Testimony of One who Knows God

Lord, it belongs not to my care

Whether I die or live;

To love and serve Thee is  my share,

And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,

That I may long obey;

If short- then why should I be sad

To soar to endless day?

Found in J. I. Packer's Knowing God, pages 31-32.

No Hope Without It

I enjoy reading the biographies of Christian leaders of the past. But each October, I make it a point to read a biography leading up to Reformation Day. This year I am reading about the life and work of J. Gresham Machen in Stephen Nichols book J. Gresham Machen, A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought. Below is a telegram sent by Machen, on his deathbed, to John Murray. Machen died on January 1, 1937.

I am so thankful for [the] active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.

What a glorious statement to make upon ones deathbed. Even at the end, Machen, a stalwart defender of orthodox faith among the liberal uprising of his day, put his hope in the truth of doctrine - the doctrine of Christ substitutionary work for him. He declared that without this truth of Christ active obedience, he had no hope. May all of us who call ourselves Christians breath our last breath with this truth upon our lips. Without Christ's work, there is no hope. When we come to this time of our lives, and yes we will come to it, may we be both thankful and hopeful. Yes, may we live well, but may we also die well. May the song on our hearts be that of the hymn "Solid Rock" by Edward Mote:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

I tend to think this was the song on Machen's heart when he sent that telegram to his friend. He knew he would soon cross the river of death. What a magnificent joy and anticipation he had realizing that the one he had walked with on this earth in spiritual communion, he would soon see face to face in all of His glory. Indeed, there is no hope without Christ.

Meditations on Law, Judgement, and Grace

Are you a sinner deserving the wrath of God? I would think that many would say no to this question. But, I believe they are being inconsistent with their response if you consider two concepts in our society that these same people would agree with.

1. Law - The fact that nations have laws indicates that they believe there are actions that are right and actions that are wrong. Some governing body has legislated the law and it holds the citizens responsible to obey them. It really does not matter whether you agree with the rightness of a law, as a citizen of a country, you are required to obey that law. In the same way, God, the Creator and Sovereign of all that is, has also given us His law in the Bible. It does not matter whether we think it is a good law or not, we as a created being under His sovereignty are responsible to obey His law. Now the Bible goes into a lot of detail about the law, even holding every human being, even those who have never read the Bible, accountable to God and without excuse if they break His law (Romans 1-3). Just as in any country, if we disobey the law, we are law breakers. We are, therefore, what God calls us in His word - sinners.
   
   
2. Judgement - If one breaks the law in a country, they must face the consequences of that action by being judged as guilty and suffer the punishment prescribed. As your watch the news, or perhaps have been a victim of law breakers before, the cry of justice is often heard. This simply means that the law demands that a law breaker suffer the due wrath of the state for the unlawful deed. Again, in the same way, God, the law giver, has declared that all those who break His law, will be judged and face His wrath and punishment for their lawlessness. God is holy and requires perfect obedience to His law to escape the judgement of God. The book of Romans tell us that in fact all of us are sinners or law breakers(Romans 3-5). We are guilty through the imputed sin of our first father, Adam, and this inherited nature produces in us acts of disobedience. We break God's law (we sin) because we are sinners to the very core of our being. So, once again, in the same way that governing bodies punish law breakers, God also will punish law breakers. He will judge them guilty and punish them appropriately. To sin against an infinite and holy God, requires an infinite punishment.
   

While the comparison is there, what we see in the governments of men is subject to the weaknesses and frailties of men. Is the justice of men really blind? Can men really know and punish every law breaker? But God is by nature just. He defines what justice is. And God sees every thought and intention of the heart, hears every word spoken, and sees every act committed. If one is honest and consistent, one can not really say that they do not believe they are not sinners and do not deserve the eternal wrath of God. It is a hopeless situation for one to be under that wrath of God. No amount of good works will ever make one right with the law giver. The sin must be punished. If God does not punish it, he is not just. But many today rest on the thought that their good works will make them right with God - a fact that overlooks the vileness of sin and the holiness of God. Others rest on the thought that God will just forgive and forget their sin just because - a fact that overlooks the complete justice of God. Face it, you are a law breaker deserving the full judgement and punishment for your sins, an eternal punishment of never ending suffering and wrath poured out on sinners in pure justice. There will be no excuses for God know and sees all. Is there any hope?

"But God" - a glorious phrase found often in the Bible. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8. Yes there is only one hope. God must and will punish every act of sin. But, He has provided a substitute, Jesus Christ, His Son, who live a perfect life and did not deserve the punishment of sinners which is death. But Christ did die a sinner's death. And the Bible tells us He did it in the place of all those who would abandon any hope in themselves and put their full hope, trust and faith in Christ alone. For those who do, God credits the wrath they deserve upon His innocent Son and He credits the perfect righteousness of His Son to them. Through this legal exchange, they, therefore, can stand right with and be declared justified before God with this foreign righteousness that is not of themselves. My plea is that you stop trying to earn or gain any favor with God. You can't do it. It breaks my heart to see those caught up in the hell bound doctrine and lie of works righteousness. Flee to the only one who can help. Abandon yourself to Christ. His promises are true. He will forgive the law breaker if you will trust in His substitutionary work alone. It is not faith and works. It is faith alone. For a better summary of this good news, read this site.

Thoughts of Heaven, Sinlessness, and a Mediator

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4, NASB)

John is telling you to think of a world with no sin, no tears, no betrayal, no disappointment, no failure, no rebellion, and no death, and that is what heaven is going to be like. As you begin to meditate on these beautiful truths, you will continually come back and say to the Lord, "Lord, I cannot imagine being eternally free from sin, because I have never even known a moment of such blessedness." Although we cannot experientially relate to such perfection and blessedness, Scripture reminds us to believe and hope in it, because we are going to one day know a world that contains no sin whatsoever. We are going to know a world where there is no suffering, no sorrow, and no death. The Bible continually asks us to think about our life now lived for God, but with all the forms of pain, evil, conflict, and distress of this life removed.

Although we have already spoken about the horrors of hell, there is perhaps one more thing we need to say. It is a surprising thing to note, because so often we speak of hell as a place where God is not. Let me, however, say something provocative. Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God, with a mediator. Hell is eternity in the presence of God, being fully conscious of the just, holy, righteous, good, kind, and loving Father's disapproval of your rebellion and wickedness. Heaven, on the other hand, is dwelling in the conscious awareness of your holy and righteous Father, but doing so through a mediator who died in your place, the One who absorbed the fullness of the penalty of your sin. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with the One who totally eradicated sin from your life, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with a mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

-----Ligon Duncan in Fear Not - Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective

Good Sermons

Here are two good sermons I heard this morning. One by RC Sproul on the promises of God and another by Art Broadwick on being prepared for death. Both contain the gospel.

The Trust of a Man - Part 2

On the Brevity of Life

Thoughts of Heaven

In Ligon Duncan's Book Fear Not - Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective, he has several good quotes about the Christian and Heaven. Here are a few:

As a believer's life is very different from an unbeliever's life, so also a believer's death is very different from an unbeliever's death. The unbeliever prefers Heaven over Hell; the believer prefers Heaven over this earth. The unbeliever prefers Heaven only over Hell because he cannot imagine anything more blessed than this life. The believer prefers Heaven over earth, because the believer cannot imagine anything more blessed than life with God. - Unknown Source

There is a great deal of difference between the desires of Heaven in a sanctified man and in an unsanctified one. The believer prizes Heaven above earth, and had rather be with God than here, though death stands in the way and may possibly have harder thoughts from him. But for the ungodly, there is nothing that seems more desirable than this world, and therefore he only chooses Heaven over Hell, but not over earth; and therefore shall not have it upon such a choice - Richard Baxter

Baxter is saying that nobody in his right mind would choose Hell. If they are asked, then they'll always say, "Oh, yes, heaven over hell, please!" In contrast, the mark of a Christian approaching death is a desire for heaven over earth, heaven over this life. The Christian desires Jesus over the things that are most precious in this world, and not simply an existence that is more attractive than the torments of an eternity in Hell. - Ligon Duncan

All men must die, but as men's lives are very different, so their account in death is, also. To an ungodly man, death is loss, the greatest loss; but to a believer, it is gain, the greatest gain. - Thomas Boston

I am so in love with His love that if He(Christ) were not in Heaven, I would not want to go there. - Samuel Rutherford

The same thought from different men. Do you treasure Christ like this?

Where Do We Go From Here?

I just received and read (it took me about one and a half hours to read the word-packed 40 pages) John Blanchard new evangelistic booklet, Where Do We Go From Here? His booklet, Ultimate Questions, has been printed by the millions in different languages and used greatly in evangelism. I would say, and agree with the publisher, that in this new booklet, Blanchard has another tool that will reach this same level of use in showing people the gospel. He draws the reader instantly in from the first sentence detailing the death bed scene of a famous political leader (I will let you read to see which one). From there he discusses the certainty of death, false views of what happens after death, and then the biblical view of what happens after death. I would encourage individuals and churches to get this booklet and use it as God provides opportunities in your witnessing efforts. Below is the publisher's blurb on the book. Don't let the phrase "user-friendly" turn you away; Blanchard is biblically solid and upfront in his explanations of sin, death, hell and judgment.

Where do we go from here? may become more widely used than anything John Blanchard has written since Ultimate Questions, which now has over fifteen million copies in print in fifty languages. The reason is obvious. Where do we go from here? is the final question all humanity faces, and this booklet tackles it head-on. Exactly what does happen to us when we die? The immediate future of the body is fairly obvious, but what about the spirit or soul? Is it annihilated or reincarnated? Is it conscious or unconscious? Do we face endless pain or endless pleasure? Is there a ‘second chance’ to put things right? Do we have to wait until after we die to find out? This booklet answers these and other questions biblically, clearly and in a user-friendly way. Here is an ideal resource to share with people who have no grasp of the Christian message.

More Information Here

Mr. Stand-fast Crosses the River of Death

When Mr. Stand-fast had thus set things in order, and the time being come for him to haste away, he also went down to the river.

Now there was a great calm at that time in the river; wherefore Mr. Stand-fast, when he was about half-way in, stood a while, and talked to his companions that had waited upon him thither; and he said, "This river has been a terror to many; yea, the thoughts of it also have often frightened me. Now, methinks, I stand easy, my foot is fixed upon that upon which the feet of the priests that bare the ark of the covenant stood, while Israel went over this Jordan. The waters, indeed, are to the palate bitter, and to the stomach cold; yet the thoughts of what I am going to, and of the conduct that waits for me on the other side, doth lie as a glowing coal at my heart."

"I see myself at the end of my journey, my toilsome days are ended. I am going now to see that head that was crowned with thorns, and that face that was spit upon for me. I have formerly lived by hearsay and faith; but now I go where I shall live by sight, and shall be with him in whose company I delight myself. I have loved to hear my Lord spoken of; and wherever I have seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there I have coveted to set my foot too. His name has been to me as a civet-box; yea sweeter than all perfumes. His voice to me has been most sweet; and his countenance I have more desired than they that have most desired the light of the sun. His word I did use to gather for my food, and for antidotes against my faintings. He has held me, and hath kept me from mine iniquities; yea, my steps he strengthened in his way."

Now, while he was thus in discourse, his countenance changed, his strong man bowed under him; and after he had said, "Take me, for I come unto thee," he ceased to be seen of them.