Tag: Reformed Theology

Warp and Woof

Mathematics has axioms – presuppositions, accepted without proof — which form the basis for all subsequent mathematical proofs.   Likewise, Christianity demands certain presuppositions.  As a revealed religion, Christianity’s presuppositions, its axioms, must be accepted on faith.   But this often seems to be an intellectual cop-out.

An appeal to faith in a recent conversation with a friend and skeptic brought charges of “philosophical laziness.”  “No so,” I answered, but I also had to admit that the exercise of faith is not binary. Faith is not either on or off, absolute or absent, and not black and white.   Faith has contours.  It has a warp and woof which creates contours in quality, character, and shading.  Faith has axioms, but it also demands proofs.  It has doubts, but it asks questions.  It waxes and wanes, but does not fail.  It is a gift, but it must be exercised and grow directed by the Spirit through a process of sanctification.

Abraham is the paradigmatic man of faith in Scripture and Genesis 15:6 is the core profession of his faith.  But even in this passage we see the contours of Abraham’s faith as it is received and exercised.

Join us this Lord’s Day, June 18 as we examine the faith of Abraham from Genesis 15 and consider the contours of our own faith.  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.

Rescue Operation

Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost.   He came to proclaim liberty to the captives.  He rescues for His Father those of his own who have been enslaved by their rebellion against God and their own self-destructive identity and choices.   As Jesus’ followers, we are told to go and do likewise.  But beware, it is a messy calling.

Abram and Lot had a complicated relationship.  It was marked by disagreement and discord.  While Abram sought to bring harmony, Lot acted selfishly and disrespectfully.   It would have been easy for Abram to wash his hands of Lot but that is not what we see.  Abram is characterized by interceding for Lot, seeking Lot’s good and God’s grace in his life.    Like his Savior, Abram is a man committed to rescuing his own from the effects of his ungodly choices.

Join us this Lord’s Day, June 11 as we examine the account of Abraham and Lot from Genesis 14 and consider the messy calling given to us to “seek and to save that which is lost.”  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Slippery Slope

Pragmatism is the slipperiest of slopes.  Machiavelli’s maxim, “the end justifies the means” is perhaps the quintessential expression of pragmatism.   When it comes to decision making, Christians often wrestle with call of faith to act from principle rather than pragmatism.  Pragmatism subtly mocks faith in God’s promises and precepts as either naïveté or presumption.  Or Pragmatism dismisses the promptings of the Holy Spirit as a lack of common sense or sheer imprudence.

When Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans, he conspired with his wife to follow a course of pragmatism.  Because of her great beauty and the immorality of the people they would encounter, they agreed to hazard their marriage covenant for the sake of physical safety.   But the Lord unmasked their plan and humbled Abraham before Pharaoh and the court of Egypt.  From this Abraham began to learn how to walk by faith and not by sight.  Lot, Abraham’s nephew, did not learn from observing his uncles mistake however.  By choosing the way of pragmatism, Lot led his family deeper and deeper into compromise and catastrophe and placed them firmly on a spiritually slippery slope.

Join us this Lord’s Day, June 4 as we examine the account of Abraham and Lot from Genesis 13 and consider how we are to “walk by faith and not by sight.”  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth?

We have watched enough courtroom drama to be familiar with the swearing in of witnesses.  They must swear to tell “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”  But what is our responsibility regarding truth outside of the courtroom?   What does the Bible require regarding truth-telling?  How much truth must we tell?  Who has a right to hear truth from us?  Is there ever a time when we may conceal the truth?  Is there ever a time when the Bible allows, condones or affirms explicit lying?

These questions seem simple on the surface. But when we examine in Scripture the actions of many heroes of the faith and God’s response to their prevarication with respect to the truth, we wrestle with legitimate questions regarding God’s nature and character, Christian ethics , and what is required by the ninth commandment.

Abraham shaded the truth in regards to his wife  because he feared unbelievers.   Rahab lied to the king of Jericho to save the lives of the Israelite spies.  The Hebrew midwives appear to have lied to Pharaoh and then received God’s blessing.   How to we come to grips with these passages and reconcile them to the ethical demands of a Holy God who calls His people to holiness?

Join us this week as we take a detour from our conversations on Genesis to examine the story of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 and consider what the Scripture says about truth-telling.  We meet this Lord’s Day, May 21, from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there this coming Lord’s Day at 5:00 pm.