Author Archives: MikeB

Eating with Sinners

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Jesus’ ministry was summed up by the Pharisees in this way (Luke 15:1-2 also Matt 11:19; Luke 7:34).

This man receives sinners and eats with them

Having assessed Jesus’ approach to ministry, the Pharisees also questioned it. Why does Jesus “eat with sinners” (Mark 2:16 NET)?

When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?“

As we look back on Jesus’ ministry mission statement and how he dealt with sinners we can end up with a lot of questions too. Who should I eat and hang out with? Where should I hang out with them? What should I tell them about sin? What expectations should be placed on the sinners for there to be a continued close relationship? How long should I hang out with them if they keep sinning? How should we handle sinners in the church?  These are all good questions. And ones that are being hotly debated.

The Last Supper (Da Vinci)Here is how Jesus defended His “eat with sinners” approach to ministry (Mark 2:17 NET):

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World Vision, Wesley, and Differing Opinions

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Matt Anderson tweeted this as a reminder to all those responding to the World Vision decision to first hire Christians who are in a same-sex marriage and then the reversal of that decision a few days later.

As this was unfolding, a friend of mine, knowing that I have blogged through some of John Wesley’s sermons, asked me what I knew of the relationship between Wesley and Augustus Toplady. Not knowing much I did what anyone would do and fired up “Google”.

[if you are scratching your head at this point,the connection between these two events will be clear soon]

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Ordaining All that Comes to Pass

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DecreeThe Westminster Confession was drafted in 1646 and is one of the Reformed creeds of faith. In this confession (chapter III section 1) it reads:

God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass

What does it mean for God to ordain all things that come to pass?

That is frustratingly difficult to answer. The word “ordain” carries the meaning of “to decree, “to set (something) that will continue in a certain order”. How God ordains all things is closely related to how one understands God’s sovereignty. There are 4 major models (outlined in this Parchment & Pen post), describing different ways in which God may exercise His sovereignty.

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