Blog - Page 312 of 318 - John H Armstrong

A Little Internet Humor

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 26th, 2005|Categories: Humor|

It is said that a little humor is good for the soul. And nothing in the modern genre of humor may be better for the soul of Internet readers than fast-spreading Internet humor. My wife was sent as email yesterday that made me laugh out loud. I thought many of my readers would enjoy this as well so I provide it via today’s blog. If I could attribute the piece properly I would gladly do so but I feel sure the writer would be happy just to make a few more people smile.

I want to thank all of those who have taken the time and trouble to send so many email advisories over the past year.

Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy. ( I think)

Because of your concern, I no longer can drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans. In fact, I no longer […]

When Christian Ethics Are Not Christian

By John Armstrong|2005-07-24T20:43:33-05:00July 24th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

A great deal of ethical discussion today comes to us from Christian writers and ministries. Much of it is not really Christian at all. It may be advanced by Christians. And it may be supported by Christians. It may even be given in settings that appear to be Christian (churches, missions, radio and TV broadcasts by Christians, etc.) but in the end these arguments are not distinctly Christian at all.

Look, if an ethical argument can be made without any specific reference to Christ and the gospel then the argument being made is not Christian. It may be a solid moral argument. And it may well be right. But Christian ethics are Christian.

Oliver M. O’Donovan, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford University, wrote in 1994, that "The foundations of Christain ethics must be evangelical foundations, or, to put it more simply Christian ethics must arise from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Otherwise it could not be Christian ethics."

I think O’Donovan is quite right. I wish popular treatments of ethics by American conservatives would become […]

A Few More Thoughts on Imputation

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 19th, 2005|Categories: Biblical Theology|

When I have commented on imputation in the past few years I am sometimes asked if my position is "a classic Protestant position" on these matters. The answer is, in itself, a point for considerable discussion. The Lutherans clearly had a nuance on the matter. Calvin had yet another nuance and Bucer had yet a different one from Calvin. (They agreed on the main points, at least as I read them, but differed on minor ones.) I do believe that I am personally within the general framework of confessional Reformed theology, which I do affirm as the best system for understanding the trajectories of Scripture on these particular matters. (I do not, however, think that the Reformed confessions are the only important and necessary words of the Church on grace, faith, and union with Christ. Since salvation includes "sharing in the divine nature." Frankly, I think there is a great deal more to be said that is not included in these words of sixteenth century confessions).

I am further asked: "Is the gift of righteousness in salvation ‘the righteousness of Christ?’" Yes, it […]

Imputation

By John Armstrong|2005-07-18T07:01:17-05:00July 18th, 2005|Categories: Biblical Theology|

I am sometimes asked, due to the heated debates surrounding the so-called New Perspective on Paul, if I truly believe in imputation. To put it very simply, "What is my understanding of the relationship of Christ’s righteousness and his work of imputation?" I always answer this question as plainly as I know how.

No one will be saved without the imputed righteousness of Christ alone (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30, the only text that specifically refers to the idea of imputation by direct reference). I understand imputation to be the reckoning of our sins to Christ and the reckoning of his death (a righteous payment in the courtroom of divine justice, to use one Pauline metaphor) to us. He takes our sin and we receive his gift (forgiveness). What I do not see so plainly revealed in Scripture is the idea that Christ kept the law for us and by this action "merited" salvation for all who believe. In this thinking we are saved by merit, Christ’s merit. This kind of merit is what I do not see plainly revealed by Scripture. By […]

Its All About Relationships

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 13th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

Most American evangelicals give little or no thought to the role that Christian faith has in creating a vision for society. We have privatized our faith to great excess. We have, to put it another way, focused on the first commandment, that is to love God, but failed the second, to love our neighbor.

A wideranging reformation is spreading, in various parts of the world, that aims to change this pattern. Many bright, and often young, Christians believe that there is a distinctive Christian vision for society, a vision that challenges socialism, capitalism and all other fallen ideologies. This vision generally begins with a careful reading of the Book of Deuteronomy. When you realize that these laws were not an arbitrary collection of regulations and merely human ideas, but a pattern for how an ancient society should be organized so that it would flourish, you have a solid starting point. Indeed, you have much more than a negative critique of the modern ills of society, Western or otherwise.

Simply put, I believe that how we apply biblical social teaching to […]

Teacher or Reproducer?

By John Armstrong|2005-07-12T19:51:42-05:00July 12th, 2005|Categories: Personal|

My dear friend and pastor, Wilbur Ellsworth, cited a marvelous quote on July 3 that I had never previously heard. He didn’t tell us where it came from originally so I can’t give you the proper credit for the quote. It does sum up a great deal of what I have learned through considering carefully the ancient-future dimensions of Christian faith.

The saying is this: "We can teach what we know, we can reproduce who we are."

I have taught a great deal for nearly forty years now. I wonder at times how much I have reproduced. I remain deeply committed to teaching. I am even more committed to reproducing with every passing year.

David Bahnsen on the New Perspective, N. T Wright and Auburn Avenue

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 11th, 2005|Categories: Biblical Theology|

I wrote a blog several days ago about the resolution of the Mississippi Valley Presbytery (PCA) presented to the General Assembly in their June meeting (“The New Perspective and the PCA, July 2, 2005). This resolution sought to put the entire denomination on record as opposed to the "heresies" of the New Perspective on Paul and related matters. I expressed my joy that this measure failed. Last week my friend David Bahnsen, the son of the late theologian Greg Bahnsen, wrote a piece that summed up a great number of my own thoughts on this controversy quite well. With David’s permission I share his comments as follows (you can reach David’s web site directly at www.dlbthoughts.com):

(1) I affirm justification by faith alone in the most traditional and historical way possible. I believe I am saved by "Christ, plus nothing". I feel no need to "update" my position, alter its vocabulary, or confuse those who are listening/reading. My position on justification is […]

The Gospel and Culture

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 8th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

The proper balance between evangelism and social concern has troubled the church for centuries. The very existence of such a problem should make anyone who advances a particular partisan cause humble. The sad fact is that it does not in most cases. It seems that we have never been more divided as Christians than we are right now about the proper role of the kingdom of God in its relationship to the kingdom of man.

How, for example, do economics and politics relate to the gospel? How is the kingdom realized through these spheres? A privatistic evangelicalism (with its stress on personal piety as the end of all Christian faith in this world) and an acculturated liberalism (where everything is reduced to existential experience) are both guilty of divorcing the kingdom of God from the messy business of life in the economic and political realms. This is the kind of emphasis I grew up with as a Christian in the South. This emphasis told me to not get involved in the Civil Rights struggle, to give but one example.

The […]

The UCC Now, Who Next?

By John Armstrong|2005-07-06T08:13:00-05:00July 6th, 2005|Categories: The Church|

On Sunday, July 3, to the surprise of no one who watches these things closely, the United Church of Christ became the largest Christian denomination in the United States to fully and openly endorse same-sex marriage. The action came about through the recommendation of about 80% of the General Synod voting favorably for the decision. On Sunday a panel of about 50 UCC representatives then approved the resolution of the General Synod.

This decision has been coming for years. The UCC long ago departed from any meaningful expression of orthodoxy. Those who believe the gospel within her borders have been faithfully protesting these directions for years. These evangelicals will now face even more difficult challenges as they decide what is required of them in the face of this denominational apostasy. Because the UCC is congregational in government individual congregations will not be required to endorse this decision or to follow the counsel of the General Synod. Many will continue to withhold support for the UCC while they battle from inside the structure of their fallen church. Others will finally decide to leave […]

C. H. Spurgeon Still Speaks

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:58-05:00July 5th, 2005|Categories: Personal|

I took a drive over to Pasadena, Texas, this morning. (I am in Houston for three days.) My purpose in going to Pasadena was to see Bob L. Ross, the man who began Pilgrim Publications back in the 1960s for the explicit purpose of getting the sixty-three volumes of the sermons of Charles H. Spurgeon in print for a new generation. I have known Bob for many years and always enjoy seeing him and catching up. This was my first visit, however, to Pasadena.

When Bob published his first volume of Spurgeon’s famous sermons in 1969 most were highly skeptical that he could ever complete this project without losing his shirt in the process. No one would buy sermons, they told him, and even fewer would read them. Now these volumes are sold all over the world and the Internet has only made Spurgeon even more accessible. Bob did not loose his shirt and the legacy he has given is substantial. Only heaven will really and truly reveal the fruit of Bob’s faithful efforts.

The first volume of this reprint edition […]