Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

conscience

Can You Vote for Donald Trump with a Clear Conscience?

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trumpIf Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for President of the United States, can you vote for him with a clear conscience? This election cycle may force conservatives—especially religious, social conservatives—to answer that question.

Here’s how I am currently thinking through that question as an evangelical theology professor who just coauthored a book on the conscience and the Christian. To answer the question, you first need to consider three other questions. [Read more…] about Can You Vote for Donald Trump with a Clear Conscience?

An Interview with Missionary J. D. Crowley on His Commentary on Romans

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RomansJ. D. Crowley has lived in Asian cultures all his life. After 12 years of pastoring in Hawaii, he went to Cambodia in 1994 to do linguistic and mission work among the indigenous minorities there. He is the author of The Tampuan/Khmer/English Dictionary and Khmer commentaries on Matthew and (most recently) Romans:

J. D. Crowley. Commentary on the Book of Romans for Cambodia Asia. ASEAN Bible Commentary. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Fount of Wisdom, 2014.

Four endorsements:

“There is a long and honorable history of synopsizing and condensing longer, technical commentaries. JD Crowley has not only brought his considerable skills to this tradition, but has done so in two languages simultaneously, to the enormous benefit of the church in Cambodia and, it is hoped, other East Asian countries. Those called to teach the Bible who make use of Crowley’s careful work will long thank God for this gift.”

D. A. Carson
Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
President, The Gospel Coalition [Read more…] about An Interview with Missionary J. D. Crowley on His Commentary on Romans

How to Disagree with Other Christians about Disputable Matters

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That’s the title of a sermon I preached on Sunday on Romans 14:1–15:7.

  • I open by explaining triage in order to introduce the idea of theological triage. We must distinguish between first-level, second-level, and third-level issues.
  • I suggest about 75 disputable matters (grouped into 17 rough categories) that can be extremely divisive in some churches.
  • I present 12 principles from Rom 14:1–15:7 about how to disagree with other Christians. I borrow these from a forthcoming commentary on Romans that veteran missionary J. D. Crowley wrote for people in Cambodia: [Read more…] about How to Disagree with Other Christians about Disputable Matters

An Unmistakable Sign of a Legalistic Spirit

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25Sam Storms, Tough Topics: Biblical Answers to 25 Challenging Questions  (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 311–12, 314–15 [32-page sample PDF]:

Legalism has been defined in a number of ways, but here is my attempt: Legalism is the tendency to regard as divine law things that God has neither required nor forbidden in Scripture, and the corresponding inclination to look with suspicion on others for their failure or refusal to conform. . . .

2. Do you elevate to the status of moral law something the Bible does not require? . . .

Hold your conviction with passion and zeal, but do not seek to enslave the consciences of others who may disagree with you. . . .

One unmistakable sign of a legalistic spirit is [Read more…] about An Unmistakable Sign of a Legalistic Spirit

Useful Questions When Approaching Literature, Films, Etc.

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Grant Horner, “Glorifying God in Literary and Artistic Culture,” in Think Biblically! Recovering a Christian Worldview (ed. John MacArthur; Wheaton: Crossway, 2003):

If Christians attempt to approach culture—literature, film, the arts and philosophies of humanity—from a human, cultural standpoint, they will be acting in disobedience to God. (p. 315)

_______

Some Useful Questions

There are several core areas that must be considered when attempting to approach cultural artifacts from a biblical perspective:

How to Play Uno in Real Life

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“What to Do When Someone Is Different from You” is chapter 8 in Dave Swavely‘s Who Are You to Judge? The Dangers of Judging and Legalism (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2005). It has four headings:

  1. The Principle of Acceptance
  2. The Principle of Personal Conviction
  3. The Principle of Edification
  4. The Principle of Conscience

Here’s an excerpt from the section on edification (120–23):

Even when we have freedom before God in particular areas of our lives, we may sometimes need to restrict our freedom for the purpose of building up our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is because God does not want anyone to act against his conscience (see the next section), and we must be careful not to tempt anyone to do so. Paul explains all this in Romans 14:13–21 . . . .

One time I was playing Uno® with three of my children. The youngest one, Madison, was only four and still learning how to win and lose with grace. So when things were not going her way in the game, she would be tempted to whine and cry. In one particular game, she was not doing well at all, and she was on the edge of losing it. I, on the other hand, was about to win, and I almost put down a “Draw Four” card which would have put her deeper into the hole and almost certainly sent her over the edge emotionally. But I didn’t want to have to discipline her for throwing a tantrum, and I wanted her to have a good first experience with the game, so I kept the “Draw Four” card in my hand and picked one off the pile (which disadvantaged me, of course). Then the next time around, the only card I could play was the “Draw Four,” but after staring for a moment into her gorgeous blue eyes and noticing her quivering lip, I kept it in my hand and drew again. This happened a third time, and a fourth time, until Maddy finally won the game, and I was left with a big stack of cards! [Read more…] about How to Play Uno in Real Life

John MacArthur on How to Serve Christians Who Are Needlessly Restrictive

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At the 2007 Shepherds’ Conference, John MacArthur answered this question in a Q&A session:

How would you approach a congregation trapped in years of legalistic tradition?

The Shepherds’ Fellowship granted me permission to upload an MP3 of MacArthur’s 5-minute-and-20-second answer.

Here’s a summary. (It’s not a transcript, but it’s close. The headings are mine.)

1. Love them by not needlessly offending them.

  • Advice. “I would not attack legalism. I would not preach on Christian liberty. I would not assault their consciences either by flaunting liberty on a personal level.”
  • Scriptural principle. “I think there is a very important principle that comes at the end of 1 Corinthians 10 . . . . Do you offend the non-believer, or do you offend your weaker brother? The answer in that text is you offend the non-believer, and the message that the non-believer gets is that you love one another. . . . You defer always to the weaker brother.”
  • Definition of legalism. “In many cases when you’re talking about legalism, you’re not talking really about works-salvation. You’re talking, I assume, about an approach to the Christian life that is needlessly restrictive and narrow and artificially constructed around certain behaviors that aren’t even biblical issues.” [Read more…] about John MacArthur on How to Serve Christians Who Are Needlessly Restrictive