JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD by John Piper

In these times of unconditional tolerance and political correctness, it is often regarded a mark of intolerance and bigotry to make exclusive religious truth claims regarding such concepts as the nature of God, sin and hell to name just a few. An even more scandalous assertion will be to claim that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. This assertion, however, is a central tenet of biblical soteriology so is it any wonder then that Christians are often tagged ‘backward’ and ‘narrow minded fundamentalist’ because they refuse to budge? Such an assertion will likely lead to being ostracized and in certain instances may well indeed sound one’s death knell especially in some countries. In the light of such possible inauspicious consequences, should Christians continue to insist that Jesus is in truth the ONLY way to God?

Pastor John Piper in this small book, JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD – Must You Hear the Gospel to Be Saved addresses the very question that the title asks. Piper’s affirmative response to the question is unequivocal stating that “without this faith – faith resting consciously in Jesus as he is presented in the gospel – there is now no salvation.” He warns that any other view will be detrimental to such virtues as genuine love for others, the salvation of people in other religions and ultimately biblical authority. He further maintains that not only will evangelism and the zeal to carry it out undermined by a negative answer but that scriptures do indeed supports his stance. He not only addresses the question directly but goes even further to uncover and dissect certain unstated yet underlying presuppositions that the question assumes including; Will Anyone Experience Eternal, Conscious Torment under God’s Wrath? Is the Work of Christ Necessary for Salvation or Are There Other Bases? Is Conscious Faith in Christ Necessary for Salvation?

Piper doesn’t shy away from the concomitant difficulties from his stance and tackles these head-on. He gracefully highlights areas of dissent with such influential people as C. S. Lewis and Madeleine L’Engle whose universalist view of hell on the one hand is akin to a correctional facility which will lead to repentance and purity and eventually salvation and with John Stott and Clark Pinnock on the other hand whose annihilationist view leads to finite utter obliteration. Piper presents a strong case for the traditional view of hell which insists on the eternal conscious torment of the damned though I didn’t personally find it persuasive. I presently hold to the annihilationist/conditionalist view on hell albeit tentatively because I find it a lot more compelling.

The author also persuasively demonstrates from scripture that the case of Cornelius does not support the notion that conscious faith in Jesus is not necessary for salvation by situating that narrative in its proper context noting that “Devoutness and works of righteousness and religious sincerity do not solve the problem of sin. The only hope is to believe on Jesus.” My only qualm with his conclusion on this matter is with his remark that “Cornelius represents a kind of unsaved person among an unreached people who is seeking God in an extraordinary way…” and that “God accepts this search as genuine…and works wonders to bring that person the gospel of Jesus Christ the way he did through the visions of both Peter on the housetop and Cornelius in the hour of prayer” which seems to me to suggest that this supposedly “genuine” and “extraordinary” pursuit is somewhat meritorious to draw the Father’s attention to save such a seeker by all means in which case his conclusion will be erroneous and unscriptural. But from his other works, I doubt he will agree with my inference.

Another area of disappointment for me was his failure to expatiate on the exceptions to the question of whether conscious faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation namely the profoundly mentally disabled adults and infants who do not have any physical ability to apprehend that there is any revelation at all. The author only touched on these in a footnote observing that scripture doesn’t offer much light on this area so answers on these are purely speculative. That may probably be the reason why he doesn’t dwell too much on it though I think dilating on it would have been beneficial since the matter is so central to the topic the book attempts to address.

Piper’s display of deep insight into the question and the direct manner in which he addresses the topic suggests he is a conscientious writer who does not trifle with the time of his readers. He also does well to buttress his answers with sound biblical expositions. From where I sit, it appears inevitable that every Christian will be confronted with this question in one form or another sooner or later in their walk with God so I highly recommend this book to every Christian.

To the non Christian who may feel incensed by the author’s stance, I encourage you to also grab a copy and weigh for yourself whether his reasoning can hold water. Yet I’m confident that Piper is spot on that “…there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts4:12ESV)

Sika Asem!

I am a relatively young man and like most guys my age, one of the main if not most predominant thoughts I have is about money and how I’m going to make it in life. I’m sure this concern is common to many and to an extent it’s even expected of every young man starting out in life. This concern for money and advancement is made even more pronounced by the tough economic times we’re in and the ever increasing responsibilities associated with growing up. To borrow the truism from that old song, “to be a man, na wa ooo”

That notwithstanding, I’m a man of faith so I endeavor to make sure all my actions are guided by and in accord with the tenets of the faith I profess and with money being such a salient issue, I couldn't possibly gloss over what the holy text has to say about it if I take my faith seriously. I like to think I do!

Firstly, i recognize that God is the source of all wealth and riches! It is he who created all things. Therefore all things belong to him. It is he who gives us the strength to get wealth (Deut.8:18) and it is he who blesses us with riches (Pro.10:22). Therefore, as his child, I don’t have to set my heart on attaining riches (Matt.6:21) neither I’m I to be worried about the possible lack thereof (Mat.6:25-33). Simply put, I must not love money! (Psa.62:10)

Secondly, the holy text also gives the rationale behind its caveat of not wanting to be rich. It clearly delineate the dangers and harms we risk incurring on ourselves should we entertain such a desire.

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” 1Tim.6:9 ESV

From the above verse, i risk falling into:
• temptation
• a snare
• senseless and harmful desire
• ruin and destruction
Now, I don’t think one must be a genius to realize these are not palatable and thus they be eschewed.

Thirdly, wanting to be rich when you’re a child of God can only be attributed to greed. Think about it. Imagine you’re the child of Bill Gates. Why would you desire to be rich knowing your dad is the richest man in the world? The wealth of your father is as good as yours so why would you again want to be rich? Is it that you don’t trust your father to take care of you? Then you’re an ungrateful child because you make your father out to be miserly and uncaring with that attitude! If that’s not the case then the only other option that comes to mind is greed! You’re simply greedy!

Fourthly, God has promised never to leave me nor forsake me(Heb.13:5). His word assures me that "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." (Psa.84:11) Moreover "the LORD is my shepherd, i shall not want"(Psa.23:1) because he'll provide my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phi.4:19). Oh such blessed assurances i have from my sovereign God!!

In conclusion, i have basically two options. Either i ignore clear teachings of scripture and have my way and thus incur the enumerated consequence or i submit my will to God's and follow his way? I pray the latter! I would work hard and plead the favour of God on all my endeavors because it is “the blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” Pro.10:22

The Difficult Doctrine Of The Love Of God By D. A. Carson

I found the title, The Difficult Doctrine Of The Love Of God, to be catchy and thought it ought to raise some eyebrows because how is the love of God ever to be deemed “difficult” when the mantra of most contemporary Christians is “God loves you!” especially when they’re interacting with unbelievers with the aim of persuading them to join their fold? How can Gods love be difficult when it is the theme of many a song and beloved hymns of old? Or was the title just meant to be a brilliant little sales gimmick and that there was really nothing uneasy about Gods love?

Sure enough, the author begins the book by addressing such sentiments as I have expressed above and other distortions in our perception of what Gods love is by citing five reasons why this doctrine is made all the more difficult stating among other things that, “the love of God has been sanitized, democratized, and above all sentimentalized” thus “making the task of the Christian witness so daunting.” He again observes that “if people believe in God at all today, the overwhelming majority hold that God – however he, she, or it may be understood – is a loving being” and so such people fail to appreciate the awe and surprise elements in the concept of God’s love hence this innate hunch becomes nothing more than a stumbling block instead of being propitious! What is even more disturbing, the author notes, is that “our culture has been purged of anything the culture finds uncomfortable” and so we tend to widely disbelieve the many other complementary truths about God which go alongside the concept of his love thus distortion becomes inevitable.

Against this backdrop the author goes on to expound in subsequent chapters five ways the Bible speaks about the love of God namely: (1) God’s intra-Trinitarian love, (2) God’s love displayed in his providential care, (3) God’s yearning warning and invitation to all human beings as he invites and commands them to repent and believe, (4) God’s special love toward the elect, and (5) God’s conditional love toward his covenant people as he speaks in the language of discipline. This the author does in combination with some of the other attributes of God including his sovereignty, holiness, wrath, personhood, impassibility and providence acknowledging them as “non-negotiable elements of basic Christianity” and thus are required if one is to come to a more accurate understanding of the love of God.

This book shattered my simplistic notion of what the love of God is especially when the author was addressing the tension between Gods love and his wrath. I have come to realize how many of us are guilty of unwittin

gly propagating a lopsided view of what Gods love is because we tend to uncritically juxtapose Gods love with that of humans and approach the concept solely from that perspective. In this sense, the book was a real eye-opener for me.

Though the topic was first delivered as a series of lectures and thus its target audience was primarily people in academia, the language isn’t too technical though the subject matter is weighty and so requires careful reading If one is to appreciate some of the delicate nuance that is replete in the book.

This is a book I highly recommend to everyone especially Christians as a corrective to our skewed notion of what the love of God entails.

SDG!!!

Say Amen?

Question: If a non-Christian says to you “God bless you!”, will you respond “Amen”?

This was the was the question that popped into my head onetime when I observed that members of a group I belong to on whatsapp(social networking app for phones) seem to invariably respond “Amen” to quotes by other members regardless of the source of these quotes so much so that I had playfully tagged the group “Amen-Sayers”.

However upon brooding the matter a little further, I realized this propensity to say “God bless you” and its consequent “Amen” response seems to be engrained in our Ghanaian subconscious mindset. It appears to me that this statement seem to be a mere part of our lingo as a people because I find that Ghanaians (and I daresay all of mankind) are inherently religious and will therefore embrace any speech that invoke blessings. After all, who doesn’t want good things?

Anyway, I decided to run this by some of my friends to solicit their views. Those I asked almost unanimously said yes, that they’ll respond “Amen” to such a statement regardless of who it was coming from citing varying reasons for their stance some of which were compelling and others not. Some of the more compelling reasons they gave included the following:

- To Save Themselves the Trouble: Many people assume Ghana is a Christian state but it is not. I would however agree that we are a religious state. So to many of us, the idea that there are people who don’t believe in the existence of any deity is unbelievable. Atheism is practically non-existent in the mind of the average Ghanaian. So to save face, such people would rather just respond “Amen” to save themselves the trouble of having to explain the intricacies(if any at all) for their (non)belief.

- To Appear Respectable: It is typically considered rude to not respond to an otherwise benign invocation of blessings. After all, the person typically doesn’t deem his invocation as insulting or critical so to them it’s only natural to expect the recipient to reciprocate in a friendly and warm manner. Anything short of that is considered rude and no one wants to be tagged as such.

- To Appear Tolerant: Being a multi-religious state means coexisting with people of different faiths and therefore, people not wanting to appear fundamentalist or fanatic, will just respond “Amen”. The main idea is to appear accommodating and peace loving.

- It’s Biblical: Some stated categorically that the Bible supports responding in the affirmative. Others took a rather passive approach stating the Bible does not condemn it so why not just respond in the affirmative?

However, I personally do not respond in the affirmative to such invocation of blessing even from certain ‘Christian’ circles. I usually just smile to their kind gesture and it ends there. Here are my reasons why.

Firstly, I don’t think it’s intolerant or rude to stand by what one believes. I think it’s a matter of how one crafts his response or otherwise that can come across as rude. So to me, to cower from adhering to one’s faith when it means one will appear to be dissenting doesn’t make one intolerant but makes one insincere and also smacks of cowardice. I think that is even more dangerous.

Secondly, many Christians easily let their guards down whenever anybody at all invokes God in whatever venture (however nebulous such a venture may be). Many Christians seem to forget the biblical admonition that we’re to “Be sober-minded; be watchful…” because “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”(1Pet.5:8). We forget that the “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”(2Cor.11:14) so that we shouldn’t just assent to any pronouncement of ‘blessings’ just because it’s in the name of God. We’ll be displaying gullibility if we do.

Thirdly, what or who does the non-Christian mean by ‘God’? Many Christians are unaware that not all who profess belief in ‘God’ refers to the one and the same deity Christians worship. Christians believe in the existence of one God who is the creator of all things and who is a Trinity of persons and is sovereign over all things. But not all believe like the Christians do so how and/or why will you assent to invocation by someone when you’re not even sure if they’re referring to the same deity in whom you trust?

Fourthly, some of my respondents said the Bible supports it. They quoted such verses as “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”(Gen.12:3) This verse does indeed appear to support the idea however, upon consulting Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible he says concerning that verse that “… Not the priests only that should bless his children, the children of Israel, as the Targum of Jonathan, but all men of all nations, and of every age, that speak well of him, commend him for his faith and holiness, and tread in his steps, these are blessed with faithful Abraham…”

From the above commentary, it appears the understanding of the word ‘bless’ as used here denotes “to speak well of” or “approve of” instead of the usual “to confer prosperity or happiness upon” for how is it possible for an unbeliever to invoke blessings of a deity he does not know nor believe in on behalf of believers in that deity? It appears incongruous to me.

Given the above reasons, I wouldn’t affirm any invocation of blessings from any non-Christian source. Or will you respond ‘Amen’ to Kwaku Bonsam (a popular fetish priest in Ghana) if he says to you “God bless you?”

Let’s get talking.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Book Review: The Emergence Of A New Generation. By Enoch A. Anti

The Emergence Of A New Generation is the second book by Encoh A. Anti in which he seeks to “communicate the mind of God…to the best of my(his) knowledge” and to “call out my(his)  generation to enlist in what God is doing.” This desire he states was born out of apprehension that struck him one time when he was scheduled to deliver a talk to a certain Christian youth group which sought to be relevant in the world. He envisions that “young, ordinary men and women will suddenly start migrating from obscurity to advance the Kingdom of God” and that “great ideas will be embedded in our hearts to be expressed through books, companies, schools, institutions, inventions and creativity in advancing the Kingdom.”

There are many good things about this book of which I will enumerate a few. Firstly, it is written in a conversational style which makes it easy for one to follow along the author’s train of thought. He employs the peptalk sort of approach in attempting to achieve the second part of his aim in writing the book which I thought very helpful. Secondly, the book is saturated with bible verses thus underpinning the Christian perspective with which the author seeks to make his case. Though it can be easily characterized as a motivational book, the deluge of bible verses used set it apart from the typical “can-do” motivational books prevalent in our times. Thirdly, he quotes many different authors to buttress points he wanted to establish. This shows the author embarked on extensive research to come out with this book. Finally, his use of simple language makes for easy comprehension. Thus one is encouraged to continue reading through to the end once one picks up the book. Simply put, it is enjoyable!

There were, however, certain portions of the book I found to be quite disagreeable but will just highlight a few. The author says “every spiritual truth I put pen on paper should be practical, relevant and something I have first experienced” and that he has “learnt to speak and write only about things that are practical – things I have experienced and understand.” This is problematic for several reasons.

Firstly, why the need for “relevance” of the gospel and other truths expounded in the scriptures? Have we so lost confidence in the timelessness of the word of God? This attitude to me betrays a tacit belief that certain (if no all) biblical truths are archaic and are in desperate need of a makeover if people in our contemporary times are going to buy into it. The dangers in pursing “relevance” is that it opens one to all manner of unbiblical ideologies and philosophies and styles that may be in vogue at one time or another but these soon pass away as history has shown many times over but the truths expounded in the scriptures has and will remain the same! As Christians, we should never loose cognizance of the fact that Christ and the truths of scriptures transcends all times and ages thus if anything in the whole world could be said to be veritably relevant, it ought to be the scriptures!

Secondly, I find the craving for “practical” truth most unfortunate indeed. This belief is called pragmatism and John MacArthur notes “the error of pragmatism is that it regards methodologies that “work” as more important and more viable than those that are biblical. A pragmatist is concerned primarily with whether a given practice is expedient, not necessarily whether it is in harmony with scripture.” Pragmatism is also an indirect way of denying the sufficiency of Christ and scriptural truths in all things. Thus this approach should certainly not be promoted.

Thirdly, it is most unpractical (pun intended) to want to experience everything before one can vouch for its veracity or to even write about it. Truth is objective and though it is often based on observable phenomenon, it is nonetheless undistorted by our emotions or personal biases. Indeed, I doubt the author would have been around to write this book if he were to live by this principle because some experiences will likely lead to his demise. It is just plain imprudence to live/write solely by experience.

In conclusion, I will say the book does well in giving sound biblical advice and some useful how-to’s that will be of great benefit to any young person today especially to young Christians. I will encourage anyone to grab a copy. You can go here for your copies. Kudos to the author…writing is not an easy task…

SDG!!!

Book Review: Hear My Confession By Father Joseph Orsini

What’s the book about?

This memoir recounts the experience of a catholic priest who while pursuing his doctorate hits a spiritual snag which he couldn’t shake off intellectually. It was during this dark period of his life that he was introduced to charismatic prayer sessions that were organized by his fellow priests. Though initially skeptical of this movement, he grudgingly gave in and attended a session where he experiences such a refreshing in his spirit as he has never known before. He is reinvigorated and can’t seem to have enough of fellowshipping with others in prayer and rejoicing in the power of God by His Spirit.

My sentiments

Though I don’t belong to the Roman Catholic Church, reading this book filled my heart with joy because I came to realize how the Spirit of God moves mysteriously even in circles where He is nominally acknowledged but not in palpable ways. I was particularly pleased by his plea to those like himself who catch such “fire” not to abandon the catholic faith but to remain and effect reforms which he believes is very much needed in the Roman Catholic Church.

This book is a good reminder that there comes a time when a believer simply doesn’t desire God or fellowship with other believers. This may be due to several reasons chief among them is sin. Like David, we sometimes ask “Why are you cast down, O my soul and why are you in turmoil within me?” Psalm 42:11 But it is during these trying times (a time which some have aptly christened ‘wilderness experience’) that one most dearly needs to draw near to God through prayer and supplication and to seek fellowship with other believers especially those who have encountered similar spiritual exhaustion and understands and share in his plight. One needs to pray the Holy Spirit to remind one of such wonderful promises in God’s word like “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” Psalm 3:3 and a thousand other promises that are rife in scripture!

May God continue to bear us up for our good and ultimately for His glory!

Soli Deo Gloria!!!

Book Review: Password Incorrect By Nick Name

How do I even begin to express my views on this book? If anyone has read  it I’m sure they will appreciate my ambivalence. My initial reaction toward the book was this, that either the author is a sheer literally genius or has very little regard if any for editorial rules and/or writing styles.

Password Incorrect is a collection of short stories which is mostly choppy, humorous and quite frankly annoying at times especially when one is really getting engrossed in what would have otherwise been a juicy read only for the story to come to an abrupt ending leaving one in a cliffhanger.

However, that the stories are mostly witty in an absurd kind of way cannot be denied. The author's name is a telltale attestation to this. The stories also mostly carry undertones of playful mischief with such silly titles are Nose Number 32, Childult, Mr. Copypaste and Micro-Hockey (which so far happens to be my favorite.)

But on the whole, for one to even blog about it shows that the book is meritorious in its own right albeit of the fun yet idiotic sort.

It’s available for free online and on android devices for anyone interested to read it.

Enjoy!

O The Grace Of God!

It is commonplace to hear “by the grace of God…” as a part of our response to daily inquiries of how one is faring. Indeed, it is has almost become an unwritten requirement to proper behavior and good social etiquette. So much so that even non-Christians unwittingly use this expression on daily basis. Alas, grace to the Ghanaian is nothing more than a proper diction in our everyday lingo.

However, to the Christian, Grace is laden with meaning and significance. Grace has been and continues to be the theme to many a sermon. It has served as the title to many ancient hymns and contemporary songs. Books that discuss and attempt to unravel grace as a theme are never in short supply. It usually comes up as the topic of conversation among believers and often strikes feelings of awe and adoration toward the One from who grace proceeds.

The Christian acknowledges that he is the result of grace. He understands that grace is the mark of distinction between him and the unbeliever. Imagine this: You stole an appetizing mango from the house of a judge and got arrested and have been arraigned before the judge in his courtroom. The judge finds you guilty and pronounces a just judgment meet for the crime you committed. The penalty for your crime is burdensome. It is impossible for you to pay this penalty because of your penurious status. But then something happens. The judge opts to pay the fine for your crime and it doesn’t end there. He also gives you a truckload full of mangoes which are even more appetizing than the one you stole for you to take away with you. So not only are you pardoned, but you’ve also received what you stole and more in many folds.

Though this analogy may be inadequate, it attempts to give a glimpse into what grace entails which is an undeserved, unsought and unmerited favor. If you were the one in the above analogy, what will your reaction and attitude toward the judge be? Will you spurn this undeserved gesture from the judge or will you in humble awe turn to him expressing your profuse appreciation for his graciousness toward you?

This is where good works comes in. It is the natural consequence of this amazing work of the Father. Good works in themselves don’t make us merit the father’s favor. If it did, it would cease being a favor. It will be wages earned for one’s meritorious deeds. And that is not grace!

Therefore, focusing and reveling in the favor of God produces good works and as we grow in grace, so will our good works grow in commensurate proportions.
G. S. Bishop aptly encapsulates the subject thus:

Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection.

Let us think on the grace of our Lord and let us see its ripple effects in all aspects of our hopes.

Oh how the grace of God amazes me.

Soli Deo Gloria!!!

What Is The Church? By R. C. Sproul

Sundays tend to be busy days for Christians and more especially for pastors and other church workers because it’s a church day! It is not uncommon to see people donning fine textile prints and wielding fat bibles all trooping to church. But what exactly is church? Is it merely “an institution that we see visibly in the world…has a list of members on its rolls and we can identify them.”? Or is it something more than that? And who makes up the church: the people who attend the meetings? Or everyone all over the world who truly believes?

This is the question that R. C. Sproul sought to answer in this short book exploring the very nature of the Church. Referring to the council of Nicaea, the author enumerates certain key descriptors stating “Historically, via the ancient church council of Nicaea, the church has been defined by four key words. It is, 1) one, 2) holy, 3) catholic, and 4) apostolic.”

He also notes several senses in which the church is to be perceived based on the Greek roots of the word “ekklesia” which literally means the “called out” and that is exactly what Christians are because God has assembled us from the entire world unto Himself. The author employs the analogy of the nation Israel to underscore his point showing how God called them out of the world and separated them unto Himself giving them a peculiar way of life. Using the analogy of the relationship between a slave and master, the author shows that another way to perceive the church is like that of a people purchased and belonging to a master. Thus the church is owned by a sovereign Lord and Master.

The author also addresses other pertinent topics regarding the church including doctrinal disputes, ecumenical efforts in the past with its attendant pluralism and how these have rather backfired and given rise to new factions who perceived such ecumenical attempts as adulterations of their creeds and resisted them, the visible and invisible church and the ever pressing issue of when to leave one’s church for another together with a host of other issues.

However, the chapter I enjoyed most was that which discussed the marks of a true church. Under this he enumerated three key points which are distinct attributes of any true church. The first being the faithful proclamation of the gospel. By this, he clarified that not merely the announcement of the death and atonement of Jesus but also the faithful proclamation of the essential truths of Christianity. He further states that “Luther said that it was inevitable that before long, the truth of the gospel would be hidden once more in obscurity. The reason he gave was that when the gospel is preached, it divides and controversy ensues. People don’t want ongoing controversy. We want peace.” Thus, the need to faithfully preach the gospel cannot be overemphasized. The second mark is that sacraments are rightly administered. This is one key feature that distinguishes a church from other para-churches and thirdly, the true church practices authentic discipline of its people censuring all gross, heinous and egregious sins. This last feature seems to be particularly lacking in the church today.

The book was an easy read as the author skillfully dilated on all inevitable didactic tropes he had employed to make his case. This is a book I highly recommend to all believers for its simplicity and clarity in addressing the church and what is it!

SDG!!!