Theology

Death as Absolute ‘Vanitizer,’ Except as Answered by Christ’s Resurrection

Kirk E. Miller

My question—that which at the age of fifty brought me to the verge of suicide—was the simplest of questions, lying in the soul of every man … a question without an answer to which one cannot live. It was: ‘What will come of what I am doing today or tomorrow? What will come of my whole life? Why should I live, why wish for anything, or do anything?’ It can also be expressed thus: Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?

—Leo Tolstoy (A Confession), channeling his inner Qohelet, Ecclesiastes.

The answer: no, nothing, futility, or, as the book of Ecclesiastes itself puts it, a mere “striving after wind.”

Death is the ultimate “vanitizer.” Nothing escapes its finalizing, universal stamp of “pointless.”

That is apart from resurrection.

Enter Jesus. Welcome, Easter.

Preservation by Mean of Perseverance (1 Peter 1:5)

Kirk E. Miller

Preservation by Mean of Perseverance (1 Peter 1:5)
South City Church
February 26, 2017

Podcast link.

See all sermons from this series on 1 Peter.

Preservation & Perseverance: Views Charted

Kirk E. Miller

“We believe that election is the eternal purpose of God according to which he effectually regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners, not on the basis of anything foreseen in them, but solely based on his free and sovereign grace. We believe that this election comprehends all the means connected with its end such that the salvation of all who trust in Christ is guaranteed, that by God’s unfailing grace all genuine believers will persevere in faith unto full and complete salvation.” – SCC Statement of Faith

Membership in the Universal Church: an Analogy

Kirk E. Miller

Some reflections…

Saying you’re a part of the Church (universal) without being a member of a specific local church is like saying you’re in the NFL without actually being on the roster of any of the NFL’s teams.

The NFL is made up of its 32 teams. The Church — the universal body of believers from across space and time — is manifested through the multitude of concrete, local churches.

Some may point to exceptions: “But what about…?” “But if you say this, doesn’t that mean…?” But there’s a reason these are exceptions — they are exceptional; they are not the norm.

The Bible both states and assumes that those who are identified with Christ by trusting in him are also those who are identified with him in baptism and identified with his community of believers — the church — through inclusion/membership among their ranks.

To abstain from regularly assembling with and committing oneself to a church community, placing oneself under its leadership and discipline, is to break away from the Biblical pattern of the Christian life — a life lived out in community, with mutual-accountability and encouragement.

To speak of “regular attenders” as some secondary class of pseudo-members is to blur these lines. We are better off to speak of such folks in truer terms, of what they are — perpetual visitors.

Athanasius’ Biblical Doctrine of the Incarnation

Kirk E. Miller

The following sermon was preached at South City Church on January 1, 2017. It is a Christmas sermon exploring the theme of Christ’s incarnation utilizing the work of the Athanasius (296-373).

Podcast link.