Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

The Beacon Update

by Stephen Rodgers

For the last Beacon profile, I explained what the purpose of the Beacon is and what Scripture governs that purpose. I also highlighted the fact that we are fortunate enough to have quite a few visitors from all over the world.

This time, I just wanted to briefly shine the spotlight on a few changes and new features that you may not be aware of.

  • First of all, as anyone who visits the site can tell, we recently received a bit of a facelift due to the awesome work of Dan Baker. Up at the top you can see our new logo, which will start appearing on various places around the web. Dan also made a few tweaks to the site, mostly to help make reading the articles a more enjoyable experience.
  • Also, you may have noticed that the social media code at the bottom of each post has been replaced. Since Twitter, Facebook, and the rest have made it so easy to post a link, I didn’t see any reason to keep it around. Instead, we have a new “Probably Related Posts” section that tries to find the top five related articles and display them for you. Since we are now over 600 articles strong, I wanted to do something to help you explore, navigate, and benefit from the library. If it’s not working, or if you have any other ideas for what we could do, please feel free to let me know.
  • Also, we realize that not everyone is able to consistantly read all the articles. Not everyone at the church has internet access. So we have posted a rather large bulletin board in the foyer in the church that will hold recent articles. Right now the board holds approximately the last two weeks, and the collected editions stored next to it are for entire months. So if you find yourself at church in need of reading material…we’ve got you covered. If you have any suggestions for improvements there, please speak with Stephanie Yu.
  • Last but not least, our staff writers continue to churn out quality articles. I especially wanted to highlight the extended series that Garrett’s been doing on Living Theology and Richard did on Communion, and now on Baptism (in progress). And as always, a big thanks goes out to our pastor and elders as well.

In the coming months, we’ve got a couple more surprises in store, but you’ll have to wait and see.

We hope you enjoy it!

Pro Rege

Living Theology #37 – The Perseverance of the Saints

by Garrett Glende

This week brings us to chapter 40 in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology on the topic of the perseverance of the saints. While this doctrine is one of the most comforting in Scripture, it should also cause self-examination and evaluation of our own spiritual walks with God. It’s inclusion at this point in the volume comes after an overview of the application of Christ’s redemptive work. It is logical to study this issue of whether or not a person can lose their salvation, after having covered such topics as regeneration (being granted new life), justification (being counted as righteous before God), and sanctification (practical growth towards Christ-likeness), as it might be a question that some people could have after hearing all the other aspects of salvation. Can we ever expect to lose such a great gift? As we search the Scriptures, we will find that our salvation is indeed secure in Christ, and nothing will ever be able to separate the true believer from their sovereign and gracious Lord.

Grudem tells us that “the perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again.” One key section of Scripture that speaks on this issue is found at the end of Romans 8. We read in verse 30 that “those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” In what is known as the golden chain of redemption, it is clear that everyone who God sets his love upon in predestining them to be his children also are carried through the Christian life until they reach heaven in glorification. There is no room for doubt in Paul’s words. He does not say that only some of those who are justified end up being glorified. No, it is the same group of people in each category. They are predestined, called, justified, and glorified. But what is keeping them saved? Is it just that all people who are justified keep living good enough lives to stay in God’s favor? Or does their security come from an external source? Indeed, just a few verses later Paul provides an explanation as to how this golden chain is unbreakable. In verse 33 he writes, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” No one will ever be able to challenge the salvation of the saints because God is the one who has justified them. He is the one who has been guiding along the plan of salvation, even before the foundation of the world. There are none more powerful than Him and because His will is guaranteed to come to pass, all those whom He desires to be saved will be saved.

Moreover, God secures our salvation till the end for us by granting us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes to believers in Ephesians 1:13 that “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Here the Holy Spirit is called “the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Eph. 1:14). Later on in the book he gives the command, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). We see that it is the Holy Spirit who guards our salvation until we are ultimately glorified and receive our true inheritance in heaven.

At the end of the chapter, Grudem provides us with immediate application. He asks us to examine our own lives and tells us what can give a believer genuine assurance. The first of these questions to ask ourselves is, “Do I have a present trust in Christ for salvation?” Since this is what we are saved by in the first place (Eph. 2:8-9), we must ask ourselves if we still express a faith in Christ – faith that He has paid the penalty for our sins, and that only He can provide salvation for us. Sometimes it is easy for someone to say they believe in Christ because of some experience, but their assurance is based on only this experience and not the person and work of Christ. Another question to ask is, “Is there evidence of a regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in my heart?” Not only does the Holy Spirit provide a real type of confidence in one’s salvation, He also produces fruit in the life of a true believer. If a person truly has the Spirit in them, then it will be shown by their demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit. Their life will exhibit the character qualities that are consistent with those that are described in Scripture. Lastly, “Do I see a pattern of growth in my Christian life?” Surely there will be times when growth is more rapid than others, but we should be able to look back on our Christian lives and see a consistent upward trend towards holiness. By increasing in the virtues of faith, we will make our calling and election sure. It is my hope that all of us can trust in God’s promise to save us to the uttermost, as Christ constantly makes intercession for us before the Father. All praise be to Him for giving us such great comfort and hope!

Discipleship is Led

by Pastor Patrick Cho

In order to keep up with the alliteration, I decided to title this post “Discipleship Is Led.” In a previous entry I wrote how all of our interactions are opportunities for us to invest in others; that discipleship is life. We are constantly placed in situations where we might be called upon to give advice or help someone in a difficult spot. When these opportunities arise, a choice has to be made: Will we give counsel that merely sounds good to us, or will we really seek to give counsel that is in accordance with the will of God? This is what I mean by “Discipleship Is Led.” Our discipleship needs to be governed by the truth of God.

One thing to realize is how easy it is to deviate from this. Maybe someone comes to you for advice and so you tell them the first thing that comes to mind. There might not be any wrong intention. You are genuinely trying to help. And besides, what you tell them makes sense. The problem with this is that without giving consideration to what God’s Word says about the situation, you may actually be directing that person in a different direction than God wants. In your sincere attempt to help, you may be very unhelpful.

We need to be led in our relationships and conversations with one another. The Bible teaches us how we ought to communicate. It teaches us how we should encourage (cf. Heb. 3:13), what the content of our conversations should be (cf. Eph. 4:29), and what things we ought to avoid saying (cf. Col. 3:8-9). The word gives us wisdom also about the power of speech and what can be accomplished by it (cf. Prov. 15:1). Because of this instruction we need to be discerning about how we counsel others. Our words can both build up (cf. 1 Thess. 5:11) and destroy (cf. James 3:6).

It is not always helpful to share the first thing that comes to mind or what simply seems right to us. Our hearts are deceptive and wicked (cf. Jer. 17:9; Gen. 6:5), but God’s truth is what will produce holiness (cf. John 17:17). We need to make sure that what we share is consistent with what God wants a person to hear.

Unfortunately, this means that sometimes we will need to share things with others that they do not want to hear. We may need to even lovingly wound their heart in order to help expose their sin (cf. Prov. 27:6). Giving biblical counsel sometimes means communicating something that will be difficult to hear or guiding someone down a path that will be more difficult to follow. This too is a commitment of love. It is saying, “I love you enough to risk how you feel about me in order to get you to think, speak, and live to God’s glory.” Certainly, this also requires us to be judicious to say the right things in the right manner.

Every Christian disciples others. It is just a matter of how well we go about doing that. We can either really encourage and build up others with our speech and counsel, or we can mislead and even destroy. Our discipleship needs to be led by the Spirit of God working through His Word. In this sense, we can be the instruments God uses to accomplish His purposes in those around us.

These Have No Root

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Luke 8:13

My soul, examine thyself this morning by the light of this text. Thou hast received the word with joy; thy feelings have been stirred and a lively impression has been made; but, remember, that to receive the word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into thy very soul is quite another;superficial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the word is not always a lasting one.

In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could, but having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart.

Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as wanting in endurance as Jonah’s gourd; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus, above all let me feel the energy of His Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as obdurate as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help to cast the heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible; therefore, O heavenly Sower, plough me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield Thee a bounteous harvest.

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Weekly Links (9/10/2010)

by Stephen Rodgers

Well, we made it to Friday! And to help you get through the day, here’s a new batch of links for you to enjoy:

  • Over at the Resurgence, the interview with Randy Alcorn continues. This time, they discuss the question of what is a generosity theology? (VIDEO)
  • I recently discovered a new blog on the recommendation of Dan Phillips (of Bibchr and PyroManiacs fame). In this post, the author critically dismantles the way that atheists sometimes try to use the “No True Scotsman” fallacy in arguments with Christians. (WEB)
  • The unpronounceable Tullian Tchividjian has a wonderful article on vocation and the glory of God. And I’m pretty sure the title is a reference to Kuyper, so that’s the second time this week I’ve been made happy by a dead Dutch theologian. (WEB)
  • This has to be one of my favorite things I saw this week. It’s an excerpt from Tim Keller’s talk at the 2007 TGC conference, and it is excellent. If you only look at one link today, this should be it. (VIDEO)
  • Over at Ligonier, RC Sproul explores the question of “If God is Sovereign, Why Pray?” Part one is here, and part two is here. (WEB)
  • Here’s one for all the marrieds at the church: over at the Mars Hill Blog, Mark and Grace Driscoll each give their top 18 lessons-learned from 18 years of marriage. (WEB)
  • And last but definately not least…remember how sad I was when the Al Mohler radio program ran it’s last episode? Well, as they say in the movies, he’s baaaaaaaaaaaack. And with not one, but TWO podcasts! (I’m so happy!) (AUDIO)

There were some other major events that happened this week of course. That fellow down in Florida got everyone in a tizzy with his whole burn-the-Koran stunt, and Stephen Hawking seems to have announced that the law of gravity disproves God. And while I’d like to take those issues seriously, I have a bit of a hard time taking these particular instances of them seriously. They just strike me as publicity stunts. As Jon Acuff wisely noted, “If they’ve got a book they’re releasing or a new album within two weeks of their proclamation, they haven’t really made a proclamation, they’ve made a press release.”

See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

Web Ministry Update

by Kyle Grindley

The web team is working on a few tweaks to the web site. You may have already noticed that we added pictures to the member directory. We have a few other surprises in store over the next few months. We are considering an event bulletin board so members can share activities with each other. We are going to give the main site a face lift, making it easier for visitors and members to find relevant information about the church. We will make it a little more dynamic so it can highlight new sermons, events etc. We are also working on a new media section that will make it easier to access older content. There may be a few other surprises, but they are a little farther away.

If your ministry has specific web needs let us know (web@lighthousebc.com), that’s what we are here for. If you would like to post events, lessons or memory verse songs we would be happy to help, we are even getting better at helping the more we do it. We are also open to suggestions for any features you think would be useful. If web team is something you think you would be interested in let us know. It is a fairly flexible ministry where you take on projects as you have time.

Living Theology #36 – Baptism In and Filling With the Holy Spirit

by Garrett Glende

The exact nature of the work of the Holy Spirit is a controversial topic, even among otherwise likeminded believers. Many of the great teachers we hear from at conferences and listen to online differ when it comes to defining what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is and how one is filled with the Spirit. Therefore, we must be all the more discerning when we search the Scriptures to see what God has declared to us concerning this topic. We will see that what the Bible says about being filled with the Spirit may be different from many of the popular contemporary views, yet it is an issue that we must take seriously, for it profoundly impacts our growth as Christians.

The first issue that comes up in the chapter is what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. A key text in determining the meaning of this phrase is found in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where Paul writes, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” The greater context of the verse concerns the unity of the body and the diversity of spiritual gifts. Even though the body has many different members that play various roles in building it up, it is still one unified body. Paul makes this point clear so as to not elevate any one gift over another. The same Spirit has baptized us all into the unified church of Christ. The inference here is that baptism in the Spirit takes place at the point of conversion and is an event that ushers in the believer’s being united to the body. Those in the more charismatic camps, particularly Pentecostals, will claim that baptism in the Spirit is something that happens after a person is saved and can be repeated at various points throughout an individual’s life. Apparently, this is something that must be prayed for fervently and will lead to greater sanctification and effectiveness in ministry. This baptism will most likely occur during an emotional experience, and the individual’s feelings are the ultimate authority. After all, you can’t argue with someone’s experience, right? I don’t mean to form a caricature of all Charismatics, as I do believe that many have truly examined the Scriptures and come to this conclusion. However, I do not believe that the Bible paints the same kind of picture of what it means to be baptized in the Spirit.

It would seem natural at this point to discuss the spiritual gifts, specifically the miraculous sign gifts, but those will be addressed in a later chapter, so there is no need for the topic to be brought up here. Instead, we’ll focus on how a believer can be filled with the Holy Spirit. The primary text to turn to here is Ephesians 5:18, where Paul tells believers not to “get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” We see here that it is a command, and the Greek suggests that it is to be continually ongoing. It could read, “Be continually filled with the Spirit.” The result of obedience to this command is that they would be “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord” (verse 19). The cross-reference for this verse is found in Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” We see that having the word of Christ dwell deeply in the believer results in the same thing as being filled with the Spirit. Thus, in order to obey the command to be filled with the Spirit we must continually hide the truths of God’s word in our hearts. The effects of having rich, meaningful times in God’s word are clear when we come to church on Sundays. For the congregation, a week full of prayer and meditation on the Word leads to a worshipful, focused time of singing and listening during the service. For the preacher, having the word of Christ dwell richly in Him throughout the week leads to empowerment and conviction when preaching. This is what a Spirit-filled life should look like. We don’t need to be searching for a special experience that will further our giftedness, but rather digging deep into God’s word so that it would overflow into our daily lives. Then the fruit of the Spirit will be exhibited to the rest of the world so that souls might be saved for Christ. So the next time we feel the need for the Spirit’s power, may we all turn to the reliable and life-giving source of God’s word.

Encouragement – Hub Post

by Stephen Rodgers

This is the hub post for Elder Mike Chon’s seven-part series on encouragement. From this page, you can easily find and refer to all posts in this series.

All posts in the Encouragement series:

Encouragement of Family (part 3)

by Elder Mike Chon

The church is much more than a group of individuals meeting together on a Sunday to sing songs, hear a sermon and spend some time together. It is more than some religious activity. The church is the family of God made up of those that Christ died for. The church is the family of God that has been adopted and made co-heirs with Christ. The church is the family of God that shares the love of God to each other and to the world. The privilege to be part of the family of God is incomprehensible but along with that privilege comes great responsibility.

The love that we have for one another is not based on whether someone is deserving of that love. The love we have for one another is based on the love of God. That God would love us to send His Son to die for us. We are to love because God loved us first. (1 John 4:10-11) On the contrary, those that do not love actually do not love God because God is love (1 John 4:8). For the believer, to love someone or not, is never the question. There is no decision to make. If you know God, and if you know the love of God, then you will love your brother. Not only will you love your brother because you know God but you will love your brother as a member of your family. Remember we have been adopted into one family. The church is the true family. We are true brothers and sisters. Our identity is with Christ and our family is the church.

The church is the testimony of the love of God. Our love for one another as family is the testimony of the reality of the love of God. Is the love of God divided? Is the church divided? Do we only love those that are easy to love? That are convenient to love? Do we only spend time with those that we consider our “friends”? Christ prayed for the church that we would be one as He is one with the Father (John 17:21-23) so that the world would know who Jesus is. That is some privilege and responsibility. Not only that but the world will know that we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). The love of the church, the family of God, reflects both the testimony of our salvation and the testimony of Jesus Himself. Do you love the church? Do you love your brother and sister? I pray that our church would not be a church of cliques or a bunch of individual families, but instead it would be a true family that experiences the love of God in every interaction with every member of our church. Who is your family? The church is.

Here is an example of what love looks like in the church. Around AD 260, a devastating plague afflicted the city of Alexandria. People were dying constantly, and the church family as well suffered great loss. But through this tragic time in history, the love the church showed for its members gives us one of the most powerful examples of true familial love that you will ever see. Dionysius, the overseer of the Christian community in the city writes:

The most, at all events, of our brethren in their exceeding love and affection for the brotherhood were unsparing of themselves and clave to one another, visiting the sick without a thought as to the danger, assiduously ministering to them, tending them in Christ, and so most gladly departed this life along with them; being infected with the disease from others, drawing upon themselves the sickness from their neighbors, and willingly taking over their pains…In this manner the best at any rate of our brethren departed this life, certain presbyters and deacons and some laity….So, too, the bodies of the saints they would take up in their open hands to their bosom, closing their eyes and shutting their mouths, carrying them on their shoulders and laying them out; they would cling to them, embrace them, bathe and adorn them with their burial clothes, and after a little while receive the same services themselves, for those that were left behind were ever following those that went before. But the conduct of the heathen was the exact opposite. Even those who were in the first stages of the disease they thrust away, and fled from their dearest. They would even cast them in the roads half-dead, and treat the unburied corpses as vile refuse. (Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 7.22)

The church is where we find our greatest encouragement from our fellow brothers and sisters. Who else except those that have been saved by grace through the work of the cross can and is able to encourage us to love God more and to help us glorify Him in all that we do.

In My Flesh I Shall See God

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Job 19:26

Mark the subject of Job’s devout anticipation ‘I shall see God.’ He does not say, ‘I shall see the saints’-though doubtless that will be untold felicity-but, ‘I shall see God.’ It is not-‘I shall see the pearly gates, I shall behold the walls of jasper, I shall gaze upon the crowns of gold,’ but ‘I shall see God.’ This is the sum and substance of heaven, this is the joyful hope of all believers. It is their delight to see Him now in the ordinances by faith. They love to behold Him in communion and in prayer; but there in heaven they shall have an open and unclouded vision, and thus seeing ‘Him as He is,’ shall be made completely like Him.

Likeness to God-what can we wish for more? And a sight of God-what can we desire better? Some read the passage, ‘Yet, I shall see God in my flesh,’ and find here an allusion to Christ, as the ‘Word made flesh,’ and that glorious beholding of Him which shall be the splendour of the latter days. Whether so or not it is certain that Christ shall be the object of our eternal vision; nor shall we ever want any joy beyond that of seeing Him. Think not that this will be a narrow sphere for the mind to dwell in. It is but one source of delight, but that source is infinite. All His attributes shall be subjects for contemplation, and as He is infinite under each aspect, there is no fear of exhaustion. His works, His gifts, His love to us, and His glory in all His purposes, and in all His actions, these shall make a theme which will be ever new.

The patriarch looked forward to this sight of God as a personal enjoyment. ‘Whom mine eye shall behold, and not another.’ Take realizing views of heaven’s bliss; think what it will be to you. ‘Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty.’ All earthly brightness fades and darkens as we gaze upon it, but here is a brightness which can never dim, a glory which can never fade-‘I shall see God.’

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