Marrow of Modern Divinity

After looking at the Marrow of Modern Divinity for the past few weeks I have to conclude; I am barely scratching the surface! There is so much to the debate:
Extent of the Atonement, the Law, Holiness, Assurance, Election and the Gospel offer etc. It is no wonder the debate scanned over a hundred years!

Cunnigham assessed the controversy and said, "they divided the truth between themselves in the points controverted." At first he appears to be bang on the mark, but the more I read, the more I have to disagree. The nature of the gospel seems to be at stake.

However, one point it raised which struck me.
If we are to follow the Great Commission and preach the Gospel to all mankind; How can we offer the non-elect the benefits of salvation if they are not elected to receive them?

I am fully convinced that we must preach the message to all without exception, but in offering the gospel call to salvation are we not also implying the right to receive it? If so, how can we offer a right of the elect to the non-elect?

Unfortunately, the Assembly condemned the Marrow and failed to see the significance of the theology  Hog, Boston, and others were advancing. Pastorally it raised questions still relevant to the present day.

A New Term

Well, the new term begins today. After a long summer break spent on placement, revising for exams and work the time has come to pick up the books again. I will be honest and say I am not looking forward to this year, I am not sure if I will enjoy it as much as last year. Yet what I must say is motivation is not lacking.

A summer placement does more than teach you about the life of a minister. It reminds you of the need to be 'on the ball' with your studies. It reminds you of the essential nature of a solid foundation of study and learning. How can we begin a ministry of shepherding if we do not know how to lead the sheep; moreover how can we lead the sheep if we have not been led by Christ?

So a healthy dose of Church History, Hebrew, NT and Systematic Theology is scheduled for the next year.  Lets see how it goes.

Mission

Another key theme i had been thinking about whilst on placement was a missional objective. Yet i do not mean simply a missional objective in the preaching and the preacher but a missional objective which streams from the pews (or chairs)!

The great commission is a reminder to us all that mission is not simply for missionaries, ministers and evangelists but to every Christian. We are all called to spread the gospel in church, work, home and social settings. This is crucial to the building of God's kingdom as it is how He intends us to work.

When we take this missional objective into our lives and live it - as God wants us to - we can begin to help build the Church for God by His power. When we come to Church and feed of the word and worship God we can then go out into our communities and bring others in. When everyone is pulling their weight growth is not a surprise but a pleasure to give God praise for.

Feedback Time!

I was trying to think about the most beneficial aspect of a summer placement. What part or parts are most valuable for a student and why? Surely this is the best way to take stock of such an experience and to grow from it?

Without a shadow of a doubt there is one clear winner for me. Honest, critical, effective feedback. I am indebted to Angus for the time he spent with me going over my sermons, the delivery, content, use of power point etc. The time taken to show me my errors as well as my achievements was hugely beneficial.

I do not know how other Church's operate but in the Free Church usually a student is asked to preach because their is a vacancy or the minister is away and needs pulpit supply. This is very common in my opinion however, this also produces a problem. The responsibility for honest feedback is placed upon the people, which if we are brutally truthful very seldom tell us when we stuff it up because they do not want to embarrass us! It is a sad truth at least in my opinion.

There are very few people who are bold enough to simply tell us if we have made a mistake, maybe it is a fear of appearing arrogant, or impolite, I am not sure. However, I would simply state my agreement with Hebrews 12:1;

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

How many if us could benefit from honest feedback or front of house aid etc. I am grateful for the time Angus has taken with me to correct my many errors and be so encouraging at the same time. Not all correction is painful when we remember that we are corrected for our benefit so that our light for God burns all the brighter!

Placement Values

After a six week placement with Dingwall Free Church i have been left with many lessons to take in. I hope to share some of these over the next few weeks.

The time with D.F.C has been brilliant and extremely beneficial. The people were so warm and welcoming we felt part of the family in no time. There is a strong sense of fellowship and care for the people around the church which was refreshing and great to see. We will certainly miss our new friends.

My time there was spent under the guidance of Rev. Angus Macrae who has a contextualised approach to ministry driven by a desire for solid biblical preaching. He has a drive for a team ministry which ensures the church is not run on a "one man basis" which allows the different skills God has given people to be used.

The time was overwhelmingly a great experience and re-ignited the passion for studying. It put into perspective those long days in Edinburgh reading books! It was a reminder of the need for a strong solid theological basis. It became clear that the years of study which is required before entering the ministry is there for a reason and not to be taken lightly.

Sorry

Sorry for the lack of writing at this time. I wish i could put some more blogs up but i am on placement at this present time and am without internet! I never realised how much i used the internet before now.

Another few weeks and i will be back to normal with a huge amount of stories to share.

acta est fabula

acta est fabula - The drama has been acted out.
(Augustus)

Exams are finally over, the time has come to have a break. Well a one week break after which there is the General Assembly then a 6 week placement. However, I am looking forward the prospect of putting some book knowledge into action.


Yet I say acta est fabula because after the exams I always feel they are full of drama. Sudden last minute worries that the wrong questions will come up, the nerves, the apprehension and the concern over failing. Yet somehow once its all said and done it always turns out okay.


Yet I am reminded of the verse:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28

It strikes me how little faith I have! How I pray for help, to get through my exams, how the college pray together for help during the times of testing, then when our prayers are answered we are full of surprise! 'O ye of little faith' is what they say, yes the drama is over but lets hope its different next year!

Check This Out!

I thought i would recommend to anyone viewing this post the excellent blog of Donald Macleod. He is the Systematic Theology lecturer at the Free Church College in Edinburgh and is retiring this year. However, he has already hinted that some of his time will be spent writing and the beginning of his new blog confirms this.

I would encourage everyone to read his articles as they are passionate, Reformed, Evangelical, deep in spiritual truth and edifying.

Here is the link to his page, bookmark it, or add it as an RSS feed in your inbox so you know when a new article is posted. You wont regret it!

http://www.donaldmacleod.org/?page_id=5

He is a great writer able to convey deep spiritual truths at a simple level and his books reflect this. I would highly recommend his books and articles to your attention.

Exam Time

Well it's crunch time again. I have a love hate relationship with May. I love the weather, the fact i can crack on with the BBQ and serve up some steak. Yum!

I hate the fact its exam time. Revising all day (well i try to) and wanting to bang your head of a wall at the end of it. Never mind it will be over soon.

I was particularly challenged by my Professors comments this year. Speaking of his own time as a student he told us; every time i had an exam or a test I tried to view it as an option to glorify God further. It was a particularly striking statement for me as i seldom view exams as a chance for glory.

In light of that, time to get back to OT, Greek, Church History and Practical Theology!

Sunday Service

Sunday A.M. Service, Perth Free Church, Rev. Duncan Macleod

Today's morning service was fantastic! It was a great reminder of simple spiritual truths which in my opinion are easily forgotten and neglected. The theme of the sermon was assurance. The text was 1 John 5: 1-13.

Duncan expounded 3 principles relating to assurance of your faith.

1) Having Faith in Christ.

2) Having Love for Christ.

3) Being Obedient to Christ.

Here is the brief points raised:

When we have faith in Christ we stake our destiny on Christ.

When we say we love God we should love the things of God e.g, Church, mission, his causes etc

If we are to be obedient we must believe in Him as this is a command in and of itself!

The sermon was an uplifting time under the word of God and a great reminder of the essentials of Christian life. It was an encouragement to be reminded of the assurance we have in Christ when we look at our faith in light of these three aspects.

1 Chronicles 16:25 and Psalm 96: 4

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise: he is to be feared above all gods.

Welcome

Welcome to the blog, this is a theological blog with random thoughts, ideas and issues relating to theology. The substance will be mainly from the subjects or themes I am studying at college. The aim is to glorify God by learning more about him and sharing with other blogger's ideas which lead to spiritual fruit.