“A holy violence, a conflict, a warfare, a fight, a soldier’s life, a wrestling, are spoken of as characteristics of the true Christian” (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, xvi).
…
“[T]he plain truth is, that men will persist in confounding two things that differ — that is, justification and sanctification. In justification the word to be addressed to man is believe — only believe; in sanctification the word must be “watch, pray, and fight.” What God has divided let us not mingle and confuse” (xvii).

I am reading through Gerald O’Collins and Edward G. Farrugia’s original edition (1991) of A Concise Dictionary of Theology, so this post will be a work in progress–as I encounter theological words, central meanings, etc., that are of interest to me, I will append to this post.

Anakephalaiosis (Gr. [Greek] “recapitulation” or “summing up”). A term which in its verbal form refers to Christ bringing into unity everything in the universe (Eph. 1:10). Along these lines, such church fathers as St. Irenaeus (ca. 130-ca. 200) presented Christ as the head of the Church who fulfills God’s design in creation and redemptive history (CDT, 9).

Ars Moriendi (Lat. “art of dying”). Late medieval teaching on the way Christians ought to face death. Books on this topic, e.g., the work of Jean Gerson (1363-1429), enjoyed great popularity and influenced the portrayal of death in art (CDT, 19). 

This dictionary was designed particularly for Roman Catholics. I knew that when I began reading it.

Reading a Romish theological dictionary, however, has been illuminating. For one thing, it has further solidified my conviction that Roman Catholicism has institutionalized the theological inventions of man, that is, they have theologized at points a worldly and secular spirit. All one needs to do, in order to be convinced of the legalistic and ecclesiastical-fanaticism of Roman Catholicism, is read a few pages from a Romish dictionary. The best critiques of these inventions, that I have read, are John Calvin’s The Necessity of Reforming the Church (A.D. 1544), John Knox’s A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry (A.D. 1550), and William Cunningham’s Historical Theology (A.D. 1862).

The great distinguishing fact of the Reformation was the revival and restoration of sound doctrine, of true principles taught in the sacred Scriptures in regard to the worship of God and the way of a sinner’s salvation…. 

Protestants have usually received, as scriptural and orthodox the doctrinal decisions of the first four general councils, and even of the fifth and sixth; though in all of them increasingly, — and especially in the last two, — many deviations from scriptural primitive practice with respect to the government and worship of the church were countenanced, and too much evidence was given of the growing influence of a worldly and secular spirit in the administration of ecclesiastical affairs (Historical Theology, pp. 461, 465). 

 All of that having been said, personally I am very optimistic about the Roman Catholic Church. Why? Because Jesus is Lord and Scripture is true. Peter J. Leithart wrote an article a number of years ago titled “Why Protestants Still Protest,” and his concluding words have provided great comfort (and optimistic anticipation). He said,

If the Reformers were wrong about sola Scriptura, they were wrong too about the source of errors in the Catholic Church. For myself, I stand with Calvin, who, I am certain, would be as heartened as I to hear the recent calls from Roman Catholic leaders to reaffirm the centrality of the gospel, Jesus Christ, and Scripture. Given even a modest open door, the Word of God can take care of itself; it never, Scripture says, returns void. Though Protestants believe that Roman Catholic teaching continues to veil the Christ of the gospel, we know that God has a habit of rending veils.

“The Word of God always speaks of two great divisions of mankind, and two only. It speaks of the living and the dead in sin — the believer and the unbeliever — the converted and the unconverted — the travelers in the narrow way and the travelers in the broad — the wise and the foolish — the children of God and the children of the devil” (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, xv).

That “Christ dwells in our hearts by faith,” and carries on His inward work by His Spirit, is clear and plain. But if we mean to say that beside, and over, and above this there is some mysterious indwelling of Christ in a believer, we must be careful what we are about. Unless we take care, we shall find ourselves ignoring the work of the Holy Ghost. We shall be forgetting that in the Divine economy of man’s salvation election is the special work of God the Father–atonement, mediation, and intercession, the special work of God the Son–and sanctification, the special work of God the Holy Ghost. We shall be forgetting that our Lord said, when He went away, that He would send us another Comforter, who should “abide with us” for ever, and, as it were, take His place. (John xiv. 16.) In short, under the idea that we are honouring [sic] Christ, we shall find that we are dishonouring [sic] His special and peculiar gift–the Holy Ghost (J. C. Ryle, Holiness, xiii).

According to Scripture, Christian worship and Christian worldview are pop riveted together by the Holy Spirit. “But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

Lex orandi est lex credenda et agenda. (The rule of prayer is the rule of belief and of action.) Worldview (i.e., beliefs, morals, actions, etc.) flows from worship. Worship determines worldview. This means you cannot have Christian morals (truth) without Christian worship (Spirit-led-doctrine-and-practices). A society that attempts to separate the two is doomed.

Consider this lengthy excerpt by John Piper (quoting William Wilberforce) on the relationship between Christian doctrine (worship) and Christian morals.

“William Wilberforce is famous for his lifelong, and finally successful, battle against the African slave trade. It stunned me, when I recently read his one major book, A Practical View of Christianity, that his diagnosis of the moral weakness of Britain was doctrinal.

The fatal habit of considering Christian morals as distinct from Christian doctrines insensibly gained strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines of Christianity went more and more out of sight, and as might naturally have been expected, the moral system itself also began to wither and decay, being robbed of that which should have supplied it with life and nutriment (A Practical View of Christianity, ed. Kevin Charles Belmonte (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), p. 198).

“Even more stunning was the fact that Wilberforce made the doctrine of justification the linchpin in his plea for moral reform in the nation …

…RESULT FROM THE MISTAKEN CONCEPTION ENTERTAINED OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIANITY. They consider not that Christianity is a scheme “for justifying the ungodly” [Romans 4:5], by Christ’s dying for them “when yet sinners” [Romans 5:6-8], a scheme “for reconciling us to God–when enemies” [Romans 5:10]; and for making the fruits of holiness the effects, not the cause, of our being justified and reconciled (Ibid., p. 64. The SMALL CAPS is his emphasis.).

“… Many public people say that changing society requires changing people, but few show the depth of understanding Wilberforce does concerning how that comes about. For him the right grasp of the central doctrine of justification and its relation to sanctification–an emerging Christlikeness in private and public–were essential for the reformation of the morals of England” (John Piper, Counted Righteous in Christ, 24-26).

“It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus” (Charles Spurgeon quoting M’Cheyne in Lectures to My Students, 2).

“But, after all, the intention and close application of the mind, the lively exercises of Faith and Love, and the outgoings of holy desire towards God, are so essentially necessary to Prayer, that without these in sincerity, the best and most proper language is but a lifeless image. If we had the tongue of men and angels, and have not the heart of humble serious Christians in Prayer, we are but as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. It is only the effectual fervent prayer, the inwrought inlaid prayer that avails much. Thus therefore we ought to approve ourselves to God, in the integrity of our hearts, whether we pray by, or without a pre-composed Form” (Matthew Henry, A Method for Prayer, vii).

“Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God.” (Quoted from The Worshipbook: Services and Hymns in This Is My Body: The Presence of Christ in Reformation Thought, ed. Thomas J. Davis).

From 1 Peter 5:1-5,

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

This was the text from the first pastoral exhortation and lecture for ministerial training, given by Pastor Nate Harlan of Trinity Pastors College in January, 2010. Those pastoral exhortations were similar to Charles Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students, “colloquial, familiar, full of anecdote, and often humorous.” In that first lecture, however, Pastor Harlan implored with sobriety that I desire and learn to “Feed the sheep with simplicity.” (Not because the Saints are simplistic or simpletons and dull-witted, but because the Gospel is simple — it is gift, it is grace.)

Since that first charge was delivered a deep conviction has solidified: to “feed the sheep in simplicity” is best accomplished when the Saints are taught that “the glory of Christ is the most precious reality in the universe” (John Piper, Counted Righteous in Christ, 14). But what is the glory of Christ? In the Gospel of John, there is a pun/world-play used when Christ is raised on the cross: Christ was raised up on the cross: Christ was raised, meaning “lifted-up”, and Christ was raised up, meaning “glorified”, on the cross. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” This is the glory of Jesus Christ: he laid down his life as a penal substitute for the atonement of the sins of those given to him by the Father. The glory of Christ is that no human being has ever contributed to their justification. He accomplished everything; he deserves all the credit for what he accomplished.

Feeding the sheep in simplicity means this: declaring that Salvation is based solely on the merits of Jesus Christ, and is solely the result of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the Believer. The Saints contribute nothing to their salvation. It is Christ who has accomplished everything.

The message is simple. Salvation is a gift that the just receive by faith. Only those clothed with humility will receive the simple grace of Salvation. So, “Feed the sheep with simplicity.”

From A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship: commenting on on the portion of Peter’s sermon recorded in Acts 2:37-39, Michael Horton exclaims,

Now that’s drama! At Pentecost the Holy Spirit descends to empower the proclamation of his Word and to bring about the acceptance of it by sinners who were otherwise hostile to it. Then he sweeps them into that pentecostal reality through baptism into Christ and the plot that connects us to those who played their parts before us and who now cheer us on from the stands (14-15).