Sitting Down with J.I. Packer
Perhaps my favorite time in Orlando was spent in a small group with Dr. J. I. Packer. It is hard to overestimate Packer’s impact on evangelical Christianity. The graciousness he afforded me to sit on a couch and ask him questions for more than an hour was humbling and helpful. He is very clear minded at age eighty-two and he remains incredibly conversant, insightful, and witty. Impressively, his words are impeccably precise.
On Homosexuality
As we sat on the couch together, he explained that Anglicanism is patterned after the ancient Roman governmental system so that a bishop has jurisdiction over a geographic area. However, this long-established ecclesiological pattern has been breached because Anglicanism is suffering from “heretical bishops.” By “heretical bishops,” Packer was referring to those bishops who sanction homosexual activity. He explained that the “heretical bishops” won support for their position following much lobbying. This sadly required Bible-believing Anglican churches to come under the authority of other orthodox bishops outside of their geographic area rather than remain under “heretical bishops.”
Homosexuality: A Heretical Issue
When asked about calling those who support homosexuality and profess to be Christian “heretical,” Packer very carefully and insightfully explained what he meant. He began by saying that as Christians we are tempted to sin in many ways, including homosexuality. However, because God has saved us through Jesus and empowered us with the Holy Spirit, we are to practice ongoing repentance of sin and rejection of sinful desires. He explained in great detail that he perceives the approval of homosexuality to be “heretical” because it denies a fundamental aspect of the gospel—namely repentance. Packer explained how for six years he called his Anglican Diocese to repent of their sinful support of unrepentant homosexual activity, to no avail. Eventually, his own archbishop sought to pull his license (essentially his ordination or credentials) as a punitive measure. In the end, Packer, along with roughly thirty Anglican churches, came out from under their “heretical” leadership to form a new Anglican alliance.
Returning to the issue of denying a fundamental aspect of the gospel (repentance), he explained that 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 says,
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Packer was clear that those who do not call Christians to repent of homosexual activity are, as Scripture says, “deceived.” He told me that the first of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses was that the whole of a Christian’s life is to be one of repentance of sin. Any Christian who does not practice and promote repentance is denying an aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I asked how the denial of repentance merited the label of “heretical,” Packer said, “ “‘Heresy’ ought to be used when an aspect of the gospel is being denied.” He further explained that because God through Paul warns the Corinthians that those who practice homosexuality unrepentantly will be damned to hell, “Souls are put at risk every time homosexuality is tolerated.”
Starting a New Religion?
In keeping with Packer’s line of reasoning, I asked him if those who are “heretical” in promoting homosexual activity while declaring themselves to be Christian are in effect promoting a new religion based upon a false gospel, like Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He said, “You could describe it that way and it’s what they are doing.”
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My Time on the Road
I recently spent a packed week preaching and teaching in London and Brighton, England, with Newfrontiers Network and other organizations. It was a grueling schedule, but Pastor Scott Thomas, who directs the Acts 29 Church Planting Network, and I learned a great deal and met some amazing people whom we thoroughly enjoyed.
On the way home we stopped over in Orlando, Florida, at the International Christian Retail Show. I did my first-ever book signing there, which was fun since Crossway Books was gracious enough to give away over two hundred copies of Vintage Jesus, which I penned with Dr. Gerry Breshears. We ran out of copies and I shook hands, prayed for people, and signed books for more than two hours.
I was also honored to speak on “A Passion for People” from Matthew 9:35–38 at the 70th anniversary banquet for Crossway. They also debuted the English Standard Version Study Bible due out in the fall. Jerry Bridges, Wayne Grudem, J. I. Packer, and Lane Dennis spoke at the event as well. In attendance were R. C. Sproul, Jack Graham, Roger Nicole, and others whom I had the honor of meeting. I was one of the only people in the room not in a suit, as I somehow missed the dress code, but everyone was gracious despite my black button-up shirt with skulls and crossbones and matching Affliction boots covered in serpents. The entire night was very moving, and the debut of the ESV Study Bible is incredibly exciting as it promises to be the most thorough and helpful study Bible ever produced.
On Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at the Resurgence National Conference, Pastor Mark Driscoll spent sometime answering questions from the audience. Please watch as Mark explains how he structures his schedule in order manage his role has father, husband and preacher including sermon preparation, how his role at Mars Hill has changed over the years, how he interacts with other pastors and staff at Mars Hill, his plans for eventually passing the torch, cultivating a humble response to the pressures in his life and dealing with personal struggle.
On Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at the Resurgence National Conference, Pastor Mark Driscoll spent sometime answering questions from the audience. Please listen as Mark explains how he structures his schedule in order manage his role has father, husband and preacher including sermon preparation, how his role at Mars Hill has changed over the years, how he interacts with other pastors and staff at Mars Hill, his plans for eventually passing the torch, cultivating a humble response to the pressures in his life and dealing with personal struggle.
On February 25-27, 2008 Resurgence hosted our National Conference titled Text & Context at Mars Hill Church's Ballard Campus. In this fourth session from the Conference, watch as Jim Gilmore takes a look at the state of current American culture and how the Gospel intersects with it.
On February 25-27, 2008 Resurgence hosted our National Conference titled Text & Context at Mars Hill Church's Ballard Campus. In this fourth session from the Conference, listen as Jim Gilmore takes a look at the state of current American culture and how the Gospel intersects with it.
On February 25-27, 2008 Resurgence hosted our National Conference titled Text & Context at Mars Hill Church's Ballard Campus. In this second session from the Conference, listen as CJ Mahaney encourages us to look for small graces in those around us.
Our church is committed to physically blessing whatever area we are trying to plant churches in. By that I mean not only do we want to see churches planted, we want to see the improvement of local education, health, and politics, and standards of living, and see the decrease of crime and poverty. We engage in projects to those ends. We don't do this as a bait and switch, as if it's just a gimmick to get people to trust Jesus. Part of the Gospel is loving our neighbor whether or not they ever trust Jesus. As a friend of mine says, "We don't serve to convert, we serve because we are converted."
Thankfully, a lot of evangelical churches today are re-embracing the need to love their world soul AND body. However, they don't always seem to agree on the reason behind why we do it. Some have never put much thought to it. There seems to be a theological haze around evangelical community ministry.
Voddie Baucham wrote a great book on the importance and purpose of the family. A Family Driven Faith: Doing What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God was released this summer 2007. He takes a great approach for Christians to rethink and relive what the family is all about. Taking principles from Deuteronomy 6 Dr. Baucham addresses the crisis of losing Christian kids to secular humanism as it starts with the family. This is not a book on fixing the program or how to start a program for the family. This book is about shifting paradigms from clinical psychology to what the Bible calls Dads and Moms to do in raising their children. The byproduct of this will be God glorifying as well as evangelistically being light and salt in a confused world.
Answer - And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. That is: For the sake of Christ's blood, do not impute to us, wretched sinners; any of our transgressions, nor the evil which still clings to us,1 as we also find this evidence of Thy grace in us that we are fully determined wholeheartedly to forgive our neighbor.2
On September 17 and 18 Mars Hill Church hosted the Resurgence Fall Conference title: Continuous Worship. In this, the first of four main sessions, watch as Pastor Mark Driscoll discusses the underlying sin of all men: Idolatry. Humanity was created to worship. However, in our fallen state, we tend to worship created things, rather than the creator of those things. Watch as Mark discusses the subtle ways that we all give in to idolatry at one time or another.
