Review: The Rise of Evangelicalism by Mark A. Nolls

The Rise of Evangelicalism

by Mark A. Nolls

As a history buff of a variety of genres, I've accepted my lot in life is to spend a fairly significant portion of my life reading volumes of either dry and dusty or arrogant and pushy accounts of history. Having read this first work in a set of five, I'm already tracking down as many of the remaining four already in publication, and that is because Nolls has proven to me what I've always suspected. The presentation of easily corroborated historical facts, in regards to the growth and development of Evangelicalism, is done in a manner that is anything but arrogant or dry. Another thing that's easily recognized is the focus of the writer in not getting sidetracked, which is really easy to do, especially when writing from a historical perspective.  Finally, although there is much more that I could document in a positive note about this book, I'm going to finish-up by saying that when I was done with the book, I didn't feel that I was finished with the subject. Mark Nolls accomplished what I feel my purpose as a writer is, he left me with the desire to continue researching the subject of Evangelicalism.

Well done Mr. Nolls!

(This Review and others are also available @: www.fellowshipinthescriptures.com, then go to 'Review Central').

Blessings,
Terry a.k.a. k2montana

It Really Isn't That Hard!

What I'm fixing to say will get me throwed off of quite a few Christmas lists. That's okay though, my wife is always saying that I don't play well with others. This issue has been on my mind for a while, and as I've just finished 'Living Right In A World Gone Wrong' this is a good   a time as any to get this out.

When we pick up our Bibles, irregardless of the translation or version, whether or not it's paperback or leatherbound, and not important whether it's brand new or well-used, they all have in common that they're easy to read and simple to understand. One thing that the hundreds and thousands of 'doctrines' and 'theologies' have in common with the even greater number of denominations in the world is that by the very manner  by which they came to exist, they all have very little to do with God. God's Word, the Holy Bible, is at one end of a spectrum while all of the doctrines, theologies, and denominations are at the other end. Based strictly on Scripture, it's safe for me to say that when we're closest to the Bible end of the spectum, we're also the closest to God and His Will for us.  Necessarily contrary to this position is the [requirement] that the closer we get to the other end of this spectrum, and all that has accumulated there,  the farther from God we get.  I mentioned that it was [Scripturally] safe for me, or anyone, to take this position and it is, but I'm not going to tell you why  just yet. In a day or so I'll take this a little farther, so either check back then, or use the option on the left sidepanel to be updated via Email.

Right now we're in prayer over whether or not to do a book on this issue. As I said earlier, we just wrapped up a book and another is about finished. We do have several outlines ready to go forward on, but we're not sure where the Master Publisher would have us go to just yet.  So please do join us in prayer on this matter.

Many thanks,
Pastor Terry Keiner
Absarokee MT

Are You Ready?

Why do you suppose it is that so much of the time we either cannot or refuse to choose God as the focus of our lives until we're in a position that He is the only choice we have left?  In the Gospels, Jesus actually extended His invitations specifically to those who were at the bottom of the barrel, so to speak.

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

                                                                                                                       (Matthew 5:1-5    NKJV)               

In this particular Scripture, which is the beginning of what is commonly referred to as 'The Sermon on The Mount', Jesus goes on to include many others in what I've always thought of as an invitation of a sorts.  

At this point, we need to back up just a bit.  To fully appreciate how Jesus came to be delivering The Sermon on The Mount, which many wrongly believe to be when He began His public ministry, we need to do just a bit of background.  After being baptized by John [the Baptist] in the river Jordan, Christ spent forty days in the wilderness, at the end of which He was tempted by satan.  This is when His public ministry begins, and before He delivered The Sermon on The Mount near Capernaum, He'd already preached at Galilee and Nazareth before going to Capernaum, which fulfilled prophecy found in Isaiah nine and forty-two.  Then, going back to the region of Galilee, He recruited the first four of his disciples as well as doing all kinds sickness and possessions.  A huge crowd developed there and followed as He made His way from Galilee to Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and to the area beyond the Jordan River.  It was at this point that He returned to Capernaum, with His huge crowd of followers intact and growing, and delivered The Sermon on The Mount.

When reading through the second half of Matthew chapter four, it becomes obvious that the  focus of Christ was on those who were sick, diseased, poor, and possessed, and this same focus is present in the first five verses of The Sermon on The Mount.  What we need to understand here is what I think of as the 'cultural climate' within the Jewish world at that time.  First of all, Judaism is much more than a religious belief system, it is actually a culture within itself.  What was going on during the time of Christ was that the Jewish culture was so watered down, or distorted, by legalism that the leaders, mainly the Pharisees, pretty much decided who was worthy, or fit, to be a part of the Jewish 'in-crowd.'  A good example of this is found in Luke 18:9-14.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a  Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -  extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful  to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other;  for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.  (Luke 18:9-14    NJKV)

By and through the earlier Babylonian Talmud, and then later on the Jerusalem Talmud, the leaders of the Judaic world had added at least six hundred 'laws' that had nothing at all to do with God or His Will.  The end result of all of this was that it wasn't just the Gentiles who were pretty much reduced to vermin in the eyes of the mainstream Jews, it was also those Jews who didn't meet the criteria of the Pharisees.  Then the coming of Christ, which was first prophesied of by God Himself there in the garden of Eden, (See Genesis 3:14-15), wasn't exactly what the mainstream Jews had envisioned.  While it was never even hinted at through Old Testament prophecy, the Jewish hierarchy had decided over the four thousand or so years since the first mention of a Messiah that when He did come it would be with a lot of to-do and fanfare, parades and marching bands, festivals and singing.  As we all know, it didn't happen quite like that, and this is one of the major problems that the Jews had with Jesus, He didn't fit in with their ideas and notions of what He should be and do.  This bring us full circle back to where we started, that the focus of Christ during His early public ministry was those who weren't recognized by the 'uppity-up' as being fit for anything.  Perhaps this is why so many of us refuse Christ until we're in the position of having no one else to turn to.  

But, there is a big difference between us today and those Jesus was focused on two-thousand years ago.  Society and culture had decided that those people weren't fit for anything, and a great many of those people had lived in a subsistence lifestyle for generations, with no way to change it.  That's not true today.  We all know people who 'had it all' and then lost it by their own  actions.  In  our world today there are many, many people who were wealthy and accepted one day, and are living in a shelter the next.  Remember the story about the man who built his house on the sand?  There you go, it's the same [figurative] thing going on all around us.  

Okay then, here's the point I've been headed at since we started.  You don''t have to wait until your straw house, built on sand, had collapsed around you to be the wealthiest healthiest person there is.  Unlike some who've been unable to do better not by their own doings and who waste no time coming to the altar, let's not wait until we've lost everything before we turn to Christ.  It says nowhere in the Bible that we have to be poor and broken before He'll accept us, that's something we do on our own.  It's a cycle that only we can  break, and He's standing there, ever so patient, waiting.

How about it?  Has He waited long enough?  Are you ready?

Brunner on Prayer

I'm doing an Article on Prayer, and came across what to me says as much as all of the other, non-Biblical, sources I've researched put together.  I pray that this piece by Emil Brunner, who I admit was controversial in a lot of ways, may bless you as it did me.

Terry

"Indeed, the belief in the answering of prayer is victory over the abstract impersonal concept of God, even within Christian theology."

 Emil Brunner

 (The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith, and Consummation, Pp. 335)

Antinomianism, Say What?

     I know that I normally don't get into too much theology, but I'm going to make an exception here.  If everyone will just bear with me, the reason will become obvious pretty quickly.  So, here we go.

      Antinomianism, now that's a mouthful of word.  To get a very basic understanding of what it means, we're going to start with the etymology behind the word.  'Against' (anti) 'God's law' (nomos).  The root word anitnomos gives way to our word antinomianism, with the definition 'against God's law[s]' giving way to something along the lines of 'the act of' (ism) [being] against God's law[s].'  There, that wasn't too hard, now was it?  Everyone needs to keep in mind that what we've got here is a very basic and bare bones meaning of both a word and a [belief]  system that has been used in a constantly changing application over  the many years since it first surfaced.  Everyone let out their held breathes now,  because we're not going to explore the applications of this word very much farther than we're at right now.

      Okay then, let's get at it.  Antinomianism has basically two lines of thought.  First, we have Theoretical Antinomianism, which denies the [third] use of God's Law as a practical guide, or moral component, of the Christians everyday lives.  A good example of this is found in Ephesians 6:1-2, which is where Paul re-states a  section of the Law that talks about honoring our parents.

      "Children,, obey your parents in he Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother,     which is the first commandment with promise:"  (Ephesians 6:1-2    NKJV)

       Then we have Practical Antinomianism, which actually has two separately recognized forms. The first of these forms is evidenced when we have professed Christians who openly  show a complete disregard for God's Law(s) in their lives. Then we see the  other form of Practical Antinomianism hard at work when we find no reference to or mention of God's Law(s) in the Sermon Content of certain preachers.  Whether this occurs by choice, or as I have personally experienced, or results from censorship really doesn't matter, as the end result is the same.

        What we've just gone over is what we see in our Churches and lives of Believers today, this isn't something that used to happen.  I'll say  it again, Antinomianism is alive and well today,  in  our Churches and our lives.  You may not have recognized it by it's proper name, but that doesn't deter in any way the damage that is done by whatever name you  choose to give it.  

      What we'll call the 'English Antinomians,' as a part of this mindset,  place such priority to the doctrine of justification by faith alone that it overshadowed their doctrine of sanctification.  They also present that since God cannot see  sin in the Believer, that sin no longer poises any danger to Believers.   To further complicate the Believer's sense of spiritual self, this strain of Antinimianism redefined  the application of sanctification,  reducing it from an on-going  process only completed with the coming of Christ to something much less, specifically to the 'art' of adjusting  to the new status of being  justified.

      Well, there you have it, meaning, purpose, and application of Antinomianism.  It wasn't too bad,  now was it?  The  purpose today was not to give a lesson on this subject, although it may appear to be.  Our purpose here today is to remind everyone to be ever  vigilant.  What we covered today is not a repeat of some old theological arguments that  are not relevant to our  lives today. Take a look around, not just in your  secular world, but specifically at your Church environment.  Be honest  with   yourself and God when you look at what is and is not being  taught that should be, and what is being taught that shouldn't be.  Just as important as that is to look at what people, maybe yourself included, are 'living' in their Christian  lives.  What role, if any, does God's [Old Testament] Laws  play in your  life, and also in the Church you  attend?

    Okay then, I'm done.  My prayer is that I've left everyone with more questions than answers, and with more of a desire to learn more than  the thought that you've learned enough  about this matter.

      Be Blessed!  

What's The Fuss?

       Hey, so I know that I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even I know that up  is up, black is black, and so on.  But what I see  more and more of is making less and less sense to me, as regards sin and homosexuality.  Used  to be it was only  those who'd chosen the homosexual lifestyle, and were ashamed of their choice, who tried to convince everyone else that being gay, or queer, or whatever was okay and normal.  If you'll  just think about it for a minute, the shame and guilt that comes from deciding to live a life in total disobedience to God has got to be a tremendous burden.  I suppose it's a normal  thing to try to either try to convince the rest of humanity that the sin they choose to have as a very active part of there life is either okay and normal,  or that it's not their fault that they have  decided to live the homosexual lifestyle.  It used to be only God that got the blame, that He had made them the way they are.  But now genetics gets to share the fault, and  even then those who claim to be Christians bring God into it since He did speak mankind into being.  

       

     What I'm trying to figure out is exactly  what the fuss  is all about.  Nobody seems to have any trouble at all in identifying murder as unacceptable, not  only because it's against the law but also because it's a sin.  We have criminal codes and statutes that says it's illegal and God's Word declares it a sin.  The same thing with rape, assault, robbery, breaking and entering, child  molesting, and a great many more things that some folks make the decision to do.  So why aren't there advocates lined up from here to there in support of murderers, and rapists, and thieves, and child molesters?  Why aren't the perpetrators of these other actions trying to convince those of us who've decided to not break the law and to  not sin against God that what they've done is okay and normal?  To make all of this even worse, to me at least, is that in most states, engaging in homosexual activity is in fact a criminal offense.  Why is it okay to break both man's and God's Law  in this one particular area, to the point of making people who refuse to accept homosexuality as okay and normal as being horrible people?  

     I follow a fellow-pastor on Twitter who made the statement via a post  last week that he would be arrested before he would consider performing a same-sex wedding ceremony, and I am in total agreement with him.  We  have courts issuing judgements against people who refuse to do business with declared homosexuals.  But, and this is a big 'but', I still don't see what all of the fuss is about.  Let's get it together people,  and quit bowing down to satan, because that's what is really at the bottom of all of this.  If you don't believe me just read your Bibles.  Whether it's homosexuality, child molesting, murder, rape, thievery,  or any other act that is identified as sin  by God, the person who makes the choice to participate in the act is actively working for satan.  Just to make myself clear on this, any person who makes the conscious decision  to participate in any act or behavior  that is identified by God as sin is working for satan.  If when I get up in the morning and I make plans for what I'm going to do tomorrow I include raping a women, molesting a child, or having sex with another man, then I'm living contrary to God.  No amount of advocating or blaming someone else can change that fact.  And I'll tell you something else, Scripture makes it very clear that no particular sin is worse than any other sin.  Whether you steal a dollar candy bar or have a homosexual  relationship with another person, both acts are still sin.  

    I've been asked what I feel people who've made the decision to have same-sex relationships should do, and my answer is the same that I give to anybody who's not a Christian and wants to start living the life God would have them live.  Come to the altar, accept the shed blood of Christ as atonement for sin,  and renounce satan in his many forms.  Though it may sound easy, take my word for it, it's far from easy.  It's hard to change your lifestyle, but it's not something you'll have to do by yourself. 

     So I'll ask it again, what's all the fuss about?

     

The Friend That Counts!

When I refer to the gift of life that Jesus gave all of mankind when He claimed the Father's Will as His only purpose for becoming Man, I'm aware that I'm not saying something that hasn't been said a thousand times over.  That in itself illustrates a point that also is older than the ages, that nothing about God,  that is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, has ever or will ever change.  God, in His entirety, is static, consistent, never changing.  Use whatever word or phrase you choose to describe something or someone that is constant, and you're describing God.  Now I want you to keep this  little intro in mind while I share how this morning went.

Earlier this Christmas morning I had my wife, Faith, give me some instruction on how to navigate through Facebook.  When we got to the place where all of my friends were listed, I was a bit surprised to find out I had so many.  I've never heard of a vast majority of the people on my friend list.  Faith assured me that I had to have excepted each and every one of their 'Friend Requests' or they wouldn't be my Facebook friends.  Be that as it may, and I really think that somehow all of those people put themselves on my friend list, as I was looking down the list of friends, I was amazed at how many friends some of my friends had.  I mean some people on Facebook have hundreds and thousands of friends, and that got me to thinking about how few friends I actually have.  I don't mean on Facebook or any of the other Social Media WebSites.  I'm talking about actual, know them face-to-face,  call them on the phone friends.  Then I had it explained to me that people on Facebook didn't actually know all of their friends, but that their friends actually included all of their friends friends, and so on.  Anyway, ....

All of my rambling about the way the whole 'friend' thing works on Facebook sort of describes the process by which the best Friend any of us could ever have is actually our friend before  we ever know Him. Everything He has ever done has been for the benefit of untold millions of people who started out not knowing that He even existed.  Then as people excepted His friendship and told others about Him, His circle of friends grew, even though some people haven't accepted His 'Friend Request.'  But in spite of denied 'Friend Requests'  He was still friends with the one who denied His request simple because other friends had accepted His request.  Does any  this make any sense to anyone except me?  I sure hope so, because it's as clear as a bell to me.  

While there are some similarities in how friends are made and what defines friends on the Social Media thing and our Lord Jesus Christ, the purpose that He has for requesting our friendship doesn't resemble anything we'll find in this busted-up world we live in.  His desire to befriend us has nothing to do with who we know, how much money we have, how well 'connected' we are, what we can do for Him or someone else, or anything else on this list that can go on and on.  He comes  to us, wanting to be our best friend, with no strings attached, unless you call the gift of eternal life, endless love, and all-encompassing grace and mercy a string.  What I've just described is the most perfect and best friend any of us could ever hope to have.

How about it, is He your 'bestus' Friend?

Blessing everyone on this day of celebrating Life!
From my family to you'll, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Terry, Faith, & the kids