William Chong

Written hundreds of years ago by the Puritans in frontier America. Ever-so-relevant in 2009.

SOVEREIGN GOD,
Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart,
and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom
to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns;
Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice,
for to bring honour to thy name is my sole desire.
I adore thee that thou art God,
and long that others should know it, feel it,
and rejoice in it.
O that all men might love and praise thee,
that thou mightest have all glory from the intelligent world!
Let sinners be brought to thee for thy dear name!
To the eye of reason everything respecting the conversion of others
is a dark as midnight,
But thou canst accomplish great things;
the cause is thine,
and is to thy glory that men should be saved.
Lord, use me as thou wilt,
do with me what thou wilt;
but, O, promote thy cause,
let thy kingdom come,
let thy blessed interest be advanced in this world!
O do thou bring in great numbers to Jesus!
let me see that glorious day,
and give me to grasp for multitudes of souls;
let me be willing to die to that end;
and while I live let me labour for thee
to the utmost of my strength,
spending time profitaby in this work,
both in health and in weakness.
It is thy cause and kingdom I long for, not my own.

O, answer thou my request!

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Beautiful. (Probably unbearably loud in real life, too, but still.)

Genesis 1:20 – “… And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”

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If he wasn’t enough of a voracious blogger (he’s posted every day for the past six years), Tim Challies has just started another blog called “10 Million Words”.

It’s an intriguing premise though – basically he intends to read all the books that appear on the New York Times‘ bestseller list in 2010 and review them (which adds up to about 10 million words, he reckons). Aside from the fact that it’s like, three books a week (I struggle to read one chapter a week!), it’s also an exercise in absorbing the worldview shaping our culture today.

There are already some insightful reviews on there – it’s definitely a blog I’m adding to my reading list.

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Meet Dongdaemun, one of the city gates of 14th-century Seoul still standing today. I would imagine that to keep foreign nations and hostile invaders out, watchmen would be posted at these gates and other watchtowers along the city walls, on the lookout for any sign of enemy activity. The watchmen would need to be on the lookout particularly at night, when there’s more cover in the darkness. No doubt as the night goes on the job would be a tiring, sleep-depriving one. Dawn and the morning it brings can’t come soon enough, and so the watchmen would be waiting expectantly, with great longing for the morning, with great longing for the certainty of the sunrise.

The psalmist in Psalm 130:1-6 uses this same comparison to illustrate the depths of his faith in the Lord:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

Can you agree with the psalmist? None of us can stand with the weight of our iniquities. With Him there is forgiveness. In His Word is our hope. And a life with Him spurs a faithfulness and patience, and we can be as Christian watchmen on a night shift waiting for the Son to reappear.

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HBC goes to Impact 2009.

On the lookout for more photos to slot into the video, email me if you have some!

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Monday morning. For those of us in the workforce, this was our last day of the Impact 2009 Conference – for others (including Jono) there was the option of an extra day of leadership and discipleship seminars.

General session 10: Rick completed his series on 1 Peter in expositing verses 10 to 12. By way of introduction, he first brings some questions raised by Old Testament standout Job, who asks: “How can a man be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2) This question can be answered by considering three extraordinary magnifications of salvation: the prophets foretold it (vv.10-12a), the Apostles announced it (v12), and the angels are amazed by it. Rick makes the astute point that even the angels — who have been worshipping God at his throne in an unceasing, almost OCD fashion (compare Isaiah 6 with Rev 4), would still be amazed that a God who’s “Holy holy holy” would save the unholy.

Seminar session: Dr Hugh Rorrison, an anaesthetist at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, gave a very medically and Biblically-informed overview of the myriad of issues in medical ethics, answering the following questions:

1. Where does human life come from? Hugh makes an important statement that “medical ethics is illegitimate if humans have no inherent value”. He explains that if humans have evolved by random chance, there is no right or wrong and our life could (in jest) be summed up as follows: “born a fluke, live life as a farce, and end up as fertilizer”. The Bible affirms that we’re created by God and in His image.
2. When does human life actually begin? After going through the scientific concepts of meiosis and embryogenesis, Hugh gives several varying definitions people use to ascertain the start of human life. Some argue that life begins at viability (when it can survive on its own), some at quickening (when the first movement is felt by the mother), some at implantation. He however notes that the Bible unashamedly notes that human essence of a new life is imparted well before birth (Psalm 139) and we are even given a sin nature at conception (Psalm 51: “Surely I was sinful from the moment my mother conceived me”). Therefore human life according to the Bible begins at conception.
3. When does human life end? Ultimately God knows the exact moment we die, says Hugh – he notes that medically human life ends at “death of the person as a whole, as opposed to the whole of the person”.
4. On abortion – Hugh explains that as a natural conclusion from the previous questions, abortion is equivalent to breaking the 6th commandment. This is achieved today either by drugs or surgery. He points out that the intra-uterine device (IUD), morning-after-pill, and some pill-based contraceptives prevent implantation of the womb and would also be immoral. A birth control method that prevents sperm and egg from uniting is OK, but those that affect the lining of the womb are not.
5. On IVF – Hugh details what the procedure involves, noting that in order to increase the success rate, surplus embryos (up to are fertilized, but then discarded or used for medical research.
6. On stem cell research – Hugh supports research where stem cells are harvested from bone marrow, but objects to when they are taken from surplus embryos.
7. On Euthanasia – the word literally means “to die well”. Despite the seemingly noble aims, the act of euthanasia is still deliberately cutting short a person’s life.
8. On life support – This is not the same as euthanasia – to allow someone to die at the end of their natural life is not the same as a deliberate act of ending it.

The Q&A session following covered even more issues – deciding between the mother or the baby (e.g. ectopic pregnancies), birth control, IVF and God’s sovereignty, organ donation, and prenatal testing. The audio for this seminar is well worth having a listen to.

A couple of closing thoughts:

• The calibre of teaching Impact Conference brings to NZ is phenomenal. I think it’s testament to the strong relationships the folk at Riverbend have with the speakers: Rick, for example, has come to NZ for the past 20 years; Martha Peace has come before.
• Simon and I both noted the mildly uncharitable action of reserving seats prior to speaking sessions. Sometimes we’d walk through the hall an hour before any session and find rows of seats with Bibles and book bags unceremoniously strewn across them! I know everyone becomes amplified eager-beavers during a conference and I can understand the enthusiasm in getting a good seat, but just reserving it with your books and expecting a prime spot feels a little unChristian. It’d be much more adelphous (is that a word?) to even selflessly offer the better seat to a brother or sister in Christ.
• The musicians at Riverbend are extremely gifted: I especially enjoyed the Casting Crown covers as they played songs like “Slow Fade” and “If We are the Body“. Definitely some things I took away to help with my own worship leading.
• It was great to meet so many like-minded people who worship Christ and hold biblical teaching in such high regard.

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Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/wchong
Full write-ups: http://bit.ly/jonomac/

Us out-of-town sojourners had the pleasure of worshipping and learning with the local Riverbend congregation on Sunday morning, day 3 of the Impact Bible Conference. Rick and Russell preached during the morning sessions, while Jerry presented a stirring message during the evening Communion service.

Sandwiched between the plenaries was the continuation of the ladies seminar by Martha Peace, and a spirited Q&A session which offered much insight and learning.

General session 7: Rick continued his exposition of 1 Peter in a message entitled, “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” – how does one experience true Christian joy? In verses 6 to 9 the apostle Peter explains to Christians under trial four discoveries for enjoying life-changing joy:

1. Joy is rooted in the thought of heaven – Christians are betrothed to an afterlife with Christ
2. Joy is strengthened through the refinement of suffering – “the happiest days of the Church have been her days of persecution”
3. Joy is centred on the person of Christ – this point included Rick’s most insightful comment of the conference: “The only man-made thing in heaven will be the scars on Jesus’s body.”
4. Joy is _____ the reality of heaven (v9)

General session 9: I was enriched by Jerry’s exposition of the crucifixion narrative from the human perspective in Luke 23:39-43. For those who don’t know, that’s the part where Jesus hangs between the two criminals, who offer two startlingly contrasting responses to the Suffering Servant. I loved seeing this Passion narrative from this uncommon perspective. The proud unrepentant criminal curses And cajoles despite being rightly condemned, utterly helpless, and unable to reverse the consequences. On the other hand, the repentant thief justifies God, vindicates Christ and pleads for mercy which is graciously given: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

As Jerry closed in prayer, the Hawkes Bay was treated with the first sea-level snowfall in over 40 years. Snowfights and merriment served a fitting coda to a Lord’s day to remember.

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Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/wchong
Full write-ups: http://bit.ly/jonomac/

This is a very rough type-up from notes I took during the Q&A session from the Impact Conference (Sunday 30 May, 3.30pm). The panel included Rick Holland, Russell Hohneck, Donald Stevenson and Jerry Wragg. Note that this is written from my notes and not from the audio, so I’m picking there will be inaccuracies and things I’ve misheard/misread until I have the opportunity to revise it according to the session recording.

Q: What books do you read?

Rick: Iain Murray – “The Forgotten Spurgeon”, has impacted John Macarthur’s ministry.
The pastoral letters of Samuel Rutherford, which Spurgeon describes as “the closest thing to Holy Scripture since the closing of the canon.”

Russell: There’s no time to read books if you’re on Joe Fleener’s email list! But should mention Charles Jefferson – “The Minister as Shepherd”.

Donald: “Agape Leadership”, on the life of RC Chapman, and his testimony of being involved with people on a long-term basis. “The Courage to be Protestant” by David Wells. Also refers continually back to C.J. Mahaney’s “The Cross-centred Life“.

Jerry: Feels that David Wells has a keen insight on the Evangelical movement over the past 100 years. Names a number of books: “My Heart for thy cause” by Brian Borgman; “Ministry Exposé” by Albert Martin; “Lectures to my Students” by Charles Spurgeon; “Practical Wisdom for Pastors” by Curtis Thomas. Advises a gradual approach to building up a reading habit, taking the time to gain an appetite for the subject matter.

Q: Why does God command all to be saved, but only elects some?

Rick: The simple answer is we don’t know for sure. This is one of the doctrines we can explore and may not figure out totally. It’s important to note that the Bible affirms human responsibility, but never affirms free will. Note the passage in Romans which contrasts being a “slave to sin” and being a “slave to righteousness”. Those who are spiritually dead don’t have free will – look, Arminianism is not a heretical view. But the burden of proof has been placed on the Calvinists but shouldn’t be… if you think through passages like Ephesians 1, the book of Romans, even Deuteronomy 7. Yes, Israel was elect too. Note that this issue hasn’t been answered fully in 2000 years of Christian history… but the eventual risk is that one says that “man is sovereign, God is not.”

On free will, I haven’t met a honest Arminian – I mean, they will still pray for someone’s salvation. Is that not the same as asking God to save someone? Also, in the Bible, election is always discussed with Christians who need comfort, not a place you begin regarding evangelism. No Calvinist would really evangelise by saying, “This is the gospel. Are you elect?”

Jerry: There’s this concept called a wall of worship, which I think Arminians shy from fully approaching. The other error is where hypercalvinists jump over the wall of worship/revelation and try to resolve all of it, when really we sometimes have to admit that we have hit tension and instead of shying from approaching the wall, or jumping over it, we should bow down before it.

Here’s a question to ask yourself: is God unjust if He saves no one? You would say no (given our depravity). So why do we say He’s unjust if He saves some? Because we’re proud.

Donald: I’d like to add as well, that the doctrine of election is freeing with regards to evangelism. We see in Acts 20 that Paul went from house to house to preach – his “Calvinism” didn’t affect his zeal for evangelism. I think it was Spurgeon who once said, “I believe like a Calvinist, but preach like an Arminian.”

Q: Are infants and young children who die early elect?

Rick: Macarthur has a book on this subject. My theological extrapolation is that babies and toddlers prior to the ability to make a decision would be redeemed. I mean, beyond passages of the Scripture such as 2 Samuel 13 – where King David’s child died as a punishment for his sin, there is not much re: clues on this issue. It’s worth noting though that Rev 20 refers to the final judgement based on deeds. The works reveal your belief or lack of belief in Christ, so if a child/infant is pre-deeds when they die, then he/she is redeemed.

Jerry: (Explained further re: David’s story in 2 Samuel 13). Also in Revelation 20, the people cast into the Lake of Fire are revealed as “unbelievers”, not “unelect”. So the implication is that those without the mind to comprehend it is elect. The Bible also talks about unbelievers without excuse – this implies that for some, there would be one. (Explained further that this was different to an adult not exposed to the gospel)

Q: What are the doctrinal implications of the book “The Shack“?

Russell: It’s a radically different and havoc-inducing presentation of who God is. And it’s also a very engrossing read, offering the reader a glimpse into a fictional intimacy of fellowship with God that is enviable. However, the premise here that God speaks outside the Word is questionable. The book did not draw me to holy living – it’s dangerous theology.

Jerry: It’s an attempt to depreciate revelation about God. It’s an issue when people say “this book changed my life” – what principle did you learn from “The Shack” that you didn’t learn from Scripture? Also, fiction pretending to be theological truth is not a new idea, e.g Frank Paretti’s series.

Rick: When you read fictionalised accounts of a truth, it is hard to bifurcate between the truth and the speculation that clouds it. E.g. “Left Behind” series.

Q: Rick, should I get a tattoo?

Rick: There’s two extremes on this: those who say “I’m free in Christ”, and those who quote Leviticus 19:26-28 – though I’d say this Scripture is not a reason not to get a tattoo. Ultimately it’s between you and God, but from my experience with the youth I work with, most of them hide their tattoos in certain contexts anyways.

Q: Can you give a fair critique of Mark Driscoll?
Donald: He’s referred to by some as “the cussing pastor”, which is a 6-year-old term.

Jerry: Cussing is not the issue. Look, none of us would say that he’s not in Christ. He professes Christ crucified and I commend his understanding of the gospel. I’ve read all his books and listened to his sermons. My concern is that his missiology is presented as this: “If you are going to be intentionally missional to society and be an effective minister of the gospel, you’d engage and advocate filthy speech, raw sensual behaviour, smoking and drinking as a way to remove barriers.

Here’s the problem: the gospel of Jesus Christ is for the atoning. We are covered by the holiness of Christ, and we are then to mortify sin in our lives as a reflection of that. Mark communicates to me a denial that transformation is necessary for his life. Some of his open and frank sermons have blurred this line, and I think he will enslave his generation to carnality – that’s the ultimate danger. (Retold the story of a man in his church who fell into unholy living after missional teaching at college).

When you preach on atonement but don’t do holy living/sanctification, then you’ve got a problem.

Rick: I have to be careful about this, as my pastor has made a number of rebukes about Driscoll’s “Song of Solomon” series.

2 things: if Mark believes what he preaches on the atonement, he’s on our side. My concern? The media points out that he is a sexually provocative, edgy pastor. If this is how unbelievers see him, at what point do we ask if a guy is above reproach?

I’ve also heard a sermon he preached in Scotland on the “Song of Solomsn”. After I listened to it, not trying to be dramatic, but I cried. The content is too horrible to describe in any detail. (Quotes Driscoll from the sermon re: “if your wife thinks what she’s doing is dirty…”) If an intern of mine offered that, I would fire that person.

Donald: 1 Peter sets the standard: “Be holy, for I am holy”.

Russell: I see disaster for MD and his followers and disciples if there is no obedience, no sanctification, no holiness.

Q: Regarding contextualising the gospel, what role does technology, dance, music, drama play in church?

Jerry: The gospel itself is offensive in its basic, biblical dress. Look, the methodology itself is not evil. Technology shouldn’t be about repackaging the gospel. It becomes a problem when the gospel message is marginalised in the process of contextualisation, or we offer entertainment and then do a bait-and-switch for the gospel.

Also the preaching of the Word is a supernatural event. It’s a priority, and has always been since the foundation of Israel, even.

On Sundays, none of us should be here to uphold our preferences – we’re here to lift up our voices, pray, serve, listen to preaching. I mean this is related to the “worship wars” issue as well. Ultimately, if the words are biblical, we look at Hebrews 13:17 – obey your leaders, and put to death your own preferences. Look, the worship music leaders can focus on choosing the songs – I’ll focus on teaching the congregation to put away preferences and self-centredness. Worship wars dishonours Christ.

Rick: You can’t win with music – someone won’t like it. Music ministers are marked men! The higher principle though is this: older and younger are to defer to each other. I like something John Piper’s said: “Don’t compare the best hymn with the worst chorus… and don’t compare the best chorus with the worst hymn.” (e.g. How Great is our God vs The Great White Throne – which is about hell…)

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Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/wchong
Jono’s writeups: http://bit.ly/jonomac/

General session 4: Jerry Wragg started Day 2 of Impact Bible Conference delving into the meaning behind Paul’s word to the Corinthian church (1:30-31). A lengthy sermon where he stressed continuously the sufficiency of Scripture as given: “We have no business changing evangelism from what it is in Scripture.” Also a thorough tracing of justification, sanctification and glorification plainly described in Scripture.

General session 5: ”Heaven is a comforting term,” said Rick Holland as he continued his exposition of 1 Peter, this time focusing on the ways God satisfies three aspirations of the human heart. In writing to persecuted Christians, Peter expounds on how God gives believers hope upon Christ’s grace, provides security in the imperishable certainty of heaven, and the assurance that “this life is the closest a believer will ever come to hell.”

General session 6: Jerry Wragg asks how far we should go regarding the phrase “all things to all men”, tackling the issue of contextualising the gospel. A few provocative statements, such as: “I don’t care how reformed your teaching is, if you’re repackaging the gospel, it’s not sanctified.” Wragg highlighted points from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 to consider, including:

- preaching is not preeminence: not flaunting brilliance and turn of speech nor dressing the gospel at clarity’s expense
- preaching is not about personal charisma; Paul in particular came “in weakness, fear and much trembling”

Question for the day: Does the next generation of preachers act, dress and speak like Rick Holland, Jerry Wragg etc, and to what extent is this shaped by culture?

Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/wchong
Full write-ups: http://bit.ly/jonomac/

As I’m sitting here at the end of Day 1 of Impact 2009 Bible Conference, Hastings has chilled up like a popsicle and my seat is not heated. But a good 400+ folks have been warming their voices on powerful songs, and listening to powerful preaching through the day.

A brief run-down:

General session 1 - Rick opens the plenaries by outlining the life and character of the Apostle Peter. He’s shown in Scripture to be passionate yet flawed (definitely not infallible Pope material from what the Bible records). Peter was a regular, Christ-exalting, fallible, arrogant, passionate, broken, and eventually restored man.

General session 2 - Jerry Wragg opens his series by listing a multitude of ways evangelical Christians have been affected by the postmodern worldview. Wragg laments the perceived decline of absolutes, depreciation of propositional truth-claims, and the exaltation of human wisdom. He looks forward to delving through 1 Corinthians in addressing issues, including how far should contextualisation and the “all things to all men” principle go.

General session 3 - Rick Holland unpacked the opening two verses of 1 Peter by highlighting three points: the Father elects, the Spirit sanctifies, and the Son redeems. Holland skirted around the election/predestination debate, focusing more on the astute observation that Peter mentions these points to the persecuted church not for theological challenge and controversy, but for pastoral comfort and spiritual security. Definitely a good challenge in getting doctrine turned into practice.

As a side note, the Driscoll contextualisation controversy got a mention by Holland during the first seminar session, titled “what’s wrong with youth ministry today?” I’m picking interesting debates on that issue during the Q&A session on Sunday.

Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/wchong
Jono’s writeups: http://bit.ly/jonomac/