I started with this topic: Why many Christians especially Pentecostals or Charismatics ignore theology? But after reading Ravi Zachariah’s news today, he started a broadcast called “Let My People Think”, I thought it’s a great way to put it!

Coming from a Pentecostal background myself as a pastor for decades planted numerous churches in Asia and now in America, I would say that the assumption is that theology is left to the pastors, but the glaring fact is that pastors themselves are not theologically trained either, that’s the most shocking and saddest thing. All we needed is passion and zeal to spread the word, and we will just do on the job training, and be sent out to evangelize and make disciples.

The sad truth today most Christians have no desire or hunger to embrace the learning of theology from the bible, because they feel comfortable in their Christian lifestyle which pretty much sees no need of any in depth study of scriptures. Though on the other hands, you would see churches teach practical teachings week in and out and the flock follows suit. This shows me that folks are desiring to learn, but no direction towards theology.

When I say theology, I say primarily the study of God, or theism. We can learn the study of man & woman or anthropology, New testament books, psalms etc., but the most important one is theism, the study of God theology in the world that motivates, captures our imagination. The last one is my favorite. I remember hearing Tim Keller’s sermons over the last like 7 years, numerous times, his teachings, thoughts and theology captured my imaginations, and my longings for the Lord. I thought that he came up with all those cool theology and ethos, but now I am in the seminary doing my own MABS or MDiv, I realize that many of those he said are actually not new, but been there in the church fathers, especially the reformed world for centuries, quoting folks like Augustine, Calvin, and the like.

I am speaking to church planters, pastors, and in fact many Church members especially leaders. The church has suffered so much ignorance, left behind of all those trailing blazing thinkers like Calvin, Augustine, Barth, Bavinck etc.  

1. They want the applications only

Because of our background, most evangelical churches apart from some Presbyterian and Baptist churches, we are pretty much getting used to the fast straight shooter to applications kind of sermons. Having preached over a decade now in a charismatic background, I can tell you that we are lucky to be even preaching expositional sermons let alone clean cut exegetical expositional sermons. The reasons is that we want applications. Part of the reason is that preachers have not really experienced good expositional sermons themselves, and hence a far reach of theology, thinking theology is irrelevant.

2. They think theology is dry and not for the commoners or even pastors

Theology is dry. This causes them to read book not of theological type or reformed type, but to , again, applications type, and experiential type. I would say that folks with college education or equal or even high school, level, can and should read up of good theology books, or listen to some good teachings MP3. I would say if pastors don’t start learning theology, he would have little left to feed the flock after a while, no matter how good the heart is.

3. They think theology is mostly apologetics and we don’t need them

That’s the sad part. But this has nothing to do with the pastor learning theology. Theology is FAR bigger than apologetics. Apologetics is basically defending your faith, theology starts from the immutability of God, to the brokenness of mankind, and everything in between and beyond. Missing theology because of a small fragment is sad.

4.  They want signs and wonders and not more reading and studying

People in the developing world, especially, love the signs and wonders ministry, and I love them too. However, we can’t just stay in the mode of signs and wonders, because we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 1). We need the power of the Spirit and  the power of the Word, who is the Lord Jesus himself (John 1). By the way, I think the developed West has the opposite problem, jettisoning the signs and winders by naturalizing everything. Different world, different culture. The biggest threat in the West is liberalism, naturalizing everything, and removing the supernatural. (FYI)

5. Pentecostals don’t believe in theology calling it head knowledge

They want power and straight application for folks to go home with. But the applications come from proper hermeneutics and exegesis skill, commentary, books to read up, theology to learn. This sounds like pastors looking for a short cut, and guess who suffers? The church!

6. Which seminary and the costs?

I know this is a huge driving force. I have wanted to attend seminary like 20 over years ago but to no avail, because I didn’t know better where to start. I am glad I am in Reformed theological seminary, a great reformed thinking, and I recommend all to go with reformed teachings.

Costs? I think after the whole church gets the attitude of theology treasuring; we will see more churches sending people to seminaries.

Conclusion

Missing Out the Rich Tradition of the Early church Fathers

I would say, not knowing theology and our rich theology developed from early fathers like Athanasius, Augustine, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther to today, mentioning only some of the bigger names, we will miss out so much what God has already done in their lives, thinking’s, churches etc. To remove them from the thinking world of our flock, is a self-destructive mode.

Let My People Think!

(Hebrews 3:7-15)

The question of exhorting one another should be commonly practiced everywhere we are in this world as Christians. Merriam-Webster defines: Exhortation is defined as the act or process of making a strong urging or appeal. An example of an exhortation is an emotional speech that inspires people to act.

So its strong. Urging someone. Appealing to someone. Emotional speech to inspire. That’s “exhort”. 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The Reason of Exhortation

Because of the fear of falling away due to unbelieving hearts. Now it says “Take care, brothers…..less you fall..” (v12). This refers to believers, as brothers. So there is a possibility for believers born again Christians to fall away because of an evil unbelieving heart developed, obviously from believing heart in the first place. I guess this is backsliding to the scale of de-conversion like well written by Dr Michael Krueger on de-conversion. This should make us to be even more all out to exhort one another, because there is such a thing of de-conversion, the antithesis or opposite of conversion. It’s very sad, and there are few big names in America who have sided into that.

I know Westminster confession says, just like Calvin has said:

The Westminster Confession of Faith (19.1) states, “They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”

This is called the Doctrine of perseverance of the Saints. “The doctrine described says that the elect are not only redeemed by Christ and renewed by the Spirit, but that they are kept in faith by the almighty power of God.”[1] That’s a very important phrase right there, “kept in faith” by the almighty power of God. We are not only saved redeemed by Christ and renewed by the Spirit, but KEPT in faith by God’s power. That means there is always a tug of war trying to pull us away from God by the forces in this world and the forces of devil.

Curtis Thomas puts it well, “This doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not maintain that all who profess the Christian faith are certain of heaven. It is saints, those who are set apart by the Spirit, who persevere to the end. It is believers, those who are given true, living faith in Christ, who are secure and safe in Him. Many who profess to believe fall away, but they do not fall from grace, for they were never in grace. True believers do fall into temptation, and they do commit sins, but these sins do not cause them to lose their salvation nor do they separate them from Christ.”[2]

The question is many who profess faith in Jesus also fall away, why? Because they were never in grace, therefore they can’t fall away from grace. But they so called profess their faith.

Where are the NT promises for that?

When we come to the New Testament (the new covenant) we find one promise after another that God will preserve His people. Jesus says, “it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matt. 18:14). In John chapter 6, Jesus promises, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. … And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day” (John 6:37–39). Speaking of the Good Shepherd and the sheep, Jesus very clearly teaches the doctrine of the security of the believer: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27–30).[3]

Jesus said it “I shall lose nothing of all..”(v14).The “no one is able to snatch them out of the Fathers hand”. So those who fallen away, are those who were never in the grace.

Dr. Curt Daniel has done valuable work in explaining and setting these verses in their proper context in The History and Theology of Calvinism, Dallas: Scholarly Reprints, pp. 420–425. I conclude with his words: “The Reformed doctrine of perseverance is that a regenerate soul will certainly persevere through the trials of life and continue to believe and repent. He will slip and fall, develop bad habits, wrestle with doubts, but through it all he will keep on going even as he began. … all believers slip and fall into sin. But the truth of the matter is that no believer stays down. Just as God gave him faith and repentance unto initial conversion, so He supplies him with faith and repentance all along the way to heaven” (p. 415 ).[4]

But the most important thing is “Do not harden your hearts…” for 40 years Israel tested God and saw the miracles of God for 40 years and yet there were a number of them who rebelled against God, fallen totally away. Imagine that? After seeing some of the phenomenal miracles that will pale anything we have seen today? So if they could fall away even after seeing greatest miracles one earth, watch out in your own lives. Don’t take things for granted. There must a continual fear of God, deep reverence of God and a sense of piety and love for him.

Hebrews 3:7-9 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.

Feeling God’s Anger & Frustration

10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’11 As I swore in my wrath,‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

Sometimes people forget that God has emotions too. He gets angry, and his holy anger rises and shown many times especially in the OT. He has deep passion for his people Israel in the OT, and in the NT and now, he has deep feelings for his church, who was purchased by his own blood. We are his. He is our God. Amen.

Conclusion

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

[1] Curtis Thomas , Safe and Secure,  https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/safe-and-secure/

[2]Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

Hebrews 2:10-12 (ESV) 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

It’s just so beautiful to see that Jesus is bringing many sons to glory. That’s to say that to enter the heaven of eternal bliss, He will bring many sons to glory, not just into heaven. So what’s glory? Romans 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Paul spells it out here clear with those God called, justified, and finally he gloried them. Why would God glorify those saved? Justified I can understand, but glorify? But when I read “bringing many sons to glory”, I can understand better. When one is justified, it means he is cleansed, he is already glorified. Jesus is glorified, he is returned to heaven to his old glory that he had before the foundation of the world. Glory is part of God’s characteristics, no one can see the Lord without holiness, for example. But when someone is purified by the blood of Jesus, we are qualified to enter to see him in his return, and we shall also be glorified. People who are not glorified, cannot see the Lord, because he is so full of glory, blazing fire (Revelations).

But what touches me most is the phrase “bringing many sons to glory”. It’s like he’s hold our hands bringing us into glory. What a beautiful picture of our shepherd, savior, bringing many of us entering into glory. He didn’t just send a thousand angels and have us line up and huge lines (can you imagine billions of us?) and even take a number? No, but he brings us in himself. Once we are in, we are glorified.

The next one is he sanctified us, or purifies us. There can be no sin in heaven. Now v11 says he is not ashamed to call them brothers! Wow, this is really endearing. He is not ashamed of us in front of angels and the Father in heaven. He’s saying “Hey, these are my brothers.” Remember he’s brought us from our background utter darkness, brokenness, godless, rebellious, sinful full of self, and now into the presence of the holiness in heaven, he validates us, he affirms us, he says “they are mine, they are my brothers & sisters.” Oh, how beautiful and moving. Intimate, more than friends, but brothers. This is immediately entering into familyhood, and we are also adopted in God’s family through Jesus, and we call him Abba Father! Amen! All because of the Lord Jesus. The amazing awesome Savior, our spokesman, our mediator, our advocate. He represents us in front of the Father.

Not only that, v12 “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

He will tell of our names to his brothers on the midst of congregation, he will praise us. It is amazing how warm and endearing Jesus is. He is no aloof dude, king, who wants to control us only.

Conclusion is who wouldn’t want to join the family of Jesus? Who wouldn’t want to leave this world and join him for eternity?

I hope this will encourage you to see the intimacy of Christ with us, and how personal he is with us? He calls us brothers (or sisters) in front of angels and his Father. He will say “Welcome to my family” when we eventually get there! Hallelujah!

Let me just say that self-denial and asceticism is not part of our delights in life. But Jesus commanded it.  

Matt 16 ²⁴  Jesus says “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”.

Taking up the cross, means crucification. Crucify our flesh to the Lord. If you ask someone to do that, he will probably rebel. Let me say briefly that self-denial and taking upon the cross, actually debunk us from the tight reign of this material world upon us, upon our lives, desire, imagination. To be really genuine Christian, there must be a sense of heavenliness in our lives, and we can’t just talk like someone who’s so earthly material bounded, i.e. earthly pleasures etc.

Let me define: Asceticism: the practice of strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline : the condition, practice, or mode of life of an ascetic : rigorous abstention from self-indulgence

Abstention from self-indulgence. The kind of conversation we have as Christians have to reflect that heavenliness. Not so self-indulgence on earthly pleasures only.

Colossians  3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

Col 3 days set your mind on things above…..because you have been raised with Christ. Seek the things that are above. What’s all this? This is all heavenly desiring language. The only way we can be such heavenly minded, is based on what Calvin writes as below:

First, it’s by means of greater eschatological desire. What’s eschatological? a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind specifically : any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment

Eschatology is about the second coming of Christ.  It’s about the end of the world, about the ultimate destiny of humankind.

John Calvin writes: Motivation to self-denial and any ascetic discipline must always by means of greater eschatological desire, for “the only way to make right progress in the Gospel is to be attracted by the sweet fragrance of Christ so that we desire him enough to bid the enticements of the world farewell.” [1]

So what’s eschatological desire? It’s the desire that comes with the second coming of Christ, at the end of the world, when Jesus will take all his elect into his eternal bliss (joy) with him in the heavenly kingdom for all eternity. All eternity, its more than a million years! (Just to get perspective) while our lives in this world is only up to like 100 years only. That will completely transform our worldview in life. When you realize that there is a trillion years and more coming, and if you really believe that, you will drop everything to seriously examine that! So that’s what Jesus says in a parable, a man who fund riches treasures under a field, went and sold everything he has, and bought that field. That’s it!

So contrast that with the worldly pleasures, traveling to see nations, cities, eating good food, traveling and sight-seeing, all these are mundane worldly pleasures. It’s fleeting. We can have some of them sometimes, or not at all. We must not be bound by them.

But how do we get out? By the end of the world (eschatology) desires of that bliss coming by Jesus. That’s what turn our eyes from the earthly to the heavenly. In fact he says with that we can say farewell to worldly enticements farewell.

We are organic beings. We must have something to look forward to , for us to make the sacrifice of self-denial, and ascetic. We can’t be told to do it, because we don’t like to. But if we see the joy ahead of us, that eschatological desire and hope, we are then willing to do it. Just like Jesus endured the cross for the sake of the joy set ahead of him. Heb 2: ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Let me end with this:

Psalm 37 ³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.⁵ Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
    and your justice as the noonday.

[1] John Calvin, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians and the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.  (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1964)

I am most amazed with what John Calvin wrote about non-Christians who lead virtuous life, kind compassionate, generous, and helping the poor and needy, but not accepting Christ as personal Savior and Lord. He said their accomplishments in the world is considered as garbage in the sight of God because their good deeds were done without a worship unto the Lord who created them on the first place. All this boils down to ‘worship’. Truly without worship, awe and acknowledgement of the Almighty God who birthed you into the world, all the good deeds and virtues in the world will get you nowhere because you have not acknowledged and honored the God who has given you everything including your ability to do good deeds to others.

I am so blessed to better understand why good non-Christians won’t go to heaven. I am struck with that important, in fact, the most important facet of life, is about worship of the living God, not about how good a person you are. In all honesty and truth, it’s not about you, it’s about God. Nothing of the fragile weak fallen broken human and would get you anywhere in the holiness and sight of the transcendent God.

So doing good deeds just as a nice person, law abiding person, good heart on its own, though appealing, is not what will make the difference. What matters is doing good deeds, kind and law abiding as a worship unto the Lord. That’s the difference. You have to first put your faith in Christ as your Savior and Lord and then any good works will be as a result of that as a living sacrifice unto the Lord. Romans 1 explains the emptiness of people who refuse to honor the creator God, no matter how good they are as a person.

Romans 1:20-23 (ESV) 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

We all know that Christians fail God and even society as well. And the fact is it’s even more complicated by the fact that just because a person goes to church, it does not make him to be a real born-again Christian. The doctrine of teaching on ecclesiology is that only the elect will be saved into the Kingdom of God. And the odd thing is not everyone in the church are part of the elect. Theology calls it the visible church and the non-visible church. Non visible church consist of the elect.  Who are the elect?[1]

The invisible church consists of only the elect. The visible church consists of elect + non elect, and you will never really know until the end time. And that’s why, you would so much hypocrisy and some even apostacy in the churches today, because not all of them really belong to Christ.

The main point carrying forward is: Worship.

Good deeds ————(not equal) —-Worship

[1] John Calvin, Of the Eternal Election, Institutes of the Christian Religion Unconditional election (also known as unconditional grace) is a Reformed doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people to receive salvation, the elect, and the rest he left to continue in their sins and receive the just punishment, eternal damnation, for their transgressions of God’s law as outlined in the old and new Testaments of the Bible. God made these choices according to his own purposes apart from any conditions or qualities related to those persons.

I was stunned that David, while fleeing from his enemies, and being hunted by the power against him, and in the midst of crying out to God for help, he inserted an anchor verse that explained his meta-thinking of his life philosophy. I can see why the Lord loves David, favors him. Look at v2-3

Psalms 27: 2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

Evil doers assailed him to eat up his flesh, what a gross graphic of description in David’s words, and its canonized in the Psalms! (Talking about politically correct?)

Then he said that its they (his adversaries) who stumble and fall. I am not sure if this is spoken or written before or after the fact, if before, that shows his confidence in the Lord, or after, his celebration and thanksgiving.

Then v3-gives the theoretical upcoming threats and forces against him. Look at that:

3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Where does his confidence come from? It’s a relationship he has with God that’s amazing. He knows his God. He pours out his heart to God. Like Augustine poured out his heart in The Confession book, I say that we need to bare our souls with the Lord every now and then. Read psalms and you will find how David gets it done, and beautifully.

Now, it comes to my key point of this blog. He actually not just asks the Lord to deliver him from his troubles, enemies who wanted to kill him, but above all, he says there is “One thing” that he has asked of the Lord, that he will seek after, that he may well in the house of the Lord all the days of his life.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

The house of the Lord is obviously the temple in his days or church gathering today, but he also above all, means the presence of God. He means he wants above all, to dwell in the presence of God, or in more contemporary words, to live in the presence of God.

That’s what I love about David. He is not asking for power, wealth, beautiful women, which he has them all, but above all he asked for the presence of God in his life. Not just in troubles.

What really intrigues me is that fact that, in the midst of all his struggles and faith in the Lord for protecting him and delivering from evil forces, he wants God’s presence. In other words, he loves the Lord and taking a cue from Tim Keller, he doesn’t just wants God’s blessings, but above all he wants the Lord.

That’s what makes David such a man after God’s heart, and how much God was with him in all he does.

The result is always amazing:

5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;