character must be more persuasive than our speech.”
“Knowledge of Scripture alone without the grace given by God to apply them is not enough. It leaves us vulnerable.”
“We must have a high view of the application. True knowledge is the prelude to grace motivated obedience.”
“The War within NEVER ends.”
“Few labor to know themsleves. To study indwelling sin for your own soul’s health.” John Owen
“Heart work is hard work.”
“We cannot effectively watch ourselves by ourselves.*
“Preach the whole counsel of God - but the cross is the center of the counsel…People should anticipate seeing the cross in every sermon.”

We are also told that C.J. recommended the book “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hand.” by Paul Tripp - anyone out there read it?

Dr. John MacArthur
“We must be committed to certainty. Without certainty there is no clarity. Without clarity there is no conviction. Without conviction there is no affection. Without affection there is no community.”
“I’m not in the world to give my opinion. I’m here to bring God’s Word to the world.”
“Expository Preaching:
1. Establishes the authority of God over mind & soul.
2. Exalts the headship of Christ over His church.
3. It is the Word of God which the Spirit uses to save and to sanctify.
4. Strikes a blow at pride becauses it forces me to be in the Word.
5. Honors by example the priority of bible study. When you preach effectively you take them through the hermeneutics so you both (pastor and congregation) arrive at the “eureka moment” together.
6. Keeps people from the illusion that they have heard from God when they haven’t.
7. It has a massive impact on the reality of worship.
8. Protects people from error and carnality, which is deadly to the church.
9. Helps you fully understand the mind of Christ.”

HT: Adrian Warnock

This is the statement of faith that came out of the Together for the Gospel Conference. A concise, well-written and thoughtful statement of faith which I personally affirm. All believers would do well to read this and consider affirming it as well. It is of utmost importance in today’s culture - especially as truth and the Gospel are under attack. I really admire the four men who crafted and signed this document and applaud them for their efforts for the cause of the Gospel.

We are brothers in Christ united in one great cause - to stand together for the Gospel. We are convinced that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and marginalized in many churches and among many who claim the name of Christ. Compromise of the Gospel has led to the preaching of false gospels, the seduction of many minds and movements, and the weakening of the church’s Gospel witness.As in previous moments of theological and spiritual crisis in the church, we believe that the answer to this confusion and compromise lies in a comprehensive recovery and reaffirmation of the Gospel - and in Christians banding together in Gospel churches that display God’s glory in this fallen world.

We are also brothers united in deep concern for the church and the Gospel. This concern is specifically addressed to certain trends within the church today. We are concerned about the tendency of so many churches to substitute technique for truth, therapy for theology, and management for ministry.

We are also concerned that God’s glorious purpose for Christ’s church is often eclipsed in concern by so many other issues, programs, technologies, and priorities. Furthermore, confusion over crucial questions concerning the authority of the Bible, the meaning of the Gospel, and the nature of truth itself have gravely weakened the church in terms of its witness, its work, and its identity.

We stand together for the Gospel - and for a full and gladdening recovery of the Gospel in the church. We are convinced that such a recovery will be evident in the form of faithful Gospel churches, each bearing faithful witness to the glory of God and the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Article I

We affirm that the sole authority for the Church is the Bible, verbally inspired, inerrant, infallible, and totally sufficient and trustworthy.

We deny that the Bible is a mere witness to the divine revelation, or that any portion of Scripture is marked by error, incompleteness, or the effects of human sinfulness.

Article II

We affirm that the authority and sufficiency of Scripture extends to the entire Bible, and therefore that the Bible is our final authority for all doctrine and practice.

We deny that any portion of the Bible is to be used in an effort to deny the truthfulness or trustworthiness of any other portion. We further deny any effort to identify a canon within the canon or, for example, to set the words of Jesus against the writings of Paul.

Article III

We affirm that the truth ever remains a central issue for the Church, and that the church must resist the allure of pragmatism and postmodern conceptions of truth as substitutes for obedience to the comprehensive truth claims of Scripture.

We deny that truth is merely a product of social construction or that the truth of the Gospel can be expressed or grounded in anything less than total confidence in the veracity of the Bible, the historicity of biblical events, and the abilityof language to convey understandable truth in sentence form. We further deny that the church can establish in its ministry on a foundation of pragmatism, current marketing techniques, or contemporary cultural fashions.

Article IV

We affirm the centrality of expository preaching in the church and the urgent need for a recovery of biblical exposition and the public reading of Scripture in worship.

We deny that God-honoring worship can marginalize or neglect the ministry of the Word as manifested through the exposition and public reading. We further deny that a church devoid of true biblical preaching can survive as a Gospel church.

Article V

We affirm that the Bible reveals God to be infinite in all his perfections, and thus truly omniscient, omnipotent, timeless, and self-existent. We further affirm that God posesses perfect knowledge of all things, past, present, and future, including human thoughts, acts, and decisions.

We deny that the God of the Bible is in any way limited in terms of knowledge or power or any other perfection or attribute, or that God has in any way limited his own perfections.

Article VI

We affirm that the doctrine of the Trinity is a Christian essential, bearing witness to the ontological reality of the one true God in three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of the same substance and perfections.

We deny the claim that the Trinity is not an essential doctrine, or that the Trinity can be understood in merely economic or functional categories.

Article VII

We affirm that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in perfect, undiluted, and unconfused union throughout his incarnation and now eternally. We also affirm that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, as a sacrifice for sin, and as a propitiation of the wrath of God toward sin. We affirm the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ as essential to the Gospel. We further affirm that Jesus Christ is Lord over His church, and that Christ will reign over the entire cosmos in fulfillment of the Father’s gracious purpose.

We deny that the substitutionary character of Christ’s atonement for sin can be compromised or denied without serious injury, or even repudiation, of the Gospel. We further deny that Jesus Christ is visible only in weakness, rather than in power, Lordship, or royal reign, or, conversely, that Christ is visible only in power, and never in weakness.

Article VIII

We affirm that salvation is all of grace, and that the Gospel is revealed to us in doctrines that most faithfully exalt God’s sovereign purpose to save sinners and in His determination to save his redeemed people by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to His glory alone.

We deny any teaching, theological system, or means of presenting the Gospel that denies the centrality of God’s grace as His gift of unmerited favor to sinners in Christ can be considered true doctrine.

Article IX

We affirm that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s means of bringing salvation to His people, that sinners are commanded to believe the Gospel, and that the church is commissioned to preach and teach the Gospel to all nations.

We deny that evangelsim can be reduced to any program, technique, or marketing approach. We further deny that salvation can be separated from repentence toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Article X

We affirm that salvation comes to those who truly beleive and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We deny that there is salvation in any other name, or that saving faith can take any form other than conscious belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving acts.

Article XI

We affirm the continuity of God’s saving purpose and the Christological unity of the covenants. we further affirm a basic distinction between law and grace, and that the true Gospel exalts Christ’s atoning work as the consummate and perfect fulfillment of the law.

We deny that the Bible presents any other means of salvation than God’s gracious acceptance of sinners in Christ.

Article XII

We affirm that sinners are justified only through faith in Christ, and that justification by faith alone is essential and central to the Gospel.

We deny that any teaching that minimizes, denies, or confuses justification by faith alone can be considered true to the Gospel. We further deny that any teaching that separates regeneration and faith is a true rendering of the Gospel.

Article XIII

We affirm that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers by God’s decree alone, and that this righteousness, imputed to the believer through faith alone, is the only righteousness that saves.

We deny that such righteousness is earned or deserved in any manner, is infused within the believer to any degree, or is realized in the believer through anything other than faith alone.

Article XIV

We affirm that the shape of Christian discipleship is congregational, and that God’s purpose is evident in faithful Gospel congregations, each displaying God’s glory in the marks of authentic ecclasiology.

We deny that any Christian can truly be a faithful descipple apart from the teaching, discipline, fellowship, and accountability of a congregation of fellow disciples, organized as a Gospel church. We further deny that the Lord’s Supper can faithfully be administered apart from the right practice of church discipline.

Article XV

We affirm that evangelical congregations are to work together in humble and voluntary cooperation and that the spiritual fellowship of Gospel congregations bears witness to the unity of the Church and the glory of God.

We deny that loyalty to any denomination or fellowship of churches can take precedence over the claims of truth and faithfulness to the Gospel.

Article XVI

We affirm that the Scripture reveals a pattern of complementary order between men and women, and that this order is itself a testimony to the Gospel, even as it is the gift of our Creator and Redeemer. We also affirm that all Christians are called to service within the body of Christ, and that God has given to both men and women important and strategic roles within the home, the chuhrch, and the society. We further affirm that the teaching office of the church is assigned only to those men who are called of God in fulfillment of the biblical teachings and that men are to lead in their homes as husbands and fathers who fear and love God.

We deny that the distinction of roles between men and women revealed in the Bible is evidence of mere cultural conditioning or a manifestation of male oppression or prejudice against women. We also deny that this biblical dinstinction of roles excludes women from meaningful minstry in Christ’s kingdom. We further deny that any church can confuse these issues without damaging its witness to the Gospel.

Article XVII

We affirm that God calls his people to display his glory in the reconciliation of the nations within the Church, and that God’s pleasure in this reconciliation is evident in the gathering of believers from every tongue and tribe and people and nation. We acknowledge that the staggering magnitude of injustice against African-Americans in the name of the Gospel presents a special opportunity for displaying the repentence, forgiveness, and restoration promised in the Gospel. We further affirm that evangelical Christianity in America bears a unique responsbility to demonstrate this reconciliation with our African-American brothers and sisters.

We deny that any church can accept racial prejudice, discrimination, or division without betraying the Gospel.

Article XVIII

We affirm that our only sure and confident hope is in the sure and certain promises of God. Thus, our hope is an eschatological hope, grounded in our confidence that God will bring all things to consummation in a manner that will bring greatest glory to his own name, greatest preeminence to his Son, and greatest joy for his redeemed people.

We deny that we are to find ultimate fulfillment or happiness in this world, or that God’s ultimate purpose is for us to find merely a more meaningful and fulfilling life in this fallen world. We further deny that any teaching that offeres health and wealth as God’s assured promises in this life can be considered a true gospel.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…. - I Corinthians 15:1-4

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to thhose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” - Revelation 14:6-7

Signed: J. Ligon Duncan III, Mark E. Dever, C.J. Mahaney, R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

HT: Tim Challies (Challies.com)

This excerpt from Reid Monaghan’s blog Power of Change (read the whole post here):

On May 19, 2006 the movie based upon Dan Brown’s fictional work, The Da Vinci Code. The trailer for the film contains the following opening:

Such are the lofty claims of this story. An ancient conspiracy, guarded by intrigue and murder, if revealed to the world would change the very fabric of society. Just exactly what could be such a secret? The Christian faith, the belief of billions on planet earth, is based on a well guarded fabrication that is revealed when a man seeks the truth in renaissance artwork and medieval legends. The book has garnered a huge following and the film will no doubt be a blockbuster success. Ron Howard is directing and Tom Hanks plays the lead role. The production values and cinematic excellence will be high and the story very compelling. From the spending some time on the film’s web site today, this project is being undertaken with the highest of quality. It will move people. For those uninitiated with the details of history or the debates about the historical Jesus the story of the Da Vinci Code can be confusing. A fictional work passing for history can be a great fog for people in our day. Many actually “learn” more from films today that responsible history. We must serve our neighbors in such a time as this. This film is a fantastic opportunity for those who follow the biblical Jesus, the Jesus of history, to grow in our understanding of our own faith, its roots, and to share the true account of Jesus with those with whom we live, work and play. I see the following benefits to the conversation which will be had around the film’s release.

• First, the film is a great opportunity to help one mature in our understanding of the historical roots of our faith. So many are completely ignorant of biblical history and the circumstances of early Christianity. It is a great time to study these issues greatly.

• Second, the film will cause “cultural Christians” and young people to struggle with what they believe and why. This will afford great opportunity for crisis and clarification. Which by God’s grace can result in deeper commitment to truth. We will need to love and teach in this context.

• Third, the film will be a great opportunity, in my opinion, for evangelism – sharing about the Biblical Jesus – not the Jesus of the Davinci Code, but the living Jesus who saves sinners.

HT: Power of Change