Author philipmcduffie

The Danger of Theological Astuteness

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

Theological Astuteness


As many of you know, I have been in Wake Forest, North Carolina, the past eight months attending Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I will be starting my third semester of seminary a week from now. This means that I have been through two semesters of seminary already. These two semesters of schooling are unlike anything that I have ever encountered. The reason I say this is because these two semesters have been semesters of graduate level classes pertaining to Christian education. The scary thing about these two semesters is that I can already feel the dangers of theological astuteness. When I use the word astuteness, I just mean intelligence. So when I say I can already feel the danger of theological astuteness, I am simply meaning I can already feel the danger of growing in my intellect on the things of God.

You see, I have been learning stuff like pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit), Eschatology (study of the end times), Ecclesiology (study of the Church), Missiology (study of missions), Theology (study of God), and etc. I have learned a great deal in the past two semesters. I have learned certain theological lenses that will help me to read the Bible well. I have learned certain creeds that were penned long ago that maintain orthodox Christian belief. I have learned about the global mission of God as revealed in the Scriptures. I studied a great deal on evangelism and the importance of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. I have even learned certain heresies that have been rearing their head since long ago such as Gnosticism, modalism, Arianism, and Docetism. I have accumulated knowledge. Teachers have taught me a great deal, and so far I have learned a great deal. However, this is not always a safe place to be. Many times, accumulating all this theological knowledge on heavenly things is very dangerous.

But what is so Dangerous About Theological Astuteness?


The great danger of theological astuteness is that it is far easier to grow in theological knowledge than it is to grow in Christlikeness. It is far easier to gain a greater knowledge of the person of Christ than it is to submit to the Lordship of Christ in the whole of life. It is much easier to talk about the things of the triune God than it is have intimate communion with the triune God. You see, I can know a lot about pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit). I can know that the chief role of the Holy Spirit of the Living God is to testify about Christ and also to glorify Christ (Jn 16:14). I can know that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment (Jn 16:8). I can know that the Holy Spirit sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts (Rom 5:5). I can know all these things and all the while not KNOW any of it. I can know that the Holy Spirit sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts, all the while not having the love of God being poured into my heart because of indwelling sin. I can know that the Holy Spirit’s chief role is to glorify Christ, all the while I am not praying to the Father in Heaven that He would fill me with the Holy Spirit that I may glorify Christ. 

This is the great danger of seminary. You learn all this stuff, but that does not mean anything. You can learn to articulate your view of predestination, election, and sanctification, but if these doctrines are not fueling you to pursue Christlikeness then it means nothing. You can learn that our God is a righteous God, but if you are not hungering and thirsting for righteousness then it doesn’t mean anything. You can learn about God’s design for marriage, but if your neglecting your wife so that you can study God’s design for marriage then your failing miserably. You can learn about evangelism, but if your not intentionally engaging people seeking to proclaim to them the wondrous Gospel of Christ then your not being obedient. You can learn about the depths of hell, but if this does not cause you to be truly grieved over family members, friends, and enemies that are under the wrath of God then it is of no value. You can learn about the supremacy of Christ Jesus and how glorious he is, but if that knowledge does not lead you to stand in wonder and amazement at the glorious Savior then it is of no importance. You can know that the chief end of man is to glorify God, but if your whole life is built around bringing glory to yourself, then that knowledge is going to only bring upon you a greater judgment.

This is the danger of theological astuteness. And the scariest part of all of this is that during this process of growing in theological astuteness, you can trick yourself into believing that you are maturing in your faith. You can begin to convince yourself that because you know more than some of the average laymen, then you are more mature than the average laymen. You can start to think highly of yourself because you know certain theological terms that other people are not aware of. You can really begin to mistakenly think that this knowledge that you are attaining is evidence of spiritual maturity. This is not the case though. The evidence of spiritual maturity in a believer is not theological astuteness, but rather Christlikeness. The one that knows the most is not the most mature, but rather the one who has the greatest affection for Christ leading to obedience to Christ is the most mature.

Application 


With all that being said, theological astuteness is not evil. It is not bad. It is very good! Gaining in your knowledge of the things of God is incredibly important, but it is not an end it itself. What I mean by that is this, gaining in theological astuteness cannot be seen as the chief end of your life. Rather, gaining in theological astuteness must be seen as a means to an end. It must be seen as a way to better know the triune God so that you can reverently worship the triune God in the manner in which He desires you worship him. So by all means, pursue theological astuteness as a means to worship the Lord Christ, but beware of temptation to esteem theological astuteness more highly then the resurrected Lord of Glory.

Scripture

Philippians 1:8-11 “For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Why does Paul want the Philippians to grow in knowledge and all discernment? Is it not “so that they may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:10-11).

The Same ole Scheme from The Same Ancient Serpent

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

The First Onslaught 


“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Shortly after he created the heavens and the earth, he formed man from the dust of the ground. Then, shortly after he formed man from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7) he formed woman from the rib of the man (Gen. 12:21-22).
After God had created Adam (the man), he placed him in a garden in Eden. Then, after he created Eve (the woman), she was in the garden in Eden as well (Gen. 2:8). Within this garden, God made every tree that is pleasant to the eye and good for food spring up out of the ground (Gen. 2:9). One of the trees happened to be a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). God declared to Adam that he could eat from every tree in the garden that was pleasant to the eye and good for food, but that he could not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16).
After a very brief time of Adam and Eve being together, the serpent that was craftier than any other beast of the field approached Eve (Gen. 3:1). Now this serpent was not just any ole serpent. We learn from the rest of Scripture that this serpent “is the devil and Satan” (Rev. 20:2). Satan is utterly detestable. He is a murderer, a liar, and the deceiver of the whole world (Jn. 8:44; Rev. 12:19). With this being the case, he approached Eve with a terribly wicked scheme.
The ancient serpent begins his conversation with Eve saying, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). I want you just to take heed to the first four words that the deceiver of the world uttered. The very first thing Satan attempted to do was to get Eve to question the word of God. We know that God never said, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden,” but rather said, “You may surely eat of EVERY tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:16). Satan’s entire agenda was to tempt Eve to doubt the very words of God. He knew that if he got her to doubt the word of God, then she would be more inclined to disobey the word of God.
After Satan asked that question, Eve replied rather well telling Satan that they are free to eat of any tree in garden except of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because if they eat or touch (I have no idea where Eve came up with them touching the fruit would kill them) the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then they would die (Gen. 3:3). The ancient serpent does not change his deplorable wicked scheme and responds to Eve saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil” (Gen. 3:5). In essence, the serpent is saying, “God said that you would die if you eat of that tree, but surely you will not die Eve. Did God really even mean that? Surely he did not mean that. It is obvious that God is withholding something that is good from you. With that being the case, go against God’s word and eat of the fruit.” It is obvious from the very beginning of creation that the wicked scheme of Satan is to get people of God to doubt, question, and rebel against the very word of God.
Sorrowfully, Adam and Eve both gave into the ancient serpents scheme and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They sinned against God by disobeying the word of God. The deceiver succeeded in deceiving. Sin along with its devastating effects entered into the perfect creation.
Thousands of years later, we see the same ancient serpent using his same ancient scheme. Only this time, Satan was attempting to scheme the Son of God. He was attempting to get Christ our Lord to succumb to doubting, questioning, and disobeying the Word of God. Lets look at this really quick.

A Failed Onslaught


In Matthew chapter 3, we see that Jesus is going to John the Baptist at the Jordan River. Once he makes it there, John the Baptist baptizes him in the Jordan River (Matt. 3:16). After Jesus was raised up from the water, the voice of God comes forth from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). This takes us right into chapter 4 of Matthew. In chapter 4, we see that right after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God so that he could be tempted by the Devil. (Matt. 4:1).
After Christ was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, the ancient serpent approached the Son of God with his wicked scheme. The serpent says, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matt. 4:3). Look at Satan’s first six words to Christ. The serpent said, “If you are the Son of God.” The serpent knows that Christ is the Son of God. It had only been a little over forty days since the voice of God came from the heavens saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The ancient serpent is attempting to get Christ to doubt that God really meant that. He is attempting to get Christ to question whether that is really true. And ultimately, the serpent is attempting to get Jesus to disobey the Word of God. Satan will go on to tempt Christ this way three different times in Matthew 4, but each time Christ never questions, doubts, or disobeys the Word of God. Christ did not give in to the temptation as Adam (the first man) did. Where Adam fell into sin, Christ Jesus lived in complete obedience. This is why Christ Jesus is the only hope for us sinners. We all, along with Adam, have doubted, questioned, and disobeyed the Word of God. We deserve the wrath of God because of our disobedience to the Lord of Creation, but thanks be to God “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly, For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-but God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).

Beware of the Continual Onslaught  


 Today, the ancient serpent is still around and he uses the same ancient scheme. We do not need to be caught off guard by this because the Word of God addresses it. Sure, Satan is no longer approaching us and saying, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” Rather, Satan is saying, “Did God actually say that homosexuality is an unnatural sexual desire and a sin against God? Surely homosexuality is not a sin and love wins!” The serpent is whispering deceptively, “Did God actually say that a baby within the womb is a creation of God made in the image of God and ought not be aborted? Surely God does not have the ownership of the woman and her body, but rather the woman has ownership of herself and the fetal tissue inside of her.” The serpent is deceivingly saying, “Did God actually say that sex before marriage is a sin. Surely it is not a sin to have sex before marriage. Sex before marriage will allow you to see whether your boyfriend or girlfriend is truly in love with you.” Satan is misleadingly proclaiming, “Did God actually say that you cannot serve both God and money? Did God actually mean that if you serve money then you would hate Him? Surely you can serve both God and money. Surely you can seek to be rich in the eyes of the world and still be rich toward God. Also, when you finally get enough money. You will be content and have value.”

Believer, read the Word! Cling to the Word! Obey the Word. Resist the temptation to question, doubt, and disobey the word! For you can be sure, the ancient serpent will continue using his same ancient scheme.

Scripture 


2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Eagerly Awaiting

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

Contemporary Thinking

Have you ever had a time in your life where you were having a conversation with somebody that said something so unbiblical that it left you discouraged and heartbroken? For example, I was talking with a man one day who professed to be a believer and he uttered these striking words, “I do not understand why it is such a big deal that God had his only Son crucified; if I could raise my kid from the dead I wouldn’t mind killing him either.” That is a statement that leaves you shocked right? That is unbiblical in every aspect!
Now, the remark by the man mentioned above is the first and last time I ever heard such a statement made by a professing believer in Christ. However, I have heard one statement, time and time again, by professing believers that is so unbiblical that it leaves me shocked and discouraged. I have heard this specific thing uttered by laymen in the church as well as seminarians training to be pastors. The statement goes somewhat like this:
“I want my kids to grow up before Christ returns so I can see them graduate, marry, and have kids.”
Or like this,
“I want to experience marriage before the Lord returns.”
Or,
“I hope the Lord comes back later so I can finish college and have a career and a family.”
These types of comments leave me discouraged and heartbroken. The reason for this discouragement and heartbrokenness is because these comments are unbiblical. They are not unbiblical because such comments exalt marriage or having kids too much. The Bible talks about marriage in a much more beautiful way than any man could. The Bible also talks about the great gift a child is to his mother in father. So that is not the problem. The problem with such comments are that they reveal that the people speaking them have little to no understanding of who Jesus Christ truly is and what he has accomplished. But before we go further, lets look at the Bible.

What the Word of God Says

Titus 2:11-14
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good words.”
Philippians 3:20-21
“But our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
Romans 8:19-23
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
And lastly (there are more biblical passages supporting this, but we will end on this one) 2 Peter 3:11-13
“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

In Light Of What Has Been Said

The idea of hoping Christ delays his second coming so that we can enjoy a little more of the pleasure of this world is completely foreign to what has been stated in Scripture. Believers in the early church were eagerly awaiting the return of Christ. They longed to see the Lord of glory coming down in his entire splendor. They yearned to see the beloved Son of God finally coming to take them to be with him. They desired to be in a place where righteousness dwells and evil is shut up forever. They wanted to know Christ, yes they wanted to behold the slain Lamb of God that suffered unto death so that they could have a hope that is beyond the grave. They wanted to see the blessed Savior that paid such an incredibly high price to redeem them from their sin.
Do you not also want to behold him? Do you not also desire to see Christ and worship Him without any temptation to sin? Do you not also want to behold the only begotten Son of God that humbled himself to the point of death on a cross so that you could no longer be an enemy of God, but rather have peace with God. This is what we ought to long for.

Heart Diagnosis

There are a few heart problems that are the direct cause of thinking the unbiblical way that I mentioned earlier.
One diagnoses is that you are simply speaking without thinking about all that what your saying entails. If this is you, confess to God that you have often spoke quickly without thinking. Also, plead with God that he will grant you grace to refrain from even thinking about Christ in such a minimal way.
Another diagnoses, which is dangerous, is that you have a small (very small) view of Christ Jesus. There is great danger in wanting to enjoy marriage, see your kids grow up, or whatever else, rather than enjoying Christ’s return and seeing him in His entire splendor. If this is you, then I urge you to confess to God that you have sinned by not acknowledging the supremacy of Christ above all things (husband, kids, sports, career, etc.). Also plead with God to grant you wisdom that you may increase in your knowledge of Christ Jesus and the great work that he has accomplished through his life, death, and resurrection.

The last diagnosis, which is the most dangerous, is that you do not know Christ. You feel all to at home in this world and would like to stay in it rather than go to be with Christ where righteousness dwells. If this is you, plead that God would save you from your sin. Repent of having never worshiped Christ throughout the entirety of your life, and place your faith in this glorious Christ that was crucified, buried, and resurrected so that the worst of sinners could have a peaceful/beautiful relationship with God.

Reflection


Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly awaiting for him.“

Just ponder on what is being said in that powerful verse. Look at who Christ will save when he appears a second time. Is it not those who are eagerly awaiting for him?

Family Devotion

philipmcduffie Leave a comment
Scripture Says!

There are many Scriptures that you can quote when it comes to family devotion. Here are a few:


1) Deuteronomy 6:4-7

“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all of your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

2) Psalm 78 is actually titled “Tell the Coming Generation” and is all about telling the great works of the Lord to the coming generation.

3) Ephesians 5:25
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with he word.”

Ephesians 6:4
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

It is obvious from the Word of God that God intends that we proclaim His excellencies not only to unbelievers (1 Peter 2:9) but also to our families (Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Ephesians 6:4). This makes complete since when you think about it. Husbands always tell their wives the things that are important to them. Dads always pass on to their kids what they love most. For an example, take the dad that played baseball all throughout his life. When that dad finds out that his wife is pregnant with a boy, how thrilled is he that he will be able to train his own baby boy to play the game of baseball that he loves so much. This is how God made us. We talk and teach our family the things that we love and adore.

If Scripture Says!
If Scripture makes it that evident that we are to do family devotion centered around the Word of God and God made us to talk about the things that we love the most, then why are there so many families that are not doing family devotion? I think there are many reasons but here are a five to think about:

1) We have never seen family devotion done. Most people have never witnessed a man lead his family in prayer, reading the word, teaching the word, and singing praises to God. It is hard to do something you have never seen.

2) We have never heard this taught from the pulpit. Many people have never heard their pastors talk about the necessity of leading their family in the things of God, and if they have they have never heard their pastors talk about it practically to where they can do it.

3) We do not have a personal devotion time ourselves. There are many that do not have family devotion because they are not even doing a personal devotion.

4) We do not truly care about our wives sanctification. We do not really understand that God uses means to conform his people into the image of Christ and one of the means God uses in conforming our wives into the image of Christ is us (their husbands).

5) We do not understand the depth of sin and the depravity of our kids souls. One main reason that we do not teach our kids in the ways of the Lord is because we have bought into the cultures teaching that our kids are good. This is not the case. Our kids are born as rebels and enemies to God (Ephesians 2; Colossians 1:21-23; Romans 3:9-20; Psalm 14; Psalm 51:5). 

Because Scripture Says!

I am writing this because this has got to change. I will let your hear from one of the greatest preachers of all time:

“We deeply want a revival of domestic religion. The Christian family was the bulwark of godliness in the days of the puritans, but in these evil times hundreds of families of so-called Christians have no family worship, no restraint upon growing sons, and no wholesome instruction or discipline. How can we hope to see the kingdom of our Lord advance when His own disciples do not teach His gospel to their own children?

Oh, Christian men and women, be thorough in what you do and know and teach! Let your families be trained in the fear of God and be yourselves ‘holiness unto the Lord’; so shall you stand like a rock amid the surging waves of error and ungodliness which rage around us.” Charles Spurgeon

What This Looks Like For Me

Kahlie and I have recently been walking through the book of Luke. We do not attempt to go over whole chapters of scripture at one time, rather we take our time by going through 10 to 30 verses every day. The first thing I do is pray to the heavenly Father before we begin studying His Word. The next thing we do is read the passage out loud (we take turns reading). Then we go on to paraphrase the text that we read in our own words. Then we ask a crucial question. The question is, “What is God’s divine purpose in inspiring Luke through the Holy Spirit to write what we have just read?” This is crucial because it keeps us from reading the Bible in an individualistic way, which we Americans are accustomed to doing. Then Kahlie and I will sometimes read a hymn that is Christ centered and God exalting. Lastly, we pray to the Heavenly Father once more. 

What Then Are We to Rejoice In?

philipmcduffie Leave a comment
“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And He said to them. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20

What Does it Mean?

This is a remarkable passage that can teach us a great deal. Within this passage we have the seventy two disciples that Christ had commissioned out in the beginning of Luke 10. He told them to go ahead of him, two by two,  into every town and place. These disciples obeyed the voice of their Lord and went. 

As they were going, these average, ordinary disciples began realizing that they had remarkable power given to them. They began seeing demons submit to them. Fishermen were seeing the forces of evil submit to what they were saying. Farmers were seeing the works of satan stopped by the command of their mouths. Fathers were seeing the powers of darkness defeated with their spoken words. This was incredible. They had seen the Christ do these certain acts, but they never had seen each other do them. This was cause to celebrate, right? 

They begin returning to Jesus wide eyed and full of joy. They all begin telling Christ with enthusiasm that the demons were subject to them in His name. Jesus responds telling them about seeing Satan fall like lightning from heaven and about how He has given them authority to tread on serpents and scorpions. He continues telling them that they have authority over all the power of the enemy and that nothing shall hurt them. This is cause for more joy. This is good news. The disciples are hearing this from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But then the word “nevertheless” appears. 

Rejoice in This!

When the term”nevertheless” is used in a sentence it means that in spite of everything I just said, what I am about to say next is what your focus needs to be on. This means we should take heed to what Christ says in the last sentence. He says, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” What? Do not rejoice in Satan falling from heaven like lightning? Do not rejoice that we have the power to stop the works of Satan? Do not rejoice that demons are submitting to us? 

Why?

The reason is because sinners names being written in heaven is far more astonishing than demons submitting to a sinner’s command. Satan falling from the heavens is no where near as glorious as sinners ascending to the heavens. Having authority over all the powers of darkness is nothing compared to sinners being accepted by the Creator of the universe. 
Believer, sometimes you may experience great victories in this life. You may see a harvest produced by your labor day in a day out. You may see people that you have been praying for get saved time and time again. You may see all kinds of victories in this life. But if your rejoicing is always based upon those things then your rejoicing will stop. Believers in this life go through droughts. They, at times, see people they pray for perish apart from Christ. They see family members continue on in disobedience against the things of God. They see defeats as well. If your rejoicing is because of the victories then your lack of rejoicing will be because of the defeats.

This is Glorious!

This is why we must rejoice that our names are written in the heavens. There is nothing that can change this. God the Father, from before the foundation of the world was laid, predestined His beloved Son to come in the fullness of time and give His life for His Church. In the fullness of time, Christ Jesus came and fulfilled what God had willed for Him to do. His death and resurrection secured the salvation of those whom God elected to eternal life. This is eternal. This never changes. The victory of Christ is once and for all. If we always rejoice in this, then we will always be rejoicing, for Christ has saved us to the uttermost. 


Romans 8:37-39
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1st Writing Assignment

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

This semester I am taking a Christian Missions class. The instructor for this class is Dr. Greenham. He is from South Africa and seems to be absolutely infatuated with the Gospel. As you sit in his class, you begin to realize the great zeal he has for the glory of God and for the exaltation of the name of Jesus. This, in turn, also makes him yearn for the salvation of people because the salvation of people glorifies God and exalts Jesus! 


Dr. Greenham’s first assignment for all of us was to write a one page paper about our conversion. This assignment of his was not to be graded but was to serve in making sure that each one of his students had a story. He did not want to assume that all of his students were saved just because they were in seminary.

I am thankful that he issued this assignment. It was a joy to meditate and write about what God did in my life when I was a freshmen in college. He adopted me into His eternal family and for that I am forever grateful.
Here is My Story

The first time I walked an aisle to pray a prayer that had to do with asking Jesus into my heart was when I was in the fourth grade. This, however, is not the time that God saved me. I went on to live my life in such a way that made it clear that I was a child of the devil (1 John 3:10). I was walking around as a professed believer in Christ but in reality I was dead in my trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Scripture declares that there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1) but I was not in Christ. I continued to profess Jesus all the while living a life of complete rebellion to the things of God all the way through my senior year of High School and the summer leading into my freshmen year of community college. Then something changed.

I made it to college and I had already been told about the specific girl that I ought to pursue. I began hanging out with this young lady and attempting to get to know her. A few weeks into getting to know her, I learned that she was going to church by herself. In an attempt to impress her, I asked if she would mind if I joined her in going to church the next Sunday morning. She said that she would love that. So, here I was pursuing her and using church as a means to do so.

I began attending church with her and going to all the different types of college ministries that were on the campus as well. I started picking up the Word of God to read it for myself in my dorm room. The Holy Spirit, through the reading of the Word of God, began convicting me of the sin that I was in. I was led to an awareness of the deep depravity of my soul and my need for a Savior. The Holy Spirit began leading me to repentance and to believing upon the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. I am not sure as to the exact moment that I was born again from above through the supernatural work of regeneration. I just know that the Spirit of God began leading me to more and more repentance and faith in Christ Jesus.

So, with that being said, I have no idea to the specific time of my regeneration during my first semester of college, but I know with all of my heart that the first semester of my freshmen year the Holy Spirit brought about a conversion. I was no longer the man that I was when I walked onto the campus that August. I was a new creation in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit was beginning to conform me into the image of Jesus Christ.

Do you have a story?
Ephesians 1:3-4
“In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.”

Thoughts

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

I have not posted on this blog since last week, but it has been for certain reasons. My wife and I had some friends come out for a few nights. When I say friends, I mean we had seven people fit into a 575 square foot apartment for three days and four nights. That was quite interesting. After they all left I began attending my first classes at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This has kept me busy as well. 


This morning I have a little free time before my first class and chapel so I do want to post a little something. I want to express some of my thoughts about this semester so far.

First of all, I just want to begin by saying that I never could have imagined that I would be attending a seminary that is absolutely infatuated with the inspired Word of God. The verse for the whole campus is 2 Timothy 3:14-17 which says, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Southeastern believes and holds this verse dearly to them. They quote it often and esteem the Bible as it truly is, the inspired, inherent, infallible, and authoritative breathed out word of God.

Secondly, I would have never thought that I would be attending a seminary that cared so much for the great commission. For those of you that do not know what the great commission is, it is stated in Matthew 28:18-20 saying, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Every professor that has spoken in front of me so far has talked about the great commission. The first chapel of the semester was dedicated to the great commission. Southeastern is eager and yearns to glorify God by sending out the people of God to the unreached people groups of the world that they may believe upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ and sing praise to the glorious grace of God. 

Thirdly, I would have never even considered that I would be attending a seminary that holds marriage in such high esteem. The president of the seminary held a marriage seminar for all the new students that were married. He spoke on the importance of the institution of marriage. He made it clear that marriage was given by God to a woman and man and proved it clearly from the teaching in Genesis, the teaching of Jesus, and the teaching of the Apostle Paul. Dr. Akin spoke on his love for his own wife and how much his marriage has meant to him and it was beautiful. He also said that the goal of Southeastern is this, not that we come to seminary loving our wife and we leave from seminary loving our theology while our marriage fails, but rather that we come to seminary loving our wife and we leave the seminary loving our wife more because everything that we have learned has not gone straight to our head but rather to our spirit leading us to look more like Christ which in turn leads us to love our wife like Christ loves His Church (Ephesians 5).

Lastly, I never believed that I would come to a seminary that loves the Bride (Church) of Christ so very much. Day after day this week we have been going through the syllabi for our classes. Each time it is handed to me I am in shock at the work load that the seminary gives. This is not going to be easy but there is a reason that it is not going to be easy. You see, for far to long, churches have been field with unequipped and unprepared ministers that are just flat our not ready. These professors love the church too much to not do something about that. This is why they give us a course load like they do. They want to send out preachers, missionaries, church planters, teachers, doctors, lawyers, carpenters, and many other types of professionals that are deeply passionate about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that are able to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”(Ephesians 4:12-13).

In conclusion, pray for seminary students. It is dangerous to be in seminary. You hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ every day. Pray that we will not lose the awe of the Gospel. Pray that every time we hear, sing, or learn about the Gospel of God’s immeasurable grace given to us through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ that we would have our breath taken away. 

Psalm 115:1
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of you steadfast love and your faithfulness.”