Consistent complementarianism

Mike McKinley, concerned at the way that complementarianism seems – in some men’s eyes – to legitimise their throwing their weight around, poses some necessary questions about a consistent complementarianism, concluding:

If you want to be a good leader, perhaps you should begin by being a good follower. If you want to know whether you are a good follower, try asking the people God has put in authority over you!

 

Mohler commends Boyz II Men

You mean, suits like these?

Albert Mohler has finally broken cover, acknowledging that though Lecrae does not float his boat, he is a big fan of the intricate harmonies of a capella balladeers, Boyz . . .

Oh, wrong end of the stick, apparently. Let’s try again:

Al Mohler notes that advertising is starting to reflect a world in which genuine, mature masculinity is being valued once more.

A New York Times article describes the style trajectory for the new breed in these words:

You lose the T-shirt and the skateboard. You buy an interview suit and a package of Gillette Mach 3 blades. You grow up, in other words.

Mohler comments:

The crisis of delayed manhood for so many boys and young men is now well documented, and the larger culture reflects this phenomenon. Advertising does not rule the world, but it is a powerful indicator of the cultural direction. Advertisers make it their business to know where the culture is headed. This new trend can only be seen as good news, even if it does not yet represent any profound recovery of sanity in the society.

One important aspect of this report ties directly to a vital aspect of biblical masculinity — the reality and value of a man’s work. These advertisers are [not?] shifting merely to older and more rugged males, but to men who look like they just might be able to hold a job and do it well.

That is a healthy and promising dimension of this new development. One statement from this article deserves to be imprinted on the male brain: “You grow up, in other words.”

Read it here.

PS One of the gentlemen from the popular beat combo pictured is apparently called ‘Wanya’. This can only be regarded as a retrograde step, if it is not, indeed, an entirely fictionary name.

PPS If this is true in the world, I wonder how long it will be before the skinny sk8r boiz and tattooed grungers of the professing church will suddenly find Biblical justification for looking smart and serious? Good job we are not slaves to culture . . .

Mohler muses

Four helpful articles from the smoking keyboard of Al Mohler:

Hijacking the brain: how pornography works.  Pointing to a helpful looking book about the way in which pornography invades and captures healthy desires.

Mandatory sex education for ten year olds.  Welcome to our world, Mr Mohler!  Battle lines being drawn in the US that are very familiar to UK readers.

Where are the young men? Considering the absence of young men from higher education, and calling for Christian men to consider the stewardship of their minds.

The crisis of manhood.  General feminisation of society drives some young men towards hypermasculinity as a way of stating their credentials, and – guess what – there are churches, as always, hanging desperately on to the coat tails of a frantic society.  So we now have a Jesus who came to help us tap into our inner cage fighter.  Michael McKinley chips in here.

Women in combat

Al Mohler addresses the creeping normalization of women in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, contrary to Pentagon doctrine and – worse – contrary to every moral norm that ought to dictate such practice.  I do not know what is the situation in the British and European armed forces, but – as Dr Mohler points out – the whole thing reeks of moral and military folly.  It is not about courage, but a matter of right and wrong, of role and calling, of design and capacity, of God-ordained identity and purpose.

Calvinism and complementarianism

Kevin DeYoung has an interesting post (generated by one from another blogger, I should add) about why so many New Calvinists are also complementarians, and rigorously so.  He suggests at least four reasons (summarised below) why they are so closely linked:

1. Historically, opening the door to egalitarianism in one generation leads to bigger errors in the next.  It is a distinctly and definitely slippery slope.
2. The role of men and women is a huge issue for our day. Gender issues are among the most significant in our day.
3. Complementarianism tends to signify a number of other important convictions (he suggests that it usually ‘goes with’ inerrancy, penal substitution, and eternal punishment, for example).  In DeYoung’s opinion, a Calvinist complementarian is a pretty safe pair of theological hands.
4. Practically, it is very difficult for groups and organizations and movements to make both complementarians and egalitarians happy.

These are interesting reasons, not least because we are accustomed to hearing the so-called New Calvinists banging on about the importance of distinguishing between doctrines held in the open hand and doctrines held in the closed fist (i.e. negotiable and non-negotiable matters).

Quite apart from the fact that not all “New Calvinists” are actually Calvinists (some are Amyraldians), I am left wondering who gets to determine the open hand – closed fist classification of any doctrinal matter.  Is it the loudest shouter, the most famous name, or the bloke with the biggest congregation (do downloads count)?  I find it vaguely amusing that we all like to think that we can determine what are the open and closed hand issues, and vaguely worrying that complementarianism is now identified as one of the latter, when so many important matters are – relatively speaking – dismissed as the former.

I am not suggesting that the roles of men and women are unimportant issues, but there are many doctrinal matters which are, historically considered, far more slippery in a slopewise fashion than complementarianism (one might mention antinomianism or unbalanced perspectives on the person and work of the Spirit, both of which seem to be moot points among “New Calvinists”).  Who decides that other issues are relatively unimportant?  I can think of a whole raft of theological positions which do and do not imply faithfulness in other areas, some much more and others much less.  Finally, it can be fairly tricky to keep any ‘organisation’ (one might mention the local church, for example) happy that has people in it at opposite ends of the spectrum on more significant issues.

So, a stimulating and useful post by Kevin, but one which raises more questions than it answers, and certainly demands that the same magnifying glass be employed on other equally-if-not-more-important issues.

Becoming and being a Christian

For those who may be interested, last Sunday morning I completed a series entitled Becoming and being a Christian.  Six sermons became nine in the act of preaching.  The aim was to trace the trajectory of a true Christian from new life through to death and glory, glancing briefly at some of the key way-markers along the pilgrim road.

• Looking to Jesus
• A new creation in Christ
• A true Christian (1) Inconclusive indications
• A true Christian (2) Indispensable indications #1
• A true Christian (3) Indispensable indications #2
• Biblical manhood and womanhood (1) Essential equality
• Biblical manhood and womanhood (2) Distinctive identity
• Working in and working out
• The Saviour and His servant

Dullness and slowness

I had a full day yesterday, and discovered myself a little under the weather in the course of it.  A dull brain that refused to accept the notion that I had made any preparation, a weary and slightly fevered body, and one or two other niggles made for a long day (and that’s just how I felt it to be).

We began with Sunday School, continuing our look at the roots of godly discipline of our children by putting the nature of liberty alongside the nature of a child.  Reasonably straightforward stuff, you might have thought.

The morning service kicked off badly when I discovered that my watch had finally packed up.  I discovered this when I realised that the minute hand was not moving, and that I was a couple of minutes late in starting.

These, I think, are the days when we are reminded of our own dispensability, and rejoice that the kingdom is not in our hands.  It never does depend on us, but how often those days come along when we are forcibly reminded of what a blessing that is.

I preached in the morning – with a fair lack of fluency – on Biblical manhood and womanhood, concentrating now on distinctive identity.  I reminded the congregation of the foundation of essential equality: created dignity, native depravity, and redemptive reality.  Upon this foundation we must understand that the man and women – created in God’s image – were nevertheless created male and female, with definite, defined and distinctive roles.  This identity is fundamental; our relationships are determinative; our behaviour flows appropriately from our distinctive identity in terms of a given relationship (e.g. family, church, society).  I highlighted some principles for men and women, deliberately giving the men the hardest time as those who are to be courageous leaders rather than irresponsible victims.  I confess that the absence of manly vigour among many Christian men and churches cuts me deep.  I had to set out these things more broadly than deeply, but sought also to root the recovery of our masculinity and femininity in the grace of Christ.  Only at the cross are those distinctive identities restored, for while sin dehumanises, grace rehumanises.

In the evening, I preached from Hebrews 13.5 on God himself our present help.  We began with the context of the promise, looking both at what lies on and beneath the surface of the exhortation to avoid covetousness and be content.  The assurance of the promise lies in the fact that God himself – the faithful, merciful, powerful, insightful, eternal God – speaks with all the reliability of divinity and the force of five negatives.  The history of the promise – the times and places in which God spoke these words before – reveals a fine pedigree, broad scope, and long proving of God’s faithfulness.  The substance of the promise is simply God’s presence and assistance: it is a covenant affirmation that we will ever be with us to help us.  The sweetness and sufficiency of the promise lie in its being anchored at the cross and meeting every possible circumstance that any child of God individually or all the people of God together might ever meet.  God has it covered!  Finally, there are the effects of the promise: faith, contentment, confidence, courage, and cheerfulness.

This morning I had some errands to run, and was running them at a speed commensurate with my still slightly-ropey condition: I needed replacement tyres (semi-slicks rather than off-road monsters) on my bike, and discovered simultaneously that my brakes had been set up badly, which explained something of my laborious efforts since I bought the thing!  I had been blaming the tyres and the baby-seat (or, more specifically, the growing child in it).  I also discovered that my watch is probably beyond repair, picked up a book from the Post Office that for some reason could not be delivered, and came home to a monster boxful of review copies that I need to start ploughing through.  Where do the days go?

Ah, well.  Onward and upward . . .

“In Eden’s sinless garden”

St. Alphege  7 6. 7 6

In Eden’s sinless garden
A man and woman stood,
Each crafted in God’s image,
And both entirely good.

The serpent entered Eden,
And entered both their hearts;
And neither did resist him,
Fell to his fiery darts.

So Adam’s abdication
Was punished by the Lord;
Eve’s insubordination
Jehovah much abhorred.

Then came the Second Adam
Into the wilderness.
Where Adam fell, he conquered,
Both to restore and bless.

He raises from the ruins
Of Eden’s shattered bliss,
And by his saving power
Does Satan’s blight dismiss.

True men, pursue with courage
Loving nobility;
True women, with true beauty,
Submissive dignity.

You sons of Adam, glory
That Jesus sets you free.
Eve’s daughters, bow before him,
Embrace your liberty.

©JRW

See all hymns and psalms.

Marriage and men

I don’t know what lies between the lines, but this outline on men and marriage from Mark Driscoll looks like it has excellent material behind it.  If you follow this blog, you will know that, in the church which I serve, we have been dealing with issues related to the Christian family.  When dealing with Biblical manhood, we looked at perversions of masculinity which we called abdication and tyranny.  Mark labels these ‘cowardice’ and ‘chauvinism’.  Here are his insightful categories under each heading:

Chauvinism

1. No Sissy Stuff Sam: whatever women do, do the opposite.
2. Success and Status Stewart: masculinity = material success.
3. Give ’em Hell Hank: angry and abusive.
4. I’m the Boss Bob: domineering and controlling; in authority, not under authority.

Cowardice

1. Little Boy Larry: never grew up, disorganized, lives with his mother, etc.
2. Sturdy Oak Owen: absolutely dependable but emotionally absent.
3. Hyper-Spiritual Henry: hides behind religious behavior and “God talk.” Talks at you but not to you.
4. Good Time Gary: irresponsible life of the party.

I meet these men.  Sometimes I meet more than one of them in the same man, watching certain individuals veering between two extremes.  These are painfully accurate portraits, and I am wondering to which extreme and to which portrait I tend.

Read it all.

Men God uses

Ray Ortlund directs us to the thoughts of Horatius Bonar, writing the preface to John Gillies’ Accounts of Revival.  There, Bonar proposes that men useful to the Holy Spirit for revival have been marked in nine ways:

1. They were in earnest about the great work on which they had entered: “They lived and laboured and preached like men on whose lips the immortality of thousands hung.”

2. They were bent on success: “As warriors, they set their hearts on victory and fought with the believing anticipation of triumph, under the guidance of such a Captain as their head.”

3. They were men of faith: “They knew that in due season they should reap, if they fainted not.”

4. They were men of labour: “Their lives are the annals of incessant, unwearied toil of body and soul; time, strength, substance, health, all they were and possessed they freely offered to the Lord, keeping back nothing, grudging nothing.”

5. They were men of patience: “Day after day they pursued what, to the eye of the world, appeared a thankless and fruitless round of toil.”

6. They were men of boldness and determination: “Timidity shuts many a door of usefulness and loses many a precious opportunity; it wins no friends, while it strengthens every enemy. Nothing is lost by boldness, nor gained by fear.”

7. They were men of prayer: “They were much alone with God, replenishing their own souls out of the living fountain, that out of them might flow to their people rivers of living water.”

8. They were men whose doctrines were of the most decided kind: “Their preaching seems to have been of the most masculine and fearless kind, falling on the audience with tremendous power. It was not vehement, it was not fierce, it was not noisy; it was far too solemn to be such; it was massive, weighty, cutting, piercing, sharper than a two-edged sword.”

9. They were men of solemn deportment and deep spirituality of soul: “No frivolity, no flippancy . . . . The world could not point to them as being but slightly dissimilar from itself.”

May God grant that I should be more this kind of man, and many more besides me.

“A Young Man in Christ” #4: Truly trusting

From A Good Start by C. H. Spurgeon, Chapter 1 (“A Young Man in Christ”).

A man in Christ is manly because he is trustful in Providence.  If he be what I mean by a man in Christ, he believes that whatever happens here below is ordered and arranged by his great Lord and Master; so that when anything occurs which surprises, and, perhaps, perplexes him for the moment, he feels that it is still not an accident nor an unforeseen calamity beyond the Divine control.  He believes that his Lord has a bit in the mouth of the tempest and reins up the storm.  He is sure that Jesus, as King of kings, sits in the cabinets of princes, and rules all the affairs of mankind.  Therefore he is not afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.  If he live as a Christian should live, when others are seized with sudden panic he can wait, for he knows that there is no panic in Heaven, and that all things are rightly arranged and ordered by the powers above; and committing his present case into the hand of his Lord Jesus, he both patiently waits and quietly hopes.  He is thus enabled to become master of the situation, for he I cool and calm when others are confused.  He is a match for any man in the hour of perplexity, for he has flung his burden off his shoulder and left it with his Lord; and now he can go forward with a clear and placid mind to do his business, or to leave it undone, as the peril of the moment demands.  A Christian man, because he trusts in the God of providence, quits himself like a man, and is not afraid.

And he is manly because, being a Christian, he does not wince when he is opposed, for he expects opposition.  That man who, being in Christ, never meets with any opposition, must either be very happily circumstanced, or he must somewhat conceal his religion; for from the first day until now it has been found that those who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution.  The man in Christ, being a true man, does not fret about that.  If a joke is passed off at his expense, he knows that it breaks no bones.  There is a little laughter over a story, more witty than true, and perhaps a sneer or two caused by a very nasty sarcasm; be he bargained for that, he discounted that matter, when he became a Christian.  Nay, he has by degrees become so accustomed to it that if it pleases other people it does not annoy him.  And, now and then, when a sting does go rather near the heart, he is accustomed to sing to himself very quietly –

“If on my face, for Thy dear name,
Shame and reproach shall be,
I’ll hail reproach and welcome shame,
For Thou’lt remember me.”

And so he gets to be a man all round; and it frequently happens that, as he pursues the even tenor of his way, those who at first despised him come to respect him.  Men trust him, and finding him upright, they honour him, yea, and honour him for his fidelity to his convictions; for even with those who care not for Christianity, there is something which makes them reverence the man who is truly what he professes to be.  We have seen it so in others, and may each one of us live long enough to experience it in our own persons.  Let but the Christian live on and live well, and he will live down opposition; or, if the opposition live, he will live above it and flourish all the more.

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6

“A Young Man in Christ” #3: Truly courageous

From A Good Start by C. H. Spurgeon, Chapter 1 (“A Young Man in Christ”).

When I say that a man in Christ is a man, I mean that, if he be truly in Christ, he is therefore manly.  There has got abroad a notion, somehow, that if you become a Christian, you must lose your manliness and turn milksop.  It is supposed that you allow you liberty to be curtailed by a set of negations which you have not the courage to break through, though you would if you dared.  You must not do this, and you must not do the other: you are to take out your backbone and become molluscous; you are to be sweet as honey towards everybody, and every atom of spirit is to be evaporated from you.  You are to ask leave of ministers and church authorities to breathe, and to become a sort of living martyr, who lives a wretched life in the hope of dying in the odour of sanctity.  I do not believe in such a Christianity at all.  The Christian man, it seems to me, is the noblest style of man; the freest, bravest, most heroic, and most fearless of men.  If he is what he should be, he is, in the best sense of the word, a man all over, from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot.

He is such a man because he has realized his own personal responsibility to God.  He knows that to his own Master he stands or falls, – that he shall have to give an account  in the day of judgment for his thoughts, his words, his acts, and therefore he does not pin himself to any man’s sleeve, be he priest, or minister, or whatever he may be called.  He thinks for himself, takes the Bible and reads for himself, and comes to God in Christ Jesus personally, and on his own account.  He is not content to do business with underlings, but goes to the Head of the great firm.

Being accustomed also to endeavour to do that which is right at all times, if he be a man in Christ, he is bold.  I have heard a story of a man who was so continually in debt, and was so frequently arrested for it, that one day, catching his sleeve on a palisade, he turned round, and begged to be let alone this time.  There are many people who go about the world much in that style.  They know that they are doing wrong, and therefore “conscience doth make cowards” of tem.  But when the conscience has been quieted, and the heart knows itself to be set upon integrity and established in the right, the Christian man is not afraid to go anywhere.

Moreover, a man in Christ is accustomed to wait upon his Lord and Master to know what he should do, and he recognizes Christ’s law as being his sole rule; and for this reason he is the freest man under heaven, because he does not recognize the slavish rules which make most men tremble lest they should lose caste, or forfeit the favour of the society in which they move.  He obeys the laws of his country because Christ has commanded him to do so, and all things that are right and true are happy bonds to him which he does not wish to break; but, as for the foolish customs and frivolous conventionalities which fashion ordains, he delights to put his foot through them and trample them under his feet, for he saith, “I am Thy servant, O Lord: Thou hast loosed my bonds.”  When he has anything to say, he looks at it to see whether his Master would approve; and as to whether the world would approve or not, it does not enter into his mind to consider.  He has passed beyond that.  He knows the liberty wherewith Christ makes us free.  When we become the servants of Christ we cease to be the servants of men.  When Christ’s yoke is upon you, then are you free to do the right, whoever may forbid.  From that time forth you would not speak the thing that is not true to win the acclamation of the nation, nor suppress the truth though the universe itself should frown.  A man in Christ bowing the knee before the King Himself, is too high-minded to pay obeisance to error or to sin, though robed in all the pomp of power: he stands up for the right and for the true, and if the heavens should fall he would be found erect.

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6

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“A Good Start” by Spurgeon

My father, who knows me to be something of a Spurgeon freak, returned from a recent holiday with a gift: a first 1898 printing (half-leather) of Charles Spurgeon’s A Good Start: A Book for Young Men and Women (published, clearly, after his death).  It has a preface by Sir George Williams, founder and president of the YMCA.  More than that, the book plate shows that it was actually presented to someone called Mr Kaufman by Williams himself on New Year’s Day, 1900.  What a pleasant way to begin a century!  What a pleasant way (for me) to get a book!

I had not come across this title before, but now discover that it has been reprinted.  I have read the first chapter so far, and it has warmed my heart.  I hope to reproduce chunks of the first chapter at least over the coming days, to whet the appetite somewhat.

Manliness

Phil Johnson has a good post on true manliness here. I have in the front of my Bible a summary of the first message preached by George McDearmon on courage as the comprehensive virtue of a true man (a series of sermons I strongly recommend). The ‘note to self’ reads as follows: The courage of a Christian man consists in an assurance of God’s presence with him, his certainty of a righteous cause, and his confidence in God’s providence with regard to outcomes.

Being a boy

As the father of a 21-month-old son who managed to climb out of his cot at just after midnight and hurl himself to the floor for the first time last night, I enjoyed this.

Does your son act too much like a little boy?
Is he fidgety and rambunctious?
Does he have trouble listening or have a puerile sense of humor?
Is he easily distracted?
Does he have a propensity to get dirty?
Does he enjoy playing with violent toys?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then it might be time to medicate your son. Even if he doesn’t have ADD or ADHD, you’ll most certainly agree that he’s annoying.

Well, now you can curb the boyish tendencies in your son and make him almost comatose in the process. E-MASQL8 Plus has been clinically proven to remove in boys all signs of unwanted boyishness. You’ll never have to deal with snips, snails, or puppy-dog tails again.

E-MASQL8 Plus: A Cure for the Common Boy

Justin Taylor draws attention to it here, Salvo Magazine (the original source) has an article here, and Amanda Witt has a good boy story about it here. My wife would probably point out that not all boys grow out of all these characteristics. Mea culpa.

Fatherhood and the future of civilization

An interesting post by Al Mohler worth reading here.

Dealing treacherously with your wife

Al Baker has an article at the Banner of Truth website about eye-treachery and all that it might lead to. There is straight talking here, intended to convict and effective in doing so. A good article, and one that we in the UK, in common with the rest of Europe – where there is so great a display of female flesh in all forms of media – need to act upon.

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve

I recommend an insightful post by Robert Bjerkaas on Adam’s naming of his wife in the light of God’s Word to him, and what that means in terms of true, Christian masculinity informed by the realities of creation, fall and redemption. Particularly helpful is the emphasis on language. In our studies on the Christian family in our adult Sunday School, we have sought to recognize the tongue as one of the husband and father’s primary tools in loving leadership of the home. In a society where manly men are believed to be eloquent when they can string multiple grunts together, it is vital that we see the need for intelligent, believing, loving use of words by men in caring for those entrusted to them.

Gospel ministry and gospel confidence

My father and fellow-pastor was away this past Lord’s day, taking a well-deserved holiday. As a result, I had the privilege of all three ministries.

In the Sunday School hour, we continued to consider the distinctive roles of men and women. As we completed our consideration of the role of women, we paused at the point of transfer to studying out the role of men to look at the various abuses of male headship and female submission to which we are prone. Because the distinctive roles of men and women are grounded upon their essential equality (in terms of created dignity, native depravity and redemptive reality), there ought to be no sense of inferiority or superiority engendered by considering what man is as man, and woman as woman, and what they are in relation to each other. However, men – in the exercise of loving leadership – should not err either by abdication nor tyranny, and women – in the pursuit of positive submission – should not err either by way of domination nor effacement. In considering this, I basically employed material from my friend and mentor Alan Dunn, drawing from his excellent and insightful if occasionally technical little volume, Headship in Marriage (in the Light of Creation and the Fall).

Then, in our morning worship, I continued a long-standing series in Colossians. We are now in the last two verses of the first chapter. Here, we see Paul as a fellow-labourer with God. As one would expect from such a man, there exists a full and precise correspondence between Paul’s activity and God’s stated purposes.

In Colossians 1.28-29, Paul identifies the gospel minister’s tools, task, and toil. The first sermon was on The gospel minister’s tools, which he uses constantly, comprehensively and specifically. The first tool is proclamation. This is the authoritative declaration of Jesus Christ, his glorious person and saving work.
This mighty river contains two currents, two subsidiary tools: admonition and instruction. The first is putting something in the mind of men, getting something laid to their hearts, driving into the will and affections, to awaken and arouse, stimulating reflection and promoting action. The second works on the understanding, definite truth and clear direction being imparted to the inquiring mind, guiding sinners to Christ and directing the child of God in faith and life to the glory of Christ. I hope to go on to consider the task and the toil in due course.

Then, in the evening, we celebrated the Lord’s supper. With the aim of preparing our minds and hearts, I preached on Romans 8.34, under the title, Uncondemnable! We set out the four pillars of Christian confidence, upon which a Christian can stand and ask heaven and earth and hell, “Who is he who condemns? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul offers four answers, any of which is sufficient, all of which together are simply unassailable: it is Christ who died; it is Christ who furthermore is also risen; it is Christ who is even at the right hand of God; it is Christ who also makes intercession for us. It was, I trust, a good day in the house of God, with the morning’s message more of a challenge, and the evening’s more of a consolation.

One particular pleasure in the evening was to have Andy and Sallyann Owen visiting with us. Apparently, my parents had been God’s means of doing good to Sallyann before she was married, and they had hoped to catch up with her. Andy heads up a ministry to the Deaf at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Andy has also authored three books assisting in this work: Signs of Life, Not Hearers Only, and Jesus Used Sign Language (all of which can be ordered through the Tabernacle Bookshop). Having recently taught through Christ’s healing of a deaf and mute man in Mark 7 at our Stepping Stones bible study, having had a substantially deaf father, and having had the privilege of being interpreted for the Deaf by a man with whom I subsequently have had fascinating conversations, it was a delight to speak with Andy and to gain some of his wisdom and insight into this challenging yet rewarding sphere of ministry.