Justin T. introduces Joshua Harris’s new book, releated today. "It’s called Dug Down Deep (Multnomah, 2010). In it he introduces the basics of the Christian faith and uses his own story of how God brought him from atheological generic evangelicalism to embrace humble orthodoxy."
I've read the first chapter, and I think it's excellent...I'm looking forward to getting and reading the book. The book's goal is to show how sound doctrine is essential to healthy, holy living.
3 comments:
Hi Pastor Doug,
I read the intro online and I agree with you in that it was good. He made some points you have been talking about. "We have to tell what the event meant." and "explanation of what He's done, why He has done it and why it matters to you and me." were some key lines.
Hey Terry,
I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the book. It has the potential for being a key resource for our Christian education ministry.
Doug
This is from C. Matthew McHahon's site www.apuritansmind.com:
"It is the duty of every Christian to be an apologist. Some Christians immediately balk at this, not even aware of the meaning of the word. Simply, an apologist is not someone who "apologizes" for his faith, but rather, is someone who defends the faith once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3). It is commanded by God that all Christians follow 1 Peter 3:15, 'But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear...' A ready defense is required of the Christian. That does not mean he must be a "professional theologian" in order to have an answer for the gainsayer. However, the Christian should at least be well prepared, or ready to give a defense.
The predisposition to fall into a kind of post-Gnostic theology is the plight of much of evangelicalism today. To lean on a kind of faith-centered feeling and experience is far easier for the contemporary Christian to appeal to than it is for him to prepare a reasonable defense of the faith he claims to hold. It is easier for him to say with the blind man, 'All I know is, once I was blind, but now I see' relying on what he feels and experiences rather than what he is able to explain.... Though in reality this is simply a kind of "red herring", even the evangelical Gnostic will appeal to some kind of defense if it is needed. But Christ calls true Christians to more than this. He calls us to a readied defense of the faith entrusted to us. This means we need not only to have a readied defense, but we need to know what we are defending to a comfortable extent. Paul the Apostle reasoned daily in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8-10). He reasoned with them. He did not make simple appeal and then ask them to give their lives over to Christ. He appealed to their rational intellect time and time again (See Acts 14 and 17). Paul knew his Old Testament well, but he also engaged them in the consideration of natural theology. The debates he engaged in to convince the gainsayer would have been quickly over if he did not know his Bible well or was unable to appeal to the intellect.
There are two elements to being ready to give a defense of the faith. The first is a thorough knowledge of the faith we profess. This seems almost silly to purport. The fact is, many Christians who have been professing Christians for long periods of time (years and years) would not know where to find the historical narrative of Isaiah's exposure to God and the angel's chant of "holy, holy, holy." Or even the prophecies concerning Christ's death in the Psalms, where the faith chapter is located in the New Testament, or even where to find the parable of the prodigal son. These are pivotal texts that are often neglected. Secondly, the ready apologist should have some idea of the corrupted philosophies and ideologies which desire to exalt themselves over the Scriptures. This is not necessarily needful, but quite helpful. Why do I say this is not necessarily needful? It is hypothetically possible that a Christian could be so well versed with the truth, that when error springs up before him he will be able to refute it thoroughly by the word of God. But this is the exception rather than the rule. And within the context of today's aversion to the rational, it is even more needful that Christians have a well-rounded defense of the faith for the glory of Christ."
When Paul exhorts us to work out our salvation, he is directing us to be humbly obedient to the Master and to the discipline to which we subscribe, dedicated to spiritual growth, pursuing holiness, scriptural maturity, and spreading the Good News. That is digging down deep in a labor of love, it seems.
Post a Comment