Random thoughts on the Word of God

Here is a quote that I have on my desk:

"And to whom shall I confess my ignorance more profitably than to you, for you do not look with distaste at my violent burning enthusiasm for your Scriptures? Grant me what I love...This is my hope for this I live, that I may contemplate the delights of the Lord." --Augustine, Confessions, XI.22.

Even I my best days, I fear I cannot hold a thimble to this passion.

Here is another quote that I found today on my desktop, as best I can tell, I wrote it. I couldn't find it on a google search:

“I want to so thoroughly master God’s Word so that I might be mastered by it. It is in the true mastery of God’s Word that my Triune God will in turn master me. Mastery of God’s Word is nothing more than an act of humble submission to it in all things. We submit to it because we submit to the authority and the supremacy of the One who has spoken forth this life-giving, soul- splitting, sin mortifying Word.”

Here is where I need to keep my sin in check in one of two directions: (1) Laziness, plain and simply laziness is the biggest threat to truly mastering God's Word and engrossing oneself in study. (2) Mastery of the word for merely intellectual purposes. This sort of seeking of knowledge certainly does puff us up. Our mastery of the Word should be a humble act, not so that we 'lord it over the text' but that we submit to what the Word actually says.

I love this You Tube video that I first found here, it adverstises this conference. The background music is kinda interesting. it sounds like something that might play in the background of an old detective movie where the detective walks into a dark club with his fedora and trench coat.

Driscoll is right on when he says, "I believe there is a corresponding view between your view of Scripture and your view of preaching. If you have a high view of Scripture you have a high view of preaching. If you have a low view of Scripture you have a low view of Scripture." One can almost hear an echo of Calvin, when Driscoll says the Bible is in and of itself our final authoritaty. This commitment brings a radical belief that the Bible is to be proclaimed with passion and purity calling people to repentance.

I would want to add one thing: I think one can say "IF YOU HAVE A LOW VIEW OF PREACHING YOU HAVE A LOW VIEW OF SCRIPTURE." There are a lot of churches that have inerrancy in the doctrine statements but the pulpits testify something completely different. Is not the proof of the putting in the eating? Where the Word of God is not proclaimed in a manner faithful to what the word actually say then having inerrancy in the doctrinal statement means squat.

Piper's last line is just classic: "Oh my there is just a lot of foolishness going on."