Andromeda and the Glory of God Rocked My World!

I came across a link that John Piper shared on facebook a few days ago. It affected me so much that I decided to do a blog post about it. On January 5, Nasa released an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of our closest neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy.

"The Hubble Space Telescope is powerful enough to resolve individual stars in a 61,000-light-year-long stretch of the galaxy’s pancake-shaped disk. It's like photographing a beach and resolving individual grains of sand. And there are lots of stars in this sweeping view -- over 100 million, with some of them in thousands of star clusters seen embedded in the disk."

What rocked my world was not the photo or the video per se, but the fact that God commanded these galaxies (over a hundred billion) into existence.

Isaiah 40:26 (ESV) Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.

Of course no one knows (or ever will know) the number of galaxies or stars in the universe. The only one who knows the exact number is the one who created them.

It is absolutely mind boggling to watch this video knowing that with a word Christ created every star you see (Col. 1:16). Not only that, but Isaiah 40:6 and Psalm 147:4 say that God has given a name to each and every star!

Psalms 147:4 (ESV) He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.

Think of it! Every star you see in this video has a specific name given to it by God. If every star in the universe has a name, it's no wonder that "no creature is hidden from His sight."

Hebrews 4:13 (ESV) And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

 

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Hermeneutics: Some Common Pitfalls

Last week I began our series on hermeneutics. Our goal is to study, not just read, God's Word so that we can understand it, apply it, and therefore, be sanctified by the Holy Spirit's work through the Word.

Before we get started with the actual process it's important to understand some of the pitfalls that are easy to fall into when doing hermeneutics–namely, the pitfall of US!! What do I mean? When we do hermeneutics we often approach it with a few biases that we weren't aware may of not been there:

1. Theological bias - Most of us already have theological disposition of some kind. When we approach a text we tend to view it through that theological lens. To be sure, many passages can come to the same conclusion despite those theological tendencies, but when other hard passages come into play, such as Romans 9, Revelation 3, the Levitical Law, etc., our biases really start to shine through. Hopefully, the hermeneutical process will squelch much of that to produce an honest interpretation of the passage.
2. Cultural connections - The culture that we are most accustomed to can even be a stumbling block sometimes. For example, a person who has grown up in the Middle East may read the sections about polygamy much differently than their Western counterparts. I remember in college two young men in the cafeteria debating over this very issue, both from different cultural backgrounds. Duvall & Hayes give other examples of this in Grasping God's Word. 
3. Social status - Jesus had a heart for the poor, and so should we. But we cannot interpret every single passage through that lens. Most of us struggle financially and can relate to many of the stories of the poor. However, we should not let that bias affect every interpretation of a given passage that we are studying. 
4. Personal upbringing - This has a lot do to with the first bias. The way we were raised to think about certain issues will also affect what we pre-bring to the text. Were we raised in an environment where social action was at the front line? Did our parents thrust us into the ministry with them? How were "non-desirable" people to be treated? This and scores of other things will most certainly affect our hermeneutics.

This is not to say that we can never properly interpret a passage of Scripture. It is simply to remind us that as we begin the interpretive process we must be aware of our own prejudices, and consequently, do our best to thrust them aside as we study Scripture. 

Can this be done? With that question looming I would just like to close this post with a few statements that remind us that it most certainly can be done!

1. Hermeneutics follows a set pattern of rules. We interpret every Scripture the exact same way. In other words, one would not use one particular hermeneutical process for the book of Genesis and then use a totally different approach to the Pauline epistles. This guards our own tendencies as stated above and gives accountability as we approach our own hot button issues in the Bible. 
2. Rules are "added" depending upon the genre you are studying. I know, I know. I just stated that the entire process is always the same. And it is. Particular genres introduce different dynamics to the equation and while the process itself doesn't change a number of other variables come into play which must be accounted for. So, when you are studying the book of Genesis it helps to understand that it is an historical narrative verses studying the book of Revelation which is in the form of an Apocalyptical/Epistle (letter). I will talk more about genres further into this series. 
3. Hermeneutics is process. Way too often we tend to jump straight to the interpretation of any given passage without fully going through the process. Understandably, time restraints often play into this. But for personal study we are really cheating ourselves by not following through on the entire process. Don't get too jumpy! It's going to be a long process but the pay-off will be well worth the travel. 

In our next post I will begin to lay out the process in steps. We will discuss the entire journey in a brief overview. From there on out we will pick a passage and actually begin to put some time in on the study of God's revelation to us. God bless, and keep coming back.

Steven 

Vocation: The Real Purpose Driven Life

With so much talk among Christian pastors and "leaders" today about purpose and meaning, taking risks and doing something radical for God, the "average, ordinary Christian life" seems to be a wasted life. “Certainly,” they say, “God doesn't call His children to live a life that's mundane and ordinary. He wants them to take risks, do great things, to live above the ordinary and the mundane!” 

They say things like, "Don't you want your life to count? Don't you want to hear Jesus say "well done good and faithful servant"? Then be radical! Sell everything you have and go into the mission field! Start a ministry! Get out on the streets and evangelize! Do something great for God, otherwise your life has been wasted, and you'll be like the servant with the one talent in Matthew 25:24-30 who hid his talent in the ground and had nothing to give his master on the day of reckoning." 

Yet nothing could be further from the truth. There is no such thing as an ordinary, mundane life for the Christian. Being a godly husband by loving, serving, and leading your wife is radical. Being a godly wife by serving and submitting to your husband is radical. Raising your children to know and love the Lord is radical. Being a godly employee by working hard, being respectful to your boss, and sharing the gospel when given the opportunity is radical. In other words, the entire Christian life is radical. 

An understanding of the doctrine of vocation can help put an end to "purpose driven," "radical theology," because the doctrine of vocation views the entire Christian life as a life of service and love.

What is the Doctrine of Vocation?

The term “vocation” comes from a Latin word that means “calling." In chapter one of his book God at Work Gene Veith describes the doctrine of vocation like this:

“Before you ate, you probably gave thanks to God for your food, as is fitting. He is caring for your physical needs, as with every other kind of need you have, preserving your life through His gifts. “He provides food for those who fear him” (Psalm 111:5); also to those who do not fear Him, “to all flesh” (136:25). And He does so by using other human beings. It is still God who is responsible for giving us our daily bread. Though He could give it to us directly, by a miraculous provision, as He once did for the children of Israel when He fed them daily with manna, God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other. This is the doctrine of vocation."

God, in a sense, hides behind human work. He primarily works in His creation, not by the miraculous, but by ordinary means. He chooses to work through vocation. Again, Gene Veith says:

“To use another of Luther’s examples, God could have decided to populate the earth by creating each new person from the dust, as He did Adam. Instead, He chose to create new life through the vocation of husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. God calls men and women together and grants them the unfathomable ability to have children. He calls people into families, in which—through the love and care of the parents—He extends His love and care for children. This is the doctrine of vocation.

When we or a loved one gets sick, we pray for healing. Certainly God can and sometimes does grant healing through a miracle. But normally He grants healing through the vocations of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, and the like. It is still God who heals us, but He works through the means of skilled, talented, divinely equipped human beings.”

Your Work is a Calling

In the medieval church, only those who had devoted their lives to the service of the Church, such as the monk, nun, or priest had a calling from God. The farmer, cobbler, carpenter, or servant were considered to be far less important, even worldly occupations. The Reformation changed all that. Again, Veith notes:

“In scrutinizing the existing ecclesiastical system in light of the Gospel and the Scriptures, the Reformers insisted that priests and nuns and monastics did not have a special claim to God’s favor, but that laypeople too could live the Christian life to its fullest.”

The Reformers saw from Scripture that all work is a calling form God. God had given everyone unique gifts and abilities for the service of his neighbor.

“The fast-food worker, the inventor; the clerical assistant, the scientist; the accountant, the musician—they all have high callings, used by God to bless and serve His people and His creation,” Gene E. Veith, Jr. God at Work, p.12.

The Real Purpose Driven Life

Real purpose comes from knowing that God is working through us, in our vocations to provide and care for His creation. 

However, in vocation we do not benefit God in any way whatsoever. God needs no works from us, it is our neighbor who needs them. God is already pleased with us, not because of our works, but because of Christ's work on our behalf. 

On page 10 of his book Luther on Vocation Gustaf Wingren says:

"Good works and vocation (love) exist for the earth and one's neighbor, not for eternity and God. God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does. It is faith that God wants. Faith ascends to heaven. Faith enters a different kingdom, the eternal kingdom, which Luther considers just as evident as the earthly realm, with its offices and occupations through which God carries on His creative work."

The real purpose driven life is a life that loves and serves ones neighbor through vocation. So we serve God by faith, and our neighbor by works.

The doctrine of vocation puts an end to the "mundane, ordinary" Christian life. It shows that seemingly ordinary tasks such as washing the dishes, cleaning the garage, changing diapers, and yes, even going to work every day at a job we may not like, is actually a calling from God to love and serve our neighbors. 

Hermeneutics: What, How, Why, When, Where?

It's important to start 2015 right. And for the believer that usually means a resolution to read more of the Bible. And it's a good resolution. But how about a resolution, not only to read more of God's Word, but to study it!

Most people seem to be content with reading 3, or 4, or maybe even 5 chapters a day. But how many people would actually sit down for a solid hour to study? When I say study I don't just mean reading, and highlighting, and such. I mean digging deep; going beyond the norm and really understand and applying that Word to your daily living.

That's what the main goal is for hermeneutics. It's not just reading, it's studying and applying. And hopefully, God will grant me the grace to help you on your journey. This series intends to walk you through, step-by-step, the hermeneutical process. My goal is to get you started by taking 1 chapter from the Bible and really analyzing it to the point where you know exactly what it says and how you apply it. 1 chapter doesn't sound too ambitious, but you'll soon discover that it's a lot of work. Whew!

For this particular series I'm going to be using a few tools that you may want to invest in or find other comparable tools. Here's what you'll need in general:

1. I'm going to be using two key textbooks to outline the hermeneutical process. They are Grasping God's Word and Preaching God's Word. Both book are co-authored by the same author and compliment each other. Pictures of them are below. 
   
   
   
   


2. You'll also need some kind of text editor such as MS Word, Pages, Open Office, etc. Copying and pasting is much easier than trying to hand-write Scripture passages. 
3. I'll be mainly using Logos Bible software and making reference to theWord Bible software. You can use a plain old Bible but I believe software will make your time in the Word much more efficient. Don't worry about price, there are a lot of good free ones that work fine. I'll mention them during our journey. 
4. Most of all you'll need patience! This is not going to be an easy task. I promise you, at some point you'll get frustrated and want to quit. You'll get angry and slam your Bible shut. You'll think it's too hard. And it will be. Don't expect a pay-off right away. Study takes time but the fruit it reaps will be well worth it in the end. 

We're going to take this slow so that we can digest every little part. At the end of each section I'll try to post a short video walking you through the process of what we went over that day. I know some people need to actually see it in action to aid in the learning process. It's okay, I'm like that, too. 

That's pretty much it for this post. In the next post I'll discuss some common pitfalls of interpretation before we actually dive into a text. Remember, we're going to take this slow. We need to learn this process and practice a little at a time as we learn. In the end, we'll be able to put the whole thing together. 

God bless you in this new year, and I hope you'll keep coming back to enrich your time in the Word.

Soli Deo gloria!

Steven

RJ Grunewald Interview on Vocation

Since I've been reading two books on the doctrine of vocation, one by Gene Veith called God at work, and the other by Gustaf Wingren called Luther On Vocation, I thought I'd repost this interview Steve and I did with RJ Grunewald from back in October of 2014.

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