The Fourth of July

Today is a very special day. In the Calendar of the Book of Common Prayer, today is the day when we remember the translation of Martin, Bishop of Tours in the fourth century AD.

At the age of 10, Martin, against the wishes of his parents, went to the church and became a catechumen. At the age of fifteen, he had to serve in the army and, a few years later at the gates of the city of Amiens, he met a beggar and gave him half his cloak to clothe him. That night, as legend has it, he had a vision of Jesus wearing the half-cloak, and so he was subsequently baptised at the age of 18. Two years later he was convicted that he shouldn’t serve in the army, just before a battle with the Gauls at Worms, was imprisoned for cowardice, volunteered to go unarmed to the front of the battle, but before his superiors could agree, peace was made.

Once released from military service, Martin went to serve under Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, after whom the term after Christmas before Easter is named in Oxford, and who defended Trinitarianism against the Arian heretics. Hilary went into exile and Martin became a hermit, but when Hilary returned, Martin and he set up a monastery which was a centre for evangelism in the surrounding area and Martin himself travelled and preached through Western Gaul. When he was consecrated Bishop of Tours in 371, he enthusiastically destroyed the apparatus of pagan religion.

The writer to the Hebrews exhorts us:

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings. - Hebrews 13.7-9

The significance of this day, the fourth of July, lie in its challenge to us to follow the example of God’s faithful servant Martin, and obey Jesus’ word that ‘whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me’, hold fast with Martin our faith in God the Holy Trinity, and like him preach the gospel of Christ that many would turn ‘from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.’

Passports and Baptism

I’d like to test drive an illustration. From Revelation 22.17-19, I want to make the point that it is possible to be part of the church by baptism and yet still need to take the free gift of the water of life, and also that it is possible to be part of the church by baptism, and yet forfeit one’s share in the tree of life if one distorts the message, either by false teaching, or by not living according to it (i.e. worshipping the beast).

Assuming I have the necessary documents - passport, ticket and boarding pass, someone can put me on an aeroplane in order to give me a free holiday in another country. I need my passport to be allowed in to the country to which I am flying. My passport says:

“Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”

Now, I need to claim that privilege to be able to get past Customs at my destination. I need to believe that this passport will get me into the country and so get off the plane and take the passport to the desk to show them. If I don’t and instead stay on the plane and never set foot on foreign soil, I would miss out on my holiday. Similarly it is quite possible for me to be a member of the church, baptised in the name of the Trinity, with the offer of everlasting life. In order to have that everlasting life, I need to believe the promise God has made me in baptism. I need to trust in Christ. If I don’t, I will miss out on everlasting life by not responding in faith.

I could also assume that because I have my passport, I can behave in any way I like on the plane, because I’ll be admitted to the country because of the privileges it conveys. However, a situation could be envisaged where my passport is confiscated and thus I lose the privilege of free passage I had been given, because I not responded rightly to it, I had not lived in the way that was consistent with claiming that privilege. Similarly, I can be a baptised member of the church, having received the promise of eternal life, but then not respond to that promise in an appropriate way, faith worked out in obedience and so lose my share the everlasting life to which my baptism entitled me.

Song of Songs

While the boat has been rocked slightly, this is a reminder that the Song of Songs is about God and his people, not sex, as Matthew Mason’s utterly convincing handout articulates, just in case you’ve heard otherwise.

Credenda Agenda

I’m looking forward to the conference at Blenheim Palace tomorrow afternoon where there’ll be some psalm singing and Doug Wilson speaking on the Gospel and your church, government and family. I understand he went down well at Oak Hill this week. I shall be taking notes. If any readers of this ‘blog will be there, it would be great to say hello during the break.

“When I became a man, I gave up childish ways”?

I am beginning to wonder if I am actually a ten year-old boy at heart, having watched and really quite enjoyed the Thunderbirds film on television last night, and racing through books five, six and seven of the Harry Potter series the other week with child-like delight. My guilt at the latter, however, has been somewhat assuaged by what I’ve been reading on the Sword of Gryffindor weblog (HT: alastair.adversaria). F.A.B.

Distinguo

Click HERE for a new ‘blog from Neil Jeffers, which looks as though regular visits will be worthwhile. From my one meeting with him, he seems a pleasant, faithful and intelligent man.

(I fail to see why people have a problem with Latin titles.)

Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda

The church reformed, and always to be reformed…

Welcome to my new weblog. I fancied a bit of a change, and thought I’d give trendy WordPress a go.

The agenda is still the same: to discuss Reformed theology, church history and Biblical exposition to the glory of God.

How We Learn

HT to David Field for THIS link. Some clever researchers at the University of New South Wales have discovered that the human brain retains and processes more information if it presented audibly or verbally, but not both simultaneously. There are apparently limits on the brain’s capacity to process and retain information in short-term memory.

They point out some important implications:

It also questions the wisdom of centuries-old habits, such as reading along with Bible passages, at the same time they are being read aloud in church. More of the passages would be understood and retained, the researchers suggest, if heard or read separately.

and:

The findings that challenge common teaching methods suggest that instead of asking students to solve problems on their own, teachers helped students more if they presented already solved problems.

“Looking at an already solved problem reduces the working memory load and allows you to learn. It means the next time you come across a problem like that, you have a better chance at solving it,” Professor Sweller said.

This means:

• Bibles should be shut during the Bible readings in the Lord’s Day service. (Obviously they should still be open when the minister is preaching to make sure he isn’t leading you astray.)
• My Bible studies should be more sermonic in nature. Excellent.

Happy Birthday ‘Blog!

Today, my weblog is one year old.

For what it’s worth, here are my highlights (in no particular order) from the past twelve months (and 160 posts):

1. My hymn on Limited Atonement
2. Thinking about the Trinity and the Cross
3. Keeping the Sabbath: When Biblical Theology Goes Too Far
4. Liturgy (1) and Liturgy (2)
5. The Regulative Principle of Worship
6. Particular/Effectual Redemption (1)

I’ve enjoyed reading and thinking and sharing about the Bible, Christian books, theology and divers matters and, if it’s all right with you, I’d quite like to carry on for a while.

Things that annoy cyclists…

…well this one anyway!

• Pedestrians who walk on cycle paths when they have their own well sign-posted pathway
• Pedestrians who walk in the middle of the road and then make no effort to move out of your way when you ring your bell at them, even if they are walking straight towards you
• Pedestrians who walk three abreast on a pathway for pedestrians and cyclists
• Slow cyclists whom you overtake and then at the next junction/crossing overtake you and insist on riding slowly in front of you
• Cyclists who take up the whole of the cycle path

Is it inappropriate, do you think, to shout out to pedestrians on the wrong path, “PEDESTRIANS [insert correct side of pathway here LOUDLY]!” ?

One Book Meme

Matthew has tagged me, so after a few days’ cogitation, here are my responses:

1. One book that changed your life
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation

2. One book you’ve read more than once
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

3. One book you’d want on a desert island
Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology

[A loose interpretation of "One book", I know!]

4. One book that made you laugh
P.G. Wodehouse, The World of Jeeves

[I know that's a compilation, and there must be many more, but I still remember a vacation quite a few years ago now spent guffawing in the summer house!]

5. One book that made you cry
Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

6. One book you wish had been written
A short, 300pp. book on covenant theology, tracing the unfolding of God’s covenant through Scripture, with reference to infant baptism and a Calvinistic view of the Lord’s Supper.

[This will, I'm sure, reveal my utter lack of knowledge on the literature and there probably is a book out there matching this description to which someone could perhaps point me. Then again, maybe that's one of the points of this question...]

7. One book you wish had never been written
The Roman Missal

[I can't think of any overwhelmingly bad books that I've read and complained about for ages. If anyone can remind me, I'll put it up.]

8. One book you’re currently reading
Peter J. Leithart, A House for My Name
Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will (trans. J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston)

[Sorry, I broke the rules there, but I've just started these two books and couldn't decide which to disclose.]

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read
John Owen, The Death of Death

[Times started: 2 Times finished: 0]

10. Now tag five or six people
Sam, Blue Tinbox, Marrrk, Daniel, Steve (who might have to post on this ‘blog, not having one of his own)

Finals Results

Geoff!

***

“Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” - 1 Chronicles 30.10-13

Going Down

This afternoon, I went down for my last time as an undergraduate at Oxford. Now I’m at home, I’m not going to have constant, high speed access to the Inter Web so I’m not going to be posting as frequently or regularly on this page, nor, sadly, will I be able to comment as frequently on the ‘blogs that I read. The upshot, of course, is that I will actually think about what I write, rather than spout whatever has just popped into my head…

Tetelestai

Tetelestai

Finals

Wednesday 2.30pm
Thursday 9.30am
Friday 2.30pm

I very much covet your prayers over the next few days. I expect the ‘blog will be neglected for the duration, but one never knows…

Tempus fugit

Where has today gone? I’m sure they turn up the speed of time shortly before Finals. Time passes more quickly in Oxford than elsewhere in the country, I have found, anyway. How Oxford time is therefore five minutes slower than Greenwich Mean Time is beyond me!