A Word on "Biblicism"

When I created this blog several years ago, I had to decide on a term or phrase to be forever etched into its url, i.e., "[something].blogspot.com." I could change the header/title of "Semper Reformanda" and anything else about the blog whenever I wanted, but the [something], once chosen, would be unalterable. At that time, I had often described myself as a "Biblicist," a term which I thought I cleverly invented. I did so to distinguish my views on God's sovereignty, election, and predestination from those of "Calvinists" and "Arminians." Placing the historical doctrines of each system side by side, (the "Five Articles of Remonstrance" of the followers of Jacob Arminius and the "Contra-remonstrants" of the followers of John Calvin), I found my own beliefs to fall somewhere in the middle. So when asked, "Are you Calvinist or Arminian," I would somewhat arrogantly respond, "Neither, I'm a Biblicist," [not-so-] subtly implying that my view was fully biblical, while the others were not.

Over time, and with the patient help of several brothers who continually pointed me to Scripture, I came to see that the "contra-remonstrants" - a.k.a. "the five points of Calvinism" a.k.a. "the doctrines of grace" - are fully biblical, though none of those titles are very helpful. But this post isn't actually about the doctrine of election...

So the term "Biblicism" no longer means the same thing to me that it once did. But I still like the term, because in my mind it suggests a high view of Scripture as the all-sufficient, authoritative, inspired, inerrant Word of God. Obviously, I'm infusing my own definition into the term-- but I can do that, right? After all, I "made it up..."

Imagine my surprise when I found out that the word is used by a wide variety of people to mean a wide variety of things. If you do a google search for "Biblicism," you'll find quite a spectrum of definitions. One dictionary defines a biblicist as "a person who takes the words of the Bible literally," while a fellow blogger defines biblicism as "an attitude to the Bible that downplays the witness of the Spirit, sidelines the theological inheritance of the church, denies that truth may be rightly deduced from Scripture, and tends to a wooden, literalistic interpretation of God's Word."

It looks like I'm not the only one infusing personal beliefs into the definition of words... Obviously "biblicism" as a term doesn't always convey the meaning I intend by it. So this post is written to give clarification for potentially confused readers who may view the word in a negative light. What are your thoughts?

The Gospel is for Sanctification

"...that in all things [Christ] may have the preeminence."
-Colossians 1:18

I currently have the privilege of preaching weekly at my church through the book of Colossians, the theme of which, in my opinion, is "Christ Our Sanctification" (see 1 Cor. 1:30). In the third sermon, preached April 22, I sought to answer the question, "How does the Gospel produce sanctification?" (The audio starts a minute or so into the introduction, but nothing critical is lost.) Thus far in the series I've gotten the most positive feedback from this sermon, and from the one peached yesterday, which I'll post here when it's uploaded. But if you'd like the first two for context, I pray they would also be helpful in stirring your heart to love the God of the Gospel of Christ:

The first sermon was introductory (v.1-8), dealing primarily with the hope of the Gospel. Do you think enough attention is given in pulpits today to the Christian hope and its role in Christian living?

In the second sermon I sought to cover a lot of ground (v. 9-20), to get an overview of the connections Paul makes between the Gospel, the Person of Christ, and Christian sanctification. This is the foundation for the third sermon, (v. 9-14, 21-23).

More to come soon, if the Lord wills. May God bless the preaching of His Word, unto the sanctification of His Church, for the glory of His Name.

Here is the Cross

These lyrics are from an old song by Keith Green, "O Pilgrim Come." I wish more contemporary "Christian" music had solid, doctrinally rich lyrics like these. O, may we see the glory of God in the cross of Christ!

O pilgrim come, here is the cross
Your pardon and your peace
Collapse upon the grace of God
Whose mercy is complete
O pilgrim come, here is the cross

O pilgrim come, here is the cross
Cast all your pride away
And earthly treasures count as loss
In light of all you gain
O pilgrim come, here is the cross

Here is mercy
Come be crucified with Christ
Here is mercy
Come be raised with Him to life

O pilgrim come, here is the cross
God's judgment on your sin
Drink deep the shame that leads to life
And broken enter in
O pilgrim come, here is the cross

O pilgrim come, here is the cross
And here your boast should be
What I could never do myself
My God has done for me
O pilgrim come, here is the cross

O pilgrim come, here is the cross
No other path attend
O here begin your journeying
And here your journey end
O pilgrim come, here is the cross

Breaking the Silence

So I haven't blogged in a year and a half, and this is a bad thing. I've recently been encouraged, (through another blog) to develop the discipline of blogging consistently, even if some or most entries aren't sermonic in nature. I think this will be a beneficial exercise, if only for me. : ) So hold on tight, don't look down, and keep your hands and arms inside the ride at all times. Here we go...

I recently listened to what is probably my favorite Piper sermon ever. Ev-Er. That's a HUGE deal. Maybe it's because it's the most recent Piper sermon I've listened to, and because I haven't listened to Piper in a while-- but I doubt it. That link should take you to a page on the Gospel Coalition website where you can choose the audio or video file. I don't know why, but I prefer to listen to Piper, rather than watch Piper. Maybe it's because I listened to him for so long and had no clue what he looked like, so when I saw him preach the first time, he looks nothing to me like the way he sounds. (There's probably something significant in that about the nature of media, the human imagination, or the power of the message preached as superior to the appearance of the one through whom it is preached. If you want to take a stab at analyzing that, feel free to comment.)

More soon... You've been warned.