Christ Centered Research

The Love of God - A.W. Pink

2010-02-04T01:48:00.008-05:00

There are three things told us in Scripture concerning the nature of God.

First, “God is spirit” (John 4:24). In the Greek, there is no indefinite article and to say “God is a spirit” is most objectionable, for it places Him in a class with others. God is “spirit” in the highest sense. Because He is “spirit” He is incorporeal, having no visible substance. Had God a tangible body, He would not be omnipresent, He would be limited to one place; because He is spirit, He fills heaven and earth.

Second, God is light (1 John 1:5), which is the opposite of “darkness.” In Scripture, “darkness” stands for sin, evil, death; and “light” for holiness, goodness, life. God is light, means that He is the sum of all excellency.

Third, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). It is not simply that God “loves,” but that He is Love itself. Love is not merely one of His attributes, but His very nature.
There are many today who talk about the love of God who are total strangers to the God of love. The Divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, a sort of good-natured indulgence; it is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion. Now the truth is that on this, as on everything else, our thoughts need to be formed and regulated by what is revealed thereon in Holy Scripture. That there is urgent need for this is apparent not only from the ignorance which so generally prevails, but also from the low state of spirituality which is now so sadly evident everywhere among professing Christians. How little real love there is for God. One chief reason for this is because our hearts are so little occupied with His wondrous love for His people. The better we are acquainted with His love—its character, fullness, blessedness—the more will our hearts be drawn out in love to Him.

1. The love of God is uninfluenced. By this we mean, there was nothing whatever in the objects of His love to call it into exercise, nothing in the creature to attract or prompt it. The love which one creature has for another is because of something in them; but the love of God is free, spontaneous, uncaused. The only reason why God loves any is found in His own sovereign will: “The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you because ye were more in number than
any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved thee” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). God has loved His people from everlasting, and therefore nothing of the creature can be the cause of what is found in God from eternity. He loves from Himself: “according to His own purpose” (2 Timothy 1:9).

“We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God did not love us because we loved Him, but He loved us before we had a particle of love for Him. Had God loved us in return for ours, then it would not be spontaneous on His part; but because He loved us when we were loveless, it is clear that His love was uninfluenced. It is highly important if God is to be honored and the heart of His child established, that we should be quite clear upon this precious truth. God’s love for me, and for each of “His own,” was entirely unmoved by anything in them. What was there in me to attract the heart of God? Absolutely nothing. But, to the contrary, everything to repel Him, everything calculated to make Him loathe me—sinful, depraved, a mass of corruption, with “no good thing” in me.

“What was there in me that could merit esteem,
Or give the Creator delight?
‘Twas even so, Father, I ever must sing,
Because it seemed good, in Thy sight.”

2. It is eternal. This of necessity. God Himself is eternal, and God is love; therefore, as God Himself had no beginning, His love had none. Granted that such a concept far transcends the grasp of our feeble minds, nevertheless, where we cannot comprehend, we can bow in adoring worship. How clear is the testimony of Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.”

How blessed to know that the great and holy God loved His people before heaven and earth were called into existence, that He had set His heart upon them from all eternity. Clear proof is this that His love is spontaneous for He loved them endless ages before they had any being. The same precious truth is set forth in Ephesians 1:4,5, “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. In love
having predestinated us.” What praise should this evoke from each of His children! How tranquilizing for the heart: since God’s love toward me had no beginning, it can have no ending! Since it be true that “from everlasting to everlasting” He is God, and since God is “love,” then it is equally true that “from everlasting to everlasting” He loves His people.

3. It is sovereign. This also is self-evident. God Himself is sovereign, under obligations to none, a law unto Himself, acting always according to His own imperial pleasure. Since God be sovereign, and since He be love, it necessarily follows that His love is sovereign. Because God is God, He does as He pleases; because God is love, He loves whom He pleases. Such is His own express affirmation: “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:19). There was no
more reason in Jacob why he should be the object of Divine love, than there was in Esau. They both had the same parents, and were born at the same time, being twins; yet God loved the one and hated the other! Why? Because it pleased Him to do so. The sovereignty of God’s love necessarily follows from the fact that it is uninfluenced by anything in the creature. Thus, to affirm that the cause of His love lies in God Himself, is only another way of saying, He loves whom He pleases.

For a moment, assume the opposite. Suppose God’s love were regulated by anything else than His will, in such a case He would love by rule, and loving by rule He would be under a law of love, and then so far from being free, God would Himself be ruled by law. “In love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to”—what? Some excellency which He foresaw in them? No; what then? “According to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:4-5).

4. It is infinite. Everything about God is infinite. His essence fills heaven and earth. His wisdom is illimitable, for He knows everything of the past, present and future. His power is unbounded, for there is nothing too hard for Him. So His love is without limit. There is a depth to it which none can fathom; there is a height to it which none can scale; there is a length and breadth to it which defies measurement, by any creature-standard.

Beautifully is this intimated in Ephesians 2:4: But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us: the word “great” there is parallel with the “God so loved” of John 3:16. It tells us that the love of God is so transcendent it cannot be estimated. No tongue can fully express the infinitude of God’s love or any mind comprehend it: it “passeth knowledge,” Ephesians 3:19). The most extensive ideas that a finite mind can frame about Divine love, are infinitely below its true nature. The heaven is not so far above the earth as the goodness of God is beyond the most raised conceptions which we are able to form of it. It is an ocean which swells higher than all the mountains of opposition in such as are the objects of it. It is a fountain from which flows all necessary good to all those who are interested in it (John Brine, 1743).

5. It is immutable. As with God Himself there is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17), so His love knows neither change nor diminution. The worm Jacob supplies a forceful example of this: “Jacob have I loved,” declared Jehovah, and despite all his unbelief and waywardness, He never ceased to love him. John 13:1 furnishes another beautiful illustration. That very night one of the apostles would say, “Show us the Father;” another would deny Him with cursings; all of them would be scandalized by and forsake Him. Nevertheless “having loved His own which were in the world, He love them unto the end.” The Divine love is subject to no vicissitudes. Divine love is “strong as death ... many waters cannot quench it” (Song of Solomon 8:6-7). Nothing can separate from it: Romans 8:35-39.

“His love no end nor measure knows,
No change can turn its course,
Eternally the same it flows
From one eternal source.”

6. It is holy. God’s love is not regulated by caprice passion, or sentiment, but by principle. Just as His grace reigns not at the expense of it, but “through righteousness” (Romans 5:21), so His love never conflicts with His holiness. “God is light” (1 John 1:5) is mentioned before “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God’s love is no mere amiable weakness, or effeminate softness. Scripture declares, “whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth”
(Hebrews 12:6). God will not wink at sin, even in His own people. His love is pure, unmixed with any maudlin sentimentality.

7. It is gracious. The love and favor of God are inseparable. This is clearly brought out in Romans 8:32-39. What that love is from which there can be no “separation,” is easily perceived from the design and scope of the immediate context: it is that goodwill and grace of God which d etermined Him to give His Son for sinners. That love was the impulsive power of Christ’s incarnation: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Christ died not in order to make God love us, but because He did love His people. Calvary is the supreme demonstration of Divine love. Whenever you are tempted to doubt the love of God, Christian reader, go back to Calvary.

Here then is abundant cause for trust and patience under Divine affliction. Christ was beloved of the Father, yet He was not exempted from poverty, disgrace, and persecution. He hungered and thirsted. Thus, it was not incompatible with God’s love for Christ when He permitted men to spit upon and smite Him. Then let no Christian call into question God’s love when he is brought under painful afflictions and trials. God did not enrich Christ on earth with temporal prosperity,
for “He had not where to lay His head.” But He did give Him the Spirit “without measure” (John 3:34). Learn then that spiritual blessings are the principal gifts of Divine love. How blessed to know that when the world hates us, God loves us!

From The Attributes of God.

Calling All Calvinists: A Call To Repentance (Monica Dennington response)

2010-01-30T12:18:00.013-05:00

Here is Monica Dennington, unleashing her diatribe against Calvinism and Calvinists on Tic Toc Ministries. Again, this is another example of people who have a belief system that whatever they say is scriptural and if you do not agree with them, you do not agree with God himself. Here is her video and a couple of video responses, one of which is by Dr. James White and the other by YouTube channel JoshnJesus.

It is evident by her very poor attempt to dismantle Reformed Theology (Calvinism) that she is ignorant of several things. She does not know church history at all and why we even have Christianity in the USA. She does not even know what the core doctrines are in scripture, that we who are reformed in our theology hold fast to. She did not mention one. Monica, also for some reason can't seem to get it in her head that just as Charles Spurgeon said "It is a nickname to call it Calvinism". Just as it is a nickname to call Monica's theology "Arminianism" No one is following John Calvin, just as Monica is not a follower of Arminius.

Again, these attempts to say that Calvinists follow Calvin and that are not saved are outlandish and ignorant. And what is even more outlandish is that Monica herself has a non-biblical view of the Trinity. Saying that the Holy Spirit is a girl and feminine in gender which is biblically in error and ridiculous.

She is not the first one to make these claims about Calvinism. I have even heard a very popular preacher in Midland, Michigan also make the similar claims that Calvinism is a "Damnable Doctrine" and that it will "Damn your soul". This was very, very disappointing to me!

So Monica is calling all Calvinists to Repent. Here are just a few of these Evil Calvinists, dead and alive. I guess the living ones better repent, because the dead ones must be burning in hell according to Monica's call to repentance.

Historical Preachers/Teachers that where Calvinists:

Augustine
A.W. Towzer
Richard Baxter
Thomas Boston
John Calvin (the devil himself who studied the text verse by verse/authored the Christian Institutes)
Jonathan Edwards (preached sinners in the hands of an angry God)
John Flavel
A.A. Hodge
John Knox
John Newton
A.W. Pink
John Bunyan (Author of Pilgrims Progress/10 years in prison for preaching the gospel)
John Owen
Charles Spurgeon (another "Evil" Calvinist who preached repentance and Christ Crucified)
Thomas Watson
John Gill
Martin Luther (started the protestant reformation)
C.S. Lewis - (quite the Calvinist when it comes to the mortification of sin)

Here are just a hand full of current "Evil" Calvinists:

Dr. R.C. Sproul - (several of his theological books are used in many churches today)
Dr. James White
Steve Camp
Dr. John Frame
Dr. Wayne Grudem - (wrote Grudem's Systematic Theology, used in many colleges and churches today, many do not know he is a "Reformed Charismatic" and they us his material.
Sinclair Ferguson
J.I. Packard
Dr. D. James Kennedy
Dr. Albert Mohler
Paul Washer
Dr. Thomas Ascol
Dr. John Piper
Matt Slick - Reformed Charismatic
Mark Kielar - Cross TV
Dr. John MacArthur
Kirk Camereon -(guilty by association)WOTM radio
Ray Comfort -(guilty by association) WOTM radio
Todd Friel -(host of Wretched Radio)
Del Tackett - the author\teacher of the "Truth Project" and founder of New Geneva Seminary.

I think that this goes to further prove how ridiculous Monica's claims are that these people need to repent or else. Folks need to study the scriptures/church history and stop taking everything the Dennington's and even a Midland, Michigan preacher's word as gospel truth!

We need to study the scriptures just as intently as the men listed above have done!

by His Grace alone,

Bill

What is Reformed Theology?

2010-01-04T11:41:00.005-05:00

This is a question I frequently get "What is Reformed Theology?". So, I thought I would start out the new year with 3 short video posts by R. C. Sproul answering this very question. Here are the videos on a brief introduction of Reformed Theology.

Please bare with the audio/video sync issues:

New Blog Discovery: Calvinistic Cartoons

2009-11-30T20:13:00.007-05:00

Here is a great site if you are like me and love a little theological satire Calvin style. Please check it out. It is Eddie Eddings blog Calvinistic Cartoons.

Felix was comfortable with his new New Testament
until someone at work wanted to borrow the Sports section.

Emergent-cy... We need to recover the gospel !!!! In this contemporary culture...

2009-11-30T18:32:00.015-05:00

Encore Presentation:

The emergent church continues to wander further and further away from true christian orthodoxy! Doug Pagitt and Brian Mclaren continue to eliminate the "faith" and appeal to the culture.

There are three main errors of the church/movement.

1.) The desire to contextualize the Christian faith in adapting it to culture.

2.) The lack of reverence for God and His Word.

3.) The absence of the preaching of God's Word.

Here is a special PBS did on the Emergent Church:

Here is a discussion with Al Mohler, Ravi Zacharias and R.C. Sproul on the Post Modernism and the Emergent Church.

By His Grace Alone,

Bill

Happy Thanksgiving from Christ Centered Research

2009-11-26T23:23:00.004-05:00

The Original - Thanksgiving Proclamation

Simply click on the photo and when it comes up larger, click again and you should be able to read it...

In God's Strong Love,

Bill

Are you a good person?

2009-11-25T00:13:00.009-05:00

There is not a week that goes by that I don't hear the phrase "I'm not that bad, I have never killed anyone, I've never been in prison, I'm not racist, overall I'm a good person."

This seems to be the perspective of many, it was with me at one time. But yet we are sinners and we are born that way. David affirms this in Psalm 51 when he declares: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (vs. 5, ESV).”

Psalm 58 says this of “the wicked,” which we can easily apply to every man, “Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies (vs. 3).”

Scripture says a lot more:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. -- Genesis 6:5

The heart is deceitful above all things,and desperately sick; who can understand it?
-Jeremiah 17:9

10 as it is written:“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” --Romans 3:10-18

These verses expose our desperate condition that we are sinners by nature from the day of our birth. Not only are we sinners, but every intent of the thoughts of our hearts is only evil all the time. Our hearts are so desperately wicked that they cannot be known truly by anyone but God.

We would chose our own selfish desires at every turn. We do not do any good; we are lying, deceitful, cursing, violent, blasphemous, people who have no fear of God at all.

So, in light of the biblical texts just sighted. I ask the question again. Are you a good person?

by His Grace Alone,

Bill

Persecution: A price to pay for being a Christian?

2009-11-12T23:13:00.004-05:00

Is Context Key in Bible Interpretation? Examination of 2 Peter 3:9

2009-11-07T11:07:00.007-05:00

Here is an example of why context is critical when studying the text. Here is 2 Peter 3:9 and example of proper exegesis and why context matters. Exegeted by Dr. James White...

by His Grace Alone,

Bill

Psalm 145 - A Song of Praise

2009-11-05T23:51:00.004-05:00

Today I simply just wanted to share a Psalm of Praise to the Lord... Psalm 145, take time and meditate on it today! (ESV)

In God's Amazing Grace,

Bill

Great Is the Lord
A Song of Praise. Of David.

145:1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.]
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

The Prosperity Gospel Another Gospel???

2009-11-03T16:37:00.007-05:00

John Piper on why he considers the Prosperity Gospel an abomination and biblical texts to back it up!

John Piper - How would you share a Reformed understanding of the Gospel?

2009-11-03T16:26:00.003-05:00

Call to Faithfulness - C.H. Spurgeon

2009-10-28T18:33:00.002-04:00

Look you, sirs, there are ages to come. If the lord does not speedily appear, there will come another generation, and another, and all these generations will be tainted and injured if we are not faithful to God and to his truth today. We have come to a turning-point in the road. If we turn to the right, mayhap our children and our children’s children will go that way; but if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to his Word. I charge you, not only by your ancestry, but by your posterity, that you seek to win the commendation of your Master, that though you dwell where Satan’s seat is, you yet hold fast his name, and do not deny his faith. God grant us faithfulness, for the sake of the souls around us! How is the world to be saved if the church is false to her Lord? How are we to lift the masses if our fulcrum is removed? If our gospel is uncertain, what remains but increasing misery and despair? Stand fast, my beloved, in the name of God! I, your brother in Christ, entreat You to abide in the truth. Quit yourselves like men, be strong. The Lord sustain you for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”
-Charles Spurgeon-

Dr. James White "The Best Closing Statement I Have Ever Heard In A Debate On Calvinism (Reformed Theology)"

2009-10-17T00:53:00.006-04:00

Dr. James White's closing statement from his debate against George Bryson held at the Anaheim Vineyard in Southern California. The full debate is available from www.aomin.org.

By God's Grace Alone,

Bill

Love Constrained to Obedience

2009-09-16T13:55:00.003-04:00

A hymn-poem by William Cowper (1731-1800)

No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright:
And what she has she misapplies,
For want of clearer light.

How long beneath the law I lay
In bondage and distress;
I toll’d the precept to obey,
But toil’d without success.

Then, to abstain from outward sin
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power within,
I feel I hate it too.

Then all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the Son,
I freely choose His ways.

“What shall I do,” was then the word,
“That I may worthier grow?”
“What shall I render to the Lord?”
Is my inquiry now.

To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And hear His pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.

William Cowper

Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week - John Crowder's Demonic Manifestations

2009-09-13T09:51:00.011-04:00

The heir to Todd Bentley's thrown, John Crowder, continues to ramp up his pulpit antics. So, is he Drunk in the Spirit or Drunk in demonic activity?

This stuff just keeps getting worse and more extreme. These men have no boundaries to what they do and teach. These false teachers/prophets are everywhere deceiving many a sheep. I know some people get very upset at me when I post these videos, some down right angry, but when these men profess that this is a work of Christ and say that these manifestations are the Holy Spirit. I can do no other but defend the scriptures and prove other wise.

Take a look, if you read your Bible at all this should make you sick... Where is any of this in scripture? Now, I know that there are some who will want to get on my case for bringing John Crowder up in the CIC this week. So, I gently ask you, "Where in the Bible are we to levitate and tap into being in two places at once? Where is this in the Holy Text?" Christians it is time to wake up and study the Word of God now. I charge you to become a faithful, noble, Berean today!

by God's Grace alone,

Bill

Charles Spurgeon on the Gospel

2009-09-13T09:38:00.005-04:00

"Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead. Seek the gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul."

"Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted."

"Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching - where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus."

"If God does not save men by truth, he certainly will not save them by lies. And if the old gospel is not competent to work a revival, then we will do without the revival."

"On Christ, and what he has done, my soul hangs for time and eternity. And if your soul also hangs there, it will be saved as surely as mine shall be. And if you are lost trusting in Christ, I will be lost with you and will go to hell with you. I must do so, for I have nothing else to rely upon but the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived, died, was buried, rose again, went to heaven, and still lives and pleads for sinners at the right hand of God."

"We have an unchanging gospel, which is not today green grass and tomorrow dry hay; but always the abiding truth of the immutable Jehovah."

"If the Lord's bearing our sin for us is not the gospel, I have no gospel to preach."

"The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ."

"When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize; there is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed."

--- C.H. Spurgeon

Joy and Peace in Believing - - by John Newton

2009-09-08T23:43:00.003-04:00

Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord who rises
With healing in his wings:
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
To cheer it after rain.

In holy contemplation,
We sweetly then pursue
The theme of God's salvation,
And find it ever new:
Set free from present sorrow,
We cheerfully can say,
E'en let th' unknown to-morrow
Bring with it what it may.

It can bring with it nothing
But he will bear us through;
Who gives the lilies clothing,
Will clothe his people too:
Beneath the spreading heavens,
No creature but is fed;
And he who feeds the ravens,
Will give his children bread.

Though vine nor fig-tree neither
Their wonted fruit shall bear,
Though all the field should wither,
Nor flocks nor herds be there:
Yet God the same abiding,
His praise shall tune my voice;
For while in him confiding,
I cannot but rejoice.

Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week - Crunk and Moralism

2009-09-08T00:59:00.004-04:00

I have no words..... Todd about sums up how I feel about this one!

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Dr. Albert Mohler - Why Moralism Is Not the Gospel -- And Why So Many Christians Think It Is

2009-09-05T00:57:00.006-04:00

Check out this excerpt of great article by Dr. A.Mohler on Moralism.

In our own context, one of the most seductive false gospels is moralism. This false gospel can take many forms and can emerge from any number of political and cultural impulses. Nevertheless, the basic structure of moralism comes down to this -- the belief that the Gospel can be reduced to improvements in behavior.

Sadly, this false gospel is particularly attractive to those who believe themselves to be evangelicals motivated by a biblical impulse. Far too many believers and their churches succumb to the logic of moralism and reduce the Gospel to a message of moral improvement. In other words, we communicate to lost persons the message that what God desires for them and demands of them is to get their lives straight.

Head over to Crosswalk.com to view the article in its entirety.

by His Grace Alone,

Bill

Rightly Divided: Does Reformed Theology Matter? with guest Dr. James White

2009-09-02T23:26:00.005-04:00

On "Rightly Divided"... LaneCh interviews Dr. James White on Reformed Theology. How does Reformed Theology effect your Apologetics, your worship and you daily life?

Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week - Whisper His Name

2009-09-01T00:19:00.004-04:00

There is NOTHING deep about this little ditty. This song makes it sound like he's your little doggy. This is similar another typical God is my girlfriend/boyfriend song that is so consuming our churches today. And this song is even worse because it turns God into your own personal pet, at your beck and call.

Whisper His name. (Fido) Whisper His name. (Fido)
Whisper His name. (Fido) And He will bark at You (Come to You). (Repeat)

Call out His name. (Fido) Call out His name. (Fido)
Call out His name. (Fido) And He will come to You. (Repeat)

Shout out His name. (Fido) Shout out His name. (Fido)
Shout out His name. (Fido) And He will run to You. (Repeat)

For when we lose our stinkin' minds
And when we fall down on our heads
Its then we sing to God like he's a dog, Here boy!

This song is very typical of what is considered worship today. Songs are wrote and sung with no thought of the Holy God. He is not our boyfriend/girlfriend nor our personal pet. He is creator of the Universe and is not subject to our beck and call like some puppy dog! It is unthinkable that we can put this kind of shallow offering before a Holy God.

By His Grace Alone,

Bill

Jonathan Edwards on God Convincing Man of His Sin and Guilt

2009-08-31T23:52:00.002-04:00

God makes men consider and be sensible of what sin they are guilty. Before, it may be, they were very regardless of this. They went on sinning, and never reflected upon what they did. [They] never considered or regarded what or how many sins they committed. They saw no cause why they should trouble their minds about it. But when God convinces them, he brings them to reflect upon themselves. He sets their sins in order before their eyes. He brings their old sins to their minds, so that they are fresh in their memory — things which they had almost forgotten. And many things, which they used to regard as light offenses, which were not wont to be a burden to their consciences, nor to appear worthy to be taken notice of, they are now made to reflect upon. Thus they discover of what a multitude of transgressions they have been guilty, which they have heaped up till they are grown up to heaven.

There are some sins especially, of which they have been guilty, which are ever before them, so that they cannot get them out of their minds. Sometimes when men are under conviction, their sins follow them, and haunt them like a specter. God makes them sensible of the sin of their hearts, how corrupt and depraved their hearts are. And there are two ways in which he does this. One is by setting before them the sins of their lives. They are so set in order before them, they appear so many and so aggravated, that they are convinced what a fountain of corruption there is in their hearts. Their sinful natures appear by their sinful lives. There is sin enough, which every man has committed, to convince him, that he is sold under sin, that his heart is full of nothing but corruption, if God by his Spirit leads him rightly to consider it.

WHAT MAKES MUSIC... CHRISTIANLY? ...contending for biblical theology in CCM

2009-08-22T02:42:00.007-04:00

Having ties to the Christian music industry, I could not agree more with Steve Camp. The things that you see and experience inside CCMI, will just make you sick. You soon come to the realization that much of what takes place in Christian music is no different than what takes place in the secular market place. Sadly CCMI is Christian by name only.

“Thy statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.”

- Psalm 119:54

CCMI-On The Down-Grade?
History is a lucid teacher and we can learn from her. Give ear to the account of one man’s battle against the roaring lion[17] of modernity in his time:

Charles Hadden Spurgeon spent the final four years of his life at war against the trends of early modernism which he rightly saw as a threat to Biblical Christianity. Spurgeon wanted to warn his flock about the dangers from moving away from the historic positions [of the truth]. ‘Biblical truth is like the pinnacle of a steep, slippery mountain,’ Spurgeon suggested. ‘One step away, and you find yourself on the down-grade. Once a church or individual Christian gets on the downgrade,’ Spurgeon said, ‘momentum takes over. Recovery is unusual and only happens when Christians get on the ‘up-line’ through spiritual revival.’ History has vindicated Spurgeon’s warnings about the down-grade. In the early part of the twentieth century the spreading of ‘false doctrine and worldliness’—theological liberalism and modernism—ravaged denominational Christianity throughout the world. Most of the mainline denominations were violently if not fatally altered by these influences. A hundred years later, we are seeing history repeating itself again…. ‘False doctrine and worldliness’—the same two influences Spurgeon attacked—always go hand in hand, with worldliness leading the way. Christians today tend to forget that modernism was not first of all a theological agenda but a methodological one.[18]

We are seriously close, beloved, to being on the down-grade in Christian music, if, in fact, we have not already begun the slide. Though we are seeing an unprecedented interest by the secular arena with more press and publicity, I believe there are some danger signs we can’t ignore: an absence of biblical truth; a reductionist gospel; being unequally yoked with the secular music industry; syncretism; pragmatism; aberrant and heretical themes accepted in lyrics; worldliness in business practice; relativism; moral pluralism; and experientialism. Could it be that the love of money is producing all sorts of evil?[19]

Brethren, God’s judgment is assuredly upon the Christian Music industry. Like the street courtesan, she has been sold by the “gatekeeper pimps” to the “secular johns” who have the deepest pockets and make the sweetest promises! It has patterned itself after the ways of the world rather than doing the work of God, by the will of God, according to the Word of God! There is no hope for gospel music apart from Heaven’s intervention. We need revival; we need renewal; we need repentance; and we need a new Reformation!

--- Steve Camp

Read the rest of this article @ Camponthis

Steve Camp / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Arminianism: The Root of "Christian" Liberalism?

2009-08-20T12:27:00.001-04:00

SinClair Ferguson from Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification

2009-08-16T23:08:00.003-04:00

Union with Christ in his death and resurrection is the element of union which Paul most extensively expounds...if we are united to Christ, then we are united to him at all points of his activity on our behalf. We share in his death (we were baptized into his death), in his resurrection (we are resurrected with Christ), in his ascension (we have been raised with him), in his heavenly session (we sit with him in heavenly places, so that our life is hidden with Christ in God), and we will share in his promised return (when Christ, who is our life, appears, we also will appear with him in glory) (Rom. 6:14; Col. 2:11-12; 3:1-3).

This, then, is the foundation of sanctification in Reformed theology. It is rooted, not in humanity and their achievement of holiness or sanctification, but in what God has done in Christ, and for us in union with him. Rather than view Christians first and foremost in the microcosmic context of their own progress, the Reformed doctrine first of all sets them in the macrocosm of God's activity in redemptive history. It is seeing oneself in this context that enables the individual Christian to grow in true holiness.

SinClair Ferguson from Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification

The Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation

2009-08-14T10:28:00.002-04:00

And Paul was like that. He said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel," - I am not ashamed of the message and the reality of Christ crucified for sinners and raised with power and saving all who trust in him. Why not? Because "[the gospel] is the power of God for [unto] salvation to everyone who believes." This is the same way that Jesus overcame feelings of shame when he was shamed for the gospel. Jesus looked to the joyful triumph of his cross and resurrection; Paul looked to the joyful triumph of the gospel in eternal salvation.

--- John Piper

You can read the full article, "The Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation" here at desiringGod.

Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week

2009-08-12T00:21:00.005-04:00

I am still trying to figure out how in the Word of God that this is worship... My conclusion, no matter how I look at it, this is not worship! Just because the name of Jesus and Lordy is mentioned, does not make it a biblical truth!

Where is the doctrine in this song? How is Christ's name being exalted? Are we supposed to address the Lord as "Lordy"? The amount of disrespect before a Holy God is staggering. Does not God demand in scripture how He is to be worshiped? Yes, in Spirit and in Truth! This in itself disqualifies this as being worship..

This video seems to be "culturally relevant" and cool for the youth.. But so are clubs! The actual "secular" version of this song is disgusting and this is brought in and repackaged as worship.

I long for the day when Christians will stand up and say enough is enough. We need to have some guts and make our worship jammed packed with biblical truth, reverence and keep it Christ Centered.

Does this make me angry? Yes, Yes, Yes...

We serve a Holy God and He will not be robbed of His Glory!

By His Grace Alone,

Bill

The Cross is a Radical Thing

2009-08-10T22:09:00.006-04:00

Great article by Steve Camp.. I wanted to share this with our readers. Please take time and check out Steve's blog Camponthis. It has wonderful articles that are jammed packed with sound doctrine and even at times some satire. Check it out Campi's Blog.

The Cross is a Radical Thing

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me" -Galatians 2:20.

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the most unprecedented event in human history. In Jesus' day it was the most excruciating, painful, horrific way of death known to man. It was usually reserved for the worst of criminals who had committed the most inhumane of crimes. The Roman roads were silhouetted with literally thousands of crosses that bore not only those outlaws, but ultimately the precious martyred bodies of the faithful for God.

A. W. Tozer brings this authenticity of the cross to vivid truth when he says, "We must do something about the cross and one of two things only we can - flee it or die upon it! The cross will cut into our lives where it hurts worst sparing neither us nor our carefully cultivated reputations." Sin had to be destroyed. Death had to be conquered. The only way to eternal life is for the Old Adam to die - to be crucified with Christ. To follow Jesus meant hardship, persecution, almost certain death.

When Jesus called for all His true disciples to "deny [themselves], take up [their] cross, and follow Him" (Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:26f), He was not offering a suggestion but issuing a command. He was calling for the death of the old life, the old man, the old nature... the death of self (Romans 6:6). The crowd pleasers and thrill seekers of His time quickly dismissed any notion of giving up all to follow Him. They wanted an easier way - a broader road that they thought would lead to heaven (Matthew 7:13-14).

Nowhere in any of the gospels did our Lord Jesus say, "If any man wishes to be my disciple let him slip up his hand and put it down quietly." That would be easy; no cross. The simple truth is this: happiness is convenient, but holiness costs. He does not want our hands raised beloved, but our lives surrendered.

Every true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ will know four realities of the cross: 1. the nakedness of the cross; 2. the loneliness of the cross; 3. the humiliation of the cross; and 4. the glory of the cross.

There is a nakedness to the cross.
We must be stripped of all confidence in our flesh; consider our lives to be bankrupt of any goodness that could add one additional work to our salvation. We must come destitute, broken, stripped of all fleshly religious boasting and as the hymn writer has instructed to sy, "nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Your cross I cling." (Phil. 3:3-12).

There is a loneliness to the cross.
We must come alone to Christ; not carrying our parents cross, not our neighbors cross, not our friends cross, nor our brothers or sisters or spouse's cross, but our cross. We must follow Jesus even if all others deny Him, reject Him, turn away from Him, and scorn Him (Luke 14:26-28; Matthew 10:34-39; 16:24-26).

There is a humiliation to the cross.
Pride is the most deadly of all sins; religious pride intensifies this depravity a hundred fold. Pride in ourselves, in our good works, in our abilities, in our own righteousness, must be crucified with Christ. We must be humbled under the weight of our sin and come as beggars pleading for His mercy; realizing that no church system, no religious practice, no ceremony or feast day, no indulgence from any church, no works of any kind can save us or add to our salvation (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10-12, 6:6; Matthew 5:3,20).

Lastly, there is a glory to the cross.
The cross was not tragedy--but triumph. What man viewed in horror and shame, God viewed as victory. For now man once alienated by sin, has been brought into peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Christ's death on the cross was a substitution for you and me. He died in our place. He accomplished what man and all his religious good works could never do and that was to satisfy the wrath, justice, righteousness and holiness of God once for all. It took an unblemished Lamb; a perfect High Priest; and a sinless life lived. All of those things were present only in the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Dr. MacArthur is profound when he says, "Every sin, ever committed, by everyone that would ever believe was imputed or credited to Christ on the cross." Though He is sinless, undefiled and absolutely holy, He was treated as if He lived our life. And by an act of grace (God's unmerited favor to us; getting what we don't deserve) when we by faith place our sole hope and trust for our salvation in the finished work and person of Jesus Christ alone, though we are sinful people to the core we are treated as if we lived His life; for His perfect righteousness is imputed or credited to us. If you know Christ as your Lord and Savior you are clothed with the perfect righteousness of Christ not obtained through law-keeping, but through faith. What a wonderful, merciful Savior we have in the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen?

Our Lord, having conquered sin and death now gives life-everlasting, the forgiveness of sin, newness of life, securing us with His precious Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our redemption to all those that the Father has drawn and chosen from all eternity to be His own (John 3:16-18; Hebrews 2:14; 2 Corinthians 5:17,21; Ephesians 1:13-14; Galatians 2:20; Romans 5:1-10). What tremendous victories that cause us to glory in our Lord. (Titus 3:4-6).

Like the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22) who wanted heaven on his own terms, people today, are trying to find their own way to God. But Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6).

Come out of the “between” life of this generation, and embrace Jesus; for His cross is truly a radical thing.

DIGGING DEEPER
"Jesus Our Man In Glory" by A.W. Tozer;
"The Cross of Christ" by John Stott;
"Redemption Accomplished and Applied" by John Murray.

LIFE APPLICATION
1. Why do you think the cross has become little more than a fashion statement in the minds of many people as they wear them on necklaces, etc...?

2. What has the cross cost you? What did it cost Jesus and accomplish on behalf of God and man?

3. What are the four realities of the cross? Explain in your own words.

4. Write down how you will daily take up your cross in living for Jesus. Pray over these things that the Lord would give you strength as you follow Him.

5. Use these passages of Scripture in your quiet-times this week. Reflect on the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross: Mark 10:17-21; 38-39; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Hebrews 2:5-18;Phil. 2:1-12; John 19; Luke 23.

Steve Camp / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

How Does Your Church Measure Success?

2009-08-06T01:54:00.001-04:00

Justification is more than being just before Christ

2009-08-03T22:46:00.009-04:00

I have heard many times when asking for a definition on Justification this response "It means we are"Just" before Christ". This ends up being a rather shallow answer, without a true definition. My next question I ask is what does it mean to be "Just" before Christ? I normally then get this response "It means we are made right".

The Biblical Doctrine of Justification deserves a much more than one line cliches in response. After all, Jesus died on a cross for our sins and it is the whole reason we even have Justification. The least we can do is be able to give a clear biblical response to the question "What is Justification?"

Here are some great definitions and commentary on Justification. It would do us good as true Christians to get a grasp on this definition in Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and John Calvin's Institutes and Commentary. Again, Christ died for us on a cross, lets at least take the time to learn the doctrine of Justification!

Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.

Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology (pg. 723)

Scripture, when it treats of justification by faith, leads us in a very different direction. Turning away our view from our own works, it bids us look only to the mercy of God and the perfection of Christ. The order of justification which it sets before us is this: first, God of his mere gratuitous goodness is pleased to embrace the sinner, in whom he sees nothing that can move him to mercy but wretchedness, because he sees him altogether naked and destitute of good works. He, therefore, seeks the cause of kindness in himself, that thus he may affect the sinner by a sense of his goodness, and induce him, in distrust of his own works, to cast himself entirely upon his mercy for salvation. This is the meaning of faith by which the sinner comes into the possession of salvation, when, according to the doctrine of the Gospel, he perceives that he is reconciled by God; when, by the intercession of Christ, he obtains the pardon of his sins, and is justified; and, though renewed by the Spirit of God, considers that, instead of leaning on his own works, he must look solely to the righteousness which is treasured up for him in Christ.

John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion (3.11.16)

The phrase “in him” I have preferred to retain, rather than render it “by him” because it has in my opinion more expressiveness and force. For we are enriched in Christ, inasmuch as we are members of his body, and are engrafted into him: nay more, being made one with him, he makes us share with him in everything that he has received from the Father.

John Calvin Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:5

by God's Grace alone,

Bill

CBN News - Revisiting John Calvin's Reformation

2009-08-01T11:31:00.003-04:00

CBN news has been revisiting John Calvin and the Reformation through the month of July. In honor of John's 500th Birthday! Check it out.

Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week - Mark T. Barclay vs. Charles H. Spurgeon

2009-07-31T10:47:00.010-04:00

I decided to post this today instead of Monday and my goodness we are in trouble serious trouble in America when preachers say they are experts on Theology and have not a clue what they are talking about!

Here we have Mark T. Barclay (aka. The General) talking about the Damnable Doctrine of Calvinism. Take a look...

Boy, oh boy, oh boy... Where to start. We see here two startling different definitions of Calvinism. Barclay says "I met Jesus once, let's go get a beer" and Spurgeon says "Justification by Faith". Barclay implies Calvinism is basically "Once saved always saved". If Barclay would sit himself down and do even just a basic study on Calvinism (Historical Christianity), he would find that Calvinists believe in the "Perseverance of the Saints".

Perseverance of the Saints does not mean "once saved always saved". This corruption of the doctrine has been popular in recent years, as we see here with Barclay, but has never been a true representation of the doctrine. "Once saved always saved" is more keenly given the name "Perseverance of the sinner" instead of "the saint". For it teaches that man can be saved by Christ and then sin habitually, do whatever he wants, and then still "persevere to the end". Perseverance of the saints does not teach this. Perseverance of the saints teaches that once God has renewed the heart of a sinner through the application of the redemption wrought by Christ upon the cross, he will continue to be saved and show forth the fruits of that salvation. The sinner perseveres because of Christ, but he continually shows himself as one who has been changed by Christ. God has saved the individual and will sanctify him until the end when he is ultimately glorified, and in heaven. It does not mean man has a license to sin. Those who think they have a license to sin are not changed and saved by grace. They are still in sin. Those who are saved by grace and changed, desire to show forth the fruits of that salvation. God motions the heart to good work, and continues that good work to the end.

John 6:37-39, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."

Phil. 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

1 Thess. 5:23-24, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."

2 Tim. 4:18, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

Romans 8:29, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Lastly lets examine Barclay's statements "If you believe in the condemning, damnable doctrine of Calvinism". "That means it will damn your soul".

According to Barclay you will be damned to hell for believing in Calvinism (Historical Christianity). So, lets take a look at those who the General has condemned by his own lips. The names on here are staggering!!!

Historical Preachers/Teachers

John Calvin
John Owen
John Knox
Martin Luther
Jonathan Edwards
John Bunyan
A.W. Pink
A.W. Towzer
John Whitfield
John Gill
Augustine
The Puritans
The Dutch Reformed
The Disciples of Jesus (They preached Regeneration, Justification by Faith and Sanctification....The same doctrines Calvinists have preached for Centuries now)

According to "The General", Mark T. Barclay, preacher of righteousness, these believing Christian's are burning in hell today...There souls are damned!

Current Day Preachers/Teachers

Dr. R.C. Sproul
Dr. James White
Steve Camp
Dr. John Frame
Dr. Wayne Grudem
Sinclair Ferguson
J.I. Packard
Dr. D. James Kennedy
Dr. Albert Mohler
Paul Washer
Dr. Thomas Ascol
Dr. John Piper
Matt Slick

The lists for these could go on and on. There are so many I could keep listing for days. This really shows the absurdity of Barclay's condemning claim! The General needs to go back to the barracks and study the Bible and Historical Christianity before his next "Tour of Duty".

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Under God’s Sovereignty we have a human responsibility to live for Him.

2009-07-29T14:34:00.003-04:00

You call me master, and obey me not.
You call me Light and seek me not.
You call me Way and walk me not.
You call me Wise and follow me not.

You call me Fair and love me not.
You call me Rich and ask me not.
You call me Eternal and seek me not.
You call me Gracious and trust me not.

You call me Noble and serve me not.
You call me Mighty and honor me not.
You call me Just and fear me not.
If I condemn you, blame me not.”

John Calvin wrote for Pierre Robert Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament in 1534.

2009-07-27T22:54:00.008-04:00

A dear friend of mine posted this on his Facebook page. I could not help myself, I had to post it here. This is awesome!!

Without the gospel
everything is useless and vain;
without the gospel
we are not Christians;
without the gospel
all riches is poverty,
all wisdom folly before God;
strength is weakness,
and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.
But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made
children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom
the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.
It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.

For, he was
sold, to buy us back;
captive, to deliver us;
condemned, to absolve us;
he was
made a curse for our blessing,
[a] sin offering for our righteousness;
marred that we may be made fair;
he died for our life; so that by him
fury is made gentle,
wrath appeased,
darkness turned into light,
fear reassured,
despisal despised,
debt canceled,
labor lightened,
sadness made merry,
misfortune made fortunate,
difficulty easy,
disorder ordered,
division united,
ignominy ennobled,
rebellion subjected,
intimidation intimidated,
ambush uncovered,
assaults assailed,
force forced back,
combat combated,
war warred against,
vengeance avenged,
torment tormented,
damnation damned,
the abyss sunk into the abyss,
hell transfixed,
death dead,
mortality made immortal.
In short,
mercy has swallowed up all misery,
and goodness all misfortune.

For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit.

If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things.

And we are
comforted in tribulation,
joyful in sorrow,
glorying under vituperation,
abounding in poverty,
warmed in our nakedness,
patient amongst evils,
living in death.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Christianity In Crisis Video of the Week

2009-07-23T01:08:00.010-04:00

I just ran across this video from Way of The Master Radio which is Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and Todd Friel's program. It is now known as Wretched Radio. In this clip Todd Friel examines the doctrine that Paul Washer preaches and the doctrine that Joel Osteen preaches. Todd asks the question "Are you noticing the difference?" There are 3 videos well worth watching, I am only posting video #3 here.

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Charles Spurgeon on Regeneration

2009-07-22T16:24:00.002-04:00

When God first begins the work of changing the heart, he finds man totally averse to any such thing. By nature man kicks and struggles against God: he will not be saved. I must confess I never would have been saved, if I could have helped it. As long I could I rebelled and revolted, and struggled against God. When he would have me pray, I would not pray: when he would have me listen to the sound of preaching, I would not. Moreover, when I did listen and the tear rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away and defied him to melt my heart. When my heart was a little touched, I tried to divert it with sinful pleasures. And when that would not do I tried self-righteousness, and would not have been saved until I was hemmed in, and then he gave me the effectual blow of grace, and there was no resisting that irresistible effort of his grace. It conquered my depraved will, and made me bow myself before the scepter of his grace.

So it is in every case. Man revolts against his Maker and his Savior; but where God determines to save, save he will. God will have the sinner, if he designs to have him. God has never yet been thwarted in any one of his purposes. Man resists with all his might, but all the might of man--tremendous though it is on account of sin--is not equal to the majestic might of the Most High when he rides forth in the chariot of his salvation. He irresistibly saves and victoriously conquers man's heart.

To sanctify a man is the work of the whole life; but to give a man a new heart is the work of an instant. In one solitary second, swifter than the lightning flash, God can put a new heart into a man, and make him a new creature in Christ Jesus. You may be sitting where you are today as an enemy of God with a wicked heart, hard as a stone, and dead and cold; but if the Lord wills it, the living spark shall drop into your soul, and in that moment you will begin to tremble--begin to feel; you will confess your sin, and fly to Christ for mercy. Other parts of salvation are done gradually but regeneration is the instantaneous work of God's sovereign, effectual, and irresistible grace.

She's Back - Paula White Returns to Lead Ailing Megachurch

2009-07-19T23:19:00.005-04:00

The Christian Post reports that "Pastor" Paula White is back in the pulpit... Is this the newest rage? Divorcing your spouse and months later preaching again? We also see that Todd Bentley will be back on the scene again too after his quick divorce and new marriage with the intern he had the affair with. What is even more astounding is that many church goers believe this to be acceptable now days. Not to long ago in the late 1980's this would be unheard of and considered unacceptable in light of the Bible. Have we deviated so far from biblical doctrine that anything is now acceptable in our churches? My goodness...

Charismatic preacher Paula White is stepping in as senior pastor of the Florida mega church that she and her now ex-husband founded nearly two decades ago.

On Sunday, White was expected to officially mark the start of a new chapter in the history of Without Walls International Church, which once attracted 23,000 worshippers and was heralded as one of the nation’s fastest-growing congregations.

“It will be my first Sunday to officially preach and to minister to you as the mandate and the mantle that I’ve received for the great assignment for this city, for this ministry, and for our lives collectively as your new senior pastor,” White reported in an eBlast to the Tampa-based congregation.

A thought by A. W. Tozer

2009-07-18T21:49:00.005-04:00

Well, we are back on the bloggy-sphere... It has been a long time since the last post and we are gearing up to continue on after this long absence. Things have begun to settle down now after our move many months ago and adjustments to work schedules and stuff. So bookmark us and check back often as we continue on this journey of keeping life Christ Centered.

I thought I would post a great quote by A.W. Tozer for our relaunch.

"I wonder how so many present-day Christians can consider an hour of worship Sunday morning as adequate adoration of the Holy God who created them and then redeemed them back to himself" --- A.W. Tozer

What a powerful statement... May we not fall short and keep Christ as the center of our lives daily, not just one hour Sunday!

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Happy Reformation Day !!!

2008-10-31T12:42:00.004-04:00

491 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenberg calling a recalcitrant Roman church to repent of the selling of indulgences and embrace the genuine gospel of sola fide.

Examine this carefully, many have heard of Martin Luther's 95 Theses, but have never really examined them. They hold alot of truth and directly confronted the Roman Catholic Church.

This no longer applies just to the Catholic Church, but to many of our so called "christian" churches today, wrapped up in our blind traditions and doctrines of men... We need Reform in Christianity today! Just like on Wittenberg's door, I can hear Luther pounding on church doors across America... . Will they have ears to hear? Will we have ears to hear? We are the heirs of Luther's convictions and actions that ultimately produced the naissance of Protestantism today. Lord let us hear this call to action, may we keep pounding on Wittenberg's door.

Here are the 95 Theses:

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.
2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.
3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.
4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.
6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.
7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.
8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.
9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.
10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.
11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.
12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.
14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.
15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.
16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.
17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.
18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.
19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.
20. Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself.
21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;
22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.
23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.
24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.
25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.
26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.
27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].
28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.
29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.
30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.
31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.
32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.
33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;
34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.
35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.
36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.
37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.
38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.
39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.
40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].
41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.
42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.
43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;
44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.
45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.
46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.
47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.
48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.
49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.
50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.
51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.
52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.
53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.
54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.
55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.
57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.
59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.
60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;
61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.
62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.
66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.
67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.
68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.
69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.
70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.
71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!
72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!
73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.
74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.
75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.
76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.
77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.
78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.
79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.
80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.
81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.
82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."
83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"
85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"
86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"
87. Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"
88. Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"
89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"
90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.
91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!
93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!
94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.

Ethics, Preaching and Biblical Theology

2008-10-29T00:43:00.011-04:00

by John M. Frame

At Westminster Seminary, one of the most exciting discoveries students
make is the history of redemption or biblical theology. When we come to see
Scripture as the history of redemption, we see far more clearly how all of
Scripture bears witness to Christ. And biblical theology opens up to us the
wonderful vision of the eschatology of redemption: that in Christ the last days are
here, and we are dwelling with him in the heavenly places. Redemption has been
accomplished already, and its blessings are ours. There is, of course, a “not yet”
as well as an “already.” The consummation has come, but it is still yet to come.
We live as those who are sanctified, but not perfected.

The tension between the already and the not-yet is the setting of New
Testament ethical reflection. God has justified us in Christ and has given us his
Spirit; yet sin remains and will not be completely destroyed until the final day.
Nevertheless, the “already,” the definitive accomplishment of redemption in Christ
is our motivation for obedience.

In our preaching and teaching, we should clearly set forth this framework
as the context of ethical decision making.

However, I believe that it is possible to go too far in our emphasis on the
history of redemption. Although the two-age structure of Pauline ethics is
important, it does not by any means exhaust the biblical teaching relevant to our
ethical decisions. There are pages and pages of Scripture devoted to the details
of God’s law, to proverbs about the practical life of the believer, to the heart
motivations of love and faith that should impel our passion for holiness.
Now some will point out that all these other elements of biblical ethics are
to be understood “in the context of” the two-age schema. True enough; but
contextual arguments work both ways. If the law and the proverbs are to be
understood in the context of the already and not-yet, the opposite is also true: the
semi-eschatological tension must be understood in terms of the law of God. It is
the law which defines the sinfulness from which Christ redeemed us. And God
saves us so that we may keep the law (Rom. 8:4). The law defines how we
should express our gratitude for Jesus’ redemption.

Should ethical preaching be redemptive-historical? Certainly; but it should
also expound God’s laws and the new inner motivations to which we are called. In
my terminology, redemptive history is the situational perspective, the situation in
which we make ethical decisions. The law is the normative, and the motive is the
existential. All three perspectives should be preached and taught, if Christians are
to gain a balanced perspective on Christian ethics.

Should every sermon have redemptive history as its principal subject? I
would say no. There is nothing in the Bible itself that requires us to restrict
preaching in this way. And there are many ethical passages in Scripture which do
not explicitly focus on the eschatological ethical tension — such as Proverbs and
some of the ethical passages of the New Testament. We should not demand that
a preacher emphasize something that is not emphasized in his text. If one argues
that these texts must be seen in the light of the broader biblical principles of
redemptive history, again I would reply that the reverse is also true.
Surely we cannot maintain that every relevant theological context be
brought into the exposition of every text. I believe that if a preacher emphasizes
grace in his overall ministry, including the proper relationship between grace and
works, it is not wrong for him occasionally to preach on a Proverb, a law, or a
norm, without devoting his central attention to the eschatological ethical tension.

There are some passages that are very confusing to modern congregations
unless we say something about their redemptive-historical setting. God told Israel
under Joshua to kill the Canaanites. Does he tell us to do the same? Certainly
not, because the command presupposes a redemptive-historical setting very
different from ours. The iniquity of the Canaanite is full; it is time for God’s
judgment against those nations and the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham.
Those conditions don’t exist in our relationships with non-Christian neighbors.
So every preacher must be aware of the redemptive-historical setting of his
text. But that doesn’t imply that the sermon must always be about that setting.
There is no biblical rule that such settings are the only proper subject-matter of
sermons.

And there are dangers in the practice of preaching exclusively on
redemptive-historical themes:

1. Much biblical truth can be left out or illegitimately de-emphasized. The
preacher does not feel free to dwell on the specifics, say, of Romans 12, because
he feels he must spend most of his time of the redemptive-historical setting of the
passage (i.e. Romans 1-11).

2. Some redemptive-historical preachers seem to have an antipathy to the
very idea of practical application. I don’t understand the argument very well.
James Dennison objects to the term “application,” because he believes it had bad
connotations in theologies like Schleiermacher’s and Bultmann’s. But criticizing
language on such grounds is an instance of genetic fallacy. And Dennison’s
proposed alternatives, “participation in the text,” “identification with the text,” have
also been used in non-Christian philosophies, particularly those of Plato and the
mystics. And the alternative “living in the text” is really too vague to denote a
purposeful ethical preaching thrust.

3. If the argument about application were merely a terminological dispute, it
would be of little importance. But I get the impression that some who stress
redemptive history really want to avoid “practical” application. They want the
whole sermon to focus on Christ, not on what works the believer should do. They
want it to focus on gospel, not on law. So they want the sermon to evoke praise of
Christ, not to demand concrete change in people’s behavior. In their mind,
Christocentricity excludes any sustained focus on specific practical matters.
I too think sermons should magnify Christ and evoke praise. But it is simply
wrongheaded to deny the importance of concrete, practical, ethical application.
Such application is the purpose of Scripture itself, according to 2 Timothy 3:16-
17. And since Scripture contains many practical “how tos,” our preaching should
include those too. To say that this emphasis detracts from Christocentricity is
unscriptural.Christ is central in Scripture as the Redeemer. But he is also the Word,
Wisdom, the Lawgiver, the Lord of the Covenant, the Lion of Judah, the Shepherd
who leads his people into the right paths. It is wrong to assume that an emphasis
on Christ as Redeemer (redemptive history) excludes an emphasis on Christ as
norm and motivator.

When a preacher avoids concrete ethical applications in his sermons, he is
not preaching the whole counsel of God, and he is not adequately edifying his
people.

The best redemptive-historical preachers understand this. Some of the
most powerful ethical preaching I have heard has come from Ed Clowney and Jim
Dennison.

4. Some redemptive-historical preachers develop a jargon-laden
vocabulary. One recent WTS graduate preached a sermon in chapel a year or so
ago in which he used the word “eschatological” about fifty times (at least it felt
like that), and a lot of other technical biblical-theological jargon. Maybe he
thought that was all right, or even an advantage, with an audience of seminarians.
My guess is that seminarians tend to tune out to such discourses — they have
heard all of that many times. But so facile was the young preacher with this
language, I feared that he preached this way in his own congregation. If he did, I
fear that anyone who visited the service would have been entirely bewildered.
In my view it is best to avoid jargon in preaching generally. And one can
make the relevant points about redemptive history without all the technical terms.
Most evangelical preachers emphasize: (a) that God forgives all the sins of
everyone who believes in Christ; (b) that we nevertheless need to continue
fighting the spiritual warfare (in our hearts and our society) until the return of
Jesus; and (c) that the redemptive work of Christ is what motivates us to pursue
holiness. I believe that those truths constitute the essence of the “already/not-yet,”
and this language communicates the truth far more effectively than does the
jargon.

5. Excess enthusiasm for redemptive history has sometimes produced
division in churches and presbyteries. Some pastors not only preach redemptive
history, but they condemn as moralistic anybody who fails to emphasize it as
much as they do. So “redemptive history” becomes a party label, and factions
battle over the concept. In my opinion, this partisanship is wrong.
Why is it, I wonder, that in our circles whenever anybody gets an
interesting idea, it produces a party that makes it a test of orthodoxy, leading to
another party that opposes it, and then to battles between these parties in the
churches? Why can’t those who think they have new insights quietly teach their
insights to others while embracing them as brothers and sisters in Christ? If some
don’t “get it,” why should that amount to heresy? Why not simply permit both
views to be taught until the Spirit convinces God’s people generally that one view
is Scriptural and the other is not?
In recent Reformed history, we have had these partisan battles over Van
Til’s apologetics (and now, different schools of Van Tillian apologetics), common
grace, the incomprehensibility of God, supra-/infralapsarianism, theonomy, the
relation between grace and law in the covenants, Shepherd’s view of justification,
nouthetic counseling, exclusive Psalmody, contemporary worship, means of
church growth, redemptive-historical preaching. None of these is resolved in our
Reformed confessions, but partisans act as if they were. They think their view
alone is orthodox, and their opponents are dangerous heretics. Can’t we just
lighten up a bit? Can we never admit our fallibility? Is there not a place, on some
issues, for teachability, even tolerance? Can’t we ever agree to disagree in peace
and love, working together on those matters where we agree?

The term “moralism” needs more examination. In my estimation, preachers
who stress points (a) through (c) above under #4 should not be called moralistic.
“Moralism” was a term associated particularly with the social gospel liberals of
the Ritschlian school of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They had no
gospel at all. To use that term of principled evangelicals of our own time, I
believe, is an injustice.

I think that a preacher is moralistic if in his ministry: (1) there is no
substantial emphasis on salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone; (2) there
is no substantial emphasis on the points mentioned above in 4 (a)-(c); or (3) his
sermons regularly err because of his failure to understand the redemptivehistorical
context of his texts. If any one of these characterizes his preaching, I
would call him moralistic.

As I said above, however, I don’t believe that every sermon must be about
redemptive history. If a congregation is well-informed about the biblical relation of
grace and works, I don’t see why the pastor might not occasionally focus on, say,
an ethical text, without dwelling at great length on the redemptive-historical
setting. To call a pastor moralistic because he preaches such sermons is wrong,
in my view. And to call a pastor moralistic because he does not use the jargon
of biblical theology is slanderous.

And I would reiterate that neglecting the redemptive-historical context
is in my view no worse a sin than neglecting the normative or existential
contexts of biblical ethics.

6. An exclusive emphasis on redemptive history can become repetitious
and tiresome, especially when it is jargon-laden.

7. For some reason, it seems to me that enthusiasts for redemptive history
are often poor logicians. In some sermons, presbytery speeches, student papers,
even some published treatises, I have often heard elaborate citations of
Scripture, “alreadys” and “not-yets,” Messianic this and Eschatological that, and
then at the end some conclusion (a doctrinal, ethical, or procedural point) that
doesn’t have much at all to do with the redemptive-historical argumentation.

8. Young preachers who try to preach redemptive-historical sermons often
spend so much time preparing the theology of their messages that they
completely neglect rhetorical considerations, i.e. communication. So, their
sermons come across as a lot of gobbledygook. The redemptive-historical
method of preaching typically takes much more preparation time than others. And
at its best it requires substantial intellectual and rhetorical gifts which few
seminarians and young pastors possess. When average preachers with busy
schedules try to prepare redemptive-historical sermons, the result is often
incomprehensible. Now, you can say what you like about the dangers of
neglecting redemptive history; but a sermon that does not communicate with the
people is not preaching at all.

So, all I ask of a young preacher is that he preach clearly the gospel of
grace, a proper relation between grace and works, and no major errors stemming
from redemptive-historical ignorance. These are simple goals, well within the
abilities of seminary trained young men whom God has called to the ministry.
When a preacher accomplishes these goals, he may not fairly be accused of
moralism. His preaching will be biblical and effective.

I think it is usually counter-productive for young preachers to try to emulate
the profundity of Clowney or Dennison. It is better in the early years of ministry to
recognize your own limitations and to seek what’s most important: clear
communication of the biblical gospel.

Good council from John Frame for young and old preachers.
It is so important to clearly communicate the gospel with people!

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Will be back soon

2008-08-20T17:10:00.002-04:00

I have had absolutely no time to keep up with my blog at this time :( But for good reasons, job changes and now we are moving, we are working long days cleaning up the new house we are moving into. I also do not know how long I may be without I-net. When we make the move I may not have it for a week or too.. I know some of you have sent me emails and miss Christ Centered Research. Thanks for the support and encouraging emails!

When things settle down, I will get back at it, try and be patient with me...LOL

I am hoping that I will be back about the first week of September.

In God's strong love,

Bill

"Christianity in Crisis" Video's of the Week

2008-08-05T22:24:00.005-04:00

How drunk can she be....Blah blah blah

Well, here is more Todd Bentley stuff..

EMMA the Angel gets the boooooooot !!!!! Sing it Todd!

Disney World doctrine and Lies...

Last but not least, who wins this one?

I have to admit, these are very entertaining, but see nothing here that pertains to the saving power of God! Just a God made in the image of men.

by His Grace alone,

Bill

John Gill -- Of Regeneration

2008-08-04T22:22:00.002-04:00

from A Body of Doctrinal Divinity, Book VI, Chapter XI.

Regeneration is expressed by being quickened. As there is a quickening time in natural generation; so there is in regeneration; "You hath he quickened", Eph 2:1. Previous to regeneration, men are dead while they live; though corporally alive, are morally dead, dead in a moral sense, as to spiritual things, in all the powers and faculties of their souls; they have no more knowledge of them, affection for them, will to them, or power to perform them, than a dead man has with respect to things natural; but in regeneration, a principle of spiritual life is infused; that is a time of life when the Lord speaks life into them, and produces it in them. Christ is the resurrection and life unto them, or raises them from a death of sin to a life of grace; and the spirit of life, from Christ, enters into them. Regeneration is a passing from death to life; it is a principle of spiritual life implanted in the heart; in consequence of which, a man breathes, in a spiritual sense; where there is breath, there is life. God breathed into Adam the breath of life, and he became a living soul, or a living person, and breathed again: so the Spirit of God breathes on dry bones, and they live, and breathe again. Prayer is the spiritual breath of a regenerate man; "Behold, he prayeth!" is observed of Saul when regenerated; who, just before, had been breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of Christ. A regenerate man breathes in prayer to God, and pants after him; after more knowledge of him in Christ, after communion with him, after the discoveries of his love; particularly after pardoning grace and mercy: and sometimes these breathings and desires are only expressed by sighs and groans, yet these are a sign of life; if a man groans, it is plain he is alive. There are, in a regenerated man, which shows that he is made alive, cravings after spiritual food: as soon as an infant is born, it shows motions for its mother's milk, after the breast: so newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that they may grow thereby. They have their spiritual senses exercised about spiritual objects; they have what answer to the senses in animal life, their seeing and hearing, as before observed, and also their feeling; they feel the burden of sin on their consciences; the workings of the Spirit of God in their hearts; as well as handle Christ, the Word of life; which makes it a plain case that they are alive; a dead man feels nothing. They have a spiritual taste, a gust for spiritual things; the word of Christ is sweeter to their taste than honey, or the honeycomb; they sit under his shadow with pleasure, and his fruit, the blessings of his grace, are sweet unto their taste; they taste that the Lord is gracious, and invite others to taste and see also how good he is; they savour the things which be of God, and not of men; Christ, and his grace, are savoury to them; his robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation, smell delightfully as myrrh, &c. So 1:3 Ps 45:8 and these spiritual senses, and the exercise of them in them, show them to be alive, or born again; such persons live a life of faith; they live by faith; not upon it, but on Christ, the object of it; and they grow up into him their Head, from whom they receive nourishment; and so increase with the increase of God; which is an evidence of life. In a word, they live a new and another life than they did before; not to themselves, nor to the lusts of men; but to God, and to Christ who died for them, and rose again; they walk in newness of life.

According to His Choice, Not Our Works... (R.C. Sproul)

2008-08-01T23:30:00.002-04:00

Foreknowledge or a Sovereign Divine act of God? Is salvation accomplished by a decision we make, good works and our own righteousness? R.C. does a great job of answering these questions with Romans 9....

by His Grace alone,

Bill

On Vacation

2008-07-22T10:18:00.004-04:00

Sorry everyone, I have taken some vacation time and have not really been at the computer that much at all. Kinda feels good to be away from it for a little while... So, I will have more articles posted when I am able too.. Thanks to everyone who support this site and Grace and Peace be unto you!

by His Grace alone,

Bill

A Pink quote on Sovereignty

2008-07-12T22:14:00.005-04:00

"The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to govern the universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i. e., that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any."

A.W. Pink

Ingrid Schlueter's new Slicecast

2008-07-10T23:00:00.005-04:00

One of the blogs I thoroughly enjoy is Ingrid Schlueter's -- Slice of Laodicea. I love her no nonsense biblical approach to the social and religious issues of the day. She has just fired up a new podcast called Slicecast. I would highly recommend it.

In this first cast she interviews Jewel Grewe of Discernment-Ministries.org. Jewel has studied the New Apostolic Reformation movement for many years. This is the movement that produced Todd Bentley and other earlier “prophets”.
There are also some other various topics. So check out the Slicecast!

The Gospel According to the Heretic Pelagius

2008-07-08T22:18:00.006-04:00

"Humanism, in all its subtle forms, recapitulates the unvarnished Pelagianism against which Augustine struggled. Though Pelagius was condemned as a heretic by Rome, and its modified form, Semi-Pelagianism was likewise condemned by the Council of Orange in 529, the basic assumptions of this view persisted throughout church history to reappear in Medieval Catholicism, Renaissance Humanism, Socinianism, Arminianism, and modern Liberalism. The seminal thought of Pelagius survives today not as a trace or tangential influence but is pervasive in the modern church. Indeed, the modern church is held captive by it."

--- R.C Sproul

You may read this entire article by R.C. intitled Augustine & Pelaguis here at Leadership U.

Here is a great audio follow up to this subject by the folks @ The White Horse Inn...

After reading Sproul's article and listening to the Audio about the Heretic Pelagius. Ask yourself this very question . In all honesty, does my Theology & Doctrine at the core, line up with Pelagius and his "Semi-Pelagianism (Man Centered) view" or with the Bible and its "Christ Centered view"? When I asked myself this question about 4-5 years ago, I found my answer was the Bill-Centered view.

by His Grace alone,

Bill

"Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven."
--CH Spurgeon

Here is something truly amazing

2008-07-02T18:00:00.002-04:00

Here is something truly amazing. Being a guitar player myself, it is a wonderful joy to see fresh new styles!

Andy Mckee - Drifting - www.candyrat.com

Great Luther quote from Bondage of the Will

2008-06-30T21:31:00.002-04:00

"omnipotence and foreknowledge of God, I repeat, utterly destroy the doctrine of 'free-will'...doubtless it gives the greatest possible offense to common sense or natural reason, that God, Who is proclaimed as being full of mercy and goodness, and so on, should of His own mere will abandon, harden and damn men, as though He delighted in the sins and great eternal torments of such poor wretches. it seems an iniquitous, cruel, intolerable thought to think of God; and it is this that has been such a stumbling block to so many great men down through the ages. And who would not stumble at it? I have stumbled at it myself more than once, down to the deepest pit of despair, so that I wished I had never been made a man. (That was before I knew how health-giving that despair was, and how close to grace.)"

---Luther BW pg. 217

Idols fallin down

2008-06-30T21:19:00.003-04:00

Wonder how many acts of "Penance" this requires?

Lou Ruggiero and John 6

2008-06-22T00:08:00.000-04:00

Free will or no free will?

The Cross-Centered Life

2008-06-20T22:32:00.003-04:00

Daily there is a struggle, "Cross-Centered life or (in my case) Bill-Centered life". For many years, I really did not realize the difference. I thought "Bill" was Christ-Centered. When in reality the Christ-Centered Life doesn't involve myself at all. It is all about Christ. Not about me. Thank you Jesus! Here is a wonderful article by Jay Wegter.

by His Strong Grace,

Bill

by Jay Wegter

Believers are engaged in an ongoing battle to stay cross-centered. The problem is most are unaware of the importance of the struggle. Due to our depraved natures, every saint faces the very real conviction that he or she does not measure up.

A pervading sense of condemnation turns like a little dynamo inside of us. It may slow, but it never stops. Law continues to expose our sin after we are saved.

The great paradox is that the better we are at any given aspect of ministry, the more tempted we will be to make that area of ministry production a defining contributor to our relationship with God.

That’s the rub – the law makes its overtures to our strengths. “Do in order to be” is the law’s rationale. It makes its solicitations to our gifts and talents. It promises to invest our gifts and talents into the account of our favor and acceptance with God.

How subtle this is – for the use of our gifts and talents have been a legitimate blessing to the Body of Christ. The saints have been built up through our ministry diligence and exertion. We rightly long for the Lord’s approval. Our usefulness is not the question.

The issue of cross-centeredness focuses upon whether or not we regard our productiveness to be a contributing factor to our favor with God. “Is my work and service central to my interface and acceptance with God?” If so, the law principle may be operational in my life -- EVEN if I am a strong proponent of grace truths!

Certain temperaments are prone to specific departures from cross-centeredness. The “catalytic extrovert” has a personality that makes things happen. He shies away from introspection. He seldom retreats into the “grey castle of self.” He prefers to manage his dereliction (depravity) by performance, production, and by the generation of massive amounts of work.

The extrovert’s problem is harder to see than the person’s who is neutralized by condemnation. Yet the extrovert’s deviation from cross-centeredness is just as real – he may be operating by law, not grace.

By contrast, the person laboring under a yoke of condemnation feels that heaven is staring at him in one large cosmic frown. Thus he retreats into the grey castle of self and attempts to comfort his soul with sensual things justified by self pity.

Having lost sight of the cross, he does not entertain high prospects of the Lord’s desire to meet him and commune with him. Comfort from the Lord seems light years away.

For the person stuck in the castle of self, the sense of divine favor can only be restored by a fresh view of the cross by faith. For the cross alone is God’s answer to our paralyzing depravity and dereliction.

The cross alone can bring the condemned saint out of hiding and back into the joy of communing with his Lord. The cross lifts the believer out of the exasperation of not measuring up. It places the saint back upon the grace plane of abiding and being that constitute the life of sonship.

So also, the cross is necessary for the extrovert (or workaholic – “human doing”) to be restored to a place of communion that rests solely upon the Savior’s work.

Only the cross of Christ can rightly align the workaholic’s motives with God’s purposes of grace.

When the workaholic is in full production mode, he is often blind to his utter dependence upon the cross for all fellowship and usefulness. Busyness is his drug – while in the whirlwind of urgent ministry tasks, he doesn’t have to stop long enough to look in the mirror and feel any guilt for not measuring up. He is so far “ahead of others” in his ability to generate Christian works, he takes solace in his productivity.

But a “small” detail is missing. Paul mentions it in 1 Cor 15:10. In that passage, the Apostle attributes his productivity to God’s grace alone: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain: but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

Paul was careful to stress that his ability to excel in work for the Lord was solely a function of grace. Therefore, he did not see his labors as contributing to his acceptance with God. He regarded his work as an evidence that he was a trophy of God’s grace.

Productive people in ministry who lack Paul’s mindset, tend to use their output of labor as a means of offsetting any feelings of not measuring up.

Those on the receiving end of the workaholic’s ministry may heap praise and gratitude upon him, but his soul is a dry salt waste of a wilderness. If he stopped long enough, he would discover that his heart was no longer a garden.

It is the Spirit’s constant work of grace that teaches us that Christ alone is the ground of all our acceptance, favor, and communion with God. Our greatest works and service do not add a single atom of weight to any of these three. Yet untold numbers of believers live as if their doing is an essential contributor to the three.

No one lives a cross-centered life without an intentional “curriculum” of self-talk. These little “sermons” we preach to ourselves are gospel sermons that reaffirm our utter dependence upon the cross for all favor, acceptance and communion with God.

This self-talk is the necessary way that we “do business” with our souls. All of our thinking and feeling must be rectified by gospel self talk. The cost of not doing so is high indeed.

Without cross-centered living, the law will necessarily dictate the method by which we manage our souls. If the cross is not clearing the way daily for us to receive God’s love and grace in our souls, we will by default automatically gravitate to methods of soul management that are born of law.

These law methods come natural to us – they constitute the “religion” we were born with – a religion of measuring up, of doing in order to be. How many gifted ministers gradually began to support their soul’s life on the husks of their own productivity? The number must be staggering.

One of the symptoms of departing from the cross-centered life is a “law method” of dealing with others. When we abandon the grace-based perspective that flows from cross-centered living, we cannot help but deal with others by the same manner we deal with our own souls. It will “leak out.”

So also, when a person is living a cross-centered life, he cannot help but appeal to the grace of God in the cross for all advancement in work, worship, and sanctification.

The cross alone can lead us out of self (whether a performing self, or a condemning self). The Lord calls us, just as He did the Laodicians, to commune with Him and to receive His love in our spirits. He wants us to come as the beggars we are. He desires that we rest the whole acceptance of our souls upon the grace wrought by His cross and His Person.

Pastors....Don't Waste Your Pulpit!

2008-06-16T21:33:00.003-04:00

John Piper

What a wonderful truth by John Piper...

God's Sovereignty in the Salvation of Men (Romans 9:18)

2008-06-12T16:48:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone, yes I have not fallen off of the face of the earth.. Things have just been very busy around here. Since I do not do this as a full-time ministry and hold a regular job, I am sometimes unable to post as often as I would like at times. Please forgive me, I know some of you wish I could post every day. Maybe I will be able to get back to that at some point, but as for now I will just ask for forgiveness. :)

In our Saturday study group, we are going to be studying the Sovereignty of God for several months..So, I thought this post would be fitting. Here is a great Sermon by Edwards on the Sovereignty of God in the Salvation of men. I know it is long, so grab something good to drink and take the time to read this sermon!

by His Grace alone,

Bill

by Jonathan Edwards
Sermon IV of Seventeen Occasional Sermons

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Romans 9:18.

THE apostle, in the beginning of this chapter, expresses his great concern and sorrow of heart for the nation of the Jews, who were rejected of God. This leads him to observe the difference which God made by election between some of the Jews and others, and between the bulk of that people and the christian Gentiles. In speaking of this he enters into a more minute discussion of the sovereignty of God in electing some to eternal life, and rejecting others, than is found in any other part of the Bible; in the course of which he quotes several passages from the Old Testament, confirming and illustrating this doctrine. In the ninth verse he refers us to what God said to Abraham, showing his election of Isaac before Ishmael - 'For this is the word of promise; At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son:' then to what God had said to Rebecca, showing his election of Jacob before Esau; 'The elder shall serve the younger:' in the thirteenth verse, to a passage from Malachi, 'Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated:' in the fifteenth verse, to what God said to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion:' and the verse preceding the text, to what God says to Pharaoh, 'For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.' In what the apostle says in the text, he seems to have respect especially to the two last-cited passages: to what God said to Moses in the fifteenth verse, and to what he said to Pharaoh in the verse immediately preceding. God said to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.' To this the apostle refers in the former part of the text. And we know how often it is said of Pharaoh, that God hardened his heart. And to this the apostle seems to have respect in the latter part of the text; 'and whom he will he hardeneth.' We may observe in the text,

1. God's different dealing with men. He hath mercy on some, and hardeneth others. When God is here spoken of as hardening some of the children of men, it is not to be understood that God by any positive efficiency hardens any man's heart. There is no positive act in God, as though he put forth any power to harden the heart. To suppose any such thing would be to make God the immediate author of sin. God is said to harden men in two ways: by withholding the powerful influences of his Spirit, without which their hearts will remain hardened, and grow harder and harder; in this sense he hardens them, as he leaves them to hardness. And again, by ordering those things in his providence which, through the abuse of their corruption, become the occasion of their hardening. Thus God sends his word and ordinances to men which, by their abuse, prove an occasion of their hardening. So the apostle said, that he was unto some 'a savour of death unto death.' So God is represented as sending Isaiah on this errand, to make the hearts of the people fat, and to make their ears heavy, and to shut their eyes; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Isa. 6:10. Isaiah's preaching was, in itself, of a contrary tendency, to make them better. But their abuse of it rendered it an occasion of their hardening. As God is here said to harden men, so he is said to put a lying spirit in the mouth of the false prophets. 2 Chron. 18:22. That is, he suffered a lying spirit to enter into them. And thus he is said to have bid Shimei curse David. 2 Sam. 16:10. Not that he properly commanded him; for it is contrary to God's commands. God expressly forbids cursing the ruler of the people. Exod. 22:28. But he suffered corruption at that time so to work in Shimei, and ordered that occasion of stirring it up, as a manifestation of his displeasure against David.

2. The foundation of his different dealing with mankind; viz. his sovereign will and pleasure. 'He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.' This does not imply, merely, that God never shows mercy or denies it against his will, or that he is always willing to do it when he does it. A willing subject or servant, when he obeys his lord's commands, may never do any thing against his will, nothing but what he can do cheerfully and with delight; and yet he cannot be said to do what he wills in the sense of the text. But the expression implies that it is God's mere will and sovereign pleasure, which supremely orders this affair. It is the divine will without restraint, or constraint, or obligation.

Doctrine. God exercises his sovereignty in the eternal salvation of men.

He not only is sovereign, and has a sovereign right to dispose and order in that affair; and he not only might proceed in a sovereign way, if he would, and nobody could charge him with exceeding his right; but he actually does so; he exercises the right which he has. In the following discourse, I propose to show,

I. WHAT IS GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY.
II. WHAT GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY IN THE SALVATION OF MEN IMPLIES.
III. THAT GOD ACTUALLY DOTH EXERCISE HIS SOVEREIGNTY IN THIS MATTER.
IV. THE REASONS FOR THIS EXERCISE.

I. I WOULD SHOW WHAT IS GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY.

The sovereignty of God is his absolute, independent right of disposing of all creatures according to his own pleasure. I will consider this definition by the parts of it.

The will of God is called his mere pleasure,

1. In opposition to any constraint. Men may do things voluntarily, and yet there may be a degree of constraint. A man may be said to do a thing voluntarily, that is, he himself does it; and, all things considered, he may choose to do it; yet he may do it out of fear, and the thing in itself considered be irksome to him, and sorely against his inclination. When men do things thus, they cannot be said to do them according to their mere pleasure.

2. In opposition to its being under the will of another. A servant may fulfil his master's commands, and may do it willingly, and cheerfully, and may delight to do his master's will; yet when he does so, he does not do it of his own mere pleasure. The saints do the will of God freely. They choose to do it; it is their meat and drink. Yet they do not do it of their mere pleasure and arbitrary will; because their will is under the direction of a superior will.

3. In opposition to any proper obligation. A man may do a thing which he is obliged to do, very freely; but he cannot be said to act from his own mere will and pleasure. He who acts from his own mere pleasure, is at full liberty; but he who is under any proper obligation, is not at liberty, but is bound. Now the sovereignty of God supposes, that he has a right to dispose of all his creatures according to his mere pleasure in the sense explained. And his right is absolute and independent. Men may have a right to dispose of some things according to their pleasure. But their right is not absolute and unlimited. Men may be said to have a right to dispose of their own goods as they please. But their right is not absolute; is has limits and bounds. They have a right to dispose of their own goods as they please, provided they do not do it contrary to the law of the state to which they are subject, or contrary to the law of God. Men's right to dispose of their things as they will, is not absolute, because it is not independent. They have not an independent right to what they have, but in some things depend on the community to which they belong, for the right they have; and in every thing depend on God. They receive all the right they have to any thing from God. But the sovereignty of God imports that he has an absolute, and unlimited, and independent right of disposing of his creatures as he will. I proposed to inquire,

II. WHAT GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY IN THE SALVATION OF MEN IMPLIES.

In answer to this inquiry, I observe, it implies that God can either bestow salvation on any of the children of men, or refuse it, without any prejudice to the glory of any of his attributes, except where he has been pleased to declare, that he will or will not bestow it. It cannot be said absolutely, as the case now stands, that God can, without any prejudice to the honour of any of his attributes, bestow salvation on any of the children of men, or refuse it; because, concerning some, God has been pleased to declare either that he will or that he will not bestow salvation on them; and thus to bind himself by his own promise. And concerning some he has been pleased to declare, that he never will bestow salvation upon them; viz. those who have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost. Hence, as the case now stands, he is obliged; he cannot bestow salvation in one case, or refuse it in the other, without prejudice to the honour of his truth. But God exercised his sovereignty in making these declarations. God was not obliged to promise that he would save all who believe in Christ; nor was he obliged to declare, that he who committed the sin against the Holy Ghost should never be forgiven. But it pleased him so to declare. And had it not been so that God had been pleased to oblige himself in these cases, he might still have either bestowed salvation, or refused it, without prejudice to any of his attributes. If it would in itself be prejudicial to any of his attributes to bestow or refuse salvation, then God would not in that matter act as absolutely sovereign. Because it then ceases to be a merely arbitrary thing. It ceases to be a matter of absolute liberty, and is become a matter of necessity or obligation. For God cannot do any thing to the prejudice of any of his attributes, or contrary to what is in itself excellent and glorious. Therefore,

I. God can, without prejudice to the glory of any of his attributes, bestow salvation on any of the children of men, except on those who have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost. The case was thus when man fell, and before God revealed his eternal purpose and plan for redeeming men by Jesus Christ. It was probably looked upon by the angels as a thing utterly inconsistent with God's attributes to save any of the children of men. It was utterly inconsistent with the honour of the divine attributes to save any one of the fallen children of men, as they were in themselves. It could not have been done had not God contrived a way consistent with the honour of his holiness, majesty, justice, and truth. But since God in the gospel has revealed that nothing is too hard for him to do, nothing beyond the reach of his power, and wisdom, and sufficiency; and since Christ has wrought out the work of redemption, and fulfilled the law by obeying, there is none of mankind whom he may not save without any prejudice to any of his attributes, excepting those who have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost. And those he might have saved without going contrary to any of his attributes, had he not been pleased to declare that he would not. It was not because he could not have saved them consistently with his justice, and consistently with his law, or because his attribute of mercy was not great enough, or the blood of Christ not sufficient to cleanse from that sin. But it has pleased him for wise reasons to declare that that sin shall never be forgiven in this world, or in the world to come. And so now it is contrary to God's truth to save such. But otherwise there is no sinner, let him be ever so great, but God can save him without prejudice to any attribute; if he has been a murderer, adulterer, or perjurer, or idolater, or blasphemer, God may save him if he pleases, and in no respect injure his glory. Though persons have sinned long, have been obstinate, have committed heinous sins a thousand times, even till they have grown old in sin, and have sinned under great aggravations: let the aggravations be what they may; if they have sinned under ever so great light; if they have been backsliders, and have sinned against ever so numerous and solemn warnings and strivings of the Spirit, and mercies of his common providence: though the danger of such is much greater than of other sinners, yet God can save them if he pleases, for the sake of Christ, without any prejudice to any of his attributes. He may have mercy on whom he will have mercy. He may have mercy on the greatest of sinners, if he pleases, and the glory of none of his attributes will be in the least sullied. Such is the sufficiency of the satisfaction and righteousness of Christ, that none of the divine attributes stand in the way of the salvation of any of them. Thus the glory of any attribute did not at all suffer by Christ's saving some of his crucifiers.

God may save any of them without prejudice to the honour of his holiness. God is an infinitely holy being. The heavens are not pure in his sight. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity. And if God should in any way countenance sin, and should not give proper testimonies of his hatred of it, and displeasure at it, it would be a prejudice to the honour of his holiness. But God can save the greatest sinner without giving the least countenance to sin. If he saves one, who for a long time has stood out under the calls of the gospel, and has sinned under dreadful aggravations; if he saves one who, against light, has been a pirate or blasphemer, he may do it without giving any countenance to their wickedness; because his abhorrence of it and displeasure against it have been already sufficiently manifested in the sufferings of Christ. It was a sufficient testimony of God's abhorrence against even the greatest wickedness, that Christ, the eternal Son of God, died for it. Nothing can show God's infinite abhorrence of any wickedness more than this. If the wicked man himself should be thrust into hell, and should endure the most extreme torments which are ever suffered there, it would not be a greater manifestation of God's abhorrence of it, than the sufferings of the Son of God for it.
God may save any of the children of men without prejudice to the honour of his majesty. If men have affronted God, and that ever so much, if they have cast ever so much contempt on his authority; yet God can save them, if he pleases, and the honour of his majesty not suffer in the least. If God should save those who have affronted him, without satisfaction, the honour of his majesty would suffer. For when contempt is cast upon infinite majesty, its honour suffers, and the contempt leaves an obscurity upon the honour of the divine majesty, if the injury is not repaired. But the sufferings of Christ do fully repair the injury. Let the contempt be ever so great, yet if so honourable a person as Christ undertakes to be a Mediator for the offender, and in the mediation suffer in his stead, it fully repairs the injury done to the majesty of heaven by the greatest sinner.
God may save any sinner whatsoever consistently with his justice. The justice of God requires the punishment of sin. God is the Supreme Judge of the world, and he is to judge the world according to the rules of justice. It is not the part of a judge to show favour to the person judged; but he is to determine according to a rule of justice without departing to the right hand or left. God does not show mercy as a judge, but as a sovereign. And therefore when mercy sought the salvation of sinners, the inquiry was how to make the exercise of the mercy of God as a sovereign, and of his strict justice as a judge, agree together. And this is done by the sufferings of Christ, in which sin is punished fully, and justice answered. Christ suffered enough for the punishment of the sins of the greatest sinner that ever lived. So that God, when he judges, may act according to a rule of strict justice, and yet acquit the sinner, if he be in Christ. Justice cannot require any more for any man's sins, than those sufferings of one of the persons in the Trinity, which Christ suffered. Rom. 3:25,26. 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood; to declare his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Christ.'
God can save any sinner whatsoever, without any prejudice to the honour of his truth. God passed his word, that sin should be punished with death, which is to be understood not only of the first, but of the second death. God can save the greatest sinner consistently with his truth in this threatening. For sin is punished in the sufferings of Christ, inasmuch as he is our surety, and so is legally the same person, and sustained our guilt, and in his sufferings bore our punishment. It may be objected, that God said, If thou eatest, thou shalt die; as though the same person that sinned must suffer; and therefore why does not God's truth oblige him to that? I answer, that the word then was not intended to be restrained to him, that in his own person sinned. Adam probably understood that his posterity were included, whether they sinned in their own person or not. If they sinned in Adam, their surety, those words, 'if thou eatest,' meant, if thou eatest in thyself, or in thy surety. And therefore, the latter words, 'thou shalt die,' do also fairly allow of such a construction as, thou shalt die in thyself, or in thy surety. Isa. 42:21. 'The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake, he will magnify the law and make it honourable.' But,
II. God may refuse salvation to any sinner whatsoever, without prejudice to the honour of any of his attributes.

There is no person whatever in a natural condition, upon whom God may not refuse to bestow salvation without prejudice to any part of his glory. Let a natural person be wise or unwise, of a good or ill natural temper, of mean or honourable parentage, whether born of wicked or godly parents; let him be a moral or immoral person, whatever good he may have done, however religious he has been, how many prayers soever he has made, and whatever pains he has taken that he may be saved; whatever concern and distress he may have for fear he shall be damned; or whatever circumstances he may be in; God can deny him salvation without the least disparagement to any of his perfections. His glory will not in any instance be the least obscured by it.

God may deny salvation to any natural person without any injury to the honour of his righteousness. If he does so, there is no injustice nor unfairness in it. There is no natural man living, let his case be what it will, but God may deny him salvation, and cast him down to hell, and yet not be chargeable with the least unrighteous or unfair dealing in any respect whatsoever. This is evident, because they all have deserved hell: and it is no injustice for a proper judge to inflict on any man what he deserves. And as he has deserved condemnation, so he has never done any thing to remove the liability, or to atone for the sin. He never has done any thing whereby he has laid any obligations on God not to punish him as he deserved.
God may deny salvation to any unconverted person whatever without any prejudice to the honour of his goodness. Sinners are sometimes ready to flatter themselves, that though it may not be contrary to the justice of God to condemn them, yet it will not consist with the glory of his mercy. They think it will be dishonourable to God's mercy to cast them into hell, and have no pity or compassion upon them. They think it will be very hard and severe, and not becoming a God of infinite grace and tender compassion. But God can deny salvation to any natural person without any disparagement to his mercy and goodness. That, which is not contrary to God's justice, is not contrary to his mercy. If damnation be justice, then mercy may choose its own object. They mistake the nature of the mercy of God, who think that it is an attribute, which, in some cases, is contrary to justice. Nay, God's mercy is illustrated by it, as in the twenty-third verse of the context. 'That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.'
It is in no way prejudicial to the honour of God's faithfulness. For God has in no way obliged himself to any natural man by his word to bestow salvation upon him. Men in a natural condition are not the children of promise; but lie open to the curse of the law, which would not be the case if they had any promise to lay hold of
III. GOD DOES ACTUALLY EXERCISE HIS SOVEREIGNTY IN MEN'S SALVATION.

We shall show how he exercises this right in several particulars.

1. In calling one people or nation, and giving them the means of grace, and leaving others without them. According to the divine appointment, salvation is bestowed in connexion with the means of grace. God may sometimes make use of very unlikely means, and bestow salvation on men who are under very great disadvantages; but he does not bestow grace wholly without any means. But God exercises his sovereignty in bestowing those means. All mankind are by nature in like circumstances towards God. Yet God greatly distinguishes some from others by the means and advantages which he bestows upon them. The savages, who live in the remote parts of this continent, and are under the grossest heathenish darkness, as well as the inhabitants of Africa, are naturally in exactly similar circumstances towards God with us in this land. They are no more alienated or estranged from God in their natures than we; and God has no more to charge them with. And yet what a vast difference has God made between us and them! In this he has exercised his sovereignty. He did this of old, when he chose but one people, to make them his covenant people, and to give them the means of grace, and left all others, and gave them over to heathenish darkness and the tyranny of the devil, to perish from generation to generation for many hundreds of years. The earth in that time was peopled with many great and mighty nations. There were the Egyptians, a people famed for their wisdom. There were also the Assyrians and Chaldeans, who were great, and wise, and powerful nations. There were the Persians, who by their strength and policy subdued a great part of the world. There were the renowned nations of the Greeks and Romans, who were famed over the whole world for their excellent civil governments, for their wisdom and skill in the arts of peace and war, and who by their military prowess in their turns subdued and reigned over the world. Those were rejected. God did not choose them for his people, but left them for many ages under gross heathenish darkness, to perish for lack of vision; and chose one only people, the posterity of Jacob, to be his own people, and to give them the means of grace. Psal. 147:19,20. 'He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for his judgments, they have not known them.' This nation were a small, inconsiderable people in comparison with many other people. Deut. 7:7. 'The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.' So neither was it for their righteousness; for they had no more of that than other people. Deut. 9:6. 'Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people.' God gives them to understand, that it was from no other cause but his free electing love, that he chose them to be his people. That reason is given why God loved them; it was because he loved them. Deut. 7:8. Which is as much as to say, it was agreeable to his sovereign pleasure, to set his love upon you.

God also showed his sovereignty in choosing that people, when other nations were rejected, who came of the same progenitors. Thus the children of Isaac were chosen, when the posterity of Ishmael and other sons of Abraham were rejected. So the children of Jacob were chosen, when the posterity of Esau were rejected: as the apostle observes in the seventh verse, 'Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called:' and again in verses 10, 11, 12, 13. 'And not only this; but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; the children moreover being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the promise of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.' The apostle has not respect merely to the election of the persons of Isaac and Jacob before Ishmael and Esau; but of their posterity. In the passage, already quoted from Malachi, God has respect to the nations, which were the posterity of Esau and Jacob; Mal. 1:2,3. 'I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob; and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.' God showed his sovereignty, when Christ came, in rejecting the Jews, and calling the Gentiles. God rejected that nation who were the children of Abraham according to the flesh, and had been his peculiar people for so many ages, and who alone possessed the one true God, and chose idolatrous heathen before them, and called them to be his people. When the Messiah came, who was born of their nation, and whom they so much expected, he rejected them. He came to his own, and his own received him not. John 1:11. When the glorious dispensation of the gospel came, God passed by the Jews, and called those who had been heathens, to enjoy the privileges of it. They were broken off, that the Gentiles might be graffed on. Rom. 11:17. She is now called beloved, that was not beloved. And more are the children of the desolate, than the children of the married wife. Isa. 54:1. The natural children of Abraham are rejected, and God raises up children to Abraham of stones. That nation, which was so honoured of God, have now been for many ages rejected, and remain dispersed all over the world, a remarkable monument of divine vengeance. And now God greatly distinguishes some Gentile nations from others, and all according to his sovereign pleasure.

2. God exercises his sovereignty in the advantages he bestows upon particular persons. All need salvation alike, and all are, naturally, alike undeserving of it; but he gives some vastly greater advantages for salvation than others. To some he assigns their place in pious and religious families, where they may be well instructed and educated, and have religious parents to dedicate them to God, and put up many prayers for them. God places some under a more powerful ministry than others, and in places where there are more of the outpourings of the Spirit of God. To some he gives much more of the strivings and the awakening influences of the Spirit, than to others. It is according to his mere sovereign pleasure.

3. God exercises his sovereignty in sometimes bestowing salvation upon the low and mean, and denying it to the wise and great. Christ in his sovereignty passes by the gates of princes and nobles, and enters some cottage and dwells there, and has communion with its obscure inhabitants. God in his sovereignty withheld salvation from the rich man, who fared sumptuously every day, and bestowed it on poor Lazarus, who sat begging at his gate. God in this way pours contempt on princes, and on all their glittering splendour. So God sometimes passes by wise men, men of great understanding, learned and great scholars, and bestows salvation on others of weak understanding, who only comprehend some of the plainer parts of Scripture, and the fundamental principles of the christian religion. Yea, there seem to be fewer great men called, than others. And God in ordering it thus manifests his sovereignty. 1 Cor. 1:26,27,28. 'For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.

4. In bestowing salvation on some who have had few advantages. God sometimes will bless weak means for producing astonishing effects, when more excellent means are not succeeded. God sometimes will withhold salvation from those who are the children of very pious parents, and bestow it on others, who have been brought up in wicked families. Thus we read of a good Abijah in the family of Jeroboam, and of a godly Hezekiah, the son of wicked Ahaz, and of a godly Josiah, the son of a wicked Amon. But on the contrary, of a wicked Amnon and Absalom, the sons of holy David, and that vile Manasseh, the son a good Hezekiah. Sometimes some, who have had eminent means of grace, are rejected, and left to perish, and others, under far less advantages, are saved. Thus the scribes and Pharisees, who had so much light and knowledge of the Scriptures, were mostly rejected, and the poor ignorant publicans saved. The greater part of those, among whom Christ was much conversant, and who heard him preach, and saw him work miracles from day to day, were left; and the woman of Samaria was taken, and many other Samaritans at the same time, who only heard Christ preach, as he occasionally passed through their city. So the woman of Canaan was taken, who was not of the country of the Jews, and but once saw Jesus Christ. So the Jews, who had seen and heard Christ, and saw his miracles, and with whom the apostles laboured so much, were not saved. But the Gentiles, many of them, who, as it were, but transiently heard the glad tidings of salvation, embraced them, and were converted.

5. God exercises his sovereignty in calling some to salvation, who have been very heinously wicked, and leaving others, who have been moral and religious persons. The Pharisees were a very strict sect among the Jews. Their religion was extraordinary. Luke 18:11. They were not as other men, extortioners, unjust, or adulterers. There was their morality. They fasted twice a week, and gave tithes of all that they possessed. There was their religion. But yet they were mostly rejected, and the publicans, and harlots, and openly vicious sort of people, entered into the kingdom of God before them. Matt. 21:31. The apostle describes his righteousness while a Pharisee. Philip. 3:6. 'Touching the righteousness which is of the law, blameless.' The rich young man, who came kneeling to Christ, saying, Good Master, what shall I do, that I may have eternal life, was a moral person. When Christ bade him keep the commandments, he said, and in his own view with sincerity, 'All these have I kept from my youth up.' He had obviously been brought up in a good family, and was a youth of such amiable manners and correct deportment, that it is said, 'Jesus beholding him, loved him.' Still he was left; while the thief, that was crucified with Christ, was chosen and called, even on the cross. God sometimes shows his sovereignty by showing mercy to the chief of sinners, on those who have been murderers, and profaners, and blasphemers. And even when they are old, some are called at the eleventh hour. God sometimes shows the sovereignty of his grace by showing mercy to some, who have spent most of their lives in the service of Satan, and have little left to spend in the service of God.

6. In saving some of those who seek salvation, and not others. Some who seek salvation, as we know both from Scripture and observation, are soon converted; while others seek a long time, and do not obtain at last. God helps some over the mountains and difficulties which are in the way; he subdues Satan, and delivers them from his temptations: but others are ruined by the temptations with which they meet. Some are never thoroughly awakened; while to others God is pleased to give thorough convictions. Some are left to backsliding hearts; others God causes to hold out to the end. Some are brought off from a confidence in their own righteousness; others never get over that obstruction in their way, as long as they live. And some are converted and saved, who never had so great strivings as some who, notwithstanding, perish.

IV. I COME NOW TO GIVE THE REASONS, WHY GOD DOES THUS EXERCISE HIS SOVEREIGNTY IN THE ETERNAL SALVATION OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN.

1. It is agreeable to God's design in the creation of the universe to exercise every attribute, and thus to manifest the glory of each of them. God's design in the creation was to glorify himself, or to make a discovery of the essential glory of his nature. It was fit that infinite glory should shine forth; and it was God's original design to make a manifestation of his glory, as it is. Not that it was his design to manifest all his glory to the apprehension of creatures; for it is impossible that the minds of creatures should comprehend it. But it was his design to make a true manifestation of his glory, such as should represent every attribute. If God glorified one attribute, and not another, such manifestation of his glory would be defective; and the representation would not be complete. If all God's attributes are not manifested, the glory of none of them is manifested as it is: for the divine attributes reflect glory on one another. Thus if God's wisdom be manifested, and not his holiness, the glory of his wisdom would not be manifested as it is; for one part of the glory of the attribute of divine wisdom is, that it is a holy wisdom. So if his holiness were manifested, and not his wisdom, the glory of his holiness would not be manifested as it is; for one thing which belongs to the glory of God's holiness is, that it is a wise holiness. So it is with respect to the attributes of mercy and justice. The glory of God's mercy does not appear as it is, unless it is manifested as a just mercy, or as a mercy consistent with justice. And so with respect to God's sovereignty, it reflects glory on all his other attributes. It is part of the glory of God's mercy, that it is sovereign mercy. So all the attributes of God reflect glory on one another. The glory of one attribute cannot be manifested, as it is, without the manifestation of another. One attribute is defective without another, and therefore the manifestation will be defective. Hence it was the will of God to manifest all his attributes. The declarative glory of God in Scripture is often called God's name, because it declares his nature. But if his name does not signify his nature as it is, or does not declare any attribute, it is not a true name. The sovereignty of God is one of his attributes, and a part of his glory. The glory of God eminently appears in his absolute sovereignty over all creatures, great and small. If the glory of a prince be his power and dominion, then the glory of God is his absolute sovereignty. Herein appear God's infinite greatness and highness above all creatures. Therefore it is the will of God to manifest his sovereignty. And his sovereignty, like his other attributes, is manifested in the exercises of it. He glorifies his power in the exercise of power. He glorifies his mercy in the exercise of mercy. So he glorifies his sovereignty in the exercise of sovereignty.

2. The more excellent the creature is over whom God is sovereign, and the greater the matter in which he so appears, the more glorious is his sovereignty. The sovereignty of God in his being sovereign over men, is more glorious than in his being sovereign over the inferior creatures. And his sovereignty over angels is yet more glorious that his sovereignty over men. For the nobler the creature is, still the greater and higher doth God appear in his sovereignty over it. It is a greater honour to a man to have dominion over men, that over beasts; and a still greater honour to have dominion over princes, nobles, and kings, than over ordinary men. So the glory of God's sovereignty appears in that he is sovereign over the souls of men, who are so noble and excellent creatures. God therefore will exercise his sovereignty over them. And the further the dominion of any one extends over another, the greater will be the honour. If a man has dominion over another only in some instances, he is not therein so much exalted, as in having absolute dominion over his life, and fortune, and all he has. So God's sovereignty over men appears glorious, that it extends to every thing which concerns them. He may dispose of them with respect to all that concerns them, according to his own pleasure. His sovereignty appears glorious, that it reaches their most important affairs, even the eternal state and condition of the souls of men. Herein it appears that the sovereignty of God is without bounds or limits, in that it reaches to an affair of such infinite importance. God, therefore, as it is his design to manifest his own glory, will and does exercise his sovereignty towards men, over their souls and bodies, even in this most important matter of their eternal salvation. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardens.

APPLICATION.

1. Hence we learn how absolutely we are dependent on God in this great matter of the eternal salvation of our souls. We are dependent not only on his wisdom to contrive a way to accomplish it, and on his power to bring it to pass, but we are dependent on his mere will and pleasure in the affair. We depend on the sovereign will of God for every thing belonging to it, from the foundation to the top-stone. It was of the sovereign pleasure of God, that he contrived a way to save any of mankind, and gave us Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, to be our Redeemer. Why did he look on us, and send us a Saviour, and not the fallen angels? It was from the sovereign pleasure of God. It was of his sovereign pleasure what means to appoint. His giving us the Bible, and the ordinances of religion, is of his sovereign grace. His giving those means to us rather than to others, his giving the awakening influences of his Spirit, and his bestowing saving grace, are all of his sovereign pleasure. When he says, 'Let there be light in the soul of such an one,' it is a word of infinite power and sovereign grace.

2. Let us with the greatest humility adore the awful and absolute sovereignty of God. As we have just shown, it is an eminent attribute of the Divine Being, that he is sovereign over such excellent beings as the souls of men, and that in every respect, even in that of their eternal salvation. The infinite greatness of God, and his exaltation above us, appears in nothing more, than in his sovereignty. It is spoken of in Scripture as a great part of his glory. Deut. 32:39. 'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.' Psal. 115:3. 'Our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he pleased.' Daniel 4:34,35. 'Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?' Our Lord Jesus Christ praised and glorified the Father for the exercise of his sovereignty in the salvation of men. Matt. 11:25,26. 'I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.' Let us therefore give God the glory of his sovereignty, as adoring him, whose sovereign will orders all things, beholding ourselves as nothing in comparison with him. Dominion and sovereignty require humble reverence and honour in the subject. The absolute, universal, and unlimited sovereignty of God requires, that we should adore him with all possible humility and reverence. It is impossible that we should go to excess in lowliness and reverence of that Being, who may dispose of us to all eternity, as he pleases.

3. Those who are in a state of salvation are to attribute it to sovereign grace alone, and to give all the praise to him, who maketh them to differ from others. Godliness is no cause for glorying, except it be in God. 1 Cor. 1:29,30,31. 'That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.' Such are not, by any means, in any degree to attribute their godliness, their safe and happy state and condition, to any natural difference between them and other men, or to any strength or righteousness of their own. They have no reason to exalt themselves in the least degree; but God is the being whom they should exalt. They should exalt God the Father, who chose them in Christ, who set his love upon them, and gave them salvation, before they were born, and even before the world was. If they inquire, why God set his love on them, and chose them rather than others, if they think they can see any cause out of God, they are greatly mistaken. They should exalt God the Son, who bore their names on his heart, when he came into the world, and hung on the cross, and in whom alone they have righteousness and strength. They should exalt God the Holy Ghost, who of sovereign grace has called them out of darkness into marvellous light; who has by his own immediate and free operation, led them into an understanding of the evil and danger of sin, and brought them off from their own righteousness, and opened their eyes to discover the glory of God, and the wonderful riches of God in Jesus Christ, and has sanctified them, and made them new creatures. When they hear of the wickedness of others, or look upon vicious persons, they should think how wicked they once were, and how much they provoked God, and how they deserved for ever to be left by him to perish in sin, and that it is only sovereign grace which has made the difference. 1 Cor. 6:10. Many sorts of sinners are there enumerated; fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind. And then in the eleventh verse, the apostle tells them, 'Such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' The people of God have the greater cause of thankfulness, more reason to love God, who hath bestowed such great and unspeakable mercy upon them of his mere sovereign pleasure.

4. Hence we learn what cause we have to admire the grace of God, that he should condescend to become bound to us by covenant; that he, who is naturally supreme in his dominion over us, who is our absolute proprietor, and may do with us as he pleases, and is under no obligation to us; that he should, as it were, relinquish his absolute freedom, and should cease to be merely sovereign in his dispensations towards believers, when once they have believed in Christ, and should, for their more abundant consolation, become bound. So that they can challenge salvation of this Sovereign; they can demand it through Christ, as a debt. And it would be prejudicial to the glory of God's attributes, to deny it to them; it would be contrary to his justice and faithfulness. What wonderful condescension is it in such a Being, thus to become bound to us, worms of the dust, for our consolation! He bound himself by his word, his promise. But he was not satisfied with that; but that we might have stronger consolation still, he hath bound himself by his oath. Heb. 6:13, etc. 'For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself; saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.'

Let us, therefore, labour to submit to the sovereignty of God. God insists, that his sovereignty be acknowledged by us, and that even in this great matter, a matter which so nearly and infinitely concerns us, as our own eternal salvation. This is the stumbling-block on which thousands fall and perish; and if we go on contending with God about his sovereignty, it will be our eternal ruin. It is absolutely necessary that we should submit to God, as our absolute sovereign, and the sovereign over our souls; as one who may have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and harden whom he will.

5. And lastly. We may make use of this doctrine to guard those who seek salvation from two opposite extremes - presumption and discouragement. Do not presume upon the mercy of God, and so encourage yourself in sin. Many hear that God's mercy is infinite, and therefore think, that if they delay seeking salvation for the present, and seek it hereafter, that God will bestow his grace upon them. But consider, that though God's grace is sufficient, yet he is sovereign, and will use his own pleasure whether he will save you or not. If you put off salvation till hereafter, salvation will not be in your power. It will be as a sovereign God pleases, whether you shall obtain it or not. Seeing, therefore, that in this affair you are so absolutely dependent on God, it is best to follow his direction in seeking it, which is to hear his voice to-day: 'To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart.' Beware also of discouragement. Take heed of despairing thoughts, because you are a great sinner, because you have persevered so long in sin, have backslidden, and resisted the Holy Ghost. Remember that, let your case be what it may, and you ever so great a sinner, if you have not committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, God can bestow mercy upon you without the least prejudice to the honour of his holiness, which you have offended, or to the honour of his majesty, which you have insulted, or of his justice, which you have made your enemy, or of his truth, or of any of his attributes. Let you be what sinner you may, God can, if he pleases, greatly glorify himself in your salvation.

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Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week

2008-06-05T22:36:00.009-04:00

My friend Scott Hoyle had made me aware of Todd Bentley about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I really did not know a lot about him at the time. I have since done much research and this is another fine example of signs and wonders brought to you by mysticism and fables. In fact "The Way of the Master" Radio program has been researching him too. Why do all these wackos seem to be in Florida?

Anyway, I really can't say anymore about this guy without wanting to partake in his Violent healing services by pile driving him myself...This is mainstream Christianity today. Just watch both videos and if you don't agree, email or message me some scriptures that back what he is doing! Cause ya ain't gonna find some...(That's southern talk) Folks, this is not Revival!!! This is wicked demonic activity. This is not true Christianity nor the God I serve. Lets get back to scripture!

Video 1

Video 2

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Spurgeon Quotes on the Gospel

2008-06-05T22:28:00.003-04:00

Here are some great Spurgeon Quotes I ran across!!!!

collected by Ligon Duncan

"The hearing of the gospel involves the hearer in responsibility. It is a great privilege to hear the gospel. You may smile and think there is nothing very great in it. The damned in hell know. Oh, what would they give if they could hear the gospel now? If they could come back and entertain but the shadow of a hope that they might escape from the wrath to come? The saved in heaven estimate this privilege at a high rate, for, having obtained salvation through the preaching of this gospel, they can never cease to bless their God for calling them by his word of truth. O that you knew it! On your dying beds the listening to a gospel sermon will seem another thing than it seems now." CHS

"Do you know, my dear unsaved hearer, what God’s estimate of the gospel is? Do you not know that it has been the chief subject of his thoughts and acts from all eternity? He looks on it as the grandest of all his works. You cannot imagine that he has sent his gospel into the world to be a football for you to play with–that you may give it a kick, as Felix did when he said to Paul, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee" (Acts 24:25). You surely cannot believe that God sent his gospel into the world for you to make a toy of it, and to say, as Agrippa said to Paul, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28), and then put away all thought of it out of your souls. You cannot even speak of it irreverently without committing a great sin." CHS

"Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead. Seek the gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul." CHS

"Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted." (CHS)

"Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching - where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus." (CHS)

"If God does not save men by truth, he certainly will not save them by lies. And if the old gospel is not competent to work a revival, then we will do without the revival." (CHS)

"On Christ, and what he has done, my soul hangs for time and eternity. And if your soul also hangs there, it will be saved as surely as mine shall be. And if you are lost trusting in Christ, I will be lost with you and will go to hell with you. I must do so, for I have nothing else to rely upon but the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived, died, was buried, rose again, went to heaven, and still lives and pleads for sinners at the right hand of God." (CHS)

"We have an unchanging gospel, which is not today green grass and tomorrow dry hay; but always the abiding truth of the immutable Jehovah." (C.H. Spurgeon)

"If the Lord's bearing our sin for us is not the gospel, I have no gospel to preach." (C.H. Spurgeon)

"The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ." (C.H. Spurgeon)

"When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize; there is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed." (C.H. Spurgeon)

A Permanent Address

2008-05-31T14:01:00.007-04:00

--by Michael Horton

One of the stories my much older brother tells me about the old days recounts the day when the family had just moved to a Los Angeles suburb. I should say, another L.A. suburb, since, all told, we moved about thirty times over the course of my childhood. No, my father was not in the military, nor was he on the lam. He just had wanderlust. The grass was always greener just up over that hill up yonder. So here we were (according to my brother, who is not always a reliable source), driving through the new neighborhood. Passing the elementary school, my dad said, “Look, that’s where Mike will be starting kindergarten,” to which my brother replied, “No offense, Dad, but who are you kidding? Mike will never see the inside of that place.” He was right: I never did set foot on the property before we packed up and moved again. Yet no matter where we moved, the family was a constant. There are plenty of kids who grow up in the same place, but their parents are a million miles away in actual practice. Some, in fact, are so disappointed or even scarred from their childhood that when they leave home, it’s for good.

We call the church a family — the family of God. And like any family, it has its pluses and minuses. We know that there is an ideal church consisting of all the elect — the so-called invisible church — but precisely because it is invisible, affirming its existence does not mean that we can point to it and say, “There it is.” The only church we know is the visible church, by whatever form of church government we call it (local, regional, national, international, or all of the above). And we have to admit that if seeing is believing, we might be hard-pressed at times to identify the church we know with the uncompromised church in glory.

Jesus promised that when he left, he would send the Spirit to testify concerning him, bringing conviction and forgiveness through the gospel proclaimed. In the meantime, our Lord went “to prepare a place” for us to be together forever (John 14:3). It will be a permanent address at last. At its best, the church below is the staging area for the things to come: a kingdom of grace, not yet a kingdom of glory; a church militant, not yet the church triumphant. So the wheat and the weeds grow together until the Son returns to gather and make the final separation (Matt. 13:24-30). Until then, there is no pure church, but only churches more or less pure. For now, it is a “mixed body,” with no doubt some sheep outside it and some wolves within.

Augustine, one of the key sources for this invisible-visible church distinction, can be improved on by reference to eschatology. In other words, the proper distinction is not between two types of churches, one “inner” and another “outer,” but rather two eras of the one church’s existence: “this present age” and “the age to come.” This is the import of the parable of the wheat and weeds: Jesus will sort things out in the end. But for now, the visible church is a garden of wheat and weeds and sometimes we cannot tell them apart. In this age, the church is compromised; in the next, it is glorified — completely purged of being, as we lament in the hymn, “by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed.” The distinction between the present and the future condition of the church is the corporate analogue to the paradoxical life of the individual believer as “simultaneously justified and sinful.” But just as we are definitively new creatures in Christ, despite our continuing battle with sin, the church really is the site of God’s covenantal grace. Like any family, it has its problems, but because it is Christ’s family, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). To this church Christ has entrusted the keys of the kingdom, so that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (v. 19). Just as the individual believer is a work in progress, so corporately the church even in its weakness is the place where the age to come breaks in on this present evil age. It is not because of anything intrinsic to the church itself, but because the ministry of the keys has been entrusted to her. It is through its ministry of Word and Sacrament, as well as discipline, that the Spirit makes us taste the heavenly reality of God’s Sabbath rest. Even the nonelect in the visible church experience through this ministry some measure of the kingdom reality, as they have been “enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come” (Heb. 6:4-5).

It is difficult to identify the church in its present state with the bride of Christ, but the gospel says that this is in fact the case (see Rev. 21:2, 9; 22:17), so it must be whether we see that reality or not. The church is our permanent address, despite appearances to the contrary. It is not a vague, abstract, invisible reality, but a tangible, concrete, visible one — amid all the counterevidence. If we are inclined to break bruised reeds and smoldering candles in our self-righteous zeal to create an absolutely pure church, it is comforting to know that the King of the church is not. If ever there were examples of corrupt churches, Corinth, Galatia, and the churches addressed in the Apocalypse would come pretty close to it. And yet they are all addressed as “the church,” warts and all (see 1 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:2: Rev. 2 and 3). As an eschatological reality, the church — yes, even the one to which you belong — is an “already-not yet” form of God’s saving presence in the world in Jesus Christ and by his Spirit.

If this is so, is there ever a point at which a church ceases to be a church? In the examples just cited, warnings are given suggesting that these churches came awfully close to crossing that line. As Paul’s stern warning to the Galatians shows, the most serious crisis comes when a church preaches a different gospel than the one proclaimed by the apostles. Confusion and distortion are bad enough, but when a church actually anathematizes the gospel, Christ anathematizes that church. Local churches and whole denominations have crossed that line down through the ages, and perhaps most widely in our own time.

So the reformers seem entirely justified in their consensus that “wherever the Word is rightly preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered, there we have no doubt is a true church.” “Rightly preached” and “rightly administered” did not mean for them that there could be no doctrinal confusion or error in biblical interpretation or that the Sacraments had to be administered in exactly the same manner in order to qualify as a true church. But it did mean that to the degree that the gospel is compromised and the Sacraments are abused, a church is threatened with excommunication.

Within these parameters, then, no Christian can live without the church — in fact, the church is not just what you get when you have a lot of individual Christians, but vice versa. In Cyprian’s memorable words that Calvin echoed (see Institutes 4.1.4), “He cannot have God as his Father who takes not the church for his mother.” The Belgic Confession adds,

We believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is the gathering of those who are saved and there is no salvation apart from it, no one ought to withdraw from it, content to be by himself, regardless of his status or condition. But all people are obliged to join and unite with it, keeping the unity of the church by submitting to its instruction and discipline, by bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, according to the gifts God has given them as members of each other in the same body…. And so, all who withdraw from the church or do not join it act contrary to God’s ordinance. (Article 28)

In other words, against all inclinations of a mobile society, where we often seem to be in not only one but several transitions at any given period in our lives, we are called to belong. The church is not like a house that we think we’ve outgrown or a neighborhood that has lost its charm, much less a mall that offers consumers a panoply of choices, so that if we are not completely satisfied we can simply take our business elsewhere. If we find a church that truly preaches Christ and faithfully administers the Sacraments, treating God’s Word as the rule for life and doctrine, we should count ourselves “lucky” and bear the weaknesses that we will inevitably see once we get to really know the place. Since the church is a body of people who are justified yet sinful, definitively new creatures in Christ and yet making only partial progress in sanctification, not to mention a garden of wheat and weeds growing together, we do not yet have the luxury of a permanent address on earth, but we must be content with the next best thing for now.
Many of us have come from rather free-wheeling backgrounds in which church membership was regarded as secondary. The important thing was that we belonged to the invisible church, not to “some denomination.” In fact, many of these churches bend over backwards to assert that they are not part of a denomination, even though each of their local churches bears the same name and (in some cases) are ultimately led by the vision and sometimes discipline of one gifted and charismatic figure. Thus, a denomination emerges, all right, but one that has separated itself at least in practical terms from the wider body of Christ in the name of escaping sectarian denominationalism. For example, Alexander Campbell, who defected from the Presbyterian Church because of his Arminian sympathies, announced that he was forming a restored body of Christ that was no longer part of the “sectarian” world of Protestant denominationalism. But, ironically, his followers came to be called “Campbellites” and his nondenominational denomination — the Church of Christ (Disciples) — is now just as much a part of the mainline Protestant denominational landscape as the church he abandoned. The restorationist movements of the nineteenth century are alive and well in the twenty-first.

All of this is to make the point that if in this world we wait until we find a permanent address, we will never find a home where we can grow and raise our children as part of the intergenerational succession of the covenant of grace. For my father, the grass was always greener on the other side. I think he was pretty typical of our national character and industry. It is what keeps us looking up over the hill, in the hope that tomorrow will be better than today. But when it comes to the church, wanderlust is disastrous, both personally and corporately. After all, we are described in Scripture as pilgrims. Neither vagrants (the “low-church” temptation) nor those who have arrived (the “high-church” tendency), pilgrims are on their way to a specific destination. They have provisions for the journey and they expect to arrive safely, not because of utopianism or itchy feet, but because they have been promised it, and that pledge is routinely proclaimed and sealed for them each week. If the danger in a Roman Catholic ecclesiology is to see the visible church as already Christ’s spouse, the opposite danger rife in evangelical circles is to see it as a collection of individual people who have been truly born again and get together each week or so. The “already-not yet” character of the church’s present existence maintains, however, that the church is not yet Christ’s wife, but is certainly his bride — the beloved who is soon to be presented in royal splendor at the wedding feast for the world to behold. She’s not much to look at now, but she will “clean up nice,” as my grandfather used to say. The often unreliable fiancée will be glorified.

This already-not yet way of looking at the church and her imperfections is implied in Hebrews. After spending ten chapters developing the superiority of the new covenant, the writer says,

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb 10:19-25)

None of the author’s confidence is lodged in the empirical condition of the church, but in the objective, completed, unrepeatable work of Christ her living Head. And yet, just as Jerusalem was not the final resting place of God’s Spirit, so the church is only identified with heavenly Zion herself in this already-not yet manner. Abraham and the patriarchs, all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they have been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Heb. 11:13-16).

It was easy to give somebody directions to where God lived in the old days: Temple Square in Jerusalem, behind the curtain. But that curtain was torn top to bottom when the only truly satisfying sacrifice was offered to the Father once and for all, and the temple was itself destroyed in a.d. 70, just as the prophets and Jesus had predicted beforehand. God sent his “address correction” in the form of his Son, who declared of himself, “One greater than the temple is among you” (Matt. 12:6). Neither the temple in Jerusalem, nor the one in Samaria, is the true temple now that Jesus has come: Christ is God’s address (John 4:19-26). If God’s address is no longer One Temple Square, it is certainly not Riverside Drive in New York City, Wheaton, Costa Mesa, Canterbury, Anaheim, Orlando, Toronto, Grand Rapids, St. Louis, Geneva, Wittenberg, Vatican City, or Antioch.

Although the true Temple has come in flesh and has given us his Spirit as a down payment, but, as expressed in a memorable line from the band U2, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Our permanent address is in heaven, at the Father’s right hand. Yet we need a pretty constant temporary address now where Christ really and truly is present for us in preaching and Sacrament, fellowship, and discipline. The city without foundations, whose builder and maker is God, cannot be wholly identified with any of our churches, and yet to the extent that our churches are genuine sites of “the age to come,” through faithful exercise of the keys, they are, whatever evidence to the contrary, already in part what they shall yet fully become at last.

Michael Horton (Ph.D., Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and the University of Coventry)
is professor of apologetics and theology at Westminster Seminary California.

America's Pastor...?

2008-05-27T17:17:00.006-04:00

"America's Pastor" thinks that "the preaching of God's Word isn't the way to produce spiritual maturity" My goodness.... These pastors continue to do everything but preach the Word of God. Listen to part of this program that aired on "The Way of the Master Radio".

Vid One

Vid Two

Pastors, stop adapting to the culture and preach the Word of God as you are commanded toooooo... Good grief..

1Cor 9:16

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Precious 5yr Old Maria Chapman tragically killed this past evening

2008-05-22T00:57:00.008-04:00

Update:

The memorial service is scheduled tomorrow (Sat) at 11:00am. Take some time around then and pray for the Chapman's, especially their son Will, who was driving the vehicle involved in the tragic accident. Pray for God's sustaining Grace upon all of them. Also, pray that the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel be made much of during the service and that lost people will have ears to hear the gospel as well.

(posted May 22nd)
"Please pray that God would grant His Grace to the Chapman Family, needed to endure this tragedy and that they would find Peace that only Christ can give."

This article just saddens my heart. We do not always understand why these things happen. We just trust in the fact that God is in complete control.

Throughout this week, please continue to pray for our dear brother and his entire family. Here are the details of the accident.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 5-year-old daughter of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said.

The girl, Maria, was hit in a driveway on the family residence Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.McPherson said no charges are expected."It looks like a tragic accident," she said.She said several members of the Chapman family witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville.

The brother apparently did not see the little girl, McPherson said. She did not have the name or exact age of the brother, only that he is an older teenager.The girl died later at Vanderbilt Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Laurie Holloway said.Chapman, originally from Paducah, Ky., and his wife have promoted international adoption and have three daughters from China, including Maria.Chapman has won five Grammy awards and 51 Dove awards from the Gospel Music Association.

The singer's Web site said that Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, were persuaded by their oldest daughter to adopt a girl from China. The experience led the family to adopt two more children and create Shaohannah's Hope, a foundation and ministry to financially assist thousands of couples in adoption.The Chapmans did missionary work at Chinese orphanages in 2006 and 2007, according to the Web site.

"After our first trip to China, my wife and I knew our lives were changing — our eyes and hearts were opening to how big God really is, and we have wanted to experience more of that," Chapman says on the Web site. "We've really wondered whether or not we should just go to China and stay there. But I don't think so.

I believe God is saying, 'I want you to go, get your heart broken, your eyes opened, and then take this story back to the church in America and around the world."'Chapman also has released a book about being a father entitled "Cinderella: The Love of Daddy and his Princess."

The Narrow Way

2008-05-21T23:45:00.006-04:00

I do not hear anyone out there preaching on the narrow way anymore... Why? It creates an offense and is not popular in evangelical circles anymore in this "Post Modern Age".

Twenty-Five years ago, I can remember hearing a message on the narrow way in an Assemblies of God church... But, not anymore... It is amazing how far removed are churches are now from the truth.. And I weep within my spirit at the lack of truth being preached... Most preaching today is nothing more than motivational speaking. Have your "Best Life Now". Have an experience with your own "Personal Jesus"

Well, my bible tells me exactly what we should be preaching:

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Act 16:10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

Rom 1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Rom 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:

1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

1Co 9:14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

1Co 9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

Oh, how I long to hear preachers return to the Gospel again, Repentance, Faith in Jesus alone, Daily Cross.... That we have a propitiation:

Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

That is the good news of the gospel. That I was once without hope, destitute in my sins, no way of saving myself, an enemy of God. But, for the Grace of God, His Son became the propitiation for my sins, bringing me to my knees in repentance and faith in Christ.

By His Grace alone,

Bill

2008 Conference Audio: General Sessions and Panel Discussions

2008-05-21T22:22:00.004-04:00

Together For The Gospel 2008

Here is the link for the sessions.. Sovereign Grace Ministries has been wonderful enough to post these...

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Resources/T4G.aspx

enjoy !!!

Bill

It's Never Too Late to Keep Asking

2008-05-18T09:57:00.001-04:00

-by John Piper

One of the greatest hope-killers is that you have tried for so long to change and have not succeeded. Now you look back and think: What’s the use? Even if I could experience a breakthrough, there would be so little time left to live in my new way it wouldn’t make much difference compared to so many decades of failure.

That’s not true. Suppose you only had five years left to live with a new victory over some old way. Or suppose you only had a year, or a month, or an hour? Would it matter?

At this point stir the thief on the cross into your thinking. At first he was railing at Jesus (Matthew 27:44). Then he was broken by what he saw and repented and cried out for mercy: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Jesus received this faith-filled cry and promised, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Then the former robber lived for another hour or so before he died. He was changed. He lived on the cross as a new man with new attitudes and actions (no more reviling). But 99.99% of his life was wasted. Did the last couple hours of newness matter?

They mattered infinitely. This former robber, like all of us, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of his life. “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2Corinthians 5:10). How will his life witness in that day to his new birth and his union with Christ?

The last hours will tell the story. This man was new. His faith was real. He is truly united to Christ. Christ’s righteousness is his. His sins are forgiven. That is what the final hours will proclaim at the last judgment. His change mattered. It was, and it will be, a beautiful testimony to the power of God’s grace and the reality of his faith and his union with Christ.

Now back to our struggle with change. I am not saying that struggling believers are unsaved like the robber was. I am simply saying: the last years and the last hours of life matter.

If in the last 1% of our lives we can get a victory over some longstanding sinful habit or hurtful defect in our personality, it will be a beautiful testimony now to the power of grace; and it will be an added witness (not the only one) at the last judgment of our faith in Christ and our union with him.

Take heart, struggler. Keeping asking, seeking, knocking. Keep looking to Christ. If God gets glory by saving robbers in the 11th hour, he surely has his purposes why he has waited till now to give you the breakthrough you have sought for decades.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org

I'm Back !!!

2008-05-13T22:34:00.001-04:00

I am now back from my trip...More blogging to come.. Sorry, it has been so long...

In God's strong love,

Bill

Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week

2008-05-05T22:57:00.005-04:00

Here we go. Mystic Charlatan, Patricia King, masquerading as preacher of the Gospel! Now, as I have said many times, words mean something. This is not just name calling, but describing exactly what is going on in this clip and in many others by Patricia King. Here is the definition of a "Mystic Charlatan". It is important to know what these words mean.

"Mysticism is the pursuit of achieving communion, identity with, or conscious awareness of ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight."

"A charlatan (also called swindler) is a person practising quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money or advantage via some form of pretence or deception."

Many of these so called preacher/teachers...claim they have special anointings, physical visitations from God and actual audible conversations with God. Many times private conversations. Well, the 2nd & 3rd century Gnostics also made these claims.

Here is a little history lesson. It will reveal to you that this is not a new practice.

Gnostic/Gnosticism

The estimation of the world, owing to the above, as flawed or a production of 'error' but nevertheless as good as its constituent material might allow. This world is typically an inferior simulacrum of a higher-level reality or consciousness. The inferiority may be compared to the technical inferiority of a painting, sculpture, or other handicraft to the thing(s) of which those crafts are supposed to be a representation. In certain other cases it is also perceived as evil and constrictive, a deliberate prison for its inhabitants;
The explanation of this state through the use of a complex mythological-cosmological drama in which a divine element 'falls' into the material realm and lodges itself within certain human beings; from here, it may be returned to the divine realm through a process of awakening (leading towards salvation). The salvation of the individual thus mirrors a concurrent restoration of the divine nature; a central Gnostic innovation was to elevate individual redemption to the level of a cosmically significant event;
Knowledge of a specific kind as a central factor in this process of restoration, achieved through the mediation of a redeemer figure (Christ, or, in other cases, Seth or Sophia).

And there you have it.. This is nothing more than a shinning example of Gnosticism repacked in the 21st Century. Mythological-cosmological drama at its finist. This is not preaching the gospel, this is putting experiences and eliments of power as proof of salvation and a spirit filled life . I can assure you of this. The Gnostics did not live a spirit filled life, but a material filled life and this is a carbon copy of Gnosticism. This is not the true gospel.

So inlight of this, what does scripture say?

Here is Paul writting to the church of Galatia.

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Gal 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

Gal 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

What is the gospel? Read Romans: Chapters 1-3 Will put you to your knees... I am guilty of sin and all hope of earning God's favor is gone (I have broken the law). Chapters 4-5 Here is what Jesus has done to justify the ungodly (the good news). Chapter 6 This gospel not only is great enough to Justify you, but sanctify you as well. This is the good news of the gospel. Also read Romans chapters 7,8,9 and 10.

The gospel is not having mystical power in the name of Jesus, pillars of glory and hypnotic phrases.... The gospel is what has been given to us by our blessed savior Jesus Christ. Proclaiming Christ's doing, dying and rising for us.

If you hear any other gospel preached say, "Whoaaa!" and receive it not.

by His Grace alone,

Bill

God's Grace in times of sorrow...

2008-05-03T14:18:00.004-04:00

This has been a very emotional month for us all. It is the anniversary of my Father-In-Laws passing. One year ago today. Much reflection has taken place in all of our hearts this past week. Has the pain gone away? No. Have we ceased to mourn? No. Do we miss his gentle voice saying "Amen, Thank you Jesus."? Yes, with all our hearts we do!

Yet, even in this time we find God's peace, comfort and assurance. He is ever faithful in our time of need. Upon my time of reflection I recalled a conversation Dad and I had one night when I stopped over there before my bowling league, which I would do from time to time. He was about 2 months into the illness and was making several doctor visits with Gretchen. This is what he had shared with me.

One day he was at our local hospital leaving an appointment, when he meet this young lady in the elevator, they had engaged in light conversation and he was able to share the good news of the gospel with her. He told me that she didn't drop to her knees and repent right there in that elevator, but she did listen and the rest was up to Jesus. Then what Dad said to me next was such a shock because of the "Christian Post Modern Culture" we live in today. He said" Ya know, if I would never have never been ill with this cancer, I would never have been in that elevator sharing the gospel with that young lady".

Dad understood, he understood the sovereignty of God, he knew that the cancer didn't take God by suprise and that God's purpose according to his will, might stand. I never once heard Dad say, Why me? Why am I not being healed? Where is God in all of this? His response to me that night was, "I was able to share the gospel with someone in need"

Even in his biggest trial of his life, Dad said "Thank You Jesus".

I just thought I would share this precious story in memory of our Husband, Father, Brother and Grandpa, Thomas D. Griffore III. We miss you deeply.

God's unworthy servant in His unfailing love,

Bill

Yea, he is altogether lovely. Song of Solomon 5:16

2008-04-30T22:24:00.001-04:00

C H Spurgeon:

The words are evidently uttered by one who is under the influence of overwhelming emotion. The words are rather a veil to the heart than a glass through which we see its emotions. The sentence labors to express the inexpressible; it pants to utter the unutterable. The person writing these words evidently feels a great deal more than any language can possibly convey to us. The spouse begins somewhat calmly in her description: “My beloved is white and ruddy.” She proceeds with due order, commencing at the head, and proceeding with the divers parts of the person of the Beloved but she warms, she glows, she flames, and at last the heat which had for awhile been repressed is like fire within her bones, and she bursts forth in flaming words. Here is the live coal from off the altar of her heart: “Yea, he is altogether lovely.” It is the utterance of a soul that is altogether overcome with admiration, and therefore feels that in attempting to describe the Well-beloved, it has undertaken a task beyond its power. Lost in adoring wonder, the gracious mind desists from description, and cries with rapture, “Yea, he is altogether lovely.” It has often been thus with true saints; they have felt the love of Jesus to be overpowering and inebriating. Believers are not always cool and calm in their thoughts towards their Lord: there are seasons with them when they pass into a state of rapture, their hearts burn within them, they are in ecstacy, they mount up with wings as eagles, their souls become like the chariots of Amminadib, they feel what they could not tell, they experience what they could not express though the tongues of men and of angels were perfectly at their command.

Dave Hunt why won't you debate James White?

2008-04-28T20:42:00.005-04:00

Dave Hunt, you have debate everyone, even Shabir Ally, who you have no business debating. The debate, "Christianity vs. Islam", held back in February with Dave and Shabir was an embarrassment to the cause of Christ. The fact that Dave is 81 yrs old, doing 3 debates on different subjects with other debaters in 24 hours was utter foolishness. The lack of Dave Hunt studying Shabir Ally's position was very evident in this third of three debates. In fact "The Berean Call" (Dave's website) has yet to put this debate up on the site. I really doubt that they ever will.

Now, even though Dave Hunt plunges himself into several debates a year and in this case a 24 hour period, he continues to ignore Dr. James White's offers to debate Calvinism.. Dave is willing to debate Shabir Ally/Islam, which he knows nothing about and yet won't debate Calvinist James White, in which Dave Hunt admittedly has had little knowledge of the Reformers and six months later he knows more about Calvinism than most Calvinist's. In six months he became an expert.. Dave Hunt, please debate Dr. White. Quit ignoring him.

Folks, Dave studied the Reformers in six months...I have yet to study all of them and their writings in 5 years.

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Christianity in Crisis Video of the Week

2008-04-23T22:02:00.002-04:00

"Never pray if it be thy will" -- Rod Parsley

Congrats to Rod Parsley for making our video of the week. This video includes just a few of the many heresy's that he endorses.

Parsley stated "never pray if it be they will"... If Rod is correct then Jesus is wrong. This really isn't difficult if we would all just read our bibles. Here is what Luke 11 says...

Luk 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Luk 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

Luk 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

It sounds to me that Parsley's doctrine is more like this "My will be done".

So bottom line here is Parsley's prayer or the prayer of Jesus. I site the biblical prayer of Jesus hands down!

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Open up the tap and let the beer flow!!!!!!

2008-04-21T21:20:00.005-04:00

Come on in partner and order a round... The new bar room church service is in session. The Country Rock Church opened its doors and about 100 people came on into Sunday night's meeting at the Pub Lounge in Sidney, Ohio. The church's Web site, http://www.sidneyfirst.com/, totes pizza, hot wings, bands and wild fun with a nice short message. I wonder if there is a mechanical bull?.... Well, dadgum there is!!! A well thought out illustration was given as part of the message. A mechanical bull actually inspired the sermon reports WTOPnews.com... http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=456&sid=1390644

I wonder if they will eventually have division among the camp. Many churches split because of the colors of new carpet. I can just see it now, I want Budwieser, you want Coors and the rest of the church wants some import beer...

On a serious note though, This is another brilliant example of Crossless Christianity seeker sensitive mush. No cross, no repentance, no mediator for sin (Jesus) is a setup for disaster. Where in the bible did any of the apostles go into the streets and preach a message called "How to get along in life"? Let alone do it with a cup of wine in there hand!

We need to be sober minded and preach the true gospel!!!

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

by His Grace alone,

Bill

The name of Jesus...Is Offensive !!!

2008-04-14T20:36:00.008-04:00

Correction... I actually had the nights reversed... The first night when asking for $$$ they leave out the name of Jesus and on the last night they amazingly include it... Thanks Dr. Hoyle for correcting me on this. I diffidently had the nights confused..I have corrected it in this article.

Well, I don't know if any of you caught this last week.. American Idol had its 2nd annual Idol Gives Back program. The first night the idol contestants sang Shout To The Lord. In this version the lyrics are edited and the name of Jesus is not proclaimed as they ask for money. Here is that video...

This is unfortunate and tragic at the same time. Did Fox executives make this call? Was it because of high profiled celebs involved in the raising of funds? No one really knows. Just on that night, Jesus was not proclaimed, but was edited out of the song.

Here is what happened on the closing night, the name of Jesus was left in.

I am glad that the name of Jesus was proclaimed.. No matter what the venue!! Yet surprised it was left in this time. However, I do applaud this.

So what is the big deal? Here it is... Take away the centrality of Jesus in this song and it leaves it open to many different interpretations. Many religions say god, lord and in this case shepard. But they all stay away from Jesus !!!! But after all it is American Idol... Simon can say offensive things and his words stand. Yet the name of Jesus is removed because it is more offensive than Simon could ever be. It is just as disturbing to me to hear "Christians" say "What's the big deal? Jesus or Shepard". Folks words mean something and there is a big difference between shepard and Jesus. This was no small deletion!!!

By His Grace Alone,

Bill

Experimental Calvinism

2008-04-12T10:50:00.004-04:00

"The fundamental question posed in Calvinism is not 'How can I be saved?', but 'How shall God be glorified?'"

---Ian Hamilton, minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church in England and trustee at the Banner of Truth Trust.

Read this article here: http://www.cambridgepres.org.uk/res/calvinism.html

by His Grace alone,

Bill

Bart Ehrman continues to have a problem with God...

2008-04-04T17:13:00.004-04:00

Bart D. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar and textual critic of early Christianity. He attempts to discern the original wording of the gospels, epistles, and other ancient texts. He claims that his research demonstrates that not only was the Biblical text unintentionally altered by scribes, but sometimes was done intentionally for a variety of reasons such as to make them more uniform and bring them into conformity with changing beliefs.

Ehrman began studying the Bible and its original languages at the Moody Bible Institute and is a 1978 graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois. He received his Ph.D and M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he studied under Bruce Metzger. He currently serves as the chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was the President of the Southeast Region of the Society of Biblical Literature, and worked closely as an editor on a number of the Society's publications. Currently, he co-edits the series New Testament Tools and Studies.

Much of Ehrman's writing has concentrated on various aspects of Walter Bauer's thesis that Christianity was always diversified or at odds with itself. Ehrman is often considered a pioneer in connecting the history of the early church to textual variants within biblical manuscripts and in coining such terms as "Proto-orthodox Christianity." In his writings, Ehrman has turned around textual criticism. From the time of the Church Fathers, it was the heretics (Marcion, for example) who were charged with tampering with the biblical manuscripts. Ehrman theorizes that it was more often the Orthodox that "corrupted" the manuscripts, altering the text to promote particular viewpoints. He has authored or contributed to nineteen books.

Ehrman became an Evangelical Christian as a teen. His desire to understand the original words of the Bible led him to the study of ancient languages and to textual criticism, which he attributes to undermining his faith in the Bible as the inerrant, unchanging word of God. He now considers himself an agnostic. Nevertheless, Ehrman has kept ongoing dialogue with evangelicals. In March of 2006, he joined theologian William Lane Craig in public debate on the question "Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus?" on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross.[1] Ehrman is slated in April of 2008 to dialogue with evangelical New Testament scholar Daniel B. Wallace on the textual reliability of the New Testament.[2]

In 2006, he appeared on The Colbert Report, as well as The Daily Show, to promote his book Misquoting Jesus. In 2007, he gave a speech at Stanford University in which he discussed the textual inconsistencies of the New Testament, and also takes questions from the audience. He has also made several guest appearances on National Public Radio (NPR) including the show Fresh Air in February 2008 to discuss his book God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer.

In God's Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible's contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith - or no faith - to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.

The former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church continues to try and discredit christianity, the bible and the death and resurrection of Jesus. He therefore meets the definition of an apostate. He was once declaring he was in the faith and now opposes that very faith he once preached. He continues to hurt the cause of Christ with his books of apostasy and twisting of scripture and history. Here is the actual definition of apostasy.

Apostasy (IPA: /əˈpɒstəsi/) is a term generally used to describe the formal abandonment or renunciation of one's religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. In a technical sense, as used sometimes by sociologists without the pejorative connotations of the word, the term refers to renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to one's former religion. One who commits apostasy is an apostate, or one who apostatises. The word derives from Greek αποστασία, meaning a defection or revolt, from απο, apo, "away, apart", στασις, stasis, "standing".

I have posted a video by Dr. James White in response to Mr. Ehrman's book "God's Problem". Dr. White does an excellent job refuting the agnostic Ehrman and his assertions about the book of Job!!

I agree with Dr. White...It is not God's problem! It is Bart Ehrman's problem with God!

By His Grace alone,

Bill

"FREE-WILL—A SLAVE"

2008-03-31T22:22:00.007-04:00

Charles H. Spurgeon

A Sermon
DELIVERED ON SABBATH MORNING, DECEMBER 2, 1855, BY THE
REV. C. H. SPURGEON,
AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK.
____________________
And ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.”—John v 40.

THIS is one of the great guns of the Arminians, mounted upon the top of their walls, and often discharged with terrible noise against the poor Christians called Calvinists. I intend to spike the gun this morning, or, rather, to turn it on the enemy, for it was never theirs; it was never cast at their foundry at all, but was intended to teach the very opposite doctrine to that which they assert. Usually, when the text is taken, the divisions are:—First, that man has a will. Secondly, that he is entirely free. Thirdly, that men must make themselves willing to come to Christ, otherwise they will not be saved. Now, we shall have no such divisions; but we will endeavour to take a more calm look at the text; and not, because there happen to be the words “will,” or “will not” in it, run away with the conclusion that it teaches the doctrine of free-will. It has already been proved beyond all controversy that free-will is nonsense. Freedom cannot belong to will any more than ponderability can belong to electricity. They are altogether different things. Free agency we may believe in, but free-will is simply ridiculous. The will is well known by all to be directed by the understanding, to be moved by motives, to be guided by other parts of the soul, and to be a secondary thing. Philosophy and religion both discard at once the very thought of free-will; and I will go as far as Martin Luther, in that strong assertion of his, where he says, “If any man doth ascribe aught of salvation, even the very least, to the free-will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.” It may seem a harsh sentiment; but he who in his soul believes that man does of his own free-will turn to God, cannot have been taught of God, for that is one of the first principles taught us when God begins with us, that we have neither will nor power, but that he gives both; that he is “Alpha and Omega” in the salvation of men.

Our four points, this morning, shall be,—First. that every man is dead, because it says, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.”Secondly, that there is life in Jesus Christ—”Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.” Thirdly, that there is life in Christ Jesus for every one that comes for it—” Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life;” implying that all who go will have life. And fourthly, the gist of the text lies here, that no man by nature ever will come to Christ,for the text says, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.” So far from asserting that men of their own wills ever do such a thing, it boldly and flatly denies it, and says, Ye WILL NOT come unto me that ye might have life.” Why, beloved, I am almost ready to exclaim, Have all free-willers no knowledge that they dare to run in the teeth of inspiration? Have all those that deny the doctrine of grace no sense? Have they so departed from God that they wrest this to prove free-will; whereas the text says, “YE WILL NOT come unto me that ye might have life.”

I. First, then, our text implies THAT MEN BY NATURE ARE DEAD. No being needs to go after life if he has life in himself. The text speaks very strongly when it says, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life,” though it saith it not in words, yet it doth in effect affirm that men need a life more than they have themselves. My hearers, we are all dead unless we have been begotten unto a lively hope. First, we are all of us, by nature, legally dead:—“In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death,” said God to Adam; and though Adam did not die in that moment naturally, he died legally; that is to say death was recorded against him. As soon as, at the Old Bailey, the judge puts on the black cap and pronounces the sentence, the man is reckoned to be dead at law. Though perhaps a month may intervene before he is brought on the scaffold to endure the sentence of the law, yet the law looks upon him as a dead man. It is impossible for him to transact anything. He cannot inherit, he cannot bequeath; he is nothing—he is a dead man. The country considers him not as being alive in it at all. There is an election—he is not asked for his vote because he is considered as dead. He is shut up in his condemned cell, and he is dead. Ah! and ye ungodly sinners who have never had life in Christ, you are alive this morning, by reprieve, but do ye know that ye are legally dead; that God considers you as such, that in the day when your father Adam touched the fruit, and when you yourselves did sin, God, the Eternal Judge, put on the black cap and condemned you? You talk mightily of your own standing, and goodness, and morality:—where is it? Scripture saith, ye are “condemned already.” Ye are not to wait to be condemned at the judgment-day—that will be the execution of the sentence:—“ye are condemned already.” In the moment ye sinned; your names were all written in the black book of justice; every one was then sentenced by God to death, unless he found a substitute, in the person of Christ, for his sins. What would you think if you were so go into the Old Bailey, and see the condemned culprit sitting in his cell, laughing and merry? You would I say, “The man is a fool, for he is condemned, and is to be executed; yet how merry he is.” Ah! and how foolish is the worldly man, who, while sentence is recorded against him, lives in merriment and mirth! Do you think the sentence of God is of no effect? Thinkest thou that thy sin which is written with an iron pen on the rocks for ever hath no horrors in it? God hath said thou art condemned already. If thou wouldst but feel this, it would mingle bitters in the sweet cups of joy; thy dances would be stopped, thy laughter quenched in sighing, if then wouldst recollect that thou art condemned already. We ought all to weep, if we lay this to our souls: that by nature we have no life in God’s sight; we are actually, positively condemned; death is recorded against us, and we are considered in ourselves now, in Gods sight, as much dead as if we were actually cast into hell; we are condemned here by sin, we do not yet suffer the penalty of it, but it is written against us, and we are legally dead, nor can we find life unless we find legal life in the person of Christ, of which more by-and-bye.

But, besides being legally dead, we are also spiritually dead. For not only did the sentence pass in the book, but it passed in the heart; it entered the conscience; it operated on the soul, on the judgment, on the imagination, and on everything. “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” was not only fulfilled by the sentence recorded, but by something which took place in Adam. Just as, in a certain moment, when this body shall die, the blood stops, the pulse ceases, the breath no longer comes from the lungs, so in the day that Adam did eat that fruit his soul died; his imagination lost its mighty power to climb into celestial things and see heaven, his will lost its power always to choose that which is good, his judgment lost all ability to judge between right and wrong decidedly and infallibly, though something was retained in conscience; his memory became tainted, liable to hold evil things, and let righteous things glide away; every power of him ceased as to its moral vitality. Goodness was the vitality of his powers—that departed. Virtue, holiness, integrity, these were the life of man; but when these departed man became dead. And now, every man, so far as spiritual things are concerned, is “dead in trespasses and sins,” spiritually. Nor is the soul less dead in a carnal man, than the body is when committed to the grave; it is actually and positively dead—not by a metaphor, for Paul speaketh not in metaphor when he affirms, “You hath he quickened which were dead in trespasses and sins.” But my hearers, again, I would I could preach to your hearts concerning the subject. It was bad enough when I described death as having been recorded; but now I speak of it as having actually taken place in your hearts. Ye are not what ye once were; ye are not what ye were in Adam, not what ye were created. Man was made pure and holy. Ye are not the perfect creatures of which some boast; ye are altogether fallen, ye have gone out of the way, ye have become corrupt and filthy. Oh! listen not to the syren song of those who tell you of your moral dignity, and your mighty elevation in matters of salvation. Ye are not perfect; that great word, “ruin,” is written on your heart, and death is stamped upon your spirit. Do not conceive, O moral man, that thou wilt be able to stand before God in thy morality, for thou art nothing but a carcase embalmed in legality, a corpse arrayed in some fine robes, but still corrupt in God’s sight. And think not, O thou possessor of natural religion! that thou mayest by thine own might and power make thyself acceptable to God. Why, man!thou art dead! and thou mayest array the dead as gloriously as thou pleasest, but still it would be a solemn mockery. There lieth queen Cleopatra—put the crown upon her head, deck her in royal robes, let her sit in state; but what a cold chill runs through you when you pass by her. She is fair now, even in her death—but how horrible it is to stand by the side even of a dead queen, celebrated for her majestic beauty! So you may be glorious in your beauty, fair, and amiable, and lovely; you put the crown of honesty upon your head, and wear about you all the garments of uprightness, but unless God has quickened thee, O man! unless the Spirit has had dealings with thy soul, thou art in God’s sight as obnoxious as the chilly corpse is to thyself. Thou wouldst not choose to live with a corpse sitting at thy table; nor doth God love that thou shouldst be in his sight. He is angry with thee every day, for thou art in sin—thou art in death. Oh! believe this; take it to thy soul; appropriate it, for it is most true that thou art dead, spiritually as well as legally.

The third kind of death is the consummation of the other two. It is eternal death. It is the execution of the legal sentence; it is the consummation of the spiritual death. Eternal death is the death of the soul; it takes place after the body has been laid in the grave, after the soul has departed from it. If legal death be terrible, it is because of its consequences; and if spiritual death be dreadful, it is because of that which shall succeed it. The two deaths of which we have spoken are the roots, and the death which is to come is the flower thereof Oh! had I words that I might this morning attempt to depict to you what eternal death is. The soul has come before its Maker; the book has been opened; the sentence has been uttered; “Depart ye cursed” has shaken the universe, and made the very spheres dim with the frown of the Creator; the soul has departed to the depths where it is to dwell with others in eternal death. Oh! how horrible is its position now. Its bed is a bed of flame; the sights it sees are murdering ones that affright its spirit; the sounds it hears are shrieks, and wails, and moans, and groans; all that its body knows is the infliction of miserable pain! it has the possession of unutterable woe, of unmitigated misery. The soul looks up. Hope is extinct—it is gone. It looks downward in dread and fear; remorse hath possessed its soul. It looks on the right hand—and the adamantine walls of fate keep it within its limits of torture. It looks on the left—and there the rampart of blazing fire forbids the scaling ladder of e’en a dreamy speculation of escape. It looks within and seeks for consolation there, but a gnawing worm hath entered into the soul. It looks about it—it has no friends to aid, no comforters, but tormentors in abundance. It knoweth nought of hope of deliverance; hath heard the everlasting key of destiny turning in its awful wards, and it hath God take that key and hurl it down into the depth of eternity never to be found again. It hopeth not; it knoweth no escape; it guesseth not of deliverance; it pants for death, but death is too much its foe to be there; it longs that non-existence swallow it up, but this eternal death is worse than annihilation. It pants for extermination as the laborer for his Sabbath; it longs that it might be swallowed in nothingness just as would the galley slave long for freedom, but it cometh not¾it is eternally dead. When eternity shall have rolled round multitudes of its cycles it shall still be dead. For ever knoweth no end; eternity cannot be spelled except in eternity. Still the soul seeth written o’er its head, “Thou art damned for ever.” It heareth howlings that are to be perpetual; it seeth flames which are unquenchable; it knoweth pains that are unmitigated; it hears a sentence that rolls not like the thunder of earth which soon is hushed—but onward, onward, onward, shaking the echoes of eternity—making thousands of years shake again with the horrid thunder of its dreadful sound—“Depart! depart! depart ye cursed!” This the eternal death.

II. Secondly, IN CHRIST JESUS THERE IS LIFE, for he says, “ye will not come me that ye may have life.”There is no life in God the Father for a sinner; there is no life in God the Spirit for a sinner apart from Jesus. The life of a sinner is in Christ. If you take the Father apart, though he loves his elect, and decrees that they shall live, yet life is only in his Son. If you take God the Spirit apart from Jesus Christ, though it is the Spirit that gives us spiritual life, yet it is life in Christ,life in the Son. We dare not, and cannot apply in the first place, either to God the Father, or to God the Holy Ghost for spiritual life. The first thing we are led to do when God brings us out of Egypt is to eat the Passover—the very first thing. The first means whereby we get life is by feeding upon the flesh and blood of the Son of God; living in him, trusting on him, believing in his grace and power. Our second thought was—there is life in Christ. We will show you there are three kinds of life in Christ, as there are three kinds of death.

First there is legal life in Christ. Just as every man by nature considered in Adam had a sentence of condemnation passed on him in the moment of Adam’s sin, and more especially in the moment of his own first transgression, so I, if I be a believer, and you, if you trust in Christ, have had a legal sentence of acquittal passed on us through what Jesus Christ has done. O condemned sinner! thou mayest be sitting this morning condemned like the prisoner in Newgate; but ere this day has passed away thou mayest be as clear from guilt as the angels above. There is such a thing as legal life in Christ, and, blessed be God! some of us enjoy it. We know our sins are pardoned because Christ suffered punishment for them; we know that we never can be punished ourselves, for Christ suffered in our stead. The Passover is slain for us; the lintel and door-post have been sprinkled, and the destroying angel can never touch us. For us there is no hell, although it blaze with terrible flame. Let Tophet be prepared of old, let its pile be wood and much smoke, we never can come there—Christ died for us, in our stead. ‘What if there be racks of horrid torture? what if there be a sentence producing most horrible reverberations of thundering sounds? yet neither rack, nor dungeon, nor thunder, are for us! In Christ Jesus we are now delivered. “There is, therefore, Now no condemnation unto us who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Sinner! art thou legally condemned this morning? Dost thou feel that? Then, let me tell thee that faith in Christ will give thee a knowledge of thy legal acquittal. Beloved, it is no fancy that we are condemned for our sins, it is a reality. So, it is no fancy we are acquitted, it is a reality. A man about to be hanged, if he received a full pardon would feel it a great reality. He would say, “I have a full pardon, I cannot be touched now.” That is just how I feel.

“Now freed from sin I walk at large,The Saviour’s blood’s my full discharge;At his dear feet content I lay,A sinner saved, and homage pay.”

Brethren, we have gained legal life in Christ, and such legal life that we cannot lose it. The sentence has gone against us once—now it has gone out for us. It is written, “THERE IS NOW NO CONDEMNATION, and that acre will do as well for me in fifty years as it does now. Whatever time we live it will still be written, “There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”

Then, secondly, there is spiritual life in Christ Jesus. As the man is spiritually dead, God has spiritual life for him, for there is not a want which is not supplied by Jesus, there is not an emptiness in the heart which Christ cannot fill; there is not a desolation which he cannot people, there is not a desert which he cannot make to blossom as the rose. O ye dead sinners! spiritually dead, there is life in Christ Jesus, for we have seen—yes! these eyes have seen—the dead live again; we have known the man whose soul was utterly corrupt, by the power of God seek after righteousness; we have known the man whose views were carnal whose lusts were mighty, whose passions were strong, suddenly, by irresistible might from heaven, consecrate himself to Christ, and become a child of Jesus. We know that there is life in Christ Jesus, of a spiritual order; yea, more, we ourselves, in our own persons, have felt that there is spiritual life. Well can we remember when we sat in the house of prayer, as dead as the very seat on which we sat. We had listened for a long, long while to the sound of the gospel, but no effect followed, when suddenly, as if our ears had been opened by the fingers of some mighty angel, a sound entered into our heart. We thought we heard Jesus saying, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” An irresistable hand put itself on our heart and crushed a prayer out of it. We never had a prayer before like that. We cried, “O God! have mercy upon me a sinner.” Some of us for months felt a hand pressing us as if we had been grasped in a vice, and our souls bled drops of anguish. That misery was a sign of coming life. Persons when they are being drowned do not feel the pain so much as while they are being restored. Oh! we recollect those pains, those groans, that living strife which our soul had when it came to Christ. Ah! we can recollect the giving of our spiritual life as easily as could a man his restoration from the grave. We can suppose Lazarus to have remembered his resurrection, though not all the circumstances of it. So we, although we have forgotten a great deal, do recollect our giving ourselves to Christ. We can say to every sinner, however dead, there is life in Christ Jesus, though you may be rotten and corrupt in your grave. He who hath raised Lazarus hath raised us; and he can say, even to you, “Lazarus! come forth.”

In the third place, there is eternal life in Christ Jesus. And, oh! if eternal death be terrible, eternal life is blessed; for he has said, “‘Where I am there shall my people be.” “Father, I will, that they also, whom thou hast given unto me, be with me where Lam, that they may behold my glory.” “I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish.” Now, any Arminian that would preach from that text must buy a pair of India rubber lips, for I am sure he would need to stretch his mouth amazingly; he would never be able to speak the whole truth without winding about in a most mysterious manner. Eternal life—not a life which they are to lose, but eternal life. If I lost life in Adam I gained it in Christ; if I lost myself for ever I find myself for ever in Jesus Christ. Eternal life! Oh blessed thought! Our eyes will sparkle with joy and our souls burn with ecstasy in the thought that we have eternal life. Be quenched ye stars! let God put his finger on you—but my soul will live in bliss and joy. Put out thine eye O sun!—but mine eye shall “see the king in his beauty” when thine eye shall no more make the green earth laugh. And moon, be thou turned into blood!—but my blood shall ne’er be turned to nothingness; this spirit shall exist when thou hast ceased to be. And thou great world! thou mayest all subside, just as a moment’s foam subsides upon the wave that bears it—but I shall have eternal life. O time! thou mayest see giant mountains dead and hidden in their graves; thou mayest see the stars like figs too ripe, falling from the tree; but thou shalt never, never see my spirit dead.

III. This brings us to the third point: that ETERNAL LIFE IS GIVEN TO ALL WHO COME FOR IT. There never was a man who came to Christ for eternal life, for legal life, for spiritual life, who had not already received it, in some sense, and it was manifested to him that he had received it soon after he came. Let us take one or two texts:— “He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto him.” Every man who comes to Christ will find that Christ is able to save him—not able to save him a little, to deliver him from a little sin, to keep him from a little trial, to carry him a little way and then drop him—but able to save him to the uttermost extent of his sin, unto the uttermost length of his trials, the uttermost depths of his sorrows, unto the uttermost duration of his existence. Christ says to every one who comes to him, “Come, poor sinner, thou needst not ask whether I have power to save. I will not ask thee how far thou hast gone into sin; I am able to save thee to the uttermost.” And there is no one on earth can go beyond God’s “uttermost.”

Now another text: “Him that cometh to me, (mark the promises are nearly always to the coming ones) I will in no wise cast out.” Every man that comes shall find the door of Christ’s house opened—and the door of his heart too—Every man that comes—I say it in the broadest sense—shall find that Christ has mercy for him. The greatest absurdity in the world is to want to have a wider gospel than that recorded in Scripture. I preach that every man that believes shall be saved—that every man who comes shall find mercy. People ask me, “But suppose a man should come who was not chosen, would he be saved?” You go and suppose nonsense and I am not going to give you an answer. If a man is not chosen he will never come. When he does come it is a sure proof that he was chosen. Says one, “Suppose any one should go to Christ who had not been called of the Spirit.” Stop, my brother, that is a supposition thou hast no right to make, for such a thing cannot happen; you only say it to entangle me, and you will not do that just yet. I say every man who comes to Christ shall be saved. I can say that as a Calvinist, or as a hyperCalvinist, as plainly as you can say it. I have no narrower gospel than you have; only my gospel is on a solid foundation, whereas yours is built upon nothing but sand and rottenness. “Every man that cometh shall be saved, for no man cometh to me except the Father draw him.” “But,” says one, “suppose all the world should come, would Christ receive them?” Certainly, if all came; but then they won’t come. I tell you all that come—aye,if they were as bad as devils, Christ would receive them; if they had all sin and filthiness running into their hearts as into a common sewer for the whole world, Christ would receive them. Another says, “I want to know about the rest of the people. May I go out and tell them—Jesus Christ died for every one of you? May I say—there is righteousness for every one of you, there is life for every one of you?” No; you may not. You may say—there is life for every man that comes. But if you say there is life for one of those that do not believe, you utter a dangerous lie. If you tell them that Jesus Christ was punished for their sins, and yet they will he lost, you tell a willful falsehood. To think that God could punish Christ and then punish them—I wonder at your daring to have the impudence to say so! A good man was once preaching that there were harps and crowns in heaven for all his congregation; and then he wound up in a most solemn manner: “My dear friends, there are many for whom these things are prepared who will not get there.” In fact, he made such a pitiful tale, as indeed he might do; but I tell you who he ought to have wept for—he ought to have wept for the angels of heaven and all the saints, because that would spoil heaven thoroughly. You know when you meet at Christmas, if you have lost your brother David and his seat is empty, you say: “Well, we always enjoyed Christmas, but there is a drawback to it now—poor David is dead and buried!” Think of the angels saying: “Ah! this is a beautiful heaven, but we don’t like to see all those crowns up there with cobwebs on; we cannot endure that uninhabited street: we cannot behold yon empty thrones.” And then, poor souls, they might begin talking to one another, and say, “we are none of us safe here, for the promise was—‘I give unto my sheep eternal life,’ and there is a lot of them in hell that God gave eternal life to; there is a number that Christ shed his blood for burning in the pit, and if they may be sent there, so may we. If we cannot trust one promise we cannot another.” So heaven would lose its foundation, and fall. Away with your nonsensical gospel! God gives us a safe and solid one, built on covenant doings and covenant relationships, on eternal purposes and sure fulfilments.

IV. This brings us to the fourth point, THAT BY NATURE NO MAN WILL COME TO CHRIST for the text says, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.” I assert, on Scripture authority from my text, that ye will not come unto Christ, that ye might have life. I tell you, I might preach to you for ever, I might borrow the eloquence of Demosthenes or of Cicero, but ye will not come unto Christ. I might beg of you on my knees, with tears in my eyes, and show you the horrors of hell and the joys of heaven, the sufficiency of Christ, and your own lost condition, but you would none of you come unto Christ of yourselves unless the Spirit that rested on Christ should draw you. It is true of all men in their natural condition that they will not come unto Christ. But, methinks I hear another of these babblers asking a question:—“But could they not come if they liked?” My friend, I will reply to thee another time. That is not the question this morning. I am talking about whether they will,not whether they can. You will notice whenever you talk about free will, the poor Arminian, in two seconds, begins to talk about power, and he mixes up two subjects that should be keep apart. We will not take two subjects at once; we decline fighting two at the same time, if you please. Another day we will preach from this text:—“No man can come except the Father draw him.” But it is only the will we are talking of now; and it is certain that men will not come unto Christ, that they might have life. We might prove this from many texts of Scripture, but we will take one parable. You remember the parable where a certain king had a feast for his son, and bade a great number to come; the oxen and fatlings were killed, and he sent his messengers bidding many to the supper. Did they go the feast? Ah, no; but they all, with one accord, began to make excuse. One said he had married a wife, and therefore he could not come, whereas he might have brought her with him. Another had bought a yoke of oxen, and went to prove them; but the feast was in the night-time, and he could not prove his oxen in the dark. Another had bought a piece of land, and wanted to see it; but I should not think he went to see it with a lantern. So they all made excuses and would not come. Well the king was determined to have the feast; so he said, “Go into the highways and hedges; and” invite them—stop! not invite—“ compel them to come in;” for even the ragged fellows in the hedges would never have come unless they were compelled. Take another parable:—A certain man had a vineyard; at the appointed season he sent one of his servants for his rent. What did they do to him? They beat that servant. He sent another; and they stoned him. He sent another and they killed him. And, at last, he said, “I will send them my son, they will reverence him.” But what did they do? They said, “This is the heir, let us kill him, and cast him out of the vineyard.” So they did. It is the same with all men by nature. The Son of God came, yet men rejected him. “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.” It would take too much time to mention any more Scripture proofs. We will, however, refer to the great doctrine of the fall. Any one who believes that man’s will is entirely free, and that he can be saved by it, does not believe the fall. As I sometimes tell you, few preachers of religion do believe thoroughly the doctrine of the fall, or else they think that when Adam fell down he broke his little finger, and did not break his neck and ruin his race. Why, beloved, the fall broke man up entirely. It did not leave one power unimpaired; they were all shattered, and debased, and tarnished; like some mighty temple, the pillars might be there, the shaft, and the column, and the pilaster, might be there; but they were all broken, though some of them retain much of their form and position. The conscience of man sometimes retains much of its tenderness—still it has fallen. The will, too, is not exempt. What though it is “the Lord Mayor of Mansoul,” as Bunyan calls it; the Lord Mayor goes wrong. The Lord Will-be-will was continually doing wrong. Your fallen nature was put out of order; your will, amongst other things, has clean gone astray from God. But I tell you what will be the best proof of that; it is the great fact that you never did meet a Christian in your life who ever said he came to Christ without Christ coming to him. You have heard a great many Arminian sermons, I dare say; but you never heard an Arminian prayer—for the saints in prayer appear as one in word, and deed and mind. An Arminian on his knees would pray desperately like a Calvinist. He cannot pray about free will: there is no room for it. Fancy him praying,

Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists. Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that 1 have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but l do. There are many that wilI go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as l am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not—that is the difference between me and them.

That is a prayer for the devil, for nobody else would offer such a prayer as that. Ah! when they are preaching and talking very slowly, there may be wrong doctrine; but when they come to pray, the true thing slips out; they cannot help it. If a man talks very slowly, he may speak in a fine manner; but when he comes to talk fast, the old brogue of his country, where he was born, slips out. I ask you again, did you ever meet a Christian man who said, “I came to Christ without the power of the Spirit?” If you ever did meet such a man, you need have no hesitation in saying, “My dear sir, I quite believe it—and I believe you went away again without the power of the Spirit, and that you know nothing about the matter, and are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.” Do I hear one Christian man saying, “I sought Jesus before he sought me; I went to the Spirit, and the Spirit did not come to me?” No, beloved; We are obliged, each one of us, to put our hands to our hearts, and say—

“Grace taught my soul to pray,And made my eyes o’erflow;‘Twas grace that kept me to this day,And will not let me go.”

Is there one here—a solitary one—man or woman, young or old, who can say, “I sought God before he sought me?”No; even you who are a little Arminian, will Sing —

“O yes! I do love Jesus—Because he first loved me”

Then, one more question. Do we not find, even after we have come to Christ, our soul is not free, but is kept by Christ? Do we not find times, even now, when to will is not present with us. There is a law in our members, warring against the law of our minds. Now, if those who are spiritually alive feel that their will is contrary to God, what shall we say of the man who is “dead in trespasses and sins?” It would be a marvellous absurdity to put the two on a level; and it would be still more absurd to put the dead before the living. No; the text is true, experience has branded it into our hearts,” Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.”

Now, we must tell you the reasons why men will not come unto Christ. The first is, because no man by nature thinks he wants Christ. By nature man conceives that he does not need Christ; he thinks that he has a robe of righteousness of his own, that he is well-dressed, that he is not naked, that he needs not Christ’s blood to wash him, that he is not black or crimson, and needs no grace to purify him. No man knows his need until God shows it to him; and until the Holy Spirit reveals the necessity of pardon, no man will seek pardon. I may preach Christ for ever, but unless you feel you want Christ you will never come to him. A doctor may have a good shop, but nobody will buy his medicines until he feels he wants them.

The next reason is, because men do not like Christ’s way of saving them. One says, “I do not like it because he makes me holy;I cannot drink or swear if he saves me.” Another says, “It requires me to be so precise and puritanical, and I like a little more license.” Another does not like it because it is so humbling; he does not like it because the “gate of heaven” is not quite high enough for his head, and he does not like stooping. That is the chief reason ye will not come to Christ, because ye cannot get to him with your heads straight up in the air; for Christ makes you stoop when you come. Another does not like it to be grace from first to last. “Oh!” he says, “If I might have a little honor.” But when he hears it is all Christ or no Christ, a whole Christ or no Christ, he says, “I shall not come,” and turns on his heel and goes away. Ah! proud sinners, ye will not come unto Christ Ah! ignorant sinners, ye will not come unto Christ, because ye know nothing of him. And that is the third reason.

Men do not know his worth, for if they did they would come unto him. Why did not sailors go to America before Columbus went? Because they did not believe there was an America. Columbus had faith, therefore he went. He who hath faith in Christ goes to him. But you don’t know Jesus; many of you never saw his beauteous face; you never saw how applicable his blood is to a sinner, how great is his atonement ; and how all-sufficient are his merits, therefore, “ye will not come unto him.”

And oh! my hearers, my last thought is a solemn one. I have preached that ye will not come. But some will say, “it is their sin that they do not come.” It is so. You will not come, but then your will is a sinful will. Some think that we “sew pillows to all arm-holes” when we preach this doctrine, but we don’t. We do not set this down as being part of man’s original nature, but as belonging to his fallen nature. It is sin that has brought you into this condition that you will not come. If you had not fallen, you would come to Christ the moment he was preached to you; but you do not come because of your sinfulness and crime. People excuse themselves because they have bad hearts. That is the most flimsy excuse in the world. Do not robbery and thieving come from a bad heart. Suppose a thief should say to a judge, “I could not help it, I had a bad heart.” What would the judge say? “You rascal! why, if your heart is bad, I’ll make the sentence heavier, for you are a villain indeed. Your excuse is nothing.” The Almighty shall “laugh at them, and shall have them in derision.” We do not preach this doctrine to excuse you, but to humble you. The possession of a bad nature is my fault as well as my terrible calamity. It is a sin that will always be charged on men; when they will not come unto Christ it is sin that keeps them away. He who does not preach that, I fear is not faithful to God and his conscience. Go home, then, with this thought: “ I am by nature so perverse that I will not come unto Christ, and that wicked perversity of my nature is my sin. I deserve to be sent to hell for it.” And if the thought does not humble you, the Spirit using it, no other can. This morning I have not preached human nature up, but I have preached it down. God humble us all. Amen.

The Arminian fisherman and his wife

2008-03-29T01:16:00.012-04:00

I thought this was funny and interesting at the same time. Imagine with me, the fisherman and his wife are the perfect Arminians and the mermaid in this story is God (in the Arminian perspective). The Arminians net God in synergism for salvation and He becomes their little mermaid for their every hearts desire. Many of America's churches are built with this type of theological view. I know it is a bit of a stretch, but there are some parallels... Enjoy, I use to love these!! And there is a moral to this story...LOL

This may be how Benny Hinn built his ministry!

by His Grace alone,
Bill

Original Sin - Depravity Infects Everyone

2008-03-24T21:55:00.002-04:00

by J.I. Packer (from Concise Theology) "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Ps. 51:5)

Scripture diagnoses sin as a universal deformity of human nature, found at every point in every person (1 Kings 8:46; Rom. 3:9-23; 7:18; 1 John 1:8-10). Both Testaments have names for it that display its ethical character as rebellion against God's rule, missing the mark God set us to aim at, transgressing God's law, disobeying God's directives, offending God's purity by defiling oneself, and incurring guilt before God the Judge. This moral deformity is dynamic: sin stands revealed as an energy of irrational, negative, and rebellious reaction to God's call and command, a spirit of fighting God in order to play God. The root of sin is pride and enmity against God, the spirit seen in Adam's first transgression; and sinful acts always have behind them thoughts, motives, and desires that one way or another express the willful opposition of the fallen heart to God's claims on our lives.

Sin may be comprehensively defined as lack of conformity to the law of God in act, habit, attitude, outlook, disposition, motivation, and mode of existence. Scriptures that illustrate different aspects of sin include Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 12:30-37; Mark 7:20-23; Romans 1:18-3:20; 7:7-25; 8:5-8; 14:23 (Luther said that Paul wrote Romans to "magnify sin"); Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19; Hebrews 3:12; James 2:10-11; 1 John 3:4; 5:17. Flesh in Paul usually means a human being driven by sinful desire; the niv renders these instances of the word as "sinful nature." The particular faults and vices (i.e., forms and expression of sin) that Scripture detects and denounces are too numerous to list here.

Original sin, meaning sin derived from our origin, is not a biblical phrase (Augustine coined it), but it is one that brings into fruitful focus the reality of sin in our spiritual system. The assertion of original sin means not that sin belongs to human nature as God made it (God made mankind upright, Eccles. 7:29), nor that sin is involved in the processes of reproduction and birth (the uncleanness connected with menstruation, semen, and childbirth in Leviticus 12 and 15 was typical and ceremonial only, not moral and real), but that (a) sinfulness marks everyone from birth, and is there in the form of a motivationally twisted heart, prior to any actual sins; (b) this inner sinfulness is the root and source of all actual sins; (c) it derives to us in a real though mysterious way from Adam, our first representative before God. The assertion of original sin makes the point that we are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners, born with a nature enslaved to sin.

The phrase total depravity is commonly used to make explicit the implications of original sin. It signifies a corruption of our moral and spiritual nature that is total not in degree (for no one is as bad as he or she might be) but in extent. It declares that no part of us is untouched by sin, and therefore no action of ours is as good as it should be, and consequently nothing in us or about us ever appears meritorious in God's eyes. We cannot earn God's favor, no matter what we do; unless grace saves us, we are lost.

Total depravity entails total inability, that is, the state of not having it in oneself to respond to God and his Word in a sincere and wholehearted way (John 6:44; Rom. 8:7-8). Paul calls this unresponsiveness of the fallen heart a state of death (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13), and the Westminster Confession says: "Man by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto" (IX. 3).

The Silence of the Lambs

2008-03-17T21:52:00.009-04:00

muzzling "the faith" in the political arena

--by Steve Camp

A few years ago I was watching my nightly intake of cable news shows. One of them I was Chris Matthews and HARDBALL. This show was of particular interest for it was dealing with Christians and politics (Matthews had on Campolo, Land, Pennybacker, Perkins, Sutton, etc.). With an election season fully upon us, I thought it would be good to examine some of the emphasis that evangelicals have placed on political remedy for moral malady.

Ashamed of the Gospel

While I watching this broadcast, an obvious thing finally hit me: the evangelical leaders who were arguing for displaying the Ten Commandments in the public marketplace and to defend the rights of any child in bringing a Bible to public school to read; failed to mention any Scripture at all while on a nationally televised talk-show (the marketplace) in trying to make the case for "religious freedom" in the use the Bible.

Is that amazing? (If you’re familiar with Alanis Morissette song “Ironic", this would be an excellent time to start humming.)

There was not one panelist--none, including Pastor Sutton of Two Rivers Baptist Church, that opened up the Scriptures (or even read them) in the entire one hour broadcast last evening to make “their case” - and this show was being aired from Two Rivers as well. With courage like that, we could almost lead a retreat--for get about advancing the gospel.

Ladies and gentlemen this is THE core issue and the problem with Evangelical Co-Belligerence. They may get it right some of the time in defining the problems of our society; but they miss the solution entirely when they offer no biblical solution for the cure of those moral maladies biblically. They are silent on the gospel; they're ashamed of it; they really don't believe it, trust it, or hold it in high esteem. If they did, it would be on their lips--"what's in the heart the mouth speaks." They claim to represent Christians in the political arena; they claim to be the self-appointed spokesmen for family values and morality; and yet, they are dumb in developing their arguments from the Word of God.

Patriotism is not Synonymous with Christianity

And let me be clear, I love our country and support our elected officials; but the silence from ECBers from the truth of God's Word and the gospel is deafening. The secular progressives (as Bill O'Reilly refers to them) speaks boldly about their beliefs and moral convictions from the "bible" of their convictions (NOW, PPH, liberalism, postmodernism, etc.); but Christians in the marketplace do not speak with the same boldness and biblical clarity needed to meet the challenges head on. Why? They want to be liked and embraced by the mainstream media while all along trying to position themselves as confronting the same media they are combating. This is religious politics and cannot be condoned biblically.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17,

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

This is one of the most comprehensive passages on the sufficiency of Scripture found anywhere in the Bible. Notice the four qualities:

1. for teaching (it instructs each day in how to live for Christ, know Him and function in all

matters of life and faith);
2. for reproof (to stop doing what’s wrong);
3. for correction (to start doing what’s right);
4. and for training in righteousness (that is, our daily sanctification being conformed to Christ as we grow in Him).

Quit Monkeying Around... Preach the Word

What’s the fruit of the life dedicated and lived for the Lord according to His Word?; the man of God is competent, equipped for every good work. There is nothing lacking in God's Word. It is complete to outfit us for everything we need and face in this life. (Read Psalm 19:7-11 for further confidence in the sufficiency of God's Word). And those in evangelicalism claiming to speak for God, never do from the pages of God's Word! They are content to bore us with their words, opinions and political, cultural moorings and rhetoric. Let me ask you a question: with such a thorough Word that God has given to us, why is it then that evangelical leaders, even pastors, fail to proclaim it boldly when given the opportunity as was given last evening? When men of God are silent on His Word, then no matter how good and noble the cause seems, the world has won.

David says,

“And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts. I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed. I shall delight in Your commandments, which I love” (Psalm 119:45-47, emphasis mine).

Spurgeon Wasn't for Sale Like the Preachers of Today

Listen to his powerful, uncompromising words on Psalm 119:45-47:

“This is part of his liberty; he is free from fear of the greatest, proudest, and most tyrannical of men. David was called to stand before kings when he was an exile; and afterwards, when he was himself a monarch, he knew the tendency of men to sacrifice their religion to pomp and statecraft; but it was his resolve to do nothing of the kind. He would sanctify politics, and make cabinets know that the Lord alone is governor among the nations. As a king he would speak to kings concerning the King of kings. He says, ”I will speak”: prudence might have suggested that his life and conduct would be enough, and that it would be better not to touch upon religion in the presence of royal personages who worshipped other gods, and claimed to be right in so doing.

He had already most fittingly preceded this resolve by the declaration, "I will walk, "but he does not make his personal conduct an excuse for sinful silence, for he adds, "I will speak." David claimed religious liberty, and took care to use it, for he spoke out what he believed, even when he was in the highest company. In what he said he took care to keep to God's own word, for he says, "I will speak of thy testimonies." No theme is like this, and there is no way of handling that theme like keeping close to the book, and using its thought and language. The great hindrance to our speaking upon holy topics in all companies is shame, but the Psalmist will "not be ashamed"; there is nothing to be ashamed of, and there is no excuse for being ashamed, and yet many are as quiet as the dead for fear some creature like themselves should be offended.

When God gives grace, cowardice soon vanishes. He who speaks for God in God's power, will not be ashamed when beginning to speak, nor while speaking, nor after speaking; for his theme is one which is fit for kings, needful to kings, and beneficial to kings. If kings object, we may well be ashamed of them, but never of our Master who sent us, or of his message, or of his design in sending it.

And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. Next to liberty and courage comes delight. When we have done our duty, we find a great reward in it. If David had not spoken for his Master before kings, he would have been afraid to think of the law which he had neglected; but after speaking up for his Lord he feels a sweet serenity of heart when musing upon the word. Obey the command, and you will love it; carry the yoke, and it will be easy, and rest will come by it. After speaking of the law the Psalmist was not wearied of his theme, but he retired to meditate upon it; he discoursed and then he delighted, he preached and then repaired to his study to renew his strength by feeding yet again upon the precious truth.

Whether he delighted others or not when he was speaking, he never failed to delight himself when he was musing on the word of the Lord. He declares that he loved the Lord's commands, and by this avowal he unveils the reason for his delight in them: where our love is, there is our delight. David did not delight in the courts of kings, for there he found places of temptation to shame, but in the Scriptures he found himself at home; his heart was in them, and they yielded him supreme pleasure. No wonder that he spoke of keeping the law, which he loved; Jesus says, "If a man love me, he will keep my words." No wonder that he spoke of walking at liberty, and speaking boldly, for true love is ever free and fearless. Love is the fulfilling of the law; where love to the law of God reigns in the heart the life must be full of blessedness. Lord, let thy mercies come to us that we may love thy word and way, and find our whole delight therein.”

What Is The Solution?

Could it be anymore clear beloved? The reason for evangelicals not speaking clearly from God’s Word in the political arena or on mainstream media is unmistakably three things:

1. Ashamed of the gospel;

2. They fear man more than fear God which breeds cowardice; and

3. Self-acceptability.

What is the antidote:

1. Liberty in the Word;

2. Boldness for the Word; and

3. Love the Word.

I will again call these men who are in the public’s eye to not be so thin, timid and uncertain about your confidence in God’s Word and His gospel. But to "play the man" and speak it plainly, boldly, and with charity. Represent the Lord well "before kings" and you will have no cause for shame. Until that day occurs, we will continue to witness the nice, pleasant, benign dribble that occurs when most evangelical leaders appear on Larry King, Chris Matthews, FOXNEWS, etc. Oh for real men of God to take the public stage not as politicians, but as prophets calling a nation to repentance, to be reconciled to God, and to follow Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives.

The Apostle Paul’s words are a fitting and necessary close: “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:13-14).

VIVIT,

Steve

2 Cor. 4:5-7

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Christianity in Crisis video of the week

2008-03-12T18:03:00.005-04:00

Motivational speaker Joel Osteen and non-trinitarian T.D. Jakes discuss their success in "ministry" and how Jesus is the product!!!! Part of me gets angry and part of me just weeps for these men. I pray that God would have grace upon them as he has on me. And that he would grant them a heart of repentance, that they would come to know Christ as more than just a product.

Here is how I would like to respond to this MSNBC interview with those mega-leaders... Here is Paul Washer...Warning you will either hate it or be convicted by it!!!

In Him and His Grace alone,

Bill