The Work of Christ for Sinners

We sinned, and were exposed to the curse. The Word that was with God, and was God, then was made flesh. The eternal Son became:

• our brother;
• took upon Himself our sin, in the way of a mysterious imputation;
• paid our debt to the majesty of the inviolable law;
• covered our nakedness with His righteousness;
• presented us, as those in whose stead He appeared, blameless and acceptable to the Father;
• excited the hallelujahs of angels at our exaltation;
• elevated us to a participation of His own riches, blessedness, and privileges;
• pitched tents of peace for us around the throne of God;
• and connected us with Himself by the bonds of eternal gratitude and affection.

Such is the edifice which the Almighty reared upon the ruins of sin; and of which the disciples, at that time, had not the remotest idea.

------- From The Suffering Saviour by F. W. Krummacher


God forgive me when I take these eternal blessings for granted by sinning against You.

Tradition + Theology = ?????

This year I have listened to a few radio stations playing the old Christmas songs that I grew up with. It brings back many memories. One of those songs is "Here Comes Santa Claus" sung by Gene Autry. Below is a brief history of the writing of this song:

Gene was riding his horse, Champion, down Hollywood Boulevard for the annual Christmas parade in 1946 when, hearing the crowds of children gleefully crying, “Here comes Santa Claus!” he was inspired to write a song. He turned his sketch over to Oakley Haldeman (then in charge of Gene’s music publishing firms) and legendary A&R chief “Uncle” Art Satherley. They completed the lead sheet, hastening a copy over to singer/guitarist Johnny Bond’s home to make an acetate disc of the finished product. A cocktail was mixed for Uncle Art, who sipped near the microphone while Bond sang Here Comes Santa Claus for the first time. When the group heard the ice cubes jingling so merrily on the playback, they were inspired to use a “jingle bell” sound on Gene’s record! It was the first Gene Autry Christmas release, a huge commercial and artistic triumph that opened the door to an unexpected extension of his phenomenal career.

While listening to this song it seems the authors, Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman, mix a little of the tradition of Santa Claus with the truth of God. A few of the lines of the song while making good lyrics really don't make clear theology - in fact I don't quite fully understand them at all:

Santa knows that we're God's children,
That makes everything right.
Fill your hearts with Christmas cheer,
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

The author tells us that Santa knows that we are God's children. What does that mean? Are all people God's children in light of being part of the human family? Well, that might be somewhat seen in Scripture, but the Bible seems to show more often that God has a particular, chosen people who are His children. He possesses them as His own (Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9). The writer of this song then tells us that this knowledge makes everything right. Again, what does he mean by that? How does it make everything right? He ends this stanza by concluding that based on these facts we are to fill our hearts with Christmas cheer - because Santa Claus comes tonight.

Another stanza has the phrase:

Peace on Earth will come to all
If we just follow the light

While this is probably derived from the scripture concerning the proclamation of the angels to the shepherds concerning a Savior, it really again is unclear as to how will peace come to all on the earth? What light does he mean we are to follow? While not trying to over analyze this Christmas ditty, I still think it is crucial that we always pay attention to those things we hear, read, and even sing to make sure that we are not proclaiming things the Bible does not.

I find it interesting that this song focusing on the coming of the traditional Santa Claus as the source of this joy. But if we look at these lines from the song from a Biblical perspective, we see that the source of this joy is found in the coming of a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, who will save His people from their sin. The songs talks about being a child of God, having peace, being right, and following the light. This is only possible through Jesus Christ. It is because of His coming, His perfect righteous life, His substitutionary sacrifice for His people, and His resurrection that indeed anyone can have true peace - a peace with God that comes from being forgiven from our sins which rightly deserve His wrath (Romans 5:1). It is only thought Him that we can be made right with God - able to stand before Him in the righteousness of Christ without fear of Him and able to call Him Father (Romans 5:19). He is the true light (John 1:9-13) and only those who call on and trust Him as Lord and Savior can truly be called His children for they have been adopted according to His kindness and His grace (Ephesians 1:5).

So while we sing and listen to these old time songs at Christmas, remember to sing some of the old time true Christmas Carols as well. In many of these we can see what happens when Biblical truth presents true doctrine clearly vs a tradition trying to exclaim why we really need to celebrate this time of year.

Unbelievers and Christmas

As another Christmas has come and gone, it came to my thoughts today that it is really impossible for an unbeliever to legitimately celebrate Christmas. Unbelievers may celebrate the idol of family during Christmas or the joy of giving (mostly receiving) gifts. But it seems that all unbelievers in reality treat and believe in God just like they sing about and speak of Santa Claus whether they realize it or are willing to admit it. With respect to receiving God's mercy, unbelievers approach Him as they would Santa Claus. Santa Claus only gives gifts to those who have been good for goodness sake. If you are bad he will give you coal and switches. If we have a God like that, then we are beyond hope. Why? Because we are all sinners and we sin every single day - we can't tell God we have been good for we are not. And if God is like Santa Claus, then we will never receive any good gifts from Him with respect to salvation from His holy wrath. That is not good news.

But Christian believers can have true hope and truly celebrate Christmas. They know they are sinners and deserve the wrath of a Holy and Righteous God who gives the greatest gift to those who are wretched to the core of their being. That is what Christmas is - God sent a substitute who would live a perfect life and die in place of all those who would put their trust in Him. Jesus came to save His people from their sins. He did not come to give salvation to the well, but to those who are sick. That is good news.

Each year I enjoy to watching the many versions of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. Deep down I hope that Scrooge was truly converted, but most adaptations of this story present his change and hope as rooted in his own ability. If he would change his ways, then his future would be different. The Bible is clear that we really can't change ourselves. Our hope is only in the God who can regenerate our hearts to see the reality of our need and then effectually bring us to Himself in faith and repentance.

So while unbelievers will continue to "celebrate" Christmas each year, it is mere sentimentality and illegitimate. Their hearts are apart from the reason and purpose for Christmas. They are still selfish and seeking to gain a salvation by their own merits and goodness so that the Santa Claus god will give them good things based on their performance. Thank God - Christians have a God who in Christmas gave us our only hope - the God-Man - as our substitute. Our hope is not in our righteousness, but the righteousness and atonement of Jesus Christ alone. There is indeed no hope without it.

Four Soils or Four Seeds?

I recently heard a good comment from Alistair Begg about the Parable of the Sower and the Soils which the below comments are based. Here is the parable from Mark 4:1-20:

He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. “Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. “And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. “Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. “Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.”

And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? “The sower sows the word. “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. “In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” (NASB)

Isn't it interesting today that many by their actions seem to believe that this parable should actually be about the 4 types of seed rather than the 4 types of soil. The word or seed in the parable today is often changed to make it more receptive to the hearers or soils. But notice in the parable that the seed is the same. It does not matter what type of soil is being sown, the seed is the same that the sower sows. The parable points to the fact that the success of the seed bearing fruit is determined by the soil representing the hearers of the word. The receptivity of the word is according to Scripture determined by God. He must change the heart of a hearer to receive the word properly. This is the act of regeneration or being born again. If He does not change the heart, it will become like one of the 3 unfruitful soils in the parable.

The point is that the seed should always be the same. We should never water down the gospel based on the type of hearer. The gospel alone, by the Spirit, is the power of God to salvation for everyone that believes (Romans 1:16). We can't control the receptivity of the hearer, but we can control the word being sown. Let us be faithful to sow the gospel seed and trust God to prepare the soil to receive the seed and bear fruit. And let us also throw the seed far and wide knowing that God's Word will never return empty, but will always accomplish His purpose (Isaiah 55:11). To God alone be the glory for the salvation of every soul!

American Moralism

While many evangelical Christians seek to make the founding fathers of America Christian, a simple reading of what they said and what they did will show that some of the more famous ones were Deist and in fact disagreed with many foundation truths of Christianity. In fact, the only reason that some of these men held to "religion" was that they thought it was needed to help the people of the country live moral lives, which was necessary for the American experiment to succeed. Stephen Nichols brings this out in Chapter 2 of his book, Jesus Made in America. Read some of the quotes and actions of two of our leading founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

Benjamin Franklin, as a young adult, wrote the following words in a letter to his parents who were worried about some of his theological views. He wrote concerning the doctrines a person holds to by saying that if these doctrines do not

tend to make him less Virtuous, he holds none that is dangerous. . . . My Mother grieves that one of her Sons is an Arian, another an Arminian. What an Arminian or an Arian is, I cannot say that I very well know; the Truth is, I make such Distinctions very little to my Study; I think vital Religion has always suffered when Orthodoxy is more regarded than Virtue.

Later on in his life, five weeks before his death, Franklin wrote the following to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale and grandson of Jonathan Edwards, who wanted to know that truth of Franklin's faith. Franklin wrote:

As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of who you particularly desire, I think the system of morals, and his religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England some doubts to his divinity.

So in these two quotations, we seen Franklin admit that he thinks virtue is more important than the orthodox truth of the gospel and we see him deny the divinity of Christ. Franklin has denied the very hope of the Christian religion. If he really believed this, according to Scripture, we must ask if Franklin was truly a Christian.

On the other hand, the liberals of the 20th century have nothing on Thomas Jefferson. During his time as president and again later in life, Jefferson cut and pasted his own version of the New Testament. Since he denied that God acts in the world today, he removed all miracles from the Jefferson Version. His New Testament ended as such:

There they laid Jesus. And rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed. Finis

Jefferson ends his "gospel" with Jesus forever in the grave. It is really no gospel at all and offers no hope than any other religion. The apostle Paul even tells us that if Christ is not raised, we are fools and of all men, the most to be pitied. But Jefferson denies the resurrection and in essence the Christian faith. Jefferson also writes:

To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian, in the only sense he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; and believing he never claimed any other.

Nichols writes, "Jefferson's self-claim to being a Christian, which often gets quoted by evangelicals, comes in the very sentence he denies the deity of Christ. In fact, Jefferson goes so far as to claim that being a Christian demands that one see Jesus as Jesus sees himself, which, according to Jefferson, was as human, never claiming divinity." Again, we see a founding father denying the very claims of Christ Himself as divine and still claiming to be Christian.

Why would Jefferson hold to Christianity while denying the foundational truths that makes it what it is? Again Nichols gives us the answer. "What he (Jefferson) liked best about Unitarianism, however, was not its doctrine, but that it presented a simple and clear morality. What mattered most to Jefferson, especially for the new republic, was that Jesus was a virtuous man." Like Franklin, Jefferson clinged to Christianity for its morals.

I write not to criticize these two men. I believed that if they believed what they wrote, they were not Christians from a Biblical standpoint. But the main purpose of this writing it to warn you that the thoughts of these two men are still rampant today. It is moralism. The belief that man can be saved and made right with God by his morality or good works. A belief that Scripture denies (Isaiah 64:6), but one that will continue until the end of time. We are conceived in sin and our works can never justify us before God. But God sent Jesus Christ. Unlike Franklin and Jefferson, the Jesus of the Bible is the God-Man who never sinned, yet died a sinner's death as a substitute for all those who would put their trust in Him. Our ONLY HOPE is to trust in His work. If we do, God credits the wrath our sins deserve on Christ, and the perfect righteousness of Christ to us. We therefore stand forgiven and are declared to be righteousness in Christ. Do not be deceived, your morality will not save you, only Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the only way to God (John 14:6), can save you.

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.

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

Expressions of Saving Faith

In James Durham's collection of sermons on Isaiah 53, he has one sermon in which he discusses the expressions of saving faith which the Bible uses. I thought these were of interest and worth meditating upon. They are as follows:

1. Believing Christ (Acts 16:31)
2. Coming to Christ (Matthew 11:28; John 6:35)
3. Receiving Christ (John 1:12)
4. Apprehending or taking hold of Christ (Philippians 3:12; Hebrews 6:16; Isaiah 56:3)
5. Casting yourself or resting on Christ (Psalm 55:22; Psalm 37:5,7)
6. Submitting to Christ (Romans 10:2)
7. Hiding in Christ (Proverbs 8:10; Philippians 3:9; Isaiah 23:26)
8. Yielding to Christ (2 Chronicles 30:8)
9. Opening the heart to Christ (Acts 16:14)
10. Marrying Christ ( Ephesians 5:22-33)
11. Buying (Isaiah 55:1)
12. Cleaving or inclining to Christ (John 23:8; Acts 11:23; Isaiah 55:2-3)
13. Committing to Christ (Psalm 37:5; 2 Timothy 1:12)

This is quite a list and is definitely not exhaustive. I wonder if there is a book somewhere that explores these expressions of saving faith in more detail? If you happen to find one, let me know.

God's Appointments for Spurgeon and Owen

One of the greatest Christian preachers of all time and one of the greatest Christian theologians of all time have similar conversion experiences. Read below about these two men. First, let us read of Charles Spurgeon from his autobiography:

I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm, one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people’s heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed; but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was,—

“LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”

He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus—”My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, ‘Look.’ Now lookin’ don’t take a deal of pains. It ain’t liftin’ your foot or your finger; it is just, ‘Look.’ Well, a man needn’t go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn’t be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look. But then the text says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Ay!” said he, in broad Essex, “many on ye are lookin’ to yourselves, but it’s no use lookin’ there. You’ll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Some on ye say, ‘We must wait for the Spirit’s workin’’ You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, ‘Look unto Me.’ “Then the good man followed up his text in this way:—”Look unto Me; I am sweatin’ great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin’ on the cross. Look unto Me; I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I as-cend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sittin’ at the Father’s right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!” When he had gone to about that length, and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, “and you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death,—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin’ to do but to look and live.” I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said,—I did not take much notice of it,—I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed, so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, “Look!” what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and at that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him.

Now read of what some consider the conversion, or at least the time he came to assurance, of John Owen as told by John Piper:

Owen was a convinced Calvinist with large doctrinal knowledge, but he lacked the sense of the reality of his own salvation. That sense of personal reality in all that he wrote was going to make all the difference in the world for Owen in the years to come. So what happened one Sunday in 1642 is very important.

When Owen was 26 years old he went with his cousin to hear the famous Presbyterian, Edmund Calamy at St. Mary's Church Aldermanbury. But it turned out Calamy could not preach and a country preacher took his place. Owen's cousin wanted to leave. But something held Owen to his seat. The simple preacher took as his text Matthew 8:26, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" It was God's appointed word and appointed time for Owen's awakening. His doubts and fears and worries as to whether he was truly born anew by the Holy Spirit were gone. He felt himself liberated and adopted as a Son of God. When you read the penetrating practical works of Owen on the work of the Spirit and the nature of true communion with God it is hard to doubt the reality of what God did on this Sunday in 1642.

Indeed, two remarkable and similar stories of the conversions/assurance of these men who went on to do much for the Gospel and the Kingdom of God. Two interesting points can be made:

1. Notice the sovereignty of God in both of these lives. Both were seeking another person's sermon, but God had other plans. For both men, as Piper says above, "it was God's appointed word and appointed time" for each one. Salvation is of the Lord. He will grant it in His time, place, and according to the preaching of His appointed Word. He had planned the weather and even the appointments of other men to put Spurgeon and Owen in the right place to hear his appointed Word.
   
   
2. Next, we notice that both men were brought to this salvation through the preaching of men whose names we do not know today. Spurgeon says that all the preacher could do was continue repeating the his text and even called his stupid. The preacher to Owen was called a "simple" preacher and a "country" preacher. God choose the instrument on that appointed day and hour. It was perhaps not one they would have guested, but the one who had the appointed word for them.
   

What are we to make of this? God is sovereign. He will bring His people to Himself again in His time and place according to His Word. He will also use those which the world may call foolish (1 Corinthians 1:27). Our times are in His hand, whether we believe it or not. We should also realize that even when we feel we have blown it in witnessing to others, God can take that faithfulness and save sinners. This does not give us an excuse for not giving the Gospel rightly, but in our failures and weaknesses in sharing at times, it shows once again that salvation is of the Lord. May we even be called stupid if God will use us in the salvation of sinners. If you are a believer, think about all the things God did in your entire before-Christian life to put you in that appointed time and place under the appointed preaching of His Word where He saved you and give thanks.

His Love Endures Forever

In Psalm 136, this phrase is repeated in every verse, which is a total of 26 times:

For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (NASB)

for his steadfast love endures forever (ESV)

Have you ever seen in movies, or worse, have you ever known anyone personally who comes to a point where they tell their spouse that they don't love them anymore? What is it that makes one's love for another fade? Perhaps some of these don't even have in mind the right definition of love. They have given other emotional or physical feelings the title of love. Whatever the reason, we humans are sinners and this act of "falling out of love" occurs often.

But look at this phrase found in every verse of this Psalm. God's love endures forever, it is everlasting, it has no end! No matter how we fail Him in our sin, if we are true believers, His love for us continues. We can do nothing that would cause Him to cease loving us. That is a glorious promise and truth of the Bible. This is not a licence to sin, but a great comfort during those times when we truly have blown it and acted in unbelief and disobedience. We are secure in God's love.

Luther in a letter to Melanchthon wrote the following:

If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but
the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2 Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.

Luther's comments about "let your sins be strong" has given some difficulty in this letter. I thing Luther is just saying that Melanchthon should be strong to confess his sin before the Lord. Many play games with words and are not bold in calling sin what it is. Only those who quit relying on their righteousness and trust in Christ's righteousness and substitutionary death can know that they are secure in God's mercy and love. A love that is everlasting. So be bold in admitting your sin so that your trust in Christ's work for you will be strong. No sin can separate us from His love. Even as the apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:38-39:

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NASB)

Our Suffering Servant

This morning I read Isaiah 53 in my morning study. I was amazed at the depth of material found in this one chapter about the Suffering Servant, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thought for a moment that to get the most out of this chapter, it would take a great deal of time and wondered when and how I could do this. A few hours later, I remembered that I had purchased a book some time ago that deals specifically with Isaiah 53.

James Durham was a Scottish Puritan Divine who died in 1658 at the age of 35. He had served as pastor for only eleven years, yet he was a prolific writer during his life. One of his books is titled Christ Crucified: The Marrow of the Gospel in 72 Sermons on Isaiah 53. I guess that Durham had the same thought as I did when he read this wonderful chapter of Scripture. He considered it important enough to spend 72 sermons on it (which is still amazing to me how the Puritans could take passages of Scripture, sometimes even short ones, and preach many sermons on them). In Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson's must have book Meet the Puritans, the following is mentioned about this particular book:

First published in 1683, then in 1686, this collection of sermons was reprinted six times in the eighteenth century. The present reprint is carefully and beautifully done; it uses the 1702 edition as the base text but also takes the other editions into account. . . . This is an excellent book for believers who yearn for a more intimate fellowship with Christ in His sufferings. John Duncan said to a friend who wanted to draw closer to Christ, "Read Durham on the fifty-third of Isaiah at my request. He has much repetition and you may be disgusted with that. But it's repetition of a very fine thing, the eating of Christ's flesh and the drinking of His blood. Well, That's what we must be repeating, in fact, all our life long." The Marrow of the Gospel is one of the best commentaries ever written on Christ's person and work in redemption. Charles Spurgeon highly recommended this book, saying, "This is marrow indeed. We need say no more; Durham is a prince among spiritual expositors." Others have said this work equals if not excels all of Durham's other publications

Another good review of this book is found at The Shepherd's Scrapbook blog. Here is the Table of Contents with the sermons in outline form. The publisher also makes available online the life of the author as well as his Sermon 68 on Isaiah 53:12. Well, my answer on how to dive deeper into this chapter has been answered. I hope to read through one sermon a week to understand Isaiah 53 better and to keep my mind on the sufferings of Christ in my place.

Diving Deep into the Institutes

Providence has led me to read one book and one booklet over the last few months which focused on a similar subject. In John Piper's book, When I Don't Desire God, I read the following a few months ago:

These older works are like reading the Bible through the mind and heart of great knowers and lovers of God. Don't let long books daunt you, like John Calvin's Institutes. To be sure, finishing a great book is not as important as growing by it. But finishing it is not as hard as you might think. . . . my copy of Calvin's Institutes has 1,521 pages in two volumes, with an average of 400 words per page, which is 608,400 words. That means that even if you took a day off each week, you could read this great biblical vision of God and man in less than nine months (about thirty-three weeks) at fifteen minutes a day

Then just recently, I read the following in the booklet by Sinclair Ferguson called, Read Any Good Books?. In it he writes the following:

Have you ever read the Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin? Now, there is a work whose reputation and length sometimes frightens us off from even beginning it. But pick it up (especially in the visually more pleasant translation by Ford Lewis Battles) and you will find it far easier to read than you feared. It is far more heart-warming, far more instructive, far more Christian than you ever imagined!

I have never been one to shy away from hard books such as ones by certain Puritans. But, I must confess, I have always treated Calvin's Institutes as a reference book to refer to when needed. However, these two authors have given me incentive. I have decided to dive into this 2 volume work and feast on what these authors are describing. I hope to give updates on my progress. Perhaps you could also take their words and apply them to a book you have always been hesitant to start?

Christian Imperialism

Heritage Baptist Church of Owensboro, Kentucky is having a Missions Conference next month during July 13-16. I love the title given to the conference: "Christian Imperialism - Extending the Kingdom of Christ through the Foolishness of the Cross." This really is the only way that Christianity is to spread. And as history has shown us and the Bible teaches us, it will be costly to take the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the World. May we pray and be faithful in accomplishing this task. And may we treasure our Lord more than the comforts of this world. Below is a video promoting the conference that focuses on the task and costs of taking the Gospel to every tribe, tongue, people and nation. It is very telling and convicting.

The Sinfulness of Sin

In Numbers, Chapter 25, one can read the account of the people of Israel already turning to the gods of their neighbors even before entering the land of promise - in this case the people of Moab and the god Baal of Peor. Also God gives His response to these actions of the people. It reads:

While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor” Numbers 25:1-5.

God commanded Moses to execute those who had bowed the knee before Baal. The Lord had also sent a plague as well which only ceased when Phinehas executed a man of Israel and a Midianite woman in the act of adultery. Phinehas is praised and his act the reason that God turns back His anger against the people. What are we to think of this? Don Carson writes that the pluralistic culture that we live in would consider the act of God and Phinehas's execution of this man and woman to be "primitive barbarism." But he reminds us also that the agreed to covenant of Israel included capital punishment for adultery and idolatry.

I believe that this story shows the absolute sinfulness of sin. So horrid that it is hard to find words to describe it. God hates it and He must punish it to remain true to who He is. God told Adam and Eve at Creation that disobedience to the one command they were given would bring sure death. Because of their disobedience sin entered the world resulting in death. The New Testament gives us the same idea. Paul tells us in Romans that "the wages of sin is death," Rom 6:23, and James also tells us sin brings forth death, James 1:15. The Bible tells us that all people are all guilty sinners before God. They are already dead spiritually, they will die physically and will face the wrath of God forever. No sinner will escape the wrath of God on sin.

But, what about Christians who promote forgiveness and eternal life? God can't just forgive as some tell us. He is holy, righteous and just. He can't tolerate sin. It is totally opposed to His nature. Well, even for Christians, their sins must be judged and punished. The last part of Rom 6:23 as quoted above says, " but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The wrath of God on believers has been poured out on Jesus Christ. That is what the glorious Gospel is all about. Those who repent and confess their sins and put their hope in the work of Jesus Christ as their subsitutionary sacrifice receive forgiveness and eternal life with God. God, in His love and mercy toward sinners, credits to Jesus the sins of those who believe and He credits to believers the perfect righteousness of Jesus. When God looks at the believer, He sees the righteousness of His Son. The believer can only stand before God in Christ.

Sin is serious. Those who died in this Biblical account deserved death, as do we all because we all sin. All who sin have earned death. While the church today does not carry out captial punishment for these same sins or any sin, those who practice them are still deserving of the wrath of God and will not enter the kingdom of God. But God gives grace to sinners in Christ. He gives to those who believe what they don't deserve because Jesus took what they did deserve. God will judge every single sin with wrath. The only question is whether the individual will bear it or will Jesus bear it . Who bears your sin?

Read more about this glorious Gospel.

An Evangelical Manifesto

A group of Christian leaders have put together what they call An Evangelical Manifesto in order to try and give the term "evangelical" a more definite meaning again. Here is the introduction as well as a video of the roll out last week:

An Evangelical Manifesto is an open declaration of who Evangelicals are and what they stand for. It has been drafted and published by a representative group of Evangelical leaders who do not claim to speak for all Evangelicals, but who invite all other Evangelicals to stand with them and help clarify what Evangelical means in light of “confusions within and the consternation without” the movement. As the Manifesto states, the signers are not out to attack or exclude anyone, but to rally and to call for reform.

As an open declaration, An Evangelical Manifesto addresses not only Evangelicals and other Christians but other American citizens and people of all other faiths in America, including those who say they have no faith. It therefore stands as an example of how different faith communities may address each other in public life, without any compromise of their own faith but with a clear commitment to the common good of the societies in which we all live together.

For those who are Evangelicals, the deepest purpose of the Manifesto is a serious call to reform—an urgent challenge to reaffirm Evangelical identity, to reform Evangelical behavior, to reposition Evangelicals in public life, and so rededicate ourselves to the high calling of being Evangelical followers of Jesus Christ.

Some feel that the statements in the manifesto are still too broad. Read it and see what you think.

The Gift of a Second

In Acts 16, we have the wondrous account of Paul and Silas on their missionary journey in Philippi. After Paul had cast out the demon of the slave-girl, thereby costing her masters their profits, both Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison. The jailer was commanded to “guard them securely” whereby he threw them into the “inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16.24). This jailer had been given a task that, if he failed, would probably cost him his life; this had happened to the guard of Peter shown to us earlier in the book of Acts (Acts 12.19). We now come to the miraculous event of God sending an earthquake which opens the doors of the prison and loosens the chains. After this, even the Bible tells us, “When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors were opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped” (Acts 16.27). It is easy to understand this response when we consider the importance the Philippian leaders had placed on guarding Paul and Silas. The jailer realized he was responsible for any escaped prisoners and might as well go ahead and take his life.

So we see the jailer with his sword positioned to take his life. One second more and the sword will be thrust into his body. He will commit self-murder sending his soul to the pit of hell to endure the eternal wrath of God. End of story- right? But wait. Acts 16.38 tells us that Paul cried out with a loud voice telling the guard not to hurt himself because the prisoners were still there. We read further in the passage that the jailer went to Paul and Silas in fear and trembling asking them what he must do to be saved. We then see that they explained the gospel to him, and that night, the jailer and his whole household believed and were baptized. They were filled with great joy upon their faith. Quite a remarkable story.

What amazes me is that this jailer was one second from hell. He had made the decision that it would be better to take his life. He had decided that he would be happier to take his life than endure the consequences of allowing the prisoners to escape; however, we come to one of the “But God” moments found so often in Scripture even without it being said. What can we learn from this story? I see three key points.

One, the jailer was one second from hell, but he was then snatched from the fire like a brand. Friend, we must never give up on any person. We do not know who the elect are, but we are instructed to preach the gospel to all. Although it may become frustrating telling them again and again and seeing no movement at all, this story shows us that we must never give up. One moment this man thought he would be better off killing himself. The next, God had opened his eyes to his desperate need for salvation. He had been regenerated in the twinkling of an eye. God had prepared everything we see in Acts 16, ultimately bringing this man the gospel and salvation.

Second, we must see the mercy of God in giving this man another second of bodily life and then saving him. Every day God is merciful and slow to anger to sinners who don’t deserve anything but His wrath. If you are reading this as one who has never trusted in the work of Jesus Christ alone for salvation, God has granted you the gift of a second, but he does not guarantee the gift of another. You must flee to him now. Do not say that you will come later. The sword may already be at your chest. Hear and believe the gospel, and then rejoice.

Third, who is the one in your life shouting to you with the loud voice as Paul did to this jailer? Do you hear your friend, family member or Pastor shout to you the words of life each week? That person urges you to believe in the Lord Jesus, clearly showing you your only hope. He presents to you the same Gospel that Paul told the jailer who believed and rejoiced greatly. Please listen and believe as the jailer did. Pray that God would open your eyes to see. Come to this person shouting the good news to you, and he will tell you how to be saved. If you are a believer, remember the one who shouted these words of life to you. Thank God for that person. Resolve to be that person in another’s life at every opportunity.

So how do you view a second of time now? What a marvelous gift of mercy a second of life is. It is the difference between life and death, yes even between heaven and hell. Never take for granted one second of time that God gives you. While some may call it common grace, it was special to this jailer. I tend to think he thanked God daily for this merciful gift of a second. If you are a believer, may you also thank God who does “abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3.20-21).

The Cross of Christ - John Stott

I have just completed reading the book, The Cross of Christ, by John Stott. It is a book that Ligon Duncan calls "essential reading" and "classic" with respect to historical significant books on the Atonement. The book was moderately difficult to read, one in which I could not read casually, but had to focus on most often reading without distractions such as music.

Stott places his chapters into four points of the cross: 1) Approaching the Cross, 2) The Heart of the Cross, 3) The Achievement of the Cross, and 4) Living Under the Cross. Stott is quick to interact with various and conflicting theological views throughout the book such as different views concerning the atonement. While not addressing the question of the extent of the atonement, I agree with Ligon Duncan that this work is "a robust and rousing defense of a real, penal, substitutionary atonement."

I especially enjoyed the Conclusion which consisted of an overview of the Book of Galatians with respect to the cross. He concludes with the following statement which I feel is a good summary of the book:

First, the cross is the ground of our justification. Christ has rescued us from the present evil age (Gal. 1:4) and redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). And the reason why he has delivered us from this double bondage is that we may stand boldly before God as his sons and daughters, declared righteous and indwelt by his Spirit.

Second, the cross is the means of our sanctification. . . . We have been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20). We have crucified our fallen nature (Gal. 5:24). And the world has been crucified to us, as we have been to the world (Gal 6:14). So the cross means more than the crucifixion of Jesus; it includes our crucifixion, the crucifixion of our flesh and of the world.

Third, the cross is the subject of our witness. We are to placard Christ crucified publicly before people's eyes, so that they may see and believe (Gal. 3:1). In doing so, we must not bowdlerize the gospel, extracting from it its offense to human pride. No, whatever the price may be, we preach the cross (the merit of Christ), not circumcision (the merit of man); it is the only way of salvation (Gal. 5:11; 6:12).

Fourth, the cross is the object of our boasting. God forbid that we should boast in anything else (Gal. 6:14). Paul's whole world was in orbit around the cross. It filled his vision, illuminated his life, warmed his spirit. He "gloried" in it. It meant more to him than anything else. Our perspective should be the same.

If the cross is not central in these four spheres for us, then we deserve to have applied to us that most terrible of all descriptions, "enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18). . . . Self-righteousness (instead of looking to the cross for justification), self-indulgence (instead of taking up the cross to follow Christ), self-advertisement (instead of preaching Christ crucified) and self-glorification (instead of glorying in the cross) --- these are the distortions which make us "enemies" of Christ's cross.

Indeed a very serious warning. May we never be enemies of the cross.

Book Information

Title: The Cross of Christ - 20th Anniversary Edition

Author: John R. W. Stott

Cover: Hardcover

Pages: 380

Dust jacket: Yes

Indexes: Name, Subject, and Scripture

Publisher: InterVarsity Press (IVP)

Year: 2006

ISBN: 10083083320X

No Better Gospel

C. H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying,

George Whitefield and John Wesley may have preached the gospel better than I, but they could not preach a better gospel.

What a statement! The gospel is sufficient as it is - it can't be improved on no matter how gifted the preacher. This should give all pastors confidence, but it should also give all Christians confidence when presenting the gospel to unbelievers. Paul said that the "gospel is the power of God unto salvation." It is not a man's ability, methods, or style -- it is the power of God in the gospel that saves! So we should never stray from the gospel for it is what God uses to save sinners. It is powerful. It is sufficient. Let us never be ashamed of it. What is the gospel? Here is a good summary.