On God's love and God's wrath

"In itself, wrath, unlike love, is not one of the intrinsic perfections of God. Rather, it is a function of God's holiness against sin ... Where there is no sin, there is no wrath - but there will always be love in God
... God in his perfections must be wrathful against his rebel image-bearers, for they have offended him; God in his perfections must be loving toward his image-bearers, for he is that kind of God."

Quoted from D. A. Carson in The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Crossway).

"The relationship between God's love and his wrath can best be seen by considering two intermediate concepts, God's righteousness and his jealousy.
   - Without the wrath of God against those who finally disbelieve, God's love is no longer righteous.
   - When we see God's love, not as a sentimental affection, but as a covenantal commitment, we see it as a jealous love that leads to wrath when it is abused.
... Once we understand God's love, we know it as tough love, one that respects his standards of righteousness and burns in jealousy against those who betray it. God's wrath serves the purpose of his love, and his love is the richer for it: it bestows on his beloved the ultimate blessing of a sin-free world"

Quoted from John M. Frame in The Doctrine of God: A Theology of Lordship (P&R Publishing).

"Poverty Bible: woeful or wonderful?"

Came across a blog article entitled "Poverty Bible: woeful or wonderful?" while doing some research for a sermon on commandment#10 on covetousness, inviting discussion/debate on whether the World Vision/Bible Society effort to publish a Bible that highlights "over 2000 passages of scripture that speak of God’s attitude to poverty and justice.”

It is encouraging that there seems to be a concerted effort by various Christians groups to reinforce the Bible's teaching on God's attitude to poverty and justice - which many Christians (myself included) seem slow to listen & act.

But can't help but feeling the irony that this debate on the "poverty Bible" is one that only "rich" Christians can afford to have - i.e. the option of having a Poverty Bible in addition to regular Bible, Study Bible, Green Bible, One-year Bible, etc. etc. - even while they strive to champion the cause of the poor who can barely afford a meal on the table, let alone multiple Bibles each household.

What is the future of expository preaching?

This little video interview of Bryan Chapell (speaker for KVBC & EPS 2009) on What is the future of expository preaching (source: The Gospel Coalition) puts it simply yet plainly what is expository preaching and why it needs to remain as the foundation of our church ministries.

When the prayer meeting feels like a complaint session

The weekly prayer meetings can be the heartbeat of the church. But it can also be an extremely frustrating experience: members turning up for no other reason except out of a sense of duty, wondering why the group is always small, angry with others that we think should have been there, wanting to feel good about our own commitment and yet hardly feel inspired or encouraged by being there ... Am I the only one who feels this way?

Which is why Johannah Reardon's article on "The Art of Group Prayer" was such a breath of fresh air. In fact, it was so positively and helpfully encouraging that our prayer group read and talked through it together at prayer meeting last night.

Johannah wrote about how a group member's complaint became a wake-up call to how they handled prayer time in their group. It directed them to God's Word, where they didn't find prayers about "arthritis, unruly children or rotten work conditions", but "powerful, life-changing" prayers that were "full of God's power and glory" (e.g. look at Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:16-23).

Not that we shouldn't pray about arthritis, unruly children or rotten work conditions (ironically, our group conceded that health, family & work issues dominate our prayer agenda!). Rather, Johannah suggests that we transform our prayers by "putting them into the bigger context of what God wants to do in our lives"by remembering 3 key principles:

1) MAKE THEM GOD-CENTERED, i.e. remember who we are talking to. One church member put it this way: "think not KNOW-HOW, but KNOW-WHO". Extolling God's virtues prayerfully (ef. Ephesians 1:16ff) surely carried Paul further than any listing of complaints. When our prayers are God-centered, we can "pray victoriously in the midst of whatever [we are] praying".

2) MAKE THEM PRAISE-FILLED, i.e. focus on praising God for what he has done. Trust that God knows what he's doing, even in times when we're painfully aware that we don't! God may deliver us from trouble, or he may not! But one thing we know - whichever is his will, he will equip us with everything we need to face the situations he put us in.

3) MAKE THEM LIFE-CHANGING, i.e. focus expectations not only on how God could change the circumstances around us, but also (and especially so) how God might want to change us!

Johannah's small group prayers changed after their wake-up call. Instead of a complaint session, prayer time became "an incredible opportunity to gain the wisdom, direction and power of the King of kings who rules all time and place".

May God bring about the same transformation to our prayer meetings! Amen.

KVBC & EPS 2009 with Bryan Chapell

It's time again for the annual Klang Valley Bible Conference (KVBC) & Expository Preaching Seminar (EPS).

This year, we're excited to have for the first time Dr Bryan Chapell (Covenant Theological Seminary) with us. He will be preaching on God's Great Plan (expositions on Daniel) at KVBC and leading a series on Christ-centered Preaching at EPS. We're also very excited to be able to bring EPS to Penang for the first time this year.

Dr. Chapell's itinerary in Malaysia:

Oct 4 (Sun), 10am  :  Preach at City Discipleship Presbyterian Church (CDPC)
Oct 6-8 (Tue-Thu), 8.15pm  :   Klang Valley Bible Conference, Tropicana Golf Club, PJ
Oct 7-8 (Wed & Thu), 9.30am :  Expository Preaching Seminar, Tropicana Golf Club, PJ
Oct 9-10 (Fri 8pm & Sat 9.30pm) :  Expository Preaching Seminar, Wesley Methodist, Penang
Oct 11 (Sun), 9am & 11am  :   Preach at Wesley Methodist Penang
 

On cheap grace and false assurance

"It is true ... that no man enters the kingdom because of his obedience; but it is equally true that no man enters the kingdom who is not obedient. It is true that men are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ; but it is equally true that God's grace in a man's life inevitably results in obedience. Any other view of grace cheapens grace, and turns it into something unrecognizable.

Cheap grace preaches forgiveness without repentance, church membership without rigorous church discipline, discipleship without obedience, blessing without persecution, joy without righteousness, results without obedience.

In the entire history of the church, has there ever been another generation with so many nominal Christians and so few real (i.e. obedient) ones? And where nominal Christianity is compounded by spectacular profession, it is especially likely to manufacture its own false assurance."

Quoted from D.A. Carson in Sermon on the Mount: An exposition of Matthew 5-7 (Spring Harvest Publishing).