Hi, I'm Hugh. I've just spent 3 years studying at the University of Sussex, I now work as a church apprentice in Brighton and do part time web design. This blog is serves as a place to share my thoughts on life, theology and anything else that interests me at the time...
Just in the process of relaunching the website for my little business. I sell web hosting, make web sites for people and generally do computery, techie, designy kind of projects for people…
You can find me at Web4Christ.co.uk where there’s some examples of projects done. If you need someone to put together a blog for you, church website, business website, need your computer fixed etc. then get in touch!
This is another kind of heresy bashing post again, it happened to come up a few weeks ago, and I guess will do again, so I thought it wise to collect some thoughts…
I hadn’t heard of the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ in those terms before I came to Uni, then I found there were some different beliefs to what I held… I just assumed Christians have the Holy Spirit…
So anyway, this issue came up, I turned to Grudem… disappointed that Bible Doctrine contains nothing on this issue, I assume the bigger one does. The Big Moon man preached a sermon on the work of the Spirit, which was great and then lent me a book called ‘Baptism and Fullness’ by John Stott.
Stott goes through the Bible passages in question, examines the arguments and comes I guess to the same conclusions I had all along, just now I have these with a grasp of what the Bible actually says…
Who has the Spirit?
The basic argument of Pentecostal and some Charismatics is that scripture prescribes a subsequent experience of the giving of the Spirit after conversion. They say that speaking in tongues is the sign of having received the Spirit.
Various scriptures are used to justify this view, but all of them are really just talking about people becoming Christians, and many of the accounts referred to in Acts are hardly normative. For example the Ephesian disciples in Acts 19 are used as an example of a second blessing of the Spirit, but the reality is they hadn’t received the blessing of knowing Jesus, they weren’t Christians! It’s not good to take theology from Acts, when so much of what’s going on is not normative, partly in terms of how God is working, but also in terms of the social, geographic and religious situations that can never be repeated, such as the conversion of some Samaritans in Acts 8, another passage pointed to as proof of a required second blessing.
Tongues?
One church in Brighton states this in their beliefs…
We believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit as an enduement of the believer with power for service the biblical evidence of which is the speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance
Six passages from Acts are quoted as a justification of this statement. That’s the problem when you take your theology from Acts, turning narrative passages into doctrine. 1 Cor 12:30 - Paul asks “Do all speak with tongues?” in the context of that passage the answer is NO, the same Spirit gives a variety of gifts.
So what is the sign of having received the Spirit? Outwardly, lots of different gifts, ultimately regeneration, increasing Christlikeness. But the question is not really about signs, inwardly, when do you receive the Spirit? Ephesians 1:13 when you “Believed in Him”
Be filled?
Ephesians 5:18 says “…be filled with the Spirit”, Stott says 4 things about this:
The Moon talked about this and quoted D.L. Moody… when asked why he preaches that we must be ‘continually filled’ he replied… “I Leak”
Spirit Baptism?
Yes, I believe in Spirit Baptism. It’s just a synonym for ‘being saved’, ‘becoming a Christian’ etc. Passages that Pentecostals refer to are usually simply talking about becoming a Christian or are somehow unusual, not normative for Christians today. Paul is clear that the gift of tongues is not for everyone, and that you receive the Spirit when you believe. Being filled with the Spirit is not a one time event, but a continuous part of the Christian Life, asking the Spirit to fill and renew us.
Was watching Family Guy last night and it was the episode where Peter has a feature on the news “What Grinds my Gears” where he has a rant about something, well here’s mine….
Do you know what really grinds my gears… why these four things never work together… short leg jeans are always that little too short for me and regular fit, just that little bit too long for my little legs. Consequently I have to plan my shoes and belts; boot-type shoes are ok, they make me a bit taller, the jeans fit better, smaller shoes don’t, so my jeans end up dragging along the floor and ripping. I never really liked belts, but when you buy jeans that don’t fit they’re needed.
I just get annoyed, perfectly good jeans getting wet and ripped cause my legs aren’t an inch longer… and why do jeans, well trousers in general always rip in the groin first??
I have just recently invented a new game, curiously untitled, but subtitled “Hugh Bourne embarrasses Si Fi”. The idea is that whenever I see Si Fi, sorry Si or Simon, Simon Field to be precise (check out his new blog - he’s already started posting Driscoll videos). Well… whenever I see him I raise my hand in the air, and shout rather loudly… “Yo’alright Si Fi?” Simon being a very shy young man finds this terribly embarrassing, I love it.
Today was a great day for the sport in general… unsuspecting Simon arrived at Brighton station, only to be met in arrivals by me shouting the infamous greeting… which met the response “Please don’t ever do that again”… Genius! Reports have suggested that the game may be disbanded as a new year’s resolution, we shall see…
In other news… now term is ended the backlog of proposed blog posts and general musings shall be unleashed. Got very excited to learn today that Pastor MD will be in Brighton in July! Going home soon…
I bought a poppy today and was reminded of the other thing that makes me cry…
I cried today (not ashamed to admit that). I was listening to Mark Driscoll speak from Philippians 1:19-30, ‘A Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Death‘ it was moving enough listening to him talk, then he played an interview with a member of his church in hospital with maybe weeks/months to live having battled cancer for 7 years, then heard the story of Horatio Spafford and they played his hymn, ‘It is well with my soul’ (see below), I challenge you to listen to this and not be moved…
1. See above
2. Seeing someone I love die for the first time, my grandpa
3. Realising that God’s in control, and I’m helpless without Him
4. Films: To End All Wars, Crash, the end of Gladiator, Lion King, and some others
5. Hearing about people giving up everything to serve Jesus around the world
When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul.It is well, with my soul, it is well, with my soul, It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul.My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul.
Posted by Hugh in Christian Union, Reformission, Theological Ramblings, UCCF on 27th Oct, 2007 | No CommentsWent to a UCCF training day today, subtitled “Sharing the Love on the South coast”. Was really good to meet other CU leaders, praise God, pray together, plan, analyse what a CU is and what our CU is like, hear from God’s word about what our purpose is…
I can’t remember when it was, probably at a UCCF new leaders conference when it was said… “A CU is a mission team”, now it wasn’t actually till I went to Bulgaria as part of a UCCF mission team that I realised how radical that was. ‘A Mission Team’, that just changes the whole raison d’etre (yeh that’s French!), it changes why we meet, it changes the way in which we meet, it changes us from just another society or club to a team with an eternal, life-changing focus.
A mission team; meets to pray, to encourage one another, to share testimony, to plan, to get trained and equipped, to be encouraged by God’s word, to seek God and his ways, to help each other… when Driscoll talks about Reformission, he makes the point that just as you need to prepare for overseas mission, to study the culture we are entering, so we need to do the same for mission at home… CUs need to be prepared for the culture they enter, we need to know what people are into, where the average student places their hopes, what their ambitions are, why they believe what they do… CUs need to engage with the student culture, be part of it, befriend and build relationships, yet be distinctive and holy within that culture… CU isn’t about withdrawing into a ‘holy huddle’, a bubble, a safe place from the rest of campus… nor is CU another compartment in student life - do CU one night, go out and get wasted with my mates the next…
Ultimately CUs belong to Jesus, he’s in charge, they are his tools to win students for Christ through the proclamation of the gospel through many and varied means, but never less than simply speaking who Jesus is and what he did at the cross for us.
Anyway… we looked at Acts 17 this morning… I love this passage for a few reasons…
1) Paul contextualizes (Acts 17:16-28) - Paul goes to the Areopagus, he sees their culture, he speaks into that culture, he takes the things that they know, things that interest them and explains how the true God is actually what they are really seeking
2) God is Sovereign (Acts 17:26-25) - God chose exactly where everyone would live and when they’d be there, and his whole purpose in doing that is to give people an opportunity to hear the gospel
3) Proved by the resurrection (Acts 17:31) - Jesus is coming back to judge the world, we know he is because God raised him from the dead… only man who beat death, must be special
4) People respond (Acts 17:32-34) - when you tell people about Jesus, some sneer, they called Paul a babbler, others wanted to know more, and some believed and followed
Here’s a heresy I was hearing a few weeks ago, it sounds something like… ’sickness is not God’s will for you’, ‘God promises good health here and now’, ‘if you don’t get healed it’s because you lack faith’, ‘if I pray for you then God will heal you’…
The question is asked, “Does God Heal?”… How do we answer that? Yes, He can. Yes, He does, sometimes. Will God heal, in heaven yes, on earth, well that’s up to Him.
There seems to be an addition to the gospel, coming from Isaiah 53:5 - Jesus died for our sins on the cross, and he suffered for our healing (hear and now) - “By his stripes we are healed”
I can’t see any reason to then say, because Jesus suffered in this way that he paid for our healing here and now… the “healed” is in the context (verse 5) of our sin being dealt with and of a relationship with God being healed (peace).
This is one of three legs of the prosperity gospel (health, wealth and prosperity), it’s a little more subtle than your average ‘Christian’ TV preacher who wants your money… cause Jesus will give you loads back! And it sounds reasonable… God can heal, Christians are his children, why would he not heal??
What does the Bible say on the matter…?
“…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
We don’t know what exactly Paul’s thorn in the flesh was… but we do know the Paul asked God three times to take it away… God displays his power in our weakness
“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
So Timothy had dodgy bowels and was frequently ill.
“…it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.”
God used Paul’s illness for good
John Piper had cancer last year and wrote an article called “Don’t Waste Your Cancer“, I can’t write everything he said but his main points are:
If God is sovereign… sorry, God is sovereign (by definition) which means illness is given by Him, of course sometimes he may use illness to show his power through miraculous healing, often he won’t!
There are two dangers I feel… first we claim our promises too early, one day we will be whole, healed, perfect, but that is not until heaven… Revelation 21 says of the new earth that “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain”, one assumes therefore there will be until then, we can’t claim the promises of God before he brings them to completion in his time. Second, we miss the point of illness… ultimately it’s appointed by God, we can use a time of illness/suffering to give glory to God, to seek him, to pray to him… or we can ignore him.
Providentially, Driscoll just started talking about this in his latest sermon (35 mins in)
Hear what JP thinks about the Prosperity gospel…
Wow. I didn’t think it was going to happen this soon, but suspected it would eventually… this summer is going to be a
summer of weddings! There’s 4 weddings of good mates this summer, I think I’ll get to 3 of them, at one I get to be an usher, another best man, and I’m negotiating to be a page boy at the third (I never got to be a page boy).
Part of me likes being single… I have time, money, I can choose what I wear, and don’t have to make an effort for anyone. At the same time this verse is so true…
Genesis 2:18 - “The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
It’s true, I need a helper. I have the Spirit, who is a helper, He’s great, but… he doesn’t make sure I wear (clean) clothes which go together, he doesn’t make sure I wash, he doesn’t stop me from living in the squalor that is my bedroom… I’m not too proud to say I need help!
Driscoll - “It is not good for a man to be alone - Why? Because men are weird…”
There’s going to be a few MD quotes cause I was listening to his sermon from 1 Cor 7 on Singleness…
Reasons not to get married:
Just checked, I’m not a eunuch. I guess being in full time study probably means it’s a bad time… hoorah I only 9 months left! I don’t think I’m called to a service which would require me to be single…
Reasons to get married:
“…if you cannot remain sexually pure you need to hustle up, grow up, get a job, get married, quick, today!”
“She’s hot… yes and if you touch her you will burn in hell, and hell is hotter than she is!”
I’m fairly convinced I don’t have what they call the ‘gift of singleness’…
“Do you have the gift of chastity? Chastity, who’s she?” Chastity is when you don’t need to be with a women… what that’s a gift?”
Final quote… a call to grow up
“marriage is for men not boys, women not girls”
Marriage, relationship, it feels like one of those things that I’m built for, which is of course what Genesis says… while I’d love to get married, and don’t want to be single forever, there’s always a danger that we can turn good gifts of God into idols. I think it’s right to pursue marriage, but at the same time we should never forget the words of Jesus in Matt 22 - “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage”. Ultimately, Christ is the Bridegroom and the church is the Bride, if there’s one wedding I want to be at it has got to be that one!
There is one small detail I’ve forgotten… I need to find someone who wants to marry me!!
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