It is has been a season of pleasant additions here at Sola. Yesterday’s post announced the addition of Dr. Michael Haykin in an expanded role as Director of Theological Development. I am pleased again to announce that earlier this summer Rev. Don Neufeld joined our small community of devoted workers.

Don lives in  British Columbia and has served as a local church pastor. His brief bio can read here by clicking this link. He is a superb networker and a champion of historic calvinistic doctrine. It is our prayer that he will be our eyes and ears in Western Canada as we seek to bring the Doctrines of Grace to that region of our country.

Welcome Aboard Don.

It has been a warm and slow summer here at the office. We are feverishly preparing for what will hopefully turn out to be a busy and fruitfilled season of ministry. We are praising God for a very positive development in the history of Sola Scriptura. As many of you already know, Dr. Michael  Haykin has been involved with the life and work here at SSMI. I am pleased to announce that as of August 1, 2010 Dr. Haykin will step into the role Director of Theological Development. This will mean that Dr. Haykin will be devoting a greater portion of his time to enhance the various ministries of SSMI.

Welcome aboard Michael!

For more information about Dr. Haykin and the rest of the staff at Sola Scriptura, click on the link below:

Meet the Staff

The Death Penalty on Trial by Dr. Ron Gleason

Nordskog Publishing, 2009

This book is written by Dr. Ron Gleason, now pastor of the Yorba Linda PCA church in California, and formerly pastor of Bethel Canadian Reformed Church in Thornhill, Ontario.  He examines the death penalty from a Biblical perspective and helps Christians understand that capital punishment is not contrary to the New Testament teachings of Jesus and that even the secular state has a duty to bear the sword against what is evil in our society.  For those who argue that capital punishment is no longer necessary and is an arbitrary and irrevocable outdated form of punishment, Dr. Gleason convincingly argues that there is a link between punishment and justice. He then proceeds to present a Biblical and historical analysis of the appropriateness of imposing capital punishment for the crime of murder. 

Dr. Gleason addresses both the secular and Christian objections to the death penalty.  He distinguishes between murder and killing, by pointing out that all murder is killing, but not all killing is murder.  Although the Bible forbids murder, it does not prohibit killing.  In fact, Romans 13: 4  makes it clear that the civil government bears the sword and is responsible for executing justice. 

One of the most common objections to the death penalty today is the concern that there may be an irrevocable miscarriage of justice.  Certainly with the advent of DNA evidence, there have been a number of examples of convicted murderers and death row inmates being exonerated.  However, Dr. Gleason deals with this issue in a logical and persuasive manner.  He points out that miscarriages of justice go both ways.  The old adage that it is better for 10 guilty men to go free than one innocent man to be convicted, presupposes that there are 10 miscarriages of justice that justify a lenient approach to capital punishment.  Dr. Gleason effectively disassembles this argument by pointing out that no human justice system is perfect.  The fact that it is imperfect is not a justification for doing away with it, any more than the possibility of a wrongful conviction is a reason for abandoning capital punishment. 

Finally, Dr. Gleason points out that the state authorizes the killing of unborn children by legal abortions (where the only victim is the unborn child), whereas the abolitionist argues that the state should not execute convicted murderers (where there is clearly a victim).  

Although Canada has effectively abolished capital punishment, this thought provoking book helps us understand that we should not become complacent about these difficult social justice issues. 

Charles Loopstra

To order click here

In a startling turn of events, Dr. Bruce Waltke has resigned from his position at RTS after the airing of a controversial video at the Biologos Foundation. The video has been removed but austensibly it contained an interview with Dr. Waltke in which the he admitted that evolution could or might be compatable with orthodox Christianity and has admitted that he is committed to a theistic evolution theory of origins. According to Waltke, science explains the “when and  the how” of creation while Genesis describes “the who and the why”. For a more detailed explanation of the issue, click here.

Dr. Michael Haykin and I are busily preparing for a week of doctrinal feasting. It is once again time for Together for the Gospel featuring men like R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, LIgon Duncan and John Piper. This is the third such event and Lord willing there will be many more. It is anticipated that 7000 pastors will be in attendance. We have always found it to be a time of refreshment and encouragement. For the second time in a row, Joshua Press will be featured as one of the suppliers. Please pray for us as we try and make significant contacts in the U.S.A. We are looking forward to catching up with many of our Canadian friends this week.

This afternoon we will be packing up the van and heading over to Rockway Mennonite Collegiate for our annual Home School book event. I am always amazed at the range of theological questions you can get in one day and the breadth of Christendom that is represented in one room. It is an honour to be among so many Covenant families that give serious consideration and understand that ultimately, it is their responsibility before the Lord to take charge of all aspects of their children’s education. Even in such a protected setting there is opportunity to share the Gospel.

Several years ago,  during morning setup, I was granted the opportunity to speak with a Muslim family in the vendor hall.  The wife’s garb was unmistakenly middle-eastern and we had an amicable discussion about the various teaching aids at our booth. I soon turned the conversation to spiritual matters and she promptly directed me to speak with her husband since he was the one who dealt with religious issues in their home.

I politely said, “I can’t help but notice by your clothing, that you and your wife are practitioners of Islam”. He then told me, “Yes that is true”.

I then followed up with, “Forgive my indiscretion, but I am understandably curious as to why a practicing Muslim would attend a home school conference that aggressively and unashamedly promotes a Christian worldview”? He explained, that he and his wife were totally dissatisfied with the state run education system in Ontario and had opted to educate their children at home. After exploring various educational options, he concluded that the Christian home school movement had the best materials available and that Christian home schooling families seem to do a very credible job of educating children.

His next statement was very interesting. “After all when everything is said and done, there really is not much difference between Muslims and Christians”.

It was a glorious and providential opportunity to share the fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity, namely the Gospel as evidenced by the life and work of our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ. He listened intently and hopefully the seed that has been planted will result in fruit at some point in his life. We parted on friendly terms and made sure that he took home some reading material that fleshed out the Christian Faith in more detail.

I am praying today that the Lord will present another opportunity tomorrow to present the Gospel once again.

My good friend Jerry Johnson of Nicene Council recently conducted an engrossing interview with Dr. Cal Beisner over the question is Global Warming a fact or a well contrived fiction. The link to the interview is below.

http://www.nicenecouncil.com/media/podcast/Global_Warming_The_Good_Bad_Ugly.mp3

Also below is an interesting link to an article entitled Climate Change and the Death of Science

Climate Change and the Death of Science

Recently, while driving home from the office, I chanced upon a radio interview that had as its main concern the internet. Specifically, whether or not it was a good idea for the internet to be nominated for consideration as a possible recipient of the Noble Peace Prize. Oddly enough, there is an advocacy group called the Internet for Peace championing this cause. Frankly, I could care less about the topic. What I found intriguing however, were the arguments leveled by opponents over the abject silliness of the proposition.

It was declared that the internet is a thing. A thing has no thought, will or volition and can initiate nothing by itself. It required careful purposeful design that can be used for a variety of activities both good and bad. It can be an agent for peaceful change or a tool for terrorist recruitment and therefore of itself it has no innate moral compass. It is simply a tool in the hands of a moral agent that can act out nefarious plots or noble causes. Rather than celebrating the thing, it was charged, we ought to celebrate the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates for their ingenuity and long range vision that first made the internet possible. It was suggested that if the internet were to honoured at all, the honour should at least be conferred on the designers and visionaries.

Does this sound familiar? It should! This the classic biblical argument posed by the Bible and Christian theologians for the existence of God. In fact, Paul makes this very point in the back half of Romans 1:18 ff. The very definition of idolatry is to give honour and worship to that which is created forgetting and neglecting the creator who put it there in the first place.  This was not a Christian talk show and I have no idea as to the spiritual state of the participants on that show. I did find it interesting that there was no problem arguing logically for intelligent design when it came to something as cosmically trivial as the internet. I strongly doubt the same consideration would have been granted had we been discussing the God of the Bible.

Soli Deo Gloria

At Sola Scriptura Ministries, we believe that all things need to be tested against the pages of Scripture. Like the Puritans of old, there is not a single jot or tittle of our existence to which the Bible does not address itself. Whether the issue is the latest fad in worship, church leadership, eugenics or abortion all thinking Christians need to submit themselves to the final authority of faith and life.

As such, we believe doctrine is vitally important. Summary statements like the Westminster Confession, The London Confession of 1689 and the Heidelberg Confession should play a significant role in the life of the Church as they accurately summarize, explain and verify key aspects of what it means to be a Christian. Tragically, the Church today finds itself in a culture that is increasingly becoming Pluralistic (multiple and contradictory worldviews can be held to be simultaneously true) while at the same time plunging headlong into a minimalist view the Bible, theology and doctrine.

Dr. Albert Mohler makes this very case in his most recent blog entry entitled “Preachers Who Don’t Believe-The Scandal of Apostate Pastors” in which Mohler cites an alarming study conducted by the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, under the direction of Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola. The study brings to light 5 case studies of men currently employed in full-time pastoral ministry. Some of them are in Liberal denominations while others are in traditionally Conservative/Evangelical communities.

Liberals ministering in Liberal churches ought not to surprise us. What should shock us, is the degree of deception and hypocrisy exhibited by those who while serving a confessionaly based group of Bible believing Christians, can justify their actions as “role playing or acting”. Or can live a lie Sunday to Sunday offering spiritual counsel simply to maintain a pay cheque. Even today, religion can be good business in the minds and hands of frauds, cheats and charlatans.

Over the years, I have had many conversations with many people over the nature of theology and importance of examining people, trends and movements as they can impact the life of the Church. I have often heard Christians tell me that we need to be less critical more excepting of others. Some of us in the Reformed camp can be overly scrupulous at times and somewhat less than gracious in the manner in which we handle disagreement. To whatever degree we fall short in exhibiting the grace of Christ to others does not invalidate the need for us to be like the Bereans in the Book of Acts testing and checking all things. We are called to be a people that live and worship both in Spirit and in Truth. In fact, Paul instructs his young charge Timothy to deal ferociously with wolves dressed like sheep who are teaching things not in accordance with sound doctrine thereby upsetting and destroying entire households. By today’s standards, Paul and Timothy would not be considered nice guys if and when they hold up the Scriptures as their standard of truth and actively pursue the eradication of error from within the body of Christ.

Frankly, Mohler’s article frightens me. I cannot help but wonder how many conservative churches have in their pulpits men who talk a good story but are committed to an agnostic worldview? I also cannot help wonder if our methods of examination have become too lax in our age of religious tolerance? Do we automatically assume that just because a pastoral candidate is a “nice guy” with a “nice family” that his theology must of necessity be historically orthodox? Should we even double down in the manner in which we choose elders to work alongside the pastor? In all the years I have been involved in church life as a born again believer, I have never heard an elder give an oral or even a written defense of what he believes to be true.  Maybe we need to be a little less committed to being “nice” and a lot more concerned about being faithful to our sovereign God who has revealed Himself in the Bible.

Soli Deo Gloria

I recently stumbled upon a very interesting article pertaining to the Regulative Principle of Worship. The article was authored by G.I. Williamson and presented in 2001 at the International Conference of Reformed Churches. Dr.Williamson is an author with P&R and is best known for his commentaries on both the Heidelberg Catechism and Westminster Confession.

In twelve concise pages, Williamson presents a brief but precise working definition of the RPW based on Scripture, the writings of Calvin and the way it has been understood by the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches.  He rightfully bemoans the fact, that much of what constitutes worship today is simply an application of human preference over and against the clear teachings of Scripture. Williamson also closes with a modest proposal for churches to implement some minor course adjustments to steer the Church back towards its fidelity to its Lord and Savior.

It is by no means the final word, but it does serve to introduce the topic in an easily digestible format. For those who might be wondering exactly what is meant by the Regulative Principle of Worship, this would be a good starting point for further study.

The Regulative Principle of Worship: A paper presented at the 2001 International Conference of Reformed Churches - By G.Williamson