WTS Responds to The Da Vinci Code

Westminster Theological Seminary has put out a good website in response to the Da Vinci Code: http://www.thetruthaboutdavinci.com/  (or click on the picture above).

"The site is designed for those wanting to engage the culture in spiritual conversations by providing biblically sound, intellectually honest, and historically accurate information so that the assertions in the book and movie can be discussed point-by-point."

"We want to provide a repository of thoughtful, Biblically-based and historically accurate information so that those visiting our site can arm themselves with theologically-sound information," continues Dr. Edgar. "We don't have an agenda except to use this opportunity to marshal the best resources available and present them in a culturally relevant manner." (from the website)

Check it out and pass it on to those who are wondering about the Da Vinci Code book and/or movie.

Together for the Gospel

I'll be at the Together for the Gospel Pastors' Conference in Louisville, Kentucky from Wednesday to Friday (April 26-28).  I am really looking forward to this conference. There will be over 2,800 plus God-centered, passionate pastors from various backgrounds all united by the Sovereign God and the Gospel of Grace in Christ.  I'm traveling with two other Korean American pastors from Atlanta.  I have the sneaking suspicion that only a handful of Asian Americans will be there. I hope I'm wrong, but AAs traveling to Kentucky is not a great sell.  I'm hoping more Asian American pastors will go to conferences like these.  The purpose of this website is to connect more KA and AA pastors to organizations like Together for the Gospel.

Check out the www.togetherforthegospel.org website for LiveBlog by Tim Challies during the conference.

What is historic biblical Christianity?

In my discussion with a friend I was asked the question “How would YOU define “historic biblical Christianity”?

This question can be asked as an inquirer seeking an answer (as this person does) or like a skeptic in response to a profession of faith in historic biblical Christianity, “Well, what is historic biblical Christianity?” and then walks away like Pontus Pilate (“What is truth?” John 18:38) assuming that there is no answer or that there are too many answers and none can be trusted.

Is there an answer? I believe so. Many have said it much better than I can but since I was asked, “How would YOU define…,” I will humbly attempt to give my answer.

What is historic biblical Christianity?

First, historic biblical Christianity is CHRISTianity – a belief system, a worldview, a life-view that is centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Who was Jesus Christ? Was he fully God? Was he fully man? What is his relationship to the Father and the Holy Spirit? What did he come to do? What did he teach? What was the significance of his death? Did he rise from the death? Where is he now? Will he come again? What is your response to the person and work of Christ?  These are some of the critical questions that define Christianity.  Someone will say, aren’t there different answers to these questions? Yes, and some of the contemporary answers (or re-discoveries) are really far out (like the Gnosticism of the Da Vinci Code or the Gospel of Judas). This is why there needs to be qualifying adjectives like true Christianity or biblical Christianity to set it apart from other ways of answering these questions concerning Christ. 

Second, historic biblical Christianity is Biblical.  The answers to the questions concerning Christ are to be drawn from the Bible – the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament. These books are not mere human works “sanctified” by the human institution of the church, it is the revelation of God through man – “The Bible is God’s Word!”  The Bible is authoritative, infallible, without error, and our ultimate standard for faith and practice.  The authority of the Bible comes not from the authority of the church but the authority of God.  God has spoken in His Word. “Thus says the LORD” or like phrases occur over 3,000 times in the Bible.  Bible authenticates itself by its message and the power of the Holy Spirit who testifies in our hearts as we read, “This is My Word.”

The Bible says that Jesus is “the Christ”- the Anointed One – the fulfillment of the Old Testament (Matthew 1:1, 5:17; Luke 24:25-27). The Bible says that Jesus came (and was sent by the Father) to save his people (Jews and Gentiles) from their sins (Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; John 3:16). The Bible says Jesus, the Word, was in the beginning with God and was God (John 1:1).  Jesus was distinct from God yet equal with God in essence, power and glory.  Jesus was fully God and fully man (1 Timothy 2:5, Philippians 2:5-11).  The Bible says Jesus died to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15; Romans 5:8).  The Bible says that we must repent of our sins and believe in Christ as Lord and Savior in order to be saved (Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9). The Bible says that our repentance and faith are gifts of God by grace (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25; Ephesians 2:8).  There is much more to say concerning the Biblical faith in Christ.  I have only scratched the surface.

Third, historic biblical Christianity is historic.  The Bible says in Jude 3 “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (See also Galatians 1:6-9 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Notice the terms “our common salvation” and “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” These terms express a body of belief concerning salvation that was in agreement among the early Christians, defended against early false teachers, and passed on to the future generations.  This is the Biblical testimony being preserved and passed on through history.  The historic creeds like the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed historically defined biblical Christianity against those who were positing beliefs that were a distortion of the Bible’s teaching.  The historic controversies were not about who won and lost the theological power struggle, it was the historic struggle for the preservation of Biblical teaching.  I stand with Athanasius (defender of the Trinity) and against Arius (who said Jesus was like God but not God). I stand with Augustine (who believed in original sin and salvation by God’s sovereign grace) and against Pelagius (who believed man had the moral free will to do what God commanded). I stand with the Protestant Reformation in its recovery of biblical authority and the doctrine of justification by faith alone.  I stand with the Westminster Confession of Faith in its articulation of biblical Christianity. I stand with confessing evangelicals today who believe the Gospel that God saves sinners by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone according to the Scripture alone, all to the glory of God alone.

It is a shame that many who say that they are Christians today don’t know their Bibles and don’t know their history.  It is somewhat understandable in light of the attack on historic biblical Christianity from the modernists and the postmodernists. The modernists, for over a century, have worked at deconstructing the Bible. Now the postmodernists are working at deconstructing the history of Christianity.  What we need today is a recovery of historic biblical Christianity; for that, I will labor and stand firm.

Atonement and the Resurrection

Mark Dever wrote an exceptional article for ChristianityToday.com (posted 4.13.2006) on the atonement.  I found that my old friend, Sam Shin, a pastor in California, posted a great reflection on the article on his blog:  AtoneMEnt! and More on the AtoneMEnt! (not a typo, read the articles to get it.)

Also, Sam has a good post on NT Wright's belief that one does not have to believe in the resurrection to be a Christian (though NT Wright himself believes in the bodily resurrection of Jesus).

 Check out Sam's blog (www.samshua.com/blog/), there is much good theological reflection and issues raised.  Sam is an old friend from New Jersey.  We were co-founders of the old SaltShaker newsletter (1988-1992). Anyone remember the SaltShaker?

KA Pastors Luncheon at PCA General Assembly – July 22

LUNCHEON for Korean American Pastors
at the PCA General Assembly (Atlanta, GA)
Thursday June 22, 2006
sponsored by PCA MNA (Korean Desk, Rev. I. Henry Koh)
TOPIC: The Future of EM Pastors in the PCA"
Rev. Koh will give an introductory talk and Billy Park of Open Door Community Church will moderate a discussion on the topic.

Seating is limited, so you must register (free). contact: hkoh@pcanet.org

Also, let me know if you are coming in the comments.

Reforming Conversation

One of the dangers of blogging is words without end and without much substance. Yet words are an incredible tool to help us communicate truth and build relationships.

Join in on a conversation about the Emerging Church at: reformingconversation.wordpress.com

Profile: Open Door Community Church

Open Door Community Church (Norcross, Georgia) (picture)
Founded in 1991
Pastor: Billy Park (2005-current)
Denomination: PCA (North Georgia Presbytery)
Average Attendance: 60 adults, 40 children
Ethnic Demographic: Mostly Korean-American, some Asian-American, a few non-Asians, open to all.
Age Demographic: Mostly families and older singles, and lots of young kids.
Relationship to Korean Church: Independent.
Government/Polity: Presbyterian. 3 ordained ruling elders, 1 ordained teaching elder, 4 ordained deacons.
Theological Persuasion: Reformed, Conservative, Evangelical
Worship style: Blended
Website: www.opendoorcc.com 

The Gospel of Judas

It seems that during every important Christian event such as Christmas or Easter, the secular media takes advantage to present some “alternative” viewpoint to the orthodoxy, classical, historical, biblical Christianity. They love “debunking”, “deconstructing”, “demythologizing” and basically “defaming” biblical Christianity. Lately, it’s the Gospel of Judas. If you are interested or confused this, read the articles by Albert Mohler and Phil Ryken for informative and biblically sound perspectives on this.

Let us hold on to the faith that is firmly rooted in the Holy Scriptures:
“3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (I Corinthians 15:3-4)

Christ has died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day. He is risen! He is risen indeed!.

A Funny Little Story About Hymns and Praise Songs

Author Unknown

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

“Well,” said the farmer. “It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns.”

“Praise choruses?” asked the wife. “What are those?”

“Oh, they’re okay. They’re sort of like hymns, only different,” said the farmer.

“Well, what’s the difference?” asked the wife.

The farmer said, “Well it’s like this … If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ well that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you, ‘Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, in the CORN, CORN, CORN, COOOOORRRRRNNNNN,’ then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus.”

As luck would have it, the exact same Sunday a young, new Christian from the city church attended the small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

“Well,” said the young man, “It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs.”

“Hymns?” asked the wife. “What are those?”

“They’re okay. They’re sort of like regular songs, only different,” said the young man.

“Well, what’s the difference?” asked the wife.

The young man said, “Well it’s like this … If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ well that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you,

Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, glorious truth.

For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense,
Hearkenest they in God’s sun or his rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.

Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn chewed.

So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn,

then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four, and change keys on the last verse, well that would be a hymn.”

Using the Internet for Good

The internet is an incredibly powerful tool for good and for ill. It can be and is used to cultivate covetousness, lust, greed, idleness, idolatry, false teaching, and ungodly friendships and relationships. However, I don’t think the Devil invented the internet. There was sin before the internet and there will be sin after. When used rightly, the internet is an incredible communication and information tool where seemingly limitless resources are available, mostly free of charge (except for the cost of your high speed or dial up connection). However, one must be discerning.

Here are some of my favorite sites:

http://www.monergism.com (a great resource of mostly reformed writings old and new. There is a wealth of information here. This is one of the sites that I visit most. No fluff here, just meat – that is rich and deep sound doctrine).
http://www.reformation21.org (online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals)
http://www.byfaithonline.com/  (online magazine of the PCA)
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/bio/contempreform.html  (Hall of Contemporary Reformers, except for one, James White, I have been deeply impacted by all of the men pictured in this website. Click on the caricature to find a wealth of good stuff).
http://desiringgod.org/  (Desiring God, John Piper, the most significant living mentor in my life)
http://www.9marks.org/  (a great resource for pastors and church leaders)
http://www.epm.org/  (Eternal Perspectives Ministries, Randy Alcorn, author of the Treasure Principle and Purity Principle)
http://www.crown.org/  (Stewardship site. Go here and click “Tools” and take the Personality ID, it will take 2 minutes but it is very interesting.)
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/books/onlinebooks.html  (Free online books – a lot of good old books, but some new ones too)

AUDIO/VISUAL
http://www.eeinternational.org/dykfs/  (Evangelism Explosion evangelism e-tract)
http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_list.php  (Al Mohler’s daily radio program. Insightful commentary on contemporary issues, very biblically informed and interesting).
http://www.pfm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=BreakPoint1   (Breakpoint, Charles Colson’s commentary)
http://www.churchplantingcenter.com/media/Video/mcquilken.WMV  (an amazing, tear-jerking audio of Robertson McQuilken, who resigned as president of Columbia International University (SC) to take care of his wife who was stricken with Alzheimer’s Disease. See article at: http://www.ciu.edu/articles/livingbyvows/  .
http://www.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=39&page=127  (GIVING WARRIORS VIDEO CLIPS. Inspiring stories of people who lived “the generous life”. Very moving and powerful. A MUST WATCH.)
http://www.kids4truth.com/hometwo.asp  (KIDS4TRUTH) very good short animations about CREATION, and many others.

These sites above are not the coolest, cutting edge stuff, but they are all good stuff for your heart, mind and soul. Next time you have some free time, instead of playing internet games or surfing the sports pages, surf the sites above and grow in your knowledge and in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.