Trinity Presbyterian Church's Move to Cahaba Heights

Just in case any of you have not heard, we received our CO (Certificate of Occupancy) yesterday afternoon, and will begin meeting weekly at our new building in Cahaba Heights, a suburb of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. This has been a while forth coming, yet it has also not been overly dragged. It did take a lot of work, but it does seem the Lord is rewarding our efforts.

The first thing we should do is give God glory and thanks for this opportunity to now own our own building. We have of course, owned our own building before, at 1401 Montgomery Highway in Vestavia. Overtime, we began to slowly descend into nothing. It was as if the Lord made us start over, almost, though certainly not entirely, from scratch.

Shortly after voting in favor of continuing the congregation instead of closing doors, several new families joined. Before we realized it, God gave us the gift/curse of outgrowing our facilities. Fortunately, the Lord gave us Berney Points Baptist Church to be a good and beneficial host to us. And not only did BPBC help us, but in certain ways, we probably helped them.

Now, after renting the facilities of BPBC for some four and a half years (give or take), we have worshipped for the last time at BPBC. We now have our own building once again. This is a gift for us. Many of the members of our congregation have never been able to worship at our church while having our own facilities.

We must ask what this means for us now. Because God has given us this blessing, we must use it to bless others. We must begin learning geography as well as Christology. In size, the building may be similar to that at 1401, but the location is vastly different. We are not off a major highway in a bustling Vestavia Hills. Nor are we a church with no sign that sits right off the interstate, but detached from a real city or community. Now, we have our sign, and we are a representative of a community. We do not represent CREC churches as much now. We are not as much of a global church known for its theology. We are a community church known for its love for that community.

It is easy, though maybe not as much now as used to be, to find Baptist churches that represented a community. It is not hard to find plenty of FBC’s around as you roam from city to city through the South. While we have a fun time naming our churches after Reformers or Reformed ideas, it is often hard to find a FPC, and even when we do, it is not the face of the community. My point is that often times churches like ours are known more for theology than community, and many Baptist churches, for example, are known more for community.

I am not trying to degrade the importance of theology, and I believe there are things we bring to the Kingdom that many other denominations do not. And since hiring Pastor Lusk, community has been a major theme of our church. And most people who visit our church can see that. Even before Pastor Lusk came, we had a form of community not many other churches had. I remember one of my first impressions upon our first visit to RHPC (former name of TPC) when I was ten was that the people were nice. Now, the Lord is giving us this building and this community, so that our love flows out from within just our congregation, to the wider community. It is time people like me use our hands and fingers for things other than posting theology on the internet. Instead of focusing on growing our minds by what we take in, it is time we focus on growing our hearts by what we give out.

It is easy for Presbyterian churches, through their form of church government, to be connected with another Presbyterian church five states away, yet hard to be really connected with the community. I even see this within our congregation. I hear so much about Jim Jordan’s church and Jeffrey Myers’ church, or about the works of Peter Leithardt and Douglas Wilson. I hear about CCB or about our sponsored church St. Marks in Tennessee. I’m sure with great reason, and I’m not by any means speaking against the Presbyterian form of church government. But are we known more just within our CREC Presbyterian group, or for being a blessing to the community we are in? I’m sure the same could be asked for many other churches like ours nationwide. Are we known for critiquing the other churches of this city because they don’t share our liturgy, or are we known for working with them to accomplish the same goals we have: to do the will of God and advance His Kingdom? Will we be known more for the blessing we are to Cahaba Heights, or for the blessing we are to CREC Presbyterian theology?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we need to take over the Cahaba Heights community and make a monopoly on the churches. There are other churches in the community as well, and they may doing a great job. But we need to take the community we have with each other, and share it with the wider community. Nor am I saying I think we have a lot to change if we are to do a good job at the goals listed above. I believe God has been preparing us for this, and would not give us this building if we were not ready. But I am saying we should not take this for granted, nor only look at the benefits it gives us (not paying rent, not having a time to be out, better acoustics, not having people fuss about our little children). Those are great, but we should look at this as a new and better way to spread the Kingdom, first to Cahaba Heights, and then to Birmingham, and throughout the entire earth. “Presbyterian” should become more of an adjective for the noun (and perhaps even verb?) “Church,” instead of a noun within itself. I’ve heard it was mentioned we could take out the word “Presbyterian” from our name and just be “Trinity Church.” While I don’t think this is completely necessary or helpful, I am glad we are seeming to focus more on what it means to be a church than what it means to be Presbyterian.

In all ways, we should thank God for this new building we will worship in tomorrow. We should also thank Him for giving us BPBC for a while. It has been helpful. I am also personally thankful for the men and women in the church who helped make this possible. I did very little helping compared to some people in the church. We should also expect some stress to come in the first several weeks or so, until we get fully moved in and situated. I will probably be at BPBC in the morning for the first fifteen minutes or so of service to direct any misguided members or visitors to our new building. I look forward to coming for the second half of the service at our new building tomorrow morning.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless the Church

May 16, 2009

Ryan Hampton

Holy War - Redemption - Maturity

Holy War – Redemption – Maturity. These are the three themes we see in the Bible, and they all go together. I want to speak about each of these.

I carefully ordered these three. Really, Holy War is the first and third of these. It is through Holy War that we are redeemed, and through Holy War that we, as God’s redeemed People, mature. God wages Holy War to save those Whom He has elected, and we His People, wage Holy War in our hearts so that Christ may work in us and bring us to maturity.

In the beginning, there was no real official Holy War. Actually, perhaps it should not be said so much that God wages Holy War, as it is Satan who wages it. Satan rebelled against God. This was the first act of war. God gave him a home called Hell, and God began to create a home for His People. But yet again, Satan waged Holy War, targeting the chief of God’s creation, man.

After Satan won this battle, God exercised just war against the enemy. This just war was not aimed at destruction, but redemption. While Satan had his own strategy, God had the better strategy: redeeming His People.

Throughout the entire Old Testament we see pictures of this. Satan would wage an attack, and God would come back and put Satan down in His place. As God put Satan down and brought His People up, He redeemed them. He did this on the ark and at the Red Sea. Finally, God redeemed His People through the cross of Christ and has promised to come again to complete that work.

War is going on. Now God calls on His People to fight in the war. This does not mean that Christians should wage national war on a country because they do not officially confess Christ as King. This means that the Christian, on an individual level, and the church on a corporate level, fights against sin. It means we are called to hate sin and pray for our sin to be damned. It means that we cut off our eye if it causes us to sin (Matt. 5:29). It means you cut off your internet chord if that causes you to sin. It means you pray against sin. It means you join with the Assembly of the Saints in worship. It means you forgive those who sinned against you, because that is the only way for your sin to be forgiven (Matt. 6:14-15).

As we wage this Holy War, Christ brings us to maturity. Although creation was created good, man was still called to maturity. Adam had the task of watching over and protecting Eve. This protection was a protection for any kind of evil that could come. Although the earth was good, it was still vulnerable, as we see in Genesis 3. Perhaps on a smaller and different level, Adam and Eve were called to win the Holy War that Satan waged in Heaven. If Adam and Eve had not fallen, they would have continued to mature into a state of invulnerability of evil, and thus, won the war. That invulnerability of sin is what God wants to bring us to through Christ, the new Adam.

How long will we mature? Perhaps for eternity. Even in Final Resurrected glory, when God’s Kingdom is no longer vulnerable, we will perhaps have places to mature. Granted, if sin is not vulnerable, we will have won the war, and we will mature in other ways. But until sin is fully defeated, we are called to fight in this Holy War so that it may bring us to maturity and final Redemption with the return of Christ. Christ is the new Adam, and so the Church must be the new Eve. Christ was a better Adam. So we must be a better Eve.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless the Church

May 1, 2009

Ryan Hampton

Worship Services

Many seeker-friendly church services give us a sermon that ends something like this: “If there is anyone here who has not accepted Christ, you may do so now. Every head bowed and every eye closed, raise your hand if you want to accept Christ.” There is a place for this language and it is great if it leads someone to Christ. But I’m not for sure this is what the purpose of a sermon is.

Many people get scared off by the word liturgy because it seems to replace the heart of Christian worship with text and empty recitations. Certainly, the heart of worship should not be seen as meaningless, and certainly a passionate charismatic worshipper worships God more truly than a Reformed worshipper going through the motions of worship with no real meaning or connection. But I also believe that nearly every church has some form of liturgy, in the sense of order to worship. The question becomes how deep, meaningful, relevant, and ultimately, Biblically sound the liturgy is.

While faithfully attending my church Trinity Presbyterian Church (CREC), I have been privileged to see other church services from other churches, primarily Church of the Highlands, where I go with some friends Sunday evenings. It is nice to see the worship services of other local churches who aim to lift high the cross. I don’t expect every church to have the same structure as ours, and that is okay even though I like our order and structure, which makes it both formal and personable. Church of the Highlands is seeker friendly and has done a lot for the Kingdom and I enjoy the sermons by Chris Hodges. But it seems that a lot of these churches end with the “every head bowed every eye closed” style, and despite being aggressive and seeker friendly, I am not sure they do as much for the Kingdom as a deeper liturgical service would.

Both Trinity Presbyterian and Church of the Highlands have an order to the service. Church of the Highlands has about twenty-five minutes of contemporary Christian music, followed by a sermon that always ends in the same seeker friendly way. After this there is offering and the service is pretty much over. Our service goes much deeper in its order and probably exemplifies the Church’s life more fully. We are called into worship. We confess our sins. We have the reading of Scripture and a sermon. We give our tithes and offerings. We confess our faith. We participate in the Lord’s Supper. We are called forth into the world to live out the Great Commission. This becomes more relevant to the Christian life. It is more consistent with God’s covenants He has made with His People. Sermons lead us into applications and ultimately into further communion with Christ by eating at His table. Each layer leads and flows into the next.

We go to Church to be the Church and renew covenant with God. We win the lost by being the Church everywhere else. When a non-believer steps into Church, they should see the Church in covenant with God, not be pressured into “making a decision.” Scripture does not give us much detail on worship services. But it seems the pattern is something like this: someone is converted, they are given the teaching of the Word, and then they eat and fellowship with other believers. Sometimes, yes, they are converted by the preaching of the Word, but once they enter the church, they are given Word and Sacrament (Sacrament follows the preaching).

There is a time to preach and offer salvation to others and it is good to see churches like Church of the Highlands have the heart to do that. And certainly going to church is a place where salvation should be offered. But I don’t think the modern approach and liturgy is always the best way. While these seeker friendly churches probably do a better job than we do at really reaching out to others on a personal level (which should certainly be commended), they often fail more at really keeping faithful Christians who keep covenant with God. Beyond this, non-believers are often more drawn into a deeper and richer liturgical service because they are able to see the richer side of the Christian faith. It grows on them. They don’t feel pressured into anything.

With all of this said, I wish the Church could ultimately become a Church that is seeker friendly and offers salvation to the lost and is good at keeping faithful Christians who mature in the faith. Often churches have one and not the other. But the point of our worship service is not to strategize how we will win the lost, nor is it a place where we even necessarily directly attempt to win the lost. It is where we keep covenant with God. I do think that more Reformed and deeper liturgical services could do better at having more mission trips and really reaching the lost in ways similar to many contemporary seeker-friendly churches. I wish seeker-friendly churches would broaden and deeper their worship services into a real place of covenant renewal service for God’s People, to train and equip Christians to be faithful to their King.

What do you think?

God bless the Church

God bless America

March 27, 2009

Ryan Hampton

Why You Should Go to Church

I want to ask the simple question of why one should go to church. Can't you just be a good Christian without going to church every week? Isn't that legalistic? This could be asked from multiple vantage points or points of departure, so this look is just one of those. However I do believe all of the different points of departure I have used are related and build off each other. It doesn’t make this any less valid.

I will look at it from the perspective of the Church corporate being the Bride of Christ. Or perhaps you could say, we are currently engaged to Christ, awaiting the actual marriage that will happen in the last day as we enter into Final Resurrection glory. Each one of us are sons of God individually, but a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – the Bride of Christ.

Usually when people are planning on getting married, they go on dates. If they didn’t ever see each other, their relationship would be thin, and marriage may not be the best of ideas. In the same way, we who are to be married to Christ, should not cut off communion with each other and Christ. We must have our “dates” with Christ, which takes place each Lord’s Day in church.

Christ does it the traditional way. He picks us up. Now true, it seems like we are the one’s driving to His House. But it is He Who calls us into His presence, takes charge, and brings us into the throne room of Heaven upon our confession of sin and His declared forgiveness. He comes near to us, to draw us into His presence. He invites us to His house for dinner at His table in communion. We do things for Christ such as give our praises, but it is primarily Him who takes charge and works in us, bringing out the best in His Bride elect. If you reject these things Christ does for you on a corporate level, how can you expect to have a real personal relationship with Him, or take parts in the fruits of His Kingdom after this life?

If you are out of the Church, don’t get down on yourself. Look at it as going on a date with your Groom – the Groom Who loves you enough to lay down His own life for you in the cruelest of ways. Come into Church not hoping for an emotional experience, but expecting God’s work to give you strength in all you do. One day we will live with Christ in His presence. For now we must accept and love the community He has given us now, and await the Final Resurrection glory we are promised to obtain in the Last Day through Jesus Christ.

What do you think?

God bless His Church

God bless you

March 1, 2009

Ryan Hampton

Tough Economy May Be Good For The Church

Many people are worrying frantic over this tough economy in our nation today. Jobs are becoming less and less available, the value of the dollar is dropping worldwide, while we hold every penny in our pockets with precious value. The recent inauguration of Barack Obama has lead many to believe the economy is back on the rise, while leaving many others including myself worried that this is only the beginning.

But perhaps what we need is a tough economy. While we have been so blessed for so long (and while even this economic downturn is not yet disastrous), it is good to be reminded of our fortune. The love of money is the root of all evil, and America has lived through several generations that have adored money.

Having riches is a good thing, so long as they are earned and used wisely. But not everyone in America earns their money in the way they should. Some are given riches by the government, some by theft, and some from their rich old man. Moreover, not everyone is rightfully thankful and content for what they have; some beg the government, the banks, or their parents for more. Meanwhile, these people learn nothing about the value of work, honesty, and a free market.

With this said, I welcome any economic downturn with optimism, an optimism that when we wake up and grow up, we will turn it back around. Perhaps we need a few tough years – or decades – to wake consumers and spoiled kids up and let them realize what they have. Then we can put higher value in things like family, friendship, education, love, hobbies, God-given talents, church, etc., instead of material wealth. In short, we can be content with what we have, but not in what we have given. We cannot serve two masters. We can serve only God or money. And if the money is not readily available to us, it may leave us with just one choice. And if that is the case, then I welcome any economic woes with full heart.

What do you think?

God bless America

Pray for our Troops

January 27, 2009

Ryan Hampton

Our Hope and Community: The Story of the Bible

What is the story of the Bible? Is it a book of virtues? Is it a book of nice fables? Is it a book of law? It may be a book of virtues, filled with many stories, but the story of the Bible is much deeper than this.
All of history is one story. That is how we must look at all of history. The Bible is a historical book that gives us the history of what has happened, and a foreshadowing of what is to come. All of history is one giant myth made fact. It captures the essence of human desire, emotion, and longing through God’s eternal sovereign plan.

When we look at the beauty of this eternal sovereign plan, we see great similarity in many stories, myths, and fables we hold today. These stories we love so much, such as the Chronicals of Narnia, Harry Potter, Cinderella, etc., are all loved by us because they give us a story of hope, meaning, purpose, love, etc. But all of these stories find their fulfillment in God’s story, as captured to us in the Bible.
In Scripture, we see a pattern of one overall theme, and many mini-versions of that throughout. This is called typology. For instance, we see the overall theme that Adam sinned, and Jesus is the second Adam who comes to save us from our inherited sin in Adam. Along the way, we see people who point us back to Adam, or perhaps point us ahead to Christ. Noah points us to Christ in that he begins the world anew, as Christ comes to make us new. Noah is like a new Adam, and a picture of what the ultimate new Adam will be like. Moses reminds of Noah by being saved through the “ark,” the basket, over water, and then points us ahead to a deliverer by saving his people from Pharoah. There is the theme in Scripture, of being saved by water, wood, bread, etc., which point us to being saved by the waters of baptism and the tree that Christ was nailed to, and at the Lord’s table. There are many women who point us to Eve, or the new Eve, the Church. All in all, Scripture is about a man who comes to save His Bride, but in order to do so He must die for her. This man, the new Adam, is also God, and this Bride, the new Eve, is made of men and women of all generations and races. Simply an amazing story, and yet it is one-hundred percent true!

With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at Scripture. Scripture begins with creation, and God giving us a pattern. He created the world in six days, and rested on the Seventh. He then gave the chief of His creation, Adam, a task. His task would image what God had done: he would subdue the earth, and rest every seventh day. God saw it was not good for man to be alone, so He created a community for Adam, imaging God Himself, Who is a community of three persons. Now there is a community between all persons of God, and Adam, Eve, and all future generations. The community is found primarily in the Garden of Eden, and man is to complete his task through the land of Eden and in the outer lands.

But man fell and broke community with God, and was thus kicked out of the Garden, the central place of community. God kicked man out of the Garden, but did not give up on man, promising a new Adam. For the next some four thousand years, God used prophets to prepare the way for this new Adam, ultimately culminating in John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ. God kept some community with His People by making covenant with certain men. The new Garden was the Tabernacle, you could say, but only certain people could go inside, and only at certain times. The community was now just for God’s chosen People, the Israelites. God would show Himself to certain people in voice or even appearance, but the overall community that was present in the Garden was broken.

When Christ came, He restored some of that community. We now have church to go to weekly, on the Sabbath, the Day of Rest. We have the communion of the Saints. We have Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, etc. And now this community is for all people who chose Christ, and the Church is not only for Priests, or “super-holy” people. The Church is the new Israel, but not just for one nation. Our corporate church worship is a new picture of Adam’s community in the Garden of Eden with God.
There are those who have died, and have gone to Heaven. There is community there as well. And as we worship God in corporate worship, we worship with all Saints, and with all the company of Heaven. We get to take part in a meal, the Lord’s Supper, in which we eat with Christ. We have much more Christian community with God then we realize. This is why going to church is important. It is where we keep covenant with God, share in His blessings, eat the daily bread He gives us, give our tithes and offerings to Him, etc. It is where we weekly renew covenant with God. This is where God first and foremost makes Himself known to us, so that we may go out and complete our tasks the rest of the week in our day-to-day lives.

Still, this is not the final goal. Nor is Heaven even the final goal. We still have our sinful nature. Heaven and earth may come together weekly. But even yet, there is still something missing. Although we come into Heaven’s presence, we do not see God, the angels, or the souls of those who have gone into Heaven. Heaven and earth are still two separate things. We have great community, but this, nor even Heaven, is our final hope.

Our final hope is in Final Resurrection glory. Heaven and earth will be one. Jesus will be King. There will not be a disconnect between our bodies and souls. We will have one good nature, and not our sinful nature. As many people in the Old Covenant prepared the way for Christ, so now we must prepare the way for the Final Resurrection. We do this by obeying the Great Commission, taking part in the community God has given us (which is the church), and preaching the Good News to all, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One day our community with God will be completely restored, and it will be even better than before the Fall. And we will have all of this forever!
But the first and foremost way to wait upon this final glory and community is to be thankful and partake in the glory and community we have now in Christ. Going to church is not something we do to win brownie points with God. It is where God makes Himself known. And if we forsake the assembly of the Saints now, then how do we expect God to let us into final glory? We must appreciate the story of the Bible more. Appreciate that we are God’s chosen People Who have been saved because our Groom, the Son of God Himself, died the death that the worst of sinners die. The Bible begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve, and ends with the marriage of Christ and His Bride. This story should fill our hearts and minds with wonder, and cause us to look ahead, and prepare the way for Christ’s second coming.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless His Church

January 8, 2009

Ryan Hampton

Happy Halloween: The Meaning of the Season

In a day filled with surprises, junk food, and many secular traditions, it is very easy to forget the meaning of the season. If you didn’t know any better, you would think I was referring to Christmas. But believe it or not, I am referring to Halloween. That’s right y’all, I am making the case that “The Devil’s Holiday” itself is actually a day filled with unique Christian tradition.

The origins of Halloween has secular and pagan roots. In the Celtic world of some 2,000 years ago, the New Year began on November 1. This day was the end of summer and the beginning of the dark and cold season. This time of year became associated with death, and it was soon believed that the night before November 1 the worlds of the living and dead became blurred. Such traditions of wearing costumes became prevalent. Thus, we have an early form of the Halloween tradition, and obviously,
this is very pagan.

But some few hundred years into the Middle Ages, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as “All Saints’ Day.” This was a day set aside by the Christians to honor all Christian Saints, especially martyrs. This does not mean that the Christians worship the Saints themselves any more than Mother’s Day means we worship Mothers, or President’s Day means we worship the Presidents. This was a Christian holiday that was set aside to thank God for raising up men and women in the Church who would be willing to live and even die for the cause of Christ. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.

Another term for Saints is “Hallowed ones.” Thus, another name for All Saints’ Day would be “All Hallows’ Day.” Hence, October 31 became known as “All Hallows’ Eve,” and eventually, “Halloween.”

So how did the Christian holiday of Halloween blur with the Celtic traditions of November 1 and the night before? Many people believe that the Pope had intentionally made November 1 All Hallows’ Day to replace the Celtic holiday. Christians have been known for doing this sort of activity over the years to mock pagan rituals that deny the Truth of the Gospel. Even such traditions of dressing up could have been used by the Christians to symbolically scare off demons from hampering the spread of the Gospel. It was a day in church history where the Christian could be proud of who he or she was, could mock the enemies of God, and be thankful for the rich Christian history he or she was apart of.

This does not mean that the Christian’s relied on pagan ritual for the support of their worldview. Rather it means that even prevalent pagan traditions fall short of the Gospel when the Gospel is spread. “Mocking” the enemies of God did not mean that we wage war on everyone who is not Christian; rather it means we show the non-believers just how sharp of a Sword the Gospel is, that it can pierce through anything that attempts to hinder the spread of the Gospel.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed (or perhaps mailed as some believe), his 95theses. The timing could have been intentional by Luther to make his 95 theses public on the eve of All Hallows’ Day. Thus right in the midst of All Hallows’ Day, we celebrate the Reformation and the brave Saints who gave their lives for the preservation and reforming of the Church.

So tonight as you go trick-or-treating, or walk around at your church’s Fall Festival, or whatever it is you do, I encourage you to think about God’s Church, the Bride of Christ. Think about the brave men and women who have pledge their lives for the Gospel. May we do the same. May we rise again as the lion hearted Saints of early Christendom. May we seek the unity of the Body of Christ, by tearing down denomination’s walls that keep us from piercing through our enemies with the Gospel, and worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth. May we remember the Saints of early Christianity who faced persecution in Rome, the Reformers Martin Luther, John Knox, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and Martin Brucer, the brilliant Christian thinkers and writers who pledged their lives to studying God’s Word, i.e. C.S. Lewis, Peter Leithart, etc, and the Christian’s today who are facing persecution for spreading God’s Word, i.e. Roy Moore. May we stand together now as Saints and stand up for God. If it means giving up our lives, then may our blood become part of the seed of the Church.

Halloween may have origins in paganism. But when the Gospel took hold, the Pagan rituals did not stand scrutiny to the Sword of God. As Christian’s, we cannot let the Pagan’s take back the Holiday that we have won. This has unique Christian tradition. If you are an enemy to God, then you may enjoy Halloween tonight as you celebrate it with pagan intentions – that is, until the Gospel comes knocking on your door saying “Trick or Treat?!”

What do you think?

Trick or Treat?

God bless America

God bless His Church

Happy Halloween

October 31, 2008

Ryan Hampton

Waiting on God

**"Waiting on God," by Ryan Hampton, is inspired by the August 10, 2008 Trinity Presbyterian Church Youth Bible Study located in Branchville, Alabama, as taught by Pastoral Intern Jeremy Sexton.**

Patience is a virtue. It is so much of a virtue that the world’s problems stem from one man’s lack of patience, and the Redemption in the world come from one man’s patience.

Yes – I am referring to the Fall of man and the death and Resurrection of Christ. But what Christ faced – except in much greater amount – was very similar to what Adam and Eve faced when tempted by the Serpent in the Garden.

Let’s read Genesis 3:1-6:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

And now let’s compare this to the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11:

1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'[a]"
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'[b]"
7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'[c]"
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'[d]"
11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

There is great similarity in these passages. Both were tempted by Satan. Both involve food. Both deal with the three basic roots of sin. 1 John 2:16 says, “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” This is considered all that is in the world. These three sins – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – are essentially the roots to all of our sins in some form or fashion. Both Adam and Jesus were tempted in direct ways to each of these.

For instance, they were tempted by the lust of the eyes. The food looked good. Food was offered in both cases. So was the lust of the flesh – that they could have dominion. Adam and Eve already had dominion over the animals and Garden, and life was good for them – but they had still not reached full maturity. God was preparing them to multiply into future generations and be lord over creation. But they weren’t ready yet for everything.

Pride was also in both cases, especially in the case of Jesus being tempted. Satan told Christ that if He was really God, He should be able to jump off of the Temple, and save Himself, similarly to how many mocked Him on the cross. In the Garden, it was a bit more subtle and not quite as noticeable. But Satan questioned more of God’s identity to Eve. He wanted her to think that God was jealous of Adam and Eve and their life, and that the only way to keep them from becoming even greater would be from not eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Of course, Jesus’ temptations were probably harder for Him, because He was offered food while He was fasting. He was hungry. Adam and Eve had so much other food around them at the time anyway. Also, Jesus knew that He would have to undergo death, and what is perhaps even worse, His Father turning His back on Him. Adam and Eve were certainly in a maturing period, but they already had so much as it was. They were not expected to die for God.

So both of these temptations was actually more aimed at the patience level. Jesus had the patience to declare “It is finished!” at the right time – not a premature time. If Adam and Eve would not have eaten of the fruit when offered to them by the Serpent, I think there is a good chance God would have later given it to them. There was nothing sinful about the Tree in and of itself. In fact, Scripture says that they could eat of any tree. It almost seems to imply that eventually, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would be given to them.

But Adam and Eve ate prematurely. Jesus waited on God. He had His Father, God Almighty, turn his back on Him. Jesus suffered through fasting, rejection, and even a death much more painful than we can imagine. Yet He was patient. He waited on God. Adam and Eve on the other hand did not wait on God, and prematurely ate from the forbidden fruit.

So what applications can we take from this? I think we need to wait for God. Do not prematurely rush into anything. This could be true whether it’s work, relationship issues, marriage, leaving home, college, etc. How often do people rush into things, especially relationships? And how often do they work? A lot of people rush into going to a high-level university, and find themselves back home with no degree and a whole lot of debt two years later (I hope this does not happen to me!!). People often think they can wake up with a good job, instead of perhaps starting at minimum wage and then working up the line to have a good full time job. People often rush into thinking they should move away from their house. Home is not big enough. Their family is not good enough. But most eighteen year-olds are not mature enough to be all on their own. Many people rush into taking part in marital fruits prior to marriage, instead of waiting until real vows have been spoken. [I actually think this is very symbolic to the case of Adam and Eve in the Garden. They both deal with life, some sort of lust, something is good and moral but only after a certain waiting time, and in a sense, both deal with marriage – our marriages here on earth, and man’s relationship with God similarly to how the Church is the Bride of Christ.]

Society teaches us to rush. It teaches us that we must find our own happiness. That we can tell ourselves what is right and wrong. It teaches us that we become our own gods. But our society is in many ways Adam’s Serpent. Jesus responded by giving Scripture to Satan. So when Satan in the disguise of society and her conventional wisdom tells us not to wait, tell us to be only our own, and all of the other popular rhetoric, shun it away with the Word of God, so that you may be equipped for every good work (II Timothy 3:16-17).

So I encourage you to wait on God. Wait on Him to give you what you need. He will take care of you. He takes care of the birds care-free, so He will take all the more care of you (Matthew 6:25-34). And ultimately, we will reach our greatest treasures in Heaven and the Final Resurrection (Matthew 6:19-21). And when you are patient, God will allow you to have true Dominion. We will then inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 tells us that it is the meek of all people who will inherit the earth. So wait for God; do not prematurely take part in the pleasures of this world. Allow God to give you all the joy you need. Easier said than done, but certainly a nice goal.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless His Church

Pray for our Troops

August 17, 2008

Ryan Hampton

God is Closer Than You Think

One mistake we as Christians often make is assuming that God is somewhere far off. We fail to see God as right here with us, and His glory among us. We fail to open our eyes and see God. In a sense, we fail to know much about God, and much of God.

I'm not a superstitious finatic who thinks that I can hear God's voice, or think that He reveals Himself in things such as dreams or grilled cheeses or animal crackers. I don't think that God necesarily gives us things that are meant to be extroadinary signs of His existence, except perhaps in a few cases to help someone who's faith is struggling.

But God is right here among us. His presence is here when it is just you alone at night, and His presence is even greater when two or more are gathered to worship Him in spirit and in truth (Matt 18:20). And even something that is not God Himself may be something that shows His glory.

What are some things that show His glory? Perhaps a corporate Body of Believers singing hyms of praise together in corporate worship. How about the sacraments of Baptism and Communion? Perhaps when a child is brought to life on earth, or when two people are made one through marriage. Or perhaps even, as put before, when you get lost in prayer that it seems as if God is your best friend.

This does not mean that one day of worship will be a revival for the history books. It doesn't mean that God's going to show all His glory at once. It doesn't mean that the elements in the Lord's Supper become the real physical substance of what they represent. But it does mean we must have a higher view of corporate worship and the sacrament of Communion. It's more than just a nice memorial; it's the place we have supper with Christ, who is among us. Corporate worship is where we ascend into God's presence and the gates of Heaven are opened up for us, and we worship with angels and archangles and all the company of Heaven.

Scripture often speaks of the gates of Heaven being opened up to someone. In the Old Testament and at the beginning of the New Covenant, God would give more direct signs to His People because they did not have the written Word, or many of the other advantages we have. Their access to God was limited, so God had to come down more in real voice and substance. So today we are not able to literally see Heaven, whereas, though only in certain rare situations, God may reveal Heaven to some of His People in the Old Covenant.

But it always seems as if Heaven was right among them. They simply had to be shown. We can not literally see Heaven now, but that does not mean it is not right among us. Heaven never moved. (It is not as if earth and Heaven are the same thing, but perhaps Heaven is some sort of parallel relation to the earth; a fourth dimension we can't see, or something like that.) The book of Revelation often pictures Heaven as right among us, as if there is simply a door in between (Rev. 3:8, 20; 4:1). It seems as if Heaven is right there. And although we can not literally see Heaven, we do have the ability to come into God's real presence through the name of Jesus Christ, something that people of the Old Testament may not have had. We do not have to go through a Priest, or our parents or ancestors, or an animal sacrifice to have any relation with God. All we need is Jesus Christ.

This simple yet profound theological idea, that God is right with us, gives us both a vision for God's Kingdom, and an idea of how we should live now. We have the vision that one day Heaven and earth will be joined. That our body and souls will be one. Many think that we are physical creatures with spiritual experiences, while others say that we are spiritual beings with a physical experience. The truth is we are meant to be both body and spirit, both together. In the Garden, Adam and Eve were with God. God was right among them talking to them. The Garden was in a real sense God's Kingdom. There may have been a Heaven, but it was one with the earth. But the Fall seperated it all. Our bodies and spirits are now apart, and our direct relationship with God is cut off. But in the end when all things are made new, it will all be one again, and we have everything and more of what we had in the Garden.

This idea is also relative to us here and now. We are told to make our bodies a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). Our many bodies are to be one Body in the Lord, and our many sacrafices are to be one sacrafice in the Lord. We should not be Christians merely as individuals, but as one People. And when we live as one People, we see God the most. When we reject community and friendship and become mere individuals, we can not function fully as a Christian. We need each other. It is one Body that is the Bride of Christ, not many bodies.

So in summary, God is closer than you think. He is right here with us. Unfortunately we live in a fallen world where Heaven, whether is be a fourth dimension or a parellel universe or whatever, is not fully revealed. But God does reveal some of it through worship, through heart-felt prayer, through the love Christians share together as friends, through Christians together singing hyms of praise, through the sacraments, etc. He does not show Himself in animal crackers or grilled cheeses as some may make millions off of believing. But He is right here among us.

So while friends should not be the only reason you go to church, perhaps it should be one reason. Friends can helps us come closer to God and see Him revealed to us.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless His Church

July 11, 2008

Ryan Hampton

The Real Jesus

People today have distorted who the Real Jesus is. Not hat I in any way have the perfect view of Jesus, but I would like to tak a time to share with you who I think Jesus is.

Most of the problem results from the fact that we fail to view Jesus as both God and Man. The church today has matured from Arianism and other false doctrines that in some form or fashion questions Jesus' double nature (of God and Man), but we still fail to really pull it together. Perhaps we fail to see Jesus as being the true God, to whom we pray to and through. It's so easy to see Jesus as a reference in prayer to the Father, but often we fail to actually see Him as the Mediator from us to the Father, to whom we are praying to. And at times, we fail to see that He was man, capable of many human errors (other than sin), and we fail to see the man Jesus as a real historical person who radically changed the world.

Jesus' message was something radically different than that of the Roman Empire, and was perhaps the main thing that faded Rome away. The message of Jesus was political. Repenting was not a nice word to make us feel better about a fault, but it was political and powerful. Repent meant to turn away from the idea that Caesar was absolute ruler, and turn to the fact that Jesus is the New and greater King.

The Romans were actually religiously tolerant contrary to much belief. But it is impossible to be completely tolerant. In order to be tolerant, there must be some things you do not tolerate. The Romans did not understand this, and as a result had the worst form of intolerance to Christianity because it did have moral standards, and it did say that there was a New King.

The Roman military was powerful, and Jesus's message was quite different. It was about love. Jesus died for His People, the greatest of all love. Jesus told us to love our enemies. When Jesus fulfilled the Law, He fulfilled it with love and grace. Consider the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) where Jesus turned the Commandments to the heart (you commit adultry in the heart, murder in the heart, etc.). As ironinc as it sounds, the sword that Jesus brought (Matt 10:34) was a sword of love. The love that Jesus brought was too poweful for the greedy and prideful Romans. It is interesting, because while Jesus came to save a fallen world, in a historical context He also killed a thriving world. Jesus stepped into the middle of the Pax Romona (Peace of Rome) and from Jesus' message the Roman Empire faded away. It was sort of an "out with the old in with the new" Baptism.

From a philisophical context, Jesus also cured many wounds. Up to this point there was a tension between the natural and the idea (or so in the mind of man). The deductive Platonic school of thought was in rival with the inductive Aristotilian school of thought. Jesus brought these into synthesis by being both God and man. As a result many other seemingly contradictory things have been were brought out of antithesis (the peace and the sword, grace and the Law, the mind and the heart, etc.).

America today is much like Rome. We have put the mind and the heart into antitesis, and only Jesus can cure that. We have a dominant military, but perhaps we don't always use it in the right way. We have a love for our nation as the Romans did, which is a great thing, but perhaps we use this love as defending government acts that should not be defended, and perhaps putting even our nation ahead of the true King Jesus. We live in an individualistic society that teaches that if someone harms you, you must harm them back.

But Jesus said to turn the other cheak. Jesus Himself was around the worst of sinners and ate and drank with them. Jesus was the life of the party often times.

So what can we do to start believing in Jesus as the real Jesus? Believe that Jesus is present when we pray, especially in the context of corporate worship. Start loving your enemies as Jesus did. And perhaps we can learn from Jonny Cash. After Jonny Cash redevoted his life for the Lord, he still played performances for those even in jail. I particularly like his song "Man in Black" where he sympathizes to those who may not be as blessed as us. He sympathized because he could. He had been on the wrong paths in life, and knew it was love that was the only cure.

So that is why I'm always goofing off, befriending the worst of sinners, etc. I wish I could more. Many people say I'm over my head, immature, and maybe I rightly am. And maybe some things are just too big for me. But I have nothing wrong with becoming weak for the weak, or all things to all people as the Apostle Paul said (1 Corinthians 9: 19-23). I don't want to spend my life just reading Scripture and writing deep thoughts, though they may be great things. I want to write a song about the sinner longing for acceptance; I want to bring laughter to those around me; I want to get dirty to help the less fortunate; I want to see a little child grow up and remaining young in heart, a rareity now days. It helps me become more aquaintenced with the REAL Jesus.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless His Church

May 9, 2008

Ryan Hampton

Interpreting Scripture

I was recently in a small and friendly online debate about the Genesis creation account. One group of people, including myself, argued for the traditional interpretation of Genesis, that God created the universe in six literal days, rested on the seventh, and that Adam and Eve were the first humans He created. However others argued that the story was not literally true, that Moses used this as a piece of literature or poetry, in order to explain why man is sinful, not how; why God created the world, not necessarily how, and so on.

Both sides brought up good points, but obviously I hold to my original viewpoint that God created the world in six literal days, and rested on the seventh, and that the Adam and Eve story is true.

But why? Why couldn’t this be a metaphor, or parable, or poem? Ultimately, it is about how you interpret the story, right? Jesus told parables, so why couldn’t this be a parable? How do we interpret Scripture? How do we apply hermeneutics?
Ultimately, if we had a perfect nature, we could understand this a little better. But I do believe that we can use certain ideas to help us. Therefore, I will present to you my tips on how to interpret Scripture.

1): Interpret and defend Scripture with Scripture. What I mean is this: don’t proof-text with random verses without attempting to understand what they may mean in reference to other parts of Scripture. Roman Catholics, I think, do this a bit with their theology on the Pope. Jesus told Peter he would build His church on this rock, speaking, and perhaps even referring to Peter. So doesn’t it follow that Peter is the head of the church, and when he dies, someone else should become the head? Well, I do not believe this, because I don’t think we can justify such a doctrine as this sort of church government on one verse. [I know that Roman Catholics would further their argument, and I do not want to oversimplify their points, but this is just how I see it.] Calvinists and Arminians are both guilty of "proof-texting." One verse says that our salvation was "predestined" while another one says that Christ "died for all." I would argue that it is good to compare similar passages of Scripture and see what the common ground or common understanding is before we "proof-text" our points.

2): Treat all of Scripture, and really all of history, as one story. We should not separate the Old Testament from the New Testament making them two different stories, two different peoples, or two different Gods. It is one story, and the New Testament is really the climatic point of the story. Even that which is to come is part of this one story. Me writing this is just a small part of the one great story God has. I believe that this helps us understand the creation story. When we treat the creation account as if it is poetic, we are left with two options. We could assume that all of Scripture is a metaphor or poem, used by God to explain something to us. And of course, when you reject the incarnation of Jesus, you are really preaching heresy. You may stay consistent in your thoughts, but your thoughts are heretical. The second option you have is to pick up somewhere and say "this is when the real history begins." This seemed to be the mindset of the particular people arguing for an alternative creation account. It seemed to be that the true history began with probably with Moses, since he wrote Genesis. This is not heresy, so long as it is believed that Jesus is our Savior for our sin. But this is self-contradicting and thus has much theological ramifications to it. What happens to the theology taught by Paul that "from one man came sin so from one man comes redemption" if our sin was not from one man. And if we are products of multiple evolutionary races, when was the first sin, and how did it affect all of humanity? What happens to the generations listed in Genesis. How does the seed of the woman crush the serpent? Although the stories of Noah, Moses, Abraham, David, and of course even Adam and Eve are all different stories to teach us different lessons, they are also part of one great story leading us to Christ in some form or fashion. If we disregard the first few chapters of Genesis, we have serious ramifications to deal with. How do we have a "happily ever after" without an "In the beginning?"

3): Consider the broader context of what you read in Scripture. When you read Scripture, it is easy to think "Okay so this is exactly what it’s telling me…I need to do this." At times this is okay, but I’d caution you against this in many regards. Consider the broader context of the Scripture. Who is the author, the receiver or audience, the time period the Scripture was written in, etc. Consider speaking in tounges. I have mixed feelings personally toward the role of toungs, but I do not find it right to say that since some of the early Christian's spoke in tounges then we should at any time today. Or even because Mark 16:17 seems to say taht we shall "speak in new toungs." We must consider the background to the writings, and then consider its relavence to us today. Of course I write this as much to myself as to any of yall, because it is easy to forget.

4): Constantly look for symbolisms and literary devices. Even if what you are reading in Scripture is factually and historically accurate, God could providentially preserve certain events to point as signs to other events. For instance, Abraham sacrificing Issaic is historically an event, but it is also a typology to Christ. It points us to God the Father sacrificing His only Son. This is just one of many examples. Consider Noah starting the whole world over, becoming a kind of Adam. Or Moses being saved in a basket (the original Hebrew is the same word used for Noah's ark, actually) through water (similar to the story of Noah). It would take a whole seperate blog to write these out, but they are interesting. Consider how the Tower of Babel brought many languages from one, and Pentacost brings many languages together. Consider how Adam ate from the forbidden food, and Satan tempted Jesus with food. Consider how Adam sinned eating from a tree, and Jesus saves dying on a tree. Consider how Moses (two times and Noah, were saved by water, and how we are saved by the waters of Baptism. Consider how the Bible begins with a marriage (Adam and Eve) and ends with a marriage (Christ and the Church). These are all real things, historically even, and are great symbolisms for us. Of course symbolism is not the only literary device used in the Bible. We see chiasms, poetic language, etc.

That about covers it as far as my tips go. I believe the literal interpretation of Genesis. The way I look at it is this: sure, it may all seem like nice poetry and wonderful stuff. But why can't it be true? Why would the God of wonders beyond our galaxy tell us a make believe story. Jesus told parables that help us understand the story better. But the story is true, and it is our story. It is the best darn story on ever. Man tells stories such as "Narnia" and perhaps even the contraversial "Harry Potter" to help us better understand the Scriptures and who we really are. But we as humans long for these stories because it is in our nature. Even non-Christians long for these fairy tale type stories. We are made in the image of God, so it is His nature as well. We may not realize it, but we are in the middle of a great fairy tale. But this one has the greatest "happily ever after" any fairy tale has ever had. Just don't forget the beginning.

What do you think?

God bless His people

God bless America

Pray for our Troops

May 21, 2008

Ryan Hampton

Who Am I? A Paradox of Truth

My life is a paradox.

I'm simple, yet one who is constantly searching for a deeper meaning to things, and constantly asking deeper questions.

I'm a loner and yet a people person. I am a rambling man, yet one who stays at home.

I'm do not get wrapped up in emotionalism, but I live the fullness of emotion. I'm not an intellectual, yet I strive to learn more everday.

I'm spiritual yet physical. I'm utopian yet realistic. I'm romantic, yet idealistic. I have a vision, but as much so I have a Heritage.

I am loud, yet quiet and soft-spoken. I'll be random, wild, and racaus one day, while the next day be very standard, polite, and presentable. I'll be a Southern Rock junkie one day and listen to Bach or Bethoven the next.

I am myself, yet I recognize that I do not belong only to myself. I am one person, yet all things to all people.

And I am not being contradicting in this, nor am I being a double-minded man. Nor am I failing to be true to who I am. In fact, this paradoxical thrift I see in my life is, though confusing at times, a reassurance that I am called to God's plan. Who is Jesus? He is the ultimate paradox of all, yet perfect, holy, and all righteous.

Jesus was both (and is both) God and man. Even His mother Mary was both mother and virgin. Jesus was natural and ideal; spiritual and physical; perfect and yet suffered from the imperfections of mankind. Jesus is everlasting, yet had a birth and a death. See the pattern? Jesus, even more so than Paul, was all things to all people, yet He did not stray from who He was.

Now there are some distinctives to people, even those called to follow Christ. Not all Christians think or act the same, and not all have the same personality, nor are they called to have the same personality. Some are more loners and some are more people oriented. Some are more classical and some more modern. Some more loud and some more quiet. But even this is paradoxical. We should all strive to bring these things out of antithesis to a common synthesis, while yet doing so in very different ways.

I encourage all of you and myself to not stop or start at being just yourself. In fact, don't make that your goal. You are not just your own, but you are God's. The world has perverted the Christian idea of tolerance and diversity into something that radically defends sin. Rather, begin by realizing that you are God's, not your own. The only way to find your life is to lose it, again a paradox we see in Scripture. This falls into the same line as the humble being exalted and the exalted being humbled. When you first focus on who you are in your core identity with God and others, that you have a common calling with God's People to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, you will begin to see your own God-given personality come up. However we must realize that we should aim at bringing things out of antithesis. Become old in mind yet young in heart. Become natural yet ideal. Become one yet many. Become one in full, yet only a part of the whole.

From this, we can see that you are one of God's personally, yet altogether we are one of God's corporately. We become full. Through this we have a destiny, yet only through our heritage. We are exalted only through our humility. We are all things, yet really and truly just ourselves.

Just some thoughts.

What do you think?

God bless you

God bless America

Pray for our Troops

May 8, 2008

Ryan Hampton

Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Role of the Church

In some ways I hate doing a blog like this - separating Christianity out by its specific denominations. I do desire the unity within the Church universal. But I do believe that there are some cases in which we can use this "legal" approach to ultimately try to bring unity.

I write this in dealing with the role of the church in part of salvation, relationship with God, and the worship of God. I will say that I believe, as a general rule, that Roman Catholics often over-emphasize the role of the church and under-emphasize the role of the personal relationship with God, while many Protestants undershoot the role of the church, focusing primarily on the personal aspect of salvation.

But both are very important, and asking which is more important or which comes first is like asking what comes first out of the chicken or the egg (except I believe that the chicken did!). The church is the Bride of Chris our heir, thus like the individual Christian's mother. We know that Mother's come before their offspring. However where would the church be without the individual Christian?

I do not believe that membership in a church assures salvation. I do not believe that a Baptism assures salvation. I do not believe that one must go to Mass to keep salvation, nor do I believe one must do what the church says to escape purgatory. I do not believe the Roman Catholic doctrines of the Pope or of Mary, although I do not judge them on such doctrines either. I do understand that there are plenty of Roman Catholics who look to a personal faith in Jesus as their only way of salvation, not Popes or the Virgin Mary.

I believe that often Protestants do not look highly enough of the church. While I do not believe we should have a Pope, I do believe there should be some form of church government. While I do not believe that the Virgin Mary should be worshipped or prayed to, I believe many Protestants shy away from anything to do with Mary, when she is a very important figure of Christianity. I also believe that Communion is often looked down upon in many Protestant churches. I believe that having real bread and real wine each week in worship service is very important. It is where we have a meal with God, where we are reminded of His grace, and where He is reminded (for lack of a better word) of His covenant with us.

Many Protestant's look at private prayer, personal piety, etc., as the chief end of their salvation. Church attendance, baptism, etc., only help show off or at best amplify the personal relationship. But once again, both the personal relationship with God, and the corporate relationship with God must go together. They should be ever flowing. A prayer closes should lead to corporate worship, which should lead back to a prayer closet.

Jesus is the only interceder in our salvation. We need no Priest, Pope, parent, Pastor, Mass, etc. to obtain salvation. Only Jesus' personal grace. But at the same time, we take part in the blessings of salvation through the church; we fully worship God through the church; we amplify our relationship with God through the church; we spread the Gospel through the church; and we renew our covenant with God through the church. I alone am not the Bride of Christ, but the church Catholic (in the sense of 'universal') is the Bride of Christ. The Church Catholic (again, universal, not strictly Roman) should be important to us. So I encourage Roman Catholic's and Protestant's to look at themselves, examine their view of the church and of a personal relationship with God, and see the two as ever-flowing. Perhaps then we can strive for union in the One Body of Christ.

What do you think?

God bless His Church

April 1, 2008

Ryan Hampton

I Thought Evolutionists Did Not Look For Their Conclusions

If you hear a debate between a conservative Creationist Christian and an evolutionist/atheist, the evolutionist will most likely mention that we should "study facts and then reach a conclusion." Supposedly, Christians assume a conclusion, and then find random facts to back it up. But watching this video, this seems different. I find the evolutionist reaching a conclusion and then looking for the facts. No, I am not posting this as a Ron Paul video. Of course, I do find it odd that small clips are used to try to show Paul's "flip-flop" on evolution, when the majority of the video is supposedly scientific and not political. But that is not what I post this for. For the point I am trying to make, you really only need to watch is the last two and a half minutes or so.



I find it odd that the evolutionist, forced with his problem of the missing chromosome, looks for a conclusion and just happens to find it. He found his conclusion, and then looked for the facts. Of course, his "finding," even if is true, does not prove anything, and only leads us to the question of "why were the two chromosomes 'taped?'" Just something I happened to notice.

What do you think?

God bless America

Pray for our Troops

March 7, 2008

Ryan Hampton

The Politics of the Church

One of the problems the church has always had has been knowing how to approach
politics. The church has been in political troubles all throughout her history. We should not treat this generation or time period as an exception, but neither should we treat it as the only time this has been a problem either.

Many tell us that the church has become too political. A few would argue that the church has not been political enough. But the problem is not that the church has been too political or not political enough, but the problem is that the church has not been the church.

There was a time when there was argument whether the King or the Pope had complete authority. Was the church being the church at this time? No, they were too obsessed with civil power that they forgot about the Great Commission. The church has forgotten about the Great Commission today, and has instead has become legalistic about books and movies such as "Harry Potter" and "The Golden Compass." These things may be issues that the church can deal with, but only after it has first focused on its main roles: to love others as ourselves, to spread the Word to all nations, to reunite the many denominations that have divided Christians for so long, to worship God corporately each Sunday, and to all around return to the basic principles of Jesus.

The point is we should first focus on ourselves before we really worry about politics. But at the very same time, we should not resist politics. The politics of the church will come when we focus on the teachings of Jesus, and they will come in a profound way. Dr. George Grant said that "We must think of politics some of the time, so that we do not think of politics all the of the time." This quote seems to hold up; many of those today who complain that the church is too political are the most legalistic of Christians out there.

So what should the politics of the church look like? Well, as I said before, let us first focus on our basic task. The politics will then begin to take care of themselves. We should long for a day when the entire world bows on their knees and confesses with their tongues that Jesus is Lord; we should long for the day when earthly rulers bow to the ultimate rule of God; we should long for the day our governments are orchestrated by a Christian worldview that all men are created equal with certain unalienable Rights, and that governments are set up by God to protect our Rights; we should long for a day when the life of an innocent baby, born or unborn, would not be threatened; we should long for a day when our government punishes those who threaten our life, liberty, and property. This is extremely political, but it comes from the mission of the church.

And what has happened today? Today, we start with politics, and then we try to separate Christianity and make it something to the side. If we see religion and politics crossing paths, we make a political issue about it. Mitt Romney is a Mormon, should we not vote for him? Mike Huckabee was a Baptist Minister, does this make him more or less prepared for the job. Don't get me wrong - I want a firm Christian who can confess Jesus as Lord while speaking to the entire nation to be our President as much as most anyone, but the way we make political issues out of it all today is quite distasteful to me. One reason I would be skeptical of voting for Mitt Romney is because of his Mormonism. But I don't want to go around making a political issue about it. Perhaps today what we need is someone with a quiet driving faith, if a political fuss will be made of anything else.

The difference between the ideal way the church should handle politics and the way it has, is that the ideal way of handling politics is to first be a Christian. Because our Christianity covers (or should cover) all of our life, politics will be taken care of in the boldest of ways. Today, Christians seem to first be political, and then try to separate Christianity out of it. When the two intermingle, as they inevitably do, we have a giant mess on our hands.

What do you think?

God bless America

God bless His church

Pray for our Troops

March 1, 2008

Ryan Hampton

Lessons in Theology, Building a Covenant Foundation, Part IV - Worship

Each blog in this series I have used to hint to the upcoming blog. Last blog was no different, although all the previous blogs in this series really built up to this. What has the church done to pervert our ideas of corporate worship? We have replaced covenant theology with the idea of individualism.

Corporate worship is corporate, and it is based on the covenant. We do not go to church on Sunday morning because it seems fitting with the previous week. The theology the church has today seems to put worship at the last day of the week; after God has blessed us throughout the week, we come together to recap and share our experiences and increase our personal relationship with Jesus.

Although there may be a certain amount of this that in its proper context can be good, this theology is very problematic when it comes to worship. We do not go to look back at the previous week, and then play songs that relate merely to the personal aspect of our faith; we should come to remember God's covenant and look ahead at the week in light of God's covenant.

So what is corporate worship? Is it worship itself? Is it evangelism? Is it education? Is it what we do for God or what God does for us? Ultimately, it is all of these things, but none of these things specifically. We do not go merely to give basic worship to God, but a service with no worship would be wrong. We do not go simply to evangelize the world - that is what we do throughout the week. But our church service should equip us for evangelizing, and that is what the church universal functions for. We do not go to church just to learn about the Bible, but that should certainly happen through our church attendance. When we go to service, we go to give to God, and for God to work in us. Corporate Lord's Day worship is a full experience.

In light of our relationship with God, there are some definite things we should do. There is a certain amount of creativity as well, and it is not right to create a certain "standard" worship service. But the church today focuses more on the creativity than the definite. To give you an idea of a service that I believe would be appropriate, I will give a run through of our church service (I do not claim this to be perfect, nor other styles of worship as something God does not hear; this is just my opinion).

After announcements, we have a call to worship. The Pastor quotes phrases in Scripture dealing with a group of God's Covenant People coming toward Him. The people respond to this calling by saying "Our feet our standing within Your gates, O Jerusalem" or something to that affect. In this call of worship, we come forward into the real presence of God, and can only worship in praise at His glorious throne. We have a hymn that resembles this mentality.

But as we approach God's throne, it is obvious to us and to God that we are sinners. We must "wipe our feet on the welcome mat" so to speak, before fully entering God's presence. We kneel for corporate confession of sin, where after this we are given the full assurance of God's forgiveness. It is here that we ascend into the real presence of Heaven, lifting our hands and looking up toward God in our ascension hymn.

After this, we have Scripture readings, from the Torah, the Psalms, and the Epistles (or sometimes the prophets instead of the Torah?). After each Scripture reading, the speaker says, "The Word of the Lord" where the rest of the congregation responds "Thanks be to God." After these readings, we have a hymn of celebration. Then the Gospel is preached, where the Pastor walks amongst the Congregation during the reading, symbolizing how the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, as is recorded for us in the Gospels.

After this, we have our sermon, where we learn and take personal application to God's Word.

After the Sermon, we take our tithes and offerings. After this, we have corporate prayer for the specific needs of the congregation and of the world. We sing hymns, confess the common basic Christian faith as expressed in the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed (we do one or the other). Finally, we come for the Lord's Supper, each week. Real bread, real wine. Being strengthened and nourished, we sing a hymn of dismissal, and then receive the Benediction to go in the peace and favor of the Lord, fulfilling the Great Commission.

This is much different than most typical Christian churches today. In most churches, you will see something like this: the congregation sings a bunch of contemporary Christian songs with personalized lyrics, followed by the choir singing their songs. After this, you may see a video presentation, telling us perhaps the problems with evolution, or a motivational "Tell your co-worker about Jesus" spin. Then, we have a motivational sermon, perhaps a "Seven steps to being a closer to your family, step one, take a vacation" sort of deal. After the sermon, a guess speaker may come and give a motivational speech and just as the people are caught up in their emotions, the tithes and offerings are collected. If you are really lucky, you may get a bread-flavored cracker and grape juice. After this, there will be a dismissing prayer.

Now many of these things are good, at least in some context, but how many mainstream evangelicals know why they do what they do in corporate Lord's Day worship? What does each aspect of the service mean?

It is interesting that the first of the two liturgies resembles the covenant structure we see in the Bible. We have a call to worship, where God calls us into His presence, taking hold of us, in order to do something with us. After this, God separates us, individually acknowledging our sin, and cutting it off. We are separate, and then our sin is separated from us, so that God may make something new out of us. After this, God speaks to us through His Word and the sermon. Then, soon after this, we partake in the Lord's Supper - the sign and seal of our covenant. Then we are prepared for the future with the benediction, so that we may go forth in the world, proclaiming the Good News (The Great Commission). All throughout we have education, worship, and are prepared for evangelism. We make our bodies one living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). We worship as sacrifice, not the sacrifice of blood, but as one living sacrifice for God, where all our other sacrifices come from our corporate worship. In a sense, the Lord's Day worship is the most important thing of the week. We do not come to remember God in the past week, but to remember and renew our covenant with Him, looking ahead to the blessings that are assured for us in the future.

I know some Christians who do not attend church. But church is not just icing on the cake. It is where our salvation is found. What if a husband and a wife never saw each other? Are they married? Maybe on paper, but they are not in spirit. I think that the spirit of our salvation outweighs the legality of our salvation. Salvation comes from God, but He offers it to us through the church - it is our identity as apart of the Body of Christ. People who do not attend church should realize two things about church life: how we need the church, and how the church needs us. We all need the communion of the Saints to carry on in a personal relationship with Jesus. We all need to be reminded of our corporate covenant that joins us with Christ. This is what, in a real way, secures our salvation. We must be faithful until death (Rev. 2:10), and we can not just assume an easy feeling for our salvation. We stay faithful through the church. We all need the church. At the same time, the church is filled up with people like you! So if you need them, then they need you! Your work for the church, both maturing those within, and witnessing to those without, is drastically important. No "Seven steps to being a better family man" message by Joel Osteen on TV does justice to the real gathering of the Saints (Heb. 10: 26-27, Acts 20:7).

UPCOMING BLOGS: I will try to post a blog on the politics of the church. Is the church too political? Is it not political enough? What role should the church play in shaping our politics? I also want to post a blog on the 'other side' of feminism. Is feminism a threat, and if so, who is to blame? I am also wanting to post a blog on rethinking perfection. How have we fallen from the real idea of perfection in our society, and how does this false ideology affect Christianity worldwide? My answers to these questions may surprise you. I have a few other ideas as well, and they will come in time.

What do you think?

God bless His Church

God bless you

February 24, 2008

Ryan Hampton

Lessons in Theology, Building a Covenant Foundation, Part III: The Sacraments

Forgive me for taking a while to get back on these posts. I have been busy with school, work, trying to keep the house clean, and all that good stuff. But nonetheless, I will try to cover my thoughts on the sacraments here.

When a couple get married, there are certain signs that remind them of their covenant in marriage. Some signs are created by the couple. These may be bound by certain regulations of morality or society, or it could be completely up to the couple. But there are some signs that are generally universal. The wedding ring is perhaps the one that sticks out the most. It reminds the husband and the wife of their unity. Not just this, but it shows all others that they are married. The wedding ring is like their identity together. It shows that they are one. After this, there are certain signs they do to constantly remind themselves of their covenant. Perhaps the one that would strike the most is the sexual union of the couple.

This is similar to covenants made in the Bible. There is always a five-step covenant, and the signs of the covenant stick out the most. They are the faces of the covenant. When God made Adam, He spoke out the existence of the dust of which would become Adam, and took hold of the dust. Then God took the dust and separated it from the rest of dust. After this God spoke to Adam telling him of his duties to keep and protect the Garden. Then God told Adam not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God also showed Adam that there is a Tree of Life to eat from. Finally God prepared Adam for the future by giving him a bride, Eve.

So the five-step pattern goes something like this:

God takes hold.
God separates in order to make something new.
God speaks to the new creation.
God gives signs and seals of the covenant.
God prepares for the future.

So when God forms the first marriage covenant, it should look similar.

God took hold of Adam causing him to go into a deep sleep.
God separated Adam's rib from the rest of his body, in order to make something new.
God speaks to Adam and Eve, now telling them their respective roles with each other.
God created Eve as woman, showing that they are two but yet one.
God prepares for the future by allowing them to reproduce and glorify God.

When man sinned, God still offered covenants to His people, perhaps even in a greater sense. Now, God must deal with His special grace to His people. The signs of the covenant deal with God promising to remember His grace to His people, and His people faithfully trusting in God's promises. We see this in the doctrine of death and resurrection. The doctrine was not non-existent before the Fall, but it existed in a much simpler sort of way. Notice how God takes hold of His people and separates them in order to make something new. When Adam slept, he must have been dead asleep in order for God to take a rib out of his body! He basically died and rose again now with something even better - a companion. Now this death and resurrection involves real pain, and even the real death and resurrection of Jesus for our sins.

After the Fall, God continued to show covenants with His people as a reminder of His promise to send a Son, Jesus. God does this with Noah. God took hold of Noah. God separated Noah and his family from the world in order to make something new (the new world). The world died, but through this death arose Noah and his family to begin a new world. God spoke to Noah telling him of his duties to punish wrongdoers and to be fruitful and multiply. God gave Noah a sign of His covenant for both God and man to remember - the rainbow. Finally, God prepares for the future in promising never to flood the earth.

We can see this pattern with the Abrahamic covenant, and the Davidic covenant. But how does God's covenants work now when Jesus has already come?

God does not have to give us animals to kill. Jesus' blood has already been poured. God does not have to give us covenant after covenant, or play remnant favoritism. Now God's covenant is offered for all of mankind. But at the same time, He does ask for us to remember our covenant with God. He does ask that we remember our identity as God's people.

In the Old Testament, God used circumcision as the identity of God's people. But now God offers Baptism to God's people. Circumcision was given when the child was just eight days old. So by the same token, Baptism is offered to those who are born into a Christian home, and to those who come from a non-Christian home and are converted to the Faith sometime in their life. After Baptism, members of God's covenant people may take part in His table to remind them of God's grace. When God sees His supper being done, He dwells amongst His people and remembers His covenant with His people. Because Jesus has come, we may now be in Heaven, and in a sense that is where we are when we partake in the Lord's Supper.

So the sacraments are perhaps the most influential part of our life. They remind us of God's grace. Baptism is our identity. The Lord's Supper is a constant reminder of God's grace, and it strengthens and renews us. The Last Supper became like the first supper for the new Covenant - the Covenant of Grace. We should not exclude children from the Table, because after all, they are God's children. Children can come to God and have a personal relationship with God, and it does not have to be through us. At the same time, through the faith of the child's parents, the child is connected with the covenant. The child's Baptism reminds him of his identity, and the Lord's Supper constantly strengthens the child. In a real sense, the Lord's Supper is the most important meal of each week.

So we should not reject the child's faith. In Scripture, we see David speak of his faith since his infancy, even since he was in his mother's womb (Psalm 22: 9-11). John the Baptist knew God from infancy as well. Furthermore, children have identities when they are born. American-born children are simply born American's. How much more should a child's identity be in God, if they are born in a Christian home? How much more should be reminded of this identity through the Lord's Supper, even from infancy? After all, Jesus said that we must think as the children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Why should we not give our children the joy of Christ's resurrection for them?!

So I encourage all of you to be joyful whenever you do the Lord's Supper, and if you are Baptized, to treat it as the sign and seal of your Christian identity. At the Lord's Supper, treat it as the best and most important meal of the week. Get a big piece of bread!! Remember God's grace. God will remember His covenant with you. And for all children, be joyful that God's covenant of grace extends to you, directly, not through your parents, nor only to your parents. It is for you!

And I preach to myself as much as anyone here!

What do you think?

God bless His church.

February 19, 2008

Ryan Hampton

Lessons in Theology, Building a Covenant Foundation, Part II: Salvation

The idea of salvation is right at the core of Christianity, and is seen as the greatest gift of God. And all of this is rightfully so. The greatest showing of love in the history of history itself, is God becoming man, pouring out His blood even to death (a very painful death, I might add), in order to save sinful man.

Essentially, the doctrine of salvation is what defines Christianity. I say this because it is really logical. What is Christianity? Christianity is the religion based on the Trinity, where the second person of that Trinity becomes man and saves us. Furthermore, who are the Christians? It is those who are saved by Jesus' death. From this standpoint, it could be argued that all Christians, because all Christians are saved, have the same idea of salvation. So then why study it?

I do not write this because I believe that salvation is reached by something other than grace through faith, as is taught in our churches. I believe it is completely. But I write this because I believe many Christians, though they have a general understanding of their own salvation, do not really grasp the full picture, and how salvation fits in with God's covenant. And along the same paths, Christians may disagree on the specifics of the deeper questions of salvation (can you loose your salvation?, is salvation a choice by us, or God's eternal decree and predestined plan?, etc.). These are all fair questions, and to the best of my ability (granted, this is a bit of a mystery to mortal and finite man), I will give you my reasoning to these questions.

The last blog dealt with how God works in this world. Is all of history a predestined plan, to which we are merely robots of, as hyper-Calvinists would say? Or perhaps is history the complete opposite, as Deists would believe, that God created the world with its laws, to allow it to control its own destiny? Or could it be that we are all products of chemical reactions, to which all of eternity is predestined by the wills of evolution, as consistent atheists would say? Assuming the presupposition of God's existence, we rule out the third possibility. And assuming Christianity as our worldview, we ask how our salvation fits into this question.

Most Christians believe that the answer lies somewhere between the first two possibilities I presented below. Not even many Calvinists really believe that there is no free agency of some sort of man in God's creation and providence. However most "free will" Christians (forgive me for such blanketing and polarizing terms), believe in God's providence, and that God is in control of all things that happen, at least to some degree or another. The disagreements between Calvinists Christians and Christians who are not Calvinist is more a disagreement of emphasis, over disagreement in letter, word, or perhaps even ideology.

But the issue of our salvation in this plan is really a sticky issue, and is really a mystery. I touched on this some in my previous blog. How can I really "control" my salvation (salvation is more than a mere every-day choice). It must be at some level a revelation. But at the same time, why would God pick and choose His church? Even moreover, if God can do anything (as He can), could He not give us even a choice in the matter of our eternity? Once we are Christians, and apart of His Kingdom, is it up to us to keep our salvation, or do we leave it to God? The modern day individual viewpoint goes something like this:

God is good and allows us salvation.
We choose, on our own, whether or not we obtain this salvation.
God may be especially gracious to those incapable of reaching this mature decision, by granting them the benefit of the doubt in sending them to Heaven if they die early. After about twelve, we should all be able to make our own choice.
After we for sure have this salvation, we can rest assure, because there is no way we can loose our salvation. Once saved always saved.

Maybe that is a bit of a stretch and a stereotype to modern Christianity, but there is a lot of truth in it. Some of the ideas may be good, and these are only technical matters of the greater matter of the salvation itself. But I do believe that this viewpoint can be problematic. Let us analyze this.

God is good and allows us salvation. This, of course, is true, in that God is good, and that He offers salvation. Whether or not we say He offers it across the board or to His select only is still up for grabs (as I hope to get into this more throughout this blog and series).

>We freely choose our salvation.< Although I do not want to take away any human responsibility in our salvation, I fear that many Christians over-exaggerate this idea. Ultimately, salvation is given by God. Even if we do "choose" it in a sense, perhaps we should better look at it as accepting God's free gift, not pursuing salvation by our own good works.

>God automatically gives salvation to anyone who dies early.< I believe that God gives salvation to those who are born in a Christian home and then die in infancy (more on this later). But whether or not He gives salvation to just any infant who dies early, is really out of our knowledge (again more on this later). This idea leads parents to think along the lines of "They automatically have salvation now. We will pose to them the idea of salvation, and let them freely choose it as they are old enough to." This sort of parenting, I believe, can be naive and dangerous.

>After our salvation, God ensures it to us through all of our life.< Even if this was true, many Christians pervert this idea. Although Paul spoke of his knowledge of his salvation, he never really believed he could just "rest assure."

But even with all of this said, we need Scriptural defense for any point we make. I do no want to point you to a couple of passages regarding salvation that seems good, to try to prove any point. This is proof texting, and it too can be dangerous. What I want to do really is give you an overall picture of what salvation looks like through a Biblical worldview. Giving you a lot of specific verses, and showing how they all fit together, would require a book, not just a blog.

I like looking at looking at Biblical analogies in applying theology. In terms of salvation, I like looking at the analogies of Jesus being our Shepherd, or of a marriage. It is interesting that the Bible begins with a marriage (Adam and Eve), and ends with an even greater marriage (Jesus and the Church). The story of the Bible is like a wedding story, or a love story. It is like a Cinderella story where a sick woman is resurrected by her groom. Or perhaps a romantic view of the groom laying down his life for his bride. It is a store of God's People: things started good in the garden, then things went really bad with the Fall of man, and in the end, things will be better than before the Fall. We begin with "Once upon a time..." end with a "Live happily ever after..." The store line is about the restoration time of death to life.

So how does this systematic symbolic theology fit into our personal salvation. The Christian story beats all other stories because it is about community, and because it reaches to us personally. A real physical body is different parts working together, but it is not as if the body is constructed piece by piece. In Christianity, we are all one Body, but each member is added over time on a personal note. With this in mind, our salvation is very personal and very corporate.

But today, we focus too much on the private salvation. While it is possible to look too much to the corporate side of salvation and too little to the private aspect, that is not what we see in today's Christianity. Salvation comes from God, ultimately, but how does He offer it to us? Where is our defining moment of our salvation? The modern answer is that He offers it to us by simply laying it out on a platter for us to take (albeit it special revelation, or simply allowing us to hear of it in general). Then the moment of our acceptance is our defining moment.

But in a marriage, the marriage is offered over time. The groom does not just all of a sudden "pop the question." There were probably many hints along the way. The defining moment is the wedding. The symbol is the ring. In our salvation, God often (though maybe not always), offers salvation in normal ways, not just all of a sudden. Our defining moment is our Baptism. Our symbol is also our Baptism, like a wedding ring is the symbol of the marriage. A salvation with no Baptism is like a wedding with no ceremony. But the individual and modern idea of salvation presents Baptism as just "icing on the cake." It's like a honeymoon. It's a nice thing to do by tradition, but nothing really required in it (according to the modern view).

So how does salvation work for infants? And can we loose salvation? These are tough questions (after all its a mystery!). I believe that we are a Body, and this idea helps us better understand salvation on the infant level. But lets use the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep (as we are with Jesus).

If a shepherd has a flock of sheep, and one has a baby sheep (or would this be a lamb?), the shepherd does not reject the baby sheep, send it away, and make it come back. He would take the baby sheep, give it a mark to declare it His, and keep it, and treating it as his own. The sheep may wander, but hopefully with the help of the parents, it will stay and not wander. If it does wander, the shepherd may go out and try to find sheep (or lamb).

By the same token, I was born an American. I did not have to grow so old to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and write a paper on why the colonies broke off from Great Britain. Otherwise we are born an American. Our parents give us our name, and we get a birth certificate.

So in Christianity, if two Christian parents, or even one, have a baby, God does not reject the baby, making it come to salvation by his own merits. But he accepts the baby. He calls it His own. Then Baptism marks the child's identity. Then the family, and the church around them, seek to raise the child in the right way. God will always do His part in His relationship with the child. As the child grows, he has more responsibility not to wander from God's people. The church is like the gates of the pasture. That is why going to church each or most weeks is important. By not going to church it is as if we are wandering away from God's flock.

Christianity is deeper than these analogies, but I would make the argument that this only strengthens my points. Jesus is the good shepherd, so why should He reject His children? Jesus is the King of Kings, so why should He deny our citizenship in His Kingdom if we are born into it? We may wander, granted, but God will always do His part.

So God offers salvation, but He mostly offers it through the church. In a sense, the church is salvation. We are God's People. Our identity is Baptism. Those born into the church should be Baptized as infants (I know that many people do not agree with me on this, and that's fine, but I am speaking from my perspective). Those who come in from outside the church into the church, should be baptized soon after their conversion. In spirit, the defining moment for this person would be the conversion. But even a conversion may not be so supernatural, because God works even great things in ordinary means. His identity is marked in the Baptism. (Also the doctrine of infant Baptism could be expounded upon by showing how Baptism is the new Covenant fulfillment of circumcision, which was to boys eight days old. Since there is nothing against infant Baptism from this standpoint in Scripture, we assume it applies to infants as well. But this would be a different angle and could require a different blog).

Does God predestine salvation? Once again, this is a sticky issue, and I feel I have answered to the best of my ability already. Perhaps even if He does, He does it with the foreknowledge of who would strengthen His Kingdom best anyway, by the free choices He creates for us.

Can we loose our salvation? I believe asking this is like asking a couple on good standings if they would ever consider getting a divorce. Of course they wouldn't! But they must also always be guarding their hearts, keeping them close to their spouse. They remind each other of their marriage in ways that are simple and profound. A simple kiss could be a reminder. A nice anniversary gift. A vacation. Or in bed. All of these ways renews the mind and reminds them of the covenant they made on their wedding day. Some of the symbolism and reminders are set in stone ways, and others require their personal imagination.

This spirit is what will carry us through the next two blogs, to complete the four-part series.

What do you think?

God bless America.

Pray for our Troops.

God bless His People.

God bless you.

February 11, 2008

Ryan Hampton