But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

People of God, Christmas can be summarized by that phrase in verse 37: For nothing is impossible with God.  How can a virgin conceive? How can a barren woman in her old age conceive? This is all a part of this great cosmic plan of redemption. At a time when there is no hope, no salvation and deliverance, and when the world is most overtaken by sin and misery, it is then when we must remember: Nothing is impossible with God.

But the greatest of all impossibilities is the Coming of God to His own creation in the Lord Jesus Christ.  As Mary became the servant of the Lord, the Son she would bear becomes the servant of all. In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God takes the form of the servant as a man, but also giving Himself up to man’s rebellion against God, placing Himself under the judgment under which man has fallen in this rebellion, under the curse of death which rests upon Him.[1]

“He makes his own the being of man under the curse, but in order to do away with it. He acts as Lord over this rebellion even as He subjects Himself to it. He frees the creature in becoming a creature. He overcomes the flesh in becoming flesh.” [2] He reconciles the world by serving the world.

But how can the victorious Lord become an obedient servant without betraying His lordship? Paradoxical as it may sound; we must embrace this truth of Christmas, this fundamental truth of the gospel: that it is in the nature of the God/Man to be a servant to His Creation.[3]

The Son does not need to leave the work of reconciliation in sinful hands for He himself enters this world and reconciles us in His service and obedience. Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, born of a virgin, becomes like us, so He can save us in His death, burial, and resurrection. The paradox of Christmas is answered once again in this phrase: Nothing is impossible with God.

[2] Leithart, http://www.leithart.com/archives/001044.php

[3] Some thoughts from Leithart, though I have taken a different angle.

In the last few years The New York Times has been publishing several articles on Christmas and religious displays. In one article published in 2004, the author complains about the lack of Christian themes in modern Christmas music, while another complained that in a pluralistic society we must be sensitive to Jews and Muslims. This sentimental view of Christmas together with this pluralistic view of Christmas both err. The Coming of Messiah is the coming for the nations. Whether Buddhists or Jews, Messiah must be acknowledged, and indeed He will be acknowledged by all peoples. The Consolation of the world (Luke 2:22-35) will bring light to every man. The question is not so much a question of sentimentalism or pluralism, it is a question of authority and lordship. Christmas declares that Caesar is not Lord, Messiah is, and His kingdom has no interest in sharing its glory with another.

Part I, Part II

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Greg Gibson for some helpful insights and quotes.

Preface

Covenant and Dispensational theologians have long debated the issue of continuity and discontinuity. Barcellos notes that New Covenant theology is ” a recent entrant into the debate.” (7) NCT seeks to find a middle ground “between stress on continuity in traditional Reformed theology and the radical discontinuity of some older forms of Dispensationalism.” (7) But as Barcellos contends, NCT does not reflect the teaching of Scriptures. This new theology produces ” a reductionistic, myopic and truncated view of Christian ethics.” (7)

Barcellos admits that critiquing NCT is a difficult task for the following reasons:

First, NCT is not monolithic. Advocates of this position have different nuances. Second, it is a relatively new school of thought, hence there is no definitive work on NCT. Third, Barcellos mentions that a major proponent of NCT has altered his view of the Old Covenant.

Barcellos summarizes his own view of the law thusly:

The whole Law of Moses, as it functioned under the Old Covenant, has been abolished, including the Ten Commandments…the New Testament teaches both the abrogation of the law of the Old Covenant and its abiding moral validity under the New Covenant. (p. 61)

 Whether he succeeds in proving his theses and offering a response to NCT, we shall see.

Commentary: Covenant theologians also differ immensely with one another. Even the Westminster Confession of Faith was written as a consensus document. There were debates over the idea of a “Covenant of Works,” “active and passive obedience,” etc. Every system will inevitably–in light of continual research–lead to questioning certain details. Even if a document such as the WCF is produced with a clearly laid-out view on all systematic issues, there will still be those who will take exception to it (the Sabbath as a major exception in virtually every PCA examination). Confessions are not Scriptures, so they must be continually examined in light of Scriptures.

The addition of NCT is a helpful attempt to examine the role of the Mosaic Law in the New Covenant. I welcome this attempt to distance itself from Dispensationalism with its fundamentally flawed separation of Israel and Church. As a Covenant Theology advocate I too find places in which traditional CT expressions need to be improved upon. For instance, the idea of a “Covenant of Works” seems largely foreign to a grace-saturated revelation.  This over emphasis in a works-based Edenic administration has led to the abomination of Klinean covenantalism.

New systems need to be welcomed and examined. Barcellos has done the extraordinary task of examining the claims of NCT and offering a response.

In the next post, I will focus on the Introduction to the book.

Leithart writes:

Clarke’s account of the Reformed tradition is hardly fair; as Richard Muller has shown (Christ and the Decree), the Reformed tradition has always affirmed that election is “in Christ.”  Yet, Clarke may be right to wonder if, when the doctrine gets translated into preaching and popular teaching, that in Christ gets communicated just as strongly as the sovereignty of God’s will.  Popular Reformed theology could certainly take a cue from Athanasius, who declares that Christ the eternal Son is the “living will” of the Father, and as such His Advent is the advent of the decree, God’s choice, in human flesh.

The good bishop says Protestantism is a much better alternative than Rome. In describing Rome’s view of authority he writes:

Rome is a big, splendid, dusty old ocean liner, with lots of grand cabins, and, at present, quite a fine captain and some excellent officers — but also quite a few rooms in need of repair. Yes, it may take you places, but it’s slow and you might get seasick from time to time. And the navigators have been told that they must never acknowledge when they’ve been going in the wrong direction . . .

And concerning Trent’s teaching he says:

Sacramental, yes, but in a muddled way with an unhelpful ontology;

Transformational, yes, but far too dependent on unbiblical techniques and practices;

Communal, yes, but don’t let the laity (or the women) get any fancy ideas about God working new things through them;

Eschatological? Eschatology in the biblical sense didn’t loom large, and indeed that was a key element in the Reformers’ protest: the once-for-allness of the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection as producing, not a new system for doing the same stuff over and over, but a new world.

In my sermon this past week I argued that John’s leaping in the womb (Luke 1) is a sure sign that God does not need a certain IQ before He can grant faith. He works even in the unborn (brethos). This also proves that God recognizes those in utero as persons. So yes, baptized infants do have faith; a faith given from above. Leithart observes in his book Baptized Body that infants learn to respond to their mother’s voice even before birth. They are able to quickly distinguish between strangers and members of the family. Leithart asks: “If infants trust and distrust human persons, why can’t they trust in God?” Behind certain assumptions about infant faith is the idea that infants must express their faith through certain theological truths, implying that only those of a certain age of maturity can do this, but the Scriptures never require that all faith is expressed in the same manner. The faith of a  down syndrome child is differently expressed than the faith of a healthy adult. Leithart also adds that another assumption is that God is less available to an infant than to other humans. But God’s work of grace is not dependent on intellect or certain verbal abilities. Covenant infants mature in their faith just as new adult converts mature in their new faith.

Leithart writes:

The church will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever transcend the cross.  Whatever we say about “latter day glory,” we can’t forget that we follow a crucified and risen Savior to the end.

(NYT) Whose Christmas is it? by Michael Feinstein

As Jews, Christians, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists and everything in between, we are all more alike than we are different. That’s something to celebrate.

Note: This type of sentimental, pluralistic non-sense is to be expected this Christmas; nevertheless, still a good article from the perspective of a Jewish singer celebrating Christmas.

Every week when we come to this table, we are declaring that Jesus is King, and that His kingdom has a real, physical, tangible presence in the world. Every week as we come to this table, we are declaring that the gospel of Jesus is political. Every week as we come to this table, we are announcing to the kings of the earth that there is another King, one Jesus, and that they must submit to Him. Every Eucharist is a challenge to the kings and kingdoms of this world, to every murderous Herod.[1] This table is a table for those who will leap for joy when they are in the fellowship of the righteous, for those who will greet one another with the peace of Christ. So, come all you faithful and let us be nourished by the Prince of Peace.