For the Church

This season we are focusing on theological topics that are important foundations for the church. These will be theological topics that need to be deeply installed as bedrock truths for the followers of Jesus.

For the next few episodes, we are going to talk about the Trinity — the one true God eternally exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Trinity has fallen on hard times for the average Christian. It just doesn’t seem that practical to everyday life, so we nod our heads as truth about God and then move on.

Fred Sanders writes, “Nothing we do as evangelicals make sense if it is divorced from a strong experiential and doctrinal grasp of the coordinated work of Jesus and his Spirit, worked out against the horizon of the Father’s love. Personal evangelism, conversational prayer, devotional Bible study, authoritative preaching, world missions, and assurance of salvation all presuppose that life in the gospel is life in communion with the Trinity. Forget the Trinity ,and you forget why we do what we do; you forget who we are as gospel Christians, you forget how we got to be like we are.” (Deeper Things of God, 9)

And yet — I would guess that for most Christians, what Sanders considers to be foundational “a strong experiential and doctrinal grasp of the coordinated work of Jesus Dan his Spirit, worked out against the horizon of the Father’s love.” — is something that we have given little thought to.

We have a tendency to bring all things of God down so that they revolve around us. Nowhere is this seen than in the intense tendency to make things “practical.” 

But — our goal is not to bring God down to us, so that he can serve our daily lives, but to bring us up to God that we might behold his glory. To know God is the greatest reward. Of all the benefits that Jesus gives to us: the forgiveness of sins, the amazing power to experience change, the hope of the resurrection, adoption into the family of God, and the satisfying of God’s wrath — all of these are but servant benefits to the master benefit of beholding the glory of God. If we were to receive these things and not receive God himself, we would be deeply impoverished. Knowing God is the great benefit of Jesus.

For further study:

Credo Magazine’s Issue on the Trinity - https://credomag.com/magazine_issue/undivided-trinity/

Simply Trinity, by Matthew Barrett - https://amzn.to/3k0recz

Delighting in the Trinity, by Michael Reeves - https://amzn.to/3CvqTF8

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

In this episode we talk about navigating todays world theologically, with some help from Herman Bavinck and Dr. Cam Clausing. 

Here's our premise -- everyone has a theology. 

Being made in the image of God means that we were made to run off of revelation -- we simply can't operate without a theology. And the hard thing that we often find as we walk with Jesus is that we have our stated theological beliefs and our actual theological beliefs. That is, we may say that we believe God is sovereign over all of life, but then we worry and fret. Or, we may say that we believe in the doctrine of total depravity -- that every human being is corrupt in every part of our being, but then we get surprise when people actually act like sinners and wrong us.

And since we all have a theology, we are all theologians. The question for everyone is always two-fold -- does your theology match God's revelation? And do you live in light of it?

So today, we have a special guest. Cam Clausing. Cam is the Lecturer in Applied Theology at Christ College in Sydney, Australia. Cam earned his PhD from the University in Edinburgh on the Dutch Theologian Herman Bavinck.

Guidebook for the Instruction in the Christian Religion, Herman Bavinck

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

In this episode, we discuss the value of studying theology with three of our sisters in Christ who are in seminary: Lauren Holley, Terry Eaves (our Women's Ministry Director) and Destiny Paul.

Here's our premise -- everyone has a theology. 

Being made in the image of God means that we were made to run off of revelation -- we simply can't operate without a theology. And the hard thing that we often find as we walk with Jesus is that we have our stated theological beliefs and our actual theological beliefs. We may say that we believe God is sovereign over all of life, but then we worry and fret. Or, we may say that we believe in the doctrine of total depravity -- that every human being is corrupt in every part of our being, but then we get surprised when people actually act like sinners and wrong us.

And since we all have a theology, we are all theologians. The question for everyone is always two-fold -- does your theology match God's revelation? And do you live in light of it.

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

So the question doesn’t center on whether predestination is biblical — but rather on what basis does God predestine. Does God predestine some to eternal life according to his free and sovereign choice, OR does he predestine based on the foreknowledge of who will choose Jesus?

Or -- maybe another way to frame the question: Who initiates faith and repentance, God or man?

For the church, a podcast for the flock of Zion Presbyterian Church in Columbia, TN. We want to help you think biblically about everyday matters.

Zion Church exists to join Jesus in his mission to reach people with his gospel, and then to equip his people to worship and serve.

I am Paul Joiner, the Senior Pastor back with my regular conversation partners and friends, Jon Kelly and Keaton Paul.

We are finishing our series on the Sovereignty of God — that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass. Today we are going to talk about the doctrine of predestination or God’s sovereignty applied to salvation.

Predestination is biblical. Everyone who takes the Bible seriously has to have a doctrine of predestination. Consider just two passages from Ephesians 1.

Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:11-12

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

For the church, a podcast for the flock of Zion Presbyterian Church in Columbia, TN. We want to help you think biblically about everyday matters.

Zion Church exists to join Jesus in his mission to reach people with his gospel, and then to equip his people to worship and serve.

I am Paul Joiner, the Senior Pastor back with my regular conversation partner and friend, Jon Kelly and today we have our Youth Director and Head of our Bible Department, Keaton Paul.

This season we are focusing on theological topics that are important foundations for the church. These will be theological topics that need to be deeply installed as bedrock truths for the followers of Jesus.

We are talking about God’s sovereignty — his rule over all of creation, his ordering of whatever comes to pass according to his eternal plan — his kingly decree. The WCF 3.1 states that "God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass."

That is - God is ruling over all things and nothing happens apart from his will. Het sets the boundaries and times of the nations, and not a bird falls from the sky apart from our Father's will.

That is a great comfort - God is solely in control, he is executing his good plans in the world, and nothing can thwart him. He is not contingent on the creation.

But - that is also a great confrontation. Because it means that we are not sovereigns. Which then makes us ask the next question -- what role do my actions play?

Or, often it is asked this way: What about free will? Today we are going to tackle the question generally -- that is the question of free will in relationship to God's sovereignty. Next week, we are going to talk about free will in relationship to sin. Or, to say it another way, this week we are going to talk about the creature's relationship to the Sovereign Creator, and in the next episode we are going to talk about the creature's will in relationship to sin.

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

For the church, a podcast for the flock of Zion Presbyterian Church in Columbia, TN. We want to help you think biblically about everyday matters.

Zion Church exists to join Jesus in his mission to reach people with his gospel, and then to equip his people to worship and serve.

I am Paul Joiner, the Senior Pastor back with my regular conversation partner and friend, Jon Kelly.

This season we are going to focus more on theological topics that are important foundations for the church. These will be theological topics that need to be deeply installed as bedrock truths for the followers of Jesus.

In our last episode, we talked about God’s sovereignty — his rule over all of creation, his ordering of whatever comes to pass according to his eternal plan — his kingly decree.

But — this quickly brings up the question, “What about evil?” If God ordains whatsoever comes to pass, how is he not the author of evil? Or — if God is sovereign, and evil exists — why doesn’t he do something about it…and the tension seems to be that either he isn’t sovereign or he isn’t good.

We often call this a "theodicy" (compound of the Greek words for God (theos) and justice (dikē) -- which carries the sense of putting God on trial and vindicating him). 

This is the heart of the book of Job -- a theodicy, God on trial. Isn’t interesting that the first book of the Bible — that is the oldest book — is dedicated to this question. It is probably one of the deepest and most difficult questions that we ask. Eventually, in suffering, we ask “Why?”

We aren’t going to say everything — we just simply can’t — I have had the privilege over the years of sitting with people who have been deeply sexually abused or experienced evil at the hand of another. And when they ask, “Why did this happen to me? Why didn’t God do something about it?” The only answer I have to give is, “I don’t know.” 

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

We are going to start this season with the Sovereignty of God. Reformed theology is uniquely God-centered. When people discover Reformed thought the God-centered nature of it is the thing that first strikes them — even our children’s catechism starts with the question, “Why did God create humanity?” “For his glory.”

The Bible is one story of God working all things toward his glory in the person and work of Jesus. All history moves toward this purpose. 

But what do we mean when we say “Sovereign”? It is a term that comes from the realm of a “king”…a “king” is a “sovereign” — a king rules and executes his decrees. That is, he speaks his plans -- that is a decree - and then he makes sure his plan or "decree" is accomplished.

Or, as the WCF 3.1 - "God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass."

And that is what we mean by the Sovereignty of God -- God the Creator accomplishing his purposes in the world according to his plan. 

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

In 2019, the General Assembly created a study committee to “study the topic of human sexuality with particular attention to the issues of homosexuality, same-sex attraction, and transgenderism and to prepare a report.”

In this episode, we talk through this report which was commended as a “biblically faithful declaration" at this year's General Assembly.

You can find the report here: https://pcaga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AIC-Report-to-48th-GA-5-28-20-1.pdf

Also, if you are interested in the two Overtures that dealt with qualifications for church officers, you can find a pretty good play-by-play here.

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

Part 1 of a two-part series on the PCA's national meeting. In this episode, we discuss how the PCA is set up, how presbyterianism works, and how the General Assembly operates.

Next week we will discuss the Report on Sexuality and a couple of Overtures we discussed on the floor of the General Assembly.

If you would like to watch the General Assembly deliberation, you can find it here: https://livestream.com/accounts/8521918/events/9731338

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org

“Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. ” (Philippians 4:5, ESV)

Outrage is today's drug of choice. Studies have shown that it activates the same systems as an addict when he takes a hit. And like a drug — it's a quick hit — an easy fix — it bypasses patient, thoughtful work to get to a reward — and rather it seeks the immediate. Outrage feels so good on the front end. But like a drug, leaves destruction in its wake.

The root issue — at its deepest level outrage is about self-righteousness. Outrage is an attempt to assure ourselves that we are more righteous than we actually are.

We love being outraged because it gives us a sense of being morally superior. At its root, outrage is an attempt to justify ourselves...to build a righteousness for ourselves. And whenever we do this, it is always at the expense of others. "Look at how awful that person or that tribe is." Outrage is the voice of the Pharisee in Luke 17, "I thank you God that I am not like this sinner."

Zion Presbyterian Church — www.zioncolumbia.org