Saturday morning’s keynote session was presented by Mr. Kevin Swanson, in which he spoke on The Sufficiency of Scripture for your Educational Decisions. I have listened to Mr. Swanson on his radio program (Generations Radio), but had never actually seen him speak. I’m here to tell you that he is an excellent speaker and a thrill to watch! He is extremely passionate about the topics he chooses to speak on and his body language reflects that. His message essentially defended biblical home education, but instead of turning to Deuteronomy 6 or Ephesians 5, Mr. Swanson took us to the book of Proverbs; a book dedicated to education.
Mr. Swanson set the table by demonstrating that in the book of Proverbs, and in many other places throughout Scripture, our wise God has given us principles for education. But Proverbs is unusual in that it is a book of the Bible devoted entirely to the study of wisdom and how one can, by God’s grace, attain it. Sadly, however, government schools and even most Christian schools and colleges do not teach wisdom from the book of Proverbs, nor do they teach the most fundamental truth of education: Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”
If the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, then what is the fear of the LORD? As Mr. Swanson put it, “Fear of God is knowing there is a God who created everything; He is a God to be worshipped. He is a God who can give and take away, and a God who brings everlasting torment.” Amongst these, Mr. Swanson mentioned several other characteristics of our God that proclaim that He is a God to be feared. He then paused and spoke directly to all science teachers in the room (public, private, home school, and college). Getting down on his knees as he spoke, Mr. Swanson declared, “You have not taught science until you get down on your knees and say, ‘Worship the God who did this!’”
He continued speaking directly to the public school teachers in the room saying that if they are not teaching the fear of the LORD by teaching their students every day that God is the one who has made everything, from the complex structure of DNA to the frog being dissected in the lab, then they are under the judgment of God for not teaching the fear of the LORD! Teaching the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. “You must teach your students how to shake,” Mr. Swanson said. In other words, students should every day be so overcome by the power and fear of God that they shake in fear and wonder!
Mr. Swanson added that this is one of the major problems with our seminaries; God is not real to our seminary students; He is confined to papers and tests. Instead of teaching them the fear of the LORD, we teach them rhetoric. “If we are going to teach them rhetoric,” Mr. Swanson said, “then we must teach it with meekness and fear.” This is one of the principle problems I have with seminary. Though there are notable exceptions, most students go to seminary so they can learn how to become the next Joel Osteen; they don’t go to learn what it truly means to fear the LORD. They go in order that they might learn the newest techniques to being successful pastors by the world’s standard.
But this applies to more than rhetoric and theology. Every single subject must lead back the mystery and power of God, and that (praise God) we will never be able to fully understand Him! Whether it’s government school, private school, home school, or college, “They must be on their faces by the end of the lesson, worshipping a God that they cannot fully understand!” Mr. Swanson also noted, “Unless you have taught a child the fear of God, you have not taught the Gospel,” much less true academics. “We have got to fear Him if we are to love Him.”
When we think of reasons why the Christian faith is dying in the western world, we usually credit it to poor ministry outreach, or the decline in good moral behavior. However, Mr. Swanson rightly said, “The faith is dying in the western world because of education.” According to Mr. Swanson, this has primarily happened through men such as Thomas Aquinas teaching dualism (there should be a separation from the fear of God and the academic or philosophical). Consequently, this is why we have a massive lack of Christians in our social spheres. Parents spend their lives and money preparing their children for a successful career in the futile city of men instead of the everlasting city of God. Instead of concentrating our children’s education around secular men, “give them church history and the best Christian literature you can find.”
By the end of his session, Mr. Swanson was down on his hands and knees; that’s just how passionate he is about the responsibility parents have in giving their children a distinctly Christian education! Unfortunately, so many Christian parents today don’t see this as something they are required to give their children; the consequences of the rejection of this obligation are evident.
I also attended two breakout sessions Saturday: Paul Washer’s The Sufficiency of Scripture for Evangelizing the Nations, and Doug Phillips’ The Sufficiency of Scripture for Culture and Aesthetics. Choosing my favorite of the two was very challenging, but I had to conclude that Paul Washer's message was the most meaningful to me.
Paul Washer really challenged the modern method of reaching the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, “We seem to care more about making culturally sensitive churches than making Biblically sensitive Churches.” Time after time, I’ve heard missionaries talk about planting churches that are “culturally sensitive.” However, we are not instructed to plant culturally sensitive churches, but Biblical New Testament churches. It doesn’t matter whether we are in America or Brazil, the churches we plant around the world must adhere to the principles laid out in Scripture. As Paul Washer noted, we should not care for the dictates of culture; rather we should only care about God’s dictates and what He has instructed us to do in His Word. As Kevin Swanson commented earlier about seminary, so many prospective missionaries go to seminaries and colleges simply so they can learn new methodologies and how they can adapt and relate to the culture they are going to. Yet this should not be our goal in attending seminary; our goal should be to understand and apply Scripture.
Mr. Washer’s first point:
1) The Scripture is Sufficient to command you to goThe great commission is not an option for believers. Then why do we go?
a. For the glory of GodNot necessarily for the great need in a particular area, but for God.
b. For the sake of the electMr. Washer expounded, “You do not love or glorify God if you do not love people...When we go to spread the gospel we are going to rescue families.”
c. We go for the true conversion of the souls of men and the establishment of biblical churches and families.
As Mr. Washer so well stated, “We are to go out with the gospel of Christ, not with a desire to see people make puny decisions, but to see true Biblical churches.” Mr. Washer gave an example at this point of missionaries going to preach the message of salvation and having hundreds of decisions for Christ. As a result, he plants a church, but the next Sunday there are only a few people who even bother to attend the worship service. It’s because there was no true conversion. If we go to plant churches, we must be willing to be patient, for it could take a lifetime to establish a Biblical church and Biblically functioning families.
Mr. Washer then proceeded to explain the importance of the Holy Spirit’s work, saying that a man who is going to preach the gospel must constantly be praying for the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. For apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we are unable to effectively communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Washer pointed to the Apostles, noting that even though they had walked and talked with Christ and had seen him resurrected, they still had no power to present the gospel until the Holy Spirit came.
2) We go thoroughly, thus eliminating romanticismWe must not be so dedicated to our ministry that we forget our wives and children; they must be our first priority.
3) We go preaching and teaching
4) We must go prayingMany men are known for their preaching and teaching, but few are known for being great preachers and having a stellar prayer lives. We must be men of prayer.
5) We go caring and loving“In the church, in the new covenant, love is not something, it is everything.” We are to love the most filthy, wretched person alive.
As with the Semper Reformanda Conference, Voddie Baucham was the final keynote speaker of the conference, “batting cleanup.” Scott Brown introduced Dr. Baucham as a man who loves expository preaching and does it well, and I couldn’t agree more! In this message, Dr. Baucham preached through Titus 2:1-6 and Titus 1:5-9, speaking on The Sufficiency of Scripture in the Disciple – Making Ministry of the Church and Home.
The message was very similar to one I heard him preach at the Semper Reformanda conference in October, but many new points were made. First of all, Dr. Baucham gave us an example of a three legged stool, the three legs being:
1) Godly, mature men and women in the church
2) Godly, manly elders
3) Godly, biblically functioning homes.
“If any of these are taken away,” Dr. Baucham said, “Discipleship is greatly hindered.”
He then walked us through Titus chapter two, noting that in verse two the text explicitly says “Older men are to be.” The verb “be” makes it clear that we are talking about older men who are godly and constantly growing in the Lord. This is a man who is yielded to the Spirit and is living the sanctified life.
Dr. Baucham expounded on each one of the qualities listed in Titus 2 for both men and women. When he got to the end he said, “Titus 2 is not a model for women’s Bible Study. Because a women’s Bible Study is an older woman standing in front of other women and teaching them. That’s not in the text.” The kind of instruction spoken of in Titus 2 is relational instruction, which older woman should give younger woman through the process of mentorship, not formal instruction.
Notice also that older men, older women, and younger women all have a list of characteristics they are to exemplify. When we get to young men, there is no list. Dr. Baucham holds the view that Titus chapter one provides the list for men when it speaks of qualifications for elders. There are three reasons why he believes this:
1) ‘Cause there’s no list in chapter two.
2) Elders are commanded to be examples to the flock.
· You can’t be an example to the flock and live by a separate list. In order to be examples, elders must live by the same principles as the rest of the body.
3) There is nothing in Titus 1 that we would be willing to give up for our own sons!
As Dr. Baucham put it, “Everything a man is required to do from the pulpit, he is first required to do in the home.” The office of elder requires a man’s man. As elder, you are a shepherd to the flock of Jesus Christ and as Dr. Baucham so well stated, “Shepherds were tough dudes! You don’t think so? How about you go fight a wolf with a stick!”
“Where can I find an example of such man?” some of you may ask; look no farther than Jesus Christ Himself. In our world today, through art and visual media, we depict Christ as being a glossy, pale, white, fragile human being, but Jesus was a man’s man.
What followed was one of the most stirring, stunning depictions of Jesus I have ever heard put to words! With great infatuation, Dr. Baucham described the real Jesus, and though I didn’t get every word, and though I won’t come close to telling it as Dr. Baucham did, just know that your Jesus is a MAN!
· He conquered sin
· He conquered death
· He conquered the grave
· He’s a warrior who will one day return to this earth on a white horse, with fire in his eyes, and a sword at His thigh
· He walked around with calloused hands and feet
· He chased people out of the temple with a whip
· He overturned tables
I don’t know about you, but my Jesus is someone I would plunge into the depths of the earth after! He is a REAL MAN! When Dr. Baucham offered this description, it was presented with so much zeal and love that it made my heart long to be in Christ’s presence! This is our model for Biblical manhood; let’s strive every day to be more like Him, recognizing all along that without Him we never will be!
I hope you have enjoyed this diminutive synopsis of the conference. Though it was brief, I trust you have been able to acquire some taste of the fantastic teaching we were blessed to have received over last weekend.
Sola Scriptura!
Josh
Mr. Swanson set the table by demonstrating that in the book of Proverbs, and in many other places throughout Scripture, our wise God has given us principles for education. But Proverbs is unusual in that it is a book of the Bible devoted entirely to the study of wisdom and how one can, by God’s grace, attain it. Sadly, however, government schools and even most Christian schools and colleges do not teach wisdom from the book of Proverbs, nor do they teach the most fundamental truth of education: Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”
If the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, then what is the fear of the LORD? As Mr. Swanson put it, “Fear of God is knowing there is a God who created everything; He is a God to be worshipped. He is a God who can give and take away, and a God who brings everlasting torment.” Amongst these, Mr. Swanson mentioned several other characteristics of our God that proclaim that He is a God to be feared. He then paused and spoke directly to all science teachers in the room (public, private, home school, and college). Getting down on his knees as he spoke, Mr. Swanson declared, “You have not taught science until you get down on your knees and say, ‘Worship the God who did this!’”
He continued speaking directly to the public school teachers in the room saying that if they are not teaching the fear of the LORD by teaching their students every day that God is the one who has made everything, from the complex structure of DNA to the frog being dissected in the lab, then they are under the judgment of God for not teaching the fear of the LORD! Teaching the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. “You must teach your students how to shake,” Mr. Swanson said. In other words, students should every day be so overcome by the power and fear of God that they shake in fear and wonder!
Mr. Swanson added that this is one of the major problems with our seminaries; God is not real to our seminary students; He is confined to papers and tests. Instead of teaching them the fear of the LORD, we teach them rhetoric. “If we are going to teach them rhetoric,” Mr. Swanson said, “then we must teach it with meekness and fear.” This is one of the principle problems I have with seminary. Though there are notable exceptions, most students go to seminary so they can learn how to become the next Joel Osteen; they don’t go to learn what it truly means to fear the LORD. They go in order that they might learn the newest techniques to being successful pastors by the world’s standard.
But this applies to more than rhetoric and theology. Every single subject must lead back the mystery and power of God, and that (praise God) we will never be able to fully understand Him! Whether it’s government school, private school, home school, or college, “They must be on their faces by the end of the lesson, worshipping a God that they cannot fully understand!” Mr. Swanson also noted, “Unless you have taught a child the fear of God, you have not taught the Gospel,” much less true academics. “We have got to fear Him if we are to love Him.”
When we think of reasons why the Christian faith is dying in the western world, we usually credit it to poor ministry outreach, or the decline in good moral behavior. However, Mr. Swanson rightly said, “The faith is dying in the western world because of education.” According to Mr. Swanson, this has primarily happened through men such as Thomas Aquinas teaching dualism (there should be a separation from the fear of God and the academic or philosophical). Consequently, this is why we have a massive lack of Christians in our social spheres. Parents spend their lives and money preparing their children for a successful career in the futile city of men instead of the everlasting city of God. Instead of concentrating our children’s education around secular men, “give them church history and the best Christian literature you can find.”
By the end of his session, Mr. Swanson was down on his hands and knees; that’s just how passionate he is about the responsibility parents have in giving their children a distinctly Christian education! Unfortunately, so many Christian parents today don’t see this as something they are required to give their children; the consequences of the rejection of this obligation are evident.
I also attended two breakout sessions Saturday: Paul Washer’s The Sufficiency of Scripture for Evangelizing the Nations, and Doug Phillips’ The Sufficiency of Scripture for Culture and Aesthetics. Choosing my favorite of the two was very challenging, but I had to conclude that Paul Washer's message was the most meaningful to me.
Paul Washer really challenged the modern method of reaching the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, “We seem to care more about making culturally sensitive churches than making Biblically sensitive Churches.” Time after time, I’ve heard missionaries talk about planting churches that are “culturally sensitive.” However, we are not instructed to plant culturally sensitive churches, but Biblical New Testament churches. It doesn’t matter whether we are in America or Brazil, the churches we plant around the world must adhere to the principles laid out in Scripture. As Paul Washer noted, we should not care for the dictates of culture; rather we should only care about God’s dictates and what He has instructed us to do in His Word. As Kevin Swanson commented earlier about seminary, so many prospective missionaries go to seminaries and colleges simply so they can learn new methodologies and how they can adapt and relate to the culture they are going to. Yet this should not be our goal in attending seminary; our goal should be to understand and apply Scripture.
Mr. Washer’s first point:
1) The Scripture is Sufficient to command you to goThe great commission is not an option for believers. Then why do we go?
a. For the glory of GodNot necessarily for the great need in a particular area, but for God.
b. For the sake of the electMr. Washer expounded, “You do not love or glorify God if you do not love people...When we go to spread the gospel we are going to rescue families.”
c. We go for the true conversion of the souls of men and the establishment of biblical churches and families.
As Mr. Washer so well stated, “We are to go out with the gospel of Christ, not with a desire to see people make puny decisions, but to see true Biblical churches.” Mr. Washer gave an example at this point of missionaries going to preach the message of salvation and having hundreds of decisions for Christ. As a result, he plants a church, but the next Sunday there are only a few people who even bother to attend the worship service. It’s because there was no true conversion. If we go to plant churches, we must be willing to be patient, for it could take a lifetime to establish a Biblical church and Biblically functioning families.
Mr. Washer then proceeded to explain the importance of the Holy Spirit’s work, saying that a man who is going to preach the gospel must constantly be praying for the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. For apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we are unable to effectively communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Washer pointed to the Apostles, noting that even though they had walked and talked with Christ and had seen him resurrected, they still had no power to present the gospel until the Holy Spirit came.
2) We go thoroughly, thus eliminating romanticismWe must not be so dedicated to our ministry that we forget our wives and children; they must be our first priority.
3) We go preaching and teaching
4) We must go prayingMany men are known for their preaching and teaching, but few are known for being great preachers and having a stellar prayer lives. We must be men of prayer.
5) We go caring and loving“In the church, in the new covenant, love is not something, it is everything.” We are to love the most filthy, wretched person alive.
As with the Semper Reformanda Conference, Voddie Baucham was the final keynote speaker of the conference, “batting cleanup.” Scott Brown introduced Dr. Baucham as a man who loves expository preaching and does it well, and I couldn’t agree more! In this message, Dr. Baucham preached through Titus 2:1-6 and Titus 1:5-9, speaking on The Sufficiency of Scripture in the Disciple – Making Ministry of the Church and Home.
The message was very similar to one I heard him preach at the Semper Reformanda conference in October, but many new points were made. First of all, Dr. Baucham gave us an example of a three legged stool, the three legs being:
1) Godly, mature men and women in the church
2) Godly, manly elders
3) Godly, biblically functioning homes.
“If any of these are taken away,” Dr. Baucham said, “Discipleship is greatly hindered.”
He then walked us through Titus chapter two, noting that in verse two the text explicitly says “Older men are to be.” The verb “be” makes it clear that we are talking about older men who are godly and constantly growing in the Lord. This is a man who is yielded to the Spirit and is living the sanctified life.
Dr. Baucham expounded on each one of the qualities listed in Titus 2 for both men and women. When he got to the end he said, “Titus 2 is not a model for women’s Bible Study. Because a women’s Bible Study is an older woman standing in front of other women and teaching them. That’s not in the text.” The kind of instruction spoken of in Titus 2 is relational instruction, which older woman should give younger woman through the process of mentorship, not formal instruction.
Notice also that older men, older women, and younger women all have a list of characteristics they are to exemplify. When we get to young men, there is no list. Dr. Baucham holds the view that Titus chapter one provides the list for men when it speaks of qualifications for elders. There are three reasons why he believes this:
1) ‘Cause there’s no list in chapter two.
2) Elders are commanded to be examples to the flock.
· You can’t be an example to the flock and live by a separate list. In order to be examples, elders must live by the same principles as the rest of the body.
3) There is nothing in Titus 1 that we would be willing to give up for our own sons!
As Dr. Baucham put it, “Everything a man is required to do from the pulpit, he is first required to do in the home.” The office of elder requires a man’s man. As elder, you are a shepherd to the flock of Jesus Christ and as Dr. Baucham so well stated, “Shepherds were tough dudes! You don’t think so? How about you go fight a wolf with a stick!”
“Where can I find an example of such man?” some of you may ask; look no farther than Jesus Christ Himself. In our world today, through art and visual media, we depict Christ as being a glossy, pale, white, fragile human being, but Jesus was a man’s man.
What followed was one of the most stirring, stunning depictions of Jesus I have ever heard put to words! With great infatuation, Dr. Baucham described the real Jesus, and though I didn’t get every word, and though I won’t come close to telling it as Dr. Baucham did, just know that your Jesus is a MAN!
· He conquered sin
· He conquered death
· He conquered the grave
· He’s a warrior who will one day return to this earth on a white horse, with fire in his eyes, and a sword at His thigh
· He walked around with calloused hands and feet
· He chased people out of the temple with a whip
· He overturned tables
I don’t know about you, but my Jesus is someone I would plunge into the depths of the earth after! He is a REAL MAN! When Dr. Baucham offered this description, it was presented with so much zeal and love that it made my heart long to be in Christ’s presence! This is our model for Biblical manhood; let’s strive every day to be more like Him, recognizing all along that without Him we never will be!
I hope you have enjoyed this diminutive synopsis of the conference. Though it was brief, I trust you have been able to acquire some taste of the fantastic teaching we were blessed to have received over last weekend.
Sola Scriptura!
Josh
1 comment:
Josh,
I'm really encouraged after reading your synopsis of the conference. I'm so happy to know that there are still pastors in the world that really speak and live the truth as it is in Yeshua (Jesus).
That part which speaks of Yeshua as a man's man is really good to know. And the list of accomplishments He made is beyond any accomplishment that any man of this world can ever surpass. Yehsua's surpassing loveliness of character firmness of faith is the Wonder of wonders. I love the part when you said that the speaker got on his knees; showing our utter dependence on Him for everything.
So thanks for posting the overview; I'm blessed.
Shalom (Peace)
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