Thursday, July 26, 2007

Chapter 9 Of Free Will

“The doctrine of the free will of man is theologically and practically pivotal.” Waldron

Three crucial components must be clearly understood to have a proper grasp of free will – freedom, ability, and responsibility. A proper grasp of the doctrine of free will is essential to Biblical parenting, evangelizing, and counseling.

Freedom is:
  1. natural liberty – no limitations inherent in humanity
  2. to make choices – in keeping with desires
  3. governed by one's ethical disposition and moral nature (power of self-decision according to his desires)
  4. absence of external force or necessity of nature
    1. external entities (laws, states, God) do not force us to choose against our will
    2. our environment is not causal
Note: external entities and environment influence, not control our freedom and behavior.

Freedom is not:
  1. ultimate and unbounded – the ability to make any choice whatever under any circumstances
  2. complete unpredictability
  3. disconnected from God's sovereign will – there was a law from the beginning before the Fall
Ability is:
  1. consistent with his desires
  2. relative to his state
Ability is not:
  1. ultimate and unbounded
  2. the capacity to act against desires or moral disposition
Responsibility is:
  1. based on freedom and ability (see Phila. Assn. Circular Letter, 1783)
  2. based on actual choices
  3. placed on us by God
Responsibility is not:
  1. excused by influence
  2. excused by limitations placed on freedom and ability
So what does all that have to do with parenting, evangelizing and counseling?

Parenting
  1. Putting boundaries on children's choices and behavior does not necessarily infringe on natural liberty.
  2. Behavioristic methods (reward and consequence) can mold a child's behavior to a degree.
  3. “Relapses” shouldn't surprise us, especially in unconverted children.
    1. After all they're only doing what's natural.
  4. Reward and consequence must be closely associated with responsibility. Eph. 6:4 (discipline AND confrontation)
    1. Certain behaviors don't just make me unhappy, they are sin against God.
    2. Accountability to an authority, not just a matter of opinion
  5. Socializing (Freud) and environment (Skinner) and a sense of responsibility (Rogers) are important.
    1. People and surroundings do influence (but not control) the individual.
    2. Responsibility before God is the beginning of dependence on him.
“Children who are deterred from quarreling by fear of spanking are not necessarily performing a good work, but they are certainly doing better than if they were not deterred. Similarly, children should be taught to pray even though they may lack a right spirit or converted heart, because for them to neglect to pray would be worse. We must not give over requiring and teaching our children to do what is right because they lack a right spirit, but we must also not let them rest in a purely formal conformity to God's will.” (Waldron, p.213)

Evangelizing
  1. Since man freely chooses based on his nature, making a choice for Christ cannot be the goal.
    1. Offer a sufficient reward of the right type at low enough cost and the choice is a given.
    2. It's not the sinner's choice that saves.
  2. We must present the facts of the Gospel and plead with sinners to turn to Christ.
    1. The Creator has been patient but he commands repentance. Acts 17
    2. All who come to Christ will not be rejected. John 6:37 Romans 10:13
    3. Those who believe will be saved. Acts 16:31 Romans 10:9-10
  3. The goal is genuine repentance following conversion resulting from a new nature.
    1. See Luke 24:46-48; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 1:9
Counseling
  1. People in trouble do not need
    1. re-socializing (Freud)
      1. re-programming conscience so it doesn't overrule natural desires
    2. a new environment (Skinner)
      1. genetic tinkering + environment = über man
    3. to live up to their potential (Rogers)
      1. it's an internal problem with an internal solution
      2. merely need to plug into pre-existing resources
  2. People in trouble do need
    1. to know and acknowledge the difference between sickness and sin
    2. to repent of any sinful behaviors and patterns
    3. to be pointed firmly in the direction of what is right
    4. to be given proper help and necessary tools to develop the habit of doing right

// posted by sundoulos @ 5:21 PM 0 comments

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Confessing Our Faith in the Culture - Chapter 8

Of Christ the Mediator
  1. His ordination to the office of mediator
    1. The Author of the ordination – God the Father
    2. The time of the ordination – eternity past
    3. The framework of the ordination – covenant between Father and Son
    4. The character of the ordination – mediator, Prophet, Priest, King, head and Savior of the church, heir of all things, judge of the world
    5. The purpose of the ordination – redeem, call, justify, sanctify, glorify his people; that is, accomplish their salvation
  2. His incarnation for the office of mediator
    1. The subject of the incarnation – the Son, second person of the Trinity
    2. The time of the incarnation – the fullness of (appointed) time
    3. The essence of the incarnation – God taking on man's nature in total except for sin
    4. The mode of the incarnation – the Holy Spirit and the power of God
    5. The result of the incarnation – two whole, perfect, distinct natures in one person
      1. His full deity
      2. His true humanity
      3. His single personality
  3. The qualifications for the office of mediator
    1. The anointing of the Holy Spirit – made public at his baptism
    2. The commissioning of God the Father – validated at his baptism, transfiguration; cf. Jn 12:28
  4. The execution of the office of mediator
    1. Its historical description – incarnation, humiliation, ascension
    2. Its central operation – penal substitutionary atonement
    3. Its ancient communication – one means of salvation pre- and post-Calvary
    4. Its mysterious communions – the interworking of two natures
    5. Its effectual application – he actually accomplished something at the cross
    6. Its inalienable possession – he can't give it away, no one can usurp it
    7. Its necessary functions – his threefold office
From: Samuel E. Waldron, A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, (Evangelical Press, 1989), p126-127.

“Who is Jesus?” is the main question in all of the differences between Muslims and Christians. from answeringislam.org

There's a deeper question than this; Christ the Mediator is Chapter 8, not Chapter 1 and for good reason. Absolutely foundational is the question of how God has revealed himself to us: the Analects (Confucius), Bhagavad Gita and Veda (Hindu), Tao-te-Ching (Taoism), the Qur'an, the Bible. Next, based on that is the understanding of man's true condition. Hence, Chapter 1 (the Scriptures) is followed by Chapter 6 (the Fall) which is followed by Chapter 8.

So what is our condition??
  1. Basically good 'cause Adam's sin only counted for Adam and he repented and was forgiven Islam, UU's
  2. Basically good 'cause we evolved from pond scum and there's no such thing as sin Secularism
  3. Basically sinful 'cause we inherited a sin nature and are alienated from God Christianity
What are the consequences of these views?
  1. I don't need a mediator 'cause there's no problem; Adam managed OK and so can I.
  2. I'll mediate for myself, thank you, 'cause I'm good enough to do that.
  3. Woe is me, for I am undone.
How many choices do we really have?
Christ, and Christ alone, is fitted to be mediator between God and man. He is the prophet, priest and king of the church of God. His office as mediator cannot be transferred from Him to any other, either in whole or in part. Paragraph 9

Why do we need Christ and Him alone?
  1. Because of our ignorance
  2. Because of our estrangement from God and the imperfection of our services at their best
  3. Because we have turned away from God and are utterly unable to return to Him
  4. Because we need to be rescued and rendered secure from our spiritual adversaries
How does Christ meet our need?
  1. By His prophetical office he teaches us the truth of our need and God's gracious provision, uniquely revealing God to us.
  2. By His priestly office he reconciles us to God and renders us acceptable to Him
  3. By His kingly office he convinces, subdues, draws, sustains, delivers and preserves us, until we finally enter His heavenly kingdom.

// posted by sundoulos @ 12:45 PM 0 comments

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