The Riddleblog

Christmases Past

My great grandparents, Albert and Paulina Riddlesbarger were married on December 25, 1893 in Andrew County, Missouri.

“Bert” and “Lina” were devout Brethren (of the evangelical Grace Brethren sort) and moved to Belleville, Kansas soon after they were married. Later they moved on to Nampa, Idaho with a number of Brethren families. They ended up in Garden Grove, California, in the late 1920s to be near my grandparents and their grandchildren (including my dad, Clayton).

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Riddlebarger Fam HistoryKim RiddlebargerDecember 24, 2023Albert and Paulina RiddlebargerComment

A Festivus for the Rest of Us!

Time for the feats of strength, the airing of grievances, and waiting for that Festivus miracle.

So, lets get it started . . .

I got a lot of problems with you people!

History and Culture, Just having some funKim RiddlebargerDecember 23, 2023Airing of Grievances, Feats of StregnthComment

Christmas and End of the Year Musings (12/22/2023)

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Updates:

For some reason, I was not getting notifications when folks comment on Riddleblog posts. I was also gone for several weeks in November. So, I missed a number of your questions/comments. Very sorry, but I think the problem has been fixed.
I should have a release date for Season Three of the Blessed Hope podcast soon—early in the New Year. I’ve been hard at work, getting the first few episodes of our study of 1 Corinthians ready. I’d like to have several episodes “in the can” before season three begins.

The Riddleblog Series on the Book of Daniel is underway.

Thinking out loud:

Count me among the vast majority of Americans who do not want to see either Trump or Biden nominated by their respective parties. Every news cycle reveals more cringeworthiness, disrespect for the rule of law, and ineptitude from both of them. There are 340 million Americans and this is the best the Ds and Rs can do?
Why do personal injury attorneys always seem to wear incandescent blue suits in their commercials and billboard ads?
The NCAA better fix the NIL mess with college football—this current signing date and transfer portal situation is pure chaos.

To read the rest of my musings, follow the link below

“The Babe, the Lamb, and the Lion of Judah” An Exposition of Revelation 5:1-14

The Babe in Bethlehem

In their opening chapters, the synoptic gospels give us a wonderful picture of God incarnate, a helpless babe in a manger, virginally conceived, and born to a young woman named Mary. When we see him in Bethlehem, the Christ-child is like a defenseless lamb, anything but a roaring lion.

Yet, in Revelation chapters 4 and 5, the Apostle John gives us an entirely different perspective on this newborn’s true identity. John recounts being caught away by the Holy Spirit where he was given a vision of God’s throne in heaven–a much different perspective upon our Lord’s advent from that given to us in the gospels.

A Different Perspective–The Throne of Heaven

Struggling to describe the scene he is witnessing, John sees one who is both a lion and a lamb. The glory of the one sitting upon the throne, says John, has the appearance of precious gems and reflects virtually every color of the spectrum. A rainbow encircles the throne, from which emanate flashes of lightening and peals of thunder. Surrounding the throne are twenty four elders, representing God’s redeemed people from both testaments. Also present are four living creatures (angels) who have six wings and who are covered with eyes. The living creatures represent all of creation. Together, with the elders, the living creatures worship the one seated on the throne. But they also worship another—a Lamb who was slain and yet who is also the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). He alone is worthy to open the mysterious scroll containing God’s plan for the future chapters of redemptive history.

To read the rest, follow the link below

B. B. Warfield on the Celebration of Christmas

In a review of a German book beautifully illustrating the art associated with the celebration of Christmas written by Georg Rietschel (1842-1914), who was a professor of theology at Leipzig University (H. T. Barry Waugh: Warfield on Celebrating Christmas) , B. B. Warfield concludes by raising the following questions:

1). What can be said for the customs [of Christmas] to which we have committed ourselves?

2). There is no reason to believe that our Lord wished his birthday to be celebrated by his followers.

3). There is no reason to believe that the day on which we are celebrating it is his birthday (Michael Kruger: Five Misconceptions of Christmas).

4). There is no reason to believe that the way in which we currently celebrate it would meet his approval.

These questions cause Warfield to conclude with the follow challenge; “are we not in some danger of making of what we fondly tell ourselves is a celebration of the Advent of our Lord, on the one side something much more like the Saturnalia of old Rome than is becoming in a sober Christian life; and, on the other something much more like a shopkeeper’s carnival than can comport with the dignity of even a sober secular life?”

Christmas is a difficult time for Christians precisely because of these important questions raised by Warfield. What do we do when a secular holiday and all the things that go with it (some good, some terrible) becomes thoroughly intertwined with the Christian celebration of our Lord’s birth and incarnation? There is something wonderful about an annual gathering when families and friends come together, feast, share gifts, and make family memories. There is something awful when “Frosty the Snowman” plays in the annual rotation of the FM radio station of Christmas music right after “Joy to the World.”

To read the rest, follow the link below:

What Will You Hear This Christmas? The Testimony of the Inn-Keeper? Words from Edith Bunker?

For the last few months I have been receiving emails advertising a sermon subscription series—the proprietor and the service shall go unnamed. Either the proprietor added me to his list (not knowing how I’d react to these emails), or someone who does know how I feel about these things (On Subscription Sermon Series) signed me up as a prank. Back in the day, the White Horse Inn crew, (including Mike Horton, our producer Shane Rosenthal, along with yours truly), would sign up our feisty Lutheran co-host, Dr. Rod Rosenbladt, for all kinds of stuff to get his goat—Wesleyan Woman comes to mind. It took him all of a few seconds to guess the culprits. So it may very well be the case that someone did that here. The point is, these email pitches came to me unsolicited.

The advertisements contain “highlights” from various sermons for which you can sign-up and then download in their entirety. Aside from the propriety of a minister not preparing his own sermon, there is the matter of attribution. Does the one preaching someone else’s sermon ever feel compelled to tell the congregation that they are doing so? You’d think with content so bad no preacher would want to pass this stuff off as their own work!

Then there is the matter of content. I have never subscribed to such a series—even on a free trial basis out of a sense of curiosity, wondering “how bad can they be?” So I don’t know how much biblical and theological content they may include. I only see what they choose to send me. If these are the “highlights,” I’m pretty sure the body of these “sermons” contain similar piffle—or worse.

To read the rest, follow the link below

"God Gave Daniel Favor and Compassion” -- Daniel 1:8-21 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel-- Part Two)

Daniel’s Prophecy is About Much More Than Resisting Temptation

Perhaps you heard the same sorts of sermons on Daniel I did growing up. As Daniel resisted the temptation to embrace worldly ways, keeping his faith under pressure to conform, so we too should resist “worldliness” and stand strong in our beliefs in the face of those who reject them. The application we were to draw from this was not to smoke, drink, date non-Christians, lie, steal, and so on, when non–Christians tell us these things are okay.

While there is some truth in this, when we read of Daniel being forced to resist the pressure to compromise his faith we are tempted to read Daniel’s struggle in light of our own struggles to live godly lives and progress in our sanctification. But, as I will suggest throughout this series, we should understand Daniel’s situation as much more like that in which a Christian in modern Syria and Iraq endured when their community was overrun by a terrorist regime like ISIS or Hamas, or even in light of what the Chinese Communist Party has sought to do with the Uyghurs—a Muslim population in western China. Daniel faced a constant, coercive, and humiliating pressure to reject his religion and his national citizenship, to embrace foreign gods, serve foreign rulers, and adopt a way of life completely alien to the faith of Israel’s patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Daniel faced intense pressure to conform at a level difficult for us to imagine, especially when we consider that he was still a youth serving in the royal court and therefore in the presence of the very king (Nebuchadnezzar) who was attempting to subjugate Daniel’s people and nation through the most diabolical of means. Throughout his struggle to not compromise his fundamental beliefs, YHWH is with him every step of the way, all the while directing the affairs of kings and nations to their divinely-appointed ends.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerDecember 13, 2023Daniel's Resistence Comments

The Basics -- The Sacraments

Although any discussion of the role which the sacraments play in the Christian life seems too “catholic” for many evangelical Christians, they do play a very important role throughout the New Testament. The debate over sacraments was a huge point of contention at the time of the Reformation, not only with Rome, but between Protestants (Lutheran and Reformed, as well as opposition to the Anabaptists). Baptists and Presbyterians continue to exist today as separate Protestant church bodies for a number of reasons, but one big point of contention is the on-going debate over the meaning, mode, and subjects of baptism, as well as how we ought to understand the nature of the Lord’s Supper.

Summarizing the teaching of Scripture on this topic, the Heidelberg Catechism (Q 65) defines the two New Testament sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as “holy signs and seals for us to see. They were instituted by God so that by our use of them he might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and might put his seal on that promise.” And what is the promise of the gospel? “To forgive our sins and give us eternal life by grace alone because of Christ’s one sacrifice finished on the cross.”

The sacraments are visible signs and seals of God’s invisible grace promised to his people in the gospel (Romans 4:9-12).

To read the rest, follow the link below

The BasicsKim RiddlebargerDecember 11, 2023The sacraments Comments

"The Error of Teaching That Election is Changeable" -- Rejection of Errors, First head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (VI)

Having set forth the orthodox teaching concerning election and reprobation, the Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

VI. Who teach that not every election to salvation is unchangeable, but that some of the chosen can perish and do in fact perish eternally, with no decision of God to prevent it.

By this gross error they make God changeable, destroy the comfort of the godly concerning the steadfastness of their election, and contradict the Holy Scriptures, which teach that the elect cannot be led astray (Matt. 24:24), that Christ does not lose those given to him by the Father (John 6:39), and that those whom God predestined, called, and justified, he also glorifies (Rom. 8:30).

_____________________________________

Another error associated with certain forms of Arminianism derives from the formulation of the dual decree described in the previous refutation of errors (paragraph five). In this instance, the Arminian argues, God will never withhold his salvation from those who do indeed repent, believe, and live holy lives before him. But since election is not absolute, and in this regard is only general and universal, there is no guarantee that those who are chosen by God will persevere in faith to the end, and therefore be saved.

As we have seen, the argument runs as follows. God has determined the plan of salvation, but has not chosen the specific individuals who are themselves to be saved. Those who fulfill God's requirements are considered to be numbered among the elect if they persevere.

The problem with this should be obvious. Those who are presently in Christ through faith, can take no comfort in the fact of their election, because there is absolutely no guarantee that they will believe in Jesus until death. This places the onus on the individual to persevere in the Christian life, and does not give the believer the comfort of knowing that it is Christ who is even now ensuring that the elect will persevere to the end and be saved (cf. Luke 22:32; 1 John 2:1-2).

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerDecember 8, 2023election is unchangeable Comment

Paul on Christian Hope in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

The Question Put to Paul by the Thessalonians

In light of the broad background of the New Testament’s teaching regarding the second advent of our Lord, we consider Paul’s teaching regarding Christian hope in verses 13-14 of 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul is addressing the question brought to him from the Thessalonians by Timothy regarding the fate of those who die before Christ returns. Since Paul had been gone from Thessalonica for but a short period of time, many have wondered about how it is that this question would arise, since it is not likely that many people in the congregation would have died during the short time span between Paul’s departure and Timothy’s return trip to the city. Perhaps some were martyred due to persecution, but this is improbable. Although many proposals have been put forth as an explanation, Gene Green wisely cautions us,

The reconstruction of greatest merit argues that at the moment of confronting the reality of death, the Thessalonians did not allow their confession to inform their reaction to this human tragedy. Alternately, they may simply have not understood fully the reality of the resurrection from the dead, especially in light of the general Gentile consensus that such things simply do not happen.[1]

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Warfield on the Slight Difference Between Rationalism and Mysticism

B. B. Warfield was not a fan of mysticism nor rationalism for that matter. According to Warfield, here’s what happens when you give up on biblical authority:

Once turn away from revelation and little choice remains to you but the choice between Mysticism and Rationalism. There is not so much choice between these things, it is true, as enthusiasts on either side are apt to imagine. The difference between them is very much a matter of temperament, or perhaps we may even say of temperature. The Mystic blows hot, the Rationalist cold. Warm up a Rationalist and you inevitably get a Mystic; chill down a Mystic and you find yourselves with a Rationalist on your hands. The history of thought illustrates repeatedly the easy passage from one to the other.

This gem is found in, B. B. Warfield, “Review of Mysticism in Christianity by W. K. Fleming and Mysticism and Modern Life by John Wright Buckman, in The Princeton Theological Review, xiv (1916), 343-348; and is reprinted in B. B. Warfield, Critical Reviews (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981), 366-367.

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerDecember 4, 2023Mysticism and RationalismComment

December Musings (12/1/2023)

Updates:

I am back from our trip abroad and once again hard at work on editing the manuscript of the Blessed Hope Podcast series on Paul’s Thessalonian Letters—it will be available free of charge to all of you who have listened to the entire series, just as with my Galatian exposition, "For Freedom" -- An Exposition of Paul's Galatian Letter
I am also working on season three of the Blessed Hope Podcast series on 1 and 2 Corinthians.
I’ve started a new series on the Riddleblog—an exposition of the book of Daniel.
Pictures from my European trip can be found at Kim Riddlebarger on Instagram. I finally made it to all the Calvin sites in Strasbourg and Geneva.
My volume on First Corinthians in the Lectio Continua series (now published by Reformation Heritage Books) is off to the printer. I’ll have an update and a release date when I get more info from the publisher.

To read the rest of my musings, follow the link below

MusingsKim RiddlebargerDecember 1, 2023Paul as subversive, Martin Bucer, Lectio Continua, Clowns, MiltonComment

“Bring Some of the People of Israel” -- Daniel 1:1-7 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel-- Part One)

Daniel, the Kidnapped Exile

Daniel was a young man of noble Hebrew descent living in Judah in 605 B.C. In the providence of God that was the year when King Nebuchadnezzar sent his armies to lay siege to Jerusalem–only to destroy the city and its temple eighteen years later in 587 BC. Along with a number of Jewish youths, Daniel was taken from his home and family in Judah, and exiled to Babylon, where he lived out the balance of his long life as a believer in YHWH in the capital city of a pagan empire.

Although an exile far from home, Daniel rose to such prominence in the Babylonian royal court that eventually he became a confidant of Nebuchadnzezzar. Little did Daniel know that the terrible day when he was taken captive and removed from his home and family was just the beginning of an amazing life–a life which, through a series of dreams and visions given him by God, led to the production of a book of the Bible which reveals some of the profound mysteries of God’s sovereign plan for human history, by taking us on a panoramic sweep from Israel’s patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to the coming messianic age, all the way to the end of time and the day of final judgment.

The Book of Daniel is also the story of a faithful Jewish exile, living in a pagan land, serving in a pagan royal court, all the while living his life in such an exemplary way that he may indeed have been used by God during the reign of the Persian king Cyrus (in the 530s) to help secure the freedom of those Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem (in a second Exodus) as recounted in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The Book of Daniel is not only an important guide to redemptive history, it is also the remarkable story of a faithful life lived in exile.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Basics -- The Marks and Mission of Christ’s Church

The New Testament has no category for someone who is a believer in Jesus Christ but who is not also a member of a local church. The reason is so obvious that we too often take it for granted. Since all true believers become members of the body of Christ by virtue of their union with Christ through faith, the New Testament assumes that those who are members of Christ’s body will naturally identify with a local assembly of those who likewise believe in Jesus and confess him as Lord before the unbelieving world. Sadly, many American Christians have completely different assumptions.

Given the rugged individualism of American culture and our innate suspicion of authority, many Americans who consider themselves faithful Bible-believing Christians make little connection between their own personal faith in Jesus Christ and membership in a local church. This is one of the most pressing issues of our day and it arises from a general indifference to the doctrine of the church, as well as the necessity of membership in a local congregation of fellow like-minded believers. John Calvin writes in his commentary on Isaiah, “We cannot become acceptable to God without being united in one and the same faith, that is, without being members of the church.” These two things, justification by grace alone through faith alone, and membership in Christ’s church are inseparable for Calvin, because all those whom our Lord justifies through faith, he also gathers together in a visible assembly, a local church. In agreement with Calvin, but putting the matter a bit differently, theologian Paul Avis once wrote that “Reformation theology is largely dominated by two questions: ‘How can I obtain a gracious God?’ and ‘Where can I find the true Church?’ The two questions are inseparably related.” Americans will embrace the former (justification) but never consider the latter (the necessity of church membership).

To read the rest, follow the link below

The BasicsKim RiddlebargerNovember 27, 2023The marks of a church, the mision of the churchComment

The Error of “Basing Election on Human Action” -- Rejection of Errors, First Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (Five)

Having set forth the orthodox teaching concerning election and reprobation, the Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

V. Who teach that the incomplete and nonperemptory* election of particular persons to salvation occurred on the basis of a foreseen faith, repentance, holiness, and godliness, which has just begun or continued for some time; but that complete and peremptory election occurred on the basis of a foreseen perseverance to the end in faith, repentance, holiness, and godliness. And that this is the gracious and evangelical worthiness, on account of which the one who is chosen is more worthy than the one who is not chosen. And therefore that faith, the obedience of faith, holiness, godliness, and perseverance are not fruits or effects of an unchangeable election to glory, but indispensable conditions and causes, which are prerequisite in those who are to be chosen in the complete election, and which are foreseen as achieved in them.

This runs counter to the entire Scripture, which throughout impresses upon our ears and hearts these sayings among others: Election is not by works, but by him who calls (Rom. 9:11-12); All who were appointed for eternal life believed (Acts 13:48); He chose us in himself so that we should be holy (Eph. 1:4); You did not choose me, but I chose you (John 15:16); If by grace, not by works (Rom. 11:6); In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son (1 John 4:10).

nonperemptory: not completed immediately and finally, used here of God’s decree

________________________________________

At this point, the authors of the Canons are responding to one of the more technical forms of Arminianism, then prevalent in the Netherlands. Here again, the primary error to be refuted is the attempt to locate the ground, or basis, for God’s election in a free action of the creature to which God responds. In this particular species of Arminianism, it was argued that God elected to save those who will believe the gospel and who will persevere in faith to the end. God’s decree is therefore a general decree to save those who do, in fact, believe, repent, and live in holiness before God.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerNovember 24, 2023Election Unchangable, Election not based on foreknowledgeComment

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Prayer (from the URCNA’s Forms and Prayers):

Our Sovereign God, who created all things for your pleasure and who gives to all life, breath, and every good thing, we praise you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life. For rain and sunshine, in abundance and in lack, we acknowledge that our times are in your hands. You supply all of your creatures with your good gifts: the just and the unjust alike. Nevertheless, we especially give you praise for the surpassing greatness of your saving grace that you have shown to us in Christ Jesus our Savior. For our election in him before the foundation of the world; for our redemption by him in his life, death, and resurrection; for our effectual calling, justification, sanctification, and all of the blessings of our union with him, we give you our heartfelt thanks. And we look with great anticipation toward that day when you will raise us to life everlasting, glorified and confirmed in righteousness, so that we may sing your praises without the defilement of our present weaknesses, distractions, and sins. As you have served us with these gifts, we ask that you would give us grateful hearts so that through us you may serve our neighbors. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, Amen.

So much for which to be thankful! May you and yours have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Honey-baked this year—many sandwiches to follow!

Riddleblog PublicationKim RiddlebargerNovember 23, 2023A Blessed ThanksgivingComment

I Was a Recent Guest on the Guilt Grace Gratitude Podcast

Here’s the link: Discussing Eschatology With Peter Bell and Nick Fullwiler

Amillennialism, eschatology, Reformed ResourcesKim RiddlebargerNovember 22, 2023eschatology and amillennialismComment

On the Road

Micki and I will be on the road for a couple of weeks—our first real vacation since retirement. We are going with good friends to Europe. You can follow our journey on our respective Instagram accounts (as if watching other people on vacation take pictures of stuff can possibly be something of interest). Lord willing, I will back at it in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, enjoy perusing the Riddleblog (lots here to look through, like my “Musings” or various essays and biblical studies) or catch a past episode of the The Blessed Hope Podcast.

Riddleblog UpdateKim RiddlebargerNovember 7, 2023VacationComment

“Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” – (2 Peter 3:14-18) -- Words of Warning and Comfort from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Seven)

A Sense of Urgency

Knowing that his life was likely drawing to a close, the Apostle Peter arranged for the composition of the brief epistle we know as 2 Peter. Part sermon, part letter, there is a profound sense of urgency in Peter’s second letter. In it, the apostle makes three key points. First, Peter urges that Christians, who are already recipients of God’s grace, manifest those moral virtues which reflect their faith in Christ. These virtues include knowledge, self control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Second, Peter warns us that false teachers and false prophets will secretly introduce destructive heresies into the churches, and that Christians ought constantly to be on guard for such disruptive individuals. These men live to indulge the flesh. Although they attract large numbers of followers, God will punish them harshly while rescuing his people from their clutches, just as he did with Noah and Lot. Third, even though the false teachers deny that Jesus will return a second time, it is certain that our Lord will come again to purge the present heaven and earth, removing every trace of human sin, and then creating a new heaven and earth–the home of righteousness. While we long for that glorious day of Christ’s return, Peter exhorts us to wait patiently during this age of salvation, all the while growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We now conclude our time in 2 Peter. Although too often overlooked, 2 Peter is a remarkable letter. It is packed with important apostolic teaching, and reflects Peter’s righteous anger toward those who speak false words and utter false prophecies so as to lead the people of God astray. Peter opens his letter by reminding us of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ, which not only saves us from the guilt and power of sin, but at the same time empowers us to live Godly lives. As the false teachers and prophets seek to indulge the flesh, Christians should seek to produce those Godly virtues enumerated by Peter in the first chapter of this epistle, all the while waiting patiently for the very thing the false teachers say will not come to pass–the second coming of Jesus, the final judgment, and the creation of a new heaven and earth, our eternal home.

2 PeterKim RiddlebargerNovember 6, 2023Final exhortations, Sense of urgencyComment

November Musings (11/3/2023)

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

The latest edition of The Blessed Hope Podcast deals with the use of optimism and pessimism as eschatological categories. My take—they don’t work.
Head’s up. I will be traveling throughout much of November, so the Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast will go quiet for several weeks.
I am hard at work editing my exposition of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, “When the Lord Jesus Is Revealed from Heaven,”which will be made available as a free PDF download for those of you who made it through The Blessed Hope Podcast series on these two letters.
I am also working on season three of the Blessed Hope Podcast, which will be devoted to Paul’s two Corinthians letters. I’m hoping to release the first episode in the new season before the year’s end, but that might be a bit optimistic. We’ll see.

To read the rest of my musings, follow the link below