Should we Expect Miracles?

Yesterday we examined the gift of "working out of miracles" as one of the gifts listed in the "Gifts of the Spirit" in 1 Cor. 12:4-11. One of the things we established and made clear is that miracles are extraordinary and supernatural works of God, that were given as signs and wonders to validate the messengers of God. The only times in history where we see concentrations of miracles is in the ministry of agents of revelation: Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and the Apostles. Other than that miracles are not common or ordinary, but rather, unusual, and extraordinary. Based on that we concluded that when the bible was finished being written, miracles had ceased to occur for the reason that God's special revelation to us is complete. So why are so many people still seeking the miraculous? Because they are not satisfied with the Word of God. They are looking for something more, something tangible and something they can look for and hope in. In desperation people are willing to believe in anything, thus creating a market ripe for the picking. This is not theology 101, but business 101. The phony miracle workers have a lucrative business, because the market demands them. In fact I would argue there is more demand than supply, leaving a deficit in "miracle workers."

I am reminded of what scripture teaches, 2 Tim. 4:3-4 "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."

This describes the demand side of the false miracle business. We are living in that time, where people who are not content with what God has already revealed are looking to believe in anything but the truth. So in a sense, it is the masses of ignorant and unstable people who create these men. But make no mistake about it, that does not excuse the false prophets. They are greedy and see the masses as walking dollar bills. They are evil and cunning and have used the Gospel for their selfish advantage, and exploited the poor and ignorant for their own good. Scripture has much to say about them as well.


2 Pet. 2:2,3 "many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words."

14-15 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 

17-19 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption

One thing is for sure: God is just. These guys will all have to give an account one day for their lies, deception and stealing in the name of Jesus. They have received their reward now, but on Judgment Day, they have a special reservation for them- the gloom of utter darkness. May God have mercy on their souls.

Charismata

In my last two sermons in 1 Corinthians, I have started to examine what was going on in the Corinthian church in relation to the "charismata". The term "charismata", in the original Greek simply means, "grace gifts" and is used in modern Greek to say, "birthday gift". Some changes, but the intent is more or less the same...an undeserved, and unmerited gift from God. Now we know that God in his grace has given us many gifts. The gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8-9), justification (Rom. 5:16), Eternal life (Rom. 6:23) the gift of giving (2 Cor. 9:15) etc. But we are talking specifically here about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are given to the elect for the purpose of building up the church. Eph 4:7 "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift" It is the Holy Spirit who takes that which is Christ's and applies to us making it our own. Therefore, every person who is born again and is given the Holy Spirit has been gifted by the Spirit for some type of ministry, and there is no such thing as the gift of pew warming. When we think of Christians being charismatic, we automatically assume that they must be prophets, speak in tongues or perform miracles, but this is not the case. There are many gifts that the Holy Spirit has bestowed on His church which are not spectacular or supernatural. Thus, if we are to interpret Scripture correctly- all Christians are charismatics. The problem is how we interpret charismatic.We need to take closer look at the scriptures. In Corinth the gifts that were manifested and were emphasized by the Corinthians, Paul makes reference to in 1 Cor. 12:9-11. But that is not an exclusive or exhaustive list. For instance look at Rom. 12:6-8

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;  if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;  the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Did you ever think that serving is a gift? What about the ability contribute to the the finances of the church? Or the what about showing mercy? These are gifts of the spirit as well! They may not be spectacular or illustrious, but for the most part being a Christan is living our day to day lives not on the mountain top experiences of the supernatural highs, but rather on the plateaus and valleys where we live by faith in Christ, and are enabled by the Spirit to minister in every day life.

Too often the charismatic church puts all their emphasis on the spectacular and the extraordinary. But that's not reality. The Christian walk is not a Harry Potter movie. The bible may have records of the miraculous and supernatural, but they do not characterize the majority of biblical history.  A thorough reading of the bible gives us examples of many believers who lived their life day to day in the power of the Spirit and yet these are the men and women have likewise been gifted by the Holy Spirit.

The challenge for all of us is to discover our gifts and put them to use. How do we do that? First we should pray and ask God to show us where he has gifted us to serve. Second- you should ask your pastor or an elder what they think. Often an elder, or pastor will have good insight into a persons gifting. But ultimately, God will confirm it to you as you live out your life and people will actually tell you what your gift is. The real point is that we are exercising our gifts. On judgment day we will all have to give an account for how we used the gifts God has given us. I personally think that the parable of the talents can have application here. To whatever level of gifting you have received is to the level we are responsible.

Luke 12:48 Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

A Righteousness Not Our Own

Not too long ago I was challenged by someone to rethink the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the sinner and consider that the teaching of the active obedience of Christ was simply a result of an antiquated argument. After pondering these ideas for some time it was obvious these were thinly veiled suggestions coming from the popular "New Perspective". For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, don't feel bad. In the academic world of evangelicalism there are some heated debates among Christian scholars that the average lay person would have no clue about. However those academic debates eventually trickle down to the lay persons in one form or another. The debate we are talking about is with New Testament scholar and Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright.  Bishop Wright is a brilliant man and among one of the best New Testament scholars in the church, and has contributed a great deal of good to the church. However he has also reintroduced a teaching that is not sound and can lead to serious problems if left unchallenged.  The teaching commonly refereed to as the "New Perspective of Paul" based on his book- "Paul in Fresh Perspective". Overall Wright argues that evangelicals have misunderstood justification as it was understood by Paul. One of his arguments, among many, is that imputation was merely a product of middle age thought and restricted to just the Reformation mind set. Based on new scholarship of Judaism during the first century, he argues that we now have a "fresh perspective" so to speak, on Paul's view of justification. Here a couple of snippets of his views:


“It is therefore a straightforward category mistake, however venerable within some Reformed traditions including part of my own, to suppose that Jesus ‘obeyed the law’ and so obtained ‘righteousness’ which could be reckoned to those who believe in him. …It is not the ‘righteousness’ of Jesus Christ which is ‘reckoned’ to the believer. It is his death and resurrection.”
—N.T. Wright, Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision, p. 232

Is there then no 'reckoning of righteousness' in, for instance, Romans 5:14-21? Yes, there is; but my case is that this is not God's own righteousness, or Christ's own righteousness, that is reckoned to God's redeemed people, but rather the fresh status of 'covenant member', and/or 'justified sinner', which is accredited to those who are in Christ, who have heard the gospel and responded with 'the obedience of faith'." -N.T. Wright, 10th Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference: 25–28 August 2003, p. 8

In the this weeks sermon I made a clear biblical case for the doctrine of imputation and believe it is as clear as can be. I adamantly reject the New Perspective on the grounds that it leaves many questions unanswered about righteousness, and leaves the door wide open for works righteousness, whereby the believer is credited with a righteousness of their own. I cannot see how it is possible for a believer to merit any good before God. But for anyone who  may doubt, I will not pretend to be a scholar, and instead point you to some of the most formidable theologians and scholars of our day and allow them to dissect Wright's views. Below are a few links that you will find helpful. But a more thorough search will help you find a wealth of resources.

Tom Schreiner's article

More Media from Ligonier Ministries

Media by D.A. Carson

Media by John Piper 

Book- Justification and Variegated Nomism

Happy Studying!