“In. . . but not of” — are you familiar with this popular phrase? It captures a truth about Jesus’ followers. We are “in” this world, but not “of” it.

“In. . . but not of.” Yes, yes, of course.

But might this pithy slogan give the wrong impression about our (co)mission in this world as Christians? You see, the motto seems to give the drift, We are in this world, alas, but we need to make sure that we’re not of it. In this scheme, the starting place is our unfortunate condition of being “in” this world. Sigh. And our mission, it appears, is to not be “of” it. The force is moving away from the world. “Shucks, we’re frustratingly stuck in this ole world, but let’s marshal our best energies…

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Bible teachers have their more sophisticated ways of saying, "Nanny nanny boo boo." 

And perhaps we Calvinists are especially susceptible to this temptation to pump our team more than focusing on biblical truths.

We would do well to track with John Frame's observations and maybe adjust our attitudes accordingly.

Frame writes in Evangelical Reunion:

[I]t is not hard to convince people of Calvinistic teachings when you avoid using Calvinistic jargon. . . . [T]here is a slogan among the Reformed that “anyone who prays for another’s conversion is a Calvinist.” . . . If you pray for the soul of another, you believe that person’s decision is in the hand of God, not merely a product of the…

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Universalism is the view that in the end all humans—irrespective of whether they reject the gospel in this life—will be saved.

In the book Whatever Happened to Hell?, British evangelical John Blanchard writes these memorable words about universalism:

Universalism originated in the Garden of Eden when Satan brushed aside God’s warning and assured Eve, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). . . .

All the ways to hell are one-way streets. The idea that those who go there will eventually be released to join the rest of humanity in heaven has not a shred of biblical evidence to support it.

Children are sometimes told fictional adventure stories with the delightful …

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John the Baptist has a point when he objects, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14). But there’s more going on here than he first realizes.

Here’s Don Carson on what Jesus means in Matthew 3:15 in responding to John the Baptist, “Let it be so now, for thus it is filling for us to fulfill all righteousness”—

Jesus affirms, in effect, that it is God’s will (“all righteousness”) that John baptize him; and both John and Jesus “fulfill” that will, that righteousness, by going through with it (“it is proper for us”). The aftermath, as Matthew immediately notes (vv. 16–17), shows that this baptism really did point to Jesus.

Within this framework we may recognize…

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In reflecting back on 2010 at year’s end, here are what I’d call “the top 5 books I read” (in order of author’s last name):

 

	Gospel in Life by Tim Keller
	It’s not a typical read-it-on-your-own book, but specially designed for small-group study. Our weekly small group tackled the 8 sessions together this Fall. Each session has a “home study” (nice way of saying “homework”) and a 10-minute video lesson by Keller on the accompanying DVD. The topics are great, the content is outstanding, and the study guide is very well done.
	The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses by C. S. Lewis
	This was a re-read, but I couldn’t help mentioning it here. And it’s not just “The Weight of Glory” essay t…

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . (John 1:14)

Yesterday we looked at the doctrine of anhypostasis and said that the kind of humanity Jesus took in the incarnation was impersonal. He did not add a human person to himself when he took a fully human nature.

Now we turn to the flip side of the coin and ask, Where did the singular person of Jesus come from? Who is the one person of his two (divine and human) natures?

The doctrine of enhypostasis gives the answer. His humanity is not only impersonal (anhypostasis), but it’s also in-personal (that’s what enhypostasis means), in that its personhood is in the personhood of the eternal second person of the Trinity. The fully d…

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. . . [Being] in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men . . . (Philippians 2:6–7)

At Christmas we celebrate that Jesus became human that he might save us. Without ceasing to be fully divine, he took on full humanity.

But what kind of humanity did he take on? Was it a humanity that was already personal? Or did he somehow take on a kind of impersonal humanity?

We’re not the first Christians to think about these things. In particular with the doctrine of Jesus’ person (Christology), we find a good two millennia of thoughtful engagement with such questions and challe…

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E. T. is back—at least he’s made a brief reappearance in this footnote gem from John Frame.

In his chapter “Christians in Our Culture” in The Doctrine of the Christian Life, Frame writes,

Steven Spielberg’s character E. T. is, I think, a genuine Christ figure: recall the themes of preexistence, growth, teaching, miracle, healing, death, resurrection, and ascension. Spielberg denied this parallel, but in my view it is objectively there, even if Spielberg was unconscious of it. The reason is that the human mind has a need for a gospel like that of the New Testament. Those who don’t accept that gospel often instinctively give to their idolatrous inventions powers parallel to those of Chris…

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In the sixth and final session of the Trellis and Vine workshop, Col Marshall presented 13 ideas for changing a complicated and programmatic church culture into a culture of disciple-making:

1. Set the agenda on Sunday. The public ministry of the gospel and the Scriptures is essential.
2. Teach “the ministry of the pew”—that everyone can minister to everyone, and they can come to the weekly gatherings on the lookout for others to engage with, welcome, and minister to.
3. Be a catalyst of a network of discipling relationships. Begin discipling others to disciple others at the grassroots.
4. Encourage every trellis worker also to be a vine grower. Help the trellis workers to “think vine-ishly” about the…

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After yesterday’s afternoon of small-group evaluation and discussion, we started Day 2 with another teaching session.

Col Marshall led us through 1 Thessalonians 1:1–2:16 and pointed to how Paul himself was a trainer of ministers—a discipler of disciplemakers. Three key points Col highlighted from the text came under the headings 1) word, 2) prayer, and 3) parenting.

First, Paul’s ministry was word-centered—shaped and powered by the gospel and the Scriptures. Col challenged us to “be plain speakers of the gospel, and let God do the work.”

Which means, secondly, dependence on God and his Spirit—characterized by prayer. In explaining our need for God’s help, Col commented, “Our sin keeps…

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