‘Simply Trinity’ Resources

Matthew Barrett writes: It will take a team effort to find our way home to trinitarian orthodoxy. With the release of Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baler), I sat down with with 12 fellow theologians and together we provided a road map. Here are all 12 Trinity Talks:

1. Trinity Drift and Evangelicalism with Thomas Kidd

2. Can We Trust the God of Our Fathers? with James Eglinton

3. Since When Did the Trinity Go Social? with Craig Carter

4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Trinity: Fred Sanders, Matthew Barrett, and the Dangers of Conflation

5. Why Must God be One to be Three? Divine Simplicity with Matthew Levering

6. What is Eternal Generation? with J.V. Fesko

7. Is Eternal Generation Essential to the Gospel? with Charles Lee Irons

8. Does Eternal Subordination Compromise Biblical Orthodoxy? with Liam Goligher

9. Why Should Evangelicals Reject the Eternal Subordination of the Son? with Michael Bird

10. Confessing the Holy Spirit in an Age of Biblicism with Michael Haykin

11. Does the Trinity Work Inseparably? with Ryan Hurd

12. Can We Have Communion with the Trinity? with Kelly Kapic

Crazy Charismatic Services – What Is The Draw?

This question comes from someone who was formerly involved in charismatic services but is asking about why they draw so many people:

Question: Pastor, what do you think is the draw (aside from ability to “control/manipulate”) to the craziness that is seen in “Holy Spirit” services. I honestly never felt the “power” or the laughing thing… I only spoke in tongues as mimicry. I’m not sure what the lure is to the crazy antics I saw and wondered if it’s just like a mob mentality/wanting to belong.

Answer: I think the lure can indeed be a mob mentality as you describe it and this can explain much of what is taking place in those kind of services. I think too, a motivation can also be wanting to have a genuine experience of God (which by itself is a good thing) but never questioning what is happening. I know that was true in my own life when I was involved in them. I wanted God, as I do now, but looking back, I never asked enough questions. When we fail to ask ourselves, “where can I find this activity in the Bible?” we become vulnerable to deception.

“… test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” – 1 Thess 5:21,22

Scripture itself (the words inspired by the Holy Spirit) tells us to test everything. “Everything” is an all inclusive term. God Himself tells us to test everything. NOT doing that means grieving the Holy Spirit who told us to do so.

The means of testing is not a feeling we might have or an experience that occurred. The word of God is “more sure” and more trustworthy than any possible human experience (2 Peter 1:16-21). The means of testing is the Scripture (see Isaiah 8:19, 20; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17). The Bible is the Holy Spirit’s book. Therefore we all need to know our Bibles and employ a biblical filter always.

Lets read another passage in Acts 17. There, “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed…” (v. 10-12)

It is right and noble to check everything taught by the means of “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so.” If something passes the Scripture test, we should hold fast to it. If not, we should throw it out. The Holy Spirit (through the Scripture) tells us to do exactly that.

I will go further and say, Scripture tells us that the fruit of the Spirit in a person’s life (and by extension, the life of the church) is not chaos, confusion and an inability to control ourselves like drunken men and women. No, the fruit of the Spirit, amongst other characteristics, is self control (see Galatians 5). Let that truth sink in for a moment. Someone FULL of the Holy Spirit is someone operating in love, someone under control, someone kind, someone gentle, etc. – not someone who acts like a mad man.

A misinterpretation of Scripture means that verses such as “in His presence is fullness of joy” are made to become a basis for out of control (the opposite of self control), wild, erratic behavior. But Scripture says otherwise.

These familiar words are still God’s words. Let us hear them again: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22, 23)

Verses like “these are not drunk as you suppose” (Acts 2:15) are wrongly interpreted to mean that those who were filled with the Spirit acted as if drunk and out of control (an assumption in charismatic circles). But that is not a true interpretation of the biblical text. It is something falsely assumed and read into the text.

The Bible, rightly read and rightly interpreted is the safeguard against deception. Deceived people, deceive people. When there is no interest in true interpretation of the Bible, all that remains are false foundations and therefore false experiences.

Statements like “do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit” are made to mean that being filled with the Spirit is a lot like being drunk – but again, that is not only not something taught by the text but in fact, the exact opposite of what the text says… The verse is a command that says, “don’t be drunk with wine – but (instead in total contrast) be filled with the Spirit.”

Ephesians 5:18 says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…”

Amen to that! Amen and amen! That being established, what would this look like should we indeed be filled with the Spirit?

Thankfully, we don’t have to guess. The very next verse, a continuation of the sentence, explains:

19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Not being drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit means exactly what the Bible says it means and leads to Scripture being cited, songs being sung to the Lord, the giving of thanks and submitting to one another. You will notice, there is not even a hint of crazy, out of control activity. I would say, the exact opposite is the case.

When people are not interested in true interpretation and true doctrine, there you have a people NOT filled with the Spirit. That is because, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and reverence for the biblical text is a fruit of true Holy Spirit inspired activity. It is indeed sad that there seems to be no interest whatsoever in looking at the texts usually cited to see if the things claimed are so.

The Holy Spirit gives people a desire to know and rightly interpret the inspired words of the Bible. When misinterpretation of biblical texts become the basis for experience, and taught as such, everything is built on a faulty foundation. While claiming to be a “move of the Holy Spirit” the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with such a thing. And it is the book the Holy Spirit inspired, the Bible, that tells us this.

A Testimony Received Today

Today I received an encouraging email from a lady named Rebekah who has come out of the word of faith movement:

Hi John!

I just finished listening to your podcast on the Bridge Radio from 2018. I just wanted to say thank you.

I grew up as a pastors kid at Rhema Bible Church and this entire testimony from you is SO encouraging and helpful.

I discovered the true gospel (how truly unholy I was & in need of a Lord and Savior) at age 33 (3yrs ago). And I do not believe I was a christian prior to that, though I debate myself at times, but I really was lord of my own life (had no concept of lordship of Christ) but wanted the savior. After listening to Paul Washer this past year, I’d say i was not 😂.

This I think is the dangerous side of prosperity gospel – it simply uses the Bible and Jesus to give people a “savior” and false assurance when they make a “decision”, “say a prayer”, or learn to speak in “tongues”.  Like you explained, the holiness of God and sinful nature of man is never discussed.

Anyways, I don’t know anyone else like myself so hearing the story is so so encouraging.  To hear it’s a long process in understanding the errors of word of faith “gospel”, and realize the true gospel…. and also just to know I’m not alone in unlearning a lot of things in order to learn them correctly and in context.

Also I never knew of the plagiarism of EW Kenyon. That’s crazy.

I still have family and friends in the movement. I’ve spoken a bit about what I think of today’s modern prophets and the lack of gospel teaching with some family and friends, but don’t want to come across too harsh and have them totally write it off. I know I balked the first time I heard it.

Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for sharing as it is encouraging and provides hope for family and friends still in it. 

  • Rebekah

That Time When 30 French Charismatics Visited Ligonier

A quote from the ancient church, usually attributed to Augustine: “In essentials UNITY, in non-essentials LIBERTY, in all things CHARITY.”

In the teaching below entitled, “One, Holy, Catholic & Apostolic Church” from Ligonier Ministries (at the 11 minute mark), Dr. R. C. Sproul recounts a story illustrating the fact that Christian unity must be based on the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, or else only a shallow, superficial (and unbiblical) unity can exist.

Transcript:

“Back in Ligonier many years ago, I had a request for 30 Frenchmen to come and visit us who were part of the charismatic movement in France. And they wanted to come to Ligonier to our study center, and bear witness to what God the Holy Spirit had accomplished in their midst. And they came in and they were filled with enthusiasm, bubbling over with joy and they were singing ‘We are one in the Spirit.’ And they gave testimony of how the Holy Spirit had given them a unity that had transcended all of their historic differences over doctrine. There were Roman Catholics there and Baptists there and people from all different kinds of backgrounds from France.

And I said, ‘Well, that’s amazing.’ And I said, ‘How have you been able to reconcile your differences over justification? Is it by faith alone or isn’t it by faith alone?’ And I started asking some of these critical theological questions to these dear people, and within ten minutes, they were at each other’s throat. [laughter]

They were singing ‘We are one in the Spirit’ until we started talking about the content of the Christian faith. They had one Lord, they had one Spirit, but they didn’t have one faith. And they said, ‘Well, that’s why we don’t like doctrine because doctrine divides.’

When did it ever not divide? When did the truth not ever divide? And these people say, ‘We have to do away with doctrine.’ If you want to do away with doctrine, you better burn your New Testaments because the New Testament is one doctrine after another which is the revelation of the truth of God. And if you want to have a superficial unity that is ultimately meaningless, get rid of your doctrine.

In one sense, I’m glad that Christians argue so much over doctrine. Because at least the people who are arguing about doctrine understand that it is of eternal significance, what we believe. And where we differ in doctrine, we should be going to the mat, and looking for that unity of the one faith that has been delivered to us in the pages of the New Testament. But let us not forget also that there exists a real and profound and important unity that all of the differences that we have in denominations, and in the trappings of our polity, and our doctrines at this point and that – that all of these differences cannot overcome.”

Why Crucifixion and not another form of death?

Article by J.A. Medders – original source: https://spiritualtheology.net/why-crucifixion/

We should have many questions about crucifixion.

Why crucifixion? We know how vile it was. We hear how revolting, dehumanizing, and despicable crucifixion was—so why did Jesus die this way? 

Would Jesus dying at the hands of a mugger been enough? Why couldn’t Jesus have died of old age with friends and family praying at the foot of his bed, rather than some friends abandoning him as he’s stripped naked and nailed to a cross in front of his family and a few remaining friends?1

As Peter preached in Acts 2:23, why was “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,” for crucifixion (Acts 2:23)? 

God ordained crucifixion for at least four reasons.

1. Shame

Crucifixion was reserved for the worst of the worst. Death by crucifixion was loaded with shame, embarrassment, dehumanization, mockery, brutality, and nearly unchecked wickedness. Fleming Rutledge writes in The Crucifixion: 

“Bodily functions uncontrolled, insects feasting on wounds and orifices, unspeakable thirst, muscle cramps, bolts of pain from the severed median nerves in their wrists, scourged back scraping against the wooden stipes. It is more than any of us are capable of fully imagining. The verbal abuse and other actions such as spitting and throwing refuse by the spectators, Roman soldiers, and passersby added the final touch.” (5)

Does this horror not capture the spiritual significance of sin? Crucifixion is a vivid display of what sin as done to our hearts, lives, world. Sin brings shame. Sin is subhuman—not what God created us for. We carry the stain and pain of sin, and Jesus stepped into all of it. Taking it on. Taking it away from us. Jesus humbled himself to a level that will forever serve us, teaching us, transforming us. He communicates his love for us in the deepest way imaginable. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

2. Criminal & Legal 

Rather than Jesus being the victim of a street crime, he was tried as a criminal. He was (falsely) indicted. For him to die as our substitute, legal proceedings were enacted, both in the case of Barrabas and us. If Jesus had died by choking on a fig, he wouldn’t have been dying for our sins. But since Jesus was dying in our place, for our sins, he needed to undergo a proceeding and a death where it was obvious that he was innocent. That this death was actually for someone else. As the Roman soldier admitted at Jesus’s death, “Certainly this man was innocent!” (Luke 23:47).

The criminal and legal aspects of crucifixion reflect the spiritual significance of our sin. We committed high crimes against the triune God. We are cosmic criminals. But by Christ’s death for us, we are declared righteous, not guilty, free. He died for us. And by faith in him, his right standing with God becomes ours.

3. Public

The public nature of crucifixion is essential. Jesus died in the presence of nearly all Jerusalem. Jewish leaders, Gentile joes, Roman soldiers, all saw what happened to Jesus. His death was non-ignorable. The whole city would have been a buzz with his trial, the mockery, the march to Golgotha, and the six hours that Jesus hung on the cross. This sets the stage for his resurrection. 

If Jesus would have died from a fishing accident or some poisoned lentils, and then his disciples claim he rose from the dead, no one would believe it. Not public enough. It would be easy to reject a private death hitched to a public resurrection. A very public death makes resurrection even more astounding. Crucifixion is the preamble for resurrection.

4. Certified

Crucifixion was controlled. Rome made sure the crucified died; they knew what they were doing. And in the case of Jesus’s crucifixion, Roman soldiers were stationed and prepared to make sure Jesus and the criminals next to him were not mostly dead—they had to be dead dead. It would not have been uncommon for a Roman crucifixion to last for days, but since Jesus was crucified on a Friday in Jerusalem, Israel was particular about having dead bodies dangling from crosses on the Sabbath. The crucified had to be dead by sundown. This is why the Bible says Roman soldiers began to break the legs of those being crucified as a way to speed up their death, keeping the crucified from catching big draws of oxygen by pushing up from the cross.

But when the soldiers came to break Jesus’s legs, he was already dead. They confirmed it. They drove a spear into Jesus’s side to make sure Jesus had died and not just passed out. Blood and water spilled out, without a cry from Jesus’s voice. Dead. Certified.

“But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.” (John 19:33–34)

The certified nature of death by crucifixion set the stage for Easter Sunday. He was pronounced dead by a professional executioner. Jesus was buried that evening. Jesus rose again from the dead. He didn’t simply swoon on the cross, go into a coma, or faint. He was pronounced dead by Rome.

And on Sunday, he is pronounced alive. Shame removed, declared righteous, eye-witness accounts, hugged by friends. He lives. And so do you, if you trust him.

Tell Them That Again!

The Lord knows, and has always known, when I will preach my last sermon. I certainly don’t know. I am not privy to that information. Let me say that I have no plans that this morning’s sermon be my last one. However, my point in writing this is to say that should it be my last ever sermon, I would want it to be on this very subject – the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The sermon is entitled, “Tell Them That Again.”