The Goose and the Gospel

Jan Hus, 1380-1415

He's not the most popular reformer out there. In fact, his memory lives in the shadow of his own successors Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. Some may not even wish to call him a "reformer" seeing as how he died a century before anything sparked the movement we know as the Reformation. Yet, I hope that a brief recounting of his story will show a couple of things in light of this year's Reformation Day:

1) God keeps people for himself in every generation, despite the dark clouds that well up and try to blot out the glory of the gospel in some eras.

2) The sovereignty of God in bringing about the Reformation.

Jan Hus was born a Bohemian (modern-day Czech Republic) in 1371 [Important: "Hus" is the Bohemian word for "goose", and he referred to himself as such, as did his friends]. Though he was born a peasant, he pursued a path in higher education and enrolled at the University of Prague where he received a masters degree in 1396, became professor of theology in 1398, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1400. This time period was actually quite messy for the Roman Catholic church, for this is when "The Great Schism" took place.

The schism describes a split in the authority of Roman Catholicism. Under pressure from the King of France, the seat of the Popes was moved the Avignon France where it remained for 70 years (now called the "Babylonian Captivity" of the church, referring to the 70 years that the Jews were enslaved to the Babylonians). In 1376, the pope returned to Rome and died. Thus, his accompanying French cardinals were pressed to elect another pope. However, feeling the pressure from the citizens of Rome, they elected an Italian pope. Afterward, they fled and denounced their decision claiming they were under pressure; therefore, their papal election was void. From France, they then elected another pope who was French. Now there were two popes, and to settle the matter they arranged the Council of Constance. At the council, they elected another pope...hoping the other two would step down (which they did not do). Therefore, the successor of the third pope - Pope John XXIII - decided to subdue his rivals by force. In order to do this, he would have to raise money for a war effort to supply his men with weapons, armor, etc. He chose as his fundraising method the selling of indulgences; that is, if one pays enough money, he/she can buy spiritual blessings. The selling of indulgences was rampant and Hus was not about to tolerate it.

(During this time it is important to note that Hus had been greatly affected by the writings of John Wycliffe...another pre-Reformation reformer). Hus spoke out against the indulgences and other Roman Catholic practices, such as the belief that the pope was God's divinely appointed head of the church. Being he was a respected professor and well-loved priest, his audience was not small. His decryings of the pope's evils made so much noise that he himself was summoned to appear before the Council of Constance to give an account for his "blasphemous" teachings. They granted him safe passage even if he was found guilty; thus, he came before the Council.

However, his enemies lied and when he would not recant, they chained him up, and paraded him through the streets as a heretic. Shortly thereafter, Jan Hus was burned at the stake for his teachings.
But before his captors could shut him up with the fire, as he was singing hymns, he also made this prophetic announcement (as quoted by one of his onlooking opposers):

"You are now going to burn a 'goose', but in a century you will have a swan, which you can neither roast nor boil." The year...1415.

One hundred and two years later, Martin Luther nailed up his 95 theses in Wittenburg, Germany...sparking the Reformation. For many, the swan spoken of by Hus is Martin Luther; one who the authorities could not silence.

Whether or not Hus was prophetic is not the point. The point is, Christ has kept for himself believers in every generation, using them to strengthen and teach one another (i.e. - Wycliffe and Hus, Hus and Luther). And how God willed the burning of a 'goose' that led to the singing of a 'swan'. Thank God that he preserves his gospel throughout history in order to save those whom the Father has given to the Son.

Happy Reformation Day.

Book Reveiws Out of My Ears

Well...not quite out of my ears. It's not like I'm reviewing eight books or something. However, I am going to do two short reviews. Recently, Justin Taylor of "Between Two Worlds", put out a generous offer. To anyone who so desired, he would send pdf files (that means Adobe Acrobat) of two upcoming releases from Crossway Books for that person to read and review a few chapters. Subsequently, if that person posted a review on his/her blog and on Amazon.com, then Crossway would send them a free copy of both books when they came out. So, I took part in it and thus...this blog. The books were "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God" - the book format of the 2006 Desiring God National Conference - and "Overcoming Sin and Temptation" by John Owen (edited by Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic).

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God Review

-Sobering. As we live in a culture in which we get lost in the minutiae of every day, this book makes one stop and think. To read about God’s plan for pain is jolting; which, if you think about it, it is quite unbiblical that suffering be such a shock. Jesus came in order to suffer; the Son of Man was a martyr for his Father’s plan. After Jesus blinded Saul on the road to Damascus, he sent Ananias to heal his eyes and told him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Nothing about the life of the apostles seemed easy. We are even guaranteed that if we desire to live godly lives in Christ, we will suffer. Therefore, the church in America can not continue on the path it has taken; that is, being - and becoming more - detached from suffering. This book, bucking the trend of contemporary society, grabs hold of timeless truths from God’s Word and confronts the issue of suffering and death. It brings to its readers the comfort of knowing that in death and in suffering God remains in sovereign control.

Overcoming Sin and Temptation Review

-“If vain spending of time, idleness, unprofitableness in men’s places, envy, strife, variance, emulations, wrath, pride, worldliness, selfishness be badges of Christians, we have them on us and among us in abundance…The good Lord send out a spirit of mortification to cure our distempers, or we are in a sad condition!” -Owen. Reading John Owen on sin feels as though he has tapped into my own mind’s infirmities. His reflections on the subject of sin and temptation make me know that not only does he know what the Bible says particularly about sin, but also that he is honest with his own thought-life and applies the Word. I feel as though I waste time hacking at the fruits of sin, while Owen swings a mighty axe at the root; severing anything that might dare spring up and flower. What’s more, is that this particular book is – I feel – more accessible than some of Owen’s other readings due to the faithful work of its editors. Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic do a great job of analyzing Owen and giving suggestions on how to read and think about the man behind the writing as well as the writing itself.

So, there you have it. I would especially encourage anyone in my generation to read these books, as they are written by older saints who have gone before us and who have remained faithful in the ministry of the gospel.

Reformation Day....Oct. 31st

It's time to celebrate. However, instead of the normally promoted "Halloween", or as some old school witch doctors say "All-Hallow's-Eve", why not celebrate a movement in which the gospel of Jesus Christ was pushed back to the forefront of Christendom? I'd say that's something to celebrate. Who knows where we'd be if the Reformation had not happened? There has been a suggestion for the blog world as to how to commemorate such a great move of God by Justin Taylor. I think I'm in on it as far as posting a blog about it (but not the contest part).

So...mark your calendars, and remember some of our fellow saints who have gone before us and handed down the faith "that was once for all delivered to the saints".

You guys should come to my next concert.

Woot.

(It's not really me.)

(Now I'm writing like Heather...no more than six words per line I think.)

(Very sporadic.)

Dolla' Dolla' Bills, Ya'll

So much for me being faithful in posting thoughts about money. It's been too long. The problem I have in thinking about what Jesus said about money, is that I just think about it. I don't actually write stuff down, organize my thoughts, or actually form cohesive thought about it. Thus the lack of posts about this topic.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." -Matt. 6:24

I'd say this is just as good a starting place as any to look at what Jesus said concerning money. I guess the question we're left with is...how do you serve money? I think the answer is different from what we might give as a quick answer. Or maybe we should ask also, how do you serve God? Also in line are these questions: If you love money, why do you hate God? And if you love God, why do you hate money? This is what is presented to us in the aforementioned verse. If you serve money, you'll hate God...and if you serve God you will despise money. That is what I plainly read, anyway. So there is much to deal with concerning this passage.

Let's start with "If you love money, why do you hate God?": It seems there is two ways to do this. First, you can make money your sole object of affection; that is, money is what you are consumed by. Thus, if anything else threatens your affection for money, you hate it. If Jesus comes in making demands from you about money (as he did with the rich young ruler), you will hate him for that. Secondly, there is a more subtle way that I feel we are more prone to do; that is, one can use God as a means to get money. You worship as a means to become wealthy. If God is a means to ANYTHING, he is hated. If God is the route you take to get to some other ultimate end besides God, you have hated God. It is that simple. I am reminded of Jeremiah 2:12-13 -

"Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."

Therefore, perhaps we can apply the same reasoning when answering, "If you love God, why do you despise money?" If you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength as we are commanded (...which we all fail to do), you will hate money if it encroaches upon your desires for God. If money comes in and tempts you to give away any of your devotion, longing, or desire for Jesus, then you must hate it. When it comes to love for God, Jesus did not soften his message: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Here we see the strong language again. Are we to actually disdain our parents? Are we to loathe them? Are we to hold money-burning ceremonies to show our hatred for it? Or how about this: "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." Are we to literally cut off our hands? If so, the vast majority of Christians would be walking around without hands...as well as eyes. Without trying to make this easier to swallow, I do wish to interject a thought.
Jesus is serious about our affections for him versus everything else; we are not to give glory to anything else. We are not to be satisfied in anything else. Therefore, if any desire, including money, competes for our love for Jesus, we must take extreme measures. If we are tempted to follow money rather than Jesus in any decision, we must repent. If we look adoringly upon the security money offers us, we must flee from it. Money is to be held loosely, I think. "Do not store up treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal." Thus, if we love money, we hate God. If we love God, we hate money. I'd love to hear thoughts on this....

Next up: How do we serve money? How do we serve God?