tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post5570290601288960569..comments2023-10-24T07:03:42.942-05:00Comments on vtmbottomline: THE FOOLISHNESS OF PREACHING___CONTINUEDPaul Burlesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-90632152262370717762007-09-11T07:52:00.000-05:002007-09-11T07:52:00.000-05:00Gene,Thanks again. As to editing__I'm married to a...Gene,<BR/><BR/>Thanks again. As to editing__I'm married to a Managing Editor for Harcourt Achieve Publishing company and she is VERY good at giving me much needed help with all this grammer and spelling stuff__so__we're in good hands with Harcourt. :)Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-44700320323404934612007-09-11T07:51:00.000-05:002007-09-11T07:51:00.000-05:00Gene,Thanks again. As to editing__I'm married to a...Gene,<BR/><BR/>Thanks again. As to editing__I'm married to a Managing Editor for Harcourt Achieve Publishing company and she is VERY good at giving me much needed help with all this grammer and spelling stuff__so__we're in good hands with Harcourt. :)Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-79242460709451903462007-09-11T00:45:00.000-05:002007-09-11T00:45:00.000-05:00Brother Paul,A. Well, my "boss" is Steve Hays - he...Brother Paul,<BR/><BR/>A. Well, my "boss" is Steve Hays - he's a TA for RTS (for John Frame I believe) so I have to post @ a certain level to keep my job ;). Actually, I try to get as much from Steve by osmosis as I can, and what I said is something I learned from him.<BR/><BR/>B. Certainly, use that illustration to your heart's content. Just do me one favor, clean up the grammar. I mean, what is "reasonable certain?" Sometimes I wonder if there's any connection between what I'm thinking and what I'm typing. You know...sounds good when you're thinking it, then you press send and read it and say, "What was that ?!"<BR/><BR/>C. I would add to that illustration that the whole point (just to be clear) isn't simply that we are dealt a winning hand because it is stacked in our favor by the Lord - rather it's that we are dependent on the Dealer. None of the cards we have would be in our possession if it wasn't for the Dealer, and because we know the Dealer and have a high view of His providence, we can know it will always be a winning hand (Romans 8:28ff for example). So, I don't have to see all the cards - just the ones he has chosen to show me, and, based on what they are, I can be reasonably certain of what the ones face down are, at least enough to go all in if necessary.<BR/><BR/>LBCF2 5.7: 7._____ As the providence of God doth in general reach to all creatures, so after a more special manner it taketh care of his church, and disposeth of all things to the good thereof.<BR/>( 1 Timothy 4:10; Amos 9:8, 9; Isaiah 43:3-5 )<BR/><BR/>My blog, if you've ever toured it, is an apologetics blog, and we see this with atheists all the time. It is patently obvious that God has dealt them a hand that either they deny is there at all or is clear - clear enough to blind them and harden them. That, too, is God's providence.<BR/><BR/>As the LBCF2 5.6 says:<BR/><BR/>As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as the righteous judge, for former sin doth blind and harden; from them he not only withholdeth his grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understanding, and wrought upon their hearts; but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had, and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption makes occasion of sin; and withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, <B>under those means which God useth for the softening of others.</B><BR/><BR/>(Emphasis mine)GeneMBridgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10504383610477532374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-49810365382613742272007-09-10T21:26:00.000-05:002007-09-10T21:26:00.000-05:00Gene,I've always said I got more out of the introd...Gene,<BR/><BR/>I've always said I got more out of the introduction part of Ron Dunn's sermon outlines than I got out of most men's full sermons and Ron was a very good friend.<BR/><BR/>I don't know you that well but I have to honestly say, I get more out of your comments on blogs than I do most other guy's posts on their blogs.<BR/><BR/>That illustration on the poker hand has to be classic. With your permission, I would like to use this comment a little later on my blog. No changes will be made at all and people will know where it came from and who said it. Thanks for dropping in.Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-26368937079724016732007-09-10T20:56:00.000-05:002007-09-10T20:56:00.000-05:00Wow, quoted by the Elder Elder Burleson...:DI'd ju...Wow, quoted by the Elder Elder Burleson...:D<BR/><BR/>I'd just like to note that my statements, in their original form had to do with the Protestant Rule of Faith as opposed to the Roman Catholic Rule (or the Eastern Orthodox Rule). <BR/><BR/>Sola Scriptura commits us to the material and formal sufficiency of Scripture, the infallible rule. Consequently tradition is secondary and fallible.<BR/><BR/>So, by adhering to this rule of faith, we are, in fact, committed to "playing the hand God has given us." Frankly, it's like playing Poker. The deck is stacked in our favor, but we aren't dealing it. Rather, we have a certain number of cards we know, and we can see them clearly. However, some cards are still face down on the table. So, we may have a particular hand (say a royal flush) or we be off by that one card. We don't know - and we don't have to know, because God has promised a royal flush. Based on what He has shown us, we can be reasonable certain. If not, then we know that the hand will still be something close to what we think it is, if not exactly what we think it is. It will still be the winning hand, compared to the latitudinarian or the apostate who are denying they can clearly see any cards at all.<BR/><BR/>To say that we must strive to have some sort of infallibilist knowledge is to adopt the Roman rule of faith (or the Orthodox). They have a low view of Scripture because they have a low view of providence, and they in turn feed off each other. <BR/><BR/>This isn't to say we shouldn't preach with certainty. Rather it is to say we preach certainly about what we know to be clear. We do systematic theology by looking at the exegetical data and by as best as possible weeding out any rationalistic principles that we might impose on the text. That's what the first Protestants did; that's what our Baptist forefathers did, and that's what we should do too.<BR/><BR/>We shouldn't say we have it all together, but then we shouldn't preach like the scribes who told what so and so said and Hillel said, etc. and then said, "This is what I think." Rather, we give the best exegetical arguments we can and leave the rest to the Lord. Scripture is amazingly clear about many things, but others - like eschatology or closed communion, etc. it is not so clear. Some of what we say is because of examples - like our church government structures between churches (local church autonomy), but we should always remember that examples are not expositions.GeneMBridgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10504383610477532374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-9166481076534203322007-09-07T15:53:00.000-05:002007-09-07T15:53:00.000-05:00Jeff,With words like you have spoken...I would com...Jeff,<BR/><BR/>With words like you have spoken...I would come nearer trusting what you would have to say being from the Lord than many I hear speak. It seems to me it is when we are not confident in our abilities but in His we are on safe ground. That's the ground, it seems to me, you stand on. Thanks for stopping by.Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-52485662238593104262007-09-07T15:04:00.000-05:002007-09-07T15:04:00.000-05:00I appreciate your blogging on this matter. One of...I appreciate your blogging on this matter. One of the things that I used to hate was feeling inadequate. I used to hate till I realize what a blessing it is to have a sense that if God doesn't anoint the words, what use is there in speaking. Thanks, Bro. Paul for your wisdom. <BR/><BR/>JeffAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-62120055288604304412007-09-07T06:08:00.000-05:002007-09-07T06:08:00.000-05:00Steve,You are right on with your comment. HIS mess...Steve,<BR/><BR/>You are right on with your comment. HIS message does bring life. OUR message produces death. The fruit of the Spirit in the messenger [love, joy, peace, longsuffering...you know them] MAY be as much a real test as to whether I'm delivering HIS message or mine as the content is since His message produces life. It will certainly produce it in the messenger first. <BR/><BR/>I'm afraid the stench of death may be upon much of what is being done and said in the name of Christ in our day. May He Grace us with a real awakening to Life is my prayer.Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-22517201439314250052007-09-06T21:40:00.000-05:002007-09-06T21:40:00.000-05:00Brother Paul,Thanks for a wonderful, Spirit led st...Brother Paul,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for a wonderful, Spirit led statement on the priority of the message over the messenger. Yet, there is the privilege and the accountability of the messenger, by His grace, to deliver the full counsel of God. I am amazed that His message, through one willing to be the clean vessel and obedient messenger desiring no credit, changes lives. Many will say this is foolishness, but God calls it wisdom. Thanks brother for emphasizing, "thus saith the Lord". It sure humbles me to not convince them of my opinion, but to pray they seek to hear Him. I must decrease that He might increase.<BR/><BR/>Steve MillerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-22195506282385519082007-09-06T13:29:00.000-05:002007-09-06T13:29:00.000-05:00Alyce,Thanks for your gracious words. I don't know...Alyce,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your gracious words. I don't know about moving but I'm looking forward to our days together in a couple of weeks from now in our meeting with your Church. Bro. Roy has filled me in on the GReAT prayer preparation and otherwise. I'm going to try not to get in the way of what the Lord is already doing there. :)<BR/><BR/>See you guys then.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Greg,<BR/><BR/>It is that sweet Righteousness that is His and yet now is mine as a gift received all by His Grace that I want to more deeply understand and appreciate each day I live. You have said it as well as I've heard anyone say it in a long time. Thanks.Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-74111703823872903652007-09-06T10:44:00.000-05:002007-09-06T10:44:00.000-05:00Paul:Thanks for this. It seems very much to refle...Paul:<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this. It seems very much to reflect the heart of a Savior who--fully understanding and fulfilling the Law--would willingly give up his life for the lawless and for scofflaws. And that he did that in order that they might fully grasp the sweet beauty of a righteousness that they can freely receive but never create for themselves.<BR/><BR/>Greggreg.w.hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13482707087962491766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-32476859450643190462007-09-06T10:41:00.000-05:002007-09-06T10:41:00.000-05:00Paul, what a great series and I can't wait for mor...Paul, what a great series and I can't wait for more.<BR/>I think perhaps you and Mary should consider moving to North Little Rock. It is, after all God's country!<BR/>Blessings,<BR/>AlyceleeAlyce Faulknerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02512838526517367006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-53731249085626643622007-09-06T10:23:00.000-05:002007-09-06T10:23:00.000-05:00All,I've been challenged [nicely] about my stateme...All,<BR/><BR/>I've been challenged [nicely] about my statement that the whole of chapter two of 1 Timothy may have been given with a little darker glass [a more difficult to understand passage] than some seem to think. Why would I say that?<BR/><BR/>In a simple response I would point out that in verse 12 the words for "woman" and "man" [gune and aner] are always translated as husband and wife when together in other passages. If this should hold true here,and I see no reason for it not to, it would translate "I suffer this wife [singular] to not unduly influence her husband toward false teaching [context] but to be quiet." {This is the ONLY time this word "authority" appears in all of scripture. It isn't even in Classical Greek. It was a street word that could have a sexual connotation to it.]<BR/><BR/>That would change this from an eternal principle for all time to a partiular situation that Timothy faced in his pastoring.<BR/><BR/>Also, the "she" of verse 15 could then be refering to the "woman" [singular] of verse 12 instead of the "Eve" of verses 13-14 which is simply illustrating that as Eve was deceived also, but "she" [the wife] can be delivered from that deception by she and her husband getting their lives in shape relationally and spiritually. <BR/><BR/>All of this, whether you agree or disagree and notice I haven't given my personal take on the whole thing yet, could be a cause for pause about a dogmatic interpretation that would rob the female gender of an active role in excercising gifts that edify the whole Body of Christ. [Which is what all giftedness is to do.]<BR/><BR/>So...the glass through which we read this passage may be a little darker than I've personally thought in years past. Thus my statement.Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-24596807022231629272007-09-05T16:55:00.000-05:002007-09-05T16:55:00.000-05:00Wade,You can do as you desire but some of those th...Wade,<BR/><BR/>You can do as you desire but some of those that I've seen comment on your blog will not make it through my moderation. You've got a far more gracious disposition than do I with some people. Thanks for stopping by.Paul Burlesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021178307705707423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28605099.post-27346852778881951262007-09-05T15:24:00.000-05:002007-09-05T15:24:00.000-05:00Dad,With your permission I will be linking this po...Dad,<BR/><BR/>With your permission I will be linking this post to my own blog on Friday morning and will leave it up all weekend.<BR/><BR/>This is one of the best explanations I have ever read on the process of delivering a Spirit-filled, humble exposition of the sacred text. <BR/><BR/>Some of my commentators who question how any preacher can refrain from dogmatism on <I>any </I> verse in the Bible need to read your explanation. <BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>Wadewadeburleson.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09712009938843809657noreply@blogger.com