Josh King

Genesis 2:18-25 & Don’t Play – Not Even With The Nerf Gun

Dating without any reference to marriage is as dangerous as shooting a gun without any reference to a target.

Genesis 2:18-25 gives us the context for intimacy between a man and a woman, it is marriage. Do not decontextualize the intimacy of marriage and place it in dating. Courtship should correspond to marriage the way a Nerf gun corresponds to a handgun, there will be similarities, but they are drastically different.

Please don’t carry the analogy too far though. Dating may be the Nerf gun, but it is still serious. Be faithful with the lesser Nerf gun of dating, and you will be prepared to be faithful with the real gun of holy matrimony. Date with purpose, not for leisure. A marriage that expounds the mystery of Christ and His Church is the target – AIM!

Constraining Grace

…he debated with fellow religious prisoners whether the assurance of God’s love promoted holiness or license. Fellow prisoners challenged Bunyan saying, ‘You must not keep assuring people of God’s grace because they will do whatever they want.’ Bunyan responded, ‘That is not true for God’s people. If you keep assuring God’s people of his grace, then they will do whatever he wants.’ – From Christ-Centered Preaching by Brian Chapell

The Doctor: The Misunderstood Test

The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge [antinomianism] being brought against it. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel. – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 5, p. 8

Genesis 2:4-17 & The Divine DTR

God has Defined The Relationship.

I think most people in the west make two deadly assumptions concerning their relationship with God.

1) It exists and it is good. They have never had to do anything to gain it, but they most assuredly have it. They are not super serious about the relationship from their side, but they are convinced the Divine is intensely serious about them. Here God is a Cosmic Care Bear, a Santa Clause on steroids, and a Mr. Rodgers who is everybody’s neighbor.

2) They deny such a relationship exists altogether. They may or may not be adamant about this. Most likely this exists in a soft form of apathy. Whether or not there is such a relationship to be had they just don’t care.

With the rise of an ethereal spirituality in the US I think most people place make the former assumption. They are like the 5 year old whose girlfriend is their kindergarten teacher, the relationship isn’t really real. They “talk to God” kind of like the 30 year old guy who lives in grandma’s garage “talks to girls” online while wearing Star Wars pajamas – the relationship ain’t really real.

We only relate to God within the structures of covenant. Covenant relationships are serious, and this is the most serious relationship of all. Now it is true that all mankind does relate to God as their creator, and God has a posture to general benevolence toward all of mankind, but man as a whole is in violation of covenant, this covenant (Hosea 6:7). The favor and blessing of God are absent. We are excommunicants of the covenant, we are now a dying death. Relationship with God is so serious that the only basis for it is perfection.

You are saved by works. Covenants are unchangeable. They may be superseded, this one never was. This covenant was not annulled, it was fulfilled. Again, you are saved by works, the catch is that they are not your own. Every time you read the gospels, think to yourself as you see the perfect living of Christ, “that is my righteousness by faith”. Every time you read the gospels, think to yourself as you see cursed death of Christ, “that is my curse”.

You are either in Adam or in Christ. You relate to God in one of these two ways. God has defined the relationship.

Tolle Lege: Just Do Something

Readability: 1

Length: 122 pgs

Author: Kevin DeYoung

I loved this book. It is worth it for its modern Puritan-esque title alone: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will or How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. Pastorally it is so useable; this will probably be my go to book for persons who come to me wrestling with the will of God for their life for years to come. I won’t say much more about the book, the quotations should be enough to glean the big idea.

[W]e should stop thinking of God’s will like a corn maze, or a tight-rope, or a bull’s eye, or a choose-your-own-adventure novel.

[W]hen we look carefully at the instances of special revelation in the book of Acts – visions, angels, audible voices, promptings, etc. – we notice one very important and consistent fact. The extraordinary means of guidance were not sought. I don’t deny that God can still speak to us in direct surprising ways. Of course, it must be tested against scripture, but I believe God can still give visions. The Point is that these extraordinary means in the New Testament are just that – extra-ordinary.

In short, God’s will is that you and I get happy and holy in Jesus.

So go marry someone, provided you’re equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it’s not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God’s sake start making some decisions in your life. Don’t wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God’s will, so just go out and do something.

The Doctor: The Measure of Grace

If you want to measure grace, that is how you do so – from the highest heaven down to the cross, and beyond that even to the grave, down amongst the dead. This is the way to see the character of the reign of grace. It was grace, the grace that was in His heart, and in the heart of the Godhead, that led Him to do all of this – eventually to give His very life a ransom for our sins… It is there you see the bounty, the abundance, the munificence of it all. He gave himself even unto the death of the cross. So that aspect of grace is seen most gloriously and most brightly in Him. – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Volume 4, p. 364

Genesis 1:2-2:3 & Imago Dei

From my limited study of culture in America I will venture to say that generation gaps are a recent development. Just a matter of decades ago the radical preference differences between teen and parent would not be so obvious. To be in anyway like your parents as a teen is now often uber-uncool.

Our society which places stress on the individual adds to this. You must find out who you are, you own style, your own way. Customize you life. Too often this results in rebellion. You want to run from anything that would conform you to the mold of you parents. Take heed, how you respond to this authority tells of your attitude toward the ultimate authority that placed you under such dorky parents.

It is a good thing to have good parents. God designed the parent child relationship, it is good. It is good to imitate their faith and look like them as they look like Christ.

Imago Dei , the image of God – the implications of this doctrine are so intense. The more I reflect on it the more I am left in awe. In the original rebellion man was not content with being made in the image of God, he wanted to be God! He rebelled against his Creator. He wanted to customize his image, upgrade. Unfortunately like many rebellious fashion attempts of teens today, this was a tragic downgrade. Identity was not found it was lost. We devolved.

Jesus comes to restore the imago Dei. In fact he takes us beyond mere restoration. After our final glorification we will be in a better position than Adam. When vile sinners who are exposed graciously to the glory of God break in contrition, their identity is not lost, rather they begin to find it. In repentance and faith our humble humanity is restored. And our humble humanity is glorious. What is man that you are so mindful of Him?

The Doctor: The Sin of Morality

I would say that the greatest sinners in the world are the self-satisfied, self-contained, good moral people, who believe that, as they are, they are fit to stand in the presence of God. Moreover, they are in reality telling God that He need never have sent His Son into the world as far as they are concerned, and that the Son need never have died upon the Cross. There is no greater insult to God than that; but that is precisely what they are guilty of. There is no greater sinner in the universe than the man who has never seen his need of the blood of Christ. There is no greater sin than that – murder and adultery and fornication are nothing in comparison with it. – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 4, p. 291

Genesis 1:1 & One Down, One-Thousand-Five-Hundred-Thirty-Two to Go

Last night we began a trek, an epic trek. We took one step, just one step of 1533 toward our desired destination. It was just one step, but what a step it was. Oh the glories of this one verse! God forgive me for all the times I have read or contemplated this verse flippantly. Forgive me for playing with nitroglycerin as if it were glass of ice water.

One of my favorite books I read in preparation for this trek was Allen Ross’s Creation and Blessing. Ross said, “If creation around us displays the glory of God (Ps. 19), how much more the account of that creation.” In this sentence, just this one sentence, I learn that God is incomparably majestic and powerful. He is transcendent. He alone is Creator, all else is creature or creation. He is eternal, unbound by time. He is wise and creative. A man is smart if he can design a clock, God set the stars, burning balls of gas in motion. If man messes up I am five minutes late. If God messes up we all die. He never messes up, we do.

This first sentence of the Bible is more amazing than the stars. Oh, see it that way, God grant us to see it that way! Alpha Centauri does not shine as brightly as this verse of scripture. And this is the most glorious thing, this transcendent, glorious King of the cosmos has become immanent as I read this very sentence and His Holy Spirit illumines it. Our God is a talking God. He talks to us.

Only 1532 glorious more steps to take as we learn more and more of this great covenant God and our relation to Him. God bless these steps, may we like the patriarchs be those who “walk with God”.

Tolle Lege: The Holiness of God

Readability (1-3): 2

Length: 219 pgs

Author: R.C. Sproul

I have yet to write one of these ‘reviews’ on a book I am not reading for the first time, perhaps this is the first because I was moved to worship again as wonderfully as when the book was first cracked. Although Sproul can do nothing but fall desperately short of the grandeur of his topic he writes superbly and as a master teacher. Weighty, deep theological truths are taught in an incredibly understandable way. This book easily glides to the top of the most impactful books I have read. If you are not joining us for the NRBC this month as we discuss this book I strongly encourage you to read it.

Ministers are noteworthy of their calling. All preachers are vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. In fact, the more faithful preachers are to the Word of God in their preaching, the more liable they are to the charge of hypocrisy. Why? Because the more faithful people are to the Word of God, the higher the message is that they will preach. The higher the message, the further they will be from obeying it themselves.

I cringe inside when I speak in churches about the holiness of God. I can anticipate the responses of the people. They leave the sanctuary convinced that they have just been in the presence of a holy man. Because they hear me preach about holiness, they assume I must be as holy as the message I preach. That’s when I want to cry, “Woe is me.

It’s dangerous to assume that because a person is drawn to holiness in his study that he is thereby a holy man. There is irony here. I am sure that the reason I have a deep hunger to learn of the holiness of God is precisely because I am not holy. I am a profane man – a man who spends more time out of the temple than in it. But I have had just enough taste of the majesty of God to want more. I know what it means to be a forgiven man and what it means to be sent on a mission. My soul cries for more. More soul needs more.