Grace Reformed

Grace to Fortify You Against Satan's Temptations

2012-01-19T08:42:00.003-05:00

Last night at our Wednesday evening service we talked about the fact that the death
of Christ also accomplished power over sin in this life for the Christian.

"From GRBC Doctrinal Statment:

We teach that on the basis of the efficacy of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the believing sinner is freed from the power of sin."

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
(Romans 8:13, NKJV)

I thought it was interesting this morning that the following prayer devotional arrived. It is helpful to both think through these concepts as well as pray through
them.

Pray for God's Grace to Fortify you Against Satan's Temptations
From Matthew Henrys Method for Prayer

We pray that we may not enter into temptation; Matthew 26:41(NASB) or, however,
that no temptation may overtake us but such as is common to man.
And may the faithful God never allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with the
temptation provide the way of escape for us. 1 Corinthians 10:13(NASB)
Put upon us the full armor of God, so that we may be able to stand firm against the
schemes of the devil; Ephesians 6:11(NASB) to resist in the evil day, and having
done everything, to stand firm. Let our loins be girded with truth, put on us
the breastplate of righteousness, and let our feet be shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace. Give us the shield of faith with which we may
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, and the helmet of salvation;
and let the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, be always ready to
us. Ephesians 6:13-17(NASB)Enable us to resist the devil, so that he may flee from us; James 4:7(NASB) to resist him, firm in our faith. 1 Peter 5:9(NASB) And may You, the God of peace, tread Satan under our feet, and may You do it soon. Romans 16:20(NASB)

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:40:00.000-05:00

Psalm
100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

1 Make a joyful
shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His
presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who
has made us, and not we ourselves;
We
are
His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His
gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
Be
thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is
everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Notice
the first three verses begin with a command. The commands to Praise, Serve, and
Know are not exclusive to the people of God. These are commands to all people
in all lands. Glorifying God in whatever we do (1 Cor. 10:31) is the duty of
all mankind.

Halfway
through verse three the attention focuses on “we” that is God’s redeemed
people. The people of God not only share the duty to glorify God with all
mankind, but delight in that worship because of their unique relationship with
God. God’s people receive protection and provision. We are the “sheep of His
pasture.” Consequently we delight to gather with His people at His place of
worship and praise His name. We respond in thankfulness and worship.

The
psalmist ends with three reasons why we should be thankful. First, God is good.
All that He does is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). Second, God is
merciful. His mercy is new every day. We know that because every day we receive
better than what we deserve (Lamentations 3:22-23). Third, God is truthful and
His Word will endure forever. God never lies or changes His mind. When God
makes a promise we can be assured that He will keep it (Numbers 23:19).

Thanksgiving
is the duty of all mankind, and the delight of all the redeemed!

Happy
Thanksgiving,

Wayne

Sins of Omission

2011-11-16T10:10:00.005-05:00

James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do
good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Lying, cheating, lusting, and steeling are all sinful
activities. When we think of engaging in sinful activity, perhaps the first
things that may come to our mind is doing the things that we should not do. In
our text, James reminds us that there is another category of sinful activity to
avoid, the sins of omission.

Failing to do the right thing is wrong. The recent sexual abuse scandal surrounding the Penn State football program is a reminder of this fact. At this point there is conflicting information as to what did and what did not happen. The person who apparently first discovered the abuse allegedly reported it to his superiors. Given the nature of the crime it appears that he should have taken more aggressive action to prevent future abuse. He failed to act to the degree a reasonable person should act in protecting the most vulnerable. Those to whom the information was relayed likewise apparently failed to act in an appropriate way in confronting the abuser and reporting his actions to the police for further investigation.

Christians are called to a higher standard. We must not only not do the wrong thing, but we must also not fail to do the right thing.

Just Say No!

2011-09-21T13:10:00.004-04:00

Ephesians 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Every day I feel like I have to squeeze 100 hours of good things into a 24 hour day. It is just not possible. You have to SAY NO to some good things. You cannot do everything. Recently I was discussing this issue with one of our Elders at GRBC. He sent me a helpful article he wrote several years ago while he was a busy pastor in New York. Perhaps you will find it helpful as well. If so please pass it on.

Just Say No!
(First Baptist Church Johnson City, NY Sunday School Newsletter)
Spring 2003
Dr. Andrew T. Alexson

When my friend Esther approached me, I knew I should say no to whatever her request would be. But when she asked me to write an article on "How To Say No", how could I refuse?

There are two surefire biblical ways to get everything done that is in your Day planner. You can pray like Joshua in Joshua 10:12-14. Or while you are waiting for the sun to stop, you can say, "Yes"… "Yes" to God.

God's sovereignty means that He has both the power to stop the sun and the right to call us to serve Him. Saying no to the manifold demands of this world means saying yes to God's plan for our lives. It follows then that knowing God's plan is important. We have by our phone a list of prayerfully derived family goals (immediate, short-term and long-term) and a calendar. We use our posted goals to filter the good requests from the great. We use the calendar to schedule (guarantee) our priorities and activities. It is much easier to say "No" when the time has already been committed. By the way, this system of prioritization works with the checkbook, too!

For example, I have recently said "No" to a certain ministry activity request and a missionary support request. Both opportunities were very good, but they didn't align with how I believed God would want me to spend my time and money. I could easily say "No", because in essence I was saying "Yes" to God's plan for my life. It is vital to say, "Yes" to the GREAT things and "No" to the GOOD things. At the ripe old age of 44, I don't have much discretionary time left to spend on good things. The rest of my days should be spent serving God in great things.

Like Paul in Philippians 3:10-14 and Hebrews 12:1-2, we should know God's plan for our lives, drop all the excess baggage, and serve Him wholeheartedly.
This can only be accomplished by saying, "Yes" to God's demands, thereby letting good things pass on by choosing the best.

John MacArthur Biography

2011-07-08T09:06:00.002-04:00

Review of John MacArthur Biography by Barbara Challies

I read Iain Murray’s recent biography of John MacArthur after my husband received it as a gift. As my reading tends to be mostly about, and by, “dead white men,” I had little direct knowledge of MacArthur, who is still very much alive. I did, however, know him by reputation and held him in the highest regard for the wonderful consistency and forthrightness I heard of from others. So, when Tim asked me to write a brief response to Murray’s book, I did it gladly, but as a MacArthur neophyte.

I had expected to read of a man who loves God’s word with his whole heart and is determined to serve him with all biblical faithfulness. That is exactly what I did find. What I did not expect to find, and I am speaking with all honesty, is someone so very interesting. Why was I surprised? To be honest, I think it is because he is a nice-looking man with a nice-looking wife and children from a big church in California. I thought “they” were mass-marketed, with little appeal to this serious (ex-patriate) Canadian.

So what have I found interesting about this man? If you don’t mind, that is what I will deal with in a few brief paragraphs. I take for granted you are familiar with his excellent, biblically-based theology.

Insight = Bible + History

The first thing is the level of his insight. Love of the Bible and a love of church history—MacArthur has both—always make people insightful. They enable a bottom-line, “essence of the essence” judgment of issues that seems prophetic. In reality, it is the weighing of alternatives on a very finely balanced biblical-historical set of scales. What seems effortless is really the product of much reading and contemplation. MacArthur, as a very young man, was able to see and articulate the problem with the modern American church—easy believism and lack of holiness. When the charismatic movement began to become mainstream, he spoke out against it on the basis of the bedrock of “Scripture Alone,” and his knowledge of similar movements in the past which had harmed the church. He saw immediately that Scripture and experience could not stand as fellow conduits to knowing God. One must engulf the other. Similarly, with Evangelicals and Catholics Together, MacArthur quickly grasped that the essential question—What is a Christian in the first place?—was left unaddressed. The essence of his understanding of each of these issues is so simple that it is easy to underestimate the complete clarity needed to reach them. Again, I will say it is the cumulative effect of immersion in biblical study and church history.

Family

The second thing that intrigued me about MacArthur is several unexpected aspects of his background and early life. MacArthur’s father, Jack, chose to pastor a church in Hollywood for a time. I find it interesting and commendable that, as a very conservative Christian, he would willingly and graciously go into one of the heartlands of anti-Christian America, taking his young family with him. MacArthur himself was an excellent athlete, with the potential of playing professional football. I love that commitment to share in, and appreciate, some of the best of our secular culture. I was amazed to discover that MacArthur had been friends with some of the black leaders of the sixties’ Civil Rights Movement—not engaging with them so much politically, as relationally—respecting their aspirations. How wonderful to identify with what was at that time very much a sub-culture. Finally, I appreciate that MacArthur and his wife were willing to take a very troubled young man into their own family, for a time—something totally “unnecessary” for the pastor of a large and flourishing church, but so very beautiful.

The Women in His Life

Another point of interest: God put many women into MacArthur’s early life. He surrounded him with them, actually! After John, his parents had three daughters and for many years, his grandmother also lived with them. We all know how important meaningful male relationships are for boys and MacArthur was very close to his father. What we sometimes overlook is the benefit of a strong mother-son bond. Margaret Truman, the daughter of Harry Truman, became convinced during her research that many of the American presidents had very close bonds with their mothers. The closeness seems, somehow, to give boys stability and “emotional energy” they take into their adult years. MacArthur recognized this when he said of his mother, “The degree to which I have enjoyed success as a father, as a husband, and as a minister of the gospel, is a result of the investments she made in me each day.” He also treasures his wife and respects her judgment. I am always impressed with a man who loves the women in his life sincerely and well!

A Man of Courage

One final, remarkable thing about John MacArthur is his courage. As Christians, we are called to stand—always to be found standing and ready to fight for truth. This is not easy, especially when most of the professing Christian world does not even seem to recognize the battle. MacArthur has often stood alone, or almost alone, and there is no indication that this will ever change. I don’t think he will be one of the Christian leaders that, in the words of a friend, “live too long,” and in his latter years undoes the good of his early life. May God continue to give him the courage of Athanasius as he said, “The world is against Athanasius. Then Athanasius is against the world” and of Luther, when he said in the face of the consensus of medieval Europe, “Here I stand. I can do no other.” Honestly, I think that lesson of courage is the most precious one he can bequeath us . May God help us all to be as faithful!

I Surrender All

2011-06-06T22:52:00.001-04:00

Worldly Wisdom

2011-03-19T09:26:00.003-04:00

Recently journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Rob Bell concerning Bell’s heretical book Love Wins in which Bell denies the existence of eternal judgment, thus paving the way to a Universalist Gospel. In light of the recent devastation in Japan caused by the Tsunami, Bashir began the interview by asking Bell to answer what he thought to be a theological conundrum.

“Either God is all powerful, but He does not care about the people of Japan therefore the people are suffering or God does care about the people, but He is not all powerful.”

When Bell finally got around to giving an answer, he just said it is a paradox.

It is not a paradox, the question is a loaded question, a logical fallacy.

This is akin to asking, “Have you stopped beating your wife”? You cannot affirm or deny, you must reject the question because it contains erroneous information.

Likewise in response to the devastation in Japan, to conclude that either God is all powerful and does not care or God cares and is not all powerful, is to state categories of factual error.The truth is:

• God is all powerful
• God is all caring

What God is doing in the world, what He has decreed to happen in the world, what He has permitted to happen in the world, seems foolish or weak to the wisdom of the world.

So from the perspective of man what is happening often does not make sense and sometimes seems to be foolish.

Some in the religious community may begin to point fingers and say, “well it is because of specific sins that these people were judged.” We do not know that and cannot make those types of categorical statements.

God is all powerful and He can stop any “natural” disaster that He chooses.

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’

Amos 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?

God does things for His Glory and for our good.

Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
So from man’s perspective, worldly wisdom, all is Vanity

Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
We simply do not fully know the answer to the question why God does what He does.

We do know that we are responsible for our sin, and that God deals with us with grace and mercy.

All men have sinned against God and are worthy of not just temporary judgment, but eternal judgment. We know that when disaster strikes it reminds us of our total inability to rely on our own ingenuity for our salvation. Events like this are a gracious reminder of coming day of eternal judgment.

Luke 13:4–5 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Our response should be to make sure that we are in a right relationship with God. We should make sure our affections are towards God.

Worldly wisdom rejects such notions as foolish and weak. So the atheist denies the existence of God…at least the one revealed in Holy Scripture, and the religious create a God patterned after their own wisdom and not according to the Scriptures.

Stepping Stones

2011-02-03T08:40:00.000-05:00

Stepping Stones to Glory #3 by Tim Wehse

Acts 2:37-47

In his book, The Communion of Saints, Philip Ryken writes:

Justin Martyr (c.100-165 A.D.) wrote the following:

One the day called Sunday there is a meeting in one place of those who live in cities or in the country, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits. When the reader has finished, the president in a discourse urges and invites us to the imitation of these noble things. Then we all stand up together and offer prayers. And, as said before, when we have finished the prayer, bread is brought, and wine and water, and the president similarly sends up prayers and thanksgivings to the best of his ability, and the congregation assents, saying the Amen; the distribution, and reception of the consecrated [elements] by each one, takes place and they are sent to the absent by the deacons. Those who prosper, and who so wish, contribute, each one as much as he chooses to. What is collected is deposited with the president, and he takes care of orphans and widows, and those who are in want on account of sickness or any other cause, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers who are sojourners among [us], and, briefly, he is the protector of all those in need. We all hold this common gathering on Sunday, since it is the first day, one which God transforming darkness and matter made the universe, and Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead on the same day.

I was struck by the continuity of the Christian Church the moment I read that description. Beloved—if you are a Christian—you are part of something truly historical. Our gathering together as the body of Christ is not our invention. Our parents and grandparents didn’t make it up either. We can trace Sunday worship services all the way back to the first century. Meditate upon that today, and rejoice if you are part of the Church. Then, “imitate noble things.” In other words, receive the Word of God and do what it says (Js. 1:21-22). Justin Martyr stated the believers in the early Church were regularly challenged to love God and live for God. And we know from history that they were not ashamed to do so! Let’s not be ashamed today!

May God Truly Bless America

2011-02-02T08:33:00.000-05:00

Psalm 33:12 (NKJV)
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Stepping Stones to Glory:

2011-01-21T08:34:00.000-05:00

Stepping Stones to Glory: January 16, 2011

By Tim Wehse

Read: Hebrews 10:19-25

As you celebrate another Lord's Day, allow me to share with you five important activities for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. For that matter, the activities mentioned in this passage are of such a nature that we could (and probably should) do each and every Lord's Day. Notice the list in Hebrews 10:19-25.

Activity #1: "let us draw near" (v.22).
Because of what Jesus accomplished through His sufferings and death (v.19-21), believers have access to the holy of holies. Unlike the Jews in the days of the Old Covenant, post-resurrection believers can directly enter the holy ground of heaven through prayer. What a privilege! Do so today!

Activity #2: "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering" (v.23). In other words, continue to believe the truth of God's Word. In spite of the lies and temptations which abound in our modern culture, trust the never-erring Word of God. Hold it fast, tight. Dispel the doubts as they arrive. Remember, no one has yet to prove the Bible in error (and they never will). Our hopes (the hope of Jesus returning; the hope of eternity with God, etc.) will be realized because God is "faithful" (v.23). Keep believing!

Activity #3: "let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds" (v.24). Like stubborn mules, we all need to be pushed from time to time. I sure do! Each Lord's Day we ought to be finding ways to prod one another to live as Christ. When the Apostle Paul proclaimed that he "lived Christ" (Phil. 1:21), he most certainly had both love and good deeds in mind. Every believer ought to excel in love. We ought to love God and love others passionately. Do you ever need to be challenged to grow in godly love? I do! We also ought to be continually doing that which is good. Do you ever need to be challenged to be others-centered? I do! Let's stimulate one another today.

Activity #4: "not forsaking our own assembling together" (v.25). In the modern vernacular, this means that we should not miss church very much. How can we stimulate one another appropriately if we are often absent from the body? Church is a vital aspect for every Christian. The Bible expects believers to gather regularly for worship and mutual ministry. If you were able, did you attend church this past Sunday? If not, can you attend next week? Don't neglect the assembly. Your soul needs it far more than you can imagine.

Activity #5: "encourage one another" (v.25). We all need it, don't we? Hebrews 3:13 reminds us that sin "hardens" us. Every believer needs to be encouraged in his/her battle with sin. I need it. You need it. Let's do it. Let's be about these five noble activities this coming Lord's Day. Surely we will be blessed if we are!

Stepping Stones to Glory # 2

2011-01-15T07:02:00.001-05:00

Stepping Stones to Glory by Tim Wehse

I found the paragraphs below in the introduction of the English Standard Version's The Gospel of John (Crossway Bibles, 2003). Although the information probably is not new to you, it is always good to be reminded of some of the basics to Christianity so that we can do honest self-examination. Furthermore, what better day than the Lord's Day for such an activity?

Once you have received the gift of eternal life, you will want to grow in your knowledge of Him and your obedience to Him. Jesus' teaching about how to live for God can be summed up in three simple instructions.

Read the Bible. Jesus said, "Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me" (14:21). One way to show our love for God is to read and live out the commands set forth in the Bible, God's holy Word. Read the Bible daily to learn how to live a life that honors God and gives testimony to others that Jesus has made a difference in your life.

Pray. Communication with God through prayer keeps your focus on eternal things. If you are truly following Jesus, your desires will be for God's glory and for His kingdom, the Church. Jesus promised, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (15:7).

Seek Christian fellowship. Meeting regularly with Christian brothers and sisters allows you to follow Jesus' example of love and to fulfill His command to "love one another…just as I have loved you" (13:34). Just as Jesus surrounded Himself daily with His disciples and followers, find a Bible-believing church where you can meet with other Christians. There you will find joy and encouragement in the fellowship of God's people.

Tim

Anniversary of the King James Bible

2011-01-13T07:58:00.000-05:00

2011 Marks the four hundred year anniversary of the King James Bible translation done originally in 1611. Given the plethora of new translations that continue to crowd the Bible Bookstore shelves it is a testament to the splendor of the King James translation to see that it still occupies significant shelf space after all these years.

My first Bible that I studied after becoming a Christian was the King James. Most of the Scripture that I have committed to memory have that familiar King James sound to it. I have given way now to using the New King James on a regular basis but still have a sentimental attachment to the Authorized Version.

For further reading link to this excellent article by Leland Ryken
What Makes the King James Version Great?

1 Corinthians 13:1–13 (KJV 1900)
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

To Do List

2011-01-11T10:57:00.004-05:00

What is the first priority on your to do list? Listening to God through His Word? Allowing others to hear God's Word?

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” ” (Luke 10:38–42, NKJV)

I love “to do lists” whether formal or informal. At various points during the day I may jot down three or four things that I need to get done just on a piece of scrap paper and cross them off as I complete the task. But I also use formal lists as well including the “To Do” list that is included in Microsoft Outlook. Recently a friend of mine introduced me to an online “to do” list called “Toodledo.” This program syncs with my smart phone and email. It sends me an electronic reminder of what I need to do on a daily basis. Well, I love “to do lists” because it helps me prioritize all the things I have to do and at least get some of the tasks done before the day expires.

This morning one of the Scripture selections I read was the account of Martha and Mary’s conflict over the priorities of life found in Luke 10. Evidently Martha had a lot to do. She had to fulfill her responsibilities as a host for the guests in her home. I can empathize with her frustration as she tried to get everything in order and realized that her sister Mary was from her view just sitting down on the job.

What Martha failed to do was prioritize her “to do list.” The household chores were important. Things needed to get done. However, like most of us, Martha would not be able to complete everything on her “to do list” even if her day was extended by a few hours. Instead she should have prioritized the things on her activity list. The top priority should have been listening to God’s Word.

As I was thinking through this text another thought occurred to me. What if Martha really had a hard deadline to fulfill? In other words what if she could not stop and listen to Jesus because the dinner would burn? Should she just leave the guests to themselves and let them go hungry? Perhaps another application for this story is that Martha may have had things to do that had to be done that were time sensitive. She could not stop what she was doing. However, her frustration seems to be that she wanted Mary to stop listening to Jesus and help her. If listening to God’s Word was a priority for Martha it may be that in her particular circumstance that she needed to work so that others can listen.

In our church community we have folks that take the time to serve in the nursery or during children’s church or behind the scenes in the sound room so that others can listen to God’s Word.

This attitude of service may need to extend to other situations from our household to our work place. Listening to God’s Word is a priority.

Sometimes making listening to God's Word a priority is fulfilled by serving so that others may worship.

Stepping Stones to Glory:

2011-01-08T14:07:00.001-05:00

Stepping Stones to Glory
by Tim Wehse

Read: Hebrews 4:1-13

Throughout this weekly series, you will be challenged to think deeply on the Lord's Day. Understand that thinking deeply on spiritual things, truths of the Bible, is, without a doubt, a very appropriate activity on this day given to us by God. Surely there is no deeper subject to discuss than that of eternity. The metaphysical questions "What happens after death?" & "Where will I spend eternity?" are very real and important questions which everyone should ask themselves. And so—as begin 2011, allow me to share some thoughts taken from the passage listed above. One truth we find is as follows: "So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Heb. 4:10). In this chapter in Hebrews, the author is exhorting his readers to make sure that they do not miss experiencing the rest and glories of an eternity in heaven with God. He warns them to not "come short of it" (4:1). Quoting from David in the Old Testament, he tells them, "'Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts'" (4:7). The point he is making is crystal clear: only certain individuals will enter the eternal rest of God. The question begging to be asked, of course, is: Who may enter? Who are the "certain individuals"? He tells us. "For we who have believed enter that rest" (4:3). Our weekly celebration of what awaits in heaven is only a dim shadow compared to the endless pleasures which await all believers in heaven.

Another very important question at this point is: What does the author mean by the word "believers"? Believers—according to this author—are those who accept and submit to the truths presented in God's Word. If you were to peruse this great book of Hebrews, you would see that believing also entails coming to the realization of the excellencies of Jesus Christ, and worshiping Him for who He is and for what He has done. Does that include you? Do you believe? It is my intense hope and prayer that you do. As you read God's Word and meditate upon these weekly blogs, "do not harden your heart." Ask God to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him to show you the truth. He loves to answer prayers like that!

"Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience" (4:11). Be diligent. Work hard. Seek God's face with passion in 2011. Believe God's truth. Truth only in Jesus Christ for your entrance into the eternal rest!

A Critique of the Family-Integrated Church Movement

2011-01-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

A Critique of the Family-Integrated Church Movement

Brian Borgman

This critique concerns a specific church model which has grown into a movement. The movement’s visible leader is Doug Philips of Vision Forum. This brief critique does not address the various other issues that revolve around Phillips, but simply his structure of family-integrated churches.

Another preliminary point should be made as well. Our church does have Sunday School and various other age-segregated ministries, but we also have the children sit in both morning and afternoon services with their families.

I would personally share the concerns with FIC over the cultural forces which wage war against the family. However, my complaint is that their remedy to the attacks on the family are unbiblical, unhelpful and may be worse than the societal diseases they seek to fight.

1) FIC exalts the nuclear family to an unbiblical place

The nuclear family is seen as central to life and the life of the church. The primacy of the family, family roles, domestic order subtly undermine the truth that the family of Christ is central and primary for the Christian (Mk. 3:31-35; Lk. 11:27-28; 14:26-27).

Although there is much Old and New Testament instruction to the family, it is the spiritual family that supersedes because of loyalty to Christ.

2) FIC redefines the church under the NC as a family of families

Under the Old Covenant, Israel was a family of families, held together by blood lines and circumcision. Under the New Covenant, the Church is the family of God, not a family of families (Gal. 3:28-29; Eph. 2:19-22). In fact, under the New Covenant, nuclear families may be fragmented because of loyalty to Jesus (Matt. 10:34-39).

3) FIC inadvertently excludes or marginalizes singles and others, which is contrary to the principles of Christ's Kingdom (Matt. 19:11-12; 1 Cor. 7:7).

Ask if a single person would feel welcomed as a brother or sister in Christ and a real part of the church family in a FIC.

4) FIC elevate certain principles of liberty or personal conviction to the standard of holiness and/or church polity (homeschooling, no women working outside the home, full quiver, no daughters in college, courtship only), which amounts to legalism. In such a church culture it is very easy for the Gospel not to be the main thing and to communicate to the next generation that being a Christian means you do these things (Mk. 7:13).

My overall evaluation assessment of this movement is not positive. I am aware that there are some churches in the movement which have identified these weaknesses and have sought to address them. Nevertheless, there are subtle inroads the movement makes through Vision Forum and their homeschooling and family-oriented materials. Although much (not all) of Vision Forum’s material is helpful, it promotes a Victorian vision of patriarchy, rather than a biblical one. Many people are exposed to the materials and confuse biblical principles and ethics with those promoted by VF. They are not one and same.

For those families who use VF materials, I would simply caution them to be on guard against an unbiblical exaltation of the family, an unbiblical view of the church, and the subtle elevation of “family-centered” principles to the place of “the teaching of God’s Word.”

Time for Prayer

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“However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. ” (Luke 5:15–16, NKJV)

Could you imagine what the life of Jesus would be like during His public ministry? People began to hear about this man who had great wisdom and healed people of their afflictions. Jesus had no problem attracting a crowd. Rather than seek the limelight of attention Jesus did just the opposite and pursued solitary time alone with the Father.

It is easy to get caught up in all the duties of our day and forget the delight of communing with God. Martin Luther was reported to say, "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” George Mueller lived a lifestyle of secret prayer. When asked how much time he spent in prayer, George Mueller's reply was, "Hours every day. But I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk and when I lie down and when I arise. And the answers are always coming." The apostle Paul simply directed God’s people to, “pray without ceasing, ” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV).

Time invested in prayer will return interest in sanctification.

Practical Implications of Calvinism

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Practical Implications of Calvinism

by Albert Martin

The Experience of God

B. B. Warfield describes Calvinism as ‘that sight of the majesty of God that pervades all of life and all of experience’. In particular as it relates to the doctrine of salvation its glad confession is summarized in those three pregnant words, God saves sinners. Now whenever we are confronted with great doctrinal statements in Holy Scripture, God does not leave us merely with the statement of doctrine. The end of God’s truth set before the minds of God’s people is that, understanding it, they might know its effect in their own personal experience. So the grand doctrinal themes of Ephesians, chapters 1, 2 and 3 are followed by the application of those doctrines to practical life and experience in Ephesians, chapters 4, 5 and 6. The end for which God gave his truth was not so much the instruction of our minds as the transformation of our lives. But a person cannot come directly to the life and experience, he must come mediately through the mind. And so God’s truth is addressed to the understanding and the Spirit of God operates in the understanding as the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge. He does not illuminate the mind simply that the file drawers of the mental study may be crammed full of information. The end for which God instructs the mind is that he might transform the life.

What, then, are the personal implications of Calvinistic thought and truth both in the life of the individual and in the ministry exercised by the individual? By personal implications I mean the implications of your own relationship to God without any conscious reference to the ministry.

Now, these things cannot be separated in an absolute sense, for as has been well said, ‘The life of a minister is the life of his ministry’. You cannot separate what you are from what you do; you cannot separate the effect of truth upon your own relationship to God personally from the effect of truth through you ministerially. For the sake of bringing the principles into sharp focus I am separating them, but in no way do I want to give the impression that these two are in rigid categories.

I ask then, What are the implications of Calvinistic thought, this vision of the majesty of God and of the saving truth of Scripture as it relates to us as individuals? In answer let us go back to that general principle which B. B. Warfield calls the ‘formative principle of Calvinism’. I quote Warfield’s words:

It lies then, let me repeat, in a profound apprehension of God in His majesty, with the poignant realisation which inevitably accompanies this apprehension, of the relation sustained to God by the creature as such, and particularly by the sinful creature. The Calvinist is the man who has seen God, and who, having seen God in His glory, is filled on the one hand with a sense of his own unworthiness to stand in God’s sight as a creature, and much more as a sinner, and on the other hand, with adoring wonder that nevertheless this God is a God who receives sinners. He who believes in God without reserve and is determined that God shall be God to him in all his thinking, feeling and willing — in the entire compass of his life activities, intellectual, moral and spiritual — throughout all his individual social and religious relations, is, by force of that strictest of all logic which presides over the outworking of principles into thought and life, by the very necessity of the case, a Calvinist.1

Notice that when B. B. Warfield defines Calvinism and the Calvinist he used words of a strongly experimental nature. The words ‘apprehension’ and ‘realisation’ deal primarily with the understanding, though they go beyond that, but when we come to words such as ‘seen God’, ‘filled on the one hand with a sense of his own unworthiness’, ‘adoring wonder’, ‘thinking, feeling and willing’, these are words of experience. Warfield is really saying that no person is a Calvinist, no person is truly Biblical in his thinking of God, no man is truly religious, no man is truly evangelical until these concepts have been burned into the nerve fibres of his experience. In other words, Warfield would say that an academic Calvinist is a misnomer, as much as to speak of ‘a living corpse’ is a misnomer. When the soul and the body are separate death has taken place, and Warfield would teach us that when the soul of Calvinistic thought is dead or absent, all that remains is a carcase, a stench in the nostrils of God, and so often a stench in the church when found in a minister.

I
With this sort of background as to the personal implications, I want us next to consider a passage of Scripture, in which we have a historical account of how God makes a Calvinist. Turn to Isaiah, Chapter 6. ‘In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne’. Isaiah, who knew king Uzziah well, and had seen him upon his throne, says that in the year that that king died he saw the true King. He mentions that again at the end of verse 5: ‘for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts’. And he saw him essentially as an enthroned king: ‘I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth’ — the sensitive tissues of the lips; a coal so hot that the seraph could not take it barehanded but had to take it with tongs. sears the lips of the prophet. Then follow the words of comfort, ‘Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate.’

Here is the record of how God makes a Calvinist, how God brought a man to a vision of the majesty of God that so affected him that his life was never the same again. The first thing that struck him in this vision was this sight of God as the high and the lofty One, seated upon a throne, so that whatever else is introduced into the vision — the holiness of God, the grace of God, the forgiveness of God —it is the shining forth of God from a position of enthronement: ‘I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up’. So we may say rightly that it was sovereign holiness as well as a holy sovereignty that was exercised. It was sovereign grace as well as a gracious sovereignty. And this display of the Lord as the King brought with it several distinct results in the life of the prophet.

In the first place, it brought a deep experimental acquaintance with his own sinfulness.
‘Woe is me! I am undone. I’ve been shocked. I’ve gone to pieces. I’ve fallen apart’. Now who was he? Was he some hippie yanked off the streets who had been holding up little four-lettered words to those who did not like his interests? Was he some kind of student who had been running around under the guise of the so-called insights of new morality giving bent to his animal passions? No, this was Isaiah, from all indication in the record of Scripture a holy man, a man of God, what would be termed a dedicated Christian. But he had yet to have a sight and vision of the Lord that shattered him and shook him and exposed the inherent corruption of his own heart and life. And I submit that God never makes Calvinists by displaying to them his glory and his majesty without bringing with it this commensurate exposure of sin in the light of his sovereignty and his holiness. It brought with it also a deep insight into the state of his own generation, for note that in his own confession he not only says, ‘I am a man of unclean lips’ but ‘I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips’. In the record of the state of the people as found for example in Isaiah 58, we find that they were extremely religious; they came daily to the temple and offered sacrifices. Read Isaiah 1, and you will find the prophet’s contemporaries bringing their sacrifices and keeping their feast days. Yet God said, ‘I am sick and tired of the whole thing. Bring no more vain oblations . . . When you make many prayers I will not hear’. And if you and I had been standing there as onlookers we would have said that religion in Israel was in a pretty good state. But when this man had a sight and sense of the majesty of God, it brought with it not only an insight into his own sinfulness, but also into the state of his own generation.

Next it brought an experimental acquaintance with grace and forgiveness. As Isaiah feels his uncleanness, his undoneness in the presence of the Lord, the seraph takes a live coal from off the altar of sacrifice, a coal which becomes the symbol of the basis upon which God forgives sinners. It touches the lips of the prophet, and though there is inner pain, there is also that wonderful word of grace, ‘Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged’. Here is a man who has been brought to the sight of his own sin in such a way that he wonders how it can be that such a person as he is can dwell in the presence of such a One as the Lord is. It is that person to whom the word of forgiveness is a humbling, overpowering, captivating word. The reason why grace is so little appreciated in our days is that the transcendent majesty and sovereignty and holiness of God are so little appreciated, and we do not see much more than a half step between God and our sinful selves. But Isaiah saw as it were an infinite chasm, and when the Lord sovereignly extended mercy across that chasm and touched him, he became a man who then evidenced the fruit of grace.

Thirdly, it tells us of a man who was brought to utter resignation before God. Having been purged, Isaiah next tells us, ‘I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Note the prophet’s reaction. Having seen the Lord in his sovereignty and holiness, and himself in his uncleanness, and having heard the word of grace and forgiveness, what can a man do when this Lord speaks and he hears His voice, but say, ‘Here am I’. There is nothing here of the missionary telling tear-jerking stories about human sin and human need, in the attempt to wrench young people from their seat of complacency and rebellion to the revealed will of God and to get them to crank out an ‘Here am I’. This was just the reflex action of a man who had seen the Lord and heard his voice, and he says, ‘Here am I, Lord, send me’. And then, as it were, the Lord tests the depths of that confession and we find an utter resignation to the will and ways of the Lord, no matter how strange they seem, for it is immediately made clear to the prophet that he is to have a ministry primarily of judgment:

‘Go, and tell this people, hear . . . and understand not; see . . . perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat’. ‘Isaiah, I am commissioning you to a ministry of hardening and of judgment’. Now what does the prophet do? Does the prophet recoil and say, ‘O Lord, that isn’t fair. Do not call me to such a work as that’. No, no! He simply says, ‘Lord, how long?’ In other words, ‘Lord, it is your perfect right to send me on a ministry which will be primarily a ministry of hardening and judgment. You are God. You are on the throne. I am the creature before the throne. You are holy. I am sinful. What can I do but be held captive by the expression of your will, no matter what the implications may be?’

This is how God makes a man a Calvinist. In one way or another he gives him such a sight of his own majesty and sovereignty and holiness as the high and the lofty One, that it brings with it a deep, experimental acquaintance with human sinfulness personally and in terms of our own generation. It brings experimental acquaintance with the grace of God, an intimate acquaintance with the voice of God, an utter resignation to the will and the ways of God.

II
I say by way of application, do not talk about being a Calvinist simply because your itch for logical consistency has been relieved by Calvinism’s theological system. Have you seen God? Have you been brought near to Him? That is the issue. I remind you of the words of B. B. Warfield: ‘A Calvinist is a man who has seen God’. The expression, a proud Calvinist, is a misnomer. If a Calvinist is a man who has seen God as He is high and lifted up, enthroned, then he is a man who has been brought to brokenness before that throne as was Isaiah. A carnal Calvinist? Another misnomer! The enthroned One is the holy One, and He dwells in conscious communion with those who are rightly related to Him as the enthroned One and as the holy One. These two things are brought together beautifully in Isaiah 57:15 where the prophet says: ‘Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and a humble spirit’. What is contrition? It is the reaction of a sinner in the presence of a holy God; and, what is humility? It is the reaction of a subject in the presence of a sovereign. Isaiah never forgot this vision, and he says, ‘This great God dwells in that high and holy place, with him also that is of a humble and a contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’

If your understanding of Calvinistic thinking has led you to the place where you can, as it were, boast in your liberty and use it as an occasion for licence, then you have never become a biblical Calvinist. God makes Calvinists today the same way he made them in Isaiah’s day.

I submit that a man has no right to speak of being a Calvinist because he can repeat like a parrot phrases brought to him in the great heritage of Reformed literature. He must ask himself, Has the Holy Spirit brought me to this profound sense of God that has worked in me at least in some measure the grace of humility. Has God endowed me with gifts and abilities? if so, what have I that I did not receive? Who makes me to differ? if God has endowed me with gifts and abilities whether intellectual or otherwise, I acknowledge that I have those because a Sovereign upon a throne was pleased to dispense them to me, and the only difference between me and that poor retarded child that moves the pity of my heart, is that He was pleased to make me different. ‘Who maketh thee to differ?’ The man who stands in the presence of a God upon the throne, and who has had this sight and sense of the majesty of God, recognizes that all that he has, has been given. Humility is not diffidence. Humility is that disposition of honest recognition: He is God, I am but a creature. All that I have comes from him and must be rendered to him in praise, and in honour. It will bring with it the submission that we see in Isaiah. He sits upon a throne; I have no rights to assert, but I have the unspeakable privilege of knowing and doing his will. Was not that the reflex action of Isaiah? The Lord is upon the throne; I am the creature. What else can I do but say, ‘Here am I?’

Oh, the unspeakable delight of knowing and doing the will of God! It brings not only humility and submission, but true contrition, for I see then that all sin has been basically a violent anarchist spirit exerted against the throne-rights of God. Have I failed to love Him with the whole heart? Then this has been anarchy. He demands and is worthy of my undivided affection. Have I failed to love my neighbour as myself and given expression to this sin in a disrespect for parents, a disrespect for the rights and life of others, the purity and sanctity of others, the reputation of others? Go through the Ten Commandments, and learn that any breach of them is at its core violent anarchy against the throne-rights of God. All pride — what is it but an attempt to share the glory that belongs to the throne, and to the God upon that throne, and to say in reality, ‘O God, please let me sneak into the picture and get glory too?’ Is not that pride? — a wicked attempt to share the praise of the enthroned God!

And so this sight of God cannot help but produce humility, submission, contrition, and on the brighter side, it cannot help but produce gratitude, that in the exercise of His sovereign rights I should be blessed of God with sanity, with soundness of body, clearness of mind, and, above all, that I should be blessed with grace, confidence that God is on His throne, that nothing past, present or future has ever made that throne twitter one-thousandth of an inch. Jehovah reigneth! let the earth tremble. Confidence, unshakable confidence, joy, regardless of what transpires in the sphere that I can see! All is well where He sits.

Has God made you a Calvinist? I am not asking whether you have read a book by Boettner, or Kuyper or Warfield and become a Calvinist. I am asking, Has God given you a vision of Himself? Did He shatter you? and bring you to that place by his grace of humility, submission, contrition, gratitude, confidence and joy? That is what makes a Calvinist. If we know this we will want to say,

My God, how wonderful Thou art,
Thy majesty how bright!
How beautiful Thy mercy-seat,
In depths of burning light!

O how I fear Thee, living God,
With deepest, tenderest fears,
And worship Thee with trembling hope
And penitential tears!

How beautiful, how beautiful
The sight of Thee must be,
Thine endless wisdom, boundless power,
And awful purity!
The Power of Saving Religion

We now turn our attention to the specific soteriological aspects of Calvinism — the ‘doctrines of grace’. I have already said that the saving aspects of biblical truth, commonly called Calvinism, would be the focus of our attention — the confession that God saves sinners. What effect should that have upon the life of an individual? Is Calvinism, essentially in the realm of soteriology, a declaration of the saving mercy of God exercised sovereignly and powerfully upon elect sinners? If so, then at the very core of Calvinistic, biblical thinking regarding salvation is this belief that God has taken the initiative, that God has done something, that God is [present tense] doing something. Warfield has this to say: ‘There is nothing, therefore, against which Calvinism sets its face with more firmness than every form and degree of auto-soterism, every form of self-salvation. Above everything else it is determined to recognize God in his Son Jesus Christ acting through the Holy Spirit whom he has sent as our veritable Saviour.’

In the eyes of the Calvinist, sinful man stands in need, not of inducements or of assistance to save himself, but precisely of saving. He holds that Jesus Christ has come, not to advise, urge or woo, or to help a man to save himself but to save him, to save him through the prevalent working in him of the Holy Spirit. This is the root of the Calvinistic soteriology.

Now if that is so, that at the root of Calvinistic soteriology is the confession that God saves sinners, accompanied as it is by a refusal to bleed any of the full meaning out of any one of those words, it should lead in a very practical way to two things in the life of the individual.

I
First, it should lead to honest scriptural self-examination. I did not say unscriptural or neurotic introspection. And I believe that our fear of neurotic introspection has kept many of us in Reformed circles from honest, scriptural self-examination. By scriptural self-examination I mean a simple obedience to passages like 2 Corinthians 13:5, ‘Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?’ I mean obedience to the exhortation of 2 Peter 1:10, ‘Give diligence to make your calling and election sure’. Similar words are found throughout the New Testament — ‘Let no man deceive himself; let no man deceive you; be not deceived’. I am speaking of that scriptural duty.

It is obvious how this fits in as an implication of the Calvinistic concept of salvation. Since Scripture declares that all who are truly saved are the workmanship of God [Eph 2:10], then the question I must ask is, ‘Have I been the subject of that workmanship?’ The question is not the sincerity of my decision, or my resolve, or my whatever-I-want-to-call-it. The question is not, ‘What have I done with reference to Christ and his salvation?’ The essential question is this: ‘Has God done something in me?’ Not, ‘Have I accepted Christ?’ but, ‘Has Christ accepted me?’ The issue is not, ‘Have I found the Lord?’ but, ‘Has he found me?’

One of the old masters in Israel used to ask those who aspired to be admitted to the table of the Lord, or to church membership, two questions. Firstly, What has Christ done for you?’ He wanted to see if they understood the objective basis upon which God received sinners. He wanted to see if they understood that men are accepted before God on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ plus nothing. And if it was clear to him that they did not think in any way that they were accepted by virtue of their repentance, their tears, their works, but solely upon the merits of Christ, then he would ask them the second question: ‘What has Christ wrought in you?’ You know what he has done for you, now my question is, What has he wrought in you? He asked that question because he understood the terrible possibility that a person might have an intellectual grasp of what Christ has done for sinners, and yet be an utter stranger to his mighty work in sinners.

And so I want to press some questions home to everyone’s conscience. First: ‘Have you been brought to see your own corruption in sin in such a measure that the first two beatitudes are true of you?’ The only people in the world who are truly blessed are those who have been so wrought upon by the Spirit that they are not strangers to these two things: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted’. How does God make men truly blessed, truly happy? First of all, he makes them sad at the sight and sense of their own impoverishment in a state of sin. What is poverty of spirit? Is it some kind of pseudo-pietistic attempt to convince myself that I am a miserable worm and a wretch? Not at all! Poverty of spirit results from just getting a sight of what you really are, and seeing that you are nothing and have nothing and can do nothing that can commend yourself to the grace and saving favour of God; it results from the conviction that he could make you an eternal monument of his righteous wrath, and let you perish in the eternal burning. Have you been brought to some experimental acquaintance with that? If not, I doubt whether you can claim that Christ is your Saviour, for he said that he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. The poor in spirit have been made consciously aware of their depravity and sin.

It is possible to hold the doctrine of total depravity as a theological concept, and be as evil, proud and self-righteous as the devil. Have you known an inner stripping that has brought you to poverty of spirit? to holy mourning? to the recognition that your sin has been against the Sovereign God? Have you been brought to the place where you hate your sin enough to forsake it and cleave only to Christ? One old writer has beautifully said, ‘When the Holy Ghost begins the chord of grace in the life of a man, he always orients that chord to the bass note’. He begins with the bass note of conviction, a revelation of our need of the Saviour. Have I been brought to see that unless He initiates the work it will never be done?

The next question I would ask is this: ‘Do I evidence the fruit of his working?’ And what is positive, undeniable evidence that God has been and is working in me? I would say without any fear of contradiction in the light of Holy Scripture that the evidence is biblical holiness. The so-called Five Points of Calvinism are cast in a negative form and can in some ways be misleading. Nonetheless we cannot change the course of history, and so the Five Points have come down to us and we must learn to live with them. Take the last four points — unconditional election, particular redemption [Christ died to save specific people], the efficacious call of God and the preserving work of God in all whom he has called and joined to his Son: What is the focal point in all of these? The ultimate focal point, of course, is the display of the glory of God’s grace, as we read in Ephesians 1; but as the immediate focal point, how is that glory displayed? by what means? By the taking of totally depraved creatures and making them wholly men and women in whom the very likeness of God’s Son can be seen. What is the goal of election? Ephesians 1:4 tells us: ‘According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that’ . . . we should glory in our election? No! But ‘that we should be holy and without blemish before him’. Election unto holiness! What is the goal of the atoning work of Christ? Listen to the testimony of Titus 2:14: ‘Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people as his distinct possession, zealous of good works’. He died to have a holy people ‘zealous of good works’.

Then there is the efficacious call of God, ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord’ [1 Cor 1:9]. ‘Called into a life of sharing vital realized communion with Christ!’ ‘For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness’ [1 Thess 4:7].

Again, there is the preservation and perseverance of the saints. It is a perseverance in the ways of holiness and obedience, for Scripture says, ‘Follow after holiness without which no man shall see the Lord’ [Heb 12:14]. ‘If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free’ [John 8:31, 32]. And so wherever we touch any part of the structure of Calvinistic soteriology we touch a living fibre of God’s purpose to have a holy people.

Predestinated to what end? ‘Whom he foreknew he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son’ [Rom 8.29]. if so, then I must ask a question of myself: Is God’s electing purpose being realized in me? He chose me in Christ that, being purchased in time and called in time, I might begin to be holy in time, and have that work perfected in eternity. The only assurance I have that I was purchased to be holy, and will be perfected in holiness, is that I am pursuing holiness here and now. Essentially holiness is conformity to the revealed will of God in thought, word and deed, through the power of the Holy Spirit and through union with Jesus Christ. Holiness, godliness, this is the evidence that his electing purpose has come to life and fruition and it finds its expression in obedience. That is why John can say in 1 John 2:5, ‘Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected’. It finds its designed end in the one who keeps the Word of God. Is there clear evidence that I am experiencing communion with Jesus Christ through his Word? For he has called me into fellowship with himself, and if I have been effectually called then I am no stranger to experimental acquaintance with the Lord.

Do I confess that I am being preserved by God’s keeping power? Then his preserving must be coming to light in my persevering. The only proof I have that he preserves me is that by his grace, I am enabled to persevere.

This is the practical implication of Calvinistic soteriology. It makes me ask questions like these which bring me into the whole context of honest scriptural self-examination. John Bunyan was right on target when he wrote that section in his immortal Pilgrim’s Progress which describes how Christian and Faithful come into contact with a man named Talkative.2 I urge you to read it carefully. It shows that Bunyan recognized that there is such a thing as having an intellectual conviction that only God can save sinners, and that salvation is a work in which God saves sinners, but the real issue is this, Has there been an experimental application of that truth with power to my own heart and to my own life?

About a year ago, a young man, a Seminary graduate, came to me, to talk about some matters that were disturbing him about my own ministry. He asked me this question, ‘Mr Martin, I want to ask you a simple question. Do you believe that you have a calling to go round the country getting people upset?’ I answered: ‘My calling is not to go round the country getting people upset, but I am called to declare the whole counsel of God, one aspect of which focuses upon this principle, that it is possible to hold the form of sound words and yet to be lost and undone and a stranger to grace; for the Scripture says, “The kingdom of God is not in word but in power”. Paul said, “Our gospel came not in word only but in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance”. As long as Matthew 7:21-23 stands in Holy Scripture, and as long as I have a voice, I shall cry out to ministers and potential ministers and professing Christians that many will say in that day, “Lord, Lord”, to whom Christ will say, “Depart from me. I never knew you”.’

I would never want to be an unwitting instrument of the devil to unsettle the faith of a true child of God who may be like Bunyan’s Mr Ready-to-halt or Mr Fearing, or Mr Feeble-Mind, men who are on their way to the Celestial City but who have problems about assurance and who are doubting and failing. I would never be an accuser of the brethren to destroy or hurt the faith of a true Christian. But neither would I be a dumb dog, silent on the issue, that it is not enough to have inherited a form of doctrine, whether it be Calvinistic or Arminian. The issue is this: If salvation is of the Lord, has he begun a work in me? So I submit that these doctrines applied to the heart will lead to honest scriptural self-examination.

II
In the second place, these doctrines will lead to the sane biblical pursuit of practical godliness.

What is involved in such a pursuit? To be brief, three things:

1. A holy watchfulness and distrust of oneself. Do I really believe that by nature I am so undone that God must initiate the work, and that the remains of corruption in me, even after I have been regenerated and joined to Jesus Christ, are such that if God took his hand off me for a moment, they would lead me back into every form of wickedness possible to a human being? Such a belief will produce a holy watchfulness and a wholesome distrust of myself. If I recognize that the corruption that remains within me is like a dry tinderbox and that every temptation is like a live coal, I shall not dare to flirt with sin. If I have come out of perhaps a narrow fundamentalistic background with its checklist morality, and I discover the glorious truth of liberty in Christ, I shall not use my liberty as an opportunity for licence. I will recognize that I am free in Jesus Christ, and yet that I am one who has this terrible potential to wickedness within me, and I shall watch as well as pray.

2. A consistent prayerfulness. Is salvation the Lord’s work from beginning to end? Then he must help, and his help is given to those who cry out to him. He must work in me to will and to do of his good pleasure, and I must ask him to do it. The Word shows the beautiful fusion of those two things: God’s covenant promise to do something sovereignly and powerfully, joined with his command to his people to ask him for the very thing he has pledged to do. In Ezekiel 36, that expanded statement of the blessings of the new covenant, God makes great assertions [see verses 25 to 36] and yet in verse 37 we read: ‘Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them’; ‘I will do it’; ‘I will be inquired of’. In the economy of grace God awakens in the heart of those to whom he would dispense them the desire for the blessings which sovereignly and powerfully he engages to dispense. Matthew Henry, in his simple, homely, quaint way, says, ‘When God deigns to bless his people he sets them a-praying for the blessing which he desires to give them’. And so, if I believe the confession that God saves sinners, that he not only regenerates them, bringing them to repentance and faith, but that he keeps them and ultimately brings them into his presence — if that is his work then it will produce a consistent prayerfulness, not only a holy watchfulness and distrust of myself, but a constant application to him that he would perform in me that which he has promised. For what is prayer in the last analysis? It is a conscious spreading out of my helplessness before God. The true Calvinist is the man who confesses with his lips that grace must not only awaken him, regenerate him, but that grace must preserve him, and he Amens his confession by his prayer when on his knees he cries out, ‘Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil. I cannot even get my bread for today, Lord, unless you sustain my life and bless the labours of my hands: Give me this day my daily bread’. The doctrine of confession, God saves sinners, will produce in the heart of a true Christian the sane biblical pursuit of godliness, holy watchfulness, a consistent prayerfulness, and in the third place:

3. A trustful dependence on God to fulfil all that he has purposed. When I sin, am I cast away? No! The word of God is, ‘A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again’ [Prov 24:16]. And so I come acknowledging that my obedience is neither the basis for my justification nor the ground of my approach to God as a sinner who has been besmeared by sin, and I flee afresh to the Mediator of the New Covenant. Peter puts the matter of recourse to the Lord in the present tense, ‘To whom coming . . .’ not ‘to whom ye came’. So often in our day we hear it said that ‘somebody came to Christ’. A Christian is a man who is ever coming. We read in Hebrews 12, ‘Ye are not come. . .’ and then he describes some of the physical surroundings that we get in the Old Covenant, but he says, ‘Ye are come to . . .’ and he mentions all the blessings of the New Covenant, and one of them is this: ‘Ye are come . . . to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant’. ‘If any man sin we have [present tense] an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’

Is not this why a true Christian does not cringe at the exposure of his sin? Every exposure of sin in the life of a true believer drives him afresh to his Saviour, and anything that drives him afresh to his Saviour makes his Saviour more precious. When is your life more fragrant than when the kiss of forgiveness is most fresh upon your cheek? Sin felt and mourned over drives a Christian afresh to the Mediator of the New Covenant who knew all about his failures when he called him, and in his grace and mercy as a suffering High Priest ever pleads the merits of his blood before the Father. And so there is a trusting dependence upon God to fulfil all his purposes. When I am weak I need to remember that he prays for me. He said to Peter, ‘Satan hath desired to have thee to sift thee as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. I did not pray that your courage fail not. Your courage will fail, Peter, but I have prayed that your faith fail not’. And even in Peter’s denial there was not a casting-off of his faith. For the work which God’s goodness began, the arm of his strength will complete. He will carry it on until the day of Jesus Christ.

For a person to claim to be a Calvinist, confessing the soteriological creed that God saves sinners, without this holy watchfulness, some measure of consistent prayerfulness, and a trusting dependence upon God in Christ to fulfil all that he, in grace, has promised, is a contradiction of terms. One of the great cries that is raised today, and some of it has justification, is that people, especially young men, who get hold of Calvinism, and seem to view it as an unanswerable, unassailable philosophical system, become proud, go back now to their secular schools and in ten minutes shoot holes in the views of their Professor of Philosophy. They become proud, cocky. That is a caricature, that is not real Calvinism.

What is the personal practical effect of the confession of Calvinism in the life of a man? If he sees God, it will break him, and if he understands that God saves sinners, it will make him a trustful, prayerful, watchful person pursuing practical godliness. Is that what these doctrines are doing for you right where you sit this morning? Some, perhaps, to whom these things are new have feared them and said, ‘Oh, that stuff will just lead to spiritual barrenness and dryness’. It is not so! For these are the truths of God’s Word; I am convinced they are. In their totality they are the truth which is according to godliness, the truth that sanctifies us in answer to the prayer of our great High Priest. May God grant that the truth will do that in you and in me!

Notes

Calvin as a Theologian and Calvinism Today.
Pilgrim’s Progress, pp 81-95, Banner of Truth Trust.

Author

Albert Martin is the Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Essex Fells, New Jersey. This material is the substance of an address which was transcribed with minor revisions from the tape.

Illuminated by the Spirit

2010-07-18T08:29:00.001-04:00

Below is a sample from one of my favorite devotionals. One of the benefits of the electronic media is that you can now have free access to a wealth of material. Some of that information is really beneficial. For years I have purchased and read various devotional books. It is helpful to get a positive theological thought for the day from a trusted source. For the last couple of years I have received those devotionals electronically in my email inbox daily.

Drawing Near can be viewed at http://www.gty.org/Resources/Devotionals and they also give you an opportunity to enroll in their email list. In addition, the entire resource can also be viewed on Google Books http://books.google.com/books?id=COaJ90FJQt8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=drawing+near&hl=en&ei=tPVCTNm_M4T58Ab4l6HkDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

"That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9).

In the natural realm, darkness can be a debilitating and frightening thing. The story is told of a missionary who was on board ship one dark night when suddenly he was awakened by the frantic cry of "Man overboard!" Immediately he arose from his bunk, grabbed the portable lamp from its bracket, and held it at the window of his cabin.

He couldn't see anything, but the next morning he was told that the flash of his lamp through the porthole emitted just enough light to enable those on deck to see the missing man clinging to a rope. They rescued him seconds before his strength would have given out. The light had shone just in time to save the man's life.

In the spiritual realm, darkness is even more devastating because it represents sin with all its disastrous consequences. First John 1:5-6 says, "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

Unbelievers are characterized as children of darkness. They are enslaved to Satan, the prince of darkness, who blinds their minds so they don't see the light of Christ's glorious gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). They love darkness and reject light because they don't want their evil deeds to be exposed (John 3:19-20).

Christians, however, have been called out of darkness into God's marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). That refers to God's taking the initiative to save us. As an unredeemed sinner, you could never have turned from darkness on your own because you had neither the ability nor the desire to do so. God had to grant you saving grace and the illumination of His Spirit so you could recognize truth and respond accordingly.

That blessed privilege is known only to Christians. What a joy--not only to recognize God's truth, but also to walk in it daily!

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for illuminating your mind and enabling you to see spiritual truth. Pray diligently for others to be so illuminated.

Spurgeon on Hebrews Chapter 2

2010-07-17T20:53:00.003-04:00

Tim Wehse is currently teaching through the Book of Hebrews in our Adult Sunday school at GRBC. He sent me this excerpt from Spurgeon he found while preparing for his lesson.

BELIEVING THAT GOD foreknoweth all things, we cannot but come to the conclusion that he foreknow the fall, and that it was but an incident in the great method by which he would glorify himself. Foreknowing the fall, and fore-ordaining and predestinating the plan by which he would rescue his chosen out of the ruins thereof, he was pleased to make that plan a manifestation of all his attributes, and, to a very great extent, a declaration of his wisdom. You do not find in the method of salvation a single tinge of folly. The Greeks may call it folly, but they are fools themselves. The gospel is the highest refinement of wisdom, ay, of divine wisdom, and we cannot help perceiving that not only in its main features, but in its little points, in the details and the minutiae, the wisdom of God is most clearly to be seen. Just as in the making of the tabernacle in the wilderness not a single loop or tache was left to human chance or judgment, so in the great scheme of salvation, not a single fragment was left to the human will or to the folly of the flesh. It appears to be a law of the divine action that everything must be according to the fitness and necessity involved in perfect wisdom—"It behoved that Christ should suffer;" and in our text we find, "It became him from whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, that he should make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." It seemed to be but the order of natural fitness and congruity, in accordance with the nature and character of God, that the plan of salvation should be just what it is. Oh! how careful should we be who have to preach it never to alter it in the slightest degree. How should we lift our prayers to heaven that God would give us a clear understanding, first, of what we have to teach, and then a clear method of teaching what we have learned, so that no mistake may be made here, for a mistake here would mar that express image of God which shines in the gospel, and prevent our hearers from seeing the beautiful fitness and proportion which are so adapted to reveal the perfect character of God. We say the plan must be what it is; it could not be otherwise so as to be in keeping with the divine character; and, therefore, it is imperative upon us that we make no alteration in it, no, not of a word, lest we should hear the Apostle's anathema hissing through the air like a thunderbolt from God—"If we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that ye have received let him be accursed!"

How to Find a Good Church

2010-07-13T13:50:00.005-04:00

H O W T O F I N D A G O O D C H U R C H
ALMOST 25 QUESTIONS THAT WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF SUNDAYS
BY TODD FRIEL

Looking for a good church? Join the club. Church-shopping can be a long and painful
process. To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask the following questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.

1. What is man's biggest problem?Seeker sensitive and felt-needs churches focus on man’s hurts and problems. The Bible
says that man’s biggest problem is sin.
2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life?Repent and trust is the Biblical answer. If the word “repent” is never used, say, “Thank you.”
3. How do you deliver the salvation message?Ask the pastor to describe specifically what he says. Does he encourage people to
simply say a prayer? Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts? The salvation
message should include: God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell),
God’s kindness (Jesus on the cross), man’s response (repentance and faith).
4. How hard is it to become a Christian?
The “formula” is simple, doing it is not. It is not easy to believe.
5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment?Balance is key. This should not be the only emphasis, but it should be a regular
emphasis.
6. How seeker sensitive is your church?It is o.k. for a church to be “seeker aware” but seeker sensitive means that they lean
toward seekers and not the saved.
7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members?“Both” is not acceptable. Church should be done for members and the unsaved are
welcome to attend.
8. Do you dumb down your sermons?If he says yes, he is probably not trying to wean his members from milk to meat.
Answers like, “We try to make our sermons accessible to everyone” are sermons that
are not meaty.
9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching?Topical preaching is fine, but if a pastor never or rarely preaches expositionally (verse
by verse), then you are going to be learning from the pastor and not God’s Word.
10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they relevant?Everyone should say their sermons are relevant, what you are looking for is if they
teach theology.
11. Describe your youth programs.If fun and games is the major (and usually first) emphasis, you have a youth program
that is trying to compete with MTV.
12. Describe your evangelism programs.
Don’t just accept, “We have an evangelism committee.” Dig. Are they serious about
saving souls?
13. What church growth model do you follow?Hopefully they don’t have one. Churches should be reaching out to the lost, but
churches that are plugged into new church growth models tend to follow man’s modern
ideas rather than the Bible.
14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry?Again, this reveals the heart of the church. While most churches give to missions, many
never consider the poor.
15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions?No equivocation allowed here.
16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?Jesus did (Matt.19:4).
17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment?Jesus did (Matt.25).
19. When you distribute the Lord's Supper, do you emphasize the need to examine
yourself?Paul did (I Cor.11:27-32).
20. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life?Sinners can certainly be forgiven, but practicing sinners cannot inherit eternal life (I
John 3:8,9).
21. Does your church exercise church discipline?
Paul said we should (I Cor.5).
22. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to answer questions about their core beliefs, or are all volunteers accepted?23.What are the essentials of the faith?
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.
24. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the
cross. The cross should be the central focus of every church.

What is a Reformed Baptist?

2010-07-12T21:28:00.000-04:00

What is a Reformed Baptist?

Adapted from a sermon by Jim Savastio, Pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Louisville, KY. Edited by Francisco Orozco.

The term ‘Reformed Baptist’ best refers to those who adhere to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) in practice as well as in theory.

Reformed…

The name ‘Reformed’ refers to the distinctive historical and theological roots of these Baptists. There is a body of theological beliefs commonly referred to as the ‘Reformed’ faith. Such great biblical truths as sola fide (justification by faith alone), sola gratia (salvation by God’s grace alone), sola scriptura (the Bible alone is the basis for faith and practice), solus Christus (salvation through Christ alone), and soli Deo gloria (the fact that God alone is to receive glory in the salvation of sinners) are all noted hallmarks of the Protestant and Reformed faith.

Yet, the Reformed faith is perhaps best known for its understanding that God is sovereign in the matter of man’s salvation. This is to say that God has, before the foundation of the world, chosen or elected certain sinners for salvation. He has done so sovereignly and according to His own good pleasure. Additionally, the Reformed faith teaches that, in time, Christ came and accomplished salvation by dying for the sins of those elected by God. Furthermore, the Reformed faith teaches that the Holy Spirit, working in harmony with the decree of the Father and the death of the Son, effectually applies this work of redemption to each of the elect in their personal conversions. As a result of this emphasis on the sovereignty of God in salvation, the Reformed faith also promulgates the ‘doctrines of grace’: doctrinal truths which set forth the total depravity of man, the unconditional nature of God’s election, the limited or particular nature of Christ’s atonement, the irresistibility of the effectual call and the perseverance and preservation of the saints.

The Reformed faith, however, touches on far more than these foundational truths regarding God’s glory in salvation. It is also concerned with God’s glory in the church, in society, in the family and in the holiness of the believer’s life. The Reformed faith has a high and God-centered view of worship, regulated by the Word of God alone. The Reformed faith embraces a high view of God’s law and of His church. In short, the Reformed faith is no less than a comprehensive world and life view, as well as a distinctive body of doctrine.

Out of this theological understanding came a great stream of confessions and creeds: the Synod of Dort, The Savoy Declaration, The Westminster Confession of Faith and The Heidelberg Catechism. Similarly, this Reformed tradition produced some of the great names of Church history. John Calvin, John Knox, John Bunyan, John Newton, the famous Bible commentator Matthew Henry, the great evangelist George Whitefield, the great American theologian Jonathan Edwards, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, C.H. Spurgeon, A.W. Pink and a host of others all held tenaciously to the Reformed faith. We must underscore that Reformed Baptists do not hold these truths because of blind allegiance to historic creeds. Nor, do Reformed Baptists hold them merely because great men of church history stood in this tradition. Rather, Reformed Baptists hold these truths because Jesus and the apostles so clearly taught them.

The confession of faith embraced by Reformed Baptist churches takes its place among, and is deeply rooted in, these historic Reformed documents. In most places the 1689 Confession is an exact word for word copy of the Westminster and the Savoy. Consequently, the term ‘Reformed’ Baptist is not a misnomer. Reformed Baptists stand firmly on the solid ground of the Reformation heritage.

Baptist…

The name ‘Baptist’ summarizes the biblical truths concerning both the subjects and the mode of baptism. To speak of the ‘subjects’ of baptism, we refer to the truth that baptism is for disciples only. Reformed Baptists owe a great debt to the Reformed paedobaptists because their writings have shaped, challenged, warmed, and guided them again and again. Yet, the Bible is not silent about the issue of baptism. The fact that baptism is for disciples only is the clear and indisputable teaching of the Word of God. The subjects of baptism are not to be discovered in Genesis but in the Gospels and in the Epistles. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Covenant which must be understood in the light of New Covenant revelation. There is not one single shred of evidence in the pages of the Old or New Testament to support the notion that the infants of believers are to be baptized. Every biblical command to baptize and every biblical example of baptism, as well as every doctrinal statement regarding the symbolic nature of baptism, proves that it is for disciples only. The Bible is equally clear concerning the mode of baptism. The term ‘mode’ refers to the fact that baptism is properly and biblically administered by immersion in water. The common Greek word for immersion or dipping is the word used in the New Testament. The argument that the word has an occasional historic example meaning ‘to pour’ or ‘to sprinkle’ is surely special pleading. There are perfectly good Greek words which mean ‘to sprinkle’ and ‘to pour.’ Yet, the New Testament employs the word for immersion.

The name Baptist is also meant to convey that only those who are converted and baptized have a right to membership in Christ’s church. This is often referred to as a regenerate church membership. A careful reading of the NT epistles shows that the Apostles assumed that all the members of Christ’s churches were ‘saints,’ ‘faithful brethren,’ and ‘cleansed by Christ.’ Sadly, many Baptist churches today are more concerned with having a ‘decisioned membership’ and a ‘baptized membership’ rather than a regenerate membership. It is the duty of the pastors and people of true churches to ensure, according to the best of their ability, that no unconverted person makes his or her way into the membership of a church.

Reformed Baptist…

Reformed Baptists are distinguished by their conviction regarding the sufficiency and authority of the Word of God. While all true Christians believe in the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God, all do not believe in the sufficiency of the Bible. All true Christians believe that the Bible was ‘breathed out’ by God and that it is infallible and without error in all of its parts. To deny this is to call God a liar, and hence, to lose your soul. But while all true Christians believe this, all do not seek to regulate the life of the church in every area by the Word of God. There is a common belief, whether it is clearly stated or not, that the Bible is not a sufficient guide to tell you ‘how to do church.’ This is behind much of what we see in the modern church growth movement and it is founded by and large upon a belief that the Bible is silent regarding the nature and purpose of the church. It is for this cause that many feel the freedom to ‘reinvent the church.’ For some reason, many believers seem to argue that God has no principles in His Word concerning the corporate life of his people! In these days, the clarion cry of all Christ-appointed shepherds of sheep needs to be that of the prophet Isaiah: “To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them.”

Reformed Baptists have a conviction that the Bible and the Bible alone defines what a church is. The Bible and the Bible alone defines the offices of the church. The Bible speaks of their number (two offices--elders and deacons), their qualifications and their function. The Bible is a sufficient guide regarding what worship is and how it is to be given, as well as who can be a church-member and what is required of those members. The Bible is also sufficient to instruct about what the church ought to do, how to cooperate with other churches, how to send out missionaries, train men for the ministry and a host of other things related to God’s will for His people.

Reformed Baptists are distinguished by an unshakable conviction that the church exists for the glory of God. Because the church exists for the glory of God, the worship of God and the Word of God are central to its life. The church is God’s house and not man’s. It is the place where He meets with His people in a special way. However, this does not mean that it is to be a dull, grim, unfeeling, insensitive place. The place where God dwells is the most glorious place on earth to the saint and it is an oasis to the thirsty soul of a sinner seeking the grace of God. However, the place of God’s dwelling is also solemn and holy. “How awesome is this place, it is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven,” was Jacob’s exclamation in Genesis 28. It is this conviction that explains the reverence and seriousness of the Reformed Baptist worship of God.

Reformed Baptists are distinguished by their conviction that the local church is central to the purposes of God on the earth. The present time is the time of parachurch organizations. It is the time of independently-minded Christians who float from place to place without ever committing themselves to the church. This attitude is not only spiritually dangerous, but it is thoroughly contrary to the revealed mind of God. While many have rightly diagnosed the failure of the church to do its mission, the answer is not to abandon the church, but rather to seek its reformation and its biblical restoration. The church alone is the special dwelling place of God upon the earth. The great commission of the church is fulfilled as preachers of the gospel are sent out by local churches to plant new churches by means of conversion, baptism, and discipleship. Many well-meaning organizations are seeking to take upon themselves the task that the living God entrusted to His church. To whom has God entrusted the missionary mandate? To whom did God give instructions for the discipleship and encouragement and shaping of believers? To whom did God entrust the equipping of the saints and the training of men to lead the next generation? If the all-sufficient Bible answers that all these are the responsibilities of the local church, we are not free to ignore it in light of the status quo.

Reformed Baptists are distinguished by their conviction that preaching is foundational to the life of the church. How is God most often pleased to save sinners? How is God most often pleased to exhort, challenge, and build up his saints? How is Christ most powerfully displayed to the mind and heart? It is through the preaching of the Word of God! Therefore, Reformed Baptists reject the trends of the day toward shallow teaching, cancelled preaching services, the giving of the services of worship over to testimonies, movies, drama, dance, or singing. The Word of God is to be central in the worship of God. Paul warned of the day that would come when professed churchmen would no longer tolerate sound doctrine. He stated that according to their own desires they would heap up for themselves teachers who would tickle their itching ears. The apostolic command thundered forth to Timothy, that in the midst of such mindless drivel he should ‘Preach the Word!’

Reformed Baptists are distinguished by the conviction that salvation radically alters the life of the convert. It is tragic that such a thing needs to be mentioned. Today is the day of decisionism. The idea is that one prays a certain formula prayer and is therefore declared to be saved. It matters not whether one breaks with sin or pursues holiness. One can live like hell and go to heaven! What a bargain! Many popular Bible teachers claim this as a great defense of the grace of God. This is a “turning of the grace of God into licentiousness.” When Paul describes the conversion of the Ephesians he uses the greatest antonyms in the human language: “you were darkness but now you are light in the Lord.” And in 2 Corinthians 6:14 Paul asks the rhetorical question: “What fellowship has light with darkness?” Jesus is a great Savior. He does not leave His people in their lifeless condition. Jesus came to save His people from their sins. If anyone is in Christ he is a new creature. Jesus came to make a people zealous for good works. It is an unbiblical notion that a man can embrace Christ as Savior and reject His Lordship. The word of God nowhere teaches that Christ can be divided. If one has Christ at all, one has received a whole Christ--Prophet, Priest, and King.

Reformed Baptists have a conviction that the Law of God (as expressed in the Ten Commandments) is regulative in the life of the New Covenant believer. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:19 that, “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, keeping the commandments of God is what matters.” The present age is an antinomian (lawless) age of Christianity, which makes no demands on its ‘converts,’ but God’s way of holiness has not changed. The law written on the heart in creation (Romans 2:14, 15) is the same law codified in the Ten Commandments on Sinai and the same law written on the hearts of those who enter into the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:33 and 2 Corinthians 3:3). The Apostle John wrote “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Jesus told His disciples that the way in which they would demonstrate that they truly loved Him was by obeying His commandments. Jesus said in Matthew 7 that many professing Christians will find themselves cast out on the last day because they were “practicers of lawlessness” who did not do the Father’s will. Among the laws of God none is so hated as the thought that God requires believers to give of their time to worship him and to turn from worldly pursuits. In recent years many have leveled an unrelenting attack upon the Fourth Commandment. The Presbyterian pastor and Bible commentator Albert Barnes once wrote,

“There is a state of things in this land that is tending to obliterate the Sabbath altogether. The Sabbath has more enemies in this land than all the other institutions of religion put together. At the same time it is more difficult to meet the enemy here than anywhere else: for we come into conflict not with argument but with interest and pleasure and the love of indulgence and of gain.”

John Bunyan wrote, “A man shall show his heart and life, what they are, more by one Lord’s Day than by all the days of the week besides. To delight ourselves in God’s service upon His Holy Day gives a better proof of a sanctified nature than to grudge at the coming of such days.”

Modern man is so addicted to his pleasures, his games and his entertainment that the thought that he must give them up for twenty-four hours to worship and to delight in God is seen as legalistic bondage. It is a particular grief to see those who profess to love Jesus Christ shrink from turning from their own pleasures. To God’s people, who love His law and meditate upon it to the delight of their blood-bought souls, such a commandment is not bondage, but a precious gift.

Reformed Baptists are distinguished by a conviction regarding male leadership in the church. This age has witnessed the feminization of Christianity. God created two sexes and gave to each a different corresponding role. While the sexes are equal in Creation, the Fall and Redemption, God has nonetheless sovereignly ordained that leadership in the home, the state and the church is to be male. Those whose minds have been unduly influenced by this generation find Reformed Baptist worship, leadership and family structure to be jarring. When the Bible speaks of husbands and fathers leading the home it is not culturally conditioned. When the Bible speaks of men leading in prayer, teaching, preaching and serving as elders and deacons, Christians must bow with submissive and dutiful hearts. Culture must not carry the day in the church of Jesus Christ!

Reformed Baptists are distinguished by a conviction regarding the serious nature of church membership. Reformed Baptists take seriously the admonition of Hebrews 10:24, 25 to “stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.” Reformed Baptists take seriously the duties and responsibilities of church membership. In other words, membership actually means something in Reformed Baptist churches. There ought not to be a great disparity between Sunday morning and evening attendance. The same membership is expected to be at all the services of the church. It is impossible for one to share in the life of the church in the manner which God intended and yet be willingly absent from its public gatherings. Few churches would make such a demand, but biblical churchmanship presupposes such a commitment to God, the pastors and to the brothers and sisters.

Adapted from a sermon by Jim Savastio, Pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Louisville, KY. Edited by Francisco Orozco.

Are the Sabbath laws binding on Christians today?

2010-06-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

John MacArthur - Sabbath

Question

Are the Sabbath laws binding on Christians today?

Answer

We believe the Old Testament regulations governing Sabbath observances are ceremonial, not moral, aspects of the law. As such, they are no longer in force, but have passed away along with the sacrificial system, the Levitical priesthood, and all other aspects of Moses' law that prefigured Christ. Here are the reasons we hold this view.

In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul explicitly refers to the Sabbath as a shadow of Christ, which is no longer binding since the substance (Christ) has come. It is quite clear in those verses that the weekly Sabbath is in view. The phrase "a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day" refers to the annual, monthly, and weekly holy days of the Jewish calendar (cf. 1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 31:3; Ezekiel 45:17; Hosea 2:11). If Paul were referring to special ceremonial dates of rest in that passage, why would he have used the word "Sabbath?" He had already mentioned the ceremonial dates when he spoke of festivals and new moons.

The Sabbath was the sign to Israel of the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:16-17; Ezekiel 20:12; Nehemiah 9:14). Since we are now under the New Covenant (Hebrews 8), we are no longer required to observe the sign of the Mosaic Covenant.

The New Testament never commands Christians to observe the Sabbath.

In our only glimpse of an early church worship service in the New Testament, the church met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7).

Nowhere in the Old Testament are the Gentile nations commanded to observe the Sabbath or condemned for failing to do so. That is certainly strange if Sabbath observance were meant to be an eternal moral principle.

There is no evidence in the Bible of anyone keeping the Sabbath before the time of Moses, nor are there any commands in the Bible to keep the Sabbath before the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai.

When the Apostles met at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15), they did not impose Sabbath keeping on the Gentile believers.

The apostle Paul warned the Gentiles about many different sins in his epistles, but breaking the Sabbath was never one of them.

In Galatians 4:10-11, Paul rebukes the Galatians for thinking God expected them to observe special days (including the Sabbath).

In Romans 14:5, Paul forbids those who observe the Sabbath (these were no doubt Jewish believers) to condemn those who do not (Gentile believers).

The early church fathers, from Ignatius to Augustine, taught that the Old Testament Sabbath had been abolished and that the first day of the week (Sunday) was the day when Christians should meet for worship (contrary to the claim of many seventh-day sabbatarians who claim that Sunday worship was not instituted until the fourth century).

Sunday has not replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. Rather the Lord's Day is a time when believers gather to commemorate His resurrection, which occurred on the first day of the week. Every day to the believer is one of Sabbath rest, since we have ceased from our spiritual labor and are resting in the salvation of the Lord (Hebrews 4:9-11).

So while we still follow the pattern of designating one day of the week a day for the Lord's people to gather in worship, we do not refer to this as "the Sabbath."

John Calvin took a similar position. He wrote,

There were three reasons for giving this [fourth] commandment: First, with the seventh day of rest the Lord wished to give to the people of Israel an image of spiritual rest, whereby believers must cease from their own works in order to let the Lord work in them. Secondly, he wished that there be an established day in which believers might assemble in order to hear his Law and worship him. Thirdly, he willed that one day of rest be granted to servants and to those who live under the power of others so that they might have a relaxation from their labor. The latter, however, is rather an inferred than a principal reason.

As to the first reason, there is no doubt that it ceased in Christ; because he is the truth by the presence of which all images vanish. He is the reality at whose advent all shadows are abandoned. Hence St. Paul (Col. 2:17) affirms that the sabbath has been a shadow of a reality yet to be. And he declares else-where its truth when in the letter to the Romans, ch. 6:8, he teaches us that we are buried with Christ in order that by his death we may die to the corruption of our flesh. And this is not done in one day, but during all the course of our life, until altogether dead in our own selves, we may be filled with the life of God. Hence, superstitious observance of days must remain far from Christians.
The two last reasons, however, must not be numbered among the shadows of old. Rather, they are equally valid for all ages. Hence, though the sabbath is abrogated, it so happens among us that we still convene on certain days in order to hear the word of God, to break the [mystic] bread of the Supper, and to offer public prayers; and, moreover, in order that some relaxation from their toil be given to servants and workingmen. As our human weakness does not allow such assemblies to meet every day, the day observed by the Jews has been taken away (as a good device for eliminating superstition) and another day has been destined to this use. This was necessary for securing and maintaining order and peace in the Church.
As the truth therefore was given to the Jews under a figure, so to us on the contrary truth is shown without shadows in order, first of all, that we meditate all our life on a perpetual sabbath from our works so that the Lord may operate in us by his spirit; secondly, in order that we observe the legitimate order of the Church for listening to the word of God, for admin-istering the sacraments, and for public prayers; thirdly, in order that we do not oppress inhumanly with work those who are subject to us. [From Instruction in Faith, Calvin's own 1537 digest of the Institutes, sec. 8, "The Law of the Lord"].

For further study:
D. A. Carson, ed., From Sabbath to Lord's Day (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).

The Cross

2010-02-24T10:19:00.003-05:00

The evangelist Vance Havner once said, “We need men of the cross, with the message of the cross, bearing the marks of the cross.”

His remarks succinctly summarize not only the true cost of discipleship, but also the central message of Christianity. The cross should be more than a piece of jewelry worn about the neck or an ornament displayed in Churches. The cross is a symbol of self-sacrifice and deep commitment to Jesus Christ and the gospel to the point of death if necessary.

Jesus often called for this level of commitment, for example:

“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels”” (Mark 8:34-38).

Or simply put in Matthew’s Gospel,

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).

The message of the cross is that the penalty for transgressions against God is so high that only by the sacrifice of the Son of God could payment be made in full. Those who by God’s grace repent of their sin and trust only in the divine accomplishment of Jesus Christ are no longer condemned for their sin. Any discomfort received by bearing this good news is a worthy sacrifice.

The apostle Paul put it this way,

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

I Am A Disciple Of Jesus Christ

2010-01-22T11:24:00.000-05:00

I Am A Disciple Of Jesus Christ
Bob Moorhead

I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

I have Holy Spirit power.

The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line.

The decision has been made.

I am a disciple of His.

I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.

I’m finished and done with the low living,

sight walking, chintzy giving, dwarf goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position,

prominence, plaudits or popularity.

I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized,

praised, regarded or rewarded.

I now live by presence, lean by faith, walk with patience,

lift by prayer, labor by power.

My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is Heaven,

my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,

my guide reliable, my mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured,

lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice,

hesitate in the presence of the adversary,

negotiate at the table of the enemy,

ponder at the pool of popularity,

or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I will not give up, shut up, letup, until I have stayed up, stored up,

prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I must go until He comes, give until I drop,

preach until all know, and work until He stops me.

And when He comes for His own,

He will have no problem recognizing me.

My colors will be quite clear.

Amen.

12 Days of Christmas

2009-12-23T22:29:00.002-05:00

Christmas should remind us that nothing is impossible with God

2009-12-23T09:10:00.000-05:00

Luke 1:34–37 (NKJV)

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

There are many significant truths about God that were manifested at the birth of Christ and perhaps the most obvious fact is that God has the power to do the impossible. This truth should be something accepted at face value because it is inherent in the nature of God to do the supernatural. Yet from our perspective we have to be reminded of this fact.

In the case of Mary, God sent an angel to tell her that He would create life in her womb. God does not require the natural reproduction process of procreation to give life to a human being. Remember the first man was created from dust (Genesis 2:7) and the first woman was made from Adam’s rib (Genesis 2:21). So it should not be much of a surprise that God would create life by supernatural means. In fact in our text the Angel points to Mary’s cousin who is with child beyond her natural childbearing age.

Christmas should remind us that nothing is impossible with God, including granting eternal life. (See Matthew 19:16-26)

The Gospel of Moralism

2009-12-03T09:06:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday evenings we are going through a series called Building a Biblical Church. This program is based on the Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever. The main emphasis of this session is on defining a Biblical view of the Gospel. The Nine Marks ministry provides the following definition of the Gospel.

"The gospel is the heart of Christianity. But the good news is not that God wants to meet people's felt needs or help them develop a healthier self-image. We have sinfully rebelled against our Creator and Judge. Yet He has graciously sent His Son to die the death we deserved for our sin, and He has credited Christ's acquittal to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus' death and resurrection. That is the good news. The gospel is clear from Scripture, but unfortunately it can be clouded by many false teachings."

The video below is an example of moralism.

Moralism is an external change of behavior or conformity to a prescribed standard regardless of the inward condition of the heart.

Jesus was not very politically correct when dealing with this type of hypocrisy.

Matthew 23:25–28 (NKJV) 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Your diet will not improve your righteous standing before God. Jesus said it is the matter of the heart not the stomach.

Mark 7:18–20 (NKJV) 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.

Through the course of history God has imposed various restrictions to man’s diet. Initially it was all vegetables, except for the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. After the flood all living creatures were allowed. Under the Mosaic Covenant there were many restrictions given. Finally, under the new covenant all dietary restrictions were removed.

• Adam Diet Genesis 1:29 (NKJV) 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

• Noah Diet Genesis 9:3 (NKJV) 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.

• Moses Diet Leviticus 11:46–47 (NKJV) 46 ‘This is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, 47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’ ”
• Jesus Diet 1 Timothy 4:4 (NKJV) 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;

Christians are not regulated by specific dietary restrictions, but rather they are governed by conscience and conviction to glorify God at every meal.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV) 31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Daniel Purposed

2009-11-09T10:21:00.000-05:00

Daniel 1:8 (NKJV)
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Daniel is the incident in which God miraculously delivered him from the lion’s den. That episode is recorded in Daniel 7. That is truly a great miracle. Daniel was a courageous prophet who trusted God even if it put him in personal jeopardy. This was not the first time Daniel risked it all. Daniel lived in a society that was generally hostile to God. He was challenged from the very beginning. The first chapter of Daniel sets the stage with his counter cultural approach.

When Judah fell to Babylon in 586 BC one of the strategies of their captors was to take young men from the conquered land, bring them to Babylon and brain wash them into their belief system. Once these young men were retrained they could then be used to oversee the newly conquered land. Daniel and some other young men were among the first to be inducted into the “Babylon Jr. Executive Program.”

Can you imagine what it would be like for a young like Daniel to leave the meager setting of his home in Israel and be exposed to the glories and wonders of a city like Babylon. You may remember that one of the seven ancient wonders of the world includes the Hanging Gardens of Babylon which dates to this period of time. As a part of the kings court Daniel would have had a bird’s eye view of the best that Babylon had to offer. Yet notice our text in verse eight Daniel instead chooses to exclude himself from the temptations set before him. It says that he would not defile himself with the king’s delicacies.

Under Jewish law Daniel would have been forbidden to eat certain types of food and also be forbidden to eat food that was not prepared properly or offered to pagan gods. The kings food, although the choice meat of that day would have been ceremonially unclean for Daniel (Lev. 1:1). This was an incredibly courageous act for this young man considering his circumstances.

1. This action may have appeared to be disrespectful to the king.
2. Refusing food could have seemed to be an ungrateful act to the servants who prepared the food.
3. Peer pressure from all the other captives would have been a difficult challenge.
4. Acting this way no doubt would put Daniel’s potential career advancement at jeopardy.
5. The food that was refused was the best available.
6. Daniel was 900 miles away from home and family, it would be easy to get away with misconduct.
7. Perhaps Daniel could have justified giving in to this defilement after all God had allowed the children of Israel to be captive.

But Daniel did not give into his circumstances because from the beginning he purposed in his heart not to defile himself. We know the rest of the story that follows and how God used him and providentially protected him. All of this began with a purpose not to defile himself.

What is not told but implied in this narrative is also interesting. We are not told why Daniel stood firm on his decision to trust and obey God even in dire circumstances. By implication we may conclude that he had a heart for God, and no doubt it was nurtured in his early childhood. Someone taught Daniel that the king’s meat would defile him. Someone taught Daniel that God was to be trusted, believed, and obeyed. It would not be a stretch to conclude that his parents and the community of God’s people in helped to foster this courage.

The key passage for the Old Testament believer was Deuteronomy 6:4.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

This verse speaks of the nature of God and our proper response which is total commitment. This personal commitment is followed by an overflow into the lives of their children. Notice verses 6-9.

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

From early on children were formally catechized with the great doctrines of God. But this teaching was not confined to the classroom it permeated the fabric of daily life.

The courage of Daniels convictions were forged in the furnace of a faithful family and community of faith.

A Year Ago Today

2009-10-30T17:41:00.001-04:00

A Year Ago Today

It’s been twelve months since I last spoke to my father.

A year ago the number of his days here on earth was done.

He spent the first half of his life pursuing vanity, looking for pleasures under the sun.

The last half was much better than the first for he found fulfillment in Jesus Christ God’s Son.

One day all his monuments to selfishness came crashing down.

The refuge he normally sought he now realized that they were empty of relief.

He heard a country preacher say, “give your heart to Jesus son, He is the refuge that you seek.”

It was the very next Sunday morn’, he asked forgiveness at the Saviors feet.

In the past he had visited church and brought his children with him.

This was not the first time he had heard Gospel for he heard many plead before.

But this time there was something different, and it would change him for evermore.

This time he heard a message as if directly from His Sovereign Lord.

It took some time to chip away the rough edges that still remained.

But in the end he became a quite a different man; sweet, kind, and true.

He became my closest friend and yes even like a brother too.

It pains me now to write this note and say, “Daddy I really, really, miss you.”

It’s been twelve months since I last spoke to my friend, and yet I know we will speak again.

For when Jesus ascended into heaven He promised that He would return and soon arrive.

And when He comes the dead will be the first to awake and then those of us who are alive.

We will be caught up together in the clouds, and forever with our Lord there abide.

All these words ring brightly true yet still sorrow sadly drones.

Sometimes the world seems dark, lonely, and often it is full of bleakness.

Yet if my father were to speak today I know he would share his favorite verse in meekness.

Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Wednesday October 21, 2009 @ GRBC

2009-10-21T08:25:00.000-04:00

Building A Biblical Church

Topic This Wednesday: Biblical Understanding of the Gospel

Expositors' Conference 2009 Day Two

2009-09-30T08:59:00.003-04:00

George Whitefield, the great revivalist preacher of the great awakening died this day in history in 1770.

Yesterday at the Expositors’ Conference Steve Lawson was scheduled to speak on two of the great preachers of the great awakening. He began with Jonathan Edwards and filled the entire hour with an exposition of his life and ministry. We were pleased and encouraged by this remembrance of this great American theologian/preacher.

The next session Dr Lawson was scheduled to share with us lessons from two preachers of the 19^th century, however many requested that we hear about Whitfield. Steve Lawson agreed and said that really Whitfield was one of his favorites. The next hour Lawson painted a clear picture of this preacher from the Great Awakening. Whitfield was theologian committed to the sovereignty of God in all things. This theology was one of the driving forces that empowered him to preach the gospel to all men and call for repentance and faith. Whitefield knew that his pleadings were not the cause of faith but they were the instrumental witness used by the Holy Spirit to bring repentance and faith. For example, in his sermon about the conversion of Zaccheus Whitefield said,

With what different emotions of heart may we suppose Zaccheus received this invitation? Think you not that he was surprised to hear Jesus Christ call him by name, and not only so, but invite himself to his house? Surely, thinks Zaccheus, I dream: it cannot be; how should he know me? I never saw him before: besides, I shall undergo much contempt, if I receive him under my rood. Thus, I say, we may suppose Zaccheus thought within himself. But what saith the scripture? "I will make a willing people in the day of my power." With this outward call, there went an efficacious power from God, which sweetly over-ruled his natural will: and therefore, verse 6, "He made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully;" not only into his house, but also into his heart.

Thus it is the great God brings home his children. He calls them by name, by his word or providence; he speaks to them also by his spirit. Hereby they are enabled to open their hearts, and are made willing to receive the King of glory. For Zaccheus's sake, let us not entirely condemn people that come under the word, out of no better principle than curiosity. Who knows but God may call them? It is good to be where the Lord is passing by. May all who are now present out of this principle, hear the voice of the Son of God speaking to their souls, and so hear that they may live! Not that men ought therefore to take encouragement to come out of curiosity.

For perhaps a thousand more, at other times, came to see Christ out of curiosity, as well as Zaccheus, who were not effectually called by his grace. I only mention this for the encouragement of my own soul, and the consolation of God's children, who are too apt to be angry with those who do not attend on the word out of love to God: but let them alone. Brethren, pray for them. How do you know but Jesus Christ may speak to their hearts! A few words from Christ, applied by his spirit, will save their souls. "Zaccheus, says Christ, make haste and come down. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully."

Biblical theology provides a solid foundation for Biblical passion or as Martin Lloyd Jones said, “preaching is theology on fire.”

An article published today in Christian History noted, “These were no ordinary sermons. He portrayed the lives of biblical characters with a realism no one had seen before. He cried, he danced, he screamed. Among the enthralled was David Garrick, then the most famous actor in Britain. "I would give a hundred guineas," he said, "if I could say 'Oh' like Mr. Whitefield."”

Well, we cannot hear Whitefield but we can read a number of his sermons. I think I will listen to Whitefield today.

Expositors' Conference 2009 Day One

2009-09-29T08:03:00.003-04:00

I am currently attending the Expositors' Conference hosted by Steven Lawson in Mobile, Alabama. This is my third pilgrimage here and things are exceeding my expectations already. This particular conference is relatively small. I am not exactly sure, but it is around 500. Other conferences such as the Shepherds or Together for the Gospel have about 5,000. I actually prefer the smaller number. It gives you a chance to interact more with the speakers, hosts, and other pastors.

Last night we heard from Steve Lawson and Joel Beeke. I knew what to expect with Steve. He taught a fiery exposition of encouragement from two great preachers, Luther and Calvin. Steve pointed out that these men were different in demeanor but similar in passion. Both had a passion for the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We were challenged to stand in our pulpits and proclaim the whole counsel of the living Word of God from the shore of Genesis to the shore of Revelation and all the shining sea of truth between.

This was my first encounter with Joel Beeke. His presentation was just as riveting, perhaps even more so. Joel’s mission was to give us a sense of Puritan preaching. The Puritans were those divines who renewed and expanded the Reformation a 100 years after the fire started and during a time when the flames began to wane. They stoked the fire of Reformation by calling God’s people to apply every aspect of God’s Truth to every aspect of their lives. The Puritan pulpits were on fire with truth and the pews caught that the ember of those passions and applied the principles taught to every aspect of their lives.

Joel encouraged me to look at the Puritans in a new light. They were a people who loved sermons. Perhaps one of the reasons the folks would sit for hours listening or reading sermons is because the content was compelling. The content of their sermons was not based on stories or anecdotes but the living breathing Word of God. The Word of God has a saving and sanctifying power. May it be unleashed as we preach as the Puritan Richard Baxter said as “a dying man to dying men.”

They feed us well at this conference. It is time that I go off to be fed a great Southern breast of sausage gravy, biscuits, eggs, pancakes and such. The volunteers at Christ Fellowship are so special. It is a joy to see them serve us with joy and treat us as if we are special servants. Following this meal we will be served another message about the Puritan divines. I am looking forward more to the second meal. That is saying a lot for a guy who doesn’t miss many meals.

Stephen Passmore

2009-09-26T10:11:00.001-04:00

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs014/1102701457773/archive/1102722577685.html

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Got Insurance?

2009-09-22T14:43:00.002-04:00

This week life has been interrupted quite a bit by the rains that have fallen resulting in considerable flooding. The photo above was taken today on Brainerd road a few blocks down from my insurance office (for those of you who may not know, my vocation is a pastor and my occupation is an insurance agent). Fortunately, our insurance office is on a hill and though the flood waters will continue to rise until eight this evening it is not likely to reach us.

We have had plenty of flood related claims called into the office this week. Several cars were flooded and many more homes received some flood damage. We have been able to help those who purchased flood coverage. Those who had losses who did not purchase coverage wish they did. Hindsight is 20/20.

I often tell folks that “you have to buy insurance when you don’t need it, because when you need it you can’t buy it.” Or to put it another way, “no one will sell you a fire policy when your house is on fire” or “flood insurance when your basement is full of water.”

Many in Chattanooga learned a tough lesson this week on being prepared for natural disasters.

There is another cataclysmic event on the horizon for which everyone needs to be prepared. It will not be a local event it will be a global event. The consequences of this event are even more severe in that they are eternal and final.

What event? The return of Jesus Christ can happen at any moment. He will crush Satan and the forces of evil and usher in the eternal state. Those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ will be admitted to His kingdom and those who are not will be banished in eternal judgment forever. Jesus illustrated this event in several parables. For example, the ten virgins in Matthew 25:

" “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." (Matthew 25:1-13, NKJV)

The point of this story is that only those who were prepared received blessings. In the mundane insurance world which occupies much of my time only the people who were properly insured received benefits. Those who were not prepared were denied benefits. Likewise there will be two groups of people at Christ’s return, those who are prepared and those who are not prepared. In which group do you belong?

If you have doubts you can read the good news of how to be prepared to meet the Lord by following this link. If you have no doubts about your preparation do you know of someone who may? I encourage you to encourage them.

The Gospel According to Rome

2009-09-15T13:39:00.001-04:00

On occasion you may hear me state from the pulpit that the Roman Catholic Church teaches another gospel and thus I provide the warning that Paul gave in the first century to the church at Galatia.

Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

It is not that we do not appreciate the dedication and devotion to those who comprise the Church of Rome. The good works that the church provides all over the world is to be commended. However, because those works are done to merit justifying favor with God the motive for them must be condemned.

Nathan Businitz wrote a brief but good article on this topic posted at the Shepherds’ Fellowship that is worth reading.

The Gospel according to Rome

Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009

(By Nathan Busenitz)

When it comes to an understanding of the gospel, the critical difference between the Reformed view and the Roman Catholic view centers on the role that good works play in the sinner's justification.

The Reformers taught that justification is by "faith alone" (hence, the Reformation principle of sola fide). By this, they meant that the believer's righteous standing before God is based solely on the imputed righteousness of Christ; and that salvation is received by grace alone through faith apart from any human effort or merit. This is not to say that good works were unimportant to the Reformers. But they saw good works as the fruit of justification, and not as a basis for it or a contributor to it.

By contrast, the Roman Catholic church teaches that good works participate in and contribute to the sinner's justification. As a result, the believer's righteous standing before God is largely based on his or her own good works (in addition to Christ's work on the Cross). Thus, from the Roman Catholic perspective, justification is not by faith alone, but rather by "faith co-operating with works" (to borrow a phrase from the Council of Trent).

That is a major distinction. So, is salvation by grace alone through faith apart from works? Or is eternal life is gained through faith PLUS good works?

According to Rome, the answer is faith PLUS works. Thus, the Catholic Catechism states:

The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them [fn, Cf. DS 1569-1570]; the Second Vatican Council confirms: "The bishops, succors of the apostles, receive from the Lord . . . the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments" (P 2068; ellipsis in original).

Notice how "Baptism and the observance of the Commandments" (in context, the Ten Commandments) have been added to "faith" for what is required to "attain salvation."

Along these same lines, The Catholic Answers website notes that “good works are meritorious,” stating that “our obedience and love, combined with our faith, will be rewarded with eternal life.” The Catholic Encyclopedia (in an article entitled “Sanctifying Grace”) further states that the sinner “is formally justified and made holy by his own personal justice and holiness.” The article adds that “over and above faith other acts are necessary for justification” including fear, hope, charity, penance with contrition, and almsgiving.

Such sources help provide context for the words of Catholic theologian Ludwig Ott:

The Council of Trent teaches that for the justified eternal life is both a gift of grace promised by God and a reward for his own good works and merits. As God's grace is the presupposition and foundation of good works, by which man merits eternal life, so salutary works are, at the same time gifts of God and meritorious acts of man. . . . Blessedness in heaven is the reward for good works performed on this earth, and rewards and merit are correlative concepts. . . . A just man merits for himself through each good work . . . eternal life (if he dies in a state of grace). (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, 264, 267)

On the one hand, Ott wants us to believe that "eternal life is . . . a gift of grace." But on the other hand, it is also "a reward for his [the sinner's] own good works and merits." This, then, underscores the inherent contradiction in Roman Catholic soteriology. On the one hand, salvation is by grace. On the other hand, salvation is by works (as faith co-operates with good deeds to merit eternal life).

But, biblically speaking, both cannot be true. As the apostle Paul explains in Romans 11:6, "If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."

The New Testament gospel stresses the fact that "by grace you have been saved, through faith, it is the gift of God, not a result of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9); and that salvation is received "not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:5).

When we compare the gospel according to Rome with the gospel of the New Testament we quickly find that the two are not compatible. By adding works into the equation, the Roman Catholic Church nullifies true grace.

Amazing Grace

2009-09-10T14:01:00.002-04:00

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV)

Emergent Preaching

2009-09-03T11:37:00.003-04:00

On Wednesday evenings here at LABC we are discussing what it means to be a Biblically healthy church. Next week we will finish reviewing why Expository Preaching is Biblically healthy and so necessary for the pulpits of our churches. One glaring example of unhealthy preaching is that of Brian Mclaren, one of the leaders of the emergent church. Brian is encouraging Christians to participate in the Muslim holy month of fasting known as Ramadan. His justification for his actions is a clear misunderstanding of the Bible. Maclaren writes,

“Just as Jesus, a devout Jew, overcame religious prejudice and learned from a Syrophonecian woman and was inspired by her faith two thousand years ago (Matthew 15:21 ff, Mark 7:24 ff), we seek to learn from our Muslim sisters and brothers today.”

I have a few questions for you to consider.

Can you see what is wrong with this line of thinking? [Try reading the texts that are cited.]

Can you provide some Biblical texts that may counter his premise? [Consider 2 Cor 6:14-15]

One of the problems with this line of thinking is that it begins with an idea or ideology and then attempts to find a text to support that concept. Expository preaching begins with the text to discover its meaning, explains the text, and allows the implications to be directly deduced from Scripture.

We will discuss this and more next Wednesday.

Proselytize an Atheist?

2009-08-05T16:40:00.006-04:00

This Sunday we will be discussing the implications of Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This simple statement answers every worldview that is antithetical to Christianity. For example, this simple proclamation answers atheism’s claim that there is no God. There is a God and everyone knows that to be a fact. Those who deny the existence of God are suppressing this knowledge (Romans 1:18) because of their sinfulness which is described as foolishness in the Bible (Psalm 14:1 cf. Isaiah 32:6).

So if we believe that indeed there is a God should not we proclaim His existence to everyone even those who deny Him? Would not the most loving thing we could do is share Christ with those who deny Him rather than ignore them? Penn Jillette an avowed atheist and no friend to Christianity agrees!

Tree Stump Mary

2009-07-20T12:50:00.004-04:00

Why do people prefer foolishness over truth?

"‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not: Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it." (Jeremiah 5:21-22, NKJV)

New Testament Manuscripts

2009-06-30T14:25:00.002-04:00

For those of you interested in seeing scans of ancient New Testament manuscripts Daniel Wallace is in the process of uploading many to the internet for public viewing. Even if you do not have a proficiency in the original languages you can still appreciate that these ancient artifacts. Remember these documents were written by hand by our Christian brothers that have preceded us. God providentially used their work to preserve and transfer the Word of God to the next generations.

Today with the relative ease of printing and the availability of the digital media it is easy to take for granted that we easily can have in our possession something that would have been a priceless treasure just a few centuries ago. I pray that we would take opportunity of the advantages that we possess in this day to read, hear, and obey the Word of God.

"I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure." (Psalm 119:162, NKJV)

Visit www.csntm.org to begin your treasure hunt.

Living Righteously

2009-06-08T09:13:00.003-04:00

" And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:11-14, NKJV)

The apostle Paul concludes his admonition to submit to governmental authorities and to treat your neighbors with love by giving both the motivation and the means to accomplish this task. Notice the motivation is that “salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” The salvation he is referring to is the final culmination of salvation which is living in the eternal state with God as a sinless glorified being. When fighting temptation, remember through Christ the battle is already won. Christ will return very soon and you will enjoy the fullness of salvation. Jesus said, "“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”" (Revelation 22:7, NKJV). Jesus is coming soon!

In Romans 13 Paul also gives the means to accomplish to accomplish this task. Notice two things in verse 14, 1) Put on Christ and 2) Make no provision for the flesh. To put on Christ is to practice a daily renewal of your mind. "…be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:23-24, NKJV). Making no provision for the flesh is to not allow sinful thoughts to linger in your mind. "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." (James 1:14-15, NKJV)

Lord by your grace may we truly live in expectancy of your return.

" He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20, NKJV)

Regarding Iniquity

2009-06-06T11:02:00.002-04:00

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear." (Psalm 66:18, NKJV)

Perhaps one of the reasons we do not see more answers to prayer is that prayers are often made without a consideration of our personal righteousness. For example, we may be praying for God to help us in a particular area and yet we still harbor bitterness towards someone that hurt us. At the conclusion to the model prayer Jesus said, "“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15, NKJV). Daily confession of sin (1 John 1:9) should be accompanied by unconditional forgiveness to those who have harmed us if we expect that sin to be forgiven by God.

Even personal conflicts that do not have a clear offending party need to be dealt with appropriately if we expect to be in communion with God. In His sermon on the mount Jesus admonished, "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24, NKJV) If this principle was practiced on a regular basis we would either have empty churches or churches full of worshiping folks empty of hypocrisy.

Fortunately most people I know that are submissive to the Word of God and responsive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit are quick to forgive and fast to repair broken relationships. Yet there is still a third area in which we can be guilty of harboring iniquity. It is hard to see our own faults. Sometimes we are not consciously aware of our sinfulness. David prayed, "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:12-14, NKJV)

Oh Lord search my heart today.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24, NKJV)

The Source of Faith

2009-06-04T09:50:00.002-04:00

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17, NKJV)

I appreciate the fact that a number of television and radio commentators respect Christians who place their faith in Christ. Generally they acknowledge that someone has a right to their belief system and seldom will challenge any particular ideology. It is usually said that faith is a personal decision based on the life experiences of the individual. Scripture contradicts that notion.

True Faith is not derived from the mind of man, but is a supernatural revelation of God. Moving from unbelief to belief is not simply a matter of weighing the evidence or considering all the facts. The weight of the evidence is clearly on the side of Christianity (Heb. 11:1). People do not see the significance of Christ because they are spiritually blinded to the truth. Paul reminds us that"… the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." (2 Corinthians 4:4, NKJV)

So how do people go from unbelief to belief? Paul continues, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:5-6, NKJV)

God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to convict and convince people of the truth of the gospel and the reality of Christ (1 Cor. 1:21). So the challenge for those who believe the Gospel is to trust the power of the Gospel and to proclaim its truth with gentle dogmatism. Because "…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17, NKJV)

Oh, Lord grant us faith to believe in the life changing power of your truth.

Thirsty for God

2009-06-03T09:20:00.002-04:00

" A Psalm of David When He Was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1, NKJV)

Concepts such as thirsting for God found in passages like this one make for great devotional references, but if we are honest thirsting for God is not part of our day to day reality. One of the reasons that we are not as thirsty for God as we like is because we live in a culture that has an over abundant supply of seemingly refreshing streams. Granted none of them are as satisfying as God, yet it is hard to be thirsty for God when you are drunk on the culture. On second glance perhaps David’s thirst for God was not a self manufactured virtue but rather a response to the perfecting grace of God.

Notice the setting for this Psalm is in the wilderness of Judah. Most likely this was when David was fleeing for his life from his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15). Can you imagine David’s circumstances? He was the King of Israel and yet his own son was trying to overthrow his monarchy. He must have felt desperate and alone. Speaking of mixed emotions, he wanted to protect himself and his throne, but at the same time he did not want to harm his own child. Driven into the wilderness and deprived from all other sources of satisfaction the intensity of David’s thirst for God was magnified.

We are all thirsty for God, but it is difficult to recognize that desire outside of dire circumstances. If you are going through difficult times today, why not use this as an opportunity to draw nearer to God. For those who love Christ, remember that God will providentially use what harms you to help you (Romans 5:3-5,8:28). If you are not going through tough times today pray that God will grant you an increased desire for Him that your joy may be increased in Him. (Psalm 16:11).

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)

Denying Ungodliness

2009-06-02T13:24:00.005-04:00

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14 (NKJV)

Although Christians desire to live godly lives too often their behavior betrays their belief. Even the Apostle Paul admitted to struggling with living a righteous life. He stated in Romans 7:18-19 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." The distinction that Paul made in Romans was that even after a person is made new in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) he still may struggle with what theologians call remaining sin (Rom. 5:20). Remaining sin is that part of unredeemed humanity referred to as the flesh that remains till death (Rom. 6:6). In Christ the believer is given the ability to overcome the weight of sin.

In Titus 2:11-14 Paul points to the key to living a godly life. It is the grace of God. It is God’s grace (unmerited favor) that grants salvation, and salvation does more than enable someone to enjoy the hereafter. God’s grace is powerful enough for the Christian to live a powerful godly life in this present age. The writer of Hebrews admonished us to “… come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16, NKJV) Those who desire to live godly must develop a thirst for His grace and serve Him with the strength He provides (1 Peter 4:11).

John Newton captured this concept well and shared it with us in the third verse to Amazing Grace.

Through many dangers, toils and snares we have already come.

T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far and Grace will lead us home.

Oh Father cause us to rely on your Grace now and forever more. Amen

Bible Study without a Permit

2009-05-29T11:59:00.003-04:00

The phenomena of churches promoting home Bible studies has continued to increase all across the country. There are many practical benefits. For example, it promotes building relationships in a less formal setting. It gives opportunities for laymen to use their spiritual gifts. In addition, home Bible studies provide another avenue for outreach within the community. The days of informal fellowships may be numbered.

The pendulum of attitudes in America is slowly swaying towards secularism. I did not think I would live to see the day in which rule makers would create, interpret, and enforce an action against hosting a home Bible study. But it happened. Fox News reports that “Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary have been told that they cannot invite friends to their San Diego, California home for a Bible study—unless they are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to San Diego County.

It is impossible to tell if the motivation for this action is for the purpose of collecting money or for creating an unfavorable environment for faith to flourish. In any case events like this are likely to continue and be repeated across the country, especially if San Diego County is successful. I do not want to sound like an alarmist, but ten years ago, who would have thought the proponents of homosexual marriage would have so much success today.

What can we do?

1. Pray.

" Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." (1 Timothy 2:1-2, NKJV)

Pray that God would grant us a country in which we can freely communicate the Gospel free from political harassment. Pray that we take every opportunity now to continue to share the Gospel.

2. Vote.

In many cases we are not left with much of a choice. Through the years for me voting has been a choice of lesser evils. But how do you make a choice when there are pro’s and con’s for each candidate. For the Christian the priority should be Biblical morality.

3. Trust.

It is easy to allow events like these to cause us to think that God is not ultimately in control of all things. He is.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" (Philippians 4:6, NKJV)

4. Obey.

There may come a point in time in which our obedience to Christ cause us to be at odds with our community.

"So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”" (Acts 5:25-32, NKJV)

Accountability: Cord Groups

2009-05-27T14:48:00.003-04:00

Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Tonight at our Wednesday Evening Bible Fellowship we will be discussing the topic of Accountability. By accountability I mean the intentional relationship between a few Christians for the purpose of mutual encouragement in sanctification. We are individually accountable to God and should mutually be answerable to each other for the purposes of spiritual growth.

Accountability is perhaps the most overlooked spiritual disciplines in the church today. In our culture it is easy to live in the spiritual realm of anonymity. Many Christians live in a superficial way because they have no fellow believer who we have granted the right to confront spiritual hypocrisy. In addition, it is hard to see your own short comings. It is much easier to notice the minor flaws in others than the major failings in our own lives.

Matthew 7:5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

A friend of mine in college always referenced this text illustrating it as a toothpick compared to a telephone pole. You get the imagery. This would be really funny if it were not so true.
The apostle Paul challenged the Church at Galatia to be proactive in our mutual accountability.

Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

In most churches today the act of real restoration is practically nonexistent. Perhaps one of the reasons why this is true is because Christians are not encouraged to practice mutual accountability for the purpose of reciprocal sanctification.

One of the best ways I have found to foster personal accountability is to encourage likeminded Christians to meet in small groups of three on a regular basis (1-2 times per month) and submit to mutual accountability. I call them cord groups based on Ecclesiastes 4:12.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Three is better than two because from time to time one may not be available. In addition, having a third point of view can help arbitrate between two different views. Once you get beyond three or four then the group loses its personal intimacy. It is wise not to expect confidentiality with a wider group of people.

The format of the meetings should include fellowship, prayer, and Bible reading. But the main purpose is to address issues that lead to accountability. I have found that having a set of questions like the example below provides an objective way to get to the heart of the matter.

Sample Questions

Accountability Questions

1. Have you been with someone this week in such a way that was inappropriate or could have looked to others that you were using poor judgment?

2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2. What was your biggest joy this week?

John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

3. Have you been completely above board in your financial dealings this week?

Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

4. In what ways have you encouraged someone or has someone encouraged you to love and good works?

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

5. Have you purposely exposed yourself to any explicit material (pornographic and/or sexually suggestive material) this week?

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

6. What principles impacted your life from your daily time in prayer and in God’s Word this week?

Psalm 1:2-3 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

7. What opportunities have you had to share Christ with others and or disciple them in the faith?

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

8. In what ways did you express encouragement and praise to your spouse, kids, or another family member this week?

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

9. Is there anyone you need to ask for forgiveness from or anyone to forgive?

Matthew 6:13-14 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

10. Have you just lied to us?

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Defend your Faith

2009-04-28T17:07:00.002-04:00

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Recently my daughter was given an assignment by one of her teachers to interview someone from another religious perspective, preferably a cult member. Now that would be a difficult task. I was pleasantly pleased to discover that not only was she able to find a good candidate, a Jehovah’s Witness, but was able to have a good dialogue as well.

After “debriefing” her I discovered that she felt that she was fairly solid on her theology, but felt that she could have been better prepared to defend some of her positions from the Bible.
Typically a cult member is well versed in a limited number of doctrines and have their skills honed to defend a particular stance. Many orthodox Christians have a general knowledge of Scripture and orthodox theology, but are not experienced in defending their position.

According to the Apostle Peter’s admonition, the Christian should be prepared to give a credible argument for his faith. A follower of Jesus Christ should know what, why, and how to defend his belief.

It is true that the Bible is a large volume and theology is a massive subject. It is unrealistic to ask the average layperson to be a master of this subject. In my own experience I have an advanced seminary degree in theology, yet I am ever learning. My grasp of theology is not much more than a thimble full of the ocean of its depth. So can we really expect more from the “non professional” Bible student?
Yes and no. Most people will not be able to defend every doctrine, but they should be able to defend some doctrines. At the very least one should be able to explain from Scripture the gospel, the person and nature of Christ, the nature of God, and the nature of man.

Let me give you a challenge.

Can you give a concise explanation of the gospel using the Scriptures?
Can you explain who Christ is including His divinity and humanity from the Bible?
Can you describe the nature of God and man from the Word of God?

If you can perhaps you are better prepared to heed the Apostle Peter’s admonition. If you are not perhaps you may want to take some extra time ‘cracking open the Book.”

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Satan Bound?

2009-04-18T22:32:00.001-04:00

Revelation 20:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Sunday April 19, 2009 I will be preaching on the first few verses from Revelation 20. This chapter is one of the more controversial passages in Revelation. It refers to the Millennium. One of the reasons I hold to a premillennial view is because what is described here in context is the binding of Satan. An angel is said to take the Devil put him in the bottomless pit (always a temporary holding place in Scripture) shut him up, and put a seal on him. The purpose is so that he would no longer deceive the nations. Both postmillennialists and amillennialists believe that Satan is bound now. Both experience and Scripture indicate that his influence is not hindered in this age.

Matthew Waymeyer in his book Revelation 20 and the Millennial Debate highlights 23 passages that are clear indicators that Satan is alive and well in this age. This is another indicator that the millennium will occur in the future.
Activity of Satan in the Present Age

1. He entered Judas and influenced him to betray Christ (Luke 22:3, John 13:27)
2. He sought to sift Peter like wheat (Luke 22:31)
3. He filled the heart of Ananias and influenced him to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3)
4. He sent a messenger to buffet the Apostle Paul (2 Cor 12:7)
5. He thwarted Paul from traveling to Thessalonica (1Thess 2:18)
6. He snatches the Word of God from unbelieving hearers of the gospel before it can take root (Matt 13:19, Luke 8:12)
7. He tells lies (John 8:44)
8. He has unbelievers under his dominion (Acts 26:18)
9. He tempts believers (1 Cor 7:5)
10. He seeks to take advantage of believers (2 Cor 2:11)
11. He is called the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4)
12. He blinds the minds of the unbelieving (2 Cor 4:4)
13. He seeks to deceive believers as he did with Eve (2 Cor 11:3)
14. He disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14)
15. He is at work in unbelievers to influence them to live as they do (Eph 2:2)
16. He seeks to deceive believers as the battles against them (Eph 6:11-12)
17. He deceives and traps unbelievers (2 Tim 2:26)
18. He holds unbelievers captive to do his will (2 Tim 2:26)
19. He prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
20. He is the father of those who practice sin (1 John 3:8-10)
21. He holds unbelievers in his power (1 John 5:19)
22. He is called the one who deceives the whole world (Rev 12:9)
23. He will deceive those who dwell upon the earth (Rev 13:14; 18:23; 19:20)

John Walvoord comments:

"If one accepts these Scriptures as testifying to the fact that Satan has power to tempt, to deceive to blind, to buffet, to hinder, to work signs and lying wonders, and who is free like a raging lion to walk about seeking whom he may devour, how then can one hold that Satan is now bound?"

Glory of God's Creation in the Dolphin Stampede

2009-04-09T10:21:00.002-04:00

" The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat." (Psalm 19:1-6, NKJV)

Resurrection Sunday

2009-04-07T14:36:00.002-04:00

Easter Sunday or as I like to call it “Resurrection Sunday” is one of my favorite days on the church calendar. No it is not because of the candy or the traditional Easter Sunday lunch with my family…well wait a minute…okay no it is not those things. It is because this is the most important event that has ever occurred in the world up to this point. It is even greater than Christmas (the first Advent) because without the Resurrection Christianity is meaningless.

"And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." (1 Corinthians 15:17-19, NKJV)

Well, Christ did rise again, in fact it is one of the most verifiable facts of history. This season the television will be peppered with shows challenging the veracity of Jesus’ resurrection. Normally scholars who challenge these facts do not provide enough facts. In other words they deal with a limited aspect of this event and fail to solve all the myriad of questions that are left unanswered by their solution. The only explanation that answers all the questions is the Resurrection.

One of my seminary professors, Gary Habermas, provided us with a list of critically recognized resurrection facts of which nearly 90% of the skeptics that deny the bodily resurrection agree. Now they all do not agree on all the facts. Some will agree with six or seven another set of scholars will agree on four or five different. You get the picture. In the end if you read the skeptics work they argue against each other’s resurrection theory by using some of the facts below. In the final analysis the only resurrection theory that answers all of these facts is that Jesus Christ actually rose again from the grave in a bodily form.

Critically-recognized resurrection facts (90%)

Jesus died due to crucifixion

Jesus was buried, probably in a private tomb.

The disciples became bereaved and discouraged, losing hope.

Jesus’ tomb was found empty very soon afterwards (75%)

The disciples had real experiences that they thought were appearances of the risen Jesus.

As a result, the disciples were completely transformed, even to the point of being willing to die for their faith.

The disciples’ proclamation of the resurrection began shortly afterwards, at a very early dated. Acts 2:29ff

The disciples’ initial resurrection preaching occurred in Jerusalem, where all these events had occurred.

The early Gospel message centered on Jesus’ death and resurrection.

1 Cor 15

The Christian church was birthed about this same time, with Sunday being the primary worship day.

James, Jesus’ brother and a skeptic during Jesus’ life, was converted after he thought that he also saw an appearance of the risen Jesus.

A few years later, Saul of Tarsus—Paul—became a Christian, based on a real experience that he also thought was an appearance of the risen Jesus.

House Rules

2009-02-09T21:22:00.002-05:00

The Bible says we must:

Be at peace with one another - Mark 9:50
Love one another - John 13:34; Romans 12:10; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12
Build up one another - Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Be of the same mind toward one another - Romans 12:16
Give preference to one another - Romans 12:10
Greet one another - Romans 16:16
Esteem others as better than yourself - Philippians 2:3
Serve one another - Galatians 5:13
Receive one another - Romans 15:7
Recognize your relationship to one another - Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:25
Be devoted to one another - Romans 12:10
Rejoice or weep with one another - Romans 12:15
Admonish one another - Romans 15:14; Colossians 3:16
Care for one another - 1 Corinthians 12:25
Show tolerance toward one another - Romans 15:1-5; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13
Be kind and forgiving to one another - Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13
Submit to one another - Romans 12:10; Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 5:5
Comfort one another - 1 Thessalonians 4:18
Encourage one another - 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13
Consider one another - Hebrews 10:24-25
Minister your gifts to one another - 1 Peter 4:10
Be compassionate with one another - 1 Peter 3:8
Pray for one another - James 5:16
Confess your faults to one another - James 5:16
Accept one another - Romans 14:1; 15:7
Be hospitable to one another - 1 Peter 4:9

The Bible says we must not:

Be proud against each other - 1 Corinthians 4:6
Judge one another - Romans 12:16
Lie to one another - Colossians 3:9
Be partial with one another - 1 Timothy 5:21
Provoke or envy one another - Galatians 5:26
Lust after one another - Romans 1:27
Hate one another - Titus 3:3
Take one another to court - 1 Corinthians 6:1-7
Use each other - Galatians 5:15

Pray for Life

2009-01-27T13:39:00.005-05:00

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13, NKJV)

Recently I have received a number of emails concerning legislation called the “Freedom of Choice Legislation.”

STATEMENT OF POLICY- It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman

Although this legislation has been before Congress for some time, it now has a real likelihood of passing. Our current President has vowed to sign the legislation if passed.

As Christians we can pray that God would spare our country from taking another downward step towards total godlessness. In addition, we can exercise our right to vote and support candidates that closer approximate Christian morality. Elections have consequences.

Oprah on Spirituality

2009-01-17T20:44:00.005-05:00

Apparently Oprah has embraced a number of “new age” teachers and is promoting a concept called Live Your Best Life and hosted a forum called spirituality 101.

Oprah began the program by saying that spirituality means being connected and feeling alive. She then took a deep breath and encouraged the audience to doo likewise to get yourself in the present moment. She then introduced her guests on the panel discussion: Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith is the author of "Spiritual Liberation," and Elizabeth Lesser founder of the Omega Institute and author of “The Seekers Guide” In addition Rev. Ed Bacon of the All Saint Episcopal Church in Pasadena, was part of the group. Oprah asked each of her experts what they thought spirituality is.

Rev. Bacon said he agrees with being connected. Give the power to be fully alive. He said that the doorway to the experience is to be unconditionally and fully loved. Lesser: said that it’s an instinct that there is more to life than meets the eye. Spirituality is the fearlessness to ask the big questions. Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Where do you go when you die? Beckwith: said when you’re connected to the love, peace, harmony these are eternal qualities. Individuals who connect to these qualities and are in that spiritual moment. Oprah said that you really are a spiritual entity inside a human body. Whatever happens things are going to be alright if you are in connection with your spirit.

If you carefully note their words they are all unifying around a theme of introspection that finds fulfillment in self. Or as President elect Obama said on the campaign stump, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” This phrase is the title to Alice Walker’s book who calls on her readers to find spiritual strength within themselves. The subtle erosion of Doctrine and Dogma diminishes the truth of the Word of God. Men are left to rally around the lie of self deception. Man now is the center of truth and knowledge. There is no need for a Messiah, Deliverer, or Savior. Man can look inward for salvation.

False religion would have you look inward to find strength in yourself. The original lie of Satan was to doubt the goodness of God and listen to yourself you can be your own god.

Genesis 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It is becoming easier to see how various false religious systems of the world will unify under the banner of self. Their unity however will be short lived as false religion will have its final fling.

Chapter 17 in the Book of Revelation is a summary of the final days of false religion.

It is interesting to note that they agree on both their philosophy and conclusions.

Free John MacArthur

2009-01-15T10:06:00.004-05:00

All of my favorite preachers sermons are now available for free!

I think my wife's a Calvinist

2009-01-11T22:51:00.003-05:00

Grace Reformed

Grace to Fortify You Against Satan's Temptations

Happy Thanksgiving

Sins of Omission

Just Say No!

John MacArthur Biography

Insight = Bible + History

Family

The Women in His Life

A Man of Courage

I Surrender All

Worldly Wisdom

Stepping Stones

May God Truly Bless America

Stepping Stones to Glory:

Stepping Stones to Glory # 2

Anniversary of the King James Bible

To Do List

Stepping Stones to Glory:

A Critique of the Family-Integrated Church Movement

Time for Prayer

Practical Implications of Calvinism

Illuminated by the Spirit

"That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9).

Spurgeon on Hebrews Chapter 2

How to Find a Good Church

What is a Reformed Baptist?

Are the Sabbath laws binding on Christians today?

For further study:D. A. Carson, ed., From Sabbath to Lord's Day (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).

The Cross

I Am A Disciple Of Jesus Christ

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas should remind us that nothing is impossible with God

The Gospel of Moralism

Daniel Purposed

A Year Ago Today

Wednesday October 21, 2009 @ GRBC

Expositors' Conference 2009 Day Two

Expositors' Conference 2009 Day One

Stephen Passmore

Got Insurance?

The Gospel According to Rome

Amazing Grace

Emergent Preaching

Proselytize an Atheist?

Tree Stump Mary

New Testament Manuscripts

Living Righteously

Regarding Iniquity

The Source of Faith

Thirsty for God

Denying Ungodliness

Bible Study without a Permit

Accountability: Cord Groups

Defend your Faith

Satan Bound?

Glory of God's Creation in the Dolphin Stampede

Resurrection Sunday

House Rules

Pray for Life

Oprah on Spirituality

Free John MacArthur

I think my wife's a Calvinist

For further study:
D. A. Carson, ed., From Sabbath to Lord's Day (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).