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ActionOverseas, the missionary arm of the UK Apostolic Church, now has a Facebook page for prayer updates about our missionary work. So, if you'd like to hear the latest Apostolic overseas mission prayer requests, then 'like' it. Apparently they're also on Twitter, so you can follow @ActionOverseas.

Desire Spiritual Gifts (Part 2)

Yesterday we looked at two important reasons why we should desire spiritual gifts (namely, because the gifts of the Spirit point to the Lordship of Christ, and because the gifts bear witness to the Gospel). Today, let's have a look at a third reason to earnestly desire the gifts.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit build up believers. The sixth Tenet of the Apostolic Church states that we believe in 'The nine gifts of the Holy Ghost for the edification, exhortation and comfort of the Church, which is the body of Christ.' We don't just believe in the gifts, but we also believe that they've been given for a specific purpose; and that purpose is the edification, exhortation and comfort of the Body of Christ. Where does the Bible teach this? Well, in 1 Cor. 14:3 these three purposes are specifically attached to the gift of prophecy. However, prophecy is clearly not the only gift given for our edification: 1 Cor. 14:26 says that everything that's done in a church service is to 'be done for edification.' The immediate context mentions the gifts of tongues and interpretation, as well as the more general term revelation, but this isn't an exhaustive list. Any of the gifts used in a church service must be for edification. Finally, 1 Cor. 12:7 teaches that the gifts are the Spirit are given 'for the profit of all.' That means that the gifts are not given to individuals for their own personal blessing, but rather, for the benefit of others. If I'm used in a gift, it's not primarily for my own personal edification, but for the edification of the church. The gifts are given in the context of the church.

Now, hopefully we'll all agree that edification, exhortation and comfort are all necessary for Christians. And that again highlights the necessity of the gifts. God doesn't give the gifts to bring an optional extra personal blessing, but rather, to bring something that the church has great need of: edification, exhortation, and comfort.

But, what do we actually mean by edification, exhortation and comfort? Well, edification is to do with building up and strengthening. Edification speaks of taking us toward maturity in Christ and preparing us for our role in the Body. Exhortation means pointing us in the right direction. Sometimes we need to be told what we should be doing. Sometimes this comes in the form of encouraging us to act, and sometimes it comes in the form of correction. Comfort speaks of the ministry of the Holy Spirit pointing us away form our trials and difficulties to gaze on the greatness of the grace and glory of Jesus Christ. Each of these three is needed.

And so, again, we see that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary. We need edification, exhortation and comfort, and our Lord has promised to supply these needs, in part through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So, we should earnestly desire the gifts!

Desire Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 14:1 tells us to 'desire spiritual gifts.' It's an imperative, a command. And if we're commanded to desire these gifts of the Holy Spirit, that means they're necessary.

But, why do we need the gifts?

Well, firstly, the gifts of the Holy Spirit point to the Lordship of Christ. We can see this in 1 Cor. 12:1-3. Anyone who speaks by the Spirit of God will demonstrate the Lordship of Christ. How? The content of the gift highlights Christ's Lordship. The words that are spoken in prophecy will point to Jesus as Lord. But, not only does the content of the gift highlight Christ's Lordship, but the very manifestation of the gift itself points to the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is He who is in control of the gifts, not us. We can't decide that there should be a gift in operation, only the Lord of the Church can. We don't determine the content of a spiritual gift, only Christ does through His Holy Spirit. (N.B. 1 Cor. 12:4-6 points to the involvement of all three persons of the Trinity in the operation of the Gifts of the Spirit.)

Furthermore, the gifts of the Spirit also bear witness to the Gospel.  In Hebrews 2:3-4 we learn that God uses 'signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit' to bear witness to 'so great a salvation.' How does that work? Well, the gifts draw attention to Christ and therefore they glorify Christ. After all, that is the role of the Holy Spirit (John 16:14). The gifts also create opportunities for the Gospel to be proclaimed. We see that happening again and again in the book of Acts. In Acts 3, Peter and John are used to bring healing to the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. And what happens next? 'Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people' (Acts 3:11-12). And what was this response that Peter made to the people? It was to preach the Gospel to them; and the outcome of that was that 'many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand' (Acts 4:4).

We see the same type of result from the gifts of the Spirit in Acts 9:36-43. Dorcas had died, but God used Peter to raise her to life again, 'And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord' (v. 42). The operation of the gifts of the Spirit creates opportunities for the Gospel to advance. Again, in Acts 16:25-34 a miracle (the earthquake that releases Paul and Silas from their chains) leads to evangelism (of the Philippian jailor and his household). So the gifts bear witness to the Gospel by drawing people's attention to the preaching of the Gospel.

But that's not the only way it works. For the gifts themselves can point unbelievers to Christ as Saviour. 1 Cor. 14:24-25 shows us that prophesy can even cause an unbeliever to fall 'down on his face' and 'worship God.' The book of Acts has a great example of this too. On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the Gospel powerfully and 3000 souls were saved. Yet, the Greek word for what Peter did indicates not a normal sermon, but a prophecy. Peter prophetically proclaimed the Gospel and God used it to bring thousands to salvation!

Tomorrow we'll look at another important reason why the gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary and why we're called to earnestly desire them.

Reforming the "Spirit Filled" Church (Part 3): Authentic Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual warfare is real. The only problem is sometimes the ideas people have about spiritual warfare aren't real. J. Lee Grady's 3rd and 4th reforms for the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements both speak about people's perceptions of spiritual warfare.

3. It’s time for personal responsibility. We charismatics must stop blaming everything on demons. People are usually the problem.
4. Stop playing games. Spiritual warfare is a reality, but we are not going to win the world to Jesus just by shouting at demonic principalities. We must pray, preach and persevere to see ultimate victory.

Don't Outsource Your Discipleship

'There is a big difference between saying that pastors discharge an essential ministry by making us disciples and quite another to say that they are vicarious disciples, studying, praying, meditating, and witnessing in our place. We can easily assume that we have discharged our duty by paying "church workers" to be disciples for us.'

Michael Horton, The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011), p.19

Jesus is coming again! (Part 2)

Yesterday we were looking the importance of Christ's return and learning a few things about it from Revelation 19:11-16. We saw that 1. Jesus is coming as King, and 2. Jesus is coming as God. Let's look at two more things about His return from these verses today.


3. Jesus is coming as Judge.
Revelation 19:11 tells us that 'in righteousness He judges and makes war' (cf. 2 Tim. 4:1). First He pronounces the just verdict, then He goes to war. But there's no need to worry; the outcome of this war is certain. The victory has already been assured by the Cross.

And how does He wage this war of judgement? With 'a sharp sword' (Rev. 19:15). Does this mean He's going to hack at His enemies? To answer that, look at where the sword comes from: 'out of His mouth'. The sword with which He wages His war of judgement is what comes out of His mouth; it's His Word. Jesus conquers by the power of His Word!

Jesus is Coming Again!

The return of Christ is a vital part of the Christian faith. It's so important, that's not only people that have spoken about it: in Acts 1:10-11 angels spoke about Jesus' return. And when the angels spoke, they taught that Christ would return suddenly, visibly, personally and bodily. But the fact that Christ would return wasn't some new revelation that the angels were bringing, for Jesus Himself had spoken of it (John 14:3), as had the Old Testament prophets.

So let's have a brief look at this cardinal doctrine. Revelation 19:11-16 describes Jesus' return to the earth, and in these verses we can learn four very important things about how Jesus is coming back.

Reforming the "Spirit Filled" Church (Part 2): Back to the Bible

Pentecostals love the Bible. In a typical Pentecostal church you'll see many well-worn and well-marked up Bibles. We place emphasis on knowing the Scriptures, giving our children plenty of memory verses to learn and often singing songs that are simply direct quotations of Scripture. Pentecostals love the Bible.

Yet, it seems, sometimes our love of the Bible causes us to take it for granted. Sometimes there's very little Scripture read in our services. Sometimes those well-worn Bibles are carried to church, but don't need to be opened. Sometimes adults seem to think that all the memory verse learning was finished at the age of 11 when you left Sunday school.

That brings us J. Lee Grady's second reform proposal for the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement:

The Wonderful Exchange

This is the wonderful exchange which, out of his measureless benevolence, he has made with us;
that, becoming Son of man with us,
he has made us sons of God with him;
that, by his descent to earth,
he has prepared an ascent to heaven for us;
that, by taking on our mortality,
he has conferred his immortality upon us;
that, accepting our weakness,
he has strengthened us by his power;
that, receiving our poverty unto himself,
he has transferred his wealth to us;
that, taking the weight of our iniquity upon himself (which oppressed us),
he has clothed us with his righteousness.

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, iv.xvii.2

Of Royals, Reformers, and Romans (Or Remember, Remember the Fifth of November!)

Don't worry, this post isn't actually about the
finer points of the British constitution.

Nearly 500 years ago Luther, Bucer, Calvin, et al. wanted to reform the church. Nowadays Messrs Cameron, Harper, Key, et al. (not to forget Miss Gillard) want to reform the monarchy.

Last week the Commonwealth heads of government met (along with Her Majesty the Queen) in Australia, a realm with both a female monarch and a female Prime Minister. In fact, even the Governor-General of Australia (the Queen's representative in the realm) is a woman. So perhaps it was fitting that Australia be the place where the Commonwealth Realms agreed to introduce (and coordinate) legislation to change the royal succession so that daughters are treated in the same way as sons.

Yet, that wasn't the only change they agreed to the royal succession. The other change the Prime Ministers agreed was to remove the ban on a monarch married to a Roman Catholic.

A few years ago Autumn Kelly converted from Roman Catholicism to be received into the Anglican Communion. She had to convert before her wedding, as otherwise Peter Phillips would have had to renounce his right to the succession (despite being only 11th in line to the throne). In 1978 Prince Michael of Kent forfeited his right to the throne by marrying a Roman Catholic.

So what's the big deal about Royalty and Roman Catholics?

Reforming the "Spirit Filled" Church (Part 1b): A bit more on Reforming our Theology

Well, this will do wonders for my PhD motivation!

Last year a friend and I went to an academic theological conference. It was an academic event held in a secular university, yet nearly everyone there was a Pentecostal or Charismatic (as the conference was to do with Pentecostal & Charismatic Studies). It's the only time I've ever seen the laying on of hands and prayer for healing during a session of an academic conference!

Yesterday we looked at how J. Lee Grady points to the need to reform our theology when it comes to the Holy Spirit. But today I want to take that reform further than Grady's suggestion. And that's what brings me back to the academic conference.

Now, let me just say that it was a conference I very much enjoyed. My thinking was stimulated. I had refreshing discussions with serious Pentecostal theologians from all over the world. In one day I talked about the liturgy over breakfast with a Singaporean theologian, discussed patristic Trinitarian theology over lunch with a Scandinavian mega-church pastor, and heard about postmodernism in the Swiss church from a fellow Apostolic at tea time. And the papers presented were helpful for my thought and motivating for my research. Some weren't only helpful, but fascinating. All in all, it was a good conference.

So what's it got to do with reforming our theology?

Another Song for the Lord's Supper

As a postscript to last week's post on songs for communion, here's one more.

Zac Hicks has taken a communion hymn written by Joseph Hart in the 1750s and transformed it into a contemporary worship song on his new album, Without Our Aid. It's a great album, the aim of which

'is to combine the energy and vitality of the modern worship sound (made most popular by groups like Passion and Hillsong), with the depth, theology, and historical connectedness of Christian hymnody across time.'

Lord I Believe is a communion hymn that includes both our feeding on Christ and the meaning of the Cross. Here are the last two verses:

I eat the bread and drink the wine,

But, O, my soul wants more than sign!

I faint unless I feed on Thee,

And drink the blood as shed for me.

For sinners, Lord, Thou cam’st to bleed,

And I’m a sinner vile, indeed.

Lord, I believe Thy grace is free.

O magnify that grace in me.

The MP3 is available for free from Justin Taylor's site, and you can get the lead sheet and chord chart from Zac Hicks' site. Check out the rest of the album too on Bandcamp.

Reforming the "Spirit Filled Church"(Part 1): Reforming our Theology

Martin Luther wasn't able to blog.

Earlier this week I recommended J. Lee Grady's article 'It's (Past) Time for a Charismatic Reformation' from Charisma. If you're Pentecostal or Charismatic and haven't read Grady's article yet, then please do: he's saying things that need to be said.

In Grady's own words:

'I am no Luther, but I’ve grown increasingly aware that the so-called “Spirit-filled” church of today struggles with many of the same things the Catholic church faced in the 1500s. We don’t have “indulgences”—we have telethons. We don’t have popes—we have super-apostles. We don’t support an untouchable priesthood—we throw our money at celebrity evangelists who own fleets of private jets.
In honor of Reformation Day, I’m offering my own list of needed reforms in our movement. And since I can’t hammer these on the Wittenberg door, I’ll post them online. Feel free to nail them everywhere.'

Like Luther, I'm sure Grady isn't just nailing his theses to the door for decorative purposes: these reforms aren't just to be looked at, but to be discussed, debated, and implemented. So discussing and interacting with them is exactly what I propose to do.

So, let's look at Grady's first thesis:-

Justification & the Possibility of Falling from Grace

Falling from grace is more serious!

Justification is the doctrine ‘upon which the Church stands or falls.’  So we can't allow ourselves to compromise our doctrine of justification in order to over emphasise another doctrine.  Unfortunately, this is sometimes what happens with the doctrine of the possibility of falling from grace. Occasionally this doctrine is overemphasised in a way which distorts the Bible’s teaching on the subject and which does damage to the doctrine of justification.  This can happen when it is taught that sin causes believers to lose their salvation.  The biblical teaching is that believers are simil iustus et peccator (justified and sinful at the same time); in the words of 1 John 1:8, ‘if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.’  Thus believers sin and will continue to sin throughout their earthly lives.  Our continuance in a state of having been justified does not depend on us or our works, but rather on Christ and His work.  If our sin could make us lose our salvation, that would make salvation dependent on us, not Christ.  It is just such thinking that Paul teaches to be the cause of falling from grace in Galatians 5:4.  Confusing the sins of believers with falling from grace threatens the doctrine of justification and, ironically, begins to take us down the path which actually leads to falling from grace.

                The remedy for such a distortion of the doctrine is a close focus on what the Bible actually teaches about falling from grace.  In the New Testament,  it is not sin which causes one to fall from grace, but rather apostasy. It's ceasing to have faith in Christ and His work alone for salvation that causes one to fall.  After all, if salvation is found in Christ alone, those who stop looking to Christ alone for salvation cannot expect to remain in it.

                The relationship between justification and falling from grace can also help us to understand another aspect of this doctrine.  Hebrews 6:4-6 clearly teaches that it is ‘impossible’ for those who fall from grace to be renewed ‘again to repentance’.  Apostasy cannot be remedied; it is a one time change of state.  Therefore it isn't possible to fall from grace and ‘come back to the Lord’ over and over again.  This will help us to see that, each time we sin, we do not lose our salvation, even momentarily.  The loss of salvation is a result of a conscious rejection of Christ and His atoning work for salvation.  This is related to the doctrine of justification.  In justification Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us and so all our sins, past, present and future, are forgiven.  Justification is a one-time declaration, not a continuous or repeated event.  Thus, when we sin, we are still justified (although this is no excuse for continuing in sin).  Just as justification is a one-off event, so is apostasy.  Apostasy then, although possible, is not something that we should expect to see regularly.  Christ is more than sufficient to keep us united to Him.

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard (Colossians 1:21-23).

Reformation Day Round-up

494 years ago yesterday, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg. He had no idea at the time, but that was to be the beginning of something big. Luther's announcement of a debate ended up sparking the Reformation, which is why the 31st October is remembered as Reformation Day.

Rather than retell the story yesterday, I thought I'd wait until today and point you in the direction of some of the good things that have been written elsewhere to mark Reformation Day this year (with a few comments thrown in along the way).


The Reformation isn't just history. It's lessons still need to be applied today. And for three good ways to apply some lessons of the Reformation today, have a look at 3 Ways to make the Reformers proud (Clint Archer,  The Cripplegate). Here's a quick summary (but this is just to make you want to read the original!):-


1. Read more Bible than blogs! After all, the Reformation was all about getting back to the Bible rather than what people say about the Bible. (I like the bit where he says 'If you quoted Calvin in a debate on Election, he would slap you.')

2. Use your Latin! - Sounds strange, but it's actually got nothing to do with a dead language. A few extracts to clarify:-

'Well, not actual Latin. What I mean is that we should be familiar with whatever medium or forum in which doctrine is currently discussed.'

'Today, there is no way anyone with a modem or smartphone can plead ignorance. To be in the dark today is a matter of negligent stewardship.'

'Make sure you are not unplugged from the matrix of theological understanding due to laziness.' 

3. Don't go back to Rome! Evangelicals seem to be more and more forgetful of what our differences with the Roman Catholic Church are. Archer encourages us to read what Rome actually teaches, see how far off it really is. 'It will make you love Jesus more, and it will make you run far from Rome on your way to the cross in gratitude for grace by faith alone.'

A must read for Pentecostals and Charismatics is a list of needed reforms for the charismatic movement (J. Lee Grady, Charisma). Inspired by Luther's list of needed reforms, Grady points to some of the abuses that seem more and more prominent within certain charismatic circles (which are, unfortunately, probably the most visible charismatic circles). But his points aren't simply pot-shots at disgraced/disgraceful tele-evangelists, but actually widespread issues that need to be faced head-on. He has 15 demands,all with brief explanations. I'll just tell you what the first few are to whet your appetite, but you'll have to read the article to see the explanations and the rest of the list.

1. Let’s reform our theology. 2. Let’s return to the Bible. 3. It’s time for personal responsibility. 4. Stop playing games. 5. Stop the foolishness. 6. End all spiritual extortion now... 

I think I'll do a bit of interacting with Grady's reforms later in the week.


Carl Trueman has pointed out the insight from the Reformation that's been largely forgotten today. Focusing on Luther's concept of being a theologian of the cross, Trueman warns that 'A person's theology, whether true or false, good or bad, is inseparable from the individual's personal faith.'
And here's his application to the contemporary church:-

'At this Reformation season, we should not reduce the insights of Luther simply to justification by grace through faith. In fact, this insight is itself inseparable from the notion of that of the theologians of the cross. Sad to say, it is often hard to discern where these theologians of the cross are to be found. Yes, many talk about the cross, but the cultural norms of many churches seem no different to the cultural norms of -- well, the culture. They often indicate an attitude to power and influence that sees these things as directly related to size, market share, consumerist packaging, aesthetics, youth culture, media appearances, swagger and the all-round noise and pyrotechnics we associate with modern cinema rather than New Testament Christianity.'

Finally, Matthew Barrett gives a warning (at the Gospel Coalition): Abandon the Reformation, Abandon the Gospel. Barrett's article gives a brief history of the beginning of the Reformation, highlights the key issues and shows how important they are for us today. 'It is not about Luther; it is about the Gospel.'


And, after reading all those articles, here's a contemporary worship song that focuses on the 5 solas of the Reformation:
Sola, by Zac Hicks

Soli Deo Gloria!